Hear: The Song “Only A Man” by Jonny Lang
You may or may not have heard of Jonny Lang, but this guy was a child prodigy, who released his first album at age 15. From what I have read and heard, Jonny became a Christian about six years ago and this song is a reflection of that experience. The lyrics are incredible and when my friend showed Bethany and I the song in the car I teared up a little bit. [click here to hear the song]

See: The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
We already have our TiVo set, our American flags are out, and I started memorizing names and stats. Ok, the stats part is pushing it, but the TiVo and flags are for real. Bethany and I are probably more excited about the Olympics then you are. It’s true — we’re hardcore about it. In fact, we just finished watching the Japan vs. USA soccer match which started a day earlier than the opening ceremony. Yeah, that’s right — we watched all 90 minutes of it. Many of the games will be going on while we’re snoozing (because of the time change), but I was able to find this “How to watch the Olympics online” post from Wired.com which should help everyone out. I’ll be watching soccer, swimming, gymnastics, and I’m thinking about handball, just because I think it’s funny. “U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!….”

Do: Buy and Read How To Read a Book
I’m about 100 pages into this book and I’m quickly realizing why the majority of my professors said that everyone should read this book. It seems silly to read a book on how to read a book, but the truth is I now think I’ve been missing out on how to get the most out of my reading — any kind of reading. It’s a great book and will help with your pleasure reading and your Bible reading as well. I know some of you reading this are heading to college soon, and I’m telling you this would be a huge asset to you.

If there’s one topic I can’t stop thinking about lately, it’s my need for the Gospel. Not a “saving” Gospel in that I need to be evangelized, but an applied Gospel. Not just the saving Truth of Christ dying for my sin, but the application of that Truth in my life.

The last few weeks the Lord has used his Word mightily in my life. It’s incredible for me to think that He goes beyond the bounds of saving me, to then nourish and train me through the teaching of His Word. Fortunately, I am a part of a church that cherishes God’s Word and proclaims it week in and week out and is committed to it.

I was reading in 1 Thessalonians last night where Paul writes to the church, “Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us” (I Thess. 2:8). What strikes me in this passage is Paul is explaining how he didn’t just give the church a Gospel presentation and leave town, but he stayed on with them and gave “his life”. He gave his time, his energy, his knowledge, his whole life to the church. He wanted to see them grow and watch as their hearts were transformed by the grace of God. Obviously, it didn’t happen over night because he had to stay on with them and continue to teach and train them. But Paul loved the church there and earnestly desired to be with them because they “…had become very dear…” to him. So apparently, the Gospel of Christ had brought him and the church in to a new and exciting relationship — one where God could be glorified and the church could be edified. This is why I need the Gospel every day.

I need the Gospel daily because it takes the focus off of my own life. It allows me to see the grace of God at work in both the Church and my heart and forces me to my knees in humble and willing submission to the God of the universe. It’s when I lose sight of the cross that I don’t want to serve, don’t want to love people, and simply drown in self-righteousness — which is how my heart unfortunately has felt these past weeks. I appreciate Martin Luther’s words when he writes, “…it is true that the doctrine of the Gospel takes all glory, wisdom, righteousness, etc., from men and ascribes them to the Creator alone, who makes everything out of nothing.” If I don’t get a daily reminder of my need for the Gospel, my heart grows hard and I continue to walk in my former ways — that is, in disobedience to the Creator. Praise the Lord for the way He works in each of our hearts and praise Him for how He uses His Word to reveal areas in our lives that need change.

Evacuate This Place Quick!, originally uploaded by shaycam.

The good people at UrbanTurf.com approached me this week about using one of my photos for an article they were doing on Washington D.C. As most young, aspiring photographers would, I gave them permission and they were kind enough to send a link back to me.

Here’s a link to the article if you want to check it out or are planning on moving to D.C. anytime soon. Apparently, it’s ranked 7th in the U.S. as one of the most “walkable” cities.

Here’s a link to the photoset of my trip to Washington D.C. last year.

It’s that time again for another crack at Hear, See, and Do. It’s just another way to get inside my head…

Hear: John Piper’s Sermon “How the Supremacy of Christ Creates Radical Christian Sacrifice”
John Piper recently preached this sermon at the Together For the Gospel Conference in Lousiville, Kentucky and I’ve listened to it a few times now and would like to pass it on. If this doesn’t go down as one of the defining sermons of his life I’ll be sad — trust me, it’s a good one.

See: This video and song by Phil Wickham.
It’s a song called “True Love” off his Cannons album. This acoustic version is ridiculously good:

Do: Visit evadethenoise.com and read reviews by my friends and me!
I love music and movies, there’s no denying that. That’s why my friend Abe and I created and founded evadethenoise.com. It started out as a way for us to push our love for music and is slowly evolving into more. This past week we added movie reviews (thanks to Jared), and we’re continually adding more news and reviews each week. Oh, and I did a review on Wall-E that’s a must read…robots are neat.

Some recent reviews from me: Wall-E, Coldplay, and Death Cab For Cutie.
Some from the rest of the evade team: Expelled and The Killing.

[To visit the first Hear, See, and Do click here]

Bethany and I got away for the Fourth of July weekend. It was such a blessing to be out of the super hot valley we live in and get in to the cool ocean air. We dig Ventura, so here’s a few photos from our weekend away:

Just an old marquee sign that’s sitting in an empty lot. I thought it was neat.

Kayaks waiting to hit the ocean.

Bethany takes her photography even more serious than I do… hehe

aahh.. the Pacific Ocean — we love you.

“I never saw the sign officer.”

The water was hitting the rocks we were standing on — it was radical.

Just some plain ol’ driftwood.

Here’s Bethany cruising around on the bike we rented. She’s so nice.

I was cruising around on my new longboard. I definitely put the miles on that bad boy!

Finally, Bethany and me waiting for the fireworks. Our American flags were a good touch… “USA! USA! USA!”