OK, I survived New Year’s (600 balloons falling on me!) and the holidays, and I’m finally getting back into the groove. It’s been a mellow ‘08 so far, to be honest. I’m spending some great time with the fam, and having some memorable conversations with God, as well. Some of my prayers have been in response to this challenging verse in Luke. Before I unvail it, let me set it up a bit, cool?

OK -finding your true self- It’s THE quest, right? Finding Yourself. For some, it’s the search of a lifetime. Here’s what Jesus has to say:

(Luke 9:23-…in the Message) “Then he told them what they could expect for themselves: “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat—I am. Don’t run from suffering; EMBRACE it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-SACRIFICE is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your TRUE self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you?”

Is that CRAZY????! Embrace suffering? Ditch all “self-help” and go for self-sacrifice instead??? What about striving for and thinking into existence all the things we want? On the contrary, Jesus says getting all the things we want could be dangerous…in fact, it could veer us off track so much, we’d LOSE YOURSELVES.

I’m really wrestling with this! Every human instinct in me tells me to go the other way, but the truth is God wants to do something good in my life as I “embrace suffering”. What does that even look like?

Well, that’s a little window into my spiritual dialogue these days… I know God’s up to something…the journey is never boring!

See you on the road—

Justin

It’s New Year’s Eve, and I’m resting up for my midnight gig tonight…

(even though the date to the right says “1/01″…is this Y2K???)

(starting to stockpile some water now…)

Anyway, the family and I are up here in Nor Cal, staying with relatives, playing Guitar Hero, Webkinz, Tamagotchi…everyone still in their pajamas and socks…definitely experiencing “down time” at it’s finest!

I’m reflecting on the eve of the new year ahead, and actually struck by the faithful, unchanging nature of God! Just like you, I actually have NO IDEA what the new year holds (or what next week looks like for that matter), but I feel comforted by the simple fact that in this season of change, we get to experience a love that never changes. God’s ridiculous, undeserved favor toward us is a constant reason to wake up in the morning. Everyday He’s there. He’s excited to lovingly lead us toward REAL LIFE…His song is playing…He’s ready to teach us the steps to the dance…

…and He’ll be there tomorrow.

Nothing’s changed.

Happy New Year!

This holiday break, the band and I rounded up our families for our year-end party, and it was awesome! John cooked the most amazing ribs, Joe kicked down with the killer deserts, and our kids practically tore John’s house APART! We managed to snap this quick pic before the melt-down…

I’m totally overwhelmed with gratitude to these families for joining ours in this crazy musical adventure…THANK YOU!!!

A big toast to Joe Servia for 10 YEARS of rockin’ the bass with us!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

I’m sorry I can’t write too much right now. I know I should be coming up with some super-cool, deep, Christmas-y devotional….umm….I’m sorry. I’m buried in wrapping, painting, eBaying, cleaning, dishes, parties….it’s INSANE right now! But my prayer for you is the same for me;

…that somehow, in the craziness, we would experience a special season of “God with us”…His Hope, His Peace, His Joy, His Love…all REAL and LASTING!

May you encounter Him like never before!

From my family to yours,

Thanks for being a part of our lives!

Love,

The Foxes

My family and I had a WILD Thanksgiving! We drove the 14 hours to the far north of Cali where we met up with the whole extended clan…4 younger brothers, 3 sister-in-laws, 1 niece…and our 6…it was CRAZY! My parents hosted us all somehow with grace and class.

Here’s a highlight for me; I encouraged everyone I could to jam and sing with me on my Friday night “Thanksgiving Concert” at Mosgo’s Coffeehouse. My bros; Josh and Ben both did great sets of tunes, my dad even sang, Farrah did a couple songs, my mom lent her famous harmonies, and the kids handled percussion!

Yah, it was swwweeeeeet! We closed the night with an “I’ll Fly Away” medley, straight out of the Ozarks!HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!

The band and I had another amazing, glorious tour of Virginia last week. Catching Richmond and Monument Ave. in the fall is so cool! God always does great stuff in my heart through the communities we visit in Virginia, and this trip was no exception. I left encouraged, inspired, and excited for the road ahead.  A HUGE THANKS to our east coast friends!!!

…..fall leaves …..the house we stayed in …..Joe on the stairs

Sorry for the lag in posts, but my tour schedule has been insane!!! I lasso-ed in TX, navigated through a snowy pass in upper WA, got lost in Monterey, led 7 sessions at a Sacramento conference, and sweat through 11 concerts near the equator in Sri Lanka…all in the last MONTH! I’m thankfully recouping in the Napa Valley right now and finding a moment to shoot you these pictures. Sri Lanka was an amazing experience! 100’s of people responding to the message of God’s hope! We rushed from schools, to church services, to TV shows, and radio interviews…a non-stop schedule that was rewarding in every way. CONGRATS to my long-time buddy Jeff Poole for generously winning the suitcase - thank you, bro!!!

I just received this crazy invitation to go with my friend Jon Pritikin to SRI LANKA in a couple weeks! We leave October 1 and come home around the 7th. Sri Lanka is an island just south of INDIA.


I’m totally stoked and looking forward to the adventure, and I’m auctioning off my old, beloved Echolac suitcase in order to provide an opportunity for you to be a part! Other than my airfare, no finances have been provided yet for this trip, so I thought this would be a fun way to get people involved…

I have a new suitcase now but this one has seen a LOT of miles. It was one of my first suitcases, traveling as far as Costa Rica and Brazil…an essential part of my touring gear. The bright yellow color has always made it easy to spot coming down the baggage chute! There’s great memories attached to it too, like burning it accidentally on a cabin heater, dragging it through a snowdrift, and meeting my wife at Mandalay Bay for my birthday. It’s hauled tons of CDs, cables, pedals, and even a Ukulele! It measures about
28” high and 22” across. The outer plastic shell is nice and hard, wheels role smoothly, and the seals are all still good. Even though the front handle/lock area is broken, it still closes and functions perfectly. Inside sleeve and zipper pocket is in good condition, too. It’s a great functioning suitcase and a piece of ROCK AND ROLL HISTORY! …maybe a fun idea for a musician just starting out, or someone who likes a little more depth and meaning to their stuff…or maybe just something for you or your church group to store stuff in!

It’s up for auction right now (until Monday night, Sept. 24) on EBAY. Every penny goes directly to this trip and mission ahead… THANKS FOR BEING A PART!

CDs FOR SRI LANKA:

I would LOVE to be able to GIVE AWAY CDs while I’m there. Would you consider helping me do that, by donating $5 per CD to be given away? Just click to this donation link HERE. Write in your donation amount, say something about “CDs for Sri Lanka” and we’ll make it happen! Thank you!!!

One of my fondest memories of this summer has to be our family retreat. We stole a week away beach camping at a favorite spot near Santa Barbara. I made fires, threw the frisbee, rode my kids in a raft, and mainly surfed, surfed, and SURFED! My wife graciously took a few pictures and got this sequence - my first documented “surf sequence” shot! Here’s to another great summer…

You’ve probably gotten sick of me by now mentioning over and over to everyone I meet this new book; The Shack. Well, yah, it’s awesome, and the author just happens to actually be a very cool guy! We started talking over some emails, and an amazing, out of the blue but very genuine friendship formed by God’s grace. Cool stuff. So, I’m on tour in the Northwest with a free Saturday morning and a borrowed car. I realize I’m pretty close to where he lives in Gresham, OR, and I invite myself over for breakfast! It’s crazy, but somehow he accepts!!! We actually meet at this funky diner and have an incredible time talking and getting to know each other over some weak coffee and great omelets. He has an amazing, jaw dropping, heart wrenching personal story. It was beyond inspiring to be in a face to face discussion with this guy. He’s a walking miracle and testament to God’s grace, goodness, and power. I’m still processing the deep stuff we talked about; like how God is not “present” in the future - but present in the NOW, how real Freedom is discovered, how God loves everyone uniquely and particularly, how God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit - the whole gang - are INSIDE me…hmmm…. Buy ME breakfast sometime and I’ll tell you more! …and READ The Shack!!!