Recently, I discovered amongst a forgotten box of childhood knick knacks and clothes, a very precious book to me. I immediately squealed with joy when I saw the cover of this familiar, comforting book that I hadn't laid eyes on in...decades! I read each page, suddenly recalling the murky details of the colorful illustrations.  The story is about a bunny who discovers a duck egg. The bunny stays with the egg until it hatches, and when it does, the bunny and duck become best friends. I remember very specifically the final line of this book, "And no one was ever alone again." What sweet peace and security that brought to me as a child. Because this was an Easter gift to me at the age of 2, I thought it would be appropriate to share some of the pages on this Easter Eve.

I've walked the subway tunnel underneath Times Square about a billion and four times now (I don't know how to type that numerically). And if there's one thing I noticed on the subways and streets of New York City, it's that people aren't very observant. They like to mind their own business and not make eye contact with anyone.  But today I had a more interesting subway experience than normal and I happened to have my video camera with me, so I thought I'd share. I never bothered looking UP before. And today I found a little message written to me on the rafters of the tunnel, every few steps, like bread crumbs. Once in my seat on the train, I got a very welcome dose of live Tex Mex music, which is one genre of music I have  never  heard NYC street musicians play before, so I was  very  excited! Unfortunately, I arrived at my stop before I could hear them finish (I think it's hilarious how the onlookers seem to pay no attention to that man playing the accord...

I watched a  documentary  about residents in the slums of Brazil whose only option to earn a living was to sift through miles of garbage for recyclable material. It was difficult to watch, and I could almost smell the bitter, damp air that they spent hours breathing in. The pay was next to nothing and the living conditions were atrocious. I found myself naively wondering, "How and why can they live their life like that?" After some contemplation, I realized the painfully simple answer. There was never another option for them. No shred of thought that they could do otherwise. Nothing that they could see, hear of, or even imagine in their wildest dreams. How could they  do  something if they never thought of it? I've slowly come to realize on my own, that the more you imagine in life, the more it becomes an actual possibility. I never saw a female in the Army until I went to an Army National Guard ceremony for my older brother. There was one female in his class and sh...

I remember my father always forecasting the weather when I was little. He would look outside and say,  "Red sky at night, sailor's delight.  Red sky in the morn, sailors be warned." But I never found out what an  orange  sky meant. Based on tonight's orange sky and overall evening, I would guess... Orange sky in the eve And I shall receive A fine night out, Fun without a doubt, A painted view, A love so true, And more blessings than I can count! (Oh, and if you click to enlarge, you can see the tiny little airplane just above the telephone wires.)

I got an early Easter egg today. Eddie found this little robin's egg outside. He knows just what kind of presents to get me!  Sadly though, this little egg has an extremely remote chance of hatching now that it's separated from its nest. If God cares when the sparrow falls to the ground, He surely cares about this egg. That gives me comfort knowing there is nothing so small that God doesn't see, or care about.  Everyone in the world has personal troubles and hardships. And it can be difficult to know how to react to them. I read a transcript of a broadcast called " When the Sparrow Falls " by Elisabeth Elliot today and I wanted to share it. I sometimes feel helpless and angry at myself when I read the words, "Let not your heart be troubled." What a simple solution!!! If only I could just DO that! And here, she explores the spot-on question of,  "How am I supposed to not be troubled about something that is extremely troubling?"  If you're...

I'm now going through the most difficult part of recording my album with Modern Vintage Recordings...the vocals! This is a song I wrote years ago with a very country, straight forward sound. The geniuses at MVR, got the idea to put a groove/funk vibe to it, which I LOVE! I'm SO SO SO happy with the way this track turned out. It is still incomplete, no bass yet and no vocal reverb or auto-tune. Just very dry, almost immediately after the final vocal tracking took place. I am especially in love with the background harmonies that one of my audio engineers, Jason Cummings, arranged. It reminds me of the Beach Boys meets funk. Love it! Enjoy! For my OLD version of "I Still Think About You," click here . The progress of recording an album: Progress

I developed a certain habit in high school. It was when I first got hired at  Lee's Restaurant  to play the piano during lunch on Sundays. I was so nervous my first day of work and I only had about 12 songs in my repertoire at that time. I was 17 and had zero experience performing in public. So before I played my first song that day, I sat at the bench and silently  prayed . First I thanked God that I was able to play piano in the first place. Then I thanked Him for this job and prayed that I would never take it for granted. And finally, I asked that I would be able to play well that day for all who listened. I played piano at Lee's 3 days a week for nearly 5 years and continued that habit the entire time. To this day, it's something I always do when I play. It helps to calm my nerves and reminds me that it's not because of my own ability that I'm able to play music, but only because God allows me to. And I do believe that the gifts we take fore granted can be taken...