Yeah B.O.I. !!!

I am going to be starting a periodic blog post using a spin on the phrase made popular by Flavor Flav "Yeah Boy!" I will be sharing Blogposts Of Interest. These will be posts to people's blog that I have found interesting enough to share. Here is the first installment:

Chris Reeder posted Out of the Mouth of an Atheist. Great video!

Here is some great advice from Anne Jackson at flowerdust.net

Bob Kauflin is giving away 10 copies of the ESV Study Bible. Register to win here.

Shane Duffey's post "When the Going Gets Tough" at What Leadership Demands gives great insight into endurance.

What do you Pandora?

I am sitting in my office listening to Classical Christmas Music via Pandora. If you have not discovered the bliss that is Pandora, you can check it out here. It allows you to set up online radio stations based on favorite artists and the genre of music they fall in. It is absolutely free which makes it all the better. Besides Christmas, here are some of my favorite stations:

1. Hillsong
2. Passion
3. Michael Buble
4. James Taylor
5. Def Lepoard

If you Pandora, what are some of yours?

Happy 14th Anniversary!!!

Today, I celebrate 14 years being married to the most amazing woman on the planet!

Ain't She cute!?! Here is a little something that I wrote that I am presenting to her at our choir Christmas party tonight:

Anniversary thoughts about Janice:
I can’t believe that I have been married to you for 14 wonderful years. It seems like just yesterday that I met you sitting on the ground carving that little pumpkin. I can still remember you coming to my door for our first official date. You wore a blue outfit with white polka dots and a big bow in your hair. You took my breath away, and still do. I can remember you walking yourself down the isle at our wedding. You looked so beautiful, and still do. You have given me two beautiful boys here on earth and two more children waiting for us in heaven. I am so glad that our children have you as their Mother. I love your spunk, your tenacity, and your love of life. I thank God every day for you. You are my best friend and you have my heart! Happy Anniversary My Love!

Keeping Out Of The Dog House

This is a hilarious video that I found at Dave Anderson's blog MoviePastor.com



Anyone but me been there? My anniversary is tomorrow. 14 years!

Straight, No Chaser

I love acapella music. Especially when sung by a group of guys. One of my band members told me about this group “Straight, No Chaser” out of the University of Indiana. I love their take on the 12 Days of Christmas. Only version I know of to incorporate the band “Toto”. Enjoy!




They also do an amazing arrangement of "Silent Night".

Sharing Musical Opinions

Bob Kauflin is a worship Guru. His insights on worship are off the chain.

Do you ever find yourself making snap judgements the first time you hear a song? Are you quick to share your opinion about a song you don't like? Kauflin has a great post about this subject. You can read it here. What are some of your favorite styles of music?

Super Squirrel

I was taking the dog out this morning on his leash. (Funny story for another blog.) As he was doing his business, I heard a rustling above me. It was a squirrel. He was nimbly moving along the branches with what looked to be a leaf on a branch in his mouth. (I am assuming that he was getting something for his nest.) He worked his way to the end of a branch that appeared to be the thickness of a small twig. The squirrel was moving up and down much like a diver on the end of a board getting ready to make the plunge into a pool.

The squirrel was going to make a plunge, but not into water. It was clear that if he was moving forward, the next place left to go for the squirrel was to the side of the pine tree about 4 feet away. (If you think about the distance in relation to his size - that is pretty darn far!) The squirrel paused for a moment, tucked the leaf securely in his mouth and plunged. He flew the distance through the air, stuck the landing and was headed up the pine tree. I wasn’t witnessing a miracle - as I have seen squirrels do this before. What I did witness was something amazing that God had created. God gave the squirrel the ability to move quickly along the braches of the tree. God gave the squirrel the gift and the tools to make the jump. He did what God has designed him to do. What about you? God has designed you to do amazing things.

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” - Psalm 139: 13-16.

God knew what you were capable of even before you breathed your first breath. He has given you the gifts and the tools to accomplish His will for your life. When the squirrel got to the end of the branch, he did not hesitate. He knew that he could make the jump because that is how God designed him. The problem with man is that we are given into doubt and temptation that keeps us from accomplishing great things for Christ. But the good thing is that we have the ability to overcome them,

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. - 1 Corinthians 10:13

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. - Ephesians 2: 8-9

What is stopping you from being what God had designed you to be?

Quality Time

My family and I have started a Thanksgiving tradition of going camping. This year, Janice, the boys and I went to Stone Mountain Park, Georgia. If you have never been, it is well worth the trip. There is so much to do that we never left the park the entire time we were there. I have many wonderful memories of the trip, but the highlight for me was Friday morning.
My eldest son Benjamin, who is 10, and I were going to make the hike to the top of Stone Mountain. He had been talking about dong it all week. He was pumped up. My youngest son Sam, who is 7, had no desire to make the journey. (If you knew Sam’s personality, this would come as no surprise to you) So the plan was for Janice and Sam to drop us off at the starting point, they would take the gondola up and meet us at the top.
We got there about 10:15. The sun was shining and the air was cool and crisp. Off we went. As we walked along, we talked. Not about anything specific, we just enjoyed good conversation. At times we stopped and admired the beautiful scenery around us. We looked at the carvings people had done in the granite. We took pictures. At times, the slope was quite steep. We would hold hands and help each other along, offering words of encouragement. When we finally reached the top, we felt a great sense of accomplishment. We celebrated with and ICEE as we waited for Janice and Sam to arrive. The entire trip took about an hour, but what an amazing hour. It is an hour that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
This reminds me of how our relationship with God should be. God wants us to be pumped up about spending time with Him. He wants to have good conversation. He wants us to see the beauty that surrounds us. In those times when we struggle, He wants to take our hand. And when we reach our goal, He wants to celebrate with us. God wants this journey to be amazing.
The original meaning of the proverb “A rolling stone gathers no moss” is that people pay a price for being always on the move in that they have no roots in a specific place. I have spent most of my Christian walk like a rolling stone. I have been so busy about doing God’s work that I have missed the amazement of the journey. In Psalm 1:3, it says that the blessed man “is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” That is where I want to be. I am tired of being a rolling stone. I want to be planted by streams of water.