Mr. Tall

Wisdom teeth

On Monday I went to the dentist for a cavity checkup and both of my wisdom teeth (my bottom ones never came in) have cavities starting in them... So, the dentist recommended that I just have them out. He said that it would cost about the same to fix them as to pull them. And it's a known fact that wisdom teeth typically get cavities because it's so hard to brush that far back.

Argh - There goes $500! So pray for me next Friday at about 1:30. The dentist dude seem optimistic that I would be just fine after having them pulled. I'm just wondering how I'll feel the following day... FYI, I'm not at all worried.

C'est la vie!

O Great God

This is one of the songs that we learned at the WorshipGOD06 conference. We've been singing it just about ever Sunday since, because it ties in perfectly with our study of the Sermon on the Mount.

O great God of highest heaven
Occupy my lowly heart
Own it all and reign supreme
Conquer every rebel power
Let no vice or sin remain
That resists Your holy war
You have loved and purchased me
Make me Yours forevermore

I was blinded by my sin
Had no ears to hear Your voice
Did not know Your love within
Had no taste for heaven’s joys
Then Your Spirit gave me life
Opened up Your Word to me
Through the gospel of Your Son
Gave me endless hope and peace

Help me now to live a life
That’s dependent on Your grace
Keep my heart and guard my soul
From the evils that I face
You are worthy to be praised
With my every thought and deed
O great God of highest heaven
Glorify Your Name through me

Bob Kauflin © 2006 Sovereign Grace - Valley of Vision

Vintage Cameras

I bought both of these sweet looking cameras on E-bay for only $20. Yes, I'm a nerd. But they are awesome. They smell old and need a little TLC, but they are mine. (This is the E-bay photo).
I'll use them mainly for decoration, but I might venture out and try to take a picture or two with them. The shutter and aperture work just fine. The thing I'm worried about is the light-tight condition of the accordion (age tends to damages stuff like that). But it will be kind of cool to see some pictures taken with an old school camera.
Also, due to the fact that they no longer make film for these guys, I'll have to use photo paper, or get creative.

One more Nephew and/or Niece

My little sister Tania and her husband Ivan are expecting!! I found out a week or so ago, but I've just neglected to put up a post. Anyway - YAY! They have been married for a little over a year now and are just about done with school, so the obvious next step is children... right?
I'm very happy for them. I just kind of hope that they have a girl. Teresa and Tammy have had boys so far, so I'm ready for some girls to join the family. We can only pray.

Ivan and Tania spent the summer in Uruguay on their missions internship. They really loved it! God has been leading them to become missionaries and I'm pretty sure that they will go back to Uruguay. As I said, they are almost done with college, then the fun stuff begins: Candidates school with BMW, Deputation, Language School, etc... So we're looking at a couple more year before they make it down there. Ivan was raised in Texas as a cowboy, so their desire is to establish a rural ministry- maybe a camp/ranch camp kind of operation. So pray for them if/when you get a chance.

Pinhole Photography

"Its not easy being green"

This photography class that I'm taking at Greenville Tech has been tons of fun! Its also been expensive and a lot of work. Click on the picture to go to my Flickr page to see a couple other pinhole photos that I've taken for our recent assignment.

I've really enjoyed having guidelines for assignment yet having a lot of creative freedom within those guidelines. Its been really cool to explore and experiment with the things we are learning. Photography can be very complex and very simple at the same time. Capturing a moment on film/paper is way cool!
The pinhole camera is so much fun. It cool that you can get awesome pictures out of something that anyone can build.

What to wear to worship

Great read from Bob Kauflin, I believe he's dead on biblically regarding this subject:

Q&A Fridays - What Do We Wear to Worship God?
Saturday, July 29, 2006, 6:20:09 PM | Bob Kauflin

A leader sent this question to me:
Recently there have been some people offended by some of the appearance of the worship team. We are seeking to glorify God in our response. We do not want to go beyond what the Scripture says. What are some of the standards that you would hold for your worship team?

I'm assuming that “appearance” refers to what someone is wearing. I appreciate this person’s desire to follow God’s Word when it comes to the attire of those who lead congregational worship. Unfortunately, God isn’t as clear as we might want Him to be, which is a good thing. Can you imagine if God told us exactly what a godly person should wear? What do you think He'd say? L.L. Bean? Gap? Brooks Brothers? Coat and tie for the men and dresses for the ladies? Jeans, t-shirts, and sandals for everyone? Your answer reveals something about how you view God, but not too much about how God views us.

While we may lack specifics, God has certainly given us guidelines both for what we wear on our bodies, and more importantly, what we wear in our hearts as we gather to worship Him.

There are at least two groups of people to address in this situation. First, the members of the team. We seek to make sure that our musicians know their role is to draw attention to the surpassing greatness of God’s glory in Jesus Christ. That means clothing that would draw attention to them is inappropriate. Categories include clothes that are immodest, tight, “loud,” dirty, or sloppy. Of course, those standards are variable in different cultures and to different people, but usually every church has a fairly defined idea as to what qualifies. Regarding modesty, we want to avoid anything that accentuates or reveals what could be sexually alluring.

At times, we have to follow up with musicians who wear something inappropriate. When we do, we expect them to respond humbly, as their role is to serve the congregation, not prove that they’re “free in Christ.” By the way, our pastors, who stand on the side of the stage as we sing, are dressed in a variety of styles. We purposefully want to communicate that we don’t believe a certain kind of dress equates to godliness. While we appreciate and respect the conviction some have that dressing up is a way of showing honor to God as we meet together, we’re convinced that God places the greater emphasis on the heart attitude behind what we wear, and that the church will always have a wide range of clothing (James 2:1-5).

The second group to address is those who are offended. I’d want to find out why they’ve taken an offense. Are they truly offended, or concerned or grieved? There’s a difference. Offense could imply that the music team member has sinned against them in some way. Unless they know the person involved, they could be judging the team member uncharitably. If there’s a genuine concern for dishonoring the Savior, then I’d thank them for having the courage and taking the time to share their perspective. However, if they simply didn’t like a style of dress, or wanted the musicians to adhere to some specific standard that isn’t in Scripture, I’d try to help them see beyond the clothes to a person’s heart.

None of this is to say that what we wear doesn’t matter. It does. Our clothes communicate volumes about what’s in our heart. The problem is, we don’t always know what that is. So, to sum up:

Make the heart the priority.
Challenge and help those who either abuse their freedom or judge other’s motives.
Encourage everyone to wear clothes modestly, the character of Christ loudly.

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive (Col. 3:12-13).