Saturday Smile - Small Group Guitar

When I saw this last week, I smiled.
Maybe it will bring a smile to your face too.

Friday Family - Tyler & Leagues

All this week, my son, Tyler, has been over in Wisconsin for a songwriting retreat with LEAGUES bandmates, Thad Cockrell and Jeremy Lutito. The guys have been hiding out to work on new music before heading into the studio to record their first full length album.

Please pray for Tyler and friends as they put their hearts and energy into making this band a success. They're all seasoned musicians who have certainly payed their dues. It would be so great if 2012 turns out to be the year things really take off for them.

The music industry is a tough and fickle place to be building a career. I'm hoping LEAGUES will find an enthusiastic audience, some amazing opportunities, and some solid advocates within the music industry.

You can find out more about Leagues on their website.

You can buy their 2011 EP on iTunes.

Thursday Thinking - About New Hampshire

One of the blogs I keep an eye on is the First Thoughts Blog which is part of the website for First Things Magazine. Yesterday, there was a post from Joseph Knippenberg, Professor of Politics at Oglethorpe University, Atlanta, GA.

Knippenberg made some interesting observations about the New Hampshire primary and the top runners among the republican candidates.

...the 22% of the respondents who described themselves as evangelical or born again gave 76% of their votes to Catholics or Mormons, which is pretty close to the 45% of those who said they were Protestants (78%) and to the 35% of those who said they were Catholics (81%). The 13% who claimed no religious affiliation gave a significant plurality (47%) of their support to Rep. Paul, and a bare majority to the four Catholic or Mormon candidates. In other words, no religious group played identity politics; indeed, only 19% of the self-identified Catholics supported Catholic candidates. Indeed, the most self-consciously Catholic candidate, Rick Santorum, did significantly worse among Catholics (8%) than among evangelicals (23%).

Click Here to Read the Entire Article

Wednesday Words - Morning Song

I came across this beautiful old hymn text quite some time ago. I put it to music and use it as part of my morning devotion time. You can also sing it to the tune of "Rock of Ages."

MORNING SONG
Every morning mercies new
Fall as fresh as morning dew;
Every morning let us pay
Tribute with the early day:
For your mercies, God, are sure;
Your compassion does endure.

Still the greatness of your love
Daily does our sins remove;
Daily, far as east from west,
Lifts the burden from the breast;
Gives unbought to those who pray
Strength to stand in every day.

Let our prayers each day prevail,
That these gifts might never fail;
And, as we confess the sin
And temptation's pow'r within,
Every morning, for the strife,
Feed us with the Bread of Life.

As the morning light returns,
As the sun with splendor burns,
Teach us still to turn to Thee,
Ever blessèd Trinity,
With our hands our hearts to raise,
In unfailing prayer and praise.

Words: Greville Phillimore (19thC)

Tuesday Tome - Foreword Thinking

I've begun to read through Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis once again. This reading begins with some material new to me as the edition I just purchased has a new Foreword by Kathleen Norris. Here is an excerpt from that foreword:

The "mere" Christianity of C. S. Lewis is not a philosophy or even a theology that may be considered, argued, and put away in book on a shelf. It is a way of life, one that challenges us always to remember, as Lewis once stated, that "there are no ordinary people" and that "it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit." Once we tune ourselves to this reality, Lewis believes, we open ourselves to imaginatively transform our lives in such a way that evil diminishes and good prevails. It is what Christ asked of us in taking on our humanity, sanctifying our flesh, and asking us in turn to reveal God to one another.

If you would like to read the book and participate in three book club sessions I will be leading, please do. You can find out dates and times for that book club on the Valley Christian Church website.

Incidentally, Kathleen Norris has written some wonderful books that I have thoroughly enjoyed. They include: The Cloister Walk and Amazing Grace.

Monday Music - Skypiper

Today, I'm posting my favorite song, Framer, track 3 on the new album from SKYPIPER. My nephews, Graham and Gabe, are at the heart of this indie/pop/rock band from Omaha. Yes, if your last name is Burkum you are required to make music!

You can check out the band's Facebook Page HERE.



Check out and buy their new album here. You can listen to full songs.

Skypiper is playing a show in Minneapolis this Friday night. There will be one or two bands playing before they hit they stage, so it's going to be too late for an old-timer like me. Maybe I can have them over for breakfast.

Sunday Supplication - What Matters Most

Father in heaven, when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, you proclaimed him to be your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit. Today, we ask that you would help all of us who have been baptized into his Name to live as your children. Help us to keep the covenant we have made with you, and help us declare with our words and our deeds that Jesus is truly our Lord and Savior, forgive us our sins.

Renew us by your Spirit. Show us how to act, think, and live as Christ. As you have forgiven us, make us merciful and ready to forgive those who have sinned against us.

O God, We thank you for your goodness to those who seek you. Give us the humility and the wisdom to seek you above all else. Give us the perspective and discernment to know what is true and what is real. Deepen our understanding of life. Help us to know what matters most.

Through Christ, we pray. Amen.

Saturday Smile - Bad Lip Reading

What would happen if you took a lot of footage of political candidates, then took away the audio, then did a terrible job of reading their lips, and then created a new audio track that matches the video, but makes no sense at all?

See for yourself.



I know it's absolute silliness, but it does make me laugh. If you find silliness as amusing as I do, you can find more here.

Friday Family - Bark'm Canine Portraits

My nephew, Taylor Burkum, is a wonderful artist and has really found a great niche in the commercial art scene. He and his wife live in the Omaha/Council Bluffs area. Please visit his website, Bark'm Canine Portraits, to see the beautiful work he's doing. You can also visit the Bark'm Facebook Page to pass along any encouragement you have to offer. If you're a dog lover and you're interested in capturing your pet in a quality portrait you'll enjoy for years to come, let Taylor know.

It looks like Taylor may be on the cutting edge of this art trend. An article headlined, From Art House to Dog House, appeared in the January 4 issue of the StarTribune. It talks about a number of artists in the Twin Cities that are discovering the same niche.

Way to go, Taylor! I love the work you're doing!

Thursday Thinking - The Fresh Coast

I have been in love with Lake Superior since my first trip to the Boundary Waters thirty years ago. My most recent visit was with my wife in October 2011. I'm hoping to go up again this winter. The North Shore never ceases to be a source of refreshment and inspiration to me.

I'm thinking of the North Shore this week because I just learned of a new project called The Fresh Coast Project. It is an effort, by photographer Ed Wargin, to document the Great Lakes as thoroughly as possible via the media of photographic film. Fantastic! The website for the project has a number of photo galleries with some of the most beautiful images I've ever seen.

Visit the Website

From the website:

The Fresh Coast Project is the endeavor to capture the Great Lakes on film prior to the cessation of film as a photographic medium. But why is this important? Why has this project driven one photographer to do so now, before the chance is gone?

With decades behind the lens and working with film, professional photographer Ed Wargin has dedicated his craft and career to discovering the Great Lakes, one frame at a time.

From Ed: "I grew up in the Great Lakes, I've always felt the connection to it. Long ago, it became my goal to capture the grandeur of the entire Fresh Coast as an artistic, archival, and historical project. My initial aim was to retain its pristine image for future generations to enjoy, in the hope that it encourages forthcoming populations to care for, celebrate, and preserve this great resource. But along the way, the project became much more than this. There are historical repercussions to the loss of film. A piece of film is tangible, and provides an indisputable reference. A digital file is not quite tangible in that sense. You cannot touch or feel it, and therefore, from an historical reference point of view, you cannot guarantee that it has been untouched, unaltered. Think about all historical documentation going forward once film is gone - and how much we need tangible mediums to serve as reference points. In addition, consider the many environmental factors placed on our Great Lakes. My goal is also to create a body of work that will serve future generations of leaders, teachers, artists, legislators, citizens and stewards by allowing them to use these images of the Fresh Coast Project as a way to judge how the shores have changed, the impact we are making whether for good or bad, many years from now."

Read complete page...

Wednesday Words - Prayer, Desire, and Faith

On Sunday, January 8, I will begin a new teaching series at Valley Christian Church called All Kinds of Prayer. The title of the series comes from Ephesians 6:8, "...pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests." You can see an overview of the whole series here.

Each week we'll be looking at at a different facet or theme of prayer. As we do, we will take note of principles, people, and practices that can help us pray along that particular theme. The first week, we'll be considering prayers of humility.

A simple and humble prayer that I have grown to appreciate is one by Thomas Merton. It weaves humility, prayer, and desire into a beautiful expression of faith.

My Lord God
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following
your will does not mean
that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that my desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope that I have that desire
in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything
apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this
you will lead me by the right road
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always
though I may seem to be lost
and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear,
for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me
to face my perils alone.

- Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

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Tuesday Tome - A Year with Hafiz

One of the books I'll be reading very slowly through 2012 is a new collection of poems by the the fourteenth century Persian poet, Hafiz Shirazi. The collection, a gift from my good friend Jordan Peacock, is called A Year with Hafiz (Penguin Books) and contains a poem for each day of the year.

The poems are newly "translated" by Daniel Ladinsky, though rendering may be a better word than translation. Medieval Sufi poetry is difficult to translate because of the many-layered ambiguities and meanings bound up in the original language. To put it mildly, Ladinsky's Hafiz poems are not so much scholarly translations as they are dynamic reinterpretations.

Before reading the book, I decided to do a little research online to see what others think of Ladinsky's work. He has some great fans, but he also has some scathing critics. Some of the criticisms, I must confess, did resonate with things I saw in the book's preface and introduction, namely his egotism coupled with an inflated sense of his personal relationship with the "spirit of Hafiz." I guess I'll give the book an honest try and see how it goes. If I find Ladinsky too hard to take, I'll look for something else, perhaps 50 Poems of Hfiz (Cambridge University Press). If anyone has suggestions for other good Hafiz translations/renderings, I'd love to hear about them.

Some of you may wonder what it is that makes me interested in ancient Sufi poetry. Well, I'd have to say it all started with the poetry of Rumi who wrote a century earlier than Hafiz. I first discovered Rumi's poetry through the radio program, On Being. I find the mysticism and devotion of ancient Sufi poets to be very compelling in and of itself, but their spiritual insights and their appreciation of Jesus certainly grabs my attention as well. Take, for example, the first poem in the Ladinsky collection:

Listen to this Music
I am a hole in a flute that the Christ's breath
moves through--listen to this music.
I am the concert from the movement of every
creature singing in myriad chords.
And every dancer, their foot I know and lift.
And every brush and hand, well, that is me
too, who caresses any canvas or cheek.
How did I become all these things, and beyond
all things?
It was my destiny, as it is yours. My poems are
about our glorious journey.
We are a hole in a flute, a moment in space, that
the Christ's body can move through and sway
all forms--in an exquisite dance--as the wind in
a forest.

Monday Music - Stoplight Kisses

I've been posting a lot about The Cactus Blossoms in recent weeks, but it's only because they've been getting so much good press. Just last week they were mentioned in the StarTribune's Twin Cities Critics Tally 2011: Songs, live acts, 'signs of life.' The song, Stoplight Kisses, was in the critics' list of "Favorite Songs of 2011."

If you take a look at all the individual ballots, you'll see that KFAI's Cyn Collins (host of "Spin with Cyn") included The Cactus Blossoms in her list of best albums of 2011. Farmington correspondent, Jim Meyer, also put The Cactus Blossoms in his list of best albums of 2011.

Jessica J. Paxton, of KYMN Radio in Northfield, listed The Cactus Blossoms as #3 on her ranked lineup of best albums of 2011. She also placed, Stoplight Kisses in the #1 slot on her list of best songs for 2011. Freelance writer and City Pages contributor, Peter Scholtes, included The Cactus Blossoms on his list of best live acts.



Click Here to buy the CD.

Sunday Supplication - New Year's Day

Eternal Father, you gave your incarnate Son, Jesus, to be our salvation. Place within our hearts, we pray, the love of him who is the Savior of the world.

Thank you for the forgiveness and renewal you have given to us through Christ Jesus. Help us to extend forgiveness to each other and help us grow into a redemptive and healing community. Help us to have a redemptive and healing impact on the world around us.

O God, in this new year, help us to find our lives in you. Give us faith that makes us able to commit all things to you. Give us hearts to love your will and to serve your purposes. Shape and strengthen us to follow Jesus wherever he leads. Whether by life or death, may Christ be exalted in us. Help us to press on to take hold of all you have in mind for our lives.

We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen.