The Music post.

I have not written about what music I am listening to in a while. Just wanted to say some stuff about what is really good out there in the ever changing world of music. I jotted down a few things about some albums that just came out, some others that are tickling my fancy, and some old stuff that may just rock your boat a little bit.

The New
John Mayer (Battle Studies) - John (I can call him that cause we go way back) comes with a classic rock sound on this album, obviously. Well maybe I shouldn't say that because I bet there are still a bunch of late 20's ex-sorority girls just waiting for his next 'No Such Thing' or 'Your Body is a Wonderland,' needless to say they will still be waiting. John seems to always be growing in his musical styles and it seems to me that he is putting distance between his acoustic-pop beginnings (which I believe was always his plan). Anyways, the album is not as catchy off the bat as its predecessor 'Contiuum,' but the way in which he grabs you in his simple (but complex) melodies will keep you coming back to this album because of the depth that lies beneath. Check out 'Heartbreak Warfare'

Phil Wickham - (Heaven and Earth) - If you haven't listened to Wickham yet, this is the time. You can even do it for free, go to Philwickham.com and download his 'Singalong' album for free. His new album is full of great lyrical songs, that make you want to get a mob together or start rioting for a cause. Whats great about Wickham is not just his voice or guitar playing (which are both up to snuff) but the passion and fervor in which he sings and plays. Songs such as the title track and 'Because of Your Love' really just show the depths of his writing. Great album. I recommend getting the acoustic album as well, if you can find it, because it is just as good, if not better then the whole dolled up album.

New(ish)
Passion Pit (Chunk of Change) - "a shiny bouquet of synth pop roses."- Rolling Stones. Figured there wasn't much to add to that. Check out 'Sleepyhead' which is now on a cell phone commercial, so you know they are going to get bigger quick. Be the first one out of your circle of friends to listen to them and then turn and say "I liked their older stuff better..."

The Fray (the fray) - The only problem I had with the bands sophomore album is that they named it 'They Fray' They must have used all the creativity on the album and not the name, because this is a great follow up to the success of 'How to Save a Life'. This is how piano pop/rock is done, take note OneRepublic.

Guilty Pleasures
Dashboard Confessional (After the Ending) - Guilty because Dashboard stirs something inside me that makes me feel like its the last day of summer and college is calling. The feeling that things are fresh and new. Good feeling. And just like always Dashboard does not fail to deliver that feeling on 'After the Ending.' In fact, it is dripping with all the guilty honey flavored sweetness that you have grown to expect. Even better... the acoustic version that is included.

Justin Beiber (My World) - I wish I could lie to myself about this one, but 'One Time' has been stuck in my head for days and I don't see an end in sight. This albumette (7 songs) is sugary pop goodness, catchy hooks, good beats and a guest spot by Usher all add up to 'My World' being cavity worthy. (okay maybe not the Usher part)

Worth Mentioning
Switchfoot (Hello Hurricane) - Always a solid pick, Switchfoot turns up the amp a little in this push play album, no need to skip songs. Almost all are catchy and have great melodic flow.

David Crowder Band (Church Music) - Not Crowders all time best, but definitely some great songs, and the album is worth the buy just for his rendition of 'How He Loves'

Shane and Shane (Everything is Different) - What is great is that everything is not different when it comes to Shane and Shane. They still have their amazing harmonies and excellent acoustic guitar skills. What can I say besides, Shane and Shane are just legit. Listen to 'Worthy of Affection'.

Explosions in the Sky (The Earth is Not a Cold Dark Place) - Great Great Great. Good to just listen to while working or while trying to relax. The ups and downs in these songs are so well done, it ridiculous. Personal fav, 'Your Hand in Mine.'

Pick it Back Up/Download
Jack Johnson (on and on) - No one doesn't like Jack Johnson (yes I know, its a double negative) But for real, throw 'Taylor' on and let Jack sing to you sleep.

Kanye West (The College Dropout) - Back in 2004, when Kanye was not stepping on stage and being all crazy, he had one of the best Rap albums ever made. And on top of that he made yellow cardigans work for rappers. Two equally impressive accomplishments.

Not Worth The Buy-
OneRepublic (Waking Up) - OneRepublic needs to 'wake up' and realize Timberland is what made them successful not their own version of fall by the wayside piano pop. Check out "Everyone Loves Me" to see that I'm not just a hater.

worship leader with no voice.

Man this past week has been not just hectic but frustrating. I got sick on Saturday night/Sunday morning and by the end of worship on Sunday morning I had no voice and sounded like a 12 year old boy that was crossing over the threshold into manhood. I can not even begin to give a number of how many pots of tea I boiled, how many Echinacea tea bags are in my trash can, or how many times that Nyquil made me gag.

Anyways, I obviously like to sing. Its my main form of worship. I do play piano and guitar, but I rely on my voice more then either of those. But this week I just felt lost. I felt I had no way of expressing worship to God. It was pretty strange. I would pick up my guitar and just sit here. So I began to just play instead of sing, and it was cool. It was cool to just play some songs with Phil Wickham and Crowder and have them sing. It was just a different way to worship.

So after that I thought I would try something else and just write instead of sing. And it poured. Not really original stuff, but names of God were just all over the place. It was very cool. And I can't wait to get my voice back and to sing what I wrote down.

I am writing this, because if you are in a place where you have 1 way that constantly are showing your worship, that is great! But you will find that if you step out of your comfort zone and try something new to express worship to God, you will have a larger spread of worship. I hope that makes sense. Examples... even if you are not a creative person, sit down, and write something to God, a love letter! Or get some crayons out and draw something for Christ. It sounds kindergarden, but if you are only used to worshiping on Sunday, and praying before meals, it could dramatically change the way you are living your spiritual life!

Just try it.

Christmas Stuff/Crazy Love

Well, I can brag about this without sounding like I am patting myself on the back because it wasn't my idea, it was my wife's idea, and secretly I wish I would have thought about it. So, I will eventually tell you the idea but I need to set up how it came about...

So in our college group on Tuesday nights, we have been going through the book "Crazy Love," by Francis Chan. This is my third time reading it, but the first time going through it all the way with a group, and because of that I have gotten so much more out of the book. Francis really doesn't divulge new information, he just urges you and convinces you that if you claim to be a Christian, live like one. Simple. Towards the end of the book it really stresses the point of loving others, and if you say you are loving others what are you actually doing to love others (say that three times fast). So we went around and talked about what we could do to love others...give away some of our unnecessary items, that could be necessary for someone else, buy someone something etc...

Well, after all the college students left and it was just LaRae and I, she said she had an idea. So she said lets not give each other presents but give that money we were going to use on each other to someone. I was all aboard with this plan, again, just wish I would have thought of it. My wife is awesome.

Now, to be completely honest I really am not writing this to brag about my wife or even us as a couple, I just wanted to share something that might encourage you to do something a bit different this year. And it doesn't have to be giving your money away, it could mean making cookies for the neighbors, or inviting someone over for a meal that they couldn't afford. But anyways, here is the awesome part, we keep trying to come up with the best way to use the money, and it really is just as exciting as shopping for a present my wife. Im not kidding, the thought that we can just give something to someone, they no clue its coming, so they can enjoy Jesus' birthday more. Ya, that's gonna be awesome. So, I leave you with this, the best way to be blessed is to bless someone else.

passion for compassion.

Yesterday Jeff and I drove down to see Don Graham at the Virginia Veterans Care Center, in Salem. It was good to see Don, and he was looking pretty good and was happy to see us. We had some general talk, Jeff read some verses, I played some music, then we prayed with him. Nothing to fancy or anything, just a good visit. On my way out I was struck with a thought, I think that a lot of times, in America, compassion is looked on as a weakness. Seriously, it seems that if we truly act as Jesus did in His day, by overlooking everything terrible in someones life, whether it be sickness, their money situation or even social bracket, and look at that person as a person, a living, breathing equal, we are somehow weaker individuals. Somehow having compassion has turned into a bad thing.

Please don't mistake this either. I am not saying pitying someone, because pitying someone is completely different then having compassion for someone. Pitying is staying where you are, whether that be your social status, or whatever. Pitying someone can even lead you to do something good, maybe give 30 bucks to a kid in Africa every month, because you saw a suffering kid on tv. But compassion, is not staying where you are. Compassion is a risk. The word compassion comes from the latin word "compati" which literally means "to suffer with." You not only risk your wealth or your status, you sometimes will risk your health.

I think a lot of us are stuck in the pitying stage. Where we feel sorry for people less fortunate and want to do something, but ultimately we are scared of the risk. We are scared of becoming a softy. We are scared people will see us crying for a lost, dying, starving, thirsty and broken world. I want to be person that loves people not only for who they are but for who they can become, and overlook their faults to just love them, where they are at in this very point in time. Why? Because God did it for me. In Romans 5:8 it says that God showed his love to us, by the way that he set his Son to die for us while we were still sinners. Which means God loved us before we loved Him. He loved us first, and He continues to love us in spite of all the junk we do. So how come sometimes I can't overlook the fact that someone dresses bad, or are not up to my standard of cool to hang out with?

God give me a passion for compassion. Let me be continually loving people, even if I don't think they deserve it.

Five to the face.

Sorry this blog is going to be a slap in the face, so stop here if you don't want to be slapped...

So our church, Northstar Church in Blacksburg, Virginia, has a new pastor. Jeff Noble came from Arkansas and has been stepping up in a big way since he has gotten here. But all the gushing and brown nosing aside... when he got here, we promptly made our motto at Northstar Church "don't go to church, BE the church." I love it. I think its great. And I hear that a lot. People come and tell me "I love that new slogan!" all the time. And I love that it will catch non-church goers off guard.

But, yes this is a big butt...after mulling it over I hate this slogan. (please continue to read, I promise I'm not bagging on Jeff) I hate it because its convicting in my life. Yes, I am employed by a church, so it should be easier for me to BE the church, and yet I still focus almost all of my energy on Sunday and not talking to my neighbors, the gas station guy or the female/male that works at the post office. I hear the slogan, see the slogan and say the slogan and do nothing about it.

I mean I can honestly say, that I am trying a little at least! I don't want to ever think that being at church Sunday morning is a check mark and I have fulfilled my "quota" for my Christianity.

And for everyone that keeps saying "ooo I love this phrase," do you? Do you like it because it is kind of a shock to see a church saying don't go to church? Or do you like it because it challenges you to be Christ like?

Thank you Jeff Noble for kicking my spiritual life in the gut and getting out of the same old same old.

My Date with Muse and I guess U2 too.

I have been eyeing this concert for quite some time. I am a huge Muse fan, and I guess it would be cool to say I went to a U2 show when I am 50 or something. But bottom line was I wanted to go. After back and forth and back and forth, I decided to live without it, because it was 2 and a half hours away and I didn't want to cancel worship practice for that selfish reason! So monday came and I had an email from one of the guys in the worship team telling me he could not make practice, three hours later 3 more said they couldn't. I was disappointed because I love practice, but then I remembered that this concert was this night. So things worked out amazingly well. And here is my time line of events leading up to the MUSE/u2 concert.

5ish meet up with my ticket bearer Mark Brewer at harris teeter grocery.

5:30ish Tag along with them go a cookout where even they don't know everyone. Oh well, I eat a hotdog and burger and get a little ancy that we will miss Muse.


6:35 really starting to get nervous that we will miss em. Check iPhone to see how long the walk is from the house to the stadium... 2 miles. Eee.

6:48 we leave, walking and sweating. Quickly realizing how much I hate food and how much I need to use my gym membership.

7:10 still walking, glance down at phone to see what time it is. But I can see the stadium and I don't hear anything, that is a good sign.

7:23 get in, immediatly walk past first security and get to the 100 dollar seats, Muse immediatly begin to play, like they were just waiting for me, Mark and Rachel follow me to our stolen seats. Stay there for just 1 song.



7:35 watch the rest of muse standing where are seats are. Flat out best band of musicians in the world. I'm totally serious. Better then the album. Awesome.

8:07 muse ends I shed a tear.



8:20 Looking for ways to sneak down to the stage. Not because I am a die hard U2 fan, but because I love doing that. Don't ask me why. I put a plan together in my head that involves crawling under the temporary aluminum stairs when it gets dark so that the security don't see. but I my luck was much better then that because.....


8:36 I find a blue wrist band, so I just walk down to floor seats. Absolutely hilarious. I feel like i am awesome right now.
(compare previous picture to this one, i moved 100 yards closer. proud.)


9pm Bono and the rest of u2 appear on stage, Bono appears to be doing some sort of air wheelbarrow move. Ladies beside me keep yelling the F-word followed by, one was followed by..."I would so lick his toes" they are both in their late 40's

9:03 weed is lit up to the right of me.

9:15 now lit up to the left

9: 20 convinced that if I was to undergo a routine drug test I would probably fail.

9:25 Beautiful Day comes on and people freak out like they just saw Jesus in the clouds. Me, excited? Yes, but I already peed my pants for Muse.

9:45 Because U2 has already played my favorite song, and I know "where the streets have no name" will be late in the concert if not an encore. I begin to direct my attention to the drunk/crazy fans. the next 2 videos will depict them...


I leave early because I want to sleep in my own bed, and be functional at work in the morning. Yes, I left U2 early, probably 40 minutes early and would do it again, Because Hysteria and Knights of Cydonia were the high point in my night. I heart you Muse.

Thank you LaRae for making it possible for me to go! I love you

Welcome Back.

Wow its been a while since I was free and able to just write some stuff. But here I am. I first wanted to point out a video that was brought to my attention last night at the College Bible study. To be honest its pretty gay, but reminded me of my college spring breaks and I think I would have made this video with my best friends a couple years ago.


This is a short one, just wanted to ease myself back into the blogging world.