The Bob Dylan Show: Rain or shine

Last night, Miranda and I ventured north to the mighty Fort Wayne to see the all-star rhythm & blues review, The Bob Dylan Show. I'd heard a number of exciting things about this Bob Dylan fellow. In fact, I had recently purchased his most recent sound recording entitled Modern Times which I enjoyed very much. The sun was shining down upon us from it's lofty throne as we drove along I-69 from Indianapolis. It appeared a picturesque day for an outdoor concert at a ball park! Yes indeed, we would be participants in a real slice of Americana!

Just then, as we pulled into the Memorial Stadium parking lot, a dark ominous cloud snuck up behind us and gathered directly above the ball field. The temperature dipped to chilly giving prelude to the light rain which would keep us company for the next several hours. "Rain or Shine" declared the ticket stub... and rain it did. As my wife and I snuggled beneath an increasingly damp blanket from high atop the metal bleachers, we listened to some fantastic music by Elana James & the Continental Two, Junior Brown, and Jimmie Vaughan. After several hours of good time boogie woogie music, the rain let, the sun went down and Bob Dylan and his band took to the stage to perform an amazing set opening with a rip-roaring version of "Cat's in the Well". Other highlights of the show were "Masters of War", "Tangled Up in Blue" and a beautiful 3/4 time rendition of "My Back Pages". Dylan's band was tight as could be and his vocals were surprisingly clear. Dylan led his band from behind the keys and broke out the harp for a handful of numbers with some beautifully delicate solos. Another highlight was hearing "Like a Rolling Stone" during the encore in which the house lights came up during each chorus.

After the show, Miranda and I hit the road and headed back home under the light of the full moon being veiled by the breaking clouds. Fantastic show with some great friends. Thanks to Ryan and Aimee for inviting us to the show with them. Thanks to Bob, Elana, Junior, Jimmie and the rest of the fine musicians who made the 4 hour round trip worth every mile.

Complete Bob Dylan setlist (9-5-06)

1. Cat's in the Well
2. You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
3. Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum
4. Girl of the North Country
5. Watching the River Flow
6. Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again
7. Masters of War
8. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
9. Tangled Up in Blue
10. Highway 61 Revisited
11. My Back Pages
12. Summer Days
13. Like a Rolling Stone (encore)
14. All Along the Watchtower

Kyrie eleison is coming

The finishing touches are being lovingly crafted for the distribution of the most recent sound recording by The Mustard Room artist Joel Rockey. Digitally stamped on compact disc, Kyrie Eleison includes thirteen original songs, guest appearances by Emily Furrow and Tyler Johnson, and hand-printed artwork. This newest release arrives at the dawn of a new day for The Mustard Room. Be sure to check back soon for the new website complete with online store and details of all The Mustard Room's creative solution services.

Hear ye, here ye

So here I sit, typing upon my keyboard, officially thirty years of ruggedly-aged joel. It would be silly to say that I really feel any older than I did yesterday, but it certainly does cause one to look back on the seasons of life with a little perspective. The last six months have been a series of emotional chutes and ladders for Miranda and I. There was really nothing that I wanted more than to celebrate my thirty years on earth with some the those who

are dearest to my heart. I was honestly overwhelmed as sixty or so family and friends merged in our backyard for conversation, food, games, music and frivolity through a monkey sprinkler!

Thank you everyone.

Garage sale

Aloha

After months of anticipation about our upcoming, long overdue vacation, Miranda and I finally made it to Hawaii. Oh sure, many never even make it across the Pacific to the beautifully lush islands in a lifetime. But you see, it was the very dreaming of one day traveling to Hawaii which brought our relationship to a new level of commitment what began eight short years ago. Now that the two of us have been to the islands together, we can finally move on with our lives. In planning for our visit, we opted to find a cheap, all-inclusive cruise which would visit several of the islands. After some online research, we chose to embark on The Pride of Aloha with Norwegian Cruise Lines.

We flew in to the island of Maui and enjoyed a couple of days there before floating over to Honolulu on Oahu. During our stay in Honolulu we met a wonderful family from Nebraska who hiked up Diamond Head Crater with us. We also joined them for dinner a couple of times on the boat. From Honolulu we drifted up to the garden island, Kauai where we had the privilege of looking out over the Grand Canyon of the Pacific known as Waimea. We also did some snorkeling in Kauai. I have to tell you, snorkeling in the Pacific was just about one of the most magical things Miranda and I have ever done together. During our honeymoon in Florida six years ago, we visited this makeshift aquatic zoo in what had to be someone's back yard. It was, to say the least, highly entertaining. The simultaneously cool and sad thing about this questionable operation though was that they had a giant sea turtle in this little pool. He was a beautiful creature slowly swimming back and forth. Occasionally, he would poke his head out of the water and look you right in the eye as if to say, "Not a whole lot to do around here is there." But Miranda marveled over him like a little child. Until then, I had no idea how much she enjoyed sea turtles... Fast forward to Kauai, 2006. Aside from the colorful fish of many sizes and shapes, we got to float right over two big sea turtles as they waved their mighty flippers and went on with their everyday turtle lives. As amazing as swimming with those turtles was,and believe me it was pretty amazing, the thing that gave me more joy was watching my wife's face light up behind her snorkel and mask. The plastic plumbing clinging tightly to her face couldn't hide the shrieks of delight as she watched those turtles float slowly beneath her. If I'd ever forgotten, all of the memories of why I first fell in love with this girl came rushing back to me.

After two days on Kauai, our boat took us to the big island where we stopped at Hilo for a day to ride bicycles down a volcano and then Kona where we went 100 feet below sea level in a tiny submarine. Our journey ended where it began back on the island of Maui where they booted us off the boat at 8:45am and shuttled us to the airport where our flight was to leave at 5:50pm. Miranda and I decided to rent a car and drive for a while. We took off along the coast down the Hana highway to see what we could see. We found a beautiful off-road oasis call the Twin Falls where we hiked back to swim in some crispy cool waterfalls. We then stopped to walk along the beach on our way back to the airport at afternoon's end.

Sure, we had to endure the tiresome bitching of some of the cruise snobs aboard the ship. We went cheap and had no cruise experience with what to compare. I say, you get whatyou pay for. And who cares anyway? We were in paradise. No amount of airborne flu, bad buffet food or obnoxious cruise directors could take away from that. The icing on the cake, as our plane departed over the Pacific, was looking out over the expanse of endless blue sea that slowly veiled itself beneath the thick of clouds that cradled the sky like an arctic landscape. I swear we could have set that big old jet right down and all walked out to dance around for a bit. I just said, yeah God, that's pretty good.

This bird has flown

Dearest brethren of Center Grove Church,

It is with pain in my heart and tears in my eyes that I write this letter. These three and a half years behind us have reaped so much fruit for God's Kingdom. Along with many of you, my wife and I have seen lives transformed by the grace and love of Jesus Christ. We have experienced the warmth and healing of God's mercy in genuine Christian community. I can think of no greater joy - save the love of Christ - than sharing in the chapters being written into God's story which we've been so graciously allowed.

We are filled with such joy and yet it burdens us in knowing that we have experienced more grief and agony from tongues of those whom we should call brother and sister than we have from those who do not claim to know Christ. I say this not to dismiss the work that God is doing through the people of Center Grove Church. It's hard to imagine a greater tragedy than to allow a foothold to the enemy who seeks to destroy what has been established and consecrated by God. Rather these words are meant to encourage you dear brothers and sisters to press on in love and in oneness in Christ Jesus. Do not give up! Do not give up on His goodness and do not give up on one another. Surely, our loving Father has yet to give up on any of us. We pray as we leave you that in the days and months and years ahead that Center Grove Church will be known for being a community which listens. May you listen for God's redeeming voice in the silence between the busyness which most mistake for life. Don Miller said it this way, "We can trust our fate to a jury of peers, we can work to accumulate wealth, buy beauty under a surgeon's knife, panic for our identities under the fickle friendship of culture, and still die in separation from the one voice we really needed to hear.

I was invited to Center Grove Church to dream and to cast a vision for the youth ministries at Center Grove Church. The vision which I continually saw before me and was convicted to follow was not that of efficiency and fast-paced programming, but instead had more to do with authentic, relational community. I believe with all of my heart that God was blessing and will continue to bless that ministry in which He has laid the foundation.

It pains us to leave you this way, not of our own sensing of God's calling us elsewhere. However, God can and will take all things and use them for His glory. Of that we can be quite sure.

Therefore, do not stop loving one another with your very lives. For love washes over a multitude of things and it is by our love for one another in which we will be recognized by the world as Christ's bride.

As the apostle Paul said, "When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God's power."

May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ reign in your minds and in your hearts,

joel

Only wish

The 2005 Christmas ep is now making it's way into the hands of good folks both young and old. This one was a joy to create as the songs took on a lovely shape thanks to the nurturing of a couple of good friends named jason and kyle.

Be sure to come out for a hot beverage at Strange Brew on friday, january 20th while the boys from rebel robot and myself share some music and song.

"If I find myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." -c.s. lewis