Here We Snow

Ah... the first big snow of the season! They say we should be getting about 12" of snow through this round but we'll know for sure tomorrow morning.

I love snow but my sweet wife is a desert girl... she prefers the heat to the cold.

Hope all you locals stay safe!

Peace.

Wiggle Room

ABC News reported this week that the Wiggles, an energetic quartet of four Australian song-and-dance men who focus their act on toddlers, have in a single year become the richest performers in Australia. ABC reports their income at $45 Million this last year, surpassing entertainers such as Nicole Kidman, Russel Crowe and even AC/DC!

Unless you have kids this won't make any sense to you. Actually, I have kids and it still doesn't make sense to me.

Peace.

The Living Camera

Wow!! This will blow your mind!!! Who needs Google Earth!!

This is about an autistic man with a photographic memory and a gift for drawing. He flies over Rome and recreates the aerial view almost perfectly. Be amazed!

Peace.

What's Up Chuck?!

A shout out to my brother who turns 33 years-old today!

Happy Birthday Charlie!

Peace.

Attitude of Gratitude

Haven't blogged in a while... took a break to spend a little more time with my family this week. They are pretty amazing people! We spent a great day together this last Thursday. We shared a meal that my wife and kids all worked hard to prepare. It was fabulous! We then went to see a movie and since it was Thanksgiving day, we got the theater to ourselves... it was very cool. We topped the day off by having dessert with some good friends of ours. What a great day of thanks we shared together!

I guess posting about this kind of late just reminds me that giving thanks is not something that happens only at the holidays. An attitude of gratitude can be expressed 24x7. Thank you, God, for my family and for the blessings you have poured out on us!

Peace.

Neat-oh

neat  [neet] adjective, -er, -est
–adjective
1. in a pleasingly orderly and clean condition.
2. habitually orderly and clean in appearance or habits.
3. of a simple, pleasing appearance, style, design, etc.
4. cleverly effective in character or execution.
5. Slang. great; wonderful; fine.
6. clever, dexterous, or apt.
7. a nice way to say, "it's ok" or that something is lame.

Sarcasm is great! Not sure what I'm talking about? Get the rest of the picture here :)

Peace.

Song of the Week: Why Georgia

This weeks song of the week is coming a bit late. I've been contemplating cutting this part of my blog - what do you think?

This last weekend at The Orchard Ted talked about life with a purpose. He talked about the 'research' that Solomon did back in Old Testament times. Solomon found that life apart from God was meaningless, like chasing after the wind. If you didn't get to hear Ted's message, check out the podcast.

The music team and I performed the song Why Georgia by John Mayer. Here are a few of the lyrics:

I rent a room and I fill the spaces with
Wood in places to make it feel like home
But all I feel's alone
It might be a quarter life crisis
Or just the stirring in my soul

Either way I wonder sometimes
About the outcome
Of a still verdictless life

Am I living it right?
Am I living it right?
Am I living it right?
Why Georgia, why?

So what, so I've got a smile on
But it's hiding the quiet superstitions in my head
Don't believe me
When I say I've got it down

Everybody is just a stranger but
That's the danger in going my own way
I guess it's the price I have to pay
Still "everything happens for a reason"
Is no reason not to ask myself

If I am living it right
Am I living it right?

Part of the journey is understanding understanding you were made on purpose. Why were you made? Are you living the way you were designed to?

Peace.

Back in Mac!

A couple weeks ago, I officially became a Mac dude! I use to work for a company many years ago that used Macs almost exclusively, so it's been a while. The interface is pretty cool (better than it used to be) and this puppy flies! I've got the latest and greatest MacBook Pro with the Intel Core 2 Duo — which packs the power of two processor cores. Awesome!

Still picking up the tips and tricks to doing things the fast way and trying to migrate my usable data from my previous machine. I'll keep you posted on sme of the things I've learned along the way. But so far, I would recommend this bad boy to anyone!

Peace.

Intersection

As I was riding my motorcycle this morning on this beautiful Spring, I mean Fall day here in Chicagoland, I was thinking about intersections.

One path crossing another.
Lives crossing each other, possibly never to cross again.

What about other intersections?

You know, the person walking their dog that passes you on the street.
The person who takes your order at the restaurant you go to.
The voice on the speaker-box when you order your Starbucks to go.

So many places. So many people. So many intersections.

Ever wonder how one of these intersections might change one of those peoples lives just by how you interact with them?
How might it affect your life by how you interact with someone in an intersection?

Intersections can be dangerous and risky.
Sometimes we are afraid to spend too much time in an intersection for fear of getting hurt.
Sometimes we're too afraid to risk.

There are even times when our family lives become intersections that we don't spend enough time in.

Take a risk and spend some time in an intersection today. You never know how a life might be changed by an intersection today.

Peace.

Song of the Week: Dirty Laundry

This week at the Orchard we played the song Give A Little Bit originally by Supertramp but redone by the Goo Goo Dolls. Great tune and perfect for our talk about BiG! Impact. We talked about where this church has been, and how it is growing. We talked about how people could get involved right now. Give a little bit of your love, give a little bit of your time, give a little bit of your life...

I felt I had to break away from my normal this week with the song of the week. I couldn't help but think of the song Dirty Laundry by Don Henley of the Eagles. With the events this past week, this song matched up with the media antics that have taken place. Here are some of the lyrics;

I make my living off the evening news
Just give me something-something I can use
People love it when you lose,
They love dirty laundry

Kick em when theyre up
Kick em when theyre down
Kick em when theyre up
Kick em all around

Can we film the operation?
Is the head dead yet?
You know, the boys in the newsroom got a
Running bet
Get the widow on the set!
We need dirty laundry

Dirty little secrets
Dirty little lies
We got our dirty little fingers in everybodys pie
We love to cut you down to size
We love dirty laundry

Anyway, I know that Pastors have lots of eyes on them, but when others fall it isn't publicized. Do you ever wonder why?

Peace.

Song of the Week: Where The Streets Have No Name

This week, the Worship team and I sang the song Where The Streets Have No Name by U2. I was just thinking that it talks about having freedom - freedom to tear down walls that have been keeping me from being all God wants me to be, freedom to run, freedom to reach out and do something daring knowing that there is a possibility of being burned or hurt (and being ok with that).

I think the song has lots of different meanings and I know they wrote it probably about this place in Ireland where the streets are only numbers and you can tell someone's religion/monetary status by which side of the street they live on. But this song talks to me about being free to dare and take a chance... to go where people are hurting and lost. I may not know where yet or who, but I know there are lots of places and lots of people that are in need (faceless people and places that don't yet have names to me).

They're still building and burning down love - their hopes have been crushed and they need that hope rebuilt. When I go there I go there with you - we have to do this together. One person CAN make a difference but many people together can make a huge impact. It's all I can do - all I can do is to do something... to go.

On the Live in Boston DVD, Bono introduces the song from the more spiritual perspective, intoning to the audience, "What can I give back to God for the blessings he's poured out on me? I'll lift high the cup of salvation - a toast to God!", referencing Psalm 116:12-14 in The Message (Bible) translation.

Peace.

Trick or Treat!

Just a few pics of my wonderful kids and their homemade costumes this year. I love hanging out with this crew. It's times like this, just spending moments together having fun, that reality slaps you in the face... time is running away fast and they will never be this age again.

God thank you for the time we get to spend together and just enjoy life together! I am a blessed dad!

Peace.