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I’ve read a couple of blog posts in the past few minutes that have really struck a chord with me. I encourage you to go to the following two links and check out the posts. Don’t stop there though, go through the comments and hear what others are doing in similar situations. Post 1 from Ragamuffin Soul. and Post 2 from Joshua Griffin. Check them out!

The reality is, we live in a fascinating time. We have dozens of affordable luxuries at our fingertips daily. The question for us should not be: “Can I afford that”, but “Do I need that”. What do we really need? what could we do without? 

I’m wondering what some of you have to say about this. I’m wondering if you’ve ever gone without a modern luxury, so that you can tackle debt, be obedient to God, sponsor a Compassion child, to “Go Green”, or anything else along those lines. 

In the spirit of full disclosure, I feel the need to say that I don’t do without any of these things. I’m not seeking to convict, just to spark conversation! Jenessa and I have digital cable with DVR. We have RoadRunner cable internet. We both have cell phones. We do NOT have a home phone, but only because we honestly have ZERO need for one. We drive two cars, but have no car payment… when we purchased a new car after totaling our old car, we stayed within the boundaries of the insurance check to replace that car.

 I actually went through a period about  a year ago where I contemplated killing the cable at our house. After thinking about it, and figuring out the money I would be saving, I determined that it wouldn’t be “worth it”. Turns out that I’m on some freaky cheap package with Time Warner Cable. I get Digital Cable + DVR + Roadrunner Internet for $85.00 per month. If I cancelled the cable, my RoadRunner internet would go up to $45 per month by itself. The nature of my work situation at Journey Church does not allow me to go without the internet at my house, so we determined that $40 a month was worth the Cable & DVR.

For the record, I could totally go without cable. There are resources & tools out there that would enable me to enjoy all of the same programming I do now, without the cost. My ideal setup would be: Apple TV + BoxeeTV + Hulu + Netflix. Now I just need someone to step up and buy me that Apple TV for Pastor Appreciation Month!  (I never thought that I’d link to CBN on this blog!)

(First off, Sorry for the blogging break. The past couple of weeks have been spent traveling, and jumping back into the full swing of the Fall ministry season at Journey Church.)

I’ve made some recent book & music purchases that have me excited about what I will learn & experience over the next few months. Check out the recent additions to my library and let me know what you think in the comments!

Music: (Loving some of these new tunes)

• OK Now – Jon McLaughlin – Just purchased Jon’s new album this morning. Can’t wait to give it a few full listens and hear what he’s created in the time since his outstanding first release, Indiana.
• The Glass Passenger – Jack’s Mannequin – In college, “Something Corporate” was one of my favorite bands. Now Andrew (lead singer) has been off on his own for a while. I love what I’ve heard so far from this 2nd album! 
• Under Summer Sun – Matt Wertz – Matt’s music was meant to be listened to in the summertime. Unfortunately, the album didn’t come out until late summer… still a great listen though!
• The Bright Sadness – Charlie Hall – Hands down the best album currently out in the “worship” genre. Charlie delivers in a big way both musically and lyrically with this gem!
• Hello Love – Chris Tomlin – Tomlin is God’s cheerleader. This album is a collection of anthems that churches all over the world will be singing in a few months. Great stuff. 

As I worked through the unread posts in my RSS reader, I came across several posts along these lines today. This one by Kem Meyer touched me the most… particularly the end. I can not say it any better, please go here and read what Kem has to say about the 9/11 tragedy, and the effect it’s had on her.

For the record, here’s my memory of that day: I was still asleep when the first plane hit (I had a pretty sweet schedule my senior year of high school, my first class wasn’t until 11:30). My mother woke me up with the news that: “A plane hit the World Trade Center”. That didn’t mean much to me… I assumed it was an accident, and proceeded to go back to sleep. A few minutes later my mom came back in and said: “They think it may have been terrorists”. In 2001, the word “terrorist” didn’t really mean what it does in 2008, nonetheless, I rolled over, and flipped on the TV in my bedroom. Casually watching the news coverage, and realizing how serious this “accident” was, I was lying in bed when the second plane hit. My mom screamed from the living room where her and my dad were watching the same coverage. Instantly everything changed, my mind raced to the possibilities of the extent of what I might see next. I remember running out into the living room too watch all of this unfold with my parents. We soon found out when the 3rd plane hit the Pentagon, and the 4th crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. 

The next few hours went something like this: We prayed, my mom cried, my dad enrolled in the army (just kidding, but he was close), my brother called home from college, we watched the news, we heard about a plane crashing into a building in Dayton, Ohio (sheer coincidence, small single engine plane, but just imagine what we were thinking), I drove both of our cars to the gas station to get gas (the lines were so long), I didn’t go to school that day.

I’ll never forget that day. One day I’ll try to convey to my children what we all felt and experienced that day. While I hope they are moved, and gain understanding from the things I’ll share with them, I hope they never have to experience themselves. My prayers tonight will be for the families of those lost in the various stages of this tragedy, and for the men & women all over the world serving our country to prevent a similar catastrophe for future generations.

You know those people that you wish you “knew”? You might read their books, hear them speak, or watch them from afar, and they just seem like they would be so cool to “know”. Like… hang out with, go to dinner with, watch football with. People that just seem like they would be a lot of fun to be around. 

Well, Lanny Donoho is one of those people. The dude is hilarious… he seems down to earth, and he’s typically brutally honest. His book: God’s Blogs is absolutely hilarious, yet utterly insightful. I wish I “knew” Lanny… that would be fun. 

You can understand why I was excited when I discovered that he had just recently began to Twitter. The excitement doubled when I realized that he started blogging a couple of months ago. He has now assumed a prominent place on the list of “Blogs I Dig” to the left. 

If you want a glance inside Lanny’s head, read his first blog post here. If you want more, add him to your RSS and enjoy the ride! In the meantime, I’m curious… who is the person you watch from afar that you wish you “knew”?