My Influences

I saw this really intriguing note going around on facebook and it got me thinking.  What are the 25 albums that have most influenced my life.  Before I post the names of the albums and why they're important to me, I have to make a few points.

-Surprisingly, no Led Zeppelin.  Now, don't get me wrong, I love them, but for this list, it just didn't seem right to put them on there.  Shooter Jennings also falls into this category.  And John Mayer.

-This took way longer than I expected it to.

-They are in no particular order.  However, near the top they are probably more important than others.

Without further adieu, here it is:

1.  Emery-  The Weak's End

-This album jump-started my love for Emery, which is unbelievably deep.  Songs like Fraction, By All Accounts (Today Was a Disaster), Ponytail Parade, and Disguising Mistakes With Goodbyes have been great companions while driving.

2.  Anberlin-  Cities

-Cities was Anberlin fulfilling their tremendous potential.  There isn't a bad song on the album.  It also produced The Haunting which is an amazing b-side.  Dismantle.Repair. and Alexithymia came along at a time when I needed them personally and have stuck with me really well.

3.  Mat Kearney-  Nothing Left to Lose

-I'm sure I've given every compliment to this album in one form or another at some point.  It is an amazing album and every song has a deep meaning for me.  It's definitely one I couldn't live without.

4.  Augustana-  All the Stars and Boulevards

-Boston intrigued me right off the bat and the rest of the album picked up where it left off.  Hotel Roosevelt and Sunday Best are just great songs.  The whole album has a east vs. west/ opposite feel to it.  Different from a lot of albums.

5.  Matchbox 20-  Yourself or Someone Like You

-One of the first CDs I ever bought and I got made fun of in elementary and middle school for it.  I doubt I will ever stop listening to the album though.  Hang, Push, and Back 2 Good are classic songs.

6.  The Shins- Oh, Inverted World

-This is part of the Zach Braff effect.  It opened up the world of indie rock for me and I doubt I will ever look back.

7.  Relient K- mmhmm

-I spent years telling people that Relient K was way more brilliant than they were letting on and this album proved it.  Just a great album all around.

8.  Emery- The Question

-  No sophomore slump with Emery.  As a whole, The Question is an amazing album.  While it doesn't have all the magic that The Weak's End had, it is solid all the way around and the production is amazing.

9.  Tyler Burkum- Darling, Maybe Someday

-I love Tyler Burkum because he writes simple, honest songs that I can relate to.  He writes beautiful songs and I can't recommend his music highly enough.

10.  Foo Fighters- In Your Honor

-It's probably wrong to put this ahead of The Colour and the Shape, but I'm doing it anyway.  20 great songs.  It can't get much better.

11.  Augustana-  Can't Love, Can't Hurt

-This album is working it's way up the list quickly.  The beauty of their music doesn't hit you as much until you hear them live.  That is a concert I will never forget.

12.  Anberlin- Never Take Friendship Personal

-I have been told many times that I listen to Paperthin Hymn way too much.

13.  UnderOath-  They're Only Chasing Safety

- This album had a lot to do with my change in musical taste during my freshman year of college.  It is still easily my favorite UnderOath album.

14.  Chasing Victory- Fiends

-Why oh why did you guys break up?

15.  John Reuben- The Boy Vs. The Cynic

-This album deserves credit for making me ask some questions about whether I was following Jesus from the Bible or the American Jesus who drives a Chevy truck and hates atheists.

16.  Nickel Creek-  Nickel Creek

-Out of the Woods and When You Come Back Down are songs that I have fallen in love with.

17.  Relient K- Five Score and Seven Years Ago

-A continuation of mmhmm.

18.  Weezer- Green Album

-Yes, I do like it better than Blue.

19.  Foo Fighters- The Colour and the Shape

-My Hero and Everlong are timeless songs.  I'm hoping I can watch their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame one day.

20.  Justin McRoberts- Grace Must Would Before It Heals

-Much like The Boy Vs. The Cynic, this album left me with a whole lot of questions.

21.  mewithoutyou- Catch for Us the Foxes

-Just absolutely genius

22.  Fiction Family- Fiction Family

-Jon Foreman + Sean Watkins = Amazing Music

23.  He Is Legend- Suck Out the Poison

-I just love dirty Southern Rock

24.  Gym Class Heroes- The Papercut Chronicles

-Do not confuse this brilliant album with their last two releases.  Two completely different things.

25.  Switchfoot- The Beautiful Letdown

-Someone stole this CD from me when I was in high school.  Just know I'm still searching for the culprit.  

So there you have it.  You now know everything about me.  Comments are appreciated.

The Wrestler

I'll go ahead and get it out of the way.  I used to love pro wrestling.  I can think back and remember matches that changed my life as a kid.  I remember begging my parents to let me order a pay-per-view because I was worried Mankind was going to kill Shawn Michaels (my favorite wrestler).  I remember sitting around at school the next day listening to a kid tell me what happened in detail in every match because his dad ordered it.

So it was no surprise that when a movie about a washed up professional wrestler was released I wanted to go.  The fact that the reviews were as good as they were was just a bonus.  I have never seen Ready to Rumble... just for the record.

Mickey Rourke plays Randy "The Ram," an extremely popular wrestler from the 1980s who is now wrestling in small companies to make enough money to pay the rent.  After a particularly brutal match, he has a heart attack and has to change his life.

The Wrestler is an absolutely amazing movie.  It is a movie that I have processed in my mind over and over.  One of the few movies that has ever left me completely engrossed for a day or two afterward.  I found myself thinking about the movie the next day and looking at it from all the different angles.  I highly recommend it even if you aren't a fan of wrestling.

My Consistent Blog...

Seems like an oxymoron right?  I've been pretty lazy with this thing for the last few months.  I'm gonna get better, I promise.

I think I'm just going to get some quick thoughts out and use another post to talk about some politics and other things.  I had to write a 17 page research paper on the relationship between Christianity and Politics in America.  While I said a lot in that paper, there are a few things that I would like to say in a less formal tone.  Maybe a few questions to ask as well.

Here are my quick hit thoughts of this week.

-Not only do the Gators win the BCS Championship game but Tim Tebow and Brandon Spikes come back?  I'll take it!

-Dear Jaguars, please pick Percy Harvin.  Cut Jerry Porter and Troy Williamson.  Draft Percy Harvin.

-My love for British Rock-and-Roll grows by the minute thanks to my continued love for Led Zeppelin, the Kaiser Chiefs, and the Beatles, as well as my newfound love for Bloc Party and the Arctic Monkeys.  I'm sure there are tons of bands I'm forgetting. 

-I agree with whoever said the Killers are the best British band to come out of America.

-I don't know if there are enough hours left in my life to see all the great movies I have missed over the years but Netflix makes it a lot easier to see as many as possible.

-Watchmen looks like it's going to be great.  Should do a good job telling the story.

-The list of books I have to read is too long.  Into the Wild, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Reading the Bible Again for the First Time, Living Biblically, The History of God, Million Dollar Baby, and all my stuff for school.  I have a ton of work to do.

The happiest note of all this is that I finally feel like I can think on a graduate school level.  I feel comfortable with my beliefs and feelings about certain issues.  I'm excited to move onto the next portion of my life story.

My American Church

I am troubled. I try not to be critical of the people who are members of the church that I work for. I really do enjoy working at the church. I like the people there and the atmosphere of the community. I like working with the youth group and the kids in it.

However, there have been two things that have made me sad. Not because these things only happen in this church but that they happen at all. These are common things in the American church. Most of us don't even realize it until it is pointed out.

The first of which is a music video for a song by Carman. Now, I will admit that other than this song I am completely unfamiliar with the man's music. However, this video have definitely turned me off. In the song/video he claims that 20+ Biblical laws are mentioned by the writers of the Declaration of Independence. Interestingly enough, there is no mention of the Bible, Christianity, or Jesus Christ in the Declaration. Not to mention the fact that the only people who have rights in their minds were people who could own land or (for the most part) white men.

My biggest problem with the video is that it is filled with hate. Hate for people who are not like the American, Caucasian, Christian population. That video should be nowhere near Christianity or the Church.

My other issue is that at the beginning of Vacation Bible School we have pledges. First we do the pledge to the American flag, then the Christian flag, then the Bible. My problem is not with the pledges themselves but rather the order. It's completely backwards. Is our allegiance first to America or to our faith?

I don't feel like I can pledge to the American flag before either of the others.

"My first allegiance is not to a flag, a country or a man.
No, my first allegiance is not to democracy or blood.
It's to a King and a kingdom."
-Derek Webb

His Story

If you haven't heard yet, there is this guy named Josh Hamilton. He went to high school at Athens Drive (a local school). He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays and was going to have a great career. He got injured, got into drugs, and almost lost his career. After a few years out of baseball, he turned his life around and was signed by the Cincinnati Reds. This past offseason, they reluctantly traded him to the Texas Rangers for Edinson Volquez (a trade that has worked out for both teams). Yesterday, he was chosen as a starter for the AL All Stars. His efforts to turn his life around have paid off. If you get the chance, read his story.

God bless Josh Hamilton for realizing his potential and not settling for less.

My Biggest Struggle

I miss blogging. I really do. I'm just glad that school is over now so I can read more for pleasure and write some more blogs. I'm also going to change the way I title the individual blogs as well. I want a more "Scrubsy" feel to this thing. I'll explain why in this post. I might sneak a song quote in here every once in a while though.

The thing I find most interesting about my relationship with Jesus is that just when I feel like I'm comfortable with everything, that comfort is taken away. Shane Claiborne probably says it best when he says that Jesus came to "comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable" (Irresistible Revolution and Jesus For President). I was cruising along though. Learning new things about my faith and about myself and everything was okay. At least until my fatal flaw was revealed. I think that's why I relate to superheroes so much. They have this power but they always have some flaw that goes along with it. Not that I have special powers or anything...yet.

I'm sure that if either of the individuals I'm talking about reads this, they will try to fix whatever is wrong (I can't spoil it for you yet), but I don't want them to. I don't want an apology. I'm not doing this for one. I just want this out there. This is for me.

I'm not even going to tell the story. I wouldn't even know where to start. I've always longed for a mentor. I think this is why I relate so easily to J.D. from Scrubs. He is always trying to earn the respect of Dr. Cox. He does everything he can. That was me in youth group. I never felt like I got it though. It's so frustrating to see people who are angels in public and completely irrational and hateful in private get the respect that you've worked so diligently for. It's even worse when that person lies to your face about the whole situation.

The crazy thing is that I don't want the respect anymore. I don't. I like the people that I go to for spiritual advice. I think I have a broad spectrum of well educated and understanding friends who help me with any of my concerns about ministry or life in general.

This whole situation just knocked me on my butt though. I made myself sick over it. I guess I finally know why it had to. My biggest struggle is forgiveness. I want to forgive but I don't know if I understand all the implications of that forgiveness. It's not easy to forgive. Especially with a hurt that is so deep. I'm going to forgive. I'm not ready yet though.

Sometimes I wish it were easier to follow Jesus....

My Dreams Have Come True

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