Messenger Begins Recording CD

Wow, We are finally getting started. We have an incredible location for recording. Our drummer, Bobby Dickson aka Captain America, has an wonderfully talented Grandmother named Sue. Sue lives right on the water. She is letting us use her home to record the bed tracks and work vocals. I have no idea how we are going to get any work done. The band already wants to have a pool party.

A lot of people have asked what made us finally take on this mission. We decide that God had developed this band in such an amazing way that it would be a sin to not document it. Plus, the parishoners of our Church have been begging us to do this for a long while. I can't tell you how many small miracles I have personal witnessed since I formed this band. From having open auditions and praying that God gives the talent that we need. He did. He sent exactly what I needed literally. One time I needed 1 male vocal, and 1 adult guitarist. At the auditions, only 2 people showed up( The incredible Dave Dohanish and Master Guitar man Jim Grasso). I have to laugh because the band jokes that I have some kind of Bat Phone to God.

No, I just really have a great prayer life. I love my conversations with God. I do need to do a better job listening, but as anyone who knows me, I am Chatty Cathy. God gives us what we need, but sometimes free will, pride, and the world distract us from what He is showing us.

I pray that this CD is a chance for everyone involved to grow deeper in their faith, develop the musical talent in a more profound way, and build our friends that will sustain us for our life time. I know that is what God has planned. I can't wait to see all of the small Miracles He has in store for us over the next few months. Please keep us in your prayers!!!

My Big Brother

My brother is an amazing guy. He knows everything about technology and computer trends. He took over our family software company when my father retired. Needless to say, he rocks. I am adding his blog link to my site. Just in case you want to check out tech information. He gives great reviews.



He also has some pretty cool friends ( Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band). He is the personal manager for Peter Mayer, so you can find some pretty interesting blogs about music as well.

http://blueridgeparadise.blogspot.com/

Hair Care and Women's Vitamins

I have neglected my blog for a few days. Things have been pretty busy. Last night I was out with my husband and a couple of friends. Pete asked me about useless bits of knowledge. You know the stuff nobody can believe is true or really wants to know. Well, need less to say, I have tons.

Hence, today's subject: Hair and Vitamins!!!

To a Blond, her hair is probably one of the most important things in their lives, not really, but everyone wants to look great no matter what hair color or texture. The new trend in hair care these days is Sulfate Free Shampoo. It doesn't strip the hair of its natural oils, therefore no dry, frizzy look when the hair is blow dried. It is great for all hair types. The one down side is it doesn't suds up like traditional shampoos, so your left thinking., this is strange. It really works. Here are a couple of products that I recommend. I have tried these products, and they are great.

At 40, you really start to take stock of your health and realize that you probably have another 40 years in this body... so you better take care of it. Well, I did. I have really learned a lot about vitamins and how they work for your body. With our American type diet, you really need vitamins to off set the damage of processed foods, environment, and general life style.

I work out pretty much every day and exercising though great for you it does deplete your body of vitamins and minerals. Here is what I have discovered. Everyone: men, women, and kids, especially teens, need a good multivitamin. Every article that I have seen agrees and most widely known Doctors, like Dr. Oz. agree. I use a Women's Natural Multi that is gentle on your stomach. No one likes that nausea feeling after taking a major horse pill vitamin. You can get it at Publix or online. I also take additional vitamins like, Vitamin C for your immune system, Vitamin E, for hair and skin, Calcium, for bone strength, and Fish Oil, for general stress reduction, brain strength, hormone stabilizer, cardio vascular health, etc. Fish oil is really great for any one who has a stressful life. I also, started taking a pro biotic. This is great for your digestive track. It is basically the enzymes you find in yogurt, but on a higher level. I have not been sick in a very long time. I really feel that it is due to the exercise and vitamin regiment that I am on. Please research your specific needs and tailor your regiment for yourself. It is so much better that having to take Medications for diseases that you can prevent.

I am not in any way a medical expert, but this knowledge that I have collected from years of reading medical articles and research has brought me to conclude that in order to stave off disease and illness you have to make your body strong from the inside out. I hope this info at least gets you researching things that are affecting your health.

Sonlight Pictures

My dear friend, Pete Bauer, has started a new faith journey. He has created Sonlight Pictures. His plan is to create quality, religious films and sitcoms of sorts. His wife, Dea is one of my partners in crime. She is a vocalist in Messenger and also a former Stubbenville Retreat room mate. She had security called on us for having a loud party. Shame on you Dea. Ha Ha!!!

Pete is currently in production with a series of shorts featuring his daughter DC, and my daughter Tiffany. We are doing the script reads tonight, and filming will begin this summer. The series will be seen on God Tube. I have been told that it is really good and funny. I can't wait to see how it all turns out. Please pray for him and his new company. We need more Pete Bauer's in the world.

http://sonlightpicturesblog.wordpress.com/

Exercising and the 40 year old Body!!!

Well today I am going to try and tackle the ever frustrating conversation of exercise and diet after 40. Especially women struggle with this. I have always been extremely active and have worked out all of my life.

In my teen years, I modeled and participated in many pageants, including the Miss America Program. I was Miss Stone Mountain in the Miss Georgia Pageant in 1989. No laughing. So I have always tried to be very careful with my weight and health.

After I turned 40, I was running about 4-5 miles a day with no change and the weight was continuing to climb on. I am so frustrated!!!!!

My husband learned from a personal trainer that I was probably doing to much cardio and not enough strength training. I know infomercials are a waste usually, but I started a new exercise program called P90x. It is week 3, and I have to say I am starting to notice a pretty big difference.

The program consists of lots of old fashioned toning exercises like wall squats, and the ab ripper is insane. I have lost about 1 1/2" in my waist. This is amazing considering that is my weak area. The cardio on the program is kenpo karate, plyometrics, and hatha yoga. My flexibility has increased tremendously. I will keep you posted on my progress. I haven't gotten the courage to step on the scale yet, so I am not sure of my weight loss. My clothes are definitely a lot looser. Check it out!!! The link is below.

http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/p90x.do?code=P90XDOTCOM

I couldn't resist putting a Blonde Joke on my Blog. It's okay if I do it. I'm a Blonde.

A Russian, an American, and a Blonde were talking one day. The Russian said, "We were the first in space!" The American said, "We were the first on the moon!" The Blonde said, "So what? We're going to be the first on the sun!" The Russian and the American looked at each other and shook their heads. "You can't land on the sun, you idiot! You'll burn up!" said the Russian. To which the Blonde replied, "We're not stupid, you know. We're going at night!"

Saturday, I finally talked my husband in to skipping a boat ride in the gulf for a visit to the vatican exhibit in St.Pete. One of the most amazing things that I saw was an image of Christ called the Mandylion of Edessa. Here is some history on it. It really was amazing to see. It felt like you were actually looking into Christ's Eyes. I just thought it was cool. Hope you do too.





'Miraculous' image adds to mystery of how Jesus looked
Dan R. GoddardSan Antonio Express-NewsDec. 24, 2005 12:00 AM

We all recognize Jesus of Nazareth.Catholic or Protestant, Jew or Hindu, believer or not, if you grew up in the United States within the past 60 years, chances are your image of Jesus looks a lot like the long-haired, kind-eyed man gazing up to heaven in Head of Christ, a 1940 portrait by Chicago graphic artist Warner Sallman. With more than 500 million copies in circulation, Head of Christ is the most common religious image in the world. So deeply is this conception of the face of Jesus embedded in the national consciousness that few think to question its authenticity.
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But do we really know what Jesus looked like? The Bible offers scant description, even by the disciples, and for more than 300 years after Jesus' crucifixion, church authorities forbade images of him to be created, fearing that pagans would regard a depiction of Christ as an idol.Instead, symbols were used: a ship, the ark of salvation; or a cross and fish, because the letters of the Greek word for fish, ichthys, are the first letters of the Greek words meaning "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior."But believers, especially the common people, desired a visible image, and they pushed church authorities to come up with a portrait.Tracing the art history of the face of Christ isn't made easier by the many books and Web sites devoted to the subject. Muddled by superstition and science, the history can be traced through the legend of the Veil of Veronica, the mysteries of the Shroud of Turin and The Last Supper, by Leonardo da Vinci, whose rendering of Christ is the most imitated in the world.Add great paintings by Rembrandt and Michelangelo, countless works of religious art in churches around the world, and contemporary images of Christ in popular culture, from Jesus Christ Superstar to Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, and you have a bewildering number of faces of Jesus - yet most look remarkably similar.Generally, we expect Jesus to have long hair parted in the middle, a full beard, a narrow, aristocratic nose, a penetrating gaze and intelligent, expressive features. Sensitive-looking and handsome, Jesus is tall, thin and fairly masculine.

Mandylion of EdessaThe face of Christ that most of us recognize probably appeared in A.D. 525, when the Mandylion of Edessa was discovered hidden in a wall of what is believed to be the first Christian city. (Edessa is now Urfa, a town in Turkey near the Syrian border.)Now on view through Jan. 8 as part of the exhibit "Saint Peter and the Vatican: The Legacy of the Popes" at San Antonio's Convention Center, the Mandylion is considered one of the five oldest images of Christ, if not the oldest. From the sixth to the early 13th century, it was considered the most famous miraculous image of Christ "not made by human hands."To modern eyes, jaded by television, movies, photography and 1,500 years of art history, the Mandylion is not too impressive. Darkened by the centuries, it is difficult to see, although you can recognize the face of Christ - thin nose, long hair, beard and dramatic eyebrows - staring back with a direct and powerful gaze.Overshadowed by many later works of art, the Mandylion remains one of the most prized relics owned by the Vatican, perhaps the inspiration for all of the images of Christ that came after. Imagine the electrifying effect it must have had in the sixth century, when, after centuries of having no official portrait of Jesus, a painting purported to be created during Christ's lifetime appeared.According to legend, Abgar, king of Edessa during the time of Christ, suffered from arthritis and leprosy. Hearing of Christ's reputation as a healer, he sent his servant and court painter, Ananias, with a letter asking Jesus to come to Edessa.When Ananias arrived in Judea, he tried to draw Jesus. Jesus called him over and gave him a letter declining Abgar's invitation but promising that the king would be cured.Then Jesus washed his face in water and wiped off the moisture with a towel, which miraculously retained his image - "Mandylion" translates as "holy towel." Ananias returned to Edessa with the image, and Abgar was healed.In the original version of the legend, Ananias painted the image. Art historians and scientific authorities who have examined the Mandylion for the Vatican concluded that it most likely is a tempera-on-linen painting of Syrian origin dating from the third century, which would make it contemporaneous with the earliest known version of the legend, written about A.D. 400.But there's much more to the Mandylion legend, and the image isn't described as "not made by human hands" until after its discovery in the sixth century.

Greg and I in the Keys

Messenger

Last Night was such an amazing night for my band Messenger. We had the largest group ever. My guess is about 900 people at our mass. The Holy Spirit was filling the entire church. I am not real sure about why God chose me to direct this incredibly talented band, but I thank him whole heartily for allowing me the opportunity to sing His Praises every week. We are about to break for the summer and start our journey in recording. I have to admit I am a little nervous because I hope what we are able to achieve every week in mass translates over into our recording. Our sole reason for being is to bring teens and people in general closer to God through music. It is our passion and I hope you can see that in our performances. I tried to upload a video of our Concert in Jan. from You tube but could not, so here is the link. I hope you check it out. I also hope that you come to Espirtu Santo and join our mass. The Holy Spirit is working amazing well in our Church. Oh also here is a picture of our Incredible Drummer Bobby Dixon. He thinks he is a Super Hero. You know what, I do too.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=XmvDbleL8qA

Pope Benedict's Visit

Yeah, it is day 2 of my adventure in writing my blog. I should also mention that I am a graduate of journalism school and really wanted to pursue that before starting my family. God had other plans for me. I can't tell you how moved I am by watching history unfold on my TV. My major disappointment is that our current media puts themselves as part of the story instead of telling the facts as they are.

When I was in school that was a big no no. You were given a F if you added your opinion to the any subject unless it was considered an editorial. I feel like every news broadcast is the writer's opinion and that you have to search deeply to find the truth.

My favorite coverage is when they just show an event as it unfolds. For example, Pope Benedict's first visit to the US as Pope. It is his Birthday today. He is 81. Wow, what an incredible man. His speech was very interesting. When ever I listen to the Pope speak or read any of his writings, I always try to find messages from God. He is God's mouth piece on Earth. My husband was quite funny, telling my daughter to watch George Bush's face to see if the Holy Father told him a message from God. He said watch to see if his face goes ashen. He didn't of course. I love that our President talks about God in all of his speeches.

Back to His Holiness, his speech talked about freedom. He said that with true freedom comes responsibility. I can not believe how very true this is. In order to be free, you must not just think of yourself, but consider how your actions will affect others for the good and bad. It is our responsibility to protect our Freedom. Just acting on the whims of "if it feels good do it" is not Freedom. It is actually creating a prison for yourself in many ways. It also gives evil an open door to your heart and soul. I'm sorry, that is something that I am not the least bit interested in. In my younger years, I thought differently, but I saw how that way of thinking can destroy people from the inside out. The only true freedom is through God and his Son.

I hope that you spend today trying to find your true Freedom or Bliss!!

God Bless

Life as a Blonde

Today is the first time I have ever posted a blog. It takes we blondes a while to catch on. A friend of mine, Pete Bauer, and my brother ( the human computer) Mike Davis have been blogging for while. I just wanted to post my take on life, love, family, hair and makeup, music, and most of all my Catholic Faith.



Some background on me, I am 42 , a wife, and a mother of two incredible kids. My daughter is 16, and my son is 13. We have quite a unique family. I am a music director of a Catholic Christian Rock Band, known as Messenger. We have a supportive, amazing fan base here in Safety Harbor, FL.

I have a pretty great life with amazing friends. My band mates are quite funny, and to their dismay, I plan on writing about our journey to create our first cd.

I also hope to connect with old friends and catch up on their lives. Well, I think that is all for now. See you tomorrow!!!