Misfortunes make giants Chapter 2

It’s very cliche to hear that everything happens for a reason. Or the infamous Time heals all. I’ll tell you, it is so true. I look back at all the things I have gone through and everyone was worth it. Heart ache and all. How can you truly know Love, if you haven’t known pain. How can you know what it is to truly win, if you have not first lost.

I didn’t really know what was gonna happen. As a kid you sort of get over things quick and move on. Kids react with instinct, making it the most honest than any other human being. I couldn’t forget that day. There was a fire in me that just kept burning with the desire to be that drummer. To feel that rush of making the beat flow for the people to sing and dance to their hymns and psalms.

It was a Saturday evening and the church had a special service. Churches from all over the city came to visit. it was sort of shocking to see that church full beyond capacity. There had to be at least 6 musicians on stage. 2 Guitarists, a bassist, a percussionist, a sax player, pianist and who knows what more. But there was no drums in sight. For a moment it felt as though time stood still. I can only compare it to the first time I set eyes on a girl I knew liked me. Your heart skips a few beats, cold sweat drips down your forehead, and your thoughts are racing and hoping no one asks you anything cause you will say something that makes no sense.

I sat on my chair and all of a sudden these guys start bringing in this drum-set. This drum-set was huge. It must have had about 15 pieces to it. My eyes opened so wide I think for a moment it was so sharp I may have had Xray vision. “look out”. Anyhow they started putting this drum-set together on the right hand side of the stage. The lights in the church were a little dim than usual, why I remember that I don’t know. The pastor stood up front and took the microphone in his hands and told the church, ” we would like to do something very special tonight. AS you all know we are in need of a drum-set. We have a drummer but no drums”. In my head I thought, “what drummer? Oh boy took them drums away, now you telling me they re buying him one”. To my total unexpected…unexpected. The pastor called me to the front, I didn’t know what the heck was going on. he said, “today the church has decided to collect enough money in conjunction with your family to buy this drum-set for you. You are the drummer of the church and drummer cannot be without his drums…………

I’m telling you, no words can express what I felt in that moment. my parents stood there with this look like… I can’t even explain it. I know all this may sound like some cheesy movie or a stupid little story. Just thinking of it now, get s me a little emotional. Who in there right mind would try to rob a kid from their dream? WHO? I sat on that drum-set proud and I knew this was not an investment made in vain. I would guess i probably didn’t sleep that night, could you imagine the adrenaline running through my veins!!! Oh yeah I still didn’t know how to play, but I managed to survive through one slow song before the invited drummer for the evening took over. what a night!

There was only one person who took about 20 minutes to show me mys first beat on the drum. No one ever had the time for a young-an like me, but Javier Pagan sat there with me and gave me the insight to drumming in 20 minutes I wouldn’t see him again for quite some time. Dude I will never forget you for that.

15 years later I played drums for a convention where there were 28,000 people in attendance. I remember walking off the stage towards the back area of the stage and this guy walks up to me with his wife. He literally shakes my hand off my wrists and gives me a hug and tells me he is so proud of me. I was like, Ok who the heck is this! He tells me” I couldn’t help but cry of how good you have gotten on them drums. I told my wife the last time i saw you, you could barely hold a drumstick.”. I didn’t know what to say, could you imagine. It was the coolest thing ever. Since then I’ve learned to appreciate everything and everyone. You are probably wondering what happened to that guy who took the drums away. Check this. I am not sure of the date, nor the place, but I know it was a concert. A musician Friend of mine comes up to me after the show and says, “hey dude I met your teacher”. I was like, teacher? “yeah the guy who taught you everything you know, he’s right over there”. I looked over there and saw him.. I was enraged to see, but more than anything have him say he taught me what I know. God forgive me, but I didn’t even bother with it. It bothers me at times, but things like that are long gone. I don’t forget chapters in my life like this cause they remind me of where I came from. Despite of how difficult things may have seemed, I look back and embrace them. Trials, obstacles and storms of life form character in you. Life is a process of making you into the person God has destined you to be. No one can take that away. Ever.

Wed morning the principle of my elementary school calls me into her office and says you need call home”. I call home only to hear my family tell me, “run home Dad is dying”…. to be continued

What a week. It’s definitely been one for the books and one I would have never expected. I came to Buzz with expectations and they were pretty much surpassed. For one, the staff and community of volunteers at NCC were amazing. There are a few things that stuck out from the conference. Though it was great to see the innovation going on in ministries all over the country, it was reassuring to hear the true purpose behind what we do.

Mark Batterson shared his insight on the 10 spy rules. From the 10 rules, 3 of them really stood out for me. 1. KNOW YOUR MISSION(protocol and objective) 2. Be aware of your environment(culture,community, target) 3. Don’t look back(I think that’s pretty straight forward.

On Thursday Tim Stevens spoke, he resembled and reminded me of Moby. He seems to be a very chill dude. He spoke On the  Buzz, what is it? and what causes it. The buzz intertwines beliefs, language and impact. It creates a world changing vicious circle. I love how he emphasized on pop culture and its never ending influence in our worlds. God is alive and well in culture. We have many choices in regards to pop culture, we can ignore it, separate ourselves from it, condemn it, embrace it or leverage it. Tim said we are Cross Cultural Missionaries. All pun intended. Its awesome to know Culture is the bridge that connects all humanity to God. The coolest thing shared was when he said, “Christ became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood”.

Craig Groeschel did it for me. I am new to this world of blogging, world changing churches and innovative minds for Christ. I Guess I had different expectations from Craig. Then when he did share, I was like DANG!!!. Spear in the heart!!! He gave his insight to innovative leadership..”talk about the basics…sheeesh. How can i forget the basic elements. He said when we have limited resources but add Increasing PASSION the result is exponential innovation. 4 qualities of innovative leaders, 1.they heal the sick (do things no one is doing to reach those no one is reaching) 2. Break the rules 3.Offend pharisees..lol!! that was so good but so true. The pharisees raised Hell cause Jesus broke the sabbath, yet they found it just to plot Jesus’ murder…craziness! 4.Redefine Success. (less of me, more of him. Making it more about Jesus.

It was great. I am so enthused and fired up. I am glad i came to buzz. Not to mention of course i had a great time with my Boss Travis. I got to finally meet the new addition to the team, Paul. Paul’s a cool kat. He looks like a wrestler and sounds like Tim Allen. Washington DC is a cool city, gotta give it props. Its got some major pull and history. I couldn’t believe it, but I actually got to chill with the senators. Yeah we sat back had some coffee and smoked some cigars….Just kidding. But seriously we got to sit in and see our “hard working senators”. John Kerry,  Sen. Kennedy, Hilary Clinton, Sen .Obama and  few other cotton haired fellers. We also walked over to the house of representatives..MADNESS!!!!!!!!!. I couldn’t figure what was going on, but I’m sure they’re working for their paycheck. Sen. Durbin shared his discontent about the immigration legalization not having enough votes. The outcome of this and what it meant for many families. It was amazing being there, but must admit was a little moved inside considering I am the product of immigrant ancestors. Over all it was an honor and a privilege to sit in and watch our country at work. How cool was that. I wish Reina and Diego were with me. I can’t wait to get home and squeeze both of them, and reassure them God is orchestrating our every move. It’s already Friday (Fry-dee) and going home tonight. Chilln out here at Ebenezer cafe having an Italian soda, not too far from Capital Hill. God’s sense of humor keeps me livin’

peace

-fuser+  life pointe church

Day one. Well, Im a little worn out. We got off the plane and when straight to Ebenezer Cafe. Great place. It was an interesting first day if the conference.  Lots of good stuff, lots of great ideas. I will tell you about it later. I am exhausted and tired right about now. Its really cool to see and meet so many people from all over the states that have church in a theatre. Its cool. Some dude claimed he’d seen me before in Kansas. LOL.. It might have been my stunt double. Saw some very interesting people on the way to washington. LOL!! Well have a good night and talk some more soon. Oh yeah, I didn’t realize how small DC is. Wish Reina and Diego were here.
-fuser+’

life-pointe church

Its been a few days since I blog. Its been pretty busy here in Homestead. Tons of dreaming and planning. What can I say I am anxious and excited. This past Sunday went great. Worship was simple but very intimate. We don’t quite have a drummer yet but we’ve managed. On Sunday My wife and I had an idea of setting up the stage with candles and stool chairs, courtesy of the Johnson’s, Making it a very acoustic cafe type of feel. I think it was great. We may run with this until our drummer arrives. We opened with and oldie but goodie. Spirit of the Lord. We did it with a Spanish gypsy kings guitar intro. It was alot of fun. I gotta admit I hit a moment in worship where I totally lost myself. It felt great. Leading a band in bars, clubs and mainstream venues is day and night from leading worship. To lead-worship is always such a refreshing feeling, though I also dig bringing light where it is needed. I miss performing with my band. Which leads to, We are finally heading out to Nashville to work on what will be our next EP. We are feeling really good about that project. We will be working with some amazing producers/song writers out in Nashville, haber que pasa. Tomorrow we leave to Buzz conference. I think it is going to be amazing. I am looking forward in meeting some great people out there and also brainstorming for Life Pointe.

This past Saturday Reina Diego and myself spent the day in south beach. We had dinner on oceans drive and took Diego to the beach for the first time. It was awesome. I can’t remember the beach being so much fun like it was this weekend. You can go here to see our pics. I can’t wait till Diego is old enough to run around in the sand, build some castles, and swim in the biggest pool in the world. For now goodbye Lake shore drive, I have to make Oceans drive our new weekend family getaway. Before the craziness of course. LOL

“hasta la victoria…siempre”

-fuser+

life pointe church

Hey, check out my band the Saturn Project. Check out our tunes let me know what you think. We will be going to Nashville soon to record our new EP and their may be Spring 2008 Tour with some well known acts. We’ve been pretty active in Chicago the past few years, we were nominated by the CHICAGO MUSIC AWARDS FOR “BEST ROCK ENTERTAINER”. Anyhow check out our myspace page, follow this link  myspace.com/thesaturnproject. Check out our videos, you can also go to youtube/thesaturnproject for more videos. Thanks, enjoy!

fuser

lifepointechurch

Are you a musician, singer, songwriter and want to join the worship? Do you like Piano Drive Rock, hip-hop, latin jazz and Soul? Hit me up. Rehearsals are Wednesdays at 730pm. at Life Pointe Church 1100 Old Dixie Highway. We’d Love to have you. Requirements????

P A S S I O N.

-fuser+

Today will be great day!!!

I can not imagine a life without dreams. Its crazy to even think of the possibilities. The only person who can limit the dream is yourself. In a dream I once flew, so does that mean I will fly one day? Of course. What you will fly over is a different story. You will eventually fly over your mishaps and scars, obstacles, hurt, pain and sickness. Its funny how often times we feel bad about dreaming too big because it doesn’t feel normal. Its as if we’ve been programed to dream with limits. Why? Because as humans we need them? Whoever came up with that LAW? We’ve been created to dream, think big, think the impossible. I truly believe when there is a huge natural risk in dreaming, there is a supernatural result. We gotta just keep on keeping on. Why would we want to change the way God wired us? We’ve been wired to dream, and dream beyond our means. The result of your dreams depend on your willingness to continue down that path. It ain’t an easy thing to do and opposition will be there. But who cares, its your dream run with it. I was reading the book of Genesis this morning and was reading about Josephs journey. It was all about his dream, and those wanting to kill his dream. Yeah, beware of dream killers, they’re out there and are usually the people you would least expect. I was reading the book of Genesis this morning. I was reading the story of Joseph, the dreamer. Its crazy how his brothers wanted to kill him, but it wasn’t his life they were after. They wanted to kill his dream check it out. Genesis 37:18-20 But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. 19 “Here comes the dreamer!” they said to each other. 20 “Come now, lets kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams”. Crazy huh. You’ll see that once you start dreaming it becomes threat to many especially you know who. Bu we gotta keep on. We all know Joseph’s outcome and remember his triumph bu we forget the journey he first had to face before facing the realization of his dream. We’ve been dreaming lately here at the office, and can totally see something great happening in Homestead. Are you in or out? Will you dream big, or will you be a dream killer?

-fuser+arts and worship pastor

life pointe church

Dream as if you were to live forever, live as if today was your last day on earth -Max Lucado

It was great to get away for a few days to dream and brainstorm. I gotta admit this weekend was a little tough and challenging but we gotta rise above the mess and press on. I am just so anxious to see what God is going to do out here in Homestead.

For not having the full crew set up wasn’t too bad. Good thing Travis and I brought our killer biceps. Over all I think everything went smooth. Everyone gave a helping hand and made it happen. Team baby! Team. Jim did an excellent job from the audio booth and Kacey Keeps them creative juices flowing with the lights. I had my wife join me in worship, we kept it simple but I truly felt God’s presence in the simplicity. It is all about having your experience. I can not stress it enough. Travis brought an impacting message. It hit the target bulls-eye. After Service we were invited by some great people for Lunch, Mark, Terry and the family Thank you so much. We definitely look forward to doing it some more. It was really cool conversing about how I can’t swim. You’ll see before you know it I will be swimming for the Olympic team. lol

I spent hours and hours last night with Diego, it was awesome. We’re bonding already. Late last night I had this weird left ear thing going on. I don’t know what it is, nor what was causing it. Like any human person you think the worst. I kept asking God what’s up? But in the end a simple prayer is the remedy. There are so many things that are out of our control. All we can do is trust God and keep moving forward. Though it is totally fare and healthy to just vent out everything inside. I believe GOd is not moved by our suffering, but our faith and perseverance through it. This weekend my friend “vice” sent me a text out of no where it said. “if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans”. That’s hilarious. God has a master plan. Anyhow stay encouraged and know that better days are yet to come.

“hasta la victoria, siempre”

-fuser+

Life Pointe Church

“God will never give you something you can’t handle, I just wish he didn’t trust us so much”-Mother Theresa

So Diego has been attempting to talk. You know that stage where they make funny noises attempting to respond to you. And for the first time he smiled a me yesterday as I conversed with him, father and son in the lobby of the hotel. It is the greatest feeling ever. Its cool to just chill for a little, but my mind is racing with new ideas for Life Pointe. Everything is still so unreal to me, but I gotta get over it huh. Travis gave me a salt shaker last night over a late late carb filled dinner. Warning me if I leave Homestead. HAHA. Well thats it for today. I’d rather not share about last night’s service, I met some great dreamers and Visionaries birthing in Florida. Anyhow see you later.

-fuser+