Well, well, well...

Work has begun in the renovation process in the place that we at cgpc are referring affectionately as "the Attic". It's been a long time a-comin' and last night, our Jr High ministry team began the purging process by throwing out over half of the nasty couches and chairs. Tyler and Kip literally threw a couple broken recliners down the stairs. It was quite a spectacle to be sure! Renee and Rose found some costume apparel for spirit points day at the Great Escape this summer. The "green" room has nothing on the floor now but the air-hockey table! It's unbelievable! Carpets are getting cleaned on Friday. I won't spoil the surprise of what's in store.

I'm ready to start recording for this next project [what once was to be known as maquette]. I am now tentatively calling it Not What She Used to Be... It's quite possible that could change within the next couple of days. Jason and I have been meeting and writing and playing... I've been talking to Bob and we're gonna get together soon to work up some stuff... and I'm ready to try some of the new stuff out soon...

I am sad to say that my favorite coffee mug which was purchased at Goodwill only last October--the same one featured in the profile photo to your left--recently had to be put to sleep. His handle apparently wasn't doing well and it just fell off while being pulled from the cabinet one day. None of us saw it coming. He wasn't with us very long but judging by his aesthetic features, he lived a full long life. Let's all raise a hot brew for our defunct friend! We barely knew ye!

Don't feed the baby strollers

Peep this my scalawags,

It was quite an interesting weekend once again. At first seemingly ordinary yet delightfully lovely. My brother-in-law and his wife were in town for a wedding in downtown Indy and my wife and I had the opportunity to babysit our 1-year-old niece during the rehearsal dinner on Friday evening. She is ridiculously cute... no, no, seriously. She looks like a Muppet baby version of my brother-in-law... which may or may not have clarified things for you.

My wife and I wheeled her around in her stroller at Circle Center mall for a few hours. We got to experience feeding a baby an olive-green pudding-like substance refered to on the label as Vegetable Medley with Pasta! It took all the will-power within me to keep from grabbing her jarred dinner and making a run for the Banana Republic to lose myself in euphoria! I withheld. However, while visiting Bath & Body Works [one my wife's favorite places to be] I nearly lost my niece to her collapsable stroller. Here's a hint for all you stroller manufacturers out there: Try putting the collapsing lever somewhere other than THE STROLLER HANDLE! Maybe it's my own fault for being the curious little monkey that I am, but if it weren't for the combination of encouragement of my apathetic on-lookers and sheer alligator-wrestling brute strenth, my dear young niece may not have been with us today.

I also got my Epiphone back from Guitarworks after being in the shop for a couple of weeks. It sounds rather acousticky and capoish... indeed. I am looking forward to recording some of the new songs I've been scribing recently.

Love and Lollipops,
Joel

A wiseman once told me

Good morning, depending on whether indeed in is morning or not when and wherever you are. It's Thursday and the seemingly eternal sinus infection which plagues me all of my days is growing into its full maturity. As the seasons change, so must we all...

It has now almost been a full week since our youth ministry's Sr High retreat at Pyoca but, I simply cannot slip through without commenting on the experience. This was arguably the best weekend retreat we have done in my almost-three-year tenure at CGPC. As God has been working on my own heart in a lot of hard, uncomfortable places recently, I found this weekend retreat to be a humble affirmation of my place in this ministry which He has called my wife and I to during this season of our life. I found it in the relationships, the discipleship, the community of worship and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

Just as I pray that our teens and adult leaders alike wrestle with and explore the possibilities of their spiritual gifts, talents, values, personalities, and how God has uniquely made them, so do I continue to grow in my understanding of how and why I've been made. His Glory. That's the bottom line. Not to us, but to His name be the glory.

Well, just as I couldn't let that slip by, it is also imperative that I also let anyone who care to hear know this as well:: Thomas Wiseman is the Roller Skating King! Argue with me if you will, but you must know that it's futile. Keep on rollin' T-Shades!

Peace, love, and pancakes,
Joel

Intruder alert

The love, grace, and mercy of Christ invades us in a way that demands more than a portion of our attention. The God who loves us so perfectly and completely with unmerited favor deserves the attention of our entire being [heart + soul + mind + strength]. His perfect righteousness, perfect justice, and perfect love inspire the worship of our lives, not one day a week, not only in our grand endeavors which are seen, but also in the smallest details of our ordinary existance. He is, was and will continue to be our loving Redeemer who has rescued us from death and slavery into life where we are called His beloved, His sons and daughters, His heirs. How can we who are hopelessly broken be capable of such love and worship? Christ is the answer... Only by the intrusion of this Wonderful Lover into our broken and contrite souls can we begin to respond with our lives in worship to the One who deserves nothing less.

"Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use His words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thanksul hearts. And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through Him to God the Father." -Colossians 4:16-17

Tuesday morning

It's Tuesday morning and I've got about 4 and a half days until the Sr High Winter Retreat. Though there's much to be done before we leave on Friday evening, I'm really excited about the group we've got going down to Pyoca this year...

I've been so encouraged through the fellowship of several of my brothers in Christ this past week. As I spoke with Kyle yesterday afternoon, we both marveled at the idea of the revealing of God's mysterious plan for our lives does not end once you've reached the age of 28. As we both wrestle with our futures in very different seasons in our lives, I think we're able to pray for each other understanding our mutual sense of confusion as we step into the unknown having to trust fully in Christ with where he may be leading. I was able to have similar conversations recently with my good friends Josh, Phil, and Nick. These are other men in my life who challenge me to be honest and real about my brokenness. Their very friendship sharpens me like iron and presses my disobedient heart towards Jesus. I am so thankful for these brothers in Christ.

I love Jesus for how He loves me and loves me and loves me when I'm so dispicably unlovable.

May His unceasing love and mercy find you wherever you are at today!

Phil not Phil, etc.

The clock on my computer claims 10:01am, but I'm a little skeptical... For you see, this clock tends to lose track of the time quite often, but I digress...

I had lunch yesterday afternoon with my great friend and mentor and brother in Christ, Phil Jackson. For those of you scratching your proverbial head asking "Phil Jackson? Famed NBA championship coach several times over and Zen guru Phil Jackson?"... I'll let you ponder long and hard on that one.

Wrote a new song last night inspired by recent emotional and spiritual bouts... Enjoyed a homemade calzone made by my beautiful wife [Thanks for the GT Xpress 101 Mom!] and the company of some of our Sr High students at Center Grove Church [Tyler, Brad, Nicole, and Ty]. I poured myself a dark cup of decaf and listened to Brad and Tyler jam in the Mustard Room before watching a brand new episode of ER with a gun in it... Promos claimed America would be talking about this one. Well, America, are you talking?

Tonight we set a course for Lafayette to be musically and mentally challenged by the beat-driven, spiritually minded stylings of Josh Garrels!

Peace of Christ!

Haps in hipness

Greetings lost web travelers! I can't begin to imagine how you stumbled upon this weblog. Or is it simply 'blog'? I'm not quite as "hip" to the lingo as I'd like to let on... Nevertheless, I shall continue to share with y'all the haps and so forth as they indeed hap. Just a reminder, a new Joan of Arcadia is on tomorrow with guest star Hilary Duff! I am looking for extra VCRs which I can program just to be absolutely sure I don't miss it [I have yet to capture this elusive television genie known mysteriously as TIVO]... So anyone willing to lend a poor twenty-something male a spare VCR for an evening to guarantee his viewing enjoyment would be generously rewarded, I'm sure!

I'll be groovin' to the live sounds of Mr. Josh Garrels at Purdue University this Friday... I hope to see you there! Peace of Christ! Seacrest out!