PVC wins

This is Sonja last summer entertaining herself and others by shooting pvc into the air. This time isn't so successful and the PVC wins.

A few random thoughts on concerts

Last night I had the opportunity to go to a MercyMe concert in Baton Rouge with a group from Providence Presbyterian Church on Hilton Head Island. I'm not too familiar with MercyMe, but the concert was pretty good. During the show I was in awe as I listened to the music and watched the lights and the effects of the show. I am a bit of a nerd when it all comes to sound and lighting - especially sound...I really take an interest in it, but it's also a great opportunity to worship the God who created sound, light, and colors.

I haven't given this as much thought as I would like and haven't really thought about how I want to articulate this. So I apologize if it comes off as a bunch of random thoughts, since it probably will.

I was thinking during the show how awesome it is that God has created sound. There's the piano, guitars, bass, drums, and vocals. It's beautiful when they are all mixed together in such a way that you can hear each one of them. When one is not over powering and the people running the sound board strive for excellence in their service. When each individual instrument is tuned and the vocals are on the right note. I'm grateful the Lord has made sound and that He's allowed me to hear it and enjoy it.

The creativeness of music and lyrics is another thing I praise God for. It's possible for every song to sound the same and for every song to be about superficial things. But this wasn't the case during this show, though the songs did have a "common theme", but when the songs point you to Christ that's not a bad thing. Composing music itself takes creativity - a gift God has blessed some people with - praise God.

Obviously in a concert situation the performers and sound and lighting people are striving for excellence. There is nothing wrong with striving for excellence as long as self doesn't get in the way. There is something awesome about excellence and God is glorified through excellence. And though things are not always perfect, God can still be glorified through your actions and humility.

After the concert I reflected a bit on the greatness of God to allow us to sing, to play instruments, to hear the music, to see the lights, and to watch other people really worship God. It's kind of neat to be in a place with many other believers and worship together - some focusing on the lyrics of the songs, others on the technological aspects, but together worshiping the Creator of all things.

Da Bears

Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints? Who dat? One answer...da Bears.
Any way after I was emailed the "Who Dat" song and ridiculed by Saints fans...the team that wanted it the most came out victorious. Now as I hide in a dark corner somewhere in Lakeshore (so I am not escorted out) watching the 1985 Bears Super Bowl Shuffle I await the game in 2 weeks.

Anyway now that we got that taken care of, Lord willing I will have some none sports related posts in the near future. But for an update of whats been happening in Lakeshore recently check out rebuildlakeshore.com

It's no secret.

As a football fan and an unashamed Chicago Bears fan I feel a little out of place here in Lakeshore. Which would be Saints territory. The big game between to the Bears and the Saints is this weekend and I've already been threaten by one of the locals that if the Bears win I will be immediately escorted out of Lakeshore. With that said, I'm still unafraid and unashamed. (Besides I am used to it being from Packer country). I know most are saying Saints will win the game and even I have my doubts with the way they have played the last few games, but I will be some where this Sunday cheering them on (maybe some place quietly since some of these Saints fans are quite roudy and I would like to remain in Lakeshore for a while longer yet).

Third Day / David Crowder

So I got to venture from Lakeshore for an evening and see one (well, actually two) of my favorite bands. A few of us drove up to Hattiesburg to go to the Third Day concert, with David Crowder opening. I had a blast. Just for kicks here’s a few pictures of the concert.

Third Day


David Crowder Band

good ol' Wisconsin

Mmmmmm....fried cheese curds

A view from the top of the Big M

The World's Largest M...We climb it just for the fun of it.

On Vacation...

This past Thursday I left Mississippi and headed for Wisconsin for a surprise visit/vacation. With a little planning and a few secrets I was able to get from MS to WI and totally surprise my mom by showing up on the front porch as I was talking to her on the phone. I’ve been back here for a few days now and have been running around none stop. But it has been great. I have been able to connect with a bunch of my college friends, drive up to see my sister, and spend some time with the folks at my home church (Rolling Hills Church). While it has been great to be back, to be honest it is a bit different than how I remember. But that, I’m sure, has to do with the fact that time and circumstances changes folks.

Tomorrow I am going to try take some time to get my thoughts together, as there is a lot going round and round in my head. I need to take a little time to sort out the emotions and all the new experiences I have had this summer. There’s just a lot of things there that I have tried to ignore and really need to give to the Lord. And everyone is beginning to ask what comes next, after December. At this point I have no idea, but I intend to spend some time praying about that too.

There are a few highlights so far in my trip though. On Saturday after going to see my sister I wandered up to the “Dairy Days Fair” here in Platteville and got me some fried cheese curds..yum!

A little later that night I met a bunch of people from InterVarsity at the big M. We climbed to the top and worshiped God through song and prayer as we looked over his creation.

...I'll post some pictures later

It's Monday...

It's Labor Day and the teams have gone home, but not without a lot getting accomplished. It's been a productive weekend here in Lakeshore. We had a few teams in this weekend and they tackled Ms. Lynn'’s and Ms. Lambert'’s houses. At Ms. Lynn's house they put up all the sheetrock and mudded the rock too.

At Ms. Lambert's they constructed a roof that went over the top of her trailer. In about 2 days they got it constructed and even got it shingled. They also worked on some of the wiring and began putting up sheetrock. One of the teams also put a new tarp roof on the kitchen here are the church. There has also been a team from Star Baptist Church in Star, MS coming faithfully for the past few weekends. They have been diligently working at Mr. Malcolm'’s house.

To add to the fun, Sunday night Pastor Don, Stephen Ake, Nathan & Courtney White, Joey (a NOBTS student), Daniel, and I went over to Long Beach to see Jars of Clay perform. Pretty sure I had a blast. Not only did I enjoy the concert I enjoyed the fellowship we had while waiting for the concert to start at the trip to and from Long Beach.