Dear Face

Dear Face,

Please learn how to grow a beard so I can fit in with all the cool kids at camp this summer and my flannels don't go to waste.

Sincerely,
Koert


Also, drop whatever you're doing right now and go buy a Frightened Rabbit album. The language is rough but the music is quality and they have some interesting insights about life.

On Love and Memories

So this semester I've started this new thing where I carry a mini journal around in my pocket wherever I go. In doing this I've been able to write down thoughts, feelings, etc. that strike me when they strike me, rather than struggling to remember them until I get back to my room. The product of these scribblings are sometimes incoherent and often random, but two have stuck with me more than the others:

1) Love is a spiritual gift that God has given all his children. God loved us and because of that we love others, or at least we should. When we withhold love we do so because we are afraid that giving it away will leave us vulnerable. We doubt that this is what's best for us. But the reality is that our strengths shine most brightly when we accept God's love and in turn give it away to others. I find that most often when I lack joy it is a result of either not dwelling in the love of God or not loving others. God's love feeds our joy, but for our joy to be full we must turn around and love all those around us.

2) Good memories are funny things. They are funny because it seems like there are two kinds. One kind is recollected with nostalgic fondness, often evoking a smile or something of that sort. Yet, there is another kind of good memory, one that is twinged with sadness, because in so much as you remember it with fondness, there is a longing in your chest to resurrect that memory and make it present again. In many ways the second kind of good memory is almost worse than a bad memory because it involves us desiring something that we can't reclaim. Since C.S. Lewis is the man, I am going to go ahead and compare this longing to his theory of longing, which asserts that we long for things because we see in them echoes or foretastes, of the Glory (Heaven) to come. If this is truly the case then we can check our longing to resurrect certain good memories with the knowledge that God has something better in mind for us, if not in this life, then certainly in the one to come.

Thoughts for the Day:
~I feel a bazillion times better after I run
~I should never let my laziness convince me not to run ever again
~I own far more Lifehouse albums than I have any business owning
~God's timing is perfect. Fruit is not always ripe. Only in due season.
~As cliche as moleskins have become, they're classy and I like them
~I need a haircut real bad, but true confession: I'm super paranoid that a haircut will reveal a quickly receding hairline. Lord, deliver me from Rogaine.

Songs for the Day: Distraction #74 by The Avett Brothers and Learning How to Die by Jon Foreman

Wilco [Live]

So this past Sunday was the culmination of what has been an almost four year love affair with Wilco. Dr. Spiegel, Lance Hill, Chris Kirk and I packed in the Silver Fox (my car) and drove a few hours up to Lansing/Michigan State to see them in concert. I had often heard up to this point that Wilco, as good as they are on their studio albums, is best when digested live. I'll admit, I was skeptical, but Jeff Tweedy & Co. made me a believer. For being in their fourties they played an impressively long set-list of twenty-seven songs:

Bull Black Nova
You Are My Face
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
One Wing (Jeff Tweedy's falsetto is nothing short of beautiful)
Shot In The Arm
At Least That's What You Said
Should've Been In Love
Deeper Down
Impossible Germany (Nels Cline is a musical genius and the guitar solo in the song is epic)
Just That Simple
Handshake Drugs
You Never Know
Summer Teeth
Jesus, Etc.
Hate It Here
Walken
I'm The Man Who Loves You
Spiders (Kidsmoke)
Hummingbird
Wilco[the song]
Misunderstood
Heavy Metal Drummer
Passenger Side
Candy Floss
Red Eyed And Blue
I Got You (End Of The Century)
Hoodoo Voodoo

To those who would like to say that Wilco is 100% better live or that it is difficult to listen to their studio albums after you've seen them live, I would heartily disagree. Their music isn't better live, it is just different. Wilco is such a musically talented band that they never play the same song twice, so whether its on a studio album or live, its still only one of a seemingly infinite number of variations that they could come up with. If they seem better live its not the music itself (which is still incredible) but the amazing energy that the band brings to the stage and conveys to the crowd.

If Jesus hadn't already done it, then I would have ventured to say that seeing Wilco live completed my life, but instead, I'll just say that it was the best concert I've ever been to.

Song of the Day: Little Motel by Modest Mouse

Winter Wonders

Spring is probably the happiest time of year at Taylor University. The only time that might rival it are the first two weeks of fall semester that feel much more like a camp reunion than college. Yet, I'm going to be honest, this year I have been a pretty big fan of the Winter. First, there are very few things more beautiful than snow falling in the dark, backlit by classy, British style lampposts. Kind of feels like something straight from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Second, I really enjoy walking outside in a snowstorm. Weird, I know, but despite the title of "storm" there is something oddly peaceful and calming about being out in the middle of it all. I suppose it might be because peace in the chaos is such a foreign, refreshing thing. Third, when everything is gray and seemingly dead it makes that abiding sense of true peace and lasting joy all the more poingant.

Thoughts for the Day:

~I really like nine o'clock classes. I would schedule them every semester if I could.
~I really dislike eight o'clock classes.
~Starbucks is one of my favorite places to be in the morning. I know I might be damaging my indie cred by professing love for a chain coffee shop, but the reality is, I don't care.
~I wish I wore glasses.
~LOST is going to be good tonight.
~I just realized I left my cell phone at Starbucks. Bummer. I hope its still there.
~Also, just realized there is a redbox dvd sitting in my car that I've had for four days now and have yet to watch. My memory just isn't what it used to be.

Songs of the Day: Thank You Too! by My Morning Jacket, and Forgiving Me by Timothy Seth Avett As Darling

First Hope then Expectations

If there is one thing that I have been learning as of late it is that expectations are fickle things. As great as they may be at times, their size has no bearing on whether they will be fulfilled, abandoned, or forgotten. This is what makes anchoring and informing my expectations by HOPE so important. Through HOPE in the promises of God I am able to maintain an eternal perspective that, in a way, detaches me from my expectations and attaches me to God through trust in his sovereign plan. In this way I am enabled to live knowing that whether my expectations are met or thwarted I'm still getting the best end of the deal. It is LOVE from a Father to a child: LOVE that gives and withholds, with only the best in mind. HOPE in LOVE.

That being said, here are some thoughts on/expectations for Spring Semester:

~This is going to be a great semester for music. Wilco show in seven days. Avett Brothers show in 14 days. Add to those the discovery of bands like Dawes, J. Tillman, Langhorne Slim, and the Everybodyfields, and well, I've got some happy ears.
~This semester is going to kick my butt academically. I'm actually keeping a day planner for the first time in my life. For those of you that know me, you know how mind blowing that is.
~Winter is not nearly as depressing as it seemed last year, but at the same time I think I am more excited for Spring this year than I was last year. Spring means hammocking, hiking, and barefeet, which in my book is a recipe for awesome.
~This is the semester that my dorm room becomes handicap accessible. Kyle tore his ACL and needs more accessible bedding arangements.
~Road trip to CO for springbreak anyone?
~Journaling has become a therapeutic outlet for me and will continue to be so more and more I think.
~LOST will end and TV will be worse off for it. As if TV wasn't crappy enough as it is.
~God will continue to be a wellspring of JOY for me, faithful as ever, growing me in ways that right now I can only imagine.

*A short anecdote: Tonight Trevor, Nick, Hootch, and I went to a donut shop to grab a dozen. After we had bought our donuts and were enjoying them at the counter, we noticed the girl throwing all the old donuts into an empty flour bag. Nick spoke up and asked if she was going to throw them out, and if she was if we could have them. I think she thought we were making fun of her at first, which we surely weren't since we're college students and a bag full of free donuts is about on par with winning the lottery. In the end we walked out of that place with a flour bag full of over a hundred donuts. Free makes everything better.

Song of the day: Peace in the Valley by Dawes

Planes Beat Oceans

Fun Facts about Stef for the Day:
1) Apparently she and Michaelangelo have one very impressive thing in common: they both have photographic memory, according to Stef at least.
2) Stef's life ambition is to be the first female Pope.

So its pretty hard to believe we are flying back to the U.S. of A. tomorrow.

Europe is awesome but I could totally go for Upland flavored Starbucks right now.

If you were wondering if those classic friars still exist, the ones that look kind of like Friar Tuck from Robin Hood, well the answer is yes, yes they do.

Florence was hands down the most beautiful city we have visited thus far.

I was starting to get annoyed about being reminded about my tallness on a daily basis on this trip, but when I tried to run up some stairs yesterday, hit my head, and knocked myself out briefly, I realized that the reminders are only in my best interest.

If I was the Pope I would have slumber parties in the Cistein (sp?) chapel all the time, because that ceiling is awesome.

The statue of David, yeah, its pretty much as impressive as you would imagine, although very innacurrate in one way: I highly doubt the king of the jews was uncircumcised...Just sayin.

Number one cause of knee bruising for tall people: Lengthy plane rides.

Number one cause of stewardesses tripping: Tall people with their legs in the aisles.

Its a lose-lose situation.

Songs of the Day: Hummingbird and Thanks I Get but Wilco, as well as and awesome cover of Ain't No Sunshine by Will Hoge

The Pope Lives Next Door

Stef Quote of the Day: (Premise: its 8:00 in the morning and we are on the bus heading to our drop off point. Everyone is really tired except for Stef and its cold so she wants the sun to come out so this is what she sings, multiple times) "Sun, Sun, please come out. Please come out or I will pout."

So here we are Rome, literally a quarter of a mile from a completely different country, the Vatican.

We drove through snow covered mountains on the way in. It made me mountain sick for snowboarding. Being a poor college student is overrated.

Maybe seeing Iron & Wine in Holland with Mario and Reid when we get back stateside. Yeah, Jim, I mean, Sam Beam.

Got what was probably the most well put invitation to a pub crawl today that I have ever received. Actually, who am I kidding, I've never been invited to a pub crawl. But he was actually a pretty cool guy. He grew up in Canada, then came to Italy to work for the UN but hated it, so for the last three years heàs made money advertising these huge drinking parties to tourists. In two and a half weeks he is moving to Brazil to start his own travel agency. People are awesome.

Rome is classy, but people were nicer in Greece I think. Also, the food was better.

I miss the Silver Fox.

Song of the Day: Ballad of Love and Hate by the Avett Brothers

A Roman Holiday

Tonight=Last night in Athens
Tomorrow=15 hour cruise from Greece to Rome
Greece=Amazing food, amazing views, and super shady kiosks
Rome=Land of mystery just waiting to be explored
Me=Blessed, and definitely coming back to Greece to hike the mountains before I die
Stef=A hideous secondhand crewneck sweater that is epitome of tourist
Margee=The most Greek looking person in our group
Mario=Street performer extraordinaire
Reid=Angel
Zach=Italian

God is good, all the time

Athens

Before I got on here I was flipping through a Greek boating magazine. It was entirely in Greek, but the pictures were awesome. It reminded me of my life goal to buy a boat and live on it for year. Life goal renewed.

We've spent a lot of time in the bus the past few days driving from northern greece to Athens (in the south). Besides the complete absence of leg room, I actually don't mind the long bus rides at all. The Greek countryside is beautiful. I'm not quite sure I've stopped being in awe of God's creation since I've been here.

I've come to the conclusion that gyros should replace hamburgers as the go to fast good in America.

Song of Day: Flightless Bird, American Mouth by Iron and Wine

From Greece With Love

Stef Quote of the Trip thus far: "I don't need a compass. I just pretend every way I'm facing is north."

Random Thoughts from the Flight:
~Watched Five Hundred Days of summer. Loved it as a movie. Not sure whether I loved its point. We'll see. I'll have to watch it again.
~Everything you do on an airplane is weird when you think about the fact you are doing it at thousands of feet above the ground.

Highlights of the Trip thus far:
~Jetlag...just kidding
~Really amazing Greek coffee
~Climbing to the Doors of Mt. Olympus. Probably the best part of the trip so far. Absolutely beautiful. Could have spent a week hiking it and backpacking, but a day was good too.
~Quality time with the Lord. Learning so many amazing things about joy, beauty, sanctification, and community just to name a few.
~An amazing group of people!
~Walking downtown Thessaloniki, observing the nightlife, getting gelato and gyros.
~ And of course, walking in the footsteps of Paul.

Current Song of the trip: A Day in the Kingdom by J. Tillman

JOY

The whole fall semester my theme was joy. Joy in all circumstances. Yet as the semester began to wind I started to realize that I really didn't have a functioning definition of "joy" beyond it being some vague sense of happiness/contentment/conf

idence. Then it struck me that maybe part of the reason that I struggle so much to have joy is because I really have no idea what "having joy" looks like biblically. It makes sense that to take part in true, lasting joy I must have at least some sense of what joy truly is.

So, I decided to pull out my trusty ESV concordance and go through each usage of the word "joy" in the Bible and try to figure out what joy meant or looked like in different contexts. Here are some things that really stood out and were helpful to me through the first few instances (more to come):

1) Joy is not the same as happiness. Although joy often entails happiness or excitement (especially in the Old Testament), there is far more to joy than just feeling good.

2) There are basically two types of joy: eternal (lasting) joy and finite (temporal) joy. It seems that it is almost impossible for temporal joy to transcend happiness and is a product of common grace, but lasting joy comes from God, who does not change. Thus, lasting joy is not dependent on "life being good" to be present. (Job 8:19, Job 20:5, Job 33:26)

3) Lasting joy, the kind I want, comes directly from God (Psalm 4:7).

4) Joy is inextricably tied to trust in God. If true, lasting joy is based in God then those who find their constant refuge in him will have the most intimate access to that lasting joy (Psalm 5:11).

5) Joy is found in the promises of God. Much lasting joy can be found in this life if we stay focused on the fact that God has promised to lead us on the paths of life and will never abandon us. Even when, in our eyes, we do not feel like we are anywhere close to the path of life, God in his sovereignty is directing our footsteps and will never abandon his children (Psalm 16:11).

6) The sun takes joy in carrying out God's commands. How much more should we, who are much more like God than the sun (since we are created in his image), rejoice at the unique opportunity we have as Christians to freely obey the creator of universe (Psalm 19:5)!

My Top Three Albums of the Year

I realize that "Best of" lists are completely subjective, so as a disclaimer, these are simply MY personal favorites:

Top Three Albums of 2009:


1) The Avett Brothers- I and Love and You

• 
  
• Reason: The explanation of the album title in the liner notes alone indicates the thought and creativity that went into this record. The Avett Bros. use amazingly catchy, and often beautiful country-tinged melodies, to explore the many different ways that love is expressed and defined in our culture. The results are honest, thought provoking songs, none of which disappoint. Basically, go buy this album if you haven't already.
• Key Tracks: I and Love and You, The Perfect Space, and Laundry Room

2) Noah and the Whale- The First Days of Spring

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• Reason: The emo/screamo fads of recent years have effectively mined the depths of every possible break-up cliche that exists. With The First Days of Spring, Noah and the Whale jettison all the cliches in regards to painful break-ups and attack the subject with raw honesty that is refreshing. The First Days of Spring doesn't avoid the paradox of conflicting emotions that accompanies a broken relationship by dwelling solely on love/depression or hate/anger. Instead the songs touch on both. Basically, I love this album because it is honest, in touch with reality, and resonates with real life.
• Key Tracks: My Broken Heart, Blue Skies, My Door Is Always Open

3) Wilco- Wilco [The Album]

• 
  
• Reason: I'll be the first to admit that this is certaintly not Wilco's best album, probably not even in the top three. Yet, to Wilco's credit it is pretty impressive that they can be off their game and still make one of the best albums of the year. [The Album] effectively summarizes the different sounds the Wilco has evolved through during their existence as a band. As I listened to the album I could point to different albums in their back-catalog that individual songs could have been on. Jeff Tweedy's to-hell-and-back-voice and Nels Cline's guitar carry the album. The album itself is slightly fractured due to lack of unity in sound, yet when you take the songs individually there is not a bad one in the lot.
• Key Tracks: One Wing, You and I, I'll Fight