Oh yeah, their an obscure bluegrass/classical band, that’s how. But in the world of bluegrass I’m sure they are not obscure. Featuring the phenomenal Chris Thile (of Nickel Creek). NO, not Nickleback!! What are you thinking?

So, I’m listening to this free streaming, but if you’re looking for a gift for me, let this be an idea… or this… just sayin’.

Thursday

• Katie worked a half day, so I came home early to hang out with Lincoln.
• We went to Southlake to hang out with Ryan and his buddy Jake (15 yrs old, special needs). Lincoln and Jake got along really well and had a good time.
• The new David Gray album is a real disappointment.

Friday

• Lincoln woke up early so I ran him down the street to a garage sale before I went to work. We scored an awesome pop up fire truck tent for $4.
• Hung out with Lincoln and went grocery shopping.
• Cooked a homemade BBQ Chicken Pizza that really surprised me with how good it tasted.

Saturday

• Hung out with the family in the morning.
• Went to downtown Ft. Worth for lunch with James then we watched the Expendables. Here’s my review: It was fun. It won’t win any awards. With a different cast it would be straight to video.
• Hung out with Lincoln and let Katie go clothes shopping.

Sunday

• Good day of church. Happened to walk into the wrong room at the wrong time and was recruited to keep an eye on a handful of Kindergarten and 1st Grade Boys. Yikes! But it was fun.
• Squeezed in a short nap.
• Cleaned house while Lincoln played.
• Snuck away for a little while to have dinner with Matt, Stacey, OJ, Leslie, and Jeng. Good times with old friends. Can’t beat that… even if you are at Cheddars.

While kicking around the interwebs yesterday, I discovered a free new EP from singer-songwriter Andrew Osenga. Andy is the founder of the greatly under-appreciated band, The Normals (follow that link. buy Coming to Life. be happy.) as well as a member of Caedmon’s Call.

This little free EP has 5 songs and 4 of them are perfect – the last one is a waste, but then Edwin McCain once said, “if you play acoustic guitar and you don’t write a sarcastic song every now and then, you have no business playing acoustic guitar.” I told my friend that the next to last song “After the Last Tear Falls” is one of the best songs I’ve ever heard. He pointed out to me the fact that Andrew Peterson released this song 7 years ago and I’ve owned it that whole time. Well, Andy and Andy wrote it together and I like this version better.

Volcano by Damien Rice – With this song, for me, it’s less about the lyric and more about the way the song is built. I like the album version a lot better because the guitar is not processed, it’s just a straight acoustic. The absolute best part is the layered vocals at the end of the song.

Because I typically write music in a vacuum – that is, me and an acoustic guitar – it’s difficult for me to think in terms of other instruments and vocals. I’d love to be able to craft a song like this.

Songs We Wish We’d Written

I thought about writing out the credits, but there would just be too many.

Music Direction: Jon Webb
Video Direction: Tina Brown
Everything Else: Everybody

Friday:

• Work
• Hung out with Lincoln – he took an awesomely long nap, so I got some last minute cleaning done
• Ran some errands
• Cooked a couple of killer Papa Murphy Pizzas – their BBQ Chicken gives Double Daves a run for their money.
• Ended the night with some Madden and a few weird dreams

Saturday:

• Hung out with the family
• Got a nice nap in
• Had dinner and just took it easy
• More weird dreams

Sunday:

• Church – led the singles group again
• Ran home for lunch
• Back to church for business meeting
• Grand Opening of The Ark playground at FBC Coppell – it was awesome
• Make it 3 nights in a row for the weird dreams. All unrelated. All very strange.

I just started re-reading Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster. I thought I would invite anyone who wants to, to read along with me. If I get any takers, then I’ll find a forum in which we can discuss it (Google Wave, FB, Ning, etc.).

Here’s the description from Barnes and Noble:

Since its publication in 1978, Celebration of Discipline has helped millions of seekers discover a richer spiritual life infused with joy, peace, and a deeper understanding of God. Hailed by many as the best modern book written on Christian spirituality, Celebration of Discipline explores the classic “disciplines,” or central spiritual practices, of the Christian faith.

Dividing the Spiritual Disciplines into three movements of the spirit, Foster shows how each movement contributes to a balanced spiritual life. The inward Disciplines of meditation, prayer, fasting, and study offer avenues for personal examination and change. The outward Disciplines of simplicity, solitude, submission, and service prepare us to help make the world a better place. The corporate Disciplines of confession, worship, guidance, and celebration bring us nearer to one another and to God.

Foster provides a wealth of examples demonstrating how the Spiritual Disciplines can become part of our daily activities—and how they can help us shed our superficial habits and “bring the abundance of God into our lives.” Celebration, often the most neglected of the disciplines, is revealed as critically important, for it stands at the heart of the way to Christ. Celebration of Discipline will help motivate people everywhere to embark on a journey of prayer and spiritual growth.

Leave a comment if you’re interested and I’ll connect with you.

got a kick out of this. think it makes Dumb and Dumber look a lot more watchable.

Friday:

• Hung out with Lincoln

Saturday:

• Hung out with the family
• My brother helped me move some stuff into the attic. We don’t have an attic staircase where we need one, so I had to borrow an extension ladder. Only took me 9 months to get around to it.
• Took Lincoln to a birthday party for a friend. He had a blast playing in the pool and the bounce house

Sunday:

• Church
• Brief Nap
• Took Lincoln to the store just to hang out for a while.
• Watched some TV and played Madden after he went to bed.

Lover pt. 2 by derek webb – My favorite album by my favorite artist is probably derek webb’s I See Things Upside Down and this is my favorite song from that album. Musically, I love the atmospheric intro, especially in this video with the use of the pedal steel, and the pickup into the first verse. Can’t go wrong with Cason Cooley on the keys and the multiple extended jams within the song are just great. Lyrically, derek paints great pictures that are so vivid. Vocally, he keeps it pretty simple and just lets the music drive, which is the perfect call, even though there are places where he obviously could have pushed harder.

It’s hard to go wrong with derek webb, but for his solo work, this is one of the songs that I most would want to emulate.

BTW: if you’ve bought the new Caedmon’s album for download, let me know. I’m not sure I’m willing to spend $10 on it.

Songs We Wish We’d Written