What are we doing?

yet another blog from Tim from Underoath....

"So we've been on warped for almost a month now and every show has been insanely amazing. I can't believe the response we've been getting every day. Thanks to all of you dudes and gals that have made it the best summer ever. My life has been up and down like crazy lately. I'm in the middle of a book called "Revolution", written by a guy who owns a statistical analysis firm, and he is writing a book on statistics based on the average church going christian and how they apply to our culture and what we need to change in the church as well as our personal lives as christians to truly experience a life changing encounter with Christ, and not just go through the motions week in and week out. He also predicts how or culture is going to change in the next 10-20 years so the church can learn how to approach certain issues. It's extremely interesting and thought provoking to say the least wether you are for or against organized religion. I would encourage you guys to pick a copy up and decide for yourselves how it hits you. I have also found myself adopting some extremely leftist opinions and have been put in a lot of situations in which I get a chance to share what God's been doing in my life. We're on tour with a lot of Leftist/Activist bands who assume that we hate homosexuals, feel that woman shouldn't have equal rights, and support this war of ours on every level, and it has been a very interesting and amazing opportunity to hoefuly break down a lot of walls and understand that we are all going for the same goal, regardless of our religous or sexual preference. I wish I could say the same for the "church" of today, but sadly I can't. My point is if we stopped worrying about blue states and red states, and we stopped 'Rocking Against Bush' and started 'Rocking Against poverty' or for equality we would have a lot more allies and those blue and red lines would blur. It's almost impossible to see Christians, Leftists, Feminists and all other types of people uniting to fight major problems in our world, but for some reason it seems achievable. Fat Mike from NOFX said to me the other day,"If you guys would stop talking about Jesus and start talking about a real issue that people can latch onto and get behind, you might find that more people will get behind you and less people would feel secluded from your little group." There's a lot of wisdom in his words, and although I will never stop talking to people about Jesus, I will challenge those of us who claim to be christians to be them. Figure out something in your heart that you are passionate about changing and go change it. Dont worry if you're standing next to a homosexual, or a hardline feminist....don't ever forsake or water down your faith, but don't allow it to cause division among groups of our fellow humans trying to do some serious good in this world. There's always going to be ignorant christians and equally as many ignorant leftists, but those few of us on either side that see through the social walls we'e built will recognize we're all the same, or similar enough to make a stance against major world issues as one body and not a divided and misunderstood underground. I've let stuupid social road blocks stop me from a lotin my life and it's time to start changing things. I love each and every person who is readng this rigght now, regardless of what you get up for each morning. I hope this blesses you in one capacity or another. Be blessed my friends. Timmy"

our homeless have 20/20 vision

blog from Tim of Underoath....

"So last September we were on tour with The Used in Canada, and spent a day in a small western town called Kelowna. There I met a homeless man who looked like Tom hanks from Cast Away. He said God told him to sell all that he had and move to Kelowna and live on the streets. We spent a good portion of the day together and I heard some of the most profound things come out of his mouth. I often wonder how those "dirty" people we seem to pass on the street ,and pretend don't exist, can have a far superior grasp on life and how God is wanting to integrate himself into every aspect of human life....they have no distractions! Here I am consumed by motion pictures, strip malls, and social status...and this man with nothing but a backpack to his name is teaching me the very bare bones basics to life and why we were created. In a world clouded by society and it's predispositions, a man with no distractions or goals to climb the ladders of success can truly focus all his time and energy on allowing God to renew his mind and rewire his heart. We had a day off last week in Kelowna as well and as I was driving my scooter around town, I passed Castaway on the street again. I pulled over and said hello and he remembered me from last year. I asked him how life had been and he said to me..."God has shown me that the time of believing in something we can not see is over. That is a childlike mentality, and we must mature past this spiritually. We must KNOW that God exists, and not just hope he does. The time has come for us to allow God to manifest himself in our lives in a way in which we have no choice but to know he exists. To believe in something we hope for is childish, to not believe at all in ignorance, but to believe in something we know is perfect. The root to perfect is FACT! We must know God factually exists in our lives to truly see what he is capable of doing." Although I believe there is some biblical truth to having the "faith of a child", I believe there is something to be learned by what Castaway had to say. The time for hoping and wishing is over...today is a day of knowing and doing. Wishing and hoping doesn't change anything...but an action spawned from an undeniable truth revealed to us by God himself is as effective as any weapon on earth. We must KNOW and we must put what we know into action. "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says"...James 1:22. I also have had the opportunity to see a very enlightening and inspiring film this tour called "The Inconvenient Truth". It is a film mainly rooted in the science of global warming and the effect it is having on us now, as well as what to expect for the generations to come if we don't change something. I would encourage everyone to go see the film and decided for yourself what your part in helping solve this world wide crisis may be. You can also log onto www.climatecrisis.com to get more info as well as a lot of tips to altar our lifestyles in very practical ways, in order to preserve what we have left of our earth for our children and their children. I hope you have all been good out there friends. I also just found out that our friends MewithoutYou will be joining us on Warped Tour for the next two weeks, so it will continue to be an inspiring couple of weeks. Until next time friends...be blessed. Timmy"

hope you got something out of it

I hope to God.......

Chew on this....

Job 1
Prologue
1 There was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless, a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters. 3 He owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred teams of oxen, and five hundred female donkeys, and he employed many servants. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area........

Jobs First Test
6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan the Accuser came with them. 7 "Where have you come from?" the LORD asked Satan.
And Satan answered the LORD, "I have been going back and forth across the earth, watching everything that's going on."

8 Then the LORD asked Satan, "Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth--a man of complete integrity. He fears God and will have nothing to do with evil."

9 Satan replied to the LORD, "Yes, Job fears God, but not without good reason! 10 You have always protected him and his home and his property from harm. You have made him prosperous in everything he does. Look how rich he is! 11 But take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!"

12 "All right, you may test him," the LORD said to Satan. "Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don't harm him physically." So Satan left the LORD's presence.....


Here is something that you might not see.....

First thing that you see is that Job had riches. LOTS OF RICHES!!!! He was the riches man in the area. But he was blameless, and a man of integrity. These are the words from the bible..and the word is God. So....Job, in the eyes of God, was blameless and a man of integrity.

But here comes the best part.....

You can see that satan was before God. God and satan are face to face and carrying a conversation!!! God asked him "what are you doing?" It goes to say that satan was roaming around the earth; just watching what's going on.

God asked satan if hes seen his servent, Job. God is bragging to satan about Job. How he is upright and has nothing to do w/ evil. Satan then tells God, reason for that is because You protect him. Blesses him w/ riches. That He has made Job prosperous in everything he does.

Then satan has the balls to test God; telling Him that if everything was taken away from Job; that Job will CURSE You to Your face!

God said, "ok...do whatever you want to him. touch his family. his riches. but you cannot lay a hand on him."



What I got out of this....

Satan had to persent himself to God. Satan is accountable to God.

But what's crazy....what blows my mind away...

God has to give satan permission to mess w/ us. Satan cannot do anything w/out Gods permission. But not only that....but God sets the limits for satan.

To me, that tells me that everything happens for a reason. To me, I think God was testing Job, like He tests all of us, for a deeper understanding of our relationship w/ Him. He doesn't allow trials to see if we will fail; He allows trials to strengthen our faith. To hope that, no matter what, that we are still willing to lean on God to be our strength. If you keep reading Job, you'll see that satans takes everything away from Job. Even messes w/ his health. at first he doesn't give in. He still praises God. He didn't sin.

I haven't read any futher..cause I was just amazed by what I read. I know that down the road Job sinned...but I know there is a reason for why he did.....



THERE IS ALWAYS A REASON THINGS HAPPEN THE WAY THEY DO.....JUST HAVE ENOUGH FAITH THAT GOD WILL GET YOU THROUGH IT. THAT HIS PLAN FOR US IS BETTER THAN THE PLAN WE HAVE FOR OURSELF!

"I hope to God you come down...I hope to God you can feel this now"


<><

To Whom it May Concern

So hold your head up high and know it's not the end of the road
Walk down this beaten path before you pack your things and head home
At the end of the road you'll find what you've been longing for

I know cause my feet have the scars to show
I was lost with vague direction and no place to call home

It's time fo you to press on
This is not your war
Set your sights to North and press on
This is not your escape
Wash away what they thought of you
Because in this place, we all as good as dead
..end cycle..

Behind the mask you'll find yourself alone
It's not the end of the road for you

Super Man, recording, and a really loud ring in my ear

it's about 3 in the morning and I, once again, finished recording. good times good times.

I got to use my new baby, tama iron cobra, and, boy...let me tell you....it adds alot to your playing!!!! the tracks sounds amazing!



I have this crazy pounding in my left ear....like...crazy pounding!!! I had practice after work and I, the master at forgetting things, left my earplugs at home. so, yes, I am hurting.



last week I watched super man returns and man, was it alot better than I thought. I thought it was going to be "ok", but it was awesome! the cinematography was amazing! people were crying behind me! everyone that went w/ me loved it as well. I recommend seeing it. everybody so far that I told to go see, has, and they thanked me! word to your mother

but...let me tell you, I saw the preview for spider man 3....OH MY HOLY COW AND SNICKERS!!!! THAT MOVIE IS GOING TO OWN ALL SUPER HERO MOVIES (x-men 3 is still my #1!)



so...if you didn't like super man...well, you either, a) don't know the history of superman b)didn't watch the last 4 before you saw the new one or c) you were kept in a closet whenever you were little.

well, I have to work at 830, so that means I have to get up at 715 to get ready and all that jazz!

night everyone

<><

Finally have internet

that's right...I have internet now! whoop!

well, alot of awesome stuff has been happening. Here are just some of them...



3 days ago, Stellar Karts drummer, Jordan, came over and him and I just jamed from 7 to 1030. It was great! He brought his drum-set over...and just incase you wanted to know...he plays on "Truth"!! I love their drums! one of the pics is me sitting on his drum sit! so yeah, stellar karts drummer was at my house..word!!! Check them out. They are on tour right now in the west coast. New cd comes out at the end of this month. Heard some of the songs...going to be pretty saweet!

ah..I already talked about warped tour, so here are some pics.....









i talked about recording at the dark horse recording studio too...so here are some pics. songs came out great. i just have rough mixes. Can't wait till I get the real ones..i'll put a song up on this thing soon....but for now....ejoy the pics






well, that's it for now.

oh wait...no it's not

I got a new bass drum pedal. My old one was giving in so I got my dream pedal..

TAMA IRON COBRA DOUBLE BASS PEDAL!!!

I feel like a new drummer!

ok...I learned how to do my own oil change....so that is what I have to do and then some more stuff today! peace!

<><