@CanadianNational - worship only changes one when one interacts with it on a personal level. otherwise it becomes an empty rite, a ritual, a bad habit. when there isn't room in your worship for interaction, then you are shutting the door to changing hearts. i used the traditional anglo worship pattern for this bc it is one many ppl are familiar with. of course it isn't the only worship pattern! (not that some ppl remember that!) thanks for responding! :) i appreciate it and your insight!

@BoureeMusique - sometimes i like the music. sometimes the bad theology makes me laugh, and then i get mad, and then i wanna cry... and sometimes it plain hurts my ears and my heart... and sometimes i wonder if anyone really believes the words they're saying... and sometimes, i can't say the words bc i'm not ready to do them... where we're going now, i tend to not have trouble with the words but i don't always connect to the music. (and i don't hold that against them since my taste is a bit -ok, a lot- more radical than most!) :) i don't mind rituals if they have content behind them and are meaningful. i want to be moved, be challenged, be changed- not asking much am i??? :)

God is a wonderful companion, and god is god, who knows if he is listening?

.....

I like that song "I Will Promise You", I do hope A.N. Jell become a real group. The four of them can really sing and they have talents. I think if they want it, they can make it.

@Yiu_Kwok - that song is beautiful. are you watching their series then? i've not started yet, but it's on my list. and the one thing i know for sure about God is that he always listens. he may not do as we wish we would, but he always listens... it's just the way he is.....

@terrific58 - i tend to think that they might welcome him, but he wouldn't want to go...

@jerjonji - Yeah, I'm watching the episodes with rough translation at Youtube. It's got subtitles in simplify Chinese, I can only read traditional Chinese. Sometimes I can lose sections of dialogues without fully comprehending everything. So far, I had only seen eleven episodes, and I do like it. I hope you get to it, the story is very mangaish.

@TommyCrowwithWhiteFeathers - i think that's the real point!!!:)

@persephone_winter - i've attended all kinds of worship services- high church, pentacostal, black revival, contemporary, and i've seen God in all of them- so my personal worship style is just that- very personal. the relational part is the most important part of any service- human-human, human-God, human-Spirit... at least that's what i've learned on this journey! :)

@Yiu_Kwok - i'm off to watch it on viikii with english subs. i can understand about 40% of spoken chinese if they don't speak fast - or have an odd accent, but i can still only read about 200-300 characters (simplified!). i don't currently have a chinese teacher so i can barely speak it- my last teacher claimed i sounded american and told me to never order orange juice in chinese! i like the story idea- it's not from a manga? so many twdramas are. wish i could find a translator- bc i know i could write for taiwanese tv! i know it! :) i have this cutting edge story right now that would be the perfect new idol drama- and a really fun one that i started for thai tv b4 my thai partner got too busy to write with me....  a bit sick of adaptations, and the same old storyline. so predictable a lot of the time. sigh! i really was born in the wrong place, i suspect!

I like idol drama, they are less heavy than serious writing. There is a rather good story I like to recommand, you might had seen it, the title is 白い巨塔 (白色巨塔--The Ivory Tower). It's based on a Japanese novel from the 60's. If you get the chance, see the Japanese version from the 2003 remake. It says a lot about human nature, ambition, strive, a general truth about society and our roles in it.

...

On manga, I think one day I'm going to pick up the pen and write a story, and most likely will draw it too. I want to do more living before I jump back in to say the things that I believe in.

@Yiu_Kwok - i'd forgotten this was korean! it's going to be memorable!

@Yiu_Kwok - am absolutely loving it... the best thing i've seen in forever- so fresh and fun!!!!!

Dear Jeri,

Just checking in my subs. I'm at work, and have the speakers off, but I think I get the jist of your post, whithout sampling the "hymns". I think one of my favorite church services was attending church with one of my workmates from FedMart back in the 70s. He was a black guy, and the church was one of those rollicking gospel affairs. I was Pentecostal, so I was used to "holy rolling", but the sheer energy of the choir and the congregation really got me going.

I haven't attended church in a long time (I've written about the reasons many times on my own blog and won't get into it here.) However, in the Pentecostal church I attended in the mid 70s, there was a lot of "Christian Rock and Roll" concerts, so besides the more traditional Baptist hymns I remember from my youth, I've also enjoyed more "modern" types of music.

Nothing compares, however with a black gospel service. The "glory" of God is really appreciated and celebrated.

Michael F. Nyiri, poet, philosopher, fool

@athanasius2k4 - at least mega churches will try new things- unlike the tiny self-righteous ones... i'd be happy to encounter God in Action once in a while tho!

@simply_sarahmarie - thanks. loved doing it! :)

@Stanelle - thanks! it's some of my favorite heart songs right now!