Prelude to Mothers Day

I know I am not a mom,(duhh) but this was funny anyway. Did your mom ever sound like this?

Youth Convention 08'

Convention 08'

Ok, so I now have some time to sit down and say what I want to say about convention this year. It was really really good.

We arrived on Monday about 3:30 pm, got checked in and unloaded. Everybody kind of wondered the halls like they do when they get there, trying to find friends they haven't seen forever and talking to them until 5 minutes before church then rush to their room to get ready. I didn't get to go to the Service on Monday Eve. because I had to finish up a banner for the freeWAY booth. So while everyone else was out enjoying the fun times of talking and laughing, I was in the confines of my room trying to get this thing done. I did however get to go down and talk to some people a little bit later when everybody was wondering the lobby. A pretty uneventful day. We took 15 this year and luckily we had rooms right next to each other on the 5th floor. Of course taking big groups isn't too fun when someone drops an ice tea bottle from our floor and hits the general manager of the hotel on the head (It wasn't us). But still when you have a large group, they always suspect you first because they ask if you have chaperone's for each room. We did.

The next day, we got up about nine-ish and everybody got ready to go to morning classes taught by Nik Schexnayder, Jason West, Nathan Keating, and various other youth officials. Once again, I was stuck trying to finish up the banner so I didn't get to go to the morning services. Instead I went to Kinko's where they discovered a flaw with the design, and me, Brian Allard and Bryce Allard were stuck for over 2 hours there while they tried to get the dumb thing to print. It turned out nice when it was done though (I'll show it in a min). But after that torturous time, we came back to the hotel and headed straight back out for Olive Garden. We got back right on time to get ready go to Service that evening.

I will stop right here and say that this convention had the best music that I have ever heard music-wise at a youth convention and I have been going for over 13 years. Mark Waddle did a fantastic job of putting music together this year. It was comprised of some of the hottest talent I have ever heard. Everything was right on this year. Everybody was just tight.

Service on Tuesday night was outstanding. Did Bro Emory ever preach. He is just real. The crowd this year was crazy. They were all over the platform the whole service. He preached the way that only Bro Emory can preach. Terrific.

freeWAYs Cd's had come in earlier that day and tonight was our debut release night. So after service I hung out at the booth for awhile, and then it was back to the room to try and get the video ready for the next night when the quartet sang. Kind of interesting the way it turned out, but I was up till 3 that night working on it so by the time that morning rolled around, I was still wiped out.

Wednesday proved to be an awesome day. I love Youth Convention. I was pretty sad this year though because it is the last year it will be in that auditorium and it had been there for 38 years and ever since I started to go to youth convention. Sniff.....O well, I hear they are thinking about moving it to either Stockton, Visalia, or Sacramento. It will just be different. Anyway, after the morning sessions, I met with Steve Caballero, the Western District Youth President who had preached that morning, to get the video ok'd and then went to lunch at the hotel restaurant. Got back to the room and got ready for church. Mom and Dad had come in the night before so I went over to the room and chatted with them for awhile. freeWAY was singing in the singspiration that evening so we had to be there about 5:55. A lot of good singers this year. Usually its just thrown together at the last minute.

After the singspiration, Praise and Worship began. I have never been so sweaty in my life!! It is so hot on that stage and when all the cameras are on you, you cant pick your nose!! The microphones all stink too. Who knows who spit in it before you. There were alot of good Praise singers this year and it was a blast singing. Amber, Lana, me, Bryce, Ashley, Nicole, and one other person. Jason West led that night and we went crazy. I was literally soaked by the time offering came around.

It was time for freeWAY. We did our patriotic medley entitled " I Still Believe in America". It was really cool the way it turned out. At the end of the song, a Military Chaplain came out carrying an American Flag. There was an awesome group there this year from San Bernadino and they tore it up. I cant remember their names though. I never can remember names.

Darrin Sargent took the offering and it was time for Bro Emory once again. And once again he tore the roof off. Alter call lasted for about an hour and finally everybody started to drift off out into the lobby. That is one thing I DONT like about convention, is the crowds and trying to get through them where you want to go. I don't know, some people like that kind of stuff, but I am not one of them. Just get me where I want to go.

That's about it for that night. I think I went to Jack in the Box, picked up a Bacon Ultimate Cheeseburger with the youth, came back to the Hotel and crashed.

The next morning, I went shopping. Yes I know, I know, guys don't go shopping-they go get it. Got back to the hotel and went into the breakfast area and sat down to have some grub. Darin Sargent was sitting across from me a little bit and all of a sudden I hear him say "Tyler, look at your Dad". You have go to understand my dad. He walks about 5 miles everyday and it doesn't matter where he is at, he is going to walk. He came into the restaurant with his "Santa Suit" on. It is a red jogging suit which is now baggy on him because he has list about 40 lbs. Everybody makes fun of it because it is just plain redneck. Hiding my face behind the menu and Sargent laughing at me Dad passed the table and went and sat down next to Sargent and they started talking. Funny!

That afternoon, I got to just chill with the youth. I went to lunch with the Allards and Ken Fitzpatrick to an Italian place and came back and went to lunch again at Red Robin with our youth. Needless to say I could hardly move by the time service came around that night. I want doing any cartwheels on the platform or doing to much jumping. I think I shuffled my feet once, but that's about it.

The last nights service is always awesome. They had 4 different song leaders that night kind of taking it from way back in the day and bringing it up to today's style. I think they started with "He's God on the Platform" and ended up with singing "We Declare War". Like I said, this is the last year of the convention with both North and South Districts so they had so many preliminaries to go through thanking everybody and so forth so on. Finally the offering came around and that by itself took over an hour. They raised almost $50,000 that night. Awesome. Finally Bro Emory came up to preach but before he did, he called Bro John Arocovio to the platform and he preached and prophesied for awhile. Then Bro Emory took it back and preached after that. It was an incredible service. Alter call was still going on when we left 4 hours later.

Overall, it was an incredible convention and we all had a great time. It was so cool to see everybody this year. I am not worried about the future of our District and the way its going because we have some of the best young people that you could ever ask for. Those of you who went...did you have a good time?

Some of the Youth

freeWAY

Praise Team

Preaching

Some of the Youth Camelot

My sis and Kevin Daniels

How Was Your Easter?

I hope each and every one of you had an awesome Easter this year. Ours was awesome, but I am truly wiped out. It was an interesting service although alot of our people were out with the sick thing that is going around. We had, among others, 5 guests from the McGeorge School of Law that are here in Sacramento to finish up their law degrees. The youngest one of them is 22 and he will be finishing up his Masters at the middle of this year. Pretty interesting people to talk to. It's kind of neat being around someone intellegent, because when you dont understand something you just nod your head, or say "uhhu", or just ask the casual question "what do you think about that"? as if I know what I am talking about. When in reality, I am thinking "what does that mean" , or "oohhhhh shiny object" and my attention is averted. I think I am getting the hang of politics. lol

Our Easter egg hunt was outrageuous this year. Everybody brought over 1000 eggs to hide on the baseball field for the kids. Dad preached an awesome message entitled "The Second Greatest Story Ever Told". What a day. I can just kind of picture it over 2000 year ago (no laughing freeWAY) Jesus walking out of the tomb. No surprise on his face, no sluggishness, no fear, but "Behold the Man"!!!

Hope your weekend was awesome!!

Sign TeamDad Preaching

Easter Egg Hunt

Alter Call

It is Finally Here!!!!

Hey everyone. Hope everyone is doing well!!

freeWAYs album "Alls Well" is finally here. This album contains songs of every genre. Blues, southern gospel, Praise and Worship and Contemporary style of music. Daywind studios recorded this album back for us in December of 2007 and we had a blast doing it. Myself, Bryce Allard, Keith Smith, and Lawrence Trump. Youth Convention in Bakersfield this year was our debut release date. I will post pictures of our booth, us singing and give you my update on convention in another post later today. freeWAY sang "I Still Believe in America" on Wed. evening of convention this year and everyone seemed to respond well to it. Towards the end a Military Chaplain in full uniform came out onto stage carrying an American flag, and the the moment was pretty emotional. What a time we had. I have to admit, it was a blast at the booth selling the Cd's. A lot of new ideas came to us and we are working on some new stuff now.

The website for the quartet is undergoing construction right now and should hopefully be fully functional in 1 month or so. The address will be www.wayquartet.com. I will post later on how you can purchase one of these Cd's online.

The song list on the CD goes as follows-

1. Bad News for the Blues

2. I Am the Way

3. I Bless Your Name

4. All's Well that Ends Well

5. Worth It

6. All that Matters

7. Thy Will be Done

8. Oh What A Savior

9. Beyond the Blues

10. I Still Believe in America

11. Jesus Loves Me

This release is exciting and humbling for me. Wow!!!! What a ride. Check it out!! Like I said, today or tomorow I will post how you can purchase one.

Wierd News of the Day...

800 Dogs Seized From Mobile Home

I must say this article souned funny to me. Sounds like something you would hear of from back in Mississippi (I can say that, I am from there). You kind of wonder how they all survived.....

TUCSON, Ariz. (March 12) - About 800 small dogs, including Chihuahuas, terriers and Pomeranians, were seized from a triple-wide mobile home whose occupants were overwhelmed trying to care for the animals, authorities said Wednesday. About 800 small dogs were seized from a triple-wide mobile home outside Tucson, Ariz., this week. "The home was definitely in very bad condition, urine and feces all over the home, in the kitchen and bedroom, with a very strong odor," a Humane Society spokeswoman said. Pima County sheriff's deputies and animal welfare officials who removed the dogs also found 82 caged parrots in the home in a rural area northwest of Tucson.Some dogs were pregnant and giving birth as they were taken to shelters in Tucson, said Jenny Rose, a spokeswoman for the Humane Society of Southern Arizona.

Ninety-six dogs were taken from the house Monday and another 700 on Wednesday, she said."The home was definitely in very bad condition, urine and feces all over the home, in the kitchen and bedroom, with a very strong odor," she said. "Obviously, 800 dogs in a triple-wide mobile home, they were packed in there. That being said, they were in pretty good shape."The elderly owners, who have not been identified, were apparently overwhelmed but have cooperated with authorities, sheriff's Sgt. James Ogden said. No charges have been filed, but authorities continue to investigate.

wow.....

Just Sing It.....

I think as time has passed people have gone from the certain strong, vocal, technique to being able to "skip by" a song without having to actually sing it. Do you have to sing the whole word when you can "trick" through it? I don’t know if it’s just what the newer generation wants to hear, or if it’s just we are missing something that the previous generation possessed.

Lately, I have been kind of sidetracked by a lot of different types of voices (not the ones in my head), but the difference in the gap of singing from back in the early to mid to mid late 1900's. What has happened to the passion of the previous era compared to the new era of singers? Is there a difference? It seems to me that everybody today has to try to trick songs and make it sound stylish, when in reality, it seems this tricking and stylish style of singing is done because it is a shortcut and a way to actually avoid the real voice. I have been around people that have tricked every word they have said in a song and the real question that comes to my mind is, "if they even tried, could they actually sing that song one time through without tricking one word'”? I think as we get further into what we call “new age” music, there is becoming a bigger lack of discipline in artist’s voices that has really somewhat faded. Why discipline your voice when you can trick it?

When I think of people that could and still can sing, my mind goes to Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Luciano Pavarotti, Ray Charles, the 3 Tenors, Albertina Walker, Murrell Ewing, Guy Penrod the list could go on and on. Looking at these pillars and landmarks, the difference in this generation and that generation, is the passion and discipline they had and believed in and put into every song they sang. The gap in the style of singing from back in the last century into the new one now is quite vast. While some singers have it, and some singers don’t, the majority of people that were great successes, had very disciplined voices. When Frank Sinatra went in to the studio to record, it was a known fact the he hated recording more than once. He would do it one time through and that was it on almost every song. If you were in the band or were a background vocal, you had be on the ball, know your game, and be ready to put everything you had into it or the result was not so hot for your career. But he would practice to the point where he didn’t have to come into the studio and do it more than once. They didn’t have all of the modern conveniences we have today like pro tools, they didn’t have tuners, and they didn’t have several chances to get it right, but they came in ready to go and finish it up in one run-through.

Today, it is nicer to have the convenience of programs like pro-tools, tuners, and etc, but it poses the question to me, what did they posses back then that we don’t posses to the same level now? What did they have back then that 70 years later, we are still attracted to their voice, and style without the use of all the modern conveniences? I think a lot of it was dedication and passion to what they did. I guess I am just saying that the passion in a lot of newer artists I hear does not level nor really compare to the level of what true singers did put into it. They can’t just sing out what they believe. The term “sing your heart out” really truly meant something. It came from inside, it came from somewhere deep within, and they didn’t have to trick it, they didn’t have to “effect it” and they didn’t have to “tune it”, because people could hear that they were sincere and tried and really believed what they were singing and were putting everything they had into it. To the point where when you were done singing a song, you were sweating, wore out and still had 3 songs to go, but still kept on going. Personally, I think people were attracted to them because they could just sing it out and their dedication to what they did was apparent. Throughout a lot of the albums you pick up today, it is refreshing when you pick one up and can hear this sound.

What is missing? The passion, the sincerity and the conviction are truly what make a singer and what this is all about. I guess that’s why I can listen a little bit more to singers who may not be that great, but they can just belt it out. The tricks and different styles on every word aren’t there but they can still ..........just sing it.

One of those mornings

Well, I know I haven't said anything much lately, but it's just been a really busy time of the year. I think this is probably the busiest year I have ever had in my whole 22 years of existence. Not that I am complaining, because I love keeping busy. Ever since we came to the big city, things have picked up in every aspect of our lives. I know, I know, you are thinking, what has this younger generation come to. Like Dad says, "when I was your age, I walked up hill both ways to go to work in the snow". "I couldn't email a letter, so I walked it over to their house." ETC I think that every kid has heard it at least 200 times in their life. But what would it be if they didn't say that? Still though with this new city life, I am still a redneck. I am finding myself just going outside at nighttime and just staring. Or when I am driving down Sunrise by the mall, I am still in awe by all of the cool stuff. Maybe it is still because of the Mississippian in me. (Is that a word)? We moved from Mississippi when I was about 6 or 7 because one day me and my brother were playing outside, and all of a sudden a bunch of cyclists rode by. Growing up in Mississippi, we didn't know what those were. We just stood dumbfounded and stared. Dad I guess saw the looks on our faces, and said "It's time to leave". But I still just find myself staring at people and places because I think it is so cool....lol. We were so used to hearing turkeys and squirrels all around the house climbing on the windows an everything else, now all you hear is drive bys, gunshots, and sirens..... We are getting a Coolhand Luke's right next to the church. Hopefully it should be opening pretty soon. I have to admit I have only been there 2 times, but it was pretty good when I was there. Any steakhouse is good to me. Every morning I try to get up at 6:00 am (try is the right word). I have to be at school by 7:45 to get ready to teach class so forth so on. Usually I will set the alarm for 6:00 and try to be awake by 6:30 after hitting the snooze button a couple of times. Anyway, I hit it this morning, and I didn't hear it go off again, so I look at the clock and I see :45. Me being stupid and half asleep did not look at the first number but figured since I didn't hear it, It must be 7:45. So I jumped out of bed ran to the shower, jumped in, got out, shaved and ran to the kitchen. Picking up my HP I stopped just for a moment to look at the clock and I noticed it said 6:45. GREEEAAAATTTT. Since I was already up I decided to go to Starbucks and grab a white peppermint mocha. I really like Starbucks, but ours has a few of the lesser brainiacs in it. I specifically asked for a white hot peppermint mocha. I was in a really good mood until I got it. NO PEPPERMINT!!!! But other than that it's been a great day. More talk tomorrow.

New Flier

Here is a new flier I am working on. Not quite done yet, but here is what I have so far. Not all of the hughes and everything are quite right yet, but they will be soon enough. What do you think?

For all of you Coca-Cola drinkers....

I wonder if Diet Coke does the same things, just with less sugar?

1. In many states the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the trunk to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.

2. You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of Coke and it will be gone in two days.

3. To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coke into the toilet bowl... Let the 'real thing' sit for one hour, then flush clean.

4. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous china.

5. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers: Rub the bumper with a crumpled-up piece of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.

6. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion.

7. To loosen a rusted bolt: Apply a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.

8. To bake a moist ham: Empty a can of Coca-Cola into the baking pan; wrap the ham in aluminum foil, and bake. Thirty minutes before the ham is finished, remove the foil, allowing the drippings to mix with the Coke for a sumptuous brown gravy.

9. To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of coke into a load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen grease stains. It will also clean road haze from your windshield.

FYI: 1. The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. It's pH is 2.8. It will dissolve a nail in about four days.

2. To carry Coca Cola syrup (the concentrate) the commercial truck must use the Hazardous material place cards reserved for Highly Corrosive materials.

3. The distributors of coke have been using it to clean the engines of their trucks for about 20 years! Drink up!

Dirty Screen

If your screen is dirty click here