Losing a Legend: the iPod Photo

I’ve never been shy to say that music is a big part of my life. I live it, eat it, breathe it, and sleep it. It’s the “universal language”, so to speak. My wife bought me a used iPod for our first Christmas in 2005. I can say it may have been the most valuable gift I’ve ever received from anyone. She bought it used, it was a bit scuffed up, but it’s served me faithfully for 3 years. It followed me everywhere I went, whether in the car or at work; kind of like a pet. iPet? Anywho… yesterday, at work, my iPod died. I used it everyday at work and it runs about 3-4 hours at my desk in my little iBlaster speaker thingy. It was working fine in the morning until it started making some odd noises. No, I wasn’t listening to Radiohead, it was an internal noise that sounded like an old PC trying to load. Finally, it froze the iPod and when I went to reboot it, an icon of a “sad” iPod came up:

Sad iPod told me to go here: here and proceeded to inform me that my iPod was having a hardware issue. Well, that’s nice. At least my iPod is smart enough to tell me when’s sick and too old to continue pumping out my jams.

So, now I am on the lookout for a new iPod. These little machines have come a long way since the iPod Photo came out 5 or 6 years ago so I have the choice of getting the sexy, sleek looking iPod Touch with all of its abilities and tricks or pay tribute to the classic, tough, sturdy, and oh-so-plentiful 120G of memory an iPod Classic has come standardized with. There’s also about $150 between the price considering I’d need more than 8G or 16G of memory to even consider an iTouch (I’ve got about 13G of music alone). So, a new debate arises: to touch or not to touch?

Funny Pics

So, when I don't have anything clever, witty, or interesting to talk about, I simply post a blog with someonthing useless, clever, or witty. While I was in Windsor, NS last weekend for our youth's annual ski rally (I was helping with worship), but buds and I scanned someone funny pics/videos from www.failblog.org
Here're a few of my faves:


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Art vs. Ministry: Part 5

Last night at my K-Cell (read "small group") had an exercise where we listened to southern gospel quartet sing a song called, "Gentle Shepherd, Lead Us". I'm not necessarily a fan of southern gospel quartet music, but the exercise provided us with time to pray & reflect on where god is leading our own lives as the words were sung:

...

"Gentle Shepherd, Come and lead us,
For we need you, To help us find our way,
Gentle Shepherd, Come and feed us,
For we need your strength from day to day,

There's no other, We can turn to,
Who can help us face another day,

Gentle Shepherd, Come and lead us,
For we need you to help us find our way."

...

As the quartet sang (presumably gathered around one dynamic mic with with a single piano recorded in a bath tub made of marble), my reflection turned to this blog; my ever-increasing endeavour to find God's purpose for my life, the Art vs. Ministry battle. I began to really flesh out what exactly it meant to be the Artists or be the Minister; I see "Art" as being a musician who is creating art with other Christians in hopes to reach & teach non-specific people about the love of Christ whereas "Ministry" is being a minister that also teaches and reaches but to a specific group of believers (and non) in a ministry or church position. That's a bit of Mickey Mouse, dumbed-down version of what I visualize as I realize both these things can be one-in-the-same but I believe there is a specific time and place that God wants me.

The following thoughts are just some of give or take, right or wrong, pro or con, this or that, and love or like factors that I had been going over in my head to help flesh out some of this in my own mind. So, these are just some musings of those things, but they also carry some deep meaning when trying to extrapolate the mind of the Creator of the Universe regarding me:

Art vs. Ministry:

play vs. work

love vs. learn

faith vs. faithfulness

wagon vs. tent

uncertainty vs. security

inspire vs. desire

crowd vs. congregation

sing with vs. sing to

electric vs. acoustic

prize vs. praise

the Church vs. a church

stage vs. pulpit

rock vs. Rock

translate vs. transform

perform vs. reform

belong vs. behave

affect vs. effect

create vs. imitate

commission vs. communion

musician vs. minister

Am I missing anything?

div>

Art vs. Minsitry: Part 4

It's been a while since I last blogged. Not sure why. Maybe I've been busy. OK, yeah, I've been busy. There I said it. Catherine has gone back to work so our days are fairly busy trying to get the baby ready in the morning to making sure he goes down for bed for a full night's sleep. Work has finally picked up and my days are pretty full at work (where I usually blog from anyway) so I guess that explains my lack of blogness. I just realized I hate the word BLOG. The again, an "online journal" sounds mega-gay, so I'll steer away from that one. I'll also steer about from using the word "mega-gay" too much.

I had lunch with my father-in-law and we sat down to talk about the possibility of me pursuing a Local Minister's License through our church. In most cases, the Local Minister's License (LML) is a predecessor to ordination in the Church of the Nazarene. The process takes a few years and some further studies beyond my B.A. in Biblical Studies, but certainly some learning I’m willing to take in for sure. During Pastor Dale/Dad’s explanation of the LML process, he reminded me of something that resonates with the “Art vs. Ministry” debate I’m always having. He reminded me of biblical characters like Moses and Joseph who God used to do extraordinary things despite the fact that they were average people who were ok with their circumstances. Between the time of the Prince of Egypt episode and the Mountain Experience, Moses was a simple shepherd who was content with his situation and place in his world. When confronted by God via a burning bush, Moses was humbled by not only God’s presence, but God’s willingness to use him for an even more extraordinary plan to rescue the Hebrews from Pharaoh. And then there’s Joseph who, the youngest of 12 boys, was put in many different situations to which he escaped with god’s providence. From being stuck in a well and left for dead, to being a travelling gypsy, to escaping Potiphar’s house (and wife), to his struggles in jail; God used Joseph and what he had to offer no matter the circumstance.

In both these examples, I drew parallels of my art/ministry debacle. In Moses's story, God called Moses out from his situation into something extraordinary; something that Moses was unaware he could do. Moses meager abilities to shepherd sheep was turned into an awesome display of God's grace and power as Moses ended up shepherding a large group of unruly and belligerent and grumbling Hebrews across desert for 40 years. Not only this, but between confronting the Pharaoh and rescuing his people, God taught Moses patience. Moses sat idle while God waited for the perfect time to use him. This is wheree I am now. I am between the Pharaoh and the Mountain, waiting on God to put me in the right position at the right time with the right people. Like Moses, I don't know what to expect and I don't know what kind of journey he wants me to experience. While my patience wears thin, I also have time to really search out God's will for my life. I don't believe the right situation will jump out and bite me; I believe I have to seek God's will and purpose for me and then He will open the doors.

In Joseph's case, God used in him in the kind of positions he didn't want to be in. Joseph's gift of dreams got him out of some tough spots and that gift propelled him to bigger and greater things. I reflect on this thought as well. Joseph had certain gifts that were used in the right place and time, even when he though this circumstance was terminal. Yet, God lifted Joseph up even higher when he realized his circumstance was not in vain and his gifts were used to give glory to God.

So anyway... my own journey continues. I believe that God is making some progress in my own heart as I discern God's place for me. I've always wrestled with the phrase
...He will give you the desires of you heart. sure, that sounds great and dandy but it feels as though I've never seen the result of the desires of my heart. But, after reading what's before it, "Delight yourself in the Lord..." I realized something. I don't appreciate or praise God for where I am right now. Whether it's making a few dollars playing guitar for a musician passing-by or leading worship at my church on Sunday mornings, I am not delighting in what I am doing now. God doesn't want to bless somebody with their dreams and desires if they're not appreciative or giving their whole abilities/gifts/heart/etc. into what they're doing now; at least for me. I need to enjoy and give my all to what I am doing now.

Like Moses, I will be patient and wait for the Lord to use me in the "next big thing"
Like Joseph, I will use my gifts and abilities to do His work no matter what the situation
Like the Psalmist, I will delight in Him and enjoy what He has me do now