Aloha Kauai (Aloha means goodbye)

Here I sit. In the airport. Not on the beach. Not in the sun. Not with my feet in the sand. Just here. Exhausted. Aloha means goodbye.

For the past couple weeks I’ve been on vacation. First stop: Los Angeles to see my Dad and where he lives. LA is sweet and I definitely want to go back and spend some more time there. I didn’t even hit the beach while we were there! I’m going back.

Kauai was freaking awesome. Probably the coolest place I’ve ever been. Or hottest. You get it. It’s the perfect temperature. All the time! A ton of humidity, but that cool breeze that feels like you’re in a convertible makes it all better. We spent most of the time on the beach. Or on a beach, because we went to plenty. Fish were really cool. Surfing was really cool.

And family was really cool. I got to see family that I haven’t seen in 3, 4, 5, 6 years. We had about 15 people staying in the pretty average size beach house for a good portion of the week. It was pretty cramped and chaotic, but we handled it.

My Dad and I took a hike towards the end of the trip which was so sweet. It wasn’t that long, but the terrain was real tough. We spent about 6 hours on it. It led us to a sweet secret beach. If we took it out further we would have found a sweet waterfall. I wish we went more.

So now it’s time to head home. I’m actually on the airplane right now heading back to Rochester. If my calculations are correct (I’ve been in 6 different time zones in the last day), I’ve been awake for 28 hours so far. Hm. I should get some sleep sometime. Doubt it. I miss my friends and we want plates tonight! So one more hour (iawfwowrhg my ears just popped. OUCH) and I’ll be home. Home sweet home.

p.s check my facebook album for more pictures I took on the trip!

p.s. Some United airlines guy is sitting next to me. And practically sleeping on me. Anyone have a shovel?

Do you like your privacy?

This is so sweet. Supposedly this is a real toilet located in Houston.

No one can see you from the outside..

but it looks like everyone can from the inside!

These need to be everywhere.

Just do your best to hear me. It’s all you can do.

If you know me at all, you probably wouldn’t imagine me doing homework on a saturday night.

..but imagine. That’s what I’m doing. Actually, Amy is sitting next to me blogging. So because I’m not jumping in excitement to right this 8 or 9 page research paper.. I thought I’d do the same. First of all were at leaf & bean listening to a pretty decent jazz combo. I miss Jazz a lot. Between playing in jazz band last year and taking jazz guitar lessons for a year or so and not doing either anymore, I’m starved. I need to play music that's not four chords over an over again. Or in a group where every song isn’t in the same key. (Sorry TFH, sorry RLS) Now to the real content of this post.

Copeland.

I’ve known them for a long time and really liked their flavor, but have never got in to them to the point where I know their music. Last night some friends and I went to go see them play along with This Providence and Brooke Waggoner. First of all, all three of these bands are extremely different. But their sets flowed really well together.

Brooke Waggoner is a really talented singer/songwriter and had some great musicians with her on stage. She was accompanied by violin, cello, guitar, and synth along with another female vocal. (who @kylesullivan had a HUGE crush on. should of went at it man!) In my opinion, they could of used some light percussion, but that's just me. I love listening to bands with girl singers. Girl singers that sound amazing. I blast them in my car. I don’t care what you think.

I love The Academy Is. This Providence was pretty much a carbon copy of them. Actually, I don’t mean to discredit them.. but they had a very similar sound and they’re on the same label. But I dug these guys a lot. They were also pretty young. How lucky they are to be able to tour with an awesome band like COPELAND at that age.

WHY DIDN’T I START LISTENING TO COPELAND A LONG TIME AGO?!

ok. sorry. but really.

These guys were so great. Amazing musicians. Each of them have practically mastered one of the most fundamental things about music: knowing when to play out, when to play, and when to not play at all. I was incredibly impressed. The drummer and bass player were SO TIGHT. They interacted during the set by making eye contact almost every few seconds. The bass player locked in to every groove with precision and they pulled off the most fluid time signature changes I’ve ever heard. ..and I’m not even going to get started on their BEAUTIFUL MELODIES AND LYRICAL AMAZINGNESS.

I think I found a new favorite band.

EDIT: homework did not get done tonight. Go watch Yes Man. and laugh.

How Far Are We Willing to Go?

Finally, when we could stand it no longer, we decided to stay alone in Athens, and we sent Timothy to visit you. He is our brother and God's co-worker in proclaiming the Good News of Christ. We sent him to strengthen you, to encourage you in your faith, and to keep you from being shaken by the troubles you were going through. But you know that we are destined for such troubles. -1 Thessalonians 3.1-3

This blew me away. This is from one of Paul’s letters to the church of Thessalonica. He is describing his longing for these people that he has visited, told them the gospel and ways of living, and has had to leave. What amazes me is how much he cares about these people. He says that he prays for them everyday. He says that it hurts him to not be able to know how they are doing with their walk with Christ. Paul wants to visit them so bad, but he can’t. So he sends Timothy, a close friend, to go on his behalf. Paul loves these people so much that he will literally do anything to get in touch with them. He wants to be able to encourage them and push them forward in their faith.

I wish I had these kind of relationships. There are a ton people who I care about deeply and want to see them live a fulfilling and exciting life with God. Some of them aren’t doing good, and I know it. I want to help them.. but how far am I willing to go? Paul sent Timothy probably a hundred miles away to visit the people he wanted to reach and help. I have a hard time driving 20 minutes to reach these people. Paul prayed for these people everyday. I used to pray for those I wanted to meet Jesus consistently, everyday. But somewhere down the line I stopped. Is it because I don’t care anymore? Is it because I’m lazy?

If I care for people this much, I need to take action. I need to do whatever it takes in order to encourage and lift up those that need encouragement and lifting up. I don’t want them to miss out on what could be. I’m going to take after Paul in this aspect, and do whatever I can to heal the brokenhearted and to push forward the faith of my friends.

He calls

Aside from this blog, I also administrate and write for our Youth Ministry's website c4revolution.org. It's directed to a Jr High/Sr High audience. Feel free to hop on over there too!

Jesus wants you to talk to other people about Jesus.

Your friends from school. The one at the lunch table. The one you sit next to in class. The one you hang out with in school, but never outside of school. Even your best friend who’s never been to church, and he doesn’t fit in with your “church friends”.

Jesus wants you to talk to them about Him.

..but but but.. it’s hard. I don’t wanna be known as the weird churchy kid. Believe me, it’s not churchy. It’s being real. God puts you in other peoples lives for that exact purpose. That small voice you hear in the back of your mind whenever you pass a quiet lonely kid, or see someone being picked on, that's Him. Or maybe you can just tell in their eyes that they need some. That’s Jesus. It’s no mistake, it’s not something you can ignore. It’s a calling. You’re called to reach people.

Jesus wants to be involved in every decision of your life. You know what you believe in. But when you have a few short seconds to make a decision in front of people that may not understand why, it gets hard. Let God intervene in your decisions. Let God strengthen your character. Let Him put it in to practice. You can do it, if He calls.

Phil Keaggy: Humility and Servanthood

In my last post I mentioned that I saw Phil Keaggy live at The Father’s House. Now I realized that just menti

oning him was huge insult.

If you don’t know who Keaggy is, he is notably one of the most skilled guitarists in the world. I’m no expert, but I’d call him the best. You may have heard the rumor that Jimi Hendrix was on a late night talk show and was asked the question:

“How’s it feel to be the best guitarist in the world?”

Jimi Hendrix responded “I don’t know, ask Phil Keaggy.”

The rumor may not be true, but even so, that's sweet. He’s recorded over 50 albums in his lifetime, spanning records with bands, guest tracks, and compilations. It’s usually a stretch for a band to put out one album a year. He put out around 50 while starting in his 20s. You know what else is sweet? He has 4 fingers on his right hand. Wow.

I didn’t know much of Keaggys music before the show, but man was I impressed. Every song made me incredibly happy inside. I don’t know why, but music has that effect on me. Especially his. I was filled with joy when listening to his excellence in music. Some of the stuff he was doing was incredible. For instance in one song he put a piece of plastic in between the strings of his guitar to create a percussion sound which he looped behind him. Another time he would sing into the sound hole of his acoustic song and would over lay harmonies. In interview he says this sounds horrible, but it’s fun and different.

I was amazed by how humble of a musician he is. Honestly, his interview with Pierre was pretty boring. But that’s probably because he doesn’t feel like he’s better than anyone else. He is just doing what he loves and doing what he feels called to. That’s cool. I hope to resemble Keaggy sometime in humility.

Umm, sorry blogosphere.

Ok, so where the heck did February go? Today's March 1st. Holy smokes. Well here's a quick update on my life.

Red Letter Statement

We spent a week at Bluebrick recordings in Avon with Jesse Sprinkle recording our new E.P, the Lighter. It was an incredible week. We spent a whole lot of time together, which was awesome for the most part. Of course we got on each others nerves, but for the most part, we got to relax and hang. It was sweet hanging with Jesse for the week.. we really are big fans of him. The recordings turned out really well and I'm really proud of them. We have a lot of exciting news, and can't wait to get it out.

I'm actually typing this at the California Brew Haus in Greece right now before sound check. You should totally come. It's a battle of the bands.

College

It's nuts. I'm really freaking busy. But, besides that, it's cool.

Phil Freaking Keaggy

This is guy is so nuts. Best guitar player, period. He played at my church this weekend. He did a concert last night.. just him. He stands there, and makes wonderful music that makes me happy inside and out. Check him out below.

Girl

I met this girl a while ago. Now we date. She's really really really cool.

..I'll blog more. I promise. Good thing I twitter, or you would think I died!