The Vintage CD’s Super Six…and the future

(Cross posted on the Vintage CDs page)

As we look at the grandeur of the Vintage CDs throughout history, we find six artists which have established themselves as the Super Six, as it is. Here they stand with the number of Vintage Songs they own…

Five For Fighting — 18
George Strait — 18
Backstreet Boys — 15
The Beatles — 14
Rascal Flatts — 14
Goo Goo Dolls — 13

But as history develops and more songs continue to be enshrined as Vintage, there will be other artists that step up and begin to frame the moments in my mind. Here now are six artists which I expect to leave their mark on my life, if they have not already.

Jon McLaughlin — 6
Daughtry — 6
Dave Barnes — 4
Aaron Shust — 4
Matthew West — 3
Steven Curtis Chapman — 2

The VPS is an excellent chance to freeze time and see where all we’ve been since the last ranking. The last VPS took place in the summer of 2006 when there were only 31 Vintage CDs, Christian music did not play any factor, and I had not heard of any of the six artists who are poised for a run at the top artists in Vintage CD history.

Starting next week, we see which song is best.

Yeah

Back in action

Majestic moments from the last few days…

–rolling around the front porch at home on my back with my yellow lab Fisher
–playing golf and tennis on the same day, and enjoying tennis more…I finally defeated my friend John in three sets as the sun set over Allen County-Scottsville High School
–being bulldozed by Brent White will playing ultimate frisbee, jumping right up from the ground after the collision, and seeing Brent get the worst of it

I am reading a book right now called Jesus For President, and the most interesting thing about my experience with this book is timing.  Tomorrow as we know is our country’s 232nd birthday, and Americans across the country will be celebrating like nothing else with fireworks, cookouts, and hopefully golf during the hours of 2-8 so I can get mucho tips.  But in any case, this book is making me examine just what America is today and how it represents what it stands for.  The book makes the constant comparison between the current American “empire” and the Roman empire of old, the regime which held world power during the days Jesus walked the Earth.  And the authors dissect the teachings of Jesus throughout the Gospels and compare them to the actions of our leaders today, and there’s not too much comparison found. And we call this country a “Christian nation”?  And we say God Bless America and stamp it all over t-shirts and bumper stickers and pins, and we receive the blessing only to ravage the world.  At least this is their argument.

I recommend this book highly.  I will probably write more about it because it has got me thinking about a lot, including the significance of tomorrow and what it really means.  I do ask now that when you hear songs like “God Bless America,” what does it really mean?  Are we not blessed already?  Does it mean that God should further bless America more than any other country…because they aren’t as good as us?  And where do the terrorists fit in…how would Jesus treat them?  Wow, much to think about and much to write about soon.

A Glimmer From The Past

A few weeks ago, I toured my old blog…the XANGA…which I kept my entire freshman year and the first half of my sophomore year.  Many things stood out to me, most notably the mountains of Vintage CD material I documented there.  But then there was this post, written September 26th, 2006.  It was only a year after the most difficult period of my life, and as it was written here, I can call this time the most exciting time of my 21.5 years so far.  As I reread this post, I rediscovered the raw excitement I had for life back in the early stages of my sophomore year…particularly the next to last paragraph.  This raw excitement is my goal for my senior year of college.  Everything from my freshman to sophomore year changed, and that radical change radically affected my outlook on life.  Do I have to undergo such a metamorphises this year to find that excitement again?  Perhaps so, and what that change would look like escapes me at this point.  For now, I read this post again and remind myself and everyone out there that one of the key successes to life is to seek change and keep things new.

—
September 26, 2006
Well usually my blog posts are daily commentaries on the Vintage Song of the Day.  Then once and a while you get a profile about a new Vintage CD (XXXII debuts Friday!).  But tonight I just want to ramble a little bit about my life because there are so many things going on…it’s so exciting!!!  I’ve never been more excited about my life.  Ever.

I’ll start with tonight.  I do the weekly newsletter for the UK Baptist Campus Ministry (director of In-House Communications as it is), and tonight I’m working on The Prophet, as it is, and the copy machine goes psycho on me.  Well this has happened before, but tonight it went really psycho…it pretty much self-destructed.  So there I am, fighting the darn thing for a full hour, trying to get the other side of The Prophet printed, and I’m having absolutely zero success at it.  I finally give up, and I am really ticked and flustered at the whole thing because I hate not being able to do my job.  If I can do it, I will do it.  But I’m sweating under the collar, my heart is racing a million miles an hour, and I’m really mad at the world.  So then TNT (our worship service) starts, and I’m not really in the best frame of mind to worship God.  But He got my attention immediately.  I was looking over my newsletter in my seat when I turned to the back.  Of course, there wasn’t anything on there because of the stupid copier, but I realized something:  it was blank.  And something clicked.  I have a blank slate, every day, every moment.  When I sin, I can ask for forgiveness, and my sheet can become blank again.  WHAT AN AWESOME FEELING!  The latin for blank slate is tabula rasa (I know that from History 105, not just off the top of my head).  Our lives are defined by tabula rasa.  “Every day’s a new day” sings John Ondrasik in a pretty good song called “100 Years.”  No matter what we do, no matter what mistakes we made in the past, they play no effect on what’s going on now.  That is so awesome.

Tonight’s TNT turned out to be one of the best TNTs of all time, if not the best.  Funny how these things work out.  So after TNT ends, I head for killer pong.  If you don’t know what killer pong is, well you should.  Ask me about it sometime.  So I’m getting pretty good at killer pong I must say.  The intensity of the games has increased markedly since I re-introduced the killer pong rankings last week, and everybody is excited about it.  I have this little Excel program that does the math…it’s great.  So we start playing, and there’s about 10-12 guys in there playing, and it was fantastic.  We all start commentating on the play because I do that sometimes and everyone loves it.  So everyone’s getting excited, and I hit this totally wonderful wall shot back on the table, and the place goes bananas.  And I yell out this scream, this wild war cry…it was slightly unnecessary, but I was just feeling really good at that point.  I don’t show a lot of emotion, but in cases like that, I’ll show it.  Wow, I LOVE KILLER PONG!

But just overall, I feel a lot better as a person.  What a long way I have come in the last year in every facet of my life (except perhaps physically, I’m still the pudgy, patsy, unathletic white boy that I’ve always been).  I can feel myself becoming a better leader.  I’m really forming friendships that are going to last a lifetime.  I’m getting more involved this year besides all the BCM activities.  I’m going to Calvary Baptist on Wednesday nights for a weekly bible study; I go to Comedy Caravan each week; and tomorrow, I’m gonna start volunteering at Bryan Station Middle School helping tutor middle school students.  I’m eating more with my friends rather than by myself in my room; I’m actually working on campus as a computer lab consultant; and of course UK hockey is still there (haha, in a word, lovely).  But life is exciting because of only one reason, and that’s God.  He’s blessed me so much throughout my life.  I have a wonderful mom and dad, a great sister, cousins that I’ve grown up with, two grandparents who I can’t imagine life without, uncles and aunts, many great friends, fantastic memories, and one big life experience that helped me grow wildly as a person.  I also have two friends at home that I miss a lot.  Fisher and Will might be stupid, but they are as good a two dogs as anyone in the world has.  I am so blessed.  Life is so exciting, and I hope you feel that way too.

This weekend is Fall Focus in Louisville, which is pretty much a big statewide convention for the college Baptist kids (except me, I’m Methodist technically).  I have a feeling that something awfully exciting is gonna happen this weekend, and I haven’t the slightest idea what it’s gonna be.  I feel that God has been preparing my heart for it, and I cannot wait for Friday afternoon when we head over to Louisville.  Haha, now I have to study because I still have classes, despite having only 12 hours (perhaps that’s the source of my happiness, but I doubt it’s all of it).  Good night all.
—
Habakkuk 1:5b — For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it (Methodist translation).

I feel the key to finding a great Closing Song to my college career is accepting and thriving in this verse…realizing that this year will not be as predictable as the last and opening myself up to new adventures the way I did two years ago.  Perhaps now, the purpose of my summer.  Two summers ago, I spent the vast majority at home, not particulary waiting for the year to start but certainly not enjoying the fact I was home and doing nothing.  But I had time to breathe, to gear up, to prepare myself for the changes that would be occuring soon.  Last summer, I had no such opportunity as I spent every ounce of myself on Passportkids and went straight into my junior year.  Now this summer, and the waiting game has been on since May 3rd in many respects.  Nights, and Benthoughts, like these help me gear up for what Habakkuk promises will be ahead.  What’s God doing and preparing me for in the fall, and the spring, and beyond?  It’s an exciting question to ask, and one I’m willing to explore in order to recapture the excitement which saturated my life not quite two years ago.

Laughing

How often do we notice how much we are laughing in our lives? Do you keep a running clock for the moments during the day when you are doubled over, tears in your eyes, gasping for air due to wild laughter? The majestic moment of the day came tonight playing Balderdash after Bible study with seven of my friends. There were memories made tonight that will last for a lifetime, and the beauty of laughter will frame those memories forever.

–Sperm whale ejaculate
–Sagbut: Janet Reno, precursor of penile erectile dysfunction, dragging your ass on the ground during a game of limbo
–Nazi

If you are having a bad day, try to find something that will make you laugh. And not just chuckle but rather rolling on the floor, holding your sides, and wheezing for breath. Whoever it was that said laughter was the best medicine, well good form sir (or ma’am) because it is a good call.

Daily post

For the first time ever, I post on consecutive days. I must be getting serious.

I had a vision today. I was out playing at Ghettobrook Golf Course in the middle of Lexington, and I was playing quite well I must say. I shot +5 and finished the last five holes in -1, but that’s neither here nor there with what I envisioned today. As I was playing, I saw several fathers playing golf with their sons. Most of the kids were really young and were just learning the game, and the fathers didn’t seem to mind how slow their pace of play was going (believe me, i was behind one of them). I witnessed something majestic here: a father spending time with his young son, teaching him the game that the father loves so much.

And I saw myself, oh I don’t know, 10 years in the future, perhaps longer than that. And there I was with my son (unnamed at this point), but he’s trailing behind me fiddling with his clubs and trying to keep up with me. But for me, this is the most wonderful thing that God could do for me. Me and my son, playing golf together. Some of my fondest memories of golf come from when me and my father played so very long ago when he taught me how to play. Yeah, I got so much better than him that he quit, but those memories last and are precious to me. And today, at the wonderful Ghettobrook Golf Course, a little podunk par 3 course, I saw my future and I loved it.

I believe one of the things I shall do with this blog is post daily on something I see in the world that is majestic. I watched The Bucket List the other night, and one of the things on the list was to “see something majestic.” Of course, when I cry while watching a movie, as I did with this one, I have to replicate it in my life. Every day, I shall mention something I have witnessed that proves God’s majesty in the world. It should help convince me that Lexington isn’t a God-forsaken place in the summer after all (joke people).

In any case, let’s finish this post with an obligatory YouTube clip to something else very majestic…

Back to work

We are officially at the halfway point of this summer.  WOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!  As I look back on it, time has passed rather quickly I must say.  To define, my summer ranges from May 3rd to August 17th, and we have hit the midway point today (actually tomorrow, but for posterity’s sake let’s say today).  In any case, the summer is passing into time and I cannot be upset about that.  Make no mistake, there are a few things about this summer that I have enjoyed, such as the golf and the sleep and the random trips to visit Robin Prichard in her office, but I have been long ready for August 18th to arrive.  And now we are halfway.

I realized today that when that day arrives, it will be the first time since April 2007 that I am not wishing for time to pass quickly.  Last summer, I was wishing for August.  In the fall, I was wishing for the spring semester.  In the spring, I was wishing for the summer.  And this summer, I have been wishing for the fall.  It will be a good feeling to enter a time in my life in which I am wishing for that day.  It excites me to see how I can grow in my walk with Christ and reach my potential when I have two eyes on the present day, not just one present and one peeking to the future like it has been for over a year.  I cannot tell you how much I’m looking forward to it…and that time is coming soon…

I will attempt to make a commitment to record more Ben Thoughts over the second half of the summer.  We’re likely not talking about an everyday thing, but hopefully I can drop in every now and again.  There’s always much to talk about.

The project has begun

So I’m gonna do something that only I would consider doing, and that’s making a list of my Top 100 College Memories. Of course, I cannot complete this project until college itself is done, and for our purposes that means with the acceptance of my diploma next May. There is a page created in the right menu bar that will be a place for me to talk about the project as I brainstorm, and also a place for YOU (my friend or bored internet-surfer) to suggest your favorite memories with me. Then, after the memories have been brainstormed and cut to 100 even, I will rank them all! Muwahahaha! Ambitious? Yes. Crazy? Yes. Awesome? Heck yes.

For a quick sample, here are five memories that will find their way onto the list…

–During the Olympics, us freshman guys at the BCM had much fun watching the US Women’s Curling Team in action. Hello Johnson sisters, you can sweep me away any day.

–This year, Matt Scoggins, KCJ, and myself defied logic and won a game in the 3-on-3 tournament. Matt and I didn’t miss a jumper all night, and KCJ shot this in when in counted.

–Alyssa and I were chilling in the YAK one night when I saw shadows out on our deck. We live in the ghetto so I thought we were about to die, but when I opened the door to the deck I couldn’t believe what I saw. Yes, it’s still there, and I have no plans to move it.

–A late night walk with Kyle Hawes all around the UK campus, specifically the area behind CSF, late in my sophomore year as we talked about life, the universe, and everything. We were walking to a baseball game just recently and reminded me that we took a walk around that area once.

–The paranoia for UK hockey was taken to another level when several of us went to Knoxville to watch UK beat UT on the ice during our sophomore year. However, this trip will be known for Robert selling his sister’s phone number to Kyle for half a sandwich. But it was a Jersey Mike’s sandwich, and they are so darn good that it was likely a fair deal.

That’s five, now only 95 more to think about…

This might look like I’m bragging on myself…

…but I really don’t care. At Sunday school last week, we had a Bible trivia contest and I won, naturally. The prize for winning was a $10 gift card to Starbucks. Now me and coffee don’t really mix that well, but I could have bought several white chocolate mochas or taken out some sweet pastries if I really wanted to. But when it comes down to it, do I really need it? Do I need that gift card to survive? Last week at 608, Jon Weece talked about how many “extra” things he has…he opens up his closet and sees two jackets, four pairs of tennis shoes, etc. We as a society focus so much on quantity and forget about the quality of necessity. Sure, I won that Starbucks gift card and I was proud of doing so (especially the beating Robert part in sudden death), but did I need that Starbucks gift card? Heck no.

So I decided to march down to Phoenix Park, which for you non-Lextonians is a place where many of the city’s homeless like the spend their time, in order to give the card to someone who needed it. I decided to do this shortly after Sunday school, but I never did. I felt like just walking down there and giving out a card would be awkward and I would feel uncomfortable, so five days went by with me storing that card in my wallet along with the rest of my plastic monies. This is not to say that I didn’t look for anyone to give my card to, but I never found a situation where I thought God was calling me to give that card away. So I kept it until I felt the time was right…because I knew that God would show me an opportunity where that card would help someone out to an incredible degree.

I got home from work today, and I picked up a movie I had just bought along with my backpack full of books that I had purchased over the past week. As I’m walking toward the YAK, I approach a woman from behind who looks to be drinking something. At that moment, I make a promise to God that states if she’s drinking coffee, I will give her the card. I catch up to her, but as I do, she turns away to where I cannot see what she’s drinking without looking like a creeper. I keep on walking, but I remember I forgot to lock my car. I run back to Wallace and lock him, but as I pass the woman, I see that she is indeed drinking coffee from McDonald’s. Well then, I say to God, I guess this is it. I come back to the woman and ask her if she’d like to have a $10 gift card to Starbucks. And that smile that swept across that woman’s face was something I will never forget. She slid over to me and gave me a huge hug and introduced herself as Anna. Anna is homeless and is being helped by the Salvation Army right now, but you wouldn’t have known it by that smile.

It’s just a saying, “God Bless You,” but Anna kept saying it to me for the one minute I talked to her. Do we really believe that if we attempt to live as Jesus did, then we can count on God to bless us? Now here’s the tricky part, are we acting like Jesus in order to secure these blessings for ourselves or are we acting like Jesus because we are totally and radically in love with Him that we WANT so desperately to be as He was? That’s the battle I fight when I do acts like these. Is it worse to act selfishly or not act at all? Lord knows we all want God’s blessings.

But the fact of the matter remains: if you are reading this, you have computer access and likely have more things in life than you really need. I want to challenge you to do something today. Find something that you have that you like but do not need, and give it to someone who would benefit much more from it. And don’t just give it to Goodwill or the Salvation Army, but physically FIND someone to give it to. By doing so, God will bless you…at the very least, you will see a smile that will light up the world.

Jesus, let’s hang out

You know, I have started thinking a lot about how life would be different if Jesus were a physical being in our world today. I have spent some moments of this summer already in loneliness, especially at the YAK while Andrew is at work and Robert is gone. I sit in the living room, which earlier this year seated 24 people during American Gladiators, and I am amazed and disappointed with the quiet and the stillness. It’s moments like this that I wish I could see and touch Jesus in front of me, while he sits on the couch and watch FOX News (you know he would) or playing the Playstation. I want to go play golf with Jesus and have him sit shotgun in Wallace while we drive around Lexington and talk about life. I know Jesus is with me always, but sometimes just knowing that isn’t good enough.

My challenge is to recognize Jesus in other people, places, and things around me. Jesus is too BIG to fit inside our five senses. Even though I wish at times I could hang out with Jesus like he was any other guy, this just isn’t the case. I would be safe in saying that I have few friends that could do this…I am laying in bed the other night and feeling very restless and uncertain about what this summer will bring me, and I pray to Jesus to give me a calming peace. At once, my whole body goes numb and my bed reaches up and swallows me, and peace washes over me. There’s no friend of mine that can do that. So while Jesus may not be what I want out of a friend at times, He comes back and shows me that He never leaves me and takes care of my every need. That’s best friend material right there.