not forever but for real.

it's happening. my time at auburn is coming to an end.

today, i had my graduation/credit check with my academic advisor. everything is in shape for me to graduate in may. all i have to do is pass my classes. i knew most of this information already, but it's nice to have someone with authority tell me i'm right about it.

so what comes after that? who knows? kenya? boston? nashville? seattle? birmingham? (that's a lot of question marks). my life/thoughts/ prayers have mostly all been focused on this overwhelming, yet thrilling uncertainty. 

hopefully opportunities await. here's to capitalizing, following His will, and doing something i love. 

love is a good thing.

andrew peterson : resurrection letters, vol. II

 

i have been an andrew peterson fan for years, ever since his first album called carried along. after getting used to his somewhat nasal voice, i began to see and hear that this guy's gift was special. he wasn't just another nashville christian acoustic singer/songwriter. he was a poet in a musician's body. his songs and lyrics were unique. often in christian music, lyrics are either overtly christian (fernando ortega, shane and shane, other worship artists) or mostly symbolic (derek webb, caedmon's call, sara groves, etc.) this is somewhat of an overgeneralization, but just go with me here. andrew peterson lies somewhere in between. his lyrics are often of the symbolic variety, but they're always rooted in scripture. it's easy to tell that he is somewhat of a biblical scholar, along with being an incredible writer. i continued to follow his music, through albums such as love and thunder, clear to venus, and the far country, and was never disappointed. in fact, although love and thunder is probably my favorite AP album (sans the new one), i would say he continues to get better with each album. 

other fun facts about AP: he's in the middle of writing a series of fantasy novels, one of which has already been released. he works with many of my other favorite nashville artists, including andy gullahorn, ben shive, andrew osenga, gabe scott, and jill phillips. lastly, he is responsible for the greatest christmas album i've ever heard, which will get its own blog post in the not-too-distant future.

this new album, produced by ben shive and andy gullahorn, is another awesome effort from AP. the title is an interesting story. last year, around easter, AP was writing a series of writings for his website blog type thing, and they all centered around the resurrection. a fan wrote in saying that this would be a good idea for a concept album, and AP agreed. as he began writing the songs for this album, which all focus on the idea of Christ's resurrection, he realized that there was something that came before, hence the "volume 2" part. he plans to go back and complete volume 1 soon. 

the cd is full of highlights, but some of my favorite moments include the entire first song, called "all things new", the backup vocals on "don't give up on me" by don chaffer of waterdeep, andy gullahorn's discreet but awesome guitar solo on "all you'll ever need", a few fun drum fills by paul eckberg on "rocket", and finally the choir on "the good confession (i believe)", which was made up of fans from all over the country who came to nashville and recorded the part together one night in a church with AP. nothing cooler than getting to sing on one of your favorite artist's albums. i hate i couldn't make it up there for that. there are many other highlights. incredible lyrical passages, beautiful string arrangements (by ben shive), and cool harmonies galore. if you're a fan of good, scripturally-based, smart, tasteful music, check this album out. i really doubt you'll be disappointed.

also check out these sites:

www.andrew-peterson.com

www.squarepegalliance.net

www.rabbitroom.com

i have felt the holy fire of Love,

been burned by the holy fire of Love.

made clean by the holy fire of Love

-andrew peterson "don't give up on me"

contagious

an interesting thing has been happening in auburn over the last few months. let me tell you about it, beginning with some back story.

-if you know me at all, you know that i enjoy beer. i enjoy beer a lot. not in the sense of getting/being drunk, but i like beer itself. i like how it tastes, i like trying new kinds, and i like being a snob about it. it's a hobby. 

-this summer, me, dan, lee, nathan pauley, and others began partaking in a monday and wednesday tradition of $2 pints of any beer on tap at mellow mushroom. this became a time to come together and talk about anything and everything while enjoying a nice mixture of barley and hops. with the beer being $2, it's fun to be able to try something new, the way it's supposed to be consumed (not in a bottle). 

-dan is a huge fan of sam adams and their various products. when in boston last year, he made a trip to the samuel adams brewery and took a tour. there, he learned the intricacies of what a glass of draft samuel adams boston lager is supposed to be. i also enjoy sam adams. this brings us to the matter at hand:

one day in late august, dan and i ordered sam adams at mellow mushroom. when we received our beers, we noticed something unusual. the beer was cloudy, light in color, and tasted somewhat citrus-y, almost like a blue moon. we thought, "hey, maybe they just made a mistake and poured the wrong beer". not thinking much of it, we drank our beer and that was that.

but, as we kept ordering sam adams over the next few weeks, we continued to get this same cloudy, somewhat unappetizing beer. we even watched them pour it, to make sure there wasn't some conspiracy against us. it was official. mellow mushroom was receiving bad kegs from sam adams. 

since this realization, we have, collectively, ordered sam adams at 2 or 3 other places in auburn, only to experience the same thing. cloudy, fruity, un-sam adams-y beer. dan and i just want to enjoy a nice, refreshing, complex samuel adams boston lager. with no cloudiness, no fruitiness, and no bad aftertaste. what is going on?? are the kegs going bad once they get here? are they old? is there something wrong in boston? are there other places getting bad kegs? ought we contact jim koch, the founder of sam adams brewery himself, about this terrible situation?

right now we're here in boston, in love with downtown crossing

i figure a long, paragraphed summary of my incredible trip to boston is no fun for anyone. so, in my usual manner, bullets and iphone photos (and maybe a few courtesy of emily stewart):

• because of many factors, we hauled our bags with us to dinner friday night at a nice little establishment called fajitas & 'ritas. this was not a good thing. small place + lots of people + table in the back of the restaurant + (emily stewart's) huge bag...let the hilarity ensue. 
• dorchester. this is where emily o. resides, near codman square. wonderful place. 
• history. boston is full of it. old, ornate, beautiful churches. graveyards. paul revere. samuel adams. i love this stuff.
• watching game 6 of the ALCS (red sox vs. rays) at boston beerworks, which sits right outside of fenway park. despite waiting 3 hours for a table that we never got, it was great to watch the game at a place that brews their own beer. only. (don't order a bud light in a bottle. they don't have it. nor anything else in a bottle.)
• i began to master the art of scarf-wearing this weekend. i bought my first two scarves of my life. they really do help keep you warmer! by the way, it was mid 50s during the day and mid 30s at night. auburn still feels like summer to me.
• because of circumstances beyond my control, i had to stay with a stranger (to me, not to everyone). but this turned out to be a great thing. mike, the guy i stayed with, was a gracious host and fun to hang out with and talk to. and he's the cousin of a friend from au singers. small world.
• high rock. such a great church, in arlington, near harvard. extremely diverse. on my row there were white people around my age, black people, asian people, an 80 year old man, middle aged couples. the band/worship wasn't perfect (which is usually my biggest pet peeve), but it was some of the most REAL worship i've experienced in quite a while. the sermon was convicting and based in SCRIPTURE (praise the Lord!). malachi 3:10 was the verse that has constantly been on my heart since then. after the service, the entire church eats lunch together. every sunday. for free. community. people selflessly serving each other. i long for a church like this.
• new and old friends. emily and emily are the best. liz, mike, michemas, and others are great new friends. 
• i could have sworn i saw josh groban out the window of the huge borders bookstore at the corner of washington and school streets.
• got to watch game 7 at a small pub in dorchester, which was quite a change from the craziness of game 6. great game. i was secretly rooting for the rays. and the sox fans i encountered were gracious losers. 
• harvard university is beautiful. cambridge, ma is a really cool area.
• i love boston more than i already knew i did, and i am really considering moving up there after a graduate. i know, i know, i want to move to kenya. i'm torn, and throw nashville in the mix. i pray for discernment constantly. 

i'm nowhere and You're everything

the Lord reveals himself to us in awesome ways. some ways and places i've seen the Father this week.

::the piano solo on the song "four years" on jon mclaughlin's new album ok now

::sitting down and playing hymns on the piano from memory, making up harmony as i go along. and in my limited knowledge of the piano actually playing something that i think sounds really cool. 

::tuesday morning, i pulled out of my driveway at 6:00 AM for work, and there was a beautiful full moon still out. 

::He constantly confirms to me that being out of the relationship that i was in for so long is the right move. 

::many of the words in the last couple of chapters of theirs is the kingdom were really thought-provoking and encouraging.

::a friend that i never gave any credit has come through. and i'm thankful for it.

::an opportunity to go to boston! are you kidding me?! how blessed am i that i am able to just pack up and head 800 miles away for a weekend excursion!? that's crazy to me. 

::i worried for a few days about a test that is scheduled for monday in my EU class, because i'm not going to be in town, obviously. and my ghanian professor came through, letting me take it late. thank you Lord, for the promise that we should not ever worry. and forgive us for continuing to do it.

what else... 

i got an e-mail from my dad. if you'll go back and read this post, you'll understand why that's sort of a big deal. it seems like a last ditch effort on his part. i haven't decided for sure, but i don't think i'm going to respond. not worth it. 

music for the week:

jon mclaughlin "ok now"

- this is a straight-up throwback to the '80s. and i don't like '80s music really. but i like this. it's hard to listen to anything from the studio, because he's just SO GOOD live, but it's still a fun album.

ray lamontagne "gossip in the grain"

-if jon mcl's album is an '80s album, then this is a '70s album. a lot of reminds me of nick drake. you could have told me "you are the best thing" was recorded in the '70s and i would have believed you 100%. favorite song is "let it be me".

fernando ortega "the shadow of your wings"

-this is what worship music should be. please ask me to let you hear this. 

do as the romans do.

a couple of thoughts:

-on friday, during my daily siesta at au bon pain in the student center, i was enjoying a cup of coffee and a cheese croissant, and i found myself reading the book of romans. it's always struck me as a beautiful book in its false sense of simplicity. what i mean is, i read something, and think "man, that's just good fundamental truth." but then, i read it again, and it's so complex! no less beautiful or fundamental, but there's always more to it than i'm willing to see at first. seeing as how i've never been a very diligent bible reader, i think i'll stay away from commentary and the like, and just throw out a couple of verses/passages/phrases that struck me in that time.

ch 3, v 21-26

"but now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it-- the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. for there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith. this was to show God's righteousness, because in His divine forebearance He has passed over former sins. it was to show His righteousness at the present time, so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."

ch 5, v 17-21

"if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men...now the law cam in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

ch 6, v 14

"for sin will have NO dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace."

ch 8, v 24-25

"for in this hope we were saved. now hope that is seen is not hope. for who hopes for what he sees? but if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience."

just some really cool promises from a pretty crazy Father.

-my bostonian friend emily oldham (blog on the right) shared with me a book called theirs is the kingdom by a guy named robert lupton. lupton started a ministry in a poor area of atlanta called family consultation services, and this book is filled with short anecdotes about his time there that are both stirring and convicting. one of them struck my attention the other day. he tells the story of a woman who lived life to the fullest, until her husband died. from that day on, her life was never the same. she became a pack rat, incredibly independent, confined to a wheelchair inside her house (by choice). grasping at life instead of clinging to Life. then he compares this woman to the Church (sorry for another long quote. it's worth it):

"the church is engaged in a similar struggle. we are in a death drift that moves us from serving to preserving. we feel it carrying us along. our spontaneous fellowship soon becomes a program. bearing one another's burdens becomes a budget line item. self-sacrificing friends become paid professionals with titles (counselor, minister, director) and salary packages, longevity guarantees, and retirement benefits. our meeting places turn into "holy places" with stained glass, polished oak, and locks. taking "no thought for tomorrow" becomes sentimental rhetoric as we build bigger barns and amass insurance and endowments  and reserve funds against the unpredictable events of our future.

but the church has no future. we have only the present. in this present moment we must spend, lavish, and give away our tomorrows for the sake of His kingdom today. in short, we must die. today. that is the only way to save our lives. the church is called to live at golgotha. if perchance tomorrow morning we discover that our depleted spirits have a new supply of energy, that the emptied offering plate is full once again, and from sacrificial dreams whole new dimensions of life have burst forth, then we will begin to understand something of what the resurrection is all about. on the other side of death, each death, stands our risen Lord. and He beckons us."

wow. i had to read that 3 or 4 times before it sunk in and really grasped me. how true is that? 

-speaking of my great friend emily oldham, i'm headed to boston this weekend to see her. i'm really pumped for this. i like boston. a lot. i think it's better than new york. judge. i'll let you know all about it.

feel free to comment on any or all of this.

#3

there it is (that's the inside of my right bicep, if you can't tell). i'm really excited about this one... probably like it best of them all (maybe just because it's new). my friendly neighborhood body artist nils did a great job on this one... his best work so far (for me anyway).

took a little trip home to birmingham this weekend. spent friday night at a lock-in for simmons chorale. this was my middle school show choir, and seeing as how dan and i are good friends now with our director, we were lucky enough to get to go "work" their lock-in where they learn all of their music. dan did sectionals, i did games. which, like i said last week, is not like me at all, but i really enjoyed it a lot, and i think the kids did too. good times. middle schoolers aren't so bad.

listening to fernando ortega a lot this week. i've never really listened to him, but that quote a few posts ago inspired me, and i haven't been disappointed. hymns. piano. taste. Jesus. 

the high countries

short update... i need to get back in the swing of blogging more. forgive me.

-good week. i talk a lot about hating being a political science major, but there are a lot of times where i love it. a couple of classes in particular (persian gulf politics, east european politics, and latin america & the united states) are usually pretty enjoyable, mainly because it's not abstract concepts or anything. it's history. it's what we learned as a country. it's why the troop surge in '07 in iraq didn't work. it's why this iraq war didn't go as well as we thought it would. it's why communism was able to take hold in eastern europe after WWII. it's how CLOSE we were to nuclear world annihilation during october 1962. this is interesting stuff. and i'm learning it from people who are experts in their fields. knowledge is power.

-had a couple of great conversations with friends this week that i'm very thankful for.

-grace campus small group started this week, and i'm definitely looking forward to the rest of the semester. i miss being surrounded with people like that for accountability, wisdom, advice, etc.

-kenya WILL NOT LET GO OF ME.

-headed to birmingham this weekend, mainly to help out my good friend and former middle school choir teacher john with the simmons chorale lock-in tomorrow. i'm in charge of games, which is so unlike me. here's hoping i pull it off, and am able to make it all night.

-auburn will win by 20 this weekend. at least.

-sandra mccracken's new album "red balloon" is worth mentioning. also been listening to missy higgins, tv on the radio, elbow, frightened rabbit, and continue to love matthew perryman jones. i'm not kidding about him. check it out.