Seattle & Vancouver: Travels End

The last leg of our album release tour was spent out in the far northwestern lands of Seattle and Vancouver. It worked out that we were able to spend time with our family over Thanksgiving weekend in Seattle, and then proceed on up to Langley and Vancouver, BC for a few Christmas concerts and an intimate show on Granville Island (Thanks, Mike Wipf!). It was a joy to meet up with my good friend Trace Bundy and his wife Becca, as Trace and I shared the stage together each night of our northwestern tour. We endearingly call these short tours together "The Gunbarrels Tours" (Bundy + Garrels = Gunbarrels, see). Our last show together was at one of the most beautiful venues that I've ever had the privilege to play, The Triple Door in downtown Seattle. It was the perfect ending not only to our northwest tour, but to the months of traveling around the country that have collectively made up my album release tour for "Jacaranda" . That night, shared with so many friends and family at the Triple Door, will live on in my memory as one of the highlights of my musical career. Thanks to all of you who came out.

Playing at "The Spirit Of Christmas" festival in Langley, BC. Photo by Mike Rathjen

Sharing the stage with Trace at "Spirit of Christmas".

A quick snapshot before we travel on to Vancouver. From left to right: Becca Bundy, Michelle Garrels, Heron Garrels, Josh Garrels, Trace Bundy.

Trace and I scoping out the venue before our soundcheck.

Performing at "The Backstage Lounge" in Vancouver.

Photo by Michelle Garrels

Gorilla in the mist of Granville Island. Michelle calls this one "Urban Warrior", but I think it looks like I'm on a movie set...it was a surreal evening.

The show flier for our show at "The Triple Door". Designed by Trace Bundy and David Salinas.

Taking the stage at Triple Door.

As an encore on our final night, Trace and I performed "O Come O Come Emmanuel".

Merry Christmas everyone!

Pennsylvania Tour

A big thanks to all who hosted us and came out to the shows in Philadelphia, Lancaster, and Gratham, Pennsylvania! This rather short leg of our "northeast" tour was exciting, grueling, but really meaningful! We look forward to coming up to the Northeast again, but next time, we'll head all the way up to New Jersey and New York. Anyone up in Boston and Maine want to help me book a show? May as well go all the way, aye? Here are some photo highlights from the Pennsylvania tour.

Downing a cup of coffee while listening to opener Katie Becker at Senorita Burrita in Lancaster, PA.

An "up close and personal" set at Senorita Burrita.

We stayed in an old row home for a few nights in Philadelphia. Two of the guys living there were welders/artists who transformed the home, inside and out, with old scrap metal and extra bike parts. It felt like we were staying in the lost boys' tree house. It was rad.

Spending some time with our friends Jay Beck of "Psalters", and Aimee Wilson of "Porchfront Factorye" at the market in Philadelphia.

A thank you note drawn by Stephanie Beach during our show at Circle of Hope.

Art For Sale.

My sister and brother-in-law, Gala and Zack Bent, have just posted a body of work available for purchase on Etsy.com. All the drawings from my latest album "Jacaranda" were done by my sister Gala, and currently both Zack and Gala work as full time visual artists in Seattle, Washington. Their work is beautiful and rich, and I'd love for more people to get acquainted with them. Feel free to visit their store here , and get some of your Christmas shopping taken care of. You can even get your piece framed and delivered to your doorstep, all at the click of a mouse!

Drawing and Watercolor by Gala Bent

Photography by Zack Bent

www.zackandgalabent.com

Full Length Video of Jedidiah Florida Tour

Video by Russell Brownley

Florida/Jedidiah Tour

Me, my wife Michelle, and our daughter Heron just got back from a wild ten day tour in Florida!  We started in Flagler Beach at the Tommy Tant Memorial Surf Contest and then worked our way all the way down to the Florida Keys. We linked up with the Jedidiah crew and did shows in various surf shops linking visual art with music, activism, and surfing.  It was rad.  Here's some video and photos highlighting the trip.

Video by Russell Brownley.

The Tommy Tant Surf Contest at Flagler Beach, FL.

Performing with Braddigan at Flagler Beach.

Performing at Compound Surf Shop in Sarasota.

Mike Doyle and Cheyne Cottrell teamed up with us in Ft. Lauderdale.

 My ladies, Michelle and Heron, enjoying another evening with good friends.

Performing at Eikon in Ft. Lauderdale.

Russell Brownley filming a car interview while on the road.

Heron meets Sushi.

Playing on the Miami bay at Key Biscane.

Partick Maxcy painting wild octopi during my set in St. Augustine.

Kahana Kalama: surfer, tour manager, grill master.  Outdoor show at The Surf Station in St. Augustine.

Performing at The Goods Surf Shop in Melbourne.

Thanks for the shirt Buddy!

Video by Matt Katsolis 

Studio Under Way!

Between tour dates I've been pecking away at building my new recording studio at our current home base in North Carolina. After drywalling, mudding, sanding, and putting on two layers of the wrong colored paint (it always looks different once it's on the wall, doesn't it!), I'm now ready to finish the music room and begin work on my next music project. I've got a lot of song ideas brewing, lyrics being scrawled in journals, new collaborators to work with, and I'm looking forward to seeing how these new songs take shape. Currently though, it feels good to just work with my hands and learn some basic construction skills.

Album Reviews

A good writer/reviewer can shed light with words in ways that others cannot.  Most of us grope for meaningful ways to explain ourselves and the world around us. More often than ever these days I'm coming to terms with my own inability to describe and "name" thing well.  And the default has been to keep my mouth shut.  Words are tricky.  

I'm honored that two really gifted writers have written meaningful reviews of "Jacaranda".  They're more objective than me, the creator, and have described the sounds in such an adept and discerning way.  Thanks guys. 

*Jon Scott's review for Stereo Subversion 

*Andy Whitman's review for Razing The Bar 

Time: Luxuriating in the Supremely Gutful Lassitude.

A few years back my wife Michelle picked up a complete stranger whom she had mistaken for someone else.  He was a homeless veteran with a hook for a hand, who'd just been released from prison a few day before after serving a multiple year sentence.  They sat down to a bottle of Coke and had a pleasant conversation.  In his mid-40's he'd gotten his degree while in prison, and at some point during those long lonely stretches of time in his cell, a change had taken place in his soul.  He allowed every hard knock, injustice, and failure to become fuel for a holy fire within.  He had become become a servant of the Lord, therefore a servant of mankind, and would dedicate himself to redeeming the homeless population of Indianapolis.  He became a close friend and partner to our family, and went on to get his masters degree while founding several homeless shelters within the city.  

Last week he sent me a quote that really spoke to me concerning time, and how it can be our slave-master or our workhorse.  He told me he would meditate on this phrase while in prison, a place where one is incapable of "doing" anything to change their circumstance, yet, strangely enough, this powerlessness can set the stage for the greatest change to take place within.

"He did not still feel weak, he was merely luxuriating in that supremely gutful lassitude of

convalescence in which time, hurry, doing, did not exist, the accumulating seconds and minutes

and hours to which in its well state the body is slave to both waking and sleeping, now reversed

and time now the lip-server and mendicant to the body’s pleasure instead of the body thrall to

time’s headlong course."  --William Faulkner

What'd He Say?

Over the years I've had so many people write me, and ask where they can find the lyrics to the various songs that I've written.  With the age of digital downloads and album burning, it seems that those who value reading along and understanding the words they're listening to, have been left mystified and befuddled trying to figure out, "what'd he say?".  So, for the sake of those who want to read the actual poetry of each song, I've posted ALL the lyrics to my last two albums; "Over Oceans" and "Jacaranda", right here on my blog.  Thanks for your requests and interest concerning these words...

Jacaranda : Album Lyrics

Lake Yarina

Instrumental

Don’t Wait For Me

Please don’t wait for me

I lost my way again

I lost my job, I walked away

From the life that I was leading with my friends

When I was young I dreamed

Of a life that had freedom that had joy

Oh life it crushed my soul

With its cruel demands and fool’s gold

Please don’t wait for me

I lost my way again

I lost my house and my good name

When I found the road of my king

When I was young I dreamed

Of a life that had beauty that had joy

But now I lost my life

For the one I dreamt of as a boy

Please don’t wait for me

I ain’t coming back again

I cannot turn around

From the place I’m going to where I’ve been

Season of Rain

Praise the Lord, when it’s all gone wrong

Everything fades but our love shines on

Praise the Lord, when your hope is gone

Everything fades but our love shines on

Like waves on the ocean singing old songs

Like waves on the ocean breaking beyond

So faint the impatient can’t hear

The sound of the one without years

The culmination of every child’s tears

Form tide breaking on the eternal lands

Time stands still

In the moment when we are healed

I questioned if this was real

But then I opened up my heart and I could feel

The feather of a bird in the wind

Fire in the brush if we only

Speak when we must

A hush of heart will become a good treausure

Kept in a place without systems of measure

But as real as an undying love

We will discern what comes from above

Compared to that which could never be sustained

The season of rain will bring labor pain

But its end will be the most wonderful

Joy, Oh Lord

Praise the Lord when it’s all gone wrong

Everything fades but our love shines on

Praise the Lord when your hope is gone

Everything fades but our love shines on

Like waves on the ocean singing old songs

Like waves on the ocean breaking beyond

 

Rabbit & The Bear

Run, run so fast

Over fields and grass

At last, at last

We escaped from the trap

With the rabbit and the bear

And the sparrows of the air

Come one, come all

The hunter is gone

And this is our chance

To crawl under the wire

Through the darkest wood

On up to the mountain of fire

Where everything is free

 In the light of the sun

Where every creature sings

Oh Lord, you rescued us all

Don’t listen to the snake

For he lies and he takes

Your hope, your faith

Away from you

But when the lion comes around

With his claw and his crown

Follow, follow

His every move

Centipede

Instrumental

 

Zion & Babylon

Oh great mammon of form and function

Careless consumerist consumption

Dangerous dysfunction

Described as expensive taste

I’m a people disgraced

By what I claim I need

And what I want to waste

I take no account for nothing

If it’s not mine

It’s a misappropriation of funds

Protect my ninety percent with my guns

Whose side am I on?

Well who’s winning?

My kingdom’s built with the blood of slaves

Orphans, widows, and homeless graves

I sold their souls just to build my private mansion

Some people say that my time is coming

Kingdom come is the justice running

Down, down, down on me

I’m a poor child, I’m a lost son

I refuse to give my love to anyone,

Fight for the truth,

Or help the weaker ones

Because I love my Babylon

I am a slave, I was never free

I betrayed you for blood money

Oh I bought the world, all is vanity

Oh my Lord I’m your enemy

Come to me, and find your life

Children sing, Zion’s in sight

I said don’t trade your name for a serial number

Priceless lives were born from under graves

Where I found you

Say, my name ain’t yours and yours is not mine

Mine is the Lord, and yours is my child

That’s how it’s always been

Time to make a change

Leave your home

Give to the poor all that you own

Lose your life, so that you could find it

First will be last when the true world comes

Livin’ like a humble fool to overcome

The upside-down wisdom

Of a dying world

Zion’s not built with hands

And in this place God will dwell with man

Sick be healed and cripples stand

Sing Allelu

My kingdom’s built with the blood of my son

Selfless sacrifice for everyone

Faith, hope, love, and harmony

I said let this world know me by your love

By your love

Oh my child, daughters and sons

I made you in love to overcome

Free as a bird, my flowers in the sun

On your way to Mount Zion

All you slaves, be set free

Come on out child and come on home to me

We will dance, we will rejoice

If you can hear me then follow my voice

Never Have I Found

I walked under the blood red moon

At night when wolves gather ‘round

And I’ve spent some time with the Devil

But never have I found

Another one like you

Oh Lord

Jesus

And I’ve tasted too many temptations

And I’ve been chased by a demon hound

Lord I just can’t be satisfied

Because never have I found

Another one like you

Oh Lord

And your love

Jesus

 

Rejoice and Lament

Learn this lesson well, my friend

There’s a time to rejoice and lament

Every season will find an end

All will fade and be made new again

Standing on the rocks of the railroad tracks

Feet calloused, eyes open, sun beats on my back

As I gaze upon the unseen winds

And they are wandering, whispering

Wisdom that’s eternal

From the heart to the mind

To the hand to the journal

Now the kernel of the seeds in the cleft of the rock

And it’s watered by the winds

Having power to unlock and

Stop the clock of chronological logic

With its homogenized systems

That are dead and can’t dodge it

Being deaf to the voice of the Almighty One

Spirit illumines the dark like a fire

Revealing the way that was hidden but is higher

Now we must travel on the wings

That will never grow tired

Of searching the mysteries of God

I said Father the feathers of my wax wings

Fall away by the rising of the sun

And I have descended when I was undone

And I will ascend when your Spirit comes

Because what’s been done and overcome

Cannot be stopped by the power of any human

Like the number of sand we will stand

And we will fall, all

In the face of an eternal call

But those who call on His name

In the midst of the pain

In the guilt and the shame

And the world full of blame

And all the bloody stains

From the unjust gains

I learned all men suffer the same

Because we’re wayward sons

And all our jokes betray

Our foolish hearts and our selfish ways

But if we would turn to the Father’s grace

We would never be the same

This is an unseen land of a devastated soul

That’s prepared in contemplative silence

For the mighty working hand of an unseen Lord

To come restore this land from its violence

I said walk another mile

Stare across the fields of grain

This is how the prophets train

Learn this lesson well my friend

There’s a time to rejoice and lament

Every season will find an end

All will fade and be made new again

 

Words Remain

Heaven and the earth will pass away

But your words all remain

And my hands are growing old

And weary with pain

Still I fold them to pray

To the one unchanged

Yesterday and today

Oh YHWH

I will try to stay awake

Take my last breath of faith

As I wait for you to come

Take me beyond

This land undone

Over the flood

By your word, spirit, and blood

It was prophesied long ago

Every word set in stone

Not one will pass away

Or walk alone

All that I own does not compare

To the love that we share

Please remember me

When the hour arrives

And you must decide

If you’ll wait for me to come

Take you beyond

This land undone

Over the flood

By my word, spirit, and blood

 

Jacaranda Tree

Sitting on porches

Since Friday while the sky

Tilts like a watery glass

We wait for downpours

A drenching joy

A carnival sky

But what I don’t say

What I can’t say

Is that with this joy

Comes a mourning

Something left behind

Blue lined, teary

Mingled

I move on

All things will change

We wait for the rain

And the promise remains

Live life fully

Peeking through fingers

Slung in our hammocks

Cocooned

Skimming the water

Trapezed above time

We glide like slingshot angels

Belly up and

Floating we see

The promise in the sky

Up to Orion’s ribs

We climb this tree

And listen

For our pulse

All things will change

We wait for the rain

And the promise remains

I flung loosely

Into that world

I stayed heavily

I’ll be a Jacaranda Tree

In Indiana

I say

Greenhoused and sung to

I pray light will

Leak from out pockets

We’ll be drenched, overcome

At night the fireflies

Streamers at our sides

Silent flaming arcs of hope

All things will change

We wait for the rain

And the promise remains

 

*Words By Michelle Garrels

 

Little Blue

Who is like my child

Who’s so lovely and wild?

Oh, my little bird

By the river I have heard

My lover calls

In fall and spring

She says

Keep your eyes on heron’s wings

She’s coming soon

Let’s dance and sing

For the joy a new life brings

Strong and graceful, too

Like your mother

In red and blue

Love I never knew

Filled my heart

When I held you

My lover calls

In fall and spring

She says

Keep your eyes on heron’s wings

She’s coming soon

Let’s dance and sing

For the joy that her life brings

 

Blessed is He

You will not see me again

Until you can say

Blessed is He

Who comes in the name of the Lord

Yeshua

Amen

 

Desert Father

When we were young

We walked where we wanted to

Life was ours

And now we’re old

We go where we’re told

The Lord’s Spirit calls

He’s singing

Follow my road to sorrow and joy

Be intertwined

And find

All things are under my wings

And rise

Given time

Oh my

Brother sun, sister moon

All children of light

Fly around the world

Let the glory be unfurled

All things are made new

We’re marching on

To a spirit song

That no man can cage

In lands of dead wood

That reject the good

From our old Father’s hands

But we run free

And weep gracefully

In a world

Dark and cold

Hold on

All you

Who wait by the blue shores

For Him

To part the water

Desert Father

Show us a new way

The impossible dream

Through the deep and the unseen

Carry us home

 

The Original Spacefan

You left on a Saturday

In her hands you passed away

On seashores we laughed and played

Only months ago

And I know you tried so hard

To heal the space between our hearts

And now your work is done

For your daughters and sons

Swing low to the ground

For we have lost our father’s crown

Hallowed was the night

When the veil was torn

And your spirit took flight

From the world

We gathered the sticks and leaves

To set aflame our memories

Your family gathered around

To lay your ashes down

Sing treetops and clap your hands

For the grace in this sorrowful plan

That night when one candle remained

We whispered your name

Swing low to the ground

For we have lost our father’s crown

Hallowed was the night

When the veil was torn

And your spirit took flight

From the world

 

Embarkation

Instrumental

Over Oceans: Album Lyrics

Fire By Night

We are one, every daughter and son

With our forgotten names

We left home on the open road

To find the holy flame

We are the children of a sun king

Hold onto my hand this mysterious evening

It’ll meet us like a dream

 

Call all our names and we’ll be found

Walking were we heard the sound, on down

Tomorrow mountain we will climb

Tonight the stars and fire shine

In our eyes

In the wood

We’re alive

 

Cloud by day, and the fire of night

We will never look back

Young and old with a sojourner soul

Illuminate the path

Follow were the moon does shine

Through the leaves of trees above

Wild life, holy night

The ocean is singing of

The earth trembles with his love

 

Over Oceans

I remember when all the trees knew your name

Flames from fire flies would light our way

Have I lost all that which I never knew I had found

Searching for you on the wings

 

On oceans to you

All my time comes to you

How long has it been

Flying home again

 

Will we be the same as we were once before

Remember like children the stories of old

Your hand was in mine be the firelight when we danced

Mighty wind will carry me

 

 

On oceans to you

All my time comes to you

How long has it been

Flying home again

And I’ll be there too

And I’ll be there soon

 

Decision

Brother come on open up you eyes

Quit believing all those lies

That the devils been telling you

Sister I know that it happened again

But girl you that you’ve got a friend

I’ve been there too

Brother you can take of that mask you wear

Quit acting like you don’t care

About the things that are killing you

Sister don’t go that way no more

You’ve been down that road before

I’m in love with you

Everyone says that it’s alright

Living in darkness every night

But I think it’s time, Lord it’s time

I’m ready to give up all my sin

But I don’t know where to begin

But I think it’s time to find out

And make that change

I’ve been lonely too

Many days pass by, what’s done is done

I give up my life

I’ve been running through the night

Towards the light, of the sun

Now I’m free

Bring a little love for me

Sweet love of mine

It’s the morning of a new day

I thank you Lord for everything

That you’ve done

In me

I will meet you there

In the end of time

Come together as one

 

SISU

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

My Child

Hear a voice echo soft

From a place where one was lost

I believe, but my hands let go.

The darkest night, with tears I dream

Of a childless mothers scream

I believe, oh my Lord I do.

 

Where is my child?

 

Will a man find a home

If he walks the world alone

Searching for a promise land.

Another day, walk and wait

For this choice to end in fate

Searching for life among the dead.

 

Once I held you near, and words were clear

My hands rested upon your heart.

Now by night and flame I call your name

My love, when will an answer be found?

 

Where is my child?

 

Break Bread

Let us break bread together on our knees

Let us break bread together on our knees

When I fall on my knees, with my face to the rising sun

Oh Lord, have mercy on me.

 

Let us drink wine together on our knees

Let us drink wine together on our knees

When I fall on my knees, with my face to the rising sun

Oh Lord, have mercy on me.

 

Let us praise God together on our knees

Let us praise God together on out knees

When I fall on my knees, with my face to the rising sun

Oh Lord, have mercy on me.

 

Sweet River Roll

Sweet river roll over me

Let my body find peace and let my mind be free

Oh my soul sings to Thee

 

The wild man he just killed my religion

He cut it to the bone like a needed incision

The cancerous growth of formulaic precision

That blocks the life-blood in rebellious collision

Cold constructs robbing faith from decision

But where’s your rubric for the man that was risen

He is my vision, he is my vision, be Thou my vision

When the tables have turned, and I’ve lost money, and temples are burned

By His scares we will learn about truth

In the depths of our souls that are marred by the tooth of a beast

Underneath so many deceased, sold out suckers traded life to be yeast

Just to get a piece or a status increase

Find grace and have peace when you eat the Lords feast

And you eat, of His flesh, and His blood

It’s coming quick and strong as the mightiest flood

Yet my mind still gets stuck in the mud

Bottom feeding on the trash like a catfish, brats wish on all of that which

Is established to sit ill in hearts and in our souls, sweet river roll

 

Sweet river roll over me

Let my body find peace and let my mind be free

Oh my soul sings to Thee

 

It’s like the water in the valley, submerged totally

Yet all the children rally around the safety of their shallow beliefs

Let’s swim against the current out and into the deep

But first I pray the Lord for my soul to keep

That price payed was not cheap as I stand knee deep in His blood

We’re knee deep in his blood

See, I choose to refuse the regulated rhetoric of someone elses rehearsed ideals

In place of a real living commitment, Hell no

We put the rock in the water and it made cement

We put the water with the wheat and then we made it ferment

Shine light through the rain and a spectrum represent

We’re pumping water through the veins and the brains content

Went down to the river following providence

Old man under water gonna die when he repents

Old man under water gonna die when he repents

But there’s a new man coming up with the wings to ascend

The son of man walks on water because he’s heaven sent

I’ve these tears in my eyes as I cry with the joy and lament

 

Sweet river roll over me

Let my body find peace and let my mind be free

Oh my soul sings to Thee

 

 

Songbird

Sweet songbird singing in the morning hour

Waking me up to tell me how

Another day passes along

I love that simple song that reminds me

I’m getting closer to you

And every time thoughts tumble down

My mind is unwound

So much to say

Maybe on another day

When these words will come out right

A lesson in love is the hardest thing

You and I will ever learn

Because our hearts are so shy

And I think of you everyday

And in the night I pray

That you’re safe from harm

We’re walking on a thin string

But I know the Lords got the whole thing in his hands

We’re strangers in this land

But together could make our way home

Make our way home

Sarnwen

 

The fire passed me by

The earthquakes shaking the mountain

And I let em’ go

When love had left me dry

Your quiet voice broke through

To water my soul now

Oh sweet thing, she’s coming round my way

Oh sweet love, what else can I say

Today

 

Good Friday

Broken wing, forgotten dream, shattered thing

That a mans hands can’t ever truly mend

Shadow land, desert sand, a man searches

For a love that’ll never die

Truth be known, you’re not alone

Your aching bones will find a home

In place where God he sets us free

Wake me up before you go

I will listen for the sound of your voice

Hear the wind in the trees

It goes where it please

Like the breath in me

And all who have breath can sing

 

When we layed your body down

In earth and in the ground

Oh child, rest your soul.

Will a hope be made good

When a word is understood

In the day, will we see you again?

 

Gather round, hear the sound

Of a story that’s so old that it’s been told

Before time

He was born in the flesh and the blood

In a world that was dark as hell, and dead in sin

Born of the spirit, and the virgin child

He’s the son of God, son of man

I didn’t recognize that look in his eyes

When they cried

With a sorrow that no man has ever known

Hang him high, watch him die, hear the cry

Crucified up on that God forsaken tree

And all who have breath can sing

 

When we layed your body down

In the earth and in the ground

Oh Lord, rest your bones

Will a hope be made good

If your words are understood

In the day, will we see you again

 

Oh Eloi, Eloi, lama sabacthani?

Oh my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Oh Eloi, Eloi, lama sabacthani?

Oh my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

 

YHWH

Holy, holy, holy is the lamb

Almighty, almighty, almighty is the Lord

 

It’s unlocked in his left are the keys to death and hell

And in his other palm are seven stars

Silently circling like seven seals and sounds and seven cycles

Seventy sets of seven are prophesied

Before the king comes from heaven

The earth will quake and men’s hearts will shake

When they hear the war drum

And I’m talking about creator of the mountains

I’m talking about the one who gave up his son

I’m singing about the one who died for everyone

And in his blood he’s giving us real freedom

Brought by one, bought by one son

Someone from the kingdom come

He was, and is, and is to come

Healing the deaf and dumb

His words cut the dark like a sharp weapon light

Wrong or right?

All mankind was blind and he came to give us sight

Wrong or right?

Tell me, what is it about the name of Jesus Christ

It makes men fight within

Against the sin, against the night, dark or light

Day and night

Polarized

This is not a grey matter choice

And don’t blame it on another mans voice

Because time keeps on slipping, into the future

I don’t lose you

You must make a decision soon

Be it life, or death

 

Holy, holy, holy, is the Lamb

That was slain, that was slain

Worthy is his name, worthy is his name

YHWH

He was, and is, and is to come

He was, and is, and is to come

 

Train Song

Shame on you, shame on me

Lord he took all our shame and pain, and set men free

And I’ve got that fire on the mountain

Fire in my soul

It’s been a long time coming, long time

And ready to go

I’m stepping out the door

Doing what feels right

Following my Lord, through the darkest night

And when the path gets narrow

I’ll follow him

And when the world comes down, around

I’ll follow him

He said, sing it on the mountain

Or in the valley low

He’s my God, and he never let me go

He said, sing it on the mountain

Or fight in valley low

Every mans going to see, and everyone will know

That peace runs deep in him

I said peace runs deep in him

Peace runs deep in him.

 

Creation Song

We can feel creation groan

It’s crying out for God

Every night when stars come out

I hear creations song

It sings, Oh Lord

We sing, Oh Lord

You are light and you are love

You are flesh and you are blood

Peace will come to those who love

Peace will come to those who love

Jehova

The Divine Madness

There is a beautiful reality that can make what's been mistaken as a predictable life, into one infinitely interesting and mysterious. This ancient truth is that we do not inhabit a closed box of time and space.  Meaning, contrary to the dominant, modern western worldview, there is in fact an unseen dimension/being that is found outside of our space and time. It lies beyond the looking glass, and beyond our ability to fully understand, exactly measure, or fit neatly into a framework of reason or limited perception.  We constantly here echoes from that place, calling us to listen, investigate, and to believe without material evidence.  To follow, we must unlearn the engrained belief, that all things can be made well by the human attempt to systematically dissect, categorize, and control.  We need the spiritual, the supernatural, and a the divine intervention of something greater than ourselves to break through, from within, and without.  Daily.  

Before Aristotle solidified the worship of human reason as the highest measure of exhistence , Morton Kelsey writes, "Plato believed that besides reason and sense experience, there was another way of knowing.  He called it, "Divine Madness" and differentiated four forms of it: prophecy, healing (cleansing), artistic madness, and the madness of love.  

"A version of the third form of "Divine Madness", artistic madness, is still practiced among Navaho medicine men.  The medicine man goes to the sick person and makes a sand painting representing harmony and wholeness.  The wholeness of the painting then influences the soul of the patient, takes control over it, and heals it.  The beautiful icons, paintings, and architecture of the Orthodox Eastern Church emerged from a similar way of thinking.  The Church in Orthodox thinking is the vestibule of heaven.  Upon entering the church, one comes into contact with the heavenly because of the artistic perfection."

"The fourth type of "Divine Madness" wast the greatest of all - the madness of love.  It is through love that we connect to what is deepest and most meaningful in our lives."

"Plato's "Divine Madness" has parallels in the New Testament.  Not only do we find prophecy and extra-sensory perception, but we also discover that healings account for 20 percent of Jesus' activity.  One of the reasons why modern Christians do not understand Jesus is that they think of Him as a university professor of ethics rather than a shaman." - Morton Kelsey, from his book "Dreams: A Way to Listen to God".  Drawing by Albrecht Durer.

Thus It Begins...

My old online writing cogs are getting oiled and prepared for motion.  The first step in starting the inertia is feeding it, watering the plant, in hopes that something with life and movement will grow.  I feel optimistic about this.