Yesterday I brought up a real issue – the issue of how easily we allow the negatives to outweigh the positives.  If you missed that post and the ongoing discussion, I’d encourage you to check it out.

Today I want to dive deeper into some of the soul-searching I’m doing.  For me personally, I’m really focusing these thoughts on my own heart, and how it applies, specifically, in my marriage and towards my kids.

For example:

1.  Why do we take the positives for granted.  Why is it that I can call out my wife if she doesn’t measure up to my expectations so quickly; yet fail to thank her for all the positives.  (and of course, the other way around – like I said yesterday, I’m the perpetrator, but also the victim, as are all of us)

2.  Why is it so dang important that the positives be recognized?  For me, it’s almost like I don’t care if I get reinforcement from the positives,  as long as there isn’t undue light on the negatives.  I even take my own positives for granted.  Don’t want to acknowledge my good stuff … I think I’m OK with that … as long as you don’t bring up the negative.  (and just to ease any lingering questions, I’ve honestly been pondering this for months, so though this episode plays out at home and work frequently, it’s not like I’m venting hidden marriage issues here!).

3.  What is it about the negatives that are so strong?  I really think it’s the hurt.  The hurt causes pain, and the pain speaks louder than, well … “the lack of”.

So … pain is loud.  The lack of pain is … silent?

So maybe … just maybe, the lack of pain, grief, negativity needs a sound.  Praise.  Applause.  Affirmation.

This was a recent exchange at my house after two back-to-back things were complained about:

“I feel like I can’t do anything right”.

Does that ring a bell?  Two complaints (I was the complainer, and unjustly I might add) now cover “everything I do” being wrong.  Why?
The complaints (especially when they are unjust) hurt.  That pain is loud.
All the things done right?  (the actual ratio would be 1 million right to 1 wrong, maybe, yet the “weighting factor” applied is reversed!)

There probably wasn’t much noise.

See where I’m going with this?  Tomorrow I hope to bring this to a close and let’s talk about some practical ways to make some noise.

Are you with me?  Am I alone?

We’re starting a new series this month called “Just Like Us”. One of the ideas I had in our creative meeting was to ask a bunch of kids … “if you could ask Jesus anything … what would it be”.

So Travis our Tech Director interviewed a bunch of kids for a promo video that I’m sure he’ll be posting soon … but my kid made the cut. I honestly can say I’m not the least bit surprised by his question.

Yes, I live on a luxury, beautiful island called St. Simons Island. But here’s my roots – pecan trees, deer stands, tractors, bass, catfish, and deer. And YES, I can indeed “skin a buck and run a trot line”, as the song says.

I’m enjoying a couple of days back in Telfair County, GA – home of the world record largemouth bass, the state record Boone and Crocket deer, and my home … Preparing our hunting club for this year’s deer season. This trip I’m honored to have my second-born son Will with me.

And this entire post is being sent via me cell phone, courtesy of www. Posterous.com

lemme know if it worked! I’m attaching a pic too.

Fred

Posted via email from fredmckinnon’s posterous

So, this is my sister, Susan.  She’s one incredible woman.  I lost count of how many degrees she has … math, computer science, Bible college, and on and on.  She’s taught in Universities, she’s taught in Bible Schools, she’s headed up distance learning and network/computer support for colleges ….

And she’s waited … 45+ years … for Mr. Right.

And she found him.

So this weekend we are celebrating the marriage of my sister, Susan McKinnon, to Mr. Joe Kerr.

All I can say is “watch out” to Christian City Church in the ATL … here we come.

I’m home.  I’m finally home.

I’ve been out of the office for 2+ weeks.  School starts tomorrow here so everybody is getting back in gear.

As those who follow this blog already know – I spent a week in Kansas at the National Worship Leader Conference.  I had the privilege of being a speaker at the conference and was on their “New Media” discussion panel as well.  Because of the generous, selfless time of mine and Joy’s parents, we were able to attend the KS trip together, husband and wife, with no kids!

After flying home from Kansas, we took 1-1/2 days to wash clothes, pay bills, check in at the church, tie up any loose ends, and head out to North Georgia with all the kids.  Most of Joy’s family is in the Gainesville, GA area on Lake Lanier.  It’s like a free vacation for us.  We spent the bulk of our time laying around and playing on the lake.  We skiied, tubed, knee boarded, swam, and basically had the time of our lives.  On our final day we drove up into the mountains and tubed down the river in Helen, GA.

Now we’re back – and it’s time to jump into gear at SSCC.  I’ll be resuming blog postings about worship, leadership, church life, faith, and music.  I think I’ll be taking a “break” from blogging and twitter soon – not sure when, or how long, but feel the need to unplug for at least a few days.  I’ll give fair warning!

GIVEAWAYS:

Meanwhile, the free giveaways continue from the “Sunday Setlists” One-Year Anniversary celebration here on the blog.

EMI/WorshipTogether.Com Tote Bag and Songbooks:  Marcus Lynn (smalltownpastor.wordpress.com)
InteractiveWorshipLive.Com Giveaway – 20 Songs on USB key:  Tami Hoban (tamihoban.wordpress.com)

Congrats to the winners!  Giveways will continue EVERY DAY until I run out of swag!

Hey Ya’ll,

- Many of you know him on Twitter as @recreate
- Many of you know him as the guy who hosts the “re:create” conference in TN
- Many of you know him as the guy who does the “Lifework 2.0” seminars.
- Many of you know him as an author, an artist, an entrepreneur, a mountain climber, a husband, dad, worship guy.
- Many of you know him as the guy who called out Perry Noble last week.  (haha)|
- Many of you know him as a mentor and life coach.
- Everyone knows him as the best customer at Merridee’s in Franklin, TN..

Well …

I know him as an inspiring man, full of passion for Christ and His Kingdom, a man whose eyes sparkle with vision and hope, and best of all, a man who has seemingly undressed himself of the layers of religiosity and legalism that so often cover a person who has been involved in ministry for decades.

This man is Randy Elrod.

I met Randy for the first time at re:create this year.  It was one of those moments where you feel an instant bond, a spiritual connection.  I could “so relate” to this man. I remember pulling Randy aside and saying “Randy, I’d love to spend some time with you.  I don’t need to confess some deep, secret sins, though I know it would be safe to do so.  I’ve just got this constant battle of ministry, life, and entrepreneur blood going on and I can’t make it stop, and I know I’ll never be successful without getting some outside help and focus”.  Half way through my sentence, Randy’s eyes got big, a few more sparkles started flashing in them, and his head began to nod with am emphatic “yes – yes, I can help you, I know what you are feeling”.

So, what do you do when a man who knows everybody, and that everybody knows, offers a day of mentoring?  You book it fast.  You do what it takes to make it happen.

TODAY IS MY DAY.  Pray for us.  Pray for me.

Hey Everyone,

What a great start to “FreePlay Friday”.  Joy has been after me to be more proactive in creating family traditions.  Not a bad idea, right?  Any other wives reading this who keep wishing that?  Joy’s been a great encourager, and she really has been the one to lead here, for which I’m both ashamed, and grateful.

Family Time

So, we kicked off our first (of hopefully, many) “Friday Breakfast” dates.  We all packed in the car and drove to our favorite breakfast spot, “Sweet Mamas” on St. Simons Island.  I didn’t wake up as early as we’d planned, so we were a bit rushed and really didn’t get to make “quality time” out of it, but I think if we are consistent on this, it will mean a lot to the kids.  I had the chocolate cheese danish and pork pops with coffee.  Joy had some yucky looking egg pie stuff.  JM and Will both had the chocolate cheese danish, and Rebekah and Andrew each had a chocolate donut.  Healthy, huh?

We dropped JM and Will off at school, and Joy’s off to get a haircut … Bekah and Andrew are at the brother/sister-in-law’s house.  I didn’t rush to get upstairs to my home office this morning – I spent the last thirty minutes finishing up “Quiet Strength” - “The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Life“, by Super Bowl winning coach (now retired), Tony Dungy.

Can I just say this was one of the most enjoyable reads I’ve had in a long time.  If you are a football fan, you’d love this book.  Read about trades, drafts, the pains of winning and losing  – both in football, and in the loss of their son, Jamie.  This book will provide enjoyable reading and will quietly challenge your leadership as a father, role model, and Christian at the same time.

Kudos and thanks to my friends Deane and Dana for giving this to me on my birthday last November.  Yeah, it takes that long for me to read through most books.  It was worth it.

Now I’m in the process of planning something special for Spring Break.  Last year we hung around St. Simons and we found ourselves just doing the “same ole”.  I’m learning more and more that these times with kids, though demanding and crazy most of the times, are precious and won’t be here forever.  I’m determined to make more of that time, so we’re checking out some “get away” cabins up in the North Georgia Mountains.  For those of you who read my blog that have kids – please … BE INTENTIONAL ABOUT MAKING MEMORIES.

Prayer

Please continue to pray for my friend Will Pufall who is fighting for his life in the hospital in Pensacola, FL.  (see yesterday’s emergency prayer post) They don’t know what is wrong with him, and have called in an “infectious disease” specialist.  Pastor Bobby Lepinay (Will’s pastor, boss, and my friend) is updating his blog several times a day.

Highest Praise

I’ll devote a full blog with more information to this shortly, but those who follow me on Twitter have seen a few posts about my relaunching HighestPraise.Com, my original site for my company.  It’s been neglected for some time, but I’m re-working it from a fully static .html site to a dynamic site driven by WordPress.  The main focus of HighestPraise.Com is to provide resources, specifically – original praise and worship songs from HPP-Published writers to the Body of Christ.  There is still a lot of work to be done, but I’d be grateful for your visit, RSS-subscribe, email-subscribe (Free Giveaway every month!), and support over there.

Comment and Check-In

OK – As always, it’s “check-in” time … for those who are reading, please leave a comment, check-in, let me know about your weekend plans, who you are, and where you’re hiding!  (oh yeah, I’m trying out the Disqus comment system now!)

So yeah, I had a card …. I bought little boxes of chocolate candy for each of the kids … funny thing is, Joy got the exact same boxes (Spiderman, Sponge Bob, etc) for the same kids.  I guess we know our kids well.

My impromptu moment with Joy was the best, though.

She retreated off to my studio this morning to have some “quiet time” – read her Bible, and do some of her homework for a Bible Study she’s involved with.  I’m downstairs getting the kids breakfast and stuff.

Then I remember – I can access (and control) my studio Mac Pro from my MacBook Pro (laptop). (thanks to LogMeIn.Com) I’ve got Lappie down here on the bar in the kitchen …. so I connect to the upstairs studio computer, and launch Text Edit, maximize the notepad, choose a big ole’, bold font and type

“Dearest Joy, Happy Valentines Day, I Love You!
Will You Be My Valentine”?

Then I open iTunes on the studio computer and find one of “our songs”  …. THE song …
“Love of My Life” by Sammy Kershaw

I click play, and cross my fingers that the volume is turned up in my studio.

If all goes as planned, Joy is just sitting there doing her Bible Study when out of nowhere, “You are the love of my life” starts playing and she looks up to see the note filling up the screen on the studio monitor.

Guess what?

WORKED LIKE A CHARM!

Hey Everybody,

Today is “freeplay friday” – anything goes … let’s hear what’s on your mind today.

Rebekah (my 5-yr old) has suffered from the flu all week.  We’ve been washing hands and “Germ-X” rubbing like crazy, trying to protect the rest of the clan.  Andrew (the 2-yr old) came down with it last night.  He’s running fever, but outside in the backyard playing – so he doesn’t know he’s sick!

Joy and I have a babysitter set for Valentines Today (tomorrow night) … if we still have fever and sickness going around I doubt we’ll have her over, though.  Thought we’d try “Sal’s Pizzeria”, a new place here on SSI.

What are your plans for the big ole’ Valentines Day?

“An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.” (Proverbs 31: 10)

Today is my wife’s birthday.  Joy is 39, and she is beyond amazing.  She’s an incredible woman, a wonderful mom of 4, she loves Jesus, she is a passionate worshiper (and oh, I love that), and I think she’s the most gorgeous chick in the universe.

This morning, she’s out with a few girlfriends eating her favorite pancakes at Sandcastle.  (yes, she’s breaking that 21-day fast early for her birthday, and I don’t blame her!)  Our church is having a prayer conference this weekend, so we’ll be @ SSCC tonight (Friday) and Saturday (AM).  She says she wants to go shopping Saturday afternoon, and then Sunday night we’ll all be done with our 21-day fast and we’re planning on feasting with some friends.

Joy doesn’t blog … she doesn’t FaceBook … she doesn’t Twitter … so, if you’d like to leave her a birthday wish, just leave it right here!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY!

Dear Friends and Family,

It’s our first Christmas at home.  How wonderful to wake up and celebrate the birth of Jesus in our own home.  We’ll be visiting family soon, but for now – it’s been so special being here together, just the 6 of us …. well, 7 of us ….

No, Joy isn’t pregnant again.  (Hallelujah)  In the Christmas cheer, I’m including our big cat, Jag.  Joy says I always leave Jag out when I count the family.

We setup a digital clock in the kid’s room last night and told them they weren’t allowed to come downstairs until it was at least 6:00 AM.  I woke up to the scurry of excited kids around 6:02 AM.

We’ve torn open gifts all morning and sang a loud, cheery “Happy Birthday” to Jesus that I’m quite sure everyone on Settlers Hammock Circle heard with full clarity.

So, now kids are playing, Joy’s getting dressed, and I’m just hanging out here with Lappie (my wonderful MacBook Pro) to wish you, my friends and family here in blogworld a big, blessed, Merry Christmas.

I hope that you will celebrate life today – the birth of the only Savior to ever make redemption for mankind available to all who will receive … the life of your loved ones and friends …. and for the many blessings that we have in this land, and across the world.

From all of us, to you …. “Merry Christmas”!

Fred, Joy, Jon Michael, Will, Rebekah, and  … Jag.

Hey Everybody -

If you’re a Worship Leader (or not) … don’t you go crazy when everyone at church feels the liberty to suggest which songs they think you should be singing on a Sunday?

This is what I was hit with first thing this morning during Breakfast:

Worship Leader Requests from Fred McKinnon on Vimeo.

Have a great weekend!
Fred

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

What are three things you’d like to give thanks about?  I’m thankful for:

1 – a Godly heritage – parents on both sides of my family (my parents and Joy’s parents) who love God, serve God, and brought us up in a home of love and Godly values.

2 – my wife and kids.  They are amazing, and I don’t deserve them!

3 – our church, and the privilege I have to serve at SSCC.

You are thankful for ….
(comment by clicking)

(today’s FreePlay Friday graphic was generated by ME … haha, thanks to “cooltext.com” … no FreePlay Friday graphics were submitted this week – if you’d like to make a graphic and have your blog pitched right here, just email me a “FreePlay Friday” graphic! )

Hey Everyone, it’s “FreePlay Friday” (view all “FreePlay Friday” Posts) … the day where I post whatever I want, on whatever topic(s) I want, with no regard to whether or not it does (or doesn’t) apply to the main theme of this blog, which is worship, worship leadership, church life, and music. What makes “FreePlay Friday” so much fun is that I want YOU to participate by either commenting on my topics or by entering your own, totally random “FreePlay Friday” thoughts in the comments section of the blog. So all you hundreds of RSS Readers need to just click on over now and finish the post on the site so you can participate. (please?)

Fred and Joy McKinnon, married 8/15/1998

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY:

I thought this event deserved a “FreePlay Friday” post of it’s own.  I promised a few “announcements” to some folks … I’ll make good, but not this week.  This day is reserved.

I became one of the most blessed men on the planet exactly 10 years ago today when Joy was brave enough to say “I do”.

We were married right here on St. Simons Island, GA.  At the time, we were at Christian Renewal Church on SSI and the sanctuary wasn’t large enough for our wedding so we had the ceremony at St. Simons United Methodist.  Our reception was like something from “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” at some dear friends’ home.  We were incredibly blessed by our friends, family, and church.

We spent the first night of our honeymoon at the Jekyll Island Club in one of their wonderful suites.  We spent the rest of the week at The Breakers Resort in West Palm Beach.

I hope that I can do my part to make the next 10 years even sweeter and better than the first ten.  The next ten years will take us through 10 years of ongoing, daily parenting.  We’d see our oldest son get his driver’s license.  How’s that for perspective.  Would you pray for us today?  Pray for our marriage, our family, and speak a blessing over it?

In closing – I’d like to give you an opportunity to say something wonderful about “that someone” …

1.  If you are married – how many years?
2.  Take a moment and use the comments to say something wonderful about your spouse.  If you aren’t married yet, but are in a relationship, feel free to type a blessing to them.  If you are single and wish to be in a relationship, maybe you could type a prayer.

Let’s hear from you!

Fred
(note:  if you scroll waaaay down, there is a “subscribe to comments via email” checkbox – I dunno why it’s stuck way down there)

Hey everyone,

So today our church celebrated it’s 2nd of 3 “Summer Baptism” sessions. We celebrate two main sacraments at SSCC corporately – baptism and communion.

Today’s baptism was at a wonderful house … er … estate at the end of East Beach. For those of you who know St. Simons Island, GA … you are familiar with East Beach and Gould’s Inlet. At low tide, it is a river flowing into the ocean far away, with what seems like hundreds of yards of beach. At high tide, the beach and river vanish into a churning mixture of foam, waves, and currents.

Joy and I were just down there on our “date” Friday night and were admiring this estate. It’s beautiful and perfectly nestled on the tip of East Beach, overlooking the inlet and Sea Island. Upon climbing the stairs to the porch and terrace area, we found everyone gathered around a small pool with one of those “infinity edges” making the pool seem as if it cascaded off into the ocean. It was glorious, and a beautiful backdrop to share in the sacrament and celebration of those being baptized. Those of you who may follow me on Twitter got a glimpse of it via TwicPic below. My, God has blessed us to live in a gorgeous place. (and sorry Mandy and Drew, if you are reading, don’t want to make you homesick!)

Oh yeah … and I finished it … “The Shack“. In record time. I devoured this book (by my standards). I’ve had some good private replies from a few of you about your concerns about the “theology” in the book … concerns that are well taken. However, I sincerely believe that if you can approach this book for what it is … fiction … and not try to form (or clarify) theology with it, it’s a must-read.

Even on the “theology” side, there were only a couple of issues that I found. If I were reading the book as a doctrinal supplement, I’d speak to it … but I gained so much from reading this book and much of the other things covered in it. Seldom have I ever read anything (or seen anything for that matter) which caused the tears to flow down my cheeks so frequently. In the “Afterward” they mention that movie producers are already talking about making a movie … and oh, I’d buy the first ticket, hands down.

I wish so badly I could discuss a few of the points in the book that fulfilled me so much, that made my eyes overflow with ears, my heart pound out of my chest, or my insides swell with pride … but I’d rather not ruin it for those who still haven’t read the book.

Well, it’s 10:45 PM EST Sunday evening, July 13 … today was a great day in worship, and I hope to recap that with a Worship Confessional in the AM, but we’ll see.

Good night. How was your weekend?

Hey Everyone,

Well, sorry it was a quiet blogging weekend … I don’t typically do a LOT of blogging on the weekend, but I do typically try to catch up and read blogs on Saturdays when I can …

Not so this weekend – I made a wild decision earlier this week to sneak off to Orlando, FL with the family so the kids could enjoy the pools, slides, and characters at the Nick Hotel in Orlando, FL. We had a BLAST, and YES – we got slimed … several times. I probably still have some of the green stuff stuck down somewhere.

I don’t often take Sundays “off” … we left Friday (which is already my day off) and stayed Friday and Saturday nights, and got late checkout today (Sunday) and hung around the pools until around 4:00 PM. It was an incredible time for just us … myself, Joy, Jon Michael (7), Will (6), Rebekah (4), and Andrew (2). Kim Dixon led worship at SSCC and I knew it was in good hands … I hung out for her rehearsal with the band on Thursday night and can’t wait to hear more about it tomorrow. (Monday)

The best part is … I xferred points from my American Express Membership Rewards Program to the Holiday Inn “Priority One Club” to pay for the room, so it was essentially a free get-away, except for the gas and food. The A&W, Pizza Hut, and Subway in the “Food Court” of the Mall Area at the hotel were very good, and the prices were the same as if you went out anywhere else. YEAH!

Here are a few Treo shots … I should’ve taken a LOT MORE, and we didn’t even take ANY photos of us (or the kids), but we were constantly getting soaked, so having a camera or phone around was not very practical.

(the Lagoon Pool area)

(the Oasis Pool area, shot from our 5th floor room after the pool closed)

So readers, family, and friends … what did YA’LL DO this weekend?
Fred

What a blessing and honor it is that I’m available to celebrate this Special Day. I’m so blessed to have four incredible children.

I had a great day … I came home from church and took a much-needed nap, sleeping through a thunderstorm and power outage. Woke up, took the boys to see “Kung Fun Panda” which was hilarious. Came home and went with my wife to my favorite restaurant on St. Simons Island, the “Blackwater Grill” for their signature Cajun Pasta. Made it home, got the kids to bed, and watched a movie with Joy …. a great evening.

I also was able to call my Dad. I count my blessings to have an incredible Father – not just in the natural and physical realm, but in the spiritual realm as well. My Dad sacrificed so hard for me – working hard, teaching us hard work ethics, honesty, integrity, and great values. My Dad was never a “hard man” who refused to show his love or affection for me. He taught me to hunt. He taught me to fish. He taught me (and continues to teach me) about shooting and other outdoor things. He’s the one I call every year when I don’t know what bushes to cut back or prune. He’s a man’s man … taught me secrets of grilling a great steak. He also instilled in me one of the important, deep doctrines that really make someone great – that of loving the Georgia Bulldogs and Larry Munson’s famous calls.

More importantly, he taught me about Christ. My parents were settled that they’d see their children in the Kingdom of God. They poured the Word into us. They sent us to church, to youth camps. But it didn’t stop there. I will never forget those days my Dad would say “Fred, let’s get in the truck and go for a ride”. He would push the small talk aside and ask me specifically, “How is your walk with Jesus”. I always knew I could give him an honest answer. I always knew he loved me regardless.

He’s an awesome Grand Father, too. My kids love their “Pa-Pa” and go nuts to see him. He takes them on the 4-wheeler, on the tractor. He makes places for us to camp. He always makes sure his boys have a place to come and hunt or fish.

I salute you Dad, and honor you. Thanks for being an incredible model for me.

I’m praying for you today, too. (My Dad has a hernia surgery today, Monday June 16).

And to all you Fathers out there … HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!

For the KIngdom,
Fred

Hey Everybody,

Thanks to all those who prayed for our concert up at Ft. Belvoir, VA this past weekend. It was an awesome trip, and far from uneventful. You can catch some of the highlights of the trip in random Twitter updates and my previous post. Perhaps the biggest ordeal was my realizing that my Driver’s License had expired in November of last year. This morning, I’ll be going straight to the Georgia State Patrol’s office to get it renewed.

This trip was a great cultural experience as well. With the exception of Sonic Flood, all the other bands had a strong urban/black gospel sound. Even though twin sisters Mary Alessi and Martha Munizzi are “white girls”, it’s only in complexion. They are saturated with soul.

My appreciation for gospel music has soared through the roof. Bottom line … gospel musicians play far more complex arrangements, chord voicings, and rhythms than the “same-old, white/U2-rockish, pop/contemporary worship music” that we play over and over. I’ve got a degree in Music Theory yet I am sure I’d spend hours trying to “figure out” exactly that these guys were playing.

On Sunday, I stayed over and brought the Word to the congregation of the “gospel service” at the Woodlawn Chapel on Ft. Belvoir. Once again, with the exception of myself, Jay Sellers (my guitarist), his Mom, our wonderful escort, Lt. John Hunter, and a couple of others … we were the only “white folk” in that service. It was amazing. What rich culture of praising God. And let me tell you – these wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ were some of the most honoring and hospitable people I’ve ever been around. We were made to feel like royalty, and I have a deep appreciation and respect for them. I feel that I’ve found some great friends in the Kingdom and would go back in a heartbeat.

All reports are that Shannon Lewis (Associate Worship Dir) did an awesome job leading a rather mixed team of youth musicians and some of our newer adult vocalists in worship at church on Sunday. Apparently, I missed quite a Sunday – with quad baby dedications, a real pig on the stage, and Pastor David stomping around in full scuba gear.

Which brings me to today. Not only did my Driver’s License expire, but Joy’s AFAA (Aerobics and Fitness Association of America) credentials have also expired. She’s headed down to Orlando, FL this afternoon and won’t return until Sunday evening. So – just like two weekends ago, I’m “Mr. Mom”. Pray for me to have the extra measure of grace that Mom’s take for granted! I’m looking forward to some quality time w/ the kids!

Speaking of Joy … knowing we were apart all this past weekend, and now will be apart for 4 more days … we had a great date last night.

Babysitter: $35
Sharing OutBack Special and 1/2 Order of Aussie Cheese Fries: $30
Two Tickets to Indiana Jones: $18

Time together: Priceless.
We certainly don’t have nearly $85 budgeted for date night in a week. That’s way over our entire budget for a full week of “eating out, entertainment”, etc. But it was one of those times when I said “Joy, we’ll figure out where to squeeze this out of our budget later … we’re going out, period”. She happily obliged.

So, I’d love to get some discussion on this blog.
1) If you (like me) are Caucasian, what has your experience (if any) been in a more African American church culture?
2) How often do you and your babe date? Do you budget for it?

Fred

William Isaac McKinnon (born May 21, 2002)

Happy Birthday today to my 2nd born, Will McKinnon.  Will is 6-years old today.  This is a picture of him in his wild, crazy personality, hugging his older brother on the beach.  (photo by Chris Moncus).

Will is such a hoot.  Let’s see … right now, he’s in monkey stage.  This kid climbs everything.  If we go to the baseball fields, he’ll climb the chain link fence all the way to the top behind the plate if you aren’t careful.  He’s scaling walls now .. he’s tall enough to spread out his hands and feet in the threshold of the doors in our house and shimmy up to the ceiling.  He’s 100% boy – he’d rather be destructive and tear something up instead of play with it.  Give him a stick, and he’ll either make it a gun, or use it to bang into a tree, or hit something else with it.

He’s sometimes a loner.  When everyone is outside playing, it’s not uncommon for Will to wander off and do something by himself.  Sometimes that upsets Joy and I because we wonder if he’s being left out .. but he makes the choice to go be alone.  Maybe this is his God-given “bend”. We frequently ask God to show us his “bend” so that we can pray him in the right direction.

Will is a clown, big-time.  He’s so funny.  Sometimes, he’s quite the strong-willed child.  He’s not one to really open up and say what he thinks always.  If something is bothering him, he usually doesn’t speak up too much about it (as compared to his older brother, who will have a drama over it).

As I type this and look at this picture, my heart overflows with love and passion for this kid.  I’ll never forget us being pregnant with him.  As the time for delivery drew near, I was afraid – I didn’t see how I could have any more love to give, after having my first son.  As much love as we had for our first kid .. how could there POSSIBLY be anything left for a 2nd (and a 3rd, and a 4th).  With each child, our hearts doubled in size, giving us that much more love to share.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILL – YOU ARE AWESOME, and I LOVE YOU TONS, my CHAMPION!

May 9, 1996, St. Simons Island, GA

A dozen years … that’s quite a long time. It’s 11:11 PM EST right now as I type this, and I can tell you exactly what I was doing 12 years ago.

I’d just laid down in my bed over in Apt. W-16 of what was then called “Windsong Apartments” on St. Simons Island. It was a normal night, a normal day – but something changed all of a sudden.

As I began to relax and settle in for a great night’s sleep, my room got darker. It was as if someone covered a window – it was already dark, but now it was blacker than any black I’ve ever seen … or felt. Felt – that’s right, I could feel it. Now I’m short of breath. It’s as if I’m being choked. My heart is racing.

In my mind’s eye, I see death. I see it everywhere. I am afraid to close my eyes, because with each time I close my eyes I see mental images of those I love, but they are dead.

I’ve already been a Christian for quite some time … and by God’s Holy Spirit, living in me, I realize that this is the most horrific spiritual encounter I’ve ever been a part of. Still to this day, I’ve never experienced anything like this.

Not knowing what else to do, I just pray. I find my Bible and begin to read the Scripture aloud. I hope I don’t wake up Edward, my roommate in the next room over. Maybe I should? I fear if I lose focus even for a moment, it could be all over.

Minutes pass. Thirty minutes pass. Hours pass. I pace the floor of my small bedroom overlooking the back pool. I pray in the natural. I pray in the Spirit. I read the Word aloud. I declare the Psalms. I battle like I’ve never battled before.

May 10, 1996, St. Simons Island, GA
It’s now around 1:00 AM. This has been going on for quite some time. Just now, my phone rings.

The phone rings ….

Only one time. How could the phone only ring one time when it would’ve taken days to download the wave of thoughts and emotions coming over me and rushing through my mind as I look at that phone. Nobody calls me at 1:00 AM. This is the call. Someone I love has passed.

A quiet voice on the other side seems excited that I’d answered. It was my former Pastor and boss, Craig Walker.

(Craig) Fred, you answered on the first ring, I knew it – what’s going on?
(Me, voice shaking) Um, Craig … hey, man, I dunno, something’s up, and it’s big, I’m praying.
(Craig) Fred, the Holy Spirit woke Lezli and I up, and told us to CALL YOU and PRAY.
(Me, somewhat encouraged) Craig, I’m literally pacing the floor in my bedroom in my underwear!
(Craig) let’s pray.

And pray we did. For another 15-30 minutes. Finally, we both sensed a peace. The heaviness lifted. It was as if I’d been visited by the very Angel of Death. Or maybe I’d been given a glimpse into the heavenly realm where demonic and angelic battles happen daily, witnessing this Messenger of Death carrying out attempting to carry out his deed.

Amen.

I write in my little journal, “May 10th, something is happening, and all I know to do is pray and rebuke death. Something is going on out there”. (paraphrased, sadly, I can’t find that journal now).

Sometime early 1998:

So this incredible gal named Joy has moved to St. Simons Island. Although I knew her in college, we were only casual acquaintances who attended the same college ministry. She went to Virginia. I went to Mississippi. Now she’s in my arms, we are dating, and I’m thoroughly convinced that I’m holding the woman that God has destined to be my wife.

I don’t remember what sparked the conversation, but I share this story with her. Something inside of her won’t accept this as just another one of “fred’s stories”, and oh, there are many. This one seems special. In a cautious reaching out, Joy says “it would be cool if that prayer was for me”.

I’ll never forget my response – probably too bold and premature for a woman who’s been hurt and disappointed by love. I said “yes, maybe I was warring in the Spirit for the life of my future wife without even realizing it”.

The next day I searched and found this journal that so easily escapes me. I can’t wait to call …

(Me) Joy, what was the date … can you look up your insurance records, can you ask your mom and dad …”?
(Joy, rather quickly) Oh, I don’t have to look it up. I’ll never forget it. It was May 9.

May 9-10, 1996, Richmond, VA
Joy, living in Virginia, far away from me, from my mind, from my heart, separated from a heart breaking, broken marriage, gets that phone call.

“Joy, we’ve just gotten your blood lab results back. You are very sick. You have acute leukemia, and you may not live. You need to be in Atlanta at Emory University Hospital tomorrow. Pack your bags. Leave immediately.”

Joy’s prognosis was bleak. She had just been diagnosed with a disease that the statistics say will kill her at any time. If the disease doesn’t kill her, the treatment is just as bad.

491 miles away … and nearly 2 full years before I’d even set eyes on the woman of my dreams … God moved. He rallied. Prayers were shot into the heavenly realm like bullets. God won. Jesus won.

“by His stripes, we are Healed”. (1 Peter 2:24b, YouVersion.Com)

I praise God for that night. I praise God for the backup support of my eternal friend and brother in Christ, Craig Walker. I praise God for the Wilbanks’ family who never wavered in their faith. I praise God for my own parents and family who heard of my encounter the next morning and continued praying.

And most of all, I praise God for my wife, Joy.

For her tenacity.
I was never there in her hospital room. I never held her during nearly 6+ mos of in-and-out chemo treatments, as she wasn’t mine. I didn’t share her tears. I didn’t share her pain. I couldn’t be there to comfort her after bone marrow biopsies, losing her hair, and fighting the doubts everytime one of the people in the rooms down the hall passed on into eternity.

I’ve heard all of the stories, though. Of how she refused to be negative. Of how she had God’s healing Word taped on index cards all over her IV pole and chemo caths. Of how her Dad would preach “sunday service” in the hall for the other patients. Of how no crying or sadness was allowed in that room – only faith, confidence, joy, and belief.

Nearly (10) years of marriage and (4) beautiful kids later, I will never forget how blessed we are.

God is Good. All the time.

The next time you feel compelled to pray, will you do it?

Hey Everyone,

So, it’s been a wild week. I typically take one day per week and “unplug” from blog world. Normally, I’ll catch up pretty easily but this week has had it’s share of detours, so I start out Friday morning with nearly 500 unread blogs in my Google Reader. So, yep – I did it again – I declared RSS Bankruptcy and “Marked All Read”.

Today Joy leaves for the weekend – she’s going down to Orlando with some of her girfriends who are running a triathlon race. Joy’s not in the race – she’s just going to hang out with some girls and have fun. I’d say she’s much-deserving of this get away. It leaves me this weekend with all four of my beloved munchkins … so pray for them! Seriously, I’m looking forward to it – we’re gonna have a blast.

Stay tuned this evening for a super-blog-post … one that is VERY IMPORTANT to me. I am going to set it to automatically release around 1:30 AM, EST … but on auto-release, my email subscription folks don’t get an email (I don’t know why that doesn’t work!?).

In the meantime, here are a few things I’ve been meaning to mention:

1. Please vote for my song, “Fix My Eyes” on IndieHeaven.Com’s FanFaves chart daily. As of today, it’s at #29 on the charts and rising.
2. I just watched my friend Mandy’s video, in partnership with Brent‘s wife, Tam … it’s on the new MTTV Video Blog … and is hilarious, so check it out and encourage those gals.
3. Travis and Chris hit homeruns as always with their media and print-related work for our current sermon series at SSCC, “Just Breathe”.
4. Worship this past Sunday was amazing. I need a dedicated confessional or text-fessional to describe it, but I think I waited too long.
5. There is a “revival” happening in Lakeland, FL – over 8,000 people attending every night. Lots of salvations, miracles, signs, wonders, healings. I’ve not been, nor have I watched it on God.TV, but I understand you can see it every night. I have a LOT of thoughts in my head about this type of thing, and I need to write them down … but I can sum it up by simply saying, “I believe, Lord help my unbelief”. More on that later.
6. EXTRA (added about 30 minutes AFTER publishing this) … Perry Noble had a great post called “Five Phases in Dealing with a Critic” … I just had to share this post, as I’ve experienced all FIVE of these phases within about 72 hours this week.  Dang, I can relate!

So Mandy & Tam’s tips on MTTV said keep your blog posts short … this is still within one “screen”, so I hope I’m doing OK … any constructive criticism, ladies?

Fred

Hey Everyone,

Phew, it’s good to be home. We took a trip up to Gainesville, GA to visit Joy’s parents and celebrate her Dad’s 81st birthday. We had a blast, but it was so good to finally get home about 9:30 tonight. When we piled out of the van, the breeze was coming in cool off the marsh, the air was salty and beachy, and the stars were shining bright. There is NO PLACE like home.

So in my absence, Shannon led worship at SSCC. I talked to Travis (our Tech Director) and Shannon, all who said the services were very good. Seems like our drummer’s IEM battery died in the first song, and that was a little crazy, but other than that – I think it went off fairly well. It’s a huge blessing to know that God has raised up some great leadership in our church. I was able to enjoy a weekend away without worrying about how things would go.

So this morning, I got up and decided to visit North Point’s “Browns Bridge Community Church” in Cumming, GA. I’d thought about driving down to see Vicky Beeching lead worship at Buckhead Church, and possibly get a quick “hello” to Carlos, but Buckhead was a bit too far to drive and get back in time for Nanna’s famous pot roast and one last birthday meal for Grandad!

So I must say, very impressed with Browns Bridge. Thanks to Shae (she was producing) for hooking me up with the audio guy who gave me directions to the best seats in the house. I got to see Tyler and his gorgeous new kiddo as well. Had hoped to hookup with Elliott, but he wasn’t around when I was hanging out at the FOH area.

It was my first encounter with a “video campus”. I gotta tell ya … I was blown away by this technology. It wasn’t Andy Stanley on the screen, it was the campus pastor from Buckhead Church, Jeff Henderson. The sermon was great and the technology was incredible. I really thought that it would look real, but it would become “fake” the more I looked at it. Actually, just the opposite was true – the more I watched, the more real it became.

So, I took these two pics w/ my Treo phone … must’ve looked like some nutty tourist or something snapping photos, but when you are constantly in “I might blog about this” mode, you get where you don’t care.

First, the view from the back row of the balcony:

Second, the sermon video of Jeff Henderson … kinda hard to tell how it looked, but there was a set behind him in the video of a smaller wall with a picture on it. Dude, doesn’t that look real?

So this is a packed week coming up. Gonna hang out some tomorrow w/ Russ Hutto here on SSI, and we’ll be hosting Bebo Norman this weekend in our facility for a concert.

So, at 11:42 PM and after nearly 7+ hours in the car today, I think it’s time to get some sleep!

How was your weekend?

Hey Ya’ll,

I’m back … I hope to do an extensive post (or series) on this whole concept of my “fasting” blogs and Twitter on Wednesdays … maybe next week … I’m working on a special “project” regarding that, and hope to have everything settled by next week.

In a bit of a hurry this morning, so I thought I’d just post a few “quick happenings” over the last 24-48 hours … that may (or may NOT) be of interest to you all.

1. Great day of fasting, prayer, and unplugging from blog world yesterday.
2. Jon Michael had a baseball game last night – they won 7-1 … which puts “Elite Landscaping” with a 1-1-1 record. JM got a double, and then he got a monster hit over the 3rd base line, which they called a foul ball.
3. I called in and spoke to Dave Ramsey LIVE on the Dave Ramsey show yesterday. I feel like a celebrity. And a dufus – if I understood a little more about S-Corp accounting, I wouldn’t have had to ask the question. I was very nervous, and after I hung up, Joy laughed ’cause my hands were shaking. Dave’s a celebrity for us, and has transformed our lives. It may as well have been the President of the United States.
4. We’re going to visit G’Ville and celebrate Joy’s Dad’s 81st Birthday. Happy Birthday Mr. Wilbanks!
5. I did it. I ordered Logic Studio. (great discussion of Logic Studio versus ProTools on this post)
6. Shannon is leading worship at SSCC this Sunday. It will the first Sunday I’ve missed since moving into the new facility, and I won’t even be @ rehearsal.
7. Got some positive feedback regarding my song, “Fix My Eyes” on CCLITV – Now this song is featured on the “FanFaves” charts at IndieHeaven.Com and you can vote for this song on the “Praise/Worship” fanFaves charts at IndieHeaven.Com.
8. God’s Word is coming ALIVE to me lately. I’ve been posting contributions to YouVersion.Com almost daily – and if you’d like to keep up with them, you can subscribe to my contribution’s RSS feed below. I’d like to always blog when I get a nugget from the Word, but that won’t always happen – so this is a way to catch those as soon as they are posted:

Fred’s YouVersion.com contributions RSS feed:
http://www.youversion.com/user/fmckinnon/contributions/rss.xml

Well, time to get outta here. Thanks for being here – thanks for commenting – thanks for caring – and thanks for being great friends!

For the Kingdom,
Fred

Guess who is 2 years old today?

Happy Birthday, Andrew – we officially don’t have a “baby” in the house anymore!

This is the little guy we prayed for so much a few months ago. That little “mass” still hasn’t gone away completely, so keep praying for it to disappear. The doctors told us it was nothing serious, but we’d still rather have it just dissolve and disappear than for him to eventually have surgery.

He’s a sport-model, that’s for sure. ‘Aint he cute?
Fred

Hey Everyone,

This is the promised “Part 2″ to the blog entry I shared yesterday about the Barna Group’s new stats on Marriage, Divorce, and Cohabitation. Marriages are perhaps one of the biggest targets these days. I believe that Satan himself knows that if he can destroy marriages, families, he will wreak havoc on us. I see this so often.

Joy and I will have been married for 10 years this August. My oldest brother (congrats Billy and Celese) just celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. My neighbors across the street (congrats Darrel and Lynne) are about to celebrate 25 years as well. My parents will be celebrating 47 years of marriage this year, and Joy’s parents will celebrate 50 years. What a wonderful, rich heritage we have to celebrate.

I’m not ashamed to tell you this … Joy and I over the last couple of months started “marriage counseling”. Yep, you heard me right. We’re not the ones doing the counseling … we are GOING to counseling. Is our marriage on the rocks? Heck no. Are we at the end of our rope? Heck no! We’re MADLY in love with each other. Like any other marriage, we have our ups and downs … our arguments, our barriers that seem we just can’t agree to climb. So, we decided that for the good of our health, of our family, and of our marriage, it would be wise to lay down our pride and meet with our counselor at church.

I call it “PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE”.

At first Barby (our staff counselor at SSCC) asked if we needed to come in the evenings, etc., … outside of “church hours”. I said, “no way, I don’t mind strutting through the main staff hallway and telling everyone in there that we’re going to marriage counseling”. I hope that if nothing else, it will INSPIRE others to do the same.

One of the pastors that I love to follow on the ‘net is Pastor Steven Furtick from the phenomenal “Elevation Church” in Charlotte, NC. Steven proudly boasts and confesses from the pulpit, for all to hear .. that he meets regularly with a counselor. Not because he’s crazy, not because he’s in sin and addiction, not because his marriage is on the rocks … because he feels it is HEALTHY to meet with someone and sort through your feelings in a SAFE ENVIRONMENT. It’s healthy to get FRESH PERSPECTIVE and “NEW EYES AND EARS” on the subjects that we all wrestle with.

That being said, I hope to encourage all of you blog readers … don’t keep your issues bottled up on the inside. Talk to someone. Counsel with someone. Make it a matter of preventative maintenance. We get dirty in this world – our views and selfish ambitions (yes, we ALL have them) cause us to have twisted views of reality and truth … so why not schedule an appointment and meet with someone you can trust today.

How ’bout it ya’ll? Would you, or will you consider it?

For the Kingdom,
Fred