Memory

I'm in the process of memorizing music for my Liberty Quartet debut, which will take place next week. Fortunately, my first weekend will be with Paul Ellis still in the group, so I can learn the ropes from the veteran. I have a decent ear, but after 30 or 40 songs it's hard to remember where you go up and what the words are to the 2nd verse. There are several embarrassing moments awaiting me. Of that I'm sure. Oh well. Par for the course. Right now, "I'll Sail Away Home" from the album "Liberty: Live in Alaska" is playing on iTunes.

An Ode to Tour (that kind of sounds like a new type of fragrance)

I was going through some old documents the other day and came across this poem. If you ever traveled with a college choir or orchestra, you can relate to these words. I can't remember if I wrote the poem or not. I do remember reading it at IHC during the Mass Choir rehearsal (about which I need to write a whole article). Anyway, here it is. Read and be blessed.

The Choir Tour

Sitting on this bus, for quite a long, long while
Stifling heat, locker room smell, it’s enough to get you riled
Bathroom stops infrequent, few and far between
The ocean motion is an option, if, of course, it’s clean

Lasagna is the main course
If not sloppy joe
Pastor’s wives are so concerned
That everything’s just so

I appreciate the courtesy
It sometimes makes me smile
To say three times “I’m sorry, I’m full”
While choking on the bile

The housing, that’s another subject
Scary it can be
I never know what I will find
Sharing the bed with me

From roaches, hair, and little mice
To backed-up showers galore
I answer crazy questions
“Now what are you in school for?”

What causes all this suffering?
What would initiate such pain?
Ministry (would you believe it?)
Choir tour is here again

Though it’s easy now to criticize
To murmur and complain
I’d never trade this privilege
It’s definitely worth the pain

The services incredible
The singing so inspired
Cements the fact, I made the right choice
I’m glad that I joined choir

To see souls saved
And hearts encouraged
Make it all worthwhile
God spoke to me several times
As the bus went another mile

Yeah, there’ll be plenty of great times
And to be honest, there’ll be strife
But like Mr. Wolf says
Choir is a mirror of life

No matter where we go from here
Wherever God may lead
We will always remember tour
Being part of the family

So, guys, bring on the hot air
The food, housing, backed up sewer
It’s worth it all to be a part
Of another choir tour

Now playing...

My latest time-consuming passion has been loading my iPod with my music collection. I'm about half-way done and have 5,921 songs loaded. I put my iTunes on party shuffle and enjoy my own music broadcast. Currently, on the playlist is "I'll Be Thinking of You" by Andrae Crouch off of the album "The Light Years". Classic stuff.

The New Look

Enjoy the new look. I slaved over it for, oh, I don't know, maybe 7 minutes. I was getting tired of mauve and gray.

You missed a spot

OK, I had to upload this. While I was typing my last post, Kassady clambered up onto the bed and attempted to help. Fortunately, my camera was beside me. You're looking at a future blogger!

Commodore 64: a cultural revolution

My son, the video-gamer. Trey is the proud owner of a V-Smile educational video game system and he loves it!

It brings back memories of my childhood gaming experiences. Most of them conjure up remembrances of the Commodore 64 system. Which brings to mind the question: was the Commodore 64 used for anything besides games and video consoles for ACE schools and conservative holiness homes? There were some incredible games including RBI Baseball, Summer Olympics, and some game that involved racing street cars. The graphics of the Commodore 64 reminded me of my 9th grade abstract renderings in PC Paint, in which with a vivid imagination people or objects could be made out, though not always correctly identified. Those were the days.

I remember the day that I was introduced to the Nintendo console. I was in a hospital room in Lafayette, IN recovering from having my appendix removed. A young boy next door told the nurse that he was willing to share his video game system with anyone who was interested in playing. The nurse wheeled in a TV (we called it a monitor) and the NES console and I was hooked. I recall fondly those early days of Super Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt.

From there I went to PC gaming. The first game that I ever became mildly addicted to was Wolfenstein. I think it was the first 3D PC game I ever played. I would sneak to the computer in the wee hours of the morning and freak myself out, saving the world from Nazis and German shepherds. You have to admit that the music was pretty creepy.

Now, I occasionally pull out my XBox system to play one of the many EA sports games in my possession. Oh yeah, I still enjoy Medal of Honor. For some reason, though, it's not as fun as it used to be.

Winter Sports run in the family

David Frederick III (my nephew) catches some air at the Perfect North ski slopes in Lawrenceburg, IN. He's become an avid skier in the last few years and is quite the hot dog. I'm impressed!

He is proving his dedication by embarking on a Moser Ski Adventures tour to the far reaches of Colorado. Everyone associated with Kevin Moser understands that only the truly accomplished can accompany him on his high-octane, adrenaline-infused journeys to the double diamond trails of the US. Just ask Jon Plank.

David's mother is making sure that he takes his helmet.

Give It Away

I just bought the new Gaither Vocal Band CD, "Give It Away". While Marshall Hall (new baritone) sang 2 or 3 songs on the CD "The Best of the Gaither Vocal Band" including the power ballad "Picture of Grace", this recording features the new GVB consisting of Bill, Guy, Marshall, and new tenor, Wes Hampton.

Now, let's be honest. Whoever followed David Phelps as tenor with the Vocal Band was bound to get panned. Phelps possesses a one in a million voice. While Wes is an able tenor, this recording either does not showcase his range or indicates that his high notes will fall far short of David's arial acrobats. In fact, Guy takes the tenor on a few of the songs, and does a great job at it. Give Wes a couple more albums before you judge his ability, though.

Marshall is a great addition to Gaither's men and he cuts loose on several tracks, bringing back memories of the most underrated baritone in Southern Gospel music, namely Mark Lowry.

Overall, I am disappointed with the song selection. I read interviews with Bill and he was hyping the fact that he was more excited about this recording than any project he had ever worked on. He needs to relax a little. This CD falls far short of some of the great GVB projects like "Loving God, Loving Each Other" and "I Do Believe". I've come to expect more.

One great song on this album is "Give It Away". This is a fantastic song that will have you tapping your feet. If you're a GVB fan, buy the album and add it to the collection. If you haven't bought one of their CDs before, don't start with this one.

Kassady had her hair put up into a ponytail for the first time this evening. It lasted for approximately 22 seconds before she tore the rubber band out. She kinda reminds me of the little girl from the Flintstones. I thought it was cute.

Weight and See

I am fat. Yes, I am. Let's not mince words here. When I went to GBS as a lowly college freshman, I weighed a whopping 155 pounds. I had a size 31 or 32 waist (depending on whether the pants were from Sears or JC Penneys) and was thin as a rail. That weight included my hair which stood nearly 17" high and weighed (along with the various gels, hairsprays, and conditioners) approximately 8 pounds, thanks to my poof which at the point was the height of style according to the conservative holiness fashionistas. Even though I hate like a horse, my weight rarely fluctuated.

After 4 years of college I still was only encumbered with 165 pounds on my lanky frame. That was soon to change, however. I married a fantastic cook! Lori began cooking substantive suppers and my waist began expanding. It started out as an innocuous transition from a 32 to a 34 waist size. Nothing too bad. Then, I began to notice the appearance of a double chin. I noticed that I could actually grab hold of skin on my side. This wasn't good.

Now, after nearly 7 years of marriage I find myself tipping the scales at 190/195. I've got to do better on this. Now, I'm not the kind of guy that spends a lot of time stressing about my looks. I realized a long time ago that I'm no Brad Pitt. I'm not even a Willard Scott. However, I do care about being out of shape.

So, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to have a weigh-in posted each week. Hopefully, this sense of accountability will contribute to my efforts to slim down. We'll see.

Planning Ahead

I have been teaching the kids to be self-sufficient these days. I told them that we might not always live in a house and to prepare for the worst. Here, Trey and Kassady practice their urban grocery-cart drills, preparing for life on the streets. Hey, it could be worse. They could be living in a van, DOWN BY THE RIVER! (Thank you, Chris Farley.)

Trey the photojournalist

Trey took a picture of his best friend who doesn't qualify as a human: Jack (I have a few friends like that). Jack was born in Cincinnati on October 31 at the Build-A-Bear Workshop. Thanks to Trey's cousins David, Anthony, Alicia, and Christy as well as his uncle and aunt, Dave and Char, Jack has moved into the Waggoner household. Trey loves this bear! Jack has his own house in which he resides during the day. We actually bought Jack a Christmas present. He received Spider-man pajamas which he is wearing in this picture. Trey will not go to sleep at night until Jack has his pajamas on. Normally, Jack's clothing consists of a Cincinnati Reds baseball uniform. According to Trey, Jack plays baseball on Wednesdays, so each week Trey makes sure that Jack's ready to go all the way down to the stirrups and cleats.

Trey has been begging to use my camera, so I allowed him to take just a few pictures. Not surprisingly, Jack was his first target. Not bad for his first pic with no supervision.

Trey's getting better with the camera. He actually took a nice picture Kassady and me hanging out in the living room. I'm a blessed man! I have the 2 most wonderful children in the world! The only negative is that they are getting way too intelligent. I have to stay on my toes.

LaRena Anne Ezell

I want to pass along congratulations to my good friends, Allen and LaRona Ezell, on the arrival of their beautiful little girl, LaRena Anne. She came in at 8 lbs. and 9 oz. and was 19" long. I can't wait until she is taller than her mom, which probably won't happen for at least 2 years. Allen and LaRona, you have every right to be proud. LaRena is adorable!

Doug Riley

Your prayers are requested for the family members of Doug Riley, drummer with Gold City Quartet. Doug was killed in an auto accident while enroute to the Gold City recording studio. Doug is survived by his wife and two children.

For more information, please visit the Gold City website at http://www.goldcityqt.com/red/index2.html.

As a young drummer, I was a big fan of Doug and was impressed with his class and live performances. The Southern Gospel industry has lost one of its finest musicians.

Congratulations, Kayla!

I was privileged to witness the final game of Kayla Aman's basketball season. She played on the 9th grade team from Melba High School and they finished the season undefeated, 16-0. They beat the #2 seed, New Plymouth, 67-31. Kayla had a great game, ending up with several steals, assists, and points. I'm proud to have her as part of Grace Teens!

Idaho Youth Retreat 2006

Below you will find several pictures from our inaugural youth retreat, held in McCall, ID last weekend. Grace Bible Church from Nampa, Faith Evangelical Church from Boise, Community Bible Church from Emmett, and Faith Bible Church from McCall joined together for a fantastic time of worship, fun, and little sleep.

Several feet of snow failed to dampen the spirits of our teens and we came expecting to meet God in a new and fresh way. He didn't disappoint.

Hopefully, you can catch a glimpse of the essence of the weekend in the pictures below.

Philip Gumbs was the retreat speaker and Brent Vernon served as the worship leader. They both did an outstanding job.

I highly recommend Philip Gumbs to anyone looking for a dynamic, inspired youth evangelist. The guy flat-out knows how to speak to teens. They were plugged in every service as he challenged them to full surrender and joyful victorious living. Philip pastors a Church of God (Holiness) on the Carribean island of Anguilla. God has blessed his ministry and gifted him for pastoring. I enjoyed getting to know Philip. Hopefully, this isn't the last time we work together.

And then, of course, Brent is one of the best. Our young people responded to his worship leading. He challenged the teens to open up their hearts to God and really worship Him. His prodigious musical talents are completely surrendered and it shines through his ministry.

Melvin Adams served as retreat President and emceed most of the services.

While Marc and Melvin got things set up, I asked Brent about some input concerning one of my original compositions. The song is "Let's Go Out West". Here are the lyrics, complete and unabridged:

Let's go out west
Where the people rest
Where the cattle's in the field
With the fence all around
Let's go out west
Where the people rest
Where the cattle's in the field
All eating on grass

Brent recommended changing the substituting the word "hay" for "grass". He's pure genius.

(I actually wrote this song at a young age; I had my mom push a pencil and a piece of paper under the bathroom door so I could write down the lyrics)