One Thousand Words - Stories On The Way

Songs can really be little welcoming habitats where souls gather to make contact with each other, themselves, and the Lord. This week, I'm sharing a live recording from a house concert last November of both the song and the story behind "Kumalo" from my album "Beautiful Secret Life". The video that goes with this will premier on my YouTube channel tonight at 7pm Central. The post S2:E8 – Story and...

Henri Nouwen said, "Keep returning to the road to freedom." That little phrase has been a big help to me the times I've run off the road and felt like giving up and making my home in the ditch. Failure, rebellion, and sin are "empirically verifiable" realities, and this week I want to spend a little time remembering the even bigger reality of Jesus's wild and tender welcome toward us. The post S2:...

A very special welcome to my friend Erin Turner, our guest host this week! In a world of commodification and utility, it's easy to lose our humanity. Erin will be talking about how she's come to discover the riches of being called to a kind of work than can feel 'unuseful', and she'll share with us some of the treasures of a George Herbert poem, "The Forerunners". The post S2:E6 – The Scholar’s Ca...

I visited my parents last week, and spent a good bit of time out at our farm. So, this week, I'll share some reflections on place, memory, planting and hope. When you talk about that stuff you have to end with a Wendell Berry poem, so we shall. The post S2:E5 – The Daffodils appeared first on Matthew Clark .

There are so many ways we, as hurting humans, try to put the broken pieces of life back together, but we never can quite pull it off. Still, even though our ways of coping don't ultimately work, maybe they are our best effort at simulating the healing that Jesus's work on the cross supplies in reality? This is an idea that fascinates me, and this week, I'll feel my way around it some. The post S2:...

"Story" has been a buzzword the last few years, maybe, in part, because our sense of being in God's story has been lost and we're looking for a way to contextualize our lives meaningfully. This week, I'll be thinking about the stories we believe, as well as, how, as humans, we are called to be storytellers/artists, and co-storytellers with God. I'll close with a favorite passage from good ole G.K....

Lewis said anxiety is an affliction and a way to feel with Jesus his pain, not a sin. This week, I'm thinking a little about that idea, and closing the episode with a reading of and Oliver Wendell Holmes hymn "O Love Divine, that stooped to share." The post S2:E2 – Anxiety and Sharing in Christ’s Sufferings appeared first on Matthew Clark .

Welcome to Season Two! This week we'll look at how good words help us participate more truly in reality. And I'm very happy to have Poet/Priest Malcolm Guite close this episode with a reading of his poem "Spell" from his book "The Singing Bowl". The post S2:E1 – Good Words appeared first on Matthew Clark .

Wendell Berry says that every day we should "do something that won’t compute". In this episode, I'll talk about how certain practices help us keep a hold on what Josef Pieper calls "true riches" in a world that tends to reduce life to mere utility, valuing only usefulness, and I'll end by reading a Wendell Berry poem. The post S1:E23 – Being Beautifully Unuseful to God appeared first on Matthew Cl...

This week, I'll explore how envy teaches me to fear, keeps me from growing, and makes wonder impossible. And I'll talk about a hopeful alternative. Then, I'll close with a One Thousand Words exclusive performance of an original song. You can find the text from this podcast here: https://www.matthewclark.net/s1e22-making-envy-scarce/ Learn more about hosting a house concert here: www.matthewclark.n...

After a June break, here's a new episode about my favorite habitat for sharing songs and stories - the house concert. I'll talk about what this special kind of concert means to me, and close by sharing a new poem. Relevant links this week: www.matthewclark.net/houseconcerts www.matthewclark.net/onethousandwords www.thecultivatingproject.com The post S1:E21 – What is a house concert for? appeared f...

My friends Abbye and Jeff were in town this weekend, and I was reminded of what a deep gift friendship is. This week, I'll explore how friends ignite our own hearts, how being made in the image of a triune God gives a family-shape to our destiny, and, obviously, a bit about... horcruxes? Yeah. Show notes and links on the homepage: www.matthewclark.net/onethousandwords The post S1:E20 – At The Tabl...

I got stuck in the Houston airport for several days last week during bad weather, and I had a chance to cross paths with some strangers and hear a few stories. The post S1:E19 – Connecting Flights appeared first on Matthew Clark .

"We only know who we are when we find ourselves caught in the loving gaze of another person." In part 2 of last week's episode, we'll explore what it means to pay attention and discover that someone has been lovingly paying attention to us. This is how we find that we are surrounded by a Story and invited to join in its telling. Ep. 18 is part two of a talk given by Matthew Clark at Cofferstowe 20...

"Listening evokes stories" says epistemologist Esther Lightcap Meek, and the common call as God's image-bearers might be to become attentive, if we are to dwell deeply in a Great Story, which is critical to becoming storytellers ourselves. Ep. 17 is part one of a talk Matthew Clark at Cofferstowe 2016 called, "The Costly Craft of Paying Attention". The post S1:E17 – The Costly Craft of Paying Atte...

Today, and Old Testament story from Elisha the Prophet got me thinking about the strangeness of Easter and last week's mercifully baffling story of Jesus walking to the cross. I'll also share a new single called "Meet Me Here" that I recorded and released this Easter. The post S1:E16 – The Conquering Power of Mercy appeared first on Matthew Clark .

I talk to myself when I'm alone (and I bet you do too)! I'm a verbal processor, and this week I'm sharing an imagined conversation about "Magic Words" and learning to live in the story God is telling. The post S1:E15 – Quieting The Magic Words – Listening For The Tune appeared first on Matthew Clark .

I sing like a bird about birds singing on this week's episode. I'll tell the story behind an original song called "Come True" and share an live-in-studio recording. The song is from the album "Beautiful Secret Life (Bonus Songs)", available on my website (www.matthewclark.net) and all online platforms. The post S1:E14 – Listen to the Birdsong appeared first on Matthew Clark .

Here's the second half of Christa Wells' talk on Imagination from Cofferstowe 2016. Visit www.cofferstowe.com to learn more and register for Cofferstowe 2019 this June 14-17 in Cincinnati, OH! The post S1:E13 – Christa Wells, “Imagination: Seeing the Far Side of the Mountain”, Pt. 2 appeared first on Matthew Clark .

Singer/Songwriter Christa Wells is featured this week sharing part one of a talk she gave at Cofferstowe 2016 called, "Imagination: Seeing the Far Side of the Mountain". Cofferstowe 2019 is coming this June. Visit cofferstowe.com for more information and to register. The post S1:E12 – Christa Wells, “Imagination: Seeing the Far Side of the Mountain”, Pt. 1 appeared first on Matthew Clark .

This week my brother Sam suggested I write about joy and obedience - a word-pairing that seemed strange me for a long time, and registration is open for the Cofferstowe Art & Faith retreat at cofferstowe.com! The post S1:E11 – Joyful obedience? What am I missing? appeared first on Matthew Clark .

This week, on Episode 10, I'll share about a hard and normal part of everyone's life and creative process, hopefully light a little votive candle in some way, and close with a poem about remembering that we're not alone. The post S1:E10 – A Smoldering Wick appeared first on Matthew Clark .

Episode 9 is my first "Etymology Episode"! This week, I'll talk about being a sixth grader, we'll look at the word "diabolical" and its surprising opposite, and, as a closing prayer, I'll share a draft of a poem I'm working on. The post S1:E9 – Etymology Episode: “diabolical” appeared first on Matthew Clark .

So what IS a Cofferstowe anyway? So glad you asked... this week's episode features an essay about the heart behind this "Creative Kingdom" retreat coming up this June, and closes with a few words from one of our featured speakers Lanier Ivester. The post S1:E8 – What IS a Cofferstowe anyway? appeared first on Matthew Clark .

In Episode 7, writer, poet, and fellow G.K. Chesterton nerd Amelia Friedline shares an essay on the holy ache of homesickness, and I'll close by reading a couple of Amelia's poems as a benediction. As always, visit the podcast website (matthewclark.net/onethousandwords) for the essay text, to comment, and for links to more info. The post S1:E7 – Homesick at Home appeared first on Matthew Clark .