the road to sharathon...2007

Bonnie's driving...

because Bonnie is MS. Sharathon...

and...

Bonnie knows the way?

Right Deke and Cindy?

Bonnie... this is Derrick's Studio... not THE STUDIO!

O.K....this is looking a little more like home...

Now we're cookin'...

Kurt and John Brock in THE Studio...

Dek in the production room...

Now THIS is Sharathon...

Smiling Sharathon Volunteers....

Everything's "thumbs up" so far!

Cindy is enjoying entering all your faith promises....

And Lori is not real big on me interrupting her...

Sorry, Lori... but look at the Totals so far!

And let's not forget last night's Prayer and Praise Concert with Avalon...

and the introduction of the hot new WBFJ display courtesy of RAM Fambrication on Rural Hall...

WBFJ Sharathon 2007 is off to a booming start...

thanks to all volunteers...and all who will be making faith promises and praying for us...

let's see what the Lord will do this week...

stay tuned!

William Hung Up in North Carolina

Well... i have to admit I like to watch American Idol...
the only thing is I don't care for the word "Idol"...
for two reasons.

One. The expression "Idol" as in "Teen Idol " is left over from the "50's so let's get hip and call it something else... this is 2007!

Two. The real reason I don't care for the word "Idol"... used literally it is something worshipped other than the true God. .. And no one on the show is that good!

Anyway, call it something else but the concept of this show just grabs my attention. And when I started following some of the Christians on the show, I became a regular (when possible)... which brings me to my story...

Last night Phil did fine but I have always felt like he needed a little extra push so he's one of the few I've actually taken the time to call in and vote for....

I put the number in my last number dialed on my cellphone. When the time came, I began rapid fire voting... call, hang-up when you hear the voice and then redial... and so on. I keep the phone in hand ... you can hear enough from the earpiece to know you got through.

I noticed it was a different voice on the other end... I thought "How nice...they got a ladies voice now"...

After about 50 sucessful calls (votes) I gave up for the evening and watched the news...

I didn't realize Judy had called mema last night on my phone to tell her American Idol was on...

So it was a little funny today when Judy talked with her mother...

Mema: "Judy I am so worn out from last night... I went to bed after watching American Idol and this person kept calling me over-and-over and hanging up... It about drove me crazy!"

O-O-p-s!

Maybe now we know a little how William Hung felt when he found out he wasn't going to Hollywood... good intentions aren't quite good enough!

L-O-L!

(This really could happen... so be careful when you dial..LOL)

PS... That's a cellphone in Mema's Hand... she's been known to do a little fancy dialing herself on occasion!

Michael W. Smith added to Music City Walk of Fame...

To be honest I kinda stumbled onto this whole thing while at Music Week at the Gospel Music Association in Nashville... I had heard Wally mention something about the event but didn't eally put it all together until I wandered around and saw the crowd sitting out in the Nashville sun...

I looked on stage and saw Michael W. Smith so I staked out a spot and started taking a few pictures. Since I didn't know anyone else on stage I started paying attention and realized this was more than a Michael W. Smith event.

Buddy Holly's band, "The Crickets" was the first group honored and then their star on the "Music City Walk of Fame" was uncovered.

Emmylou Harris was also honored and her star uncovered.

(For a complete list of Honorees check the blog account near the end...)

When it came time to introduce Michael W. Smith this somewhat somber guy stood up...

and to my surprise it was Jim Caviezel, the actor Mel Gibson chose to play Christ in the movie, Passion of the Christ.

Jim told the story about the gruelling and sometimes dangerous times during the filming of the movie...

While Jim was out in the cold hanging on the cross he separated his shoulder... he was also once struck by lightning...

All in all it was a touching story but the tie-in to Michael W. Smith was that during his long "wait time" during shooting while he hung there in pain... someone slipped Jim a walkman and earplugs up to him playing Michael's song ABOVE ALL ELSE and if you remember the words you can see why this song profoundly change Jim's life and why the two became good friends.

Michael thanked God for all the blessings in his life... especially his wife and family... and for the city of Nashville for being good to him.

It was a very moving ceremony and I was glad I was there to see it all...

It was also good to see Michael W. Smith's dad who was able to be there to witness the occasion.

Another moving moment was the comments by Wynoona Judd. I have not kept up with her career but remember her from being on the TV program Touched by an Angel singing Testify to Love.

I could tell by her sincere comments and humble demeanor that life had been hard at times for her but I could also tell the Lord had been good to her and she in no uncertain terms made that very clear. I was very moved by it all.

I really don't know who all was in the VIP audience... look around. You might see someone you recognize...

Don't know who this little fellow was but he was quick to check out the star!

(And so was I and everyone else there!)

I tought the whole event was cool! And I was so happy to see the Lord publically honored too, through the testimony of Michael W. and some of the others. I have to admit my "Judy side" (LOL) came out a little as I brushed away a few tears from time to time...

I saved the rest of my shots for a little slide show...

take time to read the complete report of the event

borrowed from a fellow blogger ...

Remember you can also view all the pictures in the slide show individually... just click on "View All" and click on each to enlarge.

·

Michael W. Smith to Join Music City Walk of Fame Honorees

Christian music superstar Michael W. Smith will join an elite group of music industry figures this weekend when he is inducted into the Music City Walk of Fame.The induction ceremony takes place at the Hall of Fame Park in downtown Nashville on Apr. 22.

The 2007 class of inductees for the Music City Walk of Fame also includes country legend Emmylou Harris, Americana mainstay John Hiatt, country powerhouse Wynonna Judd, seminal rock ‘n’ roll combo The Crickets, and long-time BMI president/CEO Frances Preston.

Smith comments, “I’m thrilled to share this day with Emmylou, John, Wynonna, The Crickets and Frances. I was surprised when I found out, and am humbled by the honor.”

Jim Caviezel, who portrayed Jesus in the 2005 film “The Passion of the Christ,” is a friend of Smith’s and will serve as his presenter into the Music City Walk of Fame.

The Music City Walk of Fame is an official project of Music City Inc, the charitable foundation of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the 2007 class represents the second group of honorees inducted.

"This class of inductees continues to showcase the diversity of the music that thrives in this city,” said Butch Spyridon, President of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau.

“Each honoree has left an indelible mark on music worldwide and on our city’s musical heritage. We’re privileged to pay homage to their great success.”

The Music City Walk of Fame ceremony kicks off a busy Gospel Music Week 2007 for Smith. He will be a presenter at the 38th Annual GMA Dove Awards at the Grand Ole Opry House next Wednesday, Apr. 25.Thanks to Kevin Donovan

Hey...is that who I think it is?

More Music Week Coverage...

Live from Nashville... next time at papajohns place.

"In the house"....with Toby Mac...Ayiesha Woods.

WRONG House, Verne!

We're looking for "The house of Toby"

Not "The House of Representatives"

(I really thought the House of Representatives was larger

and was in Washington, DC?

Something a little spacie going on here!)

Actually we did get a little" in-the-house time " with Toby Mac and Ayiesha Woods courtesy of Gotee Records.

Notice Toby giving me the hand signal to check out Verne's blond hair extension hanging off the back of his head...

AND...As I was getting a little non-posed shot of Ayiesha ...

We got "Tobbed" as Toby was passing through...

and it really made for a cool picture...

we dedicate this one to intern Mary at WBFJ...

"PAPA JOHN!"...

"You're standing on my foot!"

SORRY!

Ayiesha is one nice lady...

Big smile and cool down-to-earth way ...

Her single "HAPPY" (you make me happy) fits her to a "T"!

Verne and Ayiesha were able to compare smiles...

I guess it's basically a tie!

Verne and Gotee's "Story Side B" compared hair

and Verne shared some of his spiking gel techniques.

(Verne...I don't see anyone taking notes )

On our way back from being "in the house" with Toby and the gang ...we had to stop in at the house of Tubb. (Ernest Tubb)

(Click on the pic to enlarge... this is my favorite sign in Nashville!)

And parenthetically...while we're talking Nashville favorites...

the "BAT Building" is my favorite landmark by day...

But by night I think it becomes a magnet for all the Alien Star Trek ish Space ships and stuff we've been seeing since we got here...

See what I mean?

Here comes another one!

And it's the dreaded one-horned "Unicorn Flying saucer"...

they're the ones that carry the greenest aliens!

B-L-O-G F-L-A-S-H!

Amore down to earth note:

Michael W. Smith's star added to Nashville's "Walk of Fame"...along with Emmylou Harris , Winona Judd, and more...

Papajohn's Place was there... stay tuned for great pictures and full coverage...

Coming soon to Papajohn's Place!

Nashville invaded by space ship...E.T. phone left at home?

WOW... You're not going to believe this Sci-fi beginning to GMA week!

But let's back up a little...

Friday...Wally, Verne and I left Charlotte Airport

for the Gospel Music Association in Nashville.

First thing after we arrived at our Nashville hotel

Wally went online to find out why the airlines had no record of our plane reservations to Nashville...

That's right.. a few hours earlier at the Charlotte airport...

they had no reservations for us!

Wally later determined the reservations were made on April 1st

and apparently they thought he was joking.. LOL-not.

And while Wally was figuring out what went wrong with the reservations...

I was cogitating on where my cell phone was.

When it came time to go through the Charlotte airport security

I suddenly realized my cell phone was no longer in my pocket...

While Wally and I were trying to solve our mysteries...

Verne was looking out the window at our hotel...

and noticed a large crowd gathering and looking up...

All of a sudden Verne said

"Look...it's a space ship coming in there at the left..."

"And it's landing on top of the building next door!"

Sure enough... when Wally and I looked out...

there it was!

And this giant inflatable alien had come out of the ship

and people were all around checking it out.

Verne ran down to get an exclusive interview

to call into Tami and Darren on the morning show

But he was too late!

By the time he got down the sky turned dark

and the ship was on it's way out...

He did recover a few of these little speckled eggs

the alien visitors apparently left behind.

But there is some good news:

We had a wonderful time later in the evening listening to Nate Sallie and Plumb...

Nate brought the roof down!

Plumb just out-of-site also...

There is one little bit of bad news...(LOL)

Wally told me to dress western since we were going to Nashville...

well I think it got me in hot water with the locals... I think I made the paper!

Here's the scoop:

For fun when I walked into a karaoke thing to do a version of the late johnny cash's

"ring of fire "... they booed me off the stage...

apparently thought I was that "I-guy..." (LOL)

but you know papa john isn't like that...

(And you know I'm pulling your leg...lol)

(Thanks -I think-to Deke and PHOTOSHOP for the birth of this picture creation... that child is dangerous with a computer...LOL!)

Well that's day one...including a little extra "stuff" thrown in...ha ha!

There will be more!

Live from Nashville... Music Week at The Gospel Music Association.

Our pharmacy LOL