From the Mind of MandoRon

I was listening to some music earlier today and got to thinking about some of my favorite artists and albums.  I figured that I should share my top 5 favorite albums of all time, and give you a chance to add a comment with yours.

In no particular order:

1. Set It Off - Thousand Foot Krutch (debut CD was their best ever IMHO!)
2. A Moment of Imperfect Clarity - Spoken (incredible songwriting and lyrics)
3. Rattle & Hum - U2 (is it cheating if it isn’t a studio album?)
4. Kaleidoscope Superior - Earthsuit  (sad that they only lasted one album; but at least they were rebirthed as MuteMath)
5. New Way to Be Human - Switchfoot (much different sound than their later albums)

And a few honorable mentions that are in the running:

• Magical Mystery Tour - Beatles
• Learning to Breathe -Switchfoot
• Ocean Avenue - Yellowcard
• Ether-Electrified Porch Music - Carbon Leaf
• Static - Bleach
• Miracle Mile - Guardian
• Jars of Clay - Jars of Clay
• Love Liberty Disco - Newsboys
• Dosage - Collective Soul
• Dizzy Up the - Goo Goo Dolls
• Every Picture Tells a Story - Rod Stewart
• This Might Sting a Little - Disciple
• Tree 63 - Tree 63
• Indian Summer - Carbon Leaf
• MTV Unplugged - 10,000 Maniacs (again… not a studio album)

What are your top 5 albums?  Leave a comment.

Over my lunch break Monday, I made a trip to the bank (technically a credit union) in order to withdraw some money from my savings account.  I gave the teller, who seemed a little frazzled, my account number and showed my ID.  She wrote the account number down on a slip of paper and the amount that I wanted to withdraw.  Then she had me sign the bottom. 

This was not the normal procedure.  It turns out that their computer system was down and they were having to do everything manually.

But here’s the weird part…  She gave me $500 cash without even looking to see if I had enough money in my savings account. 

Get this… they were trusting me, the customer. (Technically, I am a “member” since it’s a credit union and not a bank.)  Trust doesn’t seem very common in business to consumer transactions anymore…  Although, I once ordered a custom mandolin strap from a guy who will build and ship off of an email, trusting that the check or paypal will come through in a few days.  But I digress.

At some point, the credit union decided to take a risk and continue, as much as possible, providing services to their customers.  Of course, the credit union (and I’m not saying which one) put themselves at great risk in doing so.

What if I somebody had told me they were doing this, and I strolled in asking for money without even having an account?  What if I had made an honest mistake and overdrawn my account?  ($$$ = overdraft fees)

I’ve been to an Intrust Bank before when their system was down, but I was only making a deposit.  I have no idea if they would have given me cash.

So what’s your opinion?  Was the credit union doing the right thing?  Or were they exposing themselves to too much risk?

Greetings and Salutations!

Before we get started, I want to call your attention to two things.  First… the new Sunday Setlist header.  Everyone else has one, so I figured I had to have one too.  Is that coveting?  Second, Fred McKinnon is celebrating the 52 week anniversary of his Sunday Setlist blog party.  I think 52 weeks equals 1 year…   Take a minute to go show him some love. 

Today was week 3 of the “At The Movies” series at GracePoint.  Mike Snow preached, using “Land of the Lost” as a sermon illustration.  I was back on sound this week.  As usual, the band was hot!  Christina and Amy led the worship, and they always do an incredible job.

The setlist:

• Never Going Back to OK by The Afters
• Better is One Day by Kutless
• Sing My Love by Sarah McMillan
• God of This City by Bluetree (Chris Tomlin’s Passion version)
• If Today Was Your Last Day by Nickelback

Never Going Back to OK  has been all over the radio for the last year.  It’s shown up once or twice at GP.  I’ll be honest, I don’t particularly care for the song.  The band did sound really good on it though. 

Better is One Day… Denny rocked the heck out of his toms on this one.  There’s some very nice tom-tom action on the Kutless version, which is why we like it.  Rather than repeat the first verse, like Kutless does, we add in the second verse that shows up in other versions: “One thing I ask and I would seek / To see your beauty / To find you in the place your glory dwells”.  Oh yeah… the band played this in the key of C (instead of G) to better fit the ladies’ range.

Sing My Love is a great song.  It’s got a tasty little guitar solo to which Bruce added his own touch.  Amy sang beautifully.  I think one of the reasons that I like having this song in the lineup, is that it’s kind of a female-oriented song.  A man would never write some of those lyrics… “He calls me lovely”, for example.  But I’m guessing that women may identify with it more than they may do other songs.  That’s just my pop psychology.  Feel free to chime in with your opinion.

God of This City really got people worshipping this morning, and believing that God is going to move here in Wichita.  GP, you sang loud this morning!  We use the Chris Tomlin version off of Passion’s “God of this City” album.  If you don’t know the background of this song, check out this post from last year with the story behind the song.  It’s pretty interesting.

If Today was Your Last Day showed up two weeks ago, as well.  However, last time it was acoustic.  This was the first time for the full band.  I’m not much of a Nickelback fan, but the song does have a great message and band was rockin’.  Christina belted out the vocals.. much better than Nickelback, if you ask me.

Good times!

The band: 2 female vocalists, keys, drums, bass, and electric guitar.

I thought that I’d also add a picture showing my view from the mixer board.  It was taken in the 2nd service during Better is One Day.

As always, feel free to add a comment with your thoughts.  Have a great week!

Is miscellany a real word?  I’m too lazy to go look.  It should be.  If not, I’m proposing that it be the correct noun form of the adjective, miscellaneous.

I went by Scooter’s this morning to get a cup of coffee on my way to take Bullet for a walk at the park.  I thought about trying to order a dog biscuit to go with the coffee, but changed my mind.  To my surprise, the gal at the window pulled out a jar of dog treats and offered Bullet one.   What a great example of exceptional customer service, and doing something above and beyond to retain customers.

I let Bullet off his leash for a while at the park.  He wandered into a pile of leaves and started rolling around in them.  There must have been something in the pile.  We’ve noticed that anytime he finds some animal, he has to roll in it.  He completely tunes us out until he’s done, too.  I’ve read that this is a natural instinct to mask their scent while hunting.  The funniest time was when he rolled around on a squirrel in the middle of an intersection.  There was a car coming and I couldn’t get him to move.  The guy slowed down and drove around him - laughing the whole time of course…

I wrote a song this week.  It’s been over a year since the last one.  I wasn’t really trying to, but it just happened.  I recorded acoustic guitar and vocals today, and sent it to my friend Buck.  He’s going to lay down some B-3 organ stuff.  Once that’s done, I plan on posting it for feedback.  It’s not a chart-topper, but it’s okay.  Needs a better vocalist…

I’m not really looking forward to going back to work on Monday.  I’ve really enjoyed having 4 weeks off.  I was pretty stressed out last winter, and didn’t get to recharge my batteries over the Christmas holidays.  I needed these last 4 weeks to relax and refocus.  Things have been crappy at work this year with all the layoffs, and I’m not sure it’s going to stop any time soon.

Now that all of that is off my chest, I feel much better.  We’re getting ready to watch The Goonies with the kids.

Have a great weekend!

Hello party people!  It was good to be back in Wichita this morning, and worshipping at Gracepoint.  It was also nice to have A/C in the service for the first time in three weeks…

Today was week two of the “At the Movies” series.  Bryson used the movie “Slumdog Millionaire” as the basis for his sermon, and talked about God’s plan for our lives versus what other people want us to do.

Oh… did I mention that the music was great?

The music:

• No One Like You by David Crowder Band
• Take It All by Hillsong United
• Strong Tower by Kutless
• Hosanna by Hillsong United
• We Are Broken by Paramore (offering)
• Don’t Give Up by Sanctus Real (exit)

No One Like You is a classic… one of my favorite DCB songs.  It’s a great song to kick off a service with. (If you haven’t checked out their new cover of “How He Loves“, you need to.  It’s very good!)

Take It All is a fun song with a great bridge.  It’s a little tricky rhythm-wise, but worth the effort to learn.

Strong Tower is one of my favorite Kutless songs, and a great worship song.  Surprisingly, it’s been a year since we’ve used it according to Planning Center…  The chorus has some very powerful lyrics: “You are my strong tower / Shelter over me / Beautiful and mighty / Everlasting King / You are my strong tower / Fortress when I’m weak / Your name is true and holy / And Your face is all I seek”.

Hosanna is one of my favorite Hillsong United tunes.  I don’t remember ever hearing Jamie sing this before, and she did an awesome job.  A powerful song.  I found myself with hands raised and crying during this song.  I’m not even sure why…

(An aside… In case you were wondering what “hosanna” means, my research shows that the exact meaning is a subject of discussion.  It means something like “save us, please” or “deliver us, we pray”.  But it is also used simply as a word of praise.  For more info, read here, here, here, and here.  You may recall that as Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, the people shouted ““Hosanna to the Son of David!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest!” - Matthew 21:9.)

We Are Broken was a new one.  Nearly-sixteen-year-old Bailey Carr made a guest appearance on lead vocals for this one.  She did a great job.  Bailey sings with the youth band at GP.  We Are Broken actually makes a great worship song, although I don’t think that was the original intent…

Don’t Give Up is another good song (no slacker songs today!).  We’ve used it a few times before.

The band: 1 male and 1 female vocalist (plus special guest Bailey on We Are Broken), father & son on electric guitar, bass guitar, keys, and drums.

As always, you can check out more Sunday Setlists over at Fred McKinnon’s Sunday Setlist Blog Carnival.

Feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts on the service.