Archive for December, 2007

State of the Blog

It’s almost the new year and Heather and I have been discussing Live.Awake and where it should go for the upcoming year.

We have some ideas, but we really want to hear from our readers on it.

Some things I would like to see change this year:

  1. A better balance on my part between heavier posts and lighter fare. I’m not an overly serious guy, but writing tends to bring out my more serious side.
  2. More from Heather. She still kind of thinks of herself as a guest blogger.
  3. Maybe some more “series” type things from Heather and I similar to the “What a Man/Woman Wants” articles we did.
  4. A better mixture of short and sweet side-blog type posts and longer articles. Not everyone has time to read a book every day…

So, here’s your chance! All of you lurkers that never comment… chime in and give us some direction for the year. What do you like that we have done, what do you not like so much, and what would you like to see us do going forward.

We are thick skinned, so don’t hold back. PLEASE. We want to hear your opinions!

1600 days ago 5

The Post-Christmas Blues

Each month, the Kernersville News asks a local clergy member (clergy? That word makes me feel funny…) to write an “inspirational” article for their Lifestyle section. This was my turn. I thought I would share it here.

Before I became a pastor, I did a variety of jobs ranging from High School English teacher to glue filterer at a glue factory. Working at the glue factory was the most memorable. I learned that glue is not made from horses, but rather from mixing dangerous chemicals into concoctions that can kill you and/or cause you to grow extra appendages. I also learned something about humanity. At the glue factory, we got paid every Friday. I can remember watching as all the workers lined up to get their checks on Friday afternoons. Then they would run off to the bank down the street to cash it. They would spend most, if not all, of it partying over the weekend.

Read more…

1604 days ago 3

Merry Christmas!

God Bless you! Thanks to all our readers for making this a great year to be a blogger.

Have a great Christmas. (and dig my cheesy snow falling…)

1606 days ago 0

Winter Drivers

Being in the south, whenever it snows it’s just like this.

[tags]winter driving, youtube, you tube, funny[/tags]

1610 days ago 1
tambourine

Circumcision and Christmas Carols

I grew up in the middle of charismania. If you know anything about charismatics, you know that they don’t like to do anything the way it has always been done before. In fact, they don’t like to do things even the way they themselves did it last time. We didn’t believe in tradition, unless we “felt led” to believe in it. And then it wasn’t tradition, it was sovereignty.

Now, don’t get me wrong. My spiritual heritage is deep. I speak in tongues, prophesy, and believe that the gifts mentioned in I Corinthians 12:7-10 and elsewhere have not ceased. But I think it’s been long enough now for all of us to admit that there were some pretty cooky things we did as charismaniacs. We should laugh. I sure do.

One of the ways this manifested itself was in how we did Christmas caroling. I was about 12 at the time. Not sure of the age, but it feels like 12 when I remember it. A group of us gathered at the church to pray before going out. We huddled together like Gideon and his ragtag band of soldiers preparing to assault the gates of hell. Only they were armed with swords. We had Christmas carols and tambourines.

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1610 days ago /  Tagged: 11

Zombie Shoppers and Prosperity

We always do our Christmas shopping at almost the last minute. We went shopping yesterday as a family. One of the places we went was Target. If you’ve read much from me recently, you know God has been working me over pretty good on the issue of idolatry. As I followed Heather around, dutifully attempting to answer unanswerable questions like “What’s the difference between ‘Fashion Barbie’ and ‘Regular Barbie’?”, I began to take notice of the shoppers around me.

All of them looked like zombies. You know those movies where the living dead wander aimlessly, seemingly unaware of their surroundings except for their base urges? Everyone was staring blankly, stepping slowly forward without purpose. Like sleepwalkers. I even found myself doing it at one point.

I even had a lady slowly bump into me with her cart as I stood directly in front of her. She mumbled out a “sorry”, and went around me.

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1612 days ago 1

Weekend Thoughts

I post a bulleted list of thoughts and links on Fridays. These are things bouncing around in my head that I want to post but they don’t deserve a complete post on their own.

Have a great weekend!

  • “The Golden Compass” isn’t fairing too well with the reviewers so far and it hasn’t made much money yet. Though, that could change this week. I don’t think you can ignore the fact that this movie and the accompanying books are INTENDED by the author as a direct attack on the gospel. Anyone think God is worried? Still, I encourage everyone to avoid this movie. Not because I think your weak little souls will get sucked into the “evil atheist’s” vortex, but because I don’t think we should knowingly fund his campaign or encourage him to make more. Oh, and please don’t let your kids go to their website and pick out their very own demon (daemon). That’s wrong on SO MANY LEVELS it should go without saying. I’m saying it just in case…
  • I picked up my guitar this week for the first time in a long time. Heather and I did a little worship set with the kids and it was awesome. They loved it and they learned something about what worship is. We’ve started doing it almost every night. There’s nothing like seeing your little kids worship Jesus.
  • My friends Denny and Priscilla at The Captains Coffee gave me a coffee roaster and some green coffee beans this week. I made my first batch last night. Let me tell you. I’ve always liked coffee, but haven’t ever been a real coffee drinker. Until now. It’s like the difference between frozen, week old shrimp from Wal Mart and fresh shrimp straight from the ocean. Night and day. I’ll do a more detailed review once I know what I’m doing a little better.

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1617 days ago 1
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