Life Update

Well friends, it's been a while. My absence is not intentional, I promise. I've actually got a lot to write about these days, but just no time to get it out onto the keyboard! Tonight, though, I need to write. Therapeutic and all that. There has been a lot going on as of late... brief recap of the month I've been gone:

-Band camp #2: Otterbein's this time. Great camp, great band, LONG days! Plus lots of continued work with both Otterbein and Big Walnut. Marching season is pretty consuming this time of year. Competitions with BW start this weekend.

-A week on the road with the Van-Dells: This was a BLAST. The Van-Dells are a traveling 50's and 60's rock and roll revue that has been on the road for almost 35 years. I got to fill in on the drums with them for three shows a couple of weeks ago, complete with bowling shirts and letter sweaters. Good times. Good guys and great music, too!

-Lots of other stuff, including: Another performance with the Westerville Symphony, rehearsal accompanying for Otterbein's production of Smokey Joe's Cafe, the beginnings of plans for my third year of directing the 4th-5th grade retreat at Kirkmont, and of course lots of Centerpoint stuff... phew!

Things aren't necessarily slowing down, but they do seem to be settling into more of a routine for the next couple of weeks... hopefully that will allow more time to write. In the meantime, check out a couple other blogs that I've really been enjoying lately:

1. The Shlog - This is the blog of singer and speaker Shaun Groves... I've honestly never listened to a lot of Shauns music, but this blog is sheer genius. Check it out.

2. Vintage Faith - This is Dan Kimball's page (he wrote that little book I liked so much: "They Like Jesus, But Not The Church"). Very insightful.

3. donmilleris - As you might guess, this is Don Miller's new blog. 'Nuff said.

Now go read! Enjoy, and I'll hopefully talk to you sooner than later!

A Recommendation

I'm at my parents house for a couple of days - which is nice. Sometimes you just need a break. Here's something I've been meaning to share for some time. If you haven't check out Garfield Minus Garfield yet, you really have to. Here's the description posted on the site:

"Garfield Minus Garfield is a site dedicated to removing Garfield from the Garfield comic strips in order to reveal the existential angst of a certain young Mr. Jon Arbuckle. It's a journey deep into the mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness and depression in a quiet American suburb."

Ok, so first, let me just say that this thing isn't really nearly as serious as it sounds from this. It's actually really funny. In fact, Jim David (the creator of the original Garfield strip), has some really good things to say about it. Here's an example of one of my favorite strips:



Get the idea? Good! Now go read the rest!

I Want More Than My Lonely Nation...

...that's a quote from a Switchfoot song that we played in church last weekend. We're doing a series right now about community; about moving out of the isolation that our society and lifestyle creates and experiencing real, life-giving community in Christ. This is something I've been thinking quite a bit about, and I had another reminder this morning. On my way home from practice at the high school, I saw a couple riding their bikes, side by side. So far so good, right? When I pulled up beside them, though, I realized that they both had headphones in! They were physically together, but that was as far as it went. How often do we live like this? I know I do it. I spend my whole day around people, with people, but I'm not necessarily experiencing community. I mistake being surrounded by people for actually spending time with them, and then I come home at the end of the day and just want to be alone, because I "spent the whole day with people."

Only that's not the case.

I've been reminded of this several times recently, not only through Pastor Dave's messages the past two Sundays, but also through my own personal interactions with people. We need community. I need community. I've been in prayer about this as of late, on both individual and church levels. I know that others have been, as well. May God reveal direction, may God bring us out of our isolation and help us to find a way to live life in community with others. May we have more than our lonely nations.

It's All Relative

Today I saw gas for $3.46 a gallon. There were cars lined up around the block to get into the station, and even I got excited for a bit (though I didn't need gas) because of this low price! But then I started thinking about it... 6 months ago, or if not, certainly a year ago, people would have been (or rather were) absolutely outraged to see gas selling that high. It's all relative. Looking at the long term, gas prices are very high, but they're lower than they were last week, so we're excited. Most things in our lives are this way. Everything changes so quickly, we can barely keep up. We expect things to be new and different all the time. New clothes, new music, new cars, new houses. Nothing ever stays the same. I think this is one of the reasons that the church sometimes has trouble relating God's love and the love of Christ to the world: it's constant, it never changes. And yet, that's the very reason that we need it! In a world where nothing is guaranteed, and everything changes constantly, we know that God's love and Christ's sacrifice never change. They will be the same tomorrow, and the next day, and next week, and next year, and for all eternity. That's why we can take rest in that love, that's what makes it a refuge from the rest of the world. Why don't we realize that? Why don't we take comfort in it?

Jr. Music Camp Video

I've been waiting for this video to hit the web ever since camp ended in June. Kirkmont Jr. Music Camp 2008: