chalfant

Christmastime is Here…

2010-12-08T12:00:00.000-05:00

I LOVE CHRISTMAS! I like driving around looking at the cheesy lights and decorations. I love the music. I love the cookies and treats and pies. I love the generosity that seems to spring up. I love the trees and presents…I LOVE IT ALL!

It seems this year i’ve been thinking a bit more about the Sweet Lord Baby Jesus. It’s such an oxymoron that He was born this tender, sweet, innocent child to die such a gruesome death and be counted among thieves and murders (sinners).

It’s so easy for people to love the Baby Jesus and be so offended by the Crucified Christ and the Soon Coming King of Kings and Lord of Lords - you know, the One by whose name is the only way for anyone to enter Heaven.

Any nativity scene worth it’s weight is a brilliant picture of John 3:16 - For God so love the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him shall be saved. Jesus left the fellowship of His Father and the Holy Spirit, the glory of Heaven to come into a very humble stable to be born of a woman and live as we live. And not only to live as we live, but to die in our place and then to rise again. AMAZING!

What a gift that God gave!

New Blog

2010-04-21T14:28:00.000-05:00

i've moved over to http://chalfant.tumblr.com/

I Got a Feeling...

2010-03-05T10:54:00.000-05:00

i’m pretty happy with the results of American Idol on Thursday night. if you haven’t heard, John Park, Jermaine Sellers, Michelle Delamor & Haeley Vaughn were all sent home last night.

John had great promise early in the competition but just never brought it. Lack luster performance & bad song choices sealed the deal.

Jermaine is entertaining drama in a bow tie. this dude should be on a reality show, he’d fit right in. His singing was a bit overboard like his attitude and mouth.

Michelle has a pretty good voice but never really had a star moment. She also had some questionable song choices - waaaaay safe the first week and totally undersinging Creed this week. She’s more of the pop diva in a field of quirky singer-songwriters.

Haeley was just not ready for this competition. i didn’t think the judges should’ve put her in the top 24. She seems sweet as can be and has great potential but the singing just isn’t there yet. She’s only 16 so there’s plenty of time and i’m sure we’ll see more of her in the future.

Let’s do it all again next week. Next week is the final chance for the the Idols to make it into the final 12 - those who tour, sing on the cd and go to the big stage.

Did the voters get it right? thots? opinions?

Idol Thots 3Mar10 - Girls

2010-03-04T06:49:00.002-05:00

Let me just say this again was far better than last week’s performances.

Top:
Crystal Bowersox - so real, so good, so believable. Loved the gospel feel.
Katelyn Epperly - first off, I love this song but was scared it would be draggy. Nope, she delivered! Great voice & great emotion.

Pretty Good:
Lilly Scott - she has such an interesting voice. She reminds me of a less quirky Taylor Hicks - so into the music.
Katie Stevens - I like her singing older songs, they seem to suit her voice. She could dress & act a bit younger but the voice is great.
Siobhan Magnus - pretty bold to take on Aretha. That one note was worth all the little mistakes at the front.

Not Bad:
Paige Miles - sounded just like Kelly’s original to me. Great voice but forgettable.
Michelle Delamar - good voice but no power for the power ballad.
Lacey Brown - Kiss Me was a great song choice but she just doesn’t have that star power.
Didi Benami - I thot she did better than the judges gave her credit for. Very likeable & interesting voice.

Yikes:
Haeley Vaughn - great personality, cute, bubbly but waaaaay pitchy & she oversings.

I’m thinking Lacey, Didi, Paige & Michelle are in danger of going home. Haeley should be sent packing but will stay (I think I’m gonna be typing that for a while)

Your thots?

Idol Thots 3Mar10

2010-03-03T09:40:00.001-05:00

Last night's guy performances were far better than lasts week but still...these are the top 10 guys???

Top:
Michael Lynch - dude is the real deal. he's not trying too hard, he's just being himself and singing well.

Not Bad:
Alex Lambert - 200% better than last week. so much more relaxed and amazing tone!

Aaron Kelly - showed a lot more personality this week, but please don't use the falsetto again.

Not Quite:
Casey James - i wasn't blown away but i'm still a fan. not a bad guitar player.

Andrew Garcia - i'm a big Andrew fan, but he was trying a bit to had to show he can sing and was pitchy and awkward.

Lee Dewyze - saw a bit more promise last night, but just not whatever Simon sees in this guy.

Tim Urban - far better than last week but he just doesn't have that "it" or star factor. he doesn't make me want to hear him sing. Ellen summed it up great with the acting/singing thing.

Not Good:
Todrick Hall - good tone but trying to prove himself a bit too much. his attitude/ego are in the way as well.

Jermaine Sellers - again, waaaaay tooooooo much. wasn't digging the Pee Wee duds singing a serious social song - kinda weird.

John Park - this guy can sing, he just has no star power or umph. weird song choices and a bit too chill on them.

Danger! Danger!
I'm thinking Todrick, Jermaine & John are all in danger on Thursday. Tim isn't totally safe either.

BIG GOD Adventures

2010-03-03T09:24:00.001-05:00

When we moved to Australia a few years ago, we called it our Big God Adventure. It truly was a big God who called the Chalfant 5 out of comfy Ohio and around the world.

We truly saw a big God at work in providing & blessing & guiding us for 2 years overseas.

But I’m thinking I’m seeing a new side of our Big God now. We’ve been back for almost 5 years now and all my big dreams & plans have not really come to pass like I wanted them to. But I’m realizing that’s ok. It’s not about my dreams & plans - it’s about Jesus.

If it’s all up to me & my planning & desires, how big is God in that? But as I submit & humble myself before Him, He gets bigger as I subside - not really me but my selfishness. I must decrease so that He may increase.

It hasn’t been an easy journey, maybe the hardest season of my life, but I’m starting to understand it a bit.

It all comes down to Jesus.

Idol Thots - 25Feb2010

2010-02-25T09:00:00.002-05:00

YIKES! that show last night was painful! the music was mixed better with the voices but the voices and performances were not Top 24.

i'll break the guys up in groups again, the guys are in no particular order in each group. here we go.

Top:
"Big Mike" Lynche - voice, energy, great song, presence...he had it all, except why did he have that guitar?
Casey James - great job on the power ballad but ditch the constant smile - kinda weird.
Andrew Garcia - he has so much energy and creativity and he actually played his guitar. i'm liking this guy.

Not Bad:
Aaron Kelly - the Rascal Flatts song was perfect for him, he's just young and still learning. If he gets some confidence on that big stage, look out - the new Archeletta.
Joe Munoz - i'd never heard this guy. he wasn't bad, just not memorable

Not Bad but Not Good:
Tyler Grady - totally agree with the judges on the 70's schtick - use to add to who you are not define who you are. he wasn't bad on the song, just overdone on the Morrison/Plant thing.
John Park - tons of potential but really bad song choice. with all the runs and vibrato, it took me a while to realize he was singing in English
Jermaine Sellers - tons of talent that he tried to show off in one little song. chill it out

A Little Help Please:
Todrick Hall - what song was that? good stage presence, but pick a key for the chorus
Tim Urban - not a bad voice but Nerves! felt like he was singing at about 60% - no energy or follow thru
Lee Dewyze - haven't really heard him before. Not a bad voice but very pitchy
Alex Lambert - Tim Urban take 2. decent voice, but Nerves! no energy

i'm thinking Joe Munoz, Jermaine Sellers or possible John Park will be going home. Lee or Tim probably should be going home, but i think Simon's comment about Lee being the best and Tim's face will keep them in.

What do you think?

Idol Thots 24Feb2010

2010-02-24T10:02:00.000-05:00

We've finally begun! Since it's supposedly a girl's year, i was anxious to hear what the girls had to offer. There were a few i hadn't heard yet, so let the show begin...

Let me first say the mix was weird - the music was so soft, it was hard to get the true passion & umph of some of the songs. i think is made some of the softer performances seem more boring.

i'm going to put the performances into groups - my top, mid and not-so-good singers.

Top in no particular order:
Lilly Scott - she messes with me because her talking & singing voices are so different. Lilly has one of the most interesting and engaging voices. She is, as the judges say, believable.
Katelyn Epperly - One of the best performances of the night. Great voice, great control, she didn't just come out & sing but performed & felt it. i was surprised
Didi Benami - great song, great interpretation, interesting voice. a bit subdued but good.
Crystal Bowersox - great feel & vibe. she's a true musician & knows how to bring it. She's very real & i think the first Idol to play 2 instruments at the same time

Almost top:
Michelle Delamar - i don't think i'd heard her before. She has great voice, but gave a boring performance. It didn't seem much different from the Alicia Keys version.
Siobhan Magnus - i love this song, Wicked Game! i think she started lower than i can sing but really brought it out when she needed to. She just seems a bit awkward.

Middle:
Paige Miles - Paige is another one i'd never heard before. She has a pretty good voice but the performace was a bit karaoke. She made me nervous with switching the mic between hands after every line.
Ashley Rodriguez - She has a great voice, but this was boring & a bit shakey in the chorus. It seemed like she was playing it safe.
Katy Stevens - I like her and love the song, but this was so pitchy & safe.

Not quite bottom:
Janell Wheeler- She sang Heart the best she could, but it was no where near the original. It was a pretty bland, party singer performance - not bad, but not outstanding.
Lacey Brown - She has a great voice, but it was seriously wasted on this boring song. It was not a good performance.

Bottom:
Haeley Vaughn - Taylor at the Grammys - She sings so sloppy, sliding in & out of notes. She totally over sang the big notes. She has so much charm & presence but needs to mature A LOT! i don't think she ready for this, or we're ready for week after week of her!

So, i'm thinking Lacey will be going home Thursday. Haeley should be leaving, but i think Janell or Paige will be going.

Thoughts?

2010-02-23T15:02:00.001-05:00

hmmmm...watch Idol live & record Lost or rec Idol & watch Lost? Tuesdays are hard TV nights

Idol 9 starts tonight!

2010-01-12T12:08:00.001-05:00

i hate the audition shows. i'll just throw that out there to begin with. the stranger or worse the singer, the more air time they get - YIKES!!! some of these people don't need air time, some honesty and therapy would do them a lot better.

OK, that said, i'm looking forward to this season. No Paula, Ellen is on, Simon will be gone...what other changes can they throw at us? I'm hoping they limit the time for the 4 judges - get to your point and move on. we can all see what they are wearing, give them feedback on singing, stage presence, vocal technique...

i'm not sure how much i'll comment on these audition rounds, they are truly torture for me...

deeper

2009-12-02T14:07:00.003-05:00

there is so much in me, i feel like i could bust. so many songs waiting to come out, so much desire and hope for my wife & girls, so much more praise and worship, so many things i need to do. it's so frustrating to know there is so much more but not know quite how to work it all out or where or when or...

Anne Giminez from Rock Church stirred it all up last Sunday night. i was doing so good at keeping my head down and just serving and not really thinking about my "calling" but then she spoke on calling and i had to start thinking.

i know i'm called for music and worship, i'm just not seeing the full outworking of that right now. don't get me wrong, i'm happy to have the opportunity to serve and sing and play and lead. but there's a deeper groaning. something else i'm to be doing that i'm not.

so i wait. listening. serving. learning. trusting.

simplicity

2009-09-22T12:58:00.001-05:00

We saw an interesting play last weekend - The Boys Next Door. it was about 4 mentally challenged guys living together. the money line was by their counselor who checks in with them - "i change, the world changes, they don't change." everything was so simple, so basic for them.

i write that to create a huge opposite picture of how government works in recent times. Everything is an emergency and there is crisis upon crisis upon crisis. it's almost like the thinking is "if we hit them with everything at once with amps set on 11 we're bound to get some of it past them."

it's numbing and after a while i don't think we even recognize a true crisis. we're so jaded and caloused to a life where all news is "BREAKING" or tv is non-stop cliff-hangers or movies are a 2 hour blast of sound, adventure, explosions, stunts and action. How do we even sleep anymore?

Gary Skinner from Watoto Church in Uganda was at our church last weekend talking about the need for reaching out to HIV/AIDS orphans, child soldiers and the misplaced victims of a decades long war. there was no bright red banners or tears or cries for "the world will end." he is just an amazing man serving an Amazing God telling a story of need in a very needy part of the world. the simplicity of the presentation was more powerful than walls of sound and screams of need.

after the great & powerful wind, earthquake & fire there came a gentle whisper. are we too busy, too numb, too deaf to hear the still small voice that calls us to a simple faith? James 1:27 says: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

confession time

2009-09-01T13:21:00.001-05:00

OK, bit of brutal, heart-on-the-sleeve honesty here.

these have been 3 or 4 of the toughest years of my life yet God is still amazing and i'm truly in awe of Him.

We came back to the states after a couple of years of Bible college @ Hillsong with huge plans and dreams to take all this vision and faith and life and bloom wherever we planted. Wave Church is an amazing church with ties to Hillsong and is truly a world-changing church so we planted there.

But then life hit. Vision and faith and life are hard things to keep fresh without hard work and diligence. i have a tendency to get caught up in the day-to-day and you can't keep a Kingdom perspective easily when focusing on all the mundane daily details. don't get me wrong, those are important, but not as important.

i've heard that we are moving forward faith to faith. i thot that meant life was an incline - it was hard but you keep moving up and up to the next level. i'm finding my life is more like stairs with some that take some serious scaling to get up and others that go on for miles until the next one up comes. yes, i'm moving forward, but sometimes it's uphill in peanut butter.

my greatest fear is mediocrity and right now i feel like i'm fighting that big time. it's easy for me to see potential and greatness in all those around me - in creative, in my cell, my friends and family and especially Brook and the girls. i'm just not feeling it in me. and right now i'm fighting to trump my feelings with my faith. i AM more than a conquerer. i AM the head and not the tail. greater is He that IS in me than he that's in the world.

i'm thinking it's pride. i'm not where i think i should be and so it plays on me. i don't have the tight friends like i've had in the past and it plays on me. i'm not contributing as much as i would love to and it plays on me. i, i , i, me, me, me...you'd think i'd be waaaaaay past all this by now, but i guess another trip around the desert is needed to work this out.

ok, time to read and renew my mind and think on things above...

Can 2010 come fast enough?

2009-07-21T11:09:00.002-05:00

i heard interesting commentary yesterday about ditching any congress-person who voted yes for raising taxes to get us out of this slump; anyone who voted for the TARP; anyone who voted for the Cap and Tax bill; anyone who votes for this Health Care monster...i think i'm liking that philosophy.

These are all things that we were/are told HAVE to be passed yesterday or the consequences will be so harmful to America and the world...yet reports are coming in now that we might not be as bad off if they hadn't passed the "stimulus" pkg...hmmmm.

i'm tired of lifelong politicians who only want power and prestige and don't really care about what their constituents want or what is best for the country. we're starting to see polls that say 54-56% of Americans don't think government should run healthcare. but government seems laser-locked on passing some sort of legislation for it.

can we get back to a hands-off approach for a while? let Americans do what we do. when given freedom to choose, we do pretty well. let us choose what kind of cars we want, what we want to do for schooling our kids, what we want to do with our money, what doctor we want to go to, who we want to govern us. between the media and government, most of those choices are being made for us.

Patrick Henry said “The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government - lest it come to dominate our lives and interests.”

Summertime

2009-07-09T12:24:00.002-05:00

i love summer. i love the heat and humidity and storms and sunshine and mowing and grilling and yardwork.

summer is a strange time in the church. it's a time of vacations and long daylight hours which tend to cut down on attendance. but it's also a time of camps and conferences which add to the spiritual level.

my church, Wave Church, always has a summer offensive where we set a goal for number of decisions for Christ in the summer months. when other churches back off, we go forward - i love that!!

we also have our Wave Conference Aug 5-7th. do what you can to be here. it's going to be Amazing! Ed Young, Jentezen Franklin, Joel Houston, Steve Kelly...you don't want to miss it.

i love summer!!

Idol Thots 2Ap09

2009-04-02T04:45:00.000-05:00

i really truly thought Anoop would be gone before Megan. I thought all those who voted for Taylor Hicks to be the American Idol would keep Megan on. She pretty much knew that it was her night to go and seemed almost relieved. Her attitude had gotten a bit weird and almost flippant over the last few weeks. I really like the uniqueness of her voice and think there is a place for her in biz, she just needs some good management to guide and direct her.

The results show are starting to really disturb me. The hokey sing-along, the latest hot performer, the faux drama of the "judge's save" is all a bit to ratings driven for me. i don't mind the "older" idols coming back to sing, but they could make this thing a 15 minute show if they really wanted to.

Next week is Songs from Your Birth Year - so pretty much 80's night. i love the 80's.

Idol Thots 1Ap09

2009-04-01T05:44:00.001-05:00

I'm officially calling last night's American Idol "Hair Night" after all the different hair styles. It was Top Downloads night and it doesn't get anymore wide open than that.

OK, let's do a little recap:
Anoop sang Usher's "Caught Up." If it wasn't for his funky grimace, i was totally bored. It looked like he was smelling something funky all thru the song. it was a little flat and the song itself didn't go anywhere. the judges called it safe, an utter mess and a wannabe.

Megan started the Hair Night portion with some funky braids going all over her head and chose Bob Marley/Lauren Hill's "Turn Your Lights Down Low." Wow, another boring performance. she just stood center stage at the mic and until the last tiny bit when she started adding some runs, it was BORING! i'm still a Megan fan, but she really needs to pick it up if she gets the chance.

Danny finally officially started the show with Rascal Flatts "What Hurts the Most." Danny had been in Wisconsin for a few days for his grandfather's funeral, but i appreciate the fact that didn't come up in his pre-performance interview or tape. He pretty much nailed the song. Great voice, great energy, great passion. a bit flat in a few places, but overall very strong.

Allison continued the Hair Night with some kind of wild teasing and retro bow thing and a brighter shade of fushia than normal. She choose "Don't Speak" by No Doubt and even pulled out her "axe" for the beginning of the song. She went a bit flat and got kinda shouty, but still has "chops." she took serious heat for her outfit but the judges didn't say much about her performances

Scott kept Hair Night alive with a rockin 80's mullet and black collarless leather jacket. He got to perform one of his idol's - Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are." OK...top downloads?? His piano playing was great, vocal was better than he has been lately. i thot the song was terribly slow and dragging but the judges loved it and heaped praise on him.

Matt took on The Fray's "You Found Me" and tried way too hard. The guy is talented but that trip to the bottom three last week really got to him and it was hard to watch him try so hard. the judges called it "forced", "sound alike" and "put on." he also rocked some poofier hair to participate in Hair Night.

Lil followed with the big diva "I Surrender" by Celine Dion. She kept the Hair Night going with a little flat bob. Flat and trying too hard. the judges called it "safe", "wedding" and "old fashioned."

And Hair Night continued with a great Eddie Munster do sported by Adam Lambert. He did a fun version of Wild Cherry's "Play that Funky Music." it was fun but a bit shouty. Paula compared him to Mick Jagger and Steven Tyler. i wish he wouldn't go right to the rock scream thing but it was a great arrangement of a classic party song.

Kris finished up the night with a bang! He did a very current version of "Ain't no Sunshine When She's Gone" that i loved. His voice was so on - every note was solid and he even played piano this week. Simon called it "confident, clever and cool."

Top perfomances: Kris, Adam and Danny
Bottom: Anoop, Megan, Matt or possibly Lil

Thots?

Idol Thots 31Mar09

2009-03-31T11:07:00.000-05:00

Idol should be VERY interesting tonight. According to unnamed sources, tonights theme is Top Downloads - can it get anymore wide-open than that? Just a quick glance at iTunes Top Songs gives you Taylor Swift, Birdman, Jamie Foxx, Britney Spears, Paramore, Beyonce, Kanye, Katy Perry, LIl Wayne, Rascal Flatts...wow!

So, it's pretty much picking the perfect song and nailing it. no pressure. Hopefully we'll hear some new arrangements and takes on songs we know.

I'd love for Megan to come out and do something very instrumentally sparse. last week, her rehersal tape with Smokey with just a piano was far better than her real performance with the full band.

will Lil go diva belter? will Danny go Nickleback? will Kris go totally accoustic? will Allison go Pink? will Matt go back to Coldplay? will Scott stay AC? will Anoop go back to the lip-sync in the mirror performance with some Ne-Yo? you know Adam's going to do something totally different - Katy Perry?

This will be a week where song choice and "artistry" will be more important than ever. Just make sure you hit that high A.

thots?

Idol Thots 27Mar09

2009-03-27T05:39:00.000-05:00

Different kind of results show last night. not only did we get the extremely painful group sing, we got Ruben, Smokey/Joss Stone AND Stevie! WOW!

i was a little creeped out by Joss's dancing and Smokey's wide-open eyes. i decided i'd like to hear Smokey and Tony Bennett sing together, as long as Tony doesn't dance and squirm around like Joss did.

Matt in the bottom three???? he looked so freaked and flustered by this. i thot for sure he would be the first sent back to the couch, but no, Scott was safe.

But in the end, i think Michael knew he was going. And...he seemed okay with it. he really enjoyed his journey video at the end and that was cool. he just seems so grounded and so thankful for what he attained - GREAT attitude!

so...i'm still thinking Scott, Annop, Lil, Megan and Matt will be the next to go. that would leave Kris, Allison, Danny and Adam to duke it out.

thots?

Idol Thots 26Mar09

2009-03-26T05:09:00.001-05:00

Motown night one day later. i was pleasantly surprised by this show. They chose some songs that were not your norms and i liked that.

Let's get started. i'll go in order from worst to first from what i thought of the performances last night.

Michael got the pre-performance interview, some kind-yet-generic words from Smokey Robinson and then came out and turned in a very bland performance. Smokey tried to get him to feel the song and lay it out there yet there he was smiling as he warbled "please stay" to his leaving girl. i figured out that he makes me nervous when he sings. he just doesn't seem comfortable and you never know where he's going vocally.

Megan sang For Once in My Life and i'm glad it was only once. she did so much better with just the piano in front of Smokey. she should've stripped the song down and just had a piano and sparse lighting and given it that smokey jazz bar treatment. instead, it was a fast, furious, shouty "train wreck" as Randy called it. i'm a Megan fan, but not that performance.

Scott stayed at the piano and stayed with the all AC AM radio hits. He started You Can't Hurry Love waaay slow and then sped up. he had the bg vocals there at the piano with him and they blew him away when they sang with him. they made his voice sound very thin. Simon called it "cheap" - i agree.

Lil went old-school with Heatwave. she looked the part and sang it ok and kept it pretty much a redo of the original. the judges hounded her for just running through the song and not giving herself room for any "moments" and that was so true. i expected a big Diana Ross song with plenty of room to be the diva, but...no.

i almost fell asleep as Anoop sang Oooh Baby Baby. i thought Anoop might fall asleep as well. he looked bored and didn't have a great connection. he wasn't bad vocally, just not spot on.

Matt started the show off with a bang with Let's Get it On. his vocal wasn't maybe as good as Anoop but he connected with the song and it made all the difference. he is a solid performer with good energy and keeps getting better and better. the judges used words like "comfortable", "solid" and "tasteful."

Kris did an amazing job with How Sweet It Is. i was scared he would make it all James Taylor, but he did an amazing Kris version with some very cool phrasing that was fun, playful and strong. i'm like this guy more and more.

Danny rocked Get Ready with some great vocals but freakish dancing. good phrasing, great energy...he really has a gift of getting the crowd involved and turning up the energy level.

Allison continues to blow me away. She OWNED Pappa Was a Rolling Stone. She totally carries a song and doesn't get carried by it. Randy summed it up - "Blazing hot!"

Adam totally surprised me and created a great moment. He kept Tracks of My Tears so tender and sweet. did i just say those words? no makeup, no nail polish, suit, accoustic band - WOW! he showed so much control in his vocal and performance. i was amazed.

Bottom three: Michael, Megan and Scott but Lil is not totally safe.

thots?

Idol Thots 19March09

2009-03-19T04:39:00.000-05:00

Alexis? really? are you serious? i admit, Tuesday's "Jolene" wasn't her strongest performance, but she was waaaaay better than Michael and Scott. i don't think she was top 3 or 4, but top 10 should've been a no brainer.

this season seems a lot more produced to me than past seasons. the judges especially seem overly fake. all that whispering and cat-fighting and "will they save?" stuff is un-needed in my book. it really feels un-reality. the judges are just play-acting a prewritten role and trying to manufacture drama for ratings.

i think i would find it a lot more interesting if the contestants sang and the judges offered TRUE feedback - good and bad - and let America decide what to do with the contestant's performance and the judge's feedback. now i don't know if Simon is telling the truth or just trying to sway the show for ratings.

next week, Motown! i was trying to think if anyone would struggle but don't really think so. Megan and Scott came to mind, but there are enough varied styles and performers that i'm sure there is something for everyone. Megan could totally rock one of those old girlgroup songs. Scott will make anything sound like AM radio and of course, it doesn't matter what the theme is for Adam...

Thots?

Idol Thots 18Mar09

2009-03-18T05:59:00.001-05:00

Wow. here i was expecting a lot of cheese and trainwrecks and it turned out to be a pretty good show.

Let me get this out of the way to start with - judges, please talk to the contestants! this bickering isn't getting it for me. wasting time, nothing helpful - stop it. and contestants, limit the talk back. the judges are professionals who are offering you pointers and tips - listen. it only makes you look bad when you argue back.

ok, on with the show.

i figured Michael would do well with a country theme and he didn't let me down. not a lot of variety or places to go with the melody with that song, but he got all the 10 million words in. he did seem a bit over-focused on getting them all in. all in all a good but not overly-memorable performance.

Allison rocks! when you close your eyes, she does not sound 16 at all. she also is so comfortable on the stage and is getting better in the interviews. Solid performance.

i wasn't so sure when Kris started how this was going to go, but he nailed a pure, tender performance. there wasn't anything really grabbing but he did get big praise from Simon.

Lil let me down. i'm a Lil fan, but this was pretty average. she was pitchy and didn't do anything different with the song. she seemed uncomfortable and i was bored.

Adam. i had to go run an errand and missed this one. but when i got home, both my younger daughters said just one word - "Weird" - and it was. i watched it back and thought his vocals were on but the whole Cash rocks the Casbah in a steamy moan-fest is going to be pretty polarizing for average America. love it or hate it, it was memorable.

Scott was boring. his vocals were cracking a bit throughout. the arrangement was pretty good, but it was pretty much plain toast and lukewarm milk to me.

i'm an Alexis fan, but this wasn't her best performance. it didn't quite get to the emotional level it could have. "Jolene" is a song about losing her man, but i don't think she quite got there. she sang it well but...

Danny soared on "Jesus Take the Wheel" and except for Simon ragging on his jacket, got great praise from the judges. He has a great take on dynamics, taking us on a ride with the song - something a lot of the other performers didn't do tonight.

Anoop really surprised me. i was hoping for some more cheese. i wanted him to do a song like Michael did and go over-the-top on the "dancing" but no, he kept it really controlled and safe on a great song choice.

Megan gets the trooper of the night award. Flu couldn't keep her down, she nailed an amazing performance that was so old retro, it was cool.

Matt's song was good, but nothing that captured you. his vocals seems a bit unsure. the song flowed well and built and went somewhere, but it wasn't on par with some of the others.

Top perfromances:Allison, Danny, Anoop, Megan

Bottom three: Scott, Lil and Alexis...maybe Adam depending on the number of people he didn't offend.

thots? opinions?

Idol Thots 17Mar

2009-03-17T04:55:00.001-05:00

Grand Ole Opry Night - yee haw!

i hope this doesn't turn in to sappy ballad night. on one hand it has boring written all over it. please, Adam and Allison, do something upbeat, fun, rowdy...you get my meaning. Maybe Anoop will do some of his "sweet" moves if he goes upbeat. maybe.

i'm thinking Michael is going to be in his element tonight. he keeps saying he's not country, but you know he's going to soar on a nice ballad. i'm also thinking Kris will have a great night with guitar in hand. Adam should be ok as long as he keeps the rock screams out. Lil and Danny should be ok as well.

i think they can all sing country, it will all come down to song choice and performance. i'm hoping some go out on a limb and just have fun - i'm thinking Chekize's Beatles bluegrass from last year - i loved that. Come on Idols, give us fun. give us borderline hokey. just don't put us to sleep.

i don't know enough about the Grand Ole Opry song list to guess songs, but if you have ideas, please share.

Idol Thots 12Mar09

2009-03-12T04:36:00.001-05:00

ok morbid admission: during the Idol's opening song, i was watching Scott and how the other Idols helped him move around the stage and not really hearing the song. They did a great job keeping things easy for him and having the others help him.

So...Jasmine and Jorge...i agree but seriously thought Anoop would go instead of Jasmine tonight. 3 or 4 more and then we're down to a serious competition.

Judges Save - not quite the ring of Jesus Saves. So if the judges don't agree with who is voted out, they can bring them back for another week. But only once. Game changer - possibly? How far could Michael Johns have gone? or Daughtry? or Constantine? We'll see how this works out.

One thing that is going to make me snicker every week is the goodbye song - Motley Crue's Home Sweet Home sung by Carrie Underwood. Maybe it's just me, but i get mental pics of the tour of old, pickled rockers and Ms. Underwood.

Did America get it right? What about the judges save? What about the buh-bye song?

thots?

Idol Thots 11Mar09

2009-03-11T05:25:00.000-05:00

Wow - Michael Jackson night wasn't as bad as i thought it was going to be. Anoop didn't let me down, though.

Top performers last night (in order of appearance):
Lil Rounds - what a great way to start off the show. she put a little blusey spin on The Way You Make Me Feel and i thot she rocked it. The judges gave her good remarks (except for her outfit)

Danny Gokey - OK, when Seacrest said he was singing PYT, i truly thot OH NO! But he nailed it - great energy, got the crowd into it, great vocal. The only complaint was the dancing. Paula even said she could see him in the finals.

Allison Aliheta - there is no way she sounded 16 years old. she nailed a nice slow rock version of Give In to Me. She seemed comfortable and had a great performance. She really won the judges over even more.

Megan Corkrey - funky little version of Rockin' Robin. She didn't really seem to bring the full Megan in until the last third of the song, but it was great.

Adam Lambert - it was like Axl Rose sings MJ's Black or White, only really well. Adam received MAJOR props and i think it was Kara who said he should be recording now. The dude can sing but the intro video was a bit cold with his family, not the warm fuzzies like the others.

Middlers (in order of strength):
Matt Giraud - he brings a strong, intense vocal to whatever he sings and was solid behind the piano.

Alexis Grace - Dirty Diana was a song she could've totally oversang, but i thot she showed great restraint and screamed when she needed and pulled it way back at just the right times. It was a bit odd to see Tinker Bell singing that song, though.

Kris Allen - The big notes were a bit under and he got a little carried away with some of the free form stuff. He can play the guitar, but not sure what i thot about him playing on Remember the Time.

Jasmine Murray - very nice, safe version of I'll Be There. it was good and bad all at the same time. pretty good vocal but a bit under for parts of the song. showed poise and good stage presence but was a bit robotic.

Bottom of the Bunch (in order of strength):
Jorge Nunez - very schmoozy version of Never Can Say Goodbye (nonono) which got a lot of "didn't feel it", "wrong song" feed back. for the most emotional contestant, not very emotional.

Michael Sarver - Safe, boring, pitchy version of You're Not Alone. The judges heaped praise but i must have heard a different song than they did.

Scott MacIntyre - it was Chicago does MJ - keep those AM radio hits coming... i think it was Kara who said "it was not real dynamic" and Simon added "safe and old fashioned" - i totally agree.

Anoop Desai - Just Beat It. it was sooooo kaoroke and a few of the judges repeated that word. It was like someone more lightweight than Michael was trying to act like Michael being tough. It was pretty much what i expected and i loved it.

They are sending TWO home tonight and i'm thinking...Anoop and Jorge. But any of the bottom 5 are possibilities.

thots?

correction on the prevous post

2009-03-10T12:42:00.003-05:00

Scott should do a very schmaltzy, AM radio version of The Girl is Mine.

Ebony and Ivory was done by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder.

Sorry.

Idol Thots 10Mar09

2009-03-10T07:41:00.000-05:00

Michael Jackson night tonight on Idol tonight - oh the possibilities...

Will Scott play and sing Ebony and Ivory?
Will Anoop sing and dance to Bad, Beat It or Gotta be Startin' Something? please!!
What in the world will Megan sing?
Will Kris bring back Man in the Mirror?
Will Adam sing Dirty Diana?
Will anyone resurect David Cook's brilliant emo Billy Jean?
Will there be new takes or will they just try to copy the original? Can you copy the original and be successful?

I'm thinking there will be a lot of older songs and Jackson 5 stuff. The more recent songs are all extremely produced and well known and would be a bear to try to pull off live unless you did a Chris Cornell/David Cook and changed them up.

what do you think they will sing?

Presidential Ping Pong

2009-03-09T14:48:00.002-05:00

Has anyone else noted the overuse of the teleprompter by President Obama? He uses the thing for EVERYTHING!. i've worked the prompter before, read off of one and have an understanding about public speaking. i feel like i have a bit of background with this.

can he not pause in the middle of the room? can they not put a big screen in the back of the room for him to read off of? whenever he makes a speech, announces a new cabinet member or makes any kind of remarks, it looks like he's watching ping pong from center table. back and forth and back and forth. you always have a side shot of his face and now news photographers are complaining that the paddles block others who may be standing with him or the president himself from photo opportunities.

i know he has to get the words just right, that every word he says is parsed and vetted, but can he not put a few words to memory as he switches from side-to-side and talk to the people sitting in the middle of the room? The whole purpose of teleprompters is to keep the speaker from looking down and up and down and up, but you still need to refocus you eyes and look at those you are speaking to from time to time for maximum effectiveness.

the past few times the president has spoken, it's been shorter statements - intros to new cabinet nominees, open the healthcare forum, a short statement on stem cell research. these don't seem to warrant teleprompter, it seems like some notecards would do. for a president touted as a great orator, i see him more as a great reader.

Idol Thots 6March

2009-03-06T06:50:00.000-05:00

Finally...we're done with Tati-DRAMA. i wanted to skip over her performance and comments, but the girls wanted to watch. i think it's like having to look at a car wreck.

Jasmine, Matt and Megan - i'm excited with the three wildcards the judges picked. I've liked all of these guys from the beginning. the more i hear Jasmine, the more i can tell she's 17. she's going to be shown up really quick in the upcoming weeks. she's one who sound good when you hear just her, but if she sings after Lil or Danny or Adam, she's going to sound like a teenage singer.

Anoop - no way. last night he looked like a guy singing Bobby Brown in front of a mirrow. it was so karaoke. "I got to get my shirt flick and my wink in" "Did i just sing a curse word? HeeHeeHee"

i'm thinking the first four of five to go will be (in no particular order):
Anoop, Jorge, Jasmine, Michael and Scott. Adam could go quick if middle America is disgusted with his web pics and over-the-top perfomances. The dude can sing, but not sure how the rest of the country will react to his lifestyle.

I'm amazed at the amount of worship leaders/team members in the top 13 - Danny and Michael are worship leaders at their churches. Kris is on his worship team. Matt played drums at his church in Michigan but not sure where he stands now. Lil thanked God in not just a passing way. i'm trying to find out any other info on Christians and Idol.

thots? opinions?

Idol Thots 5March

2009-03-05T07:56:00.001-05:00

What a crazy Idol this is turning out to be. I think this is the year of the sympathy vote. Some of these people can really sing and have a chance, but others...?

Danny Gokey lost his wife, Lil Rounds and Alexis Grace have small kids, Michael Sarver is working family man, Scott MacIntyre is legally blind, Jorge Nunez has an accent and cried, Allison Iraheta is 16...

Danny, Lil, Alexis and Allison can really sing. Michael, Scott and Jorge are good but not American Idol finalists. It seems like ratings totally won over pure talent. i give you Tatiana as a wildcard as my prime example.

They skipped right over some brilliant talent for the wildcards. Felicia, Kristen, Ju'Not and maybe even Nathaniel should've got another shot.

I'm excited for Jasmine, Rickey, Megan, Matt and Jesse. I'm scared the judges will continue the ratings-above-all and put Tatiana in - YIKES!!

Tonight's show should be interesting.

Thots? opinions?

Idol Thots 4March

2009-03-04T08:29:00.005-05:00

Cheese, cheese and more cheese.

Could Tuesday night's Idol show have been anymore cheesier? Norm Gentle should've been on this show.

Von, Nathaniel, Kristen, Alex and Scott all cheesed it up pretty good. Von and Nathaniel aren't bad singers, they are just so much musical theater. Nathaniel tackling Meat Loaf was also pretty funny to me. No comparison to the range and power in the original.

Arianna, Kendall and Taylor just totally fell short. They had no energy or umph in their safe performances.

Lil, Felicia, Jorge and Ju'Not all blew me away. Lil Rounds should have a recording contract right now - she is amazing! Felicia did a great job and coming out and not totally overdoing it to prove herself. Jorge did ok, but added a great passion which was lacking in some of the other performances. Ju'Not was brilliant with his take on Delilah. This is one of my daughter's favorite songs so i've heard it about a billion times. Ju'Not's take was so controlled and amazing.

My picks to go to Top 12:
Lil - for sure
Jorge or Ju'Not - Scott could pick up the sympathy vote
Felicia - but you can't rule out country vote Kendall or memorable Nathaniel

thoughts?

Idol Thots 27Feb

2009-02-27T12:32:00.000-05:00

the final 12 are turning into quite a group. and the wildcard will be very interesting.

Allison is young and a bit shy in interviews, but that girl can sing. i'm thinking she's going to be one who goes far in the competition.

Kris, pretty good, has had some good performances, nothing "stand out" though which could hurt.

Adam is going to be the love/hate guy of this season. kinda like Taylor Hicks. people will love him or loathe him. (heh heh, i got to use the word "loathe")

in watching the preview for the final group next week, i realized i had never really seen 3 or 4 of those people. time to do a little research...

Idol Thots 26Feb

2009-02-26T06:55:00.003-05:00

Man, was last night's Idol dry and safe or what? With the exception of 2, maybe 3, it seemed like everyone played it really safe.

Adam Lambert and Nick Mitchell/Norman Gentle both came out with a bang and were totally out there. Adam did a fresh take on the Rolling Stones' classic "Satisfaction" and he's going to be one of those guys who people either love or hate. He has an amazing range and is quite a performer, but is a bit over-the-top at time. i see him going thru easily tonight.

The other standout performer was Nick Mitchell performing as his alter-ego Norman Gentle. This guy totally cracks me up. Shiny shirt, red sweatbands, huge glasses...and singing Dream Girls...how could he go wrong? i really like this guy, but this is the wrong stage for his style. The scary thing is he is memorable and could grab votes and go through.

Mishavonna Henson and Allison Iraheta were the two girls who seemed a step ahead of the others. They didn't come out and really wow, but were solid and showed some great voices.

Megan Corkey has a shot of going though because of the quirkiness factor. She has a great throw-back voice and style and the judges had nothing but praise for her.

The other guys were pretty much safe and unmemorable. Kris Allen could possible get a big bump from the teenage girl vote. He's a pretty good singer, just not breakout. Kai Kalama and Matt Breitzke were way too safe...and boring.

I had high hopes for Matt Giraud, Jessie Langseth and Jasmine Murray. Jessie did ok making "Bette Davis Eyes" a little soulful and bluesey. Matt struggled with a terrible song choice. "Viva la Viva" is not a singing competition song. Jasmine was flat and had no energy and seemed scared and unsure as the first one out of the box.

One other mention - Jeanine Vailes had seen no screen time and came out and totally oversang Maroon 5 to try to make up for it.

Going Through Tonight: Adam for the guys, Mishavonna/Allison/Megan are a toss up for the girls. Nick/Norm (chuckle, chuckle) or possibly Kris could pick up the third spot if one of the girls doesn't.

Thots??

just die

2009-02-19T15:32:00.001-05:00

Psalm 116:12-16
How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.
I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.
Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

i read this the other night and was totally caught off guard by that last verse. i was into the lifting the cup of salvation and fulfilling my vows and the Lord's goodness. and then...God likes it when His people die???

and then...the thinking began. "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." "He must increase, but I must decrease."

i heard it said that dead men don't worry about being embarrassed or hurt. they don't seek their own gain. uh, yeah, they're dead.

this is probably the hardest lesson that i'm still learning. i just wish i could learn it and move on, but for some reason i keep coming around this mountain. my silly pride or sense of entitlement or personal fulfillment rise up and i have to beat them back down. and it always happens just when i think i'm getting somewhere.

just die. no matter what i'm doing or who i'm serving or where i'm at, just die. God sees and considers it something of value. just die. i'm building equity in Heaven.

Why do we do anything?

2009-02-09T14:53:00.001-05:00

I came across some sermon notes from Robert Fergusson of Hillsong Church from a talk he gave after he had journeyed to Antarctica.

**Anything of worth:
1. takes time
2. costs a great deal
3. changes your life

12 motivators:
1. Why not?
2. Because it's there - discover, find out about something unknown
3. Follow the footsteps of a hero - live a life to be followed. Have a hero and be a hero
4. Believe in the poetry of exploration - Ps 84:5 - pilgramage
5. Meet the fourth man - fiery furnace - chance for an adventure
6. Fulfill a dream
7. Rite of passage - new vantage point
8. Don't live a vicarious life - your experience not a second hand experience
9. Ambition
10. Soul food - not for your body or spirit but for your will, emotions and thinking
11. Missions - promote the Gospel
12. Be an achiever - run with the big dogs

Waiting

2009-02-04T13:32:00.003-05:00

The best is yet to come.

i love this statement. it promises better days ahead. no matter how bad or how good life is today, it will be even better.

my question is "when?"

everytime i think i'm getting "it" i seem to go around the mountain again for another life lesson. i've heard "God must be preparing you for something really big to work on you so much." maybe i'm just more messed up than i thought.

i know God can work in a moment. i'm clinging to that. Moses raised his staff and the Red Sea parted in a moment. Jesus blessed the 5 loaves and 2 fish in a moment and the disciples served 5,000. a leper was restored in a moment. disciples were called and followed in a moment.

i've had my share of moments. but it feels like i'm operating on a calendar now. week turns into week turns into month turns into year.

just be faithful. just serve. just die to self. it's a hard road to have been a significant contributor and then be shuffled to the back.

just be faithful. just serve. just die to self.

Yearning for the Wild

2008-12-16T15:42:00.002-05:00

I've been thinking about how tame i am. i work in a cool office. live in a great, comfortable house. have heat and ac in house, car and work.

But something in me wants a fight. i want to run with scissors or climb up on the roof or drive in a blinding snowstorm or play tackle football in a mudpit. i need something untamed.

I've read Wild at Heart and know that as a man, i need a battle. I'm reading a book on the wild Jesus from the book of Mark. but there's something deeper than just reading books.

there is a true craving to roar like a man. Any woman reading this probably won't understand, hopefully the men will. there is something primal that needs to come out. Playing music helps to release that. As a bass player/singer, there is definitely something wild about that rumble of the bass and a good yell or scream.

I think i need some man-time. some camping and hiking, growing a neck beard, finding and cooking your food over a flame. anyone have an empty cabin i could hide away for a few days in? anyone up for some gut-level living? strength, passion, honesty - that's what i'm looking for.

Not quite getting it

2008-11-05T12:32:00.002-05:00

Ok, Obama's election i get. But re-electing and increasing a Democrat congress makes no sense to me when they had such a low approval rating makes no sense to me.

I'm sitting a waiting to see how left this new government goes. Obama is the most liberal senator in the senate. He moved waaaaay to the middle for the election, but you know he's going back to the left. and now with Pelosi and Reid with more power, the country will be tipping west.

It's all a wait and see.

So God

2008-10-18T08:51:00.003-05:00

After 3 years of renting, we're finally getting a house. We close this week and will be moving next weekend. Yessssss.

We moved to Virginia Beach right at the peak of the housing bubble. We had lived in Ohio for 13 years and owned 3 houses there, not all at the same time, but sold when we moved to Australia for 2 years. So we came to a more expensive area and to extreme sticker shock.

we knew we would rent for a while, until we learned the area. we just weren't ready for even the rental prices and didn't think we'd rent for 3 years. we were blessed to find a townhouse with a garage for storage and a great landlord who was responsive and even took care of stuff we didn't ask about.

But here we are. Packing, cleaning, sorting, Goodwilling. it's always good to go thru your stuff, we just have a lot more with 5 of us in the house.

i'll post more about the move and settling in later. I'm just amazed at God's timing. at the height of a freaky market and housing stuff, He works out an amazing deal on a great house in a great neighborhood. So God.

Tired of it

2008-10-10T11:44:00.002-05:00

I just need to blow off a little steam. You see, i work in news. i'm surrounded by monitors carrying all the news of the day - Fox/CNN/MSNBC/Business/Headlines - and also feeds from the wires and email alerts...I'm in it.

I'm really sickened by the wall-to-wall coverage of the financial meltdown. I'm pretty sure it's a nasty situation that started back in the 70's with some dodgy legislation on guaranteeing mortgages. Greenspan didn't help things with some of his controls and then the whole Fannie/Freddie housing bubble thing has really brought this thing to a head. I'm pretty conservative and don't like a lot of government intervention and really don't appreciate some of the measures the government has implemented to bail failing enterprises out.

But i think the media - old and new - have contributed just as much as anything else. When people only see how bad things are, they are going to panic and pull their money and support from pretty much everything that might hurt them. This defense mechanism, while good for protection, is bad for the economy and then makes it tank even more.

I want to, in some way, convince people to take a step back and breathe. If you have money invested, let it ride. Unless you need that money in the next few years, stocks are for the long term. I would suggest also getting rid of personal debt. As the economy turns, companies will probably want the money owed them and i figure it's always better not to owe.

Panic and emotional responses don't really ever solve anything. Cool heads, patience and a trust that God is in control is the way to move forward. God's people are PROMISED that He will never leave us or forget about us - NEVER!! God doesn't need Wall Street or George Bush to bless and care for His people.

More to come...

A Bitter Pill

2008-10-03T08:41:00.002-05:00

Have you thought all was on track and you knew exactly what was happening was what was supposed to happen? Have you ever had it all figured out? Yeah, me too. But now...

I keep thinking of that verse that says that God's ways are not our ways. I'm very thankful for that point because i know my ways often mess things up. I'm just trying to figure out God's ways now. I thought i was figuring out my calling and what i was meant to do, but what i thought is just not happening and i don't see in the natural what is going on.

I'm confident in the fact that it only takes a moment for God to move. It's my job to love, worship and serve Him gladly. I realize i'm not the center of the universe and my calling is VERY secondary to God's fame and people coming to know Him.

It's a hard pill for my flesh to swallow, but one my spirit needs. Die to self, serve humbly, love God, love others.

Lil' Nor'Easter

2008-09-25T15:05:00.002-05:00

Just a little bit of wind and rain here. Pretty nasty when mixed together. You know it's working towards bad when you see a report on the Weather Channel from your city. Some reporter guy was down on the beach showing the rough waters and beach errosion. all the surfers are happy. I guess it's all about perspective.

Eye opening

2008-09-10T10:19:00.002-05:00

I was made aware last night that it was coming up on a year since my last blog entry. I have been keeping stuff on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter if any of you are interested. But i promise to try to keep this up as well.

What a season! Elections, storms, school starting, new season at church, life-coaching. Oh my. These are exciting times to live and God is moving despite what some leaders would have us think. These are time of increase and harvest and blessing! Who knows what circumstances we may face tomorrow or later today? I do know that my God will supply all my needs according to His riches in glory. He is also able to make all grace abound to us, so that in all things at all times, having all that we need, we will abound in every good work.

Be blessed!

Catching Up

2007-09-28T16:18:00.000-05:00

Wow! What a summer! A quick trip to Indiana over July 4th - a week is just not enough time to see family and friends. Cheerleading, church camp, work. Church has been pretty much amazing. Over the summer, we've had Jentezen Franklin, Chris Hill, Bishop David Evans, Paul Andrew, Michael Jr and of course Steve & Sharon Kelly, Carl Lentz and Greg Phelps.

My goal for the next couple of weeks is to get some of our recent cell studies online. We've looked at expansion and what it means to be a priest in our home. We're starting tonight on a study on 9 principles for guaranteed success in your life and marriage.

Be blessed and check back again soon.

Bring It!

2007-06-18T11:48:00.000-05:00

We started services in our "Ministry Center" for the next 16 or so months and it is amazing in there. It's a much smaller place, but it was electric with excitement. It was hot and loud and bright, but the atmosphere was awesome. You should come visit Wave Church if you're in VA Beach. We have a ton of services to choose from.

Pastor Steve shared from Psalm 100 on Sunday night and i wanted to touch on a few points he made.

the whole Psalm is about coming to church. in verse 4, it says to come with thanksgiving and praise. that is a choice we each have to make every time we come to church. what attitude are we coming with? one other thing - we come with the praise and thanksgiving, we don't rely on the worship team and pastor or the service itself to fill us full of thanks and praise - WE BRING IT!

verse 1 says to make a joyful noise to the Lord. some versions say to shout with joy. Steve asked the question, "What noise are you making?" is it a joyful noise? grumbling or complaing is a noise. whining and woe-is-me are noises. worship and praise and thanks and joy and hope are all noises also. what noise do you make?

Just a couple of thots on what we make of church. WE are the church. we meet at a place with other members, but we are the church and we have the opportunity every time we meet to bring something and build it up by adding to an atmosphere of expectation and joy or tearing it down by complaining, self-focus and back-biting.

Bring It!!

Back to the Church Thing

2007-06-14T08:28:00.000-05:00

I think i need to go back to church culture.

I was thinking the other day about how i've changed over the last 5 or so years and i think my view of church has been a big change. i've always loved the church and known it's the bride of Christ, the body of Christ, God's ambassadors to the world...

But there are words that pop up in my thinking and my speech when i think about the church that didn't really pop up before. Words like Expectation, Culture, Atmosphere, Potential, Hope, Local Church, Global Church, This House are a part of me now. My church and christian "DNA" have changed.

i'm so excited to think about church. i'm excited about my church, but also local churches around the world. As we talk with friends and hear what God is doing in Indiana, Ohio, London, Sydney, Norway, California, West Virginia, and i'm sure all points in between, i get so fired up to be called for "such a time as this."

i pray that as you watch this clip, you get excited about The Church - your local church and the global church - the Bride of Christ!

A Good Old Fashioned Ponder

2007-05-21T13:22:00.000-05:00

Man, i have just been overwhelmed by stuff to make me think lately. What i'm reading, what i'm hearing in church, talks with my lovely wife, chats with friends - it just doesn't let up. Let me go over some stuff in a little more detail.

I just read Ted Dekker's latest novel called "Skin". I love Ted's stuff! He's so readable and makes some great points along the way. This book really made me think about who do i think i am and who do others see me as. It really brought out the point of real and imagined and what is reality.

After i finished Ted, I started on a book by Dr Henry Cloud called "The Nine things You Must do to Succeed in Life and Relationships". with a title like that, i HAD to read it. it has been increadibly thought provoking - do i do these principles? how can i apply them to my life and current situations. I'm on #4 - i only read about a half a chapter at a time and then chew on it for a while. Great stuff that i don't want to give away, you NEED to read it!

We just had author and speaker John Bevere here at Wave Church. First off, let me say, i was very bummed that Gez didn't make the trip with him - next time, man, or else we're all meeting in the Springs! Anyway, he spoke out of his latest book about the church needing to be more eternally minded, our calling, our rewards, heaven. Probably the two most significant things to me were:
1. What we do with the Cross determines WHERE we spend eternity. How we live out our calling determines HOW we'll spend eternity.
2. As Christians, we won't be judged by what we did, but did we live out our calling.
I need to go through my notes and verses again and dig more out.

Basically, i've really been thinking about my calling and why God has me here for this time in history. Obviously there is a very beautiful Brook and three young ladies who sit at my dinner table every night. But what is the plan God has for me? What are the good works that i should walk in? I'm getting it, i just really have to be focused and not bogged down by the good on the way to the great.

what about you? are you fulfilling God's plan for you life? are you entangled by the stuff that trips us so easily?

A Little Harsh

2007-04-16T07:16:00.000-05:00

Ok, i may have been a bit harsh with my last blog. As i thought about it more i'd like to post an update.

Culture. i think that's what it comes down to - Culture. Churches operate in the culture that they have carved out for themselves. if the culture is one of the people of the congregation control every minute detail and decision, that's the way the church will operate. If the atmosphere is one of support and vision - there you go.

Changing culture is one of the most difficult things in the world to do. it's a slow but sadly needed process in some churches.

Not all churches need the same culture and it would be a sad and boring world if all churches were the same. I'm just wanting the church to be all it can be! we all have different styles and likes and takes but the church is the vehicle God chose to impact the world. it's not a social club or a conscience soother, it's the main tool that can change the world.

Let's be who we're called to be. God has saved us and empowered us and filled us with His vision and gifts and talents to fulfill that vision. Let's roll!

The Good and Bad of Easter

2007-04-13T10:33:00.000-05:00

I LOVE holidays! i like the family getting together. i like the significance of why we celebrate. i like the fact that people who don't normally go to church tend to go on holidays.

Easter is an amazing holiday - the resurection of Jesus Christ! we've all seen babies being born, or at least know a couple who were, but a resurection - alive again after being dead. I don't know anyone personally that has done that (other than Jesus). This day alone should be one day churches seek out and go after those who aren't saved. (My hope would be all days are days that churches seek to get people saved, but...)

the church we go to had over 100 salvations this past Sunday - I LOVE it! one guy said the pastor couldn't keep up with the hands being raised. the church we were visiting had 10-20 people give their hearts to Jesus over the weekend. again, VERY cool!

but one thing i saw broke my heart. i was watching an Easter service online and the pastor had a prayer for salvation and i couldn't tell how many raised their hands. At the end of the service, he said they had tried to connect with new salvations in a couple of different ways that weekend and "the didn't really work out." that right there gave me a little alert. then he asked for those who said the prayer to come down to the front to meet him AS EVERYONE ELSE WAS LEAVING. That broke my heart.

Churches try to make "getting right with God" some sort of therapy thing or something that you-could-do-if-you-really-wanted-but-it's-ok-if-you-don't-because-we-don't-want-to-offend-you-or-make-you-uncomfortable-so-we-really-won't-commit-to-anything.

To have people who just made the MOST IMPORTANT decision of their life fight a mass of people going the opposite way is kinda crazy. It does nothing to help the culture of the church to say that salvation is something we thrown in at the very end and all the motion of the room is going towards the back while the new christians are supposed to move to the front.

Every service i've been in the last 3 and a half years at Hillsong and Wave have had an altar call no matter what the message was on or what happened in the service and all but maybe 2 have had at least 1 person, normally multiple people, respond and get saved.

it doesn't seem that hard. i guess i'm just not getting American, seeker-friendly mentality. This is the antidote to the greatest disease on earth - sin. How can we pick and choose when we offer it or make it so non-commital that people aren't sure what happened.

I'm really stirred and convicted of my personal example of this and am making a committment to live what i preach. Please come with me - the world is counting on us.

FINALLY!!

2007-02-05T09:32:00.000-05:00

Hooray for the Colts! After years of just missing and heartbreak, they put it all together. It wasn't pretty, but it's a Super Bowl victory.

Time to go deep. I want to tie together two things that i love - football and God.

The Colts season is really a great picture of a Christian life. They started strong, winning their first nine games. But the problem was they played just better than the compitition in some of those games. They beat weaker teams by only a few points. Then the losses came and after starting strong they finished 12-4. Good, but no where near what they could've done.

They got back to basics, made the main thing the main thing again and rocked through the playoffs. Then the capper was winning the big game.

It's so easy in Christiandom, especially here in the States, to just "play to the competition." We are just good enough or go to church enough to stay one step ahead of problems or the devil himself. We do enough to keep us saved, but there's no tapping into the true power of the cross.

We (i) need to get back to the main thing - seeking Jesus and living as close to Him as possible and craving, depending, feeding on the power of God alive in us. We don't all face being down 18 points in a championship game against our arch-rivals, but we face health, financial, relational, work, family, emotional obstacles sometimes daily. We really have to keep our cool - know that "greater is He that is in me" and that "nothing is impossible for God" and just keep at our game plan.

I know i'm probably over-spiritualizing the Colts season, but i think the lesson is solid. If you have the Spirit of God dwelling in you, you can't just get by. We are "more than conquerers through Christ Jesus" who lives in us. We win!

Think about that as you watch the fantastic parade as the Colts get back to Indy.

A Chalfant5 Update

2006-11-12T21:41:00.000-05:00

Get your head in the game

2006-09-05T13:02:00.000-05:00

I'm thinking that Brook and i have a different perspective on American Christianity since we lived out of it for a couple of years. We were pretty amazed when we first got back a year ago at the self-focus and small thinking. I thought i was being too critical and sensitive, so i chilled for a while. But i can't chill any longer. No punches pulled on this one.

At a large prayer meeting recently, the guy praying asked for those struggling financially to stand for prayer. It was a large portion of the crowd. Then he asked for those with health issues to stand. The lady in front of us muttered "Well that'll be pretty much everyone" as she stood for prayer.

I don't deny that there are occasional money and health issues - the Bible has many. But it seems we have a lifestyle of not quite having enough. There's a sickness, poverty mentality that is so enveloping American Christianity. I'm talking about those who just dwell there and wear their need as some kind of badge - "My needs and problems are worse than yours..."

There is a simple solution, one that is almost too easy. Get outside of yourself. I know in my life he times i've dealt with the most junk are those times i get self-absorbed and then it just sucks me in. Naval gazing, self-absorbtion, self pity, it's all a pit. Once you start down that road of self, it's a quick downhill slide. Pray, bring your need to God and then serve something or someone outside of yourself.

Sorry if i sound mean and uncaring. There is need and sickness and issues surrounding us. It just strikes me that health, provision, blessing and soundness come when we put ourselves second or third and serve someone else.

I'm not talking about earning something by works, but by proving our love and that Jesus is Lord in all situations by putting Him first and loving others like we love ourselves.

Pray, love, give, serve.

Whoa!

2006-07-18T14:06:00.000-05:00

My new job at CBNnews.com is all about news. It's cool that i'm surrounded by news and current events all day long, but weird that i'm right in the middle of it all day long. It's amazing to see the bias of some agencies and the restraint of others. It's part of my job to monitor top stories from around the web and the news channels.

One of the most amazing displays of restraint is that of the nation of Israel. I'm amazed at how they are so cool under fire and how they are going about taking care of Hezbollah and others who seek their demise. If they wanted to, they could totally wipe out Hezbollah and Hamas but with incredible numbers of civilian casualties. They are doing it the right way by surgically taking out the terrorist infrastructure.

I'm also amazed at what a difference a Christian perspective puts on the news. Things are still bad and circumstances are still rising all around, but when you can look at things with a hope and a sense that nothing is a surprise to God, it makes all the difference. Our God is still in control and has everything under control. Wild fires, tropical storms, terrorism, war, stem cell debate ... all are still under the jurisdiction of the One who created it all and holds us in His hand.

First Post

2006-07-15T22:22:00.000-05:00

Well, we've finally entered the current century. Somebody the other day pulled out an old Family Feud game and said it was from last century. I guess we won't get into records and 8 tracks.

Brook and i have some stuff brewing around in our heads, so stay tuned. We're finally getting into a groove back in the States and this area and life in general, so we'll be doing some brain dumps soon.

Blessings,
c