The difficulty of Faith

I am often so amazed at how God uses anything to speak to us when we need it most. It seems like when I am struggling with something, He always is speaking to me louder than ever, even when I try to ignore him. Especially when I am trying to avoid it, He always seem to hit me the hardest when I least expect it. For example, I have been struggling alot lately with Faith and what it means to trust God wholeheartedly with everything in your life. I have also been struggling with how to share my struggles with the ones I am close to, as well as when I am on stage playing a show. Faith is so big and important to all my decisions in life. It has such an impact on our emotions and feelings, so when your battling with your faith, it can be a weighty burden. But God continues to amaze me with the ways he speaks. As some of you may know, my favorite band is Counting Crows. They have had such an impact on my life with their music, it has literally changed the way I viewed music and its importance to us, as humans. I have been moved by their songs many times before, but God used them and a personal friend to hit me even more. A couple days ago, John Knight gave me a copy of some of the songs the Crows did for an episode of VH1 storytellers. It was awesome because you get to hear about the authors feelings and reasons as to why a certain song was written. What hit me in particular was Adam Duritz's (the lead singer and writer for the band) comments before the song, "Angels of the Silences". He basically said that the song was about faith and his personal struggles with faith in himself, God, and other people. He went on to add that Faith is a real difficult and scary thing because its about waiting. Your basically hanging yourself on a ledge of a fence and waiting for what's to come. Hearing that from Adam was amazing. It was so encouraging to relate to his struggles and to see him open up to the audience with his feelings and struggles. I had to praise the Lord for getting through to me in way I never thought possible. Thank you John for sharing this with me, it was just what I needed. I hope they come out with it on DVD soon. Needless to say, my faith was strengthened through the words of a non-believer, but someone I admire none the less, in a powerful way. Thank you Heavenly Father for having grace on me enough to break through this thick shell to my aching heart that so desperately needs you.

Da Vinci Craze!!!

Recently, I watched "The Da Vinci Code", the movie based on Dan Brown's bestselling novel. I enjoyed the book strictly from an entertainment perspective and do not buy into the conspiricies dealing with the Catholic Church and whether Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene. But I must say that I think this controversy is what makes the novel so compelling and suspenseful. The idea that this might be true and everything you believe in, is in jeopardy, causes it to be that much more intriguing. I'm not saying the evidence to support the authors theory is compelling, I'm simply saying that building a mystery story around a topic that is so controversial just adds to the suspense.
The movie was pretty good. It followed the book pretty closely. However, many people will be blinded to the truth and believe this movie as Gospel Truth. I heard somewhere that they are already selling a large amount of gnostic gospels that were not as popular as before. I can see Dr. James Dobson and the Christian coalition pissing there pants right now because they didn't protest the movie enough. What Chrisitans need to realize is there has always been and always will be things that test our faith and lead the masses astray. Until Jesus returns, the world will only digress and we will watch it cave in. (That last line is a New Amsterdams song, so I just threw it in there for kicks and giggles.) So in conclusion, I reccommend the movie, soley on a entertainment level. Then, talk about it with your brothers in Christ and pray for those who might be led astray by false teachings. Don't believe tha Hype Yo!!!

My first Blog!!!

Hey everyone. My name is Brent Hitman and after much persuasion from some of my friends, I have decided to start my own blog. It promises to be entertaining and will cover anything from culture to music to sports. Basically, it will be a place to vent my thoughts. So, her it goes. I am in a band, Filling The Void. We played a show last night at Thanksgiving Lutheran Church. Overall, I'd say it was a good show. Much thanks to John Knight from Almost There for helping us with Keyboard. You rock, dude!! We have a show coming up at 5th street Concerthouse this Friday, May 26th. Please come out. We would love to see you there. Anyway, There will be more blogs to come, so stay tuned. I will be including bands to check out every once and awhile. For this one, check out Fielding. Some old members of Plankeye with a great alternative sound. Check em out!! See ya!!
P.S. I must apologize to Charles Barkely for stealing the title of his book for my blog site. I promise that if this blog becomes a money making machine, you will be entitled to whatever revenue you see appropiate. PEACE