The Kind of Posting You Know and Love

Woke up at 7:30, which is a little late. Krist and Jonah were crashed on the couch, so I snuck in and woke them gently.

Work was busy, but not that bad. I had my weekly planning meeting w/ Mike (my associate pastor,) so I stopped by Burger King on the way to the church. I had it my way.

Our meeting was good. I am constantly impressed with Mike's humility. I'm also very excited at the things he's getting done. In one week, we've ordered the MediaShout Update, got cleared for a brand new computer up in the soundroom, plus we're getting an Avid Pro (video something) and Avid Mojo (another video something.) The only problem with meetings like today's is that I leave really overwhelmed. There's not enough time for me to serve this church the way I want to!

After work, swung by Brookshire Brothers for a couple of frozen pizzas. I don't know if I've mentioned it, but Kristen is pregnant, and as of late, she has been really sensitive around food. Listen, you don't have to tell me twice to get pizza. Frozen, homemade, restaurant - I don't care. I love it.

So we all ate pizza at the house, then I showered and went to worship rehearsal. It was pretty good. Kathy, our pianist, was out, but it went okay. We're doing Ross King's Who May Ascend. I did it in G, which ended up being WAY too low for me, but it gave me the chance to let my guy singers carry the song. We also brought back Offering, which we haven't done in awhile. It took a couple of tries, but we got it.

The band wanted to run the set again around 9, so we did. Into the second song, the cell phone rings. Kristen's calling to tell me that my mom is taking my dad to the ER with serious pain around his waist. I call my mom, find out what's up then pass the phone to Mark. He listens, says it's probably kidney stones. I shut the practice down, check back in with Kristen. I came home for a minute (Mom seemed to think everything was okay.) While I'm home, Forrest called.

I'm so proud of him. He's doing it - chasing his dream. We talked a little bit about songwriting, which got me real fired up about the next demo set I want to send his way. I hung up and drove over to the hospital. My grandparents and I sat in the waiting room a bit, then I went back to see Dad. He was severely medicated. I kissed him on the head and talked to my mom a bit.

Came home, hung out with Kristen, put her to bed, then checked the blogs. I was planning on walking on the treadmill, then finishing 2nd acoustic tracks for My Savior and then I wanted to lay down some stuff for a couple of new songs...Your Someone, Wash The Dishes, and Home Tonight. I knew that stuff needed to be done, but I wasn't looking forward to another hour or two being awake. Then, thankfully I realized my guitar was at the church! So, tomorrow night, I'll try to finish up. I seriously need a better, more consistent recording/writing schedule.

I've decided to adopt a new criteria when it comes to selecting songs to send off. I've decided to send songs that worked even in their first acoustic stages. Songs that moved me as I played them alone back in the spare room tend to stand above other things I've pieced together at work or in the car. In short, I think the things that I've stumbled upon have worked better than the things I've thought up. Certainly, writing requires a great deal of thinking and editing, but if I stick to the ones that were powerful even in their most humble stages, I think I'll have a better chance at seeing them utilized. I still plan on doing the "band" versions of My Savior and My Lips Will Sing. These two and The Cross of Christ (which is already done,) are ones that I'm planning to pass to my contacts within the Methodist church. Their very simple demos, but worship demos just come alive with a little creative arranging and instrumentation.