Before you watch the video let me share some thoughts:

We’ve all read the story of the prodigal son and heard it preached many times. When I was first walking with the Father it was easy to identify with the story. Even though I hadn’t said to my father “I wish you were dead, now give me my inheritance” it was easy to see how God had been reaching out to me and how I had, many times, walked away.

Having walked with the Father for over 25 years it became harder to identify with the story and I tended to listen passively and move on. But a truth remains in the story for we who have been walking with the Father a long time.

We all have seasons of spending our inheritance outside of relationship with the Father.

If you have applied, by faith, Jesus sacrifice for your sin you are, by grace through faith, made righteous and a child of God. Ephesians tells us it was the Fathers idea from the very beginning to adopt us as sons (inheritors) and give us an inheritance. To the extent we spend that inheritance outside of relationship with the Father we are prodigals. With that in mind watch the video:

Here are the lyrics:

You held out Your arms, I walked away
Insolent I spurned Your face
Squandering the gifts You gave to me
Holding close forbidden things
Destitute a rebel still, a fool in all my pride
The world I once enjoyed is death to me
No joy, no hope, no life

Where now are the friends, that I had bought
Gone with every penny lost
What hope could there be for such as I
Sold out to a world of lies
Oh, to see Your face again, it seems so distant now
Could it be that You would take me back
A servant in Your house

You held out Your arms, I see them still
You never left, You never will
Running to embrace me, now I know
Your cords of love will always hold
Mercy’s robe, a ring of grace
Such favor undeserved
You sing over me and celebrate
The rebel now Your child
© 2009 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP).

Deuteronomy 30:2-3 promises us if we will:

return to the LORD your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, that the LORD your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you. Deut 30:2-3

The Robe speaks of welcoming into the family and removing sin. We are clothed with His righteousness, made righteous. The ring is a sign of sonship (inheritors) being sealed by the Holy Spirit with second inheritance of wealth, dominion, and rulership. Sandals differentiate us from a servant. The feast declares to the world the Joy of the Father. Freedom and honor are restored in perfect reconciliation and all the son did was return.

He has not dealt with us according to our sins,Nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, So the LORD pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. Psalm 103:10-14

Don’t wait. Relationship with the Father is to be valued more than our inheritance from Him. He wants to spend it with us. Wherever you are right now be purposeful. Don’t rehearse a speech. Just return, I’m going to do that right now.

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Now a website howmanyofme.com will tell you if your unique. According to the U.S. census.

Although Gary is the 41st most popular name in the U.S. with 1.009.545 people sharing my first name there are only 115 Trobee’s. The end result is I am the only Gary Trobee in America. Pretty cool I think.

Check it out.

HowManyOfMe.com

There are or fewer people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

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20 years ago today, 6:00 Central time to be exact, Kimberly Burger and I started a new life together.

As I sit here it seems amazing to me that it’s been 20 years. So much has happened not all of it good but all of it profitable because in the midst of it all we have followed the one who designed marriage. We haven’t always done it well but we have always done it.

Many men say “I am married to the most amazing woman on earth” I’m sure they are sincere but I really am, let me explain.

Our first date never happened.

It was my Sr. year and just prior to the Sadie Hawkins dance my long term girlfriend and I had “broken up”. I decided I would not go to the dance and had already declined a couple invitations. Then along comes Kim. She was, and is, always so full of life and joy and is impossible to ignore, why would I try anyway . After a school function the two of us were cruising main and talking and when I dropped her off at her house the conversation continued sitting on the trunk of my 1970 Pontiac LeMans leaning on the back glass which curved in like a lounge chair.

It was, and is, comfortable to be with her she made me laugh but was never “silly” or “a dumb girl”. There was, and is, substance to her something that draws you in. She still possesses that today and is one of the reasons she is so successful at everything she does. During the conversation she asked me to go with her to the dance and I accepted.

Later that week my old girlfriend came to me and said she had decided not to go to the dance with someone else and asked me to go with her. Being the loyal golden retriever that I am I went to Kim as she was on the stairs on her way to class and told her the situation. I went to the dance and Kim stayed home. I know what your thinking, what a jerk, and you would be right.

We remained friends and I still always loved being around her. After graduation I was home for the weekend we drove to the Pepper Mill steak house in a neighboring town about an hour away. We had a great time but I never called her again.

Fast forward a couple of Christmases. I ran into her again in our hometown and invited her to my parents house to catch up. When she arrived she knocked my socks off. It was the late 80′s and she was wearing a sweater dress looking like a million bucks. I had never looked at her that way before but suddenly I had a completely different view and it was good. So why didn’t I call her later? I don’t know.

The next summer was my parents 25 year anniversary I was playing in the band at the reception and Kim came and sat there the whole night so she could talk to me at the breaks between sets. I was still oblivious. On the way home my cousin said “You better call that girl”. I said “you think so”. I know I’m a slow learner. I did call and she came to the state fair where we saw Clint Black, Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, Joe Diffy and again had a great time. We continued to talk, a lot, on the phone and I would make the trip home as often as possible. One night sitting on her back porch she said to me “you know I really like you” I think in the back of my mind I knew and hoped that was the case but in my zeal to not come on too strong I didn’t come on at all. I still do that a bit today.

Sorry to ramble so much but this is my blog Back to the title of the post:

20 years ago today at about this time my dad and I were standing in my back yard in the rain wondering what to do. It was an outside wedding and we needed to make a decision. The rehearsal had been rained out and our family’s ended up in different places not doing what normally happens at a wedding rehearsal.

We woke to more rain, cloudy skies, and dim weather forecasts. My dad who I love dearly would not be described as a church person said to me. “If God gave you the girl, the date, and the place, what makes you think he will rain you out. So off we went to the city hall to pick up folding chairs and set them up in the rain having faith God would work it out.

That night was absolutely beautiful. Thunderstorms, tornado warnings, and rain all around us but in Ainsworth Nebraska on the corner of North Osborne and 3rd street was absolutely perfect.

Kim has always been my greatest cheerleader, always believed in me, even when I haven’t believed in myself, and has always been my closest and best friend. I would not be the man I am today without her and I don’t want to do the next 50 or more without her.

Kimberly as long as I live I will always remember you this way. I love you.

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I find myself in that situation today.

Last weekend I had the privilege of being with some great people in Limon Colorado leading a worship retreat for Life in Christ Church. This is the first time a church has invited the community to join them. As a result we were blessed to have three churches represented. What a blessing to have different levels of musicians, different places in their walk with the Lord, and different traditions of worship. It created a different but very good environment.

We started on Friday night with Repentance and Dieing to self. It set the tone for the whole weekend. God was faithful and set a tone of reverence and expectation.

Saturday morning we began with Real worship, went into the rewards of loyalty by teaching through the book of Ruth, after which we were prepared to go to the centerpiece of the whole weekend, “walking in intimacy with God”. What does it mean practically to walk in intimacy with God? I know I’m supposed to read my bible and pray but there has to be more, and there is. We finished the morning answering the question “why music?”. If worship isn’t about music then why music?

After lunch we began by explaining what it means to be a “worship leader” and what is potentially wrong with the titles of “lead worshiper” or “lead follower”. We finished the heart portion of the day talking about excellence. What is it and can we offer it?

The practical “how to” portion began at about 2:00 with the purpose and elements of a worship team. What is the purpose of the choir and each individual element of the team. Where does each instrument fit into the sonic space. My friend Andrew did an excellent job with practical music theory. He starts with where we are rather than taking us back to theory 101 it was great.

After supper we went into planning and delivering a worship set and an actual rehearsal for Sunday morning.

I came home exhausted but energized. Seeing the fruit of God’s word and some practical application is always amazing.

If you were going to have a retreat what things would you add or subtract? What did I miss?

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Not doing to well so far but there’s still lots of time to make it happen. I have 3 I could call finished but had the urge to record yesterday so thought I would post one so you would know I’m not just making up numbers.

I know I’m not supposed to apologize for it before you even hear it so here is my apology. I’m going for quantity not quality. I’m also trying things I don’t normally do. Some of the lyrics are cliche’ I know that and there is a flat 7 chord in the bridge. It’s the old hymn I told you about reworked. So it sounds a bit old country.

There you go you can give a listen in several places. I have widgets all over the place.

If your reading this in Facebook you can go to my profile and click on “my band” you’ll see it on top of the list there.

If your reading the blog fed into anywhere else you can go to the widget on my profile main page.

If you happen to be on the blog itself there is a widget on the right side toward the bottom.

You can also find it here and here.

I don’t plan to leave it up long since it’s pretty raw and I will use that space the next time I want to share.

would love your feedback. Please be gentle :-}

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I know you were all thinking 30 songs in a year?!? I have 2 finished and 1 in my mind hopefully I can finish up today with it. Remember I’m going for quantity not quality.

The book is not really on track, I’m struggling to sit down and write. Still looking for a good word processor for MAC. Word just isn’t the same on a MAC, iWork is ok but having a hard time getting used to it. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Cycling is on track I’m keeping track of progress here if you would like more detail about it.

there is the long and the short of it. Thanks for keeping me accountable.

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I have always spoken my mind here without holding much back and sometimes felt like I’ve been a little too honest. Today I need to process and get some things out of my head. As always I welcome your thoughts. I don’t know where this post is going I’m just mind dumping. So consider that fair warning.

In late 2008 I got very discouraged with some of the things being said in relation to the elections. The way I chose to deal with it was to fast all things political for as long as needed and focus on the one thing that can bring real change. Building the Church.

I was so pleased to hear my pastor tell the congregation yesterday. God’s plan is for us to operate in our gifts and there is no plan b. After the elections last year Dutch Sheets, in a letter to his partners, made the comment, God had a plan 50 years and 50 million baby’s ago it was us. These two statements go the heart of what I’m passionate about. Equipping the Saints.

I understand theologically God does not “need” us as much as He has chosen to work in and through us. Jesus modeled this plan as He walked purposefully to the cross while entrusting the message of salvation to 12 men. That is our task. raising up those who have been entrusted to us, calling out their gifts, making sure they are equipped, and then giving them permission to serve with a covering.

This is my foundational message. 2 Timothy 2:2, teach the teachers to teach.

Recently I separated my political thoughts into a different blog so I could keep this one solely for the purpose of ministry. Last week I posted 3 times concerning Conservatism and Christianity on this blog and began to feel bad about it. It is nearly impossible to separate politics from other aspects of our lives. They are completely intertwined.

I am very busy meeting with young men, serving on a couple of boards, helping different people with social media, as well as preparing for worship team retreats, writing a book, and trying to write songs. All good things but it begs the question:

What things, of eternal significance, should I focus on? In what areas should I focus on building the church? It all runs together and gets a bit confusing at times.

As I read other blogs they are mostly focused on one thing. Should I drop the political discussions and focus on building the church? Should I stop doing all but one thing and do it with all of my passion and effort? Religion and Politics are the two things we are told to avoid however Religion and Politics are two of the most important things we should be talking about. (don’t be too literal with that last sentence)

I realize Most of my problems are between my ears and because I’m in a safe place to deal with my pathologies God is bringing them to the surface. It’s good but hard. I’m developing a lifestyle of prayer and fasting that I’ve never understood before.

I am so thankful for my family especially my amazing wife who believes in me beyond my ability to understand. And thankful for friends who love me enough to tell me the truth.

Pastor Brady finished yesterday with this comment. “God has more gifts to give than people willing to use them” I don’t want to be that guy. I don’t want to spend time on things good but not eternally significant. If your still here after 600 words thank you. I’ll keep you posted.

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Stats and info will be posted here if your interested in the bicycle stuff.

It has been so hard to start writing songs again. At Bible college it was so easy. I think because there is an anointing on the place for writing songs. So this morning I picked up a hymnal from 1895 "Gospel Hymns Nos.1-6". No music, no notation, just lyrics.

When I heard A.W. Tozer used to go into his room with his Bible and a Hymnal to have communion with the Father years ago I started picking up Hymnals. I love them.

There is a gate that stands ajar,
And through its portals gleaming
A radiance from the Cross afar,
the Saviour’s love revealing.

ref.- Oh, depth of mercy ! can it be
        That gate was left ajar for me?
        For me, for me?
        Was left ajar for me?

That gate ajar stands free for all
Who seek through it salvation;
The rich and poor, the great and small,
Of every tribe and nation,

Press onward then, though foes may frown,
While mercy’s gate is open;
Accept the cross, and win the crown,
Love’s everlasting token.

Beyond the river’s brink we’ll lay
the cross that here is given,
And bear the crown of life away,
And love Him more in heaven.

I sat in the parking lot waiting for Kim with tears in my eyes as I read these lyrics. So to take the lid off the process I have reworked the lyrics and tomorrow I will record the melody that is ringing in my head.

the book writing is already behind schedule, so not out of the woods yet.

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Aaron and Tanya have been in this process for a long time and when they found out they could bring their boys home they could have just focused on themselves and that would have been fine but that’s not what they did.

With the help of Messenger International where Aaron is the CFO they chartered a 737 and brought home 80 children. They are considering other flights as well.

Watch this clip from the NBC nightly news and then go to the Messenger International website to see how you can help.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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Yesterday I woke up full of anticipation and excitement. I was going to be stranded all day at home without a car. The Honda is out of comission for awhile, hopefully not forever, long story.

This was going to be a day of writing and recording with my new PowerBook G4. I couldn’t wait.

Then it seems all heaven and earth conspired against me. Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong. The day ended with discouragement and feeling like the day was mostly wasted. This morning I have a new perspective thanks to my mentor.

Without really noticing I have become very “me” focused. I read recently the thing that you are most irritated with in others may be the thing you need to address most.

in your own life. Wow so true with me right now. Today I return to pressing into Him and trusting He knows what I need to be doing today.

Thank you Lord for people who love me enough to tell me the truth.

Tags: Goals, Dissapointment

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