Lord, Reign in Me – Brown

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty – Neander/Winkworth/arr. Carpenter

Unite My Heart – Mull (this was a song written by a kid at Sterling College… came from my songwriting workshops)

Your Grace Is Enough – Maher

Grace Greater Than Our Sin – Johnston/Towner/Carpenter

Sweet, Sweet Sound – Reeves/Cash

Lay It Down – Maher/Brown

So… here is the song list from this past weekend… two services on Saturday at Venue 302 in Hutchinson, Kansas and a Sunday morning service at Venue Sterling in Sterling, Kansas.  These services were being led by evenstill:

Come Inside – (Carpenter)

To God Be the Glory (We Ascribe To You) – (Crosby/Doane/Carpenter)

Join the Song (Your Redeemed) – (Carpenter/Miears)

Indescribable – (Story)

I Stand Amazed – (Gabriel/Carpenter)

From the mind and mouth of Shaun Groves:

Creative people are weird complex.  So this series is my attempt to explain us to anyone having to work or live with us.  Each statement is laid out as a contradiction.  I’m borrowing heavily from researcher Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s book Creativity: The Work and Lives of 91 Eminent People but putting him in my own words.  It’s more creative that way.

Read the rest of the first part of this here and the second part here.  If these don’t help you understand creative types (read that as Jonathan), then maybe nothing will.

Over three weeks ago I had a catastrophic failure that occurred when I attempted to upgrade server-side software… I am just now back to semi-normal status with the website.  This also gave me a reason to do a whole site redesign.  I will soon be providing more information as well about the band that I am playing with called Evenstill.  We are going to begin playing shows soon and will also be recording in the near future.

I have been absolutely pathetic about keeping my site updated this year… I realize this.  I also have heard from several of you recently indicating that you still check in regularly only to be disappointed that there is nothing new happening here.  Let me assure you that there have been a ton of new developments going on in my life and in the ministry that God has called me into… I promise that I will provide more details and updates about this in the near future.  Thanks everyone!

If you met me very recently, please add your e-mail address to the system by typing it into the Reverbnation mailing list widget located in the right sidebar of this page.

You want to see what despair used to look like? God allowed Job to be tested by Satan because he was “the finest man in all the earth – a man of complete integrity. He [feared] God and [had] nothing to do with evil” (Job 1:8). So, read what happens to Job and then tell me how bad your day has been:

13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting at the oldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger arrived at Job’s home with this news: “Your oxen were plowing, with the donkeys feeding beside them, 15 when the Sabeans raided us. They stole all the animals and killed all the farmhands. I am the only one who escaped to tell you. 16 While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived with this news: “The fire of God has fallen from heaven and burned up your sheep and all the shepherds. I am the only one who escaped to tell you. 17 While he was still speaking, a third messenger arrived with this news: “Three bands of Chaldean raiders have stolen your camels and killed your servants. I am the only one who escaped to tell you. 18 While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived with this news: “Your sons and daughters were feasting in their oldest brother’s home. 19 Suddenly, a powerful wind swept in from the wilderness and hit the house on all sides. The house collapsed, and all your children are dead. I am the only one who escaped to tell you. 20 Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. 21 He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord! 22 In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God. (Job 1:13-22)(NLT)

I can’t even imagine what that must have been like for Job… crazy stuff… and just think about the time that Job was living in… how was he supposed to talk to God? To make matters worse, Job was then afflicted with a terrible case of skin boils and his own wife told him that he should “curse God and die. Three of his friends (Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar) did the “honorable thing to come and tell Job that he was to blame for all of the tragic events and that he must be an awfully wicked and evil man for God to punish him in that way. Job’s biggest problem, though, is that he didn’t even know how to speak with God:

2 “My complaint today is still a bitter one, and I try hard not to groan aloud.3 If only I knew where to find God, I would go to his court. 4 I would lay out my case and present my arguments. 5 Then I would listen to his reply and understand what he says to me. 6 Would he use his great power to argue with me? No, he would give me a fair hearing. 7 Honest people can reason with him, so I would be forever acquitted by my judge. 8 I go east, but he is not there. I go west, but I cannot find him. 9 I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden. I look to the south, but he is concealed. (Job 23:2-9)(NLT)

Can you imagine if this was the way things were today? What would life have been like on September 11, 2001, if we didn’t know how to speak with God? If you weren’t sure where to find God, how could you cope with losing a loved one or everything around you? Things would indeed become desperate quickly. The fact is, however, that God saw fit to send His Son, Jesus Christ, to atone for each of our transgressions and only through the sinless and perfect life of Jesus can we be seen as clean in God’s sight… Thank You, Jesus, for allowing me the privilege of speaking with God… my Father… my Comforter in times of desperation.

13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross. (Colossians 2:13-14)(NLT)

I was first exposed to Frou Frou (and subsequently Imogen Heap, now one of my favorites) through the movie “Garden State” (Zach Braff’s (J.D. from Scrubs) first attempt at directing).  This was probably the only time that I have ever specifically wanted to see a movie solely upon hearing a song from it.  Not gonna give a ton of info on this one… just a video montage of clips from the film set to the song.

I met some wonderful people today at the Dallas Life Foundation.  Ten of us from the church went to volunteer our time and energy to serve food, wash dishes, and minister to the people living there.  One of them that I met was named Calvin Holmes.  Calvin and I shared lunch and conversation and I learned a great deal from speaking with him.  He was born in Denver sixty years ago and has lived a full and interesting life.  He joined the Army at the age of seventeen and was stationed in Louisiana where he began to experience prejudice for basically the first time in his life.  He can vividly recall some trying moments of living through a time of racial tension and unrest.  Calvin said that he has worked at nearly every job under the sun, including carpentry work, truck driving, working at a print shop, and being a cross-country bus driver (from which he is now retired).  He intends to go on vacation to Denver on the first of June and, if I understood correctly, he hopes to not come back as most of his family still lives in the area.  We discussed music as well… he said he is a “big fan of Madonna’s music.  Calvin accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior several years ago and he said that he doesn’t worry about much any more.  He described it as not just “cleaning out his closet, but really getting in there and dusting it all out.”  He also said that he thought “a person’s character is reflected in their eyes.”  I think he’s probably right about that for most people (does that change the way that you look at a person when you speak to them?).  One thing I can say about Calvin is that he has an awful lot of light bursting out of him and it was a sincere blessing to meet him.  Calvin also introduced me to a guy named Will.  Will loves comic books and drawing and music and just has a general passion for life.  I believe that his ultimate desire is to draw for an occupation… he’s been studying for that purpose.  I’m looking forward to speaking further with Will about a few things.

I also met an awesome family… the Bishop’s and Woerner’s (and Joseph… whose last name I didn’t catch) basically originate in the Maryland area near Baltimore and have also lived in the eastern Tennessee area.  Their son, Michael, had his last name (Bishop) tattooed on his right arm… they seemed to be a very tight and loving family.  Once again, there was light and life just absolutely flowing from this family and I look forward to speaking with them again.  I am working out details to do a concert/service at the DLF on a Monday night in the near future and I am very excited about the ministry that the foundation is doing.

Woud you pray for each of these people with me?  Father, thank you for Calvin Holmes and the life that he lives in You.  Help guide Calvin in your truth and in your path and help him to continue to shine Your light into the lives of everyone that he meets.  I pray that you will bless him in his endeavors and that you will make clear the direction that you desire for him to take in his life.  Thank you also for the exuberance and passion that I saw in Will today.  Help him to take his gifts and use them for Your purposes and for Your kingdom.  Bless him.  And thank You so much for the loving family that I met.  Keep them steadfast in Your will and as close or closer than I saw them today.  Bless them, guide and direct them.  Give each of these people a sense of peace and comfort.  Thank you for allowing each of them to change my life in a positive way just a little bit today.  Thank you for the grace that covers all of us and bonds us all together through the sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus.  It’s in His Name that I pray for these… Amen.

I could not be happier to let you guys know that I am now employed once again!  Highland Terrace Baptist Church in Greenville, Texas, voted this morning to call me (us) as the Associate Minister of Music.  The church is comprised of around 1,000 active and attending members.  They have three morning services… the first and third services are musically more traditional while the middle service is contemporary.  I am being hired mostly to lead the contemporary service, but will also be in charge of youth music, upkeep of the church website (eventually), and filling in for the other music minister when he is gone.  The church has made it clear that they want to encourage me to continue to write and record and I will probably begin singing in different places again in the late summer or early fall.

We will miss Arkansas as both mine and Kimberly’s familys are all there, but we believe that God has brought us here for a wonderful purpose.  Pray for us that our house sells… and sells soon.  The church has been gracious thus far and has said that they will help us in any way they can during this transition process, but we would love to go ahead and begin buying something here.

God IS faithful!

It has been over two months since my last post… WOW!  For those of you that actually read things here, I would like to apologize.  I actually made a decision to keep quiet here for a bit and “lay low” during my search for a new church position.  Anyway – that all seems to coming to a close as Kimberly, Micah, and I are going in view of a call this weekend.  I would love to tell you all more about it, but I would rather wait until we know something definite.  So, pray for us if you get a second.  I will be back to the bloggin’ soon enough.  I also have a new album in the works… just have to get straightened out financially again. 

God is FAITHFUL… God IS faithful… GOD is faithful!