Current Life Soundtrack - Mutemath

Earthsuit was a cool band a few years ago, and it was a bummer when they broke up. Fortunately, the leader of that group formed a new band called, "Mutemath."



Based out of New Orleans, this is a creative band that's not afraid of the "Keytar." But don't let that scare you or keep you away. The Keytar is completely tricked out and this is definitely no 80's band.

My musical tastes are wide and varied, and Mutemath is a like a jumbalaya mix of many of them, served up hot with just the right spices. (Now there's a sound byte...) With influences of Jazz, alt-rock, and electro-something or other - they're kind of hard to peg.

But pegged or not, Mutemath is my current life soundtrack.

Blogging - 2 years and counting

Time is a greasy bullet that left the barrel five minutes ago....

In other words, it really goes by quickly.

Yesterday marked 2 years for this blog, so to carry on the tradition from last year (and in case you missed them the first time around), here are my favorite posts/series from this past year...

1. Creative Podcasting (By far, the most read/linked post of the year)
2. Un-Wired-er Analog PDA Mindmap (The combination of words has resulted in a ton of hits from people searching for something other than this pic...)
3. Spiritual Maturity "Sound Byte" (Still true, and you still either get it or you don't.)
4. Being Missional in a Postmodern World While Trying To Emerge Past Modernity
5. "Surprised by Santa" Series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part the 4th, and Epilogue
6. Fun on the Redneck Trampoline (with video - The title says it all)
7. "Where God Guides, He Provides" Series: A Slippery Excuse, WGGHP Part 2, and Part 3 (Part 3 is a close second for most read/linked post)
   
8. Church Sign Series: "Here's Your [Church] Sign" and "Suggestions for Better Church Signs" (Unfortunately, most of the people who landed on these posts after doing a search were most likely not happy with what they found...)
   
9. The Sincerest Form of Flattery
   
10. Church Planting Strategy (The Short List)
11. Usable
12. Thoughts on Spiritual Growth

Well, there you have it.

Such as it is, this blog has helped me to sort through things as I've faced challenges, allowed me to focus my thoughts, provided a way to connect with people from all over and has given me a creative outlet for my random thoughts and ideas. If it has helped, encouraged and/or made you laugh along the way, all the better.

Thanks for reading, listening and watching.

Comments are welcome. Feel free to stop by and say hello.

Wacky Religious Stuff For Christmas

The season before the season is now here. And I must say that it's just as weird as ever in the "wacky religious stuff" department.

On this year's slate of silly sacrilege:

First up -

It's "Religious Candy Cane Pacifier Rings!"

Individually wrapped with Bible verses celebrating Christ's birth! Peppermint flavor. 3" Fat-free.

Words fail me.

But there have to be at least a dozen jokes that could be inserted here... I guess we can at least be glad that they're fat-free.

Printed on the bag is Matthew 1:21-23. Baby Jesus. Baby toy. Candy. This makes sense to someone.

Next Up -

It's "A Stocking For Jesus" Stocking with Card!

Honestly, I'm not really sure which bothers me more, that Jesus needs a stocking for Christmas or that it's just so stinkin' small.

Here's the poem on the card:

"It is not great deeds we do in life that matter very much, but the Love with which we do them and the joy of those they touch! So lets hang this stocking for the Lord, to honor Him above. For Jesus did great deeds for us, and did them all with Love! Then maybe when we leave this life as every mortal must. We’ll find the Savior’s mantle hung with stockings just for us!"

Let's move on. There's a tear in my eye.

Next Up - It's "Plush Long Armed Religious Gorillas!"

Not really a Christmas item, but I didn't make up that title. That's really how they are listed.

Unfortunately, the furry little things all seem to be recovering from surgery.

Oh wait. That's a cross.

On a gorilla.

You know, now that I think about it, I think I've known a few "plush long armed religious gorillas" in a few churches along the way...


Last Up - (And also for all seasons, I might add)

It's "Religious Bouncing Balls!"

Yeah.

I think I'll just leave it at that.

...But if you purchase the balls, the web site recommends that you may also be interested in these: "Religious Paper Bags."

...Oh yeah. There's also an item in honor of anyone who buys this stuff:

"Religious Suckers"

Mercy Me, there's a guitar in the wall...

Click and you'll understand:

Phone is Alive Again...For Now...

Click to listen:

Pics of the new Well's Baby...

Fast pics of our worship leader, Kim's and Ricky's new baby, Sydney Kate Wells...

Kim didn't want to be in the pictures, so I honored her request and got Ricky, instead! :-D

Gotta post and run. Enjoy!

Hard to Get

But I'm not playing.

There are 2 basic reasons that I've been a little hard to reach, lately.

The first is just that my phone is dead. Not the service; just the phone. I tried to turn it on Sunday evening and it just flashed, tried really hard to power up, then went dead. It's not the battery. It's just time for a new phone. I'll get to it as soon as I can, but until then if you need to reach me, just leave a message and I'll eventually get it when I'm at a phone that I can use to check messages. I also check email througout the day.

The second is that my schedule has become a bit full, to say the least. To move the vision for Compass Church from dream to reality, I'm working other jobs. And yes, that was an "s" on the end of the word "job." And no, it is not a small irony that the dude in the Bible who had so many difficulties went by the same name. Even if it was pronounced differently. :-D

As always, thanks for supporting us with your prayers and resources! Many exciting things are in the works for Compass, and I can't wait to tell you about what's ahead.

But it'll have to wait, because I'm heading out the door.

Oh by the way, I now have a basic page on MySpace. I'll be in and out of there sporadically, also! Check it out here: myspace.com/johnnyleckie

New Little Compass Kiddo welcomed to the world

Our worship leader, Kim Wells and her husband Ricky are definitely doing all they can to grow our church...

Today a little after 4 p.m., they welcomed their new baby into the world!

The newest member of the Wells family is a bouncing baby girl, weighing in at 7lbs and 6 oz, and has been given the name, "Sydney Kate Wells."

Mom, Baby & Dad are all doing fine.

Congratulations, Ricky and Kim!

Cool Tool - CellTell for Backpack

Back in the days when my "Toshiba Pocket PC e310" actually worked, there was a feature that I used all the time. It was the "voice recorder."

I would be driving down the road, have an idea, and would immediately record it by talking into the Pocket PC. Later, I would sync it with my desktop PC and have a more permanant way of storing those "captured" thoughts, ideas and reminders.

Now I don't need it.

A cool little "web 2.0" tool called "CellTell" makes it possible for me to do the same thing with my Backpack account using my cell phone.

I put the phone number in my speed dial, call it, record whatever and it's immediately posted to a page in Backpack. I can then listen to it in Backpack and even download it to my computer if I want. I can also share it with others, but I'm using it to store my own personal reminders, ideas and stuff.

Here's a sample I copied from my Backpack account:

Simple. Functional. Helpful. Cool.

And of course, like my backpack account, it's also free.

The Return of My Chin

Lost the goatee.

Slightly scruffy, still, however.

Leona's cool with it or without it.

Heck, she's just cool.

Should it return?

What say you?