Lunar Boulevard

So today our pastor was talking about spiritual gifts. Yes, I know that's a bit different from what I wrote about yesterday but I promise this is going somewhere. During one section he said something so profound and it really hit me. Heck, twelve hours later it still keeps replaying in my head. I don't remember the exact wording but it was essentially something like this: "It's hard not to judge the present based on past experiences. We always say, 'Well, I don't want to be disappointed'. You know something? I think it's good for us to expect that God can change things and that He can work miracles." It really ties in with what I wrote about yesterday. I want so badly to believe that God has something greater for me and that the past isn't an indication of the present or the future. I hope He feels the same.

I'm trying to add more articles and thoughts about spiritual matters in here in addition to my music-related posts. I know that no one reads them; it's mainly just a way for me to keep my thoughts together and go over what God has taught me or revealed to me over the course of this year. So essentially I'm just talking to myself, which is a weird feeling. Then again, I'm used to feeling weird so maybe this should feel much more natural than it does. Lately the topic of fear and worry has been on my mind. I'm a worrier by nature and I have enough pain in my past that it's difficult for me to make it through a day without assuming the worst or becoming a bit paranoid, especially when things are going well. I once had a family member tell me, "I only get nervous when things are going well. They have nowhere to go but down!". It was partly said as a joke but there's always a hint of truth and confession in things of that nature and it's always stuc...

Do you ever hear a song that you feel was written just for you, like the artist looked at your life and wrote about it without you ever knowing it? This is one of those songs. I love The Shins. James Mercer has a way of taking the human condition and translating it into catchy and often emotional songs that touch something deep inside of me. That's what all great music should do and he's been doing it extremely well for a decade now. Wincing the Night Away is one of my all-time favorite albums. It's perfect and haunting and beautiful and shatters me every time I listen to it. "A Comet Appears" is the closing track and I can't think of a more poignant away to end the record. Everything about this track just works. The gentle guitar and soft chirping of birds in the background evoke thoughts and memories of a warm summer day. The sounds may be gentle but the song cuts deep, complete with words that I feel like I could have written myself: One hand on this wily ...

Sometimes an album just pops into your life in unexpected ways. You never see it coming and suddenly you realize that you're listening to it non-stop every day and humming it at work, in the shower, and even playing it in your head as you fall asleep. For me, that album currently is The '59 Sound by The Gaslight Anthem. They're a band I've known about for a while but once I finally got around to listening to their music I literally can't stop. Not since R.E.M.'s Collapse Into Now last spring have I connected with a record so personally and been so hooked. This record does everything right. The production is tight and perfectly matches the energetic punk/rock/alternative/rockabilly sound that the band does so well. The album even manages to throw in blues and Motown influences as well, further diversifying the sound and shape of the album. The energy and passion never die down for even a second, yet the album also feels very intimate and personal. Frontman Bria...

This is one of my favorite U2 songs. It's easily in my top five and always has been. I can't remember a time when this song didn't move me and when I wasn't totally captivated by it. It was on my mind tonight and I couldn't think of a better place to start my Song-A-Week challenge than with this beauty. Part of what makes this song so wonderful is the fact that it exemplifies everything that U2 does so well. It's incredibly simple and yet the complexities, both of the lyrics and the music, slowly begin to reveal themselves with subsequent listens. They're small, but they're there. The story itself is somewhat painful and by the end of the first verse we're immediately brought into this dark situation. You say when he hits you, you don't mind Because when he hurts you, you feel alive Oh no Is that what it is? The song can easily be interpreted as watching someone you care about go through a troublesome time and not only are you powerless to help, ...

Over the last few months my church has been going through 1 Corinthians. The whole Bible is amazing and 1 Corinthians is always one of those books that manages to pack so much into such a small space. Love, marriage, church conduct, sacrifice: it's all here and chapters 8 and 9 are the two we discussed today. For starters, I really love how Paul discusses freedom in Christ and focusing on acting in such a way so as not to cause a brother or sister to stumble. This is one of those areas that most of us, myself included, seem to ignore or constantly forget about. So often it's easy for us to simply do our own thing and be so wrapped up in our own lives that we forget about those around us and how our actions can have a positive (or negative) effect on them. For instance, most of the music I listen to would be deemed "secular". I find a majority of Christian music to be predictable and kind of boring. However, I also know some believers who listen to Christian music excl...