Boo

Once again it is time for the annual ritualistic fruit massacre we call pumpkin carving. I think this year's efforts turned out quite nice. Say hello to Fred (on the left) and Betsy (on the right).

Regardless of your view on the holiday, Halloween is here. As for me, I figure if non-Christians can hunt Easter eggs on our holiday, we can beg for candy on theirs! We use this as an opportunity to explain all the appropriate topics to the kids, and no evil costumes! This year my youngest is going as an artist complete with brush and beret. We cut her painter's pallet from a cardboard box and she had a blast splashing paint all over her smock. We are ready!

I'm hoping for Reese's and Sweet-tarts. And if anybody passes out those nasty, hard peanut butter candies in the orange and black wrappers... Remember, we know where you live.

Ancient

We were off last weekend for my mom's auction. It was a treat to stay home for a change! Actually, we didn't stay home much, we went out to see a couple of other ministries in the area.

On Saturday evening we headed south to the Cass County Fairgrounds to see "Sermon on the Mount," the mount this time being a horse instead of a hill. Lew Sterrett illustrates our rebellious nature and right relationship with God while breaking a horse. By the end of an hour he had a saddle on the horse (I don't know what type it was, I'm a city boy) and an assistant riding it. It was a very unique presentation of the gospel. If you get a chance, check it out! One suggestion, go to an indoor arena. I left part of my rear end frozen to that bleacher.

On Sunday evening we headed north to see the new group Austin's Bridge in concert. These young men (kids as the pastor called them) did an excellent job and we had a great time. They have kind of a Rascal Flatts sound with a mixture of soulful vocals and bluegrass/rock influence thrown in. Pretty cool.

The only downer of the evening was when they mentioned their ages. I started singing professionally the year the lead vocalist was born. Ouch! I'm old. Wait this can't be true. Yes, I did like the song they said was for the older folks in the crowd. And I thought the one they did for the teenagers was a bit noisy. Oh my gosh, it is true. I am old. When they sang "Ancient of Days," were they singing about God or was that directed at me?? This is too much, I need to go have my oatmeal and Geritol.

Past Sold

Thanks to all of you who prayed yesterday about the auction. Once again God proved, "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think..." - Eph 3:20

The house is sold!! A young single lady who is living in an apartment bought it and is excited about moving in. Her lease is not up until the end of this year, so that answered my mom's concerns about having to move out before her new home is finished. After the sale, we were talking to the auctioneer's wife. She told us she felt the need to pray for the house to sell, so she left early and went home. She was praying for the sale and the buyer while the auction was going on. How cool is that!

Now to the "abundantly above what we ask" part. The piano that I learned to play on also sold. A man bought it for his grandson who is autistic. After everyone had gone and we were straightening up, two cars pulled into the driveway. Out popped a little boy followed by his mom, grandma and grandpa. I got to meet the young man who would learn to play on my old piano. When I saw the excitement in his eyes, I remembered the day when my dad brought that piano home and I touched the keys for the very first time. Now I felt like I was passing on the torch to a new generation. I played a song for the little guy and encouraged him to practice and have fun with music.

We prayed for the house to be a blessing to the next owner. God answered that and threw in the piano blessing as well. All I can say is AMEN!!!

Past For Sale

Today is an interesting day. In a few hours, big chunks of my past will be up for sale to the highest bidder. The house I grew up in, the piano where I picked out my first melody, the loft where I played and imagined and dreamed - all will soon belong to someone else. As I helped my mom prepare for this auction, it was like a trip through my childhood. There were my dad's tools and the workbench where as a little boy I watched him fix all sorts of items. There was the table where I ate countless meals, me in the middle, mom to the left and dad to the right, feet propped up on the edge of the dishwasher, blowing smoke from his cigarette out the open window. In the basement I paused at the speakers, amps and mixing board from my first band. I can still picture Mike on guitar, John on the bass, and old Snake sitting behind the drums, pounding out the rhythm for feet shuffling across the dance floor. So many memories from the first twenty years of my journey here on planet Earth.

Believe it or not, I'm not sad at seeing all of this go. In fact I'm excited. I believe that life is not what you've left behind, but what awaits ahead. This will free all of us for the journey that God has in store for our future. Memories are great to have, but even better to make, and you'll never make new ones if you are reliving yesterday's. I'm ready for new memories.

Let the bidding begin...

PS. If you are reading this today (Friday), please join us in praying that God will send the right people to buy the house. My mom has been an excellent steward of the property and it has been a blessing to us for so many years. Now we pray that it will be blessing to a whole new family.

A Rose is a ...

Last Saturday was the big day. Seventeen years of wedded bliss to my sweetie! I stopped on my way home from St. Louis and picked up a card, a box of chocolate chip cookies and a dozen roses. Pam loved it! I can understand the card, words of endearment to stimulate the mind. I can understand the cookies, they taste great no matter the occasion. What I don't get are the roses. Sure they are pretty and they smell nice, but what is it about roses that speak to a woman's heart? After much thought I figured out that I don't care, I'm just glad they do!

By the way, Pam took this picture. Ain't they purdy?

What God Does

This year's Write About Jesus conference (my third) was my best by far. Since I've been back in town I've been flying in a hundred different directions, so I'll share a bit at a time.

On Thursday evening I shared my song "Laughing All The Way To The Bank." The response was tremendous! For the rest of the weekend, folks came up to me and said, "Are you that Laughing guy?" Yup, that describes me pretty well.

On Saturday I had another opportunity to share a song with the group during the Alumni Cafe. This time I wanted to do something completely different to show the spectrum of my writing. I felt the right choice was "He Did" from our What Matters Most album. The Cafe is held right before lunch and many people are catching up with each other after morning sessions. It's usually a fairly noisy background with some folks listening to the singer. My buddies Chris and Bill Filer were on before me with a great song that captured the attention of many people. Then I started singing. Not bragging here, but by the middle of the song, the place was silent. It wasn't because of me, the spirit of God was very present in the room. What an awesome moment.

The best part came after I finished and left the stage. One of the attendees came up to thank me for ministering. She mentioned that a lady sitting at her table had just received a rather painful song critique and my song helped refocus her and remind her why she writes in the first place.

Awards and accolades are nice, but if all I accomplish is to let God do what He does through me, that's sufficient. In fact, like God's grace, it's more than sufficient for me.

Well, Ain't That Cool

It's dinner time on my second day at the Write About Jesus Christian Songwriter's Conference. What a great experience so far!!! I finally get to blog about songwriting.

This year I am in what is called the "Master Class" for writers who have had songs cut by other artists. I guess I've qualified to be in this group for many years, but never thought to tell anybody. Thanks to Chris Filer for twisting my arm!! Part of our time is for assigned co-writing with other members of the group. I was paired up with a gal named Helga from New Jersey. We've gotten together a couple of times so far and have come up with a really cool tune. It's not finished yet, but I can't wait for everybody to hear it. I woke up at 5:30 this morning with another song idea that I had to jot down on my laptop. I think it'll be a good one, too! I have another co-write with a different writer tomorrow, so I pray it will be another good session.

On the networking side, the "big cheeses" from the industry are really starting to know who I am. I'm not sure how much I'm supposed to share, but a publisher is picking up one of my songs to pitch to a couple of MAJOR artists. This will take a while, but if something clicks, it could be a real boost for our ministry. Keep praying!!

The next session is starting up, I've gotta run...

Update and Outta Here

I finished our October newsletter last night and it is up for the viewing at www.PhilandPamMorgan.com/news. It always takes me two full days to write, I'm trying to figure how to cut that down. Anyhow, check out the devotion "If Jesus Used Power Tools..." and embarrassing moments in the Trivia column.

I'm heading out for Write About Jesus Christian Songwriter's conference bright and early this morning. I've got my laptop and clean undies, everything else is optional. Off I go....

The Case of the Missing Silver

Something strange is going on around here. I was emptying the dishwasher the other day when I noticed there were no spoons to put away. Actually we have two sets, one with colorful plastic handles and one more traditional with our initial stamped on the handle. We've had the metal ones since early marriage, and now we only have three spoons left. I had noticed they were low for a while, but I thought the others were probably dirty in the dishwasher. Now I know, they are gone.

So the big question, where did they go? I thought of all the obvious options first. Maybe we threw them away when cleaning the table. I quizzed the family and we all agreed that we aren't that careless. OK, maybe someone put them away in the wrong spot. I searched every drawer in the kitchen and no rogue spoons. Could it be a thief broke in, ran past the TV, stereos and computers and whisked them away? Highly unlikely, we have a security system with a motion sensor and laser beams criss-crossing the kitchen.

That leaves only one solution. They've been raptured. Obviously not considered important enough to be included in the Bible, the great flatware rapture has begun. All the saved and sanctified spoons have gone to meet the Lord at that great banquet table in the sky. All that are left are the degenerate, sinful silverware. Every other piece in the drawer ... LEFT BEHIND. (LaHaye and Jenkins, if you write this into a bestselling twelve part series, I want a cut.)

I should be happy for the spoons, they are in a better place. But to be honest, I can't help but think of the forks and knives. None of them made the cut. What a shame.

Return to Third Grade

Today I ate lunch with my third-grader at her elementary school. She had nachos, I chose the meatball sub. Before I had even sat down at the table, I made a mess by spilling the sauce on my shirt. After all these years, I'm still a nerd.

It brought to mind the time I peed my pants in Kindergarten. The pants were light brown when dry and dark brown when wet. How embarassing! Could that be why I wear mostly black pants now? Hmmm, interesting.

After lunch I stayed for recess. There were still many of the same things I played with as a boy - tether ball, jump road, swings and assorted stuff to climb on. There are many differences as well. Many of my childhood playground favorites have been removed or replaced with plastic substitutes, all in the name of safety. We want to provide an injury free environment to protect our precious little ones. So guess what the kids did first. They bypassed all the safe spots and took turns sliding down the hand rail of the play area. A slip to either side would have landed them on hard steps, sure to break either an arm or a rib. So much for safety.

Hey, kids will be kids. That's why we have bandages and bleach. Being a kid is messy and somewhat dangerous. That's what makes it fun. Let 'em be little as long as possible. There will come a time when they will have to grow up and be neat and safe. Don't rush it.

I'm stretching my childhood as long as possible. Somedays I do pretty good, at least at the immature part. And think, if I make it long enough, there'll come a time when I'll start peeing my pants again.

I'm going out tomorrow to buy more black pants.

Good Morning!

On Tuesdays my middle schooler has choir before school so I have the privilege of getting up at 6:00 o'clock to take her. I know that some of you are already up and going by that time, but I'm a musician. Our internal clocks are wound a little slower. In fact, I'm an early riser for my breed. I've got musician buddies who wake up in time for lunch.

Anyhow, as we were driving, I saw something really cool. The sun was just coming up over the horizon. It was beautiful! The sky was a vast canvas of orange and yellow and purple. I thought, "Wow God, do you do this every morning?" What a truly stunning sight.

I do have a suggestion. This sunrise thing is so beautiful, more people could enjoy it if it came a little later in the day. Or how about a matinee for the early risers and an encore around 11:00 for the rest of us. That's one re-run I wouldn't mind watching.

Brace Yourself

My oldest daughter got her braces put on the other day. Ouch. This is her second set. Double ouch. The first was several years ago to correct some cosmetic and structural problems. This time she is getting the full whammy with uppers and lowers, bite adjustment, alignment, oil change and the works.

The good news is, we get a discount on the second set. The bad news is, it's still $4200 after the discount. Triple ouch. I understand the value of causing your children pain, so we'll just have to shut up and pay up. (Our youngest is going to need braces in the future as well. Quadruple ouch. I hope they weren't planning on going to college.)

The funny part was, when she came out after the procedure, they told her she could chew certain types of gum and had given her half a package of Trident. I just paid more that I spent for my first car and they threw in two sticks of gum! Yipee! I think with the car I got all new floormats.

If there are any orthodontists reading this, I love you all and you do a great service to the youth of today. Just a suggestion. Spring for the whole package of gum. It makes us impoverished parents feel a little better.

The Future of Music

Today in the mail I received a new catalog for computer stuff. As I scanned the pages and I noticed something interesting. There were at least four pages of accessories for iPods. You can get speakers, docks, chargers, holders, etc... everything you need to have thousands of hours of music in your shirt pocket. We have seen incredible innovation in the last few years in everything having to do with music except the music itself. If anything, the creative quality of music today is getting worse.

Think about innovations in music in the past. There were Bach and Mozart who changed the way we hear melody and harmony. There was Beethoven who brought a whole new passion to those melodies and harmonies. Music grew and evolved as new composers stretched our ears with dissonance and new ways to put sounds together. Later, jazz, big band, country, pop, and rock innovators brought music to the masses by mixing in everyday life experiences. These songs have become the soundtrack of our lives. There are classics from all styles that live on today, long after many of the composers are gone. They have become part of who we are.

Here's the question - How many popular songs today will live into the next generation? Where is the creativity and innovation? I don't know the answer, I just long for new music that will stir my soul. I need to be reminded that we were formed by an infinitely creative God, and despite our constant screwups, there are moments when we can still bring something beautiful into the world.

Don't get me wrong, I love the innovations in technology. Just when I began to doubt that technology and music could work together to change our lives, I saw this.

All hope is not lost.

Isn't That Something???

Minimal blogage last week, it was newsletter time. To read what we've been up to and a devotion from Pam visit www.PhilandPamMorgan.com/newsletter.pdf. I also developed a quicker loading version for dial-up folks at www.PhilandPamMorgan.com/news/dialup/dialup0709.html. If you haven't read about God and the little poopin' boy, it's a must! Check out the August newsletter in the ARCHIVES at www.PhilandPamMorgan.com/news.

Ok, I'm tired of typing out web addresses. Yesterday we had a rare weekend off and we able to attend church here at home. The sermon held several of those cool, God moments, far beyond coincidence. Check this out...

In our newsletter I have a column called The Listening Room where I write a short "listener's guide" for a song on my piano album. This time I was up to cut 7: Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. I briefly explained the 1 Samuel 7 reference to "Now I raise mine Ebenezer" in the second verse of the song. Guess what the sermon was based on yesterday? 1 Samuel 7! Pastor Ryan even used the song to illustrate the passage. In almost 40 years I have never heard a message on that passage, now here it comes just three days after I was writing about it. How cool!

That's not all. When pastor referenced another passage in Jeremiah, Pam nudged me and said she had been studying that scripture Friday morning. Sounds like maybe we were supposed to hear this sermon. The message was how God's faithfulness and help in the past encourages us to move into the future. Yup, this one's for us!