Best Of 2011

Best of 2011 by Adam King. The Civil Wars, Ryan Adams, Old 97's and me? Crazy best of 2011 track listing. Happy to be included.

Ocean / Hallelujah

Lyrics
If I took you to the bottom of the ocean would you swim with me
Or would you want to walk on water
If I took you to the highest point of heaven would you play and sing
Or would you be afraid of falling


I am not the most courageous man
I am not the one who's never fallen
But I will sing hallelujah in the morning
Hallelujah in the night


If I took you to the desert would you be afraid of drought
If I took you to the jungle would you be afraid of
All the creatures who can rip your heart right out

---
Sometimes (often) we want something other than what we have. This, I guess, is the beginning of the classic "grass is always greener" perspective. Comparison, jealousy, envy, disappointment, blame... they all get rooted in this mire of dissatisfaction. And it sucks the joy right out of us.

The verses represent God speaking to me, asking me questions. In verse 1, He's asking me what I want. What drives me? What motivates me? Being with Him? Proving my faith to the world? Proving my ability? Proving myself righteous through Him? Which motivation is He more interested and pleased with?  What did he want from Adam in the garden? What was he looking for "in the cool of the day"?

In verse 2 He's asking me how much I can trust. If He takes me into the desert am I more concerned with my needs or am I more concerned with what He wants to reveal to me there in the desert place? If He takes me to the jungle will I see a place thriving with life and mystery or will I be afraid of the things there that can harm me? Will I trust in Him as protector? Am I willing to make myself vulnerable to Him?

Will I trust Him to show me something beautiful no matter how barren or harmful the terrain?

The chorus, starting with "I am not the most courageous man..." is my reply back to His questions. That I will praise Him. When words fall short and praise is not on my lips may I always start again in my heart with a quiet "hallelujah". For it is there, in the place of thankfulness and praise that our hearts begin turning back to Him. Where we learn to trust again. Where our eyes are opened up to the beauty and the life that is springing up all around us.

This song is not about a public showing of worship or faith or adoration. It's not evangelical. It's simply about getting back to that place where our heart is in unity with His heart. As you listen to the song imagine a whole world where it's just you and Him. Just you (the created) with Him (the Creator). Just you. Just Him. And feel his gaze rest upon you. Let Him show you.

And so, in the morning when all is new and the world is waking up. And at night when the day has run its course and the future is hidden from us in the darkness.

Hallelujah.

---
To listen to the song visit www.reverbnation.com/jonathanwiles

Mother Father

Lyrics:
Mother now that I've left home
I've got a rock in my shoe and I don't know what to do
Daddy though you've trained me well
I think I've fallen down and I could use some help

Oh I, I

Sister can I protect you
Or will this cruel world sink its teeth into you
Brother can I lift you up 
Or will this ship go down with the two of us

And I can't seem to figure
Why everything that glitters
Crumbles into dust into my hand
And I don't know why this time
Would be any different
But I think it is
But I think I am


---
Mother Father is a coming of age song. A song about dependency and caring. Verse 1 is about the  dependency-shift. There comes a time in all of our lives when dependency begins to morph into self-reliance; when parents are no longer our primary care-takers. Verse 1 is pin-pointing that time in life when a child is old enough to take care of himself (growing out of parental dependency and into self-reliance) but yet still longing for mom and dad to take care of the situation (no matter how small). I (like most) came into this stage of life (more fully) during college. But this feeling still surfaces: When Paloma was born, when I feel like a bad parent, when my bank account is depleted, when I'm overwhelmed. When I can't get perspective I always crave a word of wisdom from my parent. You get the idea. It's at these moments when I want my parents to help me like they did when I was a kid. When they helped me tie my shoes, relieved my discomfort, when I could look to them for all the answers. What starts as physical dependency (diapers and food and first-aid) turns into developmental dependency (education and discipline and destiny). And yet, and yet... I'm now 30 years old with four kids of my own. The cycle. 

Verse 2 is about my belief that all of us share in these feelings to be dependent on someone. I think we have an extraordinary common bond with our siblings. On a personal level, my older sister is someone that I've always looked up to. I have a natural tendency (as her brother) to protect her and yet I cannot. Not from everything. Not from things like car accidents and cancer. Not from disappointment. Not from fear or longing or desperation. We crave to protect the ones that we care about. Verse 2 is about that place where we care deeply about each other but lack the resources or ability to protect each other from the harm. And what then?

The last part about glitter is about my own let-downs. Those times where my hope (my own hope) was built up only to be let down profoundly. The places where I questioned God. Where I questioned family. And most importantly (and relevant to this song) where I questions myself. My own ability as a dad, a husband, a friend. Those places where my biggest ambitions equaled my biggest failures. This song is about the cycle of life and dependency, parents, children, dependency, fear, hope, life.

So then. Will we choose hope? Hope for our children? Hope for our destiny despite our current situation? Hope for our loved ones? Hope for the Kingdom on earth? Hope for healing, restoration, redemption?

---
To listen to the song visit www.reverbnation.com/jonathanwiles

[Demos]

I've written a few songs over the past year or so and I've (obviously) done a pretty good job at keeping them under wraps aka 'hidden'. But lately I've been feeling an urge here and there to post them for people to hear. Take a listen. I'll be posting lyrics and background stories over the next few days.

These were recorded by Jordan Medas, a good friend (who I don't see nearly as often as I'd like). He's a real-deal pro musician. Jordan played 99% of what you'll hear on these songs.

Stay tuned. These are songs-in-process and I can't wait to watch them take shape. In the meantime, look for the song-history behind Mother Father sometime this weekend. Don't be afraid to chime in with feedback.

Oh yeah, here's the link: http://www.reverbnation.com/jonathanwiles

..

Yes. We're still alive and breathing. Whew. Thank God.

The Canvas Blog

I haven't posted anything here recently. I've been putting a lot of time into a new teaching series on God's goodness that we're teaching at The Canvas. Here are the first two blogs, re-posted from The Canvas Blog. I'll be sure to re-post here as well unless, of course, you want to bookmark The Canvas and read it over there. Either way... here are the two most recent blog posts from our current teaching on God's Goodness. Please read them in their respective order. More to come :)

1. Punishment
A few sundays ago we announced a series on God's goodness. The first part, titled 'Punishment', asked a couple of questions such as "when something bad happens to you do you feel like God is punishing you?", "when something bad happens to other people do you feel like God is punishing them?", etc. We looked at several scriptures but it was more or less a discussion among friends and family. How does God's wrath and punishment work with His goodness and Love? Age old question. Can of worms. Call it what you will. If we don't have a better grasp of our own perception of God's punishment we won't ever grasp the full severity of His goodness and lovingkindness. As people, we all suffer and... read more

2. Sovereignty
Sovereignty. Supreme power. Freedom from external control. Controlling influence.
God's sovereignty, as we often understand and relate to it, often leads us into conflict. If he is good, and has good intentions and plans for us, then how is it we are often prone to suffering, prone to loss, prone to injustice? Shouldn't He, in all his sovereignty be able to step in on our behalf and prevent these sufferings? Before we begin to answer these questions I think it's important to look at mankind and the blessing, mandate, and... read more

You can leave your own comments and insights here or there or (for all you local folks) join us Sundays at 10:30am to discuss. Thanks!

The Love of God

I heard these lyrics this morning. They're from an old hymn written by Frederick M. Lehman. The song is based on a Jewish poem. The third verse, below, was found penciled on the wall of a patient's room in an insane asylum after he had been carried to his grave. Mr. Lehman borrowed them to complete the hymn.




---
Could we with ink the ocean fill
And were the skies of parchment made
Were every stalk on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trade;

To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky
---

Listen to the hymn, as recorded by Ascend The Hill. It will wreck you.