what a day

Dear Friends,

Today is a memorable day for two reason.

First of all, today is the first time that I have managed to see hockey since the lock out. Yes, sports fan, in the background I can hear Pittsburgh at Ottawa… I haven’t seen that Crosby kid yet, but I’m excited. He was excellent for Team Canada in the World Juniors, so I like him already. Hockey is back… and if everyone was even ¼ as excited as I am, hockey would be the new football.

The second reason is slightly sadder… you see, today for the first time, the Mazda became a killer. I mean, I’ve killed bugs and stuff before, but today… well… I was driving back from the doctor’s office, and I was coming up the road to work. All of the sudden, from under the bushes, a l’il groundhog, let’s call him l’il brudder, ran out. I tried to avoid, but he basically gave’r right for my tire. So, he got smoked. There’s something sad about anything dying… and the poor little guy definitely died. I had some help from the guy behind me with moving him off the road, but… shoot, I just felt bad. So, the mazda is a killer. And I am an accomplice.

and that was my day.

God and Hurricanes

Allow me to preface the following by saying, it's interesting to see the varying reactions to natural disasters. Also, allow me to tip my hat to Sam at Adagio County for the link to the Piper article. Not only is he really cool, he's also gonna be related to me one day.


Here's an article by Dr. Tony Campolo.

and, here's a quote:

"Perhaps we would do well to listen to the likes of Rabbi Harold Kushner, who contends that God is not really as powerful as we have claimed. Nowhere in the Hebrew Scriptures does it say that God is omnipotent. Kushner points out that omnipotence is a Greek philosophical concept, but it is not in his Bible. Instead, the Hebrew Bible contends that God is mighty. That means that God is a greater force in the universe than all the other forces combined."

and an article by Dr. John Piper.

and, here's a quote from him (replying to a NPR Senior News Analyst):

"Who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Shall the pot say to the Potter, 'This is an unintelligent way to show your justice and your power? Come, Maker of heaven and earth, sit at my feet—I have lived 89 years and have gotten much wisdom—and I will teach you—the eternal God—how to govern the universe?'

No. Rather let us put our hands on our mouths and weep both for the perishing and for ourselves who will soon follow. Whatever judgment has fallen, it is we who deserve it—all of us. And whatever mercy is mingled with judgment in New Orleans neither we nor they deserve."

Hmm.

a concert

now playing: Notre Dame 14 \ Michigan 3. 4th quarter, 14:19 to go. My fiancee is en route to go see our team play live. Lucky... speaking of napoleon dynamite... check out the Utah State Fair page for 8 ads Napoleon and Pedro did for them. Sweet! The real question is, why didn't Idaho think of that?

So, this week I have been quite sick. I missed three days of work. I still haven't recovered. In the midst of all that, Derek Webb came to Canada on Tuesday. He apparently has been to Canada one other time, years and years ago, with Caedmons where they crossed at Niagara Falls, drove for 20 minutes, played a show, drove back across the border and that was that. There was no way I was going to miss the chance to see him in the True North Strong and Free. Especially not when tickets were only $10. Remember that fact... cause all of you will wish you had gone by the time we get done here...

So, we got to tyndale an hour and a half early. Matty went and found a bunch of people he knew, whilest I, with the rest of the crew, went for a walk. We got back at around 7:25. They opened the doors at 7:30, and we were amongst the first in. Funny fact: no one wanted to sit front row. So, for 10 bucks a ticket, we got to sit front row at a derek webb concert. There ended up being maybe 200 people... It was totally phenomenal. He played every song I would've listed if you said "Andrew, if you ever got to hear Derek Webb live, what songs would you most want him to play?" Except maybe Take to the World from She Must and Shall Go Free. But everythng else. It was awesome. I was going to post pictures, but blogger is not cooperating. I'm a little frustrated, but I can at least look at the pictures.

So, final summary: Derek Webb live is like hanging out in someone's livingroom while they play some songs and talk about stuff that is heavy on their hearts. He was very honest and sincere, and plays like a phenom. One dude... one guitar... one phenomenal concert.