Peter Gowesky – Page 14

In Uncategorized

Interesting Posts

October 5, 2010 No Comments

Here are a couple interesting posts that I have come across this past week that I thought you might like.

1. Barry Schwartz, The Paradox of Choice: This is one of the top ten Ted talks and I think if you watch it you will understand why. Schwartz says that the more choices we have the harder it is to make them. He says that choice does not make us freer, but actually has made us paralyzed. It is a bit long I know, but it is 20 minutes well worth watching!

2. 5 Marketing Lessons from Mr. Rogers: How many of us grew up watching Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. Probably tons of us. The guys over at Fast Company blog put this post together and it is quite interesting. Even if your not into marketing it says a lot about the kind of man that Mr. Rogers was. This is a good read.

3. Mario Piano Music: Okay along with Mr. Rogers how many of us grew up with Super Mario Brothers? The sound effects and music have become timeless. So there is this guy who has figured it all out and scored the whole soundtrack. Wow is all I have to say! You can preview all of his tracks and download sheet music too. This is cool stuff.

~Peter

In Faith in Real Life

Signs of Fall

October 4, 2010 2 Comments

Here are a few reasons why I know that fall is upon us!

I have been up in the attic rooting for boxes of ‘seasonal’ clothing…
We’ve added a second blanket on our bed! (I LOVE IT! Welcome back!)
I am anxious to get our wood stove going.
I see fallen trees and I salivate.
The rake came out of the garage this weekend…
I planted some spring bulbs
My thermometer is reading 47 in the morning!
I’m looking forward to my first glass of Apple Cider.

And the most significant of all?

Dean turned the heat on in our offices!

I love summer, but I love fall too. I’m looking forward to all of the things that fall brings!

What about you? How do you know it is fall?

~Peter

In Uncategorized

The Worship Spectrum

October 2, 2010 No Comments

Music is a funny thing. Last night I found myself listening to Pavoratti, Josh Groban and various other classical types. Then this morning I jumped in the car and listened to Fee. Right now as I write I’m listening to Damien Rice. There is a massive spectrum of music that my moods will guide me through. I turn to different music at different times.

In the world of worship we encounter the same sort of thing. We see many different flavors of worship presented to the world around us. At times it feels to me like the style of worship rather than the quality or attitude is the most necessary credential when looking for a church home. The spectrum of worship is so diverse! The question is have we pushed it to far?

In Genesis 3:5 we see Moses in the presence of God and this is what God requires of him, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” Moses was in the presence of God and he needed to prepare himself to be in that position. He was instructed to remove his filthy sandals.

Do you think that it is the spectrum of musical styles that would be problematic for God or the ways in which we approach him through those styles.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

~Peter

In Faith in Real Life

Community

October 1, 2010 1 Comment

Community is defined as a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals. The definition goes on to describe a sense of ownership and desire. Have you ever felt apart of community? Have you ever experienced community in such a rich way that you were better off because of it?

Community has become a central and vital role in my life. I am apart of many different communities.

I have my closest community of the most important woman out there and two children. We experience life together in the most common ways. My Family.
I have my close friends. We laugh with one another, enjoy meals together, bring our families together, speak truth into one another’s life.
I have my community group. This is the group of people from FBC that gather bi-weekly to talk, laugh, encourage one another, pray together, learn, and build one another up.
I have recently become a part of a scholastic community of men every week for seminary.
I have my neighbors. Those people who live directly around me. It has been a great joy in the life of our family to get to know them and be known by them.
I have a growing group of students. I lead and pastor the youth ministry here at FBC, I am gratefully submerged into the community of junior high and high school students.
I am apart of a growing community of people online; here on this blog, on Facebook and Twitter. Even if it’s only 140 characters at a clip, community can be found there.
I am apart of the local church body here at FBC. My family and I fit under the umbrella of those who are inside the Christian faith.
Ultimately I am apart of the community of Christ and the Church worldwide.

Community runs through just about every aspect of my life. It molds me, shapes me, and makes me who I am today. I can’t avoid this. How has community affected you? What communities are you in? Did I miss any?

~Peter

In Uncategorized

Swatch Watch

September 30, 2010 No Comments

Google turned 11 on Monday. That’s crazy. I remember when google stock went through the roof! I remember the internet explosion. Now google has gone from a noun to a verb. So it made me think. I remember when I was a kid having a swatch watch, and it was a big deal. It’s funny though as times change and the world grows up certain things fade away; Chat rooms, Pay phones, Netscape, Floppy Disks, 411 and many other things. With cell phones being in the pockets of most breathing human beings, do you still wear a watch or has it just become redundant and obsolete? The last time you asked what time it was did the other person pull out their cell phone or did they did they check their wrist?

SO, Let’s see…

[polldaddy poll=3830939]

And what other things have become redundantly obsolete, or have just disappeared over time?

~Peter

***Update: The results are in (although you can still take the poll if you haven’t already) it is as I thought, a bunch of you don’t wear watches at all. Some of you don’t even own one! Almost as many of you that own a watch only wear it as a fashion accessory.

Redundancy is a funny thing. I wonder what will come out next that makes something that seems so normal to us today seem so redundant then!

In Uncategorized

Plan B

September 29, 2010 No Comments

I am certainly behind the eight ball on this one. I have neglected to share with you about an awesome resource and a very powerful book that has recently come out. This is none other than the book by Pastor/Author Pete Wilson. If you or a friend are going through difficult painful times I would highly recommend you purchase this book for yourself or as a gift. Even if everything is going great, I would recommend that you get a copy of this book and read it! There is a ton of great stuff in this book to think about.

In this book Pete gets to the heart of some of the deepest most painful situations that life can throw at you. He is pointing anyone who is going through difficulties to “the God who keeps his promises. The God who is with us every moment and is in the process of working all things for good.” Pete promises no answers for these difficulties yet offers some great thoughts to think about while in those difficulties.

Pete writes, “I’ve wanted to usher people down a path of sudden and painless spiritual transformation when in truth there is no such path.”

I highly recommend this book. Check it out.

What are you reading that I must? Have you read this yet?

~Peter

In Family & Parenting

Step on the gas

September 28, 2010 1 Comment

It feels to me like time is stuck on cruise control. And the pedal was jammed against the floor when it was set! This past Saturday was Noah’s 5th birthday. I feel like it could have been 3 or 4 weeks ago when we first brought him home from the hospital. As we left the hospital both Tiffany and I were waiting for them to say, “No, you are way to young to drive this baby home.” I was halfway tempted to make a T-shirt that said I’m older than you think!

5 years ago this little kid came into our lives and made a beautiful mess out of me! I am so thankful for him and the ways that he challenges me to be a better husband, father and man. It is crazy how much you learn about yourself when you get married. It’s even crazier how much you learn about yourself once you have children!

I am looking forward to the next 5 years! It’s gonna be awesome!

This video feels like yesterday!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS-fus3moLM]

~Peter

In Uncategorized

This disturbs me

September 27, 2010 No Comments

Yesterday has come and gone. Sunday’s clock has ticked it away into a memory. We are onto Monday, which will shortly be over too.

Yesterday people gathered in their churches and gatherings in order to hear instruction from the Bible, to fellowship, to serve, and to worship God. Some would say they even came for the coffee and donuts… Some don’t even know why they came.

Many of our worship gatherings were well thought out and planned by worship pastors and leaders. They are well rehearsed and neatly packaged sections of our Sunday.

Here’s the deal though. I think we all can agree that the singing portion of our morning isn’t the only part of worship. If not check out Romans 12:1-2 and then let’s talk. So my question is why do you worship? How do you define worship? Is it something that you do because a guy behind a guitar started singing?

Have you fallen into the worship trap? The concept of ‘I’ll worship You when You pull through.’ I’ll give you my love, attention, sacrifice, and my life when I can see that you give a rip about me. Well what about when it seems like God doesn’t give a rip about you. Do you stop worshipping God?

This disturbs me: Exodus 4:31, “So the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord was concerned about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, then they bowed low and worshiped.”

See that? It was quick. It was one word, THEN. Only after seeing that God gave a rip for them did they THEN worship Him! This is unfortunately a trap that has not become outdated, extinct or uncommon. Even though the Exodus of the Israelites was thousands of years before this moment, the concepts in this verse are no less familiar to me.

When is your worship the sweetest?

When is it the most intense?

When is it the most regular?

I wonder if we are really honest with ourselves how often do we put that one word, THEN, in our worship. I’d like to call a vote to eliminate the word THEN from our worship vocabulary.

~Peter

In Faith in Real Life

I guess you really did it this time

September 26, 2010 No Comments

I love music. I enjoy making music, listening to music, and finding new music. I happened to catch a portion of MTV’s Video Music Awards two weeks ago (the VMA’s). I have been on the fence about a particular artist until recently. I’m talking about none other than Taylor Swift. It sealed the deal for me when several weeks ago now she included one of my favorite pastors, Pete Wilson and his family in her most recent video. Check that story out here.

I happened to be watching during Taylor Swift’s performance. It was unreal. She did an incredible job. The message she was sending was huge! Since MTV has taken all of the video’s down from youtube all I have is the audio from her performance. Listen to this song.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF0x2_mXjM4]

Regardless of you know what happened in 2009 during the VMA’s or not(Kanye West!), this song still speaks profoundly.

Some of us feel like Taylor is singing about our lives. Maybe you’ve lost your balance on a tightrope. Maybe you’ve blown your relationships with everyone around you. Maybe you’ve cursed your family out and left them behind without a care. Maybe you’ve gotten yourself chemically dependent on some thing or another. Perhaps you’ve given parts your sexuality away to people it was never intended for. Guilt can set in and just about wreck a person and cause them to feel worthless and alone.

Jesus knows about this and took care of this problem. See the reality is that every single one of us has ‘blown it and left ourselves in the warpath.’ We’ve all ‘lost our balance on the tightrope’ of life. Jesus died on a cross, was buried as every other dead man is, and unlike every other dead man He rose from the dead!(1 Corinthians 15:1-4) Because of that one action you and I have a hand back up on the tight rope. We have been picked up out of the warpath and placed in safety. Forgiveness is here for you. Hope is here for you. Restoration is here for you. True life is here for you.

I watched as a young woman in the spotlight demonstrated forgiveness on national television. I listened to a musical narrative that made me immediately think of the one who is in the business of forgiveness; Jesus Christ.

~Peter

In Uncategorized

We Win

September 24, 2010 No Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7aKaq5sHNw&feature=related]

It’s no secret, I am a huge fan of the DC*Band. I think he writes some of the best worship music out there. I love this song! Everytime I hear this song it reminds me of this verse… Matthew 16:18, “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hell will not overpower it.”

Throughout the Bible we see illustrations and hear/read stories of what is going to happen at the end of the story. There are times when I wonder what the outcome of a particular event or decision is going to be. The truth is we already know what the grand scale outcome is going to be. Here at FBC Doylestown we have been going through the book of Revelation on Sunday mornings in our worship gathering. I can tell you that in the end, we win!

I got this song stuck in my head, and I thought you should too.

~Peter