Friday, November 30, 2007

Why Don't You Blog About It?

Ok, and in fact I will! Guess what? This is Post 100! Wow!
I'm amazed. I never knew I had that much to say. That is pretty cool. When I started blogging back in July, I had no idea what I was going to blog about or anything like that. And as you have seen from the variety, I probably still have no idea what I am going to blog about.
I will be talking to Heather (maybe rambling on and on) and about 3 or 4 times a day Heather will respond with a "Why don't you blog about it?" Sometimes that is exactly what I do.
Blogging helps me get things off my chest. It helps me process weird thoughts. It helps me prepare for Sundays. I think I am addicted to blogging. I want to encourage you all to give it a shot. Every post does not have to be an instant classic. In fact I assure you that many of the 100 posts are not a classic, and maybe should never have been posted :)
So I want take this opportunity to thank all who have read (and especially those who have commented(I really like comments)). Thank you. It has been a blast. It has been a privilege. And I can honestly say it has been.........legendary!

The New Layout

Do you like my new template?
I guess I really should explain a couple of things.

For a couple of months I had the all black background, with that funny looking guy running. I choose that one for a reason. In fact, when I chose that template, I thought it would be only a matter of days before I would announce to all of you out there in the blogsphere that I was going to start training for a marathon. I have always wanted to run a marathon. I vividly remember in 6th grade thinking that it would be a lot of fun to run a marathon. I know I am not getting any younger, so I really wanted to do it.
But unfortunately the timing is not right. Our church is keeping me busy. That is a small factor. The main factor is/was Samuel. I knew the first couple of months are really tough adjusting. So I wanted to make sure that I was not totally killing myself trying to train and then not have any energy for my family.
For now, the dream of a marathon is on hold. It is not dead! Repeat, it is not dead! I am dreaming about it right now as I type. For what it is worth one time in college I ran 18 miles just for the fun of it. I really was not that tired either.
So I am still holding on to that dream.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Thoughts from Sunday

Yeah, Yeah, I know. It seems a little late to be talking about stuff that happened on Sunday. Well maybe I am just a little slow to process things sometimes. Maybe it takes time for me to fully think through things. But let me share some thoughts about Sunday.
I did something I normally don't do. The message (which you can listen to here) was more of a lesson about sanctification. At the end I had people share their journeys with Christ using a line to represent the highs and the lows. That was a lot of fun. It took this theoretical message and made it practical. I think we all learned something about God making us more like Him and also learned more about each other. I liked the way it turned out. I have to admit I was scared when I was talking about it that people were not connecting, but having people fill it out at the end, man, they were right on.
Lots of fun!

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

3-0?

The final score of the Steelers Games was 3-0. Wow. What an strange game. I got to admit I (like every other boy who has ever walked this earth) wanted to go down and play in the mud too. It looked like a lot of fun. Just a bizarre game. But the important part is my Steelers matched their win total from last year with 5 games to go. It is looking good for a nice little playoff run, followed by another Super Bowl Victory. Yeah, I am one of those optimistic people.

I always want more

One of my biggest flaws or strengths (amazing how they can be the same) is I am always wanting to do something better, bigger, and more amazing. Just about every Sunday it is the same: I did pretty good, but...I could have done so much better. Every time we have a special event: it was good, but could have been better. Our Thanksgiving Eve service at Bakerstown Alliance was good, but I wish I did things a little different, a little more special, a little bit better. Now depending on my motivation this is either good or bad. If I want to do something better to serve God, that is a good thing. If I want to do something better to make me look better, that's a bad thing. If I am grateful to God for the outcome, good thing. If I think God let me down, bad thing.
I have to live with this tension. I have to learn to let it drive me crazy. But I love having it. I love being able to push my limits and serve my God.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Catching Leaves


If you have ever been to my house you know that there are some pretty big trees on my property. So being that it is fall, leaves fall. I was watching leaves fall from the tree. So I decided to catch them. I got lucky and caught it the first one. So I thought, this is easy. Then I tried and tried, and finally got another one. Now I am getting better. Who ever thought that leaf catching would be so much fun. One of life's simple pleasures. I like simple pleasures.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Use Everything You Have

Some years ago, I took this big long self-examination test called the IDAK test. One of the things that caught me off guard was my creative score. I cannot draw. I am not artistic. So what does that mean? I struggled with that question for some quite time.
Fast forward -- I understand what creativity is. I am understanding more and more everyday how to use it. It has been my privilege to be allowed to explore my creativity at Bakerstown Alliance. I have tried some things that, well, I will be honest, probably should have never been tried. I have tried some other things that worked out wonderfully. I feel more and more that I am able to use my creativity. When you are using your gifts and abilities, not just to their potential, but beyond, it is fun. It is rewarding.
I really hope that you take the time to discover your talents, gifts, and abilities. But knowing them is not enough. Use them. But don't stop there either. Use them beyond your current ability.
Then party and thank God!

Monday, November 19, 2007

He Plunged Me To Victory?


The other day I was thinking about some of the words in the famous song "Victory In Jesus." The song always made sense in my mind. But then I thought about the part where it says "He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood." Ok. It is that word "plunged." Be honest with me people. When is the last time you used the word "plunged." If you are like me it was in reference to a clogged toilet that you had to plunge. Honey, I had to plunge the toilet today. So what does plunging and victory in Jesus have to do with each other?
I will share my first thought with you (a thought that I now know is not correct). I was thinking ok, plunge me beneath the cleansing flood...Ok Jesus pushes us through and that gives us the victory. Kinda gross but hey maybe?
Well then I looked up the word plunged. I found out there are eight different definitions for the verb form of plunged. The third definition was "To put something quickly in something." Going with that one; Christ quickly got us the victory. That is pretty cool.

Now the point of all of this is just to challenge you to think about the words you sing. To not just sing them but to know what they mean.

My second challenge (not seriously) is for you to come up with your own translation of "plunged me to victory." Have fun!

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Junky Car Club


It is official. I am a member of the elite Junky Car Club. It is a funny little organization that would rather give to those in need than to drive a nice car. For what it is worth Heather and I have two cars. The "old" one (1993 Nissan Quest) has 225,000 miles on it. Our "new" car (1996 Geo Prism) only has 188,000 miles on it. But check out the Junky Car Club homepage junkycarclub.com

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Enjoying the view?

I have read/heard many people's stories about going on vacation. I myself have been on vacation. Now just about every vacation story that you hear about will have this phrase or something similar: "It was one of the most beautiful things I ever saw." So that got me thinking. Is that really possible, or is it that we are just not looking? Then I started to think about Paul, who at the time was Saul, in the Bible when he was blinded on the road to Damascus. When he would have regained his sight, imagine all the things he would have seen! Imagine the view. I am sure he was enjoying the view. I hope you take the time to enjoy the view. Hey, why are you still reading this? Go enjoy the view already!

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Bad Bloggers

Now I decided there needs to be a definition of a bad blogger. So here it is: A bad blogger is a person who has not blogged in 1 week. That is 7 days, or 168 hours. Now, here is a question that I need your help with. What form of punishment does a bad blogger get? Hmm... My thought is to create another link list entitled "Bad Blogger" and move those who are on my "Links I like" to the "Bad Blogger." Anyone else have any ideas?

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Top 10 Worst Ice Breakers for a Small Group

10. Share the worst sin you’ve ever committed.
9. If you were God, who would you punish first?
8. Which person in this group do you think needs to find Jesus the most?
7. Which people at your church do you wish would find a different church, and why?
6. If you could erase any verse out of the Bible, which one would it be?
5. Share the juiciest piece of gossip you know so we can pray about it.
4. If you could have anything from your neighbor’s house, what would it be?
3. What’s your favorite of The 10 Commandments to break?
2. If you could change anything about your spouse, what would it be?
1. If you could commit any sin and get away with it, what would it be?

So does anyone want to add to this “worst” ice breaker to this list?

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Being Born and Being Born Again

In John 3 we have the story of Nicodemus asking how to have eternal life. The answer of course is to be born again. Now, when we read that we immediately think of a baby. Being that I just had one of those a week ago, it got me thinking. My son Samuel does not know how to do a lot of things. Like talk, walk, or even roll over. They tell me that he can not see more than like 18" away from his face. So as parents our job is to teach him these valuable life skills.
Now when we are talking about being born again, there is a difference. It is at that moment we receive the WHOLE Spirit of God. Samuel is not ready to do some of those things. His brain and body are not developed enough to be able to do them. But when we are talking about receiving the Spirit of God, it is there. Now we might need to learn how to use it and stuff like that but it is there.
So are you using it? Or are you just letting it sit there?

Friday, November 9, 2007

Read a good blog lately?

Let me encourage you all to head on over to Patty's blog. Trust me, if it comes from Patty's mouth, or in this case from her fingers, it will be worth reading. She's a lady of great insight and a lot of fun. So check it out. Trust me, you will not be disappointed. Check Patty's blog now, and check Patty's blog often. And if you don't check Patty's blog, well, then you are just not cool. So why are you still reading this? Shouldn't you be at Patty's blog?

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

You want to see some pictures?

I thought you would, so here we go:




Monday, November 5, 2007

He is here!!!!!!!!!!

It's a boy!!!!!!!! Heather had a 8 lb 14 oz 19 inch boy. Every one is healthy. I'll get you some pictures soon. I'd type more but I am holding Samuel James right now, and watching the Steelers.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Sunday Random Reflections

Now please bear with me. I will probably be all over the place.

I'm really enjoying our "Get Out of the Boat" Sunday morning growth group. Good discussions, good growth.

My throat is tired after Sundays. This is nothing new for me. It is this way just about every week. Sore might be one word, but it is a little different than a sore throat.

I liked the amount of people there today. I don't remember the number, but it felt full.

The extra hour of sleep was nice for me, and people seemed more awake then normal.

Had good muffins to eat this morning .

My wireless mic cut out on me in the middle of the message. I don't like when that happens. I have a love hate relationship with that mic. There are days I love and days I hate it. Today is a day I hate it. (proud of myself for grabbing the other mic and not trying to do without a mic (see tired throat above))

I made some grammatical errors on the listening guide. I hate doing that, but it happens unfortunately.

Patty and June shared about seizing opportunities and chasing lions...that was good stuff. That was so encouraging. By the way if you want to listen to it, go to bakerstownalliance.org. You will find a player towards the bottom of the page. Just click on it, and towards the end you will hear Patty and June.

Tough call: do I watch the Nascar race or Patriots vs. Colts?

Sundays are a blur. I don't remember everything that happened. I feel so drained every week. I put so much into it. Man, does that feel good! I know that sounds weird but, just to invest yourself totally into anything. I think we are missing that in our current culture.

Monday is coming. Now normally on Mondays I spend the day doing little projects and cleaning up things and basically just relaxing. This monday...well...just check out this post from my wife http://innermostthoughtsofaveryprivateperson.blogspot.com/2007/10/baby.html. So it is possible it will be a different kind of day.

This fall stuff, I love it. It is has been really comfortable.

I have been loving hanging out with Isaiah. He is becoming more and more fun. I know I have said that before but it continues to be more fun.

This whole chase the lion study, we're six weeks into it. Wow. It is what our church needed. It has been really good. If you haven't done it yet, check out chasethelion.com

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Where has Ska gone?

I am sitting here working on stuff for Sunday and had the urge to listen to some good Insiderz (ska band from the 90's). I don't know why ska fell of the face the world. Ska rules! I think we all need to make an effort to bring ska back and better then ever. Ska just puts you in a great mood doesn't it? Well now I have proven the fact that I am nerd. But is there anyone else out there that misses ska, or is just me?