Cleese and Creativity

This is a brilliant piece from one of the best comedians in the world, John Cleese.  He addresses issues with creativity that many people never think about.  The entire video is worth while!

The video is 36:10 in length.  So, provide ample time to listen.  You will find yourself laughing as you come to realize how creativity works (and doesn't).  Enjoy!

Wandering Thoughts in Prayer

Photo from Wikipedia

This week, the Lord refreshed me in many ways.  He continues to clarify his words to me as I continually seek him, especially in the area concerning his rest.  It’s an area that deserves diligence, and is not easy to come by.  The doorway, I’m learning, to entering his rest is a desire for his presence.  A piece of God’s refreshing came through “The Practice of the Presence of God,” a collection of conversations and letters from Brother Lawrence (c. 1614 – 12 February 1691), a lay brother in a Carmelite monastery in Paris.

In Brother Lawrence’s EIGHTH LETTER, he addresses the issue of wandering thoughts in prayer.  Everyone struggles with this; I am no exception.  It’s a constant battle in the mind to keep focus on the Lord's presence.  We know God is omnipresent, but as Brother Lawrence writes, we should also invite Him into our daily "business."  Brother Lawrence’s words confirm what my spirit seeks, and they encourage the path to know God’s presence in a real and tangible way.  My desire is for God’s presence to be evident to me in every way, even in the most mundane tasks.  Of course, we all have moments where we struggle with wandering thoughts in prayer.  So, I pray these words from Brother Lawrence encourage you.  Blessings!

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Concerning wandering thoughts in prayer. YOU tell me nothing new: you are not the only one that is troubled with wandering thoughts. Our mind is extremely roving; but as the will is mistress of all our faculties, she must recall them, and carry them to GOD, as their last end.

When the mind, for want of being sufficiently reduced by recollection, at our first engaging in devotion, has contracted certain bad habits of wandering and dissipation, they are difficult to overcome, and commonly draw us, even against our wills, to the things of the earth.

I believe one remedy for this is, to confess our faults, and to humble ourselves before GOD. I do not advise you to use multiplicity of words in prayer; many words and long discourses being often the occasions of wandering: hold yourself in prayer before GOD, like a dumb or paralytic beggar at a rich man's gate: let it be your business to keep your mind in the presence of the LORD. If it sometimes wander, and withdraw itself from Him, do not much disquiet yourself for that; trouble and disquiet serve rather to distract the mind, than to re-collect it; the will must bring it back in tranquility; if you persevere in this manner, GOD will have pity on you.

One way to re-collect the mind easily in the time of prayer, and preserve it more in tranquility, is not to let it wander too far at other times: you should keep it strictly in the presence of GOD; and being accustomed to think of Him often, you will find it easy to keep your mind calm in the time of prayer, or at least to recall it from its wanderings.

I have told you already at large, in my former letters, of the advantages we may draw from this practice of the presence of GOD: let us set about it seriously and pray for one another.

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Our Identity As Musicians

For years, one question nagged at me.  Is “musician” an identity?  On the surface, we may say no because our identity is in Christ.  Right?  Well, the Lord pointed something out to me I thought I would share.  One night, God shared a dream with me that bluntly stated that my husband, my children and I are “Descendants of Levi.”  In the dream, our DNA was tested (swabs to the cheeks) and we found out we are direct descendants of Levi.  So, we were taken to a different area where attendants explained what it meant to be descendants and what our new responsibilities as descendants are.  The dream is SO significant to my identity as a musician.

As I read the responsibilities of the Levites in Scripture, I find more amazing truths about my identity and what God has chosen me to do.  For starters, Levites are priests.  They are a royal priesthood whom God chose himself to care for the tabernacle.  The Levites also did not receive an allotment of land because God is their inheritance.  Their “income” was strictly the tithe of the Israelite community.  They lived in tents surrounding the “Tent of Meeting” where God’s glory dwelled for a time, and then at the temple once Solomon constructed it.  King David also established musicians from the Levite clan to minister before the Lord.  These musicians played day and night, 24/7; I’m sure they were on rotation since there were 4000 of them.  The study is fascinating!

Then I got thinking.  Since these musicians were chosen to play day and night at the temple, THAT was their identity.  They did not know anything else since they remained at the temple ministering before the Lord through music.  Music was even passed down from generation to generation.  Fathers taught their children the “roles and responsibilities” of the priesthood they were chosen for.  My conclusion for now is that being a musician IS an identity in Christ.  Levites are truly worship leaders according to scripture because the Israelites who desired God followed the Levites to Jerusalem to worship. Those of us who desire to minister before the Lord as musicians have a fascinating calling.  Check it out in the scriptures!  It’s awesome!

So, I’m curious to hear from others:
* What is your identity?
* Do you see being a musician as an identity in Christ?
* How did God reveal your identity to you?
* As a musician, how do you see yourself?
* What does it mean to be a Levite musician today?

Songwriting In Worship

When it comes to the journey of songwriting, there are a few paths to travel.  In all honesty, HOW we write music is as important as WHAT we write, especially when it comes to “worship music.”  The term “worship music” describes music written specifically for the use of congregational worship.  There are many schools of thought on the technical aspect of worship songwriting.  Songwriters understand meter, rhyme, and imagery of their songs, and that’s cool.  At the same time, do worship songwriters understand songwriting within the act (or lifestyle) worship?  Of course, I’m asking myself the same question here.

Often times, I think of King David’s psalms.  Since David was a “man after God’s own heart,” I’m convinced he did not think things like “what can I write that best expresses the heart of the congregation?”  I’m pretty sure he did not concern himself with rocking the music business boat, motivating hearers to follow his vision, or ensuring his lyrics were theologically sound.  David wrote out of the overflow of worship.  This overflow of worship began with an active seeking of God’s heart.  As a result, his psalms prophesied about Jesus the Messiah centuries before he was born according to the Prophets.  In essence, David sang what God spoke.  Isn’t that POWERFUL?!?!

In a general sense, every songwriter writes as a result of worshiping someone or something.  What does this mean to us worship songwriters today?  Out of what overflow do our lyrics come?  What is God speaking?  How much prophecy flows from us when we worship?  How much of God’s heart flows from us when we worship?  Of course, these are simply reflective questions.

I’d love to hear from you.  Where are you in your songwriting journey?  How much does worship precede your songwriting?  How can we pray for you in your songwriting journey?

UPDATE:  To clarify more regarding the meaning behind the term "worship music," genre should not be a factor.  Going back to King David, when he wrote the psalms from the overflow of his heart, he also wrote according to his culture.  Same applies here.  When songwriters write worship music from the overflow of their moments with God, they also write from their culture.  So if your culture is jazz, write worship music in the jazz culture.  So, feel free to write songs in the music culture you're currently in.  Don't worry about trying to sound like Christian radio or the well-known worship artists.  In many cases, culture plays a big role in music.

We'd still love to hear from you!  So, please provide some feedback so the group will grow according to the needs of the group.  Blessings!