Doug Van Pelt

Merry Christmas

It's the day before Christmas!

Hope ya'll like the new and improved website.
Leave a comment on David's blog or something and tell him what a cool job he did on it. He really is a killer designer (and I said that without a Southern California slang accent). We are blessed to have him here.

My kids are stoked about Christmas. They've both got earthlink email accounts and have been loving to get the emails I've been sending them. There is a monkey with antennae that will read the email out loud. This morning we sent emails with strange and hard-to-pronounce words just to hear this little amitar struggle.

My Christmas blessings go out to all who read this. I hope this holiday brings some moments of deep satisfaction and a knowledge that God is there and that He really cares.

I pray that everyone who reads this would somehow feel like, if they were in a crowded room (say, a Christmas party) and God Himself was there in the person of Jesus the Christ, that this VIP would search you out and approach you as if YOU were the real VIP in the room. I love it that God sometimes gets personal with us. What a life and privilege He's given us.

Have a happy new year, too!

PS Now we're getting to the goofy photos (we're close to the end) that Rachel took about a year ago on our "special date" which included a visit to an ice cream shop where I gave her complete artistic freedom with a digital camera. Who says a 4 year old doesn't have an eye for creativity?

Something To Say

You know, I had something really cool to talk about today here, but I didn't post it first thing in the morning...and now it's gone! Drats.

I've recently been telling myself: 'You can write. Just make sure you write a lot. Then it'll get done.' Procrastination is a terrible thing to waste.
(ha ha)

I want to get to work on a novel and I have a few reviews for various things (CDs and DVDs) that are "written in my head" and/or I've got a few notes to trigger thoughts written down. But if I can just make a point to do a little bit of writing every day, then I'll get some of this stuff accomplished.

Hey, lots of new content getting posted on the website today. Feel free to comment on it.

Lee Haley For Mayor

It's probably a hoax, but the campaign signs are up again on Hodde Lane in Pflugerville. I guess Mr. Haley (HM's former Director of Advertising Sales) is running for the Mayor's office.

Some of his campaign slogans include (let's see if I can remember this stuff...I drove past them rather fast):

Be Like Lee Haley
Laugh
At Your
Problems

Lee Haley
For Mayor

Lee Haley
Is Kind
To Animals
Elect Him Mayor

Wouldn't You
Rather Have
A Mayor That
Can Play Guitar?

I wonder if he's a write-in, or if this is just another hoax. I'm going to go check out UrbanLegends.com to see if this is listed.

I recently interviewed Ill Nino and Thrice, as well as Project 86 for upcoming issues.

The Gift

I've made a lot of friends doing this magazine over the years. I received a gift a couple months ago from one such friend.

It is the "season" of gift-giving right now... You know that feeling you get when you get a gift from a friend that you hadn't already bought one for? You wonder if you should reciprocate and you've got to figure out what to give them. This phenomenon, which we'll call the "Mandatory Reciprocation Theory," has haunted more than its fair share of fine folks -- even those listeners of Kerrang! Internet Radio. (okay, too many details)

My friend had told me that he had something cool for me...for a few months. At one point he asked me, "If you had to choose, who would you choose between Roger Staubach or Troy Aikman?" A tough choice, but it clued me in to what this mystery gift could possibly be. I've seen brochures in fine stores about special gifts, which include allowing someone to race cars, skydive, etc. Those are extravagent gifts, to be sure. But, in my world, so is this gift from my friend in Dallas. It was one of those fine white footballs with a big navy Cowboys logo and a big star emblazoned on it, along with a personal autograph from Roger the Dodger -- all in a nice acrylic case.

What can I say? This gift was extravagant. How can I possibly match it? It was such a cool gift, there's almost no way in the world to match it. In the same way that I graciously received his gift with no expectations or obligations, he would no doubt do the same to any gift that I bestowed upon him.

Okay, okay. You may have seen this a mile away just with the title up above. So, I don't even have to point out that God Himself gave us an incredibly extravagant gift in His Son, Jesus the Messiah. Freely given with no obligations, no "Mandatory Reciprocation." Amazing. Wow.

HM Magazine: New content coming soon. The Jan/Feb issue was mailed out late last week and should be arriving soon. The site should feature an exclusive and raw Q&A interview with members of P.O.D. as well as a brilliant article on the end of Five Iron Frenzy. Lord willing, by the end of this week, or first thing next week, you'll see all of this.

It's The Praise

I heard a prayer today that was cool:

"Thank you Lord for the holiday season and the community it brings."

I love that attitude. I love the community it speaks of. That fellowship. That love. That feeling of really just enjoying people. I've heard it said that angels marvel at us humans -- trophies of grace we are called. That love and passion that we have for one another. It seems so eternal. It makes perfect sense that the only thing we can "take" with us to Heaven is our relationships. I love the way that prayer saw past all the commercial trappings and the finicky and inconvenient things that can make on cynical during this holiday season. This prayer saw past that, ignored that, and put that cynicism in its place.

I love that person, and I love that prayer.

All Things Are Impure

In a regular effort to not forget God, we had a Bible study yesterday. I am bummed that we are not faithful to do this every week. Some months go by and it's every week and that's cool. Some months go by and it's like, 'wow, only one week did we do this.' I hate that.

Anyway, we were checking out Titus and the verse about "...to the pure, all things are pure..." and I've thought about that 100 times, because I've experienced that "zone," where you're walking in a humble brokenness and staying sensitive to God. You might even catch yourself thinking, 'Wow, I didn't think dirty thoughts when so and so mentioned that little sexual innuendo, and it used to be I'd always get that kind of joke.' The snare with this is it can even turn prideful. 'Wow, I'm pure,' but a lot of the times, thankfully, it's a feeling of gratitude. 'Thank You, Lord. You've obviously done something in me to clean my mind up.' That's cool.

But yesterday the second half of the verse jumped out at me. How the NAS (my fav translation) says, "...but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled."

I think this can be true of the believer as well. When a little coarse jesting gets out of hand and goes unchecked and unrepented, the whole mind can get clouded to the point where almost everything I hear is dirty. It's like the inverse of the "...to the pure, all things are pure" principle:

"...to the impure, all things are impure." As human beings (sinners) we have the unenviable ability to make wrong choices, entertain wrong thoughts (i.e. "sin"). That's a drag, but it's also humbling and motivating. The good news is that forgiveness and cleansing is just a moment away -- just a repentant prayer away.

1 John 1:9:
"If we confess our sins,
He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

YEAH!!!

UPS Person

Our UPS Courrier is extremely happy today.
It's weird. I don't think it's anything I've done,
but his attitude has infected me and I've caught it.
A smile here, a joke there, a well-intentioned and kind word spoken, it all adds up to spreading the happy feeling. It's nice. While I feel a little sensitive and embarrassed about others in the office seeing me this way, it's real life, real feelings, so I don't feel guilty. I feel happy. I'm so glad that, for whatever reason, this person decided to share a little joy with me today. It means a lot and it makes work a lot lighter and more enjoyable.
Wow.

"He who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious
will have the king for his friend." (Prov 22:11)

"A gentle answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger." (Prov 15:1)

I Like Collide

I'm surprised at myself.
I'm surprised at Skillet.
I have not been much of a fan of this band, save for its debut album about six or seven years ago. I've always looked at them as a "safe" youth group band that rocked for kids who weren't too discerning about their music (they keyed in on the spirituality of the art, not the music itself), simply accepting a band if it met a (rather) low standard of musical styling and rock power.
All that has changed with this new album. Sure, it's not as scary and cutting edge as something Reznor might have produced, but it's a far, far cry from this band's past catalog.
Collide has that Gavin Rossdale (Bush) scratched vocal chord delivery that I honestly like. Sure, copycats are bad, evil, scum of the earth (whatever), but I'd pick up a new Bush album any day. I don't care so much if Bush evolves. I'm just as happy hearing a slightly new take on their tried-and-true formula. Like AC/DC, who I don't think have really produced anything good since Back In Black, I wouldn't mind one bit if they released an album likened to a Highway to Hell 2, Powerage 2, or Back In Black 2. I like that sound. Give it to me generic. I'm not always sophisticated and picky. I like vanilla ice cream, too.
Anyway, this new Skillet album is pretty darn good. I will gladly recommend it to my virtual friends who read this -- whether you are a tried-and-true Christian rocker, an indie rock snob, or a gothed out ghost.
:?)

We are planning for Blindside to be on the cover of the next issue (March/April 2004) of HM Magazine. I'm scheduled to interview Ill Nino and Thrice this week for a couple of "So & So Says" stories. Our Christmas decorations are up at our place. I heard a rumor that Target stores will be selling Playstation 2 systems for 100 bucks this month. I told the singer of Fruhstuck a lie last week (that Disciple was breaking up) to see if he'd approach the band last weekend at Germany's Christmas Rock Night and tell them something like, "I'm so sad you're breaking up," or "I think you're disobeying God" or something like that. Perhaps I'll find out later what went down backstage there. That's a really cool 2-day fest. It'd be so fun to go to again.

As The Deer...

On the way to work today (how many times have I started off this blog that way?), I noticed a lot of deer just playing around on that ranch I pass. It was so fun to see them obviously playing. Animals are so cool.

I organized all of our "bios" in the office this morning. Whenever a label or a band sends us a new album, a short (or long, as in the case of Robert Randolph & the Family Band or Thrice) write-up on the band accompanies it. This helps the writer of a story or review have some background info on the band.

I love some of the language in the Bible (in various translations). Jeremiah 50 says: "Announce and proclaim among the nations, lift up a banner and proclaim it; keep nothing back..."

I love that picture of passionate communication. I'd say it's good advice, almost no matter the context.

BCG's

You learn something new every day (if you pay attention).

Two of my cousins were talking last week, and one of them referred to himself wearing BCG's. Do you know what BCG's are?

"Birth Control Glasses" (or glasses that make a guy look so lame that no girl is going to come within ten feet of him).

I thought that was interesting.

I told my friend in Poland that I was going to eat some pizza,
and he asked me, "Are you feeling okay?"

Not sure what that means. Maybe I'll learn something today!

Thanks for the prayers concerning Jack Maddox. Hopefully, he'll be leaving the hospital and going back to his house soon. (Then he'll need prayer for his marriage, as he's likely to be healthy but grumpy!)

Paw Paw (Pa Pa)

I'm working on my Blood Has Been Shed story for the March/April issue. It was planned for release in our Jan/Feb issue, but we had to chop that issue and lessen the page count due to low ad sales. This is one of the stories we "bumped" for this issue. Another really good one is an interview David did with someone. I won't spoil the surprise.

Jack Maddox (Paw Paw) is doing much better. Most of his family was gathered around on Wednesday morning/afternoon as it looked like he might pass on that very day. His liver wasn't doing too well. Most of us expected the worse. Many were praying, however, and it seems they had a direct effect on him, as he dramatically improved over the next day. By Friday he was walking the halls and was moved to another room, an "intermediary care" room instead of SICU. Such a great man. We're so excited he's doing better. The prayers of my youngest, Rachel (whose photographs are on display here on this blog) were so sweet. "Father, we pray that Paw Paw wouldn't die, because I want him to play horsey with me again." I wish all the relatives could've heard that one, too.

I better get back to finishing up this story. I meant not to get distracted by mail, email, or the web.