Working intensely on Pepperdine stuff. We are looking forward to being out there with the ZOE family and seeing all those wonderful faces of people we love. I have to finish up by tomorrow so I can head out of town tomorrow afternoon.

We had a great dinner at my mom's house last night. A Texas BBQ place in Nolensville has the best Texas BBQ I've had since moving to Tennessee 10 years ago. It's called El Tejano or something. Amazing.

It was great to be at my mom's house. I hope the girls will build memories of going over there. I spent a lot of time at my grandparents' house in Hamlin, TX (where my mom is from). I have lots of fond memories of creaking floors, old carpet, soft chairs, juice glasses from the 1950's left over 20 years later, my Granny's old floral apron she'd always wear, "Post Toasties" for breakfast, greasy hamburgers from the local diner, watching Hee-Haw on Saturday nights and more. I want my girls to have memories like that.

Coupla funny notes on the girls...

Ella likes doing the "this little piggy" thing, but that piggy never goes to market. He goes to TARGET.

Maddie is learning to persuade. For some reason she feels the need for Ella to feel the same urgency to "dress up" as she does. She'll set out a nice princess dress for Ella and then proceed to convince her of the benefits of wearing said princess dress. It's always a hoot.

I love that Ella calls Maddie "Sissy". I know I've said that before, but it's so cute to hear her call Maddie her pet name.

There are so many cute things that happen all through the day--as all of you with children know. I just wish I could remember more to write down! Maybe we'll have some good stories coming back from the beach that don't involve Sheryl giving birth. For the love.

One of the benefits of these praise team meetings I have been having for over 3 months now is the interaction and shared dreaming. One of our team members suggested we have section leaders. After considering it for a while, I appointed section leaders this week. I am really, REALLY excited about this. These folks will serve in more of a relational role than a musical, although all of them are highly qualified to serve in that way too. Each person will help me keep track of the people in that voice part, they'll send weekly emails of encouragement and prayer requests, they'll plan nights out for all the sopranos or whatever the case may be. I think it will be a very good community building thing for us. It's hard to keep track of 70 or so people in the way I want to. This will help.

I promised to provide the name of the book that has really helped on planning Emergent Worship. There are two workbooks published by Abingdon Press. One is called Worship Feast, 100 Awesome Ideas for Postmodern Youth (Order# 0-687-06367-1). The other is called Worship Feast, 50 Complete Multisensory Services for Youth (ISBN# 0-687-06357-4). Call 615-749-6421 to order. Hope that helps. While the title suggests these are for "youth", they are very adaptable for all ages. I think you'll find them helpful. Also, be sure to check out Dan Kimball's website at their church Vintage Faith.

Have a great Tuesday, everyone!

This just in! Here's a picture of Jonathan Shaub with mom, Sharon, and sister, Nicole! Keep praying!!!

My cousin, Jill, died yesterday. She was 37. She had lived a very hard life but had pulled her act together a decade ago enough to enjoy her family and kids. She had cancer and somehow developed 7 brain tumors last week. Her teenaged boys found her Saturday night on her bathroom floor. Please pray for her boys and all those impacted.

I had such a great morning yesterday. The team was maybe one of the best we've had in a while, they were VERY engaged in leading worship. It was a great morning! Tim's message about the water of life was powerful too.

I called our neighbors all afternoon and never could get an answer. They don't have an answering machine. (lucky them) I was disappointed they couldn't come. But--as always seems to happen, the Lord worked in all of that. We had some great worship time and then talked about the message that morning which turned into something really amazing. We had some very deep and open sharing. I was really thankful that we were able to go that deep. It was cleansing and healing for most everyone there, I'd imagine. There are always those who will never allow themselves to be vulnerable, but when those who are willing to confess open their hearts, there's nothing better than that.

Sheryl went to the Dr. this morning. Apparently, she's growing a large baby in there. WELL, DUH!! Finally the doc admitted it. Looks like we'll be having this baby somewhere around May 26th. That's exciting!! Ella came 2 1/2 weeks early and was 9 1/2 punds. That will tell you something right there! Please pray that Sam doesn't decide to be born in Florida (where we're going Wed) or while I am away in Malibu, CA. the following week.

We leave Wednesday for vacation. I am taking my first vacation day of the year. PRAISE THE LORD! We're heading to the beach with Ryan and Sarah Williamson and their kids. The girls are already wearing their swimsuits every day in preparation.

Have a great Monday, everyone!

Friday night we were HOME. Ahhhhh, home. What a nice change. Twila Paris went late doing her vocals so I switched my schedule to record yesterday during the afternoon while the girls were napping. We spent much of the morning cleaning and working on finishing touches for Sam's room. Sheryl nailed a rope lasso all the way around the room above the chair rail. It looks so cool. The cowboy theme is almost complete!

Since Mom has never been in town while we recorded I invited her out to see the studio and get a feel for what it's like. She brought her book and sat in the nice leather couch in the engineering room and watched Chris work his magic. The session went well and we are now officially DONE recording. Praise the Lord above.

This morning we are studying the woman at the well section of John. The theme this morning is living water. I think it will be a very encouraging. It's also Sheryl's last day on praise team for a while. Probably QUITE awhile! Tonight we have life group. I hope our neighbors will come.

I hope you all have a very uplifting day of worship. I remember Mike Cope saying once that sometimes we allow our worship services to dictate how much we worship. Some places have dry, boring worship while other places have energetic, upbeat worship. Whatever the case, God is still God. Even if you're in a place where you're singing Night With Ebon Pinion reeeeeaaaaaallly slow, He is still the same God and still as exciting, holy, full of mystery, love, and grace. Let's lift up His name this morning!

Here's our order of worship:

Welcome—Tim Woodroof
Family prayer
Meet and greet

Praise and Worship—BST
--At the Name of Jesus
--All Hail the Power
Reading (Jer. 2:13, John 7:37-38, Rev 7:17)
Prayer
--Send Your Rain (chorus to the end)
--All Who Are Thirsty
--It Is Well With My Soul (verses 1,2)
--Jesus, Flow Like A River (Hymnal)

Teaching—Tim Woodroof
--Who Can Satisfy (Sheryl starts with solo)
--There Is A Fountain (…filled with blood drawn from Immanuel’s veins” vs one only)

Supper
Offering

Ministry Moment
Shepherd’s Close and Blessing
--It Is Well With My Soul (last verse)

PS: Someone asked last week about the meet and greet time--the focus of that is always just getting people up and into each others' space. It's hard to really enter into worship when you haven't spoken to or even acknowledged the people around you. We encourage people to get up and introduce themselves to those around them realizing that we are all about to enter into a very important and heartfelt time of worship.

Rick--Scott Owings has a great book of ideas for Emergent Worship. I will get the title and post tomorrow.

Wednesday night was fun. We met early and worked on Pepperdine stuff. It was fun to talk and plan and tell Eve and Philip what a treat it is to be there. We had a great rehearsal.

Afterwards, I had time to catch the last half of Evening Prayers (our Wednesday night assembly). Because of rehearsals for Christmas, then Easter, then recording and now Pepperdine, this was my first one since early fall. What a blessing! WOW! The stations were awesome. There was one for encouragement where we could write encouragement cards to Otter folks who are struggling (their names were on a list). There was another station where Scott Owings and Leland Vickers (one of our elders) stood and received people to pray. They had oil and anointed your head and said in reminder, "The Lord is your Shepherd" and then prayed a blessing. The other station had all kinds of fruit, nuts, bread, etc. It was a table for "feasting and fellowship". People quietly took some of the food while hugging and blessing those around them. Meanwhile a wonderful meditative CD was playing in the background. The evening concluded with worship. JV and Amanda led (JV played piano and sang with Amanda). It was so incredible. Amanda sang "So Are You to Me" and it flowed into "A Shield About Me". It was so beautiful. I found myself just falling to my knees and soaking it in. How I needed that!! I am so grateful for those who help to execute these times on Wednesdays. They are a huge blessing.

Yesterday we all tried desperately to become more "highly effective". I have to say it was the best day yet. That whole book is like sitting through my entry level majors courses at ACU. Go Carley Dodd! I was reminded of a lot of great communication techniques, but still felt convicted that sincerity always wins out over technique. And--sincerity CANNOT be a technique. We had some really great discussions and group time with the staff. It was a very beneficial day.

Last night we worked some solo stuff for the record. Twila Paris is also recording and in the same studio in the room next door. Her stuff was sounding good! She has a new record coming out soon. Anyway--Sheryl nailed "Living Prayer" and JV and Melissa did a great job on the trio with her. We then moved on (MUCH LATER) to "You Were There". That song is a booger. Seriously. It's one of those that--once we really, really get it--will be awesome. It's just really hard. Sheryl laid down the vocal to the first part and then I am singing the middle part of the song. Towards the end of the song the solo switches to Jason. He did an incredible job. There's one part at the end of the song where he goes up to a high b flat and just stays there. It is AWESOME! We're beginning the conference from the first of the book of Matthew. (We hope Donna Hester and Jill Maxwell will come and do their dramatic piece) This song will fit perfectly in that time. I don't want to give anything away--it will be a great weekend! Oct 6-9. Make plans to come.

Tonight I am going back out to lay some more vocals down. I think my mom might come see the studio. She has never gotten to see that part of the process and this studio is so cool, she'll enjoy it.

One of my goals for today is to select and appoint praise team section leaders. We're going to try this and see how it goes. This is more for relational purposes than musical. I'll let you know how it goes. I pray you have a blessed day! Please keep praying for the Shaubs.

I am loving this weather. It makes me want to just be outside all day! My mom and Kiki came over last night and between all of us, we got Sam's room cleaned out and painted and the girls bathed and put to bed...no small accomplishment. It looks really good! I know Sheryl is home right now organizing and nesting. It seems crazy that he's almost here!

I have been working on Pepperdine today. I am especially looking forward to our Thursday late night time. If you're going to Pepperdine--please come and bring your bible. We're going to do something similar to what we did here last Sunday night with open sharing and scripture readings woven through songs from the Desperate CD and a few others. Come prepared to share a passage that has blessed you during times of desperation and another passage of thanksgiving. It will be so cool to hear the Word come to life in that setting. I love that week and I love those people! There is nothing better than gathering in a standing room only theater with people who are passionate about worship.

We are rehearsing tonight for Pepperdine. Pray for this group. We have a couple of newbies coming. They are seasoned vets here at the Creek but they'll be new to the Pepperdine experience. I can't wait for them to be there! (Eve Clevenger and Philip Henry to be exact)

I had a phone call from a good friend this morning who poured out his heart about some family issues. It reminded me of how grateful I am to have community. It reminded me how little I really know and that sometimes the only thing you can do is listen. Then another friend dropped by the office. I hadn't seen him in a couple of weeks and it really made my day. It's amazing how God can minister to us in little ways. I am so thankful for all the gifts He's given. One more...this morning as I left, Maddie said, "But Daddy, I don't WANT you to go to work. I want you to stay and play with me!" She's said this several times lately. While it breaks my heart, it's also a wonderful thing to hear. There may be a day when she's too wrapped up in her stuff to say or want that. I won't go all Cat's in the Cradle on you, but I am trying to soak in these days.

One thing Seven Habits HAS done for me--in writing out the roles and tribute statements (basically, what do you want that specific person to say about you on your 80th birthday regarding that role), it's made me more aware of the little things. Now when either Maddie or Ella says, "Daddy, come play outside with me" or any host of other requests, I find myself putting down the bills, or whatever has my attention and going with them. For that, I am grateful. I can be so easily distracted by the "urgent". There's nothing more urgent than spending time with Sheryl and the girls. These days are so short. I don't want to waste any time.

Tomorrow--our last all day staff retreat working through the Seven Habits workbook. My desk still looks like a disaster area, I still feel like I am juggling a thousand things, and I am still living in "quadrant one", but things are improving slowly.

Anyone coming to the Emergent Conference here in May???

PS: For whatever reason, my counter bit the dust last month. I kept hoping it would revive, but no luck. So--we've got a new counter, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to this blog site. Come back any time!

Sunday was exhausting...but in a great way! Yesterday morning we had one of the most powerful times of worship and teaching that we've had in a long time. Tim's message was so convicting to me. He talked about John 3:13-21. People who love darkness hate the light because the light exposes their deeds and they don't want them exposed. Basically, that was the gist.

I honestly was so convicted by the Word. It is so hard to lead worship in those times and after hearing it the second time, I couldn't avoid saying something after the message. I just confessed my own hypocrisy. I know that there are things in my heart that I hold on to that are not of God and I don't want to do that. It was such a great morning for me. I hope it was for others. If I could have just gone to my knees for the rest of the service, I would have. The guided time of meditation during the supper only convicted me even more.

After second service we had the luncheon for those who are interested in Otter Creek and becoming a part of this family. It was well attended. We hurried home and put the girls in bed and Sheryl headed out to her shower. Let me just say this...Sarah Williamson and Beth and the ZOE girls all did such a great job of making it a wonderful afternoon for Sheryl. Sarah Williamson is one of the most creative people. She had the attendees address envelopes as they came in with their own addresses so she could give them to Sheryl along with thank you cards that she made. Really--such a great friend! She went way above and beyond to make it a very special day. Thank you, Sarah! What a gift to us that you and Ryan are back in Nashville now!

She came home and we both looked at all this boy stuff and just shook our heads. I am telling you, I have been swimming in dress up clothes, the color pink, and every princess thing imaginable. Don't get me wrong--anyone will tell you, I love being the father of little girls. It is priceless!! But what a change in scenery to see blue blankets, boy shirts and pants, blue passies, etc! The craziest gift of the day went to Eve who gave Sheryl these things called "pee-pee tee-pee's". Basically, they are little triangular cloth things that you put on his you-know-what when you're changing his diaper. We have little to no experience with changing a boy's diaper. But--we're getting all kinds of reports and stories now. I am sure there will be some bloggable moments to come. Pee-pee tee-pee's. Yep.

After looking quickly through the gifts I had to jet out and head back to OC for Celebration Sunday. We had a great night! We had several sections of open mic times where people could just come up and read scriptures of praise. At one point we had a time where people could read or share about a scripture that has gotten them through a difficult time. It was very moving. I always love getting to do things like that where it seems like we really do "church" more like what it ought to be. We're all sharing, we're all speaking the Word. It was another encouraging moment.

I came home and crashed. In fact, Sheryl had to thump me to wake me up after laying down with Maddie. I think I went to sleep right there in her bed. Sunday was anything but restful. Has anyone ever heard of Sabbath? I mean--what the heck? Does it exist?

To keep the theme running, I got up at 6:30 on my day off and headed to a ZOE meeting that began at 7am. Thankfully, I had the wherewithal to say last month that Mondays are my family day and I couldn't stay beyond 9am. It was a great meeting. We talked more about the conference this fall--fleshing out the theme and the journey through scripture we'll take that weekend. I am really pumped about this conference.

It was great to see Mike Cope and all the ZOE gang. And--might I add--that Randy Gill pulled out the guitar and we had a wonderful time of worship. I wasn't able to sing a note after singing so much over the weekend. It was so frustrating to not even be able to get a sound out. But--Greg Taylor who sat next to me was belting it out and it was really cool. It was almost like he was singing for the both of us. GT--who knew you could really sing?? You've been holding out on me.

I left at 9 and came home to spend the day with my favorite people. After being snowed in last Monday in Colorado and being in the studio all weekend we haven't had a family day in a really long time. We set out for the park. Sheryl stopped in at Wal-Mart to buy a helmet for Maddie since we were taking her bike. My mom met us there and brought some really good lunch food. We enjoyed the beautiful day while the girls wore themselves out. I loved watching Maddie ride her bike around the sidewalks at the Granny White Park. Ella and Maddie both stayed on the swings for what seemed like hours.

It was serendipitous that Julie and Betsy Corlew (they both have married names now) showed up with their kids. We all went to ACU and they are old friends. It was nice to catch up with them. We also got to have some quality time with my mom, David and Becky Rubio, and then later--Wendy Bowling and Kristen Thompson and their kids. Ella was thrilled to see Jamie--her pseudo boyfriend. The Granny White Park is a favorite! We stayed for over 3 hours and had a blast.

We came home and crashed and then went to BAJA BURRITO--yes, I know...it comes as a shock. It's just that--it's the perfect place to go and sit outside. May I offer that if you ever visit Nashville, it's a must.

What a great day! What a great weekend! I am thankful for the community God has given us and the family He has given me. I am grateful for the warmth of the sun, the good health we enjoy, that my back and shoulders have loosened, that Sheryl seems better, that pineapples and salsa really do go together, and for the butterfly, Eskimo, and "lippy" kisses that I got tonight from my girls before they drifted off to sleep.

To borrow a line from the Cindy Morgan song..
"Thank you, Lord! How could I ask for more?"

I woke up Friday morning with my shoulders and neck feeling completely seized. I tried massage, hot tub, Advil, pain killers, hanging from a bar at the gym (which gave me the most relief, I might add), and so far nothing has really helped. I felt awful while we recorded this weekend. However, I kept thinking about Sheryl and tried to keep my mouth shut. She's such a trooper.

Recording went very well. We finished all the group songs. "You Were There" took us all day Saturday. It was quite difficult, but I am really excited about the outcome. Thanks again to Kiki and my mom for helping with the girls--and Steve and Karen Speake who entertained them on Friday. Apparently, Maddie and Ella spent the time dressing up Steve in their princess attire. How I would have LOVED to have a picture of that!

Today is Sheryl's shower for baby Sam. I am so excited!! We have only about 6 more weeks to go and it seems really hard to believe! We were out with people from our old life group last night celebrating Jeff McInturff's birthday and we were all laughing at how our lives have changed. Rusty and Andrea Bragg are about to have another boy this week, Chad and Elizabeth Milom are having another child right after and then Sheryl. There were kids running all over that room screaming with delight. I still remember when Maddie was the only child in our life group and people would squirm when she screamed. Some people hate to hear it, but the phrase, "You'll understand when you have kids" is really so appropriate. They will and they do!

Tonight is Celebration Sunday--a time of worship and praise. We're going to encourage people to read aloud from their scriptures tonight. We're singing songs of praise and thankfulness and then giving open mic times through out. I'll let you know how it goes. We've done that before and it's been a real blessing.

Have a great Sunday!

Order of Worship
Welcome--Tim Woodroof
Family Prayer
meet and greet

Praise and Worship--BST
--God is the Fountain Whence
--You Are Worthy of My Praise
--All In All
--A Shield About Me
Teaching--Tim Woodroof (John 3:13-18)
--He Is Mighty to Save
--How Deep the Father's Love
Teaching--Tim Woodroof
--Healing Grace
Lord's Supper--BST
--Responsive Reading
--Shepherd's blessing--Steve Adams
--Here I am to Worship (vs 1 and both choruses and the tag--everything but vs 2)
Bread and Cup
Offering
Ministry Moment-Mark Ott (Sanctuary)
Close- BST
--I Belong to Jesus

Tonight we head back into the studio. We are recording Fernando Ortega's "When All Thy Mercies" and Avalon's "You Were There". None of us have the freakish voice of Jody though. I wish the label would just let him come sing it on our record. We're excited for Jody and Stephanie. They are also expecting and are due around the same time we are. They'll be great parents.

Our good friend from Disney, Charles, is coming tomorrow to hear us record. We're glad he's here. He came in for GMA week and stuck around to visit some family. Can't wait to have you join us, man!

Thank you for all the wonderful birthday remarks to Sheryl--they were all so nice (well, almost all). She is such a gift to me and I know to many others. Praise God for her life!

I got an email today from an old college friend, Drew Anderson. I haven't talked with him in probably 12 years. His mother died last week and he wrote to tell me that some of the ZOE CDs helped to soothe her over the course of the last days of her life. It was very encouraging and humbling.

As we go into the studio tonight, it's we are once again faced with the conviction that this is NOT about us. We are but small vehicles that the Spirit is using to touch lives. We'll never know how some of this music impacts people--and it's really better that way. It's God's thing and He'll do what He wants to with it. It's always really humbling to think that God can take what happens in those hours at the studio and turn them into holy moments for His glory later. None of us--not one single ZOE member-- misses that profound truth. We know it's not us. That's why we continue to seek your prayers for this project. We know how important it is that we approach this in a way that honors the Lord. Please keep praying! We're almost done.

Have a great weekend, blog family!

Isn't she a hottie?? WOW! How did I manage marrying someone like Sheryl? Today is Sheryl's birthday. She is a Godly woman. She has weathered many storms in her life. She has blessed more people than she could ever know. She is a real friend to people. When Sheryl is in your life you know you can count on her tenderness, her sensitivity to good and right things, her kindness, her passion for Jesus and her genuine heart. I have been the beneficiary of those things for many years now. I am a much better person and Jesus follower because of her influence in my life. (and did I mention that she's hot??)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHERYL!!

If you'd like to send your own message of birthday greetings, you can email her at sherylthomas@earthlink.net.

We are rehearsing with ZOE tonight for recording again this weekend. It's also GMA week and the Dove Awards tonight. I am trying to go to a few things related to GMA this week, but it's a hard week to be out of the office after being gone. I hope you are all having a blessed day. It's a special day to celebrate a rare gift in my life. How has Sheryl blessed you?

Wow--what a week we've had! Steamboat Springs was really beautiful. I forgot to mention the newspaper article too. It was a huge spread with a picture and everything! Since it was written by a non-Christian it had an interesting slant. But--I really liked it.

Saturday was incredible. The mountain was gorgeous. It was pretty slushy down at the bottom so we went straight to the top. We really had a lot of fun skiing...especially after Philip remembered how to ski. :) The rest of the group rode the gondola up to the top of the mountain and met us for lunch. This was a huge accomplishment for JV and Amanda--both terrified of heights. I know I've written that I am also afraid of heights, but for some reason ski lifts don't bother me too much...except while riding with Kyle Dickson. I've skied more times with him than I can count and he always tried to terrify me by rocking the seat back and forth.

While we ate lunch we asked about the weather. We had heard that bad weather was approaching and thought maybe we should drive to Denver that night to beat it. Everyone just dismissed our concerns...silly Tennesseans. Well, sure enough--that night after dinner we got word that the impending storm had shut down airports in Steamboat and Denver the following day. We were beginning to get worried. When we called the airline, apparently we were the ONLY ones who didn't get the word early enough and re-book our flights. Thankfully, there was one seat left the following afternoon. We all agreed that Sheryl should get that seat. We then spent the next 24+ hours trying to figure out what to do. As we watched the news from Denver we were just horrified at the thought of driving into that storm...not to mention that there were blizzard and avalanche warnings between Steamboat and Denver. So, we decided to make the best out of it.

Sunday, after spending hours on the phone to the airline and car rental places, we went into Steamboat to look around. It is really a neat place. The shops were cool and we found a couple of little things for the girls.

What makes this story even weirder is that the weekend we were there was the final weekend of the season. The town turns into a ghost town for a few weeks until summer. In fact, the hotel we were staying in right at the base of the mountain--and most all the others around it--closed. We were homeless. Thankfully, John Ott's parents took us in.

That afternoon the Otts took us up the mountain to Robert's cousin's house. It was seriously like something from "Man From Snowy River". Amazing. It's quite common place there to see a porcupine amble across the road, to see Elk grazing, a fox scamper in front of you, or to meet a nice family of black bears who live just over the ridge from this house. For as far as the eye could see there were mountains and valleys--mostly covered in snow. This house they took us to was a huge--HUGE--log cabin. It sat on over 30 acres. There were large windows in the living areas where you could see the mountains and all the snow. Their golden retriever waited loyally at the door. It was like walking into some Colorado Magazine shoot. Amazing.

We got home and all bedded down for the night at the Otts. We knew we had a busy day ahead. Early the next morning we rented the car and began our trek to Denver. Sheryl was waiting in Steamboat to fly and would meet us in Denver if everything worked out. We prayed before we drove out and asked the Lord to watch over us. The next 4 hours were incredible. When else would I be driving through the Continental Divide after such a snow storm? I have never seen scenery like that in my life. I almost felt like we were on an expedition discovering new lands. Much of that stretch was uninhabited. We saw some beautiful snow covered mountains and trees. We saw some peaceful lakes covered in ice. We saw several huge log cabin estates--who are these people?? The entire time we thanked God for his provision and commented that if we had to be stuck, we couldn't imagine a better group of people to be with. The stress of what we were missing at home was purposefully put aside since none of us could do anything about it. There were a few interesting moments in driving, but overall, it was a safe trip.

We got to the airport where 2000 people had been stuck the night before and it looked like Armageddon! Lines everywhere, bags as far as you could see, tired, grumpy, "postal" people. It was not pretty. We decided to head back out to the curb to take our chances there. Thankfully, we got checked in and through security in plenty of time and Sheryl was on her way. We all had a happy reunion at a Mexican food restaurant near our gate. We were extremely glad to be heading home.

I don't know why all this happened. Perhaps it was because God was protecting us from something else, perhaps it was so that we could have an extra day with the Otts and Whitney, perhaps it was simply because of the obvious. Whatever the case, we had much to be thankful for. I have those beautiful images burned into my mind of the driving trip from Steamboat to Denver. I don't think I'll ever forget it. Laughing with friends while we drove the the Continental Divide--awesome!

We could not get home fast enough. The girls immediately opened the door squealing with delight. What a way to come home! I could have eaten them up. We all fell on the floor and giggled and hugged and tickled. It was a heavenly reunion. I'm not sure who was happier that we were home though--the girls or my mom and Kiki. THANK YOU to those two and Sarah Williamson for helping with our girls. We are very blessed.

I'll leave you with some pictures the Otts took while we were on the mountain on Saturday. I wish I had some pictures of us singing too. Unfortunately, we only had the camera on Saturday.



Gatha Ott (John's mom), Philip Henry, and BST on top of the mountain!




JV and BST riding on the gondola. JV is just a breath away from a major panic attack over heights!




Amanda and Sheryl riding the gondola




The group after eating on top of the mountain

Again--thanks for all your prayers. We really believe that God guided our steps over the weekend. Have a great week!

We're HOME!! Praise the Lord. It's late and I am exhausted so...details tomorrow. Thank you for your prayers. It was so great to hug my girls tonight!

Here's the update:
As of now, Sheryl has a seat on an afternoon flight tomorrow that will get her home around 7:40pm. The rest of us are going to watch the weather and, Lord willing, will rent a car and drive to Denver to try and catch flights out of there tomorrow afternoon or evening. If you've watched the weather, you've seen the conditions there. It's blizzard-like. So, please pray for our safety and wisdom as we make these decisions. If anyone has any pull with United Airlines, let us know!

IMMEDIATE PRAYER REQUEST!!

As of now, all flights are cancelled out of Steamboat tomorrow--in fact, it's looking like we're stuck here until Tuesday. Please, please pray for us to be able to get home. We have kids who need us to come home, Amanda has the Country Music TV awards Monday and her job depends on it, JV will have to go to unpaid days, etc. It's important that we get out. Please pray for us!

We've had a great time in Steamboat! Friday morning we sang for the school and the kids really seemed into it. They were all really great kids. Last night we sang at the big dinner at the Grand Hotel here. What an amazing place! The group did an incredible job and we all had a great time too.

After the event last night we walked outside and it was snowing buckets. I was really excited. We didn't see much snow in Nashville this year and I missed it. We got back to the hotel and Tonya (our new front desk friend) graciously allowed us to uncover the hot tub outside. It's HUGE! Amanda decided not to go but Philip, JV, Sheryl and I went out to brave the elements. It was hilarious. Snow was coming down like a heavy rain. Sheryl and I ended up using the cover as a shield so we could enjoy the hot tub without being covered in snow. It was cool because from under the cover you could watch the snow falling down. We all commented that it looked like something out of the Polar Express.

This morning I looked out our door and it looked like God had over turned a huge bowl of whipping cream. The trees are laden with snow and, hopefully, the mountain will have good conditions. I am excited about skiing. I haven't been in a couple of years. I just hope I don't kill myself.

They're calling for a winter snow advisory for tonight. Please pray we can get home. I know my mom and Kim would appreciate those prayers too! :)

Have a great weekend, blog family. Let it snow!!

No time to fully blog today. But I wanted to share a funny story that Rick Johnson sent me. I always love these things. Why are church bloopers so funny? And...why is it that laughing in church or someplace you're not supposed to be laughing SOOO much more fun?? (with my laugh--I've never been that subtle. It can be quite the disturbance!)

A visiting minister during the offertory prayer:

"Dear Lord," he began with arms extended and a rapturous look on his upturned face, "without you we are but dust..."

He would have continued, but at that moment one very observant little girl (who was listening carefully for a change!) leaned over to her mother and asked quite audibly in her shrill little girl voice, "Mommy, WHAT is butt dust?"

Church was pretty much over at that point...

Have a great weekend, bloggers! Snowy Colorado, here we come!!

the ZOE girls pause for a photo opp. while recording last Saturday
L to R: Sheryl, Melissa, Amy, Karin



The guys gather around one mic to cheese for the camera.
L to R: David, Jason, Peter, JV and BST.

I wanted to share some pictures Amy sent me. I hope you enjoy them. I just returned from our staff retreat. We went to this incredible retreat center called "The Hiding Place". WOW! It was amazing. We had a good day together and some great discussion. I really hated being away from Sheryl though. I was worried the entire time. It was hard to keep my mind there. Sheryl is hurting very badly today. We're going to the doctor in a couple of hours to see what's going on with her back. Otherwise, after Monday's appt with the OBGYN, the baby seems to be fine. Praise God!

I am running around trying to make sure I have everything I need for the trip to CO. tomorrow. Mercy. I am looking forward to it though. I think our time out there will be really cool. I had the most interesting discussion with a newspaper reporter from Steamboat yesterday. She called because they are doing a story on us coming out there and printing a picture and stuff. Anyway--I don't think she was a Christian--or at least had much experience with church stuff. We had the coolest discussion about music and worship and the name ZOE and what it means. She asked some great questions. Hopefully, the story in the paper will be a good one.

Please pray for Kim and my mom as they keep the girls this weekend. I know the girls will have a blast--they always do. I just pray that everyone stays healthy and safe.

Monday night we went out to Rose Pepper Cantina--one of our favorite Spring-Fall places to eat. We sat outside and baptized my mom in what Rose Pepper is all about--the delicious cheese sauce, the amazing enchiladas, great drinks, etc. Mom really loved it. However, one of the best moments was when Ella got out of the car to go into the restaurant. She immediately grabbed my mom's hand and was ready to go. As mom was walking with her we mused that these moments--the random eating out kind of moments--were why she moved to Nashville. It's so wonderful having her here. She is SUCH a blessing to all of us! Please don't be mad at us, Abilene people. We're trying to appreciate every bit of her presence here!

I may not be able to post in Steamboat Springs. If not, I'll report when I return. Thank you for your prayers. Have a great weekend!

Yesterday was a great day. After church we went over to Byron and Beth Williamson's for lunch (Ryan's parents). They've been like family for many years. Ryan's sister, Shelly, and her husband, Adrian, are here picking out things for their house. They are moving here in a couple of months. It will really be so fun to finally have them all in one city! Adrian is chief resident at a hospital in Kansas City. He's moving here to work at one of our Nashville hospitals. I always love talking to him because he ALWAYS has a good story for me.

Yesterday afternoon the singers came over to work on stuff for our trip to Colorado this week. It was a very productive rehearsal. Man--Sheryl and Amanda could just do the entire thing singing solos and it would be incredible. We're doing part of the time acapella and the rest with piano and guitar. It's a little different from what we normally do. Friday morning we'll sing and lead worship for the school there and then that night we'll sing at the formal dinner there in Steamboat. The night thing will be more presentational. We do that from time to time and it's always a little hard to make the transition. But I think it will be a really cool night.

Last night we had life group. Kyle led the discussion on joy. I was outside on kid duty. Judson Chaudoin and I played ball and had so much fun. I apologized to Jay and Kim when we went inside saying that Jud was muddy, sweaty and bloody. It gave me a taste of what it will be like to have a son. It's so crazy how instinctively different they are. Judson takes risks that Maddie and Ella would never take (well, maybe Ella would!). He was swinging on the tree swing at the top of our yard twisting and turning upside down swinging his light saber, he dove for the ball as we played, rolling down the hill, he would fall and skin his knee and get right back up. I honestly was taking it all in thinking about what Sam might be like. We're in for even more fun in the days ahead!

After group sharing time, I went back in and we noticed that our new neighbors, Jason and Anna Maria were walking down the street. I went out and asked them to come in and join us. The group really loved having them there. I sat at the piano and played and we worshipped for a little while and then circled around them and prayed for their family and their new life here. We talked afterwards about the possibility of them coming regularly and using our group for some fellowship time for the people they are reaching out to in Antioch. I am really excited about that possibility.

As I write, Sheryl is at the baby doctor. I am hopeful that we'll have some more information after this visit. These feelings of contractions--what are they? Are they contractions? We need to know. Thanks for your continued prayers. Please keep praying for the Shaubs too. Jonathan's 25th birthday is Thursday. He could use some encouragement.

Have a great Monday! Have I mentioned that I love Mondays? Karen Carpenter has no clue. It's my favorite day of the week. I have all day to be with my family. I pray that your Monday is filled with joy.

Whew! I feel exhausted tonight. Are you sure we can't gain an hour instead of lose one tonight? We've had a long, but awesome weekend recording. We've really enjoyed recording at the Bennett House this year. It's been such a comfortable, "vibey" place. We got a lot done. Here's what we recorded this weekend:

--Mighty Is the Power of the Cross
--The Bread Has Been Broken
--Ps. 23 (Clarissa's)
--Let Us Be You (Clarissa and Michael Lusk)
--Living Prayer (we got everything but the solo done. Sheryl will come back later and lay down her vocal.)

Last night my mom kept the girls. They had all the cushions off the couch and played hard all night. They had a blast. Today Aunt Kiki kept them. It's wonderful to have family like Mom and Kim. The girls love them and it makes it easier on us.

Tomorrow morning we are talking about Jesus clearing the temple and the Lordship of Christ. It will be a great morning. Afterwards, the singers are coming over so we can work some on our set for next weekend at Steamboat Springs. Then we can all crash.

I know I keep asking and reminding, but I have thought a lot about Jonathan today. Please keep praying for him. He really needs intercession right now--for encouragement and healing.

Good night, bloggers!

PS: here's a reading we're doing in the morning. I took it from the book of John and just pieced some things together. Feel free to use it if you ever need a congregational reading on Lordship. I had a really hard time finding something I liked.

Leader: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.

All: Jesus Christ is Lord!

Leader: In Him was life and that life was the light of men. The true Light that gives light to every man has come into the world.

All: Jesus Christ is Lord!

Leader: The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

All: Jesus Christ is Lord!

Leader: He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.

All: Jesus Christ is Lord!

Leader: Yet to all who received him and believed in his name he gave the right to become children of God.

All: Jesus Christ is Lord!

Leader: He prophesied, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days”, and so it was accomplished.

All: Jesus Christ is Lord!

Leader: He is King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Ancient of Days, the Alpha and the Omega, our Redeemer and the Victor over death!

All: Jesus Christ is Lord!

OK--I know I have already innundated you with pictures today...but Sheryl had Ella's two yr portraits done and they turned out so cute--I had to share!

It's April Fools!! My dad and my crazy aunt Dot used to love this "holiday". One could never be sure what might happen on April 1st. I also have a friend who was born on April 1st. Now that's sad.

Some funny moments lately from the girls:
--Maddie's view of reality when it comes to hair is sharply skewed thanks to her father. Most normal children would warn you if your hair is sticking up. Maddie becomes concerned when my hair is "sticking down".

--Maddie and Ella have taken to singing "Shout Hallelujah" and they love to dance while singing it. However, their version says, "Shout Hadalujah" sung with great gusto!

On a much more somber note, please continue to pray for the Shaubs. Jonathan got some bad news yesterday. The doctors said that the pelvic area around the large wound they have been treating is beginning to ossify. Basically, that means due to lack of movement and the inability to get the wound closed, his body is beginning to produce bone-like tissue in the area which could impact his ability to walk. Please join us in praying that JD will be able to beat this and return to normal soon. Doctors told them yesterday that they expect to keep him in ICU at least another 6 weeks. That was hard news for everyone.

Tonight we head to the studio. Peter flies in around 3 and we'll rest some before we head out to Franklin. Please keep praying for this process. We are asking that God would anoint this time and sing through us.

I'll leave you with some pictures from our Easter weekend.


Maddie and Ella ready to go to the Otter Creek Easter egg hunt on Saturday


My mom with the girls at our house


Maddie and Ella with their cousins, Cannan and Sierra (Fajita's kids!)


These little bunnies all have their mouths full!



Thomas family--at my mom's on Easter Sunday. (nice pic of Maddie, huh? This was sort of her mood for good chunks of the weekend)


OC Easter Sunday morning--the Easter Choir (we're missing a few, but most of them were in the picture. The girls wanted in too! The sweet cherub sitting next to them is Abby Cox--sitting next to her mom, Clarissa!)

Thanks for letting me share. I hope you guys have a great weekend. We'll feel your prayers as we resume recording tonight. Thank you!!

We had a great rehearsal last night with ZOE. We have some more songs ready for this weekend and I am so glad! Here are the ones we're still seriously considering adding:
--Let Us Be You (Clarissa and Michael Luck wrote this)
--Ps 23 (Clarissa)
--The Bread Has Been Broken (off the new worship leader discovery CD)
--Mighty is the Power of the Cross (we sang this here for Easter and it went really well!)
--You Were There (Avalon)
--Living Prayer (Alison Krauss)
--When All Thy Mercies (Ortega)

I'd also like to figure out a way to do "One Pure and Holy Passion" with the chorus of "To the Ends of the Earth" added to the end.

I am actually beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel! No matter what, I look back at last year and where I was at this point and I feel grateful. We were trying to get the live record completed in post production, we had another record to complete by the end of May, there was major staff turmoil, and my friend Joe was dying. I thank God for some relief this year! I never would have thought we'd be pregnant either! Crazy!

Sam has turned into the alien. His movements are like a jack rabbit. You can see his arms and legs moving and sticking out. I will never--ever--get over the miracle of pregnancy and birth. Sheryl continues to struggle with her back and all problems associated with pregnancy. She has her 30 week check up in a few days and we're looking forward to hearing what the doc has to say. Please continue to pray for her. She's also feeling a bit "coldy" and that's not fun. But, I'll say this--there has NEVER been a more beautiful pregnant woman than Sheryl. She just looks amazing.

I LOVE THIS WEATHER! Praise the Lord for the beauty of His creation! I want to be outside.

I'm having lunch today with Phillip Duncan and Paul Young (more praise team meetings). Yesterday I met with Sallie Miller. These have been so awesome and SO encouraging! Anyone who knows Phillip and Paul knows that the three of us together in any room means trouble. I can't wait!

Happy Thursday, Blog family.

Last night we got to go see Nashville Star. We've been watching it on TV and it hit me last week that, duh, it's taped here in Nashville and we ought to go see it! Amanda hooked us up with one of the producers so we got to skip the extremely long lines outside and go in through the side door. Our seats were AWESOME!! We were about 5 rows back right next to the judges--



Phil Vassar kicked off the evening (he's on the far right). He's had a couple of number 1 hits himself and multiple others he's written for different artists. My friend, Julie Corlew, was a song writer and knew Phil back before he was a country star. We used to go listen to him play in this little dive bar in Antioch. Someone I know who reads this blog was a bouncer there---but I am not naming names. :) He is really such an amazing singer, writer, and performer. I remember thinking--if this guy can't get a record deal, no one can. Sure enough. Anyway--he kicked off the night because it was "original song night". He was awesome.

Brett Michaels (the guy on the far left) also sang last night. He is the lead singer of Poison (that'll take you back.) He sang "Every Rose Has Its Thorn". It was hilarious. Definitely a rowdy performance.

The contestants were fun to watch. I could not believe that Tamika got cut this week. She has such an amazing voice--way better than Jenny. (One of the judges said to Jenny, "I know you have to be as surprised as we are that you're still here." OUCH!) I was not a fan of the Rockabilly guy. His song was pure cheese.

The coolest part was just being there and seeing what it was like to be in the audience for the live taping. Leann Rimes was sick and looked miserable. The audience was extremely rowdy and loud last night--which made it even more fun. And--we were right--it does sound different in the "house" than it does on TV. It's harder to tell when they are pitchy in the theater. Although, Jenny's pitchiness was hard to mask.

All in all, it was a really fun night. Thanks for hooking us up, Amanda! Sometimes, living in a city makes you blind to the fun things that go on there. Nashville has so many cool events. We need to take advantage of them.

It's absolutely beautiful here. It is supposed to be 76 degrees today! I talked to one of the people from Steamboat Springs who told me that there was a huge snow dump there this week. YEA! We will get to ski a week from Saturday. Who can resist Spring Skiing?

I am reading The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. We are going through it in our staff retreat next week. I don't really love books of that nature, although several of them HAVE been helpful through the years. Two that stick out are Ordering Your Private World by Gordon McDonald and Boundaries by Henry Cloud. Those are two very helpful books. I have liked what I've read so far in Seven Habits. Have any of you read it? What is your impression?

Tuesdays are always filled with meetings. Today is no exception. I am also trying to figure out what we're recording this weekend. We'll be going back in the studio Friday night. We're working on an arrangement of Living Prayer and another Fernando Ortega hymn. I am still open to ideas. Finding songs with this theme has been very difficult.

Tonight we are going to Nashville Star. You can watch it on the USA network at 9 central standard time. I am excited to see what it's like!!

Have a great day, bloggers. Please feel free to share ideas on songs as you get them.

We had an incredible day yesterday. Both services were really great! The choir did a fantastic job, Sonya and Philip did a wonderful job with the drama. (Owen, it was great. I'll send you a copy of the CD.) Tim's message was powerful and ended with having Otter Creek people testify to what the Lord has done in their lives by asking different groups of people to stand if they'd experienced the power of Christ in their lives. Some specifics he mentioned were--healing in marriages, restoration of broken families, a breaking of the slavery to sexual issues, a healing for loneliness and more. It was powerful.

After our worship time we all (our family, Fajita's family, and Aunt Kiki) made our way to my mom's house. She was, of course, the grand hostess! We had delicious honey baked ham, orange salad, sweet potato casserole, green beans, potato salad, and coconut cake. It was really such a great day. I'm so glad she's here.

After lunch we all crashed. I don't know when I have slept like that. For you worship ministers out there you know what I mean. There's nothing quite like the sleep you get the night (or afternoon in my case) AFTER your big Christmas or Easter program. So much work goes into them. It's so rewarding though--pouring time and energy into something that will lift up the name of Jesus. There are other times when that kind of exhaustion hits from doing things like Habitat for Humanity or other kinds of service projects. All are important and we are testifying through each different activity what Jesus means to us. It's important to take time to do both--to live out the life we've been called to live, serving, ministering, loving, reaching out, caring for people, etc. And it's also important to stop for moments like we had yesterday where we remember who we're serving and testify together. Neither should be independent of the other--in my opinion. People on both sides argue the importance of one over the other, but aren't both important? Those whose hearts beat for worship need to balance their time to make sure that their "worship" includes lifestyle and daily act of giving themselves to Jesus through serving people. And--those whose hearts beat for service should not come to worship with arms crossed judging others who are engaged in passionate worship to the Lord.

We are a body--made up of many parts. I don't think we can hear that enough. My thumb and my mouth have very, VERY little in common. However, they are both really important to the function of my body as God created it. Imagine if my thumb said, "Look at that mouth up there. What a lazy bum! He can't even pick up anything or help carry things. It looks like all he's doing is sitting there like he's along for the ride...all talk and no action. Geez--why can't he be a thumb?"

What if my mouth said, "Look at that thumb down there. He can't sing, he can't talk, he can't speak words of encouragement, he seems like a bump on a log. He can't communicate like I can. He can't smile or frown. He can't even word a prayer. Does he even care about God?"

Ridiculous, huh? I know I've been guilty of doing that with people in our church. I will probably continue to struggle with feelings like that. BUT--the truth is, we need each other. We are connected to the body--even though we are completely different, have separate giftings, interests and abilities. We are connected to the Body and we have a function to carry out. Working together, we create something really beautiful. In service, the thumb is able to help physically while the mouth speaks words of encouragement or healing. In worship, as the mouth sings or prays, the thumb and hand are lifted as a symbol of vulnerability or offering unto the Lord.

Maybe it's an image that seems like a stretch, but I couldn't help but think about it yesterday. I'm grateful for the Body of Christ. I am thankful that we aren't all alike and that God can accomplish His purposes through us--even in our differences.

Today is Monday. I'm home with my girls and we're painting the nursery preparing for Baby Sam. I'm thankful for the freedom I have because of Jesus. I am thankful for the love I've experienced in my life that never would have been known otherwise. I hope your weekend was wonderful.

Christ is risen--We are risen! Happy Easter, bloggers!!

We've had a really fun couple of days. Thursday night we ate at Baja Burrito with Katey Earles and then went to see Robots. The girls enjoyed it and we did too--aside from the 5 trips to the potty for Ella who is now officially potty trained. PRAISE GOD!!

Katey and my mom came back over yesterday and we went to the Mall so my mom could buy the girls their Easter dresses (a tradition now). It was fun being together. Katey has become another adopted sister. She hung out at our house all day yesterday and kept our kids last night while Sheryl and I went out with Gail and Chris to Basantes and then to Bongo Java. It's fun to be with family.

Speaking of family--Amanda, who I've written about many times before, has hooked us up with tickets to Nashville Star this Tuesday. She works for CMT and knows the right people. Yee-Hawww! I am excited to see how it sounds live instead of on TV. You know things like American Idol and Nashville Star HAVE to sound better live because some of those singers who are so off key never seem to know. (Sarah Evans included. I've never heard her on TV in her many performances where she wasn't completely off key. How did she get a record deal?)

We're getting ready to leave for the OC Easter Egg hunt. Maddie has asked me 10 times in the last ten minutes when she can put her dress on. It's still an hour and a half away. That girl. Ella would go naked for all she cares.

Have a great weekend! Tomorrow we get to celebrate what Jesus has done for us as we should all the time. The difference is, there's a sense of expectation--from believers and seekers. It's a different kind of weekend. How exciting! THEN we get to chow down on Honey Baked Ham at my mom's. Hallelujah!

We had a great rehearsal last night. Really awesome! I cannot believe the level of talent that we have here. But beyond that--the hearts that are coupled with the talent just astound me. Thank you, Lord for reminding me of that blessing last night!

In the midst of the last couple of days I have enjoyed a little internet game that tells you what type of dog you are. Thank you, David Shaub!! Some of the office staff and I have laughed about which dog we are and the description of that dog's personality. I'd LOVE to hear what you are. Turns out I am an English Cocker Spaniel. David England in ZOE found out he's a "Hovawart". Bless him. I think there's a medication for that. Which dog are you? Find out by clicking here. When you get there go to the "game" link to the left.

I am trying to put the finishing touches on Easter this morning. I am excited about Sunday. I think the message of Life really has meaning for us today. When we are in touch at all with our own sin and realize that He traded places with us--it is simply overwhelming. Here's a preview of Sunday:

Call to Worship--The Otter Creek chorus
"Your Grace Still Amazes Me" (with the igniter video "Are You Amazed?")

Welcome--Tim Woodroof
Family Prayer

Praise and Worship--BST--All Hail the Power
--To God Be the Glory
--Were You There? (verses 1,2)
--When I Survey (verses 3 and 2 in that order)
contemplative exercise (writing on a card the things that need to be put to death in us and then visualizing the blood of Christ covering them)

A Matter of Life and Death--Dramatic reading (by Owen Burgess--thanks, Owen!!)
--For All You've Done (O Cleanser of the mess...)
--In Christ Alone (Townend)
--Christ the Lord is Risen Today

"LIFE"--Tim Woodroof
DVD
--All Who Are Thirsty

Lord's Supper
Bread--silence
Cup--Mighty Is The Power of the Cross (Tomlin)
Offering--You Are Holy

Shepherd's Close--Ed Rucker--A New Anointing

I pray that those who are coming this weekend into our buildings will feel the love of Christ overwhelm them. May NO ONE be able to say as they leave, "Did those people really mean what they were saying? They didn't seem to believe it." Let's be the arms of Jesus for those inside and outside our church buildings this week.

Sheryl's sister Gail, her husband Chris (Fajita) and their kids are coming tomorrow. It will be so fun to watch the girls hunt for eggs and laugh with their cousins. Can't wait to see you guys!! We have a full weekend of activities including the Otter Creek Easter egg hunt on Saturday. If I don't get to post, may you have a blessed weekend with family.

Oh--don't forget to tell us what kind of dog you are.

My year anniversary of blogging came and went and I didn't even realize it. Here's a look back at a sentence or two from my first entry in March of 2004.

Day one

I am embarking on a journey that I pray will be meaningful, disciplining, heart felt, and even humorous. To journal about one's journey in this life certainly takes courage, but for me--more discipline than anything else. As I struggle through living the life of a worship leader, a husband, a pastor and everything else that somehow gets attached to me, I pray that God will bless this writing and that He will use it to encourage someone else. So...here we go!

Several days into blogging

I don't know what the end of this story is for me. It's possible that the next time you drive through at Taco Bell you'll hear a familiar voice saying "whatcha want?" But, what seems more likely is that God will be faithful to bring me through this season of difficulty and give me tools for ministry as I walk ahead in faith.

Hopefully, some of those beginning goals have been achieved. I still struggle some days with candor and honesty and sometimes it just equals a great big bowl of creamed corn. But, overall, it's been a wonderful exercise this year.

Please pray for me today as I try and finish up last minute things for Easter and rehearsal tonight. The meeting yesterday is still weighing heavily on my heart. Consequently, as things go in churches, groups of people have discussed this matter and are coming to their own conclusions. It's all well intentioned. Mostly. Anyway!! Thank you for allowing me to share bits and pieces of my journey with you along the way. I look forward to more moments together.

Oops--one last thing to leave with you. Maddie has gotten to where she loves to sing in the bathroom with the door closed. I think it's the acoustics. I remember going out to the garage as a kid and singing songs as loud as I could to hear the sound in there. Anyway--what strikes me as funny is that her song of choice lately as she is in there sitting on the toilet is... "Here I am to Worship".

Yesterday was such a great day! I was feeling better--at least enough to be outside and enjoy the beautiful day. I actually did a little too much. I've been dying to get our back flower garden under control. It was horrible. So, Sheryl and I chopped our way through out of control rose bushes and dug up most everything else. I spread some mulch and planted some bulbs. Sheryl's really the better gardener here, but I was obeying her directions. It felt good to be outside, dirty, and sweaty! It was nice to hear the delightful screams of little girls running all over the yard or calling from their swings, "Daddy come push me HIGH!" Summer--here we come!

I was exhausted last night. But I still felt better than I had over the weekend. I am at work today and have Easter looming in the near future. There is much to do that didn't get done last week, thanks to sickness.

Pray for me today. I have a lunch that I am not looking forward to. It's with a member of our church who has really not liked anything I've done here in 10 years. He has left several times but always comes back. To say that our views are different on issues would be the major understatement. However, he and his wife have been at OC for a very long time. They have given their lives in service to this church. They have weathered many, MANY changes. They are loved. I anticipate this being a difficult lunch. Please say a prayer for me for wisdom, sensitivity, boldness, and patience--all at the same time.

Lord, you have made us family, whether we like it or not. I pray that I will treat my brother with brotherly love today. I pray that you shut my mouth when it needs to be shut and open it when, and only when, it will benefit your will in this situation. Bless the other men who will join us. Give them wisdom and guidance as well.

So...rise and shine and give God the glory glory! Thankfully, I am feeling better this morning. Praise the Lord! Perhaps it was the amazing chicken and noodles my mom made and brought over last night? Perhaps it is from the loving care my wife and girls have given me? Perhaps it's that the Lord heard your prayers and drown my cold in the Red Sea. OK--enough with the Ten commandments movie.

Maddie cracked me up yesterday. She has gotten to where she sings "All Who Are Thirsty" a lot. It's so cute. But yesterday she sang these words... "As beep calls out to beep." Not sure what that means, but she was singing it with gusto.

Sheryl had a 7:00 physical therapy appt. this morning. Bless her. Please keep praying for her back. AND--please pray that none of them caught what I have had.

I feel so much better today. I am thankful! The sun is out and hopefully, I will feel like getting out in the back yard and playing with the girls. Have a great Monday, everyone!

Thy servant hath fallen into great infermity. The plague of cold and flu hath landed upon him. Ooops--sorry. Watched a little too much Charlton Heston and the 10 Commandments last night. Maybe I should borrow a more modern phrase from an ABC reporter from a few weeks ago... "Brandon Thomas is MISERABLE."

It's been a weekend of sickness for me. It was quite the scramble to figure out what to do about worship this morning. Everyone and their dog is gone to some far off wonderful place for Spring Break. THANKFULLY, Paul Young agreed to save me. He was supposed to be helping in children's worship this morning. THANK YOU, PAUL!

I've been so stuffed up that I cannot breathe--at all. Now, to make things even more fun I have a sore throat. Probably from drainage--sorry.

I'll miss you all at OC this morning. I pray it's a great day of glorifying the Lord. Please be sure to thank Paul for me.

Yesterday was one of those really unbelievable days that I don't want to forget. What a day! Amazing things, my friends. I want to write about it but only to tell you how God can answer prayers in an immediate way. I think sometimes I get so used to waiting for answers from Him that I forget that He is completely capable of answering in the immediate.

First, let me share another funny story I forgot to mention about the ride to school. I had both of the girls with me and Ella was rummaging through her Easter basket from her class at church Wednesday night. There was an egg with marshmallows inside. She opened them and I told her that she could only eat one and she could give one to Maddie and that was IT. About 5 minutes later, I hear that same egg being re-opened very slowly--so I waited. About 10 seconds later I said, "Ella, are you eating those marshmallows that I told you not to eat???" She said, "Umph nah eaing amphythin" The girl had her mouth so full of marshmellows it was like the old chubby bunny game. Hilarious. It was one of those moments when I should have gotten on to her for fibbing, but I could not bring myself to stop laughing enough to be serious.

OK--on to the rest of the day. I am officially sick with another cold. For the love. Well, I was feeling awful and decided to take off around lunch and go to see Hotel Rwanda. I hadn't seen it yet and since I was thinking about showing it at Otter, I decided to preview it. It was one of the most powerful movies I have ever, EVER seen. I think it impacted me almost as much as the Passion movie. I bawled.

At one point in the movie, while the journalists were still allowed in Rwanda, one of them filmed one of the brutal massacres. I'm taking MASSACRE--with machetes. The hotel manager tearfully thanked him for capturing that on film so that the world could see and help. The journalist sadly looked at him and shook his head saying people would barely notice. The manager exclaimed, "How can people see this and not intervene??" The journalist replied, "Most people will see this, stop eating, shake their heads and comment on how sad it is and then resume their dinner." How true that was. The saddest part is that most of the governments knew what was happening and did little to help. Finally, many of them escaped to Zimbabwe, but not before more than a million people were killed.

I remember when the African Children's Choir came to Otter back in the late 90's. Some of those children were orphans from this conflict who had watched their parents get murdered. Some had burrowed underneath dead bodies so as not to be found by those doing the killing. What horrible wounds of the heart and mind!

I drove home in tears, sobbing to the Lord. I felt such a sense of sorrow. What could we have done? What can we do now? What does this mean for me today in Nashville, TN? How can my eyes be opened to suffering? How can I climb outside my little sheltered world? Still feeling very yuck, I pulled onto our street and saw the people moving in right across from us. I went across the street to introduce myself. They were clearly not Tennesseeans (or Texans, for that matter). I asked where they were from--guess where? Zimbabwe. WOW!! I had just been praying for God to open my eyes--Jason and Anna Maria are DELIGHTFUL! He has finished his doctorate and is here to plant a church for those from different nations in Africa. I helped them unload the car and then invited them to dinner. Sheryl was cooking up something special for our other friends, the Greens, who were also in the moving process (which we hate and completely feel for anyone in that place). She was more than happy to throw on some more food.

I asked Jason what else I could do for them. He reluctantly told me that his movers needed a ride home and he had to go the opposite direction to pick up his children. He wondered if I could take these guys home. They were characters--I am here to tell you. They climbed in and we took off for East Nashville (deep east nashville). You would not believe the conversations we had along the way. They were hilarious. They were quizzing me about my job and what makes me tick and on and on. I have never, ever felt so white. The guy sitting shotgun asked me if he could change the radio station. I told him to go for it. All of a sudden this rap song came on...

My woman's in the kitchen
cookin up a meal
I get up off 'de couch
so I can go and cop a feel.
(You can't make this stuff up. Thankfully, I can't recall the rest of the verse--is it called a verse in rap???)

chorus: Doin' it in the kitchen
Oh yeah, doin it in the kitchen.

Ummmm. yeah. So, I had to laugh about this. They laughed too and we turned off the radio-- I sure wasn't going to make their heads spin by going from rap to ZOE. We had a good talk before I dropped them at their respective homes.

I got home and vomited all this information on Sheryl--the movie, my prayer, all these crazy open doors smacking me in the face, and shared my excitement about what God could be doing. Somehow, and if you know me you know what a miracle this is, God gave me energy and strength even while feeling terrible. A little later, Jason, Anna Maria, and two of their 4 kids came over for dinner. I was so excited. We were all excited. God had brought us some new neighbors from a very far away place. Something cool was bound to happen.

We ate dinner and laughed about various things. There was a tiny bit of a language barrier but not enough to make a huge difference. Their younger two kids were the ones with them--11 and 14. They were really amazing kids. Turns out Jason was a journalist during the Rwandan conflict. He told me stories that would make you lose sleep.

I kept shaking my head at the Lord all night. In one afternoon, this delightful couple had entered our lives. We prayed together, told stories of our families, and pledged to take care of each other as neighbors should. I think I will learn a lot from Jason as he reaches a community of people in Antioch who I would otherwise probably never know. I know God opened this door for me--to show me that things like this are more than serendipities. He is in control and orchestrates things in our lives to strengthen our faith and love for Him.

Last night I didn't save a Rwandan orphan. I didn't stand between a Tootsie and a Hutu and demand peace. I wasn't able to sneak 800 refugees across the border. But, I was able to share a meal with a family who I believe will bring many wonderful experiences into our lives. It was hard not to feel like this was a really cool opening chapter in a book I have needed to read and experience for a long time now.

I'll leave you with two things today. First--go see Hotel Rwanda before it leaves the theaters. Second, keep praying for open eyes. I forget to, but am always amazed at what happens as God answers those small prayers.

Please don't leave me any anonymous "let your deeds be done in secret" type of comments. This has nothing to do with me and EVERYTHING to do with Him. We have got to tell stories of His faithfulness to each other so that we remember and know what a mighty God we follow.

Here's a quote from Mother Teresa that my mom shared with me. I thought it was really cool.

I never look at the masses as my responsibility.
I look at the individual.
I can love only one person at a time.
I can feed only one person at at time.
Just one, one, one.
You get closer to Christ by coming closer to each other.
As Jesus said, "Whatever you do to the least of my brethern, you do to me."
So you begin....I begin.
I picked up one person---
maybe if I didn't pick up that one person I wouldn't have picked up 42,000.
The whole work is only a drop in the ocean.
But if I didn't put the drop in, the ocean would be one drop less.
Same thing for you
same thing for your family
same thing in the church where you go
just begin...one, one, one.

Have a great weekend. If you get a moment, please pray for my health. I feel worse today. Thanks!

Today was Maddie's Spring Program! Each class wore a different color. Maddie's class wore orange, as you can see. She sang,
"Oh I wish I were a little piece of orange--JUICY, JUICY!
Oh I wish I were a little piece of orange--JUICY, JUICY!
I'd go squirty, squirty, squirty on everybody's shirty
Oh I wish I were a little piece of orange--JUICY, JUICY!"

And there was the shameless UT plug as they closed singing "Rocky Top" and chanting "GO BIG ORANGE!" (We've already brainwashed Maddie who goes around cheering, "Go Cats, and A-C-U, Who ya rootin for? A-C-U!"

Sheryl, Ella, my mom (Nonnie) and I were all there to cheer her on. The kids were adorable. Maddie had a blast and actually sang out this time unlike Christmas when she was sick as a dog. Yea, Maddie!

Ella got to go down the hall to the office to see Miss Trina and dig through her candy dish. She was excited to see her, but probably more excited to get the candy.



Rehearsal last night seemed long. I wasn't feeling great--in fact today I feel like I have a cold coming on. Clarissa was awesome in keeping things moving. We decided against "When You Call My Name". Some songs just do not translate. It's sad too, cause that's one of the ones that really says what we need songs to say on this record.

Tim is in Greece this week. Dog. I know he's having a great time. Julie--aren't you missing him? Doug Sanders is preaching Sunday. I know it will be good. I hope you all have a great Thursday. Pray for Jonathan Shaub--and for his family. The longer this goes, the more difficult it is on them. Also, please pray for Scott Owings. Scott is at a monastery this week doing some more training for his Spiritual Direction study. We miss him.

It's lunch time. All that talk about juicy oranges squirting has me hungry. TTFN.

Coupla things today--

Dentist--a much better experience. I did see Dr. (the other guy) and hid behind a wall. My friends at the front desk had to laugh at me. Lesson to everyone--brush regularly. Floss often. I do, but am now flossing more. I don't want another round.

Date night--we opted not to go to Melting Pot. Since we had a gift certificate for PF Chang's, we went there. Twist my arm. Afterwards, we went to see Hitch. What a great movie!!! You have to see it. It's really funny and clean too. My mom watched the girls. Ella was a mess when we left but only minutes after when I called I could hear her belly laughing. They had a great time.

Praise team meetings--these are going really well. I've enjoyed having time to get to know people better too. I had breakfast with Justin Mundie, lunch with Tiffany Fox, and Sally Miller is on her way here as I write. These meetings have proven to me that this process with our team has been really beneficial. With 70 people it's really hard to even know everyone well. This is affording me the opportunity to present the vision again in a personal, one on one environment. It’s really blessed me.

Rehearsals--tonight we rehearse with ZOE again at 6pm. Working on "When You Call My Name", "Mighty is the Power of the Cross", and "Living Prayer". At 7pm I move on to the portable for another rehearsal with the Easter choir. Pray for my vocal health!

Blogger--seriously, can someone in tech control help all us bloggers out? What is the deal lately? Is anyone else having trouble posting and commenting? Ha--guess if you're having trouble commenting, you can't really comment on that one, huh?

Have a great day, everyone! Please keep praying for Jonathan Shaub.

Isn't that the cutest picture ever?? That sweet little baby (Maddie) is now almost 4 years old. How does it happen so fast? Mercy. I can't believe we're about to have another little one like this. Praise God for his miracle of birth. Amazing.

Ella has been potty training herself. Another mystery. She just decided Sunday that she would start going pee-pee and poo-poo in the potty. Every time she does she gives us this look like, "HA! Look how big I am!!" She's even wearing underwear today (ok--it's really panties, but I don't like that word.) I am so proud of her.

Sheryl and I are having a date night tonight. It's the first one we've had since early February. Maybe even late January. We try to be good about planning them, but with sickness and recording, we've not done so well. We even had to cancel our Valentine's Day date because of illness. We are LONG overdue. I am taking her to The Melting Pot. We went there to celebrate our engagement a little over 7 years ago. It's a cool place that serves fondu.

Please continue to pray for Sheryl. She is only 27 1/2 weeks along which means we still have a ways to go. She needs some relief before then. Her back is really bothering her and impacting her sleep. No sleep = long, hard days.

OK--so, today my theme song is "Crown Him With Many Crowns". I am going in an hour or so to have my crown put on--yes, THAT crown. Finally. Pray for me. Thankfully, Dr. Fletcher is very gentle and does a great job.

Have a great Tuesday, blog family.

I woke up Sunday morning and felt like I'd been hit by a bus. I have gone a long 10 days or so with no break at all. I was hoping I'd have a voice and the Lord really provided for me Sunday morning. It turned out to be a very special day at the Creek. Thomas Griffith was there at first service and Tim had people surround them during the family prayer. Thomas was beaming. I've missed his smile. Praise God for Thomas's health!!

Tim's message on Jesus breaking through any situation--even a wedding feast--was POWERFUL. I loved what he said. I tend to shy from health/wealth gospel preaching and a lot of them use that passage to go there. He didn't and I really loved what he said. I so need Jesus to break into my world too. The big and the small stuff.

After second service the girls came in and I was talking to Katherine (Wood) Miller. Katherine and I both grew up in Abilene. Her husband, Matt, and she have been at Otter for a while now and they are such a blessing to me. I was holding Ella while Katherine and I were talking and Ella was patting me. All of a sudden she stuck her hand in between the buttons on my shirt and as I was trying to get her hand out, she was struck by the humor in this as Katherine and I were both laughing. Ella proceeded to reach all the way in and pinched my nipple as hard as possible. For the love! What in the world? Anyway--it was one of those moments. I was just glad it was Katherine there and not someone else.

Last night we had another great life group meeting. I am so grateful for what God is doing in our group. He's really building something and I am blessed to be with those people.

PRAISE THE LORD for days off. Today was my first day off in about 10 days. I was thrilled to be home and with my girls. We ran some errands, got some paint for the nursery, went to Ryan and Sarah Williamson's for lunch and had a nice visit. Naps were so welcomed today. Ella slept in her old room in "Baby Sam's" crib. Ella says..."baby Saaaaaaaahm". I put Maddie in bed and almost went to sleep next to her. The room was so nice and dark. (Because I hung a huge, dark beach towel over their window to try and get them to sleep in later--to no avail.) I ended up crawling into Ella's bed and slept for 2 hours...in the dark...with the fan blowing perfectly volumed "white noise". Ahhhh! I can't tell you how long it's been since I napped like that.

I love being with Sheryl and the girls. I love hearing them laugh. I love hearing Sheryl singing around the house (can you even imagine? It is to die for). I love it when the girls ask me to "get them"--meaning tickle or chase. The "tickle fox" is one of their favorite ways for me to "get" them. I love night time kisses and hugs before bed. I love the smell of their hair after it's been washed. I love that Ella has gone pee-pee and poo-poo in the potty all day long. PRAISE GOD! I love that Sheryl is to that place in her pregnancy where we can see the alien in there moving around with legs and arms and who knows what else. I look at my life and think how blessed I am. Thank you, Lord, for giving me what I did not deserve. What a blessing!

PS: 2 things.
1. Does anyone watch 24? We don't much. I was struck tonight at how completely ridiculous it would be to live that life. The premise of the show is that the entire season is a day and each episode is one hour in that day. Can you imagine if every hour of your day were as stressful and dramatic as Jack what's-his-name's? Oh wait. I'm in ministry. Never mind.

2. Regarding Day's of Elijah--hilarious how that became the major blog commenting thing. Everyone read the link that Katherine provided. That's what I always think about when we sing that song--people think waaaaaay too literally when it comes to music and art. The imagery of what he's saying is so great. And...the issue people have had with it isn't really the bridge itself. I should have clarified (although the 10 Commandments thing was PERFECT). The issue has been more grammatical. They want us to sing "There's no God BUT Jehovah" instead of "like". Literalists. Love em.

We've had a great weekend. I am exhausted. Friday night was another great night in the studio. Meanwhile, Ella was perfectly fine to be at home with Amanda and Geoff. Especially Geoff!

Yesterday we spent most of the day working in the studio too. It was a very long day. We had to hammer out some rhythms and get on the same page musically before we could continue. It can be really frustrating at times, but it's such a cool thing to be in a group with such musically gifted people. I laugh when I step back and look at all of us--there are some VERY opinionated people in ZOE. I count myself as one of them. The benefit is in hammering it out and getting, in the end, a better result. We are one wacky group. We can laugh and be rolling on the floor and the next minute be going to the mat for something we feel strongly about musically. All in all, it was a wonderful weekend. We ended up with 6 songs done and still have several more weekends as we continue in April.

Here are the ones we've done so far:
Hope of the Nations
In Christ Alone
How Great is Our God
Magnificat (Randy Gill original)
Sing to the King
Beautiful One

We had to change the lyric a bit on Sing to the King because of some theology in it that was questionable. We weren't necessarily bothered by it, but we knew some would be. I have several people who ask me regularly why we sing the bridge in Days of Elijah that says "There's no God like Jehovah". I wish some of the people who get so bent out of shape about things like that would put as much time, energy, and passion into singing other lyrics. I love that bridge. It reminds me that the other things in my life that I count on are only idols. There is only one true GOD. The I AM!

After we finished last night, we went home and scooped up the girls, my mom and Aunt Kiki and met most of the other ZOE folks at Baja Burrito (sorry, Corey). I LOVE BAJA. Baja, Baja, Baja!!!! It was a really fun way to end the day. Maddie got to sit across from Peter and was a very happy girl.

Last night as we tucked them in bed, Ella hugged me really tightly and said, "I uv ooh Daddy. Isssss muts" (translated that means, "I love you, daddy--THIS MUCH!") As she said it she opened her arms as wide as she could. It just made my entire weekend. Thank you. Lord for my family!

This morning we're John 2 where Jesus turns the water to wine. I suggested we have a wine tasting to kick things off. No one really caught the vision for it. As Tim talked to me about this week's lesson, I couldn't help but think back to those discussions on the ZOE conference planning. Jesus turning water into wine doesn't seem like a huge deal spiritually speaking. I mean, gallons and gallons of GOD MADE wine is a pretty cool thing, but you know what I mean. Jesus broke through the veil of our darkness in just about every way possible. He gave us glimpses of Life. He reminded us that He is really in control after all. Even something as small as a wedding party running out of wine…he touched and brought joy and celebration. He did this knowing that faith would deepen. They saw. They believed. Incarnation. Love enwrapped in flesh and bone. I can’t get my mind around that. Incredible!

Here's our order of worship for today:

Welcome--Tim Woodroof
Family Prayer- Jon Cornelius/ David Harr
Meet and greet

Praise and Worship--BST
--Firm Foundation
--My Hope is Built
--You Are Holy
BST shares
--He Is Able
--I Worship You, Almighty God
--There Is None Like You

Teaching--Tim Woodroof
--Shine Jesus Shine
--Fairest Lord Jesus

Supper--Russ Carney
--I Believe In Jesus
Offering

Ministry Moment--Phil Wilson (Technology Ministry)
Shepherd's Close--Steve Giddens
--You Are Worthy of My Praise

Have a great day, blog family!

Awesome night last night! Possibly the best starting night we've ever had. The Bennett House in Franklin is a famous studio rich in history and tradition. It is really cool to be out there. Our engineers, Chris and Josh, are wonderful. The atmosphere is really conducive for worship and we left feeling much LESS stressed after our first night than normal. Thank you for your prayers!!

Last night we recorded In Christ Alone and Hope of the Nations. Both went really well. Tonight we'll try to knock out a couple of more. Peter gets in this afternoon. I'm looking forward to having him here. Jeff Krinks sang with us last night in his place and did a FANTASTIC job. (Jeff was with us in Fresno for those of you who were there)

Again today I am thankful for community. Last night Lauren Gingles and Kyle Rigsby watched the girls. Both of them are in our Life Group and are loved by all the Thomas family. Tonight Amanda Brooks McKinney and Geoff Vickers are watching them. Ella has a big Geoff crush like Maddie has on Peter. When I told her this morning that Geoff was coming over tonight she smiled and turned beet red. It's so cute! My mom and Aunt Kiki will watch them tomorrow all day while we record. What would we do without community?

Our yearly trip to Pepperdine in Malibu is coming. Believe it or not, it's not far away. We're already making plans. We have several ZOE folks who can't make it so I am bringing some new faces. We always look forward to that trip. Hopefully, we'll see some of you out there.

Please continue to pray for us tonight and tomorrow as we continue recording. We will take a break for a couple of weeks and then resume April 1st.

One last question for Owen Burgess and other drama savvy folks out there--does anyone know of any scripts dealing with Easter from a perspective of Death and Life being the main characters? I have this idea of telling the Easter story from the perspective of those main characters. Death thinking of himself as the main character and then adding the plot twist showing Life to be the real hero of the story. Ring any bells? We're trying to write something along those lines here, but I thought if it already existed I'd save myself the time and brain cells. Anyone? Bueler?

Last night was a double header. We met at 6pm for ZOE rehearsal and then I left them to continue and went to the portable to rehearse the Easter Choir. It was a long night of singing. But--it was fun in both settings.

I'm not exactly sure what we'll end up recording tonight. The ones we're looking at are--
--In Christ Alone (Townend)
--Beautiful One
--Sing to the King
--How Great is Our God
--Psalm 23

We'll try and knock a few of those out this weekend. We have more on our list but these are the ones we'll try and hit first, I suspect. I am excited about the Ps.23 song. Clarissa wrote it--it's gorgeous. She came in today and we were working on a bridge of some sort. I can't wait for you to hear it.

I had lunch with Greg Taylor and we went over to St. Thomas hospital to see Lee Smith (elder from the Fresno church). His twin brother is very ill with heart problems and the whole family is here to be with him. Lee asked for our prayers today. In about an hour (3pm) they will take some of the life support off of his brother (Leonard) to see if his heart can take it. Please keep him in your prayers.

I've been listening to some songs that have to do with having a passion for the lost or being missional, etc. Most of these songs are not even melodic. I love Matt Redman's "Mission's Flame" but accapella? No way. I'm still looking though.

We covet your prayers tonight as we embark on this long journey AGAIN of recording. The Lord has been so faithful to minister through the other recordings. We are just trusting Him to do that with this one too. Please keep our families in your prayers too. We'll be spending more time away from them than any of us like.

Father, as we begin recording tonight, may it glorify you. May it lift you up. Let our hearts be centrally focused on one thing only. YOU. Fill us up with the power of your Holy Spirit so that what comes out of us tonight and in the coming weeks is from OVERFLOW. Take what we offer in all our human frailty and make it something that builds your Kingdom. We ask you to anoint our time and our voices. We ask because of who you are and we believe because of Jesus.

Last night we had Room in the Inn at Otter Creek as we do every Tuesday night through the cold months. We share with other churches. Each church takes a night. We offer these men a bed, a shower, dinner, breakfast and a sack lunch as well as a gym bag to fill up with things from the Room in the Inn closet. They can take shirts, pants, shoes, coats, etc.

Maddie has always been somewhat apprehensive about men. (As her father, I don't mind that much and hope it continues into TEEN years!) I was wondering how she would be. Sheryl had other plans and so I had them by myself. I tried to prep both of them telling them that these men don't have a place to sleep and need warm clothes and food. I told them that they should treat them just like Jesus would. Be sweet to them, offer to help, etc. Amazingly, they were not freaked out by them and, in fact, enjoyed playing with a couple of them.

The food was not ready early enough and the men were really hungry. Maddie and Ella shared their goldfish crackers. Since the girls are used to eating around 5:30 I finally had to break down and feed them about 6:45. They were really hungry. Ella offered some of her treasured grapes to one of the men. Maddie offered her cheese. They were winning hearts and stomachs.

The girls played hide-and-go-seek with "John". John was sort of a gruff man--one who Maddie would typically not have anything to do with. She laughed with him and played with him. I think it was cool for the guys to be around the girls. Several of them sat and talked about how they reminded them of their own children, now grown. It was a sweet time.

As we left, Maddie went around saying goodbye and even hugged one of the guys. Ella said her goodbyes too and we got in the car. As we drove home I told them how proud I was of them. They reached out--they really did--beyond their norm. I told them that in doing that and in helping those men feel like we love them and see them as normal people, they were loving them like Jesus would.

We got home and they crawled in their beds and we said prayers. Maddie insisted that we pray for John. I was glad.

It's hard, as a parent, to know how to expose your children to things like that in healthy ways. I was overcome with emotion as I watched them crawl into their warm beds in our nice house. These very nice guys have made some choices. Some of them had choices made for them. They aren't that far removed from us. My heart broke for their loneliness and the tear I saw in one man's eye as he told me of his children, now grown, who won't speak to him.

Incarnation. The WORD made flesh. He didn't do this just for us. He did it to show us what incarnation looks like. We are his hands and feet. It's not a Sunday morning service, it's a way of life (or should be). I desperately want to know how to make that more true for me. I long to be his hands and feet more than I am now--and I long to CARE about that more than I do.

We talked some about this in our ZOE planning meeting but if we were to play "Where's Waldo?" but call it "Where's Jesus?" I wonder what we'd find. As we play it in the New Testament, who do we see him spending time with? Where is he? How does he go about his day? What kinds of people is he engaging?

If we were to play it now..."Where's Jesus?" Is he warming a pew on Sunday and forgetting about Kingdom during the week? Is he a deacon in the church and yet forgetting to love his wife? Is he concerned at all for the poor? Does he make an issue out of worship wars but give little thought to his neighbor? Where's Jesus?