Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Washington Life Christian Center
Sunday evening I went out with friends to worship at the Washington Life Christian Center. I love the way these people worship. They had a worship leader, a couple of backup singers and a small choir. Guitar, bass, drums, heavily amped, song lyrics projected onto a screen. The worshipers clap, and raise their hands. They move! In this church I feel completely free to pour my heart out before the Lord in worship.
The service was focused on empowering members of the congregation for ministry. Their model is that everyone will ultimately be part of ministry, and the church was 2/3 as full as it is on a Sunday morning, and over half of the people present went up to the front to be prayed over.
I haven't received any of the charismatic gifts, but I believe that they are valid, and appropriate for today. At the end we got together in small groups of 6 or 7 to pray. Folks were praying in tongues, but tt was astounding the passion of the prayers in English.
The service was focused on empowering members of the congregation for ministry. Their model is that everyone will ultimately be part of ministry, and the church was 2/3 as full as it is on a Sunday morning, and over half of the people present went up to the front to be prayed over.
I haven't received any of the charismatic gifts, but I believe that they are valid, and appropriate for today. At the end we got together in small groups of 6 or 7 to pray. Folks were praying in tongues, but tt was astounding the passion of the prayers in English.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Marie Miller
Friday Evening, 19 January, I went out with friends to hear Marie Miller perform at The Daily Grind Coffee House & Cafe, in Gainesville, VA (zip code 20156). Marie was accomanied by her father, and by the music teacher for Manassas High School on drums. They played two sets, starting with secular favorites, and then going to some of the songs that Marie wrote, and Christian songs. The acoustics in the coffee shop were remarkably good, they had high quality amps for their acoustic and electronic instruments.
Marie has a huge, perfect voice. It was like listening to a studio-produced album, her performance was so perfect. She's tall, and her makup was a little heavy, so we were asking, "how old is she? 24? 26?" She is only 17!! Just amazing.
Marie is good on the guitar, but she is astounding on the mandolin. They performed a variety of music. One was a song that Linda Ronstadt made popular, and Marie did sound a little like the young Ronstadt. They performed a couple of Celtic songs, and a couple of songs that had a distinct bluegrass influence.
Marie has a huge, perfect voice. It was like listening to a studio-produced album, her performance was so perfect. She's tall, and her makup was a little heavy, so we were asking, "how old is she? 24? 26?" She is only 17!! Just amazing.
Marie is good on the guitar, but she is astounding on the mandolin. They performed a variety of music. One was a song that Linda Ronstadt made popular, and Marie did sound a little like the young Ronstadt. They performed a couple of Celtic songs, and a couple of songs that had a distinct bluegrass influence.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Sleep
I've been getting about 6 and a half hours of sleep each night. I go to bed at 10:30 PM and get up at 5AM. I can tell that isn't enough, 'cause I run out of energy before I run out of hours in the day. I could easily go to bed right now. When my head hits the pillow, it takes less than five minutes for me to slide into slumber.
I've been having dreams. I wish I could remember them. I wake up in the dark, listening to the naughty cat scratching the carpet, hoping to get me to chase him downstairs to his food bowl, and I have a vague memory of shadowy men in a dark room with concrete walls, sitting around a dark wooden table. One says something portentous to another, and I just can't quite hear it.
My life is so sweet and placid. I almost miss the icy flash of fear coursing through my veins. Or anger. My life is so easy, all day, every day. And every now and then there is a thrill of pure joy.
But then there are these dark dreams.
I've been having dreams. I wish I could remember them. I wake up in the dark, listening to the naughty cat scratching the carpet, hoping to get me to chase him downstairs to his food bowl, and I have a vague memory of shadowy men in a dark room with concrete walls, sitting around a dark wooden table. One says something portentous to another, and I just can't quite hear it.
My life is so sweet and placid. I almost miss the icy flash of fear coursing through my veins. Or anger. My life is so easy, all day, every day. And every now and then there is a thrill of pure joy.
But then there are these dark dreams.
