punch me in the neck ...

after work, my family and I jumped in the Mirage and drove to Sacramento ... we spent the evening with my folks ... and watched that movie Jumper ... I think it's based on a true story ...

anyways, tomorrow we drive to Lake Tahoe for Pete and Jamie's wedding ... wedding's are so stressful ... there's so much tension ... everyone's freaking out about something or upset at someone ... I love it ...

I'm not counting, but I think this is my 27th wedding ... I get around ... and I've seen some crazy wedding drama ... fist fights ... drunk mother 'n laws ... crazy brides ... weird stuff ...

a couple of years ago, I almost tackled the groom during the ceremony ... this guy was an $^%ho%$ ... yep, please forgive me for my crazy midnight language ... seriously, I almost punched him in the neck ... but instead, I told him to kiss his bride and I pronounced them husband and wife ... seemed like the better option at the time ...

over the next year, my goal is to attend a few weddings ... (of people I don't know) ... I just want to show up and hang out in the crowd ... I know it sounds creepy, but I need some wedding inspiration ... after doing so many weddings, I need some new ideas ... I need to get the 'matrimonial juices' flowing ... I mean, how many times can you talk to a couple from Ephesians 5 ... we've all heard that 'submission' message ... or 1st Corinthians 13 ... yeah, yeah, love is kind and patient and all that stuff ...

I want to change it up ... at my next wedding, I want to talk about Jacob deceiving his father, or Moses and the burning bush, or when Elisha calls down a curse from heaven, and God sends 2 bears from the woods to maul 24 high school students from bethel ...

no one ever talks about that stuff at weddings ... it's always unconditional love and covenant and commitment ... and then the pastor holds up the ring and says something like, "the ring is a symbol unconditional love ... it's round and it has no beginning and no end" ... and everyone nods and pretends to be shocked about this ... as if they never noticed that the ring was round before ... if I ever hold up the ring and remind people that it's round and then talk about God, please run up on stage and punch me in the neck ...

over all, I'm excited about this weekend ... Pete and Jamie are amazing ... and this should be the best 'tahoe' wedding ever ... mainly because my mom is the coordinator ...

the mohawk ...

today has been fantastic ... I woke up at 10 a.m. ... I needed it ... I worked out ... it's been over a week ... on my way home from the gym, I grabbed fast food at McDonalds ... chicken nuggets and sweet tea ... amazing and healthy ... I took Adiah to Costco ... we at samples and bought a blender ...

tonight, the Lance's came over for dinner ... 5 crazy kids running everywhere ... seriously, I thought Adiah was mischievous ... there's only one thing worse than Adiah alone in the backyard with a hose ... Adiah and Zeke ... run for your life ...

we hung out in the backyard ... broke in the blender ... milkshakes ... ladies and gentlemen, if I tell you I'm a milkshake man, you will agree ... I drink your milkshake ...

now the kids are in bed ... I'm blogging with my wife ... she's a brilliant blogger ...

so, I'm thinking about getting my haircut this week ... should it stay or should it go?

bella

last night, we had a great night at the Stirring ... Dan Lance spoke on Ephesians 3 ... Dan talked about experiencing the love of God ... it's so easy to live in our heads ... I love it when Dan gets passionate ... I can see the vein pulsing in his head ... he's like a cage fighter ... seriously, we are so blessed to have Dan and Alyssa back in our lives ...

And my brother Jeremy led worship ... amazing ... Jeremy has always had such a pure heart after God ... I enjoy seeing him grow as a man of God ...

after the Stirring, my wife and usually throw in a movie to unwind ... last night, we watched that movie 'Bella' ... we loved it ... mainly because I played soccer for a year in high school ... and because my wife is hispanic ... actually, I probably speak more Spanish than my wife ... I took 6 years of Spanish ... perhaps God was preparing me for a church plant in Guatemala ...

anyways, we loved 'Bella' ... I fell asleep for about 20 minutes, and then woke up during some crazy scene where this guy's crying and hugging his mom ... I need to watch it again ...

as for now, it's up there with the greatest 'hispanic' movies of all time ... along with 'Fools Rush In' and 'Bottle Rocket' and 'Nacho Libre' and 'Evita' ...

top 10 greatest concerts (ever) ...

yes sir, the top 10 greatest concerts of all time (ever) ... so far in my 30 years of life ... here's the countdown ...

#10 greatest concert ever ... Tom Petty at the Shoreline Ampitheatre ... I sat on the grass ... ironically, I was the only one not smoking grass ...

#9 ... DC Talk ... Jesus Freak tour in San Diego ... my first mash pit ...

#8 ... Muse ... two words ... fancy licks ... seriously, Muse puts the 'rock' in 'rock 'n roll' ... I would see Muse again any day ... bring it on ...

#7 ... Radiohead at the Warfield ... back in my 'radioheadwardson' days ... couldn't get enough Radiohead ...

#6 ... Counting Crows at the Warfield ... less than 1,000 people in the club ... my brother and I floated into backstage passes ... we met Adam Duritz ... he's huge ...

#5 ... Exit San Francisco ... Simpson College cafeteria ... I rocked all night, jumping and kicking in the air ... and later on that night, I met my wife for the first time ... rock on ...

#4 ... the Myriad ... live at the Cascade ... the first ever Myriad light show ... worth every penny (actually, I think I was on the guest list) ...

#3 ... U2 ... Bono running around the stage like a rock star ... opening band Ziggy Marley ... romantic evening with my wife ... and 20,000 people ...

#2 ... Coldplay at the Arco Arena ... Chris Martin breaks a string ...

#1 greatest concert ever ... Aerosmith ... Steven Tyler swings out on a rope over the crowd ... literally, breathtaking ... also, I was a bit tipsy ...

the new Coldplay ...

after Greek class, I strolled into the office to check my email ... Dan Lance met me with a grin ... holding in his hands, yep, the new Coldplay Album ... Viva la Vida ... which I think means 'this isn't our best album' in spanish ... my wife is hispanic ...

I'm a huge Coldplay fan ... in fact last year, my wife and I saw U2, Josh Groban and Coldplay live in concert ... (not together, that would be really weird) ... and Coldplay blew the others out of the water like an old Pirate ship (sorry Dan) ... and here were the rankings ...

U2 ... amazing ...
Josh Groban ... handsome young man ... vocal chords of steel ...
Coldplay ... better than Josh Groban singing a duet with Bono ...

anyways, I've been looking forward to this new Coldplay album ... as a family, we listened to it over dinner ... I think Garrett Viggers filled in on the hammer dulcimer ... seriously, at least two songs featured the dulcimer ... I'm picturing Garrett Viggers with his dulcimer and his green crocs, laying down tracks with Chris Martin ... beautiful ...

anyways, I'm a bit disappointed ... I guess some albums just grow on you ... like Josh Groban ...

yep, greek class ...

I am living and breathing greek ... I am parsing verbs in my sleep ... for the past 164 hours, I've been reading and writing and memorizing and studying greek ... I miss my life ...

Nevertheless, I am stoked about this class ... it's been great ... and I hope it helps me live out my call ...

And I'm writing a new song ... here are the lyrics to the chorus:

and floods may come
You never change, Your love finds me again
all the places I run,
You call out my name, Your love finds me again

anyways, I'll see you tomorrow night at Ultimate Frisbee ...

my greek life ...

for the next two weeks, I'm taking a Master's Greek course at Tozer Seminary ... I'm enrolled in the Master's of Divinity program ... I hope it's as 'divine' as it sounds ... we're studying the book of Galatians, verse by verse, for two weeks straight ... I'll be living and sleeping and eating and thinking and dreaming Greek for the next 336 hours ...

and for the last 4 hours straight, I've been sitting at my desk with a Greek Bible, hunting for verbs, parsing nouns and participles, and simply over my head in Greek grammar and syntax ... unbelievable ...

actually, I'm loving this season of life ... and it's amazing actually studying the Scriptures in the original language ... anyways, my brain hurts and I need some sleep ...

disneyland story ...

this summer, we're taking our family to Disneyland ... we can't wait ... every night, the girls ask me questions about Disneyland ... about the Pirates of the Caribbean ... Tinkerbell flying from the mountain ... the Magical Disney Castle ... Disneyland is a drug and I'm addicted ...

when we were young, my father would take us 3 boys to Disneyland ... we'd wake up early and be the first ones in the park ... we'd wait on Main Street for the rope cutting where they let us into the park ... and everyone makes a mad dash for their favorite ride ...

for us, it's all about Star Tours ... and so we'd wait at the front of that line for an hour until that magical moment when they cut the rope ... I'm standing there with my father and Jeremy and Benji ... my heart pounding ...

and then it happens, someone cuts the rope and music plays ... and we're off ... a mad dash toward Fantasy Land ...

but this particular year, my brother Jeremy accidentally stepped on the back of my father's flip flop ... and snapped it right off his foot ... ripped the plastic right off the soul ... two seconds into our mad dash for Star Tours ...

my father was furious ... holding that flip flop in one hand ... dancing around ... shouting words I cannot repeat ... now Jeremy's crying ... everyone's running past us ... disaster ... definitely not the happiest place on earth ...

let's hear your Disneyland story ... I know everyone has one ...

no more training wheels or gas ...

yeah, Dan Lance shows up at the office today riding a bike ... one of those tight framed one speeds ... and he parks it right in the middle of our office ... because we share an office ... all packed into one office, me and Dan and his bike ...

and Ava just turned 5 years old this past Sunday ... so I took off her training wheels ... actually, one of them fell off ... and so I've been teaching her how to ride without training wheels ... she can't get on the bike by herself, but once she's on and cruising, she can ride all the way down the street ... until she falls off, cries and then I help her get back on ... it's great ...

the Gafner's just gave Adiah one of their little bikes ... she's crazy on the bike ... she stands up ... she rides with no hands ... she pops wheelies ...

bikes everywhere ... my wife and I have been talking about getting bikes ... great exercise and no gas ... I spoke with Kendall ... his father may have a couple of bikes for sale ...

and who wouldn't want to ride a bike in 115 degree weather in August ... look for us on our bikes ... and Dan ...

the Myriad

I filmed this music video a few years ago (before the Myriad went Platinum) ... last week, I tried to sell the rights to M.T.V. to make a quick dollar off my brother's fame ... they absolutely love it, but they don't think it works for M.T.V. ... I disagree ... anyways, enjoy the first Myriad video ever ...

the Stirring tonight ...

awesome night tonight ... we're spending the next 8 weeks in the book of Ephesians ... becoming who we are ...

when I first read Ephesians a few years ago, it rocked me ... especially the 'in Christ' stuff ... you know, chosen in Christ, adopted in Christ, made alive in Christ ... I couldn't believe it ... for so many years, I had lived without God ... and Paul drops this bomb on me, that Christ lives in me ... and I live in Him ... awesome ...

anyways, Jacob led worship ... I love his passion and heart after God ... I met so many new people tonight ... families and couples ...

and the Stirring Jr. High launched tonight ... 13 new Jr. High students on the first night ... actually, they're all new because it's the first night, but you know what I mean ...

our team at the Stirring is amazing ... dan and derrick and hannah and the sean's and patrick and chris and my amazing wife and all the jeremy's and amy and rebecca and dylan and tyler and heather and emily and matt and anna and billy and heaven (and I wish Jeff Yoder were here) and ashley and Jesus and john and amy and yep, meghan and yori and t.j. (and I wish Shannon Pirie would move to Redding) and aaron and kaylen and brad and emily and bethany and chris and cassie and kristen and benji and jenna and kristina and kendall and cory and foster and everyone else ...

I can't believe I get to follow Jesus with such an amazing community ...