Gotta love European advertisements. :)
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Longest Day of the Year...Really
Today is the longest day of the year. It's true. Even longer than December 21st. Why? Because today will be 24 hours and 1 second long. "They" are adding an extra second onto the atomic clock today to compensate for fluctuations in the Earth's rotation. It's the 24th time it's happened since 1972, and the last one was in 2005.
How crazy is that? How can you just add a second onto the day? Talk about power. Who are these people that they can do this? This isn't just America here, this is Global! That's nuts. I think "they" should take this power of theirs and put it to good use. Not just adding seconds onto the Atomic clock. I mean, if they have the power to make the day change from 24 hours, think of the things they could do? They could create World Peace. They could make it so that there are no more hungry people in Africa. Seriously. What a waste of power to spend it on changing the clock by 1 second.
I hear about this on the radio this morning, and got more info on my newsreader from slashdot.
How crazy is that? How can you just add a second onto the day? Talk about power. Who are these people that they can do this? This isn't just America here, this is Global! That's nuts. I think "they" should take this power of theirs and put it to good use. Not just adding seconds onto the Atomic clock. I mean, if they have the power to make the day change from 24 hours, think of the things they could do? They could create World Peace. They could make it so that there are no more hungry people in Africa. Seriously. What a waste of power to spend it on changing the clock by 1 second.
I hear about this on the radio this morning, and got more info on my newsreader from slashdot.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
chrisandjoinwinnipeg blog
we've been negligent in updating the blog we created to keep family and friends updated now that we don't live in calgary anymore. i had forgotten the password, and hadn't gotten around to rectifying that situation. so today i got it figured out, and it is up and running again and updated. i will keep it updated, and hopefully get jo in on it as well. since it is supposed to be from the BOTH of us.
it will mostly be for stuff to keep people updated on life here in winnipeg, and will have no relation to this blog. :) because this blog is for the ranting and raving and thinking and musing. that one is merely for show. well, not really. it's a nice way to keep people informed with what's going on in our lives, things that i wouldn't necessarily write about on here.
it will mostly be for stuff to keep people updated on life here in winnipeg, and will have no relation to this blog. :) because this blog is for the ranting and raving and thinking and musing. that one is merely for show. well, not really. it's a nice way to keep people informed with what's going on in our lives, things that i wouldn't necessarily write about on here.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Red Sex, Blue Sex
Red Sex, Blue Sex
Why do so many evangelical teen-agers become pregnant?
by Margaret Talbot
"Social liberals in the country’s “blue states” tend to support sex education and are not particularly troubled by the idea that many teen-agers have sex before marriage, but would regard a teen-age daughter’s pregnancy as devastating news. And the social conservatives in “red states” generally advocate abstinence-only education and denounce sex before marriage, but are relatively unruffled if a teen-ager becomes pregnant, as long as she doesn’t choose to have an abortion."
An amazing article from the New Yorker that Mama Bean sent to me back in October. I finally got around to reading the entire thing. It's fairly lengthy, but well worth the read and brings up some interesting points and ideas.
Why do so many evangelical teen-agers become pregnant?
by Margaret Talbot
"Social liberals in the country’s “blue states” tend to support sex education and are not particularly troubled by the idea that many teen-agers have sex before marriage, but would regard a teen-age daughter’s pregnancy as devastating news. And the social conservatives in “red states” generally advocate abstinence-only education and denounce sex before marriage, but are relatively unruffled if a teen-ager becomes pregnant, as long as she doesn’t choose to have an abortion."
An amazing article from the New Yorker that Mama Bean sent to me back in October. I finally got around to reading the entire thing. It's fairly lengthy, but well worth the read and brings up some interesting points and ideas.
Dino Jesus
This is for the folks from the Creationist....errr...Christian Research Institute who believe that man lived alongside the dinosaurs (they have an ad that runs regularly on the christian radio station here in town). Not that I think it really matters whether or not it's true, but I find it difficult to believe. Especially since it is followed with the argument that the Earth is only 4000 years old, and that God invented carbon dating or that He placed the fossils in the earth when he created it, and any number of other arguments. It isn't an important part of my faith, so I tend not to dwell on it.
I want a t-shirt with this on it. I'm trying to think of a witty caption to go below it though.
Twisted Christian
My buddy Neil started calling me "Twisted Christian" a few years back because of my penchant for things like knives, guns, and my potty mouth, among other things. It suits me. I'd love to get it tattooed somewhere in graffiti style.
Today I purchased twistedchristian.ca, and hope to one day be able to have an email like revchris or pastorchris@twistedchristian.ca. One day. :)
I'm thinking of putting my blog up on there, or linking it to my blog anyway, but in the meantime I just own the domain and will setup an email for it.
It's exciting and I wanted to share.
Today I purchased twistedchristian.ca, and hope to one day be able to have an email like revchris or pastorchris@twistedchristian.ca. One day. :)
I'm thinking of putting my blog up on there, or linking it to my blog anyway, but in the meantime I just own the domain and will setup an email for it.
It's exciting and I wanted to share.
looking for new blogs
I follow too many mom blogs. Why can't I follow blogs of dudes (or dudettes) that are not hipster moms? Are there any out there? Are there dudes out there writing blogs that aren't pretentious? Because most of the ones I've found are, and I'm not sure a huge fan. I'm just looking for real folks, with real lives. :) They are fun to read about, to compare and contrast my life with and against.
I've been reading a number of blogs for a few years now, but they are either about waiters and stuff, which I know absolutely nothing about, and thus find fascinating, or mom blogs. Like this who used to write lots of stuff about pregnancy and shit and I was suddenly all opinionated about things like having your baby at home instead of in the hospital, or using a midwife and all that sorta stuff. Stuff that normal 26 year old guys aren't interested in. Who could I have a conversation with about the merits of a water birth with a midwife over the cold sterile atmosphere of a hospital? NO ONE. Even my wife looks at me funny when I have opinions and views on this kinda stuff. I read about it on a blog, did some further research and formed opinions. Nothing wrong with that, EXCEPT THAT IT IS ABOUT CHILD BIRTH. Which, although it is very important, shouldn't be something I am researching online when a baby isn't in our near future.
So yeah. If you know of any cool blogs that might interest me, I'd be happy to hear about them. I'll still continue to ready my "mom blogs," because I like following their lives, even though it's kinda weird in a stalkerish sort of way, but not really because it is totally innocent and shouldn't be at all creepy. That and I usually comment on all the blogs I read so people know that I am there. That makes it less creepy right? Well, whatever, I enjoy following the ones that I do read.
To sum it up: I'm looking for new blogs to read/follow that aren't "mom blogs." :)
I've been reading a number of blogs for a few years now, but they are either about waiters and stuff, which I know absolutely nothing about, and thus find fascinating, or mom blogs. Like this who used to write lots of stuff about pregnancy and shit and I was suddenly all opinionated about things like having your baby at home instead of in the hospital, or using a midwife and all that sorta stuff. Stuff that normal 26 year old guys aren't interested in. Who could I have a conversation with about the merits of a water birth with a midwife over the cold sterile atmosphere of a hospital? NO ONE. Even my wife looks at me funny when I have opinions and views on this kinda stuff. I read about it on a blog, did some further research and formed opinions. Nothing wrong with that, EXCEPT THAT IT IS ABOUT CHILD BIRTH. Which, although it is very important, shouldn't be something I am researching online when a baby isn't in our near future.
So yeah. If you know of any cool blogs that might interest me, I'd be happy to hear about them. I'll still continue to ready my "mom blogs," because I like following their lives, even though it's kinda weird in a stalkerish sort of way, but not really because it is totally innocent and shouldn't be at all creepy. That and I usually comment on all the blogs I read so people know that I am there. That makes it less creepy right? Well, whatever, I enjoy following the ones that I do read.
To sum it up: I'm looking for new blogs to read/follow that aren't "mom blogs." :)
First Sunday playing at Central
I got to play at our new church today. And it was awesome.
A few posts ago I wrote about a shitty worship experience due to lack of practice. I would like to append that post by saying that it depends on the situation and people you are playing with. Mama Bean and I played at Central Baptist today and it was awesome. They picked the songs this morning (4 of them) and we ran through them a couple of times before the start of service. We played them, and everything went off without a hitch. My playing was actually pretty good too. I was slightly more adventurous in my playing (staying away from just root notes), and came up with a cool little groove for "I will call upon his name." All in all, it was awesome and I can't wait to play with them again, and continue to play with them. They are a tight group, and I've never really played with a group enough to get pretty tight with them, so that'll be cool.
It would be cool to play in a band that plays something with a little more musical substance than church music. I really love country bass lines, they are so much fun, but playing country for hours at a time, I'm not sure about. :) I also really like new pop music, but Winnipeg isn't big in that scene. There seems to be a huge metal presence out here, but as much as I love metal, I'm not really a metal bassist. lol
Another cool thing about playing at Central is that they are pretty plugged into the music scene here in Winnipeg. They have a band that they do weddings and stuff with which is pretty cool. I'm hoping, within the next year, to get into a band and actually do some real playing outside of church. I've only really played in church, with the exception of playing at our work Stampede BBQ a couple of times, so I think it would be great to get into some real playing. I've been putting in some serious practice time as of late, and I've figured out some of the road blocks I have been encountering and need to overcome. And actually worked on that this morning. :) See I have a problem standing out. I'm not big on being noticed. I'm shy. So when I play, I like sticking to the root notes and just playing in the background. Laying down a foundation, but otherwise not donig much. So what I need to work on is creating lines that add more to the song than just the foundation. I want to be able to add some groove, some funk, to the song. This involves playing notes that other people aren't playing to complement the song, which is what I'm working on.
A few posts ago I wrote about a shitty worship experience due to lack of practice. I would like to append that post by saying that it depends on the situation and people you are playing with. Mama Bean and I played at Central Baptist today and it was awesome. They picked the songs this morning (4 of them) and we ran through them a couple of times before the start of service. We played them, and everything went off without a hitch. My playing was actually pretty good too. I was slightly more adventurous in my playing (staying away from just root notes), and came up with a cool little groove for "I will call upon his name." All in all, it was awesome and I can't wait to play with them again, and continue to play with them. They are a tight group, and I've never really played with a group enough to get pretty tight with them, so that'll be cool.
It would be cool to play in a band that plays something with a little more musical substance than church music. I really love country bass lines, they are so much fun, but playing country for hours at a time, I'm not sure about. :) I also really like new pop music, but Winnipeg isn't big in that scene. There seems to be a huge metal presence out here, but as much as I love metal, I'm not really a metal bassist. lol
Another cool thing about playing at Central is that they are pretty plugged into the music scene here in Winnipeg. They have a band that they do weddings and stuff with which is pretty cool. I'm hoping, within the next year, to get into a band and actually do some real playing outside of church. I've only really played in church, with the exception of playing at our work Stampede BBQ a couple of times, so I think it would be great to get into some real playing. I've been putting in some serious practice time as of late, and I've figured out some of the road blocks I have been encountering and need to overcome. And actually worked on that this morning. :) See I have a problem standing out. I'm not big on being noticed. I'm shy. So when I play, I like sticking to the root notes and just playing in the background. Laying down a foundation, but otherwise not donig much. So what I need to work on is creating lines that add more to the song than just the foundation. I want to be able to add some groove, some funk, to the song. This involves playing notes that other people aren't playing to complement the song, which is what I'm working on.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
A little Saturday afternoon drive
So I went for a little drive today. Well, it should have been a little drive anyway. I went to pickup some wall-mounted guitar holders. I want to hang my basses on the wall. It's artisticish and it keeps them off the floor, and easily available.
I call a number of music stores and everyone is sold out. This place at the other end of town calls me back and says they do have some in stock. So I start the trek out there. I've never been there, but I figure I'm getting comfortable with Winnipeg's roads so it shouldn't be a problem. I look it up on google maps and head out. After driving for half an hour or so I determine I am not on the right road. See the music store is on Henderson Hwy. To get there I needed to take Portage, then Main, then the Disraeli Freeway and then Henderson HWy. From the map it looked liek Main turned into the Disraeli which turned into Henderson, which would be par for the course here in Winnipeg where it isn't uncommon for a road to change names 8 times as it stretches across the city.
So I reach the end of town and haven't found the place. I take a guess at where I went wrong and get to the store 5 min before closing. And they are sold out. I get back into my car, and hop on the perimeter to come home. Driving on the highway relaxes me, so it was a welcome change of pass from the Winnipeg drivers I'd been dealing with for the last 45 minutes. (I am now convinced I can break off that little stick on the left side of my steering wheel. Nobody here uses them, so I may as well break it off and get it out of the way)
Now I don't have my guitar hangers, so my house isn't going to start to resemble
any time soon. Though along with not having the hangers I don't have nearly as many instruments. :)
I call a number of music stores and everyone is sold out. This place at the other end of town calls me back and says they do have some in stock. So I start the trek out there. I've never been there, but I figure I'm getting comfortable with Winnipeg's roads so it shouldn't be a problem. I look it up on google maps and head out. After driving for half an hour or so I determine I am not on the right road. See the music store is on Henderson Hwy. To get there I needed to take Portage, then Main, then the Disraeli Freeway and then Henderson HWy. From the map it looked liek Main turned into the Disraeli which turned into Henderson, which would be par for the course here in Winnipeg where it isn't uncommon for a road to change names 8 times as it stretches across the city.
So I reach the end of town and haven't found the place. I take a guess at where I went wrong and get to the store 5 min before closing. And they are sold out. I get back into my car, and hop on the perimeter to come home. Driving on the highway relaxes me, so it was a welcome change of pass from the Winnipeg drivers I'd been dealing with for the last 45 minutes. (I am now convinced I can break off that little stick on the left side of my steering wheel. Nobody here uses them, so I may as well break it off and get it out of the way)
Now I don't have my guitar hangers, so my house isn't going to start to resemble
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
We miss our family and friends, but it has been a good day. I hope you had a great day with your family and/or friends.
We miss our family and friends, but it has been a good day. I hope you had a great day with your family and/or friends.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Old Diaryland Entries
So I'm going to attempt to import all of my old d-land entries into blogger for the sake of keeping everything in one place. I was skimming through some of the older ones today and it makes me laugh. I've been posting since November of 2002 when I was at bible college, which is kinda cool. So we'll see how this works.
Edit:
So I have to create a new entry for each d-land entry. So I have to open each d-land entry, copy it, paste it into blogger, adjust the date, post it, and repeat. That and I stop and read little bits so it takes awhile. :) But it's fun. I'm sure it'll bring up lots of things for me to post on as well. They start in 11/02 and run until Mid-05 when I switched over to blogger. So for those of you who didn't know me back then, it's a rather amusing read. :)
Edit:
So I have to create a new entry for each d-land entry. So I have to open each d-land entry, copy it, paste it into blogger, adjust the date, post it, and repeat. That and I stop and read little bits so it takes awhile. :) But it's fun. I'm sure it'll bring up lots of things for me to post on as well. They start in 11/02 and run until Mid-05 when I switched over to blogger. So for those of you who didn't know me back then, it's a rather amusing read. :)
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Frustration
Sometimes I just want to throw my bass down in frustration (but I don't because it is expensive).
I'm working on learning the bass line for Paul McCartney's "Silly Love Songs." (see video below) It is a solid bass line and really drives the song along. I love it. It isn't a terribly hard line, but it is fairly quick with alot of moving around. I've gotten the main groove down pretty solid, but my tone is VERY muddy and I"m not sure how to fix it. It's frustrating. I don't understand tone very well yet. This morning I played in church, and while it went really well, I was having an off day with my rhythm and I just could not come up with anything with any sort of groove to it. It was just some boring ass shit. Not to mention ending a song on the 6th instead of the root and letting it hang thinking, "This doesn't sound quite right, why doesn't this sound right?" Not something to do on stage. Things just were not coming together for my playing and it was just so frustrating. I was so impressed with myself for learning the groove for "Silly Love Songs" yesterday because it was one of the songs that got me interested in playing bass in the first place, but was beyond my limited skills when I first started learning. I remember attempting to play it shortly after I started and failing miserably.
So some days I just want to throw in the towel. I still love it, but it just frustrates me. I would benefit greatly from lessons, but those don't come free. :) I have the basics, I just have trouble with the groove.
On the other hand my day ended on a high note because we spent the evening at a potluck and playing Settlers of Cataan with new friends, which I enjoyed immensly.
Paul McCartney and Wings - "Silly Love Songs"
I'm working on learning the bass line for Paul McCartney's "Silly Love Songs." (see video below) It is a solid bass line and really drives the song along. I love it. It isn't a terribly hard line, but it is fairly quick with alot of moving around. I've gotten the main groove down pretty solid, but my tone is VERY muddy and I"m not sure how to fix it. It's frustrating. I don't understand tone very well yet. This morning I played in church, and while it went really well, I was having an off day with my rhythm and I just could not come up with anything with any sort of groove to it. It was just some boring ass shit. Not to mention ending a song on the 6th instead of the root and letting it hang thinking, "This doesn't sound quite right, why doesn't this sound right?" Not something to do on stage. Things just were not coming together for my playing and it was just so frustrating. I was so impressed with myself for learning the groove for "Silly Love Songs" yesterday because it was one of the songs that got me interested in playing bass in the first place, but was beyond my limited skills when I first started learning. I remember attempting to play it shortly after I started and failing miserably.
So some days I just want to throw in the towel. I still love it, but it just frustrates me. I would benefit greatly from lessons, but those don't come free. :) I have the basics, I just have trouble with the groove.
On the other hand my day ended on a high note because we spent the evening at a potluck and playing Settlers of Cataan with new friends, which I enjoyed immensly.
Paul McCartney and Wings - "Silly Love Songs"
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Irrational Fear
I wish I wasn't scared of the dark. A grown man shouldn't be scared of the dark, and that which is (not actually) in it.
I need to find a way to solve this problem.
I need to find a way to solve this problem.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Identity?
How do you define who you are? What is it that makes up your identity? I've been struggling with this alot lately. I've been struggling with the concept of identity lately.
I lead a pretty nomadic life for the first 10 years of my life, living in 3 provinces and 2 territories, and 7 different cities across western Canada.
I spent my formative years in Yellowknife. I finished elementary school up there, and continued on to graduation before moving again. So I know what cold is, I know what it is like to watch the northern lights every night all winter, and to snowmobile to school, and for the sun to go down at 3 and rise at 10. I know what it is like to go fishing at 3am with the sun just below the horizon, and what it is like to be carried away by giant mosquitos. But I left after I graduated and I haven't gone back; to visit or otherwise. I also wasn't born up there. Over half of my graduating class moved back up there when they finished University or otherwise. How can I define myself as something that they are?
My mom is from a rural Mennonite background. A family of 15 kids, grew up on a farm in small town southern Manitoba and spoke low german. I can resonate with these people, but it is not me. I picked up a lot of the customs and ideas and such from my mom just by virtue of growing up with her as my mom, but being back here again...it's just not me. It has that sense of familiarity, but while I used to say I'm Mennonite, I can't do that anymore. These people out here are Mennonite, they know what that means. I don't think I really do.
My dad grew up pretty blue-collar nomadic, and that part sits really well with me. Except that I'm now in a white collar job, associate with white collar people and married an educated woman who is a chiropractor. When I was growing up, I wanted to be just like my dad. He worked in the mines, and had perma-dirty hands. They were big, and rough and had permanently grease stained hands. He carried a big aluminum lunch kit that was covered in union stickers and worked shift work. This is what I wanted to be, and even was for a little while until I got tired of having my hands dirty all the time because I'm a bit of a priss. So now I feel like I can't even call myself bluecollar anymore. I don't want to be this white collar dude, it doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel like my identity.
I know many other things make up ones identity, but these are the things that I get hung up on.
I define myself as a husband, a Christian, a bass player, an introvert, a computer geek (who sucks at computer games but loves them anyway, and who has a techy job but is totally not nerdy enough), and a pastor-wannabe. I am patient, and loving, and blunt, and sometimes lacking tact, and loyal, and stubborn (but learning to pick my battles), and quiet. I tell myself I don't care what people think, but I really do. I love the outdoors and wish I spent more time out there. I spend a lot of time wishing I could be a better person, and thinking of ways to improve myself but being too lazy to act on alot of it.
I also have a bit of a martyr complex, but we won't get into that right now.
So I can define myself with all of those things, but it's the more cultural stuff that I get hung up on, yet find really important. I am not a patriotic person by any stretch of the imagination and take no pride in being Canadian. My parents have a mix of countries that their ancestors come from, namely Prussia, but I can't go around having Prussian pride since it doesn't really exist anymore. I just wish I had that cultural pride that people with a specific ethnic background have. Like the Irish, or the Scottish, or what-have-you. I don't know why I find that to be so important, and maybe I need to just get over it but it seems like it should be an important part of my identity.
I lead a pretty nomadic life for the first 10 years of my life, living in 3 provinces and 2 territories, and 7 different cities across western Canada.
I spent my formative years in Yellowknife. I finished elementary school up there, and continued on to graduation before moving again. So I know what cold is, I know what it is like to watch the northern lights every night all winter, and to snowmobile to school, and for the sun to go down at 3 and rise at 10. I know what it is like to go fishing at 3am with the sun just below the horizon, and what it is like to be carried away by giant mosquitos. But I left after I graduated and I haven't gone back; to visit or otherwise. I also wasn't born up there. Over half of my graduating class moved back up there when they finished University or otherwise. How can I define myself as something that they are?
My mom is from a rural Mennonite background. A family of 15 kids, grew up on a farm in small town southern Manitoba and spoke low german. I can resonate with these people, but it is not me. I picked up a lot of the customs and ideas and such from my mom just by virtue of growing up with her as my mom, but being back here again...it's just not me. It has that sense of familiarity, but while I used to say I'm Mennonite, I can't do that anymore. These people out here are Mennonite, they know what that means. I don't think I really do.
My dad grew up pretty blue-collar nomadic, and that part sits really well with me. Except that I'm now in a white collar job, associate with white collar people and married an educated woman who is a chiropractor. When I was growing up, I wanted to be just like my dad. He worked in the mines, and had perma-dirty hands. They were big, and rough and had permanently grease stained hands. He carried a big aluminum lunch kit that was covered in union stickers and worked shift work. This is what I wanted to be, and even was for a little while until I got tired of having my hands dirty all the time because I'm a bit of a priss. So now I feel like I can't even call myself bluecollar anymore. I don't want to be this white collar dude, it doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel like my identity.
I know many other things make up ones identity, but these are the things that I get hung up on.
I define myself as a husband, a Christian, a bass player, an introvert, a computer geek (who sucks at computer games but loves them anyway, and who has a techy job but is totally not nerdy enough), and a pastor-wannabe. I am patient, and loving, and blunt, and sometimes lacking tact, and loyal, and stubborn (but learning to pick my battles), and quiet. I tell myself I don't care what people think, but I really do. I love the outdoors and wish I spent more time out there. I spend a lot of time wishing I could be a better person, and thinking of ways to improve myself but being too lazy to act on alot of it.
I also have a bit of a martyr complex, but we won't get into that right now.
So I can define myself with all of those things, but it's the more cultural stuff that I get hung up on, yet find really important. I am not a patriotic person by any stretch of the imagination and take no pride in being Canadian. My parents have a mix of countries that their ancestors come from, namely Prussia, but I can't go around having Prussian pride since it doesn't really exist anymore. I just wish I had that cultural pride that people with a specific ethnic background have. Like the Irish, or the Scottish, or what-have-you. I don't know why I find that to be so important, and maybe I need to just get over it but it seems like it should be an important part of my identity.
Sunday's Service
Following last week's dismal worship experience, Sunday's service at Central Baptist was a wonderful change of pace. It's the first time in a long time I've sat through a sermon that was truly thought provoking and had me stop and think. The music part wasn't really up my alley, but it really added to the service. The part that really brought it home for me was the prayer time. Part of it involved a prayer and response, like we used to do at Catholic Mass. The priest (or whomever is reading the prayer at the front) reads the prayer, and the congregation answers with some form of, "Lord, hear our prayer." we just did "Hear our prayer," and it was so nice. I find I pay more attention during communal prayer when there is a response instead of drifting away.
Suffice to say, it was an amazing service, and I can't wait to go back.
Suffice to say, it was an amazing service, and I can't wait to go back.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Britney
Taken from STORY BEHIND THE SONG: Bebo Norman’s “Britney”
Britney I’m sorry for the lies we told
We took you into our arms then left you cold
Britney, I’m sorry for this cruel, cruel world
We sell the beauty but destroy the girl
Britney, I’m sorry for your broken heart
“Britney” is a song about what our culture says and does to young women these days. It’s a collective apology for the struggle girls face growing up too fast in today’s overly adult-oriented world. The song confesses, “I’m sorry for the lies we told… We took you into our arms then left you cold/I’m sorry for this cruel, cruel world… /We sell the beauty but destroy the girl.” It’s about the lies we tell them about fame and money and what’s beautiful and what will give them life. It’s an apology for those lies. But more than that, it’s an invitation to the truth about a God who is bigger than the pain this world so often leaves them in.
And suddenly, all I wanted to do was just apologize, over and over. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry...on behalf of this fallen world, on behalf of our consumerism that so consistently devours what it wants and leaves the remnants in the wake of the search for the next fix, on behalf of believers, like myself, who mock and hurl stones rather than scribbling a message in the sand.
I think that night I saw her through the eyes of Jesus for the first time. I imagined what Jesus would say to me in my darkest hour and realized that those are the words we should speak to this world, to this culture, and even to Britney Spears in their darkest hour. “I’m sorry. Hope is here.”
–Bebo Norman.
Monday, December 08, 2008
Worship
Not adequately preparing for worship should not happen. It is unacceptable. It is like saying to God that He isn't worth it. He isn't worth our time, or our effort. We are supposed to give God our all. Always. He IS GOD! He doesn't deserve, or even want, our second best. He wants our best, and we should give it to Him. Nothing else should even cross our minds. We should want nothing but to give Him our best.
We are instruments in His hands. We are vessels that he speaks through. Be it our playing hands, our uplifted voices, our raised hands, or our open spirits. He is the potter, and we are the clay. He doesn’t make half-ass shit, so why do we act like it? Why don't we give it our all?
I'm getting tired of shitty worship. Shitty worship that I am a part of. When you sign up to play on a worship team, you are making a commitment. You are saying, "I will show up to practice. I will show up on time. I will make sure I am ready." Why do we find value in our other commitments, but when it comes to worship practice, it takes a backseat to the rest of our lives? Where is the respect?
And now I'm not without fault either. I often don't practice as much as I feel I should, but without a practice as a band, things can't come together. Having 20-30 min before the start of the service in which to run through 4 or 5 songs as well as do a sound check doesn't cut it. I'm one of those people that will ALWAYS run through the songs a few times before Sunday morning. Be it between rehearsal and Sunday morning, or preferably before rehearsal. I hate sounding like shit on Sunday mornings, so I'll make sure I know what I'm doing beforehand. As a musician, I take pride in my playing, and maintain a certain level of professionalism. I'm by no means an amazing bass player, but I'm growing and improving and practice to continue on that path. I want to play my best, both for Him and for me.
I look forward to Sunday morning all week long. Church is the highlight of my day, so when it starts off with lousy worship, it ruins it all. I feel frustrated and annoyed and it ruins the rest of the service.
We are instruments in His hands. We are vessels that he speaks through. Be it our playing hands, our uplifted voices, our raised hands, or our open spirits. He is the potter, and we are the clay. He doesn’t make half-ass shit, so why do we act like it? Why don't we give it our all?
I'm getting tired of shitty worship. Shitty worship that I am a part of. When you sign up to play on a worship team, you are making a commitment. You are saying, "I will show up to practice. I will show up on time. I will make sure I am ready." Why do we find value in our other commitments, but when it comes to worship practice, it takes a backseat to the rest of our lives? Where is the respect?
And now I'm not without fault either. I often don't practice as much as I feel I should, but without a practice as a band, things can't come together. Having 20-30 min before the start of the service in which to run through 4 or 5 songs as well as do a sound check doesn't cut it. I'm one of those people that will ALWAYS run through the songs a few times before Sunday morning. Be it between rehearsal and Sunday morning, or preferably before rehearsal. I hate sounding like shit on Sunday mornings, so I'll make sure I know what I'm doing beforehand. As a musician, I take pride in my playing, and maintain a certain level of professionalism. I'm by no means an amazing bass player, but I'm growing and improving and practice to continue on that path. I want to play my best, both for Him and for me.
I look forward to Sunday morning all week long. Church is the highlight of my day, so when it starts off with lousy worship, it ruins it all. I feel frustrated and annoyed and it ruins the rest of the service.
Friday, December 05, 2008
New Church?
Mama Bean and I, along with our friends Nancy and Brent (who recently moved here from Calgary) went to check out a new church, Central Baptist Church. That's right, their website is coolbaptist.com; their pastor helps it live up to its name. He's the Rock n' Roll preacher (www.rocknrollpreacher.com). A larger-than-life lead pastor and lead-guitar-playing worship pastor. He's quite the character, and I think he probably does a good job. It's a small church, of only 40ish or so people, but the community was noticeable the moment we walked in the door. I haven't found anything like this since leaving Journey. Journey was amazing, and we were really spoiled there and I think that setup some unrealistic expectations when we came out here. I'm not sure what Nancy and Brent thought of the church, or Jo. Mama Bean said she liked it, but that was after my obviously excited bubbling about it. We are committed to play at Grace for the month of December, but I would really like to start attending Central come January.
I've spent my day listening to K-LOVE, a national Christian radio station out of the US. The announcers in the morning drive me nuts, mostly because the guy refers to his wife as his "lovely bride" even though they've been married for years and it gets annoying. But Christian radio is something I enjoy; though I get made fun of for it. It's nice to immerse myself in the happiness that is Christian radio (with the exception of the obviously conservative, ass-backwards ads that occasionally come through).
I've spent my day listening to K-LOVE, a national Christian radio station out of the US. The announcers in the morning drive me nuts, mostly because the guy refers to his wife as his "lovely bride" even though they've been married for years and it gets annoying. But Christian radio is something I enjoy; though I get made fun of for it. It's nice to immerse myself in the happiness that is Christian radio (with the exception of the obviously conservative, ass-backwards ads that occasionally come through).
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
i don't get it
how can the promise of so much yield so little. i just don't understand. we moved out here to get ahead. why then does it feel like we are just slipping deeper into this hole?
oh, and too much internal screaming will give you a headache.
oh, and too much internal screaming will give you a headache.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Christmas Time is Here!
Yesterday was December 1st, and I woke up to the sounds of Christmas music on the radio. What a perfect start to the Christmas season!
I love Christmas. It is my favorite time of year. I know lots of people love Christmas, and I'm just one of them, but that's quite alright with me. It's my favorite season. I think it's because it is this super happy time AND there is snow on the ground. Christmas in Calgary was always lacking, and I think it was because of the brown grass everywhere. I think there was 1 white Christmas in the past 8 that I have spent in Calgary. That's not Christmas. Christmas' are supposed to be white. And that's what we get here in Winnipeg. There will never be a brown Christmas in Winnipeg (or there better not be in my life time). We've had snow since the first week of November, and it should be here until Aprilish. Yay Winter!
Mama Bean and I aren't doing presents this year. With the move and buying the house and starting her own practice, we are going to pass on the tradition of presents this year. I'm not terribly broken up over it, because while I love presents, they aren't essential. It is a bigger sacrifice for Mama Bean since gifts are her love language. So yay my wife for making the sacrifice.
I love Christmas. It is my favorite time of year. I know lots of people love Christmas, and I'm just one of them, but that's quite alright with me. It's my favorite season. I think it's because it is this super happy time AND there is snow on the ground. Christmas in Calgary was always lacking, and I think it was because of the brown grass everywhere. I think there was 1 white Christmas in the past 8 that I have spent in Calgary. That's not Christmas. Christmas' are supposed to be white. And that's what we get here in Winnipeg. There will never be a brown Christmas in Winnipeg (or there better not be in my life time). We've had snow since the first week of November, and it should be here until Aprilish. Yay Winter!
Mama Bean and I aren't doing presents this year. With the move and buying the house and starting her own practice, we are going to pass on the tradition of presents this year. I'm not terribly broken up over it, because while I love presents, they aren't essential. It is a bigger sacrifice for Mama Bean since gifts are her love language. So yay my wife for making the sacrifice.
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