In The Zone

OK, I'll start off with the usual "sorry I haven't blogged in so long, been busy, yada yada..."

Yesterday was pretty cool. My band, Last Road Bluegrass, drove up to Spindale NC and recorded a "live in-studio" session for WNCW.

WNCW is an "eclectic" radio station in western NC, that plays good music from every genre (blues, jazz, rock, celtic, bluegrass, etc etc). For 15+ years, I have been tuning in on Saturdays to listen to their all-bluegrass show, "Going Across The Mountain." It is one of the highest-rated bluegrass radio shows in the country, and is heard every week in northern GA, western NC, southwestern VA, and eastern TN.

So, it was really cool that our band was asked to come and do an in-studio "show"! We played five songs live (as in, one take, no edits!) and were interviewed by the show's host, Dennis Jones. For those of you who might like to tune in, the show will air next Saturday, 28 Feb, at 11 AM on 88.7 FM.

We were a bit nervous about the "one take only" thing...if you mess up a song, that's what gets broadcast! So, you pretty much have to nail it on the first take. Fortunately, things went very well. The picking was solid, the vocals were on pitch with tight phrasing, the tempos were right, and there was a good "vibe" on all the songs. You could say we were "in the zone".

It was a good time. All the hours of practice, re-working vocal arrangements, and working on breaks paid off. Dennis says that on the average Saturday, up to 25,000 people tune in to Going Across the Mountain. That's a lot of people that will hear the gospel message through our original songs like "Set A Place At The Table" and "There Is A Promised Land"!

Now, fast forward to this morning. Cathy and I have started a new Sunday School class at First Baptist Simpsonville, and are in our third week of it. Things are going well -- we have about 12 or 13 people who have come each week! That's a great start.

It has been a pleasure for me to be able to once again sit under Cathy's teaching. In the same way that God uniquely equipped me to play music (bluegrass and otherwise!), God made Cathy to teach the Word of God. When she is teaching, you can tell that she is "in her zone" -- doing exactly what God has uniquely created her to do. It is an awesome thing, seeing people who have discovered their "zone" and are pouring their time/efforts into honing their craft for God's glory.

Mind you, Cathy would want me to point out that she does not want the glory for this, it should all go to God. It is He who has given us our abilities and talents, He who has given us the time and good health to be able to serve Him. Nonetheless, it has been wonderful for me to see, over the past three weeks, my wonderful wife serving Christ in the exact area he has gifted her for. You go girl!

Do you know what God uniquely created you to do, for Him? Have you ever experienced the peace and satisfaction that comes from knowing that you are doing what you were made to do?