In His Time

God is good. Have I ever told you guys that? Let me tell you why. Today I had 5 appointments planned while I was on campus. Of those 5 appointments, 2 were late and 3 did not show up. Why is this a good thing? I never thought you would ask!

I was sitting on a bench in the middle of the Citta Universitaria garden, waiting for my friend Juan to show up. Juan was supposed to meet me at 2:30 but because my appointment before didn't show, I was able to eat with him a little earlier. I was sitting with the sign for "Conversations in English", which I have a love-hate relationship with, when a dude walked up that looked vaguely familiar. I don't know if we had met before but he asked if I was with the English conversations group and I said yes, but we are done for the day. However, since I was waiting on a friend, I could hang out and talk with him and his girlfriend for a while.

Lauren joined us as we chilled on the lawn and began to talk about where they are from (she is Romanian, he is Italian), what they study (architecture), and what they think of Italian vs. Romanian culture. I kept checking my phone and calling Juan, and got no answer. The conversation went deeper and soon we were talking about their ideas of God. She is Orthodox and he is Catholic but both said they were not sure what they believed. In the hour and a half that we sat and talked, we got to share life. I loved it, talking about our college experience, theirs, how we grow and change, and how Christ has affected my life (and Lauren's). It was a complete gift from God to have this time open, to be able to talk about this stuff, and to be able to plan out that we are going to meet next week and read a bit of John together and talk about it. I love how God changes my plans, and makes it better. How he arranges for someone to hear the good news of Jesus Christ, when all I knew is that I was frustrated that I got stood up. God is Good. Amen.

And since I won't be able to post on Friday, here is 5 Free Death Cab for Cutie downloads
And for good measure, you can download The Weepies in a great live concert. I just bought their new cd, I dig it, and you can listen to all the songs from this concert before you download it... really, at least check it out . If you don't like it, I am not offended, I just thought it was pretty good.

'Rents in Rome and Risky Business

My parents came to Rome 2 weeks ago and we had a lovely time together.

I like this picture... my Mom's first time overseas and she got to go to cool places like this :)

My Mom and Dad aren't perfect but they are a great example for me to try to follow. And I love em lots, and think this is an excellent picture of them.

You can see where I get my good looks and charm :)

My Mom is beautiful, my Dad is handsome, and I live in Rome... combine all three and you get a heck of a picture.

FREE MUSIC FRIDAY:
The New Frontiers - I know I have mentioned this band before, but if you click on their name, you can listen to the whole album (jury is still out on the album for me) and download the song Mirrors (which I liked).
Micah Dalton : Ok, so I apologize that this is not free, downloadable music, but I have to give this guy a shout out. I have met him, man has got soul, and I just bought his new album and it was completely worth the $10 I paid. So check out his new album, Pawnshop, and listen to the songs from it on his myspace. I hope you enjoy.

Yes my friends, it is risky business to post a song I have written. Many of you do not know, but I have tried to write songs in the past. Most were horrific, one was decent and my brother wrote music for it and it was good. Well, I tried my hand at writing another song recently. Since I am still working on this epic post on the topic of redemption, here is my attempt to give you something to read... enjoy, dont be too harsh in your critique. If it had a title, I would call it "Abraham's Stars."

He saw her from afar, or at least across the room.
The beautiful girl that somehow didn't belong there.
He wasn't sure how to ask because of the butterflies,
but if that night was a cliche, he was lost in her eyes.

He got caught staring and did a guilty look away;
and thought I'm too old for this, at the age of 25.
But unknowingly she stole it, that little piece of his heart,
and he followed that theif as she went outside and that became the start;
(chrous)
And she danced, beneath Abraham's stars
and she laughed, sweet music to his heart
with Abraham's stars as the only light,
it began, yea it all began that night

Knowing he had to make a move, he uprooted his feet.
Picked up his jaw, his courage too, and opened his mouth to speak.
To this day, he'll still say, it was like waking from the dead.
"Yes it's true, i'll dance with you" were the words she said
(chorus)
And they danced, beneath Abraham's stars
and they laughed, sweet music to the heart
with Abraham's stars as the only light
it began, yea it all began that night

If it was a dream, the ending he could create.
But life's no storybook and happily ever after is only for Disney.
He couldn't control, he could only trust, when the end is out of sight
But he thought, "This is enough" as he held her close that night
(chorus again)

A story and a song before I go

My team went to Tropea last weekend, a beautiful seaside town in the south and had some great adventures. Check out the pictures below to get some idea. Hopefully soon I will have a post I am working on about redemption, something that has been on my mind a lot lately, but in the meantime, here are two encouraging stories (at least they were for me).

Me and Steve got to hang out with our buddy Big P, a Italian guy who speaks brilliant English over a beer Tuesday night. We ended up hanging out for 3 hours, laughing and telling stories and comparing observations about life and God. One of the things that stuck out to me is that P is, well, intrigued by us. He asked (for the second time) "I am not just part of your job, right? You guys just don't want me to join your club?" It was good to be able to tell him honestly that 1) I wouldnt be hanging out at 1 AM with him if I didn't want to be, so I think he is a cool guy 2) I could care less if he becomes a member of Agape and 3) I would love to see him become a Christian because I think it is the best thing in the world I can share with people. He accepted the answer and we had a great night together. It was just so cool to hang out and be able to talk about the Gospel, God's love, our Fall and the Redemption offered.

Second encouraging story is from Bible Study on Wednesday. We had two girls come (one a believer, one not) and we looked over some passages in Luke and talked about them. One of the girls, Rosa, shared her testimony about how she came to know Jesus. Her story literally caused my jaw to drop. It began with seeing Jesus in a cartoon on TV and wanting to have a relationship with this "cartoon hero" because the other little girls on the TV show said that Jesus loved them. The story is too long to tell here, right now, but needless to say it followed a journey through the Russian Orthodox Church, Catholic Church, Evangelical church into a relationship with Christ. It included being disowned and kicked out by her Muslim family, going back to them to serve them, and having one of them eventually tell her, "This God you serve must be the real God." It was an encouragement for me to hear her story but also for the other girl there to hear how Jesus Christ changes lives. Yes, Amen, Christ is alive and in the business of changing lives!

This Free Music Friday is courtesy of Ben and David. Thanks to all who have been sending me links to people they enjoy, because it makes it a little easier for me to post music for y’all…

So House of Heroes is courtesy of Ben. House of Heroes is a band hailing from Columbus and is a little different than my typical choice of music but I dig it. So check out the link HERE to listen on myspace or HERE to download 3 free songs (if you don’t want to give them anyone elses email, you can skip Step 2 and still download).

Josh Woodward is courtesy of David. Not entirely brilliant, but I liked the song I'll Be Right Behind You and I Want to Destroy Something. If you like it, go to his website and download a boatload of stuff.

My favorite team picture ever... we are laughing because I tried to sit down on my chair and fell off backwards.

God is the best artist I know.

The water was incredibly blue and cold.

Matt Reis standing on the rock we jumped off.

The view from our porch; cost? 10 Euro a night!

March Madness

For starters, check out this video about Rome and the vision of Agape Italia. Amos M made it and did a pretty good job in the limited amount of time and it should give you a solid idea of whats going on here.

More Dave Barnes

Ok, so I swear I am not on Dave Barnes payroll and I know, Free Music Friday has already passed, but I ran across this website today which is offering a free download of Dave's song "On a Night Like This". This is the first Dave song I ever heard and it still makes me want to fall in love when listening to it (I have dreams of wooing some lucky girl using this song). So click HERE and download. Enjoy

Songs, Websites and Video

Hey all, I apologize for the lack of recent info on my life here, but life has been crazy and there hasn't been time. I promise I will have some substantial posts up soon. In the meantime, here are somethings I think you all could benefit from checking out.

In Defense of Loving Truth This is the latest post on my buddy Tylers blog. Tyler is one of the smartest kids I know and I only found out this year that he is a top notch writer. The latest post on his blog was profound, challenging, and the clip at the end left me speechless. Literally. I was blown away. So honestly, check this out. Please.

Free MUSIC! JJ Heller has a gorgeous voice, and I have been a fan for a year or two now. If you go to her myspace account found at http://www.myspace.com/jjhellermusic , you can download the song "Love Me", which I am a fan of. Also recommend the songs "Only Love Remains" and "Grow" for some high quality music.

MOVIES to Come
So these are random bits about movies that I am excited about coming out... The obvious choices are the new Indiana Jones and Prince Caspian (Chronicles of Narnia) but I also found the trailers to these two movies lately:
Expelled - A movie documentary done by Ben Stein about the scientific communities reaction to questioning of Darwinian theory. In it he interviews heavyweights from both sides of the issue, including Richard Dawkins.
StepBrothers - I dont like every Will Ferrell movie... in fact I havent seen most of them. Watch this trailer though. I have probably 6 or 7 times and crack up each time.

Andrew Peterson "On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness"

When I found out that I has obtained the privilege of reviewing my good buddy and favorite singer/songwriter Andrew Peterson’s first novel On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, I thought, “What better way to gain insight than to interview the man himself.” For those of you who don’t know AP, you need to listen to his music, it is utter brilliance. Little did I know what would follow would be AP interviewing me on my thoughts on the book. Enjoy

Me: AP, whats going on man? You have been busy with a new record and now this brilliant new book, I loved it.

AP: Oh yea? Glad to hear it. How did you find time to read it? I hear you are pretty busy over there in Rome.

Me: Well, I got into it on my free day and, well, I couldn’t put it down. Cruised through 200 pages in a day.

AP: I know what I think of it, and what my publishers think, but what would you say the plot is, in your own words… and don’t give away any spoilers.

Me: Here goes… In the once-quiet lang of Skree, Janner Igiby, little brother Tink, and crippled sister Leeli stumble upon the secret of the lost jewels of the mysterious King of the Shining Isle of Anniera. But Gnag the Nameless seeks the treasure for evil ends, so the brave trio and their trusty dog nugget and ex-pirate grandfather must escape Gnag and his minion Fangs, who are sort of like lizard-people. The fantastical world that is created (called Aerwiar) is full of unique characters, strange creatures, and adventure.

AP: You stole that straight from the publicity pack, didn't you?

Me: Yea, but they did a pretty good job of describing it.

AP: Ok, more questions about what you thought. When did you know you were going to like the book?

Me: First page. I don’t laugh out loud often while reading, but I busted out laughing at your tongue-in-cheek style. The first line I think I laughed out loud at was, “That evil was a nameless evil, an evil whose name was Gnag the Nameless.” That style continues throughout the book, even in the footnotes and descriptions of animals: ex. a ratbadger is “as big as a young meep, which is about the size of a full-grown chorkney, an animal that stands about as tall as a flabbit.” I mean, honestly, were you laughing when you wrote that, thinking "they have no idea what I am talking about and come to think about it, I really don't either."

AP: It was fun to invent that stuff. What did you think of the creatures or the world I created?

Me: You have to suspend believability, just like in Narnia or The Lord of the Rings, but the details that you describe the culture and people in painted the picture in my mind of what it was like. Also, brilliant job with the fake footnotes, citing books from this place and weird facts. Loved it.

AP: Favorite footnote?

Me: Actually my favorite one was one that subtly teaches a serious lesson. “Many Skreeans doubted that the legendary Isle of Anniera existed at all. It is a sad truth that some people only believe that something exists if they can see it with their own eyes. Bandy Impstead, for example, had argued for hours in Shaggy’s Tavern one evening that there was no such thing as the wind for this very reason. His roof was torn off in a storm that very winter. Bandy’s mind, however, remained unchanged.” I thought that was a strong, without being preachy, pointer towards faith.

AP: Yea, I tried not to throw lessons out like the point of the book was to teach a bible lesson. It is an adventure, a story to capture the reader, but the best stories are the ones that have truth wrapped up in them.

Me: Ah truth. My favorite passage in the book was when Janner says “It makes me think of when it snows outside, and the fire is warm, and Podo is telling us a story while you’re cooking, and there’s no place I’d rather be – but for some reason I still feel…homesick.” I thought that was beautiful and I know for certain exactly what the character means by that.

AP: Any other favorite lines or parts?

Me: “Part of being a man is taking much care of those you love.” The fact that you have the title of a fictional book as “I came and I Wept Like the Sissy I Am” cracked me up. Honestly, the problem was that I laughed and loved too many parts of this book. I began to read it as a book reviewer but was soon caught up in the story and forgot to make notes about what I was reading. So I guess I would need to read it again to make an official book review.

AP: Fair enough. What would you consider the writing style similar to?

Me: It seems to me like you are influenced heavily by Tolkien, CS Lewis, maybe even the Redwall series or Lemony Snicket. It is accessible like Lewis but with a better sense of humor, in the style of Lemony Snicket. Honestly, I could see this becoming huge, especially with the success in this genre. You get my vote.

AP: Did you know I originally came up with a lot of this telling my kids bedtime stories?

Me: No, I didn’t. Can you tell me some bedtime stories?

AP: Naw, cause I would probably give away what’s in the books to come.

Me: Well, I gotta run, thanks for your time. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, the action, the adventure, the humor. Thank’s for the privilege of reviewing this.

AP: Hey no worries, thanks for calling. Take care.

For those who are wondering, the preceding interview was completely fictional and represents my views alone. AP is a cool guy though, and I thought this would be a little more fun than a typical book review. My contest to win the extra copy of the book is this; email me your name and address to Christopher.Rule@gmail.com AND leave a comment below. If you do this, I will draw the winner out of a hat. Much Love