You learn something new every day.
How many times have you heard that in your life? I have heard it so many times that I finally decided to research it. I decided to record the "something new" that I learned every day for a month.
One problem: I forgot to take notes after just eighteen days. This could actually be good news. I chose February for this experiment because it is the shortest month. Even still, if it was successful, that would be a really long blog post. (I know, I know. That's never stopped me before. I'm working on being concise here though.)
So, without further ado, here are just a few more than two weeks worth of new facts that I learned.
1-The college football powerhouses from the University of Texas, the University of Southern California, and THE Ohio State University have never produced a quarterback who would start in the Super Bowl. The Delaware Blue Hens have now produced two: Rich Gannon and Joe Flacco.
2-After two nights of being home with my baby girl without my wife, I know she (the wife, not the baby) is a better and stronger person than I. Nothing can ever happen to her because I could not hack it as a single father.
3-The biggest deficit ever overcome by a Super Bowl winner is ten points.
4-Nothing new. Excuse: I didn't write anything down at the end of the day. The next morning I tried but couldn't recall anything noteworthy. It is impossible to say for sure whether or not I learned something new this day.
5-I am perhaps too serious about saving money. I caught myself worrying about a few dollars increase in our water bill until I considered how much we are saving because of my wife's brilliant idea to use cloth diapers for our baby.
6-I'm impressed greatly by companies who provide an envelope I can use to send remittance.
7-A kind word really can carry you very far. A customer commended me late in the work day, and I was flying high for hours.
8-There exists a version of "Your Cheatin' Heart" recorded by Louis Armstrong.
9-Someone creates individual sized microwave popcorn bags, and they're the perfect size for this individual.
10-Despite the ridiculous name, LL Cool J makes a tremendous Grammy host.
11-I learned what RSV is and that even my baby can get sick.
12-One of my best friends has never watched Boy Meets World. WHAT?!?!?
13-When a nurse can't hit an arm vein, a baby in the ER can be given an IV via a scalp vein.
14-Vince Carter has scored more points in the NBA than Larry Bird.
15-My wife has a lot more and/or a lot better Facebook friends than I do.
16-Nothing new. Excuse: My baby girl was in the hospital. I was distracted. It is also impossible to say for sure whether or not I learned something new this day.
17-Wayne Gretzky played twelve seasons in the NHL before he had a season with LESS than forty goals scored.
18-Only four NBA players have no-trade clauses in their contracts: Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett.
Some fun stuff there, but what does it prove? Do we literally learn something new every day? If this were an episode of Mythbusters, I believe the verdict would be "plausible."
I don't believe that the two days with no results prove the premise to be false. They can be written off as simple recording errors. Also, even if I had recorded something those days, I don't believe eighteen successful data runs proves the premise to be true. The CDC places average life expectancy at 78.7 years, or 28,725 days. The chance of a human learning something new each and every one of those days seems remote.
You may not know it, but I have a Bachelor of Science degree. I majored in Biology and minored in Chemistry. Though I'm not currently working in the field, I am a scientist at heart. I want to learn about and understand the world around me. Perhaps that has unfairly influenced me, but here is my opinion on this subject.
You may not automatically learn something new every day, but you can if you want to do so. As cliche as it may sound, all you have to do is pay attention. Like the great Ferris Bueller once said, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Take note of the people, places, and things around you. Stop, look, listen, and learn. (Seems like I stole that from somewhere...any ideas where?)
About my being concise, sorry guys. Maybe next time.
As far as the concept in question here, I will simply add one slight punctuation mark. I will change it from an observation into a suggestion. It could change your life for the better and make it infinitely more intriguing.
You, learn something new everyday.
Scripture: "An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge." - Proverbs 18:15
Quote: "Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody else has thought." - Jonathan Swift
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Monday, March 4, 2013
A New Understanding
We learned a new song in church this week.
Maybe not "we." I had never played it before, and the acoustic guitar played a prominent role in the song. So, I had to pick it up fast.
Maybe not "new." I had never played it before, but the song has been around for a while and is familiar to many people.
Maybe not "in church." I had never played it before, but this song has been played on many praise CDs and in many services and gatherings.
It seems my opening remark may need reworking. How about this?
I learned to play a song for church this week that was a new and exciting addition to my repertoire.
Much better.
The song is "You Are Good" by Israel Houghton. It is a great praise song that is very well written. It has a great theme and is a blast to play on guitar or on the radio. Yet, none of those factors is what ministered to me the most.
Rather, it was something else entirely. It wasn't the lyrics or music on paper. It wasn't the audio of the song. It was the video.
You see in working on that and one other song ("Not Ashamed" by Passion) for this week's worship service, I spent a lot of time on YouTube. The videos of these songs give me the chance both to hear the music and study the guitarists' methods and approaches to the various parts.
However, something outside of all of that leapt off the screen at me. The congregations when it was a church setting, and the crowds in the outdoor festival or indoor arena settings were all jumping and clapping and singing. The singers on stage were running, leaping, and spinning as they sang. (Chris Tomlin was particularly energetic in the "Not Ashamed" clip.) (Unimportant but amusing side note: if you try to type "Tomlin" on my iPad, it autocorrects to "Tomlinson." Perhaps I post on Facebook/write/tweet about sports a bit too much.) And then there's Israel Houghton, who not only leaps and dances, but does it all while playing guitar. It is really impressive to watch.
Why were they all doing this?
Is it because they love God? In a word, yes.
Is it because the joy that they've found in Christ is that great? Yes again.
For the singers, musicians, and leaders, is it because they want to usher others into the presence of God through praise and worship? Most certainly.
But there is a much bigger cause to the effect.
I also watched a concert DVD this week called "The Complex Rock Tour Live" by The Blue Man Group. If you've never seen them perform, I highly recommend that you check them out. Their music is innovative, and their stage show is amazingly cerebral. They also do some crazy gags, stunts, and dance moves that they would likely never do in public as their "normal" selves. They even have a song that talks about the metaphorical masks that people put on in their daily lives, sometimes to the point that their true form is no longer recognizable to themselves or to others. It is equal parts epiphany and irony coming from a bunch of guys literally wearing blue masks.
It was watching this performance that showed me what all those people in the YouTube clips had that allowed them to expend such energy in worship.
Freedom.
Freedom in Christ.
When we allow Christ into our lives...when we truly accept him for who he is and what he has done, we are set free. The Bible tells us that "...if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36) We are free to be our true selves. We no longer have to put on some misguided disguise or pretend to be someone we are not.
Yes these people love God, have joy in Him, and want others to also experience God's presence, so much so that they feel the need to dance passionately before God. But it's because of the freedom in Christ that all of that gets expressed outwardly. (Is there any other way to express something? Never mind...) Because of Jesus, they are literally free to do what they were created to do.
That's what we witness in these video clips.
In fact one of the comments on the Passion video stated that "Christians know how to party." And you know what? That's ok. We are allowed to have fun while worshipping God. It is why we were given life.
We were created to worship.
What about you? Does your church have a team that dances in front of the church while the music plays? Does your worship team play an instrument or a musical style that's different than you're used to? Are there people in your congregation who bounce, or dance, or raise their hands in worship? What other expressions of praise have you witnessed that may make you or someone else uncomfortable?
I am not one who dances or leaps or spins often...er....ever. It just isn't in my makeup. In the past, I have often been uncomfortable being around people who are able to worship that way. But you know what I've noticed? All of the dancers, leapers, and spinners always give me the freedom to worship in my own way.
Why shouldn't I do the same for them?
Scripture: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” - 2 Corinthians 3:17
Quote: "Every morning, I put it on. I walk outside, and I am gone. And I don't seem to mind anymore. I can't think what it was like before I wore it all the time." - from "Persona" by Blue Man Group
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Maybe not "we." I had never played it before, and the acoustic guitar played a prominent role in the song. So, I had to pick it up fast.
Maybe not "new." I had never played it before, but the song has been around for a while and is familiar to many people.
Maybe not "in church." I had never played it before, but this song has been played on many praise CDs and in many services and gatherings.
It seems my opening remark may need reworking. How about this?
I learned to play a song for church this week that was a new and exciting addition to my repertoire.
Much better.
The song is "You Are Good" by Israel Houghton. It is a great praise song that is very well written. It has a great theme and is a blast to play on guitar or on the radio. Yet, none of those factors is what ministered to me the most.
Rather, it was something else entirely. It wasn't the lyrics or music on paper. It wasn't the audio of the song. It was the video.
You see in working on that and one other song ("Not Ashamed" by Passion) for this week's worship service, I spent a lot of time on YouTube. The videos of these songs give me the chance both to hear the music and study the guitarists' methods and approaches to the various parts.
However, something outside of all of that leapt off the screen at me. The congregations when it was a church setting, and the crowds in the outdoor festival or indoor arena settings were all jumping and clapping and singing. The singers on stage were running, leaping, and spinning as they sang. (Chris Tomlin was particularly energetic in the "Not Ashamed" clip.) (Unimportant but amusing side note: if you try to type "Tomlin" on my iPad, it autocorrects to "Tomlinson." Perhaps I post on Facebook/write/tweet about sports a bit too much.) And then there's Israel Houghton, who not only leaps and dances, but does it all while playing guitar. It is really impressive to watch.
Why were they all doing this?
Is it because they love God? In a word, yes.
Is it because the joy that they've found in Christ is that great? Yes again.
For the singers, musicians, and leaders, is it because they want to usher others into the presence of God through praise and worship? Most certainly.
But there is a much bigger cause to the effect.
I also watched a concert DVD this week called "The Complex Rock Tour Live" by The Blue Man Group. If you've never seen them perform, I highly recommend that you check them out. Their music is innovative, and their stage show is amazingly cerebral. They also do some crazy gags, stunts, and dance moves that they would likely never do in public as their "normal" selves. They even have a song that talks about the metaphorical masks that people put on in their daily lives, sometimes to the point that their true form is no longer recognizable to themselves or to others. It is equal parts epiphany and irony coming from a bunch of guys literally wearing blue masks.
It was watching this performance that showed me what all those people in the YouTube clips had that allowed them to expend such energy in worship.
Freedom.
Freedom in Christ.
When we allow Christ into our lives...when we truly accept him for who he is and what he has done, we are set free. The Bible tells us that "...if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36) We are free to be our true selves. We no longer have to put on some misguided disguise or pretend to be someone we are not.
Yes these people love God, have joy in Him, and want others to also experience God's presence, so much so that they feel the need to dance passionately before God. But it's because of the freedom in Christ that all of that gets expressed outwardly. (Is there any other way to express something? Never mind...) Because of Jesus, they are literally free to do what they were created to do.
That's what we witness in these video clips.
In fact one of the comments on the Passion video stated that "Christians know how to party." And you know what? That's ok. We are allowed to have fun while worshipping God. It is why we were given life.
We were created to worship.
What about you? Does your church have a team that dances in front of the church while the music plays? Does your worship team play an instrument or a musical style that's different than you're used to? Are there people in your congregation who bounce, or dance, or raise their hands in worship? What other expressions of praise have you witnessed that may make you or someone else uncomfortable?
I am not one who dances or leaps or spins often...er....ever. It just isn't in my makeup. In the past, I have often been uncomfortable being around people who are able to worship that way. But you know what I've noticed? All of the dancers, leapers, and spinners always give me the freedom to worship in my own way.
Why shouldn't I do the same for them?
Scripture: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” - 2 Corinthians 3:17
Quote: "Every morning, I put it on. I walk outside, and I am gone. And I don't seem to mind anymore. I can't think what it was like before I wore it all the time." - from "Persona" by Blue Man Group
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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