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