Hope Restored in Sheboygan

The first show of the tour is often the most difficult, but while last night had it's share of challenges, it proved to be the best first show our little band ever had. We fell out of the bus, bleary eyed, and walked into the theatre to see the above view. Breathtaking.

We stayed at Blue Harbor Resort for the afternoon which is right on the water, the weather was perfect, the waves crashed into the jetty with the lighthouse, cooling me on my little run. (Got some new running shoes: about time) I skipped lunch and practiced my 'appeal', as they call it in the business, for oneverse.org. I'm the guy who goes out after an incredible video and tells people how they can be a part of bringing the Word of God to people who have NEVER HEARD it. So I strolled the beach and spoke to the seagulls. That's not me in the picture. I took the picture. That guy's 70.

We're using video that plays along with our songs, and therefore use a metronome in our in-ear monitor mixes (a click) to keep us synced up with the video...beside the fact that the click disappeared for about 5 seconds then came back on (if you were there, that's the moment when all four of us started turning around...to see if we were still in sync with the lyrics) and my guitar didn't get tuned for the last song, everything went without a hitch. God was glorified and His Word was spread, not only in Sheboygan, but also to the Ndamba people of East Africa.

Tour Rehearsal Day 1

Pretty excited about this tour. Had a great day of rehearsal, albeit a little bit trying with the video. Technical stuff is way over my head for one reason...it drains me emotionally. So when I spend time trying to troubleshoot why the computer isn't doing what I want it to do...I get frustrated and need a nap. So, I'm very thankful for the people that God has put around me to figure out those things, so I can focus on other things.

The band sounds great as always: Duffy, Josh and Nate. I got to hang out with the boys from Big Daddy Weave and Andy Kirk and kinda get to know the guys we're going to spend the next 3 months of our lives with. Close to 50 shows! OneVerse is sponsoring the tour and they are doing magnificent work around the world providing the Word of God to people who have never heard it! I'll get to talk about them every night and give people an opportunity to be a part.

Oh yeah, and we'll play some big daddy music lifting up our King! So come on out!

Swirly Lines

I was cutting the grass last week at my home in beautiful Western Pennsylvania where I try very hard to keep beautifully parallel lines in the grass, alternating direction so that the grass is pushed North then South, creating the light-dark-light-dark pattern. While it may not look as magnificent as PNC park, I'm proud of my work.

Then I bought my boys a toy lawn mower. I had one when I was a kid and loved helping my Dad cut our grass. I told Daniel about the plan. "Straight lines. Up and back. Follow my lead." Of course, he's all over the place. Having. A. Blast. Helping his Daddy!

And I let him. I look behind me and my perfect plan for my yard has swirly lines all over it. But I let my kids help. I don't need their help, their lawnmower doesn't even have a blade. But I love that they love to help me. It warms my heart in a way that sitting down at the end of the day and marveling at the job I did all by myself Never will.

And it made me think about how God has called us to do His work. To be His hands and feet. Something He could do a lot better by Himself. It made me wonder if He smiles when he sees us try, despite our shortcomings, because He loves us with our shortcomings.