A Review

I've never done a CD review before, but thought it might be a good time to start. Plus, blogs seem like good venues for that type of thing. And since my blog has seriously lacked some good, consistent posting lately...

I just downloaded Sunday! by Tree63. And. Oh. My. God. It's rocking my face off. I can't stop listening to it. I have been a Tree63 fan since their self-titled debut in 2001, which has always been my favorite album of theirs. Sunday! may either be just as good as that one, if not better. I can't be certain of that just yet, because it's still too early to tell. A CD has to stand the test of time for me. Will I still be actively searching for songs from it on my iPod two years from now??? I hope so. Some of my favorites on this one are "Sunday!", "Becoming", "World Undone", "Foolishness", "New Creation", and "The Revolution." I could honestly list every song on it, it's that good. They seem to be drawing a bit more from their punk rock roots, which always gets my seal of approval. Yet, every song is still beautifully written and anthemic, so much so that I can often be found shouting "WHOOO-HOOO!!!" when I'm listening to it by myself in the car. Rest assured, when that happens, it's got to be good.

I give it 4 & 1/2 stars.

Go out and buy it now!!!

Nothing

I am two days away from preaching again this Sunday. I honestly feel like I have absolutely nothing to say. I am supposed to be teaching on faith. It's ironic, because right now, I seem to have very little. Things seem very dark. I can't seem to see or hear God. That's sort of a problem, isn't it? If this is some sort of test, it's one from which I'd like to exempt myself. The last time I preached, I really sensed God's grace, help, and power. I really haven't felt that this time. It makes me wonder--am I doing something wrong??? If He's calling me to preach, why isn't He providing the help??? It's Friday, and Sunday's fast approaching. I keep waiting for some spark. Some light. Some glimmer of hope that help is on the way. This week has been the week from Hell. Literally. And things just seem to keep getting darker...

I imagine that's what the disciples felt like on Friday when Jesus was crucified. This was the Man on whom they'd pinned all their hopes. Wasn't He supposed to come and save them??? Why, instead, is He nailed to a cross??? What happened??? What went wrong??? Isn't He supposed to save us???

Now, He's dying!!!

Dead.

Gone.

But wait...

Gone???

John and Simon Peter saw the body of their Lord gone from the tomb. And they believed. It wasn't until then that they understood the Scriptures that Jesus must rise from the dead (John 20:8-9).

I don't know why things have to die first in order to bring about newness of life. But they do. They always do. I am realizing that I have nothing. I am nothing. I bring absolutely nothing to the table. If the Lord has called me to preach...and I truly believe He has...for this was never my plan or crazy idea, after all...then I must die. I must die in order that He may live through me. I must decrease that He may increase. It's not pretty. And it's certainly not always fun. But here I am. Where else can an ambassador in chains go? How can I extinguish this blazing fire shut up in my bones? I cannot.

And I would not.

I read this morning that when Peter, John, and the other disciples spotted Jesus' resurrected form from their fishing boat, they quickly headed to shore and not only found Jesus, but also a hot breakfast waiting for them (John 21:9). After all that had been...suffering the loss of their Lord, fleeing His side and denying His name...and after a hard night's work...Jesus is the one waiting for them. With a hot meal.

It's Friday, but Sunday's comin'...Hallelujah.

Tagged...Dang

So I've been tagged by Tony to list one of my bad habits. It's embarassing, but here goes. I have a terrible habit of biting my fingers. No, you read that correctly. Not my fingernails. That's normal. A lot of people do that. I pick and chew on the skin AROUND my nails. I have done it for as long as I can remember. And I can't seem to stop it. There you go. I bet you're all disgusted by now. So now I'm supposed to tag some of my friends. You're it.

Wes Whitener
Holly Etchison
Kim Borg
Kristen Frith

I bet that whatever you guys list as your bad habit, it won't be as gross as mine.

Garlic Fries at Applebee's

First of all, let me just state for the record that I'm not the biggest Applebee's fan in the world. I've eaten there a few times, but for some reason I always leave with the feeling that I've just spent way too much money and didn't get the meal that I paid for. The food is all kind of generic and boring. And the pictures do way too much justice to the food that actually comes to your table. Now, as a kid I thought it was a very cool place to eat. I mean who doesn't love all the fake "local" memorabilia they have plastered all over the walls, right? I particularly remember loving the potato skins. And, let's face it, kids don't necessarily have the broadest pallets in the world. So generic and boring worked for me then. It still works for my kids today.

But today after church, I ventured out with my family for lunch, only after we discovered that Cracker Barrell, once again, had its typical 45-minute wait established as we arrived. So onward to Applebee's. I wasn't really looking forward to it, but I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by my meal. And particularly by Tyler Florence's Garlic Fries. First off, let me just say that it was SO NICE of him to take time out of his busy schedule just to make my fries. You can't get better service than that, in my opinion. And. Oh. My. I am already regretting the fact that I ate the entire contents of the fry dish that was the size of my 9 month old son's head. But strangely enough, I didn't feel that way as I was scarfing them down. Each fry had this buttery, garlicky, rosemary and Parmesan cheese magic dust sprinkled all over it. I am certain that I've surpassed my caloric intake for the week. But, man, they were good. Apparently, good enough for me to blog about.

Good Clean Humor

I found this tonight, at Ren's recommendation. This guy is honestly one of the funniest (and cleanest) comedians I've heard in a long time. I can't remember the last time I laughed this hard. He's also got another funny bit about Christmas. Be sure to check him out.

First Week of School

Isabel started Pre-K this week. It's amazing how much work you have to do to get prepared for something like that. All the records, supplies, meetings, etc. It always takes a lot of effort to get that rolling. But now that we're adjusting to this new schedule, I think we're all going to really enjoy it.

She's going to a K4 program at a church nearby. She's been such a trooper and she absolutely loves it. We've gotten no protests, so far. It's only a few hours a day, five days a week. But it gives me some time with my other two babies. I've realized that when Isabel's around, she likes to run the show. With her at school, it's a lot quieter around here!

Alive & Well

Well, I survived the weekend! Yesterday went pretty well. Nobody threw tomatoes or anything, so that's a good sign. Actually, I felt the most comfortable teaching yesterday than I ever have. Obviously, the more you do something, the more comfortable you feel doing it. But I talked about prayer yesterday, and that's a subject that I am pretty passionate about. It's easy to talk about something you care a great deal about. It was also pretty easy to prepare for something like that. As I prepared, I really sensed God's grace. It's not easy preparing and giving a sermon while caring for the needs of your family. My hat's off to all pastors out there who do it every week. Although, I had an experience out in the parking lot that few pastors have ever had to deal with (okay, well, maybe some of you have). Right before I got out of the van, I noticed this foul smell coming from the back seat. I got my 8 month old son out of his car seat, and lo and behold he'd filled his pants. Lovely. So, minutes before giving a sermon, I changed a dirty diaper out in the parking lot at church. That will keep you humble, my friends.