New Year's Eve

I did not get to the gym today. I have been the last 4 days in a row. I generally go 3 or 4 times a week and exercise at home the other days with body weight exercises like push-ups, free squats and back bridges. It works pretty well for me. I always take at least 1 day off a week. I've been on vacation for a while now so I've had time to go. It has been nice going at around 2 in the afternoon since it's pretty slow. Today, however, I didn't feel like going. I'll go tomorrow.
Tomorrow night I am doing an acoustic set for a New Year's Eve party at a church in Puyallup. That should be fun. My bit is 45 minutes starting at 10pm. Then I have to run up to Renton to catch the turn of the year with the wife.

Beans and Eagles

I had coffee with Jeremy Johnson this morning. He killed it yesterday morning at New Life Church. That guy is an incredible communicator. It was nice to spend some time talking with him and getting to know an Eagle.

Lazy Sunday Morning.

I'm having a pretty good morning. I am sitting at home watching football, drinking a non-fat peppermint mocha from the Bux, and just about to get ready for church. Since I'm on vacation right now, I have no responsibilities at church today. We discussed visiting another church today just to see what other churches are doing but when we thought about it further, we decided that we would rather attend our own church. This will be the first service my wife and I have driven together to in about a year.

Good times

So I'm loving this winter weather! I am taking a few vacation days staying around home and couldn't be happier about all the snow. It's always a little nicer when you don't have to drive in it (even when I do have to drive in it, I have a Jeep). The fam and I just finished building a pretty incredible snow fort and then put it to good use with a snowball fight. The cold reminds me of living in Bend which has awesome winter weather. Good times.

Better Days

Better Days from Brent Schindel on Vimeo.

I've never seen so much fog in church.

We just finished up our Christmas production this weekend. We did 1 Friday night and 2 on Saturday. The only bad thing about only doing 3 shows is that by the time you really get things dialed in, you're done. My part was a Goo Goo Dolls song called Better Days. I had a guitar strapped on my back and singing while I walked down the center aisle with spotlights on me the whole time so everyone was calling me "Rock Star". Hopefully that will go away soon. It was more uncomfortable being called "Rock Star" than it was to actually do the part. It was a fun show and the best Christmas production I've ever been to. The hardest part was sitting around back stage waiting until my song.

My Brain On Music.

So I started journaling again a little bit today. It has been quite a while. If you don't know, journaling is like blogging only you use paper and a writing utensil and no one else reads it. It really is great to get some of my personal thoughts out...other than on here.
I've been reading a book called "This is Your Brain on Music." It is an explanation of the science behind music and how your brain responds to, stores, and processes sound. It is pretty fascinating although it reads a bit like a music theory textbook in the first chapter. It reads like a neural biology textbook in the second chapter. We'll see in the next few chapters if it lightens up any. It is really interesting though how our brains process music. All kinds of neurons firing and such. Really the only things I don't like about it are that it reads like a technical manual and the author takes an evolutionary viewpoint in explaining the processes. Whatever; I can be mature enough to read an author I disagree with on a couple things. I'll let you know how the rest turns out. Unless my brain explodes before I finish it.

Congratulations.

I want to congratulate Nik Baumgart and his family on becoming the new Senior Pastor of Marysville First Assembly, the church in which I grew up spiritually. The church has had some difficult times lately and I pray that under his leadership, things can turn around. There is and always will be a special place in my heart for that church.

Amazing Grace

I watched the movie Amazing Grace the other night. It was a bit slow, but the story was great. If you haven't heard of it, it is the story of a man named Wilberforce who was a member of Parliament (but not Funkadelic) in Britain in the late 1700's early 1800's. He had a passion to see the slave trade abolished in the British empire. Year after year, he would introduce a bill calling for the abolition of slavery, and every year, he would be laughed out of the building. After years of struggle, he finally realized his dream, slavery was abolished.
The movie made me think about my own life and whether or not I have the same passion to see people freed from their spiritual chains as Wilberforce had to see people freed from their iron ones. I should, but sadly, I don't. I should hate their chains with a righteous anger. I should be consumed with the idea that people every day are being sold into spiritual bondage and equally consumed with the fact that I know who can redeem them, but to be quite honest, it doesn't keep me up at night.
I don't always understand my apathy. I do, however, understand that the more self-centered and self-focused I am, the less I care about other people. That is not the kind of person I want to be, nor is it the kind of person God has made me to be. Nevertheless, this is where I find myself today; needing to be shaken.

Do you have a passion that keeps you up at night?

Fortune

We had a Pastor's night out tonight. We all met at The Rock pizza place in Covington and then we headed up to Cutter's Point for some coffee. When we showed up, there was some live music going on and it was a guy from Zambia named Fortune. Dude was phenomenal! You will hear that name again believe you me.
It is awesome to be a part of a team like this one. I have never felt more appreciated.

Done with the Herb

I finished my herbal cleanse yesterday. It really wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. It was essentially a 10 day whole foods diet with a few supplements. I feel pretty good. I started eating healthier and exercising every day about a month ago and then started the cleanse. All together I have lost 11 lbs in the last 4 1/2 weeks. The danger is now that I'm done with the cleanse, I could start bad eating habits again. I am going to celebrate being finished today with a feast and then back to healthy again.
I have a weight loss goal of 20lbs and I am more than half way there.

He

He just wouldn't accept that they were right and he was wrong. He wouldn't conform to the popular opinion that that was just the way things were, and they hated him for that. "His mind doesn't work right." they said. "He's dangerous." Despite their best efforts to keep him quiet and subdue him, he would not bow. He had this confidence that no matter what happened, he was not alone. They hated him for that too. Playing on the fears of rejection, they convinced the populace that he was not one of them and in typical mob fashion, he was killed, but in the midst of the violence, something amazing happened. In an act of selflessness never before seen or since equaled, he asked that they be forgiven. Suddenly it was evident that greater forces were at work. There was a sense that somehow his death had made a difference. The fact that he died alone seemed to cement the idea that we didn't have to be alone. Their rejection of him meant that we would never have to live without the security of acceptance and the knowledge that we are loved beyond our ability to comprehend.
He did that.

Puzzling Behavior

Just got back from the gym. I kind of had to because I wanted to watch Monday Night Football and my wife wanted to watch John and Kate Plus blah blah blah and there are TVs at the gym. I pretty much ruled the crap out of the elliptical machine. Anyway, it always puzzles me when people get on the treadmill and put the incline level up and then hang on to the front of the treadmill and lean back essentially negating the excersizacle benefits of the incline. That's right, I said excersizacle. Write it down.

Another Great Sunday

I got home from church today and after a little lunch, headed to the gym because I didn't have to lead a service. Did 68 minutes on the elliptical machine, 1008 calories burned. So I got home today and I was thinking about the day; What a great church! I really feel like we are gaining momentum with our worship in the area of participation. We began a series on missions and today we had three church planters come and tell their stories and we blessed them. Sometime during the third service it became clear to me that we are a church that isn't simply trying to survive but we are the kind of church that really wants other churches to succeed. We aren't the kind of church that plays the jealousy game, but the kind that is outwardly focused. The fact that we are committed to missions the week after our own groundbreaking ceremony shouts volumes. I love my church. There has been a great feeling in the place the last 3 or 4 weeks and attendance has been up like crazy.
One student brought a friend today who had never been in church before. That's exciting by itself but his mother told me that the guest was impressed with the music. Man, that gets me going. There is sort of an expectation that music in the church is sub-par. I would like to see that change, and we are making progress.
One funny story: Right before the third service, one of the musicians, who shall remain nameless, said "Hey you haven't broken a string in a while." And another nameless musician said "Yeah, you're due." I said "What are you doing!? Quit jinxing me." So we went out and during the first song, guess what happened? Yep, broken string.

What are you doing tomorrow?

Sunday was a great day all around! There was a great atmosphere in all three services as we worshiped together as a church. Pastor Troy spoke about sin and we showed our final Interview With Satan video, which killed by the way.
I went to lunch with an old friend who was the youth pastor in Bend, OR while we were there and he is now the District Youth Director for the state of Oregon.
Sunday night at Axis Church, Jeremy Johnson spoke and as always, tore it up. That dude is funny. During the response time we sang Mighty To Save and we hit another gear as the students pressed in to God like I've never seen them press.
Just a great day all around and the kind of day that makes you say "I could do this again tomorrow!"

The stuffing was my favorite.

Today at New Life, we celebrated Pastor Appreciation Day. The admins prepared an incredible lunch for us and had it all set with nice china and silverware and everything. Nothing beats getting prime rib and not having to pay for it.

You Never Know

So in our 4th installment of the Interviews with Satan, we randomly mentioned that Beelzebub himself prefers Samsung flatscreen T.V.s. In our 9am service that Sunday, it just so happened that there was a man there who is the Regional Director of Marketing for Samsung. Oops. He actually wasn't mad and thought it was funny. He asked for a copy and wanted to show it sometime at his office.
We were pretty shocked and were thinking "What, is David Hasselhoff going to be in the 10:30 service?"

Culture of Worship.

I have been chasing mentors lately and asking questions about how to be the most effective worship leader I can be and how to create a culture of worship in which people naturally engage with God. From what I have gleaned from these mentors, it essentially boils down to 3 things:

Pray: Do not underestimate the power of a solid prayer life.
Be yourself: Honesty and genuine-ness put people at ease.
Lead by example: If you want people to be worshipers, then be a worshiper, not just a worship leader.

I am starting to believe that I was over-thinking the entire thing! I was looking for some more difficult hoops to jump through. I feel pretty good about where we are as a church and more specifically, as a worship ministry at New Life Church. We are gaining momentum and quality at the same time!

In Honor of Timothy C. whom we are mourning.

He is not afraid to fly
He is not afraid to soar
He is not afraid to dance
Through Heaven's open door

He is not afraid to run
He is not afraid to love
He is not afraid to sing
In the loving arms above

We might be crying today
But it's only for a moment when we know our God is great
And one day soon, we will be there
We will be there.

I'm glad

I'm glad I don't have to get punched in the face for a living. I'm just saying...

Getting our serve on.

At New Life Church this past Saturday, we had what we call "Serve Day". We bring in huge dumpsters and invite people to come and drop off their trash for free. We had a station for people to drop off old appliances, a shredding service truck for paper and 2 Salvation Army trucks. We had free car-washes and gave out sack lunches as people left. It is a great way to serve our community and a great time of camaraderie.
Since my wife has been about of town all week, I had my oldest son with me so I had to find something for him to do. He had a blast handing out lunch sacks and playing with some other kids. As we were leaving the house that morning, my son asked me why we had to go. I told him that Jesus said that people would know that we were His followers by the way that we love each other. So I said "What is one of the best ways to show someone that we love them?" To which he replied "Take their trash?"
Good call kid, good call.

Lead Without Leaving

I attended The Crossing gathering last night and had a great time worshiping. As someone who leads worship about 5 times a week, it is awesome to be at a worship service without having to think about all the technical aspects involved in creating a quality worship experience. Over the years, I have learned how to balance technical and spiritual aspects of worship whilst leading. What I mean is that it isn't all "head worship"; I can still connect with God when I am thinking through transitions and key changes and the like. In fact, the technical aspect has been the bigger challenge for me. My background was more heart than head which doesn't always lend itself to quality. Learning to be a great worship leader involves learning to balance both and also to be able to "lead without leaving". I have to lead people and not leave them behind, but bring them along on the journey.
That being said, when I get to forget about all the other stuff and focus my heart and all of my attention on connecting with God, it is incredibly refreshing.
I count myself blessed because I get to lead worship as a career and it still doesn't feel like a job.

Interview part 3

Here is another installment of our interviews with Satan. This one is rated PG. maybe PG-13. The interview begins at 2:o5.

Worship Leader Ad-Lib

I have been leading worship for about 12 years now. I have lead 5 people in a living room to leading 3000 at outdoor events and everything in-between. When I started it was "Lord I lift your name on...(pause while changing chords)...high." Worship music has come a long way since then but one thing that remains the same is what I call the "Worship Leader Ad-Lib". It sounds like this, "Lord I lift Your name on high, yes I do Lord, Lord I love to sing Your praises." See what I did there? I threw in a little extra in-between the lines, just to let everyone know that I'm serious. Here is another example: "Jesus You've become my everything, oh yeah, I will stand for You in the face of the trial." That one is a little more subtle. Darrell Evans took this art form to a level that was previously believed to be non-existent with his "Freedom" album throwing in the unforgettable gem "Come and take a spin with the Lord".

My all-time favorite however is the "Sing it out". Usually when the song has come to it's natural end but the worship leader decides to sing the chorus "one more time" he or she will give direction in the form of "sing it out" indicating that he/she expects a greater volume level from the congregation. Also "sing it out" can be used in the event that the WL forgets the words.

Here are some others:

Let's put our hands together.
Come on.
Yes You are Lord.
Oh we worship You.

*I don't know how I forgot "Lift it up"

I'm 15 today!

Today marks the 15 year anniversary of my walk with Christ. What a long journey it has been! Growing, learning, changing, falling, climbing, running, walking; all with a purpose. The means to an end; becoming like Him. I can't say that I have achieved all that I wanted to, but I can say that I am a different person. Someone once said "I may not be where I want to be but thank God I'm not where I used to be."

15 years ago today I walked into a production of Heaven's Gates; Hell's Flames at a small Assembly of God church in Arlington, WA. It was not the greatest drama I had ever seen and I remember thinking that it was kind of corny, but at the end, when some guy got up and gave an invitation to accept Christ, I knew deep down that it was what I needed to do. So I did. I walked down from the balcony and surrendered my life. I don't remember the words I prayed, but I remember the feeling of being clean and lighter than air. I remember talking to a counselor but I have no idea what he said. I remember thinking that it would not be easy to live this life and I was right but for the first time in my life I had something worth living for.

Thanks to all those who worked on that production 15 Octobers ago. It made a difference to me.

Fun on the Snoqualmie

I got a call yesterday from John Fiskum who is an elder at New Life Church and also a fellow fly-fishing enthusiast, asking me if I would be interested in taking a float trip. "Hecks yes!" I said. So I met him at Starbucks in Carnation, which if you don't know where Carnation is, you are well within the majority. 6:15 is early but worth it when there are cutthroat to be had. It was raining when we arrived at the launch and that means good cutt fishing. We floated for about 5 hours and caught a bunch of 7-8 inch sea-run cutts punctuated by a few 9-10 inchers and actually landed a couple 12 inch resident rainbows. The fish are brilliantly colored and full of spunk. The best part of the float came after I switched from a bright pattern to a drab olive fly. Feeling the pull of a fish that is larger than average really gets the heart going, When it came to hand, or net, it was 16+ inches; big for a sea-run cutt. It was a great trip and a fun day!

Camp Food

I got back yesterday from leading worship at the Northwest Ministry Network PK retreat in Easton, WA. It was a pretty good time. I had never been to this particular retreat so I didn't know quite what to expect. You know the stories about PKs. They were a cool group though and we had a good time leading them in worship. Easton is only about an hour from where I live so it wasn't a long drive but it still felt like a road trip and as we all know, the best thing about road trips is coming away with inside jokes*.
We got back to the church about 3pm and then had rehearsal for Simply Worship at 5. We had dinner at 6 and then Simply Worship at 7. It has been a busy couple days for me. 5 worship services in 3 days, all with a cold. I am excited about having the next 2 days off with my family.


*Vacuums
*Loading Dock
*T-Shirts
*Release the Creeper!
*Montana, Montana, Montana
*Is that a Gibson?

I Hate Paper

Check out the Facebook group "I Hate Paper". It will change your life forever. We are strong, we will prevail, we are the revolution!

Interview With Satan: Part 1

Check out our welcome video. The interview with Satan starts at 5:58.

Indecision '08

For the first time in my life I am not 100% sure who I'm going to vote for in the presidential election. I'm not one of those people who vote along party lines exclusively. I tend to vote for candidates who mirror my values (at least on the outside anyway).
This cycle though, it hasn't been as clear cut. I am going to watch the debate tonight and maybe something one of the candidates accidentally says will convince me one way or the other. I say "accidentally" because you can't trust politicians. They have polished answers and speech writers who tell them what to say. So maybe one of them will let something slip and let those of us who try to read between the lines will get a glimpse of who these people really are.
Another thing that may sway me is the way the candidates supporters behave. One camp in particular seems to have nothing but sarcasm and name calling on their side. I have yet to hear an Obama supporter say anything positive and substantial about their guy. Everything I hear from that side is about how bad/old/inexperienced/over experienced/religious the other ticket is. They talk about how "inexperienced" Sarah Palin is but they don't want to talk about experience when it comes to Obama versus Mcain. Not one candidate on either ticket has 1 day of presidential or vice presidential experience so I don't put much weight behind that argument. I want to hear why your pick is a good one, not why the other pick is bad. As of yet, I haven't heard anything but buzz words and mud-slinging.

Palin was clearly a token choice by the Mcain camp but at least their supporters are, for the most part, respectful and haven't resorted to name calling (so far). You could make the same argument about Obama or Hillary, had she won. Sure you've got your whack job conservatives hanging effigies but those nuts are few and far between (thank God).

All in all, I am having a hard time figuring out how either candidate will make my life any better. Maybe the debate tonight will answer some questions, maybe not. My advice to you: Don't listen to what they say, try to hear who they are.

Kickoff

We had our kickoff service for the new young adults' ministry, The Crossing, last night. What a great environment to be in and what a great group of people to hang out with! Click here for pictures.

The Crossing

I am excited about the Crossing tomorrow night! The band we have put together is phenomenal, and the new room, "The Alley" is awesome. It will be great to see how this new ministry comes together.

Man Skirt

We went to the Puyallup fair last night. As we were walking to the entrance, a guy wearing a kilt walked past us. I totally want to get a kilt because I hear they are comfortable. I probably wouldn't wear it in public like at church or anything like that but still. My 6 year old said "Dad I know what that skirt is called." I said "Oh yeah?" He said "Yeah, it's called a 'Man Skirt'.

Kids are great.

Dreams

I had a dream 2 nights ago that I thought was weird. In this dream I was standing on a dock at sunset. I was holding a little blond girl about 4 who was my daughter. I don't have a daughter in real life so that was odd. I remember that in my dream I was leaving but I don't remember why. I tried to talk to her but she was unresponsive. Then I remembered (in my dream of course) that she was deaf. So I had to have someone translate for me. I said "Tell her 'Sweety, we will always have this (time together watching the sunset).'" That was it.

Have you ever had a sad dream so vivid that you wake up and are kind of affected all day?

T.G.I.F.S!!!

I have been working on some scripts for some videos we are doing for an upcoming series. The video guy and I have been writing, creating, editing, sharing and brainstorming for what seems like a month. They are getting pretty close to being done and we are just about ready to start shooting the teasers. That being said; my brain hurts. I feel pretty spent creatively. I need to turn my mind off for a while. Thank God it's football season!

On the Radio Again

Well I found out that I will be featured on Spirit 105.3's Local Music Project Friday night at 5:25! It's pretty cool, they do a little bio and play a song and then recap the bio. It's fun to hear yourself on the radio. It is sponsored by www.track10.com which is a cool web-site for local Christian artists to post music and photos and event calendars. It is a great resource if you are looking for an artist for a service or event.
Funny Story: Brenda, who runs Track10, emailed me today saying that I would be on the LMP Friday. I glanced at my calendar and emailed back "Friday the 8th?" She emailed back and said "No, tomorrow the 5th." Then I looked at my calendar again and realized that I had yet to switch it to September. Musicians.

If you are in western Washington Friday at 5:25 pm, tune in to Spirit 105.3 and have a listen. If not you can stream it live at www.spirit1053.com, either way, I appreciate the support.

Labor Day

There's no better way to celebrate labor than sitting around watching college football. Gotta love Labor Day.

Weird

I turned down a fishing trip on a blue ribbon trout river tonight. I was planning on going but when I sat down and thought about it, I just wasn't that excited about it. I would rather stay home and be with my family than get up at 5am and catch fish. I wonder if this is what growing up feels like. Whatever it is, it feels weird.

Breaking Home Ties

I saw this painting for the first time a couple months ago in a news story. The original was found behind a fake wall in the home of a man who had died. It is called "Breaking Home Ties" by Norman Rockwell.
There are a few things that struck me about this painting when I first saw it. First, the detail in the painting is amazing. The contrast in the old, weathered face and hands of the father and the youthful excitement in the face of the boy headed off to college. The man seems like the type who has lived by the sweat of brow for a long time. He strikes me as the kind of man who will see his son off with a handshake instead of a hug. Notice that the boy is looking for the train and the old man is looking back toward home.
Looking at this picture today I noticed something I hadn't before; The old man is holding his hat in his hand but he is also holding the boy's hat. His last attempt to hold on to his son. Maybe he knows that he won't see him again for a long time. maybe he knows that his son will not follow in his footsteps.
I have at least 12 years until this scene becomes a reality for me but it hits home.

What do you see?

Girl With a Pearl Earring

I watched a movie last night called "Girl With a Pearl Earring". The story is about a girl who becomes a servant in the house of a Dutch painter in the mid 1600s. the movie, I felt, gave some insight into artists and how the creative process is fostered. If not for that fact, I probably could not have endured more than 20 minutes of it.

The interesting thing to me was that the story revolves around an actual painting. The painting inspired a novel and the novel was made into a movie. I thought that was the coolest thing. I would love to be able to see art inspire art more often. To write a song about a painting or a picture or paint a picture inspired by a short story. To see creativity cross-pollinate. That would be cool.

Unagi: More Than A State Of Mind.

I just got finished with a creative meeting regarding Christmas. It was fun and sort of a continuation of a meeting I was in yesterday. With zero notice, I was involved in a getaway meeting to discuss the teaching calendar for 2009. We left at noon and went to lunch at a secret place which ended up being a cool sushi restaurant. I'll be honest; I'm not a sushi fan. But it wasn't that bad and didn't taste as fishy as it has in the past. Bad pun, sorry. We grabbed some coffee and headed to our meeting location in downtown Renton. We spent the next 4 or 5 hours brainstorming. Thoughts and creative ideas were flying like hymnals at a revival...um...never mind. Hunger began to creep in again but we were able to shove it away like it was Andy Dick trying to get into a club before he was famous. When we finally did break for dinner, we ate at a little deli across the street. Then we came back and did a quick review, packed up and headed back to the church.

It is always fun to be around other creative people and feed off each other. To see an idea start like a mountain stream, small and indefinite, and as it is added to, it gains depth, definition, color and speed and becomes a river.

It hit me last night as I was brushing my teeth: What an awesome responsibility it is to be involved in shaping and leading this church. It is truly humbling.

No, It's not named after the bad actor.

I got to break in the Keyano (see below) this morning as I was playing the keys for the Sunday morning main services. It worked pretty well. The only thing was that the stool was a little tall and my mic was rocking back and forth when I would tap my foot to the beat. It was way less cluttered than having the piano and keyboard on stage and it made transitioning between sounds quick and painless. All in all it simplifies things and it looks way more rock and roll than the grand. Now I have to sort through the thousands of sounds on the new software!

The Keyano

So the new project is finished. It is an old Baldwin console piano with the guts torn out and a 49 key midi controller mounted inside. There is a wireless keyboard and small touch pad controlling the Mac tower running Logic 8 and Mainstage. Oh and don't forget the Digi 002 interface/output. Here is is in all it's glory!

Plug

If you are in the mood for some good poetry, check out my friend Cerissa's blog. cerissacerissa.wordpress.com or click the link in my "Blogs I Read" section. Good stuff.

Nothing Sticks to a Clean Heart

We had our pastoral staff retreat the last couple days. We were in the small tourist town of Leavenworth, WA. It is decorated in Bavarian style with small shops everywhere. The weather was crazy hot: 101 the first day and 90-something and rainy the second day. The focus of the sessions was the heart. Pastor Troy spoke on keeping our hearts right. It was a lot of fun, we went on hayrides with a snarky driver and even took group square-dancing lessons (I threw a little Robot-fusion in just to keep it real).

I really had an opportunity to practice what we had learned in the sessions as I had a reason to become very offended. Even though I knew that there was probably no malice intended, I was hurt. When you are new in a place, it is easy to feel like an outsider. When you have no history somewhere, it's easy to feel like you don't belong.

Here is the thing; I heard someone once say that "Nothing sticks to a clean heart." Clearly there was a heart issue I needed to deal with. It was my insecurity. The root of insecurity is pride. The pride that needs acceptance from people, that cares what other people think about me.

So I had to work through it. I knew that if I didn't, bitterness would eat me alive. I had to deal with my pre-disposition toward feeling like any time I am not included, I am being rejected which is of course, not true. I spent a couple hours brooding and moping and trying to sort things out in my head. I got over it. I came to the realization that I could have changed things and it really wasn't that big of a deal.

You might wonder "If you are so insecure, is it hard to get up on stage and lead people in worship every week?" The answer, oddly, is "No". By nothing but the grace of God the answer is "No". When I'm worshiping, I am in my sweet spot. It's what I was made to do. I need to learn to walk in the security that comes from knowing that I am accepted as a son of God. I need to walk around with a clean heart.

The Jeep Wave

So I drive a Jeep Wrangler. It's a '97. Some day I would love to get one of those new Wrangler Unlimited 4-door models. Man, those are sweet. I see quite a few of them around and almost every one I see is driven by someone who has never owned a Jeep Wrangler before. How could I possibly tell that you ask? Because people who drive those do not know about the "Jeep Wave". The Jeep Wave is a small gesture made by Wrangler owners when they pass one another on the road. Generally with one hand on the steering wheel, the driver will raise two fingers in a casual manner. It conveys a sense of community; a shared misery only the owner of a Wrangler could understand. Leaky roofs and windows, broken suspension components, sketchy wiring, all things we are familiar with. It's all part of the mystique that is Jeep ownership. That's why we wave.

Barbarian?

Well, I got back from our staff retreat in the Bavarian town of Leavenworth, WA yesterday and it's good to be back.

I was lying awake in bed one of the nights and the thought occurred to me: I bet deaf people appreciate text messaging on a much deeper level than you and I.

You Can't Do That On Telelvision

I just got finished with worship practice and got home. It's exciting to see the progress we have made and are making with the worship team. We are really getting things dialed in as far as our sound and excellence of our musicians. I was thinking today how blessed I am to be able to make a career out of the gifts, abilities and passion that God has given me and the fact that I don't have to break my back to put food on the table. I get to do what I love full time. So blessed.

My wife is watching the women's gymnastics right now on CBC. That's right; the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. If you have never watched CBC it's kind of weird. It's almost like American TV except everyone has a slight accent and the sports they show are different. For some reason there is a maple leaf on EVERY logo. Even the Golden arches have a maple leaf on them. Have a headache? Take some Tylenol with a maple leaf on the bottle.

Now they are showing highlights of men's field hockey. Canada lost.

Head Wounds

They say you never forget your first head wound. Well today my 6 year old got his. He fell in the back yard and gashed his head on a concrete block. I had to rush home and run him over to the urgent care because my wife is not good with blood. I told him to tell the doctor that he was in a gang fight but he wouldn't do it. Two staples to the head and he was ready to go home. I was proud of him, he did really well with the whole thing.

Have you ever noticed that when you are in a hurry, no one else is? I tried really hard not to be agitated on my Cannonball Run home but it wasn't easy. That made me think about driving and being frustrated. As someone who has his face projected onto a giant screen in front of a couple thousand people a week, it only takes being recognized a couple of times at Starbucks to realize that when I am in public, I can't have a crappy attitude with baristas even if they totally screw up my order or get 5 people behind me in line their drinks before mine (Sadly, these are things that sometimes trigger a crappy attitude in me). I have to think about that when I drive as well. If someone cuts me off, I can't give them a dirty look even though deep down I feel like giving them the bird. I represent New Life Church. My problem is not with the fact that I can't do those things; My problem is with the fact that I want to.

Someone completely cut me off today and then glared at me. For some reason, my first thought was "Why am I holding on to this aspect of my personality?" The part of me that wants to punish people for their mistakes. I want to be a person who is completely surrendered but I don't want to let go of that part.

I once heard someone say "You can't cast out your flesh, you have to crucify it." I have a part of me that needs to be crucified. I need to make a concious choice to crucify my flesh every day. This, I think, is the least fun part of following Jesus.

Again, I feel like today I grew a little.

Let the Games Begin!

I just finished watching 5 hours of live coverage of the TBN olympic games opening ceremony from southern California. It was a brilliant production, ok, it was Carman singing extended dance mixes of his greatest hits but still...

I can't wait until the actual events take place. My favorite is the toupee toss. They are adding a new scoring system this year for accuracy. The closer you get it to Paul Crouch's head the higher your overall score.

The team from Texas, anchored by Joyce Meyer, is heavily favored to win the 4x100 meter offering plate relay.

Rod Parsley and T.D. Jakes won the world championships last year in synchronized hand raising and are expected to put on quite a show in these games with a brand new routine.

A new event this year is expected to cause quite a stir in international competition. The open event consists of competitors ballroom dancing around theology to get their point across.

The gymnastics portion of the games is expected to draw huge crowds. The fan favorite is the balance beam where athletes try to balance prosperity ministry and good solid doctrine. Not an easy task.

Well I should get back to the tube, the swimming in cash competition is about to start!

;)

Special thanks to Brian Foster Kane for the inspiration.

Yo Momma

Some of us were talking yesterday about Tourette's Syndrome and why you never hear of a case of polite Tourette's. One thing led to another and that evolved into a discussion on polite "Your Momma" jokes. Here are some.

Your momma is so holy, she sweats anointing oil.

Your momma is so holy, she smells like a hymnal.

Your momma is so holy, Jesus has her face tattooed on His shoulder blade.

Your momma is so holy, when she bakes a pie, it can feed 5000.

Your momma is so holy, when she snores, it sounds like organ music.

Whatchu got?

Like a Warped Basketball?

I am watching the opening ceremonies for the Olympics right now. I was thinking that there are 1.3 billion people in China and over a billion people in India. That's a full third of the entire population of the planet! Given the proximity of the two nations, I am surprised that the Earth can actually rotate on it's axis with all that weight loaded on one side.

Moments

I had a moment this morning. One of those moments where suddenly things become clear. It's like when you look at a river and occasionally the surface becomes smooth and briefly you are able to see the bottom without distortion. I was sitting at a stoplight and there was a police officer in front of me in line. After our light turned green a full-size pickup ran the red through the intersection right in front of the cop. I was thinking "Wow, bad timing. Enjoy your ticket." The truck was stopped at another light about 100 yards ahead waiting in the left turn lane but to my surprise the cop slowly drove up to the light and made a right turn.

My first thought was "Are you kidding!!!? That guy deserves a massive ticket!" I was actually mad a little. Then I had a moment.

I felt like God wanted me to see something. He seemed to say "Why do you ask for mercy for yourself and expect justice for everyone else?" Suddenly I could see a little of the ugliness inside me. I pray for mercy, I have been praying for mercy for a while now, and yet somehow I become indignant when mercy is shown to someone else. Ugly. Maybe the cop was off duty or wasn't looking; Whatever the reason, no ticket was given and I was not OK with that.

My prayer is that I would not be quick to stand in judgment, but be merciful. To not demand justice for others while begging for mercy for myself. These moments are the growth points of our lives. I think I grew a little today.


What can we do today to show the mercy of God?

Test Confirmed

Well the test has been confirmed. Turns out it took a little prodding by some family members but my wife finally read my blog. Turns out I'm not in trouble. That's good news.

A Cool Thing to Say

I think a cool thing to say to someone who tells you that they dreamed about you is: "Oh, sorry about that. Sometimes my awesomeness bleeds over into other people's sub-consciousness."

Meetings!

I think I might be strange. I really enjoy meetings, especially when there is the possibility of being creative. I actually feel energized after a good meeting. Strange, I know.

Last night we had a creative meeting about a sermon series we have coming up in a couple months. It was so much fun that when I got home I wouldn't shut up about it. My wife said "I'm glad you had fun at work today. Why don't you fold some laundry?" Geez, some people have no appreciation for the beauty of creativity.

The New Project: When Baldwin meets Makita

So we have a new project. Brent and I got started on gutting this old piano that someone found whilst cleaning out a storage closet. Brent got the idea to gut it and put in a midi controller and mount the computer inside so it looks rustic but it's totally slick. We even hooked up the existing sustain pedal to a keyboard sustain pedal.

I apologize for the video being sideways; I always forget to rotate my phone when I take video. This is what happens when Baldwin meets Makita!

Groups at the Game

I got to go to a Mariners game last night. My sister got some tickets through her work and gave them to me for a belated birthday present. My wife and I went and enjoyed an evening without kids which was a long time coming. Baseball games are fun but the Mariners are bad so I had to occupy myself in creative ways during the game. One way is to notice people. We have been to 4 games at Safeco field and there are always certain groups of people that also attend the games and somehow always end up sitting by us. This is a brief description of some of them.


Group 1: Rooting For The Other Team Guy, or RFTOTG. This individual usually has a smug look on their face and the visiting team's colors on their dome. As if that wasn't enough, RFTOTG has to say obnoxious things like "Let's go Nick", like the rest of us are going to believe he is on a first name basis with these players and cheer loudly when the other team does something good. Bro, you're in the third deck, they can't hear you.


Group 2: Chatty Folk. Chatty Folk come in 2 subgroups; baseball educated, and social chatters. Baseball educated folk always bring someone with them who has apparently never heard of the game before and they spend the entire game explaining the finer points like "That is a baseball and that is called a field." A necessarily evil I suppose for the furtherance of the game. Social chatters seem like they know a lot about the game but spend absolutely zero time discussing and/or watching the game. They are more interested in sharing details on anything from their job to their health problems. One time, there was a couple behind us, apparently on a date, and the guy was talking about completely inappropriate bowel issues he was having. Seriously.


Group 3: Group People. these folks get group discount tickets and arrive in herds, normally in the nosebleed section. They are the ones making entirely too much noise when nothing is actually happening. These folk are the ones responsible for attempting to start "the wave" 87% of the time. (By the way, just say no to the wave.)


Group 4: Arrive Late, Leave Early People. ALLEPs attend so many games that they know the names of the ball boy and they say things like "Billy looks a little slow tonight. I'll bet he had a hot pocket for dinner again." They show up right after you mention to whomever you came with that you are glad no one is sitting in the seats in front of you. Right around the 2nd or 3rd inning. These people are usually cool and will talk to you about the game if you want. They are very familiar with ballpark etiquette. Generally they will get bored by the end of the 6th and start discussing the idea of leaving. By the 8th they are up and out of there. I kind of like ALLEPs.


Group 5: A Few Too Many Before The Game Even Starts Guy. This guy, well, we've all seen this guy in public. A good talking to by the Alcohol Enforcement officer and he will calm down a little.


I hope that prepares you in the event you get out to a game. There are a few more groups that regularly attend games and hopefully I will be able to post about them the next time my sister gets some tickets.

The Shack

I read The Shack this week and I was really moved by it. I thought it painted a beautiful picture of how God relates to us. There is a lot of discussion about suffering, loss and forgiveness. I don't think I made it through a whole chapter without crying but then I am a crier. I can't watch other people cry without choking up myself. I've always been that way. I can't watch other people deal with tragedy or loss without sympathizing. I remember seeing the Challenger blow up on TV when I was little and being moved by the loss of the families. So when I read The Shack, I cried more than a catholic statue of Mary. I know there are a lot of people who take issue with some of the theological issues presented but that's to be expected. Whenever someone challenges the way we think about God, it's only natural to defend what we believe. I enjoyed the way it was written and that it challenged the way I think about the character of God and the relationship between Jesus, God the Father and The Holy Spirit. I won't spoil it for you, but the way that God the Father shows Himself to the main character threw me for a loop. I guess because the way I picture God in my mind's eye is the same way as the main character says he does; An old white man with a long white beard.

Overall, I would say that if you want to be challenged in the way that you think and are into moving stories, read The Shack. If you're the kind of person who gets all bent out of shape when someone makes fun of your WWJD bracelet; read something else.

Wow!

Wow!
I'm not sure what else to say. Click the link, grab a kleenex.

Back From Vacation

Well, I am back from vacation, feeling rested and refreshed. We got to see a lot of friends and enjoy some time away. We spent an afternoon walking around downtown Bend going into the shops and walking along the river. We camped for a couple days but with 5 boys ages 6 and under between our two families, it was quite an ordeal. I led worship at our old church, that was fun. I got to get out fishing a couple times and had a good time doing that. I pulled a 16 1/4" rainbow out of the Crooked River Saturday evening which equaled the largest fish I've ever caught in a river. I wanted to take a picture of it but by the time I got it to hand and measured it against my rod, I didn't want it to be out of the water any longer so I held it up quickly for my buddy to be jealous of, and then slipped it back into the water and it said "goodbye" with a splash of it's tail as it swam away. It was long and slim with brilliant white on the bottom and dark blueish green on the back. Speckled and spotted with the trademark rainbow-red stripe. Man, talking about it makes me want to go fishing.

Vacation!

We are packing up and heading off to sunny central Oregon in the morning! Going to take some time off and just relax and by "relax", I mean camp and fish. I'll be doing something at Faith Christian Center in Bend on Sunday, our old church. Either a special song or leading worship. Should be nice to see some old friends and visit some old fishing holes. Sweet, sweet vacation.

The Playoff

There was for the first time in Chains history, a tie in a blog poll. He-Man and Billy Ray Cyrus have tied for whose mullet you miss more. Let's have a playoff!

Defining Community

A friend of mine emailed me today asking me for some thoughts on community. Like what it means within the kingdom, outside of the kingdom, and how we can cultivate community in both. Apparently people really care about my opinion. Ok not really people necessarily, it's pretty much just my 1 friend, but I digress. Then he finished with "What does John 13:35 mean to you?". That got me thinking, which was odd because most of the time when I reply to emails I just ramble incoherently until I figure I have completely confused the person to the point that they have quit reading my reply. Works like a charm. Try it sometime like when your supervisor asks you where your time sheet is or whatever. Anyway, John 13:35 talks about how we will be known as disciples of Jesus by the love that we have toward each other.

So here is my question for you: What does community mean to you in light of John 13:35? With permission, I will forward your comments to my friend. He writes a wildly unpopular blog and might use them.

Biting Back

What is it with us, Christians I mean? Why do we insist on tearing down one another? I have been reading www.stuffchristianslike.net for a couple of months now and the guy is brilliant. Seriously. But the other day he posted about Todd Bentley and the move of God in Lakeland, FL and hateful people came out of the woodwork talking all kinds of garbage about someone they don't even know. Why? Because what is going on there doesn't fit inside their comfortable little western theology? Because what they see on TV is contradictory to what they have heard from their pulpits? Not contradictory to what the Bible actually says, mind you, just what they have heard from a man. Why do we feel like we have the right to bash someone who is just as much a child of God as we are? Todd Bentley is not preaching a different Jesus. He is not claiming to be The Way, The Truth and The Life. He is praying that people would be healed and guess what? They are being healed. If you don't like the guy because he has tattoos, fine. If you don't like him because he rides a Harley, fine. If you don't like him because he prays for people and sometimes they get healed, fine. Just keep your mouth shut unless he violates a direct scriptural mandate. We don't have to like everyone or even every church or method of church but we do NOT have the right to speak of a child of God in a hateful manner just because we disagree with them theologically. I have a Pentecostal background. You will never see me posting on how all non-Pentecostals are "Whack Jobs" who are "Afraid of the Holy Spirit". No! There is too much at stake for us to be constantly attacking each other. You don't like what is going on in Florida? Don't go. You think Todd Bentley is a fake? I bet someone who got out of a wheelchair at the meeting would disagree with you.
I'm not saying Todd Bentley is perfect or the next Oral Roberts or anything; I've never met him, but neither have the people who have been ripping him down and that's the problem. Let's hold our tongues except for building each other up. Come on, a little Building 4:29 anyone? Ok Ephesians 4:29.

Man that was a serious post. Feel free to vote in my mullet poll to balance yourself out a little.

Song titles into Christianese

I was thinking of some old song titles and how they would translate into Christianese.

You Shook me all Night Long:
What the tambourine said to the worship leader's wife after the youth worship shut-in.

Cashmere:
What the worship leader's V-neck argyle sweater is made of.

Jump:
The only acceptable form of dancing in the church.

Panama:
Where the short term missions trip was this year.

Smoke on the Water:
What happened when the fog machine fell into the baptismal.

Love Potion #9:
What's really in those bottles of oil at the altar.

Twist and Shout:
How you get into the 1 suit you own when you visit your grandparents church.

Purple Haze:
What you're pretty sure you saw coming from the fog maching after they fished it out of the baptismal.

Stairway to Heaven:
That stairway to the balcony that always has the "Closed" sign hanging from a rope across the stairs.

Where the Streets Have No Name:
The city where the church is that you are trying to find.

Man in the Mirror:
The guy in the bathroom who takes forever to wash his hands thus blocking everyone else from washing their hands. (I don't really have a problem with this guy cause at least he washes right?)

Danger Zone:
5 foot perimeter around any and all refreshments for the adult Sunday School class. As in, "Stay away from our donuts punk, don't think I don't see you there in the danger zone!"


I'm sure I will continue this list in the future. Thoughs? Suggestions?

Sunday Morning Service

We just finished up Sunday morning services and what an awesome day! We had our new freind Gabe lead a song in all three services. He did a great job. We had a full stage today as we had two electric guitar players along with two acoustic players (Gabe and me). Pastor Troy spoke on James chapter 1 about sin and temptation. You can watch the sermon on-line here on the church website.

There was a really good atmosphere in all the services today. In the lobby as well. Not that there is ever a bad atmosphere, it just seemed more joyful today.

More song titles translated into Christianese

Here are some more song titles translated into Christianese.

1999(Prince)
The year the church switched from overhead projectors to powerpoint projectors.

Cruel Summer (Banannarama)
That year when VBS was 2 weeks long.

Don't Dream It's Over (Crowded House)
Pastor is preaching the long version of his sermon today.

Africa (Toto)
Where the short term missions trip is next year.

Every Rose has it's Thorn (Poison)
There was a wedding or a funeral on Friday and now we have semi-fresh flowers to put out Sunday morning.

Funky Town (Pseudo Echo)
What the children's ministry is named.

Right Here Waiting for You (Richard Marx)
Where your mom will be and what she will be doing in the car while you are at the friday night youth event.

Hit me with Your Best Shot (Pat Benatar)
Your pastor is hosting a Q and A session during the business meeting.

Still Haven't found what I'm Looking For (U2)
What you say when you've attended every church in town.

I want you to want me (Cheap Trick)
When the new pastor is trying out.


Ok that's 10 more. Probably more to come.

Mulling over the competition

Ok, ok so some people think He-Man is getting an unfair advantage. So here you go. Again, always make an informed decision.



Kim Clement


Richard Marx



Billy Ray Cyrus

He-Mullet

Reagarding the poll on my page, many of you might not be familiar with He-Man's mullet. Here it is.

I always want you to make informed decisions.

Brokenness

Have you ever seen the show Extreme Home Makeover? It's a tv show where a deserving family gets a totally new house built and furnished for them by an annoying guy with a megaphone while they are treated to a vacation. It's a great show and whenever we watch it at home I have to pull the old "No Daddy just has something in his eye" routine. The thing about that show is that the old house gets completely demolished down to the foundation and sometimes they tear that out too. It's gotta be hard for the family to watch; all the memories they have made in that house and now it's a pile of rubble. The truth is that the house just doesn't work for them anymore or it isn't safe. The same is true in our lives. In our walk with God, we grow and change and areas of our hearts are left unattended and we allow sin to move in and after a while we can't just throw another coat of paint on, we need a major remodel. We need to allow God to take our lives and strip it down to the foundation so He can build something better for us. That is what this life is about. Surrendering to God and letting Him break us so we can be remade.

True Colors

I have been spending a lot of time reading and re-reading Phillipians 4. Especially verses 6 and 7 which say "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." I am in the midst of a major trial in my life. We all face them. It's funny how many times I've heard those verses preached or quoted by a well meaning brother, but now it's different. The words stare at me from the page. I feel as though they are challenging me saying "Do you really believe what this says?" I have been contemplating these words and I have to conclude that if they are there, God really means them.

We are in a series at church on the book of James and Sunday the sermon was about trials. If you think about legal trials, they exist to find out the truth. Evidence is presented and testimony is given to discern what really happened. Tests in the scholastic sense are meant to find out what you know or how much you have retained. In James 1 of the Message Bible, it says:

"Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way."

I love that it says that "your faith life is forced into the open and shows it's true colors." Tests and trials are meant to show what we are really made of. I have learned and grown so much through this time in my life. I have learned what it means to truly surrender and not worry. I haven't mastered it yet, but I'm learning. I've learned what it means to not just read scripture but to apply it in my life. I know that some day I will be able to look back on this time and thank God for it. That in and of itself is a breakthrough for me!

Lightning

Last night we had an incredible lightning storm. I love watching lightning. I love the rumble of thunder when it shakes the house. I love the way it lights up the sky. I've never been afraid of lightning, maybe because I've never been struck by it.

Test

I am pretty sure my wife never reads my blog. Either she never reads it or she just doesn't think anything I say is funny or interesting. I guess that would put her safely within the majority! The reason that I think that is that she never says anything about my posts, good or bad. I have the day off today because it's a floating holiday so I'm sitting in the living room typing this and she is watching me type. So this will be the test: Last night I forgot to close my car window and it poured buckets. When I went out this morning there was 1" of standing water on the floorboard and I think I might have accidentally used a good towel to mop up the water. If I hear about it from her then I'll know she read this! Pretty good idea huh?

366 days

Tomorrow is my 1 year anniversary on staff at New Life Church. I expect cake by the way. I thought I'd share with you a few things I have learned, (or "learnt" as they say in Marysville) over the last 366 days. It was a leap year this year.

1. I learned about Business Time. Look it up on Youtube.

2. I learned that just because Pastor Troy doesn't laugh at your joke, it doesn't mean he didn't think it was funny; he was probably just thinking of something else at the time.

3. I learned that a Kawasaki 700 quad will roll a LONG way when tipped just right.

4. I learned that sudden stops frighten Jana to the extent that they produce high-pitched-shrieks. I take advantage of this whenever I can.

5. I learned what a male intern looks like in a dress and makeup dancing to Copa Cabana. And in a turtle costume as well.

6. I learned some new words courtesy of Bryan Reynolds. Appropriate words of course. Most beginning with the prefix "sick-".

7. I learned that if you keep asking for lime wedges at Applebees, they will keep bringing them to you.

8. I learned what it means to have a patient and forgiving boss.

9. I learned how to be a better worship leader and still learning.

10. I learned that I still have so much to learn, it isn't funny.

11. I learned that whatever I'm going through, it's not the end of the world. Unless of course it is the actual end of the world. In which case all the other problems I have would seem pretty small by comparison anyway.

12. I have the best job in the world. How many people can say that?

So I'm glad to call New Life Church my home and excited for what is to come in the next 365 days.

Moving

I moved yesterday, on one of the hottest days of the year. At first, when I saw the weather forecast, I thought, "Oh sweet, it's gonna be hot." Then I remembered about moving and I was significantly less excited. It was pretty brutal but I kept thinking "At least it's not (insert horrible job here)." I have been a lot of things in my life. I've been a pizza deliver guy, a fish processor on an Alaskan factory trawler, a dish washer, a fry cook, a courier for a laboratory, a barista (for those of you outside the Seattle metropolitan area, a barista makes coffee), a collections agent, a house painter, a church janitor, a landscaper (fancy name for a lawn mower) but by far the worst job I had was a granite polisher. So moving was bad, but at least it wasn't polishing granite. That made me feel a little better.

What is the worst job you have ever had?

Beautiful People

Someone gave me a copy of Jason Upton's CD "Beautiful People" over a year ago, but for some reason, I never listened to it. It sat un-played in my CD case until about a month ago. I was home by myself and I needed to get the house picked up before my wife came home so I decided to throw it on. If you've never experienced Jason Upton, you might not have any idea what I'm talking about, but if you have, you know. There is an anointing on that guy's songs, something that resonates with my spirit and soul. I was trying to pick up the house but I kept having to stop and fall on my knees, weeping. It was like an encouraging letter from a friend that got lost in the mail and arrived precisely when I needed it. I have found myself a rough situation of late, and hearing Jason sing "I will never leave, I will never leave you children, I will never leave you alone" Was exactly what I needed and need to hear from God. Had I listened to that CD a year ago when things were great, the songs might not have had the same effect now. I believe God has used those songs to minister to me in a tough time. Reminding me that I am not alone, regardless of my situation. Looking back at my life, I can see God's hand in my struggles, and in my victories. No matter what I face, I know that I am not alone. Check out www.jasonupton.com. You can stream his music 24/7.

Church Friday

Today is the first day of the annual Pastor-is-out-of-town week-long free-for-all bonanza. Wow, there are a lot of dashes in that sentence. I'm not even sure if I'm using them correctly to be quite honest. OK so it's not really a free for all bonanza but it does feel a bit like the days in school when we would have a substitute teacher for a day. Or the days, few and far between, when it was sunny enough in the greater Seattle area to have P.E. outside. To maintain an order of semblance, those of us who were not on vacation did our best to keep the universe in order by having service programming and music/media team meetings anyway. Had we not done so, today could have felt a little too much like a Thursday. If you are not aware, Thursday is unofficially the "Church Friday". Around here we take Friday off so we can have two consecutive days off instead of the "Monday and Saturday off" model. Which is nice. I've done it both ways and consider the current dispensation to be greater than the former. When we come in to the office on Thursday we all greet each other with a hearty "Happy Church Friday!" Also when we see each other randomly at Starbucks or wherever on actual Friday, we say "Happy Church Saturday." You'll notice the lack of an exclamation point at the end of that greeting. It is usually because we are in a crowded Starbucks in Fairwood* and it just isn't appropriate to shout greetings in Christianese there. You won't find Church Friday and Church Saturday on regular or "secular" calendars but they are found on official church calendars ecumenically. So today is Monday or, as it is less commonly referred to: "Church Tuesday", but it felt a little like Church Friday which is of course actual Thursday. It sounds complicated but after a while, you get the hang of it and it becomes "Second Nature", which of course is "Church Nature". As in: "We had our service programming meeting today" "Was it weird without Pastor Troy and Jana there?" "No, we've done it so many times it was like Church Nature."


*I motion that the Fairwood Starbucks should be deemed the official Starbucks of New Life Church and that all off-site church business/ministry meetings be conducted there.

Intrigue, rescue, danger, waterfalls, and knifeplay: A retrospective.

I think it's time to finally post my take on the events and happenings during my recent whitewater rafting trip with some people from the church office. I had made mention of some things in previous posts and I feel now is the time to reveal what really happened.

We had planned to leave Brent's house at 8am Friday morning. As I was heading toward 405 I turned the radio to hear the traffic report. I was encouraged to hear the people say that it was a surprisingly light commute for a Friday...except for northbound 405 between the Maple Valley Highway and the Kennydale hill; exactly where I needed to travel on 405. It wasn't really that bad and I actually made it on time.

Haley and Rachel had a little trouble finding Brent's house and we ended up leaving at about 8:15am. A quick stop at Starbucks to fuel up and say hello to Gordon Wayne Gunther and we were on our way. Traffic was light and we made good time stopping only for gas in Kalama, WA.

Once we made it to Oregon, we headed east on 84. A few miles down the road, we were ahead of schedule so we decided to stop at Multnomah Falls. It is an impressive sight cascading from a sheer cliff 620 feet high. You can hike up to a bridge looking up at the falls or continue on up to the top of the cliff. We didn't have all day so we were satisfied with looking up.

Back in the car, we continued along 84 to Hood River and crossed the toll bridge. The woman in front of us was apparently nervous as she was going 20 in a 35. It wasn't about the bridge either because once we got across, she continued at her ridiculous pace. We could see her on the phone, of course. The funny part was when we passed one of those police radar things that tell you how fast you are going. the limit was 25 and she was rolling along at 20. We were laughing because if we didn't, we probably would have thrown something at her car!

We arrived at the base for the rafting company and were immediately suited up with wetsuits, splash jackets and helmets. I can't say enough about the professionalism and courtesy of the staff at Zoller rafting. Check them out at http://www.zooraft.com/. It was hot and in those suits and jackets made it sweaty. We were introduced to our guide Jon and off we went. We shoved off in to the unknown. This is where things got real interesting. A few rapids into our trip we were having fun, getting used to the feel and motion of the mini raft we were in. One of the employees was travelling down the river in an inflatable kayak next to us. In the middle of a rapid, he turned over the kayak and it got away from him. we immediately went into Coast Guard mode. The guide told us to keep paddling and if we could grab the guy or his boat, do it. Brent grabbed the kayak and our guide pulled the guy into our raft. After about 30 seconds, he managed to get his boat righted, and away he went. We felt pretty cool. After that, we felt up for anything. We continued down the river getting soaked and loving it. There is nothing like nautical rescue to help you get over your anxiety. I felt like I was sitting on something and couldn't figure out why I was so uncomfortable. I realized then that I had forgotten to remove my wallet from my back pocket. Dang.

A little while later in a relatively smooth section of the river, I noticed something shiny in the bottom of the boat. Upon further inspection, I realized that it was a 7 inch diver's knife in the bottom of our inflatable raft. I asked Brent if it was his and he said "no" (He's not much of a talker). We asked the guide but it wasn't his. He was pretty freaked out by it too. He wasn't sure what to do with it and apparently this was his first encounter with aquatic/cutlery fusion. He put it away in a bag he brought and we continued all the while keeping our eyes peeled for other boaters in need of rescue.

The river was beautiful and the scenery was amazing. The climate is like a perfect blend of eastern and western Washington. Lots of both evergreen and ponderosa, volcanic rock and wildflowers.

We finished our trip and took an old school bus back to base. The facilities were nice, save for the communal changing rooms.

We began the trek home and stopped for costco polish dogs in Vancouver. We drove home on I-5 as the sun was beginning to set. It turned the landscape golden like it does in the summer. That is my favorite time of day; when the sun is at an angle and it lights up everything with an amber hue. It even makes people's eyes look cool. We arrived back at Brent's place around 9pm and headed our separate ways.

It was a great day and a fun trip with lots of memories made. Although multiple theories exist as to how and why the knife ended up in our boat, most involving Scooby Doo style mysteries, I choose to chalk it up to the fact that wherever I go, intrigue follows. Whenever I set foot outside my front door, danger is lurking. If it's not a knife in a rubber raft, it's, well, it's something dangerous. Of that you can be certain.

A quick plug

I want to give a quick plug to my friend Kory. He is an amazing guitarist and an all-around-good-guy. Excessive dashes again, I know. There is a link to his Youtube channel in my blog list. Check out his stuff, it'll blow you away!

Road trips and inside jokes

I got to go on a road trip yesterday and I love road trips! A couple of us went white water rafting. I will spare you the details for now but I will tell you that there was a 14 foot waterfall involved. One of my favorite things about road trips is developing inside jokes. Inside jokes are awesome because I enjoy awkwardness and when you reference an inside joke in mixed company, there is always an awkward laugh from someone who isn't sure what you are talking about but thinks they might know. Then there is the awkward conversation where you have to explain that the reference you made was in fact to an inside joke. It's not that I like making people feel dumb: I just like to laugh. So if you ever hear me say something that is obviously supposed to be funny but you don't think it is, just assume that I am making a reference to a hilarious inside joke. Because that's probably what happened and somebody somewhere is laughing hysterically. A-like so: "I've never seen a white salmon, but I have seen a white whale. Snap."

Hilarious.

Colbie Caillat and cabriolets

As a man, there are standards of accepted behavior in all facets of life. Some are more concrete than others. For example; Men should never own a VW Rabbit Cabriolet as their primary vehicle. I had a friend in high school who had one and we teased him about having a "girl car". He always said that it was a "girl-getting car". That never panned out for him however, and the standards were again reinforced. Music is another. I was on a road trip yesterday which was a blast. A few of us drove four+ hours to go white water rafting on the White Salmon River in south-central Washington. I will spare you the details for now but suffice it to say that there was a harrowing rescue and knife play involved. Yes, really. Anyhow, where was I? Oh yeah, standards. So sometimes there are songs that I just can't seem to get out of my head and one of those songs is "Realize" by Colbie Caillat. Not exactly a manly beat-your-chest-and-jump-around anthem but I love it and I am constantly singing it. This can be awkward especially when on a guys only fishing trip or some such endeavor. Trust me on this one. It can be disheartening to your fishing/hunting partner to hear you on the trail behind him singing "If you'd just realize what I just realized then we'd be perfect for eachother and we'd never find another." So on this road trip I cant remember how many times we listened to that song but I know that I kept saying "ok one more time". Again, not real manly but what can I say? It's a great song. So sorry to my road trip fellows and also to my fishing buddy, you know who you are.

Congrats Benny!

Well, it was a close race and it went down to the wire but Benny Hinn has snatched victory from the jaws of defeat to win the inaugural "Who is your favorite TBN personality" poll with a total of 4 votes. Second place went to Paul and Jan Crouch with 3 votes and Kim Clement tied for last with "What's TBN", both receiving 2 nods. Thanks to all who voted and watch for a new poll soon.

That guy

Have you ever noticed that without exception, at every single kids event there is at least 1 guy who does not understand societal norms in the least? I was attending my son's end-of-kindergarten-concert the other night and I was looking for him. Doesn't-get-it guy, not my son. I knew where my son was, back row second from the left. Anyway, about halfway through the 6 year olds' version of Chris Tomlin's How Great is Our God, complete with hand motions, mind you, I spotted him. Actually it would have been difficult not to. There he went walking up the center aisle with his camera in hand, completely oblivious to the other 300 people in attendance. He boldly stood front and center peering in to his view finder declaring to everyone that he was "that guy". After, I kid you not, a full minute, he finally ducked down right next to the people sitting in the front row. Here is my personal rule: If you aren't early enough to get a front seat, you live with zoomed-in video. While that was pretty bad, I soon discovered that "that guy" had brought a friend. There was another. He sat a couple rows back and was talking at innapropriate levels all night. Toward the end of the concert, which was only about 30 minutes, he could be heard saying things loudly like; "She looks tired, doesn't she look tired?! Honey, Honey, doesn't she look tired?!!" The truth was we were all a little tired and talks-alot wasn't helping.

So I think society could benefit greatly if we would all agree to follow a couple simple rules:

1. Don't stand in front of other people who arrived on time to get a good seat.

2. Don't talk loud.

There are probably more but these will suffice for now. Send me your ideas for more simple rules.

The Design with garlic and butter

There is something about being on a river when it is early and light is low. When the sun peeks sideways through the evergreens, cedars, hemlocks and pines. When the spray from the water rises to cool your face. When it's quiet except for the sound of the river. When if you didn't know better, you might think you were the first human ever to lay eyes on this scene. To get away from your cell phone and just to be away. I remember getting away a couple of years ago. A couple of us got out and took our 4x4s as far as we could push them. Then we loaded up our packs and hiked in the rest of the grueling way. Hiking past old growth logs that were pushing through the soil when Columbus shoved off, and waterfalls you could measure in football fields. Wanting to quit but pushing on because the reward, we were sure, was "just over that next ridge." We made it to the shore just before nightfall, enough time to set up camp and get some freeze dried dinner hydrated. We wriggled into our sleeping bags and drifted off, our minds occupied with the morning's quarry. About 5am we woke without an alarm and got our gear on. We pushed off into the water in search of anything that swims. We caught our share of beautiful little brook trout and as we made our way around the lake I stopped and found a big flat boulder to lie down on. The July sun was hot even way up in the mountains. I managed to nap a little bit even though every chipmunk in the brush had me reaching for my bear spray. We stayed up there for 2 nights. I remember thinking as we were making the trip back down, that the entire world could have ended and I would not have even known.
I think the reason that being out in nature is such a refreshing thing is that nature, in most cases, is still how God designed it. The trees, the water, the air, the mountains are untouched by human hands. A small glimpse into the mind of God. His design for our planet is still intact and nature continues on the same as it has since He spoke it into existence. Something about that resonates with me and makes me want to go and experience the unspoiled. I'm not going to lie to you; if I can experience a few of those unspoiled brook trout on the end of my fly rod and pan fried with a little garlic and butter, it makes the design seem a little sweeter.

Monkey scientists

I was driving with my boys the other day and I was asking them about their recent trip to the zoo. I was asking them what kind of animals they saw and if they saw any monkeys. My oldest said "There are 100 different kinds of monkeys." I said that I would have to agree because I didn't know whether or not there actually are 100 different kinds of monkeys. If there are, I can't say I would be shocked. Then he said "I bet nobody can name all the kinds of monkeys." I said that he was probably right but maybe a monkey scientist could, to which my youngest exclaimed "Yeah, like one that could talk!" Now I was referring to a person who studies monkeys, but his 3 year old mind immediately conjured up images of a monkey wearing a white lab coat and holding a clipboard saying things like "Hmmm, very interesting." I assume if there actually were a monkey who could manage to keep a lab coat on and be comfortable around Bunsen burners and graduated cylinders, he probably could name all the kinds of monkeys. It would probably be pretty important to him.

Chains as tambourines

I named this blog after a line in a song that I wrote that says "I'll use these chains as tambourines". It was inspired by Acts 16:25 when Paul and Silas were in the prison and praising God at midnight. I imagine that they were in such a state of mind that they would have used anything they had to praise God, including their chains. As people that have been set free, we should use our old chains as instruments of praise to God and testimonies of His life-changing power. Our past mistakes and bondages serve as reminders of His goodness. They are messages of hope to those who need to hear.

I will try to begin this blog by adding an entry once a week.
Thanks for reading,
Sam