this too shall be made right

Ok, so I'm not doing the best job of keeping this thing updated. I'll be better. Promise.

First, music. Not a lot of detail, but check these artists/songs/albums/whatever out. And as always, trust me.

1) Red Mountain Music
-A church in Birmingham, they basically take old hymn texts and write new music for them. So me loving hymns like I do, this is good stuff for me, and for you too. Check it out.

2) Brooke Waggoner
-Listen to the song "Hush If You Must". Really cool song. I want to buy her EP, but I'm trying to be diligent about saving money. I probably will break soon though, because this song is really catchy and I've heard many good things.

Let's see...other albums I recommend that I didn't talk about last time:
Andrew Osenga: "Letters to the Editor, Vol. 1" (all of the songs came from ideas from people who read his blog...interesting idea)

Aqualung: "Memory Man"

Caedmon's Call: "Overdressed" (Derek Webb back with the band)

Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds: "Live at Radio City"

Explosions in the Sky: "All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone" and "The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place"

Martin Sexton: "Seeds"

Patrick Park: "Everyone's in Everyone"

I'm also anxiously awaiting the purchase/release of albums on the horizon from Iron & Wine, Andrew Peterson, Andy Gullahorn, Ben Shive, Radiohead (cool story on their new album here), Bebo Norman (Christmas album), Jose Gonzalez, Josh Ritter, and Matt Pond PA.


My community group through Grace Campus has been such an encouragement to me this year. Mainly due to one guy, who I know will never read this, but I'll withhold his name anyway. The book we're reading is good, the fellowship with everyone is as well, but this one friend is the reason I continue to return each week. This guy is a super-nice guy; he's your typical college guy with the Polo hat, collared shirts, shorts that are ALMOST too short. He drives a truck, loves to hunt and fish, and has a wonderful Southern accent that would be impossible for me to duplicate. To be candid, on the surface, he's the kind of guy that I love to hate. Being the judgmental person that I often am, I came to many assumptions upon first seeing him/hearing him talk/hearing his story. Some of them right, some of them not. He was the first person to introduce himself to me as I awkwardly walked into the Gay Street House, late for my first week of community groups. But, as I often do, I overlooked that and didn't chalk one up in the "Good" column.

I see that I am rambling, so let me get to the point. After spending high school and the first part of college drinking a lot, he had, just a week or so before our first meeting, been convicted and started to read the Word, and was becoming a new creation. And even though it was a brand new thing, this guy was on fire. He had a passion for Christ...to know more about Him, to grow closer to Him, and to read His Word. I had never seen anything like this before in my life. The situation just seemed so opposite when I first walked into that group. My assumptions were completely off base, though. Each week, he has continued to grow and grow. He speaks of reading his Bible two or three times daily. He reads our chapters that we're assigned in our book multiple times. He comes with questions for those of us who have been believers longer. He underlines things in the book and is the first one to speak up. This guy is SEEKING and FINDING. I wish you could all see it. It's obvious that he is young in his faith, but his zeal and passion is something that I've never seen in myself. Ever. I don't know how he ended up at Encounter, or how I ended up in the same group as him, but I couldn't be more thankful.

Long story, I apologize.


I need the weather to stay cool, and not let this just be a tease. And also, please cool off just a little during the day. Thanks. I'll call Bob Jeswald and see if he can get on that immediately.

Fantasy Update: I'm 3-1. Not scoring many points, but somehow I'm still winning. I'm trusting that Marvin Harrison will be OK, that Adrian Peterson (from Oklahoma) will continue to get carries, that Anquan Boldin will come back from injury, and that I can find a tight end that's worth a crap.

My girlfriend is incredible. Have I told you about her? You should meet her...she's awesome. I find so much joy in her that it's crazy. She teaches me things every day, despite the miles between us. I'm sure she'll come up again very soon, but I just wanted to mention how thankful I am to have her in my life.

I want a camera. Really bad. Nikon D40, preferably. Make checks payable to me.



Grace and Peace.