I have just read another story about parents who prayed for a sick child, refusing all medical treatment available, and the child dies of the sickness. The state they live in is forcing these parents to stand trial for the death of the child due to neglect. As I see it, here is the dilemma... 1st, let me say that it is a real tragedy that the child died. However, when society steps in to these kinds of situations, Where will it end? I do not advocate neglect in any way, but if I were on the jury I would push for acquittal because of the precedent that a guilty verdict would set. How far do we let government control our lives, our faith, our families? When is too much, too much?? These parents were acting in full attention to the child. There was no neglect at all. They lovingly and dutifully sat, knelt and prayed by the childs bedside. If it were my child I would have taken my child to the doctor/hospital. But forcing someone to act against their faith is the same as someone trying to force their faith on you. And most everyone agrees, that is absolutely wrong. My two cents

Baby Girl How can you mend your heart With so much damage done How can we reach out to you While you are on the run Baby girl we are crying for you We know your heart is broken But we don't know what to do We long to tell you that we love you And we pray that you hear We long to hold you close And love away your fear Dad 11/08

Rising Moon His eyes scan the horizon looking for a sign Something from his twisted past drives him on Doesn’t know what he is looking for between the setting suns But when it finally finds him all will be undone He sees his reflection in the waning moon He knows his journey will be ending soon But tonight he is driven by the master of his chains And as the moon is rising he is riding once again Rising moon light my way Stay with me until dawn of day Pale light pierce the black of night Behind my eyes, beyond my sight

As a guitar teacher I am concerned with my students knowledge of their instrument, musical theory and general (not trivial) things like these. However, I would so rather a student come away with something to say with their music, not just something to show. Teaching chords and theory is a lot like learning to play chess. I can teach you how the pieces move fairly quickly, but it takes a lifetime to learn to play the game. So, as I teach my students the fundamentals of theory, scales and chord structure, it is my aim to mold them into musicians who love what they do and go beyond the boundaries of skill and precision. There is an underlying basis for all arts that touch on, even root in, the spiritual. Don't get me wrong - I love to turn the amps up and hammer on "A" as much as the next guy, and we all need that as artists. But still, underneath it, we need to be students, even disciples of our chosen art form to the point where our life and our art carry no separate distinction. I used to live by a canyon and sometimes I would take my guitar and sit on the edge of that canyon and just play. Sometimes I would just listen to the canyon, sometimes it would listen to me. Beautiful!! Life Love Music - All for one and one for all Michael