Tag: me

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Legends, Lessons and a Lyrical Life

It was sad to hear the news that Robin Gibb had passed away at the weekend, succumbing to the cancer and related illnesses that had affected him recently. As part of the Bee Gees, his influence on music in the latter quarter of the 20th century cannot be underestimated or dismissed with several commentators and contemporaries saying they are second only to The Beatles.

Last night we sat and watched the excellent “One Night Only” on the Bio channel, a recording of a ’97 Vegas concert featuring most of their big hits. I was pleased to see that my 15-year old daughter was aware of some of their music and actually knew some of the tunes.

But that just made me think… if kids are taught art, English literature and similar at school then shouldn’t there also be space somewhere for learning to appreciate music and to at least give them a bit of an appetite for the legacy of music instead of the plastic pop and manufactured “celebrities” that they idolise.

Why not teach some of the main classical pieces? Introduce them to blues and jazz, take them through the history of Rock’n’Roll and pop music. Teach them to understand the cultural significances, the lyrical and music complexities and beauty, the lives that led to the great songs and symphonies.

Why not have lessons listening to Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Handel, Hendrix, Louis Armstrong, Beatles, Pink Floyd, Abba, Nirvana, the Specials, Dylan and more. Put the music into context within history and help them to learn history in that way, by associating music to events. Let the music tell the story.

And, you never know, it may just be that legends will live on and that a new generation of musicians will rise up and compose the next great songs to inspire a generation whilst having a greater understanding of world history and social changes.

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Pssst…. wanna buy a house?

*GULP*

The “For Sale” board has now gone up! We’re listed on the main housing websites! It’s happening folks! (and, yes, there *are* a lot of exclamation marks there!)

Yup, after much heaven-driven heart-shaping and a mad dash of DIY our house is on the market. It’s quite a milestone really, a bit like planting your flag in the ground, and it certainly gives a very stark and visual sign that the years of waiting are coming to their climax.

There’s a long road yet to travel – we need to find a house, we need a buyer, there’s schools to sort out, plans to be made, packing to be done, money to find… but this really does stand out as a milestone.

Prayer is very much appreciated at this time!

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And after all…

In the midst of all the house move preparations and DIY chaos (more on that soon!), I’ve found a need for a simple connection with God. Through all the busy-ness and noise, just a still small voice before the throne of God.

There’s a song on the last David Crowder Band album (Give us Rest) called “After All (Holy)” that immediately moves me through the wonder of creation and the universe and into the throne room of God. The imagery of the almost hypnotic lyrics within the verses bring a stark and vivid sense of scale to everything and then the song moves into the most simple of choruses, just singing “Holy”.

That got me thinking about worship, something I love. Music stirs my heart and soul and can connect me to God in amazing and wonderful ways.

There are songs that proclaim biblical truths and foundational faith. There are songs that can paint pictures, consuming the mind and imagination in such a way that your only focus is on worship. There are songs that are musically brilliant and complex, that take you along for the ride. There are simple songs, that just declare one or two truths and can absorb you within the reiteration.

I find it fascinating to look at scripture and consider the worship we see in there. The book of Psalms is a glorious library of praise and worship that comes from the hearts of people experiencing all of the human emotions we know – love, hurt, despair, loneliness, desolation, depression, awe, wonder, majesty, fear, abandonment and more.

The Psalms can be simple, or a rich tapestry full of fine stitching that calls us to examine closely and really look at the detail.

But after all that… we can look at Isaiah 6:1-3

“It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.

They were calling out to each other,
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies!
The whole earth is filled with his glory!”

The angels in the throne room of God aren’t singing complex exaltations. They aren’t delivering speeches in song.

They are simply singing “Holy”

And after all… that’s sometimes all that needs to be said.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7rjwkLpooY[/youtube]

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Lost in translation.

It’s such a famous passage: “They that wait upon The Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31 King James Bible)

I’ve always read it as a call to rest, be quiet, wait… and then the strength will come and I will rise up, run, walk. I’ve always heard it preached that way and never really given it much thought. We all know it, we sing songs based on it, and surely we understand it.

Last night I had an OUCH moment. One of those times when the Word of God hits you in such a way that you wince at the impact of it. It makes you cringe as you reflect the word upon your own life. You squirm at the implications for how you proceed.

I was listening to Pastor Steven Furtick and he turned the verse on it’s head saying that to “wait” doesn’t mean stopping, it means the same thing as a waiter waiting on tables… serving.

“What we call Patience, God often calls Procrastination.” was one soundbite from the sermon.

OUCH.

That hurt. How many times have I “waited on God” before acting? How many times could I have been stepping out in faith, getting on with the job and believing that Gods strength would come, that His wisdom would be known as I too a leap of faith. How many times have I sat on my backside when I could have been seeking God through action.

Now I don’t take such radical shifts in the way the bible is interpreted at face value… so I did some digging into the different translations of this verse to see what they said:

  • “But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength.They will soar high on wings like eagles.They will run and not grow weary.They will walk and not faint.” (New Living Translation)
  • “But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wingsand mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired.” (Amplified)
  • “But those who trust the Lord will find new strength. They will be strong like eagles soaring upward on wings; they will walk and run without getting tired.” (Contemporary English Version)
  • “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (New International Version)

Don’t get me wrong, there are times we need to STOP. To wait on God. To refresh and recharge. Even the most enthusiastic and energetic of Christians need to stop sometimes or risk burning out. There are times when God needs to speak to us in the silence and the calm, to ensure He has our full attention and that we aren’t so distracted by DOING that we aren’t LISTENING.

But it’s also been a far too convenient excuse. It’s been so easy to accept that I need to “wait” and not “do”.

I wonder… how much further would I be if I’d mounted up on wings like eagles? if I’d run and trusted that God would provide the strength?

Yes, there’s always grace – but there are also seasons, and I suspect there have been some that I’ve missed because I’ve been sat on my blessed assurance with a holy face on. Hopefully now I might just be a bit more proactive and less procastinatory (is that even a word?!?)

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Love, Life and Communion


What a weekend! One couple committing to a new future together, another celebrating a major milestone and a big reminder of the ultimate expression of love.

You may have noticed it’s been a few weeks since my last blog post. You may also have noticed the little counter that is on the right of my homepage has now gone from counting DOWN to my borthers wedding and is now counting the days SINCE the wedding!

Yup, at long last my cute ickle baby bruvver (can’t resist I’m afraid bro!) has gotten married and boy has he managed to punch above his weight finding someone charming, witty, patient and who looked gorgeous in her wedding dress (OK – I promise I’ll stop picking on you now Roo :-D)

With our daughter as a bridesmaid, me as an usher, and plenty of other things happening it was always going to be a huge build up to the big day. What also added to the weekend was the fact that my Mum & Dad celebrated 40 years of marriage! I was priveleged to be asked to do a cake for the event (which Mrs H baked and I decorated, with an additional surprise of some chocolate and some jammy cupcakes for good measure). I was also honoured to be asked to lead communion following my parents renewing their wedding vows.

I guess this would be a good point to Congratulate Mr & Mrs Hartley Jr and also to offer huge respect and congrats to the patriarch and matriarch of the Hartley Clan!

It was really rather odd in some ways as on the one hand Mrs H and I were watching two people embark on a journey that we’ve been travelling for the past 12 years, and then we were looking ahead at an inspirational and great example of what love and marriage should be like after so many years. Reflection and Vision in the space of two days, not a bad thing really (tiredness and hectic arrangements aside!)

Being asked to lead the communion on the Sunday was a great blessing for me, and I found myself being given a clear direction straight away. As much for my own memory as anything (although I do hope that you will be blessed by it) I thought I’d share my communion notes below. They’re not polished or honed particularly but represent the outpouring of what I felt God wanted to convey through the act of sharing the bread and wine.

Communion. The most intimate act we can ever know

Communion in the dictionary is defined as: com·mun·ion [kuh-myoon-yuhn]
association; fellowship.
interchange or sharing of thoughts or emotions; intimate communication
They act of sharing, or holding in common; participation.

If there is one overriding theme this weekend, it’s Love.

With my baby brother getting married yesterday, and my parents celebrating 40 years of marriage today, it’s also a weekend of commitment, of promise, of covenant and relationship. It’s a time of intimacy and the wonder and mystery of two becoming one.

Our relationship with God takes all of this, and far exceeds what we can fully understand. He is our Father. The Holy Spirit is our companion and guide. Christ is our brother, saviour, Lord and lover of our souls. There’s an intimacy between us and Jesus that exceeds that which those of us who are married share with our other halves.

It goes beyond that though as there is even more to our relationship with Him because, as a church, we are to be the bride of Christ.

The relationship that God the Father, Spirit and Son wants to have with us is so close, so intimate, so complete that it encompasses, and is the ultimate version of, every type of positive relationship that we can have on earth.

Communion is one more expression of that complete devotion towards us. Just as a Bride and Groom give to each other fully, so Jesus is giving fully to us through a piece of bread and a sip of wine. It is a symbol of Jesus, the groom, giving himself completely over to his bride.

Through this simple act the all-embracing relationship with the trinity is demonstrated to us.

1 John 4:10 – THIS IS LOVE: not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took some bread. He gave thanks and then he broke it, giving it to the disciples as an act of remembrance. Likewise He took a cup of wine, gave thanks again and passed it to the disciples. The bread to remind us that His body was sacrificed for us, the wine for the blood that was shed as He suffered and died for us all.

That’s love. That’s commitment. That’s intimacy.

As the bread and the cup are brought to you, I pray that you will feel that ultimate and perfect Love coming from heaven. If you don’t feel able to take communion then please let them pass you by – but know that this Love isn’t passing you by and is there for you as much as for anyone.