Maker Moment # 77: Look Up More

chances are you probably know about Improv Everywhere - a performance art group from New York City. They were formed in 2001 by Charlie Todd and their slogan is 'we cause scenes.' Basically, the group carries out harmless pranks or 'missions' as they call them, in public spaces around the city. once missions are developed, they use social media to get the word out - then anyone who wants can participate in the missions. these 'flash mob' scenes are aimed to bring about 'chaos and joy.'

Frozen Grand Central Station is probably IE's most famous (and creative) flash mob gathering.



Improv Everywhere has spawned copycat flash mobs - to the point that the flash mob idea is gaining a cult-like following. Just YouTube "flash mob" and you'll see what i mean.

recently a flash mob video from Macy's department store has gone viral - with over 14 million views on YouTube in just over 3 weeks. This Christmas Food Court Flash Mob consists of shoppers standing up and singing the many parts of Handel's Hallelujah chorus.

What makes Improv Everywhere and other Flash mobs so appealing to people? I think it has to do with the idea that people want to be a part of something that is bigger than themselves. these friendly mobs are a picture of true community at its best. strangers coming together to bring goodness, delight and joy to the masses. people connected with something in common. people united for simple, some-what child like enjoyment.

mankind was wired for this! to be connected. to be in community with others. God wired us this way because at the core of the human heart is a need to be wanted, appreciated, needed and connected.

this brings me to the Christmas season of which we are now in the midst of. at the heart of the Christmas story are disconnected people being brought together because of the shining light that entered the world, in the form of a humble, innocent baby boy - born in a dirty, smelly stable.

there's an Improv Everywhere mission titled 'Look Up More' in which participants of this flash mob stand in the store front windows of a large, multi-story shopping mall. After doing a series of harmless stunts in unison (jumping jacks, pointing, dancing, etc.) the members in the middle section of windows hold up letters spelling out the phrase: L-O-O-K U-P M-O-R-E, to the amazement of the spectators who have gathered outside, across the street.

a simple reminder to 'look up more.' perhaps a reminder for all humans to look around and see the world - to see it's beauty... to see it's innocence, and to enjoy what God has given us all.

think of the group of shepherds on the hillside of Bethlehem, tending their sheep that special night 2,000 years ago. The looked up to the stars and an angel appeared - to proclaim the good news of a savior's birth. Think of the wise men - who saw the star in the east (Matthew 2:1-2) and followed it to the foot of the Messiah. They 'looked up' and the great light brought them not only together with each other - but together with the new born King of Kings. By looking up, the shepherds and wise men were instantly connected to Jesus.

and so God got there attention - and the attention of others. and so a connection was made. and so Christ-centered community was created.

and so it continues today. the innocence of the birth of our Savior connects us and reminds us that we long to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. we long to belong!

Improv Everywhere reminds us... flash mobs remind us... and this Christmas season, may the story of the birth of Jesus remind us: to truly belong - we must look up. see the stars. understand our role in the story. recognize that God is shining down upon us. every night. trying to get our attention.

just like the flash mobs referenced above: may we draw attention to the One greater than us all - who longs for us all to be a part of a his community, filled with grace and hope and love.

forever and ever.
amen.

MAKER MOMENT: Dayvan Cowboy

one of my favorite music videos of all time. it shows how sound and image, when edited together, can be a beautiful blending of creativity and art. the two (the music and film) become one.

creativity is one of God's blessed gifts to mankind.

[Dayvan Video wiki]

MAKER MOMENT: the meaning of life

it is our task to create foretastes of the kingdom of God on this planet -- living glimpses of what life is meant to be, which included art and music and poetry and shared laughter and picnics and politics and moral outrage and special privileges for children only and wonder and humor and endless love.
~ Robert McAfee Brown
[c]

thoughts while watching the sunrise from the parking lot of a shopping complex PART 2

[on friday morning, August 15 i took my sister to the airport at 6am - so that she could catch a flight back home to Portland, Maine. rather than driving all the way home - i decided to 'kill' some time early in the morning until 9:30am - when i had to pick up something from Best Buy. i had over 3 hours to fill and i was really tired because i stayed up late the night before watching the Olympics. the following is PART TWO of "Free Expression" writing. i decided to look for potential God moments as I sat inside a Starbucks.]

Sitting in Starbucks now. The atmosphere is inviting. Jovial. Sunny. Literally. The morning sun is shining in through the pane of glass. Old soul music flares up over the speakers above my head.

Already I am allowing myself to get distracted from the surroundings. Trying to get on their internet connection.

Let me take a moment to observe.
Original art pieces decorate the walls. Cd’s for sale next to coffee in bags. Architecture that is edgy and clean. Promotional materials. Baristas… with green aprons… no one with the coveted black one. People walking in and out… one woman with a baby. Now a line has formed. Outside of the windows – sitting in the sun are a number of patrons. One woman is reading the newspaper. Four old men sit outside with their coffee conversing about football or the weather or politics or what ever. A co-worker adds supplies to the closet. A business man works hard crunching numbers. “have a big order? Call ahead. 330-494-0454” “Komodo Dragon = $13.45/lb. On my wobbly table sits a vase with a plastic banana in it. There must be some sort of jungle theme going on here as a paper mache monkey resembling Curious George sits on a display case.

I can pick up a number of pay-to-use wifi signals. TA truck stop is across the highway and I can pick it up here. T-Mobile here at starbucks and Att net.

Different people talk on their cell phone. It’s early for that. 7:53 now.

Where is God in this moment?
In the conversation.
In the contemplative thought of the man in the oversized comfy chair.
In the music that plays.
In the inner-tangling of my cords… ear buds and apple power adapter.
In the Rob Bell video I am now watching.
In the sun that shines through onto my fingertips.
In the slow, quiet walk I envision doing when I get home..
In the beauty of every person who walks though the door.
In the Vivanno Nourishing Blend non-smoothie that provides energy and protein and fiber powder and whole banana.
In my Peppermint mocha that my wife introduced me to – therefore hooking me on coffee blends mostly from Starbucks… and sometimes Speedway.
In the word ‘Sacrifice.’
In the act of obeying God that Abraham shown us.
In the contemplative thought of the man in the oversized comfy chair who is now sleeping.
In the palm tree.
In the art and the music. In the architecture. In the refection that I see with my peripheral vision. A truck just drove by. A person enters. Reflections… reflect.
Beauty.

thoughts while watching the sunrise from the parking lot of a shopping complex PART 1

[on friday morning, August 15 i took my sister to the airport at 6am - so that she could catch a flight back home to Portland, Maine. rather than driving all the way home - i decided to 'kill' some time early in the morning until 9:30am - when i had to pick up something from Best Buy. i had over 3 hours to fill and i was really tired because i stayed up late the night before watching the Olympics. the following is PART ONE of "Free Expression" writing. i decided to look for potential God moments as i parked my car in a parking lot minutes before dawn.]



The world is watching. To my left, out the car window, sitting in the parking lot at the Strip, a major shopping complex in northwest stark county, are a number of video surveillance cameras. Watching. Me. I almost didn’t notice.

They are always there. We go on in our daily lives… we don’t even notice. But they are everywhere. My life is too busy to notice.

The oher day – while on vacation, my son, micah and I were riding around lakeside in a glof cart. It was early evening… and he noticed something that we don’t often hear… a chirping noise… almost musical, he called the sound. “what is it?”

Crickets, I said.

We had a conversation about crickets. Why do they make music? Where are they? Are they nocturnal? Yeah – he used the words nocturnal. How did he know that word? Are they nocturnal like skunks? Why do skunks stink?

We went to the cottage and went to bed.

A day or two or three later, I had long forgotten about the cricket conversation. When micah asked me again about crickets. I told him, we have already talked about this. He said, in the middle of the day, mind you, again about crickets.

Why do you ask? I said. “Because I hear one but it’s not night time.” He forgot to go to bed.

Crickets. Always around us. Making music. Mostly at night. But not always.
They are all around us… making music…
but we don’t hear it. It blends in with the rest of the chaos that is around us.

The music is all around us.

Are we tuned in to the wrong frequency?



God is all around us. Watching us. Trying to get our attention.

silence of morning

birds make their songs known...
who is there to listen?
yet they still make their music loud.
proud of the melodies.
simple melodies that communicate so much.
they do it instinctively.

no matter if you or i bother to take time to listen.
even the wind can't silence them.
after a summer rain - their music intensifies...
sort of a homecoming
or a calling home.
they now have my attention.

there is something to be said about the
songs of the winged folk -
perched in trees mightily singing
for all or none to hear.
for they are not driven by others
but by God.



written early monday morning while sitting on the front porch swing... taking a moment...

Maker Moment #33

watching Dead Poets Society.

so much truth is found within. the entire movie is a God moment... waiting to speak to you if your eyes and ears are open.

i love it when i see and hear from God through a film.




what films does God speak to you through?

Maker Moment #1

read the book SEEING GOD IN THE ORDINARY by Michael Frost.

it has inspired my previous posts from today... and shall inspire many more.

what an eye opener...

Maker Moment #2

Do you see the magnificent love of the Father all around us?

the Maker is creating everyday, in-between moments for us to connect with Him... daily. after God created man on day 6 - he didn't just stop being who He is... he didn't cease to be Creator anymore, did he? God's creation is present tense. to Him creativity is as connected to us as is love, a love that abounds. you can not separate God's creativity from his love.






all we have to do is look. it's all around us. his love is there, eyes open or not.





Look.











maybe you need to view life from a different angle... maybe then you'll see.

Maker Moment #18

Sigur Rós





finding God in the simplistic things... finding hope in the unintelligible words and sounds...


because sometimes we have a hard time putting words to the feelings and emotions that are found from within us... our expression is pleasing to God - he is with us and he understands us. the Holy Spirit groans... (1 Thes. 5:15-17, Romans 8:26, etc.) with this comes hope... a hope that someone understands our deepest, darkest, inner-most being.

this is what comes to mind when i listen to Icelandic band Sigur Rós.

much of their music is sung in a form of Vonlenska.

Vonlenska is a term used to describe the gibberish sung by the band, in particular Birgisson. It is also commonly known by the English translation of its name, Hopelandic. It takes its name from “Von”, a song on Sigur Rós’s debut album Von where it was first used. Von - in icelndic means 'hope'.

Vonlenska is not a real language as it lacks a consistent grammar structure, word meaning, or even distinct words as such. Instead, it consists of meaningless syllables; the band’s website describes it as “a form of gibberish vocals that fits to the music”. Most of the syllable strings sung by Birgisson are repeated many times throughout each song, and in the case of ( ), throughout the whole album. As the rest of Sigur Rós’s lyrics are sung in Icelandic, which most of their audience do not understand, an unknowing listener could easily take Vonlenska to be Icelandic and be unaware that a song’s lyrics do not have a direct literal translation. Rather it is a form of expression. (from Wikipedia)

songs of choice:

Untitled #8 from the album ( )

Gong from the album Takk

Festival from the album Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust ("With a Buzz in Our Ears We Play Endlessly")

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Now playing: Sigur Rós - Untitled 8
via FoxyTunes

Maker Moment #42

God is all around us... revealing himself to us... are our eyes open enough to see Him?






'We sing "Great is thy faithfulness, O Lord. Your mercies are new every morning." Every day God shows us grace and favor, but we're too busy to spot it.' - Michael Frost (from the book Seeing God in the Ordinary

i read this while sitting in our postage-stamp sized backyard last evening. the sun was preparing to set. the kids were playing joyfully. a gentle breeze kept me cool. and God came near.

i stopped. got the camera and captured the moment... so that i would not forget.
































God is all around us - making a pass at us - trying to get out attention.
are you OPEN?

SEE. HEAR. TASTE. TOUCH. FEEL.


i will strive to post more Maker Moments from here on out.