leftovers and michael jackson ...

hey everyone ... happy day after thanksgiving ...

today, we relaxed and we shopped ... I bought a new jacket, drank a Starbucks double shot on ice, and we took the family on a good old fashioned hay ride ... 4000 pound horses ... creepy ...

now, we're sitting around eating turkey leftovers ... there's nothing more satisfying than turkey leftover sandwiches with mayo and cranberry sauce ... apparently Americans consume more turkey during Thanksgiving than any other time of the year ... amazing ... I can't stop eating ... and later tonight, leftover pumpkin pie ... I've already gained 16 pounds ...

oh yeah, and I just found out that Michael Jackson is coming to the Arco Arena next year ... I can't wait ... thriller and bad and dangerous ... the moonwalk ... I'm hoping the Myriad will open for him ... the greatest show ever ...

family vacation ...

finally, family vacation ... I'm sitting with my beautiful and rambunctious daughters in a condo in Bend, Oregon ... we've been watching movies and searching the woods for baby tigers ... we found a baby tiger cave, but I think the tigers were sleeping ... we'll go back later to capture one and bring it back to Redding ... every family needs a pet tiger ...

this morning, I slept in until 10:30 am ... walked along with river with my parents ... ran around with my son ... drank a protein shake ... and tonight we're going into town for dinner ... and then I'll introduce my son Asher to the world of hot tubbing ... as a family, we love hot tubs ... and tonight my son will become a man ...

stirring kids film ...

hey everyone ... we're thinking about producing a short kids film for Christmas ... we'd like to film on Saturday afternoon, December 5th around 2 pm ... we're looking for 12 children, anywhere between the ages of 2 and 8 ... we'll be interviewing some of our Stirring kids ... also, if you want to be involved in costume or production, please let me know ... we need costumes and props and flannel graph Jesus figures ... you'll see ...

anyways, please let me know if you have children who might be interested and available on Saturday, December 5th ... we'll be showing this bit at the Stirring and at the Christmas Eve gathering at the Cascade ... sweet ...

market street manor ...

around noon, I threw my family in the Oldsmobile and we cruised down to the Market Street Manor ...

we joined up with the Cables, the Stirring and the Bridge Community Church to encourage and bless the families living downtown in the Market Street Manor ... moms and children and families and soup and smiles and cookies ... amazing ... we love God, we love each other, we love the world and we love the least ... that's church ...

I love bringing my kids with me ... Ava was asking so many questions ... "why are we eating soup?" ... "who are these people?" ... Ava wanted to make a cameo on my blog ... she writes, "we gave clothes to kids and people ... we gave food, too ... we ate lots of soup" ... (ava's first blog) ...

on the homefront, our whole family is sick ... headaches and runny noses and achy bones ... monday morning, we leave for our family vacation to Bend, Oregon ... I can't wait ... hot tubs and bears ... that's the life ...

vampires and hot tubs ...

it's 11:14 pm ... I'm finishing up a paper for my theology class ... yep, Karl Barth ...

my wife just called me from Movies 8 ... she's been waiting in line all night for that new vampire film 'twilight' ... high school flick with sharp teeth and creepy goth vampire girls ... she bought me a ticket and she's sitting in the theater right now ... the theater is already packed for the midnight showing ... 496 women and 3 men ... punch me in the face ...

my wife asked me if I wanted to sit with my brother Jeremy or with her ... I laughed out loud ... of course, I want to sit with her ... how embarrassing to watch a girl vampire movie with my brother ... no question, I'm sitting with my wife ... if people laugh at me, I'll just point to my wife and tell them she dragged me to watch it with her ... now who's laughing? ...

anyways, my brother Jeremy just called and asked me if I would sit with him (Meghan didn't save him a seat with her) ... I laughed out loud again ... "there's no way I'm sitting with you" ... so he's stuck sitting by himself in the back of the theater ... he's that guy ... sitting alone in the goth chick vampire flick ...

anyways, this whole vampire thing is out of control ... I'd rather be hot tubbing ... more to come ...

starbucks in heaven?

i spend most of my life in Starbucks ...
reading books ...
writing in my journal ...
studying scripture ...
praying and thinking and dreaming ...
mentoring Jesus followers ...
meeting new people ...
drinking coffee (which I don't really like) ...
yesterday, I sampled the new Christmas blend ...
it all tastes the same to me ...
one question: will there be Starbucks in heaven? ...
coffee? ...
coffee shops? ...
starbucks double shot on ice? ...
I'm curious ...

the wild donkey ...

inspired by Dan's message on Sunday night, I wrote a worship song (and I threw some cardboard in the blue recycle bin) ... it's called the wild donkey ... it's from Job 38 & 39 ... here are the lyrics ... I'm hoping Jenna will let me introduce it at the Stirring this next weekend ... sorry, i can't give you the chords for copyright issues ...

verse:
Leaves are green
Trees are green
Grass is green
God loves green

pre-chorus:
who can tell the lightning where to bolt?
who can speak to the baby mountain goat?
who can tell the oceans where to break?
who can comfort the fawn while she mates?

chorus:
You let the wild donkey go free
And God, You still love me
You untied its ropes so it could go free
And God, You still love me

we've are officially done with the elephant in the church series ... greed, sex, drinking, politics, pornography and the environment ... if you missed it, listen to the podcast ... God has so much to say about this stuff ...

to our church, the Stirring ... you have been so encouraging and courageous ... you bless me and challenge me as a leader ... it's been such an amazing two years ... keep chasing Jesus ... there is so much more ... and it's just the beginning ...

the perfect day ...

woke up late ...
worked out with a friend at his private gym for trainers ...
chest and biceps ... I'm huge ...
drank one of those protein shakes with a banana ...
hung out with family ...
ate lunch with grandpa at Tai Cafe ... mango sticky rice ...
shopping for 9 hours at Winco ...
met some Bethel students who were on a treasure hunt in Winco ...
it reminded me of scavenger hunts in high school ...
carried 37 bags of groceries into the house ...
met with the Stirring Advisory team at P.C.I. for dinner ...
steaks, potatoes and salad ...
watched Heroes with my wife on the couch ...
ate a bowl of granola cereal ...
blogged ...
the perfect day, except 9 hours at Winco ...

august rush ...

friday night ...
just watched August Rush again with my wife ...
what a great film ...
these kind of films inspire me ...
to write songs ...
to write films ...
to start a rock band ...
to learn the cello ...

music has always been such a huge part of my life ... I always hear music ... on most days, there's a song resounding in my soul ... I hum melodies throughout the day ... and when I see a piano, I must sit down and tap them out ... music draws me to God ... music draws me to His heart ...

one of my favorite verses in Scripture talks about God singing ... "the Lord takes great delight in you, He will quiet you His love, He will rejoice over you with singing" ... Zephaniah 3:17 ...

I'll never forget an interview I saw with Bono a couple of years ago ... he was talking about music and songwriting and God ... he said, "God gives me melodies, it's my gift" ...

David writes, "God has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God" ... Psalm 40:3 ...

I'm not sure where this blog is going ... it's late ... my teeth ache ... my wife is talking to me about something, but I'm not really listening ... maybe one day, my brother Jeremy will ask me to join the Myriad ... I could wear tight pants, cowboy boots and color my hair black ... goodnight ...

the perfect worship set ...

every worship leader dreams about the perfect worship set ...

you know, the one that makes everyone laugh and cry and fall on the ground and raise their hands ... and the songs all flow together ... and the sound guy has tears in his eyes ... and the drum fills are angelic ... and you're singing words that aren't even on the screen ... the perfect worship set ...

of course, it's all about the perfect worship songs ... so, I've decided to dedicate this blog to the perfect worship set ... 5 songs, that's it ... and maybe one song for ministry time at the end of the service (while everyone stands around wondering IF the service has actually ended or IF they should keep standing around until the pastor jumps back on the microphone and says 'you can be dismissed' or 'awesome') ...

so, whether you're a worship leader or you own a Delirious album or you play acoustic or you can't sing or your last name is Yoder, please WEIGH IN with the perfect worship set ... don't be shy ...

the perfect worship set ...

Show your Power (everyone clapping & Aaron Wardle singing back up)
In the Light (strobe light, fog machine & my brother Jeremy on electric)
Where you go I go (Scott Davis on drums upside down wearing yellow tank top)
I could sing of your love forever (with Russ York & teenage boys choir)
Send Your Rain (grand piano & Jon Klein on harmonica)

Wash Over me (with live marching band during final chorus)

top that ...

111 days ...

creepy floating baby ...

she's alive ... she's moving ... I think she's Hispanic ...

in 111 days, my life will change ...

3 girls ... 1 boy ... 2 chihuahuas ... 1 huge cat ...

nathan, welcome to life ...

not in my house ...

it's late, but I feel like blogging ... I'm praying and God is speaking ...

last week, God woke me up in the middle of the night ... I prayed ... as I prayed, God began speaking to me about pornography ... God began showing me the war in the Spirit against pornography ... there's a war raging in heaven against pornography ... Satan has this handful of porn ... I saw his hand of porn so deep in our lives, so deep in the church, so deep in our families, so deep in our marriages and even shaping our children ...

as I prayed, I saw the people of God so consumed and defeated by pornography and lust ... trapped under dark clouds of guilt and shame ... though I saw a great army of God's people, each man and each woman felt alone ... some were fighting, but most had given up and given in ...

then I saw God rise from the darkness ... I saw God rise in compassion and justice ... I saw God rise with a sword to cut off the enemies hand ... and I heard God shout from heaven, "NOT in my HOUSE!" ... with holy anger, I saw God cut off Satan's hand of porn ... and the people of God were set free ...

as I prayed and wept, I felt God's freedom in my home ... I felt God's freedom in my marriage ... I felt God's freedom in my family ... "NOT in my HOUSE!" ... I cried out to God on behalf of my son, Asher ... I felt God's freedom for Asher ...

it is for freedom that Jesus Christ has set us free ... the enemy has been defeated ... Jesus triumphed over the enemy on the cross ... the battle belongs to God ... and God rises with compassion and justice to cut off the enemies hand ...

so humble yourselves before God.
resist the devil and he will flee from you.
draw close to God, and God will draw close to you.
James 4:7, 8

may you know the freedom of Jesus Christ in your life ...

the church plant ...

5 weeks ago, we planted our Sunday morning Stirring on Eureka Way ... the Stirring with pews ... it's been a crazy few weeks ... we've been tackling the elephants in the church ... greed and sex and politics and pornography ... the perfect way to plant a church ...

props to our launch team ... they're on it ... the prayer team and the worship team and the Stirring Kids team and the greeters and the sound guys and all our amazing Sunday morning peeps ... we're so proud of you ... your love for Jesus and your passion for people ...

we've met so many new families and couples and students ... this past Sunday, we had over 18 preschoolers in one of our 5 classrooms ... unbelievable ... God is speaking and God is filling and God is moving ... I'm so grateful ...

as we move into this stressful, busy, hurried, rushed and depressing holiday season, my prayer is that we would SLOW down enough to hear God's voice, to sit at His feet, to rest in His presence ... God is calling us face to face ... may we live face to face with Jesus ...

yellow number three ...

10 years ago, I wrote my first song ... yellow number three ... I wrote this song about a painting that hung on the wall in my Lancer's apartment (home of the greatest disco dance party ever) ...

Yellow sky and golden fields, how we used to love to play, and how I came here not expecting anything to go my way

As young as I feel, as far as I can see, running arms wide open on a shady after Tuesday and I would shake off all my leaves

If I could scoop them up and have you once again, and I would shake off my leaves, to have you once again, but you’ve left me all alone, just hangin on a wall

How Can i get away, from all the things that bring me back to you
Somehow I’ll make it through

As young as I feel, as far as i can see, crawling on our hands and knees, underneath a wire on a fence, it catches on your shirt, your Skin Shines through, but I know that you don’t care, it reminds you of the stupid things we’ve done

I dedicate this blog to the boys who lived at Lancers ... I'll never forget those years ... stay classy ...

national vote day ...

I almost forgot, today is national Vote Day ... so I voted ...

because I love my mom MORE than I love my veal, I voted yes on Proposition 2 for animal rights ... animals need rights, too ... rights to move their legs and extend their arms and walk around fields like all the other animals ... to keep them locked up in cages and boxes is pure evil ... it's animal ...

anyways, I voted and I wore that sticker with pride ... and I just checked online and I guess that Obama guy just won the election ... I think he's a democrat ... anyways, I hope he cares about the animals as much as my mom ...

the porn addicted elephant ...

yes, there's a porn addicted elephant in the church ... it's one of the most evil and destructive elephants ...

in the Stirring, we're in this series called the Elephant in the Church ... we're tackling the issues that everyone's thinking about (or looking at), yet so many times, no one's talking about it ... and we're convinced that when we talk about this stuff as a church, we experience a healthy tension ... and God wants to weigh in ...

we've talked about the greedy elephant (a great way to launch a new campus), the sexy elephant (my mom showed up), the drunk elephant (carried a six pack of Pale Ale on stage) and the political elephant (one word: submert) ...

this coming weekend, we're exposing the porn addicted elephant ... it's huge ... when it comes to pornography, we're praying that God would bring freedom to a generation ... that God would bring healing and hope to our marriages ... that God would shine His light on this scheme of the enemy ...

to infinity and beyond ...

last night, we took our kids to the Risen King Harvest Carnival ... what a blast ... throwing footballs through swinging tires ... throwing darts at balloons ... cake walks ... huge bounce houses ... hundreds of kids eating candy and running around filled with sugar ... creepy clowns ... who doesn't love carnivals? ...

Asher wore the best costume ever ... Buzz Light Year ... wings and flashing lights ... seriously, he's the man ... I gave him a lollipop and he chilled with me all night ... next year, I want to dress him up as a little Darth Vader ... my kids love Star Wars ...

growing up, my parents were anti-Halloween ... you know, the Devil's holiday ... so we weren't allowed to 'trick or treat' or dress up or bob for apples ... so instead, my parents would take us in the mini-van on a little Halloween vacation ... we would take a family road trip out of town, we'd eat dinner at some Chinese buffet, and then we'd stayed at a classy hotel with an indoor swimming pool and hot tub ... that was Halloween ...

so, while everyone else grew up 'trick or treating' and dressing up like vampire's and butterflies, we were eating at buffet's and swimming in hot tubs ... later on, my parents lightened up and let us celebrate Halloween ... but I do admit, I miss those Halloween family vacations ...