Friends,
How many of you have labored to try and explain what your church is all about to guests on Easter? Well, at Mariners Church we came up with an innovative solution. We shot a video with some highlights of the campus. We also had it set to music. Please, won’t you take a moment and enjoy. One more quick thing… we do not take ourselves very seriously.
Still wondering how to vote?
Jharp pointed out a really cool tool to help you select. Link
Wonder who I am voting for?
1. Theoretical Ideal Candidate (100 %)
2. Hillary Clinton (70 %)
3. Barack Obama (63 %)
4. Joseph Biden (withdrawn) (62 %)
5. Al Gore (not announced) (60 %)
6. John Edwards (withdrawn) (60 %)
7. Christopher Dodd (endorsed Obama) (55 %)
8. Wesley Clark (not running, endorsed Clinton) (54 %)
9. John McCain (50 %)
10. Michael Bloomberg (says he will not run) (50 %)
11. Duncan Hunter (withdrawn, endorsed Huckabee) (47 %)
12. Rudolph Giuliani (withdrawn, endorsed McCain) (46 %)
13. Tom Tancredo (withdrawn, endorsed Romney) (45 %)
14. Alan Keyes (44 %)
15. Tommy Thompson (withdrawn, endorsed Giuliani) (44 %)
16. Bill Richardson (withdrawn) (43 %)
17. Chuck Hagel (not running) (42 %)
18. Mike Huckabee (withdrawn) (42 %)
19. Dennis Kucinich (withdrawn) (42 %)
20. Mitt Romney (withdrawn, endorsed McCain) (41 %)
21. Ron Paul (withdrawn) (40 %)
22. Stephen Colbert (campaign halted) (40 %)
23. Alan Augustson (campaign suspended) (39 %)
24. Fred Thompson (withdrawn) (39 %)
25. Mike Gravel (38 %)
26. Wayne Allyn Root (38 %)
27. Sam Brownback (withdrawn, endorsed McCain) (38 %)
28. Jim Gilmore (withdrawn) (36 %)
29. Newt Gingrich (says he will not run) (33 %)
30. Elaine Brown (22 %)
31. Kent McManigal (campaign suspended) (20 %)
2008 President Selector http://selectsmart.com/president/2008.html Rankings:
Grandparents Day 1
Grandma Sue was up today for Grandparents Day at school! Sally got to spend a little over an hour taking Grandma Sue all over her room and meeting all her friends. They made a fun craft, had story time and play with the babies (they needed to be covered up of course!). Tomorrow Grandma Sharon is on deck for all this fun.See the complete album here.//blair
In A Pit…
…With A Lion On A Snowy Day. Our staff is going to be digesting this book over the coming weeks as we enter a time of transition in our organization and structure. We are pursuing God’s direction for how we can reach even further than we do right now. How we can be focused like a laser of meeting needs and developing servants hearts. It will be an amazing journey.
I voted… did you?
There is nothing like being a citizen. Today I had the opportunity to exercise my greatest right in this democracy. I got to vote. Whoop de doo. I usually get pretty excited about voting. I get all emotional about the consequences of my vote. I learn the issues
Today, I went to vote and realized as I was standing there that I literally did not want to vote for ANY of the candidates. So how did we get here? How did we go from the heady days of Reagan to the dogfight between two liberals in conservative suits trying to convince us all that they are more Reagan than the other.
I think the answer is all summed up by looking at the current administration. I was like most Republicans. I voted happily for “W” back in 2000. I got swept up in the ideal of the maverick outsider who could come into Washington and get something done. Instead we have gotten one of the most dysfunctional presidencies of all time. I believe that in process of running the war on terror and getting “W” re-elected, that Rove & Company forgot to allow any other Republicans to shine. In fact, most of the Republicans in Congress were expected to fall in line with the administration, no matter how unpopular the decision. As a result we have no rising stars. No new talent. No new blood. One of the best hopes we had was George Allen, but we all remember how fast he went from candidate to punchline by using the word Macaca.
So what did I do? Well I held my nose and voted. Come this fall I am not sure what I will do. Probably vote for Bloomburg if I had to guess. In lieu of caring about the actual presidency at this point, I am just watching Seasons 1-4 of the West Wing, and wishing that we could just elect Josiah Bartlett to really be the President.
//blair
the last year.
it just struck me today that i have been working at mariners for over a year now! so what has this last year brought? lots of changes… some easy, some challenging… all have been growing experiences. when God started moving in my life last year, i had no idea where i would land. here was the one thing i did know… i was not going to be very comfortable at first! i pretty much like things to be predictable. i like routine and i like structure. when i was willing to surrender that to God in ways i never had, he picked me up and put me in an amazing place where i could grow and learn tons of new things.
today i find myself in the midst of the routine at mariners as though i have been here forever. i get to work with an amazing team of people who are passionate about our community and the world. my family has had the chance to jump in and get engaged in tons of cool things. we have been in a small group with other couples with young kids. i am in a mens small group focused on spiritual growth. i get to dabble in web design, print graphics, communication strategy, system and process, service planning and through my friendships outside outreach i get to jump into lots of other conversations.
in terms of my family there have been lots of changes. sally has gone from 1 and a half to 2 and a half. what a difference a year makes. we get to have all sorts of fun conversations now. when she was smaller i used to always say that i could not wait to talk to her. now i get to! she is so fun. christie has transitioned into her leadership role in the customer service team at allergan. she has had so many amazing opportunities to learn and grow, and she is making a real difference in the lives of the people she works with. our marriage continues to grow and change, and is better than ever. the more we learn about ourselves and each other, the better things get.
i never dreamed that my life could change so much in one year. God has been reminding me lately that he has me right where he wants me right now. sometimes i get impatient and want the journey to go faster and he whispers to me “be patient.” sometimes something will remind me of a moment from the past and i will pause and think back fondly on the person that i was for the first 12 years of my ministry life. i learned a lot, grew a lot and had lots of amazing opportunities.
so what have i learned? never stop listening to God. don’t choose comfort over challenge. remember that life is a journey and not a destination, and there are no rest areas on the way. that God wants me to rely on him and not myself, my family or my friendships. that even if you cannot picture letting go, sometimes you have to in order to get even more. that friendship is something that requires work on both sides. that honesty is the best policy. that growing is better than complaining. that God loves me enough to send His son to die for me, and that nothing i do will ever change that!
here’s to the journey.
//blair
Idol is on…
…and I am pretty excited. So far this season the judges seem to be a bit more tame as in past years, but I am sure that is all just clever editing. Paula seems to be more “with it.” Perhaps the prominent coke cups really just have the brown fizzy stuff this year instead of the funny juice.
My favorite so far… the Star Wars girl, duh. A close second… the fingernails guy. Who has been your favorites?
//blair
Story Time
I am sitting in the Global Cafe right now getting ready for story time to begin. You may be thinking… are you in Kindergarten?? A: No. I am at work. We have Story Time. This is our weekly staff meeting at Mariners that all staff are invited to attend and we just share stories of how God is working in our ministry and in our lives. It allows us to share victories and struggles. It allows us to see where God is moving. It allows us to be family! We sing and pray together.
The room is starting to fill up and my coffee is empty, so I am going to go and fill up my cup literally and figuratively!
That is all.
//blair
Journaling Challenge
The message in church today was on letting go of “religion” and embracing relationship with God. Kenton challenged everyone in the congregation to being the discipline of journaling in 2008. He shared with us how journaling has had an impact on his life, and how he firmly believes that it can change all of us who will join with him. The basic goal of journaling is to slow down long enough to recognize where you are at, and how God is working. Another benefit is that we can maintain a healthy balance in our life. Imagine that your life is like a container with an opening at the top, and a spout at the bottom. The things going into the top of the container are the things that fill you up. The things that are coming out at the bottom are the things that drain you. The trick is to maintain balance between the two. Journaling allows you to make sure that you are maintaing this balance.
So here is the method that Kenton described for us:
- Yesterday (10 mins) - Write what you did, decision you made, feelings you had, observations. In other words, just start writing!
- Dashboard (5 secs) - At the bottom of that page take 5 seconds and give yourself a 1-10 rating on three scales. Physical, Emotional & Spiritual. Don’t spend too much time thinking about this, but this number will allow you to see trends in your life.
- God’s Word (10 mins) - Spend some time in God’s word and then jot down your observations, thoughts or insights.
- Pray (10 mins) - Use the ACTS model for prayer
- Adoration - who God is and what he does
- Confession - being honest with God
- Thanksgiving - thank God for what he does
- Supplication - make your reqest know to God
- Listening (3 mins) - What is God saying? What are the next steps for your character… family… ministry?
So this is going to be the year. I am going to start journaling. Anyone else in?
The Power of Words
I have been reading a lot lately on the power of words. I have been reading the book, “Words that Work” by Frank Luntz. He is a professional political strategist, who applies scientific study to wordcrafting. Once he has words that work he uses them to help shape public policy, and frame the national debate. He was one of the chief strategists behind the “Contract with America”. Dealing with words every day, I am constantly in awe of how important words really are. I have my pet peeves, of course. I am not a big fan of the word fellowship, and one of my least favorites… when a church refers to what they do with children as programming, and not a program… last time I checked you programming is something you do to a computer!
But even more important than the words that work are the words that I share with those I love. My beautiful wife needs my words, so that we can always be on the same page with each other. My daughter needs to know that I love her and think she is wonderful. I learned this week that the next task of her language development is to take the words she already knows and begin to teach her how to extend those words. For instance, if she says “Daddy, car!” then I would say, “Yes Sally, a big black car.” So cool to know that we are teaching her how to speak.
I am in awe of language. I may not be the best wordsmith of all time. I may not be an elegant writer. I may not even always communicate what I am thinking with my words, but I am in awe of the fact that language is powerful. We shape out thoughts with words. We construct our relationships with words. We derive our attitudes about self through words. Words can crush a spirit, or words can make a spirit soar.
Next time you open your mouth to say something… think about that. I am learning to.
