I and Love and You

It's been a while since I've done any music reviewing, so this blog is going to be on a recent love of mine, I and Love and You by The Avett Brothers.

I will confess, I know very little about the band, just having come across the album that released last summer, but I'm looking forward to procuring some of their older albums.

I must say that this album tickles my country bone - a feat not easily done. While I would not classify the group in that particular genre, the lyrics and bass rhythms produce a feeling of sitting in a rocking chair with a glass of lemonade on a back porch. I think the track "January Wedding" best illustrates this.

While the album does have that country undertone, there are some blatantly pop/rock vibes as well. My favorite track so far, "Kick Drum Heart" is a testament to that with its lively beats, catchy chorus, and screamed lines. The last two minutes of "The Perfect Space" is similar.

And I can't not talk about the lyrics. My favorite lines so far are the sort of philosophical statement, "Ain't it like most people, I'm no different, we love to talk on things we don't know about," from "Ten Thousand Words" and (me being all girly here) "She's talking to me with her voice down so low I barely hear her, but I know what she's saying. I understand because my heart and hers are the same," in "January Wedding." My heart just melts!

This album also demonstrates some plain, pure, and purdy instrumental (and vocal for that matter) melodies. I do love the piano's presence and the smooth violin parts. They contrast and yet fit with the rock/country rhythms. All in all, I've listened to the album a dozen times, and I keep discovering new reasons to love it.

Summer

I know its technically not summer yet, but in Mississippi, it might as well be, so here is what that means to me.

Summertime means curly hair and ponytails.

Summertime means trips to the lake and lounging in friends' pools.

Summertime means waking up and putting on shorts and a t-shirt and knowing it will be acceptable attire for anywhere I want to go that day.

Summertime also means breezy, cotton sun dresses.

Summertime means soaking sun in the back yard with a good book.

Summertime means waking up from the sun streaming in my window, not an intrusive alarm.

Summertime means some new addiction (i. e. book, author, band, TV series, genre, etc...) and ample free time to indulge.

Summertime means late-night card games with my grandmother.

Summertime means cool evening runs at the park.

Summertime means randomness with my cousins.

But most importantly, summertime means time for me to take a step back, breathe, and enjoy my life.
SDG

Why I Study Theology

The more I learn about the nature of God, the nature of man, and Christ's work in my life, the more wretched I see that I am. This all at the same time makes me see how undeserving I am, humbles me, and gives me unspeakable joy.
SDG

Tuesday: A Summary

Hello blog world.

It's nearing my bed time, so this shall be a shortened version of my day:

RC Sproul is hilarious when writing about predestination, especially when using analogies such as "Gerstner is to Calvinism as Einstein is to physics...."

Coffee is a delicious beverage best enjoyed with a Bible.

Good friends are beacons of light in times when everything is seen dimly.

Loving your family is a heart-wrenching act at times.

Mind-bending movies make life more interesting.

Music that brings chill bumps is the best de-stresser.

Also, it's lovely outside, so I think I shall sleep with the windows open.
SDG

Uncertainty

When will I know
All this waiting and wishing weighting down on me
Wandering and wondering
So tired of being tired
All of the what if's and maybe's

Maybe it's around the corner
And everything's gonna be alright
What if this new morning
Is the end to so many long dark nights
Hoping against all hope hope's not what I'm loosing
Trusting in my choice that trust is what I'm choosing

Years of order
Bending, giving way to chaos and sense of loss
Freely charged on initial cost
Life in aimless direction
Where do I go from here

I'll go just around the corner
Then everything will be alright
And this new morning
Has to be the end to all the long dark nights
Knowing that all the no's from that one lofty voice
Being less than the cost of yes that won't always still the noise

Where is our focus?

America seems to perpetuate certain values. These values center around hard work, family, and financial security. While, these of themselves are respectable things to strive for, we must never loose their perspective in relation to Christ.

A lot of what I've been reading lately has triggered this post, mostly from some revelations in my own life. I'm currently job-seeking and finding myself anxious and worried. This worry doesn't stem from any fears for myself, but from what I feel some of my family expects from me.

I don't want to disappoint my family, but if God calls me to a career that means I'll have to work harder to make paychecks last, so be it! I will risk the respect of my family to follow my Lord.

So, to return to my main point, I realized my family is trying to hold me to the values set by our country, values that do not necessarily coincide with what kind of life Christians are called to live.

Hard work is good - God ordained 6 days of the week for it (Ex. 20:9)! But only when it is done to glorify God by exercising and putting to use the talents God has blessed us with (1 Cor. 12:4-7), not when done to perpetuate selfish desires of wealth.

Honoring family is good - it is commanded of us (Ex. 20:12)! However, we should not value it over service to the Lord (Luke 14:26).

Financial security is good - God says He will provide for us all we need (Matt. 6:25ff), but that "[I]t is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God," (Matt. 19:24).

When these things fall out of line, they pose the danger of becoming our life's focus, instead of the cross. We should make certain that we keep our priorities in check. Earthly things are not meant to satisfy our eternal longings, and no one should influence us otherwise.
SDG

Home... for now

I've finally gotten everything out of my apartment in Starkville and to their respective places in Tupelo.

I've been rearranging, redecorating, and reorganizing all day long, but it feels great now knowing exactly where everything is!

During all this, I had time for 2 mini art projects:

1. I cut up some old sheet music from an honor choir from community college. I think it looks really neat.

2. This next one is my favorite! They're movie ticket stubs I've collected over the years. Some are as old as from 2003!

Darlin', you are the only exception

Thinking about future career decisions has got me thinking about other future things, mainly "future husband." As I contemplated this the other night, I put together a compilation of traits and qualities I'd like to think "future husband" will possess.

He will think I'm beautiful after washing off my make up and putting on my glasses
He will play the guitar and write and sing me songs
He will take me on adventures, big and especially small ones
He will learn exactly how I like my coffee and bring it to me in bed on occasion
He'll let me fall asleep in his arms
When I randomly burst into song, he'll sing right along with me
He will dance with me at any given moment

I don't know if this type of guy exists for me, but if not, God knows better what I'll need. I'm willing to throw this list away if the situation presents itself, but I don't seriously think that will happen. This list just feels right....

A Beautiful Monday

So, this is how I spend my first Monday as a college graduate:

1. Ate lunch at Cafe 212 (Turkey sammich on wheatberry - delicious)
2. Stopped in Ulta and got this liquid eyeliner and OPI nail polish in "Tickle my France-y" (Eyeliner is lovely! Haven't done my nails yet)
   
3. Went to the library. Checked out Tim Keller's The Reason for God and Spurgeon's The Power of Prayer in the Believer's Life
4. Got a sweetened iced green tea from Starbucks and sat in the sun reading The Reason for God:

A beautiful day!
SDG

A Paper for Judeo-Christian Ethics: A Brief History of the Sabbath and Its Practice Today

In the Old Testament, the Ten Commandments were given to God’s chosen people, Israel, after he delivered them from slavery in Egypt. They can be found in Exodus 20:1-17 and again in Deuteronomy 5:1-21. These commands were given as instruction of how God’s people should live and are applicable to the church today, who are revealed as God’s chosen people in the New Testament. For the most part, there is little disagreement within the church in applying such commands as “You shall not murder” (Ex. 20:13) or “You shall not steal” (Ex. 20:15), but what of the application of “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Ex. 20:80)? Some deny that this commandment is perpetually binding upon all men in all ages. In this paper, I will look at the fourth commandment’s establishment and examine how the church has responded to applying this command.

First, the history of this command in Scripture must be considered. It can be summarized in the answer to question 59 of The Westminster Shorter Catechism. “From the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, God appointed the seventh day of the week to be the weekly Sabbath; and the first day of the week ever since, to continue to the end of the world, which is the Christian sabbath.”

In the creation account in Genesis, God sets the seventh day apart from the others. “So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation,” (Gen. 2:3). It is with this explanation that the commandment is given to Moses:

Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy." (Ex. 20:8-11)

However, the command itself does not tell us that we must keep the last day of the week as Sabbath but that we must keep one day out of every week. In the New Testament, the Sabbath is seen as the first day of the week. This is where it becomes known as “The Lord’s Day,” since it was the day Christ rose from the dead. This practice of the early Christian Church was probably in response to men in the apostolic period who wanted to perpetuate Jewish religious customs.

An illustration of this new observance can be found in I Corinthians where Paul instructs the church on giving and says, “On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come,” (16:2). Another instance is found in Acts 20:7, which says, “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread….” Therefore, the New Testament does not show that the fourth commandment should be abolished since Jewish sabbaths are no longer a part of God’s ordinance, but Christians have the Lord’s Day as Sabbath.

With the history of observing the fourth commandment established, it should be clarified at this point that Scripture is singularly sufficient for supplying the knowledge needed in correctly observing the Sabbath. The Westminster Shorter Catechism states, “The Word of God which is contained in the Old and New Testaments is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.” II Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” Therefore, God has supplied in Scripture all the instruction necessary to understand and live out His law.

Now, Scripture can be used to determine how the church should apply the fourth commandment. One application of observing the Sabbath is found in Exodus 16 when God provides manna for His people in the wilderness. Verse 26 states God does not provide manna on the seventh day. So, in verse 22 God tells the Israelites to gather twice as much on the sixth day. God instructs his people in verse 23, “Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.” So, here is an instruction that in order for God’s people to observe “a day of solemn rest” they must prepare anything they need the day before, just as He has done with providing twice as much manna on the sixth day.

The New Testament presents other illustrations of correctly observing the fourth commandment. Jesus is rebuked many times by the Jews, and more specifically the Pharisees, for healing on the Sabbath. John 5 gives an account of some Jews who rebuke an invalid whom Jesus had healed, because the man had picked up his bed after Jesus told him to, which was considered unlawful for the Sabbath. “And this is why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, ‘My Father is working until now, and I am working,’” (John 5:16-17). Also in Matthew 12:5 Jesus says, “Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless?”

I believe an accurate explanation and application of the principles found in these passages can be seen in the answer to the question “How is the Sabbath to be sanctified?” in the Westminster Shorter Catechism. It says:

The Sabbath is to be sanctified by a holy resting all that day, even from such worldly employments and recreations as are lawful on other days; spending the whole time in public and private exercises of God’s worship, except so much as is to be taken up in the works of necessity and mercy.

To clarify further, the command itself says that no one is to do any work, even servants and animals. However, we also see that there are exceptions in Jesus’ own healings on the Sabbath. It can be concluded that acts for worship and mercy are permitted. Jesus says that if His Father is working, Jesus will be working (John 5:17), which I believe could be interpreted as an act of worship. This is also an explanation as to why the priests who work in the temple on the Sabbath (Matt 12:9) remain guiltless.

It can be demonstrated through a few denominations’ confessions of faith how the Sabbath is practiced in the church today. The Westminster Confession of Faith, which is the confession of faith for the Presbyterian Church in America, says this about the Sabbath:

This Sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering of their common affairs before-hand, do not only observe [a] holy rest all the day from their own works, words, and thoughts about their worldly employments and recreations, but also are taken up, the whole time, in the public and private exercises of His worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy.

The Baptist Faith and Message provides another example, but with some inconsistencies. In its 1925 version, it states:

[The Sabbath] commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should be employed in exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private, and by refraining from worldly amusements, and resting from secular employments, works of necessity and mercy only excepted.

This differs little from the Westminster Confession of Faith. However, in the 2000 version, the specification of what a person should refrain from and what a person should engage in is replaced with, “Activities on the Lord's Day should be commensurate with the Christian's conscience under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.”

In conclusion, basic principles can be seen in Scripture as to how the fourth commandment to “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” should be observed. I believe that the principles presented are consistent with what is laid out in the Westminster Shorter Catechism, which is resting from worldly employments and recreations to worship with the exceptions of acts of mercy and necessity. It appears that these principles have transcended into application in parts of the church but may not be in others, since “the Christian’s conscience” does not seem to encompass any guidelines laid out in Scripture for observing the Sabbath.

Works Cited
“Comparison of 1925, 1963 and 2000 Baptist Faith and Message.” SBC.net
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version
“The Westminster Confession of Faith.” PCAnet.org
The Westminster Confession of Faith: For Study Classes by Williamson