A while ago we played the “Newlywed Game” at my church. It was a pretty simple and clean version and one of the questions was this: “Wives, if your husband could have any car in the world, what would it be?” My jaw dropped at the responses. Out of 6, only one said anything exotic or pricey. I think two of the responses were for a new Chevy Mini-Van. Seriously? A Mini-Van? Now, don’t get me wrong, I think there’s value in having dreams that are realistic and I don’t condone coveting what others have….but what I’m really getting at is dreaming, I mean REALLY dreaming. If you’re biggest ambition is just to survive life…wow… what’s the point!? DREAM BIG! If you never seek, if you never ask, if you never chase after something, you’re surely never going to have it. (And obviously I’m not talking about cars here, I’m really talking about life!)

We’re closing on a house this week. It’s in an area 30 minutes away, closer to Cincinnati. People keep asking why we’re moving and what I want to tell them is that I just don’t want to live my whole life here and never experience what could be out there waiting for me.

DREAMS are out there and I HAVE to go chase them.

And by the way, if I could have any car in the world, it would be a Aston Martin DB9. “It is so choice, if you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up” -Ferris Bueller

Just glanced at some “drafts” on the blog, in other words things I began to post, but never did. Some of the writings probably aren’t ready for prime time yet, but I thought this one was decent and still rings true to where I am today. I wrote it about 10 months ago, around September 2008.

At about this time last year I was really, really dreading what was inevitably coming in just one short month; our job with Radio City. The year prior we had a really bad experience and just never really clicked with any of the cast members and had pretty much said, “this is the last year” and we’re only in it for the money. Well…things changed and last year we ended out having 2 incredible months with a cast and crew filled with people that we really loved. So, now with only a month to go until we depart I find myself ‘singing a different tune’. I can’t wait to get there..

Last year as the show was winding down and we were about to head home I pulled out my journal and Jen and I composed a short list of things we wanted to remember about the year. I was afraid that we would go home and forget about the experience and the people that we had grown to love and I didn’t want that. I wanted to take the experience and use it to grow and mature. So, here is the list of things we wrote down:

1. There are always friends at Radio City

2. Winchester [and the surrounding community] doesn’t know it all.

3. It is a big world.

4. Talk to people, ask questions.

5. Non-Christians aren’t “evil”

6. Take Risks!

7. Be POSITIVE! Support each other, cheer each other on!

8. Find someone to learn from & train someone else to take your place

9. Do things just for the experience

10. If you need something, don’t be afraid to ask.

Late night inspiration brought about these 12 things that “I love”. Well, I don’t love them like I love God or my wife, but love as in I really like them. Aside from that, they’re all pretty much based on life experiences, so it’s really just insight into the simple things that make life just that much sweeter.

1. I love the power of the internet- how limitless knowledge is at my fingertips. I hate that it entices me so much that I burn countless hours staring at nothing.

2. I love the quietness of my town when I go outside late at night/early in the morning….sometimes it’s the closest I can get to pure silence

3. I love looking up to the stars above and being reminded of how small I am.

4. I love the heart that Jen has for animals, the innocent, and the underdog.

5. I love that she screams one minute at a bug, yet the next insist that it not be harmed

6. I love her new found joy of cooking and experimentation. whether the food is good or bad, the experience is always worth it.

7. I love the freedom i have with a few close friends to be unguarded. to truly speak from my heart with no fear of what they might think.

8. I love art. how it moves me and makes me feel emotions, even if it is sometimes painful.

9. I love getting phone calls from long time friends, especially those that have drifted away geographically. I cringe at the phone calls from relatives and acquaintances in which I know are only calling because they need a favor

10. I love the potential of the unknown future- dreaming about what might be and how fulfilling everything could become – yet I am fearful of not knowing the details of how exactly it’s going to happen

11. I like to plan things out and know what’s going to happen ahead of time, but I love it when things don’t go as planned and end in an unexpected adventure.

12. [I just experienced this one for the first time today] I love going into a good produce section and breathing in all of the smells and flavors and just thinking about how all of them are separate, incredible gifts of flavor and beauty.

For the past 4-5 months I’ve been leading worship at “The Gathering” [20's thing at my church]. Not a role I’m unfamiliar with, but not one that I’ve actually lead consistently before. Like anything, it’s a change that has really ended out changing me. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what makes a good or bad song, what the true meaning is, and why we sing at all to begin with.

The one thing I’ve realized through this process is that there is nothing I have to give to God that he doesn’t already have. When you think about giving a gift to a loved one, you’ll likely find a list of things they want or need…or maybe you’ll find something that you just think fits their personality. When it comes to God, there isn’t exactly a place to go for that gift. Which is where Psalm 116:12 comes in…it says this [from the Message]:

What can I give back to God
for the blessings He’s poured out on me?

You may be familiar with that passage, since Bono of U2 has been using it as a prelude to “Where the Streets Have No Name” in concert. The counter part to that passage I found in a song that we sang tonight at The Gathering called “I Will Not Forget You”. Here are the words of the chorus:

A grateful heart I give, A thankful prayer I pray,
A wild dance I dance before you
A loud song I sing, A huge bell I ring,
A life of praise I live before You

So, in that song is the answer- Get crazy with what you got. I know the church shutters at the word “dance”, but man, I just love the idea of truly dancing before God. Not for men to see, not for men to judge, but for the one that gives you breath, for the one that gives you a song, for the one that gives you rhythm.

Sing it, dance it, shout it, live it.

That’s what we can give back to God for the blessings he’s poured out on us.