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| Two weeks ago Brad and I went to a Josh Garrels concert at the Varsity Theater over near the University. We have loved this artist for a few years but being Portland-based and a "family man", he doesn't tour this part of the country often and has never come through Minneapolis.But he did this time... |
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| The concert was exactly what I had hoped -- Garrels talked in-between songs as if he were sitting with you in a living room somewhere -- letting you in on how he uses his song-writing to process life, process experiences -- moving into the performance seamlessly and back to talking. To me, it felt like the way my soul wants church to be. I felt exhorted, reminded of what is true, encouraged and so thankful for a person who makes music and uses words in ways I cannot but hunger to express. It wasn't a perfect concert and it felt too short (the Varsity closes early on Sunday nights so there was an enforced "curfew"), but it was exactly what I needed and wanted and hoped for that night.Josh Garrels is my favorite living poet and God uses this man's art to feed my soul. |
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| There were probably two dozen people we knew there that night, but we were happy to go get some pizza with the Bergets afterwards. Liz talked Brad into trying this crazy Philly Steak Pizza. It really was exactly that -- a Philly Steak Sandwich in the form of a pizza. |
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| Look at those faces...Oh, Brad, you cutie. And one last one for my dad -- Because I think he would like this one the best:
And if you are still reading, it's because you are my family or a close friend or really bored (-: So here are the lyrics to "Farther Along" and another of my favorites: "SISU".
Farther Along
Farther along we’ll know all about it Farther along we’ll understand why Cheer up my brothers, live in the sunshine We’ll understand this, all by and by Tempted and tried, I wondered why The good man died, the bad man thrives And Jesus cries because he loves em’ both We’re all cast-aways in need of ropes Hangin’ on by the last threads of our hope In a house of mirrors full of smoke Confusing illusions I’ve seen Where did I go wrong, I sang along To every chorus of the song That the devil wrote like a piper at the gates Leading mice and men down to their fates But some will courageously escape The seductive voice with a heart of faith While walkin’ that line back home So much more to life than we’ve been told It’s full of beauty that will unfold And shine like you struck gold my wayward son That deadweight burden weighs a ton Go down into the river and let it run And wash away all the things you’ve done Forgiveness alright Chorus Still I get hard pressed on every side Between the rock and a compromise Like the truth and pack of lies fightin’ for my soul And I’ve got no place left go Cause I got changed by what I’ve been shown More glory than the world has known Keeps me ramblin’ on Skipping like a calf loosed from its stall I’m free to love once and for all And even when I fall I’ll get back up For the joy that overflows my cup Heaven filled me with more than enough Broke down my levee and my bluff Let the flood wash me And one day when the sky rolls back on us Some rejoice and the others fuss Cause every knee must bow and tongue confess That the son of god is forever blessed His is the kingdom, we’re the guests So put your voice up to the test Sing Lord, come soon
SISU (means "stubborn guts" in the Finnish language)
By the word and command, mortal man can stand, son of man is the manna manifest
In the flesh and the blood, and the bones and the rocks, in the valley of the dead The dry bones are gonna walk and talk To the rhythm of the saints y’all, to the rhythm of the saints And I paint it red to remember the dead, who layed down their lives for the truth And the seed that is buried takes root, and this ignorant world will have proof I remember the sins of my youth, the path and the madness of unrestrained pleasure The heavier trip it made the heavier debter In the deepest of dark without a wing or a feather, The spiral closed in like a cage, like a cage A maze that’s amazing for days turns to rage if the page it refuses to turn And the hopeless will hope the book burns When the lesson it returns, but the lesson is still unlearned See I yearn to discern if a life can be earned or is given as a gift to the dead I read and I bled and I fed to the full my soul on the sickest of sickness Seeking the light of a saviors witness, a way that one day that I might forget this But slave master wont permit this Cause I’m a hooker I’m his mistress And when I look for freedom he puts more chains on me Strangles my hope so that I live like a zombie What masters house can this be, that when I look for freedom he still deceives me If there’s a God I screamed, “Answer me!” I didn’t expect an answer to be received, He said You must die, to be set free, living in the kingdom of God eternally Open up my eyes so that I can see, and die with a cry revolutionary Every man and woman is a witness, and we will never forget this Truth Undiluted, undisputed, never to be substituted, or uprooted, fully suited for the war It’s a modernization of a timeless metaphor, and By the boomerang we bring the beats back more What for man, do we work exterior to core, or begin it in the spirit of the Lord Now you could pull the chord, but the people still sing it acapella Marching to the beat I hear their feet are in the cellar Fear not the world cannot stop what must begin within you and me A fire wind, holy hymn, beautiful diadem, hidden within positively pure prism refraction Every colors broken down, harmonize with my eyes spectrum In the end bleeding into the One, to the source, to the beautiful father of light All the pressure and pain, produces perseverance It’s purged by the flames, without interference Produces a hope, In the glory of God My God I am your son, and I know that you will finish the work that you’ve begun Homespun, grassroots, spontaneously suits the purpose, and we don’t deserve this Life He said You must die to be set free, living in the kingdom of God eternally Open up my eyes so that I can see, and die with a cry revolutionary Every man and woman is a witness, and we will never forget this Truth |
1 comment:
"And if you are still reading this." Bahahha. Such a lovely concert, and we have you guys to thank for introducing us to him!
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