brent(inWorship)

I wanted to take a moment and say Merry Christmas! Wherever you are, whatever condition you are in, whomever you are spending this day with, I pray that you are able to surround yourself with Peace and Joy!

Christmas has changed so much for me over the years. From that little kid that couldn’t wait to see what was under the tree the next morning, to the Father, wishing to extend that same excitement to my kids.

Each year is a bit different as well. We have our traditions….

Christmas Eve is always filled with church. As long as I’ve grown up, that day is filled with wonderful music and people. It was no different this year. We celebrated at Table Rock this year. if you’d like to see our service, it is running continuously this weekend at our TRF Live page.

Christmas day brings cake. That’s right, cake. We always have a Birthday cake for breakfast to celebrate Jesus Birthday. This one looks good!

But, a part from traditions, the one thing that stays true and constant for me is family. Tomorrow, we spend the day at my parents houe and look forward to a wonderful dinner together. The grandkids will play with their new toys or whatever shiny thing they got, the ladies will be chatting in the dining room and the boys will inevitably be around the TV watching whatever Christmas day event is on. I love it. We are together, we are relaxed and we soak it in.

Another part of my family is my kids. I love them. I can’t wait for them to enjoy what Santa has brought them this year

And then, there is Tammy. I adore her. She is so giving and sacrificial this time of year. She thinks of everything. She never forgets anyone and she makes sure that everyone else is taken care of and thought of, before she rests. I truly adore her. I love how graceful and thoughtful she is. Truly a gift.

Tammy, Kassidi and Dakota, I love you and wish you a Merry Christmas!

And to all of you a blessed holiday season!

The family photos in this post are thanks to LoveIsGreaterPhoto

Seriously…I’m not worthy! But after 18 years today, she’s still here.

I love you Tammy!

Proud of my kids. They’ve worked hard and had a great concert yesterday at a local Harley Dealership. This is some video I took with my iPhone, broadcast via Qik to the internet, so quality isnt very good, but you get the idea.

If your not familiar with my kids. Kassidi is 15 and the lead vocalists and Dakota is 12 and the drummer

Enjoy!

This post is a part of “Sunday Setlists”

This weekend was a bit different for me. I had the weekend off from leading worship and instead went camping with my son Dakota. Every year, our church holds an event called “Fish Camp”. It is a “guys” only event and we encourage dads and sons to participate. We also have grandparents with grandkids and neighbors with family friends. It is always a blast. The food is incredible and it is such a peaceful and relaxing time. It is held at a camp our church manages for the county called “Camp Apserkaha”. It is right on the shores of a Howard Prairie Lake. Absolutely beautiful!

A shot from the camp shore…

Here’s the fish Dakota caught!

When we got home last night, we came home to this…

A crazy thunder storm. It was awesome! We don’t get them a lot in Southern Oregon, but when do, they remind me of the days we used to visit family in the midwest. I love me a good thunderstorm. Of course, what does the “in” family do when there is lightning and thunder? We grab all our electronics and grab pics/video and audio

A little audio of the thunder…

A little video on the lightning…By the way, we run back into the house at the end of this clip to get the computer out of the rain

On Thursday’s I want to take time to highlight my family. Maybe a trip we are on or a special event. Maybe something we are learning together, or something I am learning as a Father. In any case, it will always be real and honest.

Today’s post needs no introduction or explanation. I give you my son…Dakota.

Today, we have the privilege of enjoying an actual written post on my blog

My amazing wife Tammy has a weekly post entitled “Thursday Swap”. For some reason she felt it appropriate to swap posts with me today. Probably just to get me to write something!. Here’s the deal. I have written an amazing post for today, but it isn’t here. It’s there. What is here is the amazing post Tammy has written for me. So, without further ado...

okie dokie, boys. mama’s here now. it’s gonna be O-kay.

what?

seriously. some all of you might have noticed that brenty is quite the inconsistent blogger. its not that he doesnt enjoy his blog, he just needs a schedule, a routine laid out for him. trust me, i live with the man…i know what im talking about.

so…this is where we come in! we’re gonna set up a schedule for him. thats right. we’re taking over!

im gonna throw out the idea i had. im kinda thinking…thematic days. each day can have an assigned topic – a theme.

mondays - review of the weekend at church. sunday setlist – message points – highs & lows, etc…

tuesdays - could be something that stood out from another blog, a twitter discussion, an interesting video. something he may want to elaborate on.

wednesdays - i think he should dedicate this day to “hot points”. see his post over at my place to get a better idea on this.

thursday - brent is a great father! and our kids provide a ton of material to write about. he could possibly share something about the kids, parenting, do’s/dont’s.

friday - free day. not a non-post day. but i think friday can be used to further discussion about an earlier post from the week or tech stuff…which he loves!

this is just an idea. not set in stone…at all. id like you all to jump in here and share your thoughts and ideas too. if you have something completely different that you think would be fun, inspiring and creative for brent to blog…tell us.

i should say, also, that he wants to blog. he doesnt feel he has to – he has just felt theres been no direction. and thats where we come in.

so its open to you now! what are your ideas to keep brent motivated and on schedule?!