"If I die, don't you dare play 'Go Rest High' and dedicate it to me!!"

Friday, May 16th is a day a lot of people around here remember, for the wrong reason. On that day in 2002, my friend, your friend, our friend, Paul Franklin was taken from us. See, that's the gut reaction description. His work was finished here. He did a lot of good work. He influenced many a man, boy, woman, girl. And on 5/16/2002, he was called away. For some reason we've chosen to mark the anniversary of the accident that took his, and two other wonderful souls-Tom and Isolda Temples in the same accident. I don't really understand why the day that they left us is more noticed than the day he was born, or the day he first became a father, the day he won one of three CMA awards. I can promise you from the inside, those were much more joyful days. We will, along with many others tomorrow, cry a little bit, but hopefully laugh a whole lot more. The number one thing I hear from listeners when they come to see us at events and appearances, "It just hasn't been the same since...". They're absolutely right. Rather than letting that reflect an emptiness in our lives, I'd rather it reflect the presence that we had once. The reason we feel a void now is because Paul was that special, that rare and a 6 foot, five inch gift. We are not less for not having him with us today, we're more for ever having the chance to cross paths with him. Would it be better if he were still with us? Maybe. But who am I to ask someone to leave the side of Jesus now that he's truly home.
CS Lewis wrote a journal after his wife (who he refers to as "H") passed away from cancer. In "A Grief Observed", he writes:

Praise is the mode of love which always has some element of joy in it. Praise in due order; of Him as the giver, of her as the gift. Don't we in praise somehow enjoy what we praise, however far we are from it? I must do more of this. I have lost the fruition I once had with H. And I am far, far away in the valley of my unlikeness, from the fruition which, if His mercies are infinite, I may some time have of God.. But by praising I can still, in some degree, enjoy her, and already, in some degree, enjoy Him. Better than nothing.

If you'd like to see pictures and hear old audio clips of Paul, please visit here.

Babies here, babies there, babies everywhere!

There's a saying around the station (and probably other places) that says bad things (deaths) come in three's. Well, I have good news, sometimes babies do too! While I'm going to have a tough time working Colorado into this post, (no wait, that picture of Kory and me was taken in Denver...whew!!), I'm so thrilled to share the news that my friend of over 25 years, my brother in Christ, one of my favorite people in the world, is about to have his first child. His wife Blair (who also is one of my favorite people in the world) is due in December. As of last night, everyone is doing just fine. She's already having crazy cravings. I'm just so thrilled for them both, it'll be their first.



It'll be the second child for my boy Tom White. I can pretty much copy all of the things I said about Kory, and apply them to Tom. With the exception of how long I've known him. They both will be just phenomenal fathers. Tom has a little more experience than Kory does, but I'm not worried at all about any of these kids. They will be surrounded by love, strength, wisdom, and compassion. They are in the best of hands.

Also I found out this week that my friend Jill in Cary is expecting as well. See, good things come in three's as well!!

"So what is it you guys do?"

...is the question I often get when I talk about my "small group", "band of brothers", whatever you want to call it. The group of men I get together with every Thursday night. And sometimes times away from Thursday night. We get together, we eat. We catch up. And as the meal is setlling, this is our purpose. One of my brothers, Matt, found this. And it's a perfect description of what we're trying to do:

A band of brothers is a group of men who were tired of life as usual. Men who were tired of feeling weak and ashamed and addicted to whatever brings a temporary escape from the pain, emptiness...or boredom. Men who wanted to come through for their wives, their children, their friends and their God, but whose lives were marked by frustration, depression, insecurity, and failure.

A band of brothers is a group of men who were tired of pretending. And so they stopped. They found a few other men with whom they could be completely transparent, guys with whom they could unload about all their shame and failures, all their fears, and all their weaknesses...men who, when they were done spilling their guts, would still be standing there saying, "What else you got?"

A band of brothers is a group of men who have traded their weakness for Christ's strength and their self-obsession for Christ's selflessness. Men who daily fight for one another, trading the enemy's lies with God's truth. They've joined arms with one another and joined ranks with eternity's Freedom Fighter, Jesus Christ. In Him they fight for the freedom of their wives, children and friends. It has become their life's passion, mission and purpose. Unified in Christ, these bands of brothers move with humility and courage towards total surrender, total trust and total commitment to the One who gives LIFE and who has overcome death.

A band of brothers is a group of men who've tasted the abundant life Christ came to bring. They've begun to realize their place in God's story. And now they want more...for themselves, for their families and friends, all for the glory of God.

The term 'band of brothers' was coined by Shakespeare in Henry V

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition.
And gentlemen in England, now a-bed,
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here;
And hold their manhoods cheap, whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day."


It really is the coolest thing. Look for it, there are more who want more.

Joys in My Life

Yesterday was such a nice day! The weather was perfect and I had my first "happy" rehearsal with the musical. I actually got to hang out with just the girls and dance and had a great time! Above is a picture of me and Marc in Jamaica under the Bottlebrush tree. Now before we left my brother told me, "Every time you go under the bottlebrush tree you have to kiss." Marc loved the idea and so did I of course when we got there our butler looked at us like we had lost out mind the first time we went under it and stopped to kiss. She said that wasnt a true saying. Oh well we continued it throughout the honeymoon. So joys in my life. I love being able to spend time with people who have kids! They are just so much fun. I love hanging out with friends for dinner or games or even just an afternoon of hiking. I love the stage. I love feeding off of the audience and hearing them clap or laugh or even cry at something you are portraying on stage! I love waterfalls and being able to hear the sound they make. Sometimes a loud thunderous noise and sometime just an wonderful tiny trickle. They are all amazing to me. I love my husband. I love the way that he will expose himself to me and trust me with his heart. So anyways I just wanted to write about a few things that make me happy because yesterday was a very good day!