…missed it, The good ol’ Buckeyes defeated the accursed m******n wolverines this past Saturday 25-21. Woohoo. What the heck is a wolverine anyhow? Some kind of boot?
The least you can do…
…is give a listen to my friend Chad Patterson, guitarist extraordinaire and all round great guy. After years of covering campfire songs and praise and worship standards on the Adirondack summer camp circuit, Chadwick is busting out with his own stuff. Tell your friends, tell your mom…tell your friends’ moms (especially if they happen to be record company exec’s). And drop a note to Chad telling him he really needs to include that “Sweet Home Alabama” hidden track when his cd is released. We’ll take a collection for the royalties or somethin’.
So I woke up…
…this morning, did the usual things and went to church. It was anniversary Sunday at Grace Baptist, a big event here. After I got there though I wasn’t feeling all that celebratory at all. Just felt kinda off, kinda out of place, but wasn’t really sure why, So after the “special music” I slipped out the back and headed out. I ended up taking a drive down to Huntington to clear my head. Swung by Borders and then settled into a nice latte at starbucks (just like ol’ times in NY). And broke open a book that I hadn’t read in a while, “The Enemy Within” by Kris Lundgaard. When I have a chance I’ll put something about it up under Books, but reading it exposed why I was feeling off. In short I had stepped away, without fully realizing it, from confronting sin in my life and had fell into some old habits that just won’t die. The kind you think you’ve licked but raise up their head when you least expect it. For some time I had been “entertaining” sin in my life under the guise of grace, excusing it as inconsequential because of the cross and denying its effect on my life and the lives I interact with. My foolish choices had been tearing my soul apart and rather than fighting it I dove right in, again and again. Until I was just too much to bear, too much to hide from. The cross of Christ paid for our sin, and the grace of God is endless, but holiness just doesn’t happen and sin cannot be taken lightly. So I think I am back on the right path again. Striving against sin through the Grace of God, depending on Him and not myself. And knowing that I will stumble, but getting back up again. Instead of embracing the dust.
Don Miller
Don Miller is a rare voice among a generation of believers who are trying to find their place in the Church and in the world Don is well on his way to being a household name in evangelicalism, and has had several successful books that reach out beyond typical Christian bookstore fair. Everyone of them is worth reading, but I still enjoy Blue Like Jazz the best.
dream big
So I have a confession to make. Not only did I buy a “country” cd recently, but it has hints of bluegrass. Maybe not old school bluegrass, but it is chock full of banjo music (even a song lamenting the lack of fame and fortune banjo players experience). Since my return to Appalachia my musical horizons have broadened, and I really, really like these guys. Its just fun stuff. So check out Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band, you won’t regret it.