Great Quotes from the 15th Century

I read a wonderful quote from a German monk who lived in the 1400's today:

"God often gives in one brief moment that which He has for a long time denied."

-Thomas a Kempis

Hmmm. Ain't that the truth? The first thing I thought about when I read that quote was how God gave me a son, made me a daddy, after years and years of pleading Him for just that. I wish I could say I spent those 15 years of wanting to be a daddy holding onto faith...trusting in God. But instead, I spent them bitter. I spent them angry at my Creator. I spent them refusing to get too close to Him, out of spite.

And then...in one brief moment...God gave. God answered. Regardless of the way I treated Him, He gave me the gift I longed for...for so many years. Man, we have a loving, forgiving God!

Kempis had a couple of other great quotes:

"Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be,

since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be."

and

"If thou bear the cross cheerfully, it will bear thee."

Guess he decided to go all King James English on us for that last one...but I love it! Isn't it amazing that, over 500 years ago, someone had figured out all this stuff...yet here we are, with amazing technology, science, thought processes, and we are still learning these lessons?

While I Was In Church...

I was in church this Sunday morning, listening as my pastor taught a wonderful lesson from the book of Matthew. It was a typical church service...like many other Sundays. We worshipped, chatted with friends, learned a powerful lesson from the Word of God and went home to make some lunch. But while I was sitting comfortably in my church in Colorado Springs, Colorado...over 200 members of another church, in Knoxville, TN, were running for their lives. Witnesses say a 58-year old man burst into the church, yelled some profane things...and started shooting. Two people were killed, as of last report, but several more were in critical condition. One of those killed was a brave 60-year old man who stood in front of the shooter to shield others from being hurt. Eventually, members of the congregation tackled the man and were able to hold him until police arrived. My. What a world we live in. Please pray for the members of that church. News reports say the shooting took place as children were peforming a program for the service. Think about how traumatic that must've been for those children. Please pray that they will be able to erase those sounds and images from their precious little minds. Please pray for the families of those injured, killed and shaken up.

Morgan Meets Chipmunk

I'm at a conference in Chicago...so my wife took Morgan to the zoo today. There, he came face to face with a little chipmunk. I can't begin to tell you how much I wish I had been there with him. Thankfully, Jen videotaped it, so I could see. Here's the video clip. It's only :16 long:

Final Mixes!!!!

While you were gathering with friends and family around the grill yesterday for the 4th of July, I locked myself in the recording studio for 12 straight hours...and finished mixing the new album, So Human!

Mike Manthei, the engineer, was gracious enough to give up his Independence Day celebrations too, so we could get this crucial stage of the album done.

That means all the songs are mixed...ready for mastering! We're getting close! We've got another couple of weeks to go...for mastering, etc. And the graphic design for the album isn't finished yet. So, it's conceivable we could have everything done by the end of July (though that's pushing it. Most likely mid-August.)

But you don't have to wait til August to hear some of the songs.

Listen now!

See the music player just to the right there? I put some of the new mixes there. You can hear the final mixes for:

So Human
My Cross
I'll Drive Yesterday
Open Up the Darkness
Come With Water

Thats just 5 of the 13 songs that will be on the album. Enjoy!

Hancock! On IMAX!

So, being the superhero fan that I am, I couldn't wait to see Hancock. The idea of an everyman who becomes a reluctant superhero sounded really appealing. And...as an added bonus...it's showing on IMAX.

So...the very first day tickets became available...I bought two of 'em online for the 8:05 showing--opening night, Wednesday, July 2nd. We scheduled a babysitter...even had her come early, so we could beat the crowds. I've been thinking about this movie all week!

The sitter shows up at 6:45. The theatre is only five minutes away, so after chit-chat and stuff, we make it to the theatre by 7:00...an hour early. We make our way to the IMAX doors, fully expecting a line. There isn't one. No one is there. Hmmm...interesting. So we walk right ino the theatre. It's already dark. The trailers have already started...and almost every seat is taken.

What the?... It's only 7:05. The movie isn't supposed to start for another hour. What's going on?

So, assuming I misread something, I go back to the ticket guy and ask him to see the tickets I printed out at home. Sure enough. They say:

Hancock

8:05pm

July 2, 2008

IMAX

"Ummm...I'm here for the 8:05 showing. How is it that the movie is starting now...at 7:00?"

"Oh. I think we changed the time." the ticket-taker says.

"You what!!!???" Man, I was ticked. How can they change the time AFTER I've already bought tickets? My wife and I were able to find seats...they weren't great...but we at least got to see the movie.

Now...was it all worth it? You bet! I loved this movie! Now...the storyline takes some twists that I absolutely DID NOT EXPECT (which can be a good thing--and in this case, it was) but this is a good movie. I definitely want to see it again. Will Smith is great. Jason Bateman does a really good job...and Charlize Theron does too. An all-around good flick.

One warning for parents: There's quite a bit of foul language in the movie (which is somewhat surprising for a Will Smith movie) so you might wanna think about that before taking little ones.

A New Way of Writing

I wish I could say I've been doing a lot of writing lately. I haven't. (Which is pretty obvious from my lack of regular posts here) But I want to write more...I really do. To make things even more frustrating, I've actually been coming up with more ideas to write about, than actually writing them. I have ideas for five books, three devotionals and a couple of video concepts. I just can't seem to sit down and find the time to flesh them out and put 'em down on paper--er, computer. But I have had time to do one thing: Make up songs for my little boy. Even before he was born, Morgan had some songs written for him. The first was simple. I would lean into my wife's belly and sing:

Morgan...beautiful boy. Morgan...it's your daddy!

Then, once he was born, I wrote this for him:

You're such a beautiful boy, baby Morgan.

Oh such a beautiful boy, baby Morgan.

And daddy loves you, yes he loves you

Oh he's always gonna love you

baby Morgan...baby Morgan.

And then I'd repeat it and change "daddy" with "mommy" and "he" with "she."

This past week, I wrote a new song for my little boy. I was rocking him to sleep at bedtime...when I came up with this lullabye:

Good night...baby

Good night...son

It's been a long day of playing,

but now the day is done.

Good night, sweet boy

Good night to you.

Lay your head down and close your eyes

May all your dreams come true.

So, it isn't exactly the type of "writing" that I normally do...but I'm having a blast doing it!