I don't know if any of you have tried to rent or buy a dwelling in Southern California, but the listings are hilarious. They remind me of "personal ads", where people sort of "stretch the truth" about who or what they are.

In SoCal, this is especially true. I've come up with a translation system for those of you who are looking to buy or rent that you can use to truly understand the condition or characteristics of the unit.

• Quaint = This shack is ancient, yo.
• Gorgeous=This place isn't super-ghetto
• Bungalo = This place is tiny, yo.
• Spacious=This place is just little bit bigger than a bungalo
• Craftsman=We cemented in few rocks and 4x4 pillars in front of our double-wide to make it look like a craftsman home.
  
• Private Patio=You've got a 3' X 10' slab out there for your gas grill to sit on.
• Garage=A building so scary looking and old that you'll figure your car is safer outside.
• Breathtaking Views=You can see a sliver of the foothills between the other two apartment complexes on a low-smog day.
• Good Schools=You'd better rent a cheaper place to save money for private schools.
• Affordable=This place is only a half-a-million dollars.
  

Labels: Life

Hey everyone. I'm sorry that I've not posted in a long time, but I haven't really been in the blogging mood lately. I've taken a break from being plugged into the web, and kind of just trying to keep up with life in the "real world". My blogging and twittering have been lagging, that's for sure.

Sometimes I just get fed up with the internet, and all of the news that really doesn't mean much. I blame my buddy, David, for that. He preached at Live Oak on Sunday, and hit the nail on the head. He basically said that we Christians put too much trust in electing earthly leaders instead of trusting in our Heavenly leader (Father). David, you are right-on.

New, politics, and music haven't captured my attention much lately. Actually, I've been paying attention to the Lakers a bit, and keeping up with their efforts to win another NBA title. I've also been catching up on my sleep, which is always a challenge for me. I've got sleep apnea, and I go through seasons where I don't get the right amount of sleep and I suffer a bit from that. I've been really having a hard time sleeping lately, actually.

I'm looking forward to a three-day weekend. I've been working hard lately, and an extra day off will be awesome. I'm also looking forward to Sunday. Melisa and I just got back from Worship Team practice, and we had a blast. We've got a great set of songs for Sunday, and I think it will be an amazing time of worship. I hope you can join us.

I'll try to do better at blogging, so stay tuned. I know that I have a group of faithful readers that have been patiently waiting for more of my random thoughts. I'll get back to it as soon as I can.

In the mean time, I'll be heading to Lousiana a week from tonight. Sheri will be doing several concerts at St. Charles and Baton Rouge and the band will be there! I'm so excited to be doing another round of events with Sheri! I'll have to stock up on the Peach Rings for Drew!!

In case you didn't know, Melisa and I traded in the Xterra for a Toyota Matrix. We needed to save some money on the $4/gallon gas, and we got a smokin' deal on a brand new car last weekend. I'll try to shoot some pics of the new whip over the weekend.

Labels: Life

Check it out!

Labels: Sheri Carr, Varietal Records

Here's a few photos of our night at Augusta Vineyard Church!!

Reese LeRoy and Chad Nichols (pastor and worship pastor) were our gracious hosts for the evening. The whole night was just great, and the people in Augusta like to get up and dance!!













View the entire photo set on Flickr here.

Labels: Events

Fearless Now, my sister's solo project on Varietal Records, dropped this morning on iTunes.

Christianity Today also reviewed the album here.

Nice.

Labels: Music, Varietal Records

Melisa and I are in the Peach State this weekend, playing guitar and keyboard for my sister's CD release weekend, and we are having a blast. The west coast contingency of the band took the red eye out of Seatac and LAX on Friday night to make it out for the weekend.


Click here for the photo-set on Flickr

It was a fun trip, because the Californians got to meet up with Rhett(who flew from Seattle) on a connection in Phoenix. We all had to work on Friday, so it was a long day. Thankfully Drew (bass) brought a bag of those sugar-coated orange slices (see picture), which kept us sugar-loaded and chatty. Melisa totally loved the flight from Phoenix to Atlanta, because US Airways showed "27 Dresses", which is that Katherine Heigl movie that she's been so wanting to see.

We got into Alanta airport about 1:15 ET, and we were all hungry. My sis and my parents trucked a couple of their cars down to the airport to pick up four hungry west-coasters and a bunch-o-gear. By this time it was 2AM, and nothing was open. We tried to find a McDonalds or Wendy's that was open to grab a burger, but nothing was open. After a half-an-hour of trying, we gave up and went to Mom & Dad's place in Buford. We were all excited to get home and chatted and ate ham sandwiches until about 3:30 AM. I think I fell asleep at 3:45! Wow, what a long day.

The alarms started ringing at 8:15 AM or so, and the house was bustling with people hooking up their gear, restringing guitars, and sucking down bagels and coffee. We were off early to Sheri's place to meet her and Joshua, pack some more gear and merch, and head on down the road to make a stop at a lunch-party that Melisa's cousins, aunts, and uncles threw for us. It was a blast to see all the Barrett folks again.


Click here for the photo-set on Flickr

The party was cut short when the road manager (that's me) put his foot down and said we had to leave or we were going to get behind schedule for the sound check. After about 23 hugs and 12 pictures, we left for the Marietta Vineyard.

The soundcheck was a little bit of a process. We were a lot louder than their usual worship team, but Chris, their soundman, is a total pro and dialed the stage in for us. We all felt comfortable and ready for a great night of music, worship, and prayer.


Click here for the photo-set on Flickr

The Marietta Vineyard folks were just so wonderful to us. Dian Thiel is their worship pastor, and for the Live Oak folks that read my blog, we sing one of her songs a lot, it's titled, "If You Say Go". Yep, I knew you knew it. A special thanks to Cathy, Chris, Diane and Tom for all of their effort to make the event go well, and to take special care of the entire band.

The evening was so wonderful, and God really blessed our nite. The high points for me were "Shout Aloud", "Fearless Now", and the ending song, "Sing Your Praise" where we were joined on stage by about a dozen group-vocalists that recorded the group-vocal tracks on Sheri's CD. I hope someone got some pictures of that, because it was really cool.

After the concert, the folks at Marietta sang "Happy Birthday" to Drew (May 1st) and I (May 6th) because we are near our birthdays. Sheri's record officially drops in the US on May 6th, which I think is really cool.

This morning Melisa and I are going to the Methodist church where my parents are pastoring. We are going to lead a few songs for them this morning. Then we are meeting up with the rest of the band for the two-hour journey to Augusta for another worship concert! Phew! I hope Drew has more of those candy-coated orange slices in his backpack!

More pictures and info about August coming up on Monday. Please do check back in!

Labels: Events, Varietal Records, Vineyard Music, Worship Leading