True worship?
Lights… Camera… Action…
I remember being caught in the trap of thinking worship was a 45 minute light and sound show.
Now…I could probably use a swing back in that direction. I humbly confess I may be a little out of balance.
My current thought bubble… “Corporate ‘worship’ (aka singing worship songs) is far from worship.”  The truth in that statement is that corporate worship is not worship in it’s fullness.  The lie is that it isn’t worship at all.
With that said, here is a list of what God says about true …

Him
by: Ian Clancy
Calling God’s bluff that salvation’s not enough
Pursuit’s in lue of too much pain
The first drop of water is reason enough
For us to never drink again
But all He wants is more
and all we want is safety
For us to say we’ll go with what we know
is to have nothing to say
We walk across coals to prove our faith when we’re called
to seven times the fiery blaze
But all He wants is more
and all we want is safety
So step outside of the door and …

I just posted article #100 last night!
Post 100 pushed me off of the sometimes dangerous, sometimes freeing pinnacle of self-reflection.
I looked back over the previous 99 and remembered!  I remembered for myself and for my friends.  I remembered joyfully and reluctantly.  I remembered with a hope for the future.
The previous 99 offer death and life, sin and holiness, hope and hopelessness, confusion and clarity, transparency and guarded hearts, truth and deception…
It’s a little like life itself.
How can we be wrapped up in so many dichotomous stories.  Stories twisted and tangled …

Anxious.  Restless.  Can’t sleep.
I was sitting here tonight with a restless heart.  Don’t know why.  I feel like I need to sleep, but I just didn’t feel ready to put a lid on the journey called today.
So I’ve been sitting… thinking a little.
I downloaded Andrew Peterson’s new single (Purchase Here on iTunes)
After AP’s song finished Andy Gullahorn was next in my iTunes line-up.
These lyrics grabbed that restlessness and tackled it to the ground:
I know I just display my foolish pride
When I try to be an island to myself
You must be …

“The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field which someone has found; he hides it again, goes off happy, sells everything he owns and buys the field.” (Matthew 13:44)

This is taken from Brennen’s book, Abba’s Child, pages 116-118 read more by clicking title…

If God is present at every point in space, if we cannot go where He is not, cannot even conceive
of a place where He is not, why then has not that Presence become the one universally celebrated
fact of the world? Read more by clicking the title above…

Those of you who have fathered a child may understand what it feels like to hold your little one in your arms knowing that you haven’t the ability to give him the one thing that would wipe away the tears. I stood there with my boy in my arms as helpless as a fireman trying to explain to a child that he can’t retrieve her favorite pet from the burning house.

THERE WAS NOTHING I COULD DO.

Although Doyle Dykes is among the ranks of country music’s greatest legends such as Chet Atkins, Roy Acuff and Grandpa Jones, his name is virtually unknown outside the inner circle of Opry musicians. It could be that he is a generation behind and the genre has lost it’s luster amidst “new country”. However, if you love the “old” stuff or if you are a guitar player of any style, you can’t miss this living legend. Click title to read more…

I embraced the practice of transactional friendship! WIIFM – “What’s in it for me?”

In other words, I love other people simply for what they have to offer me or my organization. It’s ugly, but it’s true!

warfareI heard the African missionary speak to the church I was attending in 1999. He was sharing stories from his previous year. They seemed so dramatic. In my mind the stories sounded something like near poisonings and kids crawling in bed with a snake, but I can’t remember for sure. Spiritual Warfare,” he spoke. “Hogwash,” I thought! You moved to a tribal area in Africa… what were you expecting…