violent thoughts

I have them every time I see Bob Stoops on TV.

3...it's a magic number

I have three followers now...awesome.

Late Links

This past weekend was pretty crazy, Coldplay on Friday night, crying myself to sleep on Saturday night because of those stupid Sooners.

So anyway, here are the links to the 1st and 2nd installment of Zak White's thoughts on debt...Tuesdays are crazy so I plan to comment and give my thoughts tomorrow...as well as a review of the Colplay concert and how I eneded up being in arms length of Coldplay.


Zak - Debt #1 - You Need A Plan

Zak Debt #2 - Tax On The Poor

I will probably only discuss the first blog since the second one is an article from Dave Ramsey. Plus the article from Dave makes me terrified of snakes, bees, and electric chairs.

Don't play the lottery...if God wants you to win then a winning ticket will blow through your opend car window while driving.

That is how i I do it. I don't buy tickets...I just drive with the windows down.

P.S.-Be praying for Zak's brother in law...he was involved in an accident and his arm was crushed in some far equipment.

Debt and piggybacking

My church, New Life EFC, has been very outward focused in a lot of the ministries that we run. It is something that we all as a staff have been very passionate about.

With the state of the economy and the fact that there are credit card commercials saying that we are a "nation of consumers" and that there is "nothing wrong with that", our church has been very focused on sharing true biblical principles about debt. I have loved it. We have offered a variety of programs to help people to get rid of their debt (not manage it...but kill it).

I have never been a fan of debt, even though we have plenty. Now that we are looking to get our first house I see the importance of getting out of debt quickly. Although out debt is unavoidable (student loans) we are still wanting to get it taken care of quickly.

Not all debt is "bad, immoral debt" but it is never good to live under debt.

With thinking about this topic I decided to piggy back and to post links throughout the week to my good friend Zak White's blog. He is going to be spending his week talking about debt, and he has some great thoughts on the subject.

I do believe that a lot of debt is more than just a finanical issue, or a way to pave the road to happiness and more possessions later in life, but it is a theological issue. So anyway, here is Zak's first blog introducing the subject: Zak White - Debt Kills

Enjoy!

Death By Love

I just got through reading Mark Driscoll's new book "Death By Love." This books is a collection of letters written to individual people and explores a situation in their lives and then applies the work of Christ on the cross to their lives.

I found this book to be very creative and well written. I think everyone knows at least one person who is going through some of the events mentioned in this book.

If you know anyone who has ever been, abused, raped, has a loved one who has cancer, addicted to pornography, been angry with someone, addicted to drugs, is not a Christian, is searching for God, hurts themselves, or is the son of a pastor then you will find that this book has some great theological ideas that can be shared with those individuals.

At times I did find this book to be a little repetitive. I know that these letters are supposed to stand on their own, but I think that putting the same ideas, stories, illustrations, and scripture in several chapters can be quite boring.

I am not sure I would recommend this book to read cover to cover, but I would highly recommend it to pastors and counselors who would like a great, biblical, resource to take people to who deal with any of the above problems. In addition to some great thoughts and truths from scripture, the book also contains some very cool artwork to introduce each chapter...just check out these samples...

These letters are written with a lot of love and a lot of truth, which is how I hope my ministry is seen by those I talk to. I could see myself writing letters very similar to these to a multitude of people over my future years of ministry. Although, I am not sure that I would write a letter to my two year old son that weighs the options of limited atonement, unlimited atonement, and unlimited limited atonement.

So if you have the means, and would enjoy this resource then you should definitely look into it. If you are interested in learning more about this book on Amazon just click the book cover at the top of this post.

There are no words...

Saturday

The big Tech vs. OU game is coming up on Saturday.

It is a big day for the Red Raiders and all of the fans that have not jumped ship for UT, USC, LSU, or any other school that has had recent success. And yes I do cheer for UT but not at the expense of my Raiders.

I will be cheering hard from CO.

At least I ave the Red Raiders

The Mavericks are 2-6.

The Stars are 5-8 (with only 13 points)

Both are at the bottom of their divisions

The Cowboys are 5-4, only because they have one division victory and the Eagles don't have any.

The Rangers only matter during the All-Star break.

The Rockies flopped this year and then traded Holliday away.

I would glad relive this all again next year if it means Tech wins a national championship.

Denver's first snow

Yesterday I wore shorts and a t-shirt all day. I walked the dogs through the field next to our apartment. I sat out on the balcony and read. Then I went to bed thanking God for a wonderful and warm day in mid-November...

Then I woke up this morning. There was snow on the ground, ice on the steps, a cold chill in apartment as I got out of the shower, and of course I had to walk the dogs with wind and snow stinging me in the face.

I think this snow snuck up on my and I feel that summer was stolen from me like a car stereo (in the middle of the night, by someone who will probably pawn it off for beer money).

On the plus side, it was yet another occasion to listen to Christmas music on the way to the church. So I listened to Josh Rosenthal's new Christmas album, and then I listened to some Sufjan Stevens Christmas music. It made the morning so much better.

Also, when it is cold outside I feel like I am more productive than normal (not that I slack off when it is warm outside, but I feel less like going outside and the rest of the church staff does not go outside with me to throw a football around or play a little tennis golf around the church). So with that being said I need to work on week 2 of our "Who is Jesus?" series and look at how he was fully man...fun stuff.

Have a good one, and if it is not snowing where you are and you don;t have to scrape your windshield off don't feel too sorry for me. Because I get to see snow covered mountatin every morning.

Hurt - Chap Clark

This book came out when I was in seminary and I never picked it up until fairly recently. Although this book is not what I would call "A page turner" it is full of practical and real advice on how to reach out to this broken and abandoned group of students that are walking through their adolescence every day.

We are a society that, I believe, has abandoned teenagers. This is why teenage stress is at an all time high, it why they put in more hours for school and homework than most adults do for their jobs.

If you work with students in any form, or desire to work with students, or work with people who work with students, you need to read this book.

I seriously can not recommend it enough.

Independent Artists

Hello. Something I love doing is offering reviews of music, especially unsigned artists such as Josh Rosenthal, Make Like A Tree, and any others that I have done on this blog. If you are interested in having a music fan review your music and place an honest review to point your fanbase to please let me know.

If you are interested please email me, jefflhoward@gmail.com

Have a great one.

Wall Street Journal Article

I found this article about the treatment of President Bush to be a little thought provoking. Any thoughts?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122584386627599251.html

Addison Road - Hope Now

Here is the new video from Addison Road...such good people.

Josh Rosenthal - Narratives

About a week ago I received Josh Rosenthal's new Christmas album called "Narratives: A Christmas Album". I am a sucker for Christmas music, which is why I have a play list on my ipod that is just Christmas music.

My usual complaint about Josh Rosenthal's albums is that they end and I wish that there was more music on the CD (I know that this is a good problem...it would be worse if I couldn't wait to stop listening to the music). The plus side is that I can give a song by song review of the album.

1. Come O Come Emmanuel - The key to recording a well known Christmas song is giving it something that makes it sand out. My favorite version of this song to date is the Sufjan Steven's version found on his Christmas EPs. Rosenthal, also makes his mark on this song with an uncharacteristic fast beat, that seems off place at first, but soon makes for an added element in a beautiful song that makes it stand out among other versions of this classic hymn. Towards the end of the song Rosenthal and producer Josh Wilson sing the last verse in Latin which is yet another creative example of adding his own spin on the song. The instrumentation is more complex, and wonderfully orchestrated. If you are going to download a new version of "Come O Come Emmanuel" this year then it needs to be this one.

2. This Changes Everything - There is a distinct difference between "Christmas songs" and "songs about Christmas". Although his album contains both, this song is a Christmas song to the core. This Rosenthal original is a songs that is reminiscent of a classic Christmas hymn, complete with quiet drum rolls, focusing on the cultural shift that takes place over the birth of the Christ-child. An example of this focus is when Rosenthal sings, "Priest put down your sacrifice, king give up your crown tonight, Prophet come and see the child born to die, to bring you back to life, Raise your voice with angels sing, bow before this manger King, with hope to give and peace to bring, this changes everything" This song has quickly become my favorite track on the album, and possibly my favorite modern Christmas song, largely because it has the feel of a timeless classic. It is not only a beautifully crafted and performed song, but it also is a constant reminder of the focus of Christmas and reminds us all that his birth "changes everything, so rejoice".

3. Christmas for Cowboys - This is a classic example of a song about Christmas. Rosenthal brings a new life to this song about spending Christmas out on the range driving cattle. The song contains the usual intricate guitar that people have come to expect with any Josh Rosenthal release but this track also features the lovely and haunting harmonica of Rapheal which was also present on Rosenthal's last release "Renaissance". It is a short and simple song that has a personality of it's own and is a fantastic lead in to Rosenthal's second original on the album.

4. Before I Go - For those of you who have heard the story to Rosenthal's catchy song about leaving Lubbock titled "Gotta Get Out" will have a fond appreciation for this song. This is a song about wanting reconciliation and healing in a situation that is waiting for you "back home". Offering the truth that running from our problems does not mean they are gone, but often escalate without facing them. This song is loosely tied to Christmas in that it discusses going home for the holidays and having to face the pain that is still there waiting to be reconciled. It is a brutally honest song which reminds Rosenthal fans why they have connected with his music in the first place. I personally feel that this is one of the best songs that Rosenthal has penned, relying less on masterful guitar work, and more on melody, and honest, thought provoking lyrics.

5. Christmas Morning - It is a great task to take on a song written and performed originally by a great song writer. Rosenthal seems up to the task with Lyle Lovett's "Christmas Morning". Much like "Christmas for Cowboys" it is a simple song that is one of the shorter ones on the EP. Although, I do like this song, I also believe that it is probably my least favorite on the album. This not due to this song being bad, or ever sub-par, but due to the fact that it is preceded with four outstanding tracks that are, for the most part, flawless. Even though as a song it does not stand out among gems like "Before I Go" or "This Changes Everything" this does showcase Rosenthal's voice in a way that few songs do. As Rosenthal sings on this track it makes me think of Ryan Adams on Jacksonville City Nights. A low-key voice that bring in the emotion instead of relying on instrumentation.

All in all I believe that this is one of my favorite Christmas albums to date. It would be a great addition to any one's holiday season. Josh Wilson's production is outstanding and Rosenthal is in rare song writing form.

Tracks to download:
All of them (though you are out of your mind to not download "This Changes Everything" or "Come O Come Emmanuel"

This album releases on Tuesday, November 4th.

#2

Texas Tech is #2 right now. I really hope they keep it up.

I never thought I would see Corso do this...