The Eternal Optimist

Happy Birthday Krissy! 37 Things I Love About You

2011-06-24T05:45:00.000-07:00

Happy 37th Birthday Krissy! I love you and I miss you today.

1. I love having three kids with you.
2. I love how you see things as either black or white - right or wrong. You are my moral compass.
3. I love building a home with you.
4. You're a farm girl.
5. Letting you beat me in all things competitive.
6. Reading yet another detox book with you.
7. The way you plan my new decade birthdays. You went over and above (literally) this year.
8. How you lead worship and sing in the Spirit. I love hearing the new songs God gives you.
9. Watching Steve Carell movies with you.
10. Tag teaming with you to keep our kids in line.
11. You change Anthem's diapers and I don't have to.
12. Watching you sing a Spanish song in church for the first time (Your Great Name).
13. When you think you've lost something, you tell me and before I can answer you, you've found it already.
14. Listening to your dreams.
15. You experiment with new recipes and meals for first time guests. You have more guts than me.
16. You're up for trying new things.
17. You have much wisdom.
18. You were the cure for my Facebook addiction.
19. You give me 5% writers credit on your songs.
20. You don't wish you had married a Mexican avocado farmer.
21. You dress our daughter up in pink, girlie clothes.
22. You are fun to go on vacation with.
23. You like to try new things.
24. We made it to 13 years of marrige and we still love each other.
25. You're a charismatic Dutch reformer.
26. You make me look better than I really am.
27. You are generous.
28. You are genuine.
29. I can trust you with anything.
30. You notice when I'm not wearing my wedding ring.
31. You are persistent.
32. You pay attention to details.
33. We are opposites when it comes to our toot times.
34. I may win in the games we play, but you win in the stuff that matters.
35. Your naturally curly hair.
36. You are a prayer warrior.
37. I get to watch you design our new house.

I miss you, but I will see you again in a couple of days.

The Search For My Headphones

2011-06-16T05:25:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, we have our closing on our construction loan for the new house we're building. This is the third closing of four that we are going to be doing. This time its with a different closing attorney. I'm grateful we were led to Hunter Battle of The People's State Bank, who is handling our lender. He was able to push our closing to tomorrow even after the appraiser only had 2 days since he got the plans and review the property and put together the appraisal. Unbelievable. Even Mickey Barnes, our builder, was amazed at how quick he was able to put it all together. So, I'm grateful to him for doing that. I'm also very blessed to have found the builder we did. We have so much favor. God is definitely looking after and over our family. My focus today will be on His faithfulness and His favor over us. I will look for opportunities to praise Him today.

Last night, speaking of praising Him, I was frustrated because I couldn't find my white headphones for my iPhone and also the blue camera we bought. I have been looking for them on and off for the last two weeks since we came back from Florida. We are going away on a 10 day trip tomorrow and I could really use them for the travel. By 9pm Krissy had a great idea - to pray and ask God to help us find them both. So, she brought Anthem over to my side and both of them put their hands on my right arm and prayed. Krissy prayed while Anthem bowed her head in earnestness while keeping her hand on my arm. After Krissy was done asking God to show us where both the headphones and camera were, we both waited in silence for Anthem to stop praying. She continued bowing her head in earnestness being quiet for at least 30 more seconds. It was a very sweet moment, because, even though she wasn't saying anything, we could both tell she was earnest and serious about her prayer to God. When she finally raised her head and took her hand off my arm, Krissy asked her if she heard God tell her where the headphones and camera were. Well, she immediately pointed over towards the foyer area of our condo. Krissy pressed her for more information asking her "where over there?" Anthem said, "In da bag." - in almost a Michigan accent. "In what bag?", Krissy asked. Anthem said, "In Daddy's bag." Aha, so the three of us went over first to my briefcase that I was sitting in the foyer and looked through it. We didn't find anything in there. I wasn't too hopeful about that because I had already looked through it countless times. So, then Krissy and Anthem opened the little foyer closet to look for another bag. They found my little carrying bag that I last took with me to New York as a carry-on for the plane. Low and behold, after looking for several seconds, Krissy spotted my little white headphones and pulled them out with glee! All three of us and the boys (who came running over when they heard our cheers) were praising God! He had shown Anthem where to look for my headphones! What is amazing as I think back about it this morning, is that Anthem heard God say it was my BAG. We were looking in my briefcase first, not my bag. He clearly told her it was in my BAG. That small GMA bag of mine was tucked away almost hidden (because it's black) in that small dark closet. I believe she truly heard from the Lord about my headphones. I praise God for speaking to her in that way. It was a faith-building moment for us.

I looked for another 15 minutes asking Anthem the whole time where my camera could be. She directed me to the storage closet in the hall outside our condo. We looked in every other bag we had with us at the condo complex - to no avail. However, I have faith that God will show us where that camera is in His timing. He loves us so much to care about the little things in our lives.

Hot Air Balloon Ride

2011-06-08T11:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I turned 40. Yes, I'm over the hill. For my birthday, my beautiful wife gave me a hot air balloon ride to go on with a couple of my best buds. Now, I can cross this off my Bucket List.

I just wanted to share a video so that I capture the moment on my blog.

PIECES - A Father Daughter Video

2011-06-06T07:45:00.000-07:00

Here's a video I created with my daughter using my wife's song "PIECES" as inspiration. It was pure joy taping it and producing it. I love my little girl. I will be very happy and blessed on Father's Day. If you'd like to purchase this song for your iTunes catalog, you can download it here.

This Road

2010-12-01T08:41:00.000-08:00

"I am with you always, even to the end of the age." ~Matthew 20:28

"We are all on This Road called life. The road has a beginning and it has an end. Sometimes the way is smooth and the road is a joy to travel on. Other times we can barely walk. The road called life is both hard and beautiful; however, the most beautiful thing about this road is you are never alone on it. Whether you know it or not, whether you believe it or not, it makes it no less true. The truth is you have a friend there walking with you. This unseen friend has been there all along from the start of your journey and will be there at the end ~ even when you take your last step. This companion can carry you when the way is too rough and you want to give up. This friend desires to walk in front of you, leading you when the way is too dark to see. This friend will speak to you words along the way that fill you with joy even when it's raining and cold. There is someone on that road with you all of the time, who knows you better than you know yourself, and since He is the creator of this road, He knows every bump, every turn, every hill and every valley you will ever travel He traveled it, too. My hope is if you do not know this friend, you ask to meet Him." - MeMe Stephens

Your Love Is Chasing Me

2010-10-09T06:05:00.000-07:00

IT'S YOUR LOVE
By Luke Finch (UK Worship Leader)

These mountains are high
But your grace is greater
These valleys are deep
But your healing's deeper
I cannot escape your incessant love
So I won't run, I will wait

It's your love, it's your love
It's your love that saves me
It's your love, it's your love
It's your love that sets me free

My life is a path that keeps on winding
And all I can do is your truth believe in
I cannot explain this depth of longing
But I won't run, I will wait

This burden is light but I feel I'm dying
Losing my life and then yours I'm finding
I cannot contain it, this love's
Compelling me to run, but I will wait

I cannot run
I cannot hide
I can't escape your incessant love
Your love, your love, your love is chasing me

(c) 2010 Song Solutions Daybreak info@songsolutions.org

The Lie

2010-10-08T08:51:00.000-07:00

God defines success so radically different than I do. If I'm honest with myself, I desire personal gain, wealth and, yes, even fame and personal glory. How wrong I've been to believe the lie and the liar! The world's greatest lie is that I'm here for any personal gain, wealth, power and fame. How shallow and empty I feel when that is my pursuit. God, help me to walk in Your definition of success - my loss, Your gain...my weakness, Your strength...my death for Your life. To live is Christ. A daily pursuit...thankful for His grace.

Lizard Attacks My Son

2010-10-07T04:47:00.001-07:00

Everything

2010-08-18T06:58:00.000-07:00

"The happiest people are not those who have everything but the ones who make the best of everything." A quote my father shared with me this morning. It encouraged me.

Forgiveness

2010-08-11T07:29:00.000-07:00

"Anger makes you grow smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you were." - Cherie Carter Scott

"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." - Matthew 6:14

Natalie Grant - YOUR GREAT NAME - Song Story

2010-08-04T19:41:00.000-07:00

This video tells the behind the scenes story of Natalie Grant's version "Your Great Name". So proud of my wife.

Alex Leads Worship on Drums

2010-07-20T19:29:00.003-07:00

Kaden Leads Worship

2010-07-20T19:29:00.001-07:00

Annie and the Boys sing Elmo World

2010-07-20T19:27:00.000-07:00

Uploaded from my new iPhone...

Do It Right

2010-07-12T10:15:00.000-07:00

‎"If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?" - John Wooden

The Value of Values

2010-06-10T07:45:00.000-07:00

I take this to heart...

The Value of Values
He could have had the world handed to him by his father Warren. But as Peter Buffett tells it now, that would have been the worst thing for him.

Peter, in his new book Life Is What You Make It: Finding Your Own Path to Fulfillment, says that the values instilled in him by his parents and the opportunity to find his calling in life were worth more than any financial gift he could receive. As his father put it, people who are born with a silver spoon in their mouths end up with a silver dagger in their backs (meaning a sense of entitlement and a lack of personal achievement). Peter wound up, by his own words, normal and happy instead of spoiled.

"Entitlement is the worst thing ever, and I see entitlement coming in many guises. Anybody who acts like they deserve something ‘just because' is a disaster," he said.

When you have a sense of entitlement, nothing is ever good enough. You'll buy a car, then want a nicer car. Your house is never big enough—you'll constantly want to move up. Think of how bitter you'll become from a lifetime of wanting better stuff. Even after you get it, it's not good enough, thus you want even nicer stuff.

Fathers can be more susceptible to this because guys tend to place a higher value on stuff. Money is a scorecard and if we're not doing well financially, we feel we haven't accomplished anything. As Father's Day approaches, remember how important it is to set the right example for your child.

It doesn't take money; just a parent who cares. You don't need to be a millionaire to teach your kid how to put in a hard day's work, or how to live with integrity, or how to care for the people around him or her.

The best things in life can't be bought. When you teach your kids a valuable lesson and see them start to live by that principle, that's priceless. You can give your son or daughter true security in life by letting them find what their calling is (and allowing them to bump their knees while finding it) and instilling in them the values and discipline to become a self-sufficient adult.

When you say no, your kids will grow.

Source: Reuters

39 and My Two-Minute Warning

2010-06-07T07:04:00.000-07:00

As I stand on the doorsteps of 40, I'm "enjoying" turning 39 as best I can today.

Krissy greeted me with breakfast in bed - a gluten-free meal of waffles, apples, scrambled eggs with spinach & herbs and a glass of juice. That was a surprise! Then, after Anthem and Alex woke up, we, together, woke up Kaden who was greeted with "Kadie!!" by Anthem as she climbed all over him to wake him up. (The boys were up late last night watching 'Toy Story').

Omi called just after that as the boys and Krissy prepared something downstairs for me. My grandmother, who is now a healthy 91 years young, greeted me so sweetly with good wishes for my birthday. I couldn't help thinking how thankful I was to have her and to be able to still speak with her. I enjoy so much being able to speak with her - we usually talk about once a week. She only speaks German so it helps me keep my second language in somewhat decent form. We usually have longer conversations, but this time, the kids were calling me from downstairs.

As I came downstairs, Krissy was video taping me and this is what they had ready for me...

I couldn't be more thankful for my wife and kids that they would surprise me in this way. I am a blessed man - more thankful than I can ever express to God to have been entrusted with such a special family.

I am thankful today for life. I can't help thinking about 40 just around the corner. I think of it as halftime. 39 is my 2-minute warning. I plan to make the most of this last year in my 30's. Look for more posts to come this year about how I plan to celebrate it. I keep feeling the nudge to make it about giving. More to come on that...

For today, I will try not to work too much and enjoy my time with the boys. We're going out tonight and one more night to sleep on the "Birthday Pillow" we all in our family get to sleep on when it's our birthdays. It's time to begin my 2-minute drill...I've had 39 years to prepare for this.

A Memorable Memorial Day Weekend

2010-05-31T05:49:00.000-07:00

My family and I spent the weekend at a camp ground with 25 or so other adults and kids at The Nest Family Camp (TNFC). The Nest is the name of our church. This was our second year going to family camp. The theme of the camp was SHINE - taken from Matthew 5:16.

I'm thankful for Jill Perry for organizing the theme and the teaching. I grew in my Christian walk this weekend. Particularly, I had never known or realized that when Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the Ten Commandments, his face was shining, glowing with radiant light. We studied The Sun, The Moon and The Stars and used creation to apply the fundamental truth that as believers, we are salt and light. Thank you, Miss Jill!

On top of great teaching and worship and camp songs (an adaptation of R.E.M.'s "Shiny Happy People" by yours truly and his wife), we also ate some great meals together, swam in the lake, did some fishing, played games, had a talent show and played "Minute To Win It" on the last night.

I'm grateful for my church family and for the time I was able to spend with my boys, daughter and wife this weekend.

1 Corinthians 2:16

2010-05-24T04:27:00.000-07:00

"For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

Jesus saw food when 5000 were hungry. He saw healing when multitudes were sick. He saw life when a child was dead. What He saw—took precedence over all other facts. You have that mind (1 Corinthians 2:16). Start seeing what He saw. SEE the solution in every problem.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

2010-05-24T04:21:00.000-07:00

The world is unprincipled. It's dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn't fight fair. But we don't live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren't for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity. - The Message

Sunday Morning Satire

2010-05-15T05:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a video, my friend and neighbor posted on his blog. I couldn't post for some reason because it wouldn't play. So, I found the YouTube link. See if your church looks anything like this...

The Lord's Prayer - New Quietime Podcast Series on MyQuietime.com

2010-05-14T04:10:00.000-07:00

We start a new series in the Quietime Daily Devotion and Prayer Podcast today. We focus on praying the way Jesus taught in Matthew 6:5-15. This scripture is core to the Quietime mission and vision. Each day we will be breaking down The Lord’s Prayer and bringing focus to it as God leads. I trust it will enrich your personal prayer time and strengthen your relationship with God as a result.

In case you don't know, Quietime music is a series of instrumental piano music that's intended for use during personal prayer and worship time. Check out the daily devotion and prayer podcast at myquietime.com.

Flood of Franklin - May 2010

2010-05-02T13:30:00.000-07:00

Flood pictures

2010-05-02T11:19:00.000-07:00

This is in my neighborhood.

Reflections on the Songs We Sing - Your Great Name

2010-04-28T08:15:00.000-07:00

I recently came upon a wonderful illustration using scripture and personal experience to describe the truth of this song. My wife, Krissy, is co-writer of the song. Many of the scripture examples were inspiration for the song’s origin lyrically! The writer captures the essence of the song very well. Click here to link to the page.

Camaro Conversations

2010-04-24T19:33:00.000-07:00

The boys are already talking about the kinds of cars they want to buy when they turn 16. Kaden's highly motivated. Lately he's been getting up at 6:45 to get to work at my business - shipping media. Kaden is planning to buy a black Camaro with white stripes. Alex is working towards a red Camaro with black strips. They are 6 years away, but every day we drive in the car together they notice all of the cars and dream of what they want to drive. Very cute.

The Wingfeather Saga

2010-04-22T19:24:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago on Facebook I asked my friends what books they'd recommend for my boys. My neighbor, after kiddingly recommending Stephen King novels at first, then answered seriously "The Wingfeather Saga" books by Andrew Peterson. Well, last weekend he lent them to me for Alex to read. Alex, my 10 year old crazy reader, devoured both books - each 300 pages or more - in about 2 days. This, while going to school and doing sports also. He could not put them down. He was up early and stayed up late to read them. Tonight, he shared the stories within the books with me in detail. Andrew Peterson is a maker of great music, and also great adventure/fantasy novels. Get them for your kids. Andrew, please write a third. My son and I beg you.

Head Butt Kisses

2010-04-20T06:13:00.000-07:00

Our daughter, Anthem kisses us with a head butt. When I say, "Annie, give me a kiss." She will bend her head forward and then I kiss her. This morning, we all head butted each other goodbye as the boys were leaving for school. Now, I have a headache.

In doing my "research" for this blog entry, I found this interesting article...

Seriously, the head butt is not that hard. Here's a Parenting magazine article about serious head butting issues...

Boys and Time of My Life

2010-04-17T20:27:00.000-07:00

This age 7-8 to 10-12 is just such an awesome time for me as a dad. Today was just another reminder of it. Not only do I get to enjoy being involved in their sports and important events because I work from home, but also I get to help them in their first jobs working for me on the Ebay and Amazon business we're starting. They're doing a fantastic job helping with shipping and listing products. I just want you to know, boys, if you read this later, this is the best time of my life. God, grant me more experiences like the ones this weekend.

Cheese Nuts

2010-04-17T19:38:00.001-07:00

This week I told Kaden I didn't want him saying "I like pie" anymore. It was getting old and I think it has a gross underlying meaning. So, now he says "I like cheese nuts" instead. Ugh.

Fang Fingers!!! EEEE EEEE EEEE

2010-04-16T20:17:00.001-07:00

Go Predators! 4 to 1 over the Obama's Blackhawks! Yeah baby!

Dove Awards Week International Plans Thwarted

2010-04-16T07:57:00.001-07:00

Flights are being cancelled coming from Europe...and here's why:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8623534.stm

The Mercy Tree

2010-04-15T08:14:00.000-07:00

In the garden of eternity

There grows an endless mercy tree

Everyone who does believe

Is sheltered by it’s covering

The branches stretch as to embrace

It’s flowers bloom in scents of grace

Breezes blow away the pain

Close your eyes and drift away

Find forgiveness

Find relief

Find rest from suffering

Find healing

Find peace

Underneath the mercy tree

It grows as high as it goes deep

The roots reach back to calvary

How small we are, how great is He

The maker of the mercy tree

by Krissy Nordhoff

Andy Andrews - The Traveler's Gift

2010-04-15T07:59:00.000-07:00

My family and I listened to this book on CD on our way to and from our Spring Break trip. If you like history, biographies, non-fiction literature mixed together in an inspirational story, I highly recommend The Traveler's Gift and all of Andy Andrews other books.

Stuff White People Like

2010-04-15T07:58:00.001-07:00

If you're as white as I am, you will love these things as much as I do.

Needed a Break

2010-04-15T07:49:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to say that I'm not done with blogging. Honestly, for the last few months I haven't had much to say, share or express online. I hope to be back to writing at least weekly soon.

My Boys Need Me Now More Than Ever

2009-12-17T21:25:00.000-08:00

I'm heading into that time in every Dad's life where it is getting serious. My oldest is 10 and my youngest boy is 8. It's hitting me pretty hard. They need me. They need me badly. I'm hearing a loud voice screaming inside of me saying "They need me now more than ever." I'm overwhelmed. About being the dad my boys really need, I feel a mixture of excitement (this is what I've looked forward to since the day I learned I was having a boy) and fear (I'm not equipped to do this at all...let alone do it right). Here's an article I recently was pointed to from CNN.com... "The Myth About Boys".

So, this blog post is really just me expressing my fear and excitement about being that Dad that I hoped I would be when I saw and held my son for the first time. Thanks for letting me ramble a bit.

Here we go, boys. I'm doing my best. I'm going to say "I'm sorry" a lot because I will mess things up from time to time. Know that I love you anyway. We're going to have a lot of fun, experiences and adventure together over the next 8-10 years, okay?!!

Here's something I plan to attend in 2010 with Alex, my oldest. AbbasWay Retreat.

Tales of a Dying Superman

2009-12-16T21:17:00.000-08:00

This is a post written Brian Daniel, that I thought was worth sharing. You can check out his blog by clicking here. Enjoy the read….I did!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Small Groupologist Rick Howerton is fond of putting a note of authenticity to what is typically a mundane question when he asks, “How are you doing REALLY?” Recently I had an opportunity to have
lunch with a friend I spent some of my high school and all of my
college years with. Right away I asked him how he was doing, he said
“fine.” There was a pause. The word “really” hung in the air for a
moment before he added, “I don’t know. Sometimes I think bad thoughts.”

“Like what?”

“Like, ‘I wonder what would happen if I just left.’”

“What do you mean, ‘left’?”

“‘Left’ as in ‘left and never came back.’”

Of course we talked our way through it for a few minutes. He wasn’t
serious. At least, wasn’t serious in considering walking out on his
life. But what he was saying was how tired of the routines and the
mundane of life he has become. This can’t be uncommon in men getting
close to 40 or thereabouts. The word my friend used was “trapped.” In
an email exchange I had with yet another friend in this demographic I
got the following:

“I wake up a lot of days and have the same what I’ll
call malaise. It’s like the new day I’m facing is the exact same day I
had yesterday and tomorrow doesn’t promise to be much different or
better.”

Now that’s just being honest. Who can’t relate to something on the level of Groundhog Day
at least for stretches (for me it tends to be January-March). Neither
of these men would describe the lives as bad or their families as
anything other than a blessing. I’ve known them both for most of my
life and can honestly say that I love them. They’re both very
successful at what they do. But I do wonder what the sum of these
conversations is and what implication it has for the larger culture of
today. In what ways have we both robbed ourselves and, perhaps, been
robbed of adventure—which would seem to be part of the issue at hand.

If you take a moment to consider the various radio commercials you
hear as well as the corporate advertisements seen on television, but
particularly television sitcoms, the sum of it is that it appears that
masculinity has been lost. There was time when every young boy dreamed
of being Superman. It was reinforced in our heroes, our culture—the
fact is that something was expected; that life demanded
something of you. A boy was expected to look the inevitable storms in
the eye, forge a path through the night and face the darkness, and grow
into significance. This is not commentary on leadership, but on
masculinity. This is how a man bears God’s image. Alas Superman! But
our culture it seems would like nothing more than to tear this image
down. Of course during peace times—times with little to no adversity,
strife, and war—this attribute of masculinity isn’t as vital. The
mistake that’s made, however, is that these times of perceived peace
are just that: perceived. The reality is that we are always at war and
masculinity should always be summoned into the breach of the battles
set before us. These battles tend to call out the best in us.

We need Superman, or what Friedrich Nietzsche referred to as the ubermensch
that overcomes traditional boundaries to rise above the herd. Symptoms
like the conversations I describe above are indicative of a dying
Superman, a Superman robbed of battle and adventure, conditioned to be
content to sit in front of the television on Saturdays and Sundays. But
instead we are moving more and more into a liberal era that continues
to look to external agencies like government for solutions and rescue
instead of the latent heroes within us. There is a Superman within us …
all of us. This, I can’t help but believe, is the essence of the human
condition.

Being a Good Leader

2009-12-15T21:11:00.000-08:00

by Glenn McClure

Many men (including myself) in our community have been disillusioned
by poor masculine leadership…many of us are desiring to be better and
more loving leaders…found this in Proverbs this morning…qualities that
make a good Christian leader…Eugene Peterson notes that “transforming
leadership is the kind where the first one transformed is the leader.”

Proverbs 16:10

A good leader motivates, doesn’t mislead, doesn’t exploit.

If you notice, the values that we are learning (embodying) in our
community are helping us become better leaders. We should motivate
others and not mislead or exploit them. Can you imagine this type of
leadership in the workplace? Can you imagine a boss (or being the kind
of boss) who motivates with truth and honesty and desires your (
employee’s) ultimate good? What ripple effect would that have on
companies and careers?

What about at home? The best way I know to motivate my wife is to
serve her. She especially loves acts of service. She loves when I help
clean up the house, do the dishes or make sure the kids are bathed and
put to bed. When I serve my wife this way she lights up like a star.
When she gets “Mommy time” and is able to enjoy solitude and recharge
her batteries-she comes home not feeling mislead and exploited but
cherished.

With my brothers-it is the practice of continued honesty, taking my
turn on the mat, bringing current sin to confession-this keeps me from
misleading or exploiting my friends.

As a father, apologizing to my son and daughters when I sin against
them, deposits in them a gift that Dad is leading and loving with
authenticity and not rhetoric. Bottom line: leading with honest
weakness and current struggle will ensure that I am not exploiting and
misleading the people around me.

I'm Drinking Lettuce

2009-12-15T11:28:00.000-08:00

Yes, you read that right. I'm drinking romaine lettuce chopped up in a blender mixed with distilled water. Why would I do such a crazy thing?! Well, my father-in-law was prescribed to do this from a natural doctor this year as he was not losing weight and feeling overall drained, worn down and tired every day. After he drank 4 oz every 2-3 hours of the concoction each day for a week, he began to notice a huge difference in his energy level. After 3 weeks, he noticed he was losing weight too. I'm not sure how long he continued drinking the stuff, but it worked for him. He looks great and he has a lot more energy.

I decided to do some research on this via Google. I found several links to blogs that explain what happens when you drink the stuff. Here they are:

The KeelyNet Blog

Jessie X

Apparently, the health benefits are phenomenal. My cels get a good cleansing and cholesterol has no way of sticking in my blood. So far so good.

Drive Yourself Further

2009-12-15T01:20:00.000-08:00

"The man who will drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win." - Roger Bannister (the man who first broke the 4-minute mile mark)

The Great Life

2009-12-14T01:14:00.000-08:00

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: . . Let not your heart be troubled."

John 14:27

Whenever
a thing becomes difficult in personal experience, we are in danger of
blaming God, but it is we who are in the wrong, not God, there is some
perversity somewhere that we will not let go. Immediately we do,
everything becomes as clear as daylight. As long as we try to serve two
ends, ourselves and God, there is perplexity. The attitude must be one
of complete reliance on God. When once we get there, there is nothing
easier than living the saintly life; difficulty comes in when we want
to usurp the authority of the Holy Spirit for our own ends.

Whenever you obey God, His seal is always that of peace, the
witness of an unfathomable peace, which is not natural, but the peace
of Jesus. Whenever peace does not come, tarry till it does or find out
the reason why it does not. If you are acting on an impulse, or from a
sense of the heroic, the peace of Jesus will not witness; there is no
simplicity or confidence in God, because the spirit of simplicity is
born of the Holy Ghost, not of your decisions. Every decision brings a
reaction of simplicity.

My questions come whenever I cease to obey. When I have
obeyed God, the problems never come between me and God, they come as
probes to keep the mind going on with amazement at the revelation of
God. Any problem that comes between God and myself springs out of
disobedience; any problem, and there are many, that is alongside me
while I obey God, increases my ecstatic delight, because I know that my
Father knows, and I am going to watch and see how He unravels this
thing.

by Oswald Chambers
taken from "My Utmost For His Highest" daily devotional book.

Louie Shelton, Guitarist on Quietime Devotion CD, Inducted into Musicians Hall of Fame

2009-12-10T01:12:00.000-08:00

Louie Shelton was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame, in Nashville, TN this month. Louie played acoustic guitar
on several Go Global Entertainment CDs, including Quietime Devotion and Thank Him by Krissy Nordhoff. Congratulations Louie. We are honored to have been able to work with you...and hope to again soon.

Walmart.com Offers Quietime Christmas for $7.00

2009-12-09T02:48:00.000-08:00

For a limited time only, Quietime Christmas will be available via Walmart.com for $7.00. Check it out along with all the other seasonal titles offered.

Of course, you can buy it at Lifeway Christian Stores, Amazon.com, and download it on iTunes too.

Quietime Christmas at Walmart.com for $7.00

2009-12-09T02:47:00.000-08:00

For a limited time only, Quietime Christmas will be available via Walmart.com for $7.00. Check it out along with all the other seasonal titles offered.

Of course, you can buy it at Lifeway Christian Stores, Amazon.com, and download it on iTunes too.

Tiger Woods - A Better Man For It

2009-12-07T01:11:00.000-08:00

The 'coming out' party Tiger has had is a sad consequence of his actions, which are reprehensible. However, like all of life's best lessons, this may just make him a better man in the end. Read this article from Rick Reilly about Tiger Woods. It summarizes what this optimist thinks of the situation.

Andre Agassi Open

2009-12-06T01:11:00.000-08:00

In the last month, two of the sports figures I've admired most as a casual sports-a-holic, have had 'coming out' parties. One was forced upon him - Tiger Woods. I'll probably write a post about him later. For now, I want to focus on Andre Agassi. The latest chapter in his story ends happily (which is how I think Tiger's will end too). No news article summarizes how I feel more than this one from Rick Reilly. I hope you'll read it.

I first saw Andre in one of his first tournaments at age 16. He went to the semi-finals and lost to McEnroe there, but I've been a fan of his ever since. As a tennis player, I admired his return game. And now, in real life, his return from a seemingly hopeless situation is inspiring.

I plan on reading "Open" by Andre Agassi over Christmas break.

Thanks Andre - for modeling hope and true manhood in the face of no hope and adversity.

Purchase Quietime Links

2009-12-01T12:07:00.000-08:00

To buy Quietime CDs, you have several options.

1. Go to any Lifeway Store in your area (there are over 140 across the country) and they will all be at the front counter when you check out.

2. Visit Amazon.com and there are plenty available or

3. Visit Target.com and you'll be able to find them there.

To purchase Quietime music via digital download, simply visit iTunes, Napster, Rhapsody or Amazon.com and download all three Quietime albums: Quietime Devotion, Quietime Hymns and Quietime Christmas.

Great deals - peaceful music.

Wisdom and Thanksgiving

2009-12-01T02:22:00.000-08:00

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has. -- Epictetus

In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit. -- Albert Schweitzer

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. -- Marcel Proust

None is more impoverished than the one who has no gratitude. Gratitude is a currency that we can mint for ourselves, and spend without fear of bankruptcy.
-- Fred De Witt Van Amburgh

The grateful mind is constantly fixed upon the best. Therefore it tends to become the best. It takes the form or character of the best, and will receive the best. -- Wallace D. Wattles

What if you gave someone a gift, and they neglected to thank you for it--would you be likely to give them another? Life is the same way. In order to attract more of the blessings that life has to offer, you must truly appreciate what you already have. -- Ralph Marston

The Magic of Thinking Big

2009-10-27T03:32:00.000-07:00

Excerpt from Dan Miller, 48 Days Newsletter:

"I don't know of anything that can inspire, encourage, motivate and release a higher level of success than reading good books. Many books are worth re-reading. Here's one written in 1959 that I like to read at least once every year. In his little classic book, The Magic of Thinking Big, David Schwartz provides 5 simple actions to help us feel more confident and accomplish more:

1. Be a front seater. Sitting up front builds confidence.

2. Practice eye contact. Looking the other person in the eye tells him, I'm honest and confident."

3. Walk 25% faster. Psychologists link slovenly postures and sluggish walking to unpleasant attitudes towards oneself, work and the people around us. The extremely beaten people, the real down-and-outers, just shuffle and stumble along. They have zero confidence. The walk of a confident person tells the world, "I've got someplace important to go, something important to do." Throw your shoulders back, lift up your head, move ahead just a little faster and feel self-confidence grow.

4. Practice speaking up. As you speak up, you add to your confidence. It's a confidence building vitamin.

5. Smile big. Try to feel defeated and smile big at the same time. You can't do it. A big smile gives confidence. A big smile beats fear, rolls away worry, defeats despondency.

Lou Holtz says he was given this book as a 47 yr.-old unemployed high school coach. It transformed his thinking. He listed 100 things he wanted to do before he died. Last I heard he had accomplished 97 of those goals. I wonder what it could do for you.

Dedication Video for our Daughter

2009-09-30T14:02:00.000-07:00

The song was written specifically for our girl, Anthem, and recorded by my wife as a demo. It's called "You Could Only Come From Heaven".

Google Wave

2009-09-29T08:03:00.000-07:00

I'm never on top of the latest trends. I still don't have a DVR and, yes, I don't have an iPhone <GASP!>! Yes, it's true. I bought Vinyl records until 1990. I just started blogging in 2008. I've never been ahead of the curve.

But, I am excited to check out the new Google Wave. Maybe I'll be ahead of the curve on this one.

Joy

2009-09-24T11:10:00.000-07:00

I have a couple of guys I meet with on a regular basis. We've been checking in lately with each other with an emotion that we're feeling right then. The emotion choices are: Fear, Joy, Anger and Sadness. We have to pick one and explain why. We get right to the heart of the issues of our lives. Needless to say, I'm grateful for these guys and the conversations we have usually impact me for hours or days afterwards.

Today, I felt joy. When you say 'joy', usually not much more needs to be said after that. This time the guys asked me why I felt joy? I said I was joyful because I was happy with the decisions I had been making lately. I went on to describe that I felt joyful also because I was letting more things go and not putting too much pressure on myself. I have fewer goals and that's helped me.

As I thought about it later in the car on the way home, I began to ask myself. What is real joy? Is it the joy we feel about ourselves? Or is it the Joy of the Lord, as mentioned in the bible? What is true joy? I can't say that I've felt true joy very often. Rare. When I do, it's usually full of love, not a care in the world and an overall burdenless or light feeling. I can say what I'm feeling is on the path to true joy though. On the way to joy. I'd rather be on the way to joy than anger, sadness or fear.

iTunes Reviews Needed

2009-09-23T23:30:00.000-07:00

If you're a regular user of iTunes and enjoy Quietime music, would you take a few minutes to write a review at iTunes. Just click here and you'll be taken directly to one of the Quietime titles. The more reviews and feedback they get, the more visibility we get for the Quietime brand. I appreciate this so much!!

Quietime Hymns - Top Instrumental Album in Christian Bookstores this week

2009-09-23T11:47:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Lifeway Christian Stores, Quietime Hymns
became the top selling instrumental album of the week in Christian
bookstores for the week ending 9/20/09. Combined Quietime Hymns and Quietime Devotion, scanned over 320 units in sales, according to CMTA's Nielsen Soundscan. Quietime Christmas releases this week in stores nationally.

Quietime Hymns - Top Instrumental Album in Christian Bookstores this week

2009-09-23T02:42:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Lifeway Christian Stores, Quietime Hymns became the top selling instrumental album of the week in Christian bookstores for the week ending 9/20/09. Combined Quietime Hymns and Quietime Devotion, scanned over 320 units in sales, according to CMTA's Nielsen Soundscan. Quietime Christmas releases this week in stores nationally.

What's In Your Wallet?

2009-09-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

Last night I finally did it. I took out everything that wasn't necessary from my wallet and only kept the most important stuff. What I took out was over an inch in height when I stacked it all together! WOW, no more back pain...and no more Seinfeld, George Costanza jokes! What's in your wallet?

First Wave

2009-09-15T02:29:00.000-07:00

My little girl made her first actual attempt at a wave today. Anthem is 5 and 1/2 months old. She was in her Mommy's arms and she looked over at me and smiled/laughed really big like she always does. Then, she lifted her arm and twisted her wrist back and forth to wave at me. I wanted to see if it was an accident, so I looked at her again, smiled and waved. She smiled and did the same waving motion again. It was so cute. I did it a third time, this time with her older brother, Kaden's help. Sure enough, she smiled and waved again. There you go, another one of Anthem's firsts. Another Anthem milestone.

Nobody's Got It All Together

2009-09-14T08:44:00.000-07:00

Every now and then (almost daily) I need to be reminded that nobody else has it all together - why should I?

NOBODY'S GOT IT ALL TOGETHER
By Jill Phillips and Andy Gullahorn

Working hard to tie up the loose ends

So hard to decide who you let in

Put your best foot forward with a grin

I can see the fear behind your eyes

Wondering if someone will recognize

You’ve grown tired of keeping up the lies

Don’t whitewash the truth about yourself ‘cause

Nobody’s got it all together

If you want to be like everyone else well

Nobody’s got it all together

I have seen the darkness of my heart

And found a love that taught me its too hard

To walk through life and not let down my guard

What good is it to say please savior come

If there is nothing you need rescue from

Life is something no one has a corner on

Don’t whitewash the truth about yourself ‘cause

Nobody’s got it all together

If you want to be like everyone else well

Nobody’s got it all together

When the parts that are self righteous

Start to disappear

Every other life is

Just another mirror

And life is way too short to run and hide

Don’t whitewash the truth about yourself ‘cause

Nobody’s got it all together

If you want to be like everyone else well

Nobody’s got it all together

I Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way

2009-09-08T02:40:00.000-07:00

Every good marriage has a time of testing and trials...ours is no different.

"Any Other Way"
Jill Phillips

Do you remember that Monday when

The world fell out beneath our feet

Both surprised that we had been

So close to losing everything

Putting one foot in front of the other

felt like such a long, hard step to take

We thought about moving and starting again

But it was something we could never outrun so we just stayed

I wouldn’t have it any other way

I wouldn’t have it any other way

Gaining back the trust we lost

Was harder than just losing it

But if we wanted change at all

The pain was a prerequisite

So little by little, a piece at a time

We were putting back together what was left of a broken life

It wasn’t quick, it wasn’t easy

But that kind of change isn’t one that happens overnight

I wouldn’t have it any other way

I wouldn’t have it any other way

When we first met, love was a feeling

But making it last, that’s a decision

A good decision

When we watch the kids run through the yard

Sometimes I just can’t help but think

That every bit of what it cost

Was worth it for this family

‘cause I wouldn’t have it any other way

I wouldn’t have it any other way

I wouldn’t have it any other way

Words and Music by Jill Phillips
From "The Good Things" CD

Quietime CDs now at Target.com

2009-09-03T02:44:00.000-07:00

This is a bit of a shameless plug. Quietime CDs are now available at target.com. They also can be found at area Lifeway Stores, Family Christian Stores and iTunes for download. Get em now while they're hot!

Anthem's Milestones

2009-09-02T14:40:00.000-07:00

Anthem turned 5 months old a couple of weeks ago. Krissy and I don't plan on having another child - unless a real miracle occurs - and I do mean miracle! So, we're a bit sentimental about our last child. We will never again experience our own child's firsts. Another way of looking at it is that we feel so blessed to be able to go through this experience again that we are appreciating so much more this time around. We're having so much fun with her. I rarely find myself complaining or whining about things.

So that they are recorded forever, I'm planning a new series of our baby's milestones in the next few blogs - complete with video and pictures (if all goes well).

FIRST SMILE

Anthem smiled early and smiles often - very often. All I have to do is look at her and she smiles, sometimes she even laughs out loud. She also loves the boys - she laughs at them all the time. When she sees Mom she smiles and laughs too, but she mostly says "Mmmmmm". It's so cute. Here's a picture of when I knew that she laughed on purpose, not just because she had gas :). She was about 2 weeks old. This picture was taken in early April. That's her Amo's hand next to her.

Two Great Faiths In One Candy Bar

2009-08-31T13:30:00.000-07:00

FranklinMom.com

2009-08-27T02:26:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've been helping my wife develop her blog - FranklinMom.com. We've been encouraged by the early response. I must say that women really love to socialize. I can see why MomBloggers are the most powerful bloggers in cyberspace. We have some big plans for the site and for the community to get involved. More to come soon. In the meantime, if you are a mom living in Williamson County, TN, this site would be great for you. It's jam packed with family fun activity ideas, grocery shopping lists, recipes, events in Franklin, advice and so much more for the Franklin Mom.

My Two Sons and Football

2009-08-26T13:57:00.000-07:00

Kaden, the little rocket.

Alex, Super Bear.

The Ministry of the Unnoticed

2009-08-21T01:39:00.000-07:00

Taken from My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers

August 21, 2009

"Blessed are the poor in spirit..." - Matthew 5:3

The New Testament notices things that do not seem worthy of notice
by our standards. "Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . ." This
literally means, "Blessed are the paupers." Paupers are remarkably
commonplace! The preaching of today tends to point out a person’s
strength of will or the beauty of his character— things that are easily
noticed. The statement we so often hear, "Make a decision for Jesus
Christ," places the emphasis on something our Lord never trusted. He
never asks us to decide for Him, but to yield to Him— something very
different. At the foundation of Jesus Christ’s kingdom is the genuine
loveliness of those who are commonplace. I am truly blessed in my
poverty. If I have no strength of will and a nature without worth or
excellence, then Jesus says to me, "Blessed are you, because it is
through your poverty that you can enter My kingdom." I cannot enter His
kingdom by virtue of my goodness— I can only enter it as an absolute
pauper.

The true character of the loveliness that speaks for God
is always unnoticed by the one possessing that quality. Conscious
influence is prideful and unchristian. If I wonder if I am being of any
use to God, I instantly lose the beauty and the freshness of the touch
of the Lord. "He who believes in Me . . . out of his heart will flow
rivers of living water" ( John 7:38 ). And if I examine the outflow, I lose the touch of the Lord.

Who
are the people who have influenced us most? Certainly not the ones who
thought they did, but those who did not have even the slightest idea
that they were influencing us. In the Christian life, godly influence
is never conscious of itself. If we are conscious of our influence, it
ceases to have the genuine loveliness which is characteristic of the
touch of Jesus. We always know when Jesus is at work because He
produces in the commonplace something that is inspiring.

Titans Fake Punt - Best Ever

2009-08-11T14:40:00.000-07:00

Quietime CDs at Lifeway Christian Stores

2009-08-10T15:14:00.000-07:00

My instrumental CDs are featured in the front counters at all Lifeway Christian Stores (150 or so) for the rest of the year. Quietime Hymns and Quietime Devotion through October. Then, Quietime Christmas until the end of the year. All at a special price. Wooohoo. They make great Christmas gifts!

Summer Update

2009-08-09T12:40:00.000-07:00

I haven't written since before July 4th. Where has the time gone? Let's see...

We spent July 4th weekend with the Bryan's at their house. We lit up firecrackers that night, which we bought at the Triune Mall Flea Market. Not sure why the flea market part of that sentence was so important, but oh well.

Then, from there, I flew to Denver for a short trip to ICRS (the International Christian Retail Show). It's my annual convention for the Christian retail trade industry. I met with many friends and accounts. It's always a worthwhile time on many levels.

We took our house off the market shortly thereafter as it was not selling. We had 20 showings and no offers in 90 days. All of us were tired of keeping the house clean constantly - especially with a newborn in our home. We decided to take the rest of the summer to sell off the remaining items we brought back into our garage from storage. I've read two books on eBay, Amazon.com, Half.com and Craigslist. I feel very edu-ma-cated on the subject and beginning to work on online selling and marketing of my "stuff". I'm currently reading a book on selling my house For Sale By Owner. That's what we plan to do once we've sold all of our stuff.

We've been looking at several homes in several different neighborhoods. We like new homes in the Stags Leap (off Arno Road), Kings Chapel (off 96 in Arrington) and Autumn Ridge (in Spring Hill) subdivisions. We also like the idea of staying in our school district and keeping things stable for the boys. However, we have only found homes that need a lot of work in Fieldstone Farms and Cottonwood. These places are comfortable for us, but we're not excited about all of the work it's going to take to get them to where we need them. In the meantime, we are making the best of things in our current house. I have a lot of home improvement projects to do around the house. We feel it may be best to take care of those anyway before we put the house back on the market.

My parents have picked a condo in Tollgate, closed on the home on July 28th and have just moved into the new home this weekend. Furniture has arrived and they are settling in. It's a beautiful 3-bedroom condo on the top floor overlooking the rolling hills of Franklin, TN. They are just in the outskirts of Franklin in Thompson's Station. It's a perfect location right next to the I-840 junction and an easy 10 minute drive to their future golf course community - Laurel Cove (planned to be finished next year) built by Greg Norman.

We had a fun time with Mr. Jim Harrison (from church) who took the boys and I fishing on Gentry Farm. Check out the pic to the right. The boys caught over 10 fish each - mostly Blue Gill. Alex and Mr. Jim caught a catfish each.

We had church camp this past weekend. We had such a great time. We were at Tims Ford Lake State Park. We stayed in cabins in the park. During the day, we'd spend most of our time in a private cabin owned by one of the members of our church. The theme of our camp was "Soar". Isaiah 40:31 was our scripture theme.

      But those who wait on the LORD
      Shall renew their strength;
      They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
      They shall run and not be weary,
      They shall walk and not faint.

We had a wonderful time of worship, singing and teaching in the mornings. Our afternoons were spent boating, tubing, riding Sea Doos, fishing, talking, playing golf and eating - lots of good eating. We had a talent show one night. We had some great laughs and great fun. Check out an iMix on iTunes of some of the music we sang at camp.

Yesterday, we went to Target, bought the boys some back to school clothes, rolling book bags and supplies. School starts Thursday and I think we're all ready to get back into our school routine.
We also visited with Amo & Apo at their place. The boys had fun helping Apo put together the new TV stand in "their room". I took a nap! Then, we went over to Kings Chapel and spent time some good friends at their new pool. That was nice, but we were tired in the end. Krissy went to bed at 8pm. I put the boys and Anthem down by 9pm. And, I've finally had time to breathe.

We have a lot to do the rest of the summer. My work is ever changing. I'm developing several offshoots to Go Global Entertainment - namely a direct to church division and direct to consumer division. These will be my focus in the years to come in addition to the existing International licensing and distribution business. I'm in the middle of changing my distribution systems and plan to move out of my existing warehouse this month.

I'm back on P90X after a short break due to a small surgery I had two weeks ago. I'm ready to get back at it. I'm off now to go do Stretch X.

More updates shortly...at least now you're caught up.

Lifeway Christian Stores Features Quietime CDs at Counters Across the US

2009-07-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

Beginning this week, Quietime Devotion and Quietime Hymns will be featured in Lifeway Christian Stores across the United States right at the front of the counter. In fact, many of you, will be curious about Quietime products when you buy a CD at Lifeway and visit this site, myquietime.com. If this is your first time, thanks for visiting. We hope to provide you with more quiet time inspirational resources for free and to purchase such as more music, books, journals and valuable gift items in the future.

If you've not bought the Quietime music yet, you can find it in a number of places. Here are just a few places where you can find it:

Lifeway Christian Stores
Family Christian Stores
Christianbook.com
iTunes
Amazon.com
Half.com

Look for Devotion, Hymns and Christmas CDs in any of these places. Quietime Christmas DVD is set to release October 13 in US stores as well. More on that soon!

What is Quietime?

2009-07-27T06:56:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my first MyQuietime.com post.

For years, I've considered developing this website, but it hasn't been right until now. I've been blogging for over a year now (see my blog here). I'm a writer of spirit-filled instrumental piano music. I've always wanted to combine the two. So this is my humble attempt to create a website that can be a resource for other spirit-filled believers.

I hope to provide you most of all with some quality "soaking" music. With this blog, I will write about my experiences and hopeful provide you with good information on quiet time resources, music for your times of worship and prayer, personal observations that I have on what it means to 'soak in the spirit' and so much more. My wife and I lead worship at a small home group church (although we've grown and needed to move into a building) called "The Nest". It's there that many of these resources and ideas take their root.

I pray this website is a great resource for you.

Rob Bell - Jesus Wants To Save Christians - Audio Book - CD - Buy it now at iconnectdirect

2009-07-13T15:25:00.000-07:00

Rob Bell - Jesus Wants To Save Christians - Audio Book - CD - Buy it now at iconnectdirect

Shared via AddThis

The 'sir and ma'am' Debate

2009-07-02T23:28:00.000-07:00

We'd like our boys (and daughter...eventually) to show respect to adults they interact with in their lives. My two boys are 7 and 9. It's been about two years now that I've been bothered by the fact that they don't look other adults in the eye or speak respectfully to them when they are spoken to. But, when I tell them to show respect, I tell them to definitely look people in the eye, but from there, I haven't made up my mind whether they should address adults as sir or ma'am, Mr. and Mrs., Miss or Mrs., Mr. (firstname) or Mrs. (last name).

I grew up that it was respectful to call people by their last name. For example, "Mr. and Mrs. Keneally", for instance. I think that stems from my German roots. In Germany, I've observed they call each other by last name in business settings. They don't say "Herr" or "Frau" much anymore, from what I can tell, they just call each other "Nordhoff", for example.

But, here in the south (I live in Tennessee), most kids address adults as "sir" or "ma'am". We've tried the southern way and sometimes it feels awkward. They boys don't always do it and they don't want to look adults in the eye. Shoot, I can't even get them to hug correctly. When, they go to hug their "Amo" or "Apo", they go into the hug and turn around backwards...that's a new one to me. I feel very southern, which is not natural to me, to teach them the "sir" or "ma'am" route. I guess if the military teaches its privates to show respect to those higher in rank, it can't be all that bad.

So, I'm not quite sure my intent with this blog post other than to share (with my little world or readers...which is very VERY small) my thoughts and challenges of teaching my kids to show respect to other adults. I haven't made a clear decision on this, and that's half my problem. My kids are going to be so confused about this issue unless I decide on something soon.

The Word of God is the ultimate authority for our family. I don't know why I don't turn to God sooner...well, I do know why...I'm self-centered by nature...aren't we all? Regardless, here's what it says about children respecting adults:

"Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the Lord." - Leviticus 19:32

The Ten Commandments teach that we honor our parents.

Romans 12:10 exhorts us to treat one another with brotherly love "in honor preferring one another". Philippians 2:3 encourage us to "esteem each other better" than ourselves. I Peter 2:17 states, "Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king." I Peter 5:5 exhorts the elders in the church to feed the flock and be an example to them, but not be lords over God's heritage. The younger are to be submit themselves to the elder.

So, to me, I interpret that we do have a responsibility to raise our children to show respect to adults and even as they become adults, to show respect to their elders.

So, help me God, as I struggle and find my way to do this.

Here are a couple of articles on the subject that I've read...or at least, skimmed...

http://www.connectionparenting.com/parenting_articles/respect.html

http://www.fix.net/~rprewett/respect.html

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=2449176193&topic=6250

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/AskPastorJohn/ByTopic/40/3244_Why_does_having_disobedient_children_unfit_a_man_for_church_leadership/

http://www.teach-nology.com/tutorials/teaching/respect/

Society

2009-07-02T09:23:00.000-07:00

A society in which consumption has to be artificially stimulated in order to keep production going is a society founded on trash and waste, and such a society is a house built upon sand. -Dorothy Sayers

Invest

2009-07-02T07:32:00.000-07:00

"The more you invest in others, the more right you have to speak into their lives." - Anita Williams

Defeat

2009-06-28T00:12:00.000-07:00

"No one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as a reality."

Christ follower vs. Christian

2009-06-26T23:39:00.000-07:00

Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25 and the Search for the American Dream

2009-06-26T04:32:00.000-07:00

I just finished this book by Adam Shepard on my vacation to Michigan. Here's a quick review.

I was turned onto this book by Dave Ramsey, who recommends it on his website.

It's the true story of a young college graduate who sets a goal after 365 days to go from homeless with only $25 in his pocket and the clothes on his back to having $2500 in savings, having a roof over his head and a car to drive. It's an entertaining story, told from his perspective.

It made me appreciate what I have and reminded me to stop whining and complaining when I begin to think about what I don't have. The book restored my "make it happen" attitude. It reminded me to get back to the basics, set goals, and do everything I can to achieve them. I highly recommend it. I won't ruin the ending for you.

Butternut Blog

2009-06-14T14:24:00.000-07:00

What kind of people would give away a puppy - especially one as a cute and cuddly as a puggle? Apparently the Nordhoff family, whoever they are, would. A friend of mine forwarded this blog from a poor puggle named Butternut. This puppy started a blog in hopes that his "Papa Eric" would find him. How sad? If any of my readers know "Papa Eric" or the Nordhoffs who apparently live in a place called "Nordhaven", please contact Butternut.

Our prayers go out to you, Butternut. From the looks of it, you may not want to find "Papa Eric". He sounds like a very bad person to give you away like that.

Eat For Life

2009-06-05T13:10:00.000-07:00

To truly live, you must learn how to eat. Here are some simple reminders of advice you've probably heard before:

Eat 5 to 6 times daily (3 meals and 2-3 snacks). It keeps your metabolism working around the clock.

Drink at least 8 eight ounce cups of water a day. This also helps with metabolism and keeps everything well 'lubricated'.

Understand labels. Ingredient labels on the food we buy are sometimes really hard to read. Simple advice: if the list of ingredients is long, it's man-made and not good for you.

Don't eat processed and refined foods such as white flour, sugar, bread and pasta. Complex carbs are best - such as whole grains.

Stay away from saturated and trans fats. This means anything fried or high in sugar. Look for healthy fats high in Omega 3 and essential fatty acids.

Control your portion sizes. Don't eat large portions. A general rule: anything the size of your palm or fist counts as a portion. Remember this when you want to eat a portion of vegetables, protein and carbs.

Keep the red wine to a minimum. Anything more than one glass a day is harmful to you.

Slow down. This one is tough for me. I generally want to gobble up my food. Eating slower and chewing well is good for your stomach. It helps the digestive process. It also allows your body to tell you when you are full much quicker. Allow yourself to taste and savor your food. It will be much more enjoyable overall.

Eat with your family. I've read studies that families that eat together stay together more often. Eating a meal with your family will give you an opportunity to touch base and talk about all kinds of things. It's amazing what happens if we slow down for a bit and enjoy a meal together!

GMA-ANZ HOSTS 2ND ANNUAL CHRISTIAN MUSIC CONFERENCE

2009-06-05T00:11:00.000-07:00

GMA AUSTRALIA-NEW ZEALAND HOSTS 2ND ANNUAL CHRISTIAN MUSIC CONFERENCE

Sees 38% increase in registrations

The Gospel Music Association Australia-New Zealand (GMA-ANZ), an affiliate of the US-based Gospel Music Association, held it’s second annual conference May 28-29, 2009 in Brisbane, Australia. The Gold Coast event saw a 38% increase in attendees this year - up from 102 registrations last year to 141 this year.

“The standard of artistry on display during the various showcase opportunities was impressive”, says Anton Bekker, GMA-ANZ Board Member, “Our registrants were also very positive about the various workshops they attended.”

The event enjoyed top quality messages from industry leaders Mark de Jong (The Power Of A Song), Jeff Crabtree (The Twenty First Century Christian Musician) and Roma Waterman (The God Artist - The Power Of Sound). The event also featured a special message from Dorry Kartabani, Senior Agent from the Harbour Booking Agency in Sydney, as as a last minute keynote speaker on Passion, Persistence and Perception. The event featured showcases from the following area Christian artists: Rapture Ruckus, Trigger Theory, Lydia Cole, Magnify, Candice Long, The Smart, Chris Billing, Mark Lowndes and Nathan Eshman.

Anyone who could not attend had an opportunity to view a special 2009 GMA-ANZ Conference webcast. Some of the content from the event will soon be will be put onto the GMA-ANZ website for members to access.

GMA-ANZ was formed on Easter Monday, 2006 when 150 people gathered in Toowoomba Queensland to express their enthusiastic support to the vision and idea of a Gospel Music Association in Australia-New Zealand. The organization offers significant benefits to its Australia and New Zealand members including opportunities to connect, training and education, representation to local and national governments and financial discounts on music equipment, insurance and international attendance at the annual GMA Music Week in the USA. To learn more about GMA-ANZ, visit www.gma-anz.org.

Music in Recession

2009-06-04T13:57:00.000-07:00

ChristianityMusicToday.com published a summary of the current state of Christian Music. It is eye opening and painful to read for us in the industry. However, it's very important for us to know the truth so we can decide where to go from here.

I highly recommend reading it. Here is the link:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/music/commentaries/2009/musicinrecession.html?start=1

Many of you know I'm on the Board of Directors at the GMA. President John Styll challenged us today to review the closing remarks from Charlie Peacock at this year's GMA Music Week. It is important again, for our realities to be checked. This is crunch time. Do or die. Insert whatever cliche you'd like. Here are his words...(hopefully with his and the GMA's permission)

Gospel Music:
Following Where Jesus Leads
GMA Music Week
Keynote Address
April 15, 2009
It is a great honor to bring the last of the keynote
addresses here at GMA Music Week.
I still remember my first GMA experience 19 years ago. I wore a black fedora, backwards. A gold silk suit and black janitor
shoes, with chrome studs hammered all the way around the outside rim of the
shoes. And I wasn’t a young kid –
I was 33. I’d already been a
working artist for 15 years. I got
married when I was 18 and started figuring out how to make a living at
music. By the time I arrived at
GMA I had already recorded for A&M and Island Records, worked for CBS as a
songwriter, and toured as an opening act for a bunch of eighties bands you’ve
probably never heard of. I was the
rarest of birds back then. I was a
Christian who had been in “secular” music. There’s nothing unusual about that now. Most of you probably don’t even know
that part of my story. If you know
me at all, you’re probably saying: isn’t he the guy that wrote In The Light for
dcTalk? Or, didn’t he discover
Switchfoot? Or isn’t he the guy in
the Verizon commercial?
I think I’m here today because I’m
haunted by four questions? What
does it mean to be an artist? What
does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus?
What does it mean to the love the church through music? And what does it mean to create
winsome, imaginative music for the common good, for people outside the walls of
the church?
Recently I’ve written, and been
quoted as saying, that contemporary Christian music as we once knew it is
coming to an end. I do believe that. The modern worship music explosion, as
good as it was, was a game changer.
It put a dagger in the heart of music with lyrics that brought a
Christian worldview to bear on a diversity of subjects. That shouldn’t have happened. People kept calling worldview music
crossover, or secular, or watered down, or vague. The problem was that many people couldn’t tell what was
Christian about the lyrics because they hadn’t learned to think Christianly
about the whole of life. As a
result, worldview music went into the world to be heard. Now there are a hundred artists of
faith having a huge impact on popular music – you know their names. Ten years
ago when that music began to exit the Gospel music community, you could hear
many fans and gatekeepers cheering, finally they said, the Gospel music
industry is getting back to faithfulness, and phrases like “core business” or
“your base audience” were on the tips of tongues at record companies, radio,
and retail.
Today, there are new game-changers
like the economy, and a 50% drop in CD sales. Gospel music’s small group of genre superstars are waning in
sales and public interest – names that the GMA has depended on to magnetize the
music, to promote the genre. Their replacement crew is even smaller, and
there’s no strong indication that the rockets of the new guys will even burn as
long as their predecessors. So yes, I think we are at the end of an era. But I
don’t see it as cause for panic or pessimism, or dismissing good work when we
see it and hear it.   It is an
opportunity for course correction though, for fresh ideas, and new faithful
dreams for the music -- AND new dreams for the ways and means that people
encounter the music.
This is a critical, fresh moment in
America’s Gospel music history. I
wonder though, will history show that we trusted God for good to emerge and
prevail? Or will history show us
enslaved to the same old relentless metric of quantity, with no room for
quality? Will we, in this fresh
opportunity see that it doesn’t matter how many points you put up on the board.
If you still lose by God’s standards of success, you still lose.
All of us that care about music, and
its distribution to the church and the watching world, have to guard ourselves
from the extremes of oversimplification.
We always need to critique our work and cast a vision for what the
future may hold, BUT it has to be done with grace,
with charity, with an understanding of history, and most of all with love.   Those in the church who pride
themselves on finding everything that’s wrong with Gospel music without
providing solutions, are just as misguided as anyone whose hysterical optimism
refuses to take a critical look. If we love Christ, his people, and the good
gift of music, then our stewardship demands that we speak out with an inspiring
vision for the future and not just words and deeds that are drenched in either
negativity or unfounded optimism. Truth telling is always in order. An absence
of faith, hope and love is not.
Now is the time for all of us to
lead Gospel music in new, revitalized ways. We need strong voices, leaders who
will give us radical hope in the face of inconceivable cultural change. We need
musical and business leaders of courage, wisdom and flexibility. What we don’t need is another
short-term vision of music designed to serve the young alone or the most
immature of believers. Instead, we need a vision for Gospel music that will
last the test of time, faltering economies, and new technologies. No
sustainable good can come from an industry with a past that cannot promise a
future. We can’t let ourselves ignore audience attrition or artist attrition just because there’s always a new crop
of baby Christians coming up, eager for a soundtrack to their new Christian
lives, impressed that there’s positive music safe for the whole family. THIS VISION IS TOO SMALL. Faithfulness demands more. Our people, the church of Jesus Christ,
the young, the old, all ages, deserve our best efforts in delivering into their
hands and hearts, a lyrically and musically comprehensive Gospel music. A music big enough, and beautiful
enough to deserve the name, Gospel.
What we want is a remarkable demonstration of the musical people of
God, everywhere and in everything, spiritually and artistically mature and
authentic, eager to proclaim the mighty works of God in the church and the
public square, for the good of the church, and for the common good of all. I
will not rest until this is the norm for the music created by Christians
everywhere, but especially here in America.
I love this country. America is a great nation, not in its
absence of faults, but in its presence of assets, not in its absence of
problems, but its presence of solutions. I believe that the Spirit of Wisdom working in the lives of Christian men and
women in America is no small thing. The spiritual and intellectual capital
of the millions of Americans that profess faith in Jesus is True Wealth. And
the faith, enthusiasm, and dreams of the people gathered in this room is no
small thing either. Achievements
count, but they are empty without the currency of God and the fame of Christ
crucified and risen. Jesus came
announcing the time has come. In the advancing kingdom, the time just keeps on
coming. It’s time for many things,
but most importantly, it’s time for faith, hope, and love. It’s time for
trusting that Jesus really does provide all that we need for life and
godliness.
Something good is coming. It’s not
far off. It’s coming with a demonstration of God’s faithfulness to sustain his
church and to provide for its true needs, INCLUDING MUSIC. We so easily forget
these truths about who God is.
We lose the Jesus/kingdom story-line. Other stories come in, they
compete for our attention, and in our weakness we exchange faith, hope, and
love for something altogether different. But
Take Notice: These kinds of stories have no light, no brightness, no true
quality. All they want to do, is
to see that you and I are scared, faithless, unimaginative, and unproductive.
Stories with this motive have leaked out of the world and into our music and
our ways of getting out to people. They divide, fill us with fears, and shake
our foundation. But this is not the time to run scared. As I’ve been saying,
it’s a good time to remember Jesus and his words--his story. His message went
something like this: Don’t worry about your life, what you’ll eat or drink--or
about your body, what you’ll wear.
Remember: A follower of Jesus is one who
imagines, speaks, and acts the same whether in plenty or in want. Why? We
follow Jesus, not the money. Jesus holds the defining story for life – and HE
has all the resources to pull it off on our behalf. Like he said, we needn’t
worry ourselves.
I’ll say it again, this is the kind
of cultural moment that doesn’t come around that often. We’ve got to open up
the windows and let the wind blow through. It’s the right time for Christians
in the music industry to show through faith, hope, and love that they don’t
need a stellar economy and outdated music business models to make great music
to God’s glory. It’s time to focus
on Jesus, on what it means to be his kind of person in the world, and to use
the good imagination He gave us, fueled by the Holy Spirit of God. We’ve got some soul work to do though.
Every
generation of Christian musicians think they are the only generation to come along and change the music for the
better, to rescue it from being “cheesy.” But you know what, tomorrow young
musicians will think that all music is dated and boring, and they will create
something THEY think is current and not cheesy, only to become someone else’s
version of cheesy ten years from now.
They’ll say things like: “We just wanna show people that you can be a
Christian and have fun, too.” Or,
“God has called us to change Gospel music, to show the world that not all
Christian musicians are irrelevant.”
Or, “We’re not gonna hit people over the head with the Bible. We’re not
Christian musicians; we’re musicians who are Christians.” Or, “We’re BOLD,
we’re totally sold out to Jesus. We don’t write vague, sugar-coated lyrics like
those other bands.” It won’t
matter what future generations say though if it’s all retread hubris, pride, and boasting like this. I’ve got good news for all of us. Jesus doesn’t need us to protect his
reputation. He’s protected his own
reputation just fine for 2000 years.
It’s his people, you and me, whose authenticity is vulnerable. Let’s
concern ourselves with asking whether we look like we’ve taken the word and
work of Jesus seriously – that it’s actually changed our lives.
Popular
Christian music has been a house divided for too long. One half the house is so good at
competing with the world musically -- so good at describing the human condition
in all its glory and shame. The
other is so good at creating well-crafted music for the church and describing
the goodness of God and his salvation through faith in Jesus. Yet each half, each group, is always
sniping at the other, and each group at their worst, is a parade of fools. It reminds me of the story in 1
Corinthians where one group claimed to follow Paul, the other Apollos. A house divided against itself cannot stand.
Don’t
take that statement too far. True
Gospel music is not going anywhere.
You may fall, I may fall in this house divided. But Gospel music is not going anywhere.
Do
you want to go where the music leads?
Then you’ve got to ask yourself some questions. Are you tired of
repeating history again and again as if you were the first to arrive on the
scene? There’s been a lot of
foolish, cyclical behavior in Gospel music over the last forty years. This must change – cease.
Are
you tired of being a cliché? So
predictable? I hope so. It’s time for our musical community to
move from milk to solid food, from immaturity to maturity. It’s not about sacred or secular,
vertical or horizontal, modern worship or hymns, crossover or church, liberal
or conservative. This is the historical moment of the spiritual – now we will
deal in spiritual currency – people seeking God and a more beautiful, faithful
way of living that is holistic in scope – beyond pietism to a true
righteousness – the righteousness revealed in the person of Jesus. Not an American Christianity, left or
right, Republican or Democrat, but instead, an adoration of Jesus and his ways
of being human – his direction in being and doing, and reforming all things:
music and the arts, agriculture, business, education, politics, recreation,
communication, science – literally everything. It’s about being interested in what Jesus is interested in
and letting the music reflect those interests. It’s about following where Jesus leads.
Is
he leading some to deal with the fallout from genocide in Darfur? Tell the story in song. Is he pointing you to the glory of his
Father, God of wonders? Tell the
story in song. Is he saving and
bringing back to life your neighbor’s sick child? Tell the story in song. Is he healing marriages in the sanctuaries of our
churches? Tell the story in song. Is he leading you toward good work,
giving you good things, food, laughter, baseball, sex, and marriage? Tell the story in song. Is Jesus present in the praises of his
people? Tell the story in
song. Is he alive and working
everywhere and in everything, in history past, present, and future? Then tell the story in song. This is Gospel music – the good news
that Jesus is redeeming all that he loves, people and place and the culture
he’s allowed and encouraged us to create.
There is no end to the creativity of God and there’s no corner of
reality that He is not the LORD over.
Gospel music is only truly faithful to the degree that it reflects this
awesome truth.
Because
of who God is and what He is doing, we can be sure that Gospel music is far
from being over.
Circumstances may change
But Gospel music is not going anywhere
The artists and songwriters
may change
But Gospel music is not
going anywhere
The economy may contract and
expand
But Gospel music is not
going anywhere
It may rise and fall in popularity
in America
But Gospel music is not
going anywhere
It may be known by other
names and those names may wear out
But Gospel music is not
going anywhere
Believe with me, that right now
there is an army of gifted musical artists quietly praying to God in their
hearts, revealing their desires, saying: “Oh God, how can I not serve you? How
can I not live for you--make my music for you alone, everywhere and in
everything. Jesus, grant me this great privilege to be your kind of musical
person in this world, full of faith, hope and love for you, your people, and
for those who don’t yet know you. Oh, Spirit of the living God fill me, come
with power and wisdom and strength. Give me faith to take you at your word, to
ignore the stories that make me fearful, unimaginative and unproductive. Help
me to tell a musical story with my life that says I’m following you and nothing
else. And please Lord God, send me people to help me get my music out to the
church and to world for the common good of anyone, anywhere who would enjoy it,
and be moved to praise you because of it.”
We
can never, ever forget that the life, death, and resurrection of one man Jesus
Christ, inspired the greatest body of music and art the world has ever
known. Gospel music is not going anywhere but forward to the new heavens
and the new earth where all God’s people will sing together:
"Worthy is the Lamb,
who was slain,
to receive power and wealth
and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and
praise!"
"To him who sits on the
throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and
glory and power,
for ever and ever!
Let’s pray as Jesus taught
us to pray:
Our Father, who art in
heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily
bread.
And forgive us our
trespasses,
as we forgive those who
trespass against us.
And lead us not into
temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory. for ever and ever. Amen
Praise God, from Whom all
blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures
here below;
Praise Him above, ye
Heavenly Host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost. Amen.
BENEDICITON: I pray that the grace of our Lord Jesus
be yours today and in every waking day here on earth. May the Lord cause your love to increase and overflow for
each other. May he strengthen your
hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and
Father when our Lord Jesus comes.
May the God of peace, equip you with everything good for doing his will,
and may he work in all of us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to
whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

As an optimist, I'm very hopeful about the future. It may only not look quite the way I envision it. I'm very eager to meet with the Board in about 10 days to begin to see the future of Christian Music.

US Album Sales Down Nearly 18% in May

2009-06-04T02:33:00.000-07:00

(From BillBoard.biz) ALBUM SALES DOWN NEARLY 18% IN MAY

Album sales in May dropped 17.8% versus May 2008, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and were 36.7% lower than May 2007. (For these purposes, the month of May 2009 was from Monday, May 4 to Sunday, May 30.) For the year through May 31, album sales are down 13.4% versus the same period in 2008 and are down 30.4% against the same period in 2007. Track Equivalent Albums (TEAs) were 13.1% lower in May 2009 versus May 2008. That was a reversal from the relatively successful month of April in which TEAs were down only 4.6%. Year to date, TEAs are down almost 7.6% versus last year.

The flattening of digital track sales growth compounds problems that arise from falling album sales. Year-over-year track sales were up only 5%, 6%, 2% and 5% in the four weeks that comprised the month of May. For an indication of where sales are trending over the next year, look at the early adopting Pacific region of the country (as defined by SoundScan). Track sales in the Pacific are up 8% in 2009, the lowest growth rate of the eight regions. On the other coast, both the Northeast and Middle Atlantic regions are up 12%. At this time last year, the early adopters of the Pacific region had brought a 25% increase in tracks sales while the Northeast and Middle Atlantic regions were up 26% and 29%, respectively. The TEAs metric coverts digital track sales to album sales (by dividing track sales by ten) and allows for easy comparisons over periods of time. This is possible because ten digital songs have the same retail and wholesale amounts as digital albums. When looking at changes in purchase trends – as consumers buy more individual tracks and fewer albums – looking at TEAs allows for easy comparison of changes in overall recorded music spending (excluding ringtones).

—Glenn Peoples, Nashville

Mother Teresa Quotes

2009-06-04T00:57:00.000-07:00

I was at a concert last night and I reminded of a great quote by Mother Teresa. "We can do no great things, only small things with great love."

After that, I started looking up some more quotes from her (thanks to BrainyQuote.com) Here are some of my favorites:

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much.

Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired.

Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.

Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.

God doesn't require us to succeed; he only requires that you try.

I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world.

I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.

Jesus said love one another. He didn't say love the whole world.

Wisdom From Above

2009-05-28T02:07:00.000-07:00

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

James 3:17

Sometimes we question if we can discern what is of God and what isn't. If you question whether or not something originates from the wisdom and heart of God, measure it by the descriptors in this passage - pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy, good fruits and sincere. Pretty straight-forward.

This is from The Daily Verse.

INTEGRITY MUSIC LATIN AND CANZION GROUP ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE

2009-05-22T10:19:00.000-07:00

MOBILE, Alabama (May 19, 2009) Integrity Music Latin and CanZion Group announced today that they have entered into an agreement to jointly serve the Christian retail market through the newly named CanZion-Integrity Distribution (CID).

The new CID entity will begin distributing Spanish and Portuguese language products to Christian retailers in the U.S. and Puerto Rico beginning July 1 while maintaining separate operations for all other markets.

This ground-breaking alliance between two of the worlds leading producers of Latin worship music will combine sales, marketing, manufacturing, distribution and publishing efforts for all current and future CDs, DVDs and digital products.

Together, the new CID artist roster includes: Latin Grammy winner Marcos Witt; Latin Billboard winner Danilo Montero; Latin Grammy nominated and Premios Arpa winner Alex Campos; Latin Grammy and Dove Award winner Aline Barros; Latin Grammy and Latin Billboard winner Juan Luis Guerra; Dove and Arpa winner Funky; Premios Arpa winner Julissa Rivera and Dove Nominee and Latin Grammy nominee Daniel Calveti among others.

"We are delighted to partner with CanZion Music which has such a significant ministry impact throughout the Latin world, said Michael Coleman, CEO and co-founder of Integrity Media, parent company of the Integrity Music Latin label. This new partnership will strengthen the outreach of both of our companies in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and it is an important step for Integrity as we seek to further our mission of helping people worldwide experience the manifest presence of God."

Marcos Witt, Founder and CEO of CanZion adds: We at CanZion Group are extremely excited at joining efforts with the great family at Integrity Media to impact the kingdom for God's glory. At CanZion we share many of the same values that Integrity embraces, especially when it has to do with people experiencing the manifest presence of God through music. We believe that by working together we'll be able to do an even better job of spreading the glorious news of the Gospel to the Spanish language world. We also have the conviction that our union will be a model of unity that will glorify God.

CanZion-Integrity Distribution will be headquartered in Mobile, Alabama with Canzion operating their label group from Houston, Texas under the direction of Arturo Allen. All sales, distribution and accounting of CID will be handled from Integrity Medias offices in Mobile, Alabama. Elias Yepez, formerly of Zondervan, Vida, and currently the Director of Sales and Marketing for Integrity Music Latin, will be the new Director of CanZion-Integrity Distribution.

Get in the Game

2009-05-20T02:10:00.000-07:00

Trained for War

TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2 by Os Hillman

Tuesday, May 19 2009

"Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers

for battle" (Psalm 144:1)

You'll never experience God in powerful ways by acquiring Bible knowledge

alone. It is only when that knowledge is used in the heat of battle that

you will know the reality of what you've learned intellectually. Otherwise,

it remains only an exercise in spiritual gymnastics that yields little

fruit.

David became a great warrior and leader of a nation at an early age. His

training ground was his job as a shepherd in the open fields. When bears

and lions sought to take his sheep, he personally fought them. This was

his early preparation for future battles. Goliath was the real competition

amongst a discerning audience to reveal how well his training prepared

him.

Today, our local churches often look more like luxury cruise liners

designed to tickle the ears, entertain its members and make them feel good

instead of a battleship designed to train an army for war. The average

member still watches from the sideline.

In sports you discover how well you handle pressure by competing. You can

practice all you want but never know how you will do until you enter the

game and test what you've learned and practiced when there is pressure

added to the equation. In battle you discover how well you are trained by

what you actually do on the battlefield.

Have you ever prayed with someone in public? Have you ever personally led

someone to Christ? Have you ever served others for the sake of the Gospel?

Have you ever taught a Bible study? If you said no to these questions, you

are not engaged in the game. Today, why not ask God to give you the grace

to step onto the battlefield.

Hour of Power Germany

2009-05-19T04:13:00.000-07:00

For those of you interested, Deborah Rosenkranz (Former German singing Flight Attendant) is interviewed on the German version of Hour of Power.

Dutch BCB plans Festival and Bookstore Day

2009-05-13T08:56:00.000-07:00

Dutch association BCB plans Book & Music Festival, Christian Bookstore Day. BCB—the primary association of Dutch Christian retailers and suppliers, which represents the Netherlands in ChristianTrade Association International—is planning a new consumer Christian Book & Music Festival and a Christian Bookstore Day. BCB is changing the focus of its annual fall consumers’ fair to be more experiential. Current plans are for several large, themed areas, each running continuous programming. Depending on logistics, the revamped event will be held later this year or in 2010. For Christian Bookstore Day, BCB plans to coordinate and generate nationwide publicity and develop in-store materials. Each local store would organize its own activities and local publicity, highlighting its own identity. Publishers can participate with discounts, giveaways, and other promotions to attract buyers. The first Christian Bookstore Day is planned for early 2010.

Plans of Tomorrow

2009-05-13T08:47:00.000-07:00

The Plans of Tomorrow

By Os Hillman, May 13, 2009

You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. - James 4:14b

A group of workplace believers meet at my office every week for fellowship, study, and prayer. One man attended our group for several years. Jim was well liked and in good health. One Thursday he showed up as usual. The next morning I received a call, "Jim is dead! He died in his easy chair last night!" Jim had no prior problems and there was no indication he was about to go be with the Lord. Naturally, it came as a shock to us all.

Whenever things like this happen close to home, it brings us face to face with our mortality. A friend of mine said he was challenged by someone to do an experiment. He challenged him to live his life for one year as if it were the last year he would live. He responded to the challenge and did as proposed. It changed his life forever. He began to focus on different priorities and people when he viewed life in these terms.

James gives us a perspective on viewing tomorrow.

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that" (James 4:13-15).

Life is fragile. Consider where you are investing your time and energies. Someone once said they had never heard anyone on his deathbed say that he wished he had made more money in his lifetime or he wished he had made a certain deal. Usually it is something like, "I wish I had spent more time with my kids." Ask the Lord to give you His priorities for your life.

Girls Garden

2009-05-12T13:46:00.000-07:00

My wife started a garden tonight with our next door neighbor and another friend. They're using a plot of land her church owns. Krissy came home all muddy.

She and our neighbor tried to till the land using a large power tiller. After a few minutes of being taken for a ride by the tiller, a man finally came to the rescue.

He asked them, "Where are your husbands?".

The girls said in unison, "Oh, they are home taking care of the babies."

Possible names the girls came up for the garden:

Eden Envy

Three Sisters Square

You Grow Girls Garden

Which one do you like best?

A Fleeting Shadow

2009-05-12T05:46:00.000-07:00

A Fleeting Shadow

By Os Hillman, May 12, 2009

Man is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow. - Psalm 144:4

Every time I fly over a large body of water, I imagine opening the window of the jet and pouring out my coffee into the immense body of water below. I imagine the time that I spend on this earth compared to eternity is no more than that cup of coffee. The incredible size of the ocean compared to one small cup of coffee is what our life is like compared to eternity. Why then do we invest so much in temporal pursuits when we know that our investment here can have so much impact on our eternity? It is the great paradox of human behavior, especially for Christians.

Does your business life have an overall ministry objective to it? This does not mean we must be constantly involved in "Christian activity." It only means that we should be about what God has called us to do with the motive of being obedient to this mission. Do not let the worries and cares of this life keep you from having an eternal impact on the lives of those you meet each day. Satan has a way of keeping our focus on the problems of today rather than the spiritual opportunities before us. He is master of the urgent, not the important.

Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T09:52:00.000-07:00

We had a beautiful Mother's Day. It was a wonderful day at church. I did a skit involving 2 Jamaicans (if you want further explanation, please leave a comment). Then, we ate at Stoveworks in the Factory. They had a yummy buffet. After that, Krissy took a nap and now we're off to Crockett Park to watch a free concert by the Nashville Symphony.

We took some great pictures of Krissy and our girl. I'm so glad Krissy got her girl.

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T08:18:00.000-07:00

Russian EMA Organization Hosts First Christian Music Awards Show

2009-05-09T06:31:00.000-07:00

An affiliate of the Gospel Music Association (USA), the EMA (Former Soviet Union GMA) hosts its first awards show. Over 1000 people were in attendance of the event. According to Artist of the Year winner, New Jerusalem, it was the best Christian music event he has ever attended.

Here are some links to media coverage of the event, which took place earlier this month:

Protestant.ru (Russian TBN)

CNL Download

Live Journal - individual footage

The EMA also held an event called the Moscow Music Forum in late November 2008 which was an important event in the development of Christian music in the Former Soviet Union. Watch a report uploaded to YouTube of the event (with English subtitles).

As head of the Gospel Music Association International Committee and International Representative of the GMA Board of Directors, I'm very proud to see how this organization in the Former Soviet Union is forming. We look forward to more news from the EMA soon.

Best Blogs #1: The Story of Anthem

2009-05-08T23:54:00.000-07:00

This one blog has probably seen the most traffic of any of my entries. It's a great God story. I have to give glory to Him at #1.

November 4, 2008

The Story of Anthem

Franklin Cowboys Combine Highlights

2009-05-08T13:59:00.000-07:00

We had a fun week. Every day from 6 - 7:30, both of the boys participated in the Franklin Cowboys Spring Combine. Over 300 kids participated from all age groups all across Franklin. Alex was in the 9 year old group. Kaden was in the 7 year old. Each day of the combine, they each learned new skills they'll be able to use when the season starts in July. Alex will play tackle football in the fall - Kaden still is too little. He'll play flag again (if he wants).

Tonight, they finished the week with a competition. They competed in broad jump, punting, kicking field goals, sprints, high jumps and some obstacle courses. Krissy and I were proud to watch them compete. They both did so well. Kaden kicked a 20 yard punt - the longest in his age group. Alex was the only one in his age group to make a field goal. Alex also got the best in the high jump and 2nd in broad jump. Kaden came in second in sprints.

Overall, out of 30 kids in his age group, Alex came in second all around. I was so proud to hear his name announced. I thought for sure Kaden at least came in second, maybe even first (goes to show you how proud I am), but he wasn't called. He must have barely missed coming in second (eternal optimist father). Here are the results...seems Kaden did well enough to be in first or second. I guess they didn't want to give it to too many Nordhoffs...

I was proud of both of my boys. It's a fun event and only cost $35 per child. They each got a t-shirt and were able to get some great experience doing what they loved.

Best Blogs #2: 10 Years Ago

2009-05-08T11:50:00.000-07:00

I'm listing the best blogs of the last year (my first year of blogging). We're almost there. Tomorrow, I'll reveal #1. Bet you can't guess what it is!!

May 30, 2008

10 Years Ago

Best Blogs #3: Manhood '08

2009-05-07T23:43:00.000-07:00

This was a special weekend retreat I took with good friends.

August 8, 2008 (08/08/08)

Manhood 08

Best Blogs #4: Never Be The Same

2009-05-07T11:40:00.000-07:00

This was one written during a time where I was feeling sentimental about my family. See if you can relate.

March 1, 2009

Never Be The Same