Halloween

Happy Halloween members of the blogosphere. Hopefully you'll enjoy plenty of treats and no tricks.

Decorum, revisited

Hello again visitors of the Blogosphere. I wrote a recent blog about decorum, or the lack thereof. Well, here is a good book that you should read besides the Bible. It's called, The Power of Respect by Deborah Norville, anchor of the syndicated news magazine show, Inside Edition. It's definitely a must read.

Aggie uniformity

I know it's been a while since I've last posted a message in cyberspace; however, I've been so busy with other things, blogging has kind of taken a back seat, until now. With that being said, I wanted to give you a take on a team I don't normally talk about: Texas A&M football. I have many friends and acquaintances that are Aggies and I saw the game against Arkansas last Saturday night at Jerry's Palace(a.k.a. Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX). The one thing that shocked me besides the final score(Arkansas 47, A&M 19) was the uniforms that A&M wore the other night. All white with the white helmets. I'll admit, I did not like it. I know I'm not the uniform police, but surely, the Aggies would have worn their maroon pants and the helmets instead of all white. I just wasn't feeling it Saturday night. Now before you start chucking your laptops and other computer based equipment through the monitor at me, please note that the statements listed in this blog are my own. That's my take. Peace.

Decorum...Where has it gone?

Hello everyone in the blogosphere. I want to preface the following blog post by saying the views/opinions/rants expressed are my own. With that out of the way, I ask you this question? What is up with the lack of decorum in public? First, Rep. Joe Wilson(R-Ohio) interrupts the President of the U.S.A. during a speech to a joint session of Congress by calling him a liar. Next, you have Serena Williams. Great tennis player, multiple Grand Slam Singles champion, going nuclear on a line judge during a U.S. Open semifinal match causing the match to end in controversy. Then, just when you thought the etiquette police would not have to be called out, here come Kanye West. All he does is mess up a terrific moment for 19 year old music sensation Taylor Swift. What do all of these incidents that I have just mentioned have in common? Two words: poor decorum(if you want a definition, Google it). Have things gotten so heated and out of control in this country that decorum has taken a back seat? Rep. Wilson, I'm going to leave alone because he did apologize to the President. As far as Serena goes, she lost it. The match and her mind when she used some choice words to the line judge for a controversial "foot fault". If you want to see the video, check out YouTube. After the match, she did not answer the question about what was said after the incident. Stay tuned because this promises to be very interesting. Now to my man, Kanye West. Kanye opened his mouth and inserted his foot/microphone at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards(VMAs). First of all Kanye, do yourself a favor, back away from the Henessey(over 21 beverage. Do an Internet search). MTV, what were you thinking about having a bar prior to an awards show? Your show's producers should not serve alcohol of any kind prior to an awards show. Period. Next, Kanye, what were you thinking messing up a moment like that for Taylor Swift. This comes on the heals of you publicly dissing George W. Bush's handling of Katrina. There is a time and place for that and unfortunately, national television is not the time or place, nor is it the platform. Thankfully, my girl, Beyonce, showed some class and gave Taylor her moment back. Rep. Wilson, Kanye, Serena, I'm praying for you all. I'm praying that someone will show you how to practice decorum and to, in the words of the Hon. Judge Joe Brown, "conduct yourself accordingly." That's my rant. I want to hear what you think. Holla at a brother. Out.

Community

I'm sorry I have not blogged in a while. I have been very busy. I hope you will like the following. It's not easy being me. I live alone about most of the time, and there are times that I love that; however, there are other times where I do not like being alone. It's weird how God has wired us to be in community. I realize that in difficult times, I realize how important it is to be in community. I love community. I need community. I crave for fellowship and community. I can't wait for LIFE groups and being with my friends. Please pray that God will open my heart to not only experience community, but be a part of community. To learn more about what community is and what community is not, visit the following site: http://www.bammel.org/media.html. Click on the sermon message titled, "Living in Community".

a lot of stuff

Well, well, well. Where do I start? I'm just amazed by how children can teach you something. I coached my church's high school drama team at the annual Leadership Training for Christ convention, LTC for short. The theme this year was, "Light, Life, Word" based on the Gospel of John. I was concerned about our timing and everything, but all in all, God was glorified and our team received a silver for their efforts. Sometimes I wonder why I do what I do, and there are times after the convention that I get my answer. To God be the Glory! Next up the BP MS 150 bike tour from Houston to Austin, not this year. Mother nature had other ideas. It rained so much and so hard, that the Lone Star Chapter of the National multiple sclerosis Society decided to shorten the distance from La Grange, TX to Austin. It turned out to be good. The majority of our team, Traveling Light Christian cycling Team rode into the capital of Texas together. That was so cool and with the exception of two, everyone came in unscathed. I'm beginning to like this Jesus servant mentality thing. It's cool to be a Christ follower/disciple. Peace.

Rite of Spring

One of my favorite rites of Spring, besides Easter, is the annual MS 150 Bike Tour from Houston to Austin. The following is about one of the riders of our team/ministry: Traveling Light Christian Cycling Team. Enjoy. Here is the link: http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2009/04/05/woodlands_villager/news/wv-n_ms_150_biker.txt

Spritual Surrogates

It's been a while since I last talked to you all via the blog, but this is just too good. For the past five or six years, I was given an assignment a la Mission: Impossible style. My brother, seeing how much I was very active and involved in my church, asked me if I could start taking his girls to church and get them involved as well since two of them are starting to enter adolescence, a scary age for any father, but especially since he is raising these girls on his own. I accepted this mission; however, I was afraid because I did not know what I was getting myself into, plus, "How can these girls look up to me?" That was the question I asked myself because here I am a single man living his own life and then being able to do this for my big brother. I've been doing this for the last five or six years and I've seen so much growth in both, and now all three girls, that they love going to church. One of the greatest thrills of my life was to see the fruit that was being bron when Jennifer was baptized into Jesus Christ last summer. I can reflect on this because I witnessed a friend of mine get her "spiritual surrogate" brother get baptized into Christ last Sunday. I'm amazed that God can use surrogates like us to affect the live of others who are watching us. The Bible says we, the church(not the building, but the people who makes Christ's body), are to carry out the Great Commission. It doesn't matter, how it gets done, but I'm just glad to do my part. I hope that this blog entry blesses you. Peace.

Disconnected

Have you ever felt disconnected? No, I'm not talking about losing your utilities(water, natural gas, or electricity), phone service(land line or cellular), or cable/satellite TV. I'm talking about being disconnected from friends. I felt that way for a few days now and it wasn't until tonight that I finally decided to vent/open up about that. In a way, that's good because in the past, I used to keep things bottled up inside because I really don't have any one person per se that I can open up to. Well, I do, but I don't want to be a burden on anyone if something comes up like problems. I realize what it's like to be in community. While the Internet is a good tool for communicating, there is just no substitute for one on one face to face interaction. I need community and I need more interaction with you guys. Please give a brother some community.
Thanks.

COWBOY UP: Rodeo Night in Houston 2009

Howdy and top o' the morning to you. I went to my annual pilgrimage to Reliant Stadium for the 2009 edition of Rodeo Houston. I had to wait for about 45 minutes as my friends did more eating and talking than actually watching the action in the stadium(well, not all of them). Anyway, I had a lot of fun as always, but I did stay away from some of the fried stuff that is starting to become commonplace at major events like the rodeo and/or a fair(i.e. Fried oreos, Twinkies, and overpriced stadium food). Of course this year I went to the rodeo on St. Patrick's Day and I wanted to consider going in a green cowboy hat as a theme, but I didn't think it would work. A little different to say the least. That just might be an idea for next year. Anyway I got indoctrinated in country music kiwi style courtesy of Keith Urban. He sounded alright for a New Zealand er. He sang a lot of songs; however, I did not sing any because I don't listen to a lot of country music but I can tell that there were a lot of Urban fans of the female variety and they sang along. I also received a lighted grill(a.k.a. a mouth guard) that lights up. All in all I got Urban-ized and grilled in one night. It's a shame that this is the last week for the rodeo because I love coming to it and I can't wait for next year. Peace, love, a pot o' gold and Lucky Charms to all. Out.

Daylight Saving Time

Is it me, or does it seem that the older I get, the more I am beginning to loathe Daylight Saving Time. Don't get me wrong, I like the longer evenings, but I don't like the setting the clocks ahead one hour. I also don't like the fact that for the first month of DST, sunrise is at 7:30 in the morning. I kind of liked the DST the way it was before W.(George W. Bush, the former president of the U.S.) changed it to start on the second Sunday in March. Abolish DST and just use standard time like parts of Indiana, all of Arizona, and Hawaii(do an Internet search).

Happy Anniversary to the WEb

I just found out that today, March 13, 2009, marked the 20th anniversary of the World Wide Web. You know, that little thing the goes www.(insertInternetsitehere).com. It's amazing that one little device that changed the way we get information nowadays, turned 20. To read more about this newfangled thing that former V.P. Al Gore claimed to invent, click on the following link: http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/128271. Happy anniversary www. Peace.

I'm Rollin!

My car is fixed and I'm rollin' once again.

Carless in Houston

One thing that I have learned in the last few months, is that in Houston, if you don't have a car running, man, you're lost. My van, which I received as a Christmas gift back in December is in the car hospital again. My mechanic is going to look at it later today. It comes to find out I'm going to be without a ride for the rest of the week. And trust me, it's not cheap to get a car fixed. Oh well, that's the price you pay for having a car in Houston. It's tough, but like everything else in my life, I'll survive. Peace.

SOUL-ed out for SOUL LINK 2009

Hello again all you bloggers out there. What a weekend for Soul Link 2009. More than 1,200 teens came to Bammel Church of Christ this past weekend to get involved and become part of a climate change. Not the climate change that you normally think about as in going green, but changing your environment, with the power of Jesus Christ. I worked security for the event and it was a rewarding experience. On Friday night, I worked the area in front of the stage in the Bammel Youth Center(a.k.a. the Project). No moshing, no stage dives, all in all, everyone was on their best behavior. Saturday, I worked security again, and like last night, everyone behaved themselves. I was walking around the worship center during the final session of Soul Link and to hear 1,200 teens worhsipping God was just awesome. My favorite moment of the weekend was when a teen, who used to be a gang member, but is now a part of the family of Christians at a church in Baytown. The place went wild and in fact a standing ovation was given at that time. All this time, I really got a chance to serve as Jesus did, maybe not the the extent of being a security guard, but this was cool. I was complimented a lot about the job I was doing and in my humble personality, I just remember whom I was representing. I love Soul Link and I can't wait for next year's event(Mark your calendars: February 26-28, 2010). One thing that I learned about this year's Soul Link theme is that it you don't have to "go green" to change you environment. You just have to step out of your comfort zone and do something small to change your environment for the kingdom of God. Now that's the kind of climate change that I and everyone would like to be a part of. Peace out and God bless.

Gettin' My Praise ON!

Hello again. Chris Tomlin, Israel Houghton & New Breed were the bomb diggity! I love their music and ministry and if you have heard me, I may sound a little different after screaming and singing my brains out at a recent concert. If you ever get the chance to see them in concert, their definitely worth the price of admission. Check them out. Peace.

In HIS Presence for an audience of ONE

Hello again. I have been really feeling God's presence in my life. Ever since the spiritual renewal conference that I attended in January called SOAR, I have been worshipping God with "reckless abandon". I have really felt closer to God and I have been worshipping God like never before. I like to call it worshipping Unleashed. I guess I have been keeping things bottled up and all of a sudden now, my personal and corporate worship has been more real than ever. My personal Bible study and prayer time has been better and I'm always wanting to improve. I really am enjoying my church family and now I am starting to enjoy some really close personal relationships with some of my fellow Christian friends. I'm really amazed at what God is doing in my life and all of the praise goes to Him, the Audience of ONE.

Champions..on the Field and in Life

This morning I went to a Super Bowl Breakfast hosted by a northwest Houston church and I really enjoyed it. In addition to the food and fellowship, I got a chance to watch the Super Bowl prayer breakfast hosted by a Christian sports ministry titled, Athletes in Action. You can do an Internet Search and learn more about them. Tony Dungy, the retired coach of the Indianapolis Colts, was one of the speakers and I was moved by how much grace, class, and peace that he has shown in a dog-eat-dog like environment such as the National Football League. If there was ever and example of how to conduct yourself under that kind of a microscope and make a difference for the cause of Christ, Tony Dungy's picture would be right next to it. I also heard from the recipient of the Bart Starr Award, an award given to an NFL player who represents his team and his community well. This year's recipient is Warrick Dunn of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. To learn more about Warrick Dunn, do an Internet search. All in all, I got a chance to catch up with an old friend from a few years back. He is doing fine and his kids are growing up fast. In fact, he and his wife celebrated their fifteenth wedding anniversary last week. This breakfast was more than just football, this was a chance to learn more about the men behind the players past and present. This was a chance to exalt the name of Jesus Christ, the greatest champion of all. See I Cor. 9:24-27, II Tim. 4:7-8. Peace out and God bless.

A (Christian)Single Creed

I received this at a Christian singles seminar two weeks ago and it really liked this. This is from one of the speakers, Steven Cooper from Neighborhood Centers of Houston(http://www.neighborhood-centers.org). Please note, I modified some of the statements mentioned in this creed.

My Credo as a Unique, Separate, and Whole single Christian

My commitment to God, myself, and family is that I will hold myself accountable and encourage my friends and loved ones to hole me accountable for thinking, saying and doing the right things, according to God's will and commands by:

• Praying and reading God's Word daily to gain the wisdom to help me better know, love, and glorify God; become more Christlike in thought and action; understand His plan; and participate with Him and others in His plan
• Demonstrating good stewardship of the time, talent, and treasure God has given to me by strategically using the time, spiritual gifts(faith, leadership, administration, teaching, wisdom, and discernment), and financial resources God has given to me in the most beneficial ways possible.
• Demonstrating that giving and serving are deeply held values.
• Serving my family, church and community with a humble spirit.
• Demonstrating hope in difficult situations by reaching out to loved ones with my head, heart and hands to help them address their difficulties and opportunities.
• Being a self-starter by creating plans and engaging other family members in the creation of plans with a worthwhile vision driven by Godly values.
• Diligently acheving worthwhile results and encouraging everyone to do the same.
• Facilitating self-correction and continuous personal development and excellence.
• Demonstrating patience in all encounters.
• Forgiving mistakes and faults in myself and others.
• Developing strong networks, friends and partners who uplift me, bring out the best in me and help me arrive at destiny's door.
• Creating success against all odds as God has given me power and dominion
• Loving myself and celebrating my uniqueness and purpose.

I hope and pray that we as believers will not only use this as bulletin board material, but to live this out. Peace out and have a blessed and Christlike weekend.

Letting Things Go

Have you ever had a hard time of letting go of things, whether it's material, emotional, or otherwise. I have a really difficult time letting go of the past, previous relationships, etc. I need some help in this arena. If anyone has some ideas, please leave your comments on this blog. I need all of the encouragement I can get right now. I need community. Peace.

SOAR-ing Into His Presence

This past weekend I SOAR-ed into his presence. It was a weekend of spiritual renewal at West Houston Church of Christ. West Houston hosted this event and was co-sponsored by Bammel Church of Christ. This weekend I got a chance to experience God and got to meet some very new and interesting people as well. I also learned some things about myself and I realized that I have struggles just like everyone else. I just wish that it did not hurt so much. Well, like the saying goes, you can't have life without adversity and how you recover from it. I've always found out that God is bigger than any adversity that I face. I learned a lot about community and I realize that I need community no matter how many times I like to be by myself. Man I just wish that I can just bottle this up and keep it. Well, that's what Christians are for, right? I want to SOAR some more. Get ready to buckle up and enjoy the ride.