So today I had an AWESOME conversation with someone that I go to school with which totally rocked my world. The convo was great but the thing that was so cool was that I totally had an opinion of her and then after talking to her, i realized I was not even close. I didn't have a negative perspective of her, I thought she was a cool girl but not so deep and truely passionate about God as she truely is. It just shows me how I am so wrong in pretty much all of my judgements and how taking time to really get to know the people that I'm around everyday, will totally change my view.
I wonder how many people I have already made up my mind on who they are and I don't even know it?... My judgement seems to be disguised as an acutal reality. If I look at EVERYONE, not just new people I will meet, and focus on not judging them but truely figuring out who they are by investing time in them.
Totally on another note, I just wanted to draw attention to one sentence that is on the song "Vision of you" on shane & Shane's album "Pages" where they sing, "May the Vision of you be the death of me". what an awesome prayer! That the glory of God would be illuminated. Let him increase and us decrease.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
What's been on my mind
So today I bought the new Shane & Shane Album, "Pages" and David Crowder's new album, "Remedy". Both are awesome! 
Shane & Shane continually blow my mind when I see them perform and on their recordings. Fantastic CD!
Crowder's new CD is a lot different which is always cool and something that I LOVE about Crowder.
He is deffinitly one of my biggest influences when it comes to christian music, but this new CD I haven't fully made up my mind on. It is great and I love the sound but it does seem to be more of a "fun" sound opposed to a intense, deep sound. I think that I just wasn't expecting it and so it'll just take a little time and I'll love it for sure but it's a great CD, deffinitly recommend it.
resently this theme of surrendering everything has been looming over me. different phrases have come into my mind like,
"And I surrender all. I will lay it down. A passion for your love. Let your glory resound"
"Trust in the lord, his love is forever. Do not fear, a life of Surrender."
I feel that I haven't been fully commited because I am afriad of failing or not being as good as I others think I am or even as good as I think I am. I always hold some back. That's something I've been working on ever since I started college. In a new setting, I never have really let many people know what I'm capable of or shown them me at my best for something things; I'm talking mainly about music. It seems that I come to school here, after being at home in Salem, and I'm not able to excel and stand out from the crowd near as much. I've always been driven to be different. I'm not a follower, but when i come to school I don't lead as much. I do in a certian comfort zone but I don't lead everywhere. I deffinitly don't follow, but the leading is something that I am working on in every situation.
is it possible to learn how to surrender everything in oneself?... That leads right to freedom in God's direction on your life... cool stuff...
Shane & Shane continually blow my mind when I see them perform and on their recordings. Fantastic CD!Crowder's new CD is a lot different which is always cool and something that I LOVE about Crowder.
He is deffinitly one of my biggest influences when it comes to christian music, but this new CD I haven't fully made up my mind on. It is great and I love the sound but it does seem to be more of a "fun" sound opposed to a intense, deep sound. I think that I just wasn't expecting it and so it'll just take a little time and I'll love it for sure but it's a great CD, deffinitly recommend it.resently this theme of surrendering everything has been looming over me. different phrases have come into my mind like,
"And I surrender all. I will lay it down. A passion for your love. Let your glory resound"
"Trust in the lord, his love is forever. Do not fear, a life of Surrender."
I feel that I haven't been fully commited because I am afriad of failing or not being as good as I others think I am or even as good as I think I am. I always hold some back. That's something I've been working on ever since I started college. In a new setting, I never have really let many people know what I'm capable of or shown them me at my best for something things; I'm talking mainly about music. It seems that I come to school here, after being at home in Salem, and I'm not able to excel and stand out from the crowd near as much. I've always been driven to be different. I'm not a follower, but when i come to school I don't lead as much. I do in a certian comfort zone but I don't lead everywhere. I deffinitly don't follow, but the leading is something that I am working on in every situation.
is it possible to learn how to surrender everything in oneself?... That leads right to freedom in God's direction on your life... cool stuff...
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Germany School Journal
I had to Journal each day I was in Germany. It doesn't have to be too much of anything but just some highlights and some analysis of the culture so here's some of what happened:
Sept. 17, 2007
Today was the first day for the Spiritual Emphasis Week (SEW) here at Black Forest Academy (BFA). It went great. The jet lag from the trip over hasn’t been too influential in our experience so far and I believe that it will just get less still. I am worried about the trip home though. Today we started off the day with having Germany Pastries and Chocolate mixed with Coffee and toast. I will say that the chocolate and coffee was so much better than what I am used to in the States. After that I went to BFA and we had a two-hour rehearsal for the worship set and then started off the week. The Chapel went great with over three hundred students, both middle school and high school. After the session we went up towards the black forest and were able to look at the rolling hills and large cornfields. The weather has been at a steady 75 degrees but is supposed to get colder during the week.
Sept. 18, 2007
Today was another great day! The session this morning went awesome! The students are beginning to really get comfortable with us as a band and they are beginning to really open up to us. We also got to go in Freiburg, Germany and walk around the town and different shops and eat at local bakeries, specifically Berliners. It’s so cool to see how the towns and roads are so much different than the United States. The roads and the streets in the village are very narrow and many of the locals speak English. This makes me feel very ignorant and lazy that I do not take the time to learn another language. The ability to speak multiple languages will connect someone to so many people and gives one the chance to make relationships all over.
Sept. 19, 2007
During the session this morning people were totally changing. The message was fantastic and the band played very well. It was awesome to see kids change and one girl (that I know for sure) ask Christ into her life. We were planning on heading into Basel, Switzerland today but decided, since I’m getting sick and we are planning on going there on Saturday, that we weren’t going to go. We ended up hanging out with the students and leading worship in the evening for the middle schoolers in an event called Chrysalis (the point with a caterpillar becomes a butterfly… I don’t know why…) and there were going crazy! Middle school kids have so much energy its great! We also go to play a little soccer and basketball with some of the locals here. It was a blast but made me realize how much I am out of shape, but in my defense I am a little sick.
Sept. 20, 2007
Well today was awesome! We didn’t do a whole lot of traveling but it was a great day! We went up to a ruined castle and got to climb and walk all around it. It was awesome to see where the knights would meet and where the dungeons were. There were also ancient artifacts that were dentist tools, battle weapons, and clothing. I’ve never seen anything like it before.
Sept. 21, 2007
It was the last day for the SEW. We had a set in the morning and then a final worship time at night that was two hours long and it went great! The kids made commitments and lives were changed! We didn’t get to really travel anywhere today besides to the basketball court that is at the school and then we went out to eat at a Vietnamese restaurant that was amazing! Really good food and I found out that Germany doesn’t have too much spicy food. They are known for their sweet foods like candy or chocolate but as fare as spicy, it’s not the best place. Tomorrow we are going into Switzerland. I’m excited!
Sept. 22, 2007
Today was the best day of seeing Germany and Europe! We got to take a trip to the Swiss Alps. It was amazing! We rented scooters and cruised around Switzerland for four hours, stopping and taking pictures as well as checking out the local shops. I got to try an ice cream bar called, “Magnum” which was the best ice cream bar I’ve ever had. The scenery was epic and the scooters were so fun! We ate at a restaurant that was Swiss and Japanese combined. It was a weird combination but there were a lot of Japanese people there in Switzerland. It was amazing!
Sept. 23, 2007
We went to church early in the morning at BFC (Black Forest Church). It was at the school that we played at and was very traditional. I enjoyed the pastor and during the rest of the day we got to hang out with some of Erik Williams friends that work with placing missionaries in Europe. John and Fran lived in Africa for sixteen years, Colorado for four years, Paris for four years, and they have now been in Germany for five years. Amazing people with many stories! I also tried REAL blue cheese that was straight from France. The only true blue cheese, made in French caves. John told me the story of the “rockfart.”
Sept. 24, 2007
I really don’t like the French airlines. I wasn’t able to ride standby on a flight to Paris so I had to wait several hours. Once we arrived in Paris we had an amazing time! We mapped out what spots we wanted to hit in the little time that we had and we made good time. It was great to visit the huge, tourist city but I don’t plan on taking a trip back that would exceed a few days long. The city is so touristy that it takes away the experience. It was a great day and an amazing way to end the trip. We met up with some friends that live in Paris and had dinner with them. I’m not looking forward to getting back into school, especially after I’ve seen all this beauty and this world outside of the US. I’m so glad for this experience and I plan on taking another trip here in the near future.
Sept. 17, 2007
Today was the first day for the Spiritual Emphasis Week (SEW) here at Black Forest Academy (BFA). It went great. The jet lag from the trip over hasn’t been too influential in our experience so far and I believe that it will just get less still. I am worried about the trip home though. Today we started off the day with having Germany Pastries and Chocolate mixed with Coffee and toast. I will say that the chocolate and coffee was so much better than what I am used to in the States. After that I went to BFA and we had a two-hour rehearsal for the worship set and then started off the week. The Chapel went great with over three hundred students, both middle school and high school. After the session we went up towards the black forest and were able to look at the rolling hills and large cornfields. The weather has been at a steady 75 degrees but is supposed to get colder during the week.
Sept. 18, 2007
Today was another great day! The session this morning went awesome! The students are beginning to really get comfortable with us as a band and they are beginning to really open up to us. We also got to go in Freiburg, Germany and walk around the town and different shops and eat at local bakeries, specifically Berliners. It’s so cool to see how the towns and roads are so much different than the United States. The roads and the streets in the village are very narrow and many of the locals speak English. This makes me feel very ignorant and lazy that I do not take the time to learn another language. The ability to speak multiple languages will connect someone to so many people and gives one the chance to make relationships all over.
Sept. 19, 2007
During the session this morning people were totally changing. The message was fantastic and the band played very well. It was awesome to see kids change and one girl (that I know for sure) ask Christ into her life. We were planning on heading into Basel, Switzerland today but decided, since I’m getting sick and we are planning on going there on Saturday, that we weren’t going to go. We ended up hanging out with the students and leading worship in the evening for the middle schoolers in an event called Chrysalis (the point with a caterpillar becomes a butterfly… I don’t know why…) and there were going crazy! Middle school kids have so much energy its great! We also go to play a little soccer and basketball with some of the locals here. It was a blast but made me realize how much I am out of shape, but in my defense I am a little sick.
Sept. 20, 2007
Well today was awesome! We didn’t do a whole lot of traveling but it was a great day! We went up to a ruined castle and got to climb and walk all around it. It was awesome to see where the knights would meet and where the dungeons were. There were also ancient artifacts that were dentist tools, battle weapons, and clothing. I’ve never seen anything like it before.
Sept. 21, 2007
It was the last day for the SEW. We had a set in the morning and then a final worship time at night that was two hours long and it went great! The kids made commitments and lives were changed! We didn’t get to really travel anywhere today besides to the basketball court that is at the school and then we went out to eat at a Vietnamese restaurant that was amazing! Really good food and I found out that Germany doesn’t have too much spicy food. They are known for their sweet foods like candy or chocolate but as fare as spicy, it’s not the best place. Tomorrow we are going into Switzerland. I’m excited!
Sept. 22, 2007
Today was the best day of seeing Germany and Europe! We got to take a trip to the Swiss Alps. It was amazing! We rented scooters and cruised around Switzerland for four hours, stopping and taking pictures as well as checking out the local shops. I got to try an ice cream bar called, “Magnum” which was the best ice cream bar I’ve ever had. The scenery was epic and the scooters were so fun! We ate at a restaurant that was Swiss and Japanese combined. It was a weird combination but there were a lot of Japanese people there in Switzerland. It was amazing!
Sept. 23, 2007
We went to church early in the morning at BFC (Black Forest Church). It was at the school that we played at and was very traditional. I enjoyed the pastor and during the rest of the day we got to hang out with some of Erik Williams friends that work with placing missionaries in Europe. John and Fran lived in Africa for sixteen years, Colorado for four years, Paris for four years, and they have now been in Germany for five years. Amazing people with many stories! I also tried REAL blue cheese that was straight from France. The only true blue cheese, made in French caves. John told me the story of the “rockfart.”
Sept. 24, 2007
I really don’t like the French airlines. I wasn’t able to ride standby on a flight to Paris so I had to wait several hours. Once we arrived in Paris we had an amazing time! We mapped out what spots we wanted to hit in the little time that we had and we made good time. It was great to visit the huge, tourist city but I don’t plan on taking a trip back that would exceed a few days long. The city is so touristy that it takes away the experience. It was a great day and an amazing way to end the trip. We met up with some friends that live in Paris and had dinner with them. I’m not looking forward to getting back into school, especially after I’ve seen all this beauty and this world outside of the US. I’m so glad for this experience and I plan on taking another trip here in the near future.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Kandern, Germany- Trip to Black Forest Academy
It all started with the craziest Traveling I've ever done in my life when it comes to the airports!
It all strated on September 14th when I left ORU for 12 days, headed for Kandern, Germany. I was planning on Leading worship for a school out there called Black Forest Academy (BFA) for their Spiritual Emphisis Week (SEW). I was so stoked to have this chance. There are about 300 youth that would be attending each morning chapel service monday-friday with two sessions on Wednesday and Friday. We were planning on snowboarding one day in the Swiss Alps and hit up Paris for a day on the way back home.
So Stoked!
Ok... So i take off on the 14th and go to the airport only to wait for 3 hours, after the plane was supposed to board, until I hear that the flight has been canceled due to weather in Atlanta, my connecting spot. This was a huge bummer cause I had to figure out how I was going to switch my ticket to get to Germany and I was supposed to lead worship for the church service on that sunday (it was friday). So I went back to ORU and had a fun night back on the ORU campus with some friends and expectations for the positive trip the next day.
The next day I leave early for the airport, excited for my flight to Europe and reuniting with my friends from back on the west coast. I fly to Atlanta with no trouble and a smooth flight but then it gets rough... My new flight in Atlanta was scheduled to leave at 5:35pm on the 15th (I arrived in Atlanta around 2 pm) and arrive in Paris around 10:00 am on the 16th. This meant that I wasn't able to lead worship at the Church that sunday so I was totally bumbed out but that's ok at least I will get there for the week... Finally, after 3 and 1/2 hours of waiting, we board the plane to head to Paris... after 1 hour of sitting in the plane while it is being fixed in the loading dock, as the air conditioning system was broken, they announce that everyone needs to get OFF the plane and it wont be another 4 hours until they will know if they can use the plane! that sets us at 10:00 pm and I will Deffinitly miss my connecting flight to Germany from Paris...
after standing in a GINORMOUS line for over 2 hours and being on the phone most of that time with Delta I secure new tickets that will land me in Germany on the 16th but not until 10:00 pm... This was just not going well! hahaha it was cool though cause I met a lot of Sarcastic, old people that were actually quite funny.
final we board and leave the Atlanta airport around 11:00 pm on the 15th and arrive in Paris at 2:30 pm (Paris time; about 7 hours ahead I think)... from there I wait another 3 hours for my flight to leave at 6:00 pm and arrive in Kandern, Germany at 8:00 pm.
Finally!!! I was there!!!
Oh... but wait... where's my luggage?.... oh man.... I'm not surprised... my luggage is lost and so I am out of close and all the set lists and some equipment that I needed for the week for worship. PLUS... the guitar that I am supposed to use and lead with... is gone missing and they have no idea where it's at...
Well that was the traveling to Germany and honestly it was rough, but awesome!... I left out some things like how one of the guys going with us realized at 1 in the morning the day we were supposed to leave that his passport had expired... haha that was funny...
I'll keep you updated on the trip and how everything is playing out! It's going to be so fun!
It all strated on September 14th when I left ORU for 12 days, headed for Kandern, Germany. I was planning on Leading worship for a school out there called Black Forest Academy (BFA) for their Spiritual Emphisis Week (SEW). I was so stoked to have this chance. There are about 300 youth that would be attending each morning chapel service monday-friday with two sessions on Wednesday and Friday. We were planning on snowboarding one day in the Swiss Alps and hit up Paris for a day on the way back home.
So Stoked!
Ok... So i take off on the 14th and go to the airport only to wait for 3 hours, after the plane was supposed to board, until I hear that the flight has been canceled due to weather in Atlanta, my connecting spot. This was a huge bummer cause I had to figure out how I was going to switch my ticket to get to Germany and I was supposed to lead worship for the church service on that sunday (it was friday). So I went back to ORU and had a fun night back on the ORU campus with some friends and expectations for the positive trip the next day.
The next day I leave early for the airport, excited for my flight to Europe and reuniting with my friends from back on the west coast. I fly to Atlanta with no trouble and a smooth flight but then it gets rough... My new flight in Atlanta was scheduled to leave at 5:35pm on the 15th (I arrived in Atlanta around 2 pm) and arrive in Paris around 10:00 am on the 16th. This meant that I wasn't able to lead worship at the Church that sunday so I was totally bumbed out but that's ok at least I will get there for the week... Finally, after 3 and 1/2 hours of waiting, we board the plane to head to Paris... after 1 hour of sitting in the plane while it is being fixed in the loading dock, as the air conditioning system was broken, they announce that everyone needs to get OFF the plane and it wont be another 4 hours until they will know if they can use the plane! that sets us at 10:00 pm and I will Deffinitly miss my connecting flight to Germany from Paris...
after standing in a GINORMOUS line for over 2 hours and being on the phone most of that time with Delta I secure new tickets that will land me in Germany on the 16th but not until 10:00 pm... This was just not going well! hahaha it was cool though cause I met a lot of Sarcastic, old people that were actually quite funny.
final we board and leave the Atlanta airport around 11:00 pm on the 15th and arrive in Paris at 2:30 pm (Paris time; about 7 hours ahead I think)... from there I wait another 3 hours for my flight to leave at 6:00 pm and arrive in Kandern, Germany at 8:00 pm.
Finally!!! I was there!!!
Oh... but wait... where's my luggage?.... oh man.... I'm not surprised... my luggage is lost and so I am out of close and all the set lists and some equipment that I needed for the week for worship. PLUS... the guitar that I am supposed to use and lead with... is gone missing and they have no idea where it's at...
Well that was the traveling to Germany and honestly it was rough, but awesome!... I left out some things like how one of the guys going with us realized at 1 in the morning the day we were supposed to leave that his passport had expired... haha that was funny...
I'll keep you updated on the trip and how everything is playing out! It's going to be so fun!
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