My Little Man's First Trip to the Barber Shop

My my little man made his first trip to the barber shop today!  He was a bit nervous when we sat him down, but a lollipop made everything better.  (In fact, we went through 4 lollipops because he kept dropping them and freshly cut hair does not come off sticky candy.)  :)

Anyhow, this dude was so chill the whole time...like Sports Clips was his home.  I think I heard him tell me the score to the game at one point.

Loved this day...great memory for me!

Kids and Passover

So glad my wife is teaching our kids from the Bible. I drove up from work the other day and this piece of art was on our front door glaring at me from three blocks away. I smiled immediately because I knew what my children were learning...but even deeper that the blood of Christ poured out has made me right with God. I pray the same for my children.

We eventually brought the sign indoors because Ellie kept walking around telling people we put blood on the door. Could be a bit morbid entry into a conversation with neighbors. Then again, maybe we all shy away from the blood too much...hmmm.

Is This You?

My Baby Turned 5!

Five years have flown by!  Our little girl Isabella just turned five this week.  I snapped a couple pictures of her at our family party on Tuesday.  She was so excited that it was her special day and I loved the joy she found in that day.

Old Pics and Good Friends

I'm trying to sort through my picture files and get some things organized. I ran across these pictures from last summer hanging with our friends Ernie and the Monroys. Our kids love'em like family and I remember how much fun they had swimming this day. Good memories.

Mommy's New Prayer Jar

Mommy was so bummed that she accidentally broke the last prayer jar we gave her. So we thought Valentine's Day would be a perfect time to replace it. The kids worked hard on this one and were very excited to give it to her!

My Family Christmas Pictures (Cut!)

So I just finished shooting our family Christmas portraits to send out to family and friends. It was so much fun doing it in our own house. Good-bye JC Penny's :)

As we narrowed it down to the one we'll actually send out, here are a few that didn't make the cut! :)

It's amazing what you go through for one good picture.

Good Quote on the Lukewarm

Lukewarm people probably drink and swear less than average but besides that, they really aren't very different from your typical unbeliever.  They equate their partially sanitized lives with holiness, but they couldn't be more wrong.

Francis Chan - Crazy Love p. 79

My Birthday Weekend

Had a great weekend with the family.  We celebrated my 33rd birthday (very holy age I might add).   Having 3 kiddos now, Mel and I laugh at how "flexible" our plans have to be on birthdays! We were still able to do everything Mel had planned for the day, it just was more interesting with 3 kids in tote!  

We had a blast getting breakfast at Einstein Bagels (my kids still think they were donuts).  We forgot the diaper bag at home and didn't realize it till we were already at breakfast.  So we cruised back to get it from the house, drove to a park in the area to do cake and gifts.  Then we came home and got the kids excited about Grandma coming over.

(opening my own present hasn't happened in 4 years)

Then Mel and I took off to the Grove in downtown Houston.  Incredible restaurant and great vibe. We stayed there the whole night, then cruised home and crashed!  It was amazing to have a few hours of uninterrupted grown-up conversation.  Hard to come by these days!

(Mel enjoying the cool night air on the walkway at Discovery Green)

(The view from our outside table upstairs)

Thanks Mel for a great birthday...you're the best wife a man could have!

A Core Issue

So this is a heated election and I have found passionate Christians on both sides of the fence (politically speaking).  As you can read on my wife's blog, we have been following Voddie's blog as he has been doing quite a bit of research on both candidates.  We are really trying to make an informed decision on which way we will vote.

What we have come to realize in our many talks about the election is this:  Our vote must be run through the filter of our Christian faith.  As soon as faith enters the picture, so does the infamous question of Pro-life vs. Pro-choice.  

I know all the statistics.  I know both the Republican and Democratic sides.  I know some say there are "bigger fish to fry."  But, the reality is that this issue will weigh heavily upon mine and my wife's decision.

When things get thick like this for me, I usually go to some of our current heroes in the faith for their thoughts.  Below is a video from a frequently quoted pastor - Dr. John Piper

A Great Read

What an incredible book I'm reading right now. This one that I'm taking slow, not trying to rush through. I find that there are numerous paragraphs I just want to read again and again. I want the words he writes and the scriptures he references to drop deeper into my soul. Here are some quotes that I've read lately that are simmering within me.

"I believe that much of the American churchgoing population, while not specifically swimming downstream, is slowly floating away from Christ. It isn't a conscious choice, but it is nonetheless happening because little in their lives propels them toward Christ."

"Leftovers are not merely inadequate; from God's point of view (and lest we forget, His is the only one who matters), they're evil. Let's stop calling it 'a busy schedule' or 'bills' or 'forgetfulness.' It's called evil."

"Many of us believe we have as much of God as we want right now, a reasonable portion of God among all the other things in our lives. Most of our thoughts are centered on the money we want to make, the school we want to attend, the body we aspire to have, the spouse we want to marry, the kind of person we want to become...God is not someone who can be tacked on to our lives."

Sunday to Sunday

As we’re headed into our Sunday experience tomorrow at Crossbridge, I can’t help but to keep thinking about last Sunday. See, we are constantly evaluating our Sunday morning environment through many different lenses. Some are of the spiritual nature, some just plain logistical.

In regards to Sundays, the staff typically asks the following 4 open-ended questions about our Sunday mornings.

• What went right?
• What went wrong?
• What was missing?
• What was confusing?

So, I didn’t wait till Tuesday this week. Chuck and I went at it right when we got there on Monday. We both knew something wasn’t right and it mainly centered around the musical section of the services.

Although both services were musically up to par and the transitions executed seamlessly, there was a void. Numerous trusted sources say the sound was incredible. So why did it seem that the music fell so flat?

Here are the songs we did:

Sing, Sing, Sing (Tomlin – celebratory opener)
At the Cross (Renstrom – new song, thicker lyrics)
Faithful (Fee – very familiar, easy to sing)
Jesus Paid it All (Focus Song before talk)
Broken Cisterns (Renstrom – Communion Song)

I think I could have intro’d the new song At the Cross better and perhaps spent more time teaching how the verses go. We quite possibly have sung Faithful into the ground (I read recently that once a congregation has sung a song 30 times, the words become rote to them). Sing, Sing, Sing – not sure on this one. Jesus Paid it All went over a bit better in both services. Actually seemed to be the highlight. Broken Cisterns I’m not too worried about because we basically sang that over the crowd as they took communion. Solid song.

As you can see, I still can’t quite nail down reasoning…maybe God is doing what I can’t see. Maybe everyone was really bored out of their minds. Regardless, these kind of mornings spur me on to think more deeply about our next Sunday.

So I’m less than 24 hours away from our next Sunday. I know we are well prepared, but we were last week too. My heart is for people to experience God in a way that transforms their lives. I know that God is sovereign and does what he pleases. My prayer is that he moves greatly in our midst tomorrow!

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.