Category Archives: Miscellaneous
I Will Follow
Just caught Chris Tomlin’s new single “I Will Follow” on the airwaves. It really spoke to where I’m at right now. It’s slated to come out on his new album ‘And If Our God Is For Us’ on November 16. Here’s the lyrics.
Where you go, I’ll go
Where you stay, I’ll stay
When you move, I’ll move
I will follow…
All your ways are good
All your ways are sure
I will trust in you alone
Higher than my side
High above my life
I will trust in you alone
Where you go, I’ll go
Where you stay, I’ll stay
When you move, I’ll move
I will follow you
Who you love, I’ll love
How you serve I’ll serve
If this life I lose, I will follow you
I will follow you
Light unto the world
Light unto my life
I will live for you alone
You’re the one I seek
Knowing I will find
All I need in you alone, in you alone
In you there’s life everlasting
In you there’s freedom for my soul
In you there joy, unending joy
and I will follow
Update: iPad finger thief in the slammer.
- “Mr. Eleven Fingers”
This is a follow up to a recent post that I made about an iPad robbery that was so terrible that the victim’s pinky finger was lost in the shuffle.
Only in Oklahoma…
Maybe Mercedes is next up for the accelerator recall.
Remember: Gas on the right, brake on the left!!!
Stolen: iPad & Left Pinky Finger
Man, this is gross — Bill Jordan went to the local Apple store to pick up an iPad for someone else the other day in a Colorado mall, and as he walked away, some thieves grabbed his bag away so quickly that it took part of his finger off. Scary stuff — apparently two young men followed him out of the store down to the parking garage, jumped him and grabbed the bag. There was a scuffle which Jordan’s pinky finger didn’t survive. After rushing off to a hospital, he was told part of the finger had to come off. Check out the local news video.
A Dog’s Purpose (from a 6 year old)
I saw this story the other day on a website that I check alot. I thought it was great. Enjoy!
A Dog’s Purpose? (from a 6-year-old).
Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog’s owners, Ron, his wife Lisa , and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.
I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn’t do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.
As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane
might learn something from the experience.
The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker’s family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.
The little boy seemed to accept Belker’s transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker’s death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives.Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, ”I know why.”
Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I’d never heard a more comforting explanation. It has changed the way I try and live.
He said, ”People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life — like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?”
The Six-year-old continued,”Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay as long.”
Live simply.
Love generously.
Care deeply.
Speak kindly.
Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:
When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure Ecstasy.
Take naps.
Stretch before rising.
Run, romp, and play daily.
Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.
On hot days, drink lots of water and lie undera shady tree.
When you’re happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
Be loyal.
Never pretend to be something you’re not.
If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.
ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY! because some day they will not be there…
Dave Carroll wraps up his “United Breaks Guitars” Trilogy
To conclude his trilogy of telling the world about his broken guitar, Dave Carroll has posted his third and final song proposing that United Airlines is terrible at handling baggage. Carroll pokes fun that United “broke” his career. Thanks to the United Airlines incident involving his Taylor guitar, Dave has been on numerous talk shows, television appearances, and even received free guitars from Taylor Guitars. Check out Dave’s final song below. Great job Dave, great job.
Jon Foreman: What’s in a Word?
In case you’ve been sleeping, Switchfoot is one of my favorite music artists. I recently found an article that Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman wrote for the Huffington Post on the power of our words. The article (below) totally captures the “why” of songwriting. God has given us a task as songwriters: to open a “portal” into unseen worlds. (I’m sure that Jon is cool enough to have an iPhone)
(Caution: Some may consider a few of his words PG)
What’s in a Word?
posted by Jon Foreman; lead singer and guitarist for Switchfoot
Communication is a pregnancy of sorts. In a speaker’s mind, a thought is conceived, then spoken, heard, and then ultimately gives birth to new thought in the listener’s mental landscape. For example, when I say “tree,” a picture builds in your imagination, a new life-form within your mind; a platonic idea of oak or maple appears out of nothing within your thoughts. This mental icon represents your understanding of the word. (Incidentally, this apprehension is independent of the speaker’s intentions).In many ways, words are metaphors pointing to the objects they represent. The word “tree” is not a tree; it is simply a placeholder for the real thing. Our understanding of the world is built upon a deeper set of presuppositions. Meaning demands meaning. Reason demands reason: 1+1=2, only when we agree upon the meaning of these symbols. The same is true for words. Words are our framework of meaning. Every one is a metaphor reaching to something beyond it’s simple spelling and articulation.Words have incredible power. Words create worlds. The words we use define ourselves and the world around us. They shape our reality. Our words determine our ideologies.In India there is a group of people who have been oppressed for over 3000 years. They are called the Dalit. They are relegated to the worst jobs, cleaning sewers and removing the bodies of dead animals from the roads. Even the cows, whose bodies they clean from the side of the road, are treated with far more respect. Over the coarse of time, the identity of the Dalit people group, (also called the “untouchables”), has been stripped of all dignity. “They have been oppressed not just economically or even physically, but also ideologically,” states Jean- Luc Racine and Josiane Racine, who goes on to say that ultimate freedom will come when the Dalit’s define themselves in a new way. According to the Racines the question becomes, “Which new identity will sustain the emancipation process?”¹Words are the keepers of history. If the Dalit’s handle of “untouchability” feels too foreign to our American ears, let us examine a few race-driven words within our own borders. These are words that I feel uncomfortable even putting into print. Nigger. Wetback. Red Neck. Cracker. Chinks. Spicks. These words are pregnant with incredible potency. These words do not have a history of tolerance, of acceptance, or compassion. No, these words tell the story of oppression — of an American landscape of racism and mistrust. Without our past, these words have no negative connotations. Yet within our historical landscape of slavery and shame, these words have powerful implications. Words are the foundation upon which we build our lives. This holds true even for wonderful words like Love, Light, Justice, Honor, Truth, Joy, Peace, Redemption, Happiness, or Beauty. These are beautiful words, yet they are words we know only in part. We’ve seen glimpses of these entities on our planet, but only for a moment. How can we know the full meaning of justice on a planet where cruel power has the final say? How can we know peace against the backdrop of increasingly sophisticated war machines? Today, thousands of six-year-olds around the world are hungry, wondering how they will get their next meal. Tragedy. Right now, thousands of innocent girls are being forced into prostitution. Tragedy. This very hour, millions of people are dying because of a lack of access to clean water. Tragedy. Tragedy. Tragedy. Tragedy. And yet, if these are the simple facts, how can we call it tragic? Hans Urs von Balthasar says that tragedy is dependent upon a belief system. “The meeting of these two words,’tragedy’ and ‘faith’ is deeply significant, for what is broken in the tragic presupposes a faith in the unbroken totality.”² Hope is believing in a world that does not exist yet, a concession towards the kingdom of the heavens. To hope is to believe that life could be better. It is ultimately our belief in this “unbroken totality” that allows for the potential of tragedy. For without this hope, tragedy is no longer tragedy — it’s simply expected. Without a belief that allows for a better world, the tragic is fact. So we are given a choice at the edge of these two worlds. The choice between despair or hope. To be in despair is to deny that tragedy is tragedy. To be in despair is to disbelieve in the tragic and redefine it as acceptable, immutable, unchangeable. To hope is to call injustices and corruptions exactly what they are: tragic. Against all odds, against all that we know about this world, we could choose to hope for a better one — to hope for love, for peace, for a form of contentment and solace that we have never fully realized. We choose to speak these worlds into being. To create is to cosign the Maker’s checks. In the Abrahamic beliefs, (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) the Maker speaks things into existence. Light, darkness, day, night, water, land, plants and animals… these are spoken into being. In the Hindu scriptures, there is a similar creation story, in which the verbal command comes from Vishnu, “Create the world.” In all of these belief systems, the Word has tremendous power. The Christian account of the creation makes virtually no distinction between God and Word in the beginning. John 1:1 states, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The artist is a bridge between despair and hope. The artist, more than anyone else is responsible for the re-creation, re-definition and re-thinking the world around us. Every poem, every song, every painting has tremendous possibility. Each of these creations could be a letter of resignation to The World That Is or a window into The World That Is Not. Each poem/painting/song could be a vehicle to a new reality, one in which the artist plays a part no matter how small. The artist paints a world into existence. The canvas, the paint, the brush–these known quantities of existence and reality are tools for stepping into the unknown. The notes of the song are a bridge from what is to what is not yet. I don’t write songs when I’m happy. When I’m content, I take my wife out to dinner, I go surfing. I hang out with my friends and play ridiculous cover tunes when I’m happy. But when I’m depressed, I turn to look for something beyond this life. When I’m lonely and nothing makes sense and the world has lost it’s flavor I search for notes and words that usher in a transcendence that soars high above the tragedy. I look for to song to understand the present tragedy in the context of a hope for a better world. I look for words that remind me of a bigger story, for songs that acknowledge the tragedy and move beyond it. I look to artists who give me windows, words that provide for a new life to be birthed within me. Is it escape? Is it a coping mechanism? Maybe a bit, but I feel that it is much more than that. The song becomes a hopeful defiance. A declaration that the injustices and absurdities of our postmodern existence are not the final downbeat. Music becomes a confession of disbelief in the world that surrounds me. A refusal to believe that these tragedies and horrors are the ultimate end. A refusal to accept the oppression of the Dalit’s as anything other than tragic. A nonacceptance that the starving six year old is anything other than tragic. The song is written in defense of a world beyond this one, in defense of Truths that seldom make it to the front page of the newspaper. Words create worlds.¹ Dalit Identities and The Dialectics of Oppression and Emancipation in a Changing India: The Tamil Case and Beyond -Jean-Luc Racine & Josiane Racine
² The von Bathasar reader p. 92
My New Year’s Resolution
I was abruptly reminded recently that I have not posted anything to my blog in over a month. It wasn’t because I’ve had a lack of topics, but instead a lack of time. You see, we started off this year leading worship at a local church that is looking for a Worship Pastor. New people, new faces, new techniques to learn, etc., etc. I won’t bore you with the details. Anywho…I recently made a New Year’s Resolution to read my Bible through this year. It all started with the “Holy Bible” app that I downloaded on my iPhone. (Oh, just remembered, another resolution is to use the word “iPhone in every post on my blog this year…keep your eye out for it)
The Bible app that I use is provided by Lifechurch.tv. They are giving it away F-R-Double E in the App Store. They recently upgraded the version to include daily reading plans. They offer quite a few different plans: Chronological, Psalms Everyday, Life Journaling and many more.
In fact, if you don’t have an iPhone yet (where have you been?), you can still make use of this awesome application by surfing on over to YouVersion. Go ahead, it won’t bite, I promise. Once there, you can create an account and then customize everything to your liking. Pick your Bible version that you like, pick your reading plan, pick if you want to write journal entries, pick your nose….er, wrong post for that last one. The thing that I found the coolest about this place is that you don’t have to start the plan on January 1. You can begin the plan on any day and the dates will be adjusted according. (If you start a plan on March 3, and want to read through the Bible in a year, then your plan will commence the following year on March 3.)
It’s still not too late to start reading the Bible through this year. Head on over to Youversion.com and sign yourself up for a reading plan. Get going. Be responsible.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iphone 😀Trick or Treat (yourself to a new Halloween Costume)!
How to make the best Halloween costume this year.
1.Get Flatscreen TVs.
2.Wrap them in fabric.
3. Add iPhone.
4. Enjoy costume!
Auto-Tune for iPhone
Disclaimer: iPhone post below.
So with the Itunes App Store passing 2 Billion downloads, I thought I’d show off one app that looks pretty neat. It is called “I am T-Pain“. This app uses Auto-tune to make your voice sound like a rapper. Yo. Apparently this auto-tune technique has been around some time, but until recently hadn’t been used alot. It wasn’t until the country song hating, video bashing, my dad is better than your dad, Kanye West started using it that people started to recognize the sound of Auto-Tune. Go figure. This app can make anyone sound like a star. Did you get to watch the Presidental address about healthcare that was on TV about a month or so ago? President Obama talked forever about universal healthcare and all that jazz. The video below is the skinny of the healthcare address, plus some Auto-Tune.
Worship is Life 