Homecoming!

No, it wasn't my homecoming. I went to visit my brother at college during their homecoming weekend. The main purpose of the visit was to go see Jon Foreman in concert! We got seats in the middle of the venue about four rows back :-)

Brooke Waggoner opened and she was pretty cool. I hadn't heard much of her stuff before, but it's kind of similar in style and lyrics to A Fine Frenzy/Alison Sudol. So mostly light, kind of artsy music. :-) She is also a very good piano player!

And here's Jon Foreman! Along with Keith Tutt (one of the best names EVER!) on cello, and Anne Marie Calhoun on violin/fiddle ("depending on your political views" according to Jon)

This shot was at the end where he played "Your Love is Strong" (inspired by the Lord's Prayer) as an encore and we all stood and sang out! :-)

Here's a video someone took of "Only Hope" during the concert:

~Mac

My Bed Upgrades

I've been having quite a bit of trouble getting a good night's sleep for a few months now and I've been waking up with a sore back and joints, so I got some shnazzy add-ons for my mattress to see if they'll help. I got a Memory Foam mattress topper and a Denali Down Under lamb's wool spread!

Here's my trusty mattress. It's still pretty firm but I'm not sure it's going to cut it by itself anymore.

Here's the Memory Foam topper. It's two inches of open cell foam.

As you can see, it has a nice give to it. But it doesn't stay compressed after you move; it springs right back. I'm hoping it'll give me some more back support and help relieve pressure points.

Here's the lamb's wool sheet thing. It's supposed to be warm in the winter and cool in the summer, which will help me with my temperature control problems.

Mmmm, soft and thick. :-)

Ready to sleep! I've used it for about two nights now and I haven't seen much of a difference yet. I think it's helping my back though. We shall see how I'm doing at the end of the week. Now I'm off to use my souped-up bed! Toodles.

~Mac

Cup O' Joe

We had a cold breakfast this morning - bad planning for such a cold morning! I was wearing two sweatshirts and I was still cold, so decided I would make myself a hot drink to warm me up. For whatever reason, Mom suggested coffee.

Those of you who know me know that I don't drink coffee - I've just never started. Partly because I don't want to become addicted and partly just because I didn't have time to make it or just didn't think about it. But when Mom suggested it today, I thought I'd give it a try. At the very least, it's hot right?

Before all of you coffee drinkers start to get nervous, I didn't hate it! ;-) It wasn't mindblowingly good either (partly because it was just cheap decaf coffee; don't judge me java connoisseurs, it was all we had on hand). But it was hot! And it did its job of warming my insides :-) I had fun experimenting with different stuff; I started black, then added a bit of sugar about halfway down, then added more sugar and some milk with a quarter cup left. I think I liked it straight best, but the jury's still out on that. Maybe I'll try some hot tea tomorrow!

Back to school; l8r.

~Mac

The Thin Red Line

This soundtrack has been my study companion for a week or so now. I really enjoy its quietly majestic string and brass layers. This is one of my favorite cues:




~Mac

Update: Moving On!

Hey everyone! I apologize for letting this blog go untouched for so long. I have been seriously busy the last few weeks! School has picked up a bit; I'm taking a compressed online class - Media Management. There's a written assignment and two responses every week, so that keeps me busy! In addition, I'm studying for the Marketing Communications TECEP. I ran into some time management issues last month that I'm still working through, and had to cope with some distractions, so I've had to cut back on blogging and other social stuff for a time. Hopefully I'll be able to get back to that stuff soon!

An important thing to note: today is the last day I am officially a CollegePlus! student. Looking back, it's been an amazing two years. I've learned a lot, earned lots of credits, and got to take advantage of some unique opportunities and meet some amazing people! I have also grown a lot mentally, spiritually, and relationally. Thanks to my coach, CollegePlus!, and all my friends for making it such an enjoyable and rich experience! Now it's on to TESC to finish my degree! And don't worry my CP! friends - I will stay in touch. Not as regularly maybe, but I will stay in touch :-)

~Mac

Cool Music Site!

I've spent a lot of time on this site during the past few weeks so I thought I would share it with those of you who don't know about it.

It's called NoiseTrade: http://noisetrade.com/

It's a site where artists can put their music up for people to download. All you have to do is enter your email address and ZIP code and you get a free download! (You can also tip the artist whatever amount you desire)

Some of my favorite current downloads:

http://noisetrade.com/AndrewPeterson

http://noisetrade.com/beckahshae

http://noisetrade.com/thehawkinparis

http://noisetrade.com/plumb

http://noisetrade.com/waterdeep

Also you can search by "For Fans Of" to discover lots of free music from very cool artists that are similar to your favorite bands!

~Mac

Remember the Sabbath

I finished reading the book of Nehemiah a few days ago, and I must say, I saw some things in the book that I had never seen before! That's the great thing about the illumination of the Holy Spirit - we continue to find application in God's Word through multiple readings! Anyway, one of the things that struck me was the incident surrounding the profaning of the Sabbath.

¹⁵ In those days I saw people in Judah treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds ofburdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them about the day on which they were selling provisions. ¹⁶ Men of Tyre dwelt there also, who brought in fish and all kinds of goods, and sold them on the Sabbath to the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. 

¹⁷ Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, “What evil thing is this that you do, by which you profane the Sabbath day? ¹⁸ Did not your fathers do thus, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Yet you bring added wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.” ¹⁹ So it was, at the gates of Jerusalem, as it began to be dark before the Sabbath, that I commanded the gates to be shut, and charged that they must not be opened till after the Sabbath. Then I posted some of my servants at the gates, so that no burdens would be brought in on the Sabbath day. ²⁰ Now the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice. ²¹ Then I warned them, and said to them, “Why do you spend the night around the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you!” From that time on they came no more on the Sabbath. ²² And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should go and guard the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day.

Nehemiah certainly took the Sabbath seriously - more seriously than most of us. He shut the gates in the faces of those who would sell merchandise on God's holy day, and warned those who camped outside the city that he would lay hands on them if they attempted to profane the day by trading. We are not under the law, but the command to keep the Sabbath holy still applies today. Do we treat the Sabbath with the same kind of reverence and do we keep it with the same determination that Nehemiah did? After all, it is a serious thing - we "bring added wrath" on ourselves by profaning the Sabbath. Often, I think of the Sabbath as a day to not do school or work, hang out with family and friends, and just take it easy. While rest is an important part of the Sabbath, the main goal of the Sabbath is to have a day set aside for God - to worship Him, meditate on Him, and cultivate our relationship with Him. That's something that I can definitely improve on.

How do you spend the Sabbath? What kinds of things do you do to set the day apart and make it God's day?

~Mac