Featured Artist

Jimmy Needham

2010-02-01T14:00:00Z

I liked Jimmy Needham the very first time I heard the song Dearly Loved. The lyrics, the sound, all of it. How do you not like lyrics like these? (You can hear it here on his MySpace page) To the slaughters you are being led Being told that it's a party That this God is in your head And every single lie Sounds just like the greatest truth But the one truth you're not hearing Is that he died for you So good. So true. Then the other day I went to see what he had to say for himself on his website (http://www.jimmyneedham.com) and I liked that too. Here are a few quotes that I feel like a lot of us can probably relate to: “Many of the songs on my first album were birthed out my frustration with friends who claimed to love the Lord but were going out and getting hammered every weekend,” “I discovered that zeal and passion for God is a good thing, but if you don’t love people, it doesn’t count for much,” There's a lot more worth reading and listening to so go check him out when you have a little free time and here's another great song if you want to hear more:

JJ Heller

2010-01-01T14:00:00Z

"When my world is shaking, Heaven stands. When my heart is breaking, I never leave Your hands." That's the chorus to Your Hands by JJ Heller and I love it. My friend Miranda told me about her the other day so I'm checking her out and thought you guys might want to also. Here's a quote from her bio page that says a lot about who she is and the music she writes: “I feel called to be honest about what’s going on in my life -- to talk and sing about the struggles that I face so that my listeners realize that they are not alone...For some reason, Christians (including myself) sometimes think, ‘if I’m following the Lord and doing the best I can, that life will be easy,’ and it’s not. That’s where grace comes in, and that’s where we grow.” Oooo, here's another quote I like - “We have the choice to live in fear, or to live in the hope that God is in every moment with us, that’s one of the major themes of this season in my life.” This is someone I could hang out with for a while. If you don't already know the song, check out Your Hands and some of her other stuff and let me know what you think. Here's her website - http://jjheller.com/home.asp - and from there you can check out her MySpace, Facebook, Blog and more.

Another Christmas with Dave

2009-12-01T14:00:00Z

I know I've featured Dave Barnes before so this is really more of a Featured Artist Christmas Moment. If you haven't seen any of his YouTube (or Jutubth as he would say) videos, you've missed out...so hereth a leetle prethent for ju. He's a bit mental but funny and quite festive in an awkward "why is he wearing that shirt" kind of way. And isn't that the combination everyone looks for in both a man and an artist? Yes, yes it is. Merry Christmas from Dave and of course from us here at Virtuous Reality. GO JESUS!!!!

Owl City

2009-11-01T18:37:40Z

First thought - "Who is this strange techno-man and why do people like him so much?" Second thought - "Oh no, the 80's are back." Third thought - "He's actually kind of catchy and I LOVE what he's done with his website! Just the fact that you can post a thought, an idea, and he's posting along with you...it's different...I like different." Followed by more thoughts and more listening, and I think I like this guy...although he's a little peppier than any man I have ever met. What I like most about him, however, is that he says on his MySpace page "I follow Jesus Christ wholeheartedly. He is my life, my strength, my all." That's enough for me. My guess is that you guys have been listening to him for a while so let us know what you think! What is it you like about him and his music?

I wish Brooke Fraser was my friend

2009-10-01T14:00:00Z

There are certain people you see, or listen to, or hear about that you just wish you could be friends with. I wish I could be friends with Brooke Fraser. The kind of friends who love Jesus and encourage each other...and sing loud in the car together and she wouldn't judge me even though she has an incredible voice. It's her lyrics that draw me in. Like these from Shadowfeet: Walking, stumbling on these shadowfeet toward home, a land that I've never seen I am changing, less and less asleep made of different stuff than when I began I love those lyrics. They make me think about where I am compared to where I used to be and how thankful I am that God is changing me and making me more like Him and less like the jerk I am without Him. I also think there's a lot of C.S. Lewis going on in those words, and any fan of Lewis is a friend of mine. You won't see a lot of Jesus talk on her website (click here to go there) because I had read that she doesn't like to use her faith to sell her stuff. She is, I believe, part of the worship team at Hillsong church in Australia (someday...someday I will go there...God willing) and has written some of my all-time favorite worship songs like Hosanna and Lead Me to the Cross. Below is the video to Shadowfeet if you want to hear the song and click here to check out her MySpace page.

The Reliques

2009-09-01T14:00:00Z

If you made it to our Virtue En Vogue event on August 18th you heard these girls play and sing and I, for one, thought they were great. I loved how personable,friendly and easy to talk to they were. I loved that they were happy to help us out with the event and that they even played along with their own fashion flair. Mostly I loved that they really seem to love Jesus. That's always my favorite thing about anyone. I'm not the only one who thought they were great. They won this year's 102.3 The River's Austin Artist Showcase and even Bobby Bones (popular local DJ) had something good to say about them. You can see all this and more on their MySpace page which I have to say looks better than any other MySpace page I've seen...seriously. You can also become a fan on Facebook and their stuff is available on iTunes. As always, pray for these girls. Anyone in the spotlight is in a very dangerous position.

The Jesus Painter

2009-08-01T21:21:15Z

Some of you may already be familiar with Mike Lewis (a.k.a. the Jesus Painter) but for those of you who like to create with your hands, who love to draw or paint or sculpt, this guy is pretty amazing. I first saw him years ago at a youth workers conference and he blew me away. He's made an art of showing people the face of God without ever opening his mouth. Pretty cool huh. You should see him in person. Check out his website if you want to read more about him - www.jesuspainter.com

Esther Havens Photography

2009-07-01T18:00:00Z

We're gonna branch out a little this week and spotlight an artist who works in pictures instead of music. I don't know how many of you are into photography but it takes a special talent to look at the world around us and frame a shot so that it tells a story instead of just freezes a moment in time. Anyone can take a picture, but not just anyone can show you the world in a single shot. Esther Havens can. She has an eye that sees beyond the surface and she's willing to go anywhere (literally anywhere) God is working in this world to help "open (people's) hearts and minds to see the third world conditions in a way that might challenge them to make a difference". If you want to know more, check out her website to see some of her amazing photos and read her blog. What this young woman does with a camera and natural light is truly impressive. I love it when God's people use their talents to bless Him and not for their own fame...I pray that's what Esther Havens is all about.

There's More to Kris Allen

2009-06-01T16:00:00Z

Have you guys already seen this? You're probably way ahead of me because I don't watch much American Idol but I was shocked (and apparently so was he) to hear that Kris Allen won this time around. I've only tuned in twice this season, once to see this Adam guy that everyone was talking about, and once accidentally in London where I was won over immediately by Kris' rendition of "Ain't No Sunshine". Man he did a beauty of a job with that one. From that point on I was hoping he would win but didn't really think it would happen because of all the hype behind Adam. Come to find out the guy seems to love Jesus and leads worship in his church. Who knew? Well, probably everyone who was paying attention...which wasn't me. So cheers to him and I hope and pray that he holds onto Jesus with everything he has because this idol life can ruin anyone. I pray that he stays quiet and humble and that Hollywood doesn't turn him into the worst possible Kris he could be. I also pray that we all remember that men make horrible idols and only God can live up to His hype.

Special request for TobyMac

2009-05-01T18:41:22Z

We recently had a request to feature TobyMac on our site and I thought how cool is it that someone who's been around as long as Toby is still loving Jesus and making music that's about Him. So I went looking for some good info but he doesn't seem to do a lot of talking about himself. Even his website is more about a camp he started with friends than it is about himself. See for youself - http://www.tobymac.com/ That's when I realized that I really like Toby Mac. Because I'm sick of people talking big about themselves but not having much to back up the talk. For example - I just recently heard from a friend in the entertainment industry that one of my favorite Christian bands is the worst group of people she's ever worked with. She said they were rude to everyone, didn't pay people for the work they did and even though they talked a good Jesus talk onstage, once they were off they were horrible. She even said that a friend of hers even gave up on Christianity because of how this one band acted. How sad is that? That being said, I appreciate a man who has followed Jesus faithfully for a long time (as far as I can tell) and loves his family a lot and is more concerned about living what he believes than talking about it. Check him out and let me know what you think.

Have you heard of Starfield?

2009-04-01T14:00:00Z

I didn't know anything about them but then we started singing this song in church called Reign In Us and I LOVE IT!!! Turns out they have more than just one good song so if you don't already know about them, check them out and let me know what you think - www.starfieldonline.com Here's a little blurb from their website: "We are so privileged, yet we're so dissatisfied with our lives no matter how well we're doing", lead singer Tim Neufeld says. "There's always this underlying pressure to be doing better, when the exact opposite should be the case. The pressure and call on our lives should be to live with less and give away more." If you go to their site you'll find links to their Blog, Facebook, MySpace and YouTube pages. Looks like they have the whole computer arena covered.

Tenth Avenue North

2009-03-01T14:00:00Z

I'm highlighting this band because recently the lead singer, Mike Donehey, went on a ski trip with our youth group to hang out with people and help them worship... I think that's pretty cool. Here's a little blurb from their website: At present, We're just trying to find our way in the Christian music industry "dodging traffic at the intersection of art, faith, and commerce," as Jon Foreman once put it. We all come from church backgrounds and families, and therefore, are not satisfied saying the same old things in the same old ways. What we're hoping for with this music that we're making is to not just entertain people. I think it's safe to say that we already have plenty of that. What we're wanting is to see people encounter truth. Remember, we all worked at a church for some time, and there we saw plenty of emotion. We saw plenty of people having a good time, but it wasn't long until we realized that if emotion isn't being evoked by truth, well, then it just doesn't last. And we want this love in hearts to last. I guess you could say we're done just trying to get emotional from blast beats and hip guitar lyrics. Instead, we desire to be cut to the heart. To be honest, genuine, and faithful to what we believe is truth. Nobody said it would be easy, but if easy isn't true, then who wants it? Here's a link to their site if you want more - Tenth Avenue North

Eduardo Verastegui

2009-02-01T14:00:00Z

Did you see the movie Bella? It was so sweet...such a beautiful story of love and sacrifice and second chances. Here's the most wonderful thing about the movie. The main actor, Eduardo, is sort of the Brad Pitt of Latin America. He acts, he sings, he models, he does it all - but a few years ago someone confronted him on how he was living and reminded him that it's not enough to just say you believe in Jesus, you have to actually live it. Here's the movie trailer and his story in his own words: You know what's really amazing? Babies are being saved because this guy decided to live his beliefs instead of live for himself. If you want to know more about the movie, here's a link to the site - Bella The Movie. It's rated PG-13 so you might not be able to see it yet but it's a great story that's actually doing good instead of harm...almost unheard of these days and I love it!

Jason Castro - He is Second

2009-01-01T14:00:00Z

If any of you are into American Idol you know who Jason Castro is, but do you know how much he loves Jesus? Because I didn't until a friend sent me to the I Am Second website and I saw this video (click here for a better quality video): This is the kind of guy I hope y'all are looking for. Not vampires from books or the latest superstar or the hot guy in your school, but a guy who really loves Jesus and is trying to live for Him. Isn't it encouraging to know that they are out there? Keep in mind that the guys who really love Jesus are usually looking for girls who really loves Jesus, and that's something you can be working on as you trust God with your life and whoever He has lined up for you. Who knows, he might even have great hair and a nice smile like Jason Castro :)

Meet Dave Barnes

2008-12-01T18:00:00Z

With Christmas just around the corner, it's the perfect time to introduce you to Dave Barnes...assuming you don't already know him. He's such a good musician, but my favorite thing is that he doesn't mind making a fool of himself and putting it on "the JuTube" for all to see...love that! A good friend (hello Mo) brought me into the world of Dave via this video, and now it's my turn to do the same for you. Consider it a Christmas present...you're welcome. To learn more about Dave...well, first watch his YouTube videos, then go to his website at www.davebarnes.com. And if you want to hear some of his best stuff (in my opinion) check out the songs Until You and On a Night Like This. You might also want to look into the Mocha Club, which is something he's involved with that ties us together with Africa and for $7 a month you can help one of God's kids on the other side of the world. Anyone can handle $7 a month to help someone in need and anything we do for "the least of these" we did for Jesus. Merry Christmas Everyone - It's all about Jesus!!