Yes!!

We love the game Rock Band in my house. But I was noting the other day that there is a large hole where U2 and Beatles songs should be. Well my longing to sing Yellow Submarine is ending as Rock Band has announced a Beatles track pack out this September. I know what to get Sarah for her birthday!!!

Here is the article on Rolling Stone

Ok already...

I have been tagged by multiple people, and so I bring to you my random 25 things:

1. If I could afford it I would drink nothing but Coke and Mt. Dew - in that order.
2. I am secretly hoping that belly button lint is discovered to be a precious resource, I produce enough to keep everyone happy!
3. I have only dreamed of being two things - a professional basketball player, and a professional musician. So far 0 for 2.
4. I love my church. No really, I LOVE Pump.
5. I have entertained the idea of becoming a vegetarian, twice.
6. I once met Danny Glover in a Fred Meyer downtown, he looked like a bum.
7. My oldest son is so much like me that I can look at him and tell you what he is thinking.
8. I have always been able to beat my dad at a game of horse, always.
9. I really enjoy a bag of Haribro Gold Bears.
10. I am blessed to be married to my best friend.
11. All of the software, digital music, and digital movies we have in our house are legal.
12. I would play video or computer games all day, and I have no moral issue with that.
13. I could eat Taco Bell every day.
14. I have built 4 computers from scratch, and rebuilt one lap top.
15. I must put shoes on in order to feel like I am awake.
16. My nickname in high school was buns of steel. No really, and I didn't name myself.
17. I have only had 2 male best friends in my life, one in elementary school, and one last year. I have only had 1 girlfriend, and I married her.
18. Deliriously I cheer for the 49ers. There is always hope.
19. I believe there is no better treat on a hot day than a pickle.
20. I love to be with people, but I need quiet alone time to feel sane. I learned that from my mom.
21. If Sarah and I had no children we would likely be living in another country.
22. I don't sing in the shower very often.
23. I would rather cheat than loose at a race.
24. In high school I lettered in choir, band, and theater. You may call it dorky, I call it cultured.
25. I don't have a dream car.

well there you have it. I will not tag anyone else, this ends here.

My Birthday is coming up!!!

If you are looking for a present for me for my birthday, here is an idea...

This video will steer some of the worship I lead at Pump going forward. I love it because it is raw and transparent. I feel that we approach the throne of God best when we come as we are and let go of what others may be thinking about us. I love my church family because they bring it every Sunday.

Who are you...

As Christians we must learn from our inherited tradition's ancestors. Like our Jewish cousins, we must be willing to question Yahweh. We must be willing to wrestle with our maker as Jacob did. Wrestling is not a sport in which the one with the most strength wins. Rather, the one who learns from his opponent and counters with the correct moves wins. Wrestling is an intimate activity, we can learn much about who we are and our place in His creation by wrestling.

And so I ask...

Who are you that you will allow an institution which so greatly blesses the Church family of the Northwest to close it's doors?

Who are you that you will watch a 4 year old girl suffer from leukemia?

Who are you that you will not stop a babies head from fusing forcing an emergency and scary surgery?

Who are you that you will not protect children from the selfish choices of their mother?

Yahweh,

I thank you for these times when I can see that I am but a small part of your creation. I thank you for reminding me that it's not about me. I thank you that I can feel remorse, sadness, fear, and disgust. I thank you that you are bigger than my feelings, and that you know better than I. I thank you that in all these things you will have an opportunity to save me - again. I thank you for Cascade, Caitlin, Zion, and Emily. I ask that in all these things you will teach me who you are. I ask that these times of heart ache are a reminder of the wonderful story of Jesus, and that these hard times will stir my excitement about his story. May I never be quiet, may I never be afraid, may I never be ashamed. Give me the strength to be a soft spoken servant, and a brash mouthed prophet; and guide me with your spirit that I may know when.

Amen.

I've got Joy, down in my heart...

I have been thinking about joy quite a bit lately. I don't consider myself to be an overly joyous person, in fact I would think most people would see me as cynical and frumpy. I long to be a person who shines joy into others, but it doesn't come easily to me.

Paul has some interesting thoughts on joy. In Galatians 5 he mentions that joy is a fruit of the spirit, not a state of being but the effect of some cause. Outside of this writing Paul and other new testament writers don't generally excite me with what they say about joy. Here are some of those thoughts:

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 8:2 that "Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity."

The writer of Hebrews says "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning it's shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

James writes "Consider it pure joy my brothers when ever you face trials of many kinds..."

If you were to ask average Americans what the definition of joy is, they would largely give you a definition closely related to happiness if not that it was happiness altogether. The new testament writers seem to think of joy as the effect of trials or persecution, they seem to say that joy and happiness are somewhat contradicting. Both seem to be effects of different causes, one from desires of the flesh and the other from desires of the soul. 

I have heard it said that money can't buy you happiness, and I think that is largely false. I have had money, and it made me very happy. In fact the more money I had the happier I think I was. That happiness came at the cost of not being a very joyful person, it brought emptiness, and no matter how happy I seemed to be it didn't last long before I felt I needed to buy more.

As a disciple of Jesus I am now trying to live with as little money as possible so that happiness is not a temptation, and so that through my trials of making ends meet and relying on God's providence to take care of me I will bear more fruit called joy.

I hate politics

I'm not a big fan of politics. I don't enjoy talking or listening about the direction of our country, nor do I generally care. Having said that I am thinking about voting this year for the first time in my short 10 years of eligibility. Honestly the newest Poli-star Obama has me captivated. Not because of his good looks, his well articulated speeches, or his diverse background. It's because of his thoughts on abortion.

the democratic party has largely been pro-choice, and Obama's stance will follow. But the thought process he went through to get there is beautiful. Don't get me wrong, I believe abortion is wrong, and as an adopted child I believe in alternate options. Obama states that abortion is wrong and that human life is valuable even at early stages in pregnancy. But at some point in time there are going to be unwanted babies, and Obama believes that until we as a  nation are ready to take in unwanted babies we should allow other people to choose their own path.

Jesus says: “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." Matt 7:3-5

I think he meant what he said. I am not willing to take a stand on abortion until I am ready to start adopting babies.

This wise thinking is exactly what we need as a leader for our country, and since I don't think Jesus wants the gig, I may vote for Obama.