Derrick Logan

Worship Set
Love the Lord (Brewster)
Open the Eyes of My Heart (Baloche)
Let the Praises Ring (Brewster)

...oh... and 136 people were baptized this weekend!

Check out Paul's blog for more details!

...heehee...Derrick is already at church- getting ready for service in 45mins...and I happened to try to log into my blogger...when lo and behold...Derrick forgot to logout last night when blogging smack about Casey the Cow... hee. hee. hee. So now I'm taking over. I've been wanting to do this for a while...but the whole heartburn, running to the bathroom every 5 mins (usually to see if my H20 finally broke), and other pregnancy related quirks usually came first! So...what will I blog about? I'm probably really bad at blogging....I can see myself going on and on and on...but people don't like that too much...so... My topic will be........

Derrick- an insider's Top 5:
Here's my Top 5 things about Derrick that you may or may not have already known...things that I just love about that man...

5. Derrick is smooshie- Those of you who have hung out w/ the both of us for any period of time know that I call him "smooshie"...because he is! He challenges me everyday to add a little smoosh to the way I view the world...because Derrick has such a loving heart- towards anyone and everyone- something I struggle with (I know, I know- comes as a shocker that I'm like that, eh?)...

4. Derrick is a diva- It's true. The man has more hair care products than any other household. Guaranteed. And the occasional time I go to use something...I have to sneak it- or- it's missing somewhere (usually in his gym bag).

3. Derrick is a morning person- Okay...so it maaaaay take him a loooooong time to get up....but once he's up- watch out! Whether it's singing at the top of his lungs or dancing around to watch his "bedhead" flop around- this guy has waaaaaay too much energy when he gets up. Which is way comical, although usually at the time I just stare at him w/ my death glare (yup- I am most definitely NOT a morning person).

2. Derrick is hilarious- He's probably the funniest non-paid comedian I know. (Doesn't #4 and #3 give that away though?!) My favorite is when Derrick makes a funny- and he thinks it's funny...and he laughs this wretched laugh that makes this funky vain pop out in his forehead (you know which one I'm talkin' 'bout!) Or when he quotes like 5million "Chuck Norris" jokes over and over and over... I'm telling you- I've burned more calories laughing at that man than Lifetime can EVER do for me!

1. Derrick loves me- I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful husband. Whether it's going to 5 different stores to get me some donuts for breakfast...or watching Gilmore Girls...or taking out the trash RIGHT when I ask...or keeping me accountable w/ my Bible reading...I know that Derrick loves me. He's going to be such an amazing dad. *tears* oy.

Okay. Take Over over. I tried not to make my hlog (hacked blog?! anyone anyone???) too long...which was wicked hard because I could really have gone on and on with some of those...but now I must check to make sure my H20 didn't break (I know, I know- I know that I'll know when it happens...but I get easily distracted!!!)...and I also need to find out what that awful noise is in the dryer- I have a hunch it's my favorite chapstick in my pants pocket- again. Grr! Till next time!

What did you do last night?

I have two Palo Verde trees in my front yard. 98% of the year, I hate these trees. They're very skeletal-looking and full of sharp thorns. I loathe cutting them. I always end up with scratched up arms and a half a dozen pricks in my feet (the thorns somehow find their way through the soles of my shoes). But this time of year... for just a few days... they're full of yellow blooms... and absolutely beautiful.

One is exceptionally beautiful. Every branch is growing up, it's shaped like something in a storybook, and the blooms are perfectly spaced throughout the tree. You have to be careful trimming this tree, it takes a bit of patience.

The other tree has had it's issues. The branches don't grow up, they grow down and sideways and in curves, etc. We backed away from the house one day and realized it looked exactly, I mean EXACTLY, like Sideshow Bob. It was hysterical! The blooms are sparse and make the tree look spotty. Trimming it's pretty easy; I just cut everything off and let it start again.

I'm learning that there are a lot of these kinds of trees in my life; things that take a lot of time and energy but shine for only a short amount of time... or don't shine much at all. Those things that do shine need careful and consistent attention. Those that don't need to be cut back quickly so new growth can start up again. My lesser tree might not ever make it and if I want to make the most of that spot in my yard, I'll need to replace it.

In a lot of ways, my entire job is like this. I spend 45-50 hours a week planning and preparing for a 70 minute service. Whether it's a great weekend with a ton success or a weekend that just comes out flat, I wake up Monday morning with a clean slate. It's easy going to work on Mondays when the previous weekend wasn't great; I'm eager to start fresh. But Mondays after a successful weekend are tough. Somehow, I've got to try to match or outdo myself. It's exhausting.

I remember exactly how I felt the night of December 24, 2007. Leading up to this weekend, I worked tirelessly to create some new elements for our worship experience. Lots of long hours, late nights, and very few days off. That night, I find myself standing alone in the auditorium. We had just finished our fifth and final Christmas Eve service. Everyone had left the campus to be with there families. Since the school was on Christmas break we left everything setup so the campus cleared pretty quickly after the last service. I stood staring into the empty room and I realized... it was over; this tree had bloomed beautifully but the blooms had now fallen from the tree. I couldn't believe how sad I was... almost... devastated. I had worked so hard and tirelessly for so long... and now... after five short services... it was all over. The following weekends were exceptionally tough to prepare for. There was no way I could muster up enough heart and energy to match what we accomplished Christmas Eve.

I learned a valuable lesson: pace is extremely important. If I move too fast, I tire quickly and run the risk of leaving others behind. If I move too slow, I loose momentum and run the risk of others leaving me behind.

The trees in our yard have been in full bloom for about a week now. Soon, every bloom will fall to the rocks... and create a big mess. In the mean time, I'll find a little more enjoyment pulling up to the house if but for a few more days.

Worship Set
King (Tree63)
Let Me Sing watch/purchase (Fields)
This is Our God (Tomlin)
Savior King/Our God Reigns Medley (Hillsong/Deliriou5)

• Kim's starting to have contractions... we think... who knows. She has such an incredible tolernace for pain and she's seriously worried she might just drop the baby out as she's going about her day... okay, maybe not seriously.
• Got to hang with some great friends in Michael and Heidi. I miss working with Michael more than I realized. I feel blessed to have a lot of good friends but Michael is a great one. There are just some people in your life that you connect with at a special level and Michael's one of those for me. They've got some exciting things happening in their lives right now and it was great to get caught up with both of them tonight.
• Played electric again this weekend. It's becoming addictive. I blame Pete.
• I've lost eight pounds in about a week and a half. It's amazing what happens when you stop eating a ton of crap. I've also been hitting the gym very regularly. BHodge is keeping me in line on the diet end... he scares me into eating right. Dennis is showing me what weights are and how to use them. Apparently they help you get stronger.
• Knowing that I'm going to be a dad at any moment is so freakin exciting! I'm probably stressing Kim out with my giddyness.
• A bunch of the volunteers I serve with threw me a daddy shower last weekend. I felt incredibly loved and valued. I'm blown away at the opportunity I have to serve with such amazing people every week. The shower was fun... a little awkward at times... but still very fun. Thanks guys!
• Greg preached this weekend. He normally teaches but this weekend he straight preached... very nice!
• Kim's vacuuming again. For the 4th time this week. Must be theraputic...
• Watched August Rush this past week... I'm a sucker for a good music flick.
• Kim almost gave birth watching the Suns game on Saturday. I think she hates the Spurs more than she loves the Suns. If I were Manu Ginobili or Bruce Bowen and I saw Kim within 20 feet of me, I'd be scared for my life. I'll be honest watching Bowen play makes me wanna cuss. Check the clips out for yourself... cheap shot, cheap shot and another cheap shot
• Wonder when I get to start timing contractions...
• Who has time for Facebook? The last thing I need is another inbox...
• Kim upgraded my phone plan so that I can send 250 texts a month. Can you say Twitter? Should I?
• Gotta run and hold down my part of the nest... hope to have news soon...

I've been having some serious issues with Jasmine, my primary acoustic for the weekends. She's just over a year old but has been giving me some serious problems.

Any time I use a capo, she goes out of tune.

Strings are breaking every time I look too sternly at her.

She randomly starts buzzing because the electronics wiring comes loose from inside her body.

Something must be done. I'm hoping a new saddle and nut will help. I've taken it into Precision Guitar a couple times... nice guy, but he hasn't fixed my guitar. I need a new doctor. Know one?

Worship Set
Forever (Tomlin)
I Am Free (Egan)
Fire Fall Down (I Know That You're Alive) (Hillsong United)
What I've Done (Linkin Park)

Another stellar weekend at PVC. The worship set was packed with energy and emotion. Adam stinkin NAILED the Linkin Park tune... had a couple guys call him Chester too.

Pete and I had fun on keys this weekend. Neither of us can really play, so we thought we'd both play... not at the same time... that would've been funny and awkward. But we did each play a tune on keys this weekend. Pete added some pad for Fire Fall Down and I held down keys and second electric on What I've Done.

By Sunday morning, I had decided to ditch the acoustic for all but one song. Pete let me play his Les Paul which was way too fun and way too easy. I need one.

Things at Palm Valley are just flying right now. Over the past 3 weekends (not including this past weekend), 163 people have accepted Christ at our church. I just can't wrap my mind around a number like that. It's unbelievable and truly only something that God could ordain. It's such an incredible feeling to be a part of that.

Worship Set
Everlasting God (Brewster)
Blessed Be Your Name (Redman, Tree 63 version... sorta)
This is Our God/It is Well (Tomlin/Spafford)
Cry Out to Jesus (Third Day)

What an incredible weekend. This weekend just stood out in my mind as an all-around incredible weekend. Everything seemed to sync up together, every element was woven together seamlessly, and most importantly it made a difference in people's lives. It was so apparent that people identified closely with loss and were eager to hear what the Bible had to say about it. If you missed Greg's message, you can catch it here soon.

A BIG thanks to JayPalm for sharing the story with me about It Is Well (he also had cool reflection on the weekend here). I did a little research and told a very short version of it during the Sunday morning services. You can read more about Horatio Spafford's story here. There's much more too it that I didn't tell and I'm learning more the further I look into it; an amazing story.

In reflecting on the weekend, I keep coming back to one thought... the greater the loss, the greater the man. That's a prayer I'm not sure I'm ready to pray yet. Maybe I should pray about that...

...to get you through the weekend.

Enjoy.

Yes. That's Kim down on her hands and knees, 8+ months pregnant, scrubbing each and every tile in the kitchen and dinning area. I'm pretty sure that's called nesting.

Over the past three days, our house has been completely tore up. We've been having warranty work done on the house... and it's about time! We've been in the house for nearly five years and their still fixing junk in and around our home. Beazer hasn't been the best home builder one could hope in their first home. The work they've done over the last three days was work they promised to do three YEARS ago. It's taken a ton of phone calls, patience, and four different warranty guys from Beazer to get us to this point. We've had engineers come in with a bunch of random doohickies, taking measurements, collecting data, and whatever... I just kept pointing to the dozens of drywall cracks saying, "you could just fix these and be done with it." They finally listened. Rick, our latest warranty guy, has been great and has taken real good care of us and he did it in a short amount of time. We'll be the first to tell you, the experience with Beazer hasn't been all that great. But they did come through and take good care of us... even if it did take three years.

Back the house being tore up...

For the last three days, all of our furniture has been pulled to the middle of each room and completely covered in plastic... plastic over every frame/decor item we had on the wall... plastic covering every inch of the ground... plastic everywhere! Somehow, we managed to seize the bed back but it's amazing that we were even able to live here for the last three days!

Today, they finished (the interior, at least). Tonight was cleaning and recovery. It's 11:30 on Friday night and we've been going at it since 4... and probably have about 2-3 more hours worth of work to do. Now that I'm sitting still, I'm starting to feel it.

We've been rockin the iPod hardcore all night. We listened to all of Phil Wickham's first album (I need pick up Cannons), Passion's latest God of This City, and three Lifehouse records (Who We Are, Stanley Climbfall, and their self-titled). Kim's back to God of This City now.

Since catching an unplugged set of theirs on MHD (easily my favorite channel... more on this later), I've been high on Lifehouse. Their latest, Who We Are, is killer.

It's been a ton of fun getting ready for Baby Logan with Kim. She's been so hot! We're sooooo stinkin pumped! Hope to have news soon!

Well, that's about all I got. Night.

So Kim and were watching the end of the Suns game tonight. Somehow we got going on this game where I give Kim the name of the city and she names their sports team. This was an actual conversation and gives you some sort of idea what it's like to live with us. I love my wife...

Derrick: Okay... basketball... New York...
Kim: Ummm... Knicks?
Derrick: Yeah, but what's the whole name?
Kim: Knickerbottoms?
Derrick: [rolling on the floor]
Kim: [LOL]
Derrick: Hockey... Ottawa...
Kim: University?
Derrick: Unbelievable... it's the Senators
Kim: Barak Obama
Derrick: Wow... Edmonton...
Kim: ...Equinox?
Derrick: [completely bewildered]
Kim: [LOL and squealing]
Derrick: It's the Oilers
Kim: Oh...
Derrick: Toronto...
Kim: Saurus Rex?
Derrick: [LOL] Did you just say "Saurus Rex?" That's going on the blog.
Kim: [laughs and squeals uncontrollably]... What is it? What's the name?
Derrick: [silently mouths the correct answer]
Kim: Bethaplez?
Derrick: No... [silently mouths the correct answer again]
Kim: Bethelpraz? HOLD ON! There was an "L" in there! [laughing without any control]
Derrick: You're going to have this baby tonight! [silently mouths the correct answer yet again... but much slower this time]
Kim: Babble Leafs? BAY LEAVES!!! Was I right? Did you say Leaves? Was I right before? [all muttered through uncontrollable laughter]
Derrick: Before what?
Kim: [amidst laughter] When I said Leaves? ...oh I might've said Trees.
Derrick: It's the Maple Leaves.
Kim: Oh... I was picturing it. I was picturing a Maple Leaf... a red one.
Derrick: Their logo is blue and white.
Kim: [laughs and screams some more]
after a moment...
Kim: Okay, one more and I'm done. Come on... hurry...
Derrick: What sport?
Kim: I don't care. My head hurts.
Derrick: Alright... hockey again... Buffalo
Kim: ...I know it's the Bills for football...
Derrick: Uhhuh
Kim: ...... Rangers... cause you know why? [singing] "Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam... home, home on the Rangers..."
Derrick: You're unbelievable.
Kim: Or it's the Buffalo Wings.
Derrick: [LOL] It's time to stop. It's the Buffalo Sabres.
Kim: What? You're mom's a sabre. I need to end on a good note.
Derrick: Phoenix...
Kim: There used to be the Roadrunners, now there's the Coyotes.
Derrick: The Roadrunners are back.
Kim: Where did they hibernate off to?
Derrick: I dunno... time for bed...