For The Love Of The Game

Okay, I guess I'll be dropping a name or two in this post. (please excuse me.) Some friends of mine have just released an album that you can get in iTunes (here) or at any place you can buy music. Rob Beckley and Noah Henson go to the Tulsa campus of Lifechurch.tv and are active in lifegroups. Their band Pillar is a well established Christian rock band and are worth a listen if you've never tried em out.

Here are some points if you need convincing:

• Great music for working out / running / Nascar racing / shootfighting
  
• The guitars produce a WALL OF SOUND that might make pieces of your face melt off
  
• Arguably one of the best drummers in their industry...watch out Carter!
• Noah has cool hair....a white dude with Marley-esque dreds
• Who doesn't love a bass player named after Superman?
• Rob is the real deal. Inspiring guy who truly loves to serve his friends and church
• Because I said so....sorry that's the new parent in me trying it out on you!

So, go check out their new album. Good stuff...

Ages and Ages

Hello blogging world! My name is Derrick. Yes, I am back. It has been a while since we last shared a moment together. We've been sick a lot here at the Henslee Home. Ezra has a nasty cough and Rachel just got over her cold from last week. It seems like at any given time, one of us has something making us sick!

I've been spending time fixing up the green room at the church. I'm making a second office in a corner of it for myself. I'm doing this as a result of catching myself in too many open-office discussions about things that really aren't that critical and wondering where all my time went. So, I'm trying to distance myself from the "crowd" at work so that I can focus. I've never been tested, but my wife is sure I have some form of A.D.D. They've actually got a website about A.D.D here which is remarkable considering that people with ADD usually have a difficult time getting anything accomplished...hmm, maybe there's not much to the website past the initial page.

Anyway, there's lots of exciting things coming up. See you soon!

A Whole Year? Really?

Today is Ezra's first birthday. Man, a lot has changed this year! Ezra has entertained us, marveled us, and at times even annoyed us (I know..right?) The most significant thing that he has done though has made me realize just how much God loves us. Every night Rachel and I put Ezra to bed at 8pm. We put him in his crib, put his favorite blanket over him, place a hand on him, and one of us prays for him. It is usually in this moment that I realize just how much responsibility God has given us. That He trusts us to raise this person as HE sees fit.

The fact that Ezra is God's child and that we've been given the responsibility to raise him hits like a freight train. That thought alone gives us such pleasure when we see him develop. Some of the things that he has done this year are...well, it'd be better in picture form. Enjoy!

Medicine Head!

I think it's the moisture change / temperature change that's been going on that has given me the funk. At any rate...this picture sums up how I feel. Normally I steer away from medicine because it makes me feel all disconnected and jittery. But today my boss Chris convinced me that MucinexD would do the trick. But, I'm still blowing the nose with Puffs Plus w/ Vicks Vapor Rub (thanks Aaron.) Oh, and I feel all disconnected and jittery. *cue camera and trombone and call me Debbie Downer.

First Word Ever!

Ezra has been babbling since he was about 6 months or so...maybe sooner. So, we weren't sure as to what his first word would be. I often wondered about parents (before I had a kid) who didn't really know what their kid's first word was. I was like, "how can you not know when your kid says a word?" Yeah, now I'm eating those words! But Ezra, his first word is officially...DAD! Now, he's been saying, "momamamomaomamaomaommaoo" for a while...don't know if that's an official "mom" or not, but he most certainly will say, "dad!" Just thought you'd want to know....cool huh!

What's Been Canceled?

I realize that my posts are somewhat sporadic. The past couple of weeks have been busy for poor Derrick. (Sorry, I don't normally speak in the third.) Last weekend I finished my jet-set life and started my journey home. That's where it hit the fan.

We were trying to leave DFW on a private charter but due to fog, our pilots couldn't get to us. So we waited, thinking any moment they would arrive and we could make our way to Irvine, CA. Finally, after a few hours, we were off....sort of. Due to a strong headwind we weren't moving as fast as planned. When we arrived in Irvine, I was already late for my return flight home to Tulsa. So, I got a flight to Dallas arriving at 12:00am. Chris, my campus pastor didn't want me to drive all night for fear that I'd run off the road. (I fall asleep at the wheel easy..btw.)

Premier got me a hotel room, and at 5:30am the next day I arrived at DFW to get my 6:50 flight to Tulsa....which was canceled. Whoops...I was supposed to lead worship...good thing Stephen Cole was prepared. The Tulsa campus experienced worship live via satellite and I continued to book another flight...hoping to lead worship. The band was ready, but then my flight was canceled again. Okay, not going to make the 10 o'clock experience.

Then my next flight was delayed every hour, on the hour. Not going to make the 11:30 experience. It seemed that at any moment the fog would lift and we'd be on our way. So, finally we board the plane at 3pm. Around 3:45 the pilot comes on and says that the airline canceled our flight but that he had gotten it re-instated. WHAT? THEY CANCELED THE FLIGHT WE WERE SITTING ON? THE NERVE! So, we left, made it into Tulsa at 4:50pm. I completely missed church.

All of this because of fog. I mean, snow...no problem. Rain...it's okay. Fog.....everything collapses. I guess it was important to see the runway...you know, to stay on it and everything. Okay, now I've told my story....don't feel sorry for me. Well, you can if you want. Moral of the story...hindsight is 20/20, when your flight cancels don't assume the next one will work out....just go rent a freakin car!

I Promised!

My trip last week was pretty cool. I got to sing for around 6,000 people and will be doing it all over again this week. It was good to re-connect with friends that I don't get to see that often. Each place I went to I was able to hang out with friends that I've made while helping out at the National Rallies in Ft. Worth.

We sang three songs. One was a Gaither song ( I know...I can hear your chuckling.) One was from a 90's contemporary Christian band 4Him, and the last one was from Donald Lawrence and the Tri-city singers. Now, being at Lifechurch.tv, this is not what I'm used to doing...so it was a stretch for me! The Donald Lawrence song was somewhat of a fit...seeing that I'm part Black Dutch.

Anyway, I had a really cool time flying around on a private jet with the founders of Premier Designs. Here are some pictures..enjoy!

A Private Jet You Say?

My wife is involved in a company called Premier Designs. She sells this brand's jewelry in ladies' homes across NE Oklahoma. She has been doing this for almost 9 years and loves it! Each year the company has a national rally in Dallas. Usually I go there for a week to learn a bunch of music and perform for the crowd with an ensemble. *Before you snicker, this gets us free room, board, and admission to the event!

In January the company has regional rallies across the U.S. The founders of the company asked for a quartet and I was called upon to assist! The cool thing is that I will be traveling to Orlando tomorrow and then hopping on the founder's private jet to go with them to the other sites! HOLY FREAKIN COW!!! Andy and Joan Horner are two of the nicest, most giving, godly people I have ever met...so traveling with them on their private jet is a little bit of a mind blower! I'll blog a little bit about my travels as the weekend unfolds but I really wanted to highlight what a honor it is to get to spend time with the Horners.

Andy and Joan started the Horner-Premier Foundation in 1992 to help protect the company's philosophy, purpose, and plan. A major part of that plan was to finance missionaries around the world. So, now that the Horners are no longer the President of the company, they spend a lot of time traveling to other countries and visiting the people that Premier funds. I will enjoy picking their brains about what God is doing and what they're excited about.

Okay, this was my inspiring post. From now on, just selfish pictures of me on a private jet and basking in "the life" that I will never live! Look out Creflo!

Time For A New Goal

Last year if you would have told me that I would be a runner I would have laughed at you. Although my physique doesn't conjure up images of Jesse Owens or any other athlete besides a rodeo clown...I have seen huge improvements in my energy, stamina, and weight.

So far, I have run a 5K race and a 13.1 mile half-marathon. I went from running a consistent 11-12 minute mile, to a 10 minute mile average. During the 5K I ran a 9.5 minute average! It was rather quick for me! Now I'm off to my next challenge....a full marathon. Yep...it's out there. I said it. I am planning on running the Okc Memorial Marathon in April. This is a full loop 26.2 miles of pure torture! My goal is to do this in 4 hours....

The coolest thing about running for me, is the mind game that goes on while you're running. Your body keeps telling you to stop, that you need to take a break, but you know that you can run as much as you're running. You have to push past the pain and focus on the end goal. If you give in to the "slow down" mental game you'll postpone your goal and it will keep you from getting faster.

I've learned to use those cues to pray and ask God to help me through the pain. I'm reminded of scripture that I quote while I'm in pain...

So there is my new goal. Check in on me and see how the training is going... Do you guys have any goals this year that seem overwhelming?

Why So Sick?

Last Thursday I picked up some sort of runny nose, itchy throat, coughing, sickness thing. I hate being sick. Even though I had the detached medicine head thing going on...I had to plow on through for the weekend. We have 6 experiences (services, for the non Lifechurch goer) that go from 5pm on Saturday night through 6pm on Sunday night.

I really think it was my praying...bags of plain lays...my drummer Matthias' nasty Honey-Lemon-Ginseng-Green Tea....lots of water, and my friend Kyle Panter's concoction called "Throat-Coat" that helped me through the weekend! We had over 1,400 people at the Tulsa campus this weekend. It was the first weekend for the 2nd Tulsa campus (South Tulsa) which is located in Bixby. They had over 750 people attending today!

It was overall a great weekend. Hopefully the sick thing will go away soon...I gotta get back to running in the mornings...I NEED it!