You could call me Old Faithful, because I'm a gusher. When something or someone really impresses me, I can sometimes be over-effusive in my praise.

But that could get a little dangerous if what really impresses me is something I've done or had a part in. With that in mind, let me gush about our new album.

I received the final, mastered version of Purpose early this week. Tom mixed it, and then he sent it to the NorthStar studios in Portland (the same studio that Rescue uses) to be mastered. NorthStar good, really good.

So that's where I'll start. The sound quality of this recording is really quite excellent. This is the best we've ever sounded (maybe the best we'll ever sound), and it's not all because it's the best we've ever sung.

The singing. It's by far our best album. By far. It sort of makes sense, too, because we've been a group that's grown through the years. There was so much room for improvement when we started, that we've been able to make strides musically with every album. That's one of the shames that this may be the last hurrah for us, we could grow so much more (not saying it's a done deal that we'll never sing again, but it doesn't look good for it "being like it used to") musically and otherwise.

The songs. Dude, the song selection for this album, from my perspective, is also excellent. We've got a good mix of fast and slow, good mix of styles. Invocation might be my favorite--a beautiful, short ballad that has a thought-provoking lyric. And of course for all those that don't like an AHQ power ending, sorry, we've got like three of those. Only three, though, which is a good number for us. Well, maybe four, depending how you define "power ending."

When I Lift Up My Head, And Can It Be, I'll Live Again (especially for Southern Gospel fans), a Dale Kropf song, three orignals, a couple of Wayne Hooper spirituals.

It's going to look cool too.

Ok, gushing officially over. Do I think it's hot? Mmm, depends what you compare it to. Compared to Let Me Tell You 'Bout Heaven, it's like the most amazing recording ever. Hmmm, I don't like to down-talk. I just went off about that today, people talking bad about themselves. So I'm finding it hard to down-talk the album, not because I think it's Chanticleer quality or anything, but just because it is what it is, and I'm not looking for affirmation by talking it down.

It's the best thing AHQ has ever done.

We had our church league double-elimination basketball tournament today. We were seeded 5th out of 10 teams, and the first team we played was the 8th seed. We beat them.

The next team was one that had blown us out the last game of the season. We played very tough with them, we had a chance to win in regulation. We actually were up one and I had the ball, but the tipped it away from behind. Then we had another costly turnover after that. They actually went ahead with 20 seconds or so to go but Randy made a nice dish to Kevin for a baseline layup to tie it up and send it to overtime.

In overtime we battled them, battled them, but in the end we came up just short. Tough loss.

Then we played a big, physical team that shot better than we expected. We laid an egg and were bounced out of the tourney.

Oh well. It was fun, and though I'm tired, it's a good tired.

Cappy is a friend from Bible School who's out here for a week-long vacation. He went to school with me today. He liked the database lab, but I don't think he really enjoyed Probability.

He's contentedly surfing the web now, as I supposedly do schoolwork.

Probability is amazing.

And counter-intuitive at times.

Say there is a 1/1000 chance that an infant would have spina bofida. And let's say there's a test that never tests negative when the child has actually has it and 95% of the time tests positive when the child doesn't actually have the disease.

The question is, given that the child tests positive for spina bofida, what is the probability that the baby truly has the disease?

The surprising answer is approximately 2%.

So if the baby tests positive and you're one of it's parents, it shouldn't phase you all that much.

Wow, this evening didn't go well.

Circumstances were improving, then more bad things struck. I'm still "in the midst" so I have a rather negative mindset right now.

Here's a quote from an esteemed by-log commenter:

'Perhaps you should specify what you mean by "bomb."'

Ahem.

Well.

When I wrote that I had an idea that it wasn't as bad as I made it sound.

Here are the cold, hard numbers.

I got a 57.5 out of 100 on the test.

You think that's bad? Huh?

Yeah it is, but the class average was a 56.

And this class is curved such that the average is set to a B.

I love the thought of the church as a refueling station, a haven from the storms of life where difference-making Christians can get recharged.

In Acts, the church was powerful because it was scattered. Same needs to be with us. The church "scatters" during the week and individuals go to work affecting the world. But as they do, they never lose the support of and connection to the local body of believers they are affiliated with.

You know, it's hard to know how to use this blog sometimes. How real to be, how honest. Complaining's not generally good, but it's good if you're letting your feelings out to God, being honest with Him. And sometimes it can be good to unload on a friend.

I don't know.

Amos just preached a sermon last Sunday about discouragement, and he specifically mentioned college students.

Ok, so I'm discouraged. Bombed a test, workload just got overwhelming in the last two days, didn't get a scholarship I was hoping for, had to redo part of a lab because I co. Right now, in the midst of everything, you wonder if it's all worth it. Going to school, exposing yourself to all the stress...for what?

Well, I know "for what." It just seems very big right now. Can't wait until I go outside and walk. Got to clear my head, got to think.

I feel obligated to point out that it's not that bad. You folks hopefully figured that. I highlighted the negatives because I'm feeling negative. But I haven't lost my greater perspective. Well, maybe in a very narrow way I have, just because of the fact that I'm feeling as I do.

I've got quite a bit to blog too, but I don't have the time.

Here is an awesome, though haunting, passage of Scripture. I'm sort of jumping in the middle of a sentence, but it's the last part of verse twenty-seven that's particularly poignant.

Acts 17:25 nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;
26 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,
27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;

For some reason that just starts to tear at my heart, "...though He is not far from each one of us." That is so beautiful, there's something transcendant and other-worldly, epic, about that phrase, about the verse.

God is bigger than the air I breathe
The world we'll leave
God will save the day and all will say
My glorious!
-Delirious?

This is about the funnest melody you'll ever sing, and assuming there's not a conspiracy by the writers to promote universalism, it's a very...empowering song.

I'm on a song-quoting kick. I wish you could hear the songs as I hear them as I'm thinking about and typing them.

God is so good, no matter if things are good or bad. He's good!


Sometimes 'mid scenes of deepest gloom,
Sometimes where Eden's bowers bloom,
By waters calm--o'er troubled sea,
Still 'tis His hand that leadeth me.

He leadeth me, He leadeth me;
By His own hand He leadeth me:
His faithful foll'wer I would be,
For by His hand He leadeth me.
-Gilmore & Bradbury