Filed under: Random thoughts
I’m not big on conferences, but here is one that might just do it for me. (!)
(via emergent kiwi)
Filed under: Music | Tags: Ben Folds, billy joel, elton john, gabe dixon band, Jamie Cullum, Mindy Smith, randy bonifield
I am listening to 2008’s best album. Hands down. I was going to write a really witty, complementing review, but my good friend Randy Bonifield beat me to it:
From the beginning chords of “Disappear” to the final strains of “You And Only You”, we are treated to an album Billy Joel or Elton John might have dreamed of recording in their prime. Some of the great songs from Live @ World Cafe make stunning returns (”Five More Hours” is classic) and are rounded out by incredible new cuts like the Joel-esque “Till You’re Gone” and the fantastic duet with Mindy Smith, “Further The Sky”.
This may be the best CD I’ve heard this year. It will get repeated listens and may never leave my CD player. Move over Billy Joel, Jamie Cullum, Ben Folds, there is a new new kid taking over as the piano man. Again, this is a must have!
I agree! Get this cd!
Filed under: Devotional, Random thoughts, worship | Tags: judas, majesty, thomas merton, trinity episcopal church, worship
Chuck Goodin and I went into Boston yesterday for lunch with Drew at the only place Drew ever eats lunch. 
Afterward, Chuck and I headed over to Trinity Episcopal Church. When I woke up yesterday morning, I hadn’t planned on meeting with friends for lunch, and I certainly hadn’t planned on encountering God in such a magnificent setting.
It really is a beautiful building – but amid all the wonderful architecture and stained glass, what amazed me the most was the amount of empty space. Space to be still in, to be silent. Space God fills.
Now, I know some will lament the lavishness of such a building. After all, couldn’t that money be better spent on curing the world’s ills, helping the poor? Surely a waste of resources. :) Hmmm….. Sounds a lot like what Judas said about a broken alabaster jar poured out on Jesus’ feet. ”What a waste!”
Another unexpected encounter is a book I’ve started reading: Thomas Merton’s New Seeds of Contemplation - it is amazing. So much depth and practical philosophical insight into the God-centered life. Here’s a gem from the 3rd chapter:
…So much depends upon our idea of God! Yet no idea of Him, however pure and perfect, is adequate to express Him as He really is. Our idea of God tells us more about ourselves than about Him…
