Jon Foreman

Is the lead singer from Switchfoot, who recently started releasing solo EP's based on the seasons...thus far he has Fall, Winter, and Spring. His vocal quality has really improved over the past years, and his solo stuff is really mellow and acoustic and delicious. Here's a sample of some of his lyrics...

"She said, "Friend,
All along-
Thought I was learning how to take
How to bend not how to break
How to live not how to cry
But really
I've been learning how to die
I've been learning how to die"
-Learning How to Die

"Oh, I guess they'll say I've grown
I know more than I wanted to know
I've said more than I wanted to say

I'm heading home
Yeah, but I'm not so sure
That home is a place
You can still get to by train ."
-Southbound Train

"Heavenly Father
You always amaze me
Let your kingdom come
In my world and in my life
You give me the food I need
To live through the day
And forgive me as I forgive
The people that wronged me
Lead me far from temptation
Deliver me from the evil one

I look out the window
The birds are composing
Not a note is out of tune
Or out of place
I look at the meadow
And stare at the flowers
Better dressed than any girl
On her wedding day."
-Your Love is Strong

job-searching

stinks.

no really.

Coming of Age on Antidepressants

I stumbled across this article today in NYTimes.com. It raises some very interesting questions about the recent phenomenon of people being medicated (here, specifically for depression) since childhood and early adolescence. This is certainly something that requires redress, particularly if these people are medicated during crucial periods of development. How are we to gain a sure sense of identity if we have always been chemically enhanced? And what role does Christ play in this? This article is secular (naturally), but seeing as this very well could be a counseling issue, it is worth considering. It also forces us to consider the role of medication in our lives--do we view them as panaceas, cures, saviors? Tools, steps, helpers? Is this balanced within the Christian worldview? Are we identifying more with our psychological (medical, physical &c.) state than with Christ? Don't misunderstand me--I am not opposed to psychopharmacology. What I am opposed to is seeing it as the only way to "get better," "feel better," or "beat____". This leaves no room for Christ or dependence or trust in Him. Medication is merited if there is no way to progress or grow in our relationship with Him without medical intervention. I see it as a sometimes necessary tool during psychological trial, not as the cure-all that secular psychologists and drug developers set them forth as. Those of you who know me well know that I do not say this in ignorance of the very real impact of mental illness on daily life, so I apologize if this sounds insensitive.

Psalm 49 and Understanding

another encouraging bit of Scripture from class, courtesy of Dr. Powlison.

"Hear this, all peoples!
Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
both low and high,
rich and poor together!
My mouth shall speak wisdom;
the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
I will incline my ear to a proverb;
I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre.

Why should I fear in times of trouble,
when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,
those who trust in their wealth
and boast of the abundance of their riches?
Truly no man can ransom another,
or give to God the price of his life,
for the ransom of their life is costly
and can never suffice,
that he should live on forever
and never see the pit.

For he sees that even the wise die;
the fool and the stupid alike must perish
and leave their wealth to others.
Their graves are their homes forever,
their dwelling places to all generations,
though they called lands by their own names.
Man in his pomp will not remain;
he is like the beasts that perish.

This is the path of those who have foolish confidence;
yet after them people approve of their boasts. Selah
Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
death shall be their shepherd,
and the upright shall rule over them in the morning.
Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell.
But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
for he will receive me. Selah

Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,
when the glory of his house increases.
For when he dies he will carry nothing away;
his glory will not go down after him.
For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed
—and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—
his soul will go to the generation of his fathers,
who will never again see light.
Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish."

Former Days

For my English Bible Class (for those of us who failed the exam), I am forced to skim the entire Bible over the course of the semester. Normally you hear me whine and complain about the assigned work, but today, as I was reading Ecclesiastes, I ran across a passage that seemed both poignant and encouraging, particularly considering the events at Westminster during the past few days and weeks.

"Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.
Say not, "Why were the former days better than these?" for it is not from wisdom that you ask this.
Wisdom is good with an inheritance, an advantage to those who see the sun.
For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.
Consider the work of God:
who can make straight what He has made crooked?"

-Ecclesiastes 7.8-13

We should all be finding out hope, encouragement, support and identity in the One who is unchanging and unchangeable. Even if a thing seems to be reflecting His character at a time, it too suffers from the fallibility and sinfulness of man.