The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship

Hello friends. I would like to extend an invitation to each and every one of you to join me on a journey of sorts. More and more lately, I have become aware that my brain lacks any form of a conventional on/off switch. Through various circumstances, I somewhat recently realized that some of my reoccurring musings and deeper ponderings may have great relevance to a relatively large number of people, and since I enjoy processing in written form as much as I do, decided to start the blog that you are now reading. The topics covered will be wide and varied, but basically boil down into two categories:

1. Truth
Yes, truth does indeed exist. Discovering universal and absolute truth to me is like unearthing some buried ancient civilization: little by little dusting and scraping off the dirt and grime until something beautiful, painful, intricate, or even at times disarmingly simple stands before you. As Derek Webb pointedly sings, "I can't afford to pay for most of what I say, so it's a lucky thing that the truth is public domain." Nothing I will write will truly be original material. Ultimately, truth itself stems from the nature and word of God. It also manifests itself in nature, relationships, etc., but it all goes back to the aforementioned. Most of the issues, challenges, and other subject matter covered will go back to Scripture and other related writings. It's good stuff.

2. Music
I love everything to do with music: playing it, listening to it, analyzing it, learning more about it, enjoying it. I'm not sure exactly how this will hash itself out into the blog itself yet, but it no doubt will. There are those incredible instances when truth and music meld together to form a gem of priceless brilliance. Goosebumps happen.

So that out of the way, let's lay down some ground rules, shall we? First, I would greatly enjoy feedback on posts, additions, and even questions or suggestions for future posts. I don't have all the answers, and a slightly more public forum approach rather than a one way bout of preaching sounds more appealing to me. That being said, I don't want to check the blog and find it littered with petty arguments about the existence of God, homosexuality, creation vs. evolution debates, etc. Those topics have their place, and may be addressed, but Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians that we are to speak the truth "in love", and I've gotten very burnt out by reading the comments under most videos and blogs affiliated with Christianity filled with hatred directed in both directions. Regardless of where you are at spiritually, whether you join me in my belief in Christ as Savior and Lord or not, I pray that you would not be attacked as a result of my blog. I won't shy away from writing possibly offensive content if it is solidly Biblical, but in order to build up, not beat down.

I'm very excited to see where this all leads. Whether it's only you reading what I decide to post, or if there are others along for the ride, it should be a wild and woolly one. And best of all, there's no toll booths!

-Matt