Tim Barosh Photo

Well, it's been a long time coming, but we're finally ready to get this project going! Tim Barosh Photo (www.timbaroshphoto.com) is now live and open for business.

I have always loved photography and have wanted to do it on the side for years. It just so happens that the price of gas and 3 little kiddos were the catalysts for me actually giving it a spin! :)

So yes, I am starting this business to make a little cash in addition to my full time job at this great church. If you're looking to categorize the quality of my work, I'd say this: "I'm not as good as the $6000 wedding photographer, but I'm better than your uncle Joe with his disposable camera from Walgreens."

I love shooting families, weddings, maternity, sports events, and birthday parties! You'll be able to purchase all your prints directly through my website and they'll be delivered right to your door.

To see some of my work, check out my website and my Flickr link to the right!

Shoot me an email at timbaroshphoto@gmail.com for any of your photography needs!

Praise Hymn Fashions

I've been eagerly awaiting the newest copy...hot of the press and straight to my office mailbox.

Crowder: Jesus is My Friend

Hey may just be the one and only that could cover it so well.

Mom's Night Out

Well, tonight my wife is getting a much needed night out.  She does such a fantastic job pouring into our family and home that I get really excited when she gets to get away for some refreshing.  Tonight she's out with a friend from church named Cassie and I'm sure they're having a great time.  I do know they went for Sushi at Japaneiro's...beyond that, I'm not sure.

Regardless, when I'm here with the kids by myself, it opens my eyes to just how difficult her job is.  Having 3 kids under the age of 4 is fun, but a bit draining at the same time.  Just as the baby was almost asleep tonight, the 2 year old came screaming in because she had a blister on her foot and wanted a Diego band aid.  So the process of putting the baby down started all over. :)

When it was time to go to bed, they had pulled all the books off their shelf because their "keys" fell behind the bookshelf.  That was fun cleaning.

Just when I thought I was in the clear...I get a call from the 4 year old..."Papi, I have a hang nail.  I need the clippers"

This is not a bad night, actually it was pretty fun and I kept my cool throughout.  However, I only had them awake for about 2.5 hours.  She has them alone from 8:30 till 5:00 when I get home.  She loves it, but sometimes I know it gets hard.  Today, I ate Filet Mignon at Fogo de Chao for lunch...she ate goldfish at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.  I nearly felt depressed as I ate, knowing she was the one that deserved the steak dinner.   

So we've started praying each morning as a family.  Once everyone is done, I pray for our family and always include a prayer for Mel to not lose the great vision God gave her for our children and our home.  I pray that God-given passion would fuel her to lovingly lead our children towards Christ each day.  I pray that patience would flood her soul in times of great "toddler" testing.

Mel is still passionate about her role as mom, wife, and manager of our home.  And when she gets nights out like this, she's even more ready to dive in the next day! 

Before the Kids Wake

I'm sitting here on the couch with my son, waiting for the two princesses to wake up.   I thought I'd take some time to write a few lines.

Sunday was our first day back to normal after the hurricane.  Interesting enough, we had planned 2 weeks before the hurricane to do Jimmy Needham's "Hurricane" during the service.  We nixed that one.  Probably a bit too cliche. :)

We opened our service with a new song off of Tomlin's album called Praise the Father, Praise the Son.  Incredible...both services caught on well and sang their hearts out.  It was really a great morning to be back with our people and worshiping God.

I have heard some negative reviews about Tomlin's new album, especially on iTunes.  I have to say though, Tomlin has never been unclear about his approach to songwriting.  He writes for the church.  The songs on this album are incredibly singable and can be used in most corporate worship settings.  We will be using a great deal of these songs at our church and I am very pleased with the album.  In contrast, it seems many of the CCM worship bands are drifting from the "singability" factor needed for churches to use their songs regularly.  Tomlin has yet to drift from his original vision of writing songs for the church.  Good stuff.

Full House

Ike has brought lots of frustration for everyone. Understandable.

One of the joys of times like this is seeing everyone pull together. From helping with boarding of houses to clean up after the storm, there is always a real sense of togetherness that happens during these times.

Some church friends of ours called from out of town to see if they could bring us groceries on the way in because they saw the state of stores here!

Tonight, we're pulling together with friends and family. My brother and his kids still don't have power, so they're staying another night with us. We got a call from our good friends Iris and Pablo and they're without power as well. So, we're all hanging tonight under our roof.

Mel gets all the "girl-talk" time she can handle and me and the fellas are getting ready to play some poker.

If nothing else, there will be good conversation and deeper relationships because of this storm.

Thanks Ike.

The Days of Ike

It was a long couple days leading up to Ike. We received a call at 7:20 a.m. on Thursday from our Canadian friends down the street. We joke with them about being hurricane rookies. :) Anyhow, they were needing some help boarding up the house, so after Chris and I both worked half days, we started pounding away at the wood. Chris being a chemist and myself being a pastor, it soon became quite evident the neither of us were carpenters. So, the phone call to master handy man Roland was made.

3 hours later, boards were up and the Canadians were ready to ride the storm. Roland proceeded to board his house with help from some 8 year olds and then he helped my mother-in-law with hers. While boarding in the early afternoon, I took call from a friend needing some "hurricane worthy" relationship counseling. So, Mel and I cleared our calendars and had the lovely couple over Thursday night.

We continued helping with boarding on Friday...all the while my house was taped with X's. :) One of the 8 year olds that was helping us was clowning on me for taping the windows with an X. He said, "Ike is going to be blowing through, then come up to my house and see the X's and turn and go the other way." I told him they were holy X's taped and filled with the Holy Spirit and ready to take on Evil Ike. He looked at me oddly.

My wife and I decided to take our friend Peter up on his offer to crash at his empty house that was already boarded up. We were very grateful!

Now, the day after...we had power by 3:00 p.m. and I only had one casualty...my front yard tree. I think we had power so quickly because we live a mile from a hospital one way and a mile from a sherriff's station and prison the other way.

My brother is on his way over now with his kids. They live in Katy and the power is still out there. He said the kids were tossing and turning in their sleep because they were so hot. Reminds me of my summer in Spain. No AC...sleeping with the windows open. I didn't sleep well that summer.

So, we have no church services tomorrow, so maybe we'll join some friends at the one nearest our house. We'll see...

Oh, and looking at my phone, I had about 30 texts going throughout the storm. I can't imagine texting like that if I didn't have a full keyboard phone. What did I do before these days of technology?

I know many others had it worse than us. So many people lost everything. I'm grateful tonight.

Voddie on CNN

Ok, so I don't talk politics much. In fact, I rarely talk about it with anyone other than my wife or a few trusted friends that will still hang with me even if we sharply disagree on candidates and issues. Other than that, I'm not going to risk a friendship over a candidate.

That being said, the Reverend Casey Cease sent this my way today...I have thoughts, but let's see what you guys have to say and we'll go from there.

What Rocks My World

Blue Wave Car Wash

Quite possibly the most amazing car wash to hit Houston (thankfully one is an exit down from my house). Prior to Blue Wave, I was paying no less than $10 for the wash, plus whatever I spent on vacuums. I get it all now for $4.99! And I'm pretty sure you could lose an appendage should you get too close to their vacuums. They are by far the strongest I've ever seen...

On My iPod

Here's what's in high rotation on my iPod right now.

• Jimmy Needham (Firefly and Hurricane)
• Glenn Hansard (The Swell Season)
• John Mayer (Free Fallin' Live)
• Colbie Caillat (Oxygen, Older, Battle, and Tied Down)
• Amos Lee (Last Days at the Lodge)
• Daniel Renstrom (Adore and Tremble EP)
• Some Original Songs from this dude

What are you guys listening to?