12 years of worship music

In 1995, a guy named Chris in my dorm let me borrow a Vineyard worship album entitled "Glory and Honor". It's pictured here. That album includes in the original release of the song "We Will Dance" by David Ruis...a popular song for several years. The song is over 10 minutes long on the album, which I loved. If you've been in church or around any type of contemporary worship over the last 10 years, there are probably 4-5 songs on the album that you would know.

For me, this borrowed album was the beginning of my love of worship music. I began buying almost every new Vineyard album that came out...and they use to release a new one every 3 months. Soon I was buying/listen to Davis Ruis, Brian Doerkson, Sonic Flood, Hillsong, Tony & Donny, and Matt Redmon.

Then, in 1998, the Passion series began. Amazing stuff. I have every Passion CD and love every one. David Crowder and Chris Tomlin, two of the core Passion members, have gone on to sell millions of their own worship albums. Worship music subscription companies formed, sending out new CD's every so often to minister who signed up. Contemporary Christian artists all began releasing their own worship albums...mostly made up of songs written by other worship artists. By the early 2000's, Vineyard Worship - which was really the best stuff coming out in the 1990's - was hardly relevant anymore. Other styles began to grow...grunge worship, rock worship, ska worship. Labels like Wow and Worship Together began releasing worship albums with 20-30 songs, all the most popular songs of that particular time or place.

Here's the weird part for me. In the last couple of years, other than Chris Tomlin and David Crowder, I don't know of any new worship music that's caught my attention. I've not really heard, seen, or bought anything new that's really pulled me in the way Vineyard and Passion did. Maybe I'm just not paying attention. Maybe the worship music craze that seemed to last about 10 years has faded a bit. Maybe the style is headed in a different direction - back to more traditional sounding stuff (?) - and I just haven't noticed it. What I know is that the worship music I've been belting out in my car (I'm a pretty enthusiastic worship driver) is the same stuff I've been listening to for quite a long time.

So help me, if you will. If you're a fan of worship music, what are you listening to? What's worth buying and listening to again and again? What album or artist first got you listening to worship music? What song do you love to sing loudly in your car? Who, if they were leading worship somewhere, would you drive 3 or 4 hours just to be a part of it?

pimp slapped by 1 John

I am a Christian, a believer and follower of Christ. However, I've found it difficult to use this blog as a way to promote or discuss that much. I'm not sure why, really. It's possible that I've envisioned this site as a way to just kind of put ideas/thoughts in my mind to (virtual) paper, and frankly, I don't dwell on spirtual or Christ-related things all day long. I'm not necessarily proud of that, and I don't mean to sound "unspiritual" in some way, it's just the truth. I'm aware of Christ daily and strive to mold my life in ways that are true to my beliefs, I just don't find myself thinking all that much about spiritual matters.

However, I would like to direct you to 1 John, chapters 1, 2 & 3. Notice, this is not a reference to the Gospel of John, but the first of three smaller writing by John. This is what we've been studying the last 3 weeks in my small group at church. I'm going to paste the text at the end of this post, just in case you feel led to read it. If not, that's okay. But if you do, I just want you to be aware of the strong terms in which John writes. The black and white of it. Notice both the encouragements he gives to believers, then the almost backhanded pimp-slaps he follows it up with. At least that's how I felt. It was hard to read, but here's what it left me with:

Being a follower of Christ requires intentional, consisent, daily, fleshed out effort by way of living right, loving your brother, avoiding sin, and holding true ("remaining") to Jesus love, care, and teaching. You don't get to take a day off and be okay with it. You don't have a choice to not love people. You don't get to think of sin in any type of light hearted way. You either walk in the light or you walk in the dark. There is no half-lighted middle passage. To me, this felt like a body-shot from Iron Mike....or like a pimp slap from John. And I needed it.

1 John 1
The Word of Life 1That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4We write this to make our joy complete. 5This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

1 John 2
1My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also forthe sins of the whole world.
3We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. 7Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. 8Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. 9Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. 10Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. 11But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him. 12I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. 13I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, dear children, because you have known the Father. 14I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one. 15Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. 18Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. 20But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 21I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. 22Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son. 23No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 24See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25And this is what he promised us—even eternal life. 26I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. 27As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him. Children of God 28And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. 29If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.

1 John 3
1How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. 4Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. 7Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. 9No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother. 11This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. 13Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. 14We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. 16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. 23And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

"that's just ____ being ____"

Here's a thought....when someone refers to Manny Ramirez with the phrase, "That's just "Manny Being Manny", they mean he's being aloof, doing something that's funny but hurts his team, making up his own rules, etc.

Now, insert your name. If someone says, "Ah, that's just (your name) being (your name)", what would they mean by that?

For instance, if someone were to say, "That's just Jason being Jason", here are a few things I at least think they might mean:

• "He just pulled a well-conceived prank on somebody...and got them really good" (ask my co-workers on this one, they'll confirm)
• "He was just trying to be witty but ended up coming across as a jackass"
• "He's in a bad mood for some unknown reason...it's not like he's actually mad at you"
• "He just made a comment or observation that was totally out of left field, but actually somewhat insightful"
• "He can be a little bit of a control freak, just live with it and move on"
• "He said something really funny, but you had to think for a minute to get it"

I'm sure there's more that could be added to that. Some good, some bad. So...think for a minute...what would it mean if someone said that phrase about you?

a deadly middle name...

Just a suggestion for any readers who might be having kids anytime in the future. When contemplating middle-names for your child, do not pick the name Wayne. You may thank me for it.

Wanna know why?

Check out this site.

manny being manny

Manny Ramirez makes me laugh. Amazing baseball player. 490 career home runs. .313 career batting average. 2200 hits. 1600 RBI's. The most postseason home runs of any player in history. Amazingly powerful swing. Always wears a do-rag under his helmet to keep is dreadlocks tidy. Says pretty much whatever is on his mind, regardless of the consequences. Dude makes $17,000,000.00 a year in salary. He's possibly the best right-handed slugger in the history of the game.

But he doesn't run. He loofs around in the outfield. He never hustles. Just last night he should have scored from 2nd on a single by Mike Lowell, but he decides to slow down to take his helmet off, doesn't beat the throw, and refuses to slide into home - instead just running into the tag. Then, a few innings later, he hits (what he thinks) is a home run....decides to pretty much walk to first base....and then it hits the top of the wall and comes back into play. Could have had a triple. Ends up with a single.

Wouldn't you think if you'd hit roughly 500 home runs in your career, you would know the difference between a ball that was definitely a home-run, and one that was borderline? Come on, Manny. For $17,000,000, the least you can do is run.

yes, i did..

just change the background color of this blog. Frankly, the previous color was starting to look a little bit too "purpley" for me. Don't be suprised if it changes again. I'm crazy like that. If you're interested, the color is Grey Hex #212121. Very dark grey, but not black.

Thanks so much for stopping by...please continue reading...

The Colonel

This is me…

This is Eli…

This is me & Eli with Colonel Sanders...at the very first Kentucky Fried Chicken ever opened, in Corbin, Kentucky. I love that Colonel Sanders. He actually makes me look tan. And he cooks up a darn good drumstick. Eli loves the Colonel's mac-n-cheese. They just don't make mac-n-cheese anymore like the Colonel does. Hmm, hmm. Finger lickin' good.

corn toss...an old west folklore tradition?

This weekend, we went to Kentucky to visit family and see our newest nephew/cousin, Grayson, who is only 3 weeks old. On Sunday, we began our drive back to Tennessee. Not long after leaving my sister & brother-in-law's, we drove through a town named Columbia. It has one of those cool, old timey town "circles" where there's a big circle in the middle of town with 4 or 5 roads that branch off from it in different directions. We saw the following sign while driving on this circle:

Just to be clear, it says "Downtown Days - Folklore of the Old West Festival". Cool, huh? A little town festival. We had these kinds of things in my home town growing up. Vendors and food stands set up. People walking around, enjoying the town. Pretty neat theme too, "Folklore of the Old West." You would expect to see people dressed in Old West costumes, cowboys and indians, maybe some big black kettles cookin up some stew for lunch on the sidewalk.

But no. As we head down our branch off of the town circle, this is what we see:

I'm kidding, right? No. It in fact does say, "Corn Toss - Register Here." Hmm. This must be some Old West version that we've never seen before, right? Maybe they take big ears of corn and throw them through tire swings hanging from old oak trees. Maybe in the 1800's men filled canvas bags with corn and heaved them over wooden fences in an effort to build strength and stroke their egos.

But no. This is what was happening:

That's right. A full-blown Corn Toss Tournament. From what I could see, there were 8 Corn Toss matches going on simultaneously. There was even a small crowd of spectators cheering on their friends and family. The matches were important enough that the parking lot was sealed off with top-grade, bright-yellow Caution tape.

Way to go, Columbia, Kentucky. It's nice to know there's a place with people who have the courage to elevate Corn Toss to the level it deserves. You've captured the spirit of the Old West and made our early settlers proud. I say again, way to go, Columbia, Kentucky.

bounce house mania

Eli & I have a new found joy. The Bounce House. There are no less than 3 of them here in Knoxville. The one we go to has "open play" on Wednesday nights from 6:00 - 8:30pm and costs only $7.00 per child. It's such a blast!! They have 3 of the standard "bounce houses" where you just go inside and just jump up and down. There's an obstacle course just for kids. There's an "adventure course" that he and I both go on, a 24-foot tall slide, basketball hoops, and they offer very inexpensive and healthy snacks.

After about 90 minutes at the Bounce House, we are totally exhausted. My joints hurt, my knees are burned, Eli is sweating like crazy and making multiple trips to the water fountain. It sort of causes me to realize how spoiled our son is when the things that he gets to do on almost a monthly basis (dollywood, bounce house, chuck e cheese, the zoo) are things that I may have gotten to do once every 1-2 years when I was growing up! Heck, the only time I ever remember seeing Bounce House type stuff was at yearly state fairs or carnivals. And then they were so crowded with kids you were lucky to make it out without an injury!

So we'll continue bouncing each month. And I'll continue mentally griping about how I didn't get to do all these things as a kid. Then I'll just make up for it all by doing it now. And then one day my son will make fun of me for griping about all the things I was deprived of as a child. Just like how my dad had to walk a mile to school and back every day, regardless of the weather (this is actually true), and that was after getting up at 5am to milk the cows, and how he never went ANYWHERE - vacation, ocean, amusement park, etc - until he was in his 20's. And then 30 years from now Eli will gripe about how he never got to travel cross-country in 2 hours on a hovercraft when he was a kid, and how he actually had to brush his teeth and scrub his body with soap before the 24-hour-entire-body-clean chewable vitamin came out in 2019.

And I will laugh.

if i could only eat one thing the rest of my life....

It would be hamburgers. I love hamburgers. I love Big Macs, Double Cheeseburgers, Whoppers, Singles, Doubles, Sonic Burgers, burgers fresh off the grill, burgers cooked on the stove, medium, medium-well, well done. I like plain hamburgers. I like them with ketchup and mustard. I like them with mayo or Miracle Whip. I like them with A-1 sauce. I like lettuce and onions. I like plain buns and sesame seed buns. I even like Krystal burgers. At least I like the first 4 or 5. Then I begin to really hate them.

I've eaten at Whataburger in El Paso, TX. Loved it. I like Jack-in-the-Box burgers too. In fact, I'm hard pressed to think of a burger I've eaten in my life that I didn't like. Seriously. They're awesome. They're filling. Easy to hold. Easy to eat. They come in different shapes and levels of thickness. You can put a wide variety of toppings on them. Check out Cheeburger-Cheeburger if you ever get the chance...amazing burgers and tons of different toppings to choose from.

Dear God...If destruction should come to the earth, or I crash unexpectedly while flying across the ocean on a Fed-Ex airplane, and I find myself in that often referenced but terribly unrealistic position of being "stranded on a deserted island", please God, just provide me with burgers from heaven. Or a few cows would be okay too.

hooray for cousins

By my count I think I have 21 first cousins. Yeah, a lot. Big families on both my mom and dad's sides. I know them all by name, but most of them I hardly know, simply because they are much younger than me. My cousins Todd & Matt (brothers) are very close to my age, and we used to have amazing adventures on our grandparents farm when we were growing up. Hay forts, tobacco stick sword fights, long wades through a long and windy creek, treating the barns as if they were abandoned castles. I have some great memories of those times.

My favorite cousin though - not to offend all the others - is Dianna. She's 1 year older than me, and we've been great friends since we were about 3-4 years old. Coincidentally, the same age as our children - Elijah and Eliza - shown in the picture above. This past weekend, we went to Kingsport to visit them. It was the first time in 2 years that Eli and Eliza saw each other. They played with puzzles, a train set, at the park, and had a blast at Chuck E Cheese.

I have countless memories of the last 28 years of friendship with Dianna. Most of them make me laugh, but you probably wouldn't find them that funny, since they're sort of inside-joke kind of stuff. For instance, she was obsessed with Phil Collins back in the 80's. When she sent me letters - we were pen pals for a LONG time - she used to return address them as "Dianna Collins". This happened for years. We used to love to sing "Su-Su-Sudio...Oh, Oh", a Phil Collins favorite. Then there's the story about how much I love Manwich, and she and I laughing so hard in the car about it, I almost had to pull off to the side of the road. If she's reading this right now, she's laughing. The rest of you are saying, "I don't get it." I understand.

My first time ever going to a Piggly Wiggly was with Dianna. Her New Kids on the Block love affair could have rivaled any other girl's in America. When it was time for me to go to college, I wanted to attend Milligan College in east Tennessee more than anything....mainly because Dianna was already there. Unfortunately, I simply could not afford it. We wrestled with our uncle Brian together. We served at weeks of church camp together. And I had the amazing pleasure of presiding over her wedding to Corey in 1998. It was the only wedding ceremony I ever conducted.

I hope Eli and Eliza have the same opportunity to grow up as friends. It would be very special to both of us. His other new cousin - Grayson - is only 2 weeks old. We'll have the opportunity this weekend to see him for the first time. It's highly unlikely Eli will ever have 21 cousins. I'm thinking it will be more like 6 or 7. But if he can enjoy even half the experiences that I did with my cousins, then 6 or 7 will be more than enough.

universal texting language....revealed!

I have a question for you. And it’s not are you a snot nosed egotistical rude teenager. An unpleasant visual, I know. No really. Do you understand texting? I don’t. I’m confused. It’s a world where great phrases like “see you later alligator” get downsized into one word. Remember when you used to write notes on paper? As a matter of fact, I still keep shoeboxes full of old letters. To be honest, I enjoy moments of happy crying when I read those letters. They were meaningful. With messages like, “have a nice day”, “love ya”, “best of luck”, and “best friends for life”, these notes were great because they required effort. You had to work a little to write one. In my humble opinion, turning I Love You into ILY, or reducing the art of getting to know someone into age/sex/location and where are you from simply leaves me scratching my head in disbelief. In fact, it stinks. Just for fun, I thought it might have me bursting with laughter to create this texting post. For real though, I’m feeling like an egghead.

Let me know what you think about this post. Your responses could range from big deal to bored out of my skull to smiling from ear to ear. It’s your choice. Be honest. Just fill in the blank. That would be fine by me. Please reply quickly though, or I’ll go straight evil on you. Thanks for reading. Good luck deciphering. Just to let you know, this message will be revealed in full. Just don’t quote me on this. Because, frankly, I couldn’t care less. Giggling my butt off….your brother in Christ…Jason

universal texting language

Warning: this post could cause an immediate need for Advil.

?4U. and its not ru a snert. an uv, ik. no really. do u understand txting? i dnt. %-( its a wrld whr grt phrses like l8rg8r r dwnsizd 2 1 wrd. remembr whn u used 2 wrt notes on papr? aaf, i have shuboxs full of old ltrs. tbh, i enjy momnts of :'-) whn i read thm. thy were meangful. with msges like "hand", "ly", "bol", & "bffl", thy were grt bc thy reqrd effrt. u had 2 wrk a lttle to wrte 1. imho, trning ily into ily or rducing the art of gtting to no a prson in2 a/s/l and wuf smply lvs me smhid. infct, pu. jff, i thght it mght hav me bwl to mk this txt post. frt, im feeling lik (:>

let me no wht u thnk abt this post. ur rsponses cld rnge from bd 2 booms 2 sete. ur choice. b hnest. jst filb. tht wld b fbm. pls rply qik though, or ill go str8 >-( on u. thnks for rding. good lck dcphering. jtlyk, ths msg will b rveald in full. jst dqmot. bcs, ficcl. gmba....ybic...json.

being a dad

There's nothing like being a dad. For the longest time, I really thought I would never have children. I pretty much thought I'd live life as a bachelor, doing what I wanted, traveling, etc. And granted, Eli was not actually planned. But neither was I. And I'm glad I'm alive.

I never slept as little as I did his first 2 weeks of life. It was horrible. Erin was not able to do much after a c-section, and every night, every 2 hours, it was me and Eli on the rocking chair in the living room, me singing make believe songs in his ear, with lyrics like, "please go to sleep and daddy will spoil you forever", and "God loves it when we sleep".

It wasn't too long before he started to be fun! Learning to talk, crawling and walking, realizing when he did things that were funny and then doing them again. Eating on his own, recognizing things like animals, cars, and balls. It was amazing. As a parent, you pretty much think you're child is the only one in the world learning these things at such a young age. It's so fulfilling.

It wasn't too long before he started getting an attitude. Refusing to do things. Saying no all the time. Not eating something he didn't like. Laying on the floor and pouting. Fake crying. Not wanting to go to bed. I'm not sure where "Terrible Two's" came from, but it's not entirely true. Our 3rd year has been the rough one. He's too smart now. He knows how to manipulate. He understands emotions. He's stubborn and sometimes refuses to give in, regardless of the punishment. He's pretty much been poddy trained for about 6 months, but still gives in sometimes, even though he knows it's yucky and will make mom and dad upset. We've had to start an "Eli Bank" just to start rewarding him again for successful pooping, because he was having a really rough stretch for about a month.

But I can't wait to see him every morning. And each evening. Going to do things together is so much fun....Dollywood, hayrides at the corn maze, Happy meals, shopping at Walmart, the bounce house, playgrounds. He's learning to ride a big wheel...his legs are finally long enough. He's so much fun, he's becoming more thoughtful and polite, he learns things every day that I often don't even realize until he springs them on me days later. His vocabulary continues to grow. His bad days are pretty bad, but the good days are so so so so good.

Like I said, there's nothing like being a dad. And I thank God everyday that I got to be one.

And, yes, I'm aware that his shirt is on backwards in the picture. But he likes to put it on "by himself." Who am I to stop him?