After completing my grueling 2-class first day of college, I'm taking advantage of the fact that I'm stranded in the Student Union by tons of rain to blog a bit.
Welcome Weekend here finally ended with classes beginning last night. I'm sure all of my fellow freshmen also enjoyed the seminars, schedules, and sweat. (I've sweated a LOT these past few days. It's been hot. Hopefully this rain will be cooling us all down.)
In between fun with O Groups and various other officially scheduled Welcome events, I've been spending a lot of time having fun with my floor, 2nd Berg (aka "Sigma Beta"). We've chilled in the DC, played large amounts of games, gone out for Thai, and generally enjoyed each other's company quite a bit. This is a pretty great floor to live on.
In between fun with O Groups and various other schedule Welcome events, and in between spending a lot of time having fun with my floor, I have already been able to get quite a few jam sessions in (as of now... 4). A student body including a lot of musicians who were as big a fan of worship music and I am is one of the huge benefits of going to Taylor. I've made fast friends with many, and there are still plenty of guys and gals I have yet to jam with.
Over the past few weeks/months, I hope to continue having as many jam sessions as possible and hopefully get one or two band lineups actually solidified to start actually practicing and performing music. We'll see how the plan goes, for now it's going great.
If you're at Taylor and you want to jam- make sure you let me know. I believe my e-mail is somewhere on this blog, but it's probably best to find me with a FB message. See you soon!
Peace.
Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a LOUD noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.
Psalm 98:4 (KJV)
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Friday, August 22, 2014
Arrival at My New Home
As I have mentioned on numerous previous occasions, I originally had the idea of creating a blog in order to journal my college experience. I created quite early. Now, I am glad to announce, the time is here! I arrived on campus here at Taylor University today, and this is what I did.
The first order of business was carrying all my stuff, in large and heavy bags, up a flight of stairs to my room. This was accomplished with ample help from my father. After unpacking a little bit and "Facetiming" my mom, dad headed back home and I was on my own.
I didn't have anything going on till dinner at 5 Indiana time, so I set about setting up my dorm room. I have a really fantastic setup (TU peeps: come say hi!). My room is very large and there are only 2 people in it (my dorm, Bergwall, usually has 3), so all in all it is quite spacious. I have plenty of space in which to store/display my various instruments, currently including 2 guitars (Thor and Little Thor, christened by my dad), a banjo, a "Jingling Johnny" (see previous blog posts), and a harmonica.
I am currently sitting and typing at my desk, situated strategically at an outlet so I can dial in all sorts of gadgets into my surge protector. Add sheets to the bed, dry-erase calendar to the wall, and clothes to the closet, and my room is pretty much set.
Anyway, around 5 P.M. I headed down to dinner with my roommate Jacob Bernard and his parents for dinner, where we were joined by our floor PAs (Personel Assistants) and our floor DA (Discipleship Assistant). From there, we wandered around our floor a little bit, I whipped out some card tricks, and Jacob, myself, and my boy Trayvon headed to our "Dedication Service" at 7.
I am going to continue in my general trend of shooting very straight here and say that this Service was boooring. It was rather exciting to be gathering as a body and committing to the Life Together Covenant, but after the 6th or 7th person detailing how excited yet frightened I was supposed to be, I was ready to check out.
Eventually all the freshman from my dorm gathered and met our Hall Director, later splitting off by floors and meeting with our PAs/RAs. Then we waited in the Berg lobby, making friends and generally socializing, waiting for the members of our sister floor to swing by in order to participate in an activity that was, at that time, a secret.
This secret event was the "Awk Walk." You probably have a good idea of how this went down. Each guy had to walk beside a randomly selected girl, occasionally switching partners, being given odd walking instructions, or discussing prompted questions. It was all very good fun (really).
After the Awk Walk we headed back to Berg, watched a little Top Gear, and here I am blogging before I go to bed. Looking forward for many great days to come!
Cheers!
The first order of business was carrying all my stuff, in large and heavy bags, up a flight of stairs to my room. This was accomplished with ample help from my father. After unpacking a little bit and "Facetiming" my mom, dad headed back home and I was on my own.
I didn't have anything going on till dinner at 5 Indiana time, so I set about setting up my dorm room. I have a really fantastic setup (TU peeps: come say hi!). My room is very large and there are only 2 people in it (my dorm, Bergwall, usually has 3), so all in all it is quite spacious. I have plenty of space in which to store/display my various instruments, currently including 2 guitars (Thor and Little Thor, christened by my dad), a banjo, a "Jingling Johnny" (see previous blog posts), and a harmonica.
I am currently sitting and typing at my desk, situated strategically at an outlet so I can dial in all sorts of gadgets into my surge protector. Add sheets to the bed, dry-erase calendar to the wall, and clothes to the closet, and my room is pretty much set.
Anyway, around 5 P.M. I headed down to dinner with my roommate Jacob Bernard and his parents for dinner, where we were joined by our floor PAs (Personel Assistants) and our floor DA (Discipleship Assistant). From there, we wandered around our floor a little bit, I whipped out some card tricks, and Jacob, myself, and my boy Trayvon headed to our "Dedication Service" at 7.
I am going to continue in my general trend of shooting very straight here and say that this Service was boooring. It was rather exciting to be gathering as a body and committing to the Life Together Covenant, but after the 6th or 7th person detailing how excited yet frightened I was supposed to be, I was ready to check out.
Eventually all the freshman from my dorm gathered and met our Hall Director, later splitting off by floors and meeting with our PAs/RAs. Then we waited in the Berg lobby, making friends and generally socializing, waiting for the members of our sister floor to swing by in order to participate in an activity that was, at that time, a secret.
This secret event was the "Awk Walk." You probably have a good idea of how this went down. Each guy had to walk beside a randomly selected girl, occasionally switching partners, being given odd walking instructions, or discussing prompted questions. It was all very good fun (really).
After the Awk Walk we headed back to Berg, watched a little Top Gear, and here I am blogging before I go to bed. Looking forward for many great days to come!
Cheers!
Friday, August 15, 2014
"How He Loves"
"How He Loves" is a very well-known and well-loved worship song, and has been particularly meaningful to me recently. Unfortunately, not too many people know about the circumstances surrounding this song's creation, and I think the story adds significant depth to the song. Here it is!
First off, you should know that it was written by John Mark McMillan, NOT the David Crowder*Band. A woefully low number of worship music listeners are aware of this, as the song was made popular with the circulation of DC*B's cover. In fact, to this day I have never heard any of John Mark McMillan's recorded versions on the radio. (BTW, I have many problems with the radio, and discrepancies like this are only one of them. My general dislike for the radio will serve as the subject matter for at least one, probably many, future post(s).)
So, John Mark McMillan wrote this song shortly after one of his best friends died in a car crash. He was frustrated and angry, and in his words "needed to have a conversation with God." As he tried to process his agony through music he created this beautiful celebration of God's love that we sing in churches across the nation today.
There's actually a third verse to the song that is far too personal for any worship leader or cover band to sing. On the first recording of the song (I think the only one in which he includes the third verse), McMillan actually breaks down and cries. I'm sure he could have recorded it once without crying, releasing it this way was definitely a conscious choice, don't lose sight of that. Regardless, my favorite line from this verse says "people try to tell me You're cruel // But if Stephen could sing he'd say it's not true." I think you'll agree that such sentiment is quite powerful, especially coming after such tragedy.
Lines like "all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory" and "I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way that He loves us" certainly take on more meaning with context. Moreso, the entire great song with its great poetry saying "God loves us so so so soooo much," having been written on the worst day of his life, showcases a very pervasive and inspiring faith. Resilient joy that endures despite negative circumstances, as John Piper said in his last sermon from his pulpit, is THE thing the world needs from the church.
The song would be awesome and worth singing if it was written and sung from a mountaintop. Unfortunately, the fact is that many people who walk into worship are not going through a mountain, but rather a valley. These are truly beautiful lyrics to sing in such times, celebrating a love that is at once beautiful and unfathomable.
The act of looking beyond tragedy and seeing God's steadfast love through it all that this song represents has always been powerful to me, and now with a recent loss of my own to keep in mind, it has become that much more personal and poignant.
Anyway, it's a great song. Here's a link to the original recording I referenced above. Give it a listen! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0luHiWwi08
We are His portion and He is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking.
-"How He Loves" by John Mark McMillan
First off, you should know that it was written by John Mark McMillan, NOT the David Crowder*Band. A woefully low number of worship music listeners are aware of this, as the song was made popular with the circulation of DC*B's cover. In fact, to this day I have never heard any of John Mark McMillan's recorded versions on the radio. (BTW, I have many problems with the radio, and discrepancies like this are only one of them. My general dislike for the radio will serve as the subject matter for at least one, probably many, future post(s).)
So, John Mark McMillan wrote this song shortly after one of his best friends died in a car crash. He was frustrated and angry, and in his words "needed to have a conversation with God." As he tried to process his agony through music he created this beautiful celebration of God's love that we sing in churches across the nation today.
There's actually a third verse to the song that is far too personal for any worship leader or cover band to sing. On the first recording of the song (I think the only one in which he includes the third verse), McMillan actually breaks down and cries. I'm sure he could have recorded it once without crying, releasing it this way was definitely a conscious choice, don't lose sight of that. Regardless, my favorite line from this verse says "people try to tell me You're cruel // But if Stephen could sing he'd say it's not true." I think you'll agree that such sentiment is quite powerful, especially coming after such tragedy.
Lines like "all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory" and "I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way that He loves us" certainly take on more meaning with context. Moreso, the entire great song with its great poetry saying "God loves us so so so soooo much," having been written on the worst day of his life, showcases a very pervasive and inspiring faith. Resilient joy that endures despite negative circumstances, as John Piper said in his last sermon from his pulpit, is THE thing the world needs from the church.
The song would be awesome and worth singing if it was written and sung from a mountaintop. Unfortunately, the fact is that many people who walk into worship are not going through a mountain, but rather a valley. These are truly beautiful lyrics to sing in such times, celebrating a love that is at once beautiful and unfathomable.
The act of looking beyond tragedy and seeing God's steadfast love through it all that this song represents has always been powerful to me, and now with a recent loss of my own to keep in mind, it has become that much more personal and poignant.
Anyway, it's a great song. Here's a link to the original recording I referenced above. Give it a listen! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0luHiWwi08
We are His portion and He is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking.
-"How He Loves" by John Mark McMillan
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