Recording Video and Twitter

Hello Friends,

Below is a short clip of the band recording a few new songs. I hope you enjoy.

P.S. I have joined the world of twitter. Come join me in the newest way of wasting time online. Also, please subscribe to my blog as I promise to post at least once a week. Tell your friends as well. Blessings!

Chapels and Tornadoes

Hello Friends! 

I am excited because my internet finally got hooked up today. It was nice to not have access to the wold for about two days. After that it was just annoying and stressful. We have been in Frisco for six days and loving every minute of it. (Minus the tornado warning a few nights ago. More on that in a bit).

I started work on Wednesday. Travis (the other guy in training to be a church planter www.unpavedjourney.com) and my self went to the Lutheran High School in Dallas to lead a chapel. All I can say is that  Jesus was there in a powerful way and changed lives that day. Travis gave a great and challenging message for the students, as well as all of the teachers and admin people gathered. After his message the kids where ready to respond to Jesus through song. They sounded beautiful. I barley had to sing. They took it away all on their own. We sang "Holy Is The Lord," "Here I Am To Worship," and "How Great Is Our God." It was a great day. I have only been here a week and already I am seeing how the Spirit is moving in and through this new team I have joined. 

Amazing families have been brining Tanya and I great home cooked meals each night. We went over to the church's Life Coordinator's house for dinner last night and had  a great time rocking out on Rock Band with their kids. God has really been blessing us and lining everything up where it needs to go. Tanya was telling me how everyone was asking her if she was nervous right before the move and all she could say was no. She knew that we where moving to serve Jesus and his kingdom and she has faith that he will honor that and provide for us. And I can testify that he is!!

Now for the fun part. There was a freaking tornado on Tuesday night!!!! For months leading up to this move I kept assuring Tanya that we will never have to deal with one... well, I lied. On Tuesday night we where running errands around town and a storm started moving in and we heard people saying it was suppose to be bad. A few hours later we got home and heard this weird siren. We thought it could have possibly been a tornado warning but we were not sure. So, Tanya decided to run out in the wind and rain and ask a person walking their dog if it was in fact a tornado warning. Well, yes it was. Of course, I go out side to look and see if I can see anything. Everyone from church was calling us from inside their bathrooms while I was outside looking for it!!! I learned that this was not a smart move and to not do it again. The storm passed in about 20 minutes and then it was really nice out:) We survived our first tornado, sort of. We figured it is better to go through it right away than a year from now. We have been told just wait tell April, that is when it gets really fun. 

Again, thank you for all of your prayers over the past few weeks. It means the world for us. Please continue to pray for Tanya as she is still looking for a job. 

Blessings,

A

My To-Do List

Hello Friends,

The big day is approaching. Tanya and I leave for Dallas, Tx in 4 days! We are almost done packing. Tanya has a lot of junk... I mean wonderful memories:) I think I have thrown away more than I have packed. It is kind of fun to go through all of my old stuff and then get rid of it. It is very freeing. 

We are currently in Simi Valley. We said goodbye to my mom last night. Tonight we are having dinner with some dear family friends in Thousand Oaks then head back to Irvine to finish packing. Honestly, I am getting a bit tired of saying goodbye. It makes me sad because I realize how many amazing people are in my life. It makes me kind of sad because it makes me realize how busy life gets and how relationships tend to be the first things to get left behind in the craziness of life. I hope that as I move to Texas I will continue to learn how important it is to make relationships a priority. Not work, or music but people. I want to invest in people more. If we are to truly spread the kingdom of God, the most effective way to do that is by investing in the people God puts in our lives. The programs are great, the jobs have to get done, the bills have to get paid but I pray that we learn that those are all secondary to the primary. That primary is people's souls. 

That has made me realize that the main person I forget about is Jesus. When the day gets crazy and the to-do list is longer than the minutes in the day I must confess that Jesus is the first one to go. I probably look at him more as a to-do list item than a life giving necessity. Everything flows from Him. Even when I take time to read his Word I feel like it is just another item I am checking off my list. A sermon I heard this week gave me a challenge. The teacher challenged us to simply read one of the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John this week Read it for the sake of getting to know the man and God we have in Jesus. Don't examine it, don't study it, just simply read it. I now pass that challenge on to you friends. I challenge all of us to invest more in people rather than programs and to-do lists. First, lets start with Jesus. He will give us the strength AND desire to accomplish this through the power of his Holy Spirit. This is not anything we can do on our own. We need his power and strength. 

On other news...

I just finished recording three new songs with the band. They are getting sent to New York to get mixed this week. We also had the awesome opportunity to record a sweet music video this past weekend. It is for the song "Common Ground." We are not sure what we are going to do with it all yet. We will probably build a site where you can download the songs and video in the next month or two. We are very proud of the three songs and cannot wait to share them with everyone. So, keep on the look out for that.

Again, I thank you all for the prayers as the faith in journey continues. 

In His Grip,

A

TEXAS HERE WE COME!!!!

Tanya and I leave in 8 days!!! Please be praying for us!

In The Studio

We are recording!!! On Saturday we laid down drums and some acoustic guitars. Ryan in laying down guitars as we speak. I think I am going to hit some vocals later:) 

We are working on three songs. They are "Common Ground", "God of Redemption" and "We Have Seen Your Glory." They are turning out great so far. My last project was fun because it was just Kelly and I recording all of it. But this time I have the full band in here and they are doing and amazing job. 

We are not to sure what we will do with it yet. We may build a site where you can download it. We may add to it in a few months. Who knows, this may turn into a whole new record! Either way what we are doing now sounds great. I can't wait  for all of you to hear it. 

I will post a video tomorrow. Blessings,

A

Hello friends,

It has been a while since I have posted anything. The band and I just got back from an amazing weekend in San Diego. We lead worship for the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Pacific South West District Youth Gathering, AKA, LCMS PSW DYG, or simply, DYG.  Now that was a mouth full. Basically t was 500 high school students and adult leaders gathered at a sweet hotel in San Diego to worship Jesus and learn more about what it means to follow him while we are living in this world. 

The theme was "ONE." It was based off of Ephesians 4:4-6. The speaker was Travis Hartjen (you can check his blog out at www.unpavedjourney.com). He did an amazing job at bringing God's word to all of us. After each message I was thinking, "Man, he said it all, I don't even need to get up on that stage." But then I realized how easy it was to respond to Jesus after hearing from his word so clearly. The worship was so spirit filled. There where several times that the students kept sining long after the band had stopped playing. It was a very beautiful sound. 

Blessings,

A

Merry Christmas

Yes, I know! Thanksgiving has not even hit us let alone Christmas. I came across this video online from another blog. Check it out. Hopefully we can all start the Christmas season with the right idea this year.