Best Tunes of ‘06

I’m totally stealing this idea from Benj and BTM. Share yours in the comments section!

10. Sandra McCracken – Gravity|Love
9. Andrew Osenga – The Morning
8. Damnwells – Air Stereo
7. Beck – The Information
6. The Be Good Tanyas – Hello Love
5. The Flaming Lips – At War With the Mystics
4. Imogen Heap – Speak for Yourself
3. Ray LaMontange – Til The Sun Turns Black
2. Ben Harper – Both Sides of the Gun
1. Sufjan Stevens – Avalanche
Far beyond the rest. The Decemberists – The Crane Wife

Letter to a friend (and maybe to myself):

Dearest Friend:

I find it interesting, as I’ve searched through Scripture for the word ’suffering’, how it is ALWAYS connected to sanctification. I was hard pressed to find an instance where suffering occurred apart from a bigger plan. Don’t get me wrong– I don’t think that you deserve the treatment that you’re receiving, but I pray that you’ll be obedient and sanctified during this time. Please consider some of my favorite Scripture which deals with this very topic (the parenthesis are my emphasis).

1 Peter 2:4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious , 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” 8 and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.”(Christ causes the unjust to stumble and He offends them with His righteousness.) They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles (the unChristian) honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 13 Be subject (to those same “Gentiles”) for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. 18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. 19 For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Suffer well. Perservere. Honor those in authority over you, not only on the outside, but from your heart. Pray for this sanctification with great expectation and seeking grace. I love you.

New Years Resolutions, Part 1

Well, we’re a few days closer to 2007. I love that. I’m a fan of new starts and second chances, mainly because I require so many. New Years Day is one of my favorite holidays not only because I get to eat black-eyed peas (yuck!), or because I get to scribble out sixes ninety times a day to replace them with sevens, but because I enjoy taking the time to rethink my habits and generally how my life is going and start over.

My friend and Sunday School teacher, George, isn’t a fan of New Years resolutions. He says that if we find something in our lives that needs adjustment or if we find behavior that’s sinful, we should fight to change it right then, rather than putting it off until January. I agree fully, but I take January first as a reminded to examine these things.

Most of you are not new to oh me of little faith, and so you’re aware that I tend to spend a lot of time in introspection. Here are a few things that I plan on continuing to work on, as well as some new resolutions, if you will, that I have for 2007.

Lose 50 pounds by my birthday. Ok, so I made a similar resolution last year. Who doesn’t make this resolution from year to year? This year, I have the help of a nutritionist and the gym that will be on my new work building’s bottom floor. And I have to look like a rockstar when I arrive at my Second Chance Prom birthday party. Oh yes. Guys in tuxes. Girls in gowns. Me looking awesome. This is the plan.

Keep house. Y’all, I have to admit I hate keeping house. A lot of it can be blamed on my mom being an awesome keeper of the home while I was growing up. We were expected to pick up our toys and be generally neat, but aside from the occasional Saturday morning teamwork approach, she kept the house. This is something she enjoyed doing and probably felt like she could do better on her own, being the OCD freak that my mother is. But my mama doesn’t live with me. Heck, she doesn’t live within 300 miles of me. I’ve got to learn to keep house on a regular basis, rather than a mad rush to clean when I’m completely frustrated with smelly dishes.

Exorcise him from my thoughts. I’ve seriously got to get over it. It’s not that I’m pining after him, as much as I’m still hurting from the lies.

Clean up my potty mouth. I have a deep love for words that are generally about four letters long. Lately, they’ve been coming out in the most inappropriate ways, and I know it’s because of some sinful issues I have in my heart, (But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart…Matt 15:18) and I’m working on that, but in the meantime, my tongue severely needs to be tamed.

There will be more, I’m sure, many of which I probably won’t share, but here you go. Thoughts?

Just so we can feel something

“I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something.”  – Det. Graham Waters, “Crash”

That line from 2005’s Oscar winner for Best Picture struck me the first time I heard it.  I rented the movie from Netflix, and found myself wading through a spectrum of emotions and scenes all too familiar. In case you’ve been under a rock, for two days in Los Angeles, a racially and economically diverse group of people pursue lives that collide with one another in unexpected ways. The film explores and challenges your ability to judge books by their covers. (cr:IMDB)

I was reminded of this movie as I watched ABC’s special last night called Six Degrees of Separation, where a Brooklyn boxer connected to a Broadway performer in five steps.

I couldn’t help but think of how small (in size) God’s creation of the human race really is.  We often fool ourselves into thinking that we’re so far from one another: that it is good and prudent to be autonomous, whether as individuals, as races, as people groups…

But the truth is, we are made so very similarly… we are not as far or as racially, culturally, economically, socioeconomically, or otherwise different.  We are made in His image and we are His miraculous creations, and yet, in fear, we avoid one another with such gusto!

This fear is an internal fear– one that comes from the deepest part of us.  It comes from a place that fully realizes the ugliness which we all share.  It understands that nothing we do is of any good without Christ.  As Don Miller explains, it comes from a place where we fear being voted out of the row boat and thrown into the ocean.

So we put on our good faces.  We put on our righteous faces and we hide inside our skin, and our bank accounts and our churches and our theological holdings and our jobs and our social circles, praying that we’ll not be found out.  How lonely it becomes when we’re in hiding!  How starved we find ourselves, eagerly desiring to be touched… to be known by our fellow man, yet scared at what that will mean regarding the reality of who we are inside.

His creation is one made for living in community– that thought should not be lost on you if you’ve read my blog for any length of time.  I am just amazed at how very small our community is, in the grand scheme of things, and how we desperately try to be smaller.

Days Go By

I signed up for MySpace again last night. I’m not adding people for whom I don’t have affection. So, if you’re my friend, it’s because you’re someone (or an organization) that I care about deeply.

Life is pretty busy right now. Work is making my brain hurt with the end of the year looming, and it seems I have something new going on every day of the week until year’s end. For instance: today I had a client in the office from Virginia. Tomorrow afternoon I have a class. Thursday I have an appointment with Dr. Robin. Friday is both my company Christmas party and a bachelorette party. Saturday is the Baileys’ Christmas party. Sunday is our church talent show. Need I go on?

If I’m honest with myself, I love the chaos. I love it because it means that I don’t have to focus on the real issues in my life. I pretend that I don’t like being busy because hey… who likes being busy? But somedays it’s a relief. It’s a relief because I don’t have to think about taming my tongue or loving my boss when he’s in a mood. It gives me a “pass” to be the sinful jerk that I am inside. Or at least that’s what I tell myself.

So, in light of this, Katie and I are going away for a few days in February. She’s still too new at USAA to get off any sooner. We’re going to meet at Lake Travis on Friday, the second and stay in a little loft on the lake until Monday. There will still be a slight chill at night in February, if it’s not completely freezing , so we’ll wrap up in sweats and stare out at the lake for three days and it will be glorious. We are both looking forward to time together and time in quiet.

Lake Travis is just outside of Austin, so we’ll likely take in a night at the Austin Playhouse and see Inherit the Wind which was cowritten by Robert E. Lee, or maybe we’ll grab a drink on 6th Street. I simply cannot wait.

Our rental house:

52 days and counting…

Feed me.

Just a reminder about a little side project of mine:  I custom create quilts out of your old t-shirts! These make awesome gifts for Christmas, birthdays, and graduations. They also work wonders for that space problem you’re having in your drawers and closet. Favorite shirts don’t fit anymore? Allow me to create something unique and fun out of them!

In order to create a quilt, I’ll need 9-50 t-shirts (washed, but not cut), depending on your preference of size. I typically finish your quilt in 3-4 weeks. For that last minute gift, I can finish a quilt in as little as one week with a small rush charge. You can choose the layout of your quilt, AND select the backing color.

Pricing ranges from $100-$500 depending on size, time frame, and other options. Just let me know if you’re interested in ordering and we can discuss the specifics!

A Time of Fasting & Prayer

For all interested, there will be a time of fasting and prayer for Dustin Salter and his family this week:

from
Thursday (Dec. 7th) @ noon
to
Friday (Dec. 8th) @ noon

Participate in any way you can: fast for the whole 24 hrs, skip one meal and pray, forego coffee for the 24 hr period, gather believers together in your area and spend an hour in prayer.

A Time of Fasting & Prayer

For all interested, there will be a time of fasting and prayer for Dustin Salter and his family this week:

from
Thursday (Dec. 7th) @ noon
to
Friday (Dec. 8th) @ noon

Participate in any way you can: fast for the whole 24 hrs, skip one meal and pray, forego coffee for the 24 hr period, gather believers together in your area and spend an hour in prayer.