My stories from small towns, many thanks to Ike

We left this morning at 5:45 to evacuate to our farm in Floresville from Ike. And it’s been quite the adventure already. First of all, let me say that I love small Texas towns, and I speak the truth in love here. I wish I could’ve taken pictures of some of these things, because they’re just so unique. Here are some of my small town experiences so far (I say so far because I’m sure I’ll have more before this trip is over.)
My first small town experience from this trip was when we stopped for a little second breakfast at a small bakery in Hallettsville. Let me just say that they have awesome kolaches at all these little Czech towns. So while I was standing in the bakery, I heard the local radio in the background of the restaurant. (Note to self: Always listen closely to small town radio news. You won’t fail to be entertained.) So, as I listened closer, I discovered that the sweet old man on the radio was reporting the large list of closures in the area. I thought it would be “The schools in our district are closed on Thursday and Friday,” or something like that. Well, I was pleasantly mistaken. They started out like that, but in a couple minutes they were more like “The Parker’s family reunion will be postponed until next Saturday,” “The annual picnic at First Baptist will be canceled until further notice,” and “Joe and Mary’s wedding scheduled for Saturday will be held in two weeks instead.” Oh, how I love small towns.
We started back on the road to Floresville and after a few minutes we passed through Shiner, TX. Another lovely small town. I’d love to swing at the swings in their city park. They look like high quality swings. Anyways, back to the point. Driving through there, I was stopped at a red light and there was a bank there with a scrolling marquee. At banks they’re pretty standard, you know? The time, temperature, and date will scroll by. Well, this town was showing their feelings toward the hurricane in the Gulf. After the date scrolled by, another line showed up: “Take a hike, Ike!” Another note to self: Remember that scrolling marquee’s always produce quotable lines.
A couple signs I saw on the way were quite awesome. “Watermelon Jubilee” in Stockdale. “Children will play chimes in both services Sunday” at one of the local churches in Floresville. I also found some really cool product names at Wal-Mart: a gummy snake at least 3 feet long called “Big Fat Hissee Fit,” Universal Bike Tires…that come in 16”, 20”, 24” and 28”. (What?) And a couple salons: “Curl up and Dye,” and “Hair I am.” (Now I know for a fact that you can find names like that all over the place, but I’m just reporting these now, because they were a part of my experience this trip. But when I was in Uganda we came across the “Heavy Duty Bakery.” Wow, really?) And while we were setting up the lawn mower here at the farm, the instructions warned us “Caution: Gasoline is flammable.” Good to know. One thing I do salute them for here is one of my biggest pet peeves: the spelling of y’all. It’s a contraction of you and all. Not ya’ll, y’all. That’s one thing I do appreciate about small towns.
I thought my exciting experiences were done for the day after driving here, Olivia’s (a really good local Mexican restaurant) for lunch, and then driving around looking for a lawn mower for sale. But no, they were far from over. So I get back to the farm, and I had to go to the bathroom. So I go in, open the seat, and there, curled around several times, just making himself at home was a very large black snake. I’m not exaggerating, it was a very large snake. I’m not really a big fan of snakes. Especially when they’re locked in a small room with me. Needless to say, I haven’t used that toilet again.
So here I sit on the porch. Fixin’ to go down to the local Mickey D’s to get free wifi. Looking out over the farm, listening to Nanci Griffith sing “I wanna ride the waves down in Galveston when the hurricanes blow in, cause that Gulf Coast water tastes sweet as wine when you’re heart’s blowin’ home in the wind,” waiting for the rest of the family to arrive. I’m sure I’ll have more stories soon. I love evacuating.

Life as an Intern

So this summer I worked as an intern in the Multimedia department at my church. My main project was working on interviews with the mission teams from our church. I used a CD recorder and, as the teams got back from various trips all summer, I did a short audio interview with a few people from each group. Then I edited those down to be audio for usually two short videos, collected the pictures from the group and put those behind the audio. Throw in a few lower thirds, some background music, an intro and outro and *tadah!* you've got my summer project. I got to use Final Cut Pro for the editing and Digital Juice stuff for the background music and graphics. It was a great experience. From interviewing the people who went on the trips, seeing their passion and how excited they get when they get to talk about their trip, to finishing up the videos and seeing how far they came and how all that work really paid off...it was all good. Hopefully some of them will be up on the church's website soon, so I'll be able to put a link to them on here. Along with this main project, I learned how to use about a million different programs at the church. Great experience. Well, that's all I've got for now. Hope you enjoy the videos and I'll have some more stuff up before long!

Jenna

My group from Camp Wild...

Sound Foundation...

Brad always takes my guitar...

Sophomore girls building our awesome octopus...

After the fact...

Self-explanitory...

Ninja power-ranger white rafting crew...

My "friend" for 80's friend night at camp...

I'm such an 80's model...


Yes, I do know all the words to Jesus Freak, thank you very much...

UBC!

Friends... : )

80's friends... : )

Hiking a freaking mountain...


HIKING!

Summertime...

I realized I haven't posted on here in a while, so I figured I'd do a brief summary of this summer. It's been crazy busy. It all started off with working at Camp Wild in Galveston again. I worked there last year and I still had a blast this year. Those kids are so fun! Right after that I worked at Basketball Camp at my church. I was so exhausted, but it was still really fun. And I was filming the whole week, so that was fun. Straight from Basketball Camp we left for Highlight Choir Tour in Corpus Christi. That was so relaxing and laid back. Really nice after two weeks of working with elementary schoolers. Chill at the largest pool in Texas, hang out on the beach, build sandcastles, try to skimboard, play guitar, sleep in. It was so nice. After that I had a week "off." Off of traveling that is. I still had to work.
The next Sunday we started our 23 hour bus ride to church camp at Silvercliff, CO. Beautiful. The bus ride was really long, but it was still good to talk to all my friends and such. And then the camp. It was just awesome. Best camp yet, by far. I don't even know where to start. There were about 90 kids from my church and we met up with kids from FBC Rockwall. Don Vanderslice was the pastor and he was absolutely amazing. I had to sit back and process everything he said after each talk. Fike and Dana were the worship leaders and they were really good. Then the atmosphere just couldn't have been better. I mean, it's Colorado. 80's friend night. Hiking a freaking mountain. Awesome. Then this last week was Master's Singers. I wrote about it last year, so if you wanna know all the gory detail you can read that post. This year was really good. A lot different than last year, but still really good. I learned a lot from it. Both musically and otherwise. It's just an amazing experience.
So that's my summer so far. I've still got a trip to Oaxaca coming up in August and then a little rest before school starts back up. Ugh. I love summer. I love rest. Anyways, just a little update from me. Oh, and I'll put up some pictures from the summer so far. Enjoy!

Jenna

YouTube

Okay, so I went to this Transforming Culture conference this week. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but it inspired me to put some of my videos I've made/edited on YouTube, SOOOO...now I have a youtube site. Go here, watch some videos, comments would be nice. Hopefully I'll get more and more up as time progresses. Well, I just thought I'd start gettting the word around! Check it out!
Jenna

Oh, I am wrong and of these things I repent...

I repent, I repent of my pursuit of America's dream
I repent, I repent of living like I deserve anything
Of my house, my fence, my kids, my wife
In our suburb where we're safe and white
Oh, I am wrong and of these things I repent

I repent, I repent of parading my high liberty
I repent, I repent of paying for what I get for free
And of the way I believe that I'm living right
By trading sins for others that are easier to hide
Oh, I am wrong and of these things I repent

And I repent of judging by a law that even I can't keep
Of wearing righteousness like a disguise
To see through the planks in my own eyes

I repent, I repent of trading truth for false unity
I repent, I repent of confusing peace and idolatry
Of caring more of what they think than what I know of what we need
Of domesticating you until you look just like me
Oh, I am wrong and of these things I repent

So this last weekend a group of about 15 or so youth and sponsors from our church went to this thing called Poverty Simulation in Waco, TX sponsored by Mission Waco. We had no idea what to expect and I have to admit, I was quite skeptical. But by the end of the weekend I had learned and been made aware of so much more than before I went.
One of the many things I learned was how much stuff we take for granted and how much we really don't need at all. By the end of the weekend I've never been more grateful for my toothbrush, my bed, my car and other little things like chapstick and sunscreen. To get sunburned not because I forgot to put on sunscreen or because I didn't want to, but because I didn't have any was a completely new thing to me that I'd never really thought about before.
Another thing I learned that I'd never really thought of this way before was that we're here in America with all this stuff not because we deserve it, but because this is where God put us. He could have just as easily made me be born in the slums in Africa somewhere, but he put me here. He put us all here in America. We're not just lucky. We're blessed. And that's not to say that those born in the slums in Africa somewhere are not blessed, because it says in Matthew 5:3 "Blessed are the poor." Andrew Peterson says it well in his song Land of the Free:

"'Cause I'm just a little jealous of the nothing that you have, you're unfettered by the wealth of the world that we pretend is gonna last. They say God blessed us with plenty, but I say you're blessed with poverty. 'Cause you never stop to wonder whether earth is just a little better than the Land of the Free."

So those are just a few of the things I learned this weekend. And the Derek Webb song describes a lot of the other things I discovered and I'm sure others did as well. If I described all the things I learned it would take way to long and you would get bored of reading by then, so I'll just stick with that. Oh, and I have to mention that Church Under the Bridge was one of my favorite parts of the weekend. I'm not going to describe it because as I said before it would take way to long and you'd probably get bored reading. Oh, and I'm headed off to the Transforming Culture conference in Austin this week, so maybe I'll post on here later this week about that! So many writings, so little time. So I guess that's all for now. Maybe I'll write another time about more things from this weekend, but for now I'm signing off.

Jenna

I am still running...

Okay, so I've been loving Jon Foreman's new EP's. Fall & Winter...check them out. Anyways, somehow I found this video on youtube where someone has set clips from Forrest Gump to Jon's song "I am still running." It fits perfectly and it's really cool. I liked it, so I thought I'd share it with everyone! Here you are:



That's all for now!

Jenna

Dude...

Check out the video at about 1:15. You might see some people you recognize. : )



Gotta love Switchfoot! They're awesome guys. One of the best nights ever.

Jenna

It's 2008...

Oh, I guess they'll say I've grown
I know more than I wanted to know
I've said more than I wanted to say
I'm heading home
Yeah, but I'm not so sure that home is a place
You can still get to by train
So I'm looking out the window
And I'm drifting off to sleep
With my face pressed up against the pane
With the rhythm of my heart
And the ringing in my ears
It's the rhythm of the southbound train
...
Oh, I guess they'll say I should've known
Or maybe I'm just feeling old
Like a lawyer with no one to blame
I'm headed home
Yeah, but I'm not so sure that home is a place
That will ever be the same

That's selections from Jon Foreman's song "Southbound Train." I've been listening to this as I reflect on the last year and a half. On how many things have happened that I never could have guessed; how I had no idea what was going to happen between July 2006 and January 2008, and I had no control over a lot of it. In the same way we really have no idea what's gonna happen in this next year, nor is it up to us at all. We're just here to make the best of what we've got. Sometimes that's harder than others, a lot harder. I'll admit that I've failed at that lots of times over the last year. A lot of times I wish I was just at a different place and a different time, with different people, under different circumstances. But I can't be in two places at once and I can't teleport (even though that would be sweet) or freeze time like Hiro Nakumura. I also found that when you just let go and go with where God's put you at this time, it turns out so much better than you could've hoped or imagined. So, anyways, that's the lesson I'm trying to learn and put into practice in 2008. I'm here, it's now, I'm with who I'm with, and it's good.
Jenna

P.S. Check out this link for a youtube video of the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngqmcdgpY7o&feature=related

The day we met Switchfoot...

It all started last Saturday night...okay, well, the chain of events actually started like 6 months ago, but last Saturday night was Switchfoot's Houston conccert. They're on tour with Relient Kand a band called Ruth. The concert was AMAZING! I don't know about the venue, I kind of like the small, family feel Warehouse Live had, but...the guys of Switchfoot and Relient K made it feel that way anyways.
Ruth started out the show and they were good, but I didn't really know any of their songs, so we just kind of sat and chilled . Now that I've listened to them on Pure Volume I'm a fan. Check them out. So then there was a like 10 minute break and out came RELIENT K! I've wanted to see them in concert for many years. All I've ever seen them play is like one song, so I was pretty excited for this. They played quite a wide variety...let's see if I can remember what they played (they're not in order at all)...Which to Bury, Us or the Hatchet, Sadie Hawkins Dance, High of 75, Give Until There's Nothing Left, Be My Escape, I Need You, The Best Thing, Must Have Done Something Right, Forgiven, Devastation and Reform, I So Hate Consequences, In Love with the 80's(Pink Tux to the Prom), they did a rendition of the Office's theme song...it was awesome, Sleigh ride (yes, the Christmas song...and there was snow!), and they ended the night with Who I am Hates who I've been. They were so good. I can't wait till they come to Houston again! I'm totally going!
Then there were 10 minutes of anxious anticipation...and out came SWITCHFOOT! Even though it was the third time I've seen them, the quality never changes...they were awesome. Let's see...they played...Meant To Live, This is Your Life, American Dream, Oh! Gravity., Awakening, Gone, On Fire, We Are One Tonight, Stars, Shadow Proves the Sunshine, Dirty Second Hands, they called Relient K and Ruth back on stage for a song called "Rebuild" that they wrote specifically for this tour because it was supporting Habitat for Humanity. Shortly after they wrote that song Relient K's bus caught fire and they lost their equipment, and now , while they're on tour, Switchfoot's home town of San Diego is on fire. So, to say the least, the song meant more now then it did when they wrote it. Also, it's just a good song...I had it stuck in my head all day Sunday, but I only knew like 4 words to it. Oh, and maybe my favorite part of the actual concert was right before they played On Fire (when Jon came out into the audience in the section next to us) Jon Foreman was talking on the stage and he was like "So we got the word today that someone flew Oh! Gravity. in space for us? If that's true, I really want to meet that person." Then the rest of the crowd was absolutely silent and I screamed as loud as I could. People just looked at me like I was crazy, but I don't care.
They did do another song, I think it was Dare You To Move, but I wouldn't know, becuase me and my friends were walking around trying to find out where to meet for the MEET AND GREET WITH SWITCHFOOT! We were so excited, we were running even though it wasn't necessary. We ended up sitting in the stands after the concert was over, waiting with some other people. They were taking people in 5 at a time to meet them, so we went the three of us with these two other guys. We were walking to where they were and the leader lady who was taking us there was like "Okay, so I ask everybody this: how did you get the passes?" So I was like "Well, actually...I got Oh! Gravity. flown in space." She was like "Wow, that's definitely unique!" So then we walked through the door and ...*AHHHHH* there they were. Switchfoot. Chad came up to us first and he was like "Hey I'm Chad. So, do have anything you want us to sign?" So I gave them the CD and said it had been in space. He called all the other guys over there and they were like "This is the one! It's been in space! Awesome!" They were so funny. They were touching it like it was holy or something. We were all laughing . It was so cool. Then they brought this video camera out and got it on video! So maybe I'll be on the Switchfoot Podcast! It was a dream come true. Oh, and then we got Andes Mint Shakes from Jack in the Box, so that just added to it.
So now I want to thank you who made this possible, mostly Mr. Forrester. Without you we wouldn't have been able to do this, so thanks! And Switchfoot, y'all are amazing. So here's a compilation of pictures summarizing the night.

Thanks for an awesome time! More posts soon!
Jenna : )

P.S. Switchfoot mentioned this meeting on their tour blog, The Daily Foot. Go to their site, click on the Daily Foot link on the home page, go to the Houston, TX post and read the last paragraph! Bah! That was me and my friends!

October 17th

Okay, I promise I'm not dumb, I know it's only the 15th now, but just hear me out. I thought I'd let you know that on October 17th people from all around the world will be advocating for the people living in extreme poverty. Yes, October 17th is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. There are many ways that they suggest to show your support (see this website), but I thought I'd let you know you can show your support by wearing a white band. They say it really doesn't matter what kind, but the One Campaign has white bracelets. Anyways, I just found out about it and I'll be wearing my Product (RED) shirt and white bracelet to show my support. You should wear a white band and show support of the campaign to make poverty history. Off of that link I gave you earlier you can find out about the history of this day and why they chose it for this. Anyways, just thought I'd let y'all know! Post more later.

Jenna

New Site!!!

Hey everybody,
I just got a .mac account and there's this feature where you can make your own website, so I've been playing around with it and I've got a new website. It's http://web.mac.com/jccreech. It's fairly simple right now because I'm still playing around with it. That website's more like my blog or something. It's got pictures, blog and some links and stuff. I've also made another website that's kind of like my portfolio. It's got samples of all the videos I've filmed and edited and stuff like that. It's http://web.mac.com/jccreech/iWeb/Site%202/Home.html. It's got videos I made for Africa, Church and for fun. Anyways, I'll probably still post on here for a while but after I've for sure got that site set up I'll most likely just use that as my blog and retire this one. So stay tuned for updates!!!!
Jenna

Texas Baptist All State Master's Singers (aka best trip ever)

Just a warning: this post is long, but well worth the read because it was an amazing trip.
Last Wednesday a group of about 20 people from our church started heading to Abilene. The sun hadn't even risen yet, but we were on our way. We picked up a girl in Katy and were in Abilene by 1. Our group was the last one there, but they had waited for us. As soon as we got there Dr. Hawthorn (or as he will be referred to in this blog, Doc) greeted each one of us personally and we headed up to the Music Hall for rehearsal. I have to admit, by the end of the first night, when all we had done was sing, eat, go to a service, and sing some more, I was feeling a little overwhelmed and wondering why I had come. But then again, that's what everyone said it would be like. They also said it was the best trip ever, so I knew it had to get better than that. And it did.
By the second day I realized that I was not in control, which is a weird thing for me, because I'm always in control at church activities. I just had to accept that I was not an expert at this stuff by any means. By the time the third day had come and gone I had met some amazing new friends from Amarillo, Midland/Odessa, Andrews and Anson and was completely comfortable being my weird self around them. We had bowled, played a game of around the world ping-pong with our hands, and eaten some pretty gross food (eww!). Friday night we had a pizza party and scavenger hunt. I have to say that my team should definitely get the loser prize, because we were the last team in that night, we got hit by the sprinklers, we got the wrong thing (a petrified tree stump is definitely a place where time stands still), and none of the pictures turned out because we couldn't get the flash on. I know, we're amazing.
The first three days all we did was basically eat, sleep and sing. Saturday we headed out for Dallas/Arlington on two coach buses, checked into our hotel and went to a Rangers game. We mostly played cards at the Rangers game. Actually, we didn't watch the game at all. After the game an unfortunate accident happened. One of the kids bumped into Doc's wife, she fell and had to be taken to a hospital. I'll go ahead and give you a preview into the future and tell you that she's doing okay now. We usually sang two concerts a day in the Dallas area from Sunday to Wednesday. Throw in a trip to Six Flags Over Texas and the Dallas Art Museum and you've got our schedule.
At all the concerts we sang some combination of the following songs: Antiphon , Our God is God, The Majesty and Glory of Your Name, The Conversion of Saul, There is No Rose (girls only), The Awakening (guys only), Eternal Life (our commissioned piece), Restore My Joy, Recollection of Joy (our "theme song"), Beautiful River, Sit Down Servant, and Let Mount Zion Rejoice. The ensemble sang some combination of the following: My Lord, My Life, My All, It is Well with My Soul, I Go to the Rock, and Ask the Watchman. There was also a piano violin duet by Ashley Johnson and Renee Wang. Man, that's a lot of music. I totally didn't realize there was that much.
Thursday, our last day together, we drove back to Abilene for our final concert at FBC Abilene. We had a great time together, but the hardest part of the whole trip was saying goodbye Thursday night after the concert. I never realized how much I hate saying goodbye. Especially when you've gotten so close to these people over such a short amount of time. I'm pretty sure everyone cried, whether it was in public or not, I'm pretty sure they did.
I don't think I've ever been around more committed people, more committed Christians, more committed musicians, or more committed leaders. Thank you so much to everyone who was involved in Master's Singers this year. It was seriously the best camp I've ever been to. I met so many amazing people, and if any of you ever read this (you know who you are) remember this, and I quote, "I thank my God when I remember you for he has blessed my life with yours. In every prayer of mine for you I'm filled with joy for I hold you in my heart. And I pray that your love may abound yet more in knowedge and in all judgement; that you may approve excellent things. That you may be sincere being filled with the fruits of righteousness unto the glory and praise of God. Grace to you and peace to you from God our Father, Christ our Lord. I thank my God when I remember you for he has blessed my life with yours. In every prayer of mine for you I'm filled with joy for I hold you in my heart."



And to end on a less sad note just look at this picture.
That's Bailey, me, David, Bethany, Elliott and Chris and Chad in the background. Great pic, huh?

This too shall be made right

People love you the most for the things you hate
And hate you for loving the things you can't keep straight
People judge you on a curve
And tell you you're getting what you deserve
This too shall be made right

Children cannot learn when children cannot eat
Stack them like lumber when children cannot sleep
Children dream of wishing wells
Whose waters quench all the fires of hell
This too shall be made right

The earth and the sky and the sea are all holding their breath
Wars and abuses have nature groaning with death
We say we're just trying to stay alive
But it looks so much more like a way to die
This too shall be made right

There's a time for peace and there is a time for war
A time to forgive and a time to settle the score
A time for babies to lose their lives
A time for hunger and genocide
This too shall be made right

Oh, I don't know the suffering of people outside my front door
I join the oppressors of those I choose to ignore
I'm trading comfort for human life
And that's not just murder, it's suicide
This too shall be made right

On Wednesday night there was a special on American Idol, it was called Idol Gives Back. American Idol teamed up with the ONE Campaign to raise money for Africa. At the end of it they had a video clip where Bono came in and talked to the six contestants left on American Idol. One of the girls asked bono a question that went something like this: "What was the defining moment for you when you knew you had to do something about what's going on over there?" He answered with a story about when he went to Africa and a man asked him to take his child back with him because he knew his child would have a better life in America. Bono said he didn't take that child, but he has in so many other ways. That got me thinking, "What was my defining moment? When did I start to really care about what's going on over there?" I knew exactly when it was.
First we have to rewind back to the first time I went to Africa. I was 10, so I'm pretty sure I didn't get the full idea of everything that was going on around me. But there were these two kids and I kind-of became friends with them because there weren't all that many people my age there. Their names were Geofferey, who I think was my age, and Moses, who I think was a little bit younger. They are the two kids in the picture at the end of the post. One of them is HIV positive.
Now go back to about a year before I go to Africa the second time, so it's like 2004ish. The Peppers were back on furlow and they were over at our house visiting. I asked how Geofferey and Moses were doing and the answer wasn't good. His sponsor had stopped paying his school fees when he found out he was HIV positive and now the medicine was too expensive. The Peppers weren't sure if he would be there when they got back.
Now it's summer of 2005 and we're in Uganda. Geofferey and Moses are both still there. The reason they are still there is because Dr. Pepper (yes, that's his name) had gotten a lot of free ARV's from different organizations in the US. That's why they're alive.
I think that's when it hit me. When I found out that this disease could have lethally affected someone I met. That made me want to do something about it, to help these kids and all the others like them that have been orphaned by AIDS and now suffer with it themselves.
Derek Webb said in one of his podcasts something like we're supposed to bring the kingdom of God to people. For example, if there's no hunger in the kingdom of God, then we're supposed to bring that about here and feed the hungry. If there's no sickness in the kingdom of God, then we're supposed to heal the sick. If there's no war, no crying, no pain, we're supposed to bring that about here. In the kingdom of God, everything shall me made right. That just opened my eyes. I had never thought about it like that. We have no excuse for not doing anything about it. We join the oppressors of those we choose to ignore. I want to do everything I can to help, but most of the time I get content sitting in my nice brick house in a nice little suburb where everything always comes off as fine. I forget about the hundreds of people dying over there everyday. We trade comfort for human life. Well guess what, this too shall be made right.


Jenna

Uh...

I've been wanting to post a new blog lately, but I can't come up with anything to write about. Nothing. I'll try a song and see if it inspires me, but no. Then today, while I was doing math, I felt something on my toe. I thought it was just a little hair or piece of paper or something unimportant like that. So I look down to shoo it off and it's a caterpillar!!! In the house a random caterpillar! I tried looking in a butterfly book to see what it was, but it wasn't in there. I tried looking online and the only thing I found close to it is a Corn Earworm (do you think it looks like that, because I do), but it's not supposed to be around these parts this time of year. I have no idea what it is. Someone help!

If you know what kind of caterpillar/worm thing this is please comment. It's going to drive me nuts. I'm all paranoid right now. I really hope it's not poisonous or anything, because ya know it was on my toe! It's about an inch long. Meanwhile, I'll keep researching online to see if I can find out what the meh it is. It only moves a little bit every 5 minutes. I think it's almost dead. I would just leave it, but it's on my Driver's ED book and I have to do Driver's ED. So now I'm gonna go take it outside and maybe it won't die. Hopefully there aren't others in the house.

That's all for today. No deep intellectual posts (not that my others are, but...). Just a bug. Maybe next time I'll be inspired by something a little more uh inspiring. Until the next post.

Jenna

Amateur Lovers...

Everyone I know needs love like drugs
Like a common cold we could never shrug
My baby and me we’re missing the same stuff
We’ve all got a disease, deficiency of love

Every day we still try every night we still cry
Driving home on the 805

We don’t know what we’re doing we do it again
We’re just amateur lovers with amateur friends
I can tell you what you’re thinking now
Before you think it you can settle down
We don’t know what we’re doing
Let’s do it again!

Try to play it down but it never stuck
I tried to bail this town I’m getting no such luck
When nobody’s around I keep my eyes on the clock
There ain’t a cure I’ve found In all my times around this block

Everyday we still try, every night we still cry
We drive it home on the 405

I can tell you what you’re thinking now
Before you think it you can settle down
Our lovin’ isn’t gonna burn us out

Professional!?!

With it being Valentine's Day and all I decided that this would be just as good a day as any to post a blog. And one about love would be even more appropriate. So here's my post about amateur lovers.
I thought I'd start with the etymologies of amateur and professional. I got these from the Online Etymology Dictionary:
Amateur is from 1784, "one who has a taste for (something)," from Fr. amateur "lover of," from O.Fr., from L. amatorem (nom. amator) "lover," from amatus, pp. of amare "to love." Meaning "dabbler" (as opposed to professional) is from 1786.
Professional (adj.) is first recorded 1747 with sense of "pertaining to a profession;" 1884 as opposite of amateur.
So then, in simpler terms, professional is like your job, but amateur is just for the love of it. That's why this is one of my favorite songs on the new Switchfoot album "Oh! Gravity." (Along with Faust, Midas and Myself and American Dream, which I'll probably write about later.) I love it because that's what we are. Amateur lovers and amateur friends, none of us really are professionals. Loving people is not our job, although as Christians we are supposed to love everyone. We're not forced to do it. We should be friends, love people, because we want to. We should do it because that's what we love to do. A lot of the time we act like professional friends or lovers when we should be amateur friends or lovers. I know most of the time I feel like I have to love everyone, or it's my job to love everyone, but I need to think about differently. I need to think of it as that's what I should love to do. So that's my goal for a while, love loving people. Sounds simple, but it should be quite a challenge. I'm willing to at least try it. Are you?

Jenna

P.S. Happy Valentine's Day!

Love is not against the law

Politics or love can make you blind or make you see
Make you a slave or make you free
Only one does it all
It's giving up your life for the ones you hate the most
It's giving them your gown when they've taken your clothes
It's learning to admit when you've had a hand in setting them up
And knocking them down

Because love is not against the law
Love is not against the law
Love, love, love

Are we defending life when we just pick and choose
Lives acceptable to lose and which ones to defend?
Because you cannot choose your friends, but you choose your enemies
What if they were one, one and the same
Could you find a way to love them both the same?
To give them your name?

Because love is not against the law
Love is not against the law
Love, love, love

Last Sunday I went downtown to Ecclesia for a Derek Webb concert. I was totally excited about going. When we got there and went up to buy our tickets, they said they were sold out. I'm not gonna lie, I wasn't all that bummed. I mean, I was, but I'm just a new fan, so I figured I would have some other time to see him. In case any of y'all didn't know Ecclesia is the church where the Robbie Seay Band leads worship. So anyways...we were standing there where they told us to wait to see if there were any people that didn't show up and lo and behold, there was Robbie! He started talking with us and he said that he would do what he could to get us in. Turn out, he did! We ended up getting into the concert. Sandra McCracken opened for him, and she was amazing. Kind-of country-ish, but not too much. I liked it. Then just Derek came out and had the audience yell out songs for him to play. As far as I can remember, he sang the following songs by himself: "I Want A Broken Heart," "I Repent," "Dance," "The Rich Song," and "Wedding Dress." I had only read the lyrics of most of those songs on his website, because I obviously can't go out and buy like 5 CD's. They were amazing. I'm definitely a big Derek Webb fan now. After he sang those songs, he talked about freederekwebb.com (which you should all go to right now and download Mockingbird) and blood:water mission (www.bloodwatermission.com). You should all go to both of those sites and find out about everything there is to know about them. They're great. Then there was a short break and his bass player and Sandra McCracken came back out and they played through Mockingbird. Yes, the entire album and no, it was not too long. At all. Actually, I quite enjoyed it. Artists should do that more often. Just play through the whole album, it's a novel idea. But anyways, Mockingbird is about mostly social issues, while his other albums were mostly about the church. For instance, Mockingbird has a songs on it about poverty, non-violence, love songs, songs about the church and several others. They're just astounding. You have to hear it for your self. Anyways, I just thought I'd put it out there that you should all at least give Derek Webb a try. Oh, and by the way, I'm really really really really glad that we didn't leave before we got in. It was amazing. And on the off chance that Derek Webb or Robbie Seay ever reads this: Thank you so much, it was amazing.
Amo, Jenna

we remember

Houston, Texas -- The Work of the People, World Publishing, EMI Christian Music Group, CNN and Highway Video have produced a provocative music video that help tell the story of the displaced victims of Hurricane Katrina. The video is available as free download at www.theworkofthepeople.com for organizations to use to help tell the story of those effected by Katrina. The Work of the People is defined by it's name. They are a community of artists, storytellers, filmmakers, poets and theologians. They are Christians, defined by they're common calling and hope in the Father to save the world through His Son and unite His people through His Spirit. They're work is to tell the story they share and to ask poignant questions through film, literature, art and music. I've posted these videos created by The Work of the People in rememberance of the one year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. I saw the first video at Ecclesia Church in Houston and I loved it. The songs are both from the relatively new CD "Songs From The Voice Volume 1: Please Don't Make Us Sing This Song." It is a part of The Voice Project headed by Chris Seay. To learn more about that go to www.hearthevoice.com. If you'd like to learn more about The Work of the People read the paragraphs below.

like summer break is gone...

She told him she'd rather fix her makeup
Than try to fix what's going on
But the problem keeps on calling
Even with the cell phone gone
She told him that she believes in living
Bigger than she's living now
But her world keeps spinning backwards
And upside down
Don't say so long, and throw yourself wrong
Don't spin today away
Cause today will soon be

Gone, like yesterday is gone,
Like history is gone
Just try to prove me wrong
And pretend like you're immortal

She said he said live like no tomorrow
Every day we borrow
Brings us one step closer to the edge (infinity)
Where's your treasure, where's your hope
If you get the world and lose your soul
She pretends like she pretends like she's immortal
Don't say so long
You're not that far gone
This could be your big chance to makeup
Today will soon be

Gone, like yeterday is gone
Like history is gone
The world keeps spinning on
Your going going gone
Like summer break is gone
Like saturday is gone
Just try to prove me wrong
You pretend like you're immortal

We are not infinite
We are not permanent
Nothing is immediate
We're so confident
In our accomplishments
Look at our decadence

Gone, like Frank Sinatra
Like Elvis and his mom
Like Al Pacino's cash nothing lasts in this life
My high school dreams are gone
My childhood sweets are gone
Life is a day that doesn't last for long
Life is more than money
Time was never money
Time was never cash,
Life is still more than girls
Life is more than hundred dollar bills
And roto-tom fills
Life's more than fame and rock and roll and thrills
All the riches of the kings
End up in wills
We got information in the information age
But do we know what life is
Outside of our convenient Lexus cages
She said he said live like no tomorrow
Every moment that we borrow
Brings us closer to the God who's not short of cash
Hey Bono i'm glad you asked
Life is still worth living, life is still worth living

Summer break is gone. School has started up again and it's going strong. Most of the other activities are starting up in the next week. My schedule's back to normal. Kinda busy. This summer was great though. Africa, Student Life, Mexico, Mission week. Wow. Plus all the extra parties and movies and I've got myself a summer. I think it was the best one yet. But it's over now. That's just a reminder to live life to the full. Don't cheat yourself. And I quote another Switchfoot song "Don't close your eyes. this is your life, are you who you want to be?" I'm gonna try that this fall. Usually the first few weeks of school just fly by and you don't remember anything special about them. I'm gonna make them a blast. I don't know how yet, but there's gonna be somthing special about them. I've got so many great memories and lessons learned from this summer. I hope I never ever ever forget anything about this summer. I hope the same for all of you reading this too. Anyways, thanks for all of you who were here this summer, you're the ones who made this summer amazing. Love you!

Jenna

You said...

You said, "Ask and you will recieve whatever you need."
You said, "Pray and I'll hear from heaven and I'll heal your land."

You said Your glory will fill the earth life water the seas
You said, "Lift up your eyes, the harvest is here, the kingdom is near"

You said, "Ask and I'll give the nations to you."
Oh Lord, that's the cry of my heart
Distant shores and the islands will see Your light as it rises on earth

That Shane & Shane song is a great song to start off anything having to do with missions because it's just such a great prayer. That was how we started off this past week, with Billy singing "You Said." This week was the Intermediate School's Mission Week. It was amazing. Starting Monday morning all the way through Friday morning we were at the Church at 8 in the morning and at Emerald Pointe apartments to play with the kids by about 9. When we got there we just played with them for about half an hour, then we got started with a Backyard Bible Club there. Inside the Dream Center we sang some amazing songs.....such as "The Shark Song," "Romans 16:19," "Waves of Mercy," "Arcitc Edge," "The Beaver Song," "Gorilla, Man, Gun"(If that counts as a song), and you can't forget "Jesus loves me" in English, Sign Language and Spanish!!!(Go Haley!!!!!) After that was story time. We told the stories of Creation, Noah's Ark, Jonah and the Whale, Christmas and Easter. Next, we split up the older and younger kids and some went to do arts and crafts and some went to rec. We played some pretty sweet games of 4-square. I'm pretty sure nearly every one of our youth had at least one kid at Emerald Pointe that they hung out with a lot while they were there. Mine was a little girl named Cheyanne. She was adorable. That was about all we did at Emerald Pointe. After Emerald Pointe we went either to someone's house for a pool party/crazy fun water day at the church or we watched a movie on the 3rd floor depending on the weather. Those were pretty exciting. The afternoon's were free to do whatever you wanted until 7. Then we went up to the church either on the 3rd floor or in the Chapel (depending on avalibility) for a worship service. The worship services were led by two of Courtney Chapman's friends from Auburn University: Billy and James (James Taylor that is!). They were absolutely amazing guys. Billy led the worship with his guitar and James preached some awesome sermons. They were just amazing. We usually didn't get home until a little after 11 because of parties and such. I really did have a great time this week! I'd like to thank Courtney for doing such and incredible job planning it, to all the other interns for helping out so much and to James and Billy for coming down....I mean over...to help with this week. It wouldn't have been nearly as good without any of y'all helping out. And all the students that participated were great. I love you guys. Well, I'll be posting more later!
Jenna