I had a thought today about music. Random huh?
I heard a song that I used to listen to many many years ago. It clicked my brain and I started thinking about the different phases of my life and the different types of music I listened to. I realized that they are VERY distinct and when I hear a song I can tell you what I was going through in my life when I listened to that song.
I remember way back when I was very little listening to tapes of children's music and rhymes. I remember getting my first CDs from BMG music club. One of the first cds I had was Green Day (Dookie). I remember the first time ever hearing the band. I went with James to visit k-state. One of his friends was listening to it in his dorm room. I really looked up to these guys and thought they were so cool. So I bought the cd. I still own it to this day (or did before I got rid of all my physical cds for the more compact mp3 version).
In high school I remember listening to the 80's music. Lynard Skynard, Alice Cooper and other classic rock bands. This was the time that I was hanging out with James the most. Going out to the lake with him and his friends.
I started listening to rap and other 'bass'ie music when I got my first sub in my car. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and other music similar to that. Also got into some other music like Metallica and ACDC. These got me through the later part of my high-school years.
When I got to college, that was quite the shift. I heard a lot of different music for the first time. I lived in the dorms and this was the first time that I copied mp3s from someone else. The guy down at the end of the hall (Mickey) was a Junior I think and knew how the whole dorm thing should work. He had big speakers and setup all hooked to his computer.
I got into some hip-hop music and other dance music when I started going out a lot in 2003 - 2005. That is when I started keeping up with newer music. I still do for the most part. However, now I have really gotten into more Christian music.
I got a bunch of songs from a friend. I had wanted to start listening to 'better' music that would help me feel better. This did it. I love this music. I would be proud to listen to this music with my new daughter. I don't want to listen to Baby Got Back.
This was a long post to really make the point that, for me at least, music really has an important history with me. I wonder, though, if music influenced my actions or if my actions influenced the music I listen to. I tend to believe that I make decisions in my life and then find music that supports that.
What do you think?
Monday, March 17, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
Church Attendance
I have been thinking about this topic for a while and wasn't sure what to do so I thought I would just write it here.
A couple years ago I was under the philosophy that most people can be a good Christian without attending service regularly. Why not? People can worship God and accept Jesus as their savior without being involved in a mass worship, right? Of course. I still believe that it is possible to have a relationship with God without fellowship and worship.
However, I do not believe that it is an appropriate way to maintain the relationship. I used to think it was ok but I firmly believe that is because I hadn't find the right service/church for me. I was afraid of being put into a situation that made me feel uncomfortable (by attending worship services alone).
Over the last few years I have had a lot of help with that. I started by trying to find a church in KC by myself. This was a big step because I was church hunting without anyone to help me along. I try to remember how this felt every time I see someone that may be trying to find a church home. I found a church through referral. A friend told me about one of his friends that attended church in south Olathe. Although I didn't know this friend of a friend it was better than nothing. I attended there for a short time and, although I still didn't feel very comfortable, it was the best church I had found in Kansas City. Then I met Kristen and started attending her church with her. The pastor structured his services in a way that I hadn't seen much of before. It is more like a class that just touches on some very good topics. It made me want to learn more and make decisions for myself. He rarely (if ever) tells the congregation what to think. Instead he makes points as the bible teaches, sometimes on both sides of an issue, and leaves you to make the decision for yourself. The contemporary services are a huge bonus too. But I digress.
Once I started attending this church with Kristen my outlook changed. I realize now that there is so much more that God has planned for us that we won't ever be able to find out unless we do worship and fellowship. I believe that it is very hard to fellowship without worship being in there somewhere. As I mentioned earlier, I started getting more interested in the bible and wanted to learn more and be more involved with the church. Since the church is enormous there wasn't much fellowship at church on Sunday morning (or one of the evening contemporary services). So Kristen and I made the decision to seek out a Sunday morning small group. We found a couples class and joined that. This was our opportunity to dive deeper into studying the bible with people that may have the same questions (or at least can help me find the answers I am looking for). Since then my life has gotten so much better. I have a better outlook and want to help people more. I still have a long way to go. The more I learn the more I realize how little I know. Every question answered reveals more questions unanswered. And the more I do the more I realize that, although I am making a large impact, there is still so much good that needs to be done.
So, back to my original point. When I thought I could do this whole worship thing on my own I was under the illusion that I was a good Christian and doing good work. Now that I attend as regularly as possible and have fellowship with Christian friends I realize that my life back then was missing so much. I praise God that he has led me in this path and that I listened to what he had to say.
I pray for my friends that think that they can have a good relationship with God without attending services and having fellowship. I pray for knowledge and strength to reach out to these people and hopefully spark in them what has been ignited in me.
A couple years ago I was under the philosophy that most people can be a good Christian without attending service regularly. Why not? People can worship God and accept Jesus as their savior without being involved in a mass worship, right? Of course. I still believe that it is possible to have a relationship with God without fellowship and worship.
However, I do not believe that it is an appropriate way to maintain the relationship. I used to think it was ok but I firmly believe that is because I hadn't find the right service/church for me. I was afraid of being put into a situation that made me feel uncomfortable (by attending worship services alone).
Over the last few years I have had a lot of help with that. I started by trying to find a church in KC by myself. This was a big step because I was church hunting without anyone to help me along. I try to remember how this felt every time I see someone that may be trying to find a church home. I found a church through referral. A friend told me about one of his friends that attended church in south Olathe. Although I didn't know this friend of a friend it was better than nothing. I attended there for a short time and, although I still didn't feel very comfortable, it was the best church I had found in Kansas City. Then I met Kristen and started attending her church with her. The pastor structured his services in a way that I hadn't seen much of before. It is more like a class that just touches on some very good topics. It made me want to learn more and make decisions for myself. He rarely (if ever) tells the congregation what to think. Instead he makes points as the bible teaches, sometimes on both sides of an issue, and leaves you to make the decision for yourself. The contemporary services are a huge bonus too. But I digress.
Once I started attending this church with Kristen my outlook changed. I realize now that there is so much more that God has planned for us that we won't ever be able to find out unless we do worship and fellowship. I believe that it is very hard to fellowship without worship being in there somewhere. As I mentioned earlier, I started getting more interested in the bible and wanted to learn more and be more involved with the church. Since the church is enormous there wasn't much fellowship at church on Sunday morning (or one of the evening contemporary services). So Kristen and I made the decision to seek out a Sunday morning small group. We found a couples class and joined that. This was our opportunity to dive deeper into studying the bible with people that may have the same questions (or at least can help me find the answers I am looking for). Since then my life has gotten so much better. I have a better outlook and want to help people more. I still have a long way to go. The more I learn the more I realize how little I know. Every question answered reveals more questions unanswered. And the more I do the more I realize that, although I am making a large impact, there is still so much good that needs to be done.
So, back to my original point. When I thought I could do this whole worship thing on my own I was under the illusion that I was a good Christian and doing good work. Now that I attend as regularly as possible and have fellowship with Christian friends I realize that my life back then was missing so much. I praise God that he has led me in this path and that I listened to what he had to say.
I pray for my friends that think that they can have a good relationship with God without attending services and having fellowship. I pray for knowledge and strength to reach out to these people and hopefully spark in them what has been ignited in me.
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