Hale-Yeah!

This site has moved

2006-07-05T23:44:00.000-07:00

My blog is officially moving. Please change all of your links to my new address: http://haleyeah.typepad.com I'va already started posting over there, so go check it out. It is a work in progress, but make sure to update your bookmarks or links on your blog. Thanks. I appreciate all the love and hopefully this move to typepad will make it easier for us to stay in touch.

I'm about to ditch Blogger!

2006-07-05T12:01:00.000-07:00

just wrote this whole post, all these hyperlinks, go to upload, no go. blogger, i spit in your face!

New Friends

2006-07-05T10:51:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about the PDWC was the fellowship. This was pretty much the crew that I hung with the entire time. All these guys go to Sandals Church, my home away from home. I have more good friends there than I do at my church here in Fresno. Two of my best friends Los & Bogie are there along with their wives, Heather and Becca. I got to hang with Becca a lot this week and get to know her better which was really cool. The other 2 guys are Ryan and Brady who are both involved in the worship ministry at Sandals. Ryan's got a voice to be jealous of, and Brady I just met this week, but really dug him and JRocka's screwed up personalities! Sarah D is a long time Sandalite and I also met Melissa for the first time (I stole the pic from her blog). Los convinced her to start a blog, so check it out HERE. No pressure Melissa. The whole group did pretty much everything together and no awkward moments, no tiffs, no fights, just lots of laughs, a lot of spilt water at BJ's, Superman Returns, sweat, and praisin' our God. I love the way that Christ builds His family. Thanks guys for a great week. "I can feel the presence of the Lord I'm gonna get my blessing right now!"

can you feel the love?

2006-06-29T09:50:00.000-07:00

me and los are all kinds of wrong right now. we are sitting "listening" to john ortberg. i'm sure he's a great speaker and author, but i just don't really care anymore. the stripe shirt you see before you is the man who turned around and busted me and los stating, "we can hear everything you're saying", oh, sorry sir. we retreated back to note passing and typing on our blogs. now los is trying to break this guy like he's really into the sermon, "come on, come on", "preach it, preach it". i can't stop laughing! seriously it's like being back in jr. high sunday school and i'm about to get bumped out of the room by the teacher. at least we're having fun.

it's late and everything is funny

2006-06-28T23:37:00.000-07:00

At the PDWC

2006-06-28T16:02:00.000-07:00

Day 2 of PDWC. I'm about to head off to Los' blogging and podcasting session, so if you're from Peoples, get ready. I'm about to step up your digital lives. everyone needs to blog. Maybe I'll have time tonight to talk more about what's been going on here. Last night we hit the premiere of superman at downtown disney, so i only caught three hours of sleep. tonight, we are doing dinner with a group of the blog community that is here at the conference. until later...

on my way

2006-06-26T22:03:00.000-07:00

well, i'm off to the purpose driven worship conference @ Saddleback. leaving at 5am tomorrow to make it to Carlos' house before 10am. i'll be away from the blog unless i get internet access at the hotel we're stayin' at. talk to you later with all the details. i got 3 new cd's to keep me company. 1. Starfield 2. Jason Morant 3. Brenton Brown along with an iPod full of my favorite toons. i'm trying to pack light, so no ibook, but i know that los will have his powermac pro. c-ya.

The Good Life

2006-06-24T09:58:00.000-07:00

Me and all my friends in high school were huge weezer fans. we even had a special handshake. you say dork, i say, heck yeah! but, i never had cable or mtv to see the videos. last weekend for father's day i was looking through my brother's DVD collection and alas, what do i see, but the weezer video collection. i put it on this morning while jacinda was getting ready for her baby shower, kiara and i danced, and then i saw her. it the music video for "the good life" off of their pinkerton album. chloe from 24. i looked all over for a picture of her in the video, but couldn't find it. you'll have to take my word for it. if you can remember, she was a pizza delivery girl and playing her typical pouty and geeky Chloe. I just thought that was hilarious. well, i'm a bachelor today, so i'm going to go eat some greasy mexican food and watch a comic book movie!

Getting Excited

2006-06-22T08:26:00.000-07:00

i know i haven't posted in awhile. i've just been enjoying reading everyone else's blogs. i have been super busy at work this week, working on a couple of big deals. i will warn you that depending on the situation, i might not be posting next week. i will be going to the purpose driven worship conference and will be staying with los and his crew in someone's house. i am really hoping for it to now only be an educational experience, but just a flat out worship experience. as parents and someone who works too hard, you could probably relate to me not ever having enough time for anything, so i'm looking forward to the 4 days next week where i somewhat get to dictate my own schedule. i will miss my girls, but they will be having fun and i'll be back before they know it. do you ever just get in a slump spiritually? man, i feel like i've been in a funk for the last couple weeks. i feel that i'm getting pulled in every direction, and they're not all bad things. they are things i want to do. like, hang out with my family, work hard, hang out with good friends, go to church, or go to the bathroom. i wish i could do it all, but it's coming to that point where jacinda and i just say "no" to things. last weekend we went to sunday school but not church, but it was father's day. but, yesterday was truly a good day. at lunch, i went home, relaxed on the couch for a bit, then popped United into my CD player for the drive back to work. their energy and the lyrics just lifted me right up, and with the relaxing night i had last night with my family, i'm doing good. i just needed a little worship time. so, hopefully next week will be like going into the cocoon pool.

Bloggers Unite!

2006-06-16T10:01:00.000-07:00

So, here is Los. he is one of my best friends and he needs your help. he has been given the great honor of teaching at the purpose driven worship conference this year at saddleback church. this is the church of rick warren who wrote "a purpose driven life". love him or hate him, this church is freaking huge, and the conference brings the best from all over the world to teach, lead, and mentor. I will actually be attending this 4-day conference for the first time this year and can't wait to learn and chill with my boy. So, check out this link, and answer his simple poll question for his research. thanks! Ragamuffin Soul

Quote of the Day!

2006-06-16T07:43:00.000-07:00

"Friends are like butt-cheeks. Crap separates them, but they always come back together."

The Ocean-Dome!!

2006-06-15T12:17:00.000-07:00

Supposedly this ocean-dome is in Japan somewhere and it costs about $50 a day. the volcano explodes every hour and the wave machine pumps out a couple sets of waves. completely regulated temperature, wind, and humidity for a perfect day at the beach. Also, check out the links on the right, i added some new friends to the list!

a facade

2006-06-14T09:31:00.000-07:00

I thought this picture was hilarious. but isn't it so true of the way the church portrays Jesus? in my town at least it is. i had lunch with a good friend yesterday and we talked about how the Church has created this monster of people trying to be all perfect and clean, while it just makes people hide who they really are. we need to break the status quo and chad johnson, our high school pastor, did a great job of this on sunday. people are so surprised when i tell them about a recent interview i saw with katie couric and billy graham where rev. graham tells katie that he is a democrat. ahhh! he said that not many people know his political views because he didn't believe his personal views had anything to do with his ministry. powerful statement, one i wish some of these celebrities would heed. sean penn, sir, i don't really give a rip what you have to say. you are a decent actor, which basically means you can read some words and recite them with feeling, and that is it. please stop talking. wow! tangent. so, back to my point. check out these lyrics that are from derek webb's new songs called, "a king and a kingdom": "there are two great lies that i’ve heard: “the day you eat of the fruit of that tree, you will not surely die” and that Jesus Christ was a white, middle-class republican and if you wanna be saved you have to learn to be like Him" What seems to be extremes of good vs. evil has come together in our journey towards holiness. we are now taught that if we are christians then we need to sit up, clean up, vote republican, and be perfect. Brennan Manning talks about the "myth of conversion": "There is a myth flourishing in the church today that has caused incalculable harm--once converted, fully converted. in other words, once i accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, an irreversible, sinless future beckons. discipleship will be an untarnished success story; life will be an unbroken upward spiral toward holiness." not that we need to rebel against the church, but change it. from the inside out. we need to start the movement. it's going to be a rough road, but i'm tired of seeing the fallout of my brothers and sisters. "For by the grace given me i say to every one of you: do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you" -Romans 12:3

up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, select start!

2006-06-14T09:26:00.000-07:00

For all you geeks who know what i'm talking about in the title, you'll love this VIDEO.

another baby, i thought kiara was a baby.

2006-06-13T18:04:00.000-07:00

so, as you guys probably know, my daughter Melania will be here on august 7th and i'm getting a little freaked out about having another baby around the house, but then i realized, kiara's not a baby anymore. when did my little baby go from this: and this, to this! I am getting really excited about having a little baby to hold again. plus, i'm a major home-body, so that let's me stay home more.

taking it all in

2006-06-12T08:45:00.000-07:00

I try to cherish the little things. sometimes life gets so out of control that by the end of the day, you just can't wait to go to bed. but i think it is important for our spiritual and mental health to just soak in the good things in life. since i work with investments, i try to get to work by 6:30 which is when the stock market opens on the east coast. i hate getting up this early and it still isn't natural to me, but nothing beats driving with the windows down and the cool air waking you up, all while the sun is peaking over the sierra-nevada mountains. sometimes i get to work even earlier and can watch the sunrise out of our 4th floor windows. so, i try to let those moments effect me, to change me, to start my day off right. I understand that i'm an emotional guy. i always tell people that i cry at commercials if they're done right. sometimes life just gets going and stuff happens and after awhile you don't want to care anymore. i don't want to reach out. i don't want to worry about other people all the time. i don't want to feel like i need to be involved, but then God gives me a sunrise or a song, or a child's "i love you daddy", or my wife grab's my hand in the car...i break. i think it's important. i read this quote today: "not to be accessible to the greatness of the Holy, is always the mark of a certain mediocrity of soul." we need those moments where, as my buddy always says, God just "filets" open our heart and rips it to shreds. we need to have a broken and contrite heart like in Psalm 51. So, I pray that God shows us each how to respond to those that we don't know how to care for and that He will show Himself in the little things or as David Crowder says, "finding God in everything from Sunsets to Sushi"

some pictures that i promised

2006-06-07T07:19:00.000-07:00

This weekend created many great memories for me. just hanging out on the boat friday night and cruising the harbor was really great. i got a chance to connect with my friends and made some new ones. it was so relaxing and was just one of those moments that you are thankful for. So here is what we were experiencing. dolphins. hundreds and hundreds. just imagine the same amount of dolphins, but spread out over hundreds of yards. it was like God put out a net and when he pulled it up, all the dolphins in the ocean were right there in our little circle. amazing. happy birthday to heather! you can see the expression on jacinda's face that she is completely freaking out. that's a total jacinda look when she is really excited. love you babe. and, last but not least, i couldn't leave you hanging without a picture of how my trip really looked. i'm just glad that i didn't eat more than a denver omelet!

I'm Sailing! I'm Sailing!

2006-06-04T09:37:00.000-07:00

http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif This weekend has been all about experiences. Jacinda's best friend, , who is married to Los had her birthday party this weekend. i went into work on Friday morning to finish a couple things, then took off a little after 9. Jacinda and I were getting the baby room painted this weekend so i had to take apart the baby crib (for painting) and take the blinds off the window. So we took off just before 11 trying to be down in Riverside by 2. yeah right! I drove like a mad man. the traffic was unbelievable! It took us almost an hour and 45 minutes to get to Bakersfield, but then I made up some time keepin it in third on the grapevine. i love driving fast there because it feels like a video game. needless to say, whether i'm going 65 or 85, it still takes me 4 hours and 15 minutes to get to their house. we get to their house, pack up some more stuff and take off for another hour drive to Newport Beach. you know you're in newport when all the cars go from chevy's and honda's to porsche's, bmw's, and ferrari's. we actually drove by a dealership for ferrari, maserati, and rolls royce. we then got on our 44" foot yacht for the weekend. This thing has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a "living room" and a full kitchen. topside (that's boater talk for the top of the boat) there was room sit tons of people, plus you could just chill out on the front of the boat. we took a harbor cruise with a whole bunch of heather's good friends. it was really great and jacinda and I met some really cool new people. after the cruise, we docked up and we all went and saw the breakup with vince vaughn and jennifer aniston. i laughed really hard, but the end left me a bitter taste in my mouth. los, heather, jacinda and i went back to boat and spent the night there in the harbor. saturday morning, the brown's, christopher's, and albee's joined us for our trip down to laguna beach. it started great, jacinda started feeling the movement and the heat. then we anchored at laguna and it all began. i hurled. then again. and again. and again. whew. i jump into the cold water and float there for awhile. i get back on the boat. hurl. lay down for awhile. then the most awesome thing ever happened. dolphins. hundreds. maybe a thousand. all around us, for hundreds of yards around us. black and white dolphins. it was like the beginning of an ironman triathlon where all those people are splashing in the water together. amazing. eventually they were gone then, i hurled. again. again. again. it was terrible. i tried to sleep the rest of the way and as soon as we got back into the harbor, i started feeling better. so, needless to say, i'm never doing the sailing thing again. we then drove to huntington beach for dinner and back to riverside where i almost immediately crashed on the couch. so, off to sandals for church, then back to fresno to pick up our little girl. can't wait to see her.

The Zoo

2006-06-01T08:19:00.000-07:00

Jacinda and the MOMS group at church took all the kids to the zoo this week. I hate missing stuff like this. Kiara was so excited, it was all she could talk about for weeks before. She got to feed a giraffe, pet a sheep and goat, see elephants taking a bath, and monkeys swinging in the trees. believe me, when she says it, it'll melt your heart. i asked her the other day, "kiara, who's your best buddy?" she replied, "etan". Ladies and Gentleman, meet Ethan, my future son-in-law. His parents, who are our good friends, Joe and Mamie, and us arranged the marriage almost from birth. These two are so cute together. We make them hug and kiss while we take pictures, they play together, and they are just good little buddies. Hopefully, they will grow up together and get married. I mean, how cool would it be if you could be good friends with the parents of your kid's spouse? So, Ethan, I bless the relationship, but keep looking over your shoulder boy, cuz I've got my eye on you!

what the heck!?

2006-05-31T15:07:00.000-07:00

So, something is wrong with my blog today. it's not showing all my links to the left and it is only showing 2 posts. As soon as I have some time, I am switching to typepad. I'm done with blogger.

What a great weekend!

2006-05-30T10:10:00.000-07:00

This last weekend, Jacinda and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary with a trip down to the OC. It was great, we had a fondue dinner at the melting pot in thousand oaks, went to costa mesa for some shopping, had lobster at the ocean house right across the street from the santa monica beach, breakfast on the sand in paradise cove, looked at old stuff at the getty center and strolled along the shops of montana ave in santa monica. it was there that we saw the "biggest loser" first season winner, gary. I am always the one that spots the "famous" people. We were just checking out all the shops and i spot gary as he says, "hey, i'm going to go grab a banana". I'm not a really big starstruck kind of guy. I do enjoy knowing what other peoples lives are, but in the end, we are all just humans. we all go to the bathroom. they just use much more expensive toilet paper. anyways, I don't like to interrupt their lives too much either, unless it was someone huge that i would really want to meet like chris martin, bono, matt redman, keifer sutherland... some of the "big" people in my mind. so, i just follow this guy into a supermarket until i can tell jacinda who he is. then, we check out his wife and friends (he's still trim by the way) and go on about our day. little victory for us. i don't know, we're just big geeks that get excited about little things. last year for our anniversary i rented a black convertible bmw 330ci and we bought a star map and drove around hollywood/bel air/brentwood for hours looking at all these enormous homes. back to the story, we were walking the 3rd street promenade after grubbing on some seafood goodness and we, i mean i...spot josh groban. jacinda kind of freaked on that one, but again, we left him alone. it must be nice for them to go out somewhere where people don't really bug them. i mean, i'm sure celebrities walk those streets all the time. so, that was it for "lifestyles of the rich and famous". although i did see a convertible rolls royce cornisch. those are super expensive, but ugly. I'll post some pics and more about the weekend when i get my pics all imported. plus, i hate really long posts.

Taylor Hicks won, but someone else stole the show!

2006-05-24T23:26:00.000-07:00

and, no, it wasn't clay aiken. it was the guy that they pulled up on stage from winning some stupid idol award. this guy couldn't sing a lick, but he obviously idolized aiken. so, they bring him out to sing one of aiken's songs and 20 seconds into it, clay comes out and the guys jumps 4 feet off the ground. seriously, if you guys didn't see that, you better find someone with a tivo because jacinda and i almost fell off the couch. the "guy" responded like a 9-year old girl would've reacted to last season's bruding constantine. no worse. it was like watching those old videos of when michael jackson would come into a town and all the girls are just screaming and jumping and fainting. you gotta love the way idol exploits people!

Upcoming Weekend

2006-05-24T07:54:00.000-07:00

I am ready! this weekend is me and jacinda's 5 year anniversary and we are taking off friday morning for a long weekend in santa monica. i have been working like a dog and she has been doing so much around the house that we are in great need of a little vacation. we are going to chill, drive, enjoy the weather, the beach, the food. we're going to try some different things this time, drive down to laguna beach and see if we can spot kristen , lc, and talan. just kidding! if any of you know who i am talking about you are just as teenie bopper as we are! So, 2 more days of work. then it's off to the beach.

D-Day for 24

2006-05-22T10:19:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the night for the season finale of 24 and my heart's already pumping. we are going over to another family's house to have a full-on potluck, season finale party. coolest thing about it...it's our associate pastor's house. 24 transcends all cultural barriers. or should i say jack bauer. there hasn't been a character this loved in TV since Gilligan; or for me DJ Tanner on Full House. man i had a crush on her! i just know that tonight they are going to throw some new character into the mix. you can't ever figure the show out because they are always throwing in new loops and conspiracies. gotta love it. so, to all my other 24 fans...don't worry i won't be calling you tonight. but i will be watching with some of you, so until then... "there's no time"

guys night out

2006-05-20T08:23:00.000-07:00

last night me and a bunch of guys from the college group i work with went to yosemite fitness. they have a big indoor rock climbing wall and a freestyle boulder. blake was all into it and even had his own belt. a couple of the guys were really good at it. it's all about weight to strength ratio. the tall, skinny guys could fly up the wall. on my first attempt up, i got where if i fell from the height i was at, it would probably hurt. i wanted to test the ropes ability to save my life. now, it wasn't a rope that someone was spotting me on, it's this rope attached to the ceiling with this measuring tape kind of kick back. so, as you go up, it retracts and when you fall down, it slows you down. see, the problem is that before i went there were a bunch of little 50 pound kids doing this. would you think that the same little rope thing that held them would work for me? i didn't so, i jumped. it didn't go nice and slow and i landed on my back! i tried the wall one more official time, but when i got to that certain height, i got nervous again. it was fun watching some of the other guys though. the guys who worked there were really good and so we all just watched them do their little tricks.

If you can't have a mac, at least go big

2006-05-19T08:34:00.000-07:00

it's christmas at morgan stanley! yesterday we got brand new Dell 19" LCD's. honestly, i can't believe it. has anyone worked in a corporate setting where they get something new and it is actually the new thing? when i was at bank of america, they upgraded our screens to lcd but they were like 1st generation screens that looked terrible and were bulky. finally, i got the newest thing. this screen is awesome, so even though i have to use the pc, at least it looks pretty!

yawn

2006-05-18T07:34:00.000-07:00

another lond day yesterday. woke up early, or should i say, on time, did my thing, ate breakfast, went to work, gym, and home again. jacinda and i were both beat, but kiara...bouncing off the walls. we kept expecting her to just crash because of the amount of energy she had expended all day. nope. we were watching american idol from the night before and she just danced to every song. but, she went to bed relatively easy and jacinda and i tried to stay awake to watch the idol "kick-off" show. to fill our time, we watched alias. jacinda fell asleep and by 9:15, we were in bed. so, we didn't see who got kicked off and now i'm scared to go read everyone else's blogs, because i know there will be stuff out there about it. maybe tonight we can watch and find out for ourselves. but, for how popular that show is around my office, i doubt i'll make it.

Someone Else's Words

2006-05-17T07:27:00.000-07:00

I have a devotional entitled "reflections for ragamuffins" by brennan manning. if you ever thought you were anything, then you need to start reading this guy. his love for people and brokenness of heart aka a ragamuffin, is amazing. although i don't believe he represents the entire spectrum of what a christian should be, he will definitely be a great aid in knocking you off your high horse and teach you to rest in the Lord. check out this quote from today's reading. "legalistic christianity" this is the God of the gospel of grace. a God who, out of love for us, sent the only Son he ever had wrapped in our skin. He learned how to walk, stumbled and fell, cried for His milk, sweated blood in the night, was lashed with a whip and showered with spit, was fixed to a cross, and died whispering forgiveness on us all. the God of the legalistic Christian, on the other hand, is often unpredictable, erratic, and capable of all manner of prejudices. when we view God this way, we feel compelled to engage in some sort of magic to appease Him. Sunday worship becomes a superstitious insurance policy against His whims. this God expects people to be perfect and to be in perpetual control of their feelings and thoughts. when broken people with this concept of God fail--as inevitably they must--they usually expect punishment. so, they persevere in religious practices as they struggle to maintain a hollow image of a perfect self. the struggle itself is exhausting. the legalists can never live up to the expectations they project on God. He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: 'these people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. they worship Me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'" Mark 7:6-7

another night out

2006-05-16T08:47:00.000-07:00

jacinda and i went out last night on our weekly monday night date. we caught an early movie, "just my luck". let me preface this by saying, jacinda and i are complete teeny-boppers. we love stupid, cheesy movies like this one, we love justin timberlake, we love really shallow shows like, "america's next top model" and "laguna beach". i don't know why, but we are just entertained by these things. so, just my luck, wasn't half bad. i really didn't expect much after lindsay lohan's "herbie" movie, which was terrible. she still seems kind of young to pull off the whole, working adult, thing, but the movie was entertaining. afterwards, jacinda and i took 15 minutes to decide where to go to dinner and ended up at logan's steakhouse. this is relatively new to fresno, maybe a couple years, but jacinda had never been there. the coolest part about the place is that they give you a bowl of peanuts, you crack them, and throw the shells on the floor. so, by the end of the night it starts looking like barnum and bailey's circus tent. when we got home, kiara was still awake, and she said in her really cute little voice, "come lay by me daddy". can't say no. so, i laid down next to her in bed until she relaxed. it was one of those special dad/daughter moments where you're just looking into each other's eyes and talking. i asked her, "do you want to go to the beach this weekend?" she got excited and said, "we go to the park daddy?" yes, kiara. "push me on the swing daddy?" yes, baby. now close your eyes. oh, man, she is so cute. thank you Lord for the blessing of a daughter.

i don't know if i should laugh or be scared

2006-05-12T09:08:00.000-07:00

okay, if you've grown up in church, this is going to be awesome. felt boards and all. I know a lot of you have seen this video, but it's always good for a laugh. go check out the white dj and "baby got book". We showed this in the college group about a year ago and didn't tell them we were joking. it was great to watch their expressions as they watched "sir read-a-lot".

who can break this streak?

2006-05-12T08:48:00.000-07:00

yesterday we had our annual Morgan Stanley office golf tournament. we play it as a scramble, or best ball game. it was really fun, but every year, they have it on a thursday and that is when we have college group. i was thinking of ditching the church service, but as i said in my previous post, we had a new bass player and drummer, so i couldn't let them down. last year, same thing happenned. i had to leave after 13 holes, but my team went on to win. supposedly some of the guys went out for drinks after and one of my teammates admitted to some guys that once i left, they started cheating, so needless to say, i've been razzed about this whole thing for a year now. my team yesterday...won! oh yeah, all 4 of us played pretty darn good. i got to play for 9 holes and made the break home. out of those 9, they used 4 of my drives, i sunk one killer putt, and i ate a sandwich. i know the sandwich thing isn't very cool, but i didn't do anything else better. we finished 14 under and killed the competition (i think the closest was 9 under). so, i paid $50 to play, but won $40 of it back. nice.

the day has finally come!

2006-05-11T09:34:00.000-07:00

no, i'm not going to see weezer again, but i thought it was a cool picture of a band, why? because tonight at college group, we will have a full band. acoustic, electric, bass, drums, and 2 vocals. kickin'! it has been quite sometime since we have led worship with a full band...probably around last september. we consider worship to be one of the cornestones of our college ministry. the group has been amazing and patient while just jacinda and i sang and nick and i played our acoustics. despite the lack of sound, our group's worship has kicked it up a notch. you wouldn't think it with just two acoustic guitars, but these guys get excited to worship because it's not about me or the music...it's about the God they worship. even though the music fades, i'm really amped about tonight and trying out a new drummer. we've played with the bass player many times, so i know he's going to hold it down. it's just been a battle at finding a drummer who is good and who is devoted to our church and to our cause.

Nothing Compares

2006-05-10T08:02:00.000-07:00

so, last night jacinda and i sat down and caught up on some alias. this used to be our favorite show. i own the first 2 seasons on dvd, we used to have sunday night parties at our house with a bunch of people, just to watch alias. if you talked while the show was on, you got an extremely quick reprimand from about a dozen people saying, "shut up!" it started going downhill about the 3rd season. it started really slow and ended up being pretty good at the season close. this season, season five, it's like they are just a bunch of mini-sagas where it always ends really clean. it used to be that you were on the edge of your seat by the end and that black screen saying, "alias" with just make everybody scream and moan that, "i can't believe it's over" or "dangit, i wonder if _____ will make it through". not anymore. now it's like, oh sydney's in trouble, oh there's still 20 minutes left, she'll get out of it. so, i'm glad this is the last season. oh, and it just kind of seems a little far fetched and hokey compared to...the man...Jack Bauer. Singing: "nothing compares, nothing compares...to you" seriously, i love this guy and this show. and no, eric, i don't want jack bauer to die and i would never wish that on him, i was just saying how extreme this show is and how it just wouldn't be exactly fitting if it ended with him walking off into the sunset with no more problems or worries. he is a tormented hero and that is why we love him. he's got issues like us, yet, he kicks the bad guys butt. we're a couple episodes behind right now, so jacinda and i are kinda chomping at the bit. last night after watching alias, we were both lying in bed, unfulfilled, and i said, i kinda wish we had spent our time a little more wisely and watched 24. we laughed and agreed. there's just nothing like it. it's got that "crack" quality, kind of like McDonalds for kids. what's the deal?

Was it ever really impossible?

2006-05-09T09:33:00.000-07:00

last night jacinda and i went and saw mission impossible 3. it was pretty intense throughout the entire movie. i gotta say, i love movies and i love going to the movies. i am a huge movie buff, but i just like to be entertained. i'm not all into the angles and the directors and the producing and all the background. i don't even care if the british character has an irish accent. it doesn't bother me. so, mi3...very entertaining. but is there ever a point where you think the main character is going to die? i don't think so. the only show that i've ever seen blow away a "good guy" main character ("bad guys" get blown away all the time) is 24. there are just no limits to that show except for jack bauer and if they do it right, that's how they'll end the season, killing jack bauer...for good. that would be shocking. so in closing, i just love to escape and be made to laugh, cry (that's right, i cry at movies, even some commercials), get angry, anxious, or even made to think maybe i have special powers (there is no spoon). that's why i go to the movies. can't wait until summer. hopefully there will be some great flicks.

posting from the east bay

2006-05-07T11:02:00.000-07:00

so, kiara was crying at church, so i just took her out of the service, but they got computers in the lobby, so what do i do...blog. So, I'm at my buddy's church, fully alive. Ray & Jen Wizbowski used to be our college pastors in fresno and ray was one of my groomsmen. so, now they live in foster city and so we're chilling in the bay this weekend. well, i better go back into church.

Church, the way it should be

2006-05-04T09:04:00.000-07:00

I was reading mark driscoll's blog who is the pastor of mars hill church up in seattle. he calls it resurgence. anyway, he referenced a king of the hill episode where the family goes "shopping" for a new church. it's pretty funny because the whole episode the husband is trying to avoid going to the mega church where they have a coffee store and high def tv's. it's pretty funny. you can watch the highlights here. I don't normally watch king of the hill. i didn't find it all that funny, but this is a good premise. enjoy.

Get ready to laugh

2006-05-03T08:44:00.000-07:00

okay, you need to go check out fellow blogger, Dustin Bryson's, site. He has some great stuff on there. But, what you really need to see is the video that he posted with today. I'll just say that it involves nose clippers. Check it out HERE.

Sorry for all those using PC's!

2006-05-02T10:04:00.000-07:00

If you guys want a good laugh and you love mac, go check out their new ads about the difference between PC and Mac. These are really pretty good and the best part is how they made the mac guy all young, friendly, and casual and the pc guy looks like Milton from office space in a cheap suit. Enjoy.

Relaxing Weekend

2006-05-01T18:43:00.000-07:00

This weekend was great. It started off kind of hectic. I led worship for this "city-wide" meeting at our church. It actually turned out to be more like 15 minutes of filler music for a crowd of maybe 60. The guy who spoke's main objective is to teach people how to witness on the golf course. It's always good to tell others about Jesus, but this was so niche market, the target audience was only like 3 guys. needless to say, i left right after i played. i apologize if anyone from the conference reads this and is offended, because there were people there who worshipped, but the majority could've cared less that someone was trying to lead them into worship. but i lead worship, so maybe it is just me that cares. led again saturday morning and again left right after worship, but this time to head to the coast and cayucos. our "sunday school" class, which we call the "yound married class" took a much needed vacation to the beach. there were 6 couples that went and the mix was perfect. everyone got along and had a great time. good food, too much food, wiffle ball with the guys...josh frese won, clam chowder, mclintock's bone in rib-eye steak, hanging with my girl, our good friends mignon and steve, and just chillin'. when can we go again?

Best of...

2006-04-28T08:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, i don't know if you've ever seen this show, it's actually been a while for me. i just kind of lost interest, but anyway, today is going to be a total cop-out day for me as i am going to post some things that i came across on other people's blogs. First of all, check this message that a church visitor left for the pastor: CLICK HERE After you're done laughing at this guy who quotes Scripture from 1st Acts, check out my mochochino friend, Los HERE and take the alllooksame? questionnaire. I totally jacked up and out of 18 people I only got 3! Post your score on his site.

Blew a gut

2006-04-26T14:37:00.000-07:00

I am in love with "the office". i just watched last weeks episode (i tivo'd it) and i was laughing so hard i was curled up in a ball. the whole premise of an office fight and going to the dojo and duking it out was hilarious. the characters are so good and even though it doesn't seem like much is going on, they just make it so interesting and funny. it's kind of like a newer take on the whole seinfeld thing with a documentary film style. it just makes me laugh. you should watch it. Top 5 shows on TV: 1. 24 2. Scrubs 3. The Office 4. How I Met Your Mother 5. CSI: Miami What are your top 5? don't think, just do it.

unable to post

2006-04-25T08:02:00.000-07:00

So, i don't know what went wrong, but i couldn't post anything yesterday. everytime i tried, i would get an error message. i'm about ready to drop blogger and go with typepad. i'm kind of jealous of all you typepad people. i know you gotta pay a little, but the template is so easy! we'll see... anyways, we had a great weekend in riverside visiting los, heather, and the kids. it was sohaila's 4th birthday, so we made the 4.5 hour drive to give her a princess doll and so kiara could see her best friends. los and i ran all over town trying to find this john deere driveable tractor and i almost lost the dozen or so balloons while trying to get the thing in the car. the party was fun, bunch of little kids running around, playing "pin the nose on sohaila", and eating the funfetti cupcakes that i made, yeah you heard it right, i made cupcakes. sunday morning was awesome going to sandals and having an awesome time of worship, then it hit...dun, dun, dun...kiara got lice. jacinda spent 3 hours picking through her hair, we left over 3 hours late to get home, and now i got the heebie-jeebie's because i think there are bugs on me. there aren't, but it's like when you kill a spider in your house, you just think there are more around you. we don't know how she got them, or where, but believe it or not, it has nothing to do with hygiene. i read one article from this dr. at harvard that said, you could take a hot shower, but all you'll get is clean lice. anyways, gotta go, work to do.

annoying ringtones (you know you like em)

2006-04-20T15:07:00.000-07:00

Download your new ringtone from Passion 06. I chose Marvelous Light. I've been loving that song and playing it a lot at college group.

Road Trip on a Wednesday!

2006-04-20T13:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, a wednesday, jacinda and i took a drive with blake and lisa james. blake is our college pastor and we went in search of a campsite in pismo beach. we found it. enter the beach from oceano and take a two mile drive along the beach (on the beach) which is known as sand highway. then, pick your chunk of sand. i can't wait until we take the college group back there in a couple months. it's going to be awesome with sand football, beach, water, skim boarding, dune buggees, worship, just hangin' out, clam chowder, breakfast on the beach... We introduced blake to the splash cafe. best clam chowder. ever. go there, get a bowl of chowder, a toasted loaf and start dippin'. not too many things that beat hangin' at the beach with friends, chowder, and a cool breeze.

a stroll down memory lane

2006-04-18T08:12:00.000-07:00

Can anyone remember where this is from? when i saw this t-shirt so many memories came back of elementary school. just a short post today, super busy at work.

Still Working

2006-04-17T10:18:00.000-07:00

so, i tried working all weekend on this stupid blog. i searched for templates, sifted through html code, which i know absolutely nothing about, got it set-up to the way i liked, but jacinda didn't. new design, new banner, more coding, save...something's wrong. so, if you looked last night, my blog looked like something put together on an apple IIe computer. so, we're back up today, taking some time from work to get it all going because i couldn't handle having it not working. So, here's the first post with the new design. i like it, but i'm not impressed. i just kind of hit the wall of knowledge that, to do anything cooler, i'm going to have to read a book or do a tutorial or something. maybe i'll just switch to typepad like los. it would be so much easier. But for now, it'll have to do. this pic is from whittaker woman's blog. she's got a couple up of the girls from when they visited. LA is calling me. We'll be there this weekend...can't wait to see you guys!

Under Construction

2006-04-15T10:26:00.000-07:00

Trying to do some updating on my blog, while trying to spend time with my family, so it might be slow, but I'm trying to spruce it all up.

New Albums!

2006-04-12T14:55:00.000-07:00

Passion's new album, "everything glorious". I'm a total fan of anything that passion puts out. some of the songs you may have heard before, but if you're not a huge worship buff, here's a cd where you can get chris tomlin, charlie hall, matt redman, and david crowder all on one album. okay, so if you asked me about hillsong a year ago, i would've said, i hate it. i'm still not a fan of the darlene zschech/reuben morgan stuff. but joel houston and marty sampson, who are the "united" guys are tearing it up. they are quickly becoming my new favorites in the worship music realm. I haven't listened to either one yet, so i'll talk more about them later. i need a good long road trip to really get a feeling for them. maybe in a couple weeks.

Is it the end?

2006-04-12T08:12:00.000-07:00

Could it be the end of diapers? Jacinda has been pursuing the whole potty-training thing with Kiara lately. last night was the first attempt of sleeping with "big girl panties". I hate saying that word...panties. i don't know why, but i just feel fem everytime i say it. anyway, kiara gave me a call this morning to say, "my bed dry daddy! no potty!" my little girl is growing up. i never thought i would be sad that i'm not changing diapers anymore, but i am. many more things to look forward too, plus one more baby coming to have all those "memories" with.

Date Night

2006-04-10T19:13:00.000-07:00

I am posting from java jim's, sorry, no website to reference. jacinda and i just ate at tahoe joe's steakhouse. we are not hi-rollers, but i fixed some lady at works laptop and set up her son's itunes and ipod, so she gave me a $50 gift certificate. thanks tracy! so now we are sipping some coffee, okay mine is a cookies and cream frappacino, but it's got coffee in it...somewhere. we're going to plan our anniversary vacation, so i'll post again later.

TGIF

2006-04-10T07:28:00.000-07:00

It's friday night, and the mood is right. Gonna have some fun, show you how it's done...TGIF. Does anyone else remember those days? Full House, Family Matters, Step by Step (not the new kids on the block, believe me, i'd know) anyways, jacinda and i hung out with our younger brothers and sisters and their respective boyfriends/girlfriends: dave and jessica, marissa and pete. we all met up at dog house grill and i have found a new love. her name...steak cobb salad! so, we're hanging out, eating, laughing, and in walks los and heather from riverside. We hung with them for a little, then left to go to the game. I have been to 3 hockey games now, 1 at the pond (thanks los) and two falcons games. but, at this game, i came across something i had never experienced before...no fights! what's the deal? i am relying on you guys to be aggressive so that i can live vicariously through you! i want to act like i'm punching my brother in the stomach and pull his shirt over his head in the parking lot after the game. i want the adrenaline rush. nope...didn't ever quite get there. the falcons are #1 in their league, but they lost 3-6 in this game. they played the "alaska aces" and they must not be as well funded as the falcons because they all have business names on their jerseys right across the butt. funny thing is, one guy's ad, (right across his butt mind you) said, "natural pantry". i don't know about you, but my brother and i thought that was hilarious. saturday we hooked up with the whittakers once again for breakfast, family lunch with jacinda's dad and step sister plus kids, and off to mcdonald's for another friend who has kids' birthday party. what is it about mcdonald's that kids love so much? it's like the disneyland of restaurants to a two year old. it was jenna's 2nd birthday, one of kiara's little friends from church, which basically means one of our friends kids. she was super excited as well as all the kids playing on the playground. it's always funny to see all the dads try to climb through the tunnels with their kids.

tired of being tired

2006-04-06T10:22:00.000-07:00

when are we supposed to find the time to work out! i know that it is good for me, it actually gives me more energy, and i enjoy doing things in the outdoors, but man, waking up at 5am, to work at 6:30, not getting home until almost 5pm, eating dinner, putting kiara to bed, and then 30 minutes later, we go to bed. where is there time in that schedule. i'm sure it's similar to most of you out there as well. i have been going on my way home from work, but i hate taking time away from my family. life gets busy, functions at night and i start slipping. so this week i've gone on monday and wednesday and i'm feeling it today. a little sore, but it feels good (it's been two weeks). sometimes i just wake up and think, maybe God made me all fit overnight, then i look in the mirror...nope, gotta keep going to the gym. sometimes i wish that i still had to go to PE everyday.

i can't help it, i'm just a chick magnet

2006-04-05T07:22:00.000-07:00

yep, it's true! we're having another girl. jacinda and i planned on having two kids, so this is the completion of our family. final score 3 to 1. i'm in big trouble. two colleges, two weddings, two wardrobes, 200 pairs of shoes. please join jacinda and i in praying for a continued healthy pregnancy and healthy baby. i have two other friends with 2 girls, so we'll hang out! i can't wait to see how God (there you go angela: He deserves to be capitalized!) shapes and forms this little miracle. that's why babies are so amazing. they are from two people, but you never really know who they will most take after. a client of mine told me a funny "redneck parable" if you will when i mentioned we were finding out the sex of the baby. he said, "you better hope you're having a boy". i replied with "why's that?" he shot back, "if you have a boy you just have to worry about one penis, if you have a girl...you have to worry about all the rest!" HA! i thought that was pretty funny, but seriously, does anyone know where i can get a cheap shotgun?

new tradition.

2006-04-04T08:12:00.000-07:00

jacinda and i started a new thing, monday night date night. my parents come over to our house, watch kiara, and we go out. so last night jacinda cooked an awesome dinner of grilled chicken with this tomato, olive, and artichoke heart topping with feta cheese and homemade mac & cheese (my favorite) for my parents and us. then we left the kid at home and went out. as you may have noticed in previous posts, when jacinda is pregnant, she really likes desserts. so we hit claim jumper to have dessert and to plan our upcoming anniversary weekend. it was fun to go to a nice restaurant and just have dessert. by the way, we find out today whether it's or boy or girl brewing in the belly of my wife. i'll let you know tomorrow!

can you walk the line?

2006-04-02T17:24:00.000-07:00

jacinda and i finally sat down and watched "walk the line" saturday night. i have to say that i was unaware of cash's life. i know who he was, but i don't have any of his records and i didn't jump on the recent cash bandwagon. it was pretty good, great acting, but i'm not any bigger of a fan now. my favorite line was when the record company guys were saying that the christians didn't want to see him talking and singing to rapists and murders and he said, "well they're not christians then". otherwise, i was actually kind of bored. the whole repeat behavior thing with cash on drugs got pretty old. well, i better go. i'm posting from our pastor's house on his 12" powerbook and we're about to start our leadership meeting. i gotta grab my pizza and grab a seat. i really want to spend some time on my blog, but i haven't been able to dedicate myself to it. hopefully soon, i really haven't been listening to just those 3 cd's for the past 2 months.

Teagames.com

2006-03-31T08:53:00.000-08:00

Don't say I never gave you anything. I love this stupid site. My favorites are: Blueprint, any of the BMX games, and Eagle Eye. Good luck. Teagames.com - Play Online Games

Flickr! update

2006-03-29T09:08:00.000-08:00

that straw is not sane...it is crazy! so jacinda and i just heard this horror story about myspace and flickr. some good friends of ours had the flickr account and the whole myspace thing. his younger sister had a myspace. some dude that she apparently turned down in high school created this porn site with pictures of her from all of the above mentioned sites infused with real porn pictures that he must have found on the net. fact: she is not a porn star. fact: she didn't have any provocative pictures on the net. this guy infused her normal pics with porn to make it look as if all the pictures were her. pretty crazy hugh! so, needless to say, i will still put pictures on my posts, but as far as my flickr photo albums, they will be limited to private members (friends and family). if you need a password to my accounts, email me and i will send you an invite. thanks for understanding and i hope this protects us a little! also, i dumped myspace along time ago, and i know that it is fun, but there is a lot of crap out there on myspace and a lot of crap happening because of myspace.

What's in a name?

2006-03-29T08:51:00.000-08:00

here's the poster for the concert we went to the other night. okay, "nuke infusion" was the name of the band we went to go see. the lead singer/guitar player is phil harvey, which happens to be jacinda's uncle. we always think it is kind of weird that he is our uncle, when he is only a couple years older than us. here is a great picture of mr. phil. please disregard jacinda's step-brother's hand in the background. i had never been to club fred before and let me tell, you...it was quality. it reminded me of vegas and it was so dark, the walls could've been painted bright green and i couldn't tell. one more pic of phil rocking out. it was a fun show. phil was actually pretty rockin'. i really liked the songs that he sung on and kind of lead. i'd pay just to go see all of jacinda's family dancing again. i should post the picture of ty dancing, but, oh what the heck...

Brain Freeze!

2006-03-28T07:55:00.000-08:00

last night i led worship for the men's dinner at our church. i do this every month. sometimes it's really good, others i feel kind of out of place. it's a bunch of great guys, but i bring the average age down pretty significantly when i'm there. anyway, i skipped out early to tend to my pregnant wife and her tcby needs. tcby stands for "the country's best yogurt". it's a little frozen yogurt shop near our home and when my wife is pregnant, she craves it like no other. so i picked up the standard order, white chocolate mousse with reese's peanut butter cups and took it home. kiara, my daughter, was tearing into it, we were all just chillin on the couch listening to some rich mullins, when kiara just starts crying. we thought she bit her lip or something. she starts eating again all happy, then boom! crying again. she was eating the yogurt too fast and was getting a brain freeze. it was one of those times when you feel bad that your kid is hurting, but jacinda and i were cracking up! by the way, major prayers needed today. i will be calling a guy who used to work here who for some reason feels wronged by me. because of this, my business deal is not going through. so, today i will call him, try to see how i offended him, and apologize. honestly, to get this deal to go through i would turn the other cheek twice!

Cool Pic

2006-03-27T11:58:00.000-08:00

here is something to brighten up your monday morning. my brother sent me this pic. it looks like it might be a t-shirt. i think i might have seen it before. crazy, but good weekend. tgi friday's (lots of flare) and cold-stone creamery with jacinda's sister and boyfriend pete. it was a lot of fun. we actually had planned on going bowling, you know, something that you can do to pass the time and still feel like you're hanging out with someone, but when we got there it was an hour wait. for bowling! so, we decided we were actually enjoying each other's company so we hit cold stone and ate our ice cream outside with live music playing at the mexican restaurant a couple doors down. saturday, no snowboarding. stayed home and glad i did. it dumped slush at a very speedy rate. heard it wasn't too good, so maybe next time. saturday night was emma's 26th birthday. we gave her a little birthday greeting from her native land, romania. yesht o persoana day notah zeh-chey. la mults ahn! don't ask, i don't remember. sunday, I was sick with stomach issues, kissed the porcelain throne a couple times, missed church, went to a baby shower, ate alfredo, big mistake, spent the rest of the day on the couch. oh, work update. nothing yet. all the important players are back in town, so hopefully we'll see something good happen this week. by the grace of god!

Great quote

2006-03-24T08:03:00.000-08:00

this is brennan manning's new book. manning has written several other great books including, "the ragamuffin gospel", "abba's child", and a devotional that i am currently using, "reflections for ragamuffins". i haven't read this book, but i'm putting it on my list. also, if you haven't noticed, i'm trying the whole, lower case lettering thing. it's so much easier and faster. plus, i think it looks cool. i found this quote from the book on church marketing sucks : Heightened by what someone has called "the agnosticism of inattention"--the lack of personal discipline to overcome media bombardment, sterile conversation, and utilitarian relationships--our self-awareness grows dim, the presence of a loving God fades into the distance and the possibility of trust and intimacy seems less plausible. ...But so many of the things we do in our solitary moments have nothing to do with the Spirit or with the living will of God. Bothered by this dichotomy, we plunge into spiritual activities and get involved in church-related organizations and events in an effort to fill the empty space we know needs filling. Disciplined to renounce managerial control of our lives and unwilling to run the risk of living in union with Yahweh, we seek personal security and reassurance in rituals, devotions, liturgies, and prayer meetings. These structures provide a modicum of peace and promise that the comfortable piety and material possessions that constitute the sense of self will not be disturbed. But something is missing. end of quote. it is so true. blake talked on thurday night about how jesus is not in the building. the church building is not christ, his people, us, we are the church. so why do so many people pride themselves on going to three different churches, bible studies, prayer nights, worship bonfires, christian hoe-downs, full-moon festivals...i think you get the reference. the body of christ, our local body, needs to be poured into, to be nourished, to be made whole. this might not be a problem in your town, but for fresno, the college and young adult population at large is church hopping to see which one feeds them the best, which one has cooler people, which one has better worship, it really ticks me off. sometimes i just want to yell at them: just commit to something! stop being tossed from here to there and plant your roots by one stream, and build up the church body that is there.

Testing God

2006-03-24T07:50:00.000-08:00

I will be testing the Lord's hedge of protection tomorrow. I'm hittin the slopes with a group of friends. One of the guys is renting those little trickster skis and the rest of us should be boarding. Is there an age or maturity level at which you shouldn't snowboard anymore? I think it's going to come down to a physical thing I think. Have you ever just bit it flying down the mountain on a board? Guys, it hurts. Not just because you're losing skin from the sharp snow, but because your feet are locked in to this board that is flying out of control. It's really brutal on the knees and ankles. But, I barely ever really wipe out these days. This is due in large part to the avoidance of risk. Just cruisin down the slopes is what I love best. Worship went awesome last night. Jacinda and I sang a new song by Charlie Hall called, "You". If you don't have this album already, go check it out. I got a link on the right. It's called, "flying into daybreak".

Heaven from the oven

2006-03-23T09:53:00.000-08:00

Today we are celebrating one of the sales assistants that I work with's birthday. I went and got some bread from our local Great Harvest Bread Company. It was fresh out of the oven at 6:45 and it is a cinnamon raisin swirl. But this isn't just some store bought bread, this stuff is gooey and mmm, good. I highly recommend it. See if there is one of these stores by you. Click HERE.

Finding My Rest

2006-03-22T09:19:00.000-08:00

Well, no answers yet, but I am able to function now. When I heard that my business deal was halting, my heart sank. With the comments from my wife, brother, and other believers here at work, I am feeling the love. I was telling Jacinda last night how I was telling God, "just give me that joy". You know, that joy that even though things aren't the way you want them, you still can say, "praise God". So, I just talked to the Lord. We had a little pow-wow which was basically me just learning to stop moving and just shut up. God is amazing like that. I don't know what I would do with all of life's problems if I didn't have a counselor that resides in me. You could talk to friends or family, but still "He is closer than a brother". Thanks for all the emails and comments, keep praying for the situation, but just know, I'm taken care of.

Peace, Be Still

2006-03-21T07:59:00.000-08:00

Proverbs 19:23 - The Fear of the LORD leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied. This is kind of a different post for me. The bomb got dropped on me yesterday. The big business deal I've been working on for the last month has hit a road block. It could still go through, and I am praying my heart out that it will, but this is a big hurdle we just hit. I am just trying to rest in the Lord right now, knowing that He will meet our needs no matter what. Jacinda called me this morning with some exhortation from Scripture. She told me God wants to be glorified in all this. I love my wife! My mind jumps through all the different scenarios, it wanders, it tries to figure it out. I believe that God is just trying to tell me to just rest in Him. rest...rest...rest. The Lord has always taken care of my family, why not now? I know, I know...you are God, not me. I'll rest. I pray that God gives me the strength to weather the storm, that He gives me the grace to overcome it, and the peace to rest in Him. "God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in Him." - John Piper

Great Weekend

2006-03-20T08:11:00.000-08:00

This was a pretty great weekend. Nice and low-key, well after friday night at least. We had our St. Patrick's day party with a bunch of people over. It was one of those nights where me and bunch of my guys were standing outside near the BBQ and I looked inside the house to see all our wives, an average of 1.5 kids per couple, and mayhem.

Kids everywhere, chocolate coins being sqeezed into melted chocolate, green food dye on the floor, chewed up sausage in the carpet (thanks dave). My brother thought it was play-doh until he couldn't get it to squish back together! It was a great time and Jacinda and I even cleaned up completely that night before hitting the hay.

So, we have dish network, like the lowest level of it. Every once in a great while, they try to entice you by giving you some movie channels for free. This was one of those weekends. Because we have the Tivo, I just record as many as possible: Starsky and Hutch, Phantom of the Opera, Romeo & Juliet, Envy, Ray, Shrek 2, Hide and Seek, and more. It's like going to Blockbuster and renting a bunch of movies for free! That usually lasts us until they have another one of their "free trial" weekends.

We also led worship at JR's new church for the last time. It was good to be there, to help out JR and to see his family, but I am really excited to get back to our home church, Peoples Church in Fresno. It is an amazing thing, when you know that you are where you are supposed to be.

St. Patty's Day

2006-03-17T09:02:00.000-08:00

I don't really know why, but I have been amped about St. Patrick's Day this year. We are having a party tonight with bangers and mash, shamrock shakes, and all things green. I don't even know that much about irish culture, but I get excited about it.

Our last name is Hale which is Welsh in origin just like Glyn Hale who was the musical director for the BeeGees. I looked up to see what other famous people either came from Wales or were of Welsh decent. Here is a pretty good list:Russel Crowe, Tom Cruise, Dean Cain, Minnie Driver, Christian Bale, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Tommy Lee Jones, Clive Owen, Susan Sarandon, Kevin Spacey, Noah Wyle, and Robin Williams.

I guess since Wales is near Ireland, I feel some kind of affinity with anything Celtic. My family is probably only 5% Welsh, because we are all basically muts, made up of so many different worlds. I guess it is just my way of trying to know where I come from. So much of America is new, no real history, no tradition, and no respect for those that do have it. But, I always say that I am half mexican, a quarter chinese, and a quarter american; because of my enormous love for mexican food. So, what culture do you identify the most with?

Clustr Maps

2006-03-15T07:49:00.000-08:00

Here is a tool that I just started using on my blog. It is called ClustrMaps as you can see from the photo. It is down on the bottom of my side column. If you click on the map or HERE you can see my personalized map. I just started it last week, so there aren't too many hits on there yet. I have had 113 hits since March 10th. If you can see, I have a small hit on the top of South America. How cool is that! I also use Site Meter. These are both free tools. They have versions that you can pay for that do a lot more for you, but I'm using Blogger for a reason right? Does anyone know of any other tools that are similar and free?

Look Alike?

2006-03-13T16:04:00.000-08:00

Alright, my brother sent me the pic and it doesn't do the "look-alike" justice. From the side profile, our waitress totally looked like Jamie Lee-Prestley with dark hair. That is Joy on "My Name is Earl". She's one of those TV personalities that you're not too sure if you should say someone looks like. You never know if they would take it as a compliment or a dog. But, what I do know, is that my wife looks hot and my little girl look cute.

Crazy Weekend

2006-03-13T13:01:00.000-08:00

Alright, well Friday night started with a bang. Pretty much my whole family on my mom's side is born in March, so we always have one huge birthday party. This year we hit George's Armenian Restaurant. It was really good and we had at least 30 people there. Plus, our waitress looked like the armenian version of Jamie Lee-Prestley. My brother took a picture, it's crazy! Saturday involved us going to 2 little kid parties. Number 1 was at Macker's (australian for McDonald's) and I sat on a 10" stool, got sweaty taking Kiara through the tubes, and ate soft-serve ice cream with mini m&m's. Number 2 was a family deal where my 2nd cousin turned 1 and got to go at it with a cake by himself. Always a good time. Later that day, we headed over to another local church to hear John Bevere speak. If you check out my column down on the right titled, "books that will change your life", his is, "The Fear of the Lord." He is also a great speaker and we have many of his videos. But, almost as amazing as his message was the transformation of him and his wife. I tried to find a really old picture from when he had the mustache, but this is close enough. Old, corporate John: This John always wore suits, the fade was high and tight, and this picture was post-mustache. New and Improved John: What a difference! He was all modern with jeans and un-tucked shirt! I couldn't believe my eyes. After that was over (by the way, we dropped kiara off at grandma's earlier in the evening) which was by this time 9:30, we headed over to Club Fred. Talk about extremes. We went from church to bar! Jacinda's uncle who is more like our cousin because he is only a couple years older than us, who is from San Francisco, was playing at the club. His band was called, "new confusion" and it was pretty cool. I really dug the stuff that Phil sung on. A bunch of family was there. It was pretty funny because Jacinda and I dropped her dad and annette off at their friends house around midnight. It just seemed backwards somehow. Got to go now, I'll finish the rest of the weekend later.

Random thoughts

2006-03-10T08:27:00.000-08:00

These are my friends Chad and Emma Wilkinson. I have known Chad since Kindergarten, but we didn't truly become friends until second grade. So, we've only been friends for a little while! Chad is one of those friends who you can not see for months or even a year, then when you hang out, it's like nothing changed and you are right there just chillin' again. There is a link to them on the right.

Chad has been working hard on his blog, so go check it out. They are missionaries in Romania but are in the states for a couple months to raise money to buy a vehicle for their ministry. Chad is from Clovis, and his bride is a native of the country they minister in. Pretty cool story of how God can bring two people together. Anyways, make sure you check out some of the videos that he has to see what church is like on the other side of the world. Oh, and speaking of checking things out...if you have some extra money, send them a check. The really big ones like they give to race car drivers and sweepstakes winners are preferred, they are more fun to take to the bank and cash!

By the way, I am getting freaking killed right now. God is putting all kinds of people/authors/blogs in my life that are being used to prick my heart and mind. Service was great last night. Blake spoke on "freedom"...kind of. It actually turned into more of an "examine yourself" night which is always a good time. Let's see who I really am Lord. Let's see what my motives really are.

I just praise God for all that He is doing right now. My life is being tremendously blessed while my heart is being ripped out...in a good way. Still nothing solid about the work situation to tell yet. It should all go down next month.

Controversy is Stirring!

2006-03-08T09:05:00.000-08:00

Okay, so Granger Community Church in Granger, IN put this billboard up to advertise for a new series on sex that they are doing at their church. I found out about this ad thru ChurchMarketingSucks.com. This is one of my favorite sites becasue it so often makes fun of really lame church ads. So, they asked for comments on the ad. You can check out the entire discussion here. The first response says this (among several other points):

"Another question is, do the billboards use deception? This church knows that signs saying "sex talks next week at Granger" won't work, so have they resorted to a form of trickery to get people to visit their website? Is God happy with this kind of "sneaky evangelism"?"

No big deal, that's his opinion, right? So, I responded with my opinion:

"man, come on. Did Jesus use billboards? Did Jesus even go to church? It's all your opinion what you think God would do. Here's the truth...Jesus "advertised" by word of mouth. He would do a miracle, preach a sermon, etc. and people would talk. Here's the deal now. Everyone has heard of who Jesus is. Now we have to spread the message by marketing. Even if a huge miracle happened in your church there are still people who wouldn't come because they would be skeptical, or just wouldn't care about us crazy, weird Christians. I love the ad and would be proud if my church put out something like that."

So, you can disagree with me if you want. But, here's what someone wrote in response to me:

"Pretty ironic that some of you have no problem with Granger's billboards, and then we see pictures like this on your own blogs. What should that tell us about your morality standards and your credibility on this issue, Brian?"

The picture referenced was of Los' head with the boob statue from my Vegas post. I found this hilarious that someone would pull that out of context and try to tear me down with it. My response to this guy (Not sure if it really is a guy or girl, because they didn't sign in when making their comment):

"I think it's pretty ironic that "Ironic" would attack my character but not even list his name/website. At least I'm willing to put myself and my beliefs out there for people to see. If you can't stand behind your own words, then the weight of those words isn't much. Also, in terms of my morality... wow, that is a big statement to make. I'm not sure if you can judge that. James 4:11 says, 11Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. Also, when speaking of "credibility" on the isssue, I'm not sure what to say to that except that everyone here has about the same credibility level since we are all viewers of the ad. All these people have their own opinions and that is what we are giving. So, I don't see how that becomes a credibility issue unless you are more saved than I am. And since I am the worldly one, and therefore the target audience that needs to be more moral, my opinion would probably hold more weight."

So, what do you think of that? How do you feel about the billboard? Oh, and please sign in so we know who you are.

It's official

2006-03-06T12:25:00.000-08:00

Yep, I finally went to the Dr.'s office today. I have bronchitis. What a drag. I am still working today, but afraid to call anyone just to have them hear me hacking on the other side of phone while trying to talk. My voice is very weak, so I'm on 3 different medications. 1 for my sinus infection, 1 for my bronchitis, and 1 for my cough at night. I hate it when you get the pill bottle from your local pharmacist and it says, "warning: may cause dizziness". It forces you to make that decision, "do i want to stop coughing or fall over while walking?" They can do so much with modern medicine...so why all the side effects. AND, they are always random. It's like you're taking some aspirin and the warning says, "may cause your left foot to itch." so, i'm on the meds and hopefully will be back to normal in a couple days. I did lose a couple pounds because of my lack of appetite. Now if I could just get the flu... Oh, and thanks for all the comments on the Michael Vick thing. No, I don't know who he is. I saw the guy up close and I still haven't googled him to see who he is. I'll take ya'lls word for it. and Heather, I do know who Michael Jordan is...he used to play basebal for the white sox!

JR's dream comes true!

2006-03-05T16:24:00.000-08:00

Well, today Jacinda and I led worship for JR's first service. He is calling his new church, the Word of Faith Community Church. There were a little over 250 people there which was a lot more than I thought there would be. He's still looking for a full-time worship leader, but we are going to fill in for another 2 weeks. In was cool to be there for his first service and to be a part of that moment with him. He's been sitting on this vision for years and to see it finally come to fruition was amazing. We saw some old faces and several families that we've known from our church. I uploaded some pics to Flickr! So go check to see what our family has been up to.

Pictures

2006-03-04T21:25:00.000-08:00

I am going to try to update some pictures tomorrow, especially from the trip. Crossing my fingers...

I'm getting too old for this

2006-03-04T21:15:00.000-08:00

alright, we are back from Vegas. The flight was so much better this time. It was a little rough on the way out, but a perfect landing. My parents picked us up, dropped us and the luggage back at home, and then we went and picked up our little girl who was purposely made to stay awake to see us. Kiara freaked out when we came to get her and she couldn't stop hugging our necks or telling us that she loved mommy and loved daddy. That is seriously one of the best feelings ever. You should have kids just to hear that. So, staying out past 2 am three nights in a row is awesome right? Not when your internal clock is used to waking up at five and going to bed at 9. I know I am getting old, because three nights of hanging out late has summed up to me being pretty sick. I slept for eleven hours last night and woke up with my eyes practically sealed shut. So, after clearing my sinuses into a kleenex, I began to feel a little better, but my voice is gone. AND, we are leading worship for our friend JR's church opening! We had to pick songs that Jacinda is strong at and can carry by herself just in case. So, pray that my voice gets better. That's enough for now. If you want something a little more interesting to read go check this guy's site out:

Jaw Dropping

2006-03-03T18:43:00.000-08:00

Last night we went and saw the "O" show by Cirque du Soleil. It was at the Bellagio. The show was so amazing that I honestly didn't know how to react. I was just going, "no way, no way" the entire show. I cannot thouroughly do it justice. We weren't too sure about the whole show thing, but it was well worth the $150 a ticket. All four of us were just freaking out. The stage was ginormous (that's one of my wife's famous words: you can use it if you want). It was the only thing that I have ever seen that beats out Disney in detail, style, and performance. We all declare ourselves the new spokespeople for anything "O". I wonder if anyone else has seen the Cirque du Soleil shows and which they liked best. I think the next one we'll try would be Mystere. But I honestly don't know how it could be better than people flying through the air, divers, and 2 hilarious clowns. I'm posting from the airport awaiting our flight back to Fresno. I'm just praying the flight goes smoother than the one on the way here. Jacinda and I almost lost our breakfast. The plane was so squirrely, rotating side to side, barrel rolls, flips, and sharp decents to shoot at enemy targets. It's true, I swear.

It's just money!?

2006-03-02T18:06:00.000-08:00

We went out to lunch to Maggiano's little Italy. Moises and Lori-Lynn Navarro were also in Vegas for a couple days, so we met up with them. Moi, the name of the band and his nickname, is an awesome musician and worship leader. They are doing the Hume Lake gig right now, but they are about to start their northern california tour. We ate family style which let us pick two different kinds of salad, pasta, entree, and dessert. I actually am not a big fan of the Italian food. If you know me at all, then you probably know there are two things that I absolutely hate: red sauce italian food and alcohol. What combines both of those nasty things? Tiramasu. I'm not even sure if that is how you spell it, but it is so discusting that it doesn't even deserve the spell check. Now red sauce I can force down, but that cough medicine that people pay to drink just makes me hack. Jacinda and I enjoyed being in the presence of soon to be rockstars! Seriously, these guys are about to blow-up on the music/worship scene. Be looking for them. Oh, but the Creme Brulee was amazing. I could've just eaten that all day. Then, for dinner we thought we'd clean up and go to DelMonico. It is one of Emerill's restaurants and BAM! it was awesome. The reason that Carlos and I are smiling is because we hadn't yet seen the bill. Let's just say that I could've gone to city college for a semester for the price of that bill. The food was incredible. Jacinda had the Filet Mignon, and the rest of us had the bone-in rib eye. Medium rare. Perfect. Asparagus, garlic "smashed" potatoes, french onion soup. Lose $40 on craps at the venetian, win $38 at craps at the low-rent hotel next door, $320 on dinner, Relaxing in bed with my wife with nothing to do...priceless.

New Experiences

2006-03-01T11:42:00.000-08:00

So, we're here in Vegas and so far only lost money on good food! Jacinda and I flew in yesterday from FAT. Our flight was delayed for 45 minutes which meant we were there for quite some time. You see, last time I tried to fly out of Fresno to Dallas for work, I waited in line for an hour to find out that I missed the "check-in" time by 5 minutes. I wanted to yell at the guy, "no wonder people try to bomb your stupid airport!" but, didn't think that would be such a great idea. So, I listened to some stand-up by Mitch Hedberg. He isn't a dirty comic, but he has some spicy language. Thanks Dave! I was laughing so hard in the airport lobby that Jacinda was getting embarrassed. So here we are in "old-town" Vegas. All the classic sites that you are use to seeing in the pictures, except that, you can't smell pictures. It's like sitting in a bathroom while guys blow smoke at you. I know the Rat Pack used to kick it here, but that place was pretty lame. So, we headed to the south end of the strip to take in some of the finer art-driven hotels and exhibits. That is where we found this: Don't judge us, our wives were right there with us. After we experienced some art, Los introduced me to the some crap...I mean craps. We played the $3 table to get my wings. It was awesome. I was up, I was down, I rolled a seven, I was up, and I ended even. Not bad for a couple hours of entertainment. I think I might even get up enough courage to gamble at our hotel (Venetian has $10 minimums). We'll see. Oh, and we saw Michael Vick in our restaurant. Los and I chased after him like an elementary kid meeting a jr. high football star.

Getting Anxious

2006-02-23T12:44:00.000-08:00

I have been so stinking busy lately that I haven't had time to post. So lunchtime break and here it is. I was sick all day yesterday, not sure if it was bad food, or the flu. Whatever it was, it kept me on the couch. Besides my physical impairities it was actually kind of nice to just sit and veg. I caught up on some serious Tivo time. CSI Miami, Without a Trace, Four Kings, Grey's Anatomy, Biggest Loser. Also watched 2 movies: some old nicholas cage movie, "fire birds"? and "that thing you do", one of my favorites.

I don't know why, but I am helpless when I am sick. I can't read, I can't surf the net, I don't even like eating. I am one pitiful mess and I praise God for a wife who goes non-stop with no time for herself. Hopefully next week she will be able to relax as we hit vegas for our trip.

It feels like I have senior-itus. I have a lot of work to do, but I am so excited for our trip. Also, big things happening with work. I'll blog as soon as all the details are worked out. Just know that God always provides as soon as we figure out that we can't.

A True Story

2006-02-17T08:37:00.000-08:00

Okay, this man to the left is Shaun Groves. I have been reading his blog for awhile now. Always witty, delving into thought provoking questions of the faith. But a little over two weeks ago, that all changed. He is a musician who has three albums on a major label. He is a husband, a father, and he is real. He is part of a group called Ikon. In the last week, Shaun has gotten really honest with his readers. He has battled depression, doubt, and truth. Please...Please go read his story. Click Here. You need to scroll down and start reading on his February 12th entry. This will take you awhile. Maybe even an hour, but trust me, print it out, read it on your break... today. Please.

Guy Night

2006-02-16T11:35:00.000-08:00

So, Last night I was going to reconfigure my whole Home Theater set-up when I got a call from Dave Lebda. Amanda, his wife, is chilling with my wife down in the inland empire, so Dave called me and we through our steaks on the BBQ. His help was greatly appreciated especially since my new TV weighs like 160 pounds! But, we got it all organized, grabbed our steaks, I made some pasta thing from a box, and drank my other favorite, Wild Cherry Pepsi. It was nice to just chill, talk, eat some good meat, and watch the Olympics. This was my first time this year to actually watch them. So the girl above, Lindsey Kildow wiped out so freaking hard the day before that she was airlifted to the hospital. It had something to do with her pelvic area, but she fell so hard that her ski suit actually ripped on impact. She competed last night, and that is the victory in my book. Check out this statement: "Not racing wasn't an option. I was gonna go through everything I could today to start and I really wasn't thinking about not racing at all. I just learned that your body can go through a lot. And that you can push yourself as far as you want to push it." My first thought: Where is that kind of devotion in my life. Where is that passion that pushes me. I pray to God all the time for that kind of zeal for my faith. Last night I was so pumped up that I couldn't fall asleep. I normally go to bed before 10pm because I get up at 5am to go to work. The Stock Market opens at 6:30 here on the west coast. But, last night, even though I knew I had to wake up early, I was just driven to organize, clean, work, anything I could do productive at that time of night. I ended up not hitting the pillow until 1:30am. I just pray that God gives me that kind of spiritual vigor. Do you ever just want something so bad that you don't even know what to say or do? It's like my mind get's stalled. Anyway, I put the picture below because I don't know how this actually became an Olympic event and it's hilarious to watch. It's called curling and it is like ice-shuffleboard. I know that it takes finnesse but, it doesn't seem very athletic. I would say that cheerleading would be closer to a sport than this! Yeah, you heard me, bring on the comments girls!

New Convert

2006-02-15T08:47:00.000-08:00

Bloggers: I have widened our influence. I signed my friend blake james up. So, check out his blog and make him get going. No pressure blake. Bring it. http://triplejames.blogspot.com

My Family Has Left Me!

2006-02-15T08:24:00.000-08:00

That's right on Valentine's Day. Jacinda, Kiara, and our friend Amanda all drove down to LA to visit Heather and her girls. They are hitting the Fashion District in downtown today and not coming back until Thursday Night. What does this mean for me: Chipotle, movies, sleep, and my favorite: BBQ Rib-Eye Steak.

I bought the "King's Cut" at our local grocery store last night. Even now, it is sitting in the fridge marinating to perfection with my personal recipe of herbs and spices. You see, when you are married and have kids, even Taco Bell is going to cost you $15. If you hit say, Red Robin, You're talking $30 and that's drinking water. You think, I'll just get a burger: $9, Jacinda gets a burger: $9, then you have to buy some $6 Grilled Cheese Sandwich for the kid. Ahhh! So unless you want to pay $60 for dinner @ Applebee's, you won't be eating too much steak. So tonight, I feast. I even got a six-pack of Creme Soda in the bottle (my favorite by the way!).

I love going home everyday and coming through that door and hearing Kiara scream, "Daddy Home!" Tonight won't be that good, but at least I'll have a pound of meat to dry my tears. If you're reading family: I love you. Have fun!

Vegas Baby! Vegas!

2006-02-14T11:12:00.000-08:00

In a couple weeks Jacinda and I will be hitting Las Vegas for the first time ever. We are going with our friends, Carlos and Heather. They are a little more "seasoned" at sin city, but we still need some fresh ideas. So, if you know of any restaurants, shows, clubs, or lucky casinos, let me know!

Golfing on Water

2006-02-13T09:31:00.000-08:00

No, I don't normally wear capri's with black socks. I was just rolling up the pants so that I didn't get them wet. If you check out the pictures in the previous post you will see that it didn't matter. The mud slapped all the way up to my chest. Anyways, this is my first video post. My buddy Tim forwarded me the link, so I can't really take any credit for it, but I'll try this on my own soon. I promise. I have a couple great video shorts of Kiara.

Fore!

2006-02-13T07:09:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, Tim, myself, Joe, and Mike drove up to Sierra Meadows Golf Club and spent the day chasing a little white ball. Jacinda's uncle Mike is the General Manager and Pro at the club and let us all play for free. What a guy! It had been a long time since Tim and I had played and Mike is still in the beginning stages. That makes Joe the pro in our group and he proved it by beating us by almost a stroke a hole. It was a good time and lots of great memories, most of which include Mike leaving his clubs on previous holes, mike hitting someone else's ball, and mike's clubs falling off the back of his cart! Oh, and my Tiger shot out of the shallow creek. I took a bath on that one. You can see the whole slideshow here.

The Grammys!

2006-02-10T10:07:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm glad U2 cleaned up on the awards. I was actually scared that Kanye West was going to win. I don't know what it is about that guy, but I can't stand him. He is so cocky and I'm glad that he didn't win after just saying in his performance, "I better win this thing". Was it me, or was the production terrible? The sound was bad, people were getting cut-off by videos, or the videos didn't start. You would think that such a big event with all the pros, would run without a hitch. The worst was during one of U2's acceptance speaches when the speakers were buzzing in and out. When they panned to Sir Paul, he was pointing up as if to say, "what the heck was that?" Anyways, I thought it was terribly done. Man, I must be in a bad mood or something. I am going to my first local hockey game tonight. We are right on the glass, no kid, and we are hitting Dog House Grill right before. Tri-Tip steak sandwiches that will make you wish that you would never get full.

Coldplay Pics

2006-02-07T17:02:00.000-08:00

Coldplay was awesome! I can barely explain how cool it was. I don't think I'll ever go to a better concert. The whole show was honest, raw, and just enjoyable to watch. I told my buddy, carlos, http://los.typepad.com, that it was practically a spiritual experience. The way that their music just ebbed and flowed throughout the night created an atmosphere of worship. I did an entire concert review on Los' Podcast which you can find by going to www.ragamuffinsoul.com. (a must for all you worship leaders out there!) Even though Coldplay doesn't promote God in their lyrics, their music speaks to the soul. Christ Martin...I mean, Chris Martin (freudian slip) didn't seem rehearsed with his words and won over the crowd from the first word in his british accent. Everything from the rocking, "Politik:, to the mellow, "Fix You", was amazing to watch and sing-a-long to. I can't remember a concert that I've been to that the crowd was so sold out. I saw on their website that they are coming back through California in the summer, so I would definitely check them out!

Exhausted!

2006-02-07T07:25:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to let you know that I am still alive. I have been so busy this last weekend and with work this week. Thanks to all for visiting and I promise to post soon. I can't wait to tell you about the Coldplay concert and for you to see the pics.

Posting on the Road

2006-02-01T11:14:00.000-08:00

I am posting this from the lobby of our hotel in San Jose. Four guys: Trevor Jones, Nick Chandler, Derrick Bryant, and I are all hitting the Coldplay concert tonight. Last night, after we checked in we hit a bar called Tres Gringos. As most of you know, I don't drink a lick of alcohol, not because I am some spiritual superpower, but because, I've tried it...and it's nasty! But, that didn't stop me from giving the other guys a bad time. "dude, I think that is maybe the second time i've ever had to show my ID to get into a place." "ahh man, I feel like we are corrupting you." Yeah, they don't know my other friends. Anyway, they had great dollar tacos which became my dinner for the night. After seeing one of the single guys hit on a girl with her boyfriend right there, we decided to go back to the hotel. After about 5 minutes back at the hotel, we got our first noise complaint. The father in me was freaking out. "oh man, this is going on my permanent record!" But hey, we're young. I thought I was young...about 1am was all i could handle. And I was fighting to stay awake that long. The other guys didn't hit the pillow until after 3. So here we are, 11:30, eating breakfast. Normally, I would be getting ready to go to lunch. Well, today should be awesome: downtown San Jose, buying food for only one person (i can get that steak i've been wanting), and Coldplay tonight. Their songs have been blarin' on our radio, on my iPod, and being sung in our heads already. "Where do we go, nobody knows Don't ever say you're on your way down, when.. God gave you style and gave you grace And put a smile upon your face"

Going to see Coldplay

2006-01-31T10:21:00.000-08:00

My good friend, Trevor and I, plus 2 other guys are heading up to San Jose to spend the day hanging out and then hitting the HP pavilion to see Coldplay. I know you're jealous! I'll leave the video for a couple days, so check it out while you can. * I took the video out: it didn't work everytime and never with the mac world, so forget that!* Also, let me know if this works for the Mac world. I am posting from my PC at work. Darn corporate PC's!

New Photo Album

2006-01-27T10:29:00.000-08:00

We headed up to the snow last weekend. If you click the Flickr banner to the right, you can view all my photo albums. Have a browse and catch up on what my family has been doing. If you are interested, mom, once you click on an individual picture, click the icon that says, "all sizes" above the pic. From there you can download the picture right to your computer.

Knocking Down the Pedestal

2006-01-27T10:13:00.000-08:00

I am giving up on this book. I am about half-way through and I don't give a rip anymore. I really like U2. I love their music...one of my top 10 for sure. But, to read this much into their lives, I just don't care anymore. Are they Christians, aren't they? It's always the same old thing. I feel like the author has about two chapters of info that is actually interesting and he's stretching it over 300 pages. Sorry buddy. I know a lot of people care, but not me. Well, at least you already got my money. I have finally realized that God is the only one worth reading about. And the only One interesting enough to keep my attention. I can read book after book focused purely on one aspect of who God is and I eat it up. Why isn't my passion always there for Him? For some reason, I have been really into the whole U2 scene lately. All the interviews, discussions, podcasts, books...it's been everywhere. So, anyway, I am kicking down that pedestal that I put Bono on. I pray that he meets with God. I pray that he makes a difference. But, I'm done respecting a person more than they deserve. I've already lost the taste for the whole celebrity worship thing. I will always think it is interesting to see how they live, but as people, they are just like you and me with more money. In fact, a lot of them tend to show how normal they are when they open their mouth without a script. Bottom line: we are all screwed up in some way. No one is perfect, me, Bono, Kanye, the pope, my pastor. no one. So only one book for me right now. But, I'm kinda being called back to the "ragamuffin gospel" by brennan manning for a second time. hmm.

New Albums Out!

2006-01-25T09:52:00.000-08:00

I just bought these CD's yesterday, so it will take me awhile to form my official opinion on them. But, all three of these artists are so good they are on my "buy without listening" list. I have to be honest, I have very strong opinions on music, especially "christian" music, which I would argue that there isn't such a thing. Face it, a lot of music that is labeled "christian" sucks. Maybe another post, another time. Delirious has finally released another album. Delirious has been a long-time favorite of mine and the world church with songs such as "i could sing of your love forever" and "did you feel the mountains trembe". One of my personal favorite songs by Delirious is "deeper". I have also included a link to their website on the right column. Go check out this British band who is always pushing the edge of worship music. Okay, Charlie Hall. This guy is the man! We use many of his songs for worship each week. He has written songs such as: "prepare the way", "marvelous light", "my drink", "give us clean hands", and "chasing". Hall is certainly pushing himself to new levels in this new release. Again, his site is referenced below. He actually offers many resources along with complete sheet music with guitar tabs and lyrics. It's worth a visit just to see Charlie's "gnome-like" beard. Jacinda and I actually got to see him at this years, Spirit West Coast They had a Worship Together tent with worship leaders from all over teaching, training, and sharing about the way they do worship. Charlie Hall was hilarious and inspiring. Next up, another of my absolute favorites, Derek Webb. If you recognize the name it is because he was in Caedmon's Call for many years. This isn't your "feel good" kind of music although that is how it makes me feel. Webb is what I would call a wordsmith. The guy writes music that matters. He tackles theological, political, and social issues. Toget a flavor of Webb, you could get his live album, entitled "the house show" where he talks/preaches between songs. Or, get his brand new DVD, "to kill or be killed". You can get either from a great "indy-focused" site called, "Grassroots Music".

Flying Into Daybreak!

2006-01-24T07:58:00.000-08:00

Charlie Hall's newest project released today. He is one of my favorite lead-worhippers and never ceases to amaze me with his musical talent, ability to lead worship, and deep theology that keeps the songs rooted in a faith that runs deep. Go to your local music store or follow THIS LINK to buy it on iTunes. Here is a quote from the CD jacket: "Honestly, I now spend my days somewhere between learning to be brave and wanting to change the whold world...So for those who want to change the world and for those who are trying to make it through the next few hours and for everyone in between, I ask God that this collection of songs would move us out of sleep and into a place of life, ready to give. Walk brave, Christ is in You. Charlie Hall"

Our Leaders...Our Friends

2006-01-24T07:03:00.000-08:00

Last night we had dinner with Blake and Lisa James. Jacinda and I have known Blake and Lisa for years and a couple of months ago, they moved back to Fresno after being in LA for 5 years. Blake took the position of College Pastor at our church and I don't think they saw him coming. I tried to warn them, "this guy's got the energy of ten people...on crack", but did they listen? No. And it has been awesome. I truly believe that it is what our church needs. It is so great to do ministry with someone who has the passion and knowledge that Blake brings to the table. Our group has been rocked these past months and I can't wait to see it just get hammered some more. Did you know that a pine-cone must go into the ground and die, and then it starts to grow a huge tree?Right now, our group is in the process of dying! Leadership and all. I can't wait to see what God has in store. I'll keep you updated. I was talking to Blake about blogging, so hopefully we'll see a link for him pretty soon! Just trying to win some to the kingdom of blog.

I should-a bought-a honda!

2006-01-23T09:05:00.000-08:00

Okay, I did by a honda. My buddy, Los, posted this UK ad for the new Honda Civic on his site, Ragamuffin Soul. It's pretty sweet. Make sure you turn your speakers up. Check it out HERE.

A Brother in Need

2006-01-23T08:18:00.000-08:00

John Piper is one of my favorite authors. He is an amazing teacher, preacher, and writer. Beyond the Bible itself, Piper's books have had the greatest impact on my life. Try "The Pleasures of God: Meditations on God's Delight in Being God". This book rocked the foundations of what my evangelical faith assumed to be true. I have read several books by Piper and I actually now have to read another book inbetween his books because I have a tendency to put him on a pedestal. He speaks at Passion events all over our nation. You can check out his site, Desiring God, and see all of the resources. They will even send you stuff for free if you don't have the money. The reason for my post is not only to honor Piper, but to also spread the news to pray. He has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. He is scheduled to have surgery next month. To read his announcement letter of his cancer click HERE. It is amazing to see how he handles such terrible news.

Does anyone else want to be Jack Bauer?

2006-01-19T14:33:00.000-08:00

Okay, Jacinda and I are a season behind, so don't ruin anything for us. But we are watching Season 4 on DVD. We can barely stand it when an episode ends. This has got to be the best TV show ever. I thought that Alias was good, but Jack Bauer could kick Sydney Bristow's butt anyday! Honestly, if you haven't seen 24, you need to go rent it. You better have some kind of frequent flyer deal at Blockbuster, because as soon as you finish one disc, you're going to be running to go get the next one. We've actually been spoiled watching it on DVD. I don't know what we'd do if we had to wait a week between episodes. I'd probably become a geek and go on the messageboards and try to figure out what's going to happen with all the other geeks. Go. Watch it.