Letters from the Desert: August 2006

Top 100 Songs, Second Edition

Just to avoid getting flack from relatives, I thought it was time for another picture of Matthew. This is how he looked when I told him that I was about to post Songs 75-51. He was pretty stoked.
Okay, pretty much only family will remember our story about Matthew's first words being a very sarcastic, "Okay," that surprised the heck out of us. He recently did something reminiscent of that. We were in the car coming back from a college group event at our friends, the Harrises. It was late, and he was very sleepy in the car. All of the sudden we hear him perfectly enunciate, "Oh dear." We laughed so hard. He had no idea what he said, but it was one of those times when the intonations and random syllables lined up. Some of his newest real words/phrases are, "No more," "family," and "sorry."
Here are songs 75-51. And, as Dave pointed out, there is no separation of the sacred and the secular on the list except at one point. There are no "worship songs," a.k.a. songs that were written for the purpose of corporate worship. They are all performance songs. Let me know if these bring back any memories for you.

75. This World (Caedman's Call)
74. Reunion (Collective Soul)
73. Goodbye (Hootie and the Blowfish)
72. Only in Dreams (Weezer)
71. Somebody to Love (Queen)
70. Fall on Me (R.E.M.)
69. Badlands (Bruce Springsteen)
68. Yesterday (Beatles)
67. All I Want is You (U2)
66. I Will Remember You (Sarah McLachlin)
65. The Boxer (Simon and Garfunkle)
64. Kasmir (Led Zepplin)
63. Cryin' (Aerosmith)
62. Don't Cry (Guns n' Roses)
61. Swallowed (Bush)
60. Are You Gonna Go My Way (Lenny Kravitz)
59. Holliday in Spain (Counting Crows)
58. In the Meantime (Spacehog)
57. The Other Side (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
56. Don't Look Back in Anger (Oasis)
55. Scientist (Coldplay)
54. Crowing (Toad the Wet Sprocket)
53. Kryptonite (Three Doors Down)
52. In Your Eyes (Peter Gabriel)
51. Two Princes (Spin Doctors)

What do those have to do with each other?

Later on this week, I'll do songs 75-51. It just felt like I should do a post between now and then. So, I will make this post about 2 things: Darts and 24.
First of all, it has been fun having a dart board and getting to throw with everyone from the college group. A couple of times when I have just been messing around, I have ended up getting some great shots and having to capute it on camera. Here's one of the greatest highlights, so far, of my darts career.

Now, if you want to believe that I just went up to the board and put them there, that is your choice. The truth, though, is that this represents three consecutive throws. Pretty cool.

Now, onto the second issue: 24.

I have been checking around to try to find out what I can about Season 6. The great thing about 24 is that you never know what is a fake leak just to throw us off. So, take these with a grain of salt, but here is what I am reading:

1. Season 6 will NOT feature Jack escaping or being rescued from China. The word is that he is back in LA, that he is changed because of the experience, and that this season will be more about him saving himself than about him saving the world. By the way, did anyone watch the Emmy's last night. Keifer won, and 24 won the ultimate award. The thing that cracked me up, though, was when they were referring to the characters nominated in the best actor category. They said, "An undertaker, a fireman, a detective, a president, and a savior of the world." They were referring to Jack, of course, in the final description. Funny. I guess they had no better way to describe him.

2. Likely, the season will begin not with a terrorist threat, but with a massive and successful terrorist attack. The season will deal with the aftermath, and, I assume, prevention of further carnage.

3. Tony is alive! No, I'm kidding. That's just my personal hope.

4. Jack and Chloe are back for sure, but they are the only 100% certain regulars from previous seasons that will be there for the next season. Curtis most likely will not be back. This doesn't bother me much, as I don't think they have done much with his character. Apparently the Logans will both show up in some capacity, as the shamed former first family (although it sounded as if they were still together, which is impossible to imagine). Buchanan should be back, as should Karen Hayes. Audrey will be around, but maybe in a smaller role instead of in every episode.

5. Chase will be back! No, kidding again. That would be cool.

6. Big shocker, and don't know if it's true. The word is that Wayne Palmer will be president. This makes me stoked and nervous. I don't know how this could take place. I had assumed that Heller would be president. Some think he will be, but the prevailing word is Wayne, and that his sister (new character) will be involved in the season. Hopefully she is not a new Sherry (or maybe it would be cool if she was).

7. Chloe's ex-husband, Morris O'Brien will be back. Seriously, that is the word.

Okay, half of you probably don't care about any of this, but I know that many of you do. Anyway, have a great day.

Dan's Top 100 Songs, First Edition

Notes about this list:
A) This is not a popularity poll. It is my 100 favorite.
B) If you see a band like U2, Third Day, Toad, or Counting Crows in this first installment, just realize that this is not my rating for this band. Better songs from those bands will show up higher on the list.
C) Many of my favorites from bands that I really follow will not necesarily be their biggest hits.
D) There will be some pretty random variety, but not as much as some people (Dave Mc.)
E) No, David K., these will not just be 100 Toad songs.
F) Let me know if any of these songs are ones that you love also (or also let me know if you hate them)

100. Fields of God (Sting)
99. Show Me Your Glory (Third Day)
98. Never Let You Go (Third Eye Blind)
97. Knocking on Heaven's Door (Bob Dylan)
96. Dissident (Pearl Jam)
95. Near You Always (Jewel)
94. All Things in Time (Toad the Wet Sprocket)
93. Africa (Toto)
92. Half a World Away (R.E.M.)
91. Penny Lane (The Beatles)
90. Keep on Rocking in the Free World (Neil Young)
89. Hunger Strike (Temple of the Dog)
88. Bridge over Troubled Water (Simon and Garfunkle)
87. Disarm (Smashing Pumpkins)
86. I Won't Back Down (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)
85. Running to Stand Still (U2)
84. Long as I Can See the Light (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
83. Fell on Black Days (Soundgarden)
82. Strong Enough (Sheryl Crow)
81. Mrs. Potter's Lullaby (Counting Crows)
80. Great Light of the World (Bebo Norman)
79. Landslide (Fleetwood Mac)
78. Higher (Creed)
77. I've Always Loved You (Third Day)
76. Wonderful Now (Everclear)

Take Me to the Car-Car

Matthew and I have a new activity that we do together. When we used to go into the front yard to play (a frequent occurrence when I have just returned from work) he and I used to sit on the trunk of my car and just watch things happen. A couple of weeks ago, while we were doing this, he wanted to climb around on the car. I have surf racks (thanks to my brother), and so this seemed to me like a good idea.

He is a pretty good climber, and, for the most part, aware of his own body, so he has not made any bad moves to this point. One neighbor, however, said that she looked out her window and saw me letting him climb around, and that she had to look away because it made her nervous. She said it in a good-natured way, though. Karina likes to say that God gives mothers to boys so that they stay alive, and that He gives fathers to boys so that they won't be wusses.

I know this picture looks perilous, but it was all under control. Really, it was.

The greatest part about this new activity is that Matthew likes to use the back windshield as a slide. He says, "Weee," and slides on down. It doesn't go too fast, but he seems to enjoy it.

So, I mentioned a while ago the whole Top 100 Songs of all-time that my friend Dave did. I have finished my own list. What can I say? I like that kind of stuff. First installment of 100-76 is coming later on this week. Give me comments on memories, or whether you love or hate the songs that I have picked.

Toad the Wet Sprocket

Monday night, I went to a concert for one of my all-time favorite bands, Toad the Wet Sprocket. Or, as most college students I tell about the concert call them, "Who?" If you don't know them, Toad was a big rock band in the early to mid '90's. They broke up in late 1997, and this is the first time that they have toured together since. They had hits like "All I Want," "Something's Always Wrong," "Come Down," and "Walk on the Ocean." By the way, they did all of those songs. My only disappointment with the Counting Crows concert a couple of months ago was that they did not play long enough. That was not the case with Toad. They did 17 Toad songs, and then Glen Philips, the lead singer, did some from his solo album. Here are some pics:

Yes, college students, this band does exist. I didn't make it up.

Here's Dave and I waiting for the band to come on.

Here's a pic of Glen, the lead singer.

Here's the best pic I could get of the whole band.

Toad has great songs that really connect with me. They even have a song about the Apostle Paul's conversion called "Fly From Heaven." It's one of my absolute favorite songs of all time. It was a great experience, and Toad was probably the only band that I had never seen that I had still really wanted to see.
Dave told me on the trip that he has made up a list of his top 100 songs of all-time. I thought that was a great idea. I am now going to start working on mine. I may give it in installments. And you can bet that Toad will have serious representation on that list.

When I was on vacation, my mom gave me all kinds of things from my childhood. Here is a book I wrote when I was six years old. It is called "The Not Fast Head."

There ones wa a dog. He was verey fast. His head was not.

Picture of the dog with the not-fast-head.

When he was running from a ghost he was fast, but his head was not.

The dog running from the ghost.

One day he went to a horse. He has been running away from a cow.

When he saw the horse he was scared. He always is.

The dog running from the horse.

He ran and he ran, but his head was not fast. He was verey scared.

The dog's head lagging behind.

After he got away from the horse, he bumped into a bull. He got into trouble again. Oh no.

The dog and the bull.

He did not run. He jumped. He saw a tree. He got it.

The dog after climbing the tree.

He was happy.

Picture of the dog with the Not-Fast-Head in the tree with the enemies not able to get him.

Thanks for reading.

A Lost Art

So, the other night I was praying through what I could do to enliver my heart more toward Christ. I know that, a lot of the time, I will feel that I am distant from God, think about how I need to get more disciplined, and then write it off because I know that my relationship with God is about desire and not just discipline and duty.
Here's the thing: My desires are not rightly disciplined. Last year I was part of a guys group that read through Dallas Willard's Spirit of the Disciplines. His premise is that the Christian disciplines (reading the Bible, praying, fasting, contemplation, memorization, service) are present as tools for us to discipline our bodies and make them our servants (1 Corinthians 9:24-27). The disciplines are not the end in and of themselves (a point that most in our Christian culture seem to understand all too well), but it is unrealistic (and unbiblical) of us to believe that we can truly live like Jesus without making a conscious decision to present our bodies and minds to Him. Paul says in Romans 6:12-13:

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

I think there is a lot to be said for presenting ourselves to God, on a daily basis, through what we call the disciplines.
Anyway, all that is introductory to what I am really excited about. One of the things I felt led to do was to do some memorization. I just started memorizing John 15 yesterday, and it has been so rich to have the Scripture in my head, and to wrestle through it, and to pray through it.
I know that some of us are more inclined toward memorization than others, but I refuse to believe that we are not all capable of it at some level. This "lost art" has been so rich for me. I encourage everyone to consider how God might use the memorization of key passages in your own lives.
Just for fun, I'll do my best to write out from memory what I have memorized so far:

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch in Me that bears fruit, He prunes so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, so I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and your joy may be made full.