Hey Jude

Several months ago I ran into a friend from Switzerland. He recently had a dream that briefly brought him back to our area. In this dream he prayed for a couple of specific MorningStar worship leaders in the basement of Heritage International Ministries and a new sound was released into the world from these leaders. During a church meeting he saw Sarah and I and told us that he believed he also was supposed to pray for us. He proceeded to pray and began to prophesy that when our new baby was born, a new praise would also be born. Little did he know that we were planning to name our son Jude: a modern form of the name Judah that means "praise".

On July 23, 2008 at 1:07 PM a new praise, weighing in at just under 9 pounds and stretching just under 22 inches, was indeed born to Sarah and I! Significantly enough the first sound that little Jude heard on earth was the chorus of Kevin Prosch's anthem "Praise the Lord Oh My Soul". This was only one song of a large mix that I created the day before. We brought the music in to help the mood during the possible hours of labor. I had no clue what exact song would be playing when Jude made his grand entrance (or exit depending on how you look at it). It just blows me away that the first words a boy named "praise" hears as he enters the world is "praise the Lord oh my soul, praise the Lord"! I can hardly contain myself when I think about it!

Jude Williams McMillan is a healthy, glorious creature and is already incredibly loved by many people. He is a sign and a wonder and more than that, just a really great guy to hang with.

Exciting Things

Well, we are at home. We've spent a lot of time in North Carolina these last several months. This is mostly due to the forthcoming arrival of our new baby and our work on a new CD. The second of which has been the primary reason for my lack of blogging as I've found I have little passion for discussing preamps, power converters, and how many times I had to sing "Out'a the ground" before I realized it was out'a of my range. Please forgive my silence, but I do believe I may have spared you quite a few minutes of your life by leaving out these mundane details.

On the other hand we did spend some good time worshiping with and performing for many great friends in San Francisco, Nebraska, and Kansas. We also spent some good time teaching in Toronto and co-hosting a worship intensive in Fort Mill, SC. These details would have been interesting. I'm sorry.

The baby is due tomorrow! We have yet no sign of when exactly he will arrive, but it could be any day now. Sarah is becoming increasingly uncomfortable and our anticipation for meeting the little dude is growing exponentially.

The new album has progressed quite well. Elijah (our producer) is currently in the editing and mixing process. I like to avoid the studio during these stages for three reasons: 1) Editing is by far the most tedious and uninspiring aspect of the recording process 2) I want to stay out of Elijah's hair as to not distract him from his work and 3) I want to come in after the process to approve of the final product with fresh ears. I have no doubt that Elijah will give me no less than his absolute best work. He never does anything half-heartedly (to a fault).

So here we are in a season of waiting. Baby Jude and the new CD will both be arriving soon. Sarah will be taking a break in the coming weeks for obvious reasons. But I shall continue on with my crusade of worshiping, creating, and reviving. We're looking at events in Kentucky, California, and Washington State in the coming months. We're also looking into connecting with several large festivals next year and hosting several of our own functions right here in Charlotte, NC. The Zao benefit album has also been completed and we can't wait to share it with you. It should be released just before or just after my new project. Watch out for events related to the releasing of both.

Please don't give up on my bloging! I'm out of the cave and I plan to keep you ever updated as to the current state of our ministry. We're more excited than ever about the coming days and that isn't just something to say. I mean it. I really do.