Mold, Potlucks, and Junior High

R to L - Mark Oestreicher, Jeff Thune, and Mark Arant.  "MarkO" was Mark and my Junior High pastor.  It was awesome to reconnect - find out all that God is doing in and through him - and allow Mark (Arant) to repent for being such a punk in Junior High - seriously!

Our 3rd (or 4th potluck) @ City Park - "Veritas" Church officially launches in 2 weeks, which is good - there's not as much luck in the pot as there used to be.  But dang was that homemade mac n' cheese good!

 Duvick gets friendly with the mold covering the Arant Family belongings

And yes, Duvick disinfects the deep freeze - the work of an intern is never done

Ryan, Jenee, and 'Sammy' Harmon - headed to Madrid later this year

The 'side' pony (spotted at Whitey's) -  never really out-of-style

The 1st

Wednesday, August 25th was the very first Salt Company - Iowa City. As expected, it is nearly impossible to consolidate everything that went down in a concise, well-articulated blog post. Well, maybe it's not -  my good friend and ministry partner Mark Arant has actually done it quite well - I can't stand that guy! To visit his blog, go to http://metropuritan.blogspot.com/

Here are a few of my reflections from "The 1st":

1) God drew people. From Iowa City, from Cedar Rapids, even from Ames (we had a fair share of supporters from Cornerstone there - very cool). I received an email on Monday of this week from a mom in Arizona. Her son is a freshman at the University of Iowa this year. She so desperately wanted him to connect with a community who exalts and proclaims Christ. Spaid and I had coffee with him on Tuesday, and he was at Salt on Wednesday - thrilled to have found a place to 'connect'. God's drawing people is a remarkable thing!

2) The Blue Moose Tap House. It's pretty crazy to do 'church' in a bar and have the bartenders and barmaids coming back, and standing in the doorway just to see exactly WHAT-IT-IS that's going on. This venue has big 'shows'(concerts) all the time, but even it's employees were ducking their heads in to see this "worship of the King".

3) Prayer. There are times when you hear people say things like "I knew - I FELT that people were praying for me." In this case, it was so very true. We had asked people to be praying, we knew people were praying, and we FELT God responding to those prayers. Thank you for hitting your knees on our behalf!

4) Connections. This is hard to describe but let me try to give you a quick snapshot. At the end of the night, we had our Connection Group Leaders standing in the back, attempting to meet, greet, invite people to their Connection Groups (think small groups with a sexier name). In the back corner of the room, I saw one of our young leaders (who had been to China on a short-term missions trip this summer) surrounded by Asians. God had not only softened his heart toward internationals this summer, He was now BRINGING them to him. I had to chuckle inside - amazing!

5) Authentic Worship. This little phrase gets thrown around a lot - but it remains difficult to find. We have some extremely talented musicians, writers, leaders here - but more than that they are 'worshippers'. This, in many ways, is a product of Mark Arant's influence. To watch him jumping around, hands raised, so alive and at home worshipping his God - I was so thankful.

6) Servants.  Mark already eluded to this in his latest post, but it's worth repeating.  God has brought us an amazing crew of get'r'done boys (and girls).  Of course Clint already has them working like a well oiled machine, but they honor Christ and challenge us, with their hearts and hands and spirit.

I wanted to give 7 reflections - primarily because 7 is God's number (according to my 2nd grade Sunday School teacher).  But this is a blog post, not a short story, and I've got a cluttered garage to organize - Dang It!!!

August 25, 2010 - Salt Company Iowa City

First Salt in the Blue Moose - How He Loves from Veritas Church on Vimeo.

Here's a quick look at "Salt - I.C" @ the Blue Moose Tap House.

Don't forget to turn up your volume! --- More to come very soon!

T-Shirt Snobbery

I have known many men who, at the offer of a free t-shirt, come running - I am not one of those men.  There are simply too many unknowns:  1) In what must I participate in order to receive it? - 2) Doesn't "free" really mean "crappy"? - 3) Is it a "one-size-fits-all" offer? (which generally means Double XL's all the way around).  I don't want any more "free" t-shirts, they never make it out of my closet. I've thought through this more than I should, and I have my conclusions.

First and foremost, being mildly selective when purchasing (or receiving) a t-shirt - is more than just okay, it's necessary.  The push-back, of course, comes from those clinging to the ideal strong and silent type of yesteryear - the man's man who wore whatever his wife set out for him because 'being fashionable' just wasn't on his radar. After all, that kind of talk belongs in the sitting room with the woman folk.  However (I would contend) that kind of man worked in the factory for 30-40 plus years and didn't have access to the killer graphic T's that we do!  Am I right, or am I right?!?! Seriously friends, and hear me on this:  I am in no way condoning a metrosexual worldview, just a healthy balance between all things "Affliction", and old-school Wrangler denim.

Second, and practically just as important, you need a system.  How to quickly and painlessly decide whether or not a particular t-shirt warrants your further consideration.  There is no fail-safe methodology here - but here are a few non-bulleted bullet points that may help:

1) Look at the BRAND - if the tag says Gildan, Jerzees, or Hanes Beefy T...walk away.  Alternative and/or American Apparel are considered slightly trendy, but are recommended nonetheless.

2) Consider the LENGTH - a) of the shirt itself - and b) of it's sleeves.  The shirt itself should sit just barely above the crotch, at least halfway down your backside (depending on the sag of your jeans and the scope of your buttocks).  The sleeves should come to rest no more than an inch or two above the elbow.  Again balance is the key - finding a happy space somewhere between Smedium and G-Unit is advised.  NEWS-FLASH:  If you're still rocking Hollister or anything with a white seagull cresting your left breast, do us all a favor:  go home, take it off, and burn it - then burn the closet or drawer where it used to come to rest.  This brand violates both of these - and yes, it's time to let go.

3) Examine the FIT - Someone, somewhere once said, "no discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.  Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace by those who have been trained by it".  Sketchy use of Scripture I know, but here's my point:  I hate fitting rooms just as much as (or more than) the next guy.  I always feel like I'm in a prison cell - a prison cell with full length mirrors and a really helpful guard  who just wants to get me the right size.  However, this momentary inconvenience has a huge payoff - I know the shirt works before I walk out of the store with it.  There should be fitting rooms for hair-cuts.

Of course there are other factors to consider (i.e. "is this me" is often overlooked but of central importance) -  but a simple awareness that you don't have to wear just any t-shirt is a doorway to freedom.  May you run blissfully through it pulling along others as you go!

vlog 1 (covenant)

Scentsy?

Please tell me you've heard of "Scentsy"? What about Scentsy parties? I realize that I'm lagging behind this growing phenomenon of warm and inviting living spaces everywhere - BUT - I'd like to think that it has something to do with a still lingering masculinity and a fear of accumulating needless trinkets.

"Scentsy" are flameless, sootless, wickless candles. THANK GOD right!?!?  I know, I know - I hear stories all the time of houses and businesses and quaint little cottages that have burned down due to the senseless wicks and flames of the outdated "Yankee" candles of yesteryear. Needless tragedies!

Scentsy has travel tins, and hanging fresheners, and room sprays, and aromatic bricks and bars - but their real claim to fame is "Scentsy Parties" (think Pampered Chef). You can host a Scentsy party simply by having a passion for wickless candles and then contacting an Authentic Scentsy Consultant (or becoming one yourself). There's a Scentsy Party in your area, and they aren't hard to find - my wife found one.  Twenty five bucks later we are fully equipped with echo, vanilla suede, and clove and cinnamon candle inserts - well-suited for a variety of social gatherings.  And I cannot tell you how excited I am!

Thank you Scentsy!  Thank you for changing my life!