Today will be a break for Monday’s Moments because I am in my birthplace in Ohio and couldn’t seem to find internet until today at noon and don’t have enough time to put it out there.  Poor planning on my part – and of course this does not constitute an emergency for you!  See you next week at Monday’s Moments,and I’m looking forward to hearing your amazing stories.

By the way, Does anyone know who won the basketball games this weekend in the NCAA?  It would appear that I’ve been out of the loop.

Until next time…

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Last night was the last official night for my life group, as we will be splitting and moving into the next phase of our life group lives.  Once again this has been a phenomonal experience for Carie and I, and last night was no different.  We have been so blessed by growing spiritually and relationally with the likes of Garret and Sue Walker, Phil & Leslie Kenney, Ben Daggett, Whitney Jones, Pam Watson, Mark Duclos, Nicole Lagace, MB Makara, and my long time friends Steve & Amy MacArthur. 
Every week, we’ve met together to pray, read and study the Bible, read other books like “Sex God” (don’t ask), and eat and fellowship together.  It’s been an amazing ride for which I’m thrilled to be a part and I’m still looking forward to seeing what God does with my next group.
Officially I won’t be leading my next group, but I’ll be a part.  For the rest of our lives (God willing), we’ll be a part of a group of people who help to lead one another into authentic community with God and each other.

How about you?  Are you a part of a group of people who love and care about you both relationally and spiritually?

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I just wanted you to know that despite the stupid web sites I’ve read and despite the people that annoy me and despite the stress that I’ve gone through in the last few weeks and even though my basketball team got pounded on Monday night, I’m really joyful right now. 
Now, I’m proving that via  this picture.
 

And the reason I’m so joyful is because I serve a super amazing, risen Savior, I’m married to the wife of my dreams who loves me and most importantly, loves that super amazing risen Savior I just mentioned, I have a handful of friends who always brighten my day person to person or through technological advancements (cell phone, blog, facebook, or email), A church family who I cannot tell you how much I love being apart of their lives, and last night our team pounded the team we lost to a few weeks ago.  I mentioned it here and here.

Life is good.

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For those of you wondering what a blog carnival is all about when I talk about “Monday’s Moments”, a storytelling blog carnival every week, you might want to chck out where I came up with the idea in order to get a better understanding of what it’s all about.  Randy’s carnival  around the “Wednesday Watercooler” is growing and filled with a lot of very cool posts on arts, culture, blogging, and life.  Check it out now!

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This is not a fuzzy picture, this is snow on the ground outside of my house this morning.
And that is a robin, signifying the return of spring.
What do you think I should do today?  Fly a kite or go snowboarding?

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So, I ran into a site (I’m not going to post it) yesterday because of a blog I read on a regular basis.  The site  (not the one I read on a regular basis) focused on defaming much of the “contemporariness” or “pop-culturalization” of the church.  They shared about how horrible the big churches are and about how horrible the churches that reflect those big churches are and by the time I finished reading a few of the posts, I felt sick to my stomach that I had read this smut – or the opposite version of a pop-culture entertainment magazine – That I literally had to shut my computer off and do something else.  I don’t do negativity well.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10 years ago I was passing out flyers to an event my church was hosting in Webster, Mass.  (This is not the church I attend now)   I turned the corner to this one house and stopped as a huge german shephard stared me right in the eye about 6 feet away.  I took a step toward my car and the dog moved, so I ran, and the dog chased me for about 4 houses, nearly getting me a few times.

When I arrived to my car, I noticed that my pant legs had been clawed and frayed to the point where the pants were ruined.  At that time I could not afford a lot of clothing so this was kind of a bummer.

What really makes me sick is how some people live their whole lives on the pant leg of others, scraping and clawing and nagging and acting like they are God’s watchdogs, as if God in some way needs them to look out for Him.  Between the media and some religious folk, there sure are a lot of german shephards out there, so make sure you wear your tennis shoes.

Have you ever had to run from “the dogs”?

Until next time…

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I started my blog out about 5 months ago with this post, knowing little to nothing about what it was, other than the fact I was learning a lot from the blogs I would read.  As I learned about RSS feeds, I started understanding how important blogging could be as a communication tool on the internet, and I wanted to participate for a few reasons:

1.  I like to write
2.  I had some interesting things to say

This is literally all you need today to start a new blog, along with a beginner to intermediate knowledge of how the internet works.  Figuring out which blog address to use is important to, which almost always ends in a conversation about WordPress, Blogger, or Typepad (anyone else want to throw their hat in the ring?)

The first blog I ever really read (besides those live online diaries everyone used to send me about which song they liked and which book they were reading) was Mark Cubans.  By the way, rule number 1 about blogs is, “Everything he writes, read.”  Ok, so it’s not really the first rule, but it is very wise advice, so please take it.  I don’t always agree with the guy, but he always writes interesting, knowledgeable material thats probably worth your time.

But there are a few things that a beginning blogger needs to know in order to enjoy their time blogging – things that I wish someone would have told me before I started, so that I could have used my time better, so I’d like to share them with you.  These points are for someone who takes blogging seriously.  Please remember, I’m not an expert, but I do have a blog that I write in every weekday morning (preferably before 9:00 am), and after 5 months of writing consistently, I’ve learned a few things, like:

1.  What’s the purpose for your blog?
If you don’t know, figure it out.  Is it for you?  Is it for others?  Is it to get out what’s in your heart?  The earlier you can figure this out, the less changing you will have to do in the future.  I mean, this is good advice for life, not just blogging.  Being intentional about everything you do, and knowing why you do it.
I admit that the reason I first started was because I liked all of the blogs I was reading, so I thought, “well then, I’m going to write stuff that everyone else likes to read.”  Which works out about a quarter of the time. 
Now I know that I blog because I have some things inside of me that I want to get out, and those things are more fun (to me anyways) when I know that there are others reading them.  I hope they learn from what I write and from my experiences and, at times, it keeps me accountable to what I have said.

2.  Find your niche (aka the more specific the post, the better the post)
I’m a pastor, which means that I don’t have time to read lots of blogs on the intricate details of computer software.  Just like a software engineer probably doesn’t have time to read my analysis of how church went on Sunday.  So as a reader, I don’t have time to read everything on every subject, though I do make time to read some of my friends blogs on various subjects.  But for the most part, I read other pastor’s blogs.
One of the things I’ve found is that when I write very specifically about something, my audience grows because the audience from that particular field (if I have tagged correctly), have come to my blog when normally they would not.  For instance, two of my most popular posts to date are one that was very specific to computers and one that was very specific to basketball.  The reason they were so popular was (1.)  because of the content and (2.) because they were linked into message boards that specialized in the fields of computers (specifically Macs) and college sports (specifically Holy Cross).
So while my blog should have a purpose, the niche is more important to the post.
I find that some of my least “attended” posts come in the form of when I try to write about everything that is going on in my life in one post. 
Sure it’s good for the soul, but no one is really interested.  And if it is so important, write another post.

3.  Why are you so different? 
What is so different about your blog that attracts me to it?  Trust me, there are plenty of blogs out there to find if I want to find them.  Just look at my blogging friend Randy’s blogroll.  This alone proves the amount of blogs that exist.  But what is different about yours that would keep my attention?  Recently I’ve tried to focus on telling stories in my blogs, even if I’m simply trying to make a point.   This guy has a picture and a point in every post.  This guy gives away tons of information on what he’s doing at his church.  The point is, there are reasons for me to go to these sites, because I believe it would be in the best interest of my time.  So unlike high school, in the blogging world, it’s okay to be different.

4.  Comment on this post please.
One of the best ways for people to find out about you and what you’re writing about is for you to read what they are writing and to comment on what they write. Now pleae don’t take this information and write something like, “Man Marty, that sure was a great post.  It reminds me of the time I wrote this post (link to said post) here.  You and everyone else who reads this should check it out.”  Yeah, don’t be stupid.
Just take an interest in other people’s work.

5.  Tag, you’re it.
Whatever you do, use tags if you want people to read your blogs.  I’m not an expert on how this works, but I just know that posts that I use tags get read more than posts when I forget to use tags.

6.  Unless you do this for your job, don’t count your stats every hour.
Trust me, I’ve done this, and it just wastes time.  There’s other things you could be doing with your time, like hanging out with your husband or wife or friends, or working.  If your blog ever gets as popular as you think it’s going to, it could possibly be your job if it’s specific enough, until then though, live your life with people, not computers.  Your life is what people will be or will not be interested in reading about.

So, what do you think?  You want to start blogging?  Or…

What did I miss?

Until next time…

This post is being used for Watercooler Wednesday with Randy Elrod.

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Welcome to MoMo’s! 

HERE are the guidelines. If this is your first time giving your “amazing story”, PLEASE take time to read them. It will save us both a lot of time.

To join me, write a post today (or a post you’ve written from last Monday to Sunday) sharing something tht has happened to you this last week - anything funny or interesting, crazy, fulfilled, too busy, hilarious, wistful, or any number of out of the ordinary happenings that made you happy or miserable last week.  Put a link in your post to this post permalink (not my general URL) and then put the permalink of your post (not your general URL) here at the end of this post. Thanks.  By the way, I do this because I love stories.  To tell them, to hear them, and to read them.

So tell me your “Inspired by the truth” story every Monday…

Here’s mine.

My Easter was special for even one more reason than it already is this year.  It was a typical Easter, though for the first time I was doing the preaching on Easter Sunday.  I became the lead pastor of FC about 5 months ago, though I had been here at this church for about 8.5 years.

And the service was great!  After the service, I did the typical thing and talked to a lot of people, Fellowshippers and Guests, and had a blast just chatting away.  Then like usual, I walked home, where Carie had made an amazing dinner we were able to share with some family and friends.

Before dinner this year though, I was able to confer a degree.  Ever done that on Easter Sunday?

You see, though my father-in-law, Tom, lives in New York, some of his mail, for whatever reason, still comes here.  And this week, his degree came from Liberty University. 

I knew that he had worked hard over the last few years on his MBA,and that he was doing it online.  And last July he finished his course work.  So in the mail, all the way from Jerry U. came this cardboard cylinder that one would only put something of value that coudn’t be bent or destroyed in.

So before our services on Sunday morning, I “conferred” (yes, very much intended) with Tom’s wife, and we decided to have a ceremony before our Easter dinner that day.

So before dinner yesterday, we all sat down and I asked Tom if he would stand up, and that I had big news.  Everyone kind of got nervous as I stood and smiled, probably for different reasons.

Tom probably thought “grandchild”.

Carie probably thought “emergency”.

Our guests probably wondered what the heck I was doing.

But in the end I was able to hand over to Tom his MBA degree from Liberty University, an accomplishment I know he worked hard on, and I was honored to be able to give the diploma to him on Easter Sunday 2008.

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Easter at Fellowship Church in Holden Mass. was great as we kicked off our new series called “Live Different”.  Here are some things I liked about the service:

*So many people returned from long absences from FC. I was thrilled at all the people, brand new guests, attenders who had been away, and our Fellowship Faithful.

*The band.  Rocked it out to Leeland’s “The Opposite way” to start the service, then transitioned to “Song of Hope”.  Finished the service with an amazing rendition of Chris Tomlin’s “God of this City”.

*We started the Transformation Project, the first of 5 weeks of videos showing 3 Fellowship attenders who have decided to find, focus, and fulfill God’s vision for their life.

*”Living Passionately” – the first of 5 in our “Live Different” series.  The disciples became passionate when they realized they didn’t serve a dead god, but a risen Savior.

*We handed out ballots for the people in our church to decide to either “Live below average,” “Live average,” “Live above average,” and “Live Different.”  More on this in a later blog.

*Walking out the door, Fellowshippers were handed yard signs that read,”Voting in 2008?  Vote to Live Different.  Yes we can!
Fellowshipholden.com”

*I’m excited about what God has planned for FC this spring and summer.

TWO OTHER NOTES OF INTEREST:
*My NCAA Brackets are all messed up this year.  Hopefully all of my competition’s brackets are messed up too.  Or should I be happy for them?

*Check out my blog on Monday and join the blog carnival - “Monday’s Moments” a blog carnival that focuses on the stories that happened to us last week from Monday to Sunday.

Here are some more pics to supplement this blog.

Love to hear what you’re thinking.

Until next time…

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I was on Facebook last week and found that I had a friend request from an old friend in college.  His name is Derek. I hadn’t seen him or heard from him since the spring of 1994, the end of my freshman year, when he decided to leave PCC (I can’t think of why) to return to his hometown of Dayton, Ohio.

Derek,Brandon, and Klassen, the Canadian were good friends in their sophmore and junior years at college,and Ridgeway (sorry, no facebook yet) and I came in as freshman.  We all hung out together, and typically the older three made fun of Ridgeway and I.  Despite their chiding, we all got along pretty well, and we all enjoyed one another’s company.

Some of our friendships lasted for years – Ridgeway and I continue to talk regularly to this day – and some of our friendships lasted for a bit after school.  I actually lived with Brandon for a year or so after college, then I did something stupid to quickly end our close friendship. (possibly for another blog)  Then there was Klassen, the Canadian, who left school in the middle of that year, and we emailed every once in a while from then until now, and Derek, who emailed me this week, via facebook, for the first time since 1994.

Crazy!

So apparently Derek has great timing because he gives us all god reason to email and talk and connect for a while when he gives us an invitation to join him on espn.com’s tournament challenge for March Madness.  We all did, and so now we’ve all connected again.  This was one of the things we did that first year we were all together in March of ’94, except the internet hadn’t quite caught on yet (though I still don’t know if it has at PCC) and we did it via the USA Today.

Currently I’m tied for first place along with Ridgeway, the irony being that we were the “loser freshman” back then.  But the most important thing is the reconnection I’ve made once again with my old friends. A bit more weight. A bit more gray hair. But a lot more experiences to share.

Until next time…

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