too nervous to tell you

the power of a story...

2010-03-30T13:28:00.001-04:00

The Story of Zac Smith from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.

030310

2010-03-03T10:54:00.002-05:00

It's march. we're 10 months into this whole parenting thing and i just want to say that i am finding some much joy in my son. he's been lighting kristi and i up. the laughing, the moving, the smiles, the reponses... def enjoying this time with him.

022310b

2010-02-23T10:42:00.001-05:00

DugDownDeep_Carnahan.mov from Covenant Life Church on Vimeo.

022310

2010-02-23T10:15:00.002-05:00

watching a video training series on leading worship in-between the songs. this is definitely not one of my strengths. I have always felt weird talking in-between songs and adding another layer of thinking when the preacher is going to bring or has already brought several layers of thinking to the congregation to chew on. not to down play the strength of another perspective or my ability to give insight into where we're going in the service, but i sometimes just don't see the need. doesn't mean the need isn't there, it just means i don't always see it. Instead of driving people toward new ways of expressing their worship, I just end up perpetuating the traditional routine of typical church worship.

where is the place for "leading in-between the song" and how can i see those places on a somewhat regular basis?

Interesting question poised by the video:

Are you just a top 40 Contemporary Christian Juke Box? If it's just going to be one song into another without any interruption why don't we just use a cd player?

Invitation, exhortation, participation - these things can be emphasized in-between songs to strengthen what happens during the songs.

022210

2010-02-22T13:35:00.004-05:00

I'm about to embark on a new recording project with a friend and we're just starting to gather where we're coming from and where we'd like to go with the album. This has spurred some thinking on songwriting by both he and i. Thoughts these thoughts we worth sharing:

His thoughts:

"So what I'm going to do is tell you a bit about the different elements of my music that I've discovered as major influence categories and then give you the CDs (sorry, man ... I always go way beyond what I need to ;-)

Good Songwriting

That may seem like a bit of an obvious one, but I mean in the sense of people who can put really good lyrics with really good music, not needing to be very complicated, and it just touches you deep down in your soul. This is what I strive for above all else because without a good song, most everything else doesn't matter. This would also be artists that don't settle for the easy answers and really wrestle through the tough questions of life in a way that you can join them there. A lot of my influences here are on the more acoustic end of things because that's all they really need to be great.

Dramatic Epicness

I don't accomplish this as much as I would like in my music, but there is a certain dramatic feel to a lot of what I write. This kind of goes on the opposite end of simple songwriting where I'm constantly writing songs with a big, dramatic intention behind them. I haven't had much of a chance to explore this in my solo stuff, but I'm hoping to be able to bring some of this into the recording. Whether or not I accomplish it, a lot of music that influences me and that I love has this element to it.

Musical Artistry and Exploration into new sounds e.g. electronic

This has been one of the new things that has been a huge influence on where my music has started heading and what I'm hoping to bring into this recording. I've been fascinated by many artists that are really taking what they've been doing into a totally new realm with all the of the variety of sonic options out there now. I don't want to settle for just the drums, bass, guitar, piano sound. I want to explore, think outside the box and really let ourselves get creative with how we come at my songs. This has also been an influence in thinking outside the box of a normal 4 chord pop song and I've really strived to write some songs that are harmonically different than what you hear every day.

Good Modern Powerful Rock

This falls on the opposite end of the simple song writing continuum and ties in with the whole Dramatic Epic feel of stuff. There's a large part of me that's always been drawn to a good rock song that's going to allow you to sing loud what you've been holding inside. Coldplay and U2 would encapsulate the marrige of this with the epicness but there's a bunch of bands that have really influenced me in this area. Since I don't play electric guitar all that well, most of what I've written in this realm is much more piano driven rock but I would love to realize my acoustic rocks songs more like this."

My response:

I think whenever you approach something, there has to be a solid base. An underlying strength that’s not necessarily on the surface. Good… Solid… Universal yet Personal songwriting needs to be the base for an album. It doesn't need to be the only trait or even the thing most people see but it needs to be there. The dramatic, the exploratory, and the powerful have their place but without solid songwriting underneath, their just flare. It’s the difference between an album you listen to once (if you even get through the whole thing) and an album you can’t stop listening to. I also think the dramatic, the exploratory and the powerful are the application or the playing out of the songwriting.

not saying i'm any where close to being right. i just think it's nice to be thinking about songwriting again.

020610 b

2010-02-06T22:09:00.001-05:00

team. what does is take to develop "team" among a group of volunteers? trust. commitment. the drawing out of each person's passion and desire to be a part of something bigger than themselves. but how do you do that in a sustainable way with volunteers that are already busy and overworked?

020610

2010-02-06T13:03:00.001-05:00

the massive snow storm that is passing through town has left emery and i a bit trapped at home. been getting a few projects that had been on hold done. i need more days where im almost forced not to escape the house.

020510

2010-02-05T17:25:00.001-05:00

today i am revelling in the generousity of a good friend. it's amazing how someone's unprovoked generosity can just stun you. cause im a bit stunned.

020410

2010-02-04T10:53:00.000-05:00

starting to wrestle with what this would mean for a church like davisville...

020310

2010-02-03T13:24:00.001-05:00

really enjoyed the snow on ground this morning. theres something about breathing in freezing cold air that refreshes my heart. brings back some pretty awesome memories of grand rapids. i wish i had more moments during the day to just breath in and relax.

012510

2010-01-25T15:12:00.002-05:00

after dropping emery off at daycare this morning i had a moment of clarity as i stood outside the building while the rain poured down. i was under an overhang but it was raining so hard there was a decent amount of mist hitting me... refreshing me. i think a lot of frustration over the past couple of months was given a bit of purpose.

i think God has had kristi and i on a journey since emery arrived last may. i think with his rough start and our hospital time over christmas, we have been continually challenge to really live out the priorities we claim to have.

often i feel my priorities are just nice surface level statements that arent really coming across if you took a good look at my life. like they were more meant for a nice plaque on the wall instead of the mission of a life or family. so we're attempting to live out our priorities. making sure we have time with each other. make sure we have time with our son. make sure we have time to invest in our relationship with Christ. not just making time when we can. having time. and time to spare.

now we just need to clear somethings out of the way...

go see a movie…

2009-11-07T10:39:00.001-05:00

had the chance to see where the wild things are and i thought it was unbelievably awesome. talk about a very honest visualization of a kid dealing with loneliness and feelings of isolation while discovering where he thought was a place he didn’t belong was the place he belonged most.

go see a movie and tell me about…

inspiring & creative videos

2009-10-08T11:52:00.001-04:00

technology blows my mind sometimes...

2009-09-22T16:05:00.001-04:00

Hirzberger Events - Digital Wallpaper from Gregor Hofbauer on Vimeo.

loved this video...

2009-09-04T13:20:00.000-04:00

RvR

2009-09-02T10:46:00.002-04:00

Reverence vs Relevance from LifeWay Productions on Vimeo.

If you have an hour & are interested in today's worship conversation, check it out.

change...

2009-08-31T12:12:00.000-04:00

August 26, 2009

2009-08-25T22:57:00.003-04:00

so i am about to turn 27 in about 72 minutes and i can't help but to reflect on where i am and what i've done over the past several years. after thinking on it some a few things stick out:

Getting engaged at 21

Getting married at 22

Loosing our first child at 25

Moving into our first home at 25

Emery being born at 26

I guess when I was 23 & 24 no major stuff happened/shifted; it was just kristi & i working our jobs and living in our apartment for that 3 year span.

There have been so many things that have changed and moved over the years but Kristi's love and support have always been there. her constant patience with me has made many things easy to get through. i love her so much and i can't wait each day with her.

And now there's Emery. I can't believe we have a kid. I can't believe I'm a dad. I hope as we raise him Kristi and I can continue to strengthen our relationship while investing in him. Out of our closeness and our maturing relationship i believe we can be better parents for him.

Now it's like 50 minutes till I'm 27. i hope tomorrow is a good day. hope i can show thankfulness to my wife and my son! & to God for blessing me with both of them!

cool video // cool music

2009-08-25T10:55:00.001-04:00

Hammock - Mono No Aware from David Altobelli on Vimeo.

Today...

2009-08-16T05:46:00.001-04:00

^14-19My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14, The Message)

a new high score

2009-08-13T14:54:00.002-04:00

what more churches should be striving for...

2009-08-13T14:52:00.002-04:00

beautiful...

2009-08-13T14:52:00.001-04:00

let yourself feel. from Esteban Diácono on Vimeo.

Just an awesome piece of art work...

he's 3 months & we're 4 yrs

2009-08-12T10:13:00.004-04:00

a few weeks ago was kristi's and my 4th anniversary and a few days after that emery turned a whopping 3 months old... time seems so strange. sometimes those 3 months feel like years and those 4 years seem like months. God has so richly blessed Kristi Emery & I... i was able to hold both of them the other night and it was excessively nice... that feeling of being exactly where i needed & wanted to be. Wish I was there more frequently... maybe i need to make sure that happens...

so yeah...

2009-08-05T10:50:00.002-04:00

haven't written much since may... emery has become such a huge part of our lives that other things (like my insignificant blog) have had to be set down for a bit. going to start trying to write more regularly over the next couple of months. in particular i want to write about a couple of things swirling around in my head:

1) just read Crazy Love by Francis Chan and have been really challenged by it. finding myself wanting to be generous with all the things God has so richly blessed kristi and i with. working with matt & adam about how to practically live out this love for god we have and i think the challenges from this book might be a catalyst for some of that.

2) just started a new series at the 1100 Gathering here at Davisville on hope. we're taking about 6 weeks to look at hope is talked baout in 1 peter. hope to write some of my and others reactions to the series here.

3) i want to post more pics of my family. after meeting with kevin for a bit, i know i constantly have trouble focusing on the things in my life i have so much to be thankful for. so i want to show you here the things i am most thankful for. so looks for some pics.

so that's the plan. let's see how i do:)

2009-07-16T21:41:00.000-04:00

today's a new day

2009-03-16T11:29:00.002-04:00

last week was a very long week. but it cultivated in an awesome weekend though. one where i got to be a part of a large gathering of people that had been impacted by one person's life. after the service on saturday there was a meal for any and everybody and I was just overwhelmed. My heart had such a strong desire to be the kind of person that had a lasting impact on people, the kind of person lance was. Sunday morning was very cool as well. Tim has such an ability to speak to the heart. And now its the next day. my prayer is that prayer i prayed, about being the kind of person that had a lasting impact on people, wasn't just something i prayed this weekend and then moved on but it would be something i desire the next day. and the next day. and the next.

new music

2009-03-12T14:02:00.005-04:00

the last couple of weeks have really fed me with some really solid new music. new u2 and new kelly clarkson (i know its a bit cheesy but I'm a fan) have been very cool. U2's album provides depth and content for me to ponder while clarkson's material provides the pop/rock candy that justs makes me smile even though its not that complex. if you get a chance check them out!

Favorite tracks so far:

Moment of Surrender - U2

I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight - U2

whyyawannabringmedown - Kelly Clarkson

Save You - Kelly Clarkson

Breathe - U2

If No One Will Listen - Kelly Clarkson

2009-02-07T23:35:00.001-05:00

this a bit of the craziness that happened at our band get together. that's me (with no sound) setting a record high of 317 with the holahoop on the wii. rediculous i know...

April 09

2009-01-29T14:31:00.003-05:00

This april I am heading back to the Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival in Whistler. Looking forward to a coulpe of days of great skiing, great music, great food and great drink.

new addition

2009-01-22T14:31:00.003-05:00

So in May our family will get a bit bigger. That's my kid... i can't believe it. I keep going back and forth from scared to excited... but most of the time, I just think its kind of cool that my wife and I are going to have a kid around the house... to take care of, to love and to hopefully avoid screwing up...

It was a freakin' awesome Christmas Show!

2009-01-22T13:34:00.002-05:00

New U2 Song

2009-01-22T13:22:00.001-05:00

really geeked about the new U2 album that comes out in March. here's their new single... in case you ahven't heard it yet... http://goyb.u2.com/

09

2009-01-22T13:08:00.002-05:00

what up? new year. lots of new stuff happening from the last time i posted. hope this year brings some more positive reflections.

to good friends...
good food...
good drink...
and good times...

our other car...

2008-08-20T14:34:00.002-04:00

a few months ago we went through the very stressful process of finding a new "used" car. well, after someone hit my wife's car and then drove off, we now find ourselves about to venture through that process one more time. Yeah!

a simple question...

2008-08-13T12:38:00.000-04:00

the church. for christians? for un-christians? maybe its not about us at all. maybe its about God. maybe its about glorifying him with our lives and our actions and our thoughts and motives and our priorities? maybe its about God and not about us. But we have a nasty habit. I have a nasty habit. of taking something designed to glorify God and finding a selfish, self-centered, self-satisfying reason/purpose for it. what if we really did live for Christ? What if we were to love each other as He has shown love to us? What if we really did go out into our broken, fallen world making disciples and teaching them to follow Christ as we are instructed to?

Help us to pursue your purposes in our lives, in our families, in our church and all for your glory.

check it out...

2008-08-10T20:16:00.001-04:00

www.U2christmas.com/main.html

check it out and let me know what you think...

can't quite get the perspective...

2008-08-10T20:13:00.000-04:00

someone came up to me tonight and made a very dramatic and negative comment about something and then informed me that they would be leaving due to "our invasion" of their comfort zone. My response at the time was just, "ok." I was so dumbfounded by the comment I couldn't get myself to respond in a positive way other than to just say ok. for some reason now, I wish I had that moment back. I wish I could speak with that person about the situation and try and get a better look at their perspective because I just can't wrap my head around it right now. i hope that person finds something that speaks to them and God uses to work in their life but I believe God has called us, here at Davisville to pursue something greater than people's individual comfort. Hopefully what we are all striving for is not to have everyone comfortable. I pray that God would instill in me and the people of davisville His desires, His priorities, His motives, His love for people. I pray that in my own heart and in the hearts of those in our area that we would seek what God desires not our own selfish wants. Because right now I am tired of working for comfort. it is long pass due when we stop pleasing people, making people happy and start pleasing God and pursuing what he has called us to.

stop thinking so much...

2008-07-29T14:07:00.001-04:00

didn't get a good night sleep last night (sleeping on the floor of our new house is not that cool) so i am tired today. just had a meeting and don't feel very encouraged. you see i think everyone has certain passions and skills that they have been given. and what they choose to do with those passions and skills defines who they really are. what am i going to do with what god has given me? what am i going to pour my passion into? am i going to pour it where it will go to waste and the well will eventually run dry? haven't i been called to pour my passion into a place where it will be effective for god's kingdom? why do i continually slam into the same wall and wonder why things feel so worn down? i need a little more hope today. right now finding it in some good music...

TDK

2008-07-22T15:53:00.001-04:00

can't stop thinking about the dark knight. saw it on Sunday and the images and scenes still haven't left me. what a disturbingly awesome movie. its so refreshing to experience a film like that. i actually didn't know what was going to happen at several points (something that doesn't happen many times in today's movies) and i found my self struggling with the same issues and questions the characters were dealing with. go see it. go see it. go see it. all i can say.

where i'm at...

2008-06-30T21:45:00.002-04:00

I hate all your show and pretense
the hypocrisy of your praise
the hypocrisy of your festivals
I hate all your show

Away with your noisy worship
Away with your noisy hymns
I stop up my ears when your singing ‘em
I hate all your show

Instead let there be a floodof justice
An endless procession of righteous living, living
Instead let there be a flood of justice
Instead of a show

your eyes are closed when you’re praying
you sing right along with the band
you shine up your shoes for services
but there’s blood on your hands

you turned your back on the homeless
and the ones that don’t fit in your plans
quit playing religion games
there’s blood on your hands

Instead let there be a floodof justice
An endless procession of righteous living, living
Instead let there be a flood of justice
Instead of a show

Ah! let’s argue this out
if your sins are blood red
let’s argue this out
you’ll be white as the clouds
let’s argue this out
quit fooling around
give love to the ones who can’t love at all
give hope to the ones who got no hope at all
stand up for the ones who can’t stand up at all

Instead let there be a floodof justice
An endless procession of righteous living, living
Instead let there be a flood of justice
instead of a showI hate all your show

its wednesday afternoon...

2008-06-25T14:45:00.001-04:00

...and i can't think of anything better to do than take a nap. we settle friday on our new home. and i hear the business of settlement is just the beginning of the new things we'll be dealing with once we have the keys of our new home in our hands. someone asked me what i am doing this saturday and answered very naturally, "I'm cleaning out my gutters." Simple enough but as the words came out of my mouth i realized "i have gutters." not even sure i had even typed that word before. Now that and the lawn and the walls and the everything will be where most of my free time will get poured out... but kristi and i are excited. i think we've been in a pit for too long and this new home, new start thing will be a good thing for us. we're looking forward to having a home and yes even cleaning out our gutters...

this december

2008-06-18T09:13:00.002-04:00

so it looks like towards the end of december, us simple people at davisville will be trying something different for christmas. i'm starting to get very excited about this program and can't wait to see how it all comes together. this will probably come up more than once.

change...

2008-06-14T12:43:00.001-04:00

so new car is settling in and we'll be settling on the new house in two weeks. lots of new going on. With the amount of change that kristi and i are going through now and considering that we went through a lot of new changes just a bit ago (with the house/car/marriage/jobs/out of college/baby thing) I am often surprised to run into things that haven't changed or are so resistant to change. isn't that the one thing we can count on; that things, the way they are now, will change. can't we bet good money on that? maybe we reach a point where we are so tired of change (over the course of many years) in order to survive we need things to remain the same. Our stability comes from those things we can count on but when someone comes along to move those things forward we react so harshly; as if they are taking away of our life. not to that point yet. i hope never get there. so for now, change is the name of the game.

logo's for my fantasy football team

2008-06-07T10:56:00.000-04:00

sales...

2008-05-29T16:20:00.001-04:00

i found this awesome quote today while looking through some old U2 stuff and with all the dealings kristi and i have had with salespeople lately it was quite appropriate.

"don't become a monster in order to defeat a monster."

i'm trying...

it sold...

2008-05-22T09:55:00.001-04:00

so last night my car sold on ebay (first time for everything) and it sold for more than I thought it would which is awesome. For some reason I'm still uptight about the whole thing; never sold a car before. But I am excited. God is good to my wife and I and now I need to hurry up and buy something to replace the 2001 Volkswagen New Passat GLS that I will miss.

tuesday afternoon thoughts...

2008-05-20T15:21:00.001-04:00

lower your standards...
lower your expectations...
you are too idealistic...

how do you get perspective on your ideals, standards and expectations? how can you tell if they are too high or too low? how can you be sure that you have lost your sense of reality and just exist in a fake bubble of a world built out of ideals? how do you humbly take a step back to get a handle on your standards, expectations, and ideals without giving up on the whole thing? without responding with such frustration and saying "you just don't get it" "you have lowered your standards/ideals/expectations to far" "don't you remember when you were like this" ?

maybe when you find your self alone or seemingly so, its an opportunity to rise above and push forward in a way you would never have done if everyone was with you...

or

maybe in reality, when you find yourself alone, you are more apt to change to easily coexist, give up and stop striving or just not care anymore about your ideals, standards and expectations...

anyone want to buy a car? anyone???

2008-05-14T23:48:00.002-04:00

so we have officially listed our passat on ebay and in 7 days we'll find out if anyone is interested. to be honest i freaked out a bit when it got posted. i still have issues when things are completely out of my control. i guess its a continual lesson, even when selling your car, to trust God and his timing instead of insisting on things happening in my time and in my way. anyways, if you are interested in checking out the car, just click the pic and you'll be on your way...

a new car...

2008-05-08T13:28:00.001-04:00

so i think we decided to sell the VW yesterday. after yet another expensive repair, we can no longer keep up with all the up keep that my car demands... so its off to find descent used car in a short amount of time and its off to ebay to get rid of really nice but really expense vehicle.

intrigued...

2008-05-05T15:40:00.001-04:00

Since starting at 8/15/05 at davisville, i have received 9360 emails (not including the millions of junk emails that got filtered out) and have sent 2602 emails. thats just intriguing to me. thats all...

"dave, you just need to lower your standards..."

2008-05-05T15:32:00.001-04:00

as I walked out of a service on sunday, a man was walking with me and was commenting on the sound during the service and was commenting on how good it sounded. to have a little background, the service is being held in a gym and the sound system is a portable system that's meant to be setup and broken down each week. my comment back to the man was, "yeah is sounds alright in there." and I meant it. I think it doesn't sound real good in the gym and the quality of the system prevents the overall sound from being great, but i think it sounds alright and works for what we do. the man responded by saying, "dave, you just need to lower your standards." my standards for something to sound good apparently were too high. having the sound be intelligible seems to be the only standard by which this person determines if something sounds good.it seems my standards are too idealistic as of late. i'm struggling or wrestling with this (not the whole sound issue (that's something small), its something bigger than that). I am having trouble because in my heart, i long for things to be better than how things are right now. you can call them idealistic ideas but right now they are just kind of the cry of my heart and you can say how things are right now is the reality that i will discover in time (i'm too young right now to get it apparently) but it sounds a whole lot like you are making an excuse for not seeking something better. maybe we need to stop lowering our standards in the modern church but actually raising our standards and stop putting up with things being sub par, or less then what God has called us to.

two weeks later...

2008-04-30T09:55:00.001-04:00

i feel like the past two weeks my life has been on pause. after coming back from canada and the elders retreat, i returned home only to find myself sick and tired and behind from the time I had been away. only now, two weeks later, do i feel alittle better and i'm finally coming through the cloud of business that usually forms when you either go away or come back from work.

down the mountain...

2008-04-17T14:35:00.002-04:00

in the terminal....

2008-04-17T14:33:00.003-04:00

so here i am in canada, waiting to get on a plane to take me home. it really has been a great time to be away and just disconnect from everything. i am excited about seeing my wife and being at my house but that will still have to wait until this weekend. after landing in jfk i head right down to the jersey shore for the elders retreat (yeah). i need to get away like this more often. life is way too short for all the worrying and stress and stuff that builds up to be the only thing i interact with on a regular basis. i need to get out more.

today was a good day...

2008-04-15T22:48:00.003-04:00

not too many days are really good. too many days are just whatever... or mediocraty or just the satus quo... but today was a good day. spent most of it on a mountain just taking it (and by "it" i mean everything) all in. just experiencing life is something we mostly don't have time to do but i feel as it is something that if we don't make time for it we'll just miss what is going on around us... not sure if that makes any sense. all i am saying is that today was a good day and i hope my days even in pa will be something like this...

wtf...

2008-04-15T21:53:00.001-04:00

out the window...

2008-04-14T14:19:00.001-04:00

2008-04-14T14:16:00.004-04:00

041308 9:25
Just chilling near gate 3, waiting to get on my plane. Haven’t done something like this in a very long time. Actually I can’t remember ever really doing something like this. Kristi is sad that I will be away all week and I am a little sad that my vacation and the elders retreat will be back to back but that’s how it goes. Wish I could be with my wife this week. Getting away from things is so hard. Actually it seems to get harder and harder as time goes by which is funny cause your need for only grows over time. And don’t just mean getting away physically. There is a whole process of disconnecting mentally and emotiuonally from your job. I struggle with this. Even though I think my job can be a pain in the butt from time to time (to time to time to time), because its what I love to do and its what I believe god has given me a passion for, I find it hard to completely disconnect. I always want to know whats going on back on the ranch. But these 4 days in Canada are a time to really disconnect. I need to unplug and shut down the work side of me for now. I will be able to start it up again for the elder retreat.

just listen...

2008-04-11T18:29:00.002-04:00

next week...

2008-04-10T14:31:00.005-04:00

so on sunday i head out of town and make my way to Vancouver, BC and then get in a car and drive a couple hours to get to whistler mountain. frankly i am just geeked about getting out of the country and away from my job for a couple of days but i am also really geeked that while i am out there the t elus world ski & snowboard festival will be happening. great skiing during the day great music during the evening, great food throughout and great drink to end each day. my dad will already be out there and i'll be joining him for 4 days. Some of the bands that will playing while i am there are: DANIEL WESLEY, CURRENT SWELL, BLUE SCHOLARS, COMMON MARKET, ANIMAL NATION, NOBODY REALLY, THE TREWS & BLACK SWADE. again, i'm really geeked.

the music that's carrying me right now

2008-04-10T14:13:00.002-04:00

last fall a friend of mine text messaged me the following,"jon foreman - fall ep - on sale today." At first i had no clue who that was but a few days later i looked it up and turns out the frontman for switchfoot, jon foreman, was in the process of seasonal project and the first of four eps was released, "fall." Several months later, (or a few days ago) i picked up his third ep, "spring." like the two before, I found the tunes to be very..., well, just very good. not very overstated or not trying to say a whole lot but just a great collection of music that provides decent soundtrack to the months i find myself in. if you get a chance, check them out.

our generation...

2008-04-10T13:53:00.008-04:00

recently i have been making my way through two books that come from different angles but are aimed at kind of the same thing. the first is "unchristian" a book born out of research and study and the second is "pop goes the church" a book written from the perspective that getting ourselves into pop culture (or getting pop culture into the church) is a way of better communicating the message of God. after spending time listening to erwin mcmanus yesterday, it has been hammered home to me that the mainstream church in America is in a critical position. i have heard many preachers talk about the church being the hope of the world but at the same time have seen the christian community pull deeper and farther away from the culture and society God has placed us in. We spend most of our time working on ways to preserve our way of doing things, (seemingly for selfish reasons) and not nearly enough time getting outside of our subculture to join the conversation the world is having around us. my heart aches as i listen to old men talk about how far the church has come and at the same time ignore how far we have yet to go. my heart aches as week after week, opportunity after opportunity passes us where we choose to have our programs and meetings designed to please ourselves & other christians and perpetuate our mediocrity rather than to do specific things in specific ways to get out and reach the world around us. i know so many that are searching. searching for spiritual truth in the world around them and they are finding it. many in the wrong places and many finding false truths and my heart aches more because the church is absent. the church is often no where to be found in the conversation and that breaks my heart.

chasing something...

2008-04-09T16:12:00.005-04:00

i just got back from a small leadership conference that was held in our area today. erwin mcmanus was the speaker and he talked a bit about imagination and creativity when it comes to churches. we actually spent most of our time listening to him interact with us and answer questions. i appreciated his honesty and i really enjoyed getting pushed to see things differently. you could tell that he is frustrated with how some christians carry themselves, interact with each other and the world. i would share these frustrations but it seems he has been experienced them more then i have. i hope that as i work at the church and encounter obstacles along the way that the life is not sucked out of me. i will write more about my thoughts from today but for now, just a thank you to erwin for his time and his stories.

2+2=5

2008-04-08T22:11:00.001-04:00

so we didn't get the house. for some reason not too much of a surprise. more of just a disappointment than anything. recently, things have not gone according to our plans. we think things will head in one direction and then they head up in the other. we do this and then this and when that should happen, it doesn't... anyways, god is showing us that have our trust comfort come from our own plans is not a very comforting or stable place for us to be. moving toward him and trusting in his sovereignty....

a quick week

2008-04-05T23:09:00.000-04:00

its amazing how certain times in my life time has moved so fast. before i knew weeks if not months had passed. this past week has not been one of those weeks. kristi and i just got back from a very relaxing vacation to IN (its easy to do nothing in Indiana). Tuesday night we had a pivotal elder meeting that might the spark that ignites the fire we have needed for so long. wednesday was just long and then there was thursday. thursday kris and i went to see five different houses. we have been looking for a house for about a month and have not found anything until thursday. the first house we came to we really loved especially the yard/lot/neighborhood. so anyways, thursday night we got stressed out, friday we made a lot of decisions and saturday morning we made an offer on the house. there are currently two other offers on the house and we won't find out until Monday but we just feel like last weekend was so long ago. time has moved so slowly when we're stressed. hopefully by june i'll be writing this in my new home.

a hell of a (few) month(s)

2008-04-03T11:39:00.001-04:00

so the past months have been pretty draining. from two deaths in my family to way too much stress at work, i have found myself often just wanting to give up. i am surprised (not sure why since i have noticed this since i started three years ago) how much people pay attention to and am controlled by things that really don't matter. i suppose they matter to them and that is why it is important but i guess when you try to get a glimpse of God's perspective and glimpse of things that he cares about, what these people (and myself for that matter) care about often don't line up. I guess its soemthing we will never get to but something we should always be striving for.

an afternoon thought

2007-11-07T15:23:00.001-05:00

life is just to short. but its fantastic how you don't know that until its too late. you can try and tell people when they are younger but they just don't believe you. i remember thinking how slow life would move. how slow time would go by. now it just seems strange that time moves so fast. its November already. i can't seem to remember much since April. i need a break or something. i just wish someone would have told me. and i wish i would have believed them when they did.

a toast

2007-11-07T15:12:00.002-05:00

to good friends...
good food...
good drink...
and good times...