Happy Valentines Day! (belated)

Christy and I had a fantastic weekend. We were very spoiled and were able to go out TWICE because of you awesome folks that have given us gift certificates (and our wonderful babysitters too!). It is kinda funny how it all happened, too…

On Sunday, we had a special guest trio that came out to the church to sing for us and lead us in worship. As is customary, we were planning on taking them out to lunch after the service (it is usually our obligation to get lunch for any performing group that stops by Midway) and had confirmed this with them on Thursday, prior to Sunday. Well, they totally blew us off…I have no idea why. I asked them on their way out where we were all going to lunch and they told me they were just going home…ok! Anywho, Christy was bummed. So I took her out to a fancy place in Coronado later on for dinner, (many thanks to the Altigs for the gift card!)

Then, I made reservations for Valentines dinner at perhaps the coolest and fanciest place I’ve ever eaten in my life! Thanks to Pat Boldt for the gift cert…this place was cool. I was wearing jeans and a nice sweater, and I was totally underdressed…oops. It was a restaurant downtown San Diego called “Galileo 101″ and is right across from the Civic Center on J and 2nd…This is one of those deals where you pay a set price per plate, and choose from a couple of different choices on a special menu they created just for this evening, for your 4-course meal. I actually ate shrimp (one of the courses) for the first time ever…I just shoved it down, thinking, “darn it, I WILL eat this shrimp…”. Christy was much more chicken than me. She only ate three of them…and then she made me take some of hers on my plate so it looked like she ate more than she actually did…HA!
This place also had live music–a little group singing chart-toppers from the past several years, AND this waiter just burst out into an aria from RIGOLETTO at one point…so cool…Our dinner reservations were @ 9PM, so I also took Christy to see “Hitch” before that. We both loved it!!! Super funny!! Mike babysat (thanks again!) and we had a great time!

This morning I’m going to get our car repaired under warranty in National City. My appt is @ 7AM. I hope they have a shuttle service that will take me back to work…otherwise I’m walking!!

I am really looking forward to choir tonight!!

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Ephesians 6: 5-8
5Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. 6Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, 8because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
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This is a portion I’ve used over and over to inspire commitment among ministry team members. Serve as unto the Lord…I tell them to remember to serve the Lord, and not serve me. Although this passage gives an indication of reward for serving the Lord, I often think about serving the Lord just for who He is, regardless of a reward or not.

Although I am very motivated OFTEN by reward (eat your vegetables and you’ll get a cookie…), in this case I am reminded of the Lakewood song “You Are Good”. The lyrics say “We worship you, Hallelujah, Hallelujah. We worship You for who you are…” That’s what makes that one of my all time favorite songs, because, as opposed to a song like “That’s Why We Praise Him” that says we should worship the Lord for all He’s done for us, I like the idea of worshipping (and serving) the Lord, just because He is THE LORD. Not because He did anything for me, but because He deserves it REGARDLESS of what He did for me—just because He’s worthy of my everything and MORE.

Mike says he likes my long blogs…well, he ya go…

I would put Chris Tomlin’s Arriving as “Currently Playing” but for some reason it won’t come up on the search…I even went to Amazon.com and searched for it there and found it–but the “xangazon” search didn’t find anything under “Arriving” or “Chris Tomlin” BUT it did find the NOT TO US album when I put that title in….I’m totally dumbfounded…

I was talking to my insurance agent, Kenny (an old buddy, old boss, and APU Alumnus from yonder years…) and I asked him what his top 3 favorite worship songs are right now–a question I OFTEN ask people, to see what stuff connects with them and ministers to them–without hesitation and with fervor he said “Indescribable! I love that one! It’s definately my favorite right now!”. So I jumped over to the computer and played it for myself…hmm…VERY NICE! You see, I often hear songs when they are VERY NEW–and I listen to somewhere between 500-1000 new songs for choir or worship every year (this can get very tedious–ahh, the blight of a musician…waah…). I often can dismiss a song right from the start because of something strange musically that happens in the song that might rub me the wrong way as a musician.

For instance, I dismissed Sing to the King for months because the tonal structure was so simple it bothered me…week after week Chuck (our Executive Pastor) would come down to my office and say “Hey, uh, ya know what song is sooo great…yeah, Sing to the King!”. So, finally, after I see that people all over the country are singing it, publishing it and recording it, I start asking everyone I find, “What makes this song so great for you?” Almost everyone responded “The lyrics”. “…Satan is vanquished and Jesus is King!…”
Hmmmmm…OK, I get the point.
Anyway-something similar with the lyric rhythm in “Indescribable”–there’s a weird word in part of the chorus…but something that can be overcome when you find the song ministers to your heart and soul in a way that a musically perfect song won’t…a good lesson for me to learn.

Speaking of questions…something I heard from Ed Young Jr. (Founding and Senior Pastor of Fellowship Church, Dallas, TX)-Ask the right questions to the right people to get the right answers. I have been out with three worship pastors for lunch lately, asking “the right questions” and getting some great answers. In addition, I’m trying to get together with another couple that we went to APU with, to ask some more questions!! Praise the Lord for buddies you can learn from!

Check out 1 Samuel 16:6-7 
6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here before the LORD .”
    7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

God tells Samuel that one of these guys will be the King of Israel, and Sam picks the biggest guy-but God says NOPE, he’s not the one I have in mind…
How many times have I picked the wrong one because of outside appearances–far too often. But I learned long ago THE VERY HARD WAY not to judge people by their outward appearance or actions. GOD knows their heart. Even if I think I know their heart, I don’t…GOD DOES.

That’s why it’s better to let the LORD show you who to choose…for whatever…for a friend, an employee, a worship team member…

pray…

My wife and I have decided to embark on a journey of personal growth as parents together. So we’re reading this book, starting today…and we are going to get together at a pre-determined time for 30 mins 2x a week to go over what we’ve read together. We really haven’t done anything like this since we were dating, so it should be good. I’m actually looking forward to it, ’cause we’ll get some interaction about the kids on this stuff that I’m sure will prove to be helpful.

Christy’s dad isn’t doing so hot. His heart is REALLY bad, so we’re taking our first week of vacation at the end of this month to go visit them, stopping by Twain Harte to visit my family too.

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2 Corinthians 4:5-7
For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For 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.
   But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this allsurpassing power is from God and not from us.
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Praise the Lord!!
Complete insufficiency of man and total sufficiency on God.

Lost:
Exhilirating. Breathtaking. Quite possibly the best show on TV. I don’t know how else to say it. One of the most original things I’ve ever seen. I’m enthralled and committed…I LOVE IT!

Worship last night was incredible. I don’t think the WED night crowd at church knew what to do with almost the entire Midway Praise Choir leading worship. I think we might have been bigger than the congregation…but the worship time was absolutely incredible. It was uplifting, fun, and I could sense the Lord’s anointing on us as we sang and played for His glory. Thank you Lord! and Thank you MPC members that came out to sing. It was so powerful!!!!!

In Christ Alone, I place my trust…

I am excited about leadership training lately. I have been training a lot of folks, and it has been fun to experience that growth with them. This morning and this afternoon I have meetings for it-and I’m looking forward to it.

Memory Verse:
“All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord.” Proverbs 16:2

Amazing Race:
I was deeply saddened and dissapointed that my homies Kris and Jon didn’t win. Those two people were such a testimony to the power of a good attitude. Throughout the entire race, I think there was only one time they ever showed frustration and anger outwardly, when everyone else fought pretty much the entire time…ugh. I’m actually REALLY bummed they didn’t win, I felt like they deserved it the most, by far.

American Idol:
I don’t know what’s up with AI this year, but the show has dramatically improved over previous seasons. The editing on this show is incredible! There has got to have been a change somewhere-new editor, new producer…something is different. GOOD different. They aren’t spending forever and ever on the bad folks with Simon insulting them to no end…there is a little of that here and there, tastefully. Its good…GOOD.

Apprentice:
I guess that’s one tomorrow night, but here’s my thoughts on that show…you can learn a lot about leadership by watching the Apprentice. There are plenty of bad leaders on there to show you what not to do, and usually some good advice from The Donald. “Now here’s what we’re gonna do…” HA!

Memory Verse:
All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord.” Prov 16:2

Choir practice was phenomenal again last night. We haven’t had practices this good for a LONG time. Maybe I’m delusional and I’m the only one who is loving it, or maybe God is just really pouring out His blessings-I don’t know (probably the latter, though). It has really been a joy more than it has been in a long time. We actually are making music and not just rehearsing…I LOVE IT!!
No choir on Sunday, btw…special group singing this week…

OK-right after that verse above is this one, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” Proverbs 16:3
Great promise…

So, I’ve gotta quickly recap the small group lesson last night, ’cause it was really good…so here goes…

Study of 1 Thessalonians 2:1-6

In this passage Paul defends his motives to the Thessalonians…Purpose Driven gives us five ways to measure OUR motives. These can pertain to our motives in life to anything, but here Paul is speaking about his motives in sharing the gospel and building God’s church.

1) Do you see your service to God as an entrustment?

Anything and everything we have is a gift from God. He has trusted us with talents and abilities that are only on loan from Him. How do we view these gifts? Pride can be subtle and insidious.
Also see 1 Cor. 9:17, and Jer 17:9

2) If someone could see my motives, would they see me focused on pleasing God, or pleasing men?

This one’s pretty self-explanatory…in your decision-making, are you focused on what other people think of you? Are you driven to make decisions based on the complaints of others? or fear of rejection from others?
Make sure you are connected with God and continue to seek His will so you know what will please Him. Stay focused on HIM.

See 2 Cor 4:5

3) Am I focused on the internal as much as the external?
God examines the heart. Remember that in our image-is-everything society.

See 1 Sam 16:7, Prov 16:2

4) Am I serving God with no hidden agenda?
Flattery implies using words to manipulate. (see 1 Thess. 2:1-6)
Do we use people, or utilize people? The difference is subtle, has to do (imo) with our motives.

5) Where am I looking or my reward?
Where does your praise come from, man or God.

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This is great stuff, so I had to give you all a recap….thanks!

This week’s memory verse:
Proverbs 16:2
“All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord.”

You must read my wife’s blog. She is keeping record of what she dreams about each night, and I must say, it’s quite amusing. I don’t dream, or if I do, I never remember it, so this cracks me up beyond all belief…you MUST take a glance…

Some of the best Psalms:

Psalm 33

Psalm 34

I love the first five or so verses of each of these chapters…but that might just be ’cause I’m a worship leader! I tell you what! You want to learn about worship, read the Psalms! They’re awesome! What a great example David sets of one who worships the Lord with complete abandon. Go Dave!!

I won at Nertz last night. Beat Mike, and he’s ashamed…
Happy Superbowling!

I had a great time with a couple of old college buddies yesterday. I thought I was just gonna be hanging out with Mark Aragon, but then it turns out Mike Cathey works at the same church, so we all hung out together! Anyway, it was great to pick their brains about what they are doing in their ministry up at Covina Assembly of God. I always am asking questions to see if I can get any good ideas!! It was fun!

I am still in awe of the quote from yesterday (see entry)…

Christy is sick again-this is not good for anyone…she does sooooo much, this house falls apart without her!

This week’s memory verse:
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and fasley say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” Matthew 5:11

Ooooo

Check out this little excerpt from John Fischer’s daily devo (from PurposeDrivenLife.com)
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There is no right or wrong way to seek God. You just seek Him, and you keep on seeking Him. There’s no end to this because there’s no end to God. There’s always more of Him to discover and experience. Worship is never static. It keeps opening up more and more of God to us as we worship Him and live our lives out according to His purposes.
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That is so sweet!

Going to APU/Chiropracter/San Dimas/Covina today to visit an old friend and a couple of other things…should be a fun trip. Then “The Wedding Date” comes out tonight. That’s Christy’s favorite type of movie. She scratches my back, I scratch hers. Yeah, guess who’s gonna be seeing Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith on May 19th with me?? Christy. (and Mike, of course…but that’s beside the point)