Ode 17

O Holy Night

I am happy to report that after months of work on my new Christmas CD, O Holy Night, it has been sent off  
for replication. The project should be in my office ready for distribution by November 24, 2009. If you are interested in obtaining a copy you can send your shipping address, along with $15 to Larry Parker, SUMC, 1795 Old Peachtree Road, Duluth, GA 30097. I'll ship it to you free for a limited time. If you are in the area you may want to simply drop by Sugarloaf UMC at the above address and pick it up there.

Shipped Yesterday

Those of you who pre-purchased O Holy Night will be happy to know that the CDs have shipped. Hopefully, you will be able to enjoy the new Christmas music this week. If you would like one or more, refer to the above posting for details.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Really God?

When I heard Hurricane Ida was on its way up to Gulf Shores I had to double check the calendar to see  what date it was. Then the next thing out of my mouth was, "Really, God? Really?" Here we are at the end of the season, enjoying fall colors and cooler weather and we have a category 2 hurricane coming through the Gulf of Mexico. Who would have guessed. The season has been so unpredictably quiet that the storm chasers on TV were acting absolutely giddy with delight that they would finally get to be in a storm, reporting on the tube one last time this season. Just as the official time for hurricanes...

Selling to Poor Markets

I read this article this morning and thought about the possibilities of expanding this thinking into other areas. Very enlightening should you choose to read.

At the Base of the Pyramid

Blessings!

It's So Good to be Home

The best part of pulling up into my driveway Saturday night was seeing my wife and my pup. That makes this one of my favorite postings in a long time. It's just so good to be home. 

My Christmas Recording is Almost Finished

After several months of work, my new Christmas recording, O Holy Night, is about to be completed. We finished the vocal work this evening after a grueling day at the famous  
Quad Studio in Nashville. My engineer, Daewoo Kim is a total professional and genius. I joked that he could even make me sound like Taylor Swift! (Oh, to be young and pretty. Hah!)

After that, I met up with my friend, Phil Barfoot for a nice late dinner, and thanked him for his incredible efforts in helping me get this project completed. Phil is one in a million. I highly recommend working with this guy.

Tomorrow, I'm off to visit my friend Michael Smith here in the area and have a 'catch-up' breakfast with him before heading to Hiwassee College near Madisonville, TN. I just can't wait for Saturday night when I pull in the driveway and park the truck at ...home. Blessings!

What a Great Week!

I am really looking forward to finishing this week. I will have loads of experiences that are behind me. I have spent the past two days writing a paper for a class I will be attending this week up in Madisonville, TN. I am just about to finish it up and go off to the office to get ready to meet with the choir tonight. Tomorrow morning, nice and early, I'll be heading up to Nashville to finish recording my new Christmas album, O Holy Night. I'll be in the studio with Bobby Shin until Friday noon at the latest. Then I'll hop back on the road to drive to Madisonville where I will be in class Friday night and all day Saturday. I'll tell you this, when I get home Saturday night I will be awfully happy to see my lovely wife and the incredible Mr. Bean.

While I'm posting this blog I'll insert one more picture from our California trip last week. (Pictured from left to right is me, Una Schluer, Pastor Floyd Overstreet (hard to believe he's turning 85!), Jerry Schluer behind Floyd, Sally German and her husband Jerry behind her, the lovely Mrs. Parker, Steven Schluer and his two little kids.) It was awesome being with such great friends!

 

A Great Reunion

Joanie and I flew to southern California for a reunion with one of the favorite people in my life. Rev. Floyd Overstreet is turning 85 and his daughter, Dori, got a bunch of us together for the occasion. We laughed, cried, and laughed a lot more. This man touched my life in so many ways. Happy birthday, Floyd!

Ode to Buster

I have to admit, I'm a sucker for my friends. So, I write this with great emotion swelling up in my heart. One of my friends has gone on. His name was Buster. He lived two doors down from me. If the batteries on his collar ever went out it was a sure thing that he would be at my door. It seems that my little buddy was put down because he bit two people last week. I am so sorry to the two people that he bit. But I must say I am so much more sorry that my friend is gone. I spent many hours hanging out with him when no one else was around. Until my wife and I rescued our little pup (Mr. Bean) from the middle of the streets two years ago, Buster had no doubts about my loyalty to him. Even then, he accepted the new member of our little society with great joy and graciousness. Every time that Mr. Bean saw Buster he pulled on his leash until I took him to see his big buddy. The three of us had permanently bonded.

Buster, you were a beautiful, wonderfully protective, and loving Brittany, ...and you were a great friend to me and Mr. Bean. I know you were only attempting to protect your family and turf. Mr. Bean and I are missing the fact that you are not there anymore. We will miss our visits. Love you buddy.

 

Systems: Keys to Success!

I have had a lot on my mind. So much so that I haven't been adding to the list of postings on a regular basis like I used to. Most of the thoughts I have been mulling over have been about leadership. Over the past few years I was put into a high leadership position in my work at Sugarloaf UMC. Along with that, my wife and I (primarily Joanie) opened a business which obviously put us in the primary leadership role with the team we put into place. Consequently, my mind does not choose to leave the arena of leadership.

Joanie and I attended a business summit last week in Tampa, FL. There we learned many business principles related to the industry of the independent hair salon. It was interesting to note that what I heard being preached by the leaders were in fact the same principles on leadership we learn in church ...and any other business out there. An overriding tone was that the employees have to be treated as valuable members of a team. Yet all members of the team do not contribute to the same degree of effectiveness. Those who are most effective must be treated accordingly or they will end up leaving the team.

As a team leader I have experienced the joys and frustrations...

Wisdom From Mr. Bean

 
Smell it and roll it over before you eat it. This is especially true if you find it on the beach. If you find it in your front yard you might want to leave it for the neighbor's cat.