Swan Lake and Meeting AP

What a great weekend! My friend, Larissa, invited me to "get away" for a day before Easter. We left on Good Friday and drove to the Georgia mountains to a quaint Bed and Breakfast owned by a very hospitible Christian couple. We had a wonderful time of being catered with scrumptious food, playing backgammon, worshipping with voices and guitars by a fire that never quite got going (but not for lack of trying, mind you!), Larissa falling in the muddy lake, beautiful weather, and excellent and much needed quiet time in amazing surroundings and in the presence of God.....we felt blessed and refreshed!

Then it was off on a road trip to Knoxville to see a performance by one of my favorite artists, Andrew Peterson. I've followed his songwriting, journals, concerts, blogs, Rabbit Room, and now bookwriting, for a long time. His songs have convicted my spirit as well as made my heart soar with praises. His blogs have brought me to tears as I relate to the way he is real about his shortcomings while at the same time, exalting the One who loves us most. I've been to a few of his concerts in the past and they have always been memorable. I've recommended his music to tons of people and have gifted his Christmas album to many: Behold the Lamb of God. Recently, I've followed the making of his latest album entitled: Resurrection Letters, Vol. 2.......

The concert was just him on the guitar and Ben Shive on the grand piano. He told background stories of songs I've loved, he talked comically in between songs, and he played new songs from the upcoming album. My favorite was a song called "Hosanna", which I learned means, "Save us!" It always seemed like the people crying "hosanna" were praising him, while instead they were shouting for salvation! What a difference that makes. Needless, to say, I cannot wait for the album to come out.

After the concert, at a smallish church in Knoxville, I decided to try to meet Andrew. Surprisingly, it was quite easy, and he was quite pleasant (although shorter than I had thought!). I told him that I had driven from Atlanta and that I felt that I already knew him from reading so much of his heart and thoughts online. I expressed my excitement for the Rabbit Room and told him how much his music and journals have meant to me over the years. I talked to Ben too, and told him how much I appreciated his hard work to bring together AP's albums. His piano playing is amazing! He's been working on his own album for 2 years now.

I bought AP's first book, released four days prior: On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, and asked him to sign it. He wrote: Kristen, beware the toothy cows! AP

We drove home and got in late, but rose excited for the early sunrise Easter service at 7am outside. I felt so much joy on this Resurrection Day. So much life. So much peace in the presence of my Savior.

He's alive! He is risen! The tomb is empty! He was risen to rule, to rescue, to return, and to restore! Thank you Lord for an amazing and memorable weekend of showered blessings! Thank you for the gift of Your Son, Jesus Christ, for His death and resurrection. Thank you that you have allowed me to be a dwelling place for Your life and Spirit!

Thanks AP for sharing your gifts of music and words! Thanks Larissa, for your friendship and time!

Peace of the Risen Christ to all!

Words

I read this poem recently and was overcome by the words and they way they move, and shape, and tingle on your tongue....still not sure what all it means.......reminds me of Dylan Thomas! Eugene Peterson took the title to one of his books from this sonnet: Christ Plays In Ten Thousand Places.....

“As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;
As tumbled over rim in roundy wells
Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell’s
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves — goes itself; _myself_ it speaks and spells,
Crying _What I do is me: for that I came_.

“I say more: the just man justices;
Keeps grace: that keeps all his goings graces;
Acts in God’s eye what in God’s eye he is –
Christ. For Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men’s faces.”

Sonnet by Gerard Manley Hopkins

I'll tell you how the sun set...a ribbon at a time!

"I sometimes look into the endless heavens, the cosmos of which we can't find the edge, and ask God what it means. Did You really do all of this to dazzle us? Do You really keep it shifting, rolling round the pinions to stave off boredom? God forbid Your glory would be our distraction. And God forbid we would ignore Your glory."
excerpt from: Through Painted Deserts by Donald Miller

Let it Snow!!

What is winter with no snow? Just cold.....what fun to see snow two times here in Hotlanta.....It came down in big, beautiful flakes and then hung around long enough for a village of snow people to be born and frolick on the lawns for a day!

OK, so the city shut down and flights were canceled or delayed, businesses lost some money, and ice scrapers had to be dug up and actually used, but it made me feel like a kid again....it made me long to be home in Michigan where we had the exact same big, flaky, beautiful, magical snow on New Year's Eve.......except the accumulation was 10 inches!

It was so great to see people outside building a snowman, kids that have never seen this "white wonder" stand in awe and then throw snowballs at each other......how can you have a decent childhood without ever throwing a snowball?

After the first snow last Wednesday, I woke up and found two snowballs in the freezer! Cute Aubrey, but you're still not gonna get me!!

Hope this winter you find magical moments and a deeper appreciation for our glorious creation and that you find the true JOY of the Creator of snow LIVING in you!

Divine Romance

These lyrics have really moved me this Christmas season...if you don't know the song, get it from itunes, it's fantabulous!

Divine Romance - Phil Wickham

The fullness of Your grace is here with me
The richness of Your beauty’s all I see
The brightness of Your glory has arrived
In Your presence God, I’m completely satisfied

For You I sing I dance
Rejoice in this divine romance
Lift my heart and my hands
To show my love, to show my love

A deep deep flood, an Ocean flows from You
Of deep deep love, yeah it’s filling up the room
Your innocent blood, has washed my guilty life
In Your presence God I’m completely satisfied

Can I get an "amen"?

The Promise of Autumn

I love the fall. It is by far my favorite season. I have always been overwhelmed by the brilliant colors. In fact, I often joke that if I happen to be driving at sunset in the fall, I could literally get into an accident from the breath-taking impact of the colors of both tree leaves and sky at the same time to my heart. And it's probably true.

I beleive the Lord romances me that way. I haven't always appreciated the beauty of creation as piercingly as I do now. I've always loved colors, but until I fell in love with Jesus, I never acknowledged the Master Artist behind the masterpiece of the night sky or the autumn leaves or the sunrise or sunset. He is so romantic.

When I moved to Charlotte, NC from Michigan, I had my first taste of a long, beautiful season of fall. The leaves didn't turn and then fall immediately, they lingered and I was captivated by His glorious majesty so often. I easily looked forward to the end of summer.

When I recently moved to Atlanta, GA, I was told that last year's fall here was not much and that the trees had turned quickly and gone bare without so much of a notice. At first, my heart sank...."No fall? This cannot be!"

And then I remembered my Savior. I responded with confidence, "I know my Lord and I know that it was His will that He brought me to this new place, and I know that He would not have moved me to a place where there was no fall......there will be colors!" Some thought that was bold of me to claim, others just didn't believe me at all. But I trusted and I waited and I looked and I SAW!

Recently, I had an opportunity to spend a weekend at Stone Mountain in Georgia, which is a beautful and huge state park. I wanted to get some quality reflection and listening time with the Lord. Guess what He showed me - COLORS! The mountain was filled with trees bearing the most brilliant leaves and the paths were covered in golds and reds and oranges and yellows. It was mid to upper 60's, so I walked and I prayed and I thanked God for the beauty of the earth and the glory that shone all around me. The sun gleamed brightly to enhance the view and the hues. It was an amazing weekend. And the colors are still here into December!

Thank you Lord, for loving me enough to show me your glory in the brightness of color, the peace of a river, and the magnificance of the sky!

"From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring,
Every creature unique in the song that it sings...

Indescribable, uncontainable
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name
You are amazing God!
All powerful, untamable
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God!"

Elf Yourself

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9540253375

Click on the link above to get a good chuckle! If this doesn't put you in the Christmas spirit, I don't know what will........who needs Christmas cards, this says it all! Thanks Laura.....

The Rabbit Room

In October, one of my favorite artists, Andrew Peterson, created this new website and I highly recommend it. Here'e the link: www.rabbitroom.com

It's set up as a blog so that readers can comment. Most of the contributers are singer/songwriters, pastors, and writers. All of them have an appreciation and passion for reading great books, listening to good music, and admiring tasteful and thought-provoking art. The room itself feels like a place of community and "kindred spirits".

The original "rabbit room" was in the back of an Oxford Pub where the likes of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and other friends met to discuss the books they were writing.

Most of the reviews of each creative piece, be it book, album, or art, become quite lengthy and introspective as the artists share how these mediums touched their lives, challenged their spirits, and revealed to them truth and beauty in their walks with the Lord.

I strongly urge those of you who read a ton of literature and listen to a vast array of music to add this page to your favorites. Here is a snippet of the vision from the founder, Andrew Peterson:

I believe strongly in the value of the artists in this world. I believe that when someone who was made to strive to create beauty in the world is, as Brennan Manning said, “ambushed by Jesus,” the art that results bears a God-given power that draws men to Christ. I have encountered that power in the sub-creations of Christ-followers countless times. (I’ve also encountered it in the works of those who haven’t yet succumbed to the source of their gifting.) Those works of art have helped me to better understand the Bible and its author, they have given me the tools with which to worship, to serve, to revel in the greatness of the Maker.

Those works of art are the fruit of obedience to the artist’s calling. The burden God places on each of us is to become who we are meant to be. We are most fully ourselves when Christ most fully lives in us and through us; the mother shines brightest with her child in her arms, the father when he forgives his wandering son, and the artist when he or she is drawing attention to grace by showing the pinprick of light overcoming the darkness in the painting or the story or the song.

The world knows darkness. Christ came into the world to show us light. I have seen it, have been blinded by it, invaded by it, and I will tell its story. I cannot help but see that story everywhere I look. I see it when I am full of joy and weightless as a cloud, and I see it when grief and self-loathing root me to the cold earth; it is remembering the story, Christ whispering it in my ear, that kills the despair, sets me gently on the donkey, and takes me to an inn to recover from the wounds. How can I keep myself from singing?

The Rabbit Room is a place for stories. For artists who believe in the power of old tales, tales as old as the earth itself, who find hope in them and beauty in the shadows and in the light and in the source of the light
Andrew Peterson (The Proprietor)

Here is where I've discovered a new found joy in reading and explored books I would have never picked up. Here, I first heard an amazing review of Sara Groves new album "Tell Me What You Know", which I wholeheartedly recommend and have been listening to almost nonstop since I purchased it on itunes!

I'll leave the rest for you to discover, but I can think of so many of you that are "kindred spirits" to me that would truly benefit and be blessed, inspired, and challenged for visiting this room regularly......ENJOY!

Thanks Andrew Peterson.....

Tribute to a Brother

Parting Thoughts - Frank Grubbs

"My feet have found faith, beneath your table...
they have found rest in your backyard.
My hands have toiled beside you, but the work was easy...
cause He came down and the yoke was shared.


And I will miss you,
and I will pray,
that faith goes before you,
and peace follows near.

My eyes have seen the love that grows within you....
and it's caused my hindsight to go blind.
My ears have heard the truth that you wrap in a blessing...
and though convicting, I am set free.

And the things that we have bound up,
are as far as the east from west.
And the things that we have given,
are worth their weight in gold.
And the love that we have shared,
is priceless and holy....
it is a treasure we have stored up in heaven.

And though the shape of the house may change....
Christ, He will reign there just the same.
And though the miles will lengthen, the same ground holds us both,
and the same good rain falls on us all.

And I will miss you,
and I will pray,
that grace goes before you,
and peace follows near."

I miss you friend....and this song represents so many other seasons of kindred spirits that have come and gone in my life....Praise God that HE is steadfast and unchanging!

Such beautiful lyrics of the experience of community....write on, brother...sing your heart out!

Community Living

I've been thinking a lot about community lately, since a recent visit to Charlotte, NC. I've always been drawn to community. I was raised in an environment of people that called themselves the "community". I have lived to experience and taste true community and sadly witnessed false community as well.

To me, living in community is like the representation of the biblical, early church described in Acts 2:42. The component I believe we, as humans, trying to be better than we are, often miss is real transparency (for lack of a better word), vulnerability, and humility. So often we try to create groups of believers that get together to see who is wearing the nicest suit of fig leaves. We compare ourselves by who has it most together, who knows the most scripture, or who has sinned the least lately. We continue to try to modify our behavior, instead of letting the Divine Healer modify our hearts.

My point is this: all the behavior modification in the world will never change our hearts (I think Derek Webb says this in "The House Show" - excellent album). Jesus however, will change our hearts. Until we are willing to surrender, submit, and relinguish ALL control to the One who loves us most, only then, can we begin to experience true community with one another.

Then we can let another soul into our mess. Then we can truly testify and boast in our Savior. Then we can unwaveringly trust God's will and direction. Then we can more clearly hear His voice, even when it is a whisper. Then we can gloriously edify, love, sharpen, challenge, and correct one another in the body of Christ. Then we can boldy speak to one another truth in His love. Then we can joyfully serve each other and anticipate the needs of those around us. Then we can unabashedly step out in faith to love our brothers and sisters no matter how different. Then we can see the face of Christ, feel the love of the Father, and know the power of the Holy Spirit.

True community is being willing to love another unconditionally, serve another unselfishly, know another completely with all faults and darkness, and live together in honesty and harmony, all the while pressing on toward the goal of knowing Christ Jesus and the power of His death and resurrection.

I long for this type of relational community here in Atlanta. I grieve it's loss with my move away from Charlotte. I'll strive to find the "kindred" spirits that resonate with this ideal. I'll recklessly abandon myself to Christ in the waiting, and more so in the finding.

From a recent blog by Matt Conner:

In Ephesians, Paul prays for us to understand a few things about God and His Kingdom - one of those being “his vast inheritance in the saints…” That single line made me pause and seemed to flip everything around, suddenly causing miles of other passages to make sense (at least to me). The riches are His people. The inheritance to come can be found in the people being saved around us. Indeed, God’s most prized creation - man and woman - is indeed the treasure that Heaven will be full of.

Thus, you are my treasure, like it or not. And dreaming of “flying away” only keeps me from appreciating the beauty of you.

“The closest thing we have to Jesus on earth is one another.” Randall Goodgame

"To get in touch with the Creator, to truly appreciate Creation is to spend time with humanity." Eugene Peterson