100th Post

It's taken me a couple years to get here, but here I am. The infamous 100th Post. And yes, I am well aware that I haven't posted in 2 months. :) My wife and I both decided to take a "blogging break" this summer as we focused on the family. Honestly, neither of us missed blogging. Don't know what that means, but I do know it has caused us to examine where blogging falls in our list of priorities. Neither of us has decided to quit blogging, but instead are trying to figure out where it fits into our normal weekly routine.

So, here's what I do know based on all my blogging research. If a person does not blog at least 3 times a week, most likely his or her readers will begin to fall away. In addition, commenting on other people's blogs obviously causes traffic to come to your blog. I never really started blogging to gain readers, I actually did it as an avenue to stay connected to the people of my church and my worship team. Then it morphed a bit into a family journal as well so that we could have a record of what life has been like (since scrapbooking is out of the picture with 3 kids under the age of 4).

In light of the above statistic and the fact that I haven't blogged in 2 months nor commented on anyone's blog except this guy, I am going to attempt to "recall" all my former blog patrons! I have seen that there are certain sort of "buzz words" through google that cause people stop by and visit your blog. So I thought, what a better way to bring people back than to write an insane paragraph using some of the highest googled words. So, for those of you visiting for the first time looking for a wealth of information on the following subjects, I'm very sorry, I have little to offer you in this post. :) So here we go...

My good friend and might I add, Rock Star Aaron Ivey has just skyrocketed to CCM fame in his inclusion on the soon to be in every Christian household game "Guitar Praise." Yes that's right, if you ever wondered what it would be like to walk in this guy's shoes or play like his white haired guitar player, now's your chance. Run, don't walk and pick up Guitar Praise for your home entertainment system and learn to sing and play like a true CCM Rock Star. And on a few other notes, you should know that Hurricane Gustav hit Louisiana on Labor Day this week. As Batman: the Dark Knight is arguably one of the best movies of all times, I can't help but kick myself for wasting 2 hours of my life on Tropic Thunder. American Idol has added a fourth judge this season in an effort to boost sagging ratings. We'll see if it helps. I have noticed that about once a week, CNN runs some sort of headline on their home page that has the word SEX in it to lure people into clicking. This past week it was "8 bad reasons to have SEX." We have now seen that our Presidential tickets are Obama/Biden and McCain/Palin. Teen pregnancy has already been brought up on the GOP side of things, while others out there are still calling Obama a terrorist and the AntiChrist. Ridiculous. Other things that seem to have great public appeal are Elvis, Worship, Gotees, Gotee Trimming, David Hasselhoff, the new 90210, Glenn Beck, Hannah Montana, Ross King's Clear the Stage and Michael Jackson.

So, if you have come to my blog for any of the above reasons, welcome. If you stick around, I'm sure there will be other forthcoming posts that are sure to be of interest to you. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help in the area that you are researching. Should you choose not to revisit my blog, I won't hold that against you. But you should still go out and get Guitar Praise.

The Great Cup Marker

Have you ever been hanging out with friends and looked around at the disposable cups you’re using and wondered, “Which one is mine?” “I remember setting it down somewhere…”

Here’s what I know. If you’re ever at a party or any other social gathering, I can show you the cup that is not yours. Below is my wife’s cup. We have been dating since 1996…it was then that I became privy to the little habit of “marking” her cup. She says she plans on chewing the gum again…in almost 13 years, I can tell you that I have never seen her “rechew” the gum she puts on cups, plates, and bowls. So why not just throw it away????

But I love her even more for it!

Worship and Communion Sunday

Well, we're gearing up for a Worship and Communion Sunday this week. Basically, our Sunday morning services will consist of worship through song, scripture, silence, giving, teaching, and communion.

We usually keep the service under an hour, but really try to engage God through some creative elements that we don't always get to use on Sunday mornings. In my preparations for our time this week, I have been more and more convinced that there is nothing so creative or musically excellent that is capable of causing God to move.

He is independent of us. He is unlike us. He's not confined by our preexisting thoughts about him. Yet, He is present with us and many times we miss Him. My prayer for Sunday is not that the music is great, presentation is compelling, and transitions are executed flawlessly. I think those things help. My prayer is that we don't miss Him when He's right there in our midst.

I'm still plowing through Worship Matters by Bob Kauflin. In light of this week's service, here are some of his thoughts that are running through my head.

- In our sincere desire to help others view God as approachable, we must not forget that God is wholly unlike us. He is the one "who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see." (1 Timothy 6:16)

- Not once is Jesus or God ever described in the Bible as our friend. Abraham is God's friend; the reverse is never stated. Of course, in one sense Jesus is the best friend a poor sinner ever had. Nevertheless, that is not the terminology of Scripture, almost as if the Bible is reluctant to descend into the kind of cheap intimacy that brings God or Jesus down to our level." - D.A. Carson

- To lead worship in a way that makes God seem dull is a sin. But it's not creativity and production values that will help us. It's helping people clearly apprehend the character and works of God.

- The affections we're seeking to stir up are more than fleeting, shallow, self-induced emotion. We aren't trying to excite people for the sake of excitement. We aren't leading a pep rally for band. Godly affections are deep and long -lasting. They're the result of focusing on what God has done and who He is.

Looking forward to Sunday!