Head Into the Wind!

Good morning friends. I hope that this morning finds you happy and feeling positive.

I thought I'd share some thoughts today from a guy that I read almost every morning. Seth Godin runs a website that's ranked #50 in the US for the most internet traffic. It's called Squidoo and if you're like me, you've barely heard of it. This was his post a couple of days ago:

"Yesterday, Squidoo reached one of its goals: We're now ranked #50 among all US sites in traffic. Ahead of the New York Times and Apple.

There are more than four million pages on Squidoo, from a recipe for candied chickpeas to an entire magazine about Halloween. All built by our talented members. The thing is, our tiny team grew this way with intent. Stepwise progress is a choice, and it means you invest, measure and focus your energy differently. It can be frustrating, because shortcuts get ever more tempting along the way.

With 50,000,000 unique visitors a month, our platform seems to be hitting its stride. A typical overnight success that took seven years to build. Thanks to the squids and to everyone who helped us get this far."

Now, what does this have to do with the Bay Life Worship Arts blog? Well, it's an encouragement. As a worship Pastor, I find it difficult to have patience when I don't see results NOW! My nature wants to short-cut or use some fancy process that will turbo-charge my efforts to get things done.

Now, God's word has something to say about this as you may expect. My mind goes to the parable of the seed, the Israelites in the desert, Job's life and so on but I actually have come to love a single verse and feel like God may have put it in the Bible just for me. It's Galatians 6:9 and it says:

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

So there you go. Keep on keeping on, step forward and keep making the next best step that you can make. Know that God is for us and that nothing can separate us from His love and care. That's enough for me!

Blessings,

Brad

Happy Summer Break!

Hey Friends,

It's been a while since I've posted, so I thought I'd take a minute today to say hello.

I hope you're having a great summer! It's getting close to mid-July so if you have summer plans, it's about time to get on with them - don't let the season get away from you. Have a great time!

Recently, I've been listening to a podcast called Car Talk on NPR. It's a great show that features two brothers who take calls from people with car issues and engage in advice that sounds like something that two of your wacky uncles would give you! The car advice is solid but the real attraction is how the brothers manage the conversations! It's a very funny show and a great way to make an hour of exercise easier to take.

Here's what I'm learning:
1. Having a good brother is great, and
2. A conversation with anyone is delightful if you are!

So here's what I'm gonna do - and you can hold me to it - I'm going to hang out with my brothers more and I'm going to have better conversations!

Now if you know me well, you'll understand that this is a challenge for me. You see, I'm a type A personality - I'm ALWAYS on a mission. At any given time, a conversation that interrupts my current accomplishment is in the way of the plan. Often, this is a mistake. Notice that I said often - you'll never get a guy like me to say that it's always a mistake because stuff's gotta get done! I've got to do better.

That's it! So, nothing too spiritual, just something that God is teaching me and well, life is always spiritual anyway, isn't it?

Now in the spirit of Car Talk, I'd like you to comment on this post but would you please tape your comments to the back of a 1965 Left-handed, Gibson Les Paul Ultima with high-grade quilt Maple top and flame inlaid Ebony fingerboard and mail it to my office in Brandon, FL.

Thanks and have a great summer!

Brad

Picnic at Medard Park

Easter Season at Bay Life Church

Hey Everyone,

I just wanted to write a little note to let you know that we're going to have a great Easter season - you don't want to miss what we're planning. Go to baylife.org for more.

First of all, I encourage you to get your hands on an Easter reading guide - I'm doing one from the You Version Bible called, Lent for Everyone. I'm enjoying it in preparation for Easter - great to be able to read from God's word as we prepare ourselves for Holy Week.

Secondly, we're planning an amazing experience for April 4-6 called, Journey to the Cross.

"Journey to the Cross is a contemplative experience that will guide us through 9 different elements of Holy Week. It's designed to be a time of reverence that draws us closer to our Savior and enriches our relationship with him." 

Mark your calendars and bring your family, friends and anyone you can convince to be here - it'll be an experience you won't forget.

Finally, plan on attending our Easter Service on April 7-8. It's going to be an exceptional celebration of the glory of our risen Savior. We'll worship, hear from God's word and learn how the word Empty and all that it symbolizes should have a profound effect on our lives. The service is going to be really special - don't miss it.

See you there,

Brad

Psalm 37

From Psalm 37

Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.

I like the thought in the middle of this passage - "Delight yourself in the Lord ...". I'm not a person that naturally delights in things. I'm the "get it done and don't mess around" guy. So, I've had to actually guard against becoming hardened to the joys of life and God's blessings.

Thankfully, God has blessed me with a wife that is as far the other way, toward delighting in things, as I am from it - He's great at putting complementing people together. So recently, I've been delighting in His blessings - in taking a walk around the lake in my neighborhood, in coaching a baseball team, in friendships and things that mean a lot to me but I forget to enjoy. I've found that when do I forget, all I have to do is pay attention to Reba and she gets me back on track.

Maybe this is something that provokes some thought in you. Maybe you need to spend some time with someone who delights in things more than you do.

That's it for today.

Brad

Romans 7:18

Hello friends,

It's a rainy day here in sunny Florida! Oh well, it'll be beautiful tomorrow. Today, I've been reflecting on some thoughts that my friend Glen shared last night at Bay Life Worship Choir - a great evening together, by the way. We were looking at the lyrics of the song Forever Reign http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US# . The opening line says, "You are good, You are good when there's nothing good in me". Glen showed us a verse in Romans that made this idea jump off the page for me. This is what it says:

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. (Romans 7:18 ESV)

This is Paul, yes the writer of half of the New Testament, making this confession to us. If even he had issues with doing what is right, who are we to think that we would not have trials, temptations and struggles in this life. If we're relying on our own willpower to keep our Christian lives on the rails we're going to be disappointed. We are human, our faithfulness to our Savior has to be infused with a heaping dose of grace for it to work. To think that we can be Christ-followers otherwise is to devalue His cross and its absolute necessity in this world.

With this truth, we are both humbled and we are buoyed up. We must remember that we can only live for Him as we rely on Him and, that we should not be crushed with the reality of our inevitable failures. Praise God, what a relief! However you're struggling today, be encouraged that He loves us in spite of ourselves and keep on trucking!

Thanks Glen!

Brad

Spring Musical Season Starts Tonight!

Hey Bay Life Worship Choir,

I hope that you're well and that you have plans to join us tonight as we begin our preparations for our Spring Musical scheduled for May 5-6. It's going to be a great choir season with performance events, a good number of soloist opportunities and even an ensemble or two.

I can't wait to go over the music with you all this evening. Come out to at 7 pm and don't forget to make that phone call and bring a friend.

I thought I'd let you see the choir book front cover.

See you tonight,
Brad