Chris Atkins Music

Monday

2007-02-05T13:46:00.000-08:00

I guess you could say that it has been a while. I have gotten away from blogging. I guess I haven't had the urge to write much of anything this past year. In case you haven't heard the news, I am going to be getting married this May to the most wonderful young woman that I have ever met. Amy and I will be married on the 12th of May. I am looking forward to sharing my life with her. She is my best friend in the whole world, and she really is my other half.

I am getting ordained this summer, so I will be Rev. Chris Atkins. Crazy eh?! I will be a real pastor then. Yippee!
Life in Wisconsin is still going well. I am feeling much more settled into life here as a Wisconsonite. I may have lost my Canadian accent, but I refuse to pick up a Wisconsin/Minnesotan accent:)

Well, I guess I should get back to work.

FYI

2006-05-01T18:09:00.000-07:00

This is an addition to my previous post. I am now serving as both the music and youth pastor at Eau Claire Wesleyan Church.
Have a great day!

Youth Pastor

2006-04-30T21:53:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I have updated and I apologize for my lack of interest in "blogging". I do have some exciting news to share with y'all. As of this monday (May 1st) I will be the youth pastor of Eau Claire Wesleyan Church. I have been serving ECWC as the music pastor and assistant youth pastor for the past 8 months. This "promotion" is something that I am very excited about. It is my goal to be able to connect with the teens in a way that will help them to develop in their faith with the hopes that they will continue to walk with the Lord and serve Him with all faithfulness.

I will most certainly be busy, but I am most definitely looking forward to the many challenges that lie ahead. If you think of it, please pray for me and my ministry here in EC. I would appreciate that very much.

KNCU

2006-04-12T14:06:00.000-07:00

I will be interview on air with KNCU (out of Minneapolis) tomorrow (Thursday) night at 8:30 pm Central time. This is going to be a great opportunity for me to share my music with the listening audience. I just thought I would throw that out there in case any of you can pick that station up...maybe they are on the internet...check it out! :)

I Did a Dance at School Today!

2006-03-28T21:31:00.000-08:00

Just to let y'all know that I posted "I Did a Dance at School Today" on my myspace account. It features the vocals of Three Season Ant's lead singer Chris Stephens. Check it out.
I hope you all have a great week.

thespiritradio.net

2006-03-20T20:47:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!
I signed up with an online radio station (www.thespiritradio.net). I put a couple of my songs on there. Look me up...please?! I need some "fans". Thanks

I got to meet with my District Superintendent for a couple of hours day. Don't worry, I am not in trouble. He was meeting with all of our staff. We had a great talk, and I left the meeting feeling very encouraged about my ministry here in Eau Claire.

I missed my favourite show tonight (24). I went over to Nate and Steph's place and we had pizza and watched a Johnny Knoxville movie. It was called Daltry Calhoun. It was actually surprisingly good...and clean. I was shocked. So if anyone is reading this and saw tonights "24" episode, you have to fill me in!

My CD's came in the mail today. I have 100 more... so if any of you want one, let me know.

My Space!

2006-03-14T21:00:00.000-08:00

I have created a my space music account. Feel free to check it out. I have put the link on this site for you. I hope you all have a great day.

By the way, you know how I blogged about spring coming? Well, I spoke too soon. We had about 15 inches of snow yesterday, and it was really cold tonight. I am not complaining, just saying...be careful of what you blog about ;)

Sunday

2006-03-12T22:46:00.000-08:00

If you haven't check out ThreeSeasonAnt's new music, you need to do so! Go to www.threeseasonant.com and click on the "myspace" icon. It will allow you to download one of their new songs "All For You". Its a great song. I love their new sound. Its alot more progressive than anything else that I have heard from their previous albums.

I am going to some of the local radio stations to drop off my album. This is the part of the whole music bit that I dislike the most...promoting myself. I have been emailing the Christian radio staion in Ottawa quite a bit, but with all of the new music that they get they do not listen to half of it. Please pray that God would open up opportunities for me to share what the Lord has laid on my heart. I am not doing this to make a lot of money or to become famous. God has given me a burden to communicate His love to the world through music. Here is some good news, Nick dropped off my album to the radio station in St. John and the DJ said that he liked it and would pass it along to the station manager. Its going to take a while but I know that if this is what the Lord wants me to do with the gifts that He has given me, then He will open the doors for me to walk through. However, I need to be willing to go and do some of the leg work...and it is a lot of work.

I have started writing again. I hit a bit of a dry spell for the past while, but I have been inspired lately and want to put together some new material.

I really wish John Sherwood could intern at my church. That would rule!

Check out www.threeseasonant.com. I know that I am a little biased since I am friends with the lead singer, but they really are wonderful musicians who love the Lord and want to serve Him in this capacity.

Spring is Near!

2006-03-03T14:18:00.000-08:00

This past week I have enjoyed some warmer weather. It was not nearly as nice it would be if I lived in the south, but I decided to take the time to walk to the church, instead of driving. I have used that time to enjoy some fresh air and sunshine, and to spend some time with the Lord. It is amazing how busy our lives can get. We have a tendency to fill all of our time with things that aren't really all that important. We need to slow our lives down at times so that we are able to enjoy the moments that God has given to worship Him. We can find God in the ordinary things in life. I think that our Lord wants us to talk to Him during each day, even when we are really busy.

I want to encourage each of you to take a few minutes each day during your busy schedule to simply enjoy being in God's presence. It has made a huge difference in my life.

Pride

2006-02-16T18:17:00.000-08:00

The Lord has been working on my heart, and He has taught me a lot about what it means to be humble.
God has used several different people in my past to help me to work through this, and I hope to pass on some of what I have learned. I am so glad that we serve a gracious and compassionate God!

Pride usually sneaks into our lives without us realizing it. Pride, when left unchecked, will grow and develop several characteristics that are not honoring to God. We will become conceited. We will become selfish. We will become insecure. We will only care about our appearances and how others perceive us, instead of having our identity being found in Christ. We will become self-serving, and eventually we will become self-absorbed.

I was so concerned with how other people saw me. It was at first an insecurity issue, and eventually it became a vanity issue. I had completely missed the point.

Philippians 2:3-11 has really spoken to me:

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father."

The God of the universe humbled Himself when He came to earth and walked among us. He made Hiimself nothing, and took the nature of a servant. Jesus did not come to build up an earthly kingdom. He did not come to lord His power or position over people. He did not come to be seen as successful, or to impress everyone by His knowledge or by his talents. Jesus came to serve the needs of the people around Him. He put the needs of others first. When He saw a need, he met it. Nothing was below Him.

Something happens to you when you serve someone else. You begin to see things a little differently. You begin to see past yourself, and you begin to see God’s design for how we should treat one another.

1 Peter 5:5-6

"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”

Matthew 23:12-"For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

Pride can creep into our lives and if we do not become aware of ourselves, then we will likely fall prey to our sinful nature of self.

1 Thessalonians 5:6
"So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled."

We should constantly be examining ourselves to make sure that we are not allowing pride to creep into our hearts. It involves checking our motives, and being self-aware. We shouldn't have to be paranoid about this, but it is important that we are atleast aware of the true condition of our heart.

Love

2006-02-14T12:33:00.000-08:00

What is love?

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.- 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 "the love chapter"

Why Should We love?

Because Jesus commands us to: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”- John 13:34-35

Who Should We love?

He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' ; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' " - Luke 10:27

Who is Our Neighbor?

29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

30In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver coins[e] and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

36"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"

37The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

Garage Band Version 2.0

2006-02-01T11:15:00.000-08:00

Hello All!
Sorry I havent updated for a while. I was away this weekend to the Wisconsin Dells for a Ministers and Mates Retreat, put on by the Wisconsin District. Yes, I know that I am not married...but they still wanted me to go. I had a good time at the indoor water park..and was able to get away for a few days without taking time off work.

I received my copy of iLife '05 in the mail upon my return from the Dells, and let me tell you IT IS AMAZING! It includes iDVD, iMovieHD, iPhoto, iTunes and last but certainly not least Garageband Version 2.0. I bought this software just for the Garageband upgrade. I had version 1.0, since it came already installed on my iBook G4, and I absolutely loved how easy it was for me to record my music. With the new version, you can fix any out of tune notes and timing issues. It also comes with some new drum loops. This is a great way to do pre-production work, and is a great way to practice for the studio. Also, if you don't have the money to go to a studio, this is a great way to get some ideas across without spending a lot of money. I know I sound like a commercial, but if you are a musician who is looking for a way to improve your songwriting, you should really check this program out.

The Heart for Worship

2006-01-21T18:26:00.000-08:00

This past week I was rehearsing "The Heart of Worship" with the praise team, and even though I have sung this song many many times, I felt God's presence in a fresh way. Lately I have felt as though God is on the verge of doing something amazing in our church. I believe that there is something special about coming to worship God with an expectant heart. Our passion for the Lord is rekindled when we come into God's presence expecting Him to do something powerful in our lives. I am not saying that we should worship God for OUR benefit, because worship is truly all about the Lord. However, there is something amazing that happens as a result of our worship. God initiates worship and we have a choice whether we are going to respond to Him or not. Lip service is not what God is looking for. He requires sacrifice. We need to become "living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. This is our spiritual (or reasonable) act of worship." (Romans 12:1)

I think that the greatest thing missing with the believers of today is passion. Since we live in such a affluent society, our physical needs are most often cared for without calling on God for "our daily bread"; our basic needs that sustain our physical life. I believe that this attitude has infiltrated the way that we come to worship God. Our attitudes of self-sufficiency have left our worship passionless...and this causes us to become luke warm in our faith. We often see the passion for the Gospel in a recent convert, however it is almost expected for that zeal to fade with time. There must be more to life than simply being satified with the status quo. O God, help us to never lose sight of the reason why we have a relationship with you...because of your Son, Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for our sins. May we live in the knowledge and remembrance of your grace each and every day.

MY CD IS HERE!

2006-01-03T10:23:00.000-08:00

The Purolator man delivered a box containing 100 copies of my new CD this afternoon. It made my day.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in making this CD.

To my favourite producer:
Dan Britton is a wonderful man of God, and an awesome producer. I am proud to call him my friend. This CD would not have been possible without him. Thank you Dan!

To all the Musicians:
I would like to thank Ben Last for his beautiful harmonies. There is no other person that I would rather sing with than Ben. Paul Tweedy made the songs sound A LOT better with his awesome work on the electric guitar. He has great taste, and an an incredible ear for music. Rob Meeks is an INCREDIBLE bass player. More than that, he has a great heart and attitude. Nick Crozier is a wonderful drummer, and friend. He also has the sweetest drum kit I have ever played on. I would also like to thank Scott Ingalls for stepping in and playing bass for "You're My Lord" and "I Am Yours". He is a great bass player, and he is an awesome guy.

To the design team:
I would like to thank Stevan Sheets for his creative designs. The CD covers are awesome! He is very talented, and a lot of fun to hang out with. And last but not least I would like to thank Steve Dash for his work as my photographer. He is very creative, and also a dear friend of mine.

Thanks again everyone for all that you have done. I couldn't have done it without you.

Happy Birthday!

2005-12-31T10:23:00.000-08:00

Well, today I turn another year older. I am twenty-three years old today. My, how the time has passed. I would like to wish you all a happy new year. May it be filled with love, peace and the hope that can only come from above.

The Boys!

2005-12-21T13:30:00.000-08:00

The Boys!
Originally uploaded by Chris Atkins.

I was able to visit with my friends back in Warsaw this past September. I had a blast! It was great seeing everyone again.

Here I am with my friends Craig and Stevan. I miss those guys. Hopefully I will be able to go down to Warsaw this summer and see Craig's new lakeside house, and do a little jetskiing.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

2005-12-21T07:41:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that Christmas is in four days! I leave for home on Boxing Day (Dec. 26). I am excited to spend some time at home. I will be spending Christmas day with some friends here, which will be nice. We will be eating, and apparantly watching the Green Bay Packers play the Bears. DA BEARS! Who knows, maybe Santa will bring the Green Bay Packers fans a victory for Christmas...I wonder if he has that much pull? MIKE DITKA! (SNL)

Well, I hope you all have a wonderful day.

Snow Day!

2005-12-14T08:27:00.000-08:00

Today we are suppossed to get over a foot of snow! And to think that I moved here from Canada, thinking that I would get a break from all the snow...haha.

I should go build a snow fort. Why is it that when we were kids, we loved playing outside in the snow for hours upon hours? When our parents could call use in, we would gripe and say "ten more minutes pleeeeaase!" But now that we are grown ups, we complain about the cold that we once seemed impervious to, and the snow that we once loved to play in remains untouched unless we are cleaning off our cars with our arms because we forgot to bring our brush. I know that there are some of us that still love to play in the snow (mostly youth pastors), but for the rest of us I think that we need to let loose and relive some of our childhood. Who wants to go sledding? As long as it isn't too cold, I want to go ;)

Sadducees and Pharisees

2005-12-12T20:26:00.000-08:00

So, I purchased my flight home for Christmas today...I will be home in K-town for a little over 10 days. It is going to be nice to spend time with everyone during the holidays. This will be my first Christmas on my own. I was invited to a few different places for Christmas day, so I guess I will have to make the rounds and eat all of their food....mhhmm Christmas!

I finally got my Wisconsin driver's liscence today. Its pink. It only took like 20 minutes for me to get in and out. There was this huge 7' tall black man yelling at the DMV lady while I was there. I was going to step in and handle the situation, but then I realized that this is the US and he probably would shoot me...or sue me for coming to a lady's defense. Man I am hungry. I skipped dinner tonight to watch one of my teens sing in a concert. It was very nice, and I even got to go down and sing along with the choir during Handel's Messiah (don't worry we were invited to join). I had a nice time singing, and I even cut with everyone else right before the big finale. That would have been really funny if i sang something when everyone else stopped. But thankfully, I learned to follow a conducter (thanks to Mrs. Weatherby!).

I had lunch today at Ol' Country Buffet. You can eat all you want there, and then some. After looking around at all the overweight people eating there, I decided to stick with my two servings. Supersize me? No thanks. I can put on weight now like crazy. Its a good thing I am lifting 4 days a week. Maybe its all the frozen pizzas that I have been eating, or all the times that I have eaten at Applebees in the past week (three times in three days, a new record!). I need to be able to fit in the new suit that I got for Christmas. Yes, I have a new suit and I even wore it to church. The more that you dress up for church, the more religious that makes you...right? Well, I sure hope so because I just got like 4 new ties as presents and two new pairs of dress pants, and I need to impress the more seasoned crowd in first service. Heaven help me if I don't "look" like a pastor. Every culture is different, and in this culture you need to dress to the nines every Sunday.

One time I wore flip flops for one of our services for missions week. It was a Thursday night service and it was suppossed to be more casual. One lady saw my bare toes and commented on it, and I said "Jesus wore sandals". She laughed. I was serious. Whats the big deal? Its a good thing that she didn't see the back of the pants that I was wearing. I totally ripped my pants right before service, and its a good thing Pastor Rob mentioned it to me or else the church would have seen a whole new side of me. Its a good thing that my shirt covered my backside, but I probably lost points for having my shirt untucked. Oh well, sometimes you just can't win...right Stevan?

bonoafide

2005-12-09T09:52:00.000-08:00

bonoafide
Originally uploaded by Chris Atkins.

I have more pictures from the concert, and I will post those ASAP.

U2 PICS

2005-12-09T09:51:00.001-08:00

lookingoodbono
Originally uploaded by Chris Atkins.

Our camera didn't have a zoom, so you can tell how close that we were to the band.

bonoandedge

2005-12-09T09:51:00.000-08:00

bonoandedge
Originally uploaded by Chris Atkins.

I loved this set. The boys were like 15 feet away.

Cover

2005-12-07T22:15:00.000-08:00

i_will_trust_cover
Originally uploaded by Chris Atkins.

My EP has just been mastered, and is now being duplicated. I will keep you posted on its progress.

Stevan designed this cover for me. He is very talented. He, along with Kory Pence, designed the graphics for the youth convention in Charlotte in 2003.

To check out some of his stuff, check out www.underfiresolutions.com or go to www.stevansheets.com

CD Back Cover

2005-12-07T22:08:00.000-08:00

cd_traycard_back_sticker
Originally uploaded by Chris Atkins.

This will be the back cover for my EP. Thank you Steve for taking the picture. Stevan did the artwork for it, and did an awesome job! Thanks, Stevan.

19 days

2005-12-07T21:41:00.000-08:00

Well, Christmas is in 18 days! My birthday is in 24 days!!! I can't believe that I will be turning 23. Wow. Where has the time gone! I don't feel a day over 21:)

I was talking to Timmy tonight, and we were thinking of some ways to help things to get going with my first EP coming out soon. His brother in law works Steven Curtis Chapman's church's youth group. How cool is that?! Tim also knows some people at Flickr records. We are going to try to get a promo pack together so that we can start sending it out to churches. It was great to be able to talk to Timmy, and to his lovely wife Dani. I miss those two very much. Hopefully I will get to visit with them very soon. Tim is working as a youth pastor in PA, and Dani is finishing up her internship at the same church. Oh, I remember the days of finishing up all of the internship work. I am glad that I am all done with that.

Youth group went well tonight. I had the privilege of speaking to the group, as well as leading the worship. I love working with the youth group. I love Wednesday nights, and I am super pumped about what God is going to do in the lives of these young people.

Nick Crozier, this shout out is for you. Thanks for all your help with everything.
Stevan, thanks for all of your awesome artwork. You are the best.

Senor Anonimo, your identity is safe with me.

Mall of America!

2005-12-04T20:22:00.000-08:00

I apologize that I haven't been very good at updating. I have been keeping well. I have been trying to keep myself busy, so that I keep myself out of trouble. This past week was a good week, because I only had to work like 3 days this past week:) I had quite the adventure last Monday. My flight out of Ottawa was cancelled, so I had to wait for about four hours until I could make the trip to Chi Town. When I got to my gate in Chicago, the sign said "Delhi India"...and I was like, um am I at the right gate? I didn't really fit in with the crowd there, but I was relieved to know that I was at the right place and that I was going to be making my trip to Minneapolis.

I played racketball this week. It was a lot of fun. The only part that wasnt so fun was getting nailed in the back of the head, but its just a part of the game; I figure that the game is very similar to squash, so I picked it up fairly quickly.

I played a concert this past Friday in Onalaska (near Lacrosse) at Sand Lake Wesleyan Church. I had a blast. Hopefully I will be able to do more of these sorts of gigs. I really enjoy ministering to different crowds of people. I had a great time, and I got to hang out with some really neat people. I also got a lot of chocolate chip pancakes, and a glass of milk (thanks to Leslie). Good times.

I went to the Mall of America today with a young couple from the church. They are very nice, and we had a wonderful time hanging out. I went on a rollercoaster, and I bought a Canadian flag beltbuckle. It is sweet. I also got an atari from Urban Outfitters. I am sure that I will have a good time with that.

Church today was pretty awesome. I am glad that God is still working on me, and helping me to become the man of God that He would have me to become.

U2

2005-11-26T12:49:00.000-08:00

Last night was incredible. Alison and I were very close to the "elipse", which is the catwalk enclosed area right in front of the stage. Three hundred randomly selected people with general amission tickets could go into the "elipse". Although our tickets were not "winners", we were still really close to the stage and had a great view. Bono and the Edge would often come out on the catwalk and we were within 15 feet of the boys from Dublin. Bono delivered his political message before the song "one" and he encouraged all of the fans to take out their cell phones to call our politicians (their #'s were on the big screen). It was a neat experience for sure. The opening act, Arcade Fire (from Montrael), did a good job warming up the crowd. They have a very acclectic and unique sound. They have opened for several other well known bands, including Coldplay. I would say that they are well on their way:)

I can't wait until I am in a band, and rocking out. I told Johnny today that we have to make a band. He agreed. Look out world, here comes Johnny (and Chris)!

Home, sweet home!

2005-11-23T08:09:00.000-08:00

It is good to be home. I am having a great time relaxing with my family. My flights were painless, and I didn't have anything eventful happen (unlike Kate's adventures to Maine). I did manage to share Christ with a woman, well actually she was spouting out her beliefs to me. It was very interesting. I "talked" with her for over an hour, and I think that I maybe got like 30 words in...edgewise. It was interesting to hear her views on religion, and on Christ. It seems to me that this sort of thing happens to me all the time. Some people are just dying to hear the Gospel, that they will even bring it up to you once they know that you are a Christian. So, you can't be afraid to share your faith, because you never know the impact that you might have on that person some time down the road.

I see U2 in two days! I can't wait. This concert is going to be so awesome, it is going to blow my socks off!
I had a great time catching up with my friend Christine over dinner last night. I saw the movie "Walk the Line" last night with my wonderful sister, and let me tell you it was worth the price of admission and then some! I highly recommend this movie, it is definitely going to clean up at the Oscars this year!

I get to see Ben Last tomorrow, and I get to work out today with Ottawa's Lightweight Grappling Champ Brody Rafuse.
I ran into my favorite highschool teacher yesterday at the DMV. It is good to be back, even if it is just for a short while. My teacher was very adament (sp) on me coming back to Ontario to work someday. I told him that if I find the right Canadian girl, that it would only be a matter of time before I did. It felt weird putting that i was a visitor to Canada on my customs card. But I do love Eau Claire, and I do know that God has me there for a purpose...so don't worry Chris Hedlund I won't leave you just yet...but I won't be there for 30 years like you asked. Sorry :)

Homeward Bound!!!

2005-11-18T21:42:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't been very good with updating. I sort of grew tired of blogging, since I never really had anything to contribute I felt that I had to just write something to keep this thing going...but now, I have a couple of exciting things to blog about, so I figured that now was just as good of time as any to update.

I am going to visit my family in three sleeps! I am super excited to be able to spend time with my loved ones :) It is going to be so great to be able to spend time with my family. I have been away from home so much that I don't often get this opportunity. I will be back in Canada! I hope that I remember how to speak Canadian ;) ( that one was for you Chris Hedlund).

Tonight marks one week until U2! John, you know what I am feeling since you will be seeing the boys from Dublin in about a couple of weeks. I can't wait. Its still unbelievable. Oh man, I can't wait. I will be so close that I think that Bono might sweat on me! Now, talk about close! I think that I am going to make a band and tour. My friend Chris Stephens (from Threeseasonant) has inspired me to start thinking about this. I would love to get together with Johnny and Colin and get in a van and tour, playing music until we cannot play no more! I love working at the church and all, but I think that before I settle down I would love to pursue this dream. We'll see where the Lord takes me...but for now I know that I am where God wants me to be...but I know that He has given me this passion for a reason.

On a related note, I received word from Dan (producer) that my single will be duplicated shortly. I will have only 100 copies made at first, and will sell maybe 50-60 of them and use the rest as promotional material for radio stations and small Christian labels. I have an in for Flickr Records and will be able to get my stuff atleast listened to by the manager (thanks to Tim!). I just want to make sure that I get all of my stuff in order before I start sending all of it out.

Yesteryday was Kate's 21st birthday, so if you haven't already wish her a happy birthday.

Last Sunday was incredible. God moved mightily throughout our services. I had the privilege of preaching and leading worship for both services. God is good, and I can tell that He is doing some amazing things in our church. I am glad to be a part of it. I spoke on "A True Worshipper" from John 4:21-30. If you want a copy of it, just let me know...I think that God has given me a passion for preaching His Word. I think that maybe eventually I would like to do this sort of thing more often, but I think that one Sunday out of every five is plenty for the time being.

I got an iPod video. It is a really amazing machine. If you have the money, and love music I highly recommend buying one. I am trying to rip dvds onto my computer to upload it onto my iPod. I can't believe the kind of technology we have now...what's next, flying cars?!
( According to "Back to the Future" they should be out soon!)

I can't wait until I will be in my home and native land, O Canada I stand on guard for thee!!!

Wisconsin!

2005-11-06T22:11:00.000-08:00

Well, I have been here in Eau Claire Wisconsin for about two and a half months now. It is crazy to think about, but I am glad that the time is moving along. I am really enjoying being on staff at the church, as everyone has been very helpful in making me feel welcome. I am blessed to be able to serve such a loving church and I am glad that I am able to work with such a great staff. I am seeing some very exciting things happen at the church. God is doing some really awesome things. The second (contemporary) service is really starting to take off..and the first (traditional) service is growing leaps and bounds as well. Praise the Lord! I am getting used to the life of a minister, it does take some getting used to. But, my internship experience has helped me greatly in this transition.

I am slowly starting to make some good friends here. It will take a while, but I am encouraged with the fact that I have been able to make as many friends as I have. I will admit that moving to a new place and knowing no one is a little lonely, but the Lord has taught me a valuable lesson in all of this. There have been times that I have felt completely alone (and desperately needing someone to "hang out" with), but God has shown me that He provides for me everything that I need. I guess that those low times will help me to appreciate the times when I am able to spend time with those who are closest to me. I am very excited that I will get to go home in a couple weeks to see my friends and family (oh, and a band called U2). It will be a great time of refreshing, thats for sure.

I am looking forward to seeing how the Lord is going to move in my life. I am so thankful that He has brought me this far, and I am excited to see how He is going to use me in the future...but for now I am just enjoying the ride.

Mould is Bad!

2005-11-04T22:28:00.000-08:00

I have to say, this has to be the warmest November that I have experienced in a while! It has been in the 60's all week, which is pretty sweet!

I had my good friend Stevan send in the artwork into my producer, so hopefully I will have 100 copies of my CD pretty soon! I want to pass them out to some radio stations, and to some Christian labels. I have a hard time trying to promote myself. I read that artists tend to shy away from the business aspect of their trade...I can see why. When you write a song, or paint a painting or write a poem, you put a piece of yourself in your creation. So, when people reject your work it feels as though they are rejecting you. Its hard to separate the artist from the artwork.

I think that my office has mould. I think that my life expectancy will be shortened significantly because of all the things that I am breathing in on a daily basis. Oh well, atleast I know where I am going. Heaven.

Speaking of which, Neil Young was on Conan all week. He played a song tonight called "if God Made Me" and it makes me think that Neil has become a Christian....interesting.

Tomorrow morning I will be raking leaves with the youth group. Good times. I think I will be playing in the leaf piles as they try to clean up. That would remind me of when I was a kid.

Happy Hollowe'en

2005-10-31T21:43:00.000-08:00

Well, its October 31st and you know what that means...kids all over the US and Canada are going to be gorging themselves on candy and everything unhealthy for them...which isn't really much of a change from any of the other 364 days of the year. But atleast it gives freaks everywhere the excuse to dress up..but its for the kids, right? Not many people actually know the history of hollowe'en...but hey, that doesnt stop us from celebrating any of our other commercialized hoidays. I mean, free food...what could be better?

I had a busy, but good weekend. We had the youth all-nighter this past Friday, and had twenty seven teens along with several volunteers stay up all night playing games and having fun. We had a hay ride, bon fire, we went bowling (I stink at bowling), went to a restaurant at 3:30 in the morning, and ate a lot of food really really late at night.I managed to stay up until 5:30 am, but I was in great need of a nap. I snuck away to my office, where I had my air mattress waiting for me. Sweet sleep!

I saw two movies in the theatre this past weekend. Weatherman, starring Nicholas Cage, was a huge let down for me. I was very surprised by how depressing this movie was, considering that it had great reviews. It had a good cast, but the writing and screen play were very dissapointing. Zorro, despite two "strong thumbs down" by Ebert and Roeper, was a lot more amusing than Weatherman (which had two thumbs up). It wasn't nearly as good as the '98 blockbuster hit, but it had its moments that had you on the edge of your seat. Catherine Zeta Jones. 'Nuff said. Michael Douglas is a very blessed man.

I was able to give my first make-over this past weekend. One of my teens from the youth told me that he wanted a makeover, so I took him to the mall picked out some new clothes for him. He told me today that the cute girl who sits in front of him in school turned around and told him that he looked nice. Maybe I have found my niche. Look out Clinton!

I see U2 in three weeks, that is going to rock!

Anyone want to get married?!

2005-10-25T21:29:00.000-07:00

I had my first DBMD meeting with the Wisconsin disctrict today. I am now a liscenced minister, which means that I can marry and bury...and receive any pastoral discounts ;) I am well on my way to becoming an ordained minister. I will be ordained after two years of service in the church. Crazy eh?! ( or for you Americans, "Crazy huh?!)

I watched the movie "Coach Carter" with the boys tonight...lets just say that I loved that movie! It was truly heart warming and not cheesy in any way. I feel like going to the gym tomorrow and shooting some hoops, and maybe do a little running...well, lets not get carried away now:)

I see U2 in one month! Sweet!

Sunday, Sunday Sunday!

2005-10-23T20:12:00.001-07:00

Well, today's church services were awesome! The Lord is really doing some awesome things in our church, and I am very excited to see what He is going to do in the near future.

I had a great week. I was able to practice driving a manual transmission vehicle...that was fun. I think my next car will be a manual...but I haven't decided yet...maybe I will pick up that 64 Sting Ray.

I travelled to Rice Lake on Saturday to check out their young adult service. I would love to see our church with a young adult service on a Saturday night.

I was talking with my friend Chris tonight, and he said that he would probably be able to get my songs played on the Christian radio station here in Eau Claire. That will be pretty sweet. I am starting to set up some gigs around here, so that I can establish some connections here. I'm also running an ad for drum lessons, so if anyone is interested in learning how to play drum kit, let me know and I will see what I can do for ya :)

Alarm Clocks

2005-10-16T13:22:00.000-07:00

Well, its the weekend! I had a pretty good weekend, went out to the on campus ministry "the edge" on Friday night. That was pretty fun...The pastor was talking about dating, and relating it to soup. Basically (according to Pastor Rob), there needs to be three elements to a good soup (relationship). The chicken needs to be the just right ( we need to be the best "chickens" that we can be) which means that we need to work on ourselves in the meantime...since we really can't change other people, but can (by the grace of God) change ourselves...we need to prepare ourselves for our future mates. The other ingredients need to be just right as well (the other person). We need to be very selective in who we marry. A soup will not taste as good withthe wrong ingredients. And the third element is patience. A good soup needs time to simmer in order to get all of the flavours out of the ingredients. A good relationship, in much the same way needs time in order to develop naturally. It is important to be able to spend time in community with the person that you are interested in, so that you can see what their character is like outside of a one on one situation. I really enjoyed his message, and was able to make sure that I am the best "chicken" that I can be for my future spouse.

Has anyone ever set their alarm for PM instead of AM? Well, I was a little tired last night when I set my alarm, and I didn't realize that I had set my alarm for 6:45 PM! I slept straight through to 8:15, and I was suppossed to be at the church for 8 for practice at 8:10. It wasn't a good way to start my day, but I managed to make fun of myself in front of the church enough so that no one else really had a chance to. I still managed to make it to the church twenty minutes before service, so that I could shake hands and greet everyone...but yeah, I think I will buy like two other alarm clocks and make sure that they are set for 6:45 in the morning. It's too bad I don't live in a hotel, so I could have the front desk give me a wake up call.

I got to drive around town in a '64 Corvette Sting Ray this afternoon with a friend of mine from church. Man, could that thing rip! He was going to let me drive, but I cannot drive standard nearly well enough to drive such a pretty machine. We pulled up to '69 Road Runner at a red light, and after exchanging car related pleasantries, we tore off the line leaving the older gentleman in his Road Runner in our dust. I guess he wasn't up for a little friendly drag racing. What a sweet ride!

It's pastors appreciation month. I received a bunch of cards and a gift certificate for the fanciest restaurant in town...It is a great gesture, but I could use the money instead ;) Plus, I don't have anyone to take to this Country Club...
Tell your pastor how much you love them if you haven't already!

Spinning my wheels!

2005-10-12T07:43:00.000-07:00

I got the songs for my upcoming single, I Will Trust, this week and I have already posted them so that you can download them for free. Just go to www.purevolume.com/chrisatkins. I know I have mentioned this site dozens of times, but you would be amazed how many times I still am asked "whats the site again?" by people who actually recorded with me!!!

I had a great weekend. I took it easy on Monday, and was able to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving...or Turkey Day if you will.
I had a great time hanging with Pastor Rob and Julie (and Jackson...so cute), and with Bob and Ellen. I ate way too much.
I did my first "spinning class" yesterday. That was fun, but was I ever tired this morning. I accidently slept in today...but still managed to get into work at a decent time (I didn't get fired atleast).

I had a great time hanging with my friend Adam last night. After our work out we chilled out, made dinner and watched a pretty cool movie...I think it was called mindhunters or something like that...anyways it was better than I expected it was going to be...plus I got to see Christian Slater shatter into pieces...pretty cheezy, but cool.

I had a good talk last night with a pretty cool girl. It is neat to see how the Lord is moving in her life. I was reminded of my internship experience when I got out of the Bethany bubble and I realized that I didn't know everything...and that was when the Lord really was able to get a hold of ALL of me...my mind, body and soul. I am thankful for that experience, because it has prepared me for the ministry better than any class could. There are a few things that I would like to change about Bethany, but the internship experience is the one thing that separates us from the other christian colleges.

Good Day!

2005-10-07T20:43:00.000-07:00

Today was my day off, so it was a good day! I slept in way too late, so I had a headache most of the day...but it was my fault. I got my songs from my producer today, and that makes me happy. You can download them for free on www.purevolume.com/chrisatkins. I would like to thank Mr. Dan Britton, who is an amazing producer...and I would like to thank the boys: Ben Last, Paul Tweedy, Nick Crozier and Scott Ingalls...and of course my favourite Semite Rob Meeks (sorry Charles, Rob's my favourite).
I went to "The Edge" which is an on campus ministry at UW of Eau Claire. I met some kids my age, and I might go play frisbee golf with some of them tomorrow. I hope there isnt snow on the ground by then! It is really cold in Wisconsin!

Invasion

2005-10-05T19:47:00.000-07:00

Today was a good day, busy but good. My office is finally starting to look like an office. I have bookshelves now, all I need are books :) I have some books here, but it was either bring my clothes and guitars/amp down or a boxes of books...guess which one I picked :)
Youth tonight was pretty good. But man, do I ever hate Microsoft! Powerpoint decided not to work for a long time...but after restarting the computer about three times it decided to start working. Atleast I got to try out my new guitar...it made some weird noises when I touched the volume knob...but other than that it sounded wonderful.
It is suppossedly suppossed to snow tomorrow...and there is flooding in the Twin Cities (an hour and a half from where I live).I am going to have to buy a new toque and some gloves... I think that I will move back to Canada for the warm weather.
I watched the show "the Invasion" and it was okay. Without cable, it sort of limits your options :)

News!

2005-10-03T09:08:00.000-07:00

My Taylor is here, and she sounds wonderful! I am going to go home and change the strings and shine her up real nice. The case is a little worse for wear, but it is a Taylor case and it did come with it...so I guess I can't complain. The guitar is in good shape, just a few knicks here and there, but nothing major. I will take good care of her :)

Auntie Carol and Uncle Roger are on the road now. May the Lord protect them as they travel.

I have changed the settings on my blog, so now all of my friends can comment without having to be members. I also added a word verification because I have been getting a lot of comment spam lately.

Have a nice day.

Sunday with Uncle Roger and Auntie Carol!

2005-10-02T21:02:00.000-07:00

Today I had a great day with my adopted aunt and uncle... I lived with them and became good friends with them while I was interning at Warsaw Wesleyan Church. They came up just to see me. We had a great day together. After two awesome church services, we headed to Famous Dave's for lunch. We went shopping for my house, and picked out some pictures to hang so that my walls aren't so boring... :)
Tonight I cooked some pretty tasty chicken fajitas...I love to cook but when you live alone, its hard to cook for one person. This was the first time that I have been able to entertain at my new place. Anyone who wants to come chill here in Wisconsin is more than welcome to.

Taylor 410ce!

2005-09-28T22:11:00.000-07:00

I bought my dream guitar today! I am super excited to get my Taylor guitar, I can't wait to play it! I should name my new guitar... I will have to think of a nice name for it. I can't believe that I finally have my Taylor! I bought it used, so I saved about 700 dollars from buying a new one.
I saw Kids in the Way, Sanctus Real, Pillar, Superchick and Audio Adrenaline tonight. I had a great time...I forgot my earplugs though.

Gideons are good!

2005-09-26T22:10:00.000-07:00

Tonight I participated in a pastors appreciation dinner put on by the Gideons...I had a good time meeting with some of the fine men and women who are putting the Word of God into the hands of millions of people across the world! I had the chicken.

Missions Week

2005-09-24T15:25:00.000-07:00

I have had a very busy, but good week. This week, as you might have guessed from the title of this blog entry, is Festival of Missions here at Eau Claire Wesleyan Church.
We have had two services already, and have three more on Sunday.

I am enjoying myself pretty well here, and I am starting to get used to the fact that I live in Wisconsin. Sometimes I am too busy to even notice, but today I took some time to relax and unwind.

Next weekend, I will have some friends of mine come visit me from Indiana. I can't wait:) Anyone is more than welcome to come visit.

Worship By Design

2005-09-16T18:56:00.000-07:00

Today I was in St. Paul Minnesota for a worship conference put on by Leith Anderson and his colleagues. Leith is the Sr. Pastor of Wooddale Center, a church that has over 5000 people attend on any given Sunday. I figure that they must be doing something right, so I did my best to pay attention and took notes as best I could.
This past week has been a good week of ministry. I am starting to get settled here in Wisconsin. I am starting to make some friends, and am trying my best to get connected with people from the community. I will be playing some volleyball tomorrow with some people from the university...I forgot my kneepads in Canada ;)

home, sweet home?

2005-09-10T20:27:00.000-07:00

Well, I made it back from Grand Rapids. I am glad that I went to this seminar, God really used it to encourage me and to help me to remember that I am serving alone. It is good to know that the Wesleyan Church is interested in investing back into those who are serving on the "front lines".
Church tomorrow...I am looking forward to leading worship and connecting with everyone. We have a baptismal service in the evening in the river...should be good.

If you only knew

2005-09-09T20:50:00.000-07:00

Well, I had a good time at the convention today...for the most part. They gave away a lot of free stuff, and I like getting free stuff. I am sitting in the lobby of a five star hotel in an IWU t-shirt and basketball shorts and flip flops...and you know what? I don't really care about what I look like. Its really freeing when you can just be comfortable enough in your own skin to dress down even in a swanky place like the Amway Grand. I didn't even do my hair. Damien and I are just chilling out down here in the foyer on our iBooks. Good times. Some people are dressed in jeans, and some in their formal wear...me and Damien are just kicking it.

I had a good time with the youth pastors tonight. We played basketball at Kentwood Community Church. KCC is an amazing church with incredible facilities. It was good to get out and get some exercise and to get to know some of the other youth pastors. I think that I have the coolest job in the world.

I have been thinking about the possibility of church planting in a few years. I feel that God has laid a passion on my heart for starting a church that has an emphasis on evangelism and discipleship. In my humble opionion, the local church is not doing enough to attract unbelievers, and I feel that majority of the Christians depend too heavily on their pastor's messages for their own spiritual growth. I once heard a well respected pastor say " get out of your high chair, take off your bib and eat some real food on your own". I got a kick out of that...but it is true. We need to change our mentality towards the unchurched. We need to emphasize the fact that the church is meant to be a place for the unchurched to come to encounter the living God, and to encourage and equip them to become more like Christ.

Ok, thats all for now. Oh, by the way check out my purevolume site. I just loaded up the mastered version of I Will Trust and some new pics.

Pit Stop in Grand Rapids

2005-09-08T21:01:00.000-07:00

I am now in Grand Rapids Michigan at the Amway Grand Plaza...lets just say that Ronald Reagan and Billy Graham are just two celebrities that have stayed at this hotel. I should have worn a suit and pulled up in a Bently to fit in.

I am having a good time connecting with some other youth pastors/workers. Pit Stop is a time for the youth pastors and youth leaders to gather together and take some time to be invested in. We will have seminars and special services to help us to do our jobs a little more effectively. I have to say that I will definitely have to come back next year.

I ran into Damien Gula here, and we are hanging out. He is doing his internship in Fishers Indiana, and I can tell that he is really growing a lot from his experiences there.

I am looking forward to the seminars tomorrow,

Labor Day=my new favorite day!

2005-09-05T22:34:00.000-07:00

I just have to say, I love Labor Day!
That rhymed...:)

Today, Canadians and Americans celebrated Labor Day (or Labour Day in Canada). I celebrated by cleaning house, watching Rocky 2 and the Goonies. I got a call from a friend of mine, and then joined him and his family for dinner at TGI Friday's. I then hit up Target and bought A LOT of furnature for my condo. I am so thankful for the way that the people at my church have provided for me. I have been blessed beyond measure. I am having a great time living on my own, and I realized that I like to decorate and shop...don't worry I still like manly things too...

This past weekend was great. I got to see my friends and spend time with them. I even made a stop in Warsaw and saw several of the people that I spent a lot of time with while I was on my internship. It was amazing. I wish I could have stayed longer, but I had to be back for church Sunday morning.

I am really enjoying my job. I have to say that the Lord has been preparing me for this for a long time. I can see how He has been working in my life, and I can see how He has been changing me into the man that I am now becoming. I love being a pastor, I have the coolest job in the world. Mind you that it won't always be a bowl of cherries, but I know that God will bring me through every hardship that I will face...and for that I give Him praise and thanks.

Love is in the Air

2005-09-02T10:09:00.000-07:00

Today, Andy Walker gets married. I am in Michigan right now hanging out with my boys. I am having a good time...making some good memories.
Tomorrow I am going to Warsaw for a short visit to see some of my friends. It will be good to see everybody again. Then I need to get back to Wisconsin. I had a good time driving through Chicago last time...It is almost as bad as Montreal or Boston.

Labor Day!

2005-08-30T23:42:00.000-07:00

This weekend is Labor Day weekend! That means that everyone will be going back to school next week...except for me! I can't wait until this weekend because I will get to see my friends at Andy's wedding. I still can't believe that Andy is getting married! It seems to be the thing to do.

I am getting more settled in here, and getting adjusted to life is Wisconsin. I went to the bank to open an account. It is amazing how difficult it is to open a bank account when you are Canadian. I will have to go back tomorrow to see if they were able to open my account. It is amazing to think about how much is involved in banking...you would think that they would make things a little easier for a Canadian to set up an account than someone from a country much further away. My banker told me that she had set up an account for someone who was from overseas, and it was much easier than setting up my account. Atleast I have my social security number...which means that I am now in the system.

Happy Birthday!

2005-08-27T18:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Jackson!
Tonight we celebrated Jackson's first birthday...he is Pastor Rob and Julie's adorable little guy.
I can't remember my first birthday party, but I am sure that it was a great time :)

crayonairdrums

2005-08-26T22:22:00.000-07:00

crayonairdrums
Originally uploaded by Chris Atkins.

This is me playing the airdrums at a local restaurant in Ottawa. Thank you Christine and Jill for hanging out with me...and thanks for snapping this hilarious pic of yours truly. It is good to have fun. Never lose your inner child...I know I never will:)

I made a friend!

2005-08-26T21:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I actually made two friends today. Adam and Sarah Burger are my two new friends. I will be going to the gym with them, and hanging out whenever we have time to have fun. We watched a movie tonight at their apartment. I had a good time even though the movie stunk. We were trying desperately to pay attention to the plot, but man it was definitely two thumbs down from me! It was the movie with Jude Law and Gwenyth Paltrow...Sky Captain something or arather...it doesn't really matter since it wasn't very good.

I am excited that I am now getting more settled. Today was my day off, but I was still productive. I cleaned house, and put everything away. I like having a clean place. I am going to make a great househusband one day. ;)

I have a new cell phone now, for the good ol' US of A...so now people can call me on it. It was kind of nice not having a phone that people could call me on, I had peace and quiet. Oh well, its back to the ol' bump and grind I guess from now on.

What a Day!

2005-08-24T19:27:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those days where you have to get everything done and time seems to speed by you. I managed to get everything finished, and still managed to go to the gym and do laundry! I am mr. domesticated now ;)

I led my first music practice tonight...I think that it went well. Tomorrow I have to get ready for the second service practice. I also spoke at youth group tonight. I spoke to the teens about being a light to their friends at school. I spoke for about 20 minutes. I didn't know that I was going to be speaking until Monday, but everything came together nicely. Thats the good thing about serving God, He usually pulls everything together for us.

I am pretty well worn out, but I have to get back at it tomorrow.
I am liking it here pretty well. I have made connections with some really great people, and they ahve made this transition a lot easier for me.

I should be getting my songs tomorrow from my producer. I will post them if they are up to snuff. :)

Getting there

2005-08-23T20:29:00.000-07:00

Today I got a lot done, however I still feel like I can't get everything that I want to get done done. I applied for a Social Security Number...got registered for my health insurance...I visited the chiropractor who snapped me back into place. This chiropractor was intense...he really cracked me up;)
I now have a desk for my office...which is awesome. My office is really starting to come a long. I am going to get my office all decorated so that I can really get my work done in style.
I am still working on those pieces of furnature for my house. I had a pot luck for the 1st service worship team tonight. It was good to get to know some of the people that I will be serving with.
I joined Gold's Gym today. I will be going tomorrow! I need to work out to wear off all the food that everyone has been feeding me.

My first day at work!

2005-08-22T19:45:00.000-07:00

Well, today was my first day at the office, and it was pretty awesome. Instead of being at the office, we had our staff retreat up at the lake. We hung out and spent time getting to know each other..
I ate a lot, and even tried my hand at water skiing. I managed to get up on my first try. I have to say, it wasn't too bad at all. I think I will try it again (but next time with a bigger boat).
I talked with my family today. This was the first time that I was able to connect with my parents since I have gotten here. I have been so busy and what not, it has been hard to get a chance to sit down and talk with them.

Interior Design.

2005-08-21T19:26:00.000-07:00

I have been working at fixing up my place...I cleaned the love seat that I was given, and I sanded down and painted one of the tables that was donated to me as well. I feel like I am on Trading Spaces or something, but without the power tools. I should probably invest in some of those.
I had my first Sunday with Eau Claire Wesleyan Church. I sang in both of the worship services and I also did the prayers and one responsive reading...Oh and I did the greeting and all that good stuff. I was glad that the people were welcoming to me . There are a couple of people that have really taken me under their wing. I am having a good time getting to know some of these people, and I am looking forward to developing some new relationships while I am here.
I am off to the lake tomorrow for a staff retreat. It should be good to get to know each of the staff a little more personally.

Target Rules!

2005-08-20T18:41:00.000-07:00

Well, I had my first music practice with the worship team this morning...it was fun. Tomorrow is my first Sunday with Eau Claire Wesleyan. I am looking forward to it.
I am getting my townhouse filled with some furnature. I bought a bed today...so I have a place to sleep now :)
A nice couple from the church gave me a couch and some other things to help me get setttled...I registered at Target for my housewarming party...it was a lot of fun. I love target:)
I spent all day and evening with Paula and Don. Paula helped me shop today. They are really nice. I am going to try to borrow a digital camera so that I can take some pictures of my new place and post them on this site.
I am liking it here. I can't wait until I make some new friends here...I am looking forward to some new learning experiences and to the new adventures that I will have here.

Super 8!

2005-08-18T22:57:00.000-07:00

I have to say, that the Super 8 hotel was pretty super indeed.

I have a townhouse!

2005-08-18T20:34:00.000-07:00

I am no longer homeless. I have been busy the last couple of days looking for an apartment, and today I stumbled upon an awesome townhouse for about the price of an apartment. I have a garage, and three floors all to myself! As soon as I walked into the place I thought to myself "theres no way I can afford this", but Ned (the Realtor) hooked me up! He is a born-again Catholic, and he gave me a good deal because I am a pastor. The only bad thing was that it didn't come with a washer or dryer. When I went to the church, Pastor Dwayne told me that he had a washer and dryer that I could have and I said "its a deal!" God is so awesome. He really takes care of every detail. The people in the church are going to set me up with furnature and all the essentials of life...how awesome is that? I am so spoiled. My place is close to the church (5 min drive), to the Gold's Gym and to the mall. What more do I need?

Alison and I are in Minneapolis right now. We just got back from the Mall of America. It was huge. A little too big if you ask me...haha. She flies home tomorrow. I will miss her :( But I know that I will see her again soon.
I am having a good time here, and I can tell that I am going to like it here. I am just so happy that I have a nice place where a real grown up would want to live. If any of my friends want to come visit me, I have two bedrooms!!!

i_will_trust_cover

2005-08-16T20:41:00.000-07:00

i_will_trust_cover
Originally uploaded by Chris Atkins.

This is the cover to my latest CD, the single for "I will Trust". My main man Pastor Stevan designed this...isn't it awesome? I love it. Thanks again PSTEV!

On the Road Again!

2005-08-15T20:44:00.000-07:00

Ben's wedding on Saturday was amazing. He is more of a brother to me than he is a best friend. Seeing him get married to the woman of his dreams has given me hope that true love does really exist...I will cherish those memories for as long as I live. The reception was a lot of fun as well. We danced until we could dance no more. I went to Tim Hortons afterwards...in a tux. I didn't want the night to end:)

I am on the road to Wisonsin. I will be there (Lord willing) tomorrow night. Pray for my sister and I as we travel. I will let you know what is going on with me when I have a little more time (and energy).

25100014

2005-08-11T18:55:00.000-07:00

25100014
Originally uploaded by Chris Atkins.

COLDPLAY PICS
Thanks again, Lauren. You are awesome. I am glad I met you.

25100015

2005-08-11T18:54:00.001-07:00

25100015
Originally uploaded by Chris Atkins.

25100021-1

2005-08-11T18:54:00.000-07:00

25100021-1
Originally uploaded by Chris Atkins.

25100024

2005-08-11T18:53:00.000-07:00

25100024
Originally uploaded by Chris Atkins.

3 DAYS

2005-08-11T18:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I leave in...lets see...3 days. Wow. I am packing and it is such a fun thing to do, I wish I could do it everday:)
I had a good day today, hanging out with my girls...we went to lunch and then Grandma and Grandpa came over for a visit. I got some things taken care of for my trip. I also practiced my song for Ben and Emily's wedding. I think that I have it pretty well down...all I need to do is keep the lyric sheet nearby. There are 4 and a half verses, and I doubt I will be able to sing it without the word sheet in front of me.

I am spending the morning with Ben tomorrow, and then I have wedding stuff to do until Saturday night. So, that leaves me with Sunday, and then WHAMO, I am leaving! It is now starting to sink in, but I am still having a hard time believing that I am moving to Wisconsin!

I had a killer leg/shoulder workout at the gym today, so after dinner I was pretty much unconscious for about an hour. It feels good to nap, it brings me back to the times when I was a little kid...back when wearing sweatpants was cool. I still wear sweatpants at times, and actually had a girlfriend tell me that I look hot in sweats...I go through all the trouble of dressing nicely, and then she tells me that I look hot in sweatpants...go figure eh?! I guess its time to pull out my old Toronto Blue Jays and Hulkamania sweats. I hope they still fit. Hello Wisconsin, here is your new pastor...wearing...Oakland Raiders capris?!

In case you forgot, or didn't know...today is Heidi Sattler's birthday. She is 12 today..j/jk she is 19 today. Happy birthday Heidi. You rock.

Coffee House!

2005-08-10T19:20:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful day today, capped off with an amazing night of ministry at Jericho Road Ministries. I was able to share in song for the evening. I was very pleased at the response that I received, and God was definitely lifted up in that place.
After the coffeehouse my family went out for some beverages. It was great to spend some time with them. I will surely miss them when I am in the US.

Mic check...one two...

2005-08-09T22:14:00.000-07:00

I had a wonerful last couple of days. I was able to spend the day with Ben. I am going to miss him for sure when we go our seperate ways. Hopefully someday he and I can be in a band together, and then work in a church together. That would be really great. We had a great day. We picked up our tuxes tonight after dinner ( I had fajita's yet again).

I bought a nice new microphone for when I sing at coffeehouses...It is a sennheiser e835...I got it along with a 21' cable and boomstand for a low low price of 139.99 (before taxes). If you are looking for a good quality mic for a good deal, stop by Fleet Sound in Bells Corners...they will hook you up!

I hung out with Alison tonight after I got home. We watched Indiana Jones The Last Crusade...I love it how this was the last crusade, but they are going to make another movie. Harrison Ford still has it though. He, along with Sly Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenneger are more rugged in their fifties than many of us will be in our 20's or 30's. O well.

One Week!

2005-08-08T10:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I leave for Wisconsin in one week. I can't believe how quickly the time has past. It is almost as though I woke up and missed the summer. Its sort of hard to explain, but this summer has been very different for me. I am looking forward to the new adventures and new challenges that I will have in Eau Claire. It is a little different moving to a place where you know no one, and where you will be all by yourself. This will be the first time that I will be living completely on my own, and I don't know how I will like it. I have been looking at some apartments online, and I have had a couple of places contact me to tell me that they have nice apartments avaiable for rent. If I am going to have to live by myself, I atleast want a sweet place to live. I am going to go completely metro and decorate my place as if I were on "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy"...maybe I should call the show and see if the boys would come to Wisconsin to help me decorate...I wonder if they have an Ikea near me...I wonder.

I had a good weekend, busy but good. I was able to hang out with my friend Christine on Saturday and Sunday. I got to eat at my favourite restaurant last night. I havent had St. Hubert's in about 10 years...it was pheonominal! I had probably the best chicken fingers that I have ever had.

I can't believe that I am leaving so soon! I guess that it will be good for me to get out there and to start a new life...not that my life now is bad, but I just need to have a fresh start so that I can do some things that I have always wanted to do, but have never tried to do before. I am going to start up a band, now that I am going to be in one place for a certain length of time...and who knows, maybe now that I will be in one spot maybe I will be able to start up a relationship with someone without the stress of having to leave them hanging over my head. I'm not really looking for anything, but I will definitely have to make some new friends while I am there. I am sure that I will make some really great friends, and if not then I will just bury myself in work.

I guess I should start packing.

Moving?

2005-08-06T17:46:00.000-07:00

So, we finished moving my sisters stuff...and in one week I will be moving my stuff to Wisconsin. I can't believe that the time has come already. I have all my forms for my religious visa ready to go, and all I have to do is get across the border without getting shot.
I am still waiting for the pictures from the concert. I can't wait to see them. When I listen to their albums now, I can picture myself at the concert and what it was like during that particular song.
I am pretty tired from driving today, so I will be kicking back and relaxing for the evening. I gave Benny a call, and he is moving into his parents new house. Everybody's moving...crazy!

Driving is fun!

2005-08-05T20:23:00.000-07:00

Well, we are in Hamilton. We will be packing up and moving all of Alison's stuff tomorrow, then we are going to drive back home. It should make for a long and tiring day. Atleast I get to spend time with my sister...in downtown T.O traffic :)
I talked to a lot of my friends today, and let me say that it was great to connect with them. I love all of my friends very much, and I will miss you all when I go to the big Cheese State (in 10 days).

Oh, What a Night!

2005-08-04T20:56:00.000-07:00

Coldplay absolutely blew me away. They are by far one of the greatest bands of our time. I was amazed at their musicianship, their enthusiasm and their stage prescence...and also their good sense of humor. Lead singer Chris Martin tried his best to speak French, and did surprisingly well...probably better than I could do. He was having technical trouble during "Yellow" and tried to salvage the song, but stopped the music and said "@#$% it, lets try that again from the top". The arena erupted in applause. I have never seen anything like it my life...he thanked the audience for being so kind, and made a remark of how polite Canadians are. I have never seen an audience so mesmorized by a perfomance in all my life...they stood for the entire two and a half hours and were going crazy after each song.

We took a cab from the Bell Centre to the Bus station. It was the craziest taxi ride I have ever had. First of all, we were stuck in traffic for about $7.00 worth of fair and moved maybe about 20 feet. We even witnessed a limo running right into a VW Jetta, but that didn't stop our taxi driver from running a red light so that we could avoid the pile up that ensued. We made our bus, and thankfully were able to sit together. I talked to a nice young woman who sat across the aisle from me for the entire ride home. She is going to send me some of the pictures thats she took from the concert. My sister slept almost the entirely way home, but I really didn't feel like taking a nap. I was still on cloud nine from the concert, and probably a little stoned from the second hand marijuana smoke that was in the stadium (I can't believe that people would smoke pot during an indoor concert) I didn't inhale though...I was determined not let that deter me from having one of the greatest nights of my young life. I want to perform like Chris Martin....one day...one day. Johnny Sherwood and I are going to start a band, and hopefully we will rock London, New York and Tokyo (and some Canadian shows)...that would be sweet. It is good to dream big.

Well, I had a great day today with my best friend Ben. We hit up the Hershey Chocolate factory, and then went to see his new house. We had a good chat at dinner (Swiss Chalet) and saw "The Island"...which surprisingly wasn't about PEI (any Maritimers in the house?). We really enjoyed the movie. It was good to spend some time with him. He gets married in 10 days, which blows my mind. I have a long way to go before I am ready to get married, but one day I will be mature enough...atleast I have a career...thats a good start.

Well, I'm off to Hamilton tomorrow. Should be fun.

Don't forget!

2005-08-02T21:28:00.000-07:00

Okay, don't forget to go to www.purevolume.com/chrisatkins and download "I Will Trust". I will be getting some other tunes up and running as soon as they are made available.

Coldplay Live in Montreal!

2005-08-02T21:10:00.000-07:00

Okay, so some of you may hate me, but tomorrow night I will be enjoying the musical stylings of a band called Coldplay...I will be spending the day in Montreal with my lovely sister. We will meet up with one of her friends and then enjoy a lovely evening with Chris Martin...while we sit on the 100 level...oh my...it will be nice.

I had a lovely day today. I had a great time with my family, and then spent time with my friend Adam. He had some of the guys over from his youth group for a BBQ. I helped out, and had a great time being 18 again.

Well, I hope that you all have as much fun as I will be having tomorrow...maybe I will meet a French woman? O la la:)

One of those times!

2005-08-01T19:40:00.000-07:00

Well, today was great. I got to spend the afternoon in Perth with my family. We went for a nice late lunch at Mexi Cali Rosa's...it was right on the water...I pretended that I was in Europe. One day I would like to go to Europe...maybe next summer I will take a little trip. I will have to save my money in order to do that I guess.
I had a good chat tonight with an old friend of mine. It was one of those times when you get the chance to get some things settled that had been plaguing your friendship for a while. I don't know how things will work out, but I was able to get a few things cleared up...the rest is up the the Lord. I know I am not perfect, and sometimes it hurts to hear somethings that others have to say about you...but in the long run it is better to know. Its just too bad when it is too late to change anything...but that is life I guess. All you can do is learn what you can from the situation and grow as much as you can as a result of it.

I hope that I marry someone who loves me enough to tell me what it is that I am doing wrong so that I can be made aware of it...I can be pretty oblivious at times...and as well intentioned as I may be I will make mistakes...and unless I have someone there to tell me (in love), then I will not be aware of it. O Lord, I pray that you bring me a woman who will call me out!

Well, thats all she wrote.

Long weekends are sweet...

2005-07-31T19:28:00.000-07:00

I have had one of the greatest long weekends of all time...and its not even over yet! I had a great day yesterday... and topped it off with an even better night. I hung out with my friend Paul Sanchez all night. We had a great night, and some great talks...even hit some golf balls. I had no idea I was such a great golfer (yeah right). We talked about God for quite a while. I was able to share my faith with him, which is something that I have been doing through the years. I am thankful for those God-ordained moments when I am able to share Christ with someone who is seeking meaning to their lives...I am not a religious fanatic, but I do believe that it is important to be able to talk about these sorts of topics whenever someone is interested in hearing what I have to share.
I am picking my sister up at the train station shortly, I can't wait to spend some quality time with her.

Friday Night Lights

2005-07-29T14:51:00.000-07:00

Today has been great...I got a massage (again) for my back pain, and it has made me feel a little stiff but I know that it will start feeling better tomorrow.
I hung out with Adam all day today, and we are going to go see Fantastic Four tonight. I have heard mixed reviews about it, but it is for the youth group he is working for and it is a more youth friendly kind of movie I supposse. This will be one of the last times that I get to hang out with him for a while, since he will be leaving for a trip on August 4th, and I will be leaving for Wisconsin on the 16th (or so). Crazy.
I get to see Coldplay this coming Wednesday in Montreal. It should be a blast!
Still waiting on my songs...I wonder if Dan has gotten them up and running yet?!

"911"

2005-07-28T21:22:00.000-07:00

Well, tonight was pretty eventful. I went to hear my friends Paul Sanchez, Eric Krisjansson, Rob Reid and Peter Wahl play at a local establishment. The name of their band is Exile in Return. They did a great job, I was very proud of my friends.
After the set, Steve and I went back to the place where I had parked my car. When I turned my headlights on we had noticed a homeless man passed out and covered in blood. Steve called the authorities...and within minutes there were cop cars, paramedics and the fire dept. on the scene. The police asked Steve and I a few questions, and then we left them to take care of the poor guy. We certainly weren't expecting that!
Well, tomorrow is Friday. I can't wait!

I love you all

2005-07-27T19:12:00.000-07:00

This is just a short thank you to all of my family and friends who have always been there for me. Thank you for all of your prayers and continued support. You are all very special to me and I am very blessed to know each and everyone of you.

Where did the summer go?

2005-07-27T10:24:00.000-07:00

I know that I say this every summer, but my how the time has flown. I wonder why the summer time months seem to fly by when the winter months just seem to never go away. Maybe it is because I never know the date...and when I find out that it is almost August then I am left to wonder where my time has went. I leave for Wisconsin around the middle of August...which is a month that is just around the corner. I am excited to start my first real job, but I am a little nervous about the change. I am mostly nervous about going across the border. I just hope that I have all the right documentation when I go to get my visa.

Steve's music called me to tell me that it will cost $225 dollars to fix my guitar pedal. I paid $250 US for it, and really dont feel like spending that much on it. The guy said that there must have been a surge of electricity which completely fried the unit. Thats just my luck I guess.

I was talking to my good friends Tim and Dani, and they were thinking that I should have some artwork for the cover of my cd...so if anyone knows someone with a lot of artistic talent that would be willing to work with me...then let me know.

Photo01_00A

2005-07-24T18:46:00.000-07:00

Photo01_00A
Originally uploaded by Chris Atkins.

Here are some pictures that I may use for my CD. It isn't easy being a male model...I felt like I was in a Sears catalog photo shoot. Let me know which ones, if any, that you like the best.

Photo01_2

2005-07-24T18:27:00.001-07:00

Photo01_2
Originally uploaded by Chris Atkins.

Photo20_18A

2005-07-24T18:19:00.000-07:00

Photo20_18A
Originally uploaded by Chris Atkins.

Weekend=Fun

2005-07-24T16:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was another first for me. I played some paintball for Ben's bachelor party. It was pretty fun. I got hit a few times but never the paintballs didn't break on contact...so I didn't get any stains on my pants :) I like paintball pretty well, but I could never get into it as much as some of the people that I know.

Last night I hung out with my friends Christine and Jill. We hung out at Christine's house for a while, then went out for something to eat at Jack Astor's. I had chocolate cake since I had already eaten dinner. I like chocolate cake a lot, its probably one of my favorites. We had a great time hanging out and catching up on old times. We even went for a swim just like we used to back in the day. Good times.

Church this morning was awesome. The pastor spoke on the "year of the Lord's favour". I am a little anxious about my move to the great state of Wisconsin. I know that I am going to have a lot of different experiences while I am there, and I know that God is going to have His hand on me and my ministry. I am just a little sad about leaving (again). Just when I get used to being home with my family and friends, its time for me to leave again! One would think that I would be used to it by now, but each time I leave it still takes its toll on me and my loved ones. It is nice to be reminded that God has everything under control.

It's late...but I'm still up!

2005-07-22T22:31:00.000-07:00

Well, today was a great day. I worked out, went to the beach with my lovely sister...went for chineese food with my family...why is it that you are hungry 2 hours after you eat chineese food?
I went out with Adam tonight and saw the new movie "Wedding Crashers". It was pretty hilarious. We had a good time tonight. I am going to miss those times when I am in Wisconsin.
Well, it is late and I should probably head home.
Oh, by the way... I don't want to ruin the ending of the movie but Owen Wilson gets the girl...isn't that the way it always goes? ;)

Trying New Things

2005-07-21T17:43:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been trying a few different things lately. Yesterday I had my first massage from a registered massage therapist. She is also a friend of mine, so she gave me a sweet discount :)
Tonight I went to talk to Cindy (Diana's mom) at the gym and she convinced me to try step aerobics. Yes, step aerobics. What has the world come to?! It was entertaining to watch, and I got a good workout from it. I am no good at aerobics, I think I will stick to jumping rope.
Still waiting for my songs to get done. I will post some pics soon from my photo shoot. Maybe you can help me pick out a pic for the cover.

Tuesday, a good day for love

2005-07-19T19:42:00.000-07:00

Well, today was a great day. I did as little as possible. I went to the gym and worked it for a while, then I talked to Diana and her mom at the front desk for awhile. They are super nice and it turns out that they live like 2 streets over from me, and Diana is friends with my friend Christine. Its a small world.
I did some yard work today. Good times.
I picked my sister up at the train station. Its really nice to have her home.
I have a month to get ripped for Ben's wedding. I kind of had a bad weekend for eating, and made steps in the wrong direction, but things will get back on track soon. I am just glad that there are no Krispy Kremes around here.

My Music is Online Now!

2005-07-18T18:39:00.000-07:00

Hello to all my friends...some of my music will be online available to download.

check out www.purevolume.com/chrisatkins
I have the rough version of "I Will Trust" on right now, and I (or my man Stevan) will upload my new stuff when I finally get it ;)

Hope you all have a good night.

Back in good ol' Canada

2005-07-17T20:04:00.000-07:00

I had a great time in NY with my buddy Ben. I helped him move his belongings into his new appartment. We had a lot of fun assembling the furnature from Ikea...and found out that his new bed's footboard had a leg completely broken off of it. We weren't too excited about that. I got to see some of my friends from when I was a teen...Adam and Cait Kline. They helped us move some things into the appartment and I was more than happy to let Adam carry some of the heavy boxes upstairs.

Today Ben and I sang at Philmore Wesleyan Church, and everybody loved it:)
We made a stop off at the mall and I got myself a pair of chords from Aeropostale for 15 bucks (b/c they were missing a button). I managed to restrain myself from buying any more striped any more golf shirts.

We also hit up Krispy Kreme and bought 2 dozen donuts. Don't worry, I only ate 5
(so far). We stopped off at a restaurant called "Smokey Bones" and I had baby back ribs. Man, they were good. I think that I must have consumed about 8 million calories today, and I have to definitely not eat any more junk food for the rest of the week.

Ben is house sitting this week and I am spending the night...I have no idea who these people are but I am helping myself to their highspeed internet and to their 50 million inch plasma tv. They live in a big house off of a golf course. Man, this is what I like to call roughing it.

Good news, you can now hear some of my music online. I will be posting the site tomorrow, and you should check it out.

Road Trip

2005-07-14T20:34:00.000-07:00

Well, I talked to Ben tonight. We are going to head to NY state tomorrow so that I can help them move their stuff into their new appartment. I hope that I don't throw my back out. I probably will.

We will sing at his church on Sunday morning, and I will get to meet up with some old chums of mine...and hopefully meet some new ones. I just hope that they let us across the border.

I started to write a new song today. It is going to be a good one I think.

Got a good work out in tonight at the gym. I like going at night time now, it helps me sleep.

Still waiting on the songs...I will let you know when I get them. It should be sooner than later.

Spring Cleaning?

2005-07-14T13:39:00.000-07:00

Well, I know that it is the middle of July but I am now finally doing some spring cleaning. I think that I have more clothes than any man I have ever met. It is scary to think, but I am now finally able to put my clothes away in the closet and in my drawers. I still have some bins in the basement to go through, so if anyone wants some of my clothes let me know and you can swing by. I should have a yard sale or something, I would make a killing (atleast 10 bucks!).

My friend Stevan is looking into a site for me that I can post some of my songs on. If everything goes smoothly it should be up and running in 2-3 weeks. I'm excited about the thought of having some of my stuff on the world wide web.

Yes, Kathy I got the new picture of Kayden. He is as cute as ever. Actually he looks a lot like me when I was a little kid.

I don't know how to convert farenheit to celcius either, but 40c is like 90 something in Farenheit which is far too hot to do anything without sweating.

Hot Hot Hot!

2005-07-12T18:48:00.000-07:00

Well, today was even hotter than yesterday. I am so glad that I don't have to work outdoors like some of my other friends do. It was 40c today with the humidex...thats hot!

I got that leather jacket that I was looking at the other day. I really like it. I won't be able to wear it until the weather gets a little cooler.

I talked to my producer Dan tonight on the phone. He said that the songs should be ready for Thursday. He said that he will be able to get my songs on the Christian radio stations in Moncton and Halifax. Nick knows someone from the radio station in St. John who will be able to spin my record when its done. Tim Shaw knows someone from Flicker Records, and might be able to get them to listen to my stuff. It is neat to see how God is bringing everything together. Its all for Him, and I am just going along for the ride.

If you want a copy of my single, just let me know. Email me at chris_atkinsca@yahoo.com. I will try to get a rough idea of how many copies I will sell. I will probably get about 100 copies made at first, and then go from there.

Have a good night :)

Hot hot hot!

2005-07-11T19:15:00.000-07:00

Today was one of the hottest days I have ever experienced. It is still hot out and it is 10 o'clock at night!
I had a great day. I got a lot of paperwork done for my trip to WI. I went shopping with a friend of mine today. It was a good time. I hit up Steve's music and dropped off my delay pedal to get fixed. Hopefully it should be fixed in a couple of weeks. We'll have to wait and see i guess.
Hit the gym tonight for the first time in over a week. I think that the weights have gotten heavier or something :)
I love Aza Butcher!

Thank the Lord for bank managers!

2005-07-11T08:56:00.000-07:00

I had received a handful of letters from my American Bank and I had apparently racked up some fees that I had no idea about. But, thankfully they had closed my account for me and I owe them nothing! I was sort of scared for a minute there, but the lady on the phone was very nice and told me that they had taken care of everything for me.

I am going to Steve's music store today. I am hopefully going to be able to get my Line 6 pedal fixed. Well see how much that costs:)

Shopping Machine!

2005-07-09T21:21:00.000-07:00

Today I went downtown with my friend Janet. She came up from Pembrooke just to spend the day with me. I feel so special:) We went shopping, and I got a nice blazer (it was on sale). We went to the Richtree Cafe and had a latte and pie. It was very romantic. We walked around the market. We saw some interesting "performers" including a guy who acted like a robot. You pay him a dollar and he does some cool looking moves (stuff that I couldn't do). I went to the bead store and I got a new chain for my necklace.

We went back to my place and I managed to put my necklace together all by myself. I gave myself two gold stars for arts and crafts. I pretended to know what I was doing, and it worked!

We had dinner tonight with Janet's brother and his girlfiend. We went to my favourite place (Chances R'). We then met up with my boys Andy and Ben for Starbucks and a movie. We saw "Dark Water". It was okay. I would give it about a B if I were a movie critic. It was scary at parts, but I felt that it could have been better if it had been developed more. The ending was sort of lame.

I may be going up to NY next weekend with Ben and his fiancee to help them move their stuff into their new place. We could go to Six Flags at Darien (SP?) Lake and possibly to Rochester. If I end up going I could sing with Ben at his church. I could meet some new friends up in NY. I know some people at Houghton, and it would be really great to see them. We'll see what happens:)

I can't wait till I get to hear the songs on Thursday. I have only been waiting since April;)

Black Eyed Peas

2005-07-08T21:21:00.000-07:00

Tonight I had the privilege of seeing Black Eyed Peas in concert, along with 50,000 other people. It was so packed it was crazy. This drunk lady kept bumping into me and asked me if I was (insert swear word here) with her. Ah yes, I had forgotten what the joys of having an intoxicated woman trying to pick a fight with me. Other than having to deal with some unpleasant smells (pot, B.O) I was able to enjoy some great music. I was mesmorized by their drummer. He was fantastic.

I had a photo shoot today with my main man Steve for my upcoming single. We took 3 rolls of film, and hopefully some of them turned out okay. It was fun watching peoples reactions.

I talked with my producer Dan tonight. He said that I should be receiving the three songs that I recorded with him this coming Thursday. He was just wrapping up with Canadian Idol, so he has been very busy. I am glad that I was able to connect with him. He told me that I will be able to go in and record this coming fall. I can't wait!

Well, it is late and I have to get up early tomorrow to take my sister to the train station.
I will upload some of the better pictures when I get them:)

Back from the lake!

2005-07-06T16:18:00.001-07:00

I had a great time at my grandparents cottage. It was nice to get away and to just spend time with nature. I went canoeing and hiking in Algonquin Park with my sister. We helped an oriental couple out by checking on their parents who had flipped their canoe. It was quite the adventure. My sister and I hiked up this trial called "the lookout" and saw the most beautiful view off of the park. It is nice to be able to just sit and look at God's wonderful creation, it really helps me to think about God's goodness and His majesty. He is a good God. It is neat to see how he made all of the lakes and trees and how He formed the rocks to make huge cliffs.

I spent some time tonight with my good friends Adam and Andy. Andy and I had a great time at Starbucks. We talked about anything and everything, and it was a great chat. I guess Starbucks is my new hangout, since I am a "real grown up" now I need a real grown up place to go for coffee. It is more expensive than Tim's, but atleast you get those neat sleaves for your cup so that you don't burn your hand. Tim Horton's really needs to invest in those.

This Friday I will be heading down to Manotick for my photo shoot for my album cover. Maybe I should shave...

Good Day!

2005-07-02T21:05:00.000-07:00

Today was a good day. I was able to spend the day with my good friend Sara and her family. I was really hoping that we could hang out before she left for camp and before I left for Wisconsin. It was really nice to see her and to spend some quality time with her, I really missed her (and her parents too).

I will be at my grandparents cottage this coming week, so I will most likely be unable to update my website until Thursday or possibly Friday. I hope that you are all doing well, and that you have a wonderful week. I will be relaxing by the water.

God Bless.

Long Weekend!

2005-07-01T20:51:00.000-07:00

Well, for me every weekend is a long weekend. Ha!

Yes, Kathy...you are one of those special friends. :)

If anyone wants to go see U2 in NYC, email me and let me know. I have one ticket (well, my friend Nick does)...and he is looking to unload it. I would go, but I will be in Wisconsin, and thats a long drive. Plus, I will be able to go to the show in Ottawa in November (if I get the time off work, if not then Tim Shaw will take my place).

Tim and Dani, I miss you both very much. Dani, if you are reading this email me your number so that I can call you. Thanks:)

I went to Parliament Hill tonight for the fireworks. There were a few bands that played...including Sam Roberts (he isnt bad) and some French dude who was really depressing me. I wanted some upbeat tunes for Canada Day, but he was singing about how sad he is...I don't need to hear all those sad songs.. I have enough of my own problems...haha. Play me something catchy that will take me to my happy place;)