New Exodus, New Creation, New Age

I have forgotten my faith...
Romans 5:1-2
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.
And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

I have forgotten where my hope lies...
Job 17: 13-16
13 If the only home I hope for is the grave,
if I spread out my bed in darkness,
14 if I say to corruption, 'You are my father,'
and to the worm, 'My mother' or 'My sister,'
15 where then is my hope?
Who can see any hope for me?
16 Will it go down to the gates of death?
Will we descend together into the dust?

I have forgotten who I love...
John 14:20-21
20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.
He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to
him."

Even though I have forgotten in the past... I know that today...

I am my Beloved's and He is mine!

1 Thessalonians 5:8-10
8 But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a
breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.
9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus
Christ.
10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.

Confessions of a King

Hello eveyone. It's been a while since I blogged, so I thought I would catch everyone up.

My new flavor of the month is definitely... , well I have two: Under The Influence of Giants' album of the same name and The Killers' new album Sam's Town. I've taken about two weeks to discover all of the songs and I love them. I usually turn on UTIG when I'm wanting something upbeat and happy and when I want something different I turn on The Killers.

Okay, so I'm missing Lost already. I'm not happy with this season, but I need answers and I think they, once again, have raised more questions than they have answered. We'll see when they resume the show in February. Wednesdays will not have much to offer for a while.

Spiritually, I am doing okay. I say that because I have stepped out in faith and my confidence is growing. I am ready to lead a home group and I am getting more confident to pray for others in service. My prayer time is still lacking and my devotion time is non existent. I am still appalled by Christian music and cannot seem to shake it. Even some worship music is sounding mundane and recycled. I am a spoiled boy. I only want to hear Kansas City IHOP worship.

Drumming-wise I am stuck in a rut. I am playing the same things that are comfortable and not pushing myself or honing in on one skill. Oh well, back to the ole woodshed.

Choir director-wise I think they are coming along nicely. They aren't going to draw big crowds, but they'll at least be able to stay on key. It's been really fun.

I put together a list of 10 songs I would want to play if I am ever in a band again in no particular order:
1. Fell On Black Days - Soundgarden
2. What's Going On - Marvin Gaye
3. Message in a Bottle - The Police
4. Wheel in the Sky - Journey
5. Resist - Rush
6. Operation Spirit - Live
7. Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder/ Red Hot Chili Peppers
8. Monkey Wrench - Foo Fighters
9. Killer Queen - Queen
10. Mustang Sally - Wilson Pickett

I'll keep adding to this list. Wow! Pretty diverse!

Holy ...., Choir Director!

I was just made Choir Director at work!

This is a pretty big honor and I feel up to the task. I have a co-director and he has a lot of experience, so this should be a lot of fun.

We are going to hold auditions soon because we already have our first gig lined up on December 7th, 2006. Our Program Director lined up the date at her church before she knew who would be leading the choir. So, travel is on the horizon.

We are already catching flack for holding auditions, but if you've ever heard 20 guys singing off key, then you know why we need them. The previous director never held auditions. She felt that music was therapeutic and all men should have a chance. Although, I would like all men to have a chance, I also know that not all men can sing well. Then you add that we are going to visit places showcasing our talent. I don't care if they're great vocalists. I just want them to carry a tune and stay on key.

It will take some time to get good, but we are running out of that commodity fast!

So, you better watch out! You better not cry! The West Central Choir is coming to a town near you!!!!!!!

Rock On!!!!!!!

I heard Van Halen's "Cradle Will Rock" today on the radio and it blew me away. It says my favorite line, "Rock On!", and I jammed out in the car.

Those types of songs are fun to hear and, if a band can pull them off, exciting to watch live. I would like to hear from some of you out there on what you like to hear, so I can get a list together.

So, if you read this, please post a few classic or new songs you would want to hear if you saw a live band.

I Wanna Rock!!!

I know a lot of you out there have seen the old Twisted Sister videos on MTV. The one where the man asks his son,"What are you gonna do with the rest of your life? The kid answers with, "I wanna rock!!!!", and the song kicks in and the video is stupid.

I totally identify with that kid right now. I have been in band limbo for about three years and the itch to commit to a band is pretty strong. I know I kick @$# on my instrument, but really, it's about gratification. I want to play, man.

When I say I want to play, I mean i want to play music I love and have fun doing it. I want to kick out the Killers' "Smile Like You Mean It" and then go into Journey's "Lights". I don't want to be labeled as a Christian band, but just as a band. I want to play at all kinds of events and not just cater to the Christian public.

Casey and I were talking and we both feel like we want to play music we are excited to hear. We want to rock!!!

Don't gasp too loud, but we don't even like most of the "Christian" music out right now.

Does this mean I'm some kind of music snob? Yeah, it does. I like what I like. I don't need to like it because they mention Jesus. I'm getting tired of the Christian community only catering to other christians. We are really good at that! We are safe in that!

Casey and I want to be in a rock band that just happens to be Christians. There doesn't need to be a sign in front of our name saying we are Christian. Hopefully we will portray that through our actions and when someone talks with us.

My dad never wanted my old band to come to the Moose because we were a "Christian" band. He didn't want to be embarassed and or preached to. But I guarantee if we meet him at his level and just play good music and be a good rock band, he will want us to play there.

I want to meet people where they are at that moment. I can't do that by excluding them. I want them to rock with me.

Expanding the Kingdom?

In my last post I talked about being a disciple of Christ and learning to refocus our "agendas". In refocusing our agendas, I mean dying out to Christ and learning to be aware of our surroundings and happenings so that we may show Christ to others and expand the Kingdom.

Our home group discussed this topic as being "naturally supernatural". John Wimber talked about it and based the Vineyard movement on it. More on that topic, later.

When I say we should be aware of our surroundings and circumstances, I mean we should always be looking and expecting to be able to show and share Christ in practical ways.

On Tuesday night I had a chance to expand the Kingdom. I saw a man in the hospital in the ICU unit that I haven't seen in a long time. He was getting ready to go home. I went over to him and said, "Hello. Do you remember me?" He said, "Sure. How are you?" He told me his condition and what he has been suffering through. He then told me he was face to face with the devil. He said he thought he was gone, but he fought back and told the devil you can't get me.

I started to think about what I could say, but I didn't think of anything. I told him to say his prayers and he should be okay. He said, "I wasn't scared." He started talking about something else at that point and I was left wondering what he meant. Why wasn't he scared? Does he already know Christ? Could be, I didn't ask. That's what bothers me.

I feel like I failed to say anything of worth to someone who needed to hear about Christ. I can think of a few things to say now that I've experienced the situation, but not when it mattered. I know now that I need to train myself to meet people where they are when opportunities arise.

The cool thing is, I didn't have to bring Christ up. He started talking about death and how he is tired. I just needed to take what he gave me and use it to help him see Christ. That's what expanding the kingdom is all about.

Disciples

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." John 15:1-2

Our home group met last night for the first time this month. I was very excited to lead and had over prepared the lesson, as usual. I get the chance to lead home group once a month and I wanted to use this time to refocus our group and unify our vision to be in line with our leadership and what God has planned for us.

Now, I don't claim to know what God has planned, but I do know this is a season of dying out to our own cause and surrendering our agendas. Just like the seaon of Fall, we are in a place of dying out so that new can come in and regenerate and rejuvenate us. At this time most plants go to seed so that through the winter the seeds are planted and new growth will happen in the Spring. The same is going for our group.

We had been lacking structure in our group because we wanted to build relationships more than have a set plan for every group. This was good for Summer, but in the Fall more people come to groups and things get more settled. So, I structured our time around the model I had heard our Home Group Advisor talk about.

Worship wwent very well and we moved straight into ministry from that point. We went where the Spirit led. It's not about keeping a tight structure. It's about having structure and then deviating to fit the current needs of the group. We have been lacking in this area where we really press in and pray for those in our group. To immediately address a need and let nothing stand in the way of bringing it to the Lord.

The lesson went very well as we discussed being disciples of Christ. What that means and how we do it. Our church has been talking a lot about Servant Evangelism and how each home group should have a monthly project to reach out to the community. The thing is, if you are following Jesus, evangelism becomes a natural part of your existence. You become naturally supernatural and as an extension of that aware of opportunities to reach out to the lost. We don't have to have the gimmick of the month on whatever street corner to reach the lost.

How many new people are coming to our church that we fail to see the opportunity to invite them to our home groups and get them connected. The point is not to get them to the church or building, but to get them to the body. They will go to the building after they have reached the body because they will want to join in our celebration. The focus has to be on Christ and not on our facility.

We have a backwards view of what the Church body looks like. We think we are centralized in the facility and we only meet at homes to have a Bible study. &%^#No! We go to the homes to build the body and go to the facility to celebrate what we have experienced in Christ.

Regeneration of the body will happen when we focus on doing what Jesus did and realigning our daily lives with his model of life. You don't have to know everything, understand everything or be something your not. You do need to put Jesus' ways into practice. We will bear fruit as we are pruned by Him.

Prune: to cleanse

He will cleanse us and make us able to produce.

The 1897 Bible Dictionary defines a disciple as the following:
A scholar, sometimes applied to the followers of John the Baptist (Matt. 9:14), and of the Pharisees (22:16), but principally to the followers of Christ. A disciple of Christ is one who (1) believes his doctrine, (2) rests on his sacrifice, (3) imbibes his spirit, and (4) imitates his example (Matt. 10:24; Luke 14:26, 27, 33; John 6:69).

Imbibes: to take in as if by drinking; saturation

End of the Spear

Last night my wife and I watched one of the best movies I have ever seen. It is called End of the Spear. It is about missionaries that made contact with one of the most feared tribes in the Amazonian jungle. Not only did they make contact, but they introduced "Waongongi's" love to help break their ancient cycle of violence.

There were two moments in the movie where I just started crying. I hardly ever cry during a movie, but this was awesome. One of the tribesman asked why the men didn't fight back and the tribe leader's sister answered, "they wanted to tell you that Waonongi had a son, who died, and was stabbed with a spear, and jumped the great boa." I don't want to give away too much, but there was power in her statement.

At the end, I was left feeing deeply passionate about sharing the gospel with others. I saw how Christ's love extended through generations and broke cycles of hatred and struggles for dominance.

Casey and I both were balling. I don't think you can watch the movie and not be touched. Go and rent this movie. It is well worth it.

Everyone, please remain standing.......

About six months ago I was asked to facilitate a wedding for my cousin Jessica. She and her husband were already married by a Justice of the Peace and wanted to go through the motions of a ceremony for family and friends. I was very excited and humbled to say yes and prepare for this important event.

I asked my pastor to share his knowledge and he gave me a wedding book and a format of a recent wedding ceremony. This made me more confident and ready. Turns out, Jessica had everything typed up and planned out ahead of time and all I needed to prepare were a couple of prayers. The rehearsal time was very fast and, of course, we forgot a few things like the greeting.

The ceremony was held in a secluded area nestled behind two corn fields. It even had a shallow creek at the back and made for a beautiful environment for a wedding. A few family members and a lot of old aquaintences were present which made me a little nervous.

My cousin entered with her dad on a Harley riding side saddle. He rode her up to the aisle wearing a leather top hat and vest. It was little rock'n'roll, but fun. When he walked her up I asked, "Who gives this woman to marry this man?" I could see him get nervous and he forgot what to say, so I prompted him. He sat down and she walked up by me. Normally, the congregation sits after the bride comes up front and the ceremony moves on, but instead I didn't tell everyone to sit and they remained standing the rest of the time. We didn't rehearse that part, so I didn't think about it. It was good that the rings and vows only took about ten minutes total. I was also given a wireless mic which had a time delay because of the distance of the speakers. It threw me once during prayer and I had to find my place again.

I feel like I did a very good job and could do it again, easily. I had a few mistakes, but I know what to do the next time, if I ever get the chance. It was a proud moment for me. Praise the Lord! He definitely gave me confidence and wisdom during this process.

The reception was a lot of fun because my dad had time to play with my sons. He took them to the creek and Ethan, my youngest, fell in the water. The bank was about four feet high and he just tumbled all the way down. I was the only to react as everyone else was in shock. I stepped into the murky water and pulled him out. He was also shocked and crying. Everyone started laughing because they didn't know what else to do. Later, Caden and I shared our first pee in the woods and waded in the creek together. There was an outhouse for women only. Men had to use the fields or trees.

Good times.

Lillies in the Fall

A couple of weeks ago my boss received some grim news regarding the woman who started our local food pantry. We will call her Robbie in this story. She was given two weeks to two months to live and has been fighting leukemia for almost two years.

Robbie started the food pantry with her husband and funded the operations almost single-handedly including purchasing a building to house all of the food. Over the years the food pantry has helped a lot of local families and is well respected in our community.

Robbie said God had spoken to her about some of the people receiving food that didn't need it, but took it greedily. She wanted to call them out and not let them have the food, but the Lord said, if you turn anyone away, I will hold you accountable. If you freely give, then I will hold them accountable for wrongly taking the food. Robbie said she never turned anyone away after that and has shared that story many times with my residents at the correctional facility.

Even though I have never met her, Robbie has made quite a mark on my heart. She has had a great relationship with us as a community service site. Our residents are always impressed at how those people are so giving. The food pantry is definitely a favorite site for my guys.

Well, after the horrible news, my boss went to the floor and asked one of our residents if she could take a picture he drew and give it to Robbie as a gift for her lasting relationship with us and contribution to our community. The resident was very excited because he had been to the food pantry. The picture was a remake of "Forgiven". You know, where Jesus is holding up the guy who is holding a hammer and a nail. The picture also has easter lillies in the bottom corners and was drawn by Thomas Blackshear II.

I took the picture and had it matted and framed and we presented the picture to the current operator of the food pantry, Ally. Ally is good friends with Robbie and as soon as she saw it started to weep and looked as though she would pass out. We asked if she was okay and she said, "It is amazing. You don't know how much Robbie is gonna like this picture." "The lillies in the bottom of the picture are so significant." We asked why and she stated, "Robbie's husband passed away on Easter of last year. We had Easter lillies from his funeral and planted them beside the food pantry in a victory garden dedicated to Robbie and her husband. The lillies bloomed in the spring and then died as normal lillies do. This fall the lillies are now blooming at a time when Robbie was given only a short time to live."

My resident started to cry and was overwhelmed. He said he was so compelled to draw that piece of art because he heard God saying, "draw it, draw it, now!" He didn't know why. He just did it and used it as a poster for a transition ceremony at our facility. The residents transitioning had signed it and almost messed up the drawing. When I took it to get matted, the clerk helped me get a matte design that would cover the signatures, but not the art work. I had suggested an oval which would have covered the lillies in the picture. The clerk suggested another design and it did the job. The drawing was preserved and the lillies could be seen.

The residents also said he had to draw more lillies because there weren't enough in the picture. Ally told Robbie that the lillies were a sign for her to go home with her husband.

Ally presented Robbie with the picture. Robbie sobbed and sobbed. She was so happy and touched at the work our residents did. She asked Ally to hang the picture in the food pantry after she passes away. Ally promised her it would hang for everyone to see.

Divine Appointment

Worship Team practice was scheduled for 8:30AM today, so I was at the church this morning, which is highly unusual. I normally work late on Wednesdays because I lead a group at night. Our team is in the process of reforming and we were getting to know each other a little better. My pastor was there and he asked me if I wanted to get some coffee with him.

We went to a a new place called Perk-a-deli. We talked for about an hour and a half and it was really uplifting for me. I was able to connect with him and lay some burdens down. We also just had a good conversation. It was comforting. He said I had been on his heart the last few days and he wanted to be able to see me.

The Lord is awesome. Divine appointments are special and the Lord placed me on someone's heart. I really had a sense of peace when we were done and I praise God for thinking of me. It really was just in time.

Time and Motion: Part 11 of the Drummer's Almanac

It's that time again where I criticize my drumming and complain about my lack of time to hone my skills.

Phrasing is everything! I sat down on my kit the other day and just started playing. I was not warmed up, as you can imagine, so I couldn't groove.

Normally I have a beat in mind and I try to play it with some passion. This time, I tried to improvise some fills and couldn't keep the time. I was rushing and disrupted the feel too many to count. My fills were scripted too, which makes me feel like I'm not original. I always want to keep it fresh. (I just watched the Blue Man Group use plumbing as percussion in their live show)

If you have ever sat and watched a player on stage not sync up with the rest of the band? It sounds uncomfortable and awkward. That is what I was playing like. It's like when you hit a baseball and you can tell you've connected because it feels great when it flies out to the fence. That's what drumming feels like when you connect with the group and you are in the pocket or groove.

Im trying not to be too hard on myself because I know I need more time to just play. I have the ability, I just want to feel it all of the time. Kind of like feeling the Holy Spirit. You can't get enough!

Chasing The Wind of the Spirit

The way the Lord reveals himself to me is always fresh and exciting.

In my last blog i was lamenting my inability to hear(listen to) Him. i was getting frustrated and felt like i was in a dry spell. i wasn't reading His word or reading anything inspiring.

Not until Jen showed up bearing gifts from Detroit. She gave my wife and i three books based on prophetic teaching. One, in particular, has gripped me and now i am almost halfway through the book.

Cheryl left a comment on my last entry to just look for new ways to hear Him. i did just that and found Him.

The book i'm reading is "Growing in the Prophetic" by Mike Bickle. He talks about "the wind" of the spirit, "the fire" of the spirit, and "the wine" of the spirit. The wind part reminded me of my conversion. The wind is the coming of the Holy Spirit. Like on the Day of Pentacost when a rushing mighty wind shook the building and the disciples trembled. My conversion was no different. i had just committed my life to Jesus and asked the Lord to let me know he heard my cry. He answered with a stirring of the wind that swept me up and snuggled me in His loving embrace. i would have thought it to be coincidence if the night wasn't so calm.

So i wanted to write a song based on the wind of the spirit. i was meditating on these thoughts this morning in the shower when i kept hearing "Baptize My Heart" by Misty Edwards. She is talking about the baptism of the heart by the Holy Spirit. The next line is "with Your fire", "desire". This is the place i'm in now. i want the fiery passion of the Holy Spirit to course through me. i want to know God's heart.

Where do i go from here? i don't know. i am just going to wait.

My prayer is that i continue to be opened up to prophetic teachings and let myself be used by Him to use these teachings in ministry to others. More importantly, i want to be lead by Him to minister to others. i need safety and nurturing to help this grow. i ask the Holy Spirit to come and reveal it's fiery passion in my heart so i can know the heart of God.

Where i am

I don't think i'm hearing God's voice...

I know that i am wanting to do more in my church, but i also want to know that God is telling me to do it...

I am not making time for Him and His word. i am making time for other things that i'm not inspired to do... like drawing...

I really want to start leading in something, but I don feel like I'm in the right place...

Yesterday's service really touched me and i felt God's presence for the first time in a while...

I deeply care about people and that is why i am so harsh and negative sometimes...

Farewell, Paul

I went to my second city, Detroit, this past weekend to have one last hurrah with my friend Swanger before he leaves to spend a year in Kansas City.

I call it my second city because we have made some new friends and got close to Swanger's parents while there.

This weekend, in particular, was special!!!

It was my intention to go up there and spend as much time with Aaron as possible, doing all of the things he needed to do to get ready to leave. Goodbyes and all. Aaron had made plans to see certain people all weekend, but even his plans changed and we ended up having an awesome time.

We arrived on Friday evening. We had to have Thai food at Aaron's favorite Thai restaurant. The dish is called N3 with tofu and chicken, carrots, and crushed peanuts served mildly spicy. I never had tofu or this dish, but anyway, I loved it. We then went to Swanger's friends' apartment where we worshipped and ministered to each other. We stayed up entirely too late, but it was good.

The next day, we got up and went to Dearborn. For those who don't know, Dearborn is the highest concentration of Muslims in the U.S. As we drove through Dearborn the whole environment changed. There was arabic writing on billboards and signs, and mosques placed here and there. We went to a place called Family Bakery where we ate chicken shwarma(excuse the mispelling), lentils and rice, spicy potatoes, and hummus. Exquisite food. We then went to another bakery where they sell middle Eastern pastries, but found they had nothing to sell on that day. They directed us to a place down the street called Shatila.

Shatila is a bakery known for it's pastries and ice cream. The interior was beautiful with marble and gold and brown and red colors. We decided to order. Some of us ordered pastries, others ordered ice cream. It was very good and we felt like full little piggies, so we went back to Swanger's parents house where we were staying.

Because Aaron's plans changed and we didn't feel like going with him, we stayed at the house and invitied our good friends the Donnelly's over. Scott and Cheryl arrived and we ordered pizza. We watched a little TV and migrated into the Dining Room. Dave was listening to Neal's(Aaron's dad) music collection. As we listened, I suggested that we have a soul train and just boogey our butts off to celebrate Swanger leaving. Well, what ensued was crazy because we didn't have a stitch of alcohol in us, yet we partied harder than ever. And made a funny video.

It is one of the most memorable times with Swanger and I cry everytime I think about it. I love that we could send him off with such a fun experience. The last experience for a while with all of us together. We made total jackasses of ourselves, but it was worth it.

The next day we went to Swanger's church and watched him lead worship for the last time with them. His whole worship team honored him by reading a scripture to him and praying over him. His pastor had prepared a slide show for him, but it was delayed for technical errors.

As the worship team prayed over Swanger, it made me cry and see him in a whole new light. I realized that Swanger was like Paul to me. He came and visited every so often and spoke truth to me. He has witnessed me in some dark times, seen me hurting, seen me happy, rebuked my negativity, and most of all shown me love. He is now headed for a new journey and I am happy and sad for this. I don't want him to be so far away for so long, yet I know I will see him again. I will hear from him and contact him. I will miss him. I will miss getting excited when I heard that he was coming down to see us. Now, he will be the one to get excited when he hears that we are coming to see him.

Farewell, Aaron. I love you and I will be praying for you. I can't wait to hear about this new adventure and hopefully get to share part of it with you. You are my brother!

The Others Strike Back

It was a Star Wars moment last night during the finale of Lost, when Kate(Leia) and Jack(Han) exchange looks just before black hoods are lowered over their gagged faces.

I immediately saw a nod to the classic Star Wars cliffhanger at the end of Empire when Lando sells his soul to Vader and hands his friends into to certain death. Michael obviously fills Lando's role as the turncoat who takes his friends to the Others' trap, then regains his son and races toward freedom.

Meanwhile, the Other that was captured in the hatch has turned out to be a leader. Almost like Emporer Palpatine. He even says, "We're the good guys.", playing up his double agent role.

Sawyer(Luke) looks at Kate and Jack with disdain and uncertainty because he sees their loving looks and has his own feelings toward Kate. Hurley(Chewbacca) is set free to warn the survivors not to retaliate.

The hatch(Death Star) was "destroyed" as Desmond(Obi-Wan) turned the key and a brilliant light overcame the island with a deafening sound. Desmond was the hermit living in the hatch. Locke has seen plans and /or a schematic for other hatches just like the Death Star plans in Episode II.

I think when the new season begins, we'll see Michael return to save Doc, Kate, and Sawyer to redeem himself in a true Lando gets choked by Chewie(Hurley) moment.

Although, I don't think all of the main characters have an alter ego in the Star Wars universe, I do believe the writers are fans and have made their best effort to give props to one of the most influential movies of our time. What do you think?

King's Island

I was asked to chaperone a middle school choir competition and trip to King's Island this past Saturday for my niece. The competition was boring and long, but our choir did pretty good. I also saw people from my old church that I haven't talked to in a long time.

We arrived at King's Island around 2:00PM. I had to buy my ticket and noticed a sign with prices. At first my eyes almost jumped out of my head. The ticket price was $50.00. Yep, you read that right. I asked the cashier if I could have a discount and she said, "I'll give you a discount." I, stupidly asked her what the discount was for and she said it was spring season, so the prices were cut in half. My ticket was $25.00. Much better than anticipated. We entered and ate lunch because we were starving. What a rip off!!!! $8 bucks for chicken tenders and fries and $3.50 for a water. Needless to say we ate only once.

I haven't been to an amusement park in about four years, so this was pretty fun. We went to Flight of Fear and had a blast. That was an unexpected thrill as the whole coaster is inside. I was upset though because my other niece was asked to step off the ride. She is over weight and they didn't even give her another chance to get back on by herself. She was very hurt, but handled it very well.

We then moved on to Vortex which is one of my all time favorites. This coaster only took 20 minutes to wait and was a fast ride. The girls rode it twice.

Then the girls wanted to get wet, so we went to White Water Canyon. My brother and I walked up to a lookout to watch everyone get soaked. Pretty funny, but too cold this day to have jeans stick to my legs. Yuck!

We moved on to the newer rides like Delirium and Drop Zone. I chickened out. I don't like the fact that only electro-magnets keep you from plumetting to your death. Delirium was just super insano and I totally wimped out. I played the watching game and laughed as my family screamed their heads off. We went to the Top Gun coaster because the girls wanted to ride Drop Zone again. We got inside the ride and found nobody there waiting to ride. We sat in the front seat and it was a fun, fast, and smooth ride. I loved it!! I guess I'm a coaster geek. The new thrill rides just aren't my bag. We asked to ride twice and they told us as long as no one was waiting for our seat. We had to move back one car, but immediately went again on the same coaster. The park closed and we left to eat some cheaper food around 8:00PM.

I must say, I love Cedar Point much better than King's Island. Largely due to the fact that they have more, better coasters. We still had a lot of fun. The rides are pretty good, but they had a lot of technical problems and Son of Beast was down.

And Cedar Point is closer to Michigan......

Please Pray for Me

I have been feeling angry and hurt today and I need prayer.

Spiritually, I have been second guessing and I'm not sure if I am really experiencing God or if I am just moving in the flesh. I need reassurance!

I know I have been taking new ground and now is when I will be come against. Self-doubt and fear of not hearing God's voice weighs heavily on me.

Please pray!

It's About The Soul!: Part 07 of The Drummer's Almanac

My good buddy Swanger came over last night and played some music for my wife and me. We had a really good time and great conversation.

I told him about going to a drum clinic and it was fun. He said, "You like technical drumming, don't you?" My response was, "I like subtlety better then technical." He said, "But everytime we talk about drumming, you talk about technical things." I didn't want him to be right, but it seems that is how I have come across to people.

This conversation made me think about my drumming and how I approach musical situations. I used to be into the technical side of music, but lately, I'm finding that I like music to be fluid and dynamic. I like ups and downs and a groove with a deep pocket. It also made me think about how people may perceive me as a player.

I think Swanger was right about how I used to look at drumming. I don't think I look at it that way anymore because I want to be able to let go in my worship and not focus so much on my playing. I like to be able to sing and play and experience worship. Because I only get to play music on the worship team, I sometimes get more technical because I like to push myself and give my best to the Lord. I just make sure that it doesn't step on my team's toes or make worship seem awkward.

I would rather my playing be about my soul than about my physical skills. I don't want to be known for having great technique, but for expressing myself freely to the Lord and fitting the musical situation.

Honored and Blessed

Hello again.

I went to the hospital last week to visit my cousin who just had a baby. She and her husband were there having their celebration dinner, the hospital provides, when I showed up with some clothes for their newborn son.

They were happy to see me and right away sprung a question on me that excited and scared me at the same time. They asked me if I would do the honor of facilitating their wedding ceremony.

I am no ordained minister or pastor. I have no experience with this kind of thing, yet they asked me to do it. I don't see myself doing this or that others would either. (Low self-esteem issues)

They are already married, so I don't have to worry about legal issues. Yet, that doesn't help me not feel a little anxiety. What I also feel is peace about it which assures me that God is in it.

So, I said, "yes."

I am very honored and blessed that they thought of me to do this for them. They said they aren't affiliated with a church and don't know any pastors, so I was the next one in line. It just goes to show that you never know when people are watching you or what people are thinking about you.

So, I talked with my pastor about this and he asked me if they want God to bless their union. I need to talk with them and iron out the details. My pastor is going to help me format the ceremony which is very encouraging and my cousin said they want it nice and laid back.

What a blessing this will be!

Rudimentary: Part 00 of the Drummer's Almanac

I put my sticks to skins this weekend with one thing in mind. To see if I still have it.

Have what? you ask.

Technique.

I haven't played acoustic drums with anyone in a long time and I feel like I may have lost my touch. Touch as in being able to play smoothly and delicately and aggressively. I want all of these tools in my box so I can pull them out at any given situation and fit right in. I want to know that I can slam like I used to and then ease back in the groove.

I started playing some rudiments just to feel it out; break off the rust. I was pretty smooth for not practicing. I went from a full tom roll assault to a nice buzz roll accenting with my crashes and splash cymbals. It felt good. I felt in control.

I reflected on this on Sunday as we were at church. The sermon was about identity and confidence in what Christ has instilled in us. This made me relate to my drumming technique.

I have practiced and played and have become good. I can fit into a lot of musical situations and I have a lot of tools at my disposal. I am confident that I can play well.

This has not been the case spiritually. I have a lot of tools at my disposal and yet I lack the confidence to use them. I don't think I can handle situations that may arise where I need to minister or support someone. I have also forgotten the tools that are in the box.

I am not trusting God to give me what I need, although, I have experienced his provision.

I reflected and knew that I needed to lift this up and get rid of these thoughts. I am spiritually sound. I don't have it all together, but I know that He is my deliverer. I can be confident in Him. I also know that I need to be putting myself out there and using those tools He has given me. I know through practice I will gain confidence in my abilities.

Healing For The Next Battle

Ready for the fight? .....yeah....
I feel like my walk with God has been more of an uphill struggle with little footing. My legs are getting numb. A lot of the reason is that I don't believe in myself. My confidence is shorter than my stride. I've been continuously fighting myself because I let myself believe that I'm not good enough.

I'm getting tired of the fight!

I know God has shown me more than I can grasp, but I forget or lose faith. I let myself slip back to the same old places and let go of the new ground I just took. I don't plant my flag and raise the banner. I do keep striving and that has kept me in the game.

I've been here too many times and I know that I have let it happen. It makes me think I love to feel this way. I like to feel miserable and sorry for myself.

The good news is that I have heard from others that they see a leader in me. It's not that I need affirmation from them to make myself feel better, but I needed to hear someone elses perspective to know that it's there. God used them to let me hear it.

It helped me heal for the next battle.

"Take your flunky and dangle!"

"...dangle!" What a great visual. Think about what that word implies and then put it in the context of an insult. Not an easy thing maybe, but it is interesting.

Our good friend Shawna came over yesterday and hung out with my family. We made it our movie night this week instead of the usual Sunday. This time we had a good time listening and dancing (well, Caden and I were, anyway) to Sade and other goodies on my iTunes.

Then we put the boys to bed and settled in the living room and watched one of the best mob movies out there. Not many people remember it, but it has some of the best dialogue ever!!! It was made by the Cohen brothers who brought us Raising Arizona, Fargo, Hudsucker Proxy, and O' Brother Where Art Thou. It is none other than Miller's Crossing.



The dialogue is definately original and catchy and the plot is deep with a twist. I don't know what it is about mob movies that just suck me in and hook me to the end. This one has everybody in it, too. Gabriel Byrne, Albert Finney, John Turturro, Steve Buscemi, and even a cameo from Sam Raimi.

The Cohen brothers have an eclectic body of work and, on occasion, tie their movies together with locations such as businesses or apartment complexes like the Barton Arms which is in Miller's Crossing and Barton Fink. Hudsucker Industries is where H.I. works in Raising Arizona and where Hudsucker Proxy is based. There are probably more ties than I have discovered, but they keep me coming back.

This is definately a reccomendation for my friends to watch this movie. I think you will enjoy. We did.

Spidey

Oh my gosh!!!! Spoiler Alert!!!!!

I'm very excited about Spider-Man 3 movie being shot right now! A photo has been released showing Spidey in a black costume. You think your looking at a black and white photo, but it's not!

Although Venom is not scheduled to appear in this movie, we will see the beginnings of his character attaching to our wall crawling friend in symbiotic form. I read a synopsis for the movie and can't wait to see it.

We already know that Thomas Hayden Church will play Sandman, but the question that is burning on everyone's mind is "Who is Topher Grace going to be?". I have heard a rumor that he will play Electro, but with no confirmation. This rumor also suggests that we will see Jameson's son the astronaut, go to space and return with a foreign matter. That foreign matter will then attach itself to Spidey and he will be wearing black by the end of the movie.

I'm not a Venom fan, but I think if they do this right, it will make Spidey great. I would love to see Mysterio and/or Kraven the Hunter in the 4th movie.

I am geeking out!!!!!

Meet Podwick

Podwick is my good best friend.

He has all of my music in him from Rush to K-Max and everything in between. I am anxious to hook him up to my car so I don't have to carry CD's anymore.

I have one gripe, though. I can't hook him up to other iPods. I know, it's a copy protection thing, but it still doesn't make it fun.



I am looking forward to adding more music to my little podawan because I haven't used all of his space yet. I have a long list I want to add because it will make my joy complete.

Cirque du Soleil

Can someone please tell me what the heck the story was about?

This show had the best visuals I've ever seen. Pink Floyd has nothing on them. But, I have no idea what the story was about.



A guy was floating from a balloon over everyone he encountered on some weird journey across the world. A dark character was walking on stilts following him. Why? The vocalists were amazing, but I could understand not one line of lyrics. What I did understand was empty and cliched like, "distant shores" and "dreams". The musicians were solid and sounded great and even got to fly around the stage a little bit. I was really amazed at the acrobats because they did things nobody should be able to do.

They drew a curtain across the stage and projected visuals across it to make it really interactive. It was a beautiful show, but I don't know if it was worth the eighty dollars I spent to go see it. I wanted a little more depth from the story. The upside is that my wife and I enjoyed ourselves and saw a Cirque show. We have been waiting for years to able to see one.

Affirmation

He has placed you on my heart!

I am praying for you.

He will never let you go.

You have what it takes.

You are His favorite!!!!!!!!

He wants you more than anything.

He is speaking to you right now.

You are loved!

Perfect love casts out all fear!

You are who He says you are!!! Not who everybody else thinks you are.

There is nothing you have to offer Him.

Just call His name and say, "YES!!!"

Hinds Feet

I kept hearing the word "expect" last week as I thought about going to "Desperate". For those of you who don't know, Desperate is a time of refreshing and renewal in the Lord as molds are broken and tradition is not the norm. Sometimes there is music and sometimes there is just prayer. It changes as the spirit moves and I want to thank our Associate Pastor for discerning where the service would go. He just let the Lord move and it was amazing.

God met us and took us to a time of blessing, admonishment, release, and equipping.

I was taken to a few new places I have never experienced before, such as getting a vision. Recently, I was struggling with being quiet before God and learning to discern his voice. As we sat quietly, I was able to see a vision and as others started to share about their prayers or scripture or other visions, my heart started to beat out of my chest. I then shared my vision and it was a blessing to someone.

Later, Aaron, Kelly, Shawna, and I were praying with someone and Aaron said, "Seal it! You're a sealer." I was dumbfounded at first and had to ask for direction as I had never prayed to seal what was being prayed. Aaron and Kelly helped me and I was having trouble speaking. I started to ask God for help and the prayer just started to flow out of me. It was a great experience.

On Sunday, I had a feeling I was going to pray with someone at the end of the service. I knew from the time the person walked in the sanctuary. I waited, though, and second guessed because I am still learning, but finally went up front and prayed with them.

God really met me this weekend. He took me to new places and I followed Him. He gave me Hinds feet.

The One True King!

I haven't blogged lately because I haven't felt like I needed to. I didn't have peace about writing anyting and everything that's happened since New Years Eve. So I have just been sitting on things and waiting.

Well, one thing I want to share is this:

The Lord is my shepard.

He gently calls me back to the flock when I have escaped among the cliffs and can't find my way back. He celebrates when I return because it makes Him happy that I was found.

Read Mathew 18:10-14 The parable of the lost sheep.

I also want to share that I love my family. I long for them to know the one true king!

I saw "The Chronicles of Narnia" on Friday and wept through most of the film. Mostly because the creatures of narnia worshipped and bowed for Aslan the lion. He is the one true king of Narnia and everyone knows it. Including the witch.

When Edmund is brought back to Aslan's camp, Aslan tells everyone that nobody needs to talk with him about the past. The past no longer matters. Edmund is forgiven. He is so forgiven that Aslan takes his place to be killed by the witch.

No other king would do this for his people!

The sacrifice is incomplete without the resurrection. Aslan returns to life to devour the witch and thus defeats death and breathes life into those who were perishing.

Jesus is, was, and always will be the One True King!

On Friday, I sat in the car, waiting on residents to fill out applications. I was reading Mathew 18:10-14 and it really hit me hard. It was a simple truth that wasn't so simple to get. Later, I watched Narnia and my joy was complete.

My nieces asked me why I would admit to crying during the movie. My friends told them because it was something a man is able to do. I told them because it was so powerful to see Jesus and everyone bowing to Him. I don't care if they saw it as weakness to cry. I think the weakness needed to be shown, so they know the depth of what Jesus has to offer. He is not someone they have just heard about or seen in movies. He is their King. And righlty so, because He loves them and died for them.

One For The Record Books

My wife and I purchased a dishwasher last week with some Christmas money.

I started to hook it up and ran into a few problems like everyone does. I didn't have a connector hose or a clamp for the drain, so I took off to the store on Monday morning.

I got home in record time and finished the job, or so I thought. I had connected the electric, but the wires were in a bad position because they wrapped around the leg of the dishwasher. This wouldn't let me pull the dishwasher out to service it.

So I reconnected the electric and was trying to get the ground wire back on the green screw when I sliced my little finger on my right hand. I then used the same hand to support my weight as I tried to screw down the wire.

My hand slipped in something, so I looked. It was blood.

At first I thought my son had cut himself, but then realized I was cut on my finger.

I told my wife and she came over and doctored me up. She then moved me to a chair and she continued to put a band-aid on my finger. At this time the thought of the blood got to my head and I started getting this big empty feeling in my throat down to my stomach.

She said, "Get down on the floor and put your head between your knees." I didn't listen, of course. I started moving my head forward to put between my knees. Meanwhile, my wife was cleaning up the blood on the floor.

The next thing I remember was my wife saying my name and telling me I had passed out and hit my head on the floor. She said I moved my head down and I just fell to the floor like dead weight. My body hit the floor prostrate and the fell flat to the floor. It scared my son and he came running to see what happened. He was also yelling my name and trying to get me to wake up. My wife said I was out for 30 seconds.

I was not feeling right the rest of the day. It was definitely one for the record books. I have never passed out before this episode. I usually black out. My ears ring and then things get spotty and I black out with some hearing still intact. This time I don't remember losing consciousness.

If you saw the cut on my finger, you would know that this was a minor cut. Nothing more than a flesh wound. It's not like I lost a limb. Even though my head would disagree.