Hurt Healer Review

After going to Winter Jam and hearing Tony Nolan speak, I bought his book "Hurt Healer". It is now one of my favorite books of all time. "Hurt Healer" is about reaching out to people who are hurting or lost. The thing that I love most about this book is how encouraging and challenging it is.

 In "Hurt Healer" Tony breaks down the story of the Good Samaritan into three characteristic's that every Christian needs to know in order to reach out to a broken world. Tony also shares alot of his own stories in this book. Also there are alot of times when people don't get a very good impression of Christians, this book gives you alot of ways to be a good representation of Christ. Some of the ways are harder, like "In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you" -Matthew 7:12. Tony breaks that verse down in a way that I have never thought of, he explained that the verse is saying to "Treat people the same way you Want to be treated" not the way they treated you! That's a hard thing to do if you think about it!

The main message of "Hurt Healer" is that Hurting people need to see God and we need to share His love with them. "Hurt Healer" is a must read book for Christians everywhere! You can even check out Tony Nolan's Website and Facebook.

Rapture Ruckus

I found this band Rapture Ruckus and I love their music and message. The first song is "Hold On" and it has some really great lyrics. The second song is "No Matter What" performed live, enjoy!

If you want to hear more of Rapture Ruckus' music check out their YouTube page, also be sure to "Like" them on Facebook!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter! I hope that you have a great day! Just remember the true reason that we celebrate Easter. I mean the candy and Easter egg hunts are nice, but remember the real reason that we celebrate Easter.

HE IS RISEN!!!

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.  And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.   -Luke 24:1-12

Brad Stine & Common Courtesy

Everyone needs to laugh right? Well I watched this video a couple of weeks ago and thought it was hilarious. My favorite part is when he is talking about going to the movies and asking for a coke! Enjoy!

Skillet's new guitar player

As many of you know, Skillet's guitar player Ben Kasica is leaving the band. He was replaced by Jonathan Salas, but then he announced that he won't be playing with the band. Ben Kasica announced on his Twitter page that Seth Morrison will be the new guitar player for Skillet.

Do you remember that Live Guitar Search Thousand Foot Krutch had? Well Seth Morrison was one of the Top Ten picks that fans could vote for! To find out more about Seth check out his Facebook or MySpace and you can Follow him on Twitter!

Canons Band

I came across a band called Canons the other day. I checked out their music and they have a cool mix of Rock and Worship music that I really enjoyed. They are an Indie band, so they aren't signed to any label. On their MySpace page they put "Canons’ purpose is to see lives transformed through the beauty of worshiping God with music. Ultimately, Canons is a worship band that understands worship is a lifestyle, not a sound. It is their goal to reflect that lifestyle in all that they do."

They sound pretty cool right? Well just wait I haven't even mentioned the best part! They are from MICHIGAN!!! Ok, so to most of you that is no big deal, but I am from Michigan! It's a big deal to me! You can check out their MySpace or Facebook. You can also Follow them on Twitter.

12 Stones

This is one of my favorite music videos of all time! I hadn't heard this song in a really long time then the other day I just started singing it out of nowhere! I thought that it would be a good music video to post! I hope you enjoy it!

Ron Pearson

This is my favorite video by Ron Pearson the Christian Comedian.

Bright Light Parade

I heard about this band on New Release Tuesday, so I checked out their music and I really like them! Check out this video featuring their song "Right Now".

If you like their music, you can check out their Website and Facebook for more info on them. You can even follow them on Twitter.

New Music Video By Anthem Lights

Check out this New music video for "Can't Shut Up" by Anthem Lights!

Thousand Foot Krutch Guitar Contest Winner

Thousand Foot Krutch announced the winner of the guitar contest and the winner is...........You have to watch the video!

Also Thousand Foot Krutch's Live DVD comes out June 7th!

Music Tag

My friend Jay tagged me in this Music Tag and I thought I would share it with you! To play, write down ten bands that come to mind. Don't read the questions till you have written these down, because that will spoil all the fun!

My ten bands to play with:
1. KJ-52
2. FM Static
3. Thousand Foot Krutch
4. Superchick
5. Manafest
6. Lecrae
7. The Afters
8. Anthem Lights
9.  Hawk Nelson
10. VOTA

Q. What was the first song that you ever heard by number six? (Lecrae)
A. "Represent" from his album "Real Talk"

Q. What is your favorite song by number eight? (Anthem Lights)
A.  "Can't Shut Up" would be my favorite

Q. What kind of impact has number one had on your life? (KJ-52)
A. I read KJ-52's 7 day devotional and it really spoke to me, I love it. I also love how KJ seems to be really humble for a musician. One thing that I love about KJ-52's music is that there is a song for everyday, if your sad, lonely, happy, mad, worried or even just hyper there is a song that will help you to have a better day!

Q. What is your favorite lyric by number five? (Manafest)
A.  "You can try but you won’t take me down, I’m standing on my ground, As all the fear inside me fades away, You can try to get a reaction, But you’re no distraction to me" from the song "Bring The Ruckus"

Q. How many times have you seen number four in concert? (Superchick)
A. Twice! Both times they were AWESOME!!!

Q. What is your favorite song by number seven? (The Afters)
A. "Never Going Back To Ok" because I love the sound and the message

Q. Is there any song by number three that makes you sad? (Thousand Foot Krutch)
A. The song "This Is A Call" kinda makes me sad, but yet it is one of my favorites!

Q. What is your favorite song by number nine? (Hawk Nelson)
A. Hmm.... thats a hard one! I would have to say "Bring 'Em Out" but I also love their song "Tally-Ho" I just realized that both songs are really repetitive! Ha ha

Q. How did you first discover number two? (FM Static)
A. I was watching a christian music video TV show and their video "A Boy Moves To A New Town (With An Optimistic Outlook)" was on. I loved the song so then I looked them up and I was hooked!

Q. How did you first discover number three? (Thousand Foot Krutch)
A. It's actually kinda funny......I started liking FM Static before I liked Thousand Foot Krutch. (For those of you who don't know, FM Static is kinda like Thousand Foot Krutch's side project) I had heard of Thousand Foot Krutch, but I never really checked out their music until I found out that the band had the same people as FM Static.
Q. What is your favorite song by number four? (Superchick)
A. This is easy! "Cross The Line" I love that song! Great song, amazing message!

Q. Is there a song by number eight that makes you sad? (Anthem Lights)
A. Umm.... Not really.....Not that I know of at least.

Q. How many times have you seen number six live? (Lecrae)
A. Sadly I have never seen Lecrae in concert. I really want to though!

Q. What is your favorite song by number one? (KJ-52)
A. Hmm......I am not sure....for some reason I really love the sound of "Fuego" I think it is the song that I play the most! But I also really love "Tweezy Dance" so its hard to pick! I will just go with "Fuego"!

Q. How did you become a fan of number ten? (VOTA)
A. I went to a Barlow Girl and Superchick concert and they were there. I loved their music and the guitar player was really cool too! :)

Since this is a tag, I am going to tag anyone and everyone that wants to do this! If you do this tag please let me know so I can read your answers! :)

Blank Pages

I found this band on Facebook and I thought they were really good!

 Blank Pages is a Christian pop punk band from Indianapolis, IN. I have heard a few of their songs and I really liked them! Some of their music kinda has a Hawk Nelson sound that I really like! Check out their Website  for more info on them. You can also Like their Facebook Page and listen to some of their music!

New CD's Out Today 4/5/11

There are Four CD's coming out TODAY that I wanted to let you guys know about. First off Newsboy's CD "Born Again: Miracles Edition" comes out today! It features remixes of there songs "Born Again", "Miracles", "Way Beyond Myself" and "Mighty To Save".

Another CD that comes out today is X2011: Christian Rock Hits. It features new songs from Hawk Nelson, Thousand Foot Krutch, Sanctus Real, Aaron Gillespie, FM Static and many more.

Another CD coming out today is Rebecca St. James CD "I Will Praise You". Two of my friends are giving this CD away on their blog's so make sure you check it out! You can enter Renee's giveaway Here and you can enter JaY's giveaway Here.

Last but definately not least is FM Static's new CD "My Brain Says Stop, But My Heart says Go". I have been waiting for this album to come out, because I am a big fan of FM Static! You can also enter to win this CD from my friend JaY Here.

Justin Lookadoo Interview

I had the great honor to interview my favorite author and speaker Justin Lookadoo. I hope you enjoy reading the interview! You can also read my review of Justin's book "97 Random Thoughts On Life, Love & Relationships".

The questions are in Blue and Justin's answers are in Orange.

1. How did God call you into this ministry?
This has been a process for me. There was never a moment when I feel like I was "called into ministry".  I just began speaking in schools.  I do prevention programs, bullying, relationship issues, test taking strategies and teacher training.  I have done it for years and years and I began to notice that the church world seemed to be opening up to me.  In the beginning churches seemed a bit afraid of me and my style.  I am very direct and very honest and that scared some people.  But it seems that the church is now taking on a lot of the duties that parents have given up and that schools have had taken away from them. So I'm excited that they are stepping up.


2. If you had one day to do anything you wanted, wherever you wanted, what would you do?
I would have a triple shot, carmel latte with Billy Graham, Ghandi, Mother Theresa, C.S Lewis, Kierkegaard, and Elvis.


3. What is your favorite part about going and speaking at an event?
The actual speaking would have to be my favorite part.  But I learned many years ago that wasn't the most important part. See, I speak on stage is because it give the people a reason to talk to me.  They feel like they know me and that they can talk to me about whatever they need to talk about. That is where the magic really happens.
 

4. Who has been the biggest influence in your life?
Currently, my daughter.
I could walk you through the years and tell you my influences.
My dad when he got off the road as a salesman and stayed home with us kids.
My mom, while sitting in the airport in Lubbock, Texas after a funeral ,when she gave me my life motto, "Live With No Regrets"
My sister for showing me how to laugh.
My wife for showing me how to love.
On and on and on....

But right now, my daughter is the biggest influence in my life.  She is pure joy. I don't say that merely from a proud father perspective. I am telling you, she exudes pure joy like no other human I have ever met. Every day I look at her and I think of the scripture where it talks about "return to me the joy of my salvation."  I look at her and I think, "Thats' what it looks like.  That's what I want."  The longer we live on this planet the more jaded and cynical we get and I don't want to be like that.  I want to have that pure joy that I see in her.

5. Will you give us a couple of examples of how God has shown up in your life, when times were maybe dark or you were discouraged?
Interestingly enough, I am going through one right now.  Four times in my career I have looked at the big picture and thought, "This is it. I'm going to lose everything."  Each time there is a different reason, but the end is always the same. The doors are going to close on me, my dreams, my ministry, everything.  So what do I do?  I do the spiritual thing.... I freak out!  I yell, scream, cry, worry.  But one thing I have noticed.  One thing that I have seen during each storm.  Each time this has happened it has been when God was wanting to change the direction of where we were going.  And he knows me enough that if he doesn't remove every possible option in front of me, I will not change course. I wish I wasn't that hard headed with such little faith, but God loves me enough to allow me to hurt in order for me to reach his blessing.


Thanks again for taking the time to do this interview!
Thanks for allowing me a moment to spend with you.  If any of your readers have other questions or want more they can connect with me at www.lookadoo.com or facebook fanpage: Justin Lookadoo.

Some Giveaways That YOU Should Enter

*Giveaway Ended*

My friend JaY has some giveaways on his blog that I wanted to let you guys know about. He is giving away a total of 6 CD's!!! He is giving away 1 copy of FM Static's new CD "My Brain Says Stop, But My Heart Says Go", 1 copy of Josh Wilson's CD "See You" , 1 copy of Rebecca St. James new CD "I Will Praise You" and 3 copies of Mary Mary's new CD "Something Big". I know thats alot of CD's and you have a great chance to win them! You can enter all of these giveaways Here.

Thousand Foot Krutch Announces Guitar Finalists

Thousand Foot Krutch posted the 10 finalists for the Guitar Audition on their Facebook page. Now its up to the fans to vote for who they think should win! This is what Thousand Foot Krutch posted:

"It was tough, some very close call competitors, but we've landed on these for our top 10!  Fan voting begins!!  Let's see who wins!  a special thank you again, to everyone who submitted, you guys rule!!!

Here are the finalist, in no particular order:

1.) Marcus Laurine    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXUbvUThcfE

2.) Darren Davis    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rX_SmVRXrM

3.) Sam Hauge     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nC6nNARVUQ

4.) Matt Madoni    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIeLA2Gmz3A

5.) Clint Taxdahl   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huW6NIHFSoo

6.) Brandon Watson  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsZJ5ECn19U&feature=youtube_gdata_player

7.) Jordan Leland   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGwDPDbvwhw

8.) Matt Lennander  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYeXsscxO3M

9.) Scot Savale    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHPH16ji3Ug

10.) Seth Morrison  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-3oIH2l-hY

To vote, comment on this note with the person who you think should win. Each person should comment only once. Duplicate comments will not be accepted. Good luck and vote away! Voting ends on April 8th!"

So make sure that you guys vote and you can even comment and let me know who you voted for! :)