living a lifestyle of worship

I went to visit a friend in prison the other day. There is an overall feeling of despair at the prison. There are family members that have traveled great distances to see their loved ones. Little boys and girls dressed in their Sunday best looking forward to seeing Daddy for the first time in months, maybe even years. You can feel the sense of hopelessness. I can only imagine the hardships that these families face on a daily basis, facing the struggles of everyday life without the benefit of a Father, or Husband to be by their side.

Before you get into the visitation room you have to sit outside the prison visiting offices and wait for them to call a number that you have on your visiting slip. There are benches and picnic tables for you to sit at while you wait. I sat down and listened for my number to be called.
As I sat there I began thinking about what we call "living a lifestyle of worship". I talk about this with my Christian friends and we agree that we shouldn't just worship while we are in church but that we should experience Gods presence in our everyday lives. The theory is that when we experience God in our everyday lives that this will somehow minister to those around us. Not that we are trying to preach at every chance, but that when we focus on loving God that somehow this can affect people around us without us even trying. Ministry would be a natural outflow of our relationship with God.
To be honest I was having a hard time with this. I haven't been "feeling it" lately. It kind of felt like it was just another cute Christian saying that we throw around to make ourselves feel better. But I wanted to believe it, I wanted it to be true. I just didn't feel like it had been true in my life, at least lately.
In this outdoor waiting area I sat there and prayed silently. It was a beautiful sunny day and as I was praying I looked around at the hills and the trees and the clouds that were floating above me. I had an incredible sense of God's presence as I talked to Him and enjoyed the beauty of His creation.
It was a beautiful sensation, I could feel His presence. I remember looking over towards the prison and seeing a small bird behind the gates with barbed wire. The bird hopped around a bit and then took off, flying past the gates and into the sky. I watched the bird until I couldn't see it anymore. As I was watching this and praying silently a song came to mind.

Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
When Jesus is my portion? My constant friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

I sing because I'm happy,
I sing because I'm free,
His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

I began quietly humming this song to myself as I watched the bird fly past the prison gates. This felt like worship to me, just me and God, spending some time together. As I sat there in silence the woman who had been sitting next to me said out loud, "His eye is on the sparrow... and I know He's watching over me." I hadn't realized that anyone could hear me. I was actually a little embarrassed. I smiled at her and said, "He does indeed." Then she leaned over and said, "Thank you. That was God's confirmation for me today." I just smiled at her and nodded.

The thing that amazed me when I though about this later in the day was that this just seemed so natural. It wasn't spooky, or weird, it just seemed so natural, like it was supposed to be that way. I was just enjoying God's presence, worshiping Him in my everyday life, and somehow it ministered to someone else without me even trying. This is what living a lifestyle of worship is all about.

I think the key to finding this "place" of worship is actively looking for it. We need to quiet the busyness, the frantic pace, and the noise that surrounds us and look for God in our everyday life. I believe that when we do this we will find Him in the most unlikely places.

good quote from a good book

"Close your eyes, friend, and imagine. You're high up in the air, in an aisle seat, looking past your neighbor and out the window. Down below you is a mass of cloud cover looking like fresh snow, marbled, marked with divots and craggy monuments of white. Imagine that your understanding of reality is defined by this view: what you see out the window and what's proximate to you there in the plane's cabin. The airplane and its passengers are what you might call a small, unique closed system moving inside what appears to be a vast space with a visible boundary of white mass below. Many well-meaning Christians, gathered together in various sects, present Christianity in just this way. They invite you to view reality from a very small window, and they are quite certain they're providing you with an absolutely objective view of reality. If you join them, you are expected to see as the sect sees. Failure to embrace their view of reality is sometimes commensurate with failure to be a follower of Jesus. And when people say you're not, and you are, it is very hurtful--and very troubling. For sects such as these, 'anything other than absolute, unqualified, mathematically certifiable authenticity betrayed a soul adrift.'
Let's imagine some more. Get out of your seat, reach into the compartment above, and carry the yellow package to the rest room.

It's a parachute.

Strap it on.

Now go to the big door with the red sign, open it, and jump.




When you pass through the white stuff, pull the cord. As you pass through the clouds, down below, previously hidden from your view, is a world of wonder and wickedness, joy and pain, sex, truth, and lies. It's a place full of story where words are as plentiful as stars in the sky. And there's land and promise. Land where God walked. Land belonging to Him, promise belonging to Him. It's a place where men and women, boys and girls, either serve themselves or serve the God of the land and sky and all that ever was and is. This land and sea, this earth and water, is the jazz of God and humanity: order and improvisation, beauty and ashes, boundary and freedom, choice and counterchoice, mistakes and all. It is a place of storytelling and storied living."

Charlie Peacock
New Way to Be Human

i love these online quizzes

I am the “SPANK-INATOR”!!!

What is your “SINNER” name?

Answer these simple questions to find out your “sinner” name!!!

Pick the one statement below that you identify with most. Then, match up the corresponding letter with the number at the bottom of the quiz to find your “sinner” name!!!

1. I have a hard time staying away from porn sites when the computer is on and no one is around.

2. I enjoy engaging in sexual activity with people of the same sex. No one knows, but if my friends knew I don’t think they would let me come to church anymore.

3. I look forward to quiet nights at home alone so that I can touch myself inappropriately.

4. I have a hard time controlling my mouth. I use the Lord’s name in vain quite frequently.

5. I love to talk about other people’s problems. It’s not really gossip as long as I’m passing along a “prayer request” right?

6. I love to eat. I don’t care if it makes me fat. I don’t care if I am “desecrating the temple”.

7. I’m married, but I have sexual relations with someone other than my wife/husband.

8. I shoplift sometimes, but only when I’m positive I can get away with it.

9. I take scriptures out of context and twist them to make them say what I want them to.

10. I am as concerned, if not more, about my appearance on Sunday morning than I am about the content of the service, or my spiritual progress. I am smokin’ hot baby!

11. I do not have all the things that I deserve. Others around me have way more than me, and aren’t half the Christian that I am.

12. I see lukewarm Christians all around me. I wish they would all grow up. I feel that God has given me the gift of discernment and I feel it is my Christian duty to show these sinners the error of their ways.

13. Ohmigawd... what's wrong with me? I answered yes to ALL the questions!!!

All right kids. Take a minute to pick the one statement that rings true for you. Think about it. You don’t want to end up with the wrong “sinner” name!

Once you have picked your answer scroll down and match up the number from your answer to the numbered answers in the list of “sinner” names below. Share the answer with your friends. Come back after your sin pattern changes and take the quiz again! Who knows, maybe you’ll cycle through several names over the course of time?

Answer Key:
1. The Porn-meister
2. The Homo-nator
3. The Spank-inator
4. The Cuss-meister
5. The Yap-meister
6. The Glutton-ator
7. The Cheat-meister
8. The Theif-inator
9. The Heretic-inator
10. The Vain-meister
11. The Envy-inator
12. The Judge-meister
13. Apparently, you are the Antichrist

The above survey is obviously a joke. I got the idea from my friend the Porn-meister in a recent comment. The idea of being identified by your sin got me thinking. I thought I’d have a little fun with it. Don’t take it too seriously, don’t get your panties in a twist. It’s OK to laugh at ourselves every once in a while… honest.

black church conference creates network to fight anti-gay bias

At the first Black Church Summit, participants formed a new national network to fight discrimination against gays and lesbians in African American churches.

More than 200 African American ministers and gay activists from across the country gathered at the two-day meeting near downtown Atlanta to discuss how to make black churches more accepting of gays.

Participants said bias within black churches has not only led gays and lesbians to feel excluded, it has contributed to the "down low" phenomenon -- of men having sex with men while maintaining a heterosexual identity. Bias has been seen as increasing the incidence of AIDS and HIV infection among African Americans, especially women.

Many attendees agreed that churches are the largest and strongest institutions in the black community and that everyone should feel welcome in them.

The new Black Church Social Justice Community Action will work in churches throughout the country to promote a black, faith-based movement that supports lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and opposes bans on same-sex marriage.

Rev. Al Sharpton, who has been vocal in his support for including gays in faith communities and for same-sex marriage since his run for president in 2004, said he welcomed the effort.

"It's not a question of bringing gays and lesbians into the church," Sharpton said. "It's about having a discussion because they are already there, and not just in the choirs. We can't ignore part of the congregation. I'm willing to take whatever criticism is necessary to start the dialogue."

The Rev. Ken Samuel, pastor at the Victory for the World church in Stone Mountain, Ga., said he condemned homosexuality when he started his mega-church, and his membership grew. One day Samuel had a revelation, remembering a childhood friend who committed suicide because he felt ostracized by the church for his sexuality. When he started preaching inclusion, he said, he lost about half of his 5,000 members.

"There is a disconnect between religion and reality, and it contributed to the death of a young man," Samuel said. "That set me on this path to try and figure it out. We have to find ways to incorporate it with the Bible the same as was done with slavery. The Bible condones slavery. We have to interpret rather than exclude."

What are your thoughts on this?

you've got mail

I just got one of these Blackberry phones that have all the bells and whistles. I am connected at all times. I can do it all, email, text message, IM, web browsing, contacts, calendar, and even pong! It beeps at me every five minutes or so when a new email comes in. You don't realize how much stinking email you get until something beeps at you every single time you get one!
I just read an article in Relevant Magazine about our email habits. It said:

Email traffic over the World Wide Web has grown from 5.1 billion messages a day in 2000 to 135.6 billion messages daily in 2005. Worldwide email traffic is projected to grow from 171 billion messages per day in 2006, to 331 billion messages per day by 2009.
Here's a look at the frequency of our email habits:

60% check email while on vacation
41% check email in the morning before going to work
25% never go more than a few days without checking email
4% check email while in the bathroom

I can say that thanks to my new Blackberry I am one of the proud, the few, the ones able to answer email while on the pot.

Speaking of pot, I remembered reading about another study on the effects of email on our brains. It was a research study by Hewlett Packard UK. Here is a small excerpt of their study:

Info Mania, is it reducing your IQ?
"The abuse use of “always-on” office technology has led to a nationwide state of “Info-Mania” where UK workers are literally addicted to checking messages. Mobile technology offers massive productivity benefits in the hands of those who know how to use it, but irresponsible use means that workers are not seeing the benefits they should.

New research, commissioned on behalf of technology experts Hewlett Packard, reveals that 62% of adults are addicted to checking messages out of office hours and whilst on holiday. Half of workers will respond to an email immediately or within 60 minutes and one in five people are ‚“happy‚” to interrupt a business or social meeting to respond to an email or telephone message.

Perhaps more worrying is the effect of Info-Mania on workers IQ. Far from making workers more productive, the findings of a new scientific experiment reveal that those who “over juggle‚” and who constantly disrupt their day to read and respond to messages reduce their IQ significantly. In a series of tests carried out by Dr Glenn Wilson, Reader in Personality at the Institute of Psychiatry, University of London, an average worker’s functioning IQ falls ten points when distracted by ringing telephones and incoming emails. This drop in IQ is more than double the four point drop seen following studies on the impact of SMOKING MARIJUANA!!!"

At least email won't give you the munchies.

good quote from a good book

"So more and more I discovered, progressively, that I do love all things dark, all things secular. While somewhere deep inside I was still committed to Christ and was still fully committed to the Godly development of the ministry I work in, I began to wonder where my real love lie.

I knew that I had committed to Christ in a gut-wrenching moment of conviction nearly five years ago, and that I had been up and down ever since. The thing was, I had to wonder if my faith at some point in time had left its authentic roots and moved to more cultural grounds. I’ve found it is bad to have a faith that is based in the surrounding culture. This is different than having a culturally relevant faith.

A culturally relevant faith is a faith where you do not shun the outside world; where you know and respect and include yourself in the lives of the very people you are trying to reach. But a faith based in surrounding culture is a faith that is there only because your friends do it, or because it gave you a social group that you don’t want to leave, or because your family tells you that you need it, or because other Christians tell you it’s essential to keeping your salvation.

I don’t want that kind of faith. I want a faith where I do follow God because I sincerely want to. I want a faith where I do the right things because God would have me do them. But that, in essence, is the problem. I involve myself in the picture too much. I want not to be human. Look back at how many times I mentioned myself in that sentence, versus how many times God is mentioned: I want a faith where I do the right things because God would have me do them. It’s a three-to-one- ratio.

In the deep, intimate corridors in my life reserved only for private conversation with my own thoughts, Satan has convinced me that I want to do Godly things, and that I want to live in a Godly way. Satan knows I will put the pressure on myself, and since I am a human, sinful by nature to the core, I will fail miserably. I will tell myself that I’m a bad Christian, and will continue to let my faith go because I was never good at it in the first place. Or perhaps I will succeed, only because I don’t want to loose face in front of my Christian friends. But that would not be authentic Christianity; that would be cultural or social Christianity.

God knows I can’t live this way. Why did I fail so bad and do what I did that night? Why have I had a better time living borderline than living as a follower of Christ? Because I tried to do it. And frankly, I suck at trying to follow Christ on my own, without His help. We all suck at it. I do, you do. Every church and ministry leader throughout history does. And even in all of our suckiness, we are prideful. We as humans want to make it ourselves, and not ask anyone for any help, not even God."

Jeff Nash
Churches, Pubs, & Hostels

CLICK HERE to order "Churches, Pubs, & Hostels"
CLICK HERE to read more of Jeff's work.

judge allows man to change name to "Jesus Christ"

Jesus Christ, AKA Jose Luis Espinal, 42, of Washington Heights, NY said he was "happy" and "grateful" that a judge recently approved his name change. Espinal said he was moved to seek the name change about a year ago when it dawned on him, "I am the person that is that name."
The judge defended her decision by saying, "Espinal's reasons were primarily those applicable to his own private religious beliefs and he stated no desire to use his proposed name to secure publicity, to proselytize, to fund-raise or advise others that he had been cloaked by the courts or government with a religious authority."
Espinal, who is unemployed, unmarried and has no children, said, "This was not done for any reason other than I am that person. You're dealing with the real deal."



In related news:
A pennsylvania man named Paul S. Sewell has taken to signing his name "God". He claims that this is legal and acceptable. The Berks County Registrars office isn't so sure. "The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation accepted it on my driver's license. I have a credit card with it," he said. "It shouldn't be a problem." As the owner of a bail enforcement agency Paul says he's used to being called God, "Whenever I go to arrest somebody, they say, 'Oh, God, give me another chance. Oh, God, let me go. I'll turn myself in tomorrow'".

Interesting side note: Apparently "God" is a registered Republican.

when I said "create excellent art" this is NOT what I had in mind...

Mark Fox, AKA "Lil' Markie" is a christian recording artist. As far as I know he's the first christian artist to parlay a multipersonality disorder into a traveling "music ministry". Mark sings as himself then switches voices to Lil' Markie, taking on a really, really creepy voice. He says he's singing as his younger self, singing as a child.

All I know is that it's super freaky. I'll share a few of the hits with you.

First CLICK HERE to check out "Diary of an unborn child."
Then CLICK HERE to listen to "Story of an alcoholic father."

And finally... The pièce de résistance...

CLICK HERE to see live video of Lil' Markie in all his glory!!! It's a large file but SO worth the wait.
You've GOT to stick around for the second half!

get rich off Christ dyin'

I was in a recent church service where the pastor was talking about the evils of the entertainment business, Hollywood, violent video games, and MTV. He was saying that these media vehicles were spiraling out of control. More violence, more sex, more depravity.
In conversation since then I've posed the question, "are Christians partly to blame for this problem?" Here is my theory: Christians in the media, left their positions of influence to create a smaller niche where they could completely control the content; "christian entertainment". Christian consumers took their purchasing power to a "christian marketplace" abandoning the popular marketplace. How can we complain about how bad everything has gotten when we abandoned that marketplace a long time ago? We retreated to our own subculture. We left "them" to their own devices. We created our own music, our own literature, our own clothing, our own art, in my town there are even a few "christian restaurants"! They are owned and operated by Christians and they market through word of mouth; "have you been to "so 'n so's", Oh you should really check it out... they're Christians!"

I understand the initial thought of these separatists. They were trying to be holy, trying to be separate. But if the end result is that we've become so separate that we are rendered impotent is it really worth it?

Another aspect of the "christian marketplace" that worries me is the thought that if you put a christian label on it, Christians will buy it. I read a review of a video game a few years back. The game was about a paper delivery boy. The paperboy would go along his route throwing papers in order to get to the end of the game where a bikini clad young woman jumped up and down to congratulate him on a job well done. It was a stupid game.
The game flopped.
The gaming company had a brilliant idea. They changed the game up a little bit. The had the paperboy deliver Bibles. They changed the story line so that the paperboy was on his way to Sunday School. They changed the bikini babe to a dowdy looking Sunday School teacher. They put a cross on the front of the video game box, and they started marketing to Christian book stores.
The game was still stupid.
It was a smashing success.
The video game review I read was in a "secular" magazine. The reviewer had seen both versions of the game. His closing comment was along the lines of, "Those stupid Christians, they'll buy anything you tell them to as long as you call it a christian product."

Even more disturbing is the fact that people will avoid something that has been marketed towards Christians even if the product is amazingly beautiful! I went to a pre-release screening of "the Passion of the Christ". It was a big deal. Mel Gibson was there answering questions and the whole deal. At first I thought, "this is amazing." Then I realized what they were doing. They were marketing to Christians.
They invited pastors to the screening so that we would go back to our churches and tell our congregations that it was their duty to go out and see this movie... you know, because it's "christian." Obviously, "passion" was a huge success (but was is truly the "biggest evangelistic opportunity in 2000 years" as it was hyped? That's another post I guess.). Recently a similar marketing campaign was used for the movie "Chronicles of Narnia". Again, a beautiful, excellent movie, but I have read on blogs, and heard people say in conversations that they would avoid these movies just because they were being marketed to Christians, and they didn't want to be fed church propaganda.
Read a little more about the Narnia marketing machine by CLICKING HERE, HERE, OR HERE.

What's wrong with letting the art speak for itself?

Here's an idea: If you are talented in music, or visual arts, or movie making, or script writing, or clothing design, or whatever, go into the marketplace and let your art speak for itself. Create excellent art that is indicative that we are creative beings, made in the image of a creative God. Don't tell people they should partake in your product because of your faith. Tell them they should partake in your product because it is a quality product.

Go out there and redeem the marketplace.

If you disagree and prefer to purchase only christian goods, your prayers have been answered!
CLICK HERE to be redirected to "LordMart" your one stop shop for Jesus Junk, and Holy Hardware (Jesus Saves... especially when He shops at LordMart).
Ask yourself... WWJB (What Would Jesus Buy)?

field trip

One of the benefits of being in the music industry is the opportunity to go to the massive trade shows that happen at the beginning of the New Year. Last week I went down to Los Angeles to go to the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) show.
I took a few pictures of some of the cooler (or weirder) stuff and thought I'd share with you.

The coolest thing about going to "the show" is the chance to see new companies coming up with cool ideas. This company was making guitars out of metal. It's not an entirely new idea but these guys would also scribe, and fatigue the metal to give the instruments an antique look. Very cool.

This company was doing custom engraving on cymbals, guitar headstocks, and pickguards.

It's kind of hard to tell with the fancy script but the correct spelling of the name on this custom made amplifier is Fuchs. The owner of the company was at the booth. Her name is Annette Fuchs. If it's pronounced the way I think it's pronounced I want to know how she made it through High School with a name like Annette Fuchs.

This is where it starts getting wierd. This company was marketing the "Neck Sock", it looks more like a neck condom to me.

This gentleman was demonstrating a "fretless" keyboard. The idea is that you can slide from one note to the next without the interval. I.E. you could do 1/3, 1/2, or 1/4 notes if you wanted. I guess you could use those 1/3 notes for arabian scales? It kind of sounded like a Theremin. It has a neoprene "keyboard" that has lines printed on it so you know where you're at. I played it for a while. It was actually pretty fun. But I could not think of a single practical use.

OH YEAH BABY!!!! THE KEYTAR!!!! It works kind of like an autoharp. You play a chord with your left hand which holds down the strings on frets underneath the keyboard. Then you strum to your hearts content. It doesn't sound real good, but it definitely draws a crowd!

Besides the instrument manufacturers there are electronic parts manufacturers that are peddling their wares as well. This company thought it was important not only to know where your product is coming from but also who made it. Check out their slogan: "Made in China... but made by Korean people". I didn't know that this was a selling point? Interesting.

There was a guitar string company at the show called "knucklehead strings". This was one of their T shirts, "Dark Side of the Trailer Park".

They actually had a White Trash Trailer at their booth! AWESOME!!!

There were tons of small booths with custom made instruments like these Basses.

Now THAT'S a Bass!!! This baby has ELEVEN strings!!!
CLICK HERE to listen to one of these bad boys in action.

Some of the major manufacturers had cool stuff at their booths as well. The Fender booth had this guitar on display. This is Jeff Beck's Telecaster. They had a video running directly over the guitar that showed Jeff Beck holding the guitar.

Fender also showed off many of the guitars from their Custom Shop. This guitar was hand painted to replicate this painting. It was very beautiful!

This is definitely a collector's item. It looks so good you'd feel guilty for playing it.

Another really cool thing about the show is that there are tons of musicians doing live shows. You get to see some pretty wild stuff! This young lady had a Cello on a guitar strap around her neck! She actually strummed it and played very aggressively like a rock guitar player.
She had a great voice too! Very interesting sound.

Taylor Guitars also hosted an intimate acoustic show with Switchfoot. There were less than a hundred people there and I was about ten feet from the front of the stage. It was KILLER!!!
I met the guys from Switchfoot about seven years ago when they were opening for Delirious?. They were super cool guys and it's great to see them making such a huge impact in the music scene.

I got the chance to say hi to John Foreman, the lead singer of Switchfoot after the show. He said he remembered meeting me back in the day but I think he was just being nice.

Although, I must say, I do make an impression.

Powered by Castpost

I was able to get a little bit of video from the Switchfoot show on my digital camera. It's not the best quality but it's still cool. It's a HUGE file so don't even try it unless you've got DSL or cable.

That's it, that's my report on my field trip.



Good times were had by all!

quality time

i love this game

So, my time at the gym has been paying off nicely. I've decided I'm not going to pursue any further step class activities. The leotards kept riding up. Plus there were only a few other guys in the class, and they kept hitting on me.

Anyways, I've been working on my hoops skills, you know, workin' on my "hops".

I even figured out the secret trick to the most coveted move in basketball: the SLAM DUNK! There is a trick believe me.
This is no easy feat for a man who stands as tall as your average 6th grader (5' 6" to be exact)!!!!

To learn the "secret of my success" CLICK THE PICTURE

resolutions

I'm gonna get into shape. I'm gonna do it.

I don't really want to lose a ton of weight or anything, I just want to feel like I can run a few miles without throwing up, or at least climb a flight of stairs without panting.

I did pretty good with last year's resolution. I resolved to give this "blogging" thing a try. I've enjoyed it. It's been a nice outlet. I've made new friends, pissed off old friends, and gotten called into the office on more than one occasion. Good times were had by all.

Anyway, I'm pretty worn out. I just got back from my step class. DON'T LAUGH! I can step like a madman. I'm feeling the burn. I feel so good I'm gonna have a celebratory doughnut!

Happy New Years!!!!

If you are going to be in
Northern California tomorrow night
Come pray, meditate, hang out,
& catch the vision

Worship night at Gina's house

December 30, anytime between 7-11pm

Everyone is welcome

Bring friends

CLICK HERE to email me for directions

merry Christmas

The Byzantine Museum-Athens
Nativity-1783

tattoo stories

I got this "half sleeve" done over the summer. Each part of the tattoo has significance and I thought I'd take a minute to show off my ink! The symbol on my shoulder is known as the "Sacred Heart". It's a Catholic symbol. It symbolizes the heart of Jesus Christ. It has a crown of thorns and the side is pierced and blood and water both flow out of it. The cross at the top is symbolic of death, and the cross is being consumed because Christ conquered death and the grave.

On the back of my arm is a drawing of Hudson Taylor. Hudson Taylor was a missionary to China in the late 1800s. Hudson dressed, ate, worked, and spoke as the Chinese when missionaries typically told natives that they needed to become "western" in order to become Christian. He had become one of them and had earned their respect. As a result the missions organization that Hudson founded, "China Inland Mission", is to this day the most successful Chinese missions organization.
I've always considered Hudson Taylor a kind of hero in the faith.

Oh, by the way... Did you get your tickets to the GUN SHOW?!?!?!?

I have the Greek word "Doulos" tattooed on the inside of my arm. Doulos means "Slave, Servant, or Bondservant". Doulos has a connotation of service, not because you seek reward, or because you are were purchased as a slave, but that you are compelled to serve. As if something within you compells you to serve this master, no matter the reward, or the cost.

I also have a tattoo on the back of my neck. You can see a picture of it, and read the story behind it by CLICKING HERE.

Yes, they hurt.

The inside of the arm hurt the worst, especially up towards the armpit. The top of the shoulder was pretty bad, and right on the spine on my neck didn't exactly tickle either. The outside of the arm was cake though, I actually fell asleep in the middle of a 4 hour session.
The whole half sleeve took about 20 hours altogether.
I can see what people mean when they say that it's addictive but I'm pretty sure I'm done. I'm not planning on any other major pieces anyway. I'll probably have a little black and gray clouds in between the waves and the Sacred Heart at some point, but that's all I'm planning now.


I'm really happy with the way they turned out!
Sim does a great job if you're looking to decorate your temple. www.simtattoo.com

semper reformanda

Semper Reformanda:
Forever Reforming

At my church we recently had a series on the attributes of God. One of the topics was: God is Immutable.

Immutable
Pronunciation: (")i(m)-'myü-t&-b&l
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin immutabilis, from in- + mutabilis mutable
: not capable of or susceptible to change





We illustrated the point that God never changes by showing in contrast how much we as human beings change.
Our bodies change as we grow. Our fashion sense changes as the years pass by. Our opinions change as we become educated.








We are "Always Reforming", always changing. In a very real sense without change there is death. Our human bodies are finite, and ever changing. Some changes are more visible than others. For example, my hairline is slowly receding, and gray hairs are starting to pop up on the sides of my head, while my belly is not quite as tight as it used to be.
Some changes are completely invisible to us. At the molecular level our bodies are in a constant state of change.
The only time that the process of change stops is at the time of death.

And that's only the physical change that our bodies experience. What about the way that we change our minds?
When I was 18, I was pretty sure that I knew it all. I had it all figured out.
Then I got to 21 and realized that I had been totally wrong about many things at 18.
When I turned 23 I got married and realized how truly juvenile I was back when I was 21.
Then when I turned 25 and had my first son I realized that I was just a kid when I got married.
Now I look back and wonder "who are you?!?!?"

Katie says, "You're not the man I married." And I say, "Yeah, no kidding, I've been like three different people since we got married!"

It's fascinating to me that we constantly go through change, we are always "in process". I'm thankful that God understands this and that God does not change. His grace is always available to us so that we can live the lives we should. His mercy is always there when we jack things up.
God is much bigger and more complex and more beautiful than we will ever be able to comprehend with our feeble human minds.

It's a challenge for us to realize that we are still in process. It's tough to admit that we don't have it all figured out just yet. It's important for us to realize that we are "semper reformada".

We see through a glass darkly.

modern day job

"Job hearing of his ruin" by Gustave Dore

Sheriff's deputy Andy McDowell was forced to live a parent's worst nightmare twice in a matter of minutes.

After he was taken to the site where his 23 year old son, Rory, was killed in a car crash early Wednesday, McDowell was driven past another fatal accident. Only later did he learn that the fiery wreck took the life of his only other child, 21 year old, Cory.

As a father my heart aches for the loss that the McDowell family is experiencing right now. Join with me and pray for the McDowell's as they deal with this unimaginable grief.

CLICK HERE to read the article, "Brothers die in crashes just minutes apart"

emo driven life

"Every man has a Jessica Simpson fantasy. Here's mine: Jessica, hold your sister Ashlee down so I can kick her in the throat!"

Dave Attell

I'm not a huge Ashlee Simpson fan. I definitely don't dislike her as much as Dave here does, but I'm not lining up to buy her CD or Tivo'ing her latest reality show, so when the latest issue of Blender showed up with her on the cover I almost didn't open it up. I somehow got a complimentary subscription to this magazine, probably because I subscribe to other music mags like Rolling Stone. Anyway, I haven't been all that impressed with the writing or the reviews so I rarely even open up the magazine when it arrives. Last night I had some time to kill so I flipped through the pages and came across an article entitled "Emo Driven Life". Much to my surprise this secular magazine had an eight page spread on the worship team "Team Strike Force" of Mars Hill Church in Seattle! I've never seen this much attention given to a church organization (other than maybe Saddleback, or Willow Creek) in a secular publication. The article was surprisingly complimentary too! It even had a nifty little timeline that featured the history of Rock n' Roll in the church.
The best entry in the timeline was this: "Circa A.D. 30; Jesus establishes rock & roll credentials by hanging out with a prostitute, Mary Magdalene, and turning water into wine at a party. Your move Tommy Lee..."
The article talked a bit about the Church, the pastor, and the different worship teams that lead at Mars Hill.

Here's a small excerpt: "A thousand people are on their feet for Team Strike Force tonight. The band, in Converse and corduroy, smash out the power chords of an emo anthem. 'Give me a heart, a heart that is full,' moans Luke Abrams, his dirty blonde bangs flopping over his brow, his slight frame bent rapturously back. Matt Johnson smacks down the drums, sweat dampening his Dischord Records T-shirt. The room shakes with the crowd's singing. Hands raise invisible lighters aloft. This moment should be followed by cold beers in the dressing room as Dave Grohl drops by to say hello, a couple of skater babes in tow. But in the green room at this particular venue, none of that awaits. There is a deli tray with olives and turkey sandwiches, but the only alcohol is a chalice of sacramental wine resting next to a worn Bible on a side table.

'Our church attracts the young, urban, hip, arty, cool, play-guitar-on-the-weekend, workin'-a-desk-job-during-the-week, people. Some have grown up with church experience. But most haven't been for a couple years. This is cool enough that they can relate.'
'Many of us were going to churches where the music was cookie cutter and dry' says Claudine, 31, who's been attending Mars Hill for three years. 'Team Strike Force is something we can understand.' Pastor Mark Driscoll and his team of church elders have invested much thought and energy in making the physical environment of worship one where people like Claudine feel not only comfortable but impressed.
Everything in this vast former hardware store is sleek and modern, even the church motto: MEANING. BEAUTY. TRUTH. COMMUNITY. Aside from a distressed-metal cross that looks more like a design element than an icon and the shifting images on the 'digital stained glass' video screens, this could be any room Fall Out Boy would play on a nationwide tour."

CLICK HERE to check out Mars Hill's website. Click on the downloads button to listen to music from Team Strike Force.