I’M MOVED!!!!

Hey guys, decided to get my own domain name. You czn now find me HERE!

My Birthday Wish List

I’m pretty excited about this week for the main fact that it is my birthday! And in light of this awesome event I’ve decide to make a wish list of birthday presents that are both reasonable and unreasonable. I recently read a similar post like this over at Kyle’s blog. So if you were planning on getting me a gift here are a few ideas you can draw from.

REASONABLE

• CASH MONEY- seriously, I’m pretty much broke. haha!
• Guitar Center gift card- I love this store and I could put this to some real good use
• Lava Cables- I’m hoping to eventually get these to use with my Planet Waves Custom length cables on my board. These cables are very sturdy and also don’t take up much room on a pedal board.
• Any good books.
• Itunes gift card.
• A Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2+– This should probably be in the unreasonable list, but I’m hoping to upgrade pedal boards soon and I wont be able to power any more larger pedals with my BBE supa charger, so for now getting this would be a miracle

• Buckle gift card- All of my jeans are wearing out. And I LOVE to buy clothes. Don’t hate.
• Dunlop Strap Locks- My strap locks are crap and are starting to tear up. Boooo.

UNREASONABLE

(most of this will probably be gear)

• Vox AC30H2 guitar combo amp- ah, it’s so awesome. Amp of my dreams. They sound absolutely amazing and would be a lovely upgrade from my chinese AC15 at the moment(though I love it too)
• Line 6 DL4- This is probably the standard delay pedal for worship guitarists. I’ve been meaning to buy one for months but just haven’t had the funds to do so.
• Digitech Whammy- I own a micro Pog at the moment but would like to have a Whammy for the differentsound quality and expression pedal.’
• Gibson J-200 Acoustic Electric guitar- I don’t have an acoustic at the moment, and haven’t for a while so why not get an awesome one!

Whitley Sherrelle Lingerfelt

Yup, the blog title pretty much tells it all. This girl and I have been t0gether for almost a year and a half, but for some reason it feels way less than that. I’ve heard the saying that time flies when you’re having fun but this is just flat out ridiculous! Whitley has been the best girlfriend that a guy could ask for and more. We’ve made so many memories together and I can’t wait to make so many more with her. I think the main thing that keeps us together most of the time is that we’re both willing to talk out our differences when we argue and not just scream and yell until one of us gets our way like so many younger couples our age do. She’s made my life seem so much easier since we began dating on May 12, 2008. She is the one person I can tell absolutely anything to, the one girl who I don’t mind being embarrassed in front of, and the one friend who I can laugh with for hours. I can honestly say with all of my heart that I’m flat out in love with this girl and woul’nt trade her for anything in the world. I love her so much! Here’s to you babe!

I’m Not Perfect

Lately I’ve felt like I need to be better at doing certain task in my life. Perhaps it’s because I feel like it’s something I NEED to do. I can’t be a great model as a Christian unless I take time out of my day EVERY day to read my Bible. I can’t become a better guitar player unless I work on my technique more than a couple hours a week. Jesus knew the Bible inside and out during His time on Earth, and John Mayer played guitar for 8 hours a day every day through high school (not comparing the two, just a reference). In order to be better I have to do more, and if I don’t accomplish this then I not only fail myself, but I also fail the others around me. So due to this recent acknowledgment I have set two rather specific goals for myself…

1. To read my Bible every day for at least an hour (starting with Romans) or more.
2. To practice my guitar technique and knowledge of music theory for at least 10 hours ever week. this does not include the music I have to learn for church on the weekends.

If I can keep up with this routine then I’m positive I will see some results in the way I feel about my life.

Where Have I Been?!?!?!?!?!

Well to tell the truth have have just been ridiculously busy. What with church, work and sleeping I just don’t have as much time to blog as i hope I could. So just to give you the past few months in a few paragraphs, HERE YA GO!

• Oak Leaf moved into the House of Rock in May. It’s incredible to see all the big things God has been doing in Cartersville over the past 3 years and the church moving into the HOR is just the next step for us to lead people from where they are to where God wants them to be.

• My amazing girlfriend Whitley and I have been together for a year and 2 months as of yesterday and I can’t wait to see what else is going to happen in our journey together. Trust me, it’s so super duper to have a relationship built around Christ, and we haven’t really been dating that long compared to many other people! We’ve been hanging out with Kyle and Tiffany a lot and I think we both like hanging around other couples who have been where we are now.

• I HAVE GOTTEN SO MUCH GEAR IN THE PAST 6 MONTHS. You can check out my current set-up HERE or just go to the link at the top of my page titled GEAR.

• Hopefully I’ll be buying a MacBook Pro in about 3 weeks thanks to all the extra money I’ve been bringing in from working with my dad. I really need my own computer and something that I can efficiently use for both school and music, so I figure Mac is the only way to go.

I have a few drafts saved for future post that I’ll be publishing this week so CHECK IT OUT!

Too Cool?

So the other week Oak Leaf Church had FUEL at Avalon. Avalon was a great location and its been packed out with 130+ students every week we have had it there. As the band was waiting for Fuel to start we were walking around and socializing with the students. As I was walking around I noticed a girl who I went to school with that was there with a student who was a regular attender of Fuel. I said hi to her and if she was liking the environment and the hospitality of our AWESOME volunteers. She replied with a yes, and I told her to tell me what she thought of it all at lunch the next day.

That night at Fuel was a hit. Josh gave a great message and the band really rocked it out. You have no idea how inspiring it is to see over a hundred kids every week shouting “Sing, Sing, Sing” at the top of their lungs!

The next day I found the girl who was a first timer and asked what she thought of it. Her reply was “eh, it was ok”. when I asked her what she did’nt like about it she told me that it seemed like the band was trying too hard to “be Cool”, and that she believed it was disrespectful of God To be playing the contemporary worship we do, dress the way we dress while on stage, and that we were screaming “Hey look at me I’m in the band!” when Kyle threw his broken drum stick off the stage. She thought we as a band were playing worship for our own personal recognition and not to bring glory to God’s name.

All of this girl’s comments got me thinking. How can someone so ignorant judge me for my love of playing music to the Lord. This is one of my ways of being a disciple.  I do this to hopefully bring those who have fallen back to a relationship with Jesus, and who am I to use the gift that God gave me for my own selfish purposes?

That day I was judged.

That day the Fuel band was judged

That day Oak Leaf Church was judged

We as followers of Christ are all constantly being prosecuted by others for our faith. But that doesn’t matter. Jesus said it would happen, so it’s not big news. But instead of hiding in the gutter like we usually do we need to get on the front lines of the battle. Jesus tells us to go out and make disciples. I have my relationship with Christ and the rest of the world deserves to have that relationship with Him as well. Will all be as welcoming to the thought of that? Probably not, but just an act of random kindness or A.R.K (Evan Almighty, awesome and hilarious movie) could possibly be the spark that person needs lto light the fire that God has within them.

This fire could be started using your talents and abilities. What you do best. Whether it is playing a sport with your friend, cooking, or video games. For me it is music. Before I play I pray a quick little prayer that our music moves someone in their relationship with Christ. There’s is a short verse I try to remember…..

Judges 5:3- Hear all you kings, listen all you rulers. I will sing to the Lord I will Sing! I will make music to the Lord, the God of Israel”.

I’ll leave you on this note…..

It’s hard to light the fire when your afraid to strike the match…

I’m Getting There

I know I know, It’s been a while, But here’s what I’ve had on my mind that past few weeks.

I’ve been think ALOT about my music the past few weeks. Music in general has been a pretty busy subject lately, what with playing at fuel and playing main service at Oak Leaf Church every week. But recently I’ve been wanting to do something new.

write……….

I’ve had these urges to want to write songs that can move people’s hearts and and completely change their lives. Whether it be songs of hope, faith, or love I know this is something I need to do. I feel as if God might be calling me to write or  co-write songs for His glory.

Writing has never been easy for me. I still have trouble writing open topic essays for school, so this will definately be a challenge. I don’t even know where to start. Lyrics? Guitar parts? beats? I’m completely clueless. So if you have any comments or bits of advice I would gladly accept it! : )

I need some upgrades

So lately I’ve been wanting to upgrade alot of my guitar set-up, but haven’t had the money to do so. So instead of buying everything brand new like I have in the past I’m thinking of buying it all used. So here is the list

1)Fender American Telecaster

2)Line 6 DL-4 delay stomp box

3)Boss DD-20 Giga Delay pedal (I would either buy this or the DL-4)

4)Boss DD-7 Delay (I’ve heard some really great things about this one)

5)MXR M-102 Dyna Comp pedal ( I wouldn’t mind getting a little more gain to my sound)

6)Boss TR-2 Tremelo pedal

7)Rat Distortion pedal (I’ve seen a few people use this, but I still need to try it out)

If you know anybody who’s looking to sell any of this equiptment or of a place that sells them a good prices, please let me know! : )

—-Marcus

Leading Worship for the Kiddies

So this past Sunday I got to lead worship for the first time in my life for a semi-large group of elementary school kids. I was so excited to get the opportunity that I stayed up until 2 in the morning going over lyrics! After yesterday I decided that want to lead worship for kids and student ministry in the near future. I love the feeling that I could have possibly made an impact on a childs life that might effect their future decision to follow Jesus for the rest of their life. Just hearing those kids lifting their hands, spinning around, and shouting to the Lord was the single most greatest heart lifting moment I have ever experienced. I KNOW this is something I want to do.

Its been a while!

Well I have come to the conclusion that I dont NEARLY blog as much as I used to and it is something I need to work on. But as of now I guess I’ll give you a brief summary of whats been going on in my life lately.

1) girlfriend: The lovely Ms. Whitley and I are doing amazingly great in our relationship! Things just keep getting better and better. She started coming to Oak LEaf and now her best friend is coming too. She is the best person to ever come into my life and I couldnt ask for anyone else to call my love.

2) church: Well Oak Leaf has officially moved back to the theater as of 2 weeks ago and things seem to be going smoothly. I’m still volunteering and I still get to play guitar with the band a decent bit. I’ve grown so much as a person in life and in Christ since I started attending Oak LEaf Church and have made so many great friends in the process of doing so. This fall we are re-launching the youth ministry!!!!!! Instead of Limelight its going to be called Fueled and I’m super stoked about getting to play in the band for the kids on Wednesday nights. Matt told me I might even get to lead the kids in worship for a few songs. Music ministry is something I’ve always been passionate about but soon its hopefully going to become what I hoped it would : )

3) music: Music wise things are going rather well. Will and I discussed some stuff and he is actually going to get me guitar lessons when school starts! I’ve basically come as far as I can on my own with my guitar knowledge, skill and technique so this will be the most beneficial thing to happen to me musically. I’m really excited though : )   Although I AM in need of some new equiptment. The time has come I thing for me to upgrade guitars. I’ve been playing on an epiphone Les Paul for almost two years now but I’ve started having a few technical issues with it. I’m also looking at some different pedals so I can get a sound that I’m decently happy with.

4) school: School starts back this Thursday…….ugh

5) general: In general ly life has been going rather smoothly. I’m a senior now and I’m on track for graduating, My girlfriend makes me feel like the luckiest guy in the world, and Jesus keeps me pushin’ forward! YAY JESUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!