The quote went on to inspire a thought for me, and it’s something that has inspired much of what I share when performing live shows.  The basic thought is this…  

Jesus Christ did not come to this earth just to save us from our sins. He came to rescue us from meaninglessness.

That concept changed my thinking a lot, and transformed the way I live here on this earth.  I mean, we can of course focus on some sort of “ticket” to heaven, and what we’re saved from, but as my friend Shaun Groves so beautifully stated once, I’d rather focus on what I’m saved for.

I have been rescued from meaninglessness.  What else is there worth living for?  I have zero interest in just going through the motions.

A few years ago, I started putting together a Vaudeville inspired variety show.  We ended up calling it “Sens de Vie.”  Sens de Vie is French for “Meaning of Life.”  Vaudeville, I discovered while researching, was based on a French word, and came out of France. It made for a tour and show name that was a little more creative than just “The Meaning of Life Tour.”  It also didn’t scream, “Hey, come see our how and let us preach at you,” even though we wouldn’t do that anyway.

It’s by far my most favorite show to perform.  It’s a two-hour theatrical production with two other guest acts, and it’s far better than anything I could perform simply on my own.  And my favorite part of the show is taking 5-10 minutes out of the second half to sit down and share with the audience part of my discovery of the true meaning of life, and how I have been “rescued from meaninglessness.”

In the past two years, we’ve had the opportunity to do the show about 20 times. I’m blown away that 15 of those shows had sold out crowds, and almost all of them concluded with a standing ovation.  Those ovations were not for me, but for the experience created by the combined efforts of the 10 cast and crew that make Sens de Vie possible!  That’s a big deal, considering the struggles we’ve had trying to see our vision come to fruition. (I wrote about those struggles and failures here.)

Tomorrow marks the beginning of our next tour of Sens de Vie, beginning in Dexter, MO.  Over the next 3 weeks, we’ll be performing the show 7 times, and if we come anywhere near your area, you do NOT want to miss it.  It’s fun for the entire family, and it could be your last chance to catch this show in its current form! (We’re doing a new tour this fall.)

Take 30 seconds out of your schedule right now to check our tour schedule, and see if we’re coming to a city near you. This Spring’s run of the show includes the hilarious antics and incredible talent of my friend, and world champion circus performer, DonB! Also joining us are my friends and Hollywood Recording Artists, Everlife.  They’ve toured with acts like Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers, and have been writing some songs lately that have blown me away.  You’ll love their new stuff, especially live!

I’d love to meet YOU out on the road!  Hope to see you soon!

If you’ve seen me perform live, you may have heard me talk about how easy it is to be deceived, and one of the ways it happens is how the world attempts to define what true beauty is.  Every day you drive by billboards, see ads on TV, and look at pictures as you flip through magazines, and it’s everything inside of you to feel pretty.  Does the world and it’s blurred messages of self-image impact how you see yourself in the mirror?  

Eating disorders, thoughts about ideal weight, affording the right clothes, and questions of how to feel beautiful are asked every single day by millions of people who live in a photoshopped world.

Imagine the pressure felt by three sisters who signed a major record deal with Hollywood Records, toured with national acts like Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, and the Cheetah Girls.  Glitz, make-up, lights, photo shoots, (and a massive machine called Disney), certainly has high standards to say the least, and I could imagine it’d be hard to deal with the constant pressure to look a certain way, weigh a certain amount, and fit certain expectations, all while being teenagers.

Well, now those girls have grown up a bit, (and their music and sound has matured), and they’re speaking up about one of the issues almost all women face.  It seems like the issue doesn’t go away, regardless of how old you are.  Find out what my friends and recording artists, Everlife, have to say about what it means to feel beautiful, and hear their brand-new song, “What’s Beautiful.”  If you really listen to the lyrics of this song, I think you’ll be as blown away as I was!  And I’m not even a girl!  ;-)

After you check out this video and hear the song, you’ll want to do 3 things:

1. Buy “What’s Beautiful” on iTunes, and enjoy the positive message…you need it!

2. Come see the girls play live on my tour, “Sens de Vie“ in a city near you this Spring!

3. Spread the word!  You and I both know that you know someone who needs to hear this song! Forward a link to this post to your friends, girlfriends, and daughters, encouraging them to watch the interview, start following Everlife by checking out their website, and getting the song.

Enjoy!  This is one of the world’s first chances to see a recording of this song played live…

[Facebook Note readers, click here to watch the video.  Facebook doesn't embed the video here when automatically importing these notes from my blog.]

Remember, buy the song, and spread the word!

Do YOU feel beautiful?  If not, remind yourself that God created you in his image, and in his eyes, you are perfectly beautiful and wonderfully made.

How do you fight the temptation each day to tune out the lies around you that scream you have to look a certain way in order to feel pretty? Share your comments, questions, frustrations, experiences, whatever.  Others might need to hear them, or you might just need to hear from them…

Joining me will be my good friend and world champion circus performer, DonB!, as well as my new friends Everlife, 3 sisters who became Hollywood Records recording artists, toured with Miley Cyrus, and just opened for the Jonas Brothers.  With that kind of resume, as you could expect, these girls are incredibly gifted, and you’ll be blown away by their moments throughout the show. They’ve been given a big platform in today’s culture, and they utilize it with courage and humility.

Three years ago I started telling people, “I’m going to create a production that reaches the kind of people who aren’t interested in going to church on Sunday. And I’m going to do the shows in the kind of places they’re already going to experience entertainment. And, I’m going to charge people to get in.”  A few said, “That sounds amazing! Go for it!” But most just laughed and said, “It won’t work.”

Thankfully, I didn’t listen. But the truth is, most of them were right.  It’s hard. After all, it’s less expensive to host a show in a church’s building.  And it’s safer to book a band whose songs are on the radio, because then you can usually plan on a lot of christians showing up.  And charge people? Maybe, but how could you put a dollar amount on a message about the true meaning of life?

First of all, I’m not. I’m putting a value on the level of quality of experience that audience members can expect.  When those people show up, they listen to my message more intently and effectively than those who come for free.  For some reason, “Free” & “Church” attract a completely different crowd than “$10″ and “Theater.”  Ironically, I was created to reach the latter group of people.  Sure, I could play it safe and create events that I know will appeal to the massive church world, book easily, and rest in the fact that my mortgage will always get paid. But what’s the point? If that’s all I do, but not what I was created for, I might as well change my message to “the meaninglessness of life.”

Most of the time, to be honest, I feel like Peter, sitting safely in a boat but seeing Jesus out on the water.  I think, “Hey, I’ve got an idea. I’m gonna walk on the water.” But everyone around me is thinking, “Are you nuts?! That’s impossible! You’ll fail, and you’ll look like an idiot.”  Well, I decided to get out of the boat anyway. Is my fall tour a huge “success.” In the eyes of some, probably not. There could be more shows and a fuller schedule. And if I were willing to compromise a little on my vision, it could have been different. But I didn’t, and God is honoring the vision, and I am SO excited about this year’s tour!

Our first stop this fall is in Tuscaloosa, AL, only 17 days from today!  We’ll be performing at the Bama Theater, an awesome 1,500 seat venue in town.  We got word about a month ago that a matinee show had been added, because the evening show had sold out all 1,500 seats more than two months away from the day of the show.  I just got word today that the matinee is almost completely sold out also, still over two weeks away!

Every day my team and I work hard to convince great promoters to partner with us and bring in the events we produce, and every day we hear responses like “That’s too risky,” or “That’s a little too out of the box for us,” or my favorite, “Well, I’m a concert promoter, and you don’t have any songs on the radio, so how do I know that people will show up?”

I thank God for people like Luke Stephens at Way Radio in GA & FL, who realized that his listeners actually wanted to come to an event that wasn’t a music concert.  He believed in us, and took a chance, and the event was a huge success. And guys like Steve McCranie at New Life 91.9 in Charlotte, who knows that it doesn’t matter that I’m not a band or musician and don’t have songs on the radio, because he has larger crowds at events like ours than most of the major concerts he does throughout the year.  And even the ministry leaders and pastors just like Heath Cooper in Tuscaloosa, AL who have stepped up, caught the vision, and taken the risk.  It’s unbelievably exciting to see God honor the efforts of those few who live courageously, and not live in the boring cycle of comfort, safety, and the doing of things a certain way because that’s just “the way it has always been done.”  I think God gets excited when we’re actually willing to get out of the boat, and try something that others label impossible.

I’m not bragging, nor am I against the music industry.  Many of my closest friends are musicians.  But I spent much of my life paralyzed by fear, because I wanted to stay comfortable and play things safe.  Yet every day, churches, promoters, and organizations are hosting the same kinds of events, over and over, because it just seems like the safe thing to do.  And other entertainers and performing artists like me are falling into the trap of creating not what God inspires them to create, but what they know is marketable and easy to book.  Now that I’ve embraced a life that requires courage and is filled with mystery, others are slowly jumping in, partnering with us, and joining me on the journey. It’s thrilling and scary, but you’ve gotta admit, walking on water is pretty dang cool.