June 30th (Day 47)

Today's verse is Daniel 9:9, "The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him." Today was a pretty good day. It was my day off so I was able to relax and do some stuff all day. I was going to try to sleep in a little, but I ended up waking up on my own at 7:30 am and just got up and finished a recording so I could get it online for the band members for this week. After that, I went downstairs and worked out and then went for a walk/jog. I did A LOT of reading today. I read over 70 pages in "Death by Love" today and I'm almost done with it (finally), haha. I was able to talk to a couple of people online and then another person on the phone. Each of these were pretty enjoyable conversations. I took a nap after having lunch and reading for a little while. Overall I would say that it was a relaxing day physically but mentally exercising all day with all that I've read, processed, and thought about. I still can not believe that June is already over. Tomorrow is the first of July and there is only 4 weeks from this Friday before I am done here in Cleveland. It still feels like just last week that I got here and was dealing with getting settled in and accustomed to everything. Overall I think it becomes more bitter-sweet each week that passes by. The sweet part is that I'll be able to see my friends at KCU and at home again, but the bitterness part is that I won't get get see the people that I've built relationships with here over the summer much any more unless I come visit or I run into them somewhere on a trip or something. It's all part of life I guess, haha. Well That's all I have for you today! Until tomorrow!

Pat

June 29th (Day 46)

Today's verse is Psalm 56:3, "When I am afraid, I will trust in you." Today was a typical Monday. It began with a staff meeting at 8:00 am. Then after the meeting I went about my usual work, and tried to get ahead on the work for the week. I'm hoping that I will be able to get Saturday off so I can go to a friend's cookout in Canton. I just about finished another iWorship video before lunch. During lunch Matt Caton and I chatted about stuff all over the board. It was a very enjoyable conversation too. Afterward we had a Creative Arts meeting. We went over things that went well and things that didn't go so well and then went over the things that needed to get done this week. I wrote everything down, and I'm hoping that this will allow me to see what I have to get done, and get them done in an orderly and timely manner. I came home from work around 4:00 pm to finish up as much of the "Here I Am to Worship" recording as I could, only to find that I had left my laptop at work. I guess you could say I was slightly distracted again today. So I jumped in my car and drove all the way back across Cleveland to get my computer and then drove home for the 2nd time, but this time in rush hour traffic. Dave and I got a rough recording done of acoustic, electric, bass, and vocals tonight, however we don't like it very much and we both want to redo it. We've been goofing off for the rest of the night pretty much, but it's been great nonetheless. I got to talk to Robert online tonight. That was an enjoyable activity. I miss being able to walk down the hall and chat with him. But only 6 more weeks, including this week, until that changes, =). Oh and I almost forgot. I got about 4 packages in the mail today. It was crazy! But it was good and was greatly appreciated. Well I guess that's all I've got for you today. Until tomorrow!

Pat

June 28th (Day 45)

Today's verse is Psalm 119:11, "I have hidden your word in my heard that I might not sin against you." Today was a down and up day. Church was really stressful for me for some reason, not really sure why. Then on top of that, I seemed to be even more-so O.C.D., so every little mistake that took place during the service killed me. However we got through it. After finishing tearing down, Andrew and I went to see Transformers. It was pretty sweet! After we got out, I headed home and worked on some homework and then read. Then I decided to take a little nap that lasted from 5:19 pm to 11:49 pm. So much for little right, haha? I'm probably going to work on some work, chat with some friends, and then read a little before I try going back to sleep for a little bit. Well, I guess that's about all I have for you today. Until tomorrow!

Pat

June 27th (Day 44)

Today's verse is Psalm 118:24, "This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Today was an awesome day. I got up and rode with Dave to a house about 10 min or so from here to do a service project. We worked from 8:00 am till 4:00 pm. We scraped all the paint off of a house and then painted it. It was a lot of fun yet tiring at the same time. Fate would have it that some of the people there did not feel comfortable climbing up a ladder to the very top of the roof at the highest point of the house and scrape away old paint and then paint. I'm going to upload some pictures to a new album on my facebook profile if you'd like to check it out. After getting done with the service project, I drove into work to re-export the final video that I needed to get ready for tomorrow. After getting everything done there that I needed, Tyler and I went to a birthday party for a friend from Momentum, Tammy. It was a very good party. We played some volleyball and had Caribbean and hawaiian themed food. It was awesome! Tyler and I came back to my house and we watched a movie. Tomorrow is going to be an awesome day too! I'll get up and go through my regular Sunday routine, and then after church Andrew and I are going to go see the new Transformers movie. Well I guess that's about all that I have for you today. Until tomorrow!

Pat

June 26th (Day 43)

Today's verses are, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 'Honor your father and mother'—which is the first commandment with a promise." Today was a VERY busy day. So busy in fact that I didn't get to have lunch until about 3:30 pm, so by then it was basically my dinner as well, haha. I was able finish two iWorship videos today. Then I had to redo them twice more each, haha. I had band practice, which I wore ear plugs this time and no more ringing and deafening!!! WOOO!!! Haha! After practice I went back into the office and worked with a cool guy named Adam. He's drumming this week and we wanted to check the clicks on the worship videos to make sure they were all good to go. I also showed him how to create the videos because he's helping out with a middle school week of camp and wanted to create these videos to use in the worship sets. I ended up leaving the office around 10:15 pm and got home around 10:40 pm. Since then, and currently, Dave and I are working on a recording. Well I guess that's all I have for you today. I'm going to go back and help him and then get ready for our service project tomorrow! Woohooo!!! Until tomorrow!

Pat

June 25th (Day 42)

Today's verses are Micah 6:6-8, "With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." That's probably one of my favorite portions of scripture. Today was a grand old day, where I was able to get a few things done. I slept in a little this morning, which was great. I got up did some laundry, worked out, and did some homework. I took a few breaks every now and then and started reading a book that James wants us to read called "Eat That Frog!" I'm already over halfway done, so I'll probably finish it tonight/tomorrow morning. I walked down the road to Speedway to get a free frozen drink for my mid-afternoon snack. I watched a little bit of John Mayer's Los Angeles concert and then came back upstairs and worked on the arrangement for "Here I am to Worship" a little more. When Dave got home, we jammed for a little bit, even though we lost power a couple of times because a severe thunderstorm rolled in. After the stormed past, we met some other people at a restaurant called "Melt" and had dinner. It was an amazing place. Basically every kind of grilled cheese imaginable. I had a BBQ chicken grilled cheese with onion, and it was AMAZING! Haha. Well that's all the excitement I had for today I guess. Until tomorrow! =)

Pat

June 24th (Day 41)

Today's verses are Joshua 1:8-9, Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
I think that's a very fitting verse for how stressful work was and had the potential to be this week, haha. Today was wonderful! I got into work and the only person there was Joyce. I never knew how much work I could get done when there is very little there to be distracted by. From about 9:20 am to 1:45 pm, I worked on a new arrangement for the song "Here I Am to Worship." It was a lot of fun to do too! James had wanted to come up with a new version of this song that would fit more with Momentum's style, and yesterday I was messing with some guitar delay ideas and out popped an idea. So for the past two days I've been experimenting with them. After getting a good rough draft down for the band to critique and listen to, I started working more on the iWorship videos for this week. I finished the lyric MOV's for "Strong Tower", so all I have left to do is get the backgrounds picked out and work on "spicing" it up a little, haha. I got a rough click track made for "You Gave Me A Promise" as well. Mo Group tonight was AWESOME! I got to lead the story and teach through that, which was a lot of fun. Michael told me to take a half day tomorrow, so I'm planning on going in tomorrow after lunch. I am actually about to go work with Dave on the new arrangement and try to get it polished down some more. Well I guess that's about all I have for you today. Until tomorrow!

Pat

June 23rd (Day 40)

Today's verse is Habakkuk 2:14, "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Today I got into the office and started working on a new arrangement for the song "Here I am to Worship". It started when I was just messing around on some delay riffs that I had come up with and it eventually evolved into a draft of the whole song. I'm going to try to polish it up and get it done so that way we can have a recording of the new arrangement, and according to James, the first track to Momentum's first worship CD. After working on that, I sent out some emails, recorded a version of "Strong Tower" with James for the band, and ate an atomic hot wing from quaker steak. For the rest of the day I pretty much tried knocking out as much as I could before having to go home. Once I got home, I worked out for a little bit and then went on my walk. Then I took a shower and worked on my lesson/story for tomorrow's Mo Group. I went the to grocery store and picked up some stuff, came back and for the rest of the evening just did a whole bunch of nothing really. I'm currently about to pass out because I'm really tired, but I'm going to try to read some of a book that James wants us to read. Well I guess that's all I have for you today. Until tomorrow!

Pat

June 22nd (Day 39)

Today's verse is Malachi 3:10, "Bring out the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there might be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it." This morning I had breakfast with my family and then spent a little bit of time with them before they left and before I went into work. Once I got into work I worked on figuring out some guitar parts for some of the songs that we are playing in services until it was time for me to meet with James one-on-one. After my meeting with him, I worked on guitar a little more, then we all left and had lunch at his house. We played four square and his kids jumped in every now and then. After lunch, we went to a park and had a creative arts meeting. Once we were done with the meeting we headed back to the office and worked with volunteer Rachel Fisk. I began training her on how to create the iWorship videos. She seems to be a very quick learner and she's worked with audio stuff before when she worked with a radio station and stuff. Once I was done at work, I headed home and went for my walk. After my walk, I lifted a few weights and then took a shower. For dinner I fixed myself a salad and had some carrots. For the rest of the evening I've been working on my acoustic guitar playing. This Sunday I am playing on the pre/post service song, which is "Funny the Way it Is" by Dave Matthews. I've gotten about half of it pretty much learned thus far, I just have to polish it up a little. Well, I had better go work on my Mo Group lesson/story for this week since I'm helping lead. That's all I have for you today! Until tomorrow!

Pat

June 21st (Day 38)

Today’s verse is Matthew 7:7, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Today was a long but AWESOME day. After being up till about 1 am editing 3 videos a little more, I went to bed and got up at 6 am and got ready then headed off to get a large iced coffee and a biscuit from McDonalds, and then to the theater. Today was also the day that the creative service that I helped plan and set up/prepare for was to take place. Since the original service planning we had a lot of adaptations and changes. Overall though, it went well. My family was there and appeared to enjoy it as well. After church, we went to eat at a restaurant called Tommy’s and then later grabbed some ice cream from Honey Hut. I drove around and gave my family a brief tour of Cleveland and the area that I live in. Afterward we all came back to the hotel and have just been relaxing ever since pretty much. I’ve done a few homework related things, have listened to music, and have read/worked on my lesson for Wednesday at Mo Group. I watched a movie with my father and then went out and picked up some dinner for the family. After dinner my sister and I went swimming and then to the whirlpool for 20-30 min or so. It's been a pretty tiring day, but once again I can only say that it's been amazing, haha! Well I guess that's about all I have for you today. Until tomorrow!

Pat

June 20th (Day 37)

Todays verse is Mark 16:15, "He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.'" Today was a LONG day, with good parts and stressful parts. I got up at 6:30 am and got ready for my first 'Huddle' meeting. It went really well and I really look forward to the future ones that I have a chance to be a part of. After the meeting, I went into the office and worked from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. I grabbed some Arby's for lunch and then headed over to Starbucks for a Creative Arts meeting that went from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. Afterward I was back at the office till about 6ish. The really good news is that my family got in today. I was able to eat dinner with them at Quaker Steak and then see "Night at the Museum 2" with them at Cinemark. After the movie, I showed them around a little bit of Garfield Heights and Valley View and then dropped them back off at their hotel. On my way home, James gave me a call and wanted me to take a look at one of the click tracks for the videos that we are using in service tomorrow. Sure that was kind of a downer, since I'm REALLY tired and wanted to go to bed, but I don't mind. However it just went downhill from there. I got back home and checked my email only to find out that the drummer doesn't like the clicks that are in the videos, so I have to manually go in and redo all the clicks for all the videos that we are going to use tomorrow. Talk about a crazy amount of stress and fatigue gaining up on me. I can honestly say that I can't wait until volunteers are making these videos. That way I'll hopefully have a lot less responsibility and have to stay up late editing them last minute and all, haha. Well I guess that's all I have for you today. Till tomorrow!

Pat

June 19th (Day 36)

Today's verse is Luke 10:20, "However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." Today started off with me getting to the office in the middle of a storm. I love storms so where some people might be having a bad day, I loved it, haha. I began work on my 3rd iWorship video for the song "Salvation is Here". For the most part I completed it too. I just have to go through the refining and editing process for it tomorrow. Everyone worked hard today at the tasks at hand and got a good amount of things done. For lunch James, Josh, Micah, Tyler, and I went to Chipotle. For the hour or so that was our lunch break, it was filled with laughter and good food (I can't elaborate too much on the conversations because as always, what happens in Cleveland, stays in Cleveland, haha). Afternoon came and I continued with getting as much stuff ready for band practice as I could. I drove down to Wendy's, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and then headed on down to James' house to get set up for practice. Practice was more painful than usual to say the least. My ears are STILL ringing and we were done around 8:50ish (it's not 10:50ish). I came home after practice, took some medicine, and I'm probably going to read some from 1 Corinthians and then from "Death by Love" by Mark Driscoll. Oh, one of the most exciting parts of today was the fact that I got to talk to Jake Miller again finally. We had a 23 min conversation during my drive home, across Cleveland. It was great to get to talk with him again and things are going well for him at his internship in Indiana. My family is coming up tomorrow and I get to talk to another close friend this weekend. That should off-set the fact that I have to find that elusive Starbucks for another Huddle meeting that I'm going to try to attend. Wish me luck, haha! :-) That's about all I have for you today. Until tomorrow!

Pat

June 18th (Day 35)

Today's verse is John 15:7, "If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you." Today was a little bit better than yesterday. Poor Max (James' little one) had six canker sores in his mouth and was still not feeling well, so James when home early to look after the rest of the kids while his wife took Max to the doctor. I finished the first draft of the "How Great is Our God" worship lyric video. You can check it out here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wbp2PFR_kds&feature=channel_page

I was supposed to work with a volunteer today, but it turned out that her engine in her van blew, so she wasn't able to come in at all. That was slightly disappointing, but I got a call back from another volunteer whom I called yesterday to see if she was interested. I set up an "appointment" time, if you will, for Monday at 1. That way we can start the next song and she can learn how to use the programs. I did get a good number of things done though. James and I recorded a sample of a song to send to two band members to get them to try it out. Then I went to Cinemark to pick up 2 Gator cases so that we could ship them off to get fixed. Once back at the office, I was able to email out a revised calendar for the sound tech crew and organize some things administratively. I ended up heading home early since I was the last one in the office for the past 2 nights. Once I got home I took my two mile walk, showered, practiced guitar, ate dinner, and read. I finished another book, so now my goal is to get done with "Death by Love" which I had started earlier this past semester but just haven't gotten it done. Overall it was a pretty good day. I got some things done, and I didn't goo TOO crazy doing them. ;-) Tomorrow's Friday, another evening of band practice, and another opportunity for me to eat at Qdoba =) (I think I get a free burrito this time!!!). This weekend should be fun. My family is coming up and I'm pretty stoked to see them. I'll get to talk to a few friends, whom I've been eager yet patiently waiting to talk to and catch up for the past few weeks. All in all, it should be a great weekend! Well that's all I have for you today. Until tomorrow! =)

Pat

June 17th (Day 34)

Today's verse is Haggai 2:4, "But now be strong, O Zerrubbabel,' declares the Lord. 'Be strong Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,' declares the LORD, 'and work. For I am with you,' declares the LORD Almighty." Today was a very slow day. Slower than usual it seemed like. It was a little rough too. At least the morning. I got into work, and then had to turn around and drive all the way back home to pick up the hard drive that I had left. Then the guys went and did a video shoot at Quaker Steak, so I was left at the office to work with a volunteer (who never showed. She called and said she couldn't come in anymore). I finished the first draft of the new iWorship lyric video for "How Great is our God" today, but I still need James to let me know what else he wants done/changed in it. I was pretty out of it again today. Not being able to focus well and extremely tired for some reason. When the afternoon came I worked on a few things and read until it was time to go to Mo Group. Mo Group was good. We played spoons and I won the 2nd game! Muahahaha! =) But overall that was my day. Kinda disappointing I know, haha. But there's always tomorrow! So until then!

Pat

June 16th (Day 33)

Today's verse is 2 Kings 6:17, "And Elisha prayed, 'O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.' Then the Lord opened the servants eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." Today was kinda a rough day for many people to be honest. I'll start by letting you know that I found out last night that one of my closest friends that I admire A LOT, has to have surgery (I would appreciate any prayer you all could give as well). So that was lingering in my mind all day (which every time that it did, I would shoot up a prayer, so I ended up praying for my friend quite a bit. Then James Fruits found out that someone who was VERY close to his family and helped raise him and his brothers passed away. On top of that, his little one, Max, was running a fever. THEN ON TOP OF THAT, during our meeting a white board fell on his macbook pro. For the rest of the day pretty much I was working on the new iWorship video for the week. A volunteer named Monica Jones came in and I worked with her and tried to teach her as much as I could about it. Hopefully, tomorrow we will be able to complete this one and it will look as good as "The Change" does. However even while teaching her, I could just tell that I was out of it. I was tired, distracted, and my computer was even not being itself. And to top everything else off, the Indians lost to the Brewers 5-7 =(. However despite all of the setbacks and characteristics of today being bad, today was also another day that I had to serve God and build relationships with the people at Momentum and the people of Cleveland. And despite my occasional absentmindedness, I had some quality time and shared many laughs with people of my Mo-Group and other friends. "I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay." - Psalm 16:8-10

I guess that's all I have for you today. Until tomorrow!

Pat

June 15th (Day 32)

Today's verse is Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Today was my day off. Yet it was still pretty busy. I got up around 8:30 am and started the morning by taking the sheets off of my bed and doing a load of laundry. While they were being washed and such, I then decided to go clean up my room and do a few things around the house. After straightening up some things, I drove over to the grocery store and bought some groceries for the next couple of weeks. When I got back from that, I put up the groceries and had a smoothie for breakfast. Then I worked on today's verse, checked my email, and surfed the internet for a little bit. Once the laundry was done, I folded it, put it away, and then put the clean sheets on my bed (my mom would be so proud). Afterward I decided that I would go downstairs and workout and then go take my 2 mile walk. When I got back I took a shower and fixed a salad with the stuff I had bought from the grocery store. After lunch I read quite a bit and did a few more things, including trying to get a head start on the next worship lyric video. I ended up taking a 30 min nap, then woke up and continued to work on some stuff and read. For dinner I fixed two pepperoni french pizza breads and ate it while watching a movie. Speaking of which, since I don't have tv here for the summer, and haven't watched a movie here in two weeks, I think I'm losing interest in it (which is probably a good thing, haha). I couldn't even finish the movie. So I came back upstairs and worked on some guitar stuff and read for the rest of the evening. So yeah, pretty eventful day, but mostly just house stuff and leisure time stuff. =) Well that's all I have for you today. Until tomorrow!

Pat

June 14th (Day 31)

Today's verse is, "For you know that is was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect." I'm actually still working on it, but I'll get it down before I fall asleep, =). Today was a PACKED day. I was at the office till midnight last night (16 hour work day) and then got home around 12:30 am, then left the house for the theater this morning at around 6:30 am. We were trying a new schedule for set up and sound check today. Set up was done 15 min before it was last week, but sound check still needs some more work. Service went well. However Dan was longwinded as ever and we had to cut "The Change", the song where we were going to use that video I made. I'm not too upset though, because his message was a good one and needed to be heard. I just like giving my bosses a hard time, ;-). Heather Stacy, 2 of her friends, Andrew, and Ephraim (his brother) showed up today. It was great to have friends come and see them again! =) After service Andrew, Ephraim, myself, and Patrick Canon all went to Burger King for lunch. After lunch, Patrick and I went to Jason Peterson's house because Carlos (who has been attending Momentum for some time now) had decided that he wanted to be baptized. I played one worship song on acoustic and then we baptized him. After the baptism, I headed home and worked on a few things of hw. Then I took a nap that lasted about 2 hours or so. When I woke up, I finished a few things of hw and then went for my 2 mile walk. I came back, talked to Paul Rice for a little bit, then took a shower. Pretty much ever since then I've been working on just random stuff here on the computer for the rest of the evening and talking with friends. One thing that I ran across that was pretty sweet was a website called www.examens.me (thanks Shawn Maurer, haha...again). It's a really awesome website that helped me tonight on my very first time using it and it helped my friend who I showed it to as well. You should check it out, it's pretty sweet! :-) I guess that's about all I've got for you today. Until tomorrow!

Pat

June 13th (Day 30)

Today's verse is Revelation 11:15, "The seventh angel sounded his trumpet and there were loud voices in heaven, which said, 'The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom on our Lord and his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.'" Today was a FULL day of work. I got up and got to the office at 8:00 am. I was working on trying to finalize and get this video done for tomorrow. I'm actually still in the office right now as I'm typing this (10:26 pm) working on getting it just right (either I have a very severe case of O.C.D. or I'm highly convicted of Colossians 3:23, haha). When noon rolled around, I headed over to the theater to get set up for the sound meeting that I helped organize and run. After the meeting I grabbed a late lunch and then headed back to the office where I've been since. The link at the bottom is to the 1st Final draft of the song if you want to check it out. I personally think it's cooler than the iWorship Flexx videos, but I'm also biased, haha. Well I had better get back to work and try to get this done so I can go to bed at a decent hour. Until tomorrow!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPc8763E4E4

Pat

June 12th (Day 29)

Today's verse is Hebrews 11:8, "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he didn't not know where he was going." Today was a PACKED day. I got to the office at 7:45 am and started working. I worked 4 straight hours on "The Change" video and I'm still not completely done with it. James brought in some leftovers from his Mo-Group cookout last night, so I had a free lunch. Then he and I went to the theater where we worked for another 3 hours or so on soundboard and equipment stuff. After I got done there, Micah (another intern) and I were invited to have dinner with Dan and Shannon Smith. It was loads of fun. Then I had band practice, which went really well (I still need to polish up that solo though, haha). Then it was off to home for me. I've been working on helping a friend with some Bible questions and stuff so that's what I've been working on here for the past 2 hours or so. I'm heading into the office tomorrow at 8:00am or so to get a head start and try to finish up as much of that video as I can. Then at noon, I'm actually leading/teaching a Sound Crew Tech meeting at Cinemark. It'll be a fun, maybe somewhat nervous day, but I'm excited none the less. I guess that's all I have for you today. Until tomorrow!

Pat

June 11th (Day 28)

Today's verse is 1 Corinthians 10:13, "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." The day started off with a meeting with James that was very productive. We discussed and organized a good chunk of stuff for this Sat. sound tech meeting. After the meeting I went in to the office and got busy with my stuff. Around lunch, we grabbed some Wendy's, ate, and then all went in to the theater to do some cleaning/organizing/repairing. After taking inventory of some things, James and I took the soundboard upstairs and began doing some things with it. It was a tangled mess of cables and James didn't know why some of the things were plugged in the way that they were so he ended up unplugging everything and we are going to start over on it tomorrow. The day ended with me enjoying an exciting Indians baseball game with 4 of my best friends (Amy, Heather, Ariel, and Christopher-Robert). The Indians ended up winning in the 10th inning 4-3. I don't know what it is, but both Indians games that I've been to have been down to the wire type matches. Oh well, I'm not complaining. :-) I guess that's all I have for you today. Until tomorrow!

Pat

June 10th (Day 27)

Today's verse is kind of a tough one to get down, but I'm going to before I go to sleep. :-) It's Galatians 2:16, "...know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified." Today was an answered prayer, simply put. Last night I prayed that God would just help me to focus, put aside my hesitancy about getting anything done, and just do my best to get as much stuff done, doing them to the best of my ability. This included completing a homemade iWorship Flexx song lyric video (complete with click track i might add) for worship bands. James originally gave me the task of seeing what I could do to create one (since a dvd can cost up to $80, and Momentum probably wouldn't use the songs they did anyway) on Monday. I've worked a few hours each day, but today I spent about 10 hours working on just this first rough draft copy. There are still some small areas where I would like to touch up, make even more awesome-er (yes that's a word not =)..). I got a few phone calls made to schedule some of the MC's for photo shoots on Sunday morning so we can make entrance videos for them (hoping that eventually we can get the moving ones similar to what MNF has on Monday nights). That took up pretty much my whole day. I just got home a little bit ago from Mo-Groups, which was a blast as always. We had homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches (in other words, I was in heaven!!!). Tomorrow is going to be a fun day but busy again. I'm meeting James at 8:00 am at Starbucks (big surprise there), then I'm working at the office till lunch. Then we are all grabbing a quick lunch off of a dollar menu from somewhere and then heading to the theater to get some stuff done there. Then when evening rolls around, I get to spend it with some of my best friends from school. Heather, Amy, Ariel, and Christopher-Robert are coming up and we are all going to the Indians-Royals baseball game. I'm pretty excited and can not wait! :-) In other news, I can tell that I'm started to get better at electric guitar, well at least the lead area of it. I've learned the first solo for Sweet Home Alabama and all of the small riffs that occur every here and there. Now I just have to polish it up a little bit and have fun! :-) Well I guess that's about all I've got for you today. Until tomorrow! :-)

Pat

June 9th (Day 26)

Today's verse is Psalm 56:4, "In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?" Today was tech. my "day off" but I'm more tired now than I was when I started. I woke up and then went for a 2 mile jog, came back and got cleaned up, and then hopped on the computer for a little bit. At 11:20ish, I drove over to get some lunch and meet some of the interns and Josh at the office so we could carpool and go to the zoo. We ended up spending about 3 hours walking around, looking at animals and taking in the sites. It wasn't too bad, but I have to admit there are some zoos that I think are better. I ended up getting back home around 4:45pm and from then until 7:45pm, I worked on electric guitar stuff. Supposedly I am supposed to be playing lead guitar this Sunday and as I mentioned earlier, the pre-service song is 'Sweet Home Alabama'. For just starting it today, I'm pretty proud of myself (not in a bad, conceited way) because I've pretty much got the 1st solo and random licks through the choruses down. I've never been confident about being able to play complicated and/or fast guitar riffs or solos, but I'm slowly getting there. Tomorrow is going to be a very LONG day, but at least a lot of work will get done. I guess that's about all I can fill you in on today. Till tomorrow!

Pat

June 8th (Day 25)

Today's verse of the day is John 14:1, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me." Today sure was one of the busier days that I've had in a while. It started with a staff meeting that lasted about an hour and a half. After the meeting, James had Jeff and I run over to his house and pick up some of the equipment that was put in his truck after service yesterday. Once we got back, he and I started working on the preservice song for this week, which just happens to be (drum roll please....)....Sweet Home Alabama. I can't help but think of the old Pinedale worship band practices when Shawn would be about to explain something and then Scott would burst into that all familiar intro lick, and before you knew it he had the majority of the band playing with him. Ah the memories. But anyway, after working on guitar for about an hour or so, I started working on some of the sound tech. stuff that I need to get done this week. I sent out an email to all of the guys to see if they could email me a list of available dates for when they would not be able to run sound. I'm helping out Jason Peterson, especially since he's been pretty swamped recently, by making up a calendar to schedule volunteers to run sound and stuff. Michael's wife Rae brought over some fresh chocolate chip cookies and then a little later a Momentum member brought a bag full of fresh fruit. So I figured why not have lunch, haha. I ate some fruit, had a PB&J, some carrots, and a water (lunch of a champion, I know, haha). Later in the afternoon, we had a Creative Arts meeting and then we each met individual with James. I got a list of important tasks to try to get done this week. I'm going to be pretty busy this week to say the least. Once I got home, I went for my 2 mile walk, took a shower, ate some fruit and a cheese sandwich for dinner, and ever since then have been working on one of my biggest projects for the week. I'm attempting to put together an iWorship Flexx song lyric avi/mov file for Mediashout. So far things are looking promising. I've got the click track and the 1st verse done. I'm currently working on the pre-chorus and chorus. But all in all, even though this week will be busy there are still some relaxing things to look forward to. Tomorrow I'm going to the zoo with the other interns probably, and then Thursday some of my best friends from KCU are coming up and we are all going to the Indians game (sitting in some pretty sweet seats I might add.....not too far behind 1st base). Well I guess that's all I have for you today. Till tomorrow!

Pat

June 7th (Day 24)

Today was a special Sunday for the church's here in Cleveland. I remember last night that this morning was the first baptism service for Velocity, so that was pretty exciting. Today's verse is Jeremiah 23:29, "Is not my word like fire," declares the LORD, "and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?" I woke up at 6 am this morning and got ready then headed over to start working. This morning was a little hectic and crazy since our sound guys were not there. I went up and got the sound board set up and plugged in and such, then began mic-ing the drum sets that we were using this morning. We used three drum kits and it was just amazing. For the pre-service song, we played "In the Air Tonight". Matt Caton preached today, and he did a really good job. After church I went to the office to do some stuff before having to take mics, stands, a powered mixer, and cables back to a guy in Hinkley, OH. Once I got everything back to its rightful owner, I headed on back home. Once home, I read for about an hour and a half. Then I went downstairs and worked out for a little bit. As I was about to go out for my walk, Dave got home so I talked with him for a little bit. I went on a 45 min walk and then came back and took a shower. After that I ate some dinner and then started working on my lead guitar playing. After about an hour or so of that, I went back to reading my book and finally finished the book that I have to read for my internship. Now I just have to finish the critical book review for it. It's been a good and pretty productive day with me being able to get a few administrative things done as well. Well, I guess that's all I've got for you today. Till tomorrow!

Pat

June 6th (Day 23)

Today sure was an interesting day. I got up at 6:50 am to go to a "Huddle" meeting at 7:30 am. I was pretty excited about the whole thing too. So I pulled out of the driveway and input the address for the Starbucks that I thought we were meeting at. As I was driving, my GPS decided to change the address from W 117th St. to E 117th St. without me knowing. So I'm just following the directions and I end up in the middle of a residential area that reminded me of my middle school years for those of you who know what that means. I drove around utterly confused as to how I got there and then decided to try to find my way around. That failed. After a few more attempts, I finally gave up and put in my GPS to go back home since it was already 7:45 am. But get this, I was so lost that it took me about another hour just to get back to my house. Haha, it's kind of humorous but also disappointing because I had wanted to go to this meeting. Once I got back home, I put on a sermon to listen to and began working on my Scripture for the day. Today's Scripture is Jeremiah 20:9, "'But if I say, "I will not mention him or speak any more in his name," his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones; I am weary of holding it in, indeed I cannot.'" I've always enjoyed this verse since I stumbled across it. At about 9:15 am, I decided to make my way to work, stopping by that Starbucks for some coffee to keep me going. Once at the office, I began working on a few things. Once Michael and Micah got there, Michael and I left to go to a Creative Arts meeting at 10 am at Starbucks (are you catching a trend?). The meeting lasted 2 hours and then James and I went and picked up some lunch. Then we headed back to the office and I made some phone calls and sent out some emails to individuals who could let us borrow drum mics, stands, cables, and a mixer for tomorrow. The rest of the afternoon was pretty slow since I had to wait for them to call me back. I finally got one of them to call me back, and Tyler, his friend, and I drove out to Hinkley, OH to pick up the stuff. I have to take it back after church tomorrow. Once I dropped the guys back off at the office, I was free to head home. Once I got home, I decided to watch a movie and relax a little bit, while doing some laundry. About halfway through the movie I then decided that I wanted to go for a walk. I worked out for a little bit before hand during the movie as well, and then I walked about 2 miles or about 1/2 an hour. On one of the legs of my trip, I went by the grocery store and found a shopping cart sitting on the sidewalk near the road. I grabbed the cart and took it to a return rack. But the rack was a mess, so I went ahead a straightened it. Then I looked up and saw the others, so I went around straightening the carts in the return racks. Two cart-collector workers came out as I was at one of the returns and just gave me a very strange look, shocked that I was even taking the time to help them by straightening the carts. I took off after finishing that one and headed back to the house. Once back, I finished the movie and the laundry and then began recording some music. I spent about an hour or so doing that. Then I came upstairs and got online, chatting with people while I listened to music, folded clothes, and cooked dinner. Today was pretty much a relaxed day from work, but I still got a lot of important stuff done. Well I guess that's about all I've got for you today. Until tomorrow!

Pat

June 5th (Day 22)

What a day. I just got home from a long day of working and getting things done. I got in to work a little before 8 am and was the first one there so I set up my computer and ate a banana for breakfast. When I went to throw the peel away, I noticed that the trash can was overflowing, so I went around and emptied all the trash cans and took out the trash before too many people showed up (Tyler had arrived as I started to empty the trash). Most of the morning was just prep for the big video shoot that took place today. All I'm going to tell you about it is that it is going to be awesome! :-) Jeff and I stayed back at the office to do some research and work on other things while James, Michael, Micah, Tyler, and Josh went out to shoot the video. I got a good amount of stuff done and got a little further in research, but every time I would have a lead, it would end with me having to wait for a reply to a message or email or something. I decided to do some of my assigned reading since I was in a waiting stage anyway, so I read for a little bit. While reading, I started reflecting about how much I've grown spiritual since the summer alone has started and where I'm heading. I came to the conclusion that I wanted to challenge myself with something that if I was able to pull off, would GREATLY benefit me. For every day (going back to May 15) that I'm an intern at Momentum (and even for a little while after), I'm going to memorize at least one verse of scripture a day. I realized that if I'm this interested in ministering to people and am this serious about doing what God wants, I should be willing to take some leaps of faith and stretch myself (even in the area of scripture memorization). Today's scripture is Isaiah 41:13, "For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." Kinda fitting for this challenge huh? Haha. I spent the majority of the afternoon getting one of the main speakers fixed (including waiting another 30 min in the front of the store even after leaving for a little bit). Once that was done, I got to James' house to pick up him and some sound equipment for practice just in time. We made our way over to a local church that was nice enough to let us use their facilities to practice. Practice went really well and we are all very excited about the fact that we are doing "In the Air Tonight" for preservice AND using 3 drum kits in the service. I'm stoked! Haha. Tomorrow would be an easy day since we're just taking a half day, 10 am - 3 pm, but I'm getting involved in helping my Mo-Group leader teach, so I have a "Huddle" meeting at 7:30 am (so much for sleeping in, haha). But all in all today was a good day! :-) I guess that's all I've got for you today. Till tomorrow!

Pat

June 4th (Day 21)

Well today my nightmare finally came true, haha. It's not that bad so don't panic or anything, but I'll explain later. My day started off with me heading into the office and getting there at 8:00am, as usual. I set up my computer and got busy sending emails, making phone calls, organized documents, updating my personal spending records, etc. James arrived around 8:30ish or so, and he started working on trying to finally nail down a pre-service song for this Sunday. After a little bit of bouncing ideas off of us and discussing various points about each one, he finally found a "nonpoint" version of the "Phil Collins" song "In the Air Tonight". So I got busy changing the key for James and then tabbing out the song for the rest of the guys and gals. Once that was done, I sent off a few more emails and made a few more phone calls. When lunched rolled around, Jeff, Tyler, James, and I made our way over to Qdoba and had a good ol' time :-). After lunch it was back to the office for more work, except I was pretty much done with all I could do for the moment until either James got back, or someone needed my help. So I pulled out my acoustic guitar and started learning "By Your Side" by Matthew Mayfield. It's an awesome song and I love it. It didn't take me too terribly long to figure it out. Then to ensure that I wouldn't forget it, I recorded myself playing it so that way I could watch my hands and figure out how to play it again if I forgot. Once I was done with that, I help the guys with a few more things on a video for this Sunday. When our eyes were all bloodshot from staring at the computer screen for so long, we noticed that it was 5:00pm. So for the first time ever in the history of my employment at Momentum Church, I left before 6:00pm, haha. Once I got home I decided I would work on some guitar. I ended up making two sandwiches and eating a small individual package of carrots for dinner. Then I checked my email and that's when my nightmare came true. James talked about how I'm playing lead guitar, even though I don't think I can as well as many others around here. While sharing this and laughing about it during a conversation with Dave, he took sides with James and said the scariest thing I've ever heard, "Hey man, we all going to grow and be stretched together." Haha, so I guess by the time I'm back at KCU, I'll be a little better at guitar....maybe.....haha. For the past hour or so, Dave and I have been working on guitar stuff for the band (the past 2 hours I've been working on scales and trying to get better at lead guitar so James and Dave don't kill me with this stuff...). But I guess overall today was a good day! :-) And to those who have waited for FAR too long, we finally uploaded the "Mo Group Starts at 7ish" video. You can find it by following this link:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqzOiafvh7I

Go ahead, have a good laugh and enjoy it! :-) Till tomorrow!


Pat

June 3rd (Day 20)

Today was a very busy and tiring day. So much so that I took my first "half" nap before going to Mo-Groups tonight. The day started off with a meeting with Jeff and James at 8:00 am at Starbucks (I bet your sensing a trend in our meeting place selections, ;-)...). I got out of there at about 9:45 am and headed into the office to get busy on some work. I got a good number of things done today which mainly involved calling certain people and placing orders to order parts and schedule repair appointments. I still have to continue some of that into tomorrow. The day went by pretty much with me being in the office for the rest of the day. When 4:00pm-ish rolled around, all the Mo-terns (interns) and Josh were taught how to upload the videos to Youtube, compress the files, and do other things on the main computer by James. After about 5:30 or so, I just laid down on the couch and rested while listening to music until it was time to go to Mo-groups. Once at Mo-groups, the rest of the evening was a blast. We ate awesome food and talked for about half an hour or so and then played a game. I won the first round and then Nicole won the second. She and I then had a face off in which she beat me (hey, you can't win them all, haha). We discussed a little bit about what Dan preached on Sunday and discussed some questions that led us to pretty deep conversations. I had a blast. I talked with Nicole and this Saturday, I'm going to join in on their Huddle group, where Mo-groups leaders meet and talk about what's going on and go over what the next week's lesson will be on. I'm pretty excited for it. It'll mean that I probably won't have a half day Saturday any more this summer, but that's ok! :-) Well I guess that's all I have for you tonight. Till tomorrow!

Pat

June 2nd (Day 19)

It never fails. After I write my blogs in the evenings, there's always SOMETHING amazing that happens afterward. I had just finished up my blogs for the day and Dave came in. He asked if he could borrow my guitar and play it since he had taken his to a co-worker to get worked on and I told him go ahead. While he was just messing around a little bit, we started talking about a great variety of things. Then he asked if he could ask me something. I was a little taken back because I had no idea what he was going to ask, haha. But in one of our many previous conversations, we had been talking about an individual that I am wanted to pursue and how when we were talking about it, I mentioned that I wanted to develop and have a "God-honoring" relationship. He told me that for some reason that phrase stuck with him. (I was pretty impressed because he quoted back to me word for word what I had said over a week ago. He also quoted other things that really impressed me and surprised me). He asked what I meant by a "God-honoring" relationship and what that meant to me. So we discussed that for while and the conversation evolved and we worked are way to other questions that he had about relationships, my views on them, and just life in general. He ended up telling me that he enjoys having me staying here and especially the conversations we have because he loves hearing what I have to say and learning what I teach him. (He also brought up the point that he felt like he was a sad individual since he was 29 and he was learning and asking for help and advice from a 20 year-old, but I helped him through that, haha. It was kinda cool to hear him say that he enjoyed talking with me and that he was learning stuff. I love it when he asks questions and I'm able to help him out). Overall we talked for about 2 1/2 hours and at about 11:45 pm, we finally had to call it quits so we could go to bed. But that was pretty much it for the evening. Well today was my day off, but I used it to my advantage. I slept in a little today to try to catch up on a little bit of rest. I ended up getting up around 10:00am and then I went for a 1-2 mile jog. I came back got a shower and started working on a to-do list for everything that I need to get done this week. Once I was finished with that, I completed a few more assignments for Dr. Baldwin and then fixed some lunch. After lunch I packed up the book I'm reading for my internship class, my Bible, and my computer and drove off to try to find a Starbucks or a Caribou Coffee around my house, but I didn't have much success so I turned around and came back. I came back in and read a little bit more in my book. An hour or so later I needed to take a break so I went to the grocery store around the corner to pick up some stuff for the next two weeks. Once I got back, I went downstairs and popped in "3:10 to Yuma" because I had never seen it. I have to admit, I thoroughly enjoyed it. After the movie finished I came back upstairs and relocated all of my books and my laptop to the dining room so I could work on a desk surface. I read for about half an hour and then cooked some dinner. After dinner I read about another 1 1/2 to 2 hours and then decided to practice some guitar for a little bit. That's been my day pretty much. I've gotten a lot of stuff acomplished and planned out to get done over the next few days. Have a wonderful evening/day! Till tomorrow!

Pat

June 1st (Day 18)

Today was a busy and event-full day. It started off with an 8 am staff meeting which went over pretty well. Afterward Jeff and I got started tabbing out a new worship song that we are introducing this week. When 10 am rolled around, the five of us interns made our way down to Starbucks where we had a creative meeting with Dan, James, and Josh (our superstar volunteer who has been getting involved in everything over the past two weeks). That lasted until about noonish and we made our way back to the office. I met with Joyce (our executive assistant) and she worked with me in making comments and giving me tips on creating and formating a manual for recording the Sunday services. I worked on that until about 2 pm, and then James showed up where we had our third meeting for the day. An hour and a half to two hours later, we each had individual meetings with James (4th meeting of the day). I worked around on some of the things that I'm supposed to get done this week and went and grabbed some Wendy's for dinner with Tyler. After eating, we made our way to The Rock, which is a church where we had the monthly leadership meeting. (Yes that was my FIFTH meeting for the day. I told you it was event-full, haha). The meeting went well and proved to be a fitting ending for a pretty productive day planning-wise with the occasional to-do task being able to be checked off. Tomorrow's my day off so I'm probably going to go for a 2 mile run in the morning and then get busy on finishing up some homework for class (some of which is due this week, some not due till the 30th but I want to get it done so I can get more things done at church). I laughed A LOT today and I was just encouraged even more to be working with the crew that I am. I'm glad that I listened to God on this one, stepped out on faith, and came to Cleveland for this summer. I feel like I'm making an impact on the people of this city and at the same time learning more about ministry, learning how to do things I didn't before, and even growing closer to God. Well I guess that's all I have for you all today. Till tomorrow!

P.S. The video that I was telling you all about will be uploaded to Youtube on Wed, so I will post a link to it on my Wed blog. Thanks! Sorry for making you wait so long, but trust me it's worth it! :-)


Pat