Song preferences

Tuesday night in our Starting Point group that meets at our house the subject of songs on Sunday morning came up. I don't remember how it started, but someone brought up the song "You Lifted Me Out" - specifically the "Whoa" part that is sung as part of the intro and outro. It was mentioned that it is awkward and no one knows what to do during it, but they liked the rest of the song. The room was immediately divided- in a good way- it was a lighthearted discussion- many laughs. Some liked the "whoa" some didn't. It was funny though everyone just started talking about their favorite song, or un-favorite song and everyone was going back and forth. Some really liked when we did the acoustic and bluegrass type music, some like the more hymn-like songs and some like the rocking stuff. I just sat back and observed with a grin on my face, trying to take it all in.

It's funny the lengths we go to to please people, and many times it's a good thing that we try too. I've heard things like (and probably said before) that we are there to please God, not people. But I've not seen the play-list on God's ipod :), so I'm not sure what He would prefer when it comes to song selection or style. (I am certain it's an ipod He carries, though) I got a feeling He would pick music that would turn people's hearts to him and truth that needs to be in our lives, whatever it sounds like. Music changes, truth doesn't. If fifty years from now Grace Community sounds the same as it did this past Sunday, there's a big problem. Although I think the music we currently do week in and week out consists of the style and lyric that will best reach the people of Clarksville we are reaching, I'm not naive enough to think it will never change. It will, and it should. But let's do our best to keep it fun when we talk about it. (Like this past Tuesday) Music is a tool, not truth. Truth is truth, it does not have a frequency only a constant existence. I wish we could have continued our conversation in our group, it's good to get candid feedback about what we do from the stage. But we did have some material to discuss as a part of our group. I'm sure it will come up in the future and I look forward to hearing how people are responding to the music and lyrics used at Grace.

One extra second...how will you spend it?

Check this out!

Guess what!? We get one extra second this year, I did not realize it. I feel kind of jipped, would I have lived this year differently had I known I had more time in this year? I've heard people ask for an extra hour in their day, well for this one day you will get an extra second...spend wisely my friend.

It's been a year!

One year ago my Mom found out she had stage four cancer. Her doctor gave her two options: do nothing and let the cancer take it's course or try chemo. Chemotherapy had not been very successful for treating her types of cancer, so they were not sure if it would work or not. As a result the option for not doing anything was a viable one. Fortunately she decided to fight it. She began chemo treatments soon after the diagnosis. Unsure if they would work or not we were on pins and needles with each check-up.

Long story short...The treatments have worked and she had a check-up last week that showed that the tumors have not grown any since they were shrunk earlier this year. Her next check-up is in four months!

For those of you who have been praying for her and us...thank you. Recently our family got together to sing, it was special because she was able to play the piano. You can see she is getting her hair back. It's hard to get us all together these days, but we could not pass up this opportunity with Mom working so hard to get ready for this.

Websites

Today in staff our website came up in the discussion. For those of you that don't know, I'm on staff at Grace Community Church of Clarksville, TN. Our website is: www.gcomchurch.com

Our site is pretty sweet for a church site (sad to say). But we try to stay on top of things here at Grace and discussed what is currently on there, what we need to update, what works, what doesn't, etc. Anyway, it got me thinking about different sites- how some sites just pop and how some sites simply don't. There always seems to be an 'X' factor to those that grab you. This is usually something only a great designer can create. But then you've got the content that needs to be injected to give it a soul. Below I've listed some sites I use regulary, mainly due to their content, not design. A designer I dig is Pixel Peach - go check them out. They do sites that pop for sure, but I usually use sites that give me good content.

Anyway- I'm curious to know some of your favorite sites --- and why.

Here are some of mine:
Yahoo -- I check out the latest news and link to my fantasy football team there : )
Google -- I have a few different gmail accounts I use- they have some great tools from google docs to their awesome gmail features.
Drudge Report -- I go there to check out just a mass of news and links to news sites
Worship Together -- other than being my publisher I'll go here to check out the latest worship offerings.
Album Art -- I use this site to find the album art that itunes can't find for me.
Rhymezone -- a good songwriting tool I use to get me out of writing jams.
Stumbleupon -- if you are just looking for some random cool sites, sign up for stubleupon.

Money in my pocket!

Well, I have to say I am pleased with the recent price drop in gas. I'm compelled to point this out though, I read today in the news about oil dropping even more-- that's a good thing right? Well, it seems to spell gloom and doom for this reporter:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081113/ap_on_bi_ge/oil_prices

If I remember correctly gas prices ROSE because the economy was doing so poorly, now they're DROPPING because it's doing so poorly. I'm sure there's a ton of technical/factual stuff wrong with that statement, but either way-that makes me laugh.

Two good things I'd like to report here:
1. I actually blogged. : ) Sorry it's been a while.
2. I filled up my gas tank for $43 yesterday! (This summer we had to swipe the card twice per fill up in the truck because it would only let us pump $75 at a time. We regularly put $85 in it. Same tank, same amount of gas, much less $ going in to it. So, if there is anything positive coming out of this economic "slump" or whatever the media decides to call it, at least gas is back to $2 a gallon...for now : ) Go fill'er up!!!

Why we do...

The question of why we do what we do was answered September 14th. Just a few weeks ago 43 people were baptized at Grace. It marked the 3 year anniversary of the launch of GCC. Here is a link to pictures from the day.

There are defining moments in life, this day was one of them.

Just As I Am

Yesterday Higdon and I were planning the service when the idea of using an old invitation hymn came up. Of all the great ones, "Just As I Am" stands out. It was made popular in our generation during the Billy Graham crusades. So we started thinking through how we would do it. We don't usually us a traditional instrumentation in our services, so we were thinking of how we could make it work with our set-up. Anyway- yesterday and today the song has been on my mind and heart and hopefully this Sunday we'll have something that should sound pretty fresh, maybe even a new chorus or something. The history of the song is interesting. Here is a brief story I took from the wiki entry:

An elderly man asked Charlotte Elliott if she were a Christian; she felt insulted, and told him to mind his own affairs. But after the man left, she could not get the question off her mind, and she went back to ask the man how to find Christ. He told her to come just as she was. She did, and wrote the beautiful song, "Just As I Am." - By B. A. Scherr

Jesus is my Friend - I can't stop watching this!

One word: ZAP!

Voice Lessons

Hey Everyone- I'm getting back into vocal instruction. I had some students a few years ago, but stopped teaching when we moved to Clarksville. I had my first one a couple days ago. I have a couple of hours on Tuesday afternoons I'm heading down to The Music Store in Clarksville to teach. They have a great offering of music instruction. Kim Edmondson heads up the program and does a great job. The Music Store in Clarksville is definitely worth a look if you are interested in any type of musical instruction...even kazoo! : ) The number to the Music Store, also known as Mary's Music, is (931) 552-1240.

Sci-Fi reality!

This is something you see in the movies, but today it's real. What happened is actually mundane, two white dots flash across a screen, but what it represented was huge. You can read about it HERE. It is a 17 mile loop made to collide particles (atoms). Be sure to look at the pictures in the link.

A thought occured as I read this...two white dots flash across a screen and a room full of some of the world's smartest peeps went nuts. To us, they are white dots, to them they are years of hard work. They understand what the two white dots mean, they know what's going on behind the scenes, behind the blips of light.

At Grace Community we see alot of people with different backgrounds. We see churched people who come in to worship and connect. We see unchurched people who have been waiting for the church to be relevant. And we see those who have no clue what's going on and trying to figure out why they are even there. Many of them come back again and again. It begins with once every couple of months and then it goes to once a month and then one week something happens. They begin to sing louder than they ever have. Or they go home and open the Bible to read it on their own for the first time. Or they invite a friend or even better, share their story with them. To the outsider it might seem like a small thing to open a book or sing along with a song. But to God it's so much bigger, he knows where they've been, what they've been struggling through on the inside, and what it took for Him on the cross to bring them to that point. I believe God celebrates the small seemingly insignificant white dots that flash across our lives because he knows what that small blip really means.

Steve Jobs Commencement Speech

I Stumbled Upon this today. It is definitely worth the read.

Steve Jobs Commencement Speech

"Hold On" Story

Hey, we've heard from lots of people about how the song "Hold On" has touched their lives. In an effort to create a community of encouragement and prayer we are giving an opportunity for everyone to share their own "Hold On" story. We'd love to hear about God's faithfulness in your life. Go read other people's stories and consider sharing yours! HOLD ON STORIES CLICK HERE

DDB caught on security camera!!

Labor Day and Gustav

I hope you're having a happy Labor Day! Emily and I have had a nice visit with friends and are looking forward to the Tennessee Vols game tonight!!! Although it's been a restful day for many, our thoughts and prayers are with those whom Hurricane Gustav is affecting. I cannot imagine the devastation many are about to face.

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...