andrew dodson

Ever wonder why certain stories get so much air-time on television, radio, the internet, etc.? ESPN helps explain why, at least in the world of sports, they cover certain stories so much. You can apply this same logic to the world outside of sports, I assume. Kind of a long read, but it’s interesting. It’s all about the storyline.

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As most of you know, I listen to a lot of music. A lot. In a given day, it’s safe to say I listen to about 10-12 hours of music. Not all of this is engaged listening, as about 8 hours of it is while I’m at work. It’s good because it helps me make it through the work day, sometimes puts me in a good mood, and a lot of times keeps me in check with God (it’s hard to get frustrated at work when a song like “Wonderful Cross” comes up on my iTunes mix). But, it’s also bad because I feel like it’s made me overly-critical about music, and has definitely desensitized me to what makes a “great” song (in my opinion). I listen to so much music that a lot of music today seems boring to me. Needless to say, I have a pretty diverse music collection to keep things interesting.

Once in a while, though, a song comes along that I can’t get enough of. A couple of summers ago, it was Coldplay’s “Speed of Sound.” Last summer, it was Keane’s “Is It Any Wonder?” When MercyMe’s latest album came out, it was “Hold Fast.” I’m still a huge fan of “Hold Fast,” though. This past week at Cedarmore, I heard a song by their praise band that has actually slipped my attention to this point. Jeremy Riddle’s “Sweetly Broken.” Since it’s my current song-of-choice, I decided to post the lyrics:

To the cross I look, to the cross I cling
Of its suffering I do drink
Of its work I do sing
For on it my Savior both bruised and crushed
Showed that God is love
And God is just

Chorus:
At the cross You beckon me
You draw me gently to my knees, and I am
Lost for words, so lost in love,
I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrendered

What a priceless gift, undeserved life
Have I been given
Through Christ crucified

You’ve called me out of death
You’ve called me into life
And I was under Your wrath
Now through the cross I’m reconciled

Chorus:
At the cross You beckon me
You draw me gently to my knees, and I am
Lost for words, so lost in love,
I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrendered

In awe of the cross I must confess
How wondrous Your redeeming love and
How great is Your faithfulness

If you haven’t heard this song, definitely check it out. You can stream it on Jeremy’s MySpace page.

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The Cedarmore portion of the Crossings recording has wrapped up.  Three days and three hours of material later, I’m ready to start mixing.  I recorded the evening worship sessions from the last three nights, and they had a late night “concert” last night to give me more material to work with.  I’ll be spending most of my weekend mixing and editing, and trying to help the staff pick songs that are worthy to make the album.

I’m looking forward to heading to Jonathan Creek next week.  I’ll spend Wednesday through Friday there.  Once I’m home next Friday evening, I’ll immediately begin mixing their portion of the project.  I’m sure I’ll be providing blog updates from the oh-so-nice Crossings Cafe on the J-Creek campus.  Pretty sure I’ll be spending every free moment there.

The goal at this point is to have a master copy of 10-12 songs ready by June 19th and release the album by June 27th.  This is an extremely quick turn-around, but I believe it’s do-able.  Maybe.  Slightly.  Hopefully.

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The recordings from the last couple of nights at Crossings have turned out well so far.  I’m going over there again tonight for their evening worship.  They have also planned a late-night “concert” by the praise band to give the band and myself another chance to capture some of their songs.  This will give us more material to choose from.  As I mentioned, next week, I’ll head to J-Creek and record there.  Thanks for your prayers!

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A few years ago, I went to my first Crossings camp as an adult chaperon for my church’s youth group.  It was an awesome week and has made me a huge fan of Crossings Ministries and their approach to camps and reaching youth.  One aspect of the week that reached me were the worship sessions and the music (not really a big surprise, huh?).  I was very excited to learn they’d be putting out a worship CD later that summer.  Aside from being excited about the CD, I had this thought: “Man, I really wish I could record a CD for them.”

Over the last few years, I’ve come to know several of the Crossings staff, and even play in a band with one (hey Bert!).  These connections have indeed helped with my original “wish,” but I can only attribute it to God working and lining things up.

Fast forward to several months ago.   Bert approached me about recording the next Crossings CD.  Needless to say, I didn’t have to pray about it.  I immediately accepted.  Now, the time has come.  Tomorrow, I head to Cedarmore to record their praise band for the next few days.  Next week, I’ll go to Jonathan Creek to record their praise band.  I’ll get a copy to the staff, they’ll decide on 10-12 songs for the compilation, and they hope to release it by the end of this month.

So… this is a praise and a prayer request.  Praise God for working in my life to enable me to do something I’ve wished I could do.  Pray for the musicians, the equipment, and that all turns out well.  God tells us to “go” and make disciples (Matt. 28).  I’ve shared before that I consider my recordings an indirect way of “going.”  Through the message of the music, we don’t know who or how many people His message might reach, but it’s safe to say that it will reach a lot of people.  So, I just pray that it all turns out well and that lives can be changed through the process.

Remember not only me, but the entire Crossings staff as they help reach youth (and adults!) this summer with the Gospel.  If you ever have a chance to attend their camps, or to send your child, don’t hesitate.  It’s a great experience.

Several observations from trying to rid my diet of caffeine (and less sugar):

• I get tired quicker at night (a good thing).
• It’s a little more difficult to wake up in the morning (not-so-good).
• Once the day gets going, I feel better than usual (more energetic).
• For the time being, my general moodiness is more apparent. I didn’t expect caffeine, or lack thereof, to affect my mood, but it has.
• I’ve had a headache each of the last four days.

I’m still a big fan of Vitamin Water as a substitute. In the cases I haven’t been able to have VW, Sobe Life Water has been another good substitute. I have, however, had at least one soft drink each of the last four or five days as I try to ween myself off of them. I may be brave today and not have one at all. We’ll see…

[10:01 p.m. update - No caffeine today.  No headache today.  There is joy in Mudville.]

The new theme is a work-in-progress.  I decided to stick with something simple for now.  Maybe I’ll get really creative at some point in the future and make this site look cool.  But… simple works for me.  I’m still updating some new features – the ability to email posts, print posts, etc.  Also, I’ll be changing the look of the sidebar a bit as well.  Check back soon.  Things may change quickly around here.

If you’re interested in listening to the MP3s from the New Attitude Conference, head over to the Sovereign Grace store.  You’ll have to set up an account, but the messages are free to download.  I’ve only listened to part of Josh Harris’s message and both of John Piper’s messages so far, but plan on listening to the rest this weekend.

If you’re curious about discernment, these messages should be helpful to you.

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