Last week I celebrated my 25th birthday. It was fun—good time spent with friends and family. As usual on my birthday, I started thinking about my life, what I’ve accomplished, what I’d like to accomplish. Sometimes this is depressing. But the truth is, I am very content with where I am now. Contributing to this contentment is a sense of artistic growth.

About a month ago I played my very last show at Apostle Credo Coffeehouse, which has been an important venue to me since I started performing my own music about a decade ago. Because it was a special show, I decided to make the concert a trip down memory lane, choosing something from every important phase of songwriting during that 10-year period. The process was fun and extremely rewarding, as I realized how utterly blessed I have been - not only to be able to write, perform and record my own music - but also, to have experienced the things I have that led to the writing of those songs. Performing that concert was almost like my life in review.

Now I am in a new phase. A Dallas phase. This weekend we have a real gig in Dallas, at Labyrinth Walk Coffeehouse. All the details can be found at my website (see link above). I would really love it if you would come to the show, as I embark (God-willing) on another quarter-century of life and music.

Hey everybody! I just wanted to let y’all know that I am performing tomorrow night from 8-10 pm at a Starbucks in Arlington, TX. The address is 1201 W. Arbrook. It’s at the corner of Cooper Street & is across from the Parks mall. I would really hope to see you guys there! There’s a link to a map at the top of the blog.

This weekend was the 11th annual DBU Paideia Conference. This is basically an event for nerds to get together and read their academic papers to each other. Since I am a nerd, this is my cup of tea. This year, I read a paper entitled “Bob Dylan and the Linguistics of Change.” The paper was well-received and a merry time was had by all. However, the true delight of the weekend was the keynote speaker, Grammy award winning songwriter, producer and writer Charlie Peacock, who let us listen in on his musings about life, faith and music, and treated us to a secret concert on the final day of the conference. There were also concerts by newcomer Jordan Lawhead and Jon Foreman of Switchfoot.

Jordan held his own next to Jon, handling some unexpected events on stage with grace. His songs were evocative and enjoyable, and the closing song, “Ocean” was an island delight, complete with ukulele. Jon Foreman was excellent. His new tunes from his solo projects reveal a marvelous range of musical and lyrical content. He has quickly shot to the top of my list of favorite songwriters.

In all the weekend was a refreshing, inspiring time for me. I was so encouraged to be a bold, brave, imaginative, creative person – as God has created me to be. Here are some websites where you can find out more:

www.charliepeacock.com

www.jonforeman.com

www.jordanlawhead.com

www.dbu.edu/Naugle/paideia.htm

The last time I wrote, I talked about how great the open mic is at Opening Bell Coffeehouse. Well, I also found out about another one that proved to be fantastic! This one is held the first and third thursday of every month at the huge half price books on Northwest Highway in Dallas. Find out all about it at their myspace page: myspace.com/freedallasmusic. I am so glad to be part of such a fantastic community of musicians here in Dallas, TX!