Home now. Spent a week in New York. Got to see some friends out in Brooklyn and chatted about life. Interesting conversation over some bowling in Long Island where accents reign. Yes, they have accents.
Gained some perspective about what it means to serve.

 B. J. , a Catholic high school teacher in Long Island, works hard to give his students new ideas about social justice and how to create a NEW environment for themselves and how to work for a more positive future. Scott, a high school teacher in the Bronx, feeds his students new hopes for what they can accomplish despite the limits they have been told they must abide by. He draws from his experience in the the Peace Corps to open the teens eyes to see outside whatever they feel is holding them back from doing amazing things with their lives. 
i felt humbled.
"So he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” John 13:4-5

They serve. They serve humbly. They are blessed. I thank them for showing me that God's love reigns through the work they do. The Holy Spirit revealed to me the meaning of TRUE service. I will remember their stories, I will remember Jesus as he washed the feet of His disciples.

Prayers for those serving God's people. Prayers for those who do great work and dont expect to be rewarded here on earth. Prayers for their fortitude.

-MP

We have retreated to place now known as the "band cave", not to be confused with the "bat cave"... which would be awesome to have... or at least see...maybe i'll buy a pet bat that way we can change the name from "band cave" to "bat cave"...maybe 2 or 3 bats for dramatic effect... um... ok.

We are writing new tunes. A lot of new tunes. we are up to our ears in demos and we are LOVING it.

We took a quick break from the writing just about a week ago so i found my way to our batspace... i mean, myspace blog to let you into our world for a smidge. Its an exciting time...Advent...Music...prayer...Bats...and more music. We hope to post some previews soon for all of you to hear what we have been working on so sit tight! well probably have some stuff after the new year!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!

God Bless,
MP

Hello from IL,

Ready to go back into a meeting tomorrow to discuss our new album. We have felt so welcomed here in Chicago and cant express to all of you the spirit that fills this place.

It has been quite a journey thus far and we are all grateful for the prayers that you have sent our way. We cant thank God enough for showing us this opportunity to make music that honors Him. So, tomorrow we figure out a couple of details regarding whether we are recording in Nashville or San Diego or Atlanta or Chicago and the list goes on and on..... Prayers please!

We hope that all is well with all of you that have been with us on this incredible journey.

Peace,
MP


We posted some pics of us waiting to be picked up at the airport...we'll post more later...of the actual city...its beautiful.

a prayer for the sick. We ask God for wisdom, we ask for understanding, grace, and fortitude to see us through these very hard times. A cry for all those suffering from cancer, depression, and addiction. Lord, allow us to witness You by showing strength for those who are weakened...let us be your instruments of healing.


-MP

Greetings everyone out there!!!!!!

Hope the Easter season found you with a renewed spirit. I just thought i would blog a tid-bit to let you know how things are going for the band.

1) Matt had twins. Yup, two babies. Two heartbeats. two...four eyes...four legs.....40 fingers and toes....crazy. Alma and Joshua are their names and spitting up and being RIDICULOUSLY cute is their game.

2) Mike Bass is getting married. Big time. May 5th, be there....they wont be upset if you crash the reception....jokes.

3) Rene is moving to a new home and is excited about filling up a new space with his drums and teddy bear collection.

4) Mp (speaking) is enjoying a new music ministry position at St. James the Less in La Crescenta....good times, great prayer, awesome community.

5) Jacob has finally learned how to fly and will be arriving at any of our out of state praise nights by way of himself. ( He will still check his luggage. Most likely on our flight) Hes doing well and having a great time with his wife in his first year of marriage.

6) THE NEW ALBUM.... 13 songs and still writing. Over the years we have discovered a lot about what it means to write a prayer in form of a song. Its so challenging to try to articulate Gods overwhelming love in under three minutes. Because Matthew, Jacob and I are involved in the writing process three different stories collide and the song writing tends to go through a lot of sorting out.Nevertheless, 13 songs and still writing.

PLEASE KEEP US IN YOUR PRAYERS as we continue on this journey. OUR PRAYERS ARE ALWAYS WITH YOU CHURCH!

Cheers,

MP