the lizard among us

you know, i tihnk about half the fun of blogging is coming up with a good title! you just want to know about the lizard now, don't you? ah ha!

you might be thinking, "nah...there isn't a lizard..she's just saying something random to get my attention" but you'd be wrong. there is a lizard among us here in the studio in nashville. he is living from time to time among the clothes on the floor in shawn and i's bedroom... we saw him for the first time yesterday and shawn tried to catch him (my husband's unknown talent is that he can catch all kinds of critters and has been doing it since he was a little over a year old..no kidding) normally i squeal, like all good females do in such situations, realizing he would catch the lizard and then thrust it into my face or something uniquely 'male' like that. but i was so relieved to find the movement i had been seeing out of the corner of my eye WASN'T a mouse that i just shrugged. i must have sighed too and scared the little blue-tailed creature because he bolted into a tiny hole between the wall and the door. then just now, i saw him again. i was lying on the bed, reading and i saw a quick movemnt underneath the dirty towels (yes, i am waiting until the very last moment to do laundry- who else hates laundry mats?!?!) i called shawn, who is reading himself at starbucks down the street and getting some necessary 'alone time'

(me, whispering) "babe, the lizard is here again" (shawn) "huh?" (me) "yeah the one with the blue tail" (shawn, obviously wishing i hadn't interrupted his reading and aloneness) "oh okay...well try not to scare it. i'll catch him when i get home, k? love you" (me, slightly disappointed the lizard episode didn't send him rushing back to the studio) "alright. bye"

i thought about trying to catch him...mostly to impress my hubby, but let's be honest: i don't touch lizards. so i just moved out to the room with the internet. so not to scare the lizard away. obviously.

shawn had this thing called a "3 year planning meeting" the other day at EMI/Sparrow Record Label. it was a four hour meeting with everyone (president of EMI, artist rep, management, marketing, artist development team, & us) to discuss..well, the next 3 years. daunting, truly daunting. i am old enough now that time does goes pretty fast, but who knows what all can happen in 3 years?!?! most of the time, i am too busy fighting with the present day, you know? still, its awesome that they do things like that and really look at the artists life and goals and mission and calling...not many labels (or any others i know of) take such time to invest in the personal, spiritual, and relational sides of their artists partners. (thank you, EMI) it was long, but the best part besides being loved and supported was the presents!!! *grin*

they gave us tickets to a sold out Ray Lamontagne show in Nashville for that evening (great date idea and ridiculously great show- check Ray out if you haven't heard of him and listen to the song "shelter") and they gave Shawn 5 or so new cds to inspire him..no one i had really heard of except for iron&wine and a new damien rice EP...anyone heard of Sufjan Stevens? cool stuff- new to us. but then came my favorite part: 3 NEW BOOKS! shawn likes to read and often does (like he is now doing, in fact) but i am a BOOKAHOLIC. and anyway, who can read 3 books at once? especially while recording a new record? c'mon.... he/we got the newest Bono biography, The Barbarian Way, & the new Brian McLaren book, entitled A Generous Orthodoxy. i will read them all in time...shawn started in on the Bono book...and i snagged the last one mentioned.



now, i know A LOT of conservative Christians don't like Brian McLaren and think he's a horrible person and a bunch of stuff like that. i personally own all of his books and loved reading them. its not the kind of stuff you recommend on a broad basis or something i would stamp with a broad approval...i wouldn't paint myself with that brush or add everything the man says to my personal creed...okay? so please don't write back to "warn" me of his "evils", making the wrong assumptions about where i land in the wide reactions to this man...just thought i would throw that out in anticipation...i don't write this blog with the intention of starting debates...

anyway, the book so far is really thought-provoking. in a nutshell that's what i love about this man's writings- not that i always agree with him even 50% of the time, but that he is honest (i think while he might be wrong at times, he is at least sincere and not acting with an agenda or 'scamming' people or something) and he makes me think! when your life is like mine, a little push into thought is appreciated!

i even like the title "a Generous Orthodoxy"...a generous way of tihnking...that appeals to me. i don't like denominations- i don't think they are evil or anything, but i have always disliked the emphasis Christians place on outlining our differences rather than focusing on the things we all agree on. i dislike it because a.) most of the time the differences are minute and both 'sides' can make 'Biblical' arguments...i have rarely seen a mind changed...and when that happens it usually serves to make a person puffed up with the pride of being 'right' and b.) it wastes valuable time and c.) it dramatically reduces the resources we have to efficiently tell the world about Jesus (if you don't like Baptists and won't work with them because of it, well...you are losing a whole huge group of people you could be co-laboring with...i used to see this all the time in college when we would want the Christian groups on campus to get together for a night of worship on campus, but the leaders would convince us not to because the other groups didn't have the same 'distinctives' we did...so we all worked separately and most of the time in competition with one another...what a crock. okay... [taking step down from personal soapbox]

brian mclaren beings the book talking about his journey through the different denominations and schools of through within the faith and discusses the varying Jesuses he met in them....interesting. i recognized at least 4 of the 7 he mentioned. i thought 'yeah i have had him presented to me too.' others i met for the first time through his revealing personal tales. he ended the first section of the book by simply saying what if none of them are the whole picture...but what if all of them have a grasp on a unique aspect of Jesus? hmm....more appealing still... its easier for me to believe that the Godhead is so expansive and eternal that each group may have seen something real than to believe that one is more right and the others are more wrong..you know?

anyway...that's where the thoughts are swirling today...thanks for jumping into the ever-moving-pool of thoughts inside me. would love to hear yours...

and also i want to quickly say that God does answer prayer...i have seen it in very personal ways in the last 48 hours...ways i can't share, but you know i am notihng if not honest, so you cna believe its true even without the detailed story...Praise God! who is never slow in coming to the aid of his children..

have a blessed day!