It’s healthier to count your blessings than your decades, so the end of the year seems like the perfect time to recount the ways God has been good. And when it comes to blessings, 2019 was packed!
It’s hard to summarize a year with so many highlights. But here goes!
On January 11th, I turned 61* and decided to add an asterisk just like Roger Maris. (Look it up.) I played a birthday gig with the Cats at Republic Ice House, wore my new hat and felt a bit self conscious, but mostly an enjoyed overwhelming joy and nostalgia.
That same month a huge change. My arrangement at Holiday Inn Villages changed drastically. Suddenly I was being charged an extra $25 a night, or about $400 a month. After many attempts to talk to management, and work out some form of arrangement, (thanks to Todd Hinkie for his generous help) finally my boss Troy Kriechbaum offered to provide a monthly stipend for lodging. I’m so grateful for these good friends, and I love a happy ending!
In February Carrie Parsons, Amy Austin and I flew to Atlanta for a Christian Music Broadcasters conference. Good times with fellow programmers, and always good music and speakers with CMB. Nice little get away adventure with lots of laughs with my work family. I’m very thankful for opportunities like this.
Valentines Day brought another memorable Valentines for Kids and Seniors drive with record numbers of Valentines given to thousands of East Texas hospitalized kids and seniors. Carrie and I always look forward to delivering these Valentines together, and it gets more massive and gratifying every year!
The end of February brought a book signing for my premier publication, “Dumming for Drummies”. The outpouring of support was awesome, and we sold a few books too! The coolest part was when my kids showed up and grandson Owen drew up his own “book” on paper and made a couple bucks himself! What a gratifying event for this new venture! Many thanks to Jill Smith, Laura Mundt, Todd Rinlee, Lovely Lois, and many friends for their generosity.
March 13th was Lois’ birthday, the big 6-5! It was significant for a number of reasons, not the least of which having the kids over, along with Owen, Parker and Elliott to celebrate how much she means to our family.
Later that month it was cool to see Owen in the musical Willy Wonka, showing early signs of what we already knew. This kid is destined to be a song and dance man!
Finally, March brought a sweet solo trip to San Diego for a CMB summit. I not only gained some valuable information, but I saw some sights of one of my favorite destinations!
In April, another historic KVNE/KGLY Praise Share fundraiser, as East Texas continues to enthusiastically support Christian radio in East Texas. We also welcomed two new staffers in Bill and Jen, both filling vital roles in the ministry. Praise Share is always an exhausting but exhilarating two weeks! It’s like a mini retreat.
April also brought the memorial services for former KVNE president Shelley Chapin, who passed away at age 65 after decades fighting cancer. She made a huge impact for many, including me.
On April 22 I had the blessing of emceeing the benefit for CASA for Kids at Green Acres Baptist. This is a huge event every year, very well organized, and the folks there were so nice. Lots of abused and neglected kids were helped because of the outpouring of love and support from the community.
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In May we had a rare opportunity to unite all five Tuxedo Cats for a Cinco De Mayo show at Manny’s in Tyler. Very seldom do we all have a chance to be together! It was a sweet time with friends, and a great turn out with lots of great music and memories made!
June 14th was the date of the McCartney show at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Lois and I went with our friends David and Stella Stein, and even saw friends Todd, Steve, Leah and Kelly there. It was so cool to see my friends enjoy seeing a Beatle in person for the first time. Counting Beatles and Wings, this was my seventh Paul show. (Seems like I’d get a thank you.)
July 21 marked my third annual appearance on My Fab 4 on the Beatles Channel, Sirius XM. So fun to deejay on a channel dedicated to my favorite group, even if just a four song show, all with the blessing of my gracious boss Troy!
In August we took Owen on his “6 Year Old Trip”. A memorable vacation to Cincinnati to show him his roots. Complete with visits to the Zoo, the Ark Encounter, a trip to sister Lisa’s farm, and a Cincinnati Reds game (where we got soaked!), it was a week we’ll never forget! Thanks to sis Linda and bro in law Mike for being our wonderful hosts!
Later that month KVNE threw me a 30th anniversary party complete with dozens of fine friends and family, a delicious meal and so many gifts, including an all expenses paid whirlwind weekend to Las Vegas to see the Beatles show LOVE! While we were there, we tracked down Pete Rose and got to chat with him for about ten minutes about baseball and grand kids! It was also sweet to have dinner with my bro Gary and sis in law Donna that night. What a fantastic anniversary!
In September, it was sad that our annual trip to Orlando for CMB Momentum conference was canceled due to a hurricane threat (that never actually hit). It was a big financial blow for CMB and created a lot of future changes and impacted many, but they will bounce back in 2020.
Also in September I got chance to give my testimony to hundreds of men for a breakfast benefiting Breckenridge Village of Tyler. It was a special event and meant a great deal to me. These folks care so deeply about their disabled residents and I was indeed blessed to be a part.
Finally, September 27th was our 39th wedding anniversary! It’s amazing to begin our 40th year together, and equally hard to believe God is so merciful to such a wretch like me. I love our life together!
In October, Citifest came to Tyler! Citifest was a giant area wide weekend Christian Festival in the downtown square, featuring Newsboys, Lacrae, and many others. KVNE was right in the middle of it all! Thousands were brought closer to Jesus, and the effects are still being felt!
Our annual October Praise Share was another memorable time of non stop fun, excitement, and pushing ourselves to the limit. In typical East Texas fashion, our listeners stepped up and overwhelmed us with love and support! Praise Share is two weeks, twice a year, where everything else stops, and all our energy goes into this fund raiser. Without exception, it’s always a rewarding and enriching time.
Thanksgiving brought a special evening in our home with our kids and grand kids. So much to be thankful for, especially these precious moments with our loved ones.
Also that month, Owen made his follow up musical performance, this time in “Shrek Jr.” These performances make me laugh, cry, and smile like few other shows I’ve ever witnessed!
To round out November, we had a inaugural fund raiser for our brand new radio stations, teaching station “The Well” and Spanish station “Fuzion”. We welcomed two new friends in Ivette and Natalia, and despite the challenges this unique fund raiser with new personnel and format, we were blessed beyond imagination as our community showed much loving support for this new outreach.
Of course December is all about Christmas, and this one was jammed with memories. From the music on KVNE, to favorite movies, the lights, the parties, the special services, recitals, and the all important time celebrating and exchanging gifts with family, each Christmas becomes more cherished.
So what a year it was! This isn’t to say, “Look at how perfect my life is.” Not even close. Life brings plenty of profound pain, and we’ve definitely had our share. But this is an exercise we all need, focusing on how good God is. These are just a few tangible, memorable gifts from 2019. Imagine the incredible things he must be doing behind the scenes!
Overall, countless extra blessings, like gigs with my friends the Tuxedo Cats, Ranger games, emceeing events, live remotes, so many opportunities to travel, and another year sharing Jesus on the radio with my friend Carrie.
And Lois. Wow…
So, yeah. In response to my initial question: “How many decades?
If I was born in 1958, (as my driver’s license confirms) I’ll soon be looking at (50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s, …) my eighth decade! Ouch! (My knees just buckled a little.)
And yes, I’m looking forward to a banner year in 2020! If for no other reason, it’s just so fun to say. Try it!
2020!!!