My Worship Revolution

Some top stories this evening…

• Lots of people sitting at Neverland hoping to get a glimpse of Michael Jackson's body.  Not gonna get that.  No public viewing will take place.
• The state of CA is now issuing I.O.U.s in lieu of actual money cause they can't balance a budget.  Enough said.
• Lady was complaining about the drought plan in place that only allows watering lawns on certain days only.  She's concerned about all the brown lawns that will pop up and the kids wanting to play in the sprinklers in the summer.  Sorry, we have no more drinking water, but at least the lawns are green!

Really though?
This is the state I live in.
But I love it anyway!

I love getting to see my wife excited and passionate about something God is putting on her heart.
Actually, it’s quite a turn on.  But I digress.

Due to budget cuts, lots of the libraries in our area are closing down their story times.  Rachel and several other moms have loved going to these and connecting with other moms.
So Kendra and Rachel saw an opportunity to create community around a need in Santa Cruz.
They both have a heart for kids and have worked with kids for years.

So this week they are passing out flyers at library story times as they are ending and turning their current Friday morning play group into a more structured, creative story time for kids and families.
Check out the website that Rachel put up at santacruzcreativeplay.org.

It starts July 17th.
I’m looking forward to seeing how it goes.
And I just had to brag on my amazing wife a little bit.

What opportunities are there to meet a need and bless people in your community?
What opportunity are you uniquely created to meet?
Something to think about today.

When I was in high school, I had a curfew and I got seriously busted if I wasn’t home by then AND hadn’t bothered to call.
Now, my mom, and the rest of family for that matter, keep tabs on each other via Twitter, blog, and Facebook.  When I don’t call for a while now, my mom usually comments that she’s glad she knows I’m alive cause I’ve Twittered.

I kinda had to laugh when I saw this cartoon and think about how nice it could have been to have Twitter in my teenage years:

Maybe Twitter can help us be better parents, too!
I knew there were more justifications out there for my addictions.

One of my new favorite worship songs over the past 7 months or so has been "How He Loves Us."
The second verse of the song contains these lyrics:

The first time I heard the song, I must admit, the sloppy wet kiss line kinda caught me off guard.
Then I thought about singing those words from the stage at church and I was sold.

I kinda joke, but I really have come to love that line.  So many worship songs are so cliche.  The thing I've loved about that song from day one was the depth and poetic nature of the verses.  A good balance for the rest of the song which consists of, "He loves us, how He loves us so" many times.
That lyric gives such a cool word picture of God's unabandoned, not "safe," passionate love for us.

Well, if you haven't heard yet, David Crowder's version of the that song came out on iTunes yesterday.
I've only heard a little bit of the version.  But yesterday, thanks to @loswhit, the Twitterverse was all abuzz about the song.  Why?
The lyric change:

I must say, I was quite disappointed.  But that actually isn't my point.
As I read people's comments and Twitters, 95% of people had a strong opinion about it.
Apparently it's one of those lines that you either love or you hate.

And to me, that is one sign of great art.  Art that causes you to react.  That isn't like all the rest.
It reminded me of something Guy Kawasaki said about the art of innovation at Catalyst West Coast.

So, use your art and your life to polarize people.
I have to wonder, if the things you create don't bring about some reaction, are you really doing anything great?  Take a risk!
God didn't intend for us to live safely.

Now go create…and polarize.

Some of you may be familiar with Randy Elrod.
He is the creative genius behind Recreate and a bit of a social networking guru.
I wanna ask you to help him out.

You see Murphy-Goode, a winery in Sonoma, is offering a dream job opportunity.
6 months.  Home in Sonoma county provided.  A car, PDA, computer, and a great salary.
The job: to publicize their winery through social networking.

All of the applicants made a one minute video that is up at the website.
Now you can vote for the one you like best.  Currently, Randy in #4 out of 692:

Here’s how you can help him get to #1…

• Click here
• Put in your email address to vote for him
• Go to your inbox and look for an email with a link to confirm your choice
• Click on that link
• Repeat steps 1-4 with every email account you own
• Finally, ask all your friends, distant relatives, and neighbors to do the same

And to Randy…how about a drawing from people who blogged about it for a free bottle of wine if you get the job.  Just an idea.
And maybe a second free one for me since I came up with. 
It’s kinda like profit sharing.

OK, now go vote people!

Looking forward to a Father’s Day dinner at Dave & Busters with friends tonight.
Hope you’re having a great Father’s Day too.

As we all take today to celebrate dads and being dad, I thought I’d share some more video with you of Travis sharing what it’s like daily to be the father of a son with hemophiliac.
Check out this video and have a great Father’s Day!

So last night was a BBQ and night for last minute preparations at the site for Royal Family Kids Camp where I’m the camp pastor for the third year.
The plan was for me to lead worship with the staff that night.
Plans changed.
I wasn’t there long enough.

Caleb decided he really wanted one of the cookies on the picnic table.
He bolted at the table at the speed of light, jumping on the bench, but not quite getting his hand in the right place to grab the table.
Instead he went face first into the picnic table and continued on, luckily being caught before his melon hit the concrete.
I immediately got there and grabbed him.  My white shirt will never be the same.  It’s got a whole lot of blood on it.

So we ended up at the ER waiting for the doc to come and sew him up with 2 stitches.
By the time we got to that point, he was doing pretty well.
I took some pics with my phone, which sucks.  But here he is waiting for the Dr. to show up and stitch him up.

As a parent, perhaps one of the worst things in the world is having to watch your kid in pain, let alone helping to inflict it.
He did a great job laying down when the doc came.
He laid calmly on the bed.
The Dr.’s were great.  He even had a great time identifying animals on the doctors tattoo sleeve.
He let them clean it up without a peep.
Then came the needle.
It went downhill QUICKLY from there.
And it was my job to hold down his arms and legs while another doctor held his head still.

“Please stop!!”
“I’m scared!”
“What are you doing?!”
“I all done!!!”

We let him sleep in bed with us last night (which I don’t think we’ve ever done).
I think the poor kid was reliving it in his sleep.
He kept kinda waking up saying something about a cookie.
Then I think he told himself not to get the cookie.

Fortunately he was all good this morning.
Even told both grandmas that it wasn’t hurting anymore and the doctor helped him.
Glad he feels that way now, cause it aint what he thought last night!
Here he is showing me his lip out front this morning.

My wife just informed me she already blogged about this also.
Guess I’ll go see her internet take on the night.

And with a kid as energetic and rambunctious as Caleb, I’m afraid this may be the beginning of many ER trips over the next 16 years!
Oh, the joys of parenting.

UPDATE – I just checked out Rachel’s post.  Go to that one and click on the picture for a nice big shot of his stitched up lip.

Some of y'all follow Los' blog.
Yesterday, on this post, he asked this question:

Great question.
And lots of answers there.
I could sit and read all 130+ comments, but…
Especially when it comes to my faith community, it will look a bit different.
So I'd love to know the answer to that questions from you guys.
Especially if you attend CLC.
But even if you don't, bring it.
I wanna hear from my blog and church community.

So what song is it for you?

I got an email the other day from a guy.
He came across my video on YouTube about the Hemophilia ride.
His name is Barry.
Barry has Hemophilia.
One of the dangers, especially in the past, of hemophilia, are the dangers that could come about as a result of blood transfusions.
Because of a blood transfusion, Barry has also had HIV and Hep C since he was 13 years old.
He’s an avid cyclist.
Here’s the email he sent:

Check out the article about Barry riding in Texas.
Very inspiring.

Thank you Barry for the email and the inspiration.
And thank you to all of you who have continued to partner with me in this ride and given toward helping folks like Barry and kids like Zack.

Click here to partner with me in the California Coastal Race for Hemophilia.

Oh yeah…
And just to update y’all, I’m 66% of the way there!

Only 2 1/2 months to go!
Maybe I should start training more…