fall away * * line

I had this idea.  Call it a catch phrase.
You know those lines in movies- the lines where everything relies on that moment; the in or out, the win or lose, the love or leave line...
or even the line your friend gives you before leaving that you just needed to hear "one" more time
or
that word that "makes your day" at Dunkin donuts as the sweetest lady in the world pours your coffee again.


Edward Bloom "they say when you meet the love of your life, time stops.  What they don't tell you is that when it starts again, it moves twice as fast to catch up" [Big Fish]
A phrase of spoken word that hangs in time, as fireflies dancing on an August evening or the PA announcer letting the crowd know the home team has won, the title, again.
Andrew Largeman "Yeah, the ellipsis, it's dumb. It's dumb. It's an awful idea. I'm not gonna do it, okay? Cause like you said, this is it. This is life. And I'm in love with you... [Garden State]
Our lives are made up of hundreds upon millions of these lines.  'Lines and phrases like knives" as Anberlin says.  In a world of busyness and technological miracles, it is our words that still carry the most weight in our thoughts and feelings moving from one person to another, most often spoken word, but written as well. 
So it would be good then to remember how important this is and to think before we speak, because just as a few words can finalize a brilliant story or seal the deal on an epic romance, lines can also break hearts and crush dreams.  May your lines today and all days carry the Hope and Love of your favorite lines, and may you slow long enough to see the "fall away lines" that make our days and may even make up the very people we are today.  We all have these lines and we all have stories worth telling.  Share or remember the lines that make them move; today.
Charley Waite "Be seein ya, Sue"[Open Range]
listen:
Josh Moore- Shadows in the Dark

"let him without sin, throw the first stone"

long enough to be felt

"to love someone means to move" fr. Guissani

(foto courtesy TWLOHA.com)

Our words need actions to come alive.  Even the greatest word s, faith, hope, love, truth or the ever more majestic words, like triumph, correspondence, enamored, devotional- they all need some sort of action on the other side to make them come ALIVE.  
  There is a big difference between knowing something, having it in your mind as true and real; and believing or rather feeling something.  I know my mom and dad love me, but sometimes I don't feel like it (same for myself in regards to them).  I believe we know a lot of things in life, but it is becoming increasingly difficult in the crazy and fast paced life that we live, for us to allow ourselves and others to feel these things we speak on and believe so well.
Sometimes in our conversations and interactions, we (and I only say we cause I frequently do this) look right past the person speaking and think about something we are doing later or maybe what we are going to say in reply.  It is hard not to, right?  Or, even worse, in a Christian sense, we rush our friend speaking on the issue at hand or cannot make time for them altogether because we promise, "oh I'll just pray for you, later".  Of course prayer is important, rather, it is essential (Luke 18:1), but it is not nor has it ever been a scape goat.  We still need to move.  We need to remain, true to what comes up, over and over in our hearts.  Especially when we don't feel like it. 
I think we have a natural connotation to put things in order, place value on our relationships; preferences.  We would rather hang out with him or her, rather go to the concert instead of the dinner, rather be with friends instead of at the family reunion, rather turn off my phone when I know my friend wants to talk...
and yet the type of love that we are to move in, the kind of love that still loves in this broken world, the unconditional love, the truest sense of this glorious four letter word, is still possible.  Even today, even in this very moment.  But we have to let it go.  We have to let it return.  We have to place it in our minds before we go to bed and let it rise with us in the morning sun- We have to let go, and let Love.  It is possible.  It is crazy, it is daring, bold and trans formative, it is real.  It looks different for every single person, and it just maybe the hardest thing in the world, maybe even harder then bungee jumping, Tour de Francing, or storming the beach on D-Day facing emanate death at the hands of evil manifested in human form. 

What does it look like to give ourselves over to Love?

and can we stay with it, with you, long enough to be felt?

"because I know, what its like, everyone that I know, every place that i go, every story that I'm told,
It's love, love, love, it's love, love, love, that we're lookin for"

LISTEN:
mat kearney- "everyone I know"

presence: Part II

In the last post I spoke about companions and shared a little bit about the companions I have been so fortunate to have in my life.  The companions I have and the companion I am leads into this next idea of presence; that we can be in a place, in different places during a day, yet we may not actually "be there".  Companionship is so great and so important because it allows you to share your heart, to share the very essence of life and living.  It may actually slow life down, slow it down to allow you to breathe, to laugh.  But this is under duress.  Companionship and slowing down enough to grab a cup of coffee with a friend is becoming more and more difficult.  We are Moving TOO fast people!  One issue I see with this is the fact that we can be in different places and do different things over the course of a day and yet not really think about anything we have done or witnessed.  We are not present in the very life we are living!
  There is a scene in one of my favorite movies, Garden state, where Andrew (Zach Braff) has just finished telling the story about how his mother became paralyzed when he was a child.  The scene is set as four people are sitting by a fireplace and the only light cascading through the room is the lit place in a giant, yet otherwise empty living room.  Andrew is sharing the story with everyone, but Sam (Natalie Portman) is the only one really paying attention (they have all had a little to drink).  As Andrew finishing telling the story, Sam asks a striking question,
Sam: You're in it right now, aren't you?
Andrew Largeman: What?
Sam: My mom always says that, when she can see I'm like working something out in my head, she's like, 'you're in it right now' and I'm looking at you're telling this story, and you're definitely in it.
Our lives and our relationships are lived out in reality, but sometimes we get so into a moment, usually from the past, that we exit the reality we are in.  The thing that is neat about this, is that, even though we are simultaneously in two places, in one story, while sharing the same story or moment, those listening are focused on us and this part of us we want to share.  We are "in" one story while living another!  Yet the reality of it is that we have to be present to be in either or rather, both. 
  A great priest once said (Fr. Guissani) "to discover Christ as a presence, we must first come to the conclusion that Christ is indeed, present".  Jesus may be the best example of a presence.  He was always in the moment, so fired up, so focused.  We should be as such for those around us.  Human connection is one of the most sacred and amazing gifts we have to share in this life, and even with the best companions in the world, your presence is still required to live out and enjoy this story; to be "in it". 
  Never underestimate the power of presence.  Entering into a place, a situation, a relationship, or continuing into an existing one, means so much to the people around you.  I had the opportunity to see an old friend recently.  And although we have not kept up for awhile (yet hopefully will this summer!) my presence at his house made hm extremely happy and I believe, was a bit of light for a few of the other guests at the party, especially the kids.  Although it was a different setting then I was used to, my presence was needed there, and, as the band Sleeping at Last puts it so well, "the Light that we hold (EVERYONE HAS THIS), must be buried, buried to Bloom".

Dear__________________,
Welcome to summer.  I'll be voyaging with you the entire time.  Your presence is formerly requested at the rope swing, the mall, the beach, work, the bike race, the family barbecue, the trip to New York, your birthday, the fireworks, camp, your nephews house, a mountain hike, and on and on...
Will you choose to accept?  Will you meet me there?

Your gracious companions,
Infinity, Destiny, & Yahweh

listen:
Brooke Fraser- "CS Lewis song"

companion: part I

Yesterday morning I got up early and prepared for a race, as I have so often over the last five years on a weekend morning when most of my other friends and many people in my age group are still resting quietly in their beds.  Most often these endeavors are to be lived out alone.  Rising, eating, preparing, packing, traveling, warming-up, and racing- all in a solitary state of preparation and focus. 
To go backwards a moment, most of us were involved in sports at one level or another throughout childhood and maybe even high school.  But most often you get to college and post college you drop this type of activity all together.  Not only is this NO good for your physical body but also for the mental and relational side of you as well.  This is yet another reason why endurance sports, such as bike racing, triathlon and running are so cool.  Often times you can have a seventy year old running enthusiast, just happy to finish the race in one piece, toeing the start line with a twenty-one year old collegiate track star who wants to set the course record.  As aforementioned, much of endurance sport time, spent prepping, training and racing, is spent alone; yet it is the time after the dust has settled, the gathering for snacks and awards, the sharing of battle stories, the comfort of family and friends, that we are most happy and even if we have a bad result in an event, all the struggle and strain of the days efforts and washed away, by the smile of a girlfriend or the pat on the back of an old coach...
  Yesterday I had the opportunity to share my passion and the morning's event with my friend Hari.  Not only was this extra inspiration on a chilly and wet morning, but it just made for a better overall experience.  He encouraged me, before and after the race, helped me double check if I had everything I needed, and even held my coat while I raced off into the forest.
  The last few weeks I have thought so much about companions and companionship; and the company we keep.  I have had all sorts of companions, from friends to family, those whom I share laughs with, those who laugh at me, a chance at romance, and a hint of what loving a friend, through thick and thin, is all about.  How blessed I am to have such AMAZING companions to share this life with; and how further magnificent it is to have such different and unique individuals who not only tolerate, but, somehow believe in me, and I in them. 
My prayer for this post is as follows:
That for everyone who reads this, for everyone who is friends with them, for all the people I have a chance to come in contact with, for everyone I have yet to meet:
That you might, by the grace of all things infinite and the imperfection of this planet, seek and be sought, in the companionship of faith, Hope and Love, in friendship, brotherhood, sisterhood and romance, All the days of your life-
for this life is meant to be lived out with one another, because, it is with one another we may truly live.

Even God desires companionship!  (Jesus, the Father, and the spirit- makes three)-

Two song lines have re-occurred to me over and over again corresponding to the above thoughts:

"I'd rather get lost with YOU instead" Mat Kearney [all i have]

                                                and

"Oh my love, won't you sing ALONG?"  [how the day sounds] Greg Laswell

A desirable day

"I'd rather get lost with you instead..."

Looking back on yesterday, I can honestly say it was one of those ordinary miracles of a day that we soooo often take for granted.  As with all good days, it seems, the day began with some resistance.  Evan woke me up at 6:40 after a high blood sugar and all I wanted to do was go back to bed- I didn't.
Evan teaches me a lot about friendship and agape phileo.  That is to say, I love him like a brother, but he can also make my blood boil, over the top of the pot, over again.  That's how I know I care about him.
The rest of the day was brilliant.  Masterful. Astounding.
To revisit, in the caverns of my mind, the sights and sounds of the kids playing at the after school program, as the clouds danced above, in and out of darkness, the kickball game receiving a ten minute rain delay and the kindergartner's dancing in raindrops.
The efforts of a long run in the country, greeting passers by, smiling, moving, breathing, straining; the hills seem bigger today and the animals closer (baby bear!).
Finding yourself in a field with your best friend, musing over life and love, letting the trinity of three gorgeous mountains sweep you away before you attempt to take one another down, in the spirit of all things playful and joyous.
The lowering sun and the elegance of young married couples and their lovely children frolicking on the hillside at the party for their beloved sunshine.  Summer skirts, ukulele's, wild flowers and cakes of carrots.  All the while quiet conversation and a promise of tomorrow to guide us to a sigh of relief for a job well done and the blessings of the chance to do it again in the morn.
Happy birthday Sunshine!!!
At the outset of the day, Evan, upon being asked if he was feeling better, simply said, "yeah i think this is the best day of my life".  Them's serious words.  Best implies greater then all others.  Best is a big word.  Like tallest or longest, flashiest or most hilarious, like perfection, like Jesus.  Although I don't think Ev meant to say this day was better then all others, as if perfect, it got me thinkin about perfection.  As the above adventures of the day would imply, it was a beautifully dynamic and intricately connected day.  Yet as the sun set and the mind wandered, I began to see through to the imperfection of it, counted the few elements or even the sole element I was missing, Hoped for those who had not had such a day, and desired Love even more.
That is to say, Love made perfect (1John 4:18There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love).
Sitting back with a cup of (decaf) coffee last even in, recounting the day, thanking the heavens for a once "quiet" evening, I was greatly humbled, not troubled, by whatever it is I had missed during this "best day".  And although I know pretty well what I missed and what I desired, it was humbling, even warming (like a warm drink on a winter day!) to know that it can and will be better; and different, in the future, tomorrow.
(Nothing happens the same twice- Narnia)  There is still a great deal to be offered to those who wander this earth.  A great romance beyond the mountains.  There is still a desire to be met, still a journey to travel; but life IS NOT a checklist, we cannot go about checking boxes of different hopes and goals. Nor is it even close to perfect.  Yet each experience has the capacity to draw us closer to our heart-of-hearts, to our innermost being, to who we are created to BE; each experience and even moment has the opportunity to change us or our friends, to make straight this path were on, to leave a mark on our community; to change the very world we live in.  Truly, each moment can do this.  Until all moments speak perfection and float as eagles, we have each other and we have today.

May your day be humbly hopeful, and happily imperfect; with all you have...

listen:
 Mat Kearney- All i Have

photo: www.whitemountainart.com/images/fhs132.jpg

a martyr, a memory, a young life, A Savior: the perfect tourniquet

I got to see one of my favorite and most inspired bands recently.  It was even better to see them with one of my very best friends and 'ol roommate Sam.  They hail from Florida, but their recent album cover features a picturesque landscape that I can relate to and makes me Love them all the more.  Anberlin inspires and pushes me in the right direction everyday.  I first started listening to them in 2006 and shortly after started looking into their lyrics, which, for an up tempo emo/indie band in the mold of Brand new, were incredibly deep and thought provoking.  Shortly after I found out they were all Christians (Stephen's last name is actually Christian) and pumped up about the possibility of a better life through this genre of music.

All this excitement and all the elements of words and sounds and projects outside of music and the depth of a couple of Floridians with instruments makes the mind put people on a pedestal.  Although I tended to think of Stephen and the band as "superhero's" of truth and love (and maybe they are) it was quickly made clear to me, that they were just twenty something year old guys.  They have faults, they have shortcomings, they have fallen short: they are just like me.
Dismantle.Repair

Humbling for sure!  Then again, I was still like a little kid at the show, singing every song until my lungs burned and my legs ached from jumping up and down!  And I got Deon's pick!!!

So as that concert on one of the last days in May, gets me pumped up about living and loving and attempting to walk the glorious path God has laid before me, i figured I'd propose a few questions???

What bands or rather song(s) Move you to Move?  To be a better person, to Hope, to laugh, to draw on an experience and go gravitate infinity?  Is there a song that you feel was written for YOU?

...and the second part of that is, why not allow these things to move us?  Our dance party at CSC last year had a theme of, "Let go, Let love"  Can we not live our lives this way?  Can we not let our hearts be moved, as frightening and as daunting as it may be?  I think the answer is, we can, and we will.  Because that which moves us is not just for inspiration or a good time, but rather these elements of life, in this case music tell us about our own hearts, and what they need.  These words tell us about our own Hopes and Dreams, our destiny in this life.  These guitar riff's tell us about our God and how he would love to see us move and help one another out of Love.  Finally, these songs tell us about our story, and how, with faith and Love, we can live magnificent stories that even Hollywood would be jealous for.

This movement is "the perfect tourniquet", this movement is "Jesus to the demons", this reality is "laughing, loving, living free and singing"-

Don't drop your Arms!  (Thank you ANBERLIN...Godspeed!!!)

listen:
"Paperthin hymn" anberlin

"Dismantle.Repair" acoustic- anberlin

Post Script: I am very excited to read the new book by John and Stasi Eldridge, "Love & War" and I will be (new thing) writing a review about it after I read it stay tuned!!