-Next this whole month as gone by in a blur and has been my busiest month of school to date.

- Last night I preached for the first time since having been in Homiletics with Dr. Black and it was only my third time preaching ever. It was an amzing experience and felt pretty good but more importantly some of the students connected to what was said.

- The new Copeland cd came out and it is really stunning. A review will be put up soon.

_ I have seen two really good movies lately, Ghosttown and Run, Fat Boy, Run. Both of these movies are comedies that actually have a really good message in them.

-Finally i love the cold weather…

Haiku #1

Bits of parchment lost,
Words scribbled to find meaning.
Prayers last forever.

Haiku #2

Swords press hard to
Necks to intimidate now,
Yet they still smile big.

These haikus are probably not that good but they were written while I was listening to a report of all the terrible persecution that is going on right now in India against Christians. I will be posting either today or tomorrow about what is going on over there so stay tuned.

palmer

1. My fantasy football team is absolutely terrible as is my luck with choosing who to play week in and week out.

2. This weekend was a pretty amazing weekend. I got to go down to Atlanta with my amazing girlfriend and spend sometime with her family. Her family is pretty amazing and have really gone a long way to accept me. We went to an Atlanta Braves game and spent some very good, quality time together.

3. There is a lot of persecution going on right now in India for being a Christian. I will actually make a post about this either later today or tomorrow to explain this in a bit more detail.

4. Just bought Kanye West’s new single Love Lockdown. The song is straight sick. A new sound, a new direction that Kanye should further explore. I have to hand it to him the man just knows music.

5. Everyone should also check out Matt Nathanson and his cd Some Mad Hope

6. Look for a new poetry post later today

7. Last but not least Tommy Smothers absolutely handed it to the nation last night on the emmy awards on ABC. look up the controversy.

much love,

ender

My thoughts make these walls.
I bury faces here.
Even names fall dead like leaves
Just a way to get by.

Sometimes I get lost,
Free-roaming through
The vast corridors
Of memories
Of oft forgotten lullabies
Of earlier and younger times
Where I did not have this edge.
I scream
I shout
I scratch and fight for a way out.

I slowly trudge through
Only to find my heart
Entangled in thorns and thistles
Between the cages of my ribs
Like graves marking different
Times I’ve fallen.

Can I bury it?
Can I put to rest
The very thing
that keeps this blood
Coursing through my veins?

Oh for a touch of light,
Some kind of succor
From this grave digging.
I will lift my eyes unto
The hills,
Out of these walls
these catacombs
To see where my help comes from

“Oh God save me from myself”

So heres whats on my mind at the beggining of this week:

- I really enjoy leading worship and I hope that God continues to grow me up in that area.

- It is a tremendous privelege for me to be able to lead worship for Spiritual Emphasis because I am leading my peers in worship, whom i regard very highly.

- God has been working on my heart lately and seemingly changing the direction that my life was/is going. Please pray for me in this time as I seek what God has for me.

- The NFL started yesterday and what a day it was: Brett Favre throwing touchdowns in a Jets uniform, Tom Brady going down with a season ending injury, and the Bears beat the Colts with some amazing defense. This is going to be an exciting year for football fans

- Yesterday Pastor Tom preached a great message that really spoke to me about time management and how much I am involved in. It gave me a lot to think about.

- One thought to chew on and digest: As americans we are such a consumer nation that it is ingrained into each of us. Consumerism in general is for the most part not such a good thing. As christians though we can buy products that go on to support great causes like To Write Love On Her Arms, TOMS Shoes, pro-life organizations like Abort 73. Go out and look for ways to turn your spending into giving (if you catch the drift).

There she is. Isn’t she so pretty. I know it may be cheesy but I thought that I would take a minute to just share about why i’m so blessed to have her in my life. First of all Bethany is one of the most loving people in the entire world. She absolutely loves people. She wants people to know that they are loved. She will go out of her way and talk to and love the people that other poeple don’t notice. She gives of her time and money to do things for other people so that they know that they are loved.

The 2nd thing about Beth that I absolutley love is that she is one of the most unique people that i know. This can first be seen in her style.

yeah she is dressed up like a jedi

I mean come dressing up like a Jedi is awesome. She also just has a way and style that just really speaks about who she is. She like colors and patterns (which speaks of her fun, outgoing personality). She likes accessories (which speaks about her overall attention to detail in life). She wears shirts and buys shoes that support good causes ( no explenation needed other than she wants to see people relieved who are in pain and suffering).

Beth also really loves similiar bands that I like. She can throw down at a hardcore show and relax at a good acoustic show.

Last, but most importantly, she loves God and wants to serve Him more than anything else in this world. She loves Him more than me, more than her friends, and even more than her family.

So i know this may have been cheesy but to all who read my blog show my lady some love and let her know how awesome she is.

We know it by heart..

There was a part that stuck out to me today that i had never thought of before. If the phrase says to love you neighbor as yourself then we need to treat others like we treat ourselves. I realized that there are many people who, like me, go straight to the part about loving others and forget the part about loving ourselves. For me, a new revelation from this passage, is that our ability to love others comes from our ability to love ourselves. My brain and heart then made another jump and realized that I, like way too many others, have a hard time loving myself. I realized that i have an incredibly hard time being content with who God created me me to be and its in those seasons of my life that i find it the hardest to truly love others and even God.

I know that this is a tough thing and it seems like “how do i learn to love myself” and the only answer is prayer! Pray to God and ask him to help you be secure in your identity, in who God made you to be. Ask God for the eyes to see yourself the way he sees you…

Go. Pray. Love yourself. Love others.

ender

be on the lookout for a post on the new coldplay cd soon….

Now to the actual cd with a breakdown of each song in order of appearance on the cd:

“Bixby Canyon Bridge”- This is a great starter to the cd with a fairly upbeat sound that sees them use some distorted guitars which will seem very different to some people. The vocals are great with nice harmonies. Lyrically speaking this song sets up a bit of a darker tone than that of plans.

“I Will Possess Your Heart”- This is the first single from the lp, which is deceptive because the radio edit of this song is about 5 minutes shorter than the actual album version of this song. This song is a pulsing, moving song that really pulls you in with its undulating bass line and gritty lyrics. The drums are another highlight of this song. This really showcases the band and holds the feel of these turbulent times.

“No Sunlight”- This is a short little diddy of a song. It has a 1950′s esque feel to it, like I could easily hear it being played in Johnny Rockets someday. I dont say that as a negative thing.

“Cath…”- This is one of my favorite songs on this album. It starts off with a nice opening riff which leads into a ricocheting drum beat that propels the song throughout. Ben Gibbards  reverbed voice fits perfectly in this song. Go off somewhere and just let this song wrap aound you.

“Talking Bird”- This is a slow dirge that sounds a bit more like some of their older songs. It has beautiful layered guitars in it that really give it a reverb wall of sound.

“You Can Do Better Than Me”- This is a real sunshine feeling song complete with a small orchestral arrangement made up of timpani, sleigh bells, a few strings, and a chorus here and there. This is the shortest song coming in at 1:59. It is just a real simple fun song.

“Grapevine Fires”- This is another amazing song on the cd that was written when Ben Gibbard was in California when all the wildfires were happening out there. This song is lyrically stunning and really speaks of innocence.

“Your New Twin-Sized Bed”- This is a flowing song along the lines of the song “Summer Skin” from the album “Plans”. This is a very clever song lyrically using puns and different wordplays to talk to talk about breaking up.

“Long Division”- This is a very upbeat song reminiscent of the song “The Sound of Settling” from the album “Transatlanticism”. This song showcases some good guitar work as well as great drums.

“Pity and Fear”- This is a very eastern sounding song with an electronic pulse that sounds like Indian music. This song and the one that follows really highlight the darker aspect that makes up this lp.

“The Ice is Getting Thinner”- This is a slow, somber song with just guitars and Mr. Gibbards haunting voice. This song is about a relationship that he knows is doomed to end. He says “there was little we could say and even less we could do to stop the ice from getting thinner under me and you”. The song is very sobering and really paints a picture that makes me think of the scene in the movie “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” where the two main characters lay side by side. Go off and listen to this song a couple of times and just get into the melancholy of yoursel.

Beautiful album from beautiful people.

Go. Listen. Think. Digest.

GLORY GLORY MAN UNITED, GLORY GLORY MAN UNITED…..