One Wild Life: Wolfen Wanders in Soul, Spirit, and Body

[Drake Alexander]

3 minutes ago, Wolfen said:

I found this excellent article by Lisa Gungor about modern Christian music.

 

Highlights:

 

"The way of Jesus is anything but safe, anything but comfortable; all of the insiders were called out, all of the outsiders called holy and blessed."

 

"I have found, sometimes when I try to cover the ache with something positive, it only does that, covers. But when I let my heart plunge into the place I am running from and face it, peace is found. My pain isn’t covered, it is seen and shared."

 

"I am a huge believer in sharing our pain because it is where I have felt the most profound moments of my life."

 

Some of her points about Christian music mirror arguments by Bono in this similar Huffington Post article calling for Christian music to be more honest. The article actually discusses a documentary about Bono's friendship with author Eugene Peterson. I'll post it below because it's relevant.

 

 

 

I have always had my reserves about Christian music. Maybe I'm what some may call a "legalist" but, I really love music that embodies and represents God as the Bible shows. I like types of music as a personal taste but, when music dedicated to praising, I feel it needs a harmony, message, and order. I'm a believer of orchestra, classical Christian music but, in the times we live, music is a delicate concept. If you are a Christian you know what is the specialty of the Enemy. So, when choosing music to praise the Lord, that's my position. There's a seminar given by a pastor called Karl Tsatalbasilis about Music in the Last Days. He goes into detail about how people praised in the Bible and what is the stance, according to the Bible, with types of praise to the Lord. One part is on YouTube if it interesses you.

 

Nice post.

 

[WolfDreamer]

54 minutes ago, Drake Alexander said:

Nice post.

 

Thank you. I will check out the video.

 

What I do know for certain is we will not know true and pure worship until the day we are reunited with Christ and we spend eternity praising God. For now, the best we can do is follow the two commandments of Jesus: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.

[Sciread77]

I was a major fan of contemporary Christian music and pop for years.  Unfortunately, way too many of the songs were simply ripped straight from regular rock and pop with new lyrics.  The more I learned about music, the more annoyed and betrayed I felt by that.  And then to add another layer of betrayal, many of those classic rock songs were ripped straight off of blues and jazz players, too.

 

I love when songs incorporate influences and tributes.  I even enjoy covers, when credit is given where credit is due and it's acknowledged as a cover.  But the outright ripping stole a bit of my innocence and ruined a lot of stuff for me.

 

For my part, I love little as much as I love Bach.

[WolfDreamer]

30 minutes ago, Sciread77 said:

For my part, I love little as much as I love Bach.

 

Do you know why Beethoven got rid of his chickens?

 

Spoiler

Because they wouldn't stop saying, "Bach, Bach, Bach, Bach..."

 

[annyshay]

I love you nerds. *hugs*

 

Serious discussion of contemporary Christian music and worship of God with ridiculous dad jokes. Perfection.

[WolfDreamer]

I'm sorry if I disappoint my usual followers, but I don't feel up to starting with a discussion of a Gungor song. I'd rather just write about my weekend.

 

It wasn't good.

 

Saturday was a long day, with both a twirl competition and a gymnastics meet. My daughters did really well in both, getting some first and some second place trophies. Arabella got a first place medal in her gymnastics meet. I stayed home most of the afternoon and cleaned house as an early Mother's Day gift for my wife. I also ended up eating a lot of oatmeal raisin cookies and leftover cake and stayed in the house most of the day watching The Defenders (which is great, but I'm not a binge-watcher, so this was very out-of-character for me). My wife and girls got home around 9:45 and Arabella wanted to sleep with my wife, so I took the couch.

 

Our troubles started Sunday morning. My wife and I had a disagreement that escalated to a full argument. Once that calmed down, we decided to go out to eat for Mother's Day. Cracker Barrel was crowded, so we settled on TGI Friday's. Arabella had a meltdown in the restaurant, saying it stunk and he hated it there. I finally calmed her down by walking her around to look at the cool things on the wall. Lunch was the Mediterranean shrimp naan sandwich. Once we got home, my 14 year old had an outburst that very much escalated to her screaming at my wife and me, telling us she hated us and hated it there. My wife had a panic attack and told me to just take her to my mothers. Halfway there, she texted me and said to bring her back home. My daughter screamed at me on the way, then calmed down but was still seething and refused to get out of my car when we got back. I finally coaxed her out, but then she sat on the porch, pouting. I went inside, ate more oatmeal raisin cookies, and flopped into the bed next to my wife, whose eyes were still wet and red from her panic attack. After a while, everyone calmed down and apologized to each other. I was supposed to work at the theater, but in light of her behavior I didn't want to leave my wife home alone with my daughter, so I called off (I hate doing that, btw).

 

Later in the evening, my daughter (the same who had the outburst) wanted to go to the cemetery and put flowers on my grandparents' grave for Mother's Day. As I was driving up the hill to the spot where they are buried, I could already feel tears close. I walked to the gravesite and the sight of my grandpa's name etched there just hit me, and I started weeping. I apologized to my daughter and walked back to the car. I couldn't do it. It hurt too much. Instead, I walked to the mausoleum where there is a life-sized wax sculpture of the Last Supper and just sat alone for a few minutes. Then I walked out and down the hill to a marble sculpture of Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane. I sat at the feet of the sculpture, imagining myself resting at the feet of Jesus, and I wept again but this time feeling my worries and anxieties just pouring out of me. When I finished crying I walked back to my daughter, who was laying on the ground next to their grave, and asked if she was ready to go. She was.

 

The rest of the evening went smoothly with more apologies and hugs. My wife ordered pizza, and I practiced a little more self-control and only had two breadsticks. Feeling a sudden burst of inspiration, I saw an image of a book I meant to read but never finished. I walked out to the shed and found a copy of The Search for Significance by Robert S. McGee and started reading.

 

Today is better because I say so.

[Drake Alexander]

50 minutes ago, Wolfen said:

I'm sorry if I disappoint my usual followers, but I don't feel up to starting with a discussion of a Gungor song. I'd rather just write about my weekend.

 

It wasn't good.

 

Saturday was a long day, with both a twirl competition and a gymnastics meet. My daughters did really well in both, getting some first and some second place trophies. Arabella got a first place medal in her gymnastics meet. I stayed home most of the afternoon and cleaned house as an early Mother's Day gift for my wife. I also ended up eating a lot of oatmeal raisin cookies and leftover cake and stayed in the house most of the day watching The Defenders (which is great, but I'm not a binge-watcher, so this was very out-of-character for me). My wife and girls got home around 9:45 and Arabella wanted to sleep with my wife, so I took the couch.

 

Our troubles started Sunday morning. My wife and I had a disagreement that escalated to a full argument. Once that calmed down, we decided to go out to eat for Mother's Day. Cracker Barrel was crowded, so we settled on TGI Friday's. Arabella had a meltdown in the restaurant, saying it stunk and he hated it there. I finally calmed her down by walking her around to look at the cool things on the wall. Lunch was the Mediterranean shrimp naan sandwich. Once we got home, my 14 year old had an outburst that very much escalated to her screaming at my wife and me, telling us she hated us and hated it there. My wife had a panic attack and told me to just take her to my mothers. Halfway there, she texted me and said to bring her back home. My daughter screamed at me on the way, then calmed down but was still seething and refused to get out of my car when we got back. I finally coaxed her out, but then she sat on the porch, pouting. I went inside, ate more oatmeal raisin cookies, and flopped into the bed next to my wife, whose eyes were still wet and red from her panic attack. After a while, everyone calmed down and apologized to each other. I was supposed to work at the theater, but in light of her behavior I didn't want to leave my wife home alone with my daughter, so I called off (I hate doing that, btw).

 

Later in the evening, my daughter (the same who had the outburst) wanted to go to the cemetery and put flowers on my grandparents' grave for Mother's Day. As I was driving up the hill to the spot where they are buried, I could already feel tears close. I walked to the gravesite and the sight of my grandpa's name etched there just hit me, and I started weeping. I apologized to my daughter and walked back to the car. I couldn't do it. It hurt too much. Instead, I walked to the mausoleum where there is a life-sized wax sculpture of the Last Supper and just sat alone for a few minutes. Then I walked out and down the hill to a marble sculpture of Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane. I sat at the feet of the sculpture, imagining myself resting at the feet of Jesus, and I wept again but this time feeling my worries and anxieties just pouring out of me. When I finished crying I walked back to my daughter, who was laying on the ground next to their grave, and asked if she was ready to go. She was.

 

The rest of the evening went smoothly with more apologies and hugs. My wife ordered pizza, and I practiced a little more self-control and only had two breadsticks. Feeling a sudden burst of inspiration, I saw an image of a book I meant to read but never finished. I walked out to the shed and found a copy of The Search for Significance by Robert S. McGee and started reading.

 

Today is better because I say so.

1

Strong weekend. As you now see, you became stronger and wiser from this. A family is a full-on workout! Mental, emotional and physical. Trying to stay grounded with the world on your shoulders is a feat on itself. Issues will pour down into your family no matter what you do. In those cases, we resolve and make amends to help during future events. Your daughters are growing up and maturing, you know is a normal step in life and them "bursting" saying they hate you or your wife is a phase. Keep that faith strong and those family ties healthy. In my church, a preacher said, about family: "as long as one person in the family keeps giving 100%, that family will survive. And God sees that and gives strength to that family to push forward no matter what happens."

 

#Isaiah40:29

[annyshay]

*hugs*

[Sciread77]

On 5/14/2018 at 9:45 AM, Wolfen said:

I'm sorry if I disappoint my usual followers, but I don't feel up to starting with a discussion of a Gungor song. I'd rather just write about my weekend.

 

It wasn't good.

 

Saturday was a long day, with both a twirl competition and a gymnastics meet. My daughters did really well in both, getting some first and some second place trophies. Arabella got a first place medal in her gymnastics meet. I stayed home most of the afternoon and cleaned house as an early Mother's Day gift for my wife. I also ended up eating a lot of oatmeal raisin cookies and leftover cake and stayed in the house most of the day watching The Defenders (which is great, but I'm not a binge-watcher, so this was very out-of-character for me). My wife and girls got home around 9:45 and Arabella wanted to sleep with my wife, so I took the couch.

 

Our troubles started Sunday morning. My wife and I had a disagreement that escalated to a full argument. Once that calmed down, we decided to go out to eat for Mother's Day. Cracker Barrel was crowded, so we settled on TGI Friday's. Arabella had a meltdown in the restaurant, saying it stunk and he hated it there. I finally calmed her down by walking her around to look at the cool things on the wall. Lunch was the Mediterranean shrimp naan sandwich. Once we got home, my 14 year old had an outburst that very much escalated to her screaming at my wife and me, telling us she hated us and hated it there. My wife had a panic attack and told me to just take her to my mothers. Halfway there, she texted me and said to bring her back home. My daughter screamed at me on the way, then calmed down but was still seething and refused to get out of my car when we got back. I finally coaxed her out, but then she sat on the porch, pouting. I went inside, ate more oatmeal raisin cookies, and flopped into the bed next to my wife, whose eyes were still wet and red from her panic attack. After a while, everyone calmed down and apologized to each other. I was supposed to work at the theater, but in light of her behavior I didn't want to leave my wife home alone with my daughter, so I called off (I hate doing that, btw).

 

Later in the evening, my daughter (the same who had the outburst) wanted to go to the cemetery and put flowers on my grandparents' grave for Mother's Day. As I was driving up the hill to the spot where they are buried, I could already feel tears close. I walked to the gravesite and the sight of my grandpa's name etched there just hit me, and I started weeping. I apologized to my daughter and walked back to the car. I couldn't do it. It hurt too much. Instead, I walked to the mausoleum where there is a life-sized wax sculpture of the Last Supper and just sat alone for a few minutes. Then I walked out and down the hill to a marble sculpture of Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane. I sat at the feet of the sculpture, imagining myself resting at the feet of Jesus, and I wept again but this time feeling my worries and anxieties just pouring out of me. When I finished crying I walked back to my daughter, who was laying on the ground next to their grave, and asked if she was ready to go. She was.

 

The rest of the evening went smoothly with more apologies and hugs. My wife ordered pizza, and I practiced a little more self-control and only had two breadsticks. Feeling a sudden burst of inspiration, I saw an image of a book I meant to read but never finished. I walked out to the shed and found a copy of The Search for Significance by Robert S. McGee and started reading.

 

Today is better because I say so.

 

I'm glad I'm not alone in having a rough weekend.  May you find the strength, courage, words, and actions necessary to overcome.

[WolfDreamer]

8 minutes ago, Sciread77 said:

May you find the strength, courage, words, and actions necessary to overcome.

 

Thank you. And you, as well. We should chat more, even if via PM if you want to talk about it. I enjoyed our "toxic masculinity" talk on @annyshay's thread.

[Sciread77]

Same here.

[annyshay]

1 hour ago, Wolfen said:

 

Thank you. And you, as well. We should chat more, even if via PM if you want to talk about it. I enjoyed our "toxic masculinity" talk on @annyshay's thread.

 

1 hour ago, Sciread77 said:

Same here.

Non-toxic men unite!!

[Sylvaa]

<--- solidarity with teenage girl drama. It sucks the life out of you.