Thank God It's Friday: Thank God for Fog

It's Friday, and lately it seems that's about the only time I blog. I really should change that, but probably not next week... Anyway, today as I continue my Thank God It's Friday series, thanking God for some things that I might otherwise wouldn't think of thanking Him for, I thank God for fog. Fog, you know low hanging clouds...

Every so often, including once earlier this week, as I drive to work crossing over the Potomac River from Virginia into Maryland, I find the river and the bridge surrounded in fog. Usually right after I come around a curve in the Washington Beltway, I encounter the fog. I can't see the bridge ahead. When I'm on the bridge, I can't look over and see the monuments in DC or the river or much else. I briefly (and it must be briefly since I'm driving in early rush hour traffic) experience a feeling of mystery and feelings of wonder. Ever so briefly I wonder what God has in store for me that day. And then as I climb the hill into Maryland, the fog dissipates and the world becomes visible again. Soon enough I'm sitting at my desk in an office with no windows and wondering how to diplomatically respond to some of the emails I have waiting for me. The wonder is gone.

So today, I thank God for fog... and the sense of mystery and wonder that comes with it.

Thank God It's Friday: Thank God for Pizza

It's Friday and that means it's time for my weekly Thank God It's Friday and I know that I can always rely on my loving wife to prompt me if I haven't put one up yet! Today, I thank God for pizza. It's Friday and our Friday dinner tradition is to make homemade pizza for dinner. We make the dough in the bread machine, my wife makes the sauce from scratch (usually in batches that last a couple of weeks), we add the cheese (mozzarella and monterrey jack), and put pepperoni on 3/4 of it (since 1/4 of our family doesn't care for pepperoni yet). Sometimes, we make two pizzas and get a little fancier with it. But if it's Friday and we're in town, it's pizza for dinner, no questions asked. And for that, I am truly thankful.

Thank God It's Friday: Thank God I'm A Country Boy

As I continue my "Thank God It's Friday" series, I must confess that I'm not really a country boy. But this week, I took my two boys to see the Athletics play the Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. I grew up an Oriole fan and went to many games at the old Memorial Stadium when I was younger as well as a number of games at OPCY after it opened. This was probably the first time I've been back to Baltimore for a game since the Nationals came to Washington. It was comfortable being back at a game in Baltimore - kind of like a favorite pair of shoes or a favorite pair of jeans. My six year-old asked "What just happened?" when the crowd shouted out "O" towards the end of the National Anthem. I smiled and explained that's how they do it in Baltimore. When the seventh inning stretch rolled around and they played "Thank God I'm A Country Boy," I felt like I was home. No offense to "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" or "God, Bless America," but I only want to hear John Denver during the seventh inning stretch. It was an enjoyable trip to Baltimore more for the game even if it will be a while before I head back again. But for now "Early to rise, early hit the sack, thank God I'm a country boy!"

Reflections on Worship God 09

Last week, I had the joy of attending the Worship God 09 conference put on by Sovereign Grace Ministries. This was the second Worship God conference I have attended, having previously attended in '06. Even though I arrived with high expectations, I was not disappointed! It was a wonderful conference and I feel that God used it to reawaken me and encourage me. Here's a few of my favorite things about the conference:

• Favorite main session speaker: They were all fantastic. I could easily pick any of them: John Piper, Thabiti Anyabwile, C.J. Mahaney, Bob Kauflin. But my favorite was probably Jeff Purswell speaking on the Biblical reasons we gather for worship.
• Favorite new (at least to me) song:
  • "Come, People of the Risen King" (Words and Music by Keith and Kristyn Getty and Stuart Townend) from Keith and Kristen Getty's Awaken the Dawn CD. I bought this CD for myself.
  • Runner-up "The Father's Love" (written by Joel Sczebel) from the Sovereign Grace Music Sons and Daughters CD.
  • Runner-up to the Runner-Up: "Gotta Wait" (Music and words by Rich Gunderlock, Ryan Baird, Jonathan Baird, and Eric Grover) from the Sovereign Grace Music To Be Like Jesus CD. I bought this CD for my kids. They love it!
• Favorite seminar: The acoustic guitar seminar led by Dave Campbell. Any seminar where I get to noodle on my guitar is a good one. It was fun and reminded me I need to practice more. Dave comes off as a guy who loves God and loves guitar. Sweet!

Thoughts on the other speakers:

• John Piper: Like drinking from a fire hydrant. I've downloaded all of the talks and will start listening to his talks today. I was greatly edified by his talks, but I'm still processing them.
• Thabiti Anyabwile: spoke on the importance of the local church. I heartily agree!
• C.J. Mahaney and Bob Kauflin (as "interviewed" by Jeff Purswell): "Mutually edifying" is how I would describe their interaction during this session. It was clear to me how much they both love the Savior, the Cross, the Gospel, and each other.
• Bob Kauflin (final session as well as conference host): He humbly exalted his Savior and edified all of us. Thank you Bob for your service to the Lord and to all of the conference attendees.

Thoughts on the other seminars I attended:

• Do You Thirst For God? - Don Whitney: I don't know that I got all I could have out of this seminar. Why? By the time I got to lunch, all of the caffeinated beverages (with the exception of a handful of Diet Cokes) were gone. This seminar was right after lunch and I was getting a wee bit sleepy. When the MP3 is available, I intend to go back and revisit it when I'm wide awake.
• Clean Hands and Pure Heart - Pat Sczebel: After lunch on Friday. But on Friday, I brought a Coke with me in case I didn't get one at lunch. Good move on my part. Great talk on Pat's part. Exposition of Psalm 73. I loved this talk.
• Reviving the Hymns - David Ward: David's love for the hymns and the rich content of them was clearly evident. When we all sang "Amazing Grace" a capella, it was beautiful and easily a highlight of the conference for me. It was one of David's updated hymns ("Praise Him") that I was grooving to on my drive home one night when I almost missed my turn because I was enjoying the music so much.

Finally, a few more loose ends:

• Kudos to Ticket Boy (aka Mark Altrogge). Although he didn't get to do announcements this year, he still kept us LOL (and I mean really LOUD) this year.
• It was great to meet the gang from OBC and Rebecca from Charlotteville and Steve from Charlotte and the choir director from Pennsylvania and... It was just great to be with so many people who love the Lord and serve Him.

Thank God It's Friday: Thank God for easy drives home

I live in Virginia and work 32 miles away in Maryland. I work an early schedule, but my average commute home is about an hour. However, if there are any "incidents" whether they be accidents or even a little bit of rain, the drive home can take a whole lot longer - I think I've maxed out at 2 1/2 hours!. The last two nights have been easy drives home. Both days clocked in at about 45 minutes. OK, I wasn't leaving from work, I was leaving from the Worship God 09 conference in Gaithersburg. Plus, I wasn't leaving during the early part of rush hour, I was leaving well after rush hour (yes, it does end at some point), 10:30pm on Wednesday and 9:30pm Thursday. Despite the occasional lane closures for overnight road work, both nights made for easy drives home. So, I definitely want to thank God for easy drives home!