The Day After the Day After (and how it makes me happy)

So here we are. It's Thursday again. And that means 2 things:

1. Tomorrow is Friday
2. Tomorrow is Friday

And that makes me happy.

Anyway, like I was rambling about on Tuesday, I got to run sound for Shawn McDonald and Michael Fordinal. All in all I thought it was a great concert. Good response from the crowd, awesome turn-out, and everything tech-wise went without any problems.

And that makes me happy.

Seriously, I was running sound, lights, and projection during the entire show and the only problems that occurred were user-errors (i.e. opening act unhooking pedals, etc. after sound check and then hooking them up wrong upon returning for show time). Mike handled it well and (the best part of all) nobody ever turned and stared at me. I hate it when it happens. And it didn't.

And that makes me happy.

Ok, so Mike plays through his set during sound check and everything is going great. Mike's friend Mike (you heard it right, keep readin') jumped up onto our percussion set up and started playing some djembe. He was joking around at first but in all reality, it sounded kinda cool.

About 30 minutes to show time Mike #2 comes up to me at the sound booth and asks if it would be a big deal to play some percussion during the show. "Oh. Uh, ok...that'll be cool", I said as I began to wonder how cool it really was gonna be. Don't get me wrong, I thought he was ok. He was no Justin Romack or anything like that, but I guess he knew how to slap a djembe. (Was that an awkward statement? Yes. Keep readin'.) So they get up and start jamming and, I'll be darned, the djembe added A LOT to the Mike Fordinal's solo acoustic performance. I had the bottom mic cranked and our subs rumbled.

And that makes me happy.

So, Mike finishes and it is officially "Shawn McDonald time." I pull down all the lights as Shawn and Ryder (lead guitarist) take the stage. The crowd is going crazy. The air is electric. I fade the stage lights back up as they pick up their guitars. Everything is in the moment. And then Shawn steps up to the mic and says, "Hey. What are you guys doin' here?" It was great. They then proceeded to rock it out for the next hour, mixing new songs with old songs, and threw down just some flat-out, down home, jamming.

And that makes me happy.

I was worried about having to deal with the whole rock-star/diva mindset, but these guys were down to earth. Sound check went very smoothly as well. I got to hang with the guys for a little while after the show and kinda see who they really were. No divas here. Just some guys with guitars that had hearts for serving God with their music. I totally dig that. And when I grow up, I think it might be fun to do the same.

And that makes me happy.

Tuesday

Whats goin' down:

-Sunday morning we had over 700 in worship. We moved our 8:30 service back to 9:30 and the hour change made a HUGE difference.

-Crosspoint had a record-shattering 230 Sunday night.

-My wife is offically a graduate student. And I am not. And that makes me happy.

-Satellite guy came out yesterday. No more one-fuzzy-channel-syndrome. (We also got a free HD DVR just because Dish Network cares)

-I have been trying to finish Batman Begins (I know, that movie is SOOOO 2005) so that I can be caught up for The Dark Knight, but I keep falling asleep before the end. Which stinks because I really like it so far. Stupid 5:30 am job....grumble.....

-Currently listening to John Mayer's "Where the Light Is" album. Used up all my free Rhapsody listens on it. All I can say is...dang. Somebody should buy this for me.






But, alas, all of that fails miserably in comparison to what I get to do tonight...

I get to hang with Shawn McDonald.








Not only do I get to meet him, I get to make sure that the thousands of screaming fans hear everything perfectly.

That's right. Philip Melton is running FOH for Shawn McDonald.

Ok sorry, I'll stop gloating. But only because I'm the most humble person. Ever.

I never really listened to him before, but since this opportunity came up, I have been checking his stuff out and have to say, the guy is good. He's got a real laid-back style and an incredible testimony. This is an awesome oppurtunity for me and I feel super blessed to be a part of making an impact on Nacogdoches.



Peace

It's almost Friday...

Worship Confessional 1 (in text? how lame.)

Last night was our final summer Practice (HS youth group). We have had a small but faithful group meeting together for a good portion of the summer. Next week we will have a kick-off party at the Rocco's house and really get the students geared up for the semester. We will (hopefully) have some of the college guys come back in to lend much needed help on some instruments and media.

Anyway, last night we rocked the three-piece band again (waiting on Doug to get back from Mexico and Jason to get a break from summer band) with our 2 girls belting out some soulful BGVs. These guys have done a fantastic job of keeping up and pushing themselves as players. I admit that I move fast through rehearsal and they hold their own.

I had put together what I thought was a very cool 'back-half of the set' that consisted of:

Stand in Awe (Jeremy Riddle)
The Stand (chorus only) (Hillsong United)
Wonderful Maker (Redman/Tomlin)
The Stand (pre-chorus, chorus)

Now, I know what you're thinking. The Stand? Twice?? The answer is...yes. And it totally rocked. The first time we used the chorus to transition between the 2 songs. The second time we really pushed and built into a big chorus to really bring the whole thing home. It really tied the set together and I think that the chorus is an awesome opportunity to throw your hands up and get lost in worship.

The top half of the set was All We Need (Charlie Hall) and Your Grace is Enough (Maher/Tomlin) both in G. Not much variety as far as key selection, but it made for a seamless transitions. Plus, they're high school kids. They don't care. Usually, we play a song to get everybody rounded up and then break for announcements/games/etc. This week, I felt like we should kinda change it up a little. Mainly, I wanted the songs to flow. Students seem to respond better and break down walls the longer we sing. We are in the process of transitioning to a song at the end of the message. We had "From the Inside Out" planned, but ran out of time. I have enjoyed throwing some United in the mix. Really fun tunes to play.

All in all, I felt like we had a good response. I feel like the relationships that I have formed with the students really help me connect with them. I am looking forward to building new relationships with the new school year. It has been awesome watching all the changes that have taken place in the 1.5 years that I have been leading that group. Most importantly, the kids have learned that worship time isn't just a time to hear the band play and mess around with your friends. Worship is becoming more and more what it is supposed to be; a time to let go the everyday junk in our lives, forget about what everyone else might think, and truly praise God because He is worthy. And I feel like they are starting to understand this.

I am really, REALLY excited about the school year starting back up. New students + old students + new issues + old problems + fear/anxiety/pressures = more chances to let God work, start over and truly surrender lives to Christ.

And I get to be a part of it.

There is nothing better than seeing God transform lives.

Peace.

Housing Update #1

After being threatened, harassed, and abused (verbally and physically) by Justin, I thought it was time to post something.

So here is the best thing I can come up with. Lady and Gentlemen (you know who you are), I present to you...

The Housing Update:

1. The new furniture arrived on Friday and is in place.
2. Our entertainment-center arrives next week. (My plasma looks a little goofy on the cheap TV stand we already had.)
3. Dish Network is setting up service next week.
4. With some help from Geoff, we tried to put up my new Rubbermaid storage shed. Work will resume work on that this afternoon.
5. Most of the blinds are up.
6. Washer and dryer are hooked-up.
7. With much help from Maegan, our bedroom is 90% complete. (the switch from full-size bed to queen has been incredible.)
8. We saved our dying grass.
9. The kitchen is 99%. (just gotta get the extra junk out)
10. Still have boxes in the other rooms. Lots of boxes.
11. The trash man left our old, junky ironing board by the curb. Seriously, he took everything else and left that crappy thing. Who does he think he is? He has no right to decide what is trash and what isn't. Especially, ESPECIALLY if it is trash in the first place. You know what? He WILL take it on Thursday. No questions. If he doesn't, I'm gonna throw it at his ugly truck while he drives by. If he wants a shake down, I'm ready to rumble.
12. We finally have internet (no thanks to Suddenlink's speedy service).
13. Our dogs dug a hole under our backyard fence and escaped while we were at church.
14. I re-read #11 and realized that I might need to see a counselor.
15. Still gotta call the builder and have him fix the shortcuts he tried to get away with. Thank the Lord for work that is guaranteed.

There it is. We are now 3 weeks into the world of home-ownershipohcrapwhatamIdoingidontknowhowtohookthatupwheretheheckaremysockstherearesomanyboxesmyheadhurts and loving every minute.

Peace

Can you stand it?

This is a post from one of my favorite blogs...Stuff Christians Like (a spin-off of the ever popular Stuff White People Like blog). The first one. Well, both actually are worth reading. I couldn't help but think about every Christian station I have ever heard do a morning show. Most definitely worth looking into if you have a few minutes.

#46. Super, happy shiny Christian radio.
Boy of boy, I get cavities when I listen to Christian radio in the morning it's so sweet and sugary. Not that I'm asking for negativity, but for some reason, we want our morning radio to be like a big hug from a teddy bear. Who is riding a pink unicorn with his friend the fuzzy wuzzy caterpillar, while licking one of those giant frisbie-sized lollipops. I think that Christian radio is the audio equivalent of that poster that has the cat hanging on a rope with the line, "Hang in there." And it doesn't have to be. I think that Christianity is a lot more interesting than we make it out to be. I think it's real and honest and beautiful and ugly. But when in one of our most popular mediums we sugarcoat it, we give the world a really weird reflection of what it means to be Christian. And that's just not cool.

I've Got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy

So I try to keep things pretty light hearted here, no one wants to spend all day reading sappy stories and heavy, guilt-laden comments about life and such. With that in mind, I'll try to keep this short.

Since we bought our house (we're homeowners in case you didn't know!) and even a few days leading up to it, I had been dealing with a lot of anxiety and stress. If you know me, then you know that I don't get worked up about much. I know that God has given me a level head and a something of a soft heart. I don't worry about much. Even though everything was going great, I would come home and just be overwhelmed by this anxious feeling. I couldn't place a finger on what it was, but I knew that something wasn't right.

During the midst of closing on the house, moving, preparing music for a youth conference, unpacking, rehearsing and cleaning, I really felt like I couldn't keep my head above water. Pulling all the strength that I had left in me, I made it through the weekend and into Monday.


So all that to say...

Maegan and I had an awesome experience leading small groups and teaching students the importance of remaining abstinent until marriage. The whole weekend really brought us closer (even though we hardly saw each other) and we opened up and talked a lot about what we had experienced.

This is when she spoke words to me that I will never forget. She told me she was listening to some preacher on KSWP. (You know how you start listening and you just kinda get into it? Everybody does it. Don't act like you haven't ever got your Dr. Tony Evans on.) He happened to be talking about having joy in God. He went on to say that if we keep placing our joy in things or people or circumstances, then we will lose it every single time. Immediately God grabbed a hold of me and I realized that I kept trying to put my joy in my house, my job, my music and everything else that I could think of. And the result? I was a tired, anxious wreck.

After that, I just asked God to be the TRUE joy in my life no matter what the circumstances may be. And you know what? My life has been transformed. Upside down. The uneasy feelings that I was consumed with are gone. The stress is gone. The exhaustion is gone. And I all I had to do was refocus on where I was placing my hope.

I encourage you to just give it shot today. Put your joy in Christ and see what happens.

Peace.