Out of Darkness

This is a song I did a while ago.  I feel that sometimes on our way to the light, we must admit the darkness we struggle with.  Each of us here walk in a world where both darkness and light are present. Being open and honest about the darkness we struggle with can encourage others to do so as well.  We don't need to pretend to be a totally pure people, or that we have it all figured out.  If this were so, we wouldn't need Jesus.  Jesus is in our midst, always healing, always calling us to honesty.  As we comb through the tundra of our soul, we can find great hope, but we can also find great hurt and great doubt as well.  We might not always like what we find when we look inward.  But it is precisely through the exploration and admission of our darkness that we open ourselves up to more light.  I know for me, I like simple formulas or rules, certain things that if I do will guarantee I'm walking on God's path.  Unfortunately (or rather, fortunately) it doesn't work like this though.  God may ask us to do things were not comfortable with, always for the best, but tough none the less.  The good news is that we always arrive at a better place through an honest exploration of our darkness.  We need not be perfect, just honest.  This song is an expression of some of the things I struggle with.  I hope you like it.

Charissa's Song

This is a song I wrote for and sang to Charissa the day I asked her to marry me.  I'm happy to share it with you as I am happy to share my life with her.  She has been with me in the thick and thin, the good times and bad.  Her wisdom has helped guide me to wholeness.  Her humor has worked for freedom in my life.  Life is a journey, and I feel that I have an excellent partner in it.   I hope you enjoy this song.

Want to Know

I believe we are designed for union, for relationship.  I believe this is a hunger in us, a thirst for a bigger picture.  I believe we have meaning in us, that it's been imprinted on us, and we searching for the fullness of what this is.  I believe this is the quest we're all on, to learn why we're here, to learn how to become the fullest of what we're supposed to be.  On this quest, we need not fear asking questions, for it is this that leads us to deeper understanding, to fuller meaning.  As we get awoken to new experience, there will be deeper questions, deeper levels of doubt to be brought into the light.  Dealing with our doubt in part of the faith journey.  I believe that our truest self will be found in the One who created us, in Jesus.  I believe this because we are not on our own down here.  We were never meant to be an isolated people, independent of each other and the love in the universe.  I believe that Jesus in the positive energy flowing through the universe, always seeking to join, to create, to share.  I believe it is our journey to open ourselves to this energy, to this love, and let it speak into us.  I believe this is what connects us to the saints and sinners throughout the ages, that we are bound together, that what we do matters.  I Jesus is a song, we are invited to start tapping our feet, to let it sink down into our soul and to sing and play along.  When we do this, we will be more connected to ourselves, to others and to God.  I believe that the truth doesn't have to be boring, but that it can be a symphony of something greater than we expected.  I want to the know what the meaning is.  I hope you enjoy this song entitled "Want to Know."

Surprise

I want to be taken by surprise by God.  I don't want him to reveal himself to me in a way that I expected.  I don't want to pretend to have God figured out.  I want him to reveal himself in ways I can't yet see, that I wouldn't expect, that maybe I'm not quite ready for yet.  I want to fall into something bigger than me, something that explains all the previous stages of life I've been in.  This can't be of my doing, for I can't transform me.  Transformation isn't something we do, it's something we get done to us.  In this light, I need to hold all of my beliefs with open hands, allowing God to change them, mold them and expand them.  I think we're all longing for something bigger than what we can understand, something of mystery.  I need to recede control and trust.  I hope you enjoy this song entitled "Surprise."

Grace: Only Grace

God is grace, only grace.  He is love, only love.  There is no violence in God, no turning from the creation he loves.  I believe in God on this level so that I can trust him completely.  I don't want to aspire to beliefs I feel he wants me to have, but rather, fall into his grace.  I want to walk deeply into it, into true mystery, into true love.  I don't want to question what he feels for me.  I want to leap out and say, "Daddy, catch me!"  I don't want to come to him out of fear, but with utter trust.  I believe God's message to the world is love, one of hope and longing for us, his people.  "Grace" is a song I wrote a while ago and I hope it holds the flavor of his grace.

A Long Way From Home (Another song with Tyce Murphy)

Hello, here is another link to a video I did with Tyce Murphy.  Click below and enjoy!

A Long Way From Home

Until Then (song with Tyce Murphy)

Hello all, in this post I'm posting a video that I did with one of my best friends Tyce Murphy.  Tyce is one of my oldest friends and has helped me with my musical process as well.  So,  click on the word "video" below and check it out!  Thanks!

Check out this video!

Project Include

I called this song "Include."  I feel that the life in Christ isn't so much a life of things we're not supposed to do, but to a grace we are invited into.  It isn't so much rules or legalism, much more about freedom, joy and peace.  I don't think that God is up there looking for ways to criticize us but is up there wishing that we would experience his freedom.  I like the word "include" because I think it means all of the parts of us are included, all loved by God, all useful, all unique.  This isn't a "anything goes" theology but an idea that God can use any part of us, even the broken parts, for good.  When I write music, I do so in the hope that I become a more fluid and integrated person.  I invite my heart and soul to join my mind in the creating process, ultimately hoping to experience something of God.  I then hope that what happens inside of me helps me to be inclusive towards other people as well.  I don't think that theology, poetry and science need be enemies but are different ways through which we view God.  I hope that you enjoy this song!