What I plan to spin on KR

Today I am reading "Whistling in the Dark: A Doubter's Dictionary" by Frederick Buechner.

Music Mix...:

Living in the Land of Palm Trees 3:26 Zehnder A Broken Train of Thought 4 MB
Big Brother 4:12 AD - SEG 4.9 MB
All the Lonely People 2:38 Aretha Franklin Best of Aretha Franklin 3.1 MB
Zombie 5:07 Cranberries Best Of 5.9 MB
African Skies 4:59 Barry Taylor Love Songs for Underdogs 5.8 MB
Track 08 3:45 Switch Foot 4.4 MB
High School 4:49 SuperChic[k] Last One Picked 5.6 MB
Track 02 3:38 Johnny Cash 4.2 MB
i lathair De (in God's Presence) 3:44 Marie Brennan Whisper to the Wild Water 4.3 MB
Track 01 3:52 Stained 4.5 MB
New York 5:30 U2 All that You Can't Leave Behind 6.4 MB
Track 08 3:37 Martin Luther King 4.2 MB
Track 07 5:13 Cross Movement 6 MB
Fatherless Child 5:44 Mystic Cuts for Love Scars for Freedom 6.6 MB
They All Fall Down 5:23 Grits 6.2 MB
Thick Skin 2:54 Daniel Amos Mr. Buechner's Dream 3.4 MB
Track 12 2:57 5 Blind Boys of Alabama Spirit of the Century 3.4 MB

Thanks...

One of the most precious gifts are friends who are faithful friends over the years.

R1-Thanks for sharing your heart with me this past Sat. ... You have an unusual strength you are able to find your own path and to do so with integrity. May your love with Sandy Girl continue to grow.

Willie & Gennel... Thank you for saying Thanks this Weekend. Many take the gifts of life for granted these days.

Greg "The Watchfull One"... Thanks for being there for my mom when I can't be...
My Mom Wrote:

Dear John,
I want to thank you for suggesting that I call Greg and let you know
that he did everything that needed to be done very kindly and willingly
and it was a real pleasure to have his help.
My car is running quite well now and he is coming back next week to
try to improve the timing which is already so good that I would never
know it needed any adjusting but he wants it to be better so that's
great. My car will probably be in the best shape that it's been since I
bought it. He's quite a contrast to some of the other people in my life
lately (car repair people) and I feel a bit overwhelmed because I am not use
to having any body really do a superb job anymore. In addition I'm remembering
all our years on John street and what a good gang of friends both you and Sunday
had there. It was a precious time and a wonderful place to raise children.
I feel so moved by both the past and the present and just the joy of
memories of what John Street used to feel like and also what I have been
missing here.
Greg said he thought you would be pleased to know that he was really
watching out for me. What a good guy.
Do you remember Mr. Craig from John Street? He said you used to work
for him, I think when you worked for the school one summer. He said to
say hello. He's a nice man and he lives here. I'm going to think of
John Street every time I see him.



Matt & Deb... for your faithful work with Jackie P. in Hong Kong.

Life has been a blurr these days.

I have been married since 1995. I hardly remember what it is like not to be married. Jude went to Chicago for 5 days... for 2 conferences... I have trouble sleeping adequately when she is gone. On top of that she is an amazingly efficient and effective worker... even when she thinks she's not getting much done... she is doing the work of 2 to 4 people... This needs to change... she needs the freedom to be one person... I feel like an average Joe sometimes around her... I can't work at her pace... I know that I work and live at a faster pace than some... but when she is gone I can't really cover for all the things she would do...

This fuels humility for me...
As long as I am content to be myself and to keep growing.

Deep Calls to Deep... How deep does our love Go???

Warn those who are perishing...

What would you do if you knew someone whose choices were going to lead to becoming homeless??? What is needed from them is not just a home but a path to grow into the maturity to maintain a home. It is one thing to see this... it is another to see how we can walk along those who want to grow and change and mature and to provide the context where this kind of maturity can happen.

Is this the Church???

What does it mean to love our neighbor as ourselves??? and how practical does it get???

LA Street Production News

LA Street Productions is planning to do a Mural this summer. The challenge will be in our will and energy to carry it out. We are all older and more involved with real world responsibilities. We will be working on this mural throughout the month of July starting July 10th. The Mural will be at 66th Street Elementry and will be for the children of that school. We will need others to help with this journey... email me if you might be interested in helping us.

LA Street Productions gave out our first Annual Scholarship to a Belmont Highschool Graduate -- Daniel Flores. Wilburd Estada said something profound and yet obvious at our last meeting... "So many of the scholarships that were given out were given in the memory of someone who had died or passed away... we don't have to wait until we have died to give back to our communities." Pray for us as we seek to grow as a group... in capacity and leadership.

Identity and Action.

My friend Willie is working hard at trying to make a new way of life a reality for himself. Working a temp. job Construction for $7.00 an hour. Currently renting weekly cause that is what was available to him... and trying to use ebay as a way to fill in the economic gaps.

He would love any donations of CD's to help with his efforts to start a business.

He says I am trying to turn him into a computer nerd... ; ) Would I do that to anyone??? Actually I am just trying to stay in touch with current culture.

I also am just trying with him to figure out new options other than what the streets have to offer... not just for Willie... but for others as well... and all the options I can find open to us require a lot of learning and hard work.

Check out Willie's auctions.

Say Hi to JRod

Well I have spent the last few days Kicking it with Jrod. He seems to be a real down to earth brother. A Joy to be with in the mix of LA land. Check out his blog...

A friend of ours needs prayer for her sister.

This is my response to Dry Bones JUNE 2 entry.

Sometimes when I pray I get the strangest of thoughts. So I choose to share them... you can take them as thoughts that came into jaw's head when he was praying.

My mind drifted to the power of music to inspire and lift the soul.

That somehow the hospital context needed something life giving.

We are called to fight for life.

The dangers and trials we are facing life are real every day. To not put asside our part... and to persue reconciliation whenever possible.

That even those in a comma can sometimes here what we say... or here music...

The soul needs nourishment to will to fight for life...

Hildegard Von Bingen Wrote some really strange but powerful music... I will keep it playing in the background to remind me to stay in prayer for you and your family today...

some music is truly spiritual... this is not about style... it is about what the soul is in touch with when the music is composed, sung, and heard...

Sometimes God will speak directly to us in our darkest hours...

I too will continue to pray...

Forgive any presumption in my words...

I could either share my thoughts or remain silent. There is also a place for silence... I am not as good at taking that path yet...