Worship Recap from 11-30

Today was a great day of worship!  

I enjoyed very much the little riff we did as our pre-opener (it may not be a keeper, but it was very fun). Even though God of Our Days is not the most upbeat opener, I actually thought it fit well there and the church seemed to connect today with this one.

My Savior Lives was fun to do, but I thoroughly enjoyed Sing to the King today (it was September the last time we did My Savior Lives and August since we've done Sing to the King)! I absolutely love the second verse of Sing to the King...in fact it may be one of my most favorite lyrics of all the songs we sing. "Satan is vanquished and Jesus is King!" That's a powerful confession of a powerful truth!

It was fun to feature Kevin in a couple songs today - nice job buddy!

Jennie, you did a great job with Hosanna. I'm not sure the church has totally bought into that song just yet, but I know that once they do—it has the potential to be an incredible song connecting people to God in our worship services. Shauna, nice job as well with Who Is Like You, It's one of my favorite new songs that we're doing right now.

Why don't you comment on this blog and leave your favorite "old" and "new" songs we're doing right now?!

Sleepless in Gilbert

On Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, the kids and I went down to Casa Grande to hang out with my family (Star had to work).  I was bad and had a Mountain Dew and 2 Diet Cokes...got home around 11:30 PM, went to bed...couldn't sleep cause of all the caffeine I had.

One weird thing that happened was all the random times that I happened to look over at the digital clock next to my bed.  You may not think that this really happened, that maybe just maybe I'm taking some creative writing liberties here.  But truth be told, I actually did happen to look over at my clock at all of the following times:

12:34

1:23

2:34

3:45

4:54 

Darn it I missed the last one by two minutes)

What I'm Thankful For...

Today is Thanksgiving, the day we celebrate what we are thankful for. So I thought I'd share some of the things I'm thankful for:

- My Savior, Jesus Christ. I am so grateful that Christ has saved my life.

- My wonderful wife, Star, you are truly the best thing that's happened to me. I am blessed because I have you in my life. I love you.

- My incredible kids (Kyle, Zach, Erica & Alexia), I don't know what we've done to deserve such great kids, but I am thankful and proud to be your father!

- The rest of my family...even the in-laws.  ;)  I am blessed to have two great families to be part of - you're all the best.

- My church, Mesa First - what a fun ride we're on, wouldn't change anything about the journey we're taking right now.

- My awesome team! I simply could not do what I do without such a great team supporting me. From the tech booth, to the vocals and the band—you are all such a blessing to me and I count it a great honor and privilege to serve you and this great community.

Here's hoping you all have a very happy and safe Thanksgiving.

God's Awesomeness Displayed

Shot this today at Val Vista & Riggs.

It's A Small World

Today coming out of Sam's Club, we were walking past an elderly couple and we greeted each other, then I noticed their license plate was from Michigan. I asked them where they were from and found out that they were from Clarkston, MI (just up the road from where we used to live in Auburn Hills).  I told them I was on Staff for a while at Auburn Hills Christian Center and they asked if I knew some very good friends of theirs, Bob & Donna Knight...and guess what, I do!

It made me think of Star's favorite ride at Disneyland and I began to sing in my head, "It's a small world after all..."

An Act of Kindness

Today I stopped at QT to get some gas and a friend from church, Lee V., pulled in right next to me. Lee paid at the pump, I wanted a pop so I went in got my drink and paid for my gas inside. By the time I did all this and got back to my car, Lee was done getting his gas and washing his windshield. 

We said our goodbyes and then I jokingly said, "Hey Lee, you didn't wash my windshield." 

Lee got out of his car, grabbed the washer and began to wash my windshield, I told him I was only kidding, but he insisted on washing my windshield.

This caused me to think about the last time I washed someone else's windshield, it was.........umm...

Hey You...Get Off Your Phone!

I love my iPhone, it's the coolest gadget ever made! That said, there are simply times when you're not supposed to be on your cell phone, let me list a few that really bug me:

- when you're in line at the bank talk all you want, but when it's your turn, get off the phone before walking up to the teller.

- when you're trying to order food at McDonalds, and I'm in line behind you waiting to order my "fast food," get off your phone and place your order so I can be next...after all, when you take "fast" out of fast food, it's no longer very appealing.

- stinking don't text while you're driving, I don't want to get hit by you!

- Also, when you're in a crowded place, remember that the conversation you're having is with the person on the other end of the cell phone - NOT EVERYONE AROUND YOU - so don't talk so loud.

Recently I was in line at Paradise Bakery, I was there for their wonderful Peach Tea! I was on the phone, on hold with a company and wouldn't you know it...right as it was my turn to place my order, a voice came on my phone that said, thanks for holding how can I help you. So here's what I did, I politely stepped out of line to take my phone call and ended up not getting back in line to get my Peach Tea.

I'm not trying to say that I'm better than anyone else, just saying that I try to practice what I'm preaching right now.

........

Wow, where did all that come from?!

A Whole New Look

It's a whole new look for my blog. It's a whole new location for my blog. Unfortunately, it's still the same old me!  We are making some changes here at the church with some of our web applications, so I'm moving my blog to it's new home.

The link to the blog from the Mesa First Worship website will take you to this new home from now on.  As well you can go directly to this new blog at johnforbis.blogspot.com.  I hope you all continue to stop by often and that you'll leave your comments as well.

Peace,

PJ