Hope for tomorrow

While I don't generally get "preachy" I wanted to give you a wee bit of encouragement. This seems like a pretty good place to start :) 

At a time when so many are grappling with depression and some really hard things, I am finding myself torn between two extremes. 

While I am excited about the promise that a new year brings, I am also feeling bittersweet. 

This was a hard year, both for Connecticut, and for me, personally. 

Our state saw extreme devastation with Hurricane Sandy wreaking havoc with countless communities. We had a crazed gunman snuff out precious little and not so little lives - most of them never had a chance to grow and thrive. 

Personally, I have watched cancer spread it's ugly dark canvass over many of my dearest and closest. 

As I have watched people in my region by and large  retreat into fear and suspicion, I am struck again and again by the Words of Jesus - "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold." Matthew 24:12

It sure seems to be the way of things lately, doesn't it? If you are like me, you are wondering where in the world the love is lately... 

I have some good news for you... in fact, some really Good News...

Real Love hasn't gone anywhere! He's still here, in the hearts of His followers/children, looking to be unleashed on this lonely, fearful, suspicious, and hurting world. 

Wherever you see love overcoming evil, there He is. In the smile of a stranger, in the eyes of a humble bus driver, or the caring hands of a hospice nurse. Or, in the arms of a soup kitchen volunteer giving food to the hungry. In the voice of a tenderhearted preacher, or the overworked and very underpaid teacher. 

God says in Scripture that if you look for Him with all your heart, He will let you find Him... "If you look for Me wholeheartedly, you will find Me." Jeremiah 29:13

"For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life" John 3:16. (yes, THAT'S what those signs at football games mean ;) 

He loves you way more than you can even imagine! 

With that thought, I wish for you a New Year that brings more joy and hope than you ever thought possible! God bless, make beautiful music,  and stay safe!  <><

**If you would like more information on how to have a relationship with Jesus, leave me a note and I will help you in your search! 

A Long Wait

Do you ever stand in line wondering what else you could be doing? OF COURSE you do! There are some lines that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy - namely the D.M.V... 

Every second is an interminable Chinese water torture moment, suspended in eternity. Other lines are long and arduous, but at least there are perks. In the grocery store, they often have samples, eating while you stand there can be a small consolation. There is also reading the beyond believable Rag-Mag headlines. 

There are also the occasional lines where you will gladly wait no matter how long you have to endure the standing. 

Here's a line I stood in this weekend- it was the Apple Harvest Festival in Southington, CT. They make a delightful gastric feast in the form of a fritter.  A heavenly warm rolled in cinnamon-sugar fluffy puff. With real apples. Decent sized chunks o fruit... :) 

But in all seriousness, when you are trapped in a line, use the time to sow some "seed."  Some eternal seed - look for opportunities to help someone in need.

The Bible says something pretty cool about the subject: 

"They share freely and give generously to those in need. Their good  deeds will be remembered forever. They will have influence and honor." Psalm 112:9

So, sow some good seed and watch for great return! Peas out!

So you are still single, huh?

Oh my-lanta... 

Have you ever had one of those days where you desperately wished that you could bring a fake tree around with you to hide in or behind all day?!?!?

Sometimes people mean well, but say the most unhelpful things... you know them, the "WMC"s, or 'Well Meaning Christians'; if they are not Christian, you can call them WMS' or "Well Meaning Souls". (shake my head) 

With them, you need extra grace... generally a bottomless supply. 

I got a great video from a friend that hit the nail on the head. "Things People Say to Singles" ... all.the.time. and yes, they do. I can personally attest to that. In fact, I could have added half dozen more. 
http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=FC1M1CNU

With another  tidal wave proportion of my friends "Tying the Knot" and taking the plunge, it seems that my circle of friends has gotten abysmally smaller. We that are left seem to cling together like drowning souls on a life raft. 

While I am vehemently vexed at the onslaught of platitudes assailing me, I can take comfort in ONE thing and ONE thing alone. 

Jesus is with me. He knows I am sometimes really really tired of taking this trip "alone". He knows how it is to ache for a hug or just someone to come home to. He gets it... He knows the desires of my heart. In fact, I might even go as far as to say, HE PUT a whole bunch of them there! 

Laughter has been a saving grace for me, and the love of my growing friends and family is refreshing! 

So, one day at a time, one moment at a time, I choose to let Him love me in the lonely times as much as I know He does all the other times. 

I try and let Him, day by day, shift my often all too selfish focus onto Him, and I find that He sends me sooo many signs that He loves me and is with me :)   


God bless you as you row closer to Home! 

Music is a love language

Hey there! 

This old relic is from the mailing list we had in an old band, "Wow, am I tired"... the mantra for musicians, I think :) those were the days, though... Oh, inexhaustible energy, where have you gone?!?? 

Interestingly... they had me playing a "lefty" bass... I AM a lefty, but play right handed. I have laughed at this pic as long as it has been in existence... priceless... and those curlers... oh my... 
(Stephen, wasn't it Neal that drew this? I could be wrong) 

Ok... enough nostalgia... onto the topic at hand!

"Music knows it is and always will be one of the things that life just won't quit"... the words of Stevie Wonder - Sir Duke / Music in the Key of Life. 

When I am happy - there's funk, when I am sad: blues... (OF COURSE!) when I want adventure... there's reggae or traditional Irish music...  and if I were to want something romantic, well, ya can't beat old school Rhythm and Blues... when I want quiet - cool jazz or those lovely nature recordings... ahhhh peaceful!

Gospel is for always and anytime! Incidently, Christian music has come a looooong way! I can find any of the above styles in Jesus music :) 

I have found one thing that has not changed over the years... when I want to express myself, music is by and far the easiest way for me to do that. It comes as naturally as breathing. 

When I can't find the right words, I CAN find the right notes... my fingers can trail blaze, my voice can find it's harmony; deep calling to deep... groove beckons me to come and dine, and I am filled with a language that I love :) 

Is it any wonder that the most Love-laden book in the Bible, Psalms, is poetry put to music? Apparently, I am not alone in this :) 

While it's true that these days, I now find my truest joy when I am singing or playing for the One that created me, (I sing to Him and He sings back to my soul)  

Speaking of jamming, learn how to express yourself in more than one musical style, so you can be more fluent and "speak" with a broad variety of people - early on I listened to every style I could get my hands on, and incorporated elements into my playing for spice. 

Have a wonderful day, and go "speak" some great music! 

God bless! 

Whole lotta hatin'

Hi! It's been a while! Welcome! 


It's funny how that word hate is thrown around almost as much as that word love is.


I have a lot to say about hate. Forgive the unusually long post, I won't make a habit of it... tune in tomorrow for regularly scheduled programming... lol... I will post on the cool gig last night! 


It seems like hate has a new added meaning.  


Hate now means to not agree with.  So, whenever you disagree with someone, or what they do, you are a hater.  Is it just me, or does it seem like our right to free speech is getting kicked out the window?


Not to be presumptuous, but when I was a kid, I disagreed with my mom and dad pretty constantly.  You know how 15 year-old kids know everything. About everything. :P  - and oddly enough, I never assumed my mom hated me because she and I didn't see eye to eye. 


On another note... last night, there was an awful massacre in Aurora, CO. Inside a movie theatre, 20 people were killed, and 50 more were injured. 


Senseless and tragic. I cannot even imagine the shock and numb grief of the families that got those house visits and calls last night. My heart goes out to those that are in such pain.


As I bounced around on Facebook today, I read a number of related posts from various sources.  


Do you know what they ALL had in common? 


Their responses were all the same. Shoot, maim, or torture the shooter. 

Yes, he is a mess, clearly. Most likely demon possessed, insanely deceived and/or delusional.


Still...the only thing I can think of is... what would Jesus do? 


He would do what we/I would consider the hardest thing. He would extend grace... forgiveness if the man repented. He would love the man. Not that the guy doesn't get consequences - that's not what I am saying... but you can't bring the dead back... but Jesus wouldn't hate... He never does... :) 


Aren't you glad He doesn't? I am...


Hate is never the answer when Love asks a question... 


God bless you today  :) go and spread some LOVE! <3




thank you colorlines.com for the pic 

Take Me Out of the Box!!!

Do you know what I find curious?  I am in the process of moving... odious work, that... packing well should be an Olympic sport... trying to pack X amount of stuff into packaging designed for half of the amount that is to be smashed and squashed into it... well, that right there is an engineer's nightmare... and OF COURSE I digress... 


Sitting here, in my room, surrounded by boxes of all shapes, sizes, and purposes, I am reminded of something... 


It's curious that I am also surrounded by boxes of another kind... rather than protect and transport, these are the kind that hinder, limit and deflate. 


You know THOSE boxes.  I am talking about the boxes that we use to put ourselves into.  OR worse, others. We form ideas about things, people, and situations... What we don't understand we put into a neat little mental image... the walls of the box go up.  Carefully,we cover what we started with until it is unrecognizable...WE decide what truth is and carefully wrap it in bubble wrap and layers of tape!


We hide in our boxes so that others can't hurt us. We put others in boxes by limiting them, as well... We label them with labels- aka, "clothes" that they were never intended to wear.  


We also put God in a box, in our little minds, we make Him to be all the things that we THINK He is... We, made in His image - make Him, in ours... 


We weren't meant to be confined to little thinking and dead end roads... 
We were designed to SOAR... Gliding over the clouds of doubt and discouragement, we were created to FLY! Not limited to the small ideas of man, we need to dream BIG!.... Even moreover, we need to believe the Words of a Big God (oh!) to make the dreams a reality... to make them happen in ways that we can't even think or imagine! The unfathomable resources of the King of every King! He says that His ways are so much higher than ours... is it any wonder our vision is so small? We lack the vantage view! 


So... take me out of your box.. and I will take you out of mine... and may we learn to take HIM out of His :) 


God bless!  

A State of Waiting

Hey there! 

I haven't posted a blog entry in ages. Contrary to popular belief, I don't just talk to talk :) - I have been waiting to have something to say :) 

Here, in Connecticut, we are having an unseasonably mild winter, (minus the wreckage of Autumn Storm Alfred a few days before Halloween) :)

Therefore, many of us are in some sort of state of expectancy... WAITING for winter... or dreading it, depending on your mindset 

Me?  I am not big fan of the sleet, freezing rain, snow (to drive in), "wintery mix" (ugh!), or even really heavy rain for that matter... my car slides in puddles... :/  

It's a challenge making plans when you know that "weather" could come along and wreck them at any moment...it's almost that "edge of your seat" waiting............................................................................................... when.....................................is.........................................the...............................................winter.............................................going....................................to.........................................................................................................................get here????? 

You prepare, plan,  and stockpile :P (racing to the grocery store at every questionable forecast, buying all the toilet paper, milk, eggs, and bread that your fridge will hold)  ... when those flakes start to fall, you almost sigh.. it's here.... 

It's kind of that way, waiting for heaven... it's so hard to believe that heaven is so close, when the mundane is so ever present.

We prepare, plan, and wait for that moment when we step foot into eternity. When, in the words of Max Lucado - celebrated author, the angels decorate with pink and blue streamers at our entrance into heaven!

I walk with one foot here, in the present; and one foot anxiously looking forward, to my eternal Home <3

This pic was taken at the CT Hospice in Branford CT, on November 1, 2008 the day before my mom died there 

Hey all! 


Happy New Year! I hope your Holidays were amazing; not so much that you collected a whole bunch-o-loot, but that you experienced and spread some life changing Love!!! 


(Yeah, it's a Pinterest pic, too good not to share, but utterly uneditable! :/ )


Mine were good, but this stupid plague has put a damper on things. 


Coughing so much for so long just wears one out.  It's all I can do to not ceaselessly complain about the utter aggravation of it. 


But - the way I see it, I can retrain my ever stodgy and stubborn brain to venture new paths when I feel the urge for a gripe-fest. 


You know what's interesting? 


When I think about all the good things I have to remember, savor, and look forward to - the coughing? Well, it doesn't seem so overwhelming. 


I had some great jams this Christmas season. Played with some stellar people. You won't see them on the Billboard charts, but I treasure these gems, all the same.. :) (though, if you make the right Decision, you may see them in Heaven!) *wink* yeah... there were some great moments feeling that amazing, consuming Presence... :D 


So here's to a healthy, productive, and Love filled 2012 for all of us! Even if it doesn't seem so great at first, remind your self of what you DO have! <3 


Hugs! 


PS - Thanks Pin
terest for the pic  (re pinned from Cynthia Ozick)