October 1st, 2002 Journal Entry As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another (Proverbs 27:17) Ring them bells! Derri and I made another Christmas album, and it goes out to stores this week. I say “another” because some of you may have acquired the limited release, “Noel,” which we produced several years ago (only 4,000 copies were pressed). This one is the latest in the “City on a Hill” series, subtitled: “It’s Christmas Time.” We had a great time making the record, and we’re truly pleased with how it turned out. So many artists made brilliant contributions. It’s hard to know where to begin. First off, Leigh Nash is my favorite singer, and Sixpence’s version of “Silent Night,” is truly blissful. And check this out – our long time friend and mentor, Terry Taylor co-wrote the title track that all the artists joined in on – and he performed a tune of his own as well. Jars offered an original song called, “Bethlehem Town” (stunning lyric by Dan Haseltine) and Third Day covered a Julie Miller classic, “Manger Throne.” Derri and Julie sang “Away in a Manger.” A personal thrill was interacting with Out of Eden. I’ve been a closet fan of theirs for a long time, and we did our best to do ‘em justice with our own hip hop rendition of “Do You Hear What I Hear.” They sang sweetly and were fun to work with. Paul Colman was the perfect vocalist to perform “In the Bleak Mid Winter” (Derri’s favorite Christmas carol)… and perhaps the most moving of all is Sara Groves’ beautiful performance of “Child of Love.” She’s a star in my eyes! Finally, Michael Tate (What a character that guy is! And a great talent also!) closes the album along with Leigh Nash singing “O Holy Night.” Tom Howard’s orchestration is marvelous once again, naturally. And I rang bells of every sort all over the place – which is a skill not to be trivialized! Ya know, every now and then this job just isn’t work. And I’ve gotta tell you, Derri and I really enjoyed working together again. We need our autonomy, one from the other, to be sure. But our creative chemistry is blessed, and our brotherhood ever true. Anyway…merry Christmas! Yeah, I know, it’s a bit early to feel the yuletide spirit (Halloween and Thanksgiving yet on the horizon) – but we recorded the album last spring! Steve