From the Mind of MandoRon

My 8-year-old daughter keeps wanting to text and send emails to different family members.

So I mentioned to my wife that maybe we should get Jada her own email account.  (Definitely no cell phone though…)  She thought it was a good idea, so I set one up for her and for my 6-year-old son who is just learning to read (and pitched a fit that he wasn’t getting one.)

Needless to say they were excited, and have sent several emails to grandpas, grandmas, aunts, and each other.  Even Jett typed an email that went something like this: “Do you love me? I like you. I love  you.”

It occurred to me that I had no idea at what age most kids get email addresses.   I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone talk about it.

I think a few questions for you, the reader, are in order:

1. How old were your kids when they got their own email accounts?
2. Did you take any special safety precautions?
3. Any other thoughts on the subject?

Leave a comment, ’cause I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Many people hate speaking in public.  I’ve never minded, but it seems like my body used to react violently to speaking in front of even a small group.  It was a completely physiological reaction: chest tightens, heart starts beating rapidly, vision narrows, mind goes blank, sweat starts flowing, etc…  It drove me nuts!

Eventually I got over it, and my body stopped rebelling against public speaking.

The same thing happened when I started playing mandolin in church.  I’d get really nervous, especially if I was bringing in a song or playing part of a song by myself.  Five years later, I’m much more comfortable.

But then last night, I volunteered to lead worship at a Celebrate Recovery small group.  While I’m comfortable playing in public, singing is a whole other matter.  And I’ve never lead worship solo before either.

We’ve all seen the American Idol auditions where the singers are so nervous that they can barely stand.  And I’ve always found it interesting how being nervous makes you really pitchy.  That was me last night.  I’m a pitchy, mediocre singer at best.  But combined with nerves, I think I missed every single note in all 3 songs. 

And I got so focused on the vocals, that I made a ton of mistakes playing guitar.  Crazy since I know those sings inside and out.

Ironically,  I read this scripture from Isaiah 40 to them before I started:

“But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.”  (Isaiah 40:31, NLT)

If only it had said “They will play guitar and not be nervous.  They will sing and not be pitchy.”  I wonder if some of ancient scribes accidentally left off that part.

I wonder if they’ll invite me back…

Happy Valentines Day Ya’ll!

(I can’t believe I just used ya’ll in a sentence…  Too much country music, I guess…)

Today at GracePoint, we kicked off a new series “5 Easy Steps to Wreck Your Life”.  Bryson preached a hard-hitting (and gloriously sarcastic) sermon about “How to Commit Adultery”.  Very fitting subject for Valentines Day!

The teaser videos for the series has an animated guy singing country, so we were asked to provide some country music for the series. We’ll see if the band survives four weeks of it… 

We also had a new pianist this week, Stephanie.  She’s going to be a great addition.

The music:

• Before He Cheats by Carrie Underwood (walk-in)
• Let God Arise by Chris Tomlin
• Sing My Love by Sarah McMillan
• Amazing Grace by John Newton (House of the Rising Sun style)
• You Are My King (Amazing Love) by Billy James Foote (Newsboys version)
• I Run to You by Lady Antebellum (offering)

Before He Cheats doesn’t exactly model ideal behavior, but given the sarcastic nature of the sermon series, it seemed fitting for a sermon on adultery.  We really needed some steel guitar, but oh well. 

Let God Arise is a favorite.

Sing My Love is another one we’ve been doing for a while.  Great song!

Amazing Grace… This was the second time we’ve done this one using the music for House of the Rising Sun by The Animals.  The arrangement was two verses (complete with 3 part harmony on the first verse!), guitar solo, two more verses, mandolin solo, repeat first verse.  Great stuff!

You Are My King has been in the rotation for many years too.  I like it because it’s easy to sing along with, and has such powerful lyrics.

I Run to You was picked to go with the sermon, but it turned out to be perfect for Valentines’s day.  Jamie and Thomas did a great job on the vocals.

The band:  two female and one male singer, electric guitar, electric mandolin (me!), bass, drums, and piano.

If you’re interested, you can now download the worship set each week from iTunes. 

For more Sunday Setlists, be sure to check out TheWorshipCommunity.com and see what other churches are doing.

Super Bowl Sunday and the last week of the “Red Zone” series at GracePoint!  Congratulation to the Saints!  And Mike, I’m sorry about the hair. Okay… maybe not…

The setlist:

• Back in Black by AC/DC (walk-in)
• Holding Nothing Back by Martin Smith and Tim Hughes (Jesus Culture version)
• Hold You High by By the Tree
• Revelation Song by Jenny Riddle (Jesus Culture version)
• Jesus Paid It All by Kristian Stanfill
• Rise Above This by Seether (offering)

The band:  1 male and 1 female singer, electric guitar, electric mandolin (me), acoustic guitar (also me, but not at the same time), bass, keys, and drums.

Recordings of the worship set are now available on itunes… check it out.

Also, be sure to check out TheWorshipCommunity.com for more Sunday Setlists!

It was good to be serving again after two Sundays off.  It was a real pleasure to mix sound this week, because the band was phenomenal!  GracePoint is extremely blessed and privileged to have so many talented musicians willing to serve.

This was week 2 of the “Red Zone” series leading up to next week’s Super Bowl. 

The Setlist:

• Born to Be Wild by Steppenwolf (walk-in)
• Give You Glory by Jeremy Camp
• See His Love by Jesus Culture
• Hosanna by Hillsong United
• Word of God Speak by Kutless
• Count on Me by Default (offering)

The band: one male and one female vocalists, two electric guitars, bass, and drums.

Lots of goodness this morning!  It had been a while since we used some of these songs.  Word of God Speak definitely needs to show up more often. 

If you’re interested, you can now download the GracePointChurch.tv Worship Podcast from Itunes each week.  Last Sunday’s is the first worship podcast available to download.  I’m not sure how long it will take for each week to be available.  I would guess by the end of the week. 

For more Sunday Setlists, be sure to check out the Sunday Setlist Blog Extravaganza over at TheWorshipCommunity.com.