My Thoughts – 7.6.09

 

Me in front of the Dolphin Resort fountain, Walt Disney World

Here are some of my random thoughts on a beautiful July day in Indiana.

I think that corn dogs are near the top of my list of perfect food.

BBQ Baby Back Ribs are also near the top of that list.

I still think that adults should get summer vacation.

I think that Albert Pujols is going to go down in history as the most feared right-handed hitter of all time. I was at the Cards-Reds game this past Friday night (Thanks so much TJ & Judas!!). Top of the 8th inning, 3-0 Reds. Cards only have 3 hits at this point. Poor pitching by the Reds loads the bases for Albert. Gonzo. Granny gives the Cards the lead 4-3. Reds tie the game in the bottom of the 8th. Top of the 9th, Albert hits an RBI double. Cards lead 5-4 and go on to win 7-4. His stats are staggering.

I think that I am a blessed man. Today is my birthday. It’s 10:34 AM and so far I have gotten birthday wishes from nearly 200 people. That is completely overwhelming to me.

I think a lot about the song “I Will Rise” by Chris Tomlin. Cannot wait for the MPCC Worship Choir to be back in session. We will blow the roof off with that song in the fall.

I think that Disney World is just about the most perfect place on earth. I am a total Disney addict.

I think that there is a disconnect in our country regarding the issue of patriotism and how it relates to faith. I believe we can sing songs like “God Bless America” and “America The Beautiful” as worshipful prayers to the Lord. I believe that recognizing those who have sacrificed their lives in service should happen in our worship services. They have fought to preserve our religious freedoms (among many others) and I think that in honoring them we are worshipping the Lord and giving thanks to HIM for the freedom to worship. By honoring these people we are showing the Love of Christ to our fellow citizens. In John 15:13 Jesus says, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” Though he was talking in a different context that is still a tremendous spiritual truth and these precious people deserve our gratitude for living that verse out, no matter your political ideology.

By the way, the birthday greeting list is now up to 250….it’s 10:53 AM. Again, I am completely blessed and overwhelmed.

I think it is time to go to lunch and enjoy some great Mexican food. Tonight, Dave & Busters with friends!!

Thanks for reading and for all the great birthday wishes Friends!! I would love to get your thoughts on any of the above thoughts………

Worship Matters Video Blog – 7.1.09

done

God Is Good and We Are Grateful

Tomorrow will mark the end of an absolutely fabulous vacation. I cannot find the words to describe how very grateful I am for this time away. It has been awesome. I am grateful to the Lord for these times of refreshment and the chance to unplug and recharge my batteries. 

I find myself thinking a great deal today about just how grateful I am for all that God has done in my life. I am humbled and truly grateful for salvation and my calling to ministry. I am blessed beyond words that God sent such an amazing woman to be my wife, Kim. I am so grateful for my family and for all the ways that God continues to bless us.

I am grateful for the chance to serve through both Tabor Ministries and Mt. Pleasant Christian Church. God gave us tremendous concerts this past weekend in New Port Richey, FL and we are so grateful for all the good work that He will continue to do in the lives that were impacted by the truth and power of The Gospel. I also know that this weekend at MPCC will be an awesome celebration and I am grateful for the chance to work with an amazingly talented team of staff members & volunteers.

This may sound corny but I am also very grateful for my dog, Sophie. Kim and I really miss her!

I am blessed to call some very special people friends. God has brought some wonderful people into our lives. I am grateful for each and every one of them and try to take time to let them know it! I do need to “call out” just a few of them here because they helped to make this vacation as wonderful as it has been. Thanks guys!! We love you and are so grateful for you!

I hope this inspires you to tell those special people in your life just how you feel about them! Here are some of our special friends.

Steve & Dawn Adams, Tony & Misty Javorka, Kim and me, North Captiva Island, FL

TM Update: New Port Richey Concerts

     

 

More Info At TaborMinistries.org

We are in Florida preparing for 2 morning worship concerts this Sunday at Living Word Church in New Port Richey (Tampa area). It’s been a very cool journey to see this concert happen. Kim is telling this story through a series of videos on her blog. You can view part 1 of the video series here. There will be more to come this weekend. Needless to say we are amazed by how God is at work and we look forward to seeing what HE has in store this weekend! For more information on this or other concerts, visit the On Tour tab of our web site by clicking here. 

We really don’t take these opportunities lightly. We believe that on this Sunday, June 28, we are supposed to be at this church because God has a specific plan for us and for this congregation. Many times we leave without knowing what that purpose was exactly but we trust that God’s ways are sometimes unknown to us. There have also been many times when His reason for sending us to a church is smack-us-in-the-face-obvious. Either way we are trusting that God will be at work in and through us this weekend.

Would you join us in prayer over these concerts? Here are some specific requests:
1. For open hearts & minds in the congregation
2. That God would be glorified by everything that takes place
3. That God would give us the strength and grace to boldly proclaim The Gospel of Jesus Christ
4. The physical ability to sing and play to the best of our abilities and bring glory to God by offering our gifts back to Him in worship
5. That every piece of technical equipment would work in perfect order
6. We ask that people who do not know the Lord would be in attendance and that they would respond to the Gospel and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior

We are grateful for your prayers! Thank you for standing with us. We will keep you updated.

There are several ways that you can keep in touch with our ministry:
1. Our web site: www.taborministries.org
2. Our blogs: Brian – www.briantabor.wordpress.com    AND   Kim – www.kimtabor.wordpress.com
3. Our YouTube Video Channel: www.youtube.com/TaborMinistries
4. Twitter: Brian – @brianltabor   AND   Kim – @kimtabor

We are so grateful for your prayers & support! We pray God’s richest blessings on you and your families and trust that HE will be at work in your hearts & lives!

Brian & Kim

Life Lessons: Learning To Relax

There was a time in my life when I didn’t have to work at relaxing. It was a time when I had little responsibility and could easily unplug and get away from the challenges of life. Remember that time in your life?

Just like it is for you, those days are long gone for me. Most days I am in my office at MPCC planning, creating, dreaming, praying, strategizing, leading and managing the worship and music department. I am thoroughly enjoying being there and can look back and completely see that God orchestrated the entire process. It is a wonderful church and I can see us serving at MPCC for a very long time. 

When I am not at MPCC I am at home planning, creating, dreaming, praying, strategizing, leading and working on the other part of our ministry, Tabor Ministries. For nearly 10 years now Kim and I have been traveling the country leading worship, singing and sharing The Gospel through concerts, conferences, services and retreats. TM is a real passion for us that very naturally works alongside our ministry at MPCC. We have been blessed with 5 recordings and are so humbled and grateful for the ways that God continues to use us to proclaim the good news that God wants us to live a life of freedom in HIM. 

This next Sunday we will be giving 2 ministry concerts at Living Word Church in New Port Richey, FL (Tampa area). We covet your prayers for those services. If you want to find out more about how this concert happened, check out Kim’s new blog, Finally Free. It is a very, very cool story.

Anyway, I am trying to paint the picture that at this point in my life I don’t have a tremendous amount of free time. I know I am not alone in this and many of you share the same challenges. How do you cope with the need for relaxation?

Enjoying The Ferry Boat Ride To North Captiva Island

We absolutely love to travel and right now we are enjoying some vacation time on North Captive Island, FL. Time with Kim on the beach feeds my soul. It is our first time to be here and I can tell you that after day 1, we are loving it! God is so good and we are so incredibly grateful for HIS provision in allowing us to get away like this. We needed it. 

I would love to hear back from you because I know that we are all super busy.

Seriously, how do you cope with the need to find ways to relax? What works for you? How do you balance that with family, work & service? How do you feed your soul?

I am realizing that when I don’t find time to feed my soul that my life, focus and ministry all suffer. What have you learned?

I hope that you will give me some feedback on how or what you do to stay grounded and balance the stress of life. Please take a moment to write back in the comment section. 

 

A Beautiful Sunset on Day 1, North Captive Island, FL

Guilty Pleasures: Movies

I am getting some amazing responses to the Guilty Pleasures blogs.  So far we have looked at musical tastes & television shows. Thank you for taking the time to read and respond.

Today I would like to ask for some honesty about what your favorite Guilty Pleasures are in terms of movies. If this is your first No Regrets visit let me catch you up. Wikipedia defines a guilty pleasure this way: “A guilty pleasure is something one considers pleasurable despite feeling guilt for enjoying it.[1] Often, the “guilt” involved is simply fear of others discovering one’s lowbrow or otherwise embarrassing tastes, rather than actual moral guilt. Fashion, music,[2] and food can be examples of guilty pleasures.[3]“

So that is what I’m after. What movies do you love that would be defined as a “guilty pleasure”? Seriously, if you are channel surfing what movie will make you stop and watch every single time?

Please respond by going to the Comment section and let’s hear about the movies that you love!

Ground Rules
1. This is a safe place so you can feel completely free to be honest. The more honest you are the better this will work.
2. No cracking on other peoples comments, just keep your eyes on your own back yard.

In the tradition of full disclosure, here are some of mine (I don’t have space here to include all of them):
1. Jaws (The original summer blockbuster from 1975. I still won’t swim in the ocean because of this movie.)
2. Happy Gilmore (Adam Sandler. This movie really makes me laugh.)
3. The American President (Michael Douglas. Kim makes serious fun of me for this one. But I have to watch it if it’s on.)
4. Airplane! (”Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?”)
5. The Princess Bride (”Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”)
6. Anchorman (”Ladies and gentlemen, can I please have your attention. I’ve just been handed an urgent and horrifying news story. I need all of you, to stop what you’re doing and listen. Cannonball!”) 

There you have it! You could easily find me most any late night, down in our basement watching these movies over and over and over and over again! So, let’s hear yours in the Comments section.

Worship Matters – Video Blog – 6.17.09

done

Guilty Pleasures: Television Shows

I got some amazing responses to last weeks Guilty Pleasures blog about musical tastes. Thank you for taking the time to read and respond.

This week I would like to ask for some honesty about what your favorite Guilty Pleasures are in terms of television watching. As a reminder, Wikipedia defines a guilty pleasure this way: “A guilty pleasure is something one considers pleasurable despite feeling guilt for enjoying it.^[1] Often, the “guilt” involved is simply fear of others discovering one’s lowbrow or otherwise embarrassing tastes, rather than actual moral guilt. Fashion, music,^[2] and food can be examples of guilty pleasures.^[3]“

So that is what I’m after. What do you watch on television that would be defined as a “guilty pleasure”? 

Please respond by going to the Comment section and airing your laundry!

Ground Rules
1. This is a safe place so you can feel completely free to be honest. The more honest you are the better this will work.
2. No cracking on other peoples comments, just keep your eyes on your own back yard.

In the tradition of full disclosure, here are 4 of mine:
1. Desperate Housewives (ABC)
2. Diners, Drive-ins and Dives (Food Network)
3. Gene Simmons Family Jewels (A&E)
4. Paranormal State (A&E)

There you have it! You could easily find me most any late night, down in our basement watching any one of these shows. So, let’s hear yours in the Comments section.

My Thoughts – 6.15.09

Here are some random thoughts on an overcast Indiana day……..

I think that my wife makes the best brownies in the whole world.

I think that having technology at our fingertips makes life both easier and more challenging.

I think that diets make life interesting. I have been on a self-imposed diet for about 16 days now. I am seeing progress and that feels great. 

I think Twitter is very cool and, by the way, you can follow me @brianltabor. The downside is that just like with anything else, there are knuckleheads out there that work to ruin it for everybody else. I have gotten some followers with names & pictures that would curl your toes.

I think that going for a long bike ride with Kim on my day off is just about as good as it gets.

I think that this scripture is amazing:  “The LORD himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” (Exodus 14:14)

I think that Albert Pujols will finish his career as a St. Louis Cardinal and will go down in history as one of the best and most feared right-handed hitters of all time.

What are you thinking??

Worship Matters – Live MPCC Worship Set from June 7, 2009

This is a live video recording of the worship set from Mt. Pleasant Christian Church in Greenwood, IN on Sunday, June 7, 2009 – 10:45 AM Worship service. I hope it is an encouragement to you! Be Blessed!

Set List:

1. Blessed Assurance (PraiseCharts.com – “Praise Hymns”)
2. Because Of Your Love (Paul Baloche – “A Greater Song”)
3. Mighty To Save (Hillsong “Mighty To Save”)
4. Revelation Song (Gateway Church “Living For You”)
5. How He Loves (Eddie Kirkland “Orthodoxy”)

MPCC Team
Vocals: Kim Tabor, Phill Powell & Heidi Keller (Vocal Team); Brian Tabor (Worship Leader)
Band: Aaron Hanley (Piano & Keys), Brian Rees (Percussion), Terry Hayes (Guitar), Doris Norris (Keys), Larry Manning (Bass), Sam Richardson (Guitar) & Paul Surowiak (Drums)
Tech: Scott Hoke (Audio), Joey Santos (Lights), Peggy Emard (Video Projection) & Don Dillard (Video Camera)