These are all quite worth watching!

let yourself feel. from Esteban Diácono on Vimeo.

This last one is a good long listen. Belt it out…

I am really getting into this song.  “He is coming back again”.

I did not know until today that it would take 7 hours to drive from Ottawa to Boston.  That is so doable!  It is approximately the same time to drive to London, Ontario.

People do not enjoy being corrected for simple things like grammar and spelling.  When I was in Grade 4, I was Mrs. Wronski’s spell-checker.  She enjoyed it.  But unless someone specifically asks to be corrected, I do not bring the issue up.  Even if it bothers me a lot.  I had a post drafted about spelling and grammar errors that are common, but I’m going to wait until it gets longer before I post it.  And for the record, I really don’t mind if you ever correct me on these kinds of errors.  I want to improve in my abilities…. but not at the expense of getting my message across, if the errors are intentional for the idea to be understood (eg. making up words).

Produce was scarce at Loblaws today.  I have this cookbook that I borrowed from Robyn and near the end there is a recipe for Ratatouille.  I decided I would try it.  However, when I arrived at Loblaws to pick up some groceries for the recipe, I found out they have no zucchinis or eggplants at all right now.  Normally I wouldn’t even eat these vegetables, but right when I actually decide to try it out, they aren’t there.  This looming price-rise for groceries and foods is hitting closer to home!

Instead of ratatouille I decided to make an alfredo cream sauce chicken penne.  I observed this evaporated milk/flour technique when I was at the Strongitharm’s place once so I tried it out myself…. it worked, although it was a bit dry.  Maybe more milk next time.

Gas prices are starting to soar.  I haven’t seen anything less than a dollar per liter for the past couple weeks.  I’m going to try to avoid filling up in Quebec as much as I can, since it’s usually around ten cents more expensive there!

Does the proliferation of original worship music from Hillsong affect church music negatively or positively?  The Hillsong music quality is typically off the charts.  The musicianship is unparalleled (sample some drum techniques here and some guitar techniques here) and most normal people in worship bands cannot pull their stuff off without tons of practice.  The quality of the live sound mixing on their CD’s and DVD’s as well as the live music videos really have no equal in the Christian worship music world.  And yet the accessibility of the music to the general church populace means the taste of  the average worshipper has risen.  This means they come to expect better quality music from their own churches (or at least their ears are more accustomed to such quality).

Now I’m all for quality music.  However, when worshippers have unrealistic expectations (I struggle with this sometimes) they can be distracted and the focus on God is lost.  For example, whenever I hear the song “Mighty to Save” played out by a full band, I actually listen and watch to see if the guitar technique and the drum technique is as sickeningly amazing as the original Hillsong bunch.  But of course, this is me and I’m pretty obsessive-compulsive at times.  With the average worshipper, is this happening to them?  Do they worship as “whole-heartedly” in church as they do at a live-concert worship performance by Hillsong United when they come to town?

This is where I see a need for an increase in the quality of music (to enhance the experience and also to glorify God more, simply), and yet an ironic need for a decrease in the necessity of quality music by the worshipper so that even in unpolished circumstances they are able to enter an attitude of praise.