MONDAY IS "FUN"-DAY

right...? well... perhaps it's not always that fun, but it's kind of a new start and that's usually a good thing for me... not much is worse than to start out on Monday and find out that your to-do list has followed you through the weekend... today is not like that for me though... today is a new day... a pretty fresh start and even though i picked the Steelers to win, i'm glad that the Patriots were victorious... (okay, that's all the football for this entry)...

So, i almost fell asleep in church yesterday... i know that's terrible... but it wasn't the sermon or the Sunday School lesson... it was during the "praise and worship time"... and the real kicker is that we sang a Crowder song that i really like... amazingly though, the worship team managed to emit anti-energy matter while performing the tune... it continued during a mechanical version of a Chris Tomlin song... i hate it when people sing "yeah" as if it were just another word... actually, i hate it when people sing any lyrics as if they were simply reading words... lyrics are so much more than words... and music is so much more than notes... this is an expression of your love for God... to share what He means in your life... this is... so much more...

anyway... i've begun to view the beginning of the church service as the Superbowl pregame show... i love watching the Superbowl and i remember watching the pregame chatter, analysis and such when i was younger... but now it's like 48 hours of pre-game hype for a 4 hour show... it just seems inane on some level... and to some extent the "praise and worship" part of church has gotten that way too... silly little tear-jerker videos, worship leader wanna be rockstar, little divettes hoping that their offertory will make a good American Idol audition tape, etc... etc... etc...

i'm sure that i'm just jaded for the most part... and perhaps just a little too tired... but i'm just getting so annoyed with it all... remember that time when we used to worship God when we sang in church?... moving on...

WORD OF THE DAY

i know that i said i would head back to Joshua this time, but i'm going to stick with Ephesians again... Eph. 1:11-14 talks about how we have been chosen, predestined before time, to receive this inheritance... to be, here we go, this ties in with the first part of this entry, to be for the praise of His glory... that our lives would marked by praising God... in more than words... this whole talk of being chosen reminds me of how Joshua was chosen... and how the Israelites were chosen... all before any of them existed...

The next two verses talk about being sealed with the promise of the Holy Spirit... the same Holy Spirit that is the representation of how God is always with us, how He never leaves us, how He'll never forsake us... where have i heard that before?... oh yeah, chapter 1 of Joshua... God promises that several times to Joshua... as He was with Moses... as He was with Joshua... so shall it be with us...

IN OTHER WORDS

well, i didn't finish reading the Shepherd book - instead i read a bunch of Relentless, by Robin Parrish (100 pages to go) - but i have read more and there's about 25 pages left... so here's what i've read so far... chapter 6 talks about the tools of the trade, a rod and a staff, and the unique ways they can be used to protect sheep and support the shepherd... that the foremost job of a shepherd is to protect his flock... it ends with a reminder that Jesus as our shepherd can totally protect us...

chapter seven discusses some of the famous shepherds in the Bible, including David, Moses and ending with the shepherds present at the first Christmas... there's another passage from their novel... i'm not sure that i have any interest in reading the whole book... and ends with a reminder that a good shepherd lays down his life for his flock... okay... so about 25 more pages... probably next time i write this book will be the last time...

THE NEXT BIG THING

"thing" being band and we're down to four bands left, quickly closing in on a finale that is going to be crazy... here's a quick rundown of what i think of the contestants, both gone and still around...
The Hatch and The Likes of You: i've grouped these two together because i can't for the life of me remember who they are really... and i don't really care to...
Rocket: sorry, but i thought this chick rock group was just awful...
The Muggs: i actually really liked the classic hard rock sound that this trio put out... i was a little sad when they left, but i'm sure they'll do fine... they've been through worse...
Franklin Bridge: i think these guys have a nice energy and they have the potential to be something pretty big... however, their egos already are something big and i was actually kind of glad to see them go...
Cliff Wagner and the Old #7: of course i like bluegrass... and they're darn good at it... i do totally understand that they aren't exactly a hip scenester group though...
Tres Bien: this was one of my favorite groups of the lot... it's a sweet throwback, ironic rock band that has a great vibe and a great personality as a band...
Dot Dot Dot: ugh... i couldn't believe that they kept making it through and i was relieved to see them leave... just something about them that really bothered me about them...
Light of Doom: i love that they wear Maylene and the Sons of Disaster tee-shirts, and they do alright... but they're kids... and they may be a good band someday... but the jig is up... they can go back to homeroom now...
Din-vah and Mile High Er-kahstrah: love DMHO, love the big band, love the horns and i'm happy, but surprised at how far they've gotten (see Cliff)
The Clark Brothers: very tight sound and and very talented... i like to see what they put into each song... and they're an example of how a little bit of bluegrass can make the hip scenesters dance...
Sixwire: this was my early pick to win the whole thing... they get better every week and last week, Fat Bottomed Girls was awesome... i didn't care for their slow song, but i still think they'll pull this out...

okay... there you go... i've got lots more to say about this show, but i'll save it for another day...

BEFORE I GO

nothing new posted today, but i did interview Steven Delopoulos the other day and i'll be working on that soon... (it's third in my interview queue)...

COMING SOON

i'll talk about heroes.... i'll talk about Blake Lewis... i'll talk more about the band showsr... and i'll post more interviews, reviews and features at everyone's favorite website called theTRu...

peace... love... bdg..