pearl jam!

For anyone who has known me for any period of time, the above heading should come as no surprise. Pearl Jam is my favourite band and has been so for a long time. Whenever a new album is coming out, or for the 6 months or so before they are touring, I'll tell everybody - There's a new PJ album coming out! Pearl Jam are touring! I'm going to be seeing them in however many days, etc.

I have their T-shirts, posters, CD's, Vinyls, cassette tapes, official bootlegs of every concert I've seen and then more. I know useless details about the history of the band, and can recite the story about the formation of the band.
When I hear a particularly favourite line in a song, sometimes I'll text that line to an equally obsessed friend so they can share in the joy I have in hearing that song.

And I'm proud of that, I'm not ashamed to be a Pearl Jam fan and I'm not afraid to tell anybody.

But when I look at my Christianity, it's hard for me to make parallels. Why is it that we can tell anyone and everyone about the worthless things that we love but when it comes to the one thing that matters, it's so much harder?

Wouldn't it be great if in what I said above about Pearl Jam, I could consistently say the same things about my faith? I'll spend however much to see them 3 times in one week, yet I'll shirk at spending money on a resource for ministry or giving to the needy.

So, less spreading my love of Pearl Jam, and more spreading the love of God that we can have in Jesus.

If you want to know more, drop me an email or check out www.matthiasmedia.com.au/2wtl/.

...and once you've checked that out, check out www.pearljam.com for a great band :)

and i'm on the bandwagon

So here I am, finally with my own blog. I had tossed up the idea for a while but came to no firm conclusion until recently finding an abundance of great blogs done by friends and strangers alike.

So what shall it contain? Hopefully a bit of everything, although primarily I hope I can engage others in, and encourage them with my search to find my role in serving God in this world. Other tasty tidbits may include musing on faith, music, books, mission and/or aid work and whatever else has caught my attention at the time. Also from time to time I'd love to show you some of the other blogs that prompted me to start my own and anything else that I come across...

Finally for now if I can share that thing that made me sit down and start this right now. I just finished reading Psalm 102 and this passage blew me away. I always find that when I try and contemplate the vastness of God's love and the intricate plan he has and the fact that he knew and called me before the beginning of time... it just seems bigger and bigger...

18 Let this be written for a future generation,
that a people not yet created may praise the LORD :

19 "The LORD looked down from his sanctuary on high,
from heaven he viewed the earth,

20 to hear the groans of the prisoners
and release those condemned to death."

21 So the name of the LORD will be declared in Zion
and his praise in Jerusalem

22 when the peoples and the kingdoms
assemble to worship the LORD.

When I read something like that, written for a future people, written for us, when I read that the Lord looked down and released those condemned to death. I feel like there is nothing more worthy in my life but that I serve the Lord and proclaim his name to the world.

So... welcome.
I would to hear what you think, what thoughts passages like these brings up in your soul.