Set List 8/31/08

Set-

• My Glorious :: Martin Smith
• Not to us :: Chris Tomlin
• Marvelous Light :: Charlie Hall
• Mighty to Save :: Reuben Morgan
• Pure and Holy passion :: Mark Altrogge
• The Stand :: Hillsong United
• Here is our King :: David Crowder

What a crazy beginning of the year! Tile on Wednesday, Heritage hall on sunday. Highs and lows. goods and bads. It was a little hectic as we prepare to move to an in-ear monitor system. but i think after today, all signs say go and things will get smoother. i personally love heritage hall. it feels more like a church to me and i would love if we could permanently move there. 

The Lord is silly when it comes to teaching us similar lessons. ha. both practices were so-so and i think the actual worship turned out decent. God is a big God for a reason and always seems to put things together well.

Mighty to save. what am awesome song. “take me as you find me. all my fears and failures. and fill my life again. i give my life to follow. everything i believe in, now i surrender. Savior, he can move the mountains, my God is mighty to save. mighty to save. Forever, Author of Salvation. He rose and conquered the grave. Jesus conquered the grave.”

The magnitude of this is ridiculous if we stop and think about it. I also believe that God is a God that moves mountains in our lives. Real ones are nice, but at the end of the day we each have mountains. seperating us from God, causing us to wrestle or stumble and it is always a good reminder to know that God is one who conquered the grave and can move those mountains in our lives…

have a great week everybody.

Bigger than Tile

So wednesday was the first ACF of the year. First time everyone got to see the new gross tile. First time we tried to play music in such an awfully acoustical room. We, the worship team and leadership team, were all a bit nervous about the whole thing. Bad acoustics and no carpet to sit on. argh. however, what i have come to learn is that God is bigger than the problems we face in this world. I believe He showed up anyway. Maybe it was just the enthusiasm to be back to ACF for everyone. or maybe it was God reminding us that acoustics are nice, but he is much larger and still worthy of our praise. all of it.

There were more obstacles, such as what do we project on? Keith, Steve, and I trekked to Home Depot to solve that and i will say i was rather proud of our PVC pipes and walmart cloths. it came together nicely. hollar. 

Through all he issues, God was still there and i know I enjoyed being able to worship Him with my ACF family again. We will beat the frizzell room. we will modify it how we can and make it the same home it was for us last year. Always be ready for the huge things God will do this year. you don’t want to miss it!

Set:

• Yesterday, Today, and Forever :: Vicky Beeching
• Jesus You Alone :: Tim Hughes
• I could sing of your Love forever :: Martin Smith
• From the Inside Out :: Hillsong United
• Amazing Grace :: John Newton
• King :: Tree 63

I personally love From the Inside Out. It always seems to get me going and i end up like yelling the words instead of singing. 

Have a great day!!

Last first day of school

The human brain is an amazing thing. It can do more than we probably know. One thing i do know, is that the brain knows when 4 years of college were completed. And it knew as i walked to class for the first day of my 5th year that i should not be there. It knew this whole thing should have been done. Pollock road, 40 gagillion people, class, faking paying attention. It know. It was surreal.

All that aside, i do love it here. I can easily put up with classes for another year if it means i can partake in all the other greatness. the people, the fellowship, the growing, the football, the general gloriousness. I mentioned before that i am pumped for worship team. To expand, i am super pumped for ACF in general. This is going to be the biggest year we have had since i came to Penn State. The leadership here at ACF is incredible. As i was looking around the ACF exec retreat, i realized how many awesome, dependable, hard working, faith based, Christ Committed, people were on exec. I am not only blessed, but also honored to be here another year and to be a part of that team. Keith Hodge is the best president ever. or at least he will be. Kyle Horst, aka Bravo, is an awesome guy and his dedication to putting the bible studies together was really cool. both adam jepson and Ben roberts are like the poster children for why their class is so awesome. ACF will be a great place to serve, be filled up, feel welcome, and everything else the Lord needs to do this year. I know it.

Few random things: met the coolest guy ever. An asian-Australian named Alex. He is in my finance class and is on an exchange program. thick Australian accent. Really cool guy. Say hi if you see him or hear him.

and just to mention bummer happenings, my wallet is either lost or stolen. judging on my lack of faith and trust in mankind, i am going with stolen. So replacing everything will be fun. They have my social security number so it’s like i’m really starting a new life!

Cool lyric to reflect on:”This is a place for the broken. This is the hope of the world…Here in this place mercy is flowing. Here in this place is the glory of God. All things are new in the presence of Jesus, Father we stand amazed…Here in this place”

God hit me with that today, and a lot over the past few days. It was powerful for me. This place can be any where. a church service, the car ride home, your bed room alone, in your deepest sorrow and regret, or when you don’t even want to talk to God. This place is Penn State. In the midst of the lowest of lows, of the number three party school, mercy is flowing and the glory of God will not be held back. All things are new. Not after long thought or multiple prayers of repentance. The second after you think you failed, you were made new by the cross. we stand amazed Father, at what you will do in this Place, what you will do at Penn State. Think Big. Because this is the place for the broken and yet gives sooo much hope…

The Charlotte Wrap-up

If it wasn’t for classes, i would be 100 percent stoked to come back to state college. I will have to settle for 98 percent and have to deal with my tough work load of 12 credits i suppose. Anyway, i wanted to give a summer wrap-up of my time in Charlotte. Think about it, how many times at ACF or anywhere do you have to explain in 2 sentences your summer. The invention of the blog allows you to say, i’m not telling you, because i can’t shorten it to 2 sentences. if you actually care, you can read my blog. haha. i doubt i will say that, however the option is there.

Charlotte, NC. The fastest growing city in the nation. Right when you drive into the city you will see at least 10 huge buildings being constructed, so they aren’t messing around. This past summer, i was the grassroots marketing intern for the Charlotte Bobcats (NBA team…that’s basketball) It was a very fun time. Before the summer it was down to charlotte and philly for internships. i decided to take the leap of faith and move into a city i didn’t know live on my own in a single bedroom apartment and adventure into the real world…a life without friends. 

Charlotte is a gorgeous city. very manageable, very clean, very safe, very friendly. I lived in an apartment 9 miles south of the city. Traffic was a little crazy, but only because southerners don’t know how to use the left lane. So through my internship, i was responsible for the branding of the Bobcats. any interaction with the public came through our department. we would be at a slew of live events. Every Thursday Charlotte would meet in a central area for Alive after 5. a place for live music, food, and booze. Us at the Bobcats would take advantage of this and show up twice a month with our tent, an autographed item, and our prize wheel. I would try to convince people to register to win the signed jersey (get their email addresses) and then they could spin the prize wheel for free and win a t-shirt, or hat etc. We would also show up at United Way functions, run golf tournaments, set up and run the Mugsy Bogues jr. basketball camp, and help organize the draft party at Whiskey River. We basically were around to convince the public the bobcats are coming around and will start winning so they should invest in the team by getting tickets or whatnot. needless to say, i walked away with a lot of free stuff. So if you don’t know what colors they are or what their logo is, you will soon.

Aside from the internship, i originally was planning on coming down alone and rocking the whole no friends and much solitude thing. I thought i needed it and it would be great. I later realized how much if would have sucked if that was the case. However, i ran into a girl i used to work at Summer’s Best Two Weeks with, named Laci. we were good friends at camp. This allowed me to not only have a friend in Charlotte, but have someone i could be real with and talk about my faith with, it was awesome. She was down with road trips too, and if you know me, you know i was all about that (ps charleston is an awesome place!) Having Laci there this summer was such a blessing. Having a friend, getting to meet and get to know her friends, having them show me around the city, and visit churches was all fantastic. On top of that, Laci and I used to lead worship at SB2W so getting her thoughts and input for worship was great too. And her voice is stellar so i pimped that for vocal lessons. hollar. This was another way God pulled through and blessed me much. His way was different than mine and yet again, his way wins. who’d have thought? right?

Lastly, my goal in Charlotte was to visit a lot of Churches because the South knows how to do worship and rock it well. So i went to around 7 churches and just soaked it all in observing how they did things, taking ideas, and learning new songs. I even had coffee with one of the worship leaders from Elevation Church which was an excellent source to learn and share from. And…on our road trip after charleston, we went to Hotlanta to check out North Point Community Church home of the Steve Fee Band. and when we went, Louie Giglio was speaking! awesome speaker for sure!

All of this was a great experience for me as i prepare for ACF worship this upcoming year. I learned a ton and have a new passion for worship and organizing the experience. I am pumped. I’m ready for the year. ready to serve. ready to try and love people like Christ does. ready to receive mercy when i fail at that  

There you have it. My summer in a condensed, yet detailed story. So, when you ask me how my summer was when you see me, i will of course say “good”, but you will know what i really mean…

Confessions of a not-so-dangerous mind

I’m new at this and title’s seem bazar to me. In any paper journal i have every had, i did not plan it out and come up with a short phrase to sum it up. Anyway, i watched confessions of a dangerous mind tonight. alone. in my dark apartment. i have a word of advice. don’t watch confessions of a dangerous mind alone in your dark apartment. however, if you have seen it, you know how sweet George Clooney’s stasche was! It’s just an odd movie that leaves you a bit downtrodden. Probably, not, but who gets to use downtrodden on an everyday basis right?

Anyway i have 2 things i would like to write about tonight. One being the name of the blog. Iamcodyyork. before people start thinking how pretentious i am or anything of that manner, i am going to explain it. I do not say i am who i am for any prideful reasons of myself, but rather for My creator. He made me. bought me with a steep price. And yet for a while i did not like who i was. i would look at my mistakes and failures and dislike myself more and more. This turned into a campaign this last year at penn state where i would reiterate that i was a “bad person”. Saying with any sort of pride that i am cody york and happy to say it would not have come out of my mouth. I have already thanked my dear friend kenny hiser in person. This is just the world wide webs shot at hearing it. I remember letting kenny know i was struggling with life, God what have you. and i mentioned i was a bad person and couldn’t “fix” it. I remember him looking me square in the eye and saying “cody you are not a bad person. not even close. And more important than what i think, God does not think that about you. he created you and loves you.” That’s it. That’s all it took. Sometimes you need a friend to remind you who you are. it doesn’t erase my mistakes or consequences. but those failures are not counted against me. Sometimes it takes a not so typical source to remind you how much Christ loves you. For that reason, i chose iamcodyyork.etc My favorite verse is Galations 2:20 about it no longer being me who lives but Christ who lives in me. so i am cody york, but i desire to continually say i am christ shining through. I won’t always succeed. But my God loves me anyway, because as we all love to sing, “my God is mighty to save” (over and over and over…)

Secondly, i wanted to followup on my brake down God moment a few days ago. I came to the realization that i thought i needed to be fixed. That my sin piling up just meant i was more and more broken and less and less acceptable to God standards, thus, i needed to be fixed. I remember numerous times crying out to God to fix me. looking back, i can almost hear the whisper say…”no.” 

because what i failed to see was that it was not about fixing. fixing implies i am like a wind up doll that God winds to “fix” me and then lets me go until i run out and fall on my face. That is not how it is at all. God never lets go. never wants to fix you, he just wants to mold you, and teach you, and humble you, and grant you opportunities and the list goes on. It was never about fixing. it was about admitting i’m broken and letting the scriptures come to life that say God uses brokenness, in fact he demands it.

without going on forever, needless to say, i am ready. ready to not let go. ready to not cry out to be fixed. ready to seek and serve God daily. ready to openly come back to God after i fail and not feel like i failed him. I’m ready to leave Charlotte behind and yet remember all i have learned here, even if i didn’t realize it until after the fact. I’m ready for a 5th year at Penn State. I’m ready to lead worship whole heartedly and praise Him with reckless abandonment. And i may not be ready for the challenges. But My God is. and My God lives in me.

I know…right?

I gave in. I will admit i have been an anti-blogger for a long time, for no other reason than i don’t like to read. It’s not that i don’t care about any of your lives, i’ve just never liked reading, i hope you understand. However, this summer, working for the Charlotte Bobcats, i have found myself with some free time in my cubicle, by which i decided to get up to date on people’s lives. It started simple: Mike Breza, Kenny Hiser, Mariko Shaper, Allie Hemphill. But then i went crazy: Jordan Egli, Anthony Junod, Spencer Sweeting, Lauren Mcnally, and anyone else i knew.

i came to the determination that i was going to start one. The first day of the year. You see, i’m going to be a 5th year senior. i am going to be leading worship for ACF. I am going to be in a new home, new environments, and stretched beyond my comfort level. So i knew i wanted it all documented.

i will be honest. this is mostly for me. Let’s be real, the pen and paper don’t happen as much as they should. it’s awesome when i get around to doing it, but it’s harder at times. Typing, i’m pretty darn good at…so i felt the Lord leading me to do this. For him…but then again, in turn for me…to see what he (him) is doing for me or through me…it gets confusing.

I wasn’t going to start until the beginning of the year. But God finally broke my heart tonight. i say finally cuz i needed it. he broke me down… everything. the crap. the stuff i thought i could hide. my misconceptions as to who he is. So, i have something worth writing about. So why wait?

I will also say i wanted to do this to stay in touch with the church (ACF) i don’t ever want to be the worship leader who is unapproachable. I love meeting with people and yet know how school is with busy schedules and sometimes nervous freshman don’t want to approach me. I desire to know them all. In case it’s not possible for me to sit down with you all, I’m going to keep my worship experience and my life all here. Have you ever known without a doubt that God would move mountains in your life the upcoming year? if so, why wouldn’t you write it down right? So that’s where i am. I am in the place where needing to write down what God is doing meets need to stay in touch with the congregation and fellowship of ACF. (yep, stole it from State Farm)

Tonight. the crap hit the ceiling. i don’t own a fan. It’s AC. i like to hide things from God. pretend like I’m 007. I have been listening to a lot of Hillsong United recently and my new favorite song is “to know your name” i had an awful day of having to deal with my crap. Who i didn’t want to be. scared i’d never become who God wanted. i broke down during this song. especially during the line “your grace overwhelmed my brokenness, convicted by your spirit, led by your word, your love will never fail” Sometimes when you are planning the next 6 weeks of worship services, it becomes organization, a master piece, a flowing of music, and you forget who God is, or what he is saying, or why we go to such lengths to make worship experiences great. and i will stop saying you, cuz its me. I struggle with it and it happens to me. Tonight, God hit me hard. he broke down the misconception i had. i made God into one who was constantly disappointed in me. One who would love me once i stopped sinning in obvious ways. I threw away Gods grace because i didn’t seem worth it anymore. On paper you read that and i wonder how i could believe. Satan at his work again. God stripped it all. hallelujah. His grace and love blindsided me at the foot of my bed. I was broken. but i acted like i shouldn’t be. i acted like God couldn’t use that. i acted like i forgot His word says how much he uses the broken. Worship suddenly became real again. the chorus “cause i know you gave, the world your only son for us to know your name, to live within the Saviors love and he took my place, knowing he’d be crucified and you loved…you loved, a people undeserving!”

wow.

It’s time to let God use my brokenness. It’s time to make my crooked path straight again. It’s time to fall in love with Jesus. A phrase that may be harder for guys than girls, but at least it is for me. God broke me to love him. he broke me to remind me he loves me. he reminded me he loves me and is going to use me this year. My gift is not music. i can get by with a guitar, but it’s no gift. my gift is my passion for music and how much worship has impacted me is how much i want it to impact the church. It’s time to experience God in new ways and i want that for each any every person reading this or not.

I’m sorry this is long. because if your reading, and your like me, you hate reading. I’ll finish with this: my goal with this blog thing besides for myself, is to be real. If there is anything most important in relationships with people, it is being real. i will rarely throw random scriptures up here for the sake of seeming spiritual. Worship impacts me greatly, it’s not the word of God but it hits me in ways i can’t describe, thus giving me something to try and articulate. I will use worship songs, the people God has put in my life, or just random occasions to express how God is working. i will never “Goddize” anything. i won’t lie about learning something from God if i didn’t. I will be open when times are tough, i’ll be open when I’m frustrated with God, and i’ll be open when i’m in love with Jesus. I hope that’s ok. if its not you can be like i was and just not read anybody’s blogs, right?

Cody