Week 15 summed up

Weeeell. This week was awesome! Highlight of the week was that I finally recorded my first instrumental piece with Pro Tools! It took around 10 hours to lay down one straight and relatively tricky 4 minute track. It was so great to go back and listen to it and like what I heard. :D This week I got to play the keyboard for Sunday which was allot of fun. It was really easy cause I basically just held notes with a strings synth thing. After that I ate lunch with my brother at a pretty solid mexican restaurant. Especially for the north east. Haha. Then I went down to see a friend of mine in Dover who just broke up with her boyfriend. She was kinda shook up about it, so we went and got lost and just talked and listened to music. It was simple, but it was allot of fun. :) I led worship on wednesday night and it was really great! God really moved in that short amount of time. Next week I am getting an opportunity to speak to the youth group! I'm wicked exited about what God gave me for them. The title's called "the edge". :P Tune in next time!

Quote of the day: "If you do not walk in peace you cannot say that you walk in victory".
Scripture of the day: Proverbs 3:3

"Sponge" The raspberry bush Week 2. He made a friend

Today you can barely see Sponge, so I didn't bother taking any pictures of him, but as I was walking around I saw a blackberry bush. So I picked one and decided to do the same thing with this little guy as i did with Sponge. His name is "Murdock" the blackberry bush. I am exited to see the results of the patience I'm exercising. :P

"Murdock" the future blackberry bush. :P

Week 14 summed up.

Well Ladies and gents. It's hard to believe that it's been this long. Time flies no matter how much you try to keep track of it. Well it was a good week. I got to eat a rare delicacy. It's comb honey (meaning you eat the comb while there's still honey in it), but not any comb honey, a rare type of honey called "Black Locus Honey". It comes from pollen that the bees gathered being predominantly from the black locus flower that only blooms for a few weeks every other year. Its almost white colored and its very good! far less thick than usual honey.  Jesus rocked my face off in worship like He usually does. Haha. It's so refreshing being up there and being so vulnerable to God. It's humbling but very rewarding. Pastor talked about forgiveness and the extreme importance of it which was very good. After church I went down to Manchester to see my friends Ian and Vanessa. It was for someone Else's birthday that I didn't know to well, but it was a good reason to come down and say hi. An old friend Kiera ended up being there too! It was wonderful being able to catch up with her as well. :D Kirsten came up to see us and we went to the lake house together in Maine on Monday as a family. :) She's so much fun and always a blast to be around (even if she does sleep around 65% of the time. :P). We went out onto the lake and rode jet skis (one of my favorite things to do). But this time the water was so calm! One part of it was almost like riding on a sheet of glass! It was absolutely amazing. :) We ate some Chicken, corn on the cob and pasta salad. For those of you who don't know I would mortally injure someone for a good pasta salad. Haha. We played some spades, me and Steve played connect four! :D It was all around a fun time. :) Work this week was challenging (quite the understatement). Basically I was learning how to do like 8 different things at a time that I had never done before! It was intense, but I eventually got the hang of it... After failing really bad this one time. Haha. That's about it for this week. Take it easy guys.

Quote of the day: "Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true". Leon J. Suenes.
Scripture of the day: John 6:16-21

We ate that! And it was awesome!! :D

"Sponge" the raspberry bush. Week 1

Well, I've been keeping this little doober outside so he gets everything that he would typically get from being in nature. Sunlight and vitamin D and all that, moisture from dew and rain and just fresh air in general. He's starting to decompose which is a good sign. This is going to take awhile, but hopefully it will reap results. It's fun as well as another outlet for developing patience. :)

Sponge after a week.

Week 13 Summed up

this week turned out to be far more eventful than I expected by far! Well first off Kirsten came up to visit us. My family and Kirsten went over to Freeport Maine to go see a free Amos Lee concert, but first of coarse we had to eat some of the best food of all time! :P A got this bacon bbq pizza with home made barbeque sauce and ate the whole 12 inch pizza in around 10 minutes easily. The concert was great! We got there a tad late so our seats weren't terribly good, but we could hear the music just fine. And it always makes me happy when artists sound better live. :D Sunday was one of the best days of all time! I got kidnapped! :P Well I got a visit from a good friend of mine Ally. We were going to spend the day together and what not (but she wouldn't tell me what we were doing or where.) And around 3 years ago I started this holiday called "best friend kidnapping day" where you take a friend, blindfld and handcuff them, then take them somewhere and have a great day hanging out. Me and Ally first did it to Bianca, second time me and Bianca did it to Ally. Soooo this year they kidnapped me! I didn't see it coming at all! I was so suprised and sooo happy! We went up north and rode this massive zip line at Wildcat Mountain, got lost (probably because I wasn't able to see to give them directions. :P) and went down to a river and messed around. It was such a great time! It didn't matter what we did at all. They were there and that was what made me so happy. On top of that! I also hung out with Pastor Henrys' son and he fixed up my pro toos aaand gave me fruity loops! Both different kinds of recording software. :D theeeeeeen! Me and my mom and my brother got blessed with some Boston Red Sox tickets for Wednesday night! It was Steve's first game and he had a blast. :D It was an amazing week, and there are far more to come. :)

Quote of the day: "Every artist was first an amateur." Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Scripture of the day: 1 Corinthians 13:3

Love this man!

"Sponge" the raspberry bush. The beginning

I have decided to do something interesting. I am going to take a raspberry, plop it on some dirt in a cup, water it here and there and watch it do its thing. It'll take time, but I'm a decently patient person. Besides I'm curious. :P It's name is "Sponge". And in case you were wondering, there is no logical reason that this future raspberry bush is named Sponge. My mom came up with it sarcastically and I liked it. :P I'll put up a picture every Saturday to show you the progress. THE END.

This is "Sponge". Day 1.

Week 12 summed up

This week has been very very Jesusy. :) The majority of what has been going on with me this week is that I have been devoting my life to God. I've been listening to teaching tapes and worship music at work and Clint Brown on my computer when I get home. It's been so intense, but I love the feeling of walking and talking with God. Something happened that was kind of rough on me tho. God told me not to do the music video that I was planning. I have a friend who has an amazing camera and he was willing to shoot me and my brother Steve playing "Details in the Fabric" by Jason Mraz. I was really exited about it then He told me that it wasn't the direction I wanted to go (Could've fooled me. Haha.) I'm thinking that God is looking for my main thing to be worship. It's hard to think about it cause I was so set on making my own music in so many genres and just going nuts in the music world. But I think God wants me to mainly be a worshiper and make worship music. Maybe God will have me do other stuff, but I know I won't be happy if I'm not doing what God told me, so That's what I'm going to do. We had a picnic at our church which was allot of fun. There aren't a ton of people I hang out with up here, so I wish I could see them more often. But it's all good. I started feeling sick on Monday through Wednesday so I didn't do live worship this week. I think it has to do with the struggle in me about being a worshiper. Oh this stupid war between my spirit and flesh. But the one I feed the most will dominate, I just have to keep reminding myself of that. Keep following Jesus everybody. He will only take you where you'll be happiest in the end. :)

Quote of the day: "You know... I'm never wrong... So it's probably a good idea to do what I tell you". God.
Scripture of the day: Proverbs 3:5-6

Conway. What a crazy spot. :P

Week 11 summed up

This week was pretty awesome I'm not gonna lie. I got my new hardware in, but sadly enough my software is having trouble reading it. It's not as user friendly as I had hoped, but good things take time. :) I've been giving God everything this week. I've been listening to worship music and teaching tapes at work and I've been really letting God into all of my life. It's been amazing. I feel so connected. There's so much less of a struggle because I'm plugged into the power source! :) This week a guest minister came to church and really shook us up in the best way possible. We as a body have a call and we are answering it! :D And I put up my first "how to" video this week as well! Also had a great time hanging out with my friends Spencer, Chrystal, Keith, Lauren, Brandon and my brother Steve. We had a solid jam session and ate some fantastic food provided by the very talented Chrystal. :D Wednesday night was great too! There was a missionary from Japan that spoke to us and I got to really talk with her about her marketing strategy and what not. She was really exited to hear about my ideas! I love the Japanese culture so being able to help was a blessing to me too. Lots of great stuff to come in the future!

Quote of the day:  "Put future in the hands of the One who holds it".
Scripture of the day: John 15:5

Keep praying for Japan. There is allot of healing that God wants to do in that Nation

Week 10 summed up

Well this week was rather remarkable. In all honesty it will be one of the major highlights of my summer. I got my software in! Unfortunately I need hardware to come in in order for it to register any sound. LAME! Next week that should be in. But these things just take time. I went down south and spent time with my very good friend Bianca. This time was special tho cause I took her up north to take pictures and what not. It was a wonderful time. We stopped by the classic car show that was going on at the church too which was nice. But my favorite part about this week was the fact that Bianca came up north because she asked me to take her to my church! I was so exited! And she absolutely loved coming up. Since she wishes she could come back up, but life has a tendency of being very time consuming. My brother moved up here this week too! It'll be nice to spend more time with him, especially before he goes to Boston for college. The rest of this week was decently average. But I'm telling you, after 4 years of talking with Bianca about God and our sides and views on the matter it was so great that she finally asked me to come to my church! Don't ever despise the power of your everyday life being a witness. :) You guys are all great, in case you were wondering. :)

Quote of the day: "It's easier when it's harder" Bianca climbing rocks in flip flops. :P
Scripture of the day: Galatians 6:17 (So epic!)

Cathedral Ledge in Conway. We took pictures there this week.

Week 9

Well this was actually a decently interesting week. :D I finally got my new computer this week! Hi name is "Cerberus, Destroyer of Worlds". Haha. It runs like a dream. Now I just need the software to get my music up and running. I recorded 5 "ho to" videos, but I'm not putting them on youtube until I get my video editing software. I got tickets to see one of my favorite artists/band ever! City and Colour! :D The tickets are for a show in December, but I figured that I may as well get them now. :P I saw my brother and his girlfriend Kirsten for the first half of my 4th of July. That was allot of fun, even tho I discovered that I'm not a fan of even remotely cold water despite how hot it may be outside. Haha. I went to our neighbors house with my mom and we ate barbecue and watched some fireworks. Ya know, American stuff. Haha. I found a $700 dollar coin that my parents got as a wedding gift! It hasn't been even looked at in at least a decade and I kind of have a thing for coins, so despite the worth I want it (maybe as a future wedding gift, just to keep it in the family. Just sayin. :P) I saw the Green Lantern and The new Transformers movie. I have to say that Transformers tore it up. There was just to much missing for me in the Green Lantern, on the character build and action side of things. I got the new Bon Iver CD! I haven't heard it yet but I'm wicked exited to! Other than that It's been work at least as much as I can remember. I'm so close to starting this whole thing! I will hopefully have my audio software by the next time I write one of these. :D Take it easy guys.

Quote of the day: "Madness is as close as saying yes to the wrong impulse". Jim Carey
Scripture of the day: Romans 8:1. (So simple but so powerful!)

Bon Ivers' album cover. :D

Week 8

Well hello again. :P It's week 8 of all this craziness! Time seriously flies! Well lets see what I did this week. I did a decent amount of work and cooking which was awesome. Saturday there was a cowboy cookout event at our church. Lots of great food and games. My brother and his girlfriend came too which was great. I haven't seen them in far to long so I was really exited about that. :) I went down south to go spend time with my friend Ally for her birthday. We went down to Brighton Music Hall in Boston and saw one of my favorite shows that I've ever been to. Jon Smith (terrible name to try to look up. Haha.) and Lisa Hannigan! This guy was incredible at the guitar! And Lisa was one of the most adorable people I've ever seen! She has this cute little Irish accent and the most adorable personality. The music was fantastic but her as a person made it all the more incredible. Only down side to that night was the fact that I threw up do to dehydration halfway through the set, and I got a parking ticket cause i accidentally parked in a bus parking spot thing. It was pretty stupid but didn't effect the night. :) Did a photo shoot with the same friend and her sister which was allot of fun. It always takes so long to edit those so it should be awhile before there up. Talked with my good friend David who is in Cali right now. I miss his face and his drumingness very badly. All in all it was a good week. I miss people in Texas as usual and still have allot of people i want to see more of, but so far so good this summer. :D

Quote of the day: "My dreams are sails that I point towards my true north, stretch thin over my rib bone and pray that it gets better." Listener.
Scripture of the day: Matthew 5:16 (I bet you know this one. :P)

Lisa Hannigan. :)

Week 6 and 7.

Well. It's been a really long time since i've been on here, and there's a bunch to catch up on so i'm not totally sure i'll remember it all. But i'll give it a shot. Well for starters, I moved. :) I'm up in Conway in the middle of nowhere. It's really a nice house tho. Very secluded. The new computer has been delayed for quite some time cause of issues that have come up. The mother board was jacked up sadly so we're getting it replaced. I got to preach for the first time on Wednesday night and I lead worship in the main service for the first time on Sunday! saw my friend Bianca twice, one of them was an awesome beach day! :) I saw my Grandparents and brother, just talking and catching up. Went to Kirsten's graduation party! Her family's crazy, but allot of fun. :) I saw the new X men movie. I liked it. :) I hung out with my friend Trevor twice too which was awesome. Spent Fathers Day with my dad going for a ride on the motercycle. Idk i really have been enjoying my time up here in Conway. It's a very simplistic life, but it'll get crazier when I finally have my computer up and running and start making music. I'll be sure to keep you guys better posted in the future when it's once a week again and I actually recal everything. It probably doesn't help that i'm kinga tired right now and am not totally motivated to document. But it's Wednesday and I don't want to get behind again. Sooooo. That's it for now. Take it easy guys. :D

Quote of the day: "Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art...It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that gives value to survival" -C.S. Lewis.
Scripture of the day: Romans 12:9-10

Diana's Baths. One of the places me and dad rode to on the motorcycle for Fathers Day.

Moving. Out with the old.

What an interesting life it is for a sentimental person when it becomes time to move. You go through all of these things that meant the world to you a decade ago but haven't seen since, but now that you've remembered the good times attached to them you don't want to let them go. It was hard for me to toss or give away allot of the things that represented my childhood, but I knew it was necessary to let go. In case you're unaware I'm a big fan of legacy. Just things that survive the test of time, things that you pass down that live beyond your years. But at the same time things that you once loved often become nothing but dust collectors and clutter. I suppose i learned allot of things from this move. Although I threw away allot of things that represented my childhood, I wasn't throwing away my childhood. I still have the memories of building ninja castles and space ships with my Lego's and I still have the memories of setting up my entire collection of literally thousands of army men. :P Just because those Lego's are going to be used by someone else or my favorite water gun is no longer collecting dust in the basement doesn't mean that I discarded the times that those items were connected with. I will never not be sentimental, but at the same time it was a good lesson for me to not be to attached to items that you know you will never use and probably never even see again. The best is always yet to come when you're following God. :D Until next time.

Quote of the day: "Don't be so attached to tings. Learn to let go." Iron Man 2
Scripture of the day: Philippians 3:13

I was a huge army man fanatic back in the day. :P

Week 5 Summed up. Challenges for next week.

This week was a weird one. It seemed like nothing happened, but that probably has to do with the fact that the end of this week I've been a bit sick. So here's my week wrapped up for you. Had a jam session with Spencer and Zack after worship practice on Wednesday, had an epic one and a half hour jam session on ONE chord progression with my friend/brother David and hung out with him the rest of the night, went to a goodbye party for David and his wife Bri. It was good to see allot of my old church friends/family that I haven't seen in awhile. I'm glad that we're all still apart of the same body and family of believers even tho God called me and my family to another building up north. :) My family and our friends the Thibaults had one giant yard sale. There was so much stuff! Furniture, freezers, lots of big stuff, and we sold pretty much all of the big stuff which is great. :D I was blessed with a 30 year old high quality film camera!, only problem is that one little piece is broken and it would cost $100 to get it replaced! Had an amazing time with God during worship this Sunday! Me and my family went out to eat with both Grandparents and Fridays for my brothers birthday. I got blessed yet again with a whole bunch of electronics that my Grandfather had! Including a really great quality condenser mic! :) Had a ridiculous and very successful music hunting session, saw the newest Narnia movie (not bad. Nothing to really rave about in my opinion, but i was entertained.) Took my brother Steve to a Birthday Breakfast. :) Found my old Beanie Baby collection. Planning on selling them for around ten bucks a piece, even tho on eBay there going for fifteen each. Aaand listened to some of City and Colours new album that came out yesterday! :D As for the challenges. Piano, check. Guitar, eh. It was kinda rough, but i did practice. reading the word daily, check. Reading a chapter of my book every night, not check. Lol. I was sick and very un motivated to read before going to bed a couple nights. Facebook once a day, not check. Lol. The whole being sick thing will be my excuse again. :P I actually only really youtubed and watched tv for only around 5 hours! (if i counted listening to music on youtube it'd be tons more, but i think of it as listening to my i tunes. So for next week, I'll have the same basic challenges, not watch TV this week... and write a new song. Sure. Why not? :P It's on. Hope you had a great week! Until next time.

Quote of the day: "If I'm not speaking life into you I'm killing you" A poet named Ezekiel.
Scripture of the day: Matthew 6:16-18

The camera i was blessed with! :)

Week 4 Summed up. Challenges for next week.

I can't believe it's already been nearly a month since I left Texas. I wasn't sure where I'd be by the start of June so it's kinda nice looking back and seeing productivity while I've been here. Well, here's what went down this week. Saw Kung Fu Panda with my dad and brother, saw Heather Patrick as she gave us a tour of her and her churches vision (be praying for her, God's has already used her in an amazing way and He's going to continue to do so), went on my annual family reunion that i wrote about previously, had lunch with my friend and brother David Peetz, then had a ridiculous jam session that i can't even begin to describe to you! I actually made up a little piano hook right before I went to see him because i knew he'd want to jam, and we tore it up! Started a new job! :) And I helped build and install the hardware in my new computer! It was a really great week all in all. As for last weeks challenges, I read the Bible first thing every day, i only missed one day of not reading my pleasure book, i went on facebook once a day everyday except one day when i needed a link for something that was on my facebook, i played far over a half an hour a day on piano aside from the day i was gone up north to the reunion, and i missed two days of not playing a half an hour of guitar. That one was the most challenging because it just strait up hurts playing guitar at this stage. Haha. My challenges for this week will be the same, except adding one. I am going to keep track of how much I watch TV, movies and youtube. When I add it all up by the end of the week i will play that total amount of time on the piano and not watch any TV next week! God's got big things coming, are we ready for the next step? I know that if someone came to my door and asked me to do a nation wide tour I wouldn't be ready. We've got to use this time we have now to get us prepared for the next step in life. Until next time.

Quote of the day: "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present." Kung Fu Panda. (I don't care how much of a dork I am, I still love this quote. :P).

Scripture of the day: Hebrews 12:1-3 (Look this one up! It's awesome!)

My new Computer. :)

Family Reunion.

Well ladies and gentlemen, this was a very special weekend for me. I don't want to forget this either so I'm writing down what i recall so i can look at this down the road. I spent a wonderful 2 days with my moms side of the family. The Brackets and the Ramsay's. I don't see these guys half as often as i would like, but the Brackets do get together on Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas tho. The Ramsay's however are a very rare occasion. I only see them once on the Memorial weekend. Every year me and my mom drive up around 3 hours to the tip of New Hampshire, basically Canada, to go to this annual family reunion. To some that seems like a long drive, but me and my mom have done so many road trips that our perspective on "a long drive" is very skewed.  Haha. It's time to see my extended family, but also the ride up is a time where me and my mom just kind of catch up on each other. We talk about all the struggles and questions we're going through (the majority of mine lately being about girls. Go figure. :P) and we talk about the stuff that we're learning and growing in. It's a wonderful time. This year we stopped at this legendary pancake place called "Polly's Pancake Parlor". This place is literally in the middle of nowhere. But it's been around since 1938 and people come from all around to eat there. I got whole wheat coconut pancakes and they were beyond tremendous! Then on our way up we stopped to see an amazing person that i wish i saw more of, Heather Patrick. She gave us a tour of her church and the teen center they were working on. There vision is amazing! Another hourish later we made it up to Colebrook. This town has a population of around 350. Such a random little spot, but a great place to collect your thoughts. First thing was first. There are these mud races that happen every year the Saturday that we come up. It's super redneck, but there literally is nothing else to do there at the time. Haha. Seeing the family again was so refreshing. I've missed all my uncles, aunts, grandparents and cousins very much. A bunch of us all spent time together the day before the reunion. I got to talk with a bunch of uncles and great uncles that i haven't ever really gotten to sit down and talk to before. It's amazing how everyone has a story, and I've found that no matter how different you are from someone you can always find something you can both relate to and talk about. Before going to bed we took a drive to a place called "Moose Ally". At dusk a bunch of moose come out and you go looking for them on the side of the road. We only saw one this year, but at least we saw one. :) The next morning me and my mom performed our ritual of waking up early and walking to Dunkin Doughnuts with whoever else is up at the time. After that we all went and had some breakfast at a local diner. Now this year the reunion was a bit different. My third cousin had passed away and he grew up in that town so they held the service and buried him there. It was amazing how many people came out to the service in such a small town! He really made an impact in his circle. It made me think. How many people will come to my memorial service when it's all said and done? How many people will I have reached out to and left a legacy behind in the people I came in contact with? It really all depends on me. What i do with my time that i have been given and the way a treat the people around me will determine what is left of my story when it's all said and done. It's almost inspiring. The reunion was a great success as always. I cranked the hand crank for the home made ice cream (The rule is that you don't get any ice cream if you don't do your part in making it), I played a little frizbee and some ping pong, and I stretched out of my comfort zone and talked with some new people that i had never made the effort to go meet. It was a phenomenal time. Already looking forward to next year. :)

Quote of the day. "What we do in this life echoes through eternity". The Gladiator. (corny i know, but it fit and I'm kinda tired, so go easy on me. :P)

Scripture of the day. Matthew 5:16 (Pleeeease look it up! Thanks.)

Colebrook, seriously off the grid.

Week 3 Summed up. Goals for this week.

Well, it's week 3, and my good friend Gavin Kondo has officially left the state. I'm getting ahead of myself, but I wanted to start this thing by saying that I miss him already, we've seen each other at our best and worst, we know things about each other that no one else does, we've done some of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard of. He's an amazing man of God and any state is lucky to have him there. OK, now for the recap of this past week. Me and Gavin went on a one day road trip to NYC! (If you want to know more details there's a blog about it somewhere on here. :P) Me and Gavin went on a 2 mile hike both ways. When we got to the top it started pouring, and didn't stop until we got to the bottom. Yes, we hiked down a mountain in the pouring rain! The best part was we weren't complaining at all the entire way down! Me and Gavin went through a drive through Burger King without shirts on. This was after the hiking thing so our shirts were soaked. I took my brother and Kirsten's prom pictures. There wicked cute together. :) Saw the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. It actually was pretty good. They've just made so many that it's beginning to get a tad old, just sayin. Me and Gavin saw a moose! Allot of New Hampshire people haven't even seen one! Went to Boston with Gavin, my parents, Kirsten and Amanda. Saw it all and got Gavin a new hat. I got some bubble tea and had my mom try it for the first time. Her face was a wonderful thing to see. Haha. Went to Newbury Comics to get Gavin some mustache combs for his friends in Texas. Went to 5 guys burgers and fries with Gavin (Gavin, if your reading this, i put lemon juice in one of your catsups and never told you. You're a champ sir. :P). Right after 5 guys i took Gavin to the airport. Ended the time we had together with one of our oldest inside jokes then turned around and left. Very appropriate way to end it all. It was a very eventful week that's for sure. I've decided that with these recaps I also want to set personal goals to accomplish for each week. So here's some that i can think of: Start the day off reading the word before anything else, get on facebook only once a day, practice piano and guitar for at least a half an hour. Finnish packing up the random stuff i don't need in my room. Read at least one chapter a day of the book I'm reading "Chessmen of Mars". Well, that does it for this one. Next week should be fun. I'm going to the very top of New Hampshire for this once a year reunion that me and my mom go on every year. I'll tell you guys about that later. Take it easy guys. Until next time.

Quote of the day: "We could buy so many things with how much sense we're making". Me and Gavin Thedangman Kondo.
Scripture of the day: Proverbs 26:28 (Probably one of my favorite Proverbs.)

The beginning of a very unique friendship. Haha.

NYC (Longest Day Ever Pt. 8)

Well, so much happened yesterday that I decided to blog about it simply so I'll remember all of it in the future. Most people don't go for just one day in New York City for the simple fact that there is so much to see, but me and my friend Gavin have taken at least 5 road trips together this year alone while i was in Texas, and while he is on my turf for a couple weeks it seemed only appropriate to do at least one. Neither of us had ever been to NYC before, so we came in with no expectations of pre-conceived ideas. We left at 5 A.M. and officially parked next to Central Park at 12. The park is amazing! I've wanted to go for so long and I was so glad that I finally got to. There was some filming going on for a movie and there was a violin player just playing her heart out on the side of the road. It was just a very entertaining, but relaxing place. First thing was first tho. We got some pizza from a hole in the wall pizza place. We figured if we were going to visit here we would eat places that we can't eat anywhere else. Then we decided to fit the stereotype of people who come to visit NYC and started heading for Times Square. I have never felt more like a country boy in my life! Everything was just so big! It's different when it's all tangibly surrounding you. We stopped at the majority of places we passed. M@M World, The Apple Store, Toys r Us, Carnegie Hall, Lego Land, BB Kings House of Blues, The Hershey Factory Ext. While we were in Times Square we saw the naked cowboy. Apparently that's a more rare thing than we thought it was. When my brother went for 4 days he still never saw him. He kinda looked like a jerk tho. Just sayin. At this point in the trip while we were in the thick of Times Square I realised that I forgot my memory card for my camera at home. So i was only able to take around 16 picture with my camera, but in all honesty it was ok. It was kind of nice just walking around not feeling obligated to shoot everything and simply enjoy the scenery and my friends company. We went to a Cold Stone ice cream place. It was my first time so seeing them make the combination in front of me on a literal stone was very impressive. Not to mention it was absolutely delicious! After that we started getting tired so we decided to take a rest and watch a movie in the Regal Theatre in Times Square. I know that no one ever goes there to watch a movie, but frankly we do what we want. :P After that we started heading for the Empire State Building, but on our way we ran into Radio City. This place has significant value to me because one of my favorite albums of all time "Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds Live at Radio City" was recorded and performed there. Just being at the building where it all happened was one of the most memorable parts of the trip to me! I became so inspired in general when i saw it. :) When we finally got to the Empire State Building we were both very tired, although neither of us would admit it. So we took our pictures and started heading back. We each got a pretzel because Gavins' mom said that we had to get one for her. Those things are sooooo salty! They are designed to force you to get a drink or just die. Haha. So i got a peach tea Snapple and Gavin got a Mountain Dew. As we started making our way back to the general direction of the car we went a different way than we came. So we saw the Museum of Natural History, Julliard, this mall that i am having trouble remembering the name of. But it was the most high class mall i have ever been to. The majority of the stores i didn't even know the names of. And we saw Beacon Theatre where Adele was perfroming that night. As it got darker Gavin was looking for a souvenir shop, something you would figure would be easy to find. Well it is... If you look in the touristy places. We looked allll over in allll the wrong places for quite some time! So after awhile we just decided to go back to Times Square where we knew we would be guaranteed to find one. Gavin got stuff for his family while we were there, I had been doing the same for my family while we were walking around all day. We finally got back to the car and made it out of the city decently effortlessly, that has half to do with my friends outstanding navigating skills, and half to do with my considerable driving skills. Haha. It was a long drive back, but we took our time intentionally. So many people get to caught up in "the destination". Going somewhere specific to the point of the journey being nothing but stressful and considered almost a waste of time. The reason i love traveling with my friend Gavin is because our mentality is "We're here. This right here is our destination." It's such a simple consept, but when you decide that the journey IS a large portion of the destination, travel becomes a whole new experience. Started the day at around 4:30 A.M. May 19th, ended the day at 4:45. A.M. May 20th. Longest Day Ever Pt. 8. (Oh, and for those of you who actually read this whole thing, the entire time pretty much while we were there we were talking with Christopher Walken accents. Yes, we are those guys. Why this happened and when? Neither of us could tell you. :P)

Quote of the day: "Roads are made for journeys, not destinations". Anna and the King.
Scripture of the day: Psalms 119:105

It was so awesome seeing the building. :D

Week 2 Summed Up

Well this week has been decently eventful when i think about it. I took my friend Gavin to the water park that i pretty much grew up in and worked at for 7 seasons. (and it wasn't even open yet. I have connections. :P) I took Gavin to see the house i grew up in. I went with Gavin to see Hampton Beach, Short Sands And Long Sands. I took Gavin up to Maine to see the lighthouse. Me and Gavin got ice cream at my favorite ice cream place ever. Lago's. Me, my brother Steven and Gavin went to a local show to watch my friends band play. Me, my Dad, Steven and Gavin went to Maine to set up the dock, see my cousins and go four wheeling. I heard a great message about not letting God just be an option in your life. I also got to play keyboard and sing on the worship team that day. Saw fast 5 (which was ridiculous, but still fun.) Saw a great friend of mine Heather Patrick and had lunch with her. Skyped with some people from Texas (Which was awesome!! I miss them so much!) I found out that me and my friend Gavin playing Lego star wars together is not a good idea. Haha. And i wrote a song for a friend. The weather has been kind of lame lately so it seems like we've barely done anything, but that's just in comparison to what we wanted to do with the whole week. But there is more fun times to come for sure. Take it easy guys.

Quote of the day: "The anthem of the majority is 'i did it my way'". Pastor Henry.
Scripture of the day: 1 Peter 1:13-16

My friends band that we saw this week.

A Day of Reflection (The Results).

Well it was very interesting going for a day without looking into the mirror. It's one of those things that you aren't aware of how many there are until you decide to make a conscious choice not to look into them. There were at least 7 mirrors i was running into on a regular basis at my house. There was also a bunch at the restaurants, gas stations and stores that me and Gavin walked into as we explored the east coast by the beach. The thing i noticed that was very interesting is that the majority of the time, whenever people encountered a mirror, they took at least 2 seconds to stop and double check themselves. Whether it was fixing there hair, checking there makeup, fixing there outfit ext. People on average take any opportunity they can to look at themselves and check how they're doing to see if they meet the expectations they have for themselves. I was talking to my dad about this today and he said something very profound. He said that we are designed to reflect and check ourselves, but we've become far more aware of the physical aspect of life and not checking our reflection spiritually. And our spiritual mirror is the Bible. It was very interesting but very true. Now that my little experiment is done i still find myself purposely not looking into every mirror i cross, and i should be looking into my spiritual mirror far more than physical ones. To wrap it up people, don't size yourself up to a stereotype that media and the general population as set up, or you'll find yourself screwed up. Just sayin. :P Until next time.

Quote of the day: "I'm bigger than my body gives me credit for" John Mayer.
Scripture of the day: James 3:2 (Look it up! Do it! You won't! :P)

Yes I'm aware that I'm a dork. Thanks for noticing. :P

A Day of Reflection (A Day Without a Mirror).

I enjoy conducting social experiments and mixing things up from time to time. So I came up with an idea for a little social experiment on myself. I'm going to go for one day without once looking at my own reflection. Why? Well for me I don't have a real problem when it comes to vanity and my physical appearance, but like most people in this world I am still my own biggest critic. From time to time I'll catch myself looking in the mirror and critiquing myself. The majority of the time when this happens I'm observing the flawed completion of my skin or the fact that I wish my teeth were naturally more white. When I really started paying attention to myself I found that those are the main things that I identify my reflection with. So tomorrow I'm going to remove that factor out completely. I'm sure I'll find it very therapeutic, but at the same time a struggle. We all measure ourselves up to something, but is it the right thing? I'll tell you about how it all goes when the day is done. If you'd like to take a day with me please do and let me know how it went for you. Ironically I'm naming this day "Reflection Day". A time to take a break from the mirror and really reflect on how God sees me. It'd be kinda fun to do this with other people and we all see how it went for us individually. No pressure tho. ;) Until next time.

Quote of the day: "It's not so much what you look like, it's what's inside that he can't stand". How to Train Your Dragon (It was just to funny to me to pass up. :P)

Scripture of the day:  Proverbs 23:7 (It's really good! Look it up!)

 Pablo Picasso "The Mirror". What do you see when you look in the mirror?

Week 1 Summed Up

Well, it has officially been one week since i got in the car and drove to New Hampshire. So I'll give you a brief overview of the things i found to be the most memorable:

Drove from Dallas to New Hampshire (packing the car was a miracle in itself! Drove in a rain storm the whole first day. Had some epic conversations with my mom about what's next for both of us and all that. Listened to one song from one artist for each letter of the alphabet). Wrote a new instrumental song when i got home. Spent a morning hanging out with my good friend Ally making a cake and spending time with the kids from her neighborhood. Got my friend Gavin from the airport. Saw Thor! (Loved it! I felt like more of a man after watching it!). Had a game night in Manchester at my friend Ian Johnsons' house (And won dramatically at Cranium). Exposed Gavin to real maple syrup, home made ice cream and a ton of mom n pop restaurants in general. Got a great word in an amazing service that i wrote about previously. Took the scenic route through the white mountain national park. Got seriously blessed with a new amp, CD changer and tower speakers! Went on a photography adventure with Gavin Kondo and David Peetz in downtown Concord. Jammed in the church sanctuary with my friend David Peetz on the drums. Hung out in 2 out of the 3 major malls in New Hampshire (not really something to brag about...). But the main part of the time that I've been here has really been about the amazing things that God has been showing me and Gavin while we've been here. There is a brand new kind of maturing, almost an equipping for the next step in our lives. It's really amazing thinking about the concept that you will never know everything, there will always be something more to learn and develop in your personal life. So continue to humble yourself, be open minded and be ready to be proved wrong from time to time. :P Until next time.

quote of the day. "Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it" Matt Poole.

scripture of the day. Proverbs 11:13 (yet again, I'm gonna make you look it up. :P)

The Kangamangus Highway. :)

Carrots, eggs and coffee beans.

I heard a message at my church yesterday that absolutely blew me away! The main theme was about change. Change is a natural thing. If a 3 year old never gets any taller or develops in there personality more then something is wrong. Same with our lives in general. When change comes, the unknown follows. And when something is unfamiliar it can lead to challenges, even trials. But, how do we respond to the trials when they arrive. My pastor described it to us this way. There are 3 pots of boiling water. One has a carrot inside, another an egg and the last ground coffee. Now the carrot used to be strong and firm, but after being exposed to trials (water) it grew soft and weak. The egg was once fragile and innocent on the inside, but after being in the water it grew hard (it looked the same from the outside, but when you dug deeper, only then could you see a difference). The coffee did something the other two didn't. Instead of it changing, IT changed the environment that it was in. The coffee was actually at its best after being through the trials! So, how do we respond when change and trials come? Are we like the carrot. Strong in ourselves relying on no one, not even God? Because there is only so much we can take on our own before we become weak. Are we like the egg? Pure and innocent, until trials come and our defense mechanisms come up and we become hard so that we don't become hurt. OR are we like the coffee? When trials come that is when God shines through us the brightest! The flavor of God should emanate through us when challenges come! And instead of us conforming and breaking under the pressure, the environment we are in (our area of influence) actually can see a significant change in the atmosphere when we are in it! Let God drive. He actually knows where we are going, and He is our strength when we are weak! He is the provider, the one that is the answer no matter the question. Until next time my friends. :)

quote of the day "Be the change you want to see in the world"
scripture of the day. 2 Corinthians 3:18 (yes, I'm going to make you look it up. :P).

          

And so it begins...

Well. The summer has officially started for me. I got a little head start from most because my school year ended on the 1st of May. I have been in Dallas Texas for the past 2 years and have made some friendships that i will never forget and will not let go of, but now it's time for the next chapter. I literally just got back to my home in New Hampshire last night after 2 long days of driving with my mom. I love her company and the music was good, but after awhile nearly everything gets old. I will always be learning new things, but now it's time to begin implementing the things i have learned. I will be making more music this summer than i have ever made in my whole life combined. By the end of May i will have Pro Tools, and because of some extreme amounts of favor i was given thousands of additional sounds and loops to be able to experiment with! This month of May my friend Gavin Kondo is coming from the place i just left to spend two and a half weeks with me and my family. It will be a very exiting time without a doubt. I will continue to keep you guys updated on what goes on in further detail. I just now finally got all of the sound files off of the external hard drive. That was a solid two and a half hours... But well worth it! Until next time.

Scripture of the day. Romans 8:1-2
Quote of the day. "don't let your talent take you where your character can't keep you".

                       Getting all of the sound files onto my hard drive. So exited!!! :D :D :D

The Intro

Hello everyone. This is the first time I've ever blogged before so i don't really know blogger etiquette (even tho I'm pretty convinced that there isn't really any. You just kinda type and see what happens. :P), but i decided to give you a little disclaimer for what you're about to get into. I am creating this blog for really only one reason. I figured that this will give me motivation to be productive this summer so that if anything it will give me things to continue to write about. I will do what i can to keep this blog entertaining by keeping my life entertaining. No one wants to read about people doing nothing (unless you follow people on twitter. :P). So i will officially start this blog in roughly 2 weeks, the day that i return home to New Hampshire. I'll throw in questions and food for thought here and there on top of the highlights of what my summer consists of. Enjoy everyone.

scripture of the day: Galatians 5:13-17 (yes, I'm gonna make you look it up. :P)
quote of the day: "If you're not living your dreams, your just an insomniac living half awake." Peter Samuels.

Summer's coming!