Dan lost a tooth last night. So he's a few teeth gone from being as mean as Jack Lambert. And if you think Troy Polamalu is a wild man. Let me introduce you to Jack Perry.
When you think back on a year gone by or on a life for that matter, there aren't that many days that you remember. You obviously lived all of your days, but only a relatively few make the best day ever list, therefore remaining fairly intact as memorable. For example, I bet only a very few if any would remember what happend on Feb. 27, 2007. (If you do, post a comment about it please.) Anyway, even those "remembered" days, like wedding days, birth of a child, etc aren't entirely remembered. You just remember it more than most days.
Where am I going with this? Well, I decided that yesterday was one of the best days ever. Notice that I "decided" this. Best day evers shouldn't just happen. We aren't lucky when we have one or unlucky when we don't. I learn this first from Psalm 90 and it was illustrated by Sponge Bob Squarepants.
Psalm 90 is the only Psalm we have that was written by Moses, a man who had some best day evers. Think the Exodus, crossing the Red Sea, getting the 10 commandments, water out of the rock, manna for the first time, seeing God's back. But add all of those best day evers and you get just a few months of time out of 40 plus years. The vast majority of his days were spent getting up and eating the same thing every day, going to the same job every day, and looking at the same bleak wilderness every day. Thus Psalm 90. Go ahead and read the words of a bored man caught in the monotony of life. First read Psalm 90.
Did you notice the words:
--"teach us to number our days" (Make the most of our days) --"satisfy us...that we may sing for joy and be glad ALL our days" (we can be deeply satisfied every day, regardless of the circumstances) --"may your deeds be shown" (see God's work in our lives every day) --"establish the work of our hands" (recognize that God is using us to make a difference)
Good word Moses. Good word.
Yesterday, Feb. 26, 2008, which I've resolved to remember and am putting on the web for posterity did not start as if it should be "the best day ever".
2:30am-6am: It started at 2:30am with me waking up feverish and then puking in the bathroom. I'm sick! I couldn't go back to sleep, so I tossed and turned and watched TV until 6am. Drifted off for about an hour. Total of about 4 hours sleep.
7am-12:30pm: Dan woke up for school at 7am. Sarah got him ready and took him to school while I laid awake in bed with Jack and Alli. Sarah had planned to go to Lexington with her sister to pick out a prom dress and I told her I'd be fine to go ahead. She graciously arranged for easy meals all day so that I simply had to heat things up for the kids when they got hungry. My plan was to lay in bed and drink gatorade and puke as little as possible. About 9am I started feeling better so I got up to at least write and work on my sermon. By 12:30 my fever was back and I was back in bed.
12:30-2:30pm: Lay in bed feverish and Dan's school bus schedule got out of whack so I had to bundle the kids up and head out to the school to get him. He ended up taking a different bus that I eventually ran down, With a fever this was not what I wanted to be doing.
2:30-5:30pm: Got everybody settled into craft time and fed dinner and climbed back into bed about 5pm. This is where Sponge Bob comes in. The kids piled into bed with me and we started watching sponge bob, episode, "The Best Day Ever". It was about Sponge Bob having this big plan for the best day ever, but it fell apart every step of the way. But he realizes that he's got great friends and made a difference that day and he lived that day to the full. He lived Psalm 90 better than I did. And so I laid in bed with my kids laying all over me and listening to them sing with Sponge Bob...It's the Best Day Ever:
That's when I thanked God for a day off with my kids. I thanked God that I had kids who had voices who could sing and I could listen to. I thanked God for a wife that loves me and babyies me when I'm sick. God taught me to number my days. Even Feb. 26, 2008 was awesome. God is unbelievablely merciful to me even when I'm sick. I was deeply satisfied and sang with joy ALL of my day. God's work in my family was both confirmed and clearly seen. Thank you Jesus for dying for my sin and taking my sicknesses, which will one day completely gone in my experience not just my postion. But in the meantime he uses my sin and my sickness to teach me and show up in my life. Thank you Jesus, Thank you Moses, Thank you Sponge Bob, Thank you Sarah, Thank you Dan, Thank you Jack, Thank you Alli, for the best day ever.
What Commercials Are Teaching Me about Music and My Questions
Hey guys. We're approaching the biggest commercial day in our calendar. The Super Bowl Commercials!!!! The Super Bowl has become as well known for its commercials as it has been it's game and it's parties and after this season I guess that cheaters can win. That's right I said that. But new commercials are getting primed to air and be the talk of the country come Monday morning. You'll also notice that I liked a commercial so much I posted it on the blog a few posts ago. I noticed that a good friend of mine also posted a commercial on his blog. Also we showed a commercial at Crew to illustrate a point a few weeks ago. Commercials and the music/words they play are woven into the fabric of our lives for good or bad. So that got me thinking and asking questions...
Let me write about the influence of hearing and seeing and how shaped we are about the things we see and hear. This isn't profound, but I'll state it anyway. We are deeply and subconsciously affected by what we hear and see. This can be for good, "faith comes through hearing and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10). "Let your light shine among men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5). That's the Bible by the way. Also what we hear and see can have a harmful effect (See endless verses in the bible about the tongue and eyes). So here's the question: What impact are my words having on my culture and sphere of influence? Are people glorifying my father in heaven because of my good deeds? After seing and hearing my drama, sitcom, or commercial of a life are they attracted to what I'm about?
Now let me write about the influence of music, which almost every commercial has and usually love or hate. I think it's doubtful to overestimate the depth of emotion and endurance of impact that music makes on us. There's a reason the Psalms are the most powerful and popular writings in the Bible. They articulate the feelings of our souls. They move us to great things. Music communicates when we're sad, in love, excited, scared, happy, everything. Music is like a soundtrack for our life. We forget speeches and sermons rather easily. But music sticks in our head all week long and for years after they release. When songs comes on the radio they can instantly take us to a time and place where we lose ourselves. Commercials get that. This why there are jingles. And many times commercials are what make the songs possible.
Now let me tie some of this together. There are 3 commercials out there right now that have great music on them. I love these songs now. I'm not going to give you the commercials. Instead I'll give you the music to listen to:
This one is Catch the Wind by Donovan in a GE windpower commercial:
This one is Coffee Shop by Landon Pigg and is on a Zales jewlery commercial:
These next two are Apple commercials. Whoever is doing these things has great taste in music:
Fiest 1234:
Yael Naim, New Soul:
I'm going to go by an air mac now!!!
A few parting questions that are my favorite ones and I love to hear great answers on:
1. Why doesn't the radio play good music? Why do I have to find it in coffee shops, bookstores, indie stations, and commercials? 2. Why do Christians listen to "Christian" music? The lyrics might be fine, but the sound and style is terrible. I'd love for Christians to simply write "great music" in all genres and styles. 3. Why do I like distinct and ecclectic sounding songs by women?!!!! (This one isn't a commericial but it illustrates this question:
"The history of a people is found in its songs." George Jellinek
"I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music." Billy Joel
