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Blog posts
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Nov 23, 08:08 AM'Give This Christmas Away' CommunitySo excited about the new community we just launched! You have to check it out. It's inspired by new Christmas book that's coming out this month, "101 Ways to Give This Christmas Away." I want you to help me make a different kind of Christmas wish list this year. Join the community and post your idea of how we all can Give this Christmas. My goal is to get our list to 10,000. Think we can do it?
My hope is that this community will help remind us all what Christmas is all about. It's not about the things we receive. We won't find true joy or fulfillment in a present wrapped underneath a tree. True joy is found when we give this Christmas away. Side note, when you sign up for the community, you'll get an email from me.
In that email you'll be able to download a video with a free Christmas song I wrote... It's called "The Free Christmas Song," and I think it will make you laugh. You'll also get your own starter kit, with some printable Christmas lists you can use at your own home.
Check it out!!! -mw
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Nov 11, 04:05 AMDon't Hold BackToday I am reminded that life is short, and time is precious. It is so easy to get caught up in putting things off until tomorrow, assuming that tomorrow won’t be too late. I was asked to call someone who had terminal cancer and was given just days to live. I was told this person was a big fan of my music, and that it would mean a lot to him if I would call to wish him well. Well, the day I was supposed to call, I was traveling in Canada with horrible phone service, and unable to reach him. So, I resolved to make the call when I returned home to the U.S. Somehow in the chaos of our fall tour, I didn’t getting around to calling Tommy until Saturday morning. When I did, I was greeted by a family member who told me Tommy went to be with the Lord the day before.
My stomach sank, as a flood of regret came over me. I couldn’t believe I had waited until it was too late to talk to him. His family member said he was waiting for my call, and all I could do was say, “I’m sorry.” I told her that I would be praying for their family, and hung up the phone. Then I picked up the phone, called my wife and told her I love her.
I can’t tell you how bad I felt knowing that I had waited until it was too late to talk to this person. I am still thinking about it today, and thought maybe passing this story on to you may help you remember not to put off till tomorrow, what you know you should do today. Say you’re sorry. Call your mom. Hug your daughter. Live your life with no regrets. Don’t hold back.
-mw
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Nov 10, 01:21 PM"Give This Christmas Away" Tour
We’re excited to announce that Matthew will be hitting the road this Christmas season! The Give This Christmas Away Tour is Matthew first Christmas tour and will feature Matthew singing Christmas classics, new Christmas favorites and all the songs of Matthew’s that you love. The show will also feature a special screening of the brand new Veggie Tales Christmas movie – St. Nicholas – A Story Of Joyful Giving – that will start when doors open at each show. We will also have Bob & Larry from Veggie Tales on hand to meet all the kids. This is going to be a great event for the whole family to enjoy this Christmas – we hope to see you all out on the road!
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Oct 01, 11:09 AMThe Motions Tour
I’m excited to let you all know about The Motions Tour that is hitting the road in few weeks! This will be unlike any tour I've done before. My band will be with me, but we're doing a more unplugged set up, which I'm really looking forward to. My band are amazing musicians, so you'll see cello, mandolin, and some other instrumentation that will make for some unique arrangements of the songs.
Also, we've got Josh Wilson joining us. He's an amazing artist. And we will also have a special guest speaker joining us - Lance McAfee. Lance is a youth leader from Oklahoma who will be sharing the powerful story about his 18-year-old brother – Ryan McAfee - who died in a car accident this year. We met Lance on The Motions Community website. Many of you have probably heard me talk about Ryan and his story. We’ve seen thousands of people impacted and challenged by how Ryan lived his life – and we know that God will continue to work in people’s hearts as they hear Ryan’s story from his brother Lance!
We are actually kicking off the tour in Ryan’s hometown of McAlester, OK on October 15th – and raising money for the scholarship fund that has been established in his name. We couldn’t think of a more fitting way to open up The Motions Tour! All in all, I believe this is going to be a powerful night of music and message.
Check out the tour dates and cities…I hope to see you out there! -MW
Tour Dates:
10/15 - McAlester, OK
10/16 - St. Louis, MO
10/17 - Decatur, IL
10/18 - Kansas City, MO
10/22 - Manchester, NH
10/23 - Fredericton, NB (Canada)
10/24 - Bangor, ME
10/25 - Freeport, ME
10/29 - Midland, MI
10/30 - Lansing, MI
10/31 - Flint, MI
11/1 - Spring Lake, MI
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Sep 23, 10:20 AMMedia ShutdownI did a bit of a media shutdown the past few days. Took my girls on a little road trip, wound up at the beach in Florida. We had a blast. My little girl loves the water, of course in a 3 year old version of irony, we were steps from the beach and she wanted to go to the pool instead. awesome.
This summer is winding down, it's raining this morning in Nashville. I'm sitting at a coffee shop downtown, getting my thoughts together before a writing appointment. Turns out, I don't have many thoughts... :) I'm sure they'll come around.
Here's one thought for you this morning from my morning devotion. "Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens." I love that is says, "daily." God is not just the occasional help in times of trouble. He is involved in our lives daily, and always ready and willing to bear our burdens. Find comfort in that today
-mw
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Sep 13, 02:39 PM9/11It's always a strange feeling, flying on 9/11. I'm in the Denver airport right now, getting ready to board a plane to Salt Lake City. I think I've been on a plane every 9/11 since the tragic terrorist attacks a few years back. And every 9/11 as I check in for my flight, I can't help but think about what happened. It's not that I'm afraid for my own safety. It's more about remembering those who lost their lives, and how the unthinkable, the unimaginable happened on that day.
Continued...
Back on the plane to LA this morning. Just wanted to finish my thought from yesterday. Last night after the show, I was watching MSNBC in my hotel room. They were re-airing the live news coverage of the 9/11 attacks in remembrance of the tragedy. I was thinking how when I was a kid I thought about all the major world events my parents had experienced; how they would talk about remembering where they were when JFK died. I remember thinking, I wonder if I will talk like that about any major historical moments. Will my generation have any history in the making? Unfortunately, 9/11 is one of those days that I will always remember where I was when tragedy struck NY. I was in Indiana with my friend and drummer at the time, Brett. I woke up and went down to the lobby of the hotel to get breakfast. The televisions were airing the attacks, and the whole morning, the whole day was so surreal. I remember wishing I could be with my wife, but she was back in Nashville.
I spent the whole day praying, crying, and calling home. That night, my show at a local college took on a much more somber tone. Instead of carrying on with the show as planned, I unplugged, and talked and sang for a handful of students who were all devastated from the day's events. Can you remember where you were? Think about that day, and remember those who lost their lives. May it always remind us to be grateful for our freedom, and for those who are protecting it every day.
-mw
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Sep 08, 08:17 AMTake Me Out To The Ball GameThis weekend in Atlanta was really something special. I love playing shows close enough to Nashville that my girls can join me. So Emily drove down the Saturday morning with the girls, and we got to spend the day together at the ball park. Lulu had an absolute blast. The Braves were kind enough to put all of us in a sky box, which is something I dreamed of when I was a kid. “I wonder who those people are sitting up in those sky boxes,” I used to think when we would go to the ball games… Now I was one of those people. It’s the little things, folks.
Anyway, the Braves looked like they were going to win 2-1, but the Reds tied it up late in the game, and it sent the game into extra innings… I began to worry that the crowd wouldn’t last through a 4 1/2 hour game and a concert. But finally, after 12 innings the game came to a close, unfortunately a Braves loss. But, much to my surprise the crowd stuck around for the concert and we had an amazing time singing inside the stadium. I even got to run out of the dugout when they introduced me. This was as close to one of my dreams coming true as I’ll ever get. The only thing missing was my uniform and my baseball glove. But it’s all good.
Earlier in the morning, I was asked to sing at the Braves chapel service before the game. I sang, “The Motions” and we had an incredible time with the team’s chaplain with prayer and devotions. Me being a huge baseball fan, only made that cooler because we got to hang out and pray with some of the players. I was so impressed by guys like Matt Diaz and Javier Vasquez. They shared their testimonies before the game. It was awesome to see these players using their platform to share about their faith.
So, thanks to Atlanta and the Braves for a great day. Hope everyone had a great Labor Day Weekend -mw
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Sep 05, 08:40 AMWhirlwindYesterday was a whirlwind. The band and I flew into Philadelphia in the morning, drove an hour and a half to Revelation Generation Festival and played a show. This was my first time at that festival. It was beautiful out there. Then, right after the show we headed straight back to the airport and flew back home. It was nice to be back in my own bed after the show... In my mind, our commercial flight on US Air was a private plane... A boy can dream, can't he? Anyway, Today, me and Lulu have had breakfast in bed, a pillow fight, read the same book twice, and now we're going for a walk. That's how a great day begins. Tonight, I'm going to be in the studio recording some acoustic versions of "The Motions" and "Save A Place For Me." Those will be on a special release of Something to Say this Christmas that I will keep you posted about. Then the bus rolls at midnight to Atlanta. We're playing at the Atlanta Braves game, post game concert. Should be a blast. You know I love my baseball. What a fitting way to close out the summer shows. Have a great Labor Day weekend -mw
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Aug 24, 12:43 PMTheir RealityIt’s been a long, but productive first day here in Bogota. We have just completed our 3rd and final drop off, and our team is all crowded back into this van that is becoming my least favorite part… We have about an hour drive back to the hotel, and I hope I don’t lose my lunch… the shocks must have been optional on this thing… But it would take much more than an upset stomach to sour today’s rich experience. I will not soon forget the children I met today, and the smiles on their faces. I got kisses on the cheek from little girls that weren’t my daughters, by my heart sure melted for them as though they were. I can’t remember ever being face to face with such poverty, and the crazy thing is, I know Bogota is a far cry from the poorest cities in the world. Still, the differences from Bogota to the U.S. are noticeable from the time we landed here, and have only become greater as the hours progress. Our last visit was on the 3rd floor of a church building. The smell of urine was pungent and difficult to ignore, but the kids didn’t seem to mind. I found myself counting the minutes until it would be time to head back to a more pleasant smelling hotel room, and then it dawned on me; this is their reality. These smells, the trash everywhere, this is their life. I saw cows eating out of the road side trash. I saw almost as many stray dogs as people. And in a few days when i return to my lush, privileged, better smelling reality, these children will still be here. They will still be the sons and daughters of a prostitute of a drug dealer. They will still be poor. They will still have the stench of urine, and the violence, and shacks to live in. This is their reality. And I’m hoping our visit can add a little love to their reality. -mw
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Aug 24, 12:40 PMOff The MapAs we drive to our second stop, one of our guides has just pointed to a mountain and said, “we are going to the top.” We have a map, but the road we are on is not on it… Poverty surrounds our van. I am feeling, too blessed, if there is a such a thing. I feel bad for owning this lap top at the moment. My stomach is turning a bit at the moment too. Anyone who knows me, knows I’m a steak and potatoes kind of guy. I’ve never had goat milk, and never ate a guinea pig… I am told those are things I might be able to look forward to on this trip. We are heading to an area inhabited by Squatters. I am told it is somewhat like the Mafia. There is a good chance some of the children we are going to visit have parents who are part of the Guerilla movement. The smell is strong and unpleasant. The streets are narrow, and the stray dogs are too many to count.
