stooping down

when i think about stooping down i think about plugging something into an outlet. those things are always way down there at shin level. kind of annoying.

i feel like most of the time i'm bent over and wedged into some place i only halfway fit into and it's dark and i'm trying to plug something in. i can't quite see or reach the outlet so it takes forever and i get frustrated with it easily.

or generally i hate stooping down to plug something in because my knees are really bad and i just can't handle the stooping down part. i wouldn't mind if all outlets were like eye level or chest level.

but they're not. so i have to stoop down. and i have to stoop down for all kinds of little stuff. i have to stoop down for all kinds of stuff that's way down below me.

ever wonder what kind of stuff God stoops down for?

God is SO HIGH and so HOLY & Unique that He actually stoops down just to look on the heavens and earth!!! just to get low enough to see!

"Who is like the LORD our God? [implied answer = "NOBODY!"]
the One who sits enthroned on high,
who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth?"

nobody is like that! That's the freaking awesome God we know! He's so big, so other, so unlike anything we can compare Him too... that the heavens & the earth are like a tiny little wall outlet that He has to stoop down to even see.

wow. no wonder this same Psalm says "From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised."

for a God like this, i would say so.

resting

rest.

i had no idea how much i needed rest until i started resting. didn't know how tired i actually was from this past year...

i just fell asleep on the couch today at like 11am without even meaning to. i was out cold.

earlier today i saw Rob Bell tweet something that perfectly describes my sabbaths. & vacation for me is simply a LONG yearly sabbath:

"On the Sabbath- we ask the question: what feeds our soul? And then we do that."

right on. just feeding my soul for these 2 weeks.

i love love love the part of vacation & all sabbaths where we just sleep in until we wake up. whenever that is. i hope i can train myself to sleep in until at least noon 1 of these days.

today was simply an amazing day of rest. and there are still double digit days of rest to go.

Crystal and i were chilling out in the ocean air by the pool and i had my iPod shuffling. randomly hit a song i hadn't heard in years. a flash back to high school days. i don't even know how it got on this iPod. but that song was very appropriate for this afternoon as i just sat there looking at God's amazing creation all around and resting in Him as a form of worship:

"i REST in the shelter of your love & i REST in the WONDER of YOU."

that shelter is BIG and this WONDER is endless.

i let it repeat a few times as i just rested.

I hate all your show

Below is just a chunk of Isaiah 1... God talking to His people saying:

“The multitude of your sacrifices—

   what are they to me?” says the LORD.

“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,

   of rams and the fat of fattened animals;

I have no pleasure

   in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

Stop bringing meaningless offerings!

   Your incense is detestable to me.

New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—

   I cannot bear your evil assemblies.

Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals

   I hate with all my being.

They have become a burden to me;

   I am weary of bearing them.

When you spread out your hands in prayer,

   I will hide my eyes from you;

even if you offer many prayers,

   I will not listen.

Your hands are full of blood;

 wash and make yourselves clean.

Take your evil deeds

   out of my sight!

Stop doing wrong,

 learn to do right!

Seek justice,

   encourage the oppressed.

Defend the cause of the fatherless,

   plead the case of the widow."

wow, that's pretty hard core.
is it possible that God could feel this way about us?

here's Jon Foreman's updated take on that passage from his song "Instead of a Show":

I hate all your show and pretense
The hypocrisy of your praise
The hypocrisy of your festivals
I hate all your show
Away with your noisy worship
Away with your noisy hymns
I stomp on my ears when you're singing 'em
I hate all your show

Instead let there be a flood of justice
An endless procession of righteous living, living
Instead let there be a flood of justice
Instead of a show

Your eyes are closed when you're praying
You sing right along with the band
You shine up your shoes for services
There's blood on your hands
You turned your back on the homeless
And the ones that don't fit in your plan
Quit playing religion games
There's blood on your hands

Quit fooling around
Give love to the ones who can't love at all
Give hope to the ones who got no hope at all
Stand up for the ones who can't stand at all, all
I hate all your show

Instead let there be a flood of justice
An endless procession of righteous living, living
Instead let there be a flood of justice
Instead of a show
I hate all your show

sometimes i think it's possible that we're kidding ourselves. singing our songs but closing our eyes to the more important things God cares about.

just a reality check.

awe & joy & hope

(I originally posted this on August 24, 2009.)

most awesome way to start my Monday was singing this song David wrote a long time ago...

"God our Savior,
the HOPE of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas,
who formed the mountains by Your power,
having armed Yourself with strength,
who stilled the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
and the turmoil of the nations.
The whole earth is filled with AWE at Your wonders;
where morning dawns, where evening fades,
You call forth songs of JOY."
- David the songwriter (Psalm 65:5-8)
beautiful. I'm stoked that God, our Savior, is the hope of all the ends of the earth! That's amazing. That's awesome. I am completely filled with awe this morning... God has captured my sense of wonder because of all his amazing wonders. This morning I am singing songs of joy. I can't hold them back.

i bet this was awesome

(This is a repost from RENOWN on March 28, 2009.)

I do a lot of Bible reading in the shower... no the pages don't get wet. Every morning I usually listen to a few chapters from "The Bible Experience" - it's the straight text from the Bible, but VERY dramatic. Sometimes I even listen to a whole book while I'm getting ready. It's awesome & I highly recommend it. (You can learn more about it HERE. and you can even buy it HERE.)

the other day I was journeying through the book of Acts. This stuff all comes to life while I'm in the shower. These few verses below have been stuck in my head since I heard them. My first thought was "Man! I bet that was awesome!" Check it out...

"'Stretch out Your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.' After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them." (Acts 4:30-34)

WOW! That's what I want to be a part of. I'm praying God does something like this right here in the middle of us. It would be awesome for God to display His glory like this @ Ridge Church and in all of Charlotte and hopefully for the rest of my life wherever I go all over the world.

my 1st communion story (hilarious)

i want to take a minute to tell you a really funny story about the 1st communion i ever served.

communion is amazing.

when you get it. 

it's truly amazing for me and a powerful time of remembrance and worship.
communion is amazing when you understand it after someone explains it to you.

but if you're an outsider/ someone who is unfamiliar with Christian rituals... i can't even imagine what you would be thinking! = "What!? we're drinking some guy's blood & eating his body?"

i used to work at a big church and communion was pretty much this very rigid and extremely stuffy experience. all the pastors would line up at the front in black suits with trays of juice & crackers.
everything was always very insider focused. not very aware that someone might actually be at the church for the 1st time and not know what communion is or what to do.

we had just taken up an offering and then we started passing out the trays to serve communion.
of course i am CRAZY nervous. this 21 year old kid surrounded by peeps in their 40s-80s wondering what's up with my hair... + i'm carrying like 20 communion trays and they feel like they way 50 pounds. i just know i'm going to drop them all in this solemn moment.
what do i even do after i drop them?

anyway, thankfully that didn't happen. but it was SILENT in there. you could seriously have heard a pin drop on the carpet. and NO ONE would dare talk or make a sound.

i get to the back and there is a guy all by himself. and when i say all by himself, i mean that the closest person was literally 30 feet away from him.
from 1 look at this man everything about him screamed = "THIS IS MY 1ST TIME IN CHURCH!"... Or at least at this particular church/ kind of church. he stuck out big time.

so i gave him a big smile (because it would of course be forbidden to speak to/welcome this man during communion) and extended the plate of crackers to him for him to take one.

APPARENTLY an outsider doesn't recognize the difference between the offering plates we pass and the communion trays, because this guy DROPPED A $20 IN THE COMMUNION TRAY!

i was a little surprised and it took me a second to realize what just happened. then i handed his $20 back and said - "oh no man, actually you just take one of these."

he took a cracker, looked at me and said "thank you", and POPPED THE CRACKER IN HIS MOUTH AND ATE IT.

that may or may not sound weird to you but i know the guy felt really embarrassed about 3 minutes later when the Pastor gave this insider cue and 754 other people all picked up their cracker and ate it at the same time!


wow. pretty funny, but also pretty poignant. if we're going to invite outsiders into God's presence and actually want them to experience Him... maybe we should explain what the heck we're doing? knock down some barriers/obstacles for them? just a thought.

when i told some other staff about this guy's 1st communion 1 of them just said = "Don't tell Bob (the Business/Admin Pastor guy) that you gave the $20 back!"

no better way to start 2011

no better way to start off 2011 for me than watching Passion 2011 through their live link.

I guess being there would be better, but this is the next best thing to actually being there to experience it. i'm really thankful that Passion is gracious enough to let us all follow along via the streaming sessions for peeps like me who are too old now to be there.

crazy significant impact on my life in the college years... and still. very thankful. very nostalgic. full of awe for an amazing God who changed/is changing me.

tune in and watch the last few sessions of 2011 HERE.

thoughts from Josh

i am going to share some reflections and thoughts on the awesomeness that was Summer Camp X that Ridge linked up with Next Level to do this past week. Some thoughts probably coming this week.

But for now i wanted to direct you all to some thoughts of our worship leader for the week. Josh Via has an awesome website HERE. He is pretty much my favorite worship leader and has the most amazing heart for God. i love that guy. he did such a stellar job.

He posted some great reflections on an awesome moment from Tuesday night HERE. you can also read his words below.

Summer Camp X with Next Level Church and Ridge Church is well underway.  The room is electric every session and kids are showing up expecting to hear from the Lord.  Last night, Jon Rouleau, the student pastor at Ridge, brought the Word strong from Genesis 1 and 3 about how we lost our identity and how it’s found in Christ. I know of at least three students last night who committed their lives to Christ, two of whom were brothers and were sitting across the room from each other, completely unaware that the other was simultaneously making the same decision. They met in the middle of the room to tell each other and embraced for each other in tears for at least a minute. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what it’s all about. Thank You, Jesus.  And thank you guys for your prayers for us this week.

my fav commercial... ever.

I don't watch commercials. They are a waste of time. I rarely watch TV at all and when I do it's only something I have DVR'd so i skip every commercial.
This commercial may have been out for a while and I just saw it last week while getting my hair cut. Watch it below!


Man! that's just a beautiful and awesome commercial!
Maybe just for me? You might be sitting there wondering why i love it so much?

I think it just combines several of my passions:
*soccer - of course. my 1st love. And still one of my greatest loves. the beautiful game. Of course the World freaking Cup is the epitome and height of that love. I wait 4 years for this moment. the anticipation is KILLNG me. (4 years ago i took weeks off of work to watch every single game! in High School i got sick so i didn't have to go to camp or work the whole month the games were on.)
*Bono - like one of my favorite people.(+ U2 is one of my fav bands.) anyone else's voice and you maybe don't even notice this commercial? his voice is both the essence of inspiration and coolness! Because of all the great things he stands for i just get fired up listening to him talk.

*World Cup - it's coming! need i say more?
*the Nations - everything Global and International is a love for me. i love the nations and i love what brings us together instead of divides us! **It's crazy awesome that a GAME is what can unite us all in spite of our differences all across the world. (I wanna write about 10 blog posts on this idea...)
*Africa - the WC is being played in my fav continent in the whole world for the 1st time ever. I've been to South Africa and stoked to go back to Africa this September. wanna live there for the rest of my days...
*Worship song - the fact that the main commercial for ESPN to promote the BIGGEST event in the world is set to the opening of a worship song!? how cool is that? The awesomeness of the Magnificent One being sung in combo with all these other things is pretty awesome!

anyway, hope you liked the commercial as much as me!

more of the new songs in our hearts - Passion 2010

Monday I wrote a little about Passion HERE. This morning I wrote some thoughts about the beauty of the new songs in our hearts birthed their from Passion 2010 HERE.
I'm just loving these new songs, so tonight I wanted to post some of the lyrics of these songs that were sung for the 1st time ever at Passion 2010 this past week...
I wish you could hear them. you will soon enough...

I guarantee you these songs are being sung in the hearts of a generation tonight as they put their heads on their pillows. As they go back to their dorm rooms in the next weeks these are the songs that will be resounding in their hearts. These words and the awesome words God spoke through Louie, Piper, Andy, Francis Chan, & Beth Moore will be the words that will change their hearts & God may use to change their campuses... and the world.

Charlie Hall has several new ones he led. This one fit with Passion 2010's "Awakening" theme:

"heaven's light shining bright

come and open up our eyes,
You are Hope and You are Life,

let the earth awake

Heaven's Kingdom coming down,

Your heart beating in us now

Moving in Your power
let the earth awake

Whoa oh, whoa oh, whoa oh, 

LET THE EARTH AWAKE!"

Kristian Stanfill brought a new anthem like a lot of his other of his awesome upbeat songs where you get to shout some!

"Some are chasing the treasures of this world

We run to a glorious reward

The only Name worth living for!

Say, Say, Say you believe it
Sing for the whole world to hear it

We know and we declare it, Jesus is King
Say, Say, Say you believe it

Sing loud, sing like you mean it

We know and we declare it, Jesus is King
We open wide our mouths to praise

Let this generation raise

A song of freedom all our days!

I believe/ (I believe)

Your Kingdom Come (Your Kingdom Come)

Son of God (Son of God)

King of Love (King of Love)"

Here are 2 more new ones from Charlie...

"oh oh, oh oh oh,
King of Heaven come down

oh oh, oh oh oh,

King of Heaven come down

We come together in the wave of God

We stand together in Your great compassion

Pouring out our hearts and lives

Fill us up with an expectation

oh oh, oh oh oh

King of heaven come down...

We'll sing the news of all Your grace
We'll help the broken hearted praise

We'll put Your glory on display

King of heaven"

& this one from Charlie... 

"Just like the sun shines/ You have been our Light

Leading us into beautiful places

We've walked through fire/ but You made us brighter

Leading us into beautiful places

Faithful Jesus/ Healing Savior

Compass Center/ Bread of Life

Faithful Jesus/ Cherished Treasure

Our Portion/ Wisdom/ God's great Life

Just like the star at night You shine in the black of night

Leading us into beautiful places
Just like the atmosphere You have come to surround us here

Leading us into beautiful places

God You are here with us, constantly here with us

You are our Everything, faithful and true"

[I love that!]


Tomlin led this one on the 1st night & then a couple more times throughout Passion 2010. The lyrics are straight up amazing like so many Tomlin songs. I think we'll be singing this a lot:

"We are a chosen generation
Rise up holy nation

God, we live for You

You have called us out of darkness 

and into light so glorious

God, we live for You, we live for You, we live for You 
Our God will not be moved

Our God will never be shaken

We run to You/ We run...

You are everything

More than all we need

God, we live for You
I found this world to be not enough for me

God, we live for You, God, we live for You"

Chris and Christy Nockels led this one a few times together. Beautiful repeat part with Christy.

"We know where the Spirit of the Lord is...

Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty
We know living in Your freedom

Living in Your freedom we see Your glory

We know where the Spirit of the Lord is...

Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty

We're Yours and Yours is the Kingdom!

We're Yours and Yours is the Kingdom!

You are the flame that burns inside

We need Your presence more than anything

You're all that we want

You're all that we need"

And then I'm guessing this song will be called Awakening - awesome song that starts so soft and then builds so big. I'm guessing it will be the title track of the live album. It created a glorious worshipful moment at Passion 2010... I could tell just from watching. It was powerful in me here on my couch!

"Holy Spirit we desire awakening

For You and You alone

Awake my soul, awake my soul...
Your will be done, Your will be done in me

In Your presence, In Your power awaken me

For this moment, for this hour, awaken me

Like the rising sun that shines

Awake my soul, Awake my soul & sing!

From the darkness comes a light

Awake my soul, Awake my soul & sing!

Only You can raise a life
Awake my soul, Awake my soul & sing!

I hear Your voice say 'This is my awakening'"

You'll be hearing these songs soon & I'm sure they'll be resonating in your hearts too.

awesome songs...

Of all these new songs, Do you have a favorite? One that REALLY resonates in your soul?

new songs in our hearts

(I wrote a lot about Passion and Passion 2010 yesterday HERE. Passion 2010 actually ends today.)
One of the awesome things about the Passion Conferences is that it's where all the most amazing, gifted, and "God anointed" worship leaders in the world lead their brand new & fresh songs for the 1st time ever. It's the perfect audience to introduce a new song to.

I can't even remember how many tons of songs being sung in churches all across the world today, I heard the 1st time they were ever sung at a Passion Conference. It's a really awesome thing. Louie talked about that on Sunday. I was right with him agreeing big time.
A lot of the sixsteps guys, along with Louie, got together over the last several weeks to write some brand new songs God had put in their hearts specifically for this Passion gathering.
Tomlin ended up writing one called "Awakening" that's pretty sweet.
There are always so many songs that are exactly what is in the heart of this generation & what we want to say to God!

But I would have to say my favorite new song so far debuted at Passion 2010 has been "Our God Is Greater". Matt Redman and Chris Tomlin have both led it, but I think Chris wrote it.
I wish you could hear it, but for now I just want to leave you with some of this amazing song that is resounding in my heart today:

"There's no one like You; none like You...

Our God is greater/ Our God is stronger

God, you are higher than any other,

Our God is healer/ Awesome in power,

Our God, our God...

And if our God is for us then who could ever stop us,

And if our God is with us then what could stand against..."

Passion

I think I have said a ton of times on this blog how the Passion Movement has had the most radical influence in my life over the past 7 years.
No other thing in my 20s has influenced me more than this movement! After I decided to follow Jesus with my whole life, Passion has been the single most influential thing in my life.
(I won't even bother to link to all the times I've written about this because there are too many...)

The name of this blog even comes from the radical God-centered vision birthed in me through the Passion movement which from the beginning ('97) has been all about Isaiah 26:8...
"Yes Lord, walking in the way of Your truth, we wait eagerly for You; for Your Name and renown are the desire of our souls."

Somewhere around 2004 or 2005 I decided that I would leverage my entire life for 1 thing = God's Renown! Life is all about that. I've traded it all in... the hope of anything else I've ever wanted... all for making God famous... spreading His renown to more and more people! That's what I'm living life for.

And that was birthed in me through the Passion Movement (including following books and talks of guys like Louie and Piper, etc...). I remember that Passion '05 was probably one of the most amazing experiences of my life! I'm a very experiential person and I love spiritual experiences and experiencing God as INTENSELY as I can. That happened for me every time I was at a Passion Conference.

So, Passion has been a major part of my spiritual journey in this era of my life. I am who I am today because of how God has used Passion in my life. So many different people and things influenced me up to my 20s, but for these past 6 years or so I have been largely shaped by the Passion movement... maybe that's a better way to say it.

So, I am a little bummed that I'm not at Passion 2010 today. I wrote about that briefly yesterday. I'm very thankful for technology though that lets me still experience it from my couch. You can click HERE and see the Main Sessions streaming. I hooked it up to my big screen plasma TV & cranked up the volume... listened to my fav speaker of all time bring it in session 1 (Louie) & kind of in session 2 (even tho he wasn't even the speaker, haha. + stoked about Piper coming up in Session 4 i think...

+ I've been worshipping in my living room with my fav lead worshippers - the whole sixsteps crew = Matt Redman, Chris Tomlin, David Crowder, Charlie Hall, Christy Nockels, and Kristian Stanfill + some guests who have been part of the movement directly & indirectly = Steve Fee & Hillsong United (Joel Houston, Brooke Frasor, etc...) We have had an awesome time together as I'm sure it's crazy amazing there in ATL.

So, since it's Passion 2010 this week I might be blogging more often about it. Just my thoughts on what's going down there... as if I were there.

Most of all I am still in constant prayer for God to move in power there like He has so many times before in my life.

I'm praying that he births a passion in so many other 20somethings for His renown just like He did in my heart years ago! 
I'm praying that thousands and thousands follow God to "Do Something Now" and they end up changing the world.
I hope that thousands camp out in the "GO Center" like I did for a few years and go after it with God for the nations...
And most of all my prayer is the same as Louie's last prayer before it started:
"We need You more than ever.  You are everything.  Be happy at Passion 2010.  It’s all for You, Jesus.  Amen"

i wish i were at Passion 2010

i can't believe i'm not at Passion 2010 right now!
i'm hating it.
i wish i were there so bad. This is the 1st Passion gathering i've missed since 2003. Honestly it hurts my heart to not be experiencing the movement at this very moment.

i've had a heck of a day and am physically and emotionally drained, so i'll write more about Passion 2010 tomorrow.
i've been praying for over a week now for the 22K + who are there. Praying that God does revolutionary things for His glory in the lives of peeps there thru these days... just like He's done in my life these past 7 years.

Glorify Your Name God!