Doug Van Pelt

Lubbock or Leave It

The talks at South Plains College yesterday went fantastic. The students there were really nice. It was great to see a facility that caters to musicians and actaully helps equip them for a career in commercial music. There were rehearsal rooms, active studios, television studios, the whole nine yards. The school started as a bluegrass college, with world-renowned Bluegrass artists teaching at the school. It has expanded to very much include rock now. Way cool. I leave tomorrow morning for a similar talk at Greenville College. I'm looking forward to that.

I watched the movie Super Size Me yesterday during my trip. That documentary scared the crap out of me!!! I'm worried about my diet. I really need to shape up. This is a temple of the Holy Spirit and I better take better care of it. Neglecting it could be likened to spray painting graffiti (uninvited graffiti) on a church wall.

Movies

Saw Troy yesterday. I wasn't expecting much, for some reason. This is many times the wrong assumption when it comes to blockbuster movies with millions of dollars invested into it. A gripping story with plenty of action.

We watched another episode of a tv series coming out on DVD, called Miracles. In this (second) episode, an airplane goes into some higher level of consciousness, where everyone on board seems to achieve what was on their mind. The miracle-checking characters were sent in to interview the passengers on this jumbo jet. One of the interviews revealed a beautiful story of a woman who just had to get out of there so she could talk to her husband. For 21 years he loved her as he fed her and cared for her (she received a brain injury on their honeymoon and was mute and motionless). She was itching to tell her husband that she knew how much he loved her. It was such a beautiful expression of love wanting to affirm and respond to the love that was self-lessly given for over two decades. The effects of the "trip" wear off, however, before she can get out of the quarantine/interview area, and she's confined to silence and a wheelchair once again. The frantic miracle-checker character (played by Skeet Ulrich) steals one of the interview tapes and gives it to her husband. "Don't tell anyone you have this," and he gets to watch his wife tell the camera how much she just wants to see her husband and tell him. A beautiful moment.

Also watched The Notebook with my wife. What a super sweet story about a man who's old wife has Alzhimer's and he has to spend each day trying to get her to remember him in the hopes that she will "wake up" if for but a moment to realize the great love they share as a couple. He reads to her out of a notebook the wonderful romantic tale of their lives. It was interesting how similar the story in Miracles and this movie were.

A Social Experiment

I'm going to do a little experiment. Here in liberal Austin, it is probably dangerous to your car (or your emotional psyche) if you put a pro-life sticker on your bumper. I have a Stand True Ministries sticker with an illustration of a little girl, which says "She's a Child; Not a Choice." Stay tuned to this blog to see if I incur any vandalism or get flipped off while driving (cutting people off or driving stupid doesn't count, of course). It's funny to see how open-minded (or not) people can be when it comes to dissension. As much as I like the University of Texas, I'm glad I only grabbed a minor in Journalism and didn't get an entire degree in that field, because I would've had to have gone against the grain of the open-minded club that exists there, which is open-minded as long as you are not pro-life or a Christian that believes the Bible is accurate. Then it can be quite an intolerable experience for the person that breaks ranks and actually thinks for themself.

Okay, enough about politics. Let's talk about death and automobiles! On the way home from church yesterday, my wife gasped as we approached the site of an accident, where two lanes of Southbound traffic were diverted into one of our Northbound lanes. "Oh my gosh, honey!" The way she said that made me fearful that she recognized the overturned vehicle (and knew one of the victims). But the reason she was shocked was the horrific accident that had occured. A telephone pole had impaled a large pickup truck. I'm a critic of "rubbernecking," so I didn't slow down any more than the traffic in front of me, but when I glanced at the scene, I couldn't believe what I saw. A telephone pole was snapped in two, and angling from the ground at about 40 degrees. The jagged edges of the pole showed a violent snapping. And the pole went down and through the floorboard of this large overturned pickup truck. We imagined that it was an instant death or that any survivors were life-flighted out of there. As morbid as it sounds, I thought that, if I were a police officer on the scene, I would have ordered a photographer to the scene after all the emergency vehicle calls. It was that mysterious and large-scale shocking.

This morning as we roused ourselves from sleep at 6:30am, the news reported a fatal accident in Pflugerville, Texas; and that the police were looking for witnesses. The male driver was dead on the scene, but a female passenger was star-flighted to a local hospital and was in stable condition. They were looking for witnesses, who may have seen another pickup carrying motorcycles that this truck unsuccessfully tried to pass, and lost control. It seems the police are trying to make sense of the wreck. I have no idea how what I saw could have occured. The telephone pole was sticking out of the metal floorboard, and it was snapped in half 15 to 20 feet past where it was sticking out of the vehicle. That's weird.

Psalm 27 talks a lot about security, and the Lord being the stronghold of our life. While I do not know the plans the Lord has for me, He tells me that they are good. I trust in Him for protection and try to remain ever vigilant to pray and ask for protection for myself, my family, and those I know and love. While we cannot guarentee that we will live long lives free of accident or disaster, we can overcome fear from calamity and hardship by putting our trust in God. The Amplified Bible has deeply enriched my life, if even for one verse along -- in John 3:16, where it "amplifies" the word for "believe" by inserting the words "cling to, trust in, rely on," which makes that simple word "believe" more active. I'm also drawn to the verse in Psalm 27 (8) that declares:

"My heart says of You, 'Seek His face!' Your face, Lord, I will seek."

That resonates within me, because I truly believe that our spirit has been regenerated by God through salvation and that now part of me lives and breathes to know God. My heart will tell me, 'Seek His face!' There are times when I'm drawn to my knees, and part of that is like an anchor to my soul, which pulls me into wanting to seek His face. There is great comfort there, but it's not my comfort that I seek -- it's His face, His presence, His Words. Talk about a longing fulfilled! Knowing God begins to give a taste of satisfaction to my soul. That God-shaped hole in my heart gets a sense of being filled. A tiny little sense, but it is way good.

Trusting in Chariots

Psalm 20 is an empowering prayer. It starts off with:

"May the Lord answer you when you are in distress;
may the Name of the God of Jacob protect you.
May He send you help from the sanctuary
and grant you support from Zion...
...May He give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans suceed.
We will shout for joy when you are victorious
and will lift up our banners in the Name of our God.
May the Lord grant all your requests."

Then David the psalmist affirms that,

"Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed;
He answers him from His holy heaven
with the saving power of His right hand.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the Name of the Lord our God..."

God is a firm foundation we can stand on. We can trust in Him. King David saw this first hand. I've seen it in my own life. When my wife and I felt bummed out about our old church's dwindling numbers, changing staff, and eventual merger with another church (whose larger numbers and personality swallowed up ours), we were unsure of the future. I hate the idea of church-hopping and bailing out whenever something tough or challenging comes up, but the church that I fiercely felt loyal to no longer existed -- in name, people, or personality, so we sought the Lord about leaving Mission Hills (which changed names to South Shore and has since changed names and locations to Red River Church) and felt His leading to Calvary Chapel of Austin. It would've been easier to move over to Hope Chapel, which was the "parent" church that planted Mission Hills back in 1986, but we trusted the Lord. And that move has been fantastic. We are part of a church that is growing, has wonderful people, and we've been so blessed by their support (they sell our magazine in their store, along with the Rock Stars on God book -- heck, they've even sold our shirts and stickers there -- what other church would do that?). And that's just a tiny example of seeing God show that He is trustworthy when we follow Him.

Trusting in magazines, chariots, record labels, distribution companies, lame people who don't pay their bills, bands, even friends can let you down. But God is unwavering and unchanging. He can certainly be trusted. I'm glad I don't have to "check my brain at the door" when I worship God or enter a church, but I even trust God with my mind. I know that He won't abuse me or manipulate me. He gave me a brain for a reason and I don't fear submitting it back to Him.

Eyes Wide Open

Ten Songs by Adam Again is a fantastic album that stands the test of time. The funk and backbeat is so thick and powerful; and the lyrics are dead-on great. I had to hear part of that album on the way to work this morning. It's fun how a memory of a good album will lead to a slight longing; and then it's really enjoyable to hear it and drink up its goodness.

Psalm 16 offers us some security -- if we believe it. In verse 8 it says:

"I have set the Lord always before me.
Because He is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken."

If we truly believe that God has our backs, then we will "rest secure," as verse 9 states. Verse 10 is a messianic verse: "...because You will not abandon me to the grave, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay."

"You have made known to me the path of life;
You fill me with joy in Your presence,
with eternal pleasures at Your right hand."

When Jesus said, "I have come that you might have life; and that more abundantly," He used that Greek word for life -- zoe. (pronounced zoh-A) At the very least He was referring to a better life. At the most He was indicating that God's Spirit will infuse us with a supernatural kind of life that we were created for -- one that flows through our veins almost involuntarily, like electricity through a cord. In God's presence is joy. I've certainly experienced that.

I wonder, though, if all the believers I know have. From hearing some friends talk, it almost sounds like joy is an alien concept to them. I've never confronted them about this or said anything in judgment, but I surely hope that they have experienced this joy. One thing that "haunts" me (in a good way) is a memory I have of a room full of people at a winter church retreat long ago, when in or after a time of worship everyone in the room spontaneously started hugging one another. I knew then and still know now that those people (and believers who drink up God's presence) are the happiest people on earth. I don't have a formula to hand out, because this joy and "presence" thing has one bold requirement -- God showing up. I don't know of (or believe that there is) a method to conjure up the God of the universe (as if He were a geni or spirit under our command). But from experience I know that usually it involves a thankful heart and a worshipping action. While joy is a little deeper than the simple emotion of being happy or ecstatic, I don't want to imply that we should live for a feeling or an experience. These things are great, they are deeply moving; but they are temporary. Joy can be an attitude that carries a person in a very calm, minimal energy way. That person with God's joy may not even be smiling. (Gasp!) It might just be a calm and quiet confidence that strengthens them.

"The joy of the Lord is my strength."

Does he ever get the girl?

I love Dashboard Confessional. It's been awhile since I played my fav album of his, All The Things You Fear The Most, but it's a great listen (and sing-along).

Psalm 14 starts off with the famous line,

"The fool says in his heart,
'There is no God.'"

That about says it right. It's funny how arrogant people can be when they think they know a lot. The really smart ones, like Albert Einstein, said they barely knew anything. I've heard it said that he said that he thinks there is about 3% of what is to be known that can be known by man; and he apparently estimated that maybe he knew 1%. But yet a 20-something fool will gladly inform us of what he/she knows. It's like anything -- the ones with skill and talent let the skill and talent speak for themselves. They don't have to brag about it or announce it. To say that there is no God is okay. I mean, God can handle our mischief and foolishness, but that doesn't bode well for us. We can continue in our folly. He'll let us go to Hell.

The smarter ones will call themselves "Agnostics," which means they are ignorant, or ignoramuses. They at least admit that they don't know if there is a God or not.

The Christian, though, can actually live like an atheist. Their behavior can tell the outside world and/or (much worse) God Himself. If we want to be honest, we will boil things down to their essence every once in a while to see how we're doing.

Well, as the publisher of HM Magazine, I get 15 copies of a new issue overnighted to me. I'm looking at the new issue (May/June) right now. It's exciting. One of the first things I notice (after staring at the cover) each time is how the ads seem to match. This is always an "accident," or is it Providential? I don't plan this. We sell certain spots to certain advertisers (and they certainly don't confer amongst themselves: 'Hey, I'm on page 2. What page are you on? Would you like to match colors? I'm using a Pantone Red 485 in my ad...' So this is always a cool thing.

Who Can Hold Us?

There's a great song by Adam Again that asks that question. It's a fantastic lament that seems to capture the despair that all of us have felt at one time or another. King David knew Who could hold him, and we see in Psalm 5 that he endeavored to meet with God each morning.

There's an old worship song, called "Psalm 5," that I love to hear and sing (but it's been years since I've heard it played). It goes:

"Give ear to my words, Oh Lord
Consider my meditation
Hearken unto the voice of my cry
Oh Lord, in the morning,
will I direct my prayer
unto thee and look up..."

I came across a Maranatha compilation album years ago, and it had this song on it. I was excited to tape it (that was the day of "mix tapes" i.e. the "80's"), but when I read the liner notes I saw that it was recorded by The Road Home Choir. It explained that shortly after recording this song the entire group or members of it died (and went to be with the Lord). It added a sadness and a somber hope for eternity to learn that.

It's always kind of funny to hear David complain to God and ask for Him to vanquish his enemies. In today's day and age in America, it's not a common request to "kill my enemies," but one lesson it does teach me is to go to the Lord with my problems. He can handle all my complaints and the cries of my heart are understood and welcomed by Him. It probably tickles Him sometimes to see what petty things I complain about, but I know I can be honest with Him. I can be real. I can also see and hear how selfish or small my focus is when I listen to my own prayers. There's a little bit of introspection going on during the quietness of prayer. That's probably well defined as part of the "meditation" part.

I remember one of my greatest (and most annoying) roommates -- my hero, Greg Taylor -- saying to me once; after I complained to him about one of his shortcomings. He requested something like, "Be very quiet in your complaints about me when talking to me; but very LOUD when talking about them to the Lord." In a very pointed way, he taught me to intercede for people rather than berate them. To go to the only One who could really effect change in that person's life anyway. By so doing, it was heard by a loving Creator Who really has the subject of my prayer's best intentions in mind. It also allowed me to see my own heart while I'm making requests.

The words of Job are ended.

Job ends his discourse in Chapter 31 with that point. He stops talking. His so-called Elihu rambles on for a few chapters; and then God has His say (which is one of the great dialogues between God and man as recorded in Scripture). But Job brings up a very good subject for its time -- which is still relevant today -- lust.

Sex has always been an enticing trap that brought down many a good man. One of the reasons why is its such a wonderful and enjoyable thing. A gift from God that can be fully enjoyed between a husband and wife (here comes the Lust Control speech for the up-teenth time): The reason why God put guidelines and laws on the area of sex is to protect us from harm (like guardrails over a bridge). If we have sex with someone outside of marriage, odds are that we will break up or split away from that sex partner. When the sexual union happens, a great many bonds are formed (emotional, physical, and most would agree -- some sort of spiritual and/or soul bonding). When that breakup or divorce happens, all those bonds are torn asunder. This hurts. Sometimes the pain threshold for one partner is not as great as the other; but this pain, I believe, is what God wants to keep us from in this life. There's many other dangers involved in sexual sin (not to mention diseases), like murder, jealousy, the loss of ministry, finances (how'd you like to start paying alimony to someone you no longer lived with?), and broken families -- to name just a few.

One of the chief ways Job combatted this sin was to watch his eyes. He tells us that he "made a covenant with his eyes" not to look lustfully at a girl. This is a good thing. When we are faced with sexual temptation, there are many things we can do. Some Scriptural examples are: saying no (like Joseph did to Pottipher's wife); turning our eyes away (like Job's example); and actually physically running away (again we see Joseph high-tailing it outta there...too bad he left his tunic behind). Quoting Scripture might sound cliche, but it works, too. I remember breaking up with a girlfriend when things got tempting. I estimated that I was pretty close to falling in this area, and the band/ministry Lust Control was just getting off the ground and live concerts and preaching would soon take place. I took this drastic measure largely to avoid being the world's biggest hypocrite (see my previous blog about power/authority in the spiritual realm).

It's a shame that a beautiful gift like our eyesight can lead us into temptation and sin; but it's true that our eyes can be like a window into our soul -- not just for people to see in (which is vague); but in what we allow into us visually. Pornography has seemingly become a vice that many people flaunt and are proud of; but it is surely a cheapened exploitation of sex and our identities as people, and something to be dealt with in a disciplined way. While some may laugh at "accountability" and any such structures to help people from stumbling, that's likened to driving up to an AA meeting and shouting in with a bullhorn, "Ha ha, you idiots! Drinking is fun. Don't deny yourself the pleasure. Stop fooling yourselves and just give in." That's pretty insensitive and mean; but not supporting someone's efforts to escape the grip of sin is as petty as that, isn't it?

Sometimes the battle against sin is won in the simple step of deciding to treat it like a war -- acknowledging that there's a battle going on and declaring which side you're fighting for (there ain't no Switzerland in spiritual warfare!).

Psalm 1 gives us further insight into this whole realm. Drinking up and meditating on God's Word nourishes us and gives us strength. We don't really have to focus on the "Thou Shalt Nots." We can simply absorb God's Word and, essentially, focus on the positives and ignore the negatives. Doing the Do's, so to speak, takes care of all the Don'ts.

You were tripping out...

Things are going well at GMA. Lots of friends in the music industry are here. There's so much going on, that it's a busy busy thing. But when you get a chance to sit down and really talk to friends, then it's fun. We had dinner with Pillar last night (Noah was all Ron Burgandy the whole time -- even when ordering from the waitress); and earlier in the day we had Disicple interview Andrew from Project 86. I gave them a bunch of questions so it wouldn't be hard for them, and they were able to take that and ad-lib some of their own thoughtful questions. It turned out good. We'll plan on running that in our Sep/Oct issue (and no magazine people that read this need to copy the idea and use it for their Jul/Aug issue..got that?!).
:?)

Okay, I was reading in Colossians this morning and was struck by the verse in the first chapter that describes our state prior to conversion.

"Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior."

That's the Bible truth right there. I know that I didn't always feel like I was God's enemy during my "prodigal" days. And I've talked to people that feel like "I'm cool with God," or "He's not mad at me. I'm basically a good person." But that nagging feeling of knowing that things weren't right between me and God -- that was the "alienated in your mind" thing going on. When I realized later that I was an enemy of God by being a friend of the world (and couldn't be both), then I knew I had to choose. God's made a peace treaty with us, but we have to acknowledge it and enter the covenant willingly. All is forgiven then. But up until that time, there is no reason not be be 100% evil and fulfill every lustful and greedy desire -- cuz we're not cool with God. The dead-on seriousness of that equation really spoke to me when I was on the other side of that. And since then it's been a lot of gratitude, because I didn't deserve any of this, but I get His mercy and grace. That is so cool that we are taken care of by God. He is a good Father. I'm confident He can be trusted. So, if I ever hear a command or word to do something out of my comfort zone or whatever, I know that it'll turn out good, because He's trustworthy.

Blessed are the ones that don't try to be something else...

I was at the annual "Guitar Pull" event (sponsored by the PR firm McCain and Co.), where several talented guitarists and singers line a room full of people and take turns playing songs. Kelly Minter started things off with a devotional about bringing sacrifices to God in broken clay pots. She made the analogy about how the GMA Convention was a place where the attitude was always "presenting your best," or "bringing a polished clay pot," but God wanted to use a broken one. It goes against the grain to be this way, but Jesus did start off His most famous sermon with the words,

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Nowhere in their is there room for a haughty spirit or an attitude of being "the coolest person in the room." You don't have to try to be a slob or a messy person to be humble. If you are just who you are and forget or choose not to worry about impressing people or making yourself look better, then I believe you are being humble. It's kind of a "no more, no less" thing. "False humility" might include trying to "slide down" the vanity scale, as well as being fake. Being of lowly stature doesn't exactly mean to slunk your shoulders and mope, either. But being aware that you really are no better than anyone else in the room will likely keep you in proper perspective. Jesus really hammered this message home when he talked about going to a big event -- "Don't look for the seat of honor or a place upfront. Take a seat in the back. If the bridegroom sees you, he may elevate you to a seat of honor, and then you will be honored." One of the lessons is certainly: "Don't seek honor."

These are all good reminders in a setting where making a good impression is such an important-sounding thing.

Job Had It Bad

Chapter 23 finds Job in the midst of his long ordeal. He describes his complaint as "bitter." It seems as if he feels that God is distant or not answering his prayers. He wishes, "If only I knew where to find Him...I would state my case before Him..." Job is confident that if and when he is tested before the Lord, that he will come out clean.

I believe this is a confidence that we can have. Yes, I know that some believers have crafted a theology that allows them to wallow in their sin. I think that to be heresy. Yes, it is true that sin goes deeper than behavior. I think Jesus made that obvious with His great Sermon on the Mount. But, for instance, we can keep ourselves "clean." When I was in Lust Control, I thought it very important to keep myself "clean" by not having sex outside of marriage, not looking at pornography, and stuff like that so that when I went onstage and talked/preached about purity, there wouldn't be an accusation in the back of my head (or from an angered audience member!) to the contrary. In essence, I wanted to be "clean" so that no one could accuse me of wrongdoing in this area. I happen to believe that, in the spiritual realm, that a believer has certain authority that has been bestowed upon him/her by Jesus. ("In My Name you will...") If facing a spiritual entity, such as a demon spirit, this authority is real and it could erode my confidence if that entity could accurately accuse me of such and such. I might wilt if faced with that accusation. But if I stay clean, then I could stand up to opposition, like Job did. Nobody likes a preacher to get up and preach about righteousness if he's sleeping with the church secretary. Hypocrisy is not good. This is one reason why I took it serious to "stay clean" back then (and still endeavor to do so today, of course).

Yes, it is true that an impure thought, or lusting after a woman is like "commiting adultery in my heart," and there is no justification or excuse for doing that. The consequences and "damage," of course, is quite different. Marriages usually aren't ruined or families destroyed over a man's brief lustful thought. But if that man commits adultery, the consequences and actual damage is worse. Sin is sin. Consequences vary. I must confess that I'm sure I had impure thoughts during the time of my Lust Control band/ministry/history, and I'm also confident that I humbly repented and sought restoration for such. It's an effort to cover this much ground in a simple explanation of "being clean," but I like to answer honest questions and I think that this subject brings up some.

I am not inferior to you!

I love how Job lays waste to his friends in chapter 13. It's not a good attitude for me to take, perhaps, but he so put those foolish friends of his in their place. They deserved to be scolded after their stupid advice.

He basically says, "If only you would shut up!"

And, "For you, that would be wisdom."

That's kind of funny.

He goes on to ask his so-called friends, "Will you argue the case for God?" And then he brings in a zinger: "Would it turn out well if He examined you? Could you deceive Him as you might deceive men?"

The answer is obviously "No." When God examines us, we cannot hide any fault or so-called "secret" sin. He sees it all. It would be ridiculous to even try. I hope (and pray for my prayers, like the great Stavesacre song, "Gold and Silver") that I will always be honest with God in my prayers. Prayer is a wonderful, spiritual, and mysteriously mystical action that puts our presence, in a sense, in God's very presence. This belief, faith, and knowledge would (hopefully) motivate us to pour out our hearts before God -- the hopes, dreams, desires; as well as the disappointments, devastationis, and sins. Allowing God to examine us is a come-clean process that is so good for us. Surely we can trust Him with our secrets and sins.

One other thing that inspires the heck out of me and makes me want to worship and cry and shout is when Job says, "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him..." Man, that is the ticket right there! Worshiping and loving God in spite of or regardless of what He does or does not do for us.

While I may be selfish and materialistic, I know that God is not a giant "gumball machine in the sky," waiting to grant me my every wish if I only ask Him right. God is our Lord; our Bossman; our Leader; our Father; our God (duh)! He has the authority and power to do what He wants. We are in submission to Him. Even when we don't submit to Him, we are still inferior to Him in every way. (Unlike Job's "friends," who seemed to act like they were superior to their troubled friend.)

It looks like I will finish an issue of Heaven's Metal Fanzine today. There is some good stuff in this one (interviews with Whitecross, Ulf Christiansson, Christian Rivel, Century Sleeper, Pale Horse, and the longest "So & So Says" interview to this date, with Uli Jon Roth).

The Lord Delivers

Psalm 34 is my favorite (sometimes it's kinda trite to have a favorite passage, but nevertheless, I'm drawn to it). It is so rich with descriptions of God's goodness and care for us.

"The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them."

This is a comforting fact. One of my favorite Arkangel songs ("Warrior") includes that line. I hope to someday talk to angels and have conversations, perhaps, with angels that have intervened in my life to rescue me. I imagine they might have some interesting stories to tell.

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

That is a very special reminder to me. Of all the times when our souls long for His companionship, it is probably greatest when we are brokenhearted. The Leslie Phillips song, "By My Spirit," references that verse. I remember a day in college where things weren't going right. I can't remember what happened, but I came to a cool hangout at the time -- The Rock Christian bookstore in Dobie Mall near the UT campus. I said hello to Donna, who owned the shop with her husband, Greg. They had a place in the back, which used to be a dressing room for a Gap store or something like that. The dressing booths were makeshift prayer booths, and there was a table and some chairs. I asked her if she'd put on that song for me, and I went back there and had a good cry. It's funny, that was probably in 1984 or 1985, yet I can vividly remember that event. I remember feeling God's healing balm, and gaining confidence that He so cared for me and any troubles I was going through.

"I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together."

When I have taken this on as my motto, I have been much happier. While I don't think it wise to base my faith on the experiences I've had with the Lord; nor do I trust emotions to guide me; but I appreciate feelings, and senses, and my whole being (of which emotions are an essential part). Knowing that when I've had a praise-filled attitude has made me much happier in the past is a great motivator to fill my lips with praise. It's funny, though, that filling my lips with praise is never really based on selfish motivations (to be happier). If my actions ever start out that way, they quickly change in focus as I realize and acknowledge how great God truly is. The joy that comes from worship is a natural by-product of knowing God and being known by Him.

I wish I could convince many others to embrace God. I wish that, when I encountered people with very strange and silly ideas about God and His people that I could straighten them out. It's sad to see someone robbed of a great thing due to arrogance or just believing a lie. If nothing other than my experience alone, I would try to talk everyone in the world who doesn't know Him to embrace Him. I really believe that, if I found out at the end of days that there was no God or no Heaven waiting for me, that I would be glad for the life I lived. For me, a relationship with an invisible God is most rewarding and a worthy life to live. I don't entertain thoughts of there not being a God. He has made Himself too real for me to doubt Him and His presence. But I can't really use that (my experience) to convince others to follow Him. Perhaps this concern and this love will motivate me to live in such a way that will at least reinforce any messages I speak; and I hope that I can share something worthwhile when given the chance.

It is finished...

I am relieved to have just sent over all the files of our new issue to our printer's server. It feelsl like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders, like I'm ten pounds lighter. It feels good. Now I'm ready to dig into some of these leftover babyback ribs my sister left when visiting our house this weekend. And then go by Fed Ex on my way downtown, and then to Emo's to interview the band Locust. That should be fun.

Anyway, before Jesus breathed His last breath, He said, "It is finished." This is a super profound statement -- one that impacts my entire outlook on life and my universe. If I truly believe that "it" (as in work) is finished, then I can truly rest. I can relax and trust in the forgiveness, the payment, the reconciliation, the justice payment, the ransom, the debt, the guilt, all that I could ever hope to "pay" our God to let me know Him and enter into His rest. It's been done by our strong and ever-capable Savior.

I'm told that there was an illustration that made even deeper impact on the first century citizen. Apparently, when someone was busted -- let's say for stealing -- they were thrown into jail and a scroll was nailed to their prison door. When the sentence -- let's say 6 years -- past, then the scroll was removed, and the words "it is finished" was written on the outside of the scroll as it was handed to the ex-prisoner, who was not set free.

It is finished!
Hallelujah!

That Looks Like a Band of Girls in Their Pajamas

That's what my daughter said when seeing Journey performing "Anyway You Want It" on VH-1 Classic.

Hahahaha

"Why do bands wear their pajamas on stage?"

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I just finished watching the DVD Friday Night Lights. Fun, moving movie. The subtle Texas blues guitar in the movie was so perfect. There is just something about movies that can move us -- touch our souls -- that makes watching them from time to time a rewarding thing. It was a good way to settle down after deadline.

I have a friend who told me that one of the movies he watches when he gets home from being out on the road for a long time is Family Man. He said it helps him get settled back in. I can see that. Especially a movie about love and family like that one. It sounded funny at first to hear him talk about a ritual or routine that he does when he gets back home, but it makes good sense. To get in the right frame of mind is important. Our attitudes will shape our thoughts and actions. My friend mentioned that his wife will greet him when he arrives home with praise music playing, candles, and a real relaxed and cool atmosphere to re-enter the normal life zone. That sounds thoughtful.

I am going to dive into the bonus features on this DVD now. I'll be looking to see if former HM Ad Sales person Jason McKinley shows up, as he was an extra in that movie.