Today is my birthday. To me it is just another day. I don’t think I have ever been big on celebrations, probably the introvert in me. As I get older though, I would like to think I have become better. A better husband, father, son and brother. God has given me this day and this year to cherish each minute of each day because somehow, they go by faster and faster.
The older I get the more and more I like children’s movies. Disney, Pixar, Marvel Superhero, etc.The old ones and the new ones. They always have meaning, they always bring joy and happiness, and have memorable characters. (and the good guys always win)
The older I get the more I say things my parents said. How many times growing up did we say “I will never say that to my child.” “I will never act that way in front of my kids.” Yes, parents are embarrassing but as we get older, it’s those things we remember the most. Dance in the rain, hold hands, sing in the car. I hope our daughters will remember the times we acted like fools in front of them, made them laugh, made them cringe, made them say ” I will never do that in front of my kids.”
The older I get the more I realize I am not as old as everyone else my age is. Or maybe I just view myself as looking and feeling younger than I am. Or maybe at this age I’ve just become illogical and don’t really know what is going on. I do know it takes longer to heal my injuries. Man, when did a sore calf keep me from running for a week.
The older I get the more I appreciate the ones I have had. I don’t remember all the presents but I do remember the people I shared them with, the love we shared, and the laughter we had. Here’s to cherishing this one and looking forward to the next one, which will be here in about ten days it seems. Time slow down please. From changing diapers to graduating college happens in a blink of an eye.
If you are younger and reading this, don’t wish your years away. Cherish where you are now and enjoy this time in your life. It won’t be long before you will have to roll out of bed too.
Live every day like it’s your birthday. Today could be my last. Don’t count the presents, count the smiles.
Ecclesiastes 8:7 Since no one knows the future, who can tell someone else what is to come?
Proverbs 16:31 A gray head is a crown of glory; It is found in the way of righteousness.
Psalm 39:4-5 LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered, and that my life is fleeing away. My life is no longer than the width of my hand. An entire lifetime is just a moment to you; human existence is but a breath.
Job 12:12 Wisdom is with aged men, With long life is understanding.
Two mile run done with part of the family, Kylie is training for her first 1/4 marathon. Then off to see Inside Out (appropriate for what’s inside my head)
clip from Inside Out –
The Older I Get by Skillet –
My Next Thirty Years by Tim Mcgraw –
Just Older by Bon Jovi –
I Wanna Grow Old With You by Westlife (scenes from Up) –
Automatic by Miranda Lambert –
Don’t Blink by Kenny Chesney –
I Just Came Home To Count The Memories by John Anderson –
Here is the official, last version, mastered, edited, mixed etc version of the song.
I need help and prayers though.
When I do something, I usually go big. I want the best results. I want to be faster each race I run. I want the world to read my blogs, listen to my music, but what does God want?
We are not putting it on itunes yet because we are praying on where we should go. Ceylon Wise, who produced, mixed and mastered the song, is taking a leap of faith and starting his own record label. We could sign with him, which means the rest of our songs would get recorded without any out of pocket expense from us. He would get more royalties since he is taking the chance of recording the EP, which really doesn’t bother us any. We are wanting to get the music out there to have an affect on peoples lives and have the songs touch people. If we sign with him, he wants to get rest of EP done then release the song on itunes.
Answer to our prayers right?
So what’s the problem?
I feel like I want to get the song out to bigger labels and see what happens. Everyone that has heard the song and Lily’s voice is telling me it is good and she should be on the radio.
Is this what God wants though?
It would be exciting to be with a start up label and maybe be one of the founding artists that helps it grow. It would be exciting to be heard on the radio and be on a big label, if God leads us that way, but would we get lost in the shuffle.
Speak to me God, I will wait and listen. Lead me in the way you want us to go. Lead us to what will glorify your name the most. Lead us to what will touch someones life.
This is a tough one for me. There have been so many times when I heard or felt God telling me to do something and I let fear get in the way and did not do it. Why do I do this? It wasn’t like He was asking me to sacrifice my child or to go preach to a city full of sin. He wasn’t asking me to turn water into wine or leave my family or my job to follow Him.
Fear, the great inhibitor.
As you already know I am not a big talker. I am also comfortable in my comfort zone. God says go talk to that stranger. I am like are you sure? Then the stranger walks away and the chance is gone. God says go left and I go right and find myself somewhere I shouldn’t be. Should’ve listened to God. God says get off the computer and spend time with your family. I say they are fine. They are busy doing what they do.
Status quo. Don’t rock the boat. If it’s not broken, don’t try to fix it.
But it is broken isn’t it.
Technology is great but it has also taken so much away from why we are here. Yes, I can reach millions of people I will never see through these writings and hopefully bring a few of those people to know Jesus. Am I sacrificing my time with my family by doing this? Maybe. God is telling me to do this so I am doing it. How do I do it without sacrificing family time? I have to sacrifice my time. Instead of aimlessly looking at the internet I have to concentrate on writing. Instead of sleeping seven hours maybe I sleep six. Would you sacrifice an hour sleep if God was using you to change the world? Would you spend the thirty minutes you take each morning drinking coffee and reading (or watching) the morning news and change it to taking thirty minutes to tell the world about Jesus? We all have extra time in the day, it comes down to a matter of how do you want to use that extra time? If God asks you to give him ten minutes a day, would you, could you do it?
Watch tv or read the bible? Read about the latest news on this or that celebrity or talk to your children and spouses?
Matthew 6:22 The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,
Spend twenty minutes reading all the jokes, gossip, news etc in your inbox or spend twenty minutes exercising? If God asked you to run for Him, would you do it?
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
I remember a time when a young couple came to our church. They sat right in front of us and they looked distraught. She was pregnant and you could tell they didn’t have much money. At the end of service, God was telling me to talk to them, but I didn’t. I said maybe next time. Later, my wife told me God was telling her the same thing, but she did nothing also. She thought maybe next time. That couple has not been back to our church, or if they have we have not seen them. I would talk to them now.
I remember a young lady sat beside us one service and she cried most of the service. I felt God telling me to talk to her. This time I did, a simple are you okay, anything I can do? She said thanks but no, she will be okay. I see her every service and she is an active member of our church. What if that day I didn’t say anything?
I remember at my work, a long time ago, everyone was cursing all the time. It was a hostile environment. Yelling across the room f this or f that. I heard God say stop cursing and people will follow. I quit and within two-three weeks, almost everyone quit cursing and the mood in the room changed for the better. What if I didn’t listen and kept cursing?
I remember my wife saying she can’t lead a Run For God class. She heard God telling her to do it but fear of speaking in front of people kept her from doing it. She lead her first Run For God class June 28th. Sixteen adults and ten children were there and more people have shown interest in being there for the second class. So far, that’s twenty-six people, that through God, she is leading to bring them closer to God, to meet new people in their walk with God, and to use their bodies and minds to glorify God. All because she listened to God.
How do you know if it’s God, your own mind, or Satan speaking to you? Satan deceives and lies, will try to lead you away from what is right. Your mind is selfish and will try to promote your own self interests. God will lead you to do what is right, He will never ask you to do something you shouldn’t, and will always put others before yourselves.
Once you get over your fears, it gets easier. That’s why people try to conquer their fears by facing them head on. Afraid of heights? Go someplace high. Afraid of spiders, snakes? Hold one. Okay maybe not. How about be in a room with them at the zoo or something. Have you watched Biggest Loser or Extreme Weight Loss? The issues are usually the fears they have or a trauma that had happened in their life that is holding them back. Once they tackle those issues, the I can’ts or the trauma they faced earlier in life, they move forward. Afraid to tell the truth because of shame, hurt? Do it anyway, the truth will always set you free.
John 8:32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
What is God asking you to do today? Is your answer yes Lord?
Last week we were in that state up north attending a week of family vacation at Gull Lake Ministries (www.gulllake.org). It was much more than I anticipated and such a blessing to be with other Christians in a week of fellowship and fun. Many times tears came to my eyes as I watched the smiles on the children and I heard the sermons and I realized the blessings God has bestowed upon my life. I can at least say that I now like one thing in that state up north ( that’s Michigan for those of you that don’t understand Ohio talk)
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I learned that I can do an organized vacation. If you would’ve asked me a year ago, two years ago, five years ago etc. I would’ve said I would never do an organized vacation. When I am on vacation, I want to have my time and my family time to be what, when, and how we want it to be. However, after being at Gull Lake for a week, I have to say I liked it. We had breakfast between 8-845. Had service at 930, which was optional if you wanted to do your own thing but we went every day (except Tuesday morning, which was free time for adults). Kylie and the kids would then go to their own parts of camp until 1200-1215. We would then have lunch 1230-130 then have free time in the afternoons (215-5) to go on the lake (swimming, paddleboards, kayaks, trampoline/blopper/moonwalk), rec center (indoor climbing wall, basketball, creation/activity room, foosballl, etc), the quad (ziplines, grass area to play, outside climbing wall, etc). We would then have dinner 6-715 then have evening worship 730-900 then have fambam (family time playing basketball, games, climbing walls, etc) in the rec center 9-1000. Then we would go back to the house and play games until 1100-1200. It was defn. busy and fun. We were worn out by the end of week. (because of work I was only there Sunday night through Wednesday night but rest of family and friends were there Saturday afternoon to Friday morning).
I learned that tv and computers are over-rated compared to family time and connecting with each other. There are no tvs or computers (except business office in rec center if you absolutely need to use them). They want you to be free of the distractions and connect with each other and with God. It was surprising to me that I did not miss the tv or computer at all.
I learned that even though teenagers, young adults, and adults are so wrapped up in social media- facebook, twitter, internet, etc. that we do realize it is a distraction from our families and from God. Satan can use these things to keep us too busy from turning to God, praying to God, living for God. I pray that each of us can spend less time in the computer world and more time face to face connecting. Did you know that scientists have found out that people that spend ten hours a day on the internet lose up to 10% of their brain function over time? Think about what all the time on the internet now will do to your brain ten, twenty, thirty years from now. It is being rewired.
I learned that prayer is powerful and God didn’t want me to die in Michigan. Monday was the first full day I was there and the morning was pretty but then the storms came in. Monday night I was thinking, I came up here to die. There was a tornado coming right at us for about 10 minutes or so then at the last minute it veered south and missed us. Then a few hours later there were two more tornadoes coming at us and at the last minute one went south and one went north. When 600 people are praying for safety, God listened and had the tornadoes miss us. Never underestimate the power of prayer. Pray regularly. Here we are huddled in a closet, then the next day God brings us the beauty after the storm. I also thought I was going to die on top of the tower for the zip-line, it was moving in the wind and I thought I was going to be sick- it’s heck getting old, but I did it and Kylie did it three times
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I learned in our sermons, as we went through Philippians 2 about humility. Most of us on this earthly life are trying to go up the ladder of success, which there is nothing wrong with that. However as we go up that ladder are we sacrificing our time and energy to getting farther along in our careers or do we still make time for our families, for God, and for worship. We have to remember that Jesus started at the top of the ladder and came down to the bottom of the ladder to be sacrificed for our sins.
I also learned in our sermons about being humble. Phil 2:3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. How many times do we see, esp. in sports, someone who makes a play and then does a dance or something that brings glory to himself. (even when the players team is losing). Act like you have been there before, that God gave you the ability and that He should be getting all the glory.
I learned to give thanks to God for all our blessings. Do we only say thank you to God when times are good or do we also give Him thanks and rejoice in Him when things are bad? Do we give thanks just for the blessings or do we also give thanks to the blessor?
I learned that a lot of people will have children to bring happiness to their lives but do children really bring happiness? They bring sleepless nights, less money, less time with our spouse, less time for ourselves, etc etc so do they really bring us happiness. Yes of course they do, but in reality our happiness may go down but our meaning for life goes up. We want to raise our children to be compassionate, empathetic, healthy, God-fearing, God-loving, etc..
I learned that we should wake up every morning by saying yes, Lord. Yes, Lord, I will do whatever it is you ask. Now God, what is the question? What is it You want me to do today? My answer is yes, Lord, no matter what the question.
I learned that these young, college-aged counselors are awesome. They have to do so much and they do it with a smile on their face each and every day. They are up to serve breakfast, they take the kids for their activities, they serve lunch, they watch, help, with all afternoon activities, they serve dinner, they are involved with evening activities -worship and fambam, then most of them have small groups after 10 pm. They were all so great with each and every kid. I wish I could personally thank each one for their service to our families and to God. Basically they are busy from 7-730 to 11- 12 midnight each day, all summer long. Can you imagine that? They defn. have to rely on God’s strength to get through each day. At the end of camp each child gets a certificate from the counselors on how special they are and what they loved about each child.
I learned that I love to see my wife smile and laugh. Something I don’t get to see as often in our busy, hectic life. I learned that Kylie can come out of her shell and have a great time without being by our side. I learned that I can talk to other adults, that I can come out of my shell. (Yes I wore an Ohio State shirt in Michigan)
When Kim told me they leave the doors to our house and rooms unlocked when we are out I was like do what, what if someone breaks in. I remembered that forty years ago my parents did that. This world has changed and it has changed because we have taken God out of so many things. Can we put God back into our lives, our country, our world and live the way God intended us to live?
Need to reconnect with God? with your faith? with your spouse? with your children? Consider a vacation like this.
All these activities in the pics and video are free with the vacation. It was awesome (and the food was fantastic).Thanks Deanna Osborne for inviting us. We defn. look forward to coming back again. You can see Kylie and me in several of the activities. Look at her smile when she comes up out of the water after I blopped her off. (video shows me blopping another girl, Kelsey, off but shows Kylie coming up out of water 1:32- 1:40 of video)
Wish I could’ve seen this movie before Father’s Day but if you want to see what impact we dads have on our children and our families, this is a must watch. Eye opener.
Irreplaceable, What Is Family? by Focus on the Family. I just picked up the dvd from my local library but I checked, it is on Netflix
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God gave it to me to watch on Father’s Day.
Dads, let’s step up, help this next generation change the world.
Happy Father’s Day. For some of us it is a day of celebrating and honoring our father, for some of us it is a day of sorrow and remembering our father, and for some others of us, it is a day of wishing they had a father or that their father was more involved in their lives.
My dad was a truck driver. He was home almost every weekend. To me, it’s just how it was. I didn’t envy my friends that had their fathers every day. Maybe that’s the introvert in me that’s ok with being alone. I know he worked hard and I have my work ethic from him. I wasn’t as close to him as I should’ve been but when he was gone all week and I didn’t talk when he was home I guess it was what it was. When he was home and wanted to teach me how to work on a car I wanted sports and girls. It didn’t affect the way I am as a father, except maybe I want to be home every day to be with my children. He was a great dad though and through all his good and bad it taught me valuable lessons on what to do and not do.
When I think about it, I know I never considered how hard it must have been for him. All the sporting events , all the little moments, and all the big moments he missed. The life of a truck driver back then was harder than it is now. Less truck stops, practically no healthy foods, no exercise (no 24 hour gyms). All those things affected his mental and physical health. Not to mention the agent orange and Vietnam War he also dealt with.
He was also an awesome drummer who could play anything by ear. I could bring home Skillet or Bon Jovi or Luke Bryan and he could play right along without ever hearing the songs before. He played in bands and in bars since he was young so that didn’t help his health any either.
If I really think about it, he had 3 strikes against his health. (bands/bars, truck driving, Vietnam). I wish he would’ve taken better care of himself so he could still be here. I know he would be proud of me, he always said he was.
Call me weird but I have never felt the need to be accepted by anyone. Maybe I am lucky that way. Maybe I have just always felt accepted by my parents and by God. I know a lot of children live to be accepted by their fathers and when they are not, they try to find that acceptance elsewhere – which is always bad. Listen up dads, tell your children every day how much you love them, how much you are proud of them, how much you appreciate them and how much you accept them, even when they make mistakes. A spilled glass of milk cleans up easy in a few minutes, the harsh words you yell at your kids for making the mess will last a lifetime.
No matter what kind of dad you have, please believe you have a father that loves you and accepts you for who you are. Your Father in Heaven will always have his arms open for you, His words will always guide you, and His love for you will never fail. Trust in that and trust in Him.
However you are feeling about your father today I pray that you will be thankful for him. Without him you wouldn’t be here reading this today and without him you wouldn’t be able to make a difference in this world. You can make a difference.
If today is a struggle for you because your dad wasn’t there for you, maybe today can be a day of forgiveness and reconciliation for you.
Thank you dad for being the hard worker, teacher and example for me to follow. Thank you for loving me. Thank you Father for always being there for me, for accepting me for who I am and for waiting for me to come to you.
John 16:27 “No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.
1 John 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles
John 17:23 I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus
Ephesians 3:14-15 I have always been Father, and will always be Father
John 1:12-13 My question is ~ Will you be my child?
Luke 15:11-32 I am waiting for you
Father’s Love Letter –
Through My Father’s Eyes by Holly Starr –
Dad, You’re My Hero by Teresa James –
He Didn’t Have To Be by Brad Paisley –
Things My Father Said by Black Stone Cherry –
I Wish I Could by Collin Raye –
A Father’s Love by Bucky Covington – sometimes dads show their love by what they do, not what they say
Father’s Day by Butch Walker –
That’s What Daddys Do by Billy Ray Cyrus –
Love Without End Amen by George Strait –
Drinking Beer With Dad by Kid Rock –
I Want To Be Just Like You by Phillips Craig & Dean –
The Man I Want To Be by Vern Swedin –
Tough Little Boys by Gary Allan –
Dance With My Father by Kellie Coffey –
A Song For Dad by Keith Urban –
Song For My Father by Sarah Mclachlan –
The Father’s Song by Matt Redman –
How Deep The Fathers Love For Us by Skillet among many others but had to pick my fav band –
All Beauty Fades by One Less Reason – I stumbled on these guys a few years back and I don’t think there is a song by them I don’t like, so they get two here.
Life In The Way by One Less Reason –
Amen by Matt Papa – older song but it always touches me
Fight Song by Rachel Platten –
Clair Huxtable by Louis York –
God Held Me Together by Zacardi Cortez – older but new to me
What can I say? We have been through hell and back and here we are still fighting the good fight. I see God working in us more and more each day. I pray that as painful as our story was, that one day God will use it for His glory and we can help others.
You are an amazing mother, an awesome healthy cooking chef – just no orange chicken please, a great wife, and make me want to be better physically. Just don’t ever ask me to do a workout with you because you know you kill me. I pray one day when I get back to where I was we can run together again and cross a finish line together. ( I know I will have to slow down to do that since I was so much faster than you 🙂 )
I see the changes you have made and how God is working in you. I know I don’t tell you that enough. Look at you, going to be leading your own Run For God class, overcoming that fear of talking in front of people. I am proud of you.
Anyway, I love you and happy anniversary.
I Will Be Here by Steven Curtis Chapman – Our song
Love You All The Way by Sean Mcneill – Had to make my own video for this one, hope you like it
You Had Me From Hello by Bon Jovi –
Perfect Proposal by Wayne Wonder –
and of course for you, your favorite Jeremy Camp
Overcome because we have overcome so much
Same Power because He is working in our lives
He Knows because He Knows all we have gone through and we will go through
Be Still my favorite song from his new cd
I Still Believe because I still believe in us, I believe God is going to do great things for us
After my last post, I would like to talk about my other daughters. Kylie gets a lot of attention since she is still at home but I have three other wonderful daughters. Isn’t God funny? The way I treated some girls when I was younger and then I get blessed with four daughters.
Kirstie is my oldest and has made a lot of mistakes. She is a great person with a big heart but she didn’t really have a father figure around while she was growing up ( I came in the picture when she was 13). I see her growing and trying to better herself. I know I messed up some by giving up on her at times when she made those mistakes when I should have been pulling her closer. I pray she gives her life to God and lets him work in her.
Kelsey is who you would want a daughter to be. She makes mistakes but she stands for what she believes in. She is respectful and loving. She can be a little hard on people at times but in the end, I believe she forgives and moves on. She has also called me D2 for her second dad but I pray one day I can move down to D3 and let God be D1. As you know I am not a big talker so I wish we were closer but that is my fault.
Kayhla is my daughter from my first marriage and she has been through so much so the rest of this will be her story. Her mom and I divorced when she was 3 or 4. We had shared parenting until she was 6 then her mom moved to Florida and I had full custody. I am not condemning her mom, she did what she thought she had to do at the time. I raised Kayhla by myself for a year or so then married the wrong person. I thought I could change her, only God can change someone. That was a quick year and divorced again. As you can see, I was just as much blame for Kayhla’s early childhood experiences as her mom. I was always there physically to protect her and love her but once again, emotionally I wasn’t always there since I am not a talker.
Then I married my current wife and I thought everything was fine. We were in a stable home, going to church, my wife would take care of everything at home and the girls but I would work a lot and when I was home, I didn’t connect emotionally with anyone, let alone Kayhla.
Kayhla turned 15 and all heck broke loose. She had never dealt with the emotions of her mom leaving, the life changes I had put her through and how I wasn’t around to help her and show her how to be with a guy she deserves to be with. I basically was coming home to a war and I was the general and all I did was ground her and take away all her stuff. That didn’t help things. I also didn’t agree with what she was doing but it wasn’t much different than what I did as a teenager, except the disrespecting and back talking to parents. If I did that, I knew a belt was coming. As things were getting worse and the situation was affecting my relationship with my wife I gave up. Not that I quit caring but for the first time in my life I gave up and gave it to God. I told him I couldn’t do this on my own.
First thing I heard was give her her stuff back. I did. My wife didn’t agree but I was listening to God. We then had her go to a Christian counselor to work through some of the things with her mom and I went to a few sessions to deal with how I had failed her. It changed how I parent and makes me a better parent today and was the start of the turnaround for Kayhla.
When my wife and I were going through a rough patch a few years ago, I was constantly amazed by how Kayhla would give me a bible verse or encouragement or say just the right thing at the right time. I knew that was God working through her.
She sometimes still doesn’t make decisions I agree with but I let her make them, win lose or draw. I know I am not in control and that God will direct her foot steps. I will always be here for her when she needs me. I believe she should move back home and save money and start paying back student loans but she isn’t ready yet. Will she ever be? I don’t know, but I will put it in God’s hands.
We aren’t as close as I wish we were but she works and goes to college and has a boyfriend so there isn’t a lot of time but we both need to work on getting closer.
Looking back I can honestly say that during this trial, I was always seeing things through my perspective. How could she do this to me, her dad? I am the only one that has been there for her her entire life, I’ve done everything for her, sacrificed so much for her, etc etc. Now I see things differently. I see how this trial has made me a better father now, made me more patient, more appreciative. I also can see things through God’s eyes. I mean how many times has He had to say to me, why are you doing this, I am always there for you. Do you not realize how much I sacrificed, my own son, for you. That makes me open my eyes.
I need to work with being closer to all three of these girls. I pray God lets them know how much I love them and how much they have made me a better person for knowing them. I pray God puts people in their lives to direct them closer to Him. I pray they see how God is working in me and their mom/step-mom and what we went through and where we are today and know that He can do the same for them, no matter what they are going through.
Since I didn’t talk much and what I did say didn’t seem to get through, I made Kayhla a cd. I tried to put songs on from her view and my view. Here are some of them.
Here is our song. This isn’t the final version because it still needs mastered and tweaked a little but this is pretty much it. I wrote the lyrics, Lily Messer is the voice and did some of the music- she is amazing and every time I hear her sing she just captivates me, David McGuire who also is part of our church is on drums and Ceylon Wise from too wise productions did the rest of the music and mixing and production work.
This is how amazing God works and how it is all in His time. I wrote this song five years ago and when I was throwing away everything else I wrote, for some reason I kept this one. Five years ago Kylie started kindergarten and out of three teachers she could’ve had, she had Mrs. Chaffin. Over the next year or so I had thoughts to give the song to our worship leader or see if he knew anyone that would do it but God kept telling me to wait. Fast forward a few years and our church had a senior graduation party for the seniors, which Kayhla was one. While we were there, the band played and Lily, who was a junior, was one of the singers. When I heard her voice the world stopped and God said that’s who I want you to give the song to. I wasn’t listening to God then because I still had fear and didn’t think the song was anything. Fast forward seven months and my wife gets her personal training certificate. Two months after that she runs into Mrs. Chaffin at the park and she knew Kim ran and worked out so she asked Kim if she had her personal training certificate. Why yes she does, she just got it. Turns out Mrs. Chaffin’s husband ran his own personal training business and needed help. Kim signed on. Six months later Mr. Chaffin decided he was going to give the business to my wife and help out his brother-in-law in a production company. Kim took over and renamed it 5k’s Healthy Ways. Five months after that Lily sung in front of the main worship center and her parents just happened to be sitting beside us and I told them how amazing Lily was. Her mom Katie said you should tell her that because she is thinking about quitting, doesn’t think she is good. I was listening to God now so I told her and we connected and I gave her this song. Nine months later Lily went to college. I was fine with waiting, it’s already been five years. All in God’s time. Lily decided to come back home over winter break and we talked and started to get the ball rolling, but we didn’t have anyone to write music and produce for us. Then Kim said, you know Mr. Chaffin went to producing with his brother-in-law. I reached out to Mr. Chaffin and he connected me to Ceylon Wise of too wise productions and here we are. Sorry a long paragraph but see how God has worked over five years putting all these pieces in place. It is amazing.
We also need help with donations to finish the ep or cd. Each song is around $500. I paid for this song to be done and we have $200 in donations so far. That leaves $1800 to finish 5 songs. It seems like a lot but that is only $10 for 180 people. (and you get a copy of the cd when it is done).
Ask anyone that knows me and I am not one to ask for help or to owe anyone. I am really out of my comfort zone, all this is out of my comfort zone, by asking for help but God has brought me this far. I trust He will do the rest. I could get it done by putting on credit card but maybe this is God reaching out to some of you. Maybe the call isn’t for you to donate but to share with someone that could. Beats me, however the song moves you and God asks you to move I just pray we listen.
Let me know what you think. Do you like it? Not like it? Think you could hear it on the radio? Think it will move people that hear it? This is my first attempt at a video also so…Feel free to share it.
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My God, My Music, My Life 