Grace

From "Blue Like Jazz," by Donald Miller:

For a very long time, I could not understand why some people have no trouble accepting the grace of God while others experience immense difficulty. I counted myself as one of the ones who had trouble. I would hear about grace, read about grace, and even sing about grace, but accepting grace is an action I could not understand. It seemed wrong to me to not have to pay for my sin, not feel guilty about it or kick myself around. More than that, grace did not seem like the thing I was looking for. It was too easy. I wanted to feel as though I earned my forgiveness, as though God and I were buddies doing favors for each other.

I identify. I can even be like that in my human relationships. A few months ago, Pinhead Stacey challenged me about it. My theory of how to keep a friendship strong is to always deposit and never withdraw. I just keep giving and giving, doing favors, making things as convenient as I can, never asking for a favor or accepting help. This way, I think "aren't I a valuable friend? I'm never a bother, I'm only a help."

But true community doesn't work that way. I believe God built grace into the framework of our own relationships to give us the smallest taste of what "amazing grace" is like. Of course, this ultimate grace can only come from God, because our human friendships, this side of heaven, are never truly unconditional. The best friendships might come close to approaching unconditional love, but Christ called us "friend" when we scorned Him. He died for us though we were loathsome. He works with us and leads us when we continually fall short of even the most basic commands.

When I think about this, "grace" seems so hard to understand. Why would I, being so vile, be accepted by God? Why would Christ die for me? How can love be that strong? I don't know the answer to that any more than I know the answer to "how could God have always existed. It's stunning to consider, isn't it?

A Poem About Young Summer Crushes.

Novel
by Arthur Rimbaud
Translated by Wyatt Mason


I.

No one's serious at seventeen.
--On beautiful nights when beer and lemonade
And loud, blinding cafés are the last thing you need
--You stroll beneath green lindens on the promenade.

Lindens smell fine on fine June nights!
Sometimes the air is so sweet that you close your eyes;
The wind brings sounds--the town is near--
And carries scents of vineyards and beer. . .

II.

--Over there, framed by a branch
You can see a little patch of dark blue
Stung by a sinister star that fades
With faint quiverings, so small and white. . .

June nights! Seventeen!--Drink it in.
Sap is champagne, it goes to your head. . .
The mind wanders, you feel a kiss
On your lips, quivering like a living thing. . .

III.

The wild heart Crusoes through a thousand novels
--And when a young girl walks alluringly
Through a streetlamp's pale light, beneath the ominous shadow
Of her father's starched collar. . .

Because as she passes by, boot heels tapping,
She turns on a dime, eyes wide,
Finding you too sweet to resist. . .
--And cavatinas die on your lips.

IV.

You're in love. Off the market till August.
You're in love.--Your sonnets make Her laugh.
Your friends are gone, you're bad news.
--Then, one night, your beloved, writes. . .!

That night. . .you return to the blinding cafés;
You order beer or lemonade. . .
--No one's serious at seventeen
When lindens line the promenade.


29 September 1870

My Friends As Music Instruments

If a sampling of my friends (who are known to check out this blog)were musical instruments, these are the instruments they'd be.

Nature Boy Jason: Rhythm Guitar. Because no matter what craziness you have to put up with, you keep a steady rhythm. But you can also plunk out a funky tune.

Nikki: Ukulele. Folksy, homespun, yet exotic at the same time. Weird yet soothing. And tiny.

Cheryl: Mandolin. Capable of such goofy, lighthearted babbling, but can add significant depth to a piece when the occasion warrants it.

Joel The Metro: Saxophone. Sometimes smooth and chillin', but with a wicked bite that you have to watch out for. Plays a variety of styles from marches to blues.

Amanda: Drums. Your opinions are straightforward, uncompromising -- nothing subtle about your instrumentation. And those who cross you --- BOOM, CLANG, GONG!

Lorie: Violin/ fiddle. A sophisticated, difficult to master, very nuanced instrument that can also be as simple as a reel or jig. Equally at home in the Paris Opera or Uncle Elmer's barn dance.

Will: Banjo. Sometimes a bit ornery, and a real bear to keep in tune, but also as smooth as summertime, a front porch swing, and lemonade.

Dr. Tom: Bagpipes. A plethora of complexities. Can comfort the mourners or send the warriors into battle. But mostly it just reminds me of your kilt.

Rachael who never posts on my blog but visits: Flute. Light, gentle, and airy. A peacemaker.

Sarah: Piano. Capable of being a one-person orchestra, holding down bass and treble lines, yet also can be a complimentary part of nearly any kind of band.

Pinhead Stacey: Lead guitar. Loud, piercing, full of brass and vigor. Stands out and cuts through the noise. But can also calm the distressed. And yours goes to eleven.

If Only ...

If you could play just one musical instrument (besides any you might already play), and you could magically be very good at it, which would it be?

Best answer wins a can of carrots, curtesy of all the fine folks here at Jive To The Monkey ....

Now I'm Stealing Topics From Other Bloggers

A couple of my Jive To The Monkey-approved blogs (well, formerly approved blogs, before they started harboring Rabby) have some interesting topics going on. This post will look at one of them.

Guitar Chick Nikki, otherwise known as Tricky Nikki, has a column on modesty, a topic she has visited before (and wrote about in her hit tune "The Modesty Song.") Although subsequent comments have dwelt on the sexual exploitation of the feminine form in the new Dukes of Hazzard movie, I found the most interesting part of her column to be the examples she gave of modest, stylish clothing, and her assertion that "modest" need not be a synonym for "frumpy" or "out of style." This is a point that many non-Christians fail to get. In some part, this is the fault of us Christians, particularly in old-time Pentecostal and fundamentalist ranks.

In the church where I grew up, modesty meant this: no shorts allowed at any time, for any reason. If I wanted to play football in the backyard with the neighborhood boys in the heat of August, I had to do so with jeans on. Gym class? Sweats. Swimming? "Mixed" swimming (swimming with guys and girls) was a no-no, so in general we could not go to public pools. If someone in the church had a pool, we could have same-sex swimming parties and wear trunks, but even then we were encouraged to also wear T-shirts in case a girl would happen to stumble upon our party.

The standards were tougher for girls. No pants of any kind -- only dresses and skirts, which must extend below the knee, and preferably, to the ankle. No ear-piercing (it was a given that they wouldn't pierce anything else), makeup, or hair-cutting. There were shades of variance with the hair issue. Valuable ministry time was taken up with questions of "is it okay for a girl to trim dead ends? Is it ok to cut bangs?" along with another big one "are culottes okay, or are they basically just pants/ shorts in disguise?"

In contrast, the kind of thing Nikki and friends are talking about has a basis in real Biblical commands. It takes into account the standards of our culture without putting the Bible at the mercy of the demands or whims of culture. The people agreeing with her (those I've seen or met anyway) understand what she's saying -- none of them are frumpy; none are immodest. This is what I mean when I talk about "balance" (in this or any other issue). Not a balance between the Word and the world, but a careful look at the Word and a prayer-life that seeks to understand what the Word really means, without drifting to an extreme that is dictated by our own misunderstanding of the commands of God or prejudices in our minds.

Something to sink your teeth into

From A.W. Tozer's "The Pursuit of God":

... the scribe tells us what he he has read, and the prophet tells what he has seen. The distinction is not an imaginary one. Between the scribe who has read and the prophet who has seen there is a difference as wide as the sea. We are overrun today with orthodox scribes, but the prophets, where are they? The hard voice of the scribe sounds over evangelicalism, but the church waits for the tender voice of the saint who has penetrated the veil and has gazed with inward eye upon the wonder that is God.

Friend of the Day: Jeremy Quillo

Yes, my friends, it is time for another installment of the Jive To The Monkey Friend of the Day citation. You may recall that the first such award went to "Nature Boy" Jason Hall, several months ago.

Let's set the scene:

Last Tuesday evening. I had a free night, I wanted to see a movie. I was particularly interested in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." I had a meeting at Sunergos that was to last until almost 7, so I planned to head over to Baxter to see the film. BUT ... B-Dog does not watch movies alone in theaters. It's too depressing. So who to call? Who could come through, and would be somewhat close to that area? None other than Jeremy Quillo, who, although he'd already seen Charlie twice, was game. He called Matt Requet, who will no doubt win his own Friend of the Day citation at some point, and off we went. We three, we happy three.

Jeremy is one of the first friends I made at Sojourn. I remember he and I met for lunch during the first day of the big storm last December (well, it was the closest thing we had to a big storm this past winter). We dined at Down To Lunch Cafe, across the street from where I work. He could have canceled -- I'd have certainly understood. Driving conditions sucked. But yet he came, and we had a great time. We talked a lot about songwriting, and about the writing process in general. He also told me the history of Sojourn, confirming my belief that Sojourn is so cool, it must have been started, at least in large part, by Hoosiers.

I joined Jeremy's community group around that time. Since then, he and his wife Carrie have joined a group closer to their home -- hey, maybe I ran them off! But the easy familiarity and kinship I've always felt around Jeremy,and all the Quillo's, has certainly made it easier to bond with the church as a whole.

Jeremy will be entered into a drawing to win a free can of navy beans here on Jive To The Monkey. Just one of the ways I say "thanks" to my Friend of the Day recipients. Way to go, Mr. Quillo.

Congratulations

A great big Jive To The Monkey congratulation is in order to Guitar Chick Nikki Tatom and her man, known in blogger land as Bert, but known to her as J.D. Who knows what his real name is, but anyway, they are engaged!

Bravo, bravo! I'm sure Nikki will have some details up at her blog, which you can check out from my Links sections.

Speaking of checking out, Nikki will be in concert this Saturday night at Sunergos, opening for Jaime Barnes. The show will run from 9 to 11 pm. Perhaps she will sing an ode to Bert, or J.D., or whoever he is. Here is a poem, dedicated to the newly engaged sweethearts:

by Edmond Rostand

And what is a kiss, when all is done?
A promise given under seal -- a vow,
A signature acknowledged -- a rosy dot
Over the i of Loving -- a secret whispered
To listening lips apart -- a moment made
Immortal, with a rush of wings unseen --
A sacrament of blossoms, a new song
Sung by two hearts to an old simple tune --
The ring of one horizon around two souls
Together, alone!