Renewed Interest

Now that I have a new job in Greenville, I have a solid hour drive to and from work.  Some people groan when I tell them that, but I definitely think it is a good thing for me.  It's time in the morning to prepare for my day.  I pray on my way there.  I listen to the radio and hear some news.  I have time to make a mental to-do list for that day.  I get to have a giant cup of coffee that really gets my day started off right.  It's quite refreshing actually.

On the drive home I have time to jam to some tunes, listen to an audiobook, or just chill and wind down from a hard days work.  Lately though, I have found a renewed interest.  I have a copy of the Bible on my iPhone.  It's the NIV Dramatized Audio Bible and it's actually really interesting to listen to.  I know some people think "you can't learn from the Bible just by listening to it, you have to read it and study it".  I find this to be only partially true for myself.  I feel like I am partly an auditory learner.  Listening helps me focus on what is being said and I can focus on the context instead of having to focus my mind on actually reading the words.  I've amazed myself in the past couple of weeks.  I decided to start listening to the Bible where it was most logical...in the beginning...Genesis.  I've been listening everyday on my drive home and (at the time of writing this) I am almost through Leviticus.  What?!?!  Technically I've listened to 7 hours of the Bible and I've almost blown through the first three chapters.  By "blown through" I don't mean I've just let it play and not paid attention.  I've listened to every word and it's definitely sparked a few things in my mind.

I'm enthralled with the history and genealogy of the Bible right now.  Not the actually reading of "so and so beget so and so", but bigger questions like...how old is the Earth?  what does the biblical "family tree" look like?  how many people were there when the flood came?  what did the ark really look like?  why did God seemingly repeat himself over and over in Exodus and Leviticus?  if there were 600,000 men when Moses lead them out of Egypt, how many people were really there?  how in the world did Moses tell 600,000 men what God told him?

My mind is full of questions that makes me want to study the Bible more.  Now if that's not what reading the Bible is supposed to do, then I don't know what it's supposed to do.  I'll make sure to post about some of the more interesting questions that come up.

I hope this little blurt inspires you to dig deeper into the Bible and maybe you can help me out with some of my questions.  Let me know in the comments!

Scripture To Live By

 But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do,
   what God is looking for in men and women.
It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
   be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don't take yourself too seriously—
   take God seriously.

- Micah 6:8 (The Message)

Watching

The LORD still rules from heaven. He watches everyone closely, examining every person on earth. 

- PSALM 11:4

Musical Monday - 1/10/11

So it's been pretty long since I've posted any 'musical monday's' and to tell you the truth, I've missed it.  I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I'll never miss any monday's in 2011 (especially since I've already missed one), but I do want to tell you that I will never stop doing musical monday's.  They have been my little retreat from the normal music world and I want you to take the trip with me whenever you want.

Anyway, on to the music...

Today's selection comes from a band that I've heard a lot from, but never really knew they were the band that I had been listening to.  I've been listening a whole lot to the Deas Vail channel on Pandora and this band has been popping up on that channel constantly.  They are Abandon and they sound very similar to the secular band 'The Killers', who I love to jam to often, but now that I've realized there is a "Christian" alternative to 'The Killers' I will be adding them into my usual mix of tunes. By the way...there's nothing wrong with listening to secular music as long as you don't let it be your only source of music.  I believe there is much to learn from Christian and non-Christian bands, just filter what you hear very carefully.

This song is definitely not the typical Abandon tune.  Like I said they sound very much like The Killers and when you listen to this song...it doesn't sound anything like The Killers.  There's a reason for that...I love listening to an entire album.  Especially the last song on the cd.  I find that the last song on a cd is where a band really expresses themselves as a group.  They aren't trying to make it a "radio-friendly" song that everyone will love.  They are just writing it for themselves.  And that's what 'Hero' is for Abandon.  The last song on their cd.  And I can't get enough of it.  So simple yet it has such a powerful message behind it.

Enjoy!  And pay close attention to the lyrics of the chorus (they are so powerful):

There He goes - a hero. A savior to the world.

Here He stands with scars in His hands.

With love He gave His life so we could be free.

The Savior of the world.

I'm Famous!

Not really...but I was on the home page of UpstateBizSC.com with a press release about me joining Merge.  Oh yeah, if you didn't know already, I got a new job!  I'll tell you more about it in another post.  Go check out the press release and Merge's site.

Really Mags?

Really?

Heather said that Maggie laid there forever and was sweating she was so hot.  Awesome