Hey man, sometimes you just got to let things slide.  And some of you don't know how to.  It's like playing basketball with a retarded kid and calling him for double-dribble.

Man, you gotta let some things slide - Chris Rock

Be consumed with these two things:

1 Be consumed with how you look to God

2 Be consumed with how your fellow man looks to God

You can wittle away years of your life, consumed with how you look to your fellow man.  Or how you look to yourself, for that matter. 

To this last I would say.  You can't possibly know what you look like, who you are, by looking at yourself.  Endless amounts of time spent "knowing oneself" will not reveal a speck or splinter of who you are.  Your mirror, friend.  My mirror.  Mankind's mirror.  Is a page.  A book.  A bible.  If the reflection does not at first appear, read on. 

Be CONSUMED with these two things and live a life worthy of your calling.  Be consumed with how you look to God, and be consumed with how your fellow man looks to God.  

I can't stop thinking about this.  The church has constantly kicked against the spokes, trying to get into the political arena.  As a matter of fact, Jesus' own disciples, who walked and talked with the man, were completely preoccupied with the political windfall they believed Jesus was going to create when he became King of the Jews. 

"I'm going to be sitting here, and you sit there."

Notice Jesus, off on a lonely mountain praying, and the disciples busy around the fire, planning a coup d'etat for the ages.  It must've been at the least an irritation for them, that the man that they were planning all this for seemed to himself take no interest or part in the scheming.  "No matter, this is what He should be doing, so we'll stay on course in his absence."

We, the church, ought to by all means, at all costs, under all circumstances, resist the urge to bomb abortion clinics, to boycott pagan companies for behaving as pagans should, to become politcally affiliated, politically assimilated, politically activated.  Since when did the church become a market segment?  By divine design, the church's power doesn't lie in numbers.  Indeed, we are a one-by-one generation. 

Don't be just another one sitting around the fire while Jesus is off doing the real work of his Father. 

"No matter, this is what He should be doing, so we'll stay the course in his absence."     

Currently Listening Twentysomething By Jamie Cullum see related

Hey I've got some news.  I met someone last night.  Crazy.

It was late, late last night.  I don't even know what time it was.  I was in New Orleans, in the French Quarter.  She said,

"hi."

..said she knew me.  I don't know where from, and I'm not sure why I never asked her.  I keep thinking I might have met her a few years back on some Georgia foothill.  She was amazing.  We danced in and out of shops all night.  She put me in orbit.  I was spinning on my axis.

Oh, and I've never seen someone so casual.  I gave her my best kiss, you know the one that's real slow, looks like it's going to be heavy but touches the lip like a whisper, and she just sighed and changed the subject.  A real man-eater.  So frustrating.  So invigorating.  She was like a dream.

She was a dream.

*Merry Christmas All*

Review:  Open Up The Earth - Jason Upton

In order to keep my promise, here is my very soon review of Upton's latest project, Open Up The Earth.  Being a lifetime paritioner of the art of listening to music, I try to refrain from knee-jerk reactions, knowing from experience how fickle first opinions should be.

Henceforth, it should be noted that this review is incomplete, as I have not allowed myself to move on to the second disc in the 2-disc set, in order to allow the knees to settle and the true merit of the work to present itself.  That said, let me offer my thoughts on CD 1 of Jason Upton's Open Up The Earth.

With "Open Up The Earth" and "Till The Ground," the CDs opening efforts, Upton meanders through uncharted waters with total ease, which is custom for him.  His mind floats along with the instruments, and it isn't until "Samuel's Awakening" that he decides to nail his feet down to the ground. 

Everything up to this point in the CD has been an introduction of sorts.  Clearly, this disc - and possibly the entire album - exists for Upton's second take on "In The Silence."  I first heard this song on the Jacob's Dream album.  It was sandwiched between two powerhouse tracks: "Psalm 23" and the album's namesake, "Jacob's Dream."  On it's first turn, "In The Silence" had a beautiful, honest sentiment.  It was, from the beginning, a working man's anthem, complete with dirt under the nails.  Yet, for all it's potential, "In The Silence" was never able to fully search out its true height and depth.  It ended before it really began, and soon was tagged, "the song you skip to get to 'Jacob's Dream.'"  Not anymore.

Finally, "In The Silence" takes its seat among the Upton greats.  With renewed vigor, Jason does not relent until every layer and secret of this song is revealed to the listener.  "In The Silence" has finally shown its true height, and boy can it soar.  I fell to pieces the first time through.  And the second.  Upton casts a net out and up over all the complexities and intricacies of a life serving God and pulls them down to us with the resonating lines, "Come down to where I'm living."  Ahhh... a breath of fresh air.  Please do not miss this experience.

Clearly the residue of "In The Silence" spills over onto the next track, a redo of  many of our first ever glimpse of Upton, "Apple Of His Eye," the debut track on the Faith album.  Drummer Michael Hagerty offers up a rock solid, solid rock performance throughout the CD, with his best ideas coming out here.  The CD closes with, "Secrets," which presents itself like a receding tide, bringing you back down to earth slowly, so that you don't hurt yourself on the way down.

Great ideas.  Great album.  Don't miss it.

Currently Listening Same Mother By Jason Moran see related