Letters from Lilongwe

Lately I have been listening to lots of music and podcasts while working and biking to work.  I was feeling a need for some new music so I turned to NoiseTrade to check out some new artists.  My favorite thus far is Jess Ray because of the honest lyrics, tastefully simple musicality and overall enjoyable listening environment.  While on my flight back to Atlanta I was struck by this song at first because of the drums that propel this song behind the walking guitar.  If I were to add drums to a track like this it would have been done in a very similar manner.  Once I got past the drums I was awe struck by the simple power of these lyrics, take a read below and follow the link to her blog to listen.   To me it was not written for an outward expression of hope or encouragement but rather as a inward proclamation to the soul.  As the psalmist often choose to sing, this song speaks inward in a call to stand up and be reminded of truth all to often for...

These days spent working on my Architecture projects have gotten much better after this album was released!  The simplistic nature of his musicality completes the lyrics that are soaked in truth.  Take some time to disconnect from the noise of the world and rest in this album.   I do not have time or effort to breakdown the importance of each stanza of this album therefore I encourage deep reflection and contemplation into their purpose and value.  Starting from the start and process towards the end and I know that the Lord will slowly reveal himself.  Its amazing how music can have such an influence on human civilization and the Lord uses it every minute of each day to reveal more of himself.  Allow this album to break down the distractions of this world and bring you into the presence of God. Home by Josh Garrels I went the ways of wayward winds In a world of trouble and sin Walked a long and crooked mile Behind a million rank and...

I have been praying throughout this week about where/who/what I should do after school.  Today I realized that many of the variables that I have been evaluating have to do with others opinions.  They relate to how others will respond when I tell them I am going to do "x".  If I tell folks I am going to travel around the country working on farms, they will respond with the impression that I am some really cool, earthy, adventuresome guy.  If I tell them I am going to work from some Fortune 500 company that they know about, then they will be impressed at my skill, ability, ambition, etc.  If I tell people that I do not really have a plan but I know everything will turn out just fine, then I come across as either lazy or super chill and carefree.  I evaluate the options that I on the basis of how others will react. Today I remembered how this is a choice that effects only a portion of my life and will help guide my future through good and bad experiences. ...

On the night before Christmas when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.  I was laying in bed trying to sleep but sleep did not come!  This is not an often occurrence for me, I typically konk out within a few minutes and sleep the night through without a problem.  This night was different, I actually was excited for the thoughts that swarmed my mind and kept me fully awake while laying in the darkness.  I was filled with ideas for my post graduation adventures and I could not silence the voice of calling.  This calling reminds me that life is not ment to be lived in the mold of expectations and confines of structure.  We live on this planet to live an adventure with our creator God who has redeemed and restored us through the loving sacrifice of his son Jesus Christ.  I may have lost some folks whenever I start diving into my beliefs but please track with my thought because it has shaped my life and is extraordinarily i...

Ministry to the poverty stricken be they homeless or simply below the poverty line is very challenging.  These are people with hopes and dreams, passion and love but we find it hard to treat them as humans.  Over the last few years I have become more and more exposed to this reality through relationships with brothers and sisters on the streets and the local community.  While praying this morning I realized that we as a compassionate community see the need to help those in homelessness as a no brainer.  You see someone without shoes, find them shoes!  But we then find it harder to give time and resources to those on the fringe of homelessness.  The people I am thinking of are the single mothers working three jobs trying to make ends meet so that she does not get herself evicted.  I know that we have a large portion of the poverty stricken community in Atlanta that is on the brink of homelessness and need hope just as much as those already on the stree...

My typical morning routine includes taking a shower, grabbing some cloths, eating some cereal and then walking down the parking deck.  The Volvo takes a solid 5-10 minutes to warm up in this cold weather.  Therefore I take a the time to read through a chapter out of the Bible.  This is always a great way to start my day as I remember the things in life that have the most value!  This old engine is pushing me to sit with the Lord everyday and wrestle through his words.   Typically my head unit is playing some music while car warms up.  But this morning as my music was silent the Lord opened my eyes to an image that has never caught my eye.  I have never noticed this simply spray painted statement of "LOVE WINS".  It perfectly meshed with the passage out of Romans this morning talking about being dead to sin and alive in Christ.  Are we to keep on sinning so that grace may abound?  By no means should we take this love that ha...

When the music stops what do I hear? The lack of beautiful music leaves my mind to race to and fro.  Thought to thought I can hardly stop my busy mind as it runs through the forest.  This feeling is quite natural but at the same time feels oh so foreign to me.  For four out of the past five years I have learned to rejoice in the silence of solitude.  Stepping away for times of refreshing walks by the river and hours of restful quite in my room.  This past year I have dreaded the thought of silence because I have felt that my mind was out of control.  Thoughts flashing through my mind would captivate my emotions and steal the affections of my soul.  Therefore I learned how to silence those thoughts by two main techniques.  First, to keep myself busy leaving no room for silence in my life.  Second, keep noise as a filler in the background slowing my thoughts and refocus them on that which truly matter.  This tactic is not one that I fea...

I think its funny that we are so concerned with making money!  The preaching of a poet always makes me think deeper about my life!  Revealing lies that I have believed or just forcing me to ask the simple question Why?   Why do I work so hard at Tech?  Why do I hold a entry level position at a construction supply company?  Why do I fight my peers to attain a high GPA?   Then comes the simply motive that has driven many men mad, Money!  The power of Money is traced through every civilization causing brother to kill brother for the lust of Gold.  In our current day we see the results of our past generations as we are disposed towards a life in search of wealth.  We are in search of freedom and this tends to be from the woes of financial crisis.  We run from anything that might impede a comfortable life and typically money can buy away our discomfort.  Therefore the search for money drives folks down a road of selfish desire ...

I have been listening to this new Needtobreathe album and I really want to take this evening to relax and listen through the album slowly analyzing the lyrics.  Enjoy one of my favorite tracks and expect an explosion of posts in the next 48 hours. Brother Let Me Be Your Shelter Needtobreathe is comprised of two brothers and childhood friends and as you follow this group you realize more and more of the tension produced by years and years on tour.  If you want a window into the full story simply follow this link and watch a short documentary they created called "Prove the Poets Wrong" . Never Leave You All Alone I Can Be The One To Call When You're Low Tonight I feel the Love that draws me back home to Georgia Tech for another semester with my Brothers at Theta Xi.  In the years I have seen relationships come and go due to my actions and the actions of others.  But the one thing that I know is that the men who surround me on campus are my shelter...

For all that do not know I am currently studying abroad in Singapore for the summer.  This is the first time in the last four years that I have not lived with someone!  It is strange but the one main thing I like about it is being able to listen to my music as I fall asleep.  For the past week this has been my favorite song because it focuses on how wrong our expectations about Jesus truly are! This trip has tuned my focus into the Son of God who came to earth as a sacrifice for the entire world!  While at Tech I often get wrapped up in looking and acting like a good christian to impress or win the favor of those in my christian culture.  Over the last few weeks I have enjoyed my masks falling off because I have  no one to impress.  I see the powerful relationship that is foundation to my life and that brings me so much joy.  I also see a lot of crap that I wade around in daily because I have some serious issues to take before the King.  ...

When I first listened through this album about a year ago I started to wrestle with this song.  This song was recorded in a House Church environment and Aaron Keyes simply speaks out the truths that are held deep within each song.  During this song he referenced the two scriptures below.  Psalm 73:25 is one that I do not even feign to comprehend!  I am slowly learning the power of inter-dependent relationships and the destructive nature of co-dependence.  My heart has not been able to 100% say that there is none that I desire besides you on Earth!  I know that I desire many things of this world and those idols tend to consume my worship.  I worship the things that are close, that I can control, that I can see and touch.  These tactile idols are just the same as the Golden Calf and the idols of the OT.  Therefore I walk into the presence of God with him knowing that these are issues in my heart and ask that they be stripped because I can not...

Yesterday I spent some time reading back through my old blog posts because this writing is not truly for anyone else to read.  This writing is for future Paul to be able to take a look back upon and say How Great is My God for walking with me even when I try to run away.  After reading through the past year of posts I started believing the lie that I had not see any change in the last year, or two years for that matter.  This lie speaks that the Father has not been with me during my mistakes, trials, and seekings of this world.  He has been there pleading with me through soft whispers and through the voice of a loud roaring lion.  He says one thing, "I am all that you need, please just come home and be with me!".  Yesterday after a rough day at work and not feeling very well I went to the river for some much needed Paul and God time.  I have been blessed by the wisdom of my community but my thoughts needed to be renewed by the Father.  Only he c...

Often times Love songs are best not converted to be sung towards God.  Simply because they evoke a Love that is of this realm and not that of the magnificent God who is the fullness of Love.  This song was one that I have clung to at times as an amazing bridge between human love and that of the divine.  I do not know the intent of this artists profession of chasing after a Lover weather it be God or his wife.  In this moment I have to mute the voices in my head pointing this song towards that Love of this natural world.   These lyrics are drawing my heart out of a shipwrecked state and into one of seeing the dark nights break into the beauty of sunrise.  Feeling the truth of the Love that has been birthed within me draw me back to my eternal Lover.  He sings of the process that it takes as he fights to return to hold his Lover.   This course that is traveled is one that almost brings the artist to tears and I feel the full weight his emotion...

During this last week I have done Work!  I have used my body to move something and change its form so that it retains value.  This work has been back breaking and ensures that I eat a lot of food and sleep well at night!  As I look around down here in the Bahamas I see a lot of people on vacation its fun to see families having a great time enjoying a great island but I also see couples that are tired and worn out.  They don't talk to each other and this vacation is a time to run away from work.  Because their job has become toil and not the work that it was intended to be.  I venture towards the thoughts of heaven when our toil becomes work that actually is our purpose.  To rule and subdue the things that we have been put in charge of for the Father.  He says that some will be ruling a town some a city and others many cities.  I want to go to work and see the fruit of my labor not wear me down as toil but rather bring me life as work. The ...

So glad that I picked this album up a few weeks ago when United Pursuit came to Grace Midtown.  I have been listening through this album over and over again because that is one of things I do at work!  I find an album I like and then I wear it out and this being the second to last song on the album I tend to let the music dominate the lyrics.  On this song I could not because of how much it pertains to me life at this moment.  I do not need to lay it all out on the internet but this song is the encouragement in what feels like cloudy days to see the Lords hand at work! This song does not have any lyrics to be found on the internet and I may come back and update this post with the lyrics but for now I will leave you simply with the song. All is well in the arms of my Father, Paul Shackelford

This post will contain a collection of writings that I will be working through in the next few days.  It is labeled "The Effects of ____" and some of the topics I will be journeying through will be Love, Hatred, Jealousy, Happiness, God, Power, Greed and Pride.  I write these freehand in a train of thought method and then transcribe into this post therefore some stuff may not make any sense. 3.28.2014 - The Effects of Love Oh the effects of Love!  This goes for both receiving and giving.  The Joy that rises in my soul that brings me fully alive is a product of when I am loved by God.   Then times that  I feel his grace, feel his power, and feel his love are the times in life that I cherish the most.  This love that I can receive can not be compared to that of any mustered by the heart of man.  This love, that flows from the heart of the God is pure and just, full of kindness and mercy.  Its acts are one way streets from the creator to hi...

“Everyone’s life is valuable and everyone's story is worth telling”, Theron Humphrey set out to meet and share the stories of 365 Americans across fifty states in 365 days.  This image on the trip spoke directly to my soul on Friday October 25, 2013 after a frustrating and exhausting morning serving my friends in the small park in front of the Coca-Cola Office on North Ave.  As I put into practice the ideas we discuss in class pertaining to empathy, leadership, and servanthood I am learning that everyone on this planet has a storied life of impact.  The men in the park who are homeless have left a last impression on my view of Impact because they in the material sense have very little but what they do have is life and love and that is priceless.  Week after week of returning to love on these guys I became worn down and discouraged that my efforts were not making an impact.  The picture below resonated and revealed that at times the journey will wear you down b...

My name is Pride. I am a cheater. I cheat you of your God-given destiny… because you demand your own way. I cheat you of contentment… because you “deserve better than this.” I cheat you of knowledge… because you already know it all. I cheat you of healing… because you are too full of you to forgive. I cheat you of holiness… because you refuse to admit when you are wrong. I cheat you of vision… because you’d rather look in the mirror than out a window. I cheat you of genuine friendship… because nobody’s going to know the real you. I cheat you of love… because real romance demands sacrifice. I cheat you of greatness in heaven… because you refuse to wash another’s feet on earth. I cheat you of God’s glory… because I convinced you to seek your own. My name is Pride. I am a cheater. You like me because you think I’m always looking out for you. Untrue. I’m looking to make a fool of you. God has so much for you, I admit, but don’t worry… ...

You can tell what you really care about when it keeps you awake at night.  Tonight(10/8/2013 11:55pm) I have been unable to sleep due to the current state of sexuality on my campus and the college culture towards sexuality in general.  Therefore I am going to write until I get tired and can close my eyes without the rush of these thoughts.  Two summers ago while at SDP an identity was spoken over me that often haunts me...  I am called a Pillar of Purity, often times in my life I have not walked in this identity!  I have taken my sexuality and traded it for instant satisfaction, throughout high school I dove head first seeking all of the gratification I could.  I ran from the Lord mainly in this area of my life...  I would wake up on Sunday and head to church and feel intense guilt and shame for my sin but would not change my ways.  Feeling the guilt of sin often drives me further from the Lord and deeper into that sin!   Therefore it was su...

Your Love is Sweeter than Honey Your Love is Stronger than Death Your Love lifts me of my Burdens Your Love teaches me to Dance Riding into work this morning I was carrying a lot of pain, memories, and frustration knowing that Christ was knocking on my door asking to restore death to life!  I had downloaded two songs to my computer and jumped in the truck with them on repeat.  After the first time through I could already feel the scales falling away, my heart was opening back up to the Love of Papa.  I am not really sure whats been going on in my heart these last few weeks but I can feel some massive issues rising to the surface.  This morning I just remembered what Love is, his Love is sweeter than honey, so much better than anything I could ever desire on this Earth.  His Love is Stronger than Death!  He has conquered the grave, therefore all of my separation from Papa has been removed!  That gap can not be recreated by anything I do, h...