Beyond Eloquence

The only poem I have ever written:

With words an idea is released from its prison
With words a feeling is given flesh
The impact of words is both now and forever
For with words, legacy is left

All nature is subject to the nature of words
For oceans “roar” and thunder “rolls”
And though they do not, words make it so

The abstract is made concrete, the distant made relatable
Words have power to challenge and affirm
Power to affect

Yet within the immeasurable reach of words
There is one limit never to be overcome
For how can words be effective when aimed at You, oh, Indescribable?

You who cannot rightly called “great”
For said word is used for the profane as well
You who cannot be called “awesome”
For that has lost its worth
You who makes the oceans “roar” and thunder “roll”
Are so far above them that describing You is not an option

We who have words may have power
For we wield definition and perception
But praise be to You who dwells above words
Reign beyond eloquence

In Love pt 4

God dropped this in my heart and this one thought has been on my mind all day:

If I love others based on how I am treated in return, I am merely loving myself indirectly.

I do not want to present you with a long exposition of this concept because the impact of it for me is in its concise and convicitng truth. Meditiate on it and allow Him to apply it to your life to bring about change...I sure am.

Bravo Maestro

Last night Amanda and I got the privilege of meeting Maestro Anton Coppola. In Amanda's words "He is probably the most famous person we have ever met." Indeed! Before I get into the thoughts that I took away from our conversation with Maestro, here are some facts about him and his life:

• He is 93 and about 4'10" which already makes him amazing.
• As a child, he sang at the Metropolitan Opera in a children's chorus under the baton of the great Giacomo Puccini
• He has conducted countless operas and musicals and composed and opera himself!
• He has many operas memorized, meaning he steps up to his podium, opens to page 1 of the score, raises his baton, and conducts the entire opera without turning a page. This is a magnificent ability if you consider that he must know every note written for every instrument (violin, horn, cello, oboe, harp, piano, voice) as well as the timing of each second, as well as the volume dynamic. Unreal!
• He is Nicholas Cage's uncle.
• His family created the Godfather films and he conducted the score.

Okay, now you have a picture of the magnitude of this man's life. Amanda and I, along with the a few other friends and colleagues, wait outside his dressing room until he invites us in. He shakes each hand as we enter being sure to ask our name and repeat it back to us. After we showered him in well-deserved accolades, he begins to address us with simple words the simply inspired me.

"Are you musicians?" (most of the group responds affirmatively) "Well, things are really bad right now so it's amazing to see young people like you interested in music. Just know that it isn't...hmmm...you know what, I don't want to discourage you. I grew up in the Great Depression wanting to be a musician and everyone discouraged me because there would be no money in it. But you have to do what you feel in here (patting his heart). You have to devote your life to what you are most passionate about, what makes you feel alive in here. I pursued music with my whole life. Looking back I realize that it probably wasn't the 'right' choice. But it is the only choice that made sense in here (heart) and I still love it today. You have to remain true to what you feel in your heart because that is all that will matter when it is all said and done."

Anything a 93 year old says, I am going to latch on to with a fierce grip. These words, however, gripped me. It was amazing to see such raw honesty. "I realize it probably wasn't the right choice." He admitted that the wisdom of those in his life was valid and that the difficulties in his chosen path were far greater than he could have anticipated. Yet it was still the only thing that struck a chord in his heart (pun-somewhat-intended).

My life is a little different from the average 20 year old. Many big choices have already been made, but in all honesty, there are still many open doors before me. How many times have I considered giving in to what makes more sense, seems more logical, and is just more beneficial? One dangerous habit I see in myself and in my peers is that we tend to make decisions based on the needs of the moment and leave our heart's passion aside waiting for everything to "look right" before we begin pursuing it. Perhaps this is a flaw of the youthful. Perhaps it is a flaw of humans. Whichever the case, it is fatal to defer the drive and zeal we have in our hearts.

Amanda commented on the way home that the reason Maestro was so healthy at such an age probably has much to do with the fact that he has spent his entire life doing what he loves. Being in a undesirable circumstance has a way of draining the life out of us. We have all had to do things we simply did not want to do and most of us exclaim quite dramatically, "This is killing me." Unfortunately, we often do not realize the reality of the lethal effects such a situation may have. If our life is void of passion, it is void. We must acknowledge the dreams in our hearts and pursue them! They are the pulse in our existence. Working a job to make ends meet can be pretty frustrating. However, working a job to make ends meet and seeing your dreams get further rather than closer is the lethal part. What I am saying is that you are responsible to pursue those God-given dreams in your heart that only you know about. Otherwise, you will find yourself empty and resentful in everything that you do.

Be warned, however, that even the life of your dreams can be quite a nightmare. Do not idolize your dream. Every path in life has dark, dark valleys. In fact, that is the whole purpose behind what I am saying. When you find yourself in a valley on the path of your dreams, you may feel like giving up. Yet in that moment, the one ray of hope that can get you through is the realization that "I am made for this."

Maestro's words reminded me of Paul's charge to Timothy. Paul has literally spent his life ministering the Gospel. Yes, he had to make tents on the side to support the ministry, but I can just see Paul biting his tongue as he fashioned those tents considering each one as the funding for one more soul to be saved and reminding himself, "I am made for this." Paul has been beaten, mocked, rejected, abused, and sentenced to death. In his last days before execution, Paul begins to communicate with a vibrant and hopeful young pastor named Timothy. He could have very well told Timothy, "Turn back while you can. Pursue law or farming and make a decent living, raise a family, live a comfortable life, die at an old age. The ministry has bucked me and then trampled upon my head. It is exhausting, frustrating, and painful." Yet, like Maestro did in front of me, I believe Paul still felt a flame in his heart when he pondered his life's passion of preaching the Word. He honestly and boldly exhorts Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:3-5:

"You're going to find that there will be times when people will have no stomach for solid teaching, but will fill up on spiritual junk food—catchy opinions that tickle their fancy. They'll turn their backs on truth and chase mirages. But you—keep your eye on what you're doing; accept the hard times along with the good; keep the Message alive; do a thorough job as God's servant."

After nearly drowning in the ministry, Paul confidently looks back at Timothy and beckons, "Come on in, the water is fine!" He doesn't say it will be easy. He doesn't say people will respond well. But he DOES say that Timothy is called to serve in this way. He DOES say that Timothy is made for this.

Cue Maestro quote: "You have to remain true to what you feel in your heart because that is all that will matter when it is all said and done."

Please, consider your dreams well. Do not defer them any longer. Even if you can only take baby steps like journaling about what you want to do or making a five-year plan for how you might get your dream started-DO IT! By at least actuating our dreams we find meaning and hope to draw from in everything else. Knowing your purpose fills you with a sense (which means a motivating awareness) of purpose.

As all this is reeling through my head, Maestro concludes his brief but profound monologue. Then with the bravado that only a man of his status could carry, he looks at us and sharply says, "So, good luck and good bye."

Bravo Maestro...bravo.

God on I-4

I commute. My home, my job, and my school are 52 miles apart from each other resulting in a 104 mile commute-5 days a week. I am not complaining, believe me. I love the drive time and how it gives me a great excuse to just sit back and enjoy an hour and a half of my life. I think all kinds of thoughts. I sings ALL kinds of songs. In fact, most of the foundations of my relationship were laid somewhere between mile markers 38 and 58 on I-4. (Anyone trying to work on your relationship should try commuting with your significant other since you are forced to gain good communication when you are stuck in a car doing 70;) This past week I was driving by myself and God started showing me some things that I wanted to write about...

The drastic weather here in Florida lately has notably effected the landscape. In other words, everything is brown right now. Much of the grass that runs alongside Interstate 4 is dry and dead and the trees stand bare like ominous skeletons cheering on the chaos of rush hour. Driving home a few days ago I noted how bleak everything looked. Then God showed me something. Now whether He organized these events for me to see or heightened my awareness to see them I do not know. All I know is as I looked at a tree void of leaves, I noticed how all that was left was the moss that hangs from the branches like droopy sackcloth. As I watched, a beautiful bird, perhaps an eagle (pardon my incompetent ornithology), swoop down and grasp all the moss that it could. The majestic creature soared alongside my car for a few moments until it reached a half-completed nest further down the road. It added the new addition to the work-in-progress and I smirked at how there was such purpose for something I thought was so uselessly ugly.
A few moments later I saw the fields of brown grass that are usually filled with grazing cows, void of any signs of life. Dead grass does no service to hungry cows. A few moments later I passed a row of trees that were dead on the top but had lower branches that were regaining their green vitality. I then saw cows with necks raised up, eating leaves from trees. Cows eating from trees!! Perhaps my child-like attitude towards life attributed more amazement than necessary, but I am still in awe over that sight.
How many times has this dumb cow looked at the grass of my life and fretted over the lack that I see? How many times have I stressed about how everything would work out? How many times have I neglected to see the purpose in moss and low-branches? This is a long passage, but please read it openly. Jesus said in Luke 12:
"Has anyone by fussing before the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? If fussing can't even do that, why fuss at all? Walk into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They don't fuss with their appearance—but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. If God gives such attention to the wildflowers, most of them never even seen, don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Don't be afraid of missing out. You're my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself."
Jesus has a way of lovingly stopping us in our tracks doesn't he? According to Him, if we worry, it means we don't really know God. Ouch. We must be steeped in God-reality, seeing things the way He tells us to see them. Where others might see a dry and barren land, we must be the ones gazing upward for manna and looking to rocks for water. When others are looking at the mountains of economic and circumstantial impossibility, we must be the ones who look BEYOND the hills to where our help comes from. If you know your Father, you will trust Him. I need to get to know Him more...perhaps you do too.

In Love pt 3

I saw this a couple of days ago and instantly knew I would have to write about it. Please, study this picture.

Kill 'em all
Let God sort 'em out!
Only God will judge me.

Pardon me...WHAT?!?!?

I am not going to take the time or energy to address the theological inconsistencies with this, and I refuse to try and dive into the political squabble that it is trying to entertain. I actually have no interest in discussing what this person is saying nor am I angry at him or her for saying it. Rather, I am more intrigued by the liberty in which it was said. It got me thinking about the way that I, and other Christians, speak. Our self expressions are often just that, expressions of our very selves. We are often careless with out words, but that is not what I am referring to here. I am talking about when we say what we mean and we mean what we say. In this instance, "Kill 'em all." Even if it was intended to be humorous, it was still intended. How would you feel if you were 'em? The death threat would be bad enough, but then what about the symbol of the cross being used as justification for your murder? I'll admit up front that I am pulling no punches here, but please know that I am not nearly as passionate and enraged about the words on this car as I am about the things I see in myself.

I may never say, "Kill 'em all" but what do I say? What do you say?
"She is an idiot." "I hate people who..." "I want to punch him" "I am so stupid" "People like that make me want to..."
There are plenty of other things I could list, but I hope you can see that I am talking about our emotionally-charged self expressions. Please take caution when exercising your freedom of speech. I would submit to you that as Christians, even as American Christians, ESPECIALLY as American Christians, we really do not have the freedom of speech. When we entered into covenant with God through Christ, we gave up our rights to do whatever we want to do. As I have written in my love blogs before, the way we love others is the very proof of our salvation. When it comes to loving others, it is encouraging to know that as we do so we are doing it unto God. However, that rule applies when we are firing off our verbal bullets. The way we speak to and about others shows our heart towards God. James puts it this way:
"The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth!"
How can you kill 'em all, call 'em idiots, punch 'em, and despise 'em, when God made 'em? I am really serious about renovating the way I speak, even in my frustration. The Bible tells me that the things I say are actually samples of my heart. If I can verbally execute someone in a moment of anger, what must my heart look like? I urge you to look at the little (your name)-isms that pepper your vocabulary. It would be a very sad thing for your love, the evidence and completion of our relationship with God, to be compromised by the way you speak. Choose your words wisely and pass them through the filter of love.
...and if you don't have anything nice to say, don't plaster it on your car at all.

Bird Brain

Yesterday I watched the Met's production of Puccini's La Rondine. The plot was basically about a woman, Magda, who had everything except true love. She meets a man who seems to fill her every dream and leaves everything she has to live this alternate life she has always desired. La Rondine, the swallow, flies from the safety and comfort of her nest to find something else. To make a beautiful and long story short, she ends up empty and discontent with this new life and decides to go back to what she had. Obvioulsy there was much more fanfare than that...it's opera:)

However, it got me thinking about being truly content. Are you truly content with your life? Or is the grass greener on the other side for you? A couple days ago I was sitting on my dock with Amanda, my lovely gf, and for once instead of gazing at the sunset on the lake, we were looking back towards the house. Upon looking at our lawn she said, "I never realized the grass was so green." Now you need to know that our lawn is nice, but it is no landscaping marvel. Like most Florida lawns you can find plenty of scorched brown among the green. However, from the distance we were at, all you could really see was the overall color: green.

Sometimes we are discontent with where we are because the brown is so evident to us. We gaze elsewhere and see how much greater it is "over there." Not only is this a sad waste of time and energy, but also a dangerous distraction. Like Magda, many of us may dream of leaving our humble nest and flying to something, someone, some place, that seems more fulfilling. Yet, when we get there we realize it is not all we thought it was. Instead of this flighty behavior, we must learn to be content where we are and seek the beauty of God instead of the beauty of a far off land. If we would stop hopping around staring at the brown blades and would use our wings to get a bird's eye view we might realize that the place where we live has an overall color: green.

Don't be a birdbrain. Love your life. After all, God fashioned it. True, there may be some seriously rough patches, but if you have patience and let Him have control, He can take care of those. Don't fly the coop...renovate it!

Broken Toe-A Lesson Learned

I broke my toe Saturday night. Okay, so I am not medically certain that I broke it, but I hit it pretty bad and I tend to err on the side of exaggeration. My family was sitting around having a nice time and laughing about all sorts of things. I decided to film the moment to capture the memories and the minute the camera turned on everyone got quite. To keep the moment interesting I passed the camera to my girlfriend and got up to taunt our new puppy to chase me around the house as she always does. I began to run quickly, navigating all the obstacles that exist in a house right after Christmas. Yet in my rush, I neglected to dodge the solid oak dining table and chairs. My toe connected and bent in a sickening way and well...the rest is on video to go down in shameful and comedic history.

Anyway, Sunday I was up to preach a sermon called "The Overture of Heaven." I dealt with how God prepares us for newness in our lives. At one point I was discussing the dangers of rushing a season of preparation and the Lord quickened the painful event of the night before to apply to what He was trying to communicate. It was so simple and profound for me that I had to come home and write about it.

Many people believe and understand that God has a destiny for their lives. This grand scheme is overarching and all-encompassing. Yet the Bible also teaches us the the STEPS of the righteous are ordered by the Lord. The daily, tedious, seemingly insignificant progressions of our lives have just as much to do with God's plan as the milestones do. Many times, the Lord puts us in a position to be prepared for what He is going to do next. If you are anything like me, seasons of waiting and slow preparation are quite taxing. Drive, ambition, and urgency are usually very valuable qualities I possess, but when it comes to waiting patiently, they create quite a conflict. This entire year has been a year of waiting in some of the deepest and most personal areas of my life. For almost 8 months of the year I struggled with God to just "get on with it!" As I was preaching yesterday, though, God showed me what that is like.

When you are in a race on a track with a finish line in front of you, sprinting is crucial, especially in the spiritual sense to which I am feebly trying to analogize. Going fast in a place that is built for speed makes sense. However, sprinting in a place that is made for walking slowly-like a house after Christmas-will probably result in breaking your toe. If God has brought you to a place where He wants you to act, please sprint with all your might. However, if he has placed you in a season of preparation, please don't rush. Let Him do what He needs to do. His timing is perfect. When you finally do reach that event for which He is preparing you, the fact that you soaked in every designated second of His divine preparation will make it that much more valuable and invigorating.

...and please...don't run in the house while being filmed.