Birthday Party Extravaganza

Last night we had a birthday party extravaganza. "What is that" you ask. Well, I'll tell you. Because our family lives on the east coast and we live on the west coast, we are not able to be together for birthdays. So, Jody's parents began this tradition of having all of the kids' birthday parties at one time when they are together. With Jody's brother's two kids, that makes for 5 grandkids together last night for the Birthday Party Extravaganza. We grilled out (or for our west coast friends, we bar-b-qued), we had homemade ice cream with fresh strawberries from our backyard, we had a talent show in which everyone HAD to participate, and we had presents for all of the kids. It was a great time.

So, what was my talent? Well, I told a knock-knock joke. "Knock, Knock." "Who's there?" "Amy Fisher." "Amy Fisher wh....BANG!"

I know. I know. Only the adults understood it. But, that's how I roll.

We leave tomorrow AM for Yo-sa-mighty. Good times. Good times.

Family in the IE

Jody's parents and her brother's family are all coming in today. We are picking them up at LAX around noon. I think we're going to hang in LA most of the day. I'm excited about having family around. Next week, we will be going to Yosemite (I pronounce it "yo-sa-mighty"). I have no idea what we are going to be doing there, but it will be fun to just hang out for a few days.

FACEBOOK

Something that has become pretty neat for me in recent months is that I have opened a facebook account. For those of you who don't know what that is, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? Facebook is an online site that allows you to connect with people from around the world. It is protected in the sense that no one can access your page without you approving them. I have reconnected with friends from high school and college that I haven't spoken with in 15 years. It's been great.

So, if you have a facebook account, request me as a friend. If not, create one, and then request me as a friend. I check out my account every 2-3 days. It's safe. It's fun. It's something else to do.

See you online!

My Son - The Ninja

Caleb has progressed again on his quest to become a Ninja. He earned his Orange Belt. They had the Belt Promotion Ceremony for him and presented him with the new belt on Monday evening. This is a picture of Caleb with his Muay Thai coach, 'Smokin' Joe Sarkissian.

The Hymns

I love the hymns. I was raised on the hymns. In fact, in seminary I took many classes that were all about hymns; Hymnology. I enjoy history, as well. So, I will often times do little studies on the history of many of our hymns and hymn writers. One of the funniest things I've found lately is a little known hymn written by Isaac Watts. Isaac Watts is known for his preaching, writings, as well as his hymns. Such hymns are Joy to the World, When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, Alas! And did my Saviour Bleed, At the Cross just to name a few. But, this one little hymn is so unlike any of the others. The title alone makes me laugh, but I've also included the lyrics below. They're deep (maybe a little too deep), but in light of the title, the lyrics become funny too. Check them out:

Blessed Is The Man Whose Bowels Move

1. Blest is the man whose bowels move,
And melt with pity to the poor;
Whose soul, by sympathizing love,
Feels what his fellow saints endure.
2. His heart contrives for their relief
More good than his own hands can do;
He, in the time of gen'ral grief,
Shall find the Lord has bowels too.
3. His soul shall live secure on earth,
With secret blessings on his head,
When drought, and pestilence, and dearth
Around him multiply their dead.
4. Or if he languish on his couch,
God will pronounce his sins forgiv'n;
Will save him with a healing touch,
Or take his willing soul to heav'n.

I have written a 5th verse that I think Isaac should have included:

5. One thing with prayer will heal your pain
Or take away whatever grieves 'ya,
So pluck it from your grocery shelf
And drink a little milk of magnesia .

Denver and the Mile High Orchestra

Denver and the Mile High Orchestra are going to be at Immanuel tomorrow night. I am so excited. I love this group! They will be performing a Patriotic Concert and we will be honoring our military and their families.

We have been getting everything ready for weeks now, but most preparations are done in the final 24-48 hours. Since we are expecting these guys to minister to our people, we are going to do our best to minister to them. I know of so many churches that feel that since they are paying a group to come in, they should just be happy having a bathroom and a chair to sit in during their down time. I feel just the opposite. I want Immanuel to be the place by which they judge all other experiences. We are setting up their greenroom with snacks, couches, drinks, a WII game system, a sound system, etc. I want to give them a place to unwind all afternoon between sound checks and the concert.

If you want your people to minister to others, set the example!

It is going to be a great night tomorrow night. Be there and bring everyone you know!

Life is a Beach

On Friday, my family spent all day at the beach. When I say "all day", I mean "all day". We were there from 8:30 in the morning until 9 o'clock at night. We had a blast. Caleb spent all day in the water, and I spent much of the day with him. He is a natural boarder in the water. He picked it up immediately. As a result of an all day beach trip, I am toasted. But, it was worth it.

Solution for High Gas Prices

Like most of you, our family is looking for solutions to the high gas issues we are facing. We have tried many different things. But, I think I've finally found the solution. Watch the following instructional video on how to save money on gas. I think you'll find it very interesting.

Nothing New Under the Sun

It seems that most every church has had a battle at some point over music. Some have waged wars of tremendous magnitude. While others have disagreed, implemented a plan, and moved on. Mark Celoria , a good friend of mine, has recently posted this on his blog about music in the church:


Several months back, my pastor preached a series on worship. There was an illustration he used that I'll never forget. He was talking about how many folks are opposed to what Christian songwriters are producing these days when he read this quote taken from a preacher's sermon:

“There are several reasons for opposing it. One, it’s too new. Two, it’s often worldly, even blasphemous. The New Christian Music is not as pleasant as the more established style. Because there are so many new songs, you can’t learn them all. It puts too much emphasis on instrumental music rather than godly lyrics. This new music creates disturbances making people act indecently and disorderly. The preceding generation got along without it. It’s a money making scheme and some of these new music upstarts are lewd and loose.”

To whom was this pastor referring?

He was referring to The Father of English Hymnody, Isaac Watts in 1723.

Yes, the same Isaac Watts that wrote, "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross", "Joy to the World" and hundreds of other well-loved hymns of our faith. Guess it goes to show that there really is nothing "new" under the sun!

Glorious Day

Every so often I come across a great song or collection that I become very passionate about. I tend to be attracted by songs that fit me; who I am, my worship style, etc. In recent years, many of those songs and collections have come from Travis Cottrell. Well, this one is no different.

I have been living with the collection Glorious Day recently, by Travis, David Moffitt and Sue Smith. I feel as though I am being led to the Throne in worship every time I put it on. I'm definitely bringing this to the people of Immanuel in the next few months.

Great job Travis! We've got to "hang" again soon and sing some 80s tunes.

Saturdays

I love the weekend. Saturdays can be so much fun with my family. However, today was very tiring. We started the day off with 2 soccer games; one at 10am, and one at 11am. It was crazy. By 10am it was already 100 degrees. Mucho no fun-o. So, after sweating off about 13.6 lbs, I came home to rehabilitate...or hibernate...whatever you want to call it. Jody really wanted to go to Jaime and Jenna's wedding (congrats guys), so I stayed home with the kids to let her go. She always misses out, so I let her get out of the house and see what the real world was like. She liked it. I may be in trouble.

The kids and I played a game called "Champions of Faith". Caleb won it at church for doing something. Later, we read, did the potty-training thing with Ella, gave her a treat for doing well, applauded and danced about like crazy people because our little baby had used her tiny plastic pot. What a day!

I am now getting ready to watch the Ultimate Fighter Finale. I can't wait. 7 minutes and counting. Okay...gotta go. I need to make sure all of my snacks are ready.

A Week Full of Meetings

Okay...so why is it that when you already have a Big Hairy Staff Meeting week planned, it is followed up by all of these other meetings? Why do those meetings not get spread out more than that? So, I've spent almost every waking hour (at the office) in meetings this week. It's those weeks that when it is all said and done, you look back and wonder "what did I accomplish?"

Okay, I'm through with my whining.

On to better thoughts: We are looking to make some changes this fall in our worship services. Changes aren't being made just for the sake of change. Instead, we are making changes in an effort to grow this church by reaching lost people. I think I've said that before, right? Well, I am getting really excited about the contemporary service that we will launch this fall. It is the type of service that we will have total creative freedom with. Media, lighting, sound, worship music, all of it and more will be creatively developed. Our desire is to win our younger generations to the Lord and fill this church with new believers.

Join with us in prayer as we seek the Lord for wisdom and discernment in our planning. We want to honor Him as we make an eternal impact in the lives of others.

Staff Retreat Day 2

And so it continues. Today, we will be in day 2 of this year's Immanuel Big Hairy Staff Meeting. What does today have in store for us? Here are some thoughts I have leading up to today:

1) I hope there will be more of those cookies.
2) I've never seen him in shorts before:o
3) His 3-5 minutes was over 23 minutes ago.
4) We left that conversation 30 minutes ago. How did that come back up?
5) Another bathroom break? Isn't this the 3rd one in 15 minutes?
6) When is lunch?
7) There's a great idea!!! (it doesn't matter that it was mine;)
8) I can't wait for choir practice.

Staff Meeting Day 1

Okay. So, we met all day at California Baptist University in Riverside. They hooked us up with a nice conference room, provided snacks, and lunch for absolutely NO COST. Thank you Jesus...and CBU! It was a very long day. I am mentally drained. I am emotionally exhausted. And, it has bled over into physical exhaustion. Sitting around a conference table ALL DAY LONG will drain you. So, I'm going to bed. I'll share more later. But, I'll leave you with this: We had some of the most awesome prayer time that I've ever experienced with our staff. Much needed. Interpretation for Rosa...muy necesito (is that one "s" or two?).

Staff Retreat

So, maybe the name is a little misleading, but we're not really on a staff retreat. The reason is...we didn't go anywhere. In order for it to be a retreat, you would have to actually, well, retreat. Since we're staying local, I guess we should just call it a big hairy staff meeting.

I've been looking forward to it for some time. I love change. I love it because change brings excitement. It brings a renewal. It brings an element of expectancy.


Today, I met with Pastor, Mark and Wayne (I just couldn't resist the weird looking picture) to lay out the plan for the next couple of days when the entire ministerial staff meets together. We made some real progress, and set some things into motion that I can't wait to see implemented within the life of the church. I'm not at liberty to share the details. However, let me just say "GET READY IMMANUEL". I really believe God is getting ready to do some incredible things in and through our church. Get on board and believe Him for something huge. If you want to be a part of making a difference in people's lives and reaching people for Jesus, NOW is the time. We're gonna take this city!