Trip to Dallas

I promised a post about our trip to Dallas...it was so fantastic. Here's a quick review.
Landed Thursday night, triple digit temperature.
Bro get caught in traffic, we hailed a cab, driver was from Thailand. Having both spent time in Thailand, we enjoyed the chat, plus it helped him stay awake. Very scary to be going 60 mph on LBJ with your driver's eyes shut.
Delicious dinner at Darla & Michael's...great time with the family. The nephews loved touching Jaime's tummy. "I felt him kick!" Sterling was just certain that "Baby Jack Jack" was just about to pop out of Jaime's belly button. I really think he could have caught the baby and cut the cord. He's a very confident and mature 3 year old. We saw pictures of hunting trips at the ranch, and Michael told a fantasy story about 'Cowboy Baby Jack Jack'. It's neat to see that our baby is already becoming part of family lore.
Friday:
Quality time with the family, just hanging out. Yummy breakfast Mom! Thanks for treating us like royalty and having all of our favorite foods. Played hide-n-go seek with B & B...you can't hide on the roof, Briggy! Trip to Academy, found some running shoes 1/2 off...a trip to Dallas wouldn't be successful without shopping. Jaime & the girls headed to Pottery Barn at Stonebriar, after a quick bite at one of our fav's, Schlotzky's.
Dinner at Blue Mesa, incredible! We loved the sweet potato chips & Blue Mesa salsa, and my crab cakes were scrumptious. It's a fun family spot.
Then off to our baby shower from our buds at the Preston Road c of c! Too fun. Thanks everyone! Holly, you rock. You all make us feel so loved & special...we keep up with everyone through the weekly bulletin (Thanks Bud & Kitten!). We'll always talk about "it all started at the Preston Road c of c in Dallas, Texas..." (our relationship that is, not our baby) Over the years, the people of PRCC have taught me so much about life, love & life in Christ. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts. (Oh yeah, nice work, Marc & Maria. Don't let 'em bulldoze it anytime soon.)
Saturday:
Had a brisk walk with my dear friend / sister Mel. Always good hanging with you, sis! I've always remembered what you told me to always remember. Same back to you. Then breakfast & off to see 3 out of 4 nephews play their games. Stone kicked rear end (literally) at his soccer game, Briggs did very well despite the vengeful parents shouting "kick him back, Johnny, you have my permission" on the opposing team. I'm not kidding, that's worth a post right there. Briggs' team won, thankfully. Bennett hit a hard triple to left field to help his team on to victory on the baseball diamond. Bennett changed quickly and headed off to a hockey game. Wow, it's a busy schedule for a 13 year old. We had to say goodbye to the fam at that point and head off to Ft. Worth for Monica's wedding.
Monica & Aric's wedding at the Richland Hills church was AWESOME. I had only met Aric once, but Donny Vaughn did such an incredible job, we all felt like we knew Monica & Aric so well by the way he conducted the ceremony. You officiated like an old pro, Donny! Very impressive. Aric looked studly & Monica looked beautiful, of course. Radiant puts it mildly. We are both so happy for you guys. The song "Shine on Us" during the unity candle was the highlight for me. Plus, the slideshow at the beginning...it's so cool that you guys hunt together! We hope you guys had a terrific time on your honeymoon, and can't wait to see you on our next trip to DFW...baby in tow! (us, not you, well...probably not you.)
And a huge Virginia-sized thank you to our dear friend Becky B who helped "get us to the church on time." Little did we know, she was harboring a dangerous mono-ish disease and was quickly overcome after the nuptials. We both know she simply didn't want to take us to the airport afterwards...but the faked shaking was extremely convincing so we were happy to make new friends in Danny & Jody, who interestingly enough had direct ties to Thailand. Danny's g'dad is the g'daddy of all Thai missions in our faith tradition. Too cool. Thanks for the ride! (We later learned that Becky was fine after a quick trip to the doc-in-a-box...we're so glad, Becky...we love you!) And Blair, great to reconnect with you, but too bad you dodged taking us to the airport. We could've shared so much.
We landed back at Washington-Dulles at around 11 pm, went to bed after midnight.
Aaaahhhhh, we love our family, and we love Texas!

Adoption!

Sorry I haven't been able to post about our Dallas trip today. I found out this morning that our church will be "adopting" 1, possibly 2 families who are relocating from the gulf coast after Katrina. Everyone is buzzing around here! We are hustling around, getting our house (formerly known as "the youth house", now known as the "storage house") in order. They move in Monday, and there a few things, to put it mildly, which need to be done. Thank you Mike, Angelia, Denise & Allen for helping make this happen. It's one thing to give generously & send a check...our church certainly did that to the tune of $90k. However, it's another to have a family move in to the church property. More details to come about how you can help (FXCC members). Our former church in Dallas has taken in over 20 people in the apartments they own next door to their building. Awesome! God is good, and He always provides.

Random wardrobe issue: a friend just told me about Steve Maddens...hey guys, anyone wear these? curious.

Random worship issue: got the new Hillsongs worship CD "God He Reigns"...sounds great so far! In the aftermath of Katrina, Rita, Iraq, 9/11, Auschwitz...our God, He does reign!

And frequent readers Jenni & Donna, what is your blog link?

Heading out for a tour of Reston Hospital Labor & Delivery floor tonight...should be fun! Only 11.5 more weeks! By the book, Baby Sanderson can open his/her eyes now...is that cool or what. And the Baby Einstein CDs are fun for grown-ups too, let me tell you.

The Week Ahead in BlogWorld

We've got some great posts coming up this week, boys & girls.

Here are just a few of the topics to which you can look forward:

1. Our incredible whirlwind tour of Dallas/Ft. Worth last weekend...felt the winds of Rita, saw 3 out of 4 nephews compete in two different sports, and quite well I might add, had a terrific baby shower, ate at our favorite Tex-mex place "Blue Mesa" grill....there's more here...

2. Halfway through Week 28 with Baby Sanderson, and "boy" is "she" kicking a lot!

3. Three's a Crowd...why 14 month old Madison Visconti came for a quick visit & slept in our bed starting Sunday morning at 5:00 am. (Welcome to the world Jacob Donald Visconti! You are one cool dude.) And why I took a 2.5 hour nap on Sunday afternoon for the 1st time ever. Just a quick preview of Sleep Deprivation Land, a land to which I'm going.

4. I jumped a HUGE 6-point buck as I was driving up the church driveway on Sunday morning...too cool! Michael, (My brother, the hunter extraordinaire), you would have loved it!

5. One incredibly offensive conversation on the plane ride back from Dallas. Why we were involved, and how we can stop it next time. Is there no shame anymore? Do people not have a clue how their words affect others?

6. A brief review of our friend Monica & Aric's wedding last Saturday at the Richland Hills Church of Christ in Ft. Worth, TX.

7. "How to kill a song by getting the slides out of order" by Murray "sleep wanted" Sanderson.

It's a good week ahead, folks. Stay tuned.

Tell us again, WHY are we doing this?

Ahhh, the classic WHY question. It’s been posed to every well-meaning worship minister at one time or another. “Why the singing of such happy clappy songs?” “Why must you wear such outlandishly stylish clothes?” “Why must your hair contain so much product?” These are a few of my favorites.

This Sunday in church, we’ll be dedicating some new babies to the Lord. The C of C’s I grew up in (for which I’m most thankful, and have precious memories of…) did not include such an element of worship in their services. Baby dedications, often referred to as a “Celebration of New Life”, are common now in many congregations. BAD in the 1970’s…GOOD in the 2000’s. Why?

Because it’s the right thing to do.

Jesus loved children and openly welcomed them. KIDS BELONG IN CHURCH. Don’t read that as, “You better get your kid to church.” Read that as “Your child has a special place in our family here, and is always welcome.” Seeing all those babies on stage reminds the church that little people are people, too. Matthew 18:2-4.

Secondly, the church plays a crucial role in the spiritual formation of children. These infants were born to members of our congregation, and life lived in community is a shared life. How my new little friend Brylee Hannah grows up…the things she is taught…the love she is shown…how she is treated directly impacts the kingdom of God. Because I’m a part of the body of Christ, I have a responsibility to her, and to her parents. The dedication this Sunday is the very important, foundational, essential beginning to affirming her, welcoming her, and assuring her parents that we will help them teach Brylee about God.

Thirdly, parents need a clear public demonstration of support & prayers during this exciting/stressful time. Jaime & I are expecting our first child this December. Every night we read a book that informs us day by day of our baby’s development, and also provides other tidbits & quotes on the subject of childrearing. Last night’s quote was “Having children is like installing a bowling alley in your head.” Isn’t that great!? Seriously, Jaime & I will need the love & support of our church (we need & have it now, but you know what I mean) when our child arrives. Having our child prayed for on stage by all of our elders gathered around will be a moment I will never forget.

A final thought. Hey, Jaime & I are still going through spiritual formation ourselves. Walking up there with our baby will force me to reflect / evaluate / assess my relationship with the Lord. Will the life I am now living be beneficial to my child’s development? What needs to change? What needs to fall away, and what needs to be fanned into flame?

I came across a terrific summary on baby dedication by Ted Weis, whom I’ve never met, but I think makes some great points. Check it out if you want more information on the importance of dedicating babies to the Lord.

Go to www.bible.org and search for “baby dedication”. You’ll be glad you did.

Dogs Will Howl

This morning in worship, we sang "Lord, Take My Life", written by Deb Dorman, same lady who set Psalm 124 to music in a contemporary setting ("Had It Not Been the Lord"). This little song, from the Zoe Group's 4th worship project (www.zoegroup.org) , is so easy to learn, and immediately breaks through the mind to the heart. It perfectly complements our new fall series taken from Rick Warren's "The Purpose Driven Life". Thanks to the Fairfax congregation for eagerly jumping in on new songs, and making them your own words/sentiments.

The weather finally broke here in northern Virginia. It's starting to feel like fall...my favorite season! Sat at our picnic table on the back patio this afternoon, in the sun, comfortably, and crammed for my small group lesson. It was great. Not the lesson, but being outside. God did some of his best work when he created Sunday afternoons. ;)

Speaking of small group, we had a good session tonight at Joel & Edye's. Delicious BBQ, Leann! We're working through the Bible study "Experiencing God", learning how to join God in His work in the world, instead of obsessing about "God, what is your will for MY LIFE", we're learning to say, "God, where are you working in this world, and how can we join you?" We expend a lot of energies trying to baptize our plans into God's will; it's such a relief when you START with what God is doing, and then work yourself into THAT. A much better way to live. More exciting too.

Before we launched into the study, a hilariously funny, spontaneous, irrefutable thing happened. It's a moment I won't soon forget. I sort of pride myself on being able to carry a tune. (God's word is true - pride goeth beforeth a falleth.) Occasionally, I harmonize well with others. Rhythm's never been my longsuit, but I know to clap on 2 & 4. I actually collect a paycheck for what I'm supposed to be able to do musically.

However, tonight, my entire musical ability was called into question by Oscar, a Shiba Inu. Yes, a Shiba Inu. (If you don't know what one is, you're like me...you probably can't afford one. It's like Piaget or Hermes or Yves St. Laurent. If you can't say it, don't bother.) Now we love Oscar, and his coloring is beautiful. He's fox-like, only larger, and the kind you'd want to cuddle with. My friend Chris was leading our group in worship through song. We were sailing along, and Oscar would run back & forth to people in the group. The songs on which we clapped were especially exciting for Oscar. It was like, all of a sudden, everyone in the room was clapping for Oscar, beckoning him to come hither and be petted. Chris had just launched into "Ancient of Days", a powerful song of praise based on a passage in the 1st testament book of Daniel. For all of you non-clappers (NOT the same as one-cuppers), "Ancient of Days" is a clapper.

On this song, Oscar came to my side and sat down, watching me sing & worship his creator. I patted his head quickly, and continued singing out to the Lord. All of a sudden, in a way only bad voices & full moons can bring about (and there is a full moon tonight, at least here in Virginia), Oscar lifted his head back, and HOWLED ! It was the most hysterical worship moment I've had in a long time...and I've had some good ones. At first, I tried to continue singing, and then it hit me. I had just been effectivly GONGed by a dog from my own small group. To Oscar, I was just another 'call in the wild' and he wanted to join in. I had no choice but to join my small group in laughter. I can still hear their jabs..."the dog just howled at our worship minister!"

Hey, it was "All creatures of our God and King" in living color. Oscar was just joining in...that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I've always said that God doesn't care how we sound, he just wants us to sing from the heart...yea verily, to make a joyful noise. So for once, I fully acknowledge that even my best efforts are a joyful noise to some, definitely to rare dog breeds...but hopefully, a wonderful sound to my Creator.

Thankfully, Oscar's not an elder.

(Tommorrow morning, we have our 27 week appointment with the doctor. Baby Sanderson is doing great! It's always so fun to hear the heartbeat on the doppler thing.)

Like, totally! Oh my ____!

“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” Exodus 20:7

“Oh my G-d!"

A dear friend of mine recently brought to my attention that she often hears “Oh my G-d” said aloud in the lobby of our church building. This exclamatory phrase, perhaps used by all of us at one time or another, greatly disturbs her, and rightly so. It should disturb all of us. By biblical command, we should treat God’s name with utmost reverence. If we sing on Sunday morning, “Lord, I lift your name on high!” Then on Sunday afternoon we exclaim, “oh my G-d!” in casual conversation, then you’ve just lifted the name of the Lord down low. You’ve reduced it to a common, trivial expletive.

Let's together admit that we can do much, much better with revering God’s name. Put the stones down. Let’s not persecute anyone who casually uses this phrase and hasn’t really given it a thought. Let’s confess it as sin and move on. Commit to treating God’s holy name with the greatest care. Eliminate from your vocabulary “oh my God” as an exclamatory phrase. And no, “oh my ga”, “gosh”, “gee”, “Geesh”, “Geez” aren’t suitable either. Why? For the same reason I try not to say "freakin". Thanks for asking, though.

Remember, you can’t change yourself on your own power; allow the Holy Spirit to renew and transform you, every detail of your life…even your exclamations! He will give you the grace & conviction you need to gradually change your language into the God-revering vocabulary you've always wanted.

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Our church staff stole away today for a one-day retreat at the home of one of our elders. (Thanks J & J!) We soaked up the cool fall morning on the screened-in porch...we even stayed out there as the sun warmed up this afternoon, after our completely mediocre lunch from Far East Kitchen in Greenbriar.
As task-oriented as I am, I have learned the essentiality of these occasional "view from 30,000 feet up" sessions. These times always help me shape my view of our church, of the world, of the call of Christ, of God's incredible sense of humor...God is good. To be pulled out of the weeds and forced to look at the important instead of the urgent is critical for a missional organization.

Praise God for our church's generosity for hurricane victims...$80k so far, wow!

One big victory for our new schedule is that our entire church is on the premises at the same time...resulting in much greater fellowship and koininia. Cool word, and couldn't imagine having it with a greater bunch of people. Hope I spelled it right.

Worship team rehearsals kick off for the fall tomorrow night! I'm so pumped. Music is such a powerful medium in our culture. Churches everywhere must continue to use music as a tool, not a master, to communicate / pass along / share, etc. the good news about Jesus. Great days ahead for us.

And hey, I got the new ZOE GROUP CD in the mail yesterday. Loved their rendition of "How Great Is Our God"...a powerful worship anthem by Chris Tomlin (author of Forever, and tons of other cool worship songs that I can't think of right now.) This group, on their 10th release, again provided our faith tradition with solid a cappella arrangements of new & refreshed worship songs.

Baby Sanderson's arrival is 12.5 weeks away...extremely exciting. Recently, I was lamenting to Jaime that we were about to lose our "alone time" forever, and that we would never again have zero responsibility. Thankfully, she reminded me that we do indeed have friends & family who just might babysit for us once the baby is of age. But still, it's the end of an era which I will always cherish...our time before kids. Sort of like "the land before time" only different.

I love Sundays!

I love Sundays.

Today we started our new Sunday morning schedule. Worship services, back-to-back, with Bible classes offered simultaneously. It's a new innovation that we hope will allow for us to minister to more people with the life-changing grace of Jesus Christ. It seemed to work well today, we'll see the game films tomorrow in staff meeting.

Being 9/11, combined with a gorgeous day outside in northern Virginia, everyone seemed to arrive with hearts full of expectancy and anticipation. People here, in our church, had experienced (sight, smell, sound, feel) the tragic events of 9/11/01. On the powerful 2nd verse of "It is well with my soul", (a verse often omitted)..."though Satan should taunt me (by working through evil men who run planes into buildings), though trials should come, (a hurricane wipes out the homes of 250,000 people), let this blest assurance control---the CHRIST has regarded my helpless estate and has shed His own blood for my soul." Powerful. I could see the roof lifting off of our Costco-styled auditorium. And on the 3rd verse, as we praised the Lord for the glorious thought of "my sin not in part, but THE WHOLE, is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more, PRAISE THE LORD, PRAISE THE LORD, O my soul!" I couldn't help but raise my hands, confessing the lordship of Jesus Christ with body & voice & mind & heart & everything in me. I wasn't the only one either. Thank you Lord, for giving us permission to raise our hands to you. Something in the heart just clicks when we posture ourselves in the surrender pose. Totally awesome.

Then onto the Fairfax family picnic, run by the most efficient fellowship team around. Thanks to Lynn Belknap & Stan Bedford & your host of volunteers who fed over 600 people in 25 minutes or less...the hamburgers & hot dogs tasted great. The weather was absolutely beautiful, and the fellowship among us even more fresh and rejuvenating.

A quick trip to the quilt shop to pick up the fabric for Baby Sanderson's bedding. The coolest shades of blue, green, yellow...my wife has got the best taste ever in decorating. And a big thank you to Heidi Martin, our dear friend, who is coming this weekend to help it all come together.

Back home for a nice long Sunday afternoon nap. Ahhhhh......

A quick Target run (YES, we finally found the dark chocolate M & Ms!) on the way to small group at Joel & Edye's...where we ate pizza and watched the Cowboys win their first game of the season. (How 'bout those Redskins! 9-7, whew!) Oh yeah, we also shared prayer requests and worshipped the Lord in song & prayer. We are blessed with good friends who love us, and lift up our names to the Father. It's so great to live this life in Christ, walking with others every step along the way.

Now, back on the couch, resting up for the week ahead. God, you're so faithful. I love Sundays.
BABY UPDATE: Week 26 is well underway, and all is well. Jaime is drinking more water than ever (seems to help with the energy level). The baby is moving, and we are loving every minute of it. We're trying to enjoy all of the waiting and anticipating. Am I ready to be a father? Absolutely! Are you kidding, i have no idea! Thank you God, that babies take 40 weeks before their official arrival!

A great resource for Katrina Survivors

If you're looking for info about Baby Sanderson, go to post "Prayer Points".

Here's a great resource for 'such a time as this', when literally hundreds of thousands of people are reinventing their lives, and relocating to a new home because of Katrina. I'm in the midst of creating a list of worship ministry resources, and this is one of my favorites...if you love God, music and poetry and you know there has just GOT to be more to life than this earth & its trials...then check this out.

CD Resource: CITY OF GOLD ~ Impressions of Heaven. This CD came into my life by recommendation of Sally Morgenthaler at a worship leaders' retreat that Jeff Nelson & I attended in Colorado Springs, CO back in the late ‘90’s. It was at the coolest retreat/resort, not far from Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods. The setting was so beautiful. I heard “Lord Most High” for the first time there. Still can’t get enough of that song. Anyway, Morgenthaler recommended that we get this CD entitled “City of Gold” by a band of artists (poets/lyricists/musicans) in England who were really inspired by John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress…they wanted to write some songs to go with the wonderful poetic imagery in that book. So they wrote some songs, and placed them in between carefully selected passages of the book, read like poetry. It is an incredible recording that I have used time and time again in worship settings. It never fails. People are always encouraged and inspired by it. Per http://www.amazon.com/ the original release date is September 1, 1998. Apparently, based on customer reviews on the amazon website, and now that I think about it it’s obvious, this CD is perfectly suited to lift up people who are grieving the loss of a loved one. (and I might add...perfectly suited when you are on the move in every area of your life.)

Making Sense of Corporate Worship

I bumbled through a class last Wednesday night about Worship...at times it felt like I was on some sort of talking treadmill: speaking lots of words & getting nowhere. My brothers & sisters at the Fairfax church somehow heard my heart in all of that, but I long for the day when I can truly articulate & teach on the subject of worship (inexhaustible and undefinable as it is.) The Bible tells me to eagerly desire the greater gifts, so here I am, eagerly desiring the gift of teaching.

Today I came across some well-connected, well-put-together words by Harold M. Best from his book Unceasing Worship. I think this paragraph is spot on concerning life lived in worship to God and how that life fuels the Sunday morning gathering.

"Corporate worship is the necessary and sacramental widening of the everyday, all-the-day moment-by-moment walk of faith, of belief and of stewardship. Put as simply as possible, we do not go to synagogue, temple, cathedral, basilica, or church to worship. We go to these good places to continue our worship, but now corporately (that is, as a body, in a doubled communion with the Lord and with each other). We go to these places to give synergized expression to what we should have been doing all week long: praying, singing, listening, offering to the Lord, speaking, being silent, confessing, growing, and being broken. To think of church time as worship time without connecting it to the seven-day-a-week liturgy of being living sacrifices is to miss the entire biblical point of worship and to concoct an artificial parenthesis for an hour or so once a week or so. Corporate worship is irrelevant, however beautiful its protocols may be and however nourishing its sacraments are, unless it participates in the seamless life of continuous worship, and unless it is seen as a symptom of how we live and act all week long."

YES! That is it! That's what I was trying to say! :) Thank you Dr. Best. God spoke to me today through your words, written last year. Isn't God awesome.

Prayer Points

Let the countdown begin! Today marks Week 25 in our pregnancy. 15 weeks to go. Little Lincoln Harold or Faith Kinder (we're not finding out the gender...) is scheduled to arrive on December 15. 10 days later, he or she will play the part of Baby Jesus in our church's candlelight Christmas Eve service. Is this the year for a female baby Jesus? Who knows?!! The role of women in the church is expanding you know!

Here are our current prayer requests.
1. For Jaime to bring our baby into the world in the way she wants, and has trained for...a completely NATURAL birth, free from anesthesia & any intervention.
2. For our sweet little one to arrive safely, wholly & in great health.
3. For me to be able to take it all in...upon Jesus' arrival, the Bible tells us that Mary pondered all of these things up in her heart. I want to do some pondering myself; I don't want to miss anything! I'm sure Jaime wants to ponder too, so throw her in on this one as well.

Thanks for the prayers. Let us know how we can pray for you!