Okay...someone help me out here. I understand the gist of Twitter, and I'm considering dusting off the hay and actually hopping onto the bandwagon.

But, seriously, doesn't Twittering make you a TWIT???

Oh, and the Twitter font makes me think of the classic Dr. Mario.

The rainy day (or, maybe, I should say rainy weekend) reminded me of a Ben Arment blog post I read recently wherein he describes a conversation with Larry Brey, Connections Pastor with Elevation Church:

"[Larry] told [Ben] that he loved rainy/snowy [Sundays]: 'People's expectations are low on days like this. We have the chance to exceed them.' And they did. I've never seen so many happy, wet people."

I wonder what church would look like if church staff approached Sunday gatherings with a sense of expectation--expectation that GOD was going to be present and that He would make sure people knew of His presence...but also exceeding the expectation that people might bring to corporate worship that is mundane and monotonous week after week. When people don't know what is going to happen in a church service, there's a sense of anticipation in the unknown mixed with the astonishment of worshipping a GOD who is incomparably awesome and, at the same time, unconditionally loving.

What if corporate worship could be full of anticipation of GOD and the expectation of no one else's agenda?

What if peoples' engaging had nothing at all to do with the weather?

I think the church walls wouldn't stand anymore.

I think peoples' walls would come crashing down.

Matt Morgan, pastor of Reston Community Church in Virginia, developed a list of really great all-angle questions to help determine his church's fit in the community. Some really good insight in just these ten questions (okay, technically TWELVE questions)...

1. What kind of people want to come to our church?
2. What ministries are thriving with very little effort?
3. What kind of people serve the most?
4. Who is most invested in our church right now?
5. What kind of people do our hearts beat for?
6. Who is NOT coming to our church? Why?
7. What kind of people have come to Christ at our church?
8. Who are we uniquely positioned to reach?
9. Who is not being reached by other churches in our area?
10. Who are the "connectors" in our church? Who can they reach?

I'm beginning to understand why money is so hard to come by for a techie. I can blame it on the vast expanse of technology evolution.

Five years ago, I spent $225+ on a 120 GB external hard drive...and that was a SALE price. Now, I can get a 1 TB (tetrabyte--1,028 GB) for $100. I could buy 2 TB at the price I spent on ONE 120 GB drive five years ago!

What's worse...I own THREE 120 GB hard drives.

You do the math.

I just finished Andy Stanley's book, Choosing To Cheat. Great book. The premise of the book is the struggle between work and family…one is going to be cheated because they both require variable attention. Both have measurable merit…you work hard the build and maintain your career, but you’ve also vowed to a wife and committed to a family that you love. Stanley’s question is which is going to feel cheated? Which will you choose to turn from and wholeheartedly devote your time and effort?

You do your job and love your family. (Col 3.23)

When you love your job and do your family, you’ve not only stepped outside the bounds of family life, you have stepped outside the will of God (74).

I came to Iowa to pursue a job that I was really enjoying…almost to the point where I lived and breathed my job. I now believe that recent circumstances with my job put me in a place where I disliked my job. And I can now better judge which side of the scale (family/work) I should be placing weight. At work, I’m replaceable by thousands of other people who are just as qualified (if not MORE qualified) than I, but, at home, I am irreplaceable.

Let’s face it...One day you will come home from the office for the last time. Nobody retires from his or her family to spend his or her final days in the office . . . What and who you come home to will be determined by what and who you choose to cheat between now and then (108). It is sad when a man or woman is forced out of an organization they bled for to return home to the family they have neglected (109).

Family wants to feel like they are accepted/my priority, not simply being the priority.

He uses the illustration of vehicle gauges that tell us the condition of our vehicle and if something needs attention. If you run out of gas, it’s your fault. What if family members had gauges on their foreheads that told you how they were doing—if they were in need of some extra attention—the “love tank” is almost empty, maybe things are really good? And when everyone’s gauge is low, you plan a vacation. The point of the vehicle gauges isn’t to tell if you if something is wrong or not…the point is to keep your car from shutting down.

Two things needed to make the U-turn:

Momentum—you might be spiraling down the wrong path, but you need to use that movement as a way to propel yourself toward the right direction.

Focus—you need to make a decision to redirect your momentum and stick with that choice no matter what. Making a choice based on a conviction and picking a direction removes options that may prevent avoiding the one correct direction. “Interestingly, the Latin root for the word, decidere, means 'to cut off'” (77). Giving up good things for what’s best.

When successful men and women reminisce, their defining moments professionally are never related to how many hours they worked . . . The sixty hours you work this week may not reap nearly the same productivity as the sixty hours you put in next week. Why? Because of things you have no control over (86-87).

Unfortunately, I’ve backed myself in a corner because some of my hobbies and personal enjoyments are daily tasks I perform within the context of work. More often than not, I work long weeks because I get caught up enjoying what I do, and that becomes my focus. It's selfishness...really.

But the opposite is true of family life . . . with family, success is always related to time. In the world of family you have far more control over the things that really make a difference (87).

Some good quotes from some brilliant people last night at the Academy Awards. Some snippets...

But most of all, if Harvey had not been taken from us 30 years ago, I think he'd want me to say to all of the gay and lesbian kids out there tonight who have been told that they are less than by their churches, by the government or by their families, that you are beautiful, wonderful creatures of value and that no matter what anyone tells you, God does love you and that very soon, I promise you, you will have equal rights federally, across this great nation of ours. Thank you. Thank you. And thank you, God, for giving us Harvey Milk.

It's been such an inspiration to spend time with a character [Wall-E] who so tenaciously struggles to find the beauty in everything that he sees. It's a noble aspiration to have at times like these.

The essence of the film which is about optimism and the power of hope in the lives, and all my life I had a choice of hate and love. I chose love and I'm here. God bless . . . And I want to tell something in Tamil, which says, which I normally say after every award which is ella puhazhum iraivanukke: "God is great." Thank you.

I stay up to watch the show and I always felt that this was, this ceremony was a moment of unity for the world because art, in any form, is and has been and will always be our universal language and we should do everything we can, everything we can, to protect its survival.

And I said at another awards ceremony that our producers were great because they did what every producer should ever do and that is leave us alone.

This was one of my fav quotes of the night because, as an artist and in great respect for his producers, there is tremendous value in giving artists space and time to create. Artists can't be logistical like a producer and vice versa, but they work great together when they work separate from each other.