Hubble is hurting - why fix it?

In 1990 the space shuttle carried a $1.5 billion telescope the size of a school bus into orbit to get a better look at our solar system and galaxies. It was named after Edwin Hubble and this is what the Hubble website ways about it:

NASA named the world's first space-based optical telescope after American astronomer Edwin P. Hubble (1889–1953). Dr. Hubble confirmed an "expanding" universe, which provided the foundation for the Big Bang theory.

This $1.5 billion dollar was supposed to provide support for the Big Bang Theory. Hmmm. It's been up there 26 years and the funny thing is I haven't heard any conclusive evidence that supports the big bang theory. NOTHING. $1.5 billion dollars initial cost and nothing! Not one shred of evidence. You know why?

There was in fact a big bang, but you can only see it's effects. And the big bang theory I believe in is the big bang that happened when God spoke and BANG! it happened. God created everything there is...

And I didn't need a $1.5 billion dollar telescope to believe this. Just look around. Tye out.

P.S. Let me know when you find ONE piece of evidence that supports the big bang.

Fall Fest 2006 - WOW!

By Mackenzie Male - Tonight our church provided a great family fun night for families to come and play games and get prizes and help out. There was hot dogs, chips, drinks and cotton candy. There was a huge blow up slide. There was Jonah and the whale game. They had crafts. I helped out with a game called musical steps. I loved it! (thanks Mackenzie!)

Tye here - I spent most of my time meeting families and taking pictures. All my kids were serving in one area or another. I enjoyed chatting with Brent & Vicki, Russ & Renee, Carl & Sheralyn, Tara, Loretta, Brian, Mark & Kathleen (I got your name right!), Becky, and many, many others. Click on the picture for a slide show.

I'm so thankful for people like Cindy Forstrom, Mick Schultz, and Colette Reick who work so hard to provide such a cool night for our families! Thanks to all the volunteers too!Congrats on a job well done!

My email address has been wrong on my blog!

Darlene in Nashville just contacted me to let me know that my email address on my blog was wrong! Thanks Darlene! I have changed my email in the profile on my blog, so if you tried to contact me and couldn't you should now be able to do so.

BTW, when we make mistakes are we willing to admit it? As servants, we should ALWAYS be willing to freely admit our mistakes. Be aware of people who will not say "I'm sorry, I was wrong." They are probably self-serving leaders. Tye out.

10 things to say to your wife

I'm reading The Power of a Praying Husband right now and came across something I thought could help the men reading my blog - all three of them. : )

Have you ever wondered what to say when your wife is upset or hurting in some way? I have. Often I take it personally not understanding that there are usually issues behind the hurt that I probably didn't have anything to do with. We try to reason, explain, rationalize and these do not work! Our wives are emotional beings and that frustrates us men.

So, here are ten things you might say to your wife when things aren't going so hot for her:

1. I love you
2. You are the greatest woman in the world to me!
3. You're beautiful when you're moody/upset.
4. Tell me what's on your mind and I promise not to get mad.
5. How have I let you down?
6. How can I make it up to you?
7. Have you been getting enough sleep? [I'm not so sure about this one]
8. What would make you happy right now?
9. I don't have all the answers. But God does.
10. Do you want to pray about this together?
(The Power of a praying Husband by Stormie Omartian, pp79-80)

I would probably add one to this list; "Will you tell me what you are feeling right now?" (Thanks Dixon Murrah!)

These are not simple formulas to plug in to your marriage for a quick fix. They are, however, some things to say when you're not really sure what else to say. Let me know if you have one that you would add to the list. Tye out.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Eph 5:25 NIV

Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. 1 Cor. 10:24 NIV

Why are you leading?

I have an extremely busy week (starting to sound like a theme!) so I'm pasting in something from the good folks over at www.leadlikejesus.com. I subscribe to their devotions and this is what I received this morning in my email box. Click here for the link. Tye out.

The heart is your character – why you are leading. To serve or be served? When your heart is wrong you quickly lose your way on the leadership journey. When Jesus talks about the heart He is referring to the center of your spiritual nature and consciousness rather than the physical heart. (Inspiring thoughts from Lead Like Jesus: Beginning the Journey Participant’s Study Guide - Page 19)

A wise heart instructs its mouth and increases learning with its speech.Proverbs 16:23

PRAY: Wisdom of the Ages, teach me to guard my heart so that my thoughts and actions will reflect You. May my words and thoughts be Yours and may those I lead sense a change in my character as I lead like You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

East Iowa Bible Camp has WiFi!

I'm out in the middle of NOWHERE!!! But to my shock and awe they have wireless internet here. I'm out here for the New Covenant Bible Church Elder/Deacon/Staff retreat. It is an awesome time where all the ministry heads share their 5 year plans and then something we call a Micro-Vision. This is a narrative that is written as if we were writing in the year 2012. If you would like to see mine, let me know and I'll send you a copy.

Welp, breakfast is served. Tye out.

Here's Robin! the coffee spiller

Oh yeah! I'm so patient! (so she says) Click on the pic if you want to see Robin's hysterical, freak out face when she spilled my coffee!

SPILLED COFFEE!!!

Robin Koskamp stopped over today to let me copy the photos that are in my last blog post and in the process she SPILLED MY COFFEE!!! So, I thought you would enjoy seeing my spilt coffee - actually she was the one that wanted it on my blog!

Seriously, the Koskamp family was a real blessing last year while I was here by myself. Often I would stop by their house only 4 doors from the church and they would also make me feel like family. Thanks for being there for me last year and even now, even if you did spill my coffee!

Best friends and a photo shoot

Susie, Brenda (L), Hannah (R) Morgan

Robin Koskamp just dropped by and gave me some cool pictures of her daughter, my daughter and two other young ladies. Click on the picture for a slide show. (the bruised foot is Brenda's - it's broke)

I just love it that Morgan has made such good friends and they have so much fun hanging out together. These pictures are taken at Noelridge park where there are some beautiful flowers there in cascading gardens. Lots of people have their wedding pics done there, in fact, Allyson had her homecoming pics there.

Thanks so much to Brenda, Susie, and Hannah for being such great friends to my daughter. She REALLY loves being with you. There's nothing like best friends!

A busy weekend coming up

Thanks for reading "Tye's Jazz," a blog about my life and learning. My hit count has soared over the past week or two and I hope that you find this a treat to read. Please leave a comment anytime!

This weekend includes a retreat where I will lead worship for one session, a wedding gig (sax), and a dance gig (I'm not dancing, but playing sax!) with the D Anthony Big Band. WOW! So, there won't be much blogging this weekend if any. Have a great weekend!

Men's Fraternity Update

We had another 137 men come out this morning for Men's Fraternity and it was another incredible morning. This morning we talked about "Facing the Father Wound." We were challenged with eight proactive remedies for the absent father wound. Here is point #1:

1. Make sure your son has the "essentials."

a. Make sure he hears....

• "I love you"
• "I'm proud of you!"
• "you're good at _______."

b. Make sure he has...

• A manhood vision
• A code of conduct to live by (dad models this)
• A transcendent cause - something to love other than himself

We covered a lot of territory this morning. There was some great sharing around the tables as men processed the things they heard. As we unpack the "stuff" of our lives, God is doing a great work and I can't wait to hear how this affects not only the men of our church, but also homes, workplaces, our communities and the world!

“See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. 6He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.” Mal 4:5-6NIV

A pony ride and a pumpkin

Mackenzie and Duke

Today was our annual pony ride and pumpkin patch visit. It was a beautiful day, but at 38 degrees and 17 mile an hour winds it was absolutely frigid. But I can tell you that the smile on Mackenzie's face made it all worth it! After the horse ride, she picked out a pumpkin, and we were out of there! It was cold! But my heart was warmed as I saw KK light up as she climbed up on that horse. Click on the picture for a slideshow.

Audio Adrenaline/Mercy Me Concert

I'm not a concert goer, meaning that I don't buy tickets to concerts. But sometimes someone will give me tickets and we get to go. Such was the case last night. It was off to Waterloo Iowa about an hour north. Allyson, Morgan, Lindsey and Austin went with me - Judy doesn't like loud music. We went up early to have an adjustment made on my Mark VI sax at Tenor Madness which Thomas did in just a few minutes. Thanks bro!

We ate at Pizza Hut - I forgot how much I like that pizza. It was fun. The good news is that we were only like 4 miles from McElroy Auditorium were the concert would be. We headed on over to McElroy around 5:30. We got in line - prob about the first 200 people. I'm used to going to concerts in the big city. There were probably only 3-4 thousand people there. McElroy is an old auditorium with low ceilings. The seats are old wood stadium seats and their were posts to hold up the ceiling. It reminded me of a miniture Cincinnati Gardens - what I remember.

The concert was incredible. The warm up band was ok. Then came Audio Adrenaline. WOW! I loved it! it could have been louder - low ceilings probably hurt us there. I love their energy, passion! It's a Big Big House, Ocean Floor, He Lifts Me Up where just a few of the great songs they played.

Mercy Me came on next and they were fantastic as usual. Word of God Speak, Spoken For, So Long Self, and of course I Can Only Imagine were all included. Bart's voice was huge as usual. It's amazing to see him pulling the mic away from his mouth and still coming out over top the band. He also talked about his upbringing in a southern baptist church. He challenged the crowd to grow in their faith toward maturity, unlike some of the unkind elderly people in the church. : (

It's hard to believe that Audio A has been at it for 15 years. Adios Audio Adrenaline. Thanks for the memories. You were awesome!

Man Laws, uh, Male Laws

Two burned skillets at the Male household

Ok, it's Friday and I slept in this morning. I finished my 5 year plan and Micro Vision narrative and sent it to our Business manager at 11:30 last night. Whew!

So, this morning I'm kinda stretching out, getting ready to do some work (church) and I'm checking email, reading the news, etc. I put a skillet on the stove to make eggs...And then walked off to check something on the internet. BIG MISTAKE! Next thing I knew was smoke was billowing off the stove! I opened all the windows and doors to air everything out. Once the smoke had cleared...

So, why are there two burned pots in the picture? Good question!

Judy decided to fix some oatmeal. Well, she needed to check something on the internet as well and next thing I knew smoke was once again bellowing from the stove!!! It was a good laugh for both of us! The house still stinks like burned oatmeal. But, we do live in the City of Five Smells, now we made it six!

Have you seen the Miller Lite commercials? They are really good. Click here to see one. Well, we are now going to have Male Laws (as in the Male household). Here's Male Law #1:

When cooking on the stove, don't leave to check your email, weather, or stats on your fave team's game. Male Law!

Men's Fraternity Update

We had another great meeting this Wednesday morning! I can't tell you how thrilling it is to see men streaming into the activity center at 5:45 AM each week. This week Robert Lewis drilled down one of the five wounds a man faces from his father - the all alone wound. Matt Thede started our session with a video clip from Gladiator - I love that movie! It was the scene where Marcus Aurelius tells his son Commodus that he will not succeed him as Caesar but he has chosen Maximus. Marcus then says that his son's failures are a result of his failures. Whoah! Then Matt shared a personal story about hunting with his wife - ask him!

There was some great sharing around the tables again this morning and I can't wait to see how God is going to use this in the lives of our men at NCBC and Cedar Rapids!

128 men showed up and I am thrilled to see men connecting in community!

Tye out.

My 5 year plan and the power of a praying husband

I just started Stormie Omartian's book The Power of a Praying Husband and I can't wait to get into it. The truth of the matter is that I have not done a good job praying for my wife and family, although I have made improvements this year. I really want to go to the next level in my prayer life, so pray for me. Since I just started the book, I don't have a lot to review, but wanted to challenge you with this quote on page 25:

Whatever you don't pray about in your life you leave up to chance. And that's not good enough when it comes to your marriage.

I am wrapping up my 5 year strategic plan this morning and afternoon. I don't do ministry by chance - there's a plan. That made me wonder about my strategic plan for prayer and my marriage. hmmm. I think I'll work on my 5 year strategic plan for prayer next week. Any ideas?
Tye out.

Servant Leadership for Teams

(this is taken entirely from Desktop Devotions from Servant Leadership)

Since I'm a little pressed for time today, here is the devotional that I received today from the fine people at Lead Like Jesus.

Trust is also a key factor in the successful implementation at the team level. Without the outcome of trust developed in the one-on-one relationship, empowerment will never happen. Individuals in the group will never “empower” each other to accomplish an assigned task if they do not trust each other. (Inspiring thoughts from Lead Like Jesus: Beginning the Journey Participant’s Study Guide - Page 17)


For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well. And for this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. 2 Timothy 1:5-7

PRAY: Father, teach me to trust You more each day so that I can display, for those I lead, my trusting relationship with You. Give me all the trust I need for this day and expand it in the days to come. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!

Where's Tye?

Where's Tye? I had to get away this morning for a couple of hours to work on my 5 year plan and microvision. It's not by strong suit. I'll try to get something posted up tomorrow. Tye out.

Men's Fraternity Update - What if you missed a session?

I have had a lot of calls and emails from guys who are so stoked about what is happening with Men's Fraternity that they don't want to miss a single session! That is GREAT!!! But, what if you have to be out of town for a session? I've got some good news for you.

You can go the Men's Fraternity website, click on "Missed a session?" on the left side of the page and download an mp3 format audio version of any one of the sessions. There is a $5 charge for each download. The good news is that you can put this on your mp3 player and listen any time.

Men's Fraternity continues to reach men and we've only started! In the coming weeks we will begin hearing about biblical manhood and what this looks like today. But first we have to "unpack" the stuff of our lives to get ready.

Thanks Mick for giving me a jump!

Ok, so I spend most Monday mornings at Panera right? This morning I took the old toyota pick up truck (225K+ miles) so Andrew could drive something more dependable to school. Besides, I love that old truck!

Well, I left the lights on ("burning" if you are in the south) and needed a jump ("boosted off" in the south). I tried a roll start - no go. Emailed the church (no cell phone) for help and Mick, our resident bonified country boy, came to my aid with jumper/booster cables. Actually the cables were Peggy's. Thanks Peg!!!!

It was a bummer. It was raining, I'm not feeling too goood, and my fave car wouldn't start. Thanks Mick for boosting me (personally!) and the truck!