Kathy

Beyond Belief – Petra

Rick France 1976, 1993, Arena Rock, Hard Rock , , , , , , ,
Beyond Belief
Petra

In the 1990’s I was once asked, “If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only have one album by Petra, which album would you choose?” For me, Beyond Belief was that album; only because the album Jekyll & Hyde was not released until 2003 and this was a 90’s question. That type of question always confused me though because it always makes me wonder, “How am I going to play that album on this deserted island?” But I digress. Beyond Belief is an awesome album with great songs from start to finish but there is that one song that triggers those special memories regarding youth camps.

Promised Land Bible Church was a non-denominational church and as a result we did not have access to the normal youth camps that drew teens from every church in the state of that particular denomination. So we had to improvise. Being that I had come out of the Wesleyan Church, which had extremely strict rules at camp here in the south regarding mixed bathing (girls and guys swimming together), shorts and for that matter pants period for the girls, a couple of my friends who were youth pastors for two of the larger Wesleyan youth groups at that time here in Georgia were starting to think outside the box and organize their own camp. When I caught wind of this I contacted Billy Ginn of Northside Wesleyan Church and Greg Moore of Winder Wesleyan Church about joining in on the adventure. For several years our three church youth groups had some pretty awesome times and not just with these camps, but lock-ins, Atlantafest and many other events.

One of the camps we did had the theme “I Believe” and I was in charge of t-shirt design that year and came up with this idea involving the song “Creed” off of Beyond Belief. Being a musician I did not want to break any copyright laws so since email, texts and twitter did not exist at the time, I thought I would send a letter to Petra requesting permission to use the lyrics of the song. Petra responded by saying something like, “Have at it – it’s the Apostle’s Creed.” After the “duh” moment had passed, I designed a t-shirt that had a scroll on it with the words from the song “Creed”; because theirs did rhyme and flow a little better than the original Apostle’s Creed.

I cannot say for sure if the 1993 camp was the actual “Creed” t-shirt camp, but it stands out in my memory thanks to Jesse Marescalco. That year our camp was just outside of Dahlonega, GA at Camp Glisson. With its beautiful waterfall and lake it was one of my favorite places to take LightForce for retreats and camps. We had baptisms at the foot of those falls on more than one occasion and we watched Daniel Dean climb the falls as a water moccasin climbed with him just a bit faster about 10 ft away. This particular camp is where deep spiritual decisions were made every day by Carissa Gillespie who each morning would move her hair back and forth and ask, “Should I wear my hair up or down today? Up or down? Up or down?” For the sake of time though, maybe I should get on with the story at hand by first taking one more little rabbit trail.

When I was attending Tyner Junior High we use to play this game we called bombardment in gym. Basically everyone was divided into two teams and no one could cross center court. Several of those red rubber balls were placed in the middle and when the whistle blew it was high energy team dodgeball; don’t get hit but hit everyone on the other team as hard as you possibly can. The team with the last man standing won and I loved it. I couldn’t wear my glasses but I could dodge those red blurs with the best of them thanks to my cat like reflexes developed from years of clumsiness. There is just nothing like going through puberty with big red whelps on the side of your face to highlight the acne.

Fast forward back to camp 1993 and it was a rainy night so we had to come up with something to do in the gym. We had three youth groups with about equal number of teens and a whole bunch of red rubber balls. It seemed logical for me to suggest bombardment and we decided we would have two youth groups face off and the winner take on the third. First up was Northside vs LightForce with Winder taking on the winner. Since I do not have a competitive bone in my body it was only natural that I only had one thought in mind and that was to WIN! On a side note, I was later told by Ashley Gard that right before we started play Jesse said, “Finally a game where you can hurt someone!” I guess he had the gift of prophecy.

Once Greg gave the signal to start, that gym became a bloody massacre of rubber ball induced carnage on both sides of the court. Bodies were falling like rain that evening as the onslaught of rubber balls were flying back and forth leaving nothing but the cries of pain and defeat in its wake.  I was focused, like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli; my eyes were intent on Billy and one of his teens, Tobin Hines, who I thought was the only real competition standing between myself and victory when one of my own came to stand beside me and said, “Rick, I think I threw my shoulder out!” As any loving youth pastor would do, I maintained my gaze on the task at hand and simply said with the deepest of compassion, “Go tell Billy.” I have no idea what the conversation was between them, but since Billy is less competitive than me and much more spiritual he must have had a similar reaction and told him to go see his wife Tina.

The battle of the church youth groups continued as more and more teens were being laid to waste and it was down to just a few survivors. Billy and I had begun to talk a little smack and the wagering of mess hall cleanup duties began to take center court. Suddenly, I heard the soft voice of that sweetest of all angels deep within my soul as my wife yelled, “RICK FRANCE!” which was quickly followed by Tina’s, “BILLY GINN! COME HERE RIGHT NOW!”

Timeout was reluctantly called and I could see the look of fear in Billy’s eyes as I’m sure he also saw in mine. We both walked over to our wives like two 5 year olds who had just gotten caught and yet we had no idea what we were in trouble for. There behind our most loving and understanding wives who had decreed their undying love to us for better or worse, stood Jesse. His arm was at a 90 degree angle from where it should have been. It was literally hanging in front of his chest and I must admit it sort of grossed me out because I had never seen anything so misplaced in my life. Jesse had this taunting grin on his face that seemed to say, “You guys are in trouble now!” I do not know what Kathy and Tina said because they were yelling at us both at the same time and who could understand either of them talking over each other in such a rude fashion. In my defense I tried to throw Billy under the bus and said, “I sent him to Billy” but that just seemed to get us both in that much more trouble.

After our wives finally calmed down, I noticed tears flowing down Jesse’s cheeks which I am sure had more to do with the verbal beat down he had just witnessed of these two pillars of God in his life; much more than any pain that he might have been suffering from the dislocation of his arm from his shoulder, but a decision was finally made to take him to the ER. I went to get his medical release form and met Kathy and Jesse at the car and we made the trek to this little hospital in Dahlonega that was more like a doctor’s office. While we were waiting I made that midnight phone call that every youth pastor dreads that basically starts like this, “I want you to know that Jesse is all right but . . .”

They gave Jesse a shot of dilaudid and while we waited on the arrival of his parents, Jesse became very talkative. There is an unspoken agreement between youth pastors and parents that says, “I won’t believe anything your teen says about you if you don’t believe anything he says about me.” I listened to Jesse say more that night than he had spoken in all the conversations the two of us had over all the years combined and Jesse was in one of my discipleship groups so we spoke with each other multiple times a week outside of church. Kathy and I learned a lot of family secrets that night and I can honestly say I don’t remember a single one of them; and if I did there is that unspoken agreement.

Not long after his parents arrived he was dismissed and he somehow managed to talk his parents into letting him return to camp with his arm in a sling; probably because they didn’t want to listen to him all the way back to Woodstock since he had yet to shut up. Whatever the reason the three of us returned to camp and the week went on without anymore incidents to speak of. Well, until RJ Dunn and Stephanie Neal attempted to not be outdone by each spraining their ankle and wrist respectively; at least neither required the dreaded phone call and a trip to the ER.

Every now and then I still get in trouble for not paying attention and maybe even a little competitive when I shouldn’t be. Most of all, I just miss those LightForce days and all of the teens that made those days so special. I still think of them as my own. We saw many of them come to Christ at those events with the three groups and thanks to Facebook I still get a few messages here and there from my kids. Many are still walking the walk and talking the talk. Some have become pastors, worship leaders and church leaders themselves but every one of my kids are still in my prayers. I still want to see each one put their faith where it matters most; know what you believe and why you believe it; keep those arms & shoulders square and take that leap of faith to that higher place Beyond Belief.

Rick E. France

 

Fishin’ In The Dark – The Best Of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Rick France 1987, 1988, Classical, Country , , ,
Fishin’ In The Dark
The Best Of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

The song “Fishin’ In The Dark” was the last number one hit for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. First appearing on Hold On in 1987, but I never had a copy until their greatest hits CD years later. I was more interested in their songs that received a little more airplay on the stations I grew up on in Chattanooga back in the 70’s; WFLI, WGOW & KZ106. Songs like “Mr. Bojangles”, “American Dream” and “Make A Little Magic” and yes I know the latter was 1980, but I was Class Of 1980 at Tyner High School so cut me some slack – it counts as the 70’s as far as I’m concerned. Those songs defined The Dirt Band to me, and up until I met Kathy those three songs were pretty much all I knew about the band. Boy was I in for a rude awakening.

After she finally said, “Yes” in late November of 1987, we started making plans for not just our wedding but our lives together. One of our first dilemmas revolved around season tickets. I am a rocker at heart, but I am primarily a “Prog Rocker”. One side effect of Progessive Rock is a love for Classical Music and I had season tickets to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Kathy had season tickets to Lanierland Music Park which had been providing country music fans their country fix since the early 70’s. Needless to say, I had never heard of the place. We both came to the conclusion that we couldn’t keep both sets of tickets and so a decision was made to meet in the middle. Kathy loved ballet and since the Atlanta Symphony played for the Atlanta Ballet we decided to get season tickets to the Atlanta Ballet from that point forward. In my opinion, I was coming out on top in this deal.

After our wedding, since the season for both venues was drawing near an end, we decided to sell those few remaining tickets we had save for one pair to each. Kathy had no preference with the symphony and since I favor strings over brass my favorite classical composer is Mendelssohn, and the Atlanta Symphony was featuring Mendelssohn and Gorski in one of the remaining concerts which is what I chose. For Lanierland, Kathy suggested I might like Restless Heart and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. I had heard one Restless Heart song that sort of sounded like pre-Hotel California Eagles but mainly visions of “Make A Little Magic” and “American Dream” made me go, “yeah, I think that would be a pretty good concert.” So the decision was made, tickets set aside, and date nights established.

The two concerts were a few weeks apart and first up was the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Kathy and I got all dressed up for this one; one of the few times that I put on a coat and tie. I can clean up nicely from time to time, but she on the other hand looked stunning. We had a nice dinner beforehand in Roswell and then made our way to downtown Atlanta for the symphony. I had pretty good seats right in the middle about 30 rows back and the place was packed with everyone in their Sunday best. They first performed Mendelssohn and after a brief intermission finished the night with Gorski. During the intermission most everyone left the auditorium, but we remained behind with a few others. I asked Kathy what she thought so far and she said, “It’s good, but I like violins better when they’re fiddles.”

This one lady that looked like an old schoolmarm about four rows in front of us turned around slowly and pulled her glasses down on her nose and gave us a look that could stop a train. As she turned back around we both cracked up, but the comment and schoolmarm was engrained in our psyche from that day forward to be referenced whenever the situation allowed. The rest of the evening with my new beautiful bride was wonderful with the exception of Kathy standing at the finale and waving a lighter in the air while yelling “Free Bird!” OK, maybe she didn’t really stand up and yell, but it is still one of my favorite jokes to tell regarding that evening.

Next up was Lanierland. I must admit it was much more my style of a blue jean date night. Lanierland Music Park was a fairly small venue so they would have two shows each night of the same bands and our tickets were for the second show. I have been blamed for being cheap and my car at that time fit that bill. It was a white Nissan Sentra straight-shift that had no air conditioning and no radio. We arrived at Lanierland with the windows down on a cool summer evening thanks to the wind blowing off of Lake Lanier. I could tell it was going to be a cool night to enjoy this little “American Dream”, and then without warning – IT HAPPENED! As we pulled up to park the car the first thing I heard was, “You and me goin’ fishin’ in the dark. Lying on our backs and counting the stars where the cool grass grows.”

In total shock I said, “What in the world is that?” I was hoping that the first show was a completely different band.

Unfortunately, Kathy responded with, “That’s Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.”

I’m thinking, “No it’s not! It can’t be! Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is 70’s Rock and that’s not 70’s Rock” but all Kathy did was laugh at me because of the pathetic look on my face.

What I found out real quick was simply this; it ain’t the 70’s no more and this was not my childhood Dirt Band! Nitty Gritty was full blown country and this evening was not going to be “Make A Little Magic” – this evening was “Fishin’ In The Dark” and the two were not the same. I came real close to turning that car around and leaving, but I was quickly reminded by the voices in my head that it was my idea to take her to the symphony and then to this, this, whatever it was. I was here and there was no way of escape.

Oh sure, they did a medley of those 70’s hits – a medley – not the whole songs – a medley. Thank God they did “Mr. Bojangles” in its entirety, but even those 70’s songs seemed to have a bit more of a country twist on them than I remembered. All I can say is I felt more like a fish out of water in the dark than anything else remotely close to that evening. I had been to a lot of concerts at this point in my life, but none had prepared me for this night of music.

Still, I looked at this beautiful woman standing beside me singing every word to every song. The smile on her face as she danced and swayed to the music and all I could think was that I was the luckiest man alive. The style of music may not have been to my taste at that time, but that night was more than I could ever imagine. I was in love with this country music loving girl and there was no place on earth that I would rather be than right there with her. Crickets were singin’ and lightning bugs were floatin’ on the breeze and it felt so good to be right there with her and I would do it again right now if the opportunity arose.

What can I say? She’s a little bit country and I’m a little bit rock n’ roll. They say opposites attract and you can’t get more opposite than the two of us. I’ve always said and maintain to this day that if two people are just alike then one of them is unnecessary. Through the years, I have grown to enjoy and appreciate some of Kathy’s country music which is probably something I would never have done on my own accord. Plus, “Fishin’ In The Dark” has become our unofficial song because every time we hear it one of us will always say, “they’re playing our song.”

Might I suggest that next time you and the one you love look up and see a lazy yellow moon shinin’ through the trees that you take a little walk across the fields down to where the creek turns back and try a little Fishin’ In The Dark.

Rick E. France

 

State Of Independence – Jon and Vangelis

Rick France 1987, 1988, 1991, 1993, 2004, Electronic, Prog Rock , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
State Of Independence
Jon and Vangelis

In 1991 my daughters, Katie and Melissa, were taking dance at Rose Barile’s Alpharetta Dance Theatre (ADT). That year for the Senior Company, which my daughters were too young for at the time, Rose had choreographed a liturgical dance to the song “State Of Independence” which I had the pleasure of watching on several occasions. Being a huge fan of Yes since the album Fragile, I recognized Jon Anderson’s voice right off the bat. Initially I thought it was from a Yes album that I might have missed, but soon discovered it was from a Jon and Vangelis album entitled The Friends of Mr Cairo. This particular song along with Rose’s dance became a staple in my life in more ways than one. As a result this song has multiple storylines as well as timelines in my life but in order to get the full story we must step back in time a bit to the time where it all began with a close family friend, Jennifer Williams, who was also dancing at ADT.

In 1987, before Kathy and I got married, I was doing a weekly Bible Study at her house with the teens from Antioch Christian Church where Kathy attended. I was in the band ForeSight and my hair was halfway down my back and permed like most any 80’s hair band guitarist of the day. My hair was as wide as my shoulders and it was BIG! I was in my second year of discipleship with Jack Vandiver and he use to crack this joke all the time about people having an attitude of “Turn or Burn, Try or Fry, Shake or Bake” that I thought was quite funny. So I had this car tag airbrushed that had a Bible in the upper left corner and flames in the lower right corner with the words “Turn or Burn”. I’m sure everyone doesn’t see the humor that I saw in this or even see any good coming from it, but one time I pulled over on I 85 to help this girl who had a flat and she told me that the only reason she let me help her was because of this tag.

Anyways, Kathy was already friends with the Williams family which consisted of Brenda and her three children Jennifer, Ben and Lindsey but the first one I met was Jen, a young teen at the time that Kathy had invited to the Bible Study. I remember when she came in she had quite an attitude and opinion already formed regarding me. She obviously did not want to be there and beyond huffing and puffing at pretty much everything I said, she did not participate in the discussion and was quick to leave as soon as the opportunity arose. Later, Kathy informed me that she was quite offended by my car tag and as a result had no interest in anything I had to say. I never told Jen this before, but I actually removed that tag because of her. I never intended to offend her or anyone else and I was not going to let a car tag cause anyone to stay away from Christ. Needless to say, I never saw her again at the Bible Study but our lives would connect again a couple of years later.

Kathy and I were married on February 13, 1988, and we still live in the same house of that Bible Study. Right before we got married, my hairdresser bride-to-be talked me into cutting my hair which endeared her to my mom for life. We were married at Promised Land Bible Church (PLBC) where I soon became the Youth Pastor and began working with the teens of LightForce. I’m not sure exactly what year the Williams family became a part of PLBC, but Ben was one of the teens that we built the youth group on. However, my relationship with Ben is a story for another day.

By 1991, Jen had become a pretty important part of our lives both at ADT where Jen, in my opinion, was an accomplished ballerina as well as at PLBC. While she did not regularly attend LightForce, most likely due to her being a Junior in High School and most the teens were Ben’s age and therefore just kids, she did attend PLBC regularly and was involved in many special events we did. One of my favorite things she did with us, which I still have on VHS, was our Youth Sunday on May 19, 1991. We reenacted an Isaac Air Freight skit named “Let’s Trade Your Salvation” and Jen played the part of Carol Barrel. The host of the show, Monty Lucifer (played by Philip Gard), would try to get Bernadette Weiser (played by Amanda Ayers) to trade her little bag of Salvation (which contained a Bible) for various prizes. At one point Jen stood beside a crock pot, in first position of course, and pointed to it while Jay Tatellyaboutit (played by Lee Stewart) said, “This is no ordinary crock pot Monty, but a Spiegel crock pot. If you want to get crocked tonight this is the pot for you. That’s Spiegel, Chicago 666, Illinois.” In hindsight, probably not the best line for a Sunday morning. Jen, or rather Carol Barrel, later modeled a mink coat for Bernadette (that wasn’t mink) while standing in third position – because you can take the ballerina out of the ballet but you can’t take the ballet out of the ballerina.

Kathy and I had season tickets to the Atlanta Ballet back then, but I mainly went to hear the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra perform. I never really appreciated ballet until we started going to watch Jen perform with ADT. She was a beautiful dancer and it was watching her perform that caught my attention and developed my appreciation for ballet and dance. Watching Jen and the work she put into it; the grace in which she danced, it was like a light came on in me. I finally saw the beauty and the art of dance all come together in her. The first time I saw her and the Senior Company perform “State Of Independence”, well that was all it took for me to be hooked once and for all. Those flowing white dresses and the precision of those young ladies as they interpreted that song was one of the most beautiful, artistic dances I have ever witnessed. Years later when I began to dream and work on my own Christmas production of “The Star”, that dance influenced the vision I had for the angels and the white flowing dresses that we used for the angels. Just as in the dance that Jen was a part of, the angels would hold the hem of their skirts and spread them out to form their wings as they would dance in “The Star”.

As with all things in life, the winds of change come and go. In 1993 this young lady spread her own wings and moved to New York City where she still lives today. The rest of her family moved to Oklahoma that same year. We remained in touch and from time to time they would come home to visit. I know it was mainly because their dad still lives here, but I like to think that they came to see us too.

By 2004, Ben was living in Tennessee, Jen was still in New York and Brenda and Lindsey were in Oklahoma, but that summer they all came to Hickory Flat at the same time for a little reunion that we got to be a part of. Our living room was packed with both families and we were laughing and reminiscing for hours on end. Jen mentioned she had just turned 30 and I was shocked because to me she was still this young teenage girl. I commented that there was no way she was “that old”. She acted like I had offended her by calling her old and played that card quite a bit that week as I recall.

The following Sunday after church we all went to Ryan’s to eat before they headed home. I was sitting directly across from Jen when she piped up and said, “Kathy, whatever happened to that long haired jerk you were dating that was doing that Bible Study at your house?” No one said a word or rather no one could even get in a word edgewise as Jen went on what seemed like a 10 minute tirade about how she couldn’t stand that jerk and how awful he was and yadda, yadda, yadda. When she finally did stop I just smiled and said, “She married him.”

Her eyes got as big as the moon. Her mouth dropped wide open and she exclaimed, “Nooooooo!”

We got a lot of stares due to the amount of laughter at our table over the next few minutes and truth be known, I am quite thankful she never realized until that moment that I was the same person. If she would have known that, I might not have ever had such a sweet friend as her for all these years. I quite possibly would not have appreciated my own daughters’ dance, and as a result I might have missed out on those early years of their dance due to my own ignorance. I might have never even thought of using dancers to portray the angels in “The Star” and that production would have fallen short of the beauty and wonder that it became. I might have never had the relationship with Ben and Brenda and Lindsey that means so much to me to this day. My life would have been a whole lot different and contained a lot less laughter and had far fewer memories to treasure without this beautiful dancer if she had put two and two together.

This song is on my phone to this day in my favorite “Prog Playlist” which I listen to more than any other play list. Every time this song comes on I envision the Senior Company and Jennifer dancing to it. I still see the white skirts flowing to the beat of the song and the exquisite performance of the routine. As I watch her dance in my mind’s eye, I lift her up in prayer every single time and the thought of her always changes my countenance for the better. You see, she still brings joy to my life as the flood of memories pass before me. I still appreciate everything about her both then and now because my life was blessed to watch this beautiful dancer grow from a young, obstinate teen into her own beautiful State Of Independence.

Rick E. France

Imagine This

Rick France 1994, Alternative, Hard Rock , , , , , ,
Imagine This

The self-titled debut of Imagine This is pretty difficult to define. Hard rock is what I generally think of first but it has an alternative feel and shades of disco and even some rap, but overall it just plain rocks. It also contains a couple of songs that were probably an attempt to get a little airplay on Christian radio. Usually when I grabbed this CD it was because I was in the mood for some good, hard rockin’ songs with catchy melodies and hooks. Most of the time when I would hit those slower, almost power ballad types of songs, I would just skip them and go on to the next track. “Bishop of Souls” was one of those songs. Little did I know that this song would become not only my favorite song on the CD, but it would be part of such a major impact on my life.

It was Thursday, September 1, 1994. I had recently been laid off from Von Roll only a month earlier and decided to start my own business. I was in my car doing something business related that I can’t recall, but I was listening to this CD when Kathy called me to let me know that her grandmother, whom I only knew as Mamaw, had passed away. She was 93 years old. As I headed back to the house I remember I first prayed for a little while but then decided to turn the music back on to distract my mind. The CD was right at the chorus of “Bishop of Souls” and the first thing I heard was this:

Oh, the Bishop of my soul is calling me home

The song instantly became real to me and over the next several weeks I listened to this song almost exclusively.

Kathy and I had only been married a little over six years at that time. Our house is on family property that Mamaw and Papaw had given her parents and they in turn gave her. I never knew Papaw personally since he passed away before I was a part of the family, but their house was just up the drive within a short walking distance and we pass by it every day. It’s a small house but full of big memories for the entire family. The Bobos are special. Mamaw and Papaw had three sons and two daughters, and I will not even attempt to tell you how many grandkids and great-grandkids. Kathy’s uncle James moved to Texas long before we were married and all of his kids were already grown and had families of their own, yet every year a good number of them would make the trek to Georgia, spread out amongst the family and we would have this huge family reunion at Mamaw’s house. Even when the Texas Bobos were not in town the Georgia Bobos would regularly get together at that little house.

We have so many pictures of the entire family sitting on that front porch; each photo revealing the family’s growth in age as well as numbers. We all could not fit in the house so that front porch and yard was our gathering place. In that yard around that big old oak tree we played wiffle ball, frisbee, passed footballs and baseballs while watching the kids play tag and other games. We ate, caught up on all the family news that we already knew anyways and just had some of the best times of our lives together. Mamaw would just sit and watch and laugh at our antics and the air was full of everyone’s laughter. The seats next to Mamaw were never vacant and on a constant rotation of family members of all ages.

Since we lived so close to Mamaw, we would visit her quite often. Kathy and the kids more than me but still I remember spending quite a bit of time with her. I really never got the chance to speak with her much because Kathy is a hair dresser so she does most the talking. Still I would watch her and listen to her. I loved to watch her play with the girls and Stephen. She had this big rubber ball that she kept and toddler Stephen would sit in the floor and pass it back and forth to her the whole time we were visiting. According to adult Stephen, he still has that ball. I also remember watching her softly applaud as Katie and Melissa would show her their latest dance moves they had learned. I found these acts pretty amazing because it was obvious to me at that time in her life that her hands were in constant pain.

From the pain, the Bishop of my soul is calling me home

What beautiful hands she had. Sure, they were old and wrinkled and as I said, I could tell by the way she would rub them and the look on her face that they were the source of much pain. Yet you could see in her hands years and years of working the land, preparing chickens from the coop to the stove to the table, dealing with James, Geneva and Harold (which was a full time job in itself from what I’ve heard), and feeding the road workers from the prison when they would stop to rest in her yard. Those hands did not have the luxuries of microwaves and instant pots. Yet those hands were so gentle with each of us. Those hands had spent hours on end flipping through one of the most well-worned bibles I have ever seen. I believe those hands had actually touched the hem of her Savior’s garment. Those hands were the hands of Jesus because she treated each and every person as if they were His hands. What Would Jesus Do? Mamaw didn’t have to ask that question; she just did.

I’d see her look at me
Her eyes were icons of a faith I’d never known

I don’t recall any particular conversation with Mamaw, but what I do remember are her eyes when she talked to me. She truly had a faith I’ve never known and you could see it in her eyes. When she talked to me it was as if she was looking way beyond me and deep into my soul. It felt like she was sitting in the lap of Jesus and in her mind she was talking to Him about me. You could feel her prayers when you were in her presence. She could be talking about anything that wasn’t even spiritual and yet I could sense God’s Spirit pricking me and encouraging me just by being there. Her eyes smiled all the time and they were the eyes of grace. No condemnation; nothing to worry about; just eyes of grace resulting from a deep seated faith. A faith that knew who she was in Christ and saw who I could be if I would just let go and take that leap of faith into His loving arms right there beside her.

Finally free from the shackles of a dying world
They say she sang with the voice of an angel that day

As I drove by her house on my way home today and I was listening to this song, as always it brought tears to my eyes. Not because of that porch sitting empty or the missing oak tree that lightning stole away from us and not because of the loss of Mamaw. She’s where we all truly long to be, with Jesus. She truly has escaped the cares and pain of this world and is singing with angels at this very moment. She is in the great cloud of witnesses right there with all our loved ones that have gone on before us cheering us on. I believe she is even still talking to Jesus about all of her family and lifting us up in supplication at this very moment. No, the tears now are because of my own shortcomings. I long to have the faith of Mamaw; I long to have the grace of Mamaw; I long to walk as close to Christ as Mamaw did. She was an example to us all of what being a Christian really is.

I have several of those grey haired ladies and men in my life with calluses on their knees from the hours they have spent in prayer and I am sure each one of you can testify to the same. Right now I ask that you think about those little ol’ prayer warriors from your past that you knew, loved and respected that have gone on before you. That one person that you knew you could go talk to about anything and you knew they meant it when they said they would pray for you. Picture that one in your mind and all the traits that influenced you when they were here with you and how they still influence you even today. Picture the Mamaw of your life. The writer of Hebrews 6:12 said to be “imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

Now imagine what this world would be like if you and I became imitators of “The Mamaw” you are picturing in your mind. Imagine what would happen if we began to show the love of Christ as Mamaw did. Imagine what your family would become if we began to practice the walk, the patience, the strength, the courage, the grace, the faith and the love of Mamaw. Imagine what impact the body of Christ would have on this world if we each put our faith into action like this. If we would just do this, we would probably find that it really is not that difficult to Imagine This!

Rick E. France

 

Tales Of Wonder – WhiteHeart

Rick France 1992, Rock , , , , , ,
Tales Of Wonder
WhiteHeart

WhiteHeart’s Tales Of Wonder. What a great album! I was already a long time WhiteHeart fan, but this one made me a true WhiteHeart FANATIC! I bought it as soon as it hit the stores in January of 1992, and I hardly listened to anything else for several months and beyond. I considered Tales of Wonder the bands defining work for many years however, Freedom is right there with it. I would be hard pressed to choose between the two as to which is their best work.

I was Youth Pastor at Promised Land Bible Church (PLBC) from 1988-1994 and we had named the youth group LightForce – a very 80’s name I might add. Since then I have helped with the youth at other churches and even been the “Youth Leader” in certain situations for a season, but PLBC was the last time that I was on staff at a church as a Youth Pastor and LightForce is definitely the group of teens that I hold dearest to my heart to this day.

In February of 1992, LightForce went on a ski trip to Sugar Mountain outside of Boone, NC. We did not have a church bus or van so we made the trip with a fairly large number of vehicles in order to carry all of the teens, chaperones and luggage. We started our journey late on a Friday night. Cell phones were not quite in vogue at the time, but we were fortunate enough to have some short range two-way handheld radios for each driver in our convoy thanks to the McKoy’s. Just in case we got separated. Which we did. Multiple times. Mainly due to the winter storm we encountered along the way that turned our six hour trek into about a nine hour adventure in wrong turns and road conditions.

At one point I began to get a bit sleepy, so I put Tales Of Wonder in and cranked it up. I was pumped up as soon as “Raging Of The Moon” kicked in. So much that I decided everyone needed to hear it. So I paused the CD, picked up the handheld radio and announced, “And now for your listening pleasure, THIS is my prediction for the album of the year!” I then started the CD over and placed the handheld radio in the speaker and held that button down for over 5 minutes until the song had completed. If not for my thumb starting to cramp I might have played the whole CD that way. I then asked everyone in the convoy, “How’s that for great music?”

The response was an overwhelming sound of static. No one was responding and after multiple checks I determined that everyone’s batteries must have died. I pulled up beside one of the cars and got the drivers attention and he unashamedly let me know that they had turned the radio off once they realized I was going to play the whole song. The same story was repeated later by every driver after they each randomly checked to see if I had completed my mission. The only explanation I can come up with is that it just didn’t sound as awesome through those little handheld speakers as it did in my car – at least that’s the story I choose to believe.

Anyways, we did finally make it to our hotel and everyone got a little bit of sleep before we got up and went to Sugar Mountain. Thanks to the winter storm we had an unexpected bonus of fresh, real snow on top of the man made base. Still, I had decided not to ski and just hang out at the lodge to help Kathy watch Stephen since he was only three at the time. Our group consisted of accomplished skiers like Jon and Carlton McKoy as well as intermediate and first timers. For the first timers, one of which was RJ Dunn, I had arranged a group lesson on the Bunny Slope. I left Stephen with Kathy in the lodge so that I could see how the lessons were going and when I got there RJ was nowhere to be found. I was told that he had skipped the lesson and went with Jon and Carlton to the top. The Black Diamond. The steepest and longest slope on the mountain.

Not long after I returned to the lodge, Jon and Carlton showed up but without RJ. They told me he was still at the top. So I sent them right back up to check on him and to bring him back. Later, they returned and informed me that he did not want any help and was going to do it on his own. Thus began the longest day of my ministry. The next time I saw the McKoy’s they informed me that he was still working his way down to the intermediate slope area. He was evidently skiing about 5 feet at a time before he fell down plus he was having to take extended rests by this time.

After what seemed an eternity he made it to the intermediate slope and I started getting more frequent reports from more skiers in our group. Evidently he was improving to 10 to 15 feet stints and had learned to stop himself by diving head first into the snow. The reports continued to come in for hours and everyone appeared to be taking great pleasure in the event, especially the fact that RJ refused to have anyone help him out what-so-ever!

Just over six hours passed and I was starting to worry that RJ was not going to make it in time for our scheduled departure. Then suddenly the door to the lodge swung open and in stepped Rudolph’s Abominable Snowman. The bibs we rented were all colorful blues, greens and reds, but I could not tell you what color he was wearing for the amount of snow that was packed on him. He had dug two holes out in order to see and another hole was carved out for his mouth. You could see his teeth in the depths of the snow and tell that he was grinning from ear to ear. He held his arms straight up in the air like he had just made a touchdown and yelled, “I Just Skied The Black Diamond!”

I immediately heard a female voice exclaim, “it only took you six hours too!” I have no idea who it was that made the comment. Whoever it was making her comedy debut, she brought the house down. Even those who were not in our group were cracking up but that did not deter RJ. He had done it. He had conquered The Black Diamond. From the looks of him he had brought a very large portion of The Black Diamond with him as proof.

The rest of the trip was pretty much uneventful as we drove a bunch of sleeping teens back to Woodstock, GA, but the memories of that trip have lasted a lifetime. As I listen to this WhiteHeart CD I can’t help but chuckle at the sight of RJ walking into that lodge. I can still feel the relief of knowing that he was back safe and sound and I’m even a little proud of his self proclaimed accomplishment.

This music takes me back to those days with LightForce and it’s not just this particular CD that brings them to the forefront of my mind. Music was a major part of our time together and I can guarantee you that this is not the last story to tell involving LightForce but one of many. You see with LightForce there are many Tales Of Wonder.

Rick E. France

 

Diamond Days – Out Of The Grey

Rick France 1994, 2011, Pop Rock , ,

 

Diamond Days
Out Of The Grey

What can I say about Out Of The Grey? Smooth jazz influenced pop rock and with all due respect to Karen Carpenter, Christine Dente is my all-time favorite female vocalist. Throw in the exceptional guitar work of Scott Dente and you’ve got an artist that I never tire of listening to. I have everything from the 1991 self titled release thru the most recent 2015 release of A Little Light Left. Then there’s the solo work of Becoming and Ashton, Becker, Dente and Tumes, Ashton, Dente and Keaggy, King, Dente. Did I mention the lullaby’s with Michael Card? Let’s just say if the name Dente is on it I probably own it.

I had already become a fan of the husband and wife duo after their sophomore release of Shape Of Grace but with the release of Diamond Days I was encaptivated! Now let’s stop and think about this for a moment. I mainly listen to Prog Rock, Ambient Rock, Arena Rock, Hard Rock, Alternative Rock, Classic Rock, Rock, more Rock and don’t forget Rock. I throw in a little Jazz here and there like Miles, Metheny and Krall or the old Standards like Sinatra from time to time and even Mendelssohn and Rachmaninoff but Out Of The Grey is Pop Rock. Pop Rock? Isn’t that an oxymoron? Definately not my style of music especially in the 80’s and 90’s. But there was that little bit of jazz sound in the chord structures that caught my attention and then there was that voice. I played this CD over and over from the day I bought it.

Stephen was 5 years old at the time Diamond Days was released in 1994. I took him to his first game at Neyland Stadium only months before. I was coaching his baseball team and it was post diapers yet before he started vying for his own independence. He was my shadow. He was at that perfect age where we spent a lot of time together. According to my wife it was a perfect age because she has always claimed I act like a 5 year old.

One Saturday morning the two of us were out and about and he was sitting in the front passenger seat beside me just talking away. If that horrifies some of you I’m sorry, but back then kids did not have to or want to sit in the back – unless it was the back of a truck. Nor did they have to sit in a car seat until they got their learners permit. They didn’t even have to have seatbelts on, but we both did so maybe you can breathe a little easier.

Anyways, I put Diamond Days in as we drove and during the song “All We Need” he asked me, “Who is this?” I told him, “It’s Out Of The Grey and I just LOVE her voice and he’s an AWESOME guitar player.”

After a few moments we pulled up to a stop light and I looked over and Stephen had this big ol’ elephant tear rolling down his cheek. I asked him, “What’s wrong buddy?”

He replied, “I thought you loved mommy?”

I literally felt my heart breaking in my chest. He was sitting there thinking I had betrayed his mom, his sisters as well as himself and I felt just horrible! We use the word “love” so flippantly in our language to describe so many different things. How’s a 5 year old supposed to know the difference? Well never fear, Dad is here to straighten this out.

I said, “Buddy, there are all different kinds of love. There’s the really deep kind of love that I have for your mom and you and your sisters. And then there’s the kind of love that is really just a strong like. You love to play baseball, right?” He sniffed a little and shook his head yes. “But it’s not the same way that you love your mom is it?”

He thought about it for a few seconds and much to my relief he finally said, “No”. It was one of those three syllable nos that goes from the root to the fourth and then suddenly ends on the octave. Here in the south we start adding syllables and singing them out at a very young age.

“You love to play Nintendo, but that’s not the same kind of love you have for your sisters is it?”

He said this time in a much more energetic way and with only two syllables, “No” skipping straight to the octave.

I continued, “When I said that I love her voice that means I really like the way she sings. It’s not the same way that I love mommy. My love for mommy is way beyond a like. You understand?” And he did! No more elephant tears and that infectious smile of his was back in place. I had evidently succeeded as a Dad once again if only for a day.

That night, Kathy had gone back to his room to tuck him in and before I got back there she returned to the living room and had a really strange look on her face. When I asked her about it, she said, “Stephen just told me that he loved me, but not the same way that he loves bugs and frogs.”

Oh the mind of a 5 year old. If only we could all grasp this kind of deep theology. Maybe that is why Jesus said to come as a child.

Yet the story does not end here. Fast forward to the year 2011. Stephen is now 22 years of age and he’s playing lead guitar and singing in a band named The Refuge with the Wauford’s: Erine (lead vocals), Emily (rhythm guitar), Ryan (drums) and Jeff (bass). Over the past few years I had been helping them out with arrangements, rehearsals and gigs and all. I had made up a CD of potential cover songs to help build their repertoire. As Stephen and I were driving to a game at Neyland, I was playing the CD to see if he liked any of the songs and the Out Of The Grey song “Disappear” from the (See Inside) album came on. After listening to a bit of the song Stephen asked me, “Who is this?”

Without missing a beat all I said was, “Well buddy, I just LOVE her voice and he’s an AWESOME guitar player.” This time there were no elephant tears. Just a slight smile along with the rolling of his eyes, but it was well worth the eye roll. I mean, how often do you really get to relive a special moment in time like that?

As I listen to this CD right now, I love her voice today probably more than I did in 1994, but now her voice also reminds me about my little buddy’s traumatic brush with my love for his mommy and it brings a smile on my face every time. You see, I love his mommy much more today then I did in 1994 too, and it’s not the same way that I love bugs and frogs either.

As the Golden Years of our life draw closer and closer, it’s nice to have another chance to listen, look back and relive if only for a moment those Diamond Days.

Rick E. France

 

 

And From The (see inside) Album Also Mentioned

Can’t Stand Too Tall – Rick Cua

Rick France 1990, Rock , , , ,
Can’t Stand Too Tall
Rick Cua

While Rick Cua’s “Can’t Stand Too Tall” is a Christian album and contains some really good spiritual content, not all of my musical memories are spiritual. Some are about family. This album falls into that category because as I listen to this album it always brings me back to TGIF! Yes, Rick Cua goes hand in hand with Uncle Jesse, Urkel, Balki, Coach Lubbock and Dominos. All of these combined bring me back to those wonderful Friday nights in 1990 when my children were young and family was a new and exciting adventure for me.

Kathy and I were married in February of 1988 and Stephen was born the following February in 1989. In the spring of 1990 Katie was finishing the third grade, Melissa the first grade and Friday night had become Family TV Night thanks to the TGIF lineup on ABC. It started with “Full House”, a show that made “you got it dude” a household catchphrase. This was followed by “Family Matters” and Urkel’s “did I do that?” and then “Perfect Strangers” with Balki’s “don’t be ridiculous”. The final show in the lineup that year was “Just The Ten Of Us” which was a spinoff of “Growing Pains”. Quite funny but I can’t recall a catchphrase from it. Maybe that’s why it didn’t last but a couple of seasons. However, the aforementioned catchphrases were constantly repeated all week long in our house over and over and over . . .

With these shows came our Friday night routine. A little before the shows would start we would move all the furniture and lay a blanket out in the middle of the floor. This was Dad’s night to cook so I would call Dominos and order a couple of pizzas. At that time, the closest Dominos was in Crabapple and they would not deliver to our house across the county line so I had to meet the driver in the parking lot of Chadwick’s Hardware. Before I left for the pizza I would put Rick Cua’s “Can’t Stand Too Tall” in the CD player and queue it up to track 6, “Crash The Party”. When I returned home with the pizza, someone would start the CD and the girls would start to sing and dance!

You see, at some point Katie and Melissa had come up with their own lyrics for this song. I’m not sure if they just misunderstood the words or if they just liked their version better, but they would sing, “Piiiiiiiz-zaaa Parrrrrty!” I wish I could describe the dance, but let’s just say it was far removed from the ballet classes they so painstakingly took. Kathy and I would set the drinks out and lay the pizza boxes on the blanket all the while everyone was laughing and singing, “Piiiiiiiz-zaaa Parrrrrty!” About the time the song was winding down I would stop the music, we would hold hands and pray over our food and then start eating pizza while singing, “Whatever happened to predictability? The milkman, the paperboy, evening TV.” We had the timing down to an art form.

The night had begun. We laughed. We talked. We snuggled in the floor together. It was great! I miss those days. I’ve gotten to relive them to a degree with my grandkids from time to time mainly while watching reruns of “Full House” but those days when we were such a young family are really special to me and I must admit the memories are strongest when I listen to this particular Rick Cua CD. Especially when I am alone in the car. That’s when the theater of my mind seems to be the most active for me.

I always feel like I am almost forcing myself to listen to the first few songs of this CD because I want to get to track 6 so that the memories will come flooding in. So the easiest thing to do is to start there and then go back and listen to the rest of the CD which means I get to sing “Pizza Party” twice every time and that’s a pretty good thing in my opinion. And no, I never sing “crash the party” or even hear Cua singing it – it is always the voices of Katie and Melissa that I hear and their dance that I envision in my mind’s eye. I guess as long as I have this CD, I will always be able to relive those days with my little girls and enjoy one more time if only for a little while, our little Friday night “Piiiiiiiz-zaaa Parrrrrty!” 

As I listen right now knowing that my little girls are all grown up with children of their own, I pray that they will lock away deep in their hearts all the little things. I pray that they will not allow the world to try to drown out the joy of their time with their kids. I pray that they will remember that with all the chaos this world pours out on us, Christ will hold you up above it all and therefore you Can’t Stand Too Tall.

Rick E. France