In Review.

A year in review or decade in review?
I mean a lot of stuff has happened in 2009, but in the past 10 years holy crap! So I thought I would jot down whatever came to my mind sorry if this bores you all, but you can see God thru it all, very cool.
At the beginning of 2000 I was halfway through my Sophomore year of high school, the first year with out my older brother around, and was about to get my license.
2001 I was just starting to fall in love with my guitar. Just starting to fall in love with Jesus, and just starting to find out what really love was.
2002 was the beginning of my last semester of High school. Looking back now it all seems just a tad bit strange. The freedom of that one summer before college, the drastic change that college was compared to being around home, and then there was that 1st thanksgiving, when you come home during your 1st semester at college, and everything seems different, yet a lot of your highschool friends didn't change whatsoever. I remember that awkward feeling like yesterday.
2003 was the year of mistakes and regrets but then later in that same year it was because of those same mistakes that I made one of the best decisions, to transfer to Liberty University. The summer and fall of 2003 were probably some of the best months of my life. Working at a church camp with some great people, then moving onto Liberty mountain in Lynchburg, Va and not knowing a single person on my hall. Met some life long friends those first couple of weeks.
2004 was a year full of searching, not really knowing what I wanted to do with my life had me questioning everything. But it was also the year I met my wife LaRae. It took me a couple of tries before she agreed to go out with me, but she finally did. I remember sitting in the basement losing reception numerous times, talking to that girl for hours on the phone during Christmas break. Which leads me into
2005, this was a year of ups and downs, break ups and drama. LaRae and I started the pattern of on again off again, which I admit was mostly my fault. I also started touring with Cross Culture, a worship band from WorldHelp in Forest, Va. It was a short lived thing but definitely helped me grow leaps and bounds in music and stretched me as a "worship artist." Thank you Scott Spruill.
2006
began with a new job on campus with Student activities. It was a busy job from the get go, but I loved every minute of it. It also was the first summer I spent away from Ohio as I stayed and worked at Liberty planning for events in the fall. It was also the beginning of my last school year at Liberty.
2007 I graduated from college, planned on staying to start my masters, that changed and was offered a job leading worship at a small church in Blacksburg, Va. and I took it. That fall was very tough. I had been living with some of my best friends for the past 4 years, and then I moved to a place where I had no friends and lived by myself. I was single, LaRae and I had broken up "for good" in July. That was the time where I can say I grew closer to Christ then ever before. October came around and so did thoughts of LaRae. We were back together in a matter of weeks and then engaged at the end of 2007.
2008 Was an awkward year, to say the least. Full of confusion and lack of vision with ministry. Took a lot of patience and looking back it really just took LaRae and I saying okay we are all in (ministry), and God started moving. But also 2008...I got hitched, and definitely 'out punted my coverage' if you know what I mean. And that moves us to
2009. A year that had so much going on. Northstar hired a new pastor in Jeff Noble and it has been an awesome 5 months working with him at Northstar. Got the chance to bring Shane and Shane and Phil Wickham to Virginia Tech and then finished the year with December nights and bringing in one of my favorite worship leaders, Nic Carver from Brentwood Church in Lynchburg.
All and all this past decade has brought a lot to me, my wife, college education, and a job that I am thankful for. Who knows where another 10 years will lead me.


Happy New Years and God Bless!

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.

MJ.

Well the king of pop is dead. And he left behind a legacy of shuffling backwards, a history of crying/fainting fans and questions about his private life.
I must say that being a music lover it is unbelievable what Mr. Jackson accomplished in music. He was worldwide before the internet. How? It seems now that that would be just impossible. He basically invented the music video, really they are all just ridiculous.
All that being said, the way that America and a lot of the world celebrated him in death really made me nauseous. Not because they celebrated him to much, 750,000 people paid their respects, over 100 news outlets, 3200 cops and traffic jams galore, all for Michael. They said it was the biggest event since the '84 olympics.
What made me feel a little sick is that the way these fans celebrated Michael is sometimes more then I celebrate the creator of the Universe.
Follow me on this... If we want to reach lost people, and those same lost people love something/someone (in this case Michael Jackson) more then WE love Christ, they are just going to laugh at us. They know what true love and worship is - its spending time with that thing and knowing everything you can about it. They would question your belief structure by thinking if they really love this Jesus they would know the things he talks about, they would spend time with Him because they want to, they would brag about him to people every chance that they got. After all, Jesus created Michael so how much better is HE then him?
Salvation is not earned by works, obviously, thats what makes it the gospel (good news). But if we are acting like Christians we will be doing good works, I should be the best I can be 24/7, because I will show Christ to every single person I come in contact with.
We as Christians should really stick out, sometimes like a sore thumb. The gospel is supposed to be offensive. It says we are all sinners, that we aren't perfect and we are not good enough to save ourselves. Its also offensive cause there is no real gray area. You need Christ in your life or you go to hell. It doesn't matter how good of a Buddhist or Baptist you are, if you don't have Christ you have no shot. So I should stick out, but the catch 22 is I shouldn't walk around condemning people, I should show them love, love that they have never seen because Christ is the one that first loved. He loved us even before we loved Him. How often that simple phrase is looked over, and how impossibly hard would it be for us as humans to love someone that hated you, stabbed you in the back repeatedly, denied even knowing you at the risk of being laughed at, and made promises over and over but never kept them. I would not even be acquaintances with that person. Yet Jesus wants us and loves us.

It boils down to this, if you love something you are gonna show it, like the people did for Michael Jackson. So how are you treating Christ these days?


And just because.... This is for you

The Holy Head Nod.

This is going to be a short one, but over the past couple of weeks I have caught myself during a service nodding in an agreeing manor with someone speaking from the stage. Now, there is definitely nothing wrong with this, but in my case I wasn't paying attention. So my nodding was some habit I picked up growing up in church to appear like I am paying attention. Pretty dumb of me. Hopefully I don't look this dumb...

joy

One of the hardest things I think to do as a Christian is be joyful always. I mean it should be easy, right? Even when bad things happen we KNOW God has our back, its all a part of His overall plan. Its hard to keep out of the human cycle of joy, which I call situational joy. You are joyful according to the situation. In 1 Thes. 5:16 Paul says that it is the will of God for us to have joy all the time! No this doesn't mean you have to walk around like a beauty pageant contestant with a smile pasted on your face, or put vaseline on your teeth so you don't stop smiling big, like some cheerleaders I know do (i didnt make that up), joy is knowing that there is something better, and its really just around the corner. You may find yourself in a slump or a low place, but as a Christian there is always hope, no matter what!
Take a step back, breathe a little bit and look at the situation through Christ's eyes. Quit using situational joy and just have true joy. Its Gods will for our lives!

a tough question.

How many of the people around you will be with you in heaven? Its a hard question. And don't get me wrong, please don't go around judging if people are gonna be in heaven or not, but sadly I think it will be only a percentage of your attendance at your local church.

To switch gears just a little bit, think about Funerals you have been to. I have been to a bunch, but probably only 5 or 6 where I was actually close to the person and not just an acquaintance. And there have been times where it was some of the best worship I have ever encountered. Tears are rolling off cheeks, but there is a smile underneath the salty glare because people are so excited for the person that passed away. They are sad that they won't see that person at the grocery store, or at the weekly bridge game, but so excited and joyful that that person is in the presence of Christ. And know that they heard those words "well done.." from Christ.

Then there is the exact opposite. You knew the person and never really saw any fruit from that person, so you are really left with no hope. Nothing to hold onto. Even the pastor is searching for things to say. Those are the roughest times for a Christian I think. Knowing that there is no hope and its eternity. It makes my stomach sick just thinking about it.

So going back to the main question, how many people around you will be with you in heaven? Looking at Jesus and what he says makes it even harder. In Luke 14:27 Jesus says that you have to hate your family to be a disciple of Him. Wow, harsh. He is saying that your relationships have to be put behind Christ. Every relationship, you must love Him more then all of your friends, spouse, and even your parents! Its a hard thing. Then in verse 33 He makes it even a little tougher, by saying if you can not give everything away then you can not be his disciple. ah.

These are difficult things, it is a daily battle to put my best friends above Christ, let alone my wife. And giving away everything is something that in theory I would be willing to do, but I have never been presented with that so who knows. But if Jesus says these are the things that are requirements to be His disciple, then again ask yourself this question... how many of the people I am around you will be with you in heaven?

bored?

Here are some pretty good websites to take up your time.

This is an infinite picture, when you click on it to zoom in, the picture is made of smaller pictures, hard to explain, but it is pretty cool. Check it out.... CLICK ME

LaRae catches me on this site all the time. Its friv.com all it is, is little video games, some are horribly bad, others are very addicting. Good time waster.
www.friv.com

If you like music then here are some great websites...

8tracks, is a great place to discover new music. People just post their mixes on here and you can listen to them. Some really weird stuff, but also some very cool/hilarious stuff. Check it out. www.8tracks.com or listen to one of my all time favorites from 8tracks by clicking HERE

Here is another awesome website. It may be annoying to other people, but oh well. Go and enjoy yourself, If you have speakers turn them up and rock out. CLICK ME!!

And just because this is awesome...

um...

So you can laugh at this person, but sadly I am not sure if I, personally, have ever been this excited about anything in my life. So more power to ya.

a quick one.

This blog is going to be short. I love my wife. I don't know if I would be ME with out HER. Ministry would be pretty lame without her, and I can't wait to step into the unknown with her. Plus she is hot.*

*see picture (yes i am schlub next to her, hence the reason I am lucky)

Gamaliel.

Gamaliel was a member of the council that had brought some of the apostles in to question. The council was wanting to kill them and Gamaliel sends out the apostles to talk with the council and this is what he says. "...keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice" Acts 5:38&39

Smart guy.

What is awesome about this is that we have that same advantage. If we do something for Christ and for the right reasons we can not be stopped. Man that makes me want to run around and do everything that I can. Get motivated.

"When I want what God wants, and want it for the reasons God wants it, I am unbeatable and unstoppable."

Awesome. I hope this puts a little pip in your step.

love.

If you read this please just take the time to stop and think about the love of Christ. Easter is next week, and yeah we always think about how much God loves us because he sent his Son and he died for us. But take the time to think about how he loves us. He loves me the way I am. Not the future me, or the man that I want to be. My mistakes, my faults, my sins; it doesn't matter, He loves me in spite of all this. Sometimes I do feel an urge to put on the "Saint Cody Suit." After all I am a worship leader at a church so that means I need to be perfect. But that is totally wrong. God doesn't love "Saint Cody" because He didn't make him. He made me. Yes I am going to always try to be a better man and strive to be like Christ, but to white wash myself to appear like I am something else isn't right. That is why I work at being the same person on Saturday night as I am on Sunday morning. And if I do this and work at it, then I can leave that Saint Cody Suit in the closet.
Sometimes I think my reputation is so much more important then my actual relationship with Jesus. So I can end up wasting so much time protecting my rep. I believe that a true liberty or freedom exists once you can be real with yourself and others, with no fear of being "caught." I am not saying just abandon your testimony, represent Christ always! But remember to be real and authentic. Perfection is not real and won't be achieved by us (Ecclesiastes 7:20). So why do we pretend to be that which isn't even reality? I know that sounded very philosophical, but just think it over.

Sufficient.

sufficient- adequate, meeting the need of.

Your grace is sufficient for me. your strength is made perfect when I am weak all that i cling to i lay at your feet, your grace is suffiecient for me.
To see the Lord the promise land, where in all sins and pearly gates look bland, and what was once a pearl now sand, that blows away. In light of Him.

This simple little chorus has so much going on. first declaring the sufficiency of Gods grace, and then acknowledges that at our weakest His strengths is made perfect. Its actually always perfect, but we see its perfection when we are at our least. Then it talks about how it will be to see the Lord and how it will make everything, even the pearly gates that line Gods city, look bland. And the things we treasure will be just like sand that blows away. I don't know about you guys, but I am pumped about that.

Does Satan Exist.

When did truth, become known as truth to you?

I just got done, or rather just am finishing up watching a debate that was on ABC Nightline that was about Satans existence. It was a debate between Mars Hill pastor Mark Driscoll, a woman named Annie Lobert who was a prostitute and now is a believer and has a ministry to reach out to prostitutes. On the otherside there was a Philosopher named Deepak Chopra and the "Bishop" Carlton Pearson. Usually these dabates are just badly put together and when put on a show like this, typically they are unequally stacked against the "Christian" side. This time it was pretty even. Annie was very emotionally based, while Mark was surprisingly scholarly and intellectual. Deepak was clearly the smart guy on the other side, with the Bishop being the dumbest on stage by far, thats not just my opinion either, when people in the audience laugh at you, you are not doing so hot. The Bishop said some things that a 2nd grade student in a debate class could have tore down. He kept quoting the Bible, but believed that some of it was wrong and mythical. Um...? Don't think you can pick and choose bud, this isn't a buffet.

To be completely honest when I turned this on I did not have high hopes, I have read some of Driscolls books and did not see him being good in this role but he did do very well. Hit some out of the park actually. I found it very interesting that Deepak was pushing very hard that if it works for you thats fine, truth is what is truth to you, and so on. But when he was pushed, by Mark, he was very very opposed to Christianity, quoted scripture and really had a lot of questions about it. Mark answered every one of them and even corrected Deepak about Hebrew, which was great. Im also glad that Driscoll didn't sugar coat it, he said many times that Jesus was the only way, he's the only truth. Anyways, if you get some free time watch this video. Its good.

http://abcnews.go.com/nightline/faceoff

the getaway.

Well my wife went to Florida this past weekend to visit her family and surprise her best friend Emily. Emily is going to be teaching English for a year in Korea, so LaRae flew down to say goodbye. Here is a shout out to Emily in Korea...Holla.
Anyways, I was left alone, which was okay because March Madness is in full effect and I was ready to just sit and watch. So thats what I did for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Sunday I led worship and had a meeting, but my bags were packed cause I was heading to Lynchburg after the meeting. Sunday night was good got to hang out with my best friends and met Joshs lady friend, who seems to be an awesome lady. Monday I got lunch with my old coworkers from Student Life and that was fun. And I spent the rest of the day at White Heart working on jank. Ryan Law, Matt Addington, John Wyche and some others all added up to an afternoon of good times. Miss all those guys. Anyways, did not do much that night besides go look at the new stuff on campus with Nick Kameno and stop at starbucks because 11pm seems so late to me now. Sad I know. We ended the night at mcdonalds, basically because there was nothing else open. Anyways the whole reason for this blog was to post this picture, he didnt have a car he just walked through the drive through. He also had a sweet "starter" jacket on and I complimented him on it, for which he was appreciative. Needless to say, it was a good trip. Thank you Liberty and Lynchburg for the memories.

Francis Chan

I don't think that I can say enough good things about Francis Chan. Yes he does look like an asian Montel Williams, which I find very cool. Anyways, every thing I see, read and hear that he is behind has been just right on the money. I am reading Crazy Love right now and to be honest Francis does not break new ground in this book, and frankly that was not what he was trying to do. The great thing about this book is the way he delivers the message. Through personal stories, a new angle at classic parables, and just good writing, he depicts just how crazy Gods love for us is.
All I am saying is pick it up and read it. Visit the site www.crazylovebook.com

Sorry.

This is by far the worst website to ever click on, but I believe your curiosity will take control of you. You have been warned.

http://smouch.net/lol/

Stronger. Trust me.

Want to waste your day. Here.

just click this, its amazing.

Lukewarm.

This is a topic that is really overlooked by Christians. My first guess would be because it is so easy to see that most, if not all, Christians have something about them that is lukewarm. Something that they hold back to keep them in that room temperature spot that we find the American Christian culture right now to be at.

I think that is what is special about mission trips. You go and are totally committed. You are doing things for Christ, and not for yourself at all. And you feel good because really that is how the Christian life should be lived everyday. But how quick and easily we forget when we are back inside our comfort zones. Maybe not right away, but soon we get back into "our" place and it then becomes the same struggle to live a Christ like life.

Maybe it has something to do with suffering. The people that I have met with the strongest faith have always been people that have been challenged some way in their walk with Christ. America is free, which is awesome, but also takes a toll on our faith. I think there are so many people walking around saying they are Christians because they have no one threatening them for their beliefs. I mean to be uber dramatic, if it was against the law to claim Christ, there would be a lot less people saying that they were following his teachings.

I also found it interesting that when I googled lukewarm I got multiple things for Christians and Politicians. I found this funny at first but after looking more closely I realized that politics had so many hits was because they had more then likely took a "lukewarm" stance on some issue. The reason they took that lukewarm position is mostly for approval. I think you could say that is just like Christians. We want the approval of some people or some other thing more then sticking with Christ. Ah. Thats convicting just to type in here because I know I do it all the time.

Rev 3:15 says God spits out lukewarm people. I don't want to be one of those people, so instead of being comfortable I am going to try to put myself into situations and places where I have to be out of my comfort zone. I think that is the best solution to try to live out my Christian life as an actual "Christian."

25 random things, that are great, in my memory.

1. when driving down the road and you see someone jogging, and they just so happen to be jogging at the same beat as the music you are listening to. My most recent case of this, was when smack that" by Akon was on the radio and an 80 year old man was jogging, if you could call it that, and his arms were moving to the exact tempo of the song. And at the pace he was moving, which was obviously slow, it made it look like he was busting a move. I pulled over because I was laughing so hard.

2. Simply this website, Augmented Reality. Freaking cool. http://ge.ecomagination.com/smartgrid/#/augmented_reality

3. The summer of 2000, driving around in my silver '87 dodge shadow, listening to southtown by POD very very loud.


4. Likewise, driving to fellowship league softball games with Josh and sometimes Brenner, blaring "higher" by creed to get us fake pumped and laugh.

5. The conversation I had with my wife on our first date. We talked about music and a tad about fashion, which I totally BS'ed because I liked her.

6. Knowing that my prayers, and of course the prayers of many others for my best friends Dad really really paid off.

7. The book CrazyLove. Read it.

8. The day I found my 2nd car, a banged up 98 eclipse. I was obsessed with that car, and got it for so cheap. I was pumped and a single tear fell.

9. Being able to introduce Family Force 5 at a concert as "fresh off of winning the World Championship of Rock and Roll Tournament." The was asked to dance with them on stage later in the show.

10. Old school Dc Talk. Such as...


11. Dressing up at Halloween as stuff that is very very politically incorrect.

12. Eating at the weeny stand in Lynchburg, Virginia. Then immediately leaving for a 5 hour road trip with CrossCulture. Never a good idea. Thanks Scott for driving around the gas station 2 times before stopping.

13. Everything about the movie Swingers.

14. Driving around with no purpose whatsoever with Nick Kameno my first year at Liberty.

15. Being able to judge people that wanted to be in CoffeeHouse at Liberty University. I miss that so terribly. Looking at Alese trying to keep a straight face is one of my fondest memories.

16. Being surprised with Coldplay tickets for my 22nd birthday by LaRae and then after waiting and building up the hype in my mind, the concert blew that out of the water. even with the crappy opener of Fiona Apple.

17. The program Photoshop. Thank you whoever wrote code for this. It helps pass time in a proactive sort of way.

18. Showing up at an open mic night contest to support someone that was supposed to sing, that person bailed and Jake Katterhenry wanted to do something so we did, and won. We got 50 bucks for the restaurant it was at. I ate lunch there the next day.

19. Helping my brother put together the youth group at a church in Louisville. Weird people, but there were some good laughs with Josh, Travis, Brenner and me.

20. The first weekend that Matt Shanlian visited Liberty before he transfered. It was a good weekend. Just a lot of laughs and Cedric got Danielle Macarthy to eat a dog treat, and cry because he convinced her she was a tad racist.

21. Rolling my window down and blaring music every time I cross the Ohio River. Only missed one time, because I couldn't find any music.

22. Cabo San Lucas Honeymoon. Being able to see the Pacific Ocean from the shower, kitchen, front door, etc...is pretty cool.

23. Before Josh transfered to Liberty he came and visited me. It was over valentines day and I was driving him around Lynchburg just showing him around. We came over the hill in downtown Lynchburg and there were at least 100 men dressed in red dresses. It was the annual "5k red drag race."

24. Mullet hunting with LaRae at the Wayne County Fair.

25. The third verse of. It Is Well, "My Sin O the bliss, of this glorious thought, my sin, not in part, but the whole. Was nailed to the cross, and I bare it no more. Praise the Lord praise the Lord o, my soul." well done Horatio Spafford

Sundays Comin'

If this doesn't get you excited about your Christ. Then thats sad. Sundays a comin'.

a mix of the 20 best/most influential albums of my life.

1. Dc Talk- Free at Last. I remember having to hide this cassette from my dad because at that time he thought fast music was bad. Until we showed him the lyrics to "that kinda girl." then he liked it.

2. Jars of Clay- Self Titled. This album is one of the best in Christian music, and the music isnt dated even if you listen to it now. On the other hand I remember standing at a Cd Release party at our tiny Christian bookstore in wooster, ohio to get their second album "much afraid." That cd blows. And Jars of Clay has yet to release something that even comes close to touching their first album.

3. Boys 2 Men- II. This album is ridiculous. I was in 4th grade when it was released and I don't think I have ever been to a dance where they didnt play at least one of their songs. I still believe that if you sing along with Boys 2 Men you will become a better singer, just because of their vocal control.

4. Seven Day Jesus-The Hunger- 1996. This album is probably the most impact-full and probably the first of many to push me in the direction of wanting to do music. Yes I was in 6th grade. The song "strength" on this album is incredible. Brian Mcsweeny was Ledgend-ary.

5. Dashboard Confessional-Swiss Army Romance. This album although girly and whiny, is unbelievably written. "the brilliant dance" this is just great lyrically " and breathing is a foreign takes, and thinking is just to much to ask, and your measuring your minutes by a clock thats blinking eights" great stuff.

6. David Crowder Band- Can you hear Us? This isn't even my favorite David Crowder cd, but its on this list because it took worship music in a different direction. Up until this song the standard worship music was stuff by Michael W. Smith, he made it acceptable to have drum loops and stuff to make music more exciting! So I can say that because of the shift I have a job doing worship music. Thanks Dave.

7. Damien Rice-O. This album is again one of those that won't ever feel dated. It is just good music. And you can always listen to a little Damien.

8. Coldplay- Rush of Blood to the Head. Even though this album was multi-platinum and all that, it is still under appreciated. The songs that people skip on this album and never got radio play are still insanely good. Coldplay reinvented piano rock with this album and bands after them, even if original seem like they are copying them. Sorry Keane and Aqualung.

9. Jay-Z-The Black Album. This took the rap genre and made it actually worth something. Yes there are other good rappers, but this album is ridongculous. Any album that can be stripped of all music and put to others music, (beatles, coldplay, lincoln park) and be just as good if not better?! Still amazes me that this is possible.

10. Jimmy Eat World- Bleed American. "sweetness," "the middle," "get it faster," "hear you me." Thats all I should say, this is an album you need to buy.

11. Relient K- Self Titled. I remember seeing this band open up for some crapy band named Occams Razor, at the gund arena(now known as the Q), before Relient K even released their first album. All they had at the table was their ep. And me and my friend Andrew Berg walked out of the other two bands shows and talk to Matt Thiessen and Matt Hoopes. Who were ridiculously down to earth. The next time I saw them I was in a boy band called wild guys. And I had drawn fake sideburns drawn on my face. Thats a long story.

12. Shane and Shane- Clean. This is quite a recent one. I like harmony and this album is full of it. Again lyrically this album is on par and I love acoustic music, so it all adds up to me loving it.

13. Lincoln Park/ Jay-Z- Collision Course. I mentioned this in the Black Album section in number 9. But I had to give it its own slot. When this came out I have to say that I was literally blown away. Just how clean the transitions were between artists who really arent even in the same genre at all.

14. Muse- Absolution. This is just a fantastic album. Muse proves over and over that they are the most talented rock band out there right now, especially for only having 3 members in their band.

15. Kanye West- College Dropout. Even though this guy is an egotistical moron, I could not leave this album off the list. I remember buying this album at the Virgin Megastore in NYC. And I listened to it probably 10 times over on the drive back to Ohio. Sorry Josh Saefkow, that probably was very annoying. "School Spirit," "All Falls Down," "Jesus Walks."

These are some of My personal favorites, may not be the best of all time but they are on my list.

16. All American Rejects- Self-Titled. This album came out the year I graduated and it is the soundtrack to the summer before college. You know that summer, where it feels like you are soooo free. Have the weight of High School off your shoulders, and feel all grown up. Good stuff.

17. Jack Johnson-Brushfire Fairytales. This album is perfect. If there is anyone I would switch lives with it would be with Mr. Johnson. Record music in the basement of my beach house in Hawaii. Then go surfing. Anyways, good memories are wrapped in this album, with my first year at liberty. Kameno has some good memories with this too I think.

18. Bon Jovi- Slippery when wet. "living on a prayer," and "wanted dead or alive" are both on this album. good stuff.

19. Audio Adrenaline- Bloom. This album is the one that made me want to play electric guitar. The solos in "good people," "big as jesus" and "im not the king" made me ask for an electric guitar for Christmas that my brother learned to play and I just put it on hold and played with ninja turtles instead. Poor choice.

20.John Mayer- Any Given Thursday. I hated John Mayer, because I hated his first single. But then I realized how good he actually was. And this live album was where I developed a now 6 year man crush on him. By far the most talented musician of my generation. The song "comfortable" is one of my favorites of all time.

kay pettigrew. greatness.

again simple things. If you enjoy music then you should watch this.

The Bonus Jonas-es.

If you are reading this and you do not know who the Jonas Brothers are you probably have kids. And those kids of yours are probably in love with one if not all three of them. I do not know much about them, other then noticing that they bare a huge resemblance to the band Hanson about 10 years ago. Not in the sense of long blonde hair, but there are 3 of them, they are brothers, and they make tweens (9-13yr olds) do this....

I took this picture while watching some show about winning tickets to the new Jonas Brothers movie coming out sometime soon. And I paused it and took a picture. Again, very reminiscent of what the old school Hanson Brothers used to cause emotionally in young ladies. But enough of about that... I want to get into the subject of the extra Jonas-es. Look at this photo...

The Jonas Brothers?? Who are the guys on the bass, drums and keys? Come on Jonases give some credit to the people that make you sound good. I even tried to find out who these guys were and could find nothing. So if you want to beef up your resume just add that you played bass for the Jonas Brothers on their last tour, no one would ever know. No, don't do that.

This blog is dedicated to the musicians that stand in the background for celeb-uscians. You will be honored here if not anywhere else. Good day to you.

Oscar

Thank you Ben Stiller for livening up the deadness that was last nights oscars.



and if you have no idea why this is funny, watch this one, then you will "get" it.

Enjoying the Simple things.

Had to share this, basically because it is ridiculously awesome. The only thing that is bad with this video is the guys hat. Enjoy.

The Grammys.

Well the grammys were just the other night and I had actually taken some notes to write a little bit of a recap...

The night started with U2, which would have been a good choice 3 years ago. Boring song. Bono I love you, but it was weak.

Following U2 was Whitney Houston, who looked surprisingly good for all the rumors about abusing drugs recently, but we will move on..

Whitney annoucned the winner of R&B Album which was Jennifer Hudson. Okay, so I feel for this girl losing her family and all, and shes got a good voice, but Oscar and Grammy within 1 year~Im not convinced shes all THAT talented.

The Jonas Brothers performed with Stevie Wonder. Don't know who thought of that pair, but that wasn't smart.

Chris Martin performed Lost with just him and a piano, then Jay-Z walked in and dropped a verse in. Good stuff right here. Then the rest of Coldplay played their cd title and grammy nominated song Viva La Vida. Again if you can pull off beating a symphony drum, a miniature version of the liberty bell, and have no typical drum set at the grammys you are doing okay.



Carrie Underwood performed after this and she had some weird outfit on that was like a shimmery see-thru curtain and some daisy dukes had a love child. Strange to say the least, I don't remember what song she sang cause I was trying to figure out her outfit.

Sheryl Crowe and Leanne Rimes gave out an award for sounding like a dying cat, Sugarland won this one and it was not a contest.

Song of the year went to the deserving Coldplay for their song Viva la Vida, which was followed by a unusually sharp dressed Kid Rock who sang his song "Amen"

ITS MILEY... Miley Cyrus and Taylor swift performed a boring song.

They then announced that Allison Krauss and Robert Plant won for best collaboration. One of their many they won during the night.

Jennifer Hudson sang and cried.

Blink-182 gave another grammy to Coldplay for best rock album and also announced that they were getting back together.
yes, Blink 182- is back together, everyone reminisce about that tongue piercing you almost got and how "punk" you used to be. Hey and it only took their drummer nearly dying to pull it off.

Katy Perry sang “I Kissed A Girl” and she sounded like she lost all her breath from running around the giant fruit that was onstage?! Kanye West and Estelle did an abbreviated version of, “American Boy”. Kanye was rocking an awkward afro mullety thing. Strange days we are living in. They announced the Best New Artist and that went to Adele.

Kenny Chesney performed still inside the where you hang them clothes. P.Diddy, Herbie Hancock, and Natalie Cole announced the winner of the Grammy for Record Of The Year. Once again Robert Plant and Allison Krauss. Kinda far from Led Zepplin.

Queen Latifah got whistled at as she walked on stage to introduce a very prego M.I.A. with T.I., Jay-Z, and Lil’ Wayne. “Swagger Like Us” what a dumb song. Actually disappointed that Jay was with this ensemble.

Kate Beckinsale introduced Paul McCartney, who sang, “I Saw Her Standing There”. Kate Beckinsale was more memorable then Pauly.

Jack Black and Charlie Haden announced the winner of Male Pop Vocals, which went to John Mayer for his song, “Say”. I could have a very big man crush on John Mayer.

Sugarland and Adele performed. Sugarland sang her song by herself, then joined Adele and almost ruined it with her cat screaming. Radiohead performed on acid more then likely. Lil’ Wayne performed alongside Robin Thicke next, the xerox copy of Justin Timberlake, and if you don't get that...xeroxes are very poor quality compared to the original.

Will.I.Am and T-Pain announced Best Rap Album to Lil Wayne. Allison Krauss and Robert Plant sang two songs from their album...bland. Green Day announced Album Of The Year. drum roll...Robert Plant and Allison Krauss “Raising Sand”.

Stevie Wonder closed out the show with his performance of “All About The Love Again”.

obsession.

Do you remember those old Calvin Klein ads where people would just be standing around without shirts on, and there was just a white backdrop; then someone would look straight into the camera and whisper "obsession." Oh I get it, the white back drop is a metaphor for life on earth and shirtless means you are still a child inside and um... wait, no it meant nothing!! Those commercials and ads were stupid, they did the job cause here I am talking about it 10 years after the fact, but none the less, stupid and very heroin sheik.

That really had nothing to do with anything I am writing about other then the name of the product they were trying to sell, Obsession. What is that? What does this word mean. Well I was pretty bored yesterday so I thought I would take a gander at the true definition, so here are two different ones for ya; 1. "The domination of ones thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image, desire, ect" 2. "An unhealthy and compulsive preoccupation with something or someone."

I am a youth leader at the church I work at, and two of the girls in my group are obsessed with a Korean boy band. There name...Big Bang. They have played some of there music for me and I won't say its bad, but I will include the link so you can decide for yourself... http://youtube.com/watch?v=cYr9pkxUOrI&feature=related and yes they did steal the whole song from Maroon 5.

But I can't point my finger and laugh to hard at Ester and Olivia, because when I was there age I had obsession with someone, her name....Jessica Simpson. Yes, I was in love with this woman. Now, don't get me wrong this was pre-skank days of Jessica. Pre-Newlyweds fam. Pre-divorce-trashy looking days. I bought her first album and fell in love. "I wanna love you forever" oh it takes me back to my youth.... Anyways, everyone has some kind of obsession, could be sports, could be your g/f or b/f, it could even be facebook. But this all depends on the person.

So my thoughts of obsession turned to the Bible, and I asked the question, "out of all the Bible, who was obsessed with God?" You could probably name people all day, from Moses to Paul. But one person jumped out at me. David. David is the only one in the Bible who is referred to as a man after Gods own heart. It is a known fact that David himself wrote AT LEAST 73 of the chapters in Psalms! Try to grasp this, out of all the Bible the book of Psalms is completely different, its not history, or prophecy, its a book of songs. So David had at least 73 songs, published for people to read over the past 3000 years. I am sure he wasn't the only guy writing songs back then, but he was the standard. He was the Ben Folds, the Jay-z, or whoever you think writes good songs, Chris Tomlin? One of the best examples is Psalms 63. You can see his passion in the first verse.

Psalms 63:1 "..Earnestly I seek you, my soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water."

What in your life makes you feel like this. I am engaged and I don't ever want to live with out her, but the honest truth is I could and she could live with out me, even thought it would be very tough. But David is here screaming out to God saying "God I thirst for you! My body aches and longs for you, I am like a man wandering in a desert!" wow. David was obsessed with God.

You may think you feel that way about some new thing you have. An ipod, clothes, maybe even a girl or a boy. But its fleeting, it won't last. There will be a new ipod out next summer. You will get a hole in your jeans. That girl or boy will break your heart, even if he/she doesn't, you aren't going to hold hands and follow each other into the dark...thanks death cab. Bottom line is you can live without Jesus. You can go through every single day of your life with out him. But as soon as that second life comes around you won't be able to live without Jesus, and you will have lost your chance to.

Obsess over Christ. let me repeat the definitions, and put Jesus in this spot..."Jesus dominates my thoughts and feelings, I am persistent in bringing all my reasoning back to Him, I am compulsive and preoccupied with my relationship with Jesus." If you put any other thing instead of Jesus, it is wrong. But its okay to be obsessed with Christ. So do it.