Preparing for the Daniel Fast

It’s Sunday, January 3rd, and as a way to start the new year right, we have decided to do the Daniel Fast.  The Daniel Fast is a diet of only fruits and veggies for 3 weeks.  You can eat as much of it as you want, but you can’t have any meats, sugars, caffeine, etc.

If you know me at all, you know this will be extremely difficult.  It involves giving up cookies.  Most people would be anxious about the burgers, the steaks, the coffee and tea, the chocolate cake – none of this for 3 weeks.  Truthfully this won’t be a problem as I’m not too dependent on any of these.  The hardest thing I’ll have to give up is cookies.  Well – to be honest…cookies and sodas.

When I was a toddler, my parents would ask me what I want to eat – I would say a cookie.  When they said I couldn’t have a cookie, I would respond with “I want something like a cookie.”

In middle school, when we would make our own lunches, I would make a sandwich and about 10 cookies.  Once my Dad caught on, he put a limit on my cookie intake – only 6 cookies a day.  These are relatively small cookies for those of you judging my 6 cookie intake in my early teens.  I was also playing soccer every day – which helped the metabolism.  Those days are long gone.  The most running I’ve done in the last year involved running to catch the subway before it closed the doors.

These days with only my wife objecting to my cookie intake – which she has been extremely gracious with – I’ve decided to live at least the first month of this year without my precious chocolate chips.  A sacrifice so extreme, I’m going to take a week to prepare for it.  Each day of this week, I will limit my sugar intake – sodas and cookies – more and more each day.  I’ll also begin to eat more veggies and fruit in their place.  If I seem a little more cranky toward the end of the week you’ll know why.

You’re invited on this quest with me.  The official Daniel Fast will begin next Monday and will last 3 weeks.  I’m hoping that I’ll make it the whole time – as along with the self-discipline, I’m also hoping for some clear vision and direction for this year.  Believe that as I sacrifice the things I love most, that God will use this time to speak to me and my family.  We’ve had a rough end to 2009, but know that 2010 (which is it two thousand ten, or twenty ten?) – will be a great year of new things for us.

So – here we go.  I’ve finished the last of the cookies in the house – just a few more little chocolates before the house is empty of sugary sweets.  I’m off to church tonight, and into a world of fruits and veggies tomorrow.  God give me strength as I prepare for the inevitable.

Things I wish I knew how to operate

1.  Huge Mack Trucks

2.  The deli meat slicer at the deli in the grocery store – this would be fun for about 24 minutes.

3.  Zamboni – who doesn’t like smooth ice?

4.  Windows Vista – this is not as much a fun one as it is a headache that i can’t seem to cure

5.  Carter Beauford’s drum set

Friday is Wildcard Day

So, Fridays are the random days where we’ll talk about anything and everything.

Ready for an awesome Friday story?…

                                             So, went to high school at Parkview High School in Lilburn GA, a suburb of Atlanta (the ATL, Hotlanta, the Dirty South, etc…).  It was a somewhat typical suburban high school…lots of preppy kids, lots of really good athletes, lots of interesting black trench coat kids, drama kids, and pretty much everything in between.  I’m pretty sure I fall somewhere in the middle – soccer player/musician – hung out with the “good christian crowd” – which meant i wore Birkenstock and lead worship with an acoustic guitar.  Those were interesting days. 

 

(humble side note – i was voted “most talented” by my peers!)

OK…so on with the flashback…I’m going to admit my dorkiness now and just get it over with…

I lived for Fridays!  I loved Fridays more than any other day.  It was either a Football game night, which also meant a school dance (cause we always had a dance after the football games)  Seriously…why isn’t the rest of life like this?  How come we don’t have a dance after the worship service on Sunday night?  It would make total sense…we practiced and worked hard all week to make church service go well…we should have a celebratory dance after and invite the visiting church to join us while the DJ plays “This Is How We Do It”  – Montell Jordan anyone?!?

Again, back to Fridays…I used to get up the earliest on Fridays because about half of the school would go to Chic Fil A for breakfast on Friday morning.  Loved it.  So, while most people would dress down a bit on friday…i saw friday as my “new outfit” day.  I was much more preppy then than I am now…which is saying quite a bit because I still love wearing suits to work.  My mom calls me a peacock…which is another blog altogether.

So, Dress Up Fridays.  here’s what this means:

1.  Wake up at 5:00 AM to 99X – the best radio station at the time in the ATL.

2.  Shower – shave the peach fuzz in hopes that it would grow back darker so I could start looking older.  Little did I know that I would very much dislike shaving several years down the road.

3.  Deoderant – Right Guard Gel – might be the most disgusting part of my day is turning the knob of deodorant gel until enough of a glob was ready to go on.

 

 

 

4.   Dress – these get subpoints…

• Plaid or checked button down shirt usually from The Gapercrombister (this could also be a Polo shirt if it’s warm out)
• Khaki Cargo pants – also from Gapercombister – or a knock off brand that looked close enough.
• Tuck shirt into pants (this was more my dad’s rule than mine, but i was happy to fall in line)
• Brown leather belt
• Brown dressy casual shoes (i was never the sneakers and khaki’s guy…it just didn’t make sense)
• Depending on the day, I might also wear a baseball hat – but not of my favorite team…no it was also from one of the stores listed above…awesome!
• Polo Sport cologne

5.  In the car (usually with my sister driving cause that’s how it goes until the siblings go to college)

6.  Arrive at chic fil a with just enough time to get in the longest line ever, order the combo #1, and hopefully find a seat with as many friends as possible.

7.  In the car and hopefully listen to Chumbawumba sing “Tubthumping” – quite possibly the worst song I ever liked.

8.  think of all the girls I had crushes on and hope they like my dressy friday look!

9.  Go to football game and then dance the night away to Usher!

The end.

Thursdays = TV Blog

So, it’s no secret that I’m a big fan of reality TV.  Before you blast me with comments about it not really being reality…I KNOW!  and I still love it!  I’ve always been a fan of  pop-culture and realtity TV has pretty much taken over at this point.  Although, I do have to say that we have some pretty great shows on these days that are far from reality TV.

So, here we go…

American Idol 2009:  COMPLETELY UNDERWHELMED!  Seriously…out of hundreds of thousands, this is the best we have to choose from?  There are probably 3 or 4 people that I’m somewhat enjoying…but I just don’t look forward to American Idol the way I used to.  Last year we had David Cook who keeps you on your toes and brings us great versions of great songs.  Way before that we had Carrie Underwood…and if you know me at all, then you don’t have to guess which year was my favorite American Idol year ever!

This year we have eye liner boy who can work a camera like it’s his job…and can sing like an 80′s hair metal band…and can even work a crowd.  But I just get embarassed for him while he performs.  I can respect the voice cause he’s got a range bigger than all outside.  I just cringe when he performs…maybe it’s too much make-up and 80′s clothes…but i’m just not into it.

 

In the words of my good friend Jon Owens…if you want to see “akward wearing a red dress” just watch Megan.  This one gets chalked up to the judges for ever bringing her back on the show.  Thankfully she’s gone…and we can move on to being embarassed for the other 5 that kill me.

Anoop…usher…really?  k

Scott MacIntyre:  I want to like you…but it’s just to cheesey.  and how many times can we start a song off melow on the piano and then big drum fill it into a huge chorus?  5 times and counting aparently. 

SIDE NOTE -   American Idol Stylists:     Please stop dressing Scott MacIntyre in pink pants…and for the love of all that is music…please stop teasing his hair.  put your comb down and call it a day. 

OK…enough negative…we’re moving on to the good stuff.   I’ve decided to make my own top 5 american idols for this year.

1.  Danny Gokey - do your thing dude…i’m liking it…mostly.

2.  Carrie Underwood - she might not be on the show this year, but i’m still voting for her and she will mostly likely be the first ever american idol to win twice.

3.  Kris – you had me at “Aint no sunshine” – i finally felt like we might have a chance this year.

4.  David Archeleta – he’s still in the running right?  no?  but he sings so cute and good and chicks dig him.  ok.

5.  Allison – “don’t speak” or sing No Doubt…and we’ll keep you in the running behind Archie.

There you go internet land. 

I would proceed about my love for LOST, but I should really get back to work…lunch break is over and the man is watching.

Here’s to the good ole days…

You Are What You Eat

I got some revelation today…this isn’t unique to New York, but it certainly helps as the backdrop to the story…

I’ve realized all the more lately that we are what we eat.  Or maybe I should say…we are what we order.  I was in line at Subway (the sandwich place, not the train) getting ready to order a sandwich.  In New York, there’s an added anxiety to ordering because you don’t want to be that guy who holds up the line with any stupid questions or hesitations.  I learned this very quickly in 2005 at a starbucks where the barista let me have it for not being ready to order…and for not having some form of payment ready at the exact time she asked.  This was the only time I made that mistake.

So…back to Subway.  I’m in line ready to order when I realize the guys behind the counter are calling people names.  “Chicken!”  “Turkey”  in accents that are some mix of middle eastern and new york, which is another revelation on it’s own.  There are so many orders going backand forth that they cheer, as if at a Yankees game, ”VEGIE DELIGHT!!”    Clearly they are not actually calling people names – but I couldn’t help but go there.  You are what you eat!  at least according to the guy yelling at me and my sandwich.

I’ve decided that the next time I go in and he calls me chicken I’m going to respond quickly in a questioning tone – “What did you call me?!?”  and we’ll see where it goes. 

Starbucks has been doing this for a while too…somewhere along the line they’ve actually started writing your name on the cup so as not to offend…but I’d much rather them call me by my drink name…

“TALL WHITE MOCHA!!”

“Darn right I am…tall, white, and chocolate all in one”

Front Page Headlines?

Pop culture tragedy trumps world – or even local news?

The Front Page and Headlines of today’s AM New York (the free newspaper that everyone reads cause it’s free) was a huge picture of Paula Abdul and the poor girl who overdosed outside her house.  I agree that this is a tragedy and it stinks that a life was lost.  What I’m confused at is why that trumps all other news or headlines that actually affect my day. 

I would consider myself someone who enjoys most things in pop culture – reality tv, sitcoms, movies, music, the monopoly game at mcdonald’s.  What I’m a little scared of is that with all the various things going on in the world – the editors over at AM New York felt that the most important thing I should read first this morning was about Paula’s stalker?  I’m sure with a little digging I could find that the newspaper is owned by an even bigger company that earns it’s money from entertainment news – but seriously?!?  Paula?  ugh!  what is our world coming to?

To change the mood a bit, I will quote Buddy the elf – “Good news…I saw a dog”

The Quarterly Post

You know it’s fall, so I’m not going to say it.  I thought about starting the blog by saying “It’s Fall” but I’ve decided to go a different route completely…

It’s November.  What?!?  Why does it alwasy do this?  November is the sneakiest month ever.  It’s a ninja.  It is the navy seals of months.  Christmas does not sneak up on you the way November and thanksgiving sneak up.  Christmas has bells on…so you hear it coming from three months away.  November on the other hand has food…which only makes noise once you’re eating it…therefore you didn’t hear it coming until it’s too late.

November!  got me again!  I was like…”what are you going to be for Halloween?” and “oh look at all the leaves” then November showed up and was like “BOOM…buy a turkey.”

OK…feeling a bit dramatic about it all, but seriously it is officially November which means the real holiday season is upon us, which also means it’s getting colder and soon enough there will be lights in all the trees.  Sweet!  I love this time of year.  But before we get ahead of ourselves…here’s a look back at the fall in the Reed (nyc) house.

PureLife – Awesome Women’s conference that Heather helped create and produce for 800 women this year.  They keep asking me to speak at these things, but I’m waiting until my book on ministering to women is completed.  Seriously…Heather rocked it…so much that they gave her a new position at Church as the creative director so now she’s in charge helping our church keep up the momentum that PureLife creates.

Apple Picking – one of the coolest fall things you can do around here.  In order to really experience fall in New York City, you have to leave New York City.  The leaves are too busy to change color so they just fall and turn brown.  So, we went with some friends upstate a couple hours and picked apples off people’s trees.  We paid for them of course, but it was a blast.  You can check out pictures on Heather’s facebook page.

Gucci – he’s our cat who plays fetch and is more Ninja than November.  He got fat.  We didn’t see it coming, but we realized one day that he is larger than he used to be.  So, we looked at the food we were feeding him and realized it’s not very healthy.  Mostly sugar and salts and some by-products.  The people at the pet store said the first few ingredients should be something you would want to eat, so I started looking for cookies.  Heather quickly took control of the situation and now he eats the crunchy version of chicken and fish.  MMMMM. 

We also realized that just because the bowl is empty doesn’t mean we have to fill it.  Note to pet owners…communicate with each other on who filled the bowl and when…your pet will lie and say it was never filled.

And finally…the top five things you’re guaranteed to experience at a movie theater in New York City:

• Children at any movie – at any hour of the night – with any rating of the movie.  It never ceases to amaze me how young the children are at the movies that we’ve been to see recently…and they do not sleep through it…if only they would.
• Plastic Bag Guy – at about 3/4ths of the way into the movie when you think you’ve got it all figured out, a man who is obsessed with keeping things in plastic bags will walk into the theater (most likely without a ticket) and proceed to move everything from one plastic bag into another plastic bag with no understanding of how LOUD plastic bags are.  Once he’s got them in the bags, he’ll put the bags in more bags until he’s down to one big bag.
• Loud Popcorn Guy/Girl – popcorn should not be heard over a car chase or gunshots in a movie.  I am continually surprised at how loud one single person can eat popcorn at a decibel level higher than an action movie.  There should be special theaters for this man.  and why does he always sit by us?
•  Push to talk guy – because there is no better time to walkie-talkie your friends than in a dark crowded theater.
• Pele’ – he’s sitting behind heather and he’s practicing his soccer skills with her chair.  Can he just retire already?

Happy Ninja November…it’s here and I’m cool with it now.

the Nashville Number System

So, for anyone leading a band, doing studio work, or just wanting to put some theory to the music that plays in their head…there’s the nashville number system.  I know, they have their own numbers?  kindof…

I’ll put this in the context of our worship team because it’s what brought it up in the first place.  when giving music instruction to several band members on different instruments it would really help to be able to tell them all the same thing at the same time.  The problem is that the accoustic guys have a capo or two on their guitars, the keyboard guy just hit the transpose key cause he doesn’t want to play the black keys (politically incorrect joke here) and the bass player is just screwed cause you can’t capo a bass…until now! (just kidding).

This is where the theory comes in.  My senior year of high school i finally took the plunge and learned theory, which kicked my butt for a good year, but gave me the ability to speak “music” to people who know.  As we were learning, this whole number system came up as a way of translating chords to numbers.  See, orchestral instruments (especially horn instruments) are not all designed in the same key structure.  So they (the musical geniuses) created a roman numeral system that allowed musicians to simply play the chord that corresponds to the number in the scale of whatever key you’re playing in.

Nashville, being country, didn’t like romans or their numerals…so they “updated” the system by simply making them the numbers we all know and love today (picture “the count” from sesame street).  So now when the accoustic is capo’d, the keyboard is transposed, and the bass player is chillin, we can simply tell them to play the chord progression “1- 5 – 6 – 4″  and they’ll simply play the chord that corresponds to the numbers.

I began to teach this to our worship team last night, which went over very well, but can be very confusing at the same time.  My favorite is when the light goes on and the guy who really plays by ear is like “that’s what I do…I just never knew how to say it”  and the bass is like “uh, can i get a capo?”

Here’s a link for better information on understanding these crazy numbers…

http://www.ducksdeluxe.com/nashvillenumbersystem.html

the next challenge is training your ear to hear the numbers!

enjoy.

MSNY Worship Night 7/20/2008

It’s been a very unique year for heather and I at MSNY.  there was a time when we were not sure if we would be the worship leaders or not and even a week where we thought moving to nashville could be an option.  i’m so glad we didn’t.  God has bigger plans than ours.  we submitted to that and have since seen an incredible momentum of worship in our church.

i’ve learned so much from great worship leaders over the past years…starting very early on with my father and moving to people like Kevin Singleton, Jon Owens, and then anything else I could get my hands on (tomlin, hillsong, israel).

even after all that, God opened my eyes to realize i don’t have to be those people.  God made them to lead worship and they do an incredible job.  but my identity soon became based on what i looked like or sounded like compared to them.  but God does not compare me…he loves me and says i’m fearfully and wonderfully made.  when i started leading worship from that identity, from a place of security that i am his and he is mine, i also started to see a new wave of his presence pouring into our services.  and wow what a thing to boast in…that God is moving on our behalf… we’ve given up our lives to him and said have your way.

what started as a rebuilding phase at MSNY of our worship team could easily have been discouraging and heartbreaking.  we saw many friends come and go as happens quite often in this city, and felt that God was telling us to plant roots.  to plant deep.  stay here.  so we did…we have tried our best to be faithful in all that he has given us and he has never failed us.  we had a guitar and some singers, and some drum loops on a computer…and God was moving.

So, we prayed for a band…we would even set up the instruments on stage in faith that God would fill them with his people.  and he did.  somehow, and slower than we wanted it, he began to bring us the team of singers and players that not only have a heart to serve, but love to see God move in worship.  over a period of about 6 months we went from having little to no team to having multiple band members and an overflow of singers.  each unique in their gifts and talents, and each who bring something so special to our church.

after about 6 months of being faithful with what God has been giving us, we’ve seen his power and presence…literally a tangible experience with our creator in the small amounts of time that we have to sing praises to him.  he’s So faithful and loves us so much.

which brings us to our first MSNY worship night this past sunday.  a night where we could take our time.  where we were not limited by time or any other agenda.  it was a really fun night where our band was able to play out and flow where we felt things were going…our singers could sing out and just worship our king and tell him how much we love him.  where our congregation could relax and sit still and be at peace in the presence of God.  it’s so necessary in this city to have these times of refreshing and overflow as this city tends to drain us.  i’m so thankful to God for brining us to this place and so look forward to what is next…

which is PureLife, our women’s conference!  no, i’m not speaking, but it will be an incredible weekend of extended worship and breakthrough for women from all over the nation.

God’s really been speaking to me through Revelation lately…but that’s another post.

much love from NYC.

Most Boring Idol Yet?

I’ve never fast forward through american idol so fast as I did last night.  Neil Diamond?  successful yes…relevant to pop culture today?  about as much as dolly I guess.  maybe it’s the theme this year to bore us, cause I’m just not getting it this year.  Forgive me as I rant, but it was just so predictable.  I mean, David Archy couldn’t help but sing the cheesiest song ever (“America”). 

David Cook continues to push himself, but even he looked a bit tired of it all last night.  How many songs by other people can you rearrange to make your own before you go crazy.  I’m hoping it drives him to create something great cause he’s clearly the most artistic guy up there.  Which leads me to say that there are some incredible voices that took that stage this year, but for those of us who love the craft of music…it’s gonna take more.  Please give us more than just your voice.  Do Something Different!

Castro:  Boring.  Again.  And i just won’t go into the others cause you were there…you saw it.  you fast forward through it.

Perhaps the highlight was when Paula thought Jason had already sung two songs.  That’s how bored she was with it…it felt so long it must have been two songs. 

Again, I apologize for the venting.  I’m gonna go watch soccer highlights on footytube.com