I don't have many opportunities to take time off during the school year so I try to take advantage of a flexible schedule during the summer. I've had a few good trips already but made plans to make a trip to visit my friends in Mississippi this weekend. I drove 10 hours on Thursday from Fayetteville to Meridian and had some quality time with the Busby's. On the way I drove through Alabama... my first experience in the state... and my 26th state visited.
After a sweet breakfast at the Clarkdale Diner I drove seven hours to Johnson City, Tennessee to visit my little sister and my new brother-in-law. I could only stay for a night but it was great to see the newlyweds and their new place.
Kelsie and I visited a church in the area where the pastor spoke from Ezra 7. He spoke a lot on the value of reading the bible referencing the Back to the Bible organization's research. They found people who read the bible 0-1 times per week had no significant change in their life. Those reading 2-3 times per week had some change while people who read the bible 4 or more times per week have significant change in their life. The most memorable portion of the sermon was Dr. Land's discussion on families. He told a story from 20 years ago when he and his wife were preparing to speak at a marriage conference. He was studying a passage on how a husband should love his wife and felt God asking him, "Are you the kind of husband you would want your daughter to marry?" He realized he had always compared himself to his dad or other men in his life but when he really thought about the man he would want his daughter to marry, he had some work to do. He went and apologized to his wife and always tried to remember the message. He took it further and asked the wives, "Are you the kind of wife you would want your son to marry?" He mentioned that every day you're creating the job description that your children will look to fill. If you are disrespectful to your spouse, you're inadvertently showing your children the disrespect they should take from their spouse.
After a brunch with Kelsie this morning I drove another seven hours back to my parents' house in Maryland. My mom made my favorite dinner (we're not sure what the official name is but we call it sausage stuff :) and somehow I've managed to stay awake. I'm excited tomorrow to catch up with some high school friends and hopefully see some of the Inter-Rail crew on Tuesday before driving back to work on Wednesday. Students begin to arrive in less than a week... time to cram but hopefully I can rest up first!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
birthdays
I've always had this thing for birthdays. I'm not sure when it started but I know I was thrilled to spend nearly every birthday from 9-18 at a camp of some kind. There were tons of people celebrating with me. Having a summer birthday not everyone remembers my birthday. It's hard when you don't see someone to always remember. I'm sure I've forgotten my fair share of birthdays myself. Of course now we have facebook to remind us. Two years ago I took my birthday off facebook just to see who remembered. It didn't go well. I've caved to the system and I appreciate the multitude of people who left me well wishes this year.
On Tuesday a couple of my friends and I drove to Alexandria, Va. We checked into our hotel and realized it actually had a pretty sweet view. We found the metro station and walked into Olde Towne in Alexandria to get dinner. We ate at King Street Blues and had amazing ribs before heading to nearby Light Horse. They were supposed to have a singer but Shane somebody never showed up so we entertained ourselves. We eventually headed back to the hotel and toasted my birthday at 1:03 am with some fine H2O.
We spent Wednesday in DC at at WNBA game between the Washington Mystics and the San Antonio Silver Stars. I was one of three fans in the crowd routing for the Silver Stars since my favorite player Shanna (Zolman) Crossley is on the team. She missed the trip with an injury but the Stars pulled out the one point victory.
We had an exciting trip home belting out some tunes to make the time go by. I made it home in time to get ready for Dan to arrive. Dan and I met some friends from work Thursday night for more birthday celebration and then my parents arrived Friday to continue the birthday fun. I've been itching for the blackberry storm since it came out... waiting for them to get the glitches out and waiting for my account to afford it. Thankfully my parents bought it for my birthday but I'm still attempting to learn to use it!
Regardless, it was one of the best birthday weeks I've had in a long time. It was nice to be surrounded by people again. I'm thoroughly grateful.
This morning in church Rev. John Cook talked about evangelism. He quoted D.T. Niles who said, "Evangelism is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread." He told a story from his time at his first church. Everyone wanted him to talk to this girl and lead her to Christ. He figured people had talked to her before but he went and gave her his speel but she turned down his offer to receive Christ. He went on to pray with her and when he finished she had tears coming down her face. She said, "You're the first person who cared enough to come." Do we care enough to come?
This afternoon I watched USA Softball storm through Australia to reach the World Cup championship. Jennie Finch pitched a shutout victory. It was good to watch some games especially since right now softball won't be in the Olympics anymore. One of ESPN's commentators, Michele Smith was promoting the committee working to bring softball back to the Olympics. Check out www.backsoftball.com to show your support.
After softball came the US Women's National Team soccer game against Canada. I've been a huge fan of the USWNT since 1995. I've bordered obsessive at times but it's hard to keep up with them now with my job. Today Abby Wambach was going for her 100th international goal in her hometown of Rochester, N.Y. I can't imagine the pressure. She broke her leg a little more than a year ago missing the Olympics. Now back where all of her friends and family are she's trying to score a historic goal. Beth Mowins reminded the audience numerous times she averages a goal every 97 minutes but things were looking tough early. Abby was trying to get free but it wasn't until the 78th minute when Lauren Cheney (the player who took Abby's place on the Olympic roster) fed Abby and she slipped one to the far post side netting for the goal. ESPN showed Abby celebrate with her teammates and coach and of course panned up to show her parents who were celebrating just as much. It has to be a cool feeling to score 100 international goals... but I think it has to be an even better feeling to score 100 international goals with your parents enjoying it just as much.
Just a thought or two to ponder on fine sunday... I leave you with the historic toast marking the 27th anniversary of my birth :)
On Tuesday a couple of my friends and I drove to Alexandria, Va. We checked into our hotel and realized it actually had a pretty sweet view. We found the metro station and walked into Olde Towne in Alexandria to get dinner. We ate at King Street Blues and had amazing ribs before heading to nearby Light Horse. They were supposed to have a singer but Shane somebody never showed up so we entertained ourselves. We eventually headed back to the hotel and toasted my birthday at 1:03 am with some fine H2O.
We spent Wednesday in DC at at WNBA game between the Washington Mystics and the San Antonio Silver Stars. I was one of three fans in the crowd routing for the Silver Stars since my favorite player Shanna (Zolman) Crossley is on the team. She missed the trip with an injury but the Stars pulled out the one point victory.
We had an exciting trip home belting out some tunes to make the time go by. I made it home in time to get ready for Dan to arrive. Dan and I met some friends from work Thursday night for more birthday celebration and then my parents arrived Friday to continue the birthday fun. I've been itching for the blackberry storm since it came out... waiting for them to get the glitches out and waiting for my account to afford it. Thankfully my parents bought it for my birthday but I'm still attempting to learn to use it!
Regardless, it was one of the best birthday weeks I've had in a long time. It was nice to be surrounded by people again. I'm thoroughly grateful.
This morning in church Rev. John Cook talked about evangelism. He quoted D.T. Niles who said, "Evangelism is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread." He told a story from his time at his first church. Everyone wanted him to talk to this girl and lead her to Christ. He figured people had talked to her before but he went and gave her his speel but she turned down his offer to receive Christ. He went on to pray with her and when he finished she had tears coming down her face. She said, "You're the first person who cared enough to come." Do we care enough to come?
This afternoon I watched USA Softball storm through Australia to reach the World Cup championship. Jennie Finch pitched a shutout victory. It was good to watch some games especially since right now softball won't be in the Olympics anymore. One of ESPN's commentators, Michele Smith was promoting the committee working to bring softball back to the Olympics. Check out www.backsoftball.com to show your support.
After softball came the US Women's National Team soccer game against Canada. I've been a huge fan of the USWNT since 1995. I've bordered obsessive at times but it's hard to keep up with them now with my job. Today Abby Wambach was going for her 100th international goal in her hometown of Rochester, N.Y. I can't imagine the pressure. She broke her leg a little more than a year ago missing the Olympics. Now back where all of her friends and family are she's trying to score a historic goal. Beth Mowins reminded the audience numerous times she averages a goal every 97 minutes but things were looking tough early. Abby was trying to get free but it wasn't until the 78th minute when Lauren Cheney (the player who took Abby's place on the Olympic roster) fed Abby and she slipped one to the far post side netting for the goal. ESPN showed Abby celebrate with her teammates and coach and of course panned up to show her parents who were celebrating just as much. It has to be a cool feeling to score 100 international goals... but I think it has to be an even better feeling to score 100 international goals with your parents enjoying it just as much.
Just a thought or two to ponder on fine sunday... I leave you with the historic toast marking the 27th anniversary of my birth :)
Sunday, July 12, 2009
worship
The message at church this morning was centered around worship. The new pastor at Snyder talked mentioned a book called Worship Evangelism by Sally Morgenthaler. He read the first paragraph that says, "Worship has always been a controversial subject within the church. Historically, whole movements and denominations have been birthed over what did or did not happen on Sunday mornings. The way we worship is often as much a part of our Christian identity as whom we worship - sometimes even more so. Consequently, worship arouses intense personal feelings, and we tend to get defensive about it. I write this book well aware of the risks. Yet I also write with the deep conviction that it is time for the American evangelical church to face the truth: We are not producing worshipers in this country. Rather, we are producing a generation of spectators, religious onlookers lacking, in many cases, any memory of a true encounter with God, deprived of both the tangible sense of God's presence and the supernatural relationship their inmost spirits crave. A sickening emptiness pervades much of the born-again experience of the 90s, and the hollow rituals played out week after week in so many of our worship centers attest to it."
Morganthaler sparked quite a movement in the late 90s and early 2000s with her book. She spoke at numerous conferences helping churches to transform their worship services to reach the "unchurched." I haven't read her entire book but I agree with her opening. Of course in 2007, Morganthaler published an article in which she "rethinks her own paradigm." Unfortunately she found so many churches took this worship evangelism and were so centered on the inside, they were missing the mark in trying to reach the outside.
"Between 1995 and 2000 I'd traveled to a host of worship-driven churches, some that openly advertised that they were 'a church for the unchurched.' On the good occasions, the worship experience was transporting. (I dug a little deeper when that happened. Invariably, I found another value at work behind the worship production: a strong, consistent presence in the community.) Too many times, I came away with an unnamed, uneasy feeling. Something was not quite right. The worship felt disconnected from real life... Then there were the services when the pathology my friend talked about came right over the platform and hit me in the face. It was unabashed self-absorption, a worship culture that screamed, 'It's all about us' so loudly that I wondered how any visitor could stand to endure the rest of the hour."
Morganthaler truly began to question where worship was headed. She found, "those churches whose emphasis was dual - celebrated worship inside, lived worship outside - were the minority." Sometimes it can be hard to discern the motives of each worship team. We have found some success in all the bells and whistles like colored spotlights and fancy video production but I think it's all for naught if you're focus is not on God and bringing people closer to Him.
Rev. Cook reminded us today at Snyder it says every week in our bulletin/program, "God is our audience and you are the choir! Clap, dance, sing, pray, shout, be silent, bend your knee, listen - Let us bow before the Lord, our Maker, give all that we are and worship Him!" (Yes it does say dance in a baptist church :) I believe we are called to worship together in corporate worship but sometimes it comes with so many distractions. One of my favorite videos on worship is:
I want to worship for the audience of One.
Morganthaler sparked quite a movement in the late 90s and early 2000s with her book. She spoke at numerous conferences helping churches to transform their worship services to reach the "unchurched." I haven't read her entire book but I agree with her opening. Of course in 2007, Morganthaler published an article in which she "rethinks her own paradigm." Unfortunately she found so many churches took this worship evangelism and were so centered on the inside, they were missing the mark in trying to reach the outside.
"Between 1995 and 2000 I'd traveled to a host of worship-driven churches, some that openly advertised that they were 'a church for the unchurched.' On the good occasions, the worship experience was transporting. (I dug a little deeper when that happened. Invariably, I found another value at work behind the worship production: a strong, consistent presence in the community.) Too many times, I came away with an unnamed, uneasy feeling. Something was not quite right. The worship felt disconnected from real life... Then there were the services when the pathology my friend talked about came right over the platform and hit me in the face. It was unabashed self-absorption, a worship culture that screamed, 'It's all about us' so loudly that I wondered how any visitor could stand to endure the rest of the hour."
Morganthaler truly began to question where worship was headed. She found, "those churches whose emphasis was dual - celebrated worship inside, lived worship outside - were the minority." Sometimes it can be hard to discern the motives of each worship team. We have found some success in all the bells and whistles like colored spotlights and fancy video production but I think it's all for naught if you're focus is not on God and bringing people closer to Him.
Rev. Cook reminded us today at Snyder it says every week in our bulletin/program, "God is our audience and you are the choir! Clap, dance, sing, pray, shout, be silent, bend your knee, listen - Let us bow before the Lord, our Maker, give all that we are and worship Him!" (Yes it does say dance in a baptist church :) I believe we are called to worship together in corporate worship but sometimes it comes with so many distractions. One of my favorite videos on worship is:
I want to worship for the audience of One.
Friday, July 10, 2009
he's just not that into you...
It's a Friday night with not a lot going on so I opted for a trip to Blockbuster. If you didn't know, I'm a sucker for the 3 for $20 or 4 for $20 previously viewed deals. I had to pick up "He's Just Not That Into You" after watching it earlier on my iPod.
One of my favorite scenes is the little bit from the not so psychotic girl...
"Ok, i have a question. Why did they invent call ID? Its like, who is this service helping? i mean for centuries... ok, well maybe not centuries, but for like... a lot and a lot of years, people have been answering their phone, and not knowing who it is, and uh, as far as i can tell, no ones died form that. and its like, if the police wanna know who placed a call, uhh, they could trace it. i mean what am i the police?! this constant obsession with needing to know whos calling all the time, its like, so gross! lke, you pick up the phone, you-you find out who it is, then you know. its like... look, all im saying... if a guy doesn't call me, i would like to reserve the right to call him at 15 minute intervals until he picks up... but, you know if he looks down and sees my number, hes gonna think im some kinda psycho or something... which im not. Obviously!"
Another fave from Drew Barrymore...
"I had this guy leave me a voicemail at work, so I called him at home, and then he emailed me to my BlackBerry, and so I texted to his cell, and now you just have to go around checking all these different portals just to get rejected by seven different technologies. It's exhausting."
Sometimes it's disheartening to watch chick flicks alone but occasionally they bring this weird sense of hope of what could be... in this case what could be without the psycho chick and her caller id or the rejected portals.
One of my favorite scenes is the little bit from the not so psychotic girl...
"Ok, i have a question. Why did they invent call ID? Its like, who is this service helping? i mean for centuries... ok, well maybe not centuries, but for like... a lot and a lot of years, people have been answering their phone, and not knowing who it is, and uh, as far as i can tell, no ones died form that. and its like, if the police wanna know who placed a call, uhh, they could trace it. i mean what am i the police?! this constant obsession with needing to know whos calling all the time, its like, so gross! lke, you pick up the phone, you-you find out who it is, then you know. its like... look, all im saying... if a guy doesn't call me, i would like to reserve the right to call him at 15 minute intervals until he picks up... but, you know if he looks down and sees my number, hes gonna think im some kinda psycho or something... which im not. Obviously!"
Another fave from Drew Barrymore...
"I had this guy leave me a voicemail at work, so I called him at home, and then he emailed me to my BlackBerry, and so I texted to his cell, and now you just have to go around checking all these different portals just to get rejected by seven different technologies. It's exhausting."
Sometimes it's disheartening to watch chick flicks alone but occasionally they bring this weird sense of hope of what could be... in this case what could be without the psycho chick and her caller id or the rejected portals.
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