Day 11 - A Song From Your Favorite Band

MAYBE I should have done a little research into what the next day's challenge would be yesterday...Nonetheless!

Crayons Can Melt On Us For All I Care by Relient K

I love the randomness of this band, while at the same time delivering a great message in alot of their songs. I think I have seen them the most live too. Some of their antics have included...

-Busted out an ELECTRIC BANJO for the song "Which To Bury, Us Or The Hatchet." (every time and I LOVE it)
-Covered The Office theme
-Randomly inflated blow-up Christmas decorations during one of their songs
-devoted an entire tour around a band members birthday

I'm very attracted to the style of music (pop-punk) as well. I have tried learning many of their songs on piano and guitar. Just bought their new cover album in fact...I like it.

Close contenders-
Anberlin
Switchfoot
Trace Adkins
Zac Brown Band
Weezer
Ok I'll stop now...

Day 10 - A Song That Makes You Fall Asleep

This song definitely has that "dream" feel to it but the message is so amazing!

When I Go Down By Relient K


You give me hope, and hope it gives me life
You touch my heavy heart, and when you do you make it light
As I exhale I hear your voice
And I answer you, though I hardly make a noise
And from my lips the words I choose to say
Seem pathetic, but it's fallen man's praise
Because I love you
Oh God, I love you
And life is now worth living
If only because of you
And when they say that I am dead and gone
It won't be further from the truth

It reminds me so many times of not only what I see in the world around me, but myself as well. A brokenness that every person comes to in life at some point, and a hope that is offered in that place. A hope from a God who's heart is an immeasurable amount of broken for you. 

When I go down
I lift my eyes to you
I won't look very far
Cause you'll be there
With open arms
To lift me up again
To lift me up again

Day 09 - A Song That You "Can" Dance to

Define "can."

I define it as simply attempting.

This was part of a multi-small group scavenger hunt. (just now noticing that Pete is in all my dancing videos...hmmm also, part 2 of the video is chugging a 20oz soda in less then a minute, part 3 is getting a stranger to serenade you)
For whatever ever reason I felt that the robot should never end. (?) Again....define can. :)

The song i guess would have to be Whoop There It Is by Tag Team

Day 08 - A Song That You Know All The Words To

Reaching back into my Karaoke experiences- (heh...) I decided to go with...

Walking In Memphis by Marc Cohn

I love this song. Sung it a few times in Karaoke, and can play the initial piano part.

There are many video's of my karaoke outings. Thankfully through a mix of bribes, threats, and promises to the right to name our first born child (sorry future Zelophehad) The interwebs have been spared of such monstrosities. I really couldn't think of a more fitting description/word to describe it either.

2. Something that is outrageously or offensively wrong. (google it!)

In any case, I do love that song. One of few I love enough to learn how to (somewhat) play. 

Day 07 - A Song That Reminds You of A Certain Event

Return by Needtobreathe

I will never forget this concert. It was my first christian concert and to shamefully admit, I didn't care about any of the artists initially.

The concert was Awakening Fest September 13th 2008 at Bull Run Park. Newsboys headlined, Matthew West was there, Skillet too. If I could go back in time I would give myself a pretty serious slap upside the cranium for not sticking around for Newsboys or Matthew West. 2008 version of me= LAME.

The reason I went to this concert was because I was invited by friends.(OHH YEAH- and I was also trying to capture the heart of a certain female companion...woo'd she was not.) It took a little research, but I finally found a lineup for that day- def kicking myself for not caring.

Interestingly enough Needtobreathe wasn't on any lineup that I found. But I will never forget when they got on stage to play. There was no introduction. Just a guy who came out in a suit, sat down at a piano, and started playing this song.

After hearing their set I immediately bought their album. It was just as amazing as their live preformance. The album is called The Heat and still is one of my favorites to this day. Rarely is there an album that I like almost every song on it- This is one of them.

Day 06 - A Song That Reminds You Of Somewhere

This one was admittedly difficult and forced me to look through my library.

I very easily made the decision The Authority Song by Jimmy Eat World after coming across it.

I discovered this song during wrap-up one night on the production team of The Gathering. I guess everytime I hear it my mind goes back to my "college" days (I did not attend GMU but have been told I was on the campus more then some students..lol)

More of what the song reminds me of then what it actually means, it brings me back to the time where I (along with the many passionate students of GMU) put our heart into making Christ's name famous on that campus. GMU is a place that will always strike some sort of fire within me.

I have to be careful to not give the impression I actually attended this college...I did not. But like a family of Christ, many of the students accepted me as one of their own.

Whenever I hear this song in the future, it will always remind me of the drastic way God intervened in my life- and who He did it through.

Day 05 - A Song That Reminds You of Someone

This song reminds me of my beautiful wife Jen...:) Whatever It Is by Zac brown Band.

She has been the biggest blessing a man could ask for. Infact, when I tell other guys how awesome she is- they not only agree, but then challenge me to a 18th century style sword duel in order to take her hand in marriage. The following closely resembles these encounters.

Day 04 - A Song That Makes You Sad

This is probably going to sound odd, but I love a really sad song. There is something deep about sadness in a song that sticks with me. I have tagged to download/buy many a sad song.

Today's choice is- Arlington by Trace Adkins

I love Trace Adkins (especially recently) specifically for lyrical talent. (and he puts on a pretty good show live!)

This song reminds me of what it costs to some for me to be able to enjoy life in this great country, and how well that parallels with what Christ did for me. Both of which died for me to be free. Over the 200+ years we have been a country, countless men have decided their life is worth the freedom America represents.

I truly believe God gives a special kind of attention to the soldiers who sacrificed their life for people they don't even know.

If I had to use one word for this song it would be sacrifice.

Day 03 - A Song That Makes You Happy

The Legend of Quilting Day by Holiday Hipsters

If you have the slightest interest in being entertained, click play in their playlist :)

A band formed (but no longer active?) by a few guys from my former church.

Day 02 - Your Least Favorite Song

This is a tie between 2 songs. Ultimately I'm going with Barbie Girl by Aqua

This song is so annoying to me, I would possibly consider turning my radio dial to the nearest 80's pop hits station to somehow try and shift my bothered factor from one horrendous collection of sounds to another. (music would be a strong word description...)

A close second (maybe even first if I felt comfortable linking it to my blog) is My Humps by Black Eyed Peas. Ugh...

Oddly enough, they themselves are not a fan of it either!

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 01 - Your Favorite Song

I dare not say I love music. Mainly because people who I hear use that phrase are one minute listening to Disney's Arabian Nights, and the very next listening to 12 after. Never heard of them? My point exactly.

But I am very passionate about the music I listen to, and am very intrigued by this 30 day song challenge...So here we go.

Day 01 - Your Favorite Song
An interesting question. One that probably fluctuates with time and places in life...But my overall favorite song of all time would have to be Deathbed by Relient K



This is a song I have tried for sometime to learn on piano. (the chords used sound very well just by themselves)

I love the lyrics used, the instruments, and the overall meaning. Redemption and the transition of earthly life to heaven being a massive celebration. Not normally a fan of 11 minute long songs, but the story has captivated me. (also- Jon Foreman makes a guest appearance as Jesus in the end...pretty awesome.)

This challenge has been first noticed (then fallen victim to interwebual thievery) by me on this blog. Definitely worth a read.

All Things New

It's about time I took one of the many nonsensical whimsies of my mind that Blogger has labeled a draft and formed it into a comprehensible opinion!

Life has been pretty crazy so far this year. Our life is overflowing with a type of newness that I praise God's name for!

A New Car.
For those of you who have known me for quite some time, you might question my vehicle trend in life...I do. God has recently allowed me to have the Fiat 500. It's comparable to a smart car but bigger and slightly more powerful.

Fiat claims to rival the Cooper, and I am totally behind this claim for the following reason...

Yes. The Italian Job Claims the Cooper can carry 1 and a 1/2 times it's own weight in gold while still out-preforming its pursuer in true Jason Statham fashion. While I would possibly consider this car for a 2300lb gold heist, the fact that all of it's gauges are in the middle of the dash as opposed to above the wheel (talk about your sight-line deficiency) makes this vehicle inferior to the Fiat in every way.   

A New House.
THIS has been an interesting endeavor to say the least. I start by saying despite common belief, rarely do I ever rush into giant decisions. But we found a house by missing a turn on an interstate. (literally- saw the sign for the homes after missing a turn...lol)

After much deliberation and outside advice on the subject, we decided to move forward with the purchase. The entire process has been surprisingly smooth (maybe because we're buying directly from the builder) and straight-forward. The location is amazing and central to our lives, the price for what we are getting is very good...The consensus of me and Jen is that God has dropped this opportunity into our lap.

I originally did not want to buy a house for a couple of years, but the housing market suggests otherwise. With rates that allow for a monthly payment to be slightly higher then rent, we figure now is the time to buy.

A New Church.
We have recently decided to switch churches. We actually made the decision quite some time ago, but decided recently to actively look.

Church shopping makes it onto my top 50 hated activities of life. Scoring right along side cooking, decorating, dancing, and running into the person from my past who is really happy to see me, but for the first 5 seconds of our interaction I have no clue who they are.

I don't know about you, but I have never found a church on my own accord. Ever. I believe God is all about making it very clear that HE is the one who will supply the church in my life that is solely focused on Him and His word. Google, while great at finding many other things in life, has been severely lacking in the godly church department. It's not how I found Mclean, WEC, Crossroads (our current church- http://www.crcnorfolk.com/page/home) or any church that will significantly impact me spiritually. Nope. Our church was suggested to us by a good friend. (which is how God operates in this department)

There are two surprising factors about this church..

1. Its small. About 150 people. Me and Jen are used to the mega church scene. But in the church searching process I made myself a disclaimer that size, although a preferable trait, would not dissuade us from a decision. While our area is sort of known as being a spiritual desert, (eh...) Crossroads has stood out to me as being the only church I have visited in the area (out of many) that emphasizes God's word as being it's primary rudder and guiding light for direction.

2. It's only service is Sunday morning. And while getting up early also scores on the list of hated activities of life, I told myself that an evening service rates in the preferred but not required category. And God called me on it...:)

A New Marriage. 
Been getting alot of questions about how married life is going. My response has been that marriage so far has been one of the very few things in life that has exceeded my expectations of it. God has blessed this union immensely, and me with an amazing woman to go through life with. Sadly, we have gotten a few "well it's great NOW." responses. And maybe surprisingly, I would agree that marriage without any sort of conscious effort to combat my sinful nature to only focus on what I can get out of it- will indeed lead to an unpleasant place no couple WANTS or foresees themselves ever being, but sadly end up.

The frame of behavior that the bible teaches on marriage (and relationships) is that of a constant pouring out to your spouse. In return, God pours into you. Both through your spouse and other avenues. This is what was emphasized to us through premarriage counseling. The biggest and most tragic misinterpretations I have witnessed of marriage and the christian life is that both are motivated out of obligation...Nothing could be further from the truth!

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Gal 5:1)