Back to the Basics

"So, I have this awesome idea for a Camp theme," my friend Allison says to me during a random, yet much needed phone call. The whole idea was about going "Back to the basics" of our faith, our relationship with Christ, and our worship of our Lord.

It's a brilliant idea. So good. I love it so much. And, so naturally, I've been thinking about it nonstop since that phone call.

Jesus loves us. It's that simple.
Jesus died for us. It's really not hard to understand.
Jesus is our savior. It's easy to say.
Jesus will return. It's that basic.

But it wasn't until tonight (December 3, 2013) that it really hit me on how poignant going back to the basics really is. And.. as in many moments in my life.. it was brought to me through a song I was listening to.

Seriously. Have you heard Casting Crowns' new song? All You've Ever Wanted. The entire song is exactly what going back to the basics is all about. Some of the lyrics

All You've ever wanted, all You've ever wanted
All You've ever wanted was my heart
Freedom's arms are open, my chains have all been broken
Relentless love has called me from the start
And all You wanted was my heart

It truly is that simple. If we are to get back to the basics, we must first realize that, quite literally, ALL God ever wanted was our hearts. He did everything else for us. He opened up "freedom's arms". He broke all my chains. He for real did everything for us, and made it that simple. Just give your heart over to Him. All.

ALL.

All He's ever wanted was my heart
Your heart
Our hearts

And our hearts means something very basic as well. Our hearts hold everything that is dear to us. All He wants us to do is to give our hearts over to Him, so he can mold it into the heart He has intended for us. You know, one that follows after His heart. And yearns to be in His image. It's really not too difficult to understand.

We just cloud it out by all of our insane thoughts and needless actions. Doing good deeds, saying all the right things... But it's not that hard. He just wants our HEARTS

Join me, and let's get back to the basics.  Let's remember how simple Jesus love is for us. How, when it's all stripped down, All He's ever wanted was our hearts.

And so it goes...

Experience Music, Appreciate Music

It is my goal in life to have my future students experience music. In fact, it is my goal in life to have those who have significant contact with me (more than just an acquaintance) experience music. I think that music is such a fascinatingly incredible journey, and I can only wish that those who are close to me get to experience that journey someday.

And I don't mean that I want my friends and family and students to just listen to music. If that was my goal, it would already be accomplished, because people listen to music all the time. WHICH IS GREAT. But that's not my goal.

My goal is for them to experience the journey, and appreciate the process of music. Because, to me, there is nothing more rewarding than experiencing a good piece of music. And there are many reasons for this.

1. First and foremost, music came about as a way to echo the sounds of the gods. It was considered such a majestic sound, and our music was simply a reflection and human interpretation of the beauty of music. From the beginning, music was GIVING BACK TO GOD. How cool is that? Therefore, using my gifts of music every day, I am already giving back to God. Because that's what music was about.

2. Everyone has that one song that sends them back to that particular moment. All of the emotions and feelings are just as real as they were in the primary experience. Music is powerful.

3. LIVE MUSIC is constantly being renewed. I have friends who sometimes get aggravated when they are performing a piece they have worked on in a previous ensemble. This doesn't make sense to me! If you have continued to strengthen your skills as a musician, the piece should take on a completely new light. Furthermore, the piece is being performed with a different ensemble. Finally, good music is good music. I never get tired of music, because there is always something that grabs my attention.

4. Good music takes effort. If you want to have a fantastic performance, you have to put forth effort in your rehearsals of that music. How REWARDING! Seriously, working so hard on something and then kicking butt when you perform- that's the coolest thing ever.

To experience music, you have to appreciate music. Anyone who has picked up an instrument before, or even tried to sing, knows that music takes a lot of patience and talent. It's not easy to do what musicians do.. but, are you ready for it? EVERYONE HAS MUSICAL CAPABILITIES. If you can walk, you have rhythm. If you can talk, you have pitch. And those are just two examples (notice I didn't say you have the correct pitch, or the correct rhythm.. but "correct" is such a relative term in music anyway because it's constantly being RENEWED. See point 3 :) )

So I don't really know the point to this post. I just wanted to rant about some of my thoughts lately. I want people to appreciate the music that they are hearing, participating in, or rehearsing. If they appreciate the complexity of it and understand that they are capable of doing it, then they can experience good music. It's such a powerful  entity, music (which could be a whole other blog post for another day).  Basically, I love music. All music. Because music is music, and there is definitely beauty in all music. If you can't find the beauty in the music you're listening to, perhaps you should go back to figuring out how to appreciate the complexity of it. There is a meaning, there is a story, there is an experience.And it's beautiful.

What a blessing it is to be able to experience music. What a blessing it is to be able to appreciate music.

All music.

And so it goes..

Super JOY

Did you ever learn the song that teaches you to spell Joy?

J-O-Y, J-O-Y
This is what it means
Jesus first, Yourself last, and Others in between.

In the song they spell out JYO, but that's just to make sure that the song rhymes. Basically it teaches you what the true meaning of Joy is.

Jesus
Others
Yourself

Well anyway... during the most recent week of Camp I learned about the truest form of Joy and what it truly means.

At camp, we give nighttime devotionals to each individual cabin. A lot of times the devos have something that ties into or reinforces what was discussed at chapels throughout the day, or the devos could just be something weighing on the minds of the counselors (or they could just be based on the first passage of scripture they open up to because they forgot to prepare for the night's devos, which coincidentally are sometimes the best devos ever given...it's a God thing for sure). At the most recent week of camp, it happened to be my turn to give a devo, and I decided that since they were the little kids I didn't want to get super philosophical or deep with them. So I had them repeat "Jesus loves me" over and over again.

"Jesus loves me."
"Jesus loves me."

I could see the kids faces brighten because they knew the song (We sing it all the time at Camp), but I wanted them to REALLY understand that Jesus loved them, so I decided to switch it up a little bit.
"Allright boys," I said, "This time, say Jesus loves, and then state your name!"

"Jesus loves Brice"
"Jesus loves Nate"
"Jesus loves Reid"
"Jesus loves Them."-  A little boy, Marshall, was continuously pointing at everyone else and saying that "Jesus loves them." I watched for the first two times, and after the third time everyone kind of quieted down and started getting ready for bed. So I walked over to Marshall curious as to why he was pointing at everyone else.

"Marshall, why didn't you say that 'Jesus loves Marshall'? Don't you know that Jesus loves you too!?" In my head I was thinking that he didn't believe Jesus loved him and I was devastated that a 5 year old could believe such lies.

"I Know Jesus loves Me, Brice. I just wanted to make sure that everyone else knew that He loved Them!" Marshall informed me with the brightest smile on his face, and accompanied by a slight giggle. Clearly, this kid was joyous at the fact that Jesus loved everyone in the room.

That's Super Joy. Jesus first, yourself last, others in between. A five year old gets it.. why can't we?

And so it goes...

Stop, Look, and Listen.

Ever have those times in your life where you feel like you can do it all?

You know, where you see all of the potential in something and see how things can be done and you're just so eager to accomplish it that you want to start right now. You want to get things done right away and you're totally confident you can do it all on your own.

Well... today God reminded me that it's really okay to stop, look, and listen to Him for guidance. It started as I was walking out of play rehearsal this evening. We rehearse at the local Lutheran Church, and on the door to the steps was a stop sign that read "Stop, look, and listen to God" in bold letters. I've probably passed this sign 100 times just in the play rehearsals, but it never really hit me until today.

If you're reading this blog-- actually taking the time to read every word-- I'm going to assume you know who I am. And if you know who I am--who I really am-- I'm going to assume that you know how much I love Camp Union. It is a place that is so special to me that I can't imagine spending my summers anywhere else but there. I love the place. And this year I have the privilege of even directing the Elementary weeks with two of the Godliest Women I've ever met.

Anyway.... we were at a meeting today, and have been at meetings recently where I've found myself so excited to be doing things for camp. I always get excited for camp. (If you're reading this, and have gone through my equation above, this should be no surprise for you). We go out for work days, and my mind is constantly racing on how things can improve, what we can do differently for sustainability throughout the camp, and new fun ideas for the campers during the weeks they are here. In my head I am like a superhero: invincible, unstoppable, and ready to take on each and every challenge my ADD brain likes to muster up while I'm at camp. And then today, during our directors meeting, I found myself so excited and ready to finish all these crafts ideas and write my talk and just get things done. I was ready to start right now and get things done right away.

So my mind is racing as fast as I feel like my body races between events in my life (seriously, my schedule is crazy. But I LOVE it). I went through rehearsal, but I wasn't really there because I had drifted to camp to work on some project in my mind. After rehearsal I walked to the door to go down the steps and read that stop sign in passing. But then as I got in my car it really hit me.

I need to Stop
              Look
          and Listen to God.

I need to stop worrying so much about all that I see that needs to be done at camp. Obviously God has it all under control (He's been doing that for quite some time now. Just read the bible- It's a pretty cool story!) God will take care of it and provide the materials and people needed at the right time. And why is it the right time? Because it's God's time. And not my time. Because my time is the wrong time (Because I'm not God).

I need to Look to God. I don't need to look to camp and see what needs to be accomplished. I need to look to God and see that He is working it out, again in His time (It's the right time, remember?). And, if you look at one of my previous blogs, you'll see that truly I can't do any of the things that I want to do without looking to God, because HE gives me the strength. (I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.. again, read the bible! It's such a cool story that's so true!) God's got this all under control. I just need to look to Him for guidance, because it's His plan after all. Definitely not the petty plan I make up in my ADD brain.

I need to Listen to God. Perhaps I'm sitting here planning out the next craft activity for a group of 2-4 graders, and God is screaming at me, "HEY BRICE! WORRY ABOUT THAT LATER AND WORK ON SPENDING TIME WITH ME! THE CRAFT WILL COME I PROMISE!" Or perhaps God is calling my attention to another part of camp that I haven't even thought about because I'm too worked up in my own thoughts and haven't stopped to listen to God.

So what am I saying about all this? Well, I'm a list person so let me give you a bref summary in list form.

1. I have an ADD brain.
2. Stop, look, listen to God.
3. I Love Camp Union
4. I'm so honored to be working with awesome people who love the Lord while I'm at camp.
5. It's okay to be excited about things, but don't forget to Stop, look, and listen to what God has in store. Trust me, I've read the bible, and I'm sure His plans are far better than anything you or I could come up with. (Jeremiah 29:11... READ THE BIBLE FOR SERIOUS!)

And so it goes....



Stop and Listen- Bethany Dillon

Why Teach Music?

"Why do we teach music? What makes music different from every other subject?" My Brass Methods professor as well as academic adviser posed this very interesting question the other day. She posed this question in front of 9 Music Education Majors, so you would think this question would be answered quite quickly.

"Music is a unique form of expression."
"Yeah! It's an outlet for students who get bogged down with normal class" We thought we were so smart, getting the answer on the first try.

"But, doesn't art do that? That doesn't make Music different. What makes music different?" My professor's response left us speechless for a few minutes.

"Music teaches students to be quick thinkers and work together toward a common goal." So do sports, and any other cooperative learning activity.

"Music is like another language" So are other languages.

What makes music so unique from everything else? Because if music only has something to offer that other classes/organizations already offer at school, what's the point of even offering music? Why should we continue teaching music if it's only purpose was to benefit the other classes a student was taking, and didn't stand alone as an important and necessary subject? I pondered this question for a very long time. Probably two weeks now, in fact.

And It finally dawned on me, the above conversation is the exact reason why we should teach music in our schools and makes it so unique. Music cannot be explained. We try so hard to explain it using the notions we know true for other subjects, and music simply does not fit that mold. Music is something completely different from the other subjects, that it's nearly impossible to explain it. Therefore, it is just a sensation that only you can understand by experiencing it. By teaching students through music, we are allowing for them to come in contact with something so unexplainable, words don't need to be used.  How powerful is that? You can reach students through this phenomenon and not even have to explain to them the value, they will simply know because they can experience it. Wow. What a cool thing.

And so it goes...

Easter Song

I was supposed to sing at church, so my mom told me to sing an Easter song, because it was the week before Easter, and our church was doing a Cantata. I of course thought this was a good idea, and immediately set out to find a song that fit the category of "Easter Song."

But then, I started thinking.

EVERY SONG IS AN EASTER SONG.

Think about it, during the Easter season we as Christians celebrate the resurrection of our Savior and Lord after He had died for our sins on the cross. We are called to remember the magnitude of the love displayed for us on that day, and are thankful for the stone being rolled away on Easter Sunday.

But why isn't that what we do every day? Why should it be different? Shouldn't we remember the love of our Savior everyday? Shouldn't we try to understand the love only our Father could show for us? Why does it have to be labeled as an "Easter Song?" Why can't it just be a  "Jesus Song" and sung every day? That's what I believe anyway.

So I sang an Easter song, but it wasn't one that was in the list of  "Easter Songs" Google spit back at me from my quick search. It was instead one that I felt was a testament to God's power and grace. And, of course, it was totally  a God moment, because only He would give me the gift of singing and allow me to sing a song that is glorifying Him. Yeah, it was Easter, but it was just a "Jesus song." I was simply praising my father, as we should do every day.

And so it goes...

Thoughts of Mine

Here is a random thought train when thinking about Luke 19:

Jesus come to Zacchaeus' house
Zacchaeus was a tax collector
Tax collectors were sinners
Sinners are lost from God
A sin is a sin as a sin is a sin
All of us are sinners --> ALL have fallen short of the Glory of God
Jesus wants to come to our house
Jesus lives in our hearts, we are a temple
We are like Zacchaeus
Luke 19:10 "For the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost."
Jesus seeks us out
Jesus saves us, for we are lost
Jesus is my Superhero

And so it goes..