Blink And You'll Miss It

While out walking yesterday I stumbled across this car. I didn't see it at first, stepped on it, and then had to wipe it off my shoe. It seems you never know what you'll find around here. I'm beginning to think that I live in an enchanted forest. So does this mean that little people drive this car...or that I'm a giant?

I'll let you know if I find a beanstalk.

Earthquake!

Did you feel it? Did you rock n' roll this morning?
I was in my office and LaRae was out in the main office working on the church library. She has built shelves for it and it has turned into quite a project. Well, I thought maybe she was now shaking my office wall with the force of her hammer. Next I thought she was funnelling under the floor for a possible new entry way. But when all the walls started to shake, I just knew she'd rented a crane and a wrecking ball was about to come through the window.

The Associate Press reported the following: "The magnitude-5.4 jolt struck at 11:42 a.m. Tuesday and was felt from Los Angeles south to San Diego, and as far east as Las Vegas. The quake — considered moderate — was centered 29 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles near the city of Chino Hills."

This was Jennifer's first earthquake since living in California. She was quite excited afterward. Almost a little hyper. In fact, I have the feeling that she'd like to feel another one. She's used to living in Oklahoma and Kansas where the winds go sweeping down the plain -and sometimes take you with it. But, once you feel an earthquake, you really know that you're not in Kansas anymore.

Vital Signs

Much thanks to everyone who helped us this past Friday night at our Starbucks Outreach! It was kind of wild because we got responses all over the board. Some outright refused to take a gift certificate while others actually responded with a hug. Most seemed very appreciative of the gesture though.
We really appreciate everyone who came to hand them out, everyone who donated toward the cause, and everyone who prayed. This was definitely a team effort for the kingdom. We pray that those who were impacted would find life far beyond just a cup of coffee.

A Cup Of Starbucks...In His Name

Tonight we gather at Starbucks to hand out, not just cups of coffee, but cups of hope.
I used to live in Seattle. I've got a theory that Starbucks first became so popular there because of the rain, the dark clouds and the constantly overcast skies. After awhile it just gets depressing. People duck into a Starbucks -not just for the coffee, but for the little extra jolt of energy caffeine tends to bring. I even saw a sign in one of the stores that said, "Happiness in a cup."
Well, as we all know, those cups of happiness are all very short-lived. We have to return again and again for another cup of coffee. In fact, Dave Short recently told me that coffee actually dehydrates you. (I'm believing this because, during this fast, I actually woke up in the middle of the night desperately thirsty...having had nothing but water and coffee.)

But Jesus offers a drink of another kind. He said to the woman at the well in John 4:13-14, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

We don't give these gift certificates just for them to have coffee. We give them that they may have hope in a dark world. We pray that they will be drawn to the joy that can only be found in Jesus. If you'd like to help us, we more than welcome you! Check out the address on the church website.

Mark 9:41 "I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward."

Alvin Slaughter

I've had the privilege of working with this man on two different occasions. The second time I had organized a bit of a mass choir made up of people from about 5 different congregations. We ended up with 150 people in the choir. It was an awesome experience. We felt like we were all floating on air as we lifted praises and worship to God. Which may explain why, at the end of the concert and after two hours of standing, we still didn't want it to end.

Well, his latest CD is "The Faith Life". I've found it to be very edifying. This is a song he sings on it titled "Launch Out" written by Keith Laws.

Sometimes we hold on a little longer than we should
Letting go can be hard but it's sometimes for our good
The fear of what's ahead sometimes makes us fall behind
We can see the times are changing but pretend that we're so blind
You'll never really know just what the future holds
But we know God holds us in His hand
So by faith we must climb into the boat
And follow His command

Launch out into the deep
Let your faith take you somewhere that you've never been before
Launch out into the deep
Let your faith make you fly, let your faith make you soar
Launch out, launch out into the deep

It's time to wake up and make our dreams come true
Time is always moving and it will not wait for you
The fear inside your mind can quench the fire in your heart
Sometimes where you end is where God wants to start
It's never easy when you're walking out by faith
Everything seems so different and new
But if we only learn to see with eyes of faith
We would see life in a different view

Launch out into the deep
Let your faith take you somewhere that you've never been before
Launch out into the deep
Let your faith make you fly, let your faith make you soar
Launch out, launch out
So much for you awaiting, so stop procrastinating
Close your eyes, just take a leap

What Were The Ancients Commended For?

This is from John Eldredge's devotional, "The Ransomed Heart"...

"Where would we be today if Abraham had carefully weighed the pros and cons of God's invitation and decided that he'd rather hang on to his medical benefits, three weeks paid vacation, and retirement plan in Ur? What would have happened if Moses had listened to his mother's advice to "never play with matches" and lived a careful, cautious life steering clear of all burning bushes? You wouldn't have the gospel if Paul had concluded that the life of a Pharisee, while not everything a man dreams for, was at least predictable and certainly more stable than following a voice he heard on the Damascus road."

I'm certain that John means here that Paul's letters wouldn't have been the instrument that God used to impact the church. God would have found someone else to do His work. But how tragic if Paul had not ever been converted! His life was radically changed as he stepped out in faith to follow Jesus. Once he got his eyesight back, of course.
But because these people did act in faith, we now have an example to follow. Today. Have we insulated ourselves from all risk? Or have we decided to step out of the boat and get our feet wet?

Hebrews 10:38-39; 11:1-2 "But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for."

Can't this thing go any faster?

Jennifer, our secretary at the church, was telling me what water skiing is like. I've never been and at some point may like to try it. Although, my moves on the ski slope have proven less than graceful. But Jennifer is a bit of a daredevil. She's even jumped out of a plane before! She did have a parachute though. So, I thought she'd love to put those two activities together.

Beach Bonfire Party

We had a great time last Friday night at our beach bonfire party. Much thanks to Dave Short and Gary Leming who got down to Bolsa Chica by 6 AM that day to make sure we had our own fire pit. They go fast in the summertime and we just didn't want to have to cart a microwave out there.
These pics are just barely a sampling of the folks who joined us. We had somewhere between 30 to 40 people. The light was fading fast by that point so I only snapped a few. But I have to say that I just love the one of little Noah fighting sleep in James' arms.
(Much thanks to Margaret Hammond who sent me some of these pics!)

The Contemporary Service Band

Wow, am I thankful for these folks. This is our Contemporary Service's Band and they make -not only a joyful -but also a beautiful noise. Starting from the top left...Jonathan Pintoff on bass, Tyler Leming on trumpet, Gary Leming on trombone, myself on piano and vocals, Tiki Pasillas on drums, Lauren Leming on flute, and Matt Short on trumpet.
Jonathan Pintoff is a full-time professional musician who is in demand and travels quite a bit. In fact, he just got back from a conference in Washington D.C. He also plays stand-up bass.
Tiki Pasillas is also full-time and is often on tour with Marc Anthony and/or Jennifer Lopez. In fact, if he can't be with us on a Sunday, he's usually in South America with them. Recently he had to miss because he was doing a taping on the Late Show in New York. (!) You can check out his website at www.tikipasillas.com.
Sometimes I am just amazed at the blessings God has brought our way.
Gary, Lauren, Tyler and I have played together for many years. Gary has played trombone in church practically his entire life. Lauren and Tyler were very involved with their high school band doing field shows and even marching down Main Street at Disneyland at one point. Tyler also played with a jazz group at Long Beach Community College. And it has been so cool to have Matt jump into the mix. He's got some awesome experience with his school's jazz band.
One that's not pictured is Ginny Vaughn who plays the synthesizer. At the time of this photo, she was suffering for Jesus in Vail, Colorado on vacation. (Keep her in your prayers.)
Also, when Tiki can't join us, we often have Chris Wabich on drums. He is considered to be one of the best steel drum players in the country. He even makes them. I hope to get him to play those for us at some point.

Psalm 33:1-4 "Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. Praise the LORD with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does."

Happy Birthday

Today is Tyler Charles Leming's birthday. He is 23 today and the theme for this particular celebration is golf. His folks got him some left handed clubs and you can see how professional he looks. Just check out that follow-thru.
I'm so proud of this guy. He works at Wells Fargo and seems to be climbing the ladder pretty quickly. I'm thinking any day now he'll drive home a stage coach. He's an awesome trumpet player and helps us in the band on Sunday mornings. Lately he's also been helping out by giving the announcements.
My claim to fame here is that I am his uncle. So glad to be too because he's one of the funnest persons on the planet. Happy birthday Tyler!

Quality For Life

I went shopping for clothes the other day and a tag on a Haggar shirt caught my eye. See if you can tell which of the following descriptions this bachelor would be most excited about: Stay Crisp Shirt, No Iron, 100% Cotton
But as I read on down the tag, I became intrigued. This is a first. I've never been intrigued by a shirt tag before. This is what the rest of it said...
Haggar, Making Things Right
Quality For Life, Guaranteed As Long As You Live
Shrink Resistant
Unbustable Seams
Unbreakable Buttons

Wow! What a guarantee! It almost makes me want to challenge it and see if I can break a button. Like when I was 7 years old and my Mom saw me with all my little 45 lp records spread around me on the floor. She said to be careful not to sit on one or it would break. Once she left, it was a duty incumbent upon me to test her theory. Turns out, she was right.
While I love the sound of Haggar's guarantee, I'm almost sure someone somewhere could find a way to break a button. Maybe one of those power team guys. But they are certainly good at what they do and I am enjoying the shirt. What actually does meet the guarantee they make is the armor of God. We tend to forget that we are in a battle and that a soldier never goes to war unequipped. Let's be sure to clothe ourselves each day with armor that is guaranteed for life. It's shrink resistant, with unbustable seams and unbreakable buttons. And, by the way, it'll protect us in the war zone. It's quality for life.

Ephesians 6: 11-17 "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

Happy Anniversary, Gary and Sheri!

Today is Gary and Sheri's 26th wedding anniversary. I remember their wedding like it was yesterday. My mom made her wedding dress -which was the same style that Lady Diana had worn for the royal wedding. But Sheri's train wasn't as long as Diana's -which I believe was the length of 3 football fields. The first time she tried the dress on I commented on how beautiful she looked. I suppose a little brother doesn't usually do that but she just looked like royalty herself.

For the ceremony they asked my dad to sing "Sunrise, Sunset". Now that I think about it, that was probably kind of cruel. He couldn't do much more than cry into the microphone that day. But he did it on pitch.

All four of my grandparents served communion to everyone in attendance. Gary's pastor, and the president of our organization at that time, Orvel Taylor, performed the ceremony. When he had Gary and Sheri kneel, you could see that Gary's sister, Elaine, had written "Oh no" on the bottom of his shoes in red nail polish.

My mom played the piano and Gary's mom played the organ and I was one of the ushers. At the end of the ceremony the bridal party was so excited that they ran off to the other room with the bride and groom -forgetting that there were people waiting to be dismissed from the church. I was practically running down the aisle to escort parents, grandparents, and other family members out individually.

It was really an amazing day because it was like a family reunion. And it was the last time that we'd all be together. However, it was also the start of something new. They were off to California. We lived in Seattle at that time but eventually followed them down. They are so fun that we just couldn't live that far away. And, of course, eventually there were two more fun ones thrown into the mix. Two little bundles of joy that still give me hugs every time I see them -even though they've grown up. But it all started with this day. Happy Anniversary Gary and Sheri!

Hiroki Kuroda

Gary and I went to the Dodger game Monday night and witnessed Hiroki Kuroda throwing a one-hit shut out against the Atlanta Braves. As the game proceeded you could feel the atmosphere growing thicker with anticipation. Gary was beginning to wonder early on if it could actually turn into a no-hitter. He said he'd never personally witnessed one before.

Then you could see that the entire crowd was beginning to wonder the same thing. With each pitch and strike came thunderous applause. When the Braves finally got on base, everyone felt disappointed for Hiroki...but certainly not disappointed in Hiroki. He received a huge ovation at the end of the night when he tipped his cap.

It must have felt good for him to sense how everyone was wishing for his success. That's how it is in the kingdom. Sometimes I get the feeling that heaven is cheering us on. I told Gary that I hoped Hiroki could rejoice that night over his success and not obsess over the one hit that got away. It's so important that we do our very best -but let go of the failures, the things that have hindered us in our lives, so we can continue to "pitch" our very best until the game is over.

Hebrews 12:1 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

Russian Tortoise Update

The Russian Tortoise...is still missing. While out walking yesterday I noticed this sign in a completely different area from where I saw the first one. We have now reached Week 4. I'm really hoping this won't spark another Russian missile crisis.
I thought it was pretty cool to see how people have responded to their postings. I hope they find the little guy. Unless, of course, he's a spy. In that case, he should be arrested.

Of the people, by the people, for the people

I've been watching a documentary on the Civil War. President Lincoln was invited to speak -almost as an after thought at Gettysburg. The featured speaker went two hours. But it was Lincoln's speech that would stand the test of time. It's worth a read, in these present dark times, if you haven't read it in awhile.

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Don's Sweet Ride

Check out what my buddy Don Croswhite has been driving around. He says it can get a bit claustrophobic spending an entire day in this thing. I'd love to drive this down the 605. Don't think I'd have any problems with people cutting me off.

Starbucks Savings And Loan

Wow, have times changed. Check out how big the Starbucks letters are compared to the Wells Fargo letters you can just make out above the doorway. This is on the traffic circle at Old Towne, Orange. The building is pretty cool with a high beautiful ceiling inside. And, yes, you can consult with either a teller or a barista. I wonder if the tellers offer whipped cream with transactions?

It was a wonderful place to enjoy my cup of Starbucks coffee for the day. I could just imagine for all those folks who have said something along the lines of..."Back in my day we would never pay that much for a cup of coffee," -when they see this building, it must turn into... "See, I told you so. They're even taking over the banks."