:Lately:

My band has 2 shows under it's belt now. HarvestFest back in October went good for our first show. We had a few little technical problems, but that's because we didn't get a sound check before we started. I tried to pull a rock star move and ended up unplugging my guitar. Definitely embarrassing.

Our second show was last weekend in Weatherford, Oklahoma. That's about an hour west of OKC. The set went fabulous, except for Gary not having his voice and Ian having to learn his songs on the way to the show..... Here was the set list:

-Savior (Skillet)
-Jesus Be Glorified (Skillet)
-Untouchable (MCR Original)
-Reason (MCR Original)
-Shine (Collective Soul)
-Blessed be Your Name (Praise & Worship staple)
-How Great is Our God " "
-Better is One Day " "
-Everlasting God (Lincoln Brewster)
-Strong Tower (Kutless)
-Consuming Fire - I think we're going to end every set with this one. It's a song that most of our crowd will know, it's a passionate song, and builds to an awesome drum fill/guitar solo and then we rock it for a few minutes before ending it.

The kids were there were great. There were a few that banged their heads the whole time. Afterwards, we got to talk to a few of them, pass out some guitar picks and sign an autograph or two. Yes, that's right, we're doing autographs now.

We left East Texas at 8 a.m. Saturday morning with the temp around 70 degrees. By the time we got to OKC around 2, it was in the 40s. We were wearing t-shirts and shorts, so needless to say we had to find the nearest Wal-Mart and get some appropriate clothing. Little did we know that "Ice Storm 2007" was coming to central Oklahoma. After the show, we drove by a building that had a marquee that had the temp at 20 degrees. It started icing over and we were driving about 40 mph down the highway on the way home.

On a side note, in my younger days it wasn't a big deal with room with a couple of other guys. Now, closing in on 30 years of age, I have to have my perfect conditions for sleep. We rolled into the hotel room at1:30 a.m. and the guys crashed out. I did not sleep a wink the entire night. I think I dozed off some time between 4:30 and 5, but it certainly did not last long. The other guys in the room could've set a world record for loudest and most continuous snoring. But, these are the stories that make these trips memorable. I thank God for the opportunity to live out a dream and have fun at the same time.

Struggle

Romans 7:17-20 But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.

21-23 It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.

24 I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question?

25 The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.

Some things do not need any commentary-JQ

MCR

That stands for Mud Creek Revival, a band in which I play guitar. We were formed way back in July, and have our first show next Saturday, Sept. 29th at the 2007 HarvestFest which is held at the world famous Tomato Bowl in Jacksonville, TX.

It's composed of myself (guitar), Jacob (acoustic guitar), Ian (vox, bass), Gary (vox, lead guitar), and Scott (drums). We've practiced a few times preparing for next Saturday, and it's gone great so far. There's a band going on before us called Considered Rubbish.

We're playing a set of 6 songs:
Untouchable-an original by Gary, can be heard on our myspace page
Blessed be your name-Matt Redman song
Thief and Consuming Fire-Third Day
Better is One Day-worship song
How Great is Our God-Chris Tomlin

Immediately after us is the speaker, some dude named James Darby. At the end of his message, we're going to play an altar call/invitation song. It won't really be a song, just us playing a small chord progression in the background. After that, Krystal Meyers and her band will perform, followed by us closing out the show with "How Great is Our God" again. So we're playing 3 different times that night, which is very cool for our first ever performance.

But even more cool than that, is an opportunity to be part of a event as great as HarvestFest. Last year there was 600+ people in attendance, and they're expecting more this year. Even though we're performing, I still take leading worship very seriously. It's a honor and a privilege to lead God's people in praise to Him. If we can touch God's heart, as well as those in attendance, it will be a successful night no matter how well our performance goes.

What happened? I'm stunned. Lose to Appalachian State?? The season is a complete waste now. Even if the other top teams lost a game, this loss would probably be worse, so there's a 0% chance of getting to the national championship game. Maybe a BCS bowl game, but even that is a long shot as this point. The defense was definitely a question mark, and App St exposed that, just like Ohio St and USC did last year.

Even though I'm disappointed, I feel bad for the guys that came back this year (Henne, Hart, Long, Manningham) passing up millions in the NFL to try and beat Ohio St and win the national championship. Now, that is done after one game. They have the whole season left knowing they're not going to accomplish their main goal. I wouldn't be surprised if they drop another game or 2 (Wisc, Ohio St anyone??) now.

Oh well, maybe I'll jump on the Hawaii bandwagon now. Brennan had 400+ yds and 6 TD's in the FIRST HALF!! Go Warriors!!

Geetars

I started playing the drums in 7th grade. Workman Jr High School band. The first song when it all clicked was "Surfin' USA" by the Beach Boys. You see, at the time, there were 3 of us playing the song. One of us played the snare, bass drum(yours truly), and ride cymbal. It was the most simple drum part you can think of, nothing but quarter and eighth notes. But that was the best way to learn. It was like a light bulb went off......"cymbal on beats 1,2,3,4...bass drum on 1 and 3, snare on 2 and 4!!

Fast forward about 10 years, I had (what was left of) a drum set that I loved to play, but Cody, Jacob, and I were moving into an apartment. Drums + apartment = unhappy neighbors.

We ended up going to see Newsong, and decided that that was our latest calling, to form a band of musicians, singers, and instrumentalists all around. So Codtown ends up bringing two guitars from his Dad's house, and over the next few months I fiddled around with it until I learned 4 chords (G, C, D, Em). The first song I learned was "Nails in Your Hands" by MercyMe.

So I saved up about $250 and picked out a beautiful guitar from Mundt Music in Tyler.


I call it my "Disciple' guitar, for obvious reasons. I use this one for any song tuned below Eb.

I have 4 other guitars...here they are:

Jacob gave me this one, I use it for standard or drop D tunings.


This 6-string Washburn acoustic was my college graduation present:



I bought this 12-string Fender acoustic not too long after I got married:



And last but not least, my brother-in-law gave this one to me. It needs some work;




So there you have it, these are my toys, and I will undoubtedly add to the collection over the years.

Perspective

I found this quote on another site :

"The feeling of an absence in our lives is our souls longing for Gods presence."

That struck a chord with me. The things of this world are appealing. Many of them are also contrary to what God wants for us. There are always things I can point to, or think of, that would seemingly make me happier. I am blessed with so much, and have been for my whole life, that I'm used to God's blessings. Most of the time I expect them and take them for granted.

There is an old saying that "the grass isn't always greener." We always want what we don't have. More money, different job, partner, house, body, etc. God has the benefit of being able to see both sides, not just one side like us. If we were to stay true to our beliefs, we should want what He has for us, not hope that what we want aligns with what He wants. That is backwards. We should want what He wants.

I can think of many situations that I can look back on and think, man, I'm glad I didn't get my way. Had this certain girl liked me, or I got that job, said this or that to someone, my life would be very different than it is now.

This perspective helps in my daily walk, because as situations arise where I think I know what's best for me, God smacks me in the mouth and reminds me that I certainly have no business making my own decisions.

Now to bring this around to the original quote, we try to fill our feelings of emptiness/greed/lust/covetousness with worldly things, when in fact the only thing that will fill the space is God's presence, which comes from our continuous communication with Him. We try and fix our own problems with our own solutions, rather than God's.

Stay classy.