I know it’s kinda cheesy and old-school (in a bad way) to have a guestbook on one’s personal website, but I decided to try it out anyway. Feel free to stop by mattulrich.com/guestbook and let me know you visited…whether you’re a friend, a friend of a friend, or someone I don’t even know. The more the merrier! Note: If you’ve already signed it, don’t feel obligated to sign again.

Sleepy I Am,
Yoda

So I know a while back I plugged chapter 7 of Blue Like Jazz, entitled “Grace.” Last week, I read chapter 10, called “Belief” (I’m taking the book at a slow pace). Just as “Grace” was impacting on a personal level, I really felt that “Belief” was impacting on a broader scale. It definitely was convicting personally, but I felt like it pointed a finger not just at me, but at practical Christianity in general. For many, belief has become a trend, the “cool” thing to do. So in reality, we end up not believing at all because there is no real personal conviction behind the belief, a conviction that recognizes and bears the resulting responsibility to do something about it.

Anyway, enough of that. I just wanted to reiterate how much of a must-read this book is…not because it’s the trendy thing to do as a Christian, but because it is challenging and thought-provoking, allowing those with an open mind to explore their own Christian experience with a new perspective. I don’t necessarily agree with everything Don says in the book (and you might not either), but you should just read it. GO!
Matt

I have a strong distaste for, dislike of, disapproval of, and disconcertion/perterbation with accounting homework. It kept me up way too late last night, and now I’m tired. It is time for a nap.

Now that I’ve lost about 50% or more of my faithful reader base, I will attempt to rescue this blog from the pathetic state in which it currently finds itself. This post could potentially be really long, but I’ll try to be as concise as possible. So here we go!

Let’s start with Christmas break. Wow, has it really been that long since I last blogged? I guess so. Anyway…so my church back home in Dutch Vegas, Michigan had a fancy Christmas Eve/Morning service. They asked me to sing and play in this service, which was exciting. It turned out that I played B-3 and keyboards on a few songs, sang the 2nd tenor part in a quartet, and sang “O Holy Night” as a solo also featuring my good friend Ken on the piano. I was fairly nervous, but it went off pretty dern well…nothing to go home and cry about. Um, what next? Oh yeah…I got a digital camera from my Dad for Christmas. He won it, but I convinced him that he wouldn’t use it to its full potential (and he already has one anyway), so he gave it to me. I’m so naughty… Anywho, I’ve been taking pictures and will continue to do so, so hopefully I’ll be sharing some of them with you right here on the blog. You can check out my complete gallery at gallery.mattulrich.com. Unfortunately, I’ve not found the time to get all my pictures up yet. I’ll get around to it eventually.

Ok, now on to this semester. For starters, I saw Chronicles of Narnia with Doug Irving on the day it came out. It was super-dee-duper. It’s a must-see for me and hopefully for you too. But let’s back up for a bit. I came back to school a week earlier than almost everyone else for a couple reasons. I bet you’d like to know what those reasons are. Well, let me tell you. First of all, I now play country music. I’ll let you take a minute to recover from that piece of news. (pause – only continue of you’re ready) Mark Pay (president of Orangehaus Records) hooked me up with a country gig, playing keys for a girl named Paige, who is only 15 years old but you’d never know it by listening to her or looking at her. Anyway, she’s very talented and has great potential to go far with this whole music thing. Anyway, back to why I came back to school early. Paige has been performing at fair conventions in the four surrounding states (OH, IN, MI, and IL…just in case you didn’t know), and two of those performances were the week before classes started. So I came back early to practice and perform with her. But that’s not all. My friend Nathanael is new Orangehaus Records recording artist, so he has been working on his new album. The recording process also started the week before classes. Check my gallery for pictures from both Paige shows and recording Nathanael’s album.

Ok, last thing. I promise. I just started a position at East Side Church of God in the worship arts department. I’m not really sure what my title is, but I think it’s something like Production Assistant. Basically, I’m acting commander of the band (sorta), behind Pastor Mick of course. I make sure that everyone that’s scheduled to play is actually planning on playing, I make sure the stage is ready for the band by Sunday morning, I lead the 7:30am band rehearsal every Sunday morning, and I help develop players and integrate new ones into the band rotation. Sound fun? I think so. I get paid too. That’s nice.

This post took way too long to write (distractions, distractions), so now I will close. That is all.

Adieu,
Matt