In observance of Memorial Day, I would like to send my gratitude to all those who have or are currently serving our country. Without these men and women, we would not be the country that we are, we would not have the freedoms that we do. So many times we, as Americans, take things for granted. We become very selfish and act as though we own this place, but in reality, we did nothing. It is because of the hard, brave work of our soldiers that continuously fight to keep our country the best in the world. The way we act at times is an injustice to what our soldiers are fighting to protect.
Without you, we would not be able to voice our opinions, no matter how misinformed and irrelevant they may be. Without you, we would not be able to worship. Without you, we would not have a voice in the way the government is conducted. Without you, we would not be who we are as a nation. We are the best and we are blessed.
Thank you to all of our service men and women. You do more work before 5 AM than most of us do all week. You've seen, heard, and fought against things that we can barely imagine. I appreciate all that you do and have done. For those who paid the ultimate price in service our America, may God bless your families for the sacrifice you made. I know that I personally will never take you or your service for granted
Monday, May 25, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
God Is A Drummer
One night while doing my devotions, I decided to look at the Bible from a different perspective, one of a drummer. I was reading some of my old notes and I noticed different characteristics of God that are a must have for drummers, those mainly being the ability to form patterns and, more importantly, timing.
First thing I noticed were the patterns. A pattern can be one repeating beat like that of polka, or it can be like those of the melodic metal scene where the piano is slowly singing its tune and the drummer is having a foot parade with blast beats. No matter how complex or simple the pattern, drummers must be able to repeat those patterns. Likewise, God can take one item like a star and make so many patterns with one big ball of burning gas. Or He’ll take the sounds of crashing waves against the rocks of the shore at midnight and make the most beautiful music with numerous sounds, each on its own time and yet, in time with the rest of the sea.
Now comes the fun part, the timing. If you do not have an ounce of timing that can be squeezed out of you, you should be fired and forbidden to ever call yourself a drummer again. The entire premise of drumming is timing, even when you are playing an off-beat pattern you are still keeping time. Listen to jazz and you’ll understand (Slow sax and fast drums in 13/8 time or something insane like that). In order to play a complicated hand-foot combination one must first have hand coordination, then foot coordination, followed by mixing those two together, one step at a time. God in the same way has a timeline to all things that He does. This first stood out to me in the beginning, Genesis 1-2:1-3. The very first thing He does is make space. Duh, we all need some sort of space to work in, on, and with. Next comes the light. Without sufficient light one cannot see the space in which they are working in, unless you’re Yehweh. Now that God has the space and light to work with, He puts more space in the middle of the water that is on the earth and calls it sky, or for the scientifically inclined, atmosphere. Then He decides that water is okay but it has no significant stability whatsoever and He makes dry land in the middle of the sea. Now he has a foundation to put stuff on and in. In come the plants, but more specifically, seed-bearing plants (1:11) in order to produce more plants. That’s a repeating pattern in my book. Plants are okay but they tend to be a little on the green side. So God created the sun, moon, stars, and other space art to mark the seasons and days and other time keeping devices. Next came the fish and birds. Some fish like to hide in caves and birds like to live in trees and anywhere else imaginable, so in order to meet that standard God made the land first and followed it up with plants and trees. After the fish and birds have settled God brings in the first gardeners to cut the grass and prune the trees and makes them in the shape of cows, sheep, giraffes, and so on. Finally God creates something that is very close to His heart, man. Man would not have been able to survive the same had God not first timed his creations. Adam could have been swimming in the dark and run into a rock that came , quite literally, out of nowhere, and when he looked up he got blasted by the first rays of light from the sun. Same with the birds and fish. Last I knew, carp don't do too well on dry land, nor are hummingbirds very good at deep sea diving.
So what am I trying to say? Well, with God being the drummer that he is, I would suggest that you just leave all things with Him and not worry about them. Stuff happens for a reason, whether good or bad. Everything is in the hands of the ultimate timekeeper. All we need to worry about is doing our part in the time that He wants, that is when our lives will form the most beautiful symphony imaginable.
P.S.
Psalm 150:5 is the life verse of any drummer
First thing I noticed were the patterns. A pattern can be one repeating beat like that of polka, or it can be like those of the melodic metal scene where the piano is slowly singing its tune and the drummer is having a foot parade with blast beats. No matter how complex or simple the pattern, drummers must be able to repeat those patterns. Likewise, God can take one item like a star and make so many patterns with one big ball of burning gas. Or He’ll take the sounds of crashing waves against the rocks of the shore at midnight and make the most beautiful music with numerous sounds, each on its own time and yet, in time with the rest of the sea.
Now comes the fun part, the timing. If you do not have an ounce of timing that can be squeezed out of you, you should be fired and forbidden to ever call yourself a drummer again. The entire premise of drumming is timing, even when you are playing an off-beat pattern you are still keeping time. Listen to jazz and you’ll understand (Slow sax and fast drums in 13/8 time or something insane like that). In order to play a complicated hand-foot combination one must first have hand coordination, then foot coordination, followed by mixing those two together, one step at a time. God in the same way has a timeline to all things that He does. This first stood out to me in the beginning, Genesis 1-2:1-3. The very first thing He does is make space. Duh, we all need some sort of space to work in, on, and with. Next comes the light. Without sufficient light one cannot see the space in which they are working in, unless you’re Yehweh. Now that God has the space and light to work with, He puts more space in the middle of the water that is on the earth and calls it sky, or for the scientifically inclined, atmosphere. Then He decides that water is okay but it has no significant stability whatsoever and He makes dry land in the middle of the sea. Now he has a foundation to put stuff on and in. In come the plants, but more specifically, seed-bearing plants (1:11) in order to produce more plants. That’s a repeating pattern in my book. Plants are okay but they tend to be a little on the green side. So God created the sun, moon, stars, and other space art to mark the seasons and days and other time keeping devices. Next came the fish and birds. Some fish like to hide in caves and birds like to live in trees and anywhere else imaginable, so in order to meet that standard God made the land first and followed it up with plants and trees. After the fish and birds have settled God brings in the first gardeners to cut the grass and prune the trees and makes them in the shape of cows, sheep, giraffes, and so on. Finally God creates something that is very close to His heart, man. Man would not have been able to survive the same had God not first timed his creations. Adam could have been swimming in the dark and run into a rock that came , quite literally, out of nowhere, and when he looked up he got blasted by the first rays of light from the sun. Same with the birds and fish. Last I knew, carp don't do too well on dry land, nor are hummingbirds very good at deep sea diving.
So what am I trying to say? Well, with God being the drummer that he is, I would suggest that you just leave all things with Him and not worry about them. Stuff happens for a reason, whether good or bad. Everything is in the hands of the ultimate timekeeper. All we need to worry about is doing our part in the time that He wants, that is when our lives will form the most beautiful symphony imaginable.
P.S.
Psalm 150:5 is the life verse of any drummer
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Sure...Why Not
Decided to start this little thing for pretty much no reason at all. There are times I have random thoughts or questions and I feel like writing them out, or maybe draw something, or just ramble. This will pretty much be where it all goes. Hopefully I don't embarass my English teachers too much in the process.
I do have a running thing. I'm always trying to be as open as I can be. It keeps me honest and holds me accountable for my actions and thoughts. So, if anyone has any questions about me, doesn't matter what they are, I'm willing to answer them here. I will quote you in my answer as well. The answers will be as open and honest as possible. I haven't run across a question I'm afraid of yet.
I do have a running thing. I'm always trying to be as open as I can be. It keeps me honest and holds me accountable for my actions and thoughts. So, if anyone has any questions about me, doesn't matter what they are, I'm willing to answer them here. I will quote you in my answer as well. The answers will be as open and honest as possible. I haven't run across a question I'm afraid of yet.
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