So You Know.

It seems like my most frequent and widely used topic on this blog is the general update post. I apologize that I'm not "bringin' the content" like a blogmaster, but things in the real world have been rather pressing, and generally more important, than the virtual world I often inhabit.

One of my closest friends got married last weekend in a ceremony I can only conclude as being the most wonderful I've ever been a part of. There are, in fact, parts of it that I am going to graciously rob for my own ceremony - when and if the Lord draws me close to my earthly bride.

This week was a bit something. My grandfather took a turn for the worse (he had been fighting Parkinson's disease for as long as I think I've been alive). He ended that fight yesterday morning. My mother had been there since Monday - and came home last night to give me a birthday blessing and a song with my cake. She was also able to rest a bit before her and my dad left this afternoon. I leave Sunday morning for visitation that afternoon; the funeral takes place Monday.

(For those concerned, the family has great peace about the situation - a true blessing from God).

My thanks to everyone who continues to come here...I will try to put aside some time for more content - something that is really on my heart, but a bit far from action. To those I know personally, I'll see you soon and we can have some good talks over coffee or something. To everyone else - thanks for tuning in. Until next time, I imagine.

I Don't Know You.

But I wish I did. It would be amazing for us to spend more time together. To get to know each other more intimately. To create, nurture, and grow an amazing friendship. To experience life together. To be part of each other's joy. To share the burdens of this life as one.

Unfortunately, most of you out there are complete strangers to me. I know you because you stumble across this blog, for a second or maybe longer. We don't get a chance to talk - to communicate to each other apart from the one-sided story you read about on this page. And it's such a horrible story, I promise you. I am not all that interesting, and the words I speak rarely (if ever) amount to anything extraordinary. But, in real life - we would have nothing to hide. You'd see me for who I am, heights and depths. We could be real - we could take that time to be real.

What's worse...there's a lot of people who read this that I actually do know. We've been friends for quite some time. We have experienced moments in life together. I work with some of you on a daily basis. Where are the walls between us coming from? I apologize for the construction on my end - but I think it's time to tear them down. I want to spend every second we might have together doing just what we were created for - loving God and loving each other. Let us spend more time talking, building one another up in love. Let us set aside whatever it is that hinders us and take a journey. A long one. A short one. Any one.

There is a God of this universe, of all things, and His love for us blows my mind. If it were possible, to understand, I think it could possibly vaporize me. Poof. Thin air. Gone.

Let's get together sometime and marvel at God. Let's be truthful and honest about our hearts. Let's be gentle and nurturing with our responses. It's time to be transparent and vulnerable. What are we so scared of?

I am amazed by how much Jesus loves me. I am amazed by how much I am able to love Him back. He loves you with the same ferociousness. Oh, how I wish you knew and could see that. I wish we could all run with that promise wrapped around us.

I'll talk to you soon. Come say "Hello" to me. E-mail me. Comment. I'm going to fail you - because I am imperfect. But I am 100% ready to try not to.

In Lieu Of More Writing:

Since I missed last night's update, and also the day before that, I think I might just go ahead and do my Ichthus awards instead of a long, drawn out analysis of every hour of each day. So, without further ado:

The 2006 Ichthus Festival Awards:

Best Performance: (Tie) - Staple/Kids in the Way. Although my friend Joe would ultimately put Staple at the top, the KITW set was grand - with new songs and a lot of energy and emotion. Staple did a magnificent job, as always...and since it is probably the last time I will ever see them live (due to their disbanding) it also gains more points (not that it needed them).

Best Breakout Band (i.e. Best New Band I'm Listening to Now): The Myriad. These guys were pretty awesome. The entire set was great. The CD is great. I am thoroughly looking forward to seeing them again.

Honorable Mention (to above): Cool Hand Luke. I already owned their CD, so it counts a bit less than above - but it was awesome to see these guys. Totally not what I was expecting (in a really, really good way).

Happiest Moment: Jumping up and down (and all around) during Delirious' rendition of Holy Is the Lord.

Most Painful: Walking miles into the festival each day because I didn't want to fight traffic (and had fooled myself into believing it wouldn't be that bad of a journey).

Deepest Moment: Seventh Day Slumber. I had heard a lot about the band, and a lot about their heart for ministry, altar calls, and just overall nature. More affecting than the main keynote message I heard (on living a life filled/ruled by the Spirit - which was also amazing). I feel like God really uses (and I pray used, for Ichthus) that band.

Since I can't really think of any more categories I'll just finish this up now. The whole weekend was great. A lot of amazing bands, and even greater chance encounters with God (it was funny to meet Him there, knowing my heart/mindset going into the festival).

Oh, and working today (in exchange for my weekend wristlock) was an amazing and super-fun experience. I'm thinking about doing it again next year, and I can only hope it will be as nice a time as it was today.

Thursday, Ichthus: Day One.

(Note: There are probably numerous errors - grammatical or otherwise. I'm really tired, and sorry. Try your best to make it through. Thanks for reading).

3 PM - Family Force Five: They actually weren't that bad. I had heard they had a really impressive stage show, which is the main reason why I wanted to hit the 'thus earlier to see them. They were about what I expected - a little weird but nothing amazing. It was a good band to cut my teeth for 2006 on.

4 - 5 PM: Nothing too much exciting. Caught a couple tracks from a couple bands (Day of Fire, Last Tuesday) and walked around the grounds a bit. Checked out the merch tent, the youth leader tent, etc.


5 PM - Staple: Probably the best and most enjoyable show of the entire day/night. It was the first time I had caught an entire act by them, and since they are breaking up this summer, the last time I will see them (how appropriate). My friend Joe loves the band, so it was nice he got to check them out one last time. Plus, Darin (the lead singer) pushed the mic in both Joe and my faces during one of the songs - so we have both officially sung Staple songs with them, and performed at Ichthus. Awesome.

6 PM - 8 PMish: Main stage stuff. David Crowder went on (and since I have seen him numerous times, I was not terribly impressed or excited. He's great, but I was really tired and hot at this point (not burnt, thank God for sunscreen). The keynote address was AWESOME. I was amazed that I could come to the festival purely for the music (as I did last year) - but God could use my lack of energy, down time, and quietness to speak to me and convict me of some major things in my life. It was great to hear about being slave even with the freedom of Christ offered and working in your life. The big things I took away from the message was to: 1) focus more on my identity in Christ and measure all of my wants and actions based around that character; 2) do the things, focus on the things, be the things that please GOD; and 3) fill myself, and yearn to be filled, with things of the Spirit. After a long time of following my own path and being horribly selfish, plus a day filled with a fair amount of pride, selfishness, and sin (yes, even at Ichthus)...it was nice to hear the voice of God.

8 PM - Jeremy Camp: Although I did not stay for his whole show, it was nice to finally get to see him live. It also actually turned out to be a very nice time to praise God and just experience him again, in music - right after a great keynote.

9PMish - Kids in the Way: This marked the end of my evening and was another amazing performance. This was the first time I had seen them live and I had been waiting about a year for it. They put on a short, but great, set. Yet another band I was happy to see very bold about their faith.

And that's about it. I'll try to be back tomorrow evening to talk about Friday. It's going to be a much longer day for me (about 10 AM - Midnight) so it might not happen. But, I at least wanted to post something...and I figured a summary of the Ichthus days would work well.

HEY - if anyone that reads this is going to be there tomorrow (and happened to have access to the internet this evening I guess) call my cell phone and we'll meet up somewhere! See you then.

How To Save A Life.

(Or, How Taking Crappy Pictures of Railroad Signs Can Lead to Someone's Ultimate Salvation).

This is how I see it:

I take my camera and I head out for the day. I take a few hundred pictures. Maybe one or two of them look decent at all. I open Photoshop - edit them, crop them, whatever. I upload them to Flickr. A bunch of people come by and check them out. Some leave comments, others add me to their contacts list. Three things can happen from here...

One - that person comes across this blog. They read up a bit. For some strange reason they become intrigued. They continue reading. Eventually I get around to talking about Jesus and how absolutely amazing He is. That sets off a spark that eventually just burns in that person until they can't help it - the love of Christ just wears them down and builds them back better than ever.

Two - that person gets in touch with me somehow. MySpace. Email. Real life. No idea. We start talking. We continue to talk for a while because God knows I can go on forever. Eventually I get around to talking about Jesus and how absolutely amazing He is. A spark. A fire. A newfound passion erupts in this person.

Three - that person could care less about my pictures. They don't even hit MySpace. This blog has no visitors ever again. I stop writing. But I keep taking pictures. Eventually, I print them out. I frame them. I barter a deal with some guy who owns a coffee shop and he hangs them on the wall. Someone sees them. They get in contact with me (because they like them...I promise). We start talking. They're interested in a story (people like stories). Eventually I get around to talking about Jesus and how absolutely amazing He is. Something starts and it doesn't stop.

All three of these scenarios have little to do with me. Or my pictures. Or my very existence. They'd happen without me, they happen everyday despite me. Thank God, every now and then - I get a chance to be a part of it.

(And, just in case it is unclear - this invitation is open to all. You can share your faith with anyone, at anytime, anywhere, for any reason. You don't have to have a certain occupation. The bounds of expressing joy in Christ and awe of His beauty are without.)

A Cross, Not A Plaque.

First off, this post should not be construed to be an argument for or against legalism. It has nothing to do with that at all (as far as I know).

On my way home this evening I was listening to the album Fight the Tide by Sanctus Real - and in one of their songs the lead singer makes a point about the ten commandments. Since this is an older song, I imagine he was speaking about the controversy of having the commandments displayed in buildings (this debate was all the rage a while back).

Being a man of deep thought - I started to think about the act of displaying the commandments. And then, in all fairness, I started to think about other peoples/religions/beliefs hanging their own set of rules, or whatever, in the buildings as well. It started to get a bit ridiculous in my head (pettiness, arguments, biterness, etc.) so I tried to make it a bit simpler.

As a Christian, I obviously have a message to get across to people. I have some sort of agenda. Some goal. What is the absolute best way, on a public stage, to express the most important aspect of my faith and beliefs?

How about instead of a plaque with writing that most people won't understand we shake things up and mount a cross on the wall?

Bear with me.

What does the Law represent to the world? Rules...regulations...guilt...10 bothersome exercises. How about us (Christians)? Impossible standards...failure...guilt...10 bothersome exercises.

The world does not need an outline. A guideline. Another set of do's and dont's (no matter how important, valid, and powerful they may be). The world needs a savior.

We talk about putting our best foot forward. Being lights to the world. Witnessing about the glory of Christ. Showing people the way home.

Why don't we exalt the cross?

It's Been A While.

Apologies for the lack of updates (for those still actually coming by here regularly) - I've been a bit busy with life lately. Work has been absolutely amazing - I love my job...I just wish I was able to do more around here to be a better worker. Hopefully, with time, as things become more familiar I'll be worthy of the call. It tends to work a bit differently in IT...the measure of success...but I'm working towards it - trying to stay busy, trying to learn, and most importantly, trying to serve every chance I get.

Outside of work, life has also been grand. Life groups in high school ministry are over for the summer, so I have a bit of a break there (not that my guys are horrible, but it is nice). The past couple of weeks I have been "taking off" from the normal extracurricular activities at church (other than main worship/service on the weekends). It has been nice to get home a bit earlier and to be around the family - and also to get home to clean up around my room, etc.

As anyone who's been here recently can tell, I've been taking a lot more pictures. I borrowed my dad's DSLR and have been absolutely loving it. Plus, God has just given us such amazing days here recently for the summer - so it's been great to get outside and enjoy it.

Plans for the summer? I don't necessarily get a break anymore - but I have two weddings (friends') coming up, Icththus, a July 4th trip to Cincinnati (hopefully) and a few other things I am sure to keep busy with. I'm hoping to get a new bike so I can start to do some riding, and I have really been enjoying the time I get outside to go for walks. There's a couple bands coming close that I really want to see - so hopefully a show or two will be in store. Other than that, work, relax, spend time with family and friends - the usual.

I would love to promise future updates on a regular basis (life related, and my normal thoughts that I tend to ramble about on here) - but I cannot guarantee anything (I'll try, but no guarantees). As always - if you know me, or even if you don't - you can always e-mail me.

Until next time.