It’s that time of year, again. Time for the mark of another year gone, and a new one on it’s way. I have been trying to work my way through Michael Hyatt’s “Life Plan” but am still in the “reading” stage. I have most of my thoughts in place, just haven’t [...]]]>

It’s that time of year, again. Time for the mark of another year gone, and a new one on it’s way. I have been trying to work my way through Michael Hyatt’s “Life Plan” but am still in the “reading” stage. I have most of my thoughts in place, just haven’t made them into a collective organized format yet.

I use to never make so-called “new year’s resolutions”, and for the most part, I don’t. They are so cliche, and are usually not reasonably obtainable, so I just didn’t make them. I do however set goals, and make continuous strides after them, or adjust them as plans change. That is basically what Hyatt’s Life Plan is about.

Looking back, 2011 was a tough year, but I did do, or continue towards, several things that were on my long term list. I took 67,000 images (that doesn’t include deleted images) in 2011, and trying to look back and pick a “favorite” out of 67,000 shots is impossible. I couldn’t even pick a favorite of mine, so that’s me, sitting in Entebbe Airport, waiting for our KLM flight from Uganda to Amsterdam. My two trips this year to Uganda were marks that altered my direction and focus, and in a strange turn towards the end of the year, helped solidify my reasons for continuing to pursue my seminary work.

Looking at what possibly lies ahead for 2012 is hard. There are certainly highs, and lows, on the way, but I will make the greatest attempt this year to give any worry about those things that make up life’s trials to the Lord once and for all. I hope I will complete the requirements to earn my first graduate degree in seminary, and develop in those areas I have identified for 2012. Most of all, to strive to use the time I’m giving to the very best of my ability. Not doing the things that don’t need to be done, and focusing on those that do.

When looking at the New Year, these two verses stood out to me earlier this morning, and I love how they mold together into a cohesive unit. Matthew 5.6 and 5.48 which says: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Happy New Year everyone, and War Eagle from the Georgia Dome tonight where we will most likely still be when the new year comes to our part of the world.

Posts Related to This Topic:

• Photo-Video Year in Review for 2009
• He Must Increase, but I Must Decrease :: John 3:30
• 14 Tons of Food at the Cornerstone Church Food Drop 2012
• 5 Great Thought Provoking Daily Devotionals for the New Year
• Come Join The Cornerstone Church Food Drop 2012

2009 was a busy year that saw a lot of changes in our household.  Throughout each month of each year for the past 15-18 years or so I have taken photos every chance I get, but it has only been in the past several years where I have taken photos of just about [...]]]>

2009 was a busy year that saw a lot of changes in our household.  Throughout each month of each year for the past 15-18 years or so I have taken photos every chance I get, but it has only been in the past several years where I have taken photos of just about everything my wife and I do as we go about the year.  This puts a new perspective on the year when you look back at an entire year of photos and see what all we were able to do.

People often think you need special equipment or expertise to be a good photographer, and in some cases that is probably true, but for every day events, any picture is better than no picture.  Most cell phones have cameras now and they are around the 2MP range which is certainly good enough to shoot a passing smile.  In fact, a good majority of the photos you will see in the video below came right out of my iPhone camera.  It has taken some practice but I have gotten very good results with just using my iPhone camera, and there are many photographers that have made a point to compose a gallery here and there using their iPhone camera.

This video below is a combination of about 1,200 photos over about a 5 minute period, hope you enjoy it, happy new year to everyone.  If you want to watch the video in a larger window just click 2009 Year End Photo-Video.

Posts Related to This Topic:

• Looking Back and Forward So Happy New Year 2012
• 2009 Photo-Video Character Cast
• Ministering to the Church At the Expense of the Family
• 5 Great Thought Provoking Daily Devotionals for the New Year
• Come Join The Cornerstone Church Food Drop 2012

Deborah [...]]]> I finally finished my 2009 year end photo video, as soon as I can get it processed I am going to up load it, in the mean time, here is the cast that makes an appearance in the video.  The video is a collection of photos I took throughout 2009 of those listed below.

Deborah Fillmer

Ebby the Dog

Blazer the Dog

Dave Ramsey

Mark Gottfried

Korvotney Barber

Rusty Hutson

DeWanna Bonner

Brian Johnson

BJ Gilbert

Aubie

Quantez Robertson

Cornerstone Youth

Josh Agerton

Lynn Blount

Steve Fee

Brad Lomenick

Andy Stanley

Craig Groeschel

Lanny Donoho

Trey Fetner

Dale Fillmer

Tay Waller

Rob Slocum

Ann Jackson

Carlos Whittaker

Jon Acuff

Seth Godin

Jack Fisher (with dog)

Ashley Coxwell

Larry Fillmer

Fee Band

Bill George (Harvard)

Ernie Johnson

Tony Morgan

Dewayne Reed

Jen Slocum

Tea-Party Protesters

Caitlin Beidler (Redemtion Art)

Hillsong United

John Wayne

Ravi Zacharias

Rick Warren

Francis Chan

Bon Qui Qui

Daley Hake

John Maxwell

Liz Murray (Homeless to Harvard)

Kevin Carroll

Mike Fisher

Townsend Fisher

Katy Fisher

Amy Coxwell

Julia Farrow

Buddy Blount

Tim Hawkins

Guy Kawasaki

William Fillmer

Amy Fisher

Teresa Cardin’s Car

WVU Fans

Kristen Johnson

Chris Slagley

The Duck

Dan King

Ben Agerton

Leslie Agerton

Issac Marchio

Levi Marchio

Martha Marchio

Marchio Family

Alabama Million Dollar Band

Auburn Marching Band

Abby Marchio

Bryan Fillmer

Oregon State and BYU

Virginia

Posts Related to This Topic:

• Photo-Video Year in Review for 2009
• Looking Back and Forward So Happy New Year 2012
• Come Join The Cornerstone Church Food Drop 2012
• An Incredible Day 1 on the Ground in Uganda
• A Photographic Look at the Faces of Uganda :: Part 2

Well this is start of the first full week of the new year, and actually the first official week in my position here at work.  I want to say I am getting settled in but I think I did that in the month of December.  As I sit here in a [...]]]>

Well this is start of the first full week of the new year, and actually the first official week in my position here at work.  I want to say I am getting settled in but I think I did that in the month of December.  As I sit here in a borrowed office for today I am thinking about so many new things going on here at Cornerstone that makes it an exciting time here, and a busy time.

This week we started a new series called “Alive”.  We will be going through the book of Colossians for the next month, and at the same time starting a walk through journaling our thoughts and questions as we study through this book.

The creative minds over here decided to do something different and actually engage (not that we don’t try to do that anyway) with everyone on a different level.  We started a website (http://www.thealivejournal.com) that corresponds to a paper journal everyone received on Sunday.

As we walk through the book, the website will be updated with new scriptures and an application each day for the remaining of the series.  A fresh approach and something that will hopefully catch on with others.  I know writing is like many other things in life.  The more you write, the better you get, and the more you write.

How Do We Continue to Create?

How do we continue to create?  It doesn’t matter if you are working for a church, a school, self-employed, or whatever, creativity is important, it keeps our minds “alive”.  Opening up and becoming more creative is something I strive to do each day, but I don’t buy into the notion that there are creative people and people who are not creative.  Everyone is creative, but not everyone allows it to come out, or deems it to be important.

Looking ahead I don’t want this to be the pinnacle of creativity this year.  To me, there are basically three areas of creativity (I know there are many more but follow me here) that pretty much encompass everything else; writing, o-graphy (that would be photo-video), and music.  So, to me, the key is how to grow in each of these areas and find new ways to create in each of these areas.

Anne Jackson wrote a great piece today, The Death of Publishing as We Know It: Who Holds the Smoking Gun? that talks about how the publishing industry has screwed itself into the ground by publishing so many mediocre books.  True, we are not all writers, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t write.  As a photographer I would say the same thing.  Just because you are not a professional photographer does that mean you are never going to pick up a camera again?  My key for myself is to write more, shoot more, and read more.

So, as some say, here is a “mind dump” in no particular order.

10 Ways to Create Original Ideas

• Write more, read more, and learn more about media
• Surround yourself with creative minds when you can
• Ask someone for help or suggestions
• Expand what you normally do and be different
• Get out of your routine, go outside your normal elements
• Remember your focus – what is it, making money, salvation, discipleship?
• Don’t copy —- take, redesign, and create something new
• Don’t be afraid of the box – throw the box out and don’t worry about what is “correct”
• Think for yourself.  Don’t let others tell you how to think.  Study and think for yourself
• Be prepared to fail and try something else

Number 7 is a little vague I know.  What I mean is what we read from Solomon in Ecclesiastes 1:

9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.

Most “new” is something that was improved upon from something or someone else.  So find something good and make it great.  My problem is always “finding the new”.

This is really my list for myself.  I have never felt like I was a very creative person but most of that is because I refused to let it surface.  It had no real purpose.  Perhaps the older I get the more important it is and the harder I have to work at it to get better.

Posts Related to This Topic:

• I AM Lenten Reader, Journaling :: Lent Day 4
• Is Writing a Guest Post Article Worth the Time
• Top 5 Tips to Help Your Job Search in this Economy
• Welcome to Our Living Room :: Friday Feet
• Cold Day of Code and Godin’s Tribes :: Friday Feet

As is customary during this time of year, we all have a tendency to look back at what 2008 had in store for us and look ahead to 2009.  A lot happened in 2008 and I thought I would do what many bloggers are doing of course and post of few of my [...]]]>

As is customary during this time of year, we all have a tendency to look back at what 2008 had in store for us and look ahead to 2009.  A lot happened in 2008 and I thought I would do what many bloggers are doing of course and post of few of my favorite blogs posts, top posts, searches, and tweets for 2008.  What was the highlight of your year?  I think we tend to remember the mosts recent and forget about what happened in January or February of this year but that’s what is great about a blog, all you have to do is go back and look at your archives.

What Was the Highlight of 2008?

For me personally, my highlight was probably joining the staff of Cornerstone Church as their IT person in December.  This was something I had been looking at, praying about, and preparing for, for many years, long before I ever moved to Auburn.  What made it even better to me was how outstanding the existing leadership staff (Rusty, Josh, Brian, and Jack) was when I came on board, and I can’t wait to move ahead in 2009 with the goals set forth by the church and the Church body as a whole.

I have only had time to just get my feet wet through the month of December but looking ahead there are great things in store for this small, but growing, church body, and hopefully I can contribute to its continued success in leading people to know and serve Jesus.

What Was the Lowlight of 2008?

Can you have a highlight or a best without a worst? I know many who believe this to be true, that you don’t have to have the existence of evil to good but that is for another post.  Probably the low point of 2008 for me and my immediate house was when we lost my mother-in-law Georgia to cancer.  It was not something I will ever forget, and is something I remembered in one form or another every day from April to this day.  I learned a lot, prayed a lot, and miss her as well.

Best of the Blog in 2008

These are some of the best according to me stats, but I am also picking the blog posts that I liked the best, which is not something stats will tell you.  It is interesting that stats will only tell you exact numbers, not feelings, so enter a feeling into the equation and it will change everything.

My Favorite Posts of 2008

• A Cold Day on the Beach in February is Empty and Fun – February 15, 2008 €“ 5:53 am
• Does a Church Really Need a Website? – March 27, 2008 €“ 12:58 pm
• Humidity, Storms, and Lightning in Alabama are Back – July 30, 2008 €“ 9:09 am
• Opening Day for Encounter at Auburn University – August 23, 2008 €“ 5:00 pm
• Auburn vs Tennessee Photos, Tigers Football Wins 14-12 // Game 5 – September 28, 2008 €“ 3:31 pm
• The Speakers at Catalyst08 Conference from Thrusday // Catalyst Photos – October 11, 2008 €“ 9:52 am
• Caitlin Beidler from Redemption Art in Worship // catalyst08 Photos – October 27, 2008 €“ 12:04 pm

Posts Related to This Topic:

• Photo-Video Year in Review for 2009
• 10 Ways to Continue to Create Original Ideas
• Our Yearly Celebration Dinner and Tommy Tuberville to Lubbock?
• Year in Review and a Look Ahead at Celebration Dinner
• The Necessity of Prayer by E.M. Bounds Book Review

This past Sunday we were privileged to have Brian bring the message to us and he spoke around John 3:30, He must increase, but I must decrease.  It was a thought-provoking message but it left the details on how we are to carry this out in our [...]]]>

This past Sunday we were privileged to have Brian bring the message to us and he spoke around John 3:30, He must increase, but I must decrease.  It was a thought-provoking message but it left the details on how we are to carry this out in our lives something for us to think about and tackle on our own.  There were and are many applications for this, but I started chasing my rabbit trying to think about why, and somehow landed on the song, “When Love Comes to Town” by U2.  If everything we do and have comes from the Lord, and our actions are to glorify the Lord, then how do we do this.

To do this, we must not take His glory for ourselves.  Not something very easy to accomplish, especially when you take today’s culture and modern technologies into consideration.  We do almost everything for ourselves, with ourselves in mind.

Driven and drilled into us from day one in our great country (for those who live in the U.S.), life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, which sometimes seems like the pursuit of ourselves.  The American dream, to own a house, 2 cars, have 2.4 kids, a good career, and a full 401k.  For some reason, “when love comes to town” reminded me of the reason for Christmas and even moving on into Easter, and the love He showed for all of us when He became flesh, and is why He deserves the glory.

The point of this message (at least in my interpretation) was to bring the Christmas season series to a close and bridge into our new and upcoming series on bringing our spiritual life alive, but I think we use the example we were given and use love to accomplish this.  For God to increase, I must decrease, for me to decrease, I must do this out of love.  To me, matters of faith start from the heart.

I was there when they crucified my Lord
I held the scabbard when the soldier drew his sword
I threw the dice when they pierced his side
But I’ve seen love conquer the great divide

When love comes to town I’m gonna catch that train
When love comes to town I’m gonna catch that flame
Maybe I was wrong to ever let you down
But I did what I did before love came to town

As the year comes to a close, I always start thinking about a recap of where, what, when, and how of this year and what is coming up next year.  This year and leading into next year, to bring my spritual life “alive”, I must decrease. [I am not sure why we only do this at year-end instead of all year-long, but it just seems like a natural break where we mark a point in time that has an end and a beginning at 12:00 midnight at on December 31st.]

Some random thoughts on how I can try to extend this into next year:

• read more
• do less for my reasons, more for His reasons
• work as if no one will ever know or see the results of my labor but God Himself
• remember I am working for His glory, not any one person
• give more :: time, money, effort, support, attention
• give up more :: control, of self…
• don’t give up when… I feel like it
• appreciate :: time, life more (not to be confused with Time Life)
• serve more
• make a don’t do list, and don’t do the things on my don’t do list

I like top ten lists but all the items above can be narrowed down to “love”, and I did what I did before love came to town.  Happy New Year everyone.

Posts Related to This Topic:

• Put off Flesh, Put on Christ: Colossians 3:5–16
• The Jackpot Prayer Request Machine of Today
• Are There Different Degrees of Sin? The Greater Sin of John 19:11
• The High Priestly Prayer of Jesus in John 17:1-26
• The Principle of Context from Joshua 7:1-26

If you have been reading my blog at all you know our church had a huge celebration for 2008 last night called Celebration Dinner.  It was a fantastic evening of looking back and also ahead to 2009.  One of the highlights of the night to me was [...]]]>

If you have been reading my blog at all you know our church had a huge celebration for 2008 last night called Celebration Dinner.  It was a fantastic evening of looking back and also ahead to 2009.  One of the highlights of the night to me was when the band did a great version of Coldplay’s Fix You.  Below you will see some photos of the band and b/ (the worship leader) playing Fix You.  To see the entire Celebration Dinner gallery click here.

I have been waiting for months to get some good images of the worship leader, Brian, and tonight I finally got what I was looking for, not to mention having an incredible time of worship and fellowship with the rest of the church.  I am really looking forward to this coming year and what God has in store for this church.

Posts Related to This Topic:

• Year in Review and a Look Ahead at Celebration Dinner
• Celebrating the Life of Erin Stephens Today at Cornerstone
• Our Yearly Celebration Dinner and Tommy Tuberville to Lubbock?
• Drum Set from a 12mm Wide Angle Lens at Floor Level
• Photography is a Collective Ongoing Practice of Art

Celebration Dinner is going to be intense tonight.  It is the one big celebration that we have each year, once a year, at cumc to look back at what the church body did through the year and to look ahead at what is coming up in 2009.  I have [...]]]>

Celebration Dinner is going to be intense tonight.  It is the one big celebration that we have each year, once a year, at cumc to look back at what the church body did through the year and to look ahead at what is coming up in 2009.  I have been really looking forward to this evening for some time.  So much planning and detail has gone into making this a wonderful evening that I know those who decide to come out on Sunday night will be glad they did.  If you can’t make it, we will be streaming the celebration live on mogulus here.  I took this photo of BJ, our drummer for tonight, during the Wednesday night practice (see Year in Review and a Look Ahead at Celebration Dinner), and that was just practice.

NCAA College Football, Are you a Fan?  Auburn vs Texas Tech

This has been one of the weirdest football years for Auburn, almost uncharted territory since Tommy Tuberville took the rains here 10 years ago.  It sort of mirrors Tommy’s first year here at Auburn and I hope this doesn’t turn out to be book ends to his career here in Auburn.  It has been a real tough season for Auburn in 2008, I would hate to see what happens if we lose the homecoming game to Tennessee Martin next week.

I took this shot above of Tommy during Tiger Walk for the Tennessee game (see Auburn vs Tennessee Photos, Tigers Football Wins 14-12 // Game 5, hope Tennessee Martin turns out to be a win too, I would like to see him walk Tiger Walk again?

What is interesting about NCAA football this year is although one of my teams, Auburn, is going down faster than the Titanic, my other team has turned the corner to what might become their all time greatest football season ever.  Last night Texas Tech beat Texas in one of the best football games I have seen this year.  Making a catch at the end with 8 seconds to go to win the game was unreal, and watching the highlights I still expected him to fall out of bounds or something.

For those who might not know, I spent the first two years of my college career over at Texas Tech and have very found memories of going to school in Lubbock.  Certainly isn’t the same view as living here in Auburn but it was a great place to go to school (and yes, I went to UAB, not Auburn).

My Weekend Giveaway

On another note.  My last post has become very interesting.  I seem to have found the fastest and best way to create spam.  Give something away on your blog. We actually do this quite often on our other blogs.  We (Deb mainly) has two blogs where she frequently gives away all kinds of door prizes for her readers and fellow knitters, but for those two (here and here) spam doesn’t seem to be an issue.

If you don’t know what I am talking about, please read I am Giving Away a Free Dell Dimension Computer and 17″ Flat Panel in 29 Days, and you will see what I am talking about.  Even though I seem to be bombarded with spam now, I am going to keep it going for the reason I posted it in the first place and would prefer to find a non-profit or some organization that could use a computer.  If you know anyone like that, just have the enter on the post above.  All spam like entries will be discarded, and certainly won’t be considered.

Posts Related to This Topic:

• Year in Review and a Look Ahead at Celebration Dinner
• Celebration Dinner is Over Now the Work of Ministry Begins
• The Friday Night Lights Live Album Recording :: Friday Feet
• Summer Camp Cornerstone 2011 Gets Underway :: Photos
• Auburn Tigers Football vs Arkansas State Game 1 Photos

Each year our church has a special evening where they look back at the year to see where God has taken the church, and start to look at what is ahead for the next year.  A lot of planning has gone into the events for [...]]]>

Each year our church has a special evening where they look back at the year to see where God has taken the church, and start to look at what is ahead for the next year.  A lot of planning has gone into the events for Sunday night.  We will be broadcasting live on Sunday night (see Celebration Dinner Broadcast), which I believe is a first for us, new videos, and some great music.

I took these photos of the rehearsal on Wednesday for Sunday night.  Plan to be there if you can, it will be a great night of food and fun while discovering where the church has been and where it is going.

Posts Related to This Topic:

• Celebration Dinner is Over Now the Work of Ministry Begins
• Our Yearly Celebration Dinner and Tommy Tuberville to Lubbock?
• Celebrating the Life of Erin Stephens Today at Cornerstone
• Drum Set from a 12mm Wide Angle Lens at Floor Level
• Meet the Cornerstone Buzz Band :: Photos