Thursday
Apr292010
Every Other Wednesday
Thursday, April 29, 2010 at 12:55AM
On the tour I was blessed to have the opportunity to share a bit of my story each night. And really share my actual story, not just silly ones as a setup for a tune. I talked at length about the Neighborhood Fellowship Group my wife and I have been a part of going on five years now. We meet every other Wednesday.
What I didn't talk about was the opposite Wednesdays. For about the past three years just our guys have met on those off weeks. For me, this has been where a lot of the actual dirt-digging has occurred, and it's been amazing.
Recently, we've been taking time to listen and identify the voices that speak to us. The lies told by the evil one. Lies like: "you're not good enough", "they just put up with you, they'll never really love you", "you're a failure", "you're a fake", etc... The list could literally go on without end.
We're attempting to name the loudest voices in each of our heads, and then combat them with the Truth. So more recently we've been listening, praying and seeking the Truth that answers those lying voices. Both the voices that speak to us and the voices that speak to our brothers.
Tonight was the first night of sharing the Truth, and it was powerful. As the Truth always is.
We are loved by a good God, who speaks with bold kindness. And often He speaks through the believers around us.
I don't need to share the specifics of what was spoken, that's pretty sacred ground, but I can tell you that I'm so grateful for these guys and their place in my life. The folks on the Samson Society podcast talk about knowing the men who will carry your casket when you die, and how we should let them carry us while we live. These guys do that for me and I am honored to do it with and for them.
I said on this tour that I believe we honor one another when we share our stories with each other. And we honor by listening. One of the first words we ever heard from God were "it is not good that man should be alone." I think this means more than just having a mate, and I also think the inverse is true: "It is good when man is not alone."
What I didn't talk about was the opposite Wednesdays. For about the past three years just our guys have met on those off weeks. For me, this has been where a lot of the actual dirt-digging has occurred, and it's been amazing.
Recently, we've been taking time to listen and identify the voices that speak to us. The lies told by the evil one. Lies like: "you're not good enough", "they just put up with you, they'll never really love you", "you're a failure", "you're a fake", etc... The list could literally go on without end.
We're attempting to name the loudest voices in each of our heads, and then combat them with the Truth. So more recently we've been listening, praying and seeking the Truth that answers those lying voices. Both the voices that speak to us and the voices that speak to our brothers.
Tonight was the first night of sharing the Truth, and it was powerful. As the Truth always is.
We are loved by a good God, who speaks with bold kindness. And often He speaks through the believers around us.
I don't need to share the specifics of what was spoken, that's pretty sacred ground, but I can tell you that I'm so grateful for these guys and their place in my life. The folks on the Samson Society podcast talk about knowing the men who will carry your casket when you die, and how we should let them carry us while we live. These guys do that for me and I am honored to do it with and for them.
I said on this tour that I believe we honor one another when we share our stories with each other. And we honor by listening. One of the first words we ever heard from God were "it is not good that man should be alone." I think this means more than just having a mate, and I also think the inverse is true: "It is good when man is not alone."
Reader Comments (7)
Thanks for posting this.
I would of loved to see you on tour. I always enjoyed the brief part of the show that Caedmon's let you play some of your songs from your CD's. On your next tour you should come to Denver.
great post....
"...we should let them carry us while we live." Good stuff.
This group, is it from your church? Is this group your church? Is it just representatives of the Church? I would appreciate some insight into how the group came to be. Thanks.
Great post AO! I'm going to have to check out that Samson Society podcast as that casket line is pretty powerful!
AO, you got me all choked up! Really!
This is great. My counselor uses a talk show host metaphor... all of those voices are guests, but you are the host. You are in charge of who gets to talk. That doesn't make it easy, but it helps with perspective.