Today, me and the crew (otherwise known as the TWB) will head to First Baptist Church, Lake Jackson to lead worship for their Disciple Now weekend.

Posted an update over on Facebook and had planned to put it here, too, but who likes media saturation, right?

I feel pretty confident we'll be able to do some sort of streaming broadcast Friday and Saturday night. (You never know, though...just ask @justinromack.) If not, we'll still try to shoot some video and post it when we can grab some internet.

Playing events like this is a blast - I love multiple day gigs. Playing a one night thing is always so hard...hard to connect with the crowd...lots of pressure to be super awesome very quickly in a short amount of time. Those events have their place, they're just really hard to do.

Events like this DNOW are great because not only do I get three full sets to lead the students, I also get to hang out with the guys for three days. This weekend's lineup looks to be pretty interesting. Here's who I'm taking.

• Justin Romack. While it's true that Forrest Layton is the senior member of TWB, Romack is an undoubtable second. (However, if you're judging frequency of gigs, Romack has a serious leg up on Forrest. Just saying.) I don't need to spend much time on Romack. He's awesome. He's an amazing musician, but also one of the most humble amazing musicians I've ever met.
  
  
• Adam Fischer. I get excited everytime I can bring Adam in for a gig. Yeah, Adam's gonna' learn his stuff, but you can guarantee that at numerous points during the week something unplanned and stunning will coming from his amp. I won't even try to make a comparison here, but let's say it like this - think of a really creative electric guitar player.
  Yeah. Adam's JUST like that guy.
  
  
• Philip Melton. I've done a couple of things with Philip, but this will be my first road gig with him. Philip plays guitar, bass, piano and drums. He sings. He writes songs. His hair is the color of a lovely golden sunset. Should be fun having him with us.
  
  
• Austin Hodges. I've never played with Austin. But here's what I know. He plays guitar great. And he's got big muscles. So, when we show up, people will think he's my bodyguard at first. I'm also terrified that I've screwed up and somehow combined his name with someone else and I'll keep referring to him with the wrong name. Which would be awkward.

That's the crew. Wish I could be more eloquent, but I'm busy packing up, trying to use Handbrake to rip some live U2 stuff down to mp3 for the drive down and kissing my family goodbye.

Stay tuned the blog for either broadcasting or a recap video.

Or both.

Who knows?

Todd Blog is party, kids.

On Biking...

As Kristen and the kids and I drove home to Lufkin on Saturday, we quickly realized that we were traveling the route of the infamous "Pineywoods Purgatory" bike race.

This is a huge bike race the originates in Lufkin and sends brave souls pedaling all over East Texas. Growing up in Lufkin, I've always been aware of the race, but not too familiar with the specifics.

After sharing the road with them, I have a few observations...
Observation #1. Why the heck are they allowed to drive in my lane?
Seriously...I thought bike riders were supposed to ride on the shoulder. Not on this trip, I guess. This was especially fun when I was driving on a two-lane road and kept veering into oncoming traffic simply to avoid striking one of the riders. Anybody know if this is common? Or are these riders supposed to stay on the shoulder and not share lanes with automobiles?
Observation #2. I have no idea where to buy biking clothes.
I'm not saying that all of these riders were from Lufkin, but I do know that many Lufkinites participate in the Pineywoods Purgatory. And I also know that there probably aren't many places to buy tight little shirts and shorts. I mean...how do you go about buying gear like this? Does a dude ride his back in normal t-shirt/shorts for awhile before getting all bike-geared up or are you supposed to get the outfit ready first thing?
Observation #3. I like seeing a chunky brother out there doing his thing.
If there was any upside to riding alongside these folks, it would have to be the frequency with which I saw "husky" gentlemen on this hellish ride. I'll be honest - that warms my heart. As a large man myself, I like to see big men living life to the full. I also lots of ambulances on the road. (These two things may be related...)

So...if you're a biker, help me out. Why do you drive in my lane? Where do you buy clothes? How many fat men have strokes during massive biking marathons?

YOU THINK I'M PLAYING...

Vespa S
$4200
72 miles per gallon...

Kristen...I hope you're reading this.

TRAVEL GAME!

In our countless hours of driving on the Six Flags trip, the Wrights came up with two very fun Travel Games.

Now, these games certainly are more converstaion-starters that just plain games, but both of them can be played over and over, forcing folks to get more and more creative each time!

As best as I can tell, these are games invented by the Wrights, so should you ever play either of them, it would be appropriate to say a short prayer thanking God for awesome we are. Just sayin'.

1. The Phone Would Ring...
This one was really fun. Here's how it works:
-A family member is picked. (Kristen, for example.)
-Then each member takes turns saying this to person: "My wish for you is this - the phone would ring..." At that point the family member makes up some wild, cool dream for the person. Jonah said to Krist, "My wish for you is that the phone would ring, and it would be Target. And they would would say, we have five thousand, one hundred dollars for you. Come spend it at Target."
-This is a great way to find out much you know about your family members and what their dreams are. It certainly doesn't have to be materialistic, but it's fun to hear whatever everybody considers as a "dream come true" for you.

2. Thankful Game (yet untitled)
In this game, everybody takes a turn naming two things they are thankful for. Here are the conditions:
-The first reason has to be big - some giant, amazing gift of God that you're thankful for. This could range from the health of the family to protection in a disaster to gratitude for God's mercy. You know, the BIG stuff!
-The second reason has to be small. You have to talk about something very small and seemingly insignificant that you're still grateful for. These are things you could live without...but you're glad you don't have to! For example, one of my big things might be that God called me to ministry and one of my small ones might be my iPod. Get it?
-I'm thinking of naming this Big Thanks, Little Thanks.

So, why don't we give it a shot?

Let's play the thankful game. In the comment box, share your Big Thanks, Little Thanks with the rest of us! (It's been awhile since we hit the 10+ comments, why not comment, then invite other folks from your blog to join in? Let's hear it? What are you thankful for?

Six Flags Recap: Homeschool Family Day

For those of you who don't know, the family and I headed off to Six Flags Arlington on Thursday.

We actually drove to Sanger on Wednesday to see The Conns. Robert was kind enough to let me lead worship and preach a little at his youth service on Wednesday night, which was fun.

Then, on Thursday, Kristen, Jonah, Finley and I drove to Arlington for a very special "Homeschool Family Day" at the park. Since we're really not planning any big vacation this summer, we decided to take a few days and enjoy ourselves without spending too much money. Kristen found the homeschool thing online last week, so we bought our tickets and got up there as quick as we could.

Now, the interesting thing (and the reason for this post) is the questions folks have asked us about our day at Six Flags. Since this was a themed day, the park was open only for homeschoolers, which ended up being very nice - relatively low numbers, everyone was very kind, and we just felt safer hauling our kids around the park when it was filled with homeschool families. But the question we've been getting has been something like:

"So, how was the crowd?"

I understand this question, because I went into this thing fully expecting to be surrounded by people who made their own clothes and managed a large farming commune. So the people who knew we were going have wanted to know just who exactly shows up to Homeschool Family Day? Here's the breakdown..

THE DADS
I'd say there were three types of Dads at the park. I will list them from most popular to least.

1. Golf Shirt Dad
These dads tended to show up in really nice SUVs. Most of them were dressed very "corporate" or even "business casual." These dads also seemed to have larger families (4+ children.) Most of them didn't smile too much, but that could be a product of having to pay for 6 people all day in a theme park.
2. Christian Radio Dad
The second most popular Dad at the park was "Christian Radio Dad." That may seem like a weird description, but they seemed like dudes I know and go to church with who are pretty cool, relatively hip on culture stuff, but still fully embracing their Christian Dad status. I don't know why I'm using Christian radio to describe them. I guess the guys I know personally tend to be big supporters of radio that's safe and fun for the whole family. These guys smiled a lot.
3. Bearded Dad
I expected to see more beards, but they were there in limited quantity. These dads had the hardcore farm look working. They seemed to enjoy the park a lot, but I also saw a lot of them walking around by themselves. Most of them were very large and/or strong.
4. Puff Paint Dad
Puff Paint Dad was there in limited supply. These are the guys most likely to wear shirts with words written in "puff paint." I saw one canary yellow shirt puff-painted with DAD / PRINCIPLE OF WALKER SCHOOL / LOVE YA, DAD! The very few of this quantity seemed to very sweaty, which seemed to prove that they were really busy playing with their kids.

I was really impressed with the number of Dads there. As I get older, I gain more and more respect for those guys who are willing to leave behind their attempts to be cool and embrace their calling to love and educate and parent their children. I respect everyone of these Dads.

THE MOMS
Nothing really surprised me about the moms. I saw a few denim jumpers, but for the most part, the women looked like any other mom. There were quite a few hip moms and one who looked like a bodybuilder. Wasn't expecting THAT.

THE KIDS
I was surprised at how many emo homeschoolers there are. Saw lots of girl pants (not being worn by girls,) lots of jet black hair and hoodies. (Hoodies...in May...in Texas!) I saw a few really well-dressed kids with tucked in shirts or elaborate ensembles. I was also surprised how few "little kids" I saw. The crowd seemed to be a 12 and over bunch.

OTHER SURPRISES
1. One funny shirt that said something like: WARNING, UNSOCIALIZED HOMESCHOOLER; STUDENT WILL BE UNABLE TO MAINTAIN NORMAL SOCIAL CONVERSATION. Thought that was funny. Saw three of these.

2. I'm not near as brave as I used to be. Some of those rides scared me to death.

3. I'm also surprised how mad it makes me to pay $4 for a drink. But a guy needs his Diet Coke, right?
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Jonah had an absolute blast. My next post will tell you more about him and how much fun he and I had together at the park. It was definitely an experience I will not forget.

This is what happens when Todd drives in Dallas.

Update...w/ links galore!

In Maryland now, checking emails and such on Jason's computer. Ross and the band are downstairs running some stuff. Right now, I'm hearing "Just As I Am." I think it's an Integrity song...I like it...sounds different, you know, kinda' old. Kinda' fun to hear Ross, Michael and Ben playing with an electric guitar in the mix. Alex, an old bandmate of Ross, lives somewhere near and is sitting in on electric.

Last night, we all attended LifePoint's Saturday night service and then down to the student ministry "Underground" to eat and hear a rap artist named Victorious. After that, we headed to O'Liordan's, an Irish pub that was very cool - with uncomfortable chairs.

I've taken a few pictures and will throw them on the site as soon as I can. I'm staying at Lance and Amy's house and got a really nice sleep last night. Kinda' weird not actually playing music on this trip...but I'm looking forward to the rare privilege of sitting under worship under Ross and his friends!