First off, I was going to post this yesterday, the 7 year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. It both seems so long ago, yet so recent. While this was a terrible tragedy, I cannot help but be thankful that we have not experienced anything to this scale since! It is sad that these kinds of disasters take place all over the world, and it makes me all the more thankful for the safety we do enjoy.

A couple of months back, I mentioned Hannah and I would be moving to Siloam. It took a bit longer than we expected to find a place, but we have, and we are feverishly finishing packing. Today at 4 I will be picking up a moving truck. Hopefully this time I won't run into any light poles or stop signs...

These last few weeks have been quiet on the CD front due to our efforts to move, and some happenings in my family. After the move, we will be back in the studio full force to press on. At this point I cannot offer an exact date, but it is getting closer and closer. We just solidified our plans for completing the electric guitar work, and are working out details on re-recording a few critical pieces. This extra time has allowed us to continue refining things, and I have to say I think the project will be much better because of it.

Speaking of family happenings, it was announced a couple of weeks ago that, due to budget constraints, First Free of Chicago needed to let my Father go. His last day in the office was in August. If you could keep him and my family in your prayers, that would be greatly appreciated.

During his time there, my Father helped oversee the building of a new Family Life center. He also had the opportunity to deliver several sermons, and serve in other capacities in ministry.

These last few months have been intense times of uncertainty and of change. Hannah and I are so excited to see what the Lord has for us, as well as my family. Thank you for your prayers during this time.

Over the last couple of weeks I have spent considerable time in the studio. Once again I am reminded how thankful I am that we have gone with a more flexible finishing date. This has allowed us to really get in and (yes, once again) revamp key parts of a few songs.

I am learning how much of a balancing act mixing really is. A few of our songs have upwards of 50+ individual audio tracks. Each must be eq'd, checked for consistent levels, effects applied, and then placed properly in the mix. What is so fun is that Lendell and I are working side-by-side to complete the mixing process. He certainly is more skilled than me in most mixing and technical aspects, but it is still fun to contribute. His faithfulness all along the way in seeing this through, combined with his giving spirit, has opened up to me such a world of possibilities on how to mix this. We have gotten to the very end of working on a song, and more than once decided to completely overhaul the string part, for instance.

This time has also helped me become much more familiar with mixing techniques, fx, etc. Some of the things we are accomplishing are only feasible due to some of the latest technology available.

Lendell is an accomplished composer, and I have to say that I am beginning to really develop an itch to go back to school if time/finances allow some day to study composition. (And choral arrangement).

I was originally going to title this post "Tidbits", but I think "Random Tidbits" will be a much better name. Please get in touch if you would like some more specifics on exactly where we are on the project. I should have some more exciting announcements in the coming weeks. Thanks again for your faithfulness in support and prayer.

Life has certainly been a whirlwind for Hannah and I lately, but fortunately that's a wonderful thing! I've been busy working, which has included helping my boss, David Allen, in his campaign for Mayor of our wonderful little town. Despite the added work of the election, he has been very gracious in allowing me the time to push forward with the album. He's been involved in various capacities to make The Sun Still Rises possible, earning the title of Executive Producer.

As far as work is concerned, I have also been looking into a possible part-time worship leader position at a local church. Hannah and I visited a couple weeks ago, and then last Sunday were invited to lead the service. It's been nice to take a break from live performance/leading for the past year or so. Now it is refreshing to be back to share, and we are thinking and praying about this decision.

On the album side of things, I've spent many evenings with Lendell to work towards finalizing the mix. For all of you audio nerds out there (like me!), we have chosen to use Logic Studio and are very pleased with the results. We did all of the initial recording with Pro Tools, which allowed us to go between studios easily.

Lendell and I really love the interface, features, and plug-ins included with Logic, so we figured we would migrate everything over and give it a shot. We've been quite pleased with the results. Beyond the immediate benefit of the ease of use and tools available, it has enabled me to do some of the work from home. From an early age, I have been intrigued by the process of creating an album: the recording, the mixing, the effects used, the technology, etc. It's been incredibly rewarding to not only learn, but to be able to learn on my own material.

The sheer amount of audio we have recorded can be overwhelming, but the results well worth the work. Most Wonderful is a prime example of one of these songs, as it's gone through the most revisions. This was the track we sent out as a demo nearly two years ago as an example of what the record *could* sound like. At that stage, it was comprised of: one vocal track, guitar, piano, synthesized bass, and a pre-recorded drum track. We went back and tweaked the piano and re-recorded the vocals and guitar. Then, at our second (long!) session at Lifeword Studios last year, I went ahead and slipped Most Wonderful into the itinerary. We came back with an awesome bass track (John Houser) and much better drums (Matt Outlaw). Something was still missing, and we decided we needed a full orchestra.

The fun thing about this song is that by using all these instruments, we are achieving much more interesting dynamics in the song, and a full sound that was simply not possible with just guitar and piano. The mix is most of the way done for this one, and all that remains is to record electric guitar and make a few more tweaks.

There is certainly lots more to be shared, but I am waking up in less than six hours to shoot some more pictures for the album cover. I'll try to keep the updates flowing a bit more regularly as we near completion of this two year project. As usual, your prayers are much appreciated, and feel free to get in touch if you would like to know any other details.

I mentioned several weeks ago that my Father had been let go from his position at First Free, Chicago due to financial constraints of the Church. I have been very proud of my parents with how they have graciously dealt with such an abrupt change of plans. For the past couple of months, my Father has been interviewing for the Administration position at a church in Leawood, Kansas. It's no secret that our country is facing tremendous financial uncertainty. This further has exacerbated the difficulty in his (short) search for his next assignment.

Despite these concerns, Christ Community Church chose this past week to formally extend to him the position of Pastor of Administration. It is unclear at this point the exact timeframe, however, the transition will be taking place in the next couple of months. I am also thankful for this development on a selfish level: For the last Four years I have lived more than 12 hours away from them. This move will put them no more than 3 hours away.


Several of you have been praying for the next step my parents would take. There are still many details to be worked out, but the most major hurdle has been crossed. Thank you for your support, prayers, and concern.