    Nutbunnies.     | |
|
Random thoughts, musings, and things I find funny. BLOGS, JOURNALS, AND DIARIES.my xangaAACF blog Ben Anna Carise Victor Thomas Cman Amily My old blogpage DropDeadFred Stories Andrew O. Jocelyn Tiffany Branny Megan Andrew W. Vir COOL SITESOrisinalCMCentral CCM Magazine His2Own (h2o) DropDeadFred World 
SCHOOL SITESBerkeleyBearlink Psych 2 Math 54 Math 55 Political Science 118AC History 5 Legal Studies 103
Archives
|
Saturday, July 05, 2003
Surrounded by Your glory What will my heart feel? Will I dance for You, Jesus Or in awe of You be still? Will I stand in Your presence Or to my knees will I fall? Will I sing halellujah? Will I be able to speak at all? I can only imagine (I Can Only Imagine, MercyMe) Such a simple song. Such a pretty song. Such a simple, pretty, Christian song. Can you imagine this song sung as a hymn? Maybe all Christian songs should be sung as hymns. I was driving home with my sister when I heard this song come on the radio. It wasn't a Christian station. I was listening to a secular station, a station that plays "Today's Hit Music" - songs by Christina Aguilera, John Mayer, and the Counting Crows. (It's Star 101.3, for those of you who are wondering.) I wondered why a definitely secular station, would play a definitely Christian song. I heard that song played three times following that day I heard the song while I was driving home. Everytime the station played the song, they would say "That's new music from MercyMe." That's it. End of story. No talk of the rich lyrics. No talk of the pictures of heaven. No talk of the band's Christian affinity. It's just good music. It's today's hit music. With a good melody, who cares about the lyrics? This definitely Christian song may be making ripples through mainstream radio stations across the country, and yet it's message may not be. Americans may be humming the catchy piano hook at the beginning of the song while they are stuck at work, but most likely they won't be giving the lyrics much second thought. Is something wrong with this picture? Nope. I've often talked about various issues of music with friends of mine. How do you feel about Christian artists going mainstream? Does Christian music have a place in secular radio? Can God use genres such as Christian hard rock and Christian rap? Now some may disagree with what I have to say, but I believe God is the creator of all types of music. I believe that in God's eyes, there is no difference in quality between classical music and rap. God loves all types of music, as He is the creator of all. Some people get the idea that perhaps classical music is "God's music." We read about harps and lyres in the Bible, and we believe that this type of music is of a higher quality. Rap, on the other hand, is not mentioned in the Bible. The truth is, we have no idea what music of Biblical times sounded like. We read psalms that David wrote. Yesterday I came across the song of Deborah in the book of Judges. For all we know, David and Deborah could have been Biblical rap artists. Many Christians perceive rap and heavy metal as of "lower quality" because of the often vulgar lyrics. Surely God would not want to use these styles of music as vehicles that spread His good news. But I believe that's exactly what God wants us to do. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all you lands! Despite the negative connotations that "rap" and "rock-n-roll" have in many Christian circles, in many cases, I believe that these are the best and only vehicles that can reach people. How many people do you think would come to know Christ through a Billy Graham crusade if they only sang hymns? Out of the tens of thousands that attend, maybe five or six? Okay, but wait! What if we add hymns with harps and lyres? Two, maybe three? The fact of the matter is, today's teenagers aren't listening to Anne Murray and Bill and Gloria Gaither. Today's teenagers are listening to Linkin Park and Evanesence. Was it Paul who wrote that He became like the poor to reach some of them. He became like the Gentiles to reach some of them. Hudson Taylor dressed like the Chinese that he might reach some of the Chinese for Christ. We need to do the same. We need to use the same vehicles but with a different message. So is it okay that songs like "I Can Only Imagine" are played on mainstream radio because of its catchy tune and not because of it's rich lyrics? Yes. Because perhaps - just maybe - someone might actually listen to the words. Maybe the song will plant a seed. Maybe the person will want to know more. Maybe the person will get saved. And maybe that person would not have gotten saved if all Christian songs were hymns. Just maybe. You're free to dance Forget about your two left feet You're free to sing Any joyful noise is music to Me You're free to love 'Cuz I've given you My love and it's made you free (Free, Ginny Owens) in a scandalous new color, passion pink! -bj
so i've been trying to optimize (defrag) my computer ... it's been at 53% complete for the past four hours ... i'm beginning to think i should stop it ... oh yeah, my auntie leant me a dozen or so books ... mostly books with a lot of courtroom action ... my favorite! AHAHAHA. she wants to lead a glamorous life -bj
I was reading my senior yearbook and I came across a note from Mr. Chang. "... I did sense that you handled all of my classes with ease. In fact, I sensed at times that you were quite impatient with your classmates whenever I had to slow down the pace of my lectures. Apparently, not everyone has your focused discipline nor the luxury of your high brain wattage. I truly enjoyed your ready wit and sincere but not obsequious demeanor. God bless in all of your endeavors. I have no doubt about your future success in whatever projects you pursue." AHAHAHA. High brain wattage. I wish. If only this were true after my first year in college. Perhaps this is why I want school to start so badly. A new major. A new start. Classes that actually sound interesting. I can't wait. wanna be infectious -bj
Friday, July 04, 2003
Happy 4th! Wow. The fourth of July. The birthday of our country. What a privilege it is to live in America. so ... i despise the a's ... the failed to put up just one run ... the wasted mark mulder's brilliant pitching outing ... argh. anyhoo, mark mulder bobble head day next saturday (not tomorrow) ... hopefully i will be there ... ahahaha take me up on a carpet ride -bj
Thursday, July 03, 2003
so the 5th graders were evil today ... ask vir ... she agrees ... i did not know children could be so ... ARGH ... it was so frustrating. all they did was whine, complain, talk back, and not follow instructions ... i just wanted to yell at all of them, but i refrained ... luckily i like my 2nd grade class. they're better behaved. i went bowling with michael and tiffany afterwards ... i've lost my bowling touch ... i blame the 5th graders. i'm your imaginary friend -bj
WOOHOO! dsl is finally available in my area ... the equipment arrives on saturday. yummy. so i've been thinking about this poly sci / legal studies issue. both are areas i think i'm interested in, albeit the legal studies classes sound more interesting to me. however, it would seem that the poly sci major would have a more general base to fall back upon should i choose not to go to law school. hmmm ... anyhoo. i think i've planned out my classes for next semester. it has 3 poly sci classes and 3 legal studies classes. (two of the classes are overlaps between the two. smart, huh?) History 5 (Poly Sci & Legal Studies) Lec Tu Th 8-9:30 Dis M W 9-10 Psych 2 (L&S breadth) Lec MWF 8-9 (Carise, how do they grade you on this class if there's no discussion?) Poly Sci 118AC (Poli Sci & american cultures) Lec Tu Th 3:30-5 Dis Th 9:30-11 Poly Sci 150 (Poly Sci & Legal studies) Lec MW 4-5:30 Dis Th 11-12:30 Legal Studies 107 (Legal Studies) Lec Tu Th 2-3:30 Dis M 11-12 so ... the beauty of it is that i can drop a class if i need ... but i like this schedule, although my thursdays will be a little crowded (8-12:30 and then 2-5), but i'll be done by 9 on friday! ... right now i'm enrolled in poly sci 118AC and poly sci 150. anyone care to join me? :-D i'm not crazy; i'm just a little unwell -bj
Wednesday, July 02, 2003
my poor, rundown body ... ack. i feel so fogey-ish. i went to san ramon to pick up our car, and my head just started pounding. Actually, my head started pounding when i try to manage the rowdy second and third graders in computer class ... ack. i'm running out of candy to buy them off with ... haha ... yeah. to each his own -bj
i have a headache ... taught the kids how to use "my own stories" today ... that kept 'em occupied ... the little kids were monsters, though ... the world keeps spinnin' round -bj
Tuesday, July 01, 2003
today i think i had the worst stomachache EVER! ugh. you have no idea how bad it was ... :-/ today i discovered the best teaching trick EVER! if there is a dispute between two students (say, over who gets which seat), play ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS! the winner gets what he wants. AHAHAHAHA. kids love that game, and they never question once they lose ... i did that twice today! austin cried today ... he's an interesting kid ... he acts like a tough guy, but he's not. he cried because kody took his spot in line when austin went outside. i considered trying my "rock, paper, scissor" tactic, but opted for "hey! do you both want to go to the end of the line? Shooosh!" ... just as effective. Eric Ai is my favorite ... i like him 'cuz he reminds me of myself ... funny, cute, smart, ladies-man ... alright, so maybe i like him 'cuz he's so different from me ... he has a big pile of pencils, though! hahaha ... i like him ... he's really funny. so i'm supposed to go with my dad to pick up our new car tomorrow. the honda pilot. fun stuff. i'm sure you're well aware -bj
Monday, June 30, 2003
i read carise's blog and wanted to comment, but i can't on my computer at home ... maybe it's 'cuz i'm using a mac ... or maybe it's netscape ... (i'm a non-conformist) :-D ... aNyhoo ... i like playing piano in the key of E ... definitely. has anyone ever played a game called daihimi? (spelling?) (pronounced- DIE-HEE-MEE) Oleg taught me ... cool game ... it's like deuces with a caste system. ahahaha ... i'll teach you guys sometime if you haven't played before. let the music play -bj
so yesterday alan fong gave me a copy of the 1AChord cd ... for those of you who don't know, 1AChord is a men's quintent from my church, bay area chinese bible church. the cd is awesome! it's so weird hearing a song that vir and i wrote sung by someone other than ourselves ... they gave our song a slightly country twang ... still pretty cool. they did a good job. ... i'm definitely proud of all the 1AC guys ... i know they worked really hard on their cd ... hopefully they'll record a lot more! VISIT THEIR WEBSITE! 
BUY IT! :-D He knows the way -bj
Sunday, June 29, 2003
oh yeah ... finished the harry poooooooter book yesterday ... i didn't like it as much as the others ... still good though. they killed off one of my favorite characters ... booooooo .... look who's laughing now -bj
|
