House Hunters

Hey everyone,

We're looking for some help. We need to find a home. Here are some of the things we're looking for:

- PHM Schools
- 3 bed/2 bath minimally
- $180K max
- close to GCC - obviously

We're on realtor.com everyday. If you know of anyone with any leads, let us know. Thanks so much.

Jack (Black) Attack!

I am proud to confess that Lisa and I are HUGE Jack Black fans! We are obnoxious quoters from "School of Rock". You might catch us saying "It's gonna test your brain, your head and your mind," or "Let's rock, let's rock today!" or possibly "I'll catch you guys on the flip flop..." - all School of Rock.

We're looking forward to a couple new flicks from the Man in Black this year. Coming Feb. 22, I'm looking to check out Be Kind Rewind. The website is here. Worth the click. Trust me.

Here's the trailer for those less adventurous:



Also, coming this summer (I saw this trailer on the Shrek the Third DVD) - Kung Fu Panda! I love the feel of this animation. It looks amazing. Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, and more.



I'm thankful that it seems like they're letting Jack be himself. Big mistake in Shark Tale to make him play someone else. A huge waste of his comedic talent. Anyway. Looking forward to what Jack will bring us!

OUT OF ORDER

Can anyone relate? 1-2 months ago, I was in an unhealthy rhythm in my life. Priorities were wacked out. This made life literally feel OUT OF ORDER. Here was my priority list, (based on time/energy spent) for that period:

1. Job
2. Family
3. God

This order had me in a constant feeling of dis-ease. Feelings of anxiety/uncertainty were rampant. I never felt like I had enough time to get done all the things that I needed to. It's amazing when your "job" is working for the Lord, how many excuses you can make to ignore a Sabbath, cheat my family by looking at another email about a work project, or take a "crucial" telephone call. What I have realized that most of my crises, were my own creation by lack of planning. I decided to change.

Not that everything's perfect now, but I have consciously made some decisions to re-arrange my life priorities. Not only have I set activities that will point me toward my life's priorities, I have actually scheduled them on the calendar. New list (yeah, it's turned upside down):

1. God
2. Family
3. Job

Things like daily time in God's word, journaling, praying - PRIORITY. Bi-weekly date night. Dates with both of my girls. Weekly financial assessment. Weekly activities to encourage health, development of my gifts, etc. All helping me feel at the end of the week like I've accomplished something. I know this is not revolutionary and Stephen Covey could have told me this 15 years ago, but I think I'm finally ready to engage this kind of structure for an artist. We'll see where it goes. I'm hopeful.

Discovering God's Will

I've been listening to some podcasts from North Point Church in Atlanta about discovering God's will. Andy Stanley is one of my favorite teachers. A few memorable quotes:

- "God does not give us direction for consideration. He gives us direction for participation." - when we're surrendered and say "YES" even before we ask, He's going to make His will crystal clear.

- "I do not get to know God and then do His will. I get to know Him more deeply by doing His will." - Phillip Yancy - God's more concerned about us knowing Him than knowing His will. It all point back to relationship.

- "We receive enlightenment only in proportion as we give ourselves more and more completely to God by humble submission and love." - Thomas Merton - the enlightenment follows the surrender. The person who waits to see clearly before they start, never begins the journey.

Here is the link for the first in this series. It's free of course.

U2 3D - I am there!!!

This is going to be amazing!!!



Thanks, Heredes!

MacBook After 2 Weeks

Okay, so I'm a little late in letting people know that I'm a MacbBook owner now. I have been a "Mac man" for more than 2 years with a PowerMac that has been great. It was a little hard to carry around though. So I recently purchased a new MacBook (not the Pro or the Air) just a MacBook.

Two words, so far:

GOOD PURCHASE

We have found it has helped out so much in my traveling back and forth from work. It helps with dad monopolizing the computer when he's home (there's another option). It helps that during the winter our basement is a bit colder, so it's nice to do email at our kitchen counter.

Several impressions about MacBook (and Apple in general):

1. Great design - even as I opened the package (see below), form met function right away. I love that!



2. Integration - every program on Mac integrates wonderfully with the others. When I'm sound editing in Logic Studio, and I want to import a file from iTunes - drag and drop. Nice. My other audio programs go through a long import process.

3. Feel - I simply LOVE the new keyboards. I'm looking to upgrade my old PowerMac keyboard to one of the new ones. It feels great and is very accurate. No more sticky keys.

4. Maintenance - I'm the kinda guy that likes to have things take care of themselves. This is why we are cat people and not dog people. We like to have the cats "do their business" and not have to monitor that every time. I love that Macs take care of security/virus stuff within system updates. I don't have to make sure my Macafee is updated and my pop-up blocker is good to go. I realize that Vista has made considerable strides in this way, but I still think Mac is ahead in lower maintenance.

So, with that said, I'll get back to my MacBook...

Pop Goes the Church... so far

1st impressions of "Pop Goes the Church" by Tim Stevens (his first solo book):

1. Tim has a very conversational writing style - I like this.

2. Tim doesn't shy away from tough truths - this even stings me every so often (in a good way)

3. Tim uses many examples and draws from other's experiences. He does a great job of this in his workshops as well. Keeps me turning pages, waiting for the next thing.

4. Tim writes with conviction and passion. He believes what he is writing will make a difference. He's not just trying to sell a book.

5. Tim has a great hair/beard combo going. This gives him credibility as wise and all-knowing (in a pop culture sort of way). :)

6. So far, I would buy this book in a heartbeat. A good read with great content. Thanks Tim for your hard work. I think the Church (capital "C") will really benefit.

Check out other reviews here.

Looking forward to Tuesday

My favorite "worst" of Idol '08...

Cloverfield: Review

Alright, I'll have to admit that when my friend Rob asked me to go to see Cloverfield last night, I was sort of, "yeah, maybe". My first choice on movies wouldn't be in the "thriller" genre. But it was Rob, so we went to the Carmike Encore Park 14 in Elkhart - this was my first visit to this theater. THE BEST THING - they play the movies in FULL DIGITAL which is AMAZING!!! Not IMAX, but amazing for local. The clairty was so great. I did not miss the specs flying through each scene that I'm used to at the Cinemark Theaters.

This movie is definitely not for those who would have any degree of motion sickness. The clever scenario of everything being from the perspective of someone's camcorder caused about 10-15 to leave our theater. Very effective use of this technique throughout.

Highlights for me -
- I loved the character development at the beginning of this film
- I was disappointed in how soon they actually "let the cat out of the bag" with
revealing how "the monster" looked. A lot scarier when you don't know what
you're scared of.
- A few good laughs throughout from the character "Hud"
- The mini-monsters that were spawned from the big mama were wicked awesome. Very
effective.
- Great ending - a little unexpected - I won't give it away if you haven't seen it
- I was kind of shocked that it was so short. Only about 1:10 in my estimation.
Bottom Line:
A good movie. Once you get past the crazy cameras, the story keeps you engaged. Good story telling with believable characters in an unbelievable setting. I jumped/was scared quite a bit more for "I Am Legend" but definitely worth seeing if you like this genre (or even if it's not your first choice!).
-

The Sagarsee's New Baby! (Alive)

Yep,

It's true. I have pictures. Kyle and Jeanette Sagarsee were at our house with baby... Baby Alive that is!

Yeah, she talks, she eats, she pees, she poops. It's all there.

Seriously, we had a great time hanging out with the Sags this past week. I think Kyle and Jeanette are going to be great parents.

My Friend Jill and International Justice Mission

Hey all,

I've been blessed to be witness of the journey of a strong woman of faith, Jill Ulrich. She was part of the vocal team here at GCC for several years. She also is a lawyer who has a passion for helping the disenfranchised. Through a long process, Jill has accepted a position with IJM (International Justice Mission) in Southeast Asia.

She is currently in training in Washington D.C. but will leave for India on the 23rd. I'm thrilled for what God is going to do through this lady and the work of IJM. Countless people have come out of slavery/prostituion becaue of their work.

The cool thing about what God has done here is that we have groups from GCC who visit Southeast Asia every few months to help our church planters in the region. It will be great since our people go to the same region where Jill is being sent. I'm sure this will help with homesickness. I imagine it will be a little hard to adjust to living in a completely new culture. Way to go Jill! We're praying!

Impact 2818 Camp Video

If any of you have gone to Camp Adventure (for middle schoolers) or Camp Lakewood (for the younger kids), they (Impact 2818) have a new website HERE and a new promo video with original music that I had the opportunity to compose and produce. Here's the video. See what you think.

One-Oh-Oh-Oh!

Well, I made a commitment a year ago to run 1000 miles in 2007 and yesterday at 4:34pm, I completed my task!

By the numbers:

- 1000 miles
- about 9000 minutes of running
- 150 hours or 6.25 straight days of running
- I lost 3-4 pant sizes, going from a 33 to a 29 or 30 (depending on the store)
- If you would travel this all in one stretch, you would run from my house in South Bend, IN to Ocala, Florida (about an hour outside of Orlando)


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