• I absolutely love my new Flip UltraHD.  For the price, I don’t think you can find anything better in the world of video cameras.  It’s small (fits in your pocket), takes 720p HD video, records digitally (no tapes), does great in low light and is super easy to use.  My only complaints are:  the zoom isn’t the greatest, and you can only use battery power (no AC adapter).  Julie took it with her to Ireland and got some great videos.  Here’s one of my favorites, of a great street band in Dublin (note: video embedded in HD.  If it is loading slow, press pause after pressing play and let the rest of the video load before playing.):

• It’s almost the All-Star break and currently, the Reds are only three games back in the central division.  They haven’t been playing very well over the last few weeks, but fortunately, neither has the rest of the division.  It hasn’t been too out-of-the-norm for the Reds to stay in contention until around August and then fade as the season comes to a close.  Here’s to hoping they can get hot after the All-Star break and actually contend this year.
• eMusic just rolled out a huge addition to their catalog.  If you’re not a subscriber, it might be time to look into it.  They just added a bunch of big name artists, and they’re still cheaper than iTunes.

Once again, we’ll be aided by technology.  With Bert no longer with the band, and Doug not able to attend this weekend, we’ll be using guitar tracks from our studio recordings.  These are played from Ableton Live, synced with a click track.  Obviously, we’d rather have the human versions of our guitar players with us, but the tracks help fill up our sound.  It’s actually given the band a bit of new life – having the technology available enables us to accept more booking requests if one or two of the band members can’t make it.

In other JMB news, I’ve started working on the next version of our website.  I’ve got some good ideas, so I’m looking forward to getting started.  It should be ready sometime in the next month.  Maybe.  Hopefully.

Check out the photos page for galleries from Christmas and the Abbott Family Danglethon.

Two years ago at this time, I was on my way to Minnesota for the Desiring God National Conference.  Head over to my photos section to see pictures from the trip.  It was my first conference and was a blast.  Aside from hearing some great speakers in person, there were a lot of little things that made the trip fun.  The bed at the hotel was insanely comfortable.  The Michigan Wolverines’ football team and the Chicago White Sox stayed in the hotel – I rode the elevator with Jermaine Dye and saw Paul Konerko in the lobby.  It was a great trip.

A little over two and half years ago, as the Josh Martin Band recorded our previous studio effort, The Point Community Church started.  I remember driving from Cedarmore on Sunday morning – after a full weekend of recording – to a skating rink to set up my equipment for our first service.  Since then, The Point has grown to 300+ members and 200-250 weekly attendance.  Sometimes, people ask me why I still live in Frankfort.  The Point is one of the reasons why.  I really love my church.

So, here we go.  Recording again.  The great part about this album is that we have no idea what will end up on the album.  We begin the process with only a handful of songs written.  Over the course of the fall, we’ll finish writing some more songs to finish out the album, but those songs remain a mystery.  Stay tuned for more updates from the studio.

I just returned from Russ & Lilly’s wedding in Cleveland, OH.  It was a fun weekend and congrats and Russ & Lilly!  Check out the slideshow.

John is a great guy in this order – He loves the Lord, he loves his family, is a great husband and father, he faithfully serves his church as a pastor, and he is a great drummer & musician.  Go read his blog.

This edition of random blogging might appeal to your visual and aural senses.

• I’ve posted my Seattle photos!  Go here to see a Flickr slideshow.
• I’m enjoying Wilco right now.  I’ve never really given them a fair shot, but I picked up a couple of albums on iTunes and they’re growing on me.
• Nine Inch Nails has released an all instrumental album consisting of 36 tracks.  It is available through their website and at Amazon for $5.  This is interesting.  I’ve never been a fan, but I enjoy instrumental music – especially music that blends rock and electronic.  I’ve read the music was recorded in a ten-week span in an almost improvisational way.  This also interests me.  I’m always a fan of improvisation.  I’m thinking, for $5, it’s worth checking out.
• The Barcode Trio is a new jazz favorite of mine.  The simplest label I can give them is pop jazz.  Not a huge display of “look what I can do” solos, but good, easy to listen to music.  They’re on iTunes – check them out.

As I type this, I’m sitting in the auditorium of Mars Hill Church’s Ballard campus. Currently, there is a speaker from Acts 29 on stage. Should I be listening? Eh. I’m a part of a church plant, but I’m not a church planter.

Anyway, the trip so far has been great! Seattle is a beautiful city with a wealth of culture. I suppose everywhere has a wealth of culture, but I guess the diversity here is what’s interesting. The architecture is extremely interesting. The terrain here is interesting. The landscape is interesting. The food is interesting. The people are interesting. We did some sight-seeing this morning, which mainly consisted of going to the Pike Place Market. I have seen the space needle, but I won’t be able to go up in it before we leave. Fortunately, that just gives me a reason to come back here someday.

The MHC Ballard campus is great. It’s a remodeled warehouse, that actually isn’t very big (or, at least smaller than I thought it would be). The main auditorium seats 1,000 and is a fairly simple, rectangular room. But, the lighting, paint, and technology makes it ultra-modern. The auditorium takes up much of the building’s footprint. Aside from it, there is a good-sized, open lobby. There is a small theater that is used for youth events and overflow. There is a small cafe area for drinks & refreshments. Lastly, there is a small lobby in the back of the building that also serves as their bookstore.

My head is hurting from all of the information I’ve taken in this week. Mostly, thanks to John Piper. CJ Mahaney brought a great message, and I enjoyed seeing him “live” for the first time. I was fortunate enough to meet him one evening, as well. He’s been fairly visible around the conference, as he originally intended on just attending the conference (until he was also asked to speak). From seeing him interact with conference attendees, I can safely say his humility is as true as the book he wrote on the subject.

It might be a “conference high,” but I have a lot of ideas bouncing around in my head right now. Being here and experiencing Mars Hill in person has been inspiring. I’ve been brainstorming on what I can do additionally to serve The Point.

A surprise of the trip has definitely been the food. Seattle takes their restaurants very seriously. Fast food restaurants are actually rare in the areas we’ve visited. We’ve eaten good this week.

As usual, I will be posting pictures from the trip after we return. We fly out late tonight and will land in Louisville tomorrow morning. Please pray for our safety in traveling.

When peace like a river attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
What ever my lot you have taught me to say
It is well, it is well with my soul

Though the devil will ruin, though trials may come
Let this blessed assurance control
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate
And He shed His own blood for my soul

It is well, with my soul
It is well, it is well with my soul

My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought
My sin not in part but the whole
Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh my soul

It is well, with my soul
It is well, it is well with my soul

It is well with my soul
It is well, it is well with my soul

And Lord haste the day when my faith shall be sight
And the clouds be rolled back as a scroll
The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend
Even so, it is well with my soul

It is well with my soul
It is well, it is well with my soul

It is well with my soul
It is well, it is well with my soul