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.

Fall Fun Fest 2006 - Part 2

We had a great time at the Fall Fun Fest at the Orchard on Sunday night! There was a crazy amount of people there - we estimate more than 600 kids and parents! Kathryn Egly and her crew did a fantastic job at putting this all together.

As the Creative Arts Director, I felt I would be doing a dis-service to my church family by not participating in the dress up activities. So, my wife and I dressed up as Incredi-Jones' and had fun!

I include the following picture only to help alleviate humiliation to be possibly dished out by others. I do have to wonder how superhero parents handle their keys, cell phones, wallets and cameras! :))

I do have to say though, my wife looked pretty HOT in a cape and boots ;)

Peace.

Fall Fun Fest 2006 - Part 1

All I have to say Scott is that you know you've reached some level of influence when people start dressing like you for Halloween :)

Great creative costume Bekah! Who would have guessed that Scott's "Beauty Salon" photo would make the costume racks this year!

Peace and fun.

Song of the Week: If Everyone Cared

Another great weekend at The Orchard! We've been in this series called BiG! and man has it been powerful! The stories and comments have been awesome. We've been talking about how big our God is and how a daring faith is not a domesticated faith - we've got to take some risks and get out of our comfort zone.

This week we used the song If Everyone Cared by Nickelback to emphasize BiG! Mission. Realizing that it's not about missions (where someone else does this in another country), it's about mission. And that acknowledging the mission is not the same as engaging in the mission.

We've been talking over the last couple weeks at The Orchard about how we can make an impact in this world, so this song seemed appropriate:

As we lie beneath the stars,
We realize how small we are
If they could love like you and me,
Imagine what this world could be

Singin' Amen, I, I'm alive
Singin' A-Amen I, I'm alive

If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
We'd see the day when nobody died

There is so much that we can do even as individuals to bring hope to others in this world. All it takes is imagining what this world could be like and stepping out to do whatever we can. It all starts in our own backyard. Now is the time for action. Now is the time to engage in the mission.

Peace.

Two Realms

Two realms. Heaven and hell. One - a place, a realm where things are as God desires. The other - a place, a realm absent of how God desires things to be.

In the book Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith by Rob Bell, he talks about this way of living that to me hits the nail on the head. We get caught up many times trying to see heaven and hell as an end result. Places where we will spend eternity in one or the other. We then try to get people into heaven.

Jesus talked very little about the life beyond this one because he understood that eternity starts now. The question for Jesus was not, "how do I get into heaven?" but how do I bring heaven here to earth.

I think this is what makes the greatest impact in the world... seeing eternity as beginning now and not someday in the future. Are we bringing heaven to this earth or hell to this earth? Are we choosing to do something about the hell here and now? Poverty, injustice, suffering... they are all hells on earth. Maybe you've experienced some this yourself. As a follower of Christ, am I doing what I can to resist hell coming to this earth?

The reality of the Christian life is not about escaping this world but about making it a better place, here and now. The goal is to get heaven here. To make this a place that God can come to and touch lives. Change lives. Big impact happens when Jesus followers can live this reality out in their world. Realizing this is part of the journey. The other part is realizing we can't do it alone, but that we need our God and a church community to walk alongside us.

I choose to bring heaven to earth. How about you?

Peace.

The Amazing Race... Selfless?

It's now the 10th season of the CBS show The Amazing Race. I've only ever watched a show here or there until this season. I don't really make time to watch too many TV shows but my wife and I watch a few together... it's a good time for us to talk and relax together. This season of The Amazing Race has been inspiring.

The show is a reality game show where teams race from location to location completing tasks and finding clues. It's a competition. It's a race. Teams who come in last during each episode may be eliminated. Tonight there were 7 teams at the start of the episode. The couple who came in last the week before did not get eliminated but were told they had to come in first place during the next leg of the race in order to (basically) stay in the competition. Again it's a competition. It's a game.

Two brothers, Erwin and Godwin Cho, not only booked the flight for the couple in last place but sacrificed losing the race altogether by giving them the advantage during this episode. When the video crew asked them about it, they responded, "they have become friends of ours and they need it more than we do. We don't want them to be eliminated today." No big deal to many but to me it was something rare to see - kindness, integrity and selflessness - in a game show competition. Kudos to the Cho brothers... they are my new favorites in the race!

Peace.