What Have You Missed? - On the Way to 60,000

If you are a regular reader of my Worship Blog - bless your heart. hahaha. I hope I've entertained a little, inspired a lot and passed on information that you have found useful.

I can't believe we are getting close to 60,000 hits! Part of what is really cool about that is that people from all over the world have visited this blog.

How do I know such things? Well, look over on the right. You may have to scroll down a little bit. See the box with flags from around the world in it - well, I guess most will be USA flags when you look at it. It's a deal called "feedjit" that tells me where people have come from who visit the blog. I can see now that in the last day I have had visitors from Brazil, England, Canada, Australia, India, Pakistan, Sweden, Singapore and the USA.

How cool is that? Why do they come to my blog - other than the obvious "Wow! You're so famous!" reason? People do google searches and my blog shows up in the search because it has so many hits. What I like most about this is that now and then someone will click on another feature of my blog - the flags that say "Choose your language." These flags take you to "The Four Spiritual Laws" in the language of that flag's country.  Try one and see for yourself!

The post that seems to have recieved the most hits from Google is this one More Fun with Amazing Grace

The posts that recieved the strongest reactions, like "Why would you post about that?!?!" are the ones that mention colonoscopies! haha.

A New Adventure

Preparations for the Adventure

An Adventures Exciting Ending - hahaha

Ron and Jan (warning. this one is very sad)

Of course I'll have to have a prize for the person who is the 60,000th visitor. Give me some ideas.

Oh, and if you're the 60,000th visitor leave a comment so I'll know it's you and then we'll figure out how to get your prize to you.

Music for Sunday, May 29

Sunday's Music

May 29, 2010 AM



All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name
Shout to the Lord

Memorial Day Remembrance
Fellowship song - My Country 'Tis of Thee

Blessed Be Your Name
Offering
Amazing Grace

Special Music – Diane Carroccia, Alyssa Harris, Calli Smith

Message – Dr. Larry D. Robertson

Invitation song – Have Thine Own Way, Lord

Offertory – Michelle Dickerson

Sunday afternoon at our Memorial Day picnic at the Family Life Center you'll get to hear Josh Ford, Andrew and Calli Smith, Ramona Ambrose, Diane, Alyssa and Calli, Angie Thomas, Tracy Lilly and our youth band (Brenden, Jacob, Jake, Zack and... I hope I'm not leaving out someone...)

It will be a great day of music and worship!

A Proverbs Challenge

Proverbs

What is a proverb? According to a nice explanation in my new Holman Christian Standard study Bible, "a secular proverb seeks to state a general (not absolute) truth... it is typically pithy, that is, it is brief but rich in meaning:"no pain, no gain." A proverb is practical; it gives advice that is useful in the real world."

My guess is that you know a lot of proverbs.

People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
The pen is mightier than the sword.

I'm sure you can think of a lot of other proverbs that we use to deliver some truth or make a point. The writer or teller of a proverb is probably trying to get the listener to take what is said and apply it to life.

There are many ancient Chinese proverbs "Before telling secrets on the road, look in the bushes" and Ben Franklin wrote many in his "Poor Richard's Almanac"  - "Well done is better than well said" for one.

Some - over the years - have quoted old proverbs so much that they think they are biblical. "God helps those who help themselves" is one such proverb that is quoted as from the Bible, but it's really not.

So what's the difference between an everyday Chinese Ben Franklin kind of proverb and a biblical proverb? A biblical proverb not only offers practical advice, but the book of Proverbs will also guide the reader to eternal life: "For the discerning the path of life leads upward, so that he may avoid going down to Sheol." (Proverbs 15:24)
And since Proverbs is a part of scripture we know 2 Timothy describes it's content.

2 Timothy 3:16 CSB
All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness,

I challenged a couple of friends of mine to take a "Proverbs Challenge" with me in June. The challenge is to read a chapter of Proverbs each day for a month. On June 1 we'll read Proverbs 1:1-33. On June 2 we will read Proverbs 2:1-22. (It's the entire chapter if you're trying to figure it out.) Then each day we are going to e-mail or text each other the verse that spoke to us the most that day - and maybe why or what God is trying to teach us, etc.

So... I wanted to invite my blog readers to join us in the challenge. I'm going to post a verse or two from each chapter of Proverbs here the day before, and then I invite you all - on the actual day (ie. June 1 Proverbs 1) to post a comment telling us which verse spoke to you on that day. You can just put "v.5" or you can write it out "1:5 a wise man will listen and increase his learning" or you can leave a comment like "it's my prayer that as I read Proverbs this month that I will listen to what God says to me and increase my knowledge of Him and His ways - v.5" 

I hope you'll join us. I think it will be a good encouragement to all of us who participate. If you miss a day don't quit! Just jump right back in. I'm posting this now so you can make plans to join us a week from tomorrow, Wednesday, June 1.

QR Scan - What is that???!!??

Have you seen these?

They are all over the place and more and more are showing up. I found one today on my cup from Taco Bell. (Why I ate there - and why I wish I hadn't - is another story.) When I scanned it I was taken to a web site and a free music download! The one above will take you to our church web site. How cool is that?

They are called QR codes. Your smartphone can download an app where your phone will read them and when it does it either takes you to a web site or to a map or a phone number or gives you information lilke a business card. The apps are easy to find.

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about them.

QR code

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A QR code (short for Quick Response) is a specific matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code), readable by dedicated QR barcode readers and camera phones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded can be text, URL or other data.

Common in Japan, where it was created by Toyota subsidiary Denso-Wave in 1994, the QR code is one of the most popular types of two-dimensional barcodes. QR is the abbreviation for Quick Response, as the creator intended the code to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed.[1]


The technology has seen a large uptake in Japan and South Korea. However, in the West there has been a slower adoption of QR codes.[2]

Here's a few more to try if you have the app.

They will take you to my art web sites. (I know... shameless self-promotions.) I'll put some more up here later. Have fun with your phones!

Military Tribute

An Orchestra and a Family Choir - July 3

On July 3 at Hilldale Baptist Church we're having a special patriotic celebration. All three services will be combined into one great service at 9:45.

As part of our morning celebration we're having a "Family" Choir and a special event orchestra. I'd love to see 100 people in the choir that day. Even if you don't usually sing in choir, you and your family will love singing with us on July 3.

We're going to have a few rehearsals on Sunday afternoons June 12, 19 and 26 at 4:00. We have rehearsal CDs that you can listen to as you drive around town taking the kids to baseball and gymnastics.

We'll be singing songs from a musical titled "Homeland." It has great songs in it like This Land Is Your Land, Salute to the Armed Forces, Battle Hymn of the Republic and The Star-Spangled Banner plus a new song that you'll reallllly like called Livin' in the Homeland.

Of course the congregation will be singing too.

If you play a band or orchestra instrument we'd love for you to play that day.  High School students (maybe 8th grade too) and older will want to be a part of this special patriotic orchestra. I can get music to you early. Give me a call at the church office or send me an e-mail.

For those of you who like to shop, we'll be wearing red, white and blue that morning, so let's go shopping!

In Memory

Jan Fox loved singing in choir. She sang in choirs in California, Tennessee and maybe several other places. And she talked about how much she loved singing for the Lord and for her church and how much she loved her fellow choir members.

So her LifeGroup decided that they wanted to do something in her memory that would show how much she loved singing for the Lord in choir. They took up a love offering and with it I am going to purchase a really cool dry erase whiteboard for the choir room from Gamble Music. It is plain white on one side and has music lines on the other. How cool is that?

There have been so many times over the past few years that I have drawn music lines on our tiny little white board so I could explain some notes or a rhythm or whatever. This will make it so much easier to do that. (and the lines will be straight and won't erase when I erase a note, etc.)

So thank you to Jan's LifeGroup for a wonderful gift in her memory. I'll use it every week - not only in choir but with string classes and handbells and other music groups. (And the choir may actually learn something - whether they want to or not. haha)