Tagged

Well now... I've never been tagged before. Interesting. Thanks, Kim.

I guess I can take a few minutes and answer these questions before I pass this on to some unsuspecting blogger friends.

1) What is the most fun work you've ever done, and why?
This is tough. I love what I do now as the music/creative arts pastor at Peninsula Covenant Church. I am coming up on seven years here, and I've been reflecting on that with a lot of gratitude. Don't they know they never should have hired me? Honestly... I'm humbled and grateful for the opportunity, over a good, long time, to grow and become a worship leader and head of a department. Who knew I could ever do this? God did, I guess, and He allowed me to be planted in some rich soil... PCC is a dream job in a lot of ways. There have been other times of fun, of course. I loved teaching at Desert Christian High School (Lancaster, CA before PCC... just fell in love with those kids. What a cool time we had. (It's been really fun to re-connect with some all these years later right here on Myspace.) And I enjoyed working for Grace College back in the mid-90s. We in the Visitor Center had some crazy times... Dave Pacheco and I could really yuk it up.

2a) Name one thing you did in the past that you no longer do but wish you did?
Hmmm... work out five times a week.

2b) Name one thing you've always wanted to do but keep putting it off?
Have a regularly scheduled music (piano/writing) time every week.

3a) What two things would you most like to learn or be better at, and why?
1 – Easy. I'd like to be a better songwriter. Period.

2 – I'd like to learn to play guitar like Mike Roe.

3b) If you could take a class/workshop/apprentice from anyone in the world living or dead, who would it be and what would you hope to learn?
Good grief. Well, I'd like to learn discipleship from John the Apostle. Spiritual discipline from Brennan Manning. Songwriting from Joni Mitchell and Stephen Sondheim. Writing from Philip Yancey and Anne Lamott. And fiction writing from Dean Koontz. Bass from Jon Simpson. Money Management from Dave Ramsey. Acting from Philip Seymour Hoffman. Showmanship from Bono. 

4a) What three words might your best friends or family use to describe you?
Passionate, honest, goofy.

4b) Now list two more words you wish described you.
Virtuoso, Christlike

5) What are your top three passions? (can be current or past, work, hobbies, or causes)
1 -  It's terribly cliché for a pastor to say "God," but I want to put God at the top of my list because I humbly acknowledge that He really is the center of my universe. He really does hold me together, giving me life. He really has brought me out of darkness into His marvelous light. He is healing my brokenness, freeing me from my self-made prison and growing me into a man He can use for His purposes, which are always in my best interest…

2 – My family… Also cliché, I know. But I don't know where I'd be without these wonderful five human beings. Luanne is the light of my life, and Josh, Jake, Emily and Zach make every day a new adventure.

3 – Music and art. God is a creator, and He graciously shares that gift with us. I love to create and to revel in the creations of other creations. I love New Music Tuesday on iTunes. I love film and theater and dance and visual arts and poetry and novels and prose and photography… Thank you, God!

6) Write and answer one more question that YOU would ask someone.
Since I'm into arts, how about…  Name a favorite book, record and film from the past 6 months.

All righty, this one's easy… although there are a lot I could choose from… Notice I asked myself to name A favorite, not my favorite…

Book: Peace Like a River by Leif Enger. Riveting, haunting, beautifully written. Every page was delightful to read… and not, as one reviewer has noted, because you want to see what happens (although that certainly is true), but because it's so perfectly written. The dialogue, the protagonist's narration… really beautiful.

Record: Well, this is more difficult. I love so much music. I'm going to choose Say I Am You by The Weepies. Just a great, fresh, simple sound. Check out the track "Gotta Have You." Also, I love Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy." Shawn Colvin just released a cover version that is brilliant. You can get it at iTunes.

Film: I'm gonna say Pan's Labyrinth. Really unlike anything I've experienced. Sad, violent, beautiful, oddly redemptive. Beautifully acted and written. I love this film, and I hope it wins every Oscar it's up for. Also really enjoyed Children of Men, Babel, and Dreamgirls. (I'm a sucker for musicals.)

So who should I tag? How about Krys VanSlyke, Zanne Dailey and my sweet sister Sarah Gingrich.

Peace out.