February 14 is a special day for me. Not only is it my amazing Grandpa's birthday (He turns 87 today), and not only is it Valentine's Day... but since Luanne and I got married on August 14, 1993, it's been our half-year anniversary every year. I think it took us a few years to figure that one out, but how romantic is that? Every Valentine's Day we can celebrate another six months of God's faithfulness in our marriage.

Today is 12-1/2 years. Has it always been bliss? Hardly. Being the broken man that I am, I have managed to bring a lifetime's worth of pain into this relationship. Notice that I said we celebrate God's faithfulness, not mine. I have stepped outside God's design for my marriage in many ways, but I am amazed and grateful for His grace... and for hers.

My wife is the strongest, most beautiful woman I know. Her love is fierce and proud and stubborn... and amazingly tender and sensitive.

One of my favorite love songs is by Vienna Teng... I'm listening to a great live version of it right now. It's called "Harbor," and it goes like this:

Sail your seas, meet your storms; all I want is to be your harbor... The light in me will guide you home; all I want is to be your harbor.

That's what Luanne is to me: a safe place to lay down my defenses. In the craziness of life, in the wind and the rain, when all hell breaks loose... she is my harbor. I'm a blessed man.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hey Friends,

I'm back from Chicago... So good to be back with Luanne and the kids! I'm sitting in Starbucks enjoying the California weather, even though it is a little overcast today.

This is just a quick one to let you know that I've been chosen to be the Local Artist of the Month on WFRN 104.7 FM in Elkhart, Indiana. This means that I'm featured in a banner on the top of their website with a link to my site. It also means I'll be calling in to do an interview with them probably early next week. Best of all, my song "God of All Light" will be played throughout the whole month of February, and even after that if the response is good.

How am I, a San Francisco-based artist, considered a "Local" Artist of the month? Well, I grew up in and around Elkhart, Indiana, and I went to Grace College in Winona Lake. My parents and sister still live in Mishawaka, so I have lots of roots there. Perhaps more significantly, about eight years ago, I had a minor hit on WFRN with my song, "Always Entertaining Me (The La-La Song)." It's a long story, and I'll spare you the details, but it was a really rough demo version with only guitar and vocals. I listen to it now, and it's a little painful. But for whatever reason, it captured people's ears and WFRN played it for a long time. I even hit the station's top ten for one week! So there's a chance that they will feature that song in addition to "God of All Light."

The request line is 1-888-800-WFRN or 1-574-875-5553 for you locals. Please call and request "God of All Light" whenever you want to! You can even listen to the station online.

And thanks to Music Director Doug Moore for adding me to the playlist!

Blessings to you all.

Matt 

P.S. Click here to read the latest about Kathy Holmgren. This a truly amazing story!

I'm heading home today, thank God! I can't wait to see Luanne and the kids... I've had an amazing time here in Chicago, though. I'll write more about it in the next week or so.

It's been fun to be around the heart of the Covenant this week with all the buzz around Kathy Holmgren's Congo trip... It really is an amazing story.

Click here for the basics and then Google for the rest of the story.