Some random thoughts on a fall day in Indiana.

I think that although I LOVE Indiana, I would really like it if our weather got no colder than it is right now. I wish our winters were more mild.

I think that gas prices are going crazy again. I paid over $3 a gallon yesterday. Yikes! How is that not price gouging again??

I think that the leaf colors have been beautiful this fall! Wow. I do really miss getting to Brown County with Kim. I need to make time to do that.

I think that the COLTS are finally fielding a full team…Offense, Defense & Special Teams. Lookout NFL. Peyton is in a serious zone.

I think that the Westside Market in Cleveland absolutely ROCKS! We are headed to Cleveland for concerts this weekend and I am looking forward to cruising the market.

I think that “You, You Are God” from Gateway is an awesome worship song. I am loving it right now.

I think that this Christmas at MPCC is going to be fabulous. I am excited about it!

There you have it…..have a great day everybody!!

I love technology! My wife would tell you that I am a little obsessed and I have to say that is probably true. At this point in my life I am a Blackberry guy….against my will, I might add. I watch my friends with their cool iPhones and just think, wow, one day that could be me, once I get rid of this amazingly long Sprint contract.

But, one of the things I enjoy about the Blackberry Curve is the camera. I hope you enjoy some of these random shots from the last couple of weeks. Enjoy!

"The Lion" - Here's Mara J Trying On Her Halloween Costume - ADORABLE!!

After A Lunch Meeting Joey & I Took Heidi To Mrs. Curl In Greenwood

Christmas Rehearsal at MPCC - Jerry Hacker "Bringing The Funk"

Here's A Nod To Kim - Troy Aikman's Bust - Pro Football Hall Of Fame - Canton, OH

An Indiana Highway Worker Painting Lines - Cool Job Huh?

Kim With Sandi Patty & Miss America 2009 Katie Stam

Colts vs Seahawks - From Our "Sometimes" Seats

Sophie Under The Covers

Banana Split - Smith & Wollensky - INCREDIBLE!!

Joey - In A Cowboy Shirt - Yee Haw!!

Kim and I absolutely love Mexican food. We have found decent Mexican restaurants in Indianapolis but no place that has become our “go to” place. We have had the chance to eat at some great places as we have traveled but no place locally just takes our breath away. So, we have worked on our own.

While I am not at liberty to share all of our secrets, I will give you an excellent recipe for making your own ground beef for Mexican food. This is part Rachel Ray, part Tabors. It is a really nice recipe that we enjoy eating regularly in a variety of ways.

Tabors Mexican Ground Beef

• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan
• 1 pound of ground sirloin
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 1/4 tablespoons Chili Powder
• 2 teaspoons ground Cumin
• 1 (8 oz) can of tomato sauce

Heat skillet over medium heat. Add oil then beef and brown, crumbling with a spoon (we have found a wooden spoon to work well). Drain grease. Season with salt & pepper and a couple of shakes of garlic powder if you like. Add onion, Worcestershire Sauce, Chili Powder, Cumin & Tomato Sauce. Let cook for 2 minutes and then lower heat to a simmer. Let simmer for 5 minutes, stirring a few times.

Enjoy!

You can put this over tortilla chips, and add beans & cheese (melt under broiler) and top with your favorite toppings like tomatoes, onions, guacamole, black olives & sour cream, to make nachos.

You can use it for tacos or any other Mexican food application as well.

A recipe that we really like is one that we got from some friends of ours, Doug & Judy Litsey, that is called Fiesta Night.

Place a serving of your favorite cooked rice (white or brown) on a plate. Cover with your favorite Mexican cheese blend. Top with Seasoned beef and whatever other toppings you like (onion, tomato, salsa, guacamole, black olives, sour cream, etc….). This makes a wonderful meal.

If you end up trying this let us know. We think you will really enjoy it! Plus, making your own mixture saves you on some of the junk they put into those packet mixes!

Life is so amazingly busy….wow. I know that you feel it too. Every moment there is some place to be or something to do. It seems to be spinning out of control sometimes, doesn’t it? I would love to hear your thoughts on how you manage this in your own lives. Mine is a work in progress to be sure.

Here are some things I am trying to do:

1. Take a break from my Blackberry. Kim is trying to help me with this.
2. Spend time in a quiet place.
3. Make sure that I am feeding my soul spiritually, emotionally, physically and artistically.
4. Don’t be a slave to the computer.

Yeah, I know – not exactly rocket science. But, I am trying!

Today, for instance, is Sunday and here are my top priorities today:

1. Bring my fervent worship to the House of God
2. Love my wife
3. Call my parents
4. Watch the Colts smoke the Arizona Cardinals

Other than the elements on that list, everything is negotiable.

How are you coping with the quickening pace of life? I would love to hear your feedback.

Be Blessed.

Communication is so important. When you really think about it, we spend huge parts of every day communicating. Social networks are based on communicating with family, friends and long lost schoolmates and it seems that every person in America over the age of 3 now has their own cell phone.

I find myself thinking about this often….other than sharing information, where does all of this get us? I literally get bogged down and stressed out at times because there are so many details I need to communicate. It’s crazy. I’m working on that.

I know. Sharing information is important. In ministry I deal with large groups of people and I have found that I have to communicate most details multiple times and in at least 4 different ways for everyone to get the message. I’m not saying information isn’t important because it is. Details and planning are the backbone of worship ministry in the local church.

But, the question I am posing is different. When is the last time you had a genuine conversation with someone? I mean a conversation where both parties participated actively?

So many times conversations are one-sided, with one of the parties laying out everything that is important to them and then walking away. When is the last time you feel like someone sat down and genuinely entered your world?

My wife will laugh when she reads this blog because I am not a person who tends to enjoy long conversations. I am more of a “just the facts ma’am” sort of guy. But, I do find myself wanting more. I find myself wanting to know and to be known. Kim is great at this. She digs in with people. She asks questions. She cares deeply about the needs of other people. I am working at that. Sometimes I just feel too overwhelmed to take the time to enter the world of another person. It takes an investment on my part. What if they don’t return the investment?

I really desire the Worship Ministry at MPCC to be a place of genuine community. I’m not saying, in any way, that it isn’t a caring place, but I think we can always go deeper. I want people to care for one another. I want us to live out Galatians 6:2 that says, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (NIV)

I want to challenge you to enter someone’s world today. Try to have a conversation that is completely about another person. It’s tough to do and I know that from experience. Give it a shot. Enter their world. Engage them. Care for them and see what happens. I believe that when we experience genuine Biblical community we will get to know a side of The Father and His design for us that we desperately need in The Church.

What are your thoughts on community? Do you experience it? If so, how? When? Where? Tell me about it.

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

I think that this time of year is absolutely beautiful in Central Indiana. Bright sunshine, blue skies and soon, the leaves will begin to change. Beautiful!

I think my wife Kim is amazing! She manages to work full-time for Tabor Ministries during the week, travel most weekends to minister and is still an amazing wife, friend and partner in ministry. I love her. Plus she is a red-hot stone cold fox and makes a fabulous loaf of pumpkin bread (among other things).

I think that I am astonished by how little attention the Colts are getting from the national media. Changes, yes. New personnel, absolutely. But the Colts have had a run of elite winning seasons rarely seen in professional sports, especially the NFL. Are the Patriots the only team that gets the benefit of the doubt? Come on! On my way to work I listened to at least 4 ESPN updates of yesterday’s NFL action and NONE OF THEM EVEN MENTIONED THE COLTS GAME. Get serious. It may not be a cakewalk for them this year but last time I checked Peyton Manning was still the starting quarterback, correct? As long as he is under center and Reggie Wayne is catching passes we have a great chance. Plus, can you say defense? Wow, I know it’s only been 1 game but the Colts defense made the Jaguars look like a horrible offensive team yesterday. It was only close because of a couple of turnovers.

I think that our new sermon series, “What’s Your Story” is going to be powerful! We are doing some of the most strategic and intentional worship planning I have ever been a part of in my career and we are believing that God is going to do amazing things as people get real and share their stories. Follow the link and select Video Testimonies to see the videos we’ve done so far.

I think that Israel Houghton’s new album “The Power Of One” is outstanding. Most of it is going to be very hard to pull off in the local church setting but it is an amazing CD.

I think that if you are a terrible driver you should take all Christian related materials off of your vehicle. No Jesus fish, no bumper stickers and no “In God We Trust” license plate. Seriously, you are giving us bad press! And, for the record, this is precisely why I don’t have any of those things on my car!

I think that turn signals are an important part of the driving partnership. Use them.

I think that our MPCC team did an outstanding job this weekend. Band, Choir, Vocal Team, and especially Tech Team – all were outstanding! Putting the Worship Center back together after a week of construction, starting a new church wide emphasis and launching a new Video Venue service all in the same week….are you serious? That is A LOT and they did it like the true professionals that they are. Way to go team – YOU ROCK!!

I think that the Cardinals experienced a small hiccup this weekend. You don’t run through the national league like they have over the last 3 months and call it a fluke. They will rebound and make serious noise in the playoffs.

I think that my family is absolutely awesome! Mom & Dad came to visit this weekend and they ALWAYS rock a couple of bags of BBQ Grippo’s from Evansville for us. Thanks guys!

What are your random thoughts today??

Kim and I ran across a quote a few years back that seems to come to mind every couple of months. It is a curious quote – the kind that really makes you think, or at least it makes me think a great deal about God.

Something that you will hear from time to time regarding worship & music is that it is repetitious. Most of us have probably heard somebody say, “All this new music we sing at church is nothing more than 7-11 music.” (Meaning we pick 7 words and sing them over 11 times) You also might hear a comment about how often we sing certain songs or even, “I enjoyed your song but didn’t you just sing that very special a couple of months ago?”

I will be honest in that I haven’t heard any of these things at MPCC but I have in other churches and Christian circles. It always makes me think, “What is wrong with repetition?” Throughout our lives we will find songs, food and places (among many other things) that we enjoy and want to experience more than once….over and over in fact. Kim and I vacation at the same beach spot every single year – even in the same condo. So why, with all of this repetition in our lives, does it become touchy in the church or wherever you hear those kinds of things?

Back to that quote….it comes from a renowned English clergyman named GK Chesterton who lived until 1936 as was known as one of the most highly regarded and influential writers of the 20th century. He had some very interesting things to say on the subject of repetition:

“A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy;”

GK Chesterton from His book “Orthodoxy”

Food for thought, huh?

What do you enjoy repeating?

Here are some of my favorite YouTube videos. Enjoy.

Today marks the start of a new recurring column here. It’s called Trading Spaces. Are there people you would consider trading spaces with?

Over the next few weeks we will look at several categories. I am open to suggestions but I plan to discuss musicians, actors, politicians, news media personalities and other leaders. Seriously if you have a suggestion shoot me a note.

Today, for the first category, let’s talk Professional Athletes. Who are the pro athletes that you would consider trading spaces with? Who would you like to be for the day?

I have had a bit of a tough time narrowing it down to be quite honest. But I have finally come up with a list. I really do hope that you will take a moment to share yours with me in the comment section.

Here we go:

5. LeBron James – Have you been to Cleveland lately? This dude practically owns the city. It would be cool to walk in his shoes.
4. Shaquille O’Neal – In my opinion he is the biggest personality in sports. Hilarious. His new series “Shaq vs….” is going to be awesome!
3. Tiger Woods – I would love to know what it’s like to hit a golf ball like him. The bank account would be pretty sweet too!
2. Peyton Manning – Our hometown hero. Imagine being him on the day you wipe the field with the Patriots? Epic.
1. Albert Pujols (yes I know, quite a shock huh? – The dude is having a monster year. Imagine hitting a grand slam (or 5) in a sold out Busch Stadium in St. Louis?

Those who nearly made the list: Yadier Molina (Cardinals catcher), Derek Jeter (Yankees shortstop), Y.E. Yang (just kidding but he did stare down Tiger and win), Greg Norman (The Shark has always been a favorite of mine), Michael Jordan (Imagine being vintage MJ knocking down those championship winning shots)

There you have it….my list of the pro athletes I would enjoy trading spaces with for a day. My list is probably fairly obvious.

How about you?