the judge of all has suffered death to set this prisoner free.

I'm pretty tired but it's only 9pm and way too early for me to call it a night. I'm at home in the back office wrapping up a pretty busy week. Dates and details for the Fall tour are really taking shape and it looks like October and most of November are almost completely booked. I'm actually having to block off time to be home this fall...it's that busy! This is the first time it has been this slammed and honestly it's very encouraging.

I've been writing and recording for six years and it's been quite a roller coaster ride. A lot of good. A lot of bad. A lot of confusion. Lately though, it seems that some of our prayers have been answered pertaining to the future and what it might look like to continue touring and writing full-time. This last year has been a great season of growth for my new wife and I. Our prayer has been "Lord, what do you have for us?". A simple question I suppose. It seems the Lord's reply has been "press on with your music, push forward."

Does that sound nuts?

I'm not delusional here and I'm definitely not waiting around in Nashville, living here so that some guy in a business suit will make me a rock star. I admit I had some of those ambitions a few years back but no longer. The whole Universal South thing killed that for me. And it needed to die. Selfish ambition. Rotten birthday cake...

Looking back, it's the best thing that ever could have happened to me b/c it led me straight to the heart of why I've chosen this crazy ass career. (sorry for the swear, but that's really what it is.)

I was talking to my friend Monroe last night on the phone and we were both sharing about how good it feels just to make music for the pure love of it. Just because you can. Because God gave you the ability to do it and to do it well. You feel God's pleasure.

Don Miller really killed me with his new book. Searching for God Knows What.

I came to realize that for far too long I have found my self-worth in whether or not people thought I was a good at my profession. I made that scenario my judge and jury. Sometimes I won, most times I lost.

But you know what? We play a game with ourselves. We all do it. We put ourselves out on the ball field with 5 seconds left in front of a crowd of shouting people who tell us we aren't worth anything because we can't do the impossible.

And the truth is this: there is no game. there are no people shouting. there is no ball field. the game and all of its rules never existed. We make it up and put ourselves through it. We do it to ourselves.

And the gospel says, "come and find out who you really are. come and find out the truth which will set you free from yourself and the stupid games you play."

The voice says, "I love you because you are mine. Not because of anything you do or will ever do."

So that's what I'm reminded of tonight as I head out this next month into three full months of touring. I'm thankful that it's not about me. Cliche sounding, i know. But it's true.

All I have to do is be honest and cling to the cross.

We keep walking down the road a little further and we start to become who we really are. Who we were created to be. We start to recover our identities because we are connected to the maker.

God is in the business of redemption. Making and breaking. What no man can own, no man can take. Take this heart and make it break.