Jaguar!

I would like to congratulate my brother on his latest addition. If you lived closer, I'd . . . babysit.

Rubby (3.0)

Musicians have special relationships with their instruments.

This time of year reminds me of when I got my first guitar. When I was 15 I landed a job raking leaves for my Great-Aunt Verna. Large yard + lots of large trees = lots of leaves. I lost track of how many bags I gathered together - but it was actually a very enjoyable, memorable job. It was cool, damp and dreary out the evenings and weekends I scratched their yard repeatedly coralling and coaxing the leaves together. Good thinking time I guess. And Aunt Verna was such a sweet lady, interrupting me frequently to give me hard candy and snacks.

The money she gave me I put towards my first guitar (along with other money I had saved from delivering flyers and Sears catalogues . . . and a donation from my dad to cover the rest). It was (and is) a Norman B-20. It was actually a demo model so I got a bit of a discount on it. But I've always been happy with it.



Eventually I put a pick-up in it. I went with a Fishman that cost nearly twice what the guitar cost - - figuring that I would play it plugged in more than not and maybe a good pick-up would make up for the entry level tonewoods.

When I was in Bible College I lent it to another student who needed a guitar for their internship. After his internship I lost touch with him, and soon found out he had moved to Denver. (!!!) For a while it seemed like it was gone for good. Eventually I tracked him down - - he told me that he had left it behind at the house he had boarded at in Ottawa (which happened to be a five minute bike ride away from my house at the time). After a year apart - I was reunited with my Norman.

About a month ago I played electric guitar at OVPC youth camp. At our first sound check, something weird happened and Ben (Wright's) guitar went silent. I had my Norman there so Ben used it for the rest of our practice and the week of services.

After I got it back - - - something was different. Ben will say whatever (you might too) - but after a week in his hands leading youth in worshiping the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - it has sang out sweeter and more willingly in every church service I've played it in since.

Something rubbed off on it.

Similarly: I've heard of preachers who have visited the churches and pulpits of the great preachers of church history. The stories go: when no one is around they rub themselves on the pulpit hoping to glean any anointing that may still reside in it.

There's a lot we don't know with certainty about the spiritual realm (one example: the organics and fine details of how anointings from God work and whatnot). Maybe it's God's protection - maybe he doesn't allow perfect understanding of such things, otherwise with understanding we might claim control of something we have no right to.

A lot of times the Holy Spirit helps us in a variety of ways to understand complex situations. And sometimes we have hunches about what's "really" happening in the spiritual realm. But a lot of times we still see through a glass . . . darkly. There are scenarios and seasons of life that will leave our heads spinning.

But we're not called to perfect understanding and expertise in the realm of the S/spirit (that goes for principalities, powers and authorities too). We're not called to be masters of divinity, but to be mastered by divinity.

SO, I don't know how it all works, but my prayer: God, make me rubby. That something of You would rub off of me. I'll be a sweet guitar (like an ES-335) in Your hands ringing out (through an AC-30) especially sweet chords and legato lines of your choosing (maybe we could put some delay and reverb on there too).

Shop Less. Live More.

Where would you be if you got everything you want?

Last week I was in a music store in Ottawa. The guy I dealt with was the owner's son (maybe a co-owner?) I was looking to expand my guitar rig and had some questions about a few different pedals and effects. He was very friendly and laid back and answered my questions with interest - - turns out he's a guitarist himself. As we talked he told me about his own experience with various pieces of gear and stuff that he has in his own rig. Very helpful.

Music stores are basically candy stores for guitarists. Right now, I have a limited budget for analog delays, envelope filters, and class A amps. But this guy, this fortunate son, has access to all the tone and effect goodies he wants. If I put myself in his shoes, and if we go back to the candy store analogy - I would very quickly become a guitar gear diabetic.

That makes me ask the question, where would I be if I got everything I want? Gear wise I would have some really sweet guitars, a ridiculous number of pedals on the floor, a rack that could control the earth's rotation, and an asinine number of amps behind me. My tone would be good - but I would be no further ahead musically. And that's what really counts. Where would I be as a guitarist if I got everything I want? In the same place I was before.

Nobody gets everything they want (right?) - but let's think hypothetically. Where would you be if you got everything you want? Probably in the same place you were before. Except you'd be more disillusioned and depressed at all the time and energy you spent going nowhere.

And if we go back to the guitar illustration for a hint - maybe the key to living well by focusing on being vs. getting or any other "ing" is . . . discipline.