for this week's post i'll refer you to my sister sarah's blog because this makes me so happy
=)
http://sarahstep.blogspot.com
Monday, October 29, 2007
Friday, October 26, 2007
08959
- world series update...red sox up 2 games to none...how is my model holding up? the red sox have walked 15 times, the rockies 3 times...hmmm. people will try to point out that game two was so much closer than game 1 (2-1 as opposed to 13-1), but the red sox walked almost as many times in game 2 (7) as in the game 1 thrashing (8). they were one hit away from breaking the close game wide open, and created many more dangerous opportunities than the rockies (for example Ortiz missed a home run, following two walks, by about three feet). anyway, there's a long way to go and the series will change dramatically in colorado (that ballpark + no DH = anything can happen), but so far the model is holding...watch who wins the battle for walks!
Monday, October 22, 2007
08859
- i have had an interesting journey this last week...the theme sems to be opportunities...here’s a snapshot...
...monday through thursday was spent, in part, preparing for and helping to pull off the annual fall fundraiser for the manna house. i’ve had the opportunity to serve on the board for six months now and i’ve struggled with my participation there for the following reasons:
a) i’m two decades younger than anyone else on the board
b) i have had a short term of service
c) i’ve never served on a board before and i’ve struggled with board “culture”
d) serving on the board seems to be a distraction from what is really important to me, namely building relationships with the clients
...but on thursday we raised over $9,000 and put on a great event...i got to show my promo video and meet a lot of the volunteers that make manna happen. new ideas are starting to surface...in a forrest gump moment i became the chairman of the planning committee and i’m starting to see how that influence can be leveraged. a month ago i saw little purpose for board membership but now i’m seeing how hanging in there with this opportunity could lead to some really cool things...
...friday i found out that a seemingly promising job opportunity fell through. by my count, this is the third serious job opportunity that hasn’t worked out here in durango. each opportunity would have altered (i.e. diminished) my role with the church. on friday and saturday i was pretty bummed, wondering why this opportunity had even come up and if i’d ever “get my chance.”
...back to thursday: chip and i met to do our yearly ctk staff evaluations...i’ve always struggled with feeling underutilized in my various ministry opportunities, but i left that meeting realizing that i’ve grossly underestimated my role in what is happening with our church community.
...sunday: rick snodgrass (head of ctk-usa) was in town last night to hang out with us and strengthen our connection with “headquarters.” rick is a super-encouraging man with an amazing story of his own. it was awesome to hear about how the ctk story continues to unfold in colorado (new mexico!), washington, and around the world. rick continually used the word “movement” to describe the ctk story.
...the thought i’m left with after all of this is that it is a privilege to play a role in this story...to be, in some small way, a part of a movement...and that this is my opportunity and i couldn’t be any more grateful for it.
...monday through thursday was spent, in part, preparing for and helping to pull off the annual fall fundraiser for the manna house. i’ve had the opportunity to serve on the board for six months now and i’ve struggled with my participation there for the following reasons:
a) i’m two decades younger than anyone else on the board
b) i have had a short term of service
c) i’ve never served on a board before and i’ve struggled with board “culture”
d) serving on the board seems to be a distraction from what is really important to me, namely building relationships with the clients
...but on thursday we raised over $9,000 and put on a great event...i got to show my promo video and meet a lot of the volunteers that make manna happen. new ideas are starting to surface...in a forrest gump moment i became the chairman of the planning committee and i’m starting to see how that influence can be leveraged. a month ago i saw little purpose for board membership but now i’m seeing how hanging in there with this opportunity could lead to some really cool things...
...friday i found out that a seemingly promising job opportunity fell through. by my count, this is the third serious job opportunity that hasn’t worked out here in durango. each opportunity would have altered (i.e. diminished) my role with the church. on friday and saturday i was pretty bummed, wondering why this opportunity had even come up and if i’d ever “get my chance.”
...back to thursday: chip and i met to do our yearly ctk staff evaluations...i’ve always struggled with feeling underutilized in my various ministry opportunities, but i left that meeting realizing that i’ve grossly underestimated my role in what is happening with our church community.
...sunday: rick snodgrass (head of ctk-usa) was in town last night to hang out with us and strengthen our connection with “headquarters.” rick is a super-encouraging man with an amazing story of his own. it was awesome to hear about how the ctk story continues to unfold in colorado (new mexico!), washington, and around the world. rick continually used the word “movement” to describe the ctk story.
...the thought i’m left with after all of this is that it is a privilege to play a role in this story...to be, in some small way, a part of a movement...and that this is my opportunity and i couldn’t be any more grateful for it.
08759
- so rocks and sox it is...one final comment about the patient approaches of both teams...in seven games the rockies walked 29 times (4+ per game), their opponents walked 20 times (about 3 per game). in 10 games the red sox walked 47 times (4.7 times a game) and their opponents walked 24 times (2.4 times per game). if my walks model holds up the red sox will win.
- more important/deeper thoughts tomorrow...
- more important/deeper thoughts tomorrow...
Saturday, October 20, 2007
08659
- a couple years ago Don Cheadle did some promos for the NFL playoffs...they were amazing...they'd give me chills and i don't really like football that much. somehow, major league baseball thought it would be a good idea to do something similar...for reasons that are beyond my understanding they chose Dane Cook to do the spots. they're terrible and were asking to be spoofed. thank you SNL for coming though...if you've seen one of the real ones, then you know how aweome these are:
Monday, October 15, 2007
08559
- we've been doing this thing at church once a month that we've creatively titled "food night." that's pretty much what it's all about...a night of food...people sitting at tables, eating great food, talking, hanging out, getting to know each other better. even in a small church these moments are so important even if there isn't a secific "program" going on...just people getting to know each other a little better and enjoying excellent food.
- post-season baseball thoughts...i know if my hope for a rockies/red sox takes place you are going to hear a lot of stuff like this: "red sox huge payroll pays off," "red-hot rockies roll into the world series." (in fact, i should send those headlines into si.com). but while many may write off their successes as payroll driven (sox) or lucky/hot streak (rocks), and while there are a million factors that make a good team (pitching, especially starting pitching cannot be understimated), the ability of both of their lineups to make pitchers work is the element that stands out to me. if anyone does watch these teams play you will see a ton of patient at-bats, lots of full counts, lots of good pitches spoiled by foul balls, and lots of walks. from top to bottom both line-ups are relentless in their patient approach...something i hope the giants take into consideration this offseason.
- new jimmy eat world on tuesday...the good music keeps rolling out this year!
- post-season baseball thoughts...i know if my hope for a rockies/red sox takes place you are going to hear a lot of stuff like this: "red sox huge payroll pays off," "red-hot rockies roll into the world series." (in fact, i should send those headlines into si.com). but while many may write off their successes as payroll driven (sox) or lucky/hot streak (rocks), and while there are a million factors that make a good team (pitching, especially starting pitching cannot be understimated), the ability of both of their lineups to make pitchers work is the element that stands out to me. if anyone does watch these teams play you will see a ton of patient at-bats, lots of full counts, lots of good pitches spoiled by foul balls, and lots of walks. from top to bottom both line-ups are relentless in their patient approach...something i hope the giants take into consideration this offseason.
- new jimmy eat world on tuesday...the good music keeps rolling out this year!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
08459
thoughts and set list from the crowder show in albuquerque (10-9)
- opening band thouhgts...
the myriad: lame...radiohead wannabes
phil wickham: amazing...i've enjoyed some of his songs which were recorded with a full band, but last night he came out with just his guitar and blew the place away. his voice was amazing and i think he won over a lot of new fans.
- crowder...
first of all, it's been a while since i've seen crowder, and most of those times were at graceland or other "churchy" experiences, not so much a concert. this was easily the biggest venue/production i've seen him in. so, it was a totally different experience...less personal, but cool nonetheless.
the set:
- The Lark Ascending or (Perhaps, more accurately, I'm trying to make you sing)
- Glory of it All (soaring chorus and big sound...trademark crowder that is so much fun to sing in a big crowd)
- Can You Feel It (not one of my favorite songs, but it was awesome to watch them play with all the gadgetry and gizmos)
- Everything Glorious
- ...Neverending...(at this point i thought he might be playing through the new record song for song...for this song he brought out a modified "Guitar Hero" controller to play the main riff...pretty cool)
- Here is Our King (also a big chorus/fun to sing with a lot of people, song)
- My Joy (see above)
- We Won't Be Quiet (i was kind of hoping ted nugent would pop out for this one, but alas, it was not to be...if you are wondering what i am talking about, check out the liner notes in the new cd)
- Foreverandever, Etc ("Albuquerque, Behold the Keytar")
- Mario Brothers Theme Song
- A Beautiful Collision (as you can see, the set was pretty much about the last two albums...no "make a joyful noise," "our love is loud," etc)
- Never Let Go (Crowder plays the piano on this hauntingly beautiful song...one of my favorite from the new record)
- Remedy (this should be CTK-Durango's theme song)
- I Saw the Light (some bluegrass fun...called amy in the middle of this one to share)
- There Is No One Like You (finally, something from the Pre-Collision days)
- O Praise Him (All this for a King) (still one of the best corporate worship songs of all time...this is also just so much fun to sing at the top of your lungs with a thousand other people)
- Surely We Can Change (after a "wall of sound" night, he closed with this quiet number)
Conclusion: bottom line is that this was a totally different Crowder experience for me...no post-show hugs or literature discussions...always you want more and I would have loved older material as well, but when it comes to the Crowder Band there is still nothing like them in the Christian music world.
- opening band thouhgts...
the myriad: lame...radiohead wannabes
phil wickham: amazing...i've enjoyed some of his songs which were recorded with a full band, but last night he came out with just his guitar and blew the place away. his voice was amazing and i think he won over a lot of new fans.
- crowder...
first of all, it's been a while since i've seen crowder, and most of those times were at graceland or other "churchy" experiences, not so much a concert. this was easily the biggest venue/production i've seen him in. so, it was a totally different experience...less personal, but cool nonetheless.
the set:
- The Lark Ascending or (Perhaps, more accurately, I'm trying to make you sing)
- Glory of it All (soaring chorus and big sound...trademark crowder that is so much fun to sing in a big crowd)
- Can You Feel It (not one of my favorite songs, but it was awesome to watch them play with all the gadgetry and gizmos)
- Everything Glorious
- ...Neverending...(at this point i thought he might be playing through the new record song for song...for this song he brought out a modified "Guitar Hero" controller to play the main riff...pretty cool)
- Here is Our King (also a big chorus/fun to sing with a lot of people, song)
- My Joy (see above)
- We Won't Be Quiet (i was kind of hoping ted nugent would pop out for this one, but alas, it was not to be...if you are wondering what i am talking about, check out the liner notes in the new cd)
- Foreverandever, Etc ("Albuquerque, Behold the Keytar")
- Mario Brothers Theme Song
- A Beautiful Collision (as you can see, the set was pretty much about the last two albums...no "make a joyful noise," "our love is loud," etc)
- Never Let Go (Crowder plays the piano on this hauntingly beautiful song...one of my favorite from the new record)
- Remedy (this should be CTK-Durango's theme song)
- I Saw the Light (some bluegrass fun...called amy in the middle of this one to share)
- There Is No One Like You (finally, something from the Pre-Collision days)
- O Praise Him (All this for a King) (still one of the best corporate worship songs of all time...this is also just so much fun to sing at the top of your lungs with a thousand other people)
- Surely We Can Change (after a "wall of sound" night, he closed with this quiet number)
Conclusion: bottom line is that this was a totally different Crowder experience for me...no post-show hugs or literature discussions...always you want more and I would have loved older material as well, but when it comes to the Crowder Band there is still nothing like them in the Christian music world.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
08359
- i'm going to see crowder tomorrow, so i'll have more to say after that
until then, check this out (#8)
http://promo.realestate.yahoo.com/love_the_outdoors.html
until then, check this out (#8)
http://promo.realestate.yahoo.com/love_the_outdoors.html
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Monday, October 01, 2007
08159
- yesterday was the last day of major league baseball's regular season, which means that fantasy baseball is over. the final tally: rmps 110, enraged echidnas 79, tex boy's 78.5. not even close! i'm still trying to figure this out because, while i knew my team was good, i have no idea how i won by this much. it's not like the other teams in the league were not trying...there were 8 teams that made more moves than i did. and if you think it was a fluke i also played in a second league this season. i didn't really make this public knowledge in this space, but i played with some old college buddies. it was much closer but i won that league by four points as well! overall, a pretty great year for fantasy baseball!
- the new crodwer is very good...i haven't listened to it enough to really do a thorough review, but i'm enjoying it so far. not as epic as the last effort, but solid. what really bothers me, though, about a release like this (and i know i may be too biased to make this judgment) is this: worship pastors all over the country have spent the last week analyzing this album, not for it's artistic worth or what it might have to say to our spiritual condition, but rather wondering "will this song work in our church," or "is it too wordy," or "how will this play in our congregation." i could say a lot more about this, but how frustrating, from an artist's perspective, to pour yourself into something and then have it rejected or accepted on whether it "usable" by worship pastors.
- anyway, hope everyone's week is off to a good start...peace!
- the new crodwer is very good...i haven't listened to it enough to really do a thorough review, but i'm enjoying it so far. not as epic as the last effort, but solid. what really bothers me, though, about a release like this (and i know i may be too biased to make this judgment) is this: worship pastors all over the country have spent the last week analyzing this album, not for it's artistic worth or what it might have to say to our spiritual condition, but rather wondering "will this song work in our church," or "is it too wordy," or "how will this play in our congregation." i could say a lot more about this, but how frustrating, from an artist's perspective, to pour yourself into something and then have it rejected or accepted on whether it "usable" by worship pastors.
- anyway, hope everyone's week is off to a good start...peace!
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