Friday, November 30, 2012

I don't know what it is, but animals make me smile.  We had almost every kind of pet growing up.  A couple of cats (Spike and Froggerber), a dog (Molly), fish (Sausage), and two birds (Harold and Ivan).  If you are a pet owner, you know each pet has their own personality which makes you love them.

One thing I always envied was how some dog owners could train their dogs so well.  While the rest of us spent years trying to train them to do at least one trick, they are somehow able to train their dogs to do something like this...enjoy!


Saturday, November 24, 2012

On Thursday we held our 12 Hour Teen Challenge Transformation.  We asked National Director George Glover to join us and he brought along some of the students in the program.  You were able to hear George give the vision behind the ministry, and the students were able to share their stories of transformation.  However, something you were not able to see or hear was how the students acted when they were not on the air.  On several occasions, I walked by and they were reading scripture and praying together.  I guess that's normal for those of us who consider ourselves Christians, but after speaking with a couple of them, I knew what set them apart from me and I was immediately humbled.  Their commitment to prayer and scripture reading was so passionate because they are at a stage in their life when they need God.  Drugs and/or alcohol controlled them for years, and only the power of God was able to help them break the addiction, and they know it and refuse to take their transformation for granted. 

Do I need God?  Do I act like I need God?  Do I pray and read my Bible like I need God?  In a crisis, maybe I do, but at other times, I think I try to do a lot on my own.  Isaiah 26:4 says, "Trust in the LORD always, for the LORD God is the eternal Rock."  It says, "always," not just when I think I need Him. 

I would like to thank George Glover, the staff, and the students of Teen Challenge for their passion, encouragement, and ministry.  Who knew the 12 Hour Transformation would have been such an important day in my life.

www.teenchallenge.ca

Friday, November 16, 2012

Life Is Like A Car

I would not consider myself old by any stretch, but I think I have picked up a few nuggets of wisdom along the way.  For instance, most of us get in a vehicle everyday that gets us from point A to point B, but have you every noticed that our lives are very similar to the life of a car.  Think about it:

  • A car can be tough to start early in the morning.  Some of us don't like to wake up early either.
  • Vehicles come in many different colours....so do we.
  • Sometimes a car doesn't fire on all cylinders, but it still moves.  Just like you when you don't get your morning coffee.
  • In order to have fun, the car needs to be full of gas.  When it comes to us...never mind...
  • Over time, the paint chips, the defogger stops working, the passenger side door doesn't open anymore, and the engine sounds like it has the hiccups
Even though the car may appear to be ready for the scrap yard, it might just need some tlc.  I think that's the way Jesus sees us.  He doesn't see the rust spots in our lives, but the potential.  Nothing a little restoration couldn't fix. 






Friday, November 9, 2012

A few years ago when Audio Adrenaline decided to call it quits, I was sad.  They were so much fun and had such a heart for ministry.  Lots of bands break up, but few bands have to break up because their lead singer loses his voice...permanently.  But that's what happened with Audio Adrenaline.  Mark Stuart lost his voice and had to retire.

A couple of months ago we heard that Audio A was coming back with a brand new lead singer, Kevin Max (yeah, the guy from DC Talk).  Did that make Mark Stuart bitter?  Someone else was going to front his band!  In fact, the opposite is true.  It was Mark's idea:





Kevin Max has an amazing voice!  I can't wait to see them live again.  Here is our first taste of what's to come:



Saturday, November 3, 2012

Air Raid 21 Is In the Books

The great thing about concerts is that everyone can get something different out of the show. For what it's worth, this is Air Raid 21 according to Steve Jones.

The show opened with Unlikely Heroes. This is the band from Orangeville that won the Rock The Show contest at LIFE. The opportunity to open up for Finding Favour, Anthem Lights, and Abandon. What you may not know about the music "industry," is that breaks are everything! It really is who you know. I feel so good that we were able to introduce the band to a brand new audience (you), help them go backstage to meet the other bands and learn what it is like the do the music thing.

Next up Finding Favour.  Many were surprised by the "sound" of the band.  There were an "edgy worship band."  The parents in attendence seemed to be big fans.  If that genre of music is your thing, look them up.  They were certainly pros.

Anthem Lights is what I call, a pop/rock/boy band.  Their vocal style is similar to the boy bands from 10 years ago but the style more like pop, with some bite to it.  No loud guitars, but edgy at times.  They stopped to play an acoustic set and showed off their ability to sing some tight harmonies.

In most concerts, the last band is usually the one that most people come to see.  Since all of these bands were still "new" to most fans, that may have not been the case with Abandon.  However,  I was a fan of Abandon before Air Raid and became even more of a fan after seeing them live.  Josh Engler nailed all of the notes, had fun with the crowd, used the entire stage (you know, everything they tell you to do on American Idol), and shared his passion for Jesus over and over.   I was talking to a listener before Abandon took the stage.  A close family friend of theirs died earlier this year, a single mom, who left a young son behind.  You can imagine the pain and confusion he must be going through.  As I was talking to them, the only words that came to mind were, God has a big plan and purpose for that young man's life.  Next thing you know, Abandon is on stage with lead singer Josh reminding everyone in attendance that God has a plan and a purpose for everyone's life.  He even made us all repeat it back to him!  That's why I love Air Raids.

If you missed it, you missed something special.  Hopefully you can make it next time!