1. What’s a Perfect Life?
This song was written after doing some soul searching while going through a bit of a Job (after Esther, before Psalms ) period in my life. Everything seemed to be falling apart around me. I feel we are here to learn lessons on Earth. If everything was perfect all the time we would learn nothing. Our struggles are a test of our love and faith in God. We need to pray for wisdom in all our decisions for God has great things in store for those who believe.

2. The Knight Song
This song was inspired by Robert Lewis’ book, ‘Raising a Modern Day Knight’. It’s a great read and I highly recommend it to anyone with sons although the same principals apply to daughters. Lord knows the world needs good women as well as good men.
Other cultures around the world have ceremonies that elevate a boy to that of a man, but in America we seem to have lost a sense of culture and tradition. 1 Corinthians 13:11 says, “when I was a child, I used to speak as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.” Even though you may not have such a ceremony in your family, you can create your own ceremony for your son or daughter. This is what Robert Lewis and two of his friends did with their boys. The impact it had on these boys was very inspiring. I certainly want to do the same for my sons. In the days of knights you were first a page at around 10 years of age. You served a squire who was training to be a knight. In your late teens or early 20’s with all training completed you were elevated to the ultimate man – a knight.
Make your child your page or squire. With God’s wisdom and your training and ceremony you can have a knight in your family too.

3. Life of Sundays
As we walk out the door after a Sunday church service we often feel spiritually rejuvenated, better biblically versed, and closer to God. While at home on Sundays we make time for family – eating together, relaxing more, and being kinder to one another. Then comes Monday – traffic, back to work at a job you may or may not like. After a tough day at work, are you still kind to your family? To live a ‘life of Sundays’ takes being God focused with everything you do. With the way you live your life during the week, would those around you be able to tell that your life is centered on God? No one expects us to be perfect but we need to try and take the good feelings of Sundays with us during the week.

4. The Greatest Gift
At the moment when both of our sons were born I knew God had just given me the greatest gift (besides salvation) that I would ever receive. The delivery room was dark except for one light shining down over the doctor. When the moment of birth came, each of the boys had laid across the doctor’s open palms under that light. The feeling of love and responsibility was instantly overwhelming. I remember thinking that raising both of these little guys was going to be joyous, rewarding, frustrating at times, but I also knew I would dread the day they would leave home. Kids are just the greatest gift. Thank you again, God!

5. God Watch Over Me
I think of the saying, ‘there are no atheists in foxholes’. When I see our soldiers in Iraq interviewed on TV I am always impressed by their clear focus and bravery. We all enjoy freedom in this country because of the brave men and women who serve. War is ugly, has been and always will be. The evil our soldiers face must be stopped in its tracks before it develops into something we can’t control.
I started this song shortly after the war started. I was stuck for words after the first verse. I just didn’t know where I wanted to take it. One night my son Grant (8 years old at the time) came into my music room and asked to sing some songs with me. After about 3 songs I just started playing this song. When I stopped after the first verse my son turned to me and said, ‘why did you stop, I loved that”. I told him, “That’s all the words I have”. He jumped off his stool and returned with a clipboard, paper, and a pencil. There was no doubt in his mind that he was going to help me get it done. 45 minutes later that is exactly what happened. It was a great moment between us.
Please pray for our soldiers everyday.

6. Mr. Busy
For 30 years I have been writing instrumentals and only in the last few have I stared putting words with some of the songs I wrote. I decided to put two of my instrumentals I had recorded on this CD. I hope you enjoy them. This song is in an open tuning. It moves along briskly with lots of changes. When I would play this song my wife would always say it reminded her of our youngest son when he was a toddler. We used called him ‘Mr. Busy’.

7. Bad Habit
I had attended a friend’s wedding and met another one of my friends there. The next day this friend called and apologized for speaking unkindly about someone both of us knew during our conversation at the wedding. I thought nothing of it; Lord knows we all do it. She felt bad about breaking her rule of not talking about other people.
As Christians we know the rule (judgment comes from…) but often we have this ‘bad habit’. I thought it would be a good one to write about.

8. The Burden
I read once that friends were God’s apology for giving us relatives. The dynamics of family can be very complex and troublesome at times, clear to the point of complete breakdown. Silence was and is the form of punishment in the family I grew up in.
May we all be gracious enough one day to except, forgive, and forget. Amen!

9. Driven
I am the kind of person that has to be doing something all the time, I don’t spend much time on the couch. People will do anything to live longer yet complain there’s nothing to do. I just choose to do!

10. Hedges
In 1981 guitarist Michael Hedges produced an album titled, ‘Breakfast in the Field’ that totally changed the approach of acoustic guitar. I was fortunate enough to see him in concert several times before his passing in 1998. If you’re looking for a great CD, his ‘Ariel Boundaries’ is unbelievable. This song is my tribute to the late great Michael Hedges.