Leeland Travel Blog

We've Moved

2009-07-04T14:31:00.000-07:00

www.leelandonline.com has gotten a face lift. All future blogs will be posted there.

Hope you like it!

much love

leeland

1 AM Sound Check - Really Tired!

2009-07-01T09:07:00.000-07:00

Asia Trip Vlog 2 "Cambodia"

2009-06-13T13:14:00.000-07:00

Asia Trip Vlog 1 "Tokyo"

2009-06-10T17:43:00.001-07:00

Cambodia Update

2009-06-05T02:13:00.000-07:00

God is everywhere. I feel Him on the streets of Siem Reap, Cambodia just as powerful as I feel him in the sanctuary of our church. He is all powerful and over everything that exists. Yet He is humble and willing to be servant of the least. So patient, as we run like mad men away from his perfect grace. He is all sufficient as we struggle in our deepest human need. There is nothing He cannot do and no one He cannot love. Not one person escapes the piercing gaze of His eyes like fire.

We're seeing Him move in the nation of Cambodia. We've met poor farmers that have absolutely nothing, and their lives are being changed. The work that Food for the Hungry is doing is completely transformational. They don't just mow over problems that will grow back a year later. They're not just driving up in a white truck and solving people's problems for them. The thing that's blown us away is that they empower the local people to fix their own problems with their own resources. Of course these people need some assistance, but they shouldn't have to rely on an NGO to meet all of their needs. God is their supplier and FH is teaching people this through savings groups, agricultural training, child development, education, biblical teaching, and a lot more.

Through the power of God, and a lot of hard work, the FH staff is up rooting the attack of the enemy that has existed here for hundreds of years.

I've got a question for you and would love some honest feedback. What do you think the role of an non-profit should be? Hand outs only? Or complete community transformation?

Thanks for your prayers as we continue our journey. Next stop... Bangladesh. It's very different than Cambodia, and we're so excited to see the work God is doing there.

Thanks for reading.

-jack and all the leeland boys

Every Moment an Offering

2009-05-28T20:48:00.000-07:00

We're really enjoying our time in Japan. And I feel God speaking to me so much. There is a huge world out there with so many people. 12 million in Tokyo alone. So many lives. I begin to think of all the moments that can be wasted.

How do you waste your life?

I believe that any minute not lived unto God is for naught. Evaporated time. This isn't legalism, it's just an awareness that the only life worth living is one that is bathed in God's spirit. When I iron my shirt I want to worship. When I'm pumping gas, when I sing a song, holding my wife's hand, flying in a plane, preaching, writing, laughing with my family, changing a diaper. I believe it's possible for all of this to be wrapped in the simplicity of God's presence.

Jesus did it. He was normal and not normal all at once. He had sweat glands and a belly button just like you and me. He was tempted and attacked. He had to do things that required money and lived in a material society. There was major potential for stress in His life. All of these things were just opportunities for Him to surrender more and more to His Father.

Why don't you try giving every moment as an offering to God? Don't make it another law to live by... just realize that it can become like breathing. I breathe naturally because it's second nature. This is where grace comes in. It has changed our nature. Adam excluded God in the small things, but through the life of Jesus we can now live to INCLUDE God in everything. We can make every moment an offering.

-jack

Tokyo, Japan

2009-05-28T04:49:00.000-07:00

Hey Leeland bloggers. Here's a few pix from our day in Japan. The people are just amazing here. There is a very strong but small group of believers here, that are so hungry to see their nation come to God. They have the love Jesus written all over their faces. It's so cool. I can't wait for the concert tomorrow. Right in the heart of Shibuya-Tokyo. We're praying for God to move in a HUGE way! The Christians here need a lot of encouragement and support and the unbelievers need to hear an amazing message. Tomorrow we'll post a video from our time here. Then off to Cambodia! Going to sleep now. -jack

Mike the Pilot

2009-05-19T09:17:00.000-07:00

Are u alive?

2009-05-14T20:31:00.000-07:00

Hey Leeland bloggers! Hope everyone is doing well. Hope this encourages you...

"In Him was life and that life was the light of men." St. John (Speaking of Jesus)

Is it just me, or does it seem like we're the walking dead sometimes? I mean, come one people... we serve Jesus! : ) Not only do we serve Him, but when we got saved, His life and nature were poured into us without measure.

This means that the same life and light that burst forth from Jesus, now dwells inside of us. Because HE lives in us!

When we really grasp this truth, everything changes. Like a ripple effect, His love begins to alter everything about us. But the choice is yours. The ball is in your court.

Will you allow the life, love, and light of God to transform your life? It's a choice I have to make every morning with my coffee... and every afternoon when I get cut off in traffic... and every time I get a middle seat on a plane at 5am. : )

I remind myself that I'm no ordinary person, drudging through some ordinary life. I'm extraordinary because someone exceptional has taken residence in my heart. God himself!

Please share your thoughts. How do we practically walk this out?

much love

jack

Our Week in Photos

2009-05-08T20:11:00.000-07:00

Photo shoot with Jeremy Cowart. (PS... these aren't Jeremy's photos. They're from my iPhone. haha. His are a LOT better.)

Frog!

Pittsburgh.

What we're listening to...

2009-05-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

Carpark North "Grateful"

Tal & Acacia "Wake Me"

Paper Route "Absence"

Jars of Clay "Long Fall Back to Earth"

What are you listening to?

The Next Phelps

2009-05-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

Vlog 17

2009-05-01T12:25:00.000-07:00

Official Band Twitter!

2009-04-26T11:16:00.001-07:00

Check us out... @leelandofficial!!!!

GMA Pix

2009-04-23T09:58:00.001-07:00

So, we're here in Nashville for the yearly Gospel Music Assocation schindigg! Had a million interviews and stuff and got to share our thoughts on the new record. We're like little excited kids because we're fresh from the studio after recording it. It's been a VERY good week.

We spent some time with Food for the Hungry and discussed our upcoming trip to Cambodia & Bangladesh! Sooooooooooooooooo pumped!!! We're going to visit our sponored kids and see the work the FH is doing in southeast asia.

Leeland found Brandon Heath's Nasa oven mitts while we were at his house with Joy FM. We premiered our new song "Follow You" on the morning show! Brandon works his guest vocal magic on the song and it's brilliant i tell you! Brilliant!

Leeland gravitates to the instrument in the room in between interviews . He's writing a tune about a fairy tale or something.

Watched Jars of Clay perform their new single "Two Hands". Soooo good. Do you guys have their new record?

Got to hang out with our new friend Nick Jonas. Great guy!

About to do an interview and we're pretty tired. It went well though. Mike told a story that took about 15 minutes to tell and it was hilarious! haha. We gave him a hard time about it, and he took it in stride. A true friend!

The best way to tan during interviews.

Got to see my brother in law's new short film "Devil's Shoestring" at the Nashville Film Festival. It's a great cautionary tale.

Mike's on twitter!

2009-04-15T20:33:00.000-07:00

Check him out... @Rattatattat!!!!

Vlog 16 - "Take Me Away"

2009-04-08T17:45:00.000-07:00

Hey bloggers,

These are a few clips from our day in Tulsa, OK. We played at an Aquire the Fire event with a few thousand teenagers. God showed up. Later in the video we went into a spontaneous worship song.. "I love You, I love You Lord! ... Take me away!! Take me away!!"

Has God swept you off your feet? Has he "taken you away"? We're living on Earth, but our hearts must be captured by the God of Heaven. This is how we can change the world around us! By BEING changed ourselves. How have you been changed by God? Let us know.

Much love.

-the leeland boys

Mike found some new pants...

2009-04-03T15:13:00.000-07:00

Video Games - What city are we in?

2009-04-02T14:41:00.000-07:00

WE HAVE A WINNER! THE ANSWER WAS BOSTON! Thanks for playing, and we'll do another Video Game soon! Respond fast so you can win the prize!
______________________________________

Allright Leeland bloggers. The first person to answer correctly (via blog comment) will win a FREE LEELAND T-SHIRT!

thanks

jack.

Vlog 15 - Seattle

2009-03-25T17:10:00.000-07:00

Vlog 14 - 4:30AM

2009-03-21T05:54:00.001-07:00

We're kind of tired, so excuse all of the nonsensical rambling...

The War

2009-03-20T10:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we played at a show in Chino, CA. During the day we had some free time. We played soccer in the amazing California weather, and ate some chiken fajitas for lunch. We were having a perfectly comfortable and normal day before it was ruined in a beautiful way. The whole band sat in front of my computer, completely captivated and heart broken.

A few years ago I heard about a little film that changed the lives of my friends that watched it. It's about three college guys that went to Africa with no real plan... they just wanted to DO something, and document the stuggles of the Sudanese. On their trip they made an unexpected discovery. For over twenty years a war has raged in northern Uganda. You might say, "What's the big deal? Africa's full of wars, right?" It most certainly IS a big deal, and this war is unique in it's tradgedy.

A rebel army called the "Lord's Resistance Army" has been fighting the government of Uganda for years. They're about as far from the "Lord" as anything can be. They're lead by a ruthless maniac by the name of Joseph Kony. They've been responsible for the death of thousands of innocent lives, including women and children. What makes this war different from all of the other conflicts in Africa?

Over half of the LRA's soldiers are boys between the ages of 10-18. These innocent children are kidnapped from villages at night, and they're forced to watch violents acts. Then they themselves, are forced to murder. Kony indocrinates them and exploits them for his twisted means. These kids are just like any other child in the world.... they have hopes and dreams but their lives have been stolen away by forces of darkness. And there's thousands of children that live in fear for their lives, knowing THEY could be the next abduction.

You might think, "This is something that happenned a few years ago, right? Surley it must be over by now!" Well... unfortunaltely it's not. As you read this, there are children in Uganda & the Congo being kidnapped and forced to kill. Just last Christmas (Dec 25, 2008) the LRA massacared hundreds of people and abducted 160 children! That was THIS Christmas! How can we let this happen? Raise your voice, and let's show the world that these Invisible Children have faces.

What can you do? Well, go watch THIS short film online, and listen to their plan for action. Come on Leeland bloggers... let's DO something!

PS. If you're already familiar with this story... what have you done to respond?

Vlog 13 - Shower Singin'

2009-03-14T16:18:00.000-07:00

Hey...

we're in the dressing room hanging out right now. We've been eating M&M's and Chick Fila. Half of the guys got in late today because their flight was delayed due to inclimate weather. Then Delta messed everything up and the guys couldn't get on the plane. They just got in from a 5-hour drive.

Any ways, we're about to go on stage. A little while ago, Leeland busted into the room with his guitar and was like "jack come here!" and I was like... "why?"... and he was like..."there's the awesome shower with a really cool reverb effect! let's go sing!" and i was like... "what are we waiting for?!?!?!"

do you guys enjoy the echo of showers? it's very cool.

Worship with Me...

2009-03-12T09:24:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

It's lee. I have an idea. How about I make a few videos every now and then. They're not going to be really big and produced. It's pretty raw, but basically I just want to spend some time in worship with the bloggers. God's big enough to fill all of cyberspace with His glory. So put on some headphones or get alone and let's seek God together!

Here's some scriptures to think about as we're worshiping...

Psalm 16:11 - "You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Ephesians 3:18-20 - "May have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us."

Acts 2:28 - "You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence."

From our Phones

2009-03-09T14:37:00.000-07:00

holding our breath in the tunnel

Horsepower! Horsepower people!!!

singing background vocals in the studio

steak and shake... shouldn't have eaten there at midnight

6am airport check in.

Expert packer.

We went to go see the Jo Bros! It was amazing. 72,000 screaming girls. We were screaming too... haha.

Vlog 11 - I'm Back!

2009-03-07T14:43:00.000-08:00

Opposite Way Story! Pt 1

2009-03-04T08:45:00.000-08:00

This is an inspiring story. A perfect example of how we can go the Opposite Way and show the love of God. Please read!

It's really encouraged us as a band.

-the leeland boys

PS. We're going to start posting more of these. If you come across a story, or hear of one please let us know at: leelandband5@gmail.com

Vlog 10 - A Chat With Leeland

2009-03-01T15:45:00.000-08:00

making music

2009-02-26T16:59:00.000-08:00

Journal Time 1

2009-02-24T15:45:00.000-08:00

*Click image to read*

PS... the words that are obstructed are "our" and "don't"... : )

STL

2009-02-20T22:01:00.000-08:00

So... it's midnight, and we're all in the van after a great night in the St. Louis area. It was a small, but powerful show. God really showed up and blew us away. Thanks for everyone who came out to the show! We really had a blast.

We're all so tired now. I'm about to crash on the bench of the van in a sec. Pray for us, because Marcus is driving and trying to sing 'Disturbia'. haha... not good.

We're headed to Lincoln, Nebraska for a D2Share conference tomorrow. Should be good.

How's everyone doing? What's happening with ya'll right now? Wish everyone could've been here tonight at the show. : (

peace my friends.

jack

Back at it

2009-02-17T14:12:00.001-08:00

Ok... sorry it's been so long since we've posted something! We've been really busy. And we're proud to say that we don't 'outsource' this blog to anybody outside of the band. This is 100% genuine Leeland content... straight from us. :-)

We're in Nashville writing more songs! They just keep coming and we're gonna record as many as we can. Below are some iPhone pix of what a typical writing session with Leeland is like. He plays musical chairs with every instrument in the building...

PS... For those who didn't hear... Mike got in a 4-wheeler accident a week ago. It was pretty serious, but it could have been much much worse. He's out and about now, and feeling much better. God really protected him and we're very thankful for that. Thanks for the prayers! -jack

Mini Ping Pong!

2009-02-13T08:39:00.001-08:00

to pass the time...

Random Quote Time

2009-02-10T07:47:00.000-08:00

Ok... So we're grabbing some food at good old cracker barrel and it's random quote time. Basically I just point to evryone at the table and ask them to say something:

"Take advantage of your second amendment rights." - jake

"Everyone uses Dr. Meyer's foot soap." -matt

"I'm a home owner!" -mike

"I would like to visit the Vatican." -jack

"Crazy old Maurice!" -lee

"I'm having déjà vu... sitting in a cracker barrel surrounded by guys." -whit

"Agggh... Uuuuuhhh... Um... I don't know." -marcus

"No thanks." -darryl

YOUR TURN! :-)

Studio Pix 3

2009-02-03T15:24:00.000-08:00

Ordering burritos!

Leeland jammed his thumb playing soccer.

Jake's playing Risk on the computer.

Trimming the hobo beard.

We took a trip to Ed's back yard and played on the big fallen tree.

Mike the Anime Warrior

2009-02-02T10:31:00.000-08:00

Mike found some friends this week at the convention center.

A Challenge

2009-02-01T07:07:00.000-08:00

Hey guys and gals,

Hope you're having a great day. Yesterday we played at a Dare2Share conference in Columbus, OH. I was so encouraged yesterday about witnessing. I think when you grow up in the church like I have, you can get so used to hearing about certain things that you loose the real passion you should have. I felt the love and conviction of God fill me up yesterday. Why don't we tell the world about Jesus? What's stopping us? There are people all around us that will go to hell if we don't share with them this amazing news... this beautiful gospel. And it's not just an eternal hell people face, what about all the heartache and pain that can be avoided by living for Jesus.

What is "witnessing" any ways? Is it going door to door? Or walking around on the street and directly confronting people about their spirituality? It can be both of those things, but it's also something more. A witness is someone who's literally seen, heard, and experienced something. What have you seen, heard, and experienced in your relationship with God? That's your testimony. That's a big part of what you need to be telling people. Just be transparent and tell them about all the things God's done in your life. And if you think He hasn't done much, just look around because it's everywhere.

When you pray today, ask God to set up divine appointments with people who need to hear that Jesus loves them. You'll be surprised by God's response, believe me. Finally, walk in love. The whole Gospel is based on love, so we can't go around contradicting it with a mean, judgmental manor. People don't need to be reminded about how bad they are... they need to be loved just as they are and they'll become the people God's called them to be.

I'd love to get some comments on this post in a few days from people who put this into action. I love you guys! We're headed back to Nashville to the studio. Please be praying for us as we're recording these new songs.

In Christ,

jack

Studio Pix 2

2009-01-28T16:54:00.000-08:00

Jake was cold.

Some of our friends stopped by the studio... one of them was none other than Zach Hunter. A good buddy of ours over the past few years. Everyone should read his books.

The creepiest instrument in the world.

We call him one take timmy.

Nothing like some crisp air and coffee to make a man feel alive. Looks like a JC Penny's ad or something.

Wish I had a wurli!

Tracking live together.

Poor Mike is in his isolation chamber.

This is Mike's "i've had a long but productive drum day" face.

Feel free to write your own captions on this one.

Vlog 9 - "Whatever You Go"

2009-01-27T11:03:00.000-08:00

"Great songs impact history, history impacts great songs."
- Jake Holtz 2009

Studio Pix 1

2009-01-26T15:27:00.000-08:00

So... we're recording the first noises (drums & bass) for our next record! Really excited. More pix and video to come. The tricky thing is that we can't let you guys hear these songs until they're totally done. So... maybe more pix than video. :-)

J.G. Dabbs vs Reggie Valentine

2009-01-25T13:11:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when there's an electric drum set in our dressing room...

Resting in God

2009-01-22T20:54:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone its Leeland here!! Im on the bus headed to Houston to pick up the rest of the guys for some shows this week in Texas!! I hope this finds you well! I pray that all of you are happy and encouraged about the future that God has for you!! Today in the studio while song writing we began to just worship God together and rest in HIs presence. I haven't felt the Love of Jesus that strong in a long time. It was so strong that I started to weep and cry. I just heard the spirit of God say that we need to find time to rest in Him. Some times I think we can get so busy and our days can get so full that there is no room for the refreshment that we receive from the presence of God. After Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights the bible says that angels came and ministered to Him (Matthew 4:11) . We don't have to prove ourselves to Him, and we don't have to make ourselves appear strong enough. It's actually in our weakness that were made strong through Him. Were already qualified to be His son or daughter through Jesus and what He did on the cross. So make sure and find time in your day to sit back and with arms wide open receive His love. I love you and Jesus love you oh and He's proud of you!!

Be blessed everyone see you soon!!

Leeland

Vlog 8 - Song Writing

2009-01-21T13:41:00.000-08:00

Hey ya'll. Hope you're having a wonderful day. The weather here in Franklin is starting to get a little warmer (50's), and we're on our third day of song writing. There's a million ideas we're processing through and making them into full songs. Hopefully you'll get to hear them at some point. Today has been nice because there's one of those Kuerig single cup coffee makers here in the studio and I've been going crazy on that thing. It's amazing... you press one button and presto! A hot cup of perfect coffee is sitting there for you. So cool. Also, there's a really cool old piano here and I've had a blast playing on it. Leeland's been messing around with guitar stuff when we're not writing lyrics and such.

God is so awesome! He keeps on dropping these songs and lyrics in our laps and we're so excited to see them take shape. Gotta go!

love love love

-jack

Philippians 2:1-11

A Note

2009-01-18T11:37:00.000-08:00

(Click to enlarge.)

Just left Ashland!!

2009-01-17T08:44:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone its Leeland!

I'm in the van, we played last night in Ashland Ohio and it was awesome. God did some pretty cool stuff! I hope everyone is doing well! Im so exited about this year and seeking after God more than I ever have before. It just feels like the more I seek God the more my heart grows sensitive to His love. I want all of us this year to press into the the things of God. I hope we pray more this year and not under estimate it's power. I hope we love more this year. In 1 John 4:7-12 it says that those who love are born of God and also when we love each other that God abides inside of us! I pray that all of us would know that there is no dream inside of our heart that's too big for God and we would boldly follow the dreams He's given us! So let's seek Jesus every day filling ourselves up with his love so that we can pour it out on the hurting that surround us every day! Love you guys be blessed!!!

-Lee

Cracker Barrel for Lunch

2009-01-15T15:49:00.000-08:00

Jake actually scored the worst score possible. Amazing.

Then we had some dessert.

Abe Lincoln

2009-01-14T20:02:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when you get bored during sound check...

Good Morning

2009-01-09T04:32:00.001-08:00

We're in the airport about to take off for a show today in Ocean City, MD. We've had a nice week off! I've been catching up on Lost Season 4 on Blu Ray... and playing Crash Bandicoot... so classic. Me and Leeland were at the youth service at our church last night and it was amazing. God totally showed up and I left so encouraged. A great night of worship and ministry.

Any ways, we're at our gate waiting for the plane... here's some quotes from all the guys right now. Keep in mind that it's really early:

"I don't even know... uhhhh..." -Matt

"Are dogs really man's best friend, really?" - Mike

"huh?" - Leeland

jake as usual is missing.

gotta get on the plane

jack

PS. Leeland just read Psalm 34... really good!

Vlog 7- a bit of sport

2009-01-01T13:48:00.001-08:00

Road Vlog 7 from Leeland on Vimeo.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-26T10:22:00.000-08:00

Yes it's the 26th... but better late than never. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone!!! Mike dressed up as Santa every night of the Jars of Clay Christmas Tour, and we had a little chat with him one night.

Thanks everyone for all of your support this year. We're very thankful for it.

Merry Christmas,

Leeland

Leeland Lands On Plymouth Rock!!

2008-12-18T21:40:00.001-08:00

Hey guys Mike here!! I want to let you guys in on a little bit of our history lesson today!! We are in Plymouth, Massachusetts today!! The boys and I went on a walk about town to see what we could discover, and less than a few blocks away we stumbled across the Mayflower.....well a replica of the original Mayflower but equally as cool!! I have to say I was a little bummed because they were closed when we showed up, normally you could go aboard!! Thanks a lot seasonal tourist!! Beyond that we found the resting place of one of the most famous stones in the rich & very vast history of stones....The Plymouth Rock!! The Rock of Plymouth which was once an ordinary stone before December 21, 1620 is now a staple in our nations history!! According to James Thatcher, who wrote a history of Plymouth in 1835, Plymouth Rock was identified by Elder Faunce, whose father had known some of the Mayflower passengers. In 1741, at the age of 95, Elder Faunce was informed that a wharf was going to be built over the top of the rock. He was carried in a chair three miles to the rock, where he "bedewed it with his tears and bid to it an everlasting adieu." According to Plymouth tradition, Elder Faunce had placed his children and grandchildren upon the rock every year, and told them about their forefathers. (Thanks to MayflowerHistory.com) In all seriousness after walking around today in the chilly 27.0 °F weather I don't know how the pilgrims did it...I was freezing!!

P.S. Of the one hundred and two passengers to make the voyage over, three of them were pregnant ladies, one of which gave birth on the way over! The babe was apply named Oceanus Hopkins!!

Vlog 6 - WalMart

2008-12-15T23:44:00.000-08:00

Shopping at the King of Prussia Mall...

2008-12-15T13:32:00.000-08:00

Me and lee came into the apple store really quick and bummed off their computer... We're at the mall doing some Christmas shopping for our wives. Getting really good stuff!

Random Road Pix

2008-12-13T20:11:00.001-08:00

Captions please... :-)

Vlog 5 - DC

2008-12-11T11:11:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, Leeland and I had the opportunity to go to our nation's capitol and speak at the 'Compassion in Action Roundtable'. It was an event hosted by the White House Office for Faith Based and Community Initiatives.

We got to meet some amazing young people who have risen to the world's challenges. They've chosen to get their hands dirty and do the hard stuff... not just be passive observers. It was truly inspirational to hear their stories. We got to see our good friend Zach Hunter, who is doing so much to mobilize our generation to action. On the panel were young people sharing their passion for solutions to the biggest social issues of our time. Everything from basic human rights, fighting malaria, feeding the poor, micro-economics, the sex & slave trade, keeping kids off the streets, and even providing soldiers with the means to call home from abroad.

We got to share from our perspective as a band in being involved with our generation in helping inspire people to action. We would challenge you today to pray about your place in the world. What can you do to help? God's given each and every person the ability to do incredible things when we rely on Him. It doesn't matter how young (or old) you are, God can give you unique ideas and solutions. Or he can give you a passion to work with an already established organization. The point here is that if we're in real relationship with Jesus... it must produce outward action of love to the world. Be encouraged today and know that we're praying for you. Micah 6:8

Merry Christmas!

jack

Here's a video of our day...

Yukon Cornelius

2008-12-05T18:42:00.000-08:00

Does this picture remind you of a certain drummer from a certain band?

Grammy Nomination

2008-12-04T12:01:00.000-08:00

Hey Guys and Gals,

We found out last night that "Opposite Way" has been nominated for a Grammy in the category of 'Best Pop Contemporary Gospel Album'. We're so excited about this. We realize a record is made up of more than a few months in the studio. It's God that has breathed life into the process... the people that helped shape the songs... our families that support our ministry... our partners in the music industry that work so hard... and our amazing fans that helped make this record happen. A big thanks to everybody! It's a very high honor just to be nominated!

Blessings,

the leeland boys

A message from all of us here... (jake's missing because he was taking a jog)

Forgot to tell you guys...

2008-11-21T16:22:00.000-08:00

we met Rainn Wilson... "Dwight" from the The Office... He was really nice! He came to Houston to help out a fundraiser for an organization called the Mona Foundation. We love you Rainn!

I've gotta go... we're heading to the venue in a bit. It feels like it's 20 degrees here in Ocean City, MD. Oh and Mike & Jake might swim in the North Atlantic tomorrow... don't know if it will happen, but just maybe.

Much love!

-jack

Vlog 4

2008-11-20T22:11:00.000-08:00

Painted Post

2008-11-10T07:43:00.000-08:00

I'm in the van and we're headed to Houghton, NY to play a show tonight. Last night was a fantastic night of worship in Painted Post, NY. Eight-hundred and fifty people were packed into this church worshiping God will all their heart. During 'May Our Praise' and 'Tears of the Saints' I couldn't help but cry when I really realized what I was singing. The Holy Spirit made the words new to me, and reminded me yet again why we're doing this. First to lift Him up, and then to give our lives away and change the world. To know Him and make Him known. It was a great night. God is so faithful to show up and meet us right where we are.

Oh... and we're listening to Christmas music and driving through a winter wonderland (literally)... there's snow everywhere! Wish my wife was here with me to see it because we're obsessed with Christmas.

sincerely,

jack

PS. Something very historic and significant happened last Tuesday. No matter who you voted for, you need to be praying for our new President. Pray as he meets with President Bush today that God would give them both wisdom in this delicate time our nation is in right now. God is alive and well and he still desires to send a massive revival to America! Stay alert and be vigilant in prayer.

Vlog 3

2008-11-01T23:47:00.000-07:00

Vlog 2

2008-10-25T17:05:00.000-07:00

Fairs are the most random places in the world. Spider lady? Turkey shooting? Amazing...

haha...

-jack

At the fair in Raleigh...

2008-10-24T13:08:00.000-07:00

So we're in North Carolina at the state fair. We're opening for Skillet tonight and we had a little hang out time on the grounds. There's always the most amazing food choices at these fairs. We had fun walking around and then me and Leeland got a funnel cake and split it. Funnel cakes are just so darn good! Oh... and matt rode a mechanical bull and it was a total failure. It didn't go over well.

I'm really tired because we woke up at 5am and drove six hours to get here. I need to find some coffee somewhere. Much love!

-jack

ps. we'll post a video later.

Breakfast in Newfoundland... Dinner in Houston

2008-10-12T21:34:00.001-07:00

3,600 miles of travel today. We woke up this morning had breakfast in Gander, NL.... lead worship at YC and then got on three flights back to Houston. We just had dinner at Pappasito's with our families. (If you haven't had their fajita's please come to Texas for them.. it's worth the trip!) It was a wonderful weekend in the beautiful island of Newfoundland. It's the province where Irish, French, and British descentdants have morphed together to make real treasure of a place. Everyone was so kind and hospitable to us. We can't wait to back. And appartentley they taught pirates how to to talk really cool the way Jack Sparrow does.

It all made for a wonderful weekend at YC 2008. The kids in the crowd were amazing and sought after God with us. God's presence was so evident and the worship was so pure and genuine. We loved it!

Some random travel pictures from our journey to Newfoundland...

Security line... 5am!

boarding!

sunrise!

made it!

mike's happy!

Also... Marcus went hunting and they got a Moose! Look how big this things is! All that meat should feed some people for a long time. Sorry... we're typical Texans.

Chair Soccer

2008-10-11T17:19:00.000-07:00

So... we have a project for you. Get creative... two normal things that make an awesome thing. Thoughts???

mike

Top Secret

2008-10-09T17:27:00.000-07:00

Ok... so I don't know if I'm supposed to be talking about this or not. These things are usually kept top secret and you have to have CIA credentials to be "in the know"... well forget all that for now. I'm giving everybody some CIA credentials! YAY! Imagine you have bio technology... cool finger print access to the confidential Leeland music chronicles... of the world. Ok enough of that.

Leeland and I came up to Nashville for a day to do some writing for the next record (release date undetermined). We finished a song that turned out really really good! We have a million ideas and are trying to fix them all up real nice for all of ya'll. The whole process of making a record is pretty long so let's say we're in the creative dreaming stage right now... and we're so excited!

It's probably way too early to be mentioning all of this, but I had to let you know. Be praying for us as we seek God for the songs. You guys know how we are... and we don't just want to throw a bunch of tunes together for the sake of making a record. And I promise as long as our band is around that will never happen! We commit to giving massive amounts of time, energy, sweat, prayer, tears, and effort into making this music. Because God is worth all of it. He's amazing.

I can't say much right now (remember...this is all top secret of course) but It's going to be a big amazing record that glorifies God. Woooo hooooo!!!

The video below is Lee writing a random idea that might get lost into space or might materialize into an actual song one day... who knows. Any one want to come up with some shnazzy name for it?

Me and Lee are at our gate about to board the plane. He's saying hello to everyone right now as he's drinking his hot chocolate from Starbucks. Now it's off to meet up with the guys and we're flying to Newfoundland... it's going to be way too cold for the Texas boys.

love.

jack

On the road again...

2008-10-03T21:03:00.001-07:00

Well folks, sorry it's been so quiet on our blog the past few days. We've had a much needed two week break. Any ways, we're back on the road again, all packed in the van driving through Baltimore right now. We just had an amazing time at the Harvest Crusade in Philidelphia and we're on our way to Charlotte, NC. I think we're going to get a hotel around 1am or so and get a few hours of sleep before we get back on the road tomorrow morning.

Leeland's been showing us amazing youtube videos. Mike has been looking ways to play soccer. Jake's been talking about gun rights. Matt's been the DJ with the iPod in the van. And I've been reading stuff about the election.

Matt meets George Washington and doesn't know what to say...

Mike playing some football...

Jake and Mike saw Joe Biden at our hotel.

I'll post a video from our weekend soon. The guys send their love.

-jack

Ike Update - NUMBER 3

2008-09-24T11:41:00.000-07:00

The Good news is:

* Not one person in our church or immediate family lost a loved one. Thank you Jesus!
* The clean up is in full swing
* We had church Sunday in our parking lot and our Celebration Family is amazing!
* 2/3rds of our families are back to work
* 60 % of our town has power
* our water is drinkable now
* we are and will continue to help our church familes in every way we possibly can

Our Church Situation this week is:

* Waiting to see if our building can actually be repaired and making sure the structure was not compromised. We are leasing the space and this is the responsibilty of the owner. Initiative in process
* The internal structure that Celebration actually built out is ruined. If insurance company pays what is outlined in the policy we can rebuild our internal structure/ we are waiting on our land lord's report.
* Our adjuster will be @ our building site with in a couple days to confirm our loss and what they will actually pay! We will disclose that amoaunt once we know.
* We are looking for a temporary place to meet and have church.... we have not confirmed anything as of today.

We believe that God has a building that we will be able to purchase! It is God's desire and will for Celebration of Life to own our building and quit leasing.

Last but not least we continue to help the poor and the needy in our city. Our church gave away food and supplies Sunday Morning! What a joy! .... Celebration feeds the poor on a weekly basis.

Today we went to the Red Cross Shelter to offer help and assistance as well. Our church will be helpling provide a weeks worth of milk, fruit and juice for over a 100 people in one of our Baytown Red Cross Shelters. Wednesday the 23rd we will visit the other Red Cross Shelter to see if we can help them as well.

Make donations payable to: Celebration of Life and send to:
C/O
David Childress
1002 Meandering Way
Franklin, Tennesee 37067

Thank you so much for all the prayers and support. And thanks to everyone that's given so far. You're amazing! May God bless your sacrifice.

-jack and the leeland boys

New Videos!

2008-09-23T09:34:00.000-07:00

Leeland and I have been posting some videos talking about the Opposite Way movement. Here's the newest one! Watch the rest of them here on our YouTube Channel.

And for those of you who missed the live webscast the other night, we've posted the videos for you to see. A big thanks to our friend Marcus Hackler for putting these up.

Visit our Vimeo site for the rest of them!

May Our Praise/Free Worship from Leeland on Vimeo.

Thanks!

-jack

Ike Update - NUMBER 2

2008-09-17T11:19:00.000-07:00

Here's the good news, the power is coming back fast to our city. The damage, although was bad, could have been a lot worse. Texas and its national neighbors are working together fast and furiously to help us recover.

The grocery stores are starting to re-open but here are some of the challenges we still face.

Many people are without money and cannot resume their jobs until next week or the week after. So even though the stores and power are beginning to resume operations, they are having to rely on charitable organizations for food and water. Also, they are relying on charitable organizations for the financing of being displaced until their homes are restored. We also have many who have lost everything and we are going to have to step in and help until our national organizations like FEMA can help them.

On a personal note: Our immediate families homes only incurred a small amount of damage! Praise the Lord! Our church, on the other hand, as suffered a lot of damage. Sunday morning we will resume our worship service in the Parking Lot. Immediately following the service, we will begin passing out supplies to our local neighborhood.

Celebration of Life was founded six and a half years ago by my mom and dad (Todd & Cyndy Mooring). It is a vibrant, young church with a love for God and a love for their community. It is their passion and desire to see Baytown, Texas, transformed for the glory of God. We will try to send weekly updates and we thank you for every sacrifice and donation made.

Make donations payable to: Celebration of Life and send to:
C/O
David Childress
1002 Meandering Way
Franklin, Tennesee 37067

Thank you again for your prayers and support!

Leeland

Hurricane Ike Update

2008-09-16T12:46:00.000-07:00

We can’t thank you all enough for praying during this terrible time. Through comments on our blog, we know that hundreds of you are.

Baytown, Texas, on the east side of Houston, is our hometown. The entire area is currently without power. We have countless family and friends who will be without work for weeks to come. The financial toll that a disaster like Hurricane Ike leaves is unbelievable.

Somehow, the homes of all of us in Leeland are completely fine except for Mike's place. The ceiling caved in, and he's going to have to find another place to live. Our church sustained significant damage. There is standing water in the sanctuary. The roof/ceiling leaked tremendously and lots of ceiling tiles caved in. We will be unable to have services at the church building for weeks and the building will need major repairs. We just found out today that the damage to the roof is so bad that the buliding could possibly be condemned. We'll find out soon either way.

Our hope is to rally all of the support we can for all of the people in the place we call home. If it’s on your heart to help, please send a monetary donation to:

1002 Meandering Way
Attn: David Childress
Franklin, TN 37067

Please make checks payable to “Celebration of Life Church.” No matter the size, it all helps.

Thanks for the love. God bless each of you.

Leeland, Jack, Jake, Mike and Matt (Leeland)

Vlog 1

2008-09-15T07:35:00.000-07:00

Leeland-RoadVlog1 from Jack Mooring on Vimeo.

Live...

2008-09-13T16:45:00.000-07:00

Online TV Shows by Ustream

Live Webcast

2008-09-13T15:26:00.000-07:00

Tonight we're playing at Capital Christian Center in Boise, ID. We'll be streaming the worship service live, right here on our blog!

Be here at 7PM Central to watch.

-the leeland boys

Please Pray

2008-09-12T03:07:00.000-07:00

UPDATE

Thanks for all the prayer! You guys are amazing. The storm packed a punch. All of our houses are ok... but our church sustained a lot of damage. Some people lost homes and even more have flood damage. I'll dedicate a full post to this when I know more details.

Thanks again for being the body of Christ and stepping up in prayer.

talk to you soon.

-jack

_______________________________________

Hey guys and gals. First of all, thanks for the amazing response on the last post! We've been reading your comments and it's so inspiring to see our generation dreaming big.

We wanted to ask you guys to really pray for us. There was a mandatory evacuation issued in Houston yesterday, so we had to leave our homes. This hurricane could be really really bad, and it's headed straight for us. Prayer works, so we're asking that you guys pray that our homes and churches stay safe and don't get flood or wind damage.

We'll be in Idaho this weekend. Will post an update soon.

Thanks.

-jack

Dreams

2008-09-09T12:23:00.000-07:00

We made it home yesterday morning and went straight to our church, Celebration of Life, in Baytown. This week we're hosting the annual Prayer & Prophetic Conference. Dale Gentry is here with us. He's a really huge mentor of ours and has an incredible prophetic ministry. He's prophesied over me, Leeland, and Jake many times as well as the whole band.

The past couple days have been so refreshing; worshiping alongside our family and seeking God together. God has been igniting dreams in my heart again, and I feel so close to the Lord right now. We all need these moments to keep us focused and our hearts on fire after God.

I pray right now for whoever is reading this. That you would realize that you can go where God says you can go. You can do what God says you can do. Write what God says you can write. Build what God says you can build. Record what God says you can record. Go to the nations that God says you can go to! Nothing is impossible with God!

I'd like to give you a little challenge. Get alone with God and spend some time in His presence sometime today. Then just begin to dream. Dream huge. And know that whatever you're seeing... God see's something even bigger. God has an absurd amount of confidence in you. He designed you to change the world.

Here's one of my dreams... to start community centers all across the globe. It would be a huge facility that serves the community... everything from medical services, an orphanage, food distribution, and ministry & job training. I know that God's going to help me build those all over the world!

What's one of your dreams? Share them with us. We would love to pray for you. And I hope you know that God is committed to your success. It might take a little time but those dreams WILL come to pass. Just be faithful to God.

Much love.

-jack and all the leeland boys

A Van Playlist & People in Costumes

2008-09-06T07:48:00.000-07:00

Ok... so here's a sampling of the music we found yesterday...

Roy Orbison "You Got it"
Bruce Springteen "Dancing in the Dark"
Bon Jovi "Livin' on a Prayer"
Lionel Richie "Dancing on the Ceiling"
Tammy Wynette "Take me to your world"
Jim Croce "Operator"
Blue Oyster Cult "Don't Fear the Reaper"
A-Ha "Take On Me"
Anita Baker "Same Old Love"
Thin Lizzy "The Boys are back in town"

Some of these songs are kind of crappy, but some are genius. Tell us what's playing on your iPods right now... we're music lovers and always interested in finding new stuff.

Currently Listening: Mates of State "Get Better"... Lee showed it to me. I love it!

-jack and the boys

__________________________

P.S.

We played at Universal Studios today! Amazing. And of course, we rode all the rides. Leeland saw a gang of random characters back stage and he got some pix. These are a bit creepy to me for some reason...

Life in the Van

2008-09-05T10:33:00.001-07:00

We woke up this morning after a nice show last night in Dothan, Alabama. By the way, did you know that Dothan is the peanut capitol of the world? Any ways, we got in the van and made a little stop by Krispy Kreme. All the guys have pledged to eat extremely healthy for the rest of the day after having the worst breakfast possible.

We're driving to Orlando right now... on our way to Universal studios for Rock the Universe festival. I think we're going to get into the park tonight and ride the Hulk... another life changing ride similar to the Ride of Steel. I also want to find the Harry Potter park that's under construction. Leeland live... in Hogwarts? Sorry, I'm a dork.

Oh... and we didn't bring an FM transmitter for our iPods... no cd's either... so we can only listen to the radio. :-( But, we've found that you can find the most amazing music on the radio if you look hard enough. In a little while we'll be posting our van playlist. It's going to be kind of random, but what isn't random with us?

Playlist coming soon...

-jack

Mr. Gustav

2008-08-31T16:13:00.000-07:00

We had another wonderful weekend. We started off by flying to Phili and driving to RevGen festival in New Jersey. We had a great time opening for Chris Tomlin and the crowd was fantastic! The next morning we woke up and flew to Omaha, Nebraska then drove to Sioux Falls, SD for LifeLight festival. This is probably the band's favorite festival by far. It's free... so there's about 200,000 people attending. We opened for Michael W. And I think we played to about 120,000 or so. Unbelievable.

Any ways, everyone is back home now and we're waiting to see what this hurricane is going to do. It's not going to hit Houston straight on, but we will get some fall out. Probably a lot of rain and maybe some flooding. Please pray that our houses stay safe. And pray especially for the people in Louisiana because it's headed straight for them.

We're going back out on Thursday so also pray that we don't have any problems getting there.

Thanks everybody!

jack

At the gate...

2008-08-29T05:09:00.000-07:00

We woke up at 4am again, and came to our new home... the airport.

c ya in New Jersey.

-the leeland boys

The Power of the Gospel is Love

2008-08-27T10:43:00.001-07:00

Knowing God is this simple. Love God with everything and love people (Matt:22:37-39). When we seek God in prayer and studying his word, we build up our spirit man and the fleshly desires pass away. Not only can we draw close to God by prayer, but by actions of love to others around you (1 John 3:18-19). Love is the power of the Gospel because God is love and when we love others we fill ourselves up with more of God.(1 John 4:16)

We are called to love others because we're in love with God. You notice Jesus said first love the Lord God with all your heart then love your neighbor. Loving people should be a reaction to the action of Jesus dying for you and your sins. It's not a chore or a duty, but it's realizing God loved and forgave me, so that I might love and forgive others, and when I have hate for others I have hate for God and God does not dwell in me because love does not dwell in my heart. You can't separate people and God. Your actions to people are also actions to God. Jesus said "if you've done it to the lease of these, you've done it to me"(Matthew 25:40)

It's not easy to love others. It's easy to love God because God's love isn't conditional and will never fail us, but Jesus said even sinners love people who love them (Matthew 5:43-48). The true demonstration of God's love is loving everyone, even your enemies. The only way that you and I can effectively walk in love is realizing that your life is no longer to be lived for you and your desires, but it's for God. My life is not my own. Once we truly turn our whole self over to God, we set our hearts at rest in his presence and life.(1 John 3:18-19, Matthew 16:24).

Thanks for reading and know that I love you guys.

-leeland

Washington Weekend

2008-08-24T23:34:00.000-07:00

I love these trips. We spent less than 72 hours away from home. Drove through beautiful scenery. Played two great shows and met some amazing people. All in a tour bus you may ask? No people... I'm talking about two matching Toyota minivans, the real way to travel.

Last night was a great time with a not so huge crowd but everyone had great hearts. They were all super worshipers! And tonight we played at a fair with Jars of Clay. It was a big crowd but I felt so bad for them because they were standing in pouring rain our entire set. They were champions though and stuck in there. It turned out to be another great worship time. Tonight was our first night to play "May Our Praise" live. I can't beieve we haven't played is sooner seeing as it's my favorite song on the Opposite Way record. Any ways, it went over very well, and we didn't mess up with the tracks so that's always good.

Here's some pix from the weekend...

Flew to Seattle.

The drive today was amazing. Leeland wanted to get out and climb it but we didn't have time.

driving....

ate at Red Robin...

kept driving...

jake in his emo hoodie... listening to his ipod and he totally can't hear anything we're saying to him.

Leeland's getting some wind here.

We got to the fair and played to the great people in the rain. These girls were awesome; they made custom Leeland hoodies to protect them from the elements.

I know this is kind of random... but I have to fill you in. Marcus (our sound doctor) never wears shoes. We give him a hard time about it. He might have learned his lesson here.

Oh... and then we made him put his hair up in a pony. We can't decide if he looks like the bad guy from "Kindergarten Cop" or the jerk instructor guy from "Karate Kid"? Thoughts?????

I'm armed with my pillow and a boarding pass with a window seat. Time to get on the red eye and try my best to sleep on the way home.

love love love!

-jack

I love worship... I don't like 4am

2008-08-22T21:30:00.001-07:00

So... we just got back from the Hillsong Conference here in Houston. It was amazing worship tonight! I was crying like a baby while we were singing "Hosanna". And "With Everything" was off the charts... God was off the charts. He totally overwhelmed me tonight with His love and His goodness. I love those moments when God sweeps you off your feet and just surprises you once again with how great his love is. Then when I feel the reality of that love all I can do is tilt my head up until my neck hurts... open my eyes and sing through the ceiling and just shout to heaven. This is worship people!

Any of you guys had an awesome worship experience lately? If so... tell us about it. If not, stop what you're doing right now and just tell God how amazing He is. Then begin to live for this incredible God. That's worship.

I've got to pack now and then go to sleep. We've got a 5am call time and that means I have to wake up around 4am. Fun!

Later gaterz.

-jack

my favorite things right now

2008-08-20T21:24:00.000-07:00

yours?

-jack

Angels in the Outfield

2008-08-16T22:45:00.000-07:00

So we find ourselves once again at the Anaheim Angels Stadium for the Harvest crusade. This is our second year at the crusade and it's such an honor to be a part of this. We're here all weekend playing three nights. Tonight was so special... 50,000 people packed into the stadium. We played with Kutless, Lincoln Brewster, & P.O.D. After Pastor Greg's message (which was so powerful and compelling) thousands of people came down and filled the outfield making decisions for Christ.

Here are some pictures from the last couple days.

We met P.O.D. Really nice guys.

Leeland and Shelly (our sister) decided to match tonight.

The crowd was packed tonight.

Pastor Greg gave the Gospel message.

Thousands responded and gave their lives to Jesus.

Pix from Malawi

2008-08-13T07:46:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been so long since the last post. We just got home yesterday. It was another thrity something hours of travel! We flew from Malawi to South Africa then to London... then we ran to our plane in Heathrow and almost missed our flight. After that it was another 10 hour flight home... and eventually we made it back to good old Baytown. I'm not going to lie; it was nice eating some Texas food! I definitely missed it. Here's some pictures from our trip! It was absolutely amazing.

A snapshot on the drive from the airport to the hotel. It's so dry... they haven't had one drop of rain since March!

The stage. The Fire Fox choir from Lilongwe was singing. Imagine the most jubilant and celebratory African music ever! It was so fun.

We went to the market and bought tons of little trinkets and such.

Leeland kind of stood out... so he's about to get bumrushed by some aggressive salesman. haha...

Marcus is making deals here.

The next day we went to the Village of Hope Orphanage in Lilongwe.

The kids sang for us.

We met some of the children and heard their stories. This beautiful girl is Esther. She's six months old, and her mother died in child birth. Her father wasn't alive either so the village chief asked one of the elders to kill her. The Village of Hope found out about it and rescued her.

The little girl in the green is Potso. Her parents aren't alive, so her uncle took her in. He couldn't afford to take care of her so he put her out in the trash. But God knew her name and made sure she would be taken care of at the Village of Hope.

We got to give the boys some soccer balls. Mike said it was the best game of soccer he'd ever played.

In just three days we fell in love with the nation of Malawi and the continent of Africa. We can't wait to go back and stay longer. Please be praying for the nation of Malawi. The church is strong and thriving amidst hunger, poverty and devastation. There are over a million orphans roaming the streets. We believe that God will give them a home.

-jack

Africa - Blog 2

2008-08-09T13:05:00.001-07:00

I'm in Malawi and we're having a great time. God is moving in this nation and the people are so hungry for God here. They're walking for hours to come this event and tons of people got saved tonight. The worship has really been amazing as well. It was so intense! We sang "With Everything" a song on the new Hillsong record "This is our God". I've got to post the video because everyone was singing to the top of their lungs and shouting for spiritual victory in Malawi! So powerful. And tomorrow we're going to an orphanage here in town... so we're so excited to meet the kids. I think they have a special program prepared for us. Mike is hoping to play some soccer as well.

The internet is pretty slow here, so uploading pictures is almost impossible. It would probably take hours... but I'll definitely post some pix and video as soon as we get back to the states!

Oh... and today we went into the market and bought some souvenirs. It was hilarious! We were all bargaining and haggling the prices. Theses guys are pretty aggressive salesmen and when they see an American the price starts sky high. It was really fun and we got some pretty cool stuff. Jake ran out of Kwacha (Malawi's currency) so he ended up trading his leather wallet and his watch for some stuff! haha.... it was amazing. I think he got taken on that one.

Tomorrow is the last day. I'll be back with another update. Be blessed and encouraged and please be thankful for all the God has blessed us with as a nation! Trips like this totally put my life back into perspective.

Talk to you tomorrow.

-jack

Africa - Blog 1

2008-08-08T11:57:00.002-07:00

So... we finally made it to Malawi. After 36 hours of travel we're here! We've only been here for a few hours and God has already started something in our hearts. The second we walked into the football stadium and saw everyone dancing and singing we started crying. There's just something about the joy that these people have. Their thankfulness and praise ushers in the presence of God in such a powerful way.

We sang "Save Your People" tonight and they went crazy! Everyone was jumping up and down and singing as loud as they could. We're playing again Saturday night and Sunday. Thanks for all your prayers and comments... we appreciate it so much.

I'll post some pictures tomorrow. Love love love!

-jack

Leeland in London! say that 10 times really fast...

2008-08-07T10:11:00.000-07:00

I've got to hurry because my computer is running out of battery and we have a plane to catch. We had a 9 hour lay over in London today en route to Africa. Instead of sitting in the terminal all day we decided to explore a little bit.

Here are some pix...

Got on the Heathrow express into london...

We stopped by St. Paul's Cathedral. Probably my favorite place in London. It's been there for 300 years and it's the most amazing thing you've ever seen inside. Unfortunately you can't take pictures in there. :-(

St. Paul's

We had to go see Big Ben. Classic.

Love you guys! Talk to you in Africa. Please be praying for us; we're kind of tired.

Thanks!

-jack

Taxi cab driver meets Jesus!

2008-08-06T10:53:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone I hope your all doing well and following Jesus. Well, I wanted to encourage you with something pretty cool that happened today. Me and Matt got a ride from a taxi to "Barnes and Noble" and on our way back we got to talk to our cab driver Dave. I told him about our band and that we were leaving today for Africa to be apart of a christian youth conference there. I told him about our faith and what God was doing in our lives. Anyways when we stopped at the hotel to get out he just started pouring out his heart about his belief in God. He told me that he grew up in a religion that had way to many rules and at a young age it didn't feel right. He told me that he was always drawn to the story of Jesus and accepting his forgiveness of sins. So I explained what it meant to follow Jesus and to give your whole life away to HIm. I asked him if he wanted to pray with me and ask God into his heart. So we prayed together and he got saved!! It was awesome! David is a cool dude, I cant wait to hear about what God is going to do in His life and the lives of his family!

So be encouraged and stay plugged in to Jesus, you never know who you'll meet that needs to feel the Love of God. Love God and love people! What's God doing in your life today? Big or small please share!

Lee

Kingdom Bound Vlog

2008-08-05T18:32:00.000-07:00

We had a pretty serious conversation about candy bars in this video.

matt- butterfinger
jake- twix
lee- kit kat
jack- expensive european chocolate that he can't afford
mike- undecided... likes them all

We want to know your candy bar of choice... c'mon let us know. Peace!

-jacko

The Ride of Steel

2008-08-04T18:31:00.001-07:00

So... today we rode a few rides. This is the best thing about playing at theme parks. We're all scared to death of rides, but we can't help getting on them again and again. Here's some pix..

This one was awesome. You sit on tiny little motorcycles. Genius!

Leeland and Jake found a coon hat and some fire arms.

Loopty loops are the best!

The best part is that we had an escort from the park that let us cut in through the exit. No lines!

Superman: The Ride of Steel.

He's totally pumped.

The drop.

Any ways, that was our roller coaster excursion. Also, we just got off stage and the show was amazing tonight. God really showed up and the worship atmosphere was intense.

Thanks for reading. We'll be back again soon. Much love!

-jack

Kingdom Bound (Day 1)

2008-08-04T06:48:00.000-07:00

We woke up a little earlier than we wanted to today. Loaded in all our gear, and now we're hanging out in the dressing room waiting to sound check. And oh... we just heard that there is a huge tropical storm (hurricane potential) headed to Texas. Hope it doesn't hit us.

Mike... havin' a little dessert.

Leeland in the work out room. Doing some pilates possibly?

Jake's lifting some mad weights here.

This is the front door (the only door for that matter) of our little home for the day...

Mike can sleep anywhere.

FIFA!

Soundcheck...

Mike's his own drum tech.

Ok... so when the airlines are charging us a million dollars per check in, you have to get pretty creative. Here we've tied the snare and cymbals together, turning two into one. Take that Delta!

The view from Leeland's microphone.

Buffalo, NY... Superman here we come

2008-08-03T19:38:00.000-07:00

Hey... it's jack here. Some of you may know that I took a couple of weeks off because of some health problems. Thanks for all your prayers! I'm back now, and we're in NY state for a couple days playing Kingdom Bound festival at Six Flags. I love theme park festivals... we're definitely going to hit up the Superman ride tomorrow. It's so life changing.

Any ways, this is our new blog. We'll be posting tons of updates and random odds and ends from life on the road. You're gonna hear from all the guys. Give us a comments and let us know how you're doing. We're just hanging out in the hotel right now. Lee and Mike are down in the workout room right now. Pictures soon to come.

Much love! Talk to ya tomorrow.

-jacko

_____________________
Listening...

Australia

2008-07-15T11:15:00.000-07:00

So it was our first time to the beautiful nation/continent of Australia. The long flight was totally worth it as we arrived in Sydney. We were there for the Hillsong conference. A lot of our friends have been to the conference and said that it was incredible. They weren't lying. God totally shook us up as a band in a really good way. We played twice in five days, so we really had a lot of time to dig in and go the sessions. The worship was so genuine and inspiring. But most of all God reminded us that this is more than singing songs to Him. That for every note we play and ever lyric we sing, there should be an action behind it. Worshiping God with music is amazing, but it means nothing unless it's flows out into rivers of evangelism and justice.

It reminded us that the Opposite Way is simply doing what Jesus was brave enough to do. Fighting for the poor. Standing up for those that can't stand up for themselves. Actually doing what we talk about all the time. Living what we're singing.

These are just a few of the things that God challenged us about in Australia.

Matthew 25:35-40
"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Here are some pix from the trip. We'll post a video soon.

This picture sums up our entire summer. :-)

The sound o' melodies...

The view of Olympic Park from our hotel.

Not really sure what's happening here...

Hanging with the boyz.

And this is the reason we go to Australia. Tim Tams will change your life.

I have to soundcheck now. Much love!

-jack

PS. If you haven't gone over to www.theoppositeway.com yet, go check it out. Share your story about what God is doing in your life. About how your living the Opposite Way.

Norway

2008-06-05T00:25:00.000-07:00

So... hello folks. After about 17 hours of travel we've arrived in Oslo, Norway. Our friendly hosts showed us around the beautiful city today. They were kind enough to put us up in a really nice apartment in the city centre.

I'm out on the balcony enjoying a clear crisp night, and using the beautiful gift of free WIFI. Thank God for free internet in Europe... it's the best. We're going to play at a church called Filidelfia tomorrow here in Oslo. We're excited to see who shows up, and as always were expecting a move of God!

I've had about three hours of sleep over the past 24 hours, so I'm going to hit the sack soon. Wish you guys were here with us, and pray for us as we prepare to minister tomorrow.

We made the mistake of climbing that...

the view down was pretty steep. I can't believe people are crazy enough to actually ski down this thing.

Good night friends!!!!

Much love.

-jack