Boot Scoot Redefined

Well our dance party in the kitchen continues. This particular clip portrays a new twist on the boot scoot boogie as portrayed by our daughter.

Behind Bars

Saturday was quite a full day for me as we had rehearsal from 12:30-3 and then we loaded up in the old yellow StoneBridge shuttle with our praise band and headed down to the Walls unit at Huntsville. It's definitely a wierd feeling walking into that prison and hearing and seeing those doors slam shut and lock behind you. We had the privilege of leading a praise and worship night in a 250 seater chapel in the middle of the walls unite from 6-7:30. Most of us had no idea really what to expect but it ended up being one of the most powerful and Spirit-filled times of worship for all of us. The inmates who filled that chapel were some of the most humble and gracious people you'll ever meet. They were so unbelievably appreciative of us being there. And man they worshipped God like I've never seen. They would raise their hands, sing at the top of their lungs, and one guy would worship through whistling really loud. Another cool thing was that we had about a 30 member choir of prisoners behind us singing with us and swaying from side to side on most of the songs. It was another one of those times in life where my theme verse I Corinthians 1:27 (God using the foolish and weak things of the world) was shining brightly. I mean I was sweating profusely, guitar strings were breaking, I couldn't find the right music, I forgot the words or couldn't read the words, I forgot to turn on my guitar, and on and on yet the inmates just didn't seem to care. It was more about being there and being real than executing a flawless performance. So after a while we just had fun with it and didn't worry about all the little things and did our best. As I learned in India, sometimes just showing up is the most powerful and effective thing you can do. Us just showing up there on their turf in their prison impacted them above everything else.

Day with the Lord

On Monday, myself, Chad Corbitt and David Wittenmyer all broke away for several hours to just pause and sit with God. A good friend of mine, Colin Millar, challenged me to break away and spend some extended time with God and so I decided to finally take him up on this challenge. We headed over to McDade park in Conroe and each found our own little spot along a little creek in the woods. It was good just to relax, breathe, pray a little bit, observe the creek, put my feet in the sandy creek bed, and sit. We only spent two hours in quietness with God but it seemed like a really long time. I was reminded of how fast paced our culture is. We each did different stuff during our time. I read a book called, "The Greatest Thing in the World" which was written in the 1800's by a guy named Henry Drummund. It really delves into I Corinthians 13 and unpacks love and how it is the essence of the Christian life. I also just got a lot out of his biography and how he was most known not for his acccomplishments and accolades but as a "man who had been with Jesus." I guess at the end of the day I just want to be a man who has been with Jesus and followed His will for my life no matter what that might look like.

What are you gonna be when you grow up?

Well, our kids little personalities continue to unfold and develop each day. I was thinking today about if I had to predict what they're going to be when they grow up based solely on what they're quite passionate about at this stage of life I would conclude the following. First Emily. I guess she is going to be some kind of talk show host/circus announcer person/magician. Whenever we're sitting down on the couch we become her audience and she races into the room with her famous quote, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Everybody!" Which I'm not exactly sure what that combination of words means but she is quite passionate about it. Then she proceeds to host some kind of wierd variety show full of magic tricks, extreme makeovers with people from the audience usually involving placing multiple hats on the audience members. Her show is talkshow host-like as its always very interactive and involving the audience members.

Josh apparently has quite a passion for popsicles and taking care of his baby. He is definitely the snuggler and quite affectionate with a contagious smile. So I guess he'll start his own day care facility where he can take care of lots of babies and then be an ice cream/popsicle man and drive around his little white van around various neighborhoods.

The StoneBridge Softball Civil War

So once again our team of young stallions faced off against Mark McDaniel and the seasoned veterans last night out at the softball park. And once again we came up short of victory. It felt like about half our church stuck around for this StoneBridge Softball Civil war. As usual Mark was hard at work and amassed a giant army against us of about 16 guys to our 10. It's kind of like the strapping young teenage athlete who goes out and plays his dad in some one on one basketball. He knows athletically he can surely take down his old man. He, in theory, should be able to race by him with his great speed and agility. And yet...when the game begins...the old man creeps into his brain and any athletic ability that he normally has when playing anyone else is somehow zapped out and stolen. The old man with pure delight begins to watch his young son sweat and fumble the basketball as dad slowly but steadily drives up the score to sweet victory. So, yep this is exactly what went down again. Mark's team shows up and the shekina glory seems to rest upon each and every bat and glove. Flawless defense, perfectly executed hitting and base running strategies. While our bats turn into complete mush and somehow refuse to operate as they normally do for us. What can you do? Surely our time will come one day. Maybe.

37 Words

I was reading today in the last chapter of Colossians and I got to the 'final greeting' part where Paul is closing down the letter and mentioning a few people who were with him that want to give a shout out to the church at Colossae. You know we do it when we're talking to someone on the phone and they're like "tell them mom said hi and that she misses them bunches." Anyway, it's easy to get on cruise control in your mind cause you're thinking that they'll be no real theological meat or anything important here but of course I'm proven wrong as normal. Paul when mentioning Epaphras spends 37 words describing this guy in this final greeting. Here is how he describes him, "Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured."

Three things stand out about this guy. First of all that he is just an average guy when you look at him. He is "one of you". He's not a body-builder, or a 'pro', or unusually good looking or funny, he's just another face in the crowd (hey sounds like me). Secondly, he's described as a servant of Christ Jesus. Or to flip that around, Jesus Christ is His Master. His owner, what Jesus says, he does. Pretty simple and yet radical way to live your life. Third, this is a guy who really loves others. Is it just me or is praying for others hard to do. Prayer reveals how stinking selfish I am because I have such a hard time moving away from me and my world and entering into the world of my brothers and sisters around me. But, Epaphras doesn't just stop there, it says he wrestled in prayer for others, he cried out on their behalf. He pleaded with God concerning them. What was he praying? that they would not fall short of fully following God's will....that when it came to their will and their desires vs God's will and His desires that they would surrender their own agenda to God and that in that they would become mature and fully assured. What an awesome and loving thing to pray for people. What an awesome thing to desire for the people around you that they would experience the deep and inexplicable joy of living a life surrendered to the will of God.

So if someone had 37 words to describe your life, what would they be?

Christmas in July

You just never know what to expect in the adventure of parenting. We caught this scene going on this morning. Emily kind of carries the tune and Josh chimes in here and there and feels the freedom to take a little water break in the middle of the concert and then throw in a little laughter at the end.