New Earth -by Chip Murray (Listen after reading)

I’m gonna wake up every morning to lose what I must win,

and find another way of livin’ that feels good within my skin…

I’m gonna throw away the book of lies that brought me to this place…

gonna see myself reflected in the timelessness of grace.

Gonna tear down every stinkin’ wall I built to keep me in…

Gonna pledge allegiance to myself and save my only friend…

from this mountain of fears, I stand bold and in my tracks..

When you open this door there ain’t no turnin’ back..

from a New Earth under you.- Chip Murray, New Earth

I was always taught to look on the sunny side. And the sunny side of doom is the glory of redemption, renewal and rebirth. If we are truly honest with ourselves, we will admit that many (if not all) of the most powerful “growth” stages in our lives came when circumstance forced change.

Good morning dear friends…Rocky says hello! I wanted to talk about relationship with God this morning, and share my personal experience with you. I grew up in a place not far from where I am sitting writing to you right now, called Wyckoff, New Jersey. We were members of the congregation of the Wyckoff Reformed Church…which I could walk to from our home on Oakwood Drive. I had to cross a good size field and cemetery to get there. There was many a wonderful football game played on that field, and I used to sing to the dead people in the cemetery all the time. They weren’t all that encouraging, but they never booed me…(sorry)

But what I want to share with you is the fact that in all the church services and all the sermons, I never felt the connection to God…as much as I desperately wanted to. I even ran away from the troubles at home once and actually slept underneath the pulpit overnight…hoping he would make an appearance I suppose. I can remember when my sister and our good friend Danny had found God and prayed over my sick-bed when I was down with a bad case of the flu…and all I could think of was how I envied their divine connection!

And yet, what is crystal clear to me now, all the while I was developing and strengthening the very infrastructure, highways and byways of the inner being that would lead me to grace. Early on it was the nurturing of my poet’s heart…which transitioned eventually to singing and songwriting, as a way of expressing the otherwise inexplicable.

I did not realize it at the time, but every step I took towards this part of myself was a step closer to the God who had eluded me for so long.

But it wasn’t until just a few years ago that I realized the source…and the transition is fascinating. Up until then, I thought I was simply a gifted songwriter who my wife helped me to discover in a deeper way…which led to my first CD, Gone Wishin’ in 2004. But then came Wide Awake last year, and I remember having this epiphanous understanding of the talk of Dylan’s songs being channeled…and it all made sense. It would explain why Dylan could never allow himself to be a political spokesman…because he knew it wasn’t his voice! He knew he was just the messenger!

Once I understood this, I began to pay much closer attention to the message. It became my True North-inner point of reference and bearings to the outside world, instead of the other way around. And as this realization came steadily into focus, every dot in the universe connected and clicked like the tumblers of one gigantic safe! In that instant, I understood my journey, the pain and suffering, the people I hurt, the people who hurt me…the why? I understood what matters and what doesn’t…what’s worth fighting for, and what isn’t.

And most importantly I see us, and I see behind the curtain of generations of lies…lies that are sewn into the fancy parchment of titles, certifications and diplomas promising the stars…and representing nothing! IT IS NOT WHAT A MAN HANGS ON HIS WALL, BUT WHAT HE HOLDS IN HIS HEART THAT IS EVERYTHING!

There is a monster storm dear friend…a twister that will blow everything down. The old earth will die and the New Earth will rise. Offer your hand to those who will listen, and pray for those who won’t. But know dear friend, and this I promise…the only solid and high ground is within you!

http://shutupnsing.wordpress.com/2011/12/11/the-sunday-morning-tune...