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May 28, 2005
Punk Rawk!!!
As soon as I discovered punk rock, I starting thinking how cool it would be if there were some sort of fusion that incorporated violin into it, but I didn't know anyone else who thought this was a good idea. Then 4 years ago I discovered Flogging Molly and saw my two favorite modern musical genres--Celtic and punk--joined. And last night, I actually got to play fiddle with a punk band! Flatfoot 56 is out in California on tour from Chicago. They played Chico on Thursday night, and they let me play with them a little bit at last night's show in Stockton. Afterwards, they asked me if I'd come down and play with them in Santa Cruz tonight!!! I can't get too much into details right now because I have to leave pretty soon...
(But now, if I ever go to Chicago again, the pizza won't be my only reason!!!)
Posted by aaronlord at 11:28 AM | Comments (0)
May 19, 2005
III
Saw Star Wars. Am speechless.
Posted by aaronlord at 03:15 AM | Comments (0)
May 17, 2005
Some more!
These ones are from Kirstin's camera. She came up from Fullerton to go to the beach with us on Sunday, and it was great to be able to introduce her to my friends. She even got to drive by Pepperdine on the way, so she got to see where I went to school. (She's all about socal now, with her bleach-blonde hair...) ;-)
Posted by aaronlord at 10:18 AM | Comments (0)
May 16, 2005
Photos
(I updated this entry on 7/9/05 because I moved the pictures to Flickr, which makes it really easy to get decent thumbnails. I wrote my own thumbnail script in ASP.NET, but the quality of the images was really poor.)
Hollie's art studio. We had an acoustic jam session up there on the porch on Saturday night.
I got to hang with Gabe & Shannon (Nina, too) at the Calabasas Starbucks, and then we went to John's Garden. You can probably tell his camera's a lot better than mine! :-)
Brian & Hollie Tieleman. Great friends I've known for 10 years!
These are Mike & Denise Radka. Their wedding in Oxnard last September was a divinely-orchestrated reunion. I still have the thank-you letters they wrote me for playing at it--awesome words of encouragement!
Brian & Stuckey (Chris) by the fence. Thanks so much for bringing the pipes!
Brian & Leslie Moon. They went to Scotland with me (so did Stuckey, and Mike & Denise), and I think Leslie was even on the Highlands team for Prayerstorm. Davy, Joy, and Dougie, who were also there, have also been to Scotland with me, though I somehow failed to get pictures of them this weekend... If anyone else did, please e-mail them to me!
Dang! My throat hurts! Must be all that smog I inhaled on the freeway the day before...
I love Erik & Linda! We had a really good chat, mostly about how important friendship is to a relationship (duh!!!). But they have a better digital camera, so I need to get them to e-mail me the one I took with their camera.
Beautiful sunset over the Sheen-Richards residence.
Sometimes I get to sleep on that bed on the porch.
The garden by the fire pit.
Posted by aaronlord at 11:35 PM | Comments (1)
hello
Just wanted to let everyone know I'm home safe. I got into town about 6 and called Brian for a freak-out session over the phone. Then I mowed the lawn (it was about 2 feet high and seeding out), raked the bark where we had a little mudslide from the weekend rains, and washed the bugs off of my truck.
It was such a good time in Malibu! In addition to everyone who showed up at B & H's, I also got to spend time with Gabe & Shannon (and Nina), and Kirstin drove up on Sunday to kick it at Zuma with us!
Photo blog to follow later tonight. I gotta run over to Sam & Pam's now for 24...
Posted by aaronlord at 08:23 PM | Comments (0)
May 13, 2005
Road trip...
Last night Josh & I went on a bike ride for what must have been 17 or 18 miles, at least. We rode from Bear Hole up to the end of the dirt road in Upper Park and then kept going. We crossed the creek with our bikes on our shoulders in rushing water that was 4 feet deep. Then we kept riding upstream, all the way through the Chico State wildlife preserve and through a whole hunting zone. On our way back to Bear Hole we tried to stay on South Rim, but it didn't work because the road curved and started going the opposite way of where we wanted to go. It was getting dark so we decided we'd explore that way another time, and we went back the way we came.
Needless to say, I'm sore, and tired, but it was a great time...
I'm heading off this very instant for Brian & Hollie's house in Malibu. They're having an open house this weekend and getting a bunch of the old crew together from the old days. Party all evening tomorrow, and worship on Sunday morning at their house. If anybody needs directions, call my cell at (530) 321-9065. I'll be coming back home on Monday. :-)
-Aaron
Posted by aaronlord at 10:30 AM | Comments (1)
May 12, 2005
A New Agenda for our Talk
[Listening to: "You Know How It Is" - Stavesacre
...he does according to his will among the host of heaven
and among the inhabitants of the earth;
and none can stay his hand
or say to him, "What have you done?" Daniel 4:35 (ESV)
"And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church" Eph. 1:22 (ESV).
"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son..." Rom 8:28-29 (ESV) (emphasis mine).
I am currently reading a book by Paul David Tripp called War of Words, published by P&R. To say it's really good would be an understatement.
Chapter 5 is all about how the root of all of our communication breakdowns (complaining, arguing, manipulating, criticizing, etc.) is a fundamental lack of trust in God's sovereignty.
...a life of godly communication is rooted in a personal recognition of the sovereignty of God. Let me put it this way: Only when I submit to the rule of God, who has a perfect plan and is in complete control, will I begin to live and speak as he has purposed. Only at this level will the idolatry of heart that leads to idol [sic] words be broken. Here alone will my words be freed from being the tools of my agenda, my attempts at control, and my glory-seeking.
When my heart is more controlled by a desire for the creation (a person, possession, position, or experience) than it is by a desire for the Creator, I will seek to control my world (and the people in it) to get what I want....None rests in God's sovereignty, believing that he will give what is best. (p. 69)
...the roots of biblical communication grow in the soil of his sovereignty. If my words don't flow out of a heart that rests in his control, then they come out of a heart that seeks control, so I can get what I want. I need a better understanding of what God is doing. (p. 71)
When I know that God is in control of my life, I do not give in to panic. I do not begin thinking that life is out of control, and I do not despair when I am confused about what is going on. I know that every situation is under the careful administration of the King of Kings. (p. 72)
God is sovereign over the circumstances of our lives, but Scripture says more. It tells us that these circumstances are a principal means by which God actually produces what he predestined for our lives before the foundation of the wrold--that we would be transformed into the likeness of his Son, holy as he his holy.
When we complain about the problems and pressures in our lives, we are essentially grumbling in the face of God. We are complaining that we have been chosen by his love and grace, and that he is putting us in situations designed to make us his holy people! These relationships and circumstances, these problems and trials, and these times of grief and suffering come from his hand. They are tokens of God's wonderful grace, given to deliver us from the power of remaining sin! Behind the circumstances is a God of love who is relentlessly at work to make us holy. Praise that comes from hearts of worship is the only legitimate response to these circumstances. Rather than telling us that God has forgotten us, our circumstances shout to us that he has remembered us and will not leave us until his work is complete! Really understanding this will do much to alter the way we talk. (p. 77)
This is all good stuff on it's own. But Tripp takes it further with a discussion of why theology itself is so important. You can't just go to the scriptures that tell you what to do. You have to understand the whole of Scripture to see God's reason behind those commands.
God's will is that all of our speaking be done for the praise of his glory [see Eph. 1]--an exciting new agenda very different from our own. For this reason it is important to understand what the Bible teaches about God's sovereignty. It is the cornerstone for a new agenda for our words.
In talking about this doctrine, I know that I am raising thorny issues that go beyond the scope of typical communication discussions....We live in a church culture that tends to separate biblical commands and principles from the rest of Scripture. We look at specific verses about communication and seek to apply them to our lives without understanding the way they are rooted in the history and theology of Scripture. We miss the big picture--the way the rest of Scripture gives these commands their meaning and rationale. The commands and principles of Scripture flow from the theology of Scripture. More than that, they find their hope and meaning in the person and work of Christ.
For example, the only reason it makes sense to do good to your enemies is that the One who has told us to is a God of perfect justice. The call to forgive is rooted in the fact that Christ has forgiven us. The call to give sacrificially is rooted in God's promise to provide for all our needs. Every command and principle has its roots in redemptive realities--what God has done and will do for us in Christ. This is theology--but it's certainly not abstract information! Scripture is full of theology because when you undestand truth about God, you understand why and how you are to carry out the commands of Scripture. You understand how your actions connect with what God is doing, and how you can actually bring glory to his name. (pp. 70-71)
When I was a kid, whenever my parents would tell me to do something, I would always want to know why. I needed to know the reason behind it, that there was some purpose, some greater meaning to it all. Unfortunately, the answer was usually, "Because I said so." Granted, that is all that should be required of obedience. But one of the coolest things about this understanding of theology is that it shows us that God is not like the parent who says, "Because I said so." Yes, his purpose is to teach us his character--that we might know him--to get us to the place where we will stop complaining and always do what he wants without questioning, but he wants us to truly have an understanding of his goodness and faithfulness. He doesn't just want to keep us as little children; he wants to raise us up as heirs.
In Exodus 14, when the Israelites were trapped by the Red Sea, they started complaining. But God had a purpose in it. "Notice that this trial produced exactly what God had planned for his people. 'And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD discplayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant' [Ex. 14:31 (NIV)]" (Tripp, p. 80).
This happened over and over again in Israel's history. Each time, God wills their being put in a situation where they complain, with his purpose being precisely to teach them not to complain the next time the same thing happens.
It's not just a problem that laypeople face. Look at Elijah--I just read 1 Kings 18 this morning. But what does Elijah say in 19:4? "It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers" (ESV). He's completely given up on God's will in his life, even after the power God evidenced through him on Mt. Carmel and the euphoria of slaughtering 450 bad guys!
Let us rest in his sovereign arms (Jason, Piña, are your reading this?). We don't have to have everything figured out, but we need to continually remember that we are not the lords of our own domain. God himself is in charge, and there's a point to what he's doing: redemption and sanctification. It's really not about what we want. It's about glorifying him while we watch him work his will in our lives and make us the men and women of God that he wants us to be.
Lord, help me to trust in you. Give me the grace to get through these times. Take control of my heart and my mind in order that you might continually intervene in my thoughts and remind me that you are in control. Help me, Lord to submit to your will for my life, and to seek your glory above all. And please forgive me, Father, for those times when I have sought to take the reigns for myself, only to wind up in the mud.
"Now I'm riding in the back seat, and I'm leaving all the driving to the Chief." - Dallas Holm
Posted by aaronlord at 11:09 AM | Comments (0)
May 10, 2005
You do what you can...
A few months ago I watched a convicting show about Wal*Mart on Frontline that caused me to not want to shop there anymore. I also saw one about the credit card industry that I found quite disturbing. (Thanks to Zach for the recommendations.)
Unfortunately, not very long after I viewed this shows, I once again found myself in a tight spot financially where I couldn't afford to shop anywhere but Wal*Mart!
Bill Power, lead singer for Blenderhead, wrote a forward for Simplicity, and after I read the book, I looked him up online, and found his blog at iambillpower.org. Soon I started checking out some of the links on his website, including Adbusters and Behind the Label.
So lately I've been thinking a lot about these two interwoven issues of corporate domination and the related sweatshops which increase their profit margins.
Something that's a little disturbing is the fact that so many punks wear Dickies and Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars because of their non-mainstream, all-American, enduring qualities, but Converse was bought out by Nike (like the biggest sweatshop offender in the world) in 2003, and Dickies has also moved their factories overseas where U.S. labor unions cannot guarantee living wages. Oh, and Vans (as in the Warped Tour) uses sweatshops as well.
This transcript of a Salvadoran worker's rights meeting is what did it for me. After reading this, I no longer have any doubts as to whether Dickies' Central American plants are sweatshops or not.
I'd almost rather spend money on clothes that are made in countries like Nicaragua, Haiti, Mexico, China, etc., in order to support people there who could really use our money. But if they're only making 30 cents an hour, than I'm investing in a self-perpetuating system and practically condoning slavery!
Now, don't get me wrong--I am a Republican. But I am a Christian first, and the Bible is very clear about how we need to do all we can to not be a part of the world system.
The coolest thing about the Adbusters Blackspot campaign is that it's radical, yet not radical at the same time. Instead of throwing out your whole entire wardrobe, you can just alter your current branded clothing to make your anti-corporation statement. Just draw a black spot over the logos with a black marker!
Posted by aaronlord at 03:06 PM | Comments (0)
May 07, 2005
"Apprehending God"
O God, quicken to life every power within me, that I may lay hold on eternal things. Open my eyes that I may see; give me acute spiritual perception; enable me to taste Thee and know that Thou art good. Make heaven more real to me than any earthly thing has ever been. Amen. (Tozer, The Pursuit of God, 59)
But why do the very ransomed children of God themselves know so little of that habitual, conscious communion with God which Scripture offers? The answer is because of our chronic unbelief. Faith enables our spiritual sense to function. Where faith is defective the result will be inward insensibility and numbness toward spiritual things. (Tozer, 52)
This faith isn't the same thing as what faith-healers keep telling us we are lacking. That "faith" is actually imagination, "positive thinking", daydreaming, usually based on what we want. No, real faith--belief that what God says is true, belief that the spiritual kingdom of heaven is real even though we can't see it--is based on the One Absolute reality, the fact that God is God, and He would be who He is apart from my recognition. It's not one of those "if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?"-- No, God is real, and he is speaking, and if we can't hear the tree fall it's because we're spiritually deaf.
Faith lives with a conscious acknowledgment of the spiritual realities. All my life I have lived with attention to the spiritual, but unfortunately I think most of that attention has been given to the imaginary rather than the real.
For example, life is not all about me. The reality of God is so much bigger than little old me. His ways are higher, and His purpose so much more vast. Yet I think on the way to the knowledge of God as personal (and He is a personal God), and the realization that He actually cares about us, it is possible for us to develop a pattern of faith whereby our faith is based on what we want God to do for us. This type of faith is a faith that concerns itself with improving quality of life, "finding my place," being vindicated against my unjust enemies, and so on. I think my faith can so often become self-centered in this manner. I know I've prayed for God to heal my knee (and I've seen another person go forward to get prayer for 20/20 vision so he wouldn't have to wear contacts when he surfs...).
While I do believe God concerns himself with our daily lives, I think living a lifestyle where our faith seeks what we can get out of it rather than where our faith seeks to know more and more of God's character, is kind of a one-sided relationship, don't you?
The Pursuit of God is all about experiencing God personally, but we have to make sure that we're submitting our minds to Christ, so that this experience is based on Reality and not imagination.
~May 7, 2005, Brown's Hole, Chico
Posted by aaronlord at 02:30 PM | Comments (0)
passion...
"When you are at the end of your rope ... When you feel you've lost what is most dear to you ... When you are torn apart with hunger ..."--these are times Jesus says the life of God can take deep root (Matthew 5:1-6). These are times when desire for God, passion if you will, can take on fresh flame.
Jesus was speaking to the weary, the broken, the tired. He did not challenge them to move past their despair, to cheer up with some attempt to view the silver lining in their dark cloud. He encouraged them to embrace their disillusionment, to own their dark place--and find God in it. (Winn Collier, "The Somber Side of Passion," Relevant Magazine: no. 13, p. 36)
Posted by aaronlord at 01:04 AM | Comments (0)
May 05, 2005
The High Price of Packer Pride
[Listening to: Directed Youth - The Crucified
I just finished reading Simplicity by Mark Salomon. It only took me four days to read it, and I can't remember the last time I was so engulfed in a book. I've been a fan of Stavesacre and The Crucified since 1996, when I made it a habit of picking up anything in the Tooth & Nail catalog, and driving all over So-Cal to see Christian punk, ska, and hardcore shows from bands like the Supertones, Value Pac, MxPx, Slick Shoes, EDL... I could go on, but I think my favorite shows were always the Stavesacre shows. Mark's book was written to tear down the image that has been set up by Christian music industry in order to take advantage of the "Christian market" (the word that industry uses to refer to God's people, the Body of Christ). This task of unmasking the crooked machine requires some serious rethinking of the way things have been, and also some harsh tactics of looking reality straight in the face and admitting some serious personal failures that occurred even while Mark was hiding behind the mask of "Christian rock star" in the late eighties and early nineties. God took him through a period of serious humbling at the end of The Crucified, revealing to him just how much he was in need of Grace. Sometimes for kids who grow up in the church, knowing the Lord, the only way the Lord can remove their own self-righteousness and pride is to let them fall... hard. Since then, Mark was restored to music again with Stavesacre, and now with this book, he has a message to bring to the world: Worship the Lord with all your heart, soul, and strength, love your neighbor as yourself. Take off your masks, stop judging others, be real and pursue truth and humility in the way we live our lives towards believers and unbelievers, so that we can more effectively reflect Christ to those who are watching. I still need some time to digest it before I write a full-on review, but this excerpt will give you guys a perfect taste of what the book is all about.
I'm not the first to say it, but the book goes well with Charlie Peacock's At the Crossroads, which deconstructs the industry from a producer's perspective, and describes all the different ways that musicians can glorify God with the gifts he's given them, within the church and without (the kingdom of God is actually bigger than this universe, not a small subset of it).
Posted by aaronlord at 05:24 PM | Comments (0)
test
- Zombie Nation (03:58)]Posted by aaronlord at 01:17 PM | Comments (0)
test
- Frail (03:52)]Posted by aaronlord at 01:10 PM | Comments (0)
