Life’s a funny little journey with twists and turns
Sometimes it tickles, sometimes it burns
Sometimes it’s no joke
We grow, we shrink, we breathe, we blink
We squint to see and process to think
Often times we choke
For rich or for poor, through less and through more
Alas the prude will envelop the whore
And the match is played
What’s fun to you is garbage to me
The song in your ears, the show on TV
The foundation is laid
A vow we proclaim to an unworthy name
A dollar is spent on privatized shame
And the earth revolves
People ask why did you ever get high
Can I really rely on a girl or a guy
Can this be resolved
Forget what you know and know we forget
Start at square one, just as the sun will set
It will rise
Open the Book and see what it says
It means so much more than a story it has
It’s a sign
What fixes, what heals, it buys yet we steal
The good in us all is suppressed by the wheels
That rotate
Innate is inside and destroys us to hide
In whom I confide, to whom must I die
To create
For better, for worse, take a look at a verse
That changes and arranges a thought, a curse
A blessing
Is it ever enough to think we can rest
Is it ever really done to the best
Arrest Him
He’s in our place for what we have done
And what we will do, the race we will run
He came
And finally we sit at the Maker’s great hand
So small is man yet so stubborn we stand
So lame
Teach us to walk, Father please pick us up
Our stumble can only be graceful with love
Show us how
This life is short lived and bound to a wreck
Except through Your mercy and how You perfect
If we bow

His love is deeper than the ocean and more vast than the stars in the sky.
His anger lasts for only a moment but his mercies are new every morning.
His faithfulness is incomprehensible.
His promises are always fulfilled.
His holiness no one can withstand.
His eye is always watching you, you never leave His sight.
His ear hears every prayer.
His nose smells the incense of worship from the broken and contrite.
His breath brought Adam to life.
His arm is not too short to reach from heaven and catch you when you fall.
His hands are big enough to hold each and every one of his children; strong enough to not let you wiggle out, yet gentle enough to not let you slip through His fingers like sand.
His finger brought the calamities against Egypt.
His ways are higher.
His son was sent to rescue you from death and destruction.
His spirit lives within you.
His light shines in the darkness.
His word is a lamp to your feet.
His word is hidden in your heart.
His salvation is by grace.
His love is everlasting.
His name is above every name.
His name is ADONAI.
and you are…

His friend.

I’ve found that splinters of enlightenment have been coming to me at strange moments lately- insights revealed in supermarket aisles, thoughts puncturing that hazy time between sleep and reality, moments of clarity marked amidst cans of paint and cleaning solvent.

God does that, though. The more simple and mundane the circumstances, the more clearly His voice seems to shine through. Perhaps it’s because my mind is least cluttered at those times. Or maybe my guard is down just low enough to welcome those moments of submission.

I’ve been thinking about plans lately. Plans of which city I want to visit next. Plans of starting a professional writing career. Weekend plans. Five year plans. Floor plans of a new apartment. Plans of growing up.

The book of Proverbs talks all about making plans. It isn’t just about searching our hearts and defining our desires. It’s one step beyond that. Making Godly plans requires a level of commitment. Proverbs 16:3 states, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” A commitment is a vow, a pledge before God, something to be taken seriously. A commitment is letting go and giving our desires and plans to God, knowing that we can’t control them. A commitment is surrender.

The human heart is wily and not to be trusted. We can plan all we want to, but ultimately the Lord’s purpose will prevail (Proverbs 19:21). So how do we even get to the point of recognizing the path that God has established for each of us?

We pray. We seek the character of God. We try to find contentment in knowing that God is more than enough for us. “The purposes of the human heart are deep waters, but those who have insight draw them out” (Proverbs 20:5). God wants to provide us with this insight. He’s waiting for us to trust Him, and look to Him for wisdom and guidance. Once we get to that point, He’ll fill in the rest of the blanks for us.

By human standards, this is almost impossible. I’m the first to tell you that I’m impatient. I’m headstrong. I struggle to discern my own heart at times, to understand which plan will bring God the most glory. I want things to happen in my timing.

But there are three truths that I cling to, a mantra for my life, if you will.
1.    God is in control.
2.    His timing is perfect.
3.    His plan is amazing.

And it’s as simple and complicated as that.

The night time is usually the only time lately that I get a chance to read my Bible. I have been reading and studying the book of John lately. So last night as I was opening my Bible to the chapter of John, I came across a passage from Psalm 55: 22-23 and it read, “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall… As for me, I trust in you.” It spoke to me at that very moment, and soothed my heart and mind as I read it over again.

In this crazy world, it’s so hard to actually find the time to sit down and really dwell on God’s word. We are all so busy with our lives, whether it’s school, relationships, work, or anything else. We are constantly on the move, and I find that the busier I get and the less time I have to sit down and just spend one-on-one time with God, the crazier my life seems to become. In time with Him, I am able to unwind and just be myself, to talk to Him, to spend time in prayer. To spend time in the Word is perhaps one of the things that helps calm my heart the most. Every time I sit down to read, I first bow my head and pray that God would help illustrate to me His Word, to unfold what it is that he wants my heart to learn and share with others. And sure enough, I always end up reading something that is completely relevant to whatever is on my heart (or someone else’s) at that time. The Bible is the greatest tool for learning and also dealing with every situation that we may come to. It is all we ever need to know for this life on Earth… I like to think of it as a “Guide to Life for Dummies” type of thing.

Also, I’ve always been one of those people who likes quotes. You know, the kind that as pre-teens we used to put on our AOL or MSN profiles (and now maybe even Facebook?) that are somehow supposed to explain to the world what it is we’re going through without exactly saying it. Like the “don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened” type of thing. The thing about those quotes were (at least to me) that they made me feel better, like I wasn’t the only one who was going through a tough situation. Maybe they gave a sense of empowerment, who knows? I was looking at the WRONG quotes, though!!! You want to read real words from God himself of comfort and joy, of hope and encouragement? Open your Bible, my friend!!

From reading the Bible, I find the strength and courage to get through my every day, and to help others along the way. I look at my life, and have the desire to model it after the Lord, in all aspects of it. My family, relationships, job, school, etc… are all possible categories to be modeled after how Jesus lived His life, and I am working on that every day. I find that when I don’t spend time in the Word, when I don’t get my daily time with the Lord, things seem to just unravel. But when He is first, before all things, everything just seems to fall into place. One thing that always touches me is the fact that He already knows what is on my heart. It’s not like I have to tell Him or else he won’t… He knows my heart through and through. What a comfort! A verse from John that stands out to me comes from chapter 10, verse 10: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” Amen! Through following God, I find that is the only way I am able to live my life to the full… The only way to live, really.

I wanted to give you a peek into what God is doing in the hearts of the Young Adults in our 24/7 prayer room…

“Let FORTY be the beginning of something, God, not the thing in entirety. Help me to stay focused on You and Your will for the Body, not my own. Give me unrest for the day until I’ve delved into Your holy love better. Let me fall, God- make me fall. I know You’ll catch me. Protect me from the enemy, God. Don’t let Him deter me from running this race for You. I see You at the finish line. I see Your smile.”

“Make me a vessel for dispensing your love. Let your light shine through me to a darkened world. Make me a radical. Forgive my pride about what others may think. Let me evangelize unabashedly, pray unceasingly, love unreservedly.”

“I am broken by all of this… God, teach us to truly love, worship, and depend on You. I love diving deeply into Your word. You are brilliant and beautiful. I love you so much!”

“Lord, I weep as I read the good and the bad that have been written on these pages. I pray for all of these people. For those who have experienced You- that they continue to do so. For those who need You- may they receive. Show them who You are, God. The cries for mercy- may they be answered. For those who need love- may they experience the warmth. Those who have pain- may they feel relief. Lord, reign in all of us! I love You!”

“After we’ve prayed for near 1000 hours straight, done over 40 service projects, expanded Your kingdom, and done Your will, where does that leave us? We can’t go back to “normal” life. The possibilities are endless and scary. Your vision is impossible to see or even understand, but I do know after all of this is said and done, we will not have time for mediocre in our lives anymore.”

Sophomore records can be career defining. Family Force 5 created quite a splash in the pool that is the Christian music world with their debut, a self described crunk rock album, which spawned numerous hits from “Love Addict” to “Kountry Gentlemen.” When vocalist Solomon Olds said they were looking to “blow away” their last record, fans and critics knew such a feat would be a huge accomplishment. Needless to say, “Dance or Die” has a lot of hype surrounding it.

As the frontman himself put it, “Dance or Die” is indeed, as the title suggests, a dance album. However, the amount to which it caters to conventional dance music orthodoxy is minimal. Some songs are fusions of in your face vocals and crunchy guitars (think their debut), while others are more experimental carrying pop and punk overtones, all done over a bedrock of dance beats.

The opening title track blends retro and modern dance elements, borrowing disco sounds from an era past and mixing them with auto-tuned vocals, an experiment that works surprisingly well. “Get Your Back Off The Wall” is done in typical FF5 fashion (think Love Addict and Earthquake), hard hitting, and despite being a tad repetitive, shapes to be a solid track. “Share It with Me” is a stand out track, and will either be loved or hated, as it sounds “boy-bandish,” almost as something on an Nsync record. “The First Time” also brings a slight surprise, as it’s a pop-punk styled song.

Not all songs are as risky. “D-I-E-4-Y-O-U” and “Fever” will remind fans why they fell in love with FF5 in the first place. “Radiator” is one of the strongest points on the record, and possibly one of the most fun rock songs to come around in a while. Highlights include the begging to be sung along to title track, the next Love Addict “Get Your Back Off The Wall,” lead single “Fever,” and the closing “Radiator.”

“Dance or Die” doesn’t stray far from “Business,” only adding a dance tone, and liberal use of the auto-tuner, a device which “smooths” the voice (think T-Paine). While FF5 is indeed a group that can not only pull off, but benefit from this vocal smoother, it makes a few tracks, more noticeably the slower ballads, feel a bit unnatural / overproduced. Also, while their debut offered lyrics which reflected on faith and at times more directly, the Creator (“Love You to Death,” “Face Down,” “Never Let Me Go”) this time around, the theme is overwhelming “dance.”

“Dance or Die” adds to the short list of fun danceable rock songs. If you haven’t liked Family Force 5 to begin with, there’s little here to grab your attention. If you’ve yet to check out FF5, or have been a doubter because of their over the top tactics and stage show, now is your time to give in. It’s dance or die.

Rating: 4 out of 5
Street Date: August 19th, 2008
Label: Tooth and Nail

Track Listing:
1.) Dance or Die
2.) Get Your Back Off The Wall
3.) Rip It Up
4.) How in the World
5.) Fever
6.) Party Foul
7.) D-I-E-4-Y-O-U
8.) Share It with Me
9.) The First Time
10.) Wake the Dead
11.) Radiator

So the other night I was driving home and my thoughts wandered to this one precarious, “morbid” idea: what would my funeral be like if I died?

I’ve had these thoughts before and they’re NOT rooted in any sort of “suicidal; longing to get out of here; I wonder if anyone would miss me and what would people say about me” type of attitude. Actually, weirdly enough, its more like a “what would I say to them; what would I want those whom I love to know; what words of comfort or ‘wisdom’ would I share” type of attitude.

See, when I was in high school I came up with this novel idea to film a video with my parting words, so to say. I still love this idea so much that I actually second guessed myself about sharing this with the mainstream public because I don’t want anyone else to steal my thunder. But that’s just me being honest.

Anyway, the other night as I was thinking about my most brilliant idea and I began to dialogue what it is I might say. I got to this one point where I naturally throughout the cliche of having no regrets. Then I stopped and wondered about the truth of that statement: could I Joe Crabb in some wierd, pseudo last will of testament honestly say that I have lived life with no regrets?

See the problem with that idea is that the word regret seems to carry this heavy weight to it. Nobody wants their eptiaph to read: “He was a man of many regrets and even fewer memories.”

After contemplating this idea little longer I came to the conclusion that I do not have any regrets but I do have things that I wish I would have done, some things that I will never have the opportunity to do again. I cannot say that I have this heavy weight of regret that eats away at my heart, just a few missed opportunities.

But that’s the thing: I feel as though a few missed opportunities could eventually become a bunch of missed opportunities and that in itself is the manifestation of regret.

The heart of this blog is that I wish that people could be and would be more comfortable with who they are and that they would “let their hair down” and have some good, clean, goofy fun. I was at the Rochester Fireworks this year and the best part of the night was when a group of friends and myself were dancing with all of our foolish might in front of the stage enthralled in the music and the absolute enjoyment of that moment. I loved it! I had the biggest grin on my face the whole time because no one cared about anything but dancing around and laughing til our sides hurt.

Too many times we’re too afraid or too uncomfortable or too self conscious to actually enjoy life, to actually engage or even create those moments of pure, lighthearted fun. So let your hair down and have a little fun, don’t let even the little opportunities to enjoy life slip past because they’ll add up and to put it in the words of the Hollywood…

“Every man dies not every man truly lives”

“I don’t want to survive, I want to live!”

and my favorite
“Don’t take life too seriously, you won’t make it out alive.”

You are the innocent if I am the blame
My heart is fire if You are the rain
Me inconsistent, though You are the same
You are the lover—I play the game

What shall I give You?—the words of my tongue?
What’s the hymn’s meaning if it’s only sung?
Jesus, my Jesus, the Glorious One
May You be my all, and I left with none
Be my erosion—wear me away
Teach me to love You and don’t let me stray
God, how I wander, how my heart is gray
God, how I need you, please show me the way

Don’t let me fall—please make me as new
Wear me away until I’m just like you

Counter-culture’s everywhere. From Goth teens and the “I’m not going to conform to society” angst-driven punk culture, to the follower of Christ crew (who intentionally shy away from the label Christian), and the “green” people, there are countless groups who want to claim they don’t “follow the crowd,” or are the true independent thinkers.

May I offer a slightly different form of counter-culture? I love fast food, more specifically McDonalds. I’ve seen Supersize Me, taken two anatomy and physiology courses, and understand nutrition fairly well. Despite my knowledge, I choose otherwise. In fact, I’m sitting in a McDonalds as I’m writing this, having finished up a Family Force 5 CD review, as well as a double cheeseburger, medium fry, and Dr. Pepper.

The element which makes my “counter-culture” unique is that I truly understand the information that counters my choices. Yet I choose to do, or rather eat, what makes me happy. Granted, I’m not endorsing an unhealthy lifestyle of eating McDonald’s (or fast-food) every day. However I am, dare I say it, indulging every once in a while.

So go ahead, wage war against my taste buds with your “fast food is so unhealthy!” rhetoric. But my double cheeseburger cravings may just win the battle.

The Dark Knight is unquestionably great. This is not a novel idea; I don’t think I’m breaking any new ground by saying this. Indeed, I think you’ll find it hard to come across someone who would argue this point — and should you, I wouldn’t entrust them with any heavy machinery, or small children.

Let’s start with the basics: the story is entertaining. Fast paced without being relentless, intelligent without being inscrutable, over-the-top without being ridiculous. It’s dark, it’s thrilling, it’s fun. Also, the Joker.

Heath Ledger’s performance is everything you’ve heard, and probably more. (I don’t know, it depends how much time you spend on superhero fanboy forums.) He steals every scene he’s in, ultimately making off with the whole movie. Don’t get me wrong, if somehow he was removed from the film you’d still have a solid piece of entertainment. But it’s the Joker that’s earning those record-breaking dollars; it’s the Joker that’ll have people talking about this film for years to come. It’s a breakthrough, it’s note-perfect, it’s pretty much all around awesome. It takes a character we’ve always liked and reminds us why.

Beyond that there’s little I can do but point to Batman Begins. If you enjoyed that introductory chapter, you’ll find much of that familiar flavor here. For the sake of oversimplification, let’s say that The Dark Knight is Batman Begins + Joker + dash of special sauce. It’s a recipe for a sequel that likely surpasses the original. It’s a recipe for tasty morsels.

In sum: The Dark Knight joins WALL-E on the best films of the year list. You should go see it if you enjoy incredible character personifications or men wearing capes.

ta-da