Any ideas?

Im in the hunt for a new digital camera. Preferably one a little newer than the picture above. It doesnt have to be anything super fancy. I want the best bang for my buck. I want something that is not super expensive but will still give me a good quality photo. Help me out. Does anyone have any ideas?

I'm all ears.

Verse

Jeremiah 31:33

"This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

Fountain Inn

Led worship last night at Fountain Inn First Baptist Church, for the students. I usually get to play at this church a couple times a month, and usually get to do some of their camps and retreats that they do. Its been great. Its cool b/c now the students seem to know me, and they know who I am, and they trust me. I just really felt like doing some older songs last night. I dont know. Maybe I'm in a rut and just kind of getting tired of playing some of the newer things. I dont know what it was really, I just felt like doing it. And to be real honest, it was a good change of pace. Its amazing what happens when you play a song that is familiar to a group. They tend to be a little freed up. The student pastor was doing a talk, and part of his talk was telling the story of Horatio Spafford, the author of the beautiful hymn It is Well. So the student pastor asked if I could do that song before and after the message. Talk about a song that seems to never get old. I really slowed it down, and the words seem to mean more everytime I sing/play that song.

Set List
Ancient of Days
Open the Eyes
It is Well

Evil Eye?

Concert

I had a great time last night. Stephen and I went to see Matchbox 20, Mutemath, and Alanis Morrisette. We stopped for dinner and had chinese food(a tribute to our good friend Kabeman606), then Starbucks. It was a great car ride, with a lot of great conversation. Some much needed hang out time. When we got into the Charlotte area, it was dark and rainy and I think we missed a turn. Which was fun for me, b/c I got to put the iphone maps app. to the test. And.....it didnt fail us. I entered in Cricket Arena to the search, hit find directions from current location and bam...it took us right to it. Beautiful.

Mutemath did not play that many songs, but they were great. Their sound wasnt too great, but being familiar with their songs it didnt much matter. Really a great group of musicians, with great stage presence and energy. Much, much energy. I want a Rhodes now.

Alanis Morrisette was up next. She was really good actually. When she started singing her newer songs it got kind of boring. But then she'd play one of her many hits, and the boringness went away momentarily. She started off with Uninvited. Amazing vocals on that song, it really stuck out to me.

Last up of course was Matchbox 20. They were great. I thought they were a great live band, put on a very good show. The good thing about them is they played for over 2 hours. So, even though the tickets were free...if I did pay for them, it would definitely be worth the money since they play a ton of songs. Rob Thomas is a great frontman, he definitely knows how to engage the crowd and all. Even their really old songs off the first album sounded good and were really cool to hear again.

Here are some pics I took

Concert Tonight

Tonight I'm going to see Matchbox 20, Alanis Morissette, and Mutemath in concert...in Charlotte. I'm really excited about the concert. I used to listen to Matchbox 20 and Alanis a good bit back in the day. I've gotten into Mutemath within the last year, and I really enjoy their music. So, the concert should be good. My good friend and college roommate Stephen invited me to go with him. It should be a fun night for sure.

Irresistable Revolution

I've been reading through Shane Claiborne's book, An Irresistable Revolution. Just thought I'd post this quote as something to chew on. Its definitely an interesting book, I would recommend it.

I am going to Iraq because I believe in a God of scandalous grace. If I believed terrorists were beyond redemption, I would need to rip out half of my New Testament Scriptures, for they were written by a converted terrorist. I have pledged Allegiance to a King that loved evildoers so much He died for them [and of course the people of Iraq are no more evil or more holy than the people of the US], teaching us that there is something worth dying for but nothing worth killing for... We are all wretched, and we are all beautiful. No one is beyond redemption. May we see in the hands of the oppressors our own hands, and in the faces of the oppressed our own faces. We are made of the same dust, and we cry the same salty tears.

A glimpse...

Here is a glimpse of the end of the service at Crossroads yesterday.
Amazing.

Starfield

Just listened to a song off Starfields new album called Hosanna(Yes, the Hillsong song). Go check it out. Good stuff.

Monday morning thoughts

Sorry for two "list" posts in a week...they are fun. Ok, here are some thoughts running in my head today.

-Sunday morning at Crossroads was great. Check out Rich's blog to see a picture of this morning. Standing on stage, hearing those glow sticks break, knowing what that was a symbol of, and seeing the lights in the air...awesome moment.
-Matthew 5:13-20
-Megan and I went to Charlotte on Friday night. It was one of those times where it was fun to be married. Just come home from work and randomly say lets go to Charlotte to the Apple Store and Urban Outfitters. It was a lot of fun just having 3 hours(there and back) in the car just her and I talking. Good stuff. No agenda.
-Our dog Maya is super strong, especially when she sees an animal.
-I feel like I dont even care about the Superbowl this year.
-I didnt work out at all this weekend. Slacker.
-Been working on a new tattoo idea, and I like it a lot. Coming soon.
-My wife made these homemade heath bar cookies, really really good stuff.
-I was reminded on Friday night why I love Apple products.
-Apple does such a great job of presenting their product at their store. You walk in, and the store is just simple, yet cool. And you want to buy something. Even if its something small, its just fun to get something.
-I was really liking some of the furniture and pictures at Urban Outfitters. Really cool stuff.
-Love the store IKEA as well, just recently learned about that.
-This week should be busy, but very good.

Sunday @ Crossroads

Great morning today at Crossroads. I really enjoyed leading today with the band and all. It was really cool to open up the service with a song that I wrote. I just really felt that it went along with the message from Matthew 5 that Steve was talking about today. I felt like that song went well and the band really picked up on it quick. Some really cool things happened during the service. Check out Rich's Blog for a cool pic and some details on the service.

Set list:
You Gave Your life(Bgilliam)
Hosanna(Baloche)
Mighty to Save(Hillsong)
The Stand(Hillsong)

What's in my head?

Glad you asked...here are some random thoughts

-Had a great night last night with my wife. We went on a date to PF Changs, one of our new favorite resteraunts in Greenville.
-World Market has some of the best coffee I've ever had, plus its just a cool store to go in.
-I cant tell you the last time I went to Starbucks. I love starbucks. My bank account thanks me though.
-Actually now that I think about it, I was at Starbucks on Tuesday in Georgia. Oops.
-I'm glad its Friday.
-I'm so glad we are with AT&T now instead of Verizon. The whole rollover minutes thing is a great idea. Plus they are the exclusive carrier to a little toy called the iphone.
-Sold another item on Craigslist the other day. My studio/office room is looking a lot neater now that I'm getting rid of things I dont use.
-My wife made a Pumpkin Pie Cheescake thingy last night. Oh sweet mercy. Amazing.
-I think I've decided on my next Tattoo. That will happen soon I think.
-I love how you can transfer applications from one mac to another.
-My Macbook Pro is sweet, the Powerbook was good to me for sure though.
-I dont know a lot about this rebate thing going on with the economy, but I like the idea of getting a check in the mail. Sure I'll use it to "boost the economy".
-I think I should be the President.

Period.

Practice last night

Had practice last night at Crossroads. It went pretty good I thought. For some reason, the mix in my in ears was great from the start. Not much adjusting was needed at all. It seemed like a really good sound, which is something that doesnt happen often. For the most part, the songs we are doing are familiar. We went over a Hillsong United song called, "the stand". I really like this song, especially the bridge...but it just kind of drags along..its kind of boring until the bridge. So we practiced it and it was just as boring as on the cd. So we scratched that and we made this cool medley using Mighty to Save and the bridge of The Stand. That worked out really well. I'm looking forward to Sunday.

Come hang out with us.

CRCC

Good Stuff

New Blog

My good friend David Walker has now got a new blog up and running. You need to check it out. This guy has poured so much into me over the past several months. He has given me chances and opportunities that a lot of people haven't given me. He has inspired me, encouraged me, prayed over/for me, challenged me, taught me. In fact, he has already, within a couple of days, written one of the best blog posts for a worship leader that I've seen. Please go now and check out the post, When the Door is Shut.

Be blessed.

Are You Thankful?

A couple months ago I was sick. Not your typical flu type sickness...more like your typical I'm dizzy and nauseous and have a bad headache kind of sickness. You know, like when you go to Target, and you have to lean on the shopping cart for fear of falling down in the aisle and embarrassing yourself. To add to that, the "sickness" last for around a month. Even with medicines, it never really went away. I worried alot to be honest. Isn't it normal to worry when a doctor cant really tell you exactly what is wrong with you, but you know that you don't feel normal at all? Today, January 22, I'm back to feeling pretty normal again. I truly believe the Lord used that time in my life for a reason. I feel like He taught me a couple huge things that I took for granted. I would like to share those today if that's ok.

1) He taught me to trust Him. You see, when a doctor couldn't tell me exactly what was wrong with me...and couldn't give me exactly the right medicine to fix it(by the way, the Dr. did eventually give me medicine that fixed things, to his credit)...and when on Thanksgiving night my wife and I were in a NC hospital ER and I was laying down on the bed and couldn't stop shaking, and could barely get up to make it to the CT scan...then the only thing I could to do in that time was to trust God. I don't think I ever have prayed as much as I did during that one month period of time. I took for granted the fact that every morning I get up and move around with no problem and can physically do pretty much what I want to do. I took that for granted. I'm more thankful today than I ever have been that I can get up and walk around, I'm more thankful today than I ever have been for my health. Are you thankful?

2) He taught me to take care of myself. Although my sickness was due to an inner ear type thing and stomach ulcers, I learned that it is up to me to take care of my body. Practically speaking, that means eating healthy and exercising. It is my responsibility to take care of myself, for it is true that we only have one life. Yes, the smart people would say that the Lord is in control and even healthy people die young and so on and so on. I would say that this is a true statement, however, the Lord does give us tools and ways to take care of ourselves and the ability to do just that. Ok, end rant..back to post. For me, this means that I've started eating healthy. I've started eating whole grains, drinking water and cutting out soft drinks, eating fresh vegetables every day, eating fruit every day, drinking not from concentrate juices, cutting out fast food. Healthy food is more expensive, but umm...its worth it. Its also something that Megan and I budget for. We cut other expenses in order to be able to buy healthier food. And so that's something that we try to do a good bit, eat healthy that is. Second, we got a gym membership. This is another one of those things that people say that they cant afford, well I say that you cant afford not to. Folks, we need to take care of ourselves much better. Its hard, it takes discipline..but I do believe its worth it, and I do think its the right thing to do. Heck, I'm thankful that I have the ability to eat healthy foods and exercise, this is a blessing that I take for granted. Are you thankful?

Once again, I repeat...
Are You Thankful?

Side note:Hopefully this makes some sense..it makes sense to me, but I'm not always good at conveying that on paper.

Jon Foreman

Thought this was a cool video. Its Jon Foreman, lead singer for Switchfoot, doing a little acoustic diddy after a Switchfoot show...or at least thats what I gathered from the video. Its two songs of his Fall EP. Check it out.

Hope Point

Yesterday I led worship at Hope Point Community Church, in Spartanburg SC. I was really excited about this, to see what this church was like. I had never really even heard of the church until I got asked to play. Its a portable church that meets in the gym(actually kind of a nice gym..sort of) of a Spartanburg Elementary School. Well, it was amazing. I felt like, considering that I had never really played with the band or anything, that the music went well. We did four songs at the beginning of the service, and one at the end. The band was really great..and really flexible, and most of all...passionate. They made it super easy for me to step in and lead.

I think the biggest thing about yesterday morning was the pastor. He was hands down one of the best communicators that I've ever heard. If my opinion counted for anything, I'd say he's one of the best communicators of the Word of God in the upstate. Seriously. Amazing. He did one thing. He taught the Word of God. He didnt use any flashy jokes, he used very short, simple illustrations on some of his points. I loved it. I want to go back. This pastor, Richard, wants to see revival break out in the Upstate and he is super passionate about seeing people go deeper with the Lord.

Overall, my experience at Hope Point was great. I cant wait to go back and hope I get the oppurtunity to lead there again sometime soon. If any of you from Hope Point read this, thanks so much for allowing me hang out with you yesterday.

Setlist
Everlasting God
Marvelous Light
Unchanging
Here I am to Worship
Jesus Paid it All

Vote

I'm 24 years old. Yesterday was the first time I had ever voted. It was fun. I just walked up to the booth...pressed a button one time, and walked away. Nothing to it. Just thought I'd tell you. Ok

This is what happens...

This is what happens when a Siberian Husky gets bored. As you see, one month ago Maya was sitting with her lamb toy looking out the window. They were friends...I think. The lamb even squeaked, and maybe that was the lambs downfall. This week Maya finished the lamb off. The lamb has no face, the lamb has one ear, the lamb no longer squeaks. Here are some pics I took this weekend...a little before and after, if you will.

Pics from last week

Here are some pics from last week at Metamorphosis Church. Last Sunday was their first "official" Sunday as a church here in Greenville. I was glad they asked me to play, I thought it was a great Sunday. Enjoy.

Snow

I like the snow. Yea, we dont get blizzards or anything down here. But when it snows, its a treat. Its a beautiful sight. Megan and I were outside last night at like midnight with Maya(dog). It was sooo quiet outside. It was almost surreal. You could just hear the snow falling and everything was white as far as I could see. It was great, even if it only lasted for a night.

Craigslist?

Never really used it before. Then, I heard someone mention it and thought I'd go see what its all about. Well, I've sold another item that I placed on it today. I love it. Its free to post, unlike ebay. And its so much easier to just drive and meet a person than to package it all up. From now on, I'm going to try Craigslist first...then ebay.


Do It.

Oh yea, its snowing outside too. Me and maya(dog) went to Bi-Lo. All the people had milk, bread, etc. Not Bgilliam...no no no...I had Gobstoppers(or gollywobbers), Sweetarts, and Breyers Ice Cream. I'm prepared for the blizzard.

Wicky Wicky.

Catalyst Church Update

Last week you'll recall that I asked you to pray BIG from my friends at Catalyst Church here in Greenville. Well, what seemed like an unreachable goal to most...was nothing for the Lord. He never ceases to amaze me, you know what I mean? Needless to say all of the goals that Catalyst needed to meet were met. And Catalyst is here to stay. Which means that more people in the city of Greenville, SC will be brought from darkness into light. Its amazing how many people, from all over...even Canada..prayed for Catalyst Church and gave to them. This is an exciting day for sure. Head on over to Jake's blog or Ryan's blog to here the full stories.

Iphone Updates

Today Steve Jobs held his annual keynote address for Apple. Basically he explains all the new Apple stuff thats coming out. You can check it all out HERE if you're interested. Very cool stuff.



The thing I'm interested in is the updates for my iphone. The new software includes:

-Google Maps with Location
-Webclips - website bookmarks on your home screen. Clips will remember where you zoomed/panned to, and you are able to create up to 9 of them.
-Chapter Options & Language Capability - now available in iPod mode.
-Multiple-Contact SMS


This pleases me.

Turn it up...and I did

Last night I ran sound for Crossroads. The Wayfarer Ministry guys have been speaking every night, and tonight is the last night. Call it a revival, but not your typical revival. As I sat and watched from the soundboard last night, I couldnt help but wonder if what I was seeing was a picture of what revival really is. It was one of those moments where I cant explain it, and I'm not going to try to explain it...b/c me writing it on this blog cant do it justice. David Walker has just been insane. The Lord is at work in his life, and it is soo evident on stage. Its so refreshing to hear David lead.

Ok, so back to the sound part. It was really fun. I have to admit I was kind of nervous...b/c I've never ran sound for this big of a production. There is a lot more to control. We were kind of pressed for time with soundchecks and rehearsals and all. Overall, I think it sounded good. I wasnt afraid to bump things up to acheive good sound. I realized last night that there has to be a good level of trust for the sound guy. For instance, last night some people came and gave me suggestions. I dont mind suggestions, I welcome them b/c I'm not a sound guy..I was just filling in. However, at the end of the day...David put me there b/c he trusts my ears and what I'm feeling and how it sounds to me. I feel like I have a good ear for the kind of sound we were going for. Sure, its not going to please everyone...it never will. You just have to trust the man behind the board. I hope some of that makes sense. Oh well, hopefully I can do it again sometime, it was really fun.

I'm thankful for my wife

Today I am super thankful for my wife. I dont deserve her. Six months ago today we got married. I got home from work today and had to eat a quick bite before heading to Crossroads for some sound checks and all. She also had to leave for work soon too. She was telling me what all she got at the grocery store, and so I went to fridge to see all the stuff she got(Costco is awesome by the way). Then..out of no where I notice a bowl on the second shelf with a letter on top. I immediately knew what was in the bowl. It happened to be my favorite drink in the world. I know it sounds gross, but its called Boiled Custard. Yea, the name doesnt really sound very appetizing. However, it tastes sooo good...to me anyways. But there is more to this drink than the drink itself. its the history behind the drink. You see, as a kid my great-grandmother would make this all the time. She would always have it waiting on my brother and I when we came. My great-grandmother is still alive today. The thing is, and I didnt realize this until I got older...its a pain to make. Its just a long, boring process of making it. Its more than just mix and stir. So...fast forward to today, and to know that my wife spent all that time to make this drink that I talk about all the time but never get is just incredible...and it means the world to me. Its just reason number 5,436,597 that I'm in love with Megan. And the best part is Zach(my brother) is at college so I get it all to myself. Well, I need to get off this blogging thing and go get some custard to drink.

Holla

Starbucks Quick Order w/ Iphone

Latest news coming out of the Mac scene. Incredible. I cant wait to hear all the details about this, and I cant wait to try it. I read that it will use the itunes account to pay for it. Stay tuned for details.

Sunday @ Metamorphosis

This morning I led worship at Metamorphosis Church. It was there first service. They did several "preview" services, a few of which I led at as well. But today was the official start. I felt like it was a good morning. Setup stuff seemed to go well. They meet at Greenville Tech, in a pretty cool auditorium..and they are a portable church, which means everything gets set up when they come in, and everything comes down when they leave. Looking forward to seeing how God uses this body of believers to impact the city of Greenville.

Here are some pics taken from the iphone this morning---



This is the setup teams doing there thing. I just get out of their way b/c they know where everything goes and what gets put where.



This is when everything was pretty much done being setup. I didnt really capture the lighting too well, but the room looked great. These folks put a lot of time to make the environment great.



This is right before I went out, the countdown was taking place.

Myspace vs. Virb

Myspace used to be cool....I think. Everyone has/had a profile. I made a profile. I used to update it all the time with dates, pictures, blogs, friends. Then, something happened. It became...well, trashy. It has gone downhill. What used to be a cool "networking", free website thingy, turned into a mess. A page used to load quickly. Now, people add so many things to their profiles that sometimes it cant even load b/c there is so much video and flash stuff on it. For all I know I send emails to people telling them to click certain things b/c I've tried it, which means to prevent this I have to go change my password all the time b/c somehow people figure it out. I dont know. Sometimes I've gotten comments from friends that use incredibly bad language, when I know they dont talk like that. I just dont get it.

Now, there is Virb. I hope it doesnt become Myspace. For now, its a site that looks neater, cleaner, artsy. It looks professional kind of. Its simple. It doesnt have a page full of crap, which means that pages load faster. Hopefully high schoolers and middle schoolers will never hear about it.

I like to compare these two to Wal Mart and Target. Wal-Mart...well, yea the prices are pretty good on a lot of things. But to be honest, it is sooo crowded. Not only that, but its just messy. Its not neat. Target on the other hand is great. Not overly crowded, a little higher pricing...but its neat. Its fun to go to Target and just walk around. There is a Starbucks in most of them. It is simple.

Try the Virb out
Try Target

Video time

Thank you Stewart Johnson for this video...haha.

Enjoy.

Devotion

I love the language used in this devotion. This is one by Spurgeon, taken from Morning by Morning. May it bless and encourage you as it has me this morning.


"I have prayed for thee."
-- Luke 22:32

How encouraging is the thought of the Redeemer's never- ceasing
intercession for us. When we pray, he pleads for us; and when we are
not praying, he is advocating our cause, and by his supplications
shielding us from unseen dangers. Notice the word of comfort addressed
to Peter-"Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift
you as wheat; but"-what? "But go and pray for yourself." That would be
good advice, but it is not so written. Neither does he say, "But I will
keep you watchful, and so you shall be preserved." That were a great
blessing. No, it is, "But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail
not." We little know what we owe to our Saviour's prayers. When we
reach the hill-tops of heaven, and look back upon all the way whereby
the Lord our God hath led us, how we shall praise him who, before the
eternal throne, undid the mischief which Satan was doing upon earth.
How shall we thank him because he never held his peace, but day and
night pointed to the wounds upon his hands, and carried our names upon
his breastplate! Even before Satan had begun to tempt, Jesus had
forestalled him and entered a plea in heaven. Mercy outruns malice.
Mark, he does not say, "Satan hath desired to have you." He checks
Satan even in his very desire, and nips it in the bud. He does not say,
"But I have desired to pray for you." No, but "I have prayed for you: I
have done it already; I have gone to court and entered a counterplea
even before an accusation is made." O Jesus, what a comfort it is that
thou hast pleaded our cause against our unseen enemies; countermined
their mines, and unmasked their ambushes. Here is a matter for joy,
gratitude, hope, and confidence.

Wednesday Night 1/9

Last night I led at First Baptist Fountain Inn for the students. We had a great time. It was a night that the student pastor wanted to challenge his students to live a radical life for Christ in 08(I guess thats a typical student ministry speech at the beginning of every year, seems like a common thing). I do believe, however, that the Lord spoke through the student pastor last night. To be honest, some things he said really challenged me. There were some great commitments made tonight by the students. My prayer is that those commitments were sincere and that the Lord would use those students to begin a revival. Revival is about to take place in the city of Greenville. It will begin with the students and youth.

Setlist
Happy Day
Your Grace is Enough
Forever
Mighty to Save

Guest Post

My wife is a nurse. She's a nurse on a cancer floor in the hospital. She's awesome. She has a heart for people. She tells stories to me that break my heart, literally. She helps me keep things in perspective and makes me realize how much we have to be thankful for. Read this story my wife wrote:

"pain

pain. the word brings many things to mind. a headache, a heartbreak, a flu shot. well my perception of pain was altered while at work a few nights ago. as a nurse i see people in pain all the time, but until this i just don't think it had hit me. think about being in so much pain that you haven't had a good night's rest in 3 months. you can't sit up by yourself, because even the tiniest of movements are excruciating. you vomit every day, because the pain is so terrible. nothing helps. you can't do anything by yourself. this was what my patient was dealing with. diagnosed with cancer more than 8 years ago (what a survivor!), the cancer has now spread to her bones. bone mets are known to be extremely painful, and she had it in her spine, ribs, and hips. as i sat there with her most of the night, administering painkillers and anti-emetics, holding a cold cloth on her forehead and helping her turn over , i realized what true pain is...and what true strength is. this patient was amazing. through this terrible thing called cancer, she was lying there in bed singing songs about God's love, strength, and faithfulness. she never once complained, only asked for help. can you imagine? i can't, but God can. He knows all our pain, physical and beyond, and it was so obvious He was there comforting her. wow."

pray for this woman and for those who share stories like hers.

Just some verses about the Lord's strength.

Psalms 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Psalms 37:39 But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble.
Psalms 22:19 But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.
Psalms 73:26 My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.
Psalms 81:1 Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
Isaiah 12:2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

It is time to Pump it Up

Those were the words that echo in my head even today. You see in college me and the guys would frequent the gym. Especially on nice, sunny, spring days when a baseball game was taking place on the field. We would skip class, never going over our limit of course...and do things like that. My friend Stephen, would always yell at me when we worked out. Except, it was unlike any other yell. It was always in the voice of the man we know as The Terminator. Arnold himself. Stephen had perfected the voice. And so phrases like "Pump it Up" and "I like to eat steroids like skittles" were yelled at me a lot. It really motivated me I think. Actually Id be lifting weights, and begin to laugh, and well if you've ever done that before you know thats not a good combination. It could make for a disaster, right? I miss those days...sometimes.

Well, last night Megan and I joined a gym here in Simpsonville. The Simpsonville Sports Club. We didnt know what to expect. What we found was a really nice gym. Brand new everything. Great atmosphere. The staff was very friendly in answering all the questions. The best of all is that Megan, being a nurse, gets a discount. So that was the icing on the cake. We decided to join...not really because of any "New Years I'm gonna lose 20 pounds/I'm gonna join a gym, do it for 3 months straight, miss one or two days, and never go back Resolution." We've been wanting to join a gym for a while, and now that we're settled down in Simpsonville with the house and all, we figured this was a good time. So, Im looking forward to it.

Maybe Stephen can record some Arnold audio for me to put in the ipod to bring back the good ol days?

Quote

"[When] Jesus Himself fasted, He was not fasting to repent or tobring His desires under control, of course, but to demonstrateHis absolute dependence upon His Father."

-- Peter C. Moore

Trios, Starbucks, Great Friends

Tonight Megan and I got to hang out with Stephen and his wife Cindy. Stephen was one of 5 of my roommates in college(we stayed in an apartment type building). Stephen is a great friend, and we had a great time tonight hanging out with them. The Lord is really using Stephen at Mud Creek in Hendersonville. Check out his blog HERE. We went to Trios in Downtown Greenville, which is a great restaurant with a great atmosphere. Then we finished the night with some Starbucks @ the Reedy River. Great night, Great food, Great coffee, Great fellowship.

Pics of the dog and yours truly

Catalyst Church

Hey guys, I know I've launched a few posts this morning...but I wanted to take a second and tell you about my friends at Catalyst Church. Actually, I'll give you links to the staff blogs b/c they say it better than I can. Jake and Casey have been friends of mine for years and I've had the priveledge to lead worship a few times at Catalyst. They are doing some amazing things for the Kingdom, and having a great impact on the city of Greenville. Head over to their blogs and read about whats going on and pray for them and maybe how God could use you to help them.

Praying that God would blow your minds in this next week Jake and Casey.

Metamorphosis Church

Had the oppurtunity to lead at Metamorphosis Church last night. They are about to launch next Sunday Morning at Greenville Tech...11AM. They really do have a great launch team. It was great to be able to lead worship again too. I was sick for about a month, and this church prayed for me the entire time...and so to be with them again was truly a blessing. It seems like during the time I was sick the Lord taught me so many things. One of those things was trusting Him. Really trusting Him. A level of trusting Him that I personally had never been to. I just felt really refreshed last night as I led. Older songs seemed to have new life and new meaning. We sang the song Forever. Old song. However, for some reason the chorus hit me.

"Forever God is faithful, forever God is strong
Forever God is with us, Forever."

Think about those words. Amazing, right?

Set list:
Happy Day
Your Grace is Enough
Forever
Nothin but the blood

Great Weekend

Had a wonderful weekend. Here's why!!!!

-My wife didnt have to work so we got to hang out a good bit.
-Spent $0 on eating out(if you know me, you know thats big)
-Had homemade chocolate chip cookies compliments of my wife
-Got to hang out with the parents on Saturday night
-Rented a movie off of OnDemand from Charter. It was free. Thats a good thing.
-Made lots of coffee
-Finished rewiring my house with my Grandfather. The house we moved into had older wiring(two prong outlets instead of the three prong outlets that are in houses today), so my Grandfather(a retired electrician) came over two Saturdays in a row and helped me rewire the whole house pretty much. Huge blessing. Saved me..umm...at least $3000 probably.
-I have the coolest dog in the world. I ran around the block with her yesterday. A little kid saw us running and said in a cute little kid voice, "Mommy look, its a wolf doggy." Classic.
-Got to lead worship for the first time in over a month(due to me being sick). Im renewed and refreshed, more on that later.
-Got to have coffee with David Walker. The dude challenges me and encourages me every time we meet. Great friend.
-Went to Crossroads with my wife, and got the week off from playing so I could enjoy the service with her.
-Bi-Lo had Breyers Ice cream on sale. Yea, I bought way too much.
-We're about to join a gym. Not b/c of a New Years Resolution, just b/c we've been wanting to do it for a while, and we're budgeting for it now...so now is when its going to happen.
-Played some old school James Bond on the Playstation. Good times.

Thats about it. Hope your weekend was great as well.

Oh Jeep, why must you do this to me?

I have a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee. It has been a great vehicle. I bought it my junior year of college, and I prayed in it the first time I drove it. I asked the Lord to allow this car to make it through college without any major problems. It was the first car that I bought. Not my parents, Not anyone else...Me. I was scared it would be a lemon. It already had 92,000 miles on it. It has been anything but a lemon. My loan was a 3 year loan. I paid it off in 2 and a half(Dave Ramsey would be proud of me). I've maybe put $1000 of repairs into the car, maybe...and its been like 4 or 5 years. Its just been a great car and I've driven it a ton. Plus, it has been nice not having a single car payment for over 2 years..and my wifes car is paid off as well. I'm proud of that to be honest with you.

Well, over the last few months I've been smelling a sweet, syrup like smell. We all know it as Antifreeze. Its actually a quite pleasant smell, but not very good to breathe in. My heater core must be leaking. I call the repair shop, one of the few honest repair guys around town that my family uses...and they said it would be $725 plus tax, and plus any fluids they need to replace. Ouch. This is one of those jobs thats good to take it to a shop. And the reason is because its so labor intensive. To replace the heater core, one must remove the entire dash in the car to get to it. Crazy. That kind of money is a lot of money. Maybe not to some people, but to me it is. However, if you think about it...its really about two months of car payments worth of repairs. So I guess I'll get it fixed, and just be thankful it wasnt something that effects the actual running of the car. Hopefully the Jeep can continue on its path of minimal repairs..I hope this isnt the beginning of a landslide.

ahhh, to be free of car payments is a beautiful thing.

Hello 2008

Happy New Year.

The year 2007 was a great year. As always it was a year filled with ups and downs.
I moved into an apartment about this time last year.
I got married in July.
I bought a house in November.
I got a dog.
I bought a couple handguns(yes, Im legally packing) =)
I love my new iphone.
I drank way too much coffee.
I added a new Telecaster to my arsenal.
I added a Vox AC30 to my arsenal.
I realized how awesome Craigslist is.
I beat Thomas way too many times in Madden 08.
Most of my college roommates had babies(well, their wives did), but all were able to be in my wedding which was great.
Went to several great concerts, and bought a lot of great music.
I had many great "gigs" this year with some great friends.
I was reminded that I cant do things on my own.
I was reminded of how much I need the Lord.
I was reminded how much He loves me, with a jealous love.

Thats all I can think of...Bring on 08.