alright peeps...the moment we have all been waiting for is upon us.....my new blog is up....well...sorta... as of right now i like how it looks and whatnot, but i will probably still be messing with the layout once i figure out cool sidebar stuff (like my twitter and blogroll and things)..i went the wordpress route bcuz i thought i would probably be updating this thing more and more this summer, so why not put a little money into it (although you can wordpress for free)

so i did and i am now the proud owner of my own URL.

so update your bookmarks and rss's if you like

www.jonathanmobley.com

i still dont know why if you google my name, my own dang website doesnt come up. that just means my mission to live under the radar is continuous even with my own domain name.

cheers

beach break day 3

im working on a new blog....but i dont wanna let the cat outta the bag just yet until i get it looking spiffy and it's ready to go "live"...i may even give it my own url...you just never know

it's coming...

last night recap to come tomorrow after about an 18 hr nap

day 3-skimboarding

covey and i decided to try and skimboard...this is the result

beach break day 2 (yes it was a long day)

it's been a long day and i wasn't even in the sun that long...just got back from aransas pass with nic. we went and bought some supplies for tomorrow's rec and dinner.

tonight's worship was awesome. i love when God moves in spite (i think i'm using that correctly. if not, you know what i mean) of different things happening or not happening around us.

set list was as follows:

wholly yours
mighty to save
from the inside out
jesus paid it all (kristian stanfill version)

the last song really rocked out. the added portion being "o praise the one who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead." i love that.

the rest of my day was really uneventful. my morning "tribe" or group talk time went nowhere. nobody wanted to talk. i was frustrated for sure.

we had an awesome church time where everyone laid on the basketball court and looked up at the stars singing "God of wonders" and "amazing grace (my chains are gone)" that was awesome.

here's the video from today. (jo, we miss you and really really wish you were here. hopefully these do make you feel like you were here!)

cheers

beach break day 1

finally i got to sleep in...made it to 820 today...last wk it was 720...so anyway first thing was bible study....hadn't even started yet and sprinkler's came on, so everybody sprinted to the pool area for some shelter from the sprinkler's, gathered around the end of the pool and doug (one of pville's associates) did his talk in 3 ft of water which was kind of cool. then we had group talkback times and then played rec. today rec was a scavenger hunt which went ok and my team dominated and of course won. after that was lunch and i edited the first bit of the afternoon. went to the pool and the beach after that and did some duties and came back and cleaned up in the room and went to a shop with manly stanley. after that i showed stan & tom some final cut stuff. then worship which went ok. then small group then church time. pretty uneventful-eventful day.

i'm finding final cut makes putting together stuff quickly extremely easy. the drag and dropness of it is superb. and this is all after spending less than a wk on it. which i CANNOT say for avid. final cut also has flashier FX with it, although i wish i had A LOT more.

as far as mixing goes, i'm finding my way around the o1v nicely now. i picked it up real easy the first day, but i got so used to the M7 and it's easy functionality, the 01v some things hopefully they changed in V2 (which we have at work to do audio for video but i havent gotten to mess with much)
missed a call from clay today all the way from europe. i was not happy about that. i hear they're having fun though

i leave you with more picture of jordan and hopefully my day 1 video will get uploaded tonight and i will post that asap.

greater things have yet to come, greater things are still to be done here.

cheers

beach break day 0

it's 12:05 am from where i'm sittin, so i guess it's actually the beginning of day 1. and zero's not over yet. since about 4pm till now i've felt like i was running around with my head cut off. it's been insane to say the least. began with an attempted load in and i say attempted becuase we had no key to the building like they said we would. so that delayed us a bit, and then we finally got loaded in and just about everything worked. at least the stuff we brought backups for. no XO=no sub. no wireless receiver =no speaker's mic. that's really the biggest things so all in all for what we had to work with, i would say not bad. night really went of without a hitch. band was good, speaker talked and then we had our group times. so i've begun the editing process and as we speak i'm capturing. i mixed tonight, so i let one of the pville kids film the worship time which helps me out a lot, but it means i have to filter through everything and i dont know what he shot. it'll be all good though. i leave you with some of those pictures of jordan i promised. enjoy



cheers

beach break day -1

and yes that's supposed to say -1(negative 1). cuz tomorrow would be day 0 (zero). meg and clay and gayla and justin and allison left for europe after lunch. i'm pretty jealous too. today i headed to port A early to get set up and whatnot for the wk.

what's goin on here is a lady in riding shorts, sitting on a roles royce in front of the department of health and welfare. i thought it was ironic cuz it was in our condo's bathroom.

i wold post more pics but blogger isn't working well with me at the moment. so some jordan pics to come

footprints in the sand

night at the attic

hey peeps. here's a time lapse from last nite. it's really in a bad spot, so next wk i'll try a different location. and i'm pretty sure this marks the beginning of a fascination with time lapse's. i'll probably time lapse just about everything.
(music by the myriad)
cheers

love, love, love love love austin texas

although it's cool to be away, it's good to be home. home means cooked meals, fast internet, daily access to some of the greatest food on earth (ie: austin, tx), and GREAT FRIENDS. i'm not gonna give you a restaurant review, but i finally got to try hut's and it was dang good. the best burger i've had in town for sure. i went with my parents to austin memorial day to take some stuff to goodwill and then i was hoping to be able to try
frank & angie's but they were closed for memorial day. so we ended up at matt's el rancho. not a bad 2nd choice! should be an easy week this wk and we hit it hard next wk.
until then,

cheers

pray for the chapman family

i found this out through another blog, but steven curtis' youngest adopted daughter from china was killed in their driveway earlier this evening. you can read the rest of the story here

list of top 10 tunes i'm currently jamming and you should too

i spend my money on either food or music. i think music might have the upper hand in terms of percentages actually. whether thats a good thing or not

one-COLDPLAY-VIVA LA VIDA
this is from one of the greatest bands ever. in my humble opinion. everybody of today compares their sound to u2. i think in 10 years everybody will compare their sound to being coldplay-esque. they're that good. this is from their new album due out june 17, which they released a song from for free download a few weeks ago. now thats fan friendly.

two-JON FOREMAN-YOU'RE LOVE IS STRONG
this cat is crazy good. he sings back scripture, and in this case one of my favorite scriptures, parts of psalm 139. switchfoot front man. i've really been digging his seasonal ep stuff. can't wait for the summer one.

three-DAVE BARNES-WHEN A HEART BREAKS
ok ok. i'm like a good ballad. this is a little more rockin than a ballad, but still a ballad in my mind nonetheless. this dude was insanely good as an indy artist, glad he has a national release finally.

four-GAVIN DEGRAW-IN LOVE WITH A GIRL
oh gavin. seems like yesterday when i saw your show along with a room full of junior high aged girls. this is a good track

five-COLBIE CAILLAT-REALIZE
i knew this would be a hit from the first time i heard it. had the pleasure of seeing her show last week. first time i've ever heard an artist say how much stage fright they had and nervous they were to perform. one of the few records i can say are quality front to back. and this is her freshmen project.

six-JOHN MAYER-SAY
"it's better to say too much. than never to say what you need to say again." i could just go ahead and incorporate his whole Continuum record in this selection. he is THAT good

seven-BLUETREE-GOD OF THIS CITY
i love this song. it paints a picture that has been in my mind for a good while. i think it does what few songs can do, reaches people where they are. i like tomlin's version better. but bluetree needs to get their writing props

eight-ROBBIE SEAY BAND-RISE
"to hear the call is to give your love away. to give your life away." this album front to back is incredible.

nine-DAVID CROWDER BAND-REMEDY
"let us be the remedy. let us bring the remedy." enough said

ten-JEFF JOHNSON-RUIN ME
"ruin my life the plans that i've made. ruin desires for my own selfish gain. destroy the idols that have taken Your place. till its You alone i live for, You alone i live for."

eleven-JONAS BROTHERS-WHEN YOU LOOK ME IN THE EYES
i couldn't resist. remember what i said about ballads? this is a good song period. whoever were to sing it. it just so happened it was the one hit wonder jonas brothers who are terrible live but you cant tell because their fans are all twelve year old girls that scream the whole show thus you cant hear their terrible vocals.

twelve-HILLSONG UNITED-THE STAND
hands down. best worship song i've ever heard. rivals best song ever. i could name off about five hillsong stuff that are on that caliber. they're incredible

thirteen-ONE REPUBLIC-STOP AND STARE
good song. good vocal. homeboy can write some tunes man. talented

fourteen-ANDY MELVIN-NOTHING COMPARES
i really dig this guy. assoc. worship pastor at austin stone. i guess he's more like full time. he did breakaway for us most of the semester. seem like cool dudes and a good songwriter.

fifteen-JON MCLAUGHLIN-INDIANA
i really like this dude. another one who's record is quality front to back. impressive


so much for top 10

cheers

please hold

please excuse the last few wks, and the 2 1/2 to follow. the semester is winding down and a little thing called finals is coming (hence the coffee cup). and while trying to pull the A is long gone, in some instances trying to pull the C is upon me. if you were to ask me again why i hate school, i would fill the google server by naming the reasons. and why am i doing it in the summer too? great question. until then.

"this world is where i breathe. let it never be called home."-jon foreman

cheers

"you guys wanna see my video?"

folks. meet uncle rico. uncle rico, meet the folks. no no no, he's not my uncle. he may not even be a "real" uncle. but to millions of people all over the world, he's known as uncle rico. maybe because he's more popular than hannah montana. perhaps. uncle rico starred in a little indie film entitled "napoleon dynamite". maybe you've heard of it.

now i needed last wknd for a few reasons. working for the athletic dept, i always feel like people don't appreciate what you do, and you're work is only for a sole purpose of helping creating an unforgettable atmosphere for fans. while this is true, in another sense it's preparing me for what God has in store for me in the future. maybe some can notice a difference in my videos of old to my recent work, but thats not my point. it's a whole different ballgame when you work for the kingdom. i've seen this in doing sound as well. the club gig just is never as awesome as worshipping with thousands of peers, or with folks from your home church. the latter i got to experience this wknd. let me say right off, it was nothing i did, or said that made God wanna show up. it was only by his mere awesomeness and the prepared hearts of the people that he came; and not only came, but moved in a mighty way. i couldnt've asked to work with better people. scott venable is a cool dude and did a great job. mark mcConkey and his guys were as cool and easy going as could be. and they did a good job as well. nic and johanna did a great job in the planning and execution of the wknd. finishing off the wknd meeting uncle rico made it cool, but even uncle rico can't compare to having God bless your worship time. i'm so thankful to have been apart of the wknd.

the statement was made, "why so people settle for this kind of stuff once a year, when it could happen year round." not talking about having a dnow every wknd of the year, but why not experience that kind of focus and preparation for worship every day of every week.

spending the wknd in ames, iowa with the softball team. not really looking forward to iowa itself, but it should be a cool time.

i leave you with a video i put together that i can only hope to capture half what God was up to

cheers

Boston

i went to boston over my spring break and instead of telling you every moment of every day, i figured it would be better served with a blog de la photo. there is so much history in boston, that my attempt to address it all here would be endless anyway.

at left is boston common, the first and oldest current public park in america


at left is the "old state house" built in1713. the declaration of independence was read here right after it was signed, and continues to be read here once a year on july 4






at left is the "new state house" built in 1798 on land first owned by john hancock. the dome is made of 23k gold








everyone knows this place. cheers. we didnt eat at this particular one. we ate at the imitation one. this is the "original" that literally has about 10 tables. we ate at the one in faneuil hall. it was pretty good. it was no kincaid's mind you. but good.







not everyone can appreciate this one. this is berklee college of music. i've wanted to attend forever. it's expensive, but one of the best music educations in the country. when we walked in i felt like i was in a ghetto high school. some EXTREMELY talented people go/have gone here. melissa ethridge, natalie maines, quincy jones, john mayer for example.



this is faneuil hall market place. it's a really cool place. built in 1742 as the central market place to all of boston, samuel adams rallied citizens of boston to seek independence from great britan, it's also housed speakers from oliver wendall holmes to susan b. anthony. still a marketplace, housing several shops and restaurants today in and around the hall.


at left is the "T", or Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority. boston boasts the birthplace of american mass transportation, first appearing in boston in 1631 with horse and carriage. the first stagecoach operated between boston and cambridge in 1793 and the first "electric street car" in 1889.



this is the charles playhouse which houses blue man group, one of the most interesting shows i've ever seen. charles playhouse was originally built in 1839 as a church.



at left is the omni parker house. no we didnt stay here. this is america's longest continually operating luxury hotel, opened in 1855. this hotel is the birthplace of the boston cream pie (see below) and the parker house roll. malcom x was a busboy here in the 1940's, emeril lagasse also spent time here. john f. kennedy proposed to jackie bouvier here as well. this hotel was also the home to the Saturday Club, also referred to as the Saturday Night Club, which consisted of literary dignitaries such as Henry David Thoreau, Charles Dickens and Ralph Waldo Emerson.


this is the famed boston cream pie. it was good. but it was $7. but it was worth it.






of course, no trip to boston would be complete without visiting fenway. the tour guide's terminology was intriguing. he kept mentioning "if you ever GET to come to a game" and that was so true because the ticket office had the whole game schedule in their office, 90% of games were sold out already. the remaining 10% were standing room only or single seats only. thats incredible to me.



great scene from home alone 1. terminal at chicago's o'hare








all pics are from flickr.com except the last. the few i took will come eventually. most of these look better than mine anyway

also check out finagle A bagel

all in all, great city, great food, great scenery, had a blast hangin out with my mom and dad. it was a good time that gave us all much needed time away. thanks mom and dad for makin the trip possible

cheers

....but Sunday's comin

(thanks nic)

water gate and the lost art of reverence

nehemiah 8-message
"by the time the seventh month arrived, the people of israel were settled in their towns. then all the people gathered as one person in the town square in front of the water gate and asked the scholar ezra to bring the book of The Revelation of Moses that God had commanded for israel. so ezra the priest brought The Revelation to the congregation, which was made up of both men and women--everyone capable of understanding it...he read it facing the town square at the water gate from early dawn until noon in the hearing of the men and women, all who could understand it. and all the people listened--they were all ears--to the book of Revelation. the scholar ezra stood on a wooden platform constructed for the occasion...ezra opened the book. every eye was on him, as he opened the book everyone stood. then ezra praised God, and all the people responded, "oh yes! yes!" with hands raised high. then they fell to their knees in worship of God, their faces to the ground."

now. as i first read this this morning, i was caught by their reverence. they stood when The Book was opened. they stood to hear The Word from early in the morning until noon. we can't even ask people to bring their bible one day a week for an hour, or even stay awake during the reading of it, much less give it half as much reverence as in nehemiah's day. i find a problem with this. a huge problem. where have we gone wrong? is it the screens? i'm a media guy myself obviously, and i think we should bring our Word and display it on the screen. so i dont think thats it. i think it's just a fact that we've lost our reverence. and if we've lost our reverence for God's word, where he gives us ALL instruction, what else have we lost reverence for? everything in it? scary thought.

cheers

The Way I See It #280

"You can learn a lot more from listening than you can from talking. Find someone with whom you don't agree in the slightest and ask them to explain themselves at length. Then take a seat, shut your mouth, and don't argue back. It's physically impossible to listen with your mouth open."-John Moe

alcohol and a Christian concert

this is from david crowder's blog. while not sure who actually wrote it (different band members tend to post), it's funny. he's responding to various questions people had been asking. first the question then the remaining is the response from dave including reasons why they embarked on the "remedy club tour".

"question 6: “i went to the show in cincinatti and there was alcohol being served. i was shocked that it was being served at a christian concert. can you tell me why it was being served?”

yes. i’m pretty sure that the bar was selling alcohol because it is a bar and that’s what bars sell. they typically like to make money and so they buy things, such as beers, from a distributor for a certain price and then mark it up to sell to people so that they will get a profit and get to pay their employees and get to stay open and such. alcohol is usually a pretty big seller for bars. i am sorry this was shocking.

i might add, both historically and currently, there are many people who love jesus, and follow him, that also enjoy alcohol regularly. if you have not encountered these people first hand, you should attempt to enlarge your peer circle and i think you’ll get a clearer picture of the diversity of the body of christ. there are denominations and traditions that denounce alcohol, and there are those that condone it. these beliefs are typically culturally specific and attached to a particular sect's interpretations of a few particular passages in scripture. i should state here that we, as a band and as individuals, do not, in any way, condone drunkenness, as it is stupid, nor under-aged drinking as it is also stupid and against the law, and trust that those in attendance at various dates on our club tour are intelligent enough to arrive at both of these conclusions as well. it is not very difficult to observe the damaging effects of abusing alcohol. it is simple that way; abuse it, it abuses you back, most of the time immediately.

(an aside: in my experience, most conversations about alcohol with those who adamantly reject it as a possible beverage choice, present that it could cause a brother to stumble. this is awful logic. apply this logic to various food items ordered at your next public meal. there will doubtlessly be present various numbers of people who struggle with obesity or high cholesterol or heart disease, who would really love one of your cheesesticks. there will also be those present who are vegetarian, myself included, who are attempting to not ingest meat. i’m sure you see the trouble with this line of thinking. this was the very argument that peter and paul were having regarding idol meat. i will not attempt further argument here since there is plenty to find out there, if one were truly curious, that would present things in a much more scholarly and organized manner than i could hope to present it. i will also state here that i shall not require you to cease your carnivorous ways while sharing a restaurant with me.)

and finally, i should state the reasons we went on a tour that had as its venues bars and clubs exclusively. we wished for the story of god to be experienced beyond the safety of our cloistered church environments. it was our deep hope that many who would not frequent a bar would come join us and experience the reality of the presence of god in an environment that they might not typically suspect to experience such a thing in. we believe, if we are reading scripture correctly, that once the veil was torn, that in an instant, suddenly, god was everywhere. the symbolism and consequences of this moment are epic! the way human beings access the maker of heaven and earth were forever changed. suddenly, once and for all, through the ultimate sacrificial offering, suddenly, he is everywhere. every second is lived in the very presence of god. there is no moment that is not holy. there is no space that is not sacred. it is the awareness of our reality that shifts, not this reality. therefore, all that is needed is for our awareness to change and we begin to view spaces and people and cultures and music and art and eating and drinking and sleeping and waking as moments and spaces and places where god is already active and present. our hope on this tour was to give people a physical, tangible experience of this reality."


greater things have yet to come, greater things are still to be done in this city.

cheers

missionaries and the decline of the American Church

mission- a: ministry commissioned by a religious organization to propagate its faith or carry on humanitarian work b: assignment to or work in a field of missionary enterprise

OR-

mission-a body of persons sent to perform a service or carry on an activity; a specific task with which a person or a group is charged (webster.com)

wait...could it be both?

in kyle lake's book "understanding God's will", he says this:

"we might even go as far as to say the steady downward decline of the Church in America exists because many followers of Christ do not see their lives defined by mission. perhaps the very fact that this word--mission--evokes images of africa or india and not also new york, hollywood, merrill lynch, hillcrest hospital, or andy woods elementary school could be part of the problem. if we take our apprenticeship seriously, then Christians of all sizes, shapes, and colors should see their lives in a different light... the reason the Church has been on such a steady decline is because of this attitude: "well i'm not going to china or the middle east or india, so i guess i'll just be a teacher instead."...how about this: what would the face of the Church look like if we began commissioning missional Christians to andy woods elementary school? what would the face of the Church look like if we began commissioning missional Christians to hillcrest hospital? why dont we commission missional Christians to china and india...and actors living in la and ny? film students working in hollywood? accountants to phoenix, dallas, chicago..."

before i began this book, the word mission did evoke an image of africa in my head. and i'll be honest, they dont have wi-fi in africa. so do i wanna go? honestly no. but.. do the people of texas a&m university, or austin, tx, or lockhart high school, or the dude sitting next to you at lunch today; do they all need Jesus just like the people of africa? yes. i love the way kyle describes our purpose in life as missional, i also love how he calls our following of Christ an "apprenticeship." our society is constantly moving to be more "green" and "missional." while not a bad thing, might we merely throw money or prayer or relief efforts to folks in 3rd world countries (all not bad things mind you), while forgetting dave the cashier or steve the waiter or officer cliff (i hide behind any big objects i can to give you a ticket) (purely a fictional person obviously :). point taken

cheers

he's not a looker..but he sings like an angel

if u watched any kind of american idol, you might've seen this guy. he's chris sligh and he sings like an angel. and apparently he's in the process of his debut Christian album.

if you appreciate music....

i saw these guys' show tonight. incredible.

yes? no? maybe so?

POLL:

do you like the hat?

-yes you look amazing

-no you're an idiot

-it's growing on me

respond on the comment portion.


DISCLAIMER:ANY UNRULY COMMENTS WILL GET DELETED (NIC)!

Alamobowl trip

mi tierra's mexican food

meg and clay outside mi tierra's

the holy santos. they had a selena shrine to the bottom of mary

just thought this was an awesome name for a grocery