Two Mites Ministries

A new outlet for writing online!

2009-07-22T14:26:00.005-05:00

My entries here may become more sporadic because I have been hired by www.examiner.com to write at least 4 articles a week as the Wichita Evangelical Examiner! Very exciting, I know. And in only 5 days, I've already earned $1.30! So it's not a job that's going to pay all my bills, but it's fun and an exciting new opportunity to connect w/new people.

Anyway, check out my articles here: tinyurl.com/mattgray

Maybe I will try to duplicate all my articles here on the blog, too, but I'm making no promises.

If any of you are interested in becoming an examiner in your city, email me (matt@twomitesministries.org) and I'll send you a video that shows how to put down that I referred you so that I get a bonus! Thanks!

Have a great day, y'all. Peace.

New Opportunity!

2009-07-17T12:04:00.004-05:00

Welcome back, everyone! I don't know why I said that; you probably didn't actually go anywhere.

Anyway, I am no longer completely unemployed! I have a new job that takes "on average 3-6 hours a week." And I have no idea how much it pays! But it's a job, right?

Well, I'm sure it won't support the lifestyle to which I have become accustomed (anything higher than living under a bridge), but it's something that I think will be very fun, so that is why I am excited about it.

OK! Enough suspense-building already! Here it is:

I am the "Wichita Evangelical Examiner" at www.examiner.com

You don't know what that means? Of course you don't! So I will tell you. This website has 90 cities in the US in which they hire "examiners" to post articles about a specific topic. The articles are supposed to be specifically relevant to the city they are in. I am still going through the process of getting everything approved & set up, but when I go live, I think this is the address you'll find me at:

http://www.examiner.com/x-17356-Wichita-Evangelical-Examiner

So come visit! Choose me as your favorite examiner! Subscribe to me! Actually I don't know what it means to subscribe to a specific examiner, but I guess I get paid more if people do it. As I get into this thing and learn more about how it works, I will have to let you know more.

Have a great day!

Over the hump

2009-07-15T10:43:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I felt like I achieved critical mass in getting settled into my new place. Suddenly it's not overwhelming; it feels like I can finish unpacking and organizing without having to stop everything else in my life. It's really more psychological than anything; it probably has something to do with the fact that I only spent two hours on it yesterday, and it made a world of difference. Now I can actually sit at my desk and accomplish things (I'm sitting at it right now!!!!), and my bedroom looks more or less like a bedroom that someone lives in, not one that was recently ransacked or hit by a typhoon.

So now I feel much more encouraged about pursuing some other goals, too. I've been entering some songwriting contests recently. One is part of a Gospel Music Association conference I'll be attending in Nashville at the end of this month, so I am much more motivated to practice those songs, in case one of them makes it to the finals and I have to (get to) perform it live!

I also have the goal of getting back in touch with certain people-- my prayer partners, some personal friends, etc. It's so easy to sit for a couple hours on the computer, then realize that I didn't do the things that were most important. So emailing is at the top of the list again. Because, really, my own relationships are a lot more important than checking three times a day to see what was said at the Sotomayor confirmation hearings, watching a video to see how well Obama did at throwing out the opening pitch at the All-Star game, reading about the trash-talking that's going on in the UFC, or any of the other earth-shattering events that yahoo thinks are so important.

I will say, of course Sotomayor's confirmation IS a significant issue that I should be aware of and do have opinions about, but the number of times I read about it or watch videos of it each day is NOT going to impact the outcome. And, honestly, I think the outcome has been certain for days (if not weeks). Does anyone sincerely believe there is a chance she will NOT be confirmed? Her confirmation seems more of a foregone conclusion than Obama's election was in late October.

So how did I get on the subject of politics? I could devote many full-fledged posts to political topics. Maybe next time. For now, I will close.

Peace.

Lovely evening

2009-07-14T17:44:00.002-05:00

Tonight one of my roommates is trying out his new grill. And I am reaping ALL the benefits!!!! Mwa-ha-ha-ha!

And I actually got my desk organized so that I can sit at it and do things! And I actually straightened things up in my room enough that a person can comfortably walk around w/o tiptoeing around boxes everywhere. It's not much, but it makes me feel more settled here in my new place.

Well, the burgers are almost ready, so I am going to close! Peace, everybody.

Finally Home

2009-07-06T18:02:00.002-05:00

It's amazing how quickly a month can go by without blogging. Especially when that month includes two trips out of town and moving to a new place.

Last month I went to Wisconsin to see my cousin graduate from high school. Since I was up there and so was my sister, I took advantage of the opportunity to ride home with her and see the place she & my brother-in-law moved into a few months back when they left Michigan for Indiana. So that was a week-and-a-half of fun family time. My sister & brother-in-law are renting a nice house while they make plans on buying a house of their own in the area.

One funny incident while I was there: I realized on Monday (my first day there) while they were both at work that their wireless internet wasn't working. Three days and several phone calls later, Tim noticed that there was a cable outside the house that had been cut. They are the first people to live in the house, and apparently the cable never got buried after the house was built, so when the guys came to mow the lawn, they ran it over!

So besides being a funny story, that is a great excuse why I didn't blog the week I was there.

Then upon returning to Wichita, I began in earnest making the arrangements to leave my lonely apartment and move into a house across town with a couple friends from church. The whole moving process is always quite an ordeal, and this time did not disappoint in that aspect. The week I happened to be moving included a mission trip, a church conference, and two weddings that many friends were obligated to and oral surgery for another friend on the day I moved. So finding help was a little more difficult than usual, to say the least.

For some reason, still unknown to me, I decided to rent a van and do the bulk of the moving on a Thursday. I wound up w/one person helping me from 12 to 2 and two others who couldn't help till between 3 & 4 in the afternoon. Sitting alone in my apartment at 2:30 w/the van almost loaded, but not able to finish by myself, I was totally kicking myself for not waiting till Saturday when most people wouldn't be working. "Why did I do this?!?" I cried out in a very frustrated manner. "Why didn't You prevent me from making this foolish choice, God?"

But the other two friends showed up and we got most of the stuff moved-- as much as would fit in the van I rented plus some more in the cars. And, as usual, God did work things out in mysterious ways that I don't understand, even though I didn't realize it at the time. I decided I would just get a couple friends who had said they were sorry they couldn't help on Thursday b/c of work, and we would finish moving the rest on Saturday morning. Well, b/c of the above-mentioned activities that weekend, I wound up with NO help on Saturday. Think if I had rented the van to move the furniture on Saturday! I would have been in BIG trouble.

So anyway, I have no idea why I rented the van for Thursday, but now I see that was God watching out for me, not just my foolish choice.

And this past weekend of Independence Day, I rode w/my parents down to Hot Springs AR for a family reunion at my aunt & uncle's. They have a house on a lake there, and it was a wonderfully relaxing time. As mementos, I have sore muscles from tubing and possibly the most interestingly-shaped sunburns I've seen. I was very excited about this new concept of spray-on sunscreen, but I guess I got a little TOO excited and wasn't diligent about covering ALL parts of my legs or stomach or shoulders or arms. They were some pretty hardcore burns, too, so I'm sure the results will be visible on my skin all summer long. Live and learn, I guess!

So I'm home!!!!! Next comes the conclusion of the wonderfully enjoyable activity of unpacking and settling in. Talk to you all again soon.

Peace.

The Bottom Line

2009-06-06T13:52:00.002-05:00

Years ago I read "Blue like Jazz" by Donald Miller. Great book, but I don't remember everything from it. This past week a friend told me about an interview w/the late Bill Bright (founder and long-time president of Campus Crusade) that is described in the book.

Bright was asked what Jesus meant to him. Bright started to cry and could not answer.

That's the kind of relationship w/Jesus that I need.

Blah

2009-06-01T17:14:00.002-05:00

I was thinking yesterday that Tiller would be a good topic for today's blog entry. But I so don't have the energy to go into that right now, so maybe another day.

Last week was my "stay-cation." I decided to put off all cleaning & working that I could until today and not feel guilty about it! Which was actually pretty hard b/c my bathroom & kitchen are both overdue to be cleaned and my living room is full of boxes of stuff I brought home from school.

Plus I have been planning to start writing more songs, making calls to book concerts this summer, looking for a job and generally organizing all the clutter in my apartment so that I can keep on top of my goals & priorities more easily in the future (and make my move at the end of this month easier). So there is a lot I want to get done this week. But apparently it is not meant to be today.

Tomorrow is my dad's birthday (Happy Birthday, Dad!), so we were going to spend an afternoon hanging out sometime this week. Last night he called and asked if today would work. I had no definite plans until 4, so I agreed. Unfortunately he was feeling pretty ill this morning, so we weren't able to go out to lunch when I got to my parents' house. He was able to eat something at home a little later, and a little while after that we went out to rent a DVD, so we were still able to hang out some, but not as much or as "quality" as I had expected.

So it's been a good day, but I just have the lethargic feeling that comes from a day of not doing any of the things that I had been planning to do. At least that how that affects me.

I guess that's really about it, so I'm out!

Snapshot

2009-05-27T10:31:00.002-05:00

OK, I'm going to try to list all the things that are going on in my life right now. Hopefully if I write them all, they will be more organized in my mind. We'll see.

I desperately need to clean my car and my apartment, especially the bathroom & kitchen. I need to organize my apartment, especially since I am planning to move in a month. I have lots of stacks of papers sitting around that are things I need to deal with. My goal here is to prioritize what things are most important, what things are less important, and what things I shouldn't even waste time thinking about.

My goal in quitting teaching this year was to have more time and energy to devote to several other things. One main thing was music ministry-- writing music, practicing music and networking so I have more chances to share my music. Most of the other things revolve around taking better care of myself so I am able to do more for God-- healthy sleep, eating & exercise habits; more time in the Word & in prayer; more reading & journaling to increase emotional health & stability. Those are really some hefty plans. And following through on them requires not only commitment, but also wisdom to know the most effective and efficient ways to pursue those goals; for example: What exercise habits will be most healthy? What books should I read? And so on.

And of course, there is the fact that I will need income before my summer pay runs out. So in the midst of preparing for music ministry opportunities, pursuing those opportunities, establishing healthier life habits, de-cluttering my life, and preparing to move, I also need to start looking for actual employment. So add that to the list.

Well, I've already decided that this week is a week to chill out & not push myself to get a lot of things done, a week to recover from the whole school year. So the next couple days are a perfect time to think & pray about these issues and make plans for the next few weeks.

OK, I'm off to finish up the last of the last things at school. I will be turning in my laptop & my keys & checking out for good. Then the new chapter can truly start! I am ready to put the last chapter behind me!

Peace, y'all.

Terminator/Star Trek SPOILER ALERT

2009-05-25T15:06:00.003-05:00

I went to the drive in theatre last night w/some friends after getting back from our church group retreat that afternoon. We saw Terminator: Salvation and Start Trek (but left before Ghosts of Girlfriends Past showed). I really enjoyed both of the movies we saw.

I think Terminator had a really good message of what it is that makes us human-- things like compassion and the power to choose what kind of people we will be, which "side" we will be on, if you will. Not to mention the themes of second chances (redemption) and sacrificing one's self for others.

I also enjoyed Star Trek. I'm certainly not a Trekkie, so "true fans" may disagree w/me, but I thought the plot line they chose was brilliant. It allowed the writers to make a prequel and explore the origins of the characters and relationships we are so familiar with, but also opened up the door for them to have complete freedom to change many of the facts from the TV series and previous movies. This made the plot much less predictable than a typical prequel. I was thinking, "Well, they can't destroy Vulcan b/c Spock is on Vulcan in Star Trek III, I'm pretty sure." And also, "Spock's mom must be saved somehow, b/c I KNOW she is in some of the movies." But thanks to their clever twist of plot, I WAS WRONG!!

Anyway, I thought that was very smart of them b/c it leaves the door open for them to go in whatever direction they want w/future movies in the franchise. They really aren't limited now by anything that's happened in the earlier-made movies b/c they are in a different "time stream."

BRILLIANT!

Well, hope you enjoyed my brief movie reviews here; it was nice to write about something besides myself! ;-)

Peace.

Back from Retreat to my Old Self

2009-05-24T17:50:00.003-05:00

Just got back from a great retreat. Heard great teachings on intimacy w/God through personal prayer times, The Lord is my Refuge, the importance of sharing my faith w/others, and surrendering to God's plans. Great time w/friends.

But now I'm back home to find that my car that's been fixed twice still doesn't work properly. And I quickly lost my temper and said things I wouldn't want anyone to hear me say.

You know, when I was a kid I would NEVER swear. I remember when I was maybe eight or nine, I went through a phase of calling my younger sister Michele "Mitch." And once someone told me they thought at first I was saying something else that rhymes w/Mitch when I talked to her. I literally felt nauseous that someone would think I had said that word. I think when I graduated from high school I could've counted on one hand the number of incidents in my life where I had said swear words, and most of them would've been when no one else could hear me. Yeah, I was an unusual child, I know, but it's a true story.

Anyway, that has changed drastically. I still do most of my swearing when no one else can hear me, but if I were trying to count how much I swear, I would soon lose track. And that scares me on some level, b/c I know that the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart, and I don't really want that stuff to be what's in my heart.

So hear's the question. Is it better that I let those things come out my mouth b/c they showed me what was in my heart that I really needed to address? Because now saying those words is a habit, and they come MUCH more easily than they did the first times I said them. Would it have been better to never have started saying them in the first place? Because I believe their roots would still have been in my heart, they just would have manifested themselves in other things besides swearing.

Of course that's a purely academic question, b/c I can't go back and change the past. The fact is that swearing is already a habit for me. Maybe a better question is if breaking that habit would be a benefit to my spiritual health or if I should deal EXCLUSIVELY w/the roots of the plants that bring forth the outward fruit of swearing.

The heart of the matter is what's the matter in my heart. It's the unjust anger, the lack of peace and contentment, the selfishness, the pride, and no doubt a host of other things that make me want to swear when something isn't going the way I want it to or the way I think it should. The more I think about it, the more I think those are really the things I should be devoting my time & energy to dealing with. I guess the best thing would be to take those things to God and hash through them in His Presence. Why do I become angry and petulant b/c of even minor inconveniences, like a slow driver in front of me? Why do I feel a compulsion to curse myself or some inanimate object when I drop something, when my books fall out of my backpack b/c I forgot to zip it up before I swung it onto my back, or some other trifling thing happens? Why can I be just so irritable in general?

Yeah, these are definitely questions to take to God. He will have the best answers, and He is the One Who can actually the change my heart. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is gone; the new has come."

Funny thing is I didn't intend to write about my struggle w/swearing today. It's just what came up. Maybe that's what makes good blogging-- talking about whatever happens to come up. ;-)

Peace, y'all. Thanks for "listening."

Welcome back (to me)

2009-05-21T20:13:00.002-05:00

Time for another new chapter in my life. The students are officially done for the 2008-2009 school year. It's all over but the paperwork, and that will be done soon, too.

It does sound crazy to quit your job before you have another. And the more times I talk about it, the more uncomfortable I feel. I guess I really do still care a lot about what other people think of me. I don't want people to think I'm irresponsible.

Even if I don't find a job, I get paid through the summer, and come fall I can sub if I don't have anything else. And next month I'm moving in w/a couple friends, which will cut my rent in half. So I'm not really being terribly irresponsible (meaning, I have a plan to not wind up homeless in six months).

But the next fear is that people will think I'm lazy or self-indulgent. Teaching is very demanding, especially emotionally, and that's really the biggest factor in why I won't be doing it next year. I have other things I want to do with my life-- things like music ministry, things like dating so I can hopefully some day get married & have a family. And while I'm teaching, I really don't have the emotional energy at the end of the day or the end of the week to invest in pursuing those things.

I grew up without the mindset of taking care of my own needs. For a VARIETY of reasons deeply rooted in my childhood & early adult life, it's more comfortable for me to "serve" or "minister" than to do nice things for myself. Serving and ministering are great things, but I know something is out of whack when I am resenting the people I am supposedly trying to serve. And it's not just psycho-babble that I have to take care of my own needs if I'm going to be able to help anyone else.

I find the difficulty in trying to change that ingrained mindset is where to draw the line. When have I truly crossed over into being lazy and self-centered? I don't know. I can tell myself I need to have at least a few minutes to chill & relax every day; I can tell myself that it's better in the long run if I take time to exercise; I can tell myself that taking a day off and paying for a massage every couple months isn't something to be ashamed of. And I believe those things more than I did five years ago. But the persistent doubts still pester me. "Am I going too far?"

Here's another good one: "Am I going to miss out on my dreams b/c I spent two hours watching TV last night instead of practicing my music?" That sounds so stupid, but those thoughts do run through my head. And in my head it's not so obvious how stupid they are, so they often start to take root. Well, I see this is going to require more time to explore than I can take tonight, so I will close, with the intention of revisiting some of these ideas.

Peace.

Miscellaneia (Is that a word? And how would you spell it?)

2008-07-08T16:40:00.003-05:00

What do I have to write about? I'm really taking advantage of the fact that I'm on summer break and relaxing to the max! Also, I decided that running a 5K would be a good goal. Since there's one in Haysville this Saturday that supports the cross country team at the school where I teach, I thought that would be a good one to run. Unfortunately I didn't decide that until a week ago, so my training time is minimal!

It might not seem like a 5K should require much training, but I have trouble running a mile! After a week of training, I am up to 2.5 miles, though. And I'm VERY sore. Hopefully I can make it.

I also am working on scheduling a concert here in Wichita, since I went to all the trouble of preparing a concert set to go sing in other states. I think it's going to work out, but I'm not sharing any details until it's confirmed. Check back for more info!

Hopefully Useful Information

2008-07-02T14:41:00.003-05:00

After my last post, I found out that it is not such a simple thing for those of you reading to leave comments on my blog. I guess you have to register as a user here on blogger.com first. It may look like you have to start your own blog, but you don't. You just have to enter some information to create your own account, then you can become a member of my blog and leave comments any time. If anyone is still not able to do that, just email me and I'll try to figure it out with you. If you don't have my email address, you can email me at matt@twomitesministries.org

So anyway, I just got back into town two days ago after almost two weeks away. I saw my sister and brother-in-law in Michigan, as well as several other friends. That was superfun. I then saw my aunt, uncle, 2 cousins, gramma and grampa in Janesville, WI. Also fun. I got to see the flooding there firsthand! It was real flooding, covering streets and partially submerging houses and everything! Very exciting; not the kind of excitement the residents of those houses wanted, I'm sure.

And the last stop on my trip was Vandalia, IL, where a friend of mine pastors the Free Methodist church. She had invited me to do a concert at her church Sunday evening. I also helped lead the worship in the Sunday morning service. The people there were friendly; after the concert several said they hope I come visit their church again. It was a small turnout for the concert, only 20-25, but I sold a few CDs and received a very generous love offering from the church.

More importantly, the concert went well. No major mistakes on my part, and the congregation was very attentive. I think the music and words I shared encouraged some people; I saw some nodding heads and smiles. I also know a couple of the songs had a few people in tears, so hearts were definitely touched, too. (One of the songs almost had me in tears, but I got through!)

Next concert is scheduled for July 20th in Lincoln, NE, so now I'm looking forward to that one. I plan to use almost the same set that I just did in Vandalia, so that takes a little of the pressure off in preparing, but I want to finetune all the songs as much as I can, so I'll keep practicing.

I hope all is well with all of you; have a safe and happy Fourth of July!

God bless.

New song

2008-06-10T10:00:00.002-05:00

OK, here are the lyrics for my latest song. I think I'm done tinkering (maybe)

TWO MITES (clever title, eh?)

Verse 1: She shuffled in, barely noticed among the well-to-do
Their motives were mixed at best, but her heart was true
Was she embarrassed or ashamed of her gift so small?
Or humbly honored to answer God's call?

How could she have predicted this lesson from the Lord?
I'm sure she just expected that she would be ignored
But He used her to show that giving all in trust
Is the most pleasing to God, so she'd done what she must

Chorus 1: Two mites- it's all she had to give
She trusted Him for what she would need to live
Because she knew He gave her life anyway
All she had was such a small price to pay
Two mites

Verse 2: Looking at my life, my value seems to be so slight
Once again the voices play, "You'll never get it right."
But I know in His hands, my weak gifts are strong
Giving my little for His plan never could go wrong.

Chorus 2: Two mites- it's all I have to give
I"ll trust Him for what I need to live
Because I know He gave me life anyway
And all I am is such a small price to pay
Two mites

Bridge: So dn't be ashamed, whatever your gifts's size
Giving all is the greatest gift in God's eyes
All that you are is all that He asks
He wants a willing heart more than any of your tasks

Chorus 3: Two mites- that's all you have to give
And trust Him for what you need to live
Don't you know He gave you life anyway?
All you are is such a small price to pay
Two mites

Actually I am thinking about changing the last line of the first verse to "Is the most pleasing to God; it's what He asks of us" What do you all think? I may do some other tweaking, too, I was thinking as I just typed it out. But that's definitely the gist of it.

OK. Gotta go. The peace and joy of Christ's Presence to all of you.

Time flies . . .

2008-06-06T14:53:00.003-05:00

And how. But I'm here now, so I won't dwell on how long it's been since my last entry.

Good news: Summer break!!!!!!!

Already, just two weeks into summer break, I have (#1) almost finished another song, (#2) scheduled two concerts and contacted about 6-8 other pastors about possible concerts or other music ministry opportunities, (#3) taken all my lesson plans from the past year and organized them in binders to help me start preparing for next year, (#4) loaded all the PowerPoints for our Algebra I and Geometry textbooks into my laptop, and (#5) read three books.

Actually I read almost all of Showdown by Ted Dekker (300-400 pages, I think) last night. I had already read less than 100 pages, and last night about 9 or so, I intended to read 3 chapters or so and then go to bed. Well, I stayed up till 2:30 and finished the whole book. It was a page-turner! Obviously.

So anyway, I am very excited to be out of school for the summer. I have goals of spending some serious time on songwriting, practicing music, other music ministry pursuits (like booking and getting published), exercising (I've been saying that all my life, but I'm really gonna do it this time!), reading, and journaling. Of course I'm also going to do some traveling to see family and friends from Texas to Michigan, I expect. And maybe farther.

I'm also looking for a new church. Another one of my goals for the summer (and beyond) is to invest more time in developing deeper friendships with other believers. It's very easy for me to isolate myself from others, especially since I live alone and tend to keep busy with my own activities. It's also very easy to keep my friendships on a surface level, which is fine for many friendships, but I think it's important to have at least a couple friendships that go deeper. So that's one thing I'm looking to find as I search for a new church home.

I guess I should mention that the school year ended well for me. They're letting me come back next year, so that's always a good thing. I finished my KPA on time-- it's a stupid 25-page paper (Trust me, you don't care about the details of the kinds of things you have to write-- just take my word that it's a lot of research and work and a real pain. As if teachers don't have enough to do!) you have to write for the state of Kansas to get a normal 5-year teaching license. Initially they give you a 2-year provisional license until you do your KPA. So anyway, it was kind of down to the wire, and I didn't know if I was really going to get it finished on time, but with the help of some other teachers in my district who were working on theirs, too, and our "leader," it all came together.

And out of both my Geometry classes, only one student didn't pass! That was a big improvement over first semester, and over last year. Unfortunately my failure rate in my Algebra I classes was not nearly so impressive. But that gives me something to improve next year!

So the bottom line is, this is a very happy time for me. I hope it's happy for all of you, too. God bless each of you.

Oops

2008-03-12T10:51:00.002-05:00

Well, I guess Christmas break didn't turn out to be very good for posting on my blog. Nor did January and February. But I'm back now!

I have been doing some music, though. Last month I played piano at a wedding and also performed at a Christian coffee house. Things are so busy during the school year (especially now that I'm dating) that I've decided I might as well admit that I'm not going to have time to work on music till summer (except for the occassional special at church and such).

Actually, I am scheduled to sing at the Variety Show at school the week after spring break (which is next week) and I'll be singing at my sister's wedding on April 19th. So I'll be doing a little here and there to keep me in the musical mindset, I guess. Trying to do a whole set is just too much w/school and everything else.

I just wanted to catch everybody up on the music front. Maybe I'll have time to write about some other things before too long. Maybe spring break! Although we know how that worked at Christmas. We'll see.

Peace.

Brief

2007-12-15T19:50:00.001-06:00

Wow. It's been a while. A lot has been going on; that's probably why I haven't had time to blog. Mostly it's just been trying to keep up at school (or catch up, most of the time). Some other cool things have been happening, too, though. But of course, I don't have time now to go into that. Next week should be better for blogging, b/c it's the end of the semester!

God bless y'all. I'll talk to you then.

Songwriter contract

2007-11-13T19:00:00.000-06:00

So a couple weeks ago I found a website for a company that promotes songwriters to major labels and artists in Nashville. They said they offered free critiques of songs, so I uploaded four of my songs. Last week I got a songwriter contract in the mail from them. Apparently what they do is make professional demos of songs and pitch them to recording companies and artists there in Nashville. So I would just need to pay them to make the demos and wait to see if anyone is interested in recording the songs, I guess.

The main reason I'm skeptical about the whole thing is that it seemed too easy. Do they make this offer to everyone who sends them songs? Because the fact that they record a demo and supposedly pitch to these companies is no guarantee that anyone will even listen to it, much less want to record it.

I did also get a message from a Christian musician promoter here in Wichita that said that "Worth it All" was a great song with a lot of potential. So that was encouraging. Maybe I should go ahead and pay for the demo of that one and see if I hear anything, if there is any interest in it.

My other concern is whether this would be an exclusive situation, if I did pay this company to market any of my songs. I don't want to be tied to just one company without knowing that they're really out there working hard to find someone to record my music. I really just need to read the fine print, look more at their website and probably talk to someone on the phone before I decide to do it.

So anyway, big things to think about. (Actually that's not the half of it, but the rest will have to wait for another blog entry.) Life is busy; sometimes I'm having a hard time keeping up with all the things I think I ought to be doing. But God is faithful. It's all going to work out for good.

Peace, y'all.

The Golden Compass movie

2007-11-04T08:41:00.000-06:00

OK, I'm going to take a break from my normal blogging practice of just talking about myself and my life. This past week I found some information online about the upcoming movie "The Golden Compass." If you have a few minutes, check out this website:

http://snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp

In a nutshell, it's based on the first book in a trilogy for children by Philip Pullman, an outspoken atheist who seems to advocate the complete abolishing of religion, since he believes it to be nothing but a source of oppression. He passionately hates the Chronicles of Narnia, and his trilogy is somewhat of a humanist's response to them.

Obviously I'm coming from a different perspective than his, but there's one thing that really dumbfounds me. I actually stumbled across some quotes from Mr. Pullman some time ago when I was doing some searching online about The Chronicles of Narnia. One really stuck out to me. As I recall, he basically said he thought Christianity was supposed to be all about love, and he didn't see love as a theme anywhere in the book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. So apparently Aslan volunteering to die so that Edmund doesn't have to doesn't seem to be a demonstration of love to Mr. Pullman.

I can understand a person believing that Edmund's situation is not a true picture of our situation in the real world, that we are not in need of salvation. So I can see someone saying that C. S. Lewis' story is manipulative for that reason. But I can NOT understand anyone saying that the story is not a picture of love if you take it at face value. And Philip Pullman seems to be revered as very intelligent and intellectual. How can people accept statements so preposterous and continue to esteem his logic and assertions?

I DON'T GET IT.

Well, thanks for taking the time to listen to my venting. God bless you all.

Another week down

2007-10-26T16:08:00.000-05:00

Well, this was an easy week at work. Monday was a white day, so I just taught the same lessons I had taught the previous Friday. Tuesday through Friday, we did standardized testing, so all I had to do was take the kids to a computer lab, give directions to log on, and watch them take the test. Plus I took Tuesday and Wednesday off, so not only did I not have to work, but I didn't even have to make up lessons for a sub. That's a good week, for sure. Helpful for catching up on grading, too.

So, with my days off, I am almost completely unpacked in my apartment. And it's only been three months since I moved in! That may be a record. Well, not really. It makes me feel better, though, not to have boxes sitting around in every room. I can actually get to ALL the furniture in my living room! So thanks to my dad for helping getting all my books and music unpacked and on shelves in at least a semi-orderly fashion. And clearing out several other boxes that were half-empty or just needed to be put in closets.

Yesterday I started doing some exploring online about music publishers. I found one website that says they do free critiques of original music, so I sent them some of my songs. Hopefully I'll hear something from them; I've come across websites like that before that never responded to my emails or submissions.

So lots of positive and encouraging things are happening. I am blessed, for certain. Blessings on all of you, as well.

New blog

2007-10-14T14:51:00.000-05:00

Hey, everybody. I'm on my new blog now, but as you see, my webmaster T kindly transferred the blog entries from my Myspace here for me. Things are still busy at school. The grading period ended last week, so I have to have all my grades entered by 7:30 tomorrow morning. I've got almost everything in, thankfully.

Lately I've just been keeping my head above water. Last Sunday and today I filled in for our Worship leader at church while he was out of town. Then this past week, our pianist fell and injured her knee, so it looks like I will be filling in for her for 4-6 weeks. She is scheduled for knee-replacement surgery next Monday (the 22nd); please pray for her- her name in Shirlene.

I hope to be taking time in the next few weeks to make some decisions and plans about my current priorities- affecting my music ministry, employment and some aspects of my personal life. So please be in prayer for me, too, if you think of it.

Well, gotta go, but God bless you all.

Update on the Blog...

2007-10-08T12:40:00.002-05:00

Hi all! This is Tanya, Matt's web designer. We have been working on www.twomitesministries.org and have just gotten this blog back up and running after about a year. I have copied some of his My Space postings up just to get you caught up and hopefully he will be able to start updating this himself now. Don't forget to check out the site - www.twomitesministries.org!

The CD is officially released!

2007-10-08T12:40:00.001-05:00

October 1, 2007 - Monday

The CD release concert is now behind us. It went really well. There were about 80 people there (Thanks, Dawn, for counting), and I sold 40 of my new CDs and 18 CDs from the band I used to be in. I'm about out of those, only 12 left. People seemed to really enjoy it and be touched by the music. I got a lot of positive feedback.

Obviously, the CDs did arrive Friday as scheduled. Funny thing was the covers had all been put in sideways. (How do these things happen?) They were shipped to the studio I recorded at, so Steve & Julia, the couple who own and run the studio, opened up 100 of them, turned the cover inserts and re-shrinkwrapped them. So they didn't have the fancy folded corners like CDs you buy at WalMart, but they still looked good (and the picture was facing the right direction!)

So thanks a BUNCH to Steve & Julia for that. They saved the day. Now the rest of the CDs are being shipped back for the duplication company to fix and return.

Now another week is underway, so I'm in the midst of planning lessons and grading tests again. Hope things are going well for all of you. Be strong and courageous.

Busy as usual

2007-10-08T12:39:00.002-05:00

September 27, 2007 - Thursday

It's Homecoming week, and my CD release concert is Sunday. I've got a lot on my plate here. Actually Homecoming week has been a lot of fun. We've had spirit days every day, so I've gotten to dress up as Bob the Builder and Mr. Incredible, wear a suit and tie, and dress in luau attire. And tomorrow I get to show my Colt spirit by wearing my Campus gear. Unfortunately all I have for Campus gear is T-shirts, so my display of spirit will be somewhat limited. That's OK; it's the thought that counts.

On another topic, I got the CD of the instrumental tracks for my songs to use in my concert. That was good; now I can actually start practicing! Just kidding, I have already been practicing a little. And the CDs themselves are in transit, scheduled to arrive tomorrow. Hopefully there won't be any delays! I cut it kind of close on that one, but I've been praying a lot for them to come on time, so hopefully God will see fit to work that out for me.

Well, I've got almost two hours before I have to be anywhere, and I think I'm done for the day here at school. Everything else can wait till tomorrow! I think I'll go home and take advantage of a few minutes to relax and enjoy a good book. I haven't done that in a couple weeks. I'm in the middle of "A Man Named Dave" by Dave Pelzer. It's the third book in his trilogy that started with "A Child Called It." A depressing story in a lot of ways, but inspiring that someone could overcome SO much tragedy and hardship.

OK, I'm outta here. Peace, love and truth to all of you.

Finally!

2007-10-08T12:39:00.001-05:00

September 15, 2007 - Saturday

I think everything is in place for the duplication and printing of my CD. I guess the first time you do something you learn how much work and time it really takes. I thought we had everything we needed about a week and a half ago, but we had some snafus w/the artwork that had to be resolved before things could go forward.

Apparently everything is as it should be now, though, according to the duplication company. So hopefully they'll be good to go Monday morning, and I should have the CDs in time for my concert on the 30th. I'm still saying some prayers that that will be the case.

Other than that, I've been keeping busy at school. It always amazes me how many hours I can be in my classroom after school and still not get done all the things I feel I need to. That just goes w/the territory, though, I guess.

Well, I'm off; we've got an ice cream social tonight at church. Although w/this cool, cloudy weather, I'm not really in the mood for ice cream. I'm sure I can force myself to eat some, though.

I need to find some places to put up posters about my concert, too. Probably just my classroom, church and my parents' church. Maybe I'll think of somewhere else, too, though.

Peace, everybody.

Labor Day Weekend!

2007-10-08T12:38:00.002-05:00

September 1, 2007 - Saturday

Here I am at school, trying to catch up on grading papers and planning lessons for next week. I realize I'm not going to get all that done today, as I had hoped. I've been working for about three hours, and I am ready to quit! I guess I'll have to come in Monday after all. Grrrr.

Two days down . . .

2007-10-08T12:38:00.001-05:00

August 17, 2007 - Friday

. . . about a hundred eighty to go. Just kidding. We're back in school now. It's been a challenge getting ready for a new year and working on recording a CD. But it's good to be back in a routine. When you never have to get up in the morning or be anywhere, it's hard to keep from getting at least a little soft and lazy. I was definitely headed in that direction during the summer. Traveling the country all the time to see friends and family is fun, but I need to have some other purpose for living, too.

So now it's a weekend. Of course, I will need to use a good part of that weekend to finish organizing my classroom and going through papers and making plans for this year. And for next week. Then I'll need to use part of it to listen a few times through all the recording I've done so far and figure out if anything needs to be redone and what instruments I want to add on which songs. So far all I've recorded is a piano part and a vocal part for each song.

I really do want to finish all the recording in the next week or two, so all the mixing can be done, then the printing and duplication, and I can have the CDs ready by September 28th so I can do a concert at my church that weekend. I'll keep you all posted.

Grace and peace to you.

Whew!

2007-10-08T12:37:00.000-05:00

August 11, 2007 - Saturday

Well, it turned out I was not able to go into the studio Thursday night, but I did go this afternoon for about four hours. I recorded keyboard and vocal tracks for three songs. I had hoped to get more done, but that's the way it goes. Now I need to spend about four hours getting ready for school. Just kidding; I definitely need more than four hours. So I better go get on that.

Peace and love.

Big day tomorrow

2007-10-08T12:36:00.002-05:00

August 8, 2007 - Wednesday

Well, the new school year starts tomorrow for me. First day of inservices. It'll be nice to get back into that routine, but there so much left to do! It's a little overwhelming. OK, more than a little.

Also tomorrow, I go into the studio to start recording my first official CD. It won't be full-length, just the 5 songs I've written so far. But it's still a big step, and I'm really excited about it.

Well, I'm supposed to go hang out w/my friend Scott tonight. He moved away to Minnesota, but he's visiting town this week, so I don't want to miss the opportunity to see him! So I'll check out for now.

God bless you.

Song for Melinda Doolittle

2007-10-08T12:36:00.001-05:00

May 25, 2007 - Friday

I wrote this song for the American Idol songwriting contest. I didn't win, but I still think it would be a good song for Melinda to record.

Worth it All
When I started on this journey,
I didn't know where it would lead,
Like picturing a full-grown plant
When staring at just a seed.

But as the time's been passing
And the weeks have come and gone,
Step by step I've walked this path,
And I've heard my voice grow strong.

Chorus:
It's worth it all.
It's worth the cost.
It's worth the sacrifices
And the things I've lost
'Cause now I'm standing in a place
I never dreamed I could be.
I've gone around and finally found
What it means to be me.

My horizons have expanded;
This is more than I thought I'd be.
It's amazing how the world can change
Just from what you see.
I know there's even more to come;
This is only just the start.
Of all my life will one day hold
I've only seen a part.

Chorus

I've left behind some things I love
To take this road less trod.
At times it's rough, and though I've stumbled,
I'm still walking by the grace of God.

Chorus

Wow, I missed a whole month

2006-11-07T18:43:00.000-06:00

Well, as usual I can say school has been crazy. Last week ended the grading period, so of course I was at school way longer than I thought I would need to be to get all my grades in the computer, and I still didn't get them all in. The last day's work will just have to go on the next grading period.

My throat has really been in bad shape for a couple months. I keep hoping that if I rest it as much as I can on weekends by not talking much and not singing, that it will stop hurting, but it hasn't helped yet. Tomorrow I'm going to go to the doctor. I've been assuming the main problem is just the strain of talking all day as a teacher, but maybe there is some kind of infection or allergy or something that the doctor could help. I really miss being able to sing right now, but even more I hate to imagine damaging my voice permanently.

Anyway, sometimes school gets me down and I get stressed and depressed by how overwhelming things can get (like last week), but more often I feel really good about being at Campus High with the students and co-workers I am with. It's a great place, and I'm really blessed to be able to be there.

I did sing special music this past Sunday at my church. I sang "You Never Let Go," the latest Matt Redman song, accompanied by the worship team guitarist on acoustic and harmony vocals. It went really well, and it was a lot of fun. It's a great song; if you haven't heard it, find an audio clip of it online or something. Well, I need to go; I have much grading to do still, not to mention plenty of unpacking left in my apartment yet. Maybe by Christmas I can get all that done. I won't be holding my breath, though.

Well, whoever is out there, thanks for reading, and God bless you. Peace.

Taking a Breath

2006-09-29T13:05:00.000-05:00

Well, it is Friday, and I am not in school. That is a big blessing. The last two nights we (all teachers) have been at the school till 8 or later conducting parent-teacher conferences. So having a day off is a welcome respite.

Last Sunday I sang a special at my church. A great song called "Remembering You," recorded by Steven Curtis Chapman on the Songs inspired by Narnia CD or whatever it's called. It went well, but my actual point is that last week I noticed my voice was feeling really strained a lot of the time. I don't know if it's just from talking so much and talking more loudly as I teach, or if it's a seasonal allergy thing or if it's actually some kind of infection, but my throat feels sore. Not like a sore throat when you are sick, but like sore muscles when you exercise too hard.

It concerns me b/c I want to continue to be able to sing! Last spring I went through a similar deal. I went to an ENT specialist, who seemed to think I had an infection of some sort. He gave me an antibiotic and a steroid to take, and after a couple weeks it did finally get better. I think if three days of resting my voice as much as possible doesn't help any, I will go to the doctor next week or the week after and see what he says. My insurance kicks in on Oct 1, so it will be good timing, at least, if I do have to go that route.

OK, well, I'm going to close now. Hope all is well with everyone out there. I'm glad we had this time to visit. Though it was pretty one-sided. ;)

Wow, pt. II

2006-09-17T16:59:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm here, so I thought I'd make a short post while I have a minute. Things at school are as crazy busy as they were a month ago. This week is the end of the six weeks, though. Hard to believe we've been in school that long! Gosh, I've really got to go. Hopefully I'll write more soon.

Wow

2006-08-26T14:55:00.000-05:00

I knew I would be busy once school started, but knowing and KNOWING are two different things. Now I am experiencing that incredible busyness. And I'm trying to get ready to move in a week, too. Life has been crazy all around this month. But I actually feel more sane and balanced, now that I'm working again.

Well, the point of all this is mostly that I haven't had time to blog lately and probably won't have a lot of time for it in the next month. I'm pretty behind at work from all the paperwork and stuff I have to have done as a new teacher in the building. I'm just barely keeping my head above water making my lesson plans and grading papers. And I'm sure I'll be settling into my new apartment for a coople weeks at least. I'll email all of you directly sometime w/my updated contact info.

Thanks for reading. Have a great day.

Home Sweet Home (but not for long)

2006-08-02T14:46:00.000-05:00

I am back in Wichita. I arrived Monday night after a full day of driving, and went straight to a farewell party for a friend from my church. He is in the Air Force and will be deployed to the Middle East tomorrow. This stay should only be 3 months, however, so that's nice.

I am thinking more and more about the beginning of school. We start meetings next Tuesday, and classes start the following week. They have added at least one new math position this year, so one classroom that was extremely large is being divided into two classrooms. I will be teaching in one of those two. I took some posters and school supplies and other stuff to my room yesterday. They had completed the wall, but that was about it. There were big pieces of extra wall sitting in one corner; everything was covered in the dust of the construction; and almost none of the furniture I'll need for the school year was there- no teacher desk or chair, no filing cabinets, no phone, no projector screen, only one bookshelf that might even belong to another teacher. Also, there were tables in the room instead of the desks that I should have when school starts.

The point being that there was really nothing I could do to start getting the room ready for the year. And tomorrow I leave for Florida w/three friends to visit another friend who is living there. We won't get back till Monday, and meetings start Tuesday. All the teachers I've talked to have said to get the room decorated and organized and everything before inservices start, b/c once they do, things will be totally crazy and I'll have so much other stuff to do on the "classroom workdays" that I won't have any time to actually work in my classroom. Oh, well. It looks like waiting until inservices start will be my only option. It's probably better that I will be out of town until then, b/c if I were here and actually COULD be working in my room, it would probably make me even more mad that the room wasn't ready.

When I was at the school yesterday, I did get a chance to talk w/one of the other math teachers. She was very friendly and offered lots of good advice, like suggesting that I call the principal ASAP and in a friendly way let him know what things I still need in the room before school starts. My friend Jeff was w/me, and he was just full of questions and comments for her. You'd think he was a teacher himself, but he's not. He's just overtalkative. (Sorry, Jeff) BUT, one good thing that did come of that was that he asked about policies on cellphones and other electronic devices in the classroom. The other teacher said students are not to have them out at all in class. If a student has anything like that out during a test, she just assumes they are cheating. She said sometimes they don't like that, but she tells them, "Go complain to the school board if you want. It doesn't matter to me; I have a contract w/them, you don't. So complain all you want." I think that's a good philosophy! Although as far as I've come in the last 10 years, I still don't think I'm quite thick-skinned enough to wholeheartedly take that attitude. Maybe I'll get there by the end of this year.

Well, my other big news is that I'm going to be looking for a new place to live, it looks like. One of our roommates just moved out last week, and another is moving out the end of this month. Since we have no prospects for new roommates, even after looking for a couple months, and since we can't afford to live in that big house w/just two of us, we gave our 30-day notice to move out on Labor Day weekend. That's something I really didn't have time for this month, but when is the next long weekend? And how many months do I want to pay double rent? So it seems like the only logical thing to do. We'll see how it goes looking for a new place.

Goodness, this has been a long entry. And I haven't even said anything about music ministry. Well, I guess that's OK; some weeks are going to be that way. Well, thanks for sticking w/me through all these ramblings. God bless you all.

Random Thoughts from a Barber Shop

2006-07-27T11:07:00.000-05:00

On the bulletin board:

Strange how millions of people would like to live to be 110, but they don't know what to do with themselves when it rains on a Sunday afternoon.

And of course I can't resist sharing this one:

If a man speaks in a forest and there's no woman to hear him, is he still wrong?

Who knew you could find such wisdom and humor at a barber shop.

Mapleview Report

2006-07-23T21:05:00.000-05:00

Just to keep everyone posted (in case anyone but me is reading this), I sang this morning at Mapleview as planned. I sang a song called "More Like You," which was recorded by Clay Crosse. It went really well, and Greg said it fit into the service nicely. I got lots of compliments from members of the congregation, too. One guy even asked, "Do you sing for a living? You've got a voice that you could; that's why I ask." Affirmation isn't my main motivation for singing in church, but it sure is encouraging to get.

Well, I've been keeping some late nights lately, so I think I'm going to close now and head for bed. One more week in Michigan! Then it's back to reality in Wichita. Talk at y'all later. Take care.

Mapleview Free Methodist

2006-07-19T14:17:00.000-05:00

This Sunday I am scheduled to sing a special at Mapleview FMC in Niles, MI. The pastor, Greg Rensberry, is a friend of mine from Spring Arbor College when we were both students there. (We were also co-workers at Covenant Hills Campground one summer.) We had lunch and visited some today.

I've been able to get together with several friends from my college days while up here in Michigan this summer. It had been years since I'd seen or heard from most of them; that's been one of the big blessings of being here. It's nice to renew old friendships. The hard part for me is maintaining them!

Good news!

2006-07-18T21:16:00.000-05:00

Today I pulled out all the old notebooks and papers I had ever used for songwriting and found that I had two songs almost finished. One had all the lyrics written and the other was lacking only two lines. And I had written a third to a half of the music for each. So all I had to do was write those two lines, do a little lyrical tweaking and finish the music for both songs. It seems that the lyrics are harder for me to complete than the music. I think that's b/c the lyrics are more important to me; I feel compelled to strive for excellent lyrics, whereas the music seems to me just a vehicle, something that just needs to be functional. That's probably a weakness in my musicianship.

But the point today is that I finished two more songs! They're kind of like rough drafts, though, so I think I will keep reviewing them and possibly making changes. Still, excellent progress for my first day back at songwriting, I think. It was really fun, too. I definitely need to take time to do that every week or so, even after school starts.

Well, it's late, so I'm gonna sign off. Peace, everybody.

An encouraging word

2006-07-17T16:05:00.000-05:00

Yesterday my parents saw a concert of Jamey Dennison, a guy I met a couple years ago when I was with the Christian band Heaven 2 Earth. Apparently he had gotten our CD at the time b/c my mom said he asked them to say hello to me, gave a wonderful compliment about my songwriting, and encouraged me to continue writing. This guy has been writing and performing for a long time. This isn't just a hobby for him; he's a professional songwriter. The fact that he had listened to my music and remembered me is encouraging in and of itself. But that he would compliment my songwriting and specifically encourage me to continue is amazing to me!

So that was kind of a kick in the butt that I need to get writing again. It's been years since I have, but I know there are things God's done in my life and taught me that could help others. too. So, like Nike says, "Just do it." I need to stop whining about being busy and do the things that are important. And since I'm not working and on vacation for the summer, I could spend some major time right now. So that's one of my goals for this week and next. I will spend a few hours on songwriting.

It's a good goal. I'll keep you all posted.

Long time coming

2006-07-14T12:28:00.000-05:00

Well, for a long time I didn't have time to do any posting on this blog, and then I forgot my password so I didn't do any posting for a long time more. But now I'm back.

Update on Two Mites Ministries: I have resigned my position as worship leader at Christ Community Church. I finally got my Kansas teaching license this past spring and have a new job teaching math at Campus High School in the Haysville, KS school district. The school itself is actually on the south side of Wichita. It's only about a 20 minute drive from my house, so that's not too bad.

Anyway, the point of my story is that I think my music ministry is going to be on hold for a while until I settle into my new job. Having taught in the past, I know being a first-year teacher is a lot of work and can be a lot of stress. I definitely don't want to spread myself too thin at this point in my life.

Well, I don't intend to wait 8 more months before making another posting here, so hopefully this will be more interesting to read in the future. At least to some people. Peace.

Welcome

2005-11-13T13:05:00.000-06:00

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Two Mites weblog. This is my first blog, so we'll see how it works out. Maybe I'll use this to keep people up to date on the activities of Two Mites Ministries. Or something. See you all later.