What Matters

When I come to the end of my life I will not regret the times the dishes remained dirty in the sink.
The load of laundry sitting at the bottom of my closet won't mean a thing.
The mess in my car won't matter.
The piles that form in my kitchen won't overwhelm me.

I will not worry if the house was clean enough when visitors came over.

I won't be concerned with the length of my grass.
I won't wish I spent more time on the computer, watching TV, or playing video games.

If it won't matter then, how much should it really matter now?

Dedicated to Baby Amelia

Laura and Matt Dawson were here visiting with their 6 month old baby, Amelia.

It was great to have them and I enjoyed the few days we got to spend together.  During their visit, I was insipred and together we created the following list:


Good reasons to get a dog / Bad reasons to have a baby:

You could use a little more companionship.

When company visits, you'll have something to talk about.

The walks will help you get in shape.

Your friends and family say you need to learn to be responsible.

You need an excuse to fence in your backyard.

Strangers will have a reason to talk to you and you like meeting new people.

You love to play fetch.

You don't want to sweep up the crumbs on the floor.

Feeding time is a better excuse than "I can't. I have to wash my hair tonight."

It takes more than a buzzing alarm clock to get you out of bed.

The cat's not cutting it.

Jonathan's Heart

The current series at Southern Hills is titled "Heros: Champions of the Faith."  (Check out the stage design at my post More Foam Board).  A few weeks ago Mike preached about Jonathan going into battle with his armor bearer and followed it the next week with a sermon on David's heart.  In All Stars (the children's program), Corey focused on Jonathan's friendship with David.

Sitting in these three different services, I heard nothing new, but my brain made a connection with the facts that it had not before.
    -Mike briefly mentioned that Jonathan was the son of Saul the King and thus entitled to the throne.
    -God chose David to succeed Saul.
    -Jonathan was a great friend to David.  He stood-up for David to his father and risked his own life to save David's.

Really?!? Jonathan was best friends with the guy who was going to prevent him from being the next king, a privilege he was guaranteed at birth?!?

Did Jonathan not want to be the next king and thus not mind?  Sure, maybe.  But based on Jonathan's character demonstrated in the rest of scripture, I doubt that was the case.  I think it is more likely that Jonathan recognized the will of God and submitted to it.  As David's close friend he saw David's heart for God and was able to offer him support and encouragement as he prepared for leadership.  Jonathan didn't allow their friendship to be riddled with envy or competition, but he humbled himself and recognized his own role to play.

What a friend.  What a man of God.  What an example.

I pray my heart becomes more like Jonathan's.

Crew Commune

I want to live in a commune with "the crew," my tight knit group of friends from MACU.

I've desired this for some time.  During the recent visit of three of the crew members, Rob, Matt, and Kaylin, I had a commune moment.  I was doing the dishes and Rob was leisurely strumming his guitar while everyone else chilled and chatted in the living room.  I got lost in the moment and imagined us making meals together, caring for our homes, sitting on the front porch sipping coffee, doing life together as we grew old.

Of course this would never work.

There is graduation and internships.
There is Papua New Guinea and Mexico and Iraq.
There are churches who need these men to preach and lead.
There are communities who need these women to teach and influence.
There are families to start.

Maybe in Heaven their mansions will be next to my shack and we'll live together forever, worshipping the God we all love.  And I'll have the greatest joy as I look out from my porch swing at the streets lined with those they reached during our time apart.

Spring Cleaning

Spring is here and it's time for spring cleaning!

During Elizabeth's visit, we cleaned out the closet in the All Stars (Children's Church) building.  What a disaster!  We threw out a ton of junk, created a free pile for the volunteers to rummage through, and reorganized the shelves.  In the cleaning process we made a HUGE mess before we made it better.  It was a long, tiresome, two-day process but the closet is now organized, junk free, and you can see the floor!

And it got me thinking...

Spring is here and it's time for spring cleaning!

It's time to
     dust off the disciplines I've neglected.
     throwout negative attitudes I've been holding on to.
     sweep out the cobwebs of sloth.
     reorganize my priorities.
     give away love I've been hoarding.

I make a huge mess before it gets better, but the end result will be worth the effort.

Spring is here and it's time for spring cleaning!

Overheard Words

Early this past week, Corey, Elizabeth, and I went to Shane's for lunch.  Sitting in a nearby booth was a very boistorous, chatty college girl talking at a male friend.  It was nearly impossible not to eavesdrop, but when she started to talk about an assignement in her English class I listened in more closely.

Her English professor instructed the class to write a poem including a random statement that they overheard.  I find this scene of me evesdropping into a conversation about evedropping rather ironic.  And without the assignment, this student wouldn't have given the overheard statement a second thought nor mentioned it over lunch while I was sitting within ear shot so that I could then share it here.  Intriguing.

The student went on to explain that her poem was terrible, but written around a golden overheard statement at Wal-mart (of all places).

"She is like Beethoven and I am like Houdini."

The statement stricks me.  How poetic.  And I wonder- What did the originator of the statement mean?  What context did the student give the statement in her poem?  What would I pen with this line?

Maybe the assignment and statement struck your creative nerve as well.  Feeling up to the professor's task?  Start listening to those around you and see what overheard words inspire you.

Creative Juices

I follow the Church on the Move blog titled "Seeds."  If you are a worship leader, I highly recommend you check it out.  They often proved tips and insights into leading worship as well as logistics into their services (there was a series about soundboards and mixing that was WAY over my head, but probably really good stuff for those involved with that kind of thing).  I'll save you a step; Here's the link- http://seeds.churchonthemove.com/blog

They also frequently blog about using creative elements in worship services and if you know me, you know this captures my attention. There have been a few recent posts on the creating process and I would like to share a few things that particularly struck me.

Practice creative osmosis. The Bible is clear that when we hang out with fools, we become like them. However, when we spend time with the wise we become wise. It’s a bit like osmosis – a gradual transference of substance from one place to another. The question is: Who is transferring wisdom, creativity, excellence, ideas, etc. into your life? As worship/creative leaders we must continue to surround ourselves with people who challenge our ideas, sharpen our instincts and dare us to move into new and different arenas.

Build a diverse team- Allow them to challenge you (respectfully, of course). Welcome their input and allow their ideas to trump yours at times.  They specifically recommend team members be diverse in age.

Creativity Is A Group Effort. There are no creative geniuses. There’s not one guy coming up with all the ideas. There’s not one person who can take credit for every great idea. It’s a team effort.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make in creative planning is assuming your first good idea, is good enough. Think about it. Every bad church video you’ve ever seen started as a good idea to someone. I learned over the years to let even my best ideas sit for a while, because often when I allow myself time to review my ideas over and over again, I find glaring problems with my initial concept that must be adjusted to avoid a mediocre result.

We have a motto here in our creative department: “It’s not about getting it done, it’s about getting it right.” We must remember why we do what we do. Every time we open the doors of our church the seats are filled with hurting, stressed, and rejected people, men and women who desperately need to experience something real and positive.

It’s All In The Details... I’m constantly amazed at how the smallest detail can greatly make or break a worship set... The amount of time you spend on the details will have a great impact on the success or failure of your project.

A Moment

Corey and I frequent coffee shops in our town and I always bring an arsenal of books and projects. Today was no exception. But as I put one book aside and went to retrieve another from my bag, I found myself...

bored.

Not bored with the material I brought, but bored with doing. I had been non-stop for two weeks (maybe longer) and instinctively I knew I needed a break.

So I just sat. In the stillness I was content. In the not-doing I was satisfied. My mind wandered, observed, and digested thoughts I had been too busy to notice were there. I daydreamed. I gave my heart room and time to feel.

Corey noticed my lack of activity and asked if I was ready to go.

"No," I said, "just sitting."

And I sat. And then I purchased some Reese's Pieces and sat some more. Taking note of each initial crunch as I munched, I thought about the weeks gone past and the weeks to come. I reflected on how God worked and continues to move. I watched the cat (yes, this coffee shop has a cat). I contemplated. I zoned. I sighed.

The rest of the day the world seemed a little more at ease with itself and I didn't feel like it needed my attention to revolve.