I think I've just spent any birthday money that comes my way...
How cool is this?
Monday, November 30, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Are you chasing YOUR passion?
Monday, November 23, 2009
What would you do if you could do what you really wanted?
For Bryan Coley, 38, the time he spent in his 20s felt like a checklist of accomplishments. There was college, getting a job, advancing in that job, finding a spouse and buying a house. When he reached 30, someone asked him, “If you won the lottery, what would you do?”
He answered, “I’d open up a theater company.” His friend’s response? “Why aren’t you doing that now?”
It was a question that changed his life.
read the rest at: Relevant Magazine.
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I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Am I chasing MY passion? I am blessed that ministry, vocation and job are rolled into my job title of Pastor of Worship, Creativity and Intergalactic Superhero I get to do pretty much everything I love and dabble in new areas that pique my interest as well. Still, I think about the question a lot and reflect on how I am doing at it. Money IS always an object. I have to pay the bills and can't pack up everyone to roam the country on a photography quest. However, If I were truly living my passion out I think things would be different.
If everything I'm doing is infused with passion then my life, loves and goals would be more fearless. I wouldn't paralyzed by wondering if the end result would be good enough before attempting something. Time would be spent wisely and people would be connected throughout that expenditure.
Part of my personal calling is to help others find ways to use their unique gifts and callings in a meaningful way to serve God. In other words, My job is to connect people with their passions and put feet to those things for the kingdom. As I move into 2010, I want to fire up that part of my personal ministry/passion so that it glows brightly. I want people to fall in love with God through the beauty, grace and mystery that he is and then find personal connection to that discovery so that they can use their gifts and passions to chase after him.
In order for that to happen, I have to be connected in the same way to God. I have to connect daily to the weight of His sacrifice, the true glory of how beautiful He is and what a privilege He's bestowed to allow me to do the things He made me to do. My personal goal and theme for the coming year is "fearless living." I don't want to crest age 40 and regret how I've spent my time. I don’t want to wish I’d invested more time into the lives of my family and friends that really are the most important part of what I love about living on this planet.
And so, my prayer is this: “God, show me throughout this day where You’re needed and send me. Help me see others the way that You do. Equip me with everything I need in Your strength and may the best things in others to come forward because of Your presence in my life. May I lead people to You so that You can illuminate their grand purpose as a part of Your plan. My job is to be Your promoter on this planet and help every action in my life to achieve that purpose.”
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
bbaltimorebrown@gmail.com has shared: 100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know
| How many of these words do you know? | |
| 100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know Source: askstudent.com | |
Friday, November 20, 2009
Scenes at the Holiday Inn
We're leading worship at a youth leaders retreat over at the new holiday Inn across from the sports complex. This is the room across the hall.
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B. Baltimore Brown
Sent via BlackBerry
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Creative Redemption
I think it's neat to find people who notice things. Really, that's the main thing about being an artist: noticing things.
This project is an exercise in observation. The artist noticed lots of abandoned newspaper machines and decided to make them into something cool. I'll bet some advertiser will get a hold of this and try to make money with the idea.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Things that get me fired up - Who owns color?
via sixrevisions.com
When I say: "Starbucks® green" or "COKE® red" or "GAP® blue" what enters your mind? If you're like most people on this planet, you most likely visualize a specific color. More and more brands are using colors as their most important identifiers. This article from sixrevisions.com explores the idea of companies associating a specific color with their brands and how some are even buying the rights to specific colors so that other cannot use them within similar industry niches. For example T-Mobile OWNS the color magenta. That's right, they LEGALLY OWN the color Magenta. Read the article for yourself if you find this unbelievable but that's not what our discussion here is about. When I hear things like this there is a sadness and anger that comes over me. After all, who can OWN color and light but the creator of the visible light spectrum (wavelengths of light) that our eyes can detect?
Most of us are familiar with the beginning when God spoke light into existence in Genesis 1:3. James 1:17 says that "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." As a part of His creation, color and light are gifts to us. We could take this a step further and talk about the human eye and how it remains the most complex mechanical object on the planet that scientists still don't completely understand. There's not nearly enough time here to talk about how amazing the eye is. The same God made that too. So when I hear about companies and advertisers making a "land-grab" for colors it lights me up! There is this rebellious thing in me (that I believe God put there) that gets a angry and wants to fight back. Who can OWN something that has never been in their possession to begin with?
As I think about the audacity of this idea I think it's ultimately an example of pride. "Pride is inordinate esteem of oneself. It is inordinate because it is contrary to the truth. It is the will to be considered better than we really are. We express pride by taking personal credit for gifts or possessions actually received from God, by glorying in our achievements as if they were not primarily the result of God’s grace, or by minimizing our defects or claiming qualities we do not actually possess." So why is this sort of pride a big deal? It's in direct opposition to Christ’s highest command, Deuteronomy 6:5, (also Matthew 22:37) that we love God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength. Pride rejects this idea and takes credit or claims the work of God as our own.
So like all inspiration, this thing is somehow reflected back at me. When others praise the work of God through me how do I deal with that? Am I taking credit for things that God has done? Am I walking humbly with God and making every effort to bring Him the glory as His promoter on this planet? I keep a little toy donkey on my desk. I think he's pretty neat looking but that's not why he's there. For me, this little guy is a reminder of not only what I truly am and my true nature (I'll let you figure that one out) It gives me hope that just like the story of Balaam in Numbers 22 that God can use even me, despite my shortcomings. My sole purpose in this life is to do all I can to point God out, especially when others may (sometimes dangerously) have their attention elsewhere. The only way I will be effective in this is if I remember my place and always keep my focus on Him.
So with that I've decided to start painting again and will begin with a series of paintings of mobile phones in magenta...
Sunday, November 15, 2009
from worship this weekend - Blessing and Honor by Aaron Keyes
A lot of folks asked about the song we sang in worship this weekend that uses the Hebrew names for God and meanings. the song is called "Blessing and Honor". It's from the album "Not Guilty Anymore" by Aaron Keyes. This guy is the real deal and has a heart
lead people, not just songs
. Every song on this album is great and I highly recommend it as we will be singing more songs from it.If you would like to purchase music, listen online or learn more about Aaron's ministry go here:
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
J-Sal bringing the funk
Another classic broadcast dating back to February 2006.
brought to you once again by Sarah Schu
If memories were money....
How very rich I'd be today. Props to Sarah Schu for giving this to me WAY back.
More goodness on the way...
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Walking on Sunshine!
Hey! All right now...
Olivia at the kitchen table with her greeting card.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Bad day? Try an Anonymous Hugging Wall
4 Comments »After the famous and touching “Free Hugs” Campaign, here is another similar project that was “created” by Keetra Dean Dixon for Social Facilitation and Mood Elevation. Even though this may seem a little spooky at first, once you get used to the idea these hugging walls are not really that bad. Maybe this way some people could really get over their hugging phobias. The unusual wall may also turn out to be a really cool implemented idea for an outdoor decor or a creative improvisation for a party outside. Keetra Dean Dixon has a few more interesting projects on her site. One of these designs is “The pleading blanket” which comes with printed “imploring” words.
via freshome.com
Then again, maybe I need to build my own...
Basement/Pipe problem update with delicious photos
Many of you have heard about the plumbing issue with the kitchen sink(s) in our new home. They narrowed the problem to an outgoing pipe in the basement that collapsed. So they cut a section into the sheetrock to find the cleanout and started jackhammering to find the problem. Below you'll see what they found. They removed a 7 foot section of pipe and needless to say it smells delightful. the good news is they got the problem fixed in a day and they're actually preparing to pour the cement to repair the hole as I type this. Now we just need to figure out how to re-install the carpet and fix the hole in the sheet rock and things should be even better than normal.
Monday, November 09, 2009
Babies are found to cry in their mother tongue
This story was sent to you by: William Brown This is really cool. So many more questions and wonderings... --------------------
Babies are found to cry in their mother tongue -------------------- Just days after birth, German and French infants' wails mimicked the patterns of their native languages. Researchers believe they started to pick up on the melodies in the third trimester. By Karen Kaplan November 7 2009 They may not be old enough to talk, but babies less than a week old know how to cry in their native language. The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-baby-cry7-2009nov07,0,3709302.story Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
Babies are found to cry in their mother tongue -------------------- Just days after birth, German and French infants' wails mimicked the patterns of their native languages. Researchers believe they started to pick up on the melodies in the third trimester. By Karen Kaplan November 7 2009 They may not be old enough to talk, but babies less than a week old know how to cry in their native language. The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-baby-cry7-2009nov07,0,3709302.story Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com
This is a vortex of time that you will be sucked into, never to return. My stomach hurts from laughing.
One way to ensure that the whole family gets to the church on time.
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Friday, November 06, 2009
Pure Friday Awesomeness
I've been working my rear off over the past 3 weeks so last night I decided to take a break. I began to visit some of my old web links and rediscovered a treasure trove of awesomeness that I just had to share with my friends.
EXAMPLES OF AWESOMENESS
All of these come from this:
Thursday, November 05, 2009
One of the most creative webtoys I've seen in a while
Interactive Kung-Fu remixer.http://www.skop.com/brucelee/index.htm
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Loves me some Shatner
This amazing video celebrating everyone's favorite captain (next to this guy, of course)
Was shamelessly stolen from this wealth of goodness:
I have lots of Shatner goodie around. I'll see what I can dig up to share. More serious and thought-provoking posts coming soon but the silliness is all that is helping me hold onto my sanity during this current season of the work crazies.
Monday, November 02, 2009
Monster Leaf pile of doom!
We love our new home and the mature trees that are all over our neighbor hood. However, the tree really dump a lot of leaves and not all at once but throughout the Fall.
Our house happens to be at the crossroads of a solar nexus and intergalactic travel portal. The resulting vortex seems to draw leaves from all known parts of Liberty into out yard.
Today we made the best of it (in the front yard at least) and attempted to create the largest leaf pile ever.
This one is to demonstrate scale and volume.
The kids attacked the pile.
And threw them
up in the air...
and all around the yard.
like wild banshees.
Then they ran around the pile and dove in.
Olivia liked burying herself in them.
but it took a while working with only one hand.
Isabelle is in there somewhere.
Hi kids.
Lily disappeared for a while but eventually resurfaced.
And Isabelle surprise the kids a few times.
Lily was quite proud of the leaf pile.
Where did my shoe go?
The leaves are still here if anyone wants to come and play this week.
