Catch the Fever

If you haven’t yet heard of this band, you will soon.  Sleeperstar is a Dallas band that is quickly moving up in the world.  Recently they had one of their songs played on the popular teen TV show, Vampire Diaries, resulting in their music going viral through Europe.  As entertainers go, they are young, energetic, and they are learning new tricks as they go.

As creative minds, they push the music as far as they can in order to achieve a rich and unique sound for their listeners.  Although they sometimes get caught up in some of the same neat tricks, they present a musical blend between Switchfoot, Cold Play and a bit of U2.  The lead singer, Chris Pearson, has a powerful voice, and the three vocals behind compliment him very well.  They have a groovy stage presence that makes you feel like they’ve been rockin’ for a long time.  Really, they have only been around for just 4 years now.

Check them out on Facebook, or on their website.  Better yet download some of their music on iTunes.  For some really good listening I would start with the upbeat and energetic sound of their song Disengage.  It’s like candy for your ears. Follow that up with the acoustic sounds of Texas Rain, and you will have a good vibe for their musical range.  These are some of their older songs, but their new music is worth the listen as well.

It was a blast seeing them at the House of Blues for the second time last night, and I can’t wait to see them again.

Lie to Me

I have to admit, like many Texans, I am pretty bummed that we did not beat any records for consecutive 100-degree days in Dallas.  I mean if we are going to endure such a prolific heat wave all summer, then at least make it one for the books.  Meteorologists have searched far and wide to see what records we may have broken, and it has been determined by the National Weather Service that Texas has experienced the hottest summer of any state in recorded history in the United States of America, but the report couldn’t just stop there, and that’s where things turn sour.

It’s not like Meteorologists have a great track record to protect when they report the weather.  It may rain, it may not, we may see snow, we may not.  That’s why this entire summer I wished just once that they would give us a bone, or some hope to hang our hat on.  Just say it could stay in the 90s.

Well to top off the report that we have had the hottest summer of any state in the union ever, the weatherman concluded with the possibility of 100 degree whether returning to North Texas by next Tuesday or Wednesday.  Just lie to us.  It won’t change the weather, but we won’t be loathing it for the next 5 days either.

Price Check on Register 5

This might be one of the most thought provoking shows on TV.  I have been struck by awe, excitement and a healthy amount of fear as I sit and watch the TV show “Extreme Couponers” for the first time.  I’ve heard of it, and I even have a friend that dabbles in the finer points of couponing enough to save a lot of money.  I would really like to take advantage of the huge savings, but the time and labor that goes into dumpster diving for newspapers, clipping hundreds of coupons and checking the right blogs and internet sites to prepare for a big trip seems dizzying.

If you’ve never seen the show before, you need to know that there are people who literally spend 30 or more hours a week clipping coupons, 7-8 hours in a day scouting out deals at grocery stores, 6-9 hours shopping in the same store on the same day to load up 9 carts of products retailing over $1200+, and leaving without paying a dime and in some cases receiving store credit for their purchase.  Wow!

The very nature of couponing means that in some cases you have to buy in bulk (i.e. 100+ items at a time).  The first couple we saw were seminary students who donated 90% of the items they had bought and saved, and it was enough to fill a medium sized moving truck. The next several couponers had store rooms of various sizes that held, in most cases, more than 1 year of supplies and food for their family.

In my humble opinion, some of these people border line on being compulsive and obsessive, but I think there is a great need for people just like them.  I think that every philanthropic, non-profit agency who has food banks should employ a couponer on staff to keep their stock full, and to teach their community how to coupon.  As one lady put it, “If you’ve never couponed before, you haven’t been broke enough.”  This could supply a valuable base of products for each agency as they strive to provide necessary items for the people they serve, and give them the opportunity teach their community how “to fish” so to speak.  What do you think?  Do you coupon, or know someone who does?  Have you seen “Extreme Couponers”?  I want to hear from you and your thoughts.

10-4 Good Buddy

Molly and I visited a church in Allen this past week and the pastor spoke on part of Mark chapter 1. This is the part in Mark’s account that Jesus finds Peter, Andrew, James and John fishing in the Sea of Galilee and He says, “follow me,” and they “immediately left their nets and followed Him.” While this portion of Scripture brings up all sorts of questions concerning why the four of them felt compelled to leave their nets with no questions asked (which is explained in the other Gospel accounts), Pastor Buddy brought up a point I had never pondered.

Jesus tells them in verse 17, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” You probably have heard that before. I know I have for many years, and I have always run over it without much thought to His choice of words, but Pastor Buddy brought up the point of what is not there. Jesus did not choose to say, “Follow Me, and I will make you better Jews, or better people, or teach you how to preach a sermon.” Jesus used this moment in time to convey to them His passion for the hearts of mankind.

Did you know that Jesus is passionately seeking you? And He’s has no desire to make you a better churchgoer, or to capture you with His list of rules and regulations. He has a passion give you life and give it abundantly through a deep and meaningful relationship with him. Will you come to Him? Feel free to comment or email me at jon@outofshadows.com if you want to know more.