Digital Wilderness

Jeremy Camp – There Will Be a Day

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

I try to hold on to this world with everything I have
But I feel the weight of what it brings, and the hurt that tries to grab
The many trials that seem to never end, His word declares this truth,
that we will enter in this rest with wonders anew

But I hold on to this hope and the promise that He brings
That there will be a place with no more suffering

(Chorus)
There will be a day with no more tears, no more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place, will be no more, we’ll see Jesus face to face
But until that day, we’ll hold on to you always

I know the journey seems so long, you feel you’re walking on your own
But there has never been a step where you’ve walked out all alone
Troubled soul don’t lose your heart ’cause joy and peace He brings
And the beauty that’s in store outweighs the hurt of life’s sting

But I hold on to this hope and the promise that He brings
That there will be a place with no more suffering

(Chorus)

I can’t wait until that day where the very one I’ve lived for always will wipe away the sorrow that I’ve faced
To touch the scars that rescued me from a life of shame and misery this is why this is why I sing

How much do you know about America’s heritage? What’s your civic knowledge?

Take this civics quiz at americancivicliteracy.org and find out.

My results:

You answered 31 out of 33 correctly — 93.94 %
Average score for this quiz during November: 78.0%
Average score: 78.0%

I was certainly surprised by results. Being back in school and taking MBA classes helped out with a several of the questions. The two questions I did miss were #7 and #8.

How did you do?

News Flash! HOT Off the Presses! Christmas is on December 25th this year!!!

It took some time, coming very late in the year, but the governments of the world finally reached a compromise on when Christmas will be celebrated in 2008 – and it’s December 25th! That’s just over a month away! Too late to save, so break out those credit cards, run up the balance and load up on gifts!

All kidding aside, will you go (further) into debt because of Christmas this year? AllFinancialMatters reports via Consumer Reports that 12 Million American’s Are STILL Paying Off Last Year’s Christmas!

Believe it or not, Christmas IS the same time every year, so why are people caught off guard by it? Why aren’t people saving for it? Putting aside as little as $1 a day THROUGHOUT the year in anticipation of the holiday will reduce the lingering stress that often results from what should be a joyous time of year. Spend the holiday enjoying time with family and friends rather than being bitter and resentful because now there are bills that have to be paid because gifts had to be bought.

It’s not too late! Prepare a budget and get ready for the holiday. Put the plastic away (or better yet, perform a plasectomy) and live within your means. Tell your money where to go rather than it telling you where to go. Skip a few lattes. Eat in rather than eat out. Look for deals online. Put a personal touch on your gifts by making them.

And when out shopping for others, how about skipping the purchase of that movie, CD, etc. for yourself?

I got nothin’ right now and should be in bed, so enjoy this lesson on inflation from Duck Tales. Hmm, if only the right people had learned about this and much more when they were younger, maybe we wouldn’t be in this “credit crunch.”

A while back, I jokingly wrote a post about Rock Band spinoffs, one of which was Praise Band.

While that hasn’t yet happened, there is a Guitar Hero spinoff – Guitar Praise: Solid Rock. It’s a version of Guitar Hero that features Christian rock songs. Wired.com has a review of the game: Hands-On: Digital Praise’s Christian-Themed ‘Guitar Hero’ Clone. The article basically says Guitar Praise is no Guitar Hero, but it tries. Some of the differences include Guitar Praise being for the PC only, it does not have characters and there is no battling the devil. It does display the song lyrics, though, so your audience can sing along as you jam.

I don’t know if I’ll ever buy the game, especially since it’s for PC only (doesn’t seem as much fun or social playing on a smaller computer monitor), but I would love to play the songs. I know almost all these songs, whereas with Guitar Hero and Rock Band and I don’t know nearly as many. I’m really surprised by the song lineup, too. There are some pretty big names for this smaller budget game. Here’s the list, some of which maybe we’ll see on the “secular” versions of the guitar/band games one day.

12 Stones – “Broken”
Bride – “Same Ol’ Sinner”
Caedmons Call – “There You Go”
Casting Crowns – “Lifesong”
Chris Tomlin – “Made to Worship”
Darrell Evans – “So Good To Me”
David Crowder Band – “Foreverandever Etc.”
Day Of Fire – “Reap and Sow”
dc Talk – “Jesus Freak”
Family Force 5 – “Love Addict”
Flyleaf – “Perfect”
Hawk Nelson – “The Show”
Hawk Nelson – “Friend Like That”
Inhabited – “Rescue Me”
Israel & New Breed – “All Around”
James Clay – “Franklin Park”
Jared Anderson – “Blind Man”
Jennifer Knapp – “Undo Me”
Jeremy Camp – “Tonight”
Jessie Daniels – “What I Hear”
Jonah33 – “Father’s Song”
Josh Bates – “Perfect Day”
Kutless – “Beyond the Surface”
Kutless – “Hearts of the Innocent”
Lincoln Brewster – “Spin”
Nate Sallie – “All About You”
Nevertheless – “The Real”
Newsboys – “Something Beautiful”
Paul Baloche – “Rock of Ages”
Paul Baloche – “All The Earth Will Sing Your Praises”
Petra – “Backsliding Blues”
Pillar – “When Tomorrow Comes”
Red – “Breathe Into Me”
Relient K – “I Need You”
Seventh Day Slumber – “Awake”
Skillet – “The Older I Get”
Skillet – “Rebirthing”
Skillet – “Savior”
Spoken – “Wind In My Sails”
Spoken – “Falling Further”
Spur 58 – “Sleepwalkers”
Stellar Kart – “Procrastinating”
Superchick – “We Live”
The Crucified – “The Pit”
This Beautiful Republic – “Going Under”
Thousand Foot Krutch – “The Flame in All of Us”
Thousand Foot Krutch – “The Art of Breaking”
tobyMac – “I’m For You”
Todd Agnew – “This Fragile Breath”
Warren Barfield – “My Heart Goes Out”
Whitecross – “Who Will You Follow”
Whitecross – “When The Walls Tumble Down”

Here are a couple funny videos from Lanny Donahoe that were shown at Catalyst:

Science of Together

Happy Together with Jeff Foxworthy

1986? – Dinosaur

2003 – Karate Kid

2004 – Indiana Jones

2005 – Punk

2006 – Scarecrow

2007 – Zombie Bob Ross

2008 – Swedish Chef

2009 – ???

I already have a costume idea for next year…it’ll be “out of this world!”

For all the single guys out there:

Beautiful_02- Single Guys Outtake from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.

It’s election day (in case you’ve been living under a rock and weren’t aware) so go vote!

And when you’re done, use your “I Voted” sticker for some Election Day Freebies.

Starbucks – Free coffee
On November 4, 2008, Starbucks will give voters a free tall brewed coffee at participating U.S. stores. After voting, voters must go to a Starbucks store, where they’ll be given a tall (12 oz) cup of brewed coffee at no charge (limit one per customer).

Krispy Kreme – Free star-shaped doughnut
Krispy Kreme will celebrate National Election day by offering all retail customers with an “I Voted” sticker a free star shaped doughnut with patriotic sprinkles.

Ben & Jerry’s – Free ice cream
Come to participating scoop shops on November 4th from 5-8pm, and you’ll get a free scoop of ice cream.

Chick-fil-A – Free chicken sandwich
At participating stores, bring in your “I voted” sticker into your local Chick-Fil-A on Tuesday, November 4th and get a free chicken sandwich.

Books-A-Million Bookstores – Free coffee
Wear your “I voted Sticker” to Books A Million on election day and receive a cup of Joe on us!.

Remember to turn your clocks BACK an hour before going to bed tonight. Daylight Saving Time officially ends at 2am Sunday morning. Yay for an extra hour of sleep! Boo for it being darker earlier…

Also, don’t forget to:

• Change the batteries in your smoke detector
• Change the batteries in your carbon monoxide detector
• Flip/rotate your mattress for optimal life
• Go through your closets and drawers for old, unneeded clothes to donate to charity

With the election only a few days away, use this extra hour to get informed about the candidates and issues that will be on the ballot this year. Much of the focus is on the Presidential race, but don’t forget about the state and local elections as well.

Save time by becoming familiar with your ballot before entering the voting booth. Kentucky residents can view their ballot here.

As usual, there are a lot of negative attack ads and just plain mis-representation of the facts. With the web at your fingertips, use it to research and find out the truth about the candidates (again, don’t forget to look into state and local races as well as the Presidential).

Here are a couple resources to get you started:

• ontheissues.org
• factcheck.org