Had a great time leading the team at the Central Christian Church Mesa Campus this weekend. Central now has 4 campuses in the Phoenix area. There are a lot of very cool folks here and some great things happening in this church.
The band was smokin’ hot and made my job leading a ton of fun. The tech crew was also top of the line and made things sound great!
Here is the set list from this weekend:
All Because of Jesus :: Fee
Our God :: Chris Tomlin
Jesus Paid It All :: Kristian Stanfill
This past week I had the privilege of attending the World Vision Artist Conference in San Antonio. This annual conference continues to be a highlight in my year. I’ve formed some great friendships with other WV Artists and I’m always deeply impacted as I see the work World Vision is doing to serve the poor.
My heart has been broken yet again by the poverty and need in our world. Too many people are living under the weight of hunger, HIV/AIDS and preventable disease. My soul is encouraged tho, because there is hope when we all do something to help out. I was particularly taken by one thing someone said at the conference:
“How humbling that we get to care for the least of these and treat them like the most!”
This was an encouraging reminder to me that my work with World Vision and sponsorship does make a difference. There are many ways we can all help out and I’ll be exploring some of those in the coming weeks here on my blog. I’m personally a believer in the power of Child Sponsorship. You can find out more about sponsorship by clicking more HERE.
This week we got a Christmas card and letter from our sponsored child in Thailand. We’ve been sponsoring Pornjaratsri for about 6 years now and she’s growing into such a beautiful young woman.
Many families in her rural community are very poor subsistence farmers or factory workers. Through sponsors like us, World Vision is helping provide the basic needs for Pornjaratsri and her family as well as helping the community with agricultural occupational promotions to help families increase their income and become self-reliant. Through this assistance they’re farming the Hungary Mushroom, a product to sell at market and the leftover as healthy food for their family.
A couple years back, Pornjaratsri sent us a note that said, “Thank you for sponsoring me. Because of you I have tomorrow.” I’ll admit that I don’t fully understand how much our sponsorship means to these kids and their families, but I’m reminded again that our small contribution is making a life-changing impact on people around the world…and I’m glad I can help and do something to love on people I will probably never meet.
One of my guilty pleasures is Tweeting. I follow a lot of other people who spend time tossing around thoughts and amusing observations via Tweet as well. I thought it would be fun to grab my personal Top-10 Tweets from this past year and post those.
Limited to 140 characters….here is some of the fun I had tweeting this year…
10 – The characters & events depicted in these tweets are fictional. Any similarity to…wait…strike that…if I know you…you’re fair game!!!
9 - I’m amused when my sarcasm is vague (or brilliant) enough that it’s mistaken for my actual thoughts
8 - Topic: Curling is most definitely a sexy sport! Discuss…
7 - Hope….the wellspring of freedom….the cornerstone of faith….the beginnings of change.
6 - This was on my neighbors car, a scotch taped note….Single, Lonely & Lookin’ (the # is blurred to protect….someone) http://ow.ly/i/6gzy
5 - Do my kids play sports? Not so much! Those Allen kids are only adept at catching sarcastic nuance and the occasional virus.
4 - Tonight I watched Whale Wars & was totally disappointed…no ‘army whales’ or whales battling…just some Captain Ahab guy chasing icebergs
3 - Overheard at the restaurant tonight (Ex-Wife saying goodbye to Ex-Husband after a drink): “I’d sleep with you, but I really need to leave.”
2 - In this world you may be oh so smart or oh so pleasant. For years I’ve tried smart…I recommend pleasant – Elwood P Dowd
1 - It may not be politically correct…but I have it on good authority that Polar Bear is delicious http://ow.ly/i/5JfI
DO YOU TWEET? WHAT WERE YOUR TOP-10 TWEETS OF 2010?
Most of the books I read get reviewed here on my blog. They generally have something to do with faith, ministry or music but I also have been intentionally reading more novels and other types books to keep my mind entertained and mix things up a bit. Here are a few books I’ve read over the past couple months….
SH*T MY DAD SAYS ::: Justin Halpern
An incredibly funny book. I literally laughed until I cried on more than one occasion. If you’re someone easily offended by profanity then it’s not for you, but I completely enjoyed many of the quotes and anecdotes. Lots of laughs and some heartwarming moments too. Check it out on Amazon HERE.
SHIFT ::: Peter Arnell
I picked this up at the library because I’m looking at the re-branding/re-crafting of my approach to music and my career. While I appreciated some of the thoughts in this book, I felt like a lot of the material wasn’t accessible because it was specific to the author and related to his successes….even a bit narcissistic at times. Check it out on Amazon HERE.
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO ::: Stieg Larsson
I had this series recommended to me by an employee at Barnes & Noble. I wasn’t disappointed. It did take me a good 150-200 pages to really get into this novel, but it was an entertaining read after I got through the set-up. The characters were well developed and the plot was intriguing. Again, if you’re easily offended profanity or put off by the subject matter of sexual assault or abuse then you might want to pass, but I didn’t feel like any of it was gratuitous or obnoxious because it was fitting to the dialog and true to the story and characters. Check it out on Amazon HERE.
THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE ::: Stieg Larsson
The second book in a trilogy of sorts from this author. I was engaged in the story much quicker in this book because several of the characters are carried over from the first in the series (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.) Another fun ride with some very unexpected twists. I liked the fact that part of the main storyline in this book was uncovering some of the reality and tragedy of sex–trafficking. Check it out on Amazon HERE.
**note: I have a quick review of the final book in this series here.
