people smarter than i am

"Well, I think that most of today’s Christian music is based on a thin premise. When you take a pop song and weigh it down with the gospel it sort of cheapens both. The theology is too heavy for the song, and the song usually ends up being too light for the theology. Often I feel like you end up with some sort of fuzzy Christian propaganda that doesn’t do music or the gospel any justice. That’s why I like hymns so much. The early fathers wrote many of the texts to hymns that we sing today. I like that they attach us to our Christian history and remind us of what in our faith is worth preserving. Hymns were written by theologians, not pop stars, and that is why when they are sung, we so tangibly feel the weight of glory."

-Fernando Ortega

man...couldn't have said it better myself. i think we often have to rely on others to communicate thoughts for us. maybe that's wrong... but there have been many times lately when i've had these ideas/thoughts/feelings in my head, and haven't really known how to communicate them well on paper. and then a friend, musician, author, etc. will come along and write something in a blog or interview or song that is almost exactly what i would have said, had i had the capability. is that the cheap way out? i don't see it as reliance, but maybe it goes along with the idea of being in community (which is fresh on my mind, having just read pauley's latest post. read it). maybe i can communicate someone else's thoughts as well. opinions?

she is the rising sun.

no reason for naming this post what i did, i just think that's a really cool phrase (if i had a girlfriend, i think i'd tell her that. you are the rising sun. sweet.)

it's also the name of a song by a guy named ben shive, who's music i'm mildly obsessed with. i've probably discussed him before, but he plays keys live and in the studio for many musicians whose music i like, including andrew peterson, andrew osenga, dave barnes, matt wertz, derek webb, and others. he put out a solo cd called "the ill-tempered klavier" in june, and it really is the best music i've heard in a long time. great songs, including my favorite, "she is the rising sun". check out a cool review here.

i like blogging about music, because it's what i'm passionate about. so here are a bunch of recommendations of things i've heard lately that i really like. i did this a long time ago, but nobody read my blog then, so maybe this will help some of you make some musical inquiries in the near future:

matthew perryman jones:: swallow the sea

 - i love anything he puts out. his last album throwing punches in the dark is probably my favorite album of the last 2 years. so this was highly anticipated to say the least. and it hasn't disappointed. favorite songs are "feels like letting go" and "when it falls apart". 

act of congress:: declaration (birmingham progressive bluegrass band in the vein of nickel creek. friends of my brother. really good up-and-coming band.)

bon iver:: for emma, forever ago (guy coops himself up in a cabin for 3 months to get away, comes out with this. creepy and beautiful.)

brooke waggoner:: heal for the honey (she's talented. very talented.)

kings of leon:: only by the night (don't know why i like this band, but i really really do. this album is less harsh and more anthemic. caleb followill finally decided that he knows how to sing.)

what else... the coldplay album is epic, if you don't like it i don't respect you. 

also listening to ari hest (always), sigur ros's new one, rosie thomas, john mayer's live album is still played a lot because he's just too damn good, the duhks' latest, wild sweet orange (another b'ham band), spoon's ga ga ga ga ga, and over the rhine.

matt wertz's new album is 8 old songs and 4 new ones. no thanks.

and no, i don't like the new bebo norman album. which hurts my heart to say.

anticipating near-future releases from ray lamontagne (love the first song i've heard, called "you are the best thing"), andrew peterson, sandra mccracken, dave matthews band (if they ever get around to it), ben folds, and others that i'm forgetting because i'm absentminded. 

__________________________________________________________

in other news,

- i survived all of my tests, with minimal actual studying.

- i've become very cognizant of my complaining lately, and tried to put a complete end to it. if you ever hear me complain about anything, tell me to shut up and stop whining. 

- i decided that, despite my distaste for all things political, i might as well just pick one, based on who i agreed with more. and based on who's not a complete idiot. so i picked obama. so, dan and lee and dug and whoever else, obama '08. 

- sarah palin is stupid. not because she's a woman, but because she is. stupid. so stupid. i can see a library from my house, but that doesn't make me smart. 

- samuel adams octoberfest seasonal brew is the best beer i've had in ages. 

- got to see my brother this weekend for a short time, which was enjoyable. we still manage to have a lot to laugh about. 

this is all real.

no real reason to post (is me saying that becoming repetitive??). i'm in the midst of a very busy week, my first this school year. the combination of taking 18 hours and all of my AWESOME political science profs (sarcasm) giving tests this week (three tests, one speech) is hitting me hard right now. but i guess it had to get this way eventually, considering i don't think i've done more than about an hour of work outside of class since school started a month ago. there's also work, which causes me to have to find a balance between staying up late to study and going to bed early so i'll be capable of getting up at 6:15 AM. and there was one other thing that caused a wee bit of anxiety this week (but mostly a lot of excitement). 

but as i sit here firmly entrenched in my crazy week, i can do nothing but praise Him for it. for the opportunity to even be here in auburn. for the fact that one test really isn't going to affect my future that much. for being called to His purpose, not my own. for my incredible friends. for new friends. for coffee. for conversation. for sleep. for lack of sleep. for understanding bosses. for hilarious brothers. for my beautiful niece and nephew. for an unborn nephew who i'm already excited about. for a mother who is absolutely selfless. for hardships. for music, and the never-ending amount of good music to be heard. 

for the One who paid my debts. 

Jesus is our GREAT salvation,

worthy of our best esteem.

-john adams

famous toddlers.

as stated before on the blog, i am a proud uncle to two wonderful little ones, hope (age 4) and shepherd (3 in november). there's also another little boy on the way in november, so the fun will just continue to increase! they are the cutest kids i know, and have much personality between the two of them. i've always thought they would make great tv kids. well, ladies and gents, that time has come. i present to you, hope and shepherd skellie (with a cameo by my awesome sister-in-law connie) on abc 33/40 this morning, in what appears to be a new segment by brandon triola (my brother's cousin). enjoy...man, i'm proud to be their uncle:

http://cfc.abc3340.com/videoondemand.cfm?id=22622

the mothership.

i've been saving this post for when i had nothing else to talk about. today is that day. i've led a more or less uneventful life recently. no eggs falling on the car. nothing like that. so let me tell you about my mom, and why i like her.

some of you may know pam parker. maybe you know her from church. maybe you know her from coming over to my home and her being so overly friendly that she was making fun of you 5 minutes after you arrived (all in good fun). maybe you met her once. maybe you've known her for years. but probably a majority of the people in this little corner of the blog-o-sphere have never met or heard of pam.

pam's my mom. pam's a pretty good mom. she's not perfect, but no one is. here are some things about pam that you should know:

pam is a badass
-she was an awesome cheerleader in high school, and professionally for the birmingham vulcans and the birmingham americans of the world football league. she even had an offer to cheer for the miami dolphins, but turned it down. i tell her often how crazy she is for that.

pam has been through some crap
-she was diagnosed in elementary school with stargardt's disease. her vision continued to decline to the point it's at today, which is below 15%. she had teachers that picked on her instead of helping her. she had people tell her she couldn't cheer, but she did anyway. in the past few years, she's also been diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa. she's never been able to drive or work a normal job (living off of disability is a bitch). she also struggles with pretty bad arthritis and a bunch of other little things. when i hear her tell me all of the things she's been disgnosed with, it's hard to believe how she gets up every morning. but man, is she a trooper!

putting all of this together, and summing it all up, pam has been an incredible mom. she's raised three boys with little help, outside of my incredibly selfless grandparents (and for the most part, the three of us have turned out alright). financially, emotionally, and literally, this was near impossible for her, but she gladly did it, and the Lord always provided. it hasn't been easy for her, and it probably still isn't. we never had a whole lot, but we had everything we needed. she always made sure we were happy first. she continues to. she doesn't look at life with the attitude of a twice-divorced, disabled mother of three. she's grateful for what she has, and is completely committed to her kids and grandkids. i'm proud of her, and i always will be.

splat

i generally don't like my car. i know that i am very blessed to have one at all, and in these times in which we live, it's very nice to not have to pay $70 to fill up my gas tank. but i've always wanted something different. i think this is because i have an underlying feeling that my car is cursed.

ever since i started driving my trusty silver honda civic, i've had all kinds of interesting things happen to it. soon after i got it, i hydroplaned going about 15 miles an hour and bumped into a little miata, putting a fun dent in my right front bumper (which remained for over a year until i could afford getting the ENTIRE bumper replaced). ps...why don't they make those things in sections, so when someone in my position needs a new part, i dont have to pay for the 85% of the bumper that DOESN'T need to be replaced?? strange world we live in.

i've had AT LEAST 5 flat tires. probably more, but they all run together at this point. thankfully none have been while i was driving, but it's still a pain to plug them all the time and replace them constantly.

during the summer of 2006, at home in hoover, somehow my back windshield was shattered overnight. still don't know how it happened, but i don't think i have THAT many enemies! i think it was just some punk kid in my neighborhood with a bb gun. or possibly someone trying to harm my neighbor's car, who is the an editor/writer for the Birmingham Black & White, which at times prints some incindiary articles.

i have many many other dings, dents, bumps, and bruises, but overall, the car has always RUN great (my grammar might be wrong in that sentence...help jessy or jennifer.)

but last night, when i returned home from a weekend of sunburns, soaking rains, auburn victories, debauchery with good friends, and my favorite church i've ever attended, something had happened that tops all of those various car ailments.



it may be hard to see, but that's an egg, splattered on my car. you might be thinking, "oh those crazy kids and their egging houses." that's valid...i do live with a middle school teacher who has a history of getting rolled. but this was no middle school kids. it was a bird. a careless bird allowed that egg to roll out of its nest in the tree above my car, and that egg landed on my car. how inconsiderate.

(pictures courtesy of my now-broken iphone. go apple!)

open forum

in order to incite some commenting, i'm going to leave you with an open question:

if you're supporting a candidate in the presidential race this year, who and why? i'm not trying to make anyone feel dumb or anything like that, because i have little opinion either way (read old blogs), but i just want to hear some opinions. read that again. OPINIONS. not debate. i get enough of that in my political science classes. just tell me what YOU think. why do you like obama? is it because he's a great orator, or do you actually think his policies are advantageous to you and your kin? if you support mccain, why? is it his feel-good story and his hot runningmate, or do you feel this he's the right guy to lead the country for the next 4-8 years?

ready, go.

the things i cherish

i try not to put my hopes in material things. i usually fail at this, but i wouldn't really consider myself a materialistic person, mainly because of how i grew up. and i'm not a packrat. yes, there are those few failures (iphone, ipod, clothes, etc.), but i could definitely live without those things. i proved to myself i could last summer, when i was thousands of miles away with 3 changes of clothes, no ipod, no phone, no computer. just the Lord, His Word, a few other books, 17 awesome best friends, and some really badass kenyans.

but, there are a few things that i really hold dear. here's a short list:

-my kenya journal. it's nothing but a small spiral notebook, but it holds those memories which i can sometimes only re-live by opening it up. it brings me joy, sorrow, laughter, and tears (only once) when i go back and read certain parts.

-little bible. when my grandfather died in '05, i was going through some of his stuff one day with meme and found a tiny bible with just the new testament and psalms in it. it's from someone names mrs. williams from west end baptist church (where he grew up), and it's dated march 16, 1943. we deduced that it was given to him before he left for wwII. he was in the air force, mostly in europe, but only worked in the office (if you knew him, it makes perfect sense). but, he still served our country, so i was really excited to find this little bible and get to hopefully pass it on one day. also, interestingly enough, in the note on the first page that the woman wrote, it mentions psalm 91, which the kenya team recited every day of our trip. awesome coincidence. or awesome God.

-my kenya scrapbook. last christmas, jennifer gave me an awesome scrapbook full of pictures/memories from the summer. she put many many many hours and many many dollars into making it awesome for me, and i'm very thankful for that. i'll cherish it forever. she loved me. i was a lucky guy.

-hope. i have a picture of my niece (hope) when she was a couple of months old. there's nothing flashy or really great about it, except that it's my beautiful niece. it reminds me of how my life changed when she came into the world. maybe that's weird, but i felt myself change a lot when that happened. i've learned much patience and love from she and her brother (and i will from the next one on the way too!)

i know there are other things at home in hoover, but those are things that are here that i can physically see. i tend to keep memories better than i do tangible things, and i have a million of those. enough to last a lifetime, and more than i deserve...He has been really good to me.