last night went really well. God is so good and he works through the most chaotic circumstances to calm my heart and speak into my life. around 12, i came home and ian told me that he couldn't play because he had to work, so i had to change our set list (3 times) and i didn't feel right about anything until i got to church and things just fell together. our monitors also didn't work at first, but ben was awesome and rewired everything so we could have it. i am really excited about being able to journey with these students and see lifechange as we create an environment for God to move freely. everyday i stand in awe of Jesus and all he can do through a broken vessel like me.

i love cycling. i have for the past couple of years. i don't know why, but i am addicted to anything having to do with it...strategy, equipment, riders specs, crew leaders instructions. i love to read up on it and watch anything that i can about it. there is something cool about a sport in which 9 guys act cooperatively, sacrificing their strength and bodies for the team leader to win. it's not an individual sport as so many of us think, because all we hear about is Lance Armstrong, but what you don't hear about are the George Hincapies, Jose Azavedos, and last year the Floyd Landis', but we would not know who Lance was if it wasn't for these people and the others who make up his team. it is these guys who take the wind in the face and let Lance draft off of them. i just love that. i get so selfish sometimes, but what would happen if this became a part of my everyday life. laying down my strength and time so that someone else might succeed. that no one would hear my name, and yet there is still such pride in someone else succeeding. i want to lift Jesus high all day every day, lay my pride and self aside so that he might be glorified. if i am good, it is only because he is great. he is so beautiful.

ps...you know what i am going to be watching for the next three weeks. OLN every night. and bytheway, lance took over the yellow jersey today. rock on discovery channel team.

i ended up returning my phone today and getting the same model that i had because i wanted to have a flip phone still. it cost like 70 bucks more, but it is well worth it.

ok, enough of this phone chatter. i had a meeting with clint and chris on friday and i am now going to be leading worship for the youth on wednesdays on top of my ao responsibilities. we will probably end up doing a trio or a four piece and just try to be really creative instead of rocking it out the whole time. i am really excited about it. i am going to be really busy for sure, but it is something i enjoy so it can't be that bad. youth starts at 6:30 and college starts at 7:45, so it should be ok. i do need to change my monday wednesday class that ends at 5:35...there is no way i could do that. i have been writing alot of music lately, which has been fun and hopefully i can finish some songs and samples soon so that i can start incorporating them.

i always feel wierd writing about myself and about what i am doing. i think its funny to go back and count how many freakin times i say "i" in a post. i feel selfish. but really it is all about me. seriously. the world revolves around my actions. i rule the universe...wow, that sounds really blasphemous...maybe i will write about someone elses day instead, that could be fun. i am really tired, so this probably won't make any sense when i am coherent.

i got a new phone today, and i had to pay full price. no fun. but i did buy the new hillsong united cd, and it is really good.

i like rain. i really do. it is calming. but rain has not treated me kindly the past couple of days. i got a new cell phone 3 weeks ago and it is now ruined because it was in my pocket when i was caught in a sudden rainstorm. and when i say sudden, i mean it came out of nowhere. sun to downpour in 2 seconds flat. oh well, its just a phone...(i am trying to keep perspective).

i am heading to atlanta this afternoon to partake in the ribs and wings of nana. i have no idea why i am talking like this...ha

so supposedly i went from hating someone to being madly in love with them over the space of like 3 hours...hmmm

ok, so does having 5 restraunts all in the nashville area count as a chain, because when i think of a chain, i think national or regional. i don't know...would we count la siesta as a chain because there are 4 of them or whatever? just wondering

nothing much to report on the homefront...other than the fact that i am exhausted and can't wake myself up at all. i did have a fun time hanging out with becca last night. i like non-chain restraunts...murfreesboro needs more of them. we went to calypso cafe. very fun indeed. and jeff and i finally finished fight club after falling asleep about halfway through on friday night. yeah...i'm going to bed...i need to get my crazy back

i finally finished a freaking song!!! i technically have had the song for about 9 months now, but i changed the chorus and added a bridge because i was never happy with the flow of the first one...anyways i like it and will probably be playing it a lot now. yeah...i know you have no idea what i am talking about

i went to a breakout session at thirsty '04 that talked about finding the fingerprints of God in our popular culture. finding phrases in songs, lines in movies, or images in art that point to our creator. i really like this whole "into the west" series that speilberg directed. there is just something about it...the freshness and wildness of the exploration that just sits well with me. i think the same things ring true in my heart about church. we are so used to what we have always done that we lose the adventure of exploring the heart of God. every day is the name and our hearts grow stale as our worship becomes older. i love the unbridled heart of worship. one that seeks to find new ways of glorifying God for all that he is. if you have a chance, go back and watch the first and second ones because there are a lot of things that point to God, either intentionally or unintentionally.

i am back in the boro again...it was sad leaving all my friends at home, because i won't be back for a while, but it's time to make some money. we had band practice tonight for an event next saturday at the bcm. we are playing a bunch of rock songs and supposedly will be performing on a flat-bed tractor trailer...haha...it just makes me laugh.

bonnaroo was happening and it would have taken forever to get home, but i took the backway so it wasn't too bad. the way back was peaceful, so overall, i enjoyed it.

i am constantly reminded lately of God's faithfulness. its like the story of the prodigal son. he is waiting for his children to return home and shower them with love. water for the thirsty, peace for the distressed, rest for the weary, hope for the hopeless. he is there with open arms as his children awake to his goodness. i want to take so much upon myself sometimes. to do all i can to make things better, but it is in those times that He just bends down and picks me up like a father his son and says, "i love you son" as he rocks me to sleep. what better place is there than in the hands of the father?

the braves game was really fun even though the braves lost, and my friend anna and i had a lot of good talking time. she never ceases to be encouraging and challenging to me even when she has no idea she is doing it. God really is amazing (or i guess the word of the night is stupendous) and i love the fact that he can use people's actions to speak into my life about who he is and what his kingdom looks like. its beautiful for sure.

so it is my birthday today, and I guess I am officially not a teenager anymore.

I am going to the Braves game tonight with my friend anna, which should be a lot of fun...I just hope it doesn't rain (I bought tickets like a month and a half ago).

A big group of us (me, anna, britta, dan, meredith, cami and elise) went to go see charlie hall last night at north point like I said in my previous post. he is always amazing and last night was no exception. the way he can lead you to the throne of God and let the spirit move through sometimes such simple songs is really cool. brad horton (used to be 2nd in command at passion) is north point's college minister, and he spoke on identity and upgrading who we are to be in line with who God is rather than downgrading ourselves to be in line with things of the world that take up our time and passions. they split up into small groups after charlie played again, but we didn't know anybody, and the groups were setup for people who go to the georgia colleges, so we decided not to go. charlie came up to me after the set and started talking to me, which was cool, because he really knew me and remembered that I went to ao. we are trying to get them to come again next semester, and he was really excited about the possibility, even though they may be in the middle of recording their next album at that time. I also got to talk to dustin and brian for a bit, which was cool because we talk on their message board quite a lot. there are like only 6 people, including the three of us, that are on there all the time, so it was cool for us because we knew that we had talked about certain things on the message board. anyways, yeah I am pretty much a dork.

God is amazing and never ceases to show me new things. I have been unable to sleep well the past week or so, because there has been a lot on my mind...not bad stuff, its all good, there's just a lot of it...but anyways, God really put on my heart to open up to 2 Cor. a couple nights ago, so I got outta bed at about 2:30 and opened up to chapter 3. the chapter really has nothing to do with what I was thinking about, but it was really really cool anyways. here are a few verses that i love:

4-6 Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant -- not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

9-12 If a ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts! Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.

16-18 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit

I am going to see Charlie Hall tonight at North Point's college group. There are a bunch of us going. Yeah.

photo from bee136

photo from bee136