Laminin

Back in February 2007 I went to a Chris Tomlin & Matt Redman concert, and Louie Giglio gave a talk about the expansiveness of the universe (video clip). The climax of his talk came when he revealed a picture of Laminin. Laminin is a protein in our body that literally holds our skin, organs, and everything else in our body, in place. It is described as rebar of the human body—it holds us all together.

In the last 12 months more people have come to my site as a result of searching for Laminin than by any other term. Actually if you add up the results of the next ten searches you’d get the total for that one word search. It’s kinda bananas.

I always love listening to Louie speak, and the visuals he had of the universe were amazing, but I remember distinctly asking my buddy on the drive home about the idea of Laminin being the stuff that holds us all together shaped as a cross. While I enjoy the coincidence of it, thinking that God designed it that way on purpose leads me to believe that he expected man to fall at the very start, making the cross necessary. Did he know all along? Did he alter our chemistry after the fact? Was it just a coincidence that made for a nice visual?

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. —Colossians 1:15-17

Do you have any search engine terms that rise above the rest?

Filed under: Chris Tomlin, Faith, God, Hope, Jesus, Laminin, Louie Giglio, Matt Redman, Redemption, Science, Sin, Universe

Austin in June

Two trips to Austin and the same result both times.

I could so move there.

A proper post about the weekend would be much too long for my standards, so here’s a quick synopsis of things seen and done in Austin over the weekend.

• Friday lunch at Z’ Tejas. Portions are huge, and the guacamole is top-notch!

• Friday Dinner at Blue Star Cafe. Fun atmosphere. Tasted all the appetizers and I approve.

• Walked around downtown and enjoyed the sights of the ROT Rally. Now that’s a LOT of bikes!

• Stopped into The Ginger Man on 4th street. Their backyard court was really cool. The consensus is that their Woodchuck Pear Cider is worth the trip itself.

• Stayed at the Renaissance. Shared a room with dad, two uncles and Brandon. It was exactly what it sounds like it might be like.

• Saturday breakfast at Rudy’s BBQ. Nothing like having a BBQ breakfast burrito with a Dr. Pepper.

• Made a quick run over to Mozart’s for some mid-morning coffee. Very nice place on the river.

• Stopped at Güero’s Taco Bar while cruising Congress Street. Turns out it was the bar used in Grindhouse. Their green salsa is awesome!

• Went to a wedding at the Vista on Seward Hill. Best venue I’ve ever been to for a wedding.

• Realized late on Saturday night that Chris Tomlin’s church, Austin Stone Community Church, is located in Austin. I don’t know why I didn’t think about that before.

• Discovered that The Onion isn’t merely an online publication. How cool is that?

Filed under: Austin, Chris Tomlin, Dr. Pepper, Friends & Family, Grindhouse, Guacamole, Restaurants, Texas, The Onion

Good Stuff Overload

I’m really not sure I’ve ever had a better weekend. Here are a few of the highlights…

• Watched E.T. with the family. Tanner loved it.

• Went to lunch at Red Robin with Tonia’s family for her birthday.

• Hung out in Ann Arbor and Brighton with Tonia and Tanner for a few hours and laughed quite a bit.

• Went to dinner at Carino’s with my family for Tonia’s birthday.

• Went to church at Northridge.

• Went to chuch at NewSong, and hugged on some close friends.

• Drove to Fort Wayne with Tonia, Tanner, Jessica, Dan, Tyler and Justin for the Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Louie Giglio worship service.

• Went to Sonic Drive-In and ate well.

Probably the coolest thing I learned was science related. In addition to being reminded by Louie just how HUGE the universe is, we also learned about Laminin. Laminin is a protein in our body that literally holds our skin, organs, and everything else in our body, in place. It was described as the rebar of the human body—it holds us all together. Sound interesting?

Click here for a picture of Laminin

**UPDATE**
Here is video of Louie’s talk

Filed under: Carinos, Chris Tomlin, E.T., Red Robin, Science, Sonic Drive-In, Worship

Spiritual Steroid Shot

February is shaping up to be a huge spiritual steroid shot for me. In just a few weeks I’m going to be exposed some some serious edification. To start with, our men’s group is going to be diving into the Wild At Heart Field Manual on February 6. I read Wild At Heart on my own a couple years ago and it was pretty inspiring. To be able to plow through this material with a bunch of other men will be awesome.

Up next is the Change Without Compromise conference at Northridge Church on February 8-10. I was blessed to be chosen as one of a few people from NewSong to attend this conference and I am really looking forward to it. Northridge is a great example of what God can do through the church if it steps out in faith. The conference also includes a little concert with Nichole Nordeman and Aaron Shust.

Speaking of Northridge, I have not been to a better concert / worship service than the Indescribable Tour with Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman and Louie Giglio at Northridge last year. That is why I am so excited to be traveling to Fort Wayne to see the same trio for the How Great Is Our God Tour with Tonia and a few close friends on February 25.

Couple that with a few new books I’m reading, the New Testament study I’m beginning, the family I have, and the church that surrounds me, I’d say February 2007 will, in retrospect, be the beginning of something great for the Mud Puppy.

Filed under: Aaron Shust, Chris Tomlin, Concerts, Conferences, Louie Giglio, Matt Redman, Nichole Nordeman, Northridge, Passion, Spiritual, Wild At Heart

Giving Opportunity

World Vision is offering us another opportunity to give. They will send you the new See The Morning CD by Chris Tomlin FREE with any donation of $20 or more. And thanks to nearly $13 million in donated food and grants, your gift today will multiply 8 times in impact! That means a gift of $20 will provide $160 worth of life-saving food to children and families in need.

It doesn’t get much easier to give than that. Simply click on this link and choose your donation amount.

Filed under: Africa, Chris Tomlin, Giving, Music, World Vision