taking 100 photos of my day.  click here for the slide show… updated as each photo is taken.

chasing eden was amazing. really look forward to seeing this group get signed.

election sure was sooooo much fun. i have mad respect to anyone who can dance and sing, rap - - whatever. shoot, they ran all over the room and didn’t miss a note. i think they must not require breathing.

we brought all of the entertainment inside since the weather man was so sure we were going to get wet. so, it was a little of a challenge getting people in the building. we kept hearing rumors that people thought the music we were pumping outside was recorded. yes, the entertainment was THAT good. so the dance groups mixed it up a little by “stepping” outside to draw people in.

wide shot of carry the wounded. they’re REALLY loud… but really good. they scream alot… they scream alot about loving god. and they’re serious about getting the truth of they’re message out.

i did get to step out and see what was going on outside for a few minutes. from what i could tell, we had a great turn out for what was supposed to be a gusher.

i love that the puppetoons got on the rides with everyone. at one point i even saw the chick-fil-a cow taking a spin on the dizzy dragons. (this is obviously not the cow… you’ll just have to take my word for that)

(ok… the rest of these pics were taken by matthew who manned the outside while i manned inside)

this is matthew…

and this is why he looks so concerned…

jeff and michelle kapusta from lifepoint got out to join us. i saw jeff…. but i didn’t know michelle was there. sorry i missed meeting her. i did however meet jill barbour for the first time. she and her husband brad came too. funny thing… i’ve met brad several times in person. but i recognized jill before i recognized brad. it’s so cool when you meet someone you know from online.

mike, one of my volunteer sound tech’s, manning the bar-b-q

at the end of the day we could not have done it without all of our awesome volunteers.  they were just amazing.  we’re all bananas about them… well, some of us more than others. 

so, there you have it!
wish you all could have been there.
looking forward to doing it again next year!

ok… that is so stinkin’ cool.

awesome time of worship…

yes… that’s a megaphone in his hand. that’s klee doing the rap in solid rock… in true delirious form. 

we baptized people right in the middle of worship… it was so awesome to hear the place spontaneously erupt right in the middle of everything as people came up out of the water.

finally… the top secret project we’ve been working on is about to revealed.  well… sort of.  pb made everyone hold on to it without opening it during his whole message.

… and he, of course, couldn’t resist pulling everyone’s chain a little.

awesome message, pb… it’s time to walk what we talk.  the ball is now in our court.  all obstacles are being removed today.

a commission to go out and actively show the love of God to our city.  micro-missions.  each envelope contained anywhere from $5 - $20 and a mission letter with suggestions of how to use the money to bless somebody.  oh, yeah - and an invitation card…. so we can invite the people we bless to come worship with us.

seriously?!?!?!?

yeah… seriously.  the challenge is issued.  time to step up and be who we say we are.  i can’t wait to hear the stories.

rock church is just plain crazy.  crazy in love with jesus.  i love my church.

i haven’t actually used any pc journaling software but my journal 1 is listed on download.com as a free download.  it seems to get good reviews.  might be a good place to start looking.  there are some other ones that seem to run in the $39.95 range which i’m sure work great.  if anyone has a good one, leave us a comment below.

happy journaling!

video created by rock church in wilmington, nc explaining the principle of the daniel fast. written and produced by kyle runner and matthew ray.  also featuring the glory academy of fine arts dancers and, well, whoever else was standing around. 

i’m in it… helped with it a little.  kyle & matthew did all the work.  i love my team.

awakening starts today.
rock church is doing it - - anyone else out there participating?
can you use it?  of course…  go for it!

i stumbled on an old recipe i haven’t made in ages.  it’s one of my favorites and very inexpensive to make.  i thought i’d share it in case anyone needs any ideas.

perfect spaghetti with tomato sauce
2 tbsp. plus 1/4 tspn. salt
1 1/2 lbs. of baby pear tomatoes
8 oz. whole wheat spaghetti
4 tbsp. evoo
4 cloves garlic minced (or pressed)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cu fresh basil leaves loosely packed and torn

(note:  this recipe really is best with the real live fresh ingredients.  you can substitute canned italian plum tomatoes and dried basil if it’s all you have, but if you can, take the time to get the real stuff.  you won’t need much of it - it’s still an inexpensive meal with all the fresh ingredients.)

the recipe i use says to blanch and peel the tomatoes, but i never have.  i just seed them and really cut them up fine.

in a skillet, heat up the evoo.  add the garlic and simmer until golden (bout 30 sec.).  add red pepper flakes and remaining 1/4 tsp. salt.  increase heat to high and add tomatoes.  heat them through while crushing them into the garlic, pepperflakes and evoo with the back of a spoon.  the texture you’re going for is super mashed up tomatoes….not sauce.   if it gets too dry you can add a little more evoo or some water from your pasta pot.

drain your whole wheat spaghetti noodles when al dente.  then just toss the tomato sauce into the pasta.

not your typical spaghetti…it’s so, so good.
what about you?  found any good recipes for the daniel fast?

[the conversation in progress is about sand spurs]

lori:   today i found one right here on my sweater and all i did was walk from my house to the car.

bryan:  how did that happen? did you roll to your car?

carolyn:  they’re sand spurs.  all you have to do is walk out the front door and they just all go [shlup] - and they’re all over you.

lisa:  one time i got a huge burdock caught in my hair.

matthew:  your hair?  how did it get stuck in your hair?

lisa:  [in a tone that would indicate to most the following scenerio was a completely normal, everday, common experience...]  well, when you’re 3 years old and you’re riding your tricycle and you run into a sheep…

[group momentarily quiet & confused - wondering if they heard right]

carolyn:  did you just say, you ran into a sheep with your tricycle when you were 3?

lisa:  yep.  took forever to get that burdocks out of my hair.  it was huge!

hahahahaha!
but seriously, sandspurs are evil.
and, now i fear i will have nighmares about giant burdock covered sheep.

any questions?
margin.  it’s important.