Winter? I'll pass...

It's a Sunday afternoon and you are wondering what you can do for fun...how about shoveling snow!

Wow!  What a fantastic idea!

About as fantastic as hearing "Christmas Shoes" 70 times in two weeks!

Of course, shoveling snow is no fun at all.  Is it supposed to be?  No.  It's supposed to be hard, sweaty, terrible drudgery, just like the rest of winter.

Winter is like the earth reminding us just who works for who.

It says "I'm gonna drop a bunch of this stuff on the ground randomly, and I expect you to pick it up and move it to another place, for no other reason than because it's in your way.  Oh, and your going to play in it and your going to like it!  You better write songs about how much you like it!  I also want you to make pretend people out of it, and dress them in top hats and scarves!"

"Yes, sir, Mister Winter ,sir!  Whatever you say!"

What choice do we have?

For like 5 months in Canada we become slaves to the weather.

It defines what we do, when we do it and for how long.

Winter also affects the mind in funny ways.

It erases the area of the brain that learned how to drive an automobile responsibly.

I think that portion of the gray matter suffers from frostbite once snow begins to fill the air.  "How do I use the signal again?  Why do I have to clean off my lights and back window?  Why do I have to follow a safe distance and slow down?"

I know Canadians are supposed to be big fans of winter sports.  Ironically, winter affects the playing of winter sports.  I don't remember how many times the buses for school would be cancelled due to snow, yet we found a way to drive to the rink to take our kids to hockey practice.  Not many kids missed it.

Also, I suffer from "winter face".  It's a seasonal disorder of the expression of your face.  It's recognizable by the squinted eyes and gritted teeth.  Also the red cheeks and nose.  Your features get semi-frozen into a look that says "I hate everything right now!"  It's a very sad condition, the only cure is a warm fire and some hot apple cider.

When will it all be over?

March?

No.  March is the month where our spring hopes get dashed by a sudden blizzard and everyone's brain freezes again.

April?

No.  April is the month where we shovel the remaining March snow onto the road to try and melt it away.  April is the time for mud and salt debris to be splashed endlessly on our vehicles, causing mile-long lineups at the car wash.

Once in a while I tell my self to just relax and embrace winter.

I talk to myself in soothing tones and wonder if I should buy a snowmobile or invest in some ice skates or skis.

Then I shake my head and come back to reality.  I don't want to do any of those things!

I want to stay inside and hide till the first robin of spring can be heard pecking the frozen ground for a worm that's still encased in permafrost.

Blah!

How do you snap out of a bad mood?

Yesterday I was in a funk.  Not just because it was a Monday, it felt deeper than that.

We had a busy weekend, filled with a lot more activity than usual and I felt I was OK going to bed Sunday night.  Then in the morning I just felt "off".

All day I struggled just to really CARE about anything.

I'm older and wiser, so I know these feelings pass eventually, but I was used to a few hours or half the day...but ALL DAY?

I just could not bring myself to a place of clarity, so I chalked it up to being tired and needing some sleep.  I knew that if it lasted a second day, there could be an issue either physically or mentally.

Well, I am happy to say that it's Tuesday and things are sort of back to normal.

Am I missing a trick here somewhere?  Should I have done something to lift my spirits?

I am sure there are going to be many days when we feel spent and apathetic and there are no real reasons to feel that way.

It seems like feelings are made to be experienced, but not a guide for life ultimately.

If I was to follow my feeling on a lot of things, I think my life would be very different.

I am thankful for God.  He's constant.  He never changes.  That gives us hope doesn't it?

Answered Prayers

I don't know if you know the joy of having answered prayers.

If you do, you know that the answers you get are not always what you expect.

As a Christian, I have learned from the scriptures that those who believe are encouraged to pray.

That means talking to God (who you cannot see) and asking Him for help in things you cannot do yourself.  We are supposed to pray and believe that the things we are praying about will be done.

This raises some questions that you have to settle in your mind before you begin.

"Is the thing I am praying about something I can do but I just don't want to?"

"Does my prayer involve making someone do something I want them to?"

"Is there a real basis for my request?"

"Is it OK to ask to be a millionaire?"

There are more questions and I would suggest you do your own digging to get more answers to other questions about prayer.

I prayed about two things recently and had almost immediate developments on BOTH issues.

One involved the sale of something big.  I got the price I was asking for, with the least amount of drama I have ever had!  It went so smoothly, it was like a dream transaction!

Cool.

Then there is the other thing...

This one involved a relationship thing that someone who I care about was going through.

What happened in that situation, was not what I expected.  I am still not sure how this one is going to turn out but I am trusting God that His influence is being felt.

Relationship prayers are a little more tricky because the wills of two or more people are involved.

God, as I have learned, will always allow you to make up your own mind about things.

That's called freedom.

So it's still a wait and see on that particular situation, so my wife and I are still praying.

If you're looking at a difficult situation, relationship issue or just want a transaction to go smoothly...why not pray about it RIGHT NOW?

You learn to pray the same way you learn to play a game or ride a bike, you just do it!

Really Alone?

Sunday sermon lesson!

Yes, I was paying attention in church!  It only looks like I was distracted, because I use my phone to look up bible verses and make notes.

Smart phones are part of our lives now.  Good luck trying to do anything without one, including living the Christian life.

I asked my pastor if it bothered him that people use their phones during church.  He said "Not really".

It's not something that really concerned him a lot because, if people are there to listen, they will listen.

OK, so in church, technology, no biggie.  At least in my church.

What about your time with God alone?

It's encouraged inn scripture to get alone with God and talk.  How does that phone fit in there?

It's so easy to reach over and start scanning social media and end up sidetracked and miss out on some good "face time" with our Father!

I have a suggestion that I hope will help you out.  If you want to get the most out of that time alone with God.  Bring along an actual notepad and pen.  Jot down what you want to talk about, and then be prepared to write down ideas and thoughts that come to you while you are praying!

Put the date on the note and then file it away somewhere.

If you look back on the notes you take, you will begin to see just how valuable that time was.

Try it!

Hardships

At church this Sunday, a lady stood up to give a "praise report".

If you don't know what a praise report is, let me tell you.

It's the reason people jump out of their seats at church and shout!  It means that God has shown Himself faithful in a special way to someone and they can't wait to tell everyone!  It means that person comes up to the pastor before service and says "Please, can I share something before you speak?"  It's usually an answer to prayer, and it's meant to encourage everyone to keep on trusting God!

So here's what happened...

This lady has been through a battle with breast cancer.  She has endured the treatments and all the horrible side effects that go with it.  It's been a long battle, but she has come out the other side feeling strong.  Her outlook is bright.

She shared that she could sense the support of her church family.  She had an awareness of the effective prayers that people praying for her.  She said a few times she had to remind herself that she even HAD cancer!

All through the treatment and through the suffering, she said she held on to a passage of scripture from Isaiah 43:1-3.

But now, this is what the Lord says—

he who created you, Jacob,

he who formed you, Israel:

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have summoned you by name; you are mine.2 

When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

you will not be burned;

the flames will not set you ablaze.3 

For I am the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

She said that she hung onto that passage all through the treatment.  That means, when it seemed hopeless, she leaned on those words.  Those words were her only trust.  They calmed her mind and more importantly, gave her comfort.

She also commented that the scriptures mean more to her now than ever before!

Does it take hardships and sickness for us to realize the importance of trusting God?  Sometimes.

I think we all are going to have to face something very very difficult.  What will we trust in?

I choose to believe there is a God who knows and loves us unconditionally, and that He had those words recorded so that we ALL could know that we CAN "pass through" and not get "swept over"!

We can "walk through" and not be "set ablaze"!

What do you put your trust in?

Bionics Proves God Will Never Give Up On You!

I used to love watching The Six Million Dollar man.

In the 70's you either watched that or Starsky and Hutch.

I was the nerd guy who watched a show about a man who was half machine but still moved incredibly slowly.  All the scenes where the hero, Steve Austin uses his super bionic abilities were filmed in super slow motion.  It was cool back then, but I do not have the patience to watch it anymore.  It's like going back to dial-up after you are used to DSL!

Steve had bionic limbs installed after a horrible accident left him maimed and barely alive.  He lost both legs and one arm.  He also lost the sight in one eye.  Modern medical technology was used to make him better, stronger and faster!

I saw this article the other day about real life bionics.  It seems there is a Canadian man making some cool discoveries about how the brain can actually control mechanical prosthetics.  Here's a quote from the article...

Nerves are like your body's "communication highway," sending messages to your muscles in the form of electrical signals and relaying information from the environment back to your brain. After an amputation, he says, nerves in the residual limb are "scarred" but remain active and continue to transmit signals intended for severed muscles.

Did you catch that?  Even though a piece of your body is MISSING, the nerves still send messages from your brain to that area!  He's trying to harness those impulses to control a robotic limb, giving the person back the power to have an almost normal life!

Fascinating!

OK, so here's my deep spiritual thought out of all this.

In the bible we read that God considers the church (believers) as a body.  Just like a body, you have a head.  That's Jesus according to the scriptures.  So follow me here...

If there is a piece missing from the body, does the body adapt?  Yes, but it's not the same.  Consider the fact that the brain is still sending impulses to the missing parts!

Lets use another analogy.  The body of believers is also a FAMILY.  I believe all mankind are created in the image of God and because of that, are part of His family simply because they were made to be that.  Not everyone believes in God, but that does not change the fact that they were intended to be part of the family and are welcome to enjoy being part of the clan anytime they decide they want to!

The folks who have yet to join or have left the family for some reason, are still getting signals from the head!  There is still a place for you!  The body can adapt to being without you, but you still are a necessary part of the bigger picture!  God does not give up on you ever!  Those impulses are going to get sent your way forever!  Why?  That's how the body is set up!  Good News!

We are better, stronger and faster when we are all working together!  

Forget the Past.

I heard a story this weekend that really made me think.  It's about a man who for many years struggled with alcohol and homelessness,  He had been helped by many in the community but kept repeating the cycle of addiction.  He's in his 80's.  I heard that about a year and a half ago, he had a stroke.  He was hospitalized to recover.  When he did, he had no memory of being an alcoholic or being homeless!

Wow.

As of this day, he lives in the hospital because he has nowhere else to go.  This is where he gets cared for.  He is doing very well and most would not recognize him as the same man!

Paul writes that "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away, behold all things have become new!" 2Cointhians 5:17

If you are a new creation as a believer, your past is gone to!  Stop thinking about it!  As much as you can, get around people who don't constantly remind you of it!  Live your life like you are new, cause that's what you are!

Comedy Tour September 2016!

Another Upstanding Comedy Tour has come and gone and I hope you got out to a show!

I want to share a few pics with you from the latest tour with headliner Matt Falk!

Here was the itinerary:

Monday, Sept 26 - The Core, Belleville
Tuesday, Sept 27 - First Baptist Church, Barrie
Wednesday, Sept 28 - The Rock Family Church, Sarnia
Thursday, Sept 29 - Emmanuel Baptist Church, Chatham
Friday, Sept 30 - Parkwood Gardens Church, Guelph
Saturday, Oct 1 - Brant Community Church, Brantford

The crowd at The Rock in Sarnia

Rose setting the merch table.

Timmy Boyle opening the show in Sarnia.

Bob Guest, musical comedian!

Me performing my set in Sarnia!

Brandon McCaskill!  Musical comic!

Headliner, Matt Falk!

Matt is "effortlessly funny!"

The gang from the Chatham show!

Timmy Boyle kicks off the Chatham show!

Timmy again, note the ratty track pants...

Matt kills it again in Sarnia!

Timmy Boyle in Brantford

Alex Bowman in Brantford!  Ukulele one liners!

Evan Dunne!  An amazing man with a great story!

Matt closing out the tour in Brantford!

Closing shot from Brantford!

Shut up!

Sometimes at church, something sticks with you for a very long time.  It could be something said to you by a friend or something in the message.

It often happens to me that I get something out of what the pastor says just in passing.

I am odd I guess.

Regardless, I am glad that God and I have somewhat of an open channel.

Near the end of the service last Sunday, pastor brought up the idea of that one person you have in life that can just sit beside you at any time and NOT SAY ANYTHING.  There is no awkward silence involved.  It's just the fact that you are together and familiar with each other that makes the hush OK. Occasionally one of you will speak up with a thought or share something from your day, but there is no rush.  It's easy going.

Pastor then had us imagine that we were sitting with God for just a minute.  No conversation was necessary, just enjoying each other's company!

What a cool idea!

Sometimes we feel pressured to pray and can forget that God just likes BEING with us!

Yes that means you!

We are all meat-heads and failures in our own way, but God already knows all that stuff.

I think just having that perspective frees you up to enjoy prayer time like never before.

Think about it won't you, thank you...

Here is something I have been thinking about.

Does God operate like the Canadian heath care system?

I have been waiting to get an MRI for a nerve thing that has been bothering me lately.  It's not critical.

It takes a month of waiting to get one done.  It takes that long because of demand and priority.

The most urgent cases get looked after first and everyone else has to wait.

Does God do the same thing to us?  When we pray, there are urgent things and not so urgent.

Is there a waiting list when it comes to answered prayers?  Do you sometimes feel like that there are bigger problems in the world, and God should look after those and not bother with your simple troubles?

I get that we should pray for our fellow man and the global issues facing our time, but I have also experienced the joy of having God remind me that He's thinking of me and the things I like.

I don't understand how He does that.  But He is God and He can.  I believe praying works on the BIG stuff and the small stuff.

Can You Really Change?

I'd like to share a video devotional I recently recorded at LIFE.  

I usually like to be funny, but in this one, there is a serious side, hope you enjoy it and it helps you!

Change is possible!!

Reflections

It's my birthday.

I'm 50.

I've learned some stuff.

Reflections on 50 years of Existence

Be You - don't bother being what others want you to be.  You'll end up with no idea who you really are.

Don't take life too seriously - It's short, so enjoy the ride, things will happen but you'll be OK.

Make your spouse happy!  Don't be rude or annoying.

Love your kids for who they are - You can only parent for so long, then that job is done.

Explore and ask questions - Curiosity is a step towards learning, you never get it all figured out.

Have an opinion, but hold it loosely.  Your views will change over the years.

Explore your passions.

Listen to what people are saying, beyond their words.

Don't allow others to make you feel worthless.  (They obviously have their own issues.)

Leave a toxic environment as soon as you can.

Watch the The Three Stooges.

Go to a comedy show.

Be easy to work with, as much as you can.

Read the bible through at least once.  Read biographies to.

Change will happen, roll with it.

If you appreciate someone, tell them now, not later.

It's OK to not have it all figured out.  Someone else has the answer you need.

We all have failings and regrets.  Let them go.

Change is Possible.

"Can people really change?"

If you have not asked that out loud, you have probably thought it.  Well I have good news, change is possible in others and most importantly in YOU!

Change is most certainly real.  It's happening right now and you don't even see it!  For example, are you wearing bell-bottom jeans?  Not likely unless you are one of those people who loves wearing vintage clothing.

Just like fashions change, people change, but the process can be a very slow one.  Why?

Because, when WE change everything around us changes too.  It takes time...

What got me thinking about this was a pretty simple thing I did at home.  I oiled our squeaky front door.  I am up really early and I try to be quiet so my wife can sleep.  I am usually successful, but on my way out, that front door would always make a squeak!

Until ONE DAY!

I got tired of it and got out some WD-40 and soaked the hinges.  BAM!  No more noise!

Here's whats odd though.  For a lot of mornings after that, I still expected the squeak to be there, just because it had become a part of my routine.

When things change it takes a while to get used to the different atmosphere!  Maybe you have changed your language from, colorful words to direct talk.  People may say, what's wrong with you?  It's going to take some time for others to adjust to hearing you talk plainly!

May you have dropped a bad habit and you have picked up a new hobby.  The old places you used to hang out in may miss you but in time they'll get over it!

Here's a scripture that's interesting.  Romans 2:4

Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

Because God is so good, it causes us to repent, which means to change the way we think about things.  Literally to have a new mind about everything!

As our thinking changes...we change, and as we change things around us change.  Be patient.  Don't be discouraged.  It might take some time.

Awesome week!

 Rose and I headed out on the Upstanding Comedy -The Circuit Tour for six straight nights of performing comedy and then we also crammed in a visit to Niagara Comic-Con!

The tour started in Belleville at a wonderful venue known as The Core!  Scott Jackson was there for the fist night and we managed to visit a couple radio stations while in town!

First set of the tour!

Clayburn Cox, Jared Groenewagon, Timmy Boyle, me.

Former LIFE-er Josh!

Stop at UCB Belleville!

The next stop was a hometown show in Barrie!  Great crowd!  Clayburn Cox and his wife, Karen stopped in to get a tour of LIFE!

The Barrie crowd loved Clayburn!

                     Loving LIFE!                         

We headed down the road for dates in Sarnia and Chathan next!

Great shot!

Ow ow ow ow...

Thanks for the pics!

My biceps are catching up to the Hulk, Lou Ferrigno!

We love the Falls!

Brantord shot.

Clayburn, hamming it up!

The Fonz!  Henry Winkler!

Clayburn Cox is a wonderful human being!

Comedy - Back At It!

I am heading back out on tour with the Upstanding Comedy - The Circuit shows!

This time we make 6 stops.  May 30-Belleville, May 31-Barrie, June 1-Sarnia, June 2-Chatham. June 3-Guelph and June 4-Brantford.

The full schedule is here.

Why should you come to a comedy show?  Specifically, a CLEAN comedy show run by a Christian?

Well now, have you ever been so worried and bothered about something that it seemed like nothing could bring you out of a funk?  Has life been so dark that you wondered what it was all about?  In those moment, was there someone who did something goofy and you cracked a smile, and all of a sudden the world did not seem so bleak?

This is the role of the comic.  To bring levity to a whacked out crazy world.

Comedians make you look at a situation differently.  They see the funny side whereas you may only see the dark side.  They are people who have walked through life the same as you and know it's all going to be OK.

Do you need that in your life?  Do you know someone who does?  This is why comedy exists.

Hey it's just a great time to!

See you on the tour!

Creations and Relations

There are two things I have been thinking about a lot lately:

1.  Relationships

2.  Creativity

I am in a constant "daily meditation" on both of these, but I think I'll share the creative side this week.

I came across this chart on Facebook the other day and it really resonated with me.

Being in morning radio, I guess you could call me a "creative".  

There is an aspect of the job that requires certain things to be done like weather, news, announcements and liners.  Those things are vital information that we need to get out.  We do these things and filter them through our personal lens in a limited way.

Then there are other aspects of the job that allow you to let your personality shine through even more than that.

These are what we call "bits".  Bits are talk breaks between the music where we chat about a certain topic, a funny event, something in the news or something spiritual.  They last a whopping one minute and thirty seconds!  Within that time frame we have to engage you, the listener, make our point and move on to the next thing.

We get many ideas for bits during the day.  We have to filter them and pick the ones we think will be the best on the air during a morning radio show.  We want to be encouraging, relevant, relate-able and real.

Sounds easy right?  Try it.  Maybe you are a natural.  Great!  I have to work a little harder.

Creative ideas are interesting, and this is why I found the chart so fascinating!  It's so true!

Stage #1 - This is awesome!

This happens to me very often.  I get a thought or concept and get very excited about it!  It seems like the greatest thing ever!  You can hardly believe that this idea came to YOU!  It's revolutionary, it's hilarious or it's intensely thought provoking.

Then you share it with someone...

Stage #2 - This is tricky.

The idea you fell in love with now seems like the most complicated thing to do since the 12 sided Rubik's Cube.  What happened to just doing something?  Why does there have to be so many moving parts?  Why do so many people have to be involved?  Why does everyone have to share their opinion on your brilliant plan?  Why did I even bring it up in this staff meeting?

Stage #3 - This is crap!

I wonder if Steve Jobs ever thought the iPhone was a crappy idea.  I wonder if Thomas Edison was discouraged by the opinions of others.  If he was we would all still be using whale oil in our lamps!

I have been here many times.  This is the stage where you actually hate the thing you thought of.  It seems that you were temporarily insane when you spoke up about your plan.  What was I thinking?  You feel like apologizing to the world and hiding in a cardboard box under the stairs in the basement.

Stage #3 - I am crap.

Be careful here!  This is where you can begin to rationalize.  You think "The reason I have no good ideas is because I myself am no good.  I am worthless to my family and my company.  I am the problem."  As Christian people, we are NOT immune to this!  I was once so discouraged that I asked God to remove me from the earth!  Crazy!  If this is you right now...STOP!  There are over seven billion people on the earth, we all have something to contribute.  God made us all with love and care.  You need to forget about those feelings RIGHT NOW and get ready to move to the next stage...

Stage #4 - This might be OK!

At what point do you allow your idea or concept to be shaped by others?  When do you begin to see that the opinions you heard were valuable feedback?  At some point you have to boil it down to the basics.  For us in radio, we have to do this ALL the time.  We have to ask ourselves "What is the point of what I am saying?".  When we do that, we discover that a bit or interview is all about "encouraging someone through a hard time" or "parenting is tough but rewarding".  Now the picture is becoming clearer!  Now you see rays of hope shining through the darkness of uncertainty!  Here we go, get ready for...

Stage #5 - This is awesome!

Aha!  Now it all makes sense!  Something vague is now something with a sharp focus!  It's connecting in a new way.  You can see the big picture.  There is hope!  It was there all along!  It's fun to share your idea because now it's not just yours...it belongs to everyone!  The phone rings in the studio and someone says "What you guys were talking about REALLY helped me!" or "That guest you had on had a similar story to mine and now I know I am not alone!".  The reward of knowing that those connections are being made is priceless.  We also know it happens whether we hear about it or not.  

YES!  You can't wait to do it all over again tomorrow!

Just be ready....

NEXT WEEK:  Relationships! (Oh my!)

Pick up the trash...

This weekend in Barrie was the annual Spring Into Clean event, where hundreds of dedicated citizens grab yellow garbage bags and pick up trash all over the city.

It got me thinking about something pretty spiritually deep.  I hope you can track along with me on this one.

Our cities and side roads are wonderful places of scenic beauty.  All it takes is a stroll along a trail or ride on a bike path to realize that we live in a spectacular area.  The problem is that, through carelessness, people who live in the very place they enjoy, cause it to become littered with garbage.  The very thing we walk and drive through every day becomes less attractive by the refuse WE dump there without thinking!

Can you picture this?  "Ya, come to Barrie...(munch munch)...this is a great place...(munch munch)...so beautiful...(chew chew...swallow)..."  Then the person tosses an empty donut bag out the window of the car!  Everything you just said gets forgotten.

Just as unbelievable as that seems, we do it to OURSELVES to!

I've always believed that the Gospel, the good news, when presented properly is the most attractive message on earth.  Jesus believed this and had the crowds to prove it.  Who can say no to a God who loves you so much, nothing stood in His way to make sure you could have a relationship with you?  It's attractive!

As a believer in Christ, YOU are attractive, you are beautiful!  Why?  Because you have been lifted from a load of guilt, shame and pain!  You have access to joy that nothing in the world can give you! You can have little or you can have much, it does not matter, the joy is the same.

BUT...

There are times when we can allow our own beautiful landscape of New Life get littered.

We toss out the empty coffee cup of a bad attitude.

We casually drop the cigarette wrapper of malicious gossip.

We can even dump the trash can of entitlement!

All of these things litter an otherwise attractive landscape of a Godly Christian life!  It's there underneath the garbage but it's up to us to pick up the debris so others can look and see the wonderful work of the Master Gardener! 

Well, maybe this is too deep for a Monday morning, but it's got me thinking.  I've been picking up some of the spiritual trash that has been in my heart for too long now.

That's the other danger of not picking up the litter;  you can just get used to seeing it there and you don't realize how disgusting it looks!  It reminds me of every episode of "Hoarders".

Take a moment today and grab a trash bag and do a walk through of your heart.  If you see a LOT of junk, don't worry, we are in this together and we can all pitch in to help!

You are a beautiful landscape of grace!

(Whoa! Did I just say that?)

House Concert and House of God

Weekend Recap!

SATURDAY

After a lazy morning, Rose and I headed out to to some shopping errands and worked on the house the rest of the afternoon.

When the evening rolled around, we headed out to the Oro Station Super City Resort and Casino for a house concert at the Scott and Janice Villa de-Musica!

The place was packed as we were entertained and led in worship by Drew Brown!

Drew has a soulful voice and some of his songs can be heard on LIFE.  He even threw in some Peter Gabriel tunes!  He was backed up by two friends on guitar and percussion.  During his break, Scott asked me to do some comedy and I was happy to do so!  My first private show!

Drew came back and closed the night with some worship tunes and some inspirational thoughts!

Drew Brown and band!

Drew Brown setting up the next tune.

View of the band from the highly coveted sofa seating!

I shared my comedy in between sets.

After the concert I picked up a copy of "Herding Kittens" written by Scott.  The book shares the story of his three year journey, managing Anthem For Today.  I started reading it after the concert and I got about halfway through before I realized I should get some sleep!

SUNDAY

We started out early because we were booked to speak on behalf of LIFE at Christian Victory Center in Port Perry!

The LIFE booth goes to every church visit!

My message is called "The Force Awakens"

Gesturing is an effective speaking skill!

The worship time was great, the people loving and caring to!  My message is titled "The Force Awakens" (I hope no one steals the name...) and I talk about how God's word is the most powerful "force" in the universe!  I also encourage people that God is always working in our lives even if we don't see it because His word is like a seed, and the miracle of the seed happens underground, away from our sight!

It was a blessed time and we got to tour a bit of Port Perry.  We ate a yummy lunch at the Piano Cafe in the downtown, then stroll the walk.  I ended up with a silk Tommy Bahama shirt from a local clothing store!  Perfect for enjoying the sunshine!

An end of the day ice cream topped off the activity and we called it an afternoon!

Exhausted a bit...but happy!