One of the statements I run across almost invariably in the profiles of gals who are looking for a match on internet matchmaking sites is something similar to "likes to laugh" or "makes me laugh".  Guys, has the humor gone out of your marriage?  Get it back!  One of the lines in my new song "Forever My Man" is "He's the one who make me laugh, the one who gives me pleasure, the one who makes the simple things a treasure."  This mirrors the -- shall I say -- universal expression of what a gal sees as a relationship need.

Now, I'm all for serious.  There is plenty to be serious about, and it is a necessary thing for guys to get hold of, too.  But... leave a little room for laughter.  You can listen to "Forever My Man" by clicking on the Tunes link above.

It has been a productive weekend.  As I posted the other day, I went to the Little Rock regional meeting of NSAI.  I enjoyed contact with other writers I have gotten to know plus met several new ones, got a last "set of ears" on my song "Rubbin' Off On Me" before sending it off for a demo and heard a very good presentation by Rob Perry -- one of the owners of Songramp.com -- on how to writer for Film and TV, very interesting!

On the way, I got to give Ricky Skaggs "Mosaic" CD a good listen.  I'll post a little more about this great piece of work soon.

In addition, I had four new plausible song ideas and started writing one of them.  All in all -- a great weekend.

I had to miss the meeting a month ago, so I am so-o-o-o looking forward to this afternoon's monthly meeting of the NSAI Little Rock regional.  It is always a pleasure to be with other writers and be involved in hearing, learning and critiquing.  I will take "Rubbin' Off On Me" for critique as a kind of final "gatekeeper" check for last minute changes before I demo it.

It's been a busy week but I'm posting a new worship song tonight - "Kingdoms Will Fall" based on Isaiah 2:2-5.  Hope you enjoy and benefit.

Kingdoms will fall around us
Kingdoms will fall
Kingdoms will fall around us
Everywhere
Lift your eyes to God's mountain
Above them all
Kingdoms will fall around us
Everywhere

Going out with a message
Kingdoms will fall
Going out with his life
Everywhere
Going out from God's mountain
Into the night
Bringing the world around us
Into the light

Teaching the world around us
Kingdoms will fall
All the kings of the earth
Everywhere
Feeding the world around us
Feeding his sheep
Lead them up to God's mountain
From everywhere

I have posted a while back about one of my love songs which was a challenge to write -- being sung by a woman to her husband -- and I now have the finished "Forever My Man" demo up on the Tunes page.

I uploaded a picture of some buttercups (wild daffodils) to my profile on Facebook.  I'm reposting the picture below.  Well... here is the song that goes with the daffodils!

Gals, grab your man and slow-dance with him!

I had the pleasure of seeing Travis Tritt perform solo tonight for over 2 1/2 hours.  As he said after the opening medley, we would hear some song tonight that might not sound like they did on the radio, but would sound like they did when he wrote them.

His performance was not flawless, but it was energetic, engaging, masterful -- both his vocals and guitar playing, and he had the audience from the get-go.  It was a wonderful example of a great singer/songwriter.  I knew that since he would be performing solo, it would be a good way to set the bar for how to do a songwriter night .

Like I have said before, part of the reason I blog about songwriting is to pull back the curtain on what goes into it.  Last night, I uploaded my latest version of "Rubbin' Off On Me" (lyrics and audio here) and this morning received the eval for that version.

I really appreciate the evaluation process.  As a writer, it lets me get my work in front of a seasoned writer who can point out weaknesses and suggest changes.  This removes it from the realm of my own bias.

Lucky 13, my evaluator, said in a nutshell, "Strong, good emotional connection in the chorus, last couplet in verse 1 could be more romantic than practical.  Let it percolate and see if you can make that one change."

That, folks is what I will do.  I will be thinking about that last couplet in verse 1 and hopefully come up with something "just right" to tie it all up.  In the meantime, I will move on to some other songs and get started on them.

As promised, here is the second scripture chorus updated from 30 years ago especially for Steve and Cindy Baney, but all the old Bloomington folks and anyone else who is interested:  Psalm 9:10 - "Those Who Know Thy Name".  Love and prayers.

Last week was a busy one for me... day travel to Houston for work then leaving again the next day for a long weekend in Kansas for my Dad's birthday.  During the trip down, I got a new eval for "Rubbin' Off On Me" in my email inbox.  I was just sure that I had gotten it where it needed to be.  Not to fast, buddy!  Lucky 13 had a couple of more suggestions that will require some... you guessed it... rewriting!  But hey, like I say at work, "this is our life"  -- and I had better enjoy the challenge!  Now that I'm home, I can get into a routine again and get the re-write done.

I bought a ticket to see Travis Tritt later this month doing a solo show here in El Dorado.  It will be an interesting learning experience from a singer/songwriter perspective.  I have been to writers' night in Nashville and Little Rock.  It will be interesting to see how a seasoned performer handles it.  Looking forward to that!

Along with many others, I received a prayer request on Facebook recently from Cindy Baney regarding her husband, Steve -- (both old Bloomington friends) -- who was recently diagnosed with colo-rectal cancer and has just begun treatments.  Cindy and Steve were college students when I met them and was involved in a church-planting ministry there at Indiana University.  They subsequently married and have been teaching in the Indianapolis area for many years.

Cindy was on the worship music team with me and reminded me of some old scripture choruses of mine that we sang in those days.  One was “He Longs To Be Gracious To You" (Isaiah 30:18).  I had almost forgotten about them but she has a fond remembrance of them.  In her honor and with a hope to encourage both of them as they begin this journey through cancer treatments, I wanted to blow the dust off of it and create a newer version of it with another one -- Psalm 9:10 -- to follow later.  You can listen here.  Prayers and best wishes, Cindy and Steve.