Month: September 2004

  • Starting this book soon-Next Generation Leader was also a great book.

    I won the Nertz game last night. Mike started out strong, but as I said before, I’m a marathon Nertzer, not a sprinter. I won in the end with 155 points, the closest competitor was around 20-30 points behind.

    Great scripture today:

    Galatians 6:1-10
    Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, 5for each one should carry his own load.
    6Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.
    7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature[1] will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

    Carry each others burdens: something we don’t do often enough. Something that happens in true fellowship (small groups!).

    …in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ: LOVE. THat is the law-LOVE. Love God and Love each other…another thing we don’t do enough. (*disgusted with pious Christians who don’t know the true Christ*)

    Let us not grow weary in doing good: a good statement, but sometimes overused in ministry in guilt-tripping people who aren’t committed. I’m all for getting committment out of people, but not at the cost of the health of their family or something. Often if someone is not being committed (unless they are just plain lazy) it is because something else in their life is not going well. To slap this verse on them is so stupid.

    Funny video clip here. You can watch it, AND you can download it for free…definately should watch this!!!!

  • I wish I were watching Mean Girls (I just put that there because MG is hilarious…and now it’s out on DVD) GO TINA FEY!! (the writer, who also heads up the wiriting team @ Saturday Night Live).

    I taped the series premiere of the show LOST, and watched it last night. Incredible. I sat down with a bag of chips and a glass of water, and I never actuall ate any chips–THAT”s how entralled I was. And if you know me and chips, that means the show was really good…I don’t know how long this thing will stay good, but it was really good last night. It had my stomach in knots because of the anticipation. It was nice to see Dominic Mognahan again…(from LOTR)

    2 Cor 4:1-12
    1Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 3And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
    7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

    I love this passage…one of my favorite parts is “setting forth the truth plainly…” which just goes against all the people that are anti-Rick Warren and PDL. I just don’t understand the people that think you can’t learn anything from the Bible unless there is deep theological exegisis of the Greek. Paul says right here, (although this passage seems to be specifically speaking against distorting the Word of God) that a good way to teach is to make the truth plainly apparant. Put forth the truth, plainly. In a manner that speaks to people and that they can identify with.
    I will never forget the pious tone of a Pastor’s voice that I interviewed for. I was looking for a Music Pastor’s job and he was at a church some where near the Bay Area…he asked me what I had been doing/where I was currently, and I responded, “I am teaching full time and working part time at a Purpose-Driven church in the mountains…” and he says to me, “Well, my church has no purpose OR drive…” yadda yadda yadda I was out of there in like 5 minutes-I didn’t really even finish the interview. What a jerk!
    I just don’t see the problem with taking spiritual truth and making it applicable to our lives RIGHT NOW. What’s wrong with that?? Why is %50 of Pastors antii-Saddleback?
    Crazy people…

    A TIme for XMAS auditions were GREAT! Thanks to all who came out! Pray for us as we decide who gets what!

    Amazing race finale was incredible! I predicted Chip and Kim…I’m glad they won. Hey Brandon and Nicole–read James 4, that talks about “When you ask, you don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend what you get on your own pleasures…” The race WAS in God’s hands, my friends, he just didn’t hand you the million…because you just didn’t deserve it!
    Congrats everyone!

  • Star Wars trilogy comes out today on DVD. Wahoo! I won’t be buying it though…I’ll be asking the birthday fairy for it, or something…also Mean Girls comes out. LOVED IT! But, anyway…

    More talk about Napolean Dynamite really makes me want to see it. It sounds so stupidly funny…

    Pacific Islander Festival is this weekend. We’re definatly going this year (last year Noah was born on this weekend, so we couldn’t attend).

    The Midway Kids Choir is also performing at Berean Christian Bookstore @ 11AM on Saturday. They are going to do a great job! And the T-Shirts we got for them are really cool! I think they’ll do great!

    Auditions are tonight for “A Time for Christmas” and we are praying that God brings all the right people. Finding a “Bill” will be a bit tricky. It’s the main guy role that is singing and acting, and there’s just not a whole bunch of those at our church that we know of. We are praying that someone will come out of the woodwork that we don’t know of. Please Lord! Send us a BIll!!!

    Choir recruiting booths have been absolutely fabulous! We gathered info on 88 people over the last 2 Sundays that volunteered to help out in some fashion…my many thanks to all who helped out. Praise the Lord!!

    What a fabulous small group last night. The lesson was on money. I learned quite a bit, and the discussion was great. There was a section that talked more about balance, in regards to finances. If you’ve read my blog at all, you know that word “Balance” has been a huge part of my life lately–the perpetual search for balance (I feel like I’m looking for the Holy Grail or something)–but that section really spoke to me. What a great study!

    The Amazing Race finale is tonight! I am hoping for Chip and Kim. But is more likely Colin and Christie will win. I’ll give the bowling mom’s 3rd place, and the little models last. I think Colin and Christie are going to SLAM Chip and Kim’s butt with a Yield at a really crucial point…revenge…

    BTW, I think Chip and Kim have done a great job showing a good example of Christ in this race. And I think everyone else has done a really poor job (in this show or any other). Other “Christian” people on reality TV seem to be really shallow, or hypocritical. Like they just don’t know what’s up. Good job Chip and Kim. We didn’t even know you guys were CHristians until a while into the show, and you have been really loving to everyone. I think that’s awesome!

    I’m singing “Raging Sea” this Sunday for church. I have to transcribe it since they didn’t put out a Second Decade songbook. Oh well, it’s not hard at all…

    Matthew 6:19-21
    19″Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

  • Well…we didn’t make it onto The Apprentice-at least that we know, yet! We are going to go back through the footage to see. My sister-in-law Julie thought maybe she saw my arm, buying the ice cream. I’ll keep you updated.

    We also watched Survivor.
    Eh.
    I think I’m pretty much done with Survivor. Don’t really care much about it anymore…seems pretty much like the same thing over and over and over and over…

    The Apprentice rocks! That is my new favorite show, definately!
    I also don’t think I’ll be much into American Idol, come January. One can only watch so much TV before it starts REALLY affecting one’s life. The amount of TV I watch now, is mostly OK, with the exception of times when I (or Christy and I) stay up late enough to make me too tired to get up early and get some time alone.

    BALANCE

    MODERATION

    Words that really mean quite a bit to me right now. Seemingly unattainable goals that I’m constantly working towards–and will hopefully achieve…

    In fact, I’m going to bed right now…

    (Star Wars and Mean Girls come out on DVD Tuesday. I can’t wait! I loved Mean Girls!)

  • O God, you are my God,
    earnestly I seek you;
    my soul thirsts for you,
    my body longs for you,
    in a dry and weary land
    where there is no water.

    2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
    and beheld your power and your glory.
    3 Because your love is better than life,
    my lips will glorify you.
    4 I will praise you as long as I live,
    and in your name I will lift up my hands.
    5 My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
    with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

    Psalm 63:1-5

    So…how earnetly do you and I seek Him? I remember reading another Psalm that any of us that are old enough can remember in an old song, “As the deer panteth for the water, so my soul longeth after thee.” To that deer, water is life. Water is something that sustains and satisfies their desires for nurishment…And my thoughts was, “Do I long for God like that?? Or do I just make time for Him out of necessity and the knowlege that I should?”

    So what? So do we really long for God and seek Him? We had a great small group last night, with a lesson about planning our future and including God in our plans (from James 4). Rick Warren said that many people practice “Practical Atheism” by living day to day w/o making God a part of our plans and our daily decision making. What a thought! Living as if there is no God…and many times it is accidentally, because we just aren’t in the habit of including God in our daily life…

    God wants to be a part of everything we do. I want to really seek God, and make a habit out of including Him in every part of my life. Why shouldn’t we? Although THAT HABIT goes against what our normal selfish tendency is, what great fulfillment and results we will have when we are surrendered to God and include Him in all we do!

    I’m kinda tired. My love brought me a yummy Caramel Frappacino last night around 9PM…it had caffiene…yadda yadda yadda…I’m really tired today…
    hahehahaha

  • I can’t believe it’s been ten days…my apologies to all of my blog protoges…your mentor is BACK!

    Life has been crazy and chaotic for a little bit…but here’s some stuff:

    Joey and Apprentice were SWEET! I had a good time with Joey, and I think that I will continue watching. I’m sure that the characters will grow into their roles and we will also grow to love them, but for now the show was funniest those times when it referred to Friends…which was brilliant, btw…I’m think I’m definately going to like it!

    ATTENTION ALL HANDS! Christy and I MAY BE ON THE APPRENTICE NEXT WEEK! We saw a preview, and this episode was the one they were shooting while we were in New York. The challenge is selling ice cream in TImes Square…and if you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you’d know that we bought ice cream from the guys team AND the girls team–but it was when we bought from the girls that we got on camera AND HAD TO SIGN A RELEASE FORM! WAHOO! OK- so we may be on screen for half-a-second…but keep your eyes PEELED! Oh yeah, and we may be in the background, too, ’cause we hung around those guys for about 3 hours trying to get in a shot somewhere. Christy was wearing red and I was wearing blue (i think). I Can’t wait!!! This is going to be my big break!

    We finally finished ST:DS9. WOW! The show was great (although Mike doesn’t like it), but the last few seasons were incredible! I was amazed at how they tied up all of the loose ends, and had every character do something unique…it wasn’t like Cheers, or Seinfeld, where you knew life just went on (in your head). Everything had an ending. Some charcters died, others moved away, others were promoted…it was fabulous. What a conclusion…well done. Now on to ST: Voyager. My mom taped most of these and we watched a lot of them from that while Nathaniel was a newborn, but there would be huge gaps in the major plot lines, so we know she missed a few episodes. All of a sudden, there would be these three new re-ocurring characters, and were like, “where did these people come from?” Now we’ll know.

    Things are getting a little better at home…we’re getting more and more moved in-slowly.

    My little bro got married last weekend. That was a fun trip. Beautiful wedding, except that the DJ showed up only five minutes before the wedding started and our microphones didn’t work AND he played the wrong song for the bridal entry…Talk about a loser of a business…I think it was Sierra Sounds…don’t ever hire them…that is, if you live in Sonora, CA. =) But all around it was a great time! I dominated the family NERTZ games. Even with my supposed “champion” sister playing. Yeah right, now I’M THE CHAMPION!

    until next time!

  • What an incredible choir practice last night! The song, “O Come, Be Born Again” is a winner! I liked it, but now I love it! Thank you choir members for all of your hard work!

    Our Christmas musical is rapidly approaching, and I’m getting a little nervous about the recruiting that needs to be done…we need people!! This is a HUGE show…This is going to be Midway’s “Titanic” (ya know, as in the MOVIE–size, budget, 7 Academy Awards…)

    Things are still chaotic at our new house…the garage is a disaster…we’ve gotta unpack and my little brother is getting married this weekend. We’ll be making a quick trip to Twain Harte. I better finish working on my songs…ahhh, Josh Groban and Andrea Bocelli. Both singers are the BOMB!

    Good amazing race last night, I kinda felt like it might be another non-elim leg. Four is just a lot, and there had only been two, with 5 teams left…it made sense, even though it was back-to-back with last week’s non-elim. And they usually make a point of saying “Last team to arrive may be eliminated”…they never get to that line in the other episodes.

    Go Midway Praise Choir!