I'm Back!

Hey, friends! I am so glad to be talking to you again...even though I feel so embarrassed that it has been so long. Thanks for the grace-filled posts on my last entry, which was courtesy of my buddy Russ. I knew it had been a long time since I had posted, but I didn't realize quite how long. Dang. Since my last post, I have been to 2 Women of Faith conferences with Beth (Ft. Lauderdale, Cleveland), led worship at the Southern Baptist Convention in San Antonio, taught at a worship conference in Ridgecrest, NC, led worship twice at my home church in Thompson Station, TN and once at Brentwood Baptist in Brentwood, TN. Oh yeah, and recorded a musical. That was the main time-taker. Whew...it was a doozy. It is the choir worship musical that goes along with a new Max Lucado book coming out in September...you all prayed for me when we began the tracks a couple of weeks ago. We did the choir vocals last week, and the prep time for that was KILLER. KILLER. KILLER. I am so thankful that the hard part is behind me. I will be working on recording orchestra, solos, worship leader parts and other extras this week. Then we will begin mixing it, and it should be done in the next week and a half. Woo hoo!

I have managed quite a few trips to the Y pool with my kids in the down times of the day. Loads of fun. They are having a great summer. And I am a walking sunscreen applier.

I have always been like a fish in water. Not a fish out of water. Well, I guess I have been that too, at times. But I have always loved being in the water, like a fish. When we would go to the beach when I was a kid, my parents could hardly get me out of the water at the end of the day. I still remember what my red chlorine-attacked eyes felt like. And my feet would be rubbed raw from the pool floor. My shoulders would always be blisteringly red. And I loved it. Now I am reliving those feelings with my kids. And now it's my kids who can hardly get me out of the water. : >) I'm going to blog another day about my memories of going to the beach with my family when I was a kid...the fun thoughts are flooding my mind as I write. Another day.

I must say, what I love about summer the most is that I don't have to drag the kids out of bed at the crack of dawn. Thank you, Jesus. Being the musician that I am, mornings can feel mean to me sometimes. So even when I have to get up to go to work, not having to get them up and at 'em is awesome.

Here is a pic of Beth and me, along with my friend and new road manager, Travis Jenkins:



Aside from having the coolest first name ever, Travis is also an amazing artist. You should go check out his cool paintings at his website. You can order prints of his originals for $50. You can order his originals, too.

And here is Travis and me with our new friend Debbie Petersen. Debbie emcees the pre-conference events for Women of Faith. Her testimony is AMAZING and so powerful. We have loved hearing her speak.



I could write on and on...but if I talk about myself for another second, I will punch myself in the face. I am going to go read a little and hit the sack. Thanks again for your patience during my unintentional hiatus. Have a great week!