Thoughts Behind 'How He Loves'

Recently I just recorded my own version of How He Loves. It's a very popular song originally written by John Mark McMillan. (If you would like to hear the story behind why he wrote this song, Click Here) It's the first release of what I hope will be partnered with a small worship EP I'm planning to record.

The cover art carries a story that I don't want to pass on without sharing. One day I came outside to see the makings of a gorgeous sunset. The sky was very pretty, but it's beauty was not so irresistible that I felt obligated to run and grab my camera (as I had felt so many other evenings before). Some time later I glanced out the window and saw how the colors had progressed and at that moment I had to run and capture the moment, it was too beautiful to pass up. That's when I had a revelation. God does not find one moment more beautiful than another, it's the total sum of all moments that He loves and that's how He loves us. He doesn't pick and choose moments by which to define the means and the measure of His love. He loves us simply because we are just as He most complexly is. He looks at the whole display and unfolding of our life and finds it totally and exquisitely beautiful.

 

Loving on University Ave.

I had a free day today so I decided to do something I've been wanting to do since last year (don't ask me why it took me so long). Let me first make this statement: this is not my original idea. I saw this online one day and have been wanting to recreate it ever since.

The poster says, "Love (take all you need)". I drew 1 up, made about 10 copies, parked my car and walked around University Avenue posting them wherever I felt like.

Why do this? Why not? We all need love and although they won't get it from ripping off a tab, it may get them to thinking- which is one of the main purposes of art in the first place.

My version of the concept has a hash tag attached to every tab. It'll be interesting to see if people tweet in response to why they took a tab from the Love poster. #L247

I did meet one guy while I was putting the posters up. He came up to me and said, "So you're the one hanging the posters. Well since you're spreading some love; do you want to pet a bunny?" In his arms he had a little white baby bunny that he let me pet.

 

 

Photo Rescue

On my journey back home from Las Vegas, my family and I stopped in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Pleasant little town with a killer coffee shop (Highway 61 Coffee Shop) an old Coke Museum and an antique shop. In the antique shop I found a bowl full of old black and white photos. I've become sort of a lomography fan so the bowl interested me. As I sifted through the old photos I found some truly stunning shots.


The photos were certainly beautiful with excellent placement, angles and contrast, but more than being aesthetically pleasing, these were someone's stories. Come to find out from the antique dealer, a man came in one day with all of these photographs and asked the lady how much she'd give him for them. As much as she tried to dissuade him from selling them, he threatened he would throw them away if she didn't want them and therefore she resolved to take them off his bitter hands.

It's sad. I took these photos because they were $1 a piece and beautiful, but these are someone's stories and someone's history that will never be told or passed on. Who knows what happened to that man that made him so adamant about disposing of his history. But it's made me a bit more respectful of mine and far more mindful about how my stories will be passed on.

"But I know we're all made out of shipwrecks, every single board. Washed and bound like crooked teeth on these rocky shores. Come on and let's wash each other with tears of joy and tears of grief. And fold our lives like crashing waves and run up on this beach. Come on and sew us together, just some tattered rags stained forever. We only have what we remember." - 'Wooden Heart' by Listener

 

 

 

Vote for $3,000

The Home of Hope and Dreams has a chance to win a $3,000 grant. The money will be given to the project with the most votes. GOOD put out a challenge to see how someone would use storytelling to bring about change. As you may know, I've written a song for the orphanage in Uganda to try and raise money for this orphanage and all their hopes to be a blessing to the poor and needy around them.

Here's how you vote:

• Click Here
• Click on the red button under the title that reads, "VOTE FOR THIS IDEA."
• And simply fill in your info to register your vote.
• If you would please, after you are done voting please share the page via Facebook and/or Twitter.

 

Thank you so much for being willing to help The Home of Hope and Dreams and supporting this project.

Blessings,

 

 

Go Baaaa-ck

This morning we had quite the adventure. As we were sitting, enjoying our coffee and vegemite, we caught eye of a group of five sheep that had somehow slipped onto our property. We all tried to herd them to the closest gate to get them back onto their land, but they just didn't see the open door so they bolted in a panic and ended up running further away from where they needed to be. But we didn't quit on them, we went after them and kept trying to herd them back. They were in such a panic that they were even trying to push their way through the fence, unaware of the open gate waiting for them that was completely obvious to us. It was hard because we couldn't get as close to them as we would have liked because the place they ran to wasn't safe, it was an area that was total brown snake territory; it just made it even that much more difficult to get them to where they needed to go because we couldn't get close enough to them to be able to lead them. Finally the guys found another gate opening that was closer to where they had managed to place themselves and they tore the gate loose from the ties that kept it shut so that the sheep could be free. It wasn't the original gate that they were intended to go through, but we did what we needed to do to make it easier for the sheep. In the end the sheep went back to their pen without a thanks to be heard but it was enough for us to know that they were safe again. And me? Well I was left with an incredible analogy and a better revelation of why God calls us His sheep.

 

Home of Hope & Dreams Promo

 

Leviticus

I have always heard the most Scriptural critique of this book than any other. I've heard how boring it is, how legalistic it is, etc. I think it's probably (just a guess) the most skipped book of the Bible.

When I first read Leviticus all the way through, my revelation was, "Thank You God for Grace! Thank You that I don't have to do all this stuff to atone my sins because I think I'd go to hell." But this time around, I am just in awe of the God of detail and care that we serve. This time around, I see how God's not dishing out a bunch of legalistic rules because He wants to create a stage for people to appreciate His "coming" grace, but God was teaching His people how to live. He was teaching them how to live!

There's so much grace in this book. The time, the detail, the patience, the care and understanding that God takes to give clear teaching so that He can make for Himself a people. He brought them out of bondage of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness as like a long honeymoon before the promise land; getting used to each other, getting over the awkwardness so that they can comfortably move forward as one. He wanted them to prosper, but after living for hundreds of years as slaves there had to be a lot of re-teaching and learning of how to be people again and how to live well. Leviticus 20:22- "You shall therefore keep all My statutes and all My rules and do them, that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out." And the rules He gave them aren't as ridiculous and painstaking as we tend to picture.

Take Leviticus 15, for example, "Laws About Bodily Discharges." The whole chapter goes into detail about washing and cleaning and basic hygiene (as we now know it). Now you could read this chapter, indeed I have, and be overwhelmed by the rules and guidelines. But look and see how He is teaching them how to take care and save themselves from disease and death. Did you know that 5,000 children around the world will die today because they lack proper hand washing education? Did you know that in India alone 1000 children die everyday from diarrhea and half of those deaths could be eliminated by hand washing with soap?! Now look at those facts, how in the 21st century people are still lacking basic information that was given to us almost 4,000 years ago? Tell me that God was not being gracious, merciful and kind?

Look at human trafficking and the issues of sex slavery. Can we find valuable information about that in Leviticus? Yes. Leviticus 19:20-21- "If a man lies sexually with a woman who is a slave, assigned to another man and not yet ransomed or given her freedom, a distinction shall be made. They shall not be put to death because she was not free; but he shall bring his compensation to the Lord..."

There are answers for caring for the poor, the divorced, the widowed, the refugee, the slave, the sick, etc. Answers can be found all through Leviticus. The heart of God is all over this book. So before you dismiss and skip over this book, think again and dive into such a rich book of our faith and Christian lives. Let's be thankful for Leviticus and let's live it.