SKRIBIT WEEK #7

WHAT DO YOU NOT KNOW?
AND HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT YOU DON'T KNOW IT?
HOW WILL YOU OVERCOME THIS?

Oh, good grief...now, this is a question. Or three, actually.

Well, Artie, (I love that Artie has a skribit account so I can always see which suggestions are his. Love that!) there are tons of things I don't know. Let me list just a few...

1. How to play the banjo.
2. How to fix a car.
3. How to connect relationally to a whole new church body.
4. How to setup podcasting.
5. How to make time for songwriting.
6. How to go to bed early.

Now, I know that I don't know these things because they are all things that I've tried...and failed.
This is a unique glimpse into my personality.
Unfortunately, I tend to be a guy who walks around thinking,
"I can do this. It's not that hard. I can do this."

Hopefully, I hide this well. Because people who don't hide it usually come off as arrogant, which I can assure is definitely not something I want to see happen.
Because of this confidence, I tend to try a lot of stuff my own.
And usually, I crash and burn.
That's how I know I can't do these things (and lots of others.)

I think there are a few ways to overcome this sort of thing...

First off...research and hard work. The fact is that if I'll make time to educate myself or mentor under somebody who's way better than me, I can learn stuff that will help me.

Secondly...be smart. There are some things in life that I'm going to be able to "get."
And there are some things that are just better left to the professionals.
Learning this difference is a great way I can prevent myself from unnecessary stress.

Third...learn to trust. It shouldn't surprise me that there's stuff I can't do.
But it does.
Remembering and disciplining myself to place my trust in the Father is the only way I'm going to survive some of these things. This is why God's kids tend to respond so strongly to songs and sermons and encouragements about God being our "shield" and "portion."

The fact is that, deep down, we know we're not enough. We know we're drowning in a sea of responsibilities and desires and callings and we simply are not strong enough to survive them.
So we learn to trust and we trust that God will teach us and empower us to do life in a way that honors him.

SKRIBIT WEEK #6

HOW DID YOU AND KRISTEN MEET?

I had known "of" Kristen for some time. Our dads played music together for years and I was good friends with Kristen's little brother in high school. (We were in a rock band called "Guilt Shifter." We were really, really good.)

I officially "met" Kristen at an event being held at her church in December of 1996. I was asked to perform as the opening act for a guy named Jeffrey Alan Wade who was doing a concert at the church. Part of the gig required me to also sit in as the church's acoustic guitar player.

So, I played in the worship band, played my solo stuff and ended up talking to Kristen for a few minutes during the concert. (Sorry, Jeff...)

After the concert was over, the worship leader ask me to stay on as the acoustic guitar player. So I did. Every week, I'd come to practice just hoping to get to talk to Kristen.

Our first date was in January. Kristen called to see if I'd play guitar for her at this event she was singing. She promised to buy me supper afterward.

Free supper? Bought by a beautiful girl?
Absolutely!

We didn't even eat that night. We just sat in Casa Ole and talked until they closed.
I don't think we ever spent another weekend apart for the next year.

She was (and still is) the most beautiful, funny, charming girl I've met. I had to make her mine!

SKRIBIT WEEK #5

WHY DO SOME CONSIDER INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC IN WORSHIP SERVICES TO BE WRONG?
HOW DO YOU PERSUADE OTHERWISE?

As best as I understand it, churches that prohibit the use of instruments in worship do so in an effort to follow New Testament guidelines.

I must profess ignorance here in that I'm not sure how many denominations follow this practice. Obviously, the most well-known fellowship would be the Churches of Christ. (Anybody know if there are other tribes that follow this thinking?)

What little research I have done has revealed that while the Church of Christ acknowledges the use of instrumentation in Old Testament worship, they also believe that the Old Law and method of worship were abolished in the New Covenant.

Because all New Testament references to worship mention singing-but-not-instruments, the Church of Christ cannot confidently use them in worship. (This is not just a music issue, either. The CoC tends to reject many "man-made" worship practices like creeds or other theologies not directly found in the New Testament.)

You can find a really good explanation and some great thoughts HERE.

As to how to persuade someone who believes something like this, I have very little to offer.
I've had one serious conversation with somebody about this in my life and now that I've looked into the issue a bit more, I've decided that conversation was a bit of joke. (The dude I talked with knew little of the church's policy.)

I think conversations like this are certainly beneficial to learn more about other churches, but they very rarely end up converting anybody to any particular point-of-view.

SKRIBIT WEEK #4

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BREAKFAST CEREAL? AND DOES IT CHANGE DEPENDING ON THE DAY AND WHAT LIES AHEAD?

I love cereal.
But who doesn't, right?

However, I do not have one particular favorite. I can tell you some of the important qualities I look forward to in selecting a breakfast cereal.

1. SWEET
2. SWEET
3. SWEET

No unsweetened bran craziness for me. No way.
Cereal should taste more like a dessert than breakfast. Breakfast is bacon.
This probably explains why I tend to eat cereal at other times in the day.
Nothing's better than a big bowl of cereal before bed.
Or for lunch.
Or in the shower.

Because cereal is so expensive, the Wrights rarely have more than a box or two. Not seven as some people do...

If I had to pick some favorites, I'd go with
Cocoa Pebbles
Golden Grahams
Cookie Crisp

I don't pick cereals based on the day I'm going to have.
Because I sleep until 11 every day.

SKRIBIT WEEK #3

WHY VIMEO?

I've been seeing Vimeo-hosted clips over the past year and they always seemed to look so much better than YouTube.

When I got the Mac for video stuff at church, I was very pleased with how good my videos looked and sounded. However, I noticed that YouTube seemed to consistently drop the quality of my videos. I gave Vimeo and try and I love it.

I'm sure there are a lot of technical reasons why Vimeo clips look so much better, but I don't know any of them.

I just know my stuff looks way better there than on YouTube.
It's not as easy to utilize as YouTube and I'm sure the quality has something to do with the fact that so many more people use YouTube than Vimeo. (I hope it stays that way! If Vimeo blows up, quality might drop...)

SKRIBIT WEEK #2

HOW WOULD EXPLAIN YOUR ANGRY WORDS ABOUT FOOTBALL AND YOUR 'HATRED' TOWARDS IT.

Football doesn't make me angry.

But I do hate it.

SKRIBIT WEEK #1

#1.
HOW COULD YOU BEST EXPRESS YOUR SINCERE REGRET AT YOUR HASTY WORDS AIMED AT CYCLISTS?

Um...well, based on the few cyclists I know, I think I'm clear on what I'm supposed to do, NOW.

Apparently, when I approach cyclists on the road , I should stop my car immediately so that these blessed souls can drive wherever and however they prefer.

I also think I'm supposed to get out of my car and applaud them until they are without earshot. (I actually can keep applauding if I prefer, but that part is not required.)

If one of them happens to veer into my lane, I will chastise myself - not him or her.
And if the cyclist's veering causes me to drift into oncoming traffic and I suffer a horrible, horrible crash, I should not expect said cyclist to stop, aid or even glance over at the burning remains of my vehicle.

And if I survive the crash, I'm supposed to sue myself for not giving right away to the cyclists.
It's the law.

Skribit Week (#4)

My good pal asked about getting over "blogger's block."

I know a lot of you are thinking,

"Why ask Todd? He never has blogger's block. The dude blogs 16 times a day."

Well, that's not true. I do get blogger's block. A lot. But I do it anyway.

Here are a couple of ways to get over blogger's block...these work great for me.

#1. The Regular Post
I know folks who don't dig this, but one of the best ways to get over blogger's block is to build in some regular, consistent posts. For my blog, "my Friday" would be one example. For about a year, I did worship confessionals on Mondays and Tavin Dillard videos on Tuesdays. Creating certain things that you're going to post on certain days is a really nice fallback. For example...I may not have anything to write in the middle of the week, but I know Friday's coming. That way, I'm gonna' be posting something soon. And after a few of those, if you're feeling creative and want to kill the regular posts, you can easily bring them back if a dry spell hits.
#2. What's Close
There's interesting stuff all around us. Some of us get into trouble when we start up a blog and write it under some sort of guideline. ("Oh, this is a spiritual blog." "This is my exercise blog." "This is a blog about my kids.") Taking a more open-minded approach to your site allows you to find interesting stuff everywhere. Blog about your kids, how much you love your truck, something cool at church or tell a story from your childhood. Look around...find something to write about. You'll feel good when you're done!
#3. Videos
YouTube, hulu.com, and tons of other sites allow bloggers to embed videos in their sites. If you got nothing, find some goofy video and post it. Chances are that everybody's already seen it, but hey, you're posting, right?
#4. Surveys
Rule Number One of blogging = people like to talk about themselves. They like to share their opinions. That's why I love surveys. The blatant way of using this is just throwing it out there. ("Hey, guys, best newscaster on the air right now?") Another cool thing to do is to form sort of question based on your blog. We've all done the whole "Thoughts?" thing, but if you can tailor a more specific question based on what you've written, you'll get more comments.
#5. Save It
Most blog programs let you save posts (and even schedule when they run!) On those days where you have a few ideas, don't post them all at once! Save them. If you can stretch them out to some sort of regular blogging schedule (daily, every other day, etc.) then you're good to go.
#6. Comment
When you get comments, get in there and talk back. Not only does it signify that you're reading them, following what's going on, but it can often inspire more blog ideas!

These are a few things I try to do to make sure I've got stuff to share. So far, so good. At last count, I was at 1526 posts! Sure, it's a lot of nonsense. But at least it's a lot!

Skribit Week (#3)

I was asked to write a vision statement for the blog.

Wow.

That's deep.

Well, Adrienne, that's a great suggestion.

Actually, the blog has changed a bit.

When I first started it, I really enjoyed writing about worship-related things, songwriting, lots of music stuff. But last year, I changed things up a bit. I've got folks who still wish I wrote more "serious" stuff, and occasionally I do that, but over the last year, I've enjoyed the conversations, questions, laughter and links the blog has created.

Don't worry, don't worry...I'm gonna' get to that vision statement.

Let me say this, though. I love people. I like getting to know people...I love hanging out, talking, asking random questions, sharing funny stories with people I know and respect. I'm a people person!

I also believe that everybody is way more creative than they think. I think that inside everybody is a unique, surprising perspective and I think blogging does a great job of revealing that.

The Vision Statement
Todd's blog works to create conversation and community among blog readers. The blog does this through surveys, videos, family updates, mini-rants and tons o' links! This blog seeks to offer something each day that my friends and family will find interesting.

Skribit Week (#2)

Thanks to Artie who came in with the most random Skribit suggestion:

NEAPOLITAN ICE CREAM?

I am known in these parts as a big fan of ice cream. And I do mean BIG.

But I'm not nuts about neapolitan.

Primarily, this is due to the fact that I'm not a big fan of strawberry ice cream. I can deal with the neapolitan version because it typically doesn't have little bits of strawberry included, which I happen to find disgusting. So, I can do the neapolitan...I just choose not to.

This aversion to strawberry does not work well with the secondary issue. Which happens to be my LOVE for chocolate and vanilla ice cream together. Blue Bell's "Great Divide" flavor is a work of genius. I can creatively and carefully control the chocolate-to-vanilla ratio, thereby ensuring a perfect, tailor-made bite each and every time. As you can see, adding a third flavor into this already almost perfect duo borders on heresy to my delicate taste buds.

If I am going to consume neapolitan ice cream, I prefer to ingest it in a different, better, more enjoyable, form

The Ice Cream Sandwich.

I know it doesn't make much sense, but for some reason, I find neapolitan better in sandwich form.

These are my thoughts. I'd love to know your take on this triple-flavored treat!