Don't let big moments slip through the cracks... also probably the worst harmonizing you've ever heard [Video]

"The truth is, you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. Life is a crazy ride, and nothing is guaranteed."  - Eminem

In 2011, I graduated from Arizona Christian University with a degree in Music. Today I make my living by leading people in singing at church. There's just one problem, and this is not something I like to admit, I'm terrible at harmonizing. In fact, I do just about whatever I can to avoid it.

Photo courtesy of my beautiful wife Allison, who requires no recognition but deserves tons.

But just now, as I sat down to read a really great book, my 16 year old daughter plopped down next to me with her guitar and big bright puppy eyes. And I wasn't about to say no - even if I was scared.

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"With God, all things are possible" ... perhaps even some things that shouldn't be [Video]

Ever feel discouraged about your own skills or abilities? Well, let me encourage you. If these people can accomplish this, surely you can do anything.

Photo courtesy of David Resz from Flickr.com

I just added this video to the list of things I watch and listen to when I feel discouraged. Enjoy

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What do you say to your wife during her darkest moments? (like during a miscarriage for example)

A couple weeks ago Allison visited her midwife to look into a concern she had about the pregnancy. We both felt like there was nothing to worry about, but wanted to be safe. An ultrasound confirmed our worse fears. Not only was NOT nothing wrong, but we had lost the baby.

Photo courtesy of Karin and the camera at Flickr.com

Perhaps the most fortunate factor was that we were pretty early in the pregnancy (10 weeks), so we hadn't heard a heart beat or felt any movement. That made things a little easier. But it was still pretty difficult nonetheless.

As our midwife told us a bunch of stuff that I wasn't paying any attention to, I wondered what I would do - what could I do to comfort my poor wife. Discovering that we had lost the baby was painful for me, but I knew there was no way it could hurt for me as much as it did for her. After all, my contribution to the pregnancy was... minuscule compared to hers. 

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I survived the surgery, and you won't believe how many tumors they removed from my body. [Video]

I got home from the hospital a few hours ago, and I've been sleeping off the last of the anesthesia. The surgery went really well. At least, that's what they tell me. I was in the operating room for right around 3 hours, and they removed a grand total of sixty seven tumors from all over my body. It looks like I got chewed up by a snaggle-toothed shark.

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It's the world's most absurd weight loss surgery, and I'm getting it!

You know that feeling you get when you find a lump? Then you immediately think it's cancer. I'm gonna die. That's what happened to me about 10 years ago. My friend, who is a massage therapist, found a lump on my lower back and was concerned.

Photo courtesy of Luca Rossato at Flickr.com

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Your church has the same problem as my blog. What a coincidence!

For the last two weeks, I put away my guitar to preach at my church. I get to do it a few times a year, and I always love it. I like coming up with a captivating intro, and then working to make a Bible story come to life for the people at my church.

Photo courtesy of Kah-Wai Lin at Flickr.com

And over the last couple of weeks, I've realized that creating a sermon is, in a lot of ways, just like writing a blog post. And a church family is, in a lot of ways, just like a community of readers for a blog. 

I could go on about the similarities between a church and a blog. But most over the last couple of weeks, I've noticed again and again how my blog has a lot of the same problems as many of the churches I've worked at. And the problem is this:

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Great God & The Strawberry Fields

It was a lazy afternoon during my families vacation in Carbondale, Illinois. My sister said, "Do you want to take the kids to go pick strawberries?"

If I'm being honest, I thought to myself that sounds like some medium-low fun. But then I also thought about how much fun it would probably be for my kids, so I agreed to go. And I'm glad I did, because as it just so happened, God was at the strawberry fields. 

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The 7 Trendiest New Kinds Of Parking Spaces For Your Church's Parking Lot

The parking lot at your church is a really important part your guest's experience on Sunday morning. It's where people first get a sense of what's really important to the people at your church.

Photo courtesy of Lucien Looser at Flickr.com

In recent years, lots of churches have been more intentional about creating parking that caters to the church's most valued persons. Most churches have included a number of guest parking spots near the entrance to their buildings, which is a great way to say Hey, we value our guests! And even more recently, churches are including special parking for expectant mothers. A friend of mine told me about a church here in Phoenix that even has spots designated for family parking.

The other day I was sitting in a staff meeting, talking about this very issue, and it got me thinking - If our parking spaces help us communicate our values with our guests, why don't we have special parking for the other important people groups within the church? Here are 7 types of parking spaces that you should consider adding to your church parking lot.

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My Dirty Little Secret Revealed

Last Friday, I announced that I would be revealing my dirty secret today. After last Friday's post, I spend the majority of the weekend stressing out about writing this. I had that nagging little voice of doubt in the back of my head saying What did you do? You're just going to embarrass yourself. Don't do it. Write about something else.

My inner voice of doubt may be right in this case, but that doesn't matter. Whether I embarrass myself or not, the fact remains, the best way to discover more potential in your life is to learn from the mistakes of yourself and others. So, without further adieu, here's my dirty secret.

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I'm revealing my dirty secret [Upcoming]

We all have skeletons in our closets. Some of us have big, hairy, thick boned skeletons. Other's have little, white, dainty skeletons. But we all have them.

Photo courtesy of Canned Muffins at Flickr.com

I have have a skeleton of my own. I've carried it with me most of my life, and it's cost me a lot. I think about it every single day. And on Monday, I am going to tell you what it is. I have three good reasons for doing this. The first one is plain and simple, God tells us to confess to one another (James 5:16).

Secondly, it's because of a quote that has been in my head for the last five years: 

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The crotch in my jeans ripped this morning, at church. Here's why I'm happy.

This morning I walked into my office, ready for a really productive day. Then I bent over to plug my laptop in, and heard a loud tare. Of course I was wearing my favorite jeans.

At that point there was a temptation for me to give into pessimism and say, "The world is out to get me today." Then I'd started making a big deal out of every other little thing that goes wrong all day. But I hate having days like that. They're no fun.

Instead, I think I'm going to laugh this one off, and look at the bright side of things. So here are my reasons to be optimistic for ripping the crotch in my favorite pair of jeans.

1. I got to post a huge picture of the crotch of my jeans at the top of this blog post.

2. I'm going to get new jeans. score.

3. This one sounds kind of girly, and I'm a little embarrassed to admit it. But now I get to go on Pinterest to see what kind creative stuff I can do with denim.

4. I asked my wife to bring me another pair of jeans, and I got to see her in the middle of my workday.

5. I got an opportunity to respond well to something that would typically stress me out.

6. I'm reminded Jesus is my foundation, and my clothes don't actually provide any security. 

Life is too short for bad days.

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[Encore Post] 10 Questions That Make Christians Wet Their Pants

Have you ever seen a Christian backpedal when asked a challenging question? Who am I kidding, of course you have. Maybe you’ve even done it yourself. I know I have. It’s embarrassing. For that reason, I have a rule about quoting the Bible in my home - You can’t quote it if you can’t find it.

This comes up most often with my oldest daughter, Alura. She likes to use the Bible to combat my wife and my parenting. One time she was frustrated with her chores. She came to me saying, “The Bible says not to overwork your children with chores.”

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Don't pass out in this church or they're gonna make out with you.

This is a picture I took in a church I visited the other week. I'm not sure whether it was the soiled, frayed edges or the retro style red and black font that caught my attention. But it certainly stood out.

It's hard to see in the photo, but the copyright date is written in the lower right-hand corner. As you might have guessed, its from the early 70's. I probably don't have to tell you this, but CPR practices have changed slightly over the last 40 years. 

According to the American Heart Association website (which did not exist when the above poster was made), there are only two steps to performing CPR. And only one of those two steps appears on this poster. They are as follows. 

1. Call 911.

2. Use your palms to push hard and fast on the center of the chest. 

Maybe it's unfortunate that they've taken out all the steps where you make out with an unconscious and likely complete stranger. But nevertheless, that's what they decided to do. 

Since you and I both know churches are notorious for these kind of  instructional posters, I thought I'd share this with you and encourage you to check your church walls for out dated medical advice. 

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10 Questions That Scare The Bejeezus Out of Christians

Have you ever seen a Christian backpedal when asked a challenging question? Who am I kidding, of course you have. Maybe you’ve even done it yourself. I know I have. It’s embarrassing when it happens. For that reason, I have a rule about quoting the Bible in my home - You can’t quote it if you can’t find it.

This comes up most often with my oldest daughter, Alura. She likes to use the Bible to combat my wife and my parenting. One time she was frustrated with her chores. She came to me saying, “The Bible says not to overwork your children with chores.”

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My Big Plans for TimHSwanson.com in 2014

The end of the year is all about goal setting. In fact, if you’re a regular blog reader, you may be tired of seeing ‘goal setting’ posts from your favorite bloggers. Hopefully, you’ve reached the year end with some measurable goals to make next year better.

I’ve been doing some reflecting on the upcoming year, which has resulted in some decisions about this blog, and the other content I’m putting out. Before we kick into 2014, I want to share my plans with you.

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Merry Oopsmas!

I hope the Christmas services at your church went well. My church did an outdoor service for Christmas Eve, and I made a pretty significant mistake. I gathered our whole church on the dried up winter lawn in front of the church for a candlelight service. It was a beautiful evening. Well, it was beautiful other than one thing.

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Beware Christmas Church Bandits

It's Christmas time in the city. You know what that means - tons of holiday crime. Police departments all over will double or even triple their forces on Christmas Eve. Hollywood has even made efforts to draw awareness to the dangers of Christmas burglary in the stunning action/drama Home Alone.

You just can't be too careful these days. If you work or serve in your church, you have to take extra caution this Christmas.

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New Clues To What Jesus Looked Like

You don't have to be a Christian for very long before you start to wonder what Jesus really looked like. As we read about him in the Bible and study his life in our churches and homes, a curiosity about his physical appearance is natural. History and artists have given us some pretty hilarious speculations. But after the specifics of their renderings are debunked, we're still left wondering. Fortunately, several recent sources have given us newer and possibly more reliable evidence of what Jesus actually looked like. 

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