Good morning all! What a random weather weekend we had here in St. Louis! We don’t know how Spring is going to enter, but we know that Winter has been acting rather schizophrenic all season long. Oh well, we are wrapping up our sermon series on Collision Course. This month has been pretty jammed packed. We started a couple new things with the Pastors Chat and our family lunch this afternoon. There has been a lot of new music along with a huge Black History Celebration last week. We are about to springboard right into March! Here’s what we are singing today to wrap up this month.

Mighty to Save-Opener

If God Be For Me

You Are Good

Forever Reign

How Great Is Our God-Sending Song

Should be a good day here at The Word at Shaw. Join us if you don’t already have somewhere to go. Before I wrap this up, I want to say happy day of birth to Adelyn Maelie Susan Smith. She was born this morning at 2:39! She’s simply beautiful and I hope to get to see her today after church. Congrats Brittany and Smitty! Love you guys!

It is SOOOO hard to make time to spend with people just connecting and talking about life. I have always felt like I should be making time for this, especially since the second bullet point in my tagline is Enrich Your Community. Lately I have been working on ways to do that consistently. With that being said, last night was truly awesome for me.

We were supposed to be having our regular men’s Bible Study when, for a plethora of reasons, everyone sort of canceled. When it was all said and done, I ended up at Pho Grand in South St. Louis City having chicken wings with my friend Mark Patterson. We had a great time catching up, sharing prayer requests, talking life. I realized just how important it is as worshipers to spend time off the stage and face to face with people. I woke up refreshed this morning because I was able to be real and have real one on one time. So, even though you may not see this, thanks Mark for sharing life with me. I probably needed it more than you. Love you bro.

As I’m writing this, I’m almost ashamed at the fact that I used that as a title. However, I think it’s worth stating because that statement is at the heart of who I am. I have always loved music. I grew up in a Motown family so I have people like Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Michael Jackson and others in my list of favorites. I love voices that don’t make sense which is why I love people like Luther Vandross and Whitney Houston. My love for instrumental music and voices different than my own bring me to a love of people like Chicago, Earth Wind and Fire and Hall and Oates. I love lyrics and classics so I love The Beatles. I grew up in an interesting time and so the mix in my brain is so intense that includes the likes of Kirk Franklin, Israel Houghton, Common, Mos Def, John Mayer, Audrey Assad, Hillsong, DeBarge, Anita Baker, Paramore, Sting, The Spinners and the list goes on and on and on…

I also have developed a love for music that isn’t quite as widely known, but still simply amazing. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again that one of my favorite groups today happens to be from St. Louis called the Fundamental Elements. I was also introduced to a group called Paper Route that I had never heard of before that rocked my socks at a concert. I’ve broadened my musical horizons in church hearing songs like Different from a group called Acceptance. I’m always learning more about music every day and hearing some of the best lyrics ever just by doing a little digging.

One of the things that I’ve come to realize is that music brings people together more than anything I’ve ever experienced before. I know that’s not a revolutionary statement, but I feel that it’s worth repeating. Most of the people that I’ve been blessed to know in my life come from a general love for music whether it be playing and singing it or listening to it and picking it apart in a way that only musicians can. I am learning that this gift that God has given us is something that can be used to His glory unlike anything else. I also see that even if it’s not billed as “Christian” music, that can still be accomplished. Case in point, I am doing a show at a local coffee shop in the Tower Grove area and the whole goal is for our church to reach out to the community and let them know that we are there. However, one of the main points that was made in planning this from our end is that it wasn’t going to be a worship concert. I’m glad that we have that mind. We just want to build relationships with people. I think this will be a super great way to pull that off.

A huge reason that I’m writing this entry right now is because I’m having my ears caressed by the lyrics and vocals of my friend, Seth Primm. He has always pushed me to want to be a better vocalist because he’s always been amazing in the 10 years that I’ve known him. I honestly can’t believe that I’m listening to this voice and know the person that goes with the voice. That makes it that much better. He and his beautiful wife are in the process of adopting a baby girl from Ethiopia and have written a collection of songs as a prayer, speaking life into this little girl before we even know who she is. I’m overwhelmed by this project not only because these are true friends of mine, but because of what it stands for. Even more, it reminds me why I love music. Pure. Simple. Right. Music. Thanks guys, for reminding me why I do this.

Today I am working through a couple new ideas. For a while now I’ve been wanting to really branch out and do some things with other people. I have been a musical loner for quite a while and I’m thinking that doesn’t have to be. I know so many people that are so talented and I’ve been working on ways to get connected with them. One of the things that I’ve realized is that you just have to ask.  That is hard sometimes, though. I have such a fear of being rejected by people who do what I do that I never want to ask people to work with me. The last thing I want to hear is “You’re okay, but you’re not good enough to work with us.” I hear that statement in my dreams. But at the same time, I know that I’m not growing because I’m not interacting with other good musicians. Who knows what cool things I could have accomplished by now if I had just decided to ask?

So whether it’s personal music or stuff you do for you churches, do you ever stop to run through ideas with other people? Or do you just keep them to yourself all the time? I am totally guilty of keeping to myself and not spending time outside of myself. Lately, I’ve been writing a song with my friend, Brittany Howard, and I’ve greatly enjoyed that and wondered why I haven’t done it more often. The other thing that I realize is that I’m not doing my part to further the kingdom. I am supposed to be in relationship with other Christians and that’s not happening either. I have this idea in my head of the way I think things should happen and if it doesn’t look like that will be the case then I’m quick to run away from the idea. That’s me trying to control a situation that God could be wanting to really work through.

So my pracical goal is to start reaching out and trying to work with some of my musical friends a little more. I’d love to see what we could come up with. I’m anticipating some fun things, kinda like a V7 chord right before it resolves so beautifully to the I in the next measure.

I had the distinct opportunity to be a part of something really special in St. Louis a few weeks ago. I was asked by a good friend of mine to make time to be a part of this event and I said I would. I went to the meeting and found out that I was going to be a part of a worship team of St. Louis area worship leaders. I immediately felt overwhelmed by the talent and status in the room. But it didn’t stop there. They told us that JoyFM was going to purchase 99.1 and that we were going to be a part of the fundraising event that would take place soon. As if that wasn’t enough cool new for me, then big topper came. They told us that the event was going to be hosted by Andy Benes and his wife, along with Albert Pujols and his wife. Now if you don’t know already, I LOVE baseball and almost jumped out of my seat from the chance to be in the same room as such amazing people.

It would be one thing to tell you that this was a great event. But I have to go a little bit into how it all worked out. I was in New Mexico at the beginning of that week. I had to fly back home Thursday morning, get my parent’s car (we drove to NM), load up my keyboard, book it out to O’Fallon for rehearsal. At the rehearsal some things were revealed. Like…one of the singers and guitarists got H1N1 and wouldn’t be able to be with us. Another one of the singers couldn’t make it as well. So I ended up being the one who led the worship for our group. Caught me off guard, but I went with it. Friday night ended up being pretty good, even though I had to buy a new shirt and almost broke the trunk of my dad’s car. The event was great and there were tons of people there. I wish I could find the transfer cord to my camera and I might throw some pictures up. Anyway, as it turned out, Andy Benes and his wife were sitting right by my keyboard and so when we sang there were RIGHT in my face. Kinda cool…

I am so amazingly thankful for God giving me such a chance to worship with other believers. I also want to share with you a link to give you an opportunity to help JoyFM reach their goal. The purchase of the radio station 99.1 is approximately 18 million dollars. They need a 2 million dollar down payment. If you would like to give to this cause, I have been given the okay from my insider at JoyFM and will post the link here. Please consider giving to this great cause. You can read more on the site about their plans to bring God to the city of St. Louis through music.

This is just one of many updates coming from the past couple weeks. See ya!

So, I told you earlier that I was going to start writing everyday, but I haven’t done that since Thursday. However, I’m starting tonight and my plan is to get going with my daily blogs. I’ll go ahead and give you a weekend update because this was a great weekend!

Friday night- I was given a surprise birthday by my G2G friends. Thanks to Lil for putting together an amazing night for me. For a woman who doesn’t eat meat, you sure can cook a mean brisket!! Thanks friend! I was able to spend some good time with some great friends. Unfortunately, we saw a HORRIBLE baseball game by the Cardinals. Other than that, great night.

Saturday- Took my girls to see the Toy Story double feature in 3D. GREAT fun. That’s a whole lot of movie though. I was tired after that was over with. After that, I spent the evening at Concord Church singing outside at their Fall Festival. That was a really fun time hanging out with Daniel and Tim and Matt and Christy and the new baby. I got to see Patti Endejan and Chloe. Sorry to Chloe for not bringing the girls. Either way, I had a GREAT time and got to have some amazing grilled corn dipped in butter. BEAUTIFUL!!! The saddest part of the night was when OU lost to stinkin’ Miami. That did NOT make me happy. That kinda brought me down. Oh well…

Sunday- Today was my dad’s 56th birthday. I love him dearly and was amazingly glad to spend the day with him at his church. Then my mom made a delicious dinner for dad’s birthday. That was really fun. This evening I spent at Sherwood Baptist Church listening to my kids in Shelter and Closer sing. They amazed me so much this evening. They all did such a great job! I felt like a proud father listening to them. They have all worked so hard and it showed tonight. But the night wasn’t over…

I got home and my wife had thrown me a dessert party with good friends, the Barnards, Mark (Kristy was out of town), Steph the Yarn Wizard (Jeremiah is in Minnesota GO TWINS!!!), Rob and Holly came as well. What a great time we had. We also came away with an amazingly clean house now. Good stuff. You should go check out Jim’s blog later because he’ll have pictures and stuff from tonight. Good times…good times…

I will wrap this one up by saying thanks to my wife. My wife knows how I have felt about my birthdays over the past few years. She did a great job of making me feel important on my day. Thanks, Eva! I love you so much. Thanks for everything you did to make me feel good about myself. Have a good night and let’s give God our best this week. That’s my plan anyway…

Yesterday I confessed that I haven’t done the best job of spending time with the Father. I also vowed to do a better job starting today. Well, my wife did her job in holding me accountable first thing this morning. I thank her for that, too. I made a decent start this morning and hope to do better over the course of the rest of this week.

Today, I’m a sharing about enriching the community around me. This has been a bittersweet topic for me lately. The basis of community for me is being somewhere consistently where people can pour into your life and you theirs. As many of you know, I’ve been all over the place this summer, many times playing in a different church every Sunday of the month. This has taken a toll of my “community building”. Even with all that, I have been completely blessed to be living in community with some great people. God truly knew what he was doing when he sent me to First Free Church earlier this summer. I thought I was just going to help a friend out. I ended up gaining friends for life. Had it not been for my amazing friends across the alley, I don’t know where I’d be right now.

I can only hope that I am able to enrich their lives as much as they have enriched mine. Are there any people in your lives recently that have totally enriched your life? Tell me about it…

So…August…happened…I’m not sure if I believe it yet. I’m totally amazed at how God has sustained my family. Here are a couple things I learned in the month of August…

1. I am not called to work at Wal-mart. I have applied there and haven’t been called back yet. In extension, I’m also not called to work at Sam’s, a place that I worked for previously.

2. McDonald’s doesn’t think enough of me to hire me either. I’m not sure what it is about me that they don’t like. I’m thinking I don’t have enough tattoos…

3. My mom is not the only person that likes the music that I write. I’m pretty sure that musicians fear that no one will like what they write, and we all know that moms are supposed to like everything that their children do. I took my music to a St. Louis area studio and the producer there liked what he heard. He actually offered to produce a CD for free. I’d say that he likes it.

4. People love my family. God has truly blessed us and some kinda way we had more money come in this past month than we have had in quite a while. God’s definitely working.

5. I love working with music groups. I’ve had so much fun this month working with the ministry groups at MoBap. I hope they have enjoyed working with me because I’m here for awhile.

As for this month, God is already starting to do some MAJOR things in our family. The first day of Chili Dinner ticket sales went rather well. I have people offering to help out with gathering money for the CD project. Actually, our new friends at Waypoint Church helped us greatly yesterday. I feel so loved.

I also want to say a special thanks to our friends at Redeemer Church. They have done so much to help out my family this month. We wouldn’t be where we are right now if it weren’t for them. Thanks SO much, Redeemer!!!

We are still trying to find ways to get funds and musicians together for the CD project. I have a place to go, I just have to put everything together to get there. Again, I’m totally amazed at what God has done during this month of August. No one in the world could have orchestrated what God has done this month. Keep praying for us. Even more than financially (although that is still an issue obviously), pray for direction. God has a plan for this family (Jeremiah 29:11), and my prayer is that we start to figure out some of what that is. Be blessed friends. OH YEAH! Come to the Chili Dinner and Concert on September 18th. If you want more information shoot me an email. Tickets are $9 for adults and $2 for kids 6-12. I have some. Come find me. The end.

I can’t believe how amazing this weekend has been!!! I haven’t felt THIS encouraged about life in a really long time. God is so good and I’m so thankful for everything that has happened this weekend. Quick recap…

Friday- I got to visit my buddy Alisha. She wasn’t doing too well that day. I got to pray for her. I love Alisha. Busch Stadium with the Quest people. What a BLAST!!! Had a great time with my friends Jeremiah and Stephanie. We stinkin’ love them. Or at least I do stinkin’ love them I hope they love us, too. If not that would be COMPLETELY awkward…

Saturday- Went to a workshop to help us keep our house and didn’t really learn anything. Next the family went to visit Alisha. She was doing TONS better than she was on Friday. I’m still praying for her and Jim. Then I was supposed to play for a church in the area, and let’s just say I don’t think that’s going to happen anymore. If you wanna know just ask me about it and I’ll tell you… After that we spent the evening with the Misseys. It was great to reconnect with them.

Sunday- I spent the morning at Waypoint Church in St. Peters, MO. Great time with Lance and the crew there. I can’t wait to go back next week. It’s great to see what God is doing with that church. Then I got to spend some time at Cross Keys Baptist Church and make some new friends. We had some great connections with the pastor and his wife, who are MoBap alums! We had a great service and then hung out at Sonic. It has been a great weekend and I’m glad that God has brought us through this weekend.

I’m sure that I’m missing something, but I can’t remember. I also got to spend good time with my family which is always good. God is really teaching me some really cool things lately. I’m learning that I have to step out and let God be God. More and more I am learning to trust God with my life and my family. I almost forgot that I got to hang out with to AMAZING people, Kim and Gina on Tuesday. I will try to be a lot better at blogging this week. Someone hold me to it!!!

I don’t know about you, but I am amazed at how much I need people in my life. I am so tired right now, but it’s because we’ve had such a good weekend so far. Last night, we got to hang out with some great people from our church as we took a field trip to Busch Stadium. We spent the evening with Jeremiah and Steph the Yarn Wizard (I can explain if you need me to…). Let me say this…this couple is quickly becoming one of my favorites. I love these two and having them in our lives is just flat out great!

We got to go see Alisha this afternoon. I was glad to see that she was looking better. I’m so praying for you, sweetie. I just finished before I started writing this. For more on The Wee Couple, AKA the Amazing Barnards, check out my blogroll and click on Jim Barnard.

After that, I had an interesting meeting with a church in South County. I still don’t know what to think about it yet, so I don’t know exactly how to write about it. Check in tomorrow for that one…

We spent the evening with Matt (Cheetah) and Shannon Missey (blogroll Shannon Missey). This is the PERFECT way to end a late summer evening. This couple is straight up amazing. They are that beautiful couple that we should all be jealous of. If Eva and I weren’t so amazing already, we’d be jealous of them, too. HAHAHA Anyway, they had us down to their house in Crystal City and it was a great time with friends.

We are so blessed by the friends that God has placed in our lives during this extremely tough time. God knows what we need even when we don’t know what we need. Never ever forget that friends. God knows you so much better than you know yourself. Even though this was quite a long day that started really early for us, I wouldn’t trade it for anything because we spent this day and this weekend up until now with people that we confidently know love us and we love them as well.

Now I’m going to sleep because I will be leading worship with my friends at Waypoint Church in St. Peters, MO. If you don’t get this before tomorrow morning, come check me out next week as I will be leading out there next Sunday as well. Actually, check out the Upcoming Dates section as I will be updating it with some new things, including a Chili Dinner and Concert September 18th. I’ll have more information about that in the near future. Be blessed and hopefully I can keep up with the plan of a full weekend update tomorrow evening.