Cell Wars

Well it's come down to it.
Time to get a new phone

I'm so sick of T-Mobile and Sidekicks and my contract is finally up. I've decided to go with Sprint, and I want to get the newest, cutting edge, most reliable smart phone I can get. I've been wrestling in my mind about what to get and I've come up with 2 possibilities, and I'm asking for your help.

To let you know, I don't own my own personal computer at my home, and the majority of my business is done on my phone. I've been using my sidekick predominately for web browsing: email, myspace, facebook, twitter, etc. I do alot of texting and instant messaging, mostly through aim. My main email is through Google mail. I don't take too many pics with my phone and I have an ipod so I don't see myself using it for music.

Now that you know all this about me, these are my two options:
Blackberry Tour
http://na.blackberry.com/eng/devices/blackberrytour/
&
Palm Pre
http://www.palm.com/us/products/phones/pre/

I want your input. I want to know what you think. Leave a comment on this blog and tell me what you think would be the best option for me. I want the pros and cons. Please be specific.

Thanks so much

Sunday Setlist #3 (for me)

Well, I'm excited again to share with you what's going on in our worship sets.
If you would like to know more about the Sunday Setlist program or read other worship leader's sets, please head over to Fred McKinnon's blog.
http://www.fredmckinnon.com/myblog/2009/07/12/sunday-setlists-51/


We no longer have a drummer for Sunday mornings so this morning I picked some more mid-tempo songs to start with and played them a little less upbeat. It sounded really good and had a nice coffeehouse vibe to it.

The songs were:

• Arise (Paul Baloche)
• Thank You For The Cross
• O Praise Him (David Crowder)
• The Lord Is Gracious And Compassionate
• Here I Am To Worship

I'm going to do the same set tonight, but we will have a drummer so I'm going to play the songs a bit more upbeat.

Glory To God Forever

I happened upon this song back in January and I absolutely love it. Its been going amazing for congregational worship. Everyone in my church seems to respond really well to it.
I thought I'd share a video of Steve Fee demonstrating how to play it, and also one of him explaining it.










please check this out at Steve Fee's blog also here

Isaac's Sunday Setlist #2

Here I am, another week of participating in this exciting venture.

If you'd like to know more about the Sunday Setlist program, please head over to Fred McKinnons blog. Here's the link to this weeks: http://www.fredmckinnon.com/myblog/2009/07/05/sunday-setlists-50/

Here's my sets from this week:

Morning:

• Lord I Lift Your Name On High
• Hallelujah (Your Love Is Amazing)
• Bless His Name
• Glory To God Forever (new song by Steve Fee and Vicky Beeching, check it out)
• Sweetly Broken

Evening Service

• Your Name Is Holy
• Love Me Like You Do (So Amazing)
• Desert Song
• Everything Glorious
• How Great Is Our God

This Sunday was also Communion Sunday so during communion I played Hear Our Prayers from The Glorious Unseen.

Isaac's Sunday Setlist #1

Well this week was pretty exciting. After a rough morning because of a missing drummer, tonight I tried to pick some more joyful songs, and introduced a new song into the set list

• Trading My Sorrows
• Hallelujah (Your Love Is Amazing)
• Bless His Name (our first time doing this for the congregation) CCLI Number: 4642356
• Give Us Clean Hands
• Hungry

And for offering special I did Tonight The Stars Speak from The Glorious Unseen. They will be coming to perform at our church in August so I'm trying to introduce some of their songs to the congregation to get them a little more familiar with them for that night.

The sermon was about Changing Our Thinking, and being delivered from evil thoughts, which is definitely something I needed. I tend to let my mind run with worry and insecurities sometimes.

Please check out the Sunday Setlist movement at Fred McKinnon's blog
This week's is here

Facebook

I have joined facebook


Just another way to get in contact with everybody


http://www.facebook.com/IkeHoncho




In other news,
I know I haven't posted on here lately and its just because I have a lack of things to say, inspiration, motivation, yadda yadda yadda, etc.

I hope to have some new things soon,
something good to say

Also, I will be joining up for Sunday Setlists and posting my worship sets weekly.
If you'd like to check out other worship leaders sets please go over to http://www.fredmckinnon.com/myblog/

Problems

My life is at an extreme low point it seems.
It seems that I'm just struggling with finances, relationships, the future and other things.

Everyone goes through things.
I hate to complain because there's so many people with worse problems with mine.
But my problems still affect me.

I want to learn to be content. I want wisdom to deal with things. I want to change my thinking.

happy birthday?

Well another year of my life has come. I'm not sure what to think of getting older. I know its good but its also not so great at the same time.

My birthday wasn't the best this year. Nothing special happened and what did happened wasn't planned or what I wanted, but it seems like nothing in life is going according to plan or really what I want.

But its going,

And I'm ok

Preacher

I am preaching at my church a week from tomorrow and as usual I'm nervous. Its not like I have nothing to say. I just feel completely unworthy to say it most of the time.
Everytime I sit down to study and write out my thoughts, I'm reminded how much of an unfaithful servant and lover of Christ I am.
I know I am called to do this, but I feel so weighted down by my problems and my thoughts and other things. Who am I to be telling others how to run their race with God when I feel like I just stumble at the smallest hurdle? I feel like I identify with the Apostle Paul when we says that he's Paul, called to be an apostle, the least of the brethern.
But I do this because God has called me. I can't deny it. Like Jeremiah said, its like a fire shut up in my bones. Its what I was born to do.
I'm studying about the callings of God, and I'm seeing that we as Christians are not to let circumstances get in the way of fulfilling our ministry. Too many times we can feel we aren't qualified but God has already put his stamp of approval on us.
Right now I certainly feel as though I'm not qualified, but neither did Moses, Gideon, and many other great men.

day 6 & 7, driving (late, I know)

I left Mississippi ready to get back home. I really don't miss it anymore. There's nothing there for me to go back to. I have such a great life here and so many things going on.
Driving was one of the worst ordeals of my life. We started the 4th at 6:30 am and drove till i couldn't drive anymore, which was about 8:30 that night. We only stopped for gas and bathroom breaks. That night we stayed in an over priced best western about 2 hours before Amarillo, TX.
The next day we started at about the same time. We didn't get in Bullhead till about 9ish that night and it was a grueling ordeal to make it. I was so physically and mentally tired at that point, it was unbelievable.
The jeep did very well. It had really good gas mileage and didn't have any malfunctions or anything.
I've been home for almost a week and I'm really glad to be back. I'm really glad to have a vehicle again after so long.

After 27 years of life, I feel like I'm starting to get to where I've wanted to be in life for a long time. I have a vehicle, a steady job that I've stuck with, a worship ministry that i'm working on, a wonderful girl who wants to marry me, and I'm looking into getting an apartment soon. There's still alot of uncertainty but I know I'm in a good place.

Music:

Before the venture back I bought 2 cd's because I knew my fm transmitter for my ipod wouldn't last. I purchased Stick To Your Guns, Comes From The Heart cd, and also the new A Day To Remember, Homesick.
I had originally wrote off STYG but their new cd is very good. Very heavy but a little too much melody in places kinda throws off the balance. It was very much hardcore, in the vein of Terror (guest vocals from Scott Vogel helped I'm sure), but the singing parts made it sound like a metalcore/screamo cd. Good cd, but won't be in my constant rotation.
If you liked ADTR before, this new cd will make you loved them. Its very much the same formula, pop-punk/hardcore/heavy breakdowns, but their are alot more poppy singing parts and less heavy parts, but the heavy parts are much heavier. Choruses are very catchy and memorable and the breakdowns sound much like Recon. This cd helped make my trip back a little more pleasant.
When I got back I also purchased David Crowder's live Remedy cd/dvd. I love David Crowder's stuff. His passion and originality are things that I really love and I look up to him, being a worship leader myself. This cd has been in pretty constant rotation for the last week. I'd really love to be able to do alot of the stuff he does with electric guitar and synths in my church.


Anyways I hope you maybe check out David Crowder's new cd, and the A Day To Remember also. Stick To Your Guns, not so much

day 5

So today wasn't really an eventful day. All I did was shop a bit.

I am getting more and more nervous about drving back tomorrow. Its going to be an 1800 mile drive and I hope to do it in 2 days.
We're going to leave in the morning as early as possible and we'll hopefully make it to Amarillo or at least close.
Please keep us in your prayers as we make our way back

more updates to follow.......

Day 4 (a little late)

Yesterday was a day to take care of alot of things. I had the title of the jeep signed over to me, and i closed out my bank account that i opened before i moved to arizona. It only had a grand total of $6 in it. It isn't much but at least it bought a couple of drinks at Starbucks.
I also got to reconnect with a friend that i wasn't on good terms with the last time i talked to him. He owns a video game place so Hannah and I went and hung out with him there for about an hour today. It was really good to talk to him and reminisce.

day 3

Well today was a bit rough.
I have come to realize that my mother isn't the same. She's changed a lot since I've been gone and I am pretty sure that's not a good thing. We've ended up butting heads but I didn't lose my cool.
My old church has grown and all the people I grew up with have grown up, got married, and are having kids. Its a little surreal. Its hard to think of us as all grown up. I remember going on easter egg hunts on easter with some of them when I was 3 or 4, I went to youth group and school with them. To see them as adults is a little odd.
The worship team at my old church is insane. Its almost like watching hillsong united. They are so professional, organized, and talented. I don't want to become envious but its a little hard. I wish I could have worship like that with my team but it can happen with time. I do remember when they didn't even have a worship team.

Anyways, I am sort of missing this place; not enough to leave arizona, that is my home. I am ready to come home though.
The thought of driving back is wearing on my mind but I'm trusting that it will be ok. This is the first time I've ever done anything like this. Its exciting and nerve racking all at the same time.

In the meantime, I'm reading Blue Like Jazz and enjoying it very much.

day 2.1 (i'm not that impressive)

I caught myself this morning feeling like I have to impress my old friends and I don't like that. I want to be real.
If I'm not that impressive than so what?

The saying is true,

"Better to be hated for what you are, than loved for what you are not"

In other news I have a 1996 jeep cheeroke now. I just spend the morning with my mother cleaning it. Hopefully it will make it back to Arizona.

day 1

Well today is the first day of my adventure.
I'm back in my home town of Gulfport, MS and I must say, its a little surreal being here.
Its the same town I spent 19 years of my life and it feels so different. Everything is faintly familiar, like waking up from a dream and trying to remember what happened.

Its a little scary being here and its a little scary realizing I will be driving 1800 miles in a few days.

I pray everything goes good on this trip, and I hope I still get along with the people I used to know.

instead of show

I found a song today that really is amazing.
It is by Jon Foreman, singer of Switchfoot.

It's really funny because Saturday Brandon & I had a discussion about church people and program minded churches. This song really kind of wraps it all up.
We have a friend who had a dream about people dying in a church parking lot and people stepping over them to go inside the church to paint the walls.
What do we go to church for? What are our motives? Do we care more about our rituals, traditions, programs, and our feel-good times than about people and actually going outside of our comfort zone & into the world?

Anyways, check this song out here.

I hate all your show and pretense
the hypocrisy of your praise
the hypocrisy of your festivals
I hate all your show

Away with your noisy worship
Away with your noisy hymns
I stop up my ears when your
singing ‘em
I hate all your show

Instead let there be a flood
of justice
An endless procession of righteous
living, living
Instead let there be a flood
of justice
Instead of a show

your eyes are closed when you’re praying
you sing right along with the band
you shine up your shoes for services
but there’s blood on your hands

you turned your back on the homeless
and the ones that don’t fit in your plans
quit playing religion games
there’s blood on your hands

Ah! let’s argue this out
if your sins are blood red
let’s argue this out
you’ll be white as the clouds
let’s argue this out
quit fooling around

give love to the ones who can’t love at all
give hope to the ones who got no hope at all
stand up for the ones who can’t stand up at all
instead of a show
I hate all your show

In Irons

I did an interview with In Irons for hxcchristian.com

Check it out

http://hxcchristian.com/47/yarrr-in-irons-matey

no place like home

I'm going on a trip back to Mississippi at the end of the month and I gotta say, I'm a little anxious.
I haven't been back since before katrina and I'm sure the town I left is very different.
But I'm also wondering what its going to be like seeing old friends. A lot of them I haven't seen or spoken to in 8 years. I've changed so much and I'm sure they've changed just as much. I wonder if I'll even recognize some of them. I wonder if they'll recognize me.
I'm a much different person that the one I was then and that in many ways a good thing.

another year

As I got older it just seems like the days, weeks, months, and years get shorter and shorter.
Every year I find it a little funny how people make resolutions that they never keep and say that this year will be better than the last.
Maybe I'm just a little jaded but it feels like every year is the same.
The Bible says there's nothing new under the sun.
We put our trust in a new year for our lives to change or we put our trust in a politician to bring change but in the end we are dissapointed because everything ends up the same.
I don't want to say life is mundane but I can be sometimes if we are looking for a lot of exciting events to happen. Life is lived in the everyday, not with a lot of high points and will be exciting if you look for all the little things.
I'm hoping with this new year I become closer and more in love with Jesus. Real change only comes through him though, not through a new year or change in the political world. Look more for His mericies which are new every morning.