A Season of Light

So sorry it's been so long. We've been busy. Beyond Busy. WAY past busy!
Tonight kicks off the last weekend of Night of Light, and the response has been overwhelming. I'll post better pictures when it's over and I can collect them from better photographers than myself, and even some video (we'll do a 4 camera shoot of the show tonight and tomorrow night)

Here are the 2 quick facts:
-Already over 11,000 people have seen the show
-500 have raised their hands to accept Christ

Nick Benoit's blog has a much better description of the show than I could ever put together, so go to his page if you care to learn more about the show.

Click HERE to view an article in the San Diego Union Tribune, a very secular paper, which brings to life some pros and cons of the show (the "cons" are all pros in our minds, but never the less, they can have their opinions). I hesitate posting this, but it shows the local attention we're generating. Kind of cool.

Opening Night!

Night of Light opened tonight. After a year of planning and a month of no sleep, we launched one of the coolest Christmas experiences I have ever seen.
The most important thing is this: 25 people accepted Christ tonight, and we have 16 more opportunities to reach the lost.
I'll post more pictures later, and I'll share more about the show soon, but here are a few of my favorite shots. There's no way to do the event justice from a still shot camera, but I'll do my best describing over the next few weeks.
Thanks to all who have been praying for this event. Keep it up!

The Red Light

So...
We played Roxanne in church today.

A Week in Review

Christmas is here!

OK, not for the rest of the world, yet. But here in San D., it's smothering us.

We're producing an outdoor Christmas Show, Night of Light, and we're less than 3 weeks from opening night (18 shows over 3 weekends).

This week has been full of light installations, thus the name, Night of Light.
From over ten thousand Christmas lights throughout the property, to the giant light grid that hangs above Bethlehem on the side of a cliff (By giant, I mean 6 stories high, and 64 feet across. 3600 lights, each a foot apart).
Today and yesterday we hoisted the grid up the cliff face and tried not to die in the process.
TONIGHT, we turned it on, and it... was... AWESOME!!!!
You can see it from the freeway. In-freakin-credible!
So tomorrow, we'll work out some of the bugs, and I'll post pictures soon (even though they won't do it justice).

Aside from Christmas this week, I bought U2's Vertigo Tour DVD, Live from Chicago, and relived the show. Lacy and I went to opening night of this tour, and I went to the second show two nights later. It's great to see how the show has progressed. It's also great to have a wife who can sing along to every song, especially since she knew nothing about U2 before we met. She's the best!

That's all for now.
I may not see you till after Christmas, but I'll try.
If you can get out to see the show, we'd love to see you.

There Ain't Nothin' Like...

...a handlebar mustache
...a blown-over comb-over
...a new guitar
...finding out that your dad's been wearing unmatched shoes for months and months
...a late night recording session
...an NFL superstar getting kicked off his own team just for being an idiot
...having Arnold as your governor
...sitting on a bench, making fun of people who walk by
...asking when the baby's due only to find out she's not pregnant
...explaining to grandma how the iPod works
...explaining to grandma how the FM transmitter for the iPod works
...LOST
...wrapping your co-worker's desk with hundreds of Christmas lights
...IKEA
...catching your little sister doing anything she's not supposed to be doing
...a night in drag
...my 1991 Camry’s tweed seats
...wanna-be rock stars who work at Guitar Center
...finding out that "the pill" didn't work
...dreams that involve being naked in public
...dreams about winning the lottery (a regular one of mine, and I've never played)
...dreams that involve one leg being significantly shorter than the other
...a first post on a new blog ("I'm finally giving in to this blog thing...")
...a fake chuckle from the local news anchor
...thinking that your shirt AND your pants were black, until you got to work and realized that blue and black both look black in your dark closet
...calling a co-worker by the wrong name and having them correct you in a really, really sad tone
...getting a refund check in the mail that you didn't realize was coming
...not being able to turn your steering wheel all the way to the right because your new tires are TOO BIG!
...having a brother-in-law with a handlebar mustache (poor guy)
...grabbing used souvenir cups from the Chargers game off the ground after a game (we now have a complete set)
...going to the Chargers game with your wife with full intention of watching the Charger's Girls and not the game
(To clarify, Lacy's good friend is a Charger's Girl, and she gave us the tickets. Good fun for all.)
...driving 25 minutes to a storage unit, then realizing you don't have the key
...sitting around and thinking up meaningless lists like this one

I'm open for more "There Ain't Nothin' Like's..."
Send 'em my way,

That is all

My Feet Are Killing Me

CLICK ON VIDEO ABOVE TO PLAY!

Stranger in Church

I was walking from the stage to the sound booth this morning to have a chat with Brian, our tech director, when I noticed someone I thought I recognized, but couldn't place. We caught eyes and I slowed down as she waved and said, "Remember me?" Of course I did. It was Kayla Rotz. The only problem was that I hadn't seen her in close to four years and her hair was way different, so it took me a second. She said, "It's me, Kayla" before I had a chance to respond. Bottom line, I felt like a donkey. She should never have had to remind me of her name. She's even come up in conversation within the last few months. I just wasn't quick enough to make the connection.

So Kayla, if you're out there, you must think I'm a jerk. I'm sorry. Can we still be friends?

Thanks

Josh (Donkey-of-the-Century) Garlow

p.s. Blogging friends, if you can help me get this message-in-a-bottle to here, that would be fantrific!

Warm Up Licks

Every musician has a go-to lick that they play when they pick up an instrument. They may have two or three, but no musician lacks one. I know this because I hear the same licks every week at the start of sound check. I'm guiltier than anyone. I have one for each instrument. Whether it's at Guitar Center and I'm trying out a keyboard, or if it's in my office and I'm just gearing up to arrange something, of if I'm at home watching TV with a guitar on my lap, I always have to play my lick(s) first. I have yet to meet a musician that doesn't have on.

So here's my challenge/request: Record your licks and send them to me at joshg@skylinechurch.org

I'll do something with them. Not sure what, but something cool.

OK,

I'll be waiting...

She's 23 and she ROCKS!

Happy Birthday Lacy!
Click on image to view film

A Midwest Fall in S.D.

Quickly, if you didn't understand the last post, it was our way of announcing that we're having another baby. This was a definite surprise to us, seeing as how Lukas is only 7 months old, but we are getting excited. This does, however, not help the EDGE factor. I'll have to work extra hard to keep that in tact. Seriously, we feel blessed that we are able to have kids, so we're running with it.

On another note, it feels like Indiana in San Diego. The weather is always good here, but strangely enough, we can get sick of it. The last few days have felt like Fall in the Midwest. More so than it ever has before. For IWUers, remember when the season would change from summer to Fall, and you'd make a midnight run to Handy Andy and realize that you didn't wear a strong enough jacket, but it felt great anyway. The crisp air with the smell of a fire. Not snow/freezing weather, but Autumn. Sam Bills had a theory about love in the changing of the seasons, and I think he was dead on - "It's easy to fall in love when the seasons change". There's just something about it. Lacy and I couldn't wait to get home late last night and start a fire. We put on a movie, opened the windows (too keep the smell of the air in the house), bundled up and fell asleep in the living room. With the changing of the season came a romantic evening. It was great!

Don't be afraid of romance in the turn of the season, It could be God's design.

iLukas 2.0

W

Here's a clip that played at my brother-in-law's church in Victorville, CA.

Click on the clip to view



Another Video I came across today...

Click on clip to view


Click HERE for the entire show

A Funny Thing Happen on My Way To Work The Other Day...

Many of you know that I drive a scooter to work most days (I have a car, but the scooter is fun and great on gas). I know it's not as cool as a Harley, but it's very European/edgy and it get's 100 miles to the gallon.
Well, yesterday, I got ready for work, walked outside to finde the bike missing. I normally garage it, but the night before, I just forgot. So I walked around to my garage just to make sure wasn't in there, and it wasn't.
I was really, really mad at my self for not putting it away, knowing that it would be easy to steal.
So...
The police came out and did a report. The insurance company was called for claim purposes. My wife told me she was really sad for me, and that I could get another one.
And then! As Lacy was driving me to work (2 hours late) she looked to her left, and there it was. MY SCOOTER!
Somebody had moved it to another part of our parking lot. Why? I have no idea. My guess is that they started to leave with it, then had second thoughts. It could have been a prank, and I'll laugh the hardest if that's what it was, but I'm thinking it was something else.
The good news is that she's back.
The bad news is... well, there isn't any.
I'M BACK IN THE CLUB!

Kinder's Birthday Present

Friday is Kinder's Birthday (Lacy's sister).
Today we picked up her present from her mom.
Tonight I'm posting pictures of ME and the gift.
Does Kinder know about it? NOPE
Will she read my blog and find out about it? Who knows.
Will she read this post BEFORE her birthday? She better.
So, I'll wait with the beautiful Taylor 314 until she finds this post.
Is Kinder getting a better guitar than I had at her age? Heck yes.
Let's all cheer her on!
I'll be waiting for a call.

The 70's

The past few Sundays, at my dad's request, we've closed out the service with a tune from the 70's, and surprisingly, it's been a blast.
Two weeks ago we did "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and this morning we played a tune I had never heard until recently, but you probably have, "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother".
I've really enjoyed studying these recordings and trying to imulate their tone and tamber, instrumentally. It was funny, but I told our drummer that he should loosen up his drum heads to give them a nice, flappy tone. I also told our bass player to turn down all the bass in his EQ, and he would have the tone nailed. (These guys are great and they've been playing long enough to know how these songs are suposed to go without studying for one second. They're amazing.)

Anyway, I thought you might want to listen to what I've been listening to for the past few weeks in preparation. They're great tunes.

Enjoy...

He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother (The Hollies)

Bridge Over Troubled Water (M.W.Smith Version)

U2 on Conan O'Brien

Click on picture to play!

Two of My Favorite Things...

Review of Episode III

"Just when I think it can't get any worse, you go and do something like this...

... and TOTALLY REDEEM YOURSELF"

- Lloyd Christmas

(Correction. After further research, I found that it was actually Harry who said this in the movie Dumb and Dumber. Click HERE to listen)

Doing Good Church

This is for my worship leading friends, but open for anyone to read.

There’s a phrase that gets tossed around my world every once in a while when we don’t have any tricks up our sleeves. When a production is not in the works. When a guest artist or speaker isn’t booked for a while. When our focus is simply on preaching the gospel and providing a place for worship. We call it “Doing Good Church.” These are the best of times for me. The worship tends to come alive. The preaching isn’t forced. The congregation has the sense that all is well, and Jesus is here.

It’s not the songs or the sermon that fire me up. It’s the anointing that falls through them. I can’t explain it.

Sometimes, we go into a weekend saying “we just need to have good church” And we do.

Other weekends, it’ll blind-side us. We’ll be sitting around on Sunday afternoon, and someone will say, “You know? Good church happened today.”
The satisfaction that comes with that statement is priceless. Not because WE did anything right, but because God moved, and we got to watch it.

I fully understand that programs and events will always be a part of a community. People love special treats, and there’s nothing wrong with that. And it’s not that I’m lazy and want to get out of pulling something big off (doing good church can be harder than planning something out of the norm). I just know the power that can come from getting back to the basics of church, and doing it well.

We’re going into a season of what I hope will be 2 months of “doing good church.” The only thing planned is a sermon seriese about meeting Jesus. In my worship planning, I’ll be looking to do one thing over the next few weeks. Get people one step closer to Jesus.

To me, that’s doing good church.

Your thoughts?

Review of Episode II

I didn't know if I should laugh or ask forgiveness for endorsement, viewing, or even being in the same room with the TV.
I'm pretty sure I should ask forgiveness.

WOW!

Your thoughts?