Arms Wide Open - Hillsong

Enjoying this song right now.

The second verse is my prayer for this year: “Take my hands and make them clean // Keep my heart in purity // That I may walk in all You have for me”

I know in my mind the word “purity” often equates to just sexual purity. And while that is definitely a part of it, I sometimes forget that keeping my heart in purity for God is so much more than that. Its my attitude, my words, my thoughts, my motives - in reality, my everything. I want to walk in all that God has for me and for that to happen, I have to continually seek God in all areas of my life.

This is legit!

Cool video from the White House about the President’s trip to Asia this week. Its nice to see something about the trip without any pundits arguing.

It always makes me proud to see the President representing our country abroad!

(Source: whitehouse.gov)

This is pretty cool!

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On Saturday, October 30, 2010, the Opera Company of Philadelphia brought together over 650 choristers from 28 participating organizations to perform one of the Knight Foundation’s “Random Acts of Culture” at Macy’s in Center City Philadelphia. Accompanied by the Wanamaker Organ - the world’s largest pipe organ - the OCP Chorus and throngs of singers from the community infiltrated the store as shoppers, and burst into a pop-up rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s “Messiah” at 12 noon, to the delight of surprised shoppers. This event is one of 1,000 “Random Acts of Culture” to be funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation over the next three years. The initiative transports the classical arts out of the concert halls and opera houses and into our communities to enrich our everyday lives. To learn more about this program and view more events, visit randomactsofculture.org. The Opera Company thanks Macy’s and the Friends of the Wanamaker Organ (wanamakerorgan.com) for their partnership, as well as Organ Music Director Peter Conte and Fred Haas, accompanists; OCP Chorus Master Elizabeth Braden, conductor; and Sound Engineer James R. Stemke. For a complete list of participating choirs and more information, visit operaphila.org/RAC. This event was planned to coincide with the first day of National Opera Week.

newsweek:

andrewromano:

Obama on Dylan: 

Here’s what I love about Dylan: He was exactly as you’d expect he would be. He wouldn’t come to the rehearsal; usually, all these guys are practicing before the set in the evening. He didn’t want to take a picture with me; usually all the talent is dying to take a picture with me and Michelle before the show, but he didn’t show up to that. He came in and played “The Times They Are A-Changin’.” A beautiful rendition. The guy is so steeped in this stuff that he can just come up with some new arrangement, and the song sounds completely different. Finishes the song, steps off the stage — I’m sitting right in the front row — comes up, shakes my hand, sort of tips his head, gives me just a little grin, and then leaves. And that was it — then he left. That was our only interaction with him. And I thought: That’s how you want Bob Dylan, right? You don’t want him to be all cheesin’ and grinnin’ with you. You want him to be a little skeptical about the whole enterprise. 

Somehow we can’t quite imagine, say, Ronald Reagan having the same reaction.