i feel old

Friday: 2.5 hours of basketball.
Saturday: 1.5 hours at the driving range, 3.5 hours of swimming, .75 hours of basketball.


I am sore. I am also a quarter-century old. Goshdangit!
I watched Star Trek last night; it was entertaining, but I still miss the ST:TNG cast and crew.


Tonight should be pretty kick-back. I am working a short shift (but at holiday pay rate!) and then we are bbq'ing chicken and corn on the cob... I need to finish The Shining (the old/good version!) tonight too.


People have had pretty positive reactions to the EP, which has been awesome. We are looking into recording another one. Potential songs include Louder Than The Mob, Already There, It Is Well With My Soul, In The Secret, Famous One, and maybe others...? Any suggestions?

thank you Jesus

Our EP is done! I am happy with it, and I am excited to share it with people. Here's hoping it means something to other people as much as it does to me.


myspace.com/cgccband


Spread the Word!

take up your cross

I don't know if I can actually put this into words... But basically I didn't until recently really grasp the passage found in Matthew 16 and Luke 9, about Jesus telling us that "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me". For some reason I never equated that cross that He tells us to take up with the cross that He carried on His own back and died on. I always thought of our crosses as an abstract idea, and not something monumental. But in reality... Jesus is asking us to basically pick up the same cross that He did; a cross that leads to pain and death. Granted, for most of us it will NEVER even compare to the pain and suffering that He went through, but it is the same idea. When we choose the Father, we choose the possibility of immense suffering... But we also choose the guarantee that after that, we have Life.

That probably doesn't make sense, because even in my head it's still a bit convoluted. One thing I am certain of; tonight's set is righteous, and should be a lot of fun!

• Everything That Has Breath
  
• I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever
  
• Holy Is The Lord
  
• Pour Out My Heart
  
• Arms Of Love
  
• It Is Well With My Soul
  

So a pretty old-school set, but with some new twists. Funky "It Is Well" here we come! Oh, and then we talk about male sexuality. Go team?

you don't know me

so i adore ben folds (he is in my top 5 of all-time favorite artists) and i think regina spektor is one of the best singer-songwriters currently making music... and the song they did together, "you don't know me" is awesome. anyways, i finally watched the video for it, and it is funny crap. youtube that badboy right here.

today i have band practice for a couple hours, then i am going to my uncle's church with the oakdale fam. i am excited! he is sharing a sermon that he has been working on for quite awhile; how God's message of love has been spread through secular music in the last few decades. it should be interesting!

now i am off to do the stanky leg. word.

two songs

There are two songs I have been listening to on repeat the last two days - "Save Yourself" by Sensefield, and "Samson" by Regina Spektor. Both have interesting things to say about love and sex. I highly recommend listening to both of them, if you have not before.


It's fascinating to me how Tim (pastor at Denair Friends Church, where I play Sunday mornings) and Jeremiah (college pastor at cgcc/Crossroads Church where I play Sunday nights) end up speaking on issues that complement each other. The last few weeks, Jeremiah has been talking about establishing an identity in Christ that is truly your own; tearing down the identity that has been constructed through parents and other influences, and determining your own personal faith and belief. That was a good series, and then Tim has followed it up the last two weeks with a series on becoming a true disciple of Christ. It has been a good one-two punch! You all should be jealous. I get to listen to two very transparent and real guys share the Word nearly every weekend.


Anyways, check out the cgcc band on myspace for EP updates; the music should be up within a week, with streaming and a link to actually download everything. In the meantime, be sad that Derrick is going to Canada. According to E.O., you shouldn't visit your girlfriend on Mother's Day unless you already have a child with her. Thank you for your ever-illuminating wisdom, Eric.

current music things

So tonight I received our second mix of our EP... So far, it's good. Very good. I am excited to share it with people!! When I listen to it, I actually feel like a guitarist.
As a band (and more specifically, Andrew and I), we have set our sights on taking older songs and songs that we have become tired of playing, and giving them new life. This makes it not only fun for us to play, but it is great to have songs that people are already accustomed to singing and connecting with. Some of the songs that we have already reworked include Open The Eyes of My Heart, Famous One, In the Secret, Pour Out My Heart, and It Is Well With My Soul. Not all of them have extreme changes (though some do), but now we get to rock out some more! We are currently working on All Who Are Thirsty, Shout To The Lord, and I Could Sing of Your Love Forever.
Sunday nights set was pretty great... In The Secret, Light the Fire Again, Already There, Hungry, and Overwhelmed. I ended up not even singing more than half the time... I just rocked out in the back; especially during Overwhelmed. Holy crap that song hits my heart every time we play it!
What song does that to you?