Friday, April 28, 2006

modestyguild@gmail.com email

'How do you have faith? Isn't faith supposed to be a belief that God
is trustworthy, that He's looking out for you, and that, no matter
what happens, if you love Him, he's got you pretty well in hand? How
can you believe that when you're not sure He's even actually there?'

yes God has you in hand michael, but... that doesnt mean that life is going to be perfect. we still live in an imperfect world which means things out of our control. there is still going to be death, hardships, and confusion.
but does that mean that when hardships come that God is not there? absolutly not. God see's the hardest times of our lives. he knows when we hurt and are in pain. he is there to help us in whatever manner is going to be the best for our lives. He promised he would never leave us nor forsake us. PROMISED.

the situation with my mom was hard. at moments i admit that i was upset at God for the condition He put her in. but then i realized that it wasnt God at all, it was the doctors and those surrounding her that were hurting her the most. God was with us the family. and God expedited the healing process. we can not blame God for situations we put ourselfs in. such as if i were to drink 10 beers in one hour how can i blame God for my inability to walk in a straight line?
we as humans must take responsibility for our actions.
we cannot place human error/lack of faith/ and bad things happening to us all in the same sentence. they are not comparable.

faith is just that... faith. we cannot see the wind but we realize it is there.
no one has ever examined the intentity of 'love' but we have felt it.
same with God. eyes have not seen, but we believe.
God is not always in the earthquakes, or the lightning, sometimes he is in that still small voice. the one that others pass by.

atheism is ridiculous.
think about it. i cant prove Gods existence any better than you can prove that He is not here. agnostic is more rational because it shows that you do not know.
ravi zacheria did a lecture on atheism, and it is amazing. im sure if you do a google search for it online you will find it. it is invalubale.

i like your theory on pascals wager. that is like marrying for money and not for love.
you do it simply because it gives you some sense of comfort, even though ever moment is bitterness. i think that if you find the Christ i did that heaven is an afterthought.
i came to Christ because he is the first real and pure altruist i have come across. the study of religions show a very egocentric explination of our time here on earth.
but Christ shows us that "this is pure religion... to love the widows and orphans, and keep oneself unspotted from the world."
there is nothing egoistic about this!
and that is what i came to adore about this paticular religion.

if you like to read there is a book called 'the case for Christ' by lee strobel.
it was invaluable in my search for truth. he was a former 'atheist' who took a lawyer/journalist approach to religion and God.
read it!

the battle is between flesh and spirit. the flesh craves earthly desires while the spirit longs to be closer to God. that is the battle. God gave you rationality and a mind to seek the truth. but nothing in life will fill the void that keeps bringing these questions to the surface like God can.
SEEK and you WILL find.
KNOCK and i WILL answer.
-stephen

Friday, April 14, 2006

> 01. So, what's going on right now in the world of Anberlin?
right now we are on the tooth and nail tour with emery, jonzetta, classic crime, and the fold. the tour has been going so amazing so far and can't wait to play our home town of orlando coming up in about a week.
right after this we are going to take off the month of may, nate young and i are going to Haiti to help build an orphanage, something that i have been looking forward to for some time.
right after that we are going on a canadian/north, north america tour with zao, hawthorne heights, and story of the year. were going to end up in seattle where we are going to start our third record with aaron sprinkle. something i am ready to start on this second!
so as you can see, we have a couple things going, but i wouldn't have it any other way. i love being busy and staying out on the road.

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> 02. It seems hard to believe that it's been over a year since "Never take
> friendship personal" came out. How have things changed since the release of
> your first record, "Blueprints for the black market," to the release of
> "Friendship," to now?
well when we came out with our first record our tours were rather small and only about a handful of people would have even have heard of us. the best part of touring non-stop and 'getting bigger' is that people are just now singing along. i know that sounds odd but i believe there is no better compliment you can give to the band than to sing along with their music.
in the band i believe we have become more of brothers than friends. we have been through hell and back and it s amazing how close you get in the roughest situations. to be honest there have been a lot of trials these last few years, but i think that brings you closer as a band.

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> 03. What kind of things do ya'll do on tour for fun?
we all split up before the show. nate goes to record stores, then to starbucks. i go to bookstores, than meet up with nate at starbucks. strayer playes halo, deon goes into the club and makes sure everything is done to his specifications, and joey watches a movie.
on our days off we usually wonder big cities, and end up at a movie.

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> 04. Is it difficult to maintain a strong walk with the Lord while on the
> road with many different bands that might not share the same love?
being in a band is just like any other job. i think that a doctor can still perform his job even though he or she may be surrounded by patients and other staff who may not share the same beliefs.
in any profession i think that it all breaks down to foundation. its true in every sense of the word that this lifestyle is surrounded by sex, drugs, and rock and roll. but you have to make sure you are grounded in your faith and refuse to be swayed by peer pressure, no matter what your circumstances might be.


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> 05. What brings the most encouragement to ya'll while on the road?
when fans tell us that they are praying for us. it means alot that they come to the show, sing along, or even buy merch. but it means the most that when they are alone in their meditations that they think of us.
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> 06. How does it feel to tour and have fans from all over the world, to then
> come home and be hometown heroes to countless local bands?
are we? coming from a small town in polk county i don't think that anyone knows who we are. but thats whats cool. its just that we are always in big cities, and its nice to go home and be anonymous. but if we are hero's to someone , i hope were setting a good example.

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> 07. What are you listening to right now?
right now i have been really venturing into the world of blues. buddy guy, muddy waters, bb king, odeltha... its beautiful music, and completely unexplored by a lot of us in this scene.
other than that just got the new flaming lips.



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> 08. What are you reading right now?
man and materialism, a book from the 1950's about capatalistic america surrounded by the communist threat. i found it at a used book store in hopes it would detour me from wanting more 7 jeans. it didn't.




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> 09. Can you tell us anything about what to expect for a new record?
i believe that this may be our pinnacle record. i know that puts a lot of pressure on us, but the songs that we have come up with so far ( the lesser thans, last/first) are two of my favorites that we have ever done. joey has already come up with 17 songs for me to work with, and im excited to see where it goes from here. i think it is going to be the darkest record to date as most of the songs are gut wrenching introspection.




> 10. How does the process for writing an Anberlin song go?
joey milligan writes the majority of the music on a program called pro-tools, then i put it on my ipod, wonder around the streets and write lyrics. if i come up with a song on guitar it usually consists of 4 chords and a melody line and joey actually turns it into a song.


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> 11. What are the major influences when it comes to writing your lyrics?
life is the biggest influence in writing music. not one of my songs are written out of pop-triteness (if thats a word) all my songs actually have happened to me or are written about someone i know. and i think that that makes it mean more to the listener. if they can relate, the song actually sticks with them.

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> 12. Being Florida natives, what advice would you give to other local
> Florida bands trying to make it big?
well first don't set your sites on "making it big". you'll never make it. make music because you love music, do it because there is nothing else in life you would rather be doing.

concentrate on making good songs, everything else will fall in place.

study other bands like it was a college course. not in the genre that you are in, but bands that actually matter.
1. the beatles, they know how to set up a song, formula wise.
2. led zepplin. the guitar carrys the melody, then the vocals. not just one or the other.
3. the smiths. the lyrics are relatible. the listener has been there, and morrissey just reminded them of the memory.

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> 13. What advice would you give to a local band, much like yourselves, that
> share a faith in Christ, play positive music, and want to make an impact on
> those around them for Christ? What have you found to be the most affective
> way to do this?

plain and simple.
"preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words."
-st. francis of assisi