New Hymn

This is a hymn I recently wrote. It began as a project for my "Song Lyrics and Theology" class when I was in seminary. I am still a novice but about a week ago I decided to try my hand at writing a song on the mandolin. I picked out a basic chord progression I liked and then starting thinking of what would fit lyrically. I started flipping through the songs written for the Song Lyrics and Theology class and this one fit nearly perfect. I started playing with it, altered the chord progression slightly, and then began writing a few more stanzas. I ended up with five, went over them with Abby, one got cut and this is what I ended up with.

I added in the chord progression above the first stanza. I also added the Bible verses that inspired each line. (I think this was part of the original assignment and it naturally carried over into the rest of the writing process.) Some of the lines are direct quotes from the verses and some simply served as inspiration. You will see 2 lines have no Bible verse attached. Though I could probably find some verse that was related to these 2 lines, these lines were not actually inspired by a specific verse but by my experience. I hope to do a little video blog recording of it (with Abby singing perhaps, hopefully?) and post it so you can hear the melody.

G C G
Behold, He is coming (Rev 22:7)
C G C D
He whose voice is like the sea (Rev 1:15)
Em C Em C
His eyes, they blaze like a consuming fire (Rev 1:14)
Em C D G
And from this fount doth spring the tree (Rev 22:2)

This world is full of darkness
But he will make all things new (Rev 21:5)
In His hand He holds every star (Rev 1:16)
And with this hand, He holds mine too

We hear every nation (Rev 7:9)
Cry holy, holy thrice to thee (Rev 4:8)
He is who was, and He is to come (Rev 4:8)
The one and only Almighty (Rev 4:8)

His leaves will bring all healing (Rev 22:2)
and in the swaying join the tune (Romans 8:22)
as the Spirit and Bride cry, "JESUS COME!" (Rev 22:17)
He replies, "I'm coming soon." (Rev 22:20)

Double Rainbows

There have been a ton of remixes, parodies, and tributes to the "Double Rainbows" video. I mean, the guy got his own Kodak commercial. But the one below is by far my favorite. Enjoy.

If you don't know what this is reffering to, shame on you and go watch it right now.

The Infinitely Short Lifespan of Technology

In 2003 I graduated from high school, was preparing for college and my parents bought me a killer laptop. 2.4 GHZ, 512 MB of RAM, 40GB of hard drive space, and it only weighed 7.1 lbs!

You read the above and it makes you laugh! 40GB of hard drive? Today 250GB is the standard and 500GB isn't even blinked at. 512MB of RAM? Ha! 2GB is the standard and 4GB isn't even a problem.

Now consider this: When my parents bought that laptop, it probably cost around $900. It might have been $600, it might have been $1,200, I don't remember. Today, I sold that computer for $50. That might make you laugh. I sort of teeter between laughing and sadness. Think about the swift decease in value this piece of technology experienced. I used it hardcore for 6 years before I bought a new one. It worked fine. The thing that doomed it was that it had become slow and I was tired of putting up with it. Had the computer changed? Not really. It might have lost a step but it wasn't much slower than the day I bought it. It was just slower by comparison to what is out now.

Anyway, that's what I am thinking about this morning. Bought a comp for $900 in 2003, sold it for $50 in 2010.

The Ocho

In the movie Dodgeball they showed the dodgeball tournament on ESPN8, The "Ocho."



I got such a huge kick out of that. I am an ESPN nut and loved that they were poking fun of how many channels ESPN had. I mean, seriously, do we need this much sports TV?

Then last night I realized that ESPN almost has 8 regular TV channels!

1. ESPN
2. ESPN2
3. ESPNews
4. ESPN U
5. ESPN Classic
6. ESPN Deportes

Those are 6 normal channels you can get on cable. If you include ESPN3.com, which is an online site where you can stream live video (and they are pushing really hard right now) they are up to 7! Please, please let them make one more channel and actually call it "The Ocho."

---

I just did a little wikipedia research. ESPN has tons of channels I didn't know about. ESPN Goal Line, ESPN Plus, ESPN Brasil, ESPN International, ESPN Australia. Then there are all their HD channels. You can technically count ESPN2 and ESPN2HD as two separate channels. Wikipedia actually lists 22 different ESPN channels. Wow.

Amazing Video

This video is ridiculous. The things this guy is doing in a car are unbelievable.



Here is the full article describing what the video is about. The article describes the ridiculous nature of the last trick and how dangerous it was (as if everything he did wasn't dangerous!)


http://espn.go.com/action/news/story?page=ken-block-unveils-gymkhana-three

Hey you, with the mouth! Watch it!

The chronological reading list has me reading straight through Proverbs. Reading chapter after chapter has helped me pick up on one of the major themes of Proverbs, watching what we say. Proverbs again and again mentions our mouths, lips, words, etc. It is clear that the author thought it was important that people that people be careful with the words they say. Here are just 10 of the "watch what you say" proverbs from chapters 10-15 with commentary in italics:

10:11 - "The mouth of the righteous is a foundation of life, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked."

I appreciate the imagery here. The words of the righteous nourish and give life to those around them while the words of the wicked are violent. I picture demons and devils pouring from the mouth of the wicked.

(A truly wicked mouth)

10:14 - "Wise men store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin."

We all know that our words can ruin us. Clamp down on that tongue! Think before you speak!

10:19 - "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise."

This is so powerful, driving home the point that our loose tongues bring down sin upon us.

10:21a - "The lips of the righteous nourish many..."

This states point blank what I was saying about 10:11. Our good words nourish others. At the same time...

11:9a - "With his mouth the godless destroys his neighbor..."

Our words can also destroy. A lie, a secret told that is no ones business but the owner of the secret, a half-truth, a false accusation can destroy.

11:11 - "Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed."

Words are so powerful that they can bless or bring down an entire city (or even a nation).

11:12 - "A man who lacks judgements derides his neighbor, but a man of judgement holds his tongue."

Now this one is really important. I think of deriding someone as talking bad about them. Just like, "I can't believe so-and-so said that (says the gossip, ironically)" or "I can't believe so-and-so did that." If you can't say something nice...

12:22 - "The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful."

BAM! God DETESTS lying lips. Hates them! Don't lie! You want God to love your lips (just like Larry loves his)

13:3 - "He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin."

Your LIFE is tied to your words. Wow.

15:4 - "The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit."

Again, the power of words, but just to destroy but to bring life. The tree of life is a powerful image, found both in Genesis and Revelation. This isn't a throw-away line.

(A different Tree of Life, the one found at Disney's Animal Kingdom.)

I know I need to get better at holding my tongue, at keeping my mouth shut and not saying bad things about people. I know that when I do it, it is to make myself look good. That is selfish, it is sinful, and it has to stop. Please, if you hear me doing anything like this, if you hear me use my words to destroy instead of to bring life, please take me aside and correct me. I don't want to be the person who people think, "I wonder what he says about me when I'm not around." I want to be the man, that when I die, people say "I never heard him say a bad thing about anybody."

James Hance: Very Cool Pop Art

I want to share with you all this artist I have recently found. His name is James Hance and as his website says he makes "Relentlessly Cheerful Art." He makes fun mash-ups of star wars/winnie the pooh, sesame street/DC Comics, The Beatles/Jurassic Park, etc. Every piece is a fun pop reference mash up.

If you haven't heard, Abby and I are going to be welcoming a baby boy into the world in February. I want to put one of (or all three) of these pieces in the nursery room.


The prints are only $10. So, if you want to get us a super cool gift...just saying.

Please go to www.jameshance.com and check out James' art. My favorite section art the paintings/prints and the cartoons. Here are a few more samples of what James does.

What will it be?

Tomorrow we find out the gender of our baby (hopefully, if the baby cooperates). I am excited about it. People have asked me:
a. What do I think it is?
b. What do I want it to be?

Here are my answers:
a. I THINK it will be a girl. Reason #1 is that it is just a gut feeling.
Reason #2 is that I have had two dreams about Abby and I's life with a baby and both times the baby in the dream was a little girl. This surely contributes to my gut feeling.

(For fun, here are the dreams)
Dream A: Before Abby got pregnant I dreamed we were in our house on Brookwood Lane. I was sitting on the huge leather sectional and our days-old infant was laying on the couch. Abby told me she wanted to go take a shower, got up and walked down the hallway toward our bedroom. To my surprise the days-old baby got up, and started walking, following Abby down the hallway saying "Momma, momma." I was shocked and my only thought was "How are you doing this? You are days old. You shouldn't be able to walk or talk yet?" I was simultaneously proud at having a genius baby and frightened by this completely impossible behavior.

Dream B: I dreamed that Abby had our baby while I was gone. I do not know where I was or why I missed the birth, but in the dream it was evident I was only hours, if not minutes late. Regardless, Abby had already named the child. It was some name we had never discussed. I can't remember the first name but the middle name was definitely Vanderwae. I was furious. I was breaking stuff and punching walls and crying. Clearly, being a part of the naming process is important to me.

This is the only "Vanderwae" I know. Ernest Maurice "Kiki" Vandeweghe III, a former NBA player. He is an NBA analyst for ESPN. I thought his name was Vanderwae until today.


b. This answer has changed in the last 6 months. I at first wanted a baby girl, mostly because my niece is a girl and I was used to her. I could envision that. Raising a boy seemed terrifying to me, and I can not express why. Then my nephew was born and I could more easily envision a boy. Two months ago I came up with a name for a boy that I really love. It sounds good to the ear, it is unique but not weird and has a real meaning behind it; everything I want for all my kid's names. Now I sort of want a boy just so I can use this name. Also, like every man, I want a boy so that my family name can be passed on. I want there to be a 4th Delane Wilkinson (My grandfather, father, and me all share the middle name Delane as will my son if i have one).

So, thats where I am. Either way I will be happy. I will protect and be wrapped around the finger of my daughter or I will wrestle my boy and teach him how to be a man. No way to lose here.

I love Blogs/Blogs I love

I really like the concept of blogs. I like that they give me the ability to keep up with the lives of my friends who live at a distance. They also give us the opportunity to peek into the thoughts and feelings of our friends. I feel like blogs let in you in to Level 2 of a person. (Level 1 is the surface level stuff, Level 2 is a little deeper: thoughts, feelings, dreams, etc. Level 3 is that intimate, I-only-tell-my-best-friends-these-things, and that should not be blogged about.)

Anyway, I really like blogs. Below are the blogs I follow. I know that some can be seen on the bar to the right, but those are only blogspot blogs. Below includes blogs of friends who use wordpress, tumblr, etc. You might want to check some or all of these out:

Abby Wilkinson: My wife. Her blog is 'cute' and will be a fun one to follow as our life tends to be a little crazy

Cayli Clemmons: A friend from college who is working for Campus Crusade for Christ at the University of Tennessee

DJ Ennis: aka Dodger aka Dot aka Deej

Evan Duszynski: it seems that Evan saves his philosophical thoughts for his blog

Holland Hames: an Asbury friend who is graduated and off to the next stage of life. Navy? Sales? Traveling Europe? Who knows, Holland might do them all.

Jen Wiles: a friend from college who is currently on a 6 week road trip across the US. She is fun and philosophical.

Jenelle McClean: Asbury Freshmen Class Sponsor, Initiative Grant winner, all around fun person.

Jonathan Powers: musician/theologian

Kate Brannen: Who doesn't love Kate Brannen? I mean seriously?

Kyle Westfall: a great friend from seminary. He has only begun to blog, but if he gets going it will be a fun read

Lauren John: recently did a fabulous photo shoot in a sunflower garden

Marie-Claire: elle écrit avant qu'elle pense

Mark and Erin: friends from college who blogged their entire pregnancy/birth and are now refelcting on life with a newborn. Truthful, endearing, and sometimes graphic

Matt Walters: dude younger than me who is teaching undergrad level English classes at my alma mater

Phil Tallon: currently teaching @ Asbury University, Asbury Seminary & the CSC @UK. 2 books coming out soon.

Ryan Kocak: former roommate. husband. father. gardener. seminary student. theologian. poet.

Sarah Seaton: Sarah works as a promo editor or something like that for the DIY network. She meets fun people like the Man vs. Food guy and also does freelance video stuff.

Sarajane Case: granola eating, world traveling, fun-inspiring. Also a fantastic photographer. A true liver-of-life. And a dear friend.

Life at K-Homes: the blog of a friend who lives in India as a mi**ionary. Read about her life and then pray for her ministry. I love how honest she is in her blog.

If you are not on my list and you are a friend of mine its probably because I don't know you have a blog so comment with your blog address. It might also be because you have a blog but haven't updated it in months. I might still follow you but wasn't going to suggest anyone else do so as I don't want to suggest a dead blog. You know who you are.

Avatar: The Last Airbender

When I went to Florida in July to visit my younger brother, one of the things he wanted to do was watch Avatar: The Last Airbender. I had heard good things about the show and while down there we knocked out a large portion of the show. Once I got back to KY I kept watching the show via Netflix. Abby got into it with me and for 2 weeks it was our favorite thing to do. We finished it a few weeks back. Here are my thoughts:

1. The show is light on the annoying parts of anime. The big eyes and huge sweat drops are only used occasionally and are actually funny most of the time. The truth is that the few times the show does go heavy on the anime are the times the show is poking fun at anime.

2. The humor grows on you. At first I found the humor to be childish and dumb. Then I realized, "This show was made for children", got over myself, and just accepted it for what is was. After season 1 I found the entire show very funny.

3. Prince Zuko has the best character arc and is by far the most interesting character4. The show does a pretty good job of depicting traditional Asian culture, especially the honor/shame motif and Buddhist values.

5. The show posited solid philosophical questions with no easy answers.

6. The show at times is overly simple and rushes character development.

7. I will NOT see the movie. People have told me its bad. Why would I waste my time watching a poorly made movie, especially when I have watched such great source material.

Overall verdict of the show as a whole (3 seasons): 7.5 out of 10. If you grew up watching cartoons, enjoy indulging your inner child, and appreciate Asian culture you will enjoy the show.

The Shack

I feel that as soon as people read the title of my post they will either groan or cheer. The Shack was a phenomenon a few years back. People seemed to either love it or hate it. At my family's Christmas present exchange the year it came out, three of us received it as a gift. I sometimes like to read a book simply because everyone else is reading it and I want to be able to join the conversation with an informed opinion (God knows I join conversations all the time with an uninformed opinion. Forgive me if I have ever done this to you.) However, with The Shack I did not do this. I was interested in reading it but just never got around to it. Well, maybe two weeks ago I started it. I took it a chapter or three at a time and finished this weekend. Here are my thoughts:
1. It was written at a sub-par level. There were moments when I groaned at the low level of writing. I am not a fantastic writer but I read enough that I can spot poor writing. Actually, the book was written at a more-or-less average level with moments of poor writing and moments or great writing. The problem is inconsistency in quality of writing, in my opinion, makes for a poor reading experience.

2. It did have some awesome moments. The author did a good job showing the type of intimate relationship that we can have with God. He did a good job of presenting God as loving, at breaking down the mental walls we have that make us legalistic. He did a great job of showing how all three members of the trinity are truly one God. The image of Papa with scars in his hands, just as Jesus has scars in his, was particularly useful.

3. I am blown away that the only thing I had heard about the book was that God was a black woman. Did these people who were up in arms about this even finish the book? In the same passage the Holy Spirit is presented as an Asian woman. If you were upset about God being black or being a woman why were they not equally upset about the Holy Spirit being an Asian woman? And later in the book God shows himself as a man. I just want to throw my arms up and ask, "What is the big deal? Did you pay any attention to why God was presented in these ways? It was clearly explained! Are you so small minded?!"

4. It was a good time for me to read this book. It was not life changing but it did remind me of some life changing moments and seasons I had a few years back that I had gotten away from. That is how I would sum up the book; it was a good reminder. A quick and easy read that had something worthwhile to say.