As usual, this issue is late getting out because of me. I don\u2019t know if I will ever get caught back up\u2026however I will continue to try. This issue has some really awesome interviews and as we expand we continue to pack more and more interviews into each issue. We also have a small article that was a tribute to Flames, the guitarist for Raspberry Jam, who passed away a few months ago and moved on into his new life. I never knew Flames, never talked to him and never had a chance to know him this side of Heaven, but one of the things that I found really cool was how much his friends cared about him. It was evident that he left his mark on a close circle of friends, and it was surprisingly refreshing to hear how people remembered him. It got me thinking about how important people are in our lives. I have a very, very small circle of\u00a0 friends, so small in fact it might not even be a circle, but I hope that when my time is up people will have nice things to remember about me. Who we are matters very much because of the impact that we have on others. Maybe that is why Paul said that everything else would pass away, but love would remain. Maybe that is also why we are encouraged to seek justice and to do our best to hold up the \u2018least of these\u2019. It is a funny thing, but the older I get the less I am sure about. I think pondering mortality puts things into a good perspective. It makes me realize that the memories and the marks we leave behind are so much more important than the petty arguments that we wage every day. We fight about theology, we fight about politics, we fight about not getting what we feel is our due or we beat our chests and act like petulant children when we feel we have been wronged. I am guilty of it I know\u2026 but I don\u2019t want to be. It is a big world, there is much to learn and there are many that we can learn from. I think for me, I see the hands of God move when I learn truths about this life by watching the repercussion from someone\u2019s death. I hope that Flames family can find comfort in knowing the mark that he left through his friendship and his music.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are soot-covered urchins running wild and unshod
\nWe will always be remembered as the orphans of God
\nThey will dig up these ruins
\nAnd make flutes of our bones
\nAnd blow a hymn to the memory of the orphans of God\u201d
\n\u2013 Mark Heard<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As usual, this issue is late getting out because of me. I don\u2019t know if I will ever get caught back up\u2026however I will continue to try. This issue has some really awesome interviews and as we expand we continue … Continue reading