Hi Everyone,

Fike & Dana have decided to give away their album for free!  Follow the link below for instructions!

Be Blessed!

CLICK HERE FOR A FREE DOWNLOAD OF “MAKE A SOUND”!

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I was on a boat!

Dana and I just celebrated our 10th year of marital bliss. In fact, TODAY (July 31, 2009) is our anniversary. I’m writing this blog from a hotel room in fabulous New Orleans, LA., where we’ve both found some of the weight we’d lost before this trip.

Our cruise was really great. Dana and I had a terrific time in both our port stops… Progresso, MX and Cozumel, MX. We figured out that we really like to sit by the beach and talk, and then wade out into the ocean and talk some more. We don’t love snorkeling… another lesson from this trip. Ask me when you see me about the hellish snorkeling experience we had in Cozumel. Wow.

I think, though, that what we were reminded of on this trip is that true wealth in life isn’t measured in money or assets, but in relationships.

When you book your cruise, there are several eating options for the evening meals. You can get a single table, just you and your honey, or you can sit at a table of 8 or at a table of 6, or like we opted for, a table of 10.

This is a crapshoot. You could end up with the most boring, dreary, uppity, high-minded people… or you could land where we did… at table 381.

The very first night, we were laughing and relating to one another like we were old friends. 5 couples who’d never seen the others at the table left that boat fast friends. Jeremy(Bubba) & Amy are from Mississippi. He’s a college teacher with a heart of gold and she’s a medical bill collector who loves her man. Bubba, Jeremy’s alter-ego, is also one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. He had us in stitches all week long. He and I won a ‘Kamikaze Karaoke’ contest… trophies and medals… (Kamikaze Karaoke is when you go up to the microphone not knowing what song the host will pick out for you to sing… our song was Sir Mixalot’s Baby got back… hilarity ensued) Josh & Amy are dating. Everyone at the table wants them to get married. He’s an oil-rigger and she works for the Girl Scouts. (She hates the cookies, though… go figure). John & Denise Chrispell have been married for one month. They’re from New York state. So, that was their nick-name… “New York”. John works at Tulane and Denise was a librarian and is in search of a new job as we speak. They were the quietest of our crazy bunch… but they were a lot of fun! Wyn & Kim Hoover are both doctors who live in Alabama. They both graduated from LSU, and believe me when I tell you… I’ve never met anyone like Wyn & Kim. What great people. Kim’s a trip, and Wyn’s a good sport.

In Christian circles, you meet Christian people who do ‘Christian’ things. But, this was a secular cruise, to be sure. And, I’m telling you, by the end of the week, we were as functional a community as any church-plant would ever hope to be. Some of the folks in our group have ties to the Church, and to God… so I’m not saying our bunch was a group of heathens. They are good people getting away from ‘real life’ for 5 days to take in some sunrays and seawater. And, surprisingly, (and I think every one of them would agree with this), the best thing we all took from our cruise together was each other! We did karaoke together every night. We even got ‘381’ arm-art (painted-on tattoos) that displayed our pride in the random acts that brought us together. At the end of the week, as we were eating our last meal together, I had taken the time to write out some discussion questions for us as a group. I stole this idea from David Houle. The questions were folded up and placed in a Carnival Cruise Lines Fun-cup and as you were handed the cup, you would read aloud the question and commence to answering… this was a lot of fun, but I put some depth into some of the questions for good measure.

Before we all separated for good on the last night, I asked the group if they would let me pray for all of us. So, we gathered in a circle on the Promenade Deck and I led us in a prayer. It really was a unique moment in my life that I’ll never forget. Who knows what any of these people know/think about God/Jesus. Who knows whether what I prayed made any impact on them at all… but it was a divine moment, and I think God used me and Dana to display what a real relationship with Jesus looks like in the flesh.

Dana and I will continue to pray for the 381ers… I can promise you that.

God blesses us through our relationships. Dana and I had some time to think about the incredible wealth of relationships we’ve been blessed with. We have a big, beautiful, albeit dysfunctional, family… Moms, Dads, step-moms, uncles, cousins, etc… and they’re all good people. We have a little boy in our lives who fills up our hearts with hope, joy, wonderment and adventure. Justus Fike has won the hearts of every person he’s met. He’s that special. We have an incredible small group in the Springs that is our lifeline of balance and integrity… the Settlers are more than friends; they’re family. My best friend, Brian Pape, is an unending source of affirmation and encouragement in my life. He’s always got ears for me. I have an unmistakably unique Pastor in Kelly Williams. If you don’t know him, get to know him. He’s amazing, and I attribute so much of the good character I possess to his leadership in my life. I serve on an impeccable staff at Vanguard Church. You can’t believe how hard these good people work to serve the community of faith that is Vanguard Church. And, the Worship Team I lead over… you want to see pure gold? Come check out these fine people. And, my musical partner… and maybe my best friend in the Springs, Sean Mulholland… what a blessing he is in my life.

I really could go on and on and on…

All that to say that these ‘381ers’ really made an impact on me and Dana. The idea that we made friends that we hope will be with us for a long, long, time, all in the span of 5 days on a boat!?! It’s incredible what God will use to capture your attention.

So, my message to you today, on my 10th Wedding anniversary is this:

Cherish the people in your life AND open up your heart for more. God’s wealth is measured in relationships.

We love y’all…

There’ll be more music talk the next time around.

For those of you who were super-curious and maybe a little bit frustrated by the ambiguity of my last post (the one about July 20th), I still can’t say much about it. I’ll say this, though… there is a major record label that is expressing very real interest in us both as published writers and as signed artists. We’re going to take the talks slow and easy. Neither they nor us want to rush into anything. They’re loving our music, and want to find out more about us as people.

So, if you want to help us out, respond to this post with your feelings about Fike & Dana, not just our music, but the kind of people you think we are…

Peace!

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