We’ve been testing live streaming video on Sunday mornings at Pine Ridge Church, and today we made a big step in the right direction. It’s not quite exactly where we want it to be yet, but we’re getting closer.

Web TV provided by Ustream

Tomorrow starts a new tradition at our house: The Fun Jar. Here’s how it works:

1. At the beginning of each month I’ll put 30 $1 bills (one for each day of the month) in the jar on top of our refrigerator.
2. The fun begins with giving the first 10% back to God, the real filler of the fun jar.
3. Throughout the month we’ll remove $1 from the fun jar whenever someone leaves a light on in a room, leaves a door open when they go outside, or uses the bathroom without flushing (why these? because they’re common, they’re specific, and they’re measurable without interpretation).
4. Whatever’s left over at the end of the month is fun money. We can use it to go out to eat, go bowling or to play Putt-Putt, go see a movie, or save it up for a bigger fun thing later.
5. Repeat each month.

I think it’s going to be a lot of fun and a great learning experience (for us as well as the kids!). My predictions:

1. The girls will most often get dinged for leaving their bedroom light on when they come downstairs.
2. Cameron will most often get dinged for not flushing.
3. Cameron will get indignant and loud when the girls leave their light on but will make excuses when he doesn’t flush the toilet.
4. The girls will want instant gratification at the end of the month, but Cameron will want to save it (he’s already saying he wants to save it to buy a Nintendo Wii). Making those decisions should be a good learning experience.
5. Estimated money left at the end of June: $7. Looks like we’ll be getting that Wii in June 2011.

I’m picking up the gauntlet which Los has thrown down. The Ragamuffintop Challenge (what’s a muffintop, you ask? here’s the definition and an example).

My current weight is 196. Here are my goals:

1. Work out at least 3 days per week.
2. Consume no more than 1 sugary thing per day on workout days and no sugary things on non-workout days.
3. Reduce my waist measurement to 36″.

The rules of the challenge state I must post an update each week. So here’s my report for this week, pre-muffintop challenge:

1. I worked out 0 days this week.
2. I’m sure I consumed at least 1 sugary thing each day. Today I had 3 sugary things (a McDonald’s sundae in the afternoon and a sweet tea & refill with dinner). Um, make that 4 because I licked the beater after Gretchen made cake frosting tonight.
3. My waist measurement is 40.5″.

If You’re Happy and You Know It from Brian Baute on Vimeo.

It’s been a creative weekend.

I completely redesigned this site with a new WordPress theme & layout, new graphics, etc. (let me know what you think & how I can make it better).

I designed the logo for the next teaching series at Pine Ridge, called Inked.

And, I created the intro video for Inked. I got the bulk of the video from elsewhere but wanted it to end differently than the original, so I removed the last 10 seconds of that video, added a dissolve to the new logo, and added new music (the original Billy Idol “Dancing with Myself” instead of the remake that L.A. Ink uses. Here it is:

Inked Teaching Series - begins 6.1.08 from Pine Ridge Church on Vimeo.

This week is Hot Sex Week at DeadlyViper.org.  Deadly Viper is somewhat of an offshoot of XXXChurch.com and is the brainchild of Mike Foster.  Mike is a super guy who’s dedicating Deadly Viper this week to talking about gay fantasies & homoeroticism, sex toys, the sexless life, and masturbation.  Check it out, and also check out Mike’s excellent Junky Car Club (I’m getting ready to sign up for my membership).

How would you describe the gospel in exactly 140 characters? Post it on Twitter, and leave a link to your Tweet in the comments below.

Here’s my entry in exactly 140 characters:

The world, once whole, then broken. Jesus came, suffered, died, lives. Yahweh’s creation restored. Spirit alive in us, in spite of us. Life!

Hat tip to @copyblogger for the 140 character writing contest concept.

Other entries:

Mark Mofield: Was happy with taking the bad with the good. Jesus showed me the good could be great and the bad could be gone forever.

Paul: Christianity is not about what you do, but what God has already done.

David Wilcox: God’s perfect. We’re not. God punished Jesus, the perfect Man, in our place, on the cross. Believe this, turn from sin, and live forever.

Scott Ammons: God made man. Man made mistakes. God still had a plan to fix us all, revealed over time. His son Jesus died for all, even you and me. Sweet.

David Rudd: Aligning with Jesus means giving up my life for his, and accepting his death for mine. God’s pleasure with Jesus is transferred to me.

Jeremy: Being saved is not about what happens when we die, but what begins when we realize God always loves us and wants us to transform the world.

Atom: Wages of sin, death. Gift of God, Jesus. Say Jesus I give you my life, Forgive Me! I’m Saved. I’m Going To Heaven I have Jesus in my heart.

Glory Beam: “Loving God, loving each other” because He first loved us, & gave His only Son to die for us. Go & walk like the child of God that you are!

Gus Kroustalis: Since we didn’t listen when God told us how to live, He sent His only Son to show us. Jesus lived for us to see, then died so we could live.

Dan Covington: Eden was perfect.Man blew it.God sent Jesus.Perfect.God killed him.On purpose.For you.And for me.Google changes lives?Try “the Romans Road”.

Big Mike Lewis: God loves me. Jesus died for me. I can have hope in the resurrection.

Update: Added to Creative Chaos for 5/29.