Tears of the Singer (Prologue)

The following is the Prologue from a book I am writing called Tears of the Singer.
The book is based on a song by the same name that I wrote while in college. (This was one of my original first 5 posts. I am re-posting it now, just because!.)

Prologue

The air was thick from cigarette smoke drifting up from the area around the stage. The soft strains of music filled the backwoods bar. There was a larger than normal crowd this night. “The Singer” was in town. Other singers had visited before, some famous, some not, but no one drew an audience like “the Singer.”

People came from towns and farms miles away just to listen to the Singer. Not just ordinary people, but people with problems they just couldn’t seem to take anymore. People with worries and concerns that kept them awake at night. Worries about how to pay bills that pile higher every day. Worries about family members or life-long friends stricken with illnesses like cancer. People with questions that needed an answer. “Why can't my wife quit drinking so much?” “What does my husband see in his secretary that he doesn't see in me?” “Why can’t I keep a job?” There were people with fears of abandonment and death. People so overwhelmed with depression that it seemed to smother them. All of them were here tonight. All of them, looking for the miracle.

The crowd sat silent, mesmerized by the appearance of this singer. They wondered could he help them where it seemed God had failed them. They prayed the prayers of the desperate and asked the questions of the lost. “How can someone so young and disheveled help so many,” they would ask themselves. “Can he help me?” “When will he sing the song?”

Suddenly the sounds they were waiting for flowed from the stage. This was it. The Singer was singing the song. There was nothing outwardly special about the song. It was just a simple melody, sung from the heart. But it beckoned them forward. At first there was a little pushing and shoving, but it calmed down quickly for they knew the Singer had enough for everyone. They stood there speechless. Some cried gently as it came their turn to receive the gift. The gift that would make all their worries, fears and sadness fade away like the mist rising from a lake.

They were waiting for the Tears of the Singer.

ACU Summer Camps & Other Stuff.

Over the next couple of weeks, the kids will be attending ACU Summer Camps at Abilene Christian University. Sunday we dropped off Caleb at Kadesh, the camp for High School ages. Next Sunday we drop of Rachel at MPulse, the camp for Jr. High ages. It's makes for 3 long drives (drop off, pickup/drop off and pick up) but we feel the camps are worth every penny we spend to send them there.

Jamie and I will continue packing for our eventual move. Boxes are stacking up and we are getting ready to move some of them to my parent's house for storage until time to move. The kitties think we are building a castle just for them. We still need to pack up Jamie's "office area", scrapbooks, several items in both kids rooms and several books and misc. stuff in our room. We are waiting to pack, the two main televisions, the DVD's, the bathroom and the kitchen last.

For those of you who read this blog...keep praying that God reveals my full-time job to me soon and that our house sells quickly, so our family will not be separated for very long.

Packing, Packing, Packing

The packing is underway! The Realtor has been consulted! We are going to move!

The kids start ACU Summer Camps on Sunday, Jamie starts her new job in Waxahachie, TX on June 13th and we are going to have a garage sale to get rid of excess furniture and stuff we don't won't to move with us. Things are getting busy.

In the meantime, we will use what time we have together as a family packing things up. I will keep working at Starbucks until the house sells or I get another job in the Dallas area.

The cats seem to think the packed boxes are castles for them to climb, play and sleep on.

My son is a little concerned that we have to pack up his X-Box and other game systems. We have to do that to show our home to potential buyers. The only things we plan on leaving until the last minute are the beds, clothes, essential toiletries and kitchen utensils, one television, one DVD player and the DVDs, and the Nintendo Wii (so the kids can play some games until the last minute). Of course the washer and dryer and our freezer full of meat will have to wait as well.

The dining room table (and chairs), the computer area and a few chairs will stay behind to help "show" the house. Everything else must go!

I am already tired!

Go Roughriders!

Today the family and I went to see the Frisco Roughriders (The Texas Rangers' Double A Team). As part of Friends and Family Deal we got four tickets, four Roughrider baseball caps, and four $5 dollar food vouchers, all for under $50. The manager of the Roughriders is Steve Buechele. He is a former third base man for the Texas Rangers. I remember watching him play when I was in college.

We let my son Caleb drive part of the way to Frisco and back to get him some experience in driving in "Dallas" traffic. He has his learner's permit and he hopes to take his actual driving test for his license later in June.

The Roughriders defeated the Tulsa Drillers 9-3; however, we did not get to stay for the entire game. My daughter, Rachel, got sick during the game and we had to leave during the 5th inning. We still had a good time being together as a family though.

I really hate Oliver!

Oliver is the nickname that I have given my OCD, or recently I have expanded it to be the name I have given my personal demon. Just like the ravens who devoured the seeds planted by the sower in Jesus' parable, Oliver is trying to steal away the good words of comfort that God gave me yesterday.

I rebuke you Oliver, Satan and any other demons that try to steal God's word from me! God has a plan for me and this transitional time in my life and you will not distract me from His words of truth!

In the meantime, I am substituting for the last time this school year. I am watching a teacher's Biology class while kids take their final exams. YAWN! I am having a hard time staying awake. At least I'm earning $70 for my efforts.

HE Already Has in Mind What HE is Going to Do!

For the first time in a long while, I sat down and read the Bible. I am trying to practice Lectio Devina. (click here for more info) I started reading, out loud from the Book of John Chapter 6. The chapter starts with Jesus about to feed the 5000. As directed by Lectio Devina I read the first few verses out loud several times trying to let God give me a word or phrase to meditate and pray over. Here is what stood out to me;

Chapter 6, verse 5 -- "When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, 'Where shall we buy bread for those people to eat?' He asked this only to test him, for HE ALREADY HAD IN MIND WHAT HE WAS GOING TO DO."

Wow!

With Jamie, my bride, accepting a new job in Waxahachie and all the effects of this (moving, selling the house, me finding a job (still) and the kids starting a new school), I have a lot of questions. I am sure Philip (and the other disciples) had lots of questions for Jesus as well, when 5000 people needed to be fed. Despite the questions I have, I do not need to worry; MY JESUS ALREADY HAS IN MIND WHAT HE IS GOING TO DO!

If Jesus were right here next to me at this moment, I could see/hear him asking me, "Mark, how do plan on finding a job and a place to live in Waxahachie, when you still have a house to sell in Longview?" All the while he is smiling on the inside, knowing that already knows what he plans to do with me and my family.

Sadly, like Philip, I sometimes forget who my Jesus really is and I respond in a similar way; "Eight months wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite." -- Philip or "Eight months wages would not even come close to getting what we need to fix up our house to get it ready to sell." -- Mark English.

My Jesus has a plan. He knows what he is going to do. I need to pray to him that I have faith and despite my negative attitude, he will do what is good for me and my family.