I've been eyeing these things for a while, they are amazing! I think I'm waiting for the color version, but I want one! Like an ipod for books, brilliant.

OH DEATH

Lately I've been giving death a lot of thought. I feel like I've been confronted by it more than usual recently, or at least I'm paying attention to it more.

When I was in California last week, I had this weird feeling almost like I was going to die, or something was going wrong. When I landed I got a call from my mom telling me the dad of one of my friends had died. It hit me really hard.

No one in my family has died while I have been alive to remember it. Even so, when people die around those close to me, I am drawn to think about it's implications. I feel like I am faced with the question of the worth of my life and how I live it.

Michael Jackson died yesterday at 50. That's so young. By those standards I am middle aged. It really goes to show that none of us really knows how long we have, and we should live that way.

I was listening to NPR interview the family of the first woman graduate of the Air Force and Military to be killed in combat. She was 25. Her family talked of all her accomplishments and how she moved forward so quickly in everything she did because she was impatient to live and do everything she could with her life. What hit me the most was her dad's quote, filled with happiness:

She lived her life as if she knew she only had 25 years to live it

WOW. I sat there thinking, I don't think I could say that about my life. I need to change something and quick. That one sentence has been on my mind so much recently. How did my heart get so cold?

I suppose we are all living under the shadow of death until the prince of this world is defeated. I hope to not just survive, but to really LIVE. With all the potential and purpose I was made for. That's what Jesus promised us after all was it not? Life to the fullest. Why settle for less.

There are a couple great songs about death that are my favorites:

Garage Voice: When a Man Comes to Death
Noah Gunderson: Oh Death
David Crowder Band: Come Awake

I know I didn't include links, but I'm sure you can find them if you wanted to badly enough, you techy peeps.

On a side note, I just found out that Donald Miller has a new book coming out, which I am very excited about, called 'A Million Miles in a Thousand Years'.. if you haven't already read his most famous one: 'Blue Like Jazz' I highly suggest it. HIGHLY

JULIAN

GRIZZ GRIZZ

These homies have been getting some well deserved indie buzz as of late, and this video is so intriguing to me. I like it.



Also, went to see 'Camera Obscura' tonight and it was such a fun show! It was supposed to be a reunion of sorts, but Sarah got sick and Aaron wasn't around, so Ben Blood stepped in and it was all around good times. It also wasn't 20 below zero and blizzard conditions two hours away, so that was also quite grand :) Here's one of their songs, they wouldn't let me bring my camera into the show, but I learned how to get a press pass, so better luck next time..hehe

. ..

when you have fear you are not grounded
in something that can take it away.

you are lacking something.