my story is rough but my praise is real

chicago...
i really like it.
i have been attending a very diverse crc church. i know what you are thinking, if it isn't primarily dutch or german it can't be crc. well you are going to have to take my word for it. i was able to find one gray psalter hymnal in the building so that was enough to convince me. lawndale crc has already shown me what i was looking for when moving to chicago, a new way to experience Christianity. last sunday a man while the pastor was taking prayer requests a man had a praise to share. recently he went to a class reunion and when he showed up people couldn't believe how much he had cleaned his life up. he repeated constantly, "my story is rough but my praise is real." people at this church are very passionate in this church. some would go so far as to say it is flashy and showy, but it is so genuine you can't help but be excited. the pastor's message was about taking the party inside the church to the world and i can say with all certainty that everyone who was in that congregation is celebrating their faith in Jesus right now.
i enjoyed my time at lawndale and am excited to get involved in congregation.

nick and i played an acoustic show. it was really well received. videos can be found on my facebook.
hopefully there is more shows to come in the future.

nothing can come between a man and his maker

i am becoming acclimated to chicago life.
i have started to comprehend where i am in the city and how to get to a few places.
thus far this has been a great experience for me.
allow me to list some highlights for you:
purchasing a pineapple popsicle from one of the many ice cream bikes that come down our block.
public transportation.
i saw a group of hispanic teenagers in the park the other day. i immediately assumed the worst because my small town mentality taught me to think that way. as i approached them they handed me a tract and said "God Bess you." I was immediately thankful for God reminding me of his presence in the city.

one of my favorite moments in the city came last night when my girlfriend (kelly) and i went to a concert at the house of blues in chicago. we celebrated our 3 month anniversary by going to see august burns red in concert. i vivadly remember one point where i could clearly understand the lyrics (which is strange at a concert like this). the singer (or screamer) with all the power he could find inside him screamed, "nothing comes between a man and his maker." this quote has given me some comfort. sure being in the city can be unsafe. sure i don't have a lot of money and am having trouble finding a job. but despite a great deal of uncertainties i do know that nothing can come between a man and his maker.

hello.

alright let's start this thing again.

i'll spare everyone the details of what happened since we last talked.

basically i graduated, joined a new band, got a girlfriend, and now i'm moving to chicago.

i'll be moving this sunday which maketh me excited.
i have an apartment to move into, but no job and that is ok. i hope to make some music in the big city.

more news and updates later.

manna is a hell of a drug.

apparently i only posted a title for this blog.
i wrote a fairly extensive blog but apparently i did something wrong.
my mistake.

i will have to try to recreate the blog that i apparently didn't type.

first i would like to review urinetown with you. the show went incredibly well and i think it is safe to say that it was the most fun show i have ever been a part of. audiences were fantastic and did not condemn us for poorly titled show. to add to the greatness that was urinetown, we got held. this means that there is a chance we will be able to perform our show at the american college theatre festival region 5. getting held is a huge honor. for a while now i have had a short checklist of things that i have wanted to do in theatre
1. receive an irene ryan nomination (check previous blogs for an explanation). check
2. be in a show that gets held. check

the benedict affair is writing new songs.

this was not in the original post that did not get posted, but i will digress.

last night i saw the following bands in this order lights, lydia, lovedrug, copeland.
i love lydia's music and i love live music. the combination of these two things was very exciting for me. sparing you the reader too much boring detail, it was a fantastic show all the way around.

now i will return to the original subject of the elusive post that did not get posted.
i discussed the title that i have given this blog. it comes from the song "i can feel a hot one" by manchester orchestra. for some reason this quote struck me. i have no idea what the author's original intent was when he wrote this, but i began to think about the israelites and how manna was their only food for a fairly long time. manna became part of the routine. i then began to think about routine moments and how these routine moments are what keep me sane and keep me going. i am a creature of habit and i have certain rhythms that i go through everyday. to me this quote means that God provides some of the most normal routine events to keep us going. that may or may not make sense to you, but i loved this lyric.

we're at the top of the world

it is in the dordt theatre world what we call production week. the play opens tomorrow and i can safely say i am excited. everything is coming together very nicely and we have one more dress rehearsal tonight to polish the small mistakes.
doing a play like urinetown serves as a good reminder of what it is like to be in a conservative Christian community. people in the community got bent out of shape about the title right away. the show is a very fun and entertaining show, but because of this backlash the dordt theatre department has had to rationalize doing a show like this. for me this just serves as a reminder of what it will be like to work in the church. there are always going to be people who are easily offended. to me when working in the church it isn't a question of agreeing and disagreeing, it is understanding each other's position. i feel like as a future youth pastor/church employee/ whatever trying to have an understanding for all sides of an issue will be very important. good or bad that is just how it is and that is one thing i'm taking away from this show.

my internship is going very well. i was pretty on edge about the first meeting. i decided for the first lesson that i was going to give my testimony so that the youths would learn about me and my past as a Christian. i wasn't sure if i this was a good idea till i sat down in church that evening. the title of the sermon was testimony. i was immediately calm and thankful for God's constant reminders that he is helping me out.

when we last talked i had started to skateboard again. i have not done any major damage to my body. a few rasberries (scrapes) and fruit baskets (bruises) but nothing to terrible.

i have been cast in a full length movie that some dordt students are putting together. i apparently am a hitch hiker. more on that as it becomes available.

all in all things are pretty good right now.

your words hit like a train and i can't ignore it

hello readers.
out of fairness to you all i have decided to post a blog.
the semester is a little busier than it seemed earlier. the play, classes, and various other activities are robing me of my free time. it's not too terrible because i am enjoying all of my classes. currently my favorite class would have to be calvin's institutes. it is pretty incredible to think that one man spent his whole life studying Christianity and was able to write such an incredible reflection on his studies.
i continue to become interested in new things. have become obsessed with skateboarding again. i purchased a board and me and a few roomates went out and did some extreme stunts.

this is a photo of me doing a lovely board slide.
tonight is my the first actual youth group meeting for my internship. it is weird because i'm not really nervous i'm just straight up scared. this intership is going to have a heavy impact on my future. if i hate it i probably will want to consider pursuing a new field. i'm sure that God will have his hand with me and i won't hate it.
the play is going well. tristate break is next week and i will be staying at dordt to work on the show. it should be a good time.
i certainly do miss some dear friends who are no longer at dordt. please come back and visit friends.

here is a picture of nick doing a sick trick and kenny watching in amazement.

skate or die bros.

all fallen leaves should curse their branches.

i have again failed to blog for a long time.
if you read this in an attempt to keep up with my life there is going to be a big chunk missing because i don't feel like trying to creatively express the last month or 2.
i will go over one important note with you:
the benedict affair's new cd "with more class" is now available and if you wish to acquire a copy contact me.
if you wish to hear some tracks there should be a link to your right.
classes have resumed and dordt is buzzing with life. initially i was slightly unenthused with the return of friends. i guess i got so used to having the campus to myself that it was weird seeing people here again.

i like to give myself a few goals at the beginning of the semester knowing full well they might not happen.
1. plan future. i can't really postpone accomplishing this one.
2. serve Covenant church to the best of my ability. i have an internship there and it will be my first hands on youth ministry experience.
3. work on writing songs. i have realized that i never finish songs because i try to make too much of them. i always try to use the strangest chords and the deepest words. i'm going to write simple songs. we'll see how that turns out.

lately i have been listening to a lot of david bazan and bon iver.
if you would have asked me a few years ago if i ever would have enjoyed this music i would have laughed in your face.
i guess this means i'm getting older.