Caleb Nei Blogs...

The Prayer of Thomas Merton

2009-08-13T12:37:00.001-04:00

My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following
your will does not mean
that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that my desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope that I have that desire
in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything
apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this
you will lead me by the right road
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always
though I may seem to be lost
and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear,
for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me
to face my perils alone.

- Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

McFerrin

2009-08-03T21:01:00.000-04:00

World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale from World Science Festival on Vimeo.

Buy this t-shirt!

2009-05-22T14:25:00.002-04:00

http://www.amazon.com/The-Mountain-Three-Wolf-T-Shirt/dp/B000NZW3KC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8
Or at least read the reviews.

Twouble with Twitters.

2009-03-26T17:42:00.002-04:00

Handshake.

2009-02-08T00:20:00.003-05:00

How well do we know God?
John Watson’s book, Psychological Care of Infant and Child, published in 1928, has this advice for parents: Treat children “as though they were young adults… Never hug and kiss them, never let them sit in your lap. If you must, kiss them once on the forehead when they say good night. Shake hands with them in the morning…”

I haven’t read Mr. Watson’s book, but I’m full of questions. What did his kids look like? (Maybe he just had super ugly kids.) How did he keep from kissing them? (Obviously, he’s never seen my kids. Complete strangers find themselves compelled to pucker up and beg for a kiss.) I want to know what a parent was to do when a child skinned her knee, or had a bad dream, or had a pet die or was bullied at school.

I’m pretty sure these are things a firm handshake wouldn’t cure. Seems like these situations require a child to run into arms of love.

Scripture tries to show us the relationship God desires to have with us in many ways. Behold the metaphors: We’re his children. He’s our Master. It’s like a marriage. It’s like being different parts of a body. Jesus is our brother.

The book of James talks about Abraham’s relationship God and calls them friends. In the book of John, Jesus says we can be His friends.

John 15:13-15a
13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends…

Friend of God. Is that a title we could bear? Friendship requires an investment of thought, time and intention.

Our gathering here is more than an item on a checklist. It should involve more than a handshake. It’s a precious moment spent with a friend who knows us deeply. It’s time spent with a friend who cares about our most agonizing wounds and our toughest battles. But this isn’t just a shoulder to cry on or someone to commiserate with. It’s time spent with some who has the answers and can fix the problems. He’s the author of life. His presence transforms us.

[This is a post in a series. For more Calls to Worship see http://calebnei.com/calebnei/come-and-worship/.]

The future of the church.

2009-02-02T18:58:00.005-05:00

It's certainly true that I've thought often about the future of the way many Americans view church and God. I don't have the time to do the thought the justice it deserves. Michael Spencer has thought about it.

http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/my-prediction-the-coming-evangelical-collapse-1

It's sad in a way, because the American evangelical church is all I know. Still, I've observed many of the weaknesses Michael points out. Also, I'm excited because I know God will take us exactly where we need to go. Still...bittersweet...

Come and Worship.

2009-01-28T23:40:00.003-05:00

A Call to Worship
If you're a leader of people (or just need something to think about) I offer this as a collection of preparations for worship. We need to remember who God is, what he has done, and what that means to us. As we gather on Sunday morning (or whenever) it is good for us to focus our hearts and our minds. To that end:

http://calebnei.com/documents/ComeandWorship.pdf

Gotta Serve Somebody.

2009-01-27T22:36:00.004-05:00

Today we begin with the words of Bob Dylan:

Gotta Serve Somebody

You may be an ambassador to England or France, 
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance, 
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world, 
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
 You're gonna have to serve somebody, 
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord 
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You might be a rock 'n' roll addict prancing on the stage, 
You might have drugs at your command, women in a cage,
 You may be a business man or some high degree thief, 
They may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief

You may be a state trooper, you might be a young Turk, 
You may be the head of some big TV network, 
You may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lame, 
You may be living in another country under another name

Being a Dylan song, there are four more verses. You get the point. It's the same one Jesus makes in the book of Matthew.

Matthew 26:24
24 No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

I’m told Jesus’ point is less about money and more about the focus of our heart. That brings us to our point: as we begin, let’s pray that God would give us a focused, consistent, authentic hearts.

[This is a post in a series. For more Calls to Worship see http://calebnei.com/calebnei/come-and-worship/.]

A Year in Burritos.

2009-01-14T14:24:00.005-05:00

So I know about Project 365 and all the other "I'm-taking-a-picture-of-myself-each-day" concepts. Forget that stuff. Here's the start of a year's-worth of pictures that really matter:

http://calebnei.com/2009/chipotle/

(Don't bother with all of the comments that I should have a similar page in which I take periodic pictures of my belly...you're really funny.)

Cell phone photos from last year.

2009-01-12T22:50:00.003-05:00

These are my favorite cell phone pictures from last year.

http://calebnei.com/2009/cell-phone-pics/

Whaaaaaaa!

2009-01-12T10:06:00.000-05:00

wingsuit base jumping from Ali on Vimeo.

A letter I found.

2009-01-07T22:06:00.004-05:00

Tonight while finally taking care of one of my many fatherly duties I found this under my daughter's pillow:

Dear Tooth Fairy,

I hear you are suffering from short term memory loss. I'm sorry. May I also remind you that my tooth has remained under my pillow for almost five days, not to mention last time I lost a tooth, that was almost a month so this is just a little reminder so when ever you get the chance Please put money under my pillow. Thanks.

Yours Truly,
Ariel

I don't have time to blog...

2009-01-07T19:23:00.002-05:00

So I'm referring you to a fantastic post by a friend of mind who's an eye doctor.

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=317352662&blogID=462116565

Obviously, our government is guessing on this economic fix.

2008-12-02T18:49:00.005-05:00

http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-us&tab=s338&playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:048cdfdf-1b95-4539-86fa-215b066f017d&showPlaylist=true&from=IV2_en-us_Money_News_AmericaInCrisisVideo&fg=gtlv2

Think it's stupid? Apparently, you can write your congressperson here:
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

Phil Keaggy jam.

2008-11-12T09:25:00.004-05:00

Glass Harp JB's Kent, Ohio Jam

I've always been a Phil Keaggy fan.

Obviously.

2008-10-25T19:40:00.002-04:00

Obviously, I've been too busy to do any real blogging lately. 52 Weeks, teaching, playing jazz, Crosslink, Emmaus, Stereoreel, trying to talk my investment advisor brothers off the ledge. Brilliance is in the works. Meanwhile...

Singalong.

2008-10-19T15:37:00.003-04:00

I've always been a Phil Wickham fan...at least every time I saw him live I thought I was. Then, I would go home, listen to one of his albums, and wish it matched the glory of what I had just heard. Here's what the CDs have always lacked: 1.) The intensity of the live show. 2.) The instrumentation of the live shows. (Every time I've seen him live it's just been him and his guitar; the CDs have your standard generic Christian rock band sound.)

These wrongs have been righted with the recent release of Singalong. Best, though. IT'S FREE.

Get it here: philwickham.com/singalong

Yesterday's jam.

2008-09-30T13:55:00.002-04:00

Seth, Dustin and me jammin' a bit yesterday. Can't get this crazy tune out of my head. Look for it as an intro to something someday.

Click here for the growl.

Chipotle radio.

2008-09-29T22:12:00.002-04:00

Chipotle twice in one day! And now I'm home listening to Chipotle Radio. Life is good.

Here it is. (The radio, not a burrito.) Click on 'Launch Radio' and then 'Play'.

52 Weeks.

2008-09-25T21:42:00.001-04:00

My goal: write a song a week for a year.
Awhile back I heard a story on NPR about David Morneau, a composer who undertook the making of a song-a-day for a year.

Here's the story: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92038722.

And here are the compositions.

The story and the following quote by Dennis Báthory-Kitsz were all the inspiration I needed.

I believed that productivity and excellence are not mutually exclusive, nor do they belong to the past alone. I believe that our ability to "be Mozart" (meaning any prolific composer) today is inhibited by lack of demand on our inherent productivity. In other words, the more we do, the better we get at it and the more new ideas we have. Humans are problem solvers, and for composers, it is the blank page that is to be solved.

So that brings us here to you...and me.

52 Weeks
My intent, over the course of the next year, is to write a song a week. Every week. 52 weeks. Will they be good or great? Will they stink? Will I quit after the first month? It's hard to say. Let's find out together.

The details are being sorted. I'm sure they won't be polished songs, but they'll certainly be a great start on the next CD.

Your role is to listen and comment. Let me know what you like and don't. Let me know which songs you think deserve more attention and which deserve being sent to the recycle bin.

I assume the whole project will take the form of a podcast from stereoreel.com. So charge up your iPod and stay tuned.

Favorite cell phone pics of 2008.

2008-09-22T11:10:00.006-04:00

The lo-fi quality of the cell phone lends itself to a certain kind of beauty.

Oh, and I have no idea whose chicken died. Don't even remember taking the photo.
http://calebnei.com/2008/cell-phone-pics/

Crosslink.

2008-09-12T09:12:00.006-04:00

Hey guys! If you're in the Winchester area and have a Facebook account become a fan of Crosslink. Crosslink is a monthly worship service where young adults from across the area get together for worship, prayer, fellowship and Bible study.

Click here to become a Crosslink fan and get more info:

Click here to hear a song I wrote about Crosslink.

And the moral is...

2008-09-09T18:57:00.005-04:00

Today I decided to use my miniature BBQ grill as a fire pit.

I'm a person who likes to have a lot of projects going at the same time. It seems a good solution for someone who doesn't always have the focus to do one thing for hours. Talking on the phone, while eating lunch, while playing ping-pong...you understand.

So today I was spreading mulch, while eating breakfast, while admiring my new bird-feeder post, while organizing my crawl space. (While burning some scraps of wood in my small kettle grill.) From a distance, I took pleasure in the generous flames.

Several times I added fuel to the fire...just to keep it spewing. But aparently my grill wasn't designed to handle even a child-sized bonfire.

The handles began their impersonation of Toht's face in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Have you ever seen handles drip? Fiery, waxy puddles in my drive way. Don't know if I should have forseen this...

I've decided to cancel my plan to breed pumas, lest I experience an unintended consequence.

And the moral is: If you see a sale on grill handles, let me know.

Save Me.

2008-09-02T23:04:00.002-04:00

I posted some recently recorded versions of Stereoreel songs on my MySpace.
myspace.com/calebnei

Don't forget to check out the new Stereoreel album on myspace.com/stereoreel.

Presenting: the CD.

2008-08-25T22:45:00.002-04:00

The new CD is out! We've been working on this thing for years now...I hope the next one doesn't take as song. Just in time to take your mind off the bickering going on between John McCain and Paris Hilton and between Barack and his VP choice. More info coming at stereoreel.com. Or, just get a copy from me next time you see me!