Lazy Tuesday

Today's Life Lesson: Avoid the mall at all possibe.

Exceptions duly noted are as follows: Chic-fil-a, Sbarro, Panda Express (or any chinese chain)

My exception was the chinese chain. What a glorious meal it was...once I left the mall.

Friday one of my best buds is getting married and I can't wait! Once Thursday is here the festivities will start and it will be a blast! Then heading to Chicago w/ the other roomies for the weekend. Rockin'!

Here is a lovely picture of the family from a few weeks ago. Supurb.

Summer's almost over

There is now a piano here. A keyboard of sorts. And I will try my lack of skills with it and see if I can't make some decent sound come from it.

Let's talk food. Tipping, for example.

I strongly encourage at LEAST 15% when you tip. Common courtesy is actually now 18%. There is nothing quite as devastating to the soul then a flat 10% tip when there was absolutely nothing wrong with your dining experience.

If anything, be sure to be as kind to your server as they are (or may not be) to you. You may have their tip, but they have your food. :) Not that I would ever do anything. I just hear about these things... haha.

After this Battlestar Galactica time I think I will try for an evening run. They've proven beneficial for me in more ways than one.

Libraries. They are beyond interesting. Don't you love working at a job where the people coming up to ask you a question know just about as much as you do on the subject? That's the best part about new jobs. People are trusting and position is everything. As long as I don't let on - we're all golden.

One last tangent. Transformers 2.

I saw it at midnight Saturday night. Golden. I loved it. Go see it. You may not love it. That's okay. It is truly epic in so many ways. Fantastic story development and new exciting characters. NOT TO MENTION the fighting scenes are off the chain.

Love it. Embrace it. Pass it on.

Next in the running... one of my best friends, Lee, is getting marred on Friday and I can't wait! After that - Chicago for the weekend. Still don't even have a place to stay or plans for what on earth we'll be doing there. Then West Virginia w/ the youth group for a rafting trip!

Time is going too fast...if you're reading this, go spend some quality time doing something. Read, run, talk...then get some sleep. If tomorrow comes, it will come quickly so be ready.

Bye for now.

Back to California!

We're almost there already! Katie and I are road tripping home to California. She'll be there for at least the summer and I'll be flying back to Louisville next week.

We made it from Louisville to Kansas City on Monday night. KC to Albuquerque yesterday, and today the home stretch! See ya in L.A.!

Red River Gorge!

Earlier this week I got to take a few days off and head east to Red River Gorge with my roomie Tony and good friend Jason. We spend two days hiking and one night camping there. We had an awesome time! Thankfully no one died, though we did have some sweet climbs at different points.

Enjoy some of the shots!

Summer Sessions

Despite jobs and responsibilities...one of my goals for the summer is...music!

The first step of music for my summer took place this past Monday night. The evening was spent w/ my friends Kristen and Byron. Kristen plays keyboard and plays a major vocal role in Aletheia and has become a good friend of mine because of it.

We have tons of ideas... we did our first cover of a Yellowcard song and produced a fine recording! Hopefully I'll be getting pictures and sound clips up over time.

You can hear our first track here ----> http://virb.com/danwebb

Stay tuned!!! :D

Now we need a band name... thoughts?

The Zombie Apocalypse

I have some terms that need defining. Recently (and by recently I mean over the past few months...) those I live with and myself have established common themes to our lives. Some have considered this strange, and others, pure genius.

Here are the two terms.

1. The Shire
(pronounced shy-er)
Definition: The dwelling place of the hobbits.

The hobbits are as follows:
Pippin (Antonio Loseto)
Merry (Matthew Riddle)
Samwise (Christopher Garner)
Frodo (Daniel Webb)

Many a great memory has come from The Shire. From zombie movies (see below), to one of our 7 video game systems, to dumping snow on Frodo while he is in the shower, there is never a dull moment here where sleep is scarce and salmon are always on the grill (thanks to Pippin).

2. Zombie Apocalypse
(pronounced Zaum-bee Ah-pock-ah-lips)
Definition: The day the world ends and zombies freely frolic in the open fields.

One tradition of the shire is to watch zombie movies. We have watched our fair share (though there are still more yet to be seen!) and are fully prepared for any potential attack. The Shire is equipped with cricket bats, drum sticks, scary masks, golf clubs, and other blunt objects one can use in self-defense against the potential zombies.

Moving on to the real world... finals have come and gone. This blog will now be filled with pictures, thoughts, and happenings of the summer of 2009. Enjoy. :)

Yours truly,
Frodo

Whoops, has it been a while?

Discipline...

I have realized lately that everyone has busy schedules. We all have the next thing to do. We all are waiting for specific things to come along to fill our time slots throughout the week. We have different hobbies and interests to put whatever extra time we might have in.

I have realized that discipline doesn't just mean turning down the extra things in life you seriously just do not have time for. You could have the lightest schedule in the world and still be undisciplined. Its all about what you do with whatever time you have. Are things in their proper order, etc. Especially in light of the cross.

I have had at least one test/paper due each week for the last 3 weeks. And next week is the same story. What is going on!?!?!

Oh well, this is where I am so this is where I am. God grant me discipline because I lack so much.

SNOW WEEK!

Thats right ladies and gentlemen - we have the whole week off of school! Fantastic.
Hopefully I will actually get some work done at some point... tomorrow night I'm supposed to be working a dinner shift at Ruby's and this weekend since school is cancelled I get to play for the wedding of two of my closest friends! I'm stoked!

But, thats still 4 days away. For now, enjoy the videos that share the fun we had today on our 2nd snow (or ICE STORM) day.

SNOW DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

And this, is what we make for breakfast (or lunch?) on a snow day. :)

Now that the snow has ICED over...we're hoping classes are cancelled tomorrow too!

Tomorrow...We fight!

Greetings friends and family...

Last Wednesday began some of the chaos I have been eagerly anticipating. Aletheia practices started and basically went all day everyday until Friday night where we played for Boyce orientation to welcome in the new students. On Saturday we left for Dayton, Ohio on our first weekend trip of the semester! We played for a Sunday morning service there before heading down to Cincinnati for a FULL (yes, I said full) evening concert. We were basically all terrified but God worked through our weakness to glorify Himself in the music we offered.

As you can see from the picture, we had a good time too. ;)

Today (monday) is my last day of freedom. Tomorrow begins my 17 credit schedule for the spring semester. I can't wait! First up, Hebrew 2 @8am. :)

The rest of life has been great. Mom and David came out on Saturday (I missed them though...) before heading up to Indy for a few days. They will be back down for some hang time Thursday and Friday I believe which will be nice.

The snow we got over the weekend was amazing. Played some snow football today w/ some new guys from school and had a blast. Except for Tony taking me out via my knees on a rather sweet almost touchdown run.

Enjoy the pics from the weekend...! :)

Happy New Year!

Happy new year friends! As you can probably tell, my feat of tackling Piper's book was short-lived. Although, I can honestly say I did read 5 chapters into the book.

Weeks have passed, and so have the time zones. I ended my time at home in L.A. well and have been back in Louisville since Dec. 30th. The Lord graciously provided good work hours for me literally the day after I got back here and got situated back into the new place.

It's been nice to be back and start to get the gears cranking that will be rolling into the spring semester here in about 2 weeks. Aletheia practice will begin actually in barely over a week so I am starting to brush up on the music and Hebrew I have so easily forgotten.

I got to bring in the new year with my church family here at a game night. It was one of the funniest things to be playing catchphrase w/ 30+ ppl including the pastor. Needless to say I had a great time and was greatly encouraged through prayer and the kindness of so many people I don't even know very well towards Katie and I.

More to come! Hopefully I will include pictures. ;) I need to get back into that...

Thoughts from Piper's book... Demand #1

Demand 1: YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN

Jesus answered . . . “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’” – John 3:5, 7

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” – John 3:3

Jesus tells Nicodemus (a prominent Pharisee) that one must be born of water and spirit. Yet he does not understand. One clue is found in Ezekiel 36:25-27:

“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”

Piper says, “Jesus sees all of humanity divided into two parts: those who are merely born once – ‘born of the flesh,’ ‘the (spiritually) dead’ – and those who are ‘born again’ by the Spirit of God – those who are alive to God and see his kingdom as true and supremely desirable.” (p. 39)

Piper tells us that we do not need a moral improvement from the old. New life is what the WHOLE world needs. The dead cannot help themselves. WE cannot help ourselves. And until we remove the log of pride from our unbelieving eyes this truth will never penetrate our hearts. The gospel will never penetrate our hearts. And it is when we let this truth overcome us that our hearts will turn from ourselves to God and to others.

We are living in a cemetery. And there is new life in Christ. We are His tools. God uses us to raise the dead!

"What Jesus Demands from the World," by John Piper

Los Angeles Townhouse?!

No, I don't have a townhose in L.A. :-D

But I did move into my townhouse in Louisville last weekend! I finally have a place I can call my own (along w/ 3 other guys) about 10 minutes from school. Over the weekend we got all four (yes, four) of our couches moved in, and I found a bed for myself from the school thrift store. Although not much is very organized or unpacked, we've been quick to watch lots of movies and play crazy games with the friends still around the area for winter. It's been such a blessing!

In other news - Katie and I arrived safely home in Los Angeles yesterday around 11am local time. Though California is a little bit colder than I would like, it is so good to be home! Mom was in the ER for a few days due to 2 liters (yes, 2) surrounding her lungs that they were finally able to drain right as we were flying in. She's home now and actually out shopping w/ dad at the moment. After cleaning the house, us kiddos are taking it easy by watching heroes and cleaning the entire house haha.

Last Christmas I was given a book by my worship pastor... "What Jesus
Demands from the World," by John Piper. The chapters are reltively short and I hope to summarize my thoughts chapter by chapter in a journal, and on here for encouragement. After reading the introduction of this book it is hard to explain my excitement for the pages to come. I pray to be challenged far more than I have been in a long time. And I pray for a ready heart, to hear what I have needed to hear for even longer.

I pray for you all as school is winding down and family is coming soon, you'll enjoy the blessings God has given us in one another, and from Himself. I pray you will not so easily lose focus of the spiritual blessings and eternal joys as we are bombarded with secularism, physical gifts, great meals to prepare, people to make happy, and the stress of waiting for the world to kick back to normal come January. As Jesus blessed us by giving himself, likewise bless others by giving them yourself.

Christmas - U2

Take this video for what it is... a music video. I hope you simply enjoy it. I did. (make sure you click it...it's a link)


U2

Falling in Prayer

"We should pray when we are in a praying mood, for it would be sinful to neglect so fair an opportunity. We should pray when we are not in the proper mood, for it would be dangerous to remain in so unhealthy a condition."
- Charles H. Spurgeon

Once again, I have a few fairly important things to figure out fairly quickly. One being the apartment situation. Unfortunately two of my (hopefully) future roomies make too much money for the complex we were aiming for right next to school so that is now out of the question (after about 2 weeks of inquiry). So... we look for a new complex asap! The first will be tomorrow afternoon.

The apartment and other issues can only be resolved by God so I am seeking Him in earnest prayer. It seems I may have been caught off guard and welcomed back to the real world this time. Perhaps it was foolish of me to think things were going alright. Yet here I am, living proof of the steps I've taken to get here by God's grace. And still He will lead, through sun or storm.

One specific blessing in my life is the opportunity to sing w/ some of the music students here at Boyce for some pastors of the KBC next week. We will be doing some Christmas carols as well as some worship pieces!

Christ has held everything together...nothing is lost

Finals have ended, and the grace of Christ has never been more evident in my life! It is amazing to say, and even more amazing to truly believe it. All of my finals were last Thursday and I am pleased to say most of them were smashing. The only one I am worried about, of course, is Hebrew. At this point all I am worried about is passing so I can move on to Hebrew 2. Although I think I've forgotten a lot of it in this short week already... Since school has been out I've started a new job at Ruby Tuesday as a server. I've had about 5 days of computer training and some shadowing and Saturday I will have my first tables. Hopefully I don't spill too much... If this job works out well I will be staying in Louisville through most of break (except for Christmas) and getting an apartment with some friends here. We are hoping to have the paperwork for the apartment finalized next week because we have been running around trying to tie up odds and ends this week of different things they forgot to tell us that we needed for the application to go through and now they are closed for Thanksgiving...so we wait.

Please pray for strength and wisdom on my behalf. I dearly need it. I feel inadequate in so many ways and feel I should be so much farther in life spiritually and mentally. Maybe I dropped the ball at some point...

I am also praying through how I would serve next summer. Be it at a summer camp in the states, as a ministry intern, or even overseas once again - which would be such a blessing!

I'll end with a quote I found on Justin Taylor's blog...

No unwelcome tasks become any the less unwelcome by putting them off till tomorrow.
It is only when they are behind us and done,
that we begin to find that there is a sweetness to be tasted afterwards,
and that the remembrance of unwelcome duties unhesitatingly done is welcome and pleasant.

Accomplished, they are full of blessing,
and there is a smile on their faces as they leave us.
Undone, they stand threatening and disturbing our tranquility,
and hindering our communion with God.

If there be lying before you any bit of work from which you shrink,
go straight up to it, and do it at once.
The only way to get rid of it is to do it.

-Alexander MacLaren (1826–1910), Scottish preacher

Finals are here...and I rock. ;)

It is 3:20am Eastern Standard Time and I am cranking away! While most students finished their last finals today, all of mine are due Thursday. Besides a few tests and a TON of Hebrew I need to study, I also had 5 papers to do. Two of which I finished yesterday, and one I JUST now finished. Praise the Lord!

Next on the list is God & Government. Chuck Colson is brilliant. And the great thing this book is so easy to read. I've loved the stories he's shared from the politics of the world. His points are simple and he doesn't waste time. Definitely my kind of writer.



Finally is the Closing of the American Mind. At first I loved this book...about halfway however I began to lose interest. Much of the writing becomes cluttered and difficult to understand if you do not follow the author very closely. I thought overall it was good though in pointing out cultural fallacies we have let slip by as a nation and now we are reaping the consequences.



Thursday night, sometimes around 4:30 pm I should be free at last! :)

I start my new job at Ruby Tuesday's Friday and will be serving on my own by Tuesday night. The Lord has been so gracious in providing all of my needs as of late. Even as the semester winds down. It looks I will be getting an apartment w/ some good friends here in the next month and trying to get as many hours as possible in at work. Hopefully I will head home for a little over a week at Christmas.

For now its back to my 2 remaining book reviews!
God bless you all...

Concert and finals!

Aletheia played w/ Chorale and the instrumental ensamble Thursday night and it was fantastic! God really blessed the night. Not to mention Bw3's after. :)

Now...finals! Oh man. Can't believe they're here! One week of the semester and I'm done for 2 WHOLE months!

McCain on SNL

I was pretty impressed to see Senator McCain on SNL the other night. I thought the skit was brilliant.

Chicago!

Greetings. :)

Last weekend Aletheia traveled to Chicago and my hometown (kinda), Naperville, IL. We had a blast! We were blessed to lead through worship just north of downtown Chicago Friday afternoon then we got to do some touristy things on Saturday.

Sunday morning we played for a church in Orland Park and that evening we returned to my home church for a full blown concert. It was great! Everything went so well and it was a blast to finally travel together as a group.

In other news I have recently been job searching and it appears I will be serving at Ruby Tuesday's pretty soon here. Which will mean I'll be living in Louisville for most of the winter break. Not quite sure how I feel about that yet, but God has worked things out more than once before so I'm not too worried...

School work is crazy. Pray that I would be diligent in Hebrew because it is only getting more difficult!

Enjoy the pics!