Hey ya'll. What's up? Anyways...

I was recently just goofing off at the house and seeing if any bands that I like were coming to Memphis this summer [None are :( ]. I got frustrated again because Relient K hasn't been to Memphis in 2 years and I really wanted to see them. I haven't gotten to see them yet, but I'm dying to. I started thinking about all the bands I wanted to see before I die. I then remembered the movie "The Bucketlist." You know, the movie where the guys right out what they were gonna do before they died. So I decided to write my own. I've done some things on it already, but I'll let you know that I've done them. I'll keep you guys updated on how I've done every once in a while, so here I go.

1. Go to college [ ]
2. Go to an entire NCAA tournament (all 6 rounds in one year) [ ]
3. Climb Kilimanjaro in Africa [ ]
4. Touch the South Pole [ ]
5. Go sky diving [ ]
6. Get married [ ]
7. Sing my wife the song "Angel" by Jack Johnson while playing guitar [ ]
8. Coach a son or daughter's sports team [ ]
9. Dunk a basketball in a game [ ]
10. Learn to play the drums [x]
11. Learn to play the piano [pretty close]
12. Learn to play the guitar [ ]
13. 5-star all songs on Guitar Hero 2, 3, and the upcoming World Tour on guitar (expert, of course) [ ]
14. Go to the Pacific Islands [ ]
15. Give an entire paycheck to charity [ ]
16. Go to the following bands's concerts (probably happen in college haha)
A. Relient K [ ]
B. Leeland [x]
C. Coldplay [ ]
D. Mat Kearney [ ]
E. Switchfoot [x]
F. We the Kings [ ]
G. Vans Warped Tour [ ]
H. Jon Foreman (acoustic) [ ]
I. Jack Johnson [ ]
J. David Crowder* Band [x]
K. The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus [ ]
L. Underoath [ ]
M. Angels & Airwaves [ ]
N. All-American Rejects [ ]
O. Fall Out Boy [ ]
P. Jars of Clay [ ]
Q. Daughtry [ ]
R. OneRepublic [ ]
17. Befriend a couple of middle schoolers when I'm in high school [ ]
18. Own every season of "The Office" [ ]
19. Grow my iTunes library to 10,000 songs...and listen to them all [ ]
20. Make a movie [ ]
21. Make an album and give it to friends [ ]
22. Win a state championship as a coach (I'm gonna be a high school basketball coach) [ ]
23. Take my Jeep to a Jeep park (they have tons of Jeep trails) [ ]
24. Take a girl on a super-romantic date [ ]
25. Write a song with lyrics, guitar, keys, and drums and mix it for a cd [ ]
26. Stay up all night with friends playing video games [ ]
27. Be come to by someone for advice or to be cried on [x]
28. Get a real job in high school [ ]
29. Take a road trip across the country [ ]
30. Ride the tallest roller coaster in the world [ ]
31. Go on an over seas mission trip [ ]
32. Give a sermon [ ]
33. Sit in my Jeep and look at stars or clouds [ ]
34. Go to an Olympics (both Winter and Summer) [ ]
35. Go to a World Cup match [ ]
36. Read 100 books [ ]
37. Be a leader at my school [ ]
38. Read through the Bible in one sitting (except food, sleep, and bathroom) [ ]
39. Kanakuk counselor [ ]
40. Youth ministry intern [ ]


That's it for right now. If I think of anything else, I'll add it to the list.

I really encourage you to right your own "bucketlist." It's an experience that I can't describe if you go into it saying you will do these things.

As always, questions or comments, facebook me or text. Lata.

Signed,



ht

Hey guys. It's me again. Here some more of my thoughts...

I love music. While I will admit I have a very small iTunes music library (1400 songs), there are SO MANY songs and cds that I want to get. I listen to so much stuff. I listen from acoustic (Jon Foreman) to screamo (Underoath - I'm not a big fan of hardcore screamo. Underoath is soft screamo) to punk (Yellowcard) to love (Maroon 5 - listen to the lyrics on some stuff) to old stuff (Backstreet Boys) to REALLY OLD (ABBA). I love it all. I have my music I listen to in different moods. When I'm going crazy, it's Relient K. When I'm depressed, it's The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. When I'm alone, it's Leeland and Mat Kearney. When I'm feeling spiritually down, it's some certain songs. When I'm feeling romantic, it's Jon Foreman (ask Kinsey. My best girl friend knows how crazily romantic I can get. It gets pretty funny how much of a romantic I can be [on a side note, for those of you wondering, any rumors you might have heard are NOT TRUE. Kinsey and I are just friends. I pull the romantic stuff just for fun. It's actually pretty hilarious, she tells me. I promise you there is nothing.])

Now here has been what I've been thinking about music. I hear a ton about the music I listen to. I don't listen to Led Zeppelin or the Beatles or Incubus. My favorite band is Relient K. First off, get over it. We all like something different. I personally can't stand country, but some people love it. In the words of Tenacious D, "You gotta believe, It's a matter of opinion..." Next, I think I figured out why I like Relient K so much. I have found it to be the perfect Christian view of music. Before you get angry and call me a legalist or say that I'm proud, let me say I'm not. I have done stuff much worst than most of you would think I would do, especially considering my high standards (If you wanna talk about these things, I prefer to discuss them in private. I'm willing to share with you what I did and how I got through the consequences, but I would prefer to meet with you in person.). Anyways, the perfect Christian view of music. Relient K does this so well. They have their distinctly Christian songs (Deathbed; When I Go Down). But they also have their, "Should a Christian artist be talking about love?" songs. For example, My Girls Ex-boyfriend. Talks about love. Faking My Own Suicide. Talks about love. Here is what they do. They worship God. But they worship what He has done. They see the beauty of His creation and they sing to Him about its beauty. That's the way to see music.

Now do I think we as Christians should watch what we listen to? Yep. If you look in my iTunes library, you will see that I don't have much rap in it. Rap is so demeaning to girls and society (It's also not really music. I'm allowed to say that because I am a musician. And no, because you sing in the Church choir, it does not make you a musician.). It also gets me in a mindset that I don't wanna be thinking in. Do I think that some Christians can listen to rap? Yep. This is saved for only the most mature Christians. They know how to recognize truth and lies. That's where so many Christians mess up in music. They don't listen to it with a thinking mind. As much as you deny it, music's reason it moves is because it makes you think. That's why you get moved by music.

Now here is what I've been taught about different denominations of Christianity. First, don't shove it in my face that your theology is right and mine is wrong. You can tell me why you believe what you believe, I'll return the favor, and then we can get into a formal debate from their. But don't just tell me that your right and I'm wrong. I promise you, I won't listen. Next, God has really been teaching me about the different ways of thinking this past year. 9th grade year was my learning how to think year. This year is my application year. I've seen that others don't agree with me. Because I'm at Bellevue and am there so much, it's nice to be told that others think different than I do. I often start to believe that everyone thinks exactly like me. That's not true. I often have to remind myself that that's not true. At Bellevue (don't get me wrong, I love the place. To me, the best church in Memphis, easily), everyone thinks the same. Because it is so big, you tend to think everyone thinks like that. So that's why I have to remind myself about differences so often.

Well, that's all I gots for tonight. As always, text or Facebook message if wanted. Later.

Signed,



ht