This is the story of a girl.

twloha: “Maybe I”Andy Zipf Usually, a staff member writes the...

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 22:51:51 -0400

“Maybe I”
Andy Zipf

Usually, a staff member writes the Song of the Week about a melody or lyric that has spoken to them. But this week, we are honored to have one of our friends and favorite musicians, Andy Zipf, share his thoughts about one of his own tracks. Listen to it here, watch the music video, and learn more about the inspiration behind the song below.
—————

Maybe I am a fool for ever tryin’ to find beauty while it’s dyin’, slowly disappearin’, whispered fiction …

There’s a seat open at the back of the BoltBus.

“Excuse me. Do you mind if I sit here?”

“No. Not at all.”

I put my guitar into the overhead compartment next to his duffle bag.

“You do that for a living?”

“Yes.”

He smiles and slaps me on the back. “Your parents must be rich!”

Actually, my parents aren’t rich. Not in the way this man implies. They have—and give—wealth that matters.

It seems like this dude wants to chat, so I put my headphones down. His name is Don, a 67-year-old retired federal employee going to visit his son who works on Wall Street. Don came to the U.S. 50 years ago from China and made a life for himself. Now he plays golf, enjoys time with his grandchildren, and does volunteer work in his community.

I like Don’s story. On the New Jersey Turnpike, I tell him some of my own. But I can’t say the things I could sing. If Don and his stockbroker son came to visit me sometime, they’d see I have no problem being vulnerable, as long there is a melody to hold me up.

Maybe I break a little bit around me. Oh, let loose the grace that found me, waiting patiently, she proves the stronger one …

I’m home, back from recording in New York. My wife, Miriam, is sleeping on the couch next to me. I can’t help but write about our life. Sometimes it freaks her out a little, but she knows folks connect more with the truth.

Hiding behind metaphors and the third person can be easy. Honesty does not come as easily, but it is my best voice.

If I don’t believe it, I can’t sing it.

Maybe I am afraid to be a father, but when our years are leanin’ longer, I can picture us among some children …

Mom and I are in the waiting room at Good Samaritan Hospital in Lebanon, PA. Dad’s chest has just been opened up. A valve in his heart was “tired.” The doctors decided to take preventive action and repair it.

The surgery was a success. Dad is sleeping.

Mom takes the ear buds out and puts my phone down. We are the only ones in the room. She is quiet at first.

“Andy, that is what you’re supposed to tell them: your story.”

“I know. I’m trying.”

Maybe I will have nothin’ more to teach them than the story we are livin’, passin’ up through us from echoes in the earth …

All.

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 22:41:58 -0400

You never fail
Always bringing rest to the weary
Peace to the restless
Hope to the hopeless & help to the helpless
You deliver us from darkness, drown us in your grace filled- light, & offer refuge in your name

& sometimes things simply come full circle Wether...

Sun, 02 Jun 2013 19:47:03 -0400

& sometimes things simply come full circle
Wether you’re paying attention or not
Wether communication is there or rather the lack of
Really, it all boils down to the heart and how much you’re willing to hide or reveal

Prayer.

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:28:26 -0400

set my heart aflame for only your plans
make my desires your desires
my plans your plans
my heart a heart after yours

protect me from the ploys of this world
keep my heart sealed for your courts above
save me from my flesh and earthy desires

you are the Most High
King of all, worthy of nothing less than perfection
Grace filled, father of the one true king
lover of my heart, seeker to the lost
redeemer to the hopeless
Hope to the helpless

your name is the same forever
for always you will reign

lammetations 3:19-30

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:24:45 -0400

It’s a Good Thing to Hope for Help from God

^19-21I’ll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness,
the taste of ashes, the poison I’ve swallowed.
I remember it all—oh, how well I remember—
the feeling of hitting the bottom.
But there’s one other thing I remember,
and remembering, I keep a grip on hope:

^22-24God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out,
his merciful love couldn’t have dried up.
They’re created new every morning.
How great your faithfulness!
I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over).
He’s all I’ve got left.

^25-27God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,
to the woman who diligently seeks.
It’s a good thing to quietly hope,
quietly hope for help from God.
It’s a good thing when you’re young
to stick it out through the hard times.

^28-30When life is heavy and hard to take,
go off by yourself. Enter the silence.
Bow in prayer. Don’t ask questions:
Wait for hope to appear.
Don’t run from trouble. Take it full-face.
The “worst” is never the worst.

psalm 139

Sat, 18 May 2013 22:23:55 -0400

139 ^1-6God, investigate my life;
get all the facts firsthand.
I’m an open book to you;
even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back;
I’m never out of your sight.
You know everything I’m going to say
before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you’re there,
then up ahead and you’re there, too—
your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful—
I can’t take it all in!

^7-12Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit?
to be out of your sight?
If I climb to the sky, you’re there!
If I go underground, you’re there!
If I flew on morning’s wings
to the far western horizon,
You’d find me in a minute—
you’re already there waiting!
Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark!
At night I’m immersed in the light!”
It’s a fact: darkness isn’t dark to you;
night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you.

^13-16Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I’d even lived one day.

^17-22Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful!
God, I’ll never comprehend them!
I couldn’t even begin to count them—
any more than I could count the sand of the sea.
Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!
And please, God, do away with wickedness for good!
And you murderers—out of here!—
all the men and women who belittle you, God,
infatuated with cheap god-imitations.
See how I hate those who hate you, God,
see how I loathe all this godless arrogance;
I hate it with pure, unadulterated hatred.
Your enemies are my enemies!

^23-24Investigate my life, O God,
find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me,
get a clear picture of what I’m about;
See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—
then guide me on the road to eternal life.

You are more.

Tue, 14 May 2013 22:26:02 -0400

I’m asking you for one thing
one thing only
To live with you in your house
my whole life long
I’ll contemplate your beauty
I’ll study your feet

That’s the only quiet, secure place
in a noisy world
The perfect getaway
far from the buzz of traffic

You hold my head & shoulders
above all who try to pull me down
I’m headed for your place to offer anthems
anthems that will raise the roof
Already I’m singing your songs
Making music to you.

Psalm 27: 4-6

twloha: There are over seven billion unique and amazing kinds...

Tue, 14 May 2013 21:41:42 -0400

twloha:

There are over seven billion unique and amazing kinds of beautiful.

All.

Mon, 06 May 2013 22:17:21 -0400

For you
Most high
All powerful
Forever reigning
King of kings
Let my life be all for you

Exposure & testing of faith Only being able to refine...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:52:07 -0400

Exposure & testing of faith
Only being able to refine mentally verses physically
No touch ups
No re-do’s
Only the raw development of light

The end is our choice
Do we frame or discard
Develop from the negatives
Embrace the imperfections

Let the creator refine and define
So that [the genuineness] of your faith may be tested, [your faith] which is infinitely more precious than the perishable gold which is tested and purified by fire. [This proving of your faith is intended] to redound to [your] praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) is revealed. (1 Peter 1:7 AMP)

Without agenda

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 21:12:11 -0400

& sometimes it’s cool to wake up
Simply for the fact that you’re alive

Finding myself here today.

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 21:08:02 -0400

Finding myself here today.

I've learned..

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 00:37:19 -0400

If it draws you away from the people you respect & value most, it’s probably not a good choice.

Is one choice/person/moment of satisfaction worth destroying the “solids”?

I have this photo framed in my room. It’s my favorite...

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 12:34:00 -0400

I have this photo framed in my room.
It’s my favorite photo to date.
My mom, me (on my way), & My brothers.

For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of...

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 12:07:40 -0400

For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.
Vincent Van Gogh

Let Go & Let God.

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 10:51:48 -0400

Sometimes in our attempts to try and fix people, we destroy our relationships with others.

twloha: “Because believing that the dots will connect down the...

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 23:23:00 -0400

twloha:

“Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path; and that will make all the difference.” –Steve Jobs

Artistic interpretation by Molly Jacques.

Honor.

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 23:21:15 -0400

In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over by observing your pure and reverent lives. Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They trusted God and accepted the authority of their husbands. For instance, Sarah obeyed her husband, Abraham, and called him her master. You are her daughters when you do what is right without fear of what your husbands might do. In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered. Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it. (1 Peter 3:1-9 NLT)

Say.

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 22:06:20 -0400

Sometimes, we are asked to voice what He places on our hearts
But He sends peace
& new mercies each morning
& reassurance like non-other

Lord,
I believe in your sovereign grace
Your healing
Your glory
& that you shine brighter than my human eyes can see
Thank you.

You call.

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 23:02:35 -0400

When the waters rage all around me
you ask me to call out to you
To ask you to calm them
To seek you for the strength to stand