Opposite Way

I had to give a shout out to Leeland today. I've been anticipating this album for awhile now...so much so that I stopped at our Mac on my way to the breakfast table to download Opposite Way before my Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Pop Tarts and before reading The Journey for the day. I haven't even listened to the whole thing yet, but what I heard on my iPod on the drive to work was awesome!

Download Now!

Wake Review for 2/24/08

Wake is our weekly meeting for Junior High students at Watermark. We meet on Sunday mornings at 11:00am on the 4th floor of the Watemark Tower. Here is my assessment of this week's Wake.

Program Outline
Attendance: Above Average
Fun Factor: Average
Leader Presence: Average
Music: Above Average
Message: Above Average

We opened with a classic "dance contest" and handed out a bunch of old t-shirts and some CDs from Reach Records. We wrapped up our 3 week "Wake Idol" fun fest with a girl that could actually sing and our all-time worst guy singer ever. We let the kids watch a funny video Bode put together with one of our high school students:



For our teaching time, I made an plea for students to check God's word each day for the messages God has waiting for them. It was a great chance to introduce the new Join the Journey Facebook Application. Also, click here to see the discussion guide that the Small Groups use throughout the week.

Wake Review for 2/17/08

Wake is our weekly meeting for Junior High students at Watermark. We meet on Sunday mornings at 11:00am on the 4th floor of the Watemark Tower. Here is my assessment of this week's Wake.

Program Outline
Attendance: Average
Fun Factor: Average
Leader Presence: Above Average
Music: Above Average
Message: Above Average

It was a solid week for Wake. Bode thought it dragged but I felt like it moved pretty well. We consistently have the issue of running close to or past 12:15pm. This is probably due to the fact that Bode and I mess around so much trying to be funny. This week we wasted a bunch of time drawing attention to a girl who had a broken leg. She was wheeling around on one of these "Roll-A-Bout" contraptions instead of using crutches. We had her come up on stage and wheel around and then we yelled at everyone for staring. Good times.

We also re-played our Wake Idol singing game and used this video featuring my man Kip as a prelude:



For our teaching time, we finished our series on relationships entitled "Check Yes or No". Click here to see the discussion guide that the Small Groups use throughout the week.

My girls on Valentine's Day...

Here's my girls on Valentine's Day; I have the cutest girls ever...

Goals, Projects, and Money

Some friends recently encouraged us to spend some time thinking about the long term. This is a difficult task since anything could happen or change at any moment. Nonetheless, Alli and I heeded their advice and recently sat down to lay out some of our hopes and dreams for 2008 and beyond. Here are the things we came up with...

Goals for 2008

• Stick with the Journey
• Use Majority of David's Vacation
• Make Financial Goals and Plans & Meet with Advisors
  
• Meet our Neighbors
• Complete a Will
• Purchase Life Insurance
• Get Passports
  

House Projects

• Touch Up Paint (Whole House)
• Replace Kitchen Countertops
• Renovate Master Bath / Walk In Closet Addition
• Replace 6 Doors & Knobs
• Replace 5 Knobs
  
• Cable & Trim Trees, Remove Crate Myrtles, Landscaping
• Add Gas Logs
• Finish Replacing Blinds
• Add Back Patio / Fire Pit
• Add Lighting to TV Room
• Replace Guest Bath Shower / Faucet / Drain (Or Renovate the Whole Thing)

Long Term Financial Goals

• Live on Single Income
• Consider Canyon Creek 2012 or 2013 (Increase Sq. Footage, Add Bedroom)
• Replace Car #1 in 2010, 2020, 2030
• Replace Car #2 in 2015, 2025, 2035
• Purchase Car #3 in 2023
• Purchase Car #4 in 2025
• Purchase Car #5 in 2030
• Send 3 Kids to State Schools, Room & Board, Books

Wake Review for 2/10/08

Wake is our weekly meeting for Junior High students at Watermark. We meet on Sunday mornings at 11:00am on the 4th floor of the Watemark Tower. Here is my assessment of this week's Wake.

Program Outline
Attendance: Above Average
Fun Factor: Above Average
Leader Presence: Above Average
Music: Above Average
Message: Average

This week was SPECIAL! We had a last minute (I was texting back and forth during the first service) addition of a very cool guest...LECRAE! If you haven't heard of Lecrae, it's about time. Find him here in iTunes and here at Reach Records. He's one of the most gifted and genuine rappers out there. Not only did he perform for our students, he encouraged them to follow Christ wholeheartedly, and he also participated in our "Wake Idol" game by taking on the role of Fake Randy Jackson. He was a great sport and was very funny in his role. Our kids LOVED it!



For our teaching time, we continued our series on relationships entitled "Check Yes or No". Click here to see the discussion guide that the Small Groups use throughout the week.

Automatic

Today, Passion released it's 10th album entitled "God of This City". Naturally, without even sampling the songs, I download the entire album first thing this morning with a sleepy Chapman sitting on my lap. Click here to download the album for yourself in iTunes today.

Passion albums are just one of several that I will automatically download without having to hear any of the tracks in advance. There are a handful of artists who I trust completely to consistently put out music that I love. These are the artists that automatically earn a spot on the ongoing soundtrack of my life.

• Brad Paisley
• Chris Tomlin
• David Crowder Band
• dcTalk
• Hanson
• Mat Kearney
• Passion
• Relient K
• Sara Groves
• Shane and Shane
• Steven Curtis Chapman
• Switchfoot
• TobyMac
• Watermark

Speak Out Reader:
Who are your "automatic" artists?

Wake Review for 2/3/08

Wake is our weekly meeting for Junior High students at Watermark. We meet on Sunday mornings at 11:00am on the 4th floor of the Watemark Tower. Here is my assessment of this week's Wake.

Program Outline
Attendance: Above Average
Fun Factor: Below Average
Leader Presence: Average
Music: Above Average
Message: Above Average

For fun, we played a lame power point game and caught everyone up on the ongoing escapades of the world famous "Fake Jonas Brothers". The video was really well done but we didn't have enough other stuff to amp up the fun factor. Check out their world premiere video on YouTube:



For our teaching time, we launched into a new series on relationships entitled "Check Yes or No". Click here to see the discussion guide that the Small Groups use throughout the week.

A Dad Has to Brag

Just click this picture and look at how cool my son is. He's the coolest.