The Dancing Duo

Here is Seth and Tony...that's all I got. Just watch it. Love you guys!

The Simpler...Almost Always The Better

So I was just sitting here listening to Five for Fighting's The Battle for Everything album. It's a great album that can teach any musician the lesson of how to use simplicity in musicianship for the greater good.

It's funny how even a year ago I was trying to add so much to a mix with my acoustic guitar by strumming one too many times. I would try to add some special little triplets or play harder in order to show the emotional build I was going for. This can be useful when playing an acoustic set (although building with the guitar can sometimes be known as beating the crap out of it for which case that is never acceptable!), but when playing with a band it's not needed 98% of the time. I really learned this lesson before a conference in Florida last spring. My good friend, Jon Hill, pulled me aside and told me that he had been listening to the tracks from the previous conferences and noticed that I was strumming (When I listened to it, it was actually more like HITTING) the guitar too hard. The song was Shout Unto God by Hillsong and when it got really big I was also strumming really hard and it was cutting through the mix with the harsh "kx-kx-kx" that actually sounds closer to a cheap crash than an acoustic guitar. I was trying so hard to add to the sound that I was actually taking away from it by playing so hard. I wanted to add MY instrument in the mix so much, to make it sound better of course, that in the midst of trying to make it sound good all I was listening for was ME.

At the beginning of this year I was a full time student (taking 19 hours), I was the worship leader for College Heights High School Chapel's, I was in Foundation Red, I was working with Believe, I had just gotten engaged, and I was volunteering at College Heights Christian doing worship for youth. I simply didn't have enough hours in the day to get everything done that needed to get done. In the midst of all of this I was trying to be filled up with the Spirit, but it was so hard...I felt empty inside. I was trying so hard to accomplish the things I had wanted to do in my life for God that I had forgotten to listen to the One who gave me the giftedness to do it in the first place. I had lost sight of my purpose by simply trying too hard to accomplish that purpose.

Sometimes life's kind of like playing in a band...you try to do so much to make it sound great...when in all reality you just need to get back to the basics, do the simple stuff...it just might sound better. Maybe in the midst of trying to make our lives sound so good for our Creator, we should just stop for a while, listen, and do the simple stuff.

It’s for real…that’s my arm. It’s hard and annoying to type with one hand, so I’ll try to say what happened and then be done. Johnny will tell you that I was trying to artificially inseminate a cow, but that’s pretty far from the truth. I was helping my Grandpa sort some calves. One kicked at me and hit me perfectly on the right arm to do the damage you see in the picture above.

I’m sitting across the street from SIU at Common Grounds (This really cool coffee shop that has great tea!) I’m just thinking about the first week and the weeks to come. Week one at Carbondale went pretty well for us. Playing with a cast is tough and takes some getting used to, but it went over alright. By Tuesday night the students in Carbondale were in it and singing loud. I might go against some of the students, but I think that one of the best songs we played all week was “Lord Let Your Glory Fall”. The message of that song and the powerful feel of it makes it great for pre-sermon or post-invitation. Another song that went over well was the Phil Wickham song “Always Forever”. With a ballad feel, this song has a great message of sacrifice and dedication to the Lord with our lives. I hope that if you’re a student or youth worker you can get those two songs and put them in your services at some point.

Believe 2006-07

This year's Believe tour has come and gone. But with it, many memories remain. Here are just a few of the good 'ol times on the road. I hope you enjoy.

Cinci Believe 07

So this was by far the most entertaining Believe I have ever done. I was introduced to Skyline Chili (I enjoyed it quite a bit). On our trip up to the event I saw, what I would have to say is a first. We're driving along and this car passes us from a state other than Missouri and the driver has a bong! And he's taking a hit while he's driving! This was crazy enough as it was, but then a cop flies by and pulls over the car. Our van sounded like a bunch of High School guys when their friend does something cool but stupid, ya know. It sounded something like, "OOOOHHHHHH!!! NO WAY!!!!! NO WAY!!!!" It was pretty...interesting. We then encountered a man in Illinois who scolded Chase like a little kid for apparently driving over the speed limit! Anyway we rushed to Cinci so all the fanatics in our van could watch the next episode of Lost. I'm a fanatic too, I'm just not caught up yet. So I spent the episode in the corner of our hotel room with my earbuds in, working on homework, blaring iTunes so I wouldn't catch anything that happened yet, so my whole Lost experience wouldn't be ruined.
It was a great Believe event, the best I've been a part of yet.

Here are 4,000 Jr. High students at the Cincinnati Believe this year. I was standing by the subs so the audio is pretty much all bass.

Johnny's Redneck Joke

Here's Johnny's latest joke. Check it out. Kind of a hit on people from where we live in good ol' southwest Missouri.

True Fan

I consider myself a big fan of the bears. I was pretty upset about the loss this weekend to the Colts. It took a night to get over the bad mood, that any true fan knows is overwhelming when their team loses a big game. But for me, the next day I can wake up being Jordan Howerton. I know that sounds like a pretty "duh" statement. One man didn't get to have the privilege of waking up with the same name after the loss. I know it's ridiculous but check it out. My hat is off to Scott Wiese, a true fan to the bears...and kind of an idiot.


Here is a pic of Megan and I at the Super Bowl party. She's awesome b/c even though she really doesn't know a ton about football, in support of me she has become a BIG bears fan. So before the game she wanted to go and get a hat and all the works. Awesome, I know.