The Bible In 90 Days: Day 2

So I have decided to try to make this a semi-regular thing over the next 90 days. I am not promising that I will be posting these observations everyday, but as close as possible I will be...

That being said I hope that these observations can help you to realize all of the exciting things that take place in the bible are exciting and not in the least bit boring.

Observations from the reading for Day 2 (Gen 17:1-28:29):
-God makes a covenant with Abram that involves circumcision
-Abram takes all of his servants to get circumcised, I would not be excited to be one of his servants.
-Abraham laughs when God tells him that he is going to have a kid
-Abraham gets circumcised at the age of 99...crazy
-God and to angels visit Abraham
-A debate of 'did not/did to' breaks our between God and Sarah when she laughs over the idea of having a kid (which is apparently something that Abraham and Sarah had in common).
-God does not display the best bargaining skills when Abraham is pleading for Sodom (50 righteous...how about 40....how about 30, 20, 10)
-The men in Sodom have a MESSED UP welcome wagon going around...(i.e. trying to rape God and angels is not a great way to save your city)
-Lot is willing to give up his daughter's virginity to the men of Sodom
-Lot's wife turns into salt
-Lot's daughters get him drunk to sleep with him...these story lines are better than most soap operas...pretty sure this movie would be rated R...adult themes and what not.
-Abraham breaks out with the "wife is my sister" bit.
-A very old lady gives birth to a son.
-She laughs about having a kid again...this time not because of how ridiculous it sounds but out of joy.
-Sarah sends away her servant and the kid she had with her husband.
-When they were out of water God provided a well for them.
-Abraham is willing to sacrifice his only son
-God provides a ram for them
-Abraham's wife dies and he refuses to take land for free
-Rebekah gets a nose ring....'see mom, it's not a big deal'
-Isaac and his wife have two sons....to say they had a rivalry is a understatement.
-Their oldest son (Esau) is red and hairy....apparently a leprechaun.
-Esau trades a his birthright for a cup of soup....hope is was good soup hairy man
-Jacob steals the blessing from Isaac.
-The blessing is a beautiful word that would make Shakespeare jealous.
-He steals it my covering himself in goat hair....how hairy was this guy.
-Jacob has a tripy dream involving a stairway to heaven...he calls the place "House of God"

If you have never read the Bible all the way through I hope you will join me for it.

Bible in 90 Days: Day 1

Today I am starting out ona journey to read the Bible over a 90 Day period. Today was Day 1.

I read Genesis 1:1-16:16.

For those who do not think that the Bible is exciting, here is some of what happens in Day 1:

-Creation
-Nudity
-Naming Animals
-People Fall In Love
-A man writes a song for a woman (first love song written)
-The fall
-First fasion show (made of fig leaves...talk about living green)
-A Game of hide and seek
-People blaming others
-First gospel presentation (Gen 3:15)
-First sacrifice (3:21)
-An angel with a sword that is on fire...sweet!
-Sex
-Murder
-Someone becoming invincible (4:15)
-Construction
-The start of prayer (4:26)
-Lots of baby making
-Someone disappears (Enoch)
-A man is named "Ham"...unfortunate
-Lots of violence around the world (6:11)
-Promise of destruction
-40 day rain storm (must have been in Seattle)
-Everyone but Noah and the animals drown...nust sure why this is a big story in children's church
-First exclimation point in the Bible...right after an olive leaf
-Noah loses his pet dove
-Some of the animals on the ark are sacrificed (which is why he took 7 of those and not just two)
-God promises seasons and harvest as long as the earth endures...which won't be forever
-God tells Noah and his family to make more babies
-A Rainbow
-Noash gets drunk ans passes out naked
-Someone else is named Nimrod...worse than Ham
-God introduces a lot of new languages
-The first construction site gets abandoned (Babel)
-A Great promise is made to Abram
-Abram obeyed immediately
-A famine
-Abram calims his wife is his sister...look like counseling for those two
-Abram and Lot go in seperate directions
-Abram becomes an action hero and rescues Lot
-Abram tries to get a son through another woman...which he does...but that does not sway God's promise to him

I mean seriously....this is day 1. The bible is not boring
89 days to go.

Josh Rosenthal - The Villages Suites. 10% Off All Josh Rosenthal Merchandise

My friend, Josh Rosenthal, spent the last year developing a series of 4 CDs, ending with a Christmas album that just came out called For a Day (Pictured Below). This album is a perfect addition to Josh's previous Christmas album, Narratives.

The suite of CDs called Villages captures the idea of our need for connection with one another. The Villages Suite culminates with For a Day, an album where Josh spent one day collaborating with different artists for each song.

Each of these albums is fantastic in their own way. Josh has really pulled out all of the stops to showcase his ability to craft excellent and meaningful songs in a variety of styles. He never sacrifices honest lyrics or musical integrity. I highly recommend the album 'Lonely Together'.

He has a variety of Christmas specials online with several CDs and t-shirt combinations. You can purchase them through his online store at http://joshrosenthal.bigcartel.com. He gave me a special promotional code for my friends and blog readers to get an extra 10% off. At checkout use HOWIE to get the discount. This would be a great Christmas gift or stocking stuffer idea. Everyone appreciates the gift of good music. You can click on the link here or at the banner at the top of this post.

This is not something I am posting to get some returned favor down the road...it is because Josh is a very authentic individual and a great friend of mine. I could give you stories of Josh's generous and caring spirit, but it is all evident in the music the creates. So please check out his store and pick up a little something for friends, family, yourself, or you pet turtle that you named "Mother".

Thanks so much and Merry Christmas!

To preview his music go to his myspace at: http://www.myspace.com/joshrosenthal

To purchase his music with my promotional code go to: http://joshrosenthal.bigcartel.com/

Caliente Dog

I know it's been over a month but this is what I have been spending time doing

Josh Rosenthal - Lonely Together

Josh Rosenthal is about to release his 3rd release in a 4 part series known as the Village Suite. This third EP is entitled "Lonely Together" and is by far the best of the three that have been release so far.

I know I tend to say that Josh's albums are better than their predecessors but it is true. Josh continues to excel as a songwriter and musician.

This album kicks off with the album version of "Amy Please" which I will spare you the write up on it because I discussed this great song one my review of Josh's "Overture EP".

The second song on the album is by far my favorite Rosenthal track "Leave". This song starts out with a catchy riff that reminds me of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's album "Howl". This bluesy song is very strong lyrically reminding us that our problem will not go away just because we do. This is evident in lines like "maybe it's not where I am that hurts so bad, maybe it's not much geography". This song is brutally honest (which is all Josh knows how to write) and is a refreshing song that showcases a new style to Josh's body of work.

The album then does into "No More Lies" which was co-penned with Josh Wilson and offers the guest vocals of Alli Rogers which sound fantastic alongside Josh's voice. This song is about the importance and power of the vows made between a couple, that they will not be broken if the couple takes them seriously no matter what the other person brings in. It is a plea for total honesty between two people and a deceleration of unwavering love. It is a beautiful song and is one of the slower songs on the album

The album picks up again with the song 'You Followed Me". A song about a God who pursues us even when we make the decision to start to walk down our own path. This song has a little bit of a Fray sound in the chorus which is incredibly catchy and is prone to get stuck in your head. This is a great reminder about how great our God is in His love for us. This song is upbeat and a would highly recommend it. This is probably my 3rd favorite song on the album behind "Leave" and "Amy, Please".

The album starts to take a more mellow turn with "Take It Away" which is a song that reminds me of Paul's pleading for God to take away the thorn in his side. This song is one that grows on you with repeat listens. This song is Josh at his most honest and transparent. For those of you who struggle with community or letting people get close to speak truth into your life I would HIGHLY recommend this song for you.

The album closes out with a remake of one of Josh''s older songs "Going Home" which first appeared on his "Anatomy of Healing EP". It is a song about being apart from the one you love and being excited about returning to that person. This version is much better than they original with better recording, production, and an additional 3 years of experience under Josh's belt as a performer.

I can not tell you how great this album is, I can only encourage you to go and buy it tomorrow when it comes out on itunes at midnight EST.

Partners

last night we had the privilege of partnering with 7 other youth groups in the Aurora areas and hosted a See You At The Pole rally at New Life.

It was great on several fronts...

-We had over 150 students there to get excited about See You At The Pole

-We kicked off an on campus bible study group to equip and encourage our students to be missionaries on their campus.

-I got to see one of our former students do an incredible job in leading people in worship.

-We got to see God moving among a group of students and seeing what can happen when ministries put down ownership of ministry and start actually doing ministry together.

Even The Strongest Hero

Josh Rosenthal's second album in The Village Suite series released yesterday on itunes as well on his own website.

Much like the Overture -EP this EP is 5 songs, however these songs are just Josh and a guitar. After a string of albums with a full band Josh has brought it back to the simple (although tougher) format of a voice, a guitar, and a microphone.

Even The Strongest Hero is a great album that is worth repeats listens.

The album starts out with "Alone" a up front attack on the John Wayne mentality that is still so prevalent in our culture. Josh creatively and clearly builds up the idea that we were created for community and to purposefully remove ourselves from culture is to go against "what is written on our souls" I actually used this song last night as I closed out our series on relationships, reminding students that all of our relationships are important for our growth in Christ.

The second track "Change" has some creative world play comparing spare change to the change we all desire in our lives, also the idea of a wishing well making us well. This song is a reminder that it is OK to not be OK, it is OK to be yourself. Although it means accepting our faults. This is a simple song with a simple picking pattern, it is not quite as technical as some of Josh's other songs, but still possesses a nice melody that works well with the sound of the song.

Josh then brings it down a notch with "Inside Asleep" which is a honest song about the struggles of living a life of faith when you sometimes feel that Jesus is "inside asleep" much like on the boat in the sea of Galilee. This song is quiet, slow, but full of technical riffs mixed in. This, to me, is vintage Rosenthal and is my second favorite track on the album behind "Alone".

"Better Man" is a solid love song that speaks the truth that any man has felt when they find a woman how is patient with them and shows mercy on more that one occasion.

The album ends with a cover of "Will You Remember Me". I was honestly expecting there to be a little bit of a cheesy feel to the song since it has been used in so many graduation slide shows over the years, but Josh does a great job of making the song feel sincere which is a feat for any song that has been overused in different venues.

It's only $4.95 on iTunes....so I will obviously recommend the whole album. If you are so cheap that you will not give Josh more than $2 of your money then at least buy the following songs...

Songs to Download Immediately:
-Alone
-Inside Asleep