My first concert- P.O.D. "Payable on Death"

 Happy Sunday y'all!

To support this band go to www.payableondeath.com

This passed Tuesday, November 18, 2014, I went to see P.O.D. which stands for Payable On Death. If you don't know who they are, you may be familiar with such songs as: Boom, Alive, Youth of a Nation, and Goodbye for Now.  It's crazy because the song "Goodbye for now" was released in 2006. There's a girl who sings at the end, and I mean she blows it away!  It was and still is my favorite part of that song.  Unfortunately, her name wasn't featured in the title of that song.  Haha, oh my surprise when I watched that video years later to find the young lady singing my favorite part was Katy Perry.  God is Good. :-)

For those who don't know my love of this band's music, this group has been the soundtrack to my life.  I began listening to P.O.D. when they released the album Fundamental Elements of Southtown, in 1999.  I hadn't confessed my love for Christ then, but I loved their music.  It was positive, Christian, but not corny, and it jammed hard!  The album had a song called "Outcast".  The lyrics went, "I'm an outcast, but don't count me out."  That's a message the youth needs to hear, even today!  Many years later, I am a Christ follower and when I listen to their music, from then and now, I relate to it even more.

Concert Rookie
This may sound crazy to some, but I have never been to a concert before, not technically.  I have seen a few shows in my day, but I only saw them because I so happened to be at the venue and caught a performance.  Even then, that only happened twice. Nonetheless, I've never had the excitement of buying a ticket and going to see a show.  One day I was on Instagram and Sonny Sandoval posts the band will be playing at a venue called The Merrow in their hometown of San Diego, CA.  The tickets were only five bucks!!!!! For those who don't know, many artists have secret shows for only a few dollars, you just have to know where to look.  Anyway, I live in Los Angeles and San Diego is only two hours from here!  I bought my tickets and when the day came, I rented a 2014 black Mustang.  It was a special occasion :-)

The Show
I got to the concert a bit early.  The Merrow was a decent size, somewhat intimate.  I was approximately three rows back in the audience.  As P.O.D. took the stage they announced they were releasing their first acoustic album entitled "Socal Sessions" and they would be playing the entire album for that show. Of course I bought "Socal Sessions" before the show started, as the merchandise guy was setting up his booth!  Some of the songs were new to me and the others I knew like the back of my hand.  The show was awesome!  I sang in the crowd like I had been singing in my car for years. This time, P.O.D. was actually right in front of me.  The concert ended with the song "Zion", which was on Fundamental Elements of Southtown.  After their last song Sonny, the lead singer, told everyone if they would like to stick around the band will be hanging in the crowd for a bit.  What!!?  Yess!!! wait.  No!!! my phone was on 14% I had been recording and taking photos during the show!  A friend of mine once told me to set my phone to airplane mode and it would save the battery.  I did as such.  I got to take meet all the members of the band except the drummer, Wuv.  My phone, though flash-less made it through two photos.  I got the chance to tell the guys their impact on my life and how their music has followed me through the years.  It was fantastic!  The cool thing was, as I spoke with each member, I never felt rushed.  There were hundreds of people around, wanting to take pictures, wanting to get autographs and these guys, international-triple platinum selling artists, just hung out in the crowd like they were hanging with family.  As I spoke with each member, we talked until the conversation was finished and when it was, they conversed with the next person.  I have no idea how long they stayed after the show talking to people.  Heck, I left before THEY did.

I will never forget that day.  This ladies and gentlemen, my was my first concert and let me tell ya P.O.D. set the bar pretty high!

***One thing I failed to mention:  P.O.D. is one of the few artists where I will see their album in the store and purchase it without hearing a single song.  I have not been disappointed yet. After this experience, I will support them like never before.  You know how everyone has that one album that they listen to and remembers exactly where they were when they first heard it.  "Socal Sessions" has one heck of a story behind it.  Thanks guys.

I speak blessings and increase, in Jesus' name.. amen.

Cornelious Jordan

Sonny Sandoval- lead singer P.O.D.

Traa Daniels- Bass Player P.O.D.

"Youth of a Nation"

Marco-Lead Guitar P.O.D.

Is The Local News To Blame For Mass Shootings? (video post)

My Conversation with Bill Maher

First posted on 12-3-11 via WDYTAJ

What's up everyone. I wanted to share this story with my readers:

I was talking my friend Adrien two weeks before the date above, she is an atheist. We were talking about Bill Maher. Although we have different beliefs about religion, we have mutual respect for his political views and his overall intelligence.  I told her, "You know, I would love to sit and have a conversation with Bill Maher.  It would be cool to tell him my views about being a Christian.  Hmph, I wonder what he would say?"  So imagine my amazement when I am at a popular restaurant in Los Angeles and in comes Bill Maher.  I see this guy and I think, "This ain't nothin' but God."  Of course Bill Maher would beg to differ.  If you are a Los Angeles local everyone knows you don't do the autograph and picture thing.  It's just not cool.  I'm super nervous and excited all at the same time because I'm wondering how am I going to approach this dude.  He is having dinner with a friend and I'm going to get up and talk to this HUUGE atheist about Jesus?!  I shake my head and laugh to myself.  Finally, I say, "Forget this.  I'm not going to let this opportunity pass me by.  God put this opportunity in my lap and I'm going to take it."  I time it just right.  Bill Maher gets his check, his friend pays and goes to the bathroom or as the Britts say "the loo."  Here we go...its all or nothin'.

Hey, how's it goin'?  I'm Cornelious... May I ask you a question?

Bill Maher:  Sure.

Me:  Please pardon me, but I never do this.

his friend returns from the loo

Me(cont.):  I have a blog.  At the time it was called, "What Do You Think About Jesus?"

Bill and his friend give each other a stare 

Their faces:  Aww Sh**!

I laugh to myself a little

Me:  I already know what you're thinking. I know you're an atheist, however, I wanted to tell you that I really respect your opinion.  I am a Christian, so obviously we are on opposite ends of the spectrum as far as religion goes, but you are one of my favorite speakers.  I was wondering, if and only if it's okay, could I take a picture with you for my blog?

I'm thinking I sound like a freakin' crazy fan or something, this is so lame.

Bill pauses and thinks for a second. He has a look like, "What just happened here."

Bill Maher:  Sure.

Me: Whew!

At this point I am still standing and I tell Bill Maher and his friend a little about the site.

Me:  ...the main purpose is to eradicate the uneasiness of religious conversations. You know how sometimes people get weird when you talk about religion?  That's what I want to get rid of.  The title of my last blogpost was called "Where was God at Penn State?" (I think to myself, "Most people think that's a really deep question, what's he gonna say")

Bill Maher:  ...where was God when those kids got the cleft lip?  What's up with that? It's like waay up there man.

At first I'm confused, "Is he serious or is he screwing with me?"  I have no clue what to say, because I'm totally caught off guard.  I'm also fighting the urge to laugh.  I think to myself, "I know, I'll try to say something clever."  I shrug my shoulders and say... 

Me:  I mean...

Bill Maher:  I mean its Waay up there, man!

He takes his finger and starts cramming it up his lip

I'm still trying hard not to laugh, but I break

Me: (laughing at his gestures) You know you're not supposed to laugh at that kinda stuff, man.  (continuing) It was a really good blog topic, you know...(continuing to chuckle a bit)

Bill Maher:  (being serious) You should check out this article.  It's really interesting.  It's about how difficult it is being black and atheist.

Me:   I could imagine because of the history of our culture.  I'll check it out.

        I shake his hand and sit down at the table

Me(cont):  You know I wasn't always like this, a full believer, because of the type of "christians" I encountered. I like to call myself a "Follower of Christ" now.

Bill Maher:  You know what man, I've got no respect for you...

Me:  (laugh) Ok, I wasn't expecting that (laugh)

His friend stands up to take the picture

Me:  Can I pose like this?

Bill Maher:  You can do that!  I'm not!

CLICK!

Lol. That's how the picture turned out. Now that I think about it, I don't think I said thank you.  I shake Bill and his friend's hand and right before they leave, his friend turns around and says, "See you in heaven!" 

Lol. I hope so guys...I hope so.

Oh, and by the way...Thank you.

-CJ

*update*

Feb-2012

It has been a year and about 2 months since that day.  If I saw Bill Maher now, I'd probably say what's up and buy him a shot. lol  The thing I would like my readers to know is, it's ok to have differences, but do not let those differences divide you.  Now don't get me wrong I would love it if Bill Maher accepted Jesus as his savior, however it is not my job to judge him.  My job is to live by example.  My challenge to you, my beautiful audience, is to find someone you appear to have nothing in common with.  Whether they have a different political belief, sexual orientation, or religious belief sit with them and talk.  You may discover you have more in common than you think.  THE, I say, THE most important thing is to respect one another's opinion.  You never know what a person has gone through or what has caused them to think the way they think.

Have a great day, and Voice Your Belief.

Cornelious Jordan

p.s. The restaurant was called the Newsroom Cafe' in West Hollywood.  It is now closed for business as of Sept. 15, 2014

You Are More Beautiful Than You Think.

I love this ad by Dove called "Real Beauty Sketches" released about a year ago. In this video: A sketch artist for the FBI sits several women down and asks them to describe themselves while he sits behind a curtain. He has never seen them before and will not see them until the sketch is revealed. I hope you enjoy and are as inspired as I was.

   

Who is the master?

"What you do not master, will master you."

-Pastor John Hagee

The Greatest Trick Ever Pulled...

Quotes on Fear

"Don't let fear overcome your pursuit of happiness."
-Clinton Kelly 

(Clinton said this on television show "The Chew".  It was in response to Karla conquering her fears while doing a small part for Broadway show "Newsies".)