Blue Like Jazz

I like to read. I really do. But as of late I’ve been eyeball and elbow deep in reading a number of books, studying, and writing a number of papers for a course I’m taking. It is time consuming, but I happen to enjoy the topic and digging deep into understanding more about faith, grace, being the church… very Wesleyan. But though I like to read, I have very little time… strike that… I make very little time for reading just for fun in the midst of the stack of books on my desk. So when my daughter began telling me about her latest book, I was interested in her thoughts about it and made a mental note that I would have to read that book… someday. Time passed but someday hadn’t made it to my door, and then I discovered you could download Blue Like Jazz, by Donald Miller, as an audio book. Bingo! One can’t read while you drive (or rather one shouldn’t), but these days the thought of being stuck in traffic doesn’t really bother me. But regardless whether you prefer to read or listen, the book is worth your time.

I’ve read many many Christian books. I’ve bought Christian books I’ve not read yet and they sit there in the waiting line, queuing up to enlighten me or teach me something. Christian writers talk about Christ of course, so there is a certain expectation I have when I begin said books. But when I first began this book, it was so unlike the standard stories and thoughts in other books, and caused me to hit “pause” while I mulled over things he just said. Very out-of-the-box and marvelous. He explains his title by saying:

“I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn't resolve. . . . I used to not like God because God didn't resolve. But that was before any of this happened.”

Being a musician, I was intrigued. Miller then goes on to tell about his life and how he viewed God during different periods therein. Who is God? How do we react to God? Does ignoring God make Him go away? Does God love everyone? You have probably asked those or similar questions, and may have found yourself in an ebb and flow of faith. Miller allows the reader to join him on his journey and opens up a new perspective of what it means to have faith and live a Christian life. His themes and chapters weave his personal experiences into stories about faith and surprise you with little gems that arrive suddenly from around a corner.

I haven’t finished it yet, but I will. I’m reading, savoring, pondering, and enjoying the layer it adds to my daily devotions, scripture reading and prayer. You might just check it out…

A Thousand Tongues

A thousand? I don’t know what to do with one sometimes, and here is this comment that suggests what someone would do with a thousand. The hymn, “A Thousand Tongues to Sing” is pretty well known in Christian circles, and many a church goer has sung the hymn, possibly by rote, not even hearing the meaningful lyrics being sung for the umpteenth time. The hymn by Charles Wesley was prompted by a quote from the Moravian preacher Peter Boehler, who said to Charles, “If I had a thousand tongues I would praise Jesus with every one of them.” Again comes the question, “a thousand?” Wesley responded some time later by writing these words:

O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer's praise,
The glories of my God and King, the triumphs of His grace.

My gracious Master and my God, assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad, the honors of Thy name.

Jesus! the name that charms our fears, tat bids our sorrows cease;
'Tis music in the sinner's ears, ‘tis life, and health, and peace.

His love my heart has captive made, his captive would I be,
For He was bound, and scourged and died, my captive soul to free.

He breaks the power of canceled sin, he sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean; His blood availed for me.

So now Thy blessed Name I love, Thy will would e'er be mine.
Had I a thousand hearts to give, my Lord, they all were Thine!

Boehler and Wesley recognized a few things here. First, that God was GOD and was so magnificent beyond our understanding that mere mortal lyrics just couldn’t do justice to praising God. Mere mortal words couldn’t speak descriptively enough to encompass the greatness of God, who He is and what He has done. Mere human hearts aren’t capable of loving God back with the same completeness with which God loves us. So the question wrestles with the concept of using finite human words and emotions to respond to the power, the greatness, and the magnitude of the unending love of our infinite God.

If I had a thousand tongues and the wisdom of the ages, could I then tell God how grateful I was for his love, and tell others about how much God means to me? My answer is “probably not” but part of the adventure of this Christian life is to keep moving forward in that conversation with my Father God (what parent doesn’t enjoy hearing that their children love them?), and keep telling others about Him in the best way I know.

What does God mean to you? What is there about Him that you would ever want to share with someone that you care about?

(To hear David Crowder's version and instructions on playing it, go here. He also adds some insight about the writing of the hymn.)

Run, JOYFULLY, With Perseverances

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV)

Even when I was younger and athletic, I never like to run. Running was something you did in short bursts in basketball or tennis, or that long run around the bases. Running was that grind that you did around the track in the off season only because the coach’s drill-sergeant yells intimidated you and moved you forward. I never understood those who CHOSE to run and how they spoke about the freedom of being out and running free.

It’s been many years since then and, due to a change of attitude about health, I’ve begun to job. If you knew me when, you’d be quite startled. At least several times a week, I don headphones and begin to jog, and it is only now that I understand what I missed all those years. Now I’ll also admit that my jogging incorporates praise music and prayer, and between that and the actual act of jogging, I can honestly say that I relish that time as a physical and spiritual workout. The first time I experienced that joy, I was quite surprised. I should be groaning, but I just couldn’t do it. It was then I remembered an episode of the TV show “Friends”, where Phoebe went jogging. Her style of jogging was so wildly joyful that she couldn’t contain it. Not THAT was a picture of running with perseverance, and doing so with joy.

The verse from Hebrews is one of my favorites, and I always read it with the seriousness due a marathon runner, running forward with a serious face and eyes fixed on the prize. It was a test of endurance in which you grit your teeth and had your game face on. But in thinking of Phoebe, it put a different spin on the text. I now could see that joy was a major part of enduring. For those of you who are steadily involved in ministry, lay or clergy, I know that sometimes enduring and persevering are difficult positions to hang on to. I’ve set my game face and endured many a task or ministry, perhaps because I felt alone or put upon. But Phoebe’s joyful running reminds me that there is joy in the journey. I can and will endure, with joy. I pray you will too.

Mighty to Save

I haven’t been in the best of spirits as of late. I’ve had bronchitis and been out of the office and haven’t accomplished the things that I had planned to have done by now. I haven’t felt good enough to continue my regular jogging. I’ve had to handle a few situations that weren’t the happiest of things to deal with. On top of that, it has rained most of the weekend. By all rights, I should be feeling blue, depressed and at my wits end. I’m guessing, yes, just guessing here, that I’m not the only one who has had to deal with difficult things in life.

As I listened to the rain today and peeked outside, I noticed how fresh and green everything looked. God renews and transforms the grass, the trees, the azalea bushes, the birds, and even me. I’m old enough to know that there will be good days and bad days. And I’m grateful that God has consistently showed me that even though there are bad days, He will carry me through it. In times of trouble, and in times where I feel lower than a caterpillar’s tummy, I have a firm foundation and know there will be a light at the end of the tunnel. I know that no matter how low I ever feel, God is right there with me, holding me up.

While surfing YouTube, I found this video of the song “Mighty to Save.” The lyrics are wonderful reminders that God is there for us, in the good times and in the difficult times. I’ve learned over the years that even when despair is about to take me over, that I must choose to remain faithful to the One who has rescued me and continues to save me from the pit of despair. Because of his saving grace and compassion, we don’t have to live in fear, sadness, and hopelessness. If He is mighty enough to save us from everlasting death, He is mighty enough to bring me though any trouble. Because of that, I can find joy again. You can too. In Him there is hope, peace, and mercy, and the mountains we face are moved. I hope you enjoy the video and find reason after reason to rejoice always.

Happy Easter

Yesterday was Easter Sunday, a day when Christians celebrate the transforming power of Jesus Christ. To some, it is one of the two days of the year when you show up at a church building, because, well, it’s what you are supposed to do, or your family decides that it is the proper thing to do, or because it is something you used to do when you were a kid. To some, it is a Sunday, the same as any other Sunday, when you “go to church” and do the same things that you do every Sunday. And to some, it is a day like no other- a day that is not about the status quo, or being in a church facility, or having the perfect new clothes or hearing the perfect Easter music. It’s not about the noun, church, commonly defined as a institutional building, and scripturally defined as the followers of Christ. It’s about the verb, church- the movement of gathering together with joy and anticipation, simply to be unified in praising and thanking God- Christ centered worship, not “me” centered worship. It’s about the verb, church- the movement of Christ followers back out into the world and living out the Good News by loving, caring, sharing, giving- Christ centered living, not “me” centered living.

For whatever reason you entered the church building on Sunday, you were there. Hopefully you experienced the presence of the risen Christ in a way that moves you beyond your past and all the baggage attached to it, and moves you into a new understanding of what it means to be a Christian- not a “church goer”, but a Christ follower.

One of my favorite Easter songs is simply titled, “The Easter Song” (sung by Keith Green) and tells the story of what happened when Jesus’ disciples discovered he was no longer dead, but alive. The lyrics are a full blown proclamation of the overwhelming joy that comes when you realize even just a portion of the power and majesty of God that forever demolishes the perceived power of death and overcomes it with the real and tangible power of eternal life. I pray that you will invite the Holy Spirit in, to guide you to a deeper understanding of God’s love for you, and show you how to respond to His love by loving others with your words and actions. Happy Easter.

Holy Week

Holy week, the time between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, is intended to be a time of intentional preparation for the celebration of Easter. Palm Sunday is a day that we remember Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The people cheered and welcomed Jesus into the city shouting “Hosanna!” Thursday was the Last Supper, where the disciples were told, “Do this in remembrance of me.” They learned about servanthood as Jesus washed their feet. This was followed by betrayal, and the crowd’s cheers turned into jeers. Friday was the finality of the tomb… or so they thought. But on Sunday, death and hopelessness were overcome by Christ’s resurrection. Now there was grace, redemption, life, hope, joy...



Holy week provides time to remember this journey of our faith. As we remember these events, we give of ourselves, intentionally setting aside time with the Lord just to be in his presence. On Maundy Thursday at 7 p.m., we remember Christ’s words and share the bread and the cup. We put our feet in the sandals of the disciples and are reminded about humble servanthood.



This year we will have a footwashing for those who choose to come forward and participate in this unique remembrance of how Peter told the Lord, “You shall never wash my feet” and then learned about the example that Jesus was setting for his followers (John 13:1-17).



On Friday, we enter into a time of being still before the Lord, remembering that he gave his all for us. This year our Good Friday Tenebrae service will be held at 7 p.m. in the Family Life Center. It will be multi-sensory and will use music, video, readings, and candlelight to experience the passion story of Christ. Experiencing the fullness of Holy Week leads to a better understanding of the light, life, and joy of the Easter celebration. We encourage you to make time for Holy week, not just to “be at church,” but to come together as a people of faith yearning to experience God’s presence in a real and powerful way. Holy week culminates with the joy of Easter as we will gather to celebrate God’s redeeming gift of grace.



Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another Heb 10:25a (read Hebrews 10:19-25),

How Majestic Is Your Name

“O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” Psalm 8

I’m out of town today at the wedding of my cousin and his finance. It was held outside at a beautiful estate near Austin, complete with 1800’s era plantation home, innumerable trees, and a sky that is barely given it’s due by the word “blue.” I know plenty of people that call this part of the world “God’s country,” as if God stopped just one extra moment to make this place more beautiful than human words can put into language.

As I took my first look at the morning, I was met by the brilliance of the bright sun, the vast sky, and the cool breeze, all I could think of was David’s words, “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” Yes, God speaks to us through the Bible and those words are vital to my journey of faith. However, I think that he also speaks through the beauty of his creation, a beauty that we struggle to define. I can see David looking out across the land and noticing all that God has created, trying to put it all into words. “How majestic is your name in all the earth!” All the beauty of the hills, mountains, icy glaciers, warm sandy beaches… all here for God’s children to enjoy and ponder what kind of mighty Creator brought all of this into being. What kind of Creator knit everything together with such wonder, and why would this Creator do so? In short, He did it because He loves us. Simple, really. Of course we can get into the more complex nature of it all, but for today, for this moment, I just marvel at the mystery of it all and the depth of His love for me and every single one of us, past, present, and future. Praise God!

Trading My Xbox

While doing some serious YouTube surfing this week, I stumbled upon this video I found at allaboutworship.com. It is called Trading My XBOX and is a response to Darrell Evan’s song, Trading My Sorrows. It poses the question about the place that “things” have in our lives. Are all the “things” in our lives stumbling blocks to us or are they all useful to us? I’ll admit that I’m a techno-freak in the making, and left to my own devices (well, literally and figuratively), I could inch my way off the path that draws me closer to Christ. I don’t have an Xbox or gaming “things”, but I keep my iPhone on, I twitter, my laptop is ever at the ready, and spend a bit of time online every day. Not saying that as a pro or con regarding technology, but I simply pose a question: What are you doing with your technology? Does it aid in or hinder your relationship with Christ and with others we are called to love?

I figure that if nature can praise God (You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. -Isaiah 55:12 NIV) that technology should too. Is your phone only used for gossip or judgmental texting about someone you dislike? Does the Xbox provide you with an excuse to ignore the other people in the room for hours every day? Does time online replace time visiting with people in your family, your friends, your community? Does the “daily Bible verse” you get in email on Sunday morning become your “out” for sleeping in instead of worshiping in a community of faith? Is your only connection to other people merely twittering?

What if… (thinking caps on now) what if we used our technology to reach out to people with words of grace, hope, comfort, encouragement, and then spend time with them in person (of course, if that is possible- doesn’t take into account folks you meet across the country/world). What if we utilize online Bible study and take that knowledge out into the world? What if we become so focused on Christ’s mission in the world (both as individuals and as a community) that our joy spilled out into everything we do, even in our day to day communications.

Jesus used everything around him to speak about the love of God: flowers, birds, vineyards, a plank, sheep. He spent time with people. He also spent time alone in prayer. Why shouldn’t Christ-followers do the same? What are you willing to trade in for time with God?

Indiana Idol

This week at our Lenten Bible study, we looked Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark, and how there was a focus on obtaining treasures. In the opening scene of the movie (see link), Dr. Jones (Indy, for those who know him well) is risking bodily harm moving through a booby-trapped jungle and into a dangerous maze of tunnels, just to get to a golden idol. He wants the idol for the purposes of turning it in to a museum, and mostly likely also just loves the adventure of it. After successfully grabbing the golden idol, he must run for his life, away from all the danger falling around him.Yet in the end, the golden idol that he almost died retrieving, is taken away from him by the evil Dr. Belloq. Indy barely escapes with his life intact. What a picture of Jesus’ message about storing up treasures on earth.

"Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being. (Mat 6:19-21, The Message)

What kind of time do we human creatures put into obtaining treasures? Whether they are good or bad, useful or not, we still spend huge amounts of time gathering in our stockpile of treasures: money, new clothes, vacations, car, the latest tech gadget, relationships with family or friends, time spent on hobbies… (add your own list here). Is money evil? No, but the love of it is “the root of all evil” (1 Tim 6:10 KJV). Are new clothes a no-no? No. They are quite necessary at times, but making them the center of your being pushes other great possibilities out of your reach.

Wait though, what about relationships with people? Isn’t that a good thing? Absolutely. We should spend quality and quantity time building and nurturing relationships with others. But how often do we put those relationships above building and nurturing our relationship with God? (e.g. “I’ll pray later, God. I’m watching TV tonight with my spouse.” “I’ll read your word later, Jesus. I’m busy reading another novel with my child.”) Again, not that those things are wrong, that is until we let it totally replace our time with God, justifying it as “family time” or “me time.” Can family or “me” time not include spiritual acts of prayer, reading the Bible, or having a lively discussion about faith? Why do we separate our waking moments into “church moments” and “everything else”, carefully keeping our life divided into sacred and secular categories?

What are the treasures in your life? Which need to become less treasured? What “things” do you think you treasure, but spend little, if any, time on? If God is our greatest treasure, how do we honor Him? I encourage you to spend time seeking the greatest treasure, a relationship with God, who created you, loves you, and offers you His grace and mercy that restores and recreates us in ways beyond our imagination.


Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. (Psalm 62:5 NIV)

Cracked Lives (or Illustrating Priorities, part 2)

In yesterday’s post, “Illustrating Priorities”... (you might want to read that first. I’ll wait…

… I described an illustration that I used to show how we sometimes get our priorities all messed up. Using a glass jar, shells and salt, I showed how we put some things (doing bills, watching TV, jogging, etc) ahead of the things that we SAY are important (worshiping God, Bible study, prayer, family, etc).

(Cue old soap-opera organ music and whispering announcer:) “When we last left Pastor Valerie, she was holding up the perfect illustration of well ordered priorities, the glass jar filled with all the shells and all the salt, and room to spare.” (Cue ominous music: duh, duh, dummm…)

So there I was, allowing the perfect illustration to soak in and then begin discussing it with the group. I tilted the jar a bit and salt began to stream out from the jar onto the table below. I looked at the top and the salt was not spilling over the lip of the jar. For a moment I was baffled, and then I heard giggles and then laughter as I turned the jar around and saw a small hole where the salt was pouring out. Something had obviously cracked the thin layer of glass there and now there was a hole this size of a dime. The vase/life was broken. “That’s life! Sometimes we get broken” I smirked. The faux pas brought up a real point in addition to the intended and original point.

Even when we are trying to follow Christ and put God first in all things, sometimes our lives get cracked. Sometimes the “things” we have in our lives pour out uncontrollably and cause a mess. But no matter how much loss, pain, suffering, or despair we face, God remains inside us, with us at all times. (“Remain in me and I will remain in you.” John 15:4). Now, I couldn’t repair that cracked vase but God can take cracked lives and re-create them into new lives (“Behold I make all things new.” Rev 21:5).

So on my way into my office to write this piece, I was carrying a box with the remnants of the study decorations (grass skirts, fishing nets, shells..) that we used for “Cast Away.” I was busy in thought about the symbolism of the cracked vase. In the blink of an eye the box of shells crashed to the floor. Broken: the delicate ones I found in Galveston on a family vacation. Broken: the colorful ones from a Mexican beach. Broken: that special sea urchin shell (that came from my grandmother’s store) that I’ve had since I was 16. Broken and a mess.

Upon reflection I thought about the brokenness that we fear. What if I lost everything? My home, my car, my family, my piano, my friends… things that were far beyond my ability to “fix”? How could I cope? My only answer is that I couldn’t. That is, I alone wouldn’t be able to cope. “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” -1 Cor 15:57. Lent is a time to remember that Christ gave His all for us and paid our debt of sin, so that we will have eternal life. Victory over death. Victory over all the cracks and holes that mar our “perfect” lives. He knows our sorrows and will never leave us to deal with them alone. He is ever present and loves us without pause or fail. Take time to give thanks to God for His ever present and renewing Spirit.

Illustrating Priorities

During Lent my church is holding a Lenten Bible studies series called “Dinner and a Movie: Don’t Forget Your Change.” It focuses on the changes that come in our lives- changes that come via circumstances (both good and bad) and the changes that come when one allows the transforming power of God to re-create his people.

Our first study was about our changing priorities and based on “Cast Away.” Chuck, the Fed-Ex employee, allows “time” to run his life and misses out on important moments in life. His view of “time” changes once he is marooned on a desert island, shifting his priorities from allowing “time” to be his master, to mere survival and the hope of returning home.

As a part of rethinking our priorities, I did a short demonstration in the study, using a glass vase, sea shells and salt. The vase represented our lives, the shells were the vitally important things, and the salt was the peripheral things (both necessary and fun) that fill up our days. I began by pouring a container of salt into the jar, noting my “peripherals.” “I like to play with my nieces and nephews. I like to golf. I like to learn new things about technology. I have to wash the dishes.” and so on. The salt filled the jar about three quarters of the way. Then I began filling the jar/my life with the “important” things, and stuffing each one in as far as I could. “I need to study the Bible. I need to visit people in the hospital. I need to spend time with my family. I need to watch my health” and so on. However, by the sixth shell (6 of 15), I could fit no more in. The “prayer” shell hadn’t even made it in yet. The jar/my life obviously had no room for the things I said that were vital. Time to rethink my priorities… The illustration had their attention.

“Ahhh” I said. “If this is my life, I need to recognize that my priorities are all messed up. I need to rethink how I live day to day” as I poured out the salt and removed the few shells. With the glass vase empty, I reordered the process, putting in all the “vital” things first, and then pouring the “peripheral” things in after. In practice, I knew that all the shells and all the salt would fit now, showing that when you put God first, everything else would come together (“Seek ye first the kingdom of God…” Mat 6:33). I held up the vase and everyone could see the perfect illustration which is supposed to leave you with the thought that perhaps each of us needs to reflect on our priorities and ask God to direct us and transform us.

Yes… a perfect illustration, a perfect moment to reflect, however life is not perfect… (Wanna know the rest of the story? Watch for part 2 of this in tomorrow’s “Cracked Lives”)

During this Lenten season I encourage you sit in God’s presence, in worship, prayer, and study, and allow him to show you the changes that will transform you and bring you closer to Him.

Lent and Cardboard Testimonies

Last Wednesday was Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. Countless Christians across the globe attended Ash Wednesday services and my church was no different. But this service, as in many churches in our country, is not the most well-attended service. Neither is Good Friday. Contrast that with Christmas and Easter services. Why the difference? I have heard it said by some that they don’t like to focus on the subject of sin. It’s depressing. It’s one thing to celebrate birth and resurrection, and another to sit and face your failings and shortcomings for a whole hour.

To that I say sure. I understand. I don’t like re-living my past mistakes and enduring the pain of it over and over. So I don’t. That’s not what Lent is about. It’s about remembering our tendency to sin and our need for God to forgive us. It’s about God wiping our slate clean and re-creating clean hearts in us, enabling us to walk closely with Him, instead of trying to hide from Him. It’s about remembering God’s power to transform us into Overcomers and Rejoicers who live everyday excited about what new thing God will do with and through us in that day.

I recently saw (again) a video that shows the concept of sin, forgiveness, and transformation in such a powerful way that it still affects me just as strongly as the first time I saw it. I hope that you will make time for your own testimony before God, and allow His transforming power to fill you will joy for all that He has done, is doing, and will continue to do for you and in you.