Well this is a little late but the holiday season was a busy one this year so.... Here is a sum up of my personal best for 2013:
Best Music:
Overall this was a pretty dry year for great music but there are a few highlights that deserve mentioning for me:
- Best album: "All Sons & Daughters - Live"- Where have these guys been hiding?! One of the best worship records of all time. Terrific songwriting, never cliched or predictable. The musicianship is top notch. Personal favorite: "Called Me Higher."
- Best song: "Anchor" by Hillsong United & "Promises" by Sanctus Real. While neither of these songs break any significant artistic ground, they cam e along at a time in my life when I needed to be reminded of the faithfulness of God in the worst of circumstances. These won;t win any awards for creativity but they comforted my soul when I really needed it.
- Best overplayed radio pop song: "Wake Me Up" by Avicii. Love this song!
Best movie I saw:
"Catching Fire" While the first Hunger Games movie was decent, this second part totally surpassed all expectations I had. It was one of the best book-to-movie adaptations I have seen in some time. I know there were better movies but I could only afford to see so many. The rest are Redbox fodder for 2014. :-)
Best Superhero movie:
The big surprise this year for me was "The Wolverine." Finally, it felt like the Wolverine I knew and loved from the comics. Though I was disappointed in "Iron Man 3" in the theaters, I began to like it much more on Blu Ray after seeing a few more times. "Thor 2" was fun like a roller coaster, but still nowhere near the movie Avengers was. And "Man of Steel" was a step in the right direction for the Superman franchise but ultimately was kind of flat emotionally. Lots of cool explosions and massive destruction but if I'm not emotionally invested in the characters, so what? "The Wolverine" not only delivered on all the essentials - story, character, action, emotional depth -- it serves as a promising indicator for the whole X-Men movie franchise. Excited to see what they do with "Days of Future Passed."
Best TV show I watched:
Toss up between "Duck Dynasty" and "The Walking Dead." Two vastly different shows but wouldn't miss an episode of either. The only connection the two shows have is that in a real zombie apocalypse, I would want the Duck Dynasty guys on my team.
Best books I read:
I read a LOT of books this year and learned a lot from some brilliant, godly mentors. I can't narrow it down to one but here are a few that impacted me the most:
- Because We Love Him: Embracing a Life of Holiness by Clyde Cranford. An older, hard-to-find book given to me by a former pastor. This is definitely worth seeking out. A dry read for the casual reader but if you are a serious seeker of what it means to live a life of holiness, this book is worth the work.
- Eyes Wide Open: Enjoying God in Everything by Steve DeWitt. One of my favorite books ever. A new classic. Helped me greatly to develop the discipline of letting the ordinary everyday beauty of things like nature, food, music, art, and other people draw me up into worship of the One who made it all.
- The Utter Relief of Holiness by John Eldredge. What year would be complete without a book from John Eldredge? This one is a relatively short read. Cuts to the chase on how pursuing holiness in Christ breaks the chains that bind us and sets us free from a host of addictions that plague our souls.
- Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart by J.D. Greear. Fantastic little book about assurance of salvation. Found it very helpful in counseling and discipling.
- Crazy Busy by Kevin DeYoung. God lead me to this book a few months back when I kind of had a mini-meltdown. I had exhausted myself emotionally, physically, and spiritually and was not obeying the principle of Sabbath. I accidentally stumbled onto this book through Crossway's website and ordered it. So helpful! A must read for every pastor.
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