I just passed my 40th birthday. There are many things I would like to have accomplished by now. But with my aging, maybe I’m also gaining some better perspective as to what’s important.

One thing I had hoped to finish by now was an album/CD for which I had developed a concept well over a year ago (maybe even two?). How much progress have I made on that? Well, I have all the lyrics and a general idea for the whole album, but only recently have been able to get started doing some recording of the scratch tracks.

What I’m learning is that completing the goal may not be as important as working towards the goal. That is, the value is in “the going” and not in “the arriving.” And, as I go, some of the things that capture my time and attention – sometimes seemingly unrelated to my goals – may actually be more important to the bigger picture and even to my goals.

There’s a proverb that says, In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.

How we get where we’re going is often much different than we thought, isn’t it?

I used to feel I needed to “pump out a ton of stuff.” Create a lot. Be prolific. Quickly! (Because that’s what leads to “success.”)

Now I’m feeling a little differently. What if that one CD is my “life work?” What if one song is all I have? What if your one book is it? One poem? One sculpture? One photograph? (I’m guessing there’s a whole lot more to our “life work” than what we create. . .)

I’m finding we need to enjoy each step. We need to pour ourselves into each moment, never blowing it off as simply something we must endure to arrive at a distant goal. This allows you and I to take the time to make each step deliberate, worthwhile, and gives us the mindset we need to actually enjoy the “now.”

Fully present. Fully engaged. Every moment.

What’s going on around you - right now - that you can’t see because you’re looking so far ahead?

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PS I see that this is a bit like my last post. . .I guess you know where my head is at, eh?

PPS As I wrote this, I was (literally) also working on a song for my daughter – not a part of the album I mentioned above, but probably more important. Exactly the kind of thing I’m talking about here. (More on the song later. . .)

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I biked to work the other day. While I was biking, I was practicing a few dorky vocal exercises because I need to record some vocal tracks to a song before this weekend (I’ll explain after this weekend). It reminded me of a ride from over 10 years ago. I was biking from SAP in Walldorf, Germany (where I used to work) to my little dorf on the Neckar river. I was climbing a hill on a small country road. I was feeling good, had a comfortable pace, and, in my joy, began singing R.E.M.’s “I am, I am, I am Superman, and I know what’s happening. . .”

Just as I finished loudly and boldly singing that phrase, I glanced over to the small farm house I was passing. Standing there, frozen, was a young, blonde-haired teen farm girl, staring perplexedly at the crazy American. I laughed to myself and road silently on – well, silently until I knew I was out of ear shot anyway. . .

What’s funny is that I totally enjoyed that ride. Every bit of it. I can still smell the tall field grass, feel the warm sun on my back and even hear the light breeze blowing through the trees along the roadside on that late summer’s day. I wasn’t really in a hurry. I was happy to be experiencing that moment in completely new surroundings and just soak in it all.

Fast forward to my ride yesterday.

I’m biking as hard as I can, racing to get to work, pushing my heart (and legs) as hard as they can go. . . and missing everything between point A and point B.

The thing is – I actually know that life’s real meaning is found “in the journey” (and all those other clichés). Truthfully, I hate the clichés. But, unfortunately, at least in this case, it’s true. It is “in the going” that we live life. It’s where all the real “life” truly happens.

How much do we miss – around us, right now – as we race forward, focused only on the future?

Too much.

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. . .is that we rarely look/act like Christ*. (Nothing new here for some of you.)

Comments to the reluctant blogger’s political frustrations don’t surprise me. They do, however, bum me out. One commenter expressed her step away from Christianity primarily because of her negative perceptions of what Christians (or those who claim to be Christians) seem to be about.

Unfortunately, I’m sure that happens a lot.

It’s weird though. If you look at the source of this faith – that is, Jesus – you see that he had the same problem with religious people of his day. They followed all sorts of rules and tried to look righteous, but their hearts were as cold as ice.

Often times, we Christians don’t reflect what Christ was all about (myself included). Scot McKnight summarizes what Jesus was all about in his book, The Jesus Creed. He offers four memorable words as this creed: loving God, loving others. Amazingly simple, yet amazingly difficult.

And, many of us forget the second part of that little ditty. Christ was all about us loving others.

If we were to put that to work in everything we did, we’d have a much different reputation in the world. How do I know? Rewind a couple thousand years to the beginnings of the Christian church and you’ll discover that a great deal of the church growth in the first few hundred years had to do with just that – Christians loving others with reckless abandon.

If we want a better reputation in the world, if we want to impact this world, we’ve got to start showing some serious love.
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* My apologies to those of you already rocking the world with love – I know you’ll take this in the right spirit. (For non-native English speakers, “rocking the world” is a good thing.)

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I’m going to get spiritual on you for just a post or two. Well, actually, if you buy into Rob Bell, you might argue that everything is spiritual. In that case, anything you’ve ever read here is spiritual. . . but I digress.

One of the more challenging things for Christ followers to realize is that we are to bring a little heaven to Earth. That is, believing in Christ isn’t just a ticket to some post-game party. Rather, a relationship with Christ is a transformation in which we, the followers, become instrumental in carrying out God’s work in this world. Right now.

What kind of work? Good works.

There’s a ton more going on in Ephesians 2:8-10 – especially on grace, the gift that it is, and the fact that there is no “earning your way” to heaven – however, my purpose here is not to give a sermon as much as to offer a simple melody for anyone who may be looking for a way to memorize these or potentially for a worship leader who might want to use this in a relevant service.

It’s a rough draft, but I’m not really in a position right now to need a “polished draft.” I put it together to memorize it myself. If I were to produce it, I’d probably do it once in a simple manner and then repeat with full band, distorted guitar, etc. until the last bit where I would chill out again as I fade out on the last line.

• MP3 of Ephesians 2:8-10. (2.1 mb)
• Sheet music with chords for Ephesians 2:8-10 (kinda big .PDF - 5.6 mb)

The funny thing about the recording is that it seems to have more in common with John Michael Talbot than with The Foo Fighters. Why is that funny? Well, I kinda wish all worship music sounded more like the Foo Fighters. Oh well, I’ll do a Foo Fighters version later.

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Encouragement matters.

When you see something good, or see someone using their talents or gifts for the good of others, please show these people some love by letting them know.

And I don’t just mean saying, “Good job!”

Anyone can say that – whether they experienced something good or not.

No. To make encouragement meaningful (and believable), specify what was good about what you experienced. Tell the person

1. How it impacted you
2. What specifically you liked or what specifically moved you

You may not realize this, but there are a ton of creative people out there doing amazing things – maybe even touching or impacting you – and they have no idea whether they are reaching anyone with their work.

Tell them.

The truth is that most creative people don’t get meaningful feedback.

Hugh Macleod’s first rule of how to be creative is probably right: Ignore everyone. To be creative, you do need to ignore everyone – at least what they are telling you to do. Instead, we have to listen to that still, quiet voice to direct what we create.

But it means the world to those who create when someone says,

Wow, I was really touched by the video you put together. The way you drew me in and set that scene up and then reworked it with a complete twist. Man, that hit me hard!

or

Wow, you know what? The sound in [some venue] yesterday was really good. Normally I cannot hear what the electric guitar is doing, but you took the time to make sure all the instruments on the stage were heard. Good job!

or

Whoa! That presentation was excellent! I saw the violin sitting there behind you as you spoke, but had no idea why it was there. Then, at just the right point, you introduce this incredible musician who plays an amazing piece that absolutely drives your point home. That was incredibly powerful!

or

You know what? That graphic you created to represent the cleansing power of water really moved me. It fit so well with all the other visual elements.

Giving specifics shows you really paid attention. Telling them shows you cared enough to write/say something. Telling them something good encourages them to do more.

And creating more is what creative people live for.

When you see something good, tell them. And be specific.

Spread the love.

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