Shoutout Atlanta | “Meet Mama Jan”
Mama Jan sits down with Voyage ATL for their “Shoutout Atlanta” feature, to discuss all things music and Atlanta. It’s been quite the “Forrest Gump” story for me, honestly. I started out as a young singer/songwriter with the aspirations of any artist — to achieve success doing what I love most, creating and performing my […]
And so, this is Christmas …
I used to think that the Christmas season was about seeking out special gifts for the people closest to me to surprise them with in December at my annual party or decorating my tree on Thanksgiving weekend to enjoy—mostly by myself—until January 1, or gathering at Mom & Dad’s every Christmas Eve … until we […]
Ruth and Naomi
It was way too early for anybody who really knows me to be blowing up my phone. When I woke up enough to turn over and pick up, I squinted and saw it was my oldest brother calling at 5:15a. All I heard him say was, “We’re at the hospital … Mom has had a […]
Walking In Their Footsteps
The purpose of the journey was clear for me—to travel to Israel and walk where Jesus walked. Of secondary importance was to do my job ensuring that one Justin Bieber would perform well to a sold-out crowd in Tel Aviv. Any other time, Mr. Bieber’s status would’ve taken top priority—but not this time. Even Justin […]
Dadgum Goats
There he was, sitting underneath the partial shade of whatever kind of tree could grow in the desert sands of Lodwar, Kenya. He was half-naked, and it was only out of courtesy that he covered himself from the waist to his folded thighs on the ground.
Rubbing Elbows with Angels
For better, for worse. I doubt that many couples walk down the aisle thinking to themselves that “things only get worse from here.” Quite the contrary.
Isn’t She Lovely!
My almost eighty-nine year old mother is napping in her white leather rocking chair with her Bible left open on her lap. I heard her breathing change to shorter, more shallow breaths and looked up from my perch on the end of the sofa to silently observe her for a minute…
On Holy Ground
There’s a smell to it that’s hard to describe: abject poverty. It’s not a putrid or unbearable smell as one might imagine. It’s not the kind of smell that hits your nostrils and makes you immediately resort to gasping for fresh air or clasping your hands over your face in an attempt to avoid inhaling at all.
But it’s an intense sweet and pungent stench that smells like nothing comparable, and it never leaves you once you’ve breathed it in. It’s hard to describe and it’s like no other, but it’s a stench that is unmistakably human and undeniably desperate…
Father’s Day
Death has a way of making things final. It’s not the kind of thing that waits for us to put if off until tomorrow. Nope! Death takes precedence to any plans in the moment or in the future, and brings life as we know it to a screeching halt…
The Truth About Bieber
It was almost five years ago, nearing my own birthday, when I was captured on film stating a now semi-famous statement to a then teenage Justin Bieber, emphatically telling him, “This IS your new normal.” During a most trying time of pubescent vocal adjustment, my artist was losing more and more of his voice by […]