July Almost Slipped Past me..

Well folks.. it's been a great almost 2 months since the last Blog entry..

You will recall that I am recovering from a fractured radial head and had replacement surgery in May.. I am still in Physical Therapy and have lost a lot of range of motion in my elbow..

Fortunately, I can still play the guitar and sing..

It's been wonderful as we start back on the path of booking the Blud Bros.. We played in Chicago at a block party where 6 people gave their lives to Jesus (hallelujah!!!) then played at the Blest Fest in the same weekend..

The following weekend we participated in the JoyFest, which was an amazing event. This was the 4th annual JoyFest, which is a great party down at the beach featuring Choirs, praise teams, christian bands, rap groups, etc and free food. This year we gave away 1500 Johnsonville Brats, snowcones, cotton candy and 48 cases of Chocolate Cherry Diet Dr Pepper ..

During the worship service on sunday morning there were somewhere around 60 people who came forward to accept Christ, rededicate their lives or just to repent.. It was a great blessing. I am thankful to be the person who coordinated this wonderful time in Christ, it is an amazing privilege.

2 weeks later we played at the Gospel Fest in LaPorte.. I am busy lining up stuff now and would really appreciate input and prayer from any of you who follow us.. We are way behind on playing prisons and I seriously want to fix that.. We are also still plugging away at details to get the new album out.. Your prayers are appreciated..

Much Grace and Love in Him

Large Al

Missed a Month.. Broken Limbs can do That!!!

Well Folks - My Apologies!! There was no Blog entry for the month of May. See, while performing with the LaPorte Symphony Orchestra on April 19th, I fell during the intermission and shattered a part of my elbow called the radial head. It was a highly painful, yet still joyful experience.

Okay, at this point you figure I have truly lost my mind, but I have good reason to be giving God praise for all of this. First, the best orthopedic Surgeon in my area was at the performance! Second, God has used this Doctor to (literally) put these pieces all back together, including a new bionic elbow! Third, I got to see all the folks around me rally to be a blessing by helping in any way that they could. Finally, there is the Biblical concept of "consider it pure joy when you endure trials of various kinds." God has been right there, strengthening me, meeting my needs and drawing me closer to Him. Nothing like a little pain to remind us how dependent we are on our Lord for EVERYTHING!

There were a lot of interesting side notes to this, for example, the JoyFest usually takes place on Memorial day weekend but this year the Park Department forced us to move it to July 5th and 6th.. Do you suppose God had that figured out in advance? To quote Homer Simpson.. "Doh!"
Another blessing was that the Doctor figured it would be 8-12 weeks before I would be capable of playing guitar again.. I was leading worship in 4 weeks!! We are back in the saddle again..

Currently, besides the Joyfest on July 5th, we have 3 other gigs tentatively or firmly scheduled in the month of June. By July we'll be rolling hard and looking forward to the release of our new CD..

Until July

Large Al

Springing Forward

So today is tuesday, and all is right in my world, except for all of the things that are wrong.

Just to give you an idea of a typical Large Al day. I got up, cranked up my computer, got my email (this time there were only 222 SPAM emails, a light day!) had a little time to talk to my Creator and then had breakfast with my hunny (and 2 of our birds). As is our habit we did our devotions after breakfast, reading from a book by John Piper entitled "50 reasons why Jesus came to Die", followed by reading Deuteronomy chapter 16 and Hebrews chapter 3. After spending some time in prayer, we shared what our day had in store for us. For me it was a meeting of the Michigan City Ministerial Alliance, a computer to pick up at one client followed by a consulting session with another client. By 4 in the afternoon I was home preparing to take a small break, have supper and then go to practice with the LaPorte County Symphony Orchestra.

Such is my life. The wonderful thing is that in each day there are many things to do, but always the same goal, to glorify God. I am looking forward to many wonderful ways in which we will be able to show the world how amazing God is. Following is a short list.

1) We are closing in on finishing our new CD "Above the Hum". I have mastered it once, with a little too much "oomph" on the bottom end, so I am in the process of taming it. We should have a finished product soon. It really is sounding amazing!

2) The JoyFest, which is an event that we help put together every year, looked like it wasn't going to happen because some electrical construction in the park is scheduled at the JoyFest's normal time, which is Memorial Day weekend. God, in His great mercy, allowed us to find a better date, July 5th and 6th! Now we are back in business to have this wonderful Lakefront Party and celebrate Jesus with music food and fellowship once again. If you are close enough to Michigan City, Indiana on July 5th or 6th, come down to Washington Park and join us!!

3) It looks like I will be finally getting my credentials as a Pastor, through the Calvary Chapel church that I serve in Valparaiso, Indiana. It still is a couple steps away, but the Police Chaplaincy gets closer and closer.

4) Our last few band practices have been absolutely exhilarating. We are just sharpening up our skills in preparation for this season and for the release of our new CD. Listening to Dan and Randy trade licks together is a serious reason to grin.

This list could go on a long time but I've already taken up too much of your time, so I'll sign off for now. If you have something you want to share send me an email at: largeal@bludbros.com and we will conversate...

Blessings to you

LA

Settling in After an Amazing Week!

It is Tuesday night, and I am reflecting on what I've been privileged to experience over the last week. I'm pretty sure that I'm God's favorite kid. If not, then He certainly treats me like His favorite..

On Sunday the 9th, I was privileged to speak at the Living Waters Missionary Church in Gary (or maybe it's Hammond) Indiana. That was a wonderful time spent with some wonderful folks who really love Jesus. Leading worship and then being "the preacher" is all an experience that I never had planned in my life, but I'm very thankful for the privilege.

Some of you may already know that I am a high energy multi-faceted dude. Along with being a gospel blues guy, there is an extensive list of other "hats" that I get to wear. The list follows: Gideon, Billy Graham Rapid Response Team Chaplain, Worship Leader, Computer Consultant, Counselor, Sound Reinforcement Tech, Aviculturalist, prospective Assistant Pastor, Researcher, Biochemist, Truck Driver, Mechanic/Maintenance Tech, and most importantly Husband to the greatest woman on the planet, and servant (slave by choice) of the Most High God. Starting Monday the 10th, I got to exercise little pieces of all those tasks as I was deployed as a chaplain to Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois, the scene of the violent murder of 5 students on Valentines Day, 2008.

As RRT Chaplains, we are called and deployed by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association to provide comfort and solace to souls that have been grieved by crisis events, from tornadoes and hurricanes to terrorist attacks and school shootings. We are trained to be there for people at a time when they need some stability, and encouragement. Sometimes it is a hug, sometimes it is a prayer, but mostly the need is just for the presence of another human being that cares. One of the wonderful privileges of this assignment is to be able to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with people who know that they have a need for something the world can't offer, peace that passes understanding. I got to interact with dozens of folks, and even got to be there while one young man cemented his relationship with Jesus. What a joy and privilege it is to serve a God who loves EVERYONE.

If you feel called to bring help in a time of trouble to hurting people, check out the BGEA website (just google Billy Graham, and it will show up). Maybe you will get to be the next person to comfort a hurting heart..

Much Grace in Him

Large Al

Recognizing Larry Norman's Contribution to the Body of Christ

For those that aren't yet aware, Larry Norman, often called the father of Christian Rock, went to be with Jesus at 2:45 am on Sunday February 24th. We were privileged to participate in a couple benefits designed to help raise money for Larry's medical expenses. He was a blessing to so many!

Following is a post that I left on the http://www.larrynorman.com message board:

I hope these words are a blessing to you...

It has been my privilege and honor to communicate with 
Larry via email and play a small part in some benefit 
concerts to raise money for his medical expenses.  My 
heart is broken for those closest to Larry: Charles, 
Kristin and all the rest of the Solid Rock family.  
Knowing he is with Jesus is wonderful and exciting, but 
it is not the same as hugging him and laughing with him.

Charles, I hope you know how amazingly proud Larry was 
of you.  We did some interacting over the production of 
a CD for my band, and he absolutely refused to have it 
done without you being part of it.  His trust and respect 
for you was so huge...

Kristin, how sweet, supportive and humble you have been 
as you have taken on all the tasks assigned to you in 
the Solid Rock world.  Your open heart and sweet voice 
on the phone, in the midst of all the turmoil, excitement 
and trials of handling the interactions and dealing with 
the pain of Larry's illness has been a great example to
me.  Feel God's blessings on you, for I am sure He is 
actively pouring them out.

There are a lot of others much closer than I ever was to 
Larry, but I hope that we all take the time to recognize 
the contributions that God made to the body of Christ 
through Larry.  Would there even be a such thing as Integrity 
music or Hillsong, if Larry and the pioneers in his wake 
hadn't refused to knuckle under to pressure from the church 
and the record business?  Today many churches feed many 
sheep that would never have darkened the door of a church 
if they were gonna be made slaves to the fifties cultural 
church norms that continue in some churches to this day?

We now have freedom to worship God using exciting and 
passionate music and to reach out to souls in the language 
that souls understand.  I know when I started playing Jesus 
Music in churches in the 70's, it was a challenge because 
God used instruments, tempos and styles that were "of the 
devil" to many folks.  Because of the groundwork laid by 
Larry and continued by others, many churches now use those 
same instruments, tempos and styles to worship and glorify 
God. Already every Blud Bros concert ends with our anthem 
"Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?"  From this 
day forward, at the end of each performance, that song will 
be verbally dedicated to it's author, who has now heard those 
treasured words "Well done, good and faithful servant".

God has blessed us through you Larry, and now you are enjoying 
His blessings in a way we can only imagine.

Thank You Sir

Large Al
www.bludbros.com

Blud Bros Blog Begins

Hello friends of the Blud Bros..

Large Al reporting for duty here. Welcome to another new aspect of the Blud Bros updated worldwide web home. We are glad you took a moment to read this. We hope you are blessed by your interaction with the Blud Bros and our ministry.

If you have poked around our new site very much you will have already found out what we're about and why we do what we do. In Matthew 25 it states:

"For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’" Then the righteous answered, "When?" (Large Al paraphrased version) Jesus responded, "When you did it for the least of these, you did it for me".

So we are a Christian Blues band with a gospel / classic rock edge that goes to prisons and rehab centers and other places where most bands don't choose to go, and we don't charge for our performances. The reasoning is simple. Multiple choice tests are way easier than essay tests. It is really wonderful that we can follow specific instructions laid out by Jesus and know we are pleasing Him. In the other parts of our individual lives we are investing in the lives of others. Roscoe, Dan and I serve on various worship teams. Bob and Randy are very active in the ministries of their respective churches. Rich counsels folks who are trapped in the prison of substance abuse.

All of us know that serving God is the only sensible thing to do while we are visiting this planet, because our life on earth is a tiny short chapter leading toward an eternity of Joy with God, or torment without Him. Serving people in the way Jesus did, with the power Jesus gives us, is one way we are allowed to express our love to Him. He deserves our complete unselfish devotion. He has earned it even though He had no need to earn it. We need Him, He doesn't need us. He loved us long before we even knew Him. Our God deserves praise, honor, glory and worship at all times in all things.

I hope you can be blessed by getting to know Him better. I hope this little contribution of ours is an encouragement to your life. Jesus loved you and I so much that He chose to die in our place, so we could live in fellowship with Him for eternity. Is there anything in this life that compares to that? I don't think so.

Much Love and Grace to you

Large Al