the new year

i found this on statesman.com and thought it was share-worthy....

Among predictions for the U.S. in 2007:

-Six in 10 people think the U.S. will be the victim of a terrorist attack. An identical percentage thinks it likely that a biological or nuclear weapon will be unleashed somewhere else in the world.
-Seventy percent of people in the U.S. predict a major natural disaster in the country and an equal percentage expects worsening global warming. Also, 29 percent think it likely that the U.S. will withdraw its troops from Iraq.
-35 percent predict the military draft will be reinstated.
-35 percent predict a cure for cancer will be found.
-25 percent anticipate the second coming of Jesus Christ.
-19 percent think scientists are likely to find evidence of extraterrestrial life

-57 percent said it is likely that another state will legalize gay marriage. Same-sex marriage is legal in Massachusetts; four other states offer civil unions or domestic partnerships.

"The telephone poll of 1,000 adults was conducted Dec. 12-14 by Ipsos, an international polling firm. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3 percentage points."

Now...how can they say this represents America when they only polled 1000 adults????

Where the Streets Have No name

this song has been stuck in my head for a little more than a wk now..its a classic

I wanna run

I want to hide
I wanna tear down the walls
That hold me inside

I wanna reach out

And touch the flame

Where the streets have no name

Ha...ha...ha...

I want to feel

Sunlight on my face

I see the dust cloud disappear

Without a trace

I want to take shelter from the poison rain

Where the streets have no name

Ho...ha...

Where the streets have no name

Where the streets have no name

We're still building

Then burning down love

Burning down love

And when I go there

I go there with you

It's all I can do

The city's aflood

And our love turns to rust

We're beaten and blown by the wind

Trampled in dust

I'll show you a place

High on a desert plain

Where the streets have no name

Where the streets have no name

Where the streets have no name

We're still building

Then burning down love

Burning down love

And when I go there

I go there with you

It's all I can do

Our love turns to rust

We're beaten and blown by the wind

Blown by the wind

Oh, and I see our love

See our love turn to rust

Oh, we're beaten and blown by the wind

Blown by the wind

Oh, when I go there

I go there with you

It's all I can do

Pre-Semester in review

i cant call this semester in review, even though it is complete...problem is, grades havent come out so therefore it isnt totally complete..and due to this lack of grades, i am nervous still...but this time as many before and many in the future, it is solely in God's hands..and for that i am very very greatful because i even though i try i could never do it alone..just so happens i am listening to an appropriate MuteMath song:

"take control of the atmosphere

take control of the atmosphere

you can take my world you can fill the air

take control.....take control

such a beautiful surrender, such a beautiful surrender

such a beautiful surrender, such a beautiful surrender"

as you know...all 1 of you reading this...on tues. of this wk we had an unfathomable amount of equipment stolen....for no reason other than to take whatever they could...im sure they didnt know what they had and still might not....i pray this time the cops look at the truck's tags and pull em over before they know what hit em...but as much as i feel this affects me, im not one of the ones that had large sums of money, and a large part of my life invested in all of that...and that part of it angers me even more...while i know the good side right now is nobody got hurt and whatnot, had i been out there i woulda fought for that PA....i wouldnt fight over petty things like some girl in 8th grade or some stupid drivers that cut me off on the highway...no no....i would fight for that PA...as i believe Luda speaks of a different kind of "money maker"...that was our money maker....and i was gonna fight....but not given the oppurtunity and left with such a helpless, shocked feeling hurts...we were going to use that equipment this coming sunday for a choir special at our church...what has become a yearly tradition the past 3 or 4 years....and this year the plans have to be changed.....all because some cowards wanna steal stuff they cant work for themselves....well u know what cowards?? i have prayed for you....prayed you would find salvation...in jail.... after you get stopped wherever...with all our stuff....thats not too much to ask is it????

until next time...

ps-Merry early Christmas!

days like today

well nobody commented to me about my last post so idk if people read it at all and idk if anybody reads my blog....oh well i have big shoulders...hahaha

first off let me say a huge thanks that i left out last time i believe to my parents for their support during that wk now over 4 yrs ago

on to today....im in the flag room in the famous MSC....and since its a flag room and they have diveristy stuff here, i just watched a phillipine dance show..they only did one dance with some huge stick but it was quite interesting...its like 32 degrees today or something...but it feels wonderful in here...day got started off by 5 hrs of sleep on a double test day (not suggested)...got out of the shower and was about to get dressed when i banged my knee on my dresser...wooden dresser...lets just say it didnt back down..and i lost...so i laid on my bed in pain for about 20 mins then noticed i was late..supposed to leave the house at 840, i was still agonizing in pain at 835 undressed.....so i rush to get dressed and get out the door....so i do and i make it to sweet eugenes to get my day started right....white mocha and a dozen doughnut holes...and to the inventor of sissy coffee (stuff actually w/taste and not all black)....i thank you......anyways...i get to the reed and the bus stop and was greated by hurricane-force winds that froze my face onto my body for decades to come....no bus was in sight, so i tell myself im gonna wait, but not long...first bus im taking.....first bus that came wasnt mine.....but as any warm blooded human did....i took it.....too dang cold to wait....so i take this bus, having no idea where the route goes....class begins at 935, and today was test day.....test number dos day...finally i find a stop thats relatively close to my class a 920...needless to say i made it..with time to spare...wrote my 2 essays...i thought i did quite well...test again tonite in ASL....which i like the class..but hate the tests....so we shall see....stay warm

until next time

Current Listening:five for fighting "two lights"

augustana "all the stars and boulevards"

norah jones "come away with me"

chris botti "december"

happy 4th anniversary to myself

this day, november 22, 2006, is the 4th anniversary of my hernia surgery..what an ordeal that was...unfortunately i have no pics of the actual ordeal..but what follows is somewhat of a photo essay.. sweet gown (make sure u tie up the back..walking around the hospital w/ur rear-end showing is not flattering to the nurses) IV bags (lady couldnt find a vein after 3 tries finally got it, had to have 2 bags pumped in simultaneously)

liquid barium (so the CT would pick up the intestines)the CT scan to figure out what was wrongthe hat (mine was not half as this sweet)the operationrecovery (popsicle wasnt included)

left hospital

first meal outside oh hospital: SCHLOTZKY'S!!

special thanks to South Austin Hospital, Austin, TX

Mistaken by Warren Barifeld

I shouldnt have to tell you who I am

Cause who I am should be speaking for itself

Cause if I am who I, I want to be

Then who you see won't even be me

Oh the more and more I disappear

The more and more He becomes clear

Till everyone I talk to hears His voice

And everything I touch feels the warmth of HIs hand

Till everyone I meet sees Jesus in me

This is all I wanna be

I wanna be mistaken

For Jesus

Oh I wanna be mistaken

Do they only see who we are

When who we are should be pointing them to Christ

Cause we are who He chose to use

To spread the news

Of the way the truth and the life

Oh i want all I am to die

So all he is can come alive

Till everyone I talk to hears his voice

And everything I touch feels the warmth of His hand

Till everyone I meet sees Jesus in me

This is all I wanna be

I wanna be mistaken

For Jesus

Oh I wanna be, oh i need to be mistaken

For You

Lord I wanna be mistaken

Current Listening

Goo Goo Dolls "Let Love In"Chris Tomlin "See the Morning"Keith Urban "Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing"

Jeremy Camp "Beyond MeasureJohn Mayer "Continuum"

i had been going about my day as usual....fielding phone calls and the what seemed like endless messages from many many friends all wishing me a happy birthday....and then outta the blue i realize....this is actually the first birthday where i actually havent been able to spend it with my parents.....it was kind of disheartening to say the least....but i am glad to report i do get to spend this day with special people...so if ur reading this and you have sent me birthday wishes...sometimes through every form possible (ie. phone, both myspaces, facebook, singing v-mails(jer))....i certainly do appreciate the outpouring of love....such things are do what make for a great birthday.....here's a pic from lunch w/ms. beth

last nite was incredible....i witnessed something few people ever get to witness, because usually it happens to them...if you are baffled by what i am talking about, in the coming days check http://jhellums.blogspot.com for more details :)...i cannot ruin the joy!


oh and by the way...we won!!!

school is long and drawn out...i miss the half-a-day and pointless holidays off....that is all

i aint gonna talk bout it

for those of you dying to rag me bout saturday and our loss to tech, forget about it...i aint answering......it was hard enough to let it happen before my very eyes, much less have to relive it by getting ragged on...overshadowing that though, i had a wonderful wknd with Jer...took him to yell practice, which im sure he thought was weird....but living in the austin area for so long, he has had the "wool over his eyes" so to speak for so long....hopefully now he can see the light....then sunday after church i had the privalege of FINALLY trying my hand at editing...and i had to watch the game over again and assist in making the 12th Man Video, which is just a stripped down version of the game play by play but w/o timeouts and stupid stuff....which was fun...got a butt load of reading to do, but instead i sit here and blog.....go figure.....friday headed home to hopefully watch my beloved fighting lions play and see my good friends from corpus...but tomorrow holds a grandious day....shanes playin at breakaway...jer and ker both comin in for that...should be a phenominal time....until next time

i stand amazed

i stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene

and wonder how He could love me, a sinner condemned unclean

singin how marvelous, how wonderful and my song..shall ever be

how marvelous, how wonderful, is My Savior's love for Me

He took my sin and my sorrow, and He made them His very own

He bore the burden to Calvary and suffered and died alone

singin how marvelous, how wonderful and my song shall ever be

how marvelous, how wonderful is My Savior's love for Me

how marvelous, how wonderful and my song shall ever be

how marvelous, how wondeful is My Savior's love for Me

and with the ransom in Glory His face I, at last, shall see

will be my joy through the ages to sing of his love for me

everybody's singin how marvelous, how wonderful and my song shall ever be

how marvelous, how wonderful. is My Savior's love for Me

music music music

wow...what an incredible day to be a music lover like myself..i have been waiting for this day, september 26th for a while now....since last spring actually.....not bcuz i knew i had a quiz in histroy......last wk John Mayer's "Continuum", last night i got to download an hr early Chris Tomlin's "See the Morning" (see previous blog) and then today i previewed Big Daddy Weave's "Every Time I Breathe" and Phillips Craig & Dean's "From the Top of my Lungs" (which i know my dad will enjoy)....i love these moments where im just so overwhelmed with new music i dont know what to do with myself...call me crazy....call me psycho if u must...but i dig it...Chris really brings it home once again with all his deep lyrics, Big Daddy does a few remakes of older worship songs...i had liked "Let it Rise" b4 to some extent, but now i love Big Daddy's version....

breakaway tonite, michael bleeker, worship pastor from the village church will be doin music so im pretty stoked about that...not sure if he can hang w/robbie seay and the gang....then we got the shanes comin to town next wk..which should be sweet....

tomorrow goin to LOC for Jeremy's grandmother's funeral......i'd much rather be going home on good terms....so keep Jer and all the Hellums family in ur prayers..

How can I keep from singing Your praise

How can I ever say enough

How amazing is Your love

How can I keep from shouting Your name

I know I am loved by the King

And it makes my heart want to sing

from Chris Tomlin's "How Can I Keep From Singing"

until next time

See the Morning

Im jammin the new Tomlin album "See the Morning" due out this coming tuesday the 26th....I highly suggest it!!!!

You and I were made to worship, You and I were called to love, You and I are forgiven and free

If you and I embrace surrender, You and I choose to believe, You and I will see, what we were made to be

Feedback and Fidgetry

Last night I finally went to the student ministry on the A&M campus w/my friend Beth and some of her friends as well...Robbie Seay Band played as well, the final of what turns out to be 4 straight appearances at Breakaway...Which i was bummed when i found that out, coulda seen em the other 3 times...So as i sat there, not only during the worship, during the speaking as well...Worshipping w/thousands of other students was great, but things keep jumping out at me....Whether a blessing or a curse, sometimes it becomes both, being a sound guy, its my nature to critique wherever I go....Whether it be a church service, a big concert, whatever the case may be....I critique.....And sometimes I will have no complaints sound-wise...But those times are very few and far between, usually only being at a large event such as The Indescribable Tour w/Chris Tomlin....Sound was awesome, d&b speakers kick butt....all that to say, last night was part of the curse....I see a big worship band playing, sound wasnt horrible...Little things jumped at me like a snare with too much low end and not enough in the high-mid range to make it more "poppy" sounding, too much bleeding high hat, and dead toms that sounded more like a basketball hitting a hard gym floor....But all that I can handle, bcuz i'm not the best a mixing drums either....Thats why I let stanley, the "drum tech" as i like to call him, do his thing w/kick and toms then i do the rest.....But these little things, although insignificant to everyone else in the room, bothered me.....But i dealt w/it and did the best i could....Then Ben comes up to speak, he's standing in the middle of the stage and its feeding back.....Lapel is THE hardest thing to EQ in a bad room....so i give the dude props for getting it as loud as it was, but it was still feeding back....And all the while it did, he would just bring the fader down...Although a quick response to such a problem, its not the solution...The solution would to be then adjust EQ accordingly...This guy never touched EQ the whole time....This troubles me, when i sit there and watch an obviously little trained engineer not handle something properly, knowing i could do better....so this brings me to a dillema.....i would love to break into doing sound for them, not wanting to run anybody off by any means, but just have a place for God to use me with the talents (sometimes curse) that he's given me....Would they let a lowly freshman do sound for some 5 thousand college students??? My guess is NO...HECK NO.....but there's gotta be something i can do to get my foot in the door....Any thoughts anyone???? Until next time....

incompetency and skelatons

its not that i've had nothing to say over that past few wks, ive had updates i wished to give....its just that i've had no reliable internet at mi casa...i have complained and complained to an obviusly incompetent company that has only 2 technicians on their whole staff responsible for taking care of apartment complexes...and i am sure that mine is not the only one they have....so therefore each time i call, i get the response "we dont know why you're having trouble....and all of our techs are out on calls so all i can tell u is im sorry and i will put in a service ticket for you"....well.....while all of that mumbo-jumbo sounds promising, i've been told that now 3 times...last wk i was sure it would happen but i didnt receive a call all wk....so i heard that same thing again today, and then ultimately i was told that "if worse comes to worse, you might be forced to get service from another company"...and my thoughts are, thats a great idea, but.....why go elsewhere when this company should be competent and fix their issues.....i keep having to go elsewhere, and last wk was even forced to go to barnes & noble....i enjoyed it up until my browser page comes up and says "one time use is $3.95".....but i had to do a quiz so therefore i had to pay it....no other choice....so i am becoming exceedingly frustrated with all of it....and my wknd can be summed up w/the pic....we got a real scare.....until next time

2nd wk so far and wknd....and the croc hunter props

i will give $100 to anyone who can guess my location...starting.............now......................times up....sweet eugenes...i know nobody got it and im glad cuz i dont have a hundred bucks to spare...anyways, just finished my first quiz for my Govt class...got another one to do b4 tomorrow...happy happy joy joy i know....game went well on saturday...we won...yipee....but played horribly....lookin forward to playin oooh lala this wk...gettin used to my schedule finally, so thats helping....and i dont watch tv anymore, even on wknds....i read...what have i become?? a geek??? or another overworked college student??? u pick.....stever irwin was a G....i watched his stuff often...i will miss him..that is all....pics from last wk will follow.....until next time

first wk conclusion & other trinkets

first wk is coming to a good close...only one class today, not a killer....what is a killer is my history class and a new 300 pg novel every 2 wks...all in all 9 books....so ima be an avid reader this semester....work wk went ok, not doin much of nothin but showing my face and trying to become a familiar face....and hoping they notice that....first wk w/all the new gear tho is of course gonna be crazy...some pics posted in the press release on aggie athletics for ya......ready for tomorrow...first game as a student, should be fun.....happy anny to mom and dad.....26 yrs and still goin strong...happy early b-day ma as well..sit back and enjoy the pics....

aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh

so i just lost my post that i was working on...must've been boring anyways....

so to sum it up, yesterday went fine till i was late to sign language and had math till 815 for a fashionably late dinner.....today went fine and i dont wanna be late to sign language today....so i better leave sweet eugene's cuz our net at home still doesnt work...but we're paying for it...love how that happens....holla

Sweet Eugene!!!!

sitting at the Sweet Eugene's House of Java bcuz my net doesnt work at the apt yet, i am overjoyed bcuz i am finally surfing!! as bad as it sounds, its a great feeling...even though this place is a little too loud to do any homework sometime, the wi-fi is all that matters....first official nights in college station went good...last night thru tomorrow morning is first by myself and im doin fine....just the banging of overhead neighbors this morning awakened me....went to the store last night, got a few items....chick-fil-a for lunch....mmmmm.....the new milk shake is wonderful there, but never seems to agree with my stomach for some reason...got books yesterday, glad to report they werent as much as expected...dreading starting school monday, but ready to get it here....and overwith....jamming one of the songs of "see the morning" by tomlin, good tunes....song called "everlasting God" by brenton brown...cant wait to hear the album...hmmmm what else....oh....last fri. went great...Justin Cofield Band belated-cd release party....the guys sounded awesome, the rig sounded awesome (thanks to my system tech stanley)....the band wives were very complimentary of the overall sound...which....i dont dispute, but i know the glory is all for God....gettin frustrated can't get my aim downloaded back...dreading my mtg tonite for work....ready to go home tomorrow for a few days b4 the semester picks up...sooo until next time.....holler

friends

friends are one of the hardest thing to leave....and tonight....i struggle with leaving friends that over this past yr have become some of my best friends i've ever had...but them, along with other friends i know are lifelong and i will always cherish that.. so as i face these struggles, i turn to God's word and leave you with this.

Ecclesiastes 4:12 (The Message)
By yourself you're unprotected. With a friend you can face the worst. Can you round up a third? A three-stranded rope isn't easily snapped.

post-WTC

well...it was good...it reminded me of seeing The Passion of the Christ....the end of the movie was greeted by a silent audience, and people exited the theatre in pure silence...and thats the way the theatre stayed the entire movie, silent except for the middle aged man caughing every few minutes and the other younger man receiving phone calls every 10 minutes and him stepping out to answer everysingle one of them....each conversation lasting only about 5 minutes...but i wont give any of it away....in my opinion, well portrayed....powerful stuff....nicholas cage...i applaud...

trying to burn anchorman...on my 3rd burning program....used 4 discs already..on my 5th......ugh....

until next time

pre-WTC movie

as i sit in my living room, within an hour of experiencing an attempted recreation of one of the most horrific attackes in our nation's history, i dont know what to expect...i dont know if its accuratley recreated, or if its just done to attempt to make a profit off of such an event....i can only remember the thoughts that ran through my head that day....so im writing this not knowing what to expect, and expecting to fill in my opionion of the movie...stay tuned

wowzer

geez louise its been a while....where to begin....good summer of camps....last one was my personal fave w/Justin Cofield Band and the student minister from Lake Point in Rockwall, Bubba.....good stuff....since then, been at home just sleeping till noon and staying up late...and in that continuous cycle...its been pretty sweet...

saw some good movies, the breakup, superman returns, nacho libre, talladega nights...got tons of new tunes....met big daddy weave..ha ha that was a trip.....bought stuff for school.....move in next fri then go to pflugerville that afternoon for the Cofield Band CD release party.....

no new reads, but new tunes that have struck me include the Hillsong United "Look to You" album and the new Passion 06 album "Everything Glorious" which has severl good tracks

waking up tomorrow early to call aTm admissions to see what they want at this late date....holla

Camp....wk 1

By The Tree

life is hectic!!!!

it has been a crazy month...after the d-now in pfluger, the next wknd was hot hearts w/ jeff berry and wes hamilton....good stuff, too bad we had some system issues....which turned out not to be my fault thank u very much..but we had a pretty good wknd, then yesterday i went to the caldwell county stock show to watch natalie do her thing w/ her goat and lamb...and i am please to say she won it all with both of em...thats my girl!!! but i learned a lot out there and i had fun...which was a pleasant surprise....goin to see tomlin tonight!!! oh yeah...the madness isn't over, next wknd nic comes in view of a call...and that will be extremely hectic and long and whatnot....until next time

work work work work work

im here in this wicked awesome hotel room....one with a cordless phone!!!!in all my hotel rooms ever, i have never experienced a cordless phone....UNTIL NOW!!!! pretty sweet i know......but this is our second room of the night, the first being on the second floor....with a single king size bed.....now we are pretty big boys, not me, but the rest of my peeps are...so that was not gonna be fun....2 yrs ago at YEC, i experienced such a thing where we had 5 people to a room, and i got to sleep on the bed......with 2 or 3 other people...i think just 2, but i cant recall.....both guys being larger than myself.....needless to say, i got about 2 hrs of sleep that night......tomorrow is a busy day, hopefully time for a nap and starbucks though...session at 9:30, and then one at 7....in the meantime, jer and i plan to go out on the town in search of V-Day presents..no not to exchange to each other, but to our respective LADYfriends.....i am not the best present buyer in the world, not the worst, but by far not the best..so it will be interesting....i will try to take some pics tomorrow and put on tomorrow night...but until then, i have one taken within the last 15 minutes.....so until next time

me and my former-ladyfriend on our way to A&M.....and look out the window.....RAIN!!!! (aint she perty?)

ah its the weekend

i so love friday evenings....even if this is all i do.....a wonderful time or rest and relaxation....the rest of my evening consists of going to the soccer game with the beautiful and o'so sweet natalie (one of those times you say yes and dont really wanna go) i think soccer is one of, if not the most boring sports to watch.....especially if it is cold.....and it might rain....so....if i feel a drop i am bailing....then tomorrow my parents, natalie, i, and the taylor two are going to college station for a fun-filled day of aggie basketball(women and men)...women take on OU (O-who?) and they are said to be one of the best teams in the nation....the men take on baylor for baylor men's 5th or 6th game of the yr...should be a pretty good match....hopefully it will be some nice bonding time, and get to see meg and clay as well so that is always such a joy....next wknd starts the business evry wknd.....chile bowl next wknd, then comes fbc p-ville D-now and then after that comes hot hearts w/ jeff berry and wes hamilton at highland lakes, and then to round out the month on the 25th is chris tomlin, matt redmond, and louie giglio at austim music hall.!!!!...now that, i am looking forward to....unitl next time (whenever that might be)

aahh lovely spring semester

the lovely spring semester is now upon us, my last sememster of my high school career......if i didnt have these darn acc classes, i would just be slacking off.. but i cannot do that because i need to do well in them....but so far so good....january is really a slow month for me working wise, did the MLK day festival in austin....wouldn't be bad if i didn't get that 3:30 a.m. wake up call...that just really stinks...but next month picks up witha bang, something evry weekend....and if all goes well, me and jeremy will be off to see tomlin at austin music hall on the 25th of feb.....he's gonna be there with louie giglio and matt redmond....i am looking forward to that....we were supposed to have seen coldplay that night in houston, but with tix reaching upwards of $150 for nosebleed seats, we decided to save ourselves about $120 and go for the $30 seats for tomlin...but its all good...until next time