I am a blessed man. I have friends and loved ones that pitch in at a moments notice with no hesitation to help out with what I wedge myself into. Recently, I cooked a massive amount of food for my Pastor's retirement celebration. My mom and dad cooked 10 briskets and then helped to cut and pan all of the food. My wonderful wife changed out pans and washed dishes for the 20 briskets that I cooked. They took their lives and gave them to me for an entire week. In fact, my parents couldn't stay for the dinner, and my wife wrangled kids while I ate and received thanks. I am honored to have them dedicate themselves to me.

We cooked nearly 600 pounds of meat, and it was an amazing thing to see all of that food being enjoyed by my church family. I received so many compliments that I didn't deserve. I did a simple thing for an extraordinary event, and I wish that people would have directed their thanks and appreciation to the people that decorated and organized a stunning dinner celebration. I am absolutely grateful for the loving words that were piled on me, I just hope that they were even more generous to everyone else that worked and planned the event.

Great food isn't great food unless you have great people to serve it. That same food can't be enjoyed if they don't set up tables so that people can be seated while dining. That dinner wouldn't have tasted as good if the breathtaking decorations were not there to complete the experience. The dinner would have just been a dinner without the carefully crafted planning and orchestration that was done behind the scenes. Tim was even downloading music in the kitchen so that they could present Pastor Carter in style. The same fantastic crew that did all of the back-breaking labor stayed to clean up and polish the place before we left.

I am in awe of their dedication and selfless devotion. They make it easy to volunteer.

Today, Tim is in Dallas picking up a new drum set for me to play on for Sunday. Wednesday night, he and Eddie Goode asked my opinion as to what I wanted to play on. I bared my soul a little, and gave them my list. It felt like talking to Santa months before Christmas. I didn't think that I would get what I was asking for, but I had to answer truthfully. I value their questions as much as I value their friendship. They both admitted that drums and percussion gear were not their areas of expertise.

With that said, I have to say this - If I ever had a question about anything that remotely involved a guitar or stringed instrument, I would go to the scrolls of Eddie Goode for my knowledge. Tim would be the oracle for anything involving piano, sound equipment, electrical innovation, video editing, multimedia presentation, and the list goes on. I am surrounded with people that are passionate about what they do and what is being done through them.

It was an amazing compliment for these men that I hold in such a high position of regard in my life to ask my opinion on something as important in my life as music ministry. After my latest conversation with them, I am honored that my opinion mattered.

All said, this is a great Friday. I am going home on the high of great compliments from great people, and I will get to spend this weekend setting up and playing a beautiful new instrument. For a musician, that is a great privilege. In my job, I was evaluated this week as well. I was once again complimented far more than I deserved to be. I am gratefully humbled.

As I contemplate the week's events, I come to a conclusion: Compliments mean more when the people that are delivering them mean so much to you. Compliments spread joy and happiness.

What are you spreading?

I am sitting in the dark in a West Virginia hotel room tonight. We lost our power earlier this evening, and I now know what "dark" means. It seems that God has forced me to turn off the TV and focus on Him tonight. For the record, I am really enjoying it.

I wasn't looking forward to this week. I didn't have joy in my heart for any part of the trip. I dreaded the flight up, the drive to and from the shop every day, the work that I would have to do while I was here, the drive up to Pittsburgh on Saturday, the flight out of Pittsburgh, and the missing my family every second of the week. I really didn't want to travel, and I was a bear for the days that preceded my departure. I have wasted the trip so far by watching TV until my eyes forced my brain into sleep. Tonight, I intended to make an effort to sit and write a bit. I guess that I couldn't fool God, because He took out the cable so that I would have to be a man of my convictions.

Sitting tonight, I have several topics that are stumbling through my mind. I think that I will write about something that took root in my heart last week. I have kids, and they are a tremendous blessing to me. They teach me things when I am teaching them things. I find it humbling that this exchange of instruction takes place, and I am grateful that God uses them to get to me. My topic tonight will cover how they came into this world.

Labor Pains - My wife has given birth to 3 kids in the last 6 years. 3 times, she has watched her body transform into a life-giving chamber. 3 times, her body has grown and stretched to accommodate the miracle of life. I have been impressed with her strength and courage too many times to count, but these 3 moments have been poignant instances of this character as well. She is personally responsible for the most wonderful things in my life on this earth, and I am honored to call her mine.

Birth is the culmination of many months of behind the scenes work. Conception starts the life cycle, and the speed of the process takes flight immediately. Cells start to divide and develop, organs and tissue start to take form, bones and muscles start to give structure and definition, and brain tissue and other electronic impulses forge along in constructing the highway of thought and imagination. It is a busy time just after conception, but the intense and strategic series of events that are orchestrated in the womb will not be felt or seen by anyone for sometimes weeks. The mother senses some discomfort, purchases the pregnancy test, and the rest is just the beginning.

My spiritual life correlates closely to this pattern in many ways. God conceives a thought or dream in my heart. Just like the newly formed fetus in the womb, this growing desire must be fed and nourished properly for it to come into an existence separate from the loving womb that God places it in. Pre-natal care for this new and exciting thing is very important to it's life, and my dedication must be properly focused so that we can both mature correctly. If I don't do my part in guiding this dream along, I could hinder the life of the dream. I will also put myself through a difficult birthing process, and discomfort will force my dedication.

Our first pregnancy was tough on my wife. She was extremely sick, and she lost a great amount of weight. There were times that I hated myself for putting her through what she was going through. I felt guilty because she couldn't eat or smell anything cooking without rushing to another room. During labor, she had to be rushed into a blinding emergency room. The doctors and nursing staff flooded the room and ushered her out of my sight. I panicked and grabbed a nurse that went rushing by.

I am not sure what exactly I said, but it forced her to provide me with a gown and the other necessary equipment that was needed so that I could be a part of the birth. Time seemed to stand still, and I could feel my heart in my throat. The doctor told me about different possibilities that could happen, and my mind started to spin out of control. Words like "Distress," and "Fatal Consequences" assaulted my spirit and heart. I was informed that I stood the possibility of losing both my wife and child if action was not taken immediately. I went from the highest of highs to the lowest and loneliest of lows in a matter of seconds.

The next thing that I knew, I was holding my wife's hand as our precious little baby boy entered the world. His little muffled cry was the sweetest thing that I can remember. It changed everything about me. The birth of dreams that God has given me carries the same magnitude of happiness. The pain that accompanied the growing process enters my mind only when I choose to think about it. The joy that is felt on the "birthday" of those dreams overshadows even the most intense moments of pain that accompanied the labor process. The labor pains are tough, but they are an indication of a healthy and fully matured birth.

There are still dreams in the womb of my heart. I know that dedication will have to take place, and that labor pains will follow. Still, the thought of the tough growing process will only make the "birthday party" preparation all the more momentous.