RockTheDesert

Watercooler Wednesday - Blog Nosh

Today's post is part of Watercooler Wednesday over at Randy Elrod's Ethos blog. Be sure to read Randy's current WCW post called "Dreams Do Come True" and leave a comment!

I've been doing a lot of blog research over the past week or so. I have stumbled across a cool online magazine called "Blog Nosh Magazine" and I'm loving the content so far. I feel like it has the potential to be yet another powerful piece in the whole social network puzzle that I'm trying to put together. Here's an example of a helpful, well-written article I just read at Blog Nosh - "5 Misconceptions About Social Media".

Do you have a favorite online magazine or social networking site or social media resource that you'd care to share with all of us around the watercooler?

Watercooler Wednesday - Pop Goes The Church

This post is part of Watercooler Wednesday, a creative think-tank which gathers weekly for conversation at Randy Elrod's Ethos blog. Check out Randy's latest WCW post HERE.

I had a lot of time to read while traveling to and from Romania last week. I could hardly stop reading my brand new ESV New Testament. I love this version. I underlined tons of scripture that I had memorized or was familiar with.

I also was able to read "Pop Goes The Church" by Tim Stevens, from beginning to end. I thoroughly enjoyed the read. If you go to the Pop Goes The Church website, you can read Chapter 4 - A Tale of Five Churches. Basically, Tim lists a set of five choices which every church has about how to deal with pop culture surrounding our churches: 1. Condemn; 2. Separate; 3. Embrace; 4. Ignore; 5. Leverage.

You probably don't even need to read Chapter 4 to determine the answers to these  questions:

• Which one of these choices describes your church's response to pop culture?
• How about your own personal response to pop culture...do you imitate pop culture, or are you creating culture?

Take a minute right now to check out Tim's "Leading Smart" blog. It's one my top 5. He posted an article recently called "Why Pop Culture Is No Longer Popular" which in some ways seems to refute the premise of his own book. Great post and lots of good comments.

When in Romania...

Today is Watercooler Wednesday! Gather around the 'cooler with some creative geniuses and leave comments, be inspired, and read Randy Elrod's latest post!

I'm in Galati, Romania on an e3 partners short-term mission trip! When traveling to a foreign country, there are interesting cultural twists to observe. As the old saying goes, when in Romania...do as the Romanians!!

One example: when entering a home, you must take off your shoes and leave them at the door. This is because they have rugs and carpets on their floors that must be swept - with a broom - and you want to minimize the amount of additional back-breaking labor for them (no electricity = no vacuums).

In your foreign travels, what cultural twists have you observed? Are there any that you liked enough to adopt for yourself/family permanently?

I've only got 5 minutes on this shared computer...gotta go!

WCW - Snapshots of Romania

Today is Watercooler Wednesday at Randy Elrod's Ethos blog. Join me and other imaginative bloggers around the watercooler for fun, enlightenment, and entertainment. Click HERE for Randy's post called "When Nature Screams."

My life is all about Missions right now. I'm in the CPC training process with e3 partners ministry. That means that I get to experience on-the-job-training on two separate mission trips. That, in addition to boot camp, will conclude my training process. So, if my blogging is infrequent in the next few months, it's because I'm struggling to find a decent internet connection somewhere in the world.

**Before you continue reading or move on to another blog, please leave a comment and answer these 2 simple questions: have you ever been on a mission trip? if you could go on a mission trip anywhere in the world, where would that be?**

OH YEAH, one more thing, I'd appreciate it a lot if you'd pray for our team from July 11-19. Click HERE for a printable prayer calendar. Thank you!!

I just finished packing for my first training trip. I leave Friday morning at 8am, heading to Romania. I will join the rest of our team at Dulles airport in Washington D.C. We should be in Bucharest at 1:40pm on Saturday. Then we'll board a bus and head north & east to Galati (pronounced Galatz). Alyssa and I went to Galati on our first e3 mission trip 3 years ago. I'm excited to be working with the same church, Emmanuel Christian Church. Check out their website. It's written in Romanian, however, there's a button to click that translates it to English! Pretty high-tech!!

I'm not so excited about the bus ride from Bucharest to Galati. The bus is comfortable enough, but we'll have to stop for dinner about half-way there. Last time, we stopped at "McDonalds." Everything was kinda similar and kinda not. More toward the "not" side.

Galati is located pretty much on the banks of the Danube River. Industrial shipping is a main economy for the area.

Here's a view of the Danube at night - I found this pic using Google - we were nowhere near the Danube after dark - e3 policy!!

An interesting component to our trip in 2005 and to my upcoming trip will be the mobile art team. Ted VanNatta is an artist who sets up his easel in various locations in the villages - near the town square, along a busy road, near a popular market, etc. He draws beautiful depictions of Bible stories while his other team members engage groups of bystanders in spiritual conversations.

Here's a typical afternoon discipleship meeting.
In 2007, the new church was able to build a brand new building and it was immediately filled to over-flow capacity!

WCW - Clergy-wear

Today is Watercooler Wednesday - I'm happy that I'll be able to contribute to the discussion at Randy Elrod's ETHOS blog today. Join me and many others in our pursuit of creative enlightenment by commenting and adding your own blog post! Click HERE to read Randy's current WCW post!!

About a month ago, Alyssa and I were shopping for supplies for our E3 mission trip to Rwanda. Sadly, we were unable to find any life-size posters containing dark-skinned Biblical characters. We found plenty of Swedish Jesus pictures and lots of overly cute Noah's Ark depictions, but nothing that we felt had the right feel or look or sense of one mankind/one human race.

After browsing through way too many Christian stores than should be allowed, just when we were at the point of utter exhaustion, frustration and insanity, we came upon the exclusive "clergy-wear" section of a particular Christian store. Check out this amazing cap...and then tell me what your favorite item of "clergy-wear" might be - have you seen any must-haves in line at the grocery store or any gotta-get-me-one-of-those while waiting for your morning sbux? Any great ideas for clergy-beach-wear? Be silly, have fun, throw down your favorite fashion idea for clergy and let's get the creative juices flowing!!

WCW - Love Song

Today is Watercooler Wednesday, a blog carnival hosted by Randy Elrod at his Ethos blog. Check out Randy's post today - "PC or Mac" and weigh in on your personal preference in his comment section.

Have you ever written a song for or about someone? Has anyone ever written a song for or about you? Share, share, share in the comment section below!

On Saturday, we attended wedding reception #2 of 3 in celebration of the marriage of our good friends Scott and Sharon. They were married in Santa Barbara on April 26 and were only able to accommodate about 90 guests. Their solution: 2 additional receptions; 1 in Scottsdale with about 65 friends and 1 in Woodland Hills with 200 friends! During the champagne toast, Scott surprised Sharon with an original song for and about her which he'd been working on since shortly after they met. Let me just tell you that Scott is an incredibly talented musician - his voice sounded nearly identical to James Taylor's voice and he accompanied himself very well on the piano. While the husbands in the crowd rolled their eyes (just kidding) and the wives wiped away tears, we all had to agree that it was a GREAT song!! The working title is "There's A Woman In Arizona."
My husband, Dan, has also "written" a song about me. He "wrote" it when our kids were really young. He started with the theme song for the Olympics and inserted the following unique and original lyrics: I...love...my wife Marina...I love my wife Marina L. Berryman (repeat). Oh and there's a very catchy bridge too...Love her, love her, I I I I love her (repeat). When my kids were old enough to sit and watch the Olympic games, they were totally surprised and ecstatic to hear the "I love my wife Marina" song being played over and over again! Every time they heard it, they sang right along!!

WCW - M&M's

This post is part of Watercooler Wednesday at Randy Elrod's Ethos blog. Check out his WCW post HERE! Don't forget to leave comments and hey, while you're at it, include a post at the 'cooler!!

I grew up in the '70's. The kinder, gentler days of Speed Racer, Gumby & Pokey, Romper Room, The Brady Bunch, Slurpees, Abba Zabba's and M&M's. I spent some time today cruising through the official M&M's website. In 1954, the phrase "melts in your mouth, not in your hands" was coined. In 1976, Orange M&M's were added. 1976 was also the year that Red M&M's were discontinued due to public controversy over red dye #2, which Red M&M's didn't even contain...I remember when that happened.

I was inspired to write about M&M's today, not because I ate M&M's today, not because I was craving M&M's today, not for any other reason than I was looking at photos on Facebook this morning and came across wedding photos from Mike & Emilie's recent wedding.

I don't know who decorated this little yellow love bug of a car, but I thought this was pretty clever.

Clearly, from this photo, Mike prefers peanut M&M's and Emilie favors plain M&M's.

So, my question to you all: Plain OR Peanut???

WCW - Crazy Love

It's Watercooler Wednesday - time to assemble the creative brain trust once again around the watercooler at Randy Elrod's Ethos blog - join me and many others at the cooler today - and check out this week's WCW post by Randy Elrod HERE! And to make it more fun, leave comments at all the blogs you visit!!

I just finished reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan. Loved it, underlined it, reading it again! It's an interactive read, meaning that Francis has included cool videos on his website designed to correspond to every chapter in the book. The website also contains an excerpt from the book - actually, all of Chapter One! Oh, and check out this interview with Francis. While I was cruising through the website, I noticed Francis has a new video blog - lots of fun stuff on there - this is one creative dude! Actually, he's the founding pastor and a teaching pastor at Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, CA. I followed several links on the church website and discovered Just Stop And Think and Echo Prayer. What a cool church!!! They are creating culture like crazy (no pun intended)!! From their "building project" (an amphitheater instead of a building) to their Bible college to their local and global ministries, they are "doing church" driven by Crazy Love...

WCW - True Confession

This post is part of Watercooler Wednesday - a blog carnival hosted by none other than Randy Elrod on his outstanding, highly ranked Ethos blog. Check out Randy's WCW post - The Bible, Church & Wine and be sure to leave a comment on his blog AND mine!!

True Confession - I used to have a not-so-secret crush on Harrison Ford. For about 5 years, I had the best, most intense picture of him staring at the camera, set as my screensaver. My youngest son (14) recently told me that he grew up thinking that was a picture of my husband, Dan.  Although Dan and Harrison Ford don't really look at all alike, they both do tend to have shortly cropped brown hair with a minimal touch of silver here and there, they both have an adventure loving alter-ego, and they both have captured my heart (awwww, you didn't think I could be so sweet, did you!).

My sons and I are counting the hours 'til we can see Indy on the big screen...In the meantime, I have been exploring the Indiana Jones official website - it's highly interactive and packed with lots of fun things to click on! According to the countdown clock on the website, the adventure continues in 1 day, 1 hr, 26 minutes from NOW!

Are you in? Will you join me and 1000's of other Indy fans at the theater this weekend? Does your city have a Cine-Capri (super deluxe, extra large, hi-def screen)? Or will you wait to rent it or buy it for Christmas?
 

WCW - Where Would You Live?

It's Watercooler Wednesday - join me and many others around the watercooler at Randy Elrod's Ethos blog. Randy's post today is about Walking. Check it out!!

Yesterday afternoon the temperature hit 102 in Phoenix. Every year when the thermometer rises to uncomfortably hot levels, I desperately want to move out of AZ. After being in Santa Barbara, CA over the weekend (friend's wedding), I'm ready to move there. Right along the coast. I'm even willing to live in an RV if I have to. In fact, I'd live just about anywhere along the coast of California. The ocean has an undeniable call and I'm ready to answer it.

Another favorite spot is Franklin, TN. I'd live relatively close to downtown and soak up the small-town, Americana, vibey way of life. Each time we've visited Tennessee, we've fallen in love with its breathtaking beauty. All those trees. All those leaves. WOW!

Of course, there's always New York City if I want to be in complete denial about the icy, impossibly cold winters. And the potential muggings. The arts and culture has got to outweigh the snow, freezing conditions, and safety issues.

In all actuality, I'm most likely to end up in a ruggedly beautiful spot in East Africa.

How about you - if you could live anywhere - let's limit it to the US - where would you live?

WCW - Earth Day

This post is part of Watercooler Wednesday, a weekly gathering of bloggers, posting on arts/culture at Randy Elrod's Ethos blog...check out Randy's post on Redemptive Satire!

In celebration of Earth Day, which was yesterday (I just got the memo), I've decided to talk about eggplant. Yes. Eggplant. 

It is so lovely in its plant form. I'd love to have this growing in my garden just for the pretty factor.

However, for every flower on the plant, I might be forced to harvest and dispose of the equally lovely, deep purple fruit of this plant.  This is because I've recently decided (yesterday) that I don't like eggplant. At all. Actually, I despise it. I remember eating eggplant when I was a kid and wondering why anybody would want to eat it...it was slimy, flavorless, disguised as something crunchy and wonderful, covered in sauce and melted mozzarella. I think I tried eggplant again in the late '90's. This time it was hiding in a lovely ratatouille, served at room temperature over crostini.  A far better way to eat it if you have to - but still slimy. I tried it at a restaurant a few years ago, coated in breadcrumbs, smothered in bechamel and marinara and 3 cheeses. I really wanted to like it. I tried to will my tastebuds to acquire an appreciation for the texture and flavor. My final attempt at eggplant was yesterday. I followed a recipe for eggplant rolls. The cast of characters included breadcrumbs, olive oil, ricotta, marinara, pesto, and pasta. I'm sorry to report that it just did not work out the way I had hoped it would. I've had to place eggplant permanently on "the list of foods I will never eat again." And it's a good thing I made this decision, because after doing some quick research (wikipedia), I've discovered that "Eggplant is richer in nicotine than any other edible plant, with a concentration of 100 ng/g (or 0.01mg/100g)." 

Is there a least favorite food in your life? 

Happy Belated Earth Day!

WCW - Creativity Is Hard Work

Today is Watercooler Wednesday. The day when many creative people share ideas at Randy Elrod's Ethos blog. Randy is a blogfather to many and a creative inspiration to many more. Check out his latest post called "How To Recycle A Church."

I have not really posted to this blog in about 10 days (well, I posted a Delirious? e-card which really posted itself so that doesn't count). I though that when I started blogging I'd have a difficult time with posting every day. But, surprisingly, I have had a great time posting (nearly) daily with lots of ideas and pictures and experiences I felt were "blog-worthy."  However, it appears that I have hit a creative slump. I am willing to work hard at creativity. I love blogging. I love creating. I love creative discussions. However, it seems like in all my striving to be creative, I have arrived at a dry, empty place where creativity doesn't exist. What to do? I suppose I could read a book or two on creativity. I could take a few pictures. Try to throw something together that looks creative but truthfully is contrived. I could plagiarize something from another blog. I could watch an artsy film. I could wander through Michael's. 

I think I know what I'm missing. I'm missing creative collaboration. Don't get me wrong. The WCW posts are inspiring and funny and informative. However, I need to be in a room with creative people, working on a project together. Can anyone relate? Any suggestions, solutions, sympathy, kick in the pants?

WCW - Bookworm

Today is Watercooler Wednesday - this post, along with many others from creative bloggers across the planet, can be found at Randy Elrod's Ethos blog today. If you are looking for a great daily blog to read, add this one to your RSS reader and enjoy the creative, thought-provoking, artistic posts that are the trademarks of Ethos! Randy's WCW post today is about his favorite book of all time.

I was a bookworm growing up. I even started a library for the neighborhood kids in the treehouse in our backyard! Yes I did create those little checkout cards in paper sleeves inside of each book cover. I guess I don't have a favorite book. I've got tons of favorites. I've got multiple favorite series of books. Don't even get me started on all the Reader's Digest Condensed Books I've read - believe me - there are 100's!! Reading is a feast for the imagination. Well-chosen words crafted into dangerously true sentences have the power to transport is backward and forward in time, awaken long-forgotten memories, and stimulate our longing for creativity, purpose, and abundant life! By the way, is there a better word for abundant - it has such a churchy connotation. Maybe overflowing?

I went to the public library for the first time in years yesterday. I've decided to start paying my children to read books. It's not that they don't like reading, it's just that, well, they LOVE guitar hero, rock band, starcraft, and medal of honor. Trading one love for another is not my goal necessarily, but I really want to add some balance, some sense of words on a page being meaningful and rich and potentially life-changing, and a way to broaden their view of the past, present and future. OK, all that to say, Scottsdale has a beautiful library, totally interactive, well-organized, well-staffed, and well-stocked. While waiting for my offspring to painstakingly select some books, I managed to find a huge stack of books for myself as well. I was drawn to these three books:   "The Savior," by Eugene Drucker (of Emerson String Quartet fame); "I Heard That Song Before," by Mary Higgins Clark; and "Mozart's Sister," by Rita Charbonnier. Maybe one of these will become a favorite!

WCW - In Memory of Mary

Today is Watercooler Wednesday! WCW is a collaboration of creative people who gather around the watercooler at Randy Elrod's Ethos blog every Wednesday. Click HERE to read Randy's latest WCW post and to join the conversation!

This week is Holy Week - started on Palm Sunday will culminate on Easter Sunday. I found some great Holy Week devotionals at Austin Stone Community Church. Today's devotional features a 3-dimensional original painting by Christina Drake entitled "In Memory of Mary."

Artist's Note: This picture is called "In Memory of Mary" and is the worshipful response of one of our partners to the picture of the woman anointing our Lord.  Our artist wanted to capture the picture of submission and sacrifice of the woman, as well as the many colors of grace of our God.  The painting is also three-dimensional, with a shelf at the bottom filled with brushes, tools and entire tubes of paints.  "No amount of paint, tools or expensive perfume can ever compare to what Christ did on the Cross for us..."  Artist: Christina Drake.

WCW - August Rush

It's Watercooler Wednesday!! Join me and many others at Randy Elrod's Ethos blog for creative inspiration today!

I was in NYC for the first time last week. On our flight home, the in-flight entertainment included the movie "August Rush."

I'm embarrassed to admit that the last movie I saw in a theater was The Bourne Ultimatum.  That was awhile back. Oh, yeah, I guess I saw several forgettable movies while traveling back and forth to Africa.  So, I had no preconceived idea of what August Rush was about. I splurged ($1) on the headphones (the worst ever) and proceeded to be engaged and entertained and uplifted and inspired for the next 2 hrs. I absolutely loved it! If I hadn't been on an absolutely jam-packed flight with zero privacy, I would have laughed and cried out loud. As it was, I kept finding myself on the edge of my seat, literally. It's like the movie drew me in, was calling me into the center of it. I was extremely happy that the majority of the movie took place in NYC...I felt like I knew the places and the people and the vibe even more deeply because I was just there, soaking up the city and falling hopelessly in love with it! The music was beautiful. The story wasn't terribly complicated or sophisticated. But the pain was real. The sounds and melodies swirling around and connecting the characters were stirring and chaotic and soothing all at the same time.

I went to Sam's Club today and purchased the movie. I plan to watch it again. And again.

Click HERE to see a 2 min. montage of clips from the movie.

One of many favorite quotes:  "Do you know what music is? Harmonic connection between all living beings."

The thoughts and dialogue expressed in this movie run parallel to thoughts and feelings and ideas I've had for as long as I can remember. Music has called and still calls to me. My first thought is always to run from it. To shut it out. To be practical and pragmatic and ignore the muse. But lately the music has been tugging and coaxing and calling to me like mighty waves call to distant shores. Maybe because I'm less afraid of being connected to it and to others. Maybe it's just time. Finally.

WCW - Groovy Pillows

It's Watercooler Wednesday! The day when creative-types from all parts of the world converge in one central location - around the watercooler at Randy Elrod's Ethos blog! This ongoing creative conversation is designed to spark even more creativity in everyday life and in our creative pursuits. If you'd like to join the discussion, click HERE for the latest Ethos WCW post!

My house is pretty eclectic. A little bit of mid-century modern. A few hand-me-downs. A couple of antiques. I have tons of books on shelves adorning the walls. Couple of wooden carved giraffes from Africa. Stained concrete floors. Circa 1956 bathrooms. The look I'm going for is, well, it's um, I guess vibey coffee-house might be the best description. The most difficult part of decorating my house is SHOPPING. I'm not a shopper. I have very little patience for browsing and window shopping. I'm a "conquer the list" shopper at best. Rewind to Christmas 2007. I was shopping with my beautiful mother-in-law, Judy, one of the champion shoppers of the 20th and 21st centuries. She took me to a very cool store in Orange County, CA where the theme was Red. Everything in the store was red - in a very good way! I was hoping and praying that I'd easily find gifts for my sisters when all of a sudden, the most magnificent pillow announced its presence to me and practically jumped off the shelf and into my arms! It was a big, beautiful, decorative pillow, hand-embroidered with great detail. Judy ended up buying it for me for Christmas! And now, it resides in a place of honor as the central pillow adorning my bed.

I looked up the designer, just certain that he or she would be just as cool as the pillow. The company name is Catstudio. The designers are Carmel and Terrell Swan. Their bio is fascinating. Click HERE to go straight to their bio page. Catstudio has a Geography Collection with hand-embroidered designs of lots of states, parks, countries and regions. They are works of art, really, they are! As soon as I can afford it (not any time soon), I'm going to purchase Arizona and Florida (two places we've lived besides California).