from glory to glory
This summer Steve and I have the keen privilege of helping out in our church's kids ministry, Kidstuff. I'm helping to teach the girls in Solid Rock, and one of my favorite people of all time, Becca Schooler, is in this group. Becca is a freckled-face sprite, whose social graces at age 7 rival girls in their college years. I have seen her hostess a community group single-handedly on more than one occasion, taking coats and serving guacamole all in one fell swoop of her able hands. I have often envisioned her and our own Syd walking down the aisle. No pressure on the Schoolers or anything.
We are playing a bible trivia game, the lesson centering on wisdom. The question is "What did God give King Solomon besides wisdom?" Becca is on my team and more animated than the whole Von Trapp family. She pulls on my arm, her blue eyes open wide, inquisitive. "Oh! I know!" Her voice lowers to a whisper. " ...Ladies?" she says to me.
I can't answer her because I'm laughing too hard. I tell her yeah, King Solomon had ladies but I didn't believe they came from God. "Oh," she says somewhat discreetly.
I love being around these little girls in our church. I love worshipping with the kids in Kidstuff, praying over their hearts. Last week as we sang and clapped our hands, I noticed one little girl dancing alone behind everyone. I mean really dancing for Jesus. What would happen, I wonder, if we were as uninhibited upstairs in our worship as they are downstairs in Kidstuff? Crazy Jesus times...
This week I took a road trip with Syd and Ben to Dallas, and the song Turkish Delight became the song to listen to over and over in the car for some reason. And it reminded me of a story from Passion...
I'm at the Atlanta airport getting ready to fly home. I'm with a friend who was also there doing intercession, and as I buy some gaudy souveniers for Syd and Ben in the gift shop, I explain to her what will happen next. "Every time I fly out from Passion, I see David Crowder at the airport. I don't talk to him, I just see him and pray blessing over him. I'm sure we'll see him momentarily." My friend is looking at me and wondering if I hear from God or am just sleep deprived. Truthfully, my claim has less to do with the supernatural and more to do with the fact that David Crowder lives nearby so it's a good chance we'll be flying out of the same gates.
As we approach my gate, I point him out, (as if he needs pointing out) sitting there in the middle of it with his squirrel band buddies. "Don't talk to him," I say to her, because she's like that, but she is already looking down the corridor at an interesting guy. She is single, I'd like to add here. He approaches and I leave to talk to some other people. When I come back she is sitting with him. This guy is from Atlanta and on his way to London, holding a Spin magazine and looking every part the Londoner.
He is wondering about all these people flooding the airport in Passion t-shirts. He is flying out on the same flight, so I sit down with this him and my friend, and we start telling him all about our time in Atlanta and what we do in intercession. I tell him, "See that guy behind you with the wild hair? He was one of the worship leaders." He turns and looks and gives a nod of approval. David pretends not to notice us, being a discreet kind of guy. Unlike us.
"Do you want to hear some of his music?" I ask, pulling out my iPod. He listens to Turkish Delight and begins to smile. "Funky." He turns and takes another look at Crowder. I turn and look at him too. Still being discreet. I smile at this young man but in my mind I am in intercession overdrive, begging God to spark something in this young man, because His fire is in the air. I see the smallest glimmer in his eye when we talk about prayer and I pray he sees the realness of God in our conversation. I tell him about HTB, a church in London and then tell him about another worship leader, Tim Hughes, who is at that church and who also was at Passion. I tell him about Alpha, a course in Christianity at HTB. I'm praying something I say in 5 minutes will hit a mark with him. He geniunely seems interested.
Soon I'm sitting on the back of the plane with some college guys who were at Passion, and they are talking about David Crowder. "Maybe he'll just put on a spacesuit and jump out a window if our plane gets delayed," they wonder. I see the guy going to London get on, and he looks again at David Crowder who is up ahead, reading Kurt Vonnegut. Our eyes meet and I smile, still praying for him. I see him again when we de-plane and his eyes show questions and I know God has sparked something there.
I can't listen to Turkish Delight without thinking about this guy and I pray he finds himself in front of Holy Trinity Brompton and propelled inside. Or in a record shop with a row of David Crowder cds staring at him.
In airports, in a high school opera room with dancing children, God is there. If we keep our eyes open we won't miss the things He's doing. And that is quite a pretty lot.
The day is brighter here with You
The night is lighter than is You would lead me to believe
Which leads me to believe
You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
And I am Yours
What does that make me?
My eyes are small but they have seen
the beauty of enormous things
which leads me to believe
there's life enough to see
You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
and I am Yours
From glory to glory
You are glorious
You are glorious
From glory to gory
You are glorious
from Everything Glorious, David Crowder Band
We are playing a bible trivia game, the lesson centering on wisdom. The question is "What did God give King Solomon besides wisdom?" Becca is on my team and more animated than the whole Von Trapp family. She pulls on my arm, her blue eyes open wide, inquisitive. "Oh! I know!" Her voice lowers to a whisper. " ...Ladies?" she says to me.
I can't answer her because I'm laughing too hard. I tell her yeah, King Solomon had ladies but I didn't believe they came from God. "Oh," she says somewhat discreetly.
I love being around these little girls in our church. I love worshipping with the kids in Kidstuff, praying over their hearts. Last week as we sang and clapped our hands, I noticed one little girl dancing alone behind everyone. I mean really dancing for Jesus. What would happen, I wonder, if we were as uninhibited upstairs in our worship as they are downstairs in Kidstuff? Crazy Jesus times...
This week I took a road trip with Syd and Ben to Dallas, and the song Turkish Delight became the song to listen to over and over in the car for some reason. And it reminded me of a story from Passion...
I'm at the Atlanta airport getting ready to fly home. I'm with a friend who was also there doing intercession, and as I buy some gaudy souveniers for Syd and Ben in the gift shop, I explain to her what will happen next. "Every time I fly out from Passion, I see David Crowder at the airport. I don't talk to him, I just see him and pray blessing over him. I'm sure we'll see him momentarily." My friend is looking at me and wondering if I hear from God or am just sleep deprived. Truthfully, my claim has less to do with the supernatural and more to do with the fact that David Crowder lives nearby so it's a good chance we'll be flying out of the same gates.
As we approach my gate, I point him out, (as if he needs pointing out) sitting there in the middle of it with his squirrel band buddies. "Don't talk to him," I say to her, because she's like that, but she is already looking down the corridor at an interesting guy. She is single, I'd like to add here. He approaches and I leave to talk to some other people. When I come back she is sitting with him. This guy is from Atlanta and on his way to London, holding a Spin magazine and looking every part the Londoner.
He is wondering about all these people flooding the airport in Passion t-shirts. He is flying out on the same flight, so I sit down with this him and my friend, and we start telling him all about our time in Atlanta and what we do in intercession. I tell him, "See that guy behind you with the wild hair? He was one of the worship leaders." He turns and looks and gives a nod of approval. David pretends not to notice us, being a discreet kind of guy. Unlike us.
"Do you want to hear some of his music?" I ask, pulling out my iPod. He listens to Turkish Delight and begins to smile. "Funky." He turns and takes another look at Crowder. I turn and look at him too. Still being discreet. I smile at this young man but in my mind I am in intercession overdrive, begging God to spark something in this young man, because His fire is in the air. I see the smallest glimmer in his eye when we talk about prayer and I pray he sees the realness of God in our conversation. I tell him about HTB, a church in London and then tell him about another worship leader, Tim Hughes, who is at that church and who also was at Passion. I tell him about Alpha, a course in Christianity at HTB. I'm praying something I say in 5 minutes will hit a mark with him. He geniunely seems interested.
Soon I'm sitting on the back of the plane with some college guys who were at Passion, and they are talking about David Crowder. "Maybe he'll just put on a spacesuit and jump out a window if our plane gets delayed," they wonder. I see the guy going to London get on, and he looks again at David Crowder who is up ahead, reading Kurt Vonnegut. Our eyes meet and I smile, still praying for him. I see him again when we de-plane and his eyes show questions and I know God has sparked something there.
I can't listen to Turkish Delight without thinking about this guy and I pray he finds himself in front of Holy Trinity Brompton and propelled inside. Or in a record shop with a row of David Crowder cds staring at him.
In airports, in a high school opera room with dancing children, God is there. If we keep our eyes open we won't miss the things He's doing. And that is quite a pretty lot.
The day is brighter here with You
The night is lighter than is You would lead me to believe
Which leads me to believe
You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
And I am Yours
What does that make me?
My eyes are small but they have seen
the beauty of enormous things
which leads me to believe
there's life enough to see
You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
and I am Yours
From glory to glory
You are glorious
You are glorious
From glory to gory
You are glorious
from Everything Glorious, David Crowder Band