Ew, that smell

There is a foul smell in our hotel room and it isn’t from me.

last minute, again!

I’m still thinking through the conference this weekend but I hope to share some thoughts from it in the next few days.  I know that I’m looking forward to some conversation with the guys and gals I work with on connecting church and home, partnering with parents and equipping them to be the main disciplers of their children.

But that’s not why I am here.  No, I have waited to till the last minute again and am probably in a hole.  I have the horrible ability to let things get in the way and say to myself I’ll do it after work, I’ll do it tomorrow, I’ll get to it sometime today and then it is here and I am scrambling.  What am I talking about?  Presents, particularly giving them.  I am horrible at it.  Not sure if it my disinterest in consumerism (but I like to get things so I don’t think that’s it) or my selfishness or I’m simply lazy or unimaginative and don’t want to get a gift that stinks.  Either way I’m at this place again.

Friday is our 5 year anniversary.  I’ve known it is coming for 5 years so why is it that I’m starting to think about a gift today?  All I know is I’m going to have to work hard to get a good gift.  If you have any suggestions, let me know.

On an unrelated note, the youth band leads worship tonight and I preach on family and God’s desire for parents to be the primary discipler of their children.  Melissa thinks I’m crazy for playing and preaching but I do it on Wednesday nights, this is just a little larger venue.  I’m ready to see how we worship tonight!

May the grace of God overwhelm you today!

church and home

I’m at a conference this weekend on connecting the church and home.  I know it sounds super dull but it is a really  interesting topic for me.  There have been 2 sessions so far and I’m already dealing with many questions.  The frustration of the conference is the rest of our team isn’t here and this isn’t a me-only issue.  So I’m going to take as much as possible and figure out what I can use on my own and pray pray pray that the rest of the team is willing to have many conversations about this topic.  A perk of the weekend is I’m seeing many old friends!  I haven’t seen some of them in 4 years and it is good to be around people that know me and that I have a history with.  I look forward to catching up with them more tomorrow.

I’m wiped out and my brain is running but I’m going to try to sleep.  More later, especially if I can’t sleep!

Peace, Hope and Love.

worship

It’s always odd to me what stirs my heart in corporate worship. Normally the A/V guy in me is distracted taking notes on sound, lighting, etc. or the people watcher in me is caught up in the drama of the little kid who is picking his nose. I’m also usually walking in as the sermon starts so it’s hard to simply sit down and listen.

Yesterday though we managed to get into service with time to sing and pray and connect. I wish I could say I was overcome with the lyrics but we were in a 7/11 song – the kind where you repeat the same thing 7 to 11 times. I’m not against those songs but sometimes the line we repeat isn’t all that great. In the middle of the repetition I saw a movement to my left and swiped a glance and was reminded of the beauty of God and the honor and joy it is to worship Him.

Standing next to me was an older gentleman. I’d guess somewhere on the later side of 70, wearing a dark suit that was 3 times to big, his hair was very thin and combed over and you could tell he has arthritis. It was the hands and fingers of this man that caught my attention because he had stood up in his off balanced way and raised his hand in worship to God. He was unable to open his fingers but it didn’t matter; his heart was singing to God. I watched this man for several moments simply taking in the sight of him worshiping the Almighty and then I was aware of my worship and how it had been encouraged by this man. I have no idea what kind of life this person has had – good or hard, fulfilling or empty – but at that moment his life was complete. He was focused on his Creator and Savior and was pouring himself out to God. He was unashamed of his worship, he could not contain himself from physically expressing his love for God. At the end of the song he lowered his hands and my attention was drawn to what didn’t see cause I was watching his hands. This man was crying. Not a simple tear but a river of tears. Pouring down his cheeks and landing on the over-sized dark suit. I was moved and simply joined him in his tears.

I didn’t catch his name and I couldn’t get his picture without being obvious but I have the image his worshiping in my head. It will stay with me for a while and challenge/encourage me in the moments I have to worship God throughout the week. I pray you have something to encourage you as you have those moments as well.

Sunday Morning

It is Sunday morning and I’m ready for another day of ministry and whatever comes with it. I’m praying that it is a good day – where all my leaders are here and on time, where students have Bibles and good questions and aren’t overly tired, where I can join in on worship while sitting next to my wife and not be distracted by things that are really out of my control. If it should not be that kind of day it will be ok cause that happens sometimes. I hope your morning is good, that you encounter God in some way, shape or form, and that overall your contributions to whatever community you are part of are appreciated and add value to that group!

May the Lord bless you and keep you, may the Lord make His face shine on you, may the Lord grant you favor and give you peace. Amen.

first conversation this morning

My first conversation this morning is with Debbie and it went something like this.

Debbie – Your 9 AM called and his wife went into labor this morning.

Dave – Great, I guess we’ll reschedule.

Deb – Well…he’d like you to come to the birthing center and meet with him in the room next to his wife’s.

Dave – Ummm…your kidding, right?

Deb – No, he wants to meet with you.

I then stood there shocked/amused/confused and this thought went through my head – if that was Melissa and you had a meeting while she was in labor, I’d be in deep trouble. So I asked Debbie to reschedule.

And that is how my day has started.

Eric and Patrick

I’m sitting across the table from Eric right now.  every Tuesday I meet with him and Patrick for some conversation, study, laughs, and good-natured sarcasm.  Every time eric orders the same thing, the Milky Way Mocha frappe cause he is a creature of habit and my guess is he doesn’t like coffee.  Today he is sick, a head cold he says but I think he stayed out to late with his girlfriend smelling the daisies.  FYI – Patrick just called and is late, very late and we are going to talk about him till he gets here which could be a challenge since eric’s voice sounds like there are 1000 small pebbles stuck in his voice box.   Eric’s word of wisdom so far is, “I don’t think I need to do that cause I don’t have a problem with that.”  I’m off to talk about Patrick until he gets here.  If you have something you’d like to say about him feel free to put it in the comment box.

351,981,125

That’s how many days it feels like Melissa has been gone

a quick update

There are no good excuses for not updating and what I’m about to say is the lamest excuse I can give, I’ve been busy.  I met with someone the other day and he made a comment that has stuck with me – he doesn’t say he is busy when people ask because it communicates he doesn’t have time for them.  And being in the people business that’s good advice.  So I’m trying to avoid telling people I’m busy but am struggling to find other phrases because honestly that’s what I am.  I think saying “I’m swamped with work” or “I’m drowning in a sea of crazy work that other people keep handing me and even though I try to say no it still winds up on my plate” sounds worse than saying I’m busy so I don’t know what to say.  Any suggestions?

Melissa takes off tomorrow for 8 (yes 8!) days in Mississippi.  I hate when she is gone that long but sometimes it can’t be avoided.  So while she is gone I’m going to do several things like hanging out with college students and youth, relaxing, taking care of some house things, doing the busy things from the above paragraph, miss Melissa, struggle to sleep, and eat poorly.  How quickly that list turned negative…gotta work on that.

I’m in the midst of dr. ordered diet and I’m not sure how it’s going.  This is all part of the effort to get my blood sugar under control (another dr. order).  I’m exercising, eating better and trying to get all the water, veggies, etc.  However, tonight I had a cheeseburger (that was in the diet) and it was so good!  Not sure how I’ll do on this diet with Melissa gone but I’m going to make a go of it.

That’s it with a quick update.  I also saw Mahgen for a few hours last weekend, have designed my tail off this week and keep thinking I need to go get a degree in graphic design just cause I want to, started reading again after a hiatus (crazy how reading in the midst of crisis ticked me off), and am trying to get proficient at the expert setting on Guitar Hero.  No promises but hopefully I’ll update more often.