Quote of the Day

I was watching an old John Wayne movie called The Cowboys. In the movie, John Wayne is leading a group of young boys across 400 miles of rugged country on a cattle drive. In one scene they come across the skeleton of a man with an Indian spear sticking in him. One boy asks, "What happened here?" John Wayne answers, "Little Big Horn." The boy looks at the skeleton in disgust and says, "They didn't even dig him a decent grave!." John Wayne says:

"Well, it's not how you're buried, it's how they remember you."

Good word, Duke!

You can tell a lot about a person by their iPod...

Just out of curiosity I looked to see what my Top Ten most played songs on my iPod were. Interesting. I never would have guessed it. Here they are...

10. "Unforgettable" by Nat King Cole

09. "Reminiscing" by Little River Band

08. "Carlisle Wheeling" by The Monkees (My most played Monkees song!)

07. "Something" by The Beatles (There was no way there was NOT going to be at least one Beatles song in my Top 10!)

06. "I Love You (For Sentimental Reasons)" by Nat King Cole (I was not expecting there to be TWO NKC songs, however...)

05. "What's New" by Charlie Watts (This is the drummer of the Rolling Stones. He has a jazz combo on the side that records the smoothest versions of old standards. Great stuff!)

04. "In My Life" by The Beatles (My most played Beatles song... This song is songwriting genius.)

03. "Photograph" by Ringo Starr (Now this surprised me, I must confess. I mean, this is a great song but of all the solo Beatles to show up in my Top Ten, I would have expected McCartney. Ringo would be the last one I expected to see. Strangely fitting, though...)

02. "I've Got a Crush On You" by Charlie Watts

and the number one most played song on Jerry's iPod is... (drum roll, please)

01. "Chances Are" by Johnny Mathis

I'm not kidding. It really is. I am totally in love with this song. I grab my wife and we slow dance every time it comes on. Freaks our kids out. They run screaming from the room, "AAAAGH! Old people in love!" This has become one of our "special" songs. You know what I mean. ;-)

So I have to admit that this surprised me somewhat. I mean I love all these songs and they come up in the rotation regularly but I would have guessed I would see more power pop and modern rock stuff. I mean one Monkees song only? And not even one of my top favorites. No McCartney? No Cheap Trick? No U2 for cryin' out loud!!! How is that possible?

Nevertheless, I learned a little something about myself by looking at this list. I'm even more of a hopeless romantic than I thought. Actually, "hopeless" is not the right term; I am a hope-full romantic. Some would call it schmaltzy. But I am so crazy in love with my wife that I find I gravitate toward those songs that celebrate that. If you take a close look at all these songs there are common themes: faithfulness, loyalty, marriage, family, treasuring those relationships that make life worth living. These songs may not reflect my musical loves but they completely reflect my heart.

I also noticed there weren't any "Christian" songs in the list. But the songs that are there celebrate the kind of love that can only come from knowing the Author of Love. So when I sing them, they are coming from my heart, which is a new creation in Christ. So in that since, they are all "Christian" songs.

Looking at the next ten songs it doesn't change much. Cheap Trick and Macca and John Lennon show up finally but singing romantic love songs: "Carrying," "My Love," "Woman," "If You Want My Love"... There is even an Elvis song, "I Can't Help Falling in Love With You." And another Beatles tune, "And I Love Her." And more Charlie Watts.

I may be a rocker on the surface. But I carry the heart of a lover. At least, that's what my iPod tells me.

Had an intersting day...

I woke up feeling nauseous and exhausted. Stomach's been a little queasy for a few days now. Between feeling sick and the dog barking half the night, I hardly slept. I "texted" in sick to the office but worked from home anyways.

Here's the interesting part... The message that I preached this past weekend at church had failed to record due to a technical glitch. I was disappointed because I wanted my mom and my Vegas friends to hear it. Steve suggested I just set up a mic and preach it again. Hmmm...

So today I set up a home "studio" in my bedroom using my laptop and the mic from our Beatles Rock Band game. I moved our bird out of the room, silenced the phone's ringer, and banned everyone from the back of the house. Then I put my notes on a music stand and hit record and preached to the walls. It was weird at first but once I got going it was actually kind of fun. No time constraints so I could use all the material I wanted (though some would say I didn't seem to be bothered by time constraints Sunday!)

You can listen to it here. Just picture me all by myself, preaching into a Wii microphone plugged into my laptop and you'll get the picture.

Best Moments of 2009

I know I'm a little late on this but I wanted to weigh in on what I think are some of the best moments our family experienced in 2009. So here they are, in no particular order...

Our "Fireproof" small group at Hope Baptist in Las Vegas, NV.

Being ordained to the gospel ministry by Hope Baptist.

Staying at the bed & breakfast in historic Hiram, GA while we were visiting Church at the Ridge

Being called to be the new Creative Arts Pastor at Church at the Ridge in Hiram, GA

Getting to stay at a really cool old house in Woodstock for free.

Getting a new MacBook Pro for FREE!!! (And a free iPod touch came with it!)

Going to the U2 360 tour at the Georgia Dome with my son, Erik, and his friends.

Making some great new friends at our new church. Our new small group ROCKS!

Getting to preach on marriage at C@TR.

Getting a surprise visit from the Milligan family from Vegas!

Finally getting Beatles Rock Band this Christmas.

Celebrating 22 years of marriage to the most amazing, godly woman in the known universe. I love you, sweet-pea!


For what it's worth, here is my Top Ten of the best music from 2009 (again in no particular order):

U2 - "No Line on the Horizon"
Switchfoot - "Hello Hurricane"
Cheap Trick - "The Latest" & "Sgt. Pepper Live"
David Crowder Band - "Church Music"
Coldplay - "LeftRightLeftRight"
Fee - "Hope Rising"
Muse - "The Resistance"
needtobreathe - "The Outsiders"

Honorable Mention: Black Eyed Peas - "I Gotta Feeling" (single)
Ok, so I HATE this band but I cannot deny this is a catchy song!