Driftwood Diaries

I thought I’d try to write a little bit of my day to day adventures, each day of this week-long tour. I’m out here in upper New York, solo, and I’ve never done such a thing before, so I thought I’d give it a shot. Anyone up for a few SNAPSHOTS of the road life? If there’s anyone out there who has the time and interest to follow along with me this week…I’m thankful for your company!

OK, so it takes ALL DAY to fly to a place like this from sunny California. It’s now midnight here, and I just got in. It’s 20 degrees. Pastor Samme Palermo is my gracious host, picking me up at Rochester airport, swinging by Applebee’s for a late-night chicken salad, and dropping me off here at the Fairfield Inn. Samme is the best - a total New Yorker, a ROCKER, and a give-the-coat-off-his-back lover of people. I’ll be at his church twice this week, and I can’t wait! PLEASE PRAY FOR SAMME’S MOM; He found out moments before he picked me up that she is severe flu-like symptoms and being rushed to the hospital! He dropped me at the hotel and headed straight over there…may God’s peace comfort him and his family…

Besides a tiny nap, and some quiet reflections in prayer, I mostly read today on the flights, as I love to do…1st Corinthians, 2 magazines (American Way and Blender), and 2 Henri Nouwen books (Making All Things New and Letters to Marc About Jesus). Henri is awesome! I was really inspired today, too, by Paul’s encouragement in Corinthians to “run the race to win”. Of course, I’ve heard that a million times, but isn’t it like the Spirit to use something familiar to capture your heart in a fresh way? This week, I want to run the race to win…not just “finish well”…but actually to WIN it, you know? May God hear my prayer!

I’m fighting against the 3-hour time difference, so I’m going to attempt to listen to all 20 new songs from Blender’s “Download These” column, and then hope sleep comes soon…

Until tomorrow-

This is definitely under-the-table, and Randy doesn’t even know I’m writing this, BUT…

My favorite hobby, as many of you might know, is surfing, and I couldn’t have a better friend out on the water than Randy French!  I just love Surftech surfboards so much that I’ve GOT to make a shout-out!  Randy and his awesome team have created these amazingly indestructible surfboards that handle all my klutzy drops and road trips, plus they’re so light and responsive that surfing is always fun!  My brothers and I have all surfed these great boards, and Randy has been a generous, supportive friend for years now.  I visited the factory last week in Santa Cruz and got hoooooked up!  Here was Randy in the shaping room…

I ride a ‘9″8 David Nuuhiwa longboard, and it is MAGIC!  Surftech is branching out in tons of adventurous designs, and I totally admire Randy for taking the many leaps of faith required to start and sustain a company like this!

If you’re ever in the surfboard buying situation, consider a SURFTECH.  You’ll be stoked!!!

Our drummer John Macelwee and his wife (the ’60s couple) hosted our small group and a bunch of friends for a pumpkin carving party.  It was awesome!  I painted on a sweet handlebar mustache, Heidi went as a Starbuck’s barista, and of course the kids got into it, too!

I’ve posted over 100 pictures from our recent retreat; The Ascent, on a new Shutterfly website.  I’m thinking of putting a bunch more photos there, too, from my recent summer tours, family trips, and random moments.  Click the logo below to view…

4:45pm :: Refugio State Beach :: I got lucky :: Heidi had the camera

ANNOUNCING…

The first-ever Spiritual Retreat, put on and hosted by……ME!!!

THE ASCENT ‘08!

I have secured four sites at one of my favorite places on Earth: Upper Pines Campground in the jaw-dropping Yosemite Valley, September 18-20, 2008.

This will be a life-changing weekend to relax, refresh, and renew, caught in the beauty of God’s majestic handiwork. John Muir once said that God speaks to us in nature all the time, but that in Yosemite, He uses CAPITALS. Psalm 145 says it like this:

“Creation and creatures applaud you, God;
your holy people bless you.
They talk about the glories of your rule,
they exclaim over your splendor…”

Let’s take a few days to pull away and add our voices to the choir!

This retreat is open to ANYONE with a desire to get away and recharge…

THURSDAY night will include an amazing dinner, prepared with passion and artistry by our on-site chef, a devotional, an interactive worship experience, S’mores and guitars around the bonfire, and an un-plugged concert of requests and debut songs from the forthcoming album!

On FRIDAY, we will get up early and attempt the summit of one of the most famous mountains of all time: Half Dome! This is the perfect time of year for this, with the cables still up, the weather optimal, and the crowds minimal.
Here’s a link describing the adventure: Half Dome

Folks who aren’t up for this craziness have many options throughout the day at Yosemite.
For a link to some alternate things to do, click HERE

The entire weekend will be accompanied by a pre-trip suggested reading list, raves, advice, and tips on enjoying Yosemite, along with prayerfully prepared, self-guided spiritual exercises – cool opportunities for you to connect with the Creator of it all. My prayer is that it will also be a great time to listen, share, encourage and support each other. Friday night will include another incredible dinner followed by Inspirational Campfire Session #2!

SATUDAY, we’ll conclude our retreat with an awesome breakfast and a time of sharing, worship, reflection and response. I will be making my coveted Pete’s coffee for all…

(for those wishing to stay over Saturday night, other accommodations may be available)

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We’ll be tent-camping, so it’s kind of rustic, but I think that’s where all the fun is! (I can help supply some needed tents, if we’re short)

This will be an intimate journey, in that there are only

20 SPOTS AVAILABLE

It is a first-come/first-serve basis, and the registration has OFFICIALLY BEGUN!

The cost is $150 per person, which is a tax-deductible donation that will cover food and your campsite, and support our ongoing music ministry efforts. You can secure your spot with a $100 deposit or, of course, pay the whole amount.

To pay by check:
Send to “Justin Fox Ministries”
3007 Donnybrook
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

By credit card:
We can take your number over the phone at 714-432-8335

With PayPal:
Simply send a payment to “justin@justinfox.com”, or click on the PayPal button on the right of this site.

This is a big leap of faith for us…

THANK YOU for considering supporting and joining me in THE ASCENT!

Justin

One of my fondest memories of this summer has to be our family retreat. We stole a week away beach camping at a favorite spot near Santa Barbara. I made fires, threw the frisbee, rode my kids in a raft, and mainly surfed, surfed, and SURFED! My wife graciously took a few pictures and got this sequence - my first documented “surf sequence” shot! Here’s to another great summer…

Well, you know what I mean! I “officiated” his wedding, you know??! On July 21, in the mountains near Boulder, CO, he married an awesome gal; Amanda, and all my brothers got to be a part of the amazing celebration. Here’s us hoisting the main-man; Aaron, and me behind the podium, pronouncing them “husband and wife”!

It was an amazing day - marked by God’s joy and presence. Everything went totally smooth. The most stressful part for me was coming up with a wedding message of some sort. I was stoked though, because I really felt like God gave me a challenge and encouragement to share. Here’s my transcript. A few people told me that as I was speaking, far off lightning was shooting through the dramatic cloud formations! God is so cooooooool!!!

“….Your beauty and love chase after me everyday of my life….”
(Psalm 23)

Have you thought about that lately? Would you say you sense His beauty and love chasing after you every day? Maybe some of us have never thought about it in that way. Well, I mean, this is a truly beautiful day, isn’t it? A truly beautiful moment - that we’ve all been brought together to witness.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about beauty…maybe that’s the kind of thing you do when you’re pushing 40!

REAL beauty is something special and unique. People try to manufacture beauty all the time, in every possible way, but somehow in the end, that kind of beauty fades, rusts, runs out, or goes out of style, but what we have here today is something different; A kind of beauty designed and created by God. Marriage; the act of joining two lives together, two becoming one, it’s God’s idea, a work of his artistic genius!

Mark 10:5-6 (The Message)

In the original creation, God made male and female to be together. Because of this, a man leaves father and mother, and in marriage he becomes one flesh with a woman—no longer two individuals, but forming a new unity. Because God created this organic union of the two sexes, no one should desecrate his art by cutting them apart.”

That phrase; “God’s art” has got me doing a lot of noticing lately. I’ve been struck in new ways by His incredible design for beauty.

Here’s how Psalm 111 says it;
God’s works are so great, worth A lifetime of study—endless enjoyment! Splendor and beauty mark his craft; His generosity never gives out. His miracles are his memorial— This God of Grace, this God of Love. He gave food to those who fear him, He remembered to keep his ancient promise. He proved to his people that he could do what he said: Hand them the nations on a platter—a gift! He manufactures truth and justice; All his products are guaranteed to last— Never out-of-date, never obsolete, rust-proof. All that he makes and does is honest and true.

In Matthew 6, Jesus is quoted as saying:
All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

Being in the mountains here, I’m amazed at the greenery, the crisp air, the sky’s intricate patterns. Where we live in California, I’ve picked up on a few things lately as well; the sparkling diamonds of light shimmering off the ocean’s surface, the tapestry like patterns of dark and light sand in the shore-break, the colorful streaks of a sunset, and the thundering power of Yosemite Falls…all examples of God’s unique eye for beauty and design – and it really outclasses every other work of art out there, doesn’t it?

Today, it’s like I want to take out a big spotlight and shine it on the Flat Irons at dusk and say, “Look! God’s beauty on display!” Or take it and shine on the pure smile of a child swinging on a swing, and say, “Look over here…God’s beauty!” and I want to take that same spotlight and shine it on this couple standing before you today and all that this moment signifies and represents, and say, “Look! God’s beauty on display!”

One thing unique about God’s art is that it is a “dynamic” art…almost like “performance art”; unlike a painting or a statue, God’s art moves, it’s a show!, it dances, it changes, in fact it never stays the same and is never exactly repeated. The Bible says that God created and designed us, everyone here, Aaron and Amanda, with this same artist’s eye and attention to detail. We are all growing and changing, inside and out. Some of us excited about getting older…some of us not so much. Some of us may be getting wiser, stronger, taller…or maybe more humble, weaker, maybe even a little shorter…but it’s ALL God’s design and His beauty is threaded through it all. Aaron and Amanda, take a look at each other for a moment…ahhh… You’re really good looking right now! The truth is; you are both setting out on an adventurous journey of change, with God as the director and chief architect. And as we learn to accept, rest and trust in God’s artistic design, this beautiful dance of change and growth, we will find His art will surprise us. He loves you so much! He has your best in mind, every step of the way.

Ephesians 5:25
Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ’s love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They’re really doing themselves a favor—since they’re already “one” in marriage. (ending on a practical note for the guys!)

1 Peter 3:1
The same goes for you wives: Be good wives to your husbands, responsive to their needs. There are husbands who, indifferent as they are to any words about God, will be captivated by your life of holy beauty. What matters is not your outer appearance—the styling of your hair, the jewelry you wear, the cut of your clothes—but your inner disposition.

I would like to challenge us all to embrace what God is up to here - His loving design in our lives and His beauty all around us…

God has put together this day and all it stands for. Let’s protect it, let’s preserve it, let’s not trash God’s unique, original, organic handiwork here today.

May we all have wide-open hearts to God’s loving design.

May we cherish, respond to, and honor God’s art here and all around us.

And may His beauty and love chase after us everyday of our lives.

Tomorrow I head for the UK for my third summer. Each trip has been so cool and unique in it’s own way. This time I will be performing a few more times than last, but I’m more excited than ever just to SEE all my friends over there! Actually calling them “friends” sounds so cool. God has been teaching me lately about the high value of relationships…walking in that and seeing the blessing in it has been a great journey. Here’s a big question though: WHY has there always been terrorist stuff every time I go???!!! What’s with that?!

The Guinness Book of World Records is coming out to see my friend Jon Pritikin set the world record for bricks broken with his head! Pray for all of us…

I am SO STOKED to be hosting Tony Orlando’s priceless, vintage Rhodes in my studio!

Thanks, TONY!!!