If I Were Famous . . .

Okay, for all of you who are sitting on the edge of your seats, waiting for my autograph...Well, this isn't my autograph, but it's pretty close. Here are a few pictures from the studio. Enjoy!

Me and My Band...Hey, that sounds like a song...


Hey, if you're gonna sing into a microphone that costs more than all your worldly posessions combined, you might as well do it with a little...um, flare.



"Famous" me driving away in the car after my very first recording session. It wasn't quite a limo, but I got TWO chauffeurs!


Thanks again for all of your prayers and encouragement as we finished this project. I've never enjoyed music more. The label for the CD is being designed at this moment; should be finished soon. I look forward to sharing this with all of you.

To God be the glory.

The Love of a Child

Children amaze me. In a world of frightful doubts and grim unknowns, we see them looking up to Heaven with wide, trusting eyes that whisper, “I believe.” How much we would change if we could but learn to mirror their untainted giggles and simple, adoring smiles. And when it comes to love, children are unmatched. They give generously, fearlessly, boundlessly, with a richness purer than gold and a power that armies could never take away.

Not so long ago, I was at a point in my life where I had to uproot myself from one much-loved location to move to another. In this process, I found myself positively drenched with gifts beyond all my expectations. I would like to share the story of one of those gifts.

There is a little boy, not yet a teenager, who went to a jewelry store and began meticulously studying every hand-crafted piece therein. But when at last he had seen the last of the wares, he had to shake his head sadly and tell the waiting jewelry-maker, “No, it is not here.” Understanding this, the craftsman took the boy to the back of the store to show him one last piece. It was a special piece, newly made, delicately molded; a silver bracelet with a charming double twist to its smile. Immediately, the boy nodded. Yes! This was the one.

The ornament was happily purchased, paid for out of the boy’s own savings. Not long after, I found myself the speechless recipient of this priceless treasure. It was bundled up with a card adorned by a stunning painting of a horse, which is my favorite animal in all the world; the faithfully-written note inside showed evidence of tears. But the dear child did not stop even there.

As many of you know, I have been given the opportunity to record a song I have written. When this child learned of the upcoming recording, he instantly wrote me an email, the last part of which ran thus: “When is your birthday? I want to send you a gift on that day. I also need to know your address. You are very special to me. Do you still like your bracelet? I would like you to wear it on Saturday as you record your song so you know I am with you.”

Wow . . . With such a love, mountains indeed can be moved. Stone will turn to water, darkness will become daylight . . . and broken eagles will learn to fly again. This is the kind of love Jesus pours out so freely on us. Love that is perfectly sincere, faithfully selfless, and ready at a moment’s notice to again declare itself in honest-to-goodness truth. Love like the ocean: a stunning tapestry of living blues and greens on its surface - but, oh glorious more! - with unsounded depths waiting to be discovered underneath.

I lost no time in writing back to this child, this one who has displayed to me the same kind of love I see so clearly in my Savior, to tell him . . . yes, of course, I will wear the bracelet he gave me on Saturday . . . because I never take it off.

So, I Was Driving Home When . . .

I have to warn you. What you are about to read has absolutely no educational value. It may not exactly kill brain cells, but it’s definitely not going to enlighten any of them either. What follows is complete, rather silly, hopefully . . . um, interesting randomness.

So, I was in my car the other day. Driving home from work. Four-lane highway. Speed limit 65 mph. Which is what I was doing. But then this car passes me on the left, slows down, drives along right next to me. I give them a .2-second glance, and, hey! - it’s my friends, and they’re saying hi!

Sure.

So, I smile big and wave right back. Hm. That was nice. My friends’ car pulls forward, and I’m stuck for a second wondering where they got such a funny-looking car. Oh, well. They switch over to my lane and speed along their way, not knowing that they totally made my day by waving at me. But then their brake lights go on, and they pull over to the side of the road. Oh, how sweet, now my friends want to say hi. So, I pull over too, still waving happily and grinning from ear to ear.

Then the driver’s side door opens, and this spiky-haired dude pokes his head out, and - oh, goodness! - I’ve never seen him before in my life. Every cliche in the book about eyes being big as saucers, mouth hanging open, being knocked over speechless, and all the rest were true of me at that moment. You have no idea how disconcerting it is to see the face of a complete stranger when you're expecting a good friend. But the story’s about to get even better.

So, Spike looks back at me and shouts, “Hey! My buddy wants to know if you’ll go out with him.”

Huh?

Between a sudden unmanageable torrent of incredulous giggles, I manage to shout back a not very stern, “No!”

Spike then proceeds to ask me if I’d like to go out with him instead.

Negative. Finding it rather hard to breathe at this point.

So, this guy, shooting me a baffled look that reads something like “Shoot, why not?” mixed with “What in the world is wrong with you?”, disappointedly gets back in his car and drives away. Fast.

I was still laughing half an hour later. Got inspired that afternoon though. Had this amazingly pointless song with a bit of a country twang pop into my head. Starts off like this: “Driving down the highway, doing ‘bout 65.” Maybe it’ll be a hit someday. :-)

The Greatest Gift

So, I was sitting there in a dark living room sometime a little too close to midnight, listening to a song that was only made because there is a God. Most of you know the story, and if you don’t, I’d love to share it with you. The verses of the song talk about the lavishness of the Almighty to give up Heaven’s Prince for us, and the last chorus goes like this: “In awe of His glory, we shout alleluia/ In the Holy of holies, we fall on our knees/ In the arms of our Father, we will sing/ This is the greatest gift of all.” Strange how you can hear truth a hundred times, and yet on that hundred-and-first time, you’ll suddenly be struck breathless all over again. It was the last line that did it this time. “This is the greatest gift of all.” I’ve received a few gifts in my lifetime. A five-pound bar of pure, happy (healthy) chocolate. A little chestnut Arab who is stubborn and rude beyond reason and just happens to be the dearest horse in all the world. Deep red roses from my dad on Valentine’s Day. A drooping dandelion held proudly up in the hands of a child. Nine emails read all on the same day from friends saying they were praying for me and my band as we recorded our song. Even chocolate-covered pickles. Gifts that blow my mind and leave me grinning from ear to ear. Gifts both wonderfully extravagant and astonishingly simple. Gifts of love.

But this song wasn’t talking about any of those gifts. This song said the greatest gift . . . the deepest, the sweetest, the dearest, the loveliest, the very best. The gift of a Man dying when I should have died . . . the gift of a face spit on when I should have been humiliated . . . the gift of a body broken when I should have been destroyed . . . the gift of a heart that was big enough and willing to swallow the horrible ending meant for me and so gain the right of rewriting the way the story ends. I John 3:16 is a simple verse with a great truth. It reads, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.”

That is the greatest gift of all. For those of you who haven’t yet heard the song, I look forward to sharing it with you. Prepare to be blown away - not by any talent or musical abilities, but by the passion of the truth. The love of Jesus is a wind that sings forever . . . wings that conquer every storm . . . raw sunlight to erase any darkness. It is altogether indescribable . . . and - this is the best part - it was poured out in a downright flood just for me! Just for you. Let Him sweep you off your feet.