music to cleanse the soul

I love the thought process that goes into preparing for worship. I'll have a tune in my head....or in my soul depending on what it is that I dig about the tune....the music or the lyric. Then as I start working up the worship set, some metaphor will jump me or some scripture will come to mind. Then the list usually just plays itself out nicely with whatever scriptural theme the speaker is lining up.

Tonight was a little different. I planned worship based on the group bible studies that would be going on AFTER the worship service. It definitely went with the speaker's points, but probably hit home later on.....at least I hope it did.
Tomorrow we're talking about Zaccheus and Paul on the road to Damascus. Our speaker this weekend is a very good friend of mine....Will Snipes. He is often a bit secretive about what he's actually speaking on, so it's great to see how God will line up what we use for worship and what he uses during the message.

This is a perfect change of pace for me during this hectic time of year when school is ending and things are up in the air. Kelley sounded amazing tonight eventhough I messed some stuff up. The practice time after worship was just as worshipful for me and, listening to her voice when she's confident always drives me crazy.

That's all for now. I'll take some pics tonight and get them up tomorrow.

cheers

Hurry up and wait...

I love youth retreats man!
This weekend, Kelley and have the honor of leading worship for the youth retreat at First Baptist Church in Traveler's Rest, SC. Right now, though, I'm still in Columbia because Kelley got caught in traffic on the other side of town. Nobody's fault, of course, but man does it suck knowing that you're going to be late for such a cool gig!
The theme for the weeken is "Strangely Dim"......kind of from the old hymn "Turn your eyes upon Jesus".
I'm excited about our set list for tonight. We'll start it out by singing a call to worship in the form of an updated "Turn your eyes upon Jesus" that uses a pretty powerful line from a U2 song as a bridge. We'll then work our way through praising a bit and then describing (through song) the amazing contrast between things of earth and things of God that knowing God throws into sharp relief. We'll do the old Caedmon's call tune "All I know" that describes the blind man, and then "My eyes have seen Holy" by Bebo Norman.

At the end we'll bring the personal persistent image of God back into the picture by singing "Oh love that wilt not let me go" to finish it out.

I'm pretty stoked.

So pray for a weekend that God will use to change some lives! :)

cheers

Home sweet home

This is where I live, and in the imortal words of Glen Phillips, "the only reason anybody still feels safe is most people still knock on the door"

Pretty exciting things happening around Columbia these days. This morning when my wife left for work, we switched up our routine on accident and found that there was a blue van that has been "casing the joint" over the past couple of days evidently. They figured out our timing and as soon as Kelley pulled away, they pulled up in front of the house. Unlucky for them I was running late and saw them. As soon as they realized that I was home, they hauled tail.

So in light of my new-found appreciation for land and home ownership (on which my hypocrisy knows no bounds....but more on that later), here are some pics of our cool place.


this is the walk to the back yard...


a fuzzy view of the back yard and recently used canoe from the right side of the house


our lavender garden...


our welcome mat....



just in case some shady guys in a blue van misunderstand the purpose of the doorbell...

...The smell of a wet dog...

Today I took the dogs fishing and, of course, Jack and Camden HAD to jump in the water.
Jack chased a couple of geese across the pond which was hillarious and Camden in her reserved state just sat in the water and watched. I usually have problems getting them in the canoe when I fish, but today, both of them jumped right in the boat and were ready to go.
Every time I caught a fish, Jack couldn't stand it....he had to stand up in the boat and come over and try and bite the fish. He always gets rowdy even when I cast. It's so cool watching his face because he knows that when I throw that spinner bait out, there will most likely be a floppy green thing with a big mouth and point fins that comes back attached to it. I don't know how far I would go to say he's "smart", but he definitely understands cause and effect. And with fishing, he LOVES the effect!

The best thing was getting back in the old '78 Ford....that had been warmed by the afternoon sun......the dogs soaked and sitting beside me on the bench...and that smell hit me in the nose like a jab in a prize fight. Sometimes we get the privalege of experiencing life in it's beautiful simplicity. For me today....fishing with the dogs...Seeing their excitement when a fish was brought into the boat...breathing in deep the unique stench that filled up the hot cab of the ugly truck when we were heading back home....and smiling the whole time.


there's nothing like...the smell of a wet dog...

An Ode to Veruca Salt (or "Why couldn't we be like Dogs?")

Teach me to breathe...a breath of fresh air
Take from me that...which without I'd still fare
Play me the game of life if you dare
I'll whine and complain all the same

Dependent on all...which around me exists
Little mishaps...become impassable cliffs
I want it now...give it or split
Don't lecture or call out my name.

It's you I despise...with your upright stance
Watch me fail...show me that disdainful glance
I'll sue your pants off...if just given the chance
I'm Victim. What else can I claim?


I wish that Americans could learn from my dogs. They eat what they're given, they love people...unconditionally, they screw up and simply put their ears back in recognition of their short falling. Most of the time they simply want to love on you. They're annoying as hell, but just because they want your attention. They never blame things on others, or demand for more than they need. They're thankful for what they get and they get tons in return.

Today I'm weary of victims. I'm refreshed by the individuals I've come in contact with who know the beauty of independent living. Taking credit where it's due, giving credit when it's due, being honest, being laid back, not sweating the small stuff, FORGIVING, and not taking life too personally. To those of you who I've met that fit any of these previous statements....the world is better because of you. Here's a big bloggin' SALUTE!
For all those victims out there....you know you are....the people who get in a car accident and think "hey I might be able to make some money off this guy if I act like my neck hurts!".....the ones who take a thunderstorm personally or whine about the weather and gas prices. GROW UP!
There are literally millions of people who consider you to fit into a small sect of the world's population that represent 75% of the world's wealth. Trust me....you have it great!
I'm sure that all of you I'm talking to have had some horrible childhood experience that makes the rest of the world owe you a tax break or welfare, but please understand that it's scientifically proven that the universe does not revolve around your cranium.
Now I'm not talking about the oppressed.....those laden with heavy burden from bureaucrats, dictatorships, or persecution.... I'm talking about those who can't see all the good that they have because they're too busy complaining about some meaningless detail in their day.

I feel like Robert D Rayford from the John boy and Billy Big show......I even feel a bit republican for all this ranting and raving......Mark...I know you're laughing. Forgive the tirade, but boy does it feel good to vent.


I'm going to go get out in the sunshine. Happy Tuesday to all you fiercely independent bloggers.

Rained Out...

I had a Tai Chi workshop, a canoe trip, and an evening playing gig lined up for today.

Tai Chi workshop...check

Canoe trip....bleep deee dee deep de de de de de deep da de deep....Urgent weather report shows scattered thunderstorms for Camden and Columbia all afternoon long. If you were planning on being on on the water......DON"T! heheh...suckers!

Crap! I was really looking forward to that trip. The kids from my Outdoor Adventure class that haven't canoed before were going to come with me for an afternoon out at Goodale State Park. Oh well...there'll be other days.

I think the gig tonight will still be fine. I'll just set up in doors. I haven't played out in a while, so I'm pretty stoked about it. Playing covers is always tough though because I feel like I'm selling out a bit. I need to keep in mind that it's giving me an opportunity to work on my craft with songs that people know. Putting little tweaks on each one so that it sounds original....changing the feel of it altogether so that people listen to the words this time....maybe even slipping in an original if I feel like the room and crowd are in a position to give me sound a fighting chance. I cherish those moments.

I'll shoot some pictures of the gig up later.

A day off......

What therapy there is in knowing that the road lay open ahead of you...that 1450 cc's of American-made engine lies rumbing beneath you, chomping at the throttle cables for a jump at the dotted lines....and that the tight curves of a back road leading to somewhereville are aching with anticipation for the heat that the tread rubber will make when the lean angle increases to 35 degrees. Man I love days off.

The pic is of my Harley on a backroad in SC. Hope you like it.

Something in the water...or the brownies...

I remember movies like Erin Brokovich where small towns often talk about being careful of what's in the water. School teachers and nurses often report strange happenings from their jobs when everyone is acting the same way or having the same ailment....like evidently full moons mean many babies will be delivered.
Whatever the normal things are....today was one of those crazy days. I think most of the kids at school got bit by the stupid fly, and all of the teachers that I talked to got bit by the apathetic fly. I even had a kid in my outdoor adventure class GET LOST WITH A GPS UNIT in his hand behind the school. How does that happen? I can see the headlines now......"School teacher fired due to lost student during a Global Positioning System unit". That would make "dumb crook" news or something.

In other news, Kelley is back from her 1 day adventure into the wide world of house-sitting! She had the apathetic bug bite her as well, so we're now in the process of sinking down into the couch cushions for a long night of mindless photoreceptor stimulation. I mean seriously....who DOESN'T love cinematic adventures in the comfort of your own home!?

I think I'll take off work on Friday. Listen to the Weepies and eat some Pillsbury Grand Flaky Layers biscuits.

All Alone

Righto!
So Kel is out with a friend...house-sitting tonight and I'm all on my lonesome. Today will here-to-fore be known as "random topic" day.
I know.....let's talk about Canadian-Style canoeing.
These guys aren't just known for hockey and bilingual provinces....they can also paddle with the best of us!
I'm in the middle of a canoeing unit in my Outdoor Adventure class at Spring Valley and I caught a video on YouTube today entitled Canadian Canoeing. Basically you sit the canoe completely different. One person in the middle of the canoe, on your knees, distributing your weight only on the left side of the hull. The gunwale will basically sit 2 inches above the water line with this type of paddling and it maximizes the effect of a steep rocker. Your maneuverability is top notch, but you have to learn one-sided paddling....basically only paddling on the left side of the boat.

So since I'm "batching it" tonight, I took the canoe down to the pond and tried it........hard as crap! It definitely makes the canoe more maneuverable, but it's really tough to master. I'll keep at it and hopefully claim a conscientious objective to traditional paddling.

So next time you go canoeing.....remember Canada!

In other news I have officially decided I'm way too busy in an unhealthy sort of way. One of my close friends at the high school I teach at and I have started to fill up our schedules for the summer with technology seminars. We go to other school districts and present on possible technologies that teachers can use to improve the "quality" of learning that goes on in their classrooms. It's cool. It pays, but for some reason I've always loved Kelley time, or outdoors time more than $ time. Call me Thoreau, I know, but there's something blissful about sitting on a mountain top and not having a pressing engagement. What's the hurry anyway? I think a whole freakin' lot of us press on ceaselessly day after day as if present time is just a preamble for the proverbial "what's to come" that never ends up getting here. Like the yoga clothes brand claims...."be present"...and enjoy it at that.

......now off to enjoy the present