Hate Religion?

Watched this video a few minutes ago. Any thoughts?

Mark Driscoll, Pastor Mars Hill Church

its been a while

Man, I know its been a while since I've wrote on this blog. I guess since this is my blog, then it makes sense to explain my absence...although I'll try to keep it short and not boring. Basically, two weeks ago I had headaches every day. Normally, its two Excedrin Migraine for me then the headache is gone for a while. That week was different, it never really went away. Along with the headache was some equilibrium type issues, just feeling off balance and stuff. Anyway, I managed...until two Sunday nights ago. I was super excited b/c we were having a worship/prayer night at Crossroads. I was anticipating a great night for sure. Well, during the third song I began falling over, except I was standing straight up. Major balance problem just came out of nowhere. I felt like I was about to fall over, pass out(never happened in my life, so it was freaky). Well, I didnt want to just put my guitar down and walk off stage in front of 500+ people, and I also didnt want to fall over. I didnt want to be a distraction. Thankfully, David prayed in the middle of the song, and I exited quickly. Anyways, there are more details about that night, but basically it was just a night full of not feeling well at all--to say the least. Monday, Megan and I go to the doctor and he treats it as allergies. Well, that didnt necessarily work to well.

First of all, to start this paragraph I want to say how awesome my wife is. Seriously, she has an incredible heart and is just amazing. Thanksgiving is Megans favorite holiday. She loves being with her family and just this time of year and everything that comes with it. Thanksgiving night started out awesome, and I dont really feel like typing out everything...but basically, just before dinner her and I were in the Emergency Room in the hospital. We didnt even get to eat dinner. We were at the ER for pretty much the rest of the evening. My dizziness was out of hand and it brought with it many other symptoms that were pretty much scary to me. So that is what made me want to go to the ER. At the ER, they had to wheelchair me into the back...lol...looking back on it I probably looked funny. Long story short, they did a CT Scan of my head to see whats up. Thank the Lord, nothing was there.

So, this brings me to today..Tuesday. I've been dealing with the same symptoms every day now..however, they seem to get a little bit better everyday, a very little bit. As of now, the Dr. today told us he thinks it may be inner ear related. He said this is something that cant be necessarily fixed by medicine, but something that the body fixes on its own. This is good news, if this is what it is. I can deal with it if I know an end is in sight.

I say and type all this b/c many of you have asked about me and asked why I havent been blogging and all that good stuff. And I also wanted to say how much your prayers have meant. I've heard of so many people that have been praying for me, prayer groups that have been praying for me...and it absolutely means the world to me. God has truly answered your prayers in that He has given me so much comfort recently(especially in the ER), and I feel like the Lord has taught me many things during this time as well. So, thanks so much for your prayers and all.

If none of this makes sense its probably b/c I'm still on medication that makes me umm...sleepy.

Wow, what a long blog. Cool.

Slow Blogging

Sorry for not having many blogs in the last couple days. I've been kinda under the weather and so I've just been trying to relax some and let the medications do their job before Thanksgiving. Have a great day.

bg

Charter talk

Had a great week with Charter, not really.
They cut our cable off without warning or a phone call
And they had no record of it until I mentioned that they cut it off
A couple days later it got fixed
The guy was actually nice when he came out and gave me a free part thingy that allows my cable to work, and told me if it ever happens again to use this until the tech gets out. Nice.
Yes, I'm going to call Charter and see how many free things I can get as a result of THEIR screw-up.

Speaking of Charter....
Do you have Charter "High Speed" Internet?
Do you have a wireless router?
Do you constantly receive a message that says, "Cannot find Server"?
wow, this sounds like some info commercial. i like it, I'm gonna keep going...
Do you find yourself frustrated?
Does your page load a little, then it takes several minutes to actually load the full page?
Are you tired of paying for "high speed" Internet and getting dial up speed?
Are you wondering why I'm asking these questions?
Do you want me to tell you?
I'm going to tell you.

I've discovered, thanks to my step-dad, how to basically tell your router to not use Charter's servers, which are always slow and depressing. So, basically you can go to an open server and well...your internet will fly. If you call Charter complaining about interent speeds, they wont tell you this...they want you to use their servers(of course). But there is a way out my friends. If you're interested in knowing how to do this, shoot me an email. I'm tired of typing right now, and I also must go back to work. So let me know, and we'll go from there. Some of you probably already knew this. If this is the case, I'm sorry that I've fallen behind with technology. If I can help one person though, then it will be worth my typing..haha.

Sunday Night

Just wanted to let you know that if you're in the area on Sunday Evening that CRCC is having a night of worship and prayer. It starts @ 6:00 PM. The band is playing and just really excited about how the Lord will use this time as we gather corporately to worship. So come hang out with us, we'd love to see you.

Incredible

Jared Anderson has a few songs that we've been able to sing corporately in the church. I really love his songs to be honest with you. I was reading Josh Bayne's blog yesterday(worship leader @ Catalyst Church...and many others I do believe), and he posted this video. I've never heard this song, but its powerful. And like Josh said, the "good" part beings about 3:10 into it. However, I would recommend just watching the whole video. Incredible singing, and I guess a great way to handle a simple mistake.

Update on concert

So, like I said in my previous post, we got to see David Crowder play last night. I would say it was a good concert, not the best I've ever been to...but solid no doubt. I enjoyed the opening band, The Myriad. They had a good sound and I really enjoyed their songs. I think they are doing some cool things with MTV as well, which is good. Phil Wickham was great. I bet it was tough being the acoustic guy sandwiched between two bands, but he brought great energy to his acoustic performance. He added in some loops and stuff which helped out a little. And lastly, the Crowder Band didnt disappoint. They played a ton of songs, which is a good thing for sure. I think my favorites were You Never Let Go and A beautiful Collision. I liked how Crowder played piano on You Never Let Go. Very powerful song.

Well, that pretty much sums it up I guess.

More later.

Remedy Tour

Tonight, Megan and I along with some good friends are going to see the Crowder Band on their Remedy Tour in Columbia, SC. We are excited. I've seen them one time before, and they usually put on a great concert. They are very entertaining. Im excited to hear their new songs live as well. Also on this tour, and one of the major determining factors of me going to this show was the fact that Phil Wickham is opening up for the Crowder Band. I really like Phil's newest cd, Cannons. YOu really need to check out this album. He just has a great voice, and is a great songwriter. Im sure it ought to be a fun night.

Guitar Hero Craziness

Check this video out. I saw this on a friends blog yesterday, and had to put it up here. Man, this kid must have way too much time on his hands, or either he is just that good. Check it out.

Sunday 11/11

Had a great weekend. My wife and I really worked hard on Saturday putting away things in the new house. We really wanted to get things situated and make it liveable. It is now, and we love it. One of the bedrooms I'm converting into an office/studio/music room/whatever you wanna call it. Its coming together nicely. My parents were getting rid of this cool sleeper sofa, so I put it in the room and it goes well. Anyways, so all the house stuff is coming along.

Had a great service yesterday at Crossroads. Man, Rich really is such a great communicator. The way he explains things, it just makes sense. Just an awesome, simple guy who has a heart for the city of Greenville. Awesome stuff.
Set list:
Salvation is Here
Holy Spirit of God/Open the Eyes
Give us clean hands
Shout unto God
Jesus Paid it All

We talked about the Church of Thyatira in Rev. 2. We cant be in union with God, and married to the world. We spoke about repenting. I could go way more in depth, but I'm running out of time here at work.

In other less serious news, the gamecocks have been sliding the last few weeks. no excuses really, just not playing good ball. clemson is playing some good ball. i think they'll beat bc this coming week. i have said all year long, even when bc was like #2 that they really arent that great of a team. i love acc basketball. i'm weird. i like usc football, and unc basketball. i just grew up watching unc basketball and i love it. and i think acc basketball is more fun to watch on tv. however, when it comes to football, for some reason sec football is way more fun to watch. i feel like when i watch an sec game, i'm watchin almost like a pro game. like the georgia game on saturday, holy cow, that game was awesome and those guys are just athletes. now...there are athletes in the acc...NO DOUBT. but when i watch an acc game, it almost feels like i'm watching high school football. except for maybe virginia tech, but everything else just feels so much on a lower level. I dont know, maybe thats just me.

oh well.

bg

Some gear for sale.

I recently just moved, and as most of you know when that happens you find things that are no longer of use to you, and more use to someone else. So, I started cleaning out a few things gearwise that I no longer use as much, all of which are still in great shape. I'm a firm believer in taking care of my possessions, especially when it comes to gear and all. So, below I have listed a few things that are for sale. I'd love to see if anyone here is interested before I throw them up on ebay. We moved last week and still have much unpacking to do, but if you're interested then I will definitely get these out to you asap. Just email me with any questions you may have. Thanks!

Gear:
1)MPS Pedalpad Pedalboard. You can check this thing out on Musicians Friend or anywhere. It comes with the built in power supply, and of course all the little power plugs/adapters are included. There is velcro already on the base of the pedalboard, so all you'll need is the velcro that goes on your pedals to attach. Great board, just a little more than I need right now as I mainly play acoustic type stuff. I'd like to get around $210ish, but make me an offer and we'll go from there. Great shape!

2)POD XT Live. Guys, I bought this and have maybe played it two times. This is an awesome pedal, but for some reason it just doesnt get used by me. So dont miss out on this thing, its in great condition. I'm asking $300 for this pedal. Like I said, I pretty much bought it and never used it.

3)Line 6 Echo Park. Great pedal for dotted eighth note and swells and all kinds of cool things. Once again, pedal is in great working condition and great cosmetic condition. I'm asking $125 for this pedal.

4)TMCase PB-01 Pedalboard. This was a pedalboard built by a christian company in california i believe called TMCases. They are no longer in business b/c I tried to get a link to their website. I cant remember exactly the dimensions of this board, but its maybe 24X24, maybe even a little bigger than that. Its a great board, very sturdy and well built. You can take out from the case the actual board with your pedals on it, or leave it in the case if you want it at an angle. This thing retails for like $180-$200, I'm selling it for $115 obo.

5)Line 6 DL-4. I like this pedal, but I just recently got a Boss DD-20 that's on my board now. Just make me an offer and we'll go from there if you're interested, its in great working condition and cosmetic condition.

Cool, well thats it for now. Just email me with any questions, and if you want to see pics or anything I'll get some out to you asap.

Thanks.

bg

Starbucks

So, like many of you have already posted or read about, Starbucks has already brought out the Christmas decorations. Walked in today for a meeting with a pastor today, and it was a beautiful sight. I believe its almost time to break out the Home Alone DVD's and some Ernest Saves Christmas, also on dvd.

Something happened today that doesnt happen very much at all. I tried something different at Starbucks. I'm usually either a Vanilla Latte or caramel macchiato kinda guy, when it comes to hot drinks. Today, after reading Jay's blog, I got in the mood for something else. I ordered a Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha. Oh my goodness. didnt know what to expect at all. what i got was an incredible tasting drink. wow. yes, i have found a new drink to enjoy this holiday season. I wish I could take cool pictures of me drinking it like Jay and Cope did, but i didnt.

so if you stop in at a starbucks, order this drink, i believe you'll like it.

Practice last night

This Sunday I'm leading worship at Crossroads Community Church and I cant wait. Its an honor to get to play at CRCC. Me and the band had practice last night and it went pretty smooth. We are doing songs that are pretty familiar this week. David came to hang out and run sound for us last night, and did a great job of sharing before practice. I just really believe, and I may be wrong, that it is so important to sit before the Lord before any instrument is ever even played or any note ever sung. And to do this as a band is awesome too. I just want our worship on Sunday mornings to be an overflow of our hearts, and an overflow of us being in the secret place with the Lord all week leading up to that.

David just shared a little about the service this coming Sunday. My good friend Rich Butler will be speaking. There are not many guys it seems that I enjoy hearing speak more than Rich. I'm really excited about the direction we are going on Sunday. I really believe the Lord is going to do some great things as we learn that God does not tolerate us being a fully devoted follower of Him, and also being a follower of the world. He does not tolerate that, as noted in Rev. 2 when referring to the Church in Thyatira.

So, all that to say, if you're in the area...we'd love to have you come hang out with us at CRCC on Sunday morning. Times are 9:00 am and 10:30 am. Cool.

bg

It is on this week.

That's right folks! My fantasy football team, called Jesse and the Rippers, will take on my good friend Philip's team, dontcallitacomeback, this week. This will be an epic showdown. You see, he is flying pretty high right now...reeling off 6 wins in a row. He has, and yes I am giving credit where it is due, taken down all of the top teams in our league. Currently, he is ranked number 3, and I am ranked number 5. So, while Im in position to be in the playoffs, this could be a huge win for me. I have a couple key people on a bye week, he has a couple injured and on a bye, so it ought to be a good match for sure. Oh and dont worry, the results will be posted next Tuesday morning...wicky wicky.

bg

Thirsty?

I read this today. Isnt it cool how the Lord shows something to you when you need to see it, and its always perfect timing? Man, I needed to read this devotion this morning. Hope you are blessed by it today.

"I will pour water upon him that is thirsty." -- Isaiah 44:3

When a believer has fallen into a low, sad state of feeling, he oftentries to lift himself out of it by chastening himself with dark anddoleful fears. Such is not the way to rise from the dust, but tocontinue in it. As well chain the eagle's wing to make it mount, asdoubt in order to increase our grace. It is not the law, but the gospelwhich saves the seeking soul at first; and it is not a legal bondage,but gospel liberty which can restore the fainting believer afterwards.Slavish fear brings not back the backslider to God, but the sweetwooings of love allure him to Jesus' bosom. Are you this morningthirsting for the living God, and unhappy because you cannot find himto the delight of your heart? Have you lost the joy of religion, and isthis your prayer, "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation"? Are youconscious also that you are barren, like the dry ground; that you arenot bringing forth the fruit unto God which he has a right to expect ofyou; that you are not so useful in the Church, or in the world, as yourheart desires to be? Then here is exactly the promise which you need,"I will pour water upon him that is thirsty." You shall receive thegrace you so much require, and you shall have it to the utmost reach ofyour needs. Water refreshes the thirsty: you shall be refreshed; yourdesires shall be gratified. Water quickens sleeping vegetable life:your life shall be quickened by fresh grace. Water swells the buds andmakes the fruits ripen; you shall have fructifying grace: you shall bemade fruitful in the ways of God. Whatever good quality there is indivine grace, you shall enjoy it to the full. All the riches of divinegrace you shall receive in plenty; you shall be as it were drenchedwith it: and as sometimes the meadows become flooded by the burstingrivers, and the fields are turned into pools, so shall you be-thethirsty land shall be springs of water.

bg

I definitely just watched this twice in a row...dang.

CRCC

After a long weekend of moving I didnt think I'd be in the mood to play in the band this past week at church. I was dead tired on Saturday night, and knew that being at the church at ten til 7 would be hard. However, the Lord gave me strength and just really renewed my spirit this Sunday and it was great. I love hanging out with the guys in the band at Crossroads, its family. I thought yesterday went really well.

Setlist:
Closer(Jon Mark Mcmillan)
Glorious Day(hmmm...i dunno, i think its some hymn maybe)
Unchanging(Tomlin)
Came to my Rescue(Hillsong United)
Glorious Day(same as above)

If you've never heard any Jon Mark Mcmillan, check him out. Good stuff, We've started using a couple of his songs in worship....very good!

What a weekend

This past weekend was a very busy one. Megan and I moved from our apartment to a house in Simpsonville. I have moved a good bit in my life, but for some reason this one was a little tougher(in the physical sense, not emotional). I'll tell you why. Megan and I had a third floor apartment. Not very practical, I understand. But the view and the apartment we had was great, and it was available at the time we were moving into it. So, basically James and I would bring down a piece of furniture(two flights of steps, plus the little turns you have to make at each one at the bottom) and put it in the truck. Then, we'd have to go back up those two flights of steps. Then we basically repeated that process for a few hours. So by lunchtime on Friday, we were tired. I'm sure most would agree that the difficult and depressing thing about moving is that there is always ANOTHER TRIP. I felt like everytime I said I only have one more trip to the apartment, I would have to go back again later. Anyways, we are moved and we love our house. Its really awesome. We have a cool yard as well. We like our yard b/c you can actually go out in it and walk 10ft out and not be on someone elses porch. Big thanks to James and Thomas and my parents for helping us out. We really appreciate all you did.

Shane & Shane/Songwriting

I wanted to post a video this morning. If you've known me for any amount of time, you know that one of my favorite bands is Shane and Shane. They have a new song on their new cd entitled Vision of You. I wanted to post a video of them doing that song at a recent concert I found on YouTube.

A lot of people think Shane & Shane are cheesy. I agree, sometimes they are. Sometimes its weird and awkward when Shane Barnard talks and all. Yes, we all know that, I think he knows that. However, during this season of my life I am appreciating their songs more and more. You see, they dont write to sell records. They dont write cheesy lyrics so that every worship leader plays them at church every Sunday. I just have a great deal of respect for these guys, especially after learning that when they are off of touring, Shane B. goes up to the House of Prayer(24 hour worship/prayer) to just get alone with the Lord. Thats awesome, we need more musicians like that. I'm soooo guilty of so many times trying to sit down in my room and think of rhyming words that will make up a song. Father, please forgive me.

The chorus in this song has meant so much to me
It says this:
Awaken whats inside of me, tune my heart to all You are in me
Even though You're here, God come
May the vision of You be the death of me, even though You've given everything
Jesus Come.

I'm sorry, but I'm convinced that you dont just sit down after a game on the Nintendo Wii and write lyrics like that. I'm convinced that it has to come with intimate time with the Father, and being in tune with His heart, and with a longing to bring His Kingdom here to this earth.

Please dont hear me wrong, I'm not bashing anyone...I'm just telling you that in my own life, and in this season of my life, Im much more appreciative of guys like Shane Barnard and his songwriting.

Here is the Video, watch the whole thing and be blessed.



bg