there are no words to say what kind of dedication it takes to write this song.

and then to conceive of a worthy music video storyboard.

and then to pitch it to a video production cast.

and then to actually green light this through meetings.

and then to shoot it, edit it and add CGI effects all over it.

no. words.

all i can say, is watch out Lee Greenwood. i think this guy’s got your number for most patriotic musician.

ht – mr. munoz

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i filled in the pulpit on sunday.

our study was on Mark 1.16-28.

the topic was discipleship.

media below.

Windows Video – Quicktime Video – Listen – Read

it’s tuesday.

do you know about positive post tuesday?

today’s positive post is simple. no fancy pictures or attempts at comedy.

just the reminder that the God of the universe is great, merciful and is looking for each and every one of us, that He might speak to us about His love and His plan for our lives.

He is the God who left heaven to live on earth and die on a roman cross while we were yet sinners.

He is the God who fashioned us and formed us in our mothers’ wombs and made us with a purpose.

He is the God who provides His word, His gifting and His Holy Spirit to guide and fill and direct and empower, day in and day out.

He is the God who could look Judas in the face at the Garden of Gethsemane and call him ‘friend.’

a God of love and grace. a God of power and mercy. a God who, even now, is looking at me and offering me life, and that more abundantly.

it’s tuesday.

be positive!

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it’s going to be a very busy week.

i’ve got some cool things i’d like to do on the ‘ole blog, but i just don’t have the time to get them done.

sorry about that.

in the mean time, here’s a picture of a light bulb:

i have a compulsion to take pictures of light bulbs.

light bulbs and signs.

i want to photograph them all.

do you have something that you constantly find yourself snapshotting?

blessings.

and by ‘bashing’ i mean ‘crashing-and-bashing.’

saturdays are good for product nostalgia posts.

as a boy in the 90’s, how could i resist these near perfect play-time items:

i didn’t have the chair, but i had 2 cars and a bunch of other stuff (thanks mom and dad).

and i loved every second of them, much to the detriment of our walls and floorboards.

what were some of your childhood toys?

blessings.

for 24 years we’ve always seen provision. always felt direction. always been protected.

for 24 years, we’ve always had volunteers. always had resources. always had opportunities.

for 24 years God has always supplied hope. He’s always supplied strength. He’s always supplied growth.

in 24 years, i hope to be with Him in eternity, but till then i know He will be with us, doing the work He’s promised to do.

therefore, know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments.
{ Deuteronomy 7.9 }

blessings and maranatha

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it’s tuesday.

do you know about positive post tuesday?

today’s post is for our beloved cat, Tuna.

now, frequenters to JIE will remember that we rescued our little kitten back in january of this year after weeks of her toughing it out on the mean streets of hanford.

since then she’s been living the high life out in the country, with a patio, a couch and a spacious litter box to call her own.

here’s the thing; the mrs and i are emphatically not cat people. we’re dog people. dogs. big dogs.

but what could we do? this little kitten was all on its own till we came along and spared her a cold and grizzly death (yes, that’s what we tell ourselves).

the last 6 months have not turned us into cat people, but we happily admit our love for Tuna. the biggest reason being that i’m not sure she is a cat.

she licks like a dog.

she lap-sits like a dog.

and she has hind legs like a kangaroo (yeah, i need to get a good picture of them…they’re sorta bizarre…).

of all the cats we’ve encountered, she is the least catty, which is probably why she has fit in so well.

in truth, she has brought a wonderful presence to our little family.

unfortunately for the Tune, she is currently recovering from some surgery at the vet:

yeah…she’s not too happy. but, we’ve been extra sympathetic. you know what i mean…the hand feeding, lots of petting, extra padding in her bed…i’ve even been bringing her to work this week!

why? because she’s worth it.

i’m glad that kelly and i both have an affinity for animals, and, hopefully, Tuna will be the first of many animals which enrich our lives with the tender love that domesticated pets bring.

lots of words to say that, even though we ’shouldn’t,’ we love our cat.

lots.

it’s tuesday. be positive.

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remember those Choose Your Own Adventure books? the ones where every few pages you’d get to a choice to either go with the smugglers or to open the package you found beneath the park bench?

despite the fact that i always, and i mean always ended up dead/kidnapped/lost at sea, i really enjoyed those.

this week, i dare you to do something. and, like any good CYOA book, i’m giving you 2 options.

here’s your choice:

Turn Off Your Blog Stats for 1 week.

or,

Go On A News Fast for 1 week.

no stats. no news. pick one and see what happens.

human beings can live without stats for 1 week.

we can even live without news for 1 week.

i’m guess that if you do it, some interesting things will happen.

would love to hear if any of you actually decide to do this, or if you ever have.

maranatha

*photo by Kyle Slattery

so, seems to me that summer is one of those times of year where people set out to accomplish some arbitrary goals, like…recarpet their loft or start eating farm fresh or read/finish a book.

if the latter applies to you, then let me heartily suggest one of the free ebooks from Gospel For Asia.

author kp yohannan (who is also the founder/director of gfa) has penned a number of books on a wide variety of topics. his most popular by far is Revolution In World Missions, which you can get free from GFA.

honestly, if you’re looking for a book to read, check out GFA’s resource page, where you’ll find books on a wide variety of topics:

i downloaded A Life Of Balance and am looking forward to putting it in line after the other 4 books i need to read.

and by 4 i mean like….400…

blessings.

i did a little segment last night at our Ignite service that we’re calling Mid-Week/Re-Cap, where we talk about the different studies and messages that are going on @calvaryhanford.

we believe that God speaks to us specifically as individuals and as a congregation through His word and the messages that He places on the hearts of our teachers, so the things that we’re studying must be pretty darn important! so, the recap is just to help jog our memories of the things God has been sharing with us as a congregation.

audio below.

blessings.

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