try not to blink.
My goal of having Athera’s Dawn ready for Black Friday is not going to happen. That’s the bad news.
The good news is it will most likely be the end of next week if all the proofs come back looking good.
Thought I’d at least tease you with a rough cover sample from the gifted Allan Miller.
I’m also working on a few surprises for the month of December. Some affect you, my wonderful readers, and some affect those living in Jefferson County, NY. Stay tuned! ch:
PHOTO BY: JENNIFERHOPPERPHOTO.COM
I figured out the key to Levi’s success with getting women to flock to him. For all my men out there, listen up.
First off, smiling is good for your health. And science proves it.
From lowering your blood pressure, increasing endorphin levels, lowering stress levels, boosting your immune system, and simply making you more attractive to the rest of the human race (come on, who doesn’t need a little of that?), smiling has a tremendous effect on your body and your mood.
Smiling is also good for the health of those who see you.
People who smile more often have a positive effect on their environment, and are better received by others (Abel, MH, Hester, R. (2002).
Dr. Nigel Carter, CEO of the British Dental Health Foundation, stated “We have long been drawing attention to the fact that smiling increases happiness both in yourself and those around you, so it is good to receive the backing of this scientific research. A healthy smile can improve your confidence, help you make friends and help you to succeed in your career.”
Yet why do so few of us smile?
While it may not be terribly surprising that women smile an average of 62 times per day, men only smile an average of 8 times per day. If spread over 16 hours of wake time, that’s 1 smile every 2 hours for us guys.
Bros, think we can step it up a little?
And yet 99.7% of adults (*which includes women) say an attractive smile is an important personal asset.
*FREE TIP OF THE DAY – To my single male readers out there: this research suggests that maybe the key to landing a bride is stepping up the amount you smile. She apparently not only likes to smile, but likes seeing others smile.
It’s this simple fact that has lead me to conclude precisely why Levi has so many women flock to him: he’s a professional smiler at the age of 7 weeks.
Lord, help me. ch:
SOURCES:
http://longevity.about.com/od/lifelongbeauty/tp/smiling.htm
http://www.livestrong.com/article/18859-health-benefits-smiling/
http://health.ezinemark.com/smile-statistics-318ad3a9997.html
I’m writing this in Syracuse airport, having covered more than 5,000 miles in the last 12 hours, and less than 70 miles from home.
I’m full of wonderful tales for my children, chocolate for my wife, and an added inheritance for the legacy I’m leaving and the reward I’m headed to in eternity.
Thanks for all your prayers and kind comments. I consider you far more than readers: you’re wings to our ministry. ch:
Yesterday Joseph and I drove from Clarens into the historic and always beautiful city of Geneva, Switzerland. So much to see, so little time. Ancient walkways, famed monuments, and landmarks of religious and political highlights of history.
We were treated to a fabulous real-Italian meal at The Spaghetti Factory (merci Ben-J), followed by a walk down to see the fountain of Geneva – an impressive plume of water that spouts hundreds of feet into the air.
That night, I ministered before an amazing group of youth (and spoke a lot about my wife). It was a wonderful time of basking in God’s presence, experiencing His manifest love, and taking time to pray for one another. I was really blessed by the display of genuine affection the youth had in praying passionately for each other; God move on their behalf, and all of us were changed.
Today kicked off the youth conference in Ambilly, France – source of our original invitation for this trip. It’s been a fantastic time solid teaching, practical worship training, a Q&A session, and touching heaven together as the Bride of Christ.
I’ve also met an older twin brother, Mark Pugh, of England (original from Wales). I think they just invited us because of our striking similarities and good looks. But seriously, his messages have been remarkable, simple, and very much about communicating Biblical truth through the stories of his life.
Tonight GodTV (dieutv.com) is filming our concert and all of us are excited to worship together and rejoice in our King. I’m so blessed by the senior pastor and his wife here in Ambilly, Christophe & Sabine Saez, as well as my remarkable band for supporting me so humbly. I’m honored to serve with them all.
A demain! ch:
After a short drive around Lake Geneva to the mountain-ensconced, lake adorned village Villeneuve, Joseph and I were treated to a long-overdue kebab. Following a walk along the lake, we headed back to our host home where a nap ensued (Joseph’s longer than mine as he didn’t sleep on the plane).
We traveled through Montreux – host of one of the world’s premier jazz festivals – who’s Palace Hotel is pictured above, and loaded in to La Chapelle de Clarens. To my wonderful surprise, the venue had arranged for Rolf Schnieder and Stephane Unger to be part of my backup band, both of whom were instrumental in the recording of our album into French (and are fine musicians and dear friends). Special thanks to Yves and Stephan for adding their considerable talents to the music of the evening.
After a 2-hour practice, Swiss pizza for dinner, and a time of prayer with the pastoral team, it was time to worship.
The church was packed out as people journeyed up to an hour away, which is long for the Swiss, almost halfway across their country. By the third song, we moved all the chairs out, and the dancing began. Granted, I sweat through every shirt I ever wear on stage, but you know things are hopping when it’s drenched by the end of the fourth song.
When we were all exhausted, I shared a 20-minute message of encouragement on the affects of reaching just one person, as Jesus demonstrated in Mark 5. While we long for thousands in our regions to know Christ, it’s often our responsibility with effecting one life that opens perpetual doors for others to walk through.
Upon arriving back at our host home, in typical Swiss fashion, the real eating and drinking began. Julien – a 13 year old chef extraordinaire – presented us with not one but two plates of sushi, and the father of the home, Fredo, brought out a 1988 Pinot Noir from their region in our honor.
We got to bed somewhere after 1am.
Today Joseph and I are heading to Geneva to meet up with the team we’ll be ministering with through the weekend’s youth conference. ch:
UPDATE FROM SWITZERLAND:
After a quick round of sushi in Dulles’ A-Terminal, Joseph and I boarded our non-stop flight to Geneva.
Surprisingly (and refreshingly) empty, I was able to stretch out in the middle section and sleep for 5 hours – always a plus when traveling East and trying to catch up on the time change.
Upon arriving, we were picked up promptly by Stephan – a wonderful husband, father of 2, and musician. He weaved us through mountain tunnels and along stunning lake-vistas bathed in the glow of the rising sun.
We’re sitting tight at our host home, then playing at La Chapelle de Clarens this evening for what I expect to be a refreshing night of worship and teaching among these beautiful people. ch:
My iPhone went crazy. Text messages, voice mails.
“Look up at the sky!”
Not sure what others saw along our latitude, but northern NY had a brilliant display of the aurora borealis. And I only caught the last 5 minutes.
This is the original, unaffected shot I took on my Nikon D7000, 3.5f, 800, 15-second exposure.
Just one more reason I cherish living in the middle of nowhere, because it’s God’s somewhere. ch:
We have a sweet, sweet baby boy.
He arrived at 4:46am.
Mommy is amazing. So proud if her.
More to come. ch:
In honor of our newest CiCi’s Pizza store in Watertown, NY starting its new hire interviews today, I thought I’d share some of the behind the scenes pics I’ve collected of it’s development.
As with anything worth doing, the team of talented men and women who’ve collaborated on this project deserve a great deal of thanks. I’m very excited for its completion and grand opening in just a few weeks.
LOCALS: If you know of any hardworking, fun-loving people looking for new work – or just a game change – send them over to New Life today and tomorrow between 10am-12noon. ch:
Childhood promises are made with curled pinky fingers.
Pacts to never allow girls in your tree fort are made by spitting into a handshake.
College commitment is made by signing on a dotted line and incurring a massive debt load.
Marriage covenants are made with words, signatures, and rings.
And a promise never to wipe out all of humanity by water is made with radiant lights in the sky spanning the visible color spectrum.
I’d say that’s a pretty good way to make a promise.
Tonight this rainbow spread out over our house so intensely that even our next door neighbor drove over to make sure we saw it.
“In all my life I’ve never seen a rainbow like that,” Joan said. Considering she was born in the 1930′s, that’s saying something.
The pinkish-purple atmosphere itself – not really picked up by the camera – was one of the most surreal washes of color I’ve seen personally. Astounding.
Aside from a super-wide-angle lens on one of our Nikons, the only way I could capture it was using a panoramic stitch photo app on my iPhone 4.
I kept waiting for something to post on today; in light of hurricane Irene, I think this subject’s a winner. ch:
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