Letters from Lilongwe

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 reading a book about the arts and Christians role in creating culture.  Steve Turner, the author, asserts a major critique that modern Christian art does not speak about real life.  The art created does not sound genuine or have any ties to real life that people outside the faith can connect with.  While reading the book I listened through this album and I think that this song does a great job of breaking the mold.  The members of Needtobreathe are all outspoken followers of Jesus but very little of the art that they produce mentions Jesus or Christianity at all.  Instead they craft creative music, written from places of pain and joy.   "Rise Again"  steps through pain that occurs in life as we see relationships stretched and torn.  The bitterness of broken hearts and friendships is then contrasted with the truth that we will get up from this pain and rise again.   "I can see us moving on, I can feel that coming on strong", the j...

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...

I normally would accompany posting a song with some personal thoughts but I think today I will simply let the lyrics be the topic of conversations.  Listen and read and let the poetic power of a hurting man speak to your soul. And I asked you to be a symbol of the strength that was once given Yet you mocked me Oh, the mockery And I place so much confidence in the lessons I swear you taught me Yet you mock me Oh, the mockery You taunt me about glory days You say my best is yet behind me You just bring up old stuff; our relationship is so unhealthy So codependent, you cut me Down You blame me, I blame me And I'm a man and I won't crack and I won't show emotions right I do just like my daddy did and his did I bury you I build me a mausoleum with a storage unit attached to it just for you And I've grown so very weary at failing to make you stay there I hate it when you show up at my functions; you're so pompous And without an...

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.  ...

It is simply amazing the power of song, combination lyric and melody, simple yet an intense mental and sensory experience! From the love of my own comfort From the fear of having nothing From a life of worldly passions Deliver me O God From the need to be understood From the need to be accepted From the fear of being lonely Deliver me O God And I shall not want,  when I taste Your goodness I shall not want From the fear of serving others From the fear of death or trial From the fear of humility Deliver me O God All is Well, All is Well, Paul Shackelford

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...