The End of Any Given Moment

this is blair reminding you that the Masquerade show on January 13th will be Any Given Moment’s final show together. Through the past month or so it was my realization as well as the rest of the members that we could no longer continue together as a group in the state we were in.

Due to internal problems with the band as well as other situations, the band was forced to break up.

All i ask is that for any of you who have ever supported us in any way, whether by buying a shirt, one of our cds, paying to come to one of our shows, coming to one of our shows, listening to us on myspace or purevolume, talking to us in person, any of our close friends, anyone who knew mike, and all of you who are reading this, to come to one of these last two shows.

I know we can get in a last hurrah, and an awesome last show. please come support us.

January 13 at the Masquerade.
with Joshua’s Ghost, Silent Wars, and Typhoid Mary
7PM
$6

Buy a ticket from any of us, any time, message our myspace, or call us, just come help us have one last awesome show. I thank everyone one of you for everything you have done for us in the past 3-4 years since me and mike started this band.
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As for me, since I’m sure you all are wondering…

I will definately not be giving up music, and hopefully will try and get another project started up soon, though i will be taking a break from the “scene” (gay).

However, i plan to be able to devote more time to the youth and volunteering at churches in the gwinnett area. More important than any music i have ever made is the love of my Savior, Jesus Christ, who Mike and I both began this band for, and i will be pursuing that full-time. Mike’s life and tragic death is such a pure and wonderful story about the grace, love, and plans of God that it simply cannot be lost and forgotten with just the seperation of this band.

Sugar Hill United Methodist off of Highway 20 across from MOG Ford, has a youth service every sunday night at 6:30 that i lead worship at and occasionally speak (read: “message” or “sermon”), and i would love to see any of you there.

Seriously though, i am really excited for my future music endeavors and want you guys to keep a look out for them. I love you all and thank you so much for the support and time you have given this band from its inception with mike and i (and richard lyons, brad morgan, and ryan luce) to its finishing point on January 13th. please come out and give us an awesome going away show.

Love you all,
Blair Johnson

WTB

I’m not a fan of evangilism in the traditional American Church sense. Not only is it awkward, but it also comes off as rude and warlike a lot of times. Well the church that my parents attend (atleast until this weekend when they move to Woodstock) had a “Walk thru Bethlehem”, which they have done every year for the past 8 years or so, this year being the last one. Everyone at the church volunteers and dresses up, acts, and all this other stuff and recreates “Bethlehem” and Jesus’ birth. Its a really cool thing, and its really interesting. I had never volunteered to do anything, as acting and dressing up and standing out in 20 degree temperatures while quoting lines really isnt my thing at all, but this year I volunteered to work in the Evangilism tent, which is where we preach to the people who came through and walk them through the sinners prayer and so forth, all of which i am not really a fan of. The general outline of what we had to say was nothing like i think should have been said, and i ended up putting a different twist on it. Somehow, whoever had written the outline missed the very important point of LOVE being the reason God sent his Son, so I added that. Overall, i ended up liking it, i dont think i came off as rude and scripted as some of the others did to me. Anyways, I would say that if you have the chance tonight, go check it out, not for the evangilism part, but for the interesting reenactment, its really cool.

Its a Shadowbrook Baptist Church in Suwanee, GA, and starts at 5:00 tonight and goes till 11:00 or so. Check it out.

that last blog was jibberish.

yes, I admit that the last blog I wrote was a little…. sketchy? out of sink? nonsensical?

I was riding a high, I was completely ecstatic and emotional and all of these other words that I can’t think of right now. Sunday, I was privileged to be able to speak at the youth service, Qara, at the church I volunteer at in Sugar Hill. Its Sugar Hill UMC, and my main duty there is leading worship for that service, but as I’ve been led to be a ‘Youth Pastor’ of sorts, I felt it was time to step my foot into the warm waters of giving sermons. Summed up, I was able to give the message Sunday night, and it was freaking awesome. I was there, for what I thought was to teach and touch some kids, and I hope to God I was able to do that, but I ended up teaching myself and being touched by God when I didn’t expect for either to happen. It was my first time speaking in front of that many people, so I was a little shaky, though not as nervous as I thought I would be, I was quite repetitive. What can I say though, for a first time, I only stumbled over three words/phrases, and I’ll only get better at public speaking the more I do it.

God’s been opening up some awesome doors for me, and He’s opened up my eyes quite a good bit recently. It just goes to show that the more you seek after Him and to learn from Him, the more He will teach you and the more He will show himself to you.

Honestly, I’m purely ecstatic. Praise God for giving me the ability to do things that 2 years ago I would have thought were crazy.

As I said in my last dysfunctional blog, by the end of the week I should have a typed copy of it up on here so that you can read it if you weren’t there. As well, me and the Dresdow will be making a ‘Qara Myspace’ as well as a podcast soon, although by soon, I might mean in a month. Bear with us.

Let me show you what He has done for me,

Blair

heysoos.

sometimes God works in ways i couldnt imagine. I hope some kids got touched by God this evening, as much as i did.

Weird thinking that two years ago this time i would have never imagined i would end up in this place doing these things, with these people around me.

yes, i was a tad bit repetitive. but ill get better the more i do it. God willing, that will be often. Let me show you what He has done for me. Praise him for giving me this gift and this goal.

ill type the message out word for word so i can put it on here for you people to read later this week when i get the cd. as well, me and the dresdow are thinking of making a Qara myspace, as well as a podcast, and hopefully that will work out and be pretty cool.

some guys named james and james came up to me afterwards and were talking to me, there were both around 30 years old, and gave me some awesome encouragement. One of the guys prayed over me, and it was definately a humbling experience to know that i can serve and teach others, even that much older than me.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

this coming sunday

this coming sunday November 5 will be my first attempt at sharing my brain and what i would like to call “God-given wisdom” (though there will always be someone to debate that), with others and i will be doing so at Sugar Hill Methodist Church in Gwinnett, Georgia at 6:15-6:30pm. Its a service called Qara and should be pretty eventful. If you’re in the area I would be overjoyed to have you check it out and show your support as I’m sure I’ll be mighty nervous and whatnot.

As well, I’ve realized just how much I need to start reading lately. There’s so much to learn and so much to gain. Its unfortunate i have such a demanding job, but as hours are dropping off, I hopefully will have a lot of time to read this winter season.

Moral of the story is: come to SHUMC this Sunday, November 5, and enjoy.

AM Talk Radio

Last night I was listening to 750AM talk radio, cause lately I guess I’ve gotten increasingly old, and am turning in to my Pops, so I listen to talk shows all the time, and I heard one of the absolute most profound, as well as, I believe, completely correct, statements I have heard in a long, long time.

I believe it was Sean Hannity, from his AM radio show, but don’t quote me on that, because I am not sure. He was talking about the Amish school shooting that happened recently and how yesterday was the burial of some of the girls that had been killed. He said that the only reason the Amish school shooting, or the recent shootings in Colorado, and anything of a human of the sort. is because the devil has been allowed in to America. And not just he explained it as not “God’s punishing us now” but he continued with something like this:

“The only reason many of these things have happened is because the devil has been allowed into America. God, the Almighty, has been taken out of the churches, taken out of the schools, taken out of the government, taken out of the media, take out of the movies, and taken out of the homes of America. And the devil has been allowed in.”

I thought this was an extraordinarily profound statement to make, especially from someone in the media, where you never hear a positive thing about Christianity EVER.

“GOD has been taken out of the churches.”

Of the churches? Isn’t that where God should be most prevalent? Obviously there is something wrong with our culture, or our society, or us as human beings, when even in the Christian churches, there is no God to be found…

When the church focuses more on the politics, the budget, the number of attendees, or why their denomination is better than the next, instead of on the message of the Love of Christ, then the devil has been allowed in. And if the church doesn’t grow a backbone, and quit changing itself to fit the world, and set the bar for other things such as the schools, the media, and so forth, then we as a society will continue on this steady decline to a complete moral suicide. We will destroy ourselves if we continue to allow the devil to make himself a home in America.

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edit: This as well is unbelievable: That in a country where there is no forgiveness, and no sorrow, only contempt after tragedies such as these, half of the 75 people showed up for the Amish school SHOOTER’s funeral, were….. AMISH.

The unconditional love these people have for everyone, no matter the crime, no matter the sin, no matter the hurt and pain and suffering, is that of which i could only pray God would bless me with.