I think that just about every muscle on my body hurts today. My legs are sore, my abs, shoulder, and biceps and triceps on my right arm. The tournament was a whole lot of fun though! My team went undefeated in pool play, but we lost our second game in the bracket and ended up playing in the 3rd place game which we ended up winning. Although for future dodgeball tournaments, I should probably be on a training program to try and get in a little better shape before I go kill myself playing dodgeball for an entire day.
This is how I felt this morning when I woke up and tried to roll out of bed.
Yesterday, as most of you know, was Thanksgiving; and as the owner of this blog, that brought up a question that I wrestled with for most of the day (well, maybe not most of the day, but it was something I thought about). Should I do a “Thanksgiving Post”? You know, a post where I say what I’m thankful for and all that jazz. Or should I take the day off from blogging to truly do what is encouraged, which is spending time with loved ones? Some of the blogs that I follow didn’t put up any posts and some of them did a Thanksgiving post, so since I couldn’t make up my mind on which one I’d do, I’m doing both. I didn’t blog yesterday and am doing my Thanksgiving post today. So here it is.
I’m thankful for the incredible steak dinner that my family had on Thanksgiving Day because steak kicks turkey’s tail any day.
No doubt you’ve probably noticed the different look around here compared to last week. I’m testing some new themes and designs around here and seeing which one I like best. I’ve given the current design a few day trial to see what I think of it and there’s stuff I like about it and there’s stuff I don’t necessarily like about it, and I’m going to give the other themes I have in mind a trial too so it might take up to a couple weeks for me to narrow down the theme I want to use. Please bear with me as things will look different every other day or so and please comment often giving your opinion on the current design of the site. Hopefully by the end of the test period, I’ll have a design and look that is nice looking, functional, and user friendly.
Over the last several days, I’ve had a spark and desire to really get into photography. I feel like I’ve always had a pretty good eye for pictures and I took a photography class my freshman year in high school. But lately, I’ve been wanting to take it to the next level and really start taking some shots that make people go, “wow”. (Kinda like what I say when I see some of the amazing shots from people I know and blogs I follow.
You can click on the Flickr pictures to the right to see some of the stuff I’ve done recently. (It’s kind of like a “before” section.)
There’s something about Psalm 23 that speaks directly to my heart and brings about a wave of peace that covers me. There’s something about reading or listening to it read that calms me, it restores me.
I haven’t had a whole lot of time to rest lately. October was super busy with preparing for two worship events, November has been heavy with the big assignments in school coming to a climax as the semester end is in sight, and December promises to not be a walk in the park with finals, the Kairos retreat the week after, and then Christmas and New Year’s the week after that.
This psalm is something that I long for. I long lay down in green pastures and let God restore my soul. When I start taking a sabbath on a regular basis, I think that this psalm will be the theme.
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, [a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
Oh, how nice does rest and restoration sound right now
Yesterday, before church, I showed up a little early with my camera to snap a few pictures of the stage and gear on it to practice and hopefully develop my photography skills a little bit. Below are I think my favorite pictures from that time.
I had a video posted on the other site before it crashed that had all of these songs in one video. But that file is ginormously-huge and can present quite a problem for those wanting to watch a video that’s over 20 minutes long. So what I did was divide them up into three separate videos, part one, two, and three.
Part 1 has One Way, Jesus Paid it All, and Nothing but the Blood
Part 2 has From the Inside Out
Part 3 has The Stand
The sound quality still isn’t very good, but I’m a person that likes to look back and reminisce and these videos are a chance to look back and remember just how cool of a Sunday it was when Kairos got to lead worship for all three services.
This picture is from the first meeting of a team from our church that is going to Thailand for 11 days in February. The reason that the six of us are going is to provide childcare at a retreat for Covenant missionaries serving in Asia.
I first found out about this trip in May when Autumn asked if it was something I’d be interested in. And before she even finished fully asking me I said that I wanted to go. This trip is going to be so amazing on several different levels. It’s a chance to go out and serve those who are literally on the front lines serving. It’s a chance to travel overseas and experience what life is like in a different culture. And it’s a chance to develop a stronger relationship with the people who are going, some who I know well, some who I don’t know at all.
I’m excited for what God is going to do in those days of travel and when we’re actually in Thailand and I would greatly appreciate your prayers as we prepare and eventually embark on our trip.
Okay, okay, so that title may have been a little misleading, I love the leadership roles I’m in and I love what God has called and is calling me to do. But I also love occasions where I don’t have to lead. In a sense, I love situations where I’m not in charge. I’m playing in Big Church on Sunday for the first time since June… I think… The fact that I’m not sure when the last time I played is an indicator of how long it’s been.
To me, there’s a big difference between being the leader and just playing. Technically, you’re still a leader because everyone who’s on stage is leading the congregation. But to me, it’s more relaxing to be “just a band member” than the one in charge. There’s less weight on your shoulders and less that’s running through your mind during a song.
For example, as a leader, I’m listening to everything as a whole and hoping that we all remember our cues. I hear more mistakes and I (try to) give my band as many verbal and non-verbal cues as to where the song is going next, let them know we’re ending, etc.
As a guitarist/singer though, I’m more free to just be there, play, sing, and worship because there’s less that I have to be doing as far as the overall is concerned. I really like weeks where I can just do that.
Worship still happens when I’m leading, but it looks a little different. When I’m leading, worship comes from doing what God has called me to do, doing it to the best of my ability, constantly trying to grow and improve in it, as well as approaching it with a joyful and thankful heart.
I guess, when it boils down, I love not leading a band because it gives me a chance to worship in a different way.
subscribe for rss updates
Entries (RSS)