Adam Barnett

Skype is Sick!

(Sick: younger generation's term to describe something "awesome")  I downloaded Skype today on my laptop.  If you talk to people often that live far away, I totally recommend it.  It is incredible.  I've been meeting with my brother-in-law and his fiance, Kelsey, over the phone to prepare for their September wedding.  Now, we can see each other, which makes the calls much more fun (however, you are tempted to play around more and make faces at each other!).  Below are Kyle and Kelsey from our call earlier today.  Click here to download Skype. 

MacBook Pro, Minus the Pro

I have a new MacBook Pro, except I am FAR from a Pro on this thing.  However, I'm willing to debate PC vs. Mac... I'm beginning to lean heavily towards Mac.  I thought I'd share a great feature that someone showed me yesterday on this new laptop...

  

The Goose Whisperer

There's just never a dull moment in our neighborhood.  From my nephews peeing on my fence to us all cramming in a small kiddie-pool - we always have such a blast.  Lately, though, we've had intruders.  Tons of geese have made their home around our house and we're sick of it.  They are loud (especially when they fight... or is that mating?) and they poop everywhere.  They also show no fear OR respect for humans.  So, I've nominated myself as the neighborhood Goose Whisperer to try and move them out with little drama.  We'll see what happens...

When I Speak Your Name

Jesus, the most beautiful name of all names.  Jesus, the only name that brings healing and strength. When I speak your name, mountains move; chains are loosed.  When I speak your name, darkness flees.  It has no hold on me. 

Jesus... the most beautiful name that I know.  You're the exalted One.  Jesus... you have the power alone.  You lift the lonely one.  Jesus.

Jesus, the most wonderful name of all names.  Jesus, the only name that brings freedom and hope.  When I speak your name, mountains move; chains are loosed.  When I speak your name, darkness flees.  It has no hold on me.

Jesus... the most beautiful name that I know.  You're the exalted One.  Jesus... you have the power alone.  You lift the lonely one.  Jesus.

Be exalted... be exalted... be exalted... higher and higher.

(From Gateway's "Wake up the World" Worship Album - my friend Kevin and I listened to this over and over again in Nicaragua and wept.  I hope these lyrics bless you today)

Eyes Wide Open :: The Disappearance of God

Just finished two good books for Random House. Eyes Wide Open by Jud Wilhite is a book that focuses on who we are meant to be... not who we think we are or what we've become.  He focuses on the real you - that you are loved and forgiven by God - that you have an identity in Christ that you can walk in.  He says, "I had it all backwards.  The main thing was not my love for God, but his love for me.  And from that love I respond to God as one deeply flawed, yet loved.  I'm not looking to prove my worth.  I'm not searching for acceptance.  I'm living out of the worth God already declares I have.  I'm embracing his view of me and in the process discovering the person he created me to be."  This is a book of stories about following God in the messes of life (and we all have messes!) - about broken pasts and our lifelong need for grace.  It is about learning to see ourselves and God with new eyes - eyes open to a God of love.

The Disappearance of God is written by the president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Dr. Albert Mohler.  The uncomfortable truth is that there is a lot of faulty information about the Lord that is causing a lot of uncertainty in our culture, even among Christ-followers.  For centuries the church has taught and guarded the core Christian beliefs that make up the essential foundations of faith.  But in our postmodern age, sloppy teaching and outright lies create rampant confusion, and many Christians are free-falling for "feel good" theology. 

Mohler says, "The entire structure of Christian truth is now under attack."  He writes about some of the important aspects of modern issues concerning Christianity:

• Is God changing His mind about sin?
• Why is hell off limits for many pastors?
• What's good or bad about the "dangerous" emergent movement?
• Have Christians stopped seeing God as God?
• Is the social justice movement misguided?
• Could the role of beauty be critical to our theology?
• Is liberal faith any less destructive than atheism?
• Are churches pandering to their members to survive?

Mohler is confronting and challenging our generation to stand up for the foundations of our faith and fight for truth! 

These are both great books and I recommend you check them out!

Chicago and Kidney Stones

It's been a crazy week.  A good week, but a crazy and exhausting one:

• Went to Chicago for 5 days to spend time with Andrea's family.
• Chicago Cubs vs. Minnesota Twins = Milton Bradley's big mistake.
• Played the Harborside Golf Course in Chicago... incredibly difficult course.
• Played at the Hinsdale Golf Club - my first time to ever have a caddy.
• Andrea's first baby shower, followed by my brother-in-law's wedding shower.

We got home last night and I went to the hospital.  Waiting to pass some kidney stones.  I'm terrified right now, but at the same time, relieved that it wasn't something worse!

Pray for Nepal!

I put my dear friend, Lennell, and his team on a plane yesterday to Nepal.  They've got a long trip with a ton of ministry potential in front of them, so please be praying for this team in the coming weeks!  Just before pulling out of the parking lot, I realized I didn't give Lennell the team's passports.  You would think I had this down by now... it was a close call! 

Home Again!

Thank you for all your prayers during our last trip to Mozambique.  With the hiccups we faced through Customs (more than once!), it is only by God's grace that we made it there and back!  A long, hot shower and a mattress to sleep on were more than appreciated last night!  Here is a link to see the pictures that I put on Facebook today: click here.

By the way, here is a picture of my bee sting - most people who have seen it just laugh, so I won't be offended if you do (but can you believe the difference between my two ring-fingers???).  I couldn't move or use that dumb finger for days.  Ugh.

In Route

Leaving Iris is never easy.  It is always a very quiet ride to the airport with everyone holding tissues closely! It will be difficult for quite a while for this team... little things will remind them of Iris daily and they'll miss it terribly.  We have talked a lot, though, about how we can take the things we've learned here and apply them back home.

Everyone made it through Mozambique's Customs and Immigration without trouble... except Lauren and me.  Our passports didn't show an exit-stamp from our trip to South Africa (Kruger).  So, technically, it showed that we were in two countries at once.  The official ran off with our passports and although I chased him, he went through a door that I wasn't permitted to enter.  So, we waited for him to talk with the Chief about our "situation," only to have him return to us and bribe us.  He wanted $50.00 to let us through (the price of two entry visa's).  I told him I'd buy him a coke but that was it!  He wasn't interested and let us through.  Praise the Lord... it was an intense few minutes, but the team was praying on the other side of security and we made it!

We are in London and depart in a few hours for Dallas.  Brent is sitting here with me begging me to look up who the OKC Thunder picked up in the draft while we were gone.  It is amazing how much happens back home that we are oblivious to.  Hope you all are doing well and thank you so much for covering this team in prayer!  God bless you!