Inspired

The last two weeks have been special for me. As Da Capo has become a reality, I have been continually inspired by friends, coworkers and community. God has renewed my spirit and my sense of call to ministry through leadership in a secular world. I am here to share God's word...for me defined in music AND scripture. (Bible, prayer, circumstances, church)

Some things that are special and that I want to remember.

* The quiet, intense devotion of my friend Charles and his unwavering spirit even when suffering the loss of his mother Laurie.
* The simple but elegant faith of Ricky.
* The divine inspiration of music as God's creation called out to me by the words of Rev. David Adkins at the Lasker Festival.
* The dedication and work ethic of my "new" friends on the faculty of Da Capo.
* The pure spirit of my children as they pray for their father to have a "good day"...It made a difference!
* God spoke to me through music that I would have normally "written off" as not good enough. The song's name was "unwritten"
* The beautiful email from Lisa validating my experience that God spoke to me. He spoke to her too...He continually speaks to us all.
* Riding the lawnmower and praying for guidance. God put the "Simple Song" text into my mind directly.. God is the simplest of all.
* Terry's comment: we are to be elite but not elitist. It speaks to me directly as Paul did when he said "Be ye separate"... never better, just separate

Companions as we are in this work with you, we beg you, please don't squander one bit of this marvelous life God has given us. God reminds us,
I heard your call in the nick of time;
The day you needed me, I was there to help. Well, now is the right time to listen, the day to be helped. Don't put it off; don't frustrate God's work by showing up late, throwing a question mark over everything we're doing. Our work as God's servants gets validated—or not—in the details. People are watching us as we stay at our post, alertly, unswervingly . . . in hard times, tough times, bad times; when we're beaten up, jailed, and mobbed; working hard, working late, working without eating; with pure heart, clear head, steady hand; in gentleness, holiness, and honest love; when we're telling the truth, and when God's showing his power; when we're doing our best setting things right; when we're praised, and when we're blamed; slandered, and honored; true to our word, though distrusted; ignored by the world, but recognized by God; terrifically alive, though rumored to be dead; beaten within an inch of our lives, but refusing to die; immersed in tears, yet always filled with deep joy; living on handouts, yet enriching many; having nothing, having it all.
Dear, dear Corinthians, I can't tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide-open, spacious life. We didn't fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren't small, but you're living them in a small way. I'm speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection. Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively!2 Corinthians 6:1-13

When we left Branch's in Feb of 2005 I felt abandoned, dimmed, and broken. My sense of calling was somehow cheapened at that time. My support community was devastated. Devotion to family, work and things was what drove me to get through the days. God sustained me in spite of my self pity and How blessed I am for my journey through the refining fire. I understand more fully who I am, how I am to use my music, and why God has blessed me with such seemingly diverse skills.

The passage below is something I found on the web when researching a Great Christian and kept...ARTICLE about AW TOZER

"God discovers Himself to 'babes,'" wrote Tozer, "and hides Himself in thick darkness from the wise and the prudent. We must simplify our approach to Him. We must strip down to essentials and they will be found to be blessedly few.
A. W. Tozer died on Monday, May 12, 1963, almost a week after preaching his last sermon. The pursuit was over, the destination reached. A simple epitaph marks his grave in Akron, Ohio: A. W. Tozer—A Man of God.
The wondrous pursuit of God is more than a legacy. It is a way of life passed on to us that we too might experience what A. W. Tozer lived. Have you begun your pursuit of God?