Song of Solomon Facilitator Training

A couple of weekends ago I dropped into Dallas for a Song of Solomon Facilitator's Training. I got to catch up with some dear folks and wanted to share some photos.

DFW friends, I hope to catch up with y'all when I'm actually in town for a longer period of time (maybe after Christmas this year)

Pastor (Denton Bible Church), author and speaker emeritus of Song of Solomon Conferences - Tom Nelson

Head Dawg of Hudson Productions and Song of Solomon Conferences - Doug Hudson

Facilitator trainers Roger and Denise Friesen of Nebraska. I attended a dinner party at their home once. They have taken ~ 500+ through the materials

Friend and former Hudson Productions staff Ashley Jones - whoput up with Michael Armstrong and me making fun of her for many years

Employed across the highway from the host church - I popped in for a quick visit to see my sister, LaToya Lowery

Gitcho YUM on!

(As promised, a more light-hearted blog)

It's been 9 months and I'm re-assimilating well into Texan culture.
I don't think it's allowable to be a Texan male and not know how to cook some good beef.
The good Lord blessed me with a smoker shortly after moving here, and I have been practicing my craft.

Eric Hoehn, one of HCBC's small groups pastors and the guy unfortunate enough to have to answer most of my questions at work, gave me a GREAT recipe for brisket that tastes just like...Rudy's! I kid you not. (If you don't know what Rudy's is, there's just another reason for you to visit!)

This is what the process looked like. It was yummier than the photographs suggest.
I'm willing to make it again for out-of-town guests (hint, hint):

Just Wonderin'

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."
Proverbs 3:5-6

"We can have facts without thinking but we cannot have thinking without facts"

John Dewey

My blog has, in the past, been critiqued as sometimes being too "heady," too serious, and oftentimes not fun or funny enough, especially considering my goofball sense of humor.

I'm willing to accept the criticism and my response has been that my sense of humor is most often a response to the goings on in the world.

What's going on in my world today?

In a lot of ways I'm seeing no "let down" of the political harshness towards "the other side(s)" even after this political election, and that includes hundreds of people I call my friends.

I find this fact to be both interesting and sad.

So, here's my question, and I welcome your sincere response - though neither my question nor your response may be considered fun or funny:

If I were to say to you (and I am) that Keith Olbermann is not fully correct and Bill O'Reilly is not fully correct - but that the God who created you is, would that statement make any difference in your life today?

Simple question, but I sincerely and humbly ask it and hope for your response.

My promise to you is that the next blog will be more fun!

Thanks for being my friend.

What's Up, Doc?!

Yesterday afternoon I made my first trip with my son to his doctor. My wife asked, "You've never been here before, huh?" I had not.

What a place! My son's exam room was everything one might stereotypically expect from Austin. You see, I try to explain to my out-of-state friends that - to put it nicely - Austin is a little eclectic.

My son's room was a lime green, funk-tified lighted, lava lamps all over, beads hanging from the ceiling themed room.

Whatever it takes to keep an Austin kid chilled out about a visit to the doctor...I guess!

Here's a photo:

Oct. 29, 1994

I remember so many details of that day as if it were yesterday.

Texas Tech whipped the University of Texas in football, (easy to remember since we've only won fourteen out of fifty six games), the Goin' Band had performed magnificently (that was a common occurrence), and I was off to Barn Dance.

When I arrived, I saw several sad faces. My first thought was, "That must be our friends from the U.T. band we invited." After a while, however, I began to see sad faces that I recognized. Upon parking the car I was told, "Heath has been in an accident...he died."

Numb. Numb from sadness, numb from anger, numb from dread. If you were a friend of my fraternity brother, Heath Denton, I suppose you remember where you were and what you felt when you heard about Heath's death as well. I encourage you to share your story in the comments section of this blog.

Yesterday a few brothers from the Alpha Omicron chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi gathered together to visit the place where Heath was buried. The cemetery is in Burnet, TX, about an hour's drive from where Ryan Butler and I live. Joining Ryan and I were Heath's big brother, Tim Stewart - currently of the San Antonio Area; Steve Makelki - currently living in the Houston Area; and Jon Caspell who flew out from Lubbock to attend.

There are many powerful take-aways for me from yesterday's gathering. I will share the one I think is most important:

Jesus Christ, the only Son of the living God, gave His life so that we may live eternally in Him. God knew Heath while Heath was in his mother's womb (see Psalms 139). God had a specific purpose for Heath's being here on earth. 20 years later, we recognized that Heath's death in a strangely similar way led us to life as well. Yesterday we gave testimony to the fact that Heath's life, death, funeral, and legacy created in us a desire to live for Christ.

Heath's headstone reads, "...God's Friend." That is exactly what he was here on earth and what he is today in heaven.

Here are some photographs from our visit. Again, I encourage you to share your comments to others who read this blog by linking to the comments section.

Thanks for being my friend!

Voter Guide

No remarks from the peanut gallery on how long it's taken me to blog, or that I owe you a "Friends, Pt. 2."

I just read a great story that almost completely captures my thoughts and ideas about voting in this year's U.S. presidential election.

The fact is, I really like both guys running. You know me - I've got friends who are liberal and conservative, Christian and agnostic, straight and homosexual, every race color and creed in existence. I beleve that every one I know is an immortal soul whom God has placed in my life for a specific purpose.
I like both guys running for president and, regardless of who wins, I will pray for him every day at noon like I always do.

That being said, I'm not enthused or excited about the idea of either candidate actually being president. However I do believe this, I trust the Holy God of the universe to be acting out His will for the election. This is especially easier to accept considering - once again - I'm not "waving my pom-poms" for either.

How then did I arrive at a conclusion for my vote?

When I was in college I had a candidate that I liked best in an election year (no comments on how many election years passed throughout my undergraduate years). A week or so before the election I stopped and actually prayed to God about who to vote for. As I walked to the voter booth a strange thing happened. I could not, in good conscience, vote for the guy I liked! It was the oddest thing for someone who had not experienced a feeling like that before and, if you've never felt that - that is, a guidance from the Holy Spirit of God in your actual day-to-day activities - you probably think I'm crazy (yeah, I know, some of you think I'm crazy regardless of what I say).

So, I went to the voter booth wanting to go one direction and I truly feel God didn't allow me to. Well, the guy I liked the best still won but I am very glad to this day that my consience did not allow me to vote for him. (I voted 3rd party that year. My conscience was clear. That guy didn't have a chance!) I would be embarrassed on this day in my life had I voted my way, for I feel 'my guy' really made a mockery out of the presidency during that particular term of his service.

My friend, I believe the Bible teaches we are responsible for our actions here on earth. One of the biggest actions we can make on earth as an American is voting. We will be held, by God, to accountability for our voting! That means - 1. We should actually be registered, be informed and vote; 2. We should vote in a way that pleases Him.

Regardless of your presidential choice and/or your feelings about God, my challenge to you is that you will pray this or something very similar every day until you vote:

"God (add 'If you're there' if you're one of my agnostic friends - by the way, He is!) would You please, by the power of Your Spirit guide me to vote in a way that pleases you?"

His answer may surprise you and, if You follow Him in your voting, you are in the clear for eternity!

God is not a Democrat or a Republican. He is in it for His own glory and His is the only party with which I am truly concerned.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for being my friend.
I appreciate you!

Friends! Part 1

Proverbs 18:24 - A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

I've had an interesting past two weeks.
There have been extreme highs and lows in both my and my friends' lives. I don't wanna talk about any of it right now. Still processing...God is faithful, I know that much.

I thought I'd take a moment to blog about friends (boy are they gonna be surprised!)
I should probably do this one at a time:

1st up - Matt Cothern. Matt is a dear friend from Kappa Kappa Psi and jazz band. We were pretty darn close in college and, don't get him started, 'cause he could tell you a gazillion stories about me - and many of them during my "who cares about honoring God" days. [For example, I believe there is one story in there about me and some of the brothers kidnapping him from his dorm at ~ 5 a.m., taking him to a restuarant I believe in his jammies and my standing up on a table loudly singing Happy Birthday to him in a Marilyn Monroe style...frat days!].

Through all the craziness, there are 3 moments I will always treasure in my mind about ole Matt:
1. When his softball team, "Fresh Meat" (or Fresh Meat II, again, frat days) were getting their habitual hiney kickin' in their killer softball division and Matt thought it was a good idea as a catcher to stop a runaway train of a man with his hand. Moments I treasure - those hours in the hospital Matt and I spent together! I realize now in my life that I did all I could during those college days to build walls in my life to keep people at a distance. I even made more "friends" so that I wouldn't have to go "deep" with anyone. Matt was one of the few people at that time I truly let into my life. He helped me learn the value of true friendships.

2. The Bet. For the life of me, I cannot remember what the bet was, but the wager of the bet I do remember. I was a hard-core liberal at the time and Matt was the polar opposite. We spent much of our greeting time daily attacking one another's political stances. Well, the wager was, loser had to vote in the the winner's political party primary and, essentially, join that political party. I became a Republican (I consider myself a conservative independent today) because I lost a bet to Matt.
I decided to look at what some of the candidate's in the Republican party were all about and, to my surprise, many of them said they operated their life and work out of their faith in Jesus Christ. Kinda made me say, "What guides me in my day-to-day?" Somehow, through that wager and several other Spirit-led people and events in my life, I ended up re-dedicating my life to Jesus Christ sometime soon after I "became a Republican." [I put that in quotes because I honestly believe no political party has a lock on God...the story is just a piece of the puzzle God used to change my life].

3. The Church. So, I ended up being hired on at Hill Country Bible Church - Northwest and the pastor and my supervisor say, "There's a guy here who knows you...Matt Cothern!" "Really?!" I had been looking for Matt on the internet for years and had completely lost touch. We ended up meeting at the place that is common ground for both of us. Oh how God has brought both of us through crazy times! (I'm sparing Matt's crazy stories to protect the...guilty!)
Well, one of the "extreme highs" of the last two weeks was HCBC's Concert of Praise. My wife posted a video of me playing sax at a rehearsal - I could blog about that...I thought I was the one who was going to get to post music...my wife is a "Blog Hog" - on her site (myjordanfamily.blogspot.com) Standing next to me, my dear friend, on trumpet, Matt Cothern.

I am thankful to God for the friends He has placed in my life.
Next blog, "Steve."

"6 Months," "Better than Shaun Groves," plus New Blogging Format update

Howdy friends!

"6..."
It's been 6 months at Hill Country Bible Church - Northwest. It has been quite a journey so far and I'd like to write more about it. Before I do though, you can help me with my blog post about it.

When I write about my first six months at HCBC-NW, I would like to answer any questions you may have. Simply leave a reply of your question(s) here at my blog comment section or email me at ajordan.music@hcbc.com and I will happily answer your questions.

"Better than Shaun Groves?!"
You may have heard about the weekend illness that attacked the Jordan Family (My wife wrote about it on myjordanfamily.blogspot.com).
I was blessed not to fall ill to the crud. When Elias went down I told Jennifer, "I'm not going to get sick...(my Pentecostal/Charismatic friends will like what I said next)...I'm rebuking this illness in the name of Jesus...(my Contemplative/Conservative friends will like what I did next)...and I began using every immunity booster I've ever purchased. Props to Airborne, Echinacea, Elderberry extract with VirusBloc, Grapefruit Seed Extract, Sovereign Silver, Acai,soap and water, apple juice...

When Jennifer gave me word that Elena was ill on Sunday morning, in addition to missing my 1st Sunday at HCBC (I am not legalistic, I just LOVE attending church here - so that was a bummer), on my 6-month/half-anniversary date (I get corny over things like this) I did not immediately remember that Christian Recording Artist Shaun Groves would be leading worship at our church that day. I would have been crushed that I missed a star, unless what happened...happened!

What I will ALWAYS remember about this date is the fact that my sick precious 2-year-old daughter, whom former co-worker Matt Mehaffey once said "...had me wrapped around her finger before she was born," crawled up into my lap in her rocking chair in her room at around 9 a.m. - the time when our 1st service begins - and stayed there until around 12:15 p.m., approximately the time our 2nd service ends, as I rocked her, hugged her tight, sang to her and occasionally dozed off with her.

I can't get this moment out of my mind perhaps because I know one day she will be a teenager and may not even acknowledge my existence! It was a sweet and unrepeatable moment in time. So, while I would have love to have been at church under the worship leadership (sermon) of my awesome senior pastor Tim Hawks and (music) guest artist Shaun Groves, and while I would rather my family never be ill, I will treasure the moment I had on Sunday for all of my days. I'd have to say, having my little one in my arm was, to me, better than Shaun Groves!

New Blogging Format Update
Finally, I have obtained some recordings of myself on saxophone, but I don't know how to edit DVD's down to make it fit my blog. Can anyone help me?

In the meantime, I am gathering my devotional thoughts, so once I learn to edit DVDs I should have one kickin' blog!

Thanks for being my friend!
aj

Hoorah for God!

A praise report from HCBC's Evangelism Pastor regarding what God has done so far this week through Backyard Bible Clubs & Extreme Adventure:

"What a week! What a harvest!

Our mighty God showed up once again to bring in the harvest. Can I hear a drum roll...

Backyard Bible Clubs:

2300 participants
359 conversions
54 recommitments

Xtreme Adventure:

500 participants
19 conversions
28 recommitments

(These are not final numbers, but they are very close.) "

When I saw those numbers I prayed for every children's and student ministers everywhere.
God bless you in your efforts to lead people to the life-changing reality of Jesus Christ today, this summer and every day!

What a significant impact you make on the kingdom of God!

My Church Family and My Blog News

I wanted to share with you some information about the summer at my church, Hill Country Bible Church - Northwest, and some changes I'm making to my blog.

CHURCH
At church summer is the time for "The Great Adventure." I'm not sure of all of the history as I'm still relatively new here, but I can give you some idea of what I'm experiencing now in 2008.

The Great Adventure officially began on Sunday, June 6 with "The Concert of Prayer," one of the most dynamic and exciting prayer services I've ever experienced. (I once attended a revival prayer service with Henry Blackaby, author of "Experiencing God," and that was pretty life-changing as well). The Concert of Prayer service's music was led by The Dutton Band who lead worship regularly at The Heights Church in the DFW area. We prayed for Backyard Bible Clubs (K-4th grade), Xtreme Adventure (5th grade - 7th grade), SummerFest and GO (Global Outreach) trips.

Our senior pastor, Tim Hawks gave the church these points for prayer:

"Here are some specific things you can pray about over the coming weeks:
145 Backyard Bible Clubs will be held throughout the community with over 225 student leaders (July 7-10)
Xtreme Adventure: The Ultimate Knockout will bring over 500 fifth through seventh graders to our campus (July 7-10)
SummerFest takes place Friday, July 11 here on campus. We expect well over 6,000 people in our community to attend!
345 students and adult leaders will take the good news of Jesus Christ to East Austin, Toronto, Chicago, Mexico, Wales, Central Asia and Peru. "

You can help HCBC - NW impact every man, woman and child's life in the greater Austin Area by briefly praying for these things as well.

Jennifer and I host a Backyard Bible Club. Last night was the first one and I thought it went really well. I am expecting God to do great things in many people's lives - children and parents - through this club.

BLOG
When I decided to blog I knew it would be a little more high-maintenance than folks told me it would be! I've been persuaded to make some changes to make my blog better and, beginning next week, this is the format I'm going to try:

1x/week - blog a devotional/thoughts from the Holy Bible
1x/week - blog impressions from society or personal life (I currently call that "Wacky Wednesday")
1x/week - blog myself playing music

Apparently, people still like to hear me play music and, since I've been fortunate enough to make friends from high school, Texas Tech, New Orleans Seminary, and Indiana who are now spread all over the world - if you want to hear me on saxophone, you will be able to do that soon through this blog. (It won't be a professional-quality recording but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway).

I'm hoping to blog in a Monday/Wednesday/Friday format beginning Monday July 14.

If you have any comments, suggestions, or ideas regarding my blog, I welcome them.
You may leave comments on my blog's comment section (listed at the bottom of each post) or through my Facebook Notes section.

Until later, thanks for your prayers and your comments!

Wacky Wednesday 4 - Citizenship

How patriotic are you? Are you a really a good citizen of these United States of America?
Lest I become conceited, I thought I'd take a quiz to confirm my patriotism during this July 4 week's edition of Wacky Wednesday.

I invite you to take the MSNBC Citizenship quiz and report back to me how you did:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25461301/

As for me, with a score of 70%, I received this evaluation:
"65-80%: Hey, you may make a good citizen yet! Look at your wrong answers and a little revision should do the trick."

Take the quiz and leave me a comment, good or bad, regarding your score!

National Anthem

Here's the video from the Round Rock Express game on 6/28/08
I've always wanted to do something like this and am glad I had the opportunity.

Smell the Color 9, Hacks!

That was the title of a Chris Rice Album...cool song.
Anyway, I chose that title because of softball.
I am going to miss two games in a row, and I'm hatin' that. However, our team is 2-0. Gotta love that, even if my sole goal for each game is to avoid injury!

9 runs and a win in softball don't usually go together. In fact, our small group administrative assistants reportedly loss their game last night scoring 9 runs. No, a softball winning score is like, 20+ in my opinion. Still, our team has won twice scoring exactly 9 runs. I guess we're playing good enough defense as the losing teams have scored 6 and 4 runs.

We didn't have a team name officially until a few hours ago. Our coach's last name is Tanner. He told us we could write our names and jersey numbers down and he would draw from a hat a name to be the winner. The winner would choose the team name and team color(s). He is a pretty humble guy (and all of my Indiana friends are saying, "There are no humble Texans..." I know, but he is!) and didn't like my teasing him saying, "If I win, we are going to wear tan shirts and call ourselves 'The Tanners." Well guess what, I did win, but I submitted a team name suggested by another pastor on staff, "The Hill Country Hacks!"

Our team colors, red, white and black of course (Go Tech and Go Buckeyes!).
I can't wait to get back on the field in a few weeks.
Until then, Go Hacks!

Wacky Wednesday 4 - "Crazy little thing called love (of God)"

"Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor."
-Romans 12:10 ESV

Today's Wacky Wednesday subject is...me.
Sometimes I get so crazy with the "goings on" of my life that I forget to stop and do the simple things. When I fail to enjoy or ignore intentionally loving people...man, that's crazy!

Yesterday I thanked my administrative assistant for all of the work she's doing to get me prepared for Sunday at HCBC. If you read my previous post, Sunday is the 1st New Member Celebration (I called it New Member Orientation in Indiana) at Hill Country Bible Church. She responded to my email with, what I described to her later, as one of the greatest compliments I could ever receive:

"Thanks Adaryll. I appreciate you too. Your commitment to this church and your family is amazing!"

She ministered to me in 3 sentences. Truly my two top priorities in life are to love God and to love my family. I actively try to live out loving God by loving His church for which His Son died. He fills me with His Holy Spirit so that I can overflow with His love onto others, beginning with my family. What a compliment! I got blessed by 16 words. How crazy am I to not remember to continually obey the command of this passage and bless others more often?

God gives us commands for our good. What a great God!
Moment by moment, day by day, we have the opportunity to do this.
what are you going to do to obey God and not be 'Wacky' today? This week? This Month? This Year? In your lifetime?

The Week That Is...and Is To Be

You know, sometimes human beings just encounter interesting weeks.
I'll start with Saturday.

- Rough night. Hard Sunday morning.

Sunday
- Scheduled to facilitate Newcomers Gathering, held every Sunday at HCBC, only 1 couple attended this week...which is a really odd occurrence. Handing my duties off to a volunteer couple, those guests reportedly gave their lives to Jesus Christ that day!
- Got to hear author David Marshall at our church in the evening. He wrote a book called, "The Truth Behind the New Atheism." Whether you are a Christian or not, you owe it to yourself to read that book. Wow!

Monday
-My 1st HCBC Pastoral Title change...jokes flew - "is it to Senior Pastor?" "We'll say you got a promotion." Actually, the change is much simpler. My official title now is Small Groups & Connections Pastor. I like it!
- As circumstances (vacation) would have it, I received for the first time the list of 1st time visitors to call. One person who didn't list her phone number ended up being a neighbor 2 doors down. She and her husband are in the midst of a separation. The sermon on Sunday was about marriage. So I ask you...coincidence I just happened to get this list? Coincidental sermon topic? God doesn't do coincidences.
- Before I leave my office today I receive a phone call from the Round Rock Express (Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros Baseball Club). I had auditioned and was accepted to play the National Anthem at a game this year. I'm on...this Saturday!

Upcoming
Tuesday - long day. Long meeting but will get to hear about AIDS and the urban community
Wednesday - gotta get some fillings (for teeth) in the morning, but in the evening - Texas Softball!
Saturday - Jose', can you see?!
Sunday - 1st ever New Member Celebration at HCBC and Elena's 2nd Birthday.

What a week it has already been and promises to be.
I'll pray for you, you pray for me!

Summer Softball

Those of you who have spent years with me in Indiana or Lubbock know that I really enjoy playing softball. If this is a new fact to you, I'll snitch on myself here and say, "it's kind of a big deal" to me.

Softball history for me: I started playing softball in a YMCA league when I was a kid. I played in college and our men's teams got whipped like dogs. Our fraternity co-ed team was neither great nor awful. I coached a dorm team that was a runner-up in our division, which at Tech means T-shirts! In Indy, once again our men's teams were whipped heartily. Our co-ed team...the best I've ever played on. One off year (not in contention for prizes) but the other years included 2nd place to another team at our church, winner and winner again. NOW I'm back in Texas. Our first game was Wednesday and I thought I'd share today some of the differences in softball between Indy and Austin. Happy Reading:


Driving Distance to Field
Indy: Not very far (Brownsburg to NW Indy)
Here: Very Close (Both in Leander, I go off my street to end of neighborhood, make one turn…2 miles and I’m there)


Time of Games
Indy: Usually steady, 3 or 4 p.m.
Here: Always Shifting, 6:15 – 8:15 start times

Temperature Expectation
Indy: Upper 80’s
Here: Upper 90’s, but first game was 106 degrees

What “Co-Ed” Means
Indy: 5 girls
Here: 3 girls

Cost
Indy: ~ $40
Here: ~ $25

League
Indy: City
Here: Church (Hill Country Bible)

League Established
Indy: A while ago!
Here: This year

Purpose of League
Indy: Profit
Here: Outreach

Level of Competition in Co-Ed Play
Indy: Fair - Good
Here: Very Good (One of our Administrative Assistants was very concerned about their 1st game versus a group of former college players. Her team battled back to win by 1 point in the last inning. My team won our game 9-6…seemed more like a baseball game than softball)

League Format
Indy: Games + Tie Breaker/Championship if necessary
Here: Games + Playoffs + Championship Game

Field Description
Indy: Ballpark Complex
Here: City Park (No fences…if you miss, RUN!)

My Position
Indy: Pitcher
Here: 1st Base

Prize(s)
Indy: T-shirt for top team in league, Plaque
Here: T-shirts for top 2 teams, Trophy

Ball
Indy: 1 Ball for all players
Here: Girls hit 11” ball; Guys hit 12” ball. Balls are switched out as necessary

Me in the Batting Order
Indy: Last
Here: 5th

Grand Goal Week-by-Week; League End
Indy: Win Every Inning; Win Championship
Here: Survive; Try not to embarrass myself too much in front of my son!

We won our 1st game 9-6. We don't have a team name or jerseys yet. I'll let you know about that when we get them.

Wacky Wednesday 3

This past Sunday one of our church plant pastors, Denny Henderson of Hill Country Bible Church _U.T. (University of Texas), did an excellent job exegeting Scripture in a sermon called "Grade-A Passion."

In the sermon, Denny preached through 1 Cor. 7:1-7 and supported his text & preaching with most of the book of the Song of Solomon. Denny's 1st point in his introduction went something like this - according to my notes: "Paul celebrates singleness because he knows...singles have more to offer Jesus than the married." I thought that was an excellent point.

SO WHAT'S WACKY?!?!

If Denny was right, and again i think he was, then what's up with the Japanese...and this?

Japanese Firm Creates Robot Girlfriend for Lonely Men
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,368282,00.html

Seriously, I need someone to 'splain this to me!

Wacky Wednesday 2

Joel Madden is in the band Good Charlotte and is boyfriend and baby-daddy to Nicole Richie. His brother Benji, also from the band, is boyfriend to Nicole's BFF Paris Hilton.


Joel said something that I thought is kind of wacky so I'd love to hear what you think (from Parade Magazine): "Benji and I are from a classic broken home, so we question the necessity of marriage. What is a 'holy union'? Can't you have a true bond without the legality of marriage?"

So lots of questions floated in my brain when I read this and I'd love to hear your responses:

1. Do celebrities have access to dictionaries?
2. How certain are those outside of marriage they have a "true bond?"
3. What is a "true bond?" What are its elements of success?
4. If you are married, how do you handle the topic of marriage with non-married friends who live together? Why did you get married?

I'm a married guy so either I'm a little off-base or Joel is wacky. Hollah back.

Sports, Work & the Spirit

I am a HUGE college football fan. It is my very favorite sport to watch and attend. Pro and high school football pale in comparison to my love for the college game (although, I am looking forward to introducing my son to Texas high school football this year). There is so much passion, tradition, and history!

Yesterday I picked up a copy of Lindy's Big 12 football magazine. I keep up with many different teams and I'm predicting Georgia and Ohio State in the BCS Championship game this year. As for my beloved Red Raiders, I predict...good things. Maybe ten wins this year?

Some of my favorite times and best memories of connecting with people occurred at or had something to do with college football. How about you? Is there a sport that you absolutely love to watch? More importantly if you are a sports fan, how will you make relational connections with friends as a result of watching sports? (Hint, one word, TAILGATE!!!)

Work

Awesome. Busy. For my Indiana friends, I am trying to create a New Member Orientation experience here at my new church home. I just completed a format change of our Newcomers class, which occurs every Sunday, to make it more relational and informative about the church versus the Sunday school format that was in place. Now every Sunday visitor not only gets to enjoy a light breakfast, but they meet other guests to the church, hear about the DNA of our church, hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ presented, and are offered a tour of the facility. The volunteers have received the changes well. Finally, since Easter I've been working out the distribution of 1st time guest bags. We've distributed ~ 500 so far and are changing colors, contents, and all of that stuff. It sounded really fun to me until I started dealing with bag distribution companies. Argh! We've finally found a good company though and now every 1st time guest to HCBC - Northwest can receive a beautiful forest green gift bag filled with more information about the church and small gifts.

The Spirit

I've really enjoyed the Disciple-making program I'm in called "Discipleship With A Purpose." It's a 20-week gig filled with lots of great Bible study and Scripture memory. I haven't done any disciple-making material this intense since college! I absolutely love the challenge.

We had a guest pastor in yesterday who preached a sermon called "Sex in the City" as part of our 1st Corinthians series. Besides telling you it was absolutely phenomenal I only suggest you go to iTunes and download the video sermon. Great stuff!

All in all, I'm loving Austin, enjoying new people, missing my Indiana friends like crazy and wishing I could share this wonderful Texas food with them as well. Visitors welcomed in Austin, but you may wanna wait 'til the summer is over...whooo--eeeee! It's hot!

Next time on the blog, (after Wacky Wednesday that is), I'm talkin' food!

The Blahs?

There's a lot going on in the world and maybe your own life. Do you ever get a case of the blahs?
I was reading (listening) to Scripture yesterday, and if you have a case of "The Blahs," may I suggest the book of 1 Peter?

Peter was speaking to a persecuted church community and he himself would eventually face death through martyrdom. With everything going on in your life or in society, if you get discouraged for yourself or others, may I suggest a quick read of that book?

I found it very encouraging.

If you read it, tell me what you thought!

Wacky Wednesday

The rules are very simple. I will report to you some event in someone's life - real or fictitious, famous or plain, personal or not - whatever made me, sometime the week before Wacky Wednesday say, "That's Wacky!" I will give you the "411" then I want to hear your take on the situation.

My friends' personalities and opinions can be all over the map and I'd really like to hear your thoughts, so here we go...(by the way, play nice - both to the 'subject' and to each other)

Wacky Wednesday Subject June 4, 2008 is...Susan Sarandon

• I think she's a terrific actress.
• Sarandon charged that if John McCain wins the '08 election, his American New York will no longer be safe.
• Sarandon said, in a clarifying letter to "The View," "I ...have faith in the American people."

To get you started...

• How much influence does an actress, musician, etc. have on your personal voter decision-making?
• As it pertains to the election, who or what do you "...have faith in..." and why?
• Joy Behar of "The View" said that Sarandon and her husband are "...two of the most patriotic Americans that we have in the media." Do you agree? Why or why not?

I look forward to hearing from you!

-aj

Orientation

Now that I have "converted" to blogspot I've been asked, "What are you going to blog about?"
The answer to that question is - whatever is on my mind, the things I've heard, and how it relates to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I really plan to follow the lead of my wife in a lot of this as well. Especially as it pertains to the frequency of blogging. She does a great job at myjordanfamily.blogspot.com

For instance, instead of "Wordless Wednesday" I plan to have a "Wacky Wednesday" that I will post tomorrow. Wacky Wednesday will deal with some type of news in the news world, include a Biblical response, and will solicit your response. I don't care that you agree with me, I just care that you care.

All in all, if you know me, you know I've probably some opinion on a lot of things, so this should be fun!

See ya tomorrow with the 1st "Wacky Wednesday." Tell your friends!

Blessings,
aj

Blogging 2.0

I've been pretty impressed with the features of Blogger, so here I am!
I am dedicating myself to learning more about blogging.
All encouragement is welcomed.