Making the Connection

I went to my daughters’ awards ceremony today. They do this every year on the last day of school. I just want to let everyone know how proud I am of my girls. They both were presented with just about every award and certificate you can receive.

Kenzie got the Merit Scholarship in her class which includes $150 toward her tuition. She’s already raking in the big bucks! Not only did she get recognized for how brilliant she is, but what I am really proud of is that she got the most outstanding student in 4th grade which included her citizenship and character. Her teacher told about how one girl in her class noticed that Kenzie seemed to have such joy in her life. When the girl asked Kenzie about it, she told her that it was because she has Jesus in her heart. Kenzie really sets an example for us when it comes to living a joy-filled life that is attractive to others.

Bethanie got awards for many of her subjects, but she also recieved a Bible award for memorizing a ton of verses this year. She was recognized as the most helpful in her class. She is learning what it means to be a servant.

They were both acting like they were sad because school is out for the year. All I remember on my last day’s of school was being so excited to get out of there. I’m trying to tell them, summer is going to fly by, so we need to enjoy every minute of it.

Here’s the play by play of the American Idol finale through my eyes and ears: It was an incredible night of music. I loved Melinda Doolittle singing with BeBe and Cece Winans on "Hold Up The Light." She did a great job filling in for Whitney Houston. The top 6 guys sang a tribute to Smokey Robinson kicking off with a song arranged by Take 6, featuring the gospel group’s unmistakably tight harmonies. Chris Sligh really sounded right on. I’ve been following Chris’s blog lately. He is a worship leader at Seacoast Church in Greenville and has a passion for Jesus Christ. AI had, in my opinion, the ultimate soul songstress, Gladys Knight, who came out with a gospel song, which was followed by one of my favorite songs of all time, "Midnight Train to Georgia." (I loved it when the girls did the train motion as they sang "Whoo Whoo.")

The bad: Tony Bennett and Bette Midler. I am so thankful for TiVO!

And the winner is: 17 year-old Jordin Sparks. Jordin closed out the night with her first single "This Is My Now" which was chosen by a national competition this year. The winning song was written by Christian singer/songwriter Scott Krippayne. Jordin has sung bgv’s with Michael W. Smith for a couple of his Christmas tours and came in second in 2004 at Music in the Rockies (which was founded by Cam Floria, if that name sounds familiar to you, think "Bram" Floria and you’ll get the Connection connection). I’m excited about her winning because she has an awesome platform to be a roaring lamb in our culture. Let’s pray that she will make wise decisions and keep her focus on Jesus as her career takes off. It couldn’t have happened to a nicer, or more gifted, girl.

Check out these samples from Sunday’s worship set. The band did an awesome job. And Micah did a great job with the Fray song, "How To Save a Life":

We had our monthly team meeting yesterday. Every month, we read a book on leadership together to grow as a team. This month’s was Doing Church as a Team by Wayne Cordiero. Here’s what we discussed:

1. You can’t do it alone! (p. 11)
2. The church has outgrown all of us. (p. 17)
3. The Great Commission is the foundation for team building. (p. 19)
4. God has placed TCC in this city at this time and has brought you into it. (p. 23) Why?
5. The channel of our provision isn’t the source of our provision. (p. 38) Vocation vs. Occupation
6. Move from consumer to contributor. (p. 41)
7. The church is a battleship not a cruise liner. (p. 45)
8. Everyone is a 10 in some area. (p. 55)
9. If you want God’s blessing, use your gifts with the right heart and the right motives. (p. 75)
10. It’s not the size of the task but the size of the heart. (p. 76)
11. God deserves our best. (p. 84)
12. To find leaders, you have to believe they’re there. (p. 88)
13. Don’t hire those who can do it well. Hire those who can facilitate others who will do it well. (p. 92)
14. Every person has a dream of what they can be for God. (p. 95)
15. Secure people encourage others and enjoy their successes. (p. 101)
16. A secure leader vs. an insecure leader. (p. 101)
17. New leaders should shadow a mature leader. Follow a mature leader around in an area that interests you. (pp. 108, 116) I do, you watch. We do together. You do I applaud.
18. Pass the baton then run alongside them. (p. 118)
19. Your vision is the goal God has set for your life and ministry. (p. 123)
20. Vital questions (p. 124)
21. Dream big dreams for God. (p. 128)
22. Example of fulfilling the vision. (p. 133)
23. Harness the power of alignment – vision caught and shared by everyone involved. (p. 149)
24. Aligned ministries directly fulfill the church’s overarching vision. (p. 153, alignment questions)
25. How to do fractal teams (pp.176-189)
26. The way leaders communicate their values builds a certain culture. (p. 213)
27. Ministry should be fun. It should charge us up! (p. 215)

Funnest Day

Bethanie dubbed today, "The Second Funnest Day Ever," next, of course, to our Disney Trip. The kids had a half-day of school so I picked them up for lunch and we:

• Went to Zilker Park (beautiful weather)
• Had a Chick-Fil-A picnic on a blanket on the grass
• Visited the Edwards Aquifer Museum
• Rode the Zilker Zephyr train
• Had snow cones
• Played catch with a ball and frisbee
• Played on the new percussion instruments on the playground
• Met Pam to go see Shrek the Third at the new Cinemark off of Slaughter (just opened today I think) They gave us free Shrek posters and Spider-Man 3 t-shirts
• Picked up those McDonald’s "collector" Shrek glasses (Bethanie had to have one!)

I don’t know how the day could have been any more fun. It was a blast! They are my sweethearts and the most fun people to be around.