Website Woes

I don’t know what is going on butmy posts are not posting and my email is not getting to me. So…I’m leaving Lunarpages and heading over to a more trusted server site. This may take a couple days so please bare with me.

Amazing Video

This is probably one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. And just like the peoples, it would be nice to see more artists use creative mediums like this to deliver the message of Truth.

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Music Monday: United

The I Heart Revolution – United (B-)

I’ve never been a big fan of compilation albums that put together songs you have heard before from various artists original albums and provide very little new for the listener (read: Passion, WOW, et al). I’m not a fan of “best of” albums mostly because it is a sign the artist is on their way out. But for whatever reason, I bought this album and I like it. Maybe it is the encompassing international unity message or maybe because there are a ton of songs on here I rarely listen but love. Whatever it is, it got me. I guess record labels still know how to get the consumers money.

Sunday Report (5-11-08)

It was a nice Mother’s Day. We chose to give one big gift to one deserving mom instead of splitting the money up and buying all the mom’s flowers like is typically done. We also didn’t want to do that because it is typically done. However, I still think our kids area got a hold of a ton of flowers and gave each child one to give to his or her mom. And Michaels’ message…was on why men hate going to church based on the book by the same title. Very well done.

Here is the set list:

• We Stand (Lee McD)
• My Savior Lives (Desperation Band)
• O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing (Crowder)
• Awesome is the Lord Most High (Tomlin)

Software Saturday: ProPresenter 3

I’ve posted a few times about how much I like and/or have been frustrated with Renewed Vision’s software software. Recently I had the opportunity to sit down and spend more time than I ever have before just checking out the features on ProPresenter 3. Oh my goodness, I feel like a whole new world has been opened up to me. It is now official. Without a doubt, ProPresenter is hands down the best lyric presentation software available.

Trust me, I’m not saying that lightly. I’ve used just about everything out there – many times – and none of them even come close. Why? Well, for one thing most of them are for WIndows systems only and I’m not even going to begin to explain again why that is a disadvantage. PP3 has always looked slick and been easy to use but now that I have seen the light with some of the features I wonder if most of their users even know about, I am singing it’s praises and will be using it exclusively when I travel this summer.

Here are some of my now favorite features:

1. Song Automation – insert an audio track (i.e. click track) and record when the slides are supposed to change. Yes, exactly what you are thinking. You can even make it so the words change color or light up as you sing them (i.e. bouncing ball effect).
2. Countdown Timer – with it’s built into countdown generator, you can insert a clock or countdown on top of anything. Mess around with this for a minute and you’ll see how useful it is.
3. DVD Clips – Instead of having to rip sections of a DVD for a short clip, you can set in/out points in PP3 and it will play them directly from the DVD.
4. Live Video Feed – hook up a video signal via firewire or SDI and you can overlay text on a live feed.

There are so many other little things I love (i.e. color coding song sections, quick editing, common sense video library, playlists) that I regret ever saying anything negative about any Renewed Vision products. Just remember – the Apple Button is the most important button.

Now I Want to Ride a Bike

Now that my son is riding the bike like an up and coming Evil Knievel, I have got the bug worse than ever. You can’t really tell by looking at you (very frustrating) but I’ve been working out like crazy trying to trim down and prepare for some insane 150 mile charity ride some of the guys from church have got me all worked up about being a part of. Problem is, I don’t have a bike. Well, I do have a bike, but it is cheap and broken, and not something you ride in a road race unless you beggin’ for pain, discomfort and a guaranteed last place finish. So I’m trying to find something like the picture above but in the $300-it’s-just-sitting-in-my-garage-but-i-paid-a-fortune-for-it kind of range.

Anyone know anyone who’s looking to get rid of a nice road bike to a broke broke?

Giftedness…

God has been taking me a rollercoaster ride for about a week now.

Life changing, but it is still difficult. I haven’t even talked to my wife about it (though I guess I’ll be getting some questions after she reads this – I love you).

The question I keep asking myself…”How long?“

Studio Day #18

Final mixes were finished tonight and next week it will be mastered and printed. That could take 2-3 weeks. Just a little more patience and it will be here. But then you’ll have to wait a bit more. The official release will be this summer when it is posted on iTunes, amazon.com, independentbands.com and other music distribution sites online.

We’ll have a CD release concert and announce the date soon, so keep checking back.

From Should to Must

Time for me to lose some weight!

I’ve admitted for years that I am addicted to food. It is without a doubt my biggest weakness – food is my drug. People who defend smoking and alcohol consumption often use the amazingly bad-for-you foods most people eat as a counterargument. And they should. The majority of the foods Americans eat are not healthy. Even some of the foods labeled healthy are not healthy. Let’s face it, the food giants are in the business to make money and they have done and will continue to do a lot of dirty tricks to try and convince you to buy their products. I for one have fallen for it hook line and sinker far to long

So what am I doing about it? I have decided to take some advice I heard recently that had nothing to do with dieting and apply it to all my habits – change “should” to “must.” Every time I think, “I should do that,” I am going to train myself to believe “I MUST do that.” A should is weak. A must is much stronger. For years I’ve told myself I should lose weight or I should get in shape and now I am saying I MUST. And I am.

I’ve been in a heavy duty workout routine for about two months now and I am about to start and very difficult diet to try and rid my body of 25 years of toxins and water retention. Pray for me. This is obviously not an easy decision. I love food. But I believe I can not give God all of me until I am willing to let go of the one thing I know is still holding me down.

I Lost Almost One Liter of Blood

Originally I was told I only lost about 750-1000 cc’s of blood and not near a liter. However, after doing some calculations based on the estimations they gave me at “ground-zero” and then later at the ER, the numbers say I lost almost a liter of blood. Considering the human body only has 6 liters total, that is a pretty significant amount.

For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, let me recap in short form since people hate long blog posts.

1. I scratched what looked like a black zit on my leg. It bled a little.
2. A week later, I scratched the scab formed from above scratch and a stream of blood shot out of my leg like a tiny faucet being turned on full blast.
3. Hundreds of napkins later among 10-15 onlookers at a local gas station, the EMT guys showed up, put on some goggles (because it was still spraying – but now more like a pin hole in a coke can), bandaged me up, and sent me to the ER.
4. Doctor told me I had ruptured a varicose vein (i.e. all the blood above my shin was spitting out a hole the size of a ballpoint pen) that had surfaced on my leg (NOTE: don’t scratch black zits on skin).
5. Nurse cleaned my leg up, put on a band-aid, and sent me on my way.
6. Stood up and it ruptured again (the blood in the picture came out in about 3 seconds).
7. Nurse held the hole in my leg for 30 minutes so blood would clot.
8. Got more than a band-aid and was finally allowed to go home

Pretty crazy, huh? I never got woozy or passed out, but my wife sure came close. She probably will not even read this post.