I stumbled upon Owl City long after many many people.  In fact, I hadn't even heard the mega popular "Fireflies" until it was a free download from iTunes (thanks again, iTunes).  So I'm not too familiar with his older stuff.  I did get a chance to listen to some of it, and I liked it, but his first full length with giant label Universal Records far surpasses his previous material.  Ocean Eyes was one of my favorite albums of 2009, which is both completely understandable and a little weird at the same time.  Understandable because it's a brilliant and beautifully-constructed album.  Weird because it's a little poppier than what I usually like - take "Dental Care" for instance (not to mention I'm not used to liking bands that millions of people love).  But Adam Young definitely knows what he's doing when it comes to turning his thoughts, feelings and self-proclaimed insomnia into songs that turn out dreamy, magical and joyful.  He even acknowledges his Savior in a couple songs (worshipfully in "Meteor Shower" and saying he's "found a new hope from above" in "Tidal Wave," which also features Relient K vocalist Matt Thiessen).  Pop fans will absolutely fall in love with this, but it's also good for people looking for musical creativity and quality. ~ Scott Fryberger

Owl City
Ocean Eyes (2009)

Click here for a JFH Staff Review.

Our synopsis: "Intelligent, thoughtful and quirky electropop to brighten your day." (Recommended by JFH's Scott Fryberger)
Perfect For: Love, hope, sing-a-longs
Song Highlights: The entire album is pure gold

So, what are your thoughts on and experiences with the album Ocean Eyes? Do you recommend it? If so, why?

"You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you're still one body. It's exactly the same with Christ. By means of his one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything." - I COR 12:12-13 (MSG)

ME IN MOTION "NOTHING AND EVERYTHING" TOUR BLOG 14:
Foxes Have Holes

I’m sitting in the Hallway of the Days Inn in Las Vegas, New Mexico.  This is the only place my computer can pick up wifi.  Tomorrow’s show in Dodge City was cancelled as of an hour ago due to crazy snow and terrible roads.  The guy at the front desk asked me, “So where are you guys from?”  This is a question we get a lot on the road.  Every time someone asks, my brain sort of hesitates and I don’t know what to say.   The three of us in the band moved to Nashville last summer, but we’re not ‘from’ Nashville. (Is anybody? ) I’ve always said- “Wherever you learned to ride a bike- that’s where you’re from.”  I grew up in Kansas,  Seth in Ohio and Tim in California. That's where we're from.  We’ve all lived in several different places throughout our lives and sometimes I have to really think before I answer that question.   It’s pretty crazy to think that we all somehow crossed paths, ended up playing together, and now live in the same city.  I know where I’m from, and it will always be home, but with all this traveling, I can’t help but feel like a wanderer.

            I’ve been reading a lot in the book of Matthew lately,  and this question of origin brought a verse to mind.  In Chapter 8, a teacher of the law says to Jesus,  “Teacher,  I will follow you wherever you go.”  Jesus replies, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests,  but the son of man has no place to lay his head.”  When Jesus started his ministry,  he was sort of a wanderer too.  He traveled from town to town healing the sick, teaching and even raising the dead.  Jesus had a hometown.  He grew up with family and friends just like you and me.  He knew that his time on earth was limited however, and that the real kingdom was at hand.  He spent the last 3 years of his life on the move passionately telling people about an eternal place and an everlasting life.  I’m comforted when I feel homesick because I know that God can relate to that feeling.  He knows what it is like to have no home, but he also has a hope to hold onto.  There will be room in a big house for each of us who come to follow him.   A place where there will be no pain, tears, or that feeling of homesickness. 

            J.R.R. Tolkien said “Not all those who wander are lost”.   A friend of mine said he was planning on getting that quote tatooed on his body.  It’s a great reminder of our true home.   I have a tattoo.  It's a map of the United States on my right arm.  I’ve filled in the states where I have lived.  So far I have 5 states filled in, but I still need to have Tennessee colored in.  Maybe you don’t feel like me.   Maybe you don’t feel like a wanderer.  Maybe you feel stagnant where you are.  Whatever the case,  remember that Jesus was on the move for a purpose.  My question to you, fellow wanderer…and to those staying put:  Do you have a purpose?  Do you have a reason for what you’re pursuing?  You don’t have to be lost.  You don’t have to feel alone.  There is a kingdom that is coming.  There is a place that will be our true home. 

 ;) dexter

ME IN MOTION "NOTHING AND EVERYTHING" TOUR BLOG 12:
Discomfort Inn

The last show was in Phoenix, AZ at “Castles and Coasters”.   They do a festival here every year called “Rage Fest”.  I really love coming to Arizona,  and especially in January.   It’s always like a bit of a reunion when we play this festival.  So many bands that we know through touring end up here on the same day.  It’s kinda like a family reunion.   After another all night drive through some crazy hills/mountains we made it.  Played for a great crowd and got a chance to meet some great people in the air 1 lounge. 

After our 11am show we grabbed some lunch and decided we should probably catch a few hours of rest at the hotel.  We grabbed the keys which said ‘comfort inn’,  punched it into the GPS and were off.  The trip there was a mere 10 minutes but I was out cold.  When we arrived, I forced myself to wake up,  grab my suitcase and haul it up the stairs to the second level.  “Room 275, “ says Josh,  our road manager.  In my sleepy state I’m a bit unaware of how long we’ve been walking and I start to realize that we’re having a hard time finding the room.   The Hotel is basically in the shape of a giant circle.  Josh says, “you guys go that way and we’ll go this way….surely one of us will find the room.”  As I pass the corner, I ask one of the maids where room 275 is.  She points.  I drudge along.  Well,  we finally met up with the other guys and none of us were able to locate this room.  In a moment of epiphany we finally check the address and discover that we are indeed at the wrong comfort inn.  Ughhhh…. Back to the van,  down the road a bit more, and finally to the right destination. 

In this small moment of ignorance I was reminded that we do this to God.  He is with us everyday showing us things through our everyday lives and, like that hotel address,  we overlook him.  Let’s try not to be like some of the people Jesus talked about.  They only believed in Him after seeing a miracle.  We can see God working if we just open our eyes!  He is at work around us all the time.  

 dexter

Superchick is one of those bands that some people can’t get enough of, while others despise them.  For me, they may be more of a guilty pleasure.  I still pop in their debut Karaoke Superstars occasionally, as it’s one of the first Christian CDs I really ever listened to extensively.  I won’t contest that there aren’t visible flaws in their debut, but for the most part, Superchick set a new standard for Christian “chick-rock” with its release.  Their sophomore record Last One Picked was a major improvement, but my favorite record by the band is probably Beauty From Pain.  Whether it’s really their best record is up for debate, but I believe this is where Superchick really peaked with their sound and innovation.  With the energetic “Anthem”, the held-back title track, and the encouraging “We Live”, there’s plenty of variety to be found, but we also aren’t spared the troubled relationship songs like “Bowling Ball” and “Wishes”.  In hindsight, the market has upped the ante significantly since this release with other, more well-rounded, female-fronted rock acts taking the limelight (Fireflight and Flyleaf being prime examples), as well as Superchick’s disappointing follow-up album Rock What You Got that has to be accounted for, but Beauty From Pain is an undeniably fun and catchy record, and it captures the musical heights Superchick had reached.  If you haven’t yet, give it a listen! - Roger Gelwicks

Superchick
Beauty From Pain (2005)

Click here for a JFH Staff Review.

Our synopsis: " The peak of this garage band’s career, it’s a guilty pleasure that keeps on giving." (Recommended by JFH's Roger Gelwicks)
Perfect For: Fun, relationships, encouragement
Song Highlights: " Anthem”, “Pure”, “Beauty From Pain”, “We Live”

So, what are your thoughts on and experiences with the album Beauty From Pain? Do you recommend it? If so, why?

Seth here. Sitting here next to a guinea pig. I took a picture of him. His name is Bill. I just named him that. Look at his picture. Isn't he cute?

We just finished playing a killer show in Las Vegas. Night 11 of the Nothing and Everything Tour. Probably the best crowd so far! Nothing like 600 people screaming along with "Losers".  :) Also, I should mention that this town has the world's biggest In & Out Burger, which Me in Motion highly recommends to anybody and everybody.

So before we went onstage, we discovered that Bill lives in our dressing room. He has a little cage with a large paper towel tube to go inside and hide in, a bowl of delicious-looking rodent treats,  a water dispenser and some sawdust for his bed. Must be a pretty simple life! Some days, I find myself wishing that my life was low-key, like Bill's. No drama, no worries, no stress. Just eating, walking around, and sleeping. He has about the safest life I could imagine. Until of course, our road manager, Josh went and picked him up and put him inside this little clear plastic ball for him to roll around on the ground in. He was definitely was scared out of his mind, if he has one. I wish for this story's sake, I could say that he overcame his fear of being outside the cage, and rolled all the way out the door, down the hallway, outside, and escaped out into the great outdoors where he could live truly free!!

But no, he sat there, even when we tried to roll him around. He was totally sold on only living his little rodent life in the cage, and that must be good enough for him!

This whole thing reminded me of a new song that we wrote called "The God I Know", which is coming out on our new record in March. It talks about how living a Christian life is a life modeled after Jesus, who lived any way but safe and secure. He hung out with the lowest of the low, walked the slums with the losers, turned the tables in the temple, and proved His radical love for us on a cross. 

I know sometimes it's easy to be content staying in our little bubbles that we so often retreat to, just like the little guinea pig in his cage, ignoring the world outside. But this isn't how we were created to live. We were made to live radical lives, like Jesus. Not just for the sake of "shock factor", but for the sake of showing true love, Jesus' love to people who don't deserve it, and who does after all?

Read this verse I found, which I think is an amazing example of this life that we are called to live, a life that goes the opposite way of the world. Let these words inspire us to think deeper about the kind of life we're living right now. :)

Be sure to welcome strangers into your home. By doing this, some people have welcomed angels as guests, without even knowing it. Hebrews 13:2

ME IN MOTION "NOTHING AND EVERYTHING" TOUR BLOG 10:
The Tire Of Terror

Where do I even begin? Earlier this week we played in Abliene, TX and then had a 2 day drive to Monterrey, CA. Those 2 days were some of the most exhausting, ridiculous, and dangerous 2 days of my life. It all started about 30 min into the drive. We were passsing through the town of Sweetwater when it happened. I was behind the steering wheel as we approached a slight hill. In the distance I began to see what looked like a small piece of shredded tire flopping down the road. “No big deal, “ I thought. “Truckers blow tires all the time.” We might roll over a small chunk but we’ll be fine. The closer we got to the mysterious debris I realized that this “small chunk” was bigger than I first calculated. I soon came to the conclusion that this was indeed a completely entact semi tire,  and at 65 MPH I started to worry about it hitting us.  I clearly remember weighing the various options I had to possibly dodge the tire. I had a good 20 seconds to process what was about to happen. About 2 seconds prior to impact I saw this beast of a tire hit the pavement and bounce nearly twenty feet in the air. It was fully inflated. It was still mounted on the metal rim. Sam, one of the production crew guys was sitting shotgun. He told me later that I looked over at him and said in very matter-of-fact-tone, “We’re gonna hit that tire.” All I could do was brake. I pressed both feet down firmly on the pedal and we fish tailed a bit. I turned my head away as I squeezed the steering wheel but It was inevitable. The tire whizzed past me but continued to scrape along the back side of our beloved van. Then it immediately smashed into the front of our twenty six foot trailer. That familiar crunching sound followed. It was quick and loud and reminded me of an aluminium can folding beneath my foot in slow motion. I thought It was over as we slowed and pulled over. I could feel the rumble strips beneath me as I watched in awe as the out of control tire continued it’s path of destruction. It lunged forward into the ditch to our left. Then, rolling along the curved earth it launched itself one last time, bounced right next to us, and flung itself completely over the roof of the van. We were at a dead stop as we watched it roll into a Wendy’s parking lot.

            Suprisingly,  The van and trailer were both completely drivable.  I called 911 and police were there in an instant.  A police report was filed and the state trooper informed me that the driver responsible lost another tire,  which hit another vehicle and a building.   No one was hurt at all.  We were back on the road within half an hour.  Over the next 48 hours we were faced with obsticle after obsticle as we pressed on toward California.   A blown trailer tire with no jack left us stranded for a couple hours,  The tow truck man refused to help us due to fine print restrictions from his boss.  I had to pay him cash on the barrell,  and he was convinced. We almost ran out of gas,  and when we finally found a station-the pumps were all closed.  Later down the road the van started sputtering and we all had accepted the fact that we just weren’t going to make it.  Miracolously,  the van felt better after a short break and we arrived in Monterry, California on time for load-in.  I even got to see wild sea lions on the beach.  I have no doubt in my mind that God has been wathcing out for us.  He’s kept us alive more times than I can remember,  and at times I’m speechless.  Please keep us in your prayers as we continue the Nothing and Everything tour.  Don’t forget that God is on your side.  He’s watching out for you too.  Cry to him when you are in need,  and thank him when you are safe.  

 dexter

10 "Be still, and know that I am God;
       I will be exalted among the nations,
       I will be exalted in the earth."

 11 The LORD Almighty is with us;
       the God of Jacob is our fortress.
       Selah

(Psalm 46:10-11)

Just take a moment right now to breathe, wherever you are. Forget about whatever happened in your life today, this week, this month, and just focus on God. Be reminded that no matter where you are, we have a God who can be our strength, a place to run, a "fortress" like the Word says. I encourage you, just like I needed to today, take a much-needed break, and just listen. :)

ME IN MOTION "NOTHING AND EVERYTHING" TOUR BLOG 8:
Just Stuff

 On the road,  it seems like something is always broken.  Today it was a headlight in our van, tomorrow maybe tim’s amp will blow up or my cymbals will crack.  Who knows?  Something will be broken,  that’s for sure.   Practically everyday I’m  frantically searching for the duct tape. Sometimes we fix things the right way,  like the other day we took the van to the shop to have new brake pads put on,  but lots of times our methods are…well primitive,  to say the least.

            Thinking about all these broken things,  I noticed some rust on the hardware on one of my drums.  I remembered that verse in Matthew chapter 6 that tells about how moth and rust destroy,  and that thieves break in and steal things.  I was talking with Matt Jameson,  the drummer for The Wedding.  Last week their van was broken into and all of their backpacks were stolen.  In a matter of minutes all their laptops,  ipods,  etc were gone.  I would have been pretty upset if that would have happened to me.  Matt seemed pretty cool about the whole situation as he was telling me that it really is “just stuff.”  As we talked a bit more he said that nothing is really ours to begin with.  All the things we own actually belong to God and he can freely give or take them away.  

            My computer is pretty rickety.  It’s been dropped way too many times.  I’ve gone through 3 hard drives,  and the battery is held in place by,  you guesed it,  duct tape.   The more I thought about all of this,  I started to realize what a grip things can have on us.  I honestly feel like I NEED my laptop,  and to some extent it’s true.  But If all I’m investing in this life are things.  something is definitely wrong.   Let’s not forget that people are what really matter,  things can always be replaced. 

dexter

LIVE PICTURE FROM OUR SHOW TONITE AT THE BELCHER CENTER (LONGVIEW, TX)

ME IN MOTION "NOTHING AND EVERYTHING" TOUR BLOG 6:
Winnie

 I got a call from my dad yesterday as we were driving through Texas.  He told me that earlier that afternoon he finally decided to put our family dog, Winnie, to sleep.  She was getting really old and my parents had been talking about it for a while.  Every time it came up in conversation, I successfully convinced them to put it off a little bit longer.  But as her breathing became increasingly labored, they finally made the decision to put her down. 

I remember the day we got her.  It was probably over 15 years ago.  I think I was in the 5^th grade.  We picked her up after church one Sunday from  a family who was giving away puppies.  She was a good dog.  Not too big, not too small.  She was jet black with pointy little wolf-like ears that always perked up when somebody walked through the front door.  She was half chow and reminded me of white fang,  or maybe ‘black fang’ diligently pulling her sled across the snowy tundra. To be honest with you. I always thought people who got emotional over the death of a pet were a little cookoo, but as I started thinking about the next visit home to a house without Winnie, I could feel the sadness start to rise in my throat. 

 I know most of you reading this never met my dog.  She doesn’t really mean anything to you.  To those of you who did know her, you know that she meant a lot to my family,  but especially my dad.  She was his dog.  She always followed him around,  she would choose his feet to curl up next to by the couch.  He took her on walks,  gave her “treats” and sometimes he would let her hop in the back seat of the little green mazda for a drive around town.  She was smart,  obedient,  and always there when we needed a companion.   I think it’s going to be especially hard for my parents since my sister and I each got married this past summer and their house will be left even more empty.

 I was reminded of a passage in the new testament as I thought about Winnie.  Matthew 10:29 says “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.”   God knows about every little detail in our lives.  The Bible also tells us that the very hairs of our head are all numbered. For me that’s easy- zero.  ;)  Jesus also compares God’s love to a shepard who left 99 to find the 1 that was lost.  Don’t forget that no matter how small or minute you may think your problems are, he is aware, and he cares.  Just as he cares for my dog,  and my family as we all will miss her,  he cares for you and knows your pain.

ME IN MOTION "NOTHING AND EVERYTHING" TOUR BLOG 4:
Good News

 Good news can be big.  Good news can be small. 

      Big: A few months ago a friend of mine thought she found a lump and was scared it was cancer.  She immediately went to the doctor to have the proper tests done.  They told her they needed a few days to process the tests and they would call her and let her know. You know how the saying goes “no news is good news,” but after a few days and no call we all started to worry.   She couldn’t take her mind off the possibility of haaving cancer.  She couldn’t sleep,  couldn’t eat and just couldn’t take her mind off it.  When the phone finally rang the news was big and the news was good!  The doctors said it was just a calcium deposit and that she had nothing to worry about.  She had a party that night and everyone celebrated.

Small:  late last night as we went to bed at our hotel we all set our alarms for 6:30 am. In the middle of the night it dawned on me that the load-in time might be later for todays show.  I quickly booted up my computer to double check.  Sure enough my little inkling was right.  I decided not to wake the guys and tell them right away.  When the first alarm went off at 6 I could hear their groans.  I spoke up and said, “Today is a late load in guys-we don’t have to leave until 8:30!”  The reactions were of sweet relief.  2 more precious hours of sleep.  Perfect.  The news was small,  but the news was good. 

In Luke 15 we read of some good news:  “suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp,  sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it,  she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents"

            Some people call the Bible the ‘good book.’  The message of that gospel is the biggest good news we could ever hear.  Maybe you got some good news today.  Maybe you got some bad news.  Let’s not forget that in the midst of  all the news we hear that the message of Jesus is the best news we could ever hear.  

dexter

ME IN MOTION "NOTHING AND EVERYTHING" TOUR BLOG 2:
COPY OF A COPY

Just finished playing at a place called “The Door” in Dallas, TX.  It’s Friday night and today was definitely a better day.  Everything seemed to go a little bit smoother and I think I can credit that to a good night’s sleep.  We made it here safely,  in one piece,  and with all of our tires.  Speaking of tires,  in the midst of changing our flat last night I somehow managed to lose my van key in the darkness alongside I-40.  Not that big of a deal except that we all have this bad habit of losing our keys.  Mine was the only original left,  tim and seth both have copies.  I got annoyed pretty quickly asking to borrow someone's key,  so this afternoon I decided to venture off to get my own copy made. 

I used our GPS to locate the nearest hardware store and called ahead to ask if they had one of those key duplicating machines.  The woman on the other end of the line cheerfully replied,  “yes we do!” 

I said,  “great,  I just wanted to check before I drove there.”  Upon entering the hardware store I immediately knew something was wrong.  This didn’t look like most hardware stores I had been in before.  This store  looked like a cabinet store.  It was very nice but it appeared as if the only thing they sold were cabinets.  I met the cheerful lady from the phone at the counter and sheepishly told her I was the ‘key’ guy.  She asked me what kind of key it was and I pulled Seth’s copy from my pocket to show her.

 “Oh,” she said in a less than cheerful tone.  “We don’t copy car keys.” Bummer.  Well a bit more driving around Dallas and I finally found a real hardware store and got my own copy-of-a copy key to our van.  

The problem  with copies of copies is that they usually don’t work as good as the original.  They also don’t work as good as the copy.  So everytime my new key doesn’t work I’m reminded through my frustration that I do the same thing in my spiritual walk.  When I’m following Jesus and using his life as a reference point I have a better grasp on what a Christian should be.  When I follow people that I admire or look up to they sometimes fail me because they are more-or-less copies.  It’s great to have people in our lives to look up to,  whether that is a friend,  favorite band,  parent,  or even a pastor. But people are always going to let us down.  Let’s instead try our best to copy Jesus first and foremost.  He is the one we should model our lives after.  He showed us a perfect and selfless life.  Let’s keep our eyes on Him because you and I both know that a copy-of-a copy isn’t as good as the original.

;) dexter

 

Well hello friends. It's Seth here from Me in Motion. Just writing you from cold and cloudy Fort Smith, AR, chillin in the Fort Smith Event Center where the first tour date of the Nothing and Everything Tour with Red and Pillar kicks off tonite! We're super excited to be a part of this awesome team of great bands, and geniune people.

 

I titled this first blog, "Tour is definetely here", as we were reminded last night as we left Nashville at midnite, only to make it a half an hour down the road and have our brakes go out in our 26 foot trailer! (see picture below) If you know anything about touring and vans, this is a really bad thing! So we found ourselves standing in a gas station parking lot at 1 am, 18 degrees outside, pulling every fuse out of the van to see if it could be a blown fuse. No luck. We then proceeded to check the wiring on the back of the van. One sign of a problem, the wiring assembly had completely ripped off the back of the van, but was all still intact! So we then look at another wire, which we realized had been previously dragged on the ground, and covered with a mass of gaff tape! "There is our problem!" we all say. So begins, cutting the wire, stripping it all apart, and rewiring it all back together, to find ourselves back in a warm van at 2:30 am. This reminded me, tour is definetely here!

 

But that's not all! 6 am comes, and we find ourselves with a shredded trailer tire (see picture below), and no jack capable of lifting the beast of a trailer that we have (still accepting ideas for names, Bessy, Free Willy, etc?).

So we use our band ingenuity and decide to drive our trailer up onto some wood blocks, to find ourselves successfully changing the tire out, and getting back on the dusty trail by 7 am. Tour is definetely here!

 

And finally, 2 and a half hours late, we pull into the venue, and celebrate actually making it to the first show, and thanking God for getting us all there in one piece, and then setup went smoothly! (see picture below)

 

In moments like we faced last night, I was reminded of one of my favorite verses, which I'm sure a lot of you have heard, Philippians 4:13:

"I can do everything through Him who gives me strength."

 

We found ourselves last night arriving on the realization of "Tour is definetely here", and that when we encounter all the difficulties the road has to offer, that we are only going to reach our fullest through living a life for Christ, and knowing that we will only be let down if we try any other way. I'll take it a step further for all of you and say that once we realize that life isn't always easy, in fact, a lot of the time, it's not, we need to be reminded of that verse, and find that once we're living as we're created to, that we will find, "Life is definitely here", we just need to reach out and take it. :)

 

Our 26 foot trailer

 

Blown tire

At the venue

I'm going old school once again this week. Some of the younger Christian music fans probably have never even heard of Bride, but in the early 90's, the band was one of your best sources for metal music. With a beautiful wail from lead vocalist Dale Thompson that could shatter the windows of a Dunkin Donuts two towns over (OK, maybe that's an exaggeration), Bride delivered some incredible live performances (stay to the very end of that video) as well as some fantastic songs. While it's a little tough to choose an album to recommend first, the band's most popular record was undoubtedly their 1992 release Snakes in the Playground, and for good reason. Metallica fans may take to their 1994 release Scarecrow Messiah, but Snakes... kind of had a little bit of everything - without a bad track in the bunch. From a couple power ballads that ought to make John Cooper smile, to some serious rockers like "Would You Die For Me" and "Dust Through A Fan," Snakes... is a solid and memorable 90's metal album. - John DiBiase (JFH President/Editor)

Bride
Snakes In The Playground (1992)

Click here for a JFH Staff Review.

Our synopsis: "One of the best metal albums of the 90's that should still appease fans of the genre today, Bride's Snakes in the Playground is a modern classic." (Recommended by JFH's John DiBiase)
Perfect For: Bold faith, Spiritual Encouragement
Song Highlights: "Rattlesnake," "Would You Die For Me," "Dust Through A Fan," "I Miss The Rain," "Love Money," "Goodbye"

So, what are your thoughts on and experiences with the album Hello Hurricane? Do you recommend it? If so, why?

This Friday marks the beginning of a new year - 2010. As we get ready to ring in a new year (and a new decade!), let's look back over the past year of music for 2009.

Recently, the JFH staff announced their personal Top 10 Christian albums of 2009 . So with our sharing of our top 10 lists, it seems only fair for you all to get a chance to list your Top 10 Favorite Christian Albums that were released between this year in 2009 too! Without explanations for each one, feel free to list your Top 10 in the comment field below and share with everyone which records YOU would pick as your Top 10 of the past decade! Just list them as Artist, Album and (year). Like this:

1. Jars Of Clay - "The Long Fall Back To Earth"

Remember -- this is for 2009 Christian market releases only... this is not the blog of your picks for the past decade. :)

Cool? Happy listing!

~ JFH

Christmas has always been a huge holiday for me and my family. Even  before I was a believer, my family made a big deal out of the holiday. Christmas has always been the time for us to shower a loved one with gifts. Ha - even if that meant going into debt to do it (which I later found out, was usually the case too)! And as a Christian, it's been difficult to consider conducting Christmas any other way. But it's still easy, in the hustle and bustle of the season, to forget the original purpose and intentions of Christmas. The devotional I read today was a nice reminder of Jesus' birth in Luke chapter 2, and it's quiet times like that that are helpful in refocusing our thoughts and hearts on what (and Who) really matters most.

I've been wanting to write a blog about Christmas -- more than likely a retrospective, specifically. I'm still a kid at heart when it comes to Christmas. My favorite memories as a child are centered around surprise gifts or sneaking downstairs after everyone's gone to bed to check out the bountiful spread underneath the Christmas tree. And there's part of me today that still wants to feel those little joys again -- to get lost in the "Christmas feeling" of my childhood. If I try to look at it through those tiny eyes, the favorite Christmas memories involve surprise presents -- like our Grandparents getting us the original NES (Nintendo) and a GameBoy! Or waking up to find a non-wrapped G.I. Joe figure in our stocking for several years in a row (meaning we can play with it before the parents get up, when we can then open the rest of the goodies). Even as a young teen (and baby Christian), my favorite memory was getting PFR's Great Lengths on Christmas Day in 1994, when it wasn't supposed to release for another day or two AFTER Christmas (the local Christian bookstore just happened to put it out early, so my parents stumbled upon it and made both my brother's and my day with the unexpected surprise!). As I've gotten older and have come to learn about Jesus, the things that matter most obviously have changed. I've found myself wanting to just sit back in a corner by the Christmas tree at our big extended family Christmas get-together and sort of just soak in the frenzy of everyone exchanging presents and smiles and laughs. Because of how I was raised (and because I'm hopelessly sentimental), it's difficult to imagine Christmas without exchanging gifts, but even if there were just a couple items under the tree, I realize it's the family time we spend together that is the real gift. And remembering God's amazing gift of His only Son to us that night in that stinky, smelly, drafty stable outside of the Inn should really be enough for us.

So I guess reflecting on the past and focusing on what matters most is really a continued reminder for myself. But I wanted to take this opportunity to invite you all to share a Christmas memory here on this blog. It could be about a favorite gift you received or gave to someone... or maybe it's just a favorite family moment.

What is one of YOUR favorite Christmas memories?

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go put on some classic Christmas tunes before we have to rush out to see family for a Christmas Eve dinner! :)

Merry Christmas, everyone! From all of us at Jesusfreakhideout.com

- John DiBiase
President / Founder / Editor