I’m going to be a Dad! Things I’m looking forward to…

May 1, 2012 in Parenthood with 0 Comments

Well, the news is out! Courtney and I are going to be parents in early November.  Family and friends have been told, Facebook and Twitter have been notified, and of course…here is the official blog post.

We found out a couple of months ago that Courtney was pregnant and it feels like the last two months or so have just flown by!  We’ve had a few doctor’s appointments and got to see the first ultrasound and hear the heartbeat.  Did anyone else know you could hear a heartbeat at 7 weeks?  Total shock to me!  Very cool though, it was right at 166 beats per minute.  It was one of those moments I don’t think you ever forget, the first time you hear your baby’s heartbeat.

We’ve made the rounds telling our parents, siblings, and some friends and the youth group.  It was fun seeing everyone’s reactions.  Some jumped and screamed, some cried, some said “congrats”, some said “uh…cool” haha.  Seeing the different ways some of my students reacted was a lot of fun.  They were all really cool.  It’s been great slowly building the amount of people praying for this baby and the two of us.  Thanks to everyone for their support and prayers.

So, as naive as I might be about what it means to be a parent, here are a few of the more “superficial” things I’m looking forward to already.

  1. The Birth
    • Obviously.  Maybe this one isn’t as superficial.
  2. Baby’s first Andrew Luck jersey
    • I think it’s kind of cool that the Colts have drafted another potential all-time great quarterback the year my baby is born.  If Luck lasts as long as Manning (including potential years with Denver) my kid could have Luck as her/his quarterback into high school.
    • Watching Colts games with the baby will be pretty fun for me.  I know he/she wont care much for a while, but I’ll enjoy it!
  3. Baby’s first guitar
    • Does Paul Reed Smith make a “Baby Smith”?
    • Clearly, a baby can’t play guitar.  I’ll sure get her/him started early though!
  4. Baby’s first Cabin trip
    • I think I went at 18ish months for the first time to our northern Minnesota cabin.  That has been a special place for all members of the Garrison family for decades. Hoping to continue that tradition.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to a lot! Some things just random and fun, some things more personal.  I’m sure there will be many posts to come before the baby arrives in November so I’ll leave it there for now.

Critic or Servant: Which one are you?

April 25, 2012 in The Church with 0 Comments

This video came across my news feed on Facebook yesterday. It is a clip of part of a sermon by Mars Hill Church pastor Mark Driscoll. In it Driscoll draws a distinction between critics and servants. He says that both often recognize the same problems within the church but react differently. A critic sees a problem and makes fun of it, maligns it, attacks it and calls lots of attention to it.  A servant sees a problem and says, “I’m going to fix it”. (paraphrased)  Here is the clip…

This is what bothers me about some people in a church.  You often get a group of people that do nothing but criticize things that aren’t to their “liking”.  They see things outside of their comfort zone, or personal preference, as a “problem”.  Instead of getting engaged and having discussions with the people that lead these ministries, they instead try and get others to bicker with them until they have enough hate built up to bring forth a coup against church leadership.

We need more servants and less critics in church.  If you see a problem, go straight to the source and talk about it.  If it’s me, I’d gladly buy you a cup of coffee and talk it over with you.  If you can explain to me why what I’m doing is a “problem” both practically and theologically, I’ll gladly change. If it’s someone else, or a group of people, TALK TO THEM!

The church is supposed to be a community of believers that all have one major thing in common…Jesus.  We are all trying to be better disciples, which means we are trying to look and act like Jesus.  I don’t see Jesus bad mouthing the Pharisees behind their backs, do you?

In a previous post I came to the conclusion through 1 John that if you don’t love, you do not know God.  So, when we have a problem with anyone we should first prove that we know God by showing love.  If we start there the rest will work itself out.  We have to decide which one we want to be; a critic or servant.

Disclaimer:  This is not to say that I’m perfect…of course not.  I find myself talking behind people’s backs sometimes too.  I don’t like that about myself when it happens.  If you hear me doing it, call me out.  Thanks!

Tremonti Project – First Glimpse

April 21, 2012 in Alter Bridge, Music with 0 Comments

Tremonti ProjectYesterday, Mark Tremonti (Alter Bridge) released on the Tremonti Project website clips of three songs off of his upcoming solo project entitled, “All I Was”.  This is the first time Tremonti has taken over lead vocals on any major project.  I’m actually really impressed with what I hear so far.  I, of course, am a huge fan of Tremonti’s guitar playing and song writing, but have never been a huge fan of his singing (tends to struggle live on back ups a lot).  He does well here.

The thing I like about these clips is that they are nothing like Tremonti’s other bands Alter Bridge and Creed.  While Creed brought incredible success in the 90′s and early 00′s (40million albums sold) and Alter Bridge brought a much higher level of musicianship and vocal talent, this brings something that will likely garner much more rock/alternative radio play in today’s market.  This is the kind of music you expect on local stations like X103, only with a world class rock guitarist.

I’m looking forward to hearing the rest of the Tremonti Project record in July and it will definitely be interesting to see if Tremonti can hold up vocally on a tour.

Take a listen.  What do you think?


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