Happy New Year to my friends, family and readers of RKWL! What a whirlwind 2008 has been as the first year in our new southern California life as a family. From 2008 the following is a snapshot…

• Kids finish first time being homeschooled for the 2007-08 and enter public schooling. So far so good.
• Both kids get braces. Ouch. Ouch.
• We sell our house of five years we owned in Redding, CA for a decent price in this economy. Miracle.
• I become even more geeky. We have router issues at home now.
• My wife starts a business, or two.
• I  pass my 4oth year in 2008! Ouch.
• Blogging favorites like Worship Mythbusters and a new blog at Tehilla Music started.
• I performed the wedding for my good friend Zach Tanksley.
• My daughter entered High School, and now leads worship with me.
• We are “post minivan” now as a family.
• Cigars are nice. Ahhh.
• iPhones are nice, too.
• 20th year in ministry passed me by. Wow.
• New friends. Missing old friends.
• A quiet small family Christmas.
• Need for long sleeves reduced to half. New sandals, anyone?

For 2009? Let’s roll…

WMB is a series and this is Part 3, a final wrap up for  Monday’s post & Wednesday’s post…

The Myth of a painless offering of worship.

I believe that worship, speaking even of and specifically about our weekend gatherings, is not painless. Of course I do not mean that it is “painful” but that it is a myth to think we are entitled to worship without cost.  Yeah, I used the word “painless” as a way to address our demand in our culture for ease.  The goal it seems is to ease our lives, when sometimes things we do that cause pain actually advance us.  Exercise is a perfect example of this. Read the rest of this entry »

WMB is a series and this is Part 2 from Monday’s post…

The myth of a painless offering of worship

If worship is perhaps not a “painless offering” than it is not…

• three easy payments
• about feeling good all the time
• without cost
• all my favorite songs
• without using my brain
• always convenient
• about my preferences
• something for me but from me

Anything else we can add to the list?