Glenn

OK, admittedly I've done a lousy job of posting recently, except for the two videos featuring Jon Plank and Allegiance. So let me keep up my lazy efforts by offering this from my favorite radio talk-show host, Glenn Beck:

If there's one thing I've learned from politicians it's that when you're out of good things to say about yourself, just start bashing your opponents. So now that my book has been released (and I'm out of things to say about it), it's time to take down my competitors. As I write this, An Inconvenient Book sits at #6 on the Amazon bestseller list. Here's a look at the drivel ahead of us:

#1 - You: Staying Young: The Owner's Manual For Extending Your Warranty (You) by Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz There are a few big problems with this book. First, this book has two colons and three versions of the word "you" in the title alone. It sounds like it was written by a fourth grader. Second, isn't Mehmet Oz the doctor on Oprah who inexplicably shows up to her TV studio wearing hospital scrubs, like he's about to perform an emergency appendectomy? You want advice from that guy? Here's my pledge to you: no more than one colon, and no surgical scrubs. Ever.

#2 - The Pillars of the Earth (Deluxe Edition) (Oprah's Book Club) by Ken Follett It's 973 pages. 973. Did you hear me? NINE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY THREE!

#3 - Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food by Jessica Seinfeld Here's a "simple secret" to get your kids to eat vegetables: make them. I just saved you $14.97.

#4 - The Birds in My Life by The Supreme Master Ching Hai I can actually relate to this one because I have a bird in my life too; it's called a turkey. And it's delicious. But beyond that, I cannot fathom how an out of stock book about birds is beating me. I'm solving global warming, poverty and illegal immigration, yet people still care more about Polly wanting a freakin' cracker?? Is it because the author is a "Supreme Master" and I'm not? Because if that's all it takes then I'm enrolling in Supreme Mastering class Monday morning and I'll stamp "Supremer Master Glenn Beck" right on the cover of the paperback.

#5 - The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet Where have I heard about this book before? Oh yea, it's already on the list! Hey Follet—do you really need to hog two spots? And Oprah--if you want your fans to still have enough time to watch your show, send them my way instead. I've got 100% more solutions than Follet in just 1/3 of the pages. In summary, if you buy all of the books in front of mine then you'd learn how to make you a better you, how to communicate with birds, and how to secretly feed your kids vegetables—but what good is any of that if Islamic extremists kill us all because my book is stuck at #6??

Please, I don't want to sound overdramatic, but (and you need your best "Hereos" voiceover impression here): Buy my book; save the world. Sincerely, (And not at all bitter or jealous) Glenn Beck

Great Day

The American premiere of my most-recorded song.

Allegiance takes the stage

This was an awkward moment back in the day. We were huge as you can detect from the wild crowd reaction.

Growing

A great quote that was pointed out by a good friend:

"Legalism smothers spiritual vitality. It stultifies spiritual growth. It robs life of spontaneity. It produces neurotic personality. It engenders spiritual pride. It leads to despair and defeatism.

Libertarianism chokes off the stream of spiritual power. It corrodes spiritual development. It walks a thin path bordering on spiritual collapse. It points to a freedom that may end in bondage.

Classic biblical principles of relaxed self-discipline and humble dependence on God provides an atmosphere where vital spiritual growth occurs."

Metz, Donald S. (1994). Some Crucial Issues in the Church of the Nazarene. Wesleyan Heritage Press.

Happy Birthday, Lori

Happy Birthday, Lori

Blast from the Past

Check out some of these old pictures from back in the day. This is for those of you who aren't members of facebook.

Where's Waldo?

By the way, where is Doran? He has exactly 6 posts since he entered the blogosphere, 5 of which allude to me in some way. He's obsessed. I really was hoping his creativity would find an outlet, but apparently that will be stifled. Such is life.

Boise, Broncos, and Birthdays

I had a great afternoon hanging out with Trey. I picked him up from school and we took off for the celestial city (also known in Idaho as Boise). Our first stop was at Taco Bell Arena on the Boise State campus. I had to pick up tickets for tomorrow night's Mannheim Steamroller concert. Oh yeah! I will be there. Anyway, we were close to the BSU football stadium and since Trey had never seen the field we decided to see if we could peek through a gate or something. Well, it was locked up pretty tight and we were getting ready to walk back over to our car, when I noticed that a light was on in the BSU Hall of Fame building. I went to the door and the man working in the office motioned me in. I asked if there was anyway we could get close to the field. He looked out the window and said that if the team wasn't out there practicing we could go out on the field. So, out on the field we went. Trey took off running in the end zone. He was in awe! He said, "man, this is so cool. I almost feel like Ian Johnson". I took a few pics and walked around on the blue turf myself. It was pretty incredible. After we had been out there for a few minutes the team started trickling out on the field. Trey kept looking for Ian, but we didn't see him. On our way out the door, the guy who was kind enough to let us on the field, stopped Trey and gave him a set of 2008 BSU Bronco football cards. He's been on cloud nine ever since. Enjoy the pictures:




Our real reason for traveling to Boise was shopping for my beautiful wife who celebrates her birthday. I'd tell you her age, but I'd probably die. So...

We bought her gifts and chowed down at Arbys. It was a great night. There's nothing I'd rather do than spend time with my family. To be honest, out of everything I do on a daily basis (my ministry, my work, whatever) it's my time spent with Lori, Trey, and Kassady that is most valuable to me. I'm blessed.

The Booth's booth

We're such good friends with the Booth Brothers that they wanted Dan and I to pose with them at NQC. Check it out. You'll have to scroll to picture #5.

Hat tip to Jonathan Walden (former famous lead singer with Singing Friends).

Shamefaced

I'm sorry. I forgot to add the link for Facebook. You'll have to sign up and then do a search for my name.

Facebook

Hey, I'm now on Facebook. I'm having a great time. Look me up.

Baptists

OK, this is funny. I'm not Baptist, so I probably shouldn't share this. But, I do have so many good friends that are that I just have to. I stole this from Perry Noble:

Top 12 Things to Never Say to a Baptist

#12 - Lottie who?
#11 - What is a covered dish and why must everyone who gets sick in our church have to have some sort of casserole?
#10 - I love it when my wife has her own opinion!
#9 - For God so loved the world that He did not send a COMMITTEE!
#8 - “We're either going to Disney or Vegas for vacation this year…”
#7 - SHE did an incredible job with the message today.
#6 - Why do you keep calling me “brother?”
#5 - “Got a light?” Unless, of course, you are a deacon…then this is a perfectly valid question.
#4 - Can we please sing the third verse!!!
#3 - Hold my beer.
#2 - May I have this dance?
#1 - Ante up!

Brioooooan

While probably everyone has already been introduced to the wonderful comedy of Brian Regan, this is one clip that I can watch over and over. This past April at the Fresno Fan Fest I asked Jeff Allen (comedian who often appears on Gaither videos) who his favorite comedian was. He immediately replied, "Brian Regan. In fact, the majority of the comedians I work with will tell you the same thing. He's THE best comedian going right now, and has been for years." Pretty high praise. Once you watch this clip, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Dining with Dan

Watching Dan eat can only be compared to witnessing a contest between Takeru Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut (watch video below).

Royce can't help but watch Dan eat.

At work

If our A/C goes out, you can be assured that it's happening in 90 degree (or above) temperatures. Sure enough, on our Arizona tour it went out. Fortunately, we have the secret weapon that can conquer (is it just me or is that a hard word to spell?) all mechanical woes: (drumroll) Dan Gilbert. Yep, Dan came to the rescue again.

Welcome to Do-Dos World

This is a common sight on the bus: Doran sleeping. Dan told me that they didn't ever see Doran the first 3 months he was with Liberty. He would head for the bunk, climb in, and not come out for the rest of the trip. It's not quite that bad, now. He occasionally will emerge to get a movie, pretzels, or the Perry's new CD to take back to his cubbyhole. Every once in a great while, he'll nap in the front lounge. Poor little guy needs his rest!

Our hosts in Benson, AZ had a seat prepared for Doran when we walked in for our meal.

Shoe

This has been a long 3 weeks. I've been home about 4 days during that period. I'm exhausted and ready for somewhat of a break. The bus pulled in about 4:45 this morning. I was fumbling around in the dark, trying to find my shoes. I slipped them on without tying the laces and stumbled out to the truck. I walked in the front door, kicked off the shoes, and headed up to bed. I got up to take Trey to school, walked down to the living room where light was beginning to filter between the blinds and realized that I had actually put on one of my shoes and one of Dan's.

So, you could say this week has got off on the wrong foot.

Subliminal Images

Below you will find a few miscellaneous pictures from an August trip to a submarine somewhere in Michigan. As you can see, it was just another day in the life of Liberty Quartet.

Royce a.k.a "Big Gun" Mitchell goes to work.

I felt very...subtle. Notice how that workout program is reshaping my love handles.

The closest Royce will ever get to water-skiing. Shortly after this picture, Royce was escorted off of the sub.

Oh, and I should mention that the above sign was just under the pylons Royce clambered upon.

Our very own bird of prey

Divine Bovine

The sky is falling, the sky is falling...wait a minute...it's a cow.

Youth Challenge continued

So, anyway, about my Youth Challenge trip...

I have to give some kudos to Jonathan Heath for the most impressive backdrop yet. The theme was "What if" and the graphic design guru (Jon something-or-other) used the ebay ad as inspiration (using the multi-colored it). Jonathan then took the concept and came up with the prop idea. Very nice. By the way, I shamelessly stole the picture from Tara's blog (good to see you, Derek).

I was only able to make it to two sessions: Randy Brown on Friday night, and Matt and Dorcas Hallam on Saturday morning. Randy rang the bell. The dude preached an hour, but could have gone on another hour and still had the crowd paying attention. Fantastic! I went to school with Randy way back in the day and it's incredible to see how God is using him. Matt and Dorcas rang the bell with their presentation of the ministry that they're involved in. Dorcas felt led of God to start a school in the inner-city of Cincinnati, geared specifically to the street kids that they work with in a mission. It's awesome to see how God is blessing their efforts. They brought up several kids who gave testimonies of what God is doing in their lives. Very moving.

Randy Brown gave an invitation on Friday night and scores of kids came forward. I was behind the curtain separating the musicians from the crowd and when I saw that the altar was full I decided to help out by moving a few folding chairs that would free up some space. I reached down for a chair, just your typical average motion that you don't think anything about, and BAM, out of nowhere I felt the worst pain that I have ever experienced. Seriously. I've had my ankle run over by a car, I've had my appendix taken out, I've broken bones, but I've never had pain like this. I staggered about two feet over to the edge of the curtain and fell on top of a large speaker (uh, a sound speaker, not Randy Brown or any of the other convention speakers; the clarification is probably not needed, but just in case, now you know). Jonathan Bender and Steve Shipman happened to be close enough to see that something was wrong, so they quickly ran over and helped me shuffle to some chairs. It was actually more like they dragged me over to the chairs. I couldn't sit down, I couldn't stand up, it was terrible. Finally, they put several chairs together and helped me lay down. This didn't do a lot to stop the back spasms. I was having trouble even speaking the pain was so intense. Finally, Gumby (for those of you who know Nathan), the convention drummer, remembered that there was a clinical massage therapist in attendance and ran off to find her. In the meantime, several people were stopping by to offer their condolences, such as, "yeah, I know what you're going through. I did that and never walked again" or "well, good luck with that; but that pain doesn't compare to the ulcer I had last spring". Very uplifting. I felt much better. The massage therapist finally showed up. I'm here to tell you that Kathy Sheppard was a Godsend. She is actually the cook at UBC, but is a licensed therapist as well. She worked on my back and legs for an hour. My legs were in bad shape. In fact, when she was attempt to work on my leg, just above my knee, I thought I was going to lose it. It hurt so bad. Well, she never did get the nerve to release, but she did a lot of good. About 20 minutes after she left, I was finally able to roll off the chairs, and with the help of a couple of guys get on my feet. I staggered to my room, where Jon Plank and Jonathan Bender amused themselves at my expense. Actually, they did tie my shoes for me. Fortunately, on Saturday I was privileged to fly all the way to Oregon (a total of 6 hours in an uncomfortable seat). There were times I wanted drugs.

By the way, there was a picture taken of my massage. My supportive family, namely Tony and Abby McCrary stopped by to sympathize with me. No, it was more like laugh at me. Abby snapped a picture of Kathy working me over. I would post it, but she hasn't sent it to me yet. Which probably means that it will soon show up on Doran's blog.

I am still in serious pain. I went to see the chiropractor and he informed me that it's going to take a while to get over this. He also mentioned something about bending my knees when I lift. It has made what I do challenging. I don't move near as much on-stage as I normally do.