Friday, September 27, 2002

The Meaning of Life
by Garrison Keillor

To know and to serve God, of course, is why we're here, a clear truth that, like the nose on your face, is near at hand and easily discernible but can make you dizzy if you try to focus on it hard. But a little faith will see you through. What else will do except faith in such a cynical, corrupt time? When the country goes temporarily to the dogs, cats must learn to be circumspect, walk on fences, sleep in trees, and have faith that all this woofing is not the last word. Time to shut up and be beautiful, and wait for morning. Yahooism, when in power, is deaf and neither satire nor the Gospel will stay its brutal hand. But, hang on, another chapter follows. Our brave hopes for changing the world sank in port and we have become the very people we used to make fun of, the old and hesitant. But, never mind, that's not the whole story, either. So, hang on.

What keeps our faith cheerful is the extreme persistence of gentleness and humor. Gentleness is everywhere in daily life, a sign that faith rules through ordinary things: through cooking and small talk, through storytelling, making love, fishing, tending animals and sweet corn and flowers, through sports, music and books, raising kids - all the places where the gravy soaks in and grace shines through. Even in a time of elephantine vanity and greed, one never has to look far to see the campfires of gentle people. If we had no other purpose in life, it would be good enough to simply take care of them and goose them once in awhile.

Saturday, September 21, 2002

J. D. Sumner still speaks...
To hear what J. D. Sumner thought of me, click here. This is a QuickTime file taken from an interview he did, several years ago, in Pennsylvania, with world-renowned radio disk jockeys, Jennifer & Julie.

A couple of songs are born...
I called Woody Wright this past Monday morning and asked him what he was doing. He said he was microwaving some old coffee. I asked him if he could come over right now. (I always do things impulsively... but I'm working on actually learning to plan ahead.) He, being like me - also impulsive - said, "Okay." I told him to throw that coffee out. I had some Starbucks waiting on him.

About twenty minutes later, he was standing at my door with his guitar in his hand. He walked in, unpacked his guitar and we began talking. We started wondering what God was thinking when He made the world, man, creatures, feet, navels, etc. And, so, we wrote a song called What Were You Thinking? We called Bill and he said I could do it on the Australia video. You'll hear that one on the video, when it's released. I want to save it for then. But, after Woody left, Monday afternoon, I sat down and wrote this. He's put beautiful music to it, and I want to share it with you:

It Started With A Kiss
Words by Mark Lowry
Music by Woody Wright
©2002

You spoke and worlds began to spin
You told the sun to shine
You heard the angels sing Your praise
As You created time
The sky above, the sea below
And creatures in the woods
You taught the waves and winds to dance
And then you said, "It's good."

Then, kneeling down upon the ground
You dug into the earth
With Your own hands you fashioned him
This man, this mound of dirt
Still, there he lay upon the ground
Something was amiss
So, kneeling further, life began
It started with a kiss

It started with a kiss
Mercy, peace and joy and life and love that never ends
It started with a kiss

You saw him still a long way off
Broken and alone
Walking slow the dusty road
Your boy was coming home
You ran to him and never thought
To ask him where he’d been
You threw your arms around your child
And then new life began

It started with a kiss
Mercy, peace and joy and life and love that never ends
It started with a kiss

Friday, September 20, 2002

Highest Gaither début on Billboard's Top 200 Chart
Nashville, TN - Over the past four decades, Gospel music innovator Bill Gaither has experienced many significant benchmarks but, this week, for the first time in his esteemed career, he has cracked the Top 40 of Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart. Let Freedom Ring (#35) and God Bless America (#44) were the highest-débuting CDs ever for a Gaither project on the Top 200 chart. Taped live at New York's famed Carnegie Hall, the CDs feature dozens of familiar Gaither Homecoming artists. Additionally, the same two CD titles débuted in the top spots on the Contemporary Christian charts, with Let Freedom Ring at #1 followed by God Bless America at #2. The two CDs combined for sales in excess of 40,000 units, which are impressive numbers for Christian CDs, according to the trade publication.

Rounding out a stellar first week, the music videos of the same titles débuted at #1 and #2 on the Top Music Video chart, selling in excess of 21,000 and 20,000 respectively. The third best-selling video for the week was last week's chart-topper, Janet Jackson's Live in Hawaii which sold more than 5,000 units.

The concerts were also shown as one-hour specials on PAX-TV, TBN, BET and several other television networks. Gaither will travel - with a number of his Homecoming artists - to Australia in November for a taping at the renowned Sydney Opera House.

Wednesday, September 18, 2002

Woody Wright came to visit
If you've ever watched one of the Gaither Homecoming videos or been to a recent Homecoming concert, you already know Woody Wright. If you remember the group Ponder, Sykes and Wright, you already know Woody Wright. But, you may not know that Woody is a great songwriter. We've talked about getting together to write for several years. But, Monday, we finally did. I called him Monday morning and asked him what he was doing? He said he was microwaving some old coffee. I said, "Get over here, I've got Starbuck's and an idea for a song." He was standing at my door in about 20 minutes. I like that in a songwriter. He's as hyper as I am. And, MUCH funnier! Woody always has a joke. I don't know how he remembers them all.

We wrote two songs, one Monday and one Tuesday. I can't wait for you to hear them. In fact, Bill liked the one we wrote Monday so much that he asked me to sing it on the Australia video. The GVB is going to back me up. It should be fun!

How can I resist?
My mom sent me this e-mail today.

Mark,
Before you leave for Florida, could you send out an e-mail and ask your reMarkables to check out my Web site and, if they are interested, they can order either of my new CDs from my Web site? It would help me out a lot and I will appreciate it so much. It will help me pay for this last one. If you object to doing it, please let me know so I will quit bugging you. I don't mean to do that. Please be careful as you travel and ride the wave runners. Also, I got the book today. I am going to read it and, as I find things I think you may be interested in, I will put a sticky note on the page.
We love you so much.
Mama

That's my mom on the left and my dad on the right.

Friday, September 6, 2002

The wait is over
Click here to watch the GVB on The Mark Lowry Show!

Thursday, September 5, 2002

GVB on The Mark Lowry Show
While the Gaither Vocal Band rehearsed on the houseboat, I slipped out my trusty video camera and recorded them. It's going to be on the next Mark Lowry Show. I've got it ready to post but, since I posted the show with Suzanne yesterday, I thought I'd better wait until next week to post this one. You know, most national TV shows only have one episode a week, so, I guess I'd better have patience and wait... You're gonna love this one.

They rehearse O Love That Will Not Let Me Go and you'll see how HARD the baritone part is. I feel for Russ. He does have the hardest part. I remember when I had to learn The Star-Spangled Banner. I almost quit, then. But, I believe, O Love... is harder. You'll hear Guy sing - with his baseball cap on, while sitting on the couch - Everything Good and Knowing You'll Be There Makes It Easy To Go Home. You'll see David Phelps' hair blowing in the wind as we ride Guy's boat to go to the restaurant and eat Blue Gill. You'll also see Shirley and my friends from the boat dock.

Yeah, you're gonna love it. But, you're gonna have to wait until next week (or sooner, if I get tired of waiting). I guess you're gonna have to check in every day to see if my patience wore out.

Wednesday, September 4, 2002

Carnegie Hall videos are now available
A lot of people are going to wonder where I got the suit I wore on Let Freedom Ring. It's called a 'Nudie' suit. Now, that doesn't mean I was nudie. Nudie suits are what Porter Wagoner wears on The Grand Ole Opry. They were made by a guy by the name of Nudie. A friend of mine at the boat dock, Mack Magaha (who used to play fiddle for Porter), loaned me one of his. He's a lot skinnier than me but I squeezed into it long enough to record the video. I think you're gonna like the parody I wrote of You Needed Me, which I sang to Bill on the video.

GVB rehearses on the houseboat
The Gaither Vocal Band came out to my houseboat to rehearse yesterday. It was good to see Guy, Russ, Bill and David. They are really sounding good. I invited all of my friends on the boat dock to come to the rehearsal. It was a lot of fun.

Their tour starts this coming weekend. I will be with them on their Christmas tour. I won't be on any of the fall dates - only the Christmas tour and when the Vocal Band records its new video in Sydney, Australia.

Suzanne Gaither Jennings on The Mark Lowry Show
I've posted another episode of The Mark Lowry Show on The reMarkable Site. My most recent guest is songwriting sensation Suzanne Gaither Jennings. She is Bill and Gloria's oldest daughter. Suzanne wrote several of the songs on the GVB's latest project. On the show, she talks about songwriting and how she creates a lyric.

Watch the show by clicking here.