NEEDTOBREATHE

one of my favorite bands is NEEDTOBREATHE and i got to see them last night!! i thank my dear friend jennifer holloway for getting me hooked on them in college when they weren't as well known & would come play a small venue/coffee shop in tuscaloosa...it's always amazing to me to see them play in as large of a venue as they did last night w/ at least 300 fans. last year i got to see them play for free at the univ. of texas & i've been itching to see them again so i was stoked that they came to bham.

seriously if you have never seen them live or you have not heard of them, please do yourself a favor and check them out. one of the things i enjoy most about them is when they're on-stage you can tell that they'd be content w/ just playing & jamming & not feeling the pressure to "entertain". plus, most shows they play one song acoustically & last night they did & did not disappoint. usually when they play acoustic, they move to a certain spot in the venue and last night that spot was right by us, literally, right above our standing location! don't believe, then check out these pics(that unfortunately are from my cell phone since i frequently forget my real camera)

food for thought/soul/meditation

here's a nice, thought-provoking, tough to live out 24/7 read i've been trying to meditate on since i saw it via twitter...it's a blog by tim keller a pastor in manhattan.

Contentment

09 Apr 2010, by Tim Keller

It's remarkable to read David, the Warrior-King of Israel, writing these words from Psalm 131.

My heart is not proud, O LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

The metaphor for spiritual maturity here is a "weaned child." On the one hand, we are a child at the mother's breast, an image of complete helplessness. We are completely dependent on God. Without him we can do nothing. On the other hand, we are a weaned child, an image of contentment. Unweaned children cry in mother's arms until they get something from mother -- her milk. Only then are they quiet. But a weaned child is satisfied just with mother herself, with her very presence.

Here we see depicted, vividly and compactly, what Job was taught through all his trials. We must love God for himself alone, not just for what he gives us. This is the essence of what, for Jonathan Edwards, distinguished "true grace" from "the experience of devils," who hold sound doctrine and tremble before God (James 2:19.) Real grace on the heart leads us to see the "beauty and comeliness of divine things, as they are in themselves" (from the sermon by the same name in volume 25 of the Yale edition of Edwards' works). We become satisfied with God himself. Even his transcendent holiness is enjoyed as a beautiful and magnificent thing, which fills the heart to contemplate, though we certainly get nothing out of it!

If grace has really changed our hearts, we don't ultimately care if life goes the way we want it, as long as we have him. The joys of acclaim, wealth, and power are nothing compared to the eternal acclaim, wealth, and power we have in him. A "weaned child" is not just someone who knows this in principle, but who has worked gospel truths into his or her soul as spiritually sensed realities. Internally, this quiets the soul into profound contentment and poise. Externally, it means humility, a willingness to learn from others and also to trust God. The believer realizes that the reason God's actions are often opaque is not because we are wise and he is foolish, but because he is too "great" and "wonderful" for us.

A Christian should never have the attitude toward God, "what have you done for me lately?" Spurgeon said about Psalm 131 that it was "one of the shortest psalms to read, but one of the longest to learn."

every mary-kate deserves an ashley...

so let me introduce mine: one of my absolute oldest friends is mrs. ashley addison. we met in 6th grade thanks to both being clarinet players in the appling middle school band and really became excellent friends in high school which is also about the time that a few of our friends began referring to us as mary-kate & ashley.

ashley is one of the absolute greatest friends i could have asked for especially at that time in my life...without her genuine spirit, kindness & love i'm not sure i really would've understood how much i needed a relationship with the Lord but He graciously saw a ripe harvest & kept working on me. despite me moving away for college & then even farther for grad school, we've been able to maintain our friendship & take advantage of opportunities to hang out whenever i'm in memphis. in a way, she's a part of my family & i'm a part of hers and i'm not sure much is going to change or get in the way of that.

ashley married mr. patrick addison may 2006

ashley teaches kindergarten & has one of the cutest classrooms in shelby county. the addison's have a dog dora though there was a time in her life when ashley wasn't the biggest fan of dogs, (or was that just zoe?) she has avoided joining the technology craze of our society as she's not on facebook & finally decided to upgrade her cell phone over Christmas...she even has decided to start texting. monday when we talked she did share w/ me how her & patrick have been intrigued by glozell on youtube...seriously if you haven't watched her yet, please do, it'll bring a laugh to your day.

but despite her willingness to avoid as much social media as she can, ashley does enjoy reading blogs including this one...so ashley, i promised you a shout-out so here it is :) love you & thanks for being such a fantastic friend!!

madness ends until 2011

the madness ended last night w/ one absolutely fantastic game! if you like defense, then you should have enjoyed that game to the fullest because that's what college basketball needs a bit more of, hard-nosed defense. plus, that game was so close that anyone watching didn't want to turn it off or could admit that it was over until the horn sounded.

personally, i wanted duke to win since i like duke basketball, have for many years of my life & have witnessed a game in the infamous cameron indoor. though let's be real, butler winning would have been just as exciting...who doesn't like the mid-major underdog?!

i will say this, i anxiously anticipate the day when coach anthony grant has the tide playing in one of those games because that will absolutely make the madness ever so sweeter!

death & resurrection

since the church service i attended thursday night, i've been reflecting & meditating on the utter significance of Easter weekend...His death on the cross followed by the empty tomb & His resurrection 3 days later.

for much of my time as a Christ follower, i've dwelled on the importance of the cross, that w/out His eternal sacrifice of taking my sins/iniquities upon His shoulders, my life would have no meaning because there'd be nothing to live for eternally & i'd be unable to live intimately in relationship with God. that His death on the cross paid my ransom & i'm now debt free eternally. But this weekend, the Holy Spirit has been speaking to me about the utter importance of His resurrection, that the tomb was & remains empty. as i sat in church on sunday, i kept thinking about the Scripture that claims the prophecy, truth & need of His resurrection but i couldn't really think of any except the Gospel accounts that the tomb was empty. and that's just what the Lord wanted because the sermon spoke on the need & benefits of an empty tomb. that Him rising from the dead gives me life now, provides me the power of the Holy Spirit, God's strength because of Christ's sacrifice & dominance over satan/death & the hope laid up for me in eternal life & eternal peace through the reconciled relationship w/ the Lord.

i've been reading & thinking on Peter's sermon in Acts 2 & Paul's words in Eph 1:18-20

Happy Easter season my friends!