SMILE

A “smile,” according to the helpful Wikipedia Encyclopedia, is a “facial expression formed by flexing those muscles most notably near both ends of the mouth.”  The helpful online encyclopedia goes on to explain that a smile is also “found around the eyes.”  I like the “eyes” part because I think it’s much harder to fake a smile with your eyes than your mouth.

I dug a little deeper and found that “social smiling” usually begins between the ages of six and eight weeks.  And, while not in the article I read, chances are good infants are smiling without ever reading a Dave Barry article or watching the movie, “Dumb and Dumber.”  It just comes—naturally.

I thought about the power of a smile this past weekend while watching an NFL football game.  The game had ended and analysts were interviewing one of the players.  I don’t remember who the player was, only that he was the size of a Volkswagen and appeared to have muscles on his earlobes.

The enormous man was furrowing his brow and speaking in low, sonic booms while trying to answer questions using complete sentences.  The sports announcers, hiding safely in their booth hundreds of feet away, seemed careful to ask non-threatening questions lest they anger the giant.

Then, an amazing thing happened.

The behemoth smiled.  Not just a little smirk, mind you, but a real, genuine, heartfelt smile.  I watched in amazement as the fearsome giant transformed into a kind and possibly gentle human being one may actually enjoy having a cup of tea with.  Providing, of course, one could find a teacup with a handle large enough to accommodate fingers the size of Polish sausages.

The interview reminded me of an NFL film special I saw a while back, on linebacker Joey Porter.  The show featured Porter’s ferocious hits and intimidating glares at opponents.  Porter spoke of how he played with “controlled rage and anger” against the opposing team—a concept the film crew seemed to capture well as helmets and bodies went flying.

But then the documentary shifted to the “softer” side of Porter who survived a random shooting in Denver while playing for the Steelers.  Porter explained how players from the opposing team would come up and tell him they were praying for him and glad he was recovering.  I call those “verbal smiles.”  The problem was, Porter explained, “how can I play angry at them when they’re praying for me?”

It seems even the fearsome Joey Porter can be smitten by a “smile.”

Interestingly, the Bible often refers to “smiles.”  In most instances, it’s a plea for God to “smile” on us once again after drifting away from Him.  Psalm 67:1, for example, reads, “May God be merciful and bless us.  May his face smile [or shine] with favor upon us.”  After all, think how good life can be when God Himself is “smiling” on us.

As I reached for the remote to turn the TV off, I went to the mirror to see for myself what a smile does to my face.  First, I made sure no one was looking, and then… smiled.  At first, it was just my typical “fake smile” I use when someone is taking a picture I really don’t care to be in.  But then, a strange thing happened…the smile started to turn real.  Before I knew it, I was grinning from ear-to-ear and enjoying a good laugh.

About that time, my wife walked in and wondered what in the world I was up to.  “Just smiling,” I said with a big grin.  She gave me a strange, inquisitive look, shook her head, smiled, and said, “You’re a goofball.”

Another victim of the smile!

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Lemonade Stands

According to those who make calendars, summer is officially over on September 23rd.  Sadly, the end of summer also means the end of most neighborhood lemonade stands.

I love lemonade stands.

In fact, my wife and children know that it is almost impossible for me to drive past a neighborhood lemonade stand.  I’ll circle blocks, make illegal U-turns, and drive over rusty nails and shards of glass to get to a neighborhood stand.  I’ll even call my wife and kids and ask them to get in their car and go get some lemonade.

It goes back, of course, to my grade school days when I proudly operated my very own lemonade stand in my front yard.  I remember setting up the table by the street, making the signs, and wondering how much to charge for a wonderful ice-cold glass of lemonade; a nickel, a quarter?  Is a glass of lemonade worth a quarter?

Of course, mom would help make the lemonade and would even supply a small box of change.  Then, finally, after all the preparations were made, it was time to sit in the chair behind the table and wait for the line of cars to show up driven by thirsty people.

That’s usually where the entire operation broke down.

Long, lonely minutes would creep by as I sat there anxiously waiting for a car—any car—to pull down my street.  And nothing would crush my spirit more than when a car would finally come into view only to rumble past without giving me or my lemonade a second thought.  (There’s just something un-American about that.)

There is one summer day that stands out in my life as a lemonade salesman.  It was a particularly hot day and ideal for selling lemonade.  No one, however, seemed interested in my stand.  Cars were driving by that day, but none stopped. My ice had melted.  The lemonade was hot.  The apple I had set on the table to give away as an incentive to my first customer was rotting.  Yet, no one stopped.  And I was fairly miserable.

I was just beginning to close up shop when off in the distance, I noticed a car coming my way.  It was a familiar car.  It was my Dad’s car, and Dad was in it.  He pulled up to my stand and rolled down the window.  “How’s business, young man?” he asked with a big smile.  All I remember was bursting into tears.

The next thing I know, Dad is asking for a glass of lemonade and about the rotten apple on the table.  “Are you selling that apple, too?” he asked still smiling.  I guess I managed a “yes” through my sobs but informed him it was a little rotten.  “My favorite kind,” I heard back.

I have a vivid memory of handing my Dad the warm glass of lemonade and then the rotten apple through the window of his car.  He leaned back and drank the lemonade in one long swallow, smacked his lips and stared at that rotten apple…and took a big bite.

He reached into his wallet and pulled out a bill and handed it to the little boy trying to overcome his heavy sobs.  He said a big “thanks” and drove away.  He was around the corner and out of sight by the time I looked in my hand and saw the bill he had pushed in my hand.  Twenty dollars!

Have you ever gone from despair to joy in under a second?  Well, I certainly did that hot summer day.  It left a powerful imprint on me that lasts to this very day.

It is easy to drive by lemonade stands.  After all, we’re busy and have places to go and people to meet.  But sometimes, if you stop and invest in a “small cup of warm lemonade and maybe even a rotten apple,” you may never know the impact it could leave on someone’s life.  In fact, God could even use it to turn someone’s despair into joy.

Looking for “Beautiful Feet”

I need your help!

We’re now on the back end of our CD project, so we’re starting to think through various ways to get the word out. These days, you have to think along the lines of utilizing what many call, “new media:” things like YouTube, web blogs, and internet communities like FaceBook. For the over 40 crowd, this stuff seems strange and foreign, but there is no debating its influence and popularity.

So I reached out to a “new media” expert…my 21-year-old son, Matt. Basically, my meeting went something like this, “HELP ME!” It was a short, powerful meeting.

One of Matt’s favorite songs on my new CD is a song titled “Beautiful Feet.” It’s based around the familiar passages from Isaiah 52:7 and Romans 10:15, “…how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.” The lyrics begin:

Look around at some people these days
Nippin’ and tuckin’ every wrinkle away
Lookin’ for beauty every single way
Search the world out
Except where it counts

But we all know where true beauty is found
Where ever it goes such joy abounds
It’s easy to find cuz it’s walking around
You know when you meet
Beautiful feet

Big ol’ toes and calloused heels
Nothing very pretty by the world’s ideals
But when they’re bringing (all) the Good News
People dancing in the street
Everybody wants to have beautiful feet

Here’s an unedited/unfinished preview of the song: Beautiful Feet

Matt’s idea is to come up with an engaging “New Media” music video and campaign for this song. His initial idea is a video with camera angles primarily focused on legs and feet going about various ministry and service projects. The camera would follow the feet around and finally, towards the end of the song/video, the camera would pull back to fully reveal what the “feet” are doing: helping people in a homeless shelter, service projects, teaching Sunday School, bringing groceries to those in need, etc.

We then thought how great it would be to learn your “beautiful feet” stories…a short paragraph or two about what you (or someone you know) is doing that’s making a difference in the lives of others. We’d love to publish some of these “beautiful feet” stories, pictures, and even videos on our website as an encouragement to others. Some “beautiful feet” stories could even end up in the music video!

So come on! Help me out. The more involvement, suggestions, and ideas the better! You can email me at edthompsonlive@edthompsonlive.com or simply add a comment to this blog. So, tell us more about your “beautiful feet!”

Can’t wait to hear from you,

Ed Thompson

Make me sound like Michael Buble

“Just make me sound like Michael Buble” were my only instructions to producer extraordinaire, Don Koch. I mean, look at all those buttons and knobs and lights and stuff. With all that technology blinking at you, one would think making me sound “Bubleish” would be easy.

Don gave me one of those, “yeah, right” looks, shook his head, and said, “OK, try it one more time…but this time, how about singing in tune?” Producers! OK, Don really didn’t say that…but I bet he thought it.

Unfortunately, Don has not yet been able to figure out all those buttons and lights so I still just sound like, well, me. But he can do amazing things with all that technology, so I’m pretty excited about the NEW CD we’re making. Oh, did I forget to mention that? Yes, I’m making a new CD. That’s right, I make a new CD every 6 years or so…like clock work.

It’s amazing how this new CD came about. Here’s the short version…

A little over a year ago, I received an email from a man named Don Koch. He had found me on the web and saw I had recorded a couple of his songs and sent a friendly email to see if I was enjoying them. I knew his name immediately because he had written many of my favorite songs including two I had recorded on my “Be the One” CD. In fact, Don has written or co-written 38 #1 songs and has won 6 Dove Awards (what a show off).

So, yes, when I received his email, I was excited! But here’s where it gets a bit weird…

A few emails and phone calls later, we discovered that both our parent’s were missionaries in Costa Rica. I was born in Costa Rica. Interestingly, so was Don. We then discovered that not only did our parents know each other, they were good friends. In fact, we learned we had played together as babies in Costa Rica. Wait there’s more…

Don’s family moved to Miami. My family moved to Miami. Don graduated from Westminster Christian High School. I graduated from Westminster Christian High School – except Don is way, way older than me (Don graduated in ‘79 and I graduated in ‘80). The more we learned, the more we were amazed about all our strange “coincidences.” It was… creepy.

The next thing I know, I’m sitting in Don’s studio just outside of Nashville where we’re writing songs and planning a new CD.

Don with his Dove Awards / Ed with his water bottles

And that just about brings you up-to-date except to say, the recording production phase of the new CD is nearing completion. At the end of the month, Don heads off to Prague where a world class orchestra will be recording some of the music for the CD. Did you hear that? Prague! Is that cool or what!

In the meantime, over the next week or two, I’m going to try and lose about 50 pounds so the photographer won’t have to use a wide angle lens for the CD cover jacket. Maybe I’ll just buy some bigger clothes.

In all seriousness, I am absolutely thrilled with this project. I think you will be, too. The music is beautiful, thoughtful, and powerful and will draw you to Christ. It is such a thrill to be working on this project.

So, do you want to hear a sample?

OK. But please don’t tell Don. Also, please know, this is a very rough sample of the song we wrote called, “Here.” It’s one of the songs that is going to Prague for full orchestration, so the next time you hear it…WOW! The vocals nor anything else have been mixed, it’s just a rough sample of what’s to come. So you are truly getting a behind-the-scenes-sneak-listen.

“Here”

Let me know what you think.

God bless,

Ed Thompson

Feeling “Sappy”

My little girl graduated from high school this weekend.

Emotions are strange. It’s odd how you can be happy and sad at the same time. What would that dual happy/sad emotion be called, “Sappy?” As she joyfully grabbed her diploma and exited the stage, that’s how I felt, “sappy.”

As I sat there wondering how so many yesterdays had suddenly caught up and were passing me by, a handful of memories flashed through my mind. The first was when she was barely five years old and broke her collar bone while visiting grandparents. It was the age before cell phones so my wife couldn’t call me and warn me so I didn’t know until she walked off the plane and ran into my arms crying, “I hurt myself, Daddy.” I couldn’t pick her up and hug her because it hurt her too much.

I remembered teaching her how to ride a bike and discovering just how stubborn and determined my little girl could be. She left an ugly trail of skin and blood down the street with all her failed attempts, but despite my pleading to try again another day, she wouldn’t quit until she had figured it out. Her scars healed. Mine remain.

I remembered learning the first time she had a boyfriend. I had no idea who the creep was, but despised him instantly. I remembered how she lit up the stage with her school choir concerts. There must have been dozens of other girls on the stage, but somehow, I only recall one. I remembered her first prom and how my little girl had somehow transformed into a beautiful young lady in high heels and make up. My heart sank when the jaws of her date (another creep) fell open in awe as he saw the glamorous girl waiting for him.

I was joyfully brought back to the present when my daughter’s name was announced as the recipient of a special scholarship award for embodying the qualities the school looked for in student-athletes. Then I immediately felt “sappy” again as I realized how much I would miss attending her games.

When the diplomas had all been handed out and the caps flung into the air, I found her laughing and even crying a bit with her family and classmates. She came up to me ready for a hug and kiss. “Are you proud of me, Daddy?” she asked as we hugged.

“More than you’ll ever know,” I somehow managed to say in a voice that didn’t sound like mine. I’ve never been quite so…”sappy.”