Hi, I'm Billy Blackwood.
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Through my years
in music ministry,
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I've had the privilege
of meeting many great people
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and making a lot
of great friends.
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Some have been
friends for literally decades
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and some have been more recent.
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It's my hope that you will enjoy
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getting a
glimpse behind the scenes
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and into the real
lives of my friends.
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Sit back and enjoy as you watch
Billy Blackwood and Friends.
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Hi, I'm Billy Blackwood.
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Welcome to Billy
Blackwood and Friends.
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My guest today is my
friend John Darin Rowsey.
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So glad to have
John on the program.
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Good to be here.
Thanks for having me.
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Great to have you.
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I've been excited
about being here with you
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ever since we
first talked about this
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'cause, you know, just to get
a chance to sit down and talk
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with a friend about the stuff
that we love is a lot of fun.
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Yeah.
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A lot of folks may
not know you by face,
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but I'm sure they
know a lot of your songs
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and we hope to acquaint
them more with you today.
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And your great gift
for writing and singing,
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your songs to me,
when I think of John Darin,
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your songs have a real soulful,
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kind of a jazzy
feel a lot of them
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then I don't know,
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is that to Does
that box you in too much
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or would you say
that's pretty apt description?
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No, I guess it's...
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I've heard that a lot.
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And, you know, I
have a lot of people
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tell me that my songs
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don't necessarily
fit my personality
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'cause I'm pretty laid back.
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I'm not a guy
who's very excitable,
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you know, and I
can pretty much go
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with the flow.
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And sometimes
like the songs feel
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a little bit more aggressive
than my personality real,
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but I like stuff
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that has a little bit
of heart and soul to it.
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Yeah. Well, you do those well.
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Tell folks who
don't know John Darin,
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tell us a little bit
about you and your career
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and your
history in gospel music?
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Well, I grew up
singing with my family,
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started when I was 11 years old.
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And sang with my
aunt, my grandmother,
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just, you know, around our area,
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like there were
so many family groups
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when I was a kid.
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And there was a
what we called a singing
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every Saturday night
somewhere around home
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and my family was
a big part of that.
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And when I
graduated high school,
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I started a group
called a New Journey.
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And we achieved a
little bit of success
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as far as the industry went
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and were able to
just sing on a label
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and that grew for
probably 15 years.
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And at that point, my
wife, her father passed away.
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And she was traveling with
me on the road at the time,
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and she didn't want
to be gone from her mom,
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she wanted to be
available for her.
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And we shut the group down.
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And I took a job with
Karen Peck and New River
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that was New Year's Eve 1999.
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And I stayed there till 2003.
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And one of the
greatest, it was just an honor
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to get to work with them
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'cause they're
truly godly people
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who love the Lord
with all their heart,
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and they live
everything they sing.
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It was one of the greatest
jobs I could ever have had.
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And I came off the road in 2003
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when my son started high school.
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And when he did that,
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I felt like I
wanted to be closer to home
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and worked with our
church music program
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for seven years.
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All that time I
was writing songs
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and having a lot of groups
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in southern gospel music record,
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and a few in
contemporary Christian
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and things and some choral books
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and different things like that.
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So all through
the time of singing,
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writing has been
part of what I did.
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And this
opportunity with the Guardians
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came about totally unexpected.
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And when that happened,
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I had no intention
of ever traveling again,
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not that I didn't like
it was a great experience,
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but I thought,
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you know, that part
of my life is finished.
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And when this came about,
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they were kind of ready to
start shutting things down.
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They'd never had a
personnel change in 25 years.
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Oh, my!
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I mean, almost no
group can say that.
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Right.
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And they had done
things on a regional basis.
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And, well, when I came on board,
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we decided when we did a project
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that we would put a single out
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just to see what it would do,
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you know, and it did pretty well
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And one thing led to
another and a few doors opened
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for concert venues
and things like that.
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And so, you know, we figure
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Every time I think
I've got God figured out,
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every time I
think I know exactly
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what He's gonna do
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He proves to me
that I have no clue.
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It is to surprise.
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He keeps a few things
that He doesn't let us to know.
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Exactly.
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You know what the Bible says,
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His ways are
higher than our ways
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and, boy, has that been proven
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over and over and
over again in my life.
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And so these days, I'm
still traveling with them
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and just enjoying,
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I've learned to try
not second guess God
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because I'm really bad at it.
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And watching what
He does and it's good.
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But tell us about,
what was the first song
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that you felt like, wow,
this is really taking off,
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I can, I want to be a writer.
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Well, I had my first cut
by a group called The Lesters
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back in 1993
around that era '92, '93
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there was a song
called no greater love
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and I thought, "My goodness.
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Well, I have a song on
another group's record."
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These are the
first people besides me
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or my group has
ever sung my songs.
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Somebody likes
my songs besides me.
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I know. Maybe I can write.
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Yeah. And I started to pitch
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a few songs and
one thing sort of,
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one cut kind of leads
to another it seems like.
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And finally, a
couple of years later,
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the Gaither Vocal Band
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cut a song that I wrote
called Singing With the Saints,
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now I wrote it
with Daryl Williams
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and John Starnes.
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And the way it came
about the group I had
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at the time New
Journey, had the privilege
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of being on one of the
Gaither Homecoming videos.
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All of my heroes
are there in one room,
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and I got a
chance to kind of sit in
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and you talk about
being a fly on the wall.
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That's kind of what I felt like.
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And when that was
over, on the way home,
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I wrote the chorus of
Singing With the Saints,
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and because, you
know, I just thought,
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if this is the taste of heaven,
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it's only gonna
get better, you know.
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And then by the time I got home,
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I'd written the first verse.
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Well, I was
writing with John Starnes
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for a project he was doing.
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Well, I said, you
know, I've got this chorus,
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a verse in the chorus of a song,
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that I really think it sounds
like the Gaither Vocal Band,
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I wrote it at the
taping, and when he heard it,
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I played it for him.
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He said, "Well,
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that really does
sound like the vocal band."
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I said, "Well, let's
write a second verse."
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You can take it to
guy and if he likes it,
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he could give it to
Bill and see what happens.
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And so we started
working on the second verse.
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In the meantime, Daryl
Williams had been writing
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in another writer's room,
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he came in and he finished
the second verse with us.
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They took it to
Guy and he liked it.
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And then Guy took it
to Bill and he liked it,
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and it became the title of
one of the Homecoming videos
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and they've used it for
a lot of different things.
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This is such a
blessing in my life
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because the Gaither Vocal Band
were one of my favorites too.
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You may have heard the
Gaither Vocal Band, do you?
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But let's listen to the
guy who wrote the song sing it.
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This is John Darin singing,
Singing With the Saints.
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Heaven's getting ready
for an end it all celebration
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To begin eternity with
a righteous congregation
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This world's comin' to an end
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And it won't be long
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The party's gonna
start and go on and on and on
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I'll be singin' with the
saints at the morning light
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Ringin' in the day
'cause there is no night
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Sayin' goodbye to the
heartache trouble and pain
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I'll be sittin' at the
throne with an angel band
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Shoutin'
hallelujah to the great I am
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If you think it's a
dream well, it ain't
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I'll be singin' with the saints
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Will the tambourine's ringin'
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And David starts
to feel the rhythm
00:08:04.65\00:08:09.12
Paul and Silas
are hummin' a tune
00:08:09.15\00:08:11.75
They wrote in prison
00:08:11.79\00:08:15.52
Now Gabriel hears the
music he picks up his horn
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It's just another
glory hallelujah morn
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I'll be singin' with the
saints at the morning light
00:08:23.23\00:08:26.97
Ringin' in the day
'cause there is no night
00:08:27.00\00:08:29.97
Sayin' goodbye to the
heartache trouble and pain
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I'll be sittin' at the
throne with an angel band
00:08:35.84\00:08:39.61
Shoutin'
hallelujah to the great I am
00:08:39.65\00:08:42.45
If you think it's a
dream well, it ain't
00:08:42.48\00:08:44.75
I'll be singin' with the saints
00:08:44.79\00:08:51.39
I'll be singin' with the
saints at the morning light
00:08:51.43\00:08:55.33
Ringin' in the day
'cause there is no night.
00:08:55.36\00:08:58.13
Will be sayin'
goodbye to the heartache
00:08:58.17\00:09:00.84
The trouble and pain
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I'll gonna be
sittin' at the throne
00:09:03.67\00:09:06.24
With an angel band
00:09:06.27\00:09:08.11
Shoutin'
hallelujah to the great I am
00:09:08.14\00:09:11.01
If you think it's a
dream well, it ain't
00:09:11.05\00:09:14.72
I'll be singin' with the saints
00:09:14.75\00:09:17.82
I'll be singin' with the saints
00:09:25.43\00:09:32.07
Some happy morning yeah
00:09:32.10\00:09:37.07
I love that song.
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I've heard the
Gaither Vocal Band
00:09:41.94\00:09:43.28
do it for years now.
00:09:43.31\00:09:44.65
And, well, I love
hearing John Darin sing that
00:09:44.68\00:09:46.65
because as you can tell
00:09:46.68\00:09:48.02
he's not only a
great songwriter,
00:09:48.05\00:09:49.38
but he's a great singer.
00:09:49.42\00:09:50.75
Great job.
00:09:50.79\00:09:52.12
Thank you,
Billy. That's awesome.
00:09:52.15\00:09:53.49
You mentioned that, you
know, your wife traveled,
00:09:53.52\00:09:56.29
you traveled
together for a while,
00:09:56.32\00:09:57.76
but when her dad passed away,
00:09:57.79\00:09:59.19
she wanted to be with her mom
00:09:59.23\00:10:01.26
and tell us a little
bit about your family?
00:10:01.30\00:10:03.67
Well, I've got four children.
00:10:03.70\00:10:07.70
My wife and I
got married in 1985.
00:10:07.74\00:10:10.71
I've been married over 30 years.
00:10:10.74\00:10:12.74
We had a son a couple of years
00:10:12.77\00:10:15.78
into our
marriage, biological son,
00:10:15.81\00:10:18.31
but almost 9 years ago,
00:10:18.35\00:10:21.02
we got a phone call in
the middle of the night,
00:10:21.05\00:10:22.88
it was a call from
the sheriff's department
00:10:22.92\00:10:25.22
they were distant
relatives of my wife,
00:10:25.25\00:10:28.82
and we lived in the county,
00:10:28.86\00:10:30.39
where their parents were
arrested on drug charges.
00:10:30.43\00:10:33.06
And a year later,
we became mom and dad.
00:10:33.09\00:10:35.66
My wife and I
inherited three children.
00:10:35.70\00:10:39.67
That night, we
had a five-month-old,
00:10:39.70\00:10:41.30
a four-year-old
and a six-year-old.
00:10:41.34\00:10:43.07
So our life changed forever.
00:10:43.10\00:10:45.01
I tell people, I learned a
lot during that period of time.
00:10:45.04\00:10:48.51
I learned, first of all,
you know, they tell you that
00:10:48.54\00:10:51.31
if you don't sleep
eventually you'll die.
00:10:51.35\00:10:53.88
You won't. It's not true.
00:10:53.92\00:10:55.25
Yeah, it's not
true. You won't die.
00:10:55.28\00:10:56.62
You wish you
were dead sometimes,
00:10:56.65\00:10:57.99
but there was
00:10:58.02\00:10:59.35
a long period of
time of adjustment
00:10:59.39\00:11:00.72
getting used to that.
00:11:00.76\00:11:02.09
And, but we're so thankful.
00:11:02.12\00:11:03.93
They're just great kids.
00:11:03.96\00:11:05.49
And God has really
turned their lives around.
00:11:05.53\00:11:08.80
And so just two years ago,
our son and daughter-in-law,
00:11:08.83\00:11:13.17
our biological son
and daughter-in-law
00:11:13.20\00:11:15.30
gave us a grandbaby.
00:11:15.34\00:11:17.57
I'm a grandpa. I'm called Papi.
00:11:17.61\00:11:20.51
Papi. Okay. That's
what he calls me. Yeah.
00:11:20.54\00:11:22.31
And then our
kids that we adopted,
00:11:22.34\00:11:24.45
they think he hung the moon
00:11:24.48\00:11:25.81
and he thinks
they hung the moon.
00:11:25.85\00:11:27.18
I mean, they're
his heroes, you know?
00:11:27.22\00:11:28.55
Yeah.
00:11:28.58\00:11:29.92
Well, that's
quite an experience.
00:11:29.95\00:11:31.29
I mean, that to just overnight
have three additional children
00:11:31.32\00:11:35.89
to your family that's...
00:11:35.92\00:11:37.59
You know what?
00:11:37.63\00:11:39.03
If you would have told me
00:11:39.06\00:11:40.80
that we were going
to adopt three children,
00:11:40.83\00:11:44.20
I would have said,
there's no possible way.
00:11:44.23\00:11:47.37
Absolutely not.
00:11:47.40\00:11:48.74
Our lifestyle will
not accommodate that.
00:11:48.77\00:11:51.14
I mean, I've been
involved in music all my life.
00:11:51.17\00:11:54.11
And that just
involves traveling in
00:11:54.14\00:11:56.61
and it's not a 9 to 5,
00:11:56.64\00:11:58.91
Bill, as you well know. Right.
00:11:58.95\00:12:00.72
And, man, I found out
00:12:00.75\00:12:02.78
that sometimes God
doesn't change the situation,
00:12:02.82\00:12:04.85
He changes you
00:12:04.89\00:12:06.39
because I was praying
that He finds a home for them,
00:12:06.42\00:12:10.66
well, He had
found a home for them.
00:12:10.69\00:12:12.43
It just happened to be mine.
It just happened to be yours.
00:12:12.46\00:12:14.50
And so I remember the first time
00:12:14.53\00:12:18.30
that I kind of realized
that's how it was gonna be.
00:12:18.33\00:12:23.30
We were at our
home church on a Sunday,
00:12:23.34\00:12:24.87
and we were pulling
off the parking lot.
00:12:24.91\00:12:28.54
And the little
girl who was the eldest,
00:12:28.58\00:12:30.58
she was six at the time.
00:12:30.61\00:12:33.28
We were leaving the church.
00:12:33.31\00:12:34.65
And she said, 'cause
everybody in our church
00:12:34.68\00:12:36.69
was just so kind to them
00:12:36.72\00:12:38.05
and loved on them
and treated them so well.
00:12:38.09\00:12:40.46
And she said, "How
come everybody likes us?"
00:12:40.49\00:12:45.23
And I said, "Well, they like you
00:12:45.26\00:12:46.59
because you're sweet.
00:12:46.63\00:12:47.96
You're good kids."
00:12:48.00\00:12:49.33
And she said, I saw
in the rearview mirror,
00:12:49.36\00:12:50.90
she's sitting in the
backseat, she dropped her head.
00:12:50.93\00:12:52.60
And she said,
00:12:52.63\00:12:53.97
"People didn't used to like us."
00:12:54.00\00:12:56.40
And my heart broke.
00:12:56.44\00:12:57.97
And I realized, you know what?
00:12:58.01\00:12:59.87
This is not temporary.
00:12:59.91\00:13:02.01
This is permanent
00:13:02.04\00:13:03.81
'cause we couldn't
let them go back to,
00:13:03.85\00:13:06.08
you know, or any, let them feel
like that they weren't loved.
00:13:06.11\00:13:11.25
And I just remember
that, like it was yesterday.
00:13:11.29\00:13:14.72
And from that point on,
I realized, you know what?
00:13:14.76\00:13:18.86
God, it's in your hands.
00:13:18.89\00:13:21.00
And if this is
what you want us to do,
00:13:21.03\00:13:23.93
you're gonna make a
way for us to do it.
00:13:23.97\00:13:25.60
And he's done that
and, boy, they're good kids.
00:13:25.63\00:13:28.94
Man, what a blessing.
00:13:28.97\00:13:30.44
I can't imagine getting
three overnight like that.
00:13:30.47\00:13:32.64
And they're all
biological siblings.
00:13:32.67\00:13:34.14
Yeah, they're
biological siblings,
00:13:34.18\00:13:35.54
their parents were arrested,
00:13:35.58\00:13:39.58
I said on drug charges
00:13:39.61\00:13:41.48
and they had lived
in really a crack house,
00:13:41.52\00:13:47.46
as the night
that we pick them up,
00:13:47.49\00:13:49.02
the police
directed us where to come.
00:13:49.06\00:13:52.13
And I've never
seen anything like it.
00:13:52.16\00:13:55.16
I guess I've lived in
a box, a lot of my life,
00:13:55.20\00:13:57.60
you know, I was
raised in church.
00:13:57.63\00:13:59.27
I told people all my
life my testimony is,
00:13:59.30\00:14:01.40
I was raised
with a drug problem.
00:14:01.44\00:14:03.10
I was drugged from
church to church to church.
00:14:03.14\00:14:05.97
And that was really
funny before I got my kids
00:14:06.01\00:14:09.38
and it became a
little less funny.
00:14:09.41\00:14:11.21
But I saw
conditions that I thought,
00:14:11.25\00:14:14.68
how is this possible?
00:14:14.72\00:14:16.62
That a baby,
00:14:16.65\00:14:18.55
the five-month-old baby
was not even, not a crib,
00:14:18.59\00:14:21.52
not a she was in a box
00:14:21.56\00:14:24.39
that had
blankets that were filthy.
00:14:24.43\00:14:27.63
And it was cold, where
the electricity was off.
00:14:27.66\00:14:31.60
In this home and
here are three kids
00:14:31.63\00:14:33.94
that were totally
innocent of anything.
00:14:33.97\00:14:38.27
They didn't bring any
of that on themselves.
00:14:38.31\00:14:41.34
And there they were
in those circumstances
00:14:41.38\00:14:43.08
and we took them
home and gave them a bath,
00:14:43.11\00:14:45.85
you know, they
thought a bath was a treat.
00:14:45.88\00:14:49.62
And God taught us a
lot during that time.
00:14:49.65\00:14:54.79
You know, isn't
that just like God
00:14:54.82\00:14:56.96
to reach in
00:14:56.99\00:14:59.16
to the lives of people
00:14:59.19\00:15:04.70
in the worst of
circumstances and redeem them?
00:15:04.73\00:15:09.60
Absolutely.
00:15:09.64\00:15:11.24
I don't know, John, if
you, you know, as we travel,
00:15:11.27\00:15:14.51
we see a lot of
different situations,
00:15:14.54\00:15:16.81
you know, a lot
of different churches
00:15:16.85\00:15:18.18
and a lot of different cities
00:15:18.21\00:15:19.65
and encounter a lot
of different people.
00:15:19.68\00:15:21.38
One of the things that
I say I'm curious to know
00:15:21.42\00:15:24.99
if you see this,
00:15:25.02\00:15:26.72
sometimes I think people like us
00:15:26.76\00:15:28.89
who grow up in church
can almost become inoculated
00:15:28.92\00:15:33.03
to what is reality
for the rest of the world.
00:15:33.06\00:15:35.30
Right.
00:15:35.33\00:15:36.67
Praise the Lord
00:15:36.70\00:15:38.03
for my upbringing
in my Christian family,
00:15:38.07\00:15:40.47
and, you know,
growing up in church,
00:15:40.50\00:15:41.94
and that's all wonderful,
00:15:41.97\00:15:43.91
but as I've become
an adult and realized,
00:15:43.94\00:15:46.61
there's a world of people
out there that have no clue
00:15:46.64\00:15:50.05
what that life is like,
00:15:50.08\00:15:51.95
and our mandate, our mission,
00:15:51.98\00:15:54.98
you know, is to
reach those people.
00:15:55.02\00:15:56.89
Do you see...
00:15:56.92\00:15:59.62
I see it over and over.
00:15:59.65\00:16:01.32
You know, our biological son,
00:16:01.36\00:16:04.06
I thought, after we
got our adopted kids,
00:16:04.09\00:16:07.50
he was raised with a feeling
00:16:07.53\00:16:09.70
that he was the
center of our world,
00:16:09.73\00:16:11.63
you know, he was
just, he knew that.
00:16:11.67\00:16:15.54
When we got our adopted kids,
00:16:15.57\00:16:18.64
it took a lot of time,
00:16:18.67\00:16:20.68
they were conditioned to believe
00:16:20.71\00:16:22.04
that they were a nuisance.
00:16:22.08\00:16:25.28
They were conditioned to believe
00:16:25.31\00:16:26.65
that they were in the way
00:16:26.68\00:16:28.98
and that they were
not worth anything.
00:16:29.02\00:16:31.92
And I've watched God
00:16:31.95\00:16:34.62
turn that completely around.
00:16:34.66\00:16:36.36
And, you know, the
people that we minister to
00:16:36.39\00:16:38.36
week after week,
00:16:38.39\00:16:39.73
there are so many people
00:16:39.76\00:16:41.10
just like that...
00:16:41.13\00:16:42.46
Just like that.
00:16:42.50\00:16:43.83
Sitting in those audiences.
Sitting in those audiences.
00:16:43.87\00:16:45.20
I think one of the
enemy's greatest tools
00:16:45.23\00:16:47.27
he is the greatest
distracter of you believing
00:16:47.30\00:16:50.37
that God loves you.
00:16:50.41\00:16:52.01
I think he just chips away
00:16:52.04\00:16:53.38
of that all of the time
for just about everybody.
00:16:53.41\00:16:56.44
And a lot of people buy into it,
00:16:56.48\00:16:58.28
that they're not worth anything.
00:16:58.31\00:16:59.65
They're not worth anything.
They're not good enough.
00:16:59.68\00:17:01.28
But God, He says,
00:17:01.32\00:17:03.45
He's no
respecter of person, right?
00:17:03.49\00:17:04.89
So that means
we're all His favorite.
00:17:04.92\00:17:08.09
I'm His favorite,
you're His favorite.
00:17:08.12\00:17:09.82
And everybody watching
us today are His favorite.
00:17:09.86\00:17:12.63
You know, I have found myself,
00:17:12.66\00:17:14.90
John, saying to
our audiences so often,
00:17:14.93\00:17:18.43
it's really not
about how good we are.
00:17:18.47\00:17:21.70
It's about how good God is.
00:17:21.74\00:17:23.07
Right.
00:17:23.10\00:17:24.44
You know, one of the things
00:17:24.47\00:17:25.81
that really getting
a hold of God's grace
00:17:25.84\00:17:27.18
does is make you thankful.
00:17:27.21\00:17:28.54
Yes.
00:17:28.58\00:17:29.91
And one day you and I walked
into a songwriting session.
00:17:29.94\00:17:33.48
And the first line usually
in any songwriting session is,
00:17:33.52\00:17:36.62
does anybody have an idea?
00:17:36.65\00:17:37.99
That's right.
00:17:38.02\00:17:39.35
And so I said, "Well,
I have this little idea
00:17:39.39\00:17:41.02
and I'll tell you, I don't know
00:17:41.06\00:17:42.39
if I've ever even
shared this with you,
00:17:42.42\00:17:43.76
but I spoke the line.
00:17:43.79\00:17:45.43
If you woke up this morning,
00:17:45.46\00:17:46.96
and took another
breath, give thanks."
00:17:47.00\00:17:49.40
And you just took that
idea and you ran with it
00:17:49.43\00:17:52.00
in a much better
way than I had in mind,
00:17:52.03\00:17:54.14
but I love the finished
product that we came up with in.
00:17:54.17\00:17:56.91
You think we could...
00:17:56.94\00:17:58.37
I know we
haven't rehearsed that...
00:17:58.41\00:18:00.61
Oh, for sure.
00:18:00.64\00:18:01.98
We have never
even sung that together
00:18:02.01\00:18:04.15
or just anything,
00:18:04.18\00:18:05.65
but you think we
could pull that off today
00:18:05.68\00:18:07.22
if we had a shot?
00:18:07.25\00:18:08.58
I'd love to give it
a shot. Let's try it.
00:18:08.62\00:18:10.59
Don't try this at home.
00:18:10.62\00:18:12.55
Okay, this is
unrehearsed and impromptu.
00:18:12.59\00:18:16.36
And we may never try this again.
00:18:16.39\00:18:17.76
And we may never do this again.
00:18:17.79\00:18:19.13
But this is a song John Darin
and I wrote called Give Thanks.
00:18:19.16\00:18:22.13
We hope you enjoy it.
00:18:22.16\00:18:23.50
If you woke up this morning
00:18:31.91\00:18:33.74
And you took another breath
00:18:33.78\00:18:35.51
Give thanks Give
thanks Give thanks
00:18:35.54\00:18:38.35
Oh, give thanks
00:18:38.38\00:18:39.71
If you saw another sunset
00:18:39.75\00:18:41.52
When you laid your
head to rest Give thanks
00:18:41.55\00:18:44.42
Just give thanks
00:18:44.45\00:18:45.79
Give thanks Oh, give thanks
00:18:45.82\00:18:47.32
If there's food upon your table
00:18:47.36\00:18:49.69
You've got enough to eat
00:18:49.72\00:18:51.59
The style is not the greatest
00:18:51.63\00:18:53.53
But their shoes upon your feet
00:18:53.56\00:18:55.60
Give thanks Oh, give thanks
00:18:55.63\00:18:57.43
Oh, give thanks
00:18:57.47\00:18:59.60
Give thanks
with a cheerful heart
00:18:59.63\00:19:01.84
Be grateful and rejoice
00:19:01.87\00:19:03.91
Get on your feet and testify
00:19:03.94\00:19:06.17
Make the joyful noise
00:19:06.21\00:19:07.84
This month they have its trouble
00:19:07.88\00:19:09.88
Its loneliness and pain
00:19:09.91\00:19:11.98
But let me tell you children
00:19:12.01\00:19:13.88
That I've learned in everything
00:19:13.92\00:19:15.92
Give thanks Oh, give thanks
00:19:15.95\00:19:17.85
Give thanks Come on.
00:19:17.89\00:19:20.06
In every situation
In every circumstance
00:19:20.09\00:19:23.99
Give thanks Oh, give thanks
00:19:24.03\00:19:27.96
When you can't take another step
00:19:28.00\00:19:30.10
Just let your spirit dance
00:19:30.13\00:19:31.87
Give thanks Just give thanks
00:19:31.90\00:19:33.34
Oh, give thanks Oh, give thanks
00:19:33.37\00:19:35.94
When all your strength is gone
00:19:35.97\00:19:37.64
Defeat is knocking at your door
00:19:37.67\00:19:40.04
Go all and claim the victory
00:19:40.08\00:19:41.78
'Cause your hope is in the Lord
00:19:41.81\00:19:43.98
Give thanks Give thanks
00:19:44.01\00:19:45.75
Oh, give thanks
00:19:45.78\00:19:47.28
We'll give thanks
with the cheerful heart
00:19:47.32\00:19:50.22
Be grateful and rejoice
00:19:50.25\00:19:52.22
Get on your feet and testify
00:19:52.25\00:19:54.62
Make a joyful noise
00:19:54.66\00:19:56.29
This month they have its trouble
00:19:56.32\00:19:58.36
Its loneliness and pain
00:19:58.39\00:20:00.50
But let me tell you children
00:20:00.53\00:20:02.30
That I've learned in everything
00:20:02.33\00:20:04.37
Give thanks Oh, give thanks
00:20:04.40\00:20:06.27
Give thanks
00:20:06.30\00:20:08.04
You know this love
may have its trouble
00:20:08.07\00:20:10.57
Its loneliness and pain
00:20:10.61\00:20:12.64
But let me tell you children
00:20:12.67\00:20:14.38
That I've learned in everything
00:20:14.41\00:20:16.61
Give thanks Oh, give thanks
00:20:16.64\00:20:18.58
Give thanks
00:20:18.61\00:20:20.28
Just give thanks
00:20:20.32\00:20:24.59
I love that song,
John, and thank you
00:20:30.76\00:20:32.59
for letting me be a
part of that little song.
00:20:32.63\00:20:34.90
That's a great one.
00:20:34.93\00:20:36.26
Well, we've got
to do that again.
00:20:36.30\00:20:37.63
Yeah, we do.
00:20:37.67\00:20:39.50
You have us a new song
00:20:39.53\00:20:41.07
that people are
getting ready to hear
00:20:41.10\00:20:43.91
that is so powerful.
00:20:43.94\00:20:45.71
John, would you take
just a minute or few minutes,
00:20:45.74\00:20:49.41
however much the Lord lead you.
00:20:49.44\00:20:51.91
And just talk to the folks
00:20:51.95\00:20:55.08
watching us today
and share your heart
00:20:55.12\00:20:57.49
about this song?
00:20:57.52\00:20:59.29
Well, you know, I heard
a statistic not long ago
00:20:59.32\00:21:01.42
that kind of blew my mind
and it said that there were
00:21:01.46\00:21:06.19
over half a million runaways
00:21:06.23\00:21:08.23
in the United States every year.
00:21:08.26\00:21:11.37
It just, it really troubled me.
00:21:11.40\00:21:14.60
And my mind went back
to the story in the Bible,
00:21:14.64\00:21:17.04
the prodigal son that
we've heard 1000 times
00:21:17.07\00:21:19.94
I have grown up,
00:21:19.97\00:21:21.61
but the piece of that story
00:21:21.64\00:21:23.31
that I think touches my heart
00:21:23.35\00:21:24.68
the most is to
think about that father,
00:21:24.71\00:21:27.38
who is looking down the road,
00:21:27.42\00:21:29.58
I just picture him in my
mind wandering about his son
00:21:29.62\00:21:33.66
who decided to
take his inheritance
00:21:33.69\00:21:35.42
and just go out and squander it.
00:21:35.46\00:21:37.49
And when his father
had watched down the road,
00:21:37.53\00:21:40.50
I believe for him every day,
00:21:40.53\00:21:42.63
just wanting him to come home,
00:21:42.66\00:21:44.00
wanting to be able to
put his arms around him
00:21:44.03\00:21:45.93
and hold him and let him
know that he still loved him.
00:21:45.97\00:21:49.14
And I know there are a
lot of parents like that.
00:21:49.17\00:21:51.54
But, you know, I think
the thing that strikes me
00:21:51.57\00:21:54.44
the most is that
wherever you are in your life,
00:21:54.48\00:21:58.48
the Lord is waiting with
outstretched arms for you
00:21:58.51\00:22:01.05
because you may not even
think of yourself as a runaway,
00:22:01.08\00:22:04.19
but if you have gone a direction
00:22:04.22\00:22:06.76
that is different
than He has for you.
00:22:06.79\00:22:09.76
God has a plan for you today.
00:22:09.79\00:22:11.86
And His plan is
greater than you can imagine.
00:22:11.89\00:22:14.53
And He is waiting
with outstretched arms
00:22:14.56\00:22:16.63
loving you all the time.
00:22:16.67\00:22:18.60
Never giving up on you.
00:22:18.63\00:22:20.40
Never losing hope
that you are going
00:22:20.44\00:22:23.41
to turn your face toward Him
00:22:23.44\00:22:26.14
and just become what
He has planned for you
00:22:26.17\00:22:29.88
because He has a plan
00:22:29.91\00:22:31.48
that's greater
than you can imagine.
00:22:31.51\00:22:33.48
And He's been
watching down the road
00:22:33.52\00:22:35.45
for you to come home.
00:22:35.48\00:22:36.82
And, boy, today it
would be a great day for you
00:22:36.85\00:22:39.25
to make that decision.
00:22:39.29\00:22:40.92
He is the Keeper
of the Lost and Found.
00:22:40.96\00:22:42.82
He has a heart for lost
00:22:59.71\00:23:02.84
And troubled runaways
00:23:02.88\00:23:07.38
He has a place
00:23:07.42\00:23:09.52
Where comfort can be found
00:23:09.55\00:23:15.16
When friends
are nowhere near you
00:23:15.19\00:23:19.53
There is one who hears you
00:23:19.56\00:23:23.33
He knows you cry
00:23:23.37\00:23:24.70
When no one is around
00:23:24.73\00:23:30.57
He sees you standing out there
00:23:30.61\00:23:34.38
In the darkness
00:23:34.41\00:23:38.35
He's heard your call for help
00:23:38.38\00:23:41.88
Out in the rain
00:23:41.92\00:23:46.15
He didn't come to scold you
00:23:46.19\00:23:50.43
He only wants to hold you
00:23:50.46\00:23:54.30
He's calling to you
00:23:54.33\00:23:56.50
Come in from the pain
00:23:56.53\00:24:01.44
He's the keeper
00:24:01.47\00:24:02.87
of the lost and found
00:24:02.90\00:24:09.31
Where wandering
hearts can find a place
00:24:09.34\00:24:13.21
To settle down
00:24:13.25\00:24:16.99
And trade their tattered
00:24:17.02\00:24:18.92
Garments for a crown
00:24:18.95\00:24:24.43
He's the keeper of the lost
00:24:24.46\00:24:28.03
And found
00:24:28.06\00:24:32.67
It seems that you've been living
00:24:36.44\00:24:39.91
Miles away from home
00:24:39.94\00:24:44.18
And breaking every promise
00:24:44.21\00:24:47.32
That you've made
00:24:47.35\00:24:51.95
But child there's no outrunning
00:24:51.99\00:24:56.16
The boundaries of His loving
00:24:56.19\00:25:00.10
And where you are
is not so far away
00:25:00.13\00:25:06.23
'Cause Jesus holds the key
00:25:06.27\00:25:09.60
To everything
you're searching for
00:25:09.64\00:25:14.94
His eye's on you
00:25:14.98\00:25:17.51
Wherever you may roam
00:25:17.55\00:25:22.98
The door is always open
00:25:23.02\00:25:27.12
And you can come back knowing
00:25:27.16\00:25:31.09
That He will never ever
00:25:31.13\00:25:34.96
Let you go
00:25:35.00\00:25:38.20
He'll never let you go
00:25:38.23\00:25:41.77
He's the keeper
00:25:41.80\00:25:43.47
Of the lost and found
00:25:43.51\00:25:50.05
Where wandering hearts
00:25:50.08\00:25:51.68
Can find a place to settle down
00:25:51.71\00:25:57.65
And trade their
tattered garments
00:25:57.69\00:26:01.19
For a crown
00:26:01.22\00:26:05.06
He's the keeper of the lost
00:26:05.09\00:26:08.83
And found
00:26:08.86\00:26:13.64
Hide me
00:26:13.67\00:26:17.77
Hide me
00:26:17.81\00:26:20.81
In the shelter
00:26:20.84\00:26:23.24
Of Your wings
00:26:23.28\00:26:29.02
Hide me
00:26:29.05\00:26:32.75
Hide me
00:26:32.79\00:26:37.93
You're the keeper
00:26:37.96\00:26:39.59
Of the lost and found
00:26:39.63\00:26:45.20
I'm glad You never leave us
00:26:50.87\00:26:52.41
and never forsake us
but go with us all the way.
00:26:52.44\00:26:55.14
Hide me
00:26:58.21\00:27:02.15
Hide me
00:27:02.18\00:27:06.99
You're the keeper
00:27:07.02\00:27:11.09
Of the lost
00:27:11.13\00:27:13.29
And found
00:27:13.33\00:27:17.87
Yes, you are
00:27:21.80\00:27:23.20
If that song blessed your heart
00:27:33.75\00:27:35.15
half as much as it blessed mine,
00:27:35.18\00:27:36.52
you've been blessed today.
00:27:36.55\00:27:37.89
So, John Darin, tell us
00:27:37.92\00:27:39.55
how can people
get in touch with you
00:27:39.59\00:27:41.12
and how can they get a
hold of some of your product?
00:27:41.16\00:27:43.43
Well, the easiest
way to get the project
00:27:43.46\00:27:45.79
Lift Him Up that Keeper
of the Lost and Found is on
00:27:45.83\00:27:49.03
is just visit
the Guardians website
00:27:49.06\00:27:50.87
is at theguardiansmusic.com
00:27:50.90\00:27:55.57
Thank you so much
for being a guest today
00:27:55.60\00:27:58.01
and for being my friend.
00:27:58.04\00:27:59.41
Thank you for
sharing your gifts with us.
00:27:59.44\00:28:00.78
It is a pleasure to get to be
00:28:00.81\00:28:02.21
here at Billy
Blackwood and Friends.
00:28:02.24\00:28:04.08
I'm glad to be a friend.
00:28:04.11\00:28:05.45