March 12

David Mamet writes in the Village Voice, “Why I am no longer a Brain-Dead Liberal”. Good, thoughtful stuff. (No he's not saying you are brain-dead; he's saying he was.)

Another wonderful song by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend who wrote “Speak O Lord” and “In Christ Alone”. This one’s called “The Power of the Cross”.

Oh, to see the dawn of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men, torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood

Chorus
This, the pow'r of the cross:
Christ became sin for us.
Took the blame, bore the wrath,
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh, to see the pain written on Your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Ev'ry bitter thought, ev'ry evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.

Chorus

Now the daylight flees, now the ground beneath
quakes, as its maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two, dead are raised to life.
“Finished!” the vict'ry cry.

Chorus

Oh, to see my name written in the wounds,
for through Your suff'ring, I am free.
Death is crushed to death, life is mine to live,
won through Your selfless love.

Chorus
This the pow'r of the cross:
Son of God, slain for us.
What a love, what a cost,
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Here’s a recording from last Sunday at the end of communion - a little bit of clipping in the recording, not the greatest mix I admit, but it gives the feel. We’re using it again on Easter morning which may seem strange – but since a lot of our attenders will not have been to Good Friday services, we want to re-introduce what came before Easter so that Joy can prevail. In preparation for that moment I have been crafting a combination and Powerpoint and film to lend impact to the song.

Gotta Go – John Fogerty’s playing at the Rodeo tonight!

March 6

• We’re excited about going to see Hello Dolly this evening in the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts – the same facility where we’ll be doing ANNIE GET YOUR GUN in June (but not the same stage – we’ll be appearing on the smaller of the two stages in the Hobby Center). Leslie Uggams takes the lead in “Dolly” tonight.

• These Guys Here are playing tomorrow night at Berryhill Baja Grill in Kingwood. I hope my new Marshall Amp gets here so I can quit borrowing Adam’s.

• We’re excited about seeing John Fogerty next week at the Rodeo.

• We’re looking forward to our annual family day at the Rodeo a week from Saturday.

• Rehearsals for ANNIE GET YOUR GUN are well under way and going great.

• Slate has a delegate calculator that’s fun to play with. Hillary needs to average 62% of the remaining primaries to take the lead, and even then she’ll need at least 419 superdelegates. Barak OTOH needs to average 39% of the remaining primaries and 417 superdelegates.

Scot's Hermeneutics Quiz

Scot McKnight has a Hermeneutics Quiz - "designed to clarify how you understand the Bible and how you apply it. Some people will quibble with the categories in the quiz or insist on more than one answer. That’s okay. No test like this can reveal all the nuances needed, but broad answers are sufficient to benefit from taking the quiz."

I took it and came up with a score of 64, "moderate". (Thanks for the tip Brad, a nearly identical 62 .... no surprise there.) I read Scot's Blog almost daily, but as Scot says, Fridays are for friends, and for me, Friday's my day off - I rarely get to my reading as early in the day. Fridays are for Family and relaxation - and sometimes, for household tasks.

Wednesday

Randy Stonehill says this so well:

" I knew Larry Norman perhaps better than anyone, yet to this day I'm not sure that I really understood him completely. For as brilliant and insightful as Larry was, I'm not sure that he understood himself completely. This issue became apparent in the way he consistently seemed to "derail" relationships through out his life. Larry is the man who introduced me to Jesus. He led me to the door of eternal life, and for that singular priceless gift I am eternally in his debt.

In my relationship with Larry, I experienced the beauty of brotherhood, the richness of creative collaboration, the mystery of human brokenness, and ultimately the overshadowing wings of God's all encompassing grace.

After 20 years of friction and distance between us that began around 1980, Larry and I realized that what united us in Christ was far greater than what had separated us in our personal frailty and pride. We worked together on the re-issue of the "Welcome to Paradise" recording and talked and laughed together over the phone from our respective homes in Seal Beach California and Salem Oregon.

We stood together onstage for what would be the last time at the Cornerstone Festival in July of 2001 and it felt to me like being home. Then he "disappeared" into the mist. I wrote it off to the busy pace of life and his consuming health problems but I still couldn't help but scratch my chin and wonder.

He graciously agreed to sing with me on my song, "We Were All So Young", for the "Edge of The World" project in 2003. We accomplished that performance process long distance through computer technology. Then he was silent again. I had hoped that in these last years we might continue to build on our recent reconciliation and even get together for some song writing and recording, sharing what we had learned about life and about our craft to offer something better than ever to the world.

Death is so final..We are out of time, at least in this life. No more conversations, No more plans, No more songs. It's a strange sorrow that leaves you feeling hollow, like someone knocked the wind out of you. The light of hope, however, that lifts my spirit is the knowledge that Larry's profound contribution to the work of God's Kingdom is eternal and that his struggles with his own demons is over."

-Randy Stonehill February 25, 2008

And John Fischer, another of the first generation of what's now called CCM, opines:

The Outlaw
Wednesday, February, 27, 2008
Some say he was an outlaw, that he roamed across the land,With a band of unschooled ruffians and few old fishermen,No one knew just where he came from, or exactly what he'd done,But they said it must be something bad that kept him on the run.

Some say he was the Son of God, a man above all men--That he came to be a servant and to set us free from sin,And that's who I believe he is, cause that's what I believe;And I think we should get ready, cause it's time for us to leave.- Larry Norman

Well, maybe not time for all of us, but most certainly time for Larry to leave. He's already gone, in fact. He left this earth last Sunday morning at 2:45 a.m., and the world has lost a prophet. There are undoubtedly those who would challenge me on that last statement, but I will not recant. Sure he had enemies among his friends, and he created much of that. He was an enigma -- an iconoclast. He could be so far off you wondered if he was only visiting this planet, but he could be so on the mark that you could only credit the truth and light of the Holy Spirit for it. Indeed, the first verse of his song "Outlaw," quoted above, could have as easily been written about him. No one knew where he came from, but many wished he would go back to wherever that was. He was an outlaw to everything established, and for that he embodied the renegade nature of Christ's first coming.

When you think of it, a guy with shoulder-length blond hair who sang about "sipping whiskey from a paper cup," "gonorrhea on Valentines Day and you're still looking for the perfect lay," and "shooting junk till your half insane," is probably not going to go over very well with the 11 o'clock Sunday morning worship crowd, especially 35 years ago. But then again, he wasn't speaking to those folks anyway. And to his credit, he never adjusted, like the rest of us did, to the Christian culture that grew out of the movement he helped found. He never compromised for a living. He stayed an outlaw until his death.

For these, and other reasons, I have always likened Larry to John the Baptist -- a non-conformist living in the desert wearing funny clothes, eating weird foods and hearing voices no one else heard. After having the dubious distinction of being the one to baptize Jesus and prepare the way of the Lord, John lost his head for sticking his neck into King Herod's private life. Larry stuck his neck out lots of places where people didn't think it belonged. It's a wonder he hadn't lost his head sooner.

In a time of spiritual revolution, Larry Norman carried the torch. He was and will remain through his enigmatic music, a voice crying in the wilderness. I celebrate Larry's final one-way trip to heaven, and if I know him well enough, I would guess he would want us all to make sure we were ready to leave ourselves.One way, one way to Heaven, hold up high your hand.Follow, free and forgiven, Children of the Lamb.

February 25

Brad’s blog made me aware of yesterday’s death of Larry Norman, the “godfather’ of Christian rock music back in the 70s. I remember a great fondness for Larry when I was in high school, buying the LP pictured here and seeing Larry in concert in Sacramento in 1972 – little realizing that simultaneously, down in Dallas, a family of 7 kids were likewise loving Larry. I wound up marrying the youngest of them. We remember you with fondness and sadness today, Larry. Go in peace.

Yesterday we went to Maggiano’s Little Italy for an early celebration of my birthday next Sunday (when EC will be working and unavailable). I learned some 5 years ago that the most enjoyable way to order in restaurants is to let the server select my meal and not tell me what it will be until it arrives. I’ve never been disappointed, and yesterday was no exception.

Time Freezes at Grand Central

Here's a video about one of the coolest "happenings" I have ever seen. The actor in me loves this.

"Speak O Lord"

At tonight’s Wednesday evening Lenten service we are singing Keith Getty and Stuart Townend’s “Speak, O Lord”. These guys (who previously wrote “In Christ Alone (my hope is found)” have a calling to write new worship music that works in the world of hymns, but I find that it also speaks powerfully to those who prefer the more typical contemporary fare. The lyric quality is very high – I note especially in v2, line 7, “Your majestic love and authority” – the typical praise and worship stuff, good as I think some of it is, rarely turns at that point of the song to remind us of the authority of God in our lives. The melody is superb. I’m looking forward to leading this tonight.

Speak O Lord as we come to You
To receive the food of Your holy word
Take Your truth plant it deep in us
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness
That the light of Christ might be seen today
In our acts of love and our deeds of faith
Speak O Lord and fulfill in us
All Your purposes for Your glory

Verse 2
Teach us Lord full obedience
Holy reverence true humility
Test our thoughts and our attitudes
In the radiance of Your purity
Cause our faith to rise
Cause our eyes to see
Your majestic love and authority
Words of power that can never fail
Let their truth prevail over unbelief

Verse 3
Speak O Lord and renew our minds
Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time
That will echo down through eternity
And by grace we'll stand on Your promises
And by faith we'll walk as You walk with us
Speak O Lord till Your church is built
And the earth is filled with Your glory

© 2005 Thank You Music

The Big Story

Brad posted a link to a piece about whether the Bridge illustration has lived out its effective usefulness. I am really attracted to James Choung’s The Big Story, a simple 3 minute explanation of the gospel, which I found referenced on the comments page and then pursued by Googling James' name. (See also his follow up, Big Story Part 2, and this pdf explanation). Both Big Story links will take you to his website where you’ll find a really good 3 minute video summary. This is creative thinking.

A confession for Ash Wednesday

Note: I have written this for 2 or more leaders so that each leader begins reading almost before the previous reader is finished, so that a) it moves quickly and b) one gets the feel of a piling-up, an accumulation of sin – and increasingly so as the reading progresses.

Leader 1: God spoke all these words: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
Leader 2: "You shall have no other gods before me.

People: God – Lord and father –
We have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.

(Sung) Jesus, I've forgotten the words that You have spoken
Promises that burned within my heart have now grown dim
With a doubting heart I follow the paths of earthly wisdom
Forgive me for my unbelief, Renew the fire again
Lord have mercy Christ have mercy Lord have mercy on me
Lord have mercy Christ have mercy Lord have mercy on me

Leader 3: "You shall not make an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below, nor bow down to them or worship them.
Leader 1 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God.
Leader 2 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

People Wash me clean from my guilt.Purify me from my sin.
For I recognize my rebellion;it haunts me day and night.
You're the One I've violated,
and you've seen it all, seen the full extent of my evil. You have all the facts before you; whatever you decide about me is fair. I've been out of step with you for a long time, in the wrong since before I was born. What you're after is truth from the inside out. Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.

Psalm 51:2-3 (NLT), 4-6 (MSG)


(Sung) I have built an altar where I worship things of men
I have taken journeys that have drawn me far from You
Now I am returning to Your mercies ever flowing
Pardon my transgressions Help me love You again
Lord have mercy Christ have mercy Lord have mercy on me
Lord have mercy Christ have mercy Lord have mercy on me

Leader 3 "Honor your father and your mother.
Leader 1 "You shall not murder.
Leader 2 "You shall not commit adultery.
Leader 3 "You shall not steal.
Leader 1 "You shall not give false testimony.
Leader 2 "You shall not covet.

People I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.
I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t.
I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;test me and know my anxious thoughts.Point out anything in me that offends you,and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Romans 7:18-19, Psalm 139:23,24 (NLT)

(Sung) I have longed to know You and all Your tender mercies
Like a river of forgiveness ever flowing without end
So I bow my heart before You in the goodness of Your presence
Your grace forever shining Like a beacon in the night
Lord have mercy Christ have mercy Lord have mercy on me
Lord have mercy Christ have mercy Lord have mercy on me

Leader 3 If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
Leader 1 He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.
Leader 2 Once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!

1 John 1:9; Psalm 103:12; Eph 5:8 (NLT)

Magic Jack

Brad tipped me to Magic Jack and I could not resist trying it out. It's a device about the size of a silver cigarette lighter, with a USB port on one end and a phone jack on the other end. Plug your regular landline phone into one end and connect to your computer using the other end. In about 3 minutes you can make free phone calls to anywhere in the US - to landline or cell phones. I called between our house and cell phones just as a quick check, then took it on a test drive, calling my brother Tom in Sacramento. Sound quality was good.

The device costs $20 and a one year license costs $20. If you take 5 minutes and do an online chat with a live tech help, you might be offered a $2 off code, as I was. The package came on Friday, after placing my order on Wednesday. There is a 30 day money back guarantee, which I will utilize if the first month doesn't go as I hoped.

At present there do not appear to be a vast number of area codes available, but as they expand they will offer a chance to reselect a phone number. There is no chance to change to your existing number. I have not yet determined whether the number I received in my area code actually is a local number if called from my house or church.

Magic Jack registration includes 911 sign up, so that in theory it will be safe in that regard. My only as yet unanswered questions have to do with connecting more than one phone. Apparently there are devices that can be bought at Best Buy or similar places, that carry phone line info over your electrical system, so that you can set one of those up, then plug any phone into a companion device that is plugged into an electrical outlet. With that, I'd be able to use 2 phones in my house. That device may cost me another $50-60. If it works as the tech guy said it would, I think we'll spring for it and say goodbye to our landline.

Will this replace my $50 a month Embarq account? If it does it will save me a lot of money.

January 23

• Faith, Hope and Pixie Dust: Disney Profits by returning to its Roots.

• Barna Reports on the Social and Moral Concerns of America as the election year rolls on.

• Please pray for our friend Janine, whose husband died last month. It continues to be a rough road for her and her children. Her blog will fill you in on details.

Rehearsals began last night for "Annie Get Your Gun", which will play for 2 weekends. The first weekend is April 4-6 at the Nathaniel Center in Kingwood. The second weekend is June 20-22 in the Hobby Center, which is the crown jewel of Houston's downtown Theatre District. I'll be in the featured role of Charlie Davenport, general manager of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. It's the role I hoped for after reviewing the options, so I am pleased.

I was sad to hear that John Stewart died this weekend, of a massive stroke. For me, before there were the Beatles, there was the Kingston Trio, whose music goes back so far in my memory, it was nearly pre-verbal. OF course John didn't join the group until later, after Dave Guard left, but he was a perfect fit to continue the trajectory of the band. He was a great songwriter; I'm humming "Chilly Winds" even though most people would recognize "Daydream Believer" better. Though John's death is sad, he had recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and I am glad he was spared the ravages of that degenerative disease.

A Confession: We Neglect Your Power

God, Forgive us.
Lord Jesus, have mercy on us.
Holy Spirit, help us.
We have neglected you.
We believe in You, and in the truth of Your Word -

But in our day to day lives,
We doubt that You really have power to offer us-
Power that can make a difference in our lives
Or the lives of those around us.
We lean on our own strength, which is no strength at all.

We cry out to You:
Convince us anew
That You are here, always with us
Strong and powerful, Mighty to save us,
Faithful and able to complete the work You’ve begun in us.
Bring us to a new depth of knowing and experiencing
Your power for our lives. Amen.

A Sad Day

Here at CTK we are experiencing a deep sense of loss. A very fine man of God was taken to be with His Lord very suddenly.

Jim Eggers suffered what I understand was a tear in the aorta. He was life flighted to the hospital where he stabilized enough to begin surgery, but in the early hours of this morning the surgeon's efforts concluded. Jim crossed the finish line.

We know he is with his Lord, but he leaves a wife and 6 children ranging in age from 13 to 23. This causes me such grief.

I doubt that Jim ever had a hint of how much I admired and respected him.

December 6

ElenaClaire lost the hearing in her right ear - apparently due to nerve damage and apparently permanent. In a hearing test they were sending signal to the ear and she said she could feel the vibration so she figured they were sending signal, but she heard nothing. That was 110 decibels.

They did an MRI and found that there was no mass pressing on the nerve causing the loss - this was what we expected but was a relief nonetheless. She will continue to see a Dr., now an otologist, until he says there is no further benefit. At this point there is an unlikely possibility that the otologist might detect something that might restore functioning. In the meantime college and work as a pharmacy tech is going well for her.

Miles is continuing incremental improvement both physically and emotionally. He was in the 5th grade's performance of "The Nutcracker" and did a great job. On Dec. 19 he will be a featured player in the church Christmas program.

This weekend is the church Cantata, this year a self-selected set of songs with a narration script I composed. Alicia will narrate. Our title song is Chris Tomlin's "Glory in the Highest".

I am toying with auditioning next month for "Annie Get your Gun".

and life rolls onward...

Long-Overdue Update

Blogging has taken a back seat to other concerns of late. Let me bring you up todate.

Miles is showing signs of incremental improvement. He is on two medications for clinical depression. Since a test revealed normal gastric emptying we are operating on the assumption that gastroparesis is not the pressing G/I problem. His doctor ran out of ideas and so referred us to a colleague who decided to assume that eosinophilic duodenitis was at fault and started Miles on a medication that can help with that.

Meanwhile Miles had missed so much school that the state of Texas was (ill-advisedly) sending us boilerplate letters that inform us of heavy fines and/or prosecuting charges against us. We negotiated with the school a 3 week period in which Miles would arrive an hour later and leave an hour early, but would attend every day, no matter what his health was like. And, surprise, surprise, he actually made it to school almost every day for the past 5 weeks now.

ElenaClaire had been preparing for her first open water dive in a scuba class but was unable to do it because of a cold that turned into an inner ear infection, outer ear infection, and bronchitis. She was on several oral and injected antibiotics, several oral and injected steroids, topical treatments for the ear, nebulizer breathing treatments etc. Her health improved but the hearing in her rigth ear did not. Last week we learned that the 100% hearing loss in her right ear is probably permanent and due to nerve damage. She is still on steroids and will have an MRI to make sure nothing is pressing against the nerve but the news has been a great discouragement to her.

Smiles for Miles/Miles for Miles raised a grand total of $9,000 this year.

Alicia and I are doing well but struggling to keep our heads above water in all the stressors of our lives.

Ministry continues to go well at CTK. We have begun mentoring a small church plant who are presently without a pastor after their planting pastor left (after only 2-3 years) and part of what that means is that several of us are preaching there. We provide preaching 3 Sundays out of 4 for them. I preached on November 4 (reprising the Lost Sheep/Lost Coin piece and video, plus additional material) and am scheduled there once a month. In December I will preach at the 9:40 service at CTK. That's the weekend of the Cantata, which is presented Saturday night and at the 8:20 and 11:00 services, and for which I am writing the script.

Lost Sheep Lost Coin - the full drama and Video

SMILES FOR MILES REPORT

Last week was so much work preparing for SMILES FOR MILES. But in the end it was a smashing evening, more than doubling the money raised for diabetes reseaarch. We had a great turnout, all three bands did a fine job, comedian Chuck Montgomery was terrific, and the raffles were well supported. We had a live auction of two items: a signed Houston Texans football helmet, and a Christopher Radko baseball-themed ornament signed by Roger Clemons.
In the end, $4000 was raised - add to that the $1000 in sponsorships on the back of the T shirt and $1100 raised by the Creekwood Middle School kids selling paper sneakers last week with our help, and we are standing at over $6000 - with more than a month before the walk. That is awesome!

Miles

His quarterly endo exam went pretty well. He needs to gain weight. His biggest problem and prayer request is about the pain and nausea caused by gastroparesis. I never imagined myself saying "Diabetes, by itself - those were the good old days..." It's September 6 and he has already missed 50% of school days this year. Hopefully we have nowhere to go but up.

September 6

• Of all places in the world, why here? Who knows? For that matter who ever expected it would make a comeback 25 years after spectacularly collapsing in 2 years? For whatever reason, the DeLorean Motor Company is starting up again, in our own Humble, Texas. They envision rolling as many as 28 cars a year off the assembly line, each with a $57,000 price tag. Attention, Marty McFly: why didn't you tell us this when you got back from the future?

Too Cool - Google Earth Flight Simulator

Stevie Baby had a link to this secret "Easter Egg" on the newest version of Google Earth. I had to download FlightSim.reg (a 25 second task) and restart Google Earth, then hit Ctrl-Alt-A. Here's a picture of me, buzzing over my hometown of Davis. The house I grew up in is actually right there on the screen, lower right corner. This could be a real time stealer. I gotta get back to work. Thanks Stevie Baby!

September 5

• Yesterday was Dad's birthday. We had a good talk and we sang to him over the phone. The link will take you to an article about Dad on daviswiki.org - taken originally from The Davis Enterprise. It's a very inspiring article (to me).

• Imprimis, the outstanding journal of Hillsdale College, has a great feature speech this month on the topic of global climate change and the dubious claim that it is caused chiefly by human activity. The author, S. Fred Singer, is professor emeritus of environmental sciences at the University of Virginia, a distinguished research professor at George Mason University, and president of the Science and Environmental Policy Project. So he has the academic clout behind his words. Other recent publishing on a US Senate Committe website also notes the growing dissension from the "consensus" view.

• When will the name-calling stop? Oh, the humanity!

Wednesday, 8/29/07

• Miles had a great first and second day of fifth grade. Our major concerns were obviously his health, but also his attitude and his connecting with a boy who can be a friend. The good news is that in every way his first two days went very well. Today, unfortunately, gastroparesis is causing him severe discomfort and he is at home. We hope maybe he can get in for the afternoon.

• Meanwhile ElenaClaire has begun at Kingwood College and is enjoying that a great del. Especially the scuba diving course. Her big task is now to secure a job as a Certified Pharmacy Technician.

• Brad Bergfalk is getting a lot of positive feedback for some writing he's done on pastoral service and transitions. This is great stuff Brad. Worth reading are his posts on

What a pastor needs in a congregation

The Exit Interview

Open Letter to Churches seeking a pastor

Myth of the Pastor Call Process 1 and 2

Reasons the pastoral call process is broken

Strategy for a Meaningful and Effective Pastoral Call Process


• This is a ticket to a dance held in 1922. It was in a book that belonged to my great grandmother. Note the phrase in the bottom right corner. Either the phrase has changed in meaning, or she was quite the party girl!

Miles and Rick's Excellent Adventure

Miles Update

Yesterday Miles went to see the GI doctor. A decision was made to change the medication Miles is prescribed to deal with his gastroparesis (chronic partial paralysis of the muscles that contract to empty the stomach, causing cramping, stomach pain and nausea - a slow emptying of the stomach).

It's more than a little unnerving when a physician tells you that there are extremely few therapeutic alternatives left - or in simpler terms, we got no more ideas after this.

Last night Miles had very severe stomach pain in the hour or two after dinner.

This boy needs prayer and a miracle.

SMILES FOR MILES

We are moving into the time of year when we raise funds to find a cure for diabetes. September 14 will be the date of "Smiles for Miles", a fun evening of food, music and entertainment. These Guys Here , the kids from Centre Stage Theatre, possibly a stand up comic and some magicians will be performing - as well as a one-night-only Beatles Tribute band called "Sgt. Miles' Find the Cure Club Band". It's made up of a bunch of friends from church, but the artwork, as you can see, was all a family affair.

JDRF video

I was just sent this link to the JDRF video from this year's Houston gala, which raised a million dollars.

Gearing up for "Smiles for Miles"

It's the event we do in the fall to raise money for JDRF. Last year was the first one and this year we're adding some acts to the entertainment, as well as adding to the food offerings. And I'm assembling a second band...

Vacation fever

• Our brief family vacation starts in a day and a half and we're focused on getting ready. Corpus Christi, TX is our destination. Beach time, movies, aquarium, USS lexington tour, restaurants, and who knows what. We'll keep you informed and post pics when we get back.

• Geoff and family are back. Stand down, Department of Homeland Security.

• Covenant President Glenn Palmberg has announced his retirement next August after 10 years of service. He's provided excellent leadership. My only sadness: I was voted off the island by Renton just before Glenn began his service (Thank God he was there as a supportive Superintendent during that tumultuous year of 1996-97), and if I am to return to the Covenant, I had hoped it would be during Glenn's tenure. But who knows. Maybe I have found the place where I am to stay right where I am. I am certainly not at all saddened at the prospect of staying here - I love CTK and all its people. I just miss the connections of my Covenant family. But I digress... Glenn is a good friend and I wish him all good things.

July 13

• 3 D Ministries is the home of Mike Breen, the anglican guy who developed a series of geometric images as discipleship tools, called "LifeShapes". But 3D is more than 8 simple tools to help people think and talk about their walk with Christ. It's an organic movement of biblical discipleship and missional churches. This is the group with whom CTK is connecting, in what appears to be an evolving relationship in which we will be a "hub" church where eventually, leaders can come to receive training. The process is stillemerging but it is exciting to watch where the winds of the Spirit are blowing.



• Geoff must be on a really slow airplane. They left Zurich 16 days ago and as far as I can tell, they are still in the air.



• ElenaClaire's first experience in opera is now history. It was great, and I'll get video up soon.

July 3 Update

Awfully rainy in Kingwood these past couple weeks. July 4th doesn't hold out much hope for dry weather either. Scheduled - Morning: The local parade. Afternoon: These Guys Here playing at a block party. Evening: Fireworks. We can move the block party indoors and play without drums if need be, but the parade and fireworks can't move inside very easily...

ElenaClaire got home from the mission trip Sunday night. These two snaps were taken by my buddy Spencer. While she was arriving home, Alicia and I were in the Theatre District enjoying "Sweet Charity". Cute show, well done. Very much a throwback to the

groovy Sixties. Quite a change from what we'll be doing next

weekend: going to hear ElenaClaire sing opera.

(I had some content in here about politics but I deleted it. My interest in politics is more like a morbid fascination, but more accurately, the more I see, the sicker I feel.)

This just in: (via)

June 25 Update

• I'm enjoying the travelogue posted by my buddy Geoff, who is in Europe with the choir from Menlo Park Pres. Geoff and I met 29 years ago on a music tour with "Song of Praise", a ministry of Artists in Christian Testimony.

Geoff is the shy one on the right; Gordon is the amused one on the left; Lauren is the embarrassed one in front; and Susan is the quiet one in the middle, in this re-creation of "The Sound of Music". I can't wait for the DVD!

• Scot McKnight has a wonderful essay today on the theology soundbyte "Love the sinner, Hate the sin". He offers a much more satisfying alternative. It's something after which he titled both his book and his blog: The Jesus Creed - Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.

• I led worship yesterday and we had a great time recreating the Newsboys' song "Wherever we Go". I was playing that reggae-influenced offbeat strat guitar - albeit on a keyboard. The theme - the Christian life is a life of letting joy and celebration go on display, and the blessings God pours into the life that follows Him. Sort of an updated Isaiah 55. Trees of the field clapping their hands isn't that different from squirrels smiling and waving, I guess. we had fun and the congregation were very delighted with the result - people had great joy at the end of the service as we concluded with Paul Baloche's "All the Earth will Sing Your Praises". (Paul wrote a great second verse that isn't on this linked recording, but we always do it):

No one, no name can rise above You Lord,

One hope, one light that shines forevermore,

Your kingdom in heaven and on earth,

Your children stand to sing of Your great worth.

We also taught our congregation, for the seond week, a new (to us) Chris Tomlin song called "How can I keep from singing?" It's the lead song right now on his website. We enjoyed hearing His song "Indescribable" on the evening news last week - when it was used to wake up the crew of the space station. Pretty amazing to hear that declaration of faith in the creator who placed the starts in the sky and knows them by name, when you're a little closer to them, I should think.

• Today is workday #1 for ElenaClaire and the rest of the kids and adults at the Valdosta workcamp. I bet she's hot and sweaty right about now, but probably just got off the worksite.

• Yesterday we had the fun of reconnecting via email with her Kindergarten teacher, Lynn Willis. He and his wife were delightful people. The exchange of emails made me miss their friendship.

• Finally, spent a couple hours last night picking fresh blueberries with Alicia, Miles, Tamara and Zach. Sweet and delicious - the fruit, and company and the activity

June 21 Update

• The Houston Theater District is ranked second, only behind New York City, for the number of theater seats in a concentrated downtown area, and Houston is one of only five cities in the United States with permanent professional resident companies in all of the major performing arts disciplines of opera, ballet, music, and theater.

In this second-only-to-Broadway district, one of the most significant facilities is the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. Our family was there a few months back to see "Seven Bride for Seven Brothers". Alicia and I will be there on July 1 to see "Sweet Charity" with friends Andy and Lanetta. But we may be back again on the other side of the curtain next year. "How to Succeed" had such a successful run that we may be reprising it next June, onstage at the Hobby Center. I did have a friend tape three production numbers at Final Dress Rehearsal, which you can watch here: The opening number; "A Secretary is not a Toy", and the smash closer, "Brotherhood of Man".

• I've just tried something that is absolutely cool & being the geek that I am. I've got it all set up, it's called SpinVox & it turns voicemail left at my cell phone into email that come to me in my inbox. You gotta try this thing.

(By the way, I didn't type any of the preceding paragraph. I left it as voice mail for myself and then copied it out of the resulting email and pasted it here. It even interpreted "gotta" accurately!)

• ElenaClaire will be among nearly 80 who leave on Saturday for the annual youth trip. This year it's a mission and rebuilding trip to Valdosta, Georgia. For the last 3 years, she's been part of these trips, and one of us has gone along as an adult leader. This year, her final trip, she makes without us. She'll be fine...we all will.

Valdosta, the birthplace of Doc Holliday, is a modern Southern town with a big heart-in a world where too many people just look the other way. The citizens of Valdosta are determined to fix the homes of their less fortunate neighbors. The entire community has made a commitment to eliminate all substandard housing by the year 2020. It's an amazing opportunity to help with this, tackling projects like…replacing rotten siding for an elderly widow, giving a disabled man the gift of mobility with a wheelchair ramp, fixing rickety front steps for a single parent with low income. Or, boosting a struggling family's self-esteem by making their house look like a million bucks with a bright new coat of paint. The City of Valdosta and Group Workcamps received the Community Development National Achievement Award for the Workcamp here in 2006!

June 9 Update

June 9

Last night was opening night for "How to Succeed..." By almost any measure it was a smash success. There were a few gaffes, but they were minor, minor, minor. Alicia and the kids attended and LOVED it, as did the whole packed house.

This shot is from the end of the show stopping production number "Brotherhood of Man". I had a friend videotape the final dress rehearsal of this and two other numbers, which I'll edit and put up later this week.

I forgot to mention in my post about the Grad party that between songs, I announced that the event had special significance for me because it was the eve of a momentous anniversary: the next day represented 10,000 days of marriage for myself and Alicia. (A simple excel spreadsheet makes it very easy to track such things and surprise Alicia with dates of unexpected significance because they count days instead of years. There are two more surprising dates coming up this year, but I won't reveal them yet). I then sang Van Morrison's song "Have I told you lately that I love you".

We've begun plans to spend a three day vacation in Corpus Christi - a place the kids and I have never been and Alicia hasn't seen since childhood. We're told it's a delightful beach town. That will probably be July 9-11, after ElenaClaire's opera. If you know Corpus and can suggest places to go, stay, eat, etc. we'd love your feedback.

May 31 Update

Google Maps Street View
Now you can walk the streets of Oakland Chinatown and 4 other metro areas in the US without ever leaving your computer! Take a look at this new feature inside of Google Maps called "Street View." The feature is in pilot mode so only a few locations are in Street View. These locations include San Francisco Bay Area, Las Vegas, Miami and New York. Look for the camera icon on the large scale maps, and look for the streets outlined in blue on the small scale maps.



The image I've included here is from the sacred corner of Van Ness and Pacific, for many years the home of The Hippopotamus (aka the Hippo or the Hungry Hippo), the finest Hamburger place I've ever been. Since it closed back in the late 1980s (replaced by a stinkin' GAP store fer cryin out loud...), San Francisco holds very little reason for me to return. (via Geoff...)



The Party was awesome!
Tuesday night was the Graduation party featuring These Guys Here as the band. We were apparently the hot ticket on Tuesday night in Kingwood. People were in our house shoulder to shoulder, parking as far as 3 blocks away. Tamara was outside all evening grilling steak kabobs and shrimp kabobs - her grad gift to EC (and us). Other friends also brought food. It was a most amazing and memorable night.


Kingwood's getting hot and humid. Always seems to happen this time of year...


H2$ is getting nearer - tonight is my last free night until after opening weekend.


Miles has had 7 days in a row of (comparative) health - deepening my suspicion that there is a school-phobia elemt to his severe health challenge in addition to the obvious physiological ones.


EC will be singing in the Kingwood College Summer Opera Worskshop.

May 29 update

1. ElenaClaire Graduates! Friday evening



2. Sisters Elena and Rachel were here all weekend. Rachel still here; Elena has just left for San Diego.

3. Miles is on his 5th day in a row of health.

4. Tonight's the party, with These Guys Here playing music!

May 24 Update

ElenaClaire graduates tomorrow from Kingwood High. The ceremony is at 8:30 pm at Reliant Stadium - the same venue where a famous wardrobe malfunction occurred. I feel confident that no such problem will occur tomorrow.

After Graduation, Alicia and I are volunteering at the "Project Graduation" all-night party held at KHS. Alicia and Miles are now at Hobby AIrport picking up Aunt Elena, flown in from San Diego and here until Tuesday afternoon. Aunt Rachel arrives tomorrow by car from Plano, TX. Elena can't stay for Tuesday night's party. We hope Rachel can.

ElenaClaire will spend the summer working part time as a nanny and a couple days a week as a barista at Jitters Coffee. What a thoroughly stereotypical thing for a 2007 grad to do. (One of her favorite songs is "Taylor the Latte Boy". A recording of Kristen Chenoweth singing “Taylor” is available here. Click the stream labeled 30:14 and scroll over to about seventeen minutes into the clip.)

EC was also offered a lead role in Kingwood College's Opera Workshop this summer. If she can work it into her schedule, it would be a great experience. Her role would be Gretel in the opera "Hansel and Gretel" by Engelbert Humperdinck (No, the famous British pop singer from the 1960s -- real name Arnold Dorsey -- the one with the cheesy tuxedo, sappy songs and silly sideburns -- did not compose this opera. The Engelbert Humperdinck who wrote Hansel and Gretel was born in Germany in 1854.)

Miles is officially through with 4th grade tomorrow at noon. Please God, may this year have been the worst year of his schooling. He's missed, I am sure, in excess of 50 days - nearly a third of the year.

I've just completed a re-designing of the basic arrangement of the CTK website. The goal was to make the page designed more for the visitor or person considering a visit, and less for the member (though members can still easily find what they need). The main menuing now makes it much easier for a visitor to find basic information they might need, and avoids churchy language. I implemented many suggestions made by Tony Morgan and the Internet Evangelism Day site.

Mark, my much-valued colleague in Worship and Music Ministry, has decided to remain at CTK rather than accept the call he received from the church in Ohio. We are all grateful. I still find the idea of a congregation officially extending a call to a pastor (or church worker) who has told you he is not interested is kind of unusual. But there are probably ways that seem normal to me that others would find strange.

Mike Breen was here yesterday to meet with our staff. Mike is the developer of LifeShapes, a series of unique discipling tools. He is now gathering 7 churches to be the model churches for a ministry approach that steps away from the well-marketed church growth method in favor of a disciple-making approach. What does that mean, you ask? Most of us are not entirely sure, and if we are, we're still looking for language to explain it. But it appears we are going to be one of the model churches. I am enthusiastic.

Brad was commenting on his blog about his experience of convergence:

he's a pastor and missionary with the Evangelical Covenant Church, serving on Guam in partnership with the Liebenzell Mission and Pacific Islands Bible College, where their primary work is with Micronesians; he's also helping out at the Lutheran Church of Guam, an independent, culturally diverse Lutheran congregation which maintains affiliation with both the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (where he and Cheryl regularly worship) as the intern supervisor and occasional preacher. Their summer seminary intern at LCG is an American who does US Air Force reserve duty on Guam every few months, but who is living down under, studying to become a minister in the Uniting Church of Australia.

I replied that as a Covenant pastor serving an LCMS congregation that has done 2 campaigns from Saddleback (a Baptist Church) and whose leadership is now being mentored by an Anglican who is connected with an ELCA congregation in Arizona, I thought all the convergence was pretty cool.

A confession for Mother's Day

This confession was written to follow a reading of Proverbs 31:10-12, 25-30 (NIV). It came out of an awareness that Mother's Day can be a difficult day for women whose relationships with their mothers were/are strained, those who have experienced infertility issues, etc. and others who find the Proverbs ideal too lofty to attain.

Lord, many of us read these words from Your Holy Word
And are inspired, encouraged, and grateful.
But some of us are tempted to doubt
That Your grace could ever produce
these kinds of virtues in our lives.

Some of us are tempted by resentment and unforgiveness
Because of those who have let us down.
Some of us are tempted to condemn ourselves for past failings,
and all of us remember times when we have fallen short.

Forgive us for doubt, resentment,
unforgiving hearts, self-condemning attitudes.
Remind us of your forgiveness, always available in Jesus Christ.

In Spite of our failures and sin,
We trust in Your power to transform our lives.
Fill us with Your Holy Spirit, Lord Jesus,
So that our lives may bring Joy to Your world
And Praise to Your Name.

© 2007 Rick Lindholtz

Friday 5/4

• For the third time in 6 1/2 years of calling Christ the King Lutheran Church my home, something has happened that I just find so interesting: Another church has extended a call to one of our staff, even though the staff person has clearly articulated that he is not looking and not open to a change of ministry. I find this interesting simply because it is so outside of my experience. In The Covenant I have never heard of such a thing happening. "No" means "No" in the ECC. If you're a Covenant reader, have you heard of a Covenant Church, in congregational vote, extending an official call to a pastor or staff ministry person who has said "no thanks" on more than one occasion?

This time (again)it is Mark, our Director of Worship and Music, who has been called by a church in Cleveland OH. And he figures that if a church is willing to extend a call, he needs to explore whether it is God's will. So he'll be up there next week.

I'm not concerned. God is in control, but I really don't expect this to happen.

• Miles has concluded his course of Prednisone. It has been sheer misery. Probably the worst month of our lives. And it will take a few days for the remnants of Prednisone to leave his system. Further, there is (as far as we can tell) no evidence that it has accomplished anything other than wreak havoc with his sleep cycle [and ours]and his Blood Glucose management. Today he is having a horrible day of abdominal pain - the presenting problem which the Prednisone was theoretically going to help.

Sunday 4/29

-Awesome worship today in a service of confirmation for 39 8th graders. Doyle preached on "Oaks of Righteousness".

-Miles is slowly getting his sleep cycle back to normal as we taper down his prednisone dose. Last Monday night he slept not one minute from bedtime until 7:15 am. We are still recovering - all of us. Miles is enjoying his new pet, a leopard gecko named Faith, and also enjoyed a visit from Maggie, who is owned by the Reuters - who are also the parents of Jeffrey, ElenaClaire's boyfriend.

-ElenaClaire is moving into the home stretch - Pops Show is over (videos here) and Prom is coming - Graduation is May 25th and her Grad party at our house is May 29, featuring the music of These Guys Here.

Concordia and North Park both offered her generous scholarships ($8500 and $14200 respectively) but she is feeling like it would be wise for her to finish a couple years at Kingwood College - not certain that either she or Miles is ready for her to leave, and not feeling good about starting her post-college life with a pile of college debt (which would surely be the case if she went to either school).

-I just got home from a 5 hour rehearsal for "How to Succeed in Business without really trying", on stage here in Kingwood in June - my first entrance into community musical theatre since "Bye Bye Birdie" 30 years ago in Davis. The time commitment is demanding but I'm having fun. today we choreographed "Brotherhood of Man" step for step based on this video of the Matthew Broderick revival of the show.

I just finished reading "Flyboys" by James Bradley, author of "Flags of our Fathers". Awesome but disturbing book. No one really comes out of war virtue intact. But the details make it clear that a Pacific war was necessary back in the 1940s.

A Cure, using patient's own stem cells?

Read about it at Miles.Lindholtz.net

Thursday 4/12

Easter was a great day... over 1700 in attendance, including the largest number of people ever to attend a single service at CTK (720 - all but maximizing our available seating, with folding chairs set up in the aisles.)
Miles was very sick on Tuesday, then had a great day on Wednesday. Today he is sick and at home again.
ElenaClaire secured a solo spot in the Kingwood High Pops Show at the end of the month. She'll be singing "Eleanor Rigby", backed by a small group of vocalists on the chorus.
She learned this week that she secured neither the vocal scholarship nor the LEadership Scholarship for which she applied. We are looking at Financial Aid packages, but realizing that in all likelihood she'll be at Kingwood College for a year or two. Still, we're making no firm decisions. Who knows what might still happen?

Good Friday

Miles' health has sort of taken over the subject matter on this blog - (and a lot of other stuff in our lives). It will not always be thus (I say in faith). The worship, music, drama, and theological musings will return.

Several of you who read here have sent encouraging notes - Thanks Geoff, Don, and John/Melissa, to name a few -

Miles started on prednisone Tuesday night and as expected, it is shooting his glucose levels all over the place - on the high end. Target levels are between 80-200, and the lower in that range, the better. On Weds., he didn't drop below 200 until 11:15 PM. Wake ups have been in the high 300s to middle 500s with the added complication of ketones, a chemical side effect of high numbers that make highs very stubborn. He went to school on Monday only this week. Last night we increased his nighttime basal rate (The dose of insulin his pump gives him every 3 minutes, day and night). ElenaClaire did a midnight check and I did one sometime in the 4 am hour. His wake up was 186. We'll learn a whole new system of management during his prednisone dose - anticipated to last 3 weeks, I think. Here's my best shot at explaining what this is like.

ElenaClaire had a phone interview yesterday with Concordia University in Austin. She's one of 8 finalists for 3 full-ride scholarships there. She also received a phone call Monday night from the Director of Biology and pre-nursing there, who when she learned North Park UNiversity in Chicago was also in the running, had very complimentary remarks about NPU and said she had sent students there to complete their nursing training - but most interesting was that Concordia is likely to start a school of nursing in the 2008-09 school year. For a number of reasons, not least of which is the relative proximity of Austin as compared to Chicago, I think Concordia has a subtle lead between the two schools. We should know by late next week what each school can do financially, and then ElenaClaire will have to make a decision.

At Christ the King, we had a great Palm Sunday which included a drama I wrote, with a cast of 7. I led last night's Maundy Thursday service worship along with Marilyn and John. Tonight and on Easter Sunday, I will be singing in the choir; on Sunday I will be conducting the choir on one song (Paul Baloche's "What can I do?") and leading vocally on one song ("Crown Him with Many Crowns", in the arrangement generated here last year by Brian West).

Tuesday 3/27 pm

Miles is back home with abdominal pain. So much for 4 full days of school.

Last week I visted with my friend Gerard Baldwin, the last living director and illustrator of the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. He drew and donated this drawing for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Gala Auction, scheduled for May 12. His wife Frances may also donate 5 hours of French Tutoring for the auction. They are really lovely people, most enjoyable company.

Tuesday, 3/27 am

Miles is in school today. In the last month he has not been in school for more than 3 days at a time. Last week: Monday and Friday home because of illness. Yesterday: Home again. May this be a week he makes it through Friday.

He is on a new medication that is for his new, third diagnosis - ontop of Type 1 Diabetes and Eosinophilia, this is gastroparesis, a semi-paralysis of the stomach - a complication of diabetes. Very unusual for such a young child - typical only in adult diabetics. If the medication doesn't help, it might be an inaccurate diagnosis. Highly likely he'll go on steroids later this week - which should ease the eosin symptoms, but make his blood glucose go crazy.

ElenaClaire heard from Concordia yesterday. Of some 80 applicants for the Lutheran Student Leadership Scholarship (full tuition), she is one of 8 finalists for the 3 slots. She goes on to the next level: telephone iterviews next week. She's already assured of an $8500 Distinguished Student scholarship there; she is assured of $4000 so far at North Park ($2500 Dean's Award plus $1500 Covenant Ministers' Grant), with vocal scholarship potentially up to $4000 and other financial aid offers to come in early April. Several local scholarships await.

I am of no clear vision on this decision. I have a strong feeling for North Park, having lived there for 2 years while in Seminary. It has fine music and nursing programs. I'd love for her to have the Chicago experience. But Chicago is far away. I don't know if any of the 4 of us could handle such a great distance - esp. the kids. Austin is much nearer, a mere 3 hours away, which is a plus. But it has no nursing program - pre-nursing only. Perhaps 2 years there and then transfer? EC knows no one at North Park, though a dear friend of ours, like an aunt to EC, lives blocks away from campus. She has friends at Concordia and nearby at UT.

Ultimately it is her decision to make and I am confident that God will lead.

Thursday in Kingwood

Last Tuesday evening we took Miles to our regularly scheduled service of healing prayer. He seemed encouraged and blessed by the experience. He had been sick on Monday with EO symptoms but had been well enough to go to school on Tuesday.

He woke up with very good numbers and no EO symptoms on Weds and today and has had a couple of good days. In school three days in a row - which hasn't happened for a while.

He is also seeing his counseling therapist once a week now to help him cope with all this and is also taking painting lessons, which seems to help as well.

We expect to get info from his GI Dr. today about the tests he has had last week, and we are asking for an aggressive plan of treatment, even if it means doing a course of steroids which will complicate his diabetic regimen.

I am gearing up for leading a band as we lead worship this weekend; then on Palm Sunday I am directing a cast that includes myself in a drama I have written that will be halfway through the service and will be the tipping point as the service shifts from Palm to Passion emphasis. The drama takes place at Ground Zero in New York and is one of the best things I have written - based on a Willow Creek piece from years ago called "The Wall". Then Easter comes and EC and I will be in the choir. Alicia is not singing this year because Miles seems to need her to focus on him instead.

Better on Tuesday

Miles is in school today - Thank you Lord. He woke up with no eosinophilic symptoms and a very healthy blood glucose number.

ElenaClaire received the Dean's award scholarship of $2500/yr at NPU. This week about 6 local scholarships will get filed. We expect to know the big picture by the first week of April. Then it all comes down to negotiations.

Christ the King is stepping into Lifeshapes - slowly but with determination and a sense that God is leading.

It's a beautiful day in Kingwood. And my attitude is much improved.

Sick and Tired

It comes down to this: I am fed up with illness. Not mine: Miles'. Eight plus years of dealing with diabetic management is bad enough. This new eosinophilic disorder is terrible. Miles stayed home from school today because he was not well enough to go to school. We know every year going into it that Miles will rack up more then the allowed days missed from school just from diabetic complications. This just adds to the burden.

I'm really tired of it.

Monday Afternoon - Music, Tools, Rodeo

• Here is a neat online tool. I needed to gather some information related to communications at CTK and this provided me with just the tool I needed.

• We had a great day at the Houston Livestock show and Rodeo on Saturday. Ride 'em, Miles!

















• EC received the "Distinguished Student Scholarship" of $8,500 per year at Concordia. Will she go? Hard to say. Other scholarships are out, there and at North Park, waiting on a reply, and more go out next week.

• My friend and colleague Marilyn Johnson and I collaborated on a song entitled "I am the vine". My contribution was the second verse. Written on Tuesday and Wednesday; presented in worship on Sunday, with Alicia and our friend George joining us on harmony vocals. Out of respect for Marilyn's ownership of the song, please do not use without contacting me first.

EC sings: Il mio bel foco

EC sings: "Honor, Honor"

This is one of two songs for a college vocal scholarship audition.