It's Just The Normal Noises In Here

Trying to decide if I remember how to post blogs. Been a couple of years since I posted to this blog. Lots of water under the bridge since then.

I'll see if this post works etc....

Well..... I thought that deal had kinda run it's course. But I'm getting more requests via email for the Daniel Song. So I've made it available here on the blog.

Let me say this first ... the song is FREE! Helping people memorize God's word is a ministry for us.

To download the song (I didn't think that was possible at first):

right click on the song link,
choose "save target as",
then choose where to save it on your computer.... and download the mp3.

Then if you have the right equipment you can burn it to CD. If you download it.... you might let me know here on the blog. (we're just curious how much it may get used)

We'd also be glad to U.S. mail an original copy of the song on CD with our little label stuck to it. (the CD probably sounds just a little better in quality of recording than an mp3). Either way is fine... and really we're not charging any money for this song. We're just glad that churches are picking it up and using it as a tool in conjunction with the Beth Moore bible study.

Some of the local churches have given us a love offering to help cover expenses. So all that to say... if you want a copy... please email me at kjam22@cox.net. I'd be glad to get a copy to anyone who wants to memorize God's word!

And thanks everybody for the interest!!

Psalms 73


1 Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.

2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
I had nearly lost my foothold.

3 For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4 They have no struggles;
their bodies are healthy and strong.

5 They are free from the burdens common to man;
they are not plagued by human ills.

6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
they clothe themselves with violence.

7 From their callous hearts comes iniquity;
the evil conceits of their minds know no limits.

8 They scoff, and speak with malice;
in their arrogance they threaten oppression.

9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
and their tongues take possession of the earth.

10 Therefore their people turn to them
and drink up waters in abundance.

11 They say, "How can God know?
Does the Most High have knowledge?"

12 This is what the wicked are like—
always carefree, they increase in wealth.

13 Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure;
in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.

14 All day long I have been plagued;
I have been punished every morning.

15 If I had said, "I will speak thus,"
I would have betrayed your children.

16 When I tried to understand all this,
it was oppressive to me

17 till I entered the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their final destiny.

18 Surely you place them on slippery ground;
you cast them down to ruin.

19 How suddenly are they destroyed,
completely swept away by terrors!

20 As a dream when one awakes,
so when you arise, O Lord,
you will despise them as fantasies.

21 When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,

22 I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.

23 Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.

24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.

25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

27 Those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

28 But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds.

Well, our little group "Grafted In" played yesterday, Sunday the 29th at Country Estates Baptist Church. Located in Midwest City, Oklahoma. What a wonderful time. And, what a wonderful church! So alive and full of the Spirit.

The place was packed out for a high attendance Sunday. 5 or 6 hundred in a building that would normaly seat a little less than that. Lots of excitement. Don Munday sat in on Bass for us because Terry was leading music at Hennessee First Baptist. And, it all went really well. We had nice set that everyone seemed to enjoy.

I can't really get over the Spirit in that church. It's been a long, long time since I was in any church that had that much presence of the Holy Spirit. When we stepped on the stage and looked out in the crowd, I could FEEL the good will. I could feel God's presence. I know I'm not doing a good job describing this.... but it was an incredible moment where God's presence was very real.


From the Pastor right on down, this is a quality church of people living out authentic biblical community. We were so bessed to have the opportunity to play there.

So I haven't posted anything in a while. It's just been quiet and the regular ole stuff. Until I got a copy of a video that was shot of us at Swadley' a couple of weeks back. An hour and a half's worth :)

I really appreciate Angela's relatives making this for me.

So I took one of the songs that I was singing (because it is my blog...... and even though I'm not the main singer) and put it on YouTube.

It took a while to figure out how to do all of that (mainly because I'm getting to be an old guy who doesn't understand new technology as well as he should).... but I got it done!

Hope you enjoy the show!!!

I haven't posted in a while. Just been busy doing all sorts of things.

The new song that is playing (assuming you have your sound turned up) is a song that Angela wrote and we recorded the other day. It's for the women's ministry in our church. They are doing the new Beth Moore bible study, and Angela was asked to write a "memorization" song for the bible study. She wrote the song and then I performed all of the instrumentation. (I'd just call it music but we have an inside joke there).

So Angela does all of the vocals, and gives me the creative freedom to take care of the instrumentation. It's a pretty good bit of teamwork, and we were pretty pleased with the way this came out.

Now a true musician will note that this song sounds like a hybred of different musical styles. You see.... this is representative of God's people during this historical period.

God's command to Israel was to keep the bloodline pure, but Israel sinned and married those from different cultures etc. A little known fact is that the Amalekites were the predecessors for a nomadic tribe that eventually migrated to North America and settled in what is now known as Mexico. This tribe was known for its musicianship and culturally distinct stylings on various stringed instruments. Their cultural musical stylings had a substantial impact on the Jewish music of the time. Combined with the fact that Daniel was in Babylon during the exile, it is no wonder that the music of that time was so richly seasoned.

So this musical piece we have constructed is highly represetnative of the condition of the Israelites. That's why it sounds like a Jewish song done in Babylon with a Hispanic guitarist playing along. :)

Anyway.... I just wanted to take a minute and update the blog..... and share this little song with anyone who stumbles across this site.

The two FOX News journalists have been released. We rejoice because Steve Centanni and Olaf Wig were released Sunday morning (our time). They were held prisoner in GAZA by radical terrorists for two weeks.

The release came on the heals of a videotape made by the terrorists. In this, the last tape..... Steve and Olaf both read written statements saying that they had converted to Islam, and worship the one true god Allah. They had accepted the Prophet Mohammad. They condemned the western ways etc etc. The statements were read at gunpoint (even though the terrorists weren't in the film). And, showing this tape on American news outlets was part of the deal for release.

How does this strike us? I've been following an interactive news site that has had much discussion about this. Some will contend that these statements meant nothing. That God knows their hearts and judges them by what they really believe etc. Others will argue that these denied Christ before men. Both sides will make a biblical argument.

I asked my wife (who follows news as little as possible considering she lives with a news junkie) what she thought. Without even looking up from her book she said "God knows their hearts and what they really believe". So I asked her, but what about Daniel, could he have just eaten the kings food and been okay because God knows what he really believes. Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego..... no need to go to the furnace? What about the Christians killed in the coliseums? Just say "Caesar is God" and live because God knows your heart? Bringing it closer to home, contrast it with Cassie who was killed in the Columbine murders because she stood up and said "yes I believe in Jesus".

I don't really know the answer. I'm certainly not judging them. I'm just thankful that I haven't been put in that position. I do think it's good to look at this and try to learn something from it about ourselves, and maybe about what might come. Imagine if we're here when the mark of the beast is being given out (assume the rapture is mid or post trib). Think of the pressure. Not only to live, but with the many religious leaders of the time saying .... "it's okay, God loves you, God wants you to be able to buy food for your family, God expects you to do what is necessary to take care of your family, God knows your true heart, you're already saved once and for all so taking the mark won't make a difference, God will forgive you after you take the mark if you just ask him, a conversion at gunpoint means nothing.... and on and on".

What would each of us do if we were over run by terrorists who demanded that we even "pretend" to renounce our faith in Christ, and publicly proclaim allah as god, or be killed?

You know, there are lots of ideas about faith. Magical, mystical, rationalization, trust, blind. Each of these words has been associated with faith by someone at sometime or another.

If you look up faith in a concordance.... you could devote a considerable amount of time reading and researching scripture about faith. I've picked just a few here that I think describe how we get faith.

I always like to quote Hebrews 11:1 as it reads in the revised standard "faith is the confident assurance of things unseen". I think the NIV says "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

Romans 10:17 KJV says "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word (RHEMA) of God. In verse 20 of the same chapter Paul quotes Isaiah "I was found by those who did not seek me, I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me."

I think faith is a gift from God. I think it comes from God. As Ephesians says "for by grace are you saved through faith, it is the gift of God" I think this verse means our salvation and our faith are gifts from God.

Jesus says, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44). So then my Christian walk began with faith, and I received that faith from God through His Holy Spirit communicating with me. I don't think faith in God occures naturally in fallen man by his own rationalization, or thinking.

Hebrews 12:2 says "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the AUTHOR and perfecter of our faith"

Romans 12:3 says "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith GOD has given you"

If we think about faith starting with us, I believe we're starting in the wrong place. Faith in God is something that we can't do for ourselves. We can't make the faith that will rescue us from the fix we're in. Only God can create it in us. Luther was furious at medieval theologians such as Duns Scotus who could speak so grandly of an 'acquired faith' that we can get for (or make within) ourselves. He went back to the Bible to show that the only faith that counts is that which is 'poured in' to us by the Spirit. Faith does not spring forth from our inmost self. It comes from outside of us and then lodges itself inside of us. It's not our senses which give us faith, but the Spirit through the Word of God, who then lights up and directs our senses and our reasoning. We can't have a right faith by anything we do, but only what is given to us by the Holy Spirit.

1 Timothy 1:14 "The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus".

Anybody remember Bill Gothard? I remember going to his conferences when I was in Highschool in the 70's (ouch) He says "Grace is interrelated with faith.
It is not possible to define grace without at the same time referring to faith because the two are so intricately entwined, as stated in Ephesians 2:8–9. “For by grace are ye saved through faith.” Both grace and faith are gifts of God.

I think it's always good for me to think about what I believe. And why I believe it. And what I've found over time, is that 99% of the time, what I was taught as a young person in the "old days" is based on scripture. If I hear something that seems to maybe contradict what I was "always taught".... most of the time I can go to the bible and find that the people who taught me at CRBC "knew their stuff". The Phil Bailys of the world. The Donna Shoffners of the world. Ruby Reynolds, Laddie Adams', Les and Larue Hunter, Harvey Sparks, Norman Behymer, Fred Wilhoit, Wendle Estep, Pat Kerce etc etc. You know I need to send everyone of these people who are still alive a thank you card for teaching Sunday School classes, or youth bible studies.

It's like that song "thank you for giving to the Lord, I am a life that was changed".

I have been so fortunate to grow up at CRBC.

I've been pretty tied up with work the past week, and not had the opportunity to type to my own blog.

So here's what's up.

Grafted In played the evening service at Hennessey Baptist Church on July 30th. We played the entire service and were well received. Told our jokes etc.... and played 19 songs. Some of our fans from Oklahoma City made the trip to Hennessey and that was nice. We really appreciate that kind of support. We'll be at Swadley's again this Saturday, August 12th.

Baptism.... Henderson Hills decided not to vote on the Baptism issue. And the Baptist Messenger came out with a very good "special addition" about Baptism.

Middle East..... The UN has reached an agreement on a resolution. Not many "experts" really expect either side to cease fire. I'm not an expert but I don't see an end to this in the near future. The bible prophecy sites are all pretty active right now. Many are talking about this as the start of what will be Armagedon. Who knows? I don't know, but my television is on Fox News all the time because I find it fascinating. And I guess I'm expecting some prophecy to be fulfilled at some point.

And lastly, I had an opportunity to "share the gospel" ..... sorta .... outside Walmart the other day. I'm not sure I did a very good job.

Acutally, I was at Walmart during lunch and as always when I go to Walmart, I parked about 2 acres away from the front door. It was the Walmart at Memorial and Penn. As I was walking up the "isle" that led to the entrance, I noticed the sound of the "music" getting louder. And could see that the traffic was stopped in front of the store, but there was an opening for people to walk between cars, in and out of the store.

Let's be honest, the music was Gangster Rap. And as I got there, the 3 African American young men in the car saw me coming. Let's just say the radio in the car was worth considerably more than the car was worth. I'm wearing dress clothes etc. So the driver decided to close the walk through gap that everybody else had been using, in front of me. And they thought it was pretty funny.

I was able to make it between their car and the car in front of them. As I cleared that narrow gap I looked back over my left sholder and semi-shouted..... turn that garbage down! OOPS. The driver bailed out of the car. He clearly looked like he could start at corner back for a number of division 1 collge teams. And, he began yelling at me. Again, being honest.... I didn't understand a lot of it. The music was loud, and the dialec was just ... unfamiliar. At some point I understood him to say "WHAT DID YOU SAY"?

I looked at him up and down, and me being the idiot that I am replied "I said pull your pants up, get in your car, and turn that garbage down." Well this set off a string of "colorful metaphores" and I quickly became pretty scared. In fact, I thought I was about to get the tar beat out of me. (I know there's at least a person or two who probably thinks that's a good idea :) ) But there was a number of people standing around. Not that they could hear what was being said, because of the loud gangster rap... but they were at least watching.

So when I had a chance to get a word in edgewise, I said... or kinda shouted "HAVE YOU EVER MET JESUS CHRIST?" He looked surprised, and after a couple of seconds started another string of colorful metaphores that were aimed at God instead of me.

By this time my heart is in my throat and I know I'm about to receive a black eye that was worse than our pastor's recent one :)..... He stopped talking for just a second, and I said... or kinda shouted again the standard Baptist question that we all get drilled into us. I said.... "IF YOU DIED RIGHT NOW, WOULD YOU GO TO HEAVEN OR HELL??" And as soon as I said that, I became afraid that he would take that as a "threat" of some sort. But he looked shocked. And he didn't say to much. And again being honest, what he did say I didn't understand much of because of the noise, and the dialec. But he turned around and got in his car.

They didn't turn the music down. And I went in walmart sweating profusely. It was about 102 degrees outside, and my blood pressure was setting an alltime high I'm sure.

I kinda reluctantly told my wife about this and she asked me to put a "in case of emergency" statement in the address book on my cell phone. :)

My Grafted In friend Angela said there was probably a big burley Angel standing behind me.... and not to try that again.

My mother said I was an idiot and that she thought she had raised me to be smarter than that.

But none felt like I had "shared the gospel". :)


Believe me, what I've described is not a normal event for me. Next time, I'm going to do a better job of witnessing, I hope! Or at least keeping my mouth shut when I'm around gangster rap.

I had a question on an earlier thread by Baptistkathy. Kathy, I don’t want you to think I was avoiding you….. I’ve just been kinda tied up. You know, I do have friends who have left Henderson Hills because of what they say is liberal theology. If you’ve gone to Henderson Hills very long, you probably have friends who have left there too. Maybe you should talk to them to find out why?

How many years ago was it that Henderson Hills was contemplating a merger with the non-denominational “Metro Church”? My boss at the time was going to Henderson Hills during that period. Actually, I think he still goes there. He was one that was totally in favor of the merger at that time. Of course, he hadn’t been a Baptist or a Christian for very long either. But he’s a finance guy, and it seemed to make sense to him.

But regarding Baptism…… Kathy, you’ve told me that your mind isn’t made up. You’ve said that you are praying about your decision. That’s a good thing. You know, I’ve read the Henderson Hills documents. I’ve watched Dennis over the internet. I did each of those before I ever commented on the issue. I’ve said all along that he is very persuasive. And he is. But, I don’t believe the documents they have prepared are based on a study of Baptism. I believe their work is insufficient and incomplete. And most of all, I believe it is built on rationalization. I honestly believe there was first a goal and then a set of rationalizations to justify it.

A person in my Sunday school class this past Sunday put it this way “they went out of their way to wrongfully interpret the Greek, and misrepresent the Acts 2 account of adding 3000 to the church”.

I know you don’t accept that, and I commend you for supporting your pastor.

But, before you vote, I would ask that you do a bibegateway.com search on “Baptize” and all of the variations of the term. I would ask that you read everything the bible has to say about Baptism. The entire text regarding Baptism. You'll read each of the times we are commanded to repent and be baptized. You'll read in all 4 gospels about Christ being baptized.

You'll read repeatedly about the difference between John's baptism and Baptism unto Jesus. And you'll read about the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

You'll read about Paul re-baptizing Christians in the church of Ephesus who hadn't been baptized properly. You'll read about even the tax collectors turning out to be baptized by John. You'll read about 3000 being saved and baptized on the same day.

You'll read about some being saved, baptized, but not receiving the Holy Spirit until the apostles laid hands on them. You'll read about Simon the sorcerer believing, being baptized, and then wanting to purchase from the apostles their “gifts”.

You'll read that Jesus didn't baptize anyone, but that his disciples did. You'll read about his command to the church to BAPTIZE those who believe.

You'll read about Pricilla and Aquilla telling the preacher Apollos that he needs to be baptized correctly in the name of Jesus.

You’ll read about people who were saved and filled with the spirit before they were ever baptized. You’ll read about the jailor who was baptized immediately after believing. You’ll read that Paul baptized very few in Corinth, and that someone else was doing the baptizing there.

You’ll read that even then there were people who were being baptized for the dead, like the Mormons do now.

You’ll read that in the old testament they were all baptized into Moses….. and now we’re all baptized into one Spirit.

And I’ve not named all that you can read. But what you won’t find is members of the church that weren’t baptized. You won’t find Paul or anybody else saying…. Gee…. they don’t want to be baptized…. so let’s not insist on it. You won’t find Paul or anybody else saying….. well they were baptized unto John and immersed….. so that’s good enough because really Baptism is just picture anyway. And you won’t find anybody saying…. what right have we to deny membership of those who won’t accept believer’s baptism. You gotta read HH documents to read that.

So yeah… if you’re really as open minded and praying for God’s direction before you vote….. then I challenge you to read all of the text in its entirety concerning Baptism….. and then pray about understanding it. And I believe that if you’re honest with yourself, and really want to question the Baptist doctrine regarding Baptism….. that you might decide that we don’t take it seriously enough, and place as much importance on it, and do it as timely…… as we should. I don’t think you’ll decide that it isn’t necessary for church membership, unless that’s just something you want to do.

Henderson Hills leadership has stated that they believe changing the by-laws will restore the true importance of baptism. That they will be elevating it. Does that really make sense to you? The idea that we’re going to tell people that they don’t necessarily HAVE to get baptized if they don’t want to. That it’s up to them…. And by doing that we’re increasing the importance of baptism? This isn’t even sound logic, much less scriptural.

So that’s where I stand on it. I’m sorry if I am to passionate about it. I apologize if I have offended you in any way. But, I believe we are talking about something that is very important.

Best wishes.

We've got it in hand and started sales. My original goal was to do this 2nd CD at least as well as the first one. We had such success with the first one that I was pretty nervous about this one. It's one thing to do a CD as best you can....... and a completely different thing to do one "as good as the last one". Well the good news is that the feedback we're getting from people who didn't play on the CD..... and who aren't related to any of us.......is that this CD is BETTER than the first one! So that just makes us happy. I mean that's the way it's suppose to work.

Ayway..... for anybody that wants a copy of the new one...... it is $10. You can email me for arrangements..... or if you want to use a credit card etc..... its avilable through Amazon.com.

Here's the link http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/104-8384381-0917569?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=music-artist&field-artist=Grafted%20In

Henderson Hills' pastor, Dennis Newkirk, has started a blog http://dennisnewkirk.blogspot.com/ I think it's fair to say that his position ultimately, is that local church membership is more important for a Christian, than believer's baptism.

Our pastor has written an excellent "position paper" for maintaining the requirement for believer's baptism as a prerequisit to local church membership. I would encourage everybody to read it here http://www.roadwetravel.blogspot.com/

In other news.... our second Grafted In CD is being pressed at this time. The artwork is all done and approved. We hope to have it back in the first week of July.

Here's a picture of the cover, front and back.

The TOP 13 Rock Guitar Solos of All Time




13…. Beatles -- Let It Be (album version)

Most appropriate.... fits perfect



12. Neil Young -- Powderfinger

Great Harmonics!




11. REO Speedwagon -- Keep On Rollin'




Nobody plays like Gary.....




10. Joan Osborne -- One Of Us

Most Haunting riff!




9. Eddie Money -- Two Tickets For Paradise

Great tone and sustain....




8. Eagles -- Take It Easy

Most fun to play :)




7. Alman Brothers -- Ramblin Man

Best clean guitar tone solo...




6. Pat Benetar -- Promises In The Dark


Could have used several from Neil.... first time I heard one of their songs I was in shock! "How'd he do that????"




5. Pink Floyd -- Us And Them

These guys were incredible (and the album was on the top 50 for about 25 years)




4. Lynyrd Skynyrd -- The Breeze

The ultimate for how Rock n Roll is suppose to sound




3. Stevie Ray Vaughn -- Texas Flood

One long guitar solo with some lyrics scattered in it :)




2. Bachman Turner Overdrive -- Roll On Down The Highway

These guys should be placed in a time capsul







And the #1 Rock Guitar Solo.....

















Free Bird.

20 mintues long..... classic... it gets no better than this one! :)



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Yesterday's news of the day was that Henderson Hills Baptist, in Edmond, will soon be voting to forego the requirement of Baptism for church membership. I think the term is "open membership". I watched their pastor's sermon from this past Sunday, "on line". He's very persuasive. The Church will be voting on this as a by-law change in a couple of months.

This idea isn't a new idea. John Bunyan and Henry Jessey were suggesting back in the 1660's that Baptism should not be a requirement for local church membership. The core argument in summary is that people are accepted into the global church, (the body of Christ) based on their faith and conversion. And so, it is inappropriate for a local church to then require Baptism for membership in a local church.

John Clifford while talking about freedom of conscience in ecclesiology spoke of this in the late 1800's........... and more recently John Piper at Bethlehem Baptist has adpoted open membership.

The idea has been a topic of discussion for theologians for many years. It's more accepted in other denominations. We baptists are among the last to change..... if and when we do change.

Henderson Hills is still affirming baptism. They are still going to be baptising and encouraging believers to be scripturally baptised. That's the good news.

The bible doesn't setup baptism as a requirement for church membership. Henderson Hills would argue, and did make the statement in yesterday's message, that the only requirement for membership is being a believer. Yet there are examples of church discipline that speak of removing people from the church based on lifestyle. A Christian who has fallen into sin could be removed from the church. So I'm not sure it's completely accurate to say that faith in Christ is the only biblical requirement for local church membership.

Henderson Hills acknowledges the great commission command to Baptise them.

This won't surprise anybody...... but I'm of the mind that while Baptism doesn't save us, it is a command. It is an ordinance of the Church. The first Church practiced it. I don't think we error by saying to new converts... that this is so important, that we are going to require you to be Baptised before you can be a member in good standing of our local Church.

Henderson Hills is worried about people rejecting this and then not joining their membership, thus preventing Henderson Hills from then teaching them the importance of Baptism. I don't know.

I would guess that we as Baptists need to be prepared for this. I'm sure we'll see more of this in the years to come.

From Ephesians 4:11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching.

I do pray for that time when "the Church" will be mature, and not tossed back and forth by the waves..... blown from shore to shore by every wind of teaching.

Well, one can only say it was an interesting week.

Our military forces took out Zarqawi with a couple of well placed 500# bombs. And, the fight against terrorism took a big step forward.

Grafted In's 2nd CD is now in the hands of the manufacturer (Spectrum CD). I would guess we'll have it back, ready for sales, around the 1st week of July. I think it's going to be a very good CD, and I just want to say that I'm proud of it and of everybody that participated in it.

Our church has decided to not have the singles dance in our facilities. I know many people will be happy about that, and I appreciate everybody involved in this decision process.

Our friend DON started his own blog.

And possibly the biggest news of the week :)...... is that my wife sent in her retiremnt papers. After 27 years of teaching...... she's officially retired. And BOY is she happy about it! No more 8th graders. No more parent teacher conferences. She's very pleased.

So... we've made it through an exciting week. Grafted In plays tomorrow night at Swadley's. It should be a fun time!

Welcome to the Blogging World Mr. Don Munday!

Don has started a blog called Loud-N-Clear...... and I've provided a link to it in the fellow bloggers portion of my blog. Don is a fellow musician with quite a sense of humor. I'm expecting his site to be a good read.

So add his blog to your list of places to go each day!

Nice to have you aboard Don.

Every now and then there's a moment unlike all the others.

This past Sunday morning, Julie Clifford sang a song by Ginny Ownes called "If You Want Me To". And during that time, it was one of those moments. I'd like to ramble on about it, but I know that whatever I say will be wasted space compared to yesterday's performance and the lyrics to the song.

So let me just say, here are the lyrics.....


The pathway is broken
And the signs are unclear
And I dont know the reason why you brought me here
But just because you love me the way that you do
I'm gonna walk through the valley
If you want me to

Cause I'm not who I was
When I took my first step
And I'm clinging to the promise you're not through with me yet
So if all of these trials bring me closer to you
Then I will go through the fire
If you want me to

It may not be the way I would have chosen
When you lead me through a world that's not my home
But you never said it would be easy
You only said I'd never go alone

So when the whole world turns against me
And I'm all by myself
And I can't hear you answer my cries for help
I'll remember the suffering your love put you through
And I will go through the valley
If you want me to


I pray that we always have the strength to go through the fire if God wants us to.

No... I'm not talking about a hit Garth Brooks song. I'm talking about the latest "issue" I'm aware of.

Our church is planning a singles dance at our new facility "the cube". I assume this would be the first of several installments. They've purchased a disco ball to bounce light off of and all that..... so I would guess they plan on using it more than once.

The problem is.... I go to a baptist church. Now when we talk about dancing, there are all kinds of ideas, and people will quote all sorts of scripture for and against. Our singles minister has said David danced before God and that paved the way for a singles dance. (that's the best for argument.... not counting our youth pastors argument that Jesus danced too because he was jewish) They've even aruged that this isn't divisive in a baptist church. Honestly, I don't think this type of twisted logic really helps anything. It just hurts one's credibility. There has been discussion about what sorts of music will be played and all of that.

You know.... here's the bottom line to me. We're a baptist church. A good percentage of our people will object to this function happening in our facility. That alone is enough reason to not do it. Period.

It isn't a matter of scriptural vs traditional belief systems.... or dancing right vs wrong. It comes down to two pieces of scripture to me.

From 1st Corinthians 8 " 9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? 11So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall."

And from Romans 16 " 17 I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. 19Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil."

While those supporting the dance insist on arguing its merits or calling the rest of us fundamentilists, or trying to persuade others that we are wrong.... I think this is about them serving their own appetites and sinning against thier brothers in Christ. This is not about them serving the church, building up the church, unifying the church, preaching the gospel, etc. This is about pushing an agenda. An agenda that calls many of us to change what we have believed for years. And not for our sake.... not for the church's sake.... not for culture's sake..... but for the sake of their own appetites.

After some time of contemplation on this issue, that's what I really think.

Romans 12 says Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. "

You know it's one of those verses that you memorize when you're in junior high. I learned that scripture years ago with the understanding that I should be warry of "the world". Now it seems that those in our own church are the ones who are pushing us to conform to the world. I wonder sometimes if some of us have temporarily lost that ability to test and approve what God's good, pleasing and perfect will is.

And maybe this will turn out to be a small thing. Maybe it will be the straw on the camel's back that causes only 5 families to leave our church. Not a big split. But how many events like this does it take to hurt our church? The answer is not many.

So for the record I want to say, I remain opposed to events that divide our church for no really good reason. And I will stand on that statement.

I don't have much to say. Finally getting over the kidney stone. That was not much fun :) They had left a "stint" inside me last week to help me heal up. I had been dreading the removal of it. That happened this morning. Let me just say that I was wise to dread it's removal. But anyway, I'm officially on the road to healing.

Off to Houston bright and early tomorrow morning. 3 days down there for work. Nothing like living in a sauna. I don't know how those people down there do it day in and day out during the spring and summer.

We're officially through recording the CD. I've been mixing on it for a couple of weeks..... and I think it's done. We're working on the artwork, and trying to pick a name. Hopfully we'll have it shiped off to the manufacturer in a couple of short weeks. I'm pretty excited about it. I think it's going to sound real good.

I think after this post, that I may try my hand at writting devotionals or something. So, besides Grfted In news... I think that's what I want this blog to focus on. We'll see how that goes.

Well..... It's been a tough week. Was in Dallas all week evaluating some potential software when I started trying to pass a Kidney Stone. It was last Tuesday night when the pain hit. Nausia, PAIN, dizziness, PAIN, fever and chills PAIN, and PAIN. The spells would last a few hours and then subside. I "dealt" with it from Tuesday through Friday and finally flew home Friday morning. I didn't really know what the problem was because it had my whole digestive track shut down. And I have a medical history that causes concern in that area.

So I made the flight home and ended up in the Hospital Friday night. Sunday morning they ran a CAT Scan (I'm certain that's how you spell it:)) ..... and the stone was found. To big to pass on it's own. So they "retrieved" it Monday afternoon. Actually, even though the idea of the retrieval was not especially appealing, I was REALLY glad to be done with this thing.

I had lots of prayers, phone calls, and friends that came by to see me in the hospital. That really ment a lot to me. I know the value of time in all of our lives, and it means a lot to me when people take time out of theirs to try to comfort me.

Janice was a trooper, as always. She stayed each night at the hospital and took great care of me. I think she's almost as glad to have me home, as I am to be home :)

You know.... we're almost done with this new CD..... and it's going to have a song on it called "God Might Choose A Mule" (to get hold' of you)..... written by Angela. I'm thinking about writing one called "God Might Choose A Stone". It's amazing what some downtime, visits with friends, and a surgery can do to get hold' of a person.

God saw me through it. It's his will for me to be here a while longer. I praise him for a time of healing.

Well..... I have no excuses for not bloging very frequently. Just reasons :) Work's been keeping me busy. Working on the new CD has been keeping me busy. And I just haven't taken the time.

BUT........ I thought I'd take a minute to post a picture of my new toy. Monday night I bought a new Mandolin. I've been playing a beginner model since learning to play one a couple of years back. Janice and I decided it was time to "upgrade" a bit. So here's a picture of my new mandolin. I'm gonna name it Hank. That should be a good name.......

Well, Grafted In played this past Saturday night at Swadley's. It was a very good night. The place was hoppin'. The crowd was engaged. It was really fun.

I'm just so pleased with the number of people from our church who come to see us regularly.

For those of you that aren't familiar with Swadley's....... it's a nice size barbque place with a stage etc that features country music entertainers. They have live entertainment most nights there. Our group plays two Saturday's a month. (They'd like to have us more often, but that's about right for us).

So we show up around 4:30 on the Sat nights that we play, set up our equipment, and then play from 5:30 to 8:30. And, we play 99% gospel music, or baptist hymns done in a gospel manner. It was a little interesting when we started. We're in a secular environment, and we crank up with "There Is Power In The Blood". We'd have a few leave now and then. And we'd have a few come up to us and thank us..... saying it had been years since they were in church and heard those songs, and how it ministered to them. I can think of a couple of very tearful moments where during a break people with tears in their eyes were thanking us. We still see some of those, but by-in-large we're seeing Church people who know we're going to be there.

The Swadley's are christian people who love our music as well..... and they treat us like sons and daughters. And they've found that there is a market for christian entertainment (because we tell jokes, and have routines and all that in addition to doing music). Anyway, they've found that there is a market for places where people can go to eat, fellowship, and be entertained.

Last night the crowd sang about half of the songs with us. But the really cool part was when Mr. Swadley asked us to take a break early, because they had people outside wanting to get a seat, and nobody was leaving while we were playing. He needed us to break so he could try to "turn some tables". (That's a nice problem to have!)

It was a fun night. Our "fabulous fiddle girl" was back in form. Only 4 weeks after breaking her finger when the car door was slammed on it. ( I wish I healed that fast!) But Steph was back in form and we were very glad to have her back at it.

You know, years ago I played in a country band that played secular music in secular places. This is so much more fun, and rewarding. It's a real ministry that God has led us to, and we enjoy doing it at the same time. Does it get any better than that?

A good friend of mine read one of the discussions on my blog a while back. He recently gave me a copy of this devotional. (I don't think he types well enough to blog much) I thought what he gave me was really good, and I've read it several times this week.

I wanted to share it with somebody, so I'm adding it here: (carpel tunnel and all) :)

Luke 14: 25Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. 27And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
28"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'
31"Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

Some people speak of some problem or pain as bearing their cross. But the cross is something we choose to bear, not something we did not choose. Jesus did not have to die, but He chose to die for the sins of the world. People do not have to bear a cross; it is a voluntary choice. However, it is not separate from our commitment to Christ. Commitment to Christ involves taking up our cross – not only when we first follow Jesus but also daily.

Bearing one’s cross involves a willingness to die for Jesus or to live for Him in an unselfish way. Thus it involves initial commitment and daily practice. Can a person be saved without taking up his cross? This question is debated among evangelical Christians. Some, in an attempt to emphasize salvation by grace, feel that discipleship and crossbearing come as a saved person grows in Christ. Others emphasize verses like those in this lesson in which Jesus seemed to make total commitment necessary for knowing and following Him. Both groups agree that crossbearing is not an optional feature of the Christian life.

Another way to ask the question is, How can Salvation be both free and costly? Salvation from sin and fellowship with the Lord are free of gifts of God’s grace, but making this possible is the cost to God of the death of His Son and the cost to the sinner who must give up his sinful ways. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote a book entitled The Cost of Discipleship. He distinguished what he called “cheap grace” from “costly grace.” He wrote that cheap grace is only given intellectual assent to Christian truths. It is the justification of sin rather than the justification of the sinner. Grace is costly because it calls us to follow. And it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son; ye were bought at a price” and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us” Bonhoeffer practiced what he preached. He was imprisoned by the Nazis and hanged just before the end of World War II.

Jesus did not want anyone to follow Him without counting the cost. His dealings with the three would-be disciples in Luke 9: 57-62 show this. Jesus now used two short parables to reinforce the cost of following Him. He told of a man who planned to build a tower. In that day people built towers to watch their vineyards or the cities. Jesus said that anyone planning such a tower would determine the cost before building it. He needed to have enough to complete the tower. If the builder failed to count the cost, he could fail to finish it. The unfinished tower would become an embarrassment to the builder.

Jesus’ second parable was about a king, going to make war against another king. The first king had ten thousand soldiers, but he learned that the other king had twenty thousand. The first king must count the cost of doing battle when he would be outnumbered two to one. In many such situation, the first king would seek a diplomatic way to have peace rather than war.

Both parables emphasize the need for people to count the cost before following Him. As in Luke 9, Jesus’ goal was not to discourage anyone from following Him; to the contrary, he hoped they would count the cost and be willing to pay it.

Following Christ is costly from a sinners’ point of view. Verse 33 repeats the cost: “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” As you think about the high cost of following Jesus, keep two things in mind. For one thing, we receive far more than we give up. Paul wrote: “Everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ.” Second, considering the cost of following Christ, don’t forget the cost of not following him. People who choose not to follow Christ miss the way to abundant and eternal life and reap a harvest of separation from God here and heareafter.

What are the lasting lessons in Luke 14: 25-33
1. Christ’s followers take up their crosses daily to follow Him.
2. Before following Christ, people should count the cost and then pay it.
3. Whatever price we pay to follow Him is less than the reward we will receive
4. People who refuse to follow Jesus also pay a terrible price.

Some stages of our lives are pretty tough. We think high school is tough, and college is tough. Being a young adult and taking on responsibility is tough. But I think those are learning times God gives us to prepare us for the “tough times”.

I’m pretty heavy hearted today as I see a number of my friends being “beaten up” by life in general. Life can really throw a mean left hook. I mean, you take the jabs, you see the straight right coming, but it’s that left hook that you never see that gets you.

When I was 22 years old my best friend and I worked together in the oil field. We had previously worked together in the restaurant business, and I had known him for about 7 years. But the part that made him my best friend was the fact that he was a drummer, and I was a guitar player. He was a really good drummer, and we could really rock the house.

Joe Carlisle grew up in a family that did not know God, and when he was 22 he died in a motorcycle accident. Anyone that knew Joe knew that it was a bad idea when he bought a motorcycle. I mean he had wrecked every car he had ever owned. Joe was a very likeable guy who had many talents and gifts, but driving good wasn’t one of them.

I remember arriving at work one morning and having my boss ask me “well, I guess you heard about Joe?” That was how I found out that the day before he had run his motorcycle off the edge of a small cliff on a winding road in the Arbuckle mountains. I don’t know if he cried out for Jesus to save him or not. I know that me and a couple of other co-workers had been talking to him about Jesus in the days leading up to this. I had talked to him off and on over the years about church and God. And, I know Joe was more receptive to the gospel than he had ever been in the days before he died. But I don’t know if he accepted Jesus in his last moments or not.

I went to the funeral which was held at Bill Merrit funeral home, and I remember the families grief. He had a younger and older brother, and a mother that was inconsolable. And, I remember this really old guy who spoke. I don’t know his name, but I would have guessed his age to be in the 80’s back then. And he talked on and on about youth and life and things. And in the end he looked straight at the family and said “and you want to know why someone so young was taken so soon in life. Someone with so much to give. Someone with so much life to live. YOU’LL NEVER KNOW! AS LONG AS YOU ARE ON THIS EARTH, YOU’LL NEVER KNOW.!! YOU’LL NEVER KNOW!!” You have to picture some guy in his 80’s literally shouting from the platform at the family…. YOU’LL NEVER KNOW! And then he walked out the back, and the service was over. There was no graveside service because his family had him cremated. That was it. Done, Finished.

Well, everyone who attended the funeral talked about the old guy for a while and everyone thought he was a psycho or something. I’ve come to decide that this old guy with the wisdom and experiences that only years can accumulate looked at this family and was trying to say “quit trying to figure out why. Quit beating yourselves up about it. Don’t spend the rest of your lives mourning Joe’s early departure. You have a life to live and Joe would want you to live it happily. YOU’LL NEVER FIND OUT YOUR ANSWERS. Only God knows and he will reveal it to us when we reach the other side.”

The old guy had no tact. But now looking back from the seemingly older age of 46, I’m thinking that by the time he had reached some age in his 80’s, that he had seen to much hurt. He had seen families destroyed. He had seen people beat themselves up over things beyond their control. He had seen hundreds of grieving families. And he had quite possibly been one of those himself. And the bottom line is he didn’t have an answer for them. Because, there is not one.

God tells us “all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to his purposes”. And the Bible tells us that God moves people, kings, armies, rulers etc for his purposes. That’s it. That’s all there is to it. We are in God’s hands, but WE HAVE A PROMISE. That if we love the Lord and are called according to his purposes, all things will work together for good. We can stand on that promise. And we can know that when our loved ones pass over to the other side, it is God moving them to his next purpose for their lives.

Those of us that are left hurt. We grieve. We don’t understand. We miss them. It often seems more than we can bear, but we have a promise. And we MUST, I say MUST, have the faith to lean on that promise, even when we don’t understand why.

Boy, I’m not much of a counselor, am I? There are two songs that come to mind. One says “GOD IS IN CONTROL”. It shouts it.

The other says “Trials dark on every hand, and we cannot understand, all the ways that God would lead us to that blessed promised land. But he’ll guide us with his eye, and we’ll follow til’ we die. And we will understand it better by and by”.

I want all of my friends to know that Janice and I are praying for them everyday. As we get older we all have a myriad of new challenges that often seem more than we can bear. But God is always there, with his promise.

Well..... I flew to Houston last Sunday evening. Phase 3 of the software evaluation. For a guy who is used to that quality recliner with remote in hand time........ it's always tiring. You're with a group from your company... the company your evaluating has a group. You get up bright and early every morning.... and do something with the group every evening. And you always have to be "on game".

Being on game all the time is tiring in and of its self. But there was a bright shining moment that made it all worth while this trip. Several of us went to the Houston Livestock and Rodeo on Tuesday night. They say it's the largest rodeo in the world.... and we're in Texas so I suppose it has to be that way. But it was a fun evening. It is being held at the Reliant Center. The new dome in town. Fair going on outside, food, games, excitement...... and the rodeo going on inside the dome. We saw the bull riders, barrell riders, clowns, and wagon races etc. Our seats were excellent and it was a very good crowd.

But. the VERY VERY best part was the fact that on Tuesday night the musical entertainment was John Fogerty. You're saying WHO??? Well, he was the singer for Creedence Clearwater Revival. (late 60's).

I remember my mom's younger sister trying to tell my mom and dad about Creedence Clearwater Revival. And that they were going to be on American Bandstand in about 30 minutes. She couldn't get my parents to understand that this was not a religous group. With a name that had Revival in it.... they had to be a gospel group you know. But when they saw Creedence it finally clicked for them. I was about 10 years old... and I just remember thinking "Bad Moon Risin" was the coolest song with the best sound I had ever heard. I didn't understand the politics of the song layed against the Vietnam War and all that.... but the music, and that SOUND was incredible in my mind. I mean it was FINE ART!

I can testify that John Fogerty is as sharp now as he was when he was toping the charts. He played all the lead guitar parts dead on. His vocal was incredible, and the years have not dimished his performance in any way. His energy level would have left many younger men heaving for a breath (including me). He has a super backup band behind him.... and they played a string of hits from the Creedence days that just left me smiling. One right after the other for about an hour and 20 minutes. For an hour and 20 minutes, nothing mattered. I just smiled and sang with the rest of the crowd.

Proud Mary, Bad Moon Risin, Up Around The Bend, Heard It Through The Grapevine, Travelin Band, Who'll Stop The Rain, Have You Ever Seen The Rain, Fotunate Son, Down On The Corner..... just to name a few......

I enjoyed this show as much as any I've seen in many years. Well.... Bob Dylan was pretty hard to top for me, but this was an excellent show. :)

But the best news is..... I'M HEADED HOME TOMORROW EVENING!

I'll try to post in a couple of pictures I took......

I wanna know..... Have You Ever Seen The RAIN

Well..... I found out this past Sunday afternoon that our fabulous fiddle player (Miss Stephanie) got her ring finger on her left hand smashed in the car door last Saturday night. OUCH! Nail is gone, 8 to 10 stitches, and a small fracture of the bone in the very tip of the finger. The good news is that's the only part of the hand or finger that was actually smashed. And..... fortunately she didn't lose that part of the finger :)

So I'm pleased to announce that for our March 11th evening at Swadley's we've secured the incomperable Scott Sanders to sit in on piano. Miss Stephanie will be there singing with Angela..... but she won't be quite ready to fiddle around. Scott has played with us before and we are just really really blessed to know people of his talent level who will sit in with us now and then.

So we look forward to seeing you there on the 11th!!

How does a person tell if another is a legalist? A legalist being someone trying to work their way into heaven. Someone who follows a moral code for the sake of salvation? I don't personally know any Christians who are like that. I'm told that there are those. And they're called legalist or moralists.

I think even a cursory reading of the New Testament, both the gospels and the epistles, leaves the reader with the opinion that there is a certain moral standard that we as Christians are expected to pattern our lives after. I mean after we're regenerated. We're commanded to purity etc. So how do we judge when a fellow "Christian" is basing their salvation on that life style instead of a saving faith in Jesus Christ and his righteousness?

I don't know how to do that. I'm generally a little uncomfortable around people who are pure "grace guys". I think it is often a sign of Christian immaturity. My experience is that generally.... mature christians who have spent a lifetime in prayer and in the word, seeking true christian growth..... having gone through the fires of life, and having been taught by the Spirit for many years......... well I think these people tend toward modeling their lives after a moral code. I think it's done out of obedience to our Savior, and a true desire to accept as part of our lives, what is clearly commanded in scripture.

The fence sitters are the ones that get me. The ones that recognize the need to stop sinning. The ones that recognize the destruction of sin, and list sins that need to be stoped. That speak of authentic purity, exercising our christianity, and christian growth. Well, when these same then speak as a grace guy saying that legalists and those moralists are just "full of pride" etc.... it just seems like a contradiction. To on one hand accept the moral code, and on the other critcize those who are trying to follow it.

You know..... I don't get it? Does that make any sense? How do they judge whether a person is following a moral code out of obedience, or out of a need to "work for salvation"??

Anyway..... just random thoughts from a fundamentalist I guess.....

It's time for NASCAR. So gentlemen "START YOUR ENGINES"

Im in Houston now. 3 days this week. Today the car I was riding in hit a piece of angle iron in the road and flattened two tires. That was a new experience. Nobody was hurt. The weather is ugly, but warmer than Oklahoma City.

Staying in the same hotel as always. Watched American Idol last night. Will watch again tonight.

I did have an incredible desert this evening that was brought up with my meal from room service.

Here's a picture of it :) Am I bored???

Well.... now I've got a blog, so what do I do with it???? I hope I find time to update it now and then? And how do I change those links deals???

Anyway...... here's a little picture of our Gospel / Bluegrass group in action.