Well there has been quite a bit going on lately!  We're getting Facebook pages updated... getting websites updated... planning out some live performances... what's next to record (yes, you heard correctly)... trying to promote the CD and sell... whew!  It can be trying but so worth it as well!

One of the most exciting news items is we received an "official" invitation to play at the Anderson University School of Theology Chapel!  We'll be heading to Indiana in March to lead worship and share some of our versions of these great hymns.  Please be in prayer for us as we prepare.  We are deeply humbled and honored to have been asked to play.  

Please spread the word about the CD!  This project is not so much for us as it is for the church at large.  One of the greatest benefits of this project has been hearing my 7-year old daughter sing "The Church's Jubilee" or "Once Again We Come" or any of the other songs on the CD.  There is so much in these hymns that the next generation needs to hear!

What a busy summer it has been and oh how much has happened since our last update!

First, the CDs are out and have been on sale for a little over a month now.  So far, all we have received is positive feedback!  

It has been a real blessing to hear how the songs resonate with people!  Some like one song more than another and others have shared how a particular song really ministered to them in a moment of need!  One of the songs, "What a Mighty God We Serve," is played by a couple with a newborn baby whenever he is grumpy in the car and it puts him right to sleep every time!  Whatever the story, it is amazing to see how the music touches individuals.  And that is the power of these songs!

One HUGE piece of news we just received today!  We've been asked to play and lead worship at the Anderson School of Theology in March!  This is truly a humbling experience and we would appreciate your prayers as we prepare.  

We are selling CDs... if you would like one, drop us your information on the "Contact us!" page and we'll let you know the options for ordering.  We do expect online CD sales to be set up within the next month as well as iTunes, Rhapsody and other online music services!

THANKS to everyone who has purchased a CD so far... help us spread the word!

Just a short note here... CD's are in production now.  The artwork was received by the company... rejected... fixed and resent... proofs were received... then we rejected it (one of the pictures on the inner booklet had been swapped... fixed and now printing has begun.  Master for the songs was received... sent back to us for approval... approved by us and now everything is finally in production.

EXPECTED RELEASE DATE: Friday, 5 August!!!

Next on the agenda... looking at doing some "unplugged" versions of the songs available for free download.  More information to come!

SO MUCH has been happening lately and we are finally entering the home stretch!  THANKS to those of you who have been praying.  The issue we were having with the drums has been solved!  

The song selections have changed... again.  We're really trying to be sensitive to what God is leading us to.  After all, this isn't about what WE want but what HE wants.  It is amazing how much easier things go when we follow his will for which songs to use instead of trying to bend his will to what we want to put on it.  (I'm sure there is a life lesson in there!).  

A couple of weeks back, each time we met to record it just seemed as if things were not going quite like we had planned.  We were tired, unmotivated, and generally confused about the direction.  When we determined to make it a matter of prayer prior to the sessions and as we were beginning each session, things began to change dramatically!  Songs started "working" and the creative juices were flowing once again!  It never ceases to amaze me how God will respond to our prayers!  

This next week-and-a-half is the final home stretch!  31 May is the target to be done with all the recording giving another month or so for the final mixing, album cover, photography, administrative details, etc, etc, etc!  Please pray for the strength and the stamina to make it through this last, but event packed, period.  It is difficult working full time, being involved with family, keeping at responsibilities at church AND recording a CD!  It is awesome to be one little cog in the gears of God's working but it is tiring too!  Till next time... keep praising the Lord!

Well, we've made it to the end of April and the deadline is getting closer.  There is still so much to do in order to stay on schedule.... please pray!  We've had to make some changes to the song lineup as well as arrangements to some others.  We just feel like things weren't going like they should and we are trying to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  I mean, there are songs that I would like to put on the project but if GOD has another plan that would have a different song, then that is the obvious choice!

There are a few surprises we are working on to include on the CD and we think that you will be excited.  We do have one demo song, "O Church o God,"  that we are beginning to share with folks to give them an idea of what we are trying to do with the project.  So far we have gotten good reviews by those who have heard it.

What a ride this has been recording!  We get to a point where we think we really like where we are going with a song... the feel, sound, and style of it... and then turns out we end up redoing it!  That was exactly the case this past weekend with the song, "O Church of God."

We had started with some of the basic tracks a week before and though we like the direction of the song, when it was put all together it just didn't "work."  That, and we had some difficult with some of the tracks getting corrupted.  So we decided to make that the major piece to work on this past weekend.  Upon finishing this weekend's work, it was obvious that God had a different plan for the song!  We've ended up blending much of what we have been doing with this project on this one song.  It is heavy in parts and light in others.  There are a variety of instruments: strings, electric and acoustic guitars, bass, military snare, and more.  We are really excited about this one!

Like so many of our holder hymns, the words to this song really tell a message that is relevant today, from the first verse all the way through the end. 

The church of God one body is
  One Spirit dwells within
And all her members are redeemed
  And triumph over sin.

Divinely built, divinely ruled,
  To God she doth submit
His will her love, His truth her guide,
  Her path is glory-lit

God sets her members each in place,
  According to His will
Apostles, prophets, teachers, all,
  His purpose to fulfill

Salvation is her holy walls
  The cross her sign of pow’r
Her captain is the mighty God
  Who guards her every hour

In beauty stands, the church of God
  With righteousness arrayed
Put on thy strength and face thy foes
  With courage undismayed

Refrain:
O church of God! I love thy courts
  Thou mother of the free;
Thou blessed home of all the saved
  I dwell content in thee

We still are asking that you pray about our drum situation.  There is a glimmer of hope that the situation will be taken care of but we need your prayers.  All we need is a glimmer to go on... with God all things are possible!

March is winding down and we are entering into the final portion of the project!  We have actually met three times since the last post yet there is still so much to do.

Last weekend we worked on laying down some tracks for "O Church of God," one of the "standards" of the church.  LOVE the way this song is turning out too. We're giving it a sort of celtic flavor to this classic anthem and looking forward to sharing it. 

Last night we added some fine tuning to a couple of songs we laid down the basic tracks for earlier: "A Child of God" and "There Is Joy In the Service."

We are asking for your continued prayer for a few items.  Please pray for the following:
- Our drum situation.  Please pray that the Lord makes a way available for us to get the equipment we need.
- Timing. We still have quite a bit to do to finish up everything; the deadline gets closer as each day goes by.  Pray that we are able to finish and nothing hinders the completion of the project.
- Humbleness.  Pray that God is glorified through this project and not the musicians and others involved.  Apart from Christ we are nothing... help us to keep that at the forefront of our minds as we work on this project.  As always... he must increase!

And here we go...  what is the biggest obstacle to getting this project done?  The calendar... time!  We have two songs that we are currently getting tracks together for and plans for yet another one.  

Plans have been made... 

Everything is in place... 

And then someone gets sick. We had to move our recording session scheduled for this past Saturday to Thursday evening!  Even with this minor setback things still seem to be moving right along.  Our goal date for completion has not changed

Well, it has been a LONG time since the last update.  Holidays, work schedules, an unexpected death in the family and another bout with kidney stones have all had their impact.  Having said that much has been happening with the project. 

We now have 8 songs that are either finished or close to being finished.  These are: Hear Them Calling, The Church's Jubilee, What a Mighty God We Serve, A Child of God, Once Again We Come, The Old Campgrounds, Come Closer to Me, Child of God, There is Joy in the Service of the Master.  We still have a few more to work on to complete the project.  Final song count for the CD will be around 15 to 17 songs.  We hope to have everything finished up around the end of May.

I've been encouraged by the support we are receiving from many people regarding hwat we are doing.  The Lord has opened many doors and things just "seem to fall in place."  One of the most encouraging moments was just the other day.

As we were driving in our van the other day I had my phone plugged into our stereo system to listen to some of unmixed songs we had worked on so far.  From the back seat comes the voice of my 6 year old, "Praise the Lord my heart, with his love is beaminng.  I am a child of God!"  

That, in part, is what it is all about.