Winterfest

Another Winterfest has come and gone, and this one has left a special memory with me. Of course, I always look forward to Winterfest, if not for the event itself, the chance to spend long hours with the youth is always a good thing. Relationships grow in the wee hours, when the barriers break down. Its good to see so many of our post-youth kids become the new chaperones. You have to understand, I have been to Winterfest with Norway, 3 times I think, and these chaperones were all in the group, with the exception of a few. I feel like I have been here forever, seeing our new crop of youth workers emerge.

The event was as good as it always is. Jeff had a fervor for baptism and the altar call, more than I had seen in years. His lessons were really strong, with a real evangelical bend to them. Tait was pretty good, playing a few faves from the old DC talk days. Watershed, well, they were Watershed. We sing well with them, but let me say that Saturday night, being on the left of the stage looking at the big fella in red is a bit much..."Ladies!". Bob Stromberg is always hilarious, but I must say, I have seen it. He needs to get a bit more new material. Lost and Found, I liked them. Of course, I like that European humor, so it fit right in "Stein Auf".

Our group had a pretty strong international feel to it. We had Francesca, from Milan, Italy. She is a guest of the Kaiser's and is an interesting girl. She gets along with our group pretty well and has commented on how she likes us because we don't put any pressure on her. We just want her to some and hang out, enjoy the company. Hedvig, a friend of Whitney Adkins, is the first perosn from Norway to be with the group from Norway. I got to speak with both of them for a bit about the differences between their cultures and ours, and was somewhat embarrassed at times about our fair country. Not to say that I don't love America, I do, but, honestly, we are gluttons. Both of the girls were struck by our food portions at restaurants. Something we see as normal, they saw as ridiculous. You can look at it is a sign of our plenty, no doubt we have a great system in place for the most part, but the downside of having it all and more is just that, you just want more. Of course we have Greg, who is Kenyan, but has been here for several years now. Yes, it was a regular UN on our trip.

So, the biggest thing for me to remember this Winterfest for is that my daughter gave her life to Jesus. She was baptized at the ripe age of 11, on Sunday morning at about 1 a.m. She has been talking to us about this for a few years, and we have had good discussions about it. Lisa dn I both knew that it was a matter of time for her, not if, but when. She has been a Godly girl for many years now. She had previously told us that she probalby would be baptised this year at camp, but that was too long after Saturday night's lesson. She turned to her mother after the altar call, had tears in her eyes and said she wanted to be baptized. We went back to the hotel and had our own worship with Matt McDowell. It was amazing, the songs, the atmosphere, just amazing. Our honorary member, Craig the bus driver, prayed over us, and it was so heartfelt. We love Craig, and I think he loves us as well. Then, we went to the pool. Severla of Sloane's girlfriends joined us in the pool, with Lisa, George and myself. I went into a two minute talk/rant on letting our emotions get the best of us. Stop holding back when we are struck in the heart, like it doesn't count because we were emotional. So then, as I started to get choked up, I took part in my daughter's second birth, just as I had done in the first. Amazing and peaceful....that is what I felt, not so much enthusiasm and peace and calm. I watched her hug others, and realized that my little girl was growing up. I got to stand back and see her coming into her own. Serene, I was just serene about it, and I still am. I remembered when I baptized my own brother not 4 years ago, at my last Winterfest with Kenova. I was exuberant, Dino and I witnessed to him for at least a couple of hours that night, not to mention the time before the weekend. I never felt that we were pressuring him, just giving him assurances. That was quite an experience, and I was exciited. I think the main difference is that he was 30, and I never knew for sure if he ever was going to accept Christ, but with Sloane, I knew it was going to happen, and so, it was just a moment of peace, seeing it finally come to fruition.

So there you go, that was my weekend. Full of the fun and good times Winterfest always is known for, but this year, for so much more. My daughter is now a sister to most of you who read this.

Derek Webb

I have to say, I am currently listening to my absolute favorite Christian singer/songwriter of all time...Derek Webb. I first heard DW (easier to type) when he was with Caedmon's Call, another of my favorite Christian artists, due in large part to DW. Songs like "Thankful", "Faith My Eyes", "Somewhere North", "Dance" and "I Boast No More" amazed me, not only in his delivery, but in their complexity both of lyric and music. The Call was definitely in heavy rotation for many years during his tenure.

DW then left the Call, mainly for the chance to get more of his material out. When you are in a group that has three lead singers, and several songwriters, your material doesn't always get played. So, much like the emancipation of Stevie Nicks on the Edge of Seventeen, DW struck out on his own. His first album, "She Must and Shall Go Free" is a killer. Now, some of you might not like all of his style. He definitely went around the way with different musical styles, but that is the album that contains what I consider the greatest song on the Gospel ever written, "Wedding Dress". When I first heard that song, I listened to it straight for about three or four days. I am not kidding. That was all that I heard at work all day long. It just was that kind of song, it struck me. He has had two more albums since his first solo release, "I See Things Upside Down" and "Mockingbird", and both are filled with such meaning, such strength in their songs. If you would like to hear a bit of DW, go to www.relevantmagazine.com and listen to their recent Podcast (middle of the page, near the low middle of the page). It is a long streaming broadcast, and you have to listen for a bit to get to DW, but it is worth it. He explains some of his thought concerning "Mockingbird" and two of the songs on it. You just need to hear him.

I was fortunate enough to hear DW twice. In 2002, we saw Caedmon's Call with DW at Ichthus. It was a rainy mess all day, but the rain stopped long enough for them to play their whole set. It was great, a really awesome memory, even with the rain and the muck (8 inches of sticky muck with sandals, YEAH BABY). I also saw him after the solo album, in a church in Columbus, just him and his guitars. He spoke at length, for 20 minutes one time, about the Gospel and Christianity. To hear that live version of "Wedding Dress", just him on stage, it was awesome and goes down as one of my favorite all time concert memories.

So, there, I felt he needed some props, so I give em. He is amazing, and I know that word is thrown alot, but to me, he truly is. His website is www.derekwebb.com. You should visit it, there are 4 songs from tne new album that you can hear on the main page. Good, Good, Good stuff.

*blaring "She Must and Shall Go Free" as I end this. "All her debts cast on me, She must and shall go free!"

Around the Office II

This is another view of my office, a large plant that resides in my window. I am one of the fortunate ones who have a nice office with a window facing a real window, on the outer wall, so I get quite a bit of sun. This plant belonged to a co-worker, who was slowly killing it. I had bought a few small plants that were doing well, so she asked me to put it here for rehab. It began to do really well and I have kept it ever since. Its probably about 18 inches tall now, and keeps putting out newer leaves. There are actually 4 different plants in one planter.

OK, this is getting sad. Everyone else is putting down these wonderful, spiritual thoughts and meditations, and here I am taking office pictures. I mean, its just a plant, but I really enjoy it. Plus, its really easy to deal with. I mean, I have a perfect amount of sun everyday, so all you have to do is water, which I do a couple of times a week.

Maybe that is the slant. Imagine, if the plant decided to force out the water I give it. If it just did not want the thing that makes it thrive. What if it also was able to move, out of the window and under a shelf, out of the sun that gives it life. "Why" would be my question. Why do you want to live a weaker, frailer life than you could live? Why would you want to become dry and dead, leaves turning brown, stalks withering? I mean, really, if it were my kid acting that way, I would take them to the hospital, and maybe the psych ward. If Dakota or Sloane refused to take nourishment, you bet I would be concerned and show action. I mean, what, do they think that I, who has been with them since birth, would let them do that to themselves? No way.

Imagine how our Father feels when we just blatantly won't take in what he has to give us to live well, to grow and mature. Really, is our ignoring the walk of our faith any different than refusing to eat? If we refuse to pray, meditate, worship, study, will we thrive any more than the dying plant, unwatered, unsunned, withering in a place it was not meant to be? Again, I would be taking my kids to the ER, but we are given that choice. I would commit my kids against their will in a heartbeat, but we have a Father that desires us to desire him. There will be no rushing us to the ER without our permission, and if we want to sit and suffer and grow weaker and weaker, then, we have the ability to. Don't get me wrong, God pursues, God is in front of us, waving his arms, trying to get our attention. God is longing for us to eat and drink from Him...but not without us actually saying the word.

I know that I don't look like a guy who has fasted, with my love of food and all, but I have in the past. Let me tell you, it is something you have to experience to understand. After a certain amount of time goes by, your thoughts just center around that need to eat. Food becomes the be all end all. For some, it may take longer to get there, but you will. You cannot think about anything else, just nourishment. Fasting shows how drastically we need God. As much as I was consumed by the need for, and thoughts of food, my spirit is feeling the same for the nourishment of faith. The old song, "As the Deer" tries to make this though clear. "So my soul longs after you", that is a powerful line when you know true longing.

There are many, many of us, most of us, who commit a spiritual suicide every day. A hunger strike against living water. It is that drastic, and yet, we are still starving ourselves, dying of thirst. Nourishment is waiting, hot and ready, cool and quenching, ready for us to take it. Pray and receive it. Read the bible and eat. Worship and drink. Medidate and be filled. Think of what we could be if we just did those things. If we are anything like this plant I have, we will be tall and vibrant and beautiful.