Resurrection

I hope everyone had a happy Easter! I am just recovering from the seven services this past weekend that we had on the Gilbert campus at Central. What a long weekend it was!

In the Easter spirit, I stumbled across a video that Rob Bell just released on the resurrection. It is thoughtful, inspiring and free to download.

Check it out (click the lower right icon to make it full screen):

Resurrection: Rob Bell from The Work of Rob Bell on Vimeo.

more info at:
https://www.robbell.com/resurrection/

"everybody believes something
everybody believes somebody
Jesus invites us to trust resurrection"

Something Beautiful

This past weekend we played the song "Something Beautiful" by NeedToBreath as a special. I love this song and it has easily become one of my favorites. The lyrics are great and the melody is too! Below is the band playing an acoustic version of it. Enjoy!!! Oh, and just ignore the whole "Cosmo Girl" promo at the beginning and end :-)




What a great prayer:

HEY NOW, THIS IS MY DESIRE
CONSUME ME LIKE A FIRE, ‘CAUSE I JUST WANT SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL
TO TOUCH ME, I KNOW THAT I’M IN REACH
‘CAUSE I AM DOWN ON MY KNEES, I’M WAITING FOR SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL
OH, OH, OH, SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL

Billie Jean Coldplay Style

Why They're My Favorite Band...

Coldplay was recently featured in an interview with Steve Kroft on 60 minutes. You can check it out here. I love me some Coldplay!



I really appreciate the humility, determination, and work ethnic this band has. They aren't out there to be the "greatest band in the world." They are just doing the very best they can with what they have. Here are some quotes from Chris Martin that were inspiring to me.

"We rely more on enthusiasm than actual skill...Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically and people will like it more."

"I can't dance like usher, I can't sing like Beyonce, I can't write songs like Elton John. But we can do the best we can with what we've got...so that's what we do. We just go for it."


Kroft comments that before the end of their tour they will have played before 3 million people, but you wouldn't know it from talking to them. Je found them modest and self effacing. He says:

"You won't catch this band in tight leather pants or snorting drugs off the back of a stripper. The British press often rags on them for being too earnest and boring. They are extremely consciences, dedicated to their music, and leave a small carbon imprint. They all share equally in the profits..."


What is more, the band has certain rules that they abide by when making new music/albums. This is incredibly fascinating and just awesome! You can see them in the interview and I also found them on a website:

1. ALBUMS MUST BE NO LONGER THAN 42 MINUTES, OR 9 TRACKS.
2. PRODUCTION MUST BE AMAZING, RICH, BUT WITH SPACE, NOT OVERLAYORED, LESS TRACKS, MORE QUALITY. GROOVE AND SWING. Drums/Rhythm are the most crucial thing to concentrate on; diff. between bittersweet and science of silence
3. COMPUTERS ARE INSTRUMENTS, NOT RECORDING AIDS.
4. IMAGERY MUST BE CLASSIC, COLOURFUL, AND DIFFERENT. COME BACK IN GLORIOUS TECHNICOLOUR.
5. MAKE SURE VIDEOS AND PICTURES ARE GREAT BEFORE SETTING RELEASE DATE. And highly original.
6. PLEASE KEEP MYSTERY. Not many interviews.
7. GROOVE AND SWING. RHYTHM AND SOUNDS MUST ALWAYS BE AS ORIGINAL AS POSSIBLE. Once jon has melody, twist it and weird it sonical.
8. Promo/review copies to be on vinyl. Stops copying problem. Sounds and looks better.
9. Jaqueline sabriado, ns p cc, face forward
10. Think about what to do with charity account. Set up something small but really enabling and constructive. Ref; j oliver fifteen

Amazing Medley

It is no secret that Dashboard Confessional is easily one of my favorite bands (second only to Coldplay). Well I found this on youtube and it is stinkin' amazing! It's a medley of four of their songs. Check it out!

iTunes U

I stumbled upon one of the coolest ideas from iTunes yet - iTunes University. Now you can not only download thousands of podcasts, but you can also download lectures and documentaries from the top Universities in the world. And the best part is that it's completely FREE! If you are like me and enjoy learning, then you have to check this out. They have courses in history, science, literature and much more.

If you ever wanted to take classes from Oxford, Cambridge, Yale, or Harvard then you finally can get a taste for it. Check out this link and watch the video below if you want more info.

http://www.apple.com/itunes/whatson/itunesu.html

It's Coming!

I am super excited about the new X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie coming out May 1, 2009. The preview looks stinkin' cool! I am also excited that Gambit will be played by Taylor Kitsch from Friday Night Lights. Check out the trailer below and if you are interested I found a good blog site about the movie - http://wolverine-trailer.blogspot.com/

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE HD

Putting Right, What Once Went Wrong

For my birthday, I received the first season of Quantum Leap from a friend. As a kid I always loved watching Quantum Leap because you would never know whose body Sam Beckett would leap into next. Sam is a scientist who, through a botched experiment, leaps into the the bodies of different people all throughout history. His purpose in every leap is to find out what has gone wrong and set it right. He believes that God is in control of his leaps, sending him to different times and places to fix bad situations. Each shows starts off with Sam explaining how it all began:

"It all started when a time travel experiment I was conducting went... "a little caca". In the blink of a cosmic clock, I went from quantum physicist to Air force test-pilot. Which could have been fun... if I knew how to fly. Fortunately, I had help - an observer from the project named Al. Unfortunately Al's a hologram, so all he can lend is moral support. Anyway, here I am, bouncing around in time, putting things right that once went wrong, a sort of time traveling Lone Ranger, with Al as my Tonto. And I don't even need a mask..."

I like the show because Sam travels in throughout history, having to creatively solve problems so he can leap. Sam is not alone though. He does have a little help from Al, his holographic friend.

Sam leaps as a pilot, a college professor, a doctor, a hitman, a 15 year old high schooler, and even a woman :-). But Sam's real hope is that his next leap will be the leap back home.

Free Fallin' [a John Mayer cover]

This is amazing!

No More Target #10

I know there aren't many IndyCar fans out there reading this, but I am a huge fan and love the thrill of these cars zipping around a track at speeds well over 200 mph. My favorite IndyCar driver, Dan Wheldon, is leaving the Target/Chip Ganassi team and moving to the Panther Racing Team. He will no longer be driving the Target #10 car, but moving to the Delphi National Guard #4 car. I loved the Target team as Dan and Scott Dixon were great teammates, but now its time to move on. I will be rooting for the #4 car. Dan will debut his new car in the "land down under" on October 26th for the Nixon Indy 300. The car will be ripping through the streets of Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast of Australia. Can't wait for that! For more on Dan's debut, click here.


Dan was also featured on the CBS Early Show where he took Russ Mitchell on a little ride around the most famous oval of all time - Indianapolis Speedway.


Watch CBS Videos Online

LOST!

Here is the performance of LOST!

It's Hard Being Chris Martin

Coldplay is my favorite band. They have been #1 for me ever since I first saw them in concert and totally rocked my musical world. Not only is their music solid and creative, but their charismatic frontman, Chris Martin, is in my opinion one of the greatest musical entertainers around. Many people think he is extremely weird and goofy onstage, but I flat out disagree. He brings a realness that makes you feel like you are getting the real deal - the real Chris, not a show. His personality shines through his music and it is obvious that he loves what he does.

Nevertheless, its hard to follow in his footsteps. This weekend at Third Format I sang LOST!, a song from their new album, Viva La Vida or Death and all His Friends. Putting away my guitar and singing without it is a hard thing for me to do. It is kind of like my security blanket so-to-speak. On top of that, it is a Coldplay song so you have Chris Martin's energy and charisma as the bar. I probably watched 20 or so videos on youtube trying to capture a fraction of the pizzaz that he possesses. Now, my goal was not to copy him and be some sort of Chris Martin "wannabe." Instead, I wanted to do my very best to make the song as enjoyable as it's original creator makes it.

The song went alright and I was mostly satisfied. I still felt slightly uncomfortable without my guitar, but thats ok. It's just like anything else in life. You have to keep trying even if you fail, then eventually you will grow and get better. All in all, it was a good challenge and a fun song to perform. If you want to see Chris in action performing it, watch the video below.


PS. A review of their new album is coming soon. It is awesome!

NOOMA She | 21 Rob Bell

I don't know if you know what NOOMA videos are, but the newest one is now out. You can watch it until tomorrow at 9am for free on facebook. NOOMA videos are 10-13 minute teaching videos by Rob Bell, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Michigan. He is one of my favorite preachers/authors.

To watch it, click here

This one is dedicated to all the mothers out there. What would we do with out their compassion, their love and their deep care? Thanks Mom! :-) And how much more is the love of our God who cares for us like a mother to her children? What an awesome God we have!

I hope you enjoy this video. Hurry and watch it before tomorrow!