Video - Stars

For now this is the last in my video collection from Riverside.  This was a bittersweet moment as it was the last I would play here as God was calling me to a new ministry opportunity.  I am thankful that I got to share it with my friend Jeremy Mohr.  Here is our cover of "Stars" by the David Crowder Band.

Stars Lyrics



you should see the stars tonight
how they shimmer shine so bright
against the black they look so white
comin down from such a height
to reach me now, reach me now


you should see the moon in the flight
cuttin cross the misty night
softly dancin in sunshine
reflections of this light
reach me now, you reach me now


and how could such a thing
shine its light on me
and make everything beautiful again


and you should feel the sun in the spring
comin out after a rain
suddenly all is green
sunshine on everything
i can feel it now, i feel you now


and how could such a thing
shine its light on me
and make everything beautiful


and you should hear the angels sing
all gathered round their king
more beautiful than you could dream
i've been quietly listening
you can hear 'em now, i hear em now


and how could such a king
shine His light on me
and make everything beautiful
and i wanna shine
i wanna be light
i wanna tell you it'll be alright
and i wanna shine and i wanna fly
just to tell you now
it'll be alright, it'll be alright
it'll be alright.


cus i got nothing of my own to give to you
but this light that shines on me shines on you
and makes everything beautiful, again.
it'll be alright, it'll be alright.

Video - All I Can Say

I've been going through my computer this week, cleaning out old files and such, and ran across some videos that I had shot while down at Riverside Church in the New Orleans area.  So over the next few days I'll be putting them up here for your enjoyment.
This first video is a solo of me playing David Crowder's "All I Can Say"

Here are the lyrics to this wonderful song

Verse 1:
Lord I'm tired
So tired from walking
And Lord I'm so alone
And Lord the dark
Is creeping in
Creeping up
To swallow me
I think I'll stop
Rest here a while

Chorus:
And this is all that I can say right now
And this is all that I can give

Verse 2:
And didn't You see me cry'n?
And didn't You hear me call Your name?
Wasn't it You I gave my heart to?
I wish You'd remember
Where you sat it down

Verse 3:

I didn't notice You were standing here
I didn't know that
That was You holding me
I didn't notice You were cry'n too
I didn't know that
That was You washing my feet

The Tales of a Taylor

so about 10 years ago i was given one of the most awesome gifts a kid in 11th grade could get.  my grandmother bought me an acoustic guitar.  now wasn't just any acoustic guitar.  she sent me to the music store with an uncle and just told me to find a guitar i like.  at the time i had no idea what to look for in a guitar, i just wanted it to sound and feel good.  well i guess i'm naturally drawn to expensive equipment because after we got back, i realized that it was a $2400 guitar!


in case you're wondering, or care to know these things, i got a Taylor 714CE.  it has a cedar top which gives it an amazingly deep tone compared to other taylor guitars.


well my grandma bought me this guitar because i had been leading our youth group worship band for about 2 or 3 months borrowing our youth minister's acoustic.  i had a decent electric at the time but it wasn't suitable to use leading by myself, so she bought me one.  so needless to say, this guitar has a good bit of value to me, both monetarily and sentimental.


I tell you all of that to tell you this...


a couple of weeks ago, due to a careless mistake, i put a nice big CRACK on the side of my Taylor.  when I saw it happen, I literally almost cried.  Now i've put some dings and scratches in it over the years, but I've never cracked a guitar before.


after calling the Taylor factory I realized that it would cost way too much to send up to them to repair so I called around and brought it to a local guy at the New Orleans Guitar Center.  after we looked at it together he told me that the damage was mostly cosmetic.  he suggested that I mark the ends of the crack and watch it.  if the crack grows then to do something but he didn't think it would.


those of you that know my wife well will laugh good at this, but she jokingly told me to put a band-aid on the crack until it got fixed.  if it were any other guitar than my taylor i would consider it but this is my 'serious' guitar.  no stickers on the case, and definitely no band-aids on the crack.


but my wife's sense of humor reminds me that my guitar is just a tool for the work God has called me to do.  no matter how much money the thing is worth, reduced down, it's made of wood, metal, and glue, nothing more.


so now, i'm playing with an injured Taylor but that doesn't really matter.  all the cracks and dings add character not only to the guitar, but to its owner who is continually being reminded that the material things we have in this world hold no eternal value.  whatever we have, we don't really own.  we are just managers of what God has given us.


"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21