Good stuff

Well The Violet Burning absolutely rocked. The show consisted of a lot of stuff from the new album "drop dead" but the also threw in two of my favorite older tunes "As I Am" and "Low." The thing that never ceases to amaze about Michael Pritzl's song writing is his ability to take the feelings that myself and alot of other believers have and so beautifully articulate them in a musical and lyrical way.

Also got the chance to turn some new folks on to The Violets. Buster went with me but he has seen and heard them before so he knows. But we also took his daughter Jesse, my friend Tav, his kids Tayva and Kameron (sp?) and my friend Justin. It's always nice when you can let folks in on a secret that definitely needs to be shared.

Now you may remember my friend Tav from a previous post. He's the one who came and snaked out my clogged sewer pipe a few weeks ago. Well I got the chance to repay the favor over the past couple of days by helping him get the website for his business up and running. If you're in West Virginia and you need an electrical contractor give him a shout. Check out http://www.alphaelectric.biz if you need more information. It's always nice when you get the chance to repay a kindness and I don't care what Tav says, this was wayyyyy easier than cleaning out that sewer pipe.

That's it, no rants or whining this week.

I wanna run, I wanna fall into your arms.
So, lay my head down, I wanna wake, there in your arms.
I long to view forever through the twinkling of an eye.
I long to find a song of hope and lay down by your side.
A song for all the weeping, a song for all the tears.
I'll sing for you to carry me, I'll sing One Thousand Years, I wanna run.
I wanna run, I wanna fall into your arms.
So, lay my head down, I wanna wake there, in your arms.
Yeah, you're my heart, you're my home
From "One Thousand Years" by The Violet Burning

Catching Up

Well I hope you have some time cause it's been a week since I posted and I got lots to fill y'all in on.

My first week of Weight Watchers went well, I lost 7 lbs. This weeks goal is to get myself back on a regular workout schedule and stick to it. So far, so good and I have every intention of keeping it good.

I also have to give props to my Sunday School class. I taught for the first time following my little tirade on the Thursday night class and I have to say it went really well. The kids were very attentive and got into the lesson and it was just a real blessing for me to be there with them this past Sunday. Now this is not the actual class I laid into but it contains alot of the same kids, just in case you care or are keeping real track of this thing.

How about those Winter Olympics???!!!! (insert chirping crickets sound here) Ummmm yeah my thoughts exactly. I've watched about 4 minutes of Ice Hockey and about 15 minutes of some type of free style motocross downhill skiing or some such thing that only gets network TV time every 4 years. I'm quite proud to say that not a minute of figure skating, ice dancing or anything else involving music, ice and skates has crossed my TV screen. Don't get me wrong, I think those folks are incredibly talented athletic performers who can do things that I could never dream about doing. But I have a real hard time accepting any sport where someone else has so much more sway over the outcome than the actual participants. And after the whole judge bribing fiasco in Salt Lake City at the last Winter Olympics it amazes that anyone still considers it a legitimate "sport" worthy of Olympic consideration. But I guess if curling get's a nod then why not???

So I watched most of the Daytona 500 this weekend and NASCAR continues to amaze me, their subjective interpretation of the rule book and thinly veiled favoritism toward certain drivers has moved them to the outskirts of territory that right now is only occupied by pro wrestling and roller derby. Part of me really hopes this will be Mark Martin's last season so I can find something else to do with my Sunday afternoons.

Well American Idol is back for it's 5th season. Yes I'm a fan, never missed an episode. This years group of contestants is very strong and maybe the best yet. We just got done watching the 12 male finalists perform and tomorrow night they'll announce which 2 males and which 2 females have been eliminated. Right now I'd say that Stevie Smith, Ayla Brown and Brenna Gathers (hope I'm right about this one) will make up the bottom 3 females and Bobby Bennett, Bucky Covington (hope I'm wrong about this one) and Will Makar will be the bottom 3 guys. On another Idol note, it never ceases to amaze me how many times Simon is called rude by other fans, judges or contestants. Simon is crass, blunt, direct and a smarta$$ but rarely is he rude. I say this because most of the time he allows other people to express their opinions and say what they have to say before offering his take. For doing this is he is usually shouted down and rudely interrupted by the other 2 judges when the time to offer his opinion arrives. Now just because I have a very strong opinion that doesn't agree with yours doesn't mean I'm rude. If I shout over top of you because your opinion is different from mine then I'm rude. Ohhh and will they please for the love of all that is holy fire Paula now!!! If I see her standing on her chair dancing for another mediocre performance I'm gonna throw my remote through the TV.

Tomorrow night is The Violet Burning and I am so stoked. If you're in the DC area and have 12 bucks and a few hours to spare head on over to Jammin Java in Vienna and check out the best band you've probably never heard.

Currently:
Reading:
If you said Showdown by Ted Dekker you'd be right :D
In the CD/MP3 Player:
P.O.D. - Testify
Day of Fire - Day of Fire

Luv and such

Well yesterday was Valentines day. My first as a married man and it was quite nice. My wife (refered to as Muffin in the future) is an absolute wonder and I wake up everyday wondering what in world possessed her to marry me??!!! Well we got each other nice presents and I made a nice candle light dinner and we cuddled on the couch for most of the evening. To this point married life is just awesome.

So I started back to Weight Watchers on Monday. Some of you know that I did WW for several years and was able to lose over 100 lbs. Well I've gained a good bit of that back and am not real happy with the way I feel or look right now so I have to do something for me. Well my valentines present from Muffin was a huge plastic storage bin full of low fat & low cal snacks and such. Oh and bedroom slippers too (Maybe I'll tell that story later :D). Now maybe you can being to understand why I LOVE THIS WOMAN TO DEATH!!!

Let It Snow

Just got done shoveling snow and I must say it's actually pretty. We probably got about 10 inches and that's enough to make everybody stop and take notice but not enough to completely bring everything to a halt. I think Shasta is gonna make snow ice cream *yum* and you guys are invited to come over for some if you can get over before I eat it all LOL.

Currently:
Reading:
Showdown by Ted Dekker (I'll finish it one day)
In the CD/MP3 Player:
Flyleaf - Flyleaf
Michael J. Pritzl - Kissing The Sky (live acoustic)

Grrrrr

If it hasn't been one thing it's been the other this week. First the plumbing problems, then the flu and tonight I end up laying into the kids I teach at church. Not that they're bad kids necessarily it's just that they don't seem to understand that it's impolite to talk when others are talking (especially when those people are trying to teach you something) and that when an adult asks you and then tells you stop doing something you should do it. Well I had both those situations tonight and ended up sending one kid out of the class and ended up giving another heated lecture on disrespect to the entire class. The whole talking over people and general lack of respect for their teachers and each other has been an issue for some time now and they got a speech from me several weeks ago about it and they got it again tonight, both barrels. But to be honest nothing seems to be getting through. I've been teaching youth for ~15 years now and before these 2 incidents I had never had to raise my voice for anything more that to tell a group to be quiet, but that doesn't get the job done with this group. Anyway, right now I'm wondering if I'm even supposed to be teaching them at this point. We'll see.

So it's a Violet Burning evening. If you never heard of the the Violet Burning. It's a band who's driving force is a guy named Michael Pritzl. With an ever changing group of supporting players he has written and recorded some of the most beautiful, sad, uplifting and worshipful songs you'll ever hear. I listen to them a lot but it's especially fitting for the stressed out, melo-funky mood I'm in right now. I would highly recommend checking them to anybody. They are one my favorite bands ever. You can find more information at http://thevioletburning.com. If you're in the DC area they'll be at Jammin Java in Vienna on 2/23 and you know I'll be there.

My God has rescued me
Taken my rags and made me clean
Opened my eyes so I could see
My God has rescued me
From "Clean (My God Has Rescued Me)" by The Violet Burning

Blah!

Not a lot to post today. First of all a quick shout out to my friend Tav for taking time out of his extremely busy schedule to come by and snake out my sewer line. It's so nice to be able to take a shower and go poo without worrying about things backing up. Tav you are the man and I love you!!!

Started coming down with the flu Monday night and am finally starting to feel better, if you're catching it or have it I recommend lots of sleep and fluids. Seems to have helped me a lot.

And to those of you who have made comments, thank you for you kind and civil input. Gonna go drink some OJ and wait for my favorite red head to come home.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

So Shasta and I go to see Underworld: Evolution last night; yes the movie is rated R and it's about vampires and lychens (werewolves). But as an adult I can make an informed decision about my viewing choices. A decision that a 2-3 year old child can't and shouldn't be making. So you guessed it, a couple of candidates for parents of the year showed up with their 2-3 y/o child at this movie!!! What were they thinking? I mean watching it yourself is fine, your adults. But to force your child to watch it is, well stupid. I can only hope that child kept them up all night (and for the next several) screaming about vampires and lychens.

How about that Super Bowl??!!! Props to the Steelers and if you're a Steelers fan enjoy your 5th ring. But what a lousy game, other than Willie Parkers run there was really nothing "Super" about it. The officiating was terrible to the point where you could make a strong argument that it actually determined the outcome of the game and that should never happen. Really can't even say much for the commercials and as for the halftime show, not even gonna start on that.

Went out to get gas after we get home from the Super Bowl party and this minivan pulls in behind me and a guy gets out and walks up to me. Mind you it's 10 o'clock at night. So this guy (Jason if memory serves) approaches me and tells me they are 250 miles from home, dead on E, haven't eaten all day and asks if I could help out. With plumbing problems and some other things I haven't had the best day so I really just wanted to get in the car and go home. Well God tends to smack me on the neck at times and this was one of those. So I helped him out with gas, got him some cash for food, told him Jesus loved him, prayed with him and away he went. I always think of Hebrews 13:2 in those situations and wonder.

i couldn’t tell you why good people suffer
i couldn’t tell you why the bad ones run free
God showers blessings
on the righteous and the wicked
i only know that that covers me
From "Why Good People Suffer" by Stavesacre

Let's get this party started

Well let's start with a bit about me. I'm 36 from West Virginia and recently married the most beautiful woman on the planet. I'm a big fan of music although I can't play or sing a note. Ocassionally I may even post song lyrics that fit my mood. I also dig video games, movies and just hanging with my friends.

I teach senior high youth at my church and for the most part they're a really great bunch of kids and sometimes they teach me as much as I teach them. And yes I am a christian, that doesn't mean I'm gonna preach at you but I can't guarantee you that you won't see the occassional rant about how messed up this world is. My world view is my world view and I don't apologize for it.

Ok, so why am I blogging? Maybe it's an outlet for the occassional soul purging or maybe because it seems to be the cool geek thing to do right now. I'm not really even sure other than I thought I'd give it a try.

Currently:
Reading:
Showdown by Ted Dekker
In the CD/MP3 player:
Grits - Dichotomy B
Holy Hip Hop 3
Carrie Underwood - Some Hearts
Movies (recently seen):
Narnia - TLTW&TW
End of The Spear
Underworld: Evolution