I have been on the road for half of the past month. Recording A Thousand Years, out of town performances and Boy Scout camp outs have been integrated with life during this stretch. This afternoon I took my daughter to her first swim team practice and stumbled on some great lines by C.S. Lewis that got me thinking…”If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probably explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth “thrown in”: aim at earth and you will get neither.”

I have decided to make “Joy Forever” my theme for the month of May. This is the meaning of the Old French phrase “Vive La Joye,” which is the title of track #3 on the new album “A Thousand Years” coming May 20th. Psalm 16:11 was written by David in 1000 B.C. and says, “You fill me with you in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” When this was written he was being pursued by King Saul, who was trying to kill him. This catches my attention, that while running for his life, while hiding in caves to escape King Saul, David took some time and wrote about joy. This is inspiring and makes me want to fan the flame of joy inside my heart!

The month of April has been focused on creating music to offer peace and hope. It has been a busy and full week back home after recording A Thousand Years. There has been lots of listening back to mixes for final approval to master the CD.  A Brahm’s Lullaby section ended up not making the final recording so that the Be Still My Soul hymn could be more prominent. My arrangement of Chopin’s Prelude in E Minor, which has an original beginning and ending inspired by Job 7, will now be titled Monastery at Eventide. I learned that Chopin composed is 24 preludes while staying at a monastery and Job 7 speaks to a longing for evening shadows amidst daily and life struggles. Graphics design work has been completed and submitted, and the CD manufacturing process will begin next week. My daily theme right now is Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.” Stillness, gratitude and remembrance give me life as I reflect one day at a time.