Jeff's Reflections

Tahoe Fun

Patti and I got back late last night (with baby Cecilia, now 7 months) from an amazing long weekend at the Granlibakken Hotel/Resort at Lake Tahoe. Years ago a group of Christian singles decided to do something fun and soul-refreshing over the 4th weekend at Tahoe, and it's turned into a big, volunteer-driven event that is both deep and a blast. This is the 3rd time I've been invited to lead worship and get crazy with 80s music as well as some originals. They invited Patti to come this time, too and asked us to be a "mentor couple"--they loved Patti (no suprise) with her wisdom and humor. The baby did great over-all--nap times and early bed times made things interesting, and although everyone wanted to hold her, she was mama/daddy clingy...but, she's so stinkin' cute, that made up for it.
There were over 100 of us there. These are impressive, bright, and successful people, and it was great to listen, learn, and encourage. And seriously, doing little parts of 80s songs makes 'em go wild. That was a definite highlight! If any of you are reading this, God bless, seek PEACE, and let us know how you're doing.

I head for TX this coming weekend, to be a wedding of a great friend, Bill McBrine. Good times.

Good times at the Glen

I've gotten to spend some time w/ some of my favorite authors lately---Mark Buchanan, author of Your God is Too Safe, and Kenny Luck, author of the newly released FIght.  One of the definite highlights of my job at Glen Eyrie is getting to know people I think alot of.  I still can't believe I have a personal thank-you note from Anne Graham Lotz! 

We just had about 40 students from 15 countries all over the world--Egypt, Cambodia, South Africa, Kenya, Brazil, etc--come to the Glen to be with us for a month.  I'm going to love spending some time with them. 

If you haven't been to the Glen, you need to.  Come for an "Innovo (to be made new in Greek)" personal spiritual retreat.  Come for a bed and breakfast.  Just come!

STILL WAITING--a new song w/ a book release

A new friend and author, Steve Smith, asked me a few months ago to write a song to go along w/ a book he wrote (it was just made available to the public) called The Lazarus Life.  After wrestling with how to approach the song, I recently finished "Still Waiting", and debuted it at a book signing party at the Glen on Sunday.  The song is primarily from Lazarus' perspective---the friend of Jesus who didn't hear from his Lord and friend when he got sick, and ended up dying.  Jesus hadn't forgotten him, but it must have been a very challenging thing for him.  I tried to get inside those feelings with the song.

I was able to record a demo w/ a great artist/producing here in the Springs, Michael Rossback.  Michael plays bass w/ Paul Baloche on the road, was in the Desparation Band from New Life, and is a great guy all around.  I will soon have the song up on my site.  It's already up on www.pottersinn.com for purchase.  Cook Publishing, the company working w/ the book, wants to include the song on a cd that will be a tool w/ a workbook that will go along with the book.  I'm excited about this. 

Pray for God to use the song to bless.  I'll keep you posted on what happens.

A Great Lenten Prayer

It's Holy Week for the Western Christian churches--Protestants and Catholics--so Lent is wrapping up for most people I know For Eastern Orthodoxy, Lent this year is just beginning, and Easter, or "Pascha" is April 27--the Eastern church observes a different way of determining when Easter is than the West...I can't tell you what it is...something like "when the moon is in the 7th house, and Jupiter aligns with Mars"...not really, but it is something with the moon, and after Passover...
Wherever you sit right now, my family has been working through this wonderful prayer during Lent, and I wanted to share it. It's good for any time of year, but especially beautiful as we are journey through the life-giving desert of Lent, awaiting and preparing for the awakening of Easter. Try praying it!

"O Lord and Master of my life,
take from me the spirit of laziness,
faint-heartedness, lust for power,
and idle talk.

But give rather the spirit of chastity,
humility, patience, and love
to your servant.

Yea, O Lord and King!
Grant me to see my own errors
and not to judge my brother,
for you are blessed
unto ages of ages. Amen.

--Prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian

If you're beginning Holy Week--go to church as much as you can this week! If you're just beginning Lent with Orthodoxy, enjoy the journey.

Peace!

Anne Graham Lotz of fun

Anne, daughter of famous Rev. Billy G, is shooting a bible study video at the Glen this week, and I'm the point guy for her and her entourage. My job has given me some amazing opportunities to connect with really incredible people. To say that I feel like I kind of know Mark Buchanan, Kenny Luck, Margaret Becker, Ross Parsley (I'm getting to be friends with Jared Anderson as well--I love "Amazed" and other songs he's written)...and I'll be spending some good time with Henry and Richard Blackaby in a few weeks...and Louie Giglio is going to be at the Glen in April as well... all this has been pretty cool, to say the least.

But then I think about the guys at the Nashville Rescue Mission that I got to be friends with when we lived there...names and faces that not many people knew about, or really cared about. But each of them had a story, a heart, a soul, a value that is enormous.

Fame is fleeting. Humility is hugely important. I've been glad to see that, from my limited perspective, most of the "famous" people I have met are pursueing humility. But the more you're known and sought out, the more dangerous it can get.

May God help us all to seek Him, to be grateful for whatever platforms He allows us to have, but to jump donw off of them regularly and quickly...or at least fall to our knees while we are on them.

Lame-o Man is back

Where did I go? Why did it take so long to get back here? I'm not sure...but here I am again! Uh, just to update from many moons ago last blog, we live in Colorado Springs now--I work at Glen Eyrie Conference Center (check out the webpage) --as programs coordinator and resident worship leader. It's good stuff. More later.
AND, we have a new daughter, Cecilia Mikael, born Dec 3, 2007. She's great! Patti continues to be a great mom and wife. Benjamin is 6 and Genevieve is 4, and we're thanking God for a good life and family. I'm still leading worship alot--around this town quite a bit, and some travelling, too.

So, I'm going to get on this thing, and stop being Lame-o Man on the blog front.
Until next time (that's SOON next time)...

Good times at Woodmen Valley

I led worship this past weekend at a neat church here in the Springs--Woodmen Valley Chapel.  They have 2 services Sat pm and 2 Sunday a.m., at 2 campuses.  I led at one with a worship band.  It was a wild technological experience--they link up both sites and go back and forth throughout the service--some songs I led, at both sites-- live or via-satellite, and I support-led other songs when the worship leader from the OTHER site led some at both campuses...and both bands played along for all the songs!  It was pretty crazy but they do it all the time and it works!

At the Glen I usually lead worship by myself, so it was fun to work with a great team of musicians...and I was glad to have the chance to lead at a neat church in town. 

Benefit Concert for Joel Menzel

Last week I had an amazing few days in Austin, TX at Concordia University.  I led a worship concert/cd release party for a dear friend, Joel Menzel.  Joel was a student at Concordia, and a friend to my whole family when we lived in Ft. Worth.  He was a budding worship leader and songwriter, and we spent alot of time together with music and ministry.  He was killed in a car accident last spring at the age of 19--a horrible loss for all of us.  Joel had begun recording a c.d., and a team of us finally pulled it all together and the concert last Wednesday was the 1st time they were available for sale. 

It was a moving, worshipful, amazing, and tough night.  I loved spending time with great musicians and people from Concordia, and getting to see excellent people from St. Paul Lutheran again who came for the night.  We sang a number of Joel's songs--a definite highlight for me.  I'm so thankful his parents, Win and Kathy, asked me to put it together and be a part of it.  And I can't wait to worship with Joel in heaven!

The c.d.s are being sold for $10 and all the proceeds go to scholarship students who want to go into full-time ministry.  A great cause!  If you want to order 1, or 20, contact the Menzel's at JOEL'S CD . 

Back to Guatemala

Patti and I had an amazing trip to Guatemala in mid-March. We led the Spiritual Emphasis Week at the school we taught at in the 1st year of our marriage, the Inter-American School of Xela. It was Patti's 1st time back since we left in 2001--the 4th graders she had taught are now 10th graders, so it was great for her to see them again.
We lead chapels for K-12 graders, then some of us went on a 3 day retreat with the 6-12 graders. It was like camp---we led meeting times with music, games, skits, and God-talks, and we all had students in our rooms. I loved hanging out with a group of 11th grade musical and fun guys in my room. We had prayed alot, because these kids had heard it all about God, and most were pretty numb and indifferent to their understanding of God. It's a good challenge to just try to be faithful to love them well, speak the truth, and trust God to bear fruit. We did see some neat breakthroughs--some kids opened up, and we got to hear and see that God is definitely at work.
Just being back in Guatemala was a great blessing--the wild beauty, the sites and sounds and smells, Lake Atitlan, the colors in the blankets and clothes...We loved it! And we got to spend 2 days at our favorite orphanage, which had moved to an amazing cliff over-seeing Lake Atitlan--incredible view. But the best view was the over 70 kids we got to hold and hug and play with. Patti and I feel that it's inevitable that we will adopt from there, some day.
It was great spending the trip with the Davis family from Ft. Worth and the Roses--our friends that taught with us there back in 2000-01. We hope to go back some day soon, and eventually take Ben and Genna with us. Pray for Guatemala, and seek chances to serve--in and out of the country.

Demas in new braunfels, TX

I got back last night from an incredible weekend of leading worship for the South Regional Young Life conference at T Bar M Ranch. 300+ mostly college leaders w/ some great families and older committee members gathered to get re-charged and encouraged. The days and nights were magical--cool spring sunshine, hilarious walk-in skits typical of Young Life, passionate, all-out worship, stunning reminders in the messages... Steve Chesney from TN started out Friday night introducing us to Demas--a guy mentioned 3 times in the New Testament. We know very little about him from Scripture, but what do know is that he went from being mentioned as a solid, walking believer to, the 2nd time, just being mentioned by name--no "he's really doing well" from Paul--to, the 3rd time, where we're told that the pull of the world lured him away from walking in Christ.
And aren't we all Demas candidates? It's so easy to be pulled away by the things of this world. Without even realizing it, we find, when we look around, that our raft is suddenly far from the Father's shore. That's one of the reasons I'm thankful for Lent--a season of remembering the sacrifice, of engaging in the battle to subdue the flesh in worship, prayer, and fasting (maybe you've never really done that, but Patti and I are finding it to be wonderfully difficult, convicting and cleansing).
I'm so thankful that I got to be at the retreat, reconnect w/ great YL friends, be washed over by the worship singing, and engage w/ some great new brothers and sisters. And meeting Tito and Terri on the plane -- both believers that opened up and bonded w/ me--was awesome.
I'm back in the groove at Glen Eyrie, and so glad to be with Patti and the kids again.
Come and see us, and check out the Glen's website for all the great conferences you can come to!