December Update
Merhaba! That means “hello” in Turkish. I used all of the 12 words I learned of Turkish last week in Istanbul. I used them over and over again so that it sounded like I knew Turkish. I could survive any conversation with a Turk as long as it only involved saying hello, goodbye, counting to ten, how are you, or “can I have a water, please.” I’ve become addicted to Turkish tea. Ought to do a little less damage to my liver than the 5 cups of coffee I drink every day.
I had a breakthrough on the plane yesterday coming home. I slept. I’ve never been able to sleep on a plane. It doesn’t matter how long the flight is I have never been able to sleep. Yesterday I learned the trick. Step 1, don’t sleep for 40 hours straight. Step 2, ear plugs! On the last leg of my journey home to Nashville I was in the exit row with no one next to me. I put in the earplugs, wrapped up in a blanket, rolled a pillow up under my head and stretched my legs out as far as I could to an angle. I was unconscious before we hit 10k feet and slept for a solid hour! I woke up feeling like a million dollars. After 40 hours awake, one hour of sleep goes a long way.
I felt guilty going to Istanbul because my job included about 20 minutes of music a day for three days. But what a blast I got to have worshipping with new and old friends from all over the world. Our break times together were rich and I loved getting to catch up with Billy, John, Kanoot and Tim all of whom I hadn’t seen in years.
Wrote a song Saturday afternoon and have posted on the myspace site. As we were driving around Istanbul I kept seeing this symbol on the sidewalk and handrails everywhere and my friend Billy told me they call Istanbul the City of the Seven Hills. Inspite of the fact that there were hills everywhere, the phrase stuck in my head (7 syllables in a trochaic foot. It was practically singing itself) and I wanted to use it in a lyric as I processed this trip. Check it out.
Also added “Awake My Soul” from the demo project last Spring and “Blue Horizon” to the myspace site. Blue Horizon is about the trip home to New Orleans that Shera and I took to pack up all of our stuff.
If you’ve taken the time to read all of this, why not pop over to the “Contact” page and send me a hello or simply click on the “comment” link below and say hellow from there. Merry Christmas!
December 14th, 2005 at 11:05 am
James, Enjoyed reading about your trip to Turkey. I love how the Father uses you to lead others to worship Him all over the world. I also love how everything around you is just a song waiting to be written. There’s a symbol on the ground…don’t worry, James will write a song about it. We’ve got to go and pack our stuff up…don’t worry, James will write a song about it. We have to meet in B’s office at 6:10…don’t worry….Well buddy, keep updating the site so I can keep up with your amazing life. Merry Christmas to you and yours!
-jw
p.s.–I’m engaged!
December 22nd, 2005 at 3:41 pm
James,
Hope you and Shera have a great Christmas. Thank you for keeping us updated on the work God is doing in your life. Hope to see you in Hattiesburg soon. Bye.
Chad
December 30th, 2005 at 10:51 am
“Marhaba” also means “hello” in Arabic.
January 9th, 2006 at 10:37 am
Hey James, I loved hearing about your trip to Turkey, well and just hearing about what is going in your family’s life. I thought of you when the hurricane hit. Where are you living now? I have DNW March 24–26. I have had to change it twice. I need a speaker. Can you and if not can you tell me some guys who can and this is their passion. I have talked to Landon D. and Tony M and since the hurricane everyone is displaced. I will go to your sight again to keep up with you. God bless you and Shera and keep working on your new language. Worship One Vickie Arthur McClendon Baptist Church West Monroe La.