My Own Little Adam

My son, Morgan, is 15 months old now...and his personality is developing quickly. He's an absolute sweetheart. He loves to cuddle with the dog and cat...and his stuffed animals. When he sees Lucy, our dog, he'll say "Soosie!" (He's still working on the "L" sound.) and hug her while saying "oooooohhhh!" What can I say? He's just a cuddler. (And that just breaks my heart! :-P)

But lest you think my son is nothing but sweet...he knows how to throw a temper tantrum too. And lately, he's developed a bit of a defiant streak. For example:

He loves to play in the back yard. We have a really large back yard...plenty of room for him to run, etc. In fact, he loves to pretend he's "mowing" the yard.
And since daddy won't turn on the mower while Morgan is pushing it, (mean, mean daddy), Morgan has to make the mower sounds himself. But that's kinda fun too.

But there's one section of the yard that I'd rather he stay out of: the far back corner. There's a bit of a steep slope there, some rocks, small drainage pipes...and a wall made of railroad ties that aren't as stable as I'd like them to be. So I've made it very clear to him that he's supposed to stay away from that part of the yard. "

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying,

"Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;

but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil

you shall not eat..."

So...we go outside...and he walks around in the grass...plays with the rocks for awhile. Then, he gets that defiant look. It's almost a devilish grin. He looks right at me, the corner of his mouth turns up...his bright blue eyes light up...and he turns and high-tails it for the far corner of the yard. "Morgan! Where are you going?"

Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to

him, "Where are you?"

Little stinker! Who says we're not born with a sin nature?

Something We Can All Do

I know times are hard right now. Gas prices are up. Grocery prices are up. But trust me, as much as we're feeling the pinch, it's nothing compared to the hurt millions are feeling around the world. Please watch this quick video message from the Dr. Wess Stafford, President and CEO of Compassion International...and take part in the fight to keep millions from starving in the midst of this global food crisis. There's something we can all do.

Thank You!

Thanks to those of you who prayed for my health over the weekend. Somehow, I was able to pull off the gig on Saturday night. It must've been the prayer, cuz during the gig, I felt fine...but as soon as I walked off stage, the nausea came back. I tried to eat a salad for dinner, but couldn't finish...my stomach was just too queasy. I've managed to keep a few things down over the past 24 hours. But I haven't had a meal since Thursday night. Thanks again for the prayers.

Sick

Hi gang... Well, I had to cancel my gig last night because I've been hugging the porcelain for the past 24 hours. Around 5am on Friday, I woke up, feeling sick...and it was downhill from there. Never fails, everytime I use a vacation day, I end up staying in bed sick! Ugh! Thankfully, I'm feeling a little better today. I was able to eat some toast...and a little bit of soup. I'm going to actually try to do our gig tonight at SpiritFest. Please pray for a little supernatural healing. Thanks!

Two Gigs

Hi friends! I have two gigs this weekend. I'd love to see you at any one of 'em. On Friday night, June 13th, I'll be playing/singing with the worship team at Lighthouse Christian Fellowship in Monument. It's a neat little church with about 60 people in attendance. Good people. Great teaching. Service begins at 7:00pm. There's a time of fellowship and snacks afterwards too! On Saturday, June 14th, I'll be playing at SpiritFest on the Riverwalk in Pueblo. It's an all-day Christian festival that takes place all along the riverwalk. There are several stages that will host musical artists from around southern Colorado. I'll be performing on the main stage in the amphitheatre at 6:00pm. We'll be performing some original tunes from my upcoming album, So Human, as well as tunes by Hoobastank, Lifehouse, Collective Soul and Daughtry. Admission is free. After we go on, Christian artist Jaci Velasquez will be performing on the same stage. Come check it out! Hope to see you this weekend!

Pray for Chris

Hi gang! I have a friend named Shannon Steele. Her brother is in need of some serious prayer. It's a bit complicated, but basically it all started with a problem with his wisdom tooth. The pain got worse and eventually, led to some sort of infection. Now, Chris is in ICU in California, under heavy sedation, breathing with the help of a ventilator. He's got a feeding tube to keep him nourished, two open incisions on the side of his neck to allow fluid to drain. Needless to say, he's in serious need of prayer. So is his family. As you can imagine, it's very hard to see your loved one suffer the way Chris is. Would you please pray for Chris Ballard to fully recover from this problem? Please pray for the infections to go away. For the swelling to go down. Please pray that doctors would be able to control the fluid buildup around his heart. Pray that the antibiotics would work. And pray for Chris' family as they struggle through this with him. If you want to keep updated, you can find the latest information here on Shannon's blog. Thank you!