Update

Wow, its been a while... Lots going on this fall, to wit:

• Cathy and I (for some reason) have gotten into watching these new-style crime shows (NCIS, Law and Order, Law and Order Criminal Intent, CSI, CSI-NY, CSI-Miami, etc). Only problem is, Cathy usually guesses the plot way early in the show. I'm don't get upset that she spoiled the plot...I get upset that I have to keep admitting she was right!

• First Baptist Simpsonville is gradually starting to feel more like home. We had a great fellowship time with our Sunday School class at Cracker Barrell this past Friday. This Sunday, we went to the traditional service (8:45 AM) and...really enjoyed it. Good to hear the old hymns again, and also the choir/orchestra. Also, I'm going to play trumpet with the orchestra for the Christmas musical. I think at has been four years or so since I last played the horn...time to blow the dust out.
  
  
• Looking forward to Thanksgiving, and getting the chance to see the kids (B/M/Z/S) again... I'm looking forward to: eating a big meal with the whole group, saying the blessing (ha), party games afterward, and exhilirating discussions (oh mercy). Also, Thanksgiving means pumpkin pie, and Rupert and I have been practicing our pie-eating this week! yeah buddy.
  
  
• Been playing a lot of bluegrass gigs lately. What a great hobby: go play my favorite music, get out of doing yardwork, and get paid to boot! Seriously, my band mates are a great bunch of Christian guys, really fun to hang out with.
  
  
• It's been getting pretty cold here in Sville lately (hate it). Those of us who hate being cold (you know who you are) start to dread this time of year. But, I have a few tricks up my sleeve to fight ole Jack Frost: large hot chocolates, king-size heated blanket, ceramic heater for the bathroom, heavy lined corduroy shirts, thick hunting socks, wool pea coat, Hand Warmers. Wow, after making that list, winter doesn't seem so threatening...bring it on!

Oh well, that's my cheesy update... I hope to resume more frequent blogging during the dreary (but warm!) winter months.

Later tater.

Dole

The year was 1993, and the place was Simpsonville SC (more specifically West Georgia Road, and even more specifically the passenger seat of Jim Frady's car).

My trusty daily driver, a 1966 Pontiac Lemans, was in the shop for repairs, and I was carpooling with a good friend and co-worker. Jim came every morning that week, picked me up at home on Pliney Circle, and drove me on to MARC where we both worked (and still do!). Each day as we drove to and from work, behind our conversation I could hear some really, er, different music coming from his cassette tape player.

Asking Jim what kind of music that was, he said it was bluegrass. More specifically, he had a tape of the Dillards (aka the Darling Family from the Andy Griffith show) and another tape of a band called Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Now, Jim hails from Waynesville NC, and he said this kind of music was quite popular up in the mountains of North Carolina. I remember he and I chuckling at a Doyle song called "Stormy Waters", where the bass singer seemed to go so low it made the speakers rumble..."Tis the rock of ages, cleft for MEEEEEEEEEE." I also got a kick when Jim told me that the proper mountain pronunciation was "Dole", not "Doy-le" (silent y!)

I recall deciding that I liked that kind of music - it was upbeat, with great vocal harmonies, intricate picking, and lots of gospel-related content. Over the next year, I bought a bunch of bluegrass CDs from Horizon Records, the best store in Greenville for bluegrass. I took a particular liking to Doyle Lawson's music, and ended up with at least half a dozen of his CDs.

Shortly thereafter, I decided I wanted to learn to play this style of music. I bought a banjo (sorry Cathy) and started trying to teach myself how to "pick". I played those CDs over and over, singing along and trying to pick the banjo that fast (forgive me, Cathy!)

Fast forward 10+ years to 2008, specifically yesterday afternoon.

My band, Last Road, was honored to be able to open for Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver at Greenville's Peace Center! Now just so you understand, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver is probably one of the top two bluegrass groups in existence today (the other being Del McCoury). Their live shows are so polished, they sound identical to their studio CDs -- perfect playing, perfect vocals. They have won the IBMA award for "Best Bluegrass Vocals" seven years in a row. Doyle is considered a bluegrass legend in his own right, having gotten his start in the original Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys (the band from which bluegrass got its name).

So to put this in terms for the average person, this is the equivalent of a budding actor being asked to co-star in a movie with Harrison Ford, or a fledgling basketballer getting the opportunity to go one-on-one with MJ. What a blessing!

It felt surreal, standing backstage looking out at the beautiful three-tiered Peace Center auditorium, and watching as Doyle and his band members ran a sound check. They rolled through a couple numbers, checking microphone levels and mix. Then, they put their instruments down, stepped up to their mics, and launched into a flawless acapella version of...Stormy Waters!

I instantly thought of that moment in Jim's car, and realized that a dream of mine had come true.

Once again, and this can't be understated...God is good!

Bummed?

I'm bummed. And not for the reason you think.

I'm bummed because my sweetheart is sick, and I can't do anything to speed her recovery. Hopefully, after a few days of bed rest and taking it easy, Cathy will feel good as new. Oh, and a heaping bowl of Breyer's mint chocolate chip should help the healing process, too! ha

I am NOT bummed about the election. Sure, the election did not go the way I wanted it to, and I am disappointed. But although I think Obama's positions on economics, abortion, and foreign policy will in the long run be harmful to the country I love, I am not going to mope and despair. God is still in control, and He is still busy accomplishing His purposes through His Word, preached to the lost by His people. Our hope is not in the political process, nor either political party; it must remain in Christ, and in Christ alone.

So as Christians, we can go forward with our chins up, knowing that nothing eternal changed yesterday: God is still God, He is still in the business of saving lost souls, He still wants us to press on with the unique tasks He has given each of us, and He still wants our focus to be on Him.

And as a conservative, the same applies. I need not change my principles and values just because they are not in vogue at the moment. We need to stick to our guns (literally and figuratively, ha), speak the truth, and let the chips fall where they may.

To borrow from Republican blogstress Michele Malkin:

There is no time to lick wounds, point fingers, and wallow in post-election mud.

I’m getting a lot of moan-y, sad-face “What do we do now, Michelle?” e-mails.

What do we do now? We do what we’ve always done.

We stand up for our principles, as we always have — through Democrat administrations and Republican administrations, in bear markets or bull markets, in peacetime and wartime.

We stay positive and focused.

We keep the faith.

We do not apologize for our beliefs. We do not re-brand them, re-form them, or relinquish them. We defend them.

We pay respect to the office of the presidency. We count our blessings and recommit ourselves to our constitutional republic.

We gird our loins, to borrow a phrase from our Vice President-elect.

We lock and load our ideological ammunition.

We fight.

So, the nonstop worship of the Obamessiah doesn't get me down...I have my own mission and my own tasks, and I'm gonna keep my focus.

Good day!

Countdown

Wow, ya just gotta love the internet... enjoy this!

Obama, Yomama

Well, all the anniversary/birthday festivities have passed, and I need to try and get back into some sort of blogging flow... The last few months have been pretty sad in terms of blog production here at the ole "Life of Brian" blog.

But, before getting to the main topic, one quick thing to get off my mind.

This is actually for Sarah. Ok, I gotta give Andrew Peterson some well-deserved props. Cathy and I were listening to some tunes on the way up to Saluda this past weekend, including AP's "Deliver Us". Wow - I'd have to give that song about a 99 on a scale of 100, a near-perfect tune. Absolutely incredible. (It almost is enough to make up for "Tools"...ha!) A couple more of those, and he'll be in Chris Rice territory! :D

Ok, on to the main rant.

Just some comments on the upcoming election. It will not be a surprise for most of you when I say that I am supporting McCain/Palin, not Obama/Biden. While I agree that Obama will bring change, I am convinced that much of it will be change in the wrong direction for our country.

Socially, as a Christian, I cannot in good conscience support Obama, who is strongly pro-abortion, pro-homosexual marriage, and likely to appoint a large number of liberals to the courts. Fiscally, I am sure an Obama presidency will result in higher taxes for all Americans, not just the wealthy (who by the way pay more than their fair share of taxes already...the top 1% of Americans pay 40% of the taxes, and the bottom 50% pay only 3%...is that fair?). And regarding foreign policy, I prefer the strong Reaganesque stance of war hero John McCain to Obama's "negotiate with terrorists" plans.

But beyond this, I am concerned over the way the majority of the media has given "the Messiah" a free pass, by neglecting to put a number of issues under the spotlight (Obama's relationship with Acorn, his relationships with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers and anti-American pastor Reverend Wright, etc).

If you have the time, read these two great articles about Obama, one from Focus on the Family's James Dobson, and the other from NewsMax. They basically sum up how I feel about Obama. And oh, this picture speaks volumes:



Senator Obama would be the one NOT holding his hand over his heart during the national anthem...

Having said that, I'm not a huge McCain fan, but he (and Palin) are a far better team to lead our nation, IMHO, than Obama/Biden.

Regardless of the outcome, we must remember that God is in control, and that America's TRUE need is a spiritual renewal, not a political one...

Oh well, rant over. Have a great week!

Happy

Here's wishing Cathy (and myself) a happy 18th anniversary!

And what an absolutely wonderful 18 years it has been -- God is good, indeed.

It seems like yesterday that Cathy and I were dating... I was a young engineer at Michelin, she was working at Staubli in Spartanburg. I would drive up to Spartanburg after work, pick up some Maurice's BBQ, and stop by for a visit at the duplex off Anderson Mill Road where Cathy and the boys lived. She loved me from the moment she met me (ha!).

Of course, there is no such thing as chance -- God was orchestrating things from the beginning, as always.

You see, my late teens and early twenties were years of rebellion for me, against my parents and against God. I was expected to attend church growing up, and as a form of rebellion against my parents, I vowed I would never go again once I left for college. At Virginia Tech, and after graduation, I had nothing to do with church, and nothing to do with God.

That is, until 1989. I had come to realize that the "wild" life just wasn't for me. I wasn't particularly good at it, and it really wasn't a match for me anyhow. What I really wanted was someone to love me as I was, someone to share life with, to start a family with. I realize that's maybe not "normal" for a 23-yr old guy, but I was finally being honest with myself.

For the first I could remember time since high school, I prayed to God. I don't actually remember exactly what I prayed, but I basically asked Him to take away the loneliness, to give me a soul mate. I vowed that if He would hold up His end of the bargain, I would be faithful, til death do us part.

Shortly after this prayer is when I met Cathy, shortly after that we were married, and shortly after that I accepted Christ (thanks to her example). Here we are 18 years later, and I'm happier with my soul mate than I ever thought I could be.

God gave me so much more than I even asked for...doesn't He always?

Happy

Greetings from the world's laziest blogger!

Here's a few reasons why I'm feeling good today:

1. Going out of town this weekend to celebrate my 18th anniversary of marriage to the world's best woman. Where to? The mountains, of course... Cool breeze, pretty leaves, Direct TV (Cathy's happy about that), and a good book (Thunder Run by David Zucchino). Of course, we're taking the Rubinator...

2. We joined First Baptist Simpsonville this past Sunday, and I am excited to see what opportunities God is going to open up there. It is great to be back on "solid ground" in terms of hearing sound doctrine! Also, I was fortunate to be able to play bass with the praise band a couple weeks ago... Fun.

3. Speaking of bass guitar...we have a new family member! It's a 1980 Peavey T-40 bass. In a nutshell, it is an incredible bass for a really low price (thanks, Craiglist!). Check out the raving reviews here. I am self-taught on bass, and picked up some bad fretting habits, so I plan on re-learning some technique. (Cathy, is there room for a bass and amp in the car for this weekend???) And yes, I will be selling my old electric bass, a cheapo Fender Squire I've had for about 10 years. Not gonna mourn that one!

4. The weather is just absolutely beautiful the last couple weeks. Love it, love it, love it. Are there actually people whose favorite season is something other than fall?

Have a great day, thank God for all that He has given you, and smile...life is good.

Brian