Happy 3rd Birthday
Yesterday, my blog turned three years old. I’ve operated a personal website for probably five or six years now, but didn’t start a formal blog until a few years ago. Here’s a link to my first post.
Archive for December, 2007
Merry Christmas
This post is a little late, here on Christmas Day. In my Scripture reading this week, I came across this passage in Micah:
Micah 5:2-42 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
from ancient days.
3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time
when she who is in labor has given birth;
then the rest of his brothers shall return
to the people of Israel.
4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great
to the ends of the earth.
I praise God for sending his Son - to take on human form, live a sinless life, and die a very undeserving death on a cross. If not for Him, it should have been me on that cross. The real meaning of Christmas is the Gospel, and I pray all of us have taken time today to remember the Gospel.
While watching the movie Amazing Grace last night, I was encouraged by a statement made by John Newton’s character: “That I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior.”
Merry Christmas!
Thoughts Before Behold the Lamb of God
Tonight is the final rehearsal for Behold the Lamb of God before our performances Friday and Saturday night. As I did with the JMB DVD, I figured I’d post some thoughts before it’s “go time.”
- Being a part of this has been a huge blessing. I continue to be blessed with amazing opportunities to perform music with amazing people.
- Derek - thank you for asking me to play.
- Derek - I’ve been extremely proud to see you develop as not only a musician, but a lead musician over the past year. I was impressed with you this summer at Crossings, and I’ve been impressed throughout the process of this project. God has wonderful things in store for you, my friend.
- John - thank you for taking care of logistics. Anyone involved knows that you could easily be on stage with us performing. Instead, your servant’s heart took over and you have played an extremely important role “behind the scenes.” We appreciate you taking care of all the details for this.
- The “extras” - John has lined up a bunch of people to help with this, and I don’t know all of them. But, thanks anyway. From promotional materials, to helping with the performance, all of you are helping to make this great.
- Randy & Jeremy - thanks for helping make us sound good. We’re keeping you on your toes and you’re keeping up like it’s child’s play.
- Rick & TPCC people - thanks for hosting the event. I’m blessed to be a part of this great church and sit under the teaching of a great pastor.
- I’m extremely pleased that this has become a multi-church production. All Frankfort churches have had a reputation for not wanting to work together, and we’re starting to break down those walls. I pray that we will eventually remove the walls completely and focus more on the Kingdom than what happens inside of the four walls of each of our respective churches. After all, we’re going to be at the same place someday. We might as well learn to get along now! Thanks for all the different churches represented in this production.
- “So Long, Moses” is the most difficult song, but also my favorite. It’s been a fun challenge to learn the odd structure of the song.
- I’ll be recording both nights (duh). I pray that we get a good recording that can be shared with others who aren’t able to make it. Also, for people to enjoy long after the performances.
- I pray for those in attendance that are lost. I pray that the message of the songs ring loud and clear in their hearts and they may come to know Christ.
- Thank you, God, for your Word and your Son - the message of these songs. May you be honored and glorified, and may your honor and glory be our sole purpose.
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The Next JMB Album
Just a quick update on things in the JMB world…. once some of this stuff gets ironed out, I’ll post a more detailed update on the actual JMB website. We’ve started planning the next JMB studio album, and we’re scheduled to start recording in late February. We’re still a little unsure of how it’s all going to pan out, but here’s what we’ve got so far…
We’re planning on re-recording some of the songs from the first Josh Martin Band album. Neither Doug nor myself were on that album. Kelly and my recording abilities have grown since that time. So, we’re thinking it’d be nice to get better recordings of some of those songs. These songs may be put on their own CD, or if there’s room, added to the back end of the new CD. Or, we may just end up putting them on the website for people to download - who knows? Here’s the possible list:
- Talkin’ ‘Bout Grace
- Drive
- One True Healer
- The Quick and The Dead
- One Way
Another older song that we’ve never done a studio recording of is “I Ain’t the Next Billy Graham.” It is also being discussed as a possibility. We’ve also talked about recording some of our “cover” songs, including:
- Tis So Sweet to Trust In Jesus
- Come Thou Fount
- Grace Like Rain
- In Christ Alone
Once we get past these songs, we’ll also be recording several new songs. Some of these have already been played, and some of these, the band has yet to even hear. Here’s the list of new songs:
- Christ Is Our Life
- Clumsy Believer
- Good Enough
- Exposed
- Thanks Be To Jesus
- Remind Me
- Here I Stand
- Never Alone
So far, we have a total of 18 songs that are possibilities to be recorded. This list may shrink or grow as we get a little further into the process. I’m looking forward to it, as always!
Tuesday Blogging
Here’s some random blogging for you…
- I watched most of the Dave Matthews Band’s Live at Piedmont Park DVD last night. It’s great! Of the live DVDs they’ve released so far, I think this one is the best at capturing DMB’s live performance. I highly recommend picking this up if you’re a fan. If you’re not sure if you like DMB, find someone that owns this and watch it.
- I’m really liking Sara Bareilles’ “Love Song” right now. Very catchy.
- The Bourne Ultimatum is finally out on DVD. I watched it this past weekend, and I’ll likely be watching it again sometime on my Christmas break.
- UK’s basketball team will finish around .500 this year. Getting Jasper and Meeks back will help, but this team needs more size. If the UAB game is any evidence, even when we shoot close to 60%, we’re still very beatable. Don’t look for the Cats to crack the Top 25 until this time next year at the earliest. I hope I’m wrong on all of this.
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Who Knew?
Steroids in Baseball: My Point of View
Even though there will be no shortage of
media attention on this topic, I can’t pass up the opportunity to throw
out my opinion. Today, the Mitchell Report was released, detailing the
use of steroids by Major League Baseball players in recent years.
Without a doubt, the biggest disappointment is seeing Roger Clemens’
name on the list. One of the greatest pitchers of all time is now
linked with cheating. Is it true? It certainly seems so, although
Clemens’ lawyer has already issued a statement denying the report.
Being a pitcher myself, he was never a big inspiration to me, but I
always respected him. He seemed to be cut from the same mold as Nolan
Ryan - a big, strong power pitcher from Texas who had a tremendous work
ethic to stay on top of his game. Now, it seems that image has been
tarnished, and he’ll now be known as a cheater.
The biggest surprise was not seeing two names on the list - Sammy
Sosa and Mark McGuire. The same two guys that helped start the
steroids debate ten years ago are nowhere to be found on the list. Are
they innocent? I have my doubts. Their explosion in size during their
careers, coupled with their performance would certainly lead one to
think they’d be guilty of steroid use. After all, these two factors
are the same criteria being used to say Barry Bonds is guilty of
steroids use.
Another name nowhere to be found on the list is Ken Griffey, Jr. I
was very happy to not find his name on the list. While he’s had a
tough time in Cincinnati, Junior has always been an exemplar of what it
means to be a professional athlete. He’s done everything the right
way, stayed out of trouble and has been a positive role model. There
are many other Major Leaguers who fit this mold who also deserve credit
for keeping the game of baseball fair and fun. By not taking steroids,
they’ve upheld the integrity of the game. The steroids issue is yet
another case of a few bad apples spoiling the bunch.
I’m very grateful to Major League Baseball finally taking a stance
on this and hiring Mitchell to investigate steroids use. This past
season, attendance continued to grow, and it seemed America was finally
forgetting the 1995 strike, and falling back in love with America’s
past time. By taking a stance to fight steroids use, fans should
respect MLB even more and continue filling the seats in 2008 and
beyond. It will be nice to get back to the way the game is supposed to
be played, with respect for integrity, tradition, and for every aspect
that makes us love the game of baseball in America.
Reflections on the Cross
A long while ago, my best friend Jeremy recommended this sermon to me - Death by Love: Reflections on the Cross by Mark Driscoll. We talked about it again last night, so I decided to give it another listen. I have to say, it’s one of the best sermons on the Cross that I’ve heard. Actually, it’s one of the best sermons on ANY topic that I’ve ever heard. You get Mark Driscoll at his best - fired up, funny, reverent and pure truth.
If you have a little over an hour to spare, I strongly urge you to listen to or watch this sermon. You can stream the files, or better yet, download them to your computer. You’ll probably want to listen to it a couple of times, or maybe take it with you on your MP3 player. Or, you can burn it to a CD. Just listen to it. It’s great.
> Link to Audio
> Link to Video
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The Single Life
I’ve been thinking about writing about singleness for a while, but have yet to do so - until now. It’s a personal subject, and sometimes, posts like these can be difficult to put on a blog for all to see. I didn’t really know what to write about, so I’ve settled on an idea. I’m going to write about everything. You’ll see what I mean…
For the better part of my adult life, I’ve been single. Since high school, I’ve only dated a few girls for longer than a few months. I’ve had a lot of first dates, several second and third dates, and there’s been a few girls that I’ve dated for a short while. But, none of them have “panned out” to being a long, committed relationship moving toward marriage. I’ve ended some of these relationships, and some have been ended by the girl. Fortunately, it hasn’t been one sided! Have I ever been “in love?” I don’t think so.
Being single definitely has its ups and downs. Do I get lonely sometimes? Yeah. Do I like doing what I want, when I want? Yeah. I’ve been able to experience a lot that life has to offer because I’m not married. Then again, I haven’t been able to experience what life is like with “the one.” For the most part, when I look back at what I’ve experienced so far, I’ve been glad to be single. There are several things that I never would’ve had the chance to experience if I were married.
Am I looking for a relationship? Not actively. What does that mean? I don’t go looking to meet girls. You won’t find me at bars on the weekends, or striking up conversations with girls at Starbucks or the grocery store. On average, I might meet one new girl each month. Maybe. I’ll talk to her and get to know her, and if I like her, I might ask her out. I’m open to being in a relationship, but “not actively” looking for a relationship. If it happens, it happens.
From a Christian standpoint, the first letter to the Corinthians tells me it’s good to be single, and to remain as I am. My focus can be on God alone and doing His work. I realize I need to do my part, but I also know that in God’s timing and if it is His will for me, He’ll bring the right person into my life. A common question from some single Christians is, “did I miss my chance?” As in, did they let the person God had for them get away? I’ve had this thought about a few girls (no, I won’t tell you who), but in the end, I can’t see something being God’s will for me and having it not work out. I can’t see God saying, “sorry, you had your chance and you blew it! Have fun being single for the rest of your life!” God works all things to the purpose of His will. If it’s His will, it’ll work itself out.
For humor’s sake, I thought I’d throw out a few things I’ve heard in my life as a single person…
- “You’re a great guy, but…” - a classic start to the “I don’t want to see you anymore” sentence.
- “I’m not looking for a relationship right now” - why did you say yes to the previous four dates?
- “That’s why you’re still single.” - after saying something obnoxious about females or relationships.
- “Are you gay?” - hardly.
- “Everyone else your age is married and having kids…” - good for them!
- “What’s wrong with you?” - is that a rhetorical question?
- “Gotta date this weekend?” - nine times out of ten, the answer to this will be no. Even if it’s yes, I may tell you no because I don’t want to answer all of your questions about the girl and how we met and where’s she’s from and what she looks like and what she does for a living and….
- “What about so-and-so?” - I’m either not interested, she’s not interested, or we’ve already tried. Otherwise, we’d be together.
There you have it. My take on the single life.
Almost That Time of Year
It’s almost that time of year! The time of year I look forward to the most - The CLS shut down. Judging by the fact that I’m blogging about it two weeks ahead of time, can you tell I’m looking forward to it?
The shut down is one of my favorite perks at CLS. This year, because of the way Christmas and New Year’s fall, it’s a little longer than usual. Instead of a week off, we’ll actually get seven work days off, and in total, I won’t have to work for eleven days (including two weekends). Last year, I spent three days of my vacation sick and laid up in bed. Hopefully, I can avoid that this year.
The only plans I have as of right now:
- I have a live recording on the December 30th. Setup will be on the 28th.
- Family Christmas gathering on the 29th.
- Revamp a few things on The Point’s media site.
- Complete work on a new website for BADmedia.
- Read a book (or two?).
Most of my plans could be null and void if something else I’m working on pans out. I can’t spare any details right now, but I might know something more by the end of this week. Stay tuned!
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