New Direction Part 4

So know the journey has begun! The road to whatever God has in store for me is lying in front of me but it is just a barely visable footpath. This is where things get a little crazy.....



Is there room for a love story in the hunting music journey?



It is the year 2000 and I am spending alot of time online doing this new internet thing and trying to expand my fan base and see what this whole online thing is all about. It was kinda like the wild west back then and still found myself wanting to talk to people on the phone very soon after meeting them online. One of these people was a beautiful girl from Florida.....I know....here comes trouble!



It was a whirl wind and seemed like something also sent from God! We where married in quick order and after a short time in West Monroe,LA we moved to Jacksonville,FL and started a new life....no hunting music....but still got to hunt!



In 2003 that love story ended...sadly...and I realized that I was doing alot more talking "at" God and should have been doing WAY more listening. As hard as that experience was...in hind sight which is always 20/20...it was just another stepping stone is amazing path. The Bible says that the refiners fire is how God purifies us and by now my butt must look like a well raosted marshmellow!



So I move back to southern Maryland and to my family with the purpose of getting my life to be really simple and quiet. I was determined to HEAR God and be satisfied with that! You see...I had just spent the first 40 years of my life going mach 3 with my hair on fire and I was done with that....finally....I was broken.



2004 was a very good year! I did get life to slow down...I did listen to God....and I did find Peace, Love and Joy in that place. I was not even worried about what was next or where life's road might lead me...I was just "tator" as they say...and then it happened....there she was...a tall.....beautiful and it turns out LOYAL woman that was sent to me or was i sent to her? I know what you're thinking....how do you know? Well...I did what the Apostle Paul said and tested the thought and I was at peace with it...I also wasn't the least bit scared! And I was RIGHT!



Tammy and I were married in Spetember of 2005 and that journey has been amazing! Music has played a very important part in our relationship as well as our Faith together!That story could be a blog all by itself but for now we will continue on with the "New Direction" story.....



Its January 2007 and I get a call from Willie Robertson of Buck Commander & Duck Commander. He says its time for some new music and asks if i could come up with somethingnew and like always.....FAST! Like always....God delivers the new music and in short order the DuckFever 2 Hardcore is on the market and being well received but this time I am getting requests to actuall play "Live" at different show as well as churches for wild game nights and such. I also am receiving alot of requests for songs about fishing and all kinds of other hunting songs...this could be good!



Its now late 2010 and the DuckFever 2 CD has sold very well and things are getting very interesting. I am starting to meet some very cool people in the music and outdoor TV world. I am also starting to write and record some Southern Gospel music after being inspired by people like Jason Crabb, Guy Penrod and Sonja Isaacs to do so! You see....the journey that God started 10 years prior is staring to become clearer and clearer...God wants me to reach out to a certain group of people and it turns out that I am just the man for the job?



Its December 31st 2010...I am in West Monroe, La visiting friends and church family! Its New Years Eve and its Friday night and I am sitting at the church building in a Celebrate Recovery service seeing what this was all about? My friends Mac & Mary Owen are leaders in this group nationally and they have told me that I will really like what they are doing. The meeting starts and the praise & worship is awesome....Mac gets up and starts speaking and says something that would change EVERYTHING for me! He says "Lots of people dont think they "need" something like Celebrate Recovery(CR). CR is only for you if you have had a Hurt, a Habit or a Hang UP?". My friend David Magown, an amazing harmonica player, was sitting next to said "That's everybody?" and the Holy Spirit Goose Bump Event happened........



I said "Everybody....but Jesus!" There it was...In that moment....crystal clear! It's an amazing thing when God reveals EXACTLY why you are here. Life becomes a slow motion video and in my case very Peaceful...even in the face of adversity.



Its Sunday morning Januray 1st, 2011 and I am sitting in the Sunday service at the Whites Ferry Road Church in west Monroe, La. Tears are streaming down my face as I write the song "Everybody But Jesus" while Alan Robertson delivers an awesome message. Through the tears I see a very clear path...more like a super highway....and this "New Direction" is clearly "The Direction" for my life! God has found a way to combine my love for hunting, fishing and music in way that not only glorifies him but plays a small part in the great command to add people to the Kingdom of God!



I look forward to continuing our jourey together!