Show Me...something that relaxes you

Many possibilities came to mind. Family. Vacations. Photography. Exercise. But something lead me to go in a different direction. Music. I love music, as most people would agree. I grew up on 70's rock. Many people are shocked to learn my all time favorite group is Led Zeppelin. But I hardly listen to them these days. I still LOVE the music. Lyrically I have some issues. Fortunately I have no idea what they're singing about in many of the songs. These days I tend to mostly listen to contemporary Christian music. Usually we have our MP3 player shuffling through our catalog of Christian selections as seen below. Or sometimes Julianne's mix of country music.

I rarely play my guitar these days. It's set up on its stand about a yard to my right. Lily likes to come in and strum it. Funny how just seeing it there is relaxing to me.

Come back tomorrow (the last day) to Show Me...YOU. (e.g. a self portrait; your hands; your feet (I know some of you will be all over this one!); a shielded view of you; any way you want to portray yourself will work here)! For all the details from the week, click here.

G as in Gee I Miss My Guitar

Shooting these pictures after I got home from work today was the first time my guitar has been out of the case since I don't know when. Julianne bought me this guitar back when we were leading worship with the leader of the young married couples group we used to attend. That was a long time ago. When life gets busy, certain things have to go. So yes, I miss playing, but I can't really complain.


Please visit Quilly's Pacific Paradise for more Alphabet Photos.


Click HERE for all my Alphabet Photos.

Shocked

Just over a week ago I wrote about a great night on the town. Then I gave the story behind the story. And today, my friend called me and pointed out the following:

Third Day and Brad Avery have made the very difficult decision to part ways.

Third Day and Brad Avery have made the very difficult decision to part ways.

We appreciate Brad’s many contributions to the band's career to date, including his work on our forthcoming album, but the time has come for us to follow our separate paths.

He has been an important part of Third Day for the last 13 years as we've traveled the world together and performed over 1,000 concerts. We will miss him as a band member but he will always remain our brother and our friend. Brad is a wonderful person, gifted songwriter and talented musician. We trust that God has amazing plans for his future

____________________________________

According the the article on Billboard.com, "Avery is leaving to pursue solo projects."

When I told Julianne, she said, "And he didn't tell you when you talked to him????" Ha ha. Anyhow, I'm a bit shocked but very pleased I got to see Brad play with them on one of their last shows together. I'm anxious to see what doors God opens up for him next.

A Night on the Town - The Promised Details

My Wordless Wednesday post went up late the other night so here are the details I said were forthcoming.

Who: Third Day

Venue: The House of Blues - Sunset Strip, Hollywood, Ca

Of course you could have (or should have) gathered as much from the original post! But in this case there's a story behind the story.

Christmas 2006. Third Day came out with a Christmas cd titled Christmas Offerings. One of the tracks, Merry Christmas, written by Third Day's guitarist, Brad Avery, tells his family's story of going through yet another Christmas without their daughter. Like us, they were waiting and waiting for the referral of their daughter in China. Needless to say the song deeply touched us and captured the essence of our experience. Julianne was so touched, she included the lyrics to the song in our Christmas card/newsletter that year and then again here. Well, as it turned out, Brad and his family were part of our travel group to China. In fact, our daughters grew up together in the same orphanage.

So knowing I was going to the concert this week, and thinking I might get the chance to see Brad again since the venue was so small, I brought a couple pictures of Lily and the picture of Brad and his daughter I took. The picture was taken minutes after we met our daughters in China for the first time. I arrived to the House of Blues early. While waiting for my friend to arrive, I entered a door that I thought would lead to the venue's restaurant. It turned out to lead to the backstage dressing rooms. I walked down the hall following the sign to Third Day's dressing room. Brad was not there so I went back outside. I decided to go back in moments later and soon found Brad. We got to talk for a while and update each other on the progress of our daughters, reflect back on the China trip, and talk about the band's tour. It was nice to reconnect.

As for the show, they sounded incredible. The small setting made it very personal. They really focused on worship which was very meaningful. They played some new material that will be on their new cd (released later this year?). As I told my friend it was a night of good food, good company, and a good show.

A Night on the Town-Wordless Wednesday

A shot from tonight's show. Third Day at the House of Blues. Great show! Details forthcoming.

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Update
Click here for the details.

Finally Home

I've admitted a few times too many in here about getting teary eyed about certain things. So with no admission of anything of the sort (I have my reputation to maintain...ha ha), I wanted to share a song that, from the first listen, had quite an impact on me. The song is Finally Home by MercyMe. Julianne was surprised because she knows I rarely "hear" the lyrics for some time; she knows I tend listen to the instrumentation above all. But like I said, not this time. As I read in a review, the song is a follow up to I Can Only Imagine written after the passing of singer Bart Millard's father. Posted below are the lyrics followed by a short sample video of the song. Read, listen, and take it in.

Finally Home
by MercyMe

I’m gonna wrap my arms around my daddy’s neck
And tell him that I’ve missed him.
And tell him all about the man that I became
And hope that it pleased him

There’s so much I want to say
There’s so much I want you to know

When I finally make it home
When I finally make it home

Then I’ll gaze upon the throne of the King
Frozen in my steps
And all the questions that I swore I would ask
Words just won’t come yet

So amazed at what I’ve seen
So much more than this old mind can hold

And the sweetest sound my ears have yet to hear
Voices of the angels

Incredible Show

As I briefly mentioned in my last post, a few weeks ago we went to a concert. We saw Bethany Dillon, Sanctus Real, and Steven Curtis Chapman. On top of that, we got to spend the evening with some dear friends, James and Allison. As you see I got some really good pictures from the show but I'm still kicking myself for not having someone take a picture of the four of us.

Bethany Dillon had a short set but she was amazing. I absolutely love her voice. I'm not too familiar with Sanctus Real They were good but didn't knock my socks off. And as usual, Steven Curtis Chapman put on a wonderful performance. I am hardly one to be star struck but he is someone I would like to meet sometime. If anything, just to tell him our story and thank him for his and his family's role in us having Lily.

Here are some shots from the show. Enjoy.

Bethany Dillon





Steven Curtis Chapman







Steven was joined on stage by his two sons, Caleb and Will Franklin, on guitar and drums.

New Blog Addition

It's hard to miss unless your speakers are off or if you read this through a blog reader. I added the playlist feature I saw on other blogs. I picked some songs that have stood out to me lately or over the years. I'm sure I'll change up the songs but here's why I chose the songs I selected:

• Bethany Dillon - The Kingdom I just love her voice. As I tend to listen to the sound of the music/voice before letting lyrics sink in, I have yet to absorb the message. I can't believe she's 18! We're going to see her open for Steven Curtis Chapman next month. Can't wait!
• MercyMe - Bring the Rain This song impacted me deeply back in May when I was confronted with some health issues. Powerful song.
• Steven Curtis Chapman - When Love Takes You In I still cry when I listen to this. He wrote this after they adopted their first of three children from China. This song and his story is how God impacted Julianne and me and why we have Lily today.
• Steven Curtis Chapman - All Things New I love the sound and the message. God does make all things new!
• Casting Crowns - Voice of Truth I've just recently been getting into them. I didn't know which song to choose of theirs. This is one of many I could have picked.
• Chris Tomlin - Holy is the Lord This is someone else I've only recently been listening to more. Julianne sang this song in church a few weeks back. Realizing we didn't have the CD, I ran out and got it. He has incredible praise and worship music.
• Steven Curtis Chapman(yes, again) - I Will Be Here This is our song. It was sung to us by my father-in-law on our wedding day. Julianne had a book made for me using my photographs from Descanso Gardens with the lyrics of this song printed throughout. Probably the most special gift I've ever received.

Very few of you actually post comments but I have to ask what you think. Do you like the auto start feature? Did is scare the heck out of you and wake your dog? Would you rather push the start button yourself? And of course if you stay and listen for a while, let me know what you think of the songs. Those of you that have known me from way back are probably scanning up and down the list questioning, "Where's the Led Zeppelin?!" :)