Lionel Hampton and Kriz Morton
I love the music. Once again I was left in awe of the skill and musicianship at the main concerts. Truly amazing. But there are a few things I will remember more than that. Here are a few in no paticular order...
- Playing with Matt Page and Kriz. I think we really started to play together, which is an awesome feeling.
- Kriz snoring.
- Hangin with Carly Page for the first time. Very cool.
- Denny's.
- Knowing that most people we accompanied won first place in the competition.
- Watching Sarah Pumphrey sing with the pros, and knowing that Siobhan also should have.
- Laughing non-stop 80% of the time, every time, all the time.
- When in Rome...
A very memorable few days that rekindled my love for jazz music. Also a weekend of making new friends. Hope to do it again next time.
Welp, see ya later.
Wayne Pumphrey and the Classy Scarf
Just got home from the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. Had a great time, of which I'll write more later. One thing happened that I need to write about first. Friday morning Wayne Pumphrey walked out of his motel room and handed me a scarf, asking if I knew who's it was. His words were, "Someone left this really nice scarf at rehearsal last night. Do you know if it's Chris or Matt's? They're classy guys." Am I a bum? Do I not deserve even an honorable mention next to Chris and Matt? Do I look that bad? Did it cross anyone's mind that the scarf could have been mine?
It wasn't mine. It was Matt's. But I did put on a sport coat after that and ask Wayne if it was classy enough. He said that I needed a scarf to go with it. So I ask you, faithful reader. On a scale of 1-10, how would your rate my class? 1 being no class and 10 being ______(I'm trying to think of the most classy person in the world, but I don't know who that would be.)
And on another note, what makes something classy?
Welp, see ya later.
Let The Praises Ring
It's always a great feeling to be done with a big project. Finishing this CD and getting them out to people has been a large part of my life over the past 9 months. I'm a few hundred hours intimate with it.
The day I get a CD back from the manufacturer is mixed with a lot of emotions. I'm excited, relieved, nervous, proud, humble, happy and sad all at the same time. To put a final and permenant stamp on something that has been ever changing since birth makes me anxious. yet I'm relieved of the stress of making those decisions and sad it's done at the same time. No going back.
I get nervous about what people will think of the CD. I know that most people will like it. There's a few people who I really hope they will like it. And now there's the sales issue. We have to sell so many just to break even. If we don't, I think the chances of doing another are slim.
In the end, I'm really proud of everyone's work and the heart that went into it. What a cool testimony of what God is doing in our congregation. Make sure to pick one up sometime.
What was I thinking?
I should have wrote about love on V Day. What was I thinking?
Happy Valentines Day
I try to read my Bible regularily. I wish that I craved it. I try to crave it. Like how David writes about a dear panting for the water. Or Isaiah when he said, "When Your words came I ate them. They were my joy and my hearts delight." Sometimes I feel like that, but not all the time, or even most of the time. But I want to.
So I make rules for myself. Like...no Bible, no breakfast...no playing Nintendo for longer than I've spent in the word...1 year Bible...things like that have always helped. But do they become religious then? Sometimes.
I wished I craved to work out as well. And I wish I craved to go to bed early. Or even more I wish I craved to wake up early.
How do you learn to crave something? And how do you practice discipline without becoming religious? I'm going to get into my Bible now that I've put it off for this dumb blog.
Coming Alive
I know several people who have told me the time they spent on a mission trip (to Honduras, Manila, Hong Kong, Mexico, etc) was the time that they have felt the closest to God and His will for their life. I'd have to say that's true for myself as well. I have a small theory about it. I think it has less to do with where I am or what I'm doing and a lot to do with where my attention is. In my everyday life I'm just doing my thing. Wake up...brush teeth...eat...work...eat...X files...eat...sleep. I'm expecting the ordinary. However, on a trip everything is extraordinary. It's so much easier to turn my attenting to God. After all, He is the reason I go. I bet that if I lived my normal everyday life with the attention to God and people that I have on a mission trip, things would be very different. Experiment: try this tomorrow.
Why I Don't Go to Church Anymore
I'm making a change in my life. I'm not going to church anymore. Or at least I'm not going to say I'm going to church anymore. I don't very often, but sometimes I say "I'm going to church." In the week I usually say I'm going to work. But when talking about our services I often find myself saying that I'm going to church. Often I do just because I feel like I would have to explain myself to people and I don't want to take that time.
But I'm really going to try to take that phrase out of my vocabulary. Pastor Jim's series on the church has me thinking more about it. We have talked a lot about the church being the people, but we do small things that imply otherwise. I know it doesn't really change a lot, but maybe a lot of small things will make a difference. The beginning of changing the way we act is just changing how we think.
B-nut has a few words on the subject. Maybe he'll post a link to a few of his posts.
