Randomness & Pretty Good Music, Vol. 13

I’ve come to terms with the fact that the quality of my blog has been on a downward spiral for several months.  I gotta say, however, that I only care minutely.  After all, face to face interaction will always trump these little internet communities that we value so much…Right?  At least I agree with me.

When I started this blog, it was pretty much a therapeutic way for me to work out things that I was struggling with or wanting to rant about, and sometimes, it is still that today. For the most part, however, I am finally learning what my identity is in Christ, and who exactly he says that he is. I don’t need this thing like I used to. I still enjoy it, though.

I’ve enjoyed spending less and less time staring a laptop screen and am glad that I’ve been able to nip a budding internet/technology addiction before it got too far along (primarily, thanks to the wireless we were using being password protected).  I’m actually thankful that they did it. Ruth and I are trying to be very intentional about not raising Brennan around a bunch of screens and technology, in spite of the fact that many of you will say that we are doing him a disservice. My parents didn’t get us a Nintendo and we didn’t have a computer until I was in high school. We didn’t have cell phones and didn’t have cable tv for the longest time. At the time, it felt like they were doing us a disservice, but it makes sense to me, now. I’m going to bet that it was primarily a financial decision on their part to not give us these things, but we didn’t need them. And look how great I turned out!

This Christmas Tour is almost over.  We’ve got 3 more shows, and the last two shows are at the Ryman, so at least I will be home for those nights.  It kinda sucks that it runs all the way up to the 23rd, but I can’t begin to say how grateful I am for work when so many people are losing so much right now. It’s been a breeze of a tour, so remind me of that during the next tour when I am pulling my hair out.

So, I bought the Chieftains, “Down the Old Plank Road” album while I was home last week, and can’t stop listening to this song.  Musically, and lyrically, one of the best songs I may have ever heard.  I’m glad you agree.

 

At First I Laughed.

But then I realized that I’ve got a really cool wife who has a really cool hobby.  She frequents the Goodwill, looking for old sweaters that are really cheap.  Then she “repurposes” them.  That’s a new word for me.

As painstaking as it may sound to you and I, she unravels the sweater and then reuses the yarn to make something new, i.e. knit hats, gloves, baby hats, scarves, etc.

This Saturday, she will be selling these items in East Nashville at the Walden Artisan Market.  It’s over on Eastland, right across the street from the Rosepepper.  She, along with several other East Nashville folks, will be selling their handmade wares from 9 am to 4 pm.

So, if you’re in the greater Nashville area, then sneak over to the lesser Nashville area and visit the Walden Artisan Market.  After all, who doesn’t want a hat like mine?

Awwww yeah.  I’ve got a neat wife.

 

This Should Bring a Smile

Thanks, Dale.

 

2,880 New York Minutes.

I’ve been kicking it, FatDaddyE style, in the NYC for two days now.

It’s been great.

I’ve been here several times before, but this is my first time being here during the Christmas season.  Amy and Vince played one of the early shows this morning, so we came in Sunday night after our show in Connecticut.

I’ve done everything from taking a picture with Rupert Jee (who makes a great turkey reuben), seeing this lady, walking through Greenwich Village, a pipe in Central Park, and going to a cool toy store to watching everyone skate at Rockefeller, visiting Nat Sherman, seeing the old WTC spot, checking tons of amazing churches scattered throughout the island, and having a nice Italian dinner in Hell’s Kitchen.

I don’t know what was my favorite part of my visit.  Maybe Central Park.  Maybe the churches, which is surprising seeing as how much I despise ornate church buildings.  It was just so nice to walk off of the busy streets into the absolute silence and peacefulness of those places.  There’s just something about them.

I am surprised by how nice people are here.  We’ve been in New England for over a week, now, and most folks have been pretty rude.  To paraphrase our tour manager, Justin, “They use the “f” word like we use “is” and “that” down south.”  Man, it makes me see how crass I come across when I use profanity.  I’ve began to curtail it a bit since being up here.

It’s been a nice two days, but I wish that Ruth and Brennan could have flown up for it.  I checked on flights, but it was just too costly.  Tomorrow morning, Lord willing, I will wake up in Baltimore.

I’ve been everywhere, man.

 

A Dry Spell

You may remember my post a few weeks ago about why theology is so important.  The gist of it was that some mornings, you wake up so confused about who you are, who God is, and whom he says that you are, that you can hardly see straight.  It’s so easy for that to happen.

I’ve been so caught up recently, in touring and working, hanging with friends and family, and just out right wasting time.  It’s kinda been a downward cycle.  The longer I go without spending time in the scriptures, the more uneasy I get about my life, identity, and purpose, and the more apt I am to medicate my anxiety with any number of mind numbing time wasters, completely forsaking what I know will give me the foundation that I need.

It started a couple of Sundays ago when I got home.  The tour I was on had just returned to Nashville and I was exhausted and needing time with my family.  I ended up back in the ER on Monday, and that threw me for another loop.  My mind was reeling with concerns about my health, yet I was still feeling the desire to maximize the time that I had with Ruth and Brennan. Before I knew it, I had managed to go a whole week without reading my Bible.

Then I hopped a northbound tour bus to start the Amy Grant and Vince Gill Christmas tour.  Lots of people to meet, things to see, music to listen to, satellite TV to watch, merch to count, and once again, I have gone almost another week.

I couldn’t go anymore.
Today, I turned it all off.

I ‘loaded in’ this morning, grabbed some breakfast, and then went to the back lounge of the bus and read for about 2 or 3 hours.  It was the first time in almost 2 weeks that I have read my Bible.

Oddly enough, I finished Acts and read straight through Romans (my favorite book).  It’s so amazing how the Word can deliver such a solid hit sometimes.  It was almost instantaneous:  my recollections of the work of Christ, the sovereignty of God, and the redemption of man came rushing through my heart at 1,000 mph.  There were times when I was going through Romans that I was fighting tears and restraining myself from shouting praise (and I’m a Presbyterian:  the anti-charismatic).  How good the news is that God is sovereign and that when everything in this world seems to be spinning wildly out of control, it is actually so far from it!  No matter how prone I am to wander, he remains the same.

It was a good day, and I hope to be more diligent in the future.  It all just goes to show how imperative it is that we, as believers, spend time in the Word.   It is the very word of the creator of the universe.  It is the source of so much life.  I can’t believe how little it takes to distract us and pull us away from it…amazing.  Two weeks seemed like an eternity.

 

Pretty Good Music, Vol. 12

I’ve been listening to a lot of this guy, lately.  Been in a real introspective state of mind for the past couple of weeks, and his tunes have provided a bit of a backdrop for thought sorting.

 

Blog Tour

So here it is, the list of all the stops on the blog tour.  The tour will be running this week, the 1st through the 5th.  Everyone listed here has a copy of our album, and will hopefully be doing a review of it sometime this week.  Be sure and check out everyone who is participating.  There are some great blogs in this list, so maybe you will find some new ones to add to your daily blog reading schedule.  Thank you to everyone who is taking part in this thing.  I know that your blogging time could be better used talking about something other than our record.  I promise that this will be last post about it for quite some time.

…in case you were wondering
Aaron Ivey
A Little Peek Into My World
A Place of My Own
Jason Sessoms
Jimmie Ingram
Kyla’s Joy
Listen:
Mikebatt’s Weblog
Our Journey to Find Our Little Ones
Steven Bush

 

Halloween?… For Breakfast?

My breakfasts are starting to look somewhat like the Halloween piles I remember as a kid.  Lots of small, multi-shaped and colored goodies waiting to be devoured.  Only, this time, none of it tastes like peanut butter taffy.  I wish it did.

It turns out, the meds that I am taking for my rheumatoid arthritis can wreck havoc on my immune system, leaving me vulnerable to more infections and things of that sort.

I finished up the Lead Me On Tour on Saturday night and finally made it back to Nashville Sunday afternoon, getting home about 4.  I was exhausted so I went straight to bed.  After a couple of hours of decent sleep, I woke up barely able to breathe.  I sat up for a few and was able to grab enough air to make it back to sleep.  Then, for the rest of the night, every few minutes, I would wake up with the nastiest dry cough, and still barely able to breathe.  Monday morning brought no improvements so we all headed back to Siloam to see if Dr. Ehst could give a little bit of insight into what was going on.

They took a couple of x-rays, listened to my lungs and my heart, and checked my oxygen level.  My heart was beating really fast, but I wasn’t getting the proper amount of oxygen…Dr. Ehst was pretty worried and decided it was best for me to head back to the ER. Her fear was that I had a clot somewhere and that was what was causing everything.

So back to the ER we went.  After an IV, a breathing treatment, and a steroid (I can’t get away from these things!) they were finally able to get my heart to slow down a bit and get me breathing a little better.  They took enough blood to feed an army of vampires, and concluded that I didn’t have a clot.  Apparently, because of the RA meds, my immune system isn’t strong enough to fight basic things like bronchitis or pneumonia, so it was good for me to go and get the steroids and antibiotics.

So is this how it’s going to be from here on?  Meds on top of meds?  Each new one to fight the side effects of the one before?  Tonight, I went out and got one of those old folks pill boxes so that I can try and keep track of all of it.  My grandmother would be proud.  Maybe next, I’ll go get a wicker basket for the kitchen counter that I can store all my bottles in…

 

Long Overdue

I promised these a while back.  Sorry for just now posting them.  A little from Halloween.  A little from his 1st Birthday.  A little from elsewhere.  Drum roll, please…

 

More Ways to Get The Music

I know, I know. My blog now looks like the front end of a NASCAR race car. How un-anticapitalist of me.  I’ve set a link to all of the places where you can now purchase our album. There’s a link for iTunes, eMusic, and Amazon if you would like to download the mp3 version of the record. Also, if you click on the album cover, it will take you directly to PayPal where you can order a physical copy of the cd for $10.  Ruth is running the official Eric Brown merch store, and will be mailing out any cds that are ordered through PayPal.  Also, for those of you in Rocky Mount, NC, Great Day Cafe (yeah, even my Mom is in on this) has the cds available for purchase for $10.  And she makes great food, too, so be sure and eat while you’re there.

The blog tour will be taking place during the first week of December, so be sure and keep a look out for everyone who is taking part in that.  I hope to post a list here, shortly.