The Ocean’s Roar

Here is one of my favorite songs.  It is intended to be a praise song.  It has never really been used in corporate worship, but I use it in any set that I can work it into and play it quite often during my own times of praise and worship.  I drew from my own experiences when writing this.  I live near the coast so  I have spent my share of time in and around the Ocean.  I have seen the powerful rip currents and been turned around by the waves and didn’t know which way was up.  I remember the first time I saw an eagle flying.  I remember distictly that there were several buzzards that were circling the same general area as the eagle.  At first, they were all at the same height and then as if it flipped a switch, the eagle began to soar far above anything the buzzards could ever dream of.  I have spent time in the mountains and enjoyed the spectacular views that differ so much from the Atlantic coast.  And the first time that I went to New York, I tried so hard not to look like a country boy but I could not escape my roots.  I was truly amazed. 

When I wrote this song, I was trying to think of all of the amazing things that I have experienced and how they cannot even come close to what God is and what He means in my life.  This was back in 2005.  As I look back at how much God has brought me through in the last three years, the words mean so much more today than ever.

Verse 1
I’ve heard the ocean roar I felt its power as I stood in it’s waves
I’ve seen the eagle soar I saw its strength as I watched it fly away

Bridge
But of all the things I heard and seen
There’s only one thing compelling me
To fall down on my knees in praise

Chorus
You are God over all I see You’re all I need
You alone are worthy of my praise
More than words of the songs I sing, my offering
A life of praise I bring to You today

Verse 2
I’ve climbed the mountains high saw the beauty of the valley in my view
I’ve seen the city sky and the grand design and buildings man can do

All songs

hopeLight Worship Conference

I recently attended a worship conference at Lighthouse Community Church in Federalsburg, MD.  It was lead by hopeLight out of Warsaw, NY. 

I am not a worship conference veteran and am by no means an expert, but I was very impressed with how the conference was setup.  They started off with a full set of worship music and then talked about the hows and whys.  This did several things for me.  One, they showed that they knew what they were doing, both musically and spiritually.  Two, the music set the tone for the evening.  We were there to learn how to lead worship better.  They started leading by example and then broke it down for us.  The last thing that it did for me was it made me focus on the real goal, which is worshiping our God.

One of the things that really rang true for me was their talk about integrity.  I know there are many grey areas in Christianity.  For example, is consuming alcohol appropriate?  In many countries and even many parts of this country, it is completely acceptable.  In other areas, it is considered awful.  The worship leaders made a point that reinforced my own position.  How can you lead worship on Sunday morning if you were in the bar on Saturday night?  My position has always been that as a leader in the church, you should not cause another person to sin.  If a recovering alcoholic sees a worship leader or pastor drinking alcohol, they think that just a few won’t matter.  I’m sure the pastor can stop at just one but the alcoholiccannot stop at just one.  Another issue is that it opens quite a bit of temptation to lean on something other than God to deal with your problems.  Okay, l’ll get off my soapbox.

Another big issue that they addressed was that you need to worship God with all that you have.  We were created to worship God and so we need to spend our time in worship giving our all.  David danced until he embarrassed those around him.  I don’t think I have ever embarrassed anyone with my worship.  I know I need to loosen up and let go of the geek in me. 

All in all, the evening was well spent.  The band sounded great.  They were upbeat and fun to listen to.  But the most important thing was that they used their talent for God with all that they had.  They share their craft with everyone they can so that more people can worship in a free spirit.

If you get the chance, give them a listen and begin to praise.

Things I Hope My Children Learn From Me

Excellence is always the best policy
Life is a journey so enjoy the ride
There is no such thing as too much integrity
Sometimes doing the right thing is hard, but it is still right
Everything decision in life has consequenses, some good, some bad
What you do is not who you are
Be true to yourself
Be true to God
Dream big
Believe in yourself
No matter what, in every circumstance, your father will always love you

Things I Have Learned From My Father

Effort is important
Doing for others is better than doing for yourself
The greatest joy is in giving
You can

accomplish almost anything when you are truly committed to the task
Having favor with someone is important
Work hard at whatever you do
No matter how hard you work, family comes first.   Always
If you prepare enough, the task will be easier.
Dream big
Love your wife like she is your best friend because she is.

Sure, we can swim in that!

Last week I wrote a post about our pool and how hard it was to believe that we would be able to swim in the disgusting water.  Well, today, my children jumped in!  It’s amazing that in less than a week’s time, we went from utterly repulsive to crystal clear, thanks to the good people at the local pool center. 

On the flip side of that post, I talked about how our spiritual lives mirrors my pool.  Last night, I was reflecting on how much spiritual growth I have seen in my life in the last few months.  Now, please, I am not bragging on myself.  On the contrary, this is growth that should have come much earlier and easier than it has, but I am a stuborn man.  God has put me in a position where my faith has been able to grow immensly.  Just like the chemicals, the purification of my life has been a bit harsh.  It has not been the most fun trip, much like cleaning that nasty water, but the reward has been even greater than what my kids felt as they jumped in with both feet this afternoon. 

Next time you see a pool, clean or dirty, think about your spiritual life.  How clean is your water?  And what will it take to make it pure?

at&t back in service!

I just received a call on my at&t wireless phone! I understand that they suffered two cuts in major fiber optic lines. I still think they need to hire an over ocd person to be in charge of their backup planning. Its important to have a backup for the backup that fails when the first backup fails.

AT&T down, work goes smoother

We use AT&T (formally Cingular) wireless phones where I work.  Usually, Mondays are pretty hectic.  Today has been a great day!  the cell phone will not work and we cannot stay in the office because the air conditioner quit working.  I think I have accomplished more today than since we were issued cell phones. 

In all seriousness, I have not had time to research what is wrong at AT&T, but it has caused several problems that I am aware of.  In contacting AT&T this morning, we learned that all of Delaware, part of Pennsylvania, and southern New Jersey was down.  I cannot imagine being a contractor or road salesperson and not being able to be in contact with the office or customers.  I know that they tell you that your cellular service is not guarranteed to always work, but in today’s society, we have become dependent upon the use of wireless phones.  My wife will be on the road tonight.  I am glad that she is on Verizon.  I want to know if she breaks down or has a flat tire or just had a bad evening. 

AT&T, it has been nice to have a day off from the phone but let’s get it together.  This isn’t 1996.  Cell phones are not a novelty.  They are a neccesity.  If you want to be a industry leader, then go join the Boy Scouts and be prepared! 

We’re going to swim in that?

I have mentioned before that I can turn anything into a life lesson and here I go again…

I pulled to cover off of the pool last night.  Honestly, I have seen stagnate ponds that looked cleaner (Sorry, no pictures, I don’t want to gross you out).  The water is black and murky at best and even smells like a stagnate pond.  As I started to vacuum the bottom of the dismal abyss, I thought to myself “We going to swim in that?” 

After an hour of vacuuming, there was a slight change.  You could at least see a light surface emerging at the bottom.  After a massive amount of chemicals and a massive amount of filtering, I know that the water will be crystal clear and irresistible. 

It makes me think about our own lives.  It does not matter how dark or murky we are on the inside, God can pour spiritual chlorine through us and filter out all the impurities.  Just like a pool, it usually doesn’t happen overnight, despite my children’s desires.  It takes time and a balance of the right things to make yourself pure.  I could run my filter 24/7 but without chlorine, my water would still be green.  I could pour $500 worth of chemicals into my water but without stirring them up and running the filter, they would settle to the bottom, useless.  Given the opportunity, God will clean and filter your life until you begin to shine. 

Another interesting analogy is that a pool takes constant maintenance.  I do not like to swim in mostly clean water.  I want it fully clean.   I may have to adjust the pH here and the alkaline there throughout the summer and I always check the chlorine and run the filter.  I pull out the vacuum a few times per week to get the junk that starts to accumulate in the deep end because I want the water clean.  Our lives are just like that.  If we do not constantly maintain our spiritual person, we can become dark and murky and need major shock to get us clean again.  In September, my water was sparkling.  In June, it is repulsive.  With a little work, a lot of chemicals, it will be sparkling again very soon.  This weekend, I will be checking the levels of the pool chemicals.  I think I better take a reading on my spirit while I’m at it.

The Edge Of The Storm

On Saturday night, we were on our way to Laurel, DE from Delmar to attend a birthday get together for a good friend.  As the picture shows, we passed through the edge of a terrible storm.  Like so many other ordinary things in life, it made me think.  All we were doing was driving to a birthday party and I’m thinking about the meaning of life. 

We were driving into the storm.  2 things should be noted here.  1, it was a very good friend and 2.  I’ve never been too bright.  Now, back to the meaning of life…  Behind us and to our right, we could actually see the edge of the storm.  If we remained focused on the storm, all we would have seen were dark terrible skies.  But as we looked around, we could see sunny skies and almost hear the singing birds.  Where we were was not what you would call a good place, complete with lightning crashing all around, howling winds, and blackened skies.  The storm was moving fast and we could literally see the end of the storm, but we had to look to find it.  If we had focused totally on the storm, we would have never seen that we were right on the edge.  We would not have spotted the sunlight shining. 

Obviously, not all storms are fast moving and most of the time, the change from storm to sunshine is more gradual.  But isn’t that just like life?  Some storms come quickly and pass just as quickly, leaving destruction in its path.  Other storms come in slowly and seem to stay over us forever.  One thing remains the same, no matter what kind of storm.  The sun always shines again.  Sometimes, it feels like 40 days of rain and other times, you wish that it was only 40 days. However, the sun always shines. 

As for our storm on Saturday, the storm passed through very quickly and we were grilling hot dogs and hamburgers within an hour of the great darkness. 

The picture is certainly not amazing photography.  I took it with a cell phone while we were traveling down the road at 50mph (and before you get concerned, my wife was driving), but I will keep a copy of it on my computer for quite a while to remind me that all storms pass. 

As I face the storms of life, both great and small, I know that they will pass.  I will try to take the time to look around to see if the sunshine is already in view and now I have a picture to remind me. 

It’s A Two Man Race…

Obama has clinched the Democratic nomination.  Now it is official, McCain vs. Obama.  Elder Statesman vs. Political Phenom.  Personally, I think McCain will win in November because he has a few hundred more elections under his belt.  What I really think is that the most important leader in the world will be decided on sound bites and nonsense.  Sometimes, listening to the “analysis” on some of the news networks sounds more like Entertainment Tonight.  Who had the better speech, who looks more presidential.  Are we picking a prom queen or a president? 

Here’s what I want to know:
Are you going to defend me and my freedom at any cost?
How will you honor the Constitution and what does that mean to you?
Where do you stand on the key issues?
Can I trust you with my country?

I don’t care about what you look like, sound like, or whether you always say the right things in your speeches.  I know there is a science to this stuff, but I wonder if given the opportunity, would we have the wisdom to elect George Washington,  John Adams or Thomas Jefferson today?  Would we have the courage to elect Abraham Lincoln and stand behind him when the right thing proved so costly in today’s political atmosphere?