So.....we're being sued

Well, sort of. Our neighbor, whose daughter was nicked by Sebastian, filed a claim to get money for medical bills (or at least we're assuming that's the purpose). I really don't want to say too much here b/c she's hired one of those sleazy tv lawyers ("The Heavy Hitter" as he's known in his ads), and I don't want his people searching the internet and finding me saying anything I shouldn't (like that he's sleazy).

But the funny thing about this is that we've offered on several occasions to pay for the medical bills and she's said it's no big deal. Here's the funny part: if she does get money from this, once lawyer fees, court fees, and taxes are taken out, she'll get less money than if she'd let us pay the bill (since we're really not worth that much).

So please be praying about this. It's definitely been a lot of stress and drama. But we've got God on our side, so whatever happens will be for his glory--and his enemies will be judged justly.

Watch this. It'll make you laugh

not exactly an update

You can't really post an update if you've never posted anything to begin with. So, I guess this is a start, and maybe I can update it later at some point. I really just wanted to comment on what kTb posted a couple days ago.

I did record five (5) tracks in the studio, but only four (4) of them made it on the album. One of them didn't turn out exactly as Andy had hoped, so a guy from Northland got to re-track it. Ouch, right? Just step all over my pride.

No big deal, though. Andy called and told me about it after someone else got onto him for doing it. Plus, I got to rib him at the Listening Party the other night. He stood on my left, my lovely wife on the right. Rachel commented that the album sounded great, and Andy replied, "Yeah, I'm REALLY happy with the way it all turned out." I chimed in: "Yeah, especially THIS one." (It was the song they re-tracked the drums on.) He shot me one of those looks that says, "I'm assuming that was a joke, but maybe it wasn't, and I'm hoping you'll say something that lets me know you're really not mad." So I grinned and told him I was kidding.

Gracefully played.

$$$

Last night we hung out with the Lonely Heroes' management company. They took us to a nightclub downtown to a VIP balcony. Here is the drink list. Several bottles were ordered. It was not only ridiculous, but kind of surreal. Totally not my scene, but it did feel like I was in a movie.

those bastards

For those of you who remember my idea about an evolving story from multiple ideas, here it is.

Only one million monkeys times better.

quick update.

the summit album is done. trey tracked the drums for 5 of the songs i think. i made it on 2 or 3. sounds pretty awesome. gets mastered this week and duplicated next.

tonight, supposedly, I'm going to meet the guy who is financing the other band project, the lonely heroes, starring jason gaskin. he's interested in dropping some cash so we can record, etc. supposedly he's got a limo rented for us and we're going out for a night on the town. should be interesting. i think i've only been in a limo once.

as for raising support, I'm about 150% done on paper, but I still am waiting for two more checks to come in before I'm allowed to start. They've been pledged and were supposed to start a month ago, but they won't let me set foot in the office until I have those in hand. In the meantime I'm trying to meet with other individuals, cause the combination of these two checks is over $600 and if they don't come in for another couple months, then I will have to re-raise all of that money before I can start. So, like I've said for the last 6 months. I'm close, but still not there. And literally, it could be any day. So if you can, pray for that.

and that's all for now.

what to do....

Here's a link to a blog with an interesting viewpoint on making life decisions:

http://www.rabbitroom.com/?p=638

Oh My!

Mega Church: The Game

http://echurch.cf.huffingtonpost.com/

Statues in the woods

When Jesus took the disciples to Gethsemane and then took the three further along with him, he became very troubled and "filled with sorrow to the point of death." He told the disciples to keep watch while he went ahead to pray. What did they do? They fell asleep. Yeah, they'd had a long week. All that walking to Jerusalem, getting ready for their Passover feast, the feast filling their bellies. They were wore out and needed a nap. But after just being told that the man you've been following for three years is about to die so that prophecy can be fulfilled because he's the Savior of all mankind, you'd think they could stay awake a little longer.

Just like these three, we get tired too. We get tired of life, and find ourselves sleepwalking through our days. We find ourselves wandering through the darkness of this world searching for Jesus, when all this time he's been right there in the Garden, in agony praying for mercy. For himself and for this world.

For my Spiritual Disciplines class we're required to spend 4 hours in silence and solitude. I decided to head down to the Abbey of Gethsemane where Thomas Merton spent most of his life as a monk. They have a couple thousand acres of land with woods and trails all over them. It's only an hour away and I had heard a lot about it from professors, so I wanted to experience it's peacefulness for myself.

I got there early in the morning and decided to climb a rather large hill at the entrance that had chairs at the top. From here I could see for a couple miles in all directions. I watched the sun light up the landscape and shimmer in the dew as it rose across the plains. It was one of the mosts serene pictures I've ever experienced. After about an hour I came down and entered their visitors center to get directions to the trails. I ended up meeting the head monk who has been there since the forties!

I must confess, I did have some ulterior motives for going there. Andrew Peterson has a song titled "The Silence of God." One of the verses says:

There's a statue of Jesus on a monastery knoll,
In the hills of Kentucky, all quiet and cold.
And He's kneeling in the garden, as silent as a Stone,
All His friends are sleeping and He's weeping all alone.
And the man of all sorrows, he never forgot,
What sorrow is carried by the hearts that he bought.

I once heard him talk about this statue and the impact it had on his life. So I wanted to experience it for myself. But as I started approaching the hill where "the statues" (as they refer to them) are, I started to wonder if I had built this up too much and was going to be let down. But as I entered the wooded knoll, I came upon a large metal statue of the three disciples stretched out sleeping. And as I turned the corner, there was a large statue of Jesus on his knees, hands over his face, looking up to God in agony. I really can't describe it here, but I had to sit down on a nearby stone to fully take it all in. To actually see what it must have looked like, with the three thirty feet away carelessly sleeping, while Jesus, in his humanity, is crying out to God to take this away if at all possible.

It was a humbling experience and I probably could have sat there all day, but the business of life would not allow it. So I reluctantly left and followed another path back to the monastery.

Hi GuYs

Miss you.