Run 'Til I Finish

Music, My Life, And My Future. (part 1)

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 23:20:17 -0500

Well, it is truly a rarity for me to be blogging, it’s not really my “thing”. Yet, somehow, I find myself compelled to express a few things that have been going on in my life recently…so here I am! I must warn you, nothing I write will be eloquent, it may not even be grammatically correct, but it will at the bare minimum be honest.

As most of you (whoever that may be) know, I am an avid fan of music. Honestly, it’s difficult to explain just how much this expressive art form actually means to me. Music has a way of soothing the soul and refreshing one’s spirit…Ironically, while it is definitely the chief vessel God uses to bring me closer to Him, It can at times become an idol, separating me from the purpose driven life God has in store. Naturally, I want to develop and become the “best” at my craft but at times that drive to become a great individual performer leads me away from wanting to become a great follower of Christ. I am at a crucial stage in my life, in January I begin studying Jazz at Georgia State University. I am extremely excited, it really is a dream come true! My only hope is that, as I progress as a musician and eventually enter into the “cutthroat” environment that is the music industry, I remember my roots and who I am. I guess what I am saying is, I don’t want to be yet another church-grown musician who eventually goes on and leaves. Phil Laeger puts it best when he sings: “Don’t Want the Music Without You.” This is not to say that I will never play in non-Christian ensembles, but rather I refuse to enter a secular world and not shine a Light in to it. I want to become the best musician I can, that’s why I practice, but it means very little if I can’t surrender it all to God, for His purposes, for His glory. I am in no way perfect, my walk with God is a work in progress…but that’s the goal! “Take all my dreams and bend them to Your will.”

It is with this mindset that God has really been speaking to me in recent months. I can literally, at times, feel God (through the Holy Spirit) stirring within me! Once again, music has been a crucial part of it… and with that, I shall move on to the next part of this blog….

I recently discovered that iTunes has been making “Celebrity Playlists.” Basically, each person (celebrity) compiles a playlist of some of their favorite songs and provides a brief explanation for each choice they make. This got me thinking (not that I’m a celebrity or anything), what songs would I choose to place on my personal playlist? So, in light of what’s been going on in my life recently, I shall make a playlist of some songs that have specifically spoken to me. I will also make another list of some of my all-time favorite songs (both religious and secular) for anyone who might be interested.

Sadly, I am exhausted…. so I will continue this blog in the next segment of “Music, My Life, and My Future.”

Stay tuned, thanks for reading

Chris H.

The Good and Beautiful GOD

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 22:48:03 -0400

As part of the follow-up/debriefing of our mission trips this summer, members of the SSC received one “deep, loving and transformative” book entitled “The Good and Beautiful GOD. It’s still early days, but if the first chapter of this book provides any indication of what’s to come then I am at least momentarily excited! Admittedly, I am not much of a reader (or writer for that matter) but so far this book has grasped my attention….props to the author(s).

Just a few bits from the opening pages:

“A lot of people want to change but many of them do not believe it is possible. After years of trying and failing, they lead a Christian life of quiet desperation, longing for change and yet certain it will never happen. So they sit in their pews each week, sighing silently, resigned to their fate….I have come to believe that the problem is not that we do not want to change, nor is the problem that we are not trying to change. The problem is that we are not training. We have never been taught a reliable pattern of transformation.” (and thus the book begins)

“Change occurs only because of the work of the Holy Spirit….We change not by mustering up willpower but by changing the way we think, which will also involve changing our actions and our social environment. We change indirectly, through the process of indirection.”

“But I have changed. I know who I am, and I know where I am. I am a person in whom Christ dwells, and I live in the kingdom of a God who loves me and is caring for me.”

To really get a proper feel for the book its obviously best read in context, in its entirety. Check it out!

That is all,

Chris H.

"Focus is not changing your behavior, but letting Jesus change your identity"

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 01:55:58 -0400

“Focus is not changing your behavior, but letting Jesus change your identity”

Photo

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 01:30:09 -0400