I found wp2go and am giving it a try. I like the idea of posting from my phone!
Here’s a random phone pic to test that:
Pastor by trade, preacher by passion…
This Sunday I will have the day off. (Ken Ferguson will be preaching on Ignition Sunday @ Pineview, go youth team!) I am really really looking forward to it. It’s time to dream, pray, spend time with family (although Krista ended up working on New Year’s as a trade-off to Christmas, oh well) and read.
I may also buy an electric guitar. My good pal Caleb Delamont has thrown some solid advice my way.
There were a couple of highlights for me for Christmas 2009:
1) The Christmas series “Giving Great Gifts” was very rewarding. To pardon the pun, it was a gift to me to see people making changes in their lives and being inspired by the series. God gave us all some great gifts, and allows us to share them others! You can hear the series at Pineview Community Church’s website or from iTunes.
2) Krista played a very tough set of music for our Christmas Eve service. She worked her butt off and really nailed it. It was really difficult and she did a stellar job. On a similar but completely unrelated note, it was really quite inspiring to see all those candles held high with the lights off.
3) A thirst for God. These past few weeks of asking the question “What gift can I give to someone in light of what God has given to me?” has really made me reflect on what God has given us. Immanuel, God with us! He wanted me to know Him like He knows me and so Jesus was born. What a gift.
Ok, well that’s more than a couple of things. I can do that, it’s our blog! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
My pal Kevin Baker (** SHAMELESS PLUG** – His CD makes an awesome Christmas gift!!! Go buy it today at http://www.CDBaby.com) was recently musing (which is what artists do) and came up with the following thoughts:
Something that makes you go….hmmmmmmmmmm (Today at 9:08am)
As I drove into work today….God spoke something very clear to me….
Something that I need to write into a sermon message actually…but it goes something like this….
It’s all based out of my wants and needs and things that I’m personally going through or going through with my family….when I say things like… “why God is our life the way it is…why aren’t things going the way I think they should be going…blah blah blah…I could go on…..etc.”
When I was saying these words….I heard….”Come to me and pray about it”…..and I responded “I am”…”I do”….then I heard… “REALLY?…..because it all sounds like whining and complaining to me”
I stopped and thought about it for a moment….how often do we say that we’re “Praying about it”….but in reality we’re not….we’re just spouting, pouting, whining, complaining, living out of a heart of bitterness and frustration….etc……an
d yes…God hears it….but I don’t think he truly honors it….
His word doesn’t say….”Whine and complain about all things to me and I will give you the desires of your heart”….it says….”DELIGHT yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart”- Psalm 37:4
Phillipians 4:6 says this (NIV) “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
I could continue to write more…but then it would turn into a sermon…but that’s the point that God spoke to me…VERY CLEARLY….something to chew on for all of us I think!
So…do you Pray or Complain?
Excellent question!!!
One of the perks of having Krista work at Starbucks is a partner discount day, where she can purchase items with a killer discount. Since our current coffee maker was having issues with allowing the water through the brewing cycle (it would drip out after the brew cycle was supposed to be finished), and because it was also brewing a harsh bitter flavor (after trying multiple brands and strengths), we decided to take advantage of the discount.
We purchased a Saeco Venus 8 Cup Coffeemaker. It’s the same size as our old coffee maker, at 8 cups, so it’s great for small gatherings. Considering our house is a size where a small gathering is all that’s possible, this is good. It asks you to run it through a cycle to remove any dust and packing particles and then, once it’s cooled off, you’re ready to brew.
Krista likes the stainless steel. I’m not one for aesthetics, but it does match our knife set (you can see it on the extreme left of the photo). However, it doesn’t match our toaster. Toaster update time?
The first positive we experienced was the taste! The first brew it made was excellent. No harsh residue or “burned” flavor remained. That was one reason we wanted to try a new brewing machine, our old one would give coffee a burned bitter aftertaste that would not go away, even after de-scaling! Normally after 1-2 cups, I would get a slight discomfort from the taste, but not after this first brew.
The second is the sealing factor of the lid and the carafe. Both the lid where the grounds and water reservoir are stored along with the seal on the carafe lid are more than adequate. There are appropriate vents to allow steam to disperse, so don’t store this close to the bottom of your cabinet.
The only dislike we have is the water level indicator. It’s on the inside of the water reservoir, on the tube. Because of the lighting in our kitchen, we need to use a flashlight to measure out the water. If Saeco had put the water level indicator on the outside of the casing, it would have been given a 10/10. However I only give this coffee maker an 9 because of this weird design flaw. A small pet peeve is that none of the parts are dishwasher friendly, but that’s only minor.
All in all, we’re quite happy with our discounted purchase! Let the good times roll!