I'd pay $40 to hear that song live. Oh wait, I did.

Thank you, Leah Rose.

After a few weeks back in Leavenworth, my s-i-l asked us to attend her oldest son's dedication.  (Now that I think about it, at the time that was her only son.  They now have three.)  And, by asked, I mean stated something to the effect of "you'll be there, right?  Right."
We were late to the new church.  Ivy said to the kids, "sit down, shut up, behave, and we'll never have to see them again."  She was quite nervous about a new church, seeing my side of the family, and the situation in general.
As we walked in for the first time, on November 3, 2013, the second verse of "This Is Amazing Grace" was being sung.  And Ivy thought, "not even You can turn this chaos into order."

It took time.  It took hard work.  It took humility.  It took listening to people wiser than us.  It took persistence.  And, above all, it took a lot of grace from God.

We had our pastor sing this song at our wedding-vow renewal-15th anniversary-thing.  My wife was in tears.  But that's kind of normal for her.  ;)

Two months ago, on the day before my 16th wedding anniversary, Phil Wickham, Chris Tomlin, and a few other folks were at a concert at Kansas City.  Once I figured out that Phil was going to be in KC the day before my anniversary...it was a no-brainer that we would go.
And as we drove to Sprint Center, my wife and I were wondering whether Phil would play "our song."  Yeah, it's one of my top three.  (Along with MM#26 Bounce and MM#51 Second Chance).
If you follow me on FB/Instagram, you might remember how it went...
"Came to #WorshipNightInAmerica to hear one song... And they opened with it!! This is Amazing Grace by Phil Wickham!"



Who breaks the power of sin and darkness
Whose love is mighty and so much stronger
The King of Glory, the King above all kings

Who shakes the whole earth with holy thunder
And leaves us breathless in awe and wonder
The King of Glory, the King above all kings

This is amazing grace
This is unfailing love
That You would take my place
That You would bear my cross
You lay down Your life
That I would be set free
Oh, Jesus, I sing for
All that You've done for me

Who brings our chaos back into order
Who makes the orphan a son and daughter
The King of Glory, the King of Glory

Who rules the nations with truth and justice
Shines like the sun in all of its brilliance
The King of Glory, the King above all kings

This is amazing grace
This is unfailing love
That You would take my place
That You would bear my cross
You lay down Your life
That I would be set free
Oh, Jesus, I sing for
All that You've done for me

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
Worthy is the King who conquered the grave
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
Worthy is the King who conquered the grave
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
Worthy is the King who conquered the grave
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
Worthy, worthy, worthy

This is amazing grace
This is unfailing love
That You would take my place
That You would bear my cross
You lay down Your life
That I would be set free
Oh, Jesus, I sing for
All that You've done for me
All that You've done for me

Guess who just got back today

In fall 2013, and with a lot of help from my Dad, we moved back to Leavenworth.  It was a needed move, and it was changed my life.
I was born in Leavenworth, I spent most of my childhood and teenage years in Leavenworth, and I worked for 9 years in Leavenworth even after I lived up in Troy & Severance.  So, like I've said before, Leavenworth is kind of my town.
Shortly after we moved, my mother mentioned this song, and so, here's "The Boys Are Back In Town."

Guess who just got back today
Them wild-eyed boys that had been away
Haven't changed that much to say
But man, I still think them cats are crazy

They were askin' if you were around
How you was, where you could be found
Told 'em you were livin' downtown
Drivin' all the old men crazy

The boys are back in town
(The boys are back in town)

The boys are back in town
(The boys are back in town again)

You know that chick that used to dance a lot
Every night she'd be on the floor, shakin' what she got
When I say she was cool she was red hot
I mean, she was steamin'

And that time over at Johnny's place,
Well, this chick got up and she slapped Johnny's face
Man, we just fell about the place
If that chick don't want to know, forget her

The boys are back in town
(The boys are back in town)

The boys are back in town
(The boys are back in town)

The boys are back in town
(The boys are back in town)
The boys are back in town
(The boys are back in town again)

Spread the word around
Guess who's back in town

Just spread the word around

Friday night they'll be dressed to kill
Down at Dino's Bar 'n' Grill
The drink will flow and the blood will spill
And if the boys want to fight, you better let 'em

That jukebox in the corner blastin' out my favorite song
The nights are getting warmer, it won't be long
Won't be long till the summer comes
Now that the boys are here again

The boys are back in town
(The boys are back in town)

The boys are back in town
(The boys are back in town)

The boys are back in town
(The boys are back in town)
Spread the word around
The boys are back in town
(The boys are back in town again)

The boys are back in town again
Been hangin' down at Dino's
The boys are back in town again

In Zuck We Don't Trust

I've always had trouble trusting the world of people who read social profiles and blogs.  It's not the people I know that go on my blog that I worry about (although I feel a need to keep my blog self-controlled so that if certain people read it, they wouldn't be freaked out or offended that I was throwing them under the bus.)
It's the concept of a random person, whether a future employer, or some other random person.  Or if I was ever interested in running for office again (not on the 2017 ballot), I don't want today's wild ravings to endanger my future prospects.
There are a few things I do not blog about.  (I miss Xanga's option of protected posting.  Big time.)  Under certain circumstances, I may talk about them with someone I see face-to-face.  (Heck, I'm more likely to discuss life with in-person acquaintances vs FB or this blog).  And one of my unblogged facets of my life is all over everyone else's Facebook and Instagram.

But silence is golden.
And duct tape is silver.

Darkest Hour

Even before we moved out of Severance in 2013, my oldest daughter loved this song.  I hated it.

And ...

It was the darkest hour of my Great Tribulation.  And my closest friends know what happened. And my family knows what happened.  And I'm not ready to blog about it.

Yeah.  Without any other comment, I'm posting the lyrics.  See you next Monday.



Little boy, six years old
A little too used to bein' alone
Another new mom and dad, another school
Another house that'll never be home
When people ask him how he likes this place
He looks up and says with a smile upon his face

"This is my temporary home
It's not where I belong
Windows in rooms that I'm passin' through
This is just a stop, on the way to where I'm going
I'm not afraid because I know this is my
Temporary home."

Young mom on her own
She needs a little help got nowhere to go
She's lookin' for a job, lookin' for a way out
'Cause a half-way house will never be a home
At night she whispers to her baby girl
Someday we'll find a place here in this world

"This is our temporary home
It's not where we belong
Windows in rooms that we're passin' through
This is just a stop, on the way to where we're going
I'm not afraid because I know this is our
Temporary Home."

Old man, hospital bed
The room is filled with people he loves
And he whispers don't cry for me
I'll see you all someday
He looks up and says "I can see God's face"

"This is my temporary Home
It's not where I belong
Windows in rooms that I'm passin' through
This was just a stop, on the way to where I'm going
I'm not afraid because I know this was
My temporary home."

This is our temporary home