A prayer and some pictures

Here are some pictures and a short reflection I wrote over fall retreat this past weekend in the great state of Tennessee.


Father you know my heart.
You know my weakness but you give me strength.
For I am a child in your eyes and you give me a sense of peace
So let us arise as a congregation of one for you.
Let us tear down the the veil of fear that keeps us from falling in deep love with you.
"Our preoccupation with the future is our desire to control it"
In you oh God we find a new beginning and purpose each morn.
 And how blessed we are for in you we live. Our lives travel roads you have laid out for us. "They wind through lonesome valleys , come upon brooks , discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain!" God you traveled these roads as they curved up the mountain.
At last God we see your will. Your Zion in full view !


Some pictures from the weekend.

The Lake 

Watauga 

Jared and Aaron trying to stack hammocks...apparently Jared makes a great ladder

Aaron our resident monkey 

Thanks !

Hit over 3500 views this week. I want to say thanks for those that read my blog. I know that half of the views are of people I will never meet and some are probably just spam sites sending you here. Thanks all the same ! Also check out my sound cloud account to hear some of my covers.

https://soundcloud.com/mcauthen

That Cliche Freshman Blog Post

   So here I sit . In my new dorm. With my new roommate. NEW. That is the word of the day.
I sit in this room like hundreds (probably thousands) of people before waiting for life to happen. As I drove to Boone today in my car , parents (sherpas) following behind carrying all of my clothes and dorm stuff (mostly instruments) I realized "wow this is actually happening".  Life as I know it has changed. It is up to me to make it a change for the better.


As I got closer the air turned colder the hills grew steeper and that wonderful knot in my stomach got smaller. Here I start a life as a man of the mountains.  Here I stand on the cusp of a new chapter.

I've been gone for a bit

  This summer has been an interesting one. I have had little to no creative drive for music or writing at all. I sit like a little kid on the stairs waiting for the go ahead to see what santa has brought me. I sit as this little boy waiting for the music to flow into my veins. I can hear it , I know its there but its distant.

  This summer has been more of a summer of experiencing the beauty of God in our creation. Beauty where most would not see it (think flower in the sidewalk crack). Such as my drive to work bright and early at 6:30 everyday. Watching the morning traffic pass by I look at the chaos and confusion that is our world. People yelling, honking ,and talking on their smart phones and driving their overly expensive new cars. But I stand there in my dirty greasy green work shirt watching this happen with a sense of peace. Beyond their chaos lies a morning coming into its own. The sun rises up and the clouds break through the horizon to meet me each day. I look passed the traffic and on towards our creator.

  Then there is the beauty that is staring me right in the face. I spent a week of my summer up in the mountains of Montreat. It was great as it always is but many people where only in town for a night or two before I left. So I did spend sometime with my thoughts. I came to realize how much I loved and missed doing such a thing. Whether it be hammocking by the swimming hole or just driving down the "pretty road" (montreat reference).

I came to realize that our lives are so easily jumbled up with stuff. Our generation has stimulation coming from every direction. Whether its TV, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.  We are battered by self doubt secretly hoping that we get a little red box showing that someone actually took the time to look at and or like something we humbly posted on a facebook page. I of course am saying that I get distracted too. I am here to say that I can be very very distracted. I am also saying that I to can sometimes secretly wish for approval .The point is, is that God seriously doesn't care about our profile picture, or our latest tweet.

So where do we go with that? How do we live our lives? These questions go right along my search for creativity. I sit like a kid on christmas waiting for creativity when I should also be sitting and be waiting for Gods call as well. As we go into college next year, or a new job , even clocking in for that early morning shift ( I am not a morning person at all) we should look for the beauty of God in all things. We should seek solitude but also find fellowship. We should seek the love of God and not be bogged down by the approval of others.

Cheers, McClain


Now since you patiently read my musing here are some photos I done snapped over the summer

"Pretty Road"  (sort of blurry)

Dances in the Old Barn

Burnett Reservoir

I-40 

Swimming at the swimming hole 

                                  

Lake Wateree (not related but still good little weekend jaunt)

Black Mountain NC

I just want to sit here in this moment , but I know that the future is bright I just know that I want to act and not be complacent and not sit in indifference

A Conclusion; A Beginning

"I'm here somewhere in between Victory and a White flag."
I sit on the cusp of life , looking back to the memories we've had.
I walk these halls of my youth, filled with pain, love , joy and...
Proof that it had meaning.
With a few of you, and with a few things I never crossed the T's or dotted the I's.
To them I say sorry for not being real, but this is no conclusion.
We have a chance to live this life honestly.
In the depths of our hearts and minds we cry out hoping.
Hoping that this is true.
Praying that this isn't a lie we've been told since we were kids.
For some our paths shall lead to different places.
As we embark on life we look back and remember all of the faces.
All of the faces and hearts that touched our lives.
These people whether good or bad , shaped us.
From the school yard bully, to the pretty girl in your class.
They have helped mold you into who you are.
Not to say that you are not uniquely  yourself .
This is a conclusion yet a beginning.
I know people cannot stand the cliche.
But these words are true , these words I cry out to my future ,these words I give to you and say.
This is a benediction and a prelude .
We all see it a different way.
The question is which one will you choose?

A New Home : A story of the general, a hunting buddy and others. And or a weekend recap.

As last Friday was coming to a close and the sun was setting. A rag tag group of boys were headed North to the valley of the river . Riding shotgun was the general whose old grey eyes lit up with excitement as we were escaping this prison called the city. Phones were powered down, the radio turned on ,and stress blew away as the window rolled down. 

   In the backseat was the hunting buddy. A true friend and partner in crime. We have grown up near each other our whole lives. When we were little kids and didn't know each other we still lived a street over from each other. My dad would go running in our old neighborhood and pass their house saying    " dang that's a nice boat" (their family is just a little bit obsessed with ocean fishing).  

   As the sun was setting on a perfect evening we pulled up to paradise. The mountains were coated in shadows and the sky gleamed with the work of our creator. Ducks flew over on their way to the river, cows grazed , and calf's played . We the congregation of men gathered on the porch to watch this magnificent showing. The peace that this place evokes brings to mind the peace I once had not too far in the past. A place where the feeling of peace was just as evident. 

  As I sat there on that porch in that moment I realized that this place in time too shall pass on. My grandfather (the general) sitting and laughing with us. Our fathers sitting and teaching us. We as young men on the cusp of life waiting and watching anxiously to see what life has in store for us. But we must not look too far into the future . Sometimes tomorrow must take care of itself. 

  We rose early with dawn looking out the window at the dark , dark ,dark clouds that lay before. We rubbed sleep from our eyes and laughed as my dad fumbled around for his flashlight down the dark, narrow hallway of the Cornett homestead. The salesman that he is , he tried to coax out of bed and into  our camo . " Guys get you're sissy butts out bed the weather is going to be great". "Mr. Cauthen , your joking right? The weather is calling for over 80% percent rain" my friend replied still half asleep. " Lets just go for it and see what happens". A cup of straight black coffee and a jimmy dean brought us back to life as we drove to the hunt woods. 

 We parked by the old cemetery ( very cool has graves of revolutionary soldiers, but really spooky. Looks like the one from Skyfall. ) and headed for the woods. We hunted most of the day except for a quick hardware store run around lunch. 

 As Saturday was drawing to a close my friend and I climbed the hill to survey his family land. It was in a word beautiful. As I sat there and enjoyed this hunt with my friend I also felt saddened. He is surrounded by his history all the time. While mine was sold on an auction block like cattle. But life is funny like that. We must create new traditions to continue the love of hunting , and love of fellowship with family and friends. Tradition , like the one we had at the farm is gone. If you had told me a year ago that I would be driving to a no name town in southern Virginia , I would have laughed and said "hell no I have a place 45 minutes away"( pardon my french) . But God ordains events in our lives to transpire to help us grow closer to him and to others. 

  This land in VA is a new home. A place of healing where I can go and be away from the world. A place where I can sit on the porch until the wee hours singing and talking with friends and family. I feel that Virginia has deep roots in my blood . My ancestor General Robert E. Lee was born and raised here and supported his state in the Civil war. My great grandmother hails from this state. The list goes on. I am not just a Carolina boy, but a Virginia one. 

Now some pictures because you read through my incredibly long rambling. 

Will Cornett longtime friend and hunting buddy 

Reeves Homestead 

View from the old Reeves Homestead 

Lower Pasture by the New  

The General himself on a previous trip to the land 

The Cornett Homestead