Oldie but a goodie

This is an oldie but a goodie... I'm recording a few songs for my friends who have yet to hear me perform live.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxJl1WWYXEE

Sooooo looking forward to next Saturday. I'm going to give it all I have!

The Perfect Fit

Don't you just love when something just fits perfectly?

That perfect pair of denim, your favorite shirt, a best friend.

Last year, I was blessed with the opportunity to meet Rose. Now, some of you know her but for those of you who don't, Rose is my Gibson ES-335. The time came for me to upgrade guitars and I was set to buy another guitar online, when I stumbled across a Craigslist ad a couple days before, and the rest is history.

Those of you who don't care about guitars may have already stopped reading. That's ok. Maybe you thought, "It's just a guitar Justin." No, she isn't. Rose is the guitar of my dreams. The exact color, model and neck-type I always wanted (the same as pictured above) but never thought I'd own. One of those, "This isn't realistic, but it's nice to dream," kinda things. God blessed me with Rose (in nearly new condition), at a third of the price she would have been brand-new.

The first time I held her, it was a perfect fit. I only had to play a few riffs and chords to realize this was the guitar I'd been waiting for. She just fits.

I guess the long and drawn out (and geeked out) analogy I'm trying to get at here is that I believe in dreaming, having patience for, and finally receiving what you dream of.

Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart."

Matthew 6:33 says, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Rose may be a small and abstract example, but this blessing has given me faith to believe in God's promised blessings in things much more significant than a guitar. Never stop dreaming, or believing you can receive what your heart longs for, because God cares about the desires of your heart. Isn't that amazing? The God who created the universe, the God who constructed the DNA and matter that makes up this world cares about our seemingly silly dreams. Why should He care so much? Because He loves you and His love is without flaw and never fails. His love is always enough, it never comes up short. To plug my friend Jake Lee's latest blog entry, God's love and provisions are never "almost enough" for us and I am so grateful for that. He is so amazing.

Justin

This is a man filled with passion...

Yesterday, I took my electric guitar to get serviced and fine-tuned. Since I've never had any of my instruments serviced here in Idaho, I used a guy named John Cleary at the suggestion of a friend. I took my guitar over to John's house to drop it off to find a living room filled with guitars, amps, records, cd's and tapes. It was obvious after speaking to John only a few moments, music is his life and guitars are his passion. He knew seemingly everything there is to know about everything guitar.

When I went back today, John presented my guitar and had me plug in to give it a spin. It played better than it did when I first bought it, and felt incredible. He keep telling me what a "beautiful gui-tar" I had, and coming from John, that meant a lot.

I don't know about you, but when I meet someone passionate about something, I'm drawn to them. I wanted to share John's passion, the way he talked about guitars. I wanted to know what he knew. I wanted his wisdom.

After I got home, I wondered what my life would be like if I was as passionate about Jesus as John is about guitars. I wondered if I could be so passionate about Jesus that people would recognize that passion within moments of meeting me. John has spent his life reading books, and learning the ins and outs of the guitar. God gave us The Bible so we would do the same thing.

James 1:5-7

^"5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. ⁶But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."

God wants us to be wise. God wants us to know Him. Knowing someone, or something requires a deep understanding of that person or thing, in entirety. In the relationship we have with God as Christians, we need to know everything about Him. Not only does this help us achieve intimacy with God, it gives others a reason to be interested in God. If someone knew you were a Christian and you never bothered to talk about God, do you think that person would care to ask you about Him?

Justin