While I'm Waiting... While I'm Searching

Looking back at my previous posts, I have noticed that I have posted about three different songs by John Waller over the past year. The thing is, John Waller only has one CD out, with only 10 songs. That is 33% of his songs. And they are not the only three songs with a powerful message. But instead of rambling about statistics, let me get to the point. John Waller is currently one of my favorite artists, ranking up there with FFH and Casting Crowns. And his debut album, "The Blessing" is one of my favorite albums on my iTunes, and has been played through the most. But there is a reason for that. The lyrics in these songs are powerful and have such a great message.

So since last April, when I went to the Casting Crowns concert, which had John Waller as an opening act, I have listened to John Waller like crazy. And those songs still have a great impact on my life almost a year later. But I began anticipating more from him, especially when "While I'm Waiting" was featured in the movie Fireproof. The other day I was casually searching for new music online, and I stumbled across a new John Waller song, "Hands of the Healer." Sadly, I still cannot find an audio version of the song, only lyrics.

But that is not the exciting news. The great news is that John Waller's second album will be released in just a few short weeks, April 7th! Where will I be that day? Buying the new album. It is entitled "While I'm Waiting," and while I am not sure if this is the same song that appeared on the first album or not, I am pretty sure that this album will rank right up there with his first. On his myspace page, John Waller talks about the new album and some of the new songs, which I am dying to hear some clips of. But I have searched online for clips of the new songs as well, and I have come up empty.

So while I was searching for new music I stumbled across "While I'm Waiting," the new album by John Waller. If anyone knows where I can hear some audio clips of his new album please let me know. I would love to get a sneak peek to the album.

Matt

1 Week Until Kansas

So here I am just a week away from Spring Break, which means that it is just one week until we leave for Hays, Kansas on our GO Trip. And last night we had our next to last team meeting, planning for this trip. So what do I know so far? I was going to wait until closer until the trip to give you some of the details, but I think I will go ahead and fill you in on some of them today instead.

We leave Saturday morning (at some point) from campus and have an 11-12 hour van ride to Hays, Kansas. We are taking a 15-passenger van for the 11 of us, and we have to get all of our luggage and supplies in this van as well. I think it will work.

On Sunday we get settled in and go to church with some of the students that we are going to be working with throughout the week. I am not sure what else we will be doing on Sunday.

Monday will be the start of the week at the university, working alongside the BCM (what they call Christian Challenge). We will be promoting the BCM in various ways throughout the week, such as a Bingo night.

Tuesday night is the BCM's weekly service, and along with a missionary that is coming in that same week, we are going to help out with their service that night. One thing that we are currently working on is a skit to use that night.

Wednesday, or at least I think it is this day, we are going to do some service projects. The BCM meet in the church and in the leader's home. So we are going to help those buildings in some way, basically doing whatever it is that they want done.

Thursday will be a day of prayer walking on the campus of Fort Hays State. We will intentionally be on the campus each day building connections, spreading the Gospel, possibly going to class with these students, and eating lunch with different students that we meet. But on Thursday we will spend a good part of the day on campus in prayer for the university.

Friday will be the last day we have in Kansas, and they are giving us the morning off. So we may venture out to the Fort that is in Hays Kansas, hence the name of the university. It is our free day, and we are going to find some type of tourist activity for the day. But then that night, the BCM is hosting a "Cowboy" theme international meeting for international students. We are helping out with the party, and yes, we are to bring and wear cowboy clothing. We have also been told that there might be a mechanical bull there as well.

Then the second Saturday of the trip will be our trip home. I do not know when we are leaving, or when we will arrive back in Jackson. But the trip will be over, and I might be able to give you an update about the trip at that point.

Now during the trip I will be offline and away from my phone. Technology like that is not allowed on these trips. Our focus needs to be on why we are serving in these places during our break. So we will be away from phone calls and text messages as well as facebook and the blog. But I will give an update as soon as I get back.

Matt

TranSouth Champions - Twice!

These past two nights have been great here at the U! First on Monday night, the women's basketball team took to the courts against Trevecca (from the Nashville area). What started as a few close first minutes turned into total dominance by the Lady Bulldogs. We have only been beaten once this season, and that was back in late December/early January. Since then, we have been on a tremendous winning streak, and we are carrying that into the NAIA tournament next week, hopefully to become the '08-'09 NAIA Champions!

Then last night, students filled the gym for the second game of the week. This time the men played for the championship against Freed Hardeman University, a team just a few minutes from campus. They brought their student section to the Fred (our gym) and we had an all out student section battle throughout the game. But was it really a game? Again, it was for the first few minutes, when the scores were fairly close. But about midway through the first half, we stretched the lead out and there was no turning back at that point. The men won the championship, making us champions twice this week! They are headed to the big tournament as well, and if they play like they played last, then they have a good shot at winning it all as well.

Spring Break is right around the corner as well, and everyone knows it. Not only are we all in need of a break, the tests and papers are beginning to pile up for the "mid-term" section of the semester. I got one test out of the way today, but I still have two more along with a paper before I can leave campus next Saturday. It has already been a long semester, but Spring Break will be here soon.

And with Spring Break comes GO Trip for me. Next Saturday, the 21st, I will be heading to Hays, Kansas while we work at Fort Hays State. Plans are being finalized, and we discussed our schedule for the week during our last team meeting. We will probably know more tomorrow night, and I will be sure to post some of the things that we will be doing during the week before I leave for the trip.

That is the latest from the TranSouth Champion Union University.

Matt

California, Vegas, and Atlanta

3 races have been run since I last posted about NASCAR, and these 3 races have pushed Jeff into the points lead for the current 2009 points. At California, Jeff had a solid run throughout the entire race. But with a minor adjustment in the pits and a tenth of a second slower pit stop, he came back out on the track in 2nd and could not pass Matt Kenseth for the win in the end. That second place finish however, put him 2nd in the points at the time.

Then came Vegas, where he had yet another good car. But a pit stop once again altered the finish of the race. In fear of not getting onto pit road slow enough and realizing that cars behind him did not realize he was pitting, Jeff narrowly missed the pit road entrance, which caused him to blow the front left tire when he began to race back around the track. This almost fatal mistake should have cost him not only the win but many positions on the track. However, Jeff salvaged a 6th place finish and took control of the points leaving Vegas.

Just 2 days ago, the drivers headed to Atlanta. And once again, Jeff had another dominant car, although he did not dominate the race. This time it was Kurt Busch that he battled, and he even led part of the race. This puts Jeff as the only driver this season who has led a lap in all 4 of the races. And once again, a mistake in pit road might have cost him the win. A dropped lugnut put Jeff back in the pack on a restart, and although he got back up to the front of the pack, he could not beat Busch in the final turn. So he once again settled for a 2nd place finish.

In 2 weeks, the drivers will head to Bristol and try to tame the world's fastest half mile. Jeff has had many good races in Bristol, including a win in the Fall of 2002 (a race that I attended). So hopefully he will snap his 45 race losing streak and come out with a win in Thunder Valley. Jeff Gordon is back this year, and right now he is definitely a contender for the championship.

Matt

Frankenstein

The second novel of my novel class this semester was Frankenstein, and I finished it this morning. Compared to Humphry Clinker, I enjoyed Frankenstein much more. Part of the reason why is because I feel it is much more enjoyable story, but the other reason is that it does not consist of all those letters like Humphry Clinker.

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There are many misconceptions about this book, and unless you have read it before, you may have been told some false information. Frankenstein is not the monster. Because of movies and media, most people probably think that Frankenstein is the name of the monster, but that is not true. Frankenstein is the last name of the man that created the monster. The monster is never actually given a name. He is referred to as the demon or a wretch.

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And the story does not revolve around the creation of the monster, or even around the actions of the monster. Those are events are present, but they are not the whole story. First off, this story is being told to another man, Walton, by Frankenstein (who recounts his life). And there is only a brief discussion about the creation of the monster. While the monster does kill other characters, more of the story is about Frankenstein and how he deals with the fact that he has created a murderer.

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So in America today, we are generally confused about this story. But it does seem to be a classic and a favorite. And even the real story is good. I enjoyed reading through the real story of Frankenstein this past week. And I would definitely encourage anyone who has not actually read the story, written by Mary Shelley, to read it. I think you would enjoy the real story.

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Matt

Total Commitment - Part 2

Picking up where I left off last week, today I want to look at both the risk and the results of Total Commitment:

The Risk

Here is a question - "What are ways that you see God at work around you each day?" Have you ever felt like God is working and doing things around you, and yet you do not seem to be involved? If so, the problem may be that you have put too much of the focus on yourself. When we our focus is not on God, He cannot uses us. But when He sees that we are committed to Him, He will be able to do big things in our lives.

But there is a risk when considering this type of a lifestyle. By living in this manner, you may soon realize that it is much harder than you expected. We may suffer ridicule, just like Jesus. We may lose friendships or relationships, as Jesus lost followers. There are many things that could happen as a result of living this radical life style. But is it not worth it? Our brothers and sisters across the world suffer each day. But the suffering does not stop them. They continue to proclaim His word. So there is a risk, but in the end, Jesus is there with us through it all, helping us along.

The Results

Here are 5 quick statements, that I feel are some of the results of a life of total commitment:

1. God calls us to complete surrender.
2. Find out where God is working and join Him (in the areas in which He has gifted you). (i.e. read Experiencing God)
3. Get to know God more and more, never being content in your Christian life. There is always room for growth.
4. Never doubt God's plans; remember God is in control no matter what happens.
5. Let God use you for His glory.

Matt

Union's Snowstorm

We got a lot of snow this weekend at Union, but the sad thing is that I was not here to see it when it first fell. I had gone home for the weekend, and was able to get some good rest thankfully. But in the process I missed the snow on campus Saturday night. Now Jackson is 1 hour south of my home, and there was more snow in Jackson. Sitting at home, I think we guessed that we received about 3 inches. But when I left Sunday afternoon, most of the snow had already melted. Then, when I arrived in Jackson, I noticed that there was at least 3-4 inches of snow still around, even with some of it already melted. Some of my friends told me that they think we got around 6 inches of snow down here.

Well with below freezing temperatures last night, the melted snow that covered the roads refroze, causing some more problems this morning. So classes were delayed for one hour due to the frozen roads. But that is not the major problem we are dealing with today. The worst problem is that many of our sidewalks were never cleared off yesterday, and the ones that were refroze over night. So the walk to our classes this morning has been treacherous. People have been slipping and sliding all morning. A lot has melted over the past hour, but our sidewalks are still pretty slick.

It has been quite an adventure this weekend. Snow is always fun, and campus looked great covered with all that white stuff. But now that the snow has come and is beginning to go, I am ready for Spring. We finally had our one big snow storm for the winter (for West Tennessee anyway) and that means that Spring is hopefully around the corner. I am ready for warmer weather.

Matt