JonathanBryant.info

-GREAT day at Foothills!
-Had a good crowd, especially to have been a rainy day.
-My new friend Anna Taylor sang a Miley Cyrus song with us, The Climb… and nailed it.
-The funny thing is, today is the first time Anna has sang with us, so I put her on just the feature song. However, I woke up this morning with NO voice. Problem, I know. So I caught her as she walked in and put her up there for the whole set, singing melody alongside me to reinforce the vocals. SHE ROCKED THE HOUSE! People loved her, connected right away, and worshiped Jesus… even with me having little to no voice. I L-O-V-E when stuff like that happens!
-Our set today was: Forever/Tomlin – Reign in Us/Starfield – The Climb/Miley Cyrus.
-We cut a song at the last minute… it wasn’t working, vocals were straining, didn’t really go with the message, so we canned it and went with a two-song set and a feature.
-It actually worked out great that way, because Greg taught on Faithfulness this week, and Shannon had some COOL stuff to say to our campus today about the subject. He said that we should always keep our eyes on the vision on FCC, no matter if we’re in a gym, or a building, or a school, wherever. He brought it and we needed it!
-We went out to eat with an old friend today. We used to hang almost every day, and I hadn’t seen her in over three months. It was good times.
-Our friends Scott and Catherine had their second baby Friday morning… and their two year old is in the hospital for a terrible ear infection, so they’re WIPED out right now. Candice dropped the baby and I off at the house and spent the ENTIRE afternoon and most of the evening up there with them taking some of the load off. She’s good like that. We’re praying for the O’Brien family… wanna join us?
-Another big happening this week is that we have done AWAY with Abigail’s “binky” cold turkey. She’s been getting really attached to it lately, so we thought 18mo is as good a time as any to do it. It has been hell on wheels getting her to fall asleep for the last two days for naps and two nights for bed… but tonight we said our prayers, put her down, and she didn’t give a peep. Wow. Thanks Jesus for that one.
-I’m hoping to make a “half part-time” hire sometime soon for the Toccoa campus. We need it, and Sundays will be totally different because of it. Details coming…
-I brought my old Martin acoustic out of retirement today. It sounds great.
-My Tacoma acoustic (that was broken in two and completely restored 5 months ago) is coming apart again. I’m BUMMED. I’ve already started saving for a new acoustic. It will be a while, but I only wanna buy once.
-My POD X3Live sounded amazing today. What a cool little box that is!
-I’m going to bed now, but I’m STOKED about work tomorrow! I love what I get to do.

-First of all, I can’t BELIEVE I missed Stevie Wonder on the Grammys tonight! AHHHH!!!
-We were hanging with Scott and Catherine and Emma… which was well worth missing Stevie. I can watch the replay tomorrow.
-Foothills Toccoa went great today!
-We changed up the service order a bit, and I think I liked it better and people connected better. We did 3 songs straight at 0:00 (on the countdown) instead of breaking up the set with Welcome and Announcements. I like. We’re gonna keep it through this series, and then ask around and see what people think.
-Speaking of this series, it’s called “Revolution – The Beatles Guide to Family”
-Greg BROUGHT it today! He spoke on marriage and our responsibility to our spouse.
-We are doing a Beatles song each week that corresponds with the message. It’s challenging, but people really connect and get into it!
-The set today was: All Because of Jesus (Fee) – All We Need (Hall) – Jesus Paid it All ( Stanfill) – All You Need is Love (Beatles, Robert Walsh arrangement).
-I had a great band today that played TOGETHER! It made my job EASY.
-Shannon is doing a great job leading the people of Foothills Toccoa. He gave a little speech this morning during prayer that FIRED US UP! It was about remembering why we do what we do… loved it!
-Foothills Toccoa is a church that meets in a gym. That means we have to turn the GYM into a place for PEOPLE TO ENCOUNTER CHRIST. Another thing is, the gym is used during the week, so we have ONE DAY to do it! It’s gotta go up Saturday and come down Sunday. We have the best volunteers in the world, and their commitment to Jesus and the vision of FT is evident and inspiring.
-Did I mention I love our volunteers??
-Candice and I are thinking about a home. We’ve been cool with living in an apartment for the last 3 1/2 years (since we’ve been married). But, it seems like it may be time to make the plunge, especially since the big tax credit thing is happening now… please be praying for us.
-Also, be praying that God would lead us. We now live in Central, Candice works in Easley (30min north of Central), and I work in Seneca (30min south of Central) and Toccoa (1hr5min south of Central). It would be great to work closer to each other and closer to our jobs. Candice’s job (teacher) is pretty tight right now and schools aren’t doing much hiring… but what would be AMAZING is to move to Seneca/Westminster and for her to find a job around there. That way we could be a few minutes from work, a few minutes from each other during the day, and actually PLUGGED IN TO OUR CHURCH AND COMMUNITY. It’s a big jump, but if Candice can find a job, we’d make the move in a heartbeat!
-I just got finished doing bills for the month and I’m amazed how God has blessed us. Candice just took a pay cut and I’m only part time… but, He has given us a few extra dollars a month so we can bless people, and I LOVE IT!
-One of my favorite things to do is pour into people… emotionally, spiritually, AND FINANCIALLY!
-Tithing 10% to your local church is a mandate given by the Word of God. Just thought I’d say that.
-Offerings are anything over and above your tithe that you give to the local church or use to bless others. Just thought I’d say that.
-Jesus said that we should give all we’ve got. Just thought I’d say that.
-I’m about to crash… it’s been a long day.
-Our power bill was $45 higher than it was last month. Wow. Was your’s higher this month?
-I’m so grateful to be where I am right now in life. I’m 25, and BLESSED BEYOND BELIEF! Beautiful wife, wonderful daughter, supportive family, amazing church family, and SO MUCH MORE! I’m humbled when I think about how big God is, and how He takes care of His kids.
-You’re a child of God. How’s He taking care of you?
-I’m gonna crash. Goodnight!

Wow… it’s 2009.

-Good day today at Foothills Toccoa. It’s a great church that meets in a gym and loves Jesus. I hope to be back there SOON.
-Got to lead with a guy I knew back in the days of working in the music store. He has since turned his life around and is SOLD OUT for Jesus. It was a joy.
-Set list from this morning:
:Sing Sing Sing – Tomlin
:Freedom Song – Desperation Band
:All We Need – Hall
:God of This City – Tomlin
-Got to play acoustic for the first time in about 6 months. LOVED IT! The Tacoma sounds as good as ever (even after getting the headstock broken off last year).
-I’m excited about lunch with a couple of the pastors from Foothills on Tuesday. Good things are happening!
-We had dinner with friends tonight. They love us and we love them dearly. I value them SO MUCH and am glad they’re in our lives.
-We had so much fun with them tonight, we’re doing it again tomorrow night! Except this time we’re gonna throw some Scrabble in the mix… yeah!
-I’m pumped about getting to my friend Jeff next week. I’m flying up there Wednesday and staying through the next Monday. Gonna “Secret Shopper” his church on Sunday morning and brainstorm ideas on how to take it to the next level.
-Haha, I know it seems like I’m excited about a lot this week, but I am.
-I’m excited about getting to play with Eric at Foothills Seneca this coming week. He’s great leader with such an original style and enthusiasm. Good man of God.
-So, obviously, we’re back from our trip. 2 weeks from home, and I have to say, I enjoyed being able to sleep in my own bed last night!

That’s enough for tonight. But I do have confession… a bunch of you have been asking about the Weight Loss Journey. Well, the answer is, I suck. I have gained weight and lost motivation. BUT I’M GONNA PRESS THROUGH. Confessions and new pics and weight to come TOMORROW.
Check it out and leave me some encouragement or some butt-kicking advice… I need both.

Night!

So, today was a very good day. The early service at Foothills was great and it was baptism service, so it was a blast. Here’s my day:

-Like I said, the early service at Foothills was rocking. They had both worship leaders, Eric and David, in one service which was cool. They usually split up duties between the 1st and 2nd services and their new Toccoa Campus. It was interesting having them both on stage at once. They’re both great musicians and leaders who I have the priveledge of calling my friends.

-They had some technical difficulties, but all in all they pulled it off.

-Baptism service was a bit different. They had extended worship, a sermonette (still 35min! haha), and then worship while they took the people getting baptized to their youth auditorium. While the last few songs were played, the people getting baptized were on the screens via closed circuit TV. Pretty cool idea.

-We were joined this morning by a couple friends from college. Scott and Catherine are people we’ve always clicked with, and we’ve been hanging with them more and more since they’ve moved back to SC.

-Speaking of Scott & Cat, we’ve been over to their house a couple times to play a game called Settlers of Catan. It’s kind of like Risk, but not as big, I don’t think. I thought I would hate it, but now I think about it in my sleep.

-After church, we came home and decorated the Christmas tree while drinking my famous apple cider. Candice did most of the work, and I let her because she’s so dang good at it. I’m sitting here looking at it and it’s one of the best looking trees I’ve ever seen.

-After the tree happened, we all three took a nice Sunday nap, and now I’m watching the Steelers get waxed by the Cowboys. Boo.

-In other news, I’m pretty surprised about how the NFL has turned out this year. Underdogs pulling it out, teams picked to win just rolling over during the 2nd half. It makes it a bit interesting, I like. It also helps my odds, as I’m an avid gambler and have made a fortune on the NFL and dog races.

-Kidding about the gambling, by the way. It’s ok mom, don’t call.

-I looked up last night and the clock said 4:00am, and that was it. I was up. It wasn’t like one of those, “I could go back to sleep if I tried, ” feelings… I was up. So I came in the living room to check my e-mail, and had an inbox full of notes from a friend on a book he just read. He sends me these notes and we discuss them back and forth using GoogleDocs. Fun times.

-Speaking of that, I’m really excited about the next 18mo of my life. It’s gonna be tough, and maybe a little slower than I’d hope… but it’s all good. Details coming.

I’m gonna go have some dinner before it’s too late. Remember to check out my Weight Loss Journey page and look for updates every week. Just click on the link and then pick the week you’d like to see. I’m including pictures, weight, and how it’s going. It’s just the first week, so I’m still very fat, but I can already see progress. Thanks, also, for those who have commented and e-mailed with your own stories and encouragement… it means the world to me.

Alright… dinner and football, here I come. Have a wonderful evening!