Jon foreman’s lyrics

I wish i could write lyrics like this man…

In this world of news, I’ve found nothing new
I’ve found nothing pure
Maybe I’m just idealistic to assume that truth
Could be fact and form
That love could be a verb
Maybe I’m just a little misinformed

As the dead moon rises, and the freeways sigh
Let the trains watch over the tides and the mist
Spinning circles in our skies tonight
Let the trucks roll in from Los Angeles
Maybe our stars are unanimously tired

Let the wars begin, let my strength wear thin
Let my fingers crack, let my world fall apart
Train the monkeys on my back to fight
Let it start tonight
When my world explodes, when my stars touch the ground
Falling down like broken satellites

Let your love be strong, and I don’t care what goes down
Let your love be strong enough to weather through the thunder cloud
Fury and thunder clap like stealing the fire from your sky’s
All that i am hanging on, all of my world resting on your love

The Bachelor

I haven’t watched this show before.  and I haven’t reallly watched it this season.  But I did watch the last two episodes.

So here is the lowdown.  Out of hexa women, Jason (the bachelor) finally filtered it down to two girls.  Molly and Melissa.  According to his word, he was “in love” with both of them.  And no wonder, he basically had a honeymoon with both girls for a number of weeks before he dropped the rock.

Anyways.  Long story short, he chose Melissa.  Yay? Well, apparently no.  6 months later, he came back and said that things changed, that the emotions weren’t there anymore.  And that after giving Melissa a chance, he could no longer “control” his mind or heart, he was in love with Molly.

Here are my thoughts:

1. A man should not allow his emotions to control his decisions, especially the decision to get married.

2. Marriage is about commitment, solid and immovable commitment

3. The heart of a man will never be satisfied, don’t expect marriage to be an exception (likewise with a woman)

4. Honeymoons should not precede weddings, just like sex should not precede marriage.  There’s a reason why desert is last.

5. You can’t take back “I love you.” And you can’t take back pieces of your heart.

6. Don’t get with a girl who you know can be vengeful or contentious. If you marry her, she will make your life hell, if you break up with her, you will be destroyed.

7. Don’t marry a man who is okay with emotionally investing in more than one woman at once.  In time he will not want you.

8. Men are fools. Women are too believing.

9. Marriage is not about two individuals, it is about three, one of them being God.  And it is in fact more about Him than it is about the other two.

10. A woman must be willing to follow, trust, and support her husband, but he must be worthy of her confidences.

11. Both husband and wife, must be experts and communicating with the other party.

12. The Gospel of Christ is a Gospel of grace and acceptance. Marriages are meant to reflect that.

13. End it earlier before later.

14. Marriage cannot happen until both parties consider the other more valuable than anything else, anything, except for Christ.

15. Don’t get married for looks, sex, or stability.  All of those things will go. And none of them are guaranteed.

16. If you are unwilling to let go of something. You are not ready to get married.

17. The ring is only as meaningful as the man’s integrity.

ugh.

Arrows in a Quiver

Today I didn’t go to my home church.  I went to my old home church.  I guess it’s not really home church anymore, but it still sort of feels like home, okay, well not as much these days.

I got to stop by a Sunday school class that was reading a book called, Tender Warrior. My first reaction was intense laughter. And then I realized it was the title of a book, not the creative imaginings of old asian church men.  Anyways, I sat in on the class, and listened, while playing Tap Defense, to the teacher talk about the image of children being the arrows in their fathers quiver as derived from Psalm 127.

3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children of one’s youth.
5 Blessed is the man
who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

If you think about it, it’s a rather cryptic verse.  But anyways, it was quoted in the book (ie Tender Warrior) , authored by Stu Weber, a military  man turned pastor (also the name of a rather skillful guitarist).  His take on the verse is very interesting. creative. epic.  As I remember it, the illustration is meant to help us understand that as fathers, we must all learn to let go, like an arrow from the string of a taught bow.  Fatherhood is about learning to release our children like arrows into the heart of the….um, the future?  Something like that.  Anyways, it’s about letting go.

I think that’s too creative, and too reminiscent of High School English.  The verse doesn’t seem to be making that point.  Sure, arrows are let loose, but what does that have to do with a “Heritage” or a “Reward” or the hand of a “Warrior”?

Here’s what I think, and here’s what I think is the right understanding.  Children are an inheritance, passed down from the Lord.  And the inheritance is our stewardship.  In middle eastern culture, the inheritance is passed down, added to, and passed down again.  Likewise children are given to us as a stewardship, and the stewardship changes hands when the children become fathers.  Children are also a reward, a treasure, a prize, a thing of great value.  Simple enough. So what then of the warrior’s quiver?!

The important question to ask is not, what part of the arrow/quiver/warrior picture can most naturally relate to children, but rather what is the mind of a warrior when his quiver is full of arrows that should make him happy (i.e. “blessed”).  In ancient Israel, the warrior at the gate who carried a quiver of arrows was often stationed there in order to hold off a raiding adversary or instill fear in an enemy messenger.  The more arrows you had, the more you could shoot.  The more you could shoot, the more likely you would make an impact in the battle.  I’m not jumping any lines of logic here am I?   I think it’s quite obvious why a full quiver of arrows would make a warrior happy, as compared to an empty one. It’s no wonder why the psalmist says, “He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.”  If I were defending a stronghold, and the enemy came to negotiate, I would want not to bring one bullet in a gun, but a full vest of clips.  Wouldn’t you? otherwise, you = epic fail.

So no, I don’t think it’s about release, or even about letting go. The likeness between children and arrows, is clearly that both are purposefully contributed into the world.  The more arrows a warrior has, the more he can contribute to the battle.  The more children a father has, the more he can contribute to the cause of God.  They are our heritage that we must preserve, the vehicle that will carry our names into the future, and the cherished prize of our very lives.  When we raise our sons, we raise them in order that they don’t waste their lives on video games and adolescent vegetation, but in order that one day they will affect change that will bring lasting honor to their families and to their God.  And the more children we have, the more opportunities we have for greater impact.

A fitting quote concerning a fitting warrior.

“His only regret is that he has so few to sacrifice…”

Sorry kids.

cheers!

ministry

let’s do it.

I’m in the middle of getting involved in youth ministry, media team, music team, and community group at my church.

I think it’s been almost a full year since I’ve been really involved in ministry.  Crizzap, I’m out of touch.

Greek

I’m reviewing my greek again.  Got a thousand or so cards.  Hello rote memorization.

Twenty-Four

Twenty-four oceans
Twenty-four skies
Twenty-four failures
And twenty-four tries
Twenty-four finds me
In twenty-fourth place
With twenty-four drop outs
At the end of the day .
Life is not what I thought it was
Twenty-four hours ago
Still I’m singing ‘Spirit,
take me up in arms with You’
And I’m not who I thought I was
Twenty-four hours ago
Still I’m singing ‘Spirit,
take me up in arms with You’ .
There’s twenty-four reasons
To admit that I’m wrong
With all my excuses
Still twenty-four strong .
See, I’m not copping out
Not copping out
Not copping out
When you’re raising the dead in me

Whenever it’s my birthday, I always get real depressed. Why? Because the man that I am, after 24 years of living, is still such a poor and broken wreck.

O God, I’d like to be the second man. now.

Sometimes,

I wonder about my life, and what I’ve amounted to.

Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.

- Albert Einstein

How you treat your wife.

A fantastic quote from a sermon from John Street.

“…The measure of  a good shepherd is how he treats his wife… how he shepherds his own…”

…and for the single, I suppose it’s how you treat your girlfriends.

new TMS website

If you haven’t seen this yet, check it out, it’s very well done:

http://www.tms.edu/

Church.

I’ve been attending this church in Redwood City called Redeeming Grace for the past few months.  It is pastored by ex-ex-crossroads shepherd Rick Carbannneau.  So far, I’m liking it.  Despite the fact that Rick is an ex-ex Crossroader, the church atmosphere is nothing like what I’m used to.  It is very community based, and the social dynamic is extremely broad.  For those who are looking for TMS in a box, you won’t find it here.  The doctrinally driven will unavoidably be a bit sub-impressed.  However, after a few months, you’ll begin to understand why.  RGC’s mission is not to equip and educate the layperson so much as push them forward into community-driven outreach.  Despite the fact that you may not feel challenged theologically, you will feel challenged socially.  There is no sitting in dark rooms pondering theological quandaries here.  Which I suppose is good for the cerebral type of person.  My only real hesitation is in full embracing their “Missional” label.  I think it could be better called “The Christian Responbility of Evangelism,” instead of mixing it up with the office of missionary, which involves crossing language/cultural barriers to plant the gospel seed in the midst of unreached ethno-lingustic people groups.  And also, I do still desire for there to be a clear teaching of the place of the Church in relation to Israel and the promises of the OT, rather than expositional shortcuts  to Church application.

Anyways.

I’ve recently begun to entertain the thought of serving in youth ministry at RGC.  I think, all the great experiences I had in college are finally itching to see the light of day again.  And I guess I’ve always wanted to help set kids straight too. those rascals.