Long Time No Blog....

I have come to the realization that I haven't blogged since around January of this year. Not much has changed other than the fact that I graduated high school. Glad to say I can mark that off the list. I am still experiencing God's call to ministry on my life. I am no longer planning on attending Boyce College in Louisville, KY, instead I will be attending the University of South Alabama. I will probably get a degree in business and then go on to seminary at SBTS. I am still dating a wonderful Godly girl named Maggie Doggett and things are going great. I am excited to be staying in Mobile due to the fact that I absolutely love it here and conveniently she will be here too. For now I am still employed at Dauphin Way Child Development Center as a day camp counselor. I have the privilege of working with some of my closest friends like Kevin Holley, Kory Van Matre, Hayley Hendrix, and Lara Davison. Normally this blog is directed towards music and fine eateries around Mobile, but due to he fact that I haven't bought a really good cd or been to a new restaurant in a while that goal is harder to reach than normal. Well now I can say it has only been been four months since i blogged, glad to end that streak. Well until the next time I bid you all ado.

I apologize to anyone who actually reads this blog and has noticed that I haven't posted anything in a good four months. Not much has happened sadly. Yet 2010 should be filled with excitement. There are two albums I have recently bought to ring in the new year: Wilco -- Being There and The Avett Brothers live cd ... any spare time I have is filled with music. I just finished my last FIRST semester in my high school history, honestly I'm ready to graduate and experience what my future holds - and see what God does in my life. Graduating is a bit stressful. And I have recently recognized a desire to go into the ministry. Discerning God's will seems to get harder and harder as I go, but if I keep my walk strong with him I will know exactly what to do in any situation. I have been accepted to University of Mobile but I really want to go to Boyce College all the way in Louisville, Kentucky to major in Theology and then move on the seminary at SBTS. That is a looong way from home and if that is where I end up it will be hard to leave my favorite city in the world Mobile. I still have my job at the Dauphin Way Child Development Center. To be honest this job is making my not want kids haha but the pay doesn't hurt. A wonderful girl, Maggie Doggett, has stepped in to my life by the grace of God, and I'm enjoying it to the fullest. We have been dating a little over a month and things are going great. She is a Godly girl from Toxey, Al. Majoring in education at the University of Mobile and to top it all off the captain of the cheerleading squad, I know I did good! She has won over the family, which with characters such as my father this Isn't a hard task haha. I also can wait to see what God has in store for us. Please pray for me and what God has planned out for my life. And hopefully I will get back into blogging on a more regular basis as time progresses.

The Outsiders !!!!

The day finally came for Needtobreathe's third album came out. It was far from a disappointment, could be argued that it was better than the two before. The songs are brilliantly produced focusing more on the instruments it seemed to me. My favorite song, where the album title comes from, The Outsiders is amazing and an all around fun song. The band has seemed to change, but it is a change for the good. Honestly i haven't been able to stop listening to it ... i almost have to make myself stop. It has an even distribution of slower songs with more upbeat songs. This album has help to end my summer just right. Last wednesday night i purchased my Needtobreathe concert tickets for the Bluegill and can't wait to go in october. All in all one of my better music purchases in the last few months, after i purchased Wilco's latest. Now all i am doing is praying that The Avett Brothers don't let me down when their album comes out! Go get this album ASAP it is well worth it.

An Excerpt from a Needtobreathe Interview

This is from an interview about who the band Needtobreathe being christians affects their music, it is a very inspiring message ....

"We don’t set out to write secular songs or Christian songs. We write what comes out. I think that says a lot for us as a band. We don’t have to make Christian songs because we are on a major label and it’s not expected that we do so. We make them because that’s who we are and that’s what we are about. I think people appreciate us singing about something that’s important.

“I was always a big Rage Against the Machine fan. That music was politically charged, and I felt it was more valuable because they believed they were doing something for a cause. You think about Dylan, U2 or any body who feels something that they are saying is important, I think the art is better. And for us, Christianity is something that is important in our lives. It’s not the only thing that’s important in our lives, but then we wouldn’t be relevant to society if that was the only thing we talked about. I don’t think the band struggles with it that much. Sometimes the thing we struggle with the most is the Christian media.”

I ask if NeedtoBreathe has received criticism for not being “Christian” enough and how they’ve been able to handle that criticism with grace. Bear’s answer is incredibly gracious and as he’s observed, “Those people who are the naysayers may be five out of five hundred. They are the loudest, but I don’t believe they are representative of Christians in general. We kind of let that stuff roll off our backs and move forward.”

Seems as if “letting things roll” was a lesson well taught by Bear’s pastor father. “Washed by the Water”, Bear’s personally favorite song on The Heat, was inspired by a specific incident when Bear’s father came under fire by a group at church. Bear has always remembered how well his father handled the situation and felt that his father deserved a tribute for his Christlike reaction to a hurtful situation. The song itself is steeped in gospel overtones, and Bear credits that kind of education in gospel music to being able to play in church at a very young age. “We learned a lot from playing church music and I believe that gospel music is one of the best, if not the best, forms of American music”

What I've been up to ...

I feel like i haven't blogged in years, I'm not sure if anybody reads this blog but i am gonna fill everyone in on what's up with me. This past summer was a blast i worked at the Dauphin Way Child Development Center Summer Camp. Basically i got paid a little over minimum wage, 40 hours a week to counsel children from ages 5 to 10. Honestly this meant me going bowling every monday, swimming on tuesdays, field trips on wednesdays, thursdays theme days and skating on fridays. It was really a job of a lifetime. I am now in my senior year of high school still praying to see what God wants for me and my future. I am open minded i am ready to go where he tells me. And fortunately after working this summer i landed the after school care job at the same daycare. Also a good job i just work from 3 to 6 every afternoon. I am starting my application process for college ... the main college i am interested in is Boyce College which is located in Louisville, Ky. It is located on the same campus as Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. It would really be a great place to go to especially if my future involved going to seminary but i know not what the future holds ... there is only one who does. If you are reading this i would love your prayers and any advice about how to go at the whole college process.

My Full Review of Wilco (The Album)

Wilco (The Album) was, thankfully, not a disappointment. In fact, this album was not as good as Sky Blue Sky and yet it has a solid list of songs. Wilco hasn't changed they still have the same sound and I wouldn't have it any other way. Tweedy (Jeff) still brings that grimy folk feel and his lyrics still make you wonder. This band consists of so many amazingly talented artist, it almost seems impossible for them to do something badly. I did notice that there is a little bit more emphasis on the music side and not the actually lyrics and parts of the songs, because when you have someone like Tweedy being who he is thats all you really need. It also seems better put together as in the technical parts of making an album. This goes to show you that touring all the time and releasing live dvd's pays off in the end in a gift of good producer to match the amazing sound these guys can create. My favorite songs are Wilco (The Song), You Never Know, I'll Fight and Sonny Feeling. These songs i have listed are what seem to me as the Wilco sound i love, but don't get me wrong the slower paced songs are amazing too. If you happen to be a real Wilco fan you know that nine times out of ten this band will not let you down and they did not with this album. I also pre-ordered through Itunes so i got an extra song Dark NEon which has Tweedy written all over it the opening line is "I was sitting safely across the road from a rusting scaffolding, picking my nose", when i heard it i grinned. All in all this album is worth buying if you are a real deal Wilco fan. Well, until next time i bid you ado. 

Who Knew It Would Come To This

Anyone who truly knows me has heard of my feelings about Christian music in general, well i think it is sad that you could take out Lord or Jesus out of a Christian song and automatically it becomes a love song. And also the argument has always been that Christian music tries to be too much like secular music, but when you think about it there is no possible way to get around it. Recently John Pendleton a.k.a. Paperboy and his friend Tavren started visiting my church. I knew him from school and what not but found out he was a local Christian rapper, this honestly made me a little intrigued about what this music was like because i've been so against it all these years. So i found out he had a demo cd and i downloaded it from the internet and i liked it, maybe because i knew him or because i genuinely liked it. This made me more and more interested in Christian rap so i asked my friend Brett Glover to make me a cd of the best stuff and he ended up giving me three cd's full of songs. There were artists like Lecrae, Trip Lee, Tedashii, Sho Baracka, and Flame. These guys are really doing something big with there amazing message and the way they put it out. But once again i began to judge them lyrically and the rest pale in comparison to Trip Lee. To say it in an understandable way his rhymes go hard and he is literally sold out, along with all the other guys. So i have actually made a full 360 on something i used to not like, and believe me that never happens ... EVER!!!! I truly encourage you to look into all this artist you will not be dissapointed.