John Mayer & Martin Sexton :: "Can't Stop Thinking Bout You"

For all you fans of John Mayer and who appreciate all around great music. Here is a little ditty he did w/ Martin Sexton. This is friggin awesome. So forget about the worries of your day and just kick back and give this song a listen. You won't regret it.

Don Miller at the DNC

My friend and fellow blogger Dan over at www.jesusandjava.org posted this on his blog. It is so good I have to post it as well. (Sorry for copying your idea Dan, but I have to.) It is a transcript of Don Miller's prayer and the DNC in Denver a couple of days ago. Don Miller is the author of "Blue Like Jazz" which is great book for those who are not familiar with him. Cameron Strang (publisher, founder and editor of Relevant Magazine) was originally invited by the Obama camp to give the opening night prayer but he backed out after accepting the invite. (That will be the subject of a future post.) Anyway he called Don Miller and asked him to do it and here is Miller's prayer.

TRANSCRIPT:

Father God,

This week, as the world looks on, help the leaders in this room create a civil dialogue about our future.

We need you, God, as individuals and also as a nation.

We need you to protect us from our enemies, but also from ourselves, because we are easily tempted toward apathy.

Give us a passion to advance opportunities for the least of these, for widows and orphans, for single moms and children whose fathers have left.

Give us the eyes to see them, and the ears to hear them, and hands willing to serve them.

Help us serve people, not just causes. And stand up to specific injustices rather than vague notions.

Give those in this room who have power, along with those who will meet next week, the courage to work together to finally provide health care to those who don’t have any, and a living wage so families can thrive rather than struggle.

Hep us figure out how to pay teachers what they deserve and give children an equal opportunity to get a college education.

Help us figure out the balance between economic opportunity and corporate gluttony.

We have tried to solve these problems ourselves but they are still there. We need your help.

Father, will you restore our moral standing in the world.

A lot of people don’t like us but that’s because they don’t know the heart of the average American.

Will you give us favor and forgiveness, along with our allies around the world.

Help us be an example of humility and strength once again.

Lastly, father, unify us.

Even in our diversity help us see how much we have in common.

And unify us not just in our ideas and in our sentiments—but in our actions, as we look around and figure out something we can do to help create an America even greater than the one we have come to cherish.

God we know that you are good.

Thank you for blessing us in so many ways as Americans.

I make these requests in the name of your son, Jesus, who gave his own life against the forces of injustice.

Let Him be our example.

Amen.

You can disagree and say what you want about Don Miller and his views on faith and fundamental christianity. But the guy has some relevant insights and thoughts on how our culture impacts our faith in Christ. And his prayer needed to be said whether you are a Democrat, Republican or something else. If interested in more Don Miller, please check out his book "Blue Like Jazz" which nowadays is available almost anywhere. 

The Archer wedding, hangin with Miller and just all around great times!

   So my buddy Jim Archer got married this last weekend to Rebekah Reuss, his wonderful girlfriend of the last two years. Why am I telling you this ( all three of you who read my blog)? Because Jim was one of my best friends in college and still is. If you know Jim and frequent blogs and facebook pages of his friends then I am sure you are aware that I am not the first to post 

about the Archer wedding. (Infact, I borrowed the picture to the left of Jim, Loren and I; from Loren's blog. Thanks Loren!)

   So, it is my turn to tell you all that I had a friggin blast in MN hangin with old friends and attending Jim and Rebekah's wedding. My buddy Loren Miller picked me up at that airport and from then on we pretty much spent the rest of the weekend together, which was awesome because I haven't seen him in quite a while and I consider him one of my best friends along with Jim. He also let me crash at his place which ended up saving me a lot of money by not having to get a hotel or rental car. I was w/o wife and kids because it costs so dang much ($1,500) to fly us all the way to MN from FL. Loren was sans wife for similar reasons. We had a blast seeing old college roommates and fellow Campus Crusade for Chirst friends from college. Jim's wedding was basically one big reunion and I am so glad I went. 

   I couldn't be happier for Jim. The guy is a real man. And by that I mean,  Jim is a man of his word. A man with principles and integrity. He is a guy who doesn't wavier on his principles. He is a guy that will treat Rebekah like gold. Jim is the most honest, trustworthy person I have ever met. Jim wouldn't hesitate to give you the shirt off his back. 

  As you can tell I admire Jim and consider it an honor to be his friend. Best of luck on your marriage Jim and Rebakah Archer. I will be praying for God to truly bless your marriage.

Another day, another year older

I just thought I would write a little note telling ya'll that I feel a little old today. Yes, today is my birthday. I hit the big 30 today and it made me realize a few things. First of all, sad as it is, I am not a 20 something anymore. I liked being in the 20 something category. It made me feel like I was still 'with it' or should I say 'hip'. I know that by writing that last sentence, I really am not 'hip or 'with it" but who cares. As my wife would probably tell you, I am just a big dork. But you know what, this dork is a man who has a great wife, great kids, and I love them all dearly, I am grateful for every moment I get share with them. Abby, Sam and Hannah are the best presents I could ever want and I thank God for them. 

Brett 'Jett' Favre

When I told my buddy Dan that I was starting to blog again he said, "let me guess, you wrote about Brett Favre." I told him "actually no, I wrote about parenting." He was surprised and I guess I am too that Mr. Favre had slipped my mind. So here it goes Dan, this is for you. 

     As most of you know Favre was traded to the NY Jets last week and boy am I relieved. Some might be sad and a few might even be happy but I am just glad the whole dang saga is over with. Don't get me wrong, I love Favre and I love what he has done for the Pack for the last 17 year but I am just glad this soap opera is finished. Now I can get back to cheering for my Packers and letting Aaron Rodgers win me over. As I have told several friends, I am a Packer fan first and then a Favre fan. I think the Green Bay Packer management treated Favre disrespectfully through out this whole retirement/unretirement ordeal. I think the man is entitled to a little indecision. After all, he did win a Superbowl, 3 MVPs and provided almost 17 years of above average QB play for the Packers. And the dude can still chuck the pigskin harder than I will ever be able to. So here it is. I LOVE the Packers, I think the Packers GM and management sucks, and I wish Brett Favre the best of luck with the Jets. And hope the Packers and Jets meet in the Superbowl.

Life and Parenting

So it has been a little while since my last post...well actually a great while and i doubt anyone will still be reading my blog but oh well....  And the sad thing is that not much has really changed in the McBride household since my last post. I have learned that a two year old and three year old are a handful. It seems like every other day either Sam or  Hannah come running to me crying because of something the other child has done to them or taken from them. Oh, the joys of parenting. My goal is trying to keep me cool and not get all worked up at things the kids are doing. In order to help me with my goal, their is a book I am reading that one of our pastors at our church mentioned about parenting from a biblical perspective. It talks about understanding your child's heart and how that relates to his or her actions and feelings. Obviously there is way more to it than that but I am only on the third chapter and it is pretty good. It is called "Shepherding a Child's Heart" by Ted Tripp.    

Jeanne Elaine McBride

April 3rd 1951 -- September 24th 2007

Today is a sad day. I lost my mom this morning at 5:30am. She awoke at 5am with some breathing problems and the hospice nurses treated her with a Nebulizer with a narcotic drug that helped calm her breathing and anxiety down. Then she looked over at Jacki, her partner, and died. Even though she died sooner that expected I am relieved that she is not suffering any more. She died peacefully, comfortably, without pain and with the person she loved. Please pray for my family as we deal with the grief of losing her.

Losing my Mom

My mom and my sister Kelly

So here is the update on my mom. Her name is Jeanne and he has breast cancer for those of you who didn't know that. Any way she is going downhill fast. The cancer is taking over her body and on Friday we made the decision to put her in a hospice facility called Cherry Meadows. That was her wishes when she got to the stage she is at. Right now the cancer is taking over her brain. It is also ravaging her liver, lungs, and bones. She is on a lot of pain meds for the pain and as a result is not feeling much pain but on Friday things took a turn for the worst. Lately she has started forgetting things and losing her short term memory and Friday she started to not be very lucid. She had a breathing issue where she could not get enough oxygen and she started to panic and we had to get the nurses to come to the house and then she started acting very confused and disoriented and that's when the nurse suggested that it was time to send her to the hospice facility.
So according to the hospice nurses, basically it is just a matter of days or week or two until we lose her. Her body is losing the battle against the cancer. Please pray for my mom that she doesn't feel pain and please pray for my family as we deal with my mom's impending death.

my mom's cancer update

So just the other day I bought plane tickets to go see my mom. Why am I telling you this? Well, for those of you who do not know, my mom has been fighting breast cancer for the last 5 years. And lately things have not been so good for her. She has started to go downhill since I last saw her back in early June. The cancer spread to her liver and that is what is giving her the greatest problems. She has a significant amount of pain from her liver but thankfully is able to control and stay one step ahead of the pain through some pretty strong pain meds. She is also losing her appetite and losing weight and energy as a result of this.
Basically she doesn't have much time left. You never really know exactly how long but she feels she only has a couple months left. This is so hard to hear because I love my mom so much and don't want to lose her. My sisters and my mom's partner, Jacki are also having a pretty tough time dealing with this. So prayers for my mom and our family are much appreciated. The thing that I do find comfort in during this time is that fact that mom loves and knows Jesus Christ. And she is looking forward to the day that she can forever be in the loving presence of God. Amen.
If you want to hear a first person account of dealing with cancer, check out my mom's blog. Its listed on the right side of my page.

The future of our nation?

Romney, Giuliani, McCain

Edwards, Clinton, Obama

So who is it going to be? I know it is a little early to be talking about who our next president is going to be and I know some of you don't give a crap about politics but I thought I would say a few words.
The biggest thing that I want to say is that I am completely undecided and right in the middle. Well maybe not exactly in the middle, some of you might say that I am conservative, but I would call myself a right leaning moderate. But when it comes to the six pictured above, none of them excite me that much. So my question is who should I vote for? You tell me. There are +'s and -'s about all these candidates and I don't want to get into that here. That is for you to tell me. Here is some info for you...I have voted Republican since being of age to vote BUT if the election were today I am leaning left towards Barack or Edwards. But who knows, I can be swayed one way or another. So open the dialogue and talk to me. If you don't like politics then ignore this. But if you do have an opinion, I want to here it.
I love God and love Jesus Christ but that doesn't mean that the White House is the place for a Christian. Don't get me wrong, I would hope that our President loves Christ as I do but I believe that as f0llowers of Christ we can do far more beneficial things outside of politics (more on this in a future post). I also love the environment and nature but that doesn't mean I am a tree hugging liberal. And so on...there are both liberal and conservative issues that I support. Also I am so sick of the partisan bull sh*! in our nation's capital. I would like to see a president who could bridge that divide.
So thanks for letting me rant...I won't talk politics all the time but sometimes, its whats on my and now let it be on your mind.