It's all good!

So many good things to be thankful for. . .

Yesterday my good friend, Lyle Jarvis, flew into Houston to pick up a car he'd bought through eBay. Of course, I was happy to pick him up at the airport and get to spend some time with him. He came with my family to see the new Pink Panther movie after we got his car. Then we just enjoyed visiting and watching the Olympics. After spending the night and coming to church with us this morning, he was off in his new purchase, headed back to Amarillo.

Worship this morning was great! Especially in our second service today it seemed like there was both excitement and Spirit. Also, I was blessed to have several dear families come visit at Spring Woodlands today; it was encouraging to receive their hugs and kind words. We finished our services today with "This is How We Overcome". I'd never led this one before, but always enjoyed singing it at Zoe events. It was fun and encouraging to do it today.

Tonight we had a "Chili Cook-Off" event at Spring Woodlands. And as part of that, they asked several staff-member couples to participate in a "Not-So-Newlyweds Game". So Lani and I were among the six teams and WE WON! I guess we know each other pretty well (although we had to survive a playoff against the youth minister and his wife)!

I still don't know where my next job will be or where we'll be living, but it's all good. God is caring for and blessing us one day at a time.

Rrrrrriinnnnngg!

This morning I got four phone calls between 5:30 & 6:30 to sub. So. . . that means I'm in the system for Cy-Fair now. But I can't accept any sub jobs until I have my security ID, which you can pick up after you've been in the system for approx. 10 days (I'm going to check today to see if I can get it now anyway; I guess all they can say is "no, come back in a few days."). So these early morning phone calls may become a routine thing.

It's raining today -- which is good because we need it -- but the weather reporters are cracking me up with their joking about winter coming and "Siberian" air (yes, they said that this morning). It's supposed to get down to a high of 52 tomorrow. 52! OK, the overnight lows might get below freezing on Saturday night, but "Siberian"??? I think people here have led a cold-sheltered life!

At our Praise Team rehearsal last night, one lady shared that she and her husband are going to get a divorce and several others shared prayer requests for spouses or friends who were dealing with cancer, horrible back problems, surgeries, etc. It sure made me realize that my own problems aren't so bad at all. I'm very blessed and thankful. At the same time, it sure tugs at my heart to hear what others are dealing with. What an awesome God we have who cares for us all!

Four things. . .

So, I hear that this has been on several blogs. I copied it from Patti Alexander (Patti Does Life).
Here are my responses:

Four jobs you have had in your life:
1. Clerk/stocker at Hardware Joe's True Value Hardware
2. Summer Singer (for four years during college)
3. Music Teacher/Choir Director
4. Worship Leader & Children's Minister

Four Movies you would watch over and over:
1. Princess Bride
2. The Quest for the Holy Grail (Monty Python)
3. Napoleon Dynamite
4. Star Wars & Lord of the Rings movies (we do watch them over & over & over. . .)

Four Books you could read over and over:
1. The Psalms
2. The Gospels
3. The "Pastoral Epistles"
4. Frank Peretti books

Five Places you have lived:
1. Lewiston & Nampa, Idaho (birth to 3)
2. Ontario, Oregon (ages 3 to 16)
3. Portland, Oregon (ages 16 to 38)
4. Tomball, Texas (current)

Four TV shows you watch:
1. Local News (mostly KATU, sometimes at 5 or 6; always at 10)
2. Tonight Show w/Jay Leno
3. 24 (I just started watching this season)
4. This Old House

Places you have vacationed:
1. Disneyland
2. Missoula, Montana
3. Portland, Oregon
4. Victoria, British Columbia

Four websites you visit daily:
1. ABC News (my home homepage)
2. WorshipForum.com
3. My blog
4. All the blogs linked on my site

Four Favorite foods:
1. Pizza
2. Mexican Food, especially fajitas & enchiladas (Chevy's when out West)
3. Red Robin burgers (& they're coming soon to The Woodlands!)
4. Bananas (one-a-day, every day!)

Four Places you would rather be:
1. Portland
2. Missoula
3. Playing cards with friends
4. In my new job (where ever that is!)

Super Day!

Yesterday was "Super Bowl Sunday" and it was indeed a super day. Worship at SWCC went well. I especially enjoyed introducing "How Great is Our God" and look forward to singing that one again. Carl's message was really positive and powerful as he spoke about what to do when things are difficult. We used three different video pieces during the service and all were done quite well (but it did make for a challenge to fit everything within our time frame!).

They announced that Rod Brady would be their full-time worship leader, but then they also honored me in a special way and everyone applauded. They've certainly done a nice job of encouraging me and being sensitive to what I might be going through even as they chose another guy. I had more people giving me positive comments about the worship time than on any other week.

Then there was the SuperBowl. Seemed like Seattle had the better team and outplayed the Steelers for most of the game, but Pittsburgh had three big plays that made the difference (and Seattle couldn't get any help from the officials). My favorite commercial was the one where the two guys are comparing the features of their cell phones and one says his has theft deterence; then he throws his phone at the other guy when he attempts to take his wallet. The Bud Light commercials were all pretty funny too (why do beer commercials have to always be so good?). Best part of all was being with friends though -- the Smiths, Woods, Alexanders, Lonards, and Phil Stambaugh.

What's next?

What's next? Wouldn't we all like to know sometimes what will happen in the future? Could be advantageous if you like to bet on things. On the other hand, it would probably frighten or surprise most of us to see what's going to occur. I guess that's why we're supposed to live one day at a time!

I'm confident that God is taking care of me. I've been blessed where I am right now in lots of ways. But where I'm at is temporary. Sunday they will announce at SWCC that they have hired Rod Brady to be their full-time worship leader; he will begin on April 30. He's a gifted and nice man and I'm happy for him. He'll do a great job at Spring Woodlands. I'm still certain that God has been good in putting me there for this time, but now I'm wondering more and more about where I'll be headed next. I know I need to be patient and faithful ("one day at a time"), but I'd sure like to get things rolling toward the next part of my journey! So. . . I keep looking and searching and praying and waiting. . .

Scattered other thoughts:
Happy Birthday today to my wonderful Mother-in-law, Gladys Maki!

Looking forward to going to the ACU Lectureships later this month. And yesterday I learned that my dad will get to fly down here and go with me! Also, friends Rex Hamilton and Ike Graul will be there.

I brought out a whole bunch of new music at the SWCC Praise Team rehearsal last night. I felt like I hadn't really been leading "my own" choices of songs the last two weeks, so we read a lot of new things. It was fun, but by the end of practice they convinced me to maybe cut back on a couple of the new ones for this week! We will introduce "How Great is Our God" this Sunday; that should be a good one.

Dad's Birthday

Today is my dad's 67th birthday. And so I'm reflecting on things I'm thankful for about my dad:
Thanks for doing lots of things well. For showing me a "you can do it" spirit about life. I guess I always thought you could do anything and that helped me to believe that I could try about anything too. I guess I never thought it unusual that you could be a choral conductor and a carpenter, or that you could serve as an Elder and also be the guy that wired in lights or put up sheetrock at church.
Along those line, thanks for lending expertise and hands-on help in so many "projects". I still vividly recall when we built our own house back in Ontario and lots of other remodeling and fixing of things over the years. I have a love of doing my own projects because of those experiences with you.
Thanks for surrounding me with music. Music was always a part of the environment around our home when growing up. I appreciate you for doing vocal music well. When I finally got down to choosing a college major, I decided I'd had so much music around me and that I just couldn't let that go to waste.
Thanks for being a man of faith and prayer and grace. I appreciate the exposure to a bigger world of Christian faith than just our own church. I know I've been shaped by your attitudes and acceptance of change in forms and styles while never abandoning any foundations of our faith. I'm thankful for your example in leading worship. And I'm thankful that you're a man teaching and living by God's grace.
Often now as a father myself, I recall times when you took time out to shoot baskets, times when you insisted I do chores, times you included me in discussions or experiences in worship and music, and on and on. And I'm reminded to do similar things with my own children.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

"Immeasurably More"

This morning the lesson at SWCC was about the power of God. It ended with Eph. 3:20-21 where it says "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. . ." I love this passage, but I'm not sure I'd ever considered just how powerfully God could act in our lives: "immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine" is huge and deep and powerful and awesome. Carl Etchison showed us 12 great miracles of God from the O.T. and N.T. and then challenged/encouraged us that God can act like that in our lives and in our church. Wow! Awesome thought!

We closed with the Acappella song, "Now to Him" (how fitting, huh?). I'm enjoying the experience with SWCC and especially their Praise Team and staff.

Jury Duty

Today I performed my civic responsibility and did jury duty. Have you ever done jury duty? I guess I've done it five or six times. Sometimes it's actually pretty interesting.

Today, I drove downtown and reported to the Jury Room at about 7:40 a.m. (which means I got up at about 5:30 this morning -- too early for me!). After listening to all the instructions umpteen times -- and not only in English, but also in Spanish and some other languages that I couldn't recognize -- we finally got to the part where we took our oath and then had our numbers called in large groups to report to certain court rooms. My number came up in a group of 65 and we were briefed that we would be heading to the 19th floor of the Criminal Justice Center. Oh joy! So, after our group made the three block walk with our police escort, then we had go through security screening (pretty much just like at the airport -- lots of things to unload or take off) and that meant about a 20-30 minute line. Eventually we all got into the building and up to the 19th floor. Here, our escort got us all lined up in order (I was actually prospective juror #2) and struggled with finding all the stragglers.

As all this was going on, I was amused to see various people walk by. Some well-dressed men in suits; "lawyer" I'm thinking as each of them goes by (actually, sometimes I'm thinking "good lawyer" and sometimes "cheap counsel"). Then there are the more interesting folks. I hate being at all racist, but several people of African-American descent strolled past (with unique walks and clothes) both into our court room and into the one across the hall and each time I'd catch myself thinking "defendent" or "friend/family of defendent". I suppose if we'd been lined up to judge the Enron/Ken Lay trial, then it might not have been the same and I might not have passed judgement on folks walking by so quickly. And a couple of people that passed me just looked so beaten down by life (and I caught myself thinking, "Is that what someone who's suffered abuse or abused drugs looks like?"). And then looking out the window at the end of the hallway, from atop our 19th floor perch, I wondered to myself, "who cares about all the people out there who are abused and despondent and at the end of their rope?" I'm not proud that my mind and heart classified people so quickly. I guess being at that particular location makes it easy to distinguish between the haves and have-nots. And my heart was touched as I realized that there are a whole lot more needy folks going unseen all around, every day. I need to be more like Jesus and less like me, to start actively caring and not so much passively ignoring.

Back to our group getting ready in the hallway. Finally we were all present and accounted for, we'd been allowed one last restroom break, and we'd all turned our cell phones off. It was a quiet moment in that "hall of justice". Then a deputy came out of the courtroom and passed out a paper to each of us: our work excuse. He explained, "I don't know who you all are, but I guess all today's defendents didn't like what they saw as they passed you because all today's cases decided to 'plea' " (meaning none of them would go to trial). "You are all free to go home now, or you can go back and sit in the jury room until 11:45 (it was about 10:30 then)."

A guy by me was really bummed to not get a chance at serving on a jury. Me, I was feeling quite blessed and thankful to get to go. I guess I won't get to find out if my hunches about the people were right. I hope I can have my eyes open more to the people right around me all the time and respond to their needs.

No big news

I don't have anything major to write about today. . . and that's OK!

Last Thursday I went to the Tomball ISD Sub Orientation and then yesterday went to the Cy-Fair ISD Sub Training. Whew! That's a lot of hours of seat time just trying to get on the sub lists. I also had to submit transcripts, references, get a TB test, fill out a pile of forms, etc. And then they pay subs something like $8 to $9 an hour. Seems odd that in Texas they pay a person to be working with a room full of children less than they pay a bus driver (and less than the person might make just doing general labor jobs in the area). But, I'm getting ready to Sub anyway and actually kind of look forward to being in a classroom again. BTW, at this point it still takes about three weeks or so to get into the system while they run background checks, hook you up with payroll, get you your security badge, etc.

My brother-in-law, Troy Wagner, let us know yesterday that he will get to visit us in Feb. He's going to Florida (from Portland, OR) to visit "Helping Hands" (or something like that) and Continental will let him do a stopover in Houston for about a day-and-a-half. Cool!

Today's thoughts. . .

I enjoyed leading worship at Spring Woodlands today and look forward to more experiences there. Several former Tomball C of C families were there; it was good to see them (though I'm concerned for those affected by the changes at Tomball). My voice got a bit worn out (three services is tough!), but overall it seemed like things went well.

Go Seahawks! SuperBowl bound!!!

I'm so thankful for good friends today. One called early this morning before church to let us know she was praying. Some who came to Spring Woodlands were there just to support me (thanks!). Several went to lunch with us. And a few came over to watch the Seahawks game. It's just nice to have friends!

SWCC Blessings

This is my first week at the Spring Woodlands Church of Christ and already I feel blessed in so many ways. The staff has been very warm, friendly, and accomodating. I have a nice office with a screaming fast computer (I guess the last guy was a "gamer" and NEEDED a super-fast machine for his obsession). The lead minister, Carl Etchison, has been especially affirming and supportive (which is such a breath of fresh air!). Last night I met with the Praise Team and they were wonderful -- musically, of course, but also very welcoming. We had a nice time of singing and prayer and talk (and had the biggest group they'd had in quite awhile, they said). Whether I'm just there a few months, or it works out longer-term, it's all a great blessing at this point.

Other thoughts today:
I'm wondering what happened to WorshipForum.com??? I've tried to call Ike Graul three times, but no news yet. Others are asking me, but I don't have any info.

Tonight we're going to see "Hoodwinked". I hear it's very good family fun.

Cooking Lessons

Yesterday Lani and I were both late coming home so Lani called and asked Micah and Hannah to make a meatloaf -- a first for both of them. She told them where a recipe was and the items they would need and they said they could do it.

Well, when we got home it was in the oven and looking fine. In fact, when the timer went off and we took it out of the oven, Lani said it was the best-looking meatloaf she'd ever seen in this house (not that we eat meatloaf very often, but it did look good and she was doing her best positive-parenting).

So we got the rest of the dinner done and on the table and everyone settled in, prayed, and then said some nice things to Lani (since it was her birthday) and then served up the best-looking meatloaf ever. . . and then we started taking our first bites. Hannah said "Ooo, what's wrong with this" and others faces puckered & grimaced as they took their first taste. Then Lani said to Micah and Hannah, "Did you put the right seasonings in, or did you BOTH put the seasoning in?"
And Micah said, "Well, it called for 1/2 cup of chopped onion, but we didn't have any fresh onion so I put in 1/2 cup onion salt instead" (Actually, he first said it called for 2 cups of chopped onion and said he'd put in 2 cups of onion salt, which was even funnier at the moment; he later changed his story after retrieving the recipe and remembering what he'd done.). We all laughed pretty hard about his mistake and explained to him that a 1/2 cup of fresh, chopped onion would reduce to a tablespoon or probably less of onion salt.

In the end, we all ate it anyway, but found it was tolerable when you took a bit of meatloaf along with some mashed potatoes and either gravy or ketchup. And we all feared that we'd have strong onion-breath all day the next day (today). Ah, the joys of learning to cook!

Thoughts & hopes. . .

This morning I'm heading over to Spring Woodlands C of C to set up my office space and start planning my first service there (at least my first "non-tryout" service). This is exciting and I'm looking forward to it!

I got wrapped up in the new season of "24" and watched both of the last two night's 2-hour season premieres. I've never been a fan before and I have a usual Monday-night commitment, but I may have to start taping it. I like the intensity (the clock probably adds to that). I didn't like Jack carrying out his own justice by executing a guy, and the violence is sometimes a little intense (especially if any younger eyes are in the room).

Go Seahawks! One more win to be in the SuperBowl! (If you're from the NW, Seattle is the only "local" team to cheer for).

The Hollywood liberals had their way yesterday. I hated seeing homosexual and transexual movies getting big coverage and awards at the Golden Globes. On the other hand, I really liked the Johnny Cash movie, "Walk the Line", and was glad it was a winner.

Finally, today is Lani's Birthday! The whole family went out to dinner last night (on a gift card) to celebrate. She's double digits today (33, 44, 55. . . your guess).

Endings & Beginnings

Today was my final day at the Tomball Church of Christ. It was a little bit emotional, especially all the hugging, well-wishing, and good-byes from folks. The Elders prayed over our family during the service; that was nice, although it caught me a little by surprise.

It was a strange final Sunday. I thought our worship time went quite well (although I'm probably not the most unbiased to judge it), but the unusual thing today was when the Elders presented the results of a survey done back in November and then told some new directions the church would be heading. I was personally quite surprised for how little support there really was for the three major changes; I expected a fair number of people to object to some of the changes, but I thought there'd be at least 2/3 or 3/4 clearly in favor of the change. My own opinion is that maybe the survey showed a need to wait a bit longer or do some study/teaching before moving ahead. However, what was announced was that the Tomball Church would be changing their name (dropping "Church of Christ"), adding instrumental music (perhaps as soon as next Sunday!), and expanding women's role as ministry leaders and in public assemblies. Though I'm praying for God's blessing on the Tomball Church and it's leaders, I'm left wondering a little about where they're headed. I think it will be a tough road, at least in the near future.

Then, later in the afternoon I attended a "Congregational Meeting" over at the Spring Woodlands Church of Christ (where I'll begin leading worship next week). Five of their Elders spoke and it was all really positive and well-received. They encouraged the church with a number of Scriptures, they recognized and honored each staff member, and then they presented some upcoming changes. At the end they even introduced me. They announced that they are going from three services to two, changing their Sunday night format to a prayer time, holding firm on a closing date for the sale of their property to Walmart, presented a budget summary, and then handed out some "feedback" or "response" cards. All in all a very positive experience. And the people that visited with me before and after the meeting were all so kind!

How many disks does it take?

Just a follow up to the cleaning out my office post: I ended up with about seven or eight CD-Roms full of files that I saved. There was one folder that had some videos I'd made; I started to save it and then noticed that it was over 8 gigabytes! Needless to say, I didn't keep those.

Though this was a difficult week emotionally with the final moving out at my old office, it was a very positive week in talking to other churches. I had e-mail correspondence with two churches and a nice phone call with someone from another church. I'm confident something will work out, I just don't know where and when. And that makes it kind of exciting!

Cleaning "House"

Yesterday I went into the office at Tomball, thinking I'd try to be there for just a couple of hours. Then I started going through my e-mail files and unsubscribing, or changing my subscription to my home e-mail account, or changing it to Tomball's new Children's Minister, Sherri St. Germain. I went through this process for several hours!!! Who knew? Hopefully, there are just a few stray e-mail subscriptions out there that I haven't caught yet.

Today I plan to go in and clean up lots of computer files, either burn them to disks or delete them. Wonder how long this will take?

Last night was my final "Praise Team Rehearsal" at Tomball. We had a nice circle of people singing together and afterward I was reflecting that that was a nice way to finish with them (besides this Sunday, of course).

Somebody loves me. . .

Today I got two anonymous cards in the mail with encouraging messages. Isn't that nice?!!! I hope I can learn to anonymously bless more people too.

Sudoku

I recently discovered the joys of Sudoku puzzles. Lani came home one day with a stack of them that she'd run off at work and I remembered Ike Graul mentioning them in his blog, so I thought I'd give them a try. I'm pretty good at the 1 & 2 star puzzles, but it gets more challenging after that. On Saturday, I successfully completed my first 4 star puzzle (and I think I picked up a bit more puzzle solving strategy along the way). But, I've been totally stumped by a 5 star puzzle. I solved 8 numbers on it, but after that I can't seem to progress anywhere. I've written in with little numbers all the possibilities for each square, yet don't see any move to make. So, you Sudoku players, do you have to take a "leap of faith" and guess at this level, or am I probably missing something??? It's just a game, I know, but I love this mental challenge and I can't figure out what to do next!

Blessed. . .

Today someone (who will remain anonymous) told me that a group of people were going to give me some monthly support during this transition time. Incredible! Makes me ask why I should be so blessed. I'm very grateful. Also, makes me want to be doubly sure that I'm using money and resources wisely.

God (through others) is so good!

Tribute to Irby Jackson

Yesterday we celebrated the life of Irby Jackson. His funeral was held at the Tomball Church of Christ, where he'd served as an elder (and friend and mentor and helper to so many) for a number of years. There were about 400 in attendance and lots of kind words expressed by the speakers, Rick Brown, Charlie Middlebrook, and Danny Simms. I led the singing and was honored to be able to participate.

We sang "When the Night is Falling" and "There's a Stirring" with our Praise Team to begin the service. I've always wanted to use these great songs in a time like this and they were especially meaningful yesterday (a few of our team couldn't quite get through them as we sang). Later we sang "Amazing Grace" and "It Is Well With My Soul" congregationally (songs requested by the family). Toward the end of the service we did "Days of Elijah" (another request by Irby's wife, Shirley). It was done in a more subdued way than we normally would, but finally toward the end we started clapping and a few people even shouted out; it was pretty moving.

The most important thing about the time, however, was remembering what an incredible person Irby was. I remember being inspired by my Grandfather's life and thinking at his funeral about how I really want to emulate some things about him in my life. Yesterday was like that too. Irby was a very warm, caring person. Careful about speaking out, but generous in giving his time and effort to help others. He mentored scores and scores of young men (and some gals too) by taking them water skiiing, having them over to work on cars, or just hanging out. I've heard several guys say that when they got into trouble they'd call Irby instead of their own parents. Lots of people who've joined the Tomball Church of Christ over the years will say that Irby & Shirley were primary reasons that they came back after their initial visit; they were always warm and welcoming. Irby loved to have fun and always seemed to have a glint or twinkle in his eye (which often meant he was "up to something"). When I look around our church building, I see things everywhere that Irby did or maintained. How do you replace a guy like that?

The last few times I saw Irby, he wasn't doing too well physically. He'd been battling cancer for the last couple years and then had some heart trouble and other things start to pile up on him. It was hard to see a guy that had always been so strong and active be in such a weakened state. This wasn't the real Irby and I believe it was a blessing that he was released from this frail human flesh into his heavenly body.

I do want to share my last two times with him. On Dec. 11, a group of children and parents had gone caroling to two nursing homes in Tomball and then met for a little Christmas party. Someone (Bonnie Abel) suggested that we go over and sing to Irby. So seven carloads of us drove over to Irby & Shirley's. We weren't sure how we'd find Irby and were ready to sing from outside the door or maybe just step in and do a carol or two. Instead, we were all welcomed inside and gathered around the hospital-style bed that Irby was on in his living room. I don't know how Irby's body felt, but he smiled alot and sure seemed to enjoy it all; I even saw him wink at one or two of the little girls. He had that glimmer in his eye that night! The last time I saw him was on Christmas Eve. We'd made some holiday goodies for friends and neighbors and had a special tray for Irby & Shirley. Christmas had almost come and we hadn't delivered it yet. So, at about 5:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve, Micah (my son) and I drove over to deliver the tray. Again we were warmly welcomed in and sat down to visit awhile (while there, my friend Phil Stambaugh and his parents dropped by too). It was a special little visit and Irby seemed pretty strong and was able to talk pretty well. He had that smile on his face again that night. I treasure these last two visits. I don't want to remember his weakened body, but I will remember getting to see his smile and joyful spirit.

Our lives go on. I'm praying for Shirley and other family members as they live on with a big hole in their lives. But I'm grateful for the inspiration and positive effect Irby had on me and so many others.