Best of o9: Adventures of Life

So you never really know where you will end up and this year is proof of that. Never would I have thought growing up I would end up living in a place like Bangkok. I always thought I would live in Orlando for a long time if not forever, but the Lord's plans are always a little more interesting than my own. My family now lives in Thailand and it has been an adventure to say the least to make this move, not always easy or convenient but always blessed for sure. It was hard (and still is) to leave our friends and family behind especially since we really felt like we had great support in our community at Rio Lindo, however we have for sure seen God at work in our lives and know that the memories we are making now are priceless.

Through this move I have an even bigger love and respect for my wife who left a great place for her to a place that is foreign just to support me and my call to this country. Her support is immeasurable and her dedication to our children is wonderful and am proud to share my life and adventures with her. o9 was a great year and I have felt the Lord's blessings from the birth of Jonah to the start of our new journey here in Thailand.

Best of o9: Manao Soda

So todays best of is Schweppes Manao Soda, a wonderful beverage that I first had six years ago while on a mission trip to Thailand. Since that trip I have had it only a handful of other times when the in-laws would come to Thailand and bring us a six pack. Now I live and Thailand and have access to this delicious drink on a regular basis thus being one of the best of. It is a lime-lemon soda rather than lemon-lime, and it is greatly refreshing especially in the tropical heat of Thailand. If you ever have a chance to try it do so it is very nice.

Best of o9: Sweet Roti

So for todays best of I give you sweet roti. Sweet roti is a delicious delight that you find on the streets of Thailand. It's a dough that is fried nice a crispy then sweetened condensed milked poured on it the sprinkled with sugar rolled up and wrapped in a paper for you take away pleasure. It is simple and awesome it is the krispy kreme of the east. If you ever get the chance you must have sweet sweet roti (drool).

Best of o9: Skype

So I know Skype is not anything new but before this year I had no use for it, but with the move to Thailand it has become a blessing. Years ago missionaries had no good ecomomical way of communicating with family that didn't take forever to do (snail mail), but things are different now. I have both skype in and skype out that cost together $60 dollars a year and with those two services any number in the States and Canada can call us through a number that is based in Orlando (a local call for my parents). Along with that we can call any number, not just skype to skype, cell or landline in the States or Canada. My parents just joined skype and they were able to see their grandchildren and watch Jonah crawling toward the computer. Now there is an app for the ipod touch in which i can use skype on that! It has been a blessing for us to have skype, to be able to keep in touch with our families in the states and even see them too and all for much less money than we were spending in the states.

Best of o9: A couple of albums

So for todays best of I will share two albums with you one a little older that should have been on last years best of but these are albums that captured my attention this year.

What if you took Paul Simon and added him to the The Police and then put them into todays modern indy music scene? Well you get Vampire Weekend. A great album just give it a listen and see.

The second is a little rock and roll a little country, but in the way Jon Bon Jovi was country for Blaze of Glory, thrown in with a lead singer who sounds like the guy from Kings of Leon. Needtobreathe's new album The Outsiders is a nice album with uplifting lyrics and a nice sound that is different than the generic sounds that can sometimes plague christian bands. A couple of songs to pay attention to are Lay Them Down a rocky gospel song about laying down your burdens, and These Hard Times, a song about finding your way through hard times.

Both albums are very nice and both have a different vibe, hope you enjoy.

Best of o9: Shadows

So David Crowder Band came out with a new album and when they come out with something new they are always in contention for one of my favorites and this year is no different. Shadows from their new album Church Music is the best song of the year. It is a haunting song that talks about the shadows in our life and when we have those troubled times we must always remember the shadow of the cross and how wonderful that shadow was for our salvation. The song is both beautiful and powerful, I remember hearing it for the first time while walking on the streets of Thailand on a hot day and getting chills from it. Here are the lyrics

Life is full of light and shadow
O the joy and O the sorrow
O the sorrow

And yet will He bring
Dark to light
And yet will He bring
Day from night

When shadows fall on us
We will not fear
We will remember

When darkness falls on us
We will not fear
We will remember

When all seems lost
When we're thrown and we're tossed
We remember the cost
We rest in Him
Shadow of the cross

Best of o9

So today I begin my best things of my o9. These are the things that were my favorite things of the year some old some new but all the things I write about are things I have, or experienced for myself personally.

The first one is the Amazon MP3 store. For a couple of years itunes dominated the way I got music till I discover the amazon store and it's weekly deals and free songs. Everyday the store puts up one album that is discounted ranging from 1.99 to 3.99 depending on how new it is. Every month they put up 50 albums for $5 sometimes more recently they have had 800 of them for that price. Also there is a new free song available everyday not just tuesday like itunes and many samplers that are also free and a lot of them with quality music. It has helped me discover new music and expanding my library (not that I really need to) cheaply. If your looking for a alternative to the itunes music store look at Amazon, it's pretty good.

Getting around

So here is this weeks cell phone pic of the week. This is what it looks like to be on a motorcycle taxi tearing down our street.

A little crowded.

So here is a pic from my cell phone, taken while on a water taxi. As you can see it was a little crowded it was all I could do to get my phone out of my pocket and take a pic. It provided me a good opportunity to appreciate the advancements deodorant has made to our society.