I've had a lot of good stuff going on in the past few weeks, so here's a brief summary for those of you who've either shown an interest or not shown an active disinterest. You may or may not know who you are.

WHAT--I GET PAID, TOO?

On Monday I started a new fulltime job at the home office and worldwide headquarters of the Nashville Songwriters Association International. I work in the Membership department, and assist our esteemed Membership Director Mandy Macauley in serving our current members and explaining to prospective members what NSAI has to offer. This involves everything from stuffing information packets (collating--a skill that never ceases to be useful), to greeting visitors, to helping prepare for and present events such as the
annual Songwriter’s Symposium (a weekend seminar that follows Tin Pan South), to answering phone calls (got one from Denmark the other day!).

As many of you know, I was a coordinator (next to the real veteran, Erich Gausch) for the Chattanooga NSAI workshop before moving to Nashville, and have continued to be involved; as many good things as I already had to say about NSAI, now I have even more. I try to avoid "over-spiritualizing" things, but I must say that getting this job is such a good thing it's hard not to see God's fingerprints on it here and there! I work with a great bunch of folks, just off Music Row, and get to meet and help people all day long, promoting something I believe in...and I still have an hour lunch!

If you want to know more about NSAI, go to: www.nashvillesongwriters.com

MOVIN' ON, MOVIN' UP

I've also moved into a new place to live. It wasn't the place I had planned on originally, but you know how that goes. I rent a room in a house owned and occupied by a pro keyboard player and woodworking entrepreneur. In addition to the room and bath and access to the kitchen, living room, etc., I also have a great office/recording space in the finished basement. My excuses for not being more productive are dwindling!

I'm not out of the woods yet, financially, to be honest, but I have been inspired by financial guru Dave Ramsey to make some changes. I HIGHLY recommend you check out his books/seminars/radio show. The website is www.daveramsey.com

FORGET ROUTE 66--WE GOTCHER YOUR KICKS RIGHT HERE

I've signed up to work a massive number of Rockettes Christmas shows this November and December at the Grand Ole Opry House, where I've been ushering for about a year (though not this summer). Hopefully I'll be doing some performing myself to help spread the holiday cheer (and pay the holiday bills), maybe with a friend or two, at a public venue near you (if you live
in Nashville, that is).

I was privileged to help provide some music for a retreat this past weekend. The Brentwood Baptist singles group journeyed to the foothills of the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee (Sevierville, TN) for a weekend of spiritual refreshment, fellowship, and merciless cardplaying...and shopping, for those so inclined. It was a little different for me to just do the playing and not the actual songleading, but it was an easy adjustment. The timing worked out great, as I was able to do it between my old job and my new one (did I mention my new job?).

NEW YORK STATE OF MIND

The mission trip to New York over Labor Day weekend with the group from Brentwood Baptist was worth a newsletter all its own, but a short note will have to do. The trip went very well. We had a great place to stay in Times Square, did a LOT of walking to and from the subways, got to see some of the many different "worlds" that make up NYC, and spent time with some brothers
and sisters (spiritually speaking) that make up Chinese Promise Baptist Church. Our "tour" included a stroll through a charming Hasidic neighborhood in Brooklyn on our way to Chinatown, thanks to some confusion as to which subway stop to take; the sights were worth the extra walking.

I did a variety of hopefully-useful activities at the street fair on Saturday, a bit of face painting, helping kids make puppets, etc., but of course I especially enjoyed doing a song during the worship service on Sunday, translated line-by-line by our co-traveler Dao. A smile and nod from the pastor while I was introducing the song was all the applause I could have asked for.

Monday was our tourist day, and I really enjoyed the bus tour (double-decker) around town; one of our tour guides was just like Uncle Leo ("Hel-LO-O-O!") on Seinfeld (that show came to mind more than once that weekend!).

The main bumps in the road for me were my fault, really; at the Nashville airport, I had to fork over the tiny set of pliers I use to cut guitar strings (I knew I shouldn't have brought them), and I forgot to retrieve a disposable camera full of pictures from the security guy at the Newark airport (no big loss, really). It was kind of exhausting physically, but I'm eager to get back to the Big Apple ASAP.


That's it for now! Your turn.

Grace & Peace,

Mark