A Sonoran Desert SONrise!

An awesome Sonoran Desert sunrise reminds me of a supernatural SONrise that is spectacular!

Miami Marine Stadium on Virginia Key in Miami, Florida was originally built for powerboat racing but the memory I will cherish forever was a Resurrection Day Sunrise Service only a few months before Hurricane Andrew in 1992. As the group Truth sang "Holy of Holies" the sun began rising over Biscayne Bay filling the sky with unforgettable colors.

"Watch the Lamb" by Ray Boltz fills my heart & spirit with tears of gratitude for all that JESUS has done for me & for you!

Daisy's Song" by Dominic Balli expresses beautifully the love JESUS has for you & for me!

"Peace on Earth" by New Zealand's Parachute Band will happen if we allow JESUS to be the Peace in us!

"Let the peace of CHRIST rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." — COLOSSIANS 3:15

"Que la paz de CRISTO reine en vuestros corazones, a la cual en verdad fuisteis llamados en un solo cuerpo; y sed agradecidos." — COLOSENSES 3:15

If we are able to live the truths of "Devoted" by Mynista our journey will be filled with Faith, Hope, Joy, Love, & Peace which will keep us refreshed emotionally, mentally, physically, & spiritually to complete the things that HE created for you & me to do!

"For we are GOD's workmanship, created in CHRIST JESUS to do good works, which GOD prepared in advance for us to do." — EPHESIANS 2:10

"Somos hechura de Dios, creados en Cristo Jesús para hacer las buenas obras, que Dios preparó de antemano para que anduviésemos en ellas." — EFESIOS 2:10

"Step by Step" by Rich Mullins is an awesome way to end with a song of prayer & I hope you have been blessed & encouraged.

"A Sonoran Desert SONrise!" YouTube Playlist

Peace be your journey.

“Worlds Apart” by Jars of Clay

A beautiful young lady inspired me to create a breakdown of "Worlds Apart" because the moment I met her, I was filled with joy, love, & peace. She will forever occupy a unique piece of my heart. I’ll never stop thinking about her even when we are "Worlds Apart."

A serendipitous five seconds helps me to remember all the wonderful memories we shared together on our journeys.

“I miss you! Oh my gosh! I forgot I’m connected to the freaking . . . car.” — Audio Clip sent to me accidentally so I am praising the LORD for accidents, well, at least this one. 

This was not a happy accident!

It was a joy, love, & peace filled blessing from heaven that fills my eyes with tears even as I write.

"There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief & unspeakable love." ― Washington Irving

Could the BEST 5 seconds of my life possibly be listening to a 5 second audio clip?

It is definitely possible because the last sentence of the audio clip she was laughing as only she can & each time I listen to it, my smile seems to grow even bigger than the Grinch.

 ¡Pedro y Pepé el perezoso en Cartagena, Colombia!

 

"A cheerful heart brings a smile to your face; a sad heart makes it hard to get through the day." — PROVERBS 15:13

Her sweet heart & resilient spirit inspire me.

Martha Luz & I will always love her!

"Our path in life is stony & rugged now & it rests with us to smooth it. We must fight our way onward. We must be brave. There are obstacles to be met & we must meet & crush them!" — Charles Dickens

How does any of that apply to a song I have enjoyed since 1995?

She & I were talking about how to process emotions & feelings that literally make us feel like crap & block our ability to pray. 

I recalled this SCRIPTURE which illuminates how GOD prays for us when we are unable to. 

“The SPIRIT helps our weakness; for we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the SPIRIT Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; & HE who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the SPIRIT is, because HE intercedes for the saints according to the will of GOD.” — ROMANS 8:26-27

I also told her that I was going to share a song with her because it has been a prayer of my heart countless times through the years & I am grateful that the Jars of Clay debut album I bought in 1995 still functions.

The  original "Worlds Apart" is almost the same as first half of the live version.

The remaining part of the song is an extra-special time of praise & worship filled with 25 Hallelujahs which is absolutely awesome to my spirit because of what Hallelujah means.

What does Hallelujah mean?

I shall let two well known sources explain, followed by the song/video link & lyrics,

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Halleluja as an interjection = Used to express joy, praise, & thanks

Halleluja as a noun = A shout or song of praise & thanksgiving

Wikipedia

Hallelujah is an interjection used as an expression of gratitude and adoration. 

The word hallel in Hebrew means a joyous praise in song. 

The second part, Yah, is a shortened form of YHWH (Yahweh in modern English), the name of the CREATOR. 

May we all be like a Manta Ray flying through the air unencumbered by natural limitations, allowing supernatural joy, love, & peace to make our lives soar to majestic heights!

"This is a song that has taken on a lot of new meanings lately." — Dan Haseltine 

"Worlds Apart" — Jars of Clay

I am the only one to blame for this

Somehow it all ends up the same

Soaring on the wings of selfish pride, flew too high

And like Icarus, I collide

With a world I try so hard to leave behind

To rid myself of all but love

To give and die

And turn away and not become

Another nail to pierce the skin of ONE who loved

More deeply than the oceans, more abundant than the tears

Of a world embracing every heartache

And can I be the one to sacrifice?

Or grip the spear and watch the blood and water flow?

Take my world apart

I am on my knees

Take my world apart

Broken on my knees

All said and done, I stand alone

Amongst remains of a life I should not own

Takes all I am to believe

In the mercy that covers me

And did YOU really have to die for me?

All I am for all YOU are because what I need and what I believe

Are worlds apart

So I pray

Take my world apart

I am on my knees

Take my world apart

Broken on my knees

Yeah

On my knees

On my knees

Yeah

I look beyond the empty cross

Forgetting what my life has cost

And wipe away the crimson stains

Dull the nails that still remain

More and more I need YOU now

I owe YOU more each passing hour

Battles between grace and pride

Gave up not so long ago

So steal my heart and take the pain

And wash my feet and cleanse my pride

Take the selfish, take the weak

All the things I cannot hide

Take my beauty, take my tears

Sin-soaked heart, make it YOURS

Take my world all apart

Take it now, take it now

And serve the ones that I despise

Speak the words I can't deny

Watch the world I used to love

Fall to dust and blow away 

I look beyond the empty cross 

Forgetting what my life has cost 

I wipe away the crimson stains

That dull the nails that still remain

Take my beauty, take my tears

Sin-soaked heart, make it YOURS

And all the things I cannot hide

Take my beauty, take my tears 

Take my world apart, yea take my world apart 

And I pray 

And I pray, I pray

Take my world apart

Worlds apart

It's worlds apart

Musical & Vocal Interlude Until . . .

Take, take, my world . . . apart

Take, take, my world . . . apart

Take, take, my world . . . apart

Take my world

Take my world

Take my world

Another Musical & Vocal Interlude Until . . .

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Sing it out

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

?

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

That was an epic bonus!

Next is Dan announcing they are done on the main stage but have a 4 song set on the acoustic stage & those will be for another day.

”We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from GOD & not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” — 2 CORINTHIANS 4:7-9

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Rediscovering Jars of Clay in the Desert!

“GOD takes everyone HE loves through a desert. It is HIS cure for our wandering hearts, restlessly searching for a new Eden. The best gift of the desert is GOD's presence. The protective love of the SHEPHERD gives me courage to face the interior journey." — Paul E. Miller

I have been richly blessed by everyone who has ever been part of Jars of Clay, especially the original members Dan Haseltine, Charlie Lowell, Stephen Mason, & Matthew Odmark.

“Worlds Apart” has been a prayer of my heart countless times through the years & I am grateful that the CD I bought in 1995 still functions.

25+ years ago I was in training with International Teams in Prospect Heights, Illinois because I would eventually be heading to the Spanish Language Institute in San Francisco de Dos Ríos, Costa Rica & then Medellín, Colombia to work in a youth ministry. 

During that missionary training on February 18, 1996 I thoroughly enjoyed a concert at the Rosemont Horizon that included Three Crosses, Jars of Clay, & Michael W Smith.

The "Boys" from Jars of Clay have become men who are inspirational living examples of simply doing what the LORD created us to do.

"We are GOD\"s workmanship, created in JESUS CHRIST to do good works, which GOD prepared in advance for us to do." — EPHESIANS 2:10

“Discovering El Salvador!” is my story of how a 2 week mission trip to an orphanage in Santo Tomás, El Salvador in June of 1990 changed my life forever. 

Why am I sharing this with y’all?

Despite serving the LORD the majority of my adult life, I have recently begun to break free from the darkest 20 months of my existence emotionally, mentally, physically, & spiritually.

“We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from GOD & not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” — 2 CORINTHIANS 4:7-9

“Rediscovering Jars of Clay" is invigorating me as “live” versions of songs I know are filled with new meaning & songs I am hearing for the first time are ministering to me precisely where I need it.

I am embarrassed to say that I only had the first 3 records but the combination of new with old excited me so much that I now have ALL the CD’s I did not have.

"Silence” is a song that I first encountered several years ago on YouTube that included heartbreaking footage of Tsunami destruction in Thailand causing me to wonder if GOD is even listening in the midst of suffering.

“The Box Canyon Sessions” version of “Silence” has brought tears to my eyes that fueled my spirit with an intense longing for GOD to rescue me out of the darkness. 

Why?

First of all, the setting that night brings back awesome memories when my wife & I took kiddos from 3 different foster care group homes to an outdoor concert by Dominic Balli in the backyard of a home in Tucson, Arizona & his song/video "Favela" featuring Nengo Vieira in Río de Janeiro, Brazil reminded me of ministering throughout the "barrios" of Medellín, Colombia.

Secondly, I cried for 2-3 hours every night when my wife & I were houseparents in Key West, Florida & then Oro Valley, Arizona because I was so frustrated & upset with the horrific abuse, neglect, & trauma those kiddos had experienced & a system that does not help any of them break the cycle within their families.

It is as if I needed to feel their pain at night but then get it out of my system in order to provide them with a home filled with joy, love, & peace the next day.

“Experiencing terrible pain opens our hearts & minds to express compassion for other people & communion with ourselves.” — Kilroy J. Oldster

Hopefully y’all have been encouraged by my words a fraction as much as I have been encouraged by the lyrics & music of Jars of Clay.

I pray that y'all will be richly blessed emotionally, financially, mentally, physically, & spiritually.

"Now glory be to GOD who by HIS mighty power that is at work within us, is able to carry out HIS purpose & do super abundantly, far over & above all that we dare ask or think, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams." — EPHESIANS 3:20

Peace be our journeys,

BPK aka Brian Pedro Keyes aka Weasel

P.S. The following quote when understood will fuel us to work supernaturally!

"Trying to do the LORD's work in your own strength is the most confusing, exhausting, & tedious of all work. But when you are filled with the HOLY SPIRIT, then the ministry of JESUS just flows out of you." ― Corrie ten Boom

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