We are blessed with an incredible family. The first few day would have been 1000 times more difficult without the gracious help of Amber’s parents who cooked for us, ran errands, and held the baby so we could get some sleep. Then just a week later, my parents came to visit and did more of the same–shopping, cleaning, changing diapers! I can already tell that all of our brothers will be awesome uncles. We’ve also had fantastic and encouraging visits, phone calls, and emails from practically everybody in our extended family as well. These past few weeks have been just tremendous because of how supportive and helpful and excited our family has been been for us.

We have amazing friends. So many of our friends have offered congratulations, financial help, food, and advice. Honestly, the love that’s being shown to us by our friends here in Abilene and elsewhere is pretty overwhelming and humbling. I’m so grateful for the gift of friends.

Our church community is awesome. Again, it’s just humbling to have so many people offer support via prayer, meals brought to our home, gifts, and helpful words of encouragement. It has been such a wonderful reminder that being part of the Church is being part of family and a community…thanks to all you awesome North Park members!

They really do grow up fast. We’re only three weeks into parenthood, and already our son has grown (at least 1/4 “) and we can really see him learning and becoming even more aware of his surroundings.

It’s all worth it. Yup, having a kid has already changed our lives drastically–for the better. It would be a lie to say it hasn’t been stressful or overwhelming sometimes, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in world. Every time I hold my son, I’m bombarded with blessings I can’t even articulate. God is good and has been faithful to us, and I can’t help but be reminded  of that whenever I’m with Jensen. I just love that kid.

Update: Also, no camera and no Adobe Flash = NOT GOOD. This would be  a GREAT device for Hulu or video chat…guess that won’t be happening.

First, you know I am a Linux/OpenSource advocate, user, and fan. That said, I have no small amount of respect for the design aesthetic and usability leaps that Apple often makes with its products. I am trying the watch the live stream of the announcement, but it’s buggy…I think because it’s being hammered so hard by the geeks of the world right now. Anyway, so here’s a few thoughts I’m having as I watch this thing:

• The name: iPad. Really? Sounds a lot like the iPod, only not nearly as cool. I was partial to the “iSlate” rumor myself.

• This is basically just a huge iPod touch.

• Since Apple sets trends, I am excited about the movement toward an all-purpose, touch-screen, always-connected device.

• The iBooks application will complete what Amazon started with the publishing industry in terms of making most books (if not all) available digitally. This is great.

• You’re reading on a light-emitting screen though…not sure how that plays out in the long run compared to e-Ink.

• Haven’t really seen text-input demonstrated yet…how is this going work? Since it is a capacitative touch screen, how can artists accomplish detailed work without a stylus?

• They are really pimping games. This is interesting to because I wouldn’t really see this as a gaming device. But whatever.

• Okay here we go with the iWork demo. Let’s see some text-input! No, still no demo. I think this is where the device could sink or swim.

I am not sure what this means for Linux/OSS, but I am sure Google will be adapting Android into something like this soon. Looking forward to seeing the open source community respond with hardware and software.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-mozilla-daily/ppa

(adds the Mozilla repository to your sources)

sudo apt-get update

(updates your sources)

sudo apt-get install firefox-3.6

(downloads and installs the app. You’ find it in Applications > Internet > Namoroka Web Browser)

I’ve used lots of note-taking apps over the years. Online apps, offline apps, gui apps, command-line apps, mobile apps, personal wikis–pretty much everything. But I keep coming back to plain text files for my notes when I take them on my computer. I do a lot of stuff (journaling, meeting notes, etc) the lo-fi way (pen and paper) these days, but when I do take and record notes via keyboard, plain text just works. It’s small, portable, easily converted to rich-text, and no-hassle. Seems almost too simple given the plethora of outstanding note-taking applications out there, but it does continue to work for me.

On Ubuntu, the default text-editor Gedit works great, and has a few extra features that make taking plain-text notes a bit more convenient, like a side-bar file browser so you can easily open multiple files, and automatic time/date insertion if you’re keeping a journal.

Am I the only one that keeps coming back to plain-text for my digital notes?

Photo by Lighthelper

I’ve struggled a lot over the years with the idea of calling…that very specific sense from God as to what you’re supposed to do with your life. I’ve never had a “light from heaven” moment where my grand purpose in life was revealed to me. Rather, I feel like God teaches me slowly and methodically as I strive for a life of daily obedience. Although I think God has been faithful to communicate his will for me in this way, it is sometimes discouraging when you hear all of the talk in evangelical circles regarding everybody else’s “call”…especially when you’re in vocational ministry. You start wondering if there’s something wrong with you, because you didn’t have a dramatic, ecstatic experience of divine communication.

Because of these struggles, I’ve become fairly recently interested in doctrines of vocation. Who knew Christendom even had such a thing? But as I learn about the historical Christian perspective on calling and vocation, I’m deeply encouraged, and I feel confirmed in my sense of how God is revealing my vocation to me.

This past Sunday, my pastor preached on this idea, and his statements really resonated with what I’ve already been thinking. He said that in general, your calling from God probably exists at the intersection of your greatest passion, your gifts and abilities, the world’s need, and God’s glory. What a great way to think about vocational purpose.

How have you discerned God’s calling on your life?

1. Weekly Scripture memorization. It’s time I started taking hiding God’s word in my heart more seriously, I think. I’ll be doing one to two verses per week (trying to keep everything attainable and manageable) from the Navigators’ Topical Memory System. My plan is to review my verses daily by placing them on my computer screen, bathroom mirror, etc.

2. Regular work on my aural Skills. Ear training has always been a frustration to me. No doubt, I’m better at it than I used to be, but my skills aren’t at the level that I’d really like them to be at, and as a musician I know there’s only one path to perfection: practice. I’ve got to commit to making this practice part of my life routine. I’ll be using MusicTheory.net, my own collections of CD ear-training courses, and other computer-based tools. I’ll be spending at least 15 minutes on this 5 days per week, trying to get it done right after breakfast–making it one the very first things I do each each day.

3. Once weekly journaling. Journaling is important to me, but I rarely make time for it. I’ve never regretted it when I have carved out the space in my schedule, though, and I really want to preserve the new memories I’ll be creating with my wife and son once the little guy is born. Besides, it takes a surprisingly little amount of time once you liberate yourself from having to write complete sentences. I’ll be doing this each Friday…either in the morning or in the evening.

4. Run 3 times per week. Although I used to hate it, running really is the perfect exercise for me: I can do it anywhere, alone or with Amber, indoors or outdoors, with a minimal amount of equipment or preparation–I even enjoy it now! I’ve really let my running/jogging habit slide, though, and it’s time to take it up a notch. I don’t care what days, but I will be running for at least 15 minutes three times a week in 2010. Of course, I want to do it even more than that, but once again, I’m trying to keep thing relatively easy to accomplish, so I don’t just give up when the going gets really tough right at the beginning.

5. Get up at 6:30 a.m. each day. I’ve been working on becoming an early riser, and even though I think I do pretty good (I’m up before 8 practically every morning now…) I’m far from where I want to be. It begins tomorrow, even though I’ll be up ’till midnight tonight to usher in the new year.

6. Get rid of one physical possession per week.. This is going to be difficult, but at this point I’m pretty committed to a much more minimal life when it comes to physical possessions. Briefly, here’s why: I don’t want to take care of bunch of stuff I don’t use, I’d rather not have to move a bunch of stuff that I don’t use when the time comes, and I want make sure I’m using what I own…I don’t want to be wasting stuff that other people could be using. So. Here’s what I’m thinking…One item per week, until I only own items that I use at least once per week, with the following exceptions: Seasonal clothes (winter coat, etc), seasonal items (the Christmas tree, lights), library items (books, dvds, music), art (sculptures from Africa, etc). I’ll blog about it so you guys can tell me if I’m being stupid or chickening out. I suspect it’ll force me to start using stuff I really want to keep (like my recording rig!!).

And that’s that. 6 New Habits for 2010. Are you developing new habits to inaugurate the new decade?

Photo Courtesy http://www.flickr.com/photos/stage88/ / CC BY 2.0

So much of this book is worth reading and re-reading…and I can’t even begin to talk about all of it here. The part that hit me like a freight train was the section on how we talk about love, beginning on page 218 in the paperback edition. Miller notes the economic language with which we discuss our human relationships: we invest in people, our relationships can become bankrupt, and people are priceless. He says,

“The problem with Christian culture is we think of love as a commodity. We use it like money….This was the thing that had smelled so rotten all these years. I used love like money. The church used love like money. With love, we withheld affirmation from the people who did not agree with us, but we lavishly financed the ones who did.”

As he explained how this is played out on both the church and personal level, I felt my heart sink. This was me. For the past 2, 3, 4 years, I’ve withdrawn from many human relationships–with Christians and non-Christians, family members and friends–because I didn’t think it was worth the effort. I didn’t think it worth the effort because I believed no one would really put in the same kind of work in the relationship as I would…and if they’re not going to be equally as “invested” in the relationship, why even have one?

As I pondered this part of the book out loud with my wife after reading, I had to struggle to keep my emotions in check as the full weight of my own selfishness hit me. Even if my grossly unfair assumptions about other people were true, this is no reason to withhold Christ’s love and grace and commitment to them. After all, it’s not my love to withhold. Any love I can give comes by grace through Christ anyway. The more I thought about it, the more I found this mindset of love and commitment as a trade good to be deeply ingrained in my worldview. I am honestly ashamed, because I can look back now and see why many of my relationships have failed, how I could have been a better husband, and the impact it had on all sorts of personal ministry. To make matters worse, all I had to do was take my cue from the clear example of our Savior, who loves us so much–despite anything we have done–that he died for us, so that we would be redeemed and have life.  I believe this is the kind of unconditional love I should be sharing with all people.

I’m uncertain as to the specifics of what this means going forward–all this happened about 9 a.m. this morning. I know I need to stop withholding friendship and commitment based on a perceived level of reciprocity, and I really need to mediate anew on Ephesians 5, which begins this way:

“…walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God...”

An edited version of this article was recently published in the HSU Brand. Pick one up if you’re on campus!

Jeremy Camp was in town a few weeks ago with Bebo Norman and Natalie Grant, and it was a really fun show. Bebo Norman is a fantastic songwriter and first-rate acoustic performer…I was really excited to be able to see him live for the first time. Natalie Grant put on a surprisingly entertaining show…I was honestly shocked at how fun it was. And Jeremy Camp, well, he’s Jeremy Camp, so his performance was undeniably solid, even though he usually doesn’t do a whole lot for me in either music or lyric departments.

As I was enjoying the music, I looked around me and couldn’t help but think that it’s just cool that we can be bring our youth group to an event that provides a ton of rockin’ good fun while still promoting a positive, God-centered message. It’s hard for me to not get behind that. Nevertheless, I found myself growing a bit uncomfortable during certain portions of the concert…mainly, the “worship” portions.

When Jeremy Camp prayed “we want this night to be completely and totally about you, God,” it was hard to doubt his sincerity. Yet, I think it’s undeniable that this concert literally could not have been all about the Father. The unmistakable screaming of about 500 teenage girls behind me let me know that this was at least 50% about Jeremy Camp. I mean, would the Abilene Civic Center have been packed out for a “generic” worship service? I doubt it. We came to see Jeremy Camp put on a show, and then participate in some worship songs. If it really had nothing to do with any earthly person, then there’s no reason to put names in headlines.

I have no issues with Christian entertainment or Christian entertainers in principle. I really appreciated and enjoyed 90% of last night’s concert. But I do have concerns about the increasingly blurry line between a worship service and a “worship concert.”

In my view, a worship service is God’s people coming in community to him, not to any mortal man, for the purpose of praise, adoration, and the hearing of his Word. On many levels, the worship concert experience is similar…there are certainly worshipful moments, usually a decent amount prayer, and Jeremy Camp even gave a brief devotional message based in Scripture. While those things were present, however, the majority of the event was still entertainment-driven–which means it was necessarily more about Jeremy’s charisma and my response to the fun, catchy music.

As a musician, I understand the power of music to evoke certain emotions, and I’m certainly not opposed to emotion in worship, but in these concert situations I find that it can be easy to confuse our emotional response to the music and a favorite celebrity with a meaningful encounter with God. This is dangerous territory to be traversing, but I felt that Jeremy Camp actually did a pretty good job navigating that particular minefield by rooting the “worship set” in songs that had lyrical substance.

I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer about what was really a great, fun time participating in Christian music, but I can’t shake the unease that hits me when I hear Christian entertainers talking and behaving as if what they’re doing isn’t entertainment. It may be entertainment and more, or even God-driven entertainment (I’m fine with that), but it’s entertainment nonetheless, and we need to be careful that we don’t equate a concert with our more community-driven, truly Christ-focused church gatherings.