A Idol Worship Note

I have been a worship leader for a very long time...over half my life really. As of late, through a series of events, I have not been actively doing that, but hoping that God will lead me back that way. I was doing some research for a bible study and found this article for worship leaders. Using the example from last years American Idol winner and runner up, the author uses their lives to springboard some valuable points, all of which I agree with. I think they are timely reminders that the heart of a worship leader must be real, humble, and intentional about bringing the best they have. All of these I have and still struggle with, but I appreciated the reminder as I again try to bring my heart back into a place where God can use me in helping to lead his people in worship. It is a gift, and one that is missed.

I got a new attitude!

I have often read other peoples blogs, particularly my friends who tend to be writers of a variety of subjects, often religious or social justice or something else and been somewhat cautious about doing a blog. As the name states, I really have one for no particular reason, just have a blog. However, recently I have felt the desire to write more about the things that interest me in life. I feel like I have a fairly eclectic variety of interests and topics and sometimes don't really know where to talk about them. So, as time goes on, I will begin to present some of my interests and things through this blog. I'm sure little will come of it, but it could be a fun journey for me anyway. Until next time...

Gotta love the ER

Well, twice this month I have gone to the ER. Before that, it's been over a year since we have been there. It is not a place I typically like to visit. The first was for Rachel, who happened to have a reaction to something. She is doing better now. This morning, I made a visit because of my own stupidity. Many years ago, I was a welder, and in that profession, I was exposed to some hazardous eye conditions, resulting in slivers of medal in my eye...twice. The process of removal usually involves a small drill/bore device that removes the metal and any rust that may have developed. They then patch it up and send you on your way. This was back when I lived in San Diego, and the ER visits typically took 4 or so hours.

This time was different. I am not a welder, but obviously have not learned my lesson about eye protection. I was drilling through some medal that was over my head, and a sliver got in my eye again. I didn't realize this until Sat. night, and then didn't go in until Sun. morning. The ER, which is new and amazingly fast near our house, was quick, but rather than call in a specialist, the ER doc just took out an IV needle, numbed the eye, and proceeded to scrape out the foreign object...fun times. Though he removed the foreign object, the rust remains and I still have to go see a specialist.

So, the moral of the story...hey, eye protection...not a bad idea! As my friend JJ would say...Good Times!

Just a little shout out to my brother in law Andy for getting engaged! Congrats to you and Melissa, and the new nieces...looking forward to seeing you all soon! Also looking forward to another beach wedding on the other ocean.

Brilliant!

I read about this site on Justin Narducci's blog and was incredibly impressed. What a brilliant idea! You can setup and account and loan money to people in developing countries to stimulate economic growth, and then they pay it back. Once paid back, you can loan it to someone else. Check it out, it is impressive!

I am unique!

Got this from J.J.'s Blog...

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 2 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

This morning as I was reading the bible I came across this proverb, "Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe." This verse, found in Proverbs 29 immediately struck a chord in me. As I have embarked on a journey of healing over the past 15 months, one of the recurring themes I tend to wrestle with is a people pleasing nature, a tendency to place the values and opinions of others over anything else, often at the expense of my own self worth. I do this in just about every area of my life. Yet through the process, it has become more and more clear to me that healing will not happen until I am able to firmly establish my value in Christ as "an unrepeatable miracle of God" as a friend of mine says. I have become a master at self analyzing and contempt, yet I find no basis for this in scripture.
So, that being said, I may still struggle with this tendency, but I consciously strive to reprioritize my value system, finding my identity in Christ, believing in my inherent value as one created in the image of God, and learning how to stand firm in that truth amidst all the voices, opinions, and believes of others.

The time has come! We are on the verge of the new "Third Format" service at Central. This is a new weekend worship service at Central that I have been working on for months, really years now. The last 6 months have probably been the hardest, most personally stretching time of my life, and yet I feel like God is working in amazing ways through this time...as difficult as it has been.
Aug. 20 is our second test run of this service. We had our first on the July 23, and it went very well, though there is still much to work on, but that was the purpose of the test run. I am excited though. We will begin running weekly starting on Sept. 10. If any of you are in the area on a Sunday night at 6 pm, come check it out.
More to come!

I have become a fan of firefox. I love it. If you have not checked it out, you need to. The tabbed pages, the add-on (adblocker plus; flashblocker; Foxytunes), and everything else makes it great. You can even add an IE engine to look at pages with an IE interface if it doesn't look right in Firefox. Just some very cool stuff!

Definitely a happy fathers day!