Guest Blog w/ David Burbach

This blog post is from David Burbach, a multi talented member of our staff. He is the brains and creativity behind all our videos, podcasts, websites and media. He has helped us pioneer and led the 18 inch journey. He is an incredible assistant to us and most importantly one of the most loyal friends I have ever known. This beautiful blog is about a sailing adventure I skippered with the men of "A place for the heart" a few weeks ago. These beautiful photos are also the work of David's hands.

“If a man would learn to pray, let him go to sea” - unknown

While I by no means claim to know the depths of prayer to which a man may delve to in the midst of the sea, I did get to experience a small taste of her potency.  Last weekend the men of A Place for the Heart took our annual sailing adventure.  There’s certainly something addictive and wonderful about riding up and down on the swells.  Something lovely about the creak of the ropes and the cries of the gulls.  Something spellbinding in the gray clouds and green sea.  Somewhere in the long line of my father’s must’ve been a sailor.   - David Burbach


*click here to view pictures.

*originally published on welivefreephotography.com

God's Laughter

Imagine the sound of God laughing.  Its almost like trying to envision a color your eyes have never seen.  David slipped into a place of knowing God in such a real way that he heard "the One who sits enthroned in Heaven laughing" at the schemes of the enemy. (Psalm 2:4) I love how I can recognize the sound of a close friend's laughter in a crowd.  David had ears to hear God in the middle of crowd. 

There are a lot of DVD's I am looking forward to watching in heaven.  One replay I want to see is the day the Philistine blacksmiths wielded the sword for their giant Goliath. When we watch this replay, I think the sound of the Lords laughter will drowned out the sound of the blacksmiths hammer forging the massive sword.  I can almost see the Lord gathering the angels and saying, "Look, the sword they think will defeat their enemies, will be the sword that will defeat them."  David took the sword that the giant pointed at him, and removed the head of the giant.  God laughs at His enemies, because His goodness is so good, it can always turn what His enemies meant for evil into victory.  Even the cross the enemy sought to destroy the dream of God with, become the doorway to usher the fulness of God's dream into all mankind.  Graham Cooke said it this way,  "If the enemy would have known what the death of Jesus would accomplish, he would have tried to kill every one that was trying to kill Jesus."  I want to live a life that causes the enemy to regret ever pointing His sword in the direction of one of God's beloved. 

New Albums Coming Soon

Last fall, Melissa and I gathered together our band, a few extra musicians and our favorite producer, engineer and master mind Elijah Mosely.  These guys not only make great music, but they happen to be some of our best friends in the world.  We moved all the furniture out of our living room, and gathered together for a week, to arrange, rehearse and get 12 new songs ready to record in the studio.  In that week we played lots of music, drank many pots of coffee, came up with some great ideas, and a few bad ones,  laughed a lot and got wrecked by the presence of the Lord.  By the end of the week, we were ready to go into the studio and record this new set of songs.  The major problem we encountered, is that we releaized we could not fit all this music onto one album.  If you have heard our music,  you know we love the extended moments of worship and getting lost in the presence of the Lord.  What we have decided to do for this new set of songs is create three albums. The first album we are going to release is a collection of the 12 songs in beautiful song length version. The remaining two albums to be released later in 2012 will be a collection of the songs in their extended length, prophetic moments of worship and a handful of spontaneous songs.  We will be posting all the details with release dates soon.  We are busy right now mixing these three albums of music.  Its kinda like going to the hospital to have a baby and then finding out your gonna have triplets.  So please have mercy upon us, it takes a while to mix so much music.

18 inch Journey

"Any fool can count the seeds in a apple.  Only God can count all the apples in one seed" 
               -Robert H. Schuller

This summer we hosted our fourth 18 inch Journey with 38 students and staff from all over the world.  They came from South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, and over half a dozen states.  I could fill a book describing each moment we experienced this summer, but really, that would be like counting the seeds in the apple.  This school was truly a time where lives opened like seeds and unfolded into the fullness of what God made them to be.  The fruit of this summer can only be measured in eternity.  I wish I could describe with words the way the kingdom of heaven invades this school, but I come to the same dilemma as Jesus.  Over a dozen times Jesus says the phrase, "The kingdom of heaven is like..."  Mere human words can not explain heaven.  Words can just point to what is is like and your heart must open its eyes to see its indescribable wonder.  I asked some of our students to share what there 18 inch journey was like,  I hope you can taste fruit of heaven in their words.

 "The best way I can think to describe the 18 inch journey is that it's like everything was taken and stripped down to the basic colors; primary yellow, red, and blue.  And then those were taken and re-exploded into a myriad of colors, including countless new ones I had never known existed  I feel like I have always instinctively known that worship like this existed; that community like this existed; that being loved by God like this existed…but now I have seen and experienced it, and I am forever changed."
                
                -Ella Roselt, South Africa

"The 18 inch Journey has truly been a trip from my head to my heart.  It has been a place where I found and discovered who God Is and has always been, and who I am and what I was always meant to be.  My relationship with the Trinity has become more real than words on a page.  I've walked out of keeping a "safe" distance and walked into close and honest intimacy with the Lord.  The 18 inch Journey has opened my eyes to see that my heart matters and that I have a voice.  I've come to know and be lead by the nature of God, depending on him moment to moment.  I've come to truly see with the eyes of my heart and to encounter God in the ordinary and simple things.  Words can't describe the freedom, weightlessness and rest I have experienced.  I've come to know what God's family looks like and what it means to fight for each other."
               
                   -Jordan Wilson, Florida

"My favorite moment at the 18 inch Journey was the morning I learned to hear the voice of God.  It started with a simple task that Melissa asked us to do during our quiet time.  She asked us to go sit and simply ask God, "Father, what are your thoughts about me?"  In my mind I thought of some things, but God had a different plan.  As soon as my pen touched my paper I started writing things that I knew weren't my voice. Through that simple question he ended up answering so many more questions.  This was my first time journaling and being confident that it was God's voice I heard and not mine.  I now love quiet time with Papa because it is an actual conversation instead of just me speaking."
               
                  -Camryn Cornett, Tennessee

For more info about the 18 inch Journey Click here

The Reward-A Song Story

I was riding in the back of an old astro van cruising westward on I-40 to Nashville in the spring of 2005. Faster than the cars passing our old van, a story of revival was racing through my heart.  It was the story of the first two Moravian missionaries.  In 1732 a Dutch ship left the Copenhagen harbor bound for the Danish West Indies. On board were these two young missionaries ready to sell their lives into slavery to reach the slaves of the West Indies with the gospel.  As the ship slipped away from the harbor they stood on the bow of the boat and cried out "May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering."  Their voices rang in the ears of their families and loved ones gathered at the harbor to say good bye.  Soon this cry become the rallying call for all Moravian missionaries. 

As this story ripped through me and this cry rang in my heart,  a melody begin to grow wings inside me. I grabbed my guitar and before the van reached Nashville this song was written.

In a garden we fell, but in a garden he prayed,
Not my will but yours be done.
My sins he became so I could be like him
To go beyond the veil and see his face

The cross has made a way so we can enter in
To go back to the garden once again
The cross has made a way, forever I will say
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain

Worthy,  Worthy,
Worthy is Lamb that was slain
To receive the reward of his suffering
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain

Receive the reward, Oh Lamb of God

You can find this song on itunes by clicking here

God Time

The two most important things that I want to teach my children are to: To know God's love and to know God's voice.  I am grateful beyond words to have had a mother and father who have taught me how to know God's love and hear God's voice.  I am so excited to announce that my father Ken Helser will be teaching a workshop at the "Cageless Birds Worship Gathering" called "God Time." This workshop will be a time to know more of God's love and hear more of God's voice. He describes the workshop like this-

"Do you ever secretly struggle with HOW to spend time with the Lord?  As Disciples of Christ, we know we are called to draw close to Him, but at times we don’t know “HOW”....so our times with Him can feel dry and even burdensome.  At times this leaves us approaching Him out of guilt and obligation. But HE came to give us ABUNDANT LIFE in every way, and wants a satisfying relationship with YOU!  But the question remains:  “How do you have GOD Time?  And how do you have a GOD Time that you enjoy?"

You can find out more info about the God Time workshop with Ken Helser at www.aplacefortheheart.org

Cageless Birds

In Acts 16 Paul and Silas were chained to prison walls, but they lifted their voices and sang. The freedom they sang about was more real then the chains that held them. The walls of the prison had to bow to the reality of the freedom in their song. Not only did their song set them free, but it set all the prisoners free. Like birds released from their cage Paul and Silas flew out of their prison on the melodies they sang. On June 17-18 we will be hosting a two day worship gathering to inspire a generation to fly out of the cages of fear into the heart of God. Go to www.aplacefortheheart.org for more info.