undrskn.org

It’s still Christmas.

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 22:26:56 -0500

It’s still Christmas.

— It’s Christmas.

Sat, 15 Dec 2012 10:12:00 -0500

— It’s Christmas.

—yeah it was hard to explain.

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 22:38:28 -0500

—yeah it was hard to explain.

"In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to..."

Sat, 08 Dec 2012 19:03:25 -0500

“In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.”

- (Hebrews 5:7 ESV)

This is one of the many verses that I want to memorize, but probably never will. It fell into view on my Twitter feed a while ago, and it was one of those “Wow, I needed to hear that today” verses. (for some reason I desperately want to spell verses with an “-is”). Anyway, the timing was right. Heh, timing… The discussions we could have about God and his timing.

Back to the point.

I have developed a habit of breaking down selections of scripture into individual words or phrases. Not my idea… there’s nothing new under the sun. But sometimes analyzing the actual meaning and definition of the individual words in a verse can really give the verse itself a much deeper meaning. With this particular selection, I want to talk about the words flesh, reverence and supplications.

Flesh : (“In the days of his flesh”) We all know about the flesh don’t we? It’s what we’re constantly battling against (and sometimes losing to) in our lifelong process of sanctification. John 1:14 confirms that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”. So the word flesh gives this verse an absolute and wonderful context… a sort of humanity, and it helps us feel connected to the verse, and makes it relevant to our lives and the struggles that we often encounter. It reminds us that Jesus himself struggled during his time on earth, when he became flesh. The cynic in us might suggest that Jesus had the power to win over the flesh and Satan at any time. But, we can’t forget that he was bound (all the way to his death) by his wonderful and perfect obedience to the Father. Remember Luke 22:42 “not my will, but Yours be done.”

Reverence : (“he was heard because of his reverence”). The definition of reverence is “honor or respect felt or shown”. One synonym for reverence is veneration, or “respect and honor that is inspired”. It’s no doubt that Jesus knew who God was (and understood his relationship to God), such that he was inspired to humbly and respectfully and reverently cry out to God, at one point asking God to “remove this cup from me”. Jesus knew that he must be obedient to the will of God, but still he cried out to him. And he did it more than once - “in the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears”. Lots of plurals there.

Supplications : (“Jesus offered up prayers and supplications”) So I’ll admit, I didn’t immediately know the definition of supplication. I suspected it was connected to the word reverence, and sure enough… in the context of this verse, supplication is basically the act of being reverent or reverently praying to God. It’s how Jesus showed his reverence, his humility and his respect for God. Most importantly, it’s the method by which Jesus was heard by God. Jesus knew that God was the only one who could “save him from death”, and his knowledge of God and his relationship with God inspired him to offer up reverent prayers with loud cries and tears…

So is it okay for us to do that? Is it okay for us to cry out loudly to God? Is it okay to shout and cry to him when we’re battling with the flesh? I say it is. Hebrews 5:7 says it is.

Still, being human, one question I’ve secretly asked myself is: How do we know he hears us? How do we know he’s listening when we cry and shout? Are we making him mad? I’m thankful for this verse, because after reading it, I have my answer:

We have to ask ourselves, have we been inspired to cry out to him… inspired by reverence and humility and respect and the knowledge that He is the only one who can save us from death? If so, He definitely hears us.

Jesus knew it and experienced it. Hebrews 5:7 tells us about it. And that’s a wonderful thing. Because we don’t usually get into a state of crying and shouting to God unless we’re seriously losing to the flesh or to the world or to our emotions and unless we literally need to be saved from death - which we all do.

—

THRICE: An announcement from Dustin

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 14:15:00 -0500

THRICE: An announcement from Dustin:

officialthrice:

Thrice is not breaking up. If nothing has broken us up by now, I doubt anything ever could.

However, we will be taking a break from being a full-time band, and the upcoming tour in the Spring will be the last one for the foreseeable future.

Playing music for the past 13 years with…

"i think it’s acceptable and even safe for a portion of the soul to be lost, as long as the..."

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 11:23:12 -0500

“i think it’s acceptable and even safe for a portion of the soul to be lost, as long as the lost doesn’t overtake the found. what is found has been claimed. what is claimed has been made holy. this is the definition of imperfection.”

Damien Jurado (new single) - Nothing Is The News...

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:11:00 -0500

Damien Jurado (new single) - Nothing Is The News (mp3)

It’s a departure, but nobody ever said that was a bad thing.

Dustin Kensrue sings Hospital Beds (Cold War Kids cover) as...

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 10:26:40 -0400

Dustin Kensrue sings Hospital Beds (Cold War Kids cover) as part of an acoustic set in support of Invisible Children.

It's about time Daytrotter

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 10:31:24 -0400

Man, I was beginning to think the Daytrotter guys were trust fund kids, or maybe they had mafia ties or something… Seriously, I’ve been wondering for a quite a while how they’ve been able to fund such a fantastic operation for so long.

Daytrotter has been providing free music streaming and MP3 downloads from some fantastic well-known and emerging artists since 2006. News Flash! Recording gear costs money. A studio costs money. Electricity costs money. Fuel costs money. I’m really opposed to the “something for nothing” attitude that our society is so quickly embracing, and I’m more than proud to pay a measly $2 a month to help these guys continue to provide such a great resource for musicians and music lovers alike. Heck, I lose $2 a month in the laundry.

I say it’s about time. Keep doing what you’re doing guys. It eases my conscious a bit to know that you guys are actually getting compensated for your tireless efforts. Get your Daytrotter membership and help these guys keep on keeping on!

The Finger Band (Review)

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 14:26:15 -0400

Today, I’m making a bit of a departure from my usual pattern of sparse, personal posts about bands I love. I thought I’d take a turn at reviewing a band that I don’t necessarily like, but one that I appreciate for various other reasons. And just because I won’t personally have any of their tracks on repeat doesn’t mean that there aren’t thousands of other music lovers who would disagree with me.

So here goes…

The Finger Band is a quintet hailing from Thessaloniki, Greece whose names I can’t even begin to pronounce, but I can copy-paste with great proficiency… They are: Hypnelia (Lia Siouti), Noukas Sotiris, Azas Sakis, Nick Ditsias and Andrew Haralanis. The group generically describes itself as an “indie rock band”, but who isn’t indie nowadays? Ok, maybe Trace Adkins wouldn’t be considered “indie”. I heard his name dropped a lot by the nice lady who used to cut my hair, and I believe she had one of his songs as her ring tone (wth?).

Anyway, The Finger Band has released two singles over the past six months. The first to hit my inbox back in August was Die! Die! Superhero!

Die! Die Superhero! [soundcloud, youtube, direct download]

Die! Die Superhero! - debut cd single - free download by the finger band

I gave it a listen, but it was a bit too peppy and young (hinting at my age) for my taste, and it didn’t fit with my mood at the time. Sadly, it joined the overflowing Gmail archives (sort of like undrskn purgatory), never to see the light of day. Well, I received notification of a new single today, and I must say that while it was predictably peppy, young, and pretty much removed from my musical tastes by a full generation, I did enjoy the sound and vibe much more this time around. In A Fragment Of Time has a slightly darker and less electronic feel than Die! Die! Superhero! Lia’s vocals continue to impress, and they sound a little more serious on this track.

In A Fragment Of Time [soundcloud, direct download]

The Finger - In A Fragment Of Time by the finger band

What I appreciate about this band:

1) They’re organized

2) They aren’t afraid to persistently and directly self-promote

3) Their songs are catchy and melodic (whether I like them or not)

3) Their sound is tight and clean (although a bit overproduced)

I know that this band has an audience, it’s just a matter of reaching them. I’m glad to help. Good luck and don’t stop.

—undrskn

occupation: life

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 11:22:07 -0400

I graduated from high school. I didn’t have the option of living off my parents’ savings while getting a degree. College wasn’t for me, but the Navy was. I learned how to operate and maintain a nuclear power plant. I learned how to live and work in a submarine. I learned how to be away from my family for months at a time while serving my country. I learned how to be responsible and to depend on myself… Then, I learned how to move on to even better things. I taught myself. I learned how to interview for a job. I learned how to work my way up. I learned how to appreciate opportunity. I learned how to persist in following my dreams. I learned that I could do anything I wanted to do, and I could be anything I wanted to be. I learned that the only person stopping me was me. I learned how to change careers. I learned how to succeed in spite of obstacles and set backs. I learned how to persevere. I did it all on my own. It was out there, and I grabbed it. The only person who could have stopped me was me. I guess I’m the 1%?

the best gets better: DUSTIN KENSRUE ACOUSTIC SESSIONS FOR INVISIBLE CHILDREN

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 17:12:03 -0400

the best gets better: DUSTIN KENSRUE ACOUSTIC SESSIONS FOR INVISIBLE CHILDREN:

sorry for the link. altpress has no video embed feature. but you can download the video here.

Low - Nightingale (KEXP)

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:14:46 -0400

Low - Nightingale (KEXP)

All My Friends Are Dead - Nathan Hussey (via The Blue Indian)

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:59:39 -0400

All My Friends Are Dead - Nathan Hussey (via The Blue Indian)

RICHARD BUCKNER ON DAYTROTTER. ALL AT ONCE. STRINGS, VOICE AND AIR. IT'S WHAT OUR EARS WERE MADE FOR.

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 11:09:57 -0400

RICHARD BUCKNER ON DAYTROTTER. ALL AT ONCE. STRINGS, VOICE AND AIR. IT'S WHAT OUR EARS WERE MADE FOR.:

Be there.

Have these guys rattle your senses for about 20 minutes...

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:46:37 -0400

Have these guys rattle your senses for about 20 minutes live… then you’ll know. Their new album hits digitally on 11/15/11. Get.

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 15:55:00 -0400

Glowing Fields V © Jack Fanning

Tycho - Dive LP out now (early)! Purchase and download it from...

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 09:32:26 -0400

Tycho - Dive LP out now (early)!

Purchase and download it from the ISO50 Store today. Warning, it’s a huge download (475MB).

A. A. Bondy. Surfer King

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 13:58:00 -0400

A. A. Bondy. Surfer King

oncewild: by *jolly2 manipulation of the human spirit

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 14:58:00 -0400

oncewild:

by *jolly2

manipulation of the human spirit

undrskn.org

It’s still Christmas.

— It’s Christmas.

—yeah it was hard to explain.

"In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to..."

THRICE: An announcement from Dustin

"i think it’s acceptable and even safe for a portion of the soul to be lost, as long as the..."

Damien Jurado (new single) - Nothing Is The News...

Dustin Kensrue sings Hospital Beds (Cold War Kids cover) as...

It's about time Daytrotter

The Finger Band (Review)

occupation: life

the best gets better: DUSTIN KENSRUE ACOUSTIC SESSIONS FOR INVISIBLE CHILDREN

Low - Nightingale (KEXP)

All My Friends Are Dead - Nathan Hussey (via The Blue Indian)

RICHARD BUCKNER ON DAYTROTTER. ALL AT ONCE. STRINGS, VOICE AND AIR. IT'S WHAT OUR EARS WERE MADE FOR.

Have these guys rattle your senses for about 20 minutes...

Glowing Fields V © Jack Fanning

Tycho - Dive LP out now (early)! Purchase and download it from...

A. A. Bondy. Surfer King

oncewild: by *jolly2 manipulation of the human spirit