The Halloween homeless kid

I was reflecting this morning on Halloween's past as I watched my son parade around First Baptist Pre-school in his cowboy costume that he's wearing for the 2nd year in a row. I remembered what my Halloweens used to look like. We were super poor growing up and I remember on more than one occasion dressing up as a "Hobo" to go trick or treating. I'd wear grubby clothes...tie a bandanna to the end of a stick...and my mom would give me a beard by wiping vasoline on my face and attaching coffee grounds to it.
I don't know why but it just struck me for the first time this morning. I used to dress up as a homeless person on Halloween and ask people for candy???!!? Why was that ok? How insensitive to dress up and make fun of someone at a lower economic level than myself. Anyways...I just came to that realization this morning and thought I'd share.
Here's another Halloween tid bit...you're not opening up your child up to the dark underworld if you dress them up like Harry Potter or Sponge Bob. (Please don't forward this blog to Focus on the Family!)

Everyone must see "The Boss" before they die!!!

Steve took me last night...it was epic! They didn't play Glory Days but I'll get over it. The E Street band is amazing...10 people on stage...all with the energy of 16 year old track athletes.
Hooked up another $10 shirt in the parking lot...I'm becoming quite the connoisseur of after show shady tee shirt deals! Do yourself a favor and listen to more Springsteen.

An insight to my blogging

I'm not a big blog commenter. I read all of your comments and appreciate them a ton. I usually laugh really hard and share them with Alyssa, but I rarely respond to them. I also hardly comment on anyone's blogs accept for people that don't live around here like Trav, Longbrake, and Ivey. I feel weird commenting on people's blogs that I see every day because I feel like there is nothing left to talk about when we see each other. It's like "oh yeah...that happened to you...and I already told you how I feel about that...so there's really no reason to hang out any more." So please don't be offended if I never comment on your blog or if I never respond to a comment that you leave me. I appreciate them...keep them coming...I save my comments for the sake of our friendship!

400th post

I've been doing this blog thing for 9 months...that's 270 days. That means I'm posting just over 1.5 posts a day...not too shabby. I've enjoyed the blog journey. I want to chronicle my life through this transition in my life. I also want pics of my kids that they can go back and look at. I want to look back and see all the crazy thoughts that went through my head in 2007...the year God decided to change everything in my life! I've told people that blogs are guys way to scrap book, and still feel like dudes! Thanks for hanging out. There's 100 of you that come to hang out everyday...that's totally weird but I love the little community that has built from this. Thanks for being my blog friends!

Alyssa's 30th!!!

With the craziness in our lives right now, Alyssa thought she was getting a party for her 30th B-Day and maybe a high five from me. I played it up pretty good that I didn't have anything huge up my sleeves...I got her good! Saturday at noon...Annette opens the door (Alyssa's best friend that recently moved to Santa Cruz)...Alyssa freaks out! I flew her down for three days. Thanks for watching the kids Trav...you the man! Then we had a party for her that night...Lot's of fun...guys cheated in Tri-Bon and won on the last move...did I just give away our secret?
For weeks Alyssa's been complaining that we aren't going to be able to see Wicked (the musical). It's all she really wanted for her b-day. I had her convinced that I didn't get tickets. Even at the party she made 2 or 3 smart comments to friends about how she wasn't going to be able to go. That was only until I leaned over with an envelope with two tickets to Wicked for her and Annette in the 4th row! NAILED IT! (When you read that you have to say it like Andy from "The Office." Anyways...I did good...usually I'm a putz...not much of a romantic...every once in a while I pull something good off...this was one of those times. I love you Alyssa! You are the most extraordinary 30 year old woman on the planet!

A nice night to say goodbye

Tonight I said goodbye to Anthem. It started out as a dream about 2 years ago and came to fruition about July of 2006. Tonight was the last show that I will be apart of before I leave for Redding. It was bitter sweet. Anthem was a dream that artists and musicians could find a place to be creative and showcase their God given ability. We always talked about it being a family and I think it really has become that. Alyssa brought Zeke and Sofia and Zeke was flipping out on the front couch when I was playing but I loved it. My son loves music and I can't wait for the day he gets to express himself to the world. I was able to play a short acoustic set which was nice. I got to look back one last time at my faithful friend Ian at the sound board as he brought the love through the speakers as only he can. Seriously Ian..thank you sooo much! You have been right by my side every show helping me set up...do sound...and tear down. I think Anthem is as much your baby as it was mine! Thanks Casey for the planning, calling, emailing and organizing. You've been an amazing hour and a half a week employee :) Josh...thanks for always bringing Caleb to shows and letting my son have a buddy to be obnoxious with. Elizabeth and Micah...thank you for your support of Anthem and always bringing creativity and great work. Damien...your friendship and ability to share your heart with words is amazing. Jenn...your work wasn't too shabby either :) Joel...thanks for being a little genius that makes me really mad at how talented you are. Marissa...thanks for all your help. Your behind the scenes help is priceless. Andrew...your set of music was beautiful tonight. And I can't leave Darryl out of the mix even though he hasn't been around for a while with his new job. Darryl was a huge help in keeping Anthem going. Everyone else...Jon, Daley, Jordan, Jessica, Jim, Lindy, Suzy, Eric and everyone I'm forgetting...thanks for the great memories. Please keep this community alive and kickin!

My wife is amazing

Alyssa sat through 2.5 hours of needle time last night to pull off these amazing tattoos. She's been wanting them forever. This is one of the most painful placements for a tattoo and she sat for the whole time with no tears...no flinching...she's hardcore! Sid over at Sid's Tattoo Parlor is incredible. He's done 90 percent of my work as well. The two anchors represent our kids. The blue stars are for Zeke and the red rose is for Sofia. We've battled through six years of infertility and a miscarriage. There were many times it felt like our ship was going to crash into the rocks but God intervened with the gift of adoption and dropped anchors for us at just the right time. They have been the greatest gifts we could ever ask for. God is good. I'm going in for my next sitting right before Christmas.

Somethin' to chew on today

"All wars are civil wars, because all men are brothers. Each one owes infinitely more to the human race than to the particular country in which he was born."
17th century French Bishop Francois Fenelon

I'm playing Anthem this weekend

It's been a while but I'm gonna throw down a couple tunes on Friday. It should be a really cool show. Lot's of great art, music and Damien's gonna drop some spoken word on y'all. I'm working on a cover of "23" by Jimmy Eat World. We'll see how it goes. Tell your friends. Feel free to post this flyer on blogs and myspace.

Grabbed some new books this weekend

Click on the pictures and it will take you to the amazon link. I gotta finish up "Everything Must Change" and then I'm divin' into one of these.

Your friendly neighborhood city counselmen

Here's a picture of our front yard. Normally I'm not a "put a sign in front of your house" kind of guy. But I went to Poly with this guy and the things I've read from him are pretty cool. Plus I think the campaign that Art Gage is running against him is pretty ridiculous because he sends out a "smear" ad against Rusty every other day. So they came through the neighborhood and asked if I'd like a sign in and I said sure. Three days later I open the front door and Rusty is there by himself with the sign in his hand. He said he knew me and a little about what I'm doing at the Grove, and that he was excited about us being willing to support him. He hung out with Zeke for a few minutes in the front yard answering his ridiculous amount of questions, and was genuinely nice to us. Amazing. I was sold after that. Good guy. Thought I'd pass on the love.

Sabbath should never land on free dump day!

I think I'm gonna cut out the last half of yesterday and glue it together with the last half of today and make a Sabbath...is that legal? Probably not in the Old Testament (probably grounds for stoning) but I'm gonna make it work for me.
We started the morning with family pictures taken by Jon. Thanks Jon and Kathy...you guys are awesome! We are going to miss not having you guys down the street when we move :( Family pictures are spawn from the depths of hell...go read about our experience on Alyssa's blog.
Then it was off to the dump (free dump day). Much better than my last experience.
Got a nap in the afternoon...Heather Weppler came over and cut Alyssa and Zeke's hair (check Alyssa's blog for pics of Zeke with short hair)...vegetarian pizza for dinner...rented Evan Almighty (loved it)...blizzard from Dairy Queen (I'm on top of my weight loss program)...bed.
This afternoon I head off for Disneyland with the wife...no kids...nice!

Stolen escatology

If you don't read Bill's blog you need to start. The Rabbi Risinger has started to lay the groundwork for some great conversation. He says it better than I would in 100 lifetimes so I'm just going to link to his blog. Go read this...then this...then this. I've had a ton of conversations with Bill about Jesus coming back and I believe this world view gives a great "framing story" (Brian McLaren language) to understanding the narrative of scripture. This understanding of New Heaven's and New Earth has changed everything for me. It's not a theology issue, it's a world view issue. It affects the way you live and breath and exist in this world. Thanks Bill! I'm way to lazy to roll out pearls like that. You are the man!

Here's where I'm headed tonight

yeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaa!!!

I got my shirt!!!

Thanks Ivey's! Go here and hear the story. Then go buy a shirt!

Rockin' the Bliss

Quick Before Sinking rocked Java Bliss this evening. The demon possessed drummer in the back with the vampire eyes is Scott...don't be afraid...he doesn't bite! It was cool seeing Adam rockin' again. I yelled out for 45 seconds and Reputation but I don't think he heard me (You have to of been friends with Adam for at least 15 years to think that was funny!). Dave had ridiculous tone for playing outside with his little amp...sounded amazing. Mark...no blog...no love. Just kidding...your skills on the stand up and bass are amazing! Sorry I could only stay for a little bit...kids...you know the drill...unless your single...or married without kids...then you have no idea...maybe someday...for everyone else...you know the drill! Christina saw me walk in and take a picture within 15 seconds and had the audacity to ask if I just showed up to blog something...absurd!

Sometimes Sofia doesn't know when to let go

good times!

THE FUTURE OF REV ROCK...

Here's the bomb drop...prepare yourselves...

About two months ago a very close friend of mine asked me to come on staff with him at his church in Redding California. His name is Nate Edwardson and he is one year into a church plant called The Stirring. (www.thestirring.org) Nate and I started a ministry 8 years ago when I was living in Redding called Celebration. That ministry has slowly evolved into this church that he is asking us to join. I have never worked with someone in ministry that I am more like minded with. Alyssa and I have accepted this position and will leave to start this ministry in January of 08. This has been an extremely difficult decision for us as both of our families live here, along with many of our friends and we are leaving a church that we love dearly.

I was born on a Wednesday and started attending VCC (now the Grove) that following Sunday. That puts me as part of this church for 31 years! I feel like I have 100’s of parents and grand parents that have looked after me here since I was old enough to start getting into trouble. The Grove has been an amazing place to call home and I have 1000’s of positive memories here. I have nothing but love and respect for the Grove and for my parents as they lead this church. I wish the Grove continued blessing as they strive to make the reality of Gods kingdom alive here in Riverside. We feel 100% convinced that this is the right move for our family at this time in our lives. We have spent time in prayer and have sought counsel from the people closest to us that know us the best in making this decision.

The Stirring has grown from 80 last summer to over 600 this summer. Nate is in desperate need of help on his staff as he is the only full time employee at the church. The Stirring is committed to being and making disciples and living out the way of Jesus in Redding and the world. My job will consist of sharing the load of teaching and leading worship along with other pastoral duties, but the majority of my time will be spent modeling and training others in how to live out the teachings of Jesus in covenant communities throughout the week.

Alyssa and I love Redding and we will always have room for visitors if you are ever headed north for any reason. If you have any questions I would love to spend time talking to you about the journey that has brought me to this place. We will miss all of you greatly so feel free to take us out to lunch or dinner in the next month and a half :)

Bomb officially detonated!

May his kingdom come...

"you sure you don't want a large???"

So we went to go see Jimmy last night with our great friends Steve and Karen and it was amazing. It was my second show at the Wiltern in 4 days. I never go to shows anymore and recently I've gone to a ton. Their show was flawless except for a couple guitar tech problems. I'm going to get the new album today (they didn't have any at the show last night). All the new songs they played last night were great...I can't wait!
So here's the story...as we're leaving in the parking garage the guy you always see at concerts after shows with the shaddy bag of t-shirts yells out to us..."HEY, T-shirts for $5!" I ask him if he has any medium's because they are notorious for only having xxxlarge. He digs around for a while and finds one. I say "hook me up" and his reply..."you sure you don't want a large?" What the heck? Did that seriously just happen? Did guy with the shady t-shirts just call me fat? Guess I need to get my lazy butt on the elliptical machine again.
Hey... for your information shady t-shirt guy...the shirt fits like a glove! Maybe you just saw me at a bad angle or something :)

Love your neighbor

It's amazing how central this concept is to the heart of Jesus' teachings and how badly I've glossed over it in the past. In our global economy I believe the definition of neighbor has changed drastically but I'm pretty sure Jesus would still want us to love the people that literally live right next door to us.
Well as many of you know...Alyssa and I are extremely nomadic (5 residences in 7 years in Riverside). We've always meant to make relationships with neighbors and we have with a few but we never made it a priority until this last move. The week we moved in we walked up and down the block and introduced ourselves to everyone. (Hint...write everyone's names down because after a week you forget everyones names!) At Christmas we took cookies to everyone. We spend tons of time walking around our neighborhood and out in front of our house playing with the kids. We are especially close with our neighbors directly to our left and right. Aaron (neighbor to the right) injured his back badly and has been on disability. He is also in the construction business which is really hurting in a lot of areas. There's been about 6 times that he has come over to borrow money or has asked me to take him to the gas station to get some gas. He pays me back most of the time, he's just living bill to bill, behind every month. I love that my neighbor feels close enough to me to come over to ask for help.
Last night he came over at 11pm and asked to borrow my phone. (he does this often because he runs out of prepaid minutes.) He told me his wife went to a wine tasting with her work and was supposed to be home 3 hours earlier. He was clearly scarred and had no idea what to do. He would call...go back to his house...come back 5 minutes later....call someone else...go back....and the cycle continued. Finally I went over and gave him my cell phone and told him to call her and leave this number. I said he could have it till whenever. I told him if he needed to leave that I would come over and watch his kids. And finally I asked if I could pray for him. He agreed. We prayed. Kim showed up 2 minutes later. God is awesome.
Love your neighbor. Love the people in Africa but love the people in your neighborhood first. You know them and understand their situations better. I am so bummed it took me 7 years to start making these relationships with my neighbors. Learn from your dumb friends like me and say hi to the people you see everyday. They may actually come over when they need someone to minister to them.

Too classic not to post

So my wife threw down her "green post" today and talked about how we live by the motto:

If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down.

Here was my buddy Travis Osborne's comment...Too classic not to post:

Anyway, your motto is kind of like mine: "If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown...let it mellow. If it's sticking halfway out of the toilet...take a picture. On Fridays, flush it all down."

I miss you Trav. Life is not as fun without you around every day!

Please read this

It gets at the heart of my journey. It's a little long but it tells the story of why I am who I am today.
From my reading today of "Everything must Change"

A lot of us are very happy to go through life knowing as little as possible about economics, politics, and ecology. As long as we can pay our credit card bill, avoid going to jail, and enjoy a cold drink, we'd rather not deal with the complexities of the societal machinery around us. But if we start becoming concerned about emerging global crises and the effects they may have on our own future and the lives of our children and grandchildren, then maybe we'll want to learn a little bit more about how the world works. (page 59)

WOW!!! This was me in a nutshell for most of my life! Don't ask questions...Vote Republican...Hang out in the Christian ghetto...Caring about the earth makes you a hippie and a pansy...Listen to these 5 safely prescribed pre-processed cookie cutter bands...Read these authors...Laugh at and antagonize people that think differently...Science is stupid...All those people that have spent their entire lives studying the earth and think its really old are out of their minds...Clinton is the anti-Christ (both Clinton's...they are co-anti Christeses')...This world is going to blow up someday so I'm just helping the process of having Jesus come back and get me out of this God forsaken place!

Now I'm pushing it on purpose but I feel like McLaren nailed where I've lived most of my life. I don't blame this thinking on my parents or my church...I'm a big boy that just didn't think for myself. I think it's glorified Gnosticism when you get right down to it. The world (flesh, sinners) are bad but the spirit (church, Christians) are good. Stay away from the world...win people onto our side, then hang out with them. I can't believe how much of the Bible I've glossed over and rewritten into Riverside 2007 language that makes it so easy and safe for me. You're wrong, I'm right. I have nothing to learn, you have everything to learn. I have the truth and you are deceived.

I wish I would have paid attention in school. Sorry Karen for cheating off you in college constantly. In retrospect Hermeneutics's is pretty important and maybe I should have done my homework. All of life is spiritual. Math, science, politics, history, ecology, the way I eat, the way I sleep, what I spend my money on, every choice I make, and how I treat my friends (and enemies). It all matters!

READ...LISTEN TO PEOPLE THAT CHALLENGE YOU...IT'S OK TO NOT ALWAYS PLAY IT SAFE...GOD WILL NOT FORSAKE YOU FOR ASKING QUESTIONS...OUR WORLD IS IN A GLOBAL CRISIS AND THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY MUST BE WILLING TO USE OUR BRAINS...OUR HANDS AND OUR FEET...OUR HEARTS AND OUR SOULS....TO ENTER GOD'S STORY OF REDEMPTION!!!

And now I'm officially off my soapbox

Crazy Sabbath

So Sabbath really wasn't a reality this week. It all started with Friday.
Woke up at 5:30am to go golfing with my bro, pops, and a group of others. Played 18 holes really fast and decided to play an additional 9. Got home...took a shower...went to church and set up for Anthem show. Put the show on (great by the way) got home by 11:30pm.
Saturday (usually Sabbath day) I hung out with the kids from 9am-3pm. Alyssa was out shopping with her mom and sister for her B-day. It was good times being with the kids but it's never restful when you're parenting by yourself. It just seems like you're constantly on the go. When Alyssa got home we spent an hour together and then I took off with Steve (no blog...seriously) to go see our friends in the Myraid (see picture) play at the Wiltern in Los Angeles. They were opening up for Phil Wickam and The David Crowder Band. Awesome show...hung out late...got home at 2:45am.
Sunday got up at 6:45am to head down to church to prepare for the young married class. Taught the class (Luke 4) at 9am...went to service at 10:45...went to lunch with my folks...came home and crashed...it's 4:28pm and I'm blogging about my crazy weekend.
Super busy...really fun...not very restful...but still good.
I got my blog buddy blogging about his Sabbath now. We should start a revolution of bloggers that dedicate a day to the Lord and share their experience on a weekly basis. Anyone interested? It takes having to slow down...sound good...let me know.
It would be something consistent to post every week whether you pull it off or not (for example...me this week). For my blog compatriots that are living the Jesus way...Sabbath isn't something that is suggested...it should mark all of our lives as a sign of freedom to the rest of the world....anyone???

Come check out the show tonight

The lineup is really great. Can't beat 5 bucks with a stick! See ya there.

Todays golf score

Front nine: 46
Back nine: 36
Total: 82
Mister consistency is what they call me.

Visitors last night

Bill and Patti came over last night and we got to hang out for a little bit. They just moved to Salinas and they are greatly missed around Riverside. They were accompanied by their lovely children: Jon, Kathy, and Heather (seriously Heather...no blog yet?), and their dogs. It was awesome to hear how great they are doing and to hear what God is doing in their community. They live about 45 minutes away from Trav and Annette now so they made things easy for us on road trips!

From todays reading of "Everything Must Change"

"When the misionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said, Let us pray. We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land." (the first Kenyan president, Jomo Kenyatta)
I have been told that during the apartheid years, Archbishop Tutu, when speaking to white Christian leaders, would then hold up the Bible and say, "Now, my brothers, based on this Bible you have given us, I call you to give us back our land!"
At that moment, truth and justice would come together: if the truth is that God doesn't play favorites, if the truth is that God is not a racist, if the truth is that land theft and slave labor are wrong even (especially!) when done by people who call themselves Christians, if the truth is that all human beings are created in the image of God and deserve to be treated with equal dignity, even sanctity-then we must face the injustices of our past and seek justice for everybody everywhere. That is the only way that the world of tomorrow will be a better place, and it is the only way to live by the truth. (page 45)
Thoughts...

We cut a tooth this morning!!!

It's good validation as a parent when you've been telling people ever since you brought your daughter home from Kyrgyzstan that shes teething and she finally cuts a tooth. I've always asserted that parents can blame global warming on teething. We knew it was coming...the screaming...the jamming the fist in the mouth...the white gums...but it took forever. A couple days ago we thought we could see one but couldn't feel one...that's how convinced we were. Well it's official! I felt the sharpness this morning and she let me know that she wasn't happy about it.
This isn't a picture from this morning...it's actually from yesterday. Alyssa takes so many pictures of the kids that Sofia actually closes her eyes when she sees the camera to prepare for the flash. Amazing.

Our Life Group is sponsored by Mac

This was my dining room table on Tuesday night for Life Group. Jon and Ian had their Macs out to enter into depths of nerdery that should never be delved into... so naturally I had to add my little white step brother to the mix. Maybe our Life Group can get sponsored by Apple and we can all get jackets with matching patches or something. Is that taking this too far?

Please buy a shirt from my blog buddy

This is my blog buddy Aaron Ivey. I have no idea how we stumbled across each others blogs but we are officially homies. He and his wife Jaime are adopting this amazing little boy from Haiti. His name is Dowensky and they are going to change his name to Amos. They are selling shirts to help raise money for their adoption. I encourage you to go to their sites and see their hearts for this little boy. These t-shirts are a great way to remember to pray for this family and also get them some funds to make this adoption happen. Go here and buy one of these shirts if you have the means.

Thank you Life Group

Alyssa, Zeke, Sofia, Scarlet and myself love you all. Just wanted to make sure you knew that. Thanks for a great night!
Please don't comment to this post. Just wanted you to know how we feel.

Halo vs. Jesus

Check out this article. Thanks Ian. I heard this kind of thing is taking off in the Sudan :) I think it's possible that they are asking the wrong questions.
I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Luke 4

Our young married group at the Grove is studying the book of Luke together. Next week we get into Luke 4 where Jesus gives his manifesto as he quotes from Isaiah. He talks about bringing good news to the poor and giving sight to the blind, freeing the captives and ushering in the year of jubilee. People seem all excited about this and then it gets really crazy. They want Jesus to validate his ministry with miracles like he did in Capernaum and he reminds them of two familiar prophets. He talks to them about Elijah and Elisha and how they weren't excepted in their home towns. Because of this God sent them away and they had significant ministry with Gentiles which was an outrage to the Jews. The people are so mad that they haul Jesus out to the edge of a cliff to throw him off and kill him but somehow Jesus just walks right through the group of people and leaves. Awesome. I'd pay a lot of money to see how that went down.

my monday mornings...

Alyssa teaches till noon so I get the kids ready...put together trains that Zeke just got from Aggie. (Thanks Aggie...Zeke's a train fanatic!) Put Sofia down for a nap, and then I have about an hour to myself. Quietness in my house. It's weird how much you miss those simple things after you have kids. I think I'm going to sit on a chair in my backyard with a cup of coffee and be quiet for a while. See ya.
And yes...I did take this picture with my macbook because I'm too lazy to transfer pictures from my camera. And yes...those are a ridiculous amount of wrinkles on my forehead but I messed with the contrast of the picture so I'm blaming that!

Sabbath

Great day of chillin' and spending time with the family. Alyssa laid it out pretty well in her blog. Forts, reading books and naps. Today we went to my grandpa's house for his 84th birthday. He is an amazing man and it was a great time to hang out with our family. My aunt Lindi told me today that she reads my blog so I've got to give her some major love. My aunt Lindi is amazing and she loves my kids as much as Alyssa and I do. She puts out a spread for dinner every time we go over to my grandpa's and it's enough to feed and army. She makes the best food you've ever tasted and her specialty is tacos, enchiladas, and steaks (fillet mignon). Aunt Lindi...if you read this...please know you are loved by our family and you are the best aunt a guy could ask for!

So full of life

I caught it perfectly. My incredible son...no inhibitions...no fear...pure joy...jumping into a pile of pillows with a blanket pulled over them with his cousins. What you see is definitely what you get with Zeke. When he's happy he will crack you up with his enthusiasm and contagious laugh. When he's mad he will scream at the top of his lungs and punch you if your not quick enough. When he's loving every second of his four year old life he will jump with fearless abandon into a pile of pillows. When I grow up I want to be more like my son. I'm starting to see what Jesus was talking about when he said you had to become like "one of these" to really understand his kingdom.

Got my copy yesterday

Can't wait to get into it. I'll keep you up on the process. Don't tell Mark Driscoll I have this book. I would hate for him to call me out by name in the middle of a southern baptist conference and call me a heretic. I was talking to Micah about this yesterday. Go here if you want to hear Driscoll bash McLaren, Paggitt, and Bell. Why can't we all just get along? Here's an idea...Let's actually sit down and talk to the people we disagree with or actually hear from their own mouths what they believe. Let's not hear about a few books that they recommend and then deduce that these people must agree with every doctrine these people ever believed in because they enjoyed portions of their book. It's a ton of "he read this" and "she said that." For the sake of the kingdom lets at least have informed opinions before we spew them all over everyone else. I hate giving any energy to this but I feel like it's probably going to get a lot worse before it gets any better. Sad.

Romans 1 in a new light

DISCLAIMER:
I haven't thought through this a ton. It could be total heresy. These views do not represent The Grove. Just some thoughts that I'm working with.
So I sat down this morning to wrestle with Romans 1 and came out of it with some crazy thoughts. I think Romans 1 was a critique to Jews (those that were called to show the world what God was like). I don't think it was written to pagans which is the excepted explanation in most commentaries.
vs. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him... (The Jews knew God but were constantly fluctuating in their worship of him.)
vs. 22...they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal human beings and birds and animals and reptiles. (Jews in the wilderness of Sinai)
vs. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator-who is forever praised. (The Jews knew the truth)
vs. 32 Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death (the Jews are the ones that know God's righteous decree)
I bring all this up because most commentaries will tell you that Paul is taking to pagans in this chapter. In this view the world has seen the invisible and visible qualities of God so they are without excuse and when they choose to live outside of God's ways he turns them over to depravity.
But if Paul is talking to the Jews then this is a rebuke to the church. If we have an understanding of God and his truth then we are called to be a representation to the world of what God is like. The rebuke is for the church to shape up (not the pagans) so that the world will see the difference in a people that are set apart. This really goes in line with what you see through the Gospels and letters. Jesus and Paul's harshest rebuke was held off for the "religious" and those inside the church. To those outside the church we offer love and an invitation into the way of Jesus that (should) look completely opposite of the surrounding culture.
I don't know if any of this means anything to you but it changes a ton for me. I'm gonna study it a lot more. Any thoughts? Read the chapter first and let me know what you think. I need the Rabbi Risinger to weigh in. (I hate not being able to walk down to your office to talk about this stuff!)

The blog roll is out of control

So many peeps joining the ranks.
I gotta give some love to Casey even though she throws a blog up every 6 months! She's the one that got me into this thing and it seems like a blog disease has infected Riverside...I love it!
I'm not gonna give you links to all of these because I'm lazy and I've already added them to the blog roll on the left side of my blog.
Here's the newest kids on Dan's blog:
-Andy Prickett: Guitar genius (Prayer Chain, The Violet Burning, Cush) I peed my pants a little when I saw that he had me linked on his blog.
-Bill Risinger: The rabbi from Salinas couldn't handle the pressure
-Brad Nelson: Great pastor at Mars Hill that I met at a conference
-Dave Stewart: Makes great guitars
-Elissa Gonzalez: Great stories about momhood.
-Janell Fagg: My cuz..twice removed...and then twice removed again!
-Mama Sue: Don't listen to any stories she tells you about me...I've never met the woman.
-Rob McInteer: The master of stuff no one else knows about. Great friend.
-Scott Ellis: Started a blog because he's married now and his wife made him ;)
-Yvonne Weinstein: The wobbly librarian...she's awesome
If I forgot you and you're a regular let me know. It's not on purpose...there's just a lot of you out there.

Guitar players only

Self tuning guitars...amazing...but not worth the price.
Thanks Ian.

Put this on your calendar

Click on the flier and you can listen to all the bands. I love Fransisco the Man. Scotty rocks it Neil Young style. The Trade acoustic should be really cool and Rue is amazing. (It will just be him with an acoustic and some keys). I also really like The Red Coterie. I think we are going to do the show in the hallway outside the Hub. We did that once before and it was really cool. I could use some help for the show if anyone wants to come out for free. Let me know!

Imogen Heap rules

This is seriously amazing and her voice is incredible.

Make your case...

You can argue with me all day but my kids are the cutest kids on the planet! Seriously...what the heck...sooo cute!

Amazing morning

We took the family down to celebrate with the Hasemeyer's because Levi's adoption was finalized today. The Hasemeyer's are my hero's! Levi is there sixth adopted kid to go along with the three biological kids that they already had. All their adoptions have been kids with special needs. They're family is rad...white, brown, black...one big happy family. I remember what it was like for us when we finalized Zeke's adoption. I'm glad we could be in the courtroom for them today. We got to talk to Zeke more today about his adoption. It's been cool to start sharing with him the story of how he became our son. God is good!

"I hate fasting"

That's a quote I'm taking from my buddy Nate that I heard this last weekend. I tend to agree with him. Fasting is one of those disciplines that I don't really get. But when you think about it fasting is probably the most profound discipline that there is in our society of gluttony, excess, and have whatever you want, whenever you want. I've got some big things on my plate right now and fasting and prayer seem like the thing to do. But it's funny because I think we view fasting as some magic experiment...at least I do. I think to myself...if I'm willing to go hungry then God will understand how devoted I am to him and he'll bring perfect clarity to my uncertain world. What God is teaching me today is that the point of fasting is not to rub a lamp and get the desired result but to put my day to day dependence back on God. He sustains every breath, every meal, every conversation and when you go without some food for a while it brings you back to an understanding of that. I've made fasting selfish in the past but I think the point is to remember how big God is and if can remember that then I don't have to worry about the other stuff that seems so big in my own head. Did any of that make sense? I'm thinking about a burrito right now so everything could be nonsense.
And for the overly righteous person that is already drafting their comment about how I'm not supposed to talk about fasting, I'm beating you to the punch. I suck at a lot of stuff and talking about things that I shouldn't talk about is probably one of them. (ask my wife)

Just call me beer pits

So if you are thoroughly confused already go and read this first.
For everyone else...I got rid of the ether filled deodorant that was slowly bringing me to a deep sleep through the pores in my pits. I took the advise of the always on top of his game...reverend of the environment...Bishop O'Farrell and found a deodorant that was much better for me. You can find it at Teeeeeggg. (that's Trader Joe's for those of you that don't know me). What's awesome about this stuff is that it's made with hops, so now I don't stink but I smell like beer! This stuff is amazing! Usually after a full day if my nose ventures anywhere near my pits there is a loud siren and flashing lights with a loud voice of a woman screaming...RE-APPLY...RE-APPLY! But my beer deodorizing stick rocks it all day...amazing.
The only weird side affect is I find myself in a reoccurring dream that has me taking a bath in Newcastle. Is that strange?