Day 7-and pictures.

Here are some pictures from my time in the city so far.

Windsor Drive. Good stuff.


The view from the hot-seat in the studio.


My housemates made us dinner.


Lake Como right by my house.


The studio does sound for these guys, Mel's Diner.


My Favorite Highway, I helped them out film some goofy stuff for their website. (Pat and Bobby).


Will.


Dave.


Will.


Pat.




I had a wonderful weekend. I really enjoy pleasant people to be around and I’m so blessed to have them in my life. Saturday night I was spoiled by my housemates in that they made a huge dinner for everyone and then we all played cards after.

Yesterday morning I checked out John Piper’s church with Natalie and Bob. I liked it but I don’t think it is a fit for me personally. There are a few on the list still that I need to check out, but at least I got to see what it was all about. I had a relaxing afternoon at home, cut my hair, ate a bunch, caught up with some friends from home, etc.

Last night I went to another show at the Triple Rock, it was the Ace Enders tour… but I went to see my buddies in My Favorite Highway. I had no idea they were even touring this area, but I looked online and saw they were coming. It was really good to catch up with them; I’m super excited that they got signed to Virgin and are making their way… They’re really solid guys and I’m happy that they are getting the good things they deserve. We just goofed around in the parking lot during the rest of the show, filming some stuff for their website.. it’s gonna be really funny when it’s all edited. It was their last show on this tour so all the bands went out to eat and I was supposed to meet up with them after but I got really really tired… I don’t know.

It was a good day.

Post 200- Day 5/6

Day.5/6.

I was way too tired last night to update for day 5. so forgive the untimeliness of this post.

I had a wonderful morning and afternoon yesterday since my duties with the studio didn’t start till 6 pm. I found out that I live a block away from Lake Como (see picture above), which has paved bike paths around it and this pavilion with a little cafe and a place to rent boats. For lack of a less-girly phrase, it’s adorable. It’s a beautiful area surrounding it too.

The evening consisted of a hour and a half drive to Rochester, unloading equipment, learning the basics of the board, which is the same one I use for my job as a sound engineer at school, and then just listening to the band play (and watching the drunk middle-aged people dance). It’s was incredibly entertaining and I picked up a few amazing dance moves to add to my repertoire. Yes. We didn’t have to tear down though, which was nice, because the drummer locked his keys in the car and we didn’t get back to the T.cities (my new abbreviation for the twin-cities) till 3:50, putting me in my bed promptly at 4:15. All in a days work though. I love live-sound so I’m happy to be there.

Today, I have the whole day off, and the house mates and I were gonna go to a lake to swim, but it ended up being overcast, which I’m not complaining about. Thekla is making us all a native Greek dinner, and we’re all just gonna hang out together tonight.

I have the day off tomorrow as well and Natalie and Bob are going to take me to John Piper’s church and then My Favorite Highway is playing at the Triple Rock Social Club. We might hang out after that too if they’re not to tired from touring (and being signed to Virgin!!!).

Anyways, have a wonderful day friends. Miss you all.

HAVE YOUR ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT THE WORLD EVER BEEN UPENDED?

That, my friend, is what the life & calling of Jesus should do.

It should “upend” your assumptions about the world. The story of Jesus should push you to see the world differently—because surely Jesus did. It should push you to interact in the world differently—which historical records let us know that Jesus did. It should push you to experience faith & hope in a different way—which we read that Jesus advocated for. It should push you to interpret the future differently (interpret in a way that asks where God’s love is breaking through, not in a “making predictions about the end of the world” kind of way—yuck)—which was the same future that pulled Jesus towards the Cross and Resurrection.

Take this man that Jesus talks to:

Man: Good Teacher (Jesus), what must I do to inherit eternal life?

Jesus: Why do you call me good? No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: “Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.”

Man: Teacher, all these things I’ve kept since I was a boy!

Jesus: (with love, according to the author) One thing you’re missing. Go, sell everything you have, and give it to the poor. Then come, follow me.

(The man walks away sad, because he was wealthy & unwilling.)

Assumptions. Upended. See?

Jesus enters his story, then he obliterates everything the man thinks and knows about eternal life, righteousness, and religion.

Eternal life? That starts now. You can’t buy or earn it. It’s slowly breaking into reality and reaching for you. Will you reach back?

Righteousness? You’ve earned nothing. God is good, and only because God is good can it even be a thought on your mind. The only thing possible for you to do is surrender. Ready?

Religion? I am religion. I am the way. Everything that’s not a conduit for the love of God is a hindrance to the love of God. Don’t you see that your faith is in your money (in yourself)?

The man gave Jesus an inch, and he lovingly took a mile.

This is often how God works with us. If you open yourself up, be prepared. God will provide. But odds are that “providence” will look nothing like you expect.

The man learned from Jesus a valuable lesson: God’s providence can often mean less, not more. Your value, your life, upended. Let’s go.

From:
Petey Crowder
http://mrcrowder.com/

Day 3

Day 3 was good. After a slow start getting to the mall, I found that the highways are fairly easy to navigate around. I got home no problem after spending the day at the Mall of America. That place wears a girl out. The drop in temperature to 84 (from 106 yesterday) was heavenly… and the rain… I never thought I would be that happy to stand in the rain. Such a nerd.

I ate dinner with the couple that lives downstairs, Natalie and Bob. They are both incredibly nice, both used to intern with Campus Crusade, and it is really a blessing to have other believers in the house. God answered my prayers for fellowship in the city, starting with them. They go to John Piper’s church, which was on the list of churches I needed to check out in the city, so that’s pretty cool too.

Tomorrow is my first day at the studio. Tonight there is a show that I might want to check out…Windsor Drive is playing. They are from kind of close to my summer home in WI. We’ll see!

Tumblr

City.Summer.

This will be my main for of posting for the summer... I will still be over here on blogspot every once and a while, but I figured I'd give this a go.

Blessings.

It Does....

I've been reading a new blog, this was from a few weeks back.

IT MATTERS WHERE WE START

Several years ago when I was working a children’s camp in the summer as a Bible Study leader, I began to struggle with what it meant to “lead someone to Christ.”

We had routines ingrained into our heads during our pre-camp training, having information downloaded into our memories about everything from “what to do if a kid wants to give you a hug” to “how to steer the conversation towards ‘acceptance of Jesus’ even if that’s not what they want to talk about.”

We were told to keep it simple, make sure we induced the right words (and wording), and don’t forget to fill out the commitment card afterwards! After all, years down the road those kids could point to that decision card they filled out after committing to follow Jesus as evidence they were truly “saved.” I wonder how many of those cards are wedged in Bibles that haven’t been opened in years?

Aside from all of the problems evident in such a system of getting converts, something else deeply troubled me: We assumed a Judeo-Christian worldview and notion of God.

Not many of these kids, if any at all, were being taught to think critically about the existence of a Creator and his work in the world. We, along with their home church leaders, assumed belief in God was a given. We just needed them to “accept Jesus.”

And when those kids are children, especially those living in churched households, this wasn’t an issue.

But then those kids went to college. And because we cared far more during their childhood (they are the “formative years,” and we are constantly fed statistics about children and young teens being most likely to convert) about making sure they were “saved” and neglected to teach them to think critically about the existence of God, they were in for a rude awakening.

Most of these kids don’t walk away from Jesus. They walk away from a Christian, churchy worldview. And you could argue that they walk away from Jesus in the process, but they ultimately walk away because their understanding of God no longer fits the world in which they live.

When I think about raising Emery, I definitely want her to know Jesus. But I also want her to learn to think for herself, to explore the realities of God and his existence in the world. I want her to know about a Creator who is full of love and hates injustice.

Late in that summer, it struck me that we were getting people to “accept Jesus” who didn’t necessarily understand God. And then I began to wonder if it matter where we started with our teachings on Jesus, Christianity, and salvation.

I think it’s important that we start with God—a multifaceted endeavor to say the least. Not simple facts about God or Bible verses to be drilled into someone’s head, but a process that helps us understand the unfathomable in such a way that orients us towards the proper character, posture, and direction in the world that the Creator is calling us to.

-Petey Crowder
MrCrowder

Apologies

Hello, I know I have not been posting anything of much substance these days, but it's coming soon, I promise. I know that once summer hits, I'll be on here every other day... so don't you fret dear friends...

Promoting the heck out of it.

It's All Here

Here are all the behind the scenes video's in one place so you can see what went into making it. There are a lot, but this is for me as well. (I'm in a few of them actually).

Official Trailer!

The official trailer! Please come see it at Mem Aud this Sunday at 7 pm. We've worked (and are working hard on it) so please come and support!