Ok, so what did we do on our day off?

Good question! I'm glad you asked! So, we did a little running around. We had a nice lunch at Moe's. Always go too much on their hard rock salsa though. Always leaves the tongue burning. Thank goodness for Coldstone! Then, off to promote the next Shma show. Wow, that is going to be an amazing show. 4 awesome bands for 5 bucks. It'll be great to see Mortal Treason again. Showdown, Becoming the Archetype as well. Showbread is cool but never was a huge fan of them. Then, we met Joey and Renea for a little dinner and then, off to the movies. Hitch. Ok, wasn't my cup of tea. But, then again, not many people would want to watch the movies I would want to see. I felt like I needed to see a movie like SAW after watching Hitch. But, anywho, there you have it. So, naturally, Sabrina's disappointed in me not liking the movie because we rarely agree on a movie.
Now, just as a sidenote, isn't it horrible and degrading that entertainers get so desparate that they have to pose for a magazine like Playboy? Case in point. Debbie Gibson. I was saddened to even notice a Playboy in Sam Goody's (when did they start carrying them?) and notice that she was featured in the mag. Sad. I guess her "Electric Youth" days are long gone and she can't seem to recapture the magic anymore. Anywho, that is my rant on that.

Oooo YAY! A Day off!!!

Just wanted to say that both the Mrs and I have the day off together! YAHOO!!! This is rare and we're going to take full advantage of it! See you at the next Shma show! :-D

Just a Prayer

Lord, the one thing I pray for today is that You show me the community You and You alone want me to be with. Thank You Lord for how You have blessed me and even though I am far from perfect, You still love me for the egotistical, prideful sinner that I am. Thank You Jesus for what You did for me on the cross. Help me to always know You are near. Bless this day and all days to come.

A little addendum and other blessings

First off, I should mention that when I talked about Sam, Lara and Taylor, I should mention that Taylor is their adopted daughter.
Did I even mention the thought of my parents coming down sometime in the spring? WOW what a blessing that is! That is a big YAHOO!!! Then hey, my sister and family are making a stopover here in town around Palm Sunday. That's another big YAHOO!!!
Then, another big YAHOO!!! The band opportunities are being thrown my way by God and I can't believe what God is doing. Last night I get a call from the Possum dude and he's hooking up with some other guys just to have a little fun, play a few shows and minister the Word of God through our music and not have the desire to become huge rock stars. I'm all about that! Now, don't get me wrong, I love what I'm doing with Alan, Laura and the gang. I'm blessed to be a part of what they are doing. I'm blessed to be playing music at all. I'm so thankful for God's Blessing.

YAHOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Sorry for taking so long to update this for anyone who keeps up with this little piece of blog, but I had to update this day. Sunday night, I got an e-mail that I literally felt my heart jump for joy! You know, kind of like how John the Baptist leapt in his mother's womb when Mary was carrying Jesus in the womb. Our old RBF at church is looking to get back together on Sundays! One of the things we have missed so much was that community. While I love the people in the Pilgrims, we just haven't felt like we fit in. We're just there and watch as a sideline observer. When you have had that taste of real community and you move to something else, it is hard to get that feeling back. And I'm not sure but today, I don't have this tired, foggy feeling that I've had for a while. Maybe it was because I rested a lot this weekend and really spent some quality time with Sabrina. I'm actually glad we stayed home yesterday after lunch and just hung out and rested. Ya know, speaking of lunch, my goodness Taylor is a cutie! Taylor is the daughter to our friends Sam and Lara. I play with Sam a couple Sundays a month for our kids ministry at church. Sam & Lara and us go way back to when they first visited the church and went to the RBF we were going to at the time. Then, the MWOKs started up and we jumped ship to that one only to find Sam and Lara there too! The thought of getting the original MWOK group back together is bringing a few tears to my eyes, actually. I didn't realize how much I missed them. It's going to be a great day today serving the Lord!

Just typing for the heck of it.

Well, here it is. I haven't updated in a while. Anything exciting? Hmm, nah. Valentine's dinner was nice. Sabrina got all dolled up and we went to Landry's. Been kind of restless, I guess. But, very content to be isolated. Strange, I know. It's been one of those strange days today. Someone said I looked like I was in a cranky mood. Maybe that's a good term for it. I don't know. Just ready to go home and stay home for a while. But, then I gotta come back to work the next day. Yuck. Oh well. I've bored you all enough. Hopefully I'll come back with something more interesting than this.

Pray

Last night, some things hit me hard. The illustration of the seed and good soil was one of them. How I feel like that good soil that hears the Word but doesn't understand the comparision to a 0-7 year old was the biggest. So many times I still feel like that 0-7 year old wanting to be around his parents all the time because he is learning about life but has no clue about it. I'm 35 and still don't understand life at times but the longing to be with my parents hasn't changed. Even though they are 900 miles north of me. We always talk about fellowship in our RBF and while Sabrina & I have some good fellowship with friends here, nothing has compared to what we had with my parents. Someone poured their soul out and I felt for them and wanted to cry with them but couldn't. I couldn't even cry during Passion of the Christ! Yeah, it's a movie, but everyone around me is bawling their eyes out and I sat there, Stone Cold. Feeling the pain, but not moved enough to tears. I guess I am realizing how much I really am in my nickname. A lot more Stone Cold than I realized. My prayer is to release the Stone Coldness inside of me to feel other people's pain and share tears with them. I want to release that pain that I have buried that doesn't want to come out. Pray for me, whoever happens to read this. Right now, I just feel very isolated and needing to be alone. I'm thankful for music to lift my spirits up. I'm thankful for God's Word in my Life. Reading Isaiah has been so uplifting to me. Worshiping God right now is taking a new meaning as I feel that I'm in a dark place. And I long for that peace.

Shma fest was amazing!

Well, what can I say? Another wild night at the Shma. 259+ people for the show last night. I was so happy for Joey that so many people showed up. The first band, something about Vegas dies today was ok. Lots of technical difficulties and the singer pranced around the stage like Ozzy Osbourne. But, give them a few more shows and I think they could get somewhere. Remember Sammy Jankis wasn't too bad. I feel bad that I never got to see them with Joey though. I was hoping last night would have been different but hey, they have a full time bassist now so that's good for them. Ashes Fall was good. Seemed a little off but for the most part, they were good. Maylene and the Sons of Disaster were really good. I took one for the Shma and got my clock cleaned. I think I was seeing stars into the night after that one. But it was great to see Maylene again. Becoming the Archetype was amazing as always. And I just love hanging out with them as well. Showdown? Hey, I was up there singing with them. That tell you what I think of them? Again, just like BTA, great and awesome guys to hang with. I can't wait for March 5th to get here to see them again. I can't wait to see the picture with Alan, Laura and the BTA guys. Oh yeah, and I'm in it too. I hope it comes out. It was great to see Andy again. He got to do some screaming as well during Showdown's set. I was suprised at how many people thought my Z-95 shirt was so cool. That shirt is older than most of the people that were there last night! But, I had to be different I guess. Anywho, for you RAM guys reading this, you missed me in my element! Johnny Metal doing what he loves to do. Bringing the Metal for Jesus!! God Bless you all and see you next post!

Glad for brothers

After reading the chapter in Purpose Driven Life talking about defeating temptation, I am so thankful for brothers who are praying for me. Being able to confess a lot of issues of my life to these guys has been freeing to me. But, I still have a long way to go. I sure don't want to let the pride and ego keep winning battles. Daily surrender. That's what it is all about. The one thing about this book that I have to admit, I need to constantly work on is my relationship with God. Get my vertical straight before the horizontal. I keep praying for that in my life.
I'm looking forward to the Shmafest tomorrow at Center Point. For you guys in RAM who might read this before Saturday, you want to see me in my element? Come to this show! It will be loud and it will be crazy and I promise myself to need help leaving because I won't be able to walk on my own! Ok, maybe that is a bit extreme, but I'm ready for a night banging the head, moshing, and maybe even some screaming into mics! Who knows, right? Anywho, I'm outta here. God Bless!!

Couple days later.....

Wow, I didn't get to put anything on this yesterday. Probably because I was busy all day. Lots to do today too. So, this might be short. Started reading Isaiah today. I am so thankful to read a chapter of God's Word to start my day off with. I am thankful that He makes me white as snow and that my sins have been washed away. Lord, I surrender this day to You! Continue to show me where my purpose is and Your Will in my Life!