I’ve been very active on some other sites, and I’ve come back to OurStage to see how things are progressing here. I’ve met so many super-talented songwriters and musicians here and I want to give you all as much encouragement as I possibly can. It’s a tough business to break into because there are so many people trying to " make it " and only a few will be considered. I watch American Idol each season and I have picked out the top 3 each time and only missed picking the #1 winner once.

As an artist you’ve got to know who you are and where you’re going if you want to be considered a player in this business. It’s not enough to have great talent because there are so many talented contenders. To " hit the mark " you’ve got to have the whole package; songwriting, musicianship, singing and your looks. Many have made it with only one or two of these qualities, but the superstars have them all. You don’t have to be excellent in each area to succeed, but you do have to be refined and identifiable. You want people to remember you and your work.

Prepare and show yourself in the best manner you can afford. Work really hard on arranging and recording your music and then package it creatively. The is art and you’re an artist, so don’t hold anything back. Go for it and you’ll hit the mark. Success is measured in money to be sure, but mostly in satisfaction of a job well done.

When I first started out on this experiment I was looking for a way to let people hear my music and get some feedback from everyone. Well that has surely happened, but what has really turned out to be the greatest blessing is getting a chance to listen to so many different peoples music. I’ve also had a chance to get into dialogs with many interested artists about our songs and what’s going on in our lives thru sending messages to each other. Thank you OurStage for providing an excellent platform for so many styles of music and artistic expression. Thank you to everyone who is listening to my songs and telling others to come and check them out.

I really thought that " Holy Spirit " was going to make a showing, but it turns out that people like " Lift Up Your Heads O You Gates ". So it just goes to show you how people percieve your work differently than you do yourself. All I know to do is to keep on writing songs that glorify Jesus; who he is and what he’s done. It used to be that I wrote all kinds of songs, but somehow I’ve come to the conclusion that nothing is more important than praising and worshiping my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Anything else seems to be just wasting peoples time. The sooner we all come to the realization that we must put Jesus first in our lives, before family, work, church, dreams and goals, the sooner our lives will change for the better. The bible says " Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. " He has a better family, job, church, dream and goals for you than you could ever imagine for yourself.

I would like to encourage all of you songwriters to start thinking about writing songs that glorify Godly principles. When you see people getting saved, healed, delivered and set free while you’re singing a song you’ve written, suddenly music takes on a whole new purpose in your life. I pray that you can see yourself doing just that.