Favourite Songs

One of my jobs at LIFE is handling the music we play. I love this part of my job! Music has always been a huge part of my life, getting to work so closely with it on a daily basis is awesome!

Here are some of my favourite tracks on the air right now!

Matthew Parker - We Go



Owl City - You're Not Alone



Lecrae - Messengers



tobymac - Beyond Me

Way Too Young

I love music videos. I've mentioned it before on this blog, but I really can't get enough of them. That little boy in me (who, I might add, isn't really hidden most of the time anyway...) gets way more excited than he should whenever a new video hits the net. A good one nails it all. The shots, theme and artist's acting all coming together in a wonderful 3:30 package.

I never thought I would be blessed with the opportunity to make them myself. Well, I just wrapped up production on my 6th (well, 6th real one...).

This one is a little different from stuff I've worked on in the past. I didn't have to shoot anything. Which was weird. Someone else had done all that for me. This was all a matter of editing it together and then spending a few dozen hours adding the lyrics.

All in all, I love how it turned out!



Here's hoping I have more to throw on the ol' blog before 2015 expires!

The Best of 2014

I love the New Year. It gives you a chance to reflect on how (hopefully) awesome the preceding year was and get excited for the up-coming year.

I normally do a retrospective of my favourite things from the year, this year is no different!

Favourite Album - Switchfoot - Fading West

I don't listen to albums as much as I once did. Mostly, I listen to the radio. However, every now and then an album comes along that I just love to the max. Fading West was that album for me. It's one of those rare gems that doesn't stop being good from start to finish. It's artsy, it's catchy and it's fun. Plus, it's Switchfoot. How can you go wrong!?!? I would name a favourite track... but I can't. It's a solid album








Favourite Worship Album - Tie - Crowder - Neon Steeple/ John Mark McMillian - Boarderlands

I know I just said I hardly listen to CDs and I have 3 down as being my favourites, but to be fair... these were basically the only ones I listened to all year!


Hearing David Crowder's voice again was a treat this year. The guy is an amazing composer/ song writer. Loved being able to enjoy the guy that made me love worship music again.

John Mark McMillian is an acquired taste. His voice is... unique. Sometimes that means it's in it's own special key... however, that doesn't stop Boarderlands from being beautiful. It's a really weird album, mixing elements of 80's pop with modern worship. That's not even mentioning the blues fuelled horn sections. If you're a worship leader looking for some new songs, give it a listen. Future// Past alone is worth it.








Favourite Christian Movie - Grace Unplugged/ Believe Me

I know I know... that's two ties in one blog... I am an indecisive person when it comes to picking a "favourite".

Grace Unplugged technically came out last year, but I saw it this year. It's really good. It's the story of a girl who walks away from her family and faith to pursue a record deal. It's pretty realistic without being over the line. A good film for family movie night.

Believe Me is a really hard film to describe. It's one of the best examples of what Christian film should be, well shot, fantastic acting, believable characters and a story that makes you think long after the credits roll. However, it's not for everyone. Some of the jokes they make can definitely hit the wrong buttons... they did for me... but that's sort of the point. I recommend it, with the caveat that you it may offend you at times. And not in the ways you think it will.










And now for the rapid fire honourable mentions...

Favourite Superhero Movie - Captain America: Winter Soldier
Favourite Kids Movie - Lego Movie/ Big Hero 6 (nuts! another tie... I do have a problem...)
Favourite New Food - Chimichangas
Favourite Thing I Made -





Favourite Concert - 15th Anniversary of LIFE 100.3
Favourite Pair of Pants - Those sweet, sweet blue jeans.
Favourite TV Show - Doctor Who

O.K... that's enough about last year. Onward to 2015! What were your favourite things of 2014?

Being Busy

I always forget how busy Decembers get. For some reason my brain is in a loop that says December will be the light, breezy time of the year. My brain is wrong.

I hate it when people say that they are busy. Always seems to be a clever way of pointing out how important they are. However, I've noticed myself slipping into the habit... mostly due to the month.

Between year end at work, Christmas and personal functions. It's craziness!

All that to say this.

No matter how busy you are, where you have to drive, the food you need to cook, tires you need to change, gifts you need to find or deals you need to close. Take some time to just rest.

That might be going for a walk, watching a movie or just sitting with the Christmas lights on. Whatever it is, this time of year is too awesome to not take a minute to smell...er... the... snow...

Seriously. As counter productive as it seems. Taking a break can give you just the right amount of edge to wrap up the big time drainers.

At least this is what I've come to conclude over the last two weeks!

Beautiful

One of the best things about radio (and one of the reasons I was interested in it in the first place) is all the awesome songs that you get to experience.
There are so many talented artists that are producing great material.

It's overwhelming actually, and really easy to miss some of the gems.

That's the case with Beautiful. It's a worship song by Phil Wickham that came out a few years ago. It went right under my radar upon initial release. However, life finds a way.

A friend sent me the song a few weeks ago, I've been hooked ever since!

It really captures the adoration aspect of worship. Singing praises to God.

"I see your face in every sunrise, the colors of the morning are inside of your eyes"

Talk about poetic. Also, the whoo whoo whoos are a nice touch.

Hopefully you enjoy it as much as I have been!

A Different Take On Up

Up is one of my favourite movies. It really is a masterpiece from Pixar.

"But it's a kid's movie" you say. You have obviously never seen Up. Or any Pixar film really. A Bug's Life, Toy Story, Wall-e all deal with some heavy themes. Up? It tackles death and morning.

Ya... fun topics for a kid's movie!

Something else I love are parodies. Good ones. Anyone can make fun of something. But a good parody understands what makes the original great (or lame) and embraces that.

That's what this parody of Up does.

It takes the style of Michael Bay (a guy famous for using a lot of explosions and lens flares) and adds it to the sentimental Up.

I thought it was funny. Hope you do too.

Praying For Our Enemies

This week was a terrible week in Ottawa. There are a plethora of posts about it on Facebook by now. I won't go into the details, you've likely seen them already. If not, there are better educated people talking about it on-line.

However, I will say that I've been thinking a lot about Michael Zehaf Bibeau. The shooter. 

More specifically - His family.

When tragedy like this hits, our first response is to pray for the victim and their family. Which is good! Don't get me wrong. Not praying for them would be awful.

But what about the culprit? More specifically, what about his family?

If I was Michael's father, I would be a mess today. I probably wouldn't even be out of bed. You're full of grief at the lose of your son... and the horrible things he did minutes before his death. Man, I'm getting down just thinking about it.

Assisting the "enemy" is something that human nature tells us to not to do.

Then I read Matthew 5:43-45

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[a] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Yesh.

That's why I'm trying to see our enemies differently. Michael Zehaf Bibeau did a terrible thing. However, his family shouldn't suffer for it. 

Had he survived, I think I'd still be writing this. Though I would change it slightly. Pray for the family but also the culprit. How to pray, is beyond me. I guess that's why we have the Holy Spirit. When stuff like this happens and we don't have the words.

OK! That's was heavy. Happy post next week, promise!