Thursday, April 27, 2006

One of my favorites goes solo again

Several years ago, I took a group of kids to Six Flags over Atlanta for something called "Atlanta-fest". It was, in my opinion, one of the best Christian Music festivals ever. For one price, attendees got four-day passes to the park and the ability to take in about 40-50 different Christian groups.

One of the guys that I heard for the very first time at Atlanta-fest was a guy named Michael O'Brien. He had a great voice and sang this great song called If Ever I Forget. Immediately, I had to see about getting his CD and when I got it, I was not disappointed. The album was full of great music, songs that not only sounded great, but had incredible messages of faith. (Okay, it is official, call me "Thesaurus Man" ... after re-reading that paragraph, I noted the continuous use of the word great ... talking to self: "Hey bonehead, how about mixing in a n occasional wonderful, terrific, good or even groovy if you have to; just quit sayng 'great!'")

I anticipated eagerly his next two releases as well, went to a couple of concerts, and in general ... listed him as my favorite Christian artist. After a couple of albums, Michael joined the group Newsong. This was bittersweet as Newsong was a favorite of mine as well, but it meant that Michael might not be writing as much. Many of his songs were so personal, it was hard to imagine them being group-type songs. However, I have enjoyed his involvement with Newsong as well.

Recently, word came that he was no longer traveling with Newsong, but was returning to his solo career. I was excited as I look forward to hearing from him again and, out of the blue, I saw that he had a spot on MySpace, including demos of four songs that will be on his upcoming album. They are great ... apparently, the focus of the album will be on the strength and commitment to Christian marriage.

While I am not married, I do see enough pain and heartbreak in marriages to know that godliness, purity and devotion are not mere sentiments, but things which must not only be committed to, but also expressed through actions and emotions. I believe that will be the focus of his album. You can read more about it and listen to the demo song at Michael's MySpace account. Here is the link. My personal favorite is Love Isn't Love.

Anyway, I am excited about Michael's return to solo status. If you have never heard his music, be sure to check it out.

Sunday, April 23, 2006

All I want for Christmas is $3,000 for my back two teeth!

An interesting thought occurred to me the other day. I was sitting in the chair in the dentist office, hearing him talk about the infected tooth I have. His suggestion was that I have the tooth pulled and then get a bridge put in ... at a tune of about $3,000 (which, by the way, is a fairly expensive tune for a small church minister). My head was swimming as I couldn't fathom coming up with $3,000 to have this repaired. After some general conversation with the con-man ... er, dentist, we agreed that I would have the tooth pulled and then set aside some money over the next couple of years to prepare for this bridge-work to be done. Fortunately, the area of the mouth in question is near the back. I am sure it would be a more urgent situation had it been, for instance, my two front teeth. As a preacher, I am sure some of the impact would be lost if I preached without front teeth ... "Today, Jethuth wanth you to turn away from a life of thin and acthept hith thacrifithe on the croth."

Of courth (whoa, gotta quit that ... thorry), I also couldn't help thinking about all the things I could get with $3,000--a nice downpayment on a new car, a sweet flatscreen television, a Martin guitar, etc. (by the way, I understand as a Christian minister, my thoughts should turn to things that are a little less materialistic, but at the time, I was considering alternatives to dental work ... my mind was not dwelling on the Spiritual as it probably should have).

I began considering the pros and cons of skipping the bridge down the road. It would make chewing on that side cumbersome, but I also figure I could stand to make eating a little tougher on myself. Perhaps if I went to an "easy-chew" diet I would lose weight more quickly. Plus, vanity doesn't come into the picture much as the teeth, as I mentioned, are near the back and, quite frankly, as a 41-year-old single male, I figure a missing molar is the least of my problems with the ladies ... of course, according to my good friend, Terry, I am a "babe-magnet" so a few less teeth shouldn't be too much of an issue. It should only diminish my magnetism slightly.

Anyway, I figure I have about 4 years to make my decision ... perhaps that $3,000 will one day go to an engagement ring for that special lady. Hmm ... I guess I'll start looking at DLP Flat-Screens ...
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One other quick note: my buddy Jim Book mentioned to me the other day that none other than the president of my alma mater, Harold Armstrong, had read my book and was giving it a thumbs-up, saying he really enjoyed it. I breathlessly await the call to invite me to give the Commencement Address to the Florida Christian College graduates.

Friday, April 21, 2006

Frank, Dandy, Howie and me!

I can't wait for football season to begin. It is hard to believe that it is still a few months away. I love watching many sports, but when it comes down it, football is the undisputed king as far as my love of sports viewage.

Of course, I am especially geeked this year. My beloved Miami Dolphins finished last year with such a flourish and have had a great offseason ... most notably the signing of Daunte Culpepper. I am looking forward to the Dolphins return to glory and the makings of a real dynasty.

My love of football probably goes back to Monday nights watching Howard, Frank and Dandy Don with my dad. Since I was a kid, I probably shouldn't been allowed to stay up so late, but it was football and somehow, I got away with it. I don't know how it happened or why I was allowed, I just enjoyed it as my dad and I watched and talked and griped about bad calls and talked about dad's playing days, etc.

My love of MNF continued throughout college and, in the midst of my first ministry, I found a fellow Dolphin lover in the church (not a huge stretch in Central Florida). Every Monday night during football season, I would make the trek over to Rick Helms house and we would break down the game, beat the commentators to the point on game observations and wonder why no one wanted to hire us to announce games.

I moved to Texas many years later and had to say good-bye Monday nights with Rick, but quickly found another comrade-in-arms for Monday nights in a guy named Tim Breeding. Tim was not a Dolphin fan (a major spiritual problem, if you ask me) but he was a student of the game much like myself. As a bonus, his wife, Katie, was blessed with a wonderful spirit of hospitality and usually put on a great spread of tasty snacks for us. I so enjoyed our time together as well.

A couple of years ago I moved here to Greenville and, though it was not too far to Tim's house, our get together became less frequent and ultimately ended when Tim and his family moved to Arkansas. I can't tell you how utterly meaningless MNF becomes when you watch it by yourself (at least for me). Last year, the Lord again blessed me with some friends that came over to watch the game on Monday Nights ... Terry and Adam are not the same level of fans that Tim, Rick and my dad were. Of course, to be fair, my dad's interest has waned in recent years (most likely due to the consistent ineptitude of his beloved Bears).

Even though Terry and Adam aren't as versed in football lingo and wander off the conversation to talk about cars too much (I feel this is mainly Terry's fault), I still am estatic about them coming over on Monday nights to watch the game. There is something about watching football on Monday nights with friends, even if the topic of discussion sometimes strays into water pumps and oil analysis. Whether we order pizza or wings, sandwiches or chili, just have a bag of chips, or even if we just have some of Terry's crazy chipotle cashews or garlic soybeans (what is he thinking with that?), the food fare just always seems to compliment the game.

So I want to take time to say thanks to all of those guys through the years that have made my fall Monday nights so enjoyable and something I anticipate so much. I enjoyed your friendship, your insights, your patience with me when I questioned every close call in a Dolphin game, and the snacks you brought. They will always be fond memories! Looking forward to it again this year!