Powell Gardens Flowers

Over Labor Day, I went to Powell Gardens which is about 45 minutes east of Kansas City. They have lots of nice flower gardens as well as some agriculture exhibits.

H1N1 Rap

With this blog post, The Wisdom of Dre celebrates it's 300th post.

The video speaks for itself. Fun stuff.



Remember, wash your hands.

Power

Everyone wants power in some measure, whether a lot or a little, for selfish or selfless reasons, for good or evil. Seek to use that which is given, wisely.

Bag of Money

A bag of money picked up on a recent trip to the Kansas City Federal Reserve. They have a really nice exhibit set up telling all about the history of money in the U.S. as well as present operations and you even get to see some of the workers in the money sorting/counting/shredding room. They've recently implemented some robots as well that help with moving money from place to place. Their names are Huey, Duey, and Louie.

Make Love, Make War

Make Love Make War by Brian Doerksen

In this book, Brian Doerkson, a worship leader and song writer, walks the reader through the process of writing songs and the stories behind some of his songs.

At times, there can be a tendency for church gatherings to want to sing happy clappy songs but Doerksen shares about the importance of also singing about the sad and difficult times in life. He shares some of the rough spots in his own life such as having two special needs children as well as professional disappointment and some of the songs that came out of those times.

There can be a false sense of infallibility that audience members sometimes associate with pastors and worship leaders. The reality is that they are real people with some of the same issues that those "in the pew" deal with. It is nice to read an account of a leader who is willing to open up some of the tough scenarios he's dealt with in his own life.

As a song writer myself, I was encouraged in the creative aspects of writing and actually wrote several songs while reading the book. One tip Doerksen offers is to keep a journal or some place to store ideas whether or not you're able to complete an entire song at the moment. He gives examples of ideas that he's come back to later to include in a song. Another idea he offers is to co-write with others to help give a different perspective or break through a spot you're stuck at in writing.
He challenges the reader to be willing to take musical risks and not always feel that he or she needs to follow a set pattern. Another crucial element is to ground a song in scripture and to even include scripture within the song. He also provides encouragement to write from a genuine place and to not try to necessarily write songs for the masses. Some of the great songs we sing today started with the writers by themselves pouring out their hearts before God.

This book would be good for songwriters, those interested in learning more about the song writing process, or those simply interested in learning more about what it's like to be a worship leader on a day to day basis.

If you found this review helpful, please let Amazon know at this link.

Watkins Mill

A recent field trip consisted of a visit to Watkins Mill the last standing woolen mill from the 19th century. In it's heyday the mill produced tons of fabric and employed around 40 to 50 people at a time. It was all run by steam engine which was wood fired. An elaborate system of pulleys, belts, and rods throughout the mill powered a bunch of different equipment designed to transform wool from just off the sheep to something that could be used for fabric.

The mill was 4 stories tall and employed men, women, and boys. During that day, depending on the role, a person could make a very good wage as compared with traditional agriculture jobs. The pay rate was anywhere from 50 cents to $3 per day depending on the role with the exception being those involved in weaving who were paid 3 to 9 cents per yard. The skill level also corresponded to some degree with social class as a direct result of higher pay.

It looked to have been a very dangerous place to work and would be an OSHA nightmare today. People regularly lost fingers or were otherwise injured by the equipment. You could allegedly hear the mill from 2 miles away. On the day that I went it was around 80 degrees and I was sweating inside while not doing any strenuous activity so I imagine it would have been very hot, noisy, a tough work back in the day.









Carding
Loom

Spindles


Wood powered engine
Checkers in the store
Store


Barn nearby

Going home after a hard day's work
Watkins Mill
Some of the local workers

How He Loves Us

I really like this version of "How He Loves Us." It's an extremely powerful song.

Trap Shooting

This weekend, me and some fellas went trap shooting close to Smithville Lake at the trap range. I recently purchased a shotgun so this was my first opportunity to try it out. It will take a few more times to become a more accurate shot but was a fun first usage of the gun. A few clay pigeons lost their lives in the process. Shed a tear if you must but it is for the greater good. ;)

Chick-fil-a Liberty, MO

Well folks, Chick-fil-a Liberty, MO has been open for 2 weeks now and it has induced happiness. Here are a couple of pictures.



As one of my first jobs in high school, I was a Chick-fil-a cow, similar to this brave soul.

Last Birthday Ever

Well ladies and gentleman, I believe this will be my last birthday ever. Hence forth, we will only celebrate anniversaries of this, the 29th. :) The past year has been filled with lots of good times mixed with a few discouragements along the way.

From a travel perspective, I got to visit California's San Diego, La Jolla, Joshua Tree National Park, and L.A. Atlanta and Nashville were also visited. International travel included a trip to the Cayman Islands. I didn't do any overnight backing trips but did several local day hiking trips.

Musically, I continued playing bass in the worship band at church which has continued to be a source of enjoyment and honor to serve. From a teaching standpoint, I've continued to teach some guitar lessons with just one student at the moment. As far as live concerts, I went to a Dierks Bentley and a Pat Green concert as well as the National Worship Leader conference with numerous well known worship leaders such as David Crowder Band, Mac Powell, Jeremy Riddle, Paul Baloche, and Laura Story. Recently, I've written several songs which has been fun to get back into. It's been quite a while since this kind of musical production has been undertaken but in the past month or so, I've written complete or fragments of around 5 or 6 songs.

From an education perspective, much of my free time was consumed by taking classes in financial planning which I just completed and have a certificate in financial planning. In addition to coursework, I also began helping counsel people through the Crown Financial Money Map program as well as Financial Peace University.

Athletically, I'm running around 3 times a week and try to lift weights a couple times as well. No big time races but I did run a 5k at the beginning of this summer.

Spiritually, I've been involved with a men's bible study group over the past 8 months which has been good in spending time with and investing in each other's lives as we study the Bible and live life. God has taught me through this year and recently I've been walking very closely with Him. He has been my rock and stronghold, always leading when I follow. I don't know where He will lead me in the future but am excited for all He has planned.

Blue Nile Cafe

This evening, I went to an Ethiopian restaurant called Blue Nile Cafe in the River market district of Kansas City. The food was very spicy and there was no silverware. They had a type of bread rolled up that had a texture similar to a thin pancake which you used to pick up the food with. Kind of unique. Just before leaving, a jazz trio set up and started to play which was pretty cool.

Ever Seen a Greenberry?

This is a blueberry


This is not


This fella must have gotten confused and hopped on the wrong bus.

National Worship Leader Conference

This week I had the opportunity to attend the National Worship Leader Conference. It was held in Leawood, Kansas at Church of the Resurrection so was just a hop, skip, and a jump away for me. It was pretty incredible to get so many leaders (estimated 1,600) in the worship music area across the nation together. There were concerts by musicians such as David Crowder Band, Mac Powell, Laura Story, Aaron Shust, Paul Baloche, Matt Maher, Jeremy Riddle, and Christy Nockels. During the day there were also seminars touching on a variety of topics relevant to worship leaders. The days were long but it was very cool to spend time with so many worship leaders and the times of worship were amazing. The audience was ready to be set aflame with hearts in worship to God.

Once in a Millennium

Tomorrow at precisely 4:05:06 AM a once in a Millennium event will occur. The date and time will be 04:05:06 07/08/09. This will not occur for another thousand years.

Fireworks

Here are some pictures from 4th of July fireworks at Hidden Valley park and Worlds of Fun. I'd not taken the moving sparkler shots before but thought they turned out very cool.

Singing Warriors

2 Chronicles 20:21-22 "And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, 'Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever.' And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed."

The background story for this passage is that Jehoshaphat (as a side note, this would be a great name for a cat :) and Judah were about to be attacked by the Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites, "a great multitude." Needless to say, the nation of Judah, along with their king, were a bit afraid. They fasted and prayed and cried out to God recognizing their inability to conquer the enemy. He heard them and the Lord of angel armies assured them that they would be victorious in battle. When they got up, ready to go out to battle, the king appointed people to sing praise to the Lord. Not only did they sing, but they LED THE WHOLE ARMY! They were claiming victory before the battle even started and were so confident in God's power that they put the singers up front.

I don't know what it sounded like but I like to think of something along the lines of "O Fortuna" by Carl Orff from Carmina Barina. It's a massive choral piece that starts out very terse and soft and half way through the timpani kick in and the chorus goes from pianisimo to fortismo immediately. It's huge and would strike fear in opposition. At the huge part, I think of the angel armies of God rushing forward utterly decimating and destroying the enemy.



Judah then went to gather an enormous amount of plunder for 3 days followed by a time of worship and celebration for God's providence.

I think there's application here for people going through difficult circumstances or seemingly insurmountable obstacles in life. Of course, proper preparation and wisdom is vital but don't get so caught up in the tough spot that you forget who is Lord. Instead of freaking out and worrying to death, praise Him in the moment then go and stride forward claiming victory.

Here's a simple song I wrote based on this passage.

I will praise you Lord in the darkest night
when the battle roars when it's hard to fight
I will praise you Lord when evil comes
when I want to hide when I want to run

I'm gonna praise You, yes I will praise You

The victory is Yours oh God
You are the Lord the mighty One
Salvation comes by Your own hand
and with You, I'll always stand

Town Hall with Sam Graves

Yesterday, I went to an outdoor town hall to hear my congressman, Sam Graves, speak. There were around 250 people there and the topic was centered on tax reform. He talked about the unfairness of the estate tax being a double tax after having the money already taxed at the time it was earned. He also mentioned the Fair Tax which seems to be gaining some support in congress. The fair tax is a concept of abolishing the current income tax system and instead using a national sales tax. This would allow people to choose when to pay tax by when they choose to purchase things. There are also provisions that would make necessities like food effectively non-taxable. He also talked about making the tax system less onerous on small businesses and the fact that the government by and large does not create jobs but rather small businesses create jobs.

A lot of times I don't entirely agree with a politician but through responses to emails I've written him and along with hearing him in person, I found that his philosophies match up with mine, at least fiscally. It was nice to see an actual member of congress in person and get the sense that he is really working to make a difference in the federal government.