Music and Honey Wine

Sherri and I have reached a decision about this next season of life for our family. We have learned so much about ourselves and how we work together and what our needs are over the past few months. It has been an awesome time of growth for us both.

First off, even though I am leaving my full-time position at Williamsburg Community Chapel, we will be staying here in Williamsburg, Virginia. It’s a great place to live and raise a family! Plus we have made some great friends over our last two years here. With a job/career change it’ll be helpful for all of us if we’re not moving and changing schools, churches and all of that extra stuff!

Next, I will be working on starting up a couple of businesses here. One is a music lesson studio which I am tentatively calling Williamsburg School of Music. I’ll be teaching guitar, bass guitar, and trumpet. I have been asked every month since I have been here if I teach or know of anyone who does so there does seem to be a real need in Williamsburg. Like Williamsburg School of Music on Facebook here and find the beginnings of my website here.

The other business I’m starting is called Silver Hand Winery. I’ll be crafting the oldest fermented beverage known to man, honey wine, also known as mead! I made my first batch of honey wine back in 2009 and every time someone has tried some of my mead I have received a great response. I’ve been interested in supporting the honeybee and excellent beekeepers for years. Creating wine from honey gives us all an opportunity to do that while at the same time enjoying a delicious drink! It’s also pretty fun that we live about a mile from where the honeybee was first brought into North America and likely not far from where mead was first made here too!

Like Silver Hand Winery on Facebook here. Website in progress here.

So there you go. That’s our plan. Scary? Yes. Very. But also very exciting!

As we get these businesses up and rolling our first priority will be to find students and customers! If you are interested in lessons or in buying a few bottles of mead from me (once I’m fully licensed) just let me know via Facebook or a comment or an email or a phone call. I’ll add you to the list. Your interest will greatly help us in our planning process!

Thank you to all who have been praying for us over these last few months. We are trusting in God’s provision and appreciate your continued prayer support!

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Sadness and Excitement

I don’t know if I have ever spent more time in one single month talking to my bride. Maybe before kids, maybe while dating, but September of 2014 is one for the books. I’m pretty sure we set some new personal bests. When you sense a major life transition may be approaching a lot of deep conversation is required and that’s exactly what we did. Not only that but much time in prayer seeking what the Lord wanted for us and much time listening to friends, family, pastors and others who the Lord may speak to us through.

The result of all this time and these conversations is I have decided to move on from my position at the Williamsburg Community Chapel. I say this with sadness and excitement. The Chapel has been a real gift to our family in so many ways, more than I can go on about here. The friends we have made, the spiritual growth, the opportunity to learn, the welcome to this community and continuing support, all of this has been overwhelming in a great way. We have been embraced by a large community of people and hope that in some way we have been able to return the favor.

The excitement is found in the unknown of what lies ahead. In all of our conversations and prayer we feel confident that the Lord is at work here moving me out of this role. I have ideas of what could be next. I always have business start up ideas! Maybe that time is now, maybe not. We want to remain open to what the Lord may have for us and the Chapel is being very generous and supportive in giving me till the end of January, if needed, to make this transition.

I'm sure Sherri and I will have many more late night conversations in the coming weeks as we do our best to be on the same page. I'll be sure to update my blog as things progress!

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A Tribute

I recently had to do something I never wanted to do! Give a tribute at a funeral. Public speaking combined with mourning never seemed very appealing to me however, I keep learning that the difficult things in life are often gifts in disguise. In this case I was forced to stop and remember and consider all that my 99-year-old Grandpa French meant to my sisters and me. Forced to put it into words and really think through the impact he made on our lives. This was the gift, lots of great memories and experiences, which I may not have thought of otherwise. If you knew Herbert Alfred French but were unable to attend the funeral, or you are just interested in reading more about a man who lived life well and to it’s fullest, here are my notes from my tribute.

I consider it a great honor and privilege to stand before you today on behalf of my sisters, Tracy and Krista, and myself to pay tribute to a man who has had such a huge impact on so many people including us. When I think about what he has seen in his lifetime and how many people knew, loved, and respected him I am truly humbled to be here. Thank you.  

We called him Grandpa French before he was “officially” our Grandpa. We knew him and his first wife Elizabeth from church and loved going to their cottage. Elizabeth, was also Krista’s PAL in the PAL program, which partnered children with senior adults. Krista got to know her well and just loved her sense of humor. After Elizabeth passed and our Grandpa Lavender passed, Grandma marrying Grandpa French just made sense. We didn’t have to get to know some new person; this man who was already kind and generous to us was now becoming part of our family. And we were already calling him Grandpa anyway so it all made perfect sense to my 12 year old brain. Krista remembers their very hot wedding day in July of ’88. She teared up as Grandma walked down the aisle. She just loved seeing her so happy again. Grandpa French was a real gift for Grandma and our whole family, which we will forever be grateful for. I was also happy the cottage could become a more regular part of our lives! And that it did.  

We became very familiar with the short “dip” in the cold pool Grandpa French would always come in for. A jump off the diving board, a swim to the other side and out! A dip is right. We learned how to navigate around the goose grease that Grandpa French was always battling to get to the water and take out the canoe. As much as the geese must have annoyed him I always heard him talk about it as a problem to solve and not something that was infringing on his rights. He had a love and respect for God’s creation, which I’m sure has influenced me to this day. Occasionally Grandpa French would even take us out in the motorboat for a very very slow ride.  

Now that Grandma and Grandpa French were married and living at the cottage, we were going to the cottage in the winter too and getting to enjoy the wood burning stove and skating the frozen lake. That stove mesmerized me. I’m sure that particular stove is why I’m always trying to find a way to get one into whatever house we live in. We’d come in after a cold afternoon of trying to skate on snow covered bumpy ice, feet aching, and warm up by the fire. Grandpa French would always remind us how burning wood would warm you up three times! Once when you cut the wood, once carrying it in, and then of course when you burn it. He was green long before it was cool.  

As a teenage boy I always loved spending time in Grandpa French’s shop. It seemed like such a cool little getaway spot to get work done. The tools were organized on the walls, each one had its place and there was always a distinct smell in there. Varnish, or paint thinner or something that communicated to me experienced craftsman at work. Speaking of green, he did a great job repurposing the frame of an old waterbed. Dad bought a new stereo and I got to have the old one in my bedroom but I wanted to put the speakers up in the corners and didn’t know how to do it. Well, I explained this to Grandpa French and he took that frame to his shop and made a couple of corner shelves for me to put those speakers on in my bedroom, as well as a TV stand for Mom and Dad and eventually a CD case for my wife Sherri and I.  

Eventually it made more sense for Grandma and Grandpa French to move out of the cottage and in with Mom and Dad. If it wasn’t clear before, Grandpa French’s sweet tooth became quite evident to us all now. Tracy reminded me how he used to always say “apple pie without cheese is like a hug without a squeeze” and we used to enjoy date squares which he liked to call “matrimonial cake”, since it was “two things brought together by dates.” This is also where he perfected his apple pie made in a toaster oven recipe! We will definitely miss his apple pies.  

We can’t imagine the loss Grandpa French had to deal with in his life, being widowed twice and outliving pretty much all of his contemporaries. He was a man of strength, routine, discipline, commitment, love and generosity. He always greeted everyone with a warm smile and a twinkle in his eye. He ate oatmeal on odd days and cereal with milk on even days or maybe it was the other way round. He did his stretches every morning and was always sure to get his nap in! In the last few years he would leave Mom and Dad’s after Sunday dinner saying, “That’s my cue to go for a rest.”  

He gave of himself. He truly loved us and adopted us as his own which has helped us all to know and experience what unconditional love is. I’m sure his ability to show this love stemmed directly from his relationship with Jesus, the author of love. He so clearly lived a life influenced by Jesus, so full of love and joy.  

Grandpa French has left a wonderful legacy for all of us. We have been challenged these last few days and will continue to be as we remember how he lived and how much it has affected our lives. Tracy, Krista and I hope that remembering Grandpa French today will also inspire you and challenge you to follow his example in how you live and how you love each other.

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Thoughts On Ending

I picked up my boys from school yesterday right after I got home from the airport.  This was the first time I picked them up with no more tours looming on the horizon.  It was a moment I hadn't expected or prepared for.  They were expecting Mom to pick them up so it was a great surprise that was immediately obvious on both of their faces.  I think it was Bram telling me that he missed me that snapped everything into focus though.  He got me choked up yet again.  There's been a lot of that lately!  I can pick these guys up nearly every day now if that's what we want to do. Extended away times are done!

For how great that is I still found myself, just a couple of days ago, suddenly weeping because of this ending.  Although parts of this job have been so very difficult, we have endured so much together that it makes it difficult to finally stop.  The drive that has kept me pushing through all the tough times has an incredible amount of momentum behind it.  But here we are.  It has stopped.  Everything eventually does.  We loaded the trailer for the last time, slept on the bus for the last time and set up all our gear for the last time.  I've been marking so many of these "last times" I've lost track.  Now it is time to enter the next season and there is so much to look forward to yet again.

I have shared an incredible 12 years with some of the most talented people I know. Jason, Marc and Jeremy, we have made a great team over the years and it has been a privilege to share the stage and to share life with each of you!  My life has been enriched and will continue to be by your friendship.  I sure hope we have another album in us when the dust settles!


A good chunk of those 12 years was also spent with Dave and Jessica Lewis and Wesley Morris.  I sure have missed all of you since you have left this circus but I'll always think of you when I think of the road.  You are some the dearest friends I have!


And to those of you who have listened to our music, come to shows, bought the t-shirt, hosted us in your home, shuttled us around, promoted shows, told your friends about us, etc... A HUGE thank you! It is because of you we were able to record as many albums as we did and stay on the road as long as we did.  But the biggest thank you needs to go to our wives.  If you are a fan of Downhere then by default you are a fan of the ladies who have supported their husbands throughout this whole process.  Words will never truly describe the thankfulness and awe I have for these ladies and what they have endured to keep the music coming.  Thank you girls and much love to all of you!

And now;
A new day, a new dream, a new life
This is only the beginning

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Yes, this really is what we are doing...

My life is in a serious change of seasons right now.  For the last nearly 12 years I have spent most of my working hours with the same few guys.  Together as the band Downhere, we’ve seen all but one of the U.S. states, all but one of the ten Canadian provinces, plus ten or so other countries in Europe, Africa and the Caribbean.  It has been grueling, rewarding, fun, frustrating, exhilarating, and many other emotions.  That focused time together is coming to an end this year which means something will need to take its place.  I’m going to write a separate blog post altogether at a later time to reminisce about our time as a band.

But now I want to write about what is coming!  I have accepted a job in Williamsburg, Virginia as Director of Worship Arts at Williamsburg Community Chapel.  We were not planning on leaving our home in Cambridge, Ontario anytime soon so this is coming as a surprise to us too.  My family came to Virginia for a position I had with the Chapel over the summer and it gave us a great opportunity to get to know the people, the community, and the potential job.  We have come to know and be a part of a wonderful church family in Williamsburg over the past ten weeks.  But we have deep roots in southern Ontario and there will be a lot of difficult good byes.  It is definitely home and a place we love, full of people we love.  Making this decision has been so very difficult.  There will be so many changes that we feel like we can’t even keep up with them all.

So here I am on the eve of making this announcement to the church body, feeling a little nervous about even publishing this post.  It’s almost like it makes it more real.  It’s not unlike how I felt before posting the Downhere announcement in July.  It’s a choice I/we have made and we have peace about it but it still doesn’t seem real.  This big of a change seems to require many times of saying, “Yes, this really is what we are doing.”  So yes, this really is what we are doing!

Even though we are truly sad to be leaving family and friends we are excited about this next season.  It is one that is going to look so much different.  For starters, I’ll see my family every day and that is HUGE!  I’ll also see a regular pay cheque where I can actually expect the same amount each time.  WOW!  Plus, I’ll be in the same church every Sunday. 

Speaking of church, I have had the pleasure of visiting and participating in so many churches over the past decade and I can say that the Williamsburg Community Chapel is truly a great group of people.  It has a focus on intergenerational ministry, which was a big part of my experience growing up in The Salvation Army.  The value of having both seniors and young people living out their faith together is one that I think is often being forgotten but is so sorely needed.  I love that there are elements of tradition that need not be discarded as well as a willingness to try new things to see what works.  In the end, it’s about more people getting to know Jesus.  If it works, keep it.  If not, throw it out.  And this church is committed to that.  That is something I want to be a part of and can get excited about.

So we’ll be back in Ontario until mid October as I finish up my time with Downhere and as we try to tie up all the loose ends we need to deal with before leaving.  One thing is certain, that life following Jesus is an adventure, a rewarding and costly one at that.

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Reading Chaim Potok

I have friends with great taste in literature.  Last summer I ventured out to read Chaim Potok's My Name Is Asher Lev as recommended by one of these friends.  I mentioned it here.  I enjoyed it but it was definitely a different style of reading for me and pretty thick with unknown terms (to me) used in the Jewish culture.  What I loved about it was that it placed me in an environment and culture that I really knew very little about.  And it also made me feel very smart to be reading a book that wasn't by Dan Brown and also was not intended for children!  

So when I was looking over another friends bookshelf and he told me that The Chosen by Potok was one of his favorite books of all time I thought I would check it out.  I would also feel smarter too!  Well I once again immersed myself into the war time Jewish culture of Brooklyn and wasn't disappointed.  I was pulled into this book much quicker than Asher Lev.  Perhaps the fact that it started with a tense baseball game was helpful.  I love the way Potok develops his characters and the pace at which he moves the story along.  It's definitely slower than most modern novels but I was still finding it difficult to put down.  His attention to detail and emotions really kept my attention even though there wasn't any kind of quick paced action.

Upon completing The Chosen my friend told me there was a sequel.  Well that was a good piece of news.  I felt like I had said good bye to two friends when I finished that book and now I would get to spend another week or two with them!  So I dove into The Promise.  I think I actually enjoyed this one the most out of the three Potok books I've read.  As I am no literary critic I'm guessing I just finally understood his style of writing and was able to get into the story quicker.  I found it interesting how so much of the story was based around one of the characters and his time in class with a particular teacher and how tense Potok made me feel while reading those passages.  I would finish reading a chapter and think back on it and wonder how I was so wrapped up in it.  A simple thing like students reading to their teacher and then explaining what they read was quite fun to read.  Potok did a great job in these classroom settings of not getting too technical with the content but still being able to explain why there was so much conflict about what they had read.  

Anyway, all that said I look forward to reading more Potok.  Maybe Davita's Harp will be next.  But right now I have some pop culture to take care of.  Hunger Games 1 complete, 2 half way done and 3 soon to be.  As well as the best seller Heaven Is For Real.  I'll post about these as I finish them up.

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Marc Martel's Queen Audition

I've been seeing so many questions since all of this has blown up.  As of this point the views just passed 1 million.  How are you feeling about all of this?  Does this mean Downhere is done?  What's going to happen to your upcoming tour dates?

When Marc sent me the link to this contest I replied with "Tell me you are doing this!"  So I am totally supportive of this whole adventure.  After spending the last 10+ years together, 9 of those in a 15 passenger van, we all know each other quite well.  Any success that one of us has is shared by all of us.   So many of us have known Marc was capable of this for such a long time, it was just a question of when an opportunity like this would come along.  

As for what happens next . . . God only knows.  Downhere has no intentions of stopping.  In fact, our Called To Love tour is about to kick off on October 1st.  We're touring with our good friends Jason Gray and Aaron Shust which will be a blast.  Then we're pretty booked up till after New Year's so we're about to head into a busy season.  Likely a busier season than we originally anticipated but it should be fun!   Time to hold on!

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Presenting The Chicken Coop

Over the past few years I've been reading books about becoming self sufficient like this one by John Seymour. I like the idea of being a better steward of what I have and this book really connected with me. I don't really have the kind of property that's ideal for living the total self sufficient philosophy but there are things that are possible even in a small urban environment.

Composting and gardening are a couple of easy things to start with. For those of you who know me, you know how much I dig composting! We have three separate composting bins/piles in our yard and a compost thermometer to monitor the temperature of our pile. We've also had some success with our gardens and berry patches in the last couple of years so that is all coming along.

I've also been on a beekeeping kick since reading John Seymour. Not actually doing it but reading lots and lots about it. My plan is to build a few hives between now and spring and hopefully get some bees come late spring. Yes, I would like to be your beekeeper! Everyone needs one you know?

Another thing that had interested me is keeping chickens for the sake of having fresh eggs everyday. I like the economics of it and I like the stewardship of it. So this summer my project was to build a coop and get some chickens! I started designing my coop by hand and going through all the different designs I saw on backyardchickens.com. Then a friend recommended I try out Google SketchUp to design my coop. It's a free 3D AutoCAD type of program. This way I could essentially build the coop without cutting any wood and figure out exactly what I wanted to do. With some free time during a summer camp we were at I designed the coop! A screen shot is below.

The plan for the roof is to become a strawberry garden too. I didn't take the time to make it look like one in SketchUp.

This took more hours than I expected but I was geeking out with it and having fun so the time went by quickly. I was designing the coop based on some free lumber I knew I had access to which is why it ended up being somewhat of a tank of a coop. Below are some pictures of the process which also took a while. You see part of the deal here is that I have no history in woodworking and felt like I needed to impress my wife with my abilities. I made her a box when we were dating which was quite terrible. It was time to make up for it!

The boys could not get enough of this door. I was tempted to remove it so they would stop opening it every time they walked by. It was a temptation they just could not resist. I admit, it is pretty cool!

And here it is, the finished product with our first two chickens in it! Big Boss Lady and DeChick! They should start laying eggs in October. The roof is flipped over for the winter. I didn't see any point in starting a garden this late in the year so that will happen next spring.

And now we are at capacity with four chickens. The newest two, Isa and Babs are supposed to be old enough to be laying but so far . . .

. . . only one of them has laid. Yes, this is proudly our first egg thanks to Babs!

So there you have it! That's been summer around the Lavender backyard. I've discovered that my coop has already inspired one person to build a new coop and another to build one labour day weekend!! I love that! Maybe you want to keep a couple of chickens too??

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