june slipped away...

several times in the month of june i told myself i would pop in here to leave a brief update... never happened. june has managed to virtually disappear. in the month that came and went, here's what happened:
* great show with TWOFIVESIX and domestic problems
* a few birthdays, including my own
* several summer cookouts
* the opening of our friend louie's bar
* my last day with my previous employer
* my acceptance of my new position/career

yes, it finally happened. with God's grace i am fortunate enough to be the next Area Director for West Michigan (Crown Financial Ministries).
i officially started this morning and this new challenge is exactly what i was hoping and praying would happen. Crown has a VERY extensive new hire process so it took quite some time before everything was official. obviously, to borrow an over-used cliche', it was well worth the wait.
i'm extremely excited about working with my new team and making a bigger impact for Him and the greater West Michigan community.

there hasn't been much else going on honestly. everything with Crown often took the majority of what free time i had, unless of course i was with BJ. BJ is sounding out new words daily. it's so much fun to experience this development and actually brings a completely different level of gratitude to my life. BJ has been staying with my fairly regularly and i'm quite fond of our fort-building, little people playing, weeble wobble experimenting, winnie the pooh watching, fun-filled adventures.

TWOFIVESIX is getting ready to head back into the studio. we're hoping to document this last wave of songs that were written, in order to officially move away from them and begin anew once again. you know, the feeling you get when you've come up with something but it's not on "record" so you pick it apart, looking for those minor changes that are usually unnecessary. in other words, you obsess over trivial matters. well, we'll be looking forward to having the archives to give us free reign, to move forward and leave well enough alone.

from an extra-curricular angle, i haven't done a great deal lately. obviously hockey season is over so all is quiet on that front. well, except the free agency market, where the wings picked up brian rafalski from the devils. i'm rather anxious to see brian's homecoming since he's originally a michigan native.
i haven't actually paid all that close of attention to new records that have come out in the past few months, surprisingly. a lot of bands are touring in support of albums they've already released so that might be why. i know mae is set to release their follow-up to the everglow called "singularity" sometime this month or next. the specific date escapes me at the moment. i also know the beastie boys will be releasing something very soon. that always proves to be well worth the time spent listening.

thanks to anyone that checks in periodically (likely more than i do) and keeps me in their thoughts and prayers. i'm encouraged by your faith and support.