Starved for Mystery
There’s something that itches at me occasionally. Something perhaps emotional, spiritual, and certainly soulful. It is the desire to dwell deeply in The Mystery. I think we all have this. Dee…
Manuel A. Luz
-
-
My Strength and My Song
Tens of thousands of songs. Dozens of albums. Scores of scripts and screenplays. Hundreds of blog posts. Thousands of worship services. A few books and manuscripts and patents. No small amount of time well beyond the 10,000 Hour Rule. Did I waste my life? Does my work matter? Have I expressed my faith well? Have I stewarded the talents God gave me in a way that actually made a difference—in the lives of people and in the furthering of His Kingdom?
-
The Things God Made
One of my superhero powers—at least when I was the father to young children—was making up bedtime stories. While my wife read from a variety of our kids’ favorites—The Very Hungry Caterpillar…
-
Art, Jazz, and the Christmas Story
One of the best things about Christmas—and this is just my personal opinion—is being able to play the music of Vince Guaraldi. For those who don’t know, Guaraldi is the iconic jazz pianist and composer whose work flavors “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” In fact, the music is so integral to the story that one cannot hear his music without thinking of Snoopy dancing his weird little happy dance.
-
Sabbatical Reflections 2022
I’ve been pretty quiet the last two months, primarily because I’ve been on a 10-week sabbatical from my role as Creative Arts Pastor at my home church, Oak Hills in Folsom. It’s b…
-
Conflict of Interest
Over the past few months, I’ve been digesting a book called STORY by Robert McKee. McKee is a guru of sorts, an author, lecturer, and consultant for screenwriting. He’s consulted for th…
-
That Was Weird.
Everyone seems to have an interesting story where one encounters a celebrity. I myself have met a few celebrities (and semi-celebrities) over the years, but the story I most love to tell is the time Weird Al Yankovic “opened” for me.
-
Nightmare Gigs
Any musician who’s played any length of time out there has one—the nightmare gig. You know, that one gig where everything just seems to go terribly wrong. I had one just recently, and while I…
-
Gently Down the Stream
My album, “A Different Kind of Love Song,” is now available on all streaming services, as well as available for download on your favorite devices. I went back and forth quite a lot, deb…
-
A Different Kind of Love Song
There are a hundred thousand love songs in the world. And most of them get it wrong. There just aren’t many songs that move beyond physical attraction and simple emotion and speak to the …
