do you know about positive post tuesday?

there’s few things more positifying than receiving a free gift. this has been a topic of other PPT posts, as the several of you reading this RSS already know.

well, yesterday, twitter came bearing gifts.

a pastor that i follow (thanks holland) sent out a link to a free worship ep from a guy named brett younker.

don’t know who that is?

i didn’t either.

here’s a picture so you can get acquainted:

so, brett has graciously made a 4 song ep available for anyone who would like some new music.

since yesterday i’ve listened to it a bunch of times (it’s an ep afterall) and i’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. it’s worshipful, well made, well written, well executed. plus it has a great rendition of Nothing But The Blood. who could resist?

in fact, i’m listening to it again right now.

you know what this means: it’s time to get your mice and trackpads moving over to mr. younker’s site so that you, too, can download The New Acoustic EP.

all it takes is a little facebook or twitter love because, after all, if musicians have taught us anything, it’s that they can get by with a little help from their friends.

seriously though, it’s a very cool gift.

go get it.

it’s tuesday. be positive.

ht:mr.davis

remember positive post tuesday?

do you know about positive post tuesday?

(google readerers, come on over for a proper view)

i’ve been noticing something occurring more often on twitter:

There was a problem connecting to Twitter.

more and more i’m seeing the distribution of free christian music online.

this is something that makes my heart happy. and, while there isn’t a huge number of outlets or artists that are giving away free stuff, the number is growing.

it seems as though the artist-to-consumer culture is changing bit by bit to be less WE MAKE, YOU BUY and more relational between musicians and their fans.

yes, they still make and we still buy, which is necessary if we want our favorite musicians to keep writing songs and playing shows, but there’s also a growing element of sharing between the two parties.

these days, i’ll often see an artist is sharing something with his or her fans and then the fans reciprocate by sharing some free advertising and promotion for them in return.

within the Christian community, i think this is one of the healthiest things bands can do.

it’s no secret that it’s very difficult to maintain a living as a performer, especially in the Christian music industry. i understand and agree that a Christian artist should be compensated for their craft and their service to we who desire music. it’s wrong when the Christian community tries to gouge musicians.

but alongside that, i’m reminded of this:

matthew 10.8b – …freely you have received, freely give.

anytime i see someone on twitter promoting an artist for their generous gift of free music, i’m blessed and reminded of the words of Jesus and it excites me that Christian artists are living this out. because it’s hard for a career musician to give things away, whether it’s a free ep, a full album, a live stream of their concert or anything else. it’s a sacrifice. it’s easier to charge.

i guess all of this is summed up by this point: it’s very gracious when they give because they don’t have to.

so, to any band or artist out there that’s ever made the choice to give something away for free, thank you. it’s a very cool thing you did.

blessings.

it’s tuesday. be positive.

remember positive post tuesday?

do you know about positive post tuesday?

so, i know PPT isn’t really a huge trend anymore, but i still love the idea.

the other day i was working on a study and i found myself needing to use the word ‘committed’ in my notes.

the problem is, i just can’t seem to remember how to spell ‘committed’ the correct way.

ever.

usually when i have this issue i’ll just trust the red squiggles that appear underneath the word in question. but sometimes i want to make sure, so i head over to our good friend google and utilize their handy ‘define: insert word‘ feature.

when i did, here’s what appeared:

i was encouraged by what i saw for 2 reasons.

the first was because, somewhere, someone typed this definition into existence. meaning that somewhere, some Christian (i suspect) took opportunity to share something about a Biblical relationship with the Lord. it’s a small thing, but something that i know God can use to glorify Himself.

the second reason i was encouraged was because it reminded me that i do want to be committed to my Lord. i want Him to be the pursuit of my life, not just a small part of it. i want to follow in the ranks of those before me who decided to follow Jesus, the cross before, the world behind, no turning back.

no turning back.

it’s tuesday and i know that the Lord is with me and His desire is that we move forward together as He does the work He’s always wanted to do in my life.

ps – commit
committed
commitment
committee
…that’s just confusing.

remember positive post tuesday?

do you know about positive post tuesday?

currently, i’m teaching through the epistle to the Philippians on wednesday mornings at our men’s study.

we’re calling the series Full Of It, as we discover not only the fullness that God wants for our lives, but also that we’re all pretty much full of it. ‘it’ being sin, pride, selfishness and inaction.

tomorrow we’ll be looking at Philippians 1.3-7.

i was very encouraged this week by the first 2 verses:

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy.
Philippians 1.3-4

 

i was (and am) challenged by the fact that my prayers are often the opposite of this verse.

instead of remembering others, i find that i am usually thinking of myself in my prayers.

instead of thanking God, i find myself asking God.

and instead of being full of joy, often i find that my prayers are full of anxiety or discontent.

so, this week my hope is to have a different kind of prayer time. one where i focus on remembering what God has done on my behalf, thanking Him for His goodness and faithfulness, and then trying to pray for obscure people that i don’t usually remember when i’m talking to God.

it is really excited to know that our prayers are powerful, not just in our own lives, but on behalf of others who don’t even know we’re praying for them!

so, this evening (it IS tuesday after all), let’s determine to be more positive, joyful, and thoughtful of others in our prayers.

i’m going to give it a go.

you?

it’s tuesday. be positive.

it’s tuesday.

do you know about positive post tuesday?

today’s positive post is, of course, for our new son, gennaro.

he was born on march 3rd after an emergency c-section and has not failed to fill our hearts completely.

there was a time when we weren’t sure if we were going to be able to have kids. now, we’re just amazed at God’s faithfulness and His incredible generosity in giving us this little one to love and protect (and feed and stuff).

after taking about 10 days off, i’m back at work this week, which is great. however, once 4 o’clock rolls around, i can’t wait to get home to see mom & baby and hear about all the tiny adventures they had.

thanks Lord.

it’s tuesday. be positive.

it’s tuesday.

do you know about positive post tuesday?

a frequent subject of positive post tuesday, mrs. pensiero always finds a way to brighten my life.

this week is no exception.

upon becoming a mrs., mrs. p invented and instituted a new tradition for our little family: birthday week.

yep. it’s exactly what it sounds like.

the birthday boy or girl has a seven-day celebration, beginning on the day of their choosing, as long as the actual birthday falls somewhere on or between day 1 and day 7.

each day, usually in the morning, the birthday boy or girl receives a gift with a card and usually a song of some sort. then, throughout the day, said birthday boy or girl gets to choose pretty much everything. what to eat. what to watch. where to go. how often to pick up the cat and squeeze her face.

now, what you need to understand is that mrs. p loves birthdays. she loves them. yours, mine, hers. she loves them all. thus, she has a great knack for making them very special.

this week happens to be my birthday week. and, currently, i am in the thick of mrs. p’s joyful celebration, with all it’s lavish thoughtfuless.

(today i received a book that i will share with you if you come over to my house. and we will laugh.)

so thanks mrs. p. you make my birthday better and better each year.

i sure love you.

of course, another perk of birthday week is that is has spread.

so, no only am i enjoying birthday week with mrs. p, but my mom & dad have also taken to the tradition. this year birthday week is going to span 10 days and is going to be, as always, overly fun, incredibly personal and way too nice.

thanks mom and dad. you guys are the best.

it’s tuesday. be positive.

it’s tuesday.

do you know about positive post tuesday?

today i had to drive to visalia at about 10:30am.

the current weather in the valley has cleared the usually smoggy air so that we could see the mountains with particular clarity.

it was lovely.

unfortunately, i did not have a camera, though i noticed at least a dozen places on the road where a picture would’ve been magnificent.

i’m truly sorry that i wasn’t able to share the view with you. instead, another nature shot will have to do:

the heavens declare the glory of God
and the firmament shows His handiwork.
{ Psalm 19.1 }

thanks Lord.

it’s tuesday. be positive!

blessings.

+

it’s tuesday.

do you know about positive post tuesday?

pastor greg laurie has been posting these short, devotional videos recently which help focus our thoughts on God and to remember all that He has done for us.

this video is entitled Why Should I Give Thanks To God?

it’s a fair question and deserves a thoughtful, Biblical answer.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWZ9hHGvrfM[/youtube]

today i hope you discover a little more of how much God loves you and all that He desires to do in and through your life here on the earth.

it’s tuesday. be positive!

blessings.

 

+

it’s tuesday.

do you know about positive post tuesday?

despite his presence on the very last entry, today’s positive post is for mr. sean munoz, who is still receiving a link even though he hasn’t updated his blog in more than 3 months.

i first met sean in a somewhat embarrassing way.

see, i was in college and he was in high school. he was previewing the university and was sitting in on a music theory class in which his brother and i were enrolled.

after a quick hello, we sat and prepared for our lecture. for the following 75 minutes i sat in dejection as sean outperformed the lot of us in all things music.

fast forward a couple of years and sean was on my worship team playing a variety of instruments. i’m sure my less-than-inspired drum ‘ideas’ were pretty comical to him.

“hey, do you think you could like…play the toms more?”

staying in the montage spirit, we then find ourselves in 2006 where sean stood with me as a groomsman at my wedding, followed by last year when i stood with him as one myself.

we stay pals and enjoy making each other laugh. in fact, sean once almost killed me via a youtube-induced asthma attack.

last week i got to hang out with mr. munoz for a day while we worked on a little project that will be coming your way as soon as possible.

as always, i was blessed and encouraged to hang out with him, and was inspired by his grasp of music and instrumental proficiency. i am convinced that if i want to better my own musicianship, i need little more than to challenge myself by partnering with him and his perfect pitch-edness.

so thanks sean. i appreciate your friendship and your excellent musicality.

please don’t destroy my respiratory system ever again.

it’s tuesday. be positive.

and now, we close with a picture of sean’s strat:

+

it’s tuesday.

do you know about positive post tuesday?

mrs. p always brings home wonderful surprises from the store.

a staple surprise is canada dry ginger ale soda, which i first encountered on a flight to honduras many years ago.

other times it will be some delectable treat like mallowcreme pumpkins or jordan almonds.

how can a regular staple still be categorized as a ‘surprise’ you might ask? well, that’s the wonder of being married to a sugar-addict.

my name is gene. and i love sugar.

glad that’s over.

monday was shopping day.

to my delight, when we got home i discovered that my wife had thoroughly exhausted WinCo’s cereal sales, scoring some of our favorites…PLUS HONEYCOMB!

that’s right, honeycomb!

it had been a very, very, VERY long time since i had a bowl of Post’s bee-themed breakfast.

i poured a hearty serving today and was reminded that breakfast can be a good thing.

thanks honey. i love you.

and thanks honeycomb. i love you too.

what is one of YOUR favorite breakfast cereals?

it’s tuesday.

be positive!

+

{photo by}