Thought you all might get a kick out of this…

Go and make your own… it’s super-easy. I’d love to see you as a superhero!

Here is Kimberly’s:

I had the privilege to play a couple of shows this past weekend with Kathleen Carnali. Getting to know Kathleen and her wonderful husband, Brett, made the poor turnouts at both shows worth it for me, but they, unfortunately, took a big financial hit at their only stops in Arkansas (they currently reside in Nashville). Kathleen has some powerhouse vocal chops and having heard her two nights in a row, I can say that she can consistently “bring it.” Anyway, she and Brett are both very much ministry-minded and genuine Christ followers/worshippers… they travel together full-time (usually with a band… they were trying out the small venue thing on their way out to California… wish we could have represented ourselves a little better as a state). If you get a chance to catch one of her shows, definitely make time for it. She has two CDs out currently, but has just finished recording her third… you can listen on her MySpace site and purchase a track or an album at iTunes. Show some love, people!

How do you pronounce the word “humble?” I have noticed an oddity happening in churches over the past six or seven years. While still living in Waco, I can remember hearing our pastor often use the word in his sermons, but every time that he said it, he would pronounce it as though there were no “H” at the beginning (i.e. umble). I just chalked it up to being quirky and odd… I have recently noticed that every pastor that I have heard use the word in the past year have pronounced it in the same way and even have gone so far as to over-emphasize the way that they are pronouncing it. I find this to be quite amusing because it is often over-emphasized in a way that indicates the “I know how to pronounce this word properly and you do not so I must teach you” type of attitude which is a polar opposite of the actual definition of the word “humble.” So, after hearing yet another example of this last night, I decided to check the authorities on this matter. I have yet to find a dictionary that indicates that it should be pronounced without an “H” at the beginning… in fact, you can listen to the pronunciation at the Merriam-Webster online dictionary. I realize that the word’s etymology derives from the Latin word “humilis” and that in Latin the “H” would not be pronounced, but we are no longer speaking Latin and the word has come through Anglo-French AND Middle English. I suspect that maybe pastors sometimes fall into the trap of assuming that another pastor (maybe one that pronounces a word in a way that is unusual) has done the studying and the research for his sermon… this is certainly not always the case and it is a very dangerous trap to fall into as that assumption will tempt the next pastor to lazily use (or misuse) a word, or a phrase or saying having never actually invested the time and energy into knowing whether or not it is correct.

The thing about all of this is… I still know that there is a VERY good possibility that I am actually wrong about this and that someone does know something of which I am unaware… I want to know the correct way to pronounce the word! Does it actually matter? Does it change the meaning of the sermon? Probably not… so then why give the pronunciation so much EMPHASIS?!

Enjoy this video of Micah…

Many of you that know me also either know or know of my dear friend, Casey Ewen. This woman continues to astound me and God is absolutely using her to work something amazing… anyway - I have just caught up on my blog reading and was blown away by her latest entry on baggage… It begins:

It has been eighteen months and I have not yet unpacked Shane’s and Ellie’s suitcases from the Lander trip that ended in tragedy. After the collision, it was three months before I could even sort through Ellie’s diaper bag. Even then her precious little clothes still had the sweet aroma of baby soap and rice cereal.

The move from Colorado to Wyoming took place just nine days prior to the crash. We were still in the process of getting settled into our new home and many of our belonging’s were still in boxes. When I was released from the hospital five weeks later and returned to Casper to recover, the rest of the house had been boxed-up by well-meaning friends. I don’t know why I was so surprised to discover that nothing was as we had left it on March 26th. I was still in shock, yes, but I expected my home to be a haven of memories, the rooms filled with something tangible I could touch, smell, and absorb… something I could connect with, grieve with. But those memories were tucked away, hidden by concerned do-gooder’s in cardboard boxes and dark bedrooms.

Read the rest of this entry… seriously… it is one of the best things I have read in quite a long time.