Thankfulness..looking back, the present and looking ahead.

One thing I've been thinking about recently has been the subject of thankfulness. It seems these days that many people really forget the "art" of being thankful. In the current age of take what you can get, and what's mine is mine, thankfulness sometimes takes a back seat. Many times, people seem to forget that there are many blessings in life that we aren't guaranteed, and aren't deserved in most instances. It's hard to be prideful when you're thankful. I think that when you are thankful, it almost always includes humbleness.
In looking back over my life, and specifically the last year, I know that I don't deserve everything that's happened to me, and all the opportunities that have been laid in front of me. It seems like God was and is continually opening doors and saying try this. I feel that I'm being blessed far greater than I could've ever imagined.
2007 was a year that turned out to be a landmark year for me in a few ways. Growing up being a massive music fan, I never would have dreamed that I would be able to attend the Grammy Awards. That opportunity happened for me in Feb., when a band I worked with called DecembeRadio was nominated for the Best Rock Gospel Grammy. I was honored with the opportunity to fly to Los Angeles and attend the awards and all the parties and festivities surrounding them. The whole time I was in LA., I felt like a child on Christmas morning. As an added bonus, I got to meet Martin Sheen and his son Emelio Estevez at our hotel. Being a fan of the West Wing, this was pretty amazing to me.


The day of the Grammy Awards , I received an added bonus. As if just attending the Grammy's wasn't enough, I got to walk the red carpet with the band as they did interviews with everyone from The Tonight Show, to Entertainment Tonight, to Extra. Behind us on the carpet was Little Big Town and Buckcherry. During the pre-show awards, which is where 90% of the awards are handed out, we were just feet away from legends like Tony Bennett and Smokie Robinson. Unfortunately, Dradio didn't win the award as it went to Jonny Lang.
The televised awards show was very cool, as I got to see The Police's first live performance in years as they kicked off the show with "Roxanne".
The after party was fun, as we got to see Chaka Kahn and Kool and The Gang play.

In May, I left Slanted/ Spring Hill to manage my friends Jump5. One of the first things I got to do was travel to Norway with the group for a series of concerts. Norway was incredible. How often do you get to travel internationally and get paid for it at the same time. wow.
The summer consisted of me putting together the farewell album (Hello & Goodbye) and tour for the fall. On the tour, I finally got to go to San Francisco, which is a city I've always heard about just how amazing it is.



For me, the biggest event of the year started with a phone call I received on Sept 3rd from Sammy Ward. Sammy has been a great friend of mine for over 10 years, and I also manage his music career. He had been playing a retreat for First Baptist Nashville over the Labor Day weekend. He called to say he found me about the student ministry assistant, Bonnie. He said he had been watching her life for a few years, and loved how she carried herself. He felt that she would be great for me. He asked her if she was dating anyone, and if she liked older guys. She said no to dating anyone and sure to older guys. So he gave me her email address. The next day I emailed her to introduce myself. She emailed back the next day. After a week of emailing, we became facebook friends. We had our first "blind date" on Sept 13th at Fido's, then went out again on the 17th with a group of friends, then again on the 20th to a Predators game.


Needless to say, we hit it off. We officially became a couple on Sept 23rd, at around 1045 PM.
After about a month of dating, we both knew we had found the one, or T O as we both called it. We were engaged on Dec 21st. Needless to say that was the only Christmas present I needed.
We were married this May 10th.


To say I'm thankful for Bonnie is an understatement. She's the completion to who I've always wanted to be. Every day she fills my life with love, happiness and contentment. I don't ever want to take her for granted.

On the professional level, I'm getting to do what I love. Each day I consider a blessing.

All this to say, too many times I think people tend to focus on the negative parts of life, the things that drag us down. Take a minute to reverse that, be thankful for the things in the past, the present, and what God has for you around the next corner. When we start thinking that we deserve certain thing, that's where trouble can creep in.