For Your Information

New Movie opening on April 6th

Just a head's up about a new movie that is coming to theaters in a couple of weeks.  It is the story of Bethany Hamilton, a young woman who overcame a shark attack that took one of her arms, to become a successful professional surfer.  I have not seen the movie, but I am interested to check out the story.  It is cool to see Hollywood share this story.  Bethany is a believer that is using her story and the trials that she has been through to talk about her relationship with God and the peace that He brought through all the hard times that she faced.  Whether you see the movie or not, you can check out her testimony in this video below.

Enjoy!

 

2 More Music videos for your viewing pleasure

Fitting in with these lessons that we have been talking about over the last month, I thought I would put a couple videos of songs that fit the theme.  First, we have the song that we sang on Sunday.  I was looking for a song that fit in with our topic and to be honest, I listened to this song for the first time a few minutes before we sang it.  Normally we are more prepared than this, but Sunday was crazy - but the song was great and fit with what we were talking about - It was a God thing!  Anyway, here it is, the song itself starts at about 1:10 if you want to skip the long intro.

And that song got me thinking of another Hillsong United song that also would fit.  I didn't think of it at the time, as I was searching for a song, but I think it is a great song, so I am putting it on here too.  Enjoy and let me know what you think.

Funny Video to check out.

One of my favorite Christian bands ever (sadly, they are no longer together) is the band Everybody Duck.  They write amazing lyrics and challenging songs.  I will probably post more of the in the months to come.  I am posting this one because it fits in with what we talked about on Sunday.  The song is about bad company corrupting good morals.  The song is about Suzy, who wants to lose weight, but can't seem to do it.  Oh yeah, and she works at an all you can eat buffet.  When we surround ourselves with things (people) that tempt us to do what we know we shouldn't, we will fail and fall.  And, amazingly enough, someone went to the trouble to make a video of the song, done with LEGO.  Enjoy!  The lyrics are written out below the video.



Suzy has decided that it's time to lose some weight.
so she's resolved to choose with caution
just what foods go on her plate.
She bought chocolate milkshake powder that she drinks three times a day.
Once a week a piece of frozen diet cheesecake is okay.

But despite all of her efforts Suzy's weight won't go away.
She works 30 hours a week at Sam's All You Can Eat Buffet.

Well, I live my life just like Suzy's diet.
I'm surrounded by the things I vow to give up and I like it.
Yes I live my life like Suzy's diet
I tell myself that I should quit but with it all around
I just can't help but try it.

Suzy is discouraged 'cause she can't take off the pounds.
And then she feels the pains of hunger
as her stomach starts to growl.
So she goes into the breakroom to mix up her diet shake
and then she quickly swallows two servings of Sam's chicken fried steak.

Throughout her shift she feels the need to sample, taste, and try each dish.
And as she stands on the scale at night
Quicker results are her heart's wish.

Well I live my life just like Suzy's diet.
I surround myself with things I vow to give up and I like it.
And I'm bound to fail just like Suzy's diet.
Good intentions can't survive in bad surroundings
where you just can't help but try it.

Suzy's biggest problem was that she just couldn't see
she put herself in situations where she'd be tempted easily.
If we choose to live our lives the way the Bible says we should
We must leave out all that tempts us and surround ourselves with good.
'Cause bad company corrupts good morals it's a proven fact.
Honesty within herself was all that Suzie truly lacked.

Do you live your life just like Suzy's diet?
Are you surrounded by the things that pull you down
and do you like it?
Do you live your life just like Suzy's diet?
If you're still playing with your sin you might just fool yourself
but God's not gonna buy it.

Great Worship Song

Here is another great video - and a fantastic worship song.  The song is "Take Everything" by Seventh Day Slumber.  This video tells the story behind the song - an original song that appears on their recent cd of worship music.

Click here  and here, too to read more about the band.  The first link has a great story of Joseph Rojas, lead singer of Seventh Day Slumber, reconciling with his estranged father.  The second talks more about all the band members and the way God has worked in their lives.

Check out the video, and leave a comment at the bottom of this page to let me know what you think!

 

CP

A couple more bands to check out!

Steph and I went to a concert a couple of weeks ago - to see one of our favorite bands Remedy Drive.  If you were at Club 56 on Sunday, we sang a Remedy Drive song in our worship time.  Anyway, there were some other bands there as opening acts.  I want to draw your attention to them and post a couple of songs so you can hear some great up and coming bands you can check out.

The first of the main opening acts was a band from Chicago called "Made Avail".  Here is their myspace page where you can check out some of their stuff.  They fun, high energy and had a very good sound

Then, we were treated to another great band, this time from Portland OR.  They were called 16 Cities.  Again, they were a very high energy band, great interaction with the audience and passionate about their music.  The lead singer's voice has some tones and sounds that make me think of Owl City, although the music is more rock and less electronic.  Steph and I really liked them a lot,  they had great songs, great words (personal favorites included "Sing Along" and "Just Wanna Dance").  They also announced at the concert that they were going to have one of their songs "Pray you Through" featured on an episode of  the TV show "One Tree Hill".  Check out their myspace page here.  It is so cool to see Christian musicians shining their light into the world.  Who know what God can do when we are obedient and choose to give Him glory through everything we do.  

And then the headliners took the stage.  This is the 3rd time that Steph has seen Remedy Drive, but only my second.  They are a wonderful band that is not afraid to let you know that they don't have all the answers to life's hard questions, but that they know that in Jesus there is hope. It is that knowledge and belief in that hope that inspires them to do what they do and to write the songs that they write.  I hope that they are around for a long time to come, putting on their crazy, high energy shows and writing meaningful songs from their heart that wants to constantly be drawn closer to God.  Check out their web page here.

CP


This is the spot where you will find reviews of recent music, movies, tv, and other pop-culture news and thoughts.

To start it off, I am going to write a review of one of my favorite Christian band's newest worship album.

Kutless - "It is well"

I have been a Kutless fan since I picked up their debut cd in 2002. Their song writing is great - genuine and thought-provoking. October 2009 saw the release of their 6th cd, and 2nd "worship" cd. I put "worship" in quote marks because I find their music is all worshipful. It all points to God and comes out of a deep rooted love for Him.

On "It is Well", they have blended familiar songs from today, with some older songs including a wonderful old hymn and a few original songs. They put their sound stamp on all of the songs, making the cd an enjoyable listen from start to finish. Now when I listen to a cd, if a song speaks to me, I am likely to repeat it again (and if it REALLY speaks to me, that song will get several plays) and this cd has a few of these.
The cd opens with the title track - a hymn from the 1870's that was written by Horatio Spafford who was dealing with unimaginable tragedy. The words are moving and powerful. It has long been a favorite of mine. This version has done nothing to hurt that standing.

Other tracks include the familiar "Hungry", "God of Wonders", "Give us Clean Hands" and "What Faith Can Do". The members of the band added a couple of original songs to this collection too, that I also really connected with and was moved by. The 2nd track - Amazed is in contention to be our theme song for the year at Club 56. It is a great song of open praise to the creator of all things. "Remember Me" is a song writen from the perspective of the thief that hung on the cross beside Jesus and defended Jesus to the other thief. The final track, "I'm Still Yours" is a reminder that after all is said and done, Jesus is all that matters. It talks about if all is stripped away and all we have left to cling to is Jesus, still He is worthy of praise and we can know that we belong to Him.

This is a great cd, strong from start to finish, a delight to Kutless fans, and for anyone looking for a great worship experience on CD. Here is a sample.