Best Sound Ever

This is my beautiful daughter Hailey. She is a very happy baby. Last night my wife was playing with her on the floor and got her to laugh...so, of course, I had to get it on video and post it on my blog. It brightened up my day...I hope it will do the same for you!

peace,
glo

I fell over

This is my new bike. I got it this spring after saving up and drooling over it for 3 years. It is a Specialized Allez Triple. I like it.

I've been riding it a lot the last couple weeks and finally, the inevitable happened. You see, I have those shoes that lock into the pedals and so when you come up to a stop you have to unclip your shoe and lean over to that side. I've been doing very well with this up until yesterday.

It was at the intersection of Belleview and Meyer Blvd. that it happened and of course there were plenty of cars driving both directions to see me, laugh and point.

I simply unlocked my left shoe and stopped (like usual), but then I seemed to ignore the fact that I needed to lean to the left side and, of course, the bike started leaning to the right. The next 1.5 seconds seemed to have lasted about 41 minutes. It was absolutely one of those "slow motion" moments in which I had the following line of thoughts go through my mind...
1. I'm leaning the wrong way.
2. Put your foot down.
3. I can't it's still locked in.
4. I'm falling.
5. UNLOCK YOUR FREAKIN FOOT!!!
6. I'm still falling.
7. Please come unlocked.
8. I'm still falling.
9. It's not coming unlocked.
10. Ouch. I fell...

silence

11. All those people driving by just saw that.
12. Maybe if I just sit here on the curb it will look as though I meant to do it.
13. Are all those cars finally gone?
14. Ok, get up and act as though nothing happened.
15. Ride home as quick as possible.

So I had all those thoughts in the course of about 4 seconds.

It was not my best achievement. But I did get an idea for a sermon out of it...

oh well.

peace,
glo

What are we eating?

I recently heard that it is recommended for average adults to watch 2 hours of television daily. That's a long meal.

We digest what we take in our eyes and ears, not just what we eat with our mouth. That's why the angel told John (Rev 10:9) to "eat the book". I've recently started to seriously question how I am spending my time in the Word. I read it regularly and enjoy it, but my attitude seems to be more toward the McDonald's experience, as opposed to the Melting Pot extravaganza.

I know McDonald's is cheap and fast and that's why I eat it, because it's convienient. I don't go to the golden arches to get my health fix for the day. The problem is when we let that type of "ingesting" get into our time we spend with the Word. I don't think we were intended to consume the word of God in a manner that would more closely replicate our fast food eating habits. It should probably look more like one of those meals that I take my wife to once a year that costs a bunch of money and lasts 2 1/2 hours. (she really likes those)

I hate paying that much for food, but you better believe that when we do have those fancy dinners that I enjoy every morsel because I associate value with it. I don't associate much value with McDonald's food...the way I eat it would be closer to inhaling it.

I think when God tells us that He wants us to "eat the Word" the association we make should resemble that of a well prepared gourmet meal...

It was prepared by the guy who invented food in the first place.

peace,
glo

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

You need to go see this movie.

they're back!

When I heard the Royals were bringing back the "baby blue" uniforms I was stoked. When I found out they're giving away a free replica jersey to the first 20,000 on Saturday...I was more stoked.

We'll be there Saturday. I'll just be wearing a plain white t-shirt to the game in anticipation of putting on the "baby blue"...

It's freakin awesome.

And to top it all off, the Royals actually look pretty decent this year. It's still early, but Royals fans are like Cubs fans, you'll take what you can get.

peace,
glo

A Beautiful Day...

Last week was tough. Real tough.

But today was amazing. My daughter was dedicated today.
After the dedication our family came over and we all had a late lunch together. Our nephews and nieces had a great time playing together and my brother beat me at table tennis. (some things never change)

It would have been a great day if nothing else had happened, but after everyone had left I got to take a wonderfully relaxing walk with Jen, Hailey and our dog, Daisy. It was beautiful.

To top it off I finally got to ride my new bike today, it was a short ride, but it was awesome.

a
beautiful
day.

peace,
glo

commentary on commentary

I think sometimes we get to wrapped up in reading commentaries and opinions about the Word. I'm just as guilty as anyone else, but sometimes we just need to let the Word of God speak for itself, directly into our hearts...

I read this passage yesterday morning and it brought me a lot of comfort and peace. I pray it will do the same for you...

Jos 1:8-9 And don't for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you'll get where you're going; then you'll succeed. (9) Haven't I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don't be timid; don't get discouraged. GOD, your God, is with you every step you take."



peace,
glo

allergies.

So I went to the dr. today. Last thursday I started feeling "not good" and thought it was probably allergies. Today I finally gave in and went. I don't like going to the dr. I don't like needles.

I didn't have to get a shot. But I do have...
a sinus infection
an ear infection
and bronchitis

not fun. not fun at all.

peace,
glo

are we there yet?

I used to ask it all the time in the car. When I was young we used to go camping all the time, it seemed like we were gone every weekend during the summer. But one question was always constant, "Are we there yet?". I remember getting in the car/truck/camper (we had a lot of different camping vehicles over the years) getting bored before we even got out of town and asking the question I knew my parents were dreading. I would usually ask it until I thought I had annoyed them enough that the punishment of my continious inquiry was equal to their crime of not having invented teleportation or floating cars yet. Then I would proceed to go to sleep.

I'm afraid I still have the same question in my heart and I think if we were to be honest with ourselves we would all admit the same thing. It's very difficult to live a life that feels fulfilled and satisfied if we are always looking at the destination instead of enjoying the journey. We're all on a journey somewhere, the only difference is that some have learned to sit back and enjoy the journey and others have become so haunted by the destination that they've decided to sit in the back seat of their own lives and go to sleep.

I'm starting a sermon series this Sunday out of the "Songs of Acent" from Psalm 120-134. We're going to look at the journey we are on and the obstacles we will face. Hopefully by the end of it we'll stop worrying so much about the destination and be able to wake up and truly enjoy the journey that is this thing we call life.



On a completely unrelated note. We're going to play ultimate frisbee this Sunday at 3pm in the field behind our church. You should join us.


peace,
glo
(no, neither one of the short-short wearing young men in that picture are me)

march madness

Well, it's that time of year again. I must admit I love the tournament, Jen and I always fill out brackets together and somehow she always ends up doing better than me. I was talking a friend last night who is a KU fan and I came to a realization. I've never met a KU fan who didn't have them winning it all...every single year. I don't know it that's a good thing (faith in your team) or a bad thing (blind support), but either way it's admirable in it's own right.

peace,
glo

Your Church has an art gallery in it?

That was a question I was asked more than once at the conference I just attended. It's amazing how receptive people are to a genuine expression of the creativity of God. We have a new curator for our gallery, His name is Aaron Tabuchi and he is awesome! He's already put together a blog for updates and info about the gallery...
you
should
check
it
out

http://www.streetlightart.blogspot.com/

peace,
glo

time off...

So it's been a while since I've blogged. We went to California last week, it was awesome. Hailey went with us and we got to hike up a mountain (where we saw a "hatch" that look suspiciously similar to the one in "LOST") so I climbed up on top of it and took a picture. I'll post some pictures from our trip in the next few days. We also got to take Hailey to the ocean for the first time...she wasn't impressed. She basically cried and screamed the whole time.

We were out there for a conference of church leaders that want to focus on communicating one thing. The love and gospel of Jesus Christ. I got to meet some great men and women of God and it was a very encouraging and refreshing time. I'll be posting more in the coming days about it all.

It's passion week!
enough said.

peace,
glo

daily?

Seriously? That's what He said. Jesus told us that if we wanted to be His disciples we must daily pick up our cross and follow Him.

Daily.

Not just on Sundays.
Not just for lent.
Not just when we really need/want something.


Daily.

What does that mean in 21st century western civilization? Maybe it's actually more difficult for us today than it was 2000 years ago because it isn't as easily defined. For the disciples and apostles of the 1st century church it was very clear...it meant being ousted from society and probably ending up dead because of your beliefs. We don't deal with that in America.

How do we pick up our cross daily? What does that look like?

That's what we're going to be exploring the next three weeks.

Last week we talked about the mystery of the cross and how to practically apply it in our lives. This week we'll discuss the cross we cannot bear alone.

What is your cross?
Today?

How are you bearing it?

peace,
glo

Truth

Sometimes it isn't pleasant, but truer words were never spoken, especially to this generation.

Sibling rivalry

My brother and I foughtwhen we were younger...a lot. He is 12 years older than me, so he always won, but never-the-less, we always seemed to find something to fight about when I was growing up. I've been thinking about that this week because of a psalm that I read. Psalm 133 says that it is good and pleasant when brothers (and sisters) dwell together in unity. I think God specifically put that in there because He knows that brothers and sisters don't naturally "dwell together in unity".

Just look at the examples we have from the Bible itself.
The first siblings, Cain and Able...that sibling rivalry ended with Cain killing him.
Jacob and Esau - hated each other, Jacob stole his birth right and then ran away so Esau wouldn't "pull a Cain" on him.
Joseph - His brothers sold him into slavery and then told their father he was killed by a wild animal.
King David - His brothers all thought he was an insignificant joke...until he killed the giant.

My brother and I weren't perfect, but compared to those guys we look like saints. Lukily, that isn't the end of the Psalm. It goes on to explain what a "love-centered" unity and community looks like and how we can exist in it. If it helps you understand it, it has a lot to do with oil running down beards and dew on mountains (not the drink). I'm sure that makes it real clear...

We don't live in genuine community because we don't know how. It isn't natural, we need God's help...

That's what we're going to look into this Sunday...

peace,
glo

Consumed...

...with consumption.

I recently read a quote from retail analyst Victor Labeau

“Our enormously productive economy demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption…we need things consumed, burned up, replaced and discarded at an ever-accelerating rate.”(said after World War 2)

I don't know about you, but that scares me. This quote is obviously very old, but you can look at our society today and see that they were successful in making this a realization in our lives. We are consumed with consuming. The words that scare me the most from that quote is that "we would seek our spiritual satisfaction...in consumption."

This may explain why there are 37 different iPod's for people to chose from. I don't know about you, but it's really tempting to find satisfaction in the aisles at Best Buy...the only problem is that it never lasts. At least, not in my life.

I think Jesus probably knew something about having genuine satisfaction that doesn't go away in a few days. I think the scene with the woman at the well (John 4:9-26) is far more applicable to us today than we realize. The only difference is today Jesus isn't hanging out at a watering hole. He's walking the aisles at Best Buy, Target, or any other retail store where people are seeking for satisfaction through the things they consume. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing sinful about shopping at Best Buy or Target. That isn't the point. The point is when we start to get our identity, our satisfaction through the things that we consume we are being consumed ourselved with consumption. It's a never ending cycle that only leads to unsatisfied, empty, shallow lives.

The real problem though is when we try to turn God into something that we consume, just like a new DVD player or flat screen tv. The Bible doesn't talk about us consuming God in that way...but it does say a quite a bit about thing things that can consume us.

What
consumes
you
?

peace,
glo

hulkamania?

I think my daughter might already be a hulkamaniac.

This is how she sleeps sometimes... look familiar?
I'm going to have to find her a hulk hogan t-shirt now...

peace,
glo

art in a church?

So we do things a little different at KC Life...

This Friday night at 7pm we will have our second gallery opening of new artwork in the Streetlight art gallery. The topic of all the artwork is "faith". All of the art is contributed by local artists and all the proceeds from the sale of any of the work go towards the House of Dreams Orphanage in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

I'll be posting pictures of the new artwork on here next week sometime, but if you want to be one of the first to see the new work come join us on Friday night.

peace,
glo

You deserve to be happy.

Actually we all do. That's what we were created for. That's one of the main reasons Christ came to earth, died and rose again. I realize religion has skewed most of our perspectives to the point in which we sometimes seriously question the previous statement...but that isn't Jesus' fault...it's our own. We all deserve life, genuine life and that is what Christ said He came to give us.

The problem isn't that He doesn't want to give us life, the problem is that most of us are still deciding what we think genuine life is...and if we aren't with forethought about discovering the absolute definition we will wander through our short existence and never come close to experiencing real life.

Miller Light offers us a high life.
Hollywood offers us a glamorous life.
Citibank offers us a life, right now (they forget to tell us about the consequences of trying to get life from a credit card).
Most religions offer a semblance of life if you really "plug in".

Jesus offers us abundant life, but not like everyone and everything else. He is the only one in history who ever said "I am the life."

I ran across a couple quotes from men far more intelligent than me that sum it up pretty good...

"If I want to travel north and all the roads are cut to the east, of course I shall complain of the roads. I shall find nothing but obstacles; I shall have to surmount walls, and cross rivers, and go round about, and after all fail my end." ~ John Henry Newman

About this statement, Eugene Peterson (The Message Bible guy) said this...

"Such is the conduct of those who are trying to achieve some meaning in their lives, pursuing their right to happiness, but refusing to take the well-traveled roads that lead there."

There is a well-traveled road to happiness and genuine life. We're going to start exploring what it is this Sunday.

peace,
glo

The goal

It's that time...when everyone makes decisions to do something different with their lives and most of the time we fizzle out by the middle of February. We call it our "new years resolution" or "goals"...no matter what terminology you use the new year ushers in a sense of starting over, of being able to make something in your life or about your life better than it was in 2007.

Anne Frank said "Then, without realizing it, you try to improve yourself at the start of each new day; of course, you achieve quite a lot in the course of time. Anyone can do this, it costs nothing and is certainly very helpful. Whoever doesn't know it must learn and find by experience that a quiet conscience makes one strong."

The Bible talks about a goal, maybe the only goal that really matters. 1 Timothy 1:5 says "The goal of our instruction is love, from a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith."

Our goal as followers of Christ is not to make it to church on Sunday...we are the church.
Our goal is not to be religious...Jesus hated religion and those who lived religious lives.

The
goal
is
love

That's it. To simply love God and love others. Jesus gave us the golden rule in His time here on earth, to love others as we would choose to be loved. Paul instructs us on how that is done from a holistic viewpoint: mind, body and soul.
A pure heart = body
A good conscience = mind
A sincere faith = soul

This is what we're going to explore this Sunday.
What does it mean to love people from a pure heart?
What does it look like to love from a good conscience?
How do you love from a sincere faith?

The goal is love. The path is faith, love and a good conscience.

We're going to start a journey on this path at KC Life...

I'll keep you updated on where it takes us.

peace,
glo