what's in a song?

i hadn't heard anything about this movie until i read mike cope's blog this morning. have you heard anything about it? i think i want to take my family to see it. check out the trailer here.

do you recognize this man?

do you recognize who this man is supposed to be, or who he is supposed to look like? last year there was a show on the discovery channel, i think, that did a special on what they think Jesus could have looked like. the picture seen here is what the 'experts' derived from what they believe a 'regular' jewish man looked like in Jesus' time.

i guess all of us have seen how there are people who can take a skull and they add clay to it to make it look like what they think the person looked like based on the shape of the bone structure of the skull. have you heard of this? well, they looked at skulls of known jews in that time period, and with the help of the 'claymation' people they constructed what they think they looked like. they think they looked a certain way since they didn't have cameras back then.

however, if you look at what they think Jesus looked like, with the larger crown size that the jews had at that time, He doesn't look like the shroud that they have of what they think might have been his death shroud.

with all this said ... "have you seen Jesus my Lord ... He's here in plain view?" do you see Jesus in people around you? more importantly, do people see Jesus in you? i have my bad days, but i try my best to show Jesus to all the people i see.

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How Great Is Our God Concert

well i just got back from the mitchell center for the tickets to see chris tomlin on march 14. some may say, "shame on you for not going to church on a wednesday night." my answer would be, "i can worship there. i'm sure that there will be worshipping going on there."get yours and we can go together.

have a great day!

just sittin' here

hello again, i haven't posted this much in quite some time. i don't even know if anyone is reading this stuff.

well, i have been reading velvet elvis again. rob has a way of saying things that we have heard before and they sound like they make more sense when he says them. do you have someone like that? someone that says things that you have heard all your life and when they say them they sound like its the first time you have ever heard them?

while reading movement 3 (that would be like chapter 3 in any other book) rob is talking about a time when he and his kids and the neighbor guy and his kids are out in the yard seeing who can sled down the hill ... its september when they are doing this, and people are driving by and looking at them like they are insane. this made me remember when i was growing up in panama, and we used to use cardboard boxes as sleds, and slid down grassy hills. that was so much fun! is was even funner when someone had gotten a new refridgerator, and we would see how many of us could fit on the box going down hill, or families had just moved in, we would use their wardrobe boxes. man! that was so much fun!

i guess i am hooked on rob. i got two series of rob's sermons that i have down loaded and put on my podomatic site. if you want to go there and download them and listen ... i would highly recommend the one on community. if you go to my podomatic site, you will find other things there. among them is a series of randy harris' ... oh gasp! another one of my favorite guys to listen to. i hope you enjoy them too. if you have read the top of this page you will see the mantras of randy. the sermon that he talked about those is there. he also does a lesson on the Lord's prayer. that one was so good to me i played it over and over until i had it written out and i have it laminated in my wallet, and was one of my post awhile back.

i don't know what got me to want to write this post but i just wanted to share this with you. have a great day.

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stream franklin!

if you have never been to stream franklin (well there has only been one), or stream midland, then you have missed an awesome weekend of spiritual renewal. go to the site and see what there is to offer, and if you have any questions just leave a comment.

here is what is in store:

Friday Evening, April 20
5:00 - 7:00 Registration
7:00 - 9:30 Session I

Saturday, April 21
8:00 - 9:00 Registration
9:00 - 11:45 Session II
12:00 - 2:00 Lunch Break (local choices)
2:00 - 4:30 Session III
5:30 Dinner (local choices)
7:30 - 9:00 Echoes Praise Concert

Sunday, April 22
8:15 & 10:30 Morning Assemblies
Session IV

i strongly encourage you to go. i am going!

i have been tagged

and if you are reading this ... standby because you will be tagged soon, too. (sorry donna, but i think you are the only one that qualifies that statement. just a heads up.)

this venture of taggedness (i just made that up) requires one to spill his/her guts on 5 things that others will probably not know about the author. i am adding onto to the original task by stating that you need to post your results in a comment of the person that tagged you, as well as making a new post on your site. well ... here goes:

1. i'm thinking ... still thinking, hold on ... when it comes to playing board games and such i like to know all the rules before we begin. this is an annoyance to those that i play with, because i will call them on the rules during the game, and they sometimes just stop playing right there, or will never play with me again. i'm not rude about it, but hey ... rules are rules!

2. i used to be deathly afraid to read scripture, or pray in public. (i put that in there because now i love it!)

3. i was born in izmir, turkey. i had to be naturalized when i was 6 (i think?), and i chose the u.s. as the country i wanted to be a citizen of. go figure?

4. i claim alabama as my home state, but had never lived here until i was in my late 30's. also, like jd, i hate greens, but unlike what jd confessed i dislike tomatoes, any melon fruit, or tea (iced, hot, or sweet). i have been told that i am not a real southern.

5. my first car was a '78 ford fiesta. no forget that one. i need something better for my final and 5th thing ... hm ... hhhhmmmm ... i've lived in 12 different places in my life time, and i was baptized in balboa, panama, at balboa church of Christ when i was 11. (those 12 places are turkey, texas [first time], panama, south carolina [first time], illinois, tennessee [first time], florida, south carolina [second time], tennessee [second time], japan, texas [second time], and now alabama.)

now i get to pick 5 people to tag. this ought to be fun. the winners are:

danny simms
donna
greg
soren
my sister in-law

we'll see who actually follows through. this was really fun. it made me think of myself and how introverted i am ... HA!

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now i know ...

i am really not as young as i think i am. yesterday i went with my daughter and the rest of the daphne girls varsity soccer team to camp beckwith. it really was a great time. i am sore from climbing poles and trees, but what we got to do after we got up on those poles and trees was worth it.

have you ever ridden a zip line? i got to ride one yesterday. have you ever jumped off of the top of a telephone pole and grabbed a trapeze bar? i did, and now i am paying for it. i now know that i am not 18 yearsold anymore. my hips are killing me!

well, the girls really bonded well, and i hope they get to take home some good lessons on succeeding and relying on each other and communicating to get things done.

it all started with some group games, and then we got put our buffs, no we didn't go to fiji island for survivor, but we did get these yellow bandanas to wear. we used the buff to make a blindfold, and covered our eyes. we then grabbed the sholders of the person in front of us forming a train. our sherpa lead us by only the sound of his clapping hands. he lead us through treacherous ditches and narrow passes through trees. we finished at a rope trail, but we had to keep our blindfolds on.

at the ropes, we had to keep our left hand on the rope at all times. at times the rope seemed to disappear. that made us feel weird. did i mention we were not able to talk? that made the difficulty factor soar. imagine 14 teen girls not allowed to talk? that didn't happen, but they did ok. i mean it was an impossible challenge to ask them to be quiet for an extended period of time.

after all of the challenges we ended with a surf and turf dinner and a bonfire. the girls got their soccer stuff, and we called a night.

i am so sore.

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i can't believe that i didn't mention this sooner

if you are a reader of this blog you know that i am a fan, (not sure it that is the right word) if not a fan, then someone who agrees with randy harris. last year (sounds like so long ago, doesn't it?) i got to attend the "last hour" experience with about 250 teens. 12 of which were from port city. well we were in panama city, fl, and we got to learn about the temple. or should i say we got a refresher of how life was for the jews before the death of Jesus.



randy lead us in the theology of how things were and ... their names escape me ... these other guys lead us in singing. it was an awesome time to remember how great it is now to have Jesus as our high priest and we can go directly to God through Jesus whenever we want to. that's funny. i said whenever we want to. it would be better if i said 'need' to, because we need to all the time. where would i be without Him? ...



wow ... well, anyway. randy did a great job. he just makes things good and easy to understand and ... make sense. that's redundant.



well, friday to sunday i was with my daughter and 11 others. we cried, and hugged, and prayed, and ate, and sang, and laughed, and ... all together. what a great weekend. what a great way to start the year, huh?



then i just about ruined it by thinking poorly of someone. AARRGGHH!!! satan you know how to ruin things!!! a misunderstanding got blown way out of proportion. see i was on this high, and satan can't handle that, so he said, "take this!" and he just messed me up for my drive home. ...



can't wait to finally get HOME!! home with Jesus ... He's got a place picked out for me. custom designed, and just'a waitin'. can't wait to get there.

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how's it going?

wow, its been awhile, hasn't it? what have y'all been up to? you know as i write this, i can't even remember if this is my initial entry for the new year 2007.



well, let's just say it is. my year has been pretty hectic, but whose isn't? i had the joy of having all my family at my house for christmas this year. my parents, my grandmother on my mom's side, my two brothers, and one of their wives and their two girls. what a great time. they only stayed for one day, but that was great to be able to host all of them at my house for the first time in all my adult life my immediate family was in my house.



then the next day after they were here, my wife's family was in our house. all except her sister were here. so her mom, her two brothers, and their wives were here for christmas.



what an awesome time of fun and fellowship. we opened presents from each family, and then on christmas eve my wife got a present she wasn't expecting, or desiring. she got the flu. so on chirstmas morning she was on the couch as kristin and i handed her presents and we opened presents.



so for about 3 or 4 weeks my wife has been recovering from the christmas present she got, and we have been living day to day until now.



recently i have been trying to get our worship computer updated at the church. we are using mediashout instead of powerpoint now for about 2 years or so, and we received the upgrade from version 2.5 to version 3, but we have not been able to run v3 because all the os software had not been updated for the 2 years the computer has been on the sound booth. this is because we do not have an internet hook up in the sound booth. now don't get this wrong, i am not angry, but it is just a hassle to get the computer updated. when i hooked it up and was getting the updates it said that there 62 security updates that were needed to be installed. that is not including service pack 2.



so last night i got all the updates done, and service pack 2 started (i say started, because 2 and a half hours later i was headed out the door with it still installing the updates) and this morning i found out from the youth minster that all the updates had been installed. i had him restart the computer, and he did that, and there were no errors after the restart. so we will see sunday morning if the updates have thrown any wrenches into the works of the v2.5 script that we have put together for this sunday (which happens to be my daughter's b-day).



so that's the update of k2's 2k7 to date. how's your life going?

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i just read this and wanted to share it

this is what i read:

Read your blogs.
Post your comments.
Do your day.
But don't forget to pray.
In fact, I challenge you to stop right now and just pray.

Pray.

Climb up in Daddy's lap.
Approach your King.
Storm the Gates of Heaven.
Have a little talk with Jesus.
Meet with your Maker.

Just Pray.

joel is a preacher in texas and he has some cool, and awesome stuff to share and this one stuck out. you know we can't pray enough. we have been told that in the bible that we need to pray without ceasing. ever wonder what that really means? how can you pray while talking with your buddy ... how can you pray while eating ... while driving ... while listening to your child tell you about their day?

in my opinion i think we need to pray before we do stuff. we need to keep God involved with our lives. if we did that, how do you think our days would go? yeah, i think the same thing. pray that i can live this out. i'll pray for you.

hey! check iss out!

iss

answers to yesterday's post

President Ford meeting with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (left) and White House Chief of Staff Dick Cheney, April 1975.

thanks for answering donna. sorry that you missed it. you can see rumsfeld still looks the same, with the exception of his hair color. i sure didn't recognize cheney, though.

who are these guys?

who can tell me who these men are?

hints:
one of them just resigned his post.
one just passed away yesterday.
one is still in office. (oops! the following is wrong!) even after being shot on a hunting trip. (it should read this) even after shooting his fellow hunter on hunting trip.

as they appear in the photo: President ??? meeting with his Secretary of Defense (left) and his chief of staff (right), April 1975. (click on the photo to enlarge it)

what a way to go ...

i am sure most of you know that i am a sports nut/freak/whatever. my favorite sport rolls around for the world to participate in every 4 years. no it is not the olympics, although the sport is an olympic sport.

my favorite sport is futbol. aka, soccer. this year the world cup was held in germany. the u.s. team was ranked high, and got slaughtered by their bracket ... again.

what made start this post was not to talk about how poorly the yanks played in germany, but to talk about a man who will sadly be remembered by what he did as his last act on the professionaly pitch. below is an excerpt from espn's page 2 article. it about a great man. a great soccer player. no matter what you think of france.

ZINEDINE ZIDANE
"Zizou" ranks among soccer's all-time greats. He led France to its only World Cup win in 1998, and was named FIFA World Player of the Year three times while starring as the sport's premier midfielder with Juventus and Real Madrid from 1996 until 2006.

That's what European fans and American soccerheads will remember him for. But most Americans will forever remember him as the guy who delivered that awesome head-butt in the 2006 World Cup final. The instant his head slammed into Marco Materazzi's chest, his status went from obscure European athlete to household name in the United States. He also helped changed the "wussy" image many people have of soccer -- and maybe even of French people in general.

And while that may seem wrong or unfair, it's actually great for the growth of soccer in the United States. In a World Cup that saw Team USA bounced in pool play, Zidane had casual American sports fans talking about soccer.

Think of the two most iconic soccer images in recent memory: Brandi Chastain showing her bra and Zidane head-butting Materazzi. Sex and violence -- two of America's greatest loves. Perhaps we need more of both in soccer if it is ever truly going to become a major sport here. I, for one, hope it does, and that we soon see Zidane participating in ribbon-butting ceremonies at new soccer stadiums all across our great land.
-- DJ Gallo

btw, dj i second you on the comment that i hope soccer does become a major sport here in the u.s. it really is a great sport ... just ask someone who plays. what a way to be remembered. i even talked to my wife about him. she saw me typing this, and i described him to her. she didn't know who i was talking about until i mentioned the head butting incident. what a way to be remembered by.

what do remember about this year? what are some things that happened this year that you remember? some about alabama football come to mind ...

a suprise guest last night

guess who we had stop by and talk to our youth group last night? he is the neighbor of one our members. still no clue?

this guy:
jake peavy. ace of the san diego padres.

he came and spoke to our youth, but i think i was the most excited one to see him. eventhough he set a franchise record 17 k's in one game against my braves.

he talked about the night he "got the call" to come up to the bigs. he had played in jackson, ms, and then the manager called him to his room and told him to pack his bags. 'mind you this was about midnight, and he was getting on a plane to fly to san dog to pitch against the new york yankees HAWK!! PUH!! (that's me clearing my throat and spitting out that wretched team's name)

not to mention he was pitching against future hall of famer roger "the rocket" clemens on his mlb debut.

he spoke about pitching to mike piazza and his first mlb strike out, which was derek jeter. he spoke about striking out barry "no i didn't take steroids" bonds. yeah right, and if i pumped weights for three months in the off season i would look like that, too.

it was neat to hear his experiences and how he shared that with our youth. he is not an eloquent speaker, but he is a real guy, and it was neat to hear him share those things.

have you ever met some one famous? how did you feel shaking their hand, and such?

did you know ...

i was surfing this morning and while i was at a new site by one of my favorite band's site i learned that one of my favorite songs by them was derived from psalm 104. i'm sure that you have heard it if you listen to power 88 here in the mobile area, or on another christian radio station. here is the inspiration that they used:

Psalm 104

1 Praise the LORD, O my soul.
O LORD my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

2 He wraps himself in light as with a garment;
he stretches out the heavens like a tent

3 and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.
He makes the clouds his chariot
and rides on the wings of the wind.

4 He makes winds his messengers,
flames of fire his servants.

5 He set the earth on its foundations;
it can never be moved.

6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.

7 But at your rebuke the waters fled,
at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;

8 they flowed over the mountains,
they went down into the valleys,
to the place you assigned for them.

9 You set a boundary they cannot cross;
never again will they cover the earth.

10 He makes springs pour water into the ravines;
it flows between the mountains.

11 They give water to all the beasts of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

12 The birds of the air nest by the waters;
they sing among the branches.

13 He waters the mountains from his upper chambers;
the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work.

14 He makes grass grow for the cattle,
and plants for man to cultivate—
bringing forth food from the earth:

15 wine that gladdens the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine,
and bread that sustains his heart.

16 The trees of the LORD are well watered,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

17 There the birds make their nests;
the stork has its home in the pine trees.

18 The high mountains belong to the wild goats;
the crags are a refuge for the coneys.

19 The moon marks off the seasons,
and the sun knows when to go down.

20 You bring darkness, it becomes night,
and all the beasts of the forest prowl.

21 The lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.

22 The sun rises, and they steal away;
they return and lie down in their dens.

23 Then man goes out to his work,
to his labor until evening.

24 How many are your works, O LORD!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.

25 There is the sea, vast and spacious,
teeming with creatures beyond number—
living things both large and small.

26 There the ships go to and fro,
and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.

27 These all look to you
to give them their food at the proper time.

28 When you give it to them,
they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
they are satisfied with good things.

29 When you hide your face,
they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
they die and return to the dust.

30 When you send your Spirit,
they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.

31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD rejoice in his works-

32 he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,
who touches the mountains, and they smoke.

33 I will sing to the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
as I rejoice in the LORD.

35 But may sinners vanish from the earth
and the wicked be no more.
Praise the LORD, O my soul.
Praise the LORD.

here is video that someone made with the song in the background:



here are the words to the song:

How Great Is Our God

VERSE(1)
The splendor of the King,
Clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice,
All the earth rejoice
He wraps himself in light,
And darkness tries to hide
And trembles at his voice,
And trembles at his voice

CHORUS(1):
How great is our God,
Sing with me
How great is our God,
and all will see
How great, How great
Is our God

VERSE(2):
Age to age he stands
And time is in His Hands
Beginning and the End,
Beginning and the End
The Godhead, Three in one
Father, Spirit, Son
The Lion and the Lamb,
The Lion and the Lamb

CHORUS(1):
How great is our God,
Sing with me
How great is our God,
and all will see
How great, How great
Is our God

CHORUS(2)
Name above all names
Worthy of our praise
My heart will sing how great
Is our God
(x2)

CHORUS(1):
How great is our God,
Sing with me
How great is our God,
and all will see
How great, How great
Is our God

Then sings my soul,
my savior,God to Thee
How great Thy art
How great Thy art
(x2)

CHORUS(1):
How great is our God,
Sing with me
How great is our God,
and all will see
How great, How great
Is our God

have you ever heard this song before? do you like it? what do you think of chris tomlim? i have written some posts in the past featuring him, so you know i like him. did you know that the is coming in concert on march 14th? do you have your tickets yet? I'M GOING TO BE GOING!!

breaking news!

at least to me it is ... well ... not really news, but i have never really read/heard it so concisely put.

well enough blathering, here it is:

"In essentials, unity; in opinions, liberty; in all things, love."

i read this on another blog. it just hit me as this is what we need to think of when we talk to others that have a different opinion than we do. there is another neat saying about opinions that i heard in the navy, but i will not share what it was verbatim. here it is cleaned up a bit:

"opinions are like armpits. everyone has them and they all stink."

what do you think of the line i read in that article?

the story about another song

here is a short article to a song that i'm sure you have had to have heard sometime in the past, or maybe even this year, around this time of year. i'm also not too proud to say that it has caused a tear or two ... oh who am i kidding! this song has made me cry about how sweet it is. i also think of the gift that i was given, in the form of my daughter, and the first time i held her.

here are the lyrics.

its that time of year, isn't it?

a lot of blogs that i read have their lists of their favorite christmas songs, and i just wanted to share two of my faves ... or maybe one more for good measure. ok, so three songs:

Christmastime
Michael W. Smith

Chorus:

Ring Christmas bells
Ring them loud with the message bringing
Peace on the earth
Tidings of good cheer
Come carolers
Come and join with the angels singing
Joy to the world
Christmastime is here again

Children gather around and listen
You'll hear the sound
Of angels filling the sky
Telling everyone
Christmas time is here

Chorus

Loved ones close to our hearts
and strangers in lands afar
Together share in the joy
Emmanuel
He has come to dwell
With one voice
Let the world rejoice

Welcome To Our World
Chris Rice

Tears are falling, hearts are breaking
How we need to hear from God
You’ve been promised, we’ve been waiting
Welcome Holy Child
Welcome Holy Child

Hope that you don’t mind our manger
How I wish we would have known
But long-awaited Holy Stranger
Make yourself at home
Please make yourself at home

Bring your peace into our violence
Bid our hungry souls be filled
Word now breaking Heaven’s silence
Welcome to our world
Welcome to our world

Fragile finger sent to heal us
Tender brow prepared for thorn
Tiny heart whose blood will save us
Unto us is born
Unto us is born

So wrap our injured flesh around you
Breathe our air and walk our sod
Rob our sin and make us holy
Perfect Son of God
Perfect Son of God
Welcome to our world

Clumsy Fly Music (ASCAP)

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Refrain

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.

Refrain

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.

Refrain

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Refrain

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

Refrain

O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.

Refrain

O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.

Refrain

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.

Refrain

let me know what some of your favorites are in the comments section.

saturday night

well, this is late getting out, but we had a great time at the concert saturday night. wow, i know you wish you were there, too, but hey, you were invited.

they did this song that is a favorite of my family's, and i wanted to share it with you. they did 'come together' for one of their encore songs, and that is one of my favorite favorite's of theirs. it was awesome. words do not compare. i hope you enjoy this video of 'show me Your glory.'