never been here before

I got laughed at today. Hard. It's not really embarrassing. A co-worker laughed at me. To the point where he nearly fell off his chair. I love Jay. He's a 40 yr. old man in a 24 yr. old's body. (The little brother I never had, I tell him). He's the picture of professionalism, very good at his job, yet usually isn't afraid to have fun. Today he had fun because he laughed at me. I don't remember all the details (it wasn't that interesting) but I do remember that he said something to me that made me think of a sarcastic and mean comment. I bit my tongue and said nothing. He could tell I wanted to say something, so he called me on it. I told him I wasn't going to say what I was thinking because I was simply working on being a nicer person. So he thoughtfully and sincerely asked "What brought this about?" to which I replied. "I hate people." This is where the laughter began. Incessent, non-stop laughter. For a looooooong time. So lon...

1.) I’m addicted to Orbit’s Sweet Mint gum. 2.) I am the most like my dad, but I fear I am turning into my mother. 3.) The crock pot is my favorite invention (next to the DVD player). 4.) I think The Office is one of the funniest shows on the planet. 5.) I have an aversion to the name “Robby” for an inexplicable reason. 6.) My favorite place to go is the beach - or anywhere near the ocean. 7.) Last year, for my dad’s birthday present, I surprised him by playing a guitar solo for the first time during a communion service. I played his favorite song Amazing Grace and he cried. I won’t ever play that song for anyone else. 8.) I hate Wal-Mart (for all the reasons you’d think). 9.) I hate K-Mart (but not for the reasons you’d think). 10.) I loathe JJ Abrahms. And Alias was one of my favorite shows (until Season 3). 11.) The cars I’ve owned are red, white and blue. (Not all at the same time and not on purpose.) 12.) I have an embarrassing weakness for Chick Lit. 13.) I hate the smell o...

The Colorado/Nebraska game is this Friday. I cannot even remember a time when we didn't play this team the day after Thanksgiving, nor can I remember a time when they were acually a team I enjoyed watching play the Huskers.(Be gone, oranges on the field!) One of the benefits of reading some Nebraska blogs is they often link to other blogs, one I hadn't crossed before. Read this joke to enjoy a good poke at the Buffs. Warning: offensive language. The joke is funny enough for me to still link to it, though. That being said, please don't read anything else on the blog. It makes us Nebraskans look...well.. ignorant. On the pop culture side - what the heck is OJ thinking? What an idiot.

I had a professor in college who once said, "Jesus will never ask us to do something he hasn't done himself." The process of restoration that I began nearly a year ago is still with me, if only in small pieces. I can happily say that God restored my heart this last year. Maybe not completely, for I am not sure that could ever happen on this earth, but it is restored enough so the sin that broke it down is no longer controlling it, but allowing me to move on. My heart is the epitome of Galatians 6:1. I was restored gently. A by-product of this process is that I often find myself focusing on me, me and then me again. I fear my own selfishness is simply compounded by my joy that I am set free from the junk that's kept me bound for so long. To focus on what's happened to me instead of who's happened to me places me in where I shouldn't be - at the center. Who is Jesus? His character is one of huge mystery to me. There are so many things he said that I don...

One of the overwhelming things about being a worship leader is deciding what new songs to tackle next. There's a lot of great stuff out there, but there is also just as much junk. The basic stuff I look for when choosing new songs are 1.)Does it honor God? 2.) Is it theologically correct? 3.) It is singable by most non-musicians? Once a song passes that test, the hard work for me begins. I have a keyboardist who won't just play chords; she needs sheet music. So my next hurdle is finding written-out piano music for her. If I overcome that hurdle, the next is finding it in a key that most everyone can sing it in. This is the part of my job makes me tear my hair out each time. A message to all the male, tenor worship leaders out there writing all that great music: If you are going to write it in such a high key, please make it available to us in a normal key. There are a lot of great websites that allows you to transpose the sheet music down, but I often find myself struggling to...

Haggard Resigns from New Life Church I am surprised. But at the same time I'm not. Nothing much surprises me anymore. We live in a world where anything and everythings happens to anyone and everyone. I think I would be more shocked if Donald Rumsfeld did something like this... okay, maybe not. Timing is everything, isn't it? Should it make me question the escort's motivation with election day 3 days away with a ban on gay marriage on the Colorado State ballot? It does, a little. But at the same time, I see his point. If Haggard was outspoken in his support of the ban and if Haggard did what the escort claims, it would make me want to come forward too. I've been to New Life Church. It was one of the first churches I tried out when I moved to Colorado Springs. Strangely, I remember liking the church, but not liking Haggard and his preaching style. The church is huge - and I really felt out of place and overwhelmed. So I kept looking for a church. I might feel different ab...

Back in high school, I suppose I was what most people would call a "nerd". Not because I was ridiculously smart - I'm not - but because of other gifts I had. Attending public school in a town of less than 400 residents, there weren't many options for advanced placement or "gifted student" classes. But my educational service unit offered something incredibly unique: a two week program in the summer with the chance to study with a renowned scholar in fields such as art, computer science, logic, statistics, social science, medical science, and the like. I had the pleasure of attending this program for four years. The competition was stiff - only the top ten students were accepted based on test scores or portfolios. With a little over 100 students accepted, around 400 applied. I think what these numbers say about the program, is not only that it's popular, but that public school just isn't enough, especially for gifted students. For several years in a ro...