Strong Until the Finish Line

Hey there everyone,

First off happy Father's Day to all you Dad's out there and hope you had a good day celebrating it in whatever fashion that turned out to be for today.

Secondly, I must admit I'm still somewhat bummed out about today's service. It was a bit more stressful than most Sunday's in the past. Why? Partly due to that I was involved in more of putting it together than normal even including changes and additions in the morning. We had 3 DVD clips plus some pictures that was part of the kid's presentation. The pictures of the kids got some laughs especially one where a guy (I don't know his name) was exiting the bathroom. I must admit it took a bit of fine tuning i.e. removing some red eyes plus adding eyes to a kid. In the final group shot a kid on the end, in regards to his eyes, looked funny. The camera made it so one of his eyes looked odd; it had a white glare/dot. (Trust me it is hard to describe) Anyways, I used the red eye removal tool in Adobe Photoshop CS2 (plus I made some automation along the way to help me in the future while editing photos) which caused him to have entirely black eyes i.e. you couldn't really see a white pupil. So, in order to not make him look weird in the photo, I zoomed in on his eyes, used the pencil tool to add some white to a pixel on each eye, and when I zoomed out it looked more normal. Granted on a close look from the other kid's eyes to his it might not appear right, but up on the screen it looked better than just a kid with black eyes.

Lastly, about today's service...it was not pretty to say the least. On the last DVD that was cued up I closed the program and cued it up again, just trying to make it easier to start. That's it; nothing major technical failed, the equipment was working fine, and I was back there. I made the decision, closed the DVD playback program, and cued it up again. I alone caused the technical failure to occur and nobody else. I also take the full responsibility and ramifications for my actions. *sighs* I probably should have left well enough alone and it would have ran fine yet, that wasn't what happened. I was just trying to save a step and make it easier to start the DVD; instead of clicking OK on a dialogue box just hitting the play button.

On a positive note, the service overall went very well (late) and I felt the Holy Spirit there. I hope the rest of you did too in some way or another. Plus I'm looking forward to the upcoming Leadership Summit 2007; it will be a good team for us leaders (and others too) to connect, refuel, and have some fun along the way.

That's it for now; have a good week everyone.

Plus, I'd appreciate your prayers and I must admit I was not in Bible class today like I stated I would be in my previous post. Things just didn't quite play out liked I planned today. That's life: turns, twists, accidents, stalls, unforeseen changes, plus friends, families, and good times along the way.

Take it easy all.

Thoughts after Reading God's Word

Hey there everyone,

I just was reading in Luke chapters 9 and 10 in The Message. I recommend that particular translation, by the way though it helps as I've found out plus a fellow staff member at church told me as well, to have a regular translation handy like the New International Version (which I also have) and use.

Anyways, I was reading in the last part of chapter 10 where it talks about Mary and Martha and something hit me. I do (and have been (hate saying this; hurts)) get caught up in the stuff of things on Sunday. I need to just let God control things and hand stuff over to Him. I'm not saying I should just slack off and not do my part serving (job/work doesn't sound good to me nor should people say they're working on Sunday; serving is better, in my opinion). I need to be in Bible study on the Sunday's I'm not part of the technical team. So, I'm making a commitment here that I shall attend Bible study on the Sunday's I'm not serving. :)


One final note, the voter's meeting is today. I hope and pray that the Lord blesses it. May we recognize His presence, His love, and His insight into what's going on at our church.

Have a good Sunday and week everyone.
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Thoughts and Dreams

Hey there everyone,

I must admit that today (at least internally and brain wise) has not been one of my best days. I hopped out of town for dinner and to just think/ponder I suppose. I must admit that the orange mocha I'm having (courtesy of Starbucks) is.. Different to say the least. It reminds me of the orange flavored chocolate candy that surfaces now and then at parties. Ya know the chocolate orange wedges that taste good? Anyways, internally I think I'm coming down with something (possibly a cold), but I hope that's not the case. Today I went back into one of my old ruts and I was sitting there thinking "It's wrong; stop now; die to yourself on the cross..." I have been pondering that and just find it....different that my mind and probably the Holy Spirit were waving red flags at me. I can say my conscience was working yet, I didn't follow it. Oh well, just have to do better next time.

My past has been nawing at me today moreso than usual. A relationship that, I am not sure entirely what its purpose was for. I can say it took care of some of my "wants" yet, there were good points to it as well. *pauses and frowns* I must move forward and on...*shakes head* Easier said than done.

Wednesday is practice night and I must admit I'm not entirely looking forward to it. The sound issues that occurred on Sunday must and will be dealt with. I just hope its an easy solution.

*sighs* dang all about me yet not of my dreams yet (church wise)

I'm going to try and setup a wiki plus some forums for the church. Maybe we'll be able to have multiple wikis where members can post, edit, and add there own pieces of information about their tips for praying or Bible study suggestions/ideas/plans etc. The forums could have discussions about the previous service or event. Small groups could have a continuing conversation online about we they discussed at their last gathering. Suggestions and ideas could flow from the congregation to the staff or other (key?) leaders.

If we (meaning the church arena) could take/create awesome websites or programs (maybe even games or virtual guides) as good as the PC video gaming industry does, possibly throwing that into our websites at the very least, we'd have one heckuva (fill in the blank here).

Lastly, there is something(s) that'd I'd love to do/have. Though being a guy plus a follow of Christ I cannot have unless through one option or options depending on the thing. The ironic part is I know that it (or the other stuff) will not fill my heart or even raise my feelings if just for maybe a brief period of time. The only thing that will is following Christ and relying on Him for my needs/wants/desires everything!

Plus I'm thinking about our voter's meeting on Sunday too, yet I'll not delve into that subject again.

May Jesus give me and you His strength, mercy, peace, joy, hope and anything else you or I need today and everyday as we walk through life.

*waves from Barnes & Noble from the capital city*

Have a good one everyone.
Sent via BlackBerry from Cingular Wireless

Here Comes Trouble

Hello everyone,

Today's service was ok yet, not one of our best here at church. I myself did not arrive on time to help run the computer plus there was something wrong audio wise. It sounded muffled and things were "too hot" from what I heard plus what some told me. Hopefully we'll be able to figure out what happened and resolve the issue by Sunday.

Our annual voter's meeting is coming up on Sunday and I must admit I'm not entirely looking forward to it. One of the agenda items deals with adding a stage to our gym. As I stated in one of my previous posts, there are those who are against it while others are for it. Both have good points on either side which in the end makes it even harder to come to a conclusion about which side to support. I'm concerned that it will not go smoothly and cause tension for various members of the congregation. I don't think people will "put up their barricades" and have a split between people. I just hope people come and are respectful of people's thoughts and viewpoints. In the past things have not gone smoothly yet, I'm hoping and praying this meeting sets a new level for everyone.


One thing that this stage issue deals with is change and it reminds me of where in Luke Jesus cures a demoniac of many demons. The people all went and asked him to leave beacause (as The Message translation puts it) "Later, a great many people from the Gerasene countryside got together and asked Jesus to leave—too much change, too fast, and they were scared." I'm sure that some in our congregation are scared about putting a stage onto our gym plus others might think that we are just moving to quick forward with more changes.


The key issue is that we must be listening for and asking God's insight into this matter. I am going to be praying all this week up to Sunday and asking God to give myself as well as others the insight and wisdom plus if this new stage is in His will and plan for us.



That's about it for now; it is currently raining here at the church. I must admit it is neat watching thunderstorms especially the lighting in the sky at night. Pretty and fun though when I'm driving in such conditions, not so much.


Have a good one everyone.