Everyone needs a bedside lamp with a spinning wheel on it.
These and other used items (like half burnt candles, VHS tapes, and sweaters--which didn't sell so well in the triple digit heat) were displayed and sold with zest today!
In an effort to PURGE & downsize before our move we partnered with my in-laws and threw a "two family garage sale," & haggled with all the bargain shoppers! Some of them come with a fire to get a deal! And I had no problem playing Monty Hall. I was happy with the cash we took home and the stuff we unloaded. So humbling to think of our American culture of consumerism. I am such a product of it.
After we packed up the leftovers for Goodwill I met up with a bunch of Godly men from our community who were celebrating Frankie Markovich. In 6 short days he'll be saying I do.
I missed the hike and golf outing but made it for the best part. A time of encouragement and prayer. Frankie's brother made him wear an ultra-tight/small green t-shirt in which all the guys wrote truth and encouragements to him as a future husband. After spurring him on to love his wife we prayed for him. Now that's a good bachelor party in my opinion.
And OK, of course there was lots of MEAT, especially tri-tip steak, SCUM-a fast pool table style game, and of course "bathroom humor." I don't know what it is about men, but we like talk about about the noises and things that come out of our body! I laughed a little too hard, but hey-we did it all to the glory of God!
June's mix is a story of being called out for God, humbling ourselves to connect and be filled by him, going out, and celebrating. This season at PCC we start a discussion about STANDING from Daniel. Three questions. What do you stand on? Who do you stand with? What to you stand for? From start to finish listen for God's call in our lives and his empowerment to fulfill it! Tim Hughes' song, "God of justice" is prayer, a command, and an anthem for our generation. I can't listen to it without visuals of impoverished and enslaved children around the world popping into my head. We must do something.
Check out this song # 15 by TIM HUGHES GOD OF JUSTICE
God of Justice, Saviour to all Came to rescue the weak and the poor Chose to serve and not be served
Jesus, You have called us Freely we've received Now freely we will give
We must go live to feed the hungry Stand beside the broken We must go Stepping forward keep us from just singing Move us into action We must go
To act justly everyday Loving mercy in everyway Walking humbly before You God
You have shown us, what You require Freely we've received Now freely we will give
Fill us up and send us out Fill us up and send us out Fill us up and send us out Lord
What a (good) crazy long week. A week of 14 hour days (training week for the interns) ended with an ER visit and a 72 hour virus for Isella. We were so thankful when Friday afternoon she became our happy little girl again. It was so hard to see her cry and just have to "push" through it until the fever broke. I'm so glad it did. Now I can celebrate Father's day with out worries. So in honor of Father's day I have a dad refelction!
My daughter has been doing this thing for a while. It's the "Chase Me" game. She crawls as fast as she can around the coffee table (or into her bedroom), looking behind her to see if we'll chase her.
And of course, we (either Wendy or I) DO chase her. We say, "I'm gonna get you!" (Which is so funny because that seems like such a weird thing to say. "I'm gonna get you?" Isn't that a line from some B horror movie? Somehow it ended up being a playful game for kids.
Anyway..along the chase, we play Peek-a-boo, and duck behind doorways and tables saying, "I see you." She just giggles and loves it. She will often bend around corners and just scream gleefully!
I can't help but think of God while this exchange is going on. When I catch her I just hug, kiss, tickle, and tell her I love her over and over and over. (As I'm doing that I always sense God saying to me, "Tony, I LOVE YOU, I love YOU, I LOVE you, I LOVE you, I LOVE YOU, too!") Then she gets up and starts the whole thing over. Almost as if to say, "Will you keep chasing me?" And I always want to answer: YES! Isella, Papa loves you and always wants to be close to you!
Isn't that what we all want? We want to be wanted, we want to be chased...even when we are running away.
Our young adult small groups kicked off last night at Red Morton Park. The weather was perfect for people to mingle around, mangia (eat), and throw the football around. The plan was to gather everyone together and cast a vision for why are small groups are meeting at a park in the community. We have hopes of meeting new people playing soccer, relaxing on blankets, or cheering a softball game and inviting them to join us for dinner and have conversations that show we care about RWC!
We had a great turn out, but I had to leave early!
I got a call that Isella had a 104.3 Temp. ER here we come. One hospital wristlet--that she didn't quite understand. and two hours of waiting for a simple dose of motrin.
No ear infections, everything looks fine. Could just be a virus they say. Thankfully her temp went down to 101 while we were in the ER and we are now home. She was so sleepy.
We go back to check up tomorrow.
Interesting note: It was the same doctor who sent Wendy home from the ER when her appendix burst just later that night. HMMMM.....We pray.
I usually am not one to "slam the man," but dang. $75 for a fill up? Isn't that crazy? Seeing this number on the gas pump really made it real that we are in an economic crisis. Bums me out how many road trips won't happen because of gas prices.
But if we look on the bright side, it could encourage us to be more intentional to pass on gas through more carpooling, walking, and biking and GAS GIFT CARDS become more of a hot commodity around gift-giving times!
What started out a dream years ago has now been going strong three years. Mercy Cafe is a summer long, party --every Sunday afternoon and night. I love it. It's chocked full of music, food, chill time, new people, and activities from frisbee and bocce ball to volley ball. We have Market Fresh Comedy Team returning to do their improv again (7/27) as well as an end of summer dance party planned (what's the end of summer with out a dance party!). The team of people who are bringing to us are a dedicated bunch of young adults led by Jeff and Aftan. There are still numerous ways to get involved and help (email jeffandaftan@gmail.com). Every Sunday enjoy life music and burgers, which are always supplied, and mingle with people from all over Redwood City and all different ages. It's a family style potluck buffet type deal where you bring some food to share or throw some greenbacks in the donation tub! This is a real piece of community and BEING the church. Invite anyone and everyone you know. June 8-August 10th. This is what the writers of Hebrews was taking about when he/she said don't give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing. But meet together and encourage each other (Hebrews 10). We can't do this if we don't get out and get involved. I hope PCC and all of RWC will! Check out the link (and pass it on) for upcoming scheduled artists at www.peninsulacovenant.com/mercycafe. Isn't the logo cool? I've heard T-shirts are on the way. I'd wear one
PS. Our interns arrive this weekend, too. 12 of them.
I've been on a little vacation this Memorial Day weekend. Its really been good. Wendy was in a wedding, we hung out with some family and had time to relax. San Diego is really nice!I'd rate it my 2nd favorite U.S. place to vacation under Hawaii. Besides Redwood City this would also be a great place to live. The weather is always amazing,surfing, fun hang outs, good eats, and I've heard about great communities of God that are here.... but there is a "I'm too sexy" vibe in SD thats a little overwhelming.. Lots of skin showing if you know what mean. I guess it's to be expected in a beach town but I don't think I'd like that always in my vision or want to raise a daughter in it. We've got that enough everywhere else and its hard enough without a beach nearby. I wonder if people in Alaska have this issue? I know that we all have an out with any temptation, as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:13, so for some, maybe that out is not going to the same place (or living there) where a particular temptation exists. Food for thought.
Speaking of food.
San Diego even has a little Italy! Another reason to like it. I'm waiting for a pizza right now as I blog with my phone. I'm looking over all the people and praying for them to know how much God loves them!
Loved learning today from Dan Kimball. That guy speaks my language. He talked about our "church speak." We can't GO TO CHURCH. We ARE THE CHURCH. The church is NOT A PLACE. If we are not specific about this we are inadvertently teaching a wrong theology. Too many people think Church is just on Sunday--because too many Christians act like it is. We must be the church always--God's people called out to live His mission!
He (Kimball) laughed about teaching his kids to say, "On Sunday we go to the Church's building." That's what I want to do. I don't want to argue over semantics, but I think it is really important to take the extra 7 seconds and clarify what we mean, not just for ourselves, but for any one listening to us.
The kids nursery rhyme needs to be changed:
This is a building and this is a steeple, bust open the doors cause the CHURCH IS THE PEOPLE!
I'm convinced more and more that we need music to be a regular part of our life. God uses it for so much--to teach us, bring us peace, and help us communicate our need for him. And often God uses it in my life to communicate his love and plan for me. With a dance beat. hip hop, or acoustic guitar these songs have moved me. Take some time to listen to each song--as they were picked specifically and arranged in the order to tell a story. My soul has been touched and set free through May's mix which includes songs of some of the summer artists who will be leading at PCC on Sunday Night or at Mercy Cafe-including After the Chase, Travis Avila, Jerome Madigan, and Kokua.
I'm kinda procrastinating blogging about deeper things right now--I've been wanting to re-cap about truth and evangelism stuff (listen to messages here) and we just had a great night at the DEEP last night. So much on my mind, so much experiencing God and seeing him at work in people's lives that I want to process but I don't have the time that I want to dedicate to a meaty post quite yet--but I will get to it, plus I've been kinda sick for a bit here and there. I thought it was food poisoning, but maybe it is the flu! My stomach is what Wendy and I call, "Churny!"
So meanwhile, here's a fun pic from our movie theater down town.
On a date with my wife, we played in the lobby with the fun movie promos. How fun is this Hulk statue? I am a HUGE super hero fan and this summer has lots to satisfy my super power hunger! Iron Man, Hulk, and Batman--what in the world? It makes me want to run out and get underoos! This summer has a lot to offer for movies! And Narnia next week should be good, too.
I'm stoked to see something like this in theatres. Not to be combative, but to dialog.
I had no idea Ben Stein, this actor guy from Ferris Bueller's day off, was a spokesperson for Intelligent Design. I've heard radio broadcasts where scientists, teachers, and other professionals who have experienced negative reactions when bringing up creation. This is just crazy-thinking for me. If we live in such a tolerant society why is there so much intolerance for this conversation. I wonder what the response will be. I've already heard it being called "creation propaganda."
So I've been away this week and it's been a good getaway. I realized I was really busy and needed a serious disconnection from work, facebook, email--and even blogging!
Funny thing is I was in Sin City of all places..That's right.. Las Vegas, Baby!. Now, I wouldn't normally choose Vegas to take my family for a vacation..it's not the 1st location destination on my top ten places to visit. And before I had visited Vegas I probably would have rated it somewhere at the bottom of my top 500. Not just because of the gambling, or cause it's not all that child friendly, but because of the strip and how it can be shady in some places. But, I have to tell you, I liked Vegas (despite the scantly clad women --and men--all over billboards). But really there are some amazingly beautiful hotels and things to see in Sin City In fact, some of the architecture is a complete copy of Italian hot spots and I loved it! And when all was said and done I found myself praying a lot while in Vegas. I couldn't help but feel sad for the men and women (mostly Hispanic) working the streets with "call girl" fliers trying to make a living. My heart broke a lot in Vegas with all the sin and confusion I saw. I was reminded of a Tony Campolo story where he invited prostitutes up to his hotel room to eat dinner and pray or something like that. Wendy and I talked about that how cool that would be (for a minute) but didn't have the $200 to part with. We would just pray out loud as we walked the strip or drove in our car. That was cool.
But the reason we went to Las Vegas was because of Microsoft!
I was actually hired to be a presenter for Microsoft at a huge convention. (Companies often hire actors to be their demo/face people). (Microsoft's trade show was held at a convention called NAB (NATIONAL ASSOC OF BROADCASTERS) for Media & Entertainment companies.
It's huge and a lot of pressure with big wigs walking around. With guest speakers like Tim Robbins (listen to a portion of his speech here)
and the Lost (TV show) producers. I also feel slightly like Benedict Arnold working for Microsoft of all companies-being that I'm typing on a Macbook Pro while I hear my iPod playing in the background, and uh, I make my phone calls on a an iphone, too! But hey, I work on a PC at in my office and also have another PC at home so I can work the computer technology!
I would walk into this huge center much like Moscone where all the new media and technology is being introduced for the next year's TV and Filmmakers! And every fifteen minutes I would give a 15 minute presentation with lights and video blaring behind me. Here's me "acting" like I know what I'm talking about. (I have no idea about "rich media assets" but they're paying to act like I do!) This made me think a lot about how we can just "act" like a Christian. If you know all the right things to stay, sing all the songs, even "do" all the right things to look the part and to fool a lot of people, but you really don't internalize the truth or become changed by it.
That's what I thought about a lot as I did my presentation. No one knew that I wasn't a real Microsoft employee. If I stayed on script while on stage I was fine. I even felt pretty cool at time being associated with the likes of Bill Gates! :) (If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me if Bill was there, I'd be a millionaire. )But when someone asked me off stage about some website development software I couldn't tell them anything that could help them. There were so many parallels for the Christian life that I realized!
Ummm..Why is the guy in the pink shirt video taping? I hope this doesn't end up on Youtube. Funny enough if you search for NAB show on Youtube you'll find lots of stuff, even a tour of our booth..minus me!
Seriously I have no idea how God opens these types of opportunities for me, but he does. And I realize I don't just do these things to work/make money--and in this case not just to promote Microsoft.
But...God puts us in these places and sends us out to be used by him as a missionary! In my case I was a missionary disguised as an actor--playing a Microsoft presenter! So it was so cool that during the week I had numerous conversations about my real passion. It was so cool to connect with one of these techies and talk about God and actually pull out my Bible from my bag and read together. God is cool like that! While riding the monorail from the hotel (10 minutes) I would usually listen to my iphone/ipod and read the word. One morning a man leaned over to me and said, "Great book you're reading." So of course we got to talk. This broadcaster in New Zealand told me about his walk with God, his church back home, and his challenges in having God-honoring business ethics. So as we walked into the Convention Center we prayed together. It was so awesome. I love opportunities like that! It made me so excited for people working in the marketplace and how HUGE the mission field is to share our faith, care for people and wait for opportunities to pray and encourage people toward Jesus.
It was cool to talk with the people working in the Microsoft booth, too, in the limited time I had between each 15 minute presentation. (Every half hour from 9:30-5:30). Some were from Washington, some from the Bay Area, Canada, Italy, and other places in Europe! BTW I even saw fomer PCC'er Debby Sawczuk who was working with a So-Cal company! Crazy! (She took the pics of me on the stage).
And during the downtime we spent time as a family. Every night eating out, seeing the site, swimming, soaking in the hot tub and enjoying a very nice hotel!
It was great because it's all expenses paid by Microsoft! We couldn't afford to stay in this hotel on our own so we are so thankful to God for opening this opportunity! So while I did my tradeshow, Wendy was hanging at the hotel with trips planned to outlets, children's museums, and libraries.
When I would get off early we had the afternoon to nap and hang out! It was so great! Since we don't crack the slots we would just sit pool side and enjoy! 80-90 degrees all week!
Isella loved splashing up the pool! She's also been very cuddly lately!
I love being a dad!
We are imagining this summer with her at the PCC pool. She's already looking like such a little girl eating and drinking on her own and sitting in big chairs...wow...
One night for dinner we went to the very child friendly Rainforest Cafe--even though we have one in SF, it was fun to do!. Isella was pointing at everything. Good food and fun.
I love my wife and daughter!
And of course if you aren't addicted to gambling, they've got STARBUCKS in Vegas, too. There was two in our hotel, and one was open 24 hours.
Hey all. How cool is this? It's better than a mixed tape--except it costs you money. I just found this cool trick on itunes.
I made an iMix called "Tony's Move Me Mix April 2008" and it has been published in the iTunes Music store. http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewIMix?id=277640720
Basically I just "published" some songs that I had in an itunes playlist I had. Now you can go in and see and buy the songs yourself (and we can enjoy the same music and talk about how it relates to our life and is helping us to experience God)!
Seriously, if you are in the need of some new music or want to find some of the new tunes to sing in worship with...click above!
Matt's still alive, but I am paying him tribute. Not since college have I had to say goodbye to a good friend. Ten years ago I was having those deep conversations with my small group pals, roommates, and close college friends wanting those days to last forever. So here I am in a similar place. My good friend (in life and in ministry), Matt Nightingale, has been called away from PCC and Redwood City. (To read his words of God's calling click HERE). I wasn't surprised by this as I was able to walk through the journey/ search for God's will with him over the past year-- that ended with his realization that his time at PCC was complete. It's so cool for him, and for us all at PCC to see him walk out in faith and to challenge us now to seek God's will for our lives and church family. That doesn't mean I am not sad, though. Definitely grieving a little--ya know----1st--Denial, then anger, numb, now sad. He sang and led us in his last worship gathering at PCC Sunday. It's surreal. He's always just been "my friend" who happens to be a really amazing singer--both he and his wife Luanne, are seriously better than American Idol. And now that they are leaving, it's hitting how amazing these voices--and people really are. But they are also just ordinary, (in the good way), and Christ-like, suffering through the joys and pains of their own journey of becoming who God created them to be. I love that.
I verbalized this Sunday night at their (one of many) going away party-but you look at this couple and their four kids and think they are this perfect little, Beautiful, Christian Partridge Family. And when you get to know then you find out they are great works in progress just like the rest of us. I loved that about them. Before I was married, I spent so much time over at their house that they gave me a key. It was awesome. I could drop by anytime to grab a snack or say hi. I mooched many dinners off of them. It was there where I found much healing in my own journey. I realized I had fears that I would be incapable of having a good marriage or being a good husband and father. But by their example I say how truly all of us need to rely on God and live in his grace to make it one day at a time. Spending time at their dining room table prepared me for how crazy and fun marriage and parenting could be. I also gained in Matt a great friend. One who I loved hanging out with and sharing common interests. I joked that when Matt came to PCC in my 2nd year there I finally had someone who was like me in the art/creativity thing. Our staff is dominated by lots of sports fans (Football/basketball) which I am not--so we became close! So here I am reflecting in this blog!
On Sunday, we as a church said goodbye to them.
They received a well deserved standing ovation during our Sunday Night worship gathering. Such a cool experience. Just like someday when we receive our rewards in Heaven and all the saints (the great cloud of witnesses) and angels cheer us on.
We as the church prayed over them and their four kids, and after had a time to thank them verbally and present them with some gifts. The best one?--Matt got an iPhone! Something about PCC and Apple products! I love it.
(They were serenaded with Amazing Grace banjo style).
The parties actually continue. We had a staff going away lunch this week, and then a musical open night party at the Little Fox on Thursday April 10th, 7pm (21 and over) that all are invited to come.
The great thing is that Matt and I will get some one and one time before they move away at the end of the month. Pray for them. The crazy, Spirit-led part of the story is they don't have a place to go, yet. They are stepping out in faith just trusting that God will provide.
Here is his amazing hit, God of all Light (can be found on itunes, too).
The great thing is that just like college, I still have great friendships with some of my pals from ten years ago. I trust that Matt and I will continue on.
Not only can he belt out any tune from Broadway to Chris Tomlin, he dominated on the National Anthem for the 49ers. . This video is worth it just for the commentary of the filmers.
I was so proud of our crew that served tonight. Thankfully we had a large team as we were the only ones (besides two high school students) who showed up to serve. For the past four years usually there are two or three teams of wait staff, this year only us. But 14 people rose to the task. It was fun, good food, and exciting to pray throughout and seek opportunities to love on people! It's cool because the Menlo Kiwanis Club has invited us back every year--this is our 5th--and we see some of the same people working and eating. Some of very own PCC family were there, too! I thank God for providing us this opportunity to raise money.
