Somethin' to shoot for

Most people have that person, group, or team that they want to be like. While my truest goal is to be exactly what God wants me to be, I do have people that provide a pattern for me.... One of those areas is leading worship. There are many great worship leaders... and I think they are great for different reasons. There are guys who rock, but still focus heavily on who God is.... Jeff Deyo is great at this. There are people who are very artistic and expressive.... guys like David Crowder. There are those who are great at following the sweet spirit of God and helping people follow that leading... girls like Darlene Zschech. There are bands that bring incredible energy to the art of worship... bands like Fusebox and Kutless. There are the top notch musicians bringing praise to God through their instruments... guys like Lincoln Brewster. The house band at 722 is another favorite for just all-around connection of people to God. I was watching a Hillsong United DVD tonight and thought "Man, if there is anybody who does the worship experience with excellence, it is this team!" Joel Houston and Marty Sampson are gifted and annointed leaders..... These guys give me something to shoot for.



Live loud, live intentionally, and love God / Family / and Friends with every word and every action.

Taking Advice

I am blessed that God has placed so many quality people in my path.... People who genuinely care about me. I had a chance to hang out with one of those friends recently. We got talking about the approach I have been taking in one of the areas that I get a chance to influence people. He offered some ideas that may help me do things in a way that would better benefit people. I felt very comforted and took the advice to heart. For me, this was a simply spiritual moment: Proverbs 23:12 says Listen to instruction and do your best to learn.

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God / Family / and Friends with every word and every action.

172 - Yeah Baby!

Went to the Doc yesterday... got PLEURISY.... it SUCKS! That's why it kills me to sneeze and cough. Doc hooked me up with lots of drugs.... Big Dog drugs too! Should be feeling better soon.

So, yesterday I mentioned that there were some positives to what was an overall crappy weekend for me.

1. 7 youth from DRIVEN went to Winter-Jam (I went too). Watching their interaction was very cool! (Although I think they may have been sleeping during MercyMe.) Taking a youth group to McDonald's late on a school night is always a treat! Continue to build those relationships.....
2. Sunday morning, LifePoint had 172 people in attendance. That is huge! There were 3 brand new families this weekend. People are being relocated to the Glen Carbon / Edwardsville, IL area for their career, and they are finding LifePoint on the web!

My fingers still hurt... so I'm done for now.....

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God / family / and friends with every word and every action.

Goin' to the Doc

OK - The sick thing keeps kickin' my butt! I'm getting ready to leave work early and go to my doctor.... I'm fearing I have a touch of "PEW-MONIA". The weekend was a tough one... and on top of that... Winter-Jam was a disappointment.... (which could be partially due to me feeling like crud!) (Side note: Skillet Rocks!) There were some positives though.... they are for tomorrow's blog.... my fingers hurt!

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God / Family / and friends with every word and every action.

Sick

I feel terrible. This is what my blog looks like when I feel terrible.

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God / Family / and Friends with every word and every action.

Date Night - Revisited

OK - so our wives, and our friends (Brooke), are concerned about the boys hanging out on Tuesdays. We have a plan.... spend more time with our wives.... and continue solving world problems during Tuesday's Date Night. Sound good? (The best solutions are usually the simple ones....) Last night, Dan, Kyle, Alan, and I hung out. Here is the list of important activities we accomplished:

• Ordered food


• Discussed possible service times for LifePoint


• Helped Lauren (the waitress) work through her anger


• Ate food


• Talked extensively about midgets..... don't know why


• Got several soda refills


• Solved world hunger - told noone..... not really


• Left a huge tip

It was a good night.

Live loud, live intentionally, and love GOD / Family / and Friends with every word and every action.

Friday Night Prep

LifePoint started using a new presentation software package this weekend... By the way, it was SWEET! So, anytime there is a shift in the tech world for LifePoint, it requires some preparation and attention to detail. This is what an exciting Friday night looks like when we are gearing up for an incredible Sunday morning journey.

There are a lot of people that work hard to make LifePoint a great place to connect with God. I continue to learn that anything worthwhile takes EFFORT and PREPARATION! Don't play safe... go ALL IN and see what God does because of your obedience!!

Side note: coming soon..... great shots of cool outfits.... maybe even a neat BAND HAT!

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God / Family / and Friends with every word and every action!

Hold Your Breath

OK - try this little experiment. Hold your breath as long as you can.... go ahead, I'll wait. Did anyone pass out? No? Maybe you aren't trying hard enough.... just kidding. Did you notice your body's sense of urgency for you to breathe? Air is critical for life. Yep, you can make it for a short time without air, but eventually you pass out, or even worse.... DIE. There is a song we sing at LifePoint called The Air I Breathe. Several artists have recorded it... Rebecca St James has my favorite version. The song metaphorically refers to Jesus as the air that we breathe. It goes on to state that "I'm desperate for You.... I'm lost without You."

What would happen if we treated our relationship with God / Jesus as that critical? To be honest, I'm just another screwed up guy... but I'm becoming more and more intentional about my journey with my savior; about every action I take and everything I say. I've had to be very real with Jesus the last few days.... The prayers have went something like this: "Jesus, today I'll have the opportunity to make you smile by what I do. I'll also have the chance to screw up by @&*$%#((&$%^! Please help me make wise decisions today that keep me far from making sinful choices. Thanks. Talk to You later.)

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God / Family / and Friends with every word and every action.

DRIVEN

I got the chance to hang out at LifePoint's youth service last night. It is called DRIVEN. Last night was the first time that the DRIVEN band got to play live..... I was super stoked! They did great! After the band finished, Kyle (the youth pastor) talked about facing your fears... He challenged the kids to find an opportunity this week and overcome a fear by acting with boldness, understanding that boldness comes from God. Good stuff!!

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God / Family / and Friends with every word and every action.

DATE NIGHT

Every Tuesday night, a group of guys go hang out at Applebee's in Edwardsville near SIUE. Our wives call it "date night".... and they are a bit concerned actually..... We have been building a relationship with one of the waitresses. We've talked about silly stuff, relationships, her boyfriend, our wives, fights at the bowling alley, LifePoint..... She is a graphic artist, so we have been taking in the series cards from LifePoint for her to see.... and talking about maybe her doing some art stuff for the church. I look forward to the Sunday that her boyfriend and her pop in on a service at LifePoint and start a life changing journey.

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God / Family / and Friends with every word and every action.

American Idol Returns

We've been bitten by the American Idol bug..... Vange, Ashli, Haley, and I love to Tivo AI and watch it together with some popcorn and a good cold Coke. I wish they would condense the"horrible / idiots" section to just one night and get on with the talented people.... but that's just me. Have fun, and remember, just because they are CALLED American Idols does not mean they are to be worshipped.....

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God / Family / and Friends with every word and every action.

No Way

A good friend sent me this video compilation of humorous things that have happened at church.

LifePoint had a bit of humor this weekend also..... one of the set design pieces that was hanging from the ceiling fell while Bob was speaking..... Gotta laugh sometimes.

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God / Family / and Friends with every word and every action.

Crazy Mac

Friday nights are made for FUN! I got home tonight and the family was playin' with Photo Booth on the Mac. Here is my crazy family.




Live loud, live intentionally, and love God / Family / and Friends with every word and every action

Let Love In

So many times I say or do something that contradicts my basic values in living by Godly principles. So, I ask myself (all the time) am I looking for ways to be like Jesus to those around me? In the Bible there is a story (Matthew 25:31-46) about taking notice of people in need... and actually doing something about it. On top of that, what is my attitude like to my wife and kids in simple everyday life? Ephesians 4:32 says "Be kind and loving to each other, and forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ." One of the principles that we are teaching our kids (over and over) is to treat others the way you would like to be treated. Romans 12:10 - "Love each other like brothers and sisters. Give each other more honor than you want for yourselves." Matthew 7:12 says "Do to others what you want them to do to you. This is the meaning of the law of Moses and the teaching of the prophets."

So what will our world look like when we really allow these Christian lifestyle principles to flow out of our everyday life? Let's find out. Let Love in.

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God / Family / and Friends with every word and every action.

Addicted

No great revelation today, no analogies, no video clips...... Today I got to work from home. I got to just be around my wife, Vange, and youngest son, Griffin. I got to feed my addiction. Yep, the more I'm around them, the more I want to be around them.... all of them.... my family that is.... (...and Kyle & Emily..... :-) This is what a guy looks like when he is working from home and realizes all he is blessed with:



Live loud, live intentionally, and love God / Family / and Friends with every word and every action!

Air Guitar Hero

I've tried Guitar Hero a couple times... not so good...... I actually play real guitar... And I think I'm getting messed up on GH because I have only tried the EASY setting. I'm hearing more than is showing on the screen.... Maybe I should try a harder setting. My argument may not hold water though.... David, the guitar player at LifePoint, was smokin' the first time he played GH. Oh well... I think I've found my solution.... Check this out:



Live loud, live intentionally, and love God / Family / and Friends with every word and every action.

Influence

This past Sunday, Bob was talking about investing in key relationships. One statement he made was "We all influence people - is your influence positive or negative?" If you are a Christ follower, do you take effort to engage people who are not like you? Do you have only Christian friends, hang out in only Christian bookstores, use a Christian auto mechanic, attend only Christian concerts? Check out the 4 Gospels in the Bible (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and get an idea of the kinds of people that Jesus engaged and the places he went. Check out Matthew 9:9-13.

The relationship with Jesus is the most incredible thing I've experienced... and I would love to infect others with that opportunity. If you are part of a local church, think about this: When unchurched people walk through the doors of your church, do everything you can to show them applicable principles from God's word. If we simply regurgitate lifeless, theological points, they will shed you like sun-scorched skin. Spend time with real, normal, unchurched people. Understand their perspectives, their needs, and be a part of life-change.



Live loud, live intentionally, and love God / Family / and Friends with every word and every action.

Game Night (DORK)

OK... I've never claimed to be that smart..... Here is the story. Vange, Ashli, Haley and I decided to play Scategories last night. It was my first time, so I was slowly soaking it in. Basically, in the game you must name several different things from listed categories that all start with the same letter. On our second round, the letter was "C" and a few of the questions were:

• Name a famous female


• Name a character in the Bible


• Name a junk food

You get the idea. Well I started off great... Chelsea Clinton. The rest of my answers started with P, not C. I have no idea why. On round 3, the letter was "A". Haley helped me out by adding the huge "A" to the top of my answer sheet for that round. I am a DORK! We had a lot of fun though, we laughed and played well together.

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God / Family / and Friends with every word and every action!

Mentor

Do you have someone in your life who has really shown you the ropes in one area (or many areas) of life? In the last few days I've had the chance to do a couple of home improvement things in other people's homes. One of them asked me "Where did you learn to do all this stuff?" I've had the benefit of a mentor in my life that has shown me how to do a lot of stuff.... automotive stuff, home repair and improvement stuff, sound reinforcement stuff, business relationship stuff, and how to critically think about what is happening in your environment (intuition). G, thanks for all you do! Invest HEAVILY in PEOPLE and accept readily their investment in you!

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God / Family / and Friends with every word and every action!

Christmas Card

I was hanging out at a friend's last night and saw a Christmas card that cracked me up. I was trying to chuckle under my breath, but that did not really work. Check this out:

The caption reads: If Santa had named the reindeer while drinking Nog...


In case you can't read the reindeer names, they are:
The Brown Dude
Horn Head
Stinky Butt
Spot
Horn Head #2
Lloyd
Poopy
Horn Head #2 (Yes, there are 2 named Horn Head #2)


Live loud, live intentionally, and love God / Family / and Friends with every word and every action.

Be a Leader

As much as I dislike reading, I love knowledge. I bought this book a year ago at the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta. I just started reading it a few days ago. John Maxwell teaches how to be an effective leader at every level of an organization. I'm looking forward to gaining much insight from this book.... which may take about 6 months for me to read......

Keep this in mind: We will have opportunities to exercise influence in all directions: UP (to the boss or your leader), ACROSS (among your peers or equals), and DOWN (to those you lead).

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God / Family / and Friends with every word and every action.