New Bible

"A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t." -commonly attributed to Charles Spurgeon

When reflecting on the amount of time and life events spent with a Bible, it strikes me as significant when getting a new Bible. The copy I've been using for the past 8 or so years has reached the point where it's time for retirement. I don't know that I could ever throw an old one away since it's been a source of so much spiritual nourishment and is like a good friend. 

In putting the new one into service, there is a sense of anticipation of what God will teach me, the life circumstances I'll go through, who I'll pray for while reading it, and so many other spiritually significant activities that I'll encounter while reading or studying it. 

Yes, it's just a physical copy of a book but it's a book that holds the very words of God spoken through man. Words that have the power to transform life and impact eternity. 

If you've never read the Bible, or have only done so sparingly, may I challenge you to read the best seller of all time? It will change your life for the better. There are a number of reading plans available at https://www.biblegateway.com/reading-plans/. Or if you're more of an app type of person, check out a plan in the YouVersion Bible app. You can even have the Bible app read to you as you're driving in the car, exercising, doing work around the house, or other tasks. If you become a person molded and shaped by the Word of God, you'll be glad that you did.

In pursuit of His best,

Andrew

God's Christmas Gift

"This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him." -I John 4:9.

When I read this verse recently, I had the thought that this is an expression of Jesus as a Christmas gift. Only God could send such an incredible gift of love. There is no greater gift.

Who could think to ask for or ever expect to receive the very embodiment of love. God come to earth in the form of man to live a perfect and sinless life then die on our behalf so that we might have an eternal relationship with Him.

If you've not received the gift of Jesus before, it's freely given from God. You simply have to believe in Him, ask forgiveness for your sins, and receive the gift of eternal salvation. It's the best gift ever!


In pursuit of His best,

Andrew

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?

Several years ago, I saw a video of Zooey Deschanel covering What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? and thought it was such a fun rendition that I decided to learn it myself. In case you're interested in learning it, I've included chords below the lyrics. Hope you have a happy New Year!

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? by Frank Loesser

Maybe it's much too early in the game
Aah, but I thought I'd ask you just the same
What are you doing New Year's New Year's Eve?

Wonder whose arms will hold you good and tight
When it's exactly twelve o'clock that night
Welcoming in the New Year New Year's Eve

Maybe I'm crazy to suppose
I'd ever be the one you chose
Out of a thousand invitations You received

Aah, but in case I stand one little chance
Here comes the jackpot question in advance
What are you doing New Year's New Year's Eve?

(In the recording, just for fun I pitched down to the key of F# but it's played in the key of A)
Chords: Intro: A D#dim7 Dm E7
Verse: A4 G7 A A7 D Dm A F#7 B7 E7
Break: A D#dim7 Dm E7
Verse: A G7 A A7 D Dm A F#7 B7 E7
Break 2: A G#7
Bridge: C#m F#m Am C#m D#m7 D7 C#m F#7 B7 E7
Verse: A4 G7 A A7 D Dm A F#7 B7 E7
Break 3: A Fm7 E7
Outro: A F#7 B7 E7 A

Come And Receive (Communion)

Each Sunday at church we have communion and typically the pastor will say something to the effect of "come and receive." This sparked an idea for a song that I wrote over the past month or so. Hope you enjoy!

Come And Receive (Communion)
Come and receive the cup and the bread
His body and blood on the cross that was shed
Saved by grace through faith from the wages of your sin
Forgiveness is free, no matter where you've been

So come and receive all who believe
The cup and the bread for all who were dead
Made alive by Jesus Christ so come and eat with Him
Made alive by Jesus Christ so come and eat with Him

Come and receive the cup and the bread
His body and blood on the cross that was shed
Fear must fall away cause His love has come to stay
No more guilt and shame by the power of His name

Taste and eat, drink deep
Taste and eat, drink deep

Come and receive all who believe
The cup and the bread for all who were dead
Made alive by Jesus Christ so come and eat with Him
Made alive by Jesus Christ so come and eat with Him

Metronome

Photo by: Paco Vila

Keeping your eyes on Jesus and His truth is like following a metronome. You can practice a song and think you're on tempo but without the metronome as an external source of truth keeping you on track, you can easily speed up or lag behind and get off track. Similarly in life, without the absolute truth of Jesus keeping you on beat and in rhythm, you can easily get off track. Whether you get distracted by a friend, family member, co-worker, the internet, someone on TV, a podcast, the radio, a book, or magazine, any of these can move you away from looking to The Truth and His best.

His Word is so important to keeping centered on Him. In John 14:6 He says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me." If you don't already, incorporate at least a little bit of Bible reading every day. You can read through the Bible in a year in no more than 10-15 minutes a day. With technology like the Bible app YouVersion, you can even accomplish this by listening on your way to work in the morning or out running errands.

Reading the Bible every day will root your mind and heart in the truth and change your life for the better. Stay on beat and walking in truth and He will keep you from avoidable frustration and pain, instead leading you to His best and more than you can imagine.

In pursuit of His best,

Andrew

Sovereign Over All

This song is intended as an encouragement for those in either challenging health or other difficult circumstances. Prayer is powerful so lift up the people in your life that you know who are going through a difficult scenario.

Sovereign Over All
God you are creator sovereign over all
You made the mountains and the sea Spring, Summer, and Fall
You're with us on the good days and even on the bad
When things are looking up and when we're feeling sad

Send your power Lord and bring us through the fire
Let your healing come and purify
In everything we face oh Lord be glorified
You are sovereign over all and you are with us through it all

You are a loving Father and when you sent your Son
He won the victory over sin and death was overcome
and now your Holy Spirit is with us every day
Leading us and guiding in the path that we should take

Send your power Lord and bring us through the fire
Let your healing come and purify
In everything we face oh Lord be glorified
You are sovereign over all and you are with us through it all

Commemorating the 500th Blog Post

Before the world of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, et al had become widely used, I started this blog as a way to share fun thoughts, quotes, wisdom, photography, book reviews, music, and encouragement on faith. It also served as a way to keep people in touch with my adventures while living in London and traveling around Europe.

When I started I didn't know that it would eventually turn into a blog primarily oriented towards encouraging people to pursue God's best in their lives. As a result of the process, I've learned a lot about both writing and website technology.

In school, I remember teachers talking about finding your voice as a writer and while I observed that writers had different styles, I didn't think of myself as having a particular "voice." However, as I've written more and more, my writing voice has developed into what you see in recent articles. In earlier posts, the writing had a sometimes whimsical or light hearted tone while also being informative or thoughtful but as the subject matter changed is now geared more towards inspiration and encouragement. Of course, I actively write and record songs and those posts make their appearance as well. Be sure to check out some of the songs on Spotify, iTunes, or YouTube.

The blog has been around through several seasons of life, starting geographically in Kansas City, then London, back to Kansas City, and then moving to Atlanta. Professionally, I've worked in both IT as well as Financial Planning. I've played in various bands, led worship for different church groups and Bible studies, and released a country/southern rock album called Southern's Who I Am. I've gone on a couple mission trips to the Philippines and Estonia as well. Some friendships have endured, others were for a season.

I've also had the opportunity to help two different authors write their first books and was very involved in the editing process. The most recent was Scorpions, Scones, and Your Favorite Playlist by my friend Danee.

As I read back over the articles, I'm glad that I took the time to write and capture pieces of my life and some of the things God was teaching me along the way. Many of the faith oriented articles came out of processing things with God during a quiet time or writing in my prayer journal. When writing an article, the advice can be just as relevant for the author as for the audience. It's one thing to write it and another to internalize it.

The name of the blog, The Pursuit of His Best, comes from a goal of mine and what I hope becomes a goal of those who read the articles. I want to pursue God's best in everything that I do. This sometimes slips from focus but it is what I try to keep coming back to. When I keep my eyes on Him and what He wants for my life, I'm confident that He will lead me to much better things than I could ever accomplish on my own.

Numbers are fun to me so I thought it would be interesting to revisit the most popular posts by view count as well as some of my favorites. According to the Blogger software, there have been 55,355 views with visitors from all over the world since the blog was started.

Top 3 Posts by Number of Views
1. The Friendship Hierarchy
2. Your Own Personal Board of Directors
3. Coffee Haiku

Some Favorite Faith Posts

• Experience His Love and Grace
• When the Road is Long
• Experiencing the Creator in Creation
• Stewarding Songs
• Lord of the Dance 
• The Path of Righteousness 
• Worship As A Way of Life
• Boogers, Sin, and Jesus 
• Shooting Straight With God
• Mountain Top Experience
• Saying No to Good in Favor of God's Best 
• Pottery and God
• The Father's Love 
• Your Love  
• Identity Theft
• Is Jesus Your Compass?
• Lean Not On Your Own Understanding
• Do You Pray About Work?
• Inquire of the Lord
• New Year Exhortation
• The Deception of Perfection
• Hungry for Righteousness
• Bezalel
• The Crucible of Tough Stuff
• Praise in Battle
• Straight Up Truth
• God is A Mighty Warrior
• Singing Warriors

If you'd like to checkout some past posts by category, click on one of the following categories.

• Faith
• Songwriting
• Fun 
• Book Reviews
• Photography

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more encouragement, music, and fun. If you want to subscribe via email so you don't miss a post, enter your email address in the box at the top left of the blog.

In pursuit of His best,

Andrew

All Things Work For Good

Sometimes life doesn't turn out how you think it should. It might be a hope that's unfulfilled, discouragement with a job situation, disappointment over a relationship, frustration with a family scenario, an unmet goal with no completion in sight, or any other number of situations that are difficult to understand. This song speaks to that type of life scenario. God has a master plan and even though we don't always see it in the midst of things, He will work on our behalf for our good and His glory.

A couple verses that inspired the song are: Romans 8:28 and Psalm 139.

If you're interested in downloading the song on iTunes or listening on Spotify click on these links. Download on iTunes
Listen on Spotify

All Things Work For Good
From the start of time you had me in mind and you planned my days
You formed my inmost parts and you know my heart. I am wonderfully made.

I know that things don't always turn out how I think they should
But I know that when I'm walking by your call, all things work for good

You knew I would mess up but then you'd pick me up and you'd give me grace
And if I pursue your best in all I do, you will guide my way

I know that things don't always turn out how I think they should
But I know that when I'm walking by your call, all things work for good

When the sun don't shine, in the dark of night I find, even there you love me

From the start of time you had me in mind and you planned my days
You formed my inmost parts and you know my heart. I am wonderfully made.

I know that things don't always turn out how I think they should
But I know that when I'm walking by your call, all things work for good

Lord of Today

Is Jesus Lord of your today? Many would say that Jesus is Lord of their life but when you break it down to day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, could it be said that he is Lord of that moment? Without intentionally inviting him into your day and acknowledging him as Lord of that day, things can easily get off track.

When you try to do this, it can be hard as people get on your nerves, temptations come at you, traffic is terrible, a coworker annoys you, or you have conflict with someone close to you. It's especially in these moments that it's so important to maintain focus on Him and ask Him to be Lord in that situation too.

In Psalm 55:17 it says: "Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice." As you go through the next days and weeks, start out each day asking Him to be Lord of your day. As the day goes by, keep checking back in with him and allow him to be Lord of every moment.

In pursuit of His best,

Andrew

Gethsemane

Gethsemane by Andrew Robert Allen

In 2015, I visited Israel and while on the trip, I had the opportunity to visit the Garden of Gethsemane. The group that I was with had a  meaningful time of prayer and a session of worship that I got to lead. It was a beyond bucket list moment. To actually be in the place where Jesus prayed the night before he was crucified was deeply moving.

I wrote this classical guitar instrumental music a number of years ago and in the video, it is set to the text of the Garden of Gethsemane passage in Mark 14:32-41 where Jesus prays before undergoing the trials and crucifixion. Luke 22:44 documents when Jesus sweat drops of blood. As you listen to the song, meditate on the verses and what Jesus experienced in those moments.

The background photo from the video was taken in the Garden of Gethsemane at the bottom of the Mount of Olives.

In pursuit of His best,

Andrew

Jesus Son of God

Jesus Son of God by Andrew Robert Allen
Jesus, Jesus Son of God came to Earth Jesus
Jesus, Jesus Son of God bled for us Jesus
A love that's like no other, sent down from the Father
Poor sinners were forsaken, but now their hearts awaken

Jesus, Jesus Son of God came to Earth Jesus
Jesus, Jesus Son of God bled for us Jesus
A lion roars in Judah, the King of Kings victorious
For he has conquered over sin, and death could not contain Him

Jesus, Jesus Son of God came to Earth Jesus
Jesus, Jesus Son of God bled for us Jesus
Jesus, Jesus Son of God came to Earth Jesus

Don't Be An Asa

Photo by: Dennis Jarvis (archer10)

Asa was by and large a good king of Judah. He honored the Lord with his life and in how he led the people for the majority of his reign. He helped turn them away from idol worship and removed many false gods and the associated images and heathen behavior. At one point, he led the army of Judah and Benjamin against an army of a million men in which they were outnumbered two to one. Despite these overwhelming odds, he trusted in the Lord and asked Him to overcome their enemy. The result was a resounding victory.

A prophet came to Asa after this victory and said, "the Lord is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you." -2 Chronicles 15:2b Asa went on to lead Judah in following the Lord with resulting blessings for many years.

However, towards the end of his reign, Asa decided to go outside of God for assistance and do things in his own thinking, his own ability, and with the resources available to him. He ended up hiring a mercenary army to fight on his behalf. While this might have had a semblance of sense from a military and secular perspective, he did not seek out guidance from God or ask for His power to handle the situation. As a result, God withdrew his blessing from Asa and his final years were marked by war and illness.

There is wisdom and practical application that can be drawn from this passage. You may be very skilled at a particular task, profession, relationship, activity, social situation, or any number of different areas of life. In your own ability, you may be able to make things happen and advance your goals. However, if you try to do this without God's involvement or seeking his counsel, at some point, you'll either fail or fall far short of where you could have ended up.

By including Him in the process, He can open doors that otherwise would remain shut. He can create opportunities that would not be available to you. He can make a way in what would be an impossible situation. He can guide you away from making mistakes or aligning yourself with people who may mislead you or be a poor fit. He will allow you to do it without Him but more times than not, avoidable heartache and far less favorable outcomes will result.

As you go through life, don't follow the example of Asa in his latter years; pursue God's best and allow Him to provide for, bless, and lead you.

In pursuit of His best,

Andrew

Letting God Orchestrate Your Story

Photo by: Fir0002/Flagstaffotos

Have you ever thought of the metaphor of God as a conductor, orchestrating the story of your life? If you allow him to, he will orchestrate a masterpiece.

When the story isn't going the way you think it should, it can be hard to resist grabbing the baton and start conducting differently. Maybe things aren't moving as quickly as you'd like professionally, or something you'd hoped for relationally isn't going the way you'd expect, it could be a challenge with a family dynamic, or perhaps an illness or injury is preventing you from living life the way you'd want.

Do you ever feel that God is not in charge during these times? It certainly can be confusing when you don't see the end of the story while still in the middle. God knows where things are going and has a master plan he's orchestrating even in these times of difficulty and frustration.

There are other times that life hits on all cylinders. You've got great health, work is rewarding, family is spending quality time together, your walk with God is deeply connected, and your goals are being met all around. Basically, all you do is win. In these times it's still essential to maintain focus on The Orchestrator and keep your eyes on His baton. "Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith..." Hebrews 12:2

Whether things are going swimmingly or if it's a darker part of the story it's important to keep talking with Him. He'll provide insight that you wouldn't otherwise have. In Jeremiah 33:3 He says, "Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known." The best thing you can do is to continue to stay plugged in to the master orchestrator in both the ups and the downs. Allow Him to progress the story in His time and in the way He would choose.

As hard as it can be to trust in your heart and not just from an intellectual perspective, keep looking to the master orchestrator. As He queues the different parts of the story, watch as He unfolds a beautiful story arc. His ways aren't always on the path we might choose but you can trust that He loves you and will be faithful to the end. "He will never leave or forsake you." -Deuteronomy 31:6

In pursuit of His best,

Andrew 

Silent Night Guitar Instrumental

Merry Christmas y'all! Hope you enjoy this instrumental finger picking guitar arrangement of Silent Night that I put together for you.

Stewarding Your Season of Life Well

How do you feel about your season of life? Is it everything you want it to be? Are there some things about it that you wish were different?

Whatever your response, God loves you, sees you, knows where you’re at, and desires good things for you in this season. Most of all He wants to walk with you and for you to know and experience Him more deeply.

Many times we can get so focused on the immediate concerns, priorities, challenges, stresses, or difficulties of a season that we forget to really live in and fully experience the unique opportunities in it.

In a season of singleness, people have time and freedom that is a wonderful blank slate on which to craft a story and engage in an abundance of fun, meaningful activities, time with God, traveling, serving, running races, hiking in nature, writing and reading books, playing songs, and deep friendships. For those who are newly married, there are the joys of a new life together and learning about each other more deeply. For those with kids, there are all kinds of intermittent seasons throughout the various phases: newborn, toddler, elementary age, middle and high school, then sending them on to college or other pursuits in life. The empty nest phase similarly affords much greater time to reconnect with your spouse and engage in fun activities.

From a career perspective, a first job while still in school provides good insight into responsibility, learning to relate to people, and manage money without the full weight of providing for oneself. The first professional job provides a completely new perspective as you learn the ins and outs of an industry and go from book knowledge to practical skills. Mid career can bring a different set of responsibilities where you may be looked to as an expert in your field and provide leadership to others. Late career holds opportunities for possibly selling a business, transitioning responsibilities to others, and investing in a younger generation to carry the torch. In retirement, you again have the potential for significant time availability and can use it in leisure, studying the Bible, traveling, reading, volunteering, spending time with family, and a host of other activities.

There are seasons of joy, seasons of pain, seasons of meaningfulness and seasons that seem mundane, seasons of intensity and seasons of relaxation, seasons of health, seasons of sickness, seasons of plenty and seasons of need. In each of these, God is with you.

It’s important to steward the opportunities in each season and allow God to work in and through you to accomplish the plans that He’s laid for you (Ephesians 2:10). Don’t let busyness, disappointment, others’ expectations, or anything else hold you back from fully living in and pursuing God’s best in your season. It may last for a while or be gone in the blink of an eye. Whatever the season, steward it well and allow God to guide you in each step of the journey.

In pursuit of His best,

Andrew

Fleeing Temptation

This video illustrates the concept of fleeing from evil as well as anything I've seen. The iguana runs as if his life depends on it, fights, jumps, and escapes the clutches of certain death. Notice also the parallel of joining up with another iguana at the end as a way to watch out for each other and avoid sin.

"When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴ but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." -James 1:13-15

"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." -1 Corinthians 10:13

"Flee from sexual immorality." -1 Corinthians 6:18

"But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house." -Genesis 39:12

I Am With You

I Am With You
I am with you and you are mine
I'll go before you at all times
I am with you and you are mine
Don't be discouraged you'll be fine
Cause I am with you always child of mine

When the trouble comes and you feel alone
keep pressing on and standing strong
I'll be by your side and I'll fight for you
hold you in my arms and comfort you

I am with you and you are mine
I'll go before you at all times
I am with you and you are mine
I love you deeply and you'll be fine
Cause I am with you always child of mine

Like I'm Loved By You

When I think about my life and observe others, I’m sometimes struck by how differently we might live if we truly lived as though we were walking out the knowledge of God’s love for us. The motivations, fears, doubts, lies we’ve believed, shame, hurts, pain, and simple selfishness that drives behavior would fall to the wayside. Really living out of confidence and knowing that God loves us beyond anything we can imagine would transform the way we live.

When uncertainties creep in our certainty comes from Him and the knowledge that He is all powerful, and knows what’s happened in the past and what will come in the future. Our actions and words would be different when embracing His love in our lives. While difficult life circumstances, other people, spiritual attacks, and selfish desires will always be challenges to contend with, the more we can lean into His love, the more we will pursue His best in our lives.

This song was written out of reflection on these thoughts.

Like I'm Loved By You
I want to live like I'm loved by you
I want to live like I'm loved by you
I want to live like I'm loved by you
I want to live like I'm loved by you

No more doubt no more fear love has won and peace is here
All the lies were crucified when you died and gave me life
Shame has gone it has no place grace has come and sin erased
You heal my heart and heal my pain there is power in your name

I want to live like I'm loved by you
I want to live like I'm loved by you
I want to live like I'm loved by you
I want to live like I'm loved by you

In pursuit of His best,

Andrew

Relational Equity

In every relationship be it friend, family, romantic, professional, or casual there is a relational account. In each interaction, you make either deposits or withdrawals. Some are superficial, some deep. As you think about your relationships and interactions with people, what does the ledger look like? Are there lots of deposits and investments? Are there some withdrawals? Does the ledger reflect a positive or negative balance? Do you have lots of small balance relationships? Maybe a few deep relationships that you've invested in significantly?

A kind word, phone call, or text message can make a nice deposit and just like consistent saving and investing in your personal finances can grow into something substantial, relational deposits can grow and build deep and meaningful relationships over time. Quality time together, going to the park, getting lunch, hiking with them, shared experiences, a hug, high five, back rub, going to church together, praying for them, sending a card, running together, hosting a party for them, cooking a meal, fixing their car, cleaning their house, pet sitting for them, covering for them at work, mentoring them, encouraging them, bringing them flowers or their favorite dessert, going on a trip with them. Any of these can make a positive investment and build relational equity.

Sometimes it will cost time, money, energy, or opportunities to make the investment and sometimes it will be simple and easy and effortless.

It's not a matter of what you can get out of someone else but that can be a natural by product. There will be times when you need other people physically, emotionally, socially, professionally, their influence, expertise, wisdom, etc. and when you've already built relational equity with them it's much easier for them to want to help you and go to bat for you.

Some relationships take investment over a long period of time and don't always produce immediate fruit but while investing in people can be messy at times, it can also be rewarding. People are worth the investment more times than not and can bear wonderful dividends.

Building relational equity and investing in people also increases your influence. Not only do you grow a deeper personal relationship with one person but everyone they interact with can be positively affected by you as well.

Just as positive interactions create good will and deposits into a relationship, so too can negative ones. A cutting remark, gossip, making fun of someone even in casual jest, or any number of other negative actions all create negative equity in the relationship and can undo prior deposits. Some relationships start with a negative balance and can be difficult to restore to a positive state. While it's important to be wise by setting boundaries with people who take advantage of you, seeking reconciliation and making amends is good to pursue when possible.

Take a minute to think of the people in your family, your friends, those you work with, and neighbors. How would you classify your relational equity with them? Is there a relationship that could use a deposit? Who is someone you need or want to make an investment in? How can you use your time, energy, resources, wisdom, expertise, and influence to invest in people and build relational equity this week?

In pursuit of His best,

Andrew

Donut Haiku

Delicious donuts

Warm, glazed and oh so yummy

Want to get one now