my life…in text format

I’m sitting in a comfy green chair in the cafe section of the safehouse right now. There are approximately 50 young people munching on some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and it’s absolutely beautiful outside. I am tired and at this point, I can feel the weight of leadership as it seems to be heavier today than usual.

All that being said I can’t think of better job on the planet. I just got to tell 50 teenagers, right before there were served their sandwiches, that we loved them and cared about them. I got to tell them that every person that works here was at one time rocked so hard by God that we wanted to do something to share that love with other people and this is the way we decided to do it.

What ways do you share the love of God with people? Day to day as you go through your job/social life/friendships/hobbies what ways do you feel you can share God’s love with those around you?

Maybe a better question to ask is also, if you’ve never experienced God’s love, in what ways can someone who HAS experienced God’s love share it with YOU?

We are made for community.

Let’s engage :: :: ::

As I start typing on my lovely Apple keyboard it is 12:18 AM on Sunday. In about 7 hours and 30 mins, my alarm will ring and alert me that it’s just about time to get up. I will then go over some notes for the final time before I head off to preach a sermon at a friend’s church. I really should be asleep right now, but I couldn’t lay my head on that sweet, soft pillow and take the express lane to dream land without writing a few things rolling through my head.

First of all, if you were at, talked to anybody that was at, or were within a few miles of the safehouse last night (well, technically the night before last….Friday night…the 22nd) you were treated to quite a spectacular show. Of course, I’m a little biased but overall, the feedback I got was all positive. 6 bands one night, everybody said it was quite an ambitious goal to work on 6 bands in one night, in one place and actually pull it off.

One person said, “I think you’ve bit off more than you can chew my man.” And while I certainly bit off more than I could chew by myself, I had some people to share the meal and together, we were able to chew it and swallow just fine.

If you were at that show and were a part of the amazing team of people that made it possible let me start by saying and amazing and very heart-felt THANK YOU! With your help we were able to make a huge impact on a lot of people and set a precedent for the future. Thank you so much!

It reminded me how much I love my job. I was exhausted, it was about 10:00 we were probably transitioning from the third band to the fourth band of the night and I could feel my calves, feet and ankles start to scream at me for putting them through so much (apparently my ankles, calves and feet are very wimpy). There were around 250 young people scurrying about the safehouse, parents proudly looking as their kids wailed away on whatever instrument they featured in their respective bands, merchandise table attendants selling T-Shirts, buttons, stickers, and CDs. A good friend of mine who also promotes concerts for a local radio station set up a table and promoted an upcoming concert. It was all very real and I realized in that a moment, a small, but equally real truth. Looking back, I can honestly say that I didn’t want to be any other place at that moment.

There, pulling my glasses of my face and wiping away the fatigue that had slowly crept its way into the corners of my eyes, I didn’t want to leave, I didn’t want to go home and go to sleep. I wanted to be around all these people. I wanted to shake hands, get names, meet people, touch people in a real and lasting way. If nothing else, I wanted them to know that somebody cared about them. I couldn’t touch everybody, I couldn’t get everybody’s names, but I wanted to do what I could.

I wanted the band members to know that not only was I happy to give them an opportunity to play, I want them to know that I’m proud of them and thankful that they showcased their talents. It was the best event in the short history of the ministry called Safehouse and I was a part of it. Not only was I a part of it, I had the distinct and humbling privilege of leading a team of amazing people who, by the way, make me want to be the absolute best leader I can be and I am so proud to be a member of that team.

There’s not a lot else to say I guess. I was in the writin’ mood and this show had taken up the majority of my time over the last few days. So…there ya go. Enjoy!

Videos and pics of the show to come soon.

*This post is probably littered with typos and grammatical errors…please don’t post nasty comments criticizing my spelling, etc… I’m usually very good, but…I’m just so stinkin’ tired!

I’m going to sleep now.

What can you do with this delicious burrito? …other than eat it of course.

Friday, February 22, 2008 : : : : 5 Bands /// 1 Night

Each band has its own, unique sound. It will definitely be a night never before seen @ safehouse and the first of many, many more to come.

Don’t miss it. Seriously. You won’t want to it. If you do want to miss it. Then you better have something amazing you are doing instead. And unless you are going to be playing in the Super Bowl or some other championship game, you should be here.

Contact info in the flyer. Let me know if you have any questions.

That’s what I keep telling myself. It’s worth it, it’s worth it because you can accomplish a lot and it’s smooth and professional looking when it’s all said and done. Yep, that’s what I keep telling myself.

I just got a new computer and the editing system I used for digital video isn’t compatible with the new operating system. I was told it was compatible before I bought it….by the sales associate at the Apple store.

Final Cut Pro 4 is NOT compatible with the Leopard operating system. Again, I want to emphasize…I was told that it WAS compatible by the SALES ASSOCIATE at the Apple store.

Ah, I love Apple. I really do. I have to get an upgrade.

But it’s worth it.

I just know it, it’s worth it.

Last night, I was in my room doing some praying. I was feeling distant from God and frustrated at some bad habits I can’t seem to break. They seem to break me more than I break them. I was asking God’s forgiveness and seeking that feeling of grace. You know, when the light breaks through and you feel lighter, lifted, forgiven. It didn’t come. Nor, does it have to. It’s never been about feeling anyway. But, I was looking for that feeling. Just for the confirmation, I guess.

Out of nowhere, I hear some singing coming from downstairs. I stop talking, I listen and I realized it’s my dad. I can’t really hear what he’s singing, but I know it’s him. I walk out of my room feeling frustrated at myself and I hear the words to his song. He’s listening to my iPod and singing along to a new version of a classic hymn. The song he was singing was Amazing Grace. An artist named Chris Tomlin reworked it and put it on his latest album.

Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found
Was blind, but now I see

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed

My chains are gone
I’ve been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, Amazing grace

I lay down at the top of the steps in our hallway and just listen to my dad sing these words. Letting each one sink into my soul. Letting my dad cry out for me. I am in desperate need of Amazing Grace everyday. I can never get enough of it. I never want to stop chasing it, grabbing a hold of it and letting it chase me.

Today, I was faced with that lingering, nagging doubt and fear that I might have missed something. I didn’t pray long enough, I didn’t say the right things. Like it’s my words that forgive me rather than the death of Jesus and the grace of God. Then, while in my office a young boy tapped on my window and asked if he could talk to me.

He wanted to ask me something.

He wanted to know if I could pray for him.

He begins to tell me that his family had been evicted from their house without notice and they are living in a Motel 8. He even pulled out the key card to show me. I was floored. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know how to say whatever it was that I couldn’t figure out to say. I was completely lost.

All he wanted was for me to pray for him.

A child, coming to me to pray. He wasn’t coming to me, he physically came to me, but he was really crying out to God. He just didn’t really know how to. So, I pulled a chair next to him and I began to pray. As I prayed I realized that God sees me in a similar way. I was the one doing the talking, but God was listening to this boy. I was praying for this boy, but it was also a cry out to God myself. God used this young boy to show me how He looks at me.

I try to find the words, I can say nothing to deserve the unimaginable love of God. How can you say enough words to earn a love that would drive someome to die for you? What kind of human language has enough words to equal that?

I was reminded. I am loved. I am forgiven. I need to be broken. I need to repent and turn myself completely over to love. To God. To acceptance. Stop running behind my own words and run behind Jesus.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound.

Grace speaks louder than words.

For that, I am forever surrendering to God and forever thankful His grace allows it.

Good day from Atlanta, GA!

October 3rd starts 3 days of extreme, intense, in your face leadership training that will take a full year to process. I love it. Pics and posts to come soon.

Until then.

I was going to pick up some pizza today to take back to the SafeHouse and when I passed Giant Eagle, I saw a guy going in that had a beard that looked eerily similar to the beard protrayed in the commercial below. I just thought it was something worth sharing. No kidding, the guy’s beard looked like this, only whiter.

It was great being in church today. We missed three weeks when we were on vacation and it was nice to be back with our community of fellow believers. You don’t realize how important it is to worship with a community of people until you are away from it and come back to it. I missed my extended family. I’m glad to be back.

This is what happens when a person takes the directions too seriously.