Keith: Inside/Outside

Survey

2010-04-22T06:40:00.002-07:00

For those of you who enjoy surveys, check out THIS ONE over at www.southerngospelblog.com. How familiar are you with other styles of music? Daniel Mount is surveying Southern Gospel fans to find out. The survey is up until 11:45 PM EST Sunday.

Just thinkin'

2010-04-06T09:58:00.005-07:00

For many of my friends, Southern Gospel music is an irrelevant part of religious culture/worship. Unfortunately, they have one too many examples of why that's the case. In some groups you might find a lack of musicality, excessive showboating, or cheesy presentations. Sometimes, I'm as offended as you are. But for all you haters out there, don't base your opinion of any entire genre based on a few examples. I can do the same thing with any given style of music. For every Casting Crowns there will be 25 Family Force Five's that offend me with their pathetic presentation. But, the fact that I am majorly turned off by Family Force Five's music (to carry on my example) doesn't cause me to label all other CCM groups as poor examples of Christian music. In spite of such wannabe groups, there will always be quality bands like MercyMe, Jeremy Camp, David Crowder Band, and others who represent the genre well. The same is true in the Southern Gospel field.

Don't really have a great comment to tie this whole post together. This just happened to be on my mind.

He's Alive!

2010-04-04T22:43:00.002-07:00

What a phenomenal song! Thanks to Susie Batton for capturing this morning's rendition of "If You Knew Him".

Waxing eloquent

2010-04-02T13:51:00.002-07:00

Speaking of Cole, this past year has taken me back to Parenting 101. I honestly forgot some of the gross stuff associated with babies. You never really forget diapers and that sort of thing, but the other disgusting things they do...ah, now that's the spice of life. Like last night for instance. Cole and I were in the bedroom, the other kids in bed, and Lori downstairs somewhere. Parents have those moments when they realize their precious angel hasn't made a sound for a while. That usually means the devil got into them. I'm laying on the bed watching a little Sportscenter when it hits me that ol' Cole has been quiet as a mouse. I look over at him and he's on the floor sucking ear wax off some Q-tips he must have dug out of the wastebasket.

Gotta be honest, it grossed me out a little. But, I figure it can't kill him...can it?

What a refreshing vacation

2010-04-02T07:55:00.002-07:00

I feel like starting this up again. I've decided that I'm not going to let it control me, though. I'm just going to post when I feel like it.

Oh, and by the way, Cole is a lot bigger than the picture posted below. It's been a while.

Hello again.

Nicholas Peyton Waggoner

2009-02-13T09:52:00.002-07:00

Nicholas Peyton Waggoner arrived yesterday at 9:29 AM. He weighed in at 7 lbs. 7 oz. and was 20" long. I'm pretty sure he's grown an inch since then. He has a healthy set of lungs and has all the makings of being an impressive tenor.

We're going to call him Cole (from niChOLas). I'm a proud Dad!

CLICK HERE to see pictures of the big guy (not me, Cole)

GVB changes

2009-01-13T16:14:00.001-07:00

Huge press release from Gaither Vocal Band!

Mike, Mark, David, and Wes. Who woulda thunk it?

Update

2009-01-13T10:41:00.003-07:00

It's been a busy month.

Our family had an incredible Christmas and New Year. We celebrated Christmas Eve by having Pastor Dave, Julia, and the fam over. Between the Wii tournament, Rook tournament (which Dave and I won handily), and awesome food we had a wonderful time. It was around 3 AM Christmas morning when the party disbanded. All of the kids, except Katie, were asleep. Christmas morning was our time. There is no gift that compares to watching Trey and Kassady open their Christmas presents. We had already celebrated an early Christmas in November with my parents, but somehow other gifts magically showed up. The kids loved it! By the way, my gift of the year came from my esteemed in-laws Dave and Char. They shipped me 6 cans of Skyline Chili. The gift that keeps on giving.

Christmas dinner was served over at Josh and Amelia Jensen's house. WOW!!! What a spread! I ate way too much, but shed some of it during our intense game of Catchphrase. We had an absolute blast! I love spending time with good friends.

By the way, if you didn't receive our Christmas letter, it's because I didn't have your email address. We went digital this year, saving nearly $200 in postage. Here's the link to the newsletter.

In all honesty, I just bummed around during the days between Christmas and New Years. I got a little done, but not much. About the only thing I did was practice with Liberty. Our new baritone, Jordan Cragun, moved in and we spent the week before Christmas and the week before New Year's Day rehearsing our classics and learning new songs. Other than that I spent most of my time reading and playing games. Gotta love that kind of life.

On New Year's Eve we went to two parties. Yeah, that's just how we roll. I just had to keep Lori out of the bubbly. We spent 3 hours over at Bob and Margaret's house and then a couple of hours at the church party. Lots of fun. I am getting pretty old, though. By the time the New Year rolled around I was just ready to go to bed. Pathetic.

Liberty sang our first concerts with Jordan on January 4. He flat out tore it up. For those of you that have followed our ministry for a while, you're going to want to hear this guy. He's doing a great job, in spite of all the abuse that he's enduring as the baby of the group. Jordan is a wonderful addition to the quartet.

I really didn't make any major new year's resolutions for 2009. I have stopped drinking soda. I guess that's kind of major. I had a cup on Christmas Eve and one cup on New Year's Eve, but that's been it. Besides the occasional craving, I'm getting by on water and the every-once-in-a-while glass of iced tea. I'm also trying to cut back on my french fry consumption. I've had three (yes, that's right: 3) french fries in the last four weeks. Now, I'm sure my inhaling of the three onion rings at Red Robin last Thursday didn't help any, but I have to have an occasional reprieve for crying out loud!

I'm also trying to read one book a week. The requirements are that it must be a biography or something to do with theology, management, or leadership. I've already finished some great reads. I finished John Lennon: The Life over Christmas. I couldn't put it down. It was a fascinating look at the life of a guy who for better or worse helped influence music culture. I'm trying to finish up Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God by Francis Chan and Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High a classic recommended by Josh Jensen. This is for anyone who tends to avoid any type of confrontation, even if the necessary conversation could potentially enhance productivity or teamwork. I'm already benefiting from these pages. Other recent reads include Family Man: The Biography of Dr. James Dobson, The Shack, and Mere Christianity. I've been missing my cable like crazy, especially during bowl season, but there's no doubt that I wouldn't be reading as much if I had it. So, it's all good. I just don't know what will happen during March Madness...

Speaking of the bowls, go Florida and Tebow (I'm doing the Gator chomp right now in celebration). Man, I'm glad they won the championship. Tim Tebow is a class guy and one of the few marquee players to come back to school for his senior year.

The Big Ten, as is becoming the custom in football and basketball, failed to show up. It's tough being a fan. Especially an IU fan through this basketball season. I do think Crean is the man for the job, though. Just give him time.

Trey started Upwards basketball last week. I'm proud of that boy. He loves sports! And, he's willing to work to get better. We've been working on his triple threat stance and controlling the ball. He's already a good shooter, but definitely needs to work on his dribbling. I just sit on the sidelines and grin like the Cheshire Cat. He's the man.

It's hard to believe, but we're less than a month from the new Waggoner boy making his grand entrance. The due date is Feb. 12. Since he'll be a C-section baby I think the date is fairly certain unless, of course, he decides to come earlier. Lori was just saying last night that this has been the easiest pregnancy yet. I just hope she didn't jinx the last month. We still have yet to pick out a name. I figure I'll have the final say, since Lori will be out of it when they ask. At least, that's what happened last time. So, I'm getting creative.

Liberty just got back from California. It was a somewhat-balmy 65 degrees on Friday, a little cooler on Saturday and Sunday. It hit me this past weekend how blessed I am to have friends scattered across the entire country. One thing that I'm trying to do more is intentionally invest in those friendships, deepening the relationships. So many of my good friends showed up to our concerts this weekend. We had a great time! God's been so good to me.

I did get some awful news on Saturday night about the Bigger family tragedy. While I didn't know Brent more than the casual friendship we developed while he was traveling for Hobe Sound and I was traveling for GBS, the news devastated me. Our prayers have been with Brent and his extended family.

Well, it's back to work.

Frankfort (city motto: we need to hire a press agency)

2009-01-13T09:35:00.001-07:00

Yeah, I know it's a been a while. And, this is what I choose for my first post in 2009. Sad.

But, it's always good to see my hometown Frankfort, IN in the news.

Christmas Cheer

2008-12-12T08:49:00.001-07:00

I found this over at Burke's Brainwork and just had to share. Enjoy Dennis Murphy's (drummer for Kingdom Heirs) rendition of Grandma Got Run Over By a Raindeer.

1000

2008-12-12T08:45:00.001-07:00

By the way, I just noticed that I went over 1000 posts for keithinside. Thanks for reading.

Ramsey in the Valley

2008-12-11T09:20:00.003-07:00

"If you will live like no one else, later you can LIVE like no one else."

Attention, Treasure Valley dwellers: Dave Ramsey is now on 580AM KIDO from 6-8 PM. You'll love the show. I am now a rabid listener (yeah, I got bit by a squirrel).

MAF Concert

2008-12-11T08:59:00.005-07:00

Well, our concert went fairly well yesterday morning, lack of sleep notwithstanding. While it's never easy to sing in the morning, I am here to tell you that singing tenor at 8:00 AM should be outlawed. Fortunately, Philip took the high part on most of the songs so by the end of the morning he looked like a purple raisin and sounded like Oscar the Grouch. Poor guy. After a four day trip I normally take 3 days off before I even think of singing. So, my voice was in rare form, let me tell you. We sing a cover of GVB's Yes I Know and we've rearranged it a little to fit our style. Well, I have the solo part on the last verse and I started to go up like Penrod does at the end of the phrase and in the milliseconds of my initial ascent it hit me that I might not hit the note. So, I decided to improvise and make up a new part. Well, there's only so much you can do in a limited amount of time, not to mention jumping ship on a melody line that's going up. The end result was what would happen if you threw in a line from Jingle Bell Rock while singing Joy to the World. It didn't come close. My interesting new melody line wasn't even in the key. Embarrassing to say the least. I'm not a perfectionist, per se, but I do get irritated when something is that far off. It took me about 5 songs to get over that one. Due to the holidays, Dave and Julia's trip, Philip's work schedule, and Liberty's travel we were only able to practice twice. That the concert went well, was nothing short of a miracle.

The rest of the guys did an awesome job. Julia tore it up, as usual. And we even talked Dave into singing a song with his wife. Overall, a great concert. Thanks to all you Grace folks that showed up. It's a privilege to be part of such an incredible church!

I crave sleep

2008-12-10T06:13:00.002-07:00

Anytime I know I have to be up early, insomnia sets in. What's up with that?!! If we have an early leave time for a weekend or something like that I lay in bed wide awake, all sorts of creative ideas and a to-do list running through my head. Last night was no different. This morning my "other" group (from Grace with Philip, Matt, and Julia)are singing at a Mission Aviation Fellowship chapel. I have to be there at 7:30. To make sure my voice is awake, I planned on waking up at 5:30 AM. I didn't get to sleep until after 12:30. Talk about frustrating! But the more I would think about getting up early, the more wide awake I would be. So, I finally got up and got some work done and collapsed from sheer exhaustion.

This concert ought to be real exciting. Who knows what I'm going to end up saying or doing.

By the way, there have been nearly 71,000,000 Google searches recently for the phrase "can't sleep". Something I learned.

I'm thankful for...

2008-11-26T21:38:00.003-07:00

I know I've been deluging you with videos lately, but with this being Thanksgiving and all, this one tops the list of things I'm thankful for. Thanks to Matt for letting me know that Il Divo performed this.

We're continuing our Idaho Thanksgiving tradition of having dinner with Marc, Talisha, and the kids. It's nice to have adopted family. Then, Dad, Mom, and Lynn are flying in Thanksgiving evening and will spend the weekend with us. Also, Lori and I are going to the final Boise State game of the season against Fresno State. I'm hoping we can close out the regular season undefeated. So, this corner of the world will probably be silent for the next few days.

I hope you guys have a wonderful day with friends and family.

Shout to Darlene

2008-11-24T09:55:00.003-07:00

Perry at Hillsong Church from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.

Over the last couple of years, I've been reading the blog of Perry Noble, a pastor in Anderson, SC. This dude is on fire for God and I've enjoyed his words of wisdom. I try to catch some of his services online when I get a chance. He's one cool guy, even if he is a Clemson fan. Anyway, he recently had the chance to speak at Hillsong in Australia. His chance sighting of Darlene Zschech cracked me up.

The Big 4-0

2008-11-21T19:34:00.011-07:00

My beautiful wife turned 40 yesterday. And, what a day it was. I'd been waiting for Nov. 20, 2008 for several years. I had threatened Lori with throwing her a big ol' embarrassing party to celebrate this momentous milestone. She would threaten me in turn with all sorts of bodily harm, informing me that such an action on my part could be potentially fatal. For those of you who know Lori, she loves parties, but hates being the one feted. Well, this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience (especially for this dead man walking) so I decided to do it anyway. Lori takes pride in the fact that she is never surprised by anything. She always has things figured out way in advance.

Her (formerly) good friends Julia, Amelia, and Talisha helped me pull off the big surprise. The only real potential slip-up was my cleaning the house 2 days in a row. I came up with a logical explanation which for once she bought. My parents are coming out for Thanksgiving next week and I told her that I wanted to go the extra mile for her on her birthday so she wouldn't have to clean as much over the weekend. Julia and Amelia had already purchased all the decorations and Talisha had taken care of the food for the party. My biggest challenge was finding a legitimate reason for coming back to the house. So, here's what I did:

I dropped the kids off at Julia's house before Lori and I left for a date. I intentionally "forgot" my phone at home and then made a big production out of locking the door from the house to the garage, which normally I never do. I made sure that Lori watched me do it. So, we dropped the kids off at Julia's and ran over to do some Christmas shopping per Lori's request. Forget those romantic dates...gotta get that shopping done. Meanwhile, I had given Julia our garage code and the girls got inside to decorate and set up the food. At sporadic instances throughout the even, I made comments about how I couldn't believe I had left my phone on the desk. After we took advantage of some good deals, we went over to Olive Garden for dinner. I had told Lori that I really wanted to see the new Bond movie, Quantam Solace. So, I asked the waitress if we could get our food ASAP because of the movie start time. They did a wonderful job of getting our food right out. I had asked Julia to call Lori's cell phone at 6:30 asking to take the kids over to our house due to a meeting Dave was having. Julia pulled it off perfectly. Lori, remembering that I had locked the house door apologized to Julia for not being able to just give her the garage code and told her that we would have to meet them somewhere to give her our house keys. I knew that's what she would do. So, I piped in that I would like to pick up my cell phone anyway. And, that did it. Lori had absolutely no clue. So, we got to the house and Julia was sitting in the Suburban with all the kids inside. Lori did notice that someone had switched the outdoor light off. She kept on saying what happened to that light? I know it was on. I made up some excuse to get something out of the trunk and told Lori to unlock the door for Julia. Well, someone had unlocked the door, too. And just as Lori put the key in she said, "Hey! This door's unlocked!" She opened the door, the lights went on, and everyone yelled "Surprise!" She was shocked! Oh, it was awesome.

We had a blast! So many of our friends showed up for the party. I'm not going to comment on all the pictures below, but let me just say our house was packed. It was the best party I've been to. Thanks to Talisha, Julia, and Amelia for helping me pull this off. Lori did admit it was a happy birthday. That's all I wanted.

The shock is written all over her face.

Julia and one of her willing conspirators, Katie.

The other Liberty wives.

Amelia built Lori 2.0. She needed some lotion on those cheeks (not Amelia, Lori 2.0).

Now, I'm confused.

Matt, Mindy, and Amelia with Lori 2.0.

I'm not sure who these guys are, but they ate all the food. The middle guy kept on giving that creepy smile.

Sheila has trained Ashley well.

Donna apparently didn't want her picture taken with Lori and Tammy.

Kassady was pretty sure that the party was in some way thrown in her honor, too.

Bernie found the best seat in the house.

This is pretty much what Dave and Marc did all night.

Lori won't let me post pictures of her presents.

Josh and Amelia, great friends of ours. Josh was worried that with Lori being pregnant and all she wouldn't have the emotional stability required for a 40th birthday party. He kept on telling Amelia to take it easy on Lori.

And, a fun time was had by all.

Just do it

2008-11-19T07:23:00.001-07:00

Some great advice for Detroit...

On a lighter note...

2008-11-18T11:13:00.002-07:00

This is hilarious! Sent in response to my UFO post by my friend Steve Hafen of KVIP in Redding, CA. This is a tribute to the great film score composer John Williams.

The Waggoner Times

2008-11-18T08:28:00.002-07:00

There's been a lot going on in Waggonerville.

Saturday, Liberty did a video shoot for "An Idaho Family Christmas" which airs annually on NBC's local affiliate. That was a lot of fun. We had to go around caroling to different houses on the set. Unfortunately, we didn't have any say in the song selection process. So, the song they picked out, while familiar, was about 2 notes above my tenor range. Not a fan. Our families were able to be part of the taping, so you'll get to see their faces along with a few other extras. Trey begrudgingly smiled for the cameras, while Kassady twirled, skipped, and laughed and pretty much stole the show. She loves being in the spotlight and hearing "camera, lights, action".

After we were done with the video shoot we went over to Marc and Talisha's to watch the Boise State vs. Idaho game. Fortunately, we ended up blowing them out, but the first half was ugly. I love BSU, but we are ranked too high. I'm afraid we're going to get destroyed if we somehow make it into a BCS game.

Then, on Saturday night, Donna Gilbert through a surprise birthday party for Dan. His 50th birthday is on the first weekend of December. He had no clue! Which was good, because at our concert Thursday a lady came up to him and said "I hear you're having a big birthday on Saturday". He just looked at her like she was crazy and said, "I don't know who you're talking to, but my birthday isn't until December". Fortunately, he just thought she was a nutcase. Anyway, he got the usual old people gifts.

Speaking of birthdays, Lori has one coming up. I won't go into great detail, but it's one of those big ones, if you know what I mean.

I have been obsessed with learning Flash and Dreamweaver the last few days. I'm fairly competent in Photoshop, but don't know a lot about hands-on web design. The cool thing is that I actually learned quite a bit. Definitely enough to get a website up and going. I'm working on a site now for Ritchey Music Group. Bet you can't figure out who owns that company. Anyway, thanks for Bart and Jon for their pearls of wisdom.

Speaking of pearls of wisdom, I'm almost finished with Winning with People by John Maxwell. I'll be sharing some highlights in the next few days. Investing in people is one of the most significant activities we'll ever engage in. It takes time, energy, and patience. But, I'm convinced it's worth it.

So many people are telling me I have to read The Shack. It's on my short list of books to get to.

By the way, did you know that unhappy people watch more TV? I just came across this article on Drudge Report. I think it's kind of funny how we heartily embrace studies that fit within our personal framework while scoffing at scientific results that somehow don't fit within our worldview. So, in saying that, I tend to agree with the results.

I'm very fearful concerning IU's basketball team this year. But, I'm very happy that Tom Crean is coach. Good days are ahead.

God is definitely working in our church. While I'm rarely at Grace on Sunday, Liberty had this past Sunday off and so I had the chance to worship at my home church. I had trouble finding a seat. It was very cool to talk to several of the new people who have given their hearts to Christ just in the last 2 or 3 months. Dave brought it in his message Sunday morning. What keeps us from being holy? What robs us of our joy? What keeps the blood pressure up? Self-centeredness (Philippians 2:1-10). One part that really stood out to me was Dave's sharing of the difference between "serving" and "being a servant". When you serve you do it on your own time, work it in around your personal schedule (and Dave wasn't knocking that; we need people who will serve). However, being a servant is on a whole 'nother level: it's being available 24/7 to minister to whoever, wherever. People know they can come to a servant in their darkest time and they'll be there for them. It goes beyond just being a friend. Good stuff.

I've really been enjoying YouVersion. It is one of the coolest devotional sites I've come across. Thanks to Shane for sharing the link.

I'm gearing up for the Christmas season. We're going to try to get some Christmas shopping done in the next couple weeks. Actually, Lori informed me that she wants to do this one her birthday (Thursday). I'm not the kind of guy that enjoys getting up the day after Thanksgiving to fight traffic and violent shoppers for a $30 discount. So, I enjoy getting mine done good and early. Well, Mom and Dad are coming out to our place for Thanksgiving, but won't be able to be out here for Christmas, so gift-giving is coming early. Trey has already let it be known that he wants just one present: a Ninteno Wii. That sounds kinda cool to me, too. So, maybe he and I can pool our resources, exchange the various packs of socks and underwear, and end up with a Wii. We'll see.

Tonight we're going over to hear Legacy Five in concert. Love those guys.

Our CD Amazed is selling like crazy. We've never had a project sell like this. It's pretty cool, actually. There's no doubt that this is our best recording yet. Literally, every week we're hearing from someone who has been profoundly impacted by one of the songs on the project. God is good!

By the way, Decemberadio is one of my new favorite Christian rock groups. Like them a lot.

Well, I have work to do, so for now...so long.

UFO

2008-11-07T09:07:00.006-07:00

So, last night Doran, Royce, and I are sitting in the lounge area watching a movie while Dan handled the bus driving duties. We were on US 93 S. toward Las Vegas. All of a sudden Dan shouts out, "You've gotta be kidding me! I just saw a UFO!" Doran and I went running up to the front of the bus to see what he was talking about. He explained that a semicircle of orange lights appeared in the sky, moved smoothly, and then all of a sudden disappeared. We didn't see anything so we went back to the lounge. About 15 minutes later Dan yells "They're back!" I ran up to the jump seat and sure enough, just to the southwest there was a semicircle of bright orange lights hovering and then slowly moving through the sky. After about a minute of so, it just disappeared. Talk about cold chills! This happened a few more times. Interestingly enough, though, the lights separated and became individual entities. It was the strangest thing I've witnessed.

I went online and found out that that stretch of road happens to be near an experimental aircraft test site. It is the real Area 51. Weird stuff. But, I saw this with my own eyes. I'm a believer (cue X-files theme).

Words of Wisdom

2008-11-06T09:22:00.005-07:00

This was uploaded several days before the election, but the message hasn't lost its impact. John Piper is a thought-provoking author and speaker as you can tell from this interview.

Go South Young Man

2008-11-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

Not to rub it in or anything, but I'm off for Arizona. Sunny skies and 77 degree temperatures. WOW!

The Face

2008-11-05T21:41:00.001-07:00

OK, I realize that probably only family will appreciate this, but here's the face of the newest Waggoner. He's gonna be a winner, I can already tell. I'm already a proud Daddy, three times over. God is good!

The big 5-0

2008-11-05T08:20:00.002-07:00

Well, it's finally here: Royce's 50th birthday! As you can tell from the picture above, aging has taken it's toll. The arthritic hands, the bird legs, the protruding hip all point to the fact that he doesn't have that 21-year-old body anymore. We often find him wandering the bus looking for his Metamucil or at least some granola. It's actually kind of sad. He doesn't remember our names anymore, can't hear when we talk about him, and can't see that the GPS is taking him in the totally wrong direction. But, he's our Royce and we love him!

OK, ok. Enough with the schtick. Yes, he is 50, but he can probably still outrun me. Royce is a former Oregon state champion in track and field. At the expense of sounding like I'm delivering a eulogy, let me say a few things about our fearless leader. I've never worked with a man or woman who had more faith in God than Royce. I have seen Royce operate in the worst of times, literally. Times like when the bus has a major emergency and the funds aren't there to pay salaries and the mechanic. He'd call all of us and tell us that it was time to go to prayer. We would, and miraculously God would provide. This has happened time and time again. It has strengthened my faith in the process. Royce is passionate about his calling. If there was ever a person called to Southern Gospel music, it's Royce. People travel in this industry for a variety of reasons. Royce travels because this is what God wants him to do. He loves this music and can sing it as well as anyone. He has the smoothest bass voice in Southern Gospel. I'm proud of this guy and the accolades he's finally starting to receive from the broader Southern Gospel community. But, that's not what it's about. When I had my first interview with Royce, he shared with me his passion for the quartet to be more than just another performing group. While there are few emcees who can come close to Royce's comedic delivery, he has made sure that our concerts are more than just a laugh-fest, and always builds to an invitation. This isn't just something to make us feel good about ourselves and allow us to pat ourselves on the back; it's the real thing. And as a result, we've seen hundreds of people saved. One of the coolest things that we experience as a group is coming back to a church and having someone tell us how they gave their heart to Christ at one of our concerts, sharing with us the difference that Christ has made in their life. That's awesome! And, this all is part of Royce's heart for ministry. I know that people are often skeptical of Southern Gospel quartets and often for good reasons. Let me assure you that Royce is all about traveling for the right reasons. This is his calling and he is passionately pursuing it.

There are a few things I've learned about Royce in the last 3 years:

His mind works in ways simply unexplainable.
If you tell him that you absolutely can't sing a song, he'll cue it up.

If you put a gun to his head, he still couldn't figure out how to save an emailed picture.
Somewhere inside of him, there's a 7-year-old struggling to get out (the first trip I took with the guys, he took off running, skipping, and jumping through a mall shouting "whoo-hoo, look at me guys!"; I spent some time asking God if I'd made the right choice).
He hates the GPS but can't bring himself to drive in an opposite direction.
His political views are strong and will not be shaken.
He bleeds blue and orange.
If the bus stops so we can get to sleep, he'll wake up and start driving at a high rate of speed (ensuring that we can't sleep).
He absolutely hates to be late to anything.
He'd give you the shirt off his back, which Dan has often taken due to forgetting his own T-shirts on a trip. Dan has more of Royce's clothes than Royce does.
He hates to be left out of anything exciting or fun (this goes back to the 7-year-old kid).
His heroes are George Younce and Glen Payne.
He can't help but sing bass along with a praise and worship team. Think "Better Is One Day" with a booming bass.
He isn't at all inhibited when meeting new people. The jokes start immediately.
And, just because I could keep this going for a while, let me end with...he's a friend. One of the best friends I have.

I'm pretty sure he has another 50 in him.

43

2008-11-05T08:08:00.002-07:00

An interesting article on the treatment of President Bush. I agree wholeheartedly. I don't remember ever seeing and hearing such blatant disrespect for a president, from the right and the left. Yeah, he's made some mistakes along the way, but what president hasn't. I have a feeling that in the next few years we'll be hearing from people who are starting to long for the leeks and garlics in Egypt. If it's change you want then it's change you'll get.

Have some respect, people!

The deed is done

2008-11-04T15:46:00.001-07:00

Election 2008

2008-11-04T11:54:00.004-07:00

It's election day. And, this year I have seen more doubt and fear in my acquaintances than ever before. In all honesty, I don't get it. Yes, I want John McCain to be our next president, but if it doesn't happen I'm not just going to lay down and die. Ain't gonna happen!

As I was shaving my gleaming dome this morning, I was pondering this whole "scare" factor that is just obsessing so many people. While I was thinking about this I found myself humming a tune to a hymn. Now, this may sound weird to you guys out there, but a lot of times I find myself unconsciously humming, whistling, or singing a song that relates to what's going through my mind at the time. God often gives me a song during the most stressful of situations. This happens all the time to me. When I realized I was humming this morning, I stopped to figure out what the song was. Here are the lyrics:

Verse 1

O God our Help in ages past
Our Hope for years to come
Our Shelter from the stormy blast
And our eternal Home

Verse 2

Under the shadow of Thy throne
Still may we dwell secure
Sufficient is Thine arm alone
And our defense is sure

Verse 3

Before the hills in order stood
Or earth received her frame
From everlasting Thou art God
To endless years the same

Verse 4

A thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun

Verse 5

Time like an ever rolling stream
Bears all its sons away
They fly forgotten as a dream
Dies at the op'ning day

Verse 6

O God our Help in ages past
Our Hope for years to come
Be Thou my Guide while life shall last
And our eternal Home

Just what I needed to be reminded of. Later this morning, I found myself singing a Twila Paris lyric, "God Is In Control", the same song that I was humming unconsciously on 9/11/2001:

Chorus 1

God is in control
We believe that His children
Will not be forsaken
God is in control
We will choose to remember
And never be shaken
There is no power above
Or beside Him we know
Oh God is in control
Oh God is in control

Verse 1

This is no time for fear
This is a time for faith
And determination
Don't lose the vision here
Carried away by the motion
Hold on to all
That you hide in your heart
There is one thing
That has always been true
It holds the world together

Verse 2

History marches on
There is a bottom line
Drawn across the ages
Culture can make its plan
Oh but the line never changes
No matter how the deception may fly
There is one thing
That has always been true
It will be true forever

Bridge
He has never let you down
Why start to worry now
Why start to worry now
He is still the Lord of all we see
And He is still the loving Father
Watching over you and me
Watching over you
Watching over me
Watching over ev'rything
Watching over you
Watching over me
Ev'ry little sparrow ev'ry little king
Oh, oh, ev'ry little king, oh

Daniel 2:21 says that God "sets up kings and deposes them". If you need to be reminded of the fact that God truly is in control read Colossians 1:15-23. Am I going to be disappointed if McCain isn't elected? Absolutely! But, I won't be devastated or defeated.

God is in control.

New Liberty Quartet Member

2008-11-02T22:21:00.003-07:00

There will be an official press release forthcoming in the next month or so, but Liberty Quartet has added a new member, Jordan Cragun. Jordan is a fantastic vocalist and will be singing the baritone part for Liberty. Now, not to worry Liberty fans; Doran's not going anywhere. He'll still be singing occasionally, but wants to focus more on piano. For those of you who don't know Jordan, he's got a fantastic musical heritage (actually a wonderful heritage, music notwithstanding). His dad, Ray, sang bass with the Celebration Quartet for many years, the best quartet that most people never heard. His aunts include Kim Collingsworth, Julia Keep, and Sandy Adams; all incredible musicians in their own right. This is his first-ever song with Liberty, sung Friday night at the PGMA Music Festival in Eugene, OR. Special thanks to Ellen Gerig for the video. Jordan will start traveling with us full-time in January of 2009.

Jordan's solo on "He's Been There Too"...

Shocking Campaign Signs

2008-10-30T17:47:00.001-07:00

Now THIS is funny.

Trunk Or Treat

2008-10-30T14:14:00.004-07:00

Last night was Trunk or Treat at Grace. Last year they had it on a weekend so I had to miss it. It was loads of fun! I helped Lori in the kids service by being a puppeteer, a first for me. LaRona gave me just enough instruction to keep me from making a fool of myself...well, let me take that back. She gave me enough rope to hang myself. It's harder than it looks. Anyway, then I passed out candy to kids from the back of my festive-looking Explorer. I enjoyed giving candy to the first-timers, kids who have never been trunk-or-treating. They had this puzzled expression that said, "Why are people giving me all this candy? Is this Heaven?" I even grilled a couple of hotdogs over at Mindy Ritchey's fire pit. A good time was had by all.

I spent quite a bit of time stuffing straw down my pants. Now, I wasn't wearing the pants at the time. Kassady thought it was pretty funny and took a picture. My stuffed man didn't turn out so good as you can see below. I've done better.

The back of the Waggonermobile, strawman and all. I have about one hundred little cuts on my hands from all that straw. I'll use gloves next time.

Trey was Joseph. Lori made his technicolor dreamcoat. He was sufficiently impressed. He got loads (and I mean LOADS) of candy. It will last him, in all seriousness, until next October.

Kassady was Queen Esther. She posed with one of her angelic friends, Taylor. This was the only time they weren't on a sugar high the rest of the evening.

The kids paraded in front of the adults during the midweek service. Thunderous applause greeted them.

Lots of kids, everywhere!

Katie Keep was Jezebel, but fortunately she had a little angel tugging at her trying to turn her in the right direction.

Allen dressed up as, well, himself. It was very realistic. They have the cutest baby girl! She wasn't that dazzled by my camera action. In fact, if babies can glare, I'm pretty sure one was cast my direction.

Lori gave an object lesson involving a pumpkin. The part where the pumpkin innards splashed all over her wasn't planned. The kids liked it, though.

Trey went over to the dark side of special ops, led there by his little green friend Noah.

Lori and I dressed for the occasion. I wore my Bubba teeth. They were a big hit with the 8-year-olds. We thought about dressing up like Abraham and Sarah, with this whole pregnancy and everything. Sarah decided not to.

Traveling Live

2008-10-30T13:11:00.006-07:00

***If you get the Liberty Quartet newsletter, just ignore the text and skip to the pictures. I'm using some of the same material...

Liberty's last trip out was special, no doubt about it. We kicked off the tour at Post Falls Nazarene on Thursday. Lonnie and Melanie Capps (along with the rest of their hard workin' crew) did a fantastic job on the concert promotion. We had a phenomenal evening of worship. And, each of us ended up with a copy of Lonnie's cookbook, chock-full of delicious recipes culled from his years in the Marines. Visit out his website to get your own copy.

After a stay in the beautiful Coeur d' Alene Resort we left for Kimberly, British Columbia Friday morning. It's been a while since we've taken a trip featuring so much gorgeous scenery. Since moving to Idaho I have missed the changing of the leaves that I so often took for granted while living back east. There was plenty of leaf-changing to be seen on this trip. I spent good portions of the trip with my nose pressed up the window looking out over God's incredible handiwork. Awesome! And that was just a precursor to the Nazarene Laymen's Retreat up in Kimberly. This had to be one of the most relaxing weekends I've had since joining Liberty. The location coupled with the wonderful people we were with made for a fun three days. Kudos go out to retreat director Carrie Hoogstad and her wonderful committee. They ensured that the retreat came off without a hitch. It was a privilege to be with Pastor Kent Conrad, pastor of Nampa, ID First Nazarene. His challenges were insightful, direct, and inspiring. He had us memorize Psalm 139:23-24: "Search me, O God and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and leave me in the way everlasting." This should the prayer of every person who is continually pursuing holiness. Kent and his wife Kay are some of God's finest and we enjoyed our time together. I am just a little jealous of that big ol' Harley-Davidson that he rides. Kent's one wild hog! I'm more like Dudley.

We left the retreat Sunday morning after the closing service with 300 miles to drive. The destination was Clarkston, WA and the Living Heritage Methodist Church. This long trip was an aberration from our normal Sunday afternoon traveling schedule, but we made it with time to spare. We had a phenomenal concert! And, of course, our friends from Kings Heirs showed up. They even sang a couple of songs with us, much to the crowd's delight. After the concert we went over to Ernie Haverman's house for a mouthwatering meal of shepherd's pie, salad, bread, and rum cake. Of course, Ernie, Bob, Bill, and Pinky had to tell their stories from the road. And they have plenty after 30 years of traveling: the same 4 guys all 30 years.

After that, we hopped on the bus for what we assumed was going to be a fairly short trip home. Those of you who have kept up with my blog for a while know that Royce hates our Garmin GPS (the Garminator) with a passion, while Dan believes that it's almost infallible. There's some enjoyable irony to be found in the fact that it was Royce who followed the GPS on a course over some of the worst terrain ever. As we were heading out of town, I was sitting up in the shotgun seat and saw a sign that said next fuel station 77 miles. I looked at the guage, then at Royce and asked if he thought this was a good idea. "Oh yeah, we can get to LaGrande if we have too", he replied with all the confidence he could muster. I don't know what was going on in that little GPS brain, but we went over one of the craziest mountain passes it could have chosen. I'm not sure what kind of fuel mileage we got, but it couldn't have been that great. By the time we got over the mountain our fuel was almost gone. Royce finally saw a gas station that sold diesel, but when we pulled up it was closed. So, we shut 'er down and spent the night waiting for the station to open. When Dan walked in after fueling up the next morning the clerk said, "You came over that?", pointing in the direction of the mountain pass. When Dan nodded in affirmation she said, "I know a lot of people who won't go over that pass in cars!" Oh well, all's well that ends well. Royce has threatened various acts of violence against the Garminator. I'm pretty sure we're going to get on the bus one weekend and stumble over a crime of passion.

Anyway, here are some pictures:

Royce tried to remember all of the songs that the current version of Liberty Quartet (6.1, I believe) knows. It's somewhere around a hundred or so. The rest of the weekend we kept adding songs to the list. He wrote out the list with a Sharpie and lays it on the floor in front of the monitor. He pulls out a fresh lineup every night. We have no clue what's coming next. Who does he think he is? Hamill?

Doran was trying to practice during soundcheck. He has this weird idea that if he has headphones on and can't hear us, then we can't hear him. We had to get him to shut up so we could set vocals. He's over there humming away...loudly!

Diane went with us on this trip. Unfortunately, her presence did little to alter Doran's hyperactive state of being. She helped Doran lead the worship at the retreat and then sang a song at each of the other concerts.

Dan calling the front desk at the Coeur d'Alene Resort...just because he could. This was the nicest place that we've stayed. At least, since I've been with Liberty. On Friday morning, I had already showered and was doing a little reading with Dan came bursting into the room with his morning cup of coffee (the man has a terrible addiction). He said that they had an awesome pool/sauna/hot tub area downstairs. Well, it sounded good to me so I changed into a Tshirt and swimming trunks and headed off. Dan told me that he had found a shortcut we could take. Well, following Dan is somewhat like trusting the GPS. He headed out a door and I walked right out behind him...into the freezing cold of the outside. It was below 32 degrees outside and by the time it hit me and I reached for the door it had shut and automatically locked. It was one of those doors that doesn't allow you to go back in. So, Dan puts on a confident face and says, "I think it's just around the corner." We end up walking down by the docks, all around the hotel in the frigid weather. People were bundled up in heavy coats, hats, and gloves and they looked at us like we were insane walking around in shorts and T-shirts. We walked for about 8-10 minutes before we got around to the resort's main entrance. Dan's laughing like a hyena and I'm in the introductory stages of hypothermia by the time we get inside. It was one of those moments. I will say that hot tub never felt so good.

Why do people keep requesting this song? The only standing ovation we got all weekend was for our bluegrass number, "The Gospel Plow".

Carrie Hoogstad was the director of the retreat and did a wonderful job of keeping it moving. She even joined Dan and I in a few dance moves on "Bus Driver".

It was a privilege to hang out with Kent and Kay Conrad. Kay is about as spunky a woman as you're going to find anywhere. She cracked me up. I enjoyed the time we spent bouncing ministry ideas/stories off of each other. She has a heart for outreach. It's pretty cool to see and hear what God is doing at Nampa First and to share what He's doing at Grace. All in all, a great weekend.

Rah, rah, Phillies

2008-10-29T21:12:00.004-07:00

Way to go Phillies. My wife and in laws are all ecstatic. Dave, being the Philadelphia native that he is, tipped over the coffee table in the living room and streaked through the house in his BVDs since he couldn't join the hoodlums down on Market Street who are celebrating this momentous event by stealing big-screen TVs and setting police cars on fire. Is it just me, though, or has the World Series just been boring the last few years? Yawn...

I guess if the Reds ever get back I'll get excited too.

Cellphone Candids

2008-10-29T13:11:00.010-07:00

Here are some indiscriminate pictures taken on my Blackberry phone. The camera is pathetic, the only Blackberry feature I'm not fond of. I happened to remember today that I have a 1gig camera card in my phone, so I downloaded the following. Enjoy!

I think I took this right after I shaved my head for the first time. Lori was away at AYC and I wanted to prep her so she didn't slap me in the airport terminal. She slapped me anyway...

The beautiful women in my life. When we go to a restaurant, it's the chics on one side of the table...

...and dudes on the other side. My main man, Trey.

I must have been having a Daughtry moment during a soundcheck in Oregon.

In case you can't tell, these two together spell T-R-O-U-B-L-E. Taylor (Ritchey) and Trey, otherwise known as TnT.

I just bought the ice cream for the kids. Diane was the one that had to clean Taylor's face.

One of the highlights of Trey's young life: going to his first-ever Boise State football game. The Broncos won, of course. Incidentally, we're now #11 in the BCS standings.

Lori's face when she saw my freshly-shorn head for the first time.

Every time Lori or I have the opportunity to eat at Skyline Chili without the other, we take a picture and text it just to rub it in. This was taken at a Skyline in Louisville, KY where Doran and I introduced Brandon Beene of the Beene Family to just the best restaurant in the world! Lori texted back and said that she hoped I got diarrhea.

The Liberty guys got tickets to the New York Giants-St. Louis Rams game in St. Louis, MO. They were $100 seats and we got them for $10. My first NFL game. Eli Manning was on fire.

A blurred man deep in thought as the alien spaceships hover just outside.

We don't allow our children to have beverages on long road-trips. As a result, these parched little guys often collapse from thirst (before you call the authorities, just kidding...I just couldn't think of a caption).

Trey and his beloved GBS yo-yo (thanks to Jessica Smith). He was in the introductory phase of his "walk-the-dog" demonstration at the time.

Kassady taking a break from her soccer game. It was about 40 degrees at this particular game. She wasn't impressed.

My little princess. Trey hates this picture.

Royce and Dan with some of our fans, Megan and Jayden. Actually, their dad (Jeff) sings with Solid Ground, a Southern Gospel trio from the Sacramento area.

Spreading love and peace around Caldwell...

This was taken on my birthday at a Mexican restaurant somewhere in Klamath Falls, OR. The Spanish version of the Happy Birthday song is a beautiful thing to listen to. Those treats were tasty. Unfortunately, they wouldn't let me keep the sombrero. I tried.

Dan, our own little manga character. Coming soon to a TV station near you!

I'm so sure...

2008-10-28T20:37:00.001-07:00

Just one more reason to not take the British royal family seriously...

To quote my friend Matt Barnett, "I'm so sure!"

Aged

2008-10-28T20:24:00.001-07:00

I'm getting old. I just caught myself yelling "Turn your music down!" to Kassady. Good grief! When did this happen?

Random Ramblings

2008-10-22T19:57:00.003-07:00

Just a few random thoughts while they're running through my head...

For those of you who have had to be up in front of a crowd for anything, whether it be singing, speaking, whatever...have you ever had something happen that just totally takes you by surprise and then leaves you speechless? My immediate reaction is laughter. I just want to bust a gut. Well, that happened to me tonight. Of course, I look out across the audience and most of the people have their heads down, avoiding eye-contact, and are shaking with their futile efforts at silently suppressing their mirth. To laugh at this specific point in time would have been the WRONG thing to do, but I could hardly take it. I focused on the one person who hadn't picked up on it and stared at them intently until the urge passed. Whew!!

Last night, I caught the second half of the Hoppers concert in Nampa at First Nazarene (had to attend our Financial Peace University class). I'm telling you, they're awesome! There were roughly 1100 people at the concert. I've already heard from several that it was one of the best concerts they've been to at First Naz. When it comes to a power soprano in Southern Gospel there are two all alone at the top: Kim Hopper and her sister-in-law Taranda Greene. They were on the last date of a 12-day tour and she still brought it. Unbelievable power! And, I commented to Lori last night that Claude Hopper is a phenomenal emcee. He has mastered the art of stammering and stumbling just enough to come across as an "aw shucks" good ol' boy, while delivering his punchlines perfectly. This was the first time I've caught on to the calculated genius of his delivery. I loved it. He had the crowd with him the whole time. The Hoppers have been as good to Liberty Quartet as anybody out there. They have opened doors for our ministry that would have never been opened without their assistance. I spent some time shooting the breeze with Dean and Claude after the concert. Sounds like the Fan Fest in Fresno is going to be one of the best ever. Doran made the mistake of telling Claude that he would help him sell his songbooks, so much to his chagrin, Claude gave me another shipment of books for him. It cracks me up! In my humble opinion, the Hoppers have gone back up to elite status since they parted ways with the Spring Hill label and start self-producing their music. Well, I guess they have partnered with Lari Goss on the actual production part, but they're now selecting their own songs and it shows.

Speaking of Southern Gospel concerts, the original Couriers (Dave, Duane, and Neil) are coming to town, my home church no less, and I'm going to be gone. I'm pretty bummed. I've had the privilege of getting to know Neil Enloe through the years via email. What a great man! Neil, as many of you know, penned the hit song "Statue of Liberty" among many other classics. His life has been marked by a passion for ministry. He's not about the money or anything like that. They have sung in 80 different nations, spreading the Gospel through music. He has given Liberty sage advice across the years, continually encouraging us to remember why we're doing what we do. He is a man who invests his time and resources in other people. My introduction to Neil was when I was working at GBS. I oversaw the production of our music recordings. A group had just cut a version of "Statue of Liberty". So, I emailed him to get the mechanical license for the song and pay the royalty. He emailed me back and told me that God wouldn't let him take money from a Bible college with a clear conscience. He explained that he got his start in Gospel music by singing in a college quartet. All he wanted out of the deal was a copy of the CD. That's pretty rare these days. Anyway, we've stayed in touch ever since. He just emailed me today and told me that I was missing out on a cup o' Joe since Liberty's pulling out for Canada tomorrow. I'm going to eventually collect on that coffee (or, in my case, some hot chocolate). If you're in Nampa on Friday go hear the guys. Philip Batton & Joyful Sound will be opening up (just checkin' to see if you're still reading the blog, big guy).

The best Southern Gospel CD I've purchased all year is Timeless Hymns & Classics, Vol. II by Brian Free and Assurance. They've taken a fresh approach to 10 classics and proven that you can breathe new life into old songs. I'm telling you, BFA is one of the most underrated groups going right now. Their sets at NQC were phenomenal. And, please, would you Southern Gospel "experts" and bloggers give Bill Shivers the respect he deserves. That guy is a freak of a lead singer! Anyway, I don't have the time or interest to offer a full review, but you can check out reviews at Musicscribe and Swain's Musings. My only complaint with the album was also picked up by David Bruce Murray at Musicscribe: the strings and brass on "The Blood Will Never Lose It's Power" sound very fake and cheesy. But, hey, that's my only complaint. Go buy the CD. In fact, I hear it playing in Trey's room right now. He goes to sleep with "Glory Road" on repeat.

Right now, the Phillies are leading the Rays 3-2 in the top of the 9th inning of the 2008 World Series game one. I could care less. Baseball has kind of lost me as a fan. Of course, that probably has something to do with the fact that the Cincinnati Reds are just pathetic. I can't ever bear to follow the sport. I guess I'll pull for the Phillies since Philadelphia is Lori's home town. That's also a good reason to root against them. You know, just to mix it up. Oh well, I'll be the supportive husband. I'm pretty sure my brother-in-law, Dave, has his head up to his XM radio receiver somewhere. An aside here, but have you noticed how it's so much better to listen to baseball on the radio instead of watching it on TV? Go figure. Probably Jack Hooker is kicked back in a La-Z-boy, an ice tea close by, listening to the game. Enjoy.

Well, it's off to Canada. Dan has lost his passport, so we might be bringing in a Canadian replacement. A guy by the name of Bryan Adams. Yeah, just another weekend.

Brithday Recap

2008-10-22T16:16:00.006-07:00

Trey was pretty pleased with his birthday. For some reason, I didn't have any trouble getting him to wake up Monday morning. He popped right out of bed and was into a seemingly high-caffeinated, excited mood in no time. And this was without caffeine. He had a little party at school with his friends and then he came home, changed for his basketball tryout, nailed the tryout (he wanted me to keep statistics on his shooting; he officially shot 80%: 24-for-30), then picked up his buddy William Keep for his "home" party. I gave Trey the option of a party at home with a slightly bigger present or a party at Boondocks with little or no present from Mom and Dad. That was a no-brainer for stat-boy: he decided he wanted to throw a football birthday party.

So, here you go. Trey's party in a few pictures:

A quick huddle before the play. William Keep had to be quarterback since he wasn't supposed to run due to a dental procedure earlier in the day. He led Trey's team to victory, though, with just the bare minimum of running/skipping ("see, I'm not running!"). The boys cracked me up. They'd always shout "Break!" and clap their hands when they came out of the huddle.

Kassady even got in on the action. Trey tried in vain to convince her to be a cheerleader, but she wouldn't have it. She played all-time line-woman. I just scratched my bare head...

Fortunately, Josh and Amelia Jensen showed up. Josh called in plays from the sidelines. I ended up quarterbacking for the losing team, showing off my dynamic arm and mad scrambling skills. I didn't have an O-line and Trey blitzed me every down.

All the boys, except for Brandon (who had to leave early for the airport), were more than willing to cheese for the camera. Michael, Noah, Zeth, Tyler, William, and Trey kept things loud and moving.

Lori's football cupcake creations. For some reason she couldn't find any icing applicators and so she painstakingly drew the laces and stripes on with toothpicks. As you can tell Michael was blown away.

Apparently, the guys were impressed with Trey's gifts. They all gathered in close.

After the game was played, the cake was eaten, and with everybody gone Trey finished his birthday in style: reading homework with Mom.

This was one of the best parties we've thrown. Special thanks to Josh and Amelia for helping us keep things under control.

Perfect #7

2008-10-20T13:50:00.006-07:00

It's hard to believe that 7 years ago today our first child entered this world. After 26 hours of agonizing labor (while I sipped Coke, watched ESPN, and kept the video camera running with a few unappreciated hilarious jokes), Lori gave birth to my namesake: Norman Keith Waggoner III. There are way too many Keith's in our family already, so we decided on the nickname Trey. God has blessed us with a boy whose heart beats for Jesus. The highlight of the last 7 years of parenting was when Trey called me on the phone while I was singing at the 2006 Fan Fest in Fresno, CA to tell me that he had asked Jesus to come into his heart. God heard that 4-year-old boy's prayer and saved him. I'm proud of my boy and thank God for a son with a tender heart.

Now, lest I paint a picture of some patron saint, let me assure you that Trey is all boy. He still argues with Kass over what movie they're going to watch, loves wrestling, thinks that "ripping one" is probably the most hilarious act a person can do, and hates anything to do with art. We still have to tell him not to jump on the furniture, occasionally have to get on him about tracking mud through the living room, and keep his Xbox playing to a minimum. All in all, though: great kid!

He's passionate about his sports. Trey is a fantastic soccer player, but longs to play football. Trey also plays basketball (in fact, we're leaving in just a few minutes for his tryout for this season) and baseball. He is a walking sport encyclopedia, always ready to dispense some obscure statistic.

I conducted a quick survey of Trey's raves and faves on his 7th birthday and here's what we came up with:

Sport: football
Teams: Cincinnati Reds, IU basketball, Boise State football, UC Bearcats, Indy Colts, Phoenix Suns, Indiana Pacers
Subject in school: history ("learning about all the wars and stuff")
Movie: Alvin and the Chipmunks
TV Show: Suite Life on Deck (the new Zach and Cody Disney show which he found out he can watch online); ESPN; Spongebob Squarepants; Cory in the House
Book: Jigsaw Jones; Ken Griffey, Jr. biography
Music Groups: Liberty Quartet, dcTalk, Gold City, Toby Mac, Brian Free and Assurance
Song: "See the Glory" (Steven Curtis Chapman); "Glory Road" (Brian Free and Assurance)
Food: steak; hot wings; ribs
Drink: any kind of milkshake
Xbox Game: NBA Live
Board Game: Apples to Apples
Color: blue
Website: disneychannel.com; espn.com

Happy birthday, Trey. We love you!

Here we go again...maybe

2008-10-16T20:57:00.006-07:00

I must rejoice! Final score: TCU 32 #9 BYU 7. Now, if only BYU or TCU can knock off #14 Utah, and Boise State can keep a perfect record, then we could go to the BCS dance again. My eyes are brimming at this moment (it has nothing to do with BSU, but rather Trey hitting me in the nose with a football).

Life is good in Idaho!

Heaven in the Real World

2008-10-16T20:42:00.003-07:00

This evening while reading John Ortberg's The Life You've Always Wanted, I came across this quote from Elizabeth Barrett Browning's epic/novel poem Aurora Leigh:

Earth's crammed with Heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his shoes--
The rest sit round it and pick blackberries.

So many times I confine my spiritual lessons to specific events in time such as Bible study, church, and prayer while missing all that He wants to teach me in the world around me, the people I interact with, the challenges I face on a daily basis. God, open my eyes to the infinite opportunities I have to see You. Help me learn from that slice of Heaven you reveal to me. Renew my mind so I can be transformed.

High-falutin'

2008-10-13T19:16:00.002-07:00

This picture cracked me up. Kassady (in quite the state of undress) practices right along with Lori.

The Waggoner's Big Blow-Up

2008-10-13T18:17:00.004-07:00

After a fantastic weekend trip to Washington and Oregon (where at last night's concert in Portland, I was shocked and surprised to see a Treasure Valley contingent of females who stayed over for our concert after being part of the Women of Faith conference--just ask Sheila Taylor how shocked I was), I arrived at the Waggoner Scientific Institute bright and early to prepare myself for what could be the first step towards being a fellow of the National Science Foundation. To provide context, last year for Trey's birthday one of his buddies, Noah Mori, gave him a volcano experiment as a present. I told him that we would do it together as a team sometime and promptly forgot about it. Well, he found it in his closet this weekend and set a firm date of tonight for the volcano eruption.

Now my previous experience with science is pretty well confined to my intense studies of Physical Science PACE's 1109-1120 and a very brief foray into chemistry (an elective that I dropped after about 17 pages of work). The closest I ever got to a real experiment was a chemistry set that I received for a Christmas present at age 10. My parents deemed that it was too dangerous for me to tinker with on my own (this after a small incident involving sulfur and a burn in the kitchen floor). I was instructed to only conduct experiments under the watchful eyes of my father, eyes that had no intention of getting near a science exhibition involving me and chemicals. I can guarantee you that the chemistry set is still stowed away in an attic somewhere. A disaster waiting to happen.

Anyway, I tell you that to set the stage for our ground-breaking inquiry into the development of our very own volcano. In short, the experiment involved some sort of sand and cement mixture, water, vinegar, baking soda, and air. The results were quite impressive notwithstanding my so-so credentials.

Trey practices a little reading on me by telling a Bible story about Joseph and the coat of many colors. This has nothing to do with volcanos and I'm not quite sure how it ended up in this post.

Trey "ignites" the volcano drenching Lori in the process. Let's just say this was a massive catastrophe causing temporary damage to the carpet, table, and Lori's clothing. The only casualty was me (I think), because Lori was murdering me in her heart for laughing at her stained sweater.

The volcano, shortly before being buried in an undisclosed landfill somewhere in Idaho.

Trey, being scientist #1 and the recipient of this little experiment, had cool goggles. Being scientist #2 doesn't pay that well and I was stuck with a pair of Akebono's sunglasses. I was allowed to be in the Waggoner Science Institute staff directory picture, though.

And then the secretary asked to be in the picture. Her contributions to the momentous occasion included negative observations to scientists #1 & 2 such as, "this isn't going to work" and "I told you it wouldn't work." In the end, though, our hard work and research was validated with a successful explosion. And, she was sufficiently impressed.

Thanks, Noah, for the present. This was quality family time!

Southern Gospel Zogby

2008-10-09T09:53:00.003-07:00

For all of you Southern Gospel fans out there debating whether songs were better or worse 25 years ago, listen up. My friend Daniel Mount from Southern Gospel Blog has put together a poll comparing the August, 1983 Top 40 chart with the August, 2003 Top 40 chart. He explains it in more detail on his blog. Let your voice be heard.

Maybe we need to do this with hymns vs. worship choruses. Oops! Sorry! The deluge of hate mail is starting to overwhelm my inbox.

Rebuttal

2008-10-09T09:49:00.001-07:00

By the way, Carrie, this is the 5th post in two days. Take note.

Soccer Dad

2008-10-09T09:44:00.001-07:00

Trey and Kassady are playing soccer again this fall. Trey has been begging to play football, but due to the fact that he's actually really good at soccer and had the chance to stay with the same teammates for a third season, I kind of manipulated him into deciding to stick with soccer one more year. He thinks it was his decision. Yeah, I know...awful parent. Get over it! He did tell me last week that he's enjoying soccer but he's definitely playing football next fall. So, there we go. He's the horse on his team. A scoring machine. They lost the first game of the season, but have pretty much dominated since then. Kassady is having fun in her league, though I've noticed her enjoyment comes in knocking boys to the ground. She's my little bundle of dynamite. DO NOT CROSS HER!!! That aggressive personality that never surfaced on the playing field last year has emerged in full force. Actually, she's just one of the boys. They love her. I'm blessed...2 great kids who enjoy sports!

Also, our stunning Canon digital camera is currently being repaired...for the second time. Hence, the lack of pictures. I thought about drawing something, but decided against it. I'm only good at profiles...Picasso-style.

Peace, peace, fina-a-a-ncial peace...

2008-10-09T09:11:00.004-07:00

Lori and I have enrolled in Financial Peace University with professor and financial guru Dave Ramsey. I've been a fan of his books and radio show for the last couple of years, and in fact used his "Total Money Makeover" to help get our finances in order. It's a fantastic program, but, I'm telling you FPU takes this to a whole new level. First of all, Dave is a fantastic communicator who keeps the class moving. When you couple that with the fact that he's offering practical solutions that you can use NOW, it creates a passion for doing the right thing. Thanks to Marc and Talisha for offering the class at their home. Marc is the FPU moderator at Boise First and they have been using the program for 2-3 years themselves, so being able to hear how God has used the program in their lives is pretty awesome. Being able to share openly and candidly with friends about the realities of who and where you are is huge. I've found out that if there's one area that people tend to gloss over and try to paint this bright and rosy picture, it's finances. Our egos must be tied to our money. Admitting that we don't have it all together when it comes to money apparently makes us feel like losers, so we fake our way through life, no plan, nothing concrete, continually losing the financial battle just because we can't be honest that we have a problem. I've made up my mind I'm not going to live my life like that. Lori and I have credit card debt that is going to be gone (GONE!) by the end of next year. The facade is crumbling, the charades game is over. If that's where you are, get over your pride and put a plan together. I do highly recommend Financial Peace University. Instead of working with a icepick to knock down this mountain of debt, they give you tools, a jackhammer if you will, to get the job done. Have any of you guys gone through the program? What was your impression? How did it help you?

Ironically, Pastor Dave just started a series on money "Financial Peace for Troubled Times" at Grace. He had told me several months ago to start working on some promo material for the October series, but he had no clue about the financial crisis that would perfect set up the series. You'll have to listen in as they upload the sermons (not quite sure why Sunday's sermon isn't on there). Dynamic material!

Redeeming the Time

2008-10-08T10:44:00.007-07:00

We have made the decision at the Waggoner household to get rid of TV (read: cable). It's not that we've had trouble controlling what we're watching, it actually comes down to a growing realization that we waste way too much time watching TV. Many times we watch good (even great) programming. I mean, really, what beats ESPN Gameday or The O'Reilly Factor? But, getting back to my earlier point about zeroing in on what's best as opposed to what is simply good, I'm convinced that this is the direction that my family needs to go for the present time. Does that mean that I will never get cable again? No. I'm just doing what's best for our family right now. And, besides, I'm having trouble justifying paying for cable when we only watch about 11 channels. So, we'll see what happens. I survived without watching TV as a kid and I'm pretty sure my kids will make it, too. I am going to miss Fox News, though.

Lately, I've been reading quite a bit. Here are my current reads:

Ghost: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent is the memoir of Fred Burton, one of the founding agents of the Counterterrorism Division of the Diplomatic Security Service (an arm of the Department of State). This is a fascinating look into the dark world of terrorism and the personal sacrifices of the men and women who do their best to keep it from striking our country. Burton was part of some of the biggest terrorism investigations during the 1980s and early 90s. I had no clue how close we were to a nuclear meltdown after the Pakistani President Zia was assassinated. Great reading!

I have enjoyed getting acquainted with John Ortberg through his books. Ortberg, who pastors Menlo Park Presbyterian (one of Liberty Quartet's favorite California stops thanks to Senior Adult's Pastor Frank VanderZwan), has an engaging writing style that makes that reader feel as though the two are having a personal conversation. Full of personal anecdotes, many humorous, When the Game Is Over It All Goes Back in the Box drives home the point that the "stuff of earth" falls short of the importance of that which is eternal. When your life is over, what will have counted most? Ortberg proposes that the object of life (as Jesus said) is "to be rich toward God". At the end of our lives the only thing left is love. "Every human being you see if cleverly disguised receptacle of eternity. You can take the love with you." Another interesting contrast is God's scorekeeping (Phil. 2:5-7) vs. ours (comparing, competing, and climbing). I'm still reading the book, so I'm sure there's quite a bit yet to discover.

This is a great book for anyone who interacts with a customer, whether it be in business or ministry. In our increasingly connected world of blogs, websites, and mass email, the consumer now holds an unprecedented power over the perception of a business or church. Full of case studies and helpful critique and advice, this book will heighten our awareness of interacting in today's Internet-driven age. When a problem arises, there's only one way to respond: "by creating 100% credibility with consumers on every front". The six credibility drivers proposed by Blackshaw are trust, authenticity, transparency, active listening, responsiveness, and positive affirmation. Fantastic book!

OK, you're up-to-date with my life for now. Now, off to a Liberty concert.

Nose hairs and blogging

2008-10-08T10:04:00.007-07:00

During the last few days/weeks, thinking about blogging has been as painful as pulling out nose hairs. How's that for a hook? No, seriously. I have found myself increasingly consumed with good things to do. I probably should look at evaluating what things are good and what things are best (so advises Will Mancini in one of my favorite books Church Unique. You can waste some serious time in doing good things, while not giving the best things the time and energy they deserve. So, I've been trying to figure out if blogging is one of those best things. I've come to the conclusion that it's worthwhile, if for nothing else than giving me space to vent, praise, feature, and link my various passions and happenings. So, perhaps I'm a little self-indulgent, but so be it. Isn't that the point of a personal blog, anyway? It also keeps me writing creatively...well, most of the time anyway.

So, I've decided to quit pulling out the nose hairs by hand and switch over to one of those little trimmers that have become an increasingly important part of my daily routine. Which, when plugged into my shabby little analogy, means I'll be blogging on.

Thanks for reading.

Couric Mocking Palin

2008-10-07T15:24:00.000-07:00

Nothing like objective journalism...

Amazed

2008-09-24T09:03:00.004-07:00

This has been a whirlwind of a year for Liberty. This sounds crazy...it is crazy...but we are getting ready for the release of our eighth album in 2008. "Amazed" features brand new songs written for Liberty by Rodney Griffin, Phil Cross, Rebecca Peck, Twila LaBar, Doran Ritchey, and others. Dan and I were laughing last week about the fact that this isn't the traditional Southern Gospel album that most people expect from Liberty. Not that it's a bad thing. This has a new, fresh sound (for us, anyway) featuring a variety of styles. I'm looking forward to singing these songs in concert. My early favorites are Into the Water, Why Wouldn't I, and That's What Love Does. "Amazed" will be available Saturday at Family Fest.08.

National Quartet Convention

2008-09-22T15:29:00.011-07:00

I am such a pathetic excuse for a blogger. I have the best intentions of updating on a regular basis and then...well, something always comes up. Anyway, more than a week after the fact, here's the inside scoop on NQC.

We got to Louisville about 1:30 AM Tuesday after a long drive in from Casper, WY. We stopped just long enough to grab some Kansas City barbeque. Incidentally, it was worth the stop. Anyway, the next morning when we woke up we were feeling a little cruddy due to our lack of bathing. So, Doran and I headed off to the RV shower facilities, which were about 1/2 a mile away. Literally. On the way back, the skies opened with a deluge of water and we got soaked to the bone. Fortunately, a security guard took pity on the two drowned rats and drove us back to the bus. By the way, I didn't know it was possible to smoke two Marlboros in the span of 200 yards while traveling approximately 30 mph. Well, Doran did it. No, I mean the security guard pulled off this amazing feat. So, by the time we stumbled onto the bus we reeked of soggy cigarettes. Nice.

After getting the booth set up, we wandered around the exhibition hall looking for freebies. For those of you familiar with this, it's a lot like IHC. You know, free candy, pens, and pads of paper. We eventually headed over to the Featured Artist Showcase to hear some new groups (to us anyway). Doran and I also spent some time at the Regional Artist Showcase. By the time the exhibition hall opened, we were stationed at our booth. Seven people came by to make our day. No, I'm just kidding. There were at least nine. We took turns going into Freedom Hall to listen to the evening performances. About 10:45 PM we checked out. We were tired and the night caught up with us.

Wednesday was our big day. We were scheduled to sing in the Artist Spotlight showcase at noon. Every morning, the showcase directors and Phil Cross meet with the artists to let them know what to expect. At that time, we also give the sound crew our soundtrack. For those uninitiated, let me explain that we use a 360 which is a machine with hot buttons that can be pressed to quickly bring up a song. Well, they only accepted CDs (which we weren't aware of). So, Doran and Dan raced out to the bus to figure out how to burn a couple of songs onto a CD. They got back in just in time and away we went.

Dan, getting his groove on, ripping "Glory Train" and "I'm His" from the 360.

Unfortunately, our showcase was was up against another concert going on in another part of the building featuring Brian Free & Assurance, the Kingdom Heirs, the Dove Brothers, among others. But, I will say that the 39 people who showed up for our showcase had a great time (including my esteemed family, Uncle Ray and Aunt Pansy McCrary). Hey, at least we weren't going up against the GVB/EHSS showcase. Anyway, our performance went very well (in fact, Scott Fowler told Doran as we were leaving that he wants Legacy Five to record "I'm His"). After we had finished, I wandered to the back of the room to listen to the other groups. While I was standing in the back, Dennis Sparks, the co-director of the regional showcases, came up and told me that he would like to put us in one of two empty slots on the main stage on Saturday night. He said that he wouldn't be able to let me know for sure until Friday, but that it was a good possibility. Well, on Friday somebody from the regional artist committee told us that they wanted to have us sing at another afternoon showcase so the entire team could hear us. They also specifically requested that we sing "I'm His". We sang, this time remembering to have a CD ready to go. To make a long story short, they offered us a slot for Saturday evening. And, that's how we were honored to sing on the main stage at NQC. Go figure! It was definitely one of those cool, surreal moments that can only be understood if you've followed Southern Gospel music all of your life. There's no doubt that God gave us that opportunity. It's pretty cool what happens when you let Him open the doors and don't try to force them open with your own strength.

See that bald dude up there? Yep, that's me. I actually started off on the other side of the stage and realized that I was singing to all of the Southern Gospel royalty. I mean all of the groups were assembled down there due to the Awards Show that followed our performance. I made sure that we eventually made it to the other side of the stage.

You can tell Bill Gaither has been to town. Look at all those little lights that everyone is holding up.

This was the first time that I had been able to be at NQC for most of the week. So, in a nutshell, here are some thoughts:

First of all, if you want to witness some great performances, head over to the regional artist showcases. Full disclosure here: Liberty did sing at the RAC on Wednesday and Saturday. But, that’s not why I showed up every afternoon for at least part of the performances. Every group or soloist who has a booth and isn’t slotted for another showcase or main stage performance is given a slot in the regional artist showcase. Most groups are given the opportunity to sing one song and you have that one chance to make your mark. Over 90% of the groups involved, travel on a part-time basis. Some of the most inspired performances of the week weren’t delivered on the main stage of Freedom Hall, but rather in the boxy confines of the South Wing Conference Center. Some of the deliveries were admittedly poor, there were pitchy notes from time to time, and some of those suits should have been left on the bus (I wish I would have had a camera, folks), but, overall, there was a sweet presence in that room each afternoon. And, I want to point out, some incredible groups that are just coming to people’s attention including Old Paths Quartet (they remind me of the 1970s-1980s Kingsmen), Father’s Daughter (a fantastic vocal group from Canada who happen to be the sweetest girls you'll ever meet anywhere), the Needhams (an energetic, big sound reminiscent of the early Greenes), McMillan & Life (featuring my good friend Josh Arnett) , among others. These are just a few that I caught throughout the week. My hat is off to the RAC crew and the other artists who make it a point to encourage and give a platform to many groups who otherwise wouldn’t have that opportunity.

Of course, I enjoyed the other showcases. Dino and Kim Collingsworth just tore it up (though, I'm thinking that they just need to give Kim her own showcase), the Crabb Family still has it, and the Gaither Vocal Band and Signature Sound concert was a hit. I was also able to slip into a few of the featured artist showcases and enjoyed hearing several groups for the first time.

Speaking of the Crabb Family Reunion, I have to give props to the band mates of Jason Crabb and Crabb Revival. They were incredible! I've heard a lot of bands live: country, Christian rock, Southern Gospel, you name it. I've never had a band wow me like the Crabb band. Doran and I spent the whole showcase grinning. Justin Ellis, the pianist for Jason Crabb, is quite possibly the best pianist I've heard live. I didn't think that was possible after hearing Gordon Mote. That kid is unreal! It was one of the week's highlights.

My personal favorite, though, was the Song of a Lifetime showcase that featured Southern Gospel's most beloved songwriters. Despite the technical glitches (of which there were way too many), the audience was able to catch a glimpse into the heart of the writer and view the journey from initial inspiration to finished masterpiece. And, I'm glad that Phil Cross (showcase emcee) didn't just feature the performer/songwriters such as Rodney Griffin and Jim Brady, but also recognized the contributions of Diane Wilkinson, Rebecca Peck, Joel Lindsay, Kyla Rowland, and others. We were able to put a face to names that have just been size 9 font in album credits. These gifted lyricists have penned many of today’s classics with little or no recognition. It was nice to hear their stories. Mom and Dad, along with Sharilyn and her friend Beth were able to come down for a couple of days of NQC. I was pretty sure Dad was going to take off shouting when the Greenes sang "There's a Miracle in Me". WOW! The tears were flowin'.

Anyway, I could go on for quite awhile so let me tie it up neatly with some pithy observations:

The north wing exhibition hall oddly resembles a flea market during NQC week. Do people really go to NQC to buy gaudy clothes or jewelry? It's almost embarrassing.
The Booth Brothers need at least 10 more booth spaces to accommodate all of the fans who are trying to buy product. Seriously.
It was good move to have the Gaither Vocal Band back at the convention. Freedom Hall was almost packed on Friday night.
Les Beasley is still one of the funniest guys you’ll run into at the convention. He reminds me of Walter Matthau. Actually, he and Claude Hopper together remind me of the Odd Couple. Everyone needs to be privileged to talk to both of them at the same time. They're like a married couple.
I would not want to run sound in Freedom Hall. Props go to Greg Shockley for providing us with a great monitor mix on the stage.
As I've already noted, NQC really reminds me of IHC. The only thing missing is Bro. Sankey saying "if we could please shut down the booths and make our way into the service..."
The fried biscuit with apple butter sold in the north wing is quite possible the most delicious concoction I have ever tasted. Fortunately, NQC only lasts for a week or I’d be riding around the exhibition hall in one of those oversized go-carts with baskets in the front.
Speaking of which, there are many SG fans who could stand to walk away from the buffet.
Wear dress shoes with rubber soles if you’re going to be walking around a lot. Those concrete floors will kill your feet!
Michael Booth doesn’t even know what he’s going to say next.

All in all, a great week! We'll see what happens next year.

Women Pastors

2008-09-22T09:27:00.001-07:00

I came across this interesting article today. What's your take?

Liberty at NQC

2008-09-16T12:36:00.003-07:00

I've got a lot of pictures to post from our 12-day trip back east, but in the meantime you'll have to settle for this. After singing in two showcases at National Quartet Convention, we were honored to be asked to sing on the main stage prior to the Singing News Fan Awards on Saturday evening. Thanks to Daniel Mount for capturing this video of Liberty.

Need a Laugh?

2008-09-05T21:42:00.003-07:00

Thanks to Dave and Julia I have been re-introduced to Tim Hawkins, a Christian comedian. I say re-introduced because I saw some of his early material way back in the day. He's very funny, though. So, enjoy the two videos. I know I did.

Corporate Worship (literally)

A Parent's Prayer

Kids and Composing

2008-09-05T20:20:00.003-07:00

Tonight, Trey and Kassady decided to begin their foray into songwriting. Here are the results:

Let's Go Over the World

by Kassady Waggoner

The stars shine in the sky
I wanna go over the world
To see my friends
If I could go over the world to see the trees
Then I can go on an adventure
With all my friends and even you
On an adventure
So, if you wanna come
I can do it by myself
On a day if I could shine in the sky
And I could see a rainbow
So if you wanna come
Let's go over the world

I can almost hear her song on a Top 40 station. And next we have Trey's masterpiece:

I'm a Basketball Player

by Trey Waggoner

I'm a basketball player
I'm a basketball player
I can dribble, I can rebound
I can shoot, I can steal
I can be aggressive on the field
Maybe it's a court
But don't be a dork
If you mess with Trey
Then you're gonna pay
If you mess with me, the Dad
You are bad
I'm a basketball player
Maybe an All-Star
Who knows
I'm an All-Star basketball player

The results are in

2008-09-03T15:43:00.001-07:00

It's a boy! The balance of power has shifted to the men after 4 years of stalemate.

NEWS FLASH

2008-09-02T19:49:00.001-07:00

You've probably heard the saying that "the first shall be last." Well, I'm here to tell you that "the third shall be last". We're expecting our third child in February.

If it's a boy, I'm not sure what we'll call him. If it's a girl I'm leaning toward Lori, Jr. We'll just call her Junior. I haven't broached the subject with Lori yet. For some reason my name ideas are always shot down rather quickly. Anyway, there you have it. The latest news from the Waggoner front (literally, in the case of Lori).

The Call

2008-08-20T20:28:00.003-07:00

I've been fascinated with the hows, whys, and wherefores concerning God's call for quite some time now. This is often a confusing and sometimes frustrating topic to sincere Christians. God's clear direction and calling in my life have helped me retain focus in confusing times. Have I ever doubted His calling in my life? Yes, but at the end of the day I've always been able to go back to a specific time and place where he called me to ministry. I can also point to a specific point in time where God clearly reconfirmed my call to ministry. However, I know that God calls individuals uniquely, and calls them into many different areas of life.

So, I'm embarking on a study of God's calling as represented in Scripture. I want to study the means by which he called, the emphasis of the call, and the end result of the call.

At the same time, I want to compile case studies of friends and colleagues who have been led by God to a certain occupation or ministry. If you would be willing to share your unique experience in hearing, answering, and following the call of God please email it to waggoner_keith@hotmail.com. I know that we're all busy, but your willingness to help me in my quest would be greatly appreciated. Let me emphasize that this is for God's call to any profession. I truly believe that God calls His people to be involved in many different areas of life.

I'd like to hear your story. It can be as short or as long as you want it to be. Answer this question: Is the call still relevant today? While I don't currently have any intention on publishing this, I am going to be chronicling my research and would be open to sharing it with anyone who is interested. If you want your story to remain anonymous, I'll be sure to honor your request.

Thanks for your response.

Another Kassady Candid Comment

2008-08-20T20:25:00.004-07:00

Kassady's latest came as she was chowing down on McNuggets at MickeyDs yesterday. She was sitting between Trey and me at a long table with barstools, when she complained loudly: "Great! I'm boytrapped!"

I hope she maintains that attitude of disgust 'til, oh I don't know, 19 or so. I'll definitely be able to save on ammunition.

Lagoon

2008-08-20T14:18:00.007-07:00

Nothing beats a family vacation! We just got back from our first vacation that didn't include going back to visit family (not that that isn't fun or anything). Lori and I took the kids to Lagoon, a theme park near Salt Lake City, UT for a fun getaway. Marc and Talisha Taylor, along with Emme and Addison, went too. What a blast! I was coming in from a Wyoming trip, so I met everyone in Pocatello, ID early Monday morning at the hotel and we took off. Fortunately, Talisha was along with us to give us directions ("if you just follow these mountains you'll eventually get to Lagoon") and weather reports ("you can tell that there's a cold front moving in; see the temperature's even dropped since I said that"). In spite of her efforts to derail the excellent navigational skills that Marc and I are inherently blessed with we finally arrived at our destination.

Fortunately, Talisha brought her camera along. I pulled out our digital camera and the shutter was messed up. I love Canon cameras, but we've had more trouble with this new one. I don't know what the deal is. Fortunately I purchased the warranty this time. Anyway, Talisha was kind enough to forward these pictures to me. However, I did notice that she left out several shots that could cause her potential embarrassment.

The kids, never having been to Lagoon, were sufficiently impressed with the Holiday Inn facilities on Sunday night and Monday morning that they entertained the notion of just staying there for vacation. Holiday Inn did have a nice pool and great props for indoor forts.

The kids loved the bumper cars. This picture was taken shortly before Addison attempted to bail. He experienced great frustration over the fact that his car just spun around in circles. He couldn't quite figure out the steering part. Kassady put some gargantuan hits on her adversaries. She drove with a maniacal gleam in her eye, cackling evilly every time she broad-sided someone. Unfortunately, we didn't get her in this shot.

Kassady's favorite ride was the helicoptors. She pulled the bar all the way back and soared into the sky.

Trey was pretty sure that he could handle all of the roller coasters at Lagoon...that was, until he rode the Wild Mouse. He was not impressed at all. He looked very pale after clambering out of the ride. Which I can understand. That crazy ride jerks you all over the place, many times giving you the impression that you're going to go over the edge. He said that it tickled his stomach and made it feel like "things were jumping in there". He wasn't convinced by my argument that this is what makes roller coasters so fun. I finally cajoled him into joining me on the classic wooden roller coaster, which he loved.

Marc and I rode a few rides by ourselves, rides that our wives refused to accompany us on. This is one of my favorites: the Rocket. They have two sides to the ride, "Blast-Off" and "Re-entry". We rode the "Re-entry". They take you way up and then drop you. Marc thought he had it figured out when we would drop, so he did his countdown. He didn't have it calculated right. He screamed like a little girl all the way down.

We also rode the new roller coaster at Lagoon called "Wicked". It features a hill that goes straight up 110 feat. And I mean straight up. It's a 180 degree climb and then a 180 degree drop. No obtuse angles here. It's breath-taking. It was worth waiting an hour for.

Another fun ride was the "Cliffhanger". You sit on a long platform which then rotates, spinning you upside down, forward and backward. All the while water is being shot up at you. I forgot to take my glasses off, so I wrinkled my nose and squinted my eyes hoping that my skin would bunch on either side of the nose piece, thus ensuring that they wouldn't slip. It worked, even though I looked like I had some sort of facial tic.

This roller coaster was more the kids' speed. Look at Addison's face (third from right; sitting by Trey). Kassady really liked this one, too.

It's very difficult to watch your head. Really.

The happy family after a long, fun day at Lagoon. This is going to be a yearly event. At least, I hope so.

We took it easy coming back. We stopped in Twin Falls, ID and had a photo op at the Snake River Canyon. For you Evil Knievel fans out there, his unsuccessful attempt to jump the canyon happened just to the left of us.

As we were waiting for the kids to finish yet another ride, it occurred to me that I have morphed from a 23-year-old thrill junkie to a rather sedate Dad who gets just as much enjoyment out of watching his children have fun. I like it.

Open up the archives

2008-08-15T19:07:00.002-07:00

OK, it's hard to believe that Trey was this little. Kevin Moser took what has to be my favorite picture of the two of us together at a GBS spring picnic in 2003.

Side note: I just threw away the shoes I'm wearing in this picture. They lasted 6 years. It was a sentimental moment. Listen, if you want to buy shoes that last go with Nike.

Great Kids

2008-08-15T18:58:00.002-07:00

Last night, Kassady clambered onto the bed with an armful of books, as is her evening custom. She didn't get too far, though. Reading is tough work!

Trey has been having a tough time lately. I've tried to influence his priorities for the good as he has matured. More than anything I want him to be a passionate Christian. A little lower down the priority list has to be a loyalty to the Cincinnati Reds. He's doing great in this area (thank the Lord he hasn't backslidden and become one of those evil St. Louis Cardinals fans), but he can't figure out why in the world the Reds would trade Ken Griffey, Jr. and Adam Dunn, his two favorite players. Since he saw them play a few weeks ago they've unloaded both of these guys. He now says his "next-favorite teams" are the White Sox and Diamondbacks. Here he poses with his Adam Dunn bobblehead he got at the game.

Concert in the Courtyard

2008-08-15T18:45:00.004-07:00

Wednesday, Liberty sang at Valley Shepherd Church of the Nazarene in Meridian, ID. Paul Ellis, former tenor, for Liberty is the Worship & Arts Pastor at the church. They have a monthly music series called "Concert in the Courtyard". It was one of those fun, relaxed outdoor concerts. A lot of our friends showed up for the concert. It was good to see my former college pastor, Edsel Trouten, at the concert. He's on my favorite persons list, for sure. He has had a great impact on my life and ministry. It was a fantastic night! Here are just a couple of entertaining pictures (thanks to Dee Sienknecht):

Paul joined us on "God Bless the USA". The boy can still bring it! That was a lot of fun. I'm still trying to figure out what's going on with Dan's shirt. Either he's put on a lot more weight or he caught a sudden low breeze. Nice! Also, Doran has started grabbing his belt buckle to hit those high notes. As you can see, he's supporting the note quite well.

Yeah, we're still doing Doran's favorite song. "Gospel Plow" has kind of taken on a life of its own. Really, there are no words to explain what's going on here. So...there I leave it.

Waterlogged

2008-08-14T18:55:00.003-07:00

We had a fun-filled trip last weekend. The wonderful folks we sang to in California and Nevada enjoyed some of the new music Liberty debuted. I do have to tell you about one of those funny incidents that just seem to happen naturally to our quartet. We got to Lake Almanor, CA early in the day on Saturday. It's not too far from Gerber, CA, where we had been the night before. Doran had called one of our good friends, Dan Foos, and asked if there was any chance of getting out on the lake in one of his boats. Dan is a fantastic singer who occasionally sings a few songs with us when we're in the area. Well, he graciously agreed to take us out and we set off around noon. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. The temperature was between 80 and 85 degrees, blue skies, and bright sun. We headed off across the lake to Prattville, a trip of a few miles, where we had a delicious lunch at a RV camp cafe. After lunch, Dan took us around the lake showing us the sights. As you can see from the picture, it's beautiful.

While we were drifting around, just enjoying the weather and conversation, Dan's wife called and told him that the wind was starting to blow and the water was getting rough on their side of the lake. Well, he decided we had better head back to shore. On the trip back we started to hit a few waves and it was throwing a little water into the boat. Doran had been sitting up front, but wasn't a big fan of getting soaked so he came back to where I was sitting in the boat. These guys with hair are wimps! So concerned about what might happen to their "look". I enjoyed the spray so I went up to the front of the boat, the splash section if you will. Before too long, we started to rock and roll. Let me provide you with some context before I go on. Dan Gilbert was in the Coast Guard for four years; he's an excellent swimmer. In fact, he has fins for feet. Royce is a pretty good swimmer. He's no Michael Phelps, but he can stay above water. I'm a mediocre to poor swimmer. I'm pretty sure I could save myself if for some reason I found myself in water a little ways from shore (I mean, after all, I learned in Gordie Howe's pool; remember those days?). Well, maybe that's a little ambitious . Doran can't swim to save his life. That's no exaggeration. So, here we are in the boat heading into what are becoming good-sized waves. As we're about half a mile away from the dock, the boat suddenly dipped into the water and a huge wave just came crashing over the front of the boat. Royce and I were in the front and were instantly drenched. It partially tore off the front panel of the boat. Royce decided he was going to play Bob Vila and bent down to make the repair. As Royce leaned down to try to push back the panel, we got hammered with another massive wave. By this time, there are several inches of water in the boat and it's beginning to seriously lean to the side (this is a large boat, mind you; not some little rowboat). Dan Gilbert yelled for me to grab some life jackets, and I started throwing them back to the guys. When I heard Dan asking for a life jacket, I knew it was pretty bad. However, I didn't have enough sense to get scared because as I looked to the back of the boat, Doran had scrambled for the top of the seat and was making his way to the roof. I have never seen anyone put on a life jacket so fast! He was trying to balance on the top of the back seat, while grabbing for the roof. His teeth were chattering at about 208 bps and he wasn't humored. Between that and Royce looking like a drowned rat, standing with his shoulders hunched, water pouring off him, I couldn't take it. I laughed so hard I was crying. Dan Gilbert was leaning over the side of the boat laughing. I'm sure I looked as bad as Royce...no...there's no way I could have looked as bad as Royce! We bailed what water we could out of the boat and a very pale Dan Foos took us on in to shore. Dan has boated on Lake Almanor for 32 years and he said he had never had anything like that happen to him. I truly wish I had some pictures. It was one of those experiences that is going to be laughed about for a long time. Well, except for Doran. He still isn't laughing.

A Father-Son Conversation

2008-08-06T11:56:00.002-07:00

Trey: "Hey, Dad! Why did you shave all your hair off?"

Me: "Because I wanted to. I like it this way."

Trey: "Well, I think I heard you say one time that the little bit of hair around your head looked weird."

Me: "Yeah, I think I said that."

Trey: "Well, it's probably cooler in the summer, too."

Me: "Yeah, it's definitely cooler. It feels good."

Trey: "Man! I hope I'm bald when I get older!"

Fortunately for him, genetic history is on his side...

Live God Loud

2008-08-05T07:44:00.001-07:00

I was going through some old videos yesterday and came across this clip from Appalachian Youth Camp. I think this was filmed in 2002 or 2003. Dan Coy wrote a theme song for the camp and this particular performance was right before the Talent Night.

Liberty Stuff

2008-08-04T15:07:00.003-07:00

Lately I've been consumed with all things Liberty:

This week Royce's second solo recording "Truckin' On" will be delivered. I think it's supposed to be in on Wednesday; just in time for leave time on Thursday morning. We've already been singing a couple of the songs featured on the CD. I'm really happy with this album.

Then, last week I sent off the artwork and proofs for our new DVDs, Hymnsing 1 & 2. These are, by far, the best live videos that we have recorded. I enjoyed doing the graphic design. We're hoping to have the DVDs back in the next 3 weeks or so.

We got the rough mix back for our new CD, Amazed, which is slated for release on September 27. Roger Talley, Phil Cross, and Doran combined their producing skills on this project. The final result is awesome! It has yet to be mastered, but I'm already impressed with what I'm hearing. It's hard to label this recording stylistically. It has a Southern Gospel feel for sure, but we've also incorporated elements from other genres. It's a unique sound for Liberty.

I'm taking a break today. I just got in from a Washington weekend and I'm still a little groggy.

In My Spare Time

2008-08-01T16:18:00.003-07:00

I recently got off a mini-kick where I read the biographies of famous comedians. The two most recent reads were Steve Martin's autobiography "Standing Up" and the biography of Chris Farley. Both were great reads. Did you know that Martin dated Christian writer Stormie Omartian for quite a while? Just a little trivia minutiae. I recommend both books. The language occasionally gets a little salty in Farley's biography, but it's hard to put it down. A unique writing concept helps peel away the layers of one of my favorite comedic actors. What a waste of a gifted life!

I'm currently reading three books that are challenging, informative, and thought-provoking. Jim Wallis's The Great Awakening is a call to social revival, a revival that must come from those who share the Christian faith and have a moral conscience. Wallis (founder of Sojourners) points out the historical significance of previous social revivals that helped shape our nation, such as the abolition of slavery and the civil rights movement. His call is for the church to actively care quit hoping that politicians will solve culture's ills. Many of the church leaders and lay people that I know are more concerned with enforcing a catalogue of rules (many of which aren't even in the Bible) than they are with loving people. They're also often set on pushing a Republican political agenda than they are with reaching out to real people with needs in their community. A sad commentary on the church. And, trust me, I often find myself in that trap. I'm admittedly on the Republican side of most issues, but I've figured out that they don't many more answers than the Democrats. While I don't agree with everything Wallis proposes, I'm all for a reviving of the church's social conscience.

Clinton in Exile has been an excellent book so far. President Clinton has always intrigued me, even as a teen I remember wondering what kind of guy he was. My perception has been that he's a hedonist to the very core, compromising morality and conviction for pleasure and poll numbers. This book has yet to point to anything that would sway my opinion. I really do think I would like Bill Clinton if I had the chance to meet him, though. He definitely has a winsome personality, portraying a caricature of being one of the boys. This book looks at his life after leaving the White House, exploring his psyche as he came to grips with becoming just another American. Carol Felsenthal does a great job of bringing Bill Clinton the person to the microscope in a non-partisan sort of way.

Church Unique is my favorite read of the three, so far. Will Mancini argues that strategic planning isn't necessarily the method churches should employ when determining their future. He proposes a visioning process that is driven by a church's gifts, a focus on it's community, and one that involves the entire church from the member to the janitor to the ministry volunteer to the senior pastor. The focus is outward instead of internal. Mancini points out that many churches get so caught up in fulfilling their strategic goals that the plan becomes an end in itself rather than a means to the end. A missional leader (and church) identifies the main thing(s) that they're good at and they then refine, enhance, and implement those gifts. Mancini contends that churches need clarity, not complexity; synergy, not accountability (in the sense of fulfilling a proposed set of goals); adaptability, not predictability ("the assumption that the near future will resemble the recent past"). When changes to the plan come they aren't necessarily viewed as a negative because the end result is driven by the church's mission. Missional leadership is fluid and adaptable to the circumstance. It definitely debunks the myth of the cookie-cutter, one style fits all mantra being proposed by large churches such as Saddleback and Willow Creek. Your church is unique, specially crafted and gifted by God for a specific ministry to a specific community. The timeless message of redemption is carried out and implemented by playing to the gifts. An interesting point that Mancini makes is that churches spend more time on shoring up weaknesses than they do in fine-tuning their strengths. Read this one.

I've also been jamming away to some new music lately. Matthew West is currently one of my favorite CCM songwriters. If you want to be challenged while enjoying a fresh musical sound I suggest West's latest release Something to Say. My favorite tracks are "The Motions" and "Stop the World". WOW! Highly recommended.

A little while ago I shared how I've been trying out new artists by buying a CD here and there at the pawn shop (yes, I know it's cheaper to check them out at the library). Well, I found a gem: Natalie Merchant's Tigerlily. Natalie's been around forever, but I don't listen to secular stations much so I haven't heard her music. I was blown away by her voice. This is a great mellow CD. If you like folksy, laid-back grooves you'll dig this CD.

One of my favorite purchases in the last few weeks has been Rodney Atkins project If You're Going Through Hell. I heard "Watching You" on the radio a year or so ago and actually had my eyes tear up while listening to the lyrics. This CD is awesome. For those of you who have written it off already because of the title, let me assure you that it's based on a Winston Churchill quote: "If you're going through hell, keep on going" and an old Irish toast that says "May you be in heaven five minutes before the devil know you're dead". I like every song on this CD. I rarely buy country music, but this is a must-have.

I bought Toby Mac because nobody knows how to jam like the old dcTalk frontman. Welcome to Diverse City is an infectious CD with great tunes, witty lyrics, and the occasional provocative message.

Every song on Selah's Bless the Broken Road is a duet. Some of the artists featured include Nichole Nordeman (what a voice!), Barlowgirl, Jason and Aaron Crabb, Christy Nockels (of Watermark), and Cynthia Clawson. This is an awesome recording! Beautiful songs featuring big voices. I'm hear to tell you that Selah's Todd Smith has one of the best voices in gospel music. He's a vocal animal.

I've enjoyed listening to Legacy Five's latest release God's Been Good. This a solid recording from a solid group who is starting to find their niche since Roger's death. These are great guys and some of my best friends in the biz. While this isn't my favorite recording they've ever put out, it's still worth buying. Frank Seaman sounds better than he's ever sounded on this recording, while the rest of the guys put forth stellar efforts on their featured solos. Good stuff.

So, that's what I've been reading and listening to for the last month. What about you?

SGM

2008-08-01T14:55:00.004-07:00

I'm now a published writer. Well, kinda. SGMradio.com was kind enough to ask me to be a contributing columnist for their online magazine. Today my first column appeared online (just look for my mugshot). Thanks, Rob and Karen, for the invite. You have NO IDEA what you just got yourself into.

One Family's Journey

2008-08-01T13:39:00.009-07:00

Well, I survived two weeks of bachelorhood while Lori and the kids trekked back east to visit family and spend a week at Appalachian Youth Camp. I rarely cooked for myself and depended on my skills of appearing as pathetic as possible to weasel dinner invites out of friends. It worked. So, thanks to Marc and Talisha; Royce and Tammy; and Doran and Diane for the delicious meals. Oh, yes, and Melissa Roskam for the outstanding cheesy potatoes (she came over to the Ritcheys, too). As much as I enjoyed the culinary delights of Wendys, Taco Bell, and the ilk I was SO ready for Lori and the kids to come home.

They had a great time hanging out with siblings, parents, and cousins on the visit. They flew into Indianapolis, spent a day in Cincinnati, and then traveled to Pennsylvania to spend a long weekend with Mom and Dad Frederick. They dined like kings, feasting on scrapple, Philly cheesesteaks, east coast pizza,while enjoying cultural favorites like Italian ices. Yeah, all this while I was eating chicken nuggets from McDs. Here are a few pictures from the visit:

Lori, the kids, and Nanny and Pop-Pop.

Lori, Char, and Dave pose with Mom and Dad. Dad's hoping to get this photo shoot over as soon as possible while Dave tries to see how far away he can get from Char while still staying in the picture.

The grand kids and Nanny and Pop-pop Frederick. Back row: David, Alicia, Ankie, and Christy. Just so you know, I told David back in the day that if he made those weird faces that it would stay that way. You can see what happened...

Trey gets swatted by Ank. Ankie is Trey's new hero. They hung out quite a bit.

Kass enjoyed a little 3-wheelin'. She's got her game face on.

Running the break. Reminscent of Nash and Stoudemire (that's for Trey).

The red hat ladies captured by roving paparazzi (read: Char). I enjoyed Lori's retelling of the sales clerk's explanation of what the red hat craze was all about. She told them that it was a fad that was way too old for them. Since, Char was wearing her covering she inferred that she (Char) probably wouldn't be interested since it was a "social club" and that's probably something she wouldn't want to be a part of. "Covering discrimination".

Lori and the kids left on Tuesday for AYC. I'm on the youth camp board, but due to a scheduling conflict couldn't make it this year. I was pretty bummed. This is one of the highlights of my summer. Nothing beats making fun of my cousin Ray Mac all week while trading insults with Tony and Abby. I also missed directing the AYC choir. They are incredible! The best music groups I've worked with have been found in Roxbury, PA every July. Lori spent the week helping Char with the Kidz Adventure portion of the camp. My kids loved hanging out with the Frederick and McCrary cousins all week. From what I hear it was a great week. Jeff Keaton was the evangelist and they had some incredible worship services with many, many teens giving their lives to Christ. Awesome! Every evening they have an afterglow and due to a rainstorm they had to host an X-games-type competition in the tabernacle after one of the services. Kassady told me about it and said, "They rode skateboards and bikes in the church, and Dad, that just isn't right!" Trying to synthesize her church-behavior training with what she just witnessed was a little difficult.

The Hawaiian luau was a great success and quite the hit with my kids. They loved hanging out with the "big" kids and doing the hula, the limbo, and pineapple bowling. Fortunately, the authentic Hawaiian Hut was available for a photo op.

Cheers to everyone!

Trey tubin' down the water slide. Definitely, the highlight of camp!

Kass can do anything her big brother does. Don't believe it? Just ask her.

After AYC, they drove back to Cincinnati, getting in about 11:30 PM. Kassady and Christy decided to stay up and watch a Disney movie and didn't fall asleep until after 1:00 AM. I called Lori after our concert on Friday and was shocked when Kass got on the phone. She's her mother's daughter, that's for sure.

On Saturday, the fam went to see a Reds game at Great American Ballpark. Yes, I was a little jealous. Trey is a huge Reds fan (I've trained him well) and he felt like he was coming home to Mecca. There was a rain delay, so the players didn't come out for batting practice. Which meant that he didn't get their autographs. He did get Gapper, the mascot, to sign his hat, though, so it was all good. Trey called to tell me that his favorite player Ken Griffey, Jr. blasted homerun 607 in his quest to pass Sammy Sosa on the all-time homers list. You have to understand that Trey is a walking sports encyclopedia, and he's been obsessed with Griffey's progress. I tried to explain that there was a good chance that Griffey wouldn't hit one out at his game, but his faith endured. Of course, less than a week later (yesterday to be exact) Griffey got traded to the White Sox. I'm glad Trey was able to be there for one his final games in a Reds uniform.

Trey thought he'd died and gone to heaven. Great American Ballpark! Cincinnati Reds! Ken Griffey, Jr.!

Trey nearly wet himself with excitement when Griffey belted home run number number 607. He was there. Here's the swing...

...and, the butt-slap from his teammate. Trey and I are still Griffey fans even though he was traded to the White Sox less than a week later.

Sunday afternoon, found the Waggoner fam headed to Frankfort, Indiana to meet up with my family. Mom and Dad picked them up in Indianapolis and brought them on in to Mamma and Pappa's house. I hated hearing about all the great food they were eating. Mamma is one of the greatest cooks this world has ever known. Her Sunday dinners are legendary. So, yeah, I was pretty homesick. Bobby, his kids, Alyssa, Alyssa's son Josh, Mom & Dad, Sharilyn, and Mamma and Pappa grilled out on Tuesday night (I had a frozen pizza) and had a great time together.

These women are SO much alike: Mamma and Kassady. They're both independent, opinionated, mouthy, and loyal as can be. And I love 'em both!

The kids and uncle Bob gang up on Sharilyn for a ticklefest.

One task I was always dragged into as a kid was husking corn and then silking it so we could have corn on the cob. I used to hate it! That and breaking beans. Man, if only I could go back in time...

Trey and Kassady got a taste of gardening. They enjoyed it. Of course, when Bobby and I had to do it we were working with several thousand bushels of corn (or so it seemed). It was usually a 3 or 4-day ordeal. But, I'm telling you, nothing tastes as good as the corn out of Mamma and Pappa's garden!

Dylan, Jillian, Josh (Dylan's buddy), Kassady, and Trey. What a bunch of posers!

These are the steps leading up to the attic of Pappa's barn. There have been more kids that have fallen off of those steps across the years. Most of the accidents were caused by shoves from well-meaning cousins or siblings. At least the ones involving me and Bobby. Fortunately, the kids survived. It's about 145 degrees up in that attic, but that was the coolest place to hang out. I'll bet the only things up there to this day are some croquet mallets and wickets. And, maybe a shuffleboard disc or two.

Absence did make the heart grow fonder. I missed my family so much. Finally, Wednesday evening found Lori, Trey, and Kassady home in Idaho where they belong. And, I ate well.

Bus Driver

2008-07-29T16:19:00.003-07:00

Thanks to one of my loyal readers, Ellen, Liberty's version of Bus Driver is now available. Check out my shaved head. I've gone Bic and I'm not looking back.

NASCAR

2008-07-22T14:11:00.001-07:00

OK, maybe this is overdoing it, but this one's good, too.

Coming soon to a restaurant near you...

2008-07-22T14:04:00.002-07:00

Amazed

2008-07-21T22:47:00.002-07:00

Shhhh...keep this between us. I just heard the rough mix of the new Liberty CD "Amazed" and it's...WOW!...just...man, I don't know how to say it...it's very...well, just wait 'til you hear it.

You can hold it in your grubby little hands on Saturday, September 27 (but, only if you come to Family Fest.08 at Valley Shepherd Nazarene in Meridian, ID).

I'll let you be the judge.

Who Am I

2008-07-21T09:08:00.001-07:00

I will blog soon. I promise. Until then, enjoy this clip (thanks be to Sheila).

Canadian bound

2008-06-19T07:25:00.007-07:00

I mentioned in the post below that I'm getting ready to leave for Canada. We're going to be singing at the Frenchman River Valley Gospel Music Jamboree (try to say that one real fast). So, I've been working on our inventory forms for the Canadian border, making sure that everything's ready to go for a smooth, fast crossing (who am I kidding?). We have to pay tax on everything we take into the country to sell, whether or not we sell it. Now, we don't pay a tax on the sale price, but on the production price. Anyway, so I've been filling out the B3 form. You have to make sure you have the right Canadian classification number which is tied to the world-wide Customs Tariff. There are 99 chapters in the Tariff. It's pretty much 2 NYC phone books put together. So, after 3 hours of research and then converting the US prices to Canadian prices and so forth I hit a button that populates a PDF form and, voila, it promptly disappeared. So, I had to start over. I strained some veins on that one.

While I'm working on this little project of joy, I get phone calls from Royce and Dan informing me that our bus, which has been in the shop the last couple of days for repairs, won't be available for this weekend's trip. Now understand, this going to be a 20 hour trip, by the time we get through customs and finally get to our destination. Dan has been calling around to several places trying to rent either a van or SUV. As of now, I'm not sure what our final ride will be. I've definitely taken the bus for granted. So, I feel like I'm in the GBS quartet again. Nothing like close fellowship for 20 hours.

So, get ready, Liberty Quartet is coming to town!

I still have a lot to catch up. Our video taping of our two hymns DVDs, my T-ball coaching endeavors, embarrassing photos from the past: plenty of good material. But, this will have to do for now. Have a great weekend.

OK, Jolene does this get me off the hook for a few days?

Happy Anniversary

2008-06-19T07:18:00.003-07:00

Happy Anniversary...to us! It's been 9 wonderful, blessed years. I'm more love with my beautiful wife than ever before. It's been a great adventure (still is). Of course, due to our crazy schedules, Lori with the Grace VBS and my trip to Canada this weekend, we'll have to celebrate our anniversary in a couple of weeks. But, today's the day. WOW!

CCM Fans

2008-06-12T14:16:00.003-07:00

Spence Smith, a former member of Big Tent Revival, asked an intriguing question today on his blog Connecting People to Life: Has Contemporary Christian Music overlooked the fans? He points out that country music has the Fan Fair and Southern Gospel has National Quartet Convention and wonders why CCM hasn't brought all their artists together for an event geared specifically for fans. Interesting read.

I know I haven't posted anything lately, but just hold on. The deluge cometh.

By the way, I really liked Big Tent Revival. I wish they were still touring.

Be Like Chuck

2008-06-03T15:03:00.002-07:00

I normally don't post corny sites I come across, but this one just had to be shared: Chuck Norris Facts.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Chuck Norris doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.
Outer space exists because it's afraid to be on the same planet with Chuck Norris.
Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.
Chuck Norris counted to infinity - twice.
Chuck Norris can lead a horse to water AND make it drink.
Chuck Norris doesn’t wear a watch, HE decides what time it is.
There is no 'ctrl' button on Chuck Norris's computer. Chuck Norris is always in control.
Apple pays Chuck Norris 99 cents every time he listens to a song.
Chuck Norris can eat just one Lay's potato chip.
Chuck Norris destroyed the periodic table, because he only recognizes the element of surprise.

Liberty and Greater Vision

2008-06-03T13:29:00.001-07:00

Greater Vision joins Liberty on "City Comin' Down". Thanks again, Ellen.

Liberty at Fresno

2008-06-03T13:28:00.002-07:00

Thank you Ellen for uploading these clips to YouTube. Royce sings "I Thirst".

Les of Liberty

2008-06-03T13:26:00.003-07:00

OK, this is hilarious. Les Beasley joins Liberty on "Jericho Road". For some reason, Les's mic was cranked up hotter than anyone. Very interesting.

Clouds

2008-05-28T20:19:00.003-07:00

I know I'm way overdue for a post, and I have a lot to post about. But, for the time being let me leave you with tonight's observation: clouds are much larger, not to mention more majestic, in the west than in the midwest/east.

The first verse of "How Great Thou Art" came alive tonight.

The Champ

2008-05-21T21:16:00.004-07:00

I'm shocked! America got it right. David Cook won American Idol. I know that my support for this year's champ makes me unpopular with women and humans under 16, but Cook's musical creativity coupled with his dynamic voice made me take notice early on in the competition. The guy can flat out rock. I'm looking forward to his first CD.

A breathless explanation

2008-05-20T06:28:00.003-07:00

It's been quite a while since I posted. And, it will probably be quite a while before I post again. This week is going to be filled with activity. Liberty Quartet is shooting two live videos on Saturday night; singing at a banquet on Friday; and finishing up some studio work. I also have to finish up some behind-the-scenes video clips for the pre-service. Our T-ball team started practice this week; every evening, Monday - Thursday. I can already tell it's going to be a blast! My parents and sister fly in on Thursday. Trey has end-of-the-school-year obligations this week, too. So, yeah, it will be a while before I post.

In the last few days I had a birthday. Yes, I sure did. Pull out the chalk and scratch another line on the wall. I also want to wish my friends who happened to be born on May 18 a happy birthday. So, Travis Johnson and Dave Bittinger: Happy Birthday.

You'll hear from me in a few days. Have a blessed week.

PS Kassady did inform me yesterday that she's contemplating being a mermaid when she grows up. She said she wants to either be a mermaid or a doctor.

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T16:38:00.004-07:00

I am married to the woman Solomon highlighted in Proverbs 31. Lori is an incredible wife and mother to Trey and Kassady. Lori is a mother who instills biblical precepts in our children by intentional teaching and by modeling them in her everyday walk. She is practical, yet sensitive. She mothers, but doesn't smother the kids. Lori allows Trey and Kassady to experience life, even its bumps and bruises, but is always there with the band-aid, the hug, a hand to tousle the hair, the words that take the sting out of the hurt. I'm blessed. Lori, I love you. Thanks for being my kids' Mom.

Dottie Rambo

2008-05-11T15:45:00.002-07:00

My heart is sad this afternoon after hearing the news of Dottie Rambo's tragic accident. While I never had the privilege of meeting Dottie, I was ministered to by her prolific songwriting. I have sung Rambo's songs as long as I can remember. One of my favorites is "Sheltered in the Arms of God". My college quartet sang this song a couple of years back in the late 90s. There's a line in the second verse that says "I'll fall asleep and wake in God's new Heaven, sheltered safe within the arms of God." From the sounds of it, that's what happened. Dottie and her prodigious talent will be missed. The legacy she left through her inspired lyrics will always be with us.

The Latest from Kassady

2008-05-09T19:57:00.003-07:00

We're in the midst of putting in our sprinkler system, yard, and fence at Waggoner estates (with help from our friends at TT), so it's been pretty busy around here. Tonight I finished raking out the backyard, preparing for Monday's sod-laying. Where are all my Amish friends when I need them? Doran, the closest I have to an Amish friend, will make sure that he is nowhere to be found on the big day. Anyway, Lori has also been putting in her flowerbeds. Last night both Trey and Kassady helped us out. Trey assisted Lori in clearing out the weeds, while Kassady served as the clean-up crew.

I finished mowing our currently installed yard and asked Kassady to sweep the grass off of the driveway. It was hilarious to watch. The broom is twice as tall as she is, but it doesn't intimidate her one bit. She briskly whisks it back and forth, all business-like, clearing some debris and creating a bit of her own.

After she was done, I asked her to put the broom away in the garage. As I followed her into the garage, I told her how much I appreciated her help. Without breaking stride and with nary a glance back at me, she threw a hand into the air and said "Praise the Lord Jesus Christ." I have no clue where that came from. While I didn't think it was the case, I wanted to make sure she wasn't being sac religious, so I said "We do need to thank Jesus for helping us get the job done. He's the one that gives us the strength and ability to do what we do." As serious as could be, one more time she said, "Praise Jesus" and walked out.

I about fell on the floor laughing. Dan is convinced that we have a little Assembly of God girl on our hands.

Saturday Nights at Fresno

2008-05-08T21:25:00.002-07:00

Saturday evening was our last performance at Fresno. Our set list included:

When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder/Hallelujah! We Shall Rise
Battle Hymn of the Republic
I Thirst
Great Day
City Coming Down

What a fantastic response! They wouldn't let us quit singing! This was only the second time that we had sang "I Thirst". It's going to be on Royce's solo album (coming out next month). By the time we got to the last song, the crowd let us know how much they appreciated our ministry. Greater Vision joined us on the last 2 choruses of City Comin' Down, much to our delight. It was a wonderful way to cap an incredible weekend. Thanks to everybody who stopped by to say hello. I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

I don't know how this picture got in here. This is actually me singing the solo on "I'm His" in the Songwriter's Showcase.

I don't know what we're doing, but we're pretty intent on doing it. Feet planted, chin jutting out, this is serious stuff, folks.

Greater Vision hitting the last chorus of "City Coming Down" with us. Royce was absolutely awesome on that song. He's gonna kill me for putting this in here, but I'm going to anyway. 2 or 3 of the big-name artists on the bill (I'll protect their identity since I just happened to overhear them) told Royce that he was one of the best in the business today. I agree totally. He's one of the best I've ever heard. I don't just say that because he signs my check...well, OK, maybe that's part of it. No, seriously, he's incredible and I'm privileged to travel with Royce and the other guys.

We had a great time and we're already looking forward to next year. Now, I'm off to bed. Night, all.

Songwriter's Showcase

2008-05-08T21:20:00.002-07:00

Doran was asked to participate in Saturday's Songwriter's Showcase. He did a fantastic job! He told the story behind his composition "I'm His". It was powerful. We then sang the song. I had so many artists stop me after the showcase and tell me how much they appreciated the message and performance of the song. I'm proud of the guy. Doran and Connie Hopper spent most of the afternoon in transfixed wonder, drinking in the words of host Phil Cross.

The showcase concluded with the Hoppers and everybody else belting out Phil Cross's hit "Yes I Am". Dan and Mitchel Jon cranked it out louder than anyone. The mic is off and they're still drowning everybody out. Sheesh~!

Fresno Candids

2008-05-08T21:00:00.004-07:00

Diane, Doran, Royce, Tammy, Donna, Tammy, Keith, Lori. It was so much fun to have our wives along. However, it's a good thing that we depend on everyone else to laugh at our jokes. In all seriousness, we couldn't do what we do without the support of our better halves. They are strong, dedicated women. We're blessed!

Dan with his parents, Bill and Audrey Gilbert. Bill occasionally drives bus for us. And, for those of you who have yet to meet Audrey, she is the life of every party!

Dan with our incredible graphic designer/details person/booking agent/fill in the blank, Dee Sienknecht. Dee did a fantastic job of handling a lot of the details of our Fresno trip. We brought a bus with 43 people on it from the Treasure Valley. From the sounds of it, they had more fun than we did. Rick Waitley, our manager and president of Associated Management Group served as tour host, and the bus was driven by my old friend Milo Wittkopf.

I have this thing for art of Jack. Really. OK, it's a little creepy.

Speaking of creepy, security got several calls about some weird guy circling the RV parking lot begging for food. He was chased off, last seen clutching a bag of Cheetos.

Diane, Lori, and Donna pose with our wonderful friend Wilma Pound (see Grillin' with Liberty).

A startling resemblance to be sure. The jowls are a slightly more pronounced on the little guy.

I had a chance to reconnect with a lady who has become a special friend, Dot Veltkamp. Liberty was privileged to be able to minister to her at a very low point in her life.

Breakfast with Liberty

2008-05-08T20:40:00.003-07:00

Saturday morning, Liberty hosted a outside breakfast for the Fresno fans. They had the biggest breakfast turnout they had ever had. We laughed. A lot. Here are some highlights:

Lori and I just try to be servants. We used our God-given talent for distributing napkins. It was greatly appreciated by our unloved, saved ones.

Dan explains to Dean Hopper his philosophy of sound: "Now, Dean, here's what yer goina' wanna dew: get that there microphono in close and personal. pretend it's a lollipop if that helps ya out. Then, just wail on it for all yer worth. Yep, that's what I have ol' Big Daddy here do each and every night and look where it's got 'em." Royce tries to pretend that Dan's a dab of lard on the sidewalk.

Royce and I nailed the choreography on "This World Is Not My Home", while Doran (once again) stumbles along behind.

Les and Roy Webb were in rare form. Les got a phone call while Dean was talking. First off, he never even heard it ringing and it was on deafening loud volume mode. So, everyone but Les knew he had an incoming call. Finally, Dean asks him if he's going to answer it. He pulls it out of his pocket, says (into the mic) "well, lookee here, it's my wife" and then answers the phone "hello, honey." While everyone watches, he chats a while. Finally, he gets off the phone and say, "Good news, folks. I just saved 15% on my car insurance."

Les decided to join us on "Jericho Road". The result was painful and hilarious. Dan, yes, Dan of all people was feeding him words. The crowd loved it and of course Les hammed it up. I'm convinced that Royce is Les's long-lost son. There are some similarities there. It's like looking down the road 40 years. But, I digress...

Amanda Henry has become one of our good friends. She sings soprano for the Herb Henry Family. She was out there trying her best to get us to laugh. Well, Dean decides to bring her up in front of everybody and ask her if she's content being single. She had a classic response. She said, "I have to be, since you're taken." Dean blushed a deep red and couldn't utter a word. That's the first time I've seen him at a loss for words.

Lately, Dan has been reading Fanny Crosby's autobiography and it's starting to have an effect on his appearance.

I have no clue what we're doing right here. Ol' Fanny looks surprised, though.

Roy Webb was very impressed with the way Dan lays out the cords. He kept muttering, "Curious. Very curious."

Roy also leaned in to get a better look at Royce as he hit one of those crazy low notes that seem to emanate from some subterranean chamber.

A great time was had by all.

Grillin' in Fresno

2008-05-07T12:46:00.004-07:00

We have so many good friends that drive out for the convention. The beautiful part of it is that they love feeding us! On Friday, we all headed over to the RV parking lot for lunch with some dear friends: Larry and Wilma Pound; Bob and Toni Conway; and Courtney and Lucille DeWeese. The food was incredible as you can see from the pictures below.

Wilma trying to explain to Larry that a fork works just fine for flipping chicken on the grill. Either that or she's challenging him to a duel. If that's the case, and knowing her spunk, my money's on Wilma.

Doran, Lori, and I trying to get as much food on our plates as fast as possible. Now Lori knows why I've put on a few pounds since I started traveling. However, I'm not quite as plump as my billowing shirt would make me appear. Sheesh! I look bloated. I work hard to protect my svelte physique.

Tri-tip steak, grilled chicken, baked beans (which I avoided, reasons which are understood by those who know me; probably not what you're thinking, either), asparagus, salad, fruit, garlic bread, and strawberry shortcake.

Diane, Tammy, Donna, and Lori pose beside Wilma's Liberty painting. We inspire the arts! This was the first time that all of the wives were able to go on a trip. We had way too much fun. I have so many stories that I can't share. I'd love to, but if I did a missing person's report would soon be filed and my body would end up in some secluded ravine wrapped in plastic. You don't want to mess with these women.

This was supposed to be a picture of Doran and Diane, but somehow an orange albatross ended up in the shot.

The same thing happened in Tammy's picture. They really need to do something about those birds. They're annoying. I sprayed it with Round-Up.

Thanks to all of you guys (yeah, I know you're out there and you read this blog) who fed us, clothed us (OK, that didn't happen), and made us feel like we're someone special. We love you!

Thursday concert

2008-05-07T12:11:00.002-07:00

We left Boise/Nampa on Wednesday around 5:00 PM and drove throughout the evening. We arrived in Fresno around 8:30 AM Thursday. John Bentham, promotions director of the Fan Fest, called me Wednesday afternoon to see if we could do a TV interview with Fresno's CBS and Fox affiliates. I asked him what time we needed to be there and he said 5:00 AM. There ain't no way! So, while it would have been fun we had to skip the interview. Besides, who wants to sing tenor that early in the morning? We were the first group in to set up our booth, so once that was out of the way we took off for some food. We had planned on checking into the hotel early and grabbing a little shut-eye before our 4:30 PM sound check, but that didn't happen. The earliest we could get in was 3:00. By the time we picked up the rental cars, ate, got in the room, and showered it was time to head to the Save Mart Center.

Dan and Royce were dragging. Apparently neither one slept well (if at all) and they were dead tired. We were the first group on, so we dressed and headed backstage. Now, my favorite part of these concerts is hanging out in the green room. Besides all the food, I've heard the biggest stories from all the old road warriors. They're always trying to one-up each other. It's great.

We hit the stage at 6:09 PM and had a great set. Our songs for Thursday evening included:

Ride That Glory Train
I'll Fly Away (Doran piano solo)
Bus Driver
The Eastern Gate
Say It Again
In God We Still Trust

I have to hand it to the sound crew. They did a fantastic job! Wes Pritchard was running the monitors and they were spot on. This is probably the best sound that we ever had at a convention/festival. The crowd responded so well to our songs. I think we had the right lineup. It was a nice mix of up-tempo and laid back songs. And, for all of you who were praying for my voice, God came through (like He always does). It sounded fine. Well, as fine as my voice gets anyway. Thanks for praying!

For a full run-down of Thursday night, click here.

Enjoy the pictures!

Gargantuan Keith coming at you. Lori made sure that my nose and ears were free of impeding and conspicuous hairs. She's a caring wife.

Royce had the crowd laughing throughout our Thursday evening set. I'm not sure what he's doing here, but I apparently enjoyed it.

Dan found paternal satisfaction in my histrionics, watching proudly as I sang my little heart out. It was either that or the fact that he hadn't slept for 32 hours. Shortly after this we carried him off the stage.

One of the highlights for me was singing "In God We Still Trust", one of the most powerful patriotic songs you'll ever hear. The energy in the arena was electric!

Overall, it was a wonderful night. After we were done we had a chance to relax and hear some of our favorites: the Booth Brothers, Legacy Five, the Beene Family, the Herb Henry Family, and the Hoppers among many others.

Fresno

2008-05-06T20:58:00.002-07:00

Whew! What an eventful week! Today, it's nice to sit here in the room with the windows open, hearing the night sounds, reflecting on everything that happened. Instead of providing you with a blow-by-blow account of the Great Western Fan Fest, I'll tell the story in pictures (coming tomorrow).

In the meantime, for those of you who want all of the details visit the blog of my good friend John Scheideman. You'll feel like you were there. If you visit, you'll also get a bonus review of our Sunday night concert at Riverdale Assembly of God, one of the best concerts I've ever been a part of. You'll also be hearing more about that. Later.

As for now, start reading John's account and I'll post some pictures tomorrow to give you an idea as to what he's talking about.

Whew!

2008-04-28T21:24:00.002-07:00

Wow! What a day! It started off in the studio, where Doran, Dan, and I did the final vocal fixes on our new album (title still undetermined). Then, I ran home to finalize the concepts for a Liberty Quartet photo shoot. At about a quarter to four I raced over to Meridian and met the rest of the guys at a studio for some shots for the new album. Then, we headed over to Royce's house where we shot the photography for his upcoming solo project. By the time I left his house it was a quarter after eight. After a nutritious supper of Burger King I turned the ol' green Explorer for the rolling hills of Waggoner estates. I've just now finished catching up on email and other business. And, I'm tired.

Yeah, and remember all that stuff about my voice? Well, my allergies just kicked in and they are kickin' my backside! My throat is raw. Of course, that was due to happen the same week as the Fresno Fan Fest. So, while I might not be singing well, I can at least enjoy everybody else.

One news flash that I want to mention, Doran has been invited to be a part of the Fan Fest Songwriter's Showcase with Phil Cross, Rodney Griffin, and others. In spite of all the sarcastic barbs we lob at each other, I'm proud of the guy. He's writing songs that stand with the best lyrics being written in the Southern Gospel genre today. This is a well-deserved honor. That will be fun.

I'm tired. G'night.

I'm a Soccer Dad

2008-04-26T19:52:00.002-07:00

Trey scored 5 goals in his game today. His team was trailing by one when he came into the game. He scored 2 goals in the first 30 seconds he was in. He was all over the field. I think I might have an athlete. He had everybody on their feet with a couple of his hustling plays. I'm a proud dad.

Kassady also scored 5 goals in her game. That's more than all last year's games combined. Go figure. While she's still not the most aggressive player on the field, she knows where and how to kick the ball. I'm a proud dad.

Trivia

2008-04-26T09:10:00.002-07:00

Did you know that the Statler Brothers, who started out singing Gospel music, were originally known as the Kingsmen? Interesting trivia tidbit I picked up today.

Cutlery Capers

2008-04-25T20:58:00.003-07:00

Kassady informed the family at the supper table the other night that she could hang a spoon on her nose. I told her that I didn't believe her. So, she did it. And, it really hangs on there. She doesn't lean back to make it happen. Of course, I had to try it. Can't do it.

I'm thinking that if her chosen profession doesn't work out, she can always fall back on a circus career.

Keith: Inside/Outside

Survey

Just thinkin'

He's Alive!

Waxing eloquent

What a refreshing vacation

Nicholas Peyton Waggoner

GVB changes

Update

Frankfort (city motto: we need to hire a press agency)

Christmas Cheer

1000

Ramsey in the Valley

MAF Concert

I crave sleep

I'm thankful for...

Shout to Darlene

The Big 4-0

Just do it

On a lighter note...

The Waggoner Times

UFO

Words of Wisdom

Go South Young Man

The Face

The big 5-0

43

The deed is done

Election 2008

New Liberty Quartet Member

Shocking Campaign Signs

Trunk Or Treat

Traveling Live

Rah, rah, Phillies

Cellphone Candids

I'm so sure...

Aged

Random Ramblings

Brithday Recap

Perfect #7

Here we go again...maybe

Heaven in the Real World

High-falutin'

The Waggoner's Big Blow-Up

Southern Gospel Zogby

Rebuttal

Soccer Dad

Peace, peace, fina-a-a-ncial peace...

Redeeming the Time

Nose hairs and blogging

Couric Mocking Palin

Amazed

National Quartet Convention

Women Pastors

Liberty at NQC

Need a Laugh?

Kids and Composing

The results are in

****NEWS FLASH****

The Call

Another Kassady Candid Comment

Lagoon

Open up the archives

Great Kids

Concert in the Courtyard

Waterlogged

A Father-Son Conversation

Live God Loud

Liberty Stuff

In My Spare Time

SGM

One Family's Journey

Bus Driver

NASCAR

Coming soon to a restaurant near you...

Amazed

Who Am I

Canadian bound

Happy Anniversary

CCM Fans

NEWS FLASH