After the last time I heard them a few years ago they fell off my radar until last month. The newly-renamed band led a worship set at Catalyst that just blew me away. It included songs off their Beautiful Things album that came out in February like the title-track Beautiful Things and a song I especially liked called The Earth Is Yours.

Gungor definitely has a unique sound for a worship album, although I’m not exactly sure that is what genre you would classify this album as. There are definitely some amazing songs that I’ve been worshipping to but it sounds unlike many worship albums you’ve heard. Michael Gungor says that it’s “church music” but  with a little bit of Sigur Ros, Muse and Sufjan Stephens style thrown in.

As I mentioned above, one song in particular that I fell in love with when I heard it live was The Earth Is Yours. It’s great on the album but I also enjoy this version I found on their YouTube channel performed appropriately enough, live from the forest.

This album is a breath of fresh air. It tackles issues of environmental stewardship without sounding cheesy and has deep, meaningful lyrics that draw you in. I literally can not stop listening to it.

I love this album enough that I wanted to share it with you. I have 5 copies of Beautiful Things that I am giving away right here on my blog!! I’m so excited to give this away because I know you will fall in love with it like I did.

To enter, simply leave a comment below and tell me a “beautiful thing” God has done in your life.

Tweet and Facebook links to this page for extra chances to win!

Congratulations to our winners!

The the magical randomness of Random.org, the 5 winners of this great album were selected this morning. The winners are: Nathan Duvall, BJ, Amy Bennett, Annie, and Kelly Sauer. I know you will all enjoy this album tremendously. For the rest of you who didn’t win, don’t let that get in the way of you listening to this great album - head over to iTunes and pick it up!

That’s right. I’m giving away
1 FREE CATALYST EVENT & LAB TICKET!!

The great folks at Catalyst have graciously given me one event and lab ticket to give away to BradRuggles.com readers. If finances have held you back from buying that ticket or you just needed that little extra nudge, here’s your chance.

Catalyst will be in Atlanta October 7-8 this year with the Labs taking place the day before on October 6. You can read more about the event at CatalystConference.com.

CONTEST DETAILS:

1. Only 1 entry per person
2. The winner will receive 1 individual event ticket ($319 value) and 1 Lab Ticket ($129 value)
3. Please don’t enter if you already have your tickets. If you know someone else who wants to go, tell them about the giveaway and let them enter.
4. Check your calendar and please make sure you’ll actually be able to go before entering
5. The contest winner is responsible for their own transportation and lodging (but if you win I may be able to recommend some good hotel pricing)

To enter simply leave a comment below with your name. The winner will be selected at random and announced Monday, September 13. If you’re already going but know someone who isn’t be sure to tell them about this giveaway and send them here to enter.

Tweet about this giveaway and you’ll be entered a second time into the contest doubling your chances to win!

WE HAVE A WINNER! Congratulations Josh Roberts for winning a FREE Catalyst Lab & Main Event Ticket!! His number was chosen at Random using Random.org.

I decided to skim the first few pages to see what the author had to say. The first few pages turned into a chapter, then two. I grabbed the highlighter next to my bed and began highlighting away and before I knew it I had read the first 75 pages. I felt like the author had set up hidden cameras and had been spying on me. I began to see challenges I faced explained in detail like “reactionary work flow”(acting impulsively on the most burning project rather than being proactive).

Like many creative people, I thrive on being creative and generating creative ideas. I’ve always struggled with the organizational part of my creative ideas though. One principle Scott explains made perfect sense.

CREATIVITY X ORGANIZATION = IMPACT

Organization is just as important as ideas when it comes to making an impact. Using the above equation, let’s imagine someone who is wildly creative but totally disorganized. He would look something like this:

100 (Creativity) X 0 (Organization) = 0 IMPACT

No matter how brilliant the ideas are, without some level of organization, those ideas will never be realized and will never have an impact on the world.

On the other hand, suppose someone is far less creative but slightly more organized:

50 (Creativity) X 2 (Organization) = 100 IMPACT

A shocking and perhaps unfortunate reality is that someone with average creativity but stellar organization skills will make a greater impact than the disorganized creative geniuses among us!

Ok, that’s all well and good, you might say, but how do I become more organized? It’s just not my strength.  And you’re right. Organization is something most creatives simply are not good at. I myself struggle with bouncing from creative project to creative project, from idea to idea. I’ve read productivity books before but most are geared towards the business professional. This is the first book I’ve read that is written specifically for Creatives like me and the methods explained not only make sense, they work!

You’ll learn, among other things, how to:

• Scrap useless brainstorming sessions and generate ideas in moderation (more is not better)
• Rapidly refine ideas to keep momentum on creative projects
• Reduce complicated projects to just 3 primary elements
• Develop an action-oriented system that even big-picture creative types can understand and use

I simply cannot rave enough about how great this book is and how helpful it has been for me! If you are a creative person who struggles to turn your ideas into reality and stay organized, do whatever you have to do to get a hold of this book!

WIN A FREE COPY OF MAKING IDEAS HAPPEN! – We Have a Winner…

Because I know so many of you are fellow creatives like me, I knew that I simply had to tell you about this book and help get it into your hands. After reading it I emailed the publisher and asked if I could give away some copies here on my blog. They graciously agreed to send me 5 COPIES to give away! Wanna win one? Here’s how.

To enter, simply leave a comment below and share your biggest obstacle to your creative productivity (Tweet a link to this post for an extra contest entry). I’ll announce the winners later this week.

WINNERS! – Congratulations to Katie, Eddie Siceloff, Mike, Luke Allen and Jason Yarborough who won a copy of this amazing book! I hope it helps you guys as much as it helped me.

There are two ways to enter the drawing:

1. Head on over to this post and leave a comment with your name
2. Tweet about the contest to enter your name a second time and double your chances of winning

The winner will be chosen at random today at 3:30 PM EST and announced here.

[photo by: Ryan Detzel]

WE HAVE A WINNER!

We have selected winner was selected using Random.org from the list of blog and Twitter entries. The winner of a Catalyst Event & Lab ticket is…Stephen Lechner!

Congratulations Stephen! I look forward to seeing you at Catalyst! Thanks to everyone for entering.

That’s right. I’m giving away
1 FREE CATALYST EVENT & LAB TICKET!!

The great folks at Catalyst have graciously given me one event and lab ticket to give away to BradRuggles.com readers. If finances have held you back from buying that ticket or you just needed that little extra nudge, here’s your chance.

Catalyst will be in Atlanta October 8-9 this year with the Labs taking place the day before on October 7. You can read more about the event at CatalystConference.com.

CONTEST DETAILS:

1. Only 1 entry per person
2. The winner will receive 1 individual event ticket ($319 value) and 1 Lab Ticket ($129 value)
3. Please don’t enter if you already have your tickets. If you know someone else who wants to go, tell them about the giveaway and let them enter.
4. Please make sure you’ll actually be able to go before entering
5. The contest winner is responsible for their own transportation and lodging (but if you win I may be able to get you in on some sweet hotel pricing)

To enter simply leave a comment below with your name. The winner will be selected at random and announced Tuesday, September 8. If you’re already going but know someone who isn’t be sure to tell them about this giveaway and send them here to enter.

Tweet about this giveaway and you’ll be entered a second time into the contest doubling your chances to win!

WE HAVE A WINNER!

We have selected winner was selected using Random.org from the list of blog and Twitter entries. The winner of a Catalyst Event & Lab ticket is…Stephen Lechner!

Congratulations Stephen! I look forward to seeing you at Catalyst! Thanks to everyone for entering.

So here’s the question for my music-loving readers…

If you could invent a new music genre or style, what would it be called? Bonus points if you can come up with a name for a band or album that plays this music.

I may or may not have some music to give away to the most creative genre submissions.

Let the awesomeness begin…

** post idea & graphic courtesy of this amazing t-shirt on threadless **

Freedom Is Here

However it was the more worshipful songs that really grabbed me, particularly the title track Tear Down The Walls. This track is over 10 minutes of worship that ebs and flows in intensity. The first time I listened to it I just sat back in my chair and let the music wash over me as I worshiped in God’s presence.

Tear Down The Walls

Like nearly every previous worship album Hillsong United has released, this one is worth picking up – whether for large group worship or at home.

Tear Down The Walls CD Giveaway!

You didn’t think I’d tell you about a great new album like this without giving you a chance to get your hands on it, would you? Of course not! I’ve got not one, not two but…wait for it…THREE copies of Tear Down The Walls to give away to one of you lucky readers! Go ahead, say it. You love me.

Here’s how to enter… Leave a comment below with the name of your favorite Hillsong or Hillsong United song. You can also try to convince me why I should give the CD to you if you like. It won’t do any good since I’ll be selecting the winners randomly but it will still be fun to read. I’ll announce the winners over the weekend.

Our Winners…

The winners for the Hillsong United Tear Down The Walls album have been selected by Random.org and the winners are: Alece, Tracey Dowdy, and Cindy West. Congratulations!!

I’ve been a big fan of Twitter ever since I started (even though my wife so lovingly asked me exactly why my life was so interesting that people would want to read about it throughout the day). I’ve loved the new connections that have come through this social networking tool. I have no idea how long it will take for this cultural trend to run its course but in the meantime I’m enjoying it. Plus, it’s Biblical.

1,000th Follower Giveaway

So here I am sitting just a few followers shy of 1,000 Twitter people following me on Twitter. Crazy! So I thought we could celebrate by a prize package giveaway. I’ve got a $10 iTunes gift card for the 1,000th person to follow me on Twitter (a legitimate, personal Twitter account). Like I said, I’m really close so this will probably go quick.

Do you Twitter? If so, leave your name and Twitter link below so we know all the cool cats to follow.

[Twitter bird sketch above based on the icon set by ProductiveDreams]

The package includes 4 weeks of Storyville fresh-roasted coffee shipped direct to your door each week and two Storyville Coffee cups ($39 value). This is the perfect way for you to experience Storyville coffee firsthand.

Storyville Coffee Contest Rules

To enter, simply leave a comment below with your name and your best coffee memory. Maybe it was enjoying a cup of coffee in a lodge overlooking the Smokey Mountains or the first time your dad let you try a sip of his coffee. The winner will be chosen at random and announced on Monday.

Enter to win one of two Storyville Coffee packages!! (The Contest is now closed)

We have our Winners!

Congratulations to Brian McCloskey and Greg Qualls who both one the Storyville Coffee Package!!

With the huge number of social networking sites out there it can be challenging to stay abreast of wha t’s new. Not every new site popping up is destined to be a Facebook or Twitter but some are very popular in niches like Vimeo, Plurk and Ning. And this map doesn’t even include sites like YouVersion, ROOV and my local favorite SmallerIndiana.com.

How Socially Connected Are You Online?

How many of these social media languages are you conversant in? Give yourself 1 point for each social media/networking site you have an account with (as of right now, no making a mad rush to sign up for a bunch of new accounts). The winner gets a $20 gift card to go out for dinner since they obviously don’t get out enough.