The Perplexingly Complicated Complexities of Over-Analyzing, Pt. 1

Man, it's been a while since my last post - sheesh! Things have been busy, in a good way. Time with my wife, leading worship, gigs here and there - it's been a productive summer thus far. Nonetheless, my blog can't suffer the consequences! So here we go, let me share a recent daydream of mine with you...

One of the most visited daydream topics I have in my little noggin is this: the various ways I go about over-analyzing my relationship with God. Oh yeah, don't pretend to be so innocent, you've over-complicated God plenty-o-times, even if you're not a Christian...especially if you're not a Christian.

It seems the entire world, at one point or another, has gotten God all wrong. We stress and strain to understand how to please Him, what His will is, how to "be good." All with good intentions, mind you. We don't mean to make it complicated, but it does get pretty...hairy...doesn't it? Next thing you know, you're more anxious about God-stuff than you were when God was on the back-burner. Predicament? Yes. But is it meant to be?

...Nope.

You think God's plan in drawing you to Himself was to confuse the dickens out of you? To wear you down? To make you stressed about spirituality? What the heck kind of God are you imagining? I say imagining because that's not Jehovah God. He's not a gear-grinding, bait-and-switch kind of God, wringing His hands with sadistic delight as he cackles fiendishly in a dark alley somewhere. Alas, so many of us see Him as this villain, whether we realize it or not. Oh that He would open our eyes to the ways we undercut His character and sell Him short.

Contrary to popular opinion, He's a loving God - greater than all our fears and worries, He's biting at the bit to draw close to us, even when we over-analyze this roller coaster ride called life. We huff and puff and get all worked up on how we should live, what God "expects" of us, what we should and should not do, and all the while God is offering life...REAL LIFE. And all we have to do is draw close to Him (James 4:8). The Jews in the time of Jesus thought they had God all figured out - look up the Talmud. They added to Moses' book of the law God gave him, thinking they could attain righteousness by following all these crazy laws that no human could ever live up to. Really? How's that workin' for ya? All the moral strivings, all the wasted effort, all the spiritual hernias...they wouldn't accept the fact that Jesus came to fulfill the law, as He said, meaning that the law God gave to Moses on the mountain all those years ago was complete in Jesus (Mt. 5:17-18). It's a fragile concept, so let me delicately unpack it a bit:

Have you ever taken a good look at the law of the Old Testament? I'm not just talking about the 10 Commandments, I'm talking about Leviticus kind of stuff here, the ridiculous stuff! Check it out. And hey, many people have walked away from Christianity because they thought the law of Moses was something to live up to. Given, the basics of God's heart are obvious in the law - things like murder and stealing and such are not up for debate as going against God's grain. But the other, like, 76% of the law passed down to the Israelites in the wilderness sounded downright silly! I mean, all the offerings, the very specific preparations for the sacrifices, the ceremonies, the do's and don'ts...some are understandable and for the good of the people's spirits, but most just sound petty and demanding! Kinda has the same feel as when a band sends a rider to an upcoming venue's event coordinator, listing all these ridiculous demands (only green M&M's, cases of water at room temperature, etc.)  Was God trying to be a narcissistic rock star? Far from it.

A lot of the first 5 books of the Old Testament feels like God's giving the Israelites a rider, but in reality, God's main purposes were two-fold: 1) The Israelites were fresh out of slavery for over 400 years, so they were pretty unfamiliar with all that's involved in being a free nation, especially when it came to governing standards and spiritual standards. They were like a newborn in a big scary world, and God was Fathering them, so He laid down healthy parameters so they wouldn't wander any more than they needed (they did plenty of wandering as it were, trust me). Just as a good parent has disciplines for the family, God saw that His chosen nation needed a system of order to keep them from falling apart at the seems. 2) Here's where we come in: for both the Jews and the Gentiles (non-Jews), the law is ultimately one thing - a list of impossible demands. Ahem...what?! Shane, you're going to hell for that one. Nope, hear me out. That was God's plan all along. Sure, a good bit of those laws were for the people's spiritual formations, but He knew all those other silly rules and regulations were burdensome. That's the point: God's plan was to make the Israelites realize that after all those years of trying to live up to the law, straining to follow every detail of every last rule to gain God's approval, it cannot be humanly done. It's an impossible undertaking, and those who try end up killing their heart. Why would God put such a plate before them? To make them realize their need for a Savior, a divine substitute for all their sacrificing and striving and straining to grow close to God. That's where Jesus comes on the scene, and that was God's plan all along.

"Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer: 'Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You’ve concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people. Yes, Father, that’s the way you like to work.' Jesus resumed talking to the people, but now tenderly...'Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.'"(Matthew 11:25-27a, 28-30)

Make sense? We can't make it on our own, and it gets so burdensome when we make Christianity about "living right" or "being good" or "being everything God commands us to be." Wow, how legalistic is all of that? Sounds like the law to me, and thank God He sent His son to represent and redeem what I could not live up to. Accepting Jesus is basically saying, "God, it's pretty obvious I can't live up to any standard of perfection...no one can...it's impossible. I need a solution. I need Your solution." Remember the Scripture I quoted a while back? "God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." He's the solution. He's come to bring life, and life to the full, remember? That's the gospel, the good news for all - we can't live good enough to appease a holy God, but Jesus' perfect life and sacrifice stood in the place of our frailty and made a way to God the Father. No more sacrifices, no more song-and-dance for God's approval. He's as close as the breath in your lungs right now, and He's waiting for you to give it up and come to Him. More on this soon to come in part 2...

Desire

Just the other day, I started reading one of the first books published by one of my favorite authors, John Eldridge. It's called "Desire," and it's been exactly what I expected - amazing. I'm only on chapter 3, but the insight has been jump-starting me already in ways that I've been looking for. God's good at that, trust me - which kinda leads me into my point.

Eldrige pointed out something about desire that I've never really caught in this way before, but totally supplements the view of God as the Good Father that I've been seeking and embracing the past couple years. He pointed out (in a much more profound and concise way, to be sure) that Jesus' encounters with people all through His time physically on earth hold one strange thing in common: Jesus asks people what they want all the time. The lame man by the pool at Bethesda, the blind men by the side of the road, the woman at the well, they all have one thing in common: Jesus addresses their obvious need with a direct question or tone that seems to have an obvious answer. It's not that Jesus, God in the flesh, doesn't know what's up. He wasn't ignorant to their needs..."Oh, you're blind and you want sight?! Oh my! Shocker!" Please. What Jesus was getting at by asking such obvious questions was the underlying desire, dormant in so many of us. Yes we're hurt. Yes we're in need of a miracle, in need of a personal touch from God in our lives, and God knows that...but are we aware of the desire that's feeding that need?

What Jesus was doing by asking "what do you want" is quite simple - He was trying to awaken their desires. They already knew their brokenness...more than familiar with that, thank you very much...but Jesus knew that they were unaware of true life, true healing, true hope. He was awakening them to the very real truth that their desires were rooted not only in the need to be healed (physically, spiritually, emotionally), but in the need for a healed view of God and the intimacy that ensues. This is the awakening, the fundamental joy of life, the obvious yet illusive truth that haunts humanity: He is life, He is healing, He is hope. "Oh that's nice, Shane, sounds great. A silly ideal, maybe, one I've heard in some form or another most of my life. Thanks for the sermon, here's a nickel for your trouble." Sure, brush it off, no biggie. But if you'd rather chew on it a while, let's dig into this concept for a minute.

Here it is, I'm going to make a daring proposition, one that may ruffle some feathers (not that I mind, a good feather-ruffling is healthy when it comes to the truth). I propose that humanity as a whole, every human being who ever existed, has one profound thing in common on the heart level, at our very core: we all yearn for completion, for purpose, for life to its fullest and most dazzling extent...we all desire wholeness. Here's where my proposition gets ruffly: whether you've realized this or not, whether you agree or not, God sent Himself in flesh (Jesus) to give us that wholeness. Everybody knows John 3:16, right? "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." Sunday school stuff, you know. But not many people know the next verse, John 3:17 - and in it lies the key to unlock many a heart with the freedom only God has for us. "For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved." Many people don't realize the freedom in this verse...Jesus came to give life, to gift humanity with the wholeness its always wanted but never knew it needed, or at least never knew how to ask for it.

Jesus is always bringing it up, bringing up the obvious in our lives. But no matter how much we may hear how much we need Jesus, it seems to resonate in a different way when Jesus poses the proposition. You see, He doesn't wave picket signs of hateful, offensive words to get His point across. He doesn't thump you to death with a Bible. He doesn't make you feel like garbage to pressure you into His salvation. He's none of the above. And if you think He is, you better go back to the drawing board. He is life to the fullest, not condemnation. He didn't come to condemn the world, but to open its eyes...like a blind man seeing for the first time. And so He asks, even now, to you right where you're at - "what do you want?"

Blaise Pascal, a famous author from the 1600's, once wrote, "There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every person, and it can never be filled by any created thing. It can only be filled by God, made known through Jesus Christ." There is a distinct hunger inside each of us, but so many have no idea what it truly is. Honestly, it's God, and the fullness of life He's made available through Jesus. All we need to do is believe that Jesus truly is that solution for the world, that He paid the ultimate price through His sacrifice and that He truly is God's Redeemer for this world. That's pretty much the gist of it. Can you take that step? Are you tired of wondering how to attain life? Go to Jesus...He already attained it for you, and it's waiting in His arms.

The Rain Train

I'm telling you, I've never seen so much rain in my life. It's been raining where we live every day for literally like three weeks. It's like a rain forest or something, or Seattle at least. Our place is on a bit of a slope, so the water from the neighbor's yard keeps draining into ours every day, which has turned our yard and driveway into a mud pit...and not the fun kind. Rainboots every time we go outside, several puppy baths, more than several harness washings. So, needless to say, Jodi and I are verrrrry tired of the world of wetness around us. In light of this, recently I've been trying to find the silver lining in the proverbial rain cloud and take this whole rain thing with a grain of salt. Frustrating as it is, there's gotta be a bright side. Then it dawned on me - a daydream! All this frustrating rain made me ponder the flip side of the coin and remember all my good memories that have come on rainy days:

1. When Jodi and I went to the Dominican Republic for our honeymoon, it was rainy season. It rained every day we were there, but the storms came and passed so quickly, not one long-lasting shower. Right outside our door was a beautiful view of the very nearby mountain, and I would watch as the huge rain clouds would migrate down from the colossal mountain, as if they were waking from their sleep inside the massive piece of earth. It was breath-taking. The everyday rain was romantic in a sense, keeping the cobblestones shiny and the air fresh, nothing like the so-called "mountain fresh" scent in laundry detergent. What a hoax. Yes, the rain from that week of paradise with my bride added that certain charm that no room service or all-inclusive access could ever replicate - and as a component of our first days together as one, it will always be a part of us.

2. I remember one of the closest I've even been to God was during a rainstorm. It was a college retreat sophomore year at some retreat center in the woods, and most of the retreat was not too far above average for me. The guys I was hanging with the whole trip were pretty apathetic to the functions going on as part of the retreat, so we spent a good bit of the time in our room goofing off. It was wet and muddy the entire trip, but after a couple days of mostly staying inside, card games got old pretty fast. I felt boxed in, and I had to break out somehow. That's when I felt God's Spirit calling me outside...don't get creeped out, it was beautiful. And no, I'm not crazy. It was absolutely pouring outside, and no one wanted any part of it. But I felt a strong urge to spend time with God, and everybody was inside, so I couldn't get alone. So I put two and two together and realized the only way I'd be able to get alone with God was if I went outside. The Spirit was tugging me. I had a strong pull, almost as if God were telling me straight up, "let's take a walk together." It was amazing. I took a walk with God through the wilderness, laughing with Him, crying with Him, asking Him real, hard questions...and you know what? I got some real, tangible answers. I got a lot of peace from that walk in the pouring rain, soaking wet but loving every step.

So that leads me to the end of my daydream, which was this: I wanted to ask you, what's your favorite rainy memory? Comment and tell me!

For Us

Just dropped in to share a thought, a daydream as it were...take it or leave it...seriously though, take it...it's like a carrot on a stick dangling right in front of your nose! Take it!:

I touched on this a little in Bone Thrower, but I've been really marinating on this for the past year or so: God is for us. Did you catch that? Hmm...I know, I know, let me guess, you've heard that one a thousand times before, and it doesn't ring a bell of profundity because you can't decide whether or not God is: 1) a big bully on the universal playground, never relenting in his unreasonable onslaughts, never giving you a break; 2) some immaterial-entity-blob-thing floating out in space, never really giving a darn about the goings-on of humanity; or 3) an egotistical, self-serving, self-absorbed dictator who demands praise to satiate his lust for power. 

I could keep going, but hopefully you catch my drift. Let me challenge you to marinate for a while on how God is actually for us...maybe even over the course of a year or so like me. I've noticed that God really marinates the truths in me that I need to grasp the most, the truths that really shape my view of God and the world in a healthy way. The more you get to know God personally, the better your understanding of His character becomes. He's not waiting with baited breath for you to mess up, then say "I told you so!" when you finally do; He's the one who mends your wounds when you fall, because you will fall, and He knows that. That's called grace, and it's one of the key components of God's character. In fact, Scripture goes so far as to describe God as the Perfect Father. You see? This whole truth of God being for us, it's definitely going to take some time to sink in because your whole life has been filled with reasons to doubt that.

People forming your opinions, experiences damaging your trust in God, even poison preached from the pulpit - hey, I understand. I've been there, done that. I've had to sit down and very intentionally think back over my life to recollect all the times people have swayed my heart from God, or all the times my experiences made me doubt His presence in my life, or all the times people of influence have either ignorantly or knowingly painted God in a light that doesn't reflect His true character. I've had to rehash all of that...and ask God to redeem it. God can, you know. I've gotten so much clarity from God about His character through quiet conversation with Him, time in His word, time listening to or reading trusted spiritual resources. "You're cra-cra, Shane." Whatever. Let me ask you this: when the crap hits the fan in your life, do you have Daddy issues?

My heavenly Father redeemed my opinions, convictions, rationality and intellect from all the poison people have tainted them with. Scripture is laced in its entirety with references to a kind God, a good King, a perfect Father, a God so in-love with you He's jealous of your affection. He's for you. My church's worship team, Elevation Worship, wrote a song called Open Up Our Eyes, and it references one of my favorite Scriptures. Nehemiah 4:20 says, "Our God will fight for us." How powerful is that? Who else would fight for you other than one who loves you madly, wildly, unrestrained? "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." ~ Jesus (John 15:13). God is willing to fight for us and alongside us, to lay down His life for us through the life of Jesus, who was God in the flesh. Pastor Furtick (Elevation again, haha) said something awesome a while back in one of his sermon series. He said God is both good and great. He can't be just good and not great, or else He wouldn't be powerful enough to fight for us, to heal us, to be our God; likewise, God can't be great and not good, or else He would be a dictator and anarchist with no penchant for kindness whatsoever. And it's so true. That's why God being for us is such a life-changing concept - He is that combination of good and great. 

If that's not doing it for ya, start with a more simplistic view: God is your ultimate cheerleader, your perfect support system. He's a positive, encouraging force in your life, someone who never drags you through the mud or wears you down. I take great comfort in seeing God through the view of this truth, because then I can hear God clearly everyday, speaking life to me, "You are my own (Exodus 6:7), you are my chosen (1 Peter 2:9), and I will never abandon you (Deuteronomy 4:30-31; Psalm 16:9-11)." Make sense? He's not a bully, a blob or a big-shot, the Giver of life (Job 33:4). If you know Jesus personally, don't get hung up on God's wrath and justice and all the other mud the world flings at Him. Picket-sign prophets on the street corners and Bible-thumping preachers hiding behind their pulpit have painted God in a false light for far too long. Yes, He is just and will exact vengeance...on our enemies, not us. If you know Jesus, you are God's child...why would He turn face and put a holy hit out on you? Do you think God is bipolar or something? When the "Day of Judgement" comes - you know, the one all the poisonous preachers hypes up by damning everyone, because deep down they need to feel secure in their standing with God - yeah, that day is for those who have turned from God. If you're one of those turners, you can still turn back to God! He's for you too, even though you turned from Him. Funny thing is, He doesn't want anyone to experience His vengeance! He'd rather not do that whole "fire-and-brimstone" thing. Read 2 Peter 3:9 for proof.

So what do you do with all this? Well, if you're far from God and would like to turn to Him, message me on Facebook (Shane Tracy) or comment on this blog and I'll share how you can do that! If you know Jesus already, chew on it for a good while, and let it seep into the pores of your everyday life, affecting the way you view the world and God Himself. He's a good God, He's great, and He is for you.

Jump: Part Dos

Fun fact for ya: I've searched the Bible many times for passages that speak to praising and worshipping God, and of all the times I've kneaded through the pages of Scripture, I've never once found a passage condoning an "arms-crossed" style of worship. Or an "eyes-glazed" style. The infamous "angry-eyebrow" stance, or the even-funnier classic, "The Bewildered Brow"? Never mentioned. Or how about one of my personal favorites, the "standing-dead-still-staring-contest-with-the-worship-leader" technique?...errr, nope, thank God. Never once in God's word is praise/worship cast in a lifeless, bland, colorless, boring or unemotional light. It's always described in vivacious, interactive, boisterous, poetic, and bold terms.

Like I said in my last posting, if you're one of those Christians who doesn't feel the need to physically interact with God, insisting that He knows your heart and expressing emotion in worship is irrelevant, I'm not against you. Heck, I might even stay friends with you! ;)  But I will say two things: 1) you're half-right, and 2) I feel bad for you.

1) You're half-right because, ultimately, God really is concerned with your heart. That half you've got right, but you're forgetting the other half: your heart is connected to the rest of your body. David, the Psalmist, writes on multiple occasions about praising God "with all of my heart." What does that mean? How does that connect with the rest of my body expressing praise? Let me put it this way: if you went on a date with your one true love - your amor, your fantasy on two legs - and this dreamboat tells you, "I am so desperately in-love with you," following that passionate statement by slowly sliding into the wettest, steamiest kiss your lips have ever tasted, would you step back, ponder the moment quietly, and solemn-faced, awkwardly say, "that was great, thank you so much" without so much as a twitch of excitement? NOOO!!! If you have a pulse, you're gonna lay a giant wet one on those lips in response! That's worship. It's that one word: response. Responses are an outpouring of emotion toward something/someone. Responses aren't dead or half-baked. They are surging with emotion, even if that emotion is apathy or, at the very least, "The Bewildered Brow." Once you grasp this, you can move from being half-right to right-on...which leads me to why I feel bad for you.

2) I feel bad for you because YOU'VE ALMOST GOT IT!!! If you know God knows your heart and choose to stuff your emotions because of it, you don't realize this but you're so close to actually worshipping unashamed! See, God knows all, right? He's all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful, all-present. In other words, He's the man...sort of. Anyway, you're time in worship with God is kinda like a marriage: you can have emotion toward your spouse over wearing that sexy lingerie, and your spouse knows that makes you all flustered inside, but it's an easier, healthier road to intimacy when you act on your feelings and express those pent-up emotions. If you didn't act on those, imagine how robotic that love scene would be? Definitely not romantic, that's for sure..."beep, boop...you look lovely dear, beep." "Beep bop, thank you honey, let's have marital relations, boop beep." "Sounds...boooop...nice. Here we go, beeeep." Personally, when I'm being intimate with God in worship, the last thing I want is to be robotic. I don't want my flesh, my natural tendency to stuff my emotions toward God, to get in the way of passionately pouring my oil on His feet and wiping them with my hair (if confused, see Luke 7:36-50 for a beautiful example of someone unashamedly worshipping Jesus).

So now what? Hopefully you're longing for the next step in your worship life. If so, let me fill you in on the secret formula to worshipping with all you've got: just...do...it. Yup, that's it! You're like, "what?! that's not advice, that's stupid!" Well, here's what I mean: you know that itch you get in worship to branch out a little? Yeah? Do it. You know that apprehension you get during worship, the one that keeps you standing and staring like a straight-faced statue? Yeah? Toss it. Whenever you feel the urge to raise a hand or move a limb or two, do it! Try it! Whenever you feel the wave of embarrassment or apprehension to move out of your comfort zone, that's exactly when you should be moving! I promise, you won't regret it. God already gave you freedom in so many ways - really, it's us who keep ourselves tied down, us who don't allow freedom to sink into our hearts and minds and subsequently flow out of our mouths, hands and feet. God gives freedom, but we stay enslaved in a lot of ways because we can't get past ourselves. If we are free, then we must embrace it, taste it, and celebrate it. Stop getting in the way of God's freedom taking over your life. Take the bold next step in your worship life. Jump...

Jump: Part 1

I've been on a very interesting journey since my 7th grade year, an adventure that has taught me so much about music, God, and the Church (big C = all Christians as a whole body)...a journey called worship leading. Full-time, part-time, volunteer - I've run the gamut, and I've still got a lot of blocks to go around. One of the coolest worship leading experiences I've had in my career is Jump Camp, a middle school Christian camp I've led worship at for the last three years. That's where I've been this past week, and every year, that's where I wish I could stay just a bit longer.

Camp is a little piece of heaven - leading worship with my great friends and pro musicians/worship leaders Joy, Tylar, Mike, and Kevin (Kaio is at Hillsong's school in Australia this year, but he was our awesome drummer the first two years!). The camp, like most every Christian camp, is full of activities, games, sessions, and spiritual growth. Every year, we lead these teens/pre-teens in worship before each session, and to put it mildly, it's pretty wild :)  We sing in worship at the top of our lungs, bounce around like jumping beans, dance in the occasional conga line - the most fun you could ever have in corporate worship. It really made me daydream about how corporate worship usually goes in most church gatherings in America - let me give you a hint: it's not nearly as fun or lively. And that's sad, isn't it? 

My wife and I absolutely love being part of a church that embraces spirited worship and teaching, but most Christians can't say the same. So here we go, right? The old merry-go-round debate over contemporary vs. traditional. Well, I'm not exactly trying to get into all that touchy business, so don't get all defensive, mmmk? I love hymns, and I love modern worship songs - to me, the difference is in the energy. Of course God is present in the silent moments and the quiet worship - just as present, actually - but what is worship if it doesn't have some kind of energy behind it? And when I say energy, I don't just mean the conga line :)  I mean the spirit behind the worship. The fervency. The burning heart. The uncontrollable itch on the inside to express your passion for God on the outside. That's it, and most people just don't do anything about that itch. "Oh, that's improper. This God-stuff is supposed to be solemn, not slap-happy. Plus hey, I don't wanna look like an idiot in front of all my friends, all these strangers...nah, God knows my heart, I'll just stand here with my hands folded so as not to raise any eye-brows and distract from worship." 

Wow, I can't tell you how many people are thinking this on any given Sunday morning. And wow is it frustrating the heart of God, not to mention worship leaders like myself. Sometimes I feel like I'm trying to lead zombies in worship. Dead, rotting, moaning, drooling, limping zombies...maybe not physically, but definitely spiritually. What is holding us back? If you are afraid of what others think, God doesn't want your worship anyway. In Matthew 10:32-33, Jesus says "Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven." Jesus is being brutally honest here: if you're embarrassed about Jesus, about worshipping Him, about being associated with Him in any way, He's gonna give you exactly what you are advertising on your personal billboard: absolutely zero ounces of Him or His presence. If you're too proud to put some sauce behind your worship, what makes you think you'd even want to be in Heaven? Heaven is an eternally glorious place of ongoing praise, where all of creation worships Christ as Lord in various ways...if you can't do that and put some energy behind that here on Earth, would you really want to in Heaven? Tough pill to swallow, so chew on it for awhile. 

So at this point, hopefully I'm painting a picture of something stirring your heart. If so, come back in a couple days and I'll tell you how to get out of the blase worship rut. If not, forget about it and go back to your comfy style of zombie worship...but if you haven't responded to that stirring yet, I sure hope you come back.

Favor

Another great week in the books...a fast week, but a great one. Man, crazy number of days since my last post! Can't be havin' any slippage, gotta keep daydreaming!

Ok, story time. (woot!) Isaiah 43:18-19 says, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." My last couple weeks have been full of God's favor and new things - the fresh, crispy, leafy kind-o-goodness. Mouth watering, foot-stompin', goodness-gracious-sakes-alive kinda stuff, ya know? Here's the highlight reel (in no specific order of occurrence or stellar-ness):
¹⁹ 

1. Much to the benefit of my music career, I'm now working with an entertainment agent from Key Signature Entertainment here in Charlotte! (cue theme song, "The Jefferson's")  I've been in contact with him for months, and I've been working on a promo video to showcase to his clients and for my own use. Honestly, I've been hitting the pavement hard over the past year, but I haven't seen the results I've wanted. So I decided a couple months back to enlist the help of a professional, and let me tell ya, it's already been proven as a Grade-A, top shelf, "heck-yeah" decision. My promo video was superbly created by the pros at The Bench Studios here in Monroe, and once it was finished, I sent it on to my agent. He called me within like an hour, asking if I am free June 28th. Say WHAT?! :)  He said he sent my video to a client right away and they asked if I'm available for an upcoming gig they're hosting. How amazing is that? God is fantastically faithful.

2. My wife's birthday is tomorrow, and we're gonna celebrate with a trip to the doctor to check on little baby Tracy! She's not showing a bump yet really, but she can feel a bump coming. We're very excited, and very happy!

3. Got a new hairstyle! I was bored with my boring old bore-iffic bore of a haircut, which I covered with a stylish hat more often than not. I went to our friend, Angy, and she gave me a style! Kinda messy on purpose, ya know? Gelled scruffy, haha. I don't know how to describe it, sheesh. I'll post a pic on Facebook.

4. Heading to Jump Camp next week, a middle school Christian camp up in Indiana. My friend Joy got a great group of worship musicians together a few years ago for it, and we've been going back every summer ever since. I love leading these kids in worship, it's so much fun! We jump and dance to the newest tunes, rockin' it hard for a purpose. Plus it's right down the road a bit from my wife's family, so we get to visit with them for a week or so! Perfect retreat from the norm, which is nice once in a while.

5. I'm driving to Clearwater, FL Tuesday to lead worship for my friend Joy's church! (same Joy)  She asked me awhile back, and it worked out great for this week. We'll have lots of fun, and I have some people from a church down there coming to observe me lead for a church position they have open down there.

Big stuff happening, just wanted to fill you in! Details of my adventures coming soon!

UPDATE: Played my first show for Key Signature last night! Carmel Country Club, it was a fun atmosphere by the pool. I played for 4 hours, one of my longest performances I can remember, but it was fun. No CD sales, though, I need a mascot or something, hahaha. Any takers?