April 9, 2016 - Lewisville, Texas
The year 2016 seemed so bleak dude. I wasn't really "feeling" my job, trying to maintain the long distance parental relationships with my children was feeling so strained and becoming harder and harder to just "deal" and so did finding inspiration and motivation. It's like when you get beat down so much, you just want to lay down and let life just finish you off.
Complacency is a killer!
Multiple friends I had made in Jacksonville, FL that were my own age had died in strange ways recently even though they seemed so healthy. Then, after being sick myself for what seemed like months with a migraine almost daily, I discovered that the house I was living in had severe black mold in the walls and put me in the hospital.
OH ... AND DID I MENTION PRINCE DIES!
Seriously, enough about my woes ... Prince's passing alone was a HUGE kick to the gut. Anyone who knows me, knows that Dude's music is my own personal soundtrack and now ... oh man, no more new music! It was as if ... "Did MUSIC just die?"
It really seemed like every outside influence in my life was trying to frickin' kill me. And then one day, I said ... "ENOUGH! I can either let these 'Dragons' consume me or I'm going to grab a saddle and ride them!"
And by that, I mean putting on the armor of God like the bible says.
"Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
And as far as the music ... One of my friends that passed was a dear brother in Christ with a daughter my own daughter's age and was a real blessing to know and study with. I was reminded of one of our last conversations about music.
"He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him."
Funny thing happened when I started trusting GOD more and more each day.
Only God knows the true desires of our hearts ... the things that bring us joy, laughter and experienceing this world with L.O.V.E. AND WITH EACH OTHER, TOGETHER WITH THE ONE WHO MADE US.
For all the years I've done this, I have always wanted this with my children as a "family thing" we do together and every single opprotunity to bring them to the festival just didn't pan out. It felt like this was never going to happen, UNTIL ...
FINALLY! On April 9, 2016 ... We got to do this one together. The festival came to them from Christi and Tim Martin as the Chalk this Way" annual festival in Lewisville, Texas.
Rumor is, the black outline of the dragon is still visible to this day!
