If I would only pause and notice these love-scenes from God more often... I noticed when we were in the mountains of Utah and Colorado. I think I know why Moses went up to the mountains to talk to God. There is just something about the majesty of them that makes a person and pause and reflect on his/her own insignificance. I need those times of reflection. They help me put things into perspective and remind me that God is bigger than anything I am facing.
Good, thought-provoking books help me with my perspective too. In the past week, I finished two great books-- Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller and What's So Amazing About Grace by Philip Yancey. They both take an honest, up-front look at Christianity, moving past religion into the depths of developing a relationship with Jesus. I've never liked religion very much, but I could never really express why. These two books helped me figure it out.
I think the first thing that makes me dislike religion is that it reduces personal intimacy with Jesus to a formula. Religion tells you what you have to do to "please God" or "get to heaven". The Bible tells you to get to know God. I feel cheated by religion when I compare it to a real relationship. There is not a one-size-fits-all formula for Christianity. Most churches have a structure they follow week after week... sing three songs... pray for the sick... read the Bible... sit through a sermon... sing a hymn... There, now don't you feel closer to God?! Well, some days I do, but some days I feel closer to him sitting in my backyard admiring the lilies, or hiking in the mountains, or having a cup of tea with a friend.
Additionally, religion gives you a basis upon which to judge people. Religion says "do this" and "do NOT do that". Jesus says "love one another". When you start making a list of "good" and "bad" actions, it becomes really easy to start making lists of "good" and "bad" people. Jesus says "judge not lest ye be judged". Sometimes we judge others; sometimes we judge ourselves. Either way, we are not fully embracing the grace that God offers. Your actions and appearances to others become more important than your relationship with God. Condemnation of other's actions can prevent you from loving them like Jesus does.
Jesus came down hard on the religious people of His day, while He was kind and generous to the "worst" sinners around. He freely offered grace to them and it changed their lives in a way no law & punishment system ever could. I often help lead Bible studies at the girl's juvenile detention center in our area. I always feel like it is a place Jesus would like to hang out. These girls cannot hide the fact that they are sinners. They can't try to put on airs, because we all know they are there for a reason. I like spending time with those girls. They really need God's love and grace.
I am challenged to live a life of genuine love for people. I want to follow in Jesus' footsteps, offering grace instead of condemnation to sinners just like me. I don't want to get caught up in religion and the rules that come with it; I want to have a real relationship with the God of universe who loves me enough to sacrifice His own Son for me and then send me lilies in the garden to remind me of that love.
[ add comment ] ( 5 views ) | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink |
( 3 / 83 )I would like to invite everyone to a Scenic Roots CD release concert.
Please join us on Sunday, July 27th at 3:00PM. The concert will be held at the LCL Buffalo Ranch near Clifton, KS.
The concert will feature songs from our two new CD projects "Dance All Night, Fiddle All Day" and "Quiet Sunshine". This is the perfect opportunity to stock up on our CD"s for Christmas, Birthday, and Anniversary gifts.
During the concert we will take up a free-will offering. After the concert we will be selling all of our CD's for $15.00.
We hope that you will all plan to join us on Sunday the 27th. If you have questions please feel free to e-mail us or call us at 785-262-4022. We hope to see many of you very soon!
Check out our band website www.scenicroots.com to hear sound clips of our music. You can also order CD's ONLINE!
[ add comment ] ( 4 views ) | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink |
( 2.9 / 72 )Hello there,
Sister and I are doing a joint blog tonight. ENJOY!!
We'll start back at the front of the trip...all the way back to July 3rd.
E- Scenic Roots played for the Wilsey Community 4th of July picnic on July 3rd! We had a splendid time playing with Dad again.
A-After our gig we heard the most LOUD and THUNDEROUS fireworks....TOO LOUD.....
E-Amber Hates Fireworks.
A-After the fireworks we got to stay in a very unique motel near by.
E-They had a front porch with rocking chairs.
A- On Saturday our family went to the BIG CITY of Wichita to do some shopping. BORING! We didn't last very long before we headed over to the Lippincott Bed & Breakfast shuttle resort.
E-Mom and Dad abandoned us, but the Lippincott's took good care of us. They were so kind as to deliver us to the airport at 6:00AM Saturday Morning.
A- We made it through security (WITH THE BANJO) and arrived safely at the Denver airport later that morning. I did have to gate check my banjo, BUT mind you I watched as they loaded it into the belly of the plane, they used two hands and were ALMOST careful with it.
E- After a second breakfast we got bored and pulled out our instruments. As we were sitting there playing in the middle of the Denver airport, we found a friend. A hunter from Georgia who hunts in Kansas said hello...AT DENVER!! What a small world!
A- After a very rough ride over the mountains we landed safely at Salt Lake City, Utah, having just completed our first EVER state side airplane ride! The banjo made it safe too!
E- Mike and Rosemary picked us up from the airport, fed us, and took us to Brigham City where I taught a dulcimer workshop. From there we went to the American West Heritage Center in Wellsville where we played for a dinner theatre.
A-The dinner theatre was AMAZING!!! We rode down to the site in a HORSE drawn COVERED WAGON!! Then we ate some SCRUMPTIOUS food then played an amazing show.
The setting really fit the music, it was great!E- Sunday Mike and Rosemary took us to Temple Square. It was really neat to tour the place, but my favorite part was the massive pipe organ in the tabernacle. We were lucky enough to be there for a recital and it was AMAZING!
A- After all of that our good friends Jim and Janet Witherspoon adopted us into the family and showed us around Salt Lake for the next day or so. We saw mountains, mountain goats, snow, flowers, water, a cute dog and lots of other good stuff.
E-My favorite part was our picnic on the mountain. We were in Little Big Horn(something like that) canyon. It was soo pretty and we played our instruments it was wonderful.
A- I also got to weed the garden. On Tuesday night we had a house concert at their lovely home. We had 25 people in our audience.
E-It was a super fun concert.We finally got to bed around 1AM. Just intime for us to get plenty of sleep.
A- The next morning the Witherspoons took us to the airport after 2 hours and 41 minutes of sleep.We had a good flight back to mom and dad in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
E-We spent the remainder of our trip in beautiful Westcilffe, Colorado enjoying the bluegrass festival.
A- Highlights from the festival. Seeing Michael Cleveland and Flamkeeper, FREEZING our tails off and eating sugar free ice cream.
E- We also went to a couple really informative workshops. Once again, I came home with things to think about.
A- The family piled in the truck and drove home on Sunday. We made it back right around 9PM.
E- We hadn't had a shower in 3 days...I got the first one when we got home.
A- Since being at home we have managed to unpack, do some laundry and of course cook some food.
E-It is good to be home again, but we sure do enjoy traveling, playing music, and meeting wonderful people all over the country.
A- We'll post more later about an up coming concert!! Be sure to order your copy of "Dance All Night, Fiddle All Day", and "Quiet Sunshine" from www.scenicroots.com!!!
[ 1 comment ] ( 19 views ) | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink |
( 2.9 / 61 )In just a few minutes, we'll be headed out the door again. Scenic Roots has a gig in small-town Wilsey, KS this evening. Our family will be spending the night there, then spending the day tomorrow having fun in Wichita. Mom & Dad will then leave Amber with friends in Wichita and come back home so Dad can work Saturday morning. Meanwhile, Amber & I will be flying to UTAH bright and early Saturday morning!!!
In Utah, we have two gigs and some workshops to teach. We'll be staying at two different homes and enjoying a state we've never been to yet! Sis and I are excited about flying-- this will be our first domestic flight ever (we've flown internationally before)-- though Amber is concerned about her sinuses since she's still trying to recover from her sinus infection. She is feeling MUCH better today though, and we're confident that she be feeling great by Saturday.
Next Wednesday, we fly to Colorado Springs where we will meet up with Mom and Dad. From there we will head to Westcliffe where we'll be enjoying a great bluegrass festival all weekend. We're tent-camping. It should be a great, relaxing weekend for all of us.
Keep us in your prayers as we travel. Also, it was at the festival in Westcliffe last year that I discovered the swollen lymph nodes which led to my diagnosis of Hodgkin's. Pray that we can enjoy the festival without thinking about all of that! See you down the road!
P.S. Our CDs are now available on-line by going to www.scenicroots.com and clicking "Recordings". Go check it out!
[ add comment ] ( 1 view ) | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink |
( 3 / 60 )I had a really good trip to Tulsa earlier this week. Amber and I were scheduled to play at a church Wednesday evening. Amber woke up really sick Wednesday morning with a sinus infection, so she was unable to come. Feeling a bit uncomfortable with the idea of driving 5 hours and dealing with all the logistics by myself, I called up my grandparents in Hutchinson. They were free and readily volunteered to make the trip with me.
My show Wednesday evening went really well. I did an hour-long program, playing dulcimer and sharing some of my cancer story. It was my first solo gig of that length and I was pretty nervous. Once again, though, God really blessed me as I put forth my best effort and relied on Him to use it for His glory. I also taught a couple of mountain dulcimer lessons on Thursday morning before we headed out of town. Special thanks to Dennis Moran for setting up the concert, and for the very kind hospitality shown to me and my grandparents!
Some of my family lives in the area, so I got to see them as well. My uncle Donn & his wife Janet, my cousin Sean and his wife Angie and new baby Abigail, and my cousin Stephen. It had been several years since I had seen them all, so it was good to catch up. Amber was pretty jealous that I got to hold baby Abigail!
I spent Thursday night with Grandma and Grandpa before heading home Friday morning. We watched some old home videos from when Amber and I were really little. Amber's 2nd birthday party was on there. She was so cute! When she was eating her cake, she would cut off a bite with her fork, then pick it up with her left hand, put it onto the fork, and then put it into her mouth. It is really a blessing to have grandparents who are willing to drop their plans in order to help me out. They are strong prayer warriors too, and it is awesome to know that they are praying me through life!
Amber got started on some antibiotics Wednesday afternoon, so she is starting to look alive again. She still has a bad cough that kept her up all night last night, but she sure looks better than when I left her on Wednesday morning! Hopefully another day or two on the antibiotics and she'll be back to her perky, opinionated self!
Today is a lazy day and then we're going to the Omaha Zoo tomorrow with our adopted grandparents Roy and Karen. Next week we'll be planning and packing for our trip to Utah. We leave on July 5th and will be in the Salt Lake City area until the following Wednesday. Then we fly to Colorado Springs, meet Mom and Dad and go to a bluegrass festival in Westcliffe, CO together. After that, I think we may finally take a break from traveling, though I make no promises!
See you down the road![ add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink |
( 2.9 / 65 )
Calendar
