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I found out a friend of mine is sick, so I sent him a quick text message as I was driving home from getting my Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper.

Not exactly what you want to text your sick friend.

What’s the worst thing you have ever texted on accident?

i’ve decided that from christmas eve through january 5th, this blog will be quiet. no auto-scheduled-out posting. no posting out my favorite posts of 2008,

nothing. nada.

after a trip to the midwest to visit family for christmas, i am going into a self-induced almost isolation in a land far, far away and will not be bringing my computer with me at all. no twitter. no email.

nothing. nada.

but i would like for you to leave me a comment today with how i can pray for you or for someone you know while i am away. i’ll print off a list on sunday afternoon before my retreat and take it with me.

so comment below, please repost this on your own blogs so others can chime in, and come back to see how you can pray for everyone.

and that’s what it’s all about.

the band ours has been a lifesaver for me. i first heard their music almost ten years ago when i lived in dallas and since it was the days before ipods and mp3s, i literally went through three copies of their first cd “distorted lullabies.” it was so cathartic for me that it actually got worn out.

lead singer jimmy gnecco‘s voice is perfection; his lyrics, beautifully moody and leave room for one’s mind to wander where it needs to. musically, it’s artful, original and emotionally sweeping.

i’ve had the chance to see either ours (or jimmy solo) perform several times over the last few years and tonight they are coming through nashville. i’ll be interviewing jimmy after the show about his journey over the last decade as well as his involvement in several very worthy causes. i’ll post the interview up sometime soon.

in honor of tonight’s show (at 12th and porter if you want to come), here’s a perfect example of an honest and hopeful song.? you can actually listen to their newest album “Mercy…Dancing for the Death of an Imaginary Enemy” streamed on their website or preview this song here on amazon.

The Worst Thing’s Beautiful

On the day you were born
The sun filled my eyes
I fell within the wars that rise

What were you here for?
What will you find?
Could I save your life, like you saved mine?

Wait until the morning comes around
Wait for something beautiful
Wait to see if worry turns around
Wait, please wait

I tried to keep you from
Everything that was
So difficult for me

But it makes you strong
When you hurt so long
I’ll put it all in faith that you won’t leave

And I’ll wait until the morning comes around
Wait for something beautiful
Wait to see if worry turns around
Wait, I’ll wait

Looking up now you see that
Everyone seems so happy
The crooked somehow keep breathing
When you couldn’t be so happy

Maybe they just don’t know
Maybe we just don’t know
Maybe we just don’t know

So I’ll wake every morning
Wake with the sun
Were the worst things always
The first things to come?
Find a way to move on and a way to be strong
Because some things do change…

Some things come that make
The worst things beautiful

Wait until the morning comes around
Wait for something beautiful
Wait to see if worry turns around

what’s in your head this week?

today’s edition of friday lyrics come from one of my favorite bands sleeping at last.? god has used their words and music to heal me, to help me process and to encourage me.? the song that’s been stuck on repeat is called say. (you can preview/download it here – this song is on the album “ghosts” but their album “keep no score” is also incredible.)

this week i needed to make a decision to follow and trust what god was putting on my heart instead of maybe the most popular and logical decision.? as the song says “say what you really want to say…and the truest of forms will show…finally you’ll find your soul.” when we’re honest with ourselves it’s amazing how much clarity that brings to our lives and our actions.

what’s your friday lyric? share in the comments.

Say what you really want to say
And the truest of forms will show
Finally you’ll find your soul

They impose the endless fight
To always be perfect.
It seems they have been chosen
To be above the rest.
But the contradiction stands
Between these perfect lives
And the words that they’ve misread…
There was no reading.

Say all the things that you really want to say
The truest of forms will show,
Finally you’ll find your soul.
Say all the things that you really want to say
The truest of forms will show
And finally you’ll find your soul.

The landscapes of being
Are endlessly competing, back and forth
For an answer to existence
That we can never find,
In all of the places that we’ve searched out,
In all of the pulses that we’ve taken…
There was no reading.

Say all the things that you really want to say
Then you’ll find, the truest of forms will show
And finally you’ll find your soul.

Say all the things that you really want to say
Then you’ll find, the truest of forms will show
And finally we’ll find our souls.

Give us the answers
And the ability to hear

The landscapes of being
Are endlessly competing, back and forth
For an answer to existence
That we can understand.

Perhaps we’re looking far too closely.

We can’t see
All the evidence in its entirety…
The air in our lungs,
The complexity of our love.

Say all the things that you really want to say
Then you’ll find, the truest of forms will show
And finally you’ll find your soul.
Say all the things that you really want to say.

Say what you really want to say
And the truest of forms will show,
Finally you’ll find your soul.

these brain barf posts are the ones i do when i have a lot to say, but everything is disorganized and spewed…

are you a designer? my publisher, zondervan, relevant magazine, and neue have a little design contest going on for mad church disease.? the winner gets a bunch of stuff like a subscription to neue, $100 AMEX card, and your ad printed in the march edition of neue with lots of love.? i realize, as a designer, there are people who are passionately against spec work.? i’ve been a designer professionally for 10 years. i get it. however my own philosophy is quite the opposite – a communal one of sharing where money isn’t the focus.? zondervan could very well use their great design team to make this ad, but we don’t want to.? why? this online community has contributed so much to this book from stories to voting on the cover art to instant feedback. it only seems natural.? go here for details.

yesterday i had a great meeting with nashville author chris coppernoll. keep in mind i have only read three fiction books in the last ten years (all of them in the last two months) and they were the shack, and then chris’ two books, providence and a beautiful fall.? holy freaking smokes. they are good. no…they are amazing.? they went in my bag everywhere i went and if i had a spare moment, i would dive back into them.? chris didn’t ask me to review or recommend them…i honestly just purchased them because i believe in supporting local authors.? i didn’t expect to be swept away by them. and now, after spending some time with chris, he is such a life-giving person it’s no wonder his books are so dadgum good.? if you like a great novel with incredible character development and storyline, you MUST GET THESE BOOKS.? providence was his first one, then a beautiful fall. they are stellar.? read more about chris and the way he is changing the world (besides writing amazing books).

we are still 720 pairs of shoes short from receiving our match from underology.? i’m not sure if people are just tapped out, or tuned out, or what.? but only 280 pairs have been given this week instead of thousands that have been given every other week.? i’m thankful for those 280 pairs.? it’s the dramatic drop doesn’t make sense.? tony morgan left a comment about this online generation being excited about putting a widget up or talking about causes, but that they actually do very little in comparison as far as acting.? the stats prove true…over 3500 people have blogged or promoted the cause, but only 1500 or so have donated.? i’m a bit dumbfounded. but that’s okay.? there’s still 8780 people whose feet that will be protected.? sorry if you’re missing out on this.? http://www.50000shoes.com.

oh yeah, the highest bids right now for the autographed amy grant guitar are $100.? bid more than that, and it could be yours.

i am officially working on book two. venturing into totally unknown territory. scary. exciting. fun.

tomorrow, i have the opportunity to talk to someone i deeply respect who is leading a great organization that is making a real difference in the world (yes, as opposed to a fake difference. sorry. my humor’s a bit dry today). looking forward to sharing his thoughts with you next week.

finally picked up some meds for the depression. they have been sitting on my kitchen counter for the last week. i can’t make myself take them yet.

remember tomorrow is not guaranteed. trust your heart. what is it that you’re not doing that you must?

happy thursday.

it started out like any other tuesday morning.? a weekly coffee meeting, then off to cross point‘s programming meeting.? our creative director, matt, was out (congrats on the new baby!) so i sat in his chair.

all throughout the meeting, i kept smelling a rotten, vinegar-esque smell.? i asked dave, our programming director, who was sitting nearby, if he smelled it too.? which he didn’t.

i thought i was just going crazy.

after the meeting, i turned around and on matt’s desk, discovered a disgusting ounce or two of what looked to be old, fermented, curdeld up orange juice.? we think it was probably fresh about a week ago.? at least it smelled that way.

we passed it around to smell it (because that’s what creatives do with gross things) when i was struck with an idea.

jarrod, one of our worship leaders, and his wife laura are adopting.? what a great way to donate some cash to a worthy cause AND be entertained…so, i dared jarrod to drink it and in return, i’d give him $50.

here is what followed.

Click To Play

here are a few good reasons why you should donate some shoes at 50000shoes.com this week. lots of free stuff coming your way!

• if you donate december 7-13, and have the highest donation amount, you’ll win an autographed amy grant guitar. it’s kind of like a really silent auction with a surprise ending.? unfortunately, we can’t list the highest bid online during the week, but if you want to know what it is so you can beat it, just email me.
• even if you don’t make the highest donation, you’ll still be entered in for a chance to hand deliver your shoes in person on a soles4souls trip to mexico.
• another sponsor match!! we have another corporate sponsor, underology.? underology will make a 1-for-2 match meaning if we donate 1000 shoes by 11:59 pm on december 13, underology will donate an additional 500 shoes!? we will need to be at 9500 shoes by then, and after underology’s donation, that will put us over 10,000 shoes!
• bonus! if you donate $25 (10 pairs of shoes!) or more you will receive a free jar of “save my sole” foot cream compliments also of our generous sponsor, underology! this stuff is delicious!
• and duh, you should donate because it’s the right thing to do!

please visit 50000shoes.com today and donate!? oh yeah, spread the word around too!

==

about this week’s generous sponsor:

Underology: What makes us different? Our ingredients list is short… we use high levels of active ingredients that are not diluted with fillers and preservatives. Outcome… vibrant skin, fast. “UNDEROLOGY SMART Skincare” is a SMART alternative to cosmetic surgery or the PERFECT compliment!

Connie’s mission with the new UNDEROLOGY SMART Skincare line is to provide products with the highest quality ingredients which women deserve, for a price equivalent to what women spend for department store brands.

Result-oriented active ingredients are used from the latest technology and research available. We list for you ALL of our ingredients, not just “key ingredients,” therefore you can be well informed about what you are using on your skin. Our key ingredient is quality. You will find our quality ingredients are not diluted with lots of fillers… just active ingredients, providing a vibrant and noticeable difference in your skin.

Check out the Underology Skincare line here!

i never know whether or not to blog on friday. it’s one of my days off, so in a way, i don’t really want to. :)

so, i decided to start a weekly tradition.

friday lyrics…

i’ll post lyrics to a song i’ve been addicted to in the week.? you respond by posting lyrics to a song you’ve been addicted to in the week.

pretty easy, huh? let’s try…

invincible – muse

Follow through
Make your dreams come true
Don’t give up the fight
You will be alright
Cause there’s no one like you in the universe

Don’t be afraid
What your mind consumes
You should make a stand
Stand up for what you believe
And tonight
We can truly say
Together we’re invincible

During the struggle
They will pull us down
But please, please
Lets use this chance
To turn things around
And tonight
We can truly say
Together we’re invincible

Do it on your own
It makes no difference to me
What you leave behind
What you choose to be
And whatever they say
Your soul’s unbreakable

During the struggle
They will pull us down
But please, please
Let use this chance
To turn things around
And tonight
We can truly say
Together we’re invincible

Together we’re invincible

During the struggle
They will pull us down
Please, please
Let use this chance
To turn things around
And tonight
We can truly say
Together we’re invincible

Together we’re invincible

your turn…you can find lyrics here.

go!

a few days ago, some of us had a meeting with brian and spence who work for compassion international. of course, the bloggers trip to uganda came up and i can’t believe it’s been nine months since i stepped onto african soil for my first time. it seems like a lifetime ago, but at the same time, it seems like it was just yesterday.

speaking of yesterday, i met an audio engineer on my flight to grand rapids. somehow, we got on to the topic of where americans spend money, and what our responsibility is to help others and i told him about my trip to uganda. i shared with him my breaking moment of stepping into annette’s house, where six people lived in a 6×6 room. that her rent was $9 a month and she was having trouble keeping up. i had probably spent $9 in the airport for my breakfast.

the opportunities for us to do a world of good in a world of scarcity are endless.

many people in the states are feeling the pressure of a maybe-almost recession. people are losing their jobs and their homes. yet i wonder if we will ever truly get to an economical state where we really discover need versus want. even here in america, it blows my mind that we have such an imbalance in our distribution of wealth. that there is so much homelessness and poverty, yet most of us can still comfortably afford a $3 cup of coffee or a $40 meal out. that most of us don’t think twice about spending $200 on a christmas tree or $75 on a pair of jeans.

i’m not sure what all this means…except that i am hoping we are all waking up. we’re waking up realizing we’re not alone, and none of us are guaranteed a safety net woven together with five dollar bills. that while we have it good, we should help others. because in the next moment, we may be the ones in need.

how can we do this? it’s counter-cultural. downsizing, living with less intentionally, and giving more to others. not putting quite so much stock into our 401k and maybe putting more into our neighbor who just lost his job.

idealistic? maybe. but i have hope in mankind. i think (and pray, really, really pray) that we’ll do the right thing, even now…as we sip our lattes and sleep safely in our cozy, heated homes. we can do it.