Bays, Beds and Waterfalls

Last week we took a 4 day trip to the Coos Bay area. We drove inland into the woods from the coast some 40 miles to some very remote and VERY gorgeous country. We stayed in a one of a kind house, and just had a GREAT weekend! The house was built by a hippy, artist genius. It has 100 yr old trees in the middle of the house which the spiral stairs wrapped around. The beds all hung from the ceiling (quite fun) and each room had a loft accessible only by climbing a tree :)! Check it out! Here are more pics than you’d ever want to see of some of our fun:

Free Music Friday

It’s hard to explain what Pearl Jam mean to me. They came around in a time that I needed them. Ten hit the scene and literally blew me away. I was an obsessed fan. Through the years I have not been as in to them as I once was. But this week they released a new album called BACKSPACER. It is INCREDIBLE. It takes me back. From start to finish my soul was bombarded with emotions and taken back to a different time. Several times during it, I even cried. SO, I want to share with everyone today, one of the most moving songs from the album. PLEASE enjoy JUST BREATHE:

Faith Quest

It is a special night. The air is crisp and you can FEEL the life in it. Some strange sort of “electricity” seems to be permeating all things. Smiles abound. Faces look alive. Colors seem brighter. Voices seem clearer. All things just seem VIVACIOUS! It is clear to me that this is not your ordinary evening. This worship service is NOT going to be like many others. There is a presence here, weaving its way between hearts, minds and lives. Tonight is about community. It is a shared experience. It is real. It is truth and it is life. The Holy Spirit is doing something.

We all have experienced such an event. It is usually not at a Sunday church service, for some strange reason. It usually occurs at some larger gathering. It is usually a seminar, a camp or something similar. For me, it is every end of summer at a place called Faith Quest. Within the walls of Camp Yamhill, that is where I always experience God in such a real and profound way every Labor Day weekend.

This gathering is an annual gathering of High School teens from the Pacific Northwest (and Canada and Cali too ). I have the privilege of attending and sometimes helping out every year. It has become very special to me. I get to see friends there that I miss throughout the year. I get to experience the grace of the cross in an exciting and refreshing way. And I always get to make new friends.

I find myself trying to figure out what it is about this event that reaches so deep into the recesses of my soul. I believe God is with me every second of the day. He is there on Sundays and Wednesdays. He is there when I awake and when I go to sleep. I can feel him at other places. Yet, Faith Quest stirs something. What is it? There are many possibilities.

Is it the praise team? No. These guys are AMAZING. I would kill to have them come to my camp. They are extremely talented and creative. And they create an environment where kids can pour their voices out. They are important, but not “it”. Is it the directors who I know and respect so much? No. These 4 men are amazing role models and inspirations. They are fearless. They are bold. They are Godly and because of their prayers and efforts have brought SO many souls to God. Yet, they are not “it”. It is not the excellent speakers, classes or even the setting, though one again, these are all amazing.

And after much reflection and thought, I think I know what it is. It is the freedom I see in the kids! They are what move me. They are what excite me. They are the “it” I was searching for. I am so encouraged with the kids and they way they express themselves and worship at this wonderful place. It is such a joy to see a place where teens in our brotherhood can be real. A place where they can open up and let go. A place where they can worship any way they want and not worry a bit if “someone is watching”. It is a place where the “freedom in Christ” is truly and clearly displayed to me. Watching 400 kids jump and dance in joy is life changing. Watching their hands pierce the dark night sky, raised to God in praise. Watching their faces and their hearts being worn on their sleeves in joyful adoration……THIS is what takes me to that special place. This is my “mountain top experience”.
It is a special and rare place that can bring this out in today’s disconnected youth culture. It is hard to get a kid to worship with all of their being. My teens express themselves there in a way they would never feel comfortable to do back at home. This makes my heart cry, but it also means that much more that there is one place where they feel comfortable and free. MUCH credit should go to the directors and staff for breeding such an environment as this. GOD is lifted. GOD moves here.

I miss it already and cannot wait for next year. The prospect of the place filled with twice as many souls excites me in ways that I cannot express. I have NO CLUE what God will do, but I am confident it will be earth shaking.

Thank you Faith Quest. You shape my soul.

Grocery Grace

I recently heard a woman share this story. She was at the grocery store when a stranger approached her. He told her that his wife and daughter had recently been killed in a car accident and he had spent everything he had on the funeral and costs. But he now needed to buy diapers for his grandchild and was asking for help.

Like any decent human, she agreed and told him to go get the diapers he needed and meet her at the counter. As he left, she knew that she would not have the money to buy the luxury items she had in her basket if she helped him, so she quietly discarded them on the counter. She then explains the inner struggle she faced with “how much” to give up and offer him, and then whether or not to ask the man if she could pray for him.

There is a story in Acts where a beggar approached Peter and John and asked fro money too. They told him they had none, but did offer him Jesus instead. And in the name of Jesus, he was healed! How often do we pass by the less fortunate thinking we have nothing to offer? Peter and john had “nothing to offer” either, buy these standards, except for the dignity of recognizing the man as a valuable person and the healing of Jesus Christ. Doesn’t that go a little farther than a few coins?

In the story, as they were leaving, the lady asked the man if she could pray. She knew it would not probably end in such a miracle, but decided it was right to do. So she prayed. No “miracle” happened. No healings. She may never know if that moment changed his life or not. But I am sure at that moment, this man felt a love and grace he needed. God was alive and active fro just a few minutes in his existence.

Let us never not choose to reach out because we are unsure of the outcome. Let us not choose to not do things due to fear of rejection, or looking different. Let us simply choose to act in ways that Jesus would act. Let us simply “walk like Jesus walked”.

Free Music Friday

Coos Bay, OR here we come....... My family and I are going to grab some MUCH needed rest and relaxation. It's Griswald time,,,,,,,,,Pannell style :).. So with that in mind. Please enjoy a guilty pleasure:

Roadtrip!!!!

After a BUSY summer and much time away from home, my family and I are leaving early tommorow for a 4 day weekend at the lovely Oregon Coast!!!!
Can't wait. So...I am making my wife a roadtrip cd mix.....here is what I have for her so far:

kick Drum heart- Avett bros
For Nancy- Pete Yorn
If It Kills me- Jason Mraz
Stop and Stare- One Republic
The Fixer- Pearl jam
Tyler- The Toadies
Falling Slowly- Once Soundtrack
Sweetest Thing- U2
Somewhere Only We Know- Keane
Alison- Elvis Costello
Work- Jars of Clay
Like a Friend- Pulp
The Blower's Daughter- Damien Rice
Extra Ordinary- Better Than Ezra
Careful- Guster
Summertime- Fresh Prince
Hella Good- No Doubt
Conventioneers- Barenaked Ladies
Don't Stop Believing- Journey

Any suggestions?????

Washed by The Water

I have liked needtobreathe for awhile. But their newest CD "The Outsiders" brought my appreciation of their tunes to a new level. This is a recent clip from a concert where they closed with this acoustic and unmic'd seong. Good stuff.....