I started the day at Sovereign Grace. Got Dawn to let me into the studio (A key is coming soon, hopefully), caught up on Facey-face, and started downloading videos and reading about exporting files from FinalCut Express. Went to the staff prayer meeting, and reviewed several different video projects with Bob and Dave. It was nice to see that my detailed work with Summer Celebration performances and sermon clips (clipization, more accurately) was well-spent. Now I have a bunch of video work to do that will be productive and help get resources distributed that nobody else would have the time to put together.
Enjoyed two delicious fajitas for lunch, along with more pages of 1st and 2nd Kings. This is a sweet spot in my Bible voyage - the stories are interesting, and tinged with the understated grandeur of ancient writings. Then it was off to the Sunday planning meeting, which is always boisterous and instructive. I made the quality decision to stay in the meeting past 1 instead of going down and playing guitar to accompany the high school choir practice. I'm on the tech team this Sunday, so it's helpful to know the ins and outs of what's going on. And they have a piano player on Tuesdays.
Met with Ken briefly after the SPM, set up an audition date for acoustic guitar and voice (looking forward for some honest outside opinion, though I anticipate that it will be painful), and headed back down to Sovereign Grace, squeezing a phone call to Daniel in between.
From there it was more video work, capturing Summer Celebration clips from iso cams and starting to watch and outline Bob's main session message from this year's WorshipGod conference. The workday ended with getting permission to use a drumset, and practicing for a long time to the Psalms album. It was fun, but it will significantly improve when I procure some bona fide sticks. One tipless hickory and a brush don't quite cut it :)
I left the darkened offices at 7 and discovered a new kind of Altoids at the Exxon on my way to care group (Seriously, every time I think they've come up with every possible type of Altiod, they proffer something new. Honey mint, like its predecessor--Creme de Menthe--is delicious). Since this is a fifth Tuesday, my care group and two others got together for pizza, fellowship and Bible trivia instead of a regular meeting. Green team came in second, and I still believe that the ESV had "remain" instead of "abide" in John 15! It doesn't now, but I really really think it did when it first came out. Anyway...
Decided to go hang out with a couple folks at "Buffalo Wings," which turns out to be right by home. "A couple folks" ended up being more than 15, and we had a great time talking and causing a racket. Met an awesome guy who does free financial consulting, had some deepening conversations with folks I'd met in past weeks, and ended up talking outside with the last couple people after the joint closed down. It was one of the first times I've really felt like I had some friends, and really enjoyed hanging out with people here. That may sound mean to say, but it's true, and I don't think it's unreasonable for friendships to take some time to develop. Doing things together is ALWAYS the best way (or at least a really really good way) to go from acquaintances to friendships, and being elected as the care group's quiz leader was perfect for that. I'm beginning to feel like I've got some social-life buds peeking up from the soil.
I came home late, but feeling like writing. I ended up doing a spurt of music research, taking some notes for Grooveshark listening tomorrow, and listening to Stevie Wonder intentionally for the first time in my life. Now I've written this, which makes me happy, and I'm cold, which makes me hope I don't get sick. It's fall now, for sure. Warm sun but cool, crisp air. The leaves are still green, but their days are numbered. Some of the roads are starting to feel like home, and there are people I'm looking forward to seeing in the days ahead.
My goals are to continue my Bible reading challenge with Justin, practice drums, prioritize my widespread projects, intentionally make myself a part of the tech team activites, strive to do everything I do with excellence, diligence and thought, and get together with some of the older musicians to learn, hang out, and learn. I don't feel yet that I am directly moving towards DOING something employable with this whole music/sound area, but to push that too hard right now would, for me, be going outside of God's plan and timing. Be faithful, BE HUMBLE, don't think of myself more highly than I ought, love people, work hard, and turn the wheel over to God. That's the only way.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
A new feeling
I miss home.
That sounds simple and stupid, but for me it's not.
I've been travelling since some time in high school when I took David Altrogge up on his offer to "come visit sometime." These trips have come thick and fast since I finished my Christmas album on Mike Hoffman's tape rig and got started with the band Pure Boss in Akron, Ohio. Four weekends in a month doesn't seem like near enough, and I find myself missing sometimes half of the Sundays at home. And never giving it a thought. I love going places and seeing people and getting to do different things and do things differently.
For the most part this tenure in Maryland has been like that so far. I kept forgetting it was longer than a weekend as I packed for it. I have greatly enjoyed getting to do new, cool things and meet a host of new faces. Starting afresh--completely different than my life at home--has proven as beneficial as I had imagined.
But today I kept feeling myself tugging to go home this weekend. I didn't know why, but it was really strong, and I really wanted to go back to Pittsburgh!
I finally sat down to reason this thing out, since I was genuinely unclear on what to do.
The best way I can describe it is that there's nowhere warm here. The townhouse is great, but my room is pretty stark, and the rest of it isn't "mine." The church building and interior is very sleek and modern, meaning it's not very personal; not a warm place. It's not bad, but it's cool. On another level, no one here really knows me. I've been pretty quick at establishing fun, comfortable acquaintances with everyone I'm around, but there's no one I talk to at the level where we really know and understand and accept each other.
There's nowhere warm to rest myself in.
I can only think that this is what people mean when they talk about missing someone or somewhere. I imagine it's what people feel who move to new places and don't know anybody there.
It took me by surprise, but now that I've figured it out, I'm staying here. I'm staying, determined to push past the small-talk/humor veneer I so easily create, and try to get to know folks. Press past the normal level of relationship and seek for the true fellowship that's possible because Jesus Christ has saved me and these people that I'm around. Invest; ask; go beyond; initiate; reach out. Then and only then, if God blesses my efforts, will I get beyond this adrift state and make real relationships out here. And maybe, just maybe, a corner of that part of my heart which yearns for warmth and friendship will find itself satisfied in Jesus Christ, my Brother and present companion. That would be a great thing.
That sounds simple and stupid, but for me it's not.
I've been travelling since some time in high school when I took David Altrogge up on his offer to "come visit sometime." These trips have come thick and fast since I finished my Christmas album on Mike Hoffman's tape rig and got started with the band Pure Boss in Akron, Ohio. Four weekends in a month doesn't seem like near enough, and I find myself missing sometimes half of the Sundays at home. And never giving it a thought. I love going places and seeing people and getting to do different things and do things differently.
For the most part this tenure in Maryland has been like that so far. I kept forgetting it was longer than a weekend as I packed for it. I have greatly enjoyed getting to do new, cool things and meet a host of new faces. Starting afresh--completely different than my life at home--has proven as beneficial as I had imagined.
But today I kept feeling myself tugging to go home this weekend. I didn't know why, but it was really strong, and I really wanted to go back to Pittsburgh!
I finally sat down to reason this thing out, since I was genuinely unclear on what to do.
The best way I can describe it is that there's nowhere warm here. The townhouse is great, but my room is pretty stark, and the rest of it isn't "mine." The church building and interior is very sleek and modern, meaning it's not very personal; not a warm place. It's not bad, but it's cool. On another level, no one here really knows me. I've been pretty quick at establishing fun, comfortable acquaintances with everyone I'm around, but there's no one I talk to at the level where we really know and understand and accept each other.
There's nowhere warm to rest myself in.
I can only think that this is what people mean when they talk about missing someone or somewhere. I imagine it's what people feel who move to new places and don't know anybody there.
It took me by surprise, but now that I've figured it out, I'm staying here. I'm staying, determined to push past the small-talk/humor veneer I so easily create, and try to get to know folks. Press past the normal level of relationship and seek for the true fellowship that's possible because Jesus Christ has saved me and these people that I'm around. Invest; ask; go beyond; initiate; reach out. Then and only then, if God blesses my efforts, will I get beyond this adrift state and make real relationships out here. And maybe, just maybe, a corner of that part of my heart which yearns for warmth and friendship will find itself satisfied in Jesus Christ, my Brother and present companion. That would be a great thing.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Day in the Capitol
Monday (my day off) I went into Washington, D.C. for the day.
I decided to suck up the $4.75 parking cost at the Metro stop, which had stopped me last week, figuring (correctly) that it was a far better way to invest money than a meal out or some other more frivolous discretionary expenditure.
I successfully rode the Metro in, despite never being sure I was headed the right way or in the right place, and following a crowd onto another train on blind faith, figuring they were probably headed the same place I was. I was relieved to emerge above ground and see the mall stretching out before me and George's Obelisk stabbing the sky. It struck me how long it's been since I had been there, and how much has happened in that time.
I had one goal for the day, and set about burying myself therein: The Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. Came out almost 7 hours later, full of wonder at America's manned space flights, golden years long gone, and World War II (Had a great lunch, too. Who woulda thought their cafeteria pizza would rank in my top ten?!). It's crazy to put your face right next to a piece of metal that orbited the moon!
I didn't have much of a plan after the museum closed. I didn't want to deal with rush hour crowds heading out of the city, was open to eating dinner if I found somewhere to eat, and mostly just wanted to meaner around a place that most people rush hurriedly through. I talked to Mom for a long time on the phone, sitting on the grass and looking at the Capitol Building, and eventually started heading west, taking some pictures and enjoying the late afternoon light.
As the sun lowered in the sky towards the Lincoln Memorial, I was treated to a once-or-twice-in-a-lifetime lights show around the Washington Monument. The sky was perfect blue. A warm, hearty wind blew across the green grass, stirring the flags at the base of the monument to life. They literally seemed to be lit from within as they flapped in the golden sunlight. Red, white, and blue, in a grand circle. Enough to set almost any heart aglow with patriotic thoughts.
The sun lowered, the light richened, and the glowing flags and monument stood out majestically from the deepening sky behind them. At last I tore myself away and trotted down the slope to the World War II monument, to catch its magnificence in the last rays of the sun.
This was a fitting cap to a day in which I had spent uninterrupted hours studying signs about the war: The grand, staggering, globe-engulfing epic of a world and a people now almost totally lost and gone. The memorial sweeps with fitting scale and breadth, and fountains pour ceaselessly, like the lives poured boat after boat upon the murderous shores of Guadalcanal.
I was sober and affected. Blocks of marble were engraved with names of far-off places and great battles. The Coral Sea. The Ardennes. Battle for Monte Cassino. Okinawa. A wall of close-packed stars (4048 total) was marked with this engraving: "Here We Mark The Price Of Freedom." Each star represents 100 Americans who died in the war.
I sat cross-legged at the edge of the reflecting pool as the sun at last slipped out of view and the world began to dim. The fountains now gleamed brilliantly, lit unseen from below, as if the water itself was liquid light. Farewell, men. Thank you for giving your lives--giving your all--, for a noble and just cause. For freedom and justice. For your country and the protection of the world. You were great.
I headed home quietly, my stomach tearing itself up with hunger the whole way. It had been a good day. I was glad I went. I'll remember that sunset at the Washington Monument for a long time. Even though my camera ran out of batteries as it began to get really spectacular, I blazed the memory into my mind's eye. It was so good-looking that even my atrocious cell phone camera took pretty pictures. WWII has always stirred me, and both in the museum and at the memorial, this day carried that out. I broke my songwriting drought that night, and penned these words, of a fallen soldier to his surviving comrades and family:
So carry on without me
I did my best
Light the torch and toast my name
Along with the rest
I may be buried
In the sands of the East
But you will remember me
As long as you breathe
Show them the medal
That I never saw
Tell them the story
Of their unknown Grandpa
Teach them to live right
And love this great land
Teach them to work hard
With both of their hands
[whistling interlude]
So carry on without me
And the others who fell
Raise the glass in honor
Of men who died well
I decided to suck up the $4.75 parking cost at the Metro stop, which had stopped me last week, figuring (correctly) that it was a far better way to invest money than a meal out or some other more frivolous discretionary expenditure.
I successfully rode the Metro in, despite never being sure I was headed the right way or in the right place, and following a crowd onto another train on blind faith, figuring they were probably headed the same place I was. I was relieved to emerge above ground and see the mall stretching out before me and George's Obelisk stabbing the sky. It struck me how long it's been since I had been there, and how much has happened in that time.
I had one goal for the day, and set about burying myself therein: The Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. Came out almost 7 hours later, full of wonder at America's manned space flights, golden years long gone, and World War II (Had a great lunch, too. Who woulda thought their cafeteria pizza would rank in my top ten?!). It's crazy to put your face right next to a piece of metal that orbited the moon!
I didn't have much of a plan after the museum closed. I didn't want to deal with rush hour crowds heading out of the city, was open to eating dinner if I found somewhere to eat, and mostly just wanted to meaner around a place that most people rush hurriedly through. I talked to Mom for a long time on the phone, sitting on the grass and looking at the Capitol Building, and eventually started heading west, taking some pictures and enjoying the late afternoon light.
As the sun lowered in the sky towards the Lincoln Memorial, I was treated to a once-or-twice-in-a-lifetime lights show around the Washington Monument. The sky was perfect blue. A warm, hearty wind blew across the green grass, stirring the flags at the base of the monument to life. They literally seemed to be lit from within as they flapped in the golden sunlight. Red, white, and blue, in a grand circle. Enough to set almost any heart aglow with patriotic thoughts.
The sun lowered, the light richened, and the glowing flags and monument stood out majestically from the deepening sky behind them. At last I tore myself away and trotted down the slope to the World War II monument, to catch its magnificence in the last rays of the sun.
This was a fitting cap to a day in which I had spent uninterrupted hours studying signs about the war: The grand, staggering, globe-engulfing epic of a world and a people now almost totally lost and gone. The memorial sweeps with fitting scale and breadth, and fountains pour ceaselessly, like the lives poured boat after boat upon the murderous shores of Guadalcanal.
I was sober and affected. Blocks of marble were engraved with names of far-off places and great battles. The Coral Sea. The Ardennes. Battle for Monte Cassino. Okinawa. A wall of close-packed stars (4048 total) was marked with this engraving: "Here We Mark The Price Of Freedom." Each star represents 100 Americans who died in the war.
I sat cross-legged at the edge of the reflecting pool as the sun at last slipped out of view and the world began to dim. The fountains now gleamed brilliantly, lit unseen from below, as if the water itself was liquid light. Farewell, men. Thank you for giving your lives--giving your all--, for a noble and just cause. For freedom and justice. For your country and the protection of the world. You were great.
I headed home quietly, my stomach tearing itself up with hunger the whole way. It had been a good day. I was glad I went. I'll remember that sunset at the Washington Monument for a long time. Even though my camera ran out of batteries as it began to get really spectacular, I blazed the memory into my mind's eye. It was so good-looking that even my atrocious cell phone camera took pretty pictures. WWII has always stirred me, and both in the museum and at the memorial, this day carried that out. I broke my songwriting drought that night, and penned these words, of a fallen soldier to his surviving comrades and family:
So carry on without me
I did my best
Light the torch and toast my name
Along with the rest
I may be buried
In the sands of the East
But you will remember me
As long as you breathe
Show them the medal
That I never saw
Tell them the story
Of their unknown Grandpa
Teach them to live right
And love this great land
Teach them to work hard
With both of their hands
[whistling interlude]
So carry on without me
And the others who fell
Raise the glass in honor
Of men who died well
A collage of life
Hello friends and future self!
Here are some portraits of what I've been up to, and what life has been like, for the past week and a half.
Last week I was in the Covenant Life offices all week, working with Dave W (tech stuff) and Ken (music-related projects). Now I'm trying to figure out how things will flow with Bob being back, and hopefully more going on down in Sovereign Grace (The two entities are separate, both organizationally and physically, though they're both in the same monster building complex. SGM is "downstairs."). Today is a decently demonstrative snapshot:
- Up at 7:20am. Shower, relatively hurried breakfast, and out the door.
- Came it at 8:30 to the SGM offices. Got somebody to let me in to the studio, and worked on video editing till 10.
- Met with Bob at 10 and hashed out what clips we want to pull from the WG09 interview. Worked on making that happen until noon.
- Packed up my laptop and walked the long course through halls and stairs and auditorium and lobby to get to the CLC offices. Thereat partook of lunch, which was leftovers from the previous night's singles meeting. One of the few tomato soups I have truly liked.
- Ate and worked at my unofficial desk, which is in an area with 3 admin-assistant girls. This has become the closest thing I have to a home base. It's right by the breakroom, so we see everybody, and there's rarely a dull moment.
- Worked on some low-level projects for Ken on my laptop, sorta twiddling my thumbs, so I rounded up one of the facilities guys (Felix, aka the man) and got him to let me into the infant care room and help me take down the monitor, which has had poor picture quality. Worked on that for a good while, and it looks like a 12dB RF amplifier and some de-sharpening fixed 'er up right purdy.
- Sat in on a webinar in the Luther Room (all the meeting rooms in the CLC offices are named after famous church dudes). It was about a new techy product for church meetings. (How would you like to answer a poll during a meeting, on your iPhone?) Got so hungry I was nauseous at points.
- 4:30pm: Did some reading/work at my "desk," and had some food. Granola bar, slices of Bel Giosso parmesan cheese, chocolate covered espresso beans, and dried cherries. Enjoyed sharing them all. Mm-mm good.
- Headed home about 5:15. Cooked up a dinner of grilled italian chicken, mac & cheese and veggies.
- Ate said dinner, chillaxed briefly on the back deck, and went to choir practice.
- Had a blast joining my voice with others', putting out that glorious rich sound that nothing but a choir can create. At the end Ken told us to sing "The Father's Love" one last time and not to worry about the notes but to focus on the truth of the words. The sound seemed all the richer and more unified, and I could feel God's presence there in that room as we sang. It was a great way to spend an evening.
That was today. Here are some other snippets:
Saturday night - rehearsal for the Sunday service. Dave W explained the lighting system in detail to me after practice was over, and I could feel my brain expanding and taking it all in. It was a great time of learning, and of hanging out with him.
Sunday - everything ran smoothly, so my job as assistant technical director was easy. Joined a big group for lunch, met a guy with a possible band/home recording connection, and returned home for pizza and football with Greg. Potomac Pizza also ranks in my top 10. Fantastic stuff.
Last Friday night Ben, the other full-time tech guy for CLC, invited me out to dinner with him, since neither of us had any plans for the evening. We had a great dinner at Macaroni Grill, affordable-ized by a giftcard he had, and I got to know him better, which was cool. Later that night I went to somebody's house for a theological discussion and some hanging out. Ended up with a small group super late, and played a couple songs of mine. One of those rare, rare times where a group of people is in a state to fully listen to something you play.
Greg is working on selling this place, while the rates are low and Obama is giving out free money for buying a house. He had some contractors in Saturday morning to estimate renovation costs, and this Saturday the countertop will get torn out. This makes me sad, 'cause I will be less able to cook food, and I need to save money chance I get.
I'm still listening to Owl City. It is a precious and rare thing when a song hits some nerve in you, and sends you to euphoria as it plays. I think it happens less frequently as you get older, and it always fades to some degree over time and listens. So I am enjoying it as much as I can while "Fireflies" continues to delight me deep down. Every other song of theirs is also delightful and enjoyable, and I'm so happy I know about them!
The subwoofer adjustment I made last week is blowing my mind. And NOT my ears! I always significantly notice the volume I play music at in my car. It used to be 3 windows closed, 4 open, 5 for rare super-rock-out mania. By the summer it had gotten to 4 min, 5 when I really wanted to listen to something, and 6 sometimes, especially to really kick it. That's when the sub really came into its own and the sound sounded balanced and full. At low volumes the sub was obnoxious and overwhelming and quite unpleasant. NOW, I'm listening at 3 all the time, and it sounds perfect - the low end is all there, and it's well-rounded and eminently pleasant. It makes me so happy I'm having to refrain from pouring more effervescent words into this paragraph!
The roads around here feel very isolated. There's a lot of woods and greenery everywhere - houses tucked back from the main roads, not tons of shopping centers... it just feels like you're out in the country, with not many friendly places around. Hard to describe, but it is very prominent to me. Perhaps later I'll come up with a fitting way to communicate it. It definitely feels different. Everything is pervaded with a different-ness here. I can't think of one thing that feels like it did "back home."
I have my little MicroKorg synth setup in front of a boombox in my room. I've been going through and playing with it, making good-sounding patches and learning the parameters. It's an example of the kind of thing I have always wanted to do, and now am in fact doing since I'm away from all the occupying things at home. I'm also starting to write some music, and I want to play along with a metronome regularly to try to get some good tempo beat into my brain.
There's more I could say, but plenty here. Much new, much to be happy with, and much being learned.
Here are some portraits of what I've been up to, and what life has been like, for the past week and a half.
Last week I was in the Covenant Life offices all week, working with Dave W (tech stuff) and Ken (music-related projects). Now I'm trying to figure out how things will flow with Bob being back, and hopefully more going on down in Sovereign Grace (The two entities are separate, both organizationally and physically, though they're both in the same monster building complex. SGM is "downstairs."). Today is a decently demonstrative snapshot:
- Up at 7:20am. Shower, relatively hurried breakfast, and out the door.
- Came it at 8:30 to the SGM offices. Got somebody to let me in to the studio, and worked on video editing till 10.
- Met with Bob at 10 and hashed out what clips we want to pull from the WG09 interview. Worked on making that happen until noon.
- Packed up my laptop and walked the long course through halls and stairs and auditorium and lobby to get to the CLC offices. Thereat partook of lunch, which was leftovers from the previous night's singles meeting. One of the few tomato soups I have truly liked.
- Ate and worked at my unofficial desk, which is in an area with 3 admin-assistant girls. This has become the closest thing I have to a home base. It's right by the breakroom, so we see everybody, and there's rarely a dull moment.
- Worked on some low-level projects for Ken on my laptop, sorta twiddling my thumbs, so I rounded up one of the facilities guys (Felix, aka the man) and got him to let me into the infant care room and help me take down the monitor, which has had poor picture quality. Worked on that for a good while, and it looks like a 12dB RF amplifier and some de-sharpening fixed 'er up right purdy.
- Sat in on a webinar in the Luther Room (all the meeting rooms in the CLC offices are named after famous church dudes). It was about a new techy product for church meetings. (How would you like to answer a poll during a meeting, on your iPhone?) Got so hungry I was nauseous at points.
- 4:30pm: Did some reading/work at my "desk," and had some food. Granola bar, slices of Bel Giosso parmesan cheese, chocolate covered espresso beans, and dried cherries. Enjoyed sharing them all. Mm-mm good.
- Headed home about 5:15. Cooked up a dinner of grilled italian chicken, mac & cheese and veggies.
- Ate said dinner, chillaxed briefly on the back deck, and went to choir practice.
- Had a blast joining my voice with others', putting out that glorious rich sound that nothing but a choir can create. At the end Ken told us to sing "The Father's Love" one last time and not to worry about the notes but to focus on the truth of the words. The sound seemed all the richer and more unified, and I could feel God's presence there in that room as we sang. It was a great way to spend an evening.
That was today. Here are some other snippets:
Saturday night - rehearsal for the Sunday service. Dave W explained the lighting system in detail to me after practice was over, and I could feel my brain expanding and taking it all in. It was a great time of learning, and of hanging out with him.
Sunday - everything ran smoothly, so my job as assistant technical director was easy. Joined a big group for lunch, met a guy with a possible band/home recording connection, and returned home for pizza and football with Greg. Potomac Pizza also ranks in my top 10. Fantastic stuff.
Last Friday night Ben, the other full-time tech guy for CLC, invited me out to dinner with him, since neither of us had any plans for the evening. We had a great dinner at Macaroni Grill, affordable-ized by a giftcard he had, and I got to know him better, which was cool. Later that night I went to somebody's house for a theological discussion and some hanging out. Ended up with a small group super late, and played a couple songs of mine. One of those rare, rare times where a group of people is in a state to fully listen to something you play.
Greg is working on selling this place, while the rates are low and Obama is giving out free money for buying a house. He had some contractors in Saturday morning to estimate renovation costs, and this Saturday the countertop will get torn out. This makes me sad, 'cause I will be less able to cook food, and I need to save money chance I get.
I'm still listening to Owl City. It is a precious and rare thing when a song hits some nerve in you, and sends you to euphoria as it plays. I think it happens less frequently as you get older, and it always fades to some degree over time and listens. So I am enjoying it as much as I can while "Fireflies" continues to delight me deep down. Every other song of theirs is also delightful and enjoyable, and I'm so happy I know about them!
The subwoofer adjustment I made last week is blowing my mind. And NOT my ears! I always significantly notice the volume I play music at in my car. It used to be 3 windows closed, 4 open, 5 for rare super-rock-out mania. By the summer it had gotten to 4 min, 5 when I really wanted to listen to something, and 6 sometimes, especially to really kick it. That's when the sub really came into its own and the sound sounded balanced and full. At low volumes the sub was obnoxious and overwhelming and quite unpleasant. NOW, I'm listening at 3 all the time, and it sounds perfect - the low end is all there, and it's well-rounded and eminently pleasant. It makes me so happy I'm having to refrain from pouring more effervescent words into this paragraph!
The roads around here feel very isolated. There's a lot of woods and greenery everywhere - houses tucked back from the main roads, not tons of shopping centers... it just feels like you're out in the country, with not many friendly places around. Hard to describe, but it is very prominent to me. Perhaps later I'll come up with a fitting way to communicate it. It definitely feels different. Everything is pervaded with a different-ness here. I can't think of one thing that feels like it did "back home."
I have my little MicroKorg synth setup in front of a boombox in my room. I've been going through and playing with it, making good-sounding patches and learning the parameters. It's an example of the kind of thing I have always wanted to do, and now am in fact doing since I'm away from all the occupying things at home. I'm also starting to write some music, and I want to play along with a metronome regularly to try to get some good tempo beat into my brain.
There's more I could say, but plenty here. Much new, much to be happy with, and much being learned.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
African Proverbs
From the July 09 edition of "Ghana News Monthly," Vol. 1, No. 3.
I had fun reading through these, and I think you will too. Some were familiar observations of life, which was quite delightful considering they're from another continent: Money is sharper than a sword.
Others were quite obviously from very different life situations: The son shoots a leopard; the father is proud.
And others were remarkably insightful when I thought about them, despite their unassuming premises: "Unless you call out, who will open the door?" and "Wood already touched by fire is not hard to set alight.
Enjoy!
<> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>
Zaire - The Congo
I had fun reading through these, and I think you will too. Some were familiar observations of life, which was quite delightful considering they're from another continent: Money is sharper than a sword.
Others were quite obviously from very different life situations: The son shoots a leopard; the father is proud.
And others were remarkably insightful when I thought about them, despite their unassuming premises: "Unless you call out, who will open the door?" and "Wood already touched by fire is not hard to set alight.
Enjoy!
<> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>
Zaire - The Congo
- What is said over the dead lion's body could not be said to him alive.
- Little by little grow the bananas.
- A single bracelet does not jingle.
- Let him speak who has seen with his eyes.
Ashanti, Ghana
- When a woman is hungry, she says, "Roast something for the children that they may eat."
- He who cannot dance will say: "The drum is bad."
- No one tests the depth of a river with both feet.
- It is a fool's sheep who break loose twice.
Buganda
- He who hunts two rats, catches none.
Ethiopia
- A fool looks for dung where the cow never browsed.
- One who runs alone cannot be outrun.
- The frog wanted to be as big as the elephant, and burst.
And one which immediately brought to mind my trip out West, where the difference between the desert-like ranches of Utah and the green pastureland of Nebraska was stark: "The cattle is only as good as the pasture in which it grazes."
Thanks for reading!
And remember: You do not teach the paths of the forest to an old gorilla.
Post #250
Some snippets from the past week:
- I think I may finally have my subwoofers adjusted right in my car! I'm getting sweet, juicy low end even at quiet volumes, without the wonky raw overpowering bleah that I've been battling since I got them. This makes me VERY happy.
- I got dinner at a Ghanaian restaurant this week. Yes. Two ladies from Ghana run it. I ate spicy spinach-chicken-sauce stuff with a lump of gooey ground up fermented cassava root whilst perusing a monthly Ghanaian newspaper. I love their style of journalistic writing. You don't realize how smarmy and uninformative news is here until you read something that straightforwardly tells what happened, using blunt English words. It was refreshing.
- Trader Joes! There is one near me! This was revealed mere hours before I was set to go on a grocery shopping expedition to supplement my first 80 dollars of food, which had lasted just over a week. I was excited at the prospect of buying more real food, and by drifting through the aisles for an hour and a half I was able to find good deals on solid supplies. Grocery shopping is a tremendously satisfying struggle against three competing requirements. I want my food to be 1) Reasonable to prepare, 2) Healthy, and 3) Not expensive. Quick healthy meals are expensive. Cheap healthy stuff is usually nasty and hard to make into a decent meal (mmm, bag of lentils). And cheap easy-to-make stuff is usually unhealthy (chili-mac anyone?). By dint of time investment, some cooking knowledge, and culinary fortitude, I walked away with three bags full of REAL food like frozen tuna steaks, lacy raw milk baby swiss, and broccoli, all of which is merely a step or two away from being a meal, and all of which set me back about 54 bucks. This pleased me greatly.
- Did I mention the fridges at work are stocked with Dr.Pepper? This fact envelopes each day in its warm, 23-flavor embrace.
- My laptop's wireless worked for one day at the church, and then refused to admit the existence of any signal. After days of grief from this, I went with my gut feeling. Restarted it, and boom, it's been working like a charm. While I feel frustration with computers, it is overshadowed by my enjoyment of wireless internet. It is highly useful when one has four bosses and no office!
- I haven't been sleeping well at night. It's warm and humid upstairs, and venetian blinds do a poor job keeping out the glare of two sodium vapor streetlights outside the house. Several times I have woken up, seen a time like "4:17" on the clock, and genuinely panicked that it was PM, and I had slept through the day. Took awhile to squeeze that thought out of my sleep-impaired brain.
- Housing! Greg informed me the other day that he could house me here through October, and that he's got a buddy who can take me after that. So I think I'm good! That is an answer to prayer. I had had the unfounded but persistent feeling that I'd be here more than just 4 weeks, and so it proved to be. Now I state with much more confidence that the internship is "for the fall; through December."
- Fireflies. Are in my head. Ten million of them. You would not believe your eyes.
Sorry. It's a song by Owl City, and it has been delighting my heart more than any song has in a long time. Probably since "Awakening" by Switchfoot. One of those pieces of sound that just goes into you and fits into some lock, releasing joy.. why I know not. But it makes me euphoric.
- I went to my first care group meeting on Tuesday, and it was a blast! Each guy there brought a unique set of contributions to the table, and it was a delight to watch them all come into play during the discussion. And to participate myself, jumping in like we were all brothers. Which we are in Christ.
- Monday is my day off (since I work a full day between Saturday and Sunday). I had grand plans to go to D.C., but woke up late, read leisurely and productively, and got ticked off that I would have to pay $4.75 to park for the Metro. So I toured the local thrift stores, bought a lamp that broke, and got some needed stuff at Target. Scored a Johnny Cash record, and a record of the Muppet Movie soundtrack!
I'll probably write another post talking more about what I'm doing at work and how things are going. This was meant to be some fun-size candy bars of text treats to fill your pumpkin bag of blog-surfing trick-or-treating.
:-)
- I think I may finally have my subwoofers adjusted right in my car! I'm getting sweet, juicy low end even at quiet volumes, without the wonky raw overpowering bleah that I've been battling since I got them. This makes me VERY happy.
- I got dinner at a Ghanaian restaurant this week. Yes. Two ladies from Ghana run it. I ate spicy spinach-chicken-sauce stuff with a lump of gooey ground up fermented cassava root whilst perusing a monthly Ghanaian newspaper. I love their style of journalistic writing. You don't realize how smarmy and uninformative news is here until you read something that straightforwardly tells what happened, using blunt English words. It was refreshing.
- Trader Joes! There is one near me! This was revealed mere hours before I was set to go on a grocery shopping expedition to supplement my first 80 dollars of food, which had lasted just over a week. I was excited at the prospect of buying more real food, and by drifting through the aisles for an hour and a half I was able to find good deals on solid supplies. Grocery shopping is a tremendously satisfying struggle against three competing requirements. I want my food to be 1) Reasonable to prepare, 2) Healthy, and 3) Not expensive. Quick healthy meals are expensive. Cheap healthy stuff is usually nasty and hard to make into a decent meal (mmm, bag of lentils). And cheap easy-to-make stuff is usually unhealthy (chili-mac anyone?). By dint of time investment, some cooking knowledge, and culinary fortitude, I walked away with three bags full of REAL food like frozen tuna steaks, lacy raw milk baby swiss, and broccoli, all of which is merely a step or two away from being a meal, and all of which set me back about 54 bucks. This pleased me greatly.
- Did I mention the fridges at work are stocked with Dr.Pepper? This fact envelopes each day in its warm, 23-flavor embrace.
- My laptop's wireless worked for one day at the church, and then refused to admit the existence of any signal. After days of grief from this, I went with my gut feeling. Restarted it, and boom, it's been working like a charm. While I feel frustration with computers, it is overshadowed by my enjoyment of wireless internet. It is highly useful when one has four bosses and no office!
- I haven't been sleeping well at night. It's warm and humid upstairs, and venetian blinds do a poor job keeping out the glare of two sodium vapor streetlights outside the house. Several times I have woken up, seen a time like "4:17" on the clock, and genuinely panicked that it was PM, and I had slept through the day. Took awhile to squeeze that thought out of my sleep-impaired brain.
- Housing! Greg informed me the other day that he could house me here through October, and that he's got a buddy who can take me after that. So I think I'm good! That is an answer to prayer. I had had the unfounded but persistent feeling that I'd be here more than just 4 weeks, and so it proved to be. Now I state with much more confidence that the internship is "for the fall; through December."
- Fireflies. Are in my head. Ten million of them. You would not believe your eyes.
Sorry. It's a song by Owl City, and it has been delighting my heart more than any song has in a long time. Probably since "Awakening" by Switchfoot. One of those pieces of sound that just goes into you and fits into some lock, releasing joy.. why I know not. But it makes me euphoric.
- I went to my first care group meeting on Tuesday, and it was a blast! Each guy there brought a unique set of contributions to the table, and it was a delight to watch them all come into play during the discussion. And to participate myself, jumping in like we were all brothers. Which we are in Christ.
- Monday is my day off (since I work a full day between Saturday and Sunday). I had grand plans to go to D.C., but woke up late, read leisurely and productively, and got ticked off that I would have to pay $4.75 to park for the Metro. So I toured the local thrift stores, bought a lamp that broke, and got some needed stuff at Target. Scored a Johnny Cash record, and a record of the Muppet Movie soundtrack!
I'll probably write another post talking more about what I'm doing at work and how things are going. This was meant to be some fun-size candy bars of text treats to fill your pumpkin bag of blog-surfing trick-or-treating.
:-)
Friday, September 11, 2009
First Post From Gaithersburg
GAH!
I have much to catch up on!
Lost my job. Utah trip. Youth camp like crazy. Zambia trip a few weeks later. Worship conference. Kicking up dust about an internship. Chicago trip. Texas trip. I get the internship! One week blows by, and I'm on the road to Gaithersburg for the fall. And now here I am.
So let's back up to this internship thing. May, June and July were commendably full, but I knew unemployment couldn't continue indefinitely. Engineering loomed as nothing but a dark cloud of mind-numbing regulations and unexciting work (I don't believe that's true, but it feels that way), and I wasn't convinced that the right thing was to unthinkingly plunge myself back into that field in order to make myself ready for marraige as soon as possible, and spend the rest of my life in that mold. I also balked at the utter dedication and abandon required to (hopefully) make it in music or recording, whether or not I decided to spend 2 years and $60,000 on a degree in audio engineering.
In between those extremes an idea began to emerge of seeking an internship for the fall, unpaid if necessary, through any and all connections with people in Sovereign Grace. Live sound, recording, audio engineering... I would take anything. It would at the least enable me to serve my church better, at middling allow me to evaluate this field as a career choice, and at the most lead to another opportunity that could begin the course of a career in sound.
So I made some phone calls, sent some emails, and, with Jeremy's forwarded email going before me, introduced myself to a bunch of people at the WorshipGod 09 conference in early August. It became clear quickly that an internship at Covenant Life Church / Sovereign Grace Ministries was the only viable option, and it was with disbelief and joy that I got an email in late August asking me to come down. Yesss! I have something to do! :-)
I had one week between returning from a trip to Texas and my targeted departure date. In that time I furiously worked on finding housing, and with much prayer from many dear people and kind help from folks at CLC, an arrangement worked out on Monday the 7th, a few hours before I headed out. Greg Coss, from the church, has agreed to let me stay in his townhouse for a month, free of charge. What a blessing!
Such were the arrangements. It didn't feel all that exciting as I packed up on Monday, short on time and in an empty house, with Mom, Dad and Daisy out on a Labor Day camping trip. I had to remind myself that this wasn't just a couple-day trip, but I was leaving for months! My leaving/ending sentimentality rose up, and it took a mental resolution and Def Leppard records to keep the sadness away. After weeks of pleasant sunshine, of course this day was gray, overcast and rainy. I didn't get on my way until 5pm, and Labor Day traffic choked the roads for several long stretches. I had no idea what my living conditions would be like, except that it was a single guy, so there wasn't the prospective buzz of life that comes with a family.
That all changed when I pulled up to 1*7*2 Pintain Lane and saw Greg outside waiting for me. He helped me take all my stuff in, and welcomed me in immediately. He's laid back, deliberate, considerate, and there was no barrier to us starting to talk and get to know each other. The townhouse is sweet, and I basically have the run of the place until he gets back late in the evening most days. It's about 5 minutes from the church, for which I am amazed and grateful, and honestly, I can think of hardly any situations that could more easily fit with my personality and lifestyle. It's been great so far!
Much encouraged, I did some arranging and unpacking and hit the hay. Tomorrow, at last, I would start to DO STUFF!
Tuesday started out fantastic. I went to Dave Wilcox, who is the full-time technical director for the church, and he drove us to Panera to talk. Dave is a great guy - technically brilliant and accomplished, but truly humble, friendly, and caring. He was very considerate in bringing me in, going over what I could do, asking what I wanted to do, and getting me started. And THEN. His wife started going into labor! Thus ended the honeymoon. Dave was gone, and the rest of his staff--Ben and Jenn--were left in the lurch, along with this orphaned intern from Pittsburgh. So we plowed through the rest of the day, and I left at 5 to go grocery shopping and settle in at the townhouse.
Wednesday began similarly slow, but after a few hours I connected with Ken Boer, the director of music and worship and one of the four guys I'm interning under. He pretty much took me under his wing, let me set up in his office, and began loading me up with things to do. Joy! By the end of the day I had a plateload of projects and had started learning about the music end of things at the church. When I got home I went for a jog, which felt really good, and even found my way back home after forging into unknown geography. I was about to start dinner when Maritza, who befriended the Pittsburgh and Akron groups at the worship conference, gave me a call to start connecting me with people and activities going on. I ended up going to an "Introducing God" training course that night, which was surprisingly encouraging, and let me meet some more folks. I don't think I'll actually be able to help with the course (an evangelistic course like Alpha or Exploring Christianity), but I still benefitted from the evening.
Thursday was more work with Ken Boer, plus a few small live sound setups, which is always good. Any event which requires sound equipment is an opportunity for me to learn the myriad details of how stuff is set up, where stuff is, and how things are done. Key to being useful, and to gaining experience. Technically most office folks end their days between 5 and 5:30, so I left at 5:45, with 45 mintues to kill before sitting in on some music auditions at 6:30. I ended up driving around in search of a Wal-mart, not finding it where the GPS said it would be, going back to the church, finding no one there, driving out again to explore the countryside, taking some sunset pictures, and returning at 7:30, glad to find people there this time :) There was one voice and one drum audition, and it was cool to see how Ken ran them, what his goals are for them, and how he goes about trying to learn what he needs to know about each person's ability. This week has been a constant barrage of methods, technology, equipment and personnel that become necessary for a church this large. It's a new way of thinking for me, and has been quite interesting, and pretty impressive.
I got home from the auditions just in time for the kickoff of the first regular season game of this football year. Steelers vs. Titans, baby! Greg had just drafted Roethlisberger as his fantasy team quarterback, so we were both rooting for the Steelers. We had good man-food and drinks, and it was a nice relaxed time of talking and hanging out. AND, we pulled out a win in overtime! Let the domination begin.
Today was a much anticipated day for me. At long last, Bob Kauflin, my boss, was back in town! And later in the day there was a 10:31 meeting, which is the youth group. Full band in the auditorium equals big-time learning opportunity. More on Bob below. For 10:31 we were short a couple tech people, so after helping set up the stage and patch everything in, I took the role of "Stage Manager" for the night. Which sounds more impressive than the actual role, which is to walk around stage during rehearsal and talk to each musician, see what they need in their headphones, and relay it to the monitor mixer. It was great though, because it was a needed role, so my presence was actually useful--something I am acutely grateful for anytime it happens. It's the best way to learn, too - just jump in and start doing stuff. I enjoyed meeting the guys in the band and on the tech team, finding them all to be nice, friendly christian guys. This evening has left me freshly appreciative of the great joy it is to work with God's people. There's no one like 'em, and I'm a fan.
The meeting itself was enjoyable to watch, and I felt God's presence during worship, and cried out desperately for God to "bring me to the cross"--to bring me to truly love Him more than anything else, and rest in Him and Him alone, not in being seen or being impressive or in having the accomplishments or skills that I so miserably want. I've started to read "Worship Matters" by Bob Kauflin (after receiving a free copy from Ken), and just the first two chapters cut to my heart as he talked about the process of God bringing him from seeking to impress people to loving God more than anything else. As mentioned above, Bob was in for the day, and I got together with him after a SGM staff meeting in the morning. He too was effusively kind and welcoming to me, and I believe that comes from a heart that is resting in God in truth and reality. It's something I don't think I have yet (more like a destination that I'm further from than these guys), but I see quite clearly that I want. Bob hooked me up with some video editing projects, and took me on a tour of the Sovereign Grace offices, which are shawEET. The breakrooms there and up in the CLC offices are tricked-out - basically like a Panera or Starbucks interior. AND, they're both stocked with ice cold Dr.Pepper in the fridges! Ah me. Poor teeth.
So, I got home about 11 tonight, after the 10:31 meeting. Hung out with Greg and Wes, a realtor from the church who was looking over the place, and then sat down to write this. Tomorrow I am stoked to sleep in and get rested up--waking up at 7:30 has been taking its toll on me. Hopefully I'll run some laundry, cook up some chicken tenders that have been marinating in Mexican seasoning, and head to the church around 1 to play around with FinalCut (video editing program) for a few hours and help with setup and rehearsal for the Sunday service. This is my one weekend to learn all I can before attempting to serve as Assistant Technical Director for the 1st and 3rd Sundays. Bring it on! Let the learning begin! (or continue, as the case may be)
Things are quite pleasant, and the blinder view I always have is good. I must remember to consider the broader view of what I'm doing - what I'm learning, what roads I'm cutting for myself, every first impression I make, and the relationships that will be so much set by what happens right in these few days. Time managment has also become apparent as critical (duh), with a swarm of unrelated projects at work and a MILLION, BAJILLION wonderful, profitable, enriching and desirable things I could be doing in my free time. Oh life, must you be so choked and strangled? Alas. What I am doing is good. I must rest in what God has for me, not what I wish I was.
Good night, Gaithersburg.
--JPB
I have much to catch up on!
Lost my job. Utah trip. Youth camp like crazy. Zambia trip a few weeks later. Worship conference. Kicking up dust about an internship. Chicago trip. Texas trip. I get the internship! One week blows by, and I'm on the road to Gaithersburg for the fall. And now here I am.
So let's back up to this internship thing. May, June and July were commendably full, but I knew unemployment couldn't continue indefinitely. Engineering loomed as nothing but a dark cloud of mind-numbing regulations and unexciting work (I don't believe that's true, but it feels that way), and I wasn't convinced that the right thing was to unthinkingly plunge myself back into that field in order to make myself ready for marraige as soon as possible, and spend the rest of my life in that mold. I also balked at the utter dedication and abandon required to (hopefully) make it in music or recording, whether or not I decided to spend 2 years and $60,000 on a degree in audio engineering.
In between those extremes an idea began to emerge of seeking an internship for the fall, unpaid if necessary, through any and all connections with people in Sovereign Grace. Live sound, recording, audio engineering... I would take anything. It would at the least enable me to serve my church better, at middling allow me to evaluate this field as a career choice, and at the most lead to another opportunity that could begin the course of a career in sound.
So I made some phone calls, sent some emails, and, with Jeremy's forwarded email going before me, introduced myself to a bunch of people at the WorshipGod 09 conference in early August. It became clear quickly that an internship at Covenant Life Church / Sovereign Grace Ministries was the only viable option, and it was with disbelief and joy that I got an email in late August asking me to come down. Yesss! I have something to do! :-)
I had one week between returning from a trip to Texas and my targeted departure date. In that time I furiously worked on finding housing, and with much prayer from many dear people and kind help from folks at CLC, an arrangement worked out on Monday the 7th, a few hours before I headed out. Greg Coss, from the church, has agreed to let me stay in his townhouse for a month, free of charge. What a blessing!
Such were the arrangements. It didn't feel all that exciting as I packed up on Monday, short on time and in an empty house, with Mom, Dad and Daisy out on a Labor Day camping trip. I had to remind myself that this wasn't just a couple-day trip, but I was leaving for months! My leaving/ending sentimentality rose up, and it took a mental resolution and Def Leppard records to keep the sadness away. After weeks of pleasant sunshine, of course this day was gray, overcast and rainy. I didn't get on my way until 5pm, and Labor Day traffic choked the roads for several long stretches. I had no idea what my living conditions would be like, except that it was a single guy, so there wasn't the prospective buzz of life that comes with a family.
That all changed when I pulled up to 1*7*2 Pintain Lane and saw Greg outside waiting for me. He helped me take all my stuff in, and welcomed me in immediately. He's laid back, deliberate, considerate, and there was no barrier to us starting to talk and get to know each other. The townhouse is sweet, and I basically have the run of the place until he gets back late in the evening most days. It's about 5 minutes from the church, for which I am amazed and grateful, and honestly, I can think of hardly any situations that could more easily fit with my personality and lifestyle. It's been great so far!
Much encouraged, I did some arranging and unpacking and hit the hay. Tomorrow, at last, I would start to DO STUFF!
Tuesday started out fantastic. I went to Dave Wilcox, who is the full-time technical director for the church, and he drove us to Panera to talk. Dave is a great guy - technically brilliant and accomplished, but truly humble, friendly, and caring. He was very considerate in bringing me in, going over what I could do, asking what I wanted to do, and getting me started. And THEN. His wife started going into labor! Thus ended the honeymoon. Dave was gone, and the rest of his staff--Ben and Jenn--were left in the lurch, along with this orphaned intern from Pittsburgh. So we plowed through the rest of the day, and I left at 5 to go grocery shopping and settle in at the townhouse.
Wednesday began similarly slow, but after a few hours I connected with Ken Boer, the director of music and worship and one of the four guys I'm interning under. He pretty much took me under his wing, let me set up in his office, and began loading me up with things to do. Joy! By the end of the day I had a plateload of projects and had started learning about the music end of things at the church. When I got home I went for a jog, which felt really good, and even found my way back home after forging into unknown geography. I was about to start dinner when Maritza, who befriended the Pittsburgh and Akron groups at the worship conference, gave me a call to start connecting me with people and activities going on. I ended up going to an "Introducing God" training course that night, which was surprisingly encouraging, and let me meet some more folks. I don't think I'll actually be able to help with the course (an evangelistic course like Alpha or Exploring Christianity), but I still benefitted from the evening.
Thursday was more work with Ken Boer, plus a few small live sound setups, which is always good. Any event which requires sound equipment is an opportunity for me to learn the myriad details of how stuff is set up, where stuff is, and how things are done. Key to being useful, and to gaining experience. Technically most office folks end their days between 5 and 5:30, so I left at 5:45, with 45 mintues to kill before sitting in on some music auditions at 6:30. I ended up driving around in search of a Wal-mart, not finding it where the GPS said it would be, going back to the church, finding no one there, driving out again to explore the countryside, taking some sunset pictures, and returning at 7:30, glad to find people there this time :) There was one voice and one drum audition, and it was cool to see how Ken ran them, what his goals are for them, and how he goes about trying to learn what he needs to know about each person's ability. This week has been a constant barrage of methods, technology, equipment and personnel that become necessary for a church this large. It's a new way of thinking for me, and has been quite interesting, and pretty impressive.
I got home from the auditions just in time for the kickoff of the first regular season game of this football year. Steelers vs. Titans, baby! Greg had just drafted Roethlisberger as his fantasy team quarterback, so we were both rooting for the Steelers. We had good man-food and drinks, and it was a nice relaxed time of talking and hanging out. AND, we pulled out a win in overtime! Let the domination begin.
Today was a much anticipated day for me. At long last, Bob Kauflin, my boss, was back in town! And later in the day there was a 10:31 meeting, which is the youth group. Full band in the auditorium equals big-time learning opportunity. More on Bob below. For 10:31 we were short a couple tech people, so after helping set up the stage and patch everything in, I took the role of "Stage Manager" for the night. Which sounds more impressive than the actual role, which is to walk around stage during rehearsal and talk to each musician, see what they need in their headphones, and relay it to the monitor mixer. It was great though, because it was a needed role, so my presence was actually useful--something I am acutely grateful for anytime it happens. It's the best way to learn, too - just jump in and start doing stuff. I enjoyed meeting the guys in the band and on the tech team, finding them all to be nice, friendly christian guys. This evening has left me freshly appreciative of the great joy it is to work with God's people. There's no one like 'em, and I'm a fan.
The meeting itself was enjoyable to watch, and I felt God's presence during worship, and cried out desperately for God to "bring me to the cross"--to bring me to truly love Him more than anything else, and rest in Him and Him alone, not in being seen or being impressive or in having the accomplishments or skills that I so miserably want. I've started to read "Worship Matters" by Bob Kauflin (after receiving a free copy from Ken), and just the first two chapters cut to my heart as he talked about the process of God bringing him from seeking to impress people to loving God more than anything else. As mentioned above, Bob was in for the day, and I got together with him after a SGM staff meeting in the morning. He too was effusively kind and welcoming to me, and I believe that comes from a heart that is resting in God in truth and reality. It's something I don't think I have yet (more like a destination that I'm further from than these guys), but I see quite clearly that I want. Bob hooked me up with some video editing projects, and took me on a tour of the Sovereign Grace offices, which are shawEET. The breakrooms there and up in the CLC offices are tricked-out - basically like a Panera or Starbucks interior. AND, they're both stocked with ice cold Dr.Pepper in the fridges! Ah me. Poor teeth.
So, I got home about 11 tonight, after the 10:31 meeting. Hung out with Greg and Wes, a realtor from the church who was looking over the place, and then sat down to write this. Tomorrow I am stoked to sleep in and get rested up--waking up at 7:30 has been taking its toll on me. Hopefully I'll run some laundry, cook up some chicken tenders that have been marinating in Mexican seasoning, and head to the church around 1 to play around with FinalCut (video editing program) for a few hours and help with setup and rehearsal for the Sunday service. This is my one weekend to learn all I can before attempting to serve as Assistant Technical Director for the 1st and 3rd Sundays. Bring it on! Let the learning begin! (or continue, as the case may be)
Things are quite pleasant, and the blinder view I always have is good. I must remember to consider the broader view of what I'm doing - what I'm learning, what roads I'm cutting for myself, every first impression I make, and the relationships that will be so much set by what happens right in these few days. Time managment has also become apparent as critical (duh), with a swarm of unrelated projects at work and a MILLION, BAJILLION wonderful, profitable, enriching and desirable things I could be doing in my free time. Oh life, must you be so choked and strangled? Alas. What I am doing is good. I must rest in what God has for me, not what I wish I was.
Good night, Gaithersburg.
--JPB
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