So this post is for Audra, who was kind enough to tell me (a couple weeks ago) that she missed me around the Watercooler. I also had to get this posted today so I wouldn’t miss the whole month of June. Argh.

For those of you that wondered if I died, I didn’t. I’ve been busier than usual (which is saying something), and I’ve also been doing more fun activities than normal (which I often pass up because of previously mentioned busy-ness). :o)

Here’s a small selection of what I’ve been up to lately.

Flying in a new friend’s small airplane:

Another friend’s 50th birthday party:

Racing somewhat high-speed go carts:

Shopping for and purchasing an electric guitar (not this one):

Riding the Seattle Ducks (amphibious city tour):

Getting very foreign currency as change at McDonalds:

Rollerblading with my favorite middle sister:

And… riding to the top of the Seattle Space Needle for dinner and pictures

I love having a camera phone (for the first time in quite a while), but I’ll bet you can tell the difference between the pics I got with that and the ones I got with my DSLR… :o)

What have you been doing lately? :o) Oh, and does anybody recognize what country that coin is from? I’m curious.

Though I’ve yet to complete reading it, I’ve greatly enjoyed Robert McKee’s book, Story, and I wanted to pass on a recommendation in case you haven’t yet made the discovery for yourself. This post is another in the Watercooler Wednesdays series on arts and culture.

If you have an interest in writing, particularly if you require any elements of story in your work, you’re likely to enjoy and benefit from this book. Though targeted at screenwriters, Story does a great job of explaining and illustrating how good story works and what doesn’t work. You can take it as a given that the author knows this subject; he spent decades teaching screenwriting and his students include many who met with great success in that field.

One part of the first chapter that I enjoyed was where Robert discusses some of the loves that a writer of story must possess. Here are a few that he touches on: the love of… story, the dramatic, truth, humanity, dreaming, humor, language, duality, perfection, beauty… Don’t worry though, Robert does much more than talk about story; he also gets down into the nuts and bolts and offers plenty of practical information.

Have any favorite books lately? Also, if you’ve read Story, did you find it helpful?

So I had a really great time in Nashville last week. I suppose I should have been blogging about it all along, but I was so busy having fun! Now that I’m giving you almost a whole week in a single post, I’ll just summarize and leave out a lot…

Anyway, I got into town on Sunday and hit the Bluebird Cafe. While I was waiting in line to get in, I met Dean Marold and we ended up grabbing a table and enjoying some good food and music together. One of Dean’s friends, Carrie Cunningham, had been selected as one of the songwriters playing that evening, and it was fun to know somebody who knew somebody who was playing… :o)

After the show, Dean and Carrie introduced me to Doak Turner who invited the three of us over to his place for some food. Doak cooks a mean breakfast, and it’s especially good after midnight!
 
Next day was Cinco de Mayo, and I slept in. Sometime after noon when I was grabbing breakfast, I made a new friend, Blossom, in the kitchen at the Country Hostel Nashville. She was just heading out the door for Illinois, but we chatted for a little while and then she decided to join me for the evening hanging out downtown. We went first thing to NSAI (Doak’s suggestion) and both signed up for memberships. Next, we hung out for a while downtown on Broadway… takin’ pics, meeting people, and listening to lots of good music.

Band playin in a bar on Broadway

After that, we ran down to the Station Inn and enjoyed listening to The Time Jumpers for the rest of the evening.

Time Jumpers playin at the Station Inn

Then we headed back downtown to hang out for a little longer with our new friend Douglas Roberts, a great guy who plays guitar on Broadway pretty often and also teaches guitar around Nashville.

Douglas Roberts plays guitar

Hangin with Douglas and Blossom on Broadway

Next day was LifeWork 2.0, and that was just amazing. Lots of incredible people, all kinds of good information, and just a really good time.

On Wednesday morning, I grabbed breakfast at Merridee’s with some friends from LifeWork 2.0 and got a chance to talk with Randy Elrod for a little bit afterward. What a great guy! For lunch, I got to hang with John Voelz (another great guy) downtown and then headed for BNA. My flight was delayed enough so I would have missed the last connection out of Denver, so I got a flight reservation for the next day and headed back into Nashville. Wednesday night, I stayed at a new place (Music City Hostel) and had a good time downtown with some new hostel friends who’d come there from all over the world.

On Thursday morning, I met some cool people on the way to the airport. Both flights went well, and I met some great people in the air as well, so I didn’t end up reading at all… just talking. :o) Now I’m back at my home away from home in Seattle.

How ’bout you? Been anyplace fun recently? Plans to go someplace soon?

I thought I’d preach at myself a little today… This is another post that’s part of the conversation on arts and culture around the Watercooler with Randy Elrod, and I’m talking more about personal culture than anything else.

There’s a part of me that wants life to be everything that it can be. That wants to live a no-holds-barred, petal-to-the-metal, extreme, radical existence.

And there is this other part of me that wants life to be easy.

Of course, no matter how I live, there will be plenty of times that life isn’t easy. However, I think it’s likely that there will be more resistance, difficulty, tears, and pain when taking that road less traveled, the upper path of a radical existence. Even if that wasn’t the case, it’s hard to deny that such a life requires more from us than going with the flow and simply taking what comes along.

And this isn’t to say that every moment will be action-packed. If you look at the lives of many of the greatest men and women who ever lived, you will see that much of their time was spent doing many normal things. Obviously, you don’t receive a get-out-of-the-mundane-free card just for deciding to live your life passionately. You’ll still have plenty of time to wash the laundry and take out the trash.

However, with the choice to lean forward and go for the gusto, I think we’ll start to have more of those incredible moments. We might even find that we start enjoying even the mundane times a little more.

Why not find what things you were really made for, the things that thrill you (if you don’t already know)? Get tuned into that - so that you have this on your mind and in your heart - even when you’re doing laundry. Don’t avoid the things you dread; run through them, past them, into the things you were made for.

If you could do anything, what would it be? What’s keeping you from that?

Hi, friends!

Couldn’t sleep tonight, and ended up writing a bit in my journal. Thought I’d share some of it with you here. Hope you’re all well.

What kind of love
  Would make a man give up his life?
It's hard to grasp
  You felt this way for me 

What kind of trade is this?
  You gave Yourself
  for backward fallen men like me
You knew that I'd deny Your name
  You could see everything
  before it all took place
And still You thought it worth the price
  to trade Your kingly life for mine 

Wow, it’s been way too long since I’ve posted here! I’ve been getting pounded at work lately…

I was back home in Michigan a couple weekends ago, and wrote a song with my youngest sister on her 10th birthday. I’ve been wanting to post that here, but my music setup still isn’t pulled together (due to an incompatibility between my controller keyboard and my new computer). Also, a friend asked me for a chord chart for a couple of the songs I’d posted rough demos of here in February, and I’m way overdue on getting that done!

Anyway, I got to bed early this evening and then was woken up and ended up doing some writing. I thought I’d share that with you for now. :o)

Wake me in the night, Lord
Anytime You want
  to speak my name
I love to spend my time with You
I love to spend the evening time with You 

Wake me in the morning, Lord
Anytime You want
  to speak my name
I love to spend my time with You
I love to spend the morning time with You 

Wake me in the daylight, Lord
Anytime You want
  to speak my name
I love to spend my time with You
I love to spend the afternoon with You 

Cause I am always mostly sleeping
  if it's not for hearing You
  speak life into my heart
And I'd be barely breathing
  if You didn't wake me up
I'm glad You woke me up
  and always
  wake me up
  and always
  wake me up, wake me up

Here’s something from Monday morning. I thought I’d maybe try to add a bit to it before posting here, but haven’t gotten the chance. Here’s what I’ve got so far. :o)

I want to know You better
  than I know myself
I want to see your dreams
  when I'm asleep
I want to spend my days
  becoming more and more like You
That's just what happens
  when two lovers
  spend a lifetime being friends 

Come on in and make Yourself at home
If there's anything I want it would be this
I want to be Your own 

Here’s something from my journal today. I’ve also got some music to go along with it, but this time (unlike my Feb 10th post) I’ve decided against sharing the demo recording made on my phone. My computer setup is a bit broken at the moment, but should be squared away within a week. I can then make a little better recording, and thus hope to share this music soon… :o)

Some nights it seems
  like You're too far away
And when I speak Your name
  I hardly hear myself 

Some days are full of
  everything but You
I keep on looking for the truth
I know You're standing at the door 

Pull back the sky tonight
So I can see Your face
With nothing in the way
Pull back the sky
Pull back the sky
Pull back the sky tonight 

They can take all of the stars for all I care
What good are they to me if You're not here?  

Pull back the sky tonight
So I can see Your face
With nothing in the way
Pull back the sky
Pull back the sky
Pull back the sky tonight 

Here’s a few journal entries from today. One of these times I’m going to have to share some stuff that’s more polished. Hopefully sometime in March I’ll get to post some recordings - other than something recorded on my cellphone! :o) Until then, I’ll keep posting bits and pieces of stuff as they come along.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sometimes

And sometimes I can see
And sometimes I believe
And sometimes Heaven's closer than it looks
And sometimes things aren't clear
And sometimes I have doubts
And sometimes You seem very far away 

But in all circumstances I may find myself
You are the same
 and You are always there
And sometimes I just need Your arms to hold me close
And sometimes I just need to feel You next to me
You are the same
 and You are always there  

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And this one is unlikely to ever become part of a song or a poem, it’s just a thought that came to me today… :o) Ever feel like this?

When I am being myself
Sometimes I feel like I stand out
And I don't like to
 take much space
 or make a scene 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And one more… :o)

And I could
 argue with your argument
 or see your hurting heart
Sometimes I miss the obvious
Forgive me please 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

My roommate Scott is gone to Michigan this week to be with family and preach at his grandma’s funeral.

I wasn’t actually thinking of Scott (who would be glad to know this) - or anybody else in particular - when I wrote these lines tonight… Just about the ideas of distance and attraction.

Breath

When you are away from me
 the air is not the same
I hardly care to breathe it in some days
The spaces in between inhale, exhale
 are cavernous
As if I was under water
 and could never come back out
 to breathe again

That said, people who are looking to other people for fulfillment scare me a little. :o)

And one more thing. This idea has already been said about a million times in about a million different ways. It’s hardly original. I almost didn’t share this for that reason… I typed out this blog and thought for a little bit about whether or not to hit the post button. Shortly after that, I ended up on the front page of Yahoo.com and came across “No Air” by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown… and then I really almost didn’t post this. ;o)

I guess the reason that this thought is so commonly expressed is that it really does seem hard to breathe sometimes.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Here are a couple other things from my journal today…

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The following few lines were written after watching this movie on YouTube by Nathan Arnold.

I cannot understand the agony this world has held
 the agony You must have felt
There is no way to take away the pain right now 

But...
If You can give us water in a barren place
If You can give us life in place of death
If You can still give dignity
 to rag-robed queens and kings
I'm certain You can turn this thing around 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And here’s something from early in the morning. It’s just a tiny piece of something more (that’s yet to be written). :o)

Did You wake me up
 just 'cause You want to talk with me?
I’m still a little tired
 but I’m so glad to hear Your voice

During the past twenty-four hours or so, I got some new music software (soft synths and some other stuff), started using Twitter.com, and went to see the movie “U2 3D” (not to mention a big chunk in the middle when I was at work and another smaller chunk when I was sleeping).

The photo above is of the 3D glasses from the theater. The manufacturer was careful to mention on the inside of the bows that these are “Not Sung Lasses - No UV / Sun Protection.” That makes me wonder how often they have been mistaken for lasses of any sort, sung or otherwise…

Anyway, back at the apartment after the movie tonight, I demonstrated Twitter.com for my roommate Scott. He was quick to express the opinion that this Twitter thing could be very beneficial for me because it forces communication in 140 characters or less. It’s difficult! Already, I find myself going back and changing longer words to a synonym with fewer characters, removing punctuation, and any other shenanigans I can come up with to cram whatever it was that I wanted to say into that tiny space… :o) Yes, this is going to be good for me.

The movie had a lot of great U2 songs in it, and in some ways was surprisingly like what I’d imagine having some really great seats at a U2 concert would be like… except that you find yourself sitting down the whole time and aren’t being jostled by the guy jumping up and down next to you. Oh, and the music was too quite for most of the time.

I couldn’t help but think of worship a couple of times during the movie. For one thing, I experienced something like what happens to me when someone else is leading the singing at church. I often get a significantly greater flow of creative ideas coming to me during these times than at other times in the day or week. The first ten minutes or so of the movie in particular were similar to a worship service in that respect. Along other lines, there was a place in the movie (which would be easy to miss) where some of the people in the front row seemed to be making a bowing motion toward Adam, the bass player. That was more of a reminder of the sort of worship we shouldn’t be doing.

Anyway, though the movie was enjoyable overall, it did seem to be preaching a bit. U2 seemed to be trying to say that all religions are equivalent (”Mohammad is true, Jesus is true”) and that we should therefore all get along. I certainly agree that we all ought to try to get along, but I don’t think this is predicated on all religions being equivalent. The lyrics of Rebecca St. James from the song “You’re the Voice” come to mind. “We’re all someone’s daughter; we’re all someone’s son. How long can we look at each other down the barrel of a gun?” To me, this talks about the importance of living together peacefully and manages to do so without mixing in other messages. We’re all people. We ought to find enough in common in that to treat each other with respect.

Has anybody else seen U2 3D? What did you think of the movie? What about those who haven’t seen the movie; do you have any thoughts on good ways to pursue peace here on earth? To some degree, Christians believe that we will never fully realize peace on earth. However, I don’t think it hurts to try to make the world a better place while we’re here. :o)

I got my new music software installed on the computer last night and it’s calling my name… I’ve been looking forward to using it all day… even though I should be sleeping soon. Ok, I should be sleeping *now*. It’s the weekend though and I think it’ll be ok. I won’t be long… :o)

I haven’t started working on any music for this yet. If this is going to be a song sometime, it will probably need some more words. Maybe another verse or two. I have a favorite line below… and my friend Scott has a different favorite. I’d really love to hear from a few more friends on this - particularly if any of these lines happen to stand out to you (or if you have something else to say about this collection of words). :o)

You are what children believe
  and the old men have struggled to see
The God of both judgment and grace
Glorified in Your death 

And You have no beginning, no end
All of nature exists and is kept by Your word
God of ancient and timeless,
Both now and forever are Yours 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[This first one is a rather fanciful and abstract group of lines and I'm not sure who it's about...]

I’ve held your open hand before
As heaven streamed across the sky
I’d like to spend some time with you tonight

With first the evening goddess set
We’ll marvel at the stars
And when she rises full
The silver dawn will bring alive the night

Let’s mourn the falling stars
And we’ll rejoice when daylight comes

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have come to love this foreign land
Her people and her ways
But I will not forget where I am from
And I will be there soon

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All I want is You
I don’t seek for glory
I just want to see You face to face
To hold You and be held
The only thing I really want is You

To be loved by the One who is
King over all other kings
Seems such an impossible gift
Yet You give this to me every day

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here’s something from today… I’m just excited about what God’s doing in my life and all over the place lately!

Even when I'm tired it's hard to sleep
Can't help but see the things not far ahead
  and get a little eager
  to keep moving on 

I'm happy here but not content
I know You've got a whole lot more than this 

Take me to the promised land
Let me see the great inheritance
Help me bring the harvest in
Let me know the joy in all You've made
And we'll bring heaven down
Your will be done on earth

I didn’t actively choose the topic of this writing, but I got the beginning in a very vivid dream. I wrote and went back to sleep. I woke again a few hours later (just a few minutes ago) and wrote the rest.

I’m excited, because it’s been almost a year since God began to increase my song writing (with “You Are the One” on Good Friday last year). It’s also interesting that God would give me this just before Easter. Right now, I’ve only got these words, no music.

Clearly, this isn’t an example of the most polished work. However, I wanted to share this with a few friends and family as Easter is coming up.

Amazing King

Oh God, my God
I see Your famous gaping wounds
I hear Your agony
How could You bear such pain for me
and love when You were almost lost in grief
Amazing grace can scarcely tell the story
Amazing God, Amazing Love, Amazing King

And of Your blood
there always is enough
The endless flow
though You are now made whole
is marvelous to me
The stripes they cut in You
were part of freedom’s cost
So I can walk
away from sin and death

Oh God, my God
I see Your famous gaping wounds
I hear Your agony
How could You bear such pain for me
and love when You were almost lost in grief
Amazing grace can scarcely tell the story
Amazing God, Amazing Love, Amazing King

Hi, Guys. It’s been a little while since I shared something I was working on. Here’s something that arrived when I was showering this morning. Hope you all have a great day.

It’s easy enough for me to fault other men on my strengths
But though I wanted them to go, my faults have mostly stayed with me
What foolishness for me to close one eye and justify myself
What foolishness that I would judge my brother’s heart

Have mercy Lord on me a sinful man
Please purify my heart and cleanse my life
You know my inmost parts and gave Your life for me
Have mercy Lord on me a sinful man

Will not the God
of the whole earth
do what is just?

And You have promised me
that You are loving, kind, and good.
What does Your justice mean?
How can we hope to pass
a test of love or law?
We fail in both.
And yet You promise us success
if we will lean on You.
Exchanging all our loss
for perfect love that has
no room for fear.

Remember joy?
It came so many times.
The open field reminded you of praise.

Come back to Me,
Your feet have worn that
  distant road too long.
I never left our home,
I’m waiting gladly,
  soon to hear your voice.
Come speak with Me,
Forget the things you’ve learned.
Don’t be a slave in foreign lands,
Remember joy!

Remember joy
  that made you strong.
If you are far from home,
Why not come home?

Remember joy.

What has your beauty seen 
   since I have seen you last? 
What songs have you begun to learn? 
How strong are they in you? 

For me, I want to notice skies 
   beyond the place 
   where man might stand and see. 
I want to drink the ocean dry 
   and not be satesfied. 
I want to fly and find 
   that I’m not in a dream 
and then perceive the things 
   that might be called unseen 

What was your saddest day? 
What do you celebrate? 
What do you fear 
   and do you walk away 
   or toward that place? 
If you could whisper anything 
   what would that be? 
And if you could proclaim 
   and reach all men, 
Think carefully 
   what would you speak? 

What is your pain 
   and why can you not 
   make it go away? 
What is your joy 
   and is it great enough 
   to make these sorrows small?

Let me not discourage you 
  from speaking what you think. 
I will be safe; 
I am a house of peace. 
Let’s tend a steady flame 
  just soft enough to hide the flaws 
  or look away most days 
  except for when we’re better off 
  to face this thing 
  and then be through with it.