That wet cool air which comes over mountain stones-as Gideon gazes over the fields
Of the enemy,
Was it as this Irish hillside in rain
in these forgotten spaces where G-d calls a man into
Threshing. This one was the self proclaimed least-from the lowest clan on earth.
Or so it seemed. As was Jeremiah; as was David; as was Benjamin-but this one
Gideon,
A man who needed a sign to know, so
Here appears the Angel of The Lord to bring fire from stone
And fire comes as on the ones scattered in the sun
Even their bones in disbelief
To which Ezekiel saw and spoke
Words of life to noone.

I am the son of noone
And we are marching to Zion
(a mountain, not unlike this)
The place where He is-any place where He is-
The celts call sacred.
But we have come to know that only He
Is Holy-that Pure is where He is.
And we worship after
the placement of His Foot-we remember that
Where He is moving we are

And I was named before my birth, called
Like this cool passing Irish hillside
Where once a man like Gideon stood
And believed.

The fleece went wet then dry
He wanted to be sure it was God
chasing off the marauders
Of His promised spaces.

So He asked, and blew his trumpet
And unified his people, and broke jars
With the stones of this hillside.
A great man not mentioned in faith's list of fame
A thresher from the start
Who couldn't believe
God had forgotten
What He said.
Nearby
Was it Patrick who, placing on his bejeweled belt
Leaned out over this valley as if
Over the mouth of a great dragon, saying
"I felt His Presence in these stones."

And so we trace each twig back to Him
Each face becomes a friend
Each hillside a recollection
Each conversation turns towards Him
As each stone inherits a name
Which waits like this hillside to be
Spoken

This day, I will not stop tracing each thing
To its core, until I hear it-until the enemy scatters
And we know
Who is faithful to sustain.
Jesus, already the rocks tremble
And this hillside remembers
Whose it is.

LAWS OF ASCENDING AND DESCENDING FROM HEAVEN

It is a spiritual law not a principle that if we draw close to God, He will draw close to us. This means that it is a way that Reality is set up, that when people draw close to God, He perforce or by His Nature draws near to us.

There are ways of ascending into heaven. These are practical and taught in scripture. The most obvious maps are in David's writings. We need to know practical ways of entering God's Realm. Many people are entering heaven more often than before through worship and in dream and visions in our day, but few have been shown the basic maps of how to ascend and enter.

Here are practical tools for ascending. They are found in scripture and follow this pattern. First, we confess all our sins, for, "who may ascend the hill of the Lord? He who has clean hands and a pure heart." (Ps.24:3) Jesus did this for us at the cross. So we start there--with the cross. Because when we confess our sins He is faithful to forgive and cleanse, this is the way we begin our ascent--through confession. This is because sin blocks us from being able to be fully in God's Presence. So we confess.

When we do this, we realize what He has done and then enter thanks. We find ourself thanking Him for cleansing us--for the cross--and for the present application of the cross. Once we are thanking Him, we enter the courts--ie the outer parts of heaven. For thankfulness creates a space in us which allows God to flow and move us.

Once we are thanking, we enter, and once we enter His Courts, we will then find ourselves praising Him. That is the order of ascension: confession, thanks, praise. You see this pattern also in Daniel's prayer life, and in the Lord's prayer.

Once we are praising, God can take us anywhere in heaven and show us whatever He wishes us to see. He may show us our heavenly homes, or the parts of heaven that we are meant to, and will eventually completely, dwell within. Or, He may show us His Feet. He may show us something He is doing in a friend's life, or for a group or nation of people. But He will show us things! This may be a space where He shows us how He is praying for someone or a place, and so may bring intercession. Or it may be a place of gazing on some aspect of Himself. Whatever he leads us to we will go there and enter!

This is a simple pattern of entry, but it is practical. In our hour, many are being drawn up into heaven on a more regular basis, and this is for His Purposes. But we need to know these basic patterns or laws of The Spirit, so we will not become confused.

Many for instance, go worship once a week, and as they leave find themselves passing back into a spiritual valley of shadow. This is to be expected. For as we pass back through the gates of heaven, the enemy's hordes are outside of these gates, and they attempt to get us to focus on them, and leave the streams or ways of God pouring out from heaven. Know that on the outside of the gates, the enemy gathers--both to keep people out, and to keep people from returning, and to try to steal the things which one has gathered from heaven.

Once we know that this is the case, we are less immediately drawn away from the streams or ways or righteousness (the still waters) that keep us in the ways of God. The enemy is always trying to draw us out away from those streams. But to stay by them is a matter of staying close to the good shepherd as we descend into the valleys. We are to do whatever we do to stay close to Jesus. For me, it is spontaneous worship, or reading scripture out loud, or prophesying to strangers, or making music. Different people stay close to Him in different ways, but the thing is to cling to Him as we descend and not focus on the enemy, because that is the first thing you will see as you leave the heavens. This is especially true as the third heaven is beginning to press down into the second and onto the earth.

Too much of our heaven talk has gotten esoteric or mystical. But it is a practical matter to get into and out of heaven daily. And God has revealed spiritual laws of entry and exit in His Word. We need to know daily how to ascend and descend the mountain of our Lord! For from where does our strengh come from? Look to the hills, for our strength comes from The Lord!

This morning as I was confessing, thanking and then finally praising, God began to take me to a house in his Spirit. I saw a friend of mine getting annointed and freed to go into a new phase in his own life. I watched as He was lifted and then lowered and prayed over in a most exciting way. I got to see what God was giving Him right now in his life.
When we get up there, we never know what God is going to show us, or how He might use it. In another part of my experience, I was at God's feet just praising Him, and I felt that verse about blessed are the feet of those who bring good tidings, and I realized that those feet in that verse are always His, but that He lets us be His Feet at times! So this is part of a good tiding from The Lord. May it bless you wherever you are at on His Journey.

"For we are His poems, created in Christ for the good works He has prepared beforehand to be our path (way)" from Paul's letter to the Ephesians

Getting people on their true paths, (eph2:10) will put them in their proper orbital patterns with others. When we are on our paths, we will see those we are meant to journey with.
When we are properly linked with those He has set with us, we are strengthened to flourish along our way.

In this season, being in proper orbital relationships to those around you locally is a key symbol of His building unity in His Way. Just as specific families were given sections of the wall to mend in Nehemiah's time, so we are to know which section of the wall of unity we are meant to be mending. To symbolize what God is doing in His Larger Body, and the world at large, is to be close to those He has given us now to orbit with-at the right distance, rhythm and depth.

Stars in open clusters get thrown out of orbit if they come into the wrong relationships with the other stars with which they share the gravitational pull. Gravity continues to work, but we are slung out from our proper cluster of stars, and no longer make the readable constellation God is trying to write in the sky for the world to read.

This occurs between the nations and in cities as well. It is imperative in our times, to be rightly knit with those He has given us-to be in the particular constellation of relationships He is forming through our lives. Christ is forming Himself both in us and through our relationships. This is part of His method of incarnation. He forms Himself through relationships.

The bread of His Presence, the wine of His communion, and the sword of His Word are all vital components coming out from being in right relationships with the people He has given us-seasonally and across seasons. These three elements are ministered to us through His Body. All three are needed to be whole expressions of His True Church.

Helping others, cities and even nations, get on their paths, and into their orbit with those He has given them each season is part of the great commission.

"Until we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a perfect man, to the measure of the fullness of Christ." (Eph 2:13)

You see that each part of the body supplies something unique. And there are times to visit other parts, but we must also be on our unique paths set beforehand to be our way, so that He can make His true expression of Himself. Many do not come into their own callings, or get on their own path and instead remain on other's paths or in other's callings. It is essential to find that unique path which is yours, and to step out on it into your calling, so that you also can supply the parts you are meant to offer to the body and to the world.

There are many stones or obstacles in the way to walking into your calling--but the One who called you is also able to cause you to stand (Rom 14:4). So allow Him to cause you to stand, and walk out on that path which is uniquely your own, and is ultimately His path for you.

Here are five stones I see set against coming into our callings: world system esp financial areas; lack of desire for maturation; anger at the larger body keeping us from growing intimacy with Christ; never having seen someone else walking in their calling; getting stuck in one church's vision or gifting.

But He who called us is also able to cause us to walk on the path given to us as our life!

"..but instead speaking the truth in love. MAY GROW UP IN ALL THINGS INTO HIM WHO IS THE HEAD--CHRIST--from whom the whole body, joined and knit together BY WHAT EVERY JOINT SUPPLIES, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, cases growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love."

We are commanded to grow up! As we grow and come onto our path, we will be placed in the proper relationships we need to flourish spiritually and in every other area of our lives. So let's!

What are the patterns He is making between His People? What is He saying about Himself, through the people He has linked you with spiritually? If the living Body is expressed by His incarnation is us and those He has linked us with, what is the shape of your constellation?

Feeling the gaps in the Body this week, but also seeing the eventual links deepening, becoming more secure--His ungapless Being choosing to experience our lack of proper linkage internally, externally, laboring for our unity, our wholeness. He, who we are growing into, is growing into us, by His own choice!

We must be on our own sections of the wall, mending-being mended. I feel that unity can't be forced now, but that there is a unifying spirit among us, locally and internationally. At the same time, really sensing the need to be diligent on our section of the wall, which for me is arting, and providing a space for artists to become whole as people--to taste the Kingdom context for their creativity. And to celebrate identity as an expression of God on earth!

My knee joint is strained on my left side--the relational side. Feeling those strains, but looking up the mountain, north towards Benjamin, I look to and down from the hills from which cometh my strength--it is in Him, as is Vision! What we see is God's desire to incarnate on a new level in the global expression of His Mystical Body, and the local. Linking with those He has given you--those living stones put in patterns in your life--your living church. Those in Jesus, but also those He has given you to journey with, to commune with.

But we also see and feel the gaps in this wall of unified incarnation--as we go further INTO Him, so that, perforce, His headship will be lifted up. When His Body is properly aligned, His Head will be clearly visible.

Personally, our part of Nehemiah's wall is going well--the beauty is starting to shine, and the sturdiness is more than I thought. Relationally, there is love and good spiritual exchange, and a quickening between households--lighthouses in patterns across the hills of Austin. Still there are gaps, and the lament of the not yet.

To go deeper into Him in your season in Christ--what part of Him He is trying to incarnate in this particular season of your journey into Him. There are seasonal missions for each of us--seasonal aspects His revealing of Himself--and afterwards one can see the patterns of His revelations. One can rise up above several seasons and see why God was emphasizing each aspect. For us there is the creative, the becoming co-heirs, the beginnings of restorational labor, occupying; for others now there is the crossing into their own lands, and beginning to take possession of inheritance. Regardless, we must be in our own seasons and working on our part of this grand wall.

The rebuilding the wall of unity. The symbolic restoration--of His symbolic dimension in cities, people, nations. He will symbolize Himself uninterruptedly one day, and we are engaged in becoming His symbols or signs Of His ability to link, to be the joints between us, both locally and internationally. My heart is that the whole symbolize Him locally and internationally. We are trying to become signs of what this will look like!

And yet..
The difficulty in experiencing unity existentially or experientially--the labor in the gaps; while still needing to work on one's own part of the wall in each person's unique style, can feel overwhelming. But He is not overwhelmed while working to pronounce His poem, and our breath to do so is in HIM!

Gaps can't be man-filled or soul powered into joining; there is an order to building, and at times it is good to fly up, balloon above to see how far we all have come; but there is first the responsibility to move in order on the aspect of the wall which is ours to mend. In ourelves this unity or integration must be moving forward--He wants to be incarnating into more and more of who we are. As He does, the shining will get brighter, and many will be able to work more efficiently and with His passion and joy and hope!

This week the first clown went into outer space! Here is the artist going up and directing a global poem about the environment from a unique perspective. Many things interest me about this metaphor, but something of the idea of seeing the clusters or stars or entertainers on the planet from outer space, and watching them participate in a global symbolic dialogue around a shared global concern is just cool.

I also like that in our generation it needs to be planetary and it needs to be seen from the outside in order to notice the patterns correctly. Bono asked the clown the right question: how do we look from out there? "Vulnerable," was the clown's answer.

I also think it is significant that this man is a clown who has started the most amazing circus in our time--Cirque du Soliel. A humourist is the first real artist in space--and then what he did with it!! Wow! What a time for the artists on earth. So much to symbolize globally!

My weekly word is about cities as people, and how God loves and personally shepherds them. I use San Francisco as an example of knowing a city as a person, and relating to her present by seeing her whole story. I use San Francisco as an example, but the principles apply to every city.

First, we come into His Heart and Mind, and speak to the personhood of this city:

"San Francisco, city of edges and dreams, we wait for your full shining, when you are no longer used, but asked what of your thoughts and feelings, love, as you stand there worshiping again before your God."

We see from your coastlines the beauty of your entrance, the aperture of your heart. But for so long trampled lady, you offer now, only your fully exposed breasts; and I don't blame you. But, what of you thoughts and inner feelings, your passion for the weak, to offer your bounty freely to the hungry, rather than having it taken by the next speculator.

Poland's roads are barely paved pathways through an older place. It is not just poverty or lack of resource that have kept her roads bare and simple. It is something more raw reflected in her identity. There is an inventiveness here as in Croatia. But there is also a preservational quality.

I have been on many highways, interstates and smaller roads in many nations. But in Poland there is unique way. It is more a route for wagons and carts than automobiles. Alongside the roads, women sell jars of blueberries from old car trunks or wooden stands. Perhaps you have seen them. If you pull off at a service area, there are also sausages being grilled by hefty stout men, and various canned things in small wooden carts or stands. There are aspects of old europe still visible in Poland, which have long passed from some more westerly nations. In this way, she preserves things for all of europe. However, she is not always soft in her preservational processes.

She is not always polite, her road at times seems to lack hospitality. There are large wagon-sized pot holes in certain areas of poland, and strange things are often just sitting in the middle or to the side of her thin two laned highways. Still, somehow, after hours, it is somehow rewarding that the required pacing, somehow allows you to notice more. More of the small villages, more of people's faces, more strangely spired churches and odd cockeyed jewish cemeteries. I like the pacing that polish roads require, it teaches me things about life.

Every day is a play within a play
with glimpses throughout

sometimes
we need to be reminded
of what should'nt be unexpected-
this glory falling on our wrists and faces
this sudden upward crest of conversation
between two people simply sitting at a cafe somewhere,
these instances
which never needed to be heightened

to see, in short, what
we are always
basking in-
light, nimble as air
balancing on the pinpoint
of our lives,
playing with us

After a month in motion, feels nice to name parts of our recent journey into europe.
After visiting our friend Kerstin Hack, who runs a publishing house and is an amazing human being in Berlin, we journeyed towards the south of Poland.
We visited Poland on this recent journey in order to attend and participate in an arts festival called "Slot". Often in the summer festivals are the best way for us to converge with our friends in europe. Everyone is equal when camping and God offers unique blessings in that setting.

Poland sings in accordion rhythm like a rusty opera of bumpy roads and wild chickens. We love Poland--it's song is uninterrupted. At night, at this festival, accordion sounds mix with techno music echoing throughout the monastery grounds in a song of old and new europe. It is refreshing to feel the two in dialogue.

We participated in Slot Fest this year which is held in an amazing abandoned monastery in the south of poland about two hours from Krakow. Nice to be with the Poles and also to taste many other nations through a gathering within the festival called Kaliediscope. This group was hosted by Debbie and Andrew Jones and brought together many leaders globally to name some of what they see God doing in their nations.

The Brazilians were so alive, passionate and inspiring as were the Portugese. It was interesting to see what each nation was focused on spiritually as well. In brazil, the couple who came minister into the gay and transvestite communities as well as have an arts education program. The church is very alive in brazil and it was fun hearing a younger nation speaking into europe and thanking her for all she had given in history. We made many new friends at this festival.

On our last night we hosted a huge banquet in a fully restored baroque ballroom. We had everyone wear a costume and did "last supper" photos, twelve at a time of course, with the entire group. We were about seventy in the end. Despite the fact that it was difficult to imagine how the monks afforded such a lavish banquet hall, it was truly remarkable to eat with seventy amazing people in a very heightened and lavish environment.

Also had deep talks with Denny Hurst who, with his wife Maureen and kids live now near Lisbon, after serving with YWAM in italy for the past twenty years. They work with musicians and throw festivals, and are just great solid grounded people of life. A real honor and joy to get to camp with Denny and glean his insights into sheparing artists.

After Slot, we went to Prague and got to attend our friend's Sasa and Katka's twentieth wedding anniversary. Moravian wine, fire and deep talks of marriage and family in their orcharded house. Also that night got to meet the guys from "The Violet Burning"--nice exchange with these guys who were playing festivals in europe and had just played Slot.
We then went camping with our dear friends the Jones and got to cap it off with a shared few days in Karlovy Vary.

Often, we forget, or at least i do--all that we do, and the places we go. So i wanted to write up the sequence on this summer's journeys. Three months ago, i was in Prague attending and performing in the Bible21 launch, then to be back last week at our friends anniversary in the city were we were married was a special bookend for us. Our friends are so spread out that when we do actually get to share the same geography for moment it is dear to us, and rich.
So we are thankful.

In a few weeks, i return to switzerland to shoot a video with our friends Bryce and Sam Wagner who work with Mercy Ships. I was over last month to prep the shoot, and am looking forward to the actual filming. They are a very creative family and their music is bringing life into some heavy spaces. We are glad to be collaborating with so many alive and kingdom forward people in our lives. People living out their callings and passions keep us inspired to live out ours! Thanks everyone for sharing your lives with us, we hope we also left a lingering smooth taste and a pleasant fragrance in yours!

We continue to enjoy being artists and linking them with communities globally, and getting to know leaders who are working in creative frontiers. It is a joy to taste what new things are birthing around the world and to be co-inspired by others who are living out their dreams and callings.

We like being part of facilitating a local, creative and authentic expression of the Kingdom coming from who we are; but also need to continuously behold the multifaceted jewel of His uniquely shaped expressions around the world. God has allowed us to do this through a very organic and real network of global relationships.

For us the joy of just visiting our friends and sharing in their lives is the deepest motivation for travel. We have tried to live in and out this pilgrimage of becoming God's global family, for His Own pleasure. To be the joints and sinews between so many parts of His Body and the art world is always a cultural challenge, but also a great pleasure in getting to know and love more and more of Him through our journeys. Peace and life to you wherever you are, and may your road in Him rise up to meet ya!

We just got back from a 3-week trip visiting many friends in Europe. It was a long-overdue trip, and sometimes I wish each day was more like a month. (I'm a quality-time person.) I've got a number of thoughts stemming from our recent travels but there was one I couldn't wait to come home and write about (because I left my computer at home--and yes, some days it feels like my brain is attached to my computer--I am just one of those kinds of people). It is about hospitality.

Hospitality, in my mind, is one of the most indispensible gifts of any spiritual community, not only to their visiting friends and neighbors, but to total strangers. I know this because when I have been in the home of someone who has a true gift for hospitality, I feel really and truly loved and taken care of. Whether this has been in the home of someone with wealth or someone with next to nothing doesn't matter--the feeling I have when I leave a house of hospitality is the same.

Now while scripture urges Christian people to practice hospitality, I don't think everyone has it innately. You can learn it, but I do think from having been with certain people that it is a spiritual gift--and gifts are given not only to encourage each other they are given so that woven together the church becomes a unified expression of love to others. In my friends I experience many aspects of Christ--thus a pretty dynamic community--but not all of them are gifted in the same areas. I have friends who truly have the gift of hospitality. I personally don't think it's one of my native gifts, but I know how huge this gift is from having really practiced it the last two or so years.

I also think there are cities and regions and nations with the gift of hospitality--and other nations that could learn some cues from them. But I'll get into that later. I guess my heart in writing this was to emphasize to anyone who cares how much work goes into hosting others and practicing hospitality. In my "tribe" and the community of Christians I call friends, there are many pilgrims and people in missions or traveling ministries. Some of these are people who are seeking, and looking for a new frontier in their personal spiritual growth, by traveling and going to meet communities in other countries, or visiting festivals or conferences, etc. Some of these are leaders in Christian ministry or Christian charity or missions. The very nature of their job is not only to connect the global body of Christ, but to discover the frontiers that few other people are willing to travel.