like a brother

Jerry meets Eddie at Mr. G's in Gadsden, AL (1988)

We only live about an hour apart but rarely get to hang out these days.  Both of us are married with a family, so guy time doesn't come around much.

I got a call from old pal Jerry yesterday.  He said he'd be passing through today.  I am looking forward to it.

Down through the decades Jerry and I have been through a great deal together ~ both good and bad.  Even in the worst of times, we knew how to make each other laugh.  We've weathered a lot and I love him like a brother.

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
-Proverbs 17:17

let us not whisper

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.  But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.  So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together.  “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. 

“Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it.  But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”

Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges!  As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened.  For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.-Acts 4:13-22

Over two thousand years have passed, but man hasn't changed.  To just speak the truth.  Today it's not politically correct to speak what is true.  All Peter and John proclaimed was that Jesus was mankind's only means of salvation. Using the name of Jesus today can still get a believer in trouble.

Let us not whisper among ourselves.  Let us not be fearful to offend or oblige the world.  Let the believers boldly proclaim the name of Jesus.

Pray for me also, that I may be given the message when I begin to speak--that I may confidently make known the mystery of the gospel,
-Ephesians 6:19

Jesus is in the details

Years ago my mother gave me a glimpse of Jesus.  I guess she reads her Bible different than I do.  She seems to pick up little things that I might have the tendency to read over.  Mother once pointed him out to me in a few lines in John 21.  I guess when I had previously read that chapter time and time again, I had focused on what was going on out at the boat and not on shore.   Remember when the disciples weren't catching anything and Jesus hollered out and told them to throw the net over the other side?  The miracle out on the water had distracted me.  I witnessed the power of Jesus in chapter 21, but missed seeing him in a way I'd never seen him before.

When they landed, they saw a fire burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.  Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught."

Jesus, the Son of God, the King of Kings was cooking breakfast for his disciples.

go

step up
with confidence
step up
knowing that God is on you
step up 
knowing that God has anointed you
step up
surrendering willing
step out
take the risks
step out
and lead
step out
knowing that you are answering his call
step out
going knowing
his hand is on you
boldly going
before the throne
leading boldly
to the throne
with confidence and humility
to the throne
to the throne
with confidence and humility
as a servant
to him
as a servant
to your brother
step out
go out
pour out
till there is nothing left
step out
go out
pour out
till there is no more breath
step out
pour out
step up
with confidence and humility
before the throne
let us boldly go together
God is with you in you on you

dbf 05.26.2013

Sunday and tomorrows

Going to church today and I'm very curious as to what God has in store for us.  It's the first time I've ever gone to church out of mere curiosity.

I guess I am feeling like those early Christians felt following Pentecost.

What next Lord?

Where are you taking us from here?

riding the wave

Singing with The Wave @ Christian Brother's Skylight 1992

This photo was taken at Christian Brother's Skylight.  I was living in Bowling Green, KY at the time and was invited to drive down and play with Permanent Wave (The Wave) on a Skylight Night.  The Wave consisted of Brook Finlayson, Michael Bynum, Nori Kelley, Debbie Handy, Kim England and Kenny Young.

At the time Christian Brothers Association(CBA) was renting the building to Vineyard Christian Fellowship.  The Wave was the worship band for the Vineyard fellowship.  The Wave had an incredible sound and vibe.  The band formed not long after Gina and I married and moved off to Kentucky.  I remember feeling kind of left out on what was going on down there in Alabama.  I always appreciated the few opportunities I got to drive down and play with them.

Gina and I returned to Gadsden in '96.  The Wave had ebbed by that time, but the incredible worship continued.  Everyone you see here on this stage are still leading worship today.  We might not all share the same stage these days, but we are even closer now than we then.

Christian Brothers and Vineyard folk came together like the chocolate and peanut butter in a Reese's Cup.  Christian Brothers decided to close the coffeehouse as each of us felt the season of this ministry had come to an end.  Members of the CBA board felt individually led to give the building over to the Vineyard Fellowship who had been renting from us for some time ~ but that's another story.

I am a member of this Vineyard and so I see the old Skylight stage on a weekly basis.  I have countless wonderful memories of great moments on and around that stage when it was Christian Brothers as well as with Vineyard.  I rarely get to play on that stage anymore.  Vineyard now primarily uses the larger stage in the main hall.  Michael Bynum has recently started the Vineyard Recovery Fellowship from the old Skylight stage every Saturday night.  It's great seeing the old stage being used on a regular basis.

The wave continues.

Michael leads worship for recovery gathering @ Vineyard

out of the blue

Every now and then an event becomes a life event, a milestone moment.  I am still trying to take in and comprehend what just happened this past weekend.  I know that I'm not the only one who God touched. There was a spiritual breakthrough for the entire body  at the Vineyard here in Gadsden.  I can not describe the intimacy and sweetness he poured over us.  I know that the fellowship here will never be the same.  We are traveling down a new road.

I not only walked away having learned more about worship.  Personally, I walked away with a different outlook and heart.  God dealt with me on multiple levels that I just wasn't expecting to have happen.   He just did it out of the blue.    I am still trying to comprehend it all, and might be for some time to come.  I just know that life is different now, and that God has brought us to a new day together.  We are each and all better servants, better equipped for his purpose.

This wasn't just an event.

This isn't over.

memorable week already

I missed hearing Nori and Babie Kelley on Friday and Saturday night at Gadsden Christian Fellowship.  I was able to hear them play at the Falls on Tuesday night.  It was a beautiful evening to be there.  Everywhere I looked, I knew people from different times in my life.  It felt kind of like a taste of heaven.  WIND started playing and the sun went down.  I was reminded of our old No Jive Jesus is Alive Falls Festivals Christian Brother's had 30 years ago.

As I was making my way back to the car, Nori and Barbie pulled up and invited me to Cracker Barrel and talk.  It was a great getting to catch up with my dear friends.  They are a wonderful couple, and their girls are beautiful, sweet, and so talented.  They are all so sweet and dear people.  I miss them living near to us.

Tonight I just got back from hearing Danny Daniels at Blackstone Pub.  He performed an incredible eclectic set with a heaping helping of the blues.   I love his style and I love the man.  I've heard him speak and lead worship, but it was great hearing him in a different environment.  After he finished, Danny joined our small circle of friends at the table and talked about music.  I enjoyed listening Danny's road stories.  I wish he'd write a book.  It was a very pleasant evening, but I began to fade.  I wish I had more nights like the nights I've had this week.

I am looking forward to this weekend.  Our church is hosting the Living Sacrifices Worship Conference.  I am paid up and ready to hear more Danny, along with other incredible worship leaders.  I don't know what to expect, but I know it will be out of this world.

I would write more about it all in more detail, but I am tired and it's after one.  I am fading again, ready to get some rest so I can wake up to another incredible day.

Army of One

I started listening to Rush Limbaugh in the early nineties, about 1992.  A friend, Steve Tichenor, happened to drop by my apartment out of the blue.  As we sat in the living-room chatting, he asked me if I had heard Rush Limbaugh.  Steven knew I was a conservative and thought I'd be interested in Rush.  I had in fact heard him briefly a couple of times, but apparently hadn't given him much of a chance.  At the time I had been listening regularly to Point of View with Marlon Maddox.  After Steve's visit, I decided to give Rush more airtime in my house.

It didn't take long for me to become an avid fan.  Rush Limbaugh was the one conservative voice amid the vast liberal wasteland.  News mainstream media then, like today is biased left.   It was great knowing there was someone out there ....

 At the time I was working in a very liberal environment at Western Kentucky University.  It was a great environment with wonderful people working there.  I often took a small radio with me to listen to Rush's show while I pulled together departmental brochures.  I'd sit there behind a Mac producing print material for women's studies and multicultural awareness.  I'd listen to my liberal friends comment how 'Rush was Reich", that Rush was a 'fascist' or 'just an entertainer'.  Eventually I was told that I couldn't listen to Rush anymore.  I was told that NPR was the only station allowed in our department.  I started bringing earphones to work.

Back in 2009, an biography was written by Zev Chafets called Rush Limbaugh: An Army of One.  It's a book I know was out there but had never  got around to read it.  Gina gave it to me as a Christmas present, but I only got around to reading it this past week.  I read Rush's books The Way Things Ought To Be and See, I Told You So years ago.  Even though those books were published a long time ago, I thought I knew about as much as there was to know about him.

Zev Chafets doesn't agree with everything Rush believes and says, but Chafets writes as a Rush listener and someone who has gone to great lengths to know his subject.  I enjoyed this book more so than Rush's previous books because Rush is exposed warts and all.   Chafets doesn't have a political ax to grind.  It's apparent that he didn't set out to do a hatchet job on Rush, nor did he set out to gloss over Rush's faults.

I've been listening to Limbaugh for over twenty years.  I felt as if I knew the man after listening to him for countless hours.  I had some questions, but for the most part, like most of Rush's long time listeners, I felt I knew this guy.  There were parts of this book that I trudged through, not because of the author, but because I knew a lot of this stuff.  What is great about this book is that it offers the back-story to what we the listener do know.  I found myself saying "I remember that - I remember when he said that - I remember when that happened".  I would then learn something about those instances that I didn't know. This is the back-story that I doubt if Rush would've included in an autobiography.  I know if I were authoring an autobiography, I would have a tendency not to write about the flaws.  Flaws or not, Rush Limbaugh is an incredible individual.

I don't walk away from reading Rush Limbaugh, An Army of One any greater or lesser a fan.  I walk way with more of an understanding of him as a person, and a greater appreciation of the impact he's made in the political arena.  Zev Chafets is the idea biographer for Limbaugh.  I hope he continues to write about Rush in years to come.  This book left off in 2009.  I'd like to see Chafets continue with Rush's story, because Rush is still making an impact.

The Daily Bullet

These are many of the websites I check for gun related news for the The Daily Bullet facebook group.  I don't post everything I see at these websites, nor do I visit each of these URLs daily.

Most of these individual sites have one to four new topics daily.  On any given day I'll post 12+ gun related news items.  I'm trying to give members a nice grouping of gun related news so you don't have to look too far for what's going on in the gun world.I encourage members to bookmark these sites for your own reference.  If you perchance discover a gun related item that's not already posted at The Daily Bullet, do share it by posting the link at The Daily Bullet.

AmmoLand
Breitbart
Clash Daily
Daily Caller : Guns and Gear Section
Drudge Report
Examiner
Fox News
Girls Just Wanna Have Guns
Guns
Guns and Ammo
Gun Digest
Guns Save Lives
The Blaze   
NRA: National Rifle Assoc.
NRA-ILA: National Rifle Assoc. Institute for Legislative Action

all the keys

when we gave our lives to Jesus

we each made our heart his house
he is not our guest
we were bought with a price

we are not our own

he owns the home
we must give him the keys
all the keys

-df

life is but a musical

Katie (16) doesn't have school today.  She's worked so hard to get this far with her college courses.  She's only has one more final coming up on Monday.  I let her sleep late.  When she woke she started vacuuming. She said that mom had told her to vacuum the entire house when she woke up.

I've been downstairs listening to her singing over the noise of the vacuum cleaner.  My 10 year old daughter is a little music maker too.  Earlier in the week Kelsey cleaned up the kitchen all by herself.  I enjoyed hearing her sweet little voice humming loudly to herself as she worked diligently.

When I was growing up, we had this huge hilly yard to mow and only a small push mower to mow it.  It would take me five hours to get the job done.  I'd push that mower and sing song after song.  Our neighbor, Mr. E.N. "Bud" Lawley would come out on his porch and sit down on his stoop.  He'd pop open a beer and watch me from a distance as I worked.  I'd wave every time I saw sitting up there him.  He'd nod his head and wave back.  He'd watch me, always smiling.

I figured Mr. Lawley came out of his house to sit there every day just for the heck of it, but I later found out that he came out to watch and listen to me work.  Sometimes I'd go into a self-entertaining comedic monologue, but most of the time I sang.  It was dad that told me about Mr. Lawley.  Bud Lawley came over and talked to my dad one afternoon.  Mr. Lawley mentioned during the conversation that anytime he heard that lawnmower of mine crank, he'd come out to watch Westbrook's youngest son carry on as he worked.

Mowing such a big yard was boring.  I'd entertain myself as I went along.  I didn't know I was entertaining the entire neighborhood.  If I knew I had an audience, I would've put on more of a show.

Years ago my brother and I were on a mini-tour down South (Alabama-Florida-Louisiana). We walked into The Donut Hole in Destin, FL for breakfast.  It was pretty packed place and I was singing to myself while getting out of the car and on into the joint.  Brook looked over to me and said, "David, life is not a musical."  I quipped back, "Your life isn't ~ mine is."
 
Actually my brother's life is very musical.  He's an exceptional guitar player, singer and songwriter.  He just doesn't sing to himself while in the grocery store or post office.I often sing while I work, sing while I run errands.  I sing all the time.  As a massage therapist, I find myself humming to the music playing on the jam box.  Sometimes I sing a little during a session - usually old hymns.  I've had clients call me on several occasions 'The Singing Masseuse'.  Music in itself is good therapy.

So I listen to my children sing as they work and it's music to my ears.  I hope that their lives will be musicals too.