Hold On

If you've been to one of our concerts or events you have probably heard us play "Hold On". Most of our record (Greater Than Us All) is us talking to or about God; it's mainly a worship album. However, "Hold On" is God talking to us. The song seemed rather simple when it was written, but the more I lived with it the more I realized that it was our Heavenly Father speaking to Emily and I about our struggle with infertility. We were in the middle of this continuing season and really needed some hope. It came through the song "Hold On."

It is kind of odd how the song came about: One day as I was dozing off on the couch a song I'd never heard before began playing in my head. Well, after I heard the chorus I woke up, went to the piano, and wrote out all I could remember. About 15 minutes later "Hold On" was almost completely finished. I've tried dozing off to write songs since then, but to no avail. :) I guess that was one unique moment.

I pray "Hold On" can offer some hope in your tough seasons of life.

Our Story

Some of you have read my wife's blog where she posted recently about infertility and adoption. I've never posted anything online about that until now:

God forgot to run His schedule by me for approval. Turns out He has His own timetable. I’m supposed to be a Dad right now according to my plans, but I’m not. My wife and I have been married over 8 years now. And for over half our marriage we have desired to have children. I did not realize the pain involved with infertility. I had seen people go through this, but did not understand the depth of their pain. My wife and I began walking that road together, and it’s been a tough one. We have both worked through bitterness and shame. I thought we deserved a child because we had done everything right. We both signed True Love Waits cards in high school and stayed true to our commitments. We had surrendered our lives to ministry and to follow God wherever he takes us. I have learned that God is not obligated to bless us. And that I tend to be concerned with one or two blessings I lack and forget the infinite blessings He has granted already. And mostly, I have learned that He does not abandon us in our pain and bitterness; even when it is towards Him. He continues to hold us and mold us. He is near us. His love is more faithful than the sun and rain. He is in control. We are at His mercy. And He is a loving father.

Couple quotes from a leader

"There is no contest between the company that buys the grudging compliance of its work force and the company that enjoys the enterprising participation of its employees."

"The purpose of work is not to make money. The purpose of work is to make the workers, whether working shifts or top executives, feel good about life."

~ Ricardo Semler

I laughed...

Romans 1:9

I was diving into Romans today when this seemingly insignificant detail from Paul about himself grabbed me:

Romans 1:9 (NLT) God knows how often I pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to God, whom I serve with all my heart by spreading the Good News about his Son.

Two questions I had to ask myself as I read this:
1. How often do I pray for people and their needs?
2. If I am serving God "with all my heart" am I doing this by spreading the "Good News about his Son"?

Long lost brother...

Recently, reports claim that Barack Obama's half brother was found far away, living in conditions completely opposite from his presidential candidate brother.

Read the article here

What an irony, the man who has a shot at holding the most powerful office in the free world has a half brother living far away, unknown, in poverty. When I read this I couldn't help but think about our plight; being far from God. But the story does not end there. Our brother (Jesus) has made a way for us to be adopted. We are brought from poverty to the luxury of His presence and future residence in Heaven. Father, open the eyes of those who are far away...

The Band

Today The guys and I got to hook up for lunch with our manager Mike. Mike's great, he helps keep us thinking ahead and stuff. The guys are fantastic, we are getting to rehearse a bit tomorrow and just hang some. After about 5 months of heavy touring we have had a breather, and this fall is looking kind of light for us; some dates here and there.

I'm sitting here in Starbucks on West End just recording some thoughts and stuff. Kevin Max (used to be in DC Talk) just walked in with his wife and family. ...thought that was cool...

Anyway, while driving today I heard Dave Ramsey suggest to a lady to get away for a day, get a hotel room, take a Bible and some legal pads and refocus. I've heard our co-pastor Chad talk about the verse "Be still and know that I am God..." He says the writer was saying to "cease striving" when saying "be still." Sometimes we just have to quit for a bit and refocus.

Popular Opinion...

Well, if you don't know me I've got to tell you: I'm an apple fan! I converted almost two years ago and received my first Macbook Pro over one year ago. I love it! Apple has done a great job marketing their product in recent years taking aim at "PC" guy. Well, when Microsoft released Vista it received some poor reviews and all the sudden everyone was a Vista hater.

Recently, Microsoft had a great idea to help change the (un)popular opinion of their latest operating system. It's amazing what people believe when they are just told, including me. (I have still not used Vista)

Check this out!

Last night...
Over 8 years ago my sweet in-laws, Freddie and Judy Page wanted to purchase a computer, they wanted an apple. I tried to persuade them not to get one. I said things like they are overpriced, they are not compatible with the rest of the computers of the world, there is so much more software out there in PC land, etc. They wanted a mac because that is what Judy used at school- she's a teacher. Well, last night I helped install a wireless router at their house and I did it on their 8 year old apple computer. They still use it everyday and it runs fantastic. I've had 2 PC desktops and 1 PC laptop during that time, neither of which do I still use. Shows you how much I know!

Relevant Students: Remix

Tonight I got to lead the Remix band at the fall kick-off for Remix-- Relevant Students weekly gathering. Relevant Students is our student ministry at Grace Community Church. The band is great- and all the tech stuff is rockin, too. A couple weeks ago the Remix band lead the Sunday morning service at GCC - and did awesome! Michael Bayne leads Relevant Students; his passion for students is infectious. There are alot of student ministries that are effectively reaching this next generation and I'm proud to say that Relevant Students is one of them.

Image is everything!

Humanity...We try so hard to look good, sound good, and put our best foot forward. While I believe we should do all we can to become the best we can be, it's interesting the lengths we will go through to be 'perfect.'

We have all heard about the Olympic opening ceremony fireworks, and I'm actually cool with why they did that. They wanted to create digitally on home TV screens the grand experience that the camera's simply could not capture.

But, I'm not really cool with this. I'm not trying to point out the country or the leaders responsible, but to simply remind us of our human state. Who can blame them, their reasoning utilizes human wisdom. This whole thing reminds me of a song: "Video Killed the Radio Star".

Reality is that we are depraved and deep down we all know it, trying to fix it ourselves. This moment reminds me that we're all messed up and in desperate need of the saving blood of Messiah, Jesus.

Citizen's arrest!

If you need to report a reckless driver call *847. We did this, for the first time in our lives. This guy in a green Ford F150 extended cab was flying up behind the person we were passing. At a reasonable speed, of course... : ) He then swerved behind us and was extremely close to us. We got over into the right lane, let him pass and then got his license plate number. He was soon out of site. We called it in and felt like we did our citizen's duty. We were told they were sending a patrol officer out to the area. We're pretty sure they did not catch the guy, I mean really, what are the chances. Anyhoo - beware, I've got the highway patrol on speed dial now!

No Mo Chemo

No Mo Chemo! At least for now. Thank you so much to those of you who have been praying for my mom. She went in for a check-up yesterday and they decided to end Chemo treatments and simply monitor the cancer areas. She will continue check-ups for the next few months and then begin spacing her visits more if the tumors do not grow anymore. She will now focus on getting her strength back and recovering from the tough effects of the treatments. She has been great through all of this, and Dad has too. It has been inspiring to watch them walk through this valley together. I proudly call them my parents.

We thank God for his goodness to us. Today is a far cry from the news we received about eight months ago- not much hope for mom. He has restored our hope. Thanks again for your prayers.