My musical tastes range from “You should hear this!” to “I know, don’t judge me, please.” That is not an original sentiment, but it’s very fitting to describe my very eclectic collection of music.

Back in the day, I listened to some very questionable music. Not as in morally objectionable but more as in “Why, O dear God, are you listening to this?”

I confess. One of my first cassette tape purchases was Make It Big by Wham! The exclamation point at the end of their name tells you everything you need to know about that group. Not exactly high-brow stuff. I’m not judging you if you have their songs on your MP3 player or iPod, but simply informing you that they ain’t on mine.

Then again, I recently rediscovered Phil Collins and Genesis. I appreciate their music on a much deeper level now than as a 14-year old. Warning: their early albums are not for the faint of heart. Very progressive and odd, kinda like an inside Monty Python joke set to rock music.

I remember some of my best finds came from the cut-out bin. It was a low-risk investment of maybe $3 (which was cheap even back in the 80’s!) Some times, I discovered why they were so cheap (because they were that bad), and some times I ended up with a fantastic bargain.

Jesus came for the cut-out bin cast-offs of the world. What the world and the media call nobodies and nothings. He came for the foolish and weak to shame the proud and strong. He came for you and me.

These days, I mostly follow the road less traveled when it comes to my music. But I still like my Genesis.

  
I just so happened to notice that while I’m dogsitting in Bellevue that I’m only eight minutes away from the legendary Loveless Cafe. How could I not go there at least once, right?

I went there. And it was as good as advertised.

They seated me almost immediately after I arrived at an outdoor table. I had breakfast food for dinner with either cheese or gravy on just about everything. It was fantastic!

For me, the reality usually doesn’t live up to how I built it up in my head. People generally don’t follow the script I rehearsed in my head (which is extremely annoying, FYI). 

But this was every bit as good as I hoped it would be. Maybe it’s the bacon talking, but I’d go there again tomorrow. I’m not saying I will, but I could.

Lately, I’m not so much learning new things as I am being reminded of old lessons. The most important, most repeated of all these is to be grateful in every situation and find something– at least one small thing– in every day to be thankful for.

Not only does gratitude make what you have enough and help you see God in every circumstance, it makes you a better person. It makes life better.

Now if I could only learn to be grateful for that 5:30 am wakeup call.

I’m pooped. Plus, my phone has roughly 20% left on the battery, so I thought I’d share more borrowed words of wisdom from one of my favorite writers, Henri Nouwen.

“The Eucharist is the sacrament of unity. It makes us into one body. The apostle Paul writes: “As there is one loaf, so we, although there are many of us, are one single body, for we all share in the one loaf” (1 Corinthians 10:17).

The Eucharist is much more than a place where we celebrate our unity in Christ. The Eucharist creates this unity. By eating from the same bread and drinking from the same cup, we become the body of Christ present in the world. Just as Christ becomes really present to us in the breaking of the bread, we become really present to one another as brothers and sisters of Christ, members of the same body. Thus the Eucharist not only signifies unity but also creates it.”

So, my big exciting adventure as dog-sitter extraordinare continues. By that, I mean I ended up on the couch watching Friends on Netflix with one pup in my lap, one snuggling next to me, and one just a few feet from me. 

Then it started storming. All the cliches apply– it was raining like cats AND dogs out there. I was free to witness the majesty of the storm without having to be afraid of it.

I once heard the fear of God described that way. You see how majestic and powerful He is, yet because of Jesus you are safe to be completely you in His presence. You are even invited to call Him Abba (which is Aramaic for Daddy).

That amazes me to no end. And yet at the same time, it’s something that I take for granted with frightening regularity.

God is both Immanuel and the Imcomprehensible Mystery. He is in me, yet He is Totally Other than me. 

I like to think that the way those dogs felt safe with me during the storm is the way I can feel in God’s presence. No more shame, no more fear. Just trust and peace.

That’s a very good feeling.

  
“Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted but getting what you have, which once you have it you may be smart enough to see is what you would have wanted had you known” (Garrison Keillor).

I made yet another trek over to McKay’s Used Books and Music today, since I was already in the area. It made my nerdy little heart happy.

I had a few things in mind that I wanted to look for when I walked through those double doors. Some I found, like a couple of Ryan Adams albums. Some I didn’t. And there were one or two finds that I wasn’t expecting that ended up in my basket.

I’ve found that life is quite often like that. You expect one thing and end up with something very different. Maybe it doesn’t look at all like what you wanted or thought you so desperately needed, but it turns out to be way better for you than what you would have chosen if you had the option.

The life of faith is like that. You pray for gifts and God gives you Himself. Instead of presents, you get His presence. That’s way better than any gift.

Also, I’ve discovered that the best blessings in life are the ones we never expected. God has led me to places and people that I wouldn’t have dreamed of, but that have made me a better, more Christlike man because of them.

I’m not saying not to have expectations but to place those expectations in the very capable hands of a Loving Father. If anything, expect that God will act on your behalf at just the right time and in just the right way.

“The Eucharist is the place where Jesus becomes most present to us because he becomes not only the Christ living within us but also the Christ living among us. Just as the disciples at Emmaus who had recognised Jesus in the breaking of the bread discovered a new intimacy between themselves and found the courage to return to their friends, we who have received the Body and Blood of Jesus will find a new unity among ourselves. As we realise that Christ lives within us, we also come to realise that Christ lives among us and makes us into a body of people witnessing together to the presence of Christ in the world” (Henri Nouwen).
I think this covers what I wanted to express tonight.