Time To Think…

It’s been over a month since my last post…

Vacation…work…laziness…life in general kind of crept in there and prevented me from posting.

I’ve also been processing a lot of thoughts that I’ve wanted to blog about but haven’t quite found the way to express them. Thoughts on work, passion and vision, the most painful relationship I’ve ever had, etc.

But I wanted to dive back in here if for no other reason that to let you know I haven’t vanished. In fact, there is a fairly substantial pool of posts that I want to get up in the next couple weeks . I just need to finish thinking through them all.

What I can tell you at this point, as I sit in my favorite coffee shop staring out at the fiery autumn leaves is that life is good, God is great and the journey has just begun.

I feel poised for an exciting season of life. What that will look like I don’t know yet, but I’m excited for it to unfold and I’m looking forward to sharing it with you.

If You Need A Photographer

I’ve been getting ready for a wedding this weekend and it’s come to my attention that I know a lot of very talented photographers. So I thought I’d give a little link love.

If you’re looking for a photographer, start here.

Christy Pelland

Danielle Akin

Jeff Marsh

Joshua Mahar

Keren Fenton

One other great link for wedding design “stuff” is for Steven Moore Designs

Tame The White Tiger

I’ve posted White Gold before, but I was reminded of the disturbing brilliance of these videos the other day. Check out more at www.whitegoldiswhitegold.com

Who Are You Striving To Please?

I had a great conversation this morning with one of my mentors, Kevin Geer. Kevin is truly a brilliant man and I value his opinion more than most. He has that perfect balance of tact and honesty and the things he says are right on the money. Everyone needs a “Kevin Geer” in their life.

Well our conversation this morning ended up landing on the topic of pleasing people; something that I desperately strive to do.

“Hello, my name is David and I’m a people pleaser.”

I love success, I love working towards excellence and I love it when people are pleased with the work I have done.

If you are familiar with the “Five Love Languages” mine is words of affirmation, meaning that I feel good about myself when people pat me on the back and tell me “good job.”

As my conversation with Kevin progressed he essentially asked me the question “who are you striving to please?”

Who am I looking to pat me on the back and tell me that I have done well?

My wife?

My boss?

My family?

Friends perhaps?

God?

The answer ultimately to all of those questions is a resounding “YES!”

My problem lies in how I prioritize who I am aiming to please. All too often, I put them in a hierarchy similar to what I just listed with loved ones, co-workers and friends floating around the top and there at the bottom is God.

Now, I can easily say that I want to please God, I want to live my life for Him, I want to serve Him…but how often do I worry about what everyone else will think rather than what God thinks?

………….

……..

…

Too often.

I like words of affirmation. I like being encouraged. I like hearing that people respect me. That they value my work. It’s a lot easier to actually hear those words from family, co-workers and friends than God.

But I know that in the end, the most incredible words of affirmation will come if I move God to the top of the list.

It will feel so good to hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

Double Down

Leave it to KFC to think of meat buns.

Sloppy Wet Kiss

I’ve been listening to the song How He Loves Us all day. Powerful song. It’s one of those songs where you start air drumming so hard that you break your air drum sticks on the side of your air snare because you’re just going nuts.

It’s a pretty deep and fairly “wordy” song as well. Definitely not a song full of fluff. However, in the second verse there is a line that at first listen sounds kind of ridiculous.

The line is this… “So Heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss…”

Awkward…(my friend Rita would probably say “awkward turtle” and move her hands in a turtle motion)

Anyway, the first time you hear the line you’re kind of turned off by it. But at least for me, the more I hear it the more deeply it resonates with me.

It’s the type of line that is just so raw and messy, but the type of line that conjures up beautiful images of a father swooping down to pick up his child and plant the biggest wettest, most loving kiss on their cheek.

As big and powerful as God is, He’s also that loving and compassionate and willing to swoop down and plant a “sloppy wet kiss” on his children.

Incredible.

Here are the lyrics to the song as well as some links to various renditions of the song.

Verse 1:
He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realise just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

Pre-Chorus:
And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

Chorus 1:
Yeah, He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves.

Verse 2:
We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
So Heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way…

Chorus 2:
He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves.

Verse 3:
Well, I thought about You the day Stephen died,
And You met me between my breaking.
I know that I still love You, God, despite the agony.
…They want to tell me You’re cruel,
But if Stephen could sing, he’d say it’s not true, cause…

Chorus 3:
Cause He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us.
Whoa! how He loves us.
Whoa! how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves.

Kim Walker sings “How He Loves Us”

John Mark McMillan sings “How He Loves Us”

David Crowder sings “How He Loves Us”

Submarine Billboards?

Each community has its own character and local oddities. Seattle has things like the Pike Place Market, Space Needle, Underground Seattle, etc. But perhaps the oddest of the odd in Seattle are the underwater billboards.

Billboards for submarines?

The Seattle Times just ran an article about a recently discovered Ivar’s Chowder billboard found in the Puget Sound that might just have been put down there for that very purpose. Check it out.

Photo by Dean Rutz of The Seattle Times.

A Follow Up To P. Kerry Bunday

Several months back I posted about a great guy, Kerry Bunday. Well it turns out his daughter came across my post and linked to it to shed a little more light on why he’s such a cool guy. So in return, and to enlighten all of you who read my blog, here is a link to her original post about her dad.

As well, here is a link to my original post on P. Kerry Bunday.

Kerry – If you read this it would be great to connect sometime soon. It’s  been too long. I’ll shoot you an email.

Taking Care Of Grandma

So I’m sitting at Forza (downtown Puyallup) my favorite coffee shop, when this guy approaches me and nearly bursts my personal bubble. He was kinda all in my grill if you know what I mean. Anyway, he looks over towards the cash register and asks if I could open the door for the elderly woman waiting in line, when she’s ready to leave.

Instantly two thoughts cross my mind.

1. “That’s really sweet, of course I can do that.”

2. “Who does this guy think he is? If he wants the door opened for her he can stay up in the front of the store and open it for her instead of sitting down in the back.”

Let me just stop here and say that I think I learn more about life and myself at Forza than any other place.

Well, when the elderly woman is done getting her drink, I go ahead and open the door for her and she appreciatively walks out of the store to go about the rest of her day.

A little while later I’m talking to my friend Bryan who runs the shop and he tells me that he had asked that same guy to open the door for that same woman (affectionately called, “Grandma”) the other day.

“He’s ‘taking care of grandma,’” Bryan said.

Ouch!

Now, I probably would have opened the door for her anyway because as I said I recognized it as a sweet thing to do, and Grandma probably wouldn’t have been able to open it for herself,  but why was I put off by someone asking me to lend a hand?

I really hate moments like that. Moments that point out my flaws and weaknesses. The areas where Satan has infiltrated my heart.

At the same time, I’m also very grateful for them because it allows me the opportunity to change. The opportunity to grow and be shaped into a better person. A more loving person.

Someone who is willing to without a second thought, take care of grandma.

What has humbled you lately?

Taken

This is the branding for our “Taken” series starting this Sunday. It’s going to be intense.