i’m enjoying this semester of youth ministry at the well so so much. it has been a really cool semester for many reason. i’ve gotten to develop friendships with a bunch of students and these are what really make it for me. i’ve been leading worship for the high school ministry and this has been so fun and refreshing with a dash of stretching. there have been students involved with playing/leading since the second week this semester. it has been such a joy and blessing for me to get to be apart of them leading their peers in worship through song and music. it’s looking like when we start our spring semester there will be, at minimum, two worship teams. we’ll have an underclassmen team and an upperclassmen team. my prayer is that we’ll be able to break into grade specific teams by the end of the school year. my desire is to see students play together for 4 years and learn about leading worship, writing music, arranging songs, and being a band. the challenging comes in as my role in equipping them, training them, encouraging them, and setting the example with my life. i’m so looking forward to that challenge. beyond that the ministry is growing and it’s so neat to see students inviting their friends. one guy came because he was invited by ryan. this guy didn’t even know ryan’s last name.. they have a math class together and ryan just asked if he wanted to come so he did. that’s awesome! our sophomore and freshman classes are filled with students like ryan who are inviting their friends to come and be apart of what they’re doing. God is good and doing things in the students lives along with stretching and growing the leaders as well. i’m so thankful for where God has me and the joy that has come from serving Him in this arena.
what’s your desktop picture currently? mine is shuffling through a few different pictures.. here are three of them…
so i was looking at my twitter page through the twitter site and saw that one of the top trending words or phrases was music monday. so i figured i’d throw out a couple of recommendations. here are a couple of bands i’ve been listening to recently…
forever the sickest kids – the weekend: friday - super fun album. not sure yet if it’s as good as their full length album titled underdog alma mater. there are some super catchy tracks for sure. the thing these guys from the dallas texas area are really good at are writing massive choruses that you’ll be singing along with in no time. i would have to say that the sickest kids are probably the best in this genre of synth pop rock right now. the track you should check out would be do or die.
dashboard confessional – alter the ending deluxe edition – i’m not the biggest dashboard fan in the world. i never really got into the whole hair everywhere craze that screaming infidelities created with those broken hearted sing-a-long lyrics. i have enjoyed some of songs dashboard has put out ever since chris left further seems forever. lately though i’ve been spending some time with the acoustic disc from dashboard’s new album. there are some really good songs and some really cool guitar work here. my current favorite off the album is the closer which is called hell on the throat and that’s the track i’d recommend you give a listen.
flyleaf – memento mori – i like this album a lot. i like this band a lot. i like the people in this band a lot. go buy it! it has been so long since they released flyleaf i was afraid that they might never release an album let alone one that would be as good as the last one (david crowder covered one of their songs on his new disc church music so you know they’re legit!). i should let you know that their first full length release took a long time to grow on me and only really found a place on my iPod (this was a pre iPhone world folks) after i saw them in concert and had my face rocked off. there are a handful of songs that i instantly liked when i dropped this onto my iPhone for listening. i am going to recommend the whole album.
other notable albums that i’ve been listening to are as follows
- monster monster by the almost
- hello hurricane by switchfoot
- we’re all going somewhere by abandon kansas
- a time for lions by stars of track and field
alrighty… let me know what you’re listening to and what you think i should hear!
if you have never listened to them you truly are missing out. here are a couple of videos for your eyes and ears!
also, i just got my hands on the delta spirit’s album called ode to sunshine. i recommend it! i feel like these guys would be a good match up with cold war kids on tour. check them both out!
so i don’t tend to spend money on apps for my phone. every now and again i’ll spend up to $2 for something. i might be changing that. i just read a review and saw this video for a video editing app for the iPhone 3GS. check it out. what do you think about it?
in no particular order of importance:
1 – livedrug’s music. this band has been one that i’ve enjoyed for some time now but recently, probably the past few months, i’ve been listening to them a lot. they just posted some demos on their PUREVOLUME page that sound pretty good. go download them now!
2 – a million miles in a thousand years. i’ve already mentioned that i really enjoyed this book. i am in process of reading it a second time with the staff of the youth department at the well. i’m really excited to underline some more words, spend time talking about the book with good friends, and taking time to see what God wants to do to me through this reading. the book is an easy read and was/is really challenging in my opinion. i’d recommend this to anyone!
3 – my roommates. if you haven’t met them yet you really should. it’s been such a blessing to live with the 4 guys that i share a house with. for no special reason this has been a great week in our house and i hope it’s an indication of what’s to come!
4 – sleep. until the past day or two i’ve not gotten much sleep at all and i know it was taking it’s toll on me. thankfully i have a super comfy bed and by God’s grace have had two great nights of sleep in a row. sleep is a good thing!
5 – dinner with my mom. i love my mother! i got to go out to dinner with her this past week and had a great time. so grateful that i get along with and truly enjoy my parents!
