Doug's Mind Slide

Where Ya Been?

2011-12-13T12:41:00.002-06:00

I forgot I had a blog site..... DOH! OK, life updates:

Bob Robbins left LifePoint Church to pursue other ministry opportunities. Gonna miss that family but pumped to see what God does through them and through LifePoint Church.

Currently searching for a SUV for Haley, my 15 year old daughter.

My boys, Dawson & Griffin, are constantly demonstrating that they are getting what it means to be like Jesus!

Ashli, my 17 year old daughter (almost), works and studies so much that I don't get to hang out with her enough... going to remedy that.

I'm reminded every day what a wonderful gift Vange (my wife) is to me!

Daisy, my Golden Retriever, has been jumping up in bed with one of my boys every night... that is a bit funny.

I am part of a Lifegroup at LifePoint church.... and we actually do life together..... the celebrations, the tragedies, the fun, the learning, the honesty..... it is amazing!

Still cleaning up leaves for my clients and it is well into December....

Live loud, live intentionally, love God and love people!

What The Flagnog!

2010-08-12T14:47:00.004-05:00

Can we all just agree that I suck as a time manager..... Can't find time to blog....

A few updates.... Vange and I bought the girls a car... the plates are "FLGNOG 1" from the famous quote in Monsters Vs Aliens; "What The Flagnog!"

Took my girls a a couple long motorcycle rides with some friends from LifePoint... good times!

Dawson and Griffin have 2 of the best teachers on the planet; Mrs Levault and Mrs Kocarnik. Wait till 5th grade.... the dynamic duo of Meador and Mueller!!

Went to all my kids' swim meets... they did really well!!!

Live loud, live intentionally, love God and people with every word and every action!

By Your Side

2010-03-12T12:55:00.002-06:00

This Sunday at LifePoint we are introducing a new worship song titled By Your Side from the band Tenth Avenue North. As I was taking time to explore the song, I found some interview pieces with Mike, the singer/writer. Here are a few thoughts from him behind the song which lead to my decision to use it at LifePoint:

The song is God talking to us reassuring us of the concepts of how His love works.
ALL of us have some things jacked up in life that break the heart of God and frustrate Him
We can NOT earn God's love and grace.
Focus on what He has done for us.
We think we have to "clean up" before we can approach God.
We can come to God during our farthest and darkest moments.
Jesus died for us, knowing we would spit on Him, to provide a way for us to be with God.
Forgiveness is available right where we fall... right when we fall.

Gonna be good this weekend (like every weekend).

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action.

Flock You

2010-02-24T12:05:00.002-06:00

I'm pretty sure I'll never grow up. (Those of you who know me are agreeing...) I used to love to TP my friends when I was younger (last year...) Vange and I have taken our girls TPing and "taught" them how to do it right.... Fast forward a bit... here we are today with a chance to relive some of our practical joke days.... Driven Student Ministries is doing a fundraiser that involves putting a flock of pink flamingos in someone's yard and removing them for a donation.... they'll even FLOCK someone of your choice for a bigger donation.... You can even "buy" insurance to make sure you don't get flocked again (insert Won't Get Fooled (Flocked) Again from The Who here).

The funny thing is that the kids are supposed to be doing this thing... and the parents of the younger ones just provide a taxi service..... BUT (there's always a big but) what I'm finding is that the "adults" (let's use that term loosely shall we...) are having more fun than the kids..... When all this is done, the money raised will help our kids get to BigStuf camp and experience God in an amazing way.

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action!

Various Ramblings

2010-02-17T13:51:00.004-06:00

Wow... I forgot how to log into my blog it's been so long..... OK so here's what has been going on... in no particular order:

Me and the boys went to our first Monster Jam... they are totally into monster trucks right now.... I have to admit, it was very cool! I've never felt more "redneck" in my life!

Ashli got her driver's permit.... she is doing very well.... but since we only own huge trucks, she feels she needs to point out every yellow Cavalier and Cobalt that she notices is for sale

Took the family to the Boat Show - we have not missed one in 16 years.... we laughed about my dad needing a boat with a recliner... then we saw one! Ashli had to get a pic and send it to Grandpa.

We went to see Dave's band, Downtime, jam at a benefit.

Vange and I took the boys to the Dinosaurs Unearthed exhibit at the science center.

Lastly... I've been going to see Haley's V-Ball team play a couple teams a week.... She is really good and it's fun to watch them play.

Live Loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action!

Think Orange

2010-01-06T14:03:00.002-06:00

I've been reading the Orange Journal compiled by Reggie Joiner. The main idea is getting the church and the family to work together to positively impact current and future generations. The concept of ORANGE is mixing Yellow/Light/Church with Red/Heart/Family to get a balanced mix of ORANGE. Here are a few tidbits from the journal:

What concerns us more: how we did on Sunday or how our people are doing on Monday?
Church and family leaders must work TOGETHER (like orange traffic cones) to lead people in a specific direction.
You can change the presentation of the message to better connect with your target group without changing the fundamental nature of the message.
Apply creativity to teaching the Bible so people GET IT rather than ENDURE IT.
How many families stop attending church because the struggle to get the kids to go isn't worth it.
Design a strategy that combines family with the faith community to demonstrate the message of God's story, in order to influence the next generation. (BAM!)

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action.

KISS / OZZY

2009-12-03T10:05:00.004-06:00

Against my parents' wishes, I grew up listening to some great Rock music. 2 of my favorites from back in the day (and I still love these rock tones) were KISS and OZZY.

Being a guitar player, I was totally drawn to the sounds of Ace Frehley and Randy Rhoads. During high school and early adulthood, I limited my music intake primarily to Christian artists. Today I drink in quite a variety of musical flavors. I try to stay conscious about what I'm filling my mind with, so the majority of what I listen to is either praising/promoting Jesus, or at least clean positive messages. There are a bunch of great artists that I feel are appropriate... maybe I'll blog some soon.

Back to the KISS / OZZY stuff. Some of the best ear candy I've ever heard are songs from back then:
KISS: I Want You, Detroit Rock City, Shout It Out Loud
OZZY: I Don't Know, Crazy Train, Flyin' High Again

What did you grow up listening to?

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and People with every word and every action.

Shootin

2009-11-30T21:47:00.004-06:00

What should the guys do when the girls are gone shopping? Shoot stuff! I've been having a lot of fun the past few days with Dawson and Griffin and the Crossman Powermaster 760. We've been talking about how to safely handle a gun, and some basics about shooting. One of these days, I'm going to take the guys to the gun range with one of my police buddies.... They'll love shooting the "big" guns....

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action.

Read Your Own Blog

2009-11-13T13:28:00.003-06:00

I wonder how many who blog go back and read some of what they have posted. I went on a trip through some of my old posts in my blog and was reminded of some good times, some tough times, some promises I've made, and some great stories/experiences.

On another note, Twitter has become my friend. I'm amazed sometimes at some of the people who start following me.... and I wonder how they came in contact with me to start following..... A pastor from out west started following me recently. As I looked through some of the people he follows, I had to laugh... some of these people have twitter names that are "Christianese." Here are a few just for fun:

godsgeneration
Christs_punk
pressingin
diazministry
Romans8vs32
Eph2eighttoten
gotgodsgrace
JesusLantern
Acts29News

I'm sure these people are wonderful people.... and they probably have great life stories... Just my thought... Jesus was a real dude, a man's man... he hung out with some rough characters (on purpose) and impacted lives everywhere He went. I want to be like that.... I'm not interested in being part of a Christian-only social club (some churches are designed to be just that).

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action.

You Want To Date My Daughter?

2009-11-11T15:23:00.002-06:00

Bob read this list Sunday and I was ROFL!!

10 Simple Rules For Dating My Daughter

Rule 1: If you pull into my driveway and honk you'd better be delivering a package, because you're sure not picking anything up.

Rule 2: You do not touch my daughter in front of me. You may glance at her, so long as you do not peer at anything below her neck. If you cannot keep your eyes or hands off of my daughter's body, I will remove them.

Rule 3: I am aware that it is considered fashionable for boys of your age to wear their trousers so loosely that they appear to be falling off their hips. Please don't take this as an insult, but you and all of your friends are complete idiots. Still, I want to be fair and open minded about this issue, so I propose this compromise: You may come to the door with your underwear showing and your pants ten sizes too big, and I will not object. However, in order to ensure that your clothes do not, in fact, come off during the course of your date with my daughter, I will take my electric nail gun and fasten your trousers securely in place to your waist.

Rule 4: I'm sure you've been told that in today's world, sex without utilizing a "barrier method" of some kind can kill you. Let me elaborate, when it comes to sex, I am the barrier, and I will kill you.

Rule 5: It is usually understood that in order for us to get to know each other, we should talk about sports, politics, and other issues of the day. Please do not do this. The only information I require from you is an indication of when you expect to have my daughter safely back at my house, and the only word I need from you on this subject is "early."

Rule 6: I have no doubt you are a popular fellow, with many opportunities to date other girls. This is fine with me as long as it is okay with my daughter. Otherwise, once you have gone out with my little girl, you will continue to date no one but her until she is finished with you. If you make her cry, I will make you cry.

Rule 7: As you stand in my front hallway, waiting for my daughter to appear, and more than an hour goes by, do not sigh and fidget. If you want to be on time for the movie, you should not be dating. My daughter is putting on her makeup, a process that can take longer than painting the Golden Gate Bridge. Instead of just standing there, why don't you do something useful, like changing the oil in my car?

Rule 8:The following places are not appropriate for a date with my daughter: Places where there are beds, sofas, or anything softer than a wooden stool. Places where there are no parents, policemen, or nuns within eyesight. Places where there is darkness. Places where there is dancing, holding hands, or happiness. Places where the ambient temperature is warm enough to induce my daughter to wear shorts, tank tops, midriff T-shirts, or anything other than overalls, a sweater, and a goose down parka - zipped up to her throat. Movies with a strong romantic or sexual theme are to be avoided; movies which features chain saws are okay. Hockey games are okay. Old folks homes are better.

Rule 9: Do not lie to me. I may appear to be a potbellied, balding, middle-aged, dimwitted has-been. But on issues relating to my daughter, I am the all-knowing, merciless god of your universe. If I ask you where you are going and with whom, you have one chance to tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I have a shotgun, a shovel, and five acres behind the house. Do not trifle with me.

Rule 10: Be afraid. Be very afraid. It takes very little for me to mistake the sound of your car in the driveway for a chopper coming in over a rice paddy near Hanoi. When my Agent Orange starts acting up, the voices in my head frequently tell me to clean the guns as I wait for you to bring my daughter home. As soon as you pull into the driveway you should exit your car with both hands in plain sight. Speak the perimeter password, announce in a clear voice that you have brought my daughter home safely and early, then return to your car - there is no need for you to come inside. The camouflaged face at the window is mine.

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action

Dreamin

2009-10-23T14:25:00.005-05:00

I have some really nice guitars... But, I would love to have a Paul Reed Smith some day.

I currently have:

G&L ASAT

G&L Skyhawk

Yamaha AEX Semi Hollowbody

Gibson Les Paul Studio

Taylor 314 CE

This is a great arsenal... but I'm still dreamin.....

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action!

Driven Leaders

2009-09-30T12:03:00.002-05:00

Uhhhh.... Not sure what to say about this..... These are the people who LEAD the youth at LifePoint Church......

OK, actually, they have been doing the What Not To Wear series and goin' Whole Nutha Level! These people freakin' ROCK and they love God and our kids so much that they'll do whatever it takes to connect the kids with God! I Love it!!

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action!

Doin' Life Big!

2009-09-28T17:19:00.003-05:00

Hey... Let me admit that I suck at Blogging! It's pretty sad when I can't find time to blog.... and then, Bob preaches a whole sermon to the LifePoint gang just to beat me up for being too busy! OK, I can't back that up. I think Bob simply realizes that people stretch themselves too thin and don't leave any margin between their load and their limits.... and he is trying to steer us to a happier, healthier life. Thanks Bob!

OK, other stuff: Ashli is playing volleyball for GCHS now... Sweet! (Although she injured her elbow in a soccer game and is out of sports for 3 weeks...) Haley is totally in Heaven because football, baseball, and NASCAR are ALL in season right now. Vange is happy because all of her shows are starting back up... gotta admit, I dig Criminal Minds and House! My boys are both bike riding / football throwing / baseball hitting fools! Also, they are totally into reading Bible stories every night... and Dawson has to read the verses that backup the story from HIS Bible... Cool! Daisy, well, she is one of the best dogs in the world (Golden Retriever... go figure) and her new place to chill is the loveseat... Vange is thrilled (NOT). LifePoint.... look, if you can't connect with God at LifePoint, please have someone take you to the ER to check your pulse!!!! That place is freakin amazing! (not perfect, but amazing)

Last note, some LifePoint "Wild Hogs" took an all day motorcycle ride to Union City, TN and back on Saturday.... very cool!

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action.

LifePoint Bash

2009-08-17T19:25:00.002-05:00

I'm AMAZED! Yesterday Lifepoint had a End Of Summer Bash at a local park. About the time it was supposed to start, the heavens OPENED UP! It was raining cats, dogs, and various small farm animals! Too late.... Steve, Scott, and John already had the grill rockin'..... and Dan was DELEGATING! Listen, LifePoint people were looking to party.... and we did. About 110 people came out and ate some GREAT food, played in the rain, and just hung out as a big family! I met a couple of people.... Randy was hangin' with Michelle, Brittany was hangin' with Dan, and Vange was the HOT chick I sweet talked into going home with me!!!! (She happens to be my wife and the mother of my 4 amazing kids... muddy, but amazing kids!) Kyle proved that he was workin' hard early... he was the wetest from carrying stuff in the rain (is 'wetest' a word?) Hey LifePointers... you people are my BIG O Family..... and I love hanging out with you.

Short sports update... the Aaron Meyer/Doug James Kickball Team OWNED the Steve Walton/Whitney Klee kickball team.... Just sayin!

A quick serious note: I have some friends that I have not seen in a while who could use a Big God Hug in life... please keep them in prayer.

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action!

Not Dead

2009-07-27T18:31:00.002-05:00

For the 9 people who actually check this blog.... I am not dead.... I have simply overextended my time commitments and I'm having a hard time getting to the blog world..... I'm trying to dump some pictures of Sunday's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard... Haley and I went - it was AWESOME! We were there proudly wearing our Jimmie Johnson shirts and hats... And Jimmie took the checkered flag... what a day!

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action.

Lessons from Country Music

2009-06-26T13:58:00.003-05:00

Hey listen... Life is swinging a mean bat these days... A LOT of people, some I'm close to some I barely know, are struggling with real life stuff. I'm watching Revolution Church pick up, dust off, and move forward.... I see comments in the LifePoint Youth blog about our kids realizing that other kids in the world have NOTHING!.. and how our kids plan to react and change the world.... I'm seeing friends of mine going through tough career decisions after losing their jobs.... I'm watching my mom's body wither away from Parkinson's MSA as she sits unable to do ANYTHING for herself... including talk... I get to serve with some incredible people at LifePoint Church as we try to balance our time between family, work, God stuff, fun, etc....

Ahhh yes..... TIME! I heard a song by Tim McGraw the other day... I've heard it a few time before... but this time it GRABBED me! Let me set the stage.... My wife and girls were gone this week, so it was just me and my boys - Dawson (6) and Griffin (5). I not only had to try to keep up with my normal schedule, but I needed to pay some extra attention to the boys this week. So, I made a few decisions... I mowed some lawn clients a couple days early, I took 2 days off from AT&T to hang out with them, I handed the worship set responsibility for this week to Brandon, and I let some of the other needed things wait. OK, back to the song... here is verse 2 from Tim McGraw's Grown Men Don't Cry:

Keep having this dream about my old man
I'm 10 years old, and he's holding my hand
We're talkin' on the front porch watchin' the sun go down
But it was just a dream
He was a slave to his job and he couldn't be around
So many things I wanna say to him
But I just placed a rose on his grave, and I talk to the wind

Bob has preached several times about time and having balance and priorities lined up. Here is the deal... I am AT the tipping point now... I stand in the ring with my gloves on in the fight of my life... and time just took the gloves off... Oh SNAP! So what is the next step? Tonight I will do what needs to done (for church, for work, for pleasure...) AFTER I spend some QUALITY time with my boys.

Ephesians 6:4
Fathers, do not make your children angry, but raise them with the training and teaching of the Lord.

To raise them I must spend time with them.... to teach and train them I must be REAL and ACCESSIBLE. Come hell or high water, I'm going to do it right!!

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action!

Guys week

2009-06-21T21:07:00.007-05:00

Today we kicked the girls out of the house for a week... Actually they went to camp... Me and the boys went to the pool. Dawson is Diving and flipping off the diving board. Griffin was a mad man going down the slide and off the diving board... AND he gave up his arm floaties!!! Here are a few pics...

Had a blast today... tomorrow we are getting TATOOS! Even Daisy (our Golden Retriever) is getting a tatoo... she wants a CAT!

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action.

Darn It Crap!

2009-06-08T07:25:00.002-05:00

When my 5 year old son, Griffin, gets mad or hurt, his favorite phrase is Darn It Crap! Today, I'm having one of those Darn It Crap moments. A pastor in Canton, GA resigned from leading Revolution Church Sunday. Gary Lamb stepped down because of an affair he had with his assistant. That SUCKS! While I'm still very fond of Gary and how God has used him to challenge me, my attention and prayer right now is leaning toward DeAnna, his wife, and their kids. There is a LOT of hurt and betrayal they are dealing with.

Let's be honest, we all sin, and in marriage we sometimes treat our spouse inappropriately. My prayer is that God does a beautiful healing in the Lamb family and that they once again are a potent force in causing people to turn toward Christ!

Live loud, live intentional, and love God and people with every word and every action.

Driving

2009-06-05T10:30:00.004-05:00

I recently took my 14 year old daughter, Ashli, out for her 2nd driving lesson. Her 1st lesson was in a large empty parking lot with me sitting on the center console of the Suburban ready to take control if needed.... after all, she was brand new to this experience. She did so well the 1st time, that I decided to give her a bit more freedom and responsibility during round 2. This time, I sat in the passenger seat and we actually went on a back road... She had to navigate actual road signs and a few other cars. She did really well! I was very proud. Here is Ashli' Twitter following her drive:

went for a driving lesson with my dad. there is just something cool about controling a suburban:)

So, is she ready to jump in the Suburban and drive up to the church? No. She will need much more guidance and practice... more understanding of the rules of the road.... and more chances to apply them. She has started her journey, and it's a journey that never ends. Driving is a living, breathing animal. There is always something new to learn, road construction / detours and potholes to deal with, newly discovered roads, different passengers to share the ride with.... It goes on and on...

So let me ask you something.... When a person decides to cross the line of faith and say yes to Jesus for the first time, how quickly do we expect them to "drive" all by themselves? I grew up in a church culture that believed once you say yes to Jesus and show up at church a time or two, all of your external behaviors need to have changed to align with God principles. In fact, if you still were dealing with a habit or some element of your lifestyle that was not very "Christian" then you must have been faking it and did not really give your heart to Jesus. That's a bunch of... um, let's see..... how can I put this... CRAP!

Listen, the very 1st message that Bob spoke as the Lead Pastor at LifePoint dealt with the idea we are not really concerned with how close to or far away you are from Jesus you are... what is important is your direction of travel... be moving TOWARD Jesus, not away from Him. When you decide to say yes to Jesus, don't get in a hurry to "drive" all alone too far too fast. Be a "passenger" some, learn the "roads" from others and from checking out God's "Rules Of The Road" (yes, I'm talking about the Bible), "drive" with someone else for a while.... and be excited about this new stage in life cuz it is very cool!

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action!

Now

2009-05-21T21:18:00.005-05:00

One of the smartest people I know is my Dad. I've learned a LOT from him over the years... and have watched him model integrity like nobody else. Something we talked about a lot as I was growing up was how people wait until a funeral to give someone flowers....

So, we spend time "rubbing elbows" with people and just going on with our happy lives, all the while we selfishly CHOOSE to refrain from INVESTING in the relationship with some simple effort. My Dad's phrase was "Give people flowers while they are still living." Say what? Look, it's this simple.... Take time NOW to tell/show the special people in your life what they mean to you... while it will still make them smile. Hey LifePointers, does that sound something like LOVE GOD - LOVE PEOPLE?

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action!

Freakin Hero

2009-05-20T12:46:00.002-05:00

Doing the right thing when people spit in your face for it is tough! So many of our military people do it so often... they deserve so much more respect (and pay) than they get. Check out this story...

This is an Airman's response to Cindy Williams' editorial piece in the Washington Times about MILITARY PAY, it should be printed in all newspapers across America.

On Nov. 12, Ms Cindy Williams (from Laverne and Shirley TV show) wrote a piece for the Washington Times, denouncing the pay raise(s) coming service members' way this year -- citing that the stated 13% wage was more than they deserve.

A young airman from Hill AFB responds to her article.

He ought to get a bonus for this.

"Ms Williams:

I just had the pleasure of reading your column, "Our GIs earn enough" and I am a bit confused. Frankly, I'm wondering where this vaunted overpayment is going, because as far as I can tell, it disappears every month between DFAS (The Defense Finance and Accounting Service)and my bank account.

Checking my latest earnings statement I see that I make $1,117.80 before taxes. After taxes, I take home $874.20. When I run that through the calculator, I come up with an annual salary of $13,413.60 before taxes, and $10,490.40, after.

I work in the Air Force Network Control Center where I am part of the team responsible for a 5,000 host computer network I am involved with infrastructure segments, specifically with Cisco Systems equipment. A quick check under jobs for Network Technicians in the Washington D.C. area reveals a position in my career field, requiring three years experience with my job. Amazingly, this job does NOT pay $13,413.60 a year. No, this job is being offered at $70,000 to $80,000 per annum...

I'm sure you can draw the obvious conclusions.

Given the tenor of your column, I would assume that you NEVER had the pleasure of serving your country in her armed forces.

Before you take it upon yourself to once more castigate congressional and DOD leadership for attempting to get the families in the military's lowest pay brackets off of WIC and food stamps, I suggest that you join a group of deploying soldiers headed for AFGHANISTAN ; I leave the choice of service branch up to you.

Whatever choice you make, though, opt for the SIX month rotation, it will guarantee you the longest possible time away from your family and friends, thus giving you full "deployment experience."

As your group prepares to board the plane, make sure to note the spouses and children who are saying good-bye to their loved ones. Also take care to note that several families are still unsure of how they'll be able to make ends meet while the primary breadwinner is gone obviously they've been squandering the "vast" piles of cash the government has been giving them.

Try to deploy over a major holiday; Christmas and Thanksgiving are perennial
favorites. And when you're actually over there, sitting in a foxhole, shivering against the cold desert night; and the flight sergeant tells you that there aren't enough people on shift to relieve you for chow, remember this:

Trade whatever MRE (meal-ready- to-eat) you manage to get for the tuna noodle casserole or cheese tortellini, and add Tabasco to everything. This gives some flavor.

Talk to your loved ones as often as you are permitted; it won't nearly be long enough or often enough, but take what you can get and be thankful for it. You may have picked up on the fact that I disagree with most of the points you present in your opened piece.

But, tomorrow from KABUL , I will defend to the death your right to say it.

You see, I am an American fighting man, a guarantor of your First Amendment rights and every other right you cherish. On a daily basis, my brother and sister soldiers worldwide ensure that you and people like you can thumb your collective nose at us, all on a salary that is nothing short of pitiful and under conditions that would make most people cringe. We hemorrhage our best and brightest into the private sector because we can't offer the stability and pay of civilian companies.

And you, Ms. Williams, have the gall to say that we make more than we deserve?

Rubbish!

A1C Michael Bragg Hill AFB AFNCC

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action.

Invention

2009-05-19T12:02:00.009-05:00

When I grow up, I want to invent something cool. I saw this poster as an advertisement at a bus stop... It was promoting a young inventors workshop. A 14 year old kid came up with the LOST CAT MAGNET....

Does it work? Probably not.... Is that photo doctored? Ya think??? Anyway, I though it was funny. If you could invent something (even something crazy) what would it be? I'd invent a portable lake so I could take my boat everywhere with me and sneak in a little water fun whenever I wanted. Of course, I'd also have to invent a way for my HARLEY (OK I don't have a Harley yet...) to tow the boat....

By the way, I hate cats!! That's why we have a Golden Retreiver... Dogs are Godly pets! (Maybe that's a stretch...)

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action.

Technology Is Great

2009-05-13T13:59:00.003-05:00

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action. (Can you punch in love??)

Whatever it Takes

2009-05-13T13:38:00.003-05:00

Look out St Louis and the Metro East.... There is a group of people that are quickly getting to the place that we will do WHATEVER it takes to help people get back to Christ... many for the first time. You may be thinking "so what..." It may go against what you think is the "norm" for compelling people to pursue Christ.... and you will need to get on board the train or the freakin train will run you over.... Just sayin.... By the way, "pretty soon" is not a good time to start.... RIGHT NOW is a good time to start! Hey Kyle... take those Driven students to the edge tonight!!! We've got a freakin world to change!

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action!

Soaking

2009-05-08T13:03:00.002-05:00

I remember as a kid hearing my Mom tell people "Go soak your head!" when she was mad about something. How about soaking your mind? That's what we are talking about this Sunday at LifePoint. Try this simple little activity this weekend and see if it helps....

... think about the things that are good and worthy of praise. Think about the things that are true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and respected. (Philippians 4:8)

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and People with every word and every action.

Loving People

2009-04-22T13:03:00.004-05:00

My wife, Vange, is bent on loving people. The more we hang at LifePoint, the more we are transitioning our effort to care more about PEOPLE.... and less about the perceived normal "rules" of doing church.

Monday, a good friend of ours lost her mother. (Our friend's daughter plays soccer with my girls and hangs at our house a lot.) We have come to realize that there are no magic words or anything we can do to take away the sting of losing someone. A few weeks ago, Bob addressed the Biblical principle of "shiva"... just BEING WITH someone during a trying time. Responding with a "loving people" attitude, Vange, Ashli, and Haley went and bought a cooler and filled it with ice and soda, and grabbed a few snacks and delivered them to our friend's house. They spent a few minutes just letting this family know that we love them and are with them through this time. This is a BEAUTIFUL picture of loving God and loving people.

Live loud, live intentionally, and love and people with every word and every action.

Moving pictures

2009-04-15T22:38:00.005-05:00

I'm really aggravated about not being able to move pictures around on my posts.... My buddy Emily (gimme back that filet-o-fish) is sitting here watching Idol with us... I'm gonna con her into helping me... :-)

Add pic... cut and paste it elsewhere.... seems to work...

Thanks EP!

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action.

Old Bitter Lady

2009-04-10T10:14:00.003-05:00

I have a lawn client who is a young, single mom. I'll call her Jill. Let's just say she doesn't put much effort into taking care of anything..... house, car, job, kid...... She has a neighbor. I'll call her Bertha. Bertha is one of those people who is in every one's business. Here are a couple of highlights of my experiences with Bertha:

She badgered me repeatedly to try to find out what Jill pays me to maintain the lawn - she still does not know
She gave me an earful about calling the police on the guy who owns the house (Jill's stepfather) because there were some leaves piles in the corner of the house and back yard fence. She wanted him put in jail for that....
She came into my enclosed trailer, grabbed my arm and threatened to put me in jail for allowing dust to be blown on a car in her driveway. (I was mowing on a windy day and even though I always keep the discharge going away from her driveway, the wind blew dust everywhere.)
I've seen her sweeping twigs and leaves from her driveway and lawn onto Jill's yard... Jill doesn't have any trees in front....

Here is where the story gets sweet.... Yesterday, I was at Jill's house mowing. I could not get into the back yard because there were so many toys and so much trash all over the back yard. Bertha had been edging her walks and driveway. I got done with Jill's front yard and was blowing off her walks. I stopped and approached Bertha and asked her if she'd like me to blow off her driveway and walks for her. She preferred to sweep them herself. Her reply was soft and thankful. Instead of threatening me or bullying me about the leaf pile (the leaves had gathered again just like last year), she asked very politely what we could work out to take care of the leaves. I had already decided to haul them off.... since I could not mow the back, I had time allocated for her property and the leaves needed to be handled.

I got the leaves all cleaned up. Then, Bertha and I had a very cool 20 minute discussion about her life story and teaching her kids right from wrong..... and how she lost her husband when her 3 kids were very young..... and what she did to survive. She totally opened up her soul to me. We touched on how wonderful God is in the midst of adversity (Broken Pieces). It was a beautiful conversation and time well spent. As I walked away she stopped me one more time and said "Jim, I'm sorry I've been mean to you." (She called me Jim because my mowing trailer has JAMES LAWN CARE on it.)

I just wonder what God was doing in her heart during and after our chat. I know for me, it was simply loving God and loving people by how I acted.

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action!

God and Eye Drops

2009-04-03T11:44:00.005-05:00

This morning I got some disturbing news about my job.... could be a major bump in the road... I'll come back to this idea in a minute...

Griffin is getting over Pink Eye. We got the eye drops a few days ago and knew exactly what we needed to do to get Griffin healthy again. Here is the problem: Griffin was TERRIFIED of having something dripped into his eyes! Vange tried everything to prove to him that it would be OK. She even dropped some wetting solution drops in all the other kids' eyes and let Griffin watch so he could see that it was no big deal. Didn't work..... The whole family tried to convince Griffin that any minor discomfort he would feel would be just that, MINOR, and it would be over super quick. He could not see that the medicine was needed to get him to a better, healthy place. Finally, I had to hold him down and hold his head still while Vange pried his eyes open and applied the drops.... it was NOT pretty. He has survived the drop applications, and last night, he was a big boy and didn't fight it at all..... he was very proud of his accomplishment.

Back to the job story.... I never want to over analyze or over spiritualize anything. But, here's the deal.... I really feel like God is speaking to me (not audibly...). Imagine God's voice:

Doug, trust Me... it's not that bad. It'll be over before you know it. This is going to help you. Look around at your family and friends, haven't I steered them through similar situations to get them to a better place? Don't make me hold you down....

The very same process that we were trying with Griffin, God is using for me. Calm fears, apply the medicine/change, and get to a better/healthy place. Look, I can't prove that this is a step toward something better... Just like I hope that Griffin TRUSTS me enough that he knows I'm doing what is BEST for him, I'm trusting God that he is looking out for me.

Romans 8:28
We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love him. They are the people he called, because that was his plan.

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action.

Snacks

2009-04-02T09:41:00.004-05:00

I've been called a lot of names over the years..... some good, some bad. Some of the names that are most fitting pertain to my snacking habits.

Count Snackula

Dr. Snackenstein

Snack Disposal

All are fitting.... I've included a pic of the snacks currently stashed at my desk.... they won't last long. What are your favorites?

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action.

Hands To Heaven

2009-03-27T12:48:00.009-05:00

With our hands to Heaven we worship You

And when we do, may it be in spirit and in truth

The image of raised hands brings 3 thoughts to my mind:

1) A posture of surrender (giving control to someone in power)

2) A desire to be held or rescued (like a child lifting hands to his/her parent)

3) Celebration

This weekend, we are using a song that simply talks about raising our hands to God. Whatever we do, make sure it is an honest means to step closer to God. Check out these few Bible verses:

1 Timothy 2:8 - I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.

Psalms 28:2 - Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place.

Psalms 63:4 - I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.

Psalms 77:2 - When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands and my soul refused to be comforted.

Psalms 141:2 - May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action.

Mowing Season is Here

2009-03-24T06:13:00.000-05:00

Besides working in IT for AT&T, I also own a small lawn care business. Yesterday, I fired up the mowers and started the dance for this season..... I actually enjoy mowing. I have a simple goal this year to balance my time between work, church, and family. My relationship with Jesus is first! Then I need to cultivate the relationship with my wife, Vange. Next is pouring myself into my kids' lives (Ashli, Haley, Dawson, Griffin). THEN there is LifePoint and AT&T and the lawn business and the.... bla bla bla.....

Side Note Confession... at this point I'm ticked because I can't get pictures to land where I want them to on my blog..... Oh Well.....

So, this week is going to be a busy week...... lots of fertilizer to apply, weeds to control, and landscaping to clean up. Here we go...

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action.

Griffy Grif

2009-03-17T20:40:00.000-05:00

My baby is my 5 year old son, Griffin. He is hilarious. He's not a big eater, but he can drink enough Carnation to float a boat. He is VERY SNUGGLY. Grif loves to ride on my shoulders everywhere we go. He wants to be as big as his brother, Dawson. He is very smart. I'm not sure I've ever met a 5 year old that is as polite as Griffin - he is great with his manners. He has a new bike and has been riding it faster than an airplane! We are going to lose the training wheels this summer. One of our friends, Vince, is pretty tall.... Griffin always tells him that he is bigger than Jesus. Now when I see Vince, I call him BTJ for short. Griffin loves to play Wii, and he's really good. He makes me laugh... a lot! Emily has some great Griffin stories / sayings on her blog. He loves to have his back scratched at night before he goes to sleep. I am a blessed man!

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action.

Fireproof

2009-03-17T09:54:00.000-05:00

I watched Fireproof last night with Vange and Haley. There was a line in the movie that screamed out to me and got my attention... "Being fireproof doesn't keep the fire from coming, it just enables you to handle it." (it was something along those lines...) How many times in life do we try to keep the fire from coming (a futile effort...) when we should put more effort into being able to handle it when it DOES COME....

In the last couple of weeks, I've listed the "Bringing Sexy Back" message series from Gary Lamb, the lead pastor at Revolution church in Canton, GA. (Actually, I've listened to it multiple times...) For me, it was Biblically solid, timely, and quite a catalyst for positive change in my marriage.

**WARNING: Uncomfortably Honest and Open Moment Ahead** If I can be brutally transparent, Vange and I are approaching our 18 year anniversary. Overall, we have a wonderful marriage. But God has used Gary Lamb and the movie Fireproof to thump my noggin! I have allowed my wife to be burdened by responsibility that should be mine. Last night, I had to apologize to her her for being mediocre in my effort to love her.... that makes God sick! On March 3rd, I made a decision to think about her differently (better) and to put her needs before mine. This is a process...... and I'm stepping forward.

I just started following a blog of a guy named Rob. First of all, Rob has really cool, layered pictures on his blog... I've got to find out how to do that. I don't know Rob well (yet), but as I read his stories and looked at his pictures I got a sense that he is HEAVILY invested in his wife and kids' lives. It was an encouragement to me to step up and increase my DEVOTION to my family (a good and perfect gift to me from God.)

We are spinning a lot of plates right now; multiple jobs, a bunch of kids' activities, church (after all, we have a freakin world to change), etc... Here is the deal - I'm praying that I get out of the way so that God can teach me the best way to spin my many plates without dropping any. That may mean I have to set some plates down... (Bob speaks the truth at LifePoint!) I want to handle WELL the fires that I'm faced with.

God, thanks for placing people in my path to steer me back on course. You do really cool stuff like that all the time.... Talk to You later.

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action.

Games

2009-03-16T06:34:00.000-05:00

One of our family's favorite things to do is play games. It's always more fun when Kyle and Emily hang out with us and play a game called Joker (Marble Pursuit). Last night, Kyle, Ashli, and I had to put a whoopin' on Emily, Haley, and Vange. Victory is sweet!

Today when I got to work, Christy was telling me about taking her dogs to a dog park and just playing with them. That sounds like a lot of fun. I'm sure Daisy (our Golden Retriever) would enjoy that.

Dawson played soccer Saturday. He is usually defense... he really likes defense.... trying to be like his big sister, Haley. The coaches had him play forward and he scored a goal. Very cool.

Our Lifegroup went to an indoor water park yesterday. I loved watching Griffin play and interact with so many other kids. Vange and I had several opportunities to laugh and say "Say no to crack" as Griff's suit kept falling down a bit; exposing his... umm.... well..... uhhhhh... his crack. :-)

Play some games this week - have some fun.

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action.

Church Bulletin Bloopers

2009-03-11T12:37:00.000-05:00

Christy, one of my coworkers, and I were laughing so hard at these that we caused a bit of a ruckus in the office.... Oh well.....

Church Bulletin Bloopers
Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles, and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
The outreach committee has enlisted 25 visitors to make calls on people who are not afflicted with any church.
Evening massage - 6 p.m.
The Pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday morning.
The audience is asked to remain seated until the end of the recession.
Low Self-Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 to 8:30 p.m. Please use the back door.
Ushers will eat latecomers.
The third verse of Blessed Assurance will be sung without musical accomplishment.
For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
The Rev. Merriwether spoke briefly, much to the delight of the audience.
The pastor will preach his farewell message, after which the choir will sing, "Break Forth Into Joy."
During the absence of our pastor, we enjoyed the rare privilege of hearing a good sermon when J.F. Stubbs supplied our pulpit.
Next Sunday Mrs. Vinson will be soloist for the morning service. The pastor will then speak on "It's a Terrible Experience."
Due to the Rector's illness, Wednesday's healing services will be discontinued until further notice.
Stewardship Offertory: "Jesus Paid It All"
The music for today's service was all composed by George Friedrich Handel in celebration of the 300th anniversary of his birth.
Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and community.
The concert held in Fellowship Hall was a great success. Special thanks are due to the minister's daughter, who labored the whole evening at the piano, which as usual fell upon her.
22 members were present at the church meeting held at the home of Mrs. Marsha Crutchfield last evening. Mrs. Crutchfield and Mrs. Rankin sang a duet, The Lord Knows Why.
A song fest was hell at the Methodist church Wednesday.
Hymn 47: "Hark! an awful voice is sounding"
On a church bulletin during the minister's illness: GOD IS GOOD Dr. Hargreaves is better.
Potluck supper: prayer and medication to follow.
Don't let worry kill you off - let the church help.
The 1997 Spring Council Retreat will be hell May 10 and 11.
Pastor is on vacation. Massages can be given to church secretary.

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action.

The Hog

2009-03-09T15:43:00.000-05:00

Dawson, my 6 year old son, (also known as Daws Hog, Hoggalicious, The Hog) is creating some very cool stuff on his computer.

Dawson is such a great son... He is so energetic, smart, and very polite (most of the time). He is really good about stopping and looking both ways before we cross the street.... He always watches for cars in parking lots.... He gets straight As in school.... He is a really good soccer player..... He prays like a big guy.... He loves Bible stories..... He is a bike riding machine... He water skis - 75 foot behind the boat like the big guys.... He is the tubing King! He is super snuggly at night when I lay down with him.... What a blessing! God, thanks for letting me borrow the Hog... I'm crazy about that kid!!

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action.

Joker

2009-03-06T21:24:00.000-06:00

Vange and Emily are taking on Haley and Kyle in Joker. I think I'll grab my Journey cd and play Who's Cryin Now..... Cuz someone is goin down!

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action.

That's my Koolaid

2009-03-03T12:19:00.000-06:00

Thanks to Gary Lamb for getting all up in my Koolaid and punching me in the throat today (not physically). I was listening to a series he is doing called Bringing Sexy Back. He stepped through the idea that great sex starts long before you enter the bedroom. As I listened to his story about how he and DeAnna almost did not make it, and what they did to realign with God's plan, I began to wipe the fluids leaking from my eyes (since I'm not on stage at LifePoint I don't have to add a $1 to the cry jar). Guys, it is this simple, I better treat Vange as my BEST friend and actively put her needs before mine. Ephesians 5 says that men are to love their wives as Christ loved the church... that is a whole nutha level of love! Communication is HUGE!!! and I'm not as good at it as I want to be. Life happens (jobs, kids, projects, etc...) and we drift apart. Today starts a renewed love (not lust) for her... and there is no way in hell I will allow anything to become a wedge between us!

While Gary happened to be the guy God used to get my attention today, (serious flag) I'm privileged to sit under the teaching of Bob Robbins every week. Bob did a series about fighting for relationships... tonight, I'm going to grab the notes from those talks and determine to love my family like I never have..... BETTER than I ever have.

Here is my challenge for you... If you are in a relationship that is falling apart, or has already busted, I dare you to ask God what you can do to repair it and give you a relationship high like you've never felt..... I dare you.......

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action.

Anyone see the target?

2009-03-02T14:50:00.000-06:00

Preparation is a big deal for me... most of the time. What I do at LifePoint (lead the band) I take very seriously.... and I pour everything I've got into it. In fact, I pour more than me into it... I borrow some others people's stuff to pour into it. Most Sundays I leave the church feeling like what we did was pleasing to God. Yesterday, I was just ticked! At who? Me! I prepared harder for this Sunday than several others, and I still feel like I missed the target... In fact, I could not even find the target. It just did not seem to me that the musical piece of the day connected anyone with God.... maybe it seems that way to me because I didn't connect.....

Here is the beautiful grace of God.... It has nothing to do with me, or the band, or Bob, or Kyle, or Dan, or the Tech team, or the LifeKids volunteers, or the Nursery volunteers, or the hospitality team, or the bla bla bla..... God is huge and meets people where they are!

God, thanks for being YOU! I love you and will talk to You later.

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action.

The Round

2009-02-26T10:15:00.000-06:00

A couple weeks ago we created a different, intimate environment at LifePoint. We set the band and Bob in the middle of the floor with the chairs arranged in a circle. We used a coffee house type worship set, an "unplugged" set. It was very cool! Bob talked about what we can do to extravagantly love Jesus.... here's the deal - go all in for your relationship with God. We did a new song by Fighting Instinct called Back To You. Everything we are doing is designed to create an opportunity to help people to find their way to Jesus.... and equally importantly, take steps toward Jesus. Listen...... Bob, the bands, Kyle, Dan, Lifekids leaders, Nursery workers, and all the people who lead different areas are not the people who will best impact the 65000 people in our communities that do not attend church at all (and probably do not engage God)..... YOU are the one who can get your coworker to think about giving God a shot.... YOU are the one who can get other students to think about God.... YOU are the one who can find creative ways to point people to Jesus at the store, the movies, the golf course, the mall..... The round was an intentional step to create an environment that helps people feel CONNECTED! Find ways to create an environment and opportunity to help people step toward God.

Live loud, live intentional, and love God and people with every word and every action.

Priorities

2009-02-25T22:07:00.000-06:00

I'm sure I'll never be too old to learn..... Something has hit me VERY HARD in the last week or so... I need to balance priorities. Tonight, right now, I'm doing what I should be doing.... Hanging out with Vange, Ashli, and Haley watching American Idol. So, I'm done blogging and will start snuggling!

Live loud, live intentional, and love God and people with every word and every action!

Freshman

2009-02-11T11:04:00.000-06:00

Ashli, my oldest daughter, is going into high school next year - YIKES! Vange and I had the pleasure of taking her to Freshman registration a couple nights ago. It was a pleasure because she has been invited into the Honors program. This registration was specifically for all the Honors program kids.... One thing that is very cool is that her circle of friends are all in the program. This is a beautiful and wonderful group of girls. Ashli has picked friends wisely, and these girls have great parents. During the registration part, the Vice Prinicpal was the person working with us. She began talking about college plans..... Ashli's not even in high school yet.... It was a very positive night and we are all excited to see where God steers us in life... Let the fun begin...

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action!

Sunday Morning

2009-01-15T17:18:00.000-06:00

I took a day off from leading worship a couple weeks ago. It was very cool to participate in the day and soak it all in! I went to church armed with 2 things: determination to take a step toward Jesus, and my camera. Here are some pics of what a Sunday morning at LifePoint looks like... (Next is a visit to Driven student ministries with a camera to capture Kyle's gang...)

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and People with every word and action!

Griffin's Eyes

2009-01-09T13:36:00.000-06:00

Griffin gets to go to Kindergarten later this year. The school district requires an eye exam before enrollment.... So, a couple weeks ago, I got to take Grif to the Optometrist. He actually did great.

The doctor did a great job of keeping the exam playful. Griffin just turned 5, and he knows his letters already (most of the time). I was not sure how he would handle the visit. He got to "play" with all the cool equipment... so it was a good experience.

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action!

Wii Stinks

2009-01-07T09:00:00.000-06:00

I'm fairly athletic, fairly tech savvy, and have pretty good hand-eye coordination. So, the question is "Why can all 4 of my kids kick my butt in Wii games?" I have no answer..... Here is how game night with kids went last night...

Ashli (14) kicked my butt in Wii basketball (that was actually a few nights ago)
Haley (12) smoked me in Wii baseball
Dawson (6) beat me in Wii bowling
Griffin (5) killed me in Wii tennis

I did manage to win at Wii golf.... Even though I did a lot of losing, it was time well spent. My Dad always tells me "Son, look at your wife and children.... You're a millionaire my boy!" He is right... I'm so blessed!!

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action!

Very Personal

2009-01-05T09:36:00.000-06:00

Quick background.... The last few weeks of 2008 were a pain in the butt! I've been very agitated for several small reasons... my beautiful wife who I'm crazy about has mentioned several times how crabby I've been.....

Yesterday, we started a new series titled "You Don't Have What It Takes." Dan spoke about how we are not good enough on our own - but through our faith in Jesus we are able to have the "approval" of God. Part of my role at LifePoint is to design and lead the musical part of every Sunday, which I love doing. There were a couple of moments that became very personal for me during the music yesterday - While we were singing, there were several places that God got my attention:

As Long As I Have You - ... Let the walls around me crumble, let the wind and rain come through, I can face it all as long as I have You...

Blessed Be Your Name - ... Blessed be Your name when I'm found in the desert place, though I walk through the wilderness blessed be Your name...

Remedy - ... Here we are, the broken and used...... Here we are, the bandaged and bruised.... Here You are, our beautiful King, bringing relief....

Amazing Grace - ...Through many dangers toils and snares I have already come, twas grace that brought me safe this far, and grace will lead me home...

Several guys that I hang out with like to harass me if I tear up while on stage. You guessed it... the ole eyes were a bit watery yesterday.... Here is the neat part of that.... By design, the music that we do on Sundays should MOVE us in some way. It is not just warm up time before Bob, Dan, or Kyle step up to speak. I was glad that God's Spirit wrapped His arms around me yesterday, hugged me, and let me know to keep plugging away because He is in control and He loves me DEEPLY!

My friend, Emily, told me how much she identified with the Sanctus Real song, Whatever You're Doing. I'm finding that song more and more meaningful to me as days go by.....

(Verse)
It's time for healing time to move on
It's time to fix what's been broken too long
Time make right what has been wrong
It's time to find my way to where I belong
There's a wave that's crashing over me
All I can do is surrender

(Chorus)
Whatever you're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something heavenly

I'm so glad that the songs were very personal to me this week! Sunday morning music is never just a show, but I do find myself having my performance "game face" on to be able to effectively lead...... I gotta tell you though, it was refreshing to just melt is the presence of God!

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action!

Twas The Day Before

2008-12-24T09:36:00.000-06:00

Twas the day before Christmas and all in the office
People were working, all grumpy and scoffing
Last minute shopping and presents to wrap
Never made it to Santa to sit on his lap
Presents and in-laws, wrong sizes too
Somewhere in all of this we forgot about You!

Is that you're experience? Have you gotten so wrapped up in the busy stuff of Christmas that you've left Jesus out of the mix? Christmas is all about PRESENCE, not presents. Don't misunderstand... giving gifts is entirely appropriate... that's exactly what God did for us by giving us Jesus. I'm just saying that in all of our celebration, let's take effort to place priority on God's presence... Jesus - Emmanuel - God with us.

Recent Events and Stuff from my world:

Sunday night LifePoint partnered with Newsong to deliver a Christmas concert / story. During the show the band had a little break. I got to sit on the floor with Nick (one of Newsong's guitarists) and talk about what it looks like to have 2 very similar churches partner to behave in a KINGDOM MINDSET and give people an on ramp to experience Jesus.

Haley, my 12 year old daughter, has basically wrapped all of our family's gifts. This is a much bigger GIFT to Vange and I than Haley realizes.

Ashli, my oldest daughter, just turned 14. She got a laptop for her birthday and she is super pumped!

My boys, Dawson - 6 and Griffin - 5, finished up shopping for Vange last night. They really enjoyed shopping cart surfing! (Does that make me a bad Dad or a cool Dad?)

Vange has recently learned to text message on her cell phone..... Several days lately she has sent a quick text to me asking how I'm doing. It is the words she finishes the text with that makes me feel warm and fuzzy: I LUV U. There is something wonderful about seeing that pop up on my phone.

Last thing - I would love as many of you as possible to reply to this question:
If you were to actually give Jesus a present this year, what would it be?

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and People with every word and every action!

I'm Crazy About You Jesus

2008-12-16T08:58:00.000-06:00

One of the coolest things I've had the privilege doing is teaching my kids God Stuff. My boys are 6 and 5, and when we pray together we always make sure we thank Jesus for stuff, ask Him for stuff, and ask forgiveness for stuff we did wrong. The prayer from all 3 of the James guys starts with this phrase: Jesus, I'm crazy about You. The boys thank Jesus for stuff like toys, warm PJs, trees, Batman..... the list goes on. They ask Jesus for stuff like helping Juan Encarnacion be able to see so he can play baseball again (google it), help Grandpa and Grandma get better, help us be able to roller skate better so we don't fall.... Some of this stuff may not seem all that "spiritual" to you, but my boys are engaging God in a very real and personal way. They are on their JOURNEY.

So, today's blog is just a simple prayer:
Jesus, You are incredible! Thanks for putting such wonderful people in my path. You continue to make provision for us. Thanks for continuing to wrap Your arms around me and tell me You love me..... even when I smack You in the face. Today I had an opportunity to shine Your light.... and I walked away. Forgive me for being lazy and putting my petty wants above Your purpose for me. I've got several hours left today - help me love You and love people. I'm going to open my eyes and follow the spotlight You are shining down the path You have for me. Love You - Talk to You later.

Side note - The Meyer lifegroup did manage to beat the James lifegroup in volleyball Sunday night. (I'll keep my thoughts about their team stacking strategies to myself... :-) ((Actually it was a lot of fun - Steve and I tried an intimidation technique that failed miserably - we dressed up like women.... UGLY women.))

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and People with every word and every action.

Is that a STICK in your nose?

2008-12-04T20:39:00.000-06:00

Wow... I just noticed that it has been a month since I last blogged.... I'm a SLACKER! OK - on to recent events. The stick thing? Close your eyes and follow along..... I was taking care of a lawn client a few days ago... I have one of those shredder/vacs that mulches leaves into an attached bag. I was bending down and lunging under some branches on a small tree when one of the branches got caught in my hearing protection headset. When I moved, the pencil sized stick jammed up my nose. As my reflex jerked my face away from the tree, the stick broke off.... IN MY NOSE. I had about 3 inches of stick hanging out of my nose..... OUCH! Uhhhh... no spiritual lesson here.... Sorry. (Yes, this is the 2nd blog in a row dealing with nose stuff...)

Next item - My LOVELY wife who I am totally in love with..... happenedtodriveourminivanofftheroadandcausemuchdamage. Since our minivan was suffering, we sent it to Mexico to be enjoyed by another family (we sold it at an auction.) In our search for another mini van, we entertained the idea of an SUV instead. We went to a local dealer to look at a used van, and noticed a Ford Expedition sitting there. I found one of these SUVs on line that was for sale by owner in St Peters, MO (about an hour away from our house.) I had the bright idea to have my LOVELY wife who I am totally in love with TEST DRIVE the much newer and more expensive Expedition. Here's a quiz: Can anyone guess what is in my garage?

Next - cold weather sucks - enough said!

Next - Trixie is painting some VERY COOL waves on the walls in my boys' bedroom... it is going to be a beach theme...... Sweet!

Next - (serious moment) I am an unbelievably blessed man. My LOVELY wife who I am totally in love with is actually my best friend... and I fall for her a bit more every day. My 4 kids are very tight, a ton of fun, very smart, athletically gifted, and generally a delight to be with! I have a good job (not my favorite, but very comfortable). And last but not least, I get to partner with some incredible people at Lifepoint to help people in our communities want to pursue a relationship with God; Bob, John, Greg, Jeff, Kyle, Dan, Brandon, Chad, Lisa, Martha, Tammie, Nikki, Diane, David, Mike, Aaron, Josh, Alana, Steve, Kraig, Sam, and many others.... You all ROCK!

For those of you who pray.... the families of Lifepoint are being really hammered by a bunch of Satan stuff... Please remember us all in prayer. Also, The steel plant in Granite City is scheduled to temporarily close impacting about 3000 employees... several of these people call Lifepoint home. Pray for God's guidance and mercy.

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action!

Spiritual Lessons From Boogers

2008-10-31T09:11:00.000-05:00

One thing I have "experienced" as a soccer coach for 6 year old boys is that boogers are fascinating. Boys love picking their noses. What really grosses me out is when they pick the booger, stare at it on their finger for a minute, and then EAT IT! (This makes me want to blow chunks!) How can they think something so GROSS can be good????? I mean we parents and coaches KNOW that its wrong and disgusting! It seems like no matter how many times, or how many ways we try to instill in them that BOOGER EATING is BAD, they stop for a little while, but then return to their old ways.....

Shift gears with me.... Imagine God as our "Coach" and we are the players... eating boogers (whatever your gross habit is). God tries over and over, through many methods, to instill in us that our activity is disgusting. He is trying to help us live HUGE, without yukky stuff getting in the way.

Learn from the boogers..... Let's quit doing the things that disgust God (by the way, those "boogery" things are called SIN).

Live loud, live intentionally, live BOOGER FREE, and love God and people with every word and every action!

Windshield

2008-10-29T23:27:00.000-05:00

All I can say is thank God for windshields! I'm still driving my motorcycle to work every day. Yesterday morning, as I took off at 4:55 am for work, it was 29 degrees. At 70 mph that gets a bit chilly!! I recently installed a windshield on my bike. That knocks a bunch of airflow down.... OK - this may shock you if you have followed this blog for very long.... but I don't have any spiritual correlation for that tiny story.... yikes!

Life is good. Our Lifegroup is doing great. We are taking a scenic boat ride on the Mississippi River this Saturday... can't wait..... The leaves are supposed to be gorgeous this weekend. I'll post some pics.... Gettin' late and I get up early, so see ya later.

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action!

Starting Point

2008-10-20T01:48:00.000-05:00

Yes, it is 2 am... I'm working overnight tonight..... YUK!
Wow... it has been really hard to find a few minutes to blog.... Sorry! Tonight, LifePoint had a newcomers event called Starting Point. It was simply a dinner and informational session for people who are new to the LifePoint family. It was beautiful. There was some relationship building, some good food, and a time for Bob to share a bit about what LifePoint is about.

Other Stuff:
The boys soccer team I coach just finished our season... I'm very proud of how they have progressed as players and as sportsmen. They are 6 years old and learning how to have fun together and increasing soccer skills every week. (They happened to go undefeated...)

The political races are winding down. Do your part - take time to look at the candidates and what they stand for. Vote for the people you believe will help our communities and our nation take forward steps.

Saturday, one of the drummers at LifePoint, Chad, married his sweetheart, Emily. The wedding was short and beautiful. The reception was so much fun! A few notes from the events: Chad and Emily look great together and fit together like pieces of an incredible God-created puzzle. Ryan can DANCE! Despite all the guys lined up for the dollar dance with chad, I think he has proven that he is not gay..... Emily is a beautiful GIRL! Vange finally danced with me (it was a slow dance, but it counts.) Dan is VERY fond of ranch dressing. Chad's parents, Jeff and Lisa, are NOT afraid of the dance floor...... very entertaining. Robbie is Chad's Mini-Me. I got to hang with AE and Mrs Cope at the rehearsal dinner.

Last note for the day.... Brooke was in town today and busted me for not blogging. My family had the chance to quickly grab Orange sherbet with Kyle and Emily tonight. There are some people in life that I really enjoy hanging out with.... this couple is at the top of the list!

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action!

What did you do to Jesus?

2008-09-18T21:33:00.000-05:00

Sounds a bit scary doesn't it.... "What did you do to Jesus?" I recently had a chance to give a soccer ball to Jesus..... Uhhh He plays soccer? Yep! And rumor has it He's pretty good.....

OK, here's the deal. There is a boy on our soccer team who told me his soccer ball fell victim to the family dog. Since the guys have to bring their ball to practice, this caused him a bit of a problem. His family tries very hard to balance the income they have, and with 4 kids coupled with hurdles that life throws at them, they have to be careful on spending. I did not hear God with my ears, but I could "hear" Him on the inside... you know... in my heart - my soul. The Bible verses from Matt 25 kept coming to my mind. Here it is from The Message:

32 Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, 33 putting sheep to his right and goats to his left. 34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. 35 And here's why: I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, 36 I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.' 37 "Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? 38 And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' 39 40 Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me - you did it to me.' 41 "Then he will turn to the 'goats,' the ones on his left, and say, 'Get out, worthless goats! You're good for nothing but the fires of hell. 42 And why? Because - I was hungry and you gave me no meal, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was homeless and you gave me no bed, I was shivering and you gave me no clothes, Sick and in prison, and you never visited.' 44 "Then those 'goats' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn't help?' 45 "He will answer them, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me - you failed to do it to me.' 46 "Then those 'goats' will be herded to their eternal doom, but the 'sheep' to their eternal reward."

So there was a kid who needed a soccer ball. When I obeyed what I felt prompting me to do (by the way, that is one of the really neat functions of God's Holy Spirit), it was as if I was treating Jesus with kindness. You could say "Jesus, when did you ever go without a soccer ball?" His reply would be "When you hooked up #*&$ with that ball, you were taking care of ME."

So, what did YOU do to Jesus this week?

Live loud, live intentionally, and Love God and People with every word and every action.

Violation

2008-09-10T22:20:00.000-05:00

I'm having a bit of trouble trying to think Christ-like thoughts today...... My thoughts are more along the lines of "the gun is loaded, right?" I got a call from Vange today while I was at work stating that someone had broken into our home and stolen our laptop. I was a "bit" fired up!

OK, here's the good news: The laptop that was stolen was NOT my MAC, which houses my LIFE! The MAC was sitting on the counter literally 3 feet from the machine that was taken. There was no super important data on the stolen machine. 2 Dan's checked on me tonight..... Dan C lives in my neighborhood and came to my house to tell me that his wife saw 3 suspicious guys in the neighborhood today, and that she could ID them if needed. We talked for a while and I just felt like he CARED. Dan M called me and offered to help me repair any broken doors, locks, windows, or whatever got tore up. This guy has proven MANY time what a friend is!

So, in trying to notice God in all the details of everyday life, I tried to think about any God connection from this event. Besides the guys who displayed genuine compassion, there was another thought. The big deal about our house being broken into was a feeling of violation. I had to do a quick recap of how that made me feel and how I wanted to react. In the grand scheme of life, this was a pretty minor issue. So, how did Jesus feel as He was betrayed and brutalized for us? Talk about VIOLATION! And the bigger question... how did He react? In all the mess His attitude was "Father, forgive them. They don't even realize the gravity of their actions...."

We have friends that have recently, or are facing now some big "violations"..... Doctor reports of cancer, marriages that are being torn apart, theft, unwelcome career changes..... the list goes on. What is the answer? I don't completely know. Here is what I've decided to..... WORSHIP - MY REACTION TO WHO GOD IS AND WHAT HE HAS DONE. He continues to provide for my family, He continues to protect us, He continues to give us favor in so many areas....

Live loud, live intentionally, and love GOD and People with every word and every action.

No Socks

2008-09-03T22:35:00.000-05:00

That's right... no need to wear socks this Sunday at LifePoint. We are finishing the FANATIC series... and we are going to use some HIGH ENERGY music to move toward God.... and possibly blow socks off. :-) There is a band named DecembeRadio.... and they have a song titled Live and Breathe. Check out this chorus:

I live and breathe for you
there's nothing I wouldn't do
I live to worship you
I'd walk a thousand miles
oh just to see you smile
I live to worship I live to worship you

I think about all the things that I give my energy to... what do I worship? Is it my career... no. Is it my family.... close. Is it my motorcycle... nope. Is it LifePoint.... nah.

Bob made 2 statements Sunday about worship:

Worship is what we value greatly and how that decision affects our lives.
Worship is responding to who God is and what He has done.

So the question is what do I (you) value greatly and how am I (are you) responding to God. There's nothing wrong with having important things in life. Our responsibility is to make sure they do not become more important than God. See Exodus 20:3.

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and People with every word and every action.

Hello? Hellllloooo?

2008-08-25T21:47:00.000-05:00

Blogging has been a bit sparse lately for me...... Schedule changes are making time to blog a bit tough.... Hopefully I can blog 3 times a week.... that's my goal for the next few months... I'm sure all 4 of you appreciate that.....

So, the latest developments.... Griffin started preschool last week - yes, Vange cried!

Lifepoint spent yesterday at a local gas station serving the community and paying 50 cents for every gallon of gas that customers bought. It was an incredible experience.

Camping - finally we are taking the family camping... we are going to have a blast!

Olympics - I'm already having withdrawal symptoms..... All I can say is the USA rocks! What were your favorite sports to watch? We were hooked on Volleyball, Swimming, and Gymnastics. There were a bunch of cool events though... Kayaking? very cool! Soccer? Gotta love it. Probably my biggest surprise sport that I really enjoyed was Water Polo.

Until next time...

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

Vacation

2008-08-05T20:42:00.000-05:00

I'm blogging from Cocoa Beach, FL. The family is having a great time. Dawson and Griffin got out of the car Sunday afternoon and ran full speed to the ocean.... They did not even think about putting on a swimsuit. Ashli and Haley are loving the waves. We went across the street and bought body boards (boogie boards) for all the kids. Vange is in Heaven just hanging on the beach. Aunt B (my sister) came with us and is enjoying the escape from everyday life... I got to go to THE Ron Jon Surf Shop today and bought a Skim Board.... Of course I had to get back to the beach and try it. All I can say is I'm an excellent Skim Boarder!! (OK - that translates into "I finally rode it a few feet without falling") Sea World was sweet! .... Here are a few pics:

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action.

Anyone Seen My Girls?

2008-07-29T06:27:00.000-05:00

The house is a bit too quiet. My girls, Ashli and Haley, left for a week long camp yesterday. I know they are going to have a ton of fun, but I already miss them. Dawson, my 6 year old son, said "Well it's just the guys now." So I asked him "What about Mom?" He replied "It's just the guys and 2 girls... Mom and Daisy." Daisy is our Golden Reteiver puppy.

For those of you who are very used to having certain people in your life every day, it is a very empty feeling when they are suddenly gone. God has done an incredible job of wiring us for companionship. I feel very blessed to have such a great family. I can't wait for my girls to get home!

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and People with every word and every action.

Good People

2008-07-25T06:15:00.000-05:00

Think about all the people you connect with every week. I'm sure some of them may make you snarl.... others may make you smile..... others may generate very little reaction. Be careful.... our whole purpose is to love God and love people! (It seems I've seen that printed somewhere else......)

I was thinking about people in my life and several of them make me smile. There is a guy named Brandon who is a worship leader at LifePoint church. I'm finding that Brandon is a guy who thinks thoroughly through everything he does and is willing to do whatever it takes (sometimes on very short notice) to help people connect with God. There is a lady named Kate. She is my boss at AT&T. Kate is a great leader and takes very appropriate control of situations and projects. She is very positive in her daily approach to business. Bob is a guy who appreciates a good scooter. He also happens to drive LifePoint Church and is a catalyst for helping people step toward God. There is a guy named Lee. He is my dad and has taught me so much about life. Phyllis is my mom. She did anything she needed to to keep me in line.... including whoopin' me with whatever happened to be handy (tennis rackets, sweeper handles, etc....) Dan is a guy I trust to give me spiritual guidance and general life advice. He is also fun to hang out with at Applebee's. I do have to teach him a few things about mowing grass though.... :-) Rick is a guy who made some contacts that enabled me to get my job with AT&T. Sam and Jodi are friends and neighbors that are great people in general and help shuttle my kids to school and swimming. Vange is my sweetheart. She is my soul mate. She is the balance for me in life. A man named Jesus became God wrapped in a normal human body and came to this Earth to teach me about life to the fullest. He gave it ALL for me.

CONNECT with people - it is the legacy you will leave.

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and People with every word and every action.

Big God Stuff

2008-07-23T06:29:00.000-05:00

YEAH BABY!!!!! (Imagine a screaming cheering crowd... maybe at a football game and our team just scored in overtime to win...) God just scored HUGE... kickin' some disease butt! Here is the basic scoop:

We have some friends (by friends I mean a family that we met a year or so ago and have been steadily building a very meaningful relationship with them) that have had their share of adversity in life. Most recently, one of them was faced with a potentially life threatening physical issue. After a few anxious days waiting for test results, the doctors confirmed God's handy work - All is well!

Psalms 103
103:2
My whole being, praise the Lord and do not forget all his kindnesses.
103:3
He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.

Isaiah 53
53:4
But he took our suffering on him and felt our pain for us. We saw his suffering and thought God was punishing him.
53:5
But he was wounded for the wrong we did; he was crushed for the evil we did. The punishment, which made us well, was given to him, and we are healed because of his wounds.

I can not explain all of God's decisions about healing. Honestly, I get frustrated by good, Godly people suffering from disease. Here is what I know... God is able to heal... period. Sometimes He does it supernaturally, sometimes He uses medical professionals that He has blessed with the gift of healing, sometimes healing takes place when He takes us home to Heaven.

Today is a day of celebration! God, You are magnificent! Thanks for wrapping your arms around us!

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and People with every word and every action!

Fast Cars

2008-07-22T06:47:00.000-05:00

Man, dem sum faast cers! Translation - Man, those are some fast cars. Saturday night, Haley and I went to the Nascar Nationwide race in Madison. (We drug Kyle along with us too.) It was very cool. I found myself wanting to drive a fast car...... That may be a problem since I don't own a fast car... I don't even own a "peppy" car... Rats! The night was certainly entertaining. The knucklehead next to Kyle wanted to pick a fight over who was sitting in what seat... (I don't normally bet, but I would have bet a LOT that Kyle would not have lost his seat.) That situation fizzled quickly when the knucklehead looked at his ticket again and saw his seat assignment. Then there was the girl in front of us who apparently had just got some new tattoos strategically placed on the top front of her body. She felt the need to show them off to everyone. Another girls in front of us was lying down across the seats.... apparently the heat was too much for her.

OK, aside from that nonsense, the race was sweet! Cars buzzing by at 160+ MPH is an adrenaline rush! There were a few crashes, one was bad enough to force a few cars to be towed off the track - noone hurt though. I really enjoyed the night. My favorite part was seeing Haley smile!

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and People with every word and every action.

Lessons Learned

2008-07-15T06:20:00.000-05:00

Have you ever had those AH-HA moments when the light flipped on in your head and there was a lesson learned. Come on... remember when you learned that sticking something metal in the outlet was a bad idea? Remember when you learned that your friends are not perfect... and they even tick you off sometimes? How about when you realized that your parents actually are fairly smart? Spiritual moment warning: How about learning what a huge sacrifice God made by allowing His Son to be tortured for us? (By the way, I'm not God - and if anyone ever comes after Ashli, Haley, Dawson, Griffin, or Vange, I will take them out!)

OK, OK... My big lesson for this week has been "Make sure you accurately evaluate the other Lifegroup's athletic ability in kickball BEFORE you talk trash about whoopin' them." Sunday night, 2 of the lifegroups (small groups) from LifePoint got together and played kickball and had ice cream. Sadly, after I trashed talked Dan's group, my group lost.... by just a run or two...... or twenty - who was counting..... It was a ton of fun, even with the loss. Kyle and Emily (LifePoint's Youth Pastors) came and hung out with us and brought some friends from Texas with them... Nick and Lacey were unfortunately on the losing end of the game.

Alright, enough of that... Next week we are kicking Dan's group's butts in DODGEBALL! Oh yeah baby... bring it on! (Apparently I'm slow to learn lessons..... and, I can't promise that we are actually getting together with them next week......)

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action.

Bad Driver

2008-07-10T13:32:00.000-05:00

A few nights ago I went to a swim meet and parked my motorcycle in a a row with some other bikes. When we came out of the pool area, we found a few of the bikes had been knocked over. After a bit of investigation, it appears that some talent challenged driver hit the first bike and they "dominoed" from there.... mine was in the middle. Fortunately, my Shadow suffered very little damage. I'm going to another swim meet tonight in the same city.... please pray for my bike's safety!! :-) Paddlers Pirates ROCK!

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and People with every word and every action!

Variety

2008-07-09T11:24:00.000-05:00

This weekend at LifePoint we are going to spend a few minutes adoring God with an acoustic set of songs. We are taking a Rock-N-Roll breather. Psalms 150 says to praise God with all kinds of instruments.... so we are going to use everything we can find..... the message of Christ is worth all of our creative effort!

Check out Psalms 150 from The Message

Psalms 150

1 Hallelujah! Praise God in his holy house of worship, praise him under the open skies; 2 Praise him for his acts of power, praise him for his magnificent greatness; 3 Praise with a blast on the trumpet, praise by strumming soft strings; 4 Praise him with castanets and dance, praise him with banjo and flute; 5 Praise him with cymbals and a big bass drum, praise him with fiddles and mandolin. 6 Let every living, breathing creature praise God! Hallelujah!

Wherever you are, whatever day it is, praise God with all you got (borrow some if you need to... :-)

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and People with every word and every action.

Holy Crap!

2008-07-08T16:46:00.000-05:00

I've been going to church a long time. A few years ago, the Pastor of a church I went to asked if anyone had a testimony (open floor time for people to stand and tell something cool that God did.) A teenage girls stood up and told her story. She was very new to a relationship with God. She wrapped her story up by making the statement "I can't believe that God puts up with all my crap and loves me just the way I am!" All of the air was sucked out of the room as people gasped.... Several people made it very apparent that saying CRAP in the house of God was wrong. She was embarrassed and felt very awkward. When she left that day her primary thought was one of discomfort.

Fast forward a few years in another church setting.... A five year old girl sat and listened to the story of Jesus feeding 5000 people with just a couple fish and few loaves of bread. In the middle of the story, after hearing the amazing details, his young girls blurts out "HOLY CRAP!" Everyone chuckled a bit, and the teacher reinforced the girl's reaction by saying "that's probably what everyone there at the time thought too." This girl left that day with a primary thought of amazement and trying to figure out how Jesus did that.

Here is the question..... What will it take - what does Jesus have to do for you to have a HOLY CRAP moment? Tonight, go out and look at the sky... all the stars.... He named every one. Think back and find a time in your life when something incredible happened and you wondered how it could be. Over the coming weeks, look for times in life that you know God puts His hand on the wheel and drives the situation. Be amazed!

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and People with every word and every action.

Stunts Gone Wrong

2008-07-03T13:55:00.000-05:00

How many of these have YOU tried??

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action

Paddlers Pirates

2008-07-02T11:33:00.000-05:00

We belong to a swim club called Paddlers. 3 of my 4 kids swim for the club. Last night was our last home meet! Good stuff. Imo's pizza is always a tradition after a swimm meet.... What are your tradition? Hope you are building family memories - it is time well spent!

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action.

Simple Pleasures

2008-06-30T06:31:00.000-05:00

Life is so busy and hectic that it hard sometimes to slow down and enjoy some simple things. This weekend was not necessarily slow, but it was very enjoyable. Friday night was guys night... I took my boys, Dawson and Griffin, to the pool and just had some fun.... of course we had soft pretzels and slushees. Saturday night some friends and I went to see Rush in concert.... wow - the boys can still rock! Sunday night our Lifegroup (a small group of LifePoint people who get together every week) hung out at Jeff and Jaime's house. Not only did we have some great conversation, but the kids all had fun in the pool.... Greg brought the "instigator" toys (squirt guns)... so the kids opened fire on us..... What a beautiful gift from God to have such wonderful friends and an incredible family!

James 1:17
Every good action and every perfect gift is from God. These good gifts come down from the Creator of the sun, moon, and stars, who does not change like their shifting shadows.

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and people with every word and every action.

Water Everywhere

2008-06-27T06:49:00.000-05:00

We live near St Louis, MO. With all the rain we've had, and the rain North of us, we are haviong major flooding issues. This morning on the news I heard another story of a levee breach. The community of Winfield is now literally running for their lives (they actually have a few hours to evacuate).

The destruction is UGLY!

Water can be a source of so much positive... even a source of life. But it can also destroy. (Side note - our attitudes / behaviors have the same potential.) Please keep these families and communities in your prayers. It's a trying time - let's stick together.

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God and People with every word and every action.

Unity

2008-06-24T06:58:00.000-05:00

u·ni·ty (yōō'nĭ-tē) n. pl. u·ni·ties

The state or quality of being one; singleness.
The state or quality of being in accord; harmony.
Singleness or constancy of purpose or action; continuity: "In an army you need unity of purpose" (Emmeline Pankhurst).

What can we do when we are united? The answer is CHANGE THE WORLD. Unity is very important and is addressed several times throughout the Bible. Check out this passage:

Philippians 2

1 Does your life in Christ give you strength? Does his love comfort you? Do we share together in the spirit? Do you have mercy and kindness? 2 If so, make me very happy by having the same thoughts, sharing the same love, and having one mind and purpose. 3 When you do things, do not let selfishness or pride be your guide. Instead, be humble and give more honor to others than to yourselves.

I unfortunately have been experiencing some lack of unity lately in some of my social circles. My goal is to be a catalyst for creating/maintaining unity.

This weekend at LifePoint ( a great place for winners and losers to connect with God) we are launching a new song from Sanctus Real called Sing. Check out the chorus:

Sing oh sing With one voice how sweet it will be When we sing oh sing One church under one King and we will sing

One! Unity!

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

Olympics

2008-06-19T11:49:00.000-05:00

The 2008 Summer games will be starting in less than 2 months. I watch very little TV, but the Olympics is something I really enjoy watching. In celebration of the games, take a peek at these Olympic bloopers... some of these made me grimace...

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

Shadow

2008-06-17T10:24:00.000-05:00

Well I am pretty excited... I sold my Kawasaki recently, and about a week ago I bought a Honda Shadow Aero. All I have is the stock photo at this point.... But I'll take a bunch of pictures eventually. I'm on a mission to get all the guys at LifePoint to get bikes... there are about 7 or 8 of us that have bikes already. We are trying to organize a ride day in the next couple of weeks. I'll post details and if any of you live near us in the St Louis area and want to go, come on out.

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

Which Way

2008-06-16T21:40:00.000-05:00

I heard something this weekend that really bugs me.... In a street interview, there was a guy who said something about a bunch of different religions and they are all right. Say WHAT?? Uhhh.... NO - they're NOT all right. Let me paint a quick picture... I live near St Louis, MO. Let's say God lives in Chicago... (probably not, because the Cubs are there and God and Evil don't mix...) But, for the sake of our story, God is in Chicago. There are several roads in St Louis... Int 55 will take me to Chicago, Int 57 will take me there too. But, if I jump on Int 44, I'm going away from Chicago. Int 70 won't get me there either..... Those roads will take you somewhere... maybe even some good places.... but they don't get to "God." If you want to connect with God, you must choose the right road... follow Jesus... period. Proverbs 14:12 says this: Some people think they are doing right, but in the end it leads to death. Be careful which road you take... make sure it leads to God.

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

For the Married People

2008-06-13T14:14:00.001-05:00

How much effort are we putting into our relationship with our spouse? (OK guys, this is for us...) Take a look at what God says about wives...

Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.

Ephesians 5:28 In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they love their own bodies. The man who loves his wife loves himself.

Proverbs 18:22 He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord.

Proverbs 31:10 A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.

Hebrews 13:4 Marriage should be honored by everyone, and husband and wife should keep their marriage pure. God will judge as guilty those who take part in sexual sins.

I just read a story about a guy named Michael Sweet, whose wife was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer. The doctors basically had no hope for her. Michael has been evaluating and focusing on how much she means to him. The cool thing is that God has done what no one else could.... wipe her body clean of disease! I'm sure Michael placed very high value on Kyle (his wife) BEFORE this ordeal... but how much more does he appreciate God's gift of her now...... Guys, don't let a tragedy or a threatening time in life be the only thing that causes you to HAVE, HOLD, and CHERISH her until God takes you home! I gotta go - I need to express to Vange what she means to me!

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

Good Tunes

2008-06-12T14:12:00.000-05:00

I was searching for a song from Boston called Peace of Mind on You Tube the other day. I ran into this live clip featuring Michael Sweet (of Stryper) doing the lead vocals for this Boston tune. I also found out that Michael is doing this summer's tour with Boston as the front man. Check this clip out:

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

God Doin' God Stuff

2008-06-11T13:39:00.000-05:00

This weekend at LifePoint we are introducing a new song - Broadcast by Steve Fee. The chorus says this:

We're gonna broadcast all over the world

That You are God and You are good

It's great to hear reminders of how good God is. A good friend of mine told me this story Monday night. His wife had taken their daughter to a camp in Southern Illinois. On her way back, she had chosen to take a different route. The "normal" route that she would have taken would have put her in dangerous situation driving through a town where a tornado had touched down... she would have been driving through at the same time the tornado was "visiting".

You may see this as coincidence.... I choose to believe that God has his hand on this family and steered her from danger! So, maybe your question is why didn't God protect everyone in that town? Good question..... one I can't answer... (maybe they are all Lakers fans.... :-)

For me and my friend's families, it will be easy to sing this weekend.... You are God and You are good!

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

Dusty

2008-06-10T12:38:00.000-05:00

I was moving my office today from one building to the building next door. It scared me a bit how much dust there was on the desk... you know, the places that you don't really bother to clean often.... under the PC, the back of the monitor, under all the cables that are piled on the desk.... I had a great physical revelation that could easily hold spiritual significance.... We can not afford to "clean" only the places that are highly visible. Those other places are real and important and the ugliness shows through when things are moved around or shaken up..... I'm going to think about that for a while.... Later Gators

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

Project Completion

2008-06-09T11:22:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who starts projects and does not finish them.... Bad habit... I've heard that in general, men are more prone to this than women. So, tonight I'm going to FINISH fixing the shower, and hopefully reseed the back yard (with straw this time...). Yesterday at LifePoint we talked about asking God to make us willing to do whatever it takes to change the world.... If we are honest, the best place to start changing the world is in our own homes, on our streets, in our office, in our classroom..... in the places where we have an influence. One of the hurdles to accomplishing world change is laziness.... While I'm far from lazy, I'm not a great time manager. So, this point about being lazy grabbed my attention and made me want to focus on taking effort to complete what I start (opposite of lazy.) What is it that you need to give more attention to? Do what you do with all you got!

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

Singing Chipmunks

2008-06-04T21:19:00.000-05:00

OK, I must admit that I really hate "Alvin And The Chipmunks", but my boys love it! So... what do the guys do when Mommy and the Sisters are out of town.... and we just got back back from the pool???? Grab some snacks and watch Alvin And The Chipmunks. The time spent with Dawson and Griffin is INVALUABLE! ... and Daisy is hangin' with us too... This is what it looks like when the guys are chillin' with the Chipmunks....

On a side note... since I sold my Kawasaki motorcycle this past weekend, I've been on a mission to find a new (at least new to me) one. I've test driven a few and liked them... but have not fallen in "love" with one yet........ So, I'm off to check Craig's List.... Later Gators

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

Just What I Needed

2008-06-03T10:02:00.000-05:00

How many times have you been at a place in life when something happened or someone did something for you and you thought "that is just what I needed"? I've lost count of the stories I've heard about something Bob said at LifePoint that really hit home for someone, or a day when one of the songs was a comfort or confirmation for someone. Church is a great environment for events like that..... Maybe you had this happen outside of the church..... maybe a coworker gave you a compliment that just set the tone for the day... maybe you got an unexpected refund check.... maybe your husband / wife finally let their guard down so you could get past some tough relational barriers, maybe you got TURNED DOWN for that job you really wanted... (only to get a much better offer a short time later), maybe you got on the scale this morning and finally got to your desired weight, maybe that guy or that girl showed some interest in you, maybe that physical pain you've been living with has subsided (that's called healing and it's some of God's neatest work)....... The list goes on and on. Think about this... how many times have YOU been just what someone else needed? The more we move toward God, the more He moves toward us.... and I'm convinced He uses us for more and more incredible moments in the lives of others.

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

All Guys Week

2008-06-02T13:35:00.000-05:00

Dawson, Griffin, and I kicked the girls (Vange, Ashli, and Haley) out for the week! Actually, they went to youth camp..... So, what are the plans? We are going to stay up late, eat nothing but junk food, lay around in our underwear and watch sports, make chocolate shakes every night...... you know - GUY STUFF! OK, I can't back that up..... We ARE going to have fun... take Daisy (the only girl left in the house) for walks, read a few Bible stories, there will be a chocolate shake or 2 made, ride bikes, play baseball, and talk to God like He is our best friend! Oh... and I almost forgot... we're going to wax the new Harley... (at this point, I'm wishfully thinking...)

Live loud, live intentionally, (hug your kids), and love God / Family / and friends with every word and every action!

Weekend Fun

2008-05-30T09:24:00.000-05:00

One of the huge blessings in my life is to have a chance to have some family time on the weekends. There are so many things we like to do... but don't always get to do them all. We have a really nice park with a 1.25 mile walking path... Daisy (our Golden Retriever) loves walks around the park. The boat is always a hit... we love skiing and tubing (gas prices put a bit of a damper on this activity...) Six Flags is always fun.... Volleyball outside... Motorcycle rides....

Take some time to enjoy family time this weekend...

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

Brain Teaser - Answer

2008-05-28T13:39:00.000-05:00

First, the waiter stuck the match into the lemon wedge, so that it would stand straight. Then he lit the match, and put it in the middle of the plate with the lemon. Then, he placed the glass upside-down over the match. As the flame used up the oxygen in the glass, it created a small vacuum, which sucked in the water through the space between the glass and the plate. Thus, the waiter got the water into the glass without touching or moving the plate.You can try this experiment at home with appropriate supervision.

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

Brain Teaser

2008-05-28T13:30:00.000-05:00

A man in a restaurant asked a waiter for a juice glass, a dinner plate, water, a match, and a lemon wedge. The man poured enough water onto the plate to cover it."If you can get the water on the plate into this glass without touching or moving this plate, I will give you $100," the man said. "You can use the match and lemon to do this."A few minutes later, the waiter walked away with $100 in his pocket. How did the waiter get the water into the glass?

I'll post the answer tomorrow.....

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

Weekend

2008-05-27T14:12:00.000-05:00

Memorial Day weekend was pretty nice (except for the abundance of rain.) THANK YOU to all the military who help make this country the incredible place it is.

We took the family to Six Flags Saturday and had a blast. We went out to eat a few times, including Orange Sherbert at Dairy Haven in Caseyville. The kicker was getting some BIG projects done around the house..... leveled / fertilized / seeded the back yard (Thanks Kyle and Jeff), and totally cleaned out and organized the garage. (This makes a wife happy :-) Of course, there was some grillin.... Thanks Greg! Hope you had a great weekend too.

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

Being Christ-Like

2008-05-23T10:01:00.000-05:00

I'm super pumped about a story I heard a few days ago. The short version is this....

One of the LifePoint people (who happens to be connected in a Lifegroup) had some friction with another family because their kids were not gelling well. There was some misunderstanding that resulted in some harsh words. The LifePointer I'm talking about took the effort later to make a call and make sure the tension was eased. It's this kind of action that indicates a person's desire to be Christ-like.

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

Cook The King

2008-05-22T12:24:00.000-05:00

David Cook - the rocker from Blue Springs, Missouri is the American Idol! Sweet! To all the broken-hearted Teeny Boppers out there... Na na na na na! OK, just between us... even though I wanted and predicted that Cook would win, I was just sure that the judges had swayed America to put Archuleta on top. But, the better man ended up winning. So, who was your favorite of the top 12? Cook was at the top for me from early on... Of course, Kristi Lee Cook was way up there too.... primarily because she is beautiful! I asked Vange if I could put Kristi on my list of girls I plan to marry some day... her reply was simply "Whatever..." Hope you enjoyed AI this season.

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

David Who?

2008-05-20T22:24:00.000-05:00

We set Tivo for American Idol and are just sitting down to watch. I'm just sayin... David Cook is gonna SMOKE David Archuleta... That's my prediction. Alright kids... Let's see what they brought...... Anyone got a prediction?

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

Talkin' Trash

2008-05-19T09:38:00.000-05:00

Last night, the Lifepoint family had our first picnic. Since we run 3 identical services every Sunday, it's hard for people to meet others and build relationships. The picnic was sweet! There was ALL kinds of food..... pork steaks, brats, burgers, hot dogs, and every side dish and dessert you can imagine. There were a bunch of games going on too. There was a kickball game, some washers, bocca ball???, a soccer goal for the little ones, a playground, a monster hill that the kids rolled down, basketball hoops, and my personal favorite..... volleyball. (I'm sure Bob will post some pics on his blog...)

We had a little "30 and over" versus "the young punks" volleyball game. I was not sure how the game would turn out, but (in faith) I started the trash talkin'. I am (unfortunately) in the 30 and over group. Every time one of the "punks" missed a ball or hit it out, I promptly shouted out "You are our best player!" Side note: I'm not really sure if Jesus trash talked when he played games..... I may need to ask for forgiveness..... Of course, the 30 + group whooped the punks... twice.

If you don't live near Glen Carbon, IL or if you're not part of the Lifepoint family, all I can say is I'm sorry... you are missing out. We are a bunch of ordinary people who are collectively connected to the extraordinary God! I look forward to many meaningful long-term relationships with a bunch of Lifepointers....

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

Quality Control

2008-05-16T09:18:00.000-05:00

Every week I assemble a pack for each band member at Lifepoint and deliver them to everyone. Included in the pack is an audio CD of the songs we are doing that week, a Notes page, a Set List, and the actual Charts for each song. I'm usually very thorough in my accuracy in designing and facilitating the music each week. This week, however, I had to fire the Quality Control manager for the packs (of course... I AM the QC person..... so I fired myself...) We are doing a new song by Big Daddy Weave called FOR WHO YOU ARE. In my iTunes library I have 2 songs titled FOR WHO YOU ARE..... One by Big Daddy Weave and one by Hillsong. Guess which one I put on the disc.... You guessed it.... The one from Hillsong..... I intended to load the BDW song and the chart is for the correct song. Live and learn!

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

Find the word

2008-05-14T21:53:00.000-05:00

Alright.... that moment has come. You know... the moment all parents face.....I was trying to help Haley with a school project and got stumped.... The task was to find a word that starts with "e" and ends with "v". Anyone? Anyone?

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

Blessing In Disguise

2008-05-13T11:01:00.000-05:00

Have you ever been handed a situation in life that you dreaded, only to find out later that it was a huge benefit? Early in my professional career, I experienced a Reduction In Force (RIF) from McDonnell Douglas.... Basically I was let go. At the time, I was crushed. I took 2 different short-term jobs just to keep our family supported. After 4 interviews, and a 9 month process, I was hired at AT&T. When I look back, I can confidently say that I would not be near the salary that I'm at now, and I would still have double the drive time that I do now if I were still at McDonnell Douglas.

Here I am again - forced into a job (or place, or situation) that I'm not thrilled about (Kim, you know the pain...). Here is my attitude this time - "God, what part of YOUR story do I get to play through this situation?"

Early in his leadership at LifePoint, Bob spoke about the idea that God is always at work in our lives. We should be looking for Him in all kinds of situations. OK God, here we go... my trust is in YOU!

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

Cartoons

2008-05-08T09:58:00.001-05:00

I got a chance to hang with Dawson and Griffin last night and watch a little Scooby Doo. It made me think about all the cartoons I used to love as a kid.

Bugs Bunny
Tom and Jerry (which my boys love)
Flintstones
Jetsons
Batman (the boys dig this one too)
Schoolhouse Rock (LOVED the theme song)
Speed Racer (yes, I'm going to see the movie)

What are some of your favorites?

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

Idol Withdrawal

2008-05-07T13:14:00.000-05:00

I'm suffering... Tuesday nights have been filled with "Date Night" and American Idol. Last night I got neither... What a bummer. Tonight I plan to OD on AI.

Last night was pretty cool though because I got to go to my girls' soccer game. Of course, that was after mowing about 5 lawns.... After the game I finished assembling the music packs for the band at LifePoint and jumped on the motorcycle to deliver them. The ride was refreshing, but too late (since I get up at 4:45 am now....) It's all good!

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

Brown Baggin'

2008-05-06T11:14:00.000-05:00

Holy Cow.... I have not regularly taken my lunch to work ever in my life.... There has always been a day here and a day there, but never consistently. I started my new position at AT&T yesterday, and elected to only take 30 minutes for lunch. (The schedule is pretty sweet... 6 am - 2:30 pm) Yesterday I took a Bologna sandwich, and today it is Peanut Butter. I had to go to Wal-Mart last night and buy a new lunch box (they didn't have Batman... or Jimmie Johnson..... Bummer.) The soft lunch box I had was a bit difficult to bungee down to the back seat of my motorcycle. The new box works great. I'm now an official Brown Bagger. I hope 2 positives (besides being at work for 1/2 hour less) come from the 30 minute brown bag lunch... 1) Gonna save a few bucks... 2) Gonna lose a few pounds. We'll see.

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

Morning Person

2008-05-05T11:26:00.000-05:00

Well.... I'm not much of a morning person. I actually do most of my thinking / reading / music stuff, etc from about 9 pm til midnight. That's not workin' for me anymore... The alarm is set for 4:45 AM - YUK! My new position at AT&T starts at 6 am in downtown St Louis. There is an upside though... I'm done most days by 2:30. This should equate to more family time - Rock on! So, it looks like I'm becoming a morning person - against my will! I'm sure it will all work out fine.

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

TGI.....

2008-05-02T07:32:00.000-05:00

Thank God it's..... Friday? What about Sunday.... or Thursday? OK, I get it... Friday - the end of the work week.... But is that the only day we are thankful for? Last night (a Thursday night) I got to lay down with Dawson (my 5 yr old son) and just talk, laugh, pray, and simply enjoy some time together..... So, yesterday I was TGIT. Take today and be thankful.. Look for God's hand in what you do today.

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

Dat Boy Can PLAY

2008-04-30T14:36:00.001-05:00

I'm amazed at the ability and gift that some musicians have been given. Once in a while I get to cruise YouTube and listen to some incredible players. For you guitar enthusiests, this short clip showcases one of the best and most innovative guitar players ever - Steve Vai.

So, if you have a gift, honor God by honing that skill. (That's good advice for me too....)

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

Date Night - A chapter ends

2008-04-29T12:30:00.000-05:00

Well friends... tonight is a turning point for those of us who are part of Date Night (This is the cute little nickname our wives have given to the hangout time that Dan, Kyle, and I have every Tuesday night.) For several months (almost a year) we have been going to Applebee's in Edwardsville, IL for half price appetizers. (There is other legitimate Lifepoint business going on in E'ville first.... then it's snack time.) The biggest reason we have went to the same place every Tuesday night is Lauren. Lauren was the waitress that got stuck with us a few Tuesday nights in a row when we first started date night. Almost every Tuesday night since, we have hung out at Applebee's and hung out with her. We have all shared stories, dreams, bad decisions, talked about bowling alley fight strategies, and laughed a lot. We had a chance to hear her heart (breaking unfortunately) when her long term relationship with Chris crumbled. She has heard bits and pieces of Jesus stuff and Lifepoint stuff.... and heard us tell stories about our families.

This past Sunday, Bob and Kyle spoke about the importance and benefits of building relationships. One of the main ideas was that God became flesh through Jesus so He could "get" (understand) us. For people who follow Jesus, He lives in us.... Why? So people will have the chance to CONNECT with Jesus through a relationship with us.

Lauren, if you ever read this, understand one thing: God is crazy about you and He wants nothing more than to hold you and show you how to be HAPPY! (OK, I have to bring an extra dollar to date night tonight to put in the cry jar......)

Live loud, live intentionally, and love God / Family / and Friends (and the servers at Applebee's) with every word and every action.