Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Quartet at Contest

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Contest

This past weekend, my quartet, Makin' Waves, competed in the District competition in Corpus Christi. We had a blast. We got 2nd place out of 24 quartets. We scored a 78.4 which is very good for us. Not bad for 2.5 months of work with a new bass.

Our new bass is a past international champion in the barbershop society. He sang with a quartet called the Dealer's Choice. The judges seemed to think we could end up in the medals at international if we can keep working like we have and work out some of the sync and matching problems that comes with a new quartet. That would be a dream come true.

The last time I sang in a quartet on international stage was with my dad in 1992. It was 6 months before he died. I always said that I was going to win a gold with a quartet after that. Maybe I've found a quartet that can go all the way. We'll see.

I really missed being at church on Sunday morning. I always miss being with the praise team and leading worship. Jeff always does a great job though. I know he had fun.

Monday, October 23, 2006

My Allergy to October

I seem to have developed in recent years an allergy to October. It seems around October, I get tonsilitis or bronchitis, or something else itis. This year it is acute sinusitus. I always develop the symptoms close to a major singing event which is this coming weekend. Last year it was a Fall show for the VM. This year it is contest with the quartet.

So, as of today I'm on Z-pak, Mucinez DM, a nasacort spray, and a sinus rinse kit. If this doesn't work, then I don't know what will. I thought I was getting better and was in fairly good voice yesterday for worship, but during the Pepperdine rehearsal yesterday afternoon, my voice went downhill in a hurry.

The rehearsal was great though. The group is starting to sound great. We rehearsed with no music just to see how much they knew of our material. They did surprisingly well.

After the rehearsal I had a couple of hours of silence. It was funny trying to communicate to my wife without saying things. You should try it sometime. You will get a kick out what the other person thinks you are trying to say.

Have a blessed day.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Saturday Night

On Saturday night our praise team will be involved in a progressive dinner at the elder's houses. This will be a great opportunity for our elders and praise team members to better get to know one another.

Last night the praise team rehearsed at the Wiggins house. We go to their house once a month and rehearse and then they feed us like kings and queens. Last night was Seafood Gumbo, Salad, and gourmet bread. Deborah Wiggins has to be one of the better cooks on the planet along with my wife of course.

My wife prepared enough chili to feed an army for the New Friends New Life meeting last night. My wife makes excellent chili.

Well, time to go run cables for some wireless mics. Have a blessed day.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Do I look like someone famous?

Have you ever wondered what famous people you look like. Here is a site I saw on another blog and thought I'd give it a try.




Here is my beautiful wife.



My kids. Just look at who comes up for them. should have known.




I have no clue why Micah came out with all girl faces. I tried two different pictures. I guess he is just going to be one hot young man as he grows up. Girls are going to love him.

Monday, October 16, 2006

Colossians 3:12-17

This passage spoke to me powerfully at the Zoe conference in Nashville. Read it below:

Col 3:12-17
12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.


For me the peace of Christ ruling in our hearts has captivated my attention. I've tried to think about all the things that go on in life and try to examine to see if the peace of Christ is ruling in that part of my life. There are times when I'm frustrated with something or someone, I get sarcastic and the peace of Christ is far from my heart in that situation. What I find is that the key to the peace of Christ is the qualities that we need to put on as God's chosen people.

As God's chosen poeple, we are not to put on a critical heart or a sarcastic attitude, but compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and above all love. Oh, yeah, and we need to forgive one another.

If we could live with the peace of Christ as the body of Christ, how many things that we complain and grumble about would go away? I am the first to admit that I grumble and complain. The problem is a lack of the peace of Christ.

I want to encourage all of you to find the peace of Christ and let it rule all of your life, even the grumbling and complaining parts of your life.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

I hate colds

I've had a cold for the past couple of days. I can't quite shake it. Last night I could hardly sleep. I think I ended up with about 3-4 hours of sleep the whole night. Oh, well. I've actually been surprisingly awake considering the night I had.

Zoe Conference was great. I wish I could've stayed for the whole thing, but had to get back to Dallas to lead worship. My backup was on vacation.

The family and I had a fun trip though.

My nephew, Andrew, got 4th place in the KY state golf tournament. Way to go Andrew.

Time to go blow my nose again.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

I'm Here

Well, it is 11:45pm and we are here in Nashville. One great thing about our hotel (comfort Inn & Suites) is free continental breakfast and free high speed internet access. What more can you ask for in a hotel. Ok, the rooms are spacious too. That's a plus when you have a family with you. Well, I hope I have more to report as the Zoe conference starts tomorrow.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Fall Show Picture

















Picutre of the Vocal Majority Show. I'm in the middle, though it will probably be hard to see me in a small picture like that.




And Can It Be

Our worship team sang Glad's "And Can It Be" at church on Sunday. It was spectacular. I've heard from several that it is the best presentational piece we have done in a service. I'm so proud of all the things that our praise team has accomplished. They are the best.

I sang in the Vocal Majority shows this weekend. I got to sing the solo to "They Call the Wind Mariah." It was really an honor to be able to sing a solo for a VM show. I'll post pictures when I get a chance. They are still be processed by the VM picture guy, but I'll put one up shortly that I do have.

Blessings,

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

FPU Top Ten List

I'm facilitating a Fincancial Peace University class right now for a small group in our church. We decided to do a top ten list.

Top Ten (or 16) ways you can tell if someone is involved in FPU:


1. Wads of cash bulging out of wallet
2. Bank teller knows you by name and has your cash ready
3. When told the price of your tickets at the movie theater you say "Not good enough!"
4. The highlight of your month is when the checkbook balances on the first try
5. You have no plans for the last week of the month because you have already spent all your cash
6. Fasting becomes a financial discipline as well as a spiritual one
7. Growing older becomes more appealing as it gets you closer to that retirement money!
8. You have become a credit card Nazi
9. $1000 in the bank is no longer good enough
10. You turn to your wife and say "pay the lady" cause she has all the envelops and money.
11. At the restaurant, you calculate exactly 15 percent gratuity and can actually give the waiter correct change.
You consider it a great day when you are able to feed your family of 5 at Taco Buenos for $7.98 with coupons.
13. If you ask your church budget people for a copy of the churches’ zero-based budget
14. If you get excited when someone brings up the subject of compound interest.
15. If you carry a calculator with you to the grocery store and end up taking most of your time putting things back because you only have $100 this week to spend on groceries.
16. "Date Night" consist of going to Braums for a smoothie and watching movies checked out from the library.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

FPU

I am a coordinator for Financial Peace University. That doesn't mean that I'm some financial wizard that has perfect budget and lots of surplus at the end of the month, but it does mean I try to hold to certain principles that though hard at first, help to give you financial peace. Today I will give you two principles.

1. Put $1000 in an emergency fund.
Do whatever you have to. Sell something, work overtime, sell a kid. Ok, maybe not sell the kid, but get serious about getting $1000 in the bank. Why? Peace of mind. This money is for what I said it is for, emergancies. Not for that cool new tool or that makeup that you've been needed to get but didn't have money for. I'm talking about deductible in case of an accident or hospital stay emergency.

2. Get on a budget.
Spend every dollar you make on paper before the month starts. If you don't spend it on paper you will spend it somewhere and will have a headache trying to figure out where all the money went.

For more info, pick up a copy of Financial Peace by Dave Ramsey.


As Dave Ramsey says "Control your money or the lack of it will control you."

Thursday, September 07, 2006

God IS Active

Have you ever thought about how active God is? Try reading a book of the Bible without seeing God’s activity. I’ve started a study on Jeremiah recently. I am going to put the text of the 1st chapter and highlight God’s activity. Read God’s Word and be amazed at his activity:

Jeremiah 1

1:1 The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. 2 The word of the LORD came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, 3 and through the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.
4 The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."
6 "Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child."
7 But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, `I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.
9 Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant."
11 The word of the LORD came to me: "What do you see, Jeremiah?"
"I see the branch of an almond tree," I replied.
12 The LORD said to me, "You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled."
13 The word of the LORD came to me again: "What do you see?"
"I see a boiling pot, tilting away from the north," I answered.
14 The LORD said to me, "From the north disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land. 15 I am about to summon all the peoples of the northern kingdoms," declares the LORD.
"Their kings will come and set up their thrones in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem;they will come against all her surrounding walls and against all the towns of Judah. 16 I will pronounce my judgments on my people because of their wickedness in forsaking me, in burning incense to other gods and in worshiping what their hands have made.
17 "Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. 18 Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land--against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.


It is hard to miss God’s activity, but I feel so many times we miss it because we are not looking for it. Take this week and open your eyes. Look for God’s activity in your life and everything around you. You may be surprised about how active God is being.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

The Perfect Labor Day

A rain filled Labor Day is not most people's idea of a perfect holiday, but when you live in Texas and there has been an 18 month drought, you love every minute of rain you can get. We had an all day soaking rain yesterday and it was awesome. The temps dropped and we turned off our air and opened our windows.

I used to hate rain most of the time, but as much as it doesn't rain here in Texas, I am beginning to have a real appreciation for rain.

The family and I just laid around yesterday and played video games, wathced movies, etc. It was great. You don't get those kind of days very often and I really enjoy them.

Micah has a little bit of a cough, but he went to school and they said it would be ok for him to be there as long as he didn't have a fever which he doesn't.

Well, Gotta run.

Thursday, August 31, 2006

So it's been a while

Well since I've posted last, Micah has started school. He loves it and is doing great. He is going to be our child who will be studious and end up Valedictorian of his class. I can already tell that Anna may not be the same way. Anna will end up being Miss School Spirit along with Prom Queen Rebeckah I'm not sure about. She just going to be the down to earth laid back girl that is enjoyable to be around.

I got a new Dell Axim X51v. It is awesome. I'm able to surf the Internet, work with my excel and word documents, play games, do email, keep up with contacts, plus other stuff that I''m not aware of. I can also do powerpoint presentations on it.

We are still sharing offices. It looks like November is a realistic date of getting back to our old offices in the basement.

Summer and I have decided that we want to take a big Disney vacation for our 10th anniversary. We were originally going to go out of country, but 10 years of marriage celebrates having children and Summer has never been to all the Disney stuff. So we are headed to Fl next year for the trip of a lifetime for our children. (Somehow I think Summer may enjoy it more than they do.)

Our praise team has been invited to sing at the Pepperdine lectures next year. We had our first rehearsal on Sunday and it was great. We really have a talented bunch of singers at Preston Road. I'm so proud of the things that we have accomplished since I got here.

Well, that's it for now. I like this new version of Blogger beta. It makes many of the functions of blogging a little easier such as blog design. Have a great day.

Bret

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

I've been tagged (well, in April)

Believe it or not, I just saw that my wife tagged me on her blog in April. I guess I missed that one. It caught my eye today as I was browsing her blog. So here it goes. Better late than never:

Four jobs I've had
  • Server at Shoney's and cracker barrel
  • Youth Minister at Riverwood Church of Christ in Nashville, TN
  • Family Minister at Reidland Church of Christ in Paducah, KY
  • Worship Minister at Preston Road Church of Christ in Dallas, TX
Four movies I could watch over and over:

  • Star Wars
  • Harry Potter
  • Lord of the Rings
  • ?too many to fit into the fourth slot?
Four places I've lived:

  • Paducah, KY
  • Nashville, TN
  • Dallas, TX
  • Rockwall, TX
Four favorite TV shows

  • Stargate SG-1
  • Stargate Atlantis
  • 24
  • American Idol or Nashville Star (when they are running)
Four Vacations I've been on:

  • London and Scotland (Hymn tour)
  • Destin, FL
  • Gatlinburg
  • Charleston, SC
Four websites I visit often:

  • eBay
  • Worship Forum
  • Games Workshop
  • Bolter and Chainsword

Four favorite foods

  • On the Border Flour Tortillas and butter
  • Chong's Lunch Buffet (in Paducah)
  • Chick-fil-a #1 with Diet Coke and Honey mustard
  • All of my wife's cooking except fried chicken :)

Four places you'd rather be:

  • On the beach with my family on a remote Caribbean Island
  • Disney would be fun
  • Colorado Mountains
  • Holy Land Tour

Four people to tag:

  • John Kimberlin (like he will ever looked at my blog)
  • My mother-in-law
  • Lesli
  • Mike Polutta

My wife is on her way home

I'm so excited. My wife is on her way home with the kids. This is the longest I've ever been away from them. I'm looking forward to being with my family tonight.

Last night I started teaching Financial Peace University to one of our small groups. It was a great meeting last night. I am looking forward to this quarter with the group.

After this Sunday, I'm giving our praise team a 2 week sabbatical from rehearsals and leading. They do so much for our worship ministry here at PRCC.

That's it for today.

Monday, July 10, 2006

2006 International Convention

The last time I stood on an interational stage was in 1992 in the New Orleans Superdome. It was with my dad in a quartet.

I grew up singing barbershop music. My dad was always involved in a quartet and I always went to conventions and sang with my dad. By the time I was around 10, I was competing. My freshmen year in high school, my dad was diagnosed with colon cancer that had spread to his liver.

Little did I know that the last time to be on stage with dad would be on the International stage. He passed away 6 months later.

Fourteen years later, (last week) I stood on stage with the Vocal Majority Chorus. I had set a goal that one day I would win gold for dad. Friday night was the night that my dream of gold came true. I was of course an emotional basket case after they announced we had won. I celebrated for about 5 minutes and then it hit me. Tears started to flow and there was no holding them back. For the next 2 hours I teared up thinking about all the experiences I've had singing with dad.

After that, I celebrated by singing with one of my musical idols, David Harrington and another guy from the Louiville Times, a chorus I used to sing with in college. I had so much fun that I lost track of time and we sang till 4:30am. I guess time flies when you are having fun.

This past week has been a milestone for me. The only thing is I wish that Summer and the kids could have been there to witness it.

By the way, Summer's sister Leslie had a baby yesterday about 1:14pm. The baby and Leslie are healthy. Summer is supposed to be coming back at the latest Thursday. I sure miss them a lot. This is the longest time I've been without them at any one time.

Well, gotta go. Don't forget to see the pics of my medal below.

Bret

This is me an emotional wreck as I recieved my medal. Posted by Picasa

I finally got gold for my dad!

 Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, June 28, 2006


Summer got dishes for her birthday Posted by Picasa

Don't I look mean? Ok just silly Posted by Picasa

Pirates at VBS Posted by Picasa

Anna getting her hair done Posted by Picasa

Busy, Busy, Busy Posted by Picasa

Me and my girls Posted by Picasa

They are so beautiful!!! Posted by Picasa

That's what I call handsome Posted by Picasa

Rebekah got in trouble Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, May 23, 2006


A view from Pepperdine Posted by Picasa

Summer's first time stepping in the Pacific Posted by Picasa

Summer and I at Pepperdine Posted by Picasa

Micah, the soccer player. Posted by Picasa

Bekah's beautiful blues. Posted by Picasa

Anna with a soccer ball Posted by Picasa

inside of my Mazda Posted by Picasa

My new Mazda6 Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Hard Drive Crash

My computer hard drive crashed. This is the second time it has happened with this computer. I won't get it back till next week. I guess I have bad luck with hard drives.

We are still in our temp offices. It looks like we might be back in our offices in June, but probably not before then.

We have kicked off our building campaign. We hope to start building in August. It will take about a year to build. I'm excited. This church has needed to build for a long time.

I hope everyone has a great day.

Monday, April 17, 2006

Easter Rocked!

This weekend was great. Saturday, our small group went to the Arberitum in Dallas then had lunch together. After that we had a relaxing afternoon at home.

Yesterday was awesome. We had an artist named Rolando Diaz to paint while Scott preached. He painted a picture of an angel and then turned the angel into a lion's face. It was amazing. The singing was wonderful and the presentational piece we did, "You Were There," was the best we have done it. I have heard nothing but great things from the servcies. At the beginning of the 2nd service we had 3 baptisms followed by the song "Shout Hallelujah." We ended the service with "Days of Elijah." Our church loves that song.

This week may be the most normal week I've had in over a month. Praise God for that.

Blessings to you all.

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Flood in the Basement

I have not written in a while basically because our basement flooded and I haven't had an office for 3 weeks and have spent much of my time working with our staff to solve our basement crisis. What happened was we had 3-4 inches of standing water in our basement after Dallas got 9 inches of rain in one day. The storm drains couldn't hold all the water we were pumping to them, so the water conveniently pumped into our basement where our offices are. As it stands today, we will be out of our offices minimally 4-6 weeks if not more while they have to totally redo the basement including ripping out all the walls because all the drywall is saturated with water not to mention they will now have to take care of an old asbestos problem in the process just to be able to rip out walls. It will be a major project, but it looks like insurance will take care of it.

Other than that things are going well. Now that I'm in a 2nd floor office, I'll hopefully have a little more time to update my blog. Sorry for the lack of posts, but life has been a little more than crazy the past several weeks and my blog has been the last thing on my mind.

Blessings to all of you.

Bret

Monday, February 20, 2006

What a Weekend

This weekend, Summer and I were able to have a weekend together without the kids. My small group decided to take care of our children for the weekend as a gift for my birthday. They are the greatest. At first, it was just going to be a great weekend at home without the kids, but then Summer won a free night at the double tree with breakfast included at the women's retreat. On top of that, I remembered a promised room for doing a free singing gig at the renaissance in Richardson which is a really nice hotel. On Friday night we dropped off the children and went to eat at Saltgrass Steakhouse where we both had Prime Rib and it was delicious. The hotel was cool and comfy pillows. When we got in the room, the remote would not work, so the only station that was on was the finals of the Texas Hold 'Um competition. It was intriguing. We liked it so much we bought us a little set of it so we could learn to play. (Chips and all 75% off at Barnes and Noble)

The next day we went to Grapevine Mills and Barnes and Noble after sleeping late and eating breakfast. The hotel room for Saturday night was more than we could ever hope for. The lady that hooked us up with the free room, hooked us up with an 8th floor suite looking south toward Dallas. It was awesome. They even shined my shoes. It was definitely a great weekend.

This week I'm at ACU lectures. I finally got my ACU ID today. I also got a Texshare card which enables me to checkout library resources from SMU and Dallas Theological Seminary for free. Yah. Tomorrow I take a Miller's Analogy Test.

I'm extremely interested in the unity of the Churches of Christ and the Christian church. I'm looking forward to the day when those wounds are healed. It will take a while, but we are starting to mend fences that were torn apart 100 years ago today.

Have a blessed day.

Thursday, February 09, 2006

Seafood Gumbo

All I can say is I love Deborah's Seafood Gumbo. The Wiggins had the worship team over for dinner last night and rehearsal. The Seafood Gumbo was the best I had tasted. It had shrimp, crawfish, crabmeat, ham, and spicy sausage in it. Wow, it rocked. Thanks to the Wiggins for having us over and being such wonderful hosts.

My friend Russell is having a big job interview today. Please say a prayer for him that he might be able to either get this job or another would come through for him in the near future.

Also pray for my sister's recovery as she had surgery yesterday. Everything went well, but her recovery will be 6-8 weeks.

Tomorrow my quartet will be singing on KLUV classic rock in the morning at about 8:15 or so. This will be the 2nd year that we have done this radio add for singing Valentines.

Have a blessed day.

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Fox 4 News

This morning I had the privilege of singing with 3 outstanding guys in a quartet on Fox 4 News. We were advertising "Singing Valentines" that the Vocal Majority sponsors every year. We recorded it on our DVR. I was talking to Anna afterwards and she told me that I was singing in mommy's TV. She got a kick out of it.

I'm still on track with my grad work. So far I've made A's on all my assignments which is a good thing. It looks like I have another 300 pages to read this week though.

It looks like we will be getting a new server here at work. Our old one is dying a slow death. The hard drive has been giving me errors, which is never a good thing. We are going to upgrade to Small Business Server 2003, which should be easier to manage. Marvin, one of our deacons, is going to help get it all set up. He is a mastermind at all that stuff.

Well, back to worship planning.

Have a blessed day.

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

I've been healed!!!

You know you are healed of a stomach bug when you can go to a lunch appointment and have Mexican and still feel good afterward. I guess that means I'm better.

I had lunch with Jenni today. She is a blessing to our church. She is thinking about being a part of the worship team here at Preston Road. I hope I didn't scare you off Jenni. :)

I also got new strings for my guitar. Mine were getting really cruddy and we have a talent show that my guitar will be used on this Sunday evening. I love fresh Elixir strings on my Larivee. It sounds great. (As long as I'm playing the right notes of course)

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Still Sick

Well, yesterday was miserable. Today is a little better though I'm still sick. My fever hasn't gone down since yesterday afternoon. I'm hoping that will change today. At least I have my laptop, a wireless connection and my grad books and worship stuff with me. I actually may get quite a bit done today. I'm not going to let a fever keep me from getting some needed reading and worship planning done.

I missed our staff meeting this morning. I hated to do that because we have been going through a spiritual disciplines book together.

I hope everyone has a great day.

Monday, January 23, 2006

Sick again.

I woke up today feeling horrible. As the day has progressed, I have only felt worse. I'll probably end up going home sick this afternoon.

My birthday went well. We went to On the Boarder for lunch and last night some friends came and took care of the kids while Summer and I went to a movie and starbucks afterwards. Thanks Ryan and Lesli. You guys are great.

Friday, January 20, 2006

Assignment #1 is done

Well, I just completed my first of two assignments for my grad class this semester. I had to read around 90 pages and write an outline for a class on an intro to the New Testament World. It was not quite as easy as it sounded. It is done and now on to assignment 2 for the week, which is to read another 60 pages and write a page paper. Easier than the first, but still a good bit of work. Once I complete that I get to look forward to next week's assignment which is to read a 300 page book in small print on the the Canon of the NT and write a critical assessment of it. Though I'm interested in the book, it is a lot of reading to do in one week for a full time minister that is a dad of 3 children.

But I want my grad degree and I'm willing to work for it, plus I'm learning some wonderful things that I wouldn't casually learn just for the fun of it. The only person that might read a book on the Canon of the NT or about the Midrash customs of Judaism for fun would be maybe Terrell Lee or Stephen Lamb. Sorry guys, had to write that. :)

This weekend I turn 31. I don't know what to think about 31. It is an ok your another year older, whatever age. 30 is a monumental age, even 32 has a nice sound to it, but 31? Well maybe by the time my 31st year of life is over I can look back and have a better appreciation for the number 31.

Well, I have reading to do and an awesome supper to eat. (Roast, mashed potatoes, okra, green beans, and corn bread) mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..............

Blessings to you all,

Bret

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Ugh!

I hate feeling sick or at least feeling like I'm about to be really sick. My daughter Rebekah has been sick the past couple of days. We think she either has a stomach bug or the flu. Last night before rehearsal my head started to pound and my neck started to tighten up. I took some ibeprophen last night and I'm surviving so far at work today, but don't know if I'll make it through the day.

We had a great staff meeting this morning. We are going through a Spiritual Formation workbook together and we are having some great experiences together. This week I've committed to saying the same prayer everyday this week for 5-10 minutes a day. This exercise comes from Eastern Church tradition. I will be praying "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." I look forward to seeing what God will reveal to me through that.

The new digital sound board was delivered to my office yesterday. It is the coolest board I've ever seen. I really think this will make things much easier for our sound guys.

I think of my dad everytime I see new computer or sound technology come out and think about how he would be as excited as I am about all the new equipment. So much has changed in 13 years without dad. I'm sure he's fixing all the computers in heaven and installing sound in the throne room. :)

Have a blessed day.

Monday, January 16, 2006

Rain and Grad School

Rain, Rain, Go Away
3 Weeks from Yesterday

It rained this morning a little bit, but we could use about 3 weeks of solid rain to catch up. Things are dry, and fires are all over the place. I didn't realize how much it doesn't rain in Texas. I'm sure it is dry in other places, but Texas is really dry.

My ACU grad class starts tomorrow online. The only problem is my books were ordered the 3rd of this month and haven't arrived yet. So I'm going to the SMU library to pick up a book for my first assignment. I checked and my book might be here by the end of the week if I'm lucky.

Our sound board came in and will be delivered tomorrow or Wed. I'm so excited about getting that installed. It should make things easier for our sound crew.

We have our first elder's meeting of the year tonight. I'm sure it will be a long one since it has been a month since we have met.

I have to share one of my favorite jokes about elders.

How many elders does it take to change a lightbulb?............


Change??????? Who said anything about change?!?!?!?!?!?

Seriously though, elders have a tough job. I'm blessed we have elders that love this church and want to see it grow. We don't always agree, but I know that below the disagreements are hearts that love the Lord and this church.

Have a blessed day.

Thursday, January 12, 2006

The contest cycle has started

Tonight we had our first Vocal Majority rehearsal of the year. It went pretty well. We are going to have to set up two more risers starting next week because so many people are showing up for rehearsals.

The Vocal Majority has a rich history in the barbershop society. The biggest contest of the year is the international contest where the best choruses from all over the world come to compete in one big contest. The winning chorus gets gold medals. The catch is that a chorus that wins a gold medal has to sit out the next two years, so a chorus can only compete and win at the most once every 3 years. We call this the contest cycle. The Vocal Majority will be going for its 11th gold medal this July in Indianapolis. Did I mention that this would make the 10th consecutive gold medal?

This of course will be my first gold medal. I'm excited. We just learned the uptune we will be singing in contest tonight. It is a spectacular piece written by Irving Berlin titled "Marching Along with Time."

I'm looking forward to the weekend. There is nothing to do tomorrow which is good. I love Fridays because I can hang with the family and do whatever.

Have a blessed day.

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Nathaniel

Nathaniel is a regular to our back door ministry. Our back door ministry has brought many regulars asking mainly for bus passes and a sack lunch. Nathaniel at face value is just like everyone else. He doesn't have a job, has had a tough time in life, and it doesn't seem he has the drive or the skill to get on his feet at the moment.

We helped him several times until a couple of months ago, things became different. There was a funeral for one of our dear ladies at the building one day and he showed up in a neck brace. His story was he got kicked out of church and needed help filling a prescription. Of course, with our policies, unless we know the person extremely well, we can't just help people get pain medication though I felt for him.

A few weeks later he showed up and we talked for a while. I asked if I could pray for him and he gladly accepted. After I prayed, he prayed the most powerful prayer. This man can hardly read or write, but he prayed more Scripture in a prayer than I have ever heard anyone pray. He has also prayed with John our youth minister. Both John and I have been taken back by his prayers and his knowledge of Scriptures. He quotes everything from Jesus to Jeremiah in his prayers.

He came by again today after telling us he was going to Denver and that the Lord was leading him there. He seemed to be a little down. Both John and I went to talk with him today. We got a commitment from him that he would be coming to church on Sunday.

To be honest, I don't know if he will come. But I hope he comes. He needs a church family. If he is ever going to get on his feet, he needs a group of people that can help him. I pray that he will choose to come. I believe that God brings him back to this church. I told him that maybe why God keeps him back to this church is so he might come and be a part of this church.

Maybe he's pulling a good one on us. But you know what? It doesn't matter. Our prayers and bus passes may be the only Jesus he sees in his life. I'm going to keep praying with him and helping him with bus passes as long as there is hope that he can find a community of believers that can help him and minister to him and also a place where he can utter those wonderful prayers to the encouragement of others.

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Definition of Church

How do you define church. Church in the US has become a place that you go to get your spiritual fix. Sadly, we as church leaders encourage that. We are always trying to make our services more _________ friendly. (put in your favorite word i.e. seeker, post-seeker) When we critique our services we look at things like the timing of the sermon, the transition of the prayers, and the effectiveness of the powerpoint.

The church, though, is not a place, but us. We will quickly say, "yeah, I know, I'm the church," but do we know the implications of that statement. The church is the people of God on mission together to further His kingdom. That alone focuses our attention away from the weekend services or maybe I should say "gatherings."

The worship is not about providing a product that will satisfy the people, but about engaging people in worship to God. The questions we need to ask after our services is, "Did people experience the presence of God today?" "Were lives changed through the worship?" "Did our worship help to send out our church into a world that needs God?"

The questions don't deal with a product that we try to make attractive, but about creating worship experiences for the people of God to engage in.

These thoughts have been mulling over in head today thanks to a great book called, "The Emerging Church" by Dan Kimball. This is a great read. Tomorrow I'm starting on another of his books called, "Emerging Worship."

Have a blessed day.

Monday, January 09, 2006

Awesome night

Last night was a homerun. We had 30 people from our worship ministry come to our house. This is the first time that we've had a big group to our house. The night went extremely well. We had a wonderful dinner planned and prepared by my wonderful wife. We reflected on 2005 and dreamed about 2006. After that we spent some time in worship and prayer that was wonderful. Other than my daughter puking as the people left, it went better than I could have hoped.

Anna and Rebekah both have ear infections. Anna has a really bad one. Now we have to get prescriptions and hope they get better soon.

I got an email from my ACU professor this weekend. My internet grad course will be starting next Tuesday. I'm kind of excited about getting my master's finished. It will take me a while, but I enjoy have a class or two a semester to keep me thinking and learning.

My friend Deen will be out of a job on February 7th. He has a marketing degree from ACU and has had experience with the banking industry and also has worked for TXU for several years. Due to outsourcing everything overseas, his whole department has been in the process of being laid off. He will be one of the last ones to be laid off. He would make a great employee for any company. If you know of a position available, please let me know. It has to be around the Dallas area because I refuse to lose him as a tenor. No job offers outside the Dallas area will be relayed on to him. :) Just kidding. I know the Lord will take care of Deen and will always provide.

Our sound job is getting closer to be complete. The speakers and the projector have made an incredible difference in our Sunday services. The next step is to get the booth moved downstairs and to get a new sound board. That should be happening in the next couple of weeks or so.

It also looks like we are going to get a color copier in the office. It is actually going to be cheaper than our current contract and the price per color page is going to be so much cheaper than using a color laser or an inkjet, not to mention we can now do inhouse color brochures instead of taking them to Kinkos which costs a ton. We will have to have policies on using the color part of the copier though as it still cost like $.10 a page which is great, but could be abused if everybody wants to copy color all the time. We will probably be very strict on how much color we end up doing.

Well, we have a staff prayer time in 5 minutes so I need to run. Have a blessed day.

Bret

Saturday, January 07, 2006

Getting ready for Sunday night

Tomorrow night, Summer and I will be hosting the worship team in our home. This is the first time since we've moved in that we've been able to have the worship team over. We are very excited. We just went to Sam's to get the food.

On the way back we saw a big pillar of smoke around the Garland area on Hwy 80. It ended up being a huge field fire that seems out of control. I fear that many homes may be destroyed if they can't get it under control. Summer and I drove past it a couple of times on the highway. It is the biggest fire I've ever seen.

Now we are back home which means it is time to clean once again. It seems there is always something to clean. Oh well. have a great Saturday.

Bret

Friday, January 06, 2006

My Day Off!!!

Fridays are great because I get to spend them with my family. Looks like today we will continue "spring cleaning." Though it is not technically spring, it sure feels like it in Texas. The first day of January was 81 degrees. What's up with that?

I will also be trying to get our van fixed. I think there is a belt or a belt wheel that is making noise and it needs fixin.

Have a great Friday.

Thursday, January 05, 2006


Beautiful Bekah Posted by Picasa

Anna trying give a mean face Posted by Picasa