These are the albums of the week. The first is Sufjan Stevens' new album entitled The Avalanche (2006). I bought this album on Tuesday and I love it! The song "Pittsfield" is incredible. I love Sufjan's voice and his quirky yet melodic songs. The next album is from the very talented Thom Yorke, lead vocalist from Radiohead. His solo album entitled The Eraser (2006) has elements of Radiohead in it, but is quite unique. The album is very vocally driven and the music is mostly electronic. The overall sound is a kind of Postal Service meets Radiohead. The last album is Pilate's sophmore release entitled Sell Control for Life's Speed (2006). I love this album. Lyrically it is honest and I think the band has really captured their own unique sound on this album. Erin and I recently saw Pilate live and we were very impressed. I had the chance to meet the lead vocalist Todd Clark and he was a really kind, easy going guy. Well, every week I will share new music and music I love with you all.

Well, this is my new haircut. It is pretty short. Erin got her haircut today and it is really short, but I love it. It looks like a hairstyle from the 1960s. I will put up pictures of her tomorrow. Well, my time at camp was amazing! I got to drive a boat, go tubing, play drums in chapel, speak in chapel, meet amazing counselors and campers, and make new friends. I love all the people I met at Moose Lake Gospel Camp and I am definitely going back next year (and bringing Erin this time). Nathan McLean is a great guy and did an awesome job directing camp. Now I am back to work, and it is crazy in the office. We are trying to register students for classes and go through their payment plan options, and so on. I am getting excited to meet all the students I have been working with in August and September. It is my prayer that they sense God's presence and His purpose for their lives when they step foot on to campus. I think places like camp and Bible College are so important for a young Christian because they provide the opportunity for a young person to grow in their knowledge of God, deepen their faith, study a discipline, fellowship with other like-minded people, have fun playing games and relaxing together, learn to articulate their thoughts, and get a sense of God's calling for their lives. Those are the moments I remember from school and camp. Times of surrendering, times around a campfire, times handing in a paper and then going and celebrating with friends, times praying with my roommate before going to bed, times rushing to chapel so I wasn't late, times eating in the dining hall, times playing volleyball and ping pong, and times worshipping God together. Doesn't that sound like a good time?

This is my reading list for the rest of the year. After my final exam for my Literary Criticism course (July 25) and after Creation Festival in Washington (July 26-29) I plan to start reading the following books in order:

The Sickness unto Death by Soren Kierkegaard
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Lost in the Cosmos by Walker Percy
Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche
Subversive Orthodoxy by Robert Inchausti
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
Works of Love by Soren Kierkegaard
The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
Katzenjammer by Jackson Tippett McCrae
The Plague by Albert Camus
Reading Karl Barth by Kurt Anders Richardson
Things That Fall From the Sky by Kevin Brockmeier
Who’s Afraid of Postmodernism? Taking Derrida, Lyotard, and Foucault to Church by James K.A. Smith
The Moviegoer by Walker Percy
The History of Reading by Alberto Manguel
Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk
The Sacred Journey by Frederick Buechner
Twilight of the Idols by Friedrich Nietzsche
Through Painted Deserts by Donald Miller
Dead Languages by David Shields
The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis
The Last Word and the Word After That by Brian McLaren
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
No Exit and Three Other Plays by Jean-Paul Sartre
Confessions by Saint Augustine
Choke by Chuck Palahniuk
An American Childhood by Annie Dillard
The Antichrist by Friedrich Nietzsche
Recapture the Wonder by Ravi Zacharias

These are pictures from July 1st. We went with friends to Sylvan Lake, Alberta and spent the day on the beach. All of us got sunburns. We barbecued, swam, laughed, and ate junk food on the beach. There were tons of people there. My cousin Jessica came, and my good friend from Calgary, Chris Brambleby. We watched the fireworks in Red Deer, they were short, but good. We hope you had a great Canada Day!

The pictures of Erin's dress didn't really turn out. Here are some funny, yet beautiful pictures of Erin before we went to the show on Tuesday night.

Well, Erin and I went and saw The Phantom of the Opera last night. It was really well done. We sat on the second balcony, but we could see perfectly. The singing was really good, the stage/sets were elaborate, the whole thing was quite an ordeal. It is really a funny plot if you think about it: A scarred man, who was orphaned as a child, lives in the basement of an Opera House, somehow he teaches a beautiful girl, who hears voices in her head, to sing. Then, he writes notes to everyone who works at the Opera House with instructions on how he wants everything to run. The Phantom is an insecure, controlling, obsessive, narcissistic, emotional man, who is in love with love and just needs a day on the beach. Anyway, Erin looked beautiful last night of course. We went to Swiss Chalet before the show and overall, we had a great night. Remember, take off your mask and let people see you the way you really are. When we wear masks we deceive others as well as ourselves. Tomorrow I will put up pictures of Erin in her dress, pictures from July 1 (yes there are pictures of fireworks), and my summer reading list, as well as my "rest of the year" reading list.

Sufjan Stevens' new album Avalanche comes out today! Sufjan Stevens is an American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Detroit, Michigan. He is known for his lyrically focused and instrumentally rich songs that often relate to faith and family. His music, which is indie pop with influences from folk and electronica, has enjoyed wide critical success in the United States, particularly with the albums Michigan (2003) and Illinois (2005). Stevens has announced plans to make an album for each of the 50 U.S. states. His new album is extras and outtakes from the album Illinois (2005).

Erin and I and going to see The Phantom of the Opera on July 11th! I got Erin tickets for her birthday which was June 11th. We are planning to dress-up, should be stellar even though Erin is a lot more excited than I am.

Let's just say Erin loves her new camera, she is always taking pictures of me at home and of people who come over to the house. Here are two pictures of us (Erin was trying to figure out how to work the timer). Tomorrow we are going with friends to Sylvan Lake, Alberta to hang-out on the beach, have ice cream, and watch fire-works. Should be good times. Then on Sunday I travel to Moose Lake Gospel Camp for the week. I am helping my friend Nathan McLean, who is the Director of camp that week, with worship (drums) and chapel (speaking). Unfortunately Erin can't come with me because she has to work. It will be a relaxing week, I plan to catch-up on homework, rest, and hang-out with new and old friends. I will put pictures up of our weekend when I get back. Happy Canada Day!

Erin graduated from Prairie this last April. Her family came from Oregon for her graduation and we had a really fun weekend. Erin is now working at the Bookroom at Prairie. We are planning to live in Three Hills for another year and then move to Waterloo where I will finish my studies. This year I will continue to take courses through correspondence from the University of Waterloo and work as an Admissions Counselor for Prairie, a job I am really enjoying! I recently won "Rookie of the Year" in Wilmore, Kentucky at the North American Coalition for Christian Admissions Professionals (NACCAP) conference! God has blessed us tremendously and we are very thankful. Bro, good work on pulling off the engagement plan, Nikki, you look very happy in the pictures I've seen. The ring is stellar, nice work. I am very happy for you guys! We will be there on June 2nd for sure! Can't wait!

Erin and I went to Canmore, Alberta last weekend for our one year anniversary. It is hard to believe it has been one year already. We are doing well and really enjoyed our first year together. We stayed at the Marriot Residence, which was tucked away in the mountains. We went shopping in Canmore, had a fancy dinner, went in the hot tub at the hotel, and, of course, watched the hockey game. It was a relaxing weekend. Year two here we come!