andrew dodson

I’ve owned my iPhone for a few months now, and I absolutely love it.  While the camera isn’t quite up to par with my high (read: picky, anal, etc.) standards, I love having it with me in a pinch to get photos.  Here are my favorite photos from 2009:

(click on a picture to load the Lightbox gallery in a pop-up window)

Linus teaches us what Christmas is all about.  Enjoy the season, everyone.

In two weeks, I will get married.  Eighteen months ago, I would’ve called you crazy if you told me I’d be getting married on New Year’s Eve 2009.  But, here we are.

Since our engagement a few months ago, we’ve been planning, preparing, going to showers, taking a marriage prep course from my pastor, and booking a honeymoon.  I’m glad we decided on a short engagement because it has forced us to get stuff done quickly.  I’m a bit of a procrastinator (okay, maybe a huge one), so having to tackle the planning quickly has been good for me.

Though, I will say, I have not done half the work that Julie, her mother, my mother, and Julie’s aunt have done.  I can’t thank them enough for everything they’ve done.  With Christmas thrown in the mix, the next two weeks will be slightly insane.

I’ll be posting more updates on andrewandjulie.net in the next week or two – catching everyone up on the past month or so of wedding planning and activities.  Until then, enjoy Amos Lee singing “What’s Been Going On?”

Okay.  I’ve decided to blog again.  Yes, wishy-washy.  Just like I said I’d be.  The thing is, I really do have a lot to blog about, and the last couple of weeks has revealed this to me.

Wordpress 2.7

Wordpress just released version 2.7, which is one reason to blog.  Wordpress is one of my favorite things in this world, and it really shows how big of a geek I can be.  I was actually anticipating the release of 2.7.  I’ve used Wordpress for the past four years and don’t plan on using anything different anytime soon.  I’m sure there’s other blogging and content management solutions out there, but I’ve just fallen in love with Wordpress.

New in 2.7 is what you (the faithful blog reader) can’t see.  As I type this, I see a whole new look in the dashboard (i.e., control panel or “back end”) of Wordpress.  It’s been completely redesigned and it’s great.  As mentioned, the new version and the new look of the dashboard is inspiration enough to blog.

A Girl

For the first time in the history of this blog, I’m going to post about a specific girl.  Her name is Julie and she’s pretty awesome.  For those of you that keep up with me on Facebook, this is old news, but it’s new to the blog.

We’ve been dating for a couple of months now, and I’m pretty happy.  As my mom pointed out in a comment a couple of posts ago, she could likely be a reason for posts being scarce as of late.  She has occupied a lot of my free time lately, but if I had to choose between time with her or blogging, it’s a pretty safe bet I’ll pick time with her!  Both of our sets of parents met last night for the first time, and it went very well.  It’s been interesting that all of the “next steps” of the relationship have gone well, without either of us being nervous (meeting parents, meeting family members, meeting each other’s friends).  It’s been a good sign – it’s just felt “normal” in a very good way.  Prayers are appreciated!

Behold the Lamb of God

For the second year in a row, I was a part of performing Andrew Peterson’s Behold the Lamb of God at The Point.  We were fortunate to have the same crew as last year, with the addition of a couple of string players (who added immensely to the performance).  I am so blessed to have been gifted with the ability to bang on drums for the glory of God.  I am so blessed to be connected with so many amazing musicians that want to glorify God through their talents.  I’m not sure how many (if any) of the bunch will see this, but I just want to thank them for letting me be a part of it all.  It was beautiful.  And a special thanks to the Tomkins family for helping with sound and MediaShout.

My Blog’s Birthday

I started this blog on December 27th, 2004.  This week, it will turn four years old.  I can’t say I thought I’d still be blogging in four years when I started.  Blogs may be dying out, but deep down, I do enjoy getting on here and typing out my thoughts for the world (or, a few people) to see from time to time.  A lot of blogs have a central theme or purpose.  I like that mine is a mix of personal thoughts, sports, music, occasional humor, and most importantly – God.  I hope to continue to blog more about all of these topics more in 2009.  All of this to say, this blog isn’t going anywhere.  I’d miss it too much.

Merry Christmas!

Just wanted to check in and say hello. Haven’t been blogging much lately, I know. So, we’ll go with some rambling, random thoughts.

Did anyone catch Josh Hamilton in the Home Run Derby? Wow! What a story. I haven’t had a “favorite player” in baseball since Eric Davis & Nolan Ryan, but this guy would come close. If you haven’t caught up on this guy, please, please, please Google him and read up. I don’t know if his Home Run Derby highlights have made it onto YouTube yet, but you could check there too.

John Piper is doing a sermon series right now on the importance of church membership – specifically how it relates to baptism. It’s an interesting subject. It’s hard to disagree with Piper on much because we all know he’s searched the Scriptures on pretty much every topic far more than any of us. But, I will say, even after reading his first sermon, I haven’t landed on how I feel about the matter.

I’m spending this week recording the band Altered Worship at Georgetown College. They are the worship band for the Centri-Kid camp hosted by Georgetown this summer. It’s all very similar to my experience recording the Crossings bands last summer. The band is great, and I’m praising God for yet another opportunity to record something like this. So far, so good.

BADmedia has been busy in the past couple of weeks. I’m praying that work will continue to come in and the business will grow. I’ve had a good time getting it off the ground over the past few weeks. It’s the first time I’ve really pushed the business and advertised for it, and I’ve been encouraged by the response.

Here’s to hoping there are more frequent posts coming soon!

I’m still excited about the snow. A lot of people around here don’t like snow or cold, but I do. Actually, I don’t like cold without snow. But, cold with snow I’ll take. Anyhow, here’s some random blogging:

• I’m going to see Christian comedian Tim Hawkins tonight with a group from The Point. It should be fun, and I’m looking forward to it.
• I don’t think my PCG is meeting this week, due to Valentine’s Day. As much as I’ll try to get them to postpone their celebrations until Friday, I think I’ll be out-voted. Regardless, I’ll still be posting PCG notes for this week’s text on Thursday.
• The Josh Martin Band settles back into gigging with a performance this Friday. It’s a small gig for a church Valentine’s Day dinner, but a gig nonetheless. We’ve been working on a few new songs as of late, but I’m not sure we’ll play any of them just yet.
• I writing this post using ecto – a desktop blogging software. I’ve tried desktop blogging before, but ultimately went back to using Wordpress directly via the web, or ScribeFire (a Firefox plugin). It seems software like ecto has become more powerful since I last tried it (probably back in 2006 sometime). With the rising popularity of blogs, it seems desktop software has grown in features. We’ll try it for a few days to see if I like it. I’ve also tried MarsEdit, but ecto has more features that suit my tastes.
• Don’t miss the Extreme Makeover Home Edition this Sunday! It is a two-hour special, and it is the Louisville episode. If you remember, CLS was a part of this construction, as we assisted with some printed curtains and pillow cases.
• I can’t believe my parents are registered Democrats. Poor folks will have to choose between Hilary or Obama if they vote in the Primary. I would vote don’t vote in that case. Or, vote for the most beatable of the two, hope that one wins the Primary and then gets beat in November. I think they’re switching parties before the Election, finally.
• I haven’t publicly (on this blog) endorsed a candidate, yet. Maybe in the next week or so, I’ll post my choice and why I support that candidate. Not that it matters to you much – you can make up your own mind. But, it might drum up some support for my choice, or cause you to consider them for your vote.
• Thanks to everyone who, through the blog, Facebook, MySpace, phone calls, text messages and emails, wished me a happy birthday. I really appreciate it!

I had a great time seeing Derek Webb for the first time tonight.  A special treat was seeing him with his wife, Sandra McCracken.  She opened the show (with Derek playing along) and I enjoyed hearing her music for the first time.  After a short break, Derek came up for his portion of the show.  He played several Mockingbird and The Ringing Bell songs, mixed in with a few older tunes.

After the show, Josh got a chance to talk with Derek.  He was in the process of tearing down his equipment, so we kept it short.  I shook his hand and told him thanks.  He seemed to be extremely personable and gracious.

Check out my Flickr badge to the right to see pictures from the evening…

Tonight, I’ll be heading to Lexington with Josh to see Derek Webb.  Josh is pretty excited because it’s one of his favorite artists.  I don’t want to get our hopes up, but The Dame is a fairly small club, and the few times I’ve seen a bigger act there, I’ve also been able to meet them.  So far, that includes Charlie Hunter and Evan & Jaron.  Might as well say I’ve met the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, but there were several of them, so I didn’t bother meeting each one of them.  Basically, there’s no “backstage” area of the club, so the artist(s) are usually mingling with the crowd before and after the show.

It’s going to be interesting seeing a Christian artist in a bar.  I’m very interested to see how the crowd reacts.

Pictures and a review of the concert will come in the next day or two.  Stay tuned!

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Who: The Point Community Church
What: Praise in the Park
When: Sunday, August 5th, 2007 @ 4:00 p.m.
Where: Lakeview Park

Who: The Josh Martin Band
What: Live in Concert
When: Sunday, July 1st @ 5:00 p.m.
Where: Leesburg Christian Church | directions