Anby.

Amanda, Cody and I saw Anberlin @ House of Blues New Orleans last night. Their music blesses me so much. I don't think I've ever said that before about a band that plays music that is secular in nature. These guys are all Christians, but they play songs about life...mainly relationship sons: friendship, romance, etc. But the song-writing is so heartfelt and beautiful. I feel like I know Stephen Christian, the lead singer, from a past life or something. The songs he writes are based on his personal experiences, many of them failures. Including broken relationships he knows he has messed up. For example, in "The Feel Good Drag," a song about infidelity in a relationship he scream-shouts "Was this over before it ever began? Your lips, your lies, your lust, like the devil's got your hands!" Yet they are not afraid to sing a lyric like "When life is in dischord, praise ye the Lord" ("Paperthin Hymn"). Anyway, this is my second favorite band ever, second only to that worship band/my heroes known as Delirious?. But Anby are definitely my heroes. It's music that makes me feel honest and happy to be alive. I guess that's why they've done so well across various audience-types. Honest lyric writing. Whether that be a song about the Holy Spirit ("Cadence") or a song about the communication breakdown across the gender gap ("Foreign Language"), it's candid. And "Dance, Dance Christa Paffgen" has been the best song I've ever heard in my life going solid for about a year now. It is that good.

They played 14 songs last night, 3 of them during an encore we demanded and they graciously offered to New Orleans, the city they love. "A Day Late," "Readyfuels," "The Feel Good Drag," "Glass to the Arson," "Never Take Friendship Personal," "Time & Confusion," "The Runaways," Love Song," "[New Song]," "Dance, Dance Christa Paffgen," and "Paperthin Hymn" followed by an encore of "Naive Orleans," "Audrey Start the Revolution!," and "Foreign Language."

They have a new album Cities coming out early next year. Stephen promised it will be "the best Anberlin album yet!". I can't find much of anything about it on the web though.

The Ominous Black Figure

My friend Kim Gasper took this photo. After the Chi Alpha Scavenger Hunt (Friday night), six of us ran around downtown, where they have all the beautiful fountains and such. In this picture, Left to Right, Me, Cody Berry, James Campbell. We climbed this wall leading up to a fountain at the very top...except I got carried away and, as the picture indicates, climbed to a dangerous height. This picture, folks, has not been photoshopped in any way. It was a bit of a stormy night, but I had no idea this picture would take on a superhero, ghastly dark night veneer. Of course, me wearing my Neo costume added to the foreboding nature of the photograph. Here it is:

Picture Time

SECTION (a): Chi Alpha Scavenger Hunt


Lauren Shaw as Gluttony.

Me as Neo and Jacob Benda as the Phantom of the opera.

Me as Neo and Stacy Stewart as...the woman in the red dress? (that's actually pretty funny if you recall the first Matrix movie.)

Me as Neo. Kalie pretending to assassinate me.

Brittany Harville as the Good Witch of the North from The Wizard of Oz.

Kristin Shipp as Sloth.

James "Danger" Dill as Indiana Jones.

Luke Ash and Co. play a show in superhero costumes.

More of the same.

Rachel Walker and Josh Harvey (who are engaged) as a Greek goddess and god, respectively.

Jacob Benda as the Phantom and Andrea Sinneave (my counterpart @ the Indian Mounds) as the Tooth-Fairy.

John Barreca as a biohazard clean-up person, me as Neo, and Matt Davis as Quail Man.

Jonathan Buras as Hulk Hogan, Dustin Ellinburg as Sting, Adam Stephenson as Scrat the Squirrel, and Kristin Shipp as Sloth.

Joel Claverie as a hunter or something and Chris Fenner as a soccer fan or something like that.

Me and Mr. Bendy again rocking out.

The 7 Deadly Sins. I thought this was extremely clever.

Me. Oh that you could have seen those water balloons fly, that silly string emanate from my bowels as I pulled back my cloak, and see one my submachine guns get cracked in half by a girl who got freaked out and accidentally broke it.

My good friend Jacob.

My good friend Matt. He's also my co-lifegroupleader. He is also Quail Man.

My good friend Cody Berry as Uncle Rico.

Mike Cash as a ninja.

Jerry H. and Tony V. as Mario and Luigi, respectively.

SECTION (b): Random Pictures


Me and Amanda at the LSU v. Tulane football game.

Timothee Bateman and James Campbell. James is rocking out or freaking out, I'm not sure which.

Me and Timothee on a double date. Let me clarify. He and his wife were there as a couple, and me and my girlfriend were there as a couple. That said, we still behave like 10-year old brothers and always will.

Timothee and Shelly Bateman, dear friends of mine.

I don't remember this. But that's me anyways.

Me and my Baby.

My Baby and me.

Katie Belou and Cody Berry, the cute couple.

Okay. You have to understand. Cody Berry and John Barreca. I love these guys. They make my world turn round. And round. And round. Causing extreme nausea and vomiting.

Adventure

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door," he used to say. "You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to."
~J.R.R. Tolkien

My friend Cody Berry would probably say that I've become a bit like Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit, before he left Bag End to fight the dragon Smaug. Hobbits typically avoid adventures, at all costs. They are simple-minded, peace-loving people. But last night, I had a great time. I worked hard this week, and just let myself do something I haven't done for about a year. With my friends, I, sort of, just, let my feet be swept off to various places, enjoying the world surrounding me.

Chi Alpha Scavenger Hunt! Wooo-hoo! Lots of fun. I'll post (other people's) pictures soon. I was the character Neo from The Matrix. Okay, so I'm sure you've heard of a scavenger hunt before. In this case, though, the people playing the game were looking for historical figures, cartoon characters, movie characters, etc. Other costumes of people being "hunted" were Greek gods, the seven deadly sins, the Phantom of the opera, the tooth-fairy, Sting the wrestler, Quailman from the show "Doug," and the two witches from The Wizard of Oz. We were spread all across campus in various locations, and groups of people playing the game had to follow a sheet of clues and come apprehend us. We had to award points to groups who apprehended us, based on how much we were worth, who found us first, etc. Some of us were negative points. Some of us fought back.

I was at the Indian Mounds with the tooth-fairy. The scenario was a bit crazy. Neo was looking for Trinity, but mistook the Tooth-Fairy for Trinity, leading him to the Indian Mounds. When I couldn't find her, I continued searching around the mounds, calling "Trinity! Has anyone found an exit?!" Whenever a group of people came after us, I would yell, "Toothfairy! They're agents, run!" Then I would run up the hill to the top, where I had an iced chest of water balloons. I would toss water balloons at my hunters. Then I whipped out my plastic machine guns and pretended to spray them. Eventually I would "give up," though I stayed in character and pretended I had something of significance to give them. I led them to the top of the hill, telling them I would give them their token for points. Then I whipped back my trenchcoat and revealed two silly-string cans in my belt and two spray bottles in my pockets and soaked them with string and water. After they were thoroughly frustrated them, I gave them their points, and sent them on their way, warning them to beware of "he who sings a sweet melody, for poison are in His words" (the Phantom of the opera). It was a blast.

Later on, at Cafe Chi Alpha, we had a concert with Luke Ash & Co. and the band Everglow. Then we went over to Jacob's apartment and played Super Contra and other games, ate lots of candy, and told scary stories. Then Jack, James, Cody, Amanda, Kim, and I piled in my dad's Mitsubishi and drove to the area around the Cox building and did some "exploring," let's say. Then we drove along the riverfront and got lost. Then we drove downtown to the area near the U.S.S. Kidd battleship and climbed about on the various structures and fountains. It was a night of adventure. We're going to do a little more of that tonight at the State Capitol and go to a pier over the Mississippi River. I feel neglectful not having realized how beautiful the city of Baton Rouge is. It's good to be appreciating the world around me again. I think it's the cold weather that does this to me, I don't know.

The Value of Virginity / The Sanctity of Human Life

I picked up a copy of the Daily Reveille off the ground today. It is Louisiana State University's daily college newspaper. I often times find little value in the articles it contains, but today I read two articles that were really thought-provocative.

1. The first one is a column by Kellie Johnson: "People Watching." Its apparent weekly purpose is to examine "relationship issues." Without necessarily intending to, she makes a case for the value of pre-marital sexual virginity. A good read. Check it out.

2. The second column was written by my good friend Emily Byers: "Witnessing Hope." Its apparent weekly purpose is to encourage high ethical and moral standards on various modern issues. Emily explains how, among other things, you might potentially have a best friend or significant other, if he or she had not been murdered in what she calls "America's Holocaust," 33 years of legalized American abortion. Prepare to be stunned.

"My Eyes Are Dry"

A couple weeks ago, we were singing this at First New Testament for Sunday morning service. It is a powerful song and really expressed where I felt I was at spiritually, at the time.

"My Eyes Are Dry"
by Keith Green

My eyes are dry
My faith is old
My heart is hard
My prayers are cold
And I know how
I ought to be
Alive to You
And dead to me

Oh what can be done
For an old heart like mine?
Soften it up
With oil and wine
The oil is You
Your Spirit of love
Please wash me anew
In the wine of Your blood

Friendly PSA

Hey everybody! As they say, "When it rains, it pours."

Anyway, first of all, this is a general message of explanation that if you are a friend, acquaintance, or Jedi master of mine, I may seem aloof over the next couple weeks. Apart from normal business (busy-ness), I will be working with my teammates on the national PriceWaterhouseCoopers xACT Accounting Competition. It requires many hours of group work, over a two week period, until we present our case when PwC comes back to campus. Thanks for your understanding!

Also, please pray for the healing of my mobile phone. It is not working properly, to say the least. I'm not sure what's wrong with it. So I'm not sure if I'll be able to answer your calls or call you. If you need to get in touch with me, facebook me, email me, or email me for my dorm phone number and I will provide you with that.

That is all.

Worship

In lifegroup tonight, were instructed to write something as an expression of worship to God...

And once again I find it
Ever present in my personal haze
A bright light dispelling my fog
And bursting, brimming with a song
That ode to brilliance first unleashed
At the dawning of creation
When existence like a newborn child
Opened its eyelids to the Maker
How long I have slept I cannot tell
But this interminable history of darkness
Is but a small blight on the landscape
Of the forgiveness Thou has stretched before my eyes
A road throught the wilderness beckoning me
To reel in the wake of Thy cresting waves
Which pour over me like wine in a goblet
And burn away my pride like kisses
Of a jealous lover of this parched soul.

ANBERLIN @ HOB NOLA!

I happened to see my friend Collin Cleary today. We hadn't seen each other for a while, and we we had time for a chat beneath the Pierre's Landing overhang on campus, as it rained cats and dogs, stranding us from our respective workplaces in CEBA. We're both avid fans of the band Anberlin. Naturally, we got on the subject and I whined, "They haven't released an album in two years!" He tells me, "January." A new album in January! And before I can complain that they haven't been in New Orleans since March, he tells me, "Yeah they've got a show coming up in a few weeks on the 30th October." Believe me, within ten minutes I visited the House of Blues New Orleans' website and ordered a ticket for me and my significant other. I am so excited! Any of you who know me in person or read my blog probably know how crazy I am about this band. They come in a close second place to the band Delirious?, my all-time favorite band.

Other web research I've done suggests that their third studio album will be entitled Cities and will be released 1 February, 2007. It will follow their sophomore release Never Take Friendship Personal which I wrote a blog review of earlier this year. (Click here to read.) Their first album was entitled Blueprints for the Black Market, an equally solid album.

To update the previous post, Switchfoot has redone their website to promote their newest album Oh! Gravity, and they have put up 30-second clips of the 13 tracks from that album, which is to be released 26 December, 2006. Exciting times, these! (To Jacob Benda: Yanomashayin?! Mer mer mer.)

Forthcoming Album Alert!

The day after Christmas, this year, one of my favorite bands of all time will be releasing their sixth studio album. On December 26, Switchfoot is unleashing Oh! Gravity, 13-track album. They have already released one track from the album, "Dirty Second Hands," for download on iTunes. The album's first single is the title track. Both "Oh Gravity" and "Dirty Second Hands" can be heard on the band's Myspace page.

Oh gravity
Why cant we seem to keep it together?
Sons of my enemies,
Why can't we
Seem to keep it together?
-"Oh Gravity"

Better Days

Well, I'm not sick anymore, so that's good. I still can't seem to make friends with my bed, though, so I'm still living the sleep-deprived life. This weekend was good. Several good things were realized. We finally started this accounting project due Thursday. I just made an appointment to get these stitches removed from my leg tomorrow. I noticed that when someone loves you, they walk up to you and sit next to you, grabbing your hand, reassuredly silent. My heart trembled once again at hearing the Word of God Sunday morning and I came closer to God moistening my dry eyes with passion. I'm happier and more depressed than ever before in my life. It's a terrible, beautiful age to live in...in terms of number of years on earth and the period in history I find myself in.

I came one step closer to knowing the frailty of life. At the LSU football game Saturday night, a good friend of mine two rows down had a convulsive seizure. Amanda and I rushed to the hospital together. As we talked to him, pretty soon he was conscious and being his usually comical self. Waiting for his parents to arrive, I felt both relieved and terrified at what had just occurred. Yet as I had prayed on the way to the hospital, God had reassured me he would be fine.

This was the second week in a row Amanda and I ended up in a hospital on Saturday night! Why is this happening. As we knelt and prayed last night, we sought God to find out why so many things are happening. The only answer I have right now is one that's actually encouraging, if I'm right. Satan is trying to wear out the saints of God. I seriously was under a demonic thought attack once last week trying to study, having crazy thoughts and feelings. You know, the kind you would never repeat to another living soul. As I walked across campus and praised God, the feelings lifted immediately. We have to realize there is an evil presence that indeed wants to wear us out. Worn out by aggravation, distrust, disgust, apathy, heartache. I think the earth is getting worn thin, too. It cannot bear the weight of sin inflicted upon it by humanity.

I can do no more and no less than love who and what God has entrusted to me. God help me. This is all I can do.

Please, Lord. Grant us better days...

"Misery Misery Misery"

Oh! What wretchedness. I hope I recover quickly from this cold because I'm running on a total of 8 hours of sleep in 2 days. Does anyone have any Nyquil? If so, please respond so I can get a good night's sleep tonight for my test tomorrow. I can't sleep at night because this sickness has caused me to, through the night, choke on a rare, ungodly mixture of phlegm and saliva. If you are an LSU student reading this, you've probably been visited by that cruel cold goblin who's been visiting the area with sickness lately...

Leaders Need Encouragement TooEspecially

I am working on the final of the 3 Lord of the Rings books and Lord Denethor and Peregrin Took's conversation aroused in my mind an important point: that those who have rule and authority over us need our encouragement. We may think our affairs and issues are trivial compared to the big, glamorous issues faced by mighty lords of power. But it is especially those in authority who need to hear our petty triumphs and defeats. For those who have rule over us rule to provide for us certain life opportunities...

"Yes," said Pippin. "Well, yes, well enough for my own people. But we have no songs fit for great halls and evil times, lord. We seldom sing of anything more terrible than wind or rain. And most of my songs are about things that make us laugh; or about food and drink, of course."
[Denethor replies:]"And why should such songs be unfit for my halls, or for such hours as these? We who have lived under the Shadow may surely listen to echoes from a land untroubled by it? Then we may feel that our vigil was not fruitless, though it may have been thankless."

A Moment of Stabbing Lucidity

I never in my life thought it was possible to love another human being this much.

"There's a hole in my leg!"

We university students at Louisiana State had "fall break," a 4-day weekend this past week. It was great visiting family, visiting Amanda, watching movies, playing video games, sleeping, philosophising, driving, reading, riding amusement park rides, having family devotions, etc. But I must recount one adventure to you worthy of remembrance.

New Orleans Chi Alpha was hosting "night games" on Tulane's campus. This included, among other things, Capture the Flag, and Sardines. After 2 rounds of CTF, lo and behold, we're only 2 minutes into Sardines, when my dear friend Zeke Brewer and I dive into some dodgy-looking bushes in search of someone. Zeke is already out of the jungle, when I suddenly drive my leg right into an unyielding object, which causes a cry to come from deep in my throat...OOOOWWWW!

"Are you okaaaay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine...but ...GAH! geez! Jesus help me, that HURT! ...No. Really, I'm fine, let's go."

A minute later I look at my leg as we've continued running down the sidewalk to notice an indentation in my skin. Long story short..."Um, Zeke, I'm not trying to be a wuss, but there's a hole in my leg!" Upon inspection of several people, we decided best to let a doctor patch this one up. Whatever piece of shrubbery/foliage I encountered had impaled an inch-long 1/2-centimeter hole into the area right below my kneecap. You could see a little subcutaneous fat and muscle tissue.

So I wrap the wound and Zeke and I sit down to chat about a friend of ours, waiting for help to arrive. Next thing I know, someone called Tulane Police and the medical people. I was assaulted by questions from an overweight policeman who wanted my ID, three pre-Med chicks were pushing a stretcher into my face and telling me it was a free ride in the ambulance to the hospital. Which hospital did I want to go to? Whichever's closest. Ochsner Clinic.

Someone called Amanda, who had my ID in her purse. I showed it to them and was whisked away by ambulance. Those girls were so funny. They took their job so seriously. Did I have any allergies....was I on drugs...intoxicated...can I get a heart rate...how do you feel...does it burn...? It's really not that bad.

When they wheel me into the ER, I start acting and yelling "I'm dying!" "God, help me!" "It burns!" Before the night is over, the whole floor would know me as the joker.

As Laura Post and Amanda showed up, I put up with doctor after doctor who stopped to kid around. 2 hours later, I had 4-5 stitches and a nice gauze wrap-up.

The great thing is...this was the zenith of my weekend. It was a very amusing experience.

A Billion Lights

Some new thoughts...

I remember when it was a mere vapor
A breath of warm air blown into the cool wind
A crystallization
And then a crashing
Into nothing
A mystery and a guess
Too afraid to pronounce aloud
What it could become
Or what it could produce
A fragile glass swan
Gracefully teeter-tottering
On the dot of the vertex
Of nothingness and everything
Calling out for faith and trust
And needing a pulsating heart
To keep the crimson tide
Flowing through its veins
All the trappings of a trap
From whence there was no return
With caution born on the winds
I tumbled into a endless hole
Tossing and turning
Grasping for reality
Wondering
Searching my heart for the answer
To the question
Of where I began and
Desperation ended
Healed and wounded
Awake and dreamy-eyed
Buried and quickened
Shooting upward
At the speed a billion lights
Reaching me from a great height
Beckoning me into radiance
Breaking and reforging the heart
And closing my eyes
I could feel the revolutions
Counted, one by one
My heart conquered every time
As my world spun out of control
And was dissolved into emotion
Fire was in my eyes
And a furnace raged on my lips
For a moment
Hopelessly flung foward
Beyond the constrctions
Of time and space
Letting go of my demons
The chief of which was
Rationality and reason.