When I was in high school here in Spokane, the radio station we all listened to was 105.7 the Peak. Ok, some of us may have switched over to ZZU on occasion if we needed a little Usher or Blackstreet in our lives. No diggity. No doubt.  But for the most part my alternative rock fix was met by The Peak.

Then- the dreaded format change. It became another cookie cutter classic rock station and I promptly switched all of my radio presets to NPR.  Other than The Peak- Spokane radio sucked.

BUT NOW THE PEAK IS BACK! And I couldn’t be happier. It’s only been back a week, but oh, what a week it’s been.  Here are some of the songs I’ve heard just today:  (yes, I wrote them down. I just couldn’t believe my lucky little ears!)

1. Pearl Jam – Crazy Mary
2. Better Than Ezra – Good
3. Harvey Danger – Flagpole Sitta
4. Frank Black – Los Angeles
5. Weezer – some new song- don’t know the name
6. Soul Coughing – Circles
7. Veruca Salt – Leave Me Laying Here
8. Seven Mary Three – Cumbersome
9. Sponge – Plowed
10. Silverchair!! – Tomorrow
11. Oasis – Live Forever
12. Screaming Trees – Nearly Lost You
13. Death Cab – I Will Possess Your Heart
14. Alice in Chains – Them Bones
15. Foo Fighters – Long Road to Ruin
16. Modest Mouse – Float On

So, I’m no different than most anyone else. I started a blog. I thought it would be fun. I felt I had stuff I wanted to say and/or share. Then I got busy. Real busy. I started checking my ’stats’ like they actually mattered. Blogging seemed like a waste of time. Honestly- it probably would have been.

But now, I decided I do still want to blog. I like writing. I like having somewhere to state my thoughts- even if I’m the only one who ever sees them.

And my one goal is this: to share my thoughts/views/ideas around youth ministry more often. I love youth ministry… I’m passionate about it, and my mind never stops thinking about ways to engage youth in the Kingdom and how to do that in the context of an old, modern, unabashedly denominational church.

So- there it is. I hope to be back soon.. and if it’s just me hanging out here- I’m ok with that. For realz.

Me:  Tonight- Mariners game- Felix pitching. 3 good buddies. Stadium food. Expensive beer.  Tomorrow:  Head up to Vancouver. Check out some old stomping grounds. Eddie Vedder solo concert in an intimate theater.

You:  None of those things. Suckers.

I’m a big fan of the Raconteurs. Their 2006 release, Broken Boy Soldiers, might be one of my all-time ‘pick up a cd on a whim and have it blow my mind’ finds. So it was with a whole bunch of little boy excitement that I picked up “Consolers of the Lonely.” So far, not a disappointment to be found.

Sometimes ’supergroups’ are awesome (see Mad Season, The Bens), and sometimes they waste my time (see Audioslave. Yep, I said it). I’m not sure many would consider The Raconteurs as a supergroup- but anytime you put Jack White and Brendan Benson together- I call that super. If you aren’t familiar w/ Brendan- go educate yourself now. Add the ridiculous rhythm section of Little Jack and Keeler… and what you have are some incredibly talents musicians making catchy, complex and crushing rock & roll. Seriously- no one other than this group of guys can pull of songs like these- blues standards, time signature bending romps, and straight forward distortion come together to blow your miiiinddds. Am I gushing?

This is some of the dirtiest, prettiest, most inspired & inspiring rock music out there today. Buy it. Now.

For those of you (Erin) who look at this blog… Here is what I would have written about over the last week had I had time.

- Our house almost burned down. For real, in a scary way. Not in a “oh, the stove flared up” way. More like a Holy Crap, Sarah call 911, go over and pound on the neighbor’s door and get them out, go turn on the water and hook up a hose and wait for the firetrucks to come. It was awesome.

- I love the new Nada Surf album

- I LOVE March Madness and I will neglect almost any responsibility that dares get in it’s way.

- Local mission trips w/ Middle School students

- Lost is still awesome. Seriously.

- It’s officially Spring… and we had an inch of snow this morning.

- I haven’t found a way to like Hillary again. In fact, everything her campaigns does seems to make me ill.

- Sarah and I watch Margot At the Wedding w/ high hopes. It blew.

Best. Thing. Ever.

Apparently this is legit. And, apparently this is totally awesome. Enjoy

I’ve been in Havre, Montana the past few days. What’s that? You haven’t heard of Havre?! Weird.

Anywho, I went back for my grandmother’s funeral. It was an interesting, and rich, time. My grandma was Catholic- so I got to fully experience the Catholic funeral tradition. The vigil, the cantors, the bowing, the liturgy, the rules. I don’t understand it all, and I definitely think there were some missed opportunities for her life to be celebrated in the Catholic tradition- but there were parts I found beautiful. Though seriously, does everyone have to bow when approaching the altar? I find it hard to believe Jesus isn’t chuckling a little when watching them all bow. But, I digress.

My grandma was a great lady- and an even better grandma. A consistent theme overheard during the services (and informal conversations) was that my grandma was what every grandma probably wants to be- a cheerleader. Never did I ever feel ashamed when I spoke with my grandma. Whether it was my hobbies, my schooling, or my career path- everything was a success in her eyes. She had a steadfast faith in Christ and steadfast faith in our abilities. She showed an unwavering ability to instill confidence in us while pushing us to become Christlike ourselves. Really, when I think about it- that is an amazing characteristic. It is something I’ve always known about her, but only now am I beginning to realize just how powerful her words of support were. I’ll miss those moments of ending a conversation with my grandma feeling fully loved and completely accepted. The most amazing thing about it, was that every one of her grandkids, and great-grandkids, all felt the same way. All 31 of us.

First shot at a ‘Review You Probably Don’t Care About’ has been posted. Meet: Vampire Weekend. C’mon- all the cool kids are doing it!

When I started this blog, I had every intention on it being youth ministry focused. Actually, I still intend for it to be- and hope it will be in the future. Or at least more balanced.

But the fact is… my brain is so focused on ministry 10-12 hours a day (including when I’m laying in bed for 2 hours at night trying desperately to all asleep) that writing about it just seems unappealing. With that said… I’ll leave with this Youth Ministry Idea:

The Warhead Wall of Fame!!

I got the idea from a group of friends I have that used to room together in college. Whenever a friend would come over to visit- they’d ask them to eat a warhead, then shove a camera in their face. When the guest was making his/her ugliest ’sour face’- they’d snap a picture then stick it on their wall. I’ve started doing this with our Middle School kids and its been great fun. We have a wall now almost covered in pucker-faced Jr. Highers. Since I’d probably get sued for putting up a picture of a kid on here (even though they are far more entertaining)- I’ll put one up of myself.

Thanks to Jordo, Crotty & Cosby for the inspiration.

1. Nutella. Who knew this weird little chocolate-hazelnut spread was so delicious?! But it is, and it goes on my super-healthy flax seed waffles every morning.

2. ‘Falling Slowly’ won a freakin’ Oscar! If you know me, you know I loved Once. The film is incredible, and the more I learned about Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, the more I rooted for them. This was such a great moment- and watching this hypnotically beautiful song win out over Disneyfied crap warmed my cynical soul.

3. Sasquatch Festival. True, this hasn’t happened yet- but the lineup alone gets me excited. I’m actually least excited about the headliners… but can’t wait to see The Breeders, Built to Spill, The New Pornographers, David Bazan, The Kooks, Cold War Kids, Stephen Malkmus, Mates of State, etc. I hate festivals- but this lineup might get me to one.

4. Eddie Vedder solo tour. I got tickets for the Vancouver show. I’m almost certain I’ll be disappointed when its all over, but my PJ fanboy side still has me all a-twitter. Let’s just hope there isn’t to much ranting and raving- and more music.

5. Wario Ware. This is a ridiculous party game for the Wii. I played this with about 15 high schoolers last week and had a blast. I want to have some sort of Wario Ware party that happens every month. No joke- its that fun.