matt's thoughts

new series starting this weekend

psyched about our new series starting this weekend on the psalms.  as a musician and a worshipper i love the psalms, but they aren't just for the artists in crowd.  the psalms give words to the complex seasons of life that we find ourselves in.  if you're in town check us out on Sunday or you can listen here.

los at wibo!

just got news that los is coming to wibo!  i'm so psyched.  and many of you reading this right now are from his site.  welcome to my decidedly less trafficked corner of the blogospere.  i have no tattoos...unlike my friend from the ATL.  i do have an old ear piercing though, and i am going bald...

los is one of the first guys that i connected with in person as a result of blogging...back when he was on the left coast.  i'm excited to connect again this may here on the right coast.  :)

"I want to come hear about pornography"

...the subject line of an email i got today. :) this Sunday is Porn Sunday at RCC!! i'm so impressed with the ministry that xxxchurch.com is doing, and we are very excited to be addressing the subject of pornography boldly in our church. 

i think my favorite thing leading up to this weekend has been the reactions of people as we have invited them either online or in person.  i went to GMU this week with our intern David, and we had some hysterical interactions with some of the students.  and then i got that email from a guy who found us on the web...made my day.  :)

all joking aside, i'm really praying that God will use this Sunday to bring freedom to lives that are held captive right now by this secretive addiction.  praying for stronger marriages, for courageous men, and for confident women. 

my little office buddy

my wife wasn't feeling well today so i kept an eye on my girls this afternoon as i wrapped up my day so she could get some rest.  while my youngest napped, my 4 year old, hope joined me in my office.  it was great having some company in the office, and when we were done for the day, my girls and i hit chipotle for a daddy daughters date.  a fun afternoon only mired by the fact that my lovely wife is suffering with a bug that's making her miserable... :(

feeling good today...

i'm a bit tired today...sunday afternoons are always crash times for me, but today i'm also recovering from a road trip on friday and saturday too.  in spite of my tiredness, i'm feeling really great today.  our road trip was to see a friend who we haven't seen in about 6 months.  he has been taking some time away to straighten some stuff out with God, and man it is energizing to see what God can do if we let Him have reign in our lives!  the road trip was loads of fun, the guys in our church are a blast to hang out with. 

this morning was a great service...i talked on the great commission, and got to chop up a watermelon on the stage on our kitchen island.  my wife is so gracious in letting me take our furniture to church.  :)  God has been so good to me lately...encouraging me here and there, and making sure that i don't forget that this church is His deal.  there's so much peace for me in that. 

looking forward to having the church over to our house tonight for a party, and then we're hitting the town center in the rain to walk and pray. 

INKED??

Gary and his team are pretty hardcore...that's what I call commitment!  Will this be the new trend?  Maybe I should go first. What do you think?  :)

50 Ferrari's were parked outside our church today...

Oohh Reston...it cracks me up sometimes.  We walked out of the theater where our church meets, and there were no less than 50 Ferrari's parked along the street for what seemed to be Sweet Italian car day. (cars costing less than $100,000 need not apply.)

I was reminded again of the culture we are trying to reach, and the depth of my inadequacy...I was also reminded of how awesome Ferrari's are.  :)  Funny thing was that I was preaching today about money out of Luke 18:18-30, the story of the rich man who Jesus challenged to leave everything and follow him...the rich man went away sad. 

I couldn't decide if God was giving me a nice follow up illustration for my message or if He just has a great sense of humor.  Either way Ferrari's are really cool... :)

whaaa?

I honestly just don't know what to think...

a fellow islander...

my cousin and i at recent trip to Minnesota.  hadn't seen him in several years.  it was good to know that i'm not alone.  we blame grandpa.

excited about what's coming in the next couple of weeks...

the series we are in has been rocking my world.  i came to many of the texts that we studied with preconceived notions and God has totally rocked my world.  we have a couple of exciting things coming in the next couple of weeks that i'll spill the beans about after this Sunday, but i'm super excited...

don't miss this week...