ATLANTA
- Casting Crowns lead singer and songwriter Mark Hall says the band and
road crew pray over all the seats before every concert.
In a conference call with Charisma Magazine, Hall said they spread
out over each auditorium and pray that "any nasty spiritual presence"
from previous concerts will be cast out so that God's Spirit can work
in the lives of that night's audience.
Hall also revealed that Casting Crowns, which performed a
groundbreaking concert in North Korea early last year, may be invited
back to perform there around next Easter.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
By Michelle Burford "Friends are the family we choose for ourselves," writer Edna Buchanan once said. I consider the "family" I've gathered—with five kinds of pals I count on for completely different things—among the wisest choices I've made. If you can find even one who embodies any of the characteristics that follow, you can consider yourself fortunate.
1. The Uplifter This woman's favorite word: yes. You could tell her you're trading your six-figure income for a career in offtrack betting, and she'd barely pause before yelping "Go for it!" Don't you need someone who looks past the love handles to notice the extraordinarily gorgeous you?
2. The Travel Buddy When the hotel in St. Lucia is a bust, one characteristic becomes all-important: flexibility. This agreeable companion need not be the girl you traded pinkie swears with on the playground; it's enough that she's comfortable with quiet (between gabfests) and is a teensy bit mischievous (as in tequila after midnight).
3. The Truth Teller Intent is what separates the constructive from the abusive. Once you've established that the hard news is spoken in love (not in jealousy or malice), you'd be smart to seek out this woman's perspective.
4. The Girl Who Just Wants to Have Fun One Saturday a pal and I—and yes, we're both over age 12—pored over every glitter lip gloss in a drugstore aisle for an entire 45 minutes. Forget the crisis download (for that, see the Uplifter); this partnership is about spontaneous good times.
5. The Unlikely Friend "Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive," Anaïs Nin wrote. My friends—some twice my age, others half, some rich, others homeless, some black like me, others Korean, Mexican, Caucasian—have added richness to my life that only variety can bring.
This is the surface of an interactive, 10 meter long bar. Every glass, cup, cellphone, car key, businesscard or even fingers will be recognized. www.i-bar.ch
By Michelle Burford
