A soul is healthy so far as it is connected to God in real-time.
— Mindy Caliguire
Melancholy isn’t a requirement to be a great artist
From Rembrandt to Radiohead, some of the greatest art and music has been produced by very sad people. Because of this some artists actually see sadness as virtue: not only a rite of passage towards producing great art (which it is) but the place one must continue to dwell to be a good artist (which it isn’t).
Yes, pain and death gives art depth. But I don’t want art that plunges me into those depths without bringing me back out again. Give me art that tells the rest of the story, that hints at hope and resurrection.
Artists take heart: you need not be melancholy to be great. It is art borne of deep joy and settled contentment that human hearts long for. Don’t aim to create art that simply “makes people feel something,” aim to create art that makes people feel alive.
The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.
— Frederick Buechner
Ruthlessly eliminate hurry
— Dallas Willard in response to John Ortberg’s question, “What do I need to do to be spiritually healthy?”
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Recorded this worship song, Benefits, the other night. Here’s the MP3. Enjoy!
The sun is always rising somewhere, so all over the earth there is a continual chorus of morning-birds greeting the new day.
Nick Vujicic. This guy is an icon, a living word from God revealing peace, hope and love. Peace, for with what can he attack? Hope, for if he is overcoming then surely I can. Love, for he has turned his attention outward to caring for others rather than feeling sorry for himself. When I feel self-pity or discouragement I think of him.
Obedience is rooted in love, not fear; it is activated by affection, not by force. Keeping the commandments, for Christians, is not dull rule-keeping but passionate love-making: each commandment is a channel for expressing and sharing God’s goodness.
— Praying With Jesus, Eugene Peterson
The humility of God: working through our bad decisions
When someone does not take my advice I have at times, sadly, desired their failure so I may have the inner satisfaction of being right. It is not so with God.
It wasn’t good enough for Israel that God was their king. They wanted a human king to be like the other nations. (1 Sam 8) God’s response? A warning, but then look here: He gives them what they want. It’s true, Israel experienced much pain because of their kings. But they also experienced much blessing. Through Saul comes David, and through David comes our most beloved texts and the Messiah Himself. It’s an amazing thing: When we don’t choose God’s best for us God does not forever hold that against our account. God is love, and love keeps no record of wrongs. Oh the kindness and humility of the Lord! He stoops to work inside the boundaries of our bad decisions. We pave paradise and He continues to grow flowers through the cracks.
Thy Rod And Staff
Wanting to make sure a reference to a shepherd’s staff in a new song I’m writing was accurate I did a little research and stumbled upon this lovely sermon. I love written sermons. Here’s an excerpt.
The staff, more than any other item of his personal equipment, identifies the shepherd as a shepherd. No one in any other profession carries a shepherd’s staff— a long, slender stick with a crook or hook… The staff is used for the care and management of sheep—and only sheep. It will not do for herding cattle, horses, dogs, cats or church members. It is designed, shaped and adapted especially to the needs of sheep.
One word describes the staff’s function in the shepherd’s hand: comfort. Whereas the rod is a symbol of power, discipline and defense, the word “staff” represents concern and compassion. The shepherd uses the staff to guide sheep gently into a new path or through some gate or along dangerous, difficult routes. He does not use it to hit the sheep or to discipline them. Rather, the tip of the long slender stick is laid gently against the animal’s side and the pressure applied guides the sheep in the way the owner wants it to go.
From Sermon by Robert E. Albritton, Ph.D.
