How many of you have heard this famous bedtime prayer?
I am not going to lie - I find this prayer extremely creepy and morbid. I relate a lot with this guy…
*IF THE VIDEO ISN’T WORKING, CLICK HERE TO SEE THIS FUNNY VIDEO.
Creepy Bedtime Prayer
30 09 2008Comments : 3 Comments »
Categories : Funny, Life, People, Spirituality
You Will Be Missed, JP
29 09 2008Today is a weird day in the office. Today is the first day that I have been an employee at the Shannon Oaks Church without one of my co-workers (and friend) being here.
A great friend of mine is moving from Sulphur Springs. Jon Paul Dennis has moved on from his position as the worship minister at the Shannon Oaks Church. He has faithfully and selflessly served the Shannon Oaks Church as worship minister for eight years. JP and I have worked on the same staff now for over four years. He and his family have felt God’s pull to focus on their family and move to Dallas to be near other family members.
___________________
This part is just for JP:
Hey brother. I have been thinking for a week on what I wanted to say to you before you left. I couldn’t think of the words when I was helping you move your incredibly heavy stuff on Friday. I couldn’t think of the words when I was leaving church yesterday morning. I guess the reality of you leaving did not really hit me until I got in the office this morning and you were not here. I walked by your office to see the remnants of what used to be your stuff.
I just wanted to thank you so much for everything over the last 4+ years. From the first day I stepped foot in Sulphur Springs, I felt accepted by you. Please know that I view you as much more than a colleague. You are a mentor, a friend, and a brother. It has been an honor standing beside you and ministering with you the past 4+ years. I will miss your humor, our conversations, our venting sessions, your ability to fix anything, and your booming laugh. Take care of your family and your wife. You are one of my heroes. I love you, bro. You will be missed, JP.
Comments : 5 Comments »
Categories : Friends, Life, Ministry, People
Prayer Remixed
25 09 2008
Last night was part three of the four week series called “LIFE REMIXED” that I am teaching on Wednesday evenings at our Revive mid-week service. The title for last night’s message was “PRAYER REMIXED”, where we looked at a way to remix our prayer life.
(Giving credit where credit is due, I first heard the idea for this message many years ago when hearing a similar message by Louie Giglio at 722 in Atlanta, Georgia.)
We looked a common prayer (or different variations of that common prayer) that we often pray - “God, bless me.” We are so captivated with receiving the blessings of God. Listen closely to prayers and you will hear tons of petitions directed towards God to bless me, bless my family, bless my friends, bless my church, bless my finances, bless my grades, bless my sports teams, bless my relationships, bless my country, bless my dog, bless my coffee table, etc. You name it, we probably ask God to bless it.
Why do you think Dan Wilkerson’s Prayer of Jabez book was so popular when it was released in 2000? This book that focuses on a man in the Bible named Jabez’s prayer in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 sold more than 9 million copies in its first two years. Why? Because many believed Jabez’s prayer was the key to receiving more of God’s blessing.
After diving into God’s Word a little more, I found out that Abraham was promised a lot of blessing. Check these verses out when you have time: Genesis 12:2-3 (Abraham receives a promise of blessing), Genesis 17:3-4 (Abraham receives a promise to become the father of nations), and Genesis 22:17-18 (Abraham receives another promise of blessing and that all nations would be blessed through his offspring).
In America, we live in a very consumer-driven society. A society where we cannot get enough stuff. There is always something bigger and better. Heather and I are saving our money right now for a large, flat-panel TV. Why? We already have 4 TVs of some kind already in our house. Maybe we look at God’s blessings with the same consumer-driven mentality.
In studying I found out that the term “Bless you” is used 36 times in the Bible - 34 in the Old Testament, 2 in the New Testament. The term “Bless me” is used 6 times in the Bible - 6 in the Old Testament, 0 in the New Testament. The term “Bless” is used 89 times in the Bible - 84 in the Old Testament, 5 in the New Testament.
Isn’t that interesting? Seems there is a fundamental change and shift when it comes to blessings in the Old Testament and the New Testament. So what changed? That question can be answered in one word - JESUS!
With Jesus we have received the ultimate blessing. Through Jesus, Abraham’s blessing came to fruition and we were blessed more than we could possibly imagine (Read Galatians 3:14 - really, really cool).
So here is how I was asking them to remix their prayer life:
Instead of always praying “GOD, BLESS ME.” Remix that by praying “GOD, LET ME BLESS YOU.” Live a life that blesses God. Live a life worthy of the incredible blessing that you have been given through Jesus. Live a life that brings honor and glory to God with everything you do. Realize that you are blessed beyond your wildest dreams and live a life that brings a huge smile to God’s face.
In response time, I challenged them to think of specific ways they could bless God with their lives. I asked them to write them down. It was amazing to see them brainstorm about specific ways of how they could bless God with their life. Commitments were made last night to honor God by maintaining sexual purity until marriage, to honor God by never submitting to drugs and alcohol, sharing God with specific friends, and even being a catalyst for revival in their schools, their cities, and their world. It was powerful seeing all these commitments to bless God through their lives.
That was PRAYER REMIXED. Thanks for reading this far.
With that being said…BLESS GOD today.
Comments : 1 Comment »
Categories : Faith, Life, Ministry, People, Spirituality, The Bible
Cannonball Baptism
23 09 2008Tell me this wouldn’t liven up a church service…
Comments : 3 Comments »
Categories : Funny, Life, Ministry, People, Random, Spirituality
Went Out With a Win
22 09 2008
The Yankees played their final game in historic Yankee Stadium last night. They won the game 7-3. I recorded the game on my TIVO and it will probably be on there for a long time.
Comments : 2 Comments »
Categories : Life, Sports
Captain Obvious Bible Verses
22 09 2008An expression I love is “Captain Obvious”. Captain Obvious is used when somebody says something that is incredibly obvious about a certain situation.
For example, let’s say that I were to have a huge bruise across my entire face. You walk up to me, point at my face, and say, “Man, I bet that hurts!” That is a Captain Obvious statement.
You can find Captain Obvious statements lots of places, including the Bible. I am trying to make a list of Captain Obvious Bible Verses and I need your help finding more. Here is an example of a C.O. verse:
MATTHEW 4:2 - “After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.”
Can you help me find more?
_________________
By the way, I say all this with a ton of respect, awe, and reverence for God’s Word. I am not writing this to be disrespectful of Scripture at all. Just having a little fun.
Comments : 2 Comments »
Categories : Funny, Random, The Bible
Bad Judgment
19 09 2008
Today I was on the road when another car passed me. As the car passed beside me the gentleman driving the vehicle turned his head my direction as to communicate driving superiority. As we made eye contact, I noticed that the gentleman had some tattoos scattered across his face. During that moment I had a realization:
IF YOU HAVE A TATTOO ON YOUR FACE, YOU HAVE BAD JUDGEMENT.
Can you think of any other human features or actions that automatically brings “that person has bad judgment” thoughts to your mind?
For example, possibly a mullet?
Comments : 5 Comments »
Categories : Funny, Life, People, Random
Newest Sports Illustrated Cover
18 09 2008Here is the newest Sports Illustrated cover that landed in my mailbox:
The countdown is officially on…
Only 4 more games left in historic Yankee Stadium. It is sad. It is even more sad that there will not be playoffs games played in Yankee Stadium this year. As a Yankee fan, it is a tough pill to swallow.
It ranks right up there in sports sadness with…
- Michael Jordan retiring.
- The Titans coming a yard short from winning the Super Bowl in 2000.
- Michael Jordan retiring again.
- My intramural basketball team, INJURY PRONE, losing the 2003 championship game.
- The Yankees 2004 ALCS collapse (known in the Cromer house as “the playoffs we do not speak of”).
- Michael Jordan retiring yet again.
What sad sports moment is on your list?
Comments : 5 Comments »
Categories : Life, Random, Sports
Relationships Remixed
17 09 2008
What if we started having relationships the way Jesus designed them to be when he shook everything up so many years ago?
What if we started having relationships where we cared more that person’s relationship with God more than that person’s relationship with us?
What if we made a fundamental mind-change and started to think more about other people’s needs over our needs?
What if we started loving our enemies, doing good to those who hate us, blessing those who curse us, and praying for those who mistreat you? (Luke 6:27-28)
What if we stopped thinking that turning the other cheek was a sign of weakness, and embraced that action as being like Jesus? (Luke 6:29)
What if we give to everyone who asks us? (Luke 6:30)
What if Luke 6:31 - “Do to others as you would have them do to you” - became a reality?
What if we started forgiving each other freely without the fear of being taken advantage of?
What if we started treating other people the right way for their sake, not ours? (Where the motivation for treating people right is not to simply make us feel good but to be a blessing in other people’s lives.)
What if we started living to bless God instead of to be blessed by God?
What if we took the life and teachings of Jesus and applied them directly to our everyday relationships?
Would our relationships look different?
Would our marriages look different?
Would our friendships look different?
Would our lives look different?
______________________
Tonight I am teaching part two of the series “LIFE REMIXED”. Tonight the title of the message is “Relationships Remixed” where we will be looking at how Jesus completely changed (remixed) the way humanity did relationships. Pray that God will speak his truth through me tonight. That I will be able to get out of the way and let God shine in that room tonight.
______________________
Here’s how you can help:
When you look through the Gospels, how do you see Jesus changing the then cultural norm regarding relationships? If you want to share some God-truths of how Jesus remixed relationships during his time on this earth with me, that would be great.
Comments : 2 Comments »
Categories : Faith, Inspirational, Life, Ministry, People, Spirituality, The Bible
Last Meal
16 09 2008
I am wierd. I know it. I have accepted that fact.
To understand me better you must know that my mind is always going about any and everything. From the time I wake up to the time I enter a deep R.E.M. sleep, my mind is going one hundred miles per hour. Please do not misunderstand me, this does not mean that I am in a constant state of deep, important thought about pressing global issues and the theological mysteries of this world.
That being said, I was thinking this morning what it would like to be on death row. Now for the majority of the time, I think it would be an unpleasant experience. However, there I can think of a couple positives in the death row experience.
Being a pretty hardcore introvert (meaning I get my energy from times of being alone or with a small group of close friends, not that I do not like people), I think I would enjoy the time of quiet and solitude. I could probably some serious thinking and reading done during that time.
I also could see the LAST MEAL being an incredible experience. I think this is the one advantage death row people have over us non-death row people.
If you do not know what the death row last meal is, it is the last meal that inmates on death row get to pick everything they get to eat before they are executed. They get to hand pick everything without any rules or limitations. If they want breakfast food, they get it. A great steak from their favorite restaurant, they got it. Aside from the whole execution thing, not a bad way to go.
I started to think about what would be on the menu for my last meal. Here is what I came up with for my last meal:
- Mongolian Beef from PF Changs
- Grilled Shrimp from Saltgrass Steakhouse
- A Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog from Yankee Stadium
- A small, Heather-made Caesar Salad
- My mom’s Sweet Potatoes
- My mom’s Fruit Salad
- Cajun French Fries from Popeyes
- Rolls from O’Charleys
- Break and Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies from Nestle (with a tall glass of cold milk)
- A grande, no venti (what the heck, it is my last meal) Caramel Frappochino with extra caramel from Starbucks
- A slice of Key Lime Pie Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory.
- Banana Split flavored Dippin’ Dots
- Heather-made sweet tea
IMPORTANT NOTE: this list is subject to change.
What about you? What would be on your last meal? Be specific. Meaning if you want Gatorade at your last meal, tell what specific flavor. If you want a nice steak, tell what restaurant or grill you want that steak to come from.
What would be on your last meal?
Comments : 7 Comments »
Categories : Food, Funny, Life, People, Random
Funny Misunderstanding
15 09 2008Over the past few days I have gotten many calls and emails from my Chinese friends. There has been a common theme in every email and conversation - Happy Mid-Autumn Day.
Now because I am not an expert in Chinese holidays, I had no clue about this holiday. All I knew about this holiday is that the students did not have to go school, they were telling me to have a happy Mid-Autumn day, and that they were all eating “moon cakes”. The fact that they were all eating “moon cakes” kept catching my attention.
Being the from-the-South-native-Tennessean that I am, I was thinking only one thing: there is an Asian country full of people celebrating a holiday called Mid-Autumn Festival where they are sitting around eating MOON PIES. Yes, the tasty southern snack that can only be appropriately washed down with an ice-cold RC Cola. I thought “maybe they listen to the same country music songs as we do”. Turns out a “moon cake” and a “moon pie” are two totally different things.
This is a “MOON PIE”.
This is a “MOON CAKE”
After the disappointment of realizing that a bunch of Chinese people were not eating the Chattanooga, Tennessee-native tasty pastry, I found the humor in our misunderstanding. I hope you get a little laugh today from my misunderstanding.
____________________
Learn more about Mid-Autumn Festival HERE.
Comments : 3 Comments »
Categories : Culture, Food, Friends, Funny, Life, People, Random
Please Pray for Ryan and Keeley
13 09 2008
This is a post calling you to pray. Often times we read emails and requests in our weekly church bulletin calling us to pray for something, someone, or some situation. Many times, those requests get nonchalantly put on the back-burner especially if we are not personally connected to the call to prayer. Today I am asking you to read this prayer request and then care enough to stop what you are doing and lift this situation up to our God.
I am asking that you prayer for my really good friends, Ryan and Keeley White.
Here is their situation:
Ryan and Keeley learned in April that they were going to have twins. After checkups and doctor visits, they have found that one of their twin sons has a a congenital heart defect called “Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome” or HLHS. They learned about this condition after doctors realized that one twin had an underdeveloped left side of his heart. HLHS is a complicated condition that will require three stages of surgery all before their son turns three years old.
For more information on HLHS, click here.
For more information and updates on Ryan and Keeley, read their blog here.
As you can imagine or have already experienced, a married couple having their first child needs a lot of prayer. A married couple having their first kids as twins need a lot of prayer. A married couple having their first kids as twins with one having a heart condition that will require three heart surgeries, need a ton of prayer. I am sure you can imagine the anxiousness and worries that they battle everyday.
I have committed to my friend and to the Lord that I will pray for my good friends everyday. I have decided to make you aware of their situation so that more people can be praying for them. There is power for prayer. Pray for their strength, positive attitudes, and anxiousness in daily facing this situation. Pray for FULL healing of their son’s heart. Pray for the doctors that will be diagnosing and working on their son when he enters the world.
Please pray. Do not let this be one of those stories you read and forget five minutes later.
Thank you in advance for your prayers.
Comments : 7 Comments »
Categories : Faith, Friends, Life, Ministry, People, Spirituality
Wildcats on ESPN2 Tonight
11 09 2008
What are you doing tonight? I will be going to the Sulphur Springs High School varsity football game. In the football world, Thursday nights are normally reserved for junior varsity football, freshman football, and middle school football.
So why is the SSHS varsity football team playing on a Thursday night? Well, the game is being nationally televised tonight on ESPN2. Yep, this little east Texas town is getting invaded by the worldwide leader of sports. This town is going crazy for tonight. Businesses have blue and yellow murals painted all over their windows. It is something straight out of Friday Night Lights or Varsity Blues.
Check out the local newspaper story here.
Check out the ESPN.com story here.
I will be there tonight supporting my students on the team, in the band, and in the drill team. I will be wearing my Sulphur Spring Wildcat blue t-shirt in support of the team. Instead of watching reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond or one of the 36 variations of Law & Order, turn the channel to ESPN2 and watch the Wildcats.
“TO BODY PAINT OR NOT TO BODY PAINT? THAT IS THE QUESTION.”
_______________________
UPDATE: Wildcats win 22-16. Great game.
Comments : 7 Comments »
Categories : Culture, Life, People, Sports, TV
Margaret’s Redemptive Story
10 09 2008For almost 40 years, Margaret had lived with the memory of one soul-scarring day in the 1-room schoolhouse she attended. From the first day Margaret came to class, she and Ms. Garner, her bitter and harsh teacher, didn’t get along. Over the years, the animosity between them only worsened until one fateful day when she was nine years old, Margaret’s life was forever changed.
That day, Margaret frantically raced into her classroom after recess, late again. Ms. Garner was furious. “Margaret!” she shouted, “we have been waiting for you! Get up here to the front of the class, right now!” Margaret walked slowly to the teacher’s desk, was told to face the class, and then the nightmare began.
Ms. Garner ranted, “Boys and girls, Margaret has been a bad girl. I have tried to help her to be responsible. But, apparently, she doesn’t want to learn. So we must teach her a lesson. We must force her to face what a selfish person she has become. I want each of you to come to the front of the room, take a piece of chalk, and write something bad about Margaret on the blackboard. Maybe this experience will motivate her to become a better person!“
Margaret stood frozen next to Ms. Garner. 1 by 1, the students began a silent procession to the blackboard. 1 by 1, the students wrote their life-smoothering words, slowly extinguishing the light in Margaret’s soul. “Margaret is stupid! Margaret is selfish! Margaret is fat! Margaret is a dummy!” On and on they went, until 25 terrible scribblings of Margaret’s “badness” screamed from the blackboard.
The venomous sentences taunted Margaret in what felt like the longest day of her life. After walking home with each word written in her soul, she crawled into her bed, claiming sickness, and tried to cry the pain away, but the pain never left, and 40 years later, she slumped in the waiting room of a psychologist’s office, still cringing to the shadow of those 25 sentences. To her horror, Margaret had slowly become what the students had written.
After 2 years of weekly counseling, she finally felt she was ready to move on. Before she was done, on her last day of counseling, the counselor asked her to close her eyes and retell the story with graphic details. Tell exactly what everybody looked like, what everybody wrote, and how you felt. So she slowly, through tears, went through the story one more time for the counselor.
When she finished, the counselor told Margaret that she forgot one person. She immediately replied, “I certainly did not. I have lived with that for 40 years. I know every detail by heart.”
No, there’s one person still left. He’s walking to the chalkboard, picking up the eraser. He is erasing every sentence that the students wrote. They are gone! Do you recognize him yet? It’s Jesus. Look now he’s writing on the board sentences, “Margaret is loved. Margaret is beautiful. Margaret is strong.” She started to cry, but the tears turned into a smile, then laughter, then tears of joy. She was finally free.
- from Michael Yaconelli’s Messy Spirituality
________________________
A few things I take away from this story:
- Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will definitely hurt me (probably worse than sticks or stones ever can because the impact of words last much longer than sticks and stones).
- Jesus has the ability to free people from the deepest of wounds.
- There is a reason why the teacher was a “Ms.” and not a “Mrs.”
Comments : 5 Comments »
Categories : Books, Faith, Inspirational, Life, Ministry, People, Spirituality
Life Remixed HELP
9 09 2008
Tomorrow I am starting to teach a new four-week series entitled “Life Remixed”. The idea behind this series is simple: a remix is something reproduced in some way to produce a new or modified version of that thing. A remix simply put is a new way to look at an old thing.
Remixes are usually associated with music. For example, in 1987 Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” was featured on his new album, Bad. This classic song featured on Jackson’s mini-movie Moonwalker (featuring the coolest dance move ever pictured above). In 2001, Alien Ant Farm released their version of “Smooth Criminal.” REMIX. Sometimes remixes can jump musical genres. For example, in 1998 the classic rock band Aerosmith released their hit single “I Don’t Want To Miss a Thing”, only for the song to be remade by country singer Mark Chestnut later in 1998. REMIX.
However, there are also movie remixes where older movies are remade with a more modern twist using new actors. Take Ocean’s Eleven for an example. The 2001 movie (that I personally saw three times in the movie theater because I loved it so much) was a remake of an Ocean’s Eleven released in 1953. REMIX.
Just like music and movies remix older versions of other music and movies, Jesus remixed this thing we call life. He introduced what the rock band Switchfoot calls, “A New Way To Be Human”. Before Jesus hit the earth, people were pretty comfortable with their religious rules and rituals. They knew the “do’s” and the “don’ts” and thought they had figured out life. Well, Jesus came and introduced them to real life - LIFE REMIXED. Married people thought as long as they did not encounter in a physical sexual act with another person outside of their spouse that they had the whole adultery thing covered. However, Jesus came to the earth and introduced a whole new way of thinking when he said, “anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27) REMIX.
I think you get the point. That is the four-week series that we will be starting this Wednesday. If you do not have A.D.D., then you probably remember that the title of this post is “Life Rixed HELP”.
I need your help compiling a list of all the remixes that you can think of. When I say remixes, I really mean either songs or movies that have been remade. Can you help me?
Can you think of other songs that have been remade? (Think back to “Smooth Criminal” and “I Don’t Want To Miss a Thing” for an example.)
Can you think of other movies that have been remade? (Think back to Ocean’s Eleven for an example.)
I will use as many of these as I can during this series starting tomorrow night.
Comments : 16 Comments »
Categories : Culture, Faith, Life, Ministry, Movies, Music, People, Spirituality, The Bible
