jon mark

so i’m back home following a two-day trek to Chicago. a couple of my goals for the trip were accomplished…i had a blast and got to spend time with my beautiful wife! we even joked about how nice it was to eat in peace and not feel like we were inhaling our food, so we could feed the other mouths at the table. but we both missed our children immensely and were glad to be home with them last night. now but back to the trip…

wednesday morning we got up at 4:15am to get ready and head out for my audition. we got there around 5:30am and went inside to get registered. that was eventful in and of itself due to the lack of knowledge/communication between staff…but we got our armbands and our seat tickets and were sent outside to line up.

there were 6 or 7 sections for contestants and their supporters to line up in. each was about 30′ x 300′ and let’s just say we were packed in there pretty good. at first it was 52 degrees and pretty mild. but then the wind started and the rain. (note to self, bring the umbrella even if it’s not raining when you get out of the car!) people stared filing in at a pretty steady pace. we ended up standing in line for about 3 hours. it was cold and WET! had Kasey not run back to the car to get the umbrella, we would have been a SOAKED!

during this 3 hour wait we were able to see some very interesting people: 1. the girl in her shower cap that sat down on the ground to put on here makeup 2. the guy with a 10′ high hat thing and huge pink wings 3. three young men that played a guitar and make shift percussion the entire time (in the rain) 4. fantasia’s twin sister 5. elvis 6. beiber’s brother 7. the DUDE with a mask and fairy wings! 8. PEPSI girls in blue spandex pants and wigs that were red, white, or blue…people were literally LIVING for this chance at being “the X-Factor”!

while we were standing there was a crew from the X-Factor that interviewed a teenage girl and a woman that worked in a factory for a living. both of them got to sing for the camera as well. then they wanted a man to interview and the producer looked straight at me. (as my wife, my support, took off and hid among the crowd!) i figured, WHY NOT? so i went and did my interview. my “dream” was to play Dodger stadium with Elton John. she laughed and said that we would need matching glasses. that all made the tape! then i sang a quick chorus for the camera and went back to my spot in line.

finally they opened the doors and everyone filed into the building in a very calm fashion. we made our way down to section 101, row 5, seats 7 and 8. it was the VIP section! we sat and waited for everyone that was outside to make their way in and find their seats. then we were given our instructions on how we would be called and what to expect. part of the instructions including watching a video from simon cowell telling us that he was sorry for not making it (RIGHT!)…

then i was called to the arena floor with the other singers in the first 5 rows. we made our way down where 36 “booths” were awaiting. each person was given a shot to sing one verse and one chorus of a song, when it was their turn. each singer either got a golden ticket and sent to the next round (which brought on a huge roar from the crowd) or you got your wristbands cut off and sent in the opposite direction.

i heard some serious pipes while standing down there…most of which got sent home! then the guy in front of me went in the booth. he had NO PROBLEM talking about himself and about the song that he wrote for them to hear. he sang and did not impress me in the least. i could pull 6 or 8 singers from church that would blow him out of the water vocally. but out he walked with a golden ticket!

then it was my turn…”what’s your name?”…”what do you do for a living?”…”what are you going to sing for us?”…let’s just say i didn’t get the warm fuzzies! i sang my song better than ever and blasted out a high C…then came the result we had all been waiting for…”it’s a no today. cya.” and out i went to get my wristbands  cut. the audition may have lasted 60 seconds? i was headed back out in the rain to meet up with Kasey and head home.

the trip itself was a BLAST! but the whole audition experience left a weird taste in my mouth. i couldn’t help but ask myself what the purpose of all that was! did i need to drive 5 hours so two British men could tell me that i can sing? did i need to be rejected one more time? did i need did i need a good 3-hour shower? did i need two days off of work? why in the world did God open this door for me? the answer…

i have NO idea…

(but i’ll take a free trip to Chicago any day! next time, i might just sit in St. Arbucks for three hours instead of standing out in the rain!)

THANK YOU to all who sent messages of encouragement…followed my tweets and status updates…asked how things went…took care of my kids…gave gas cards…and THANKS to Fox Lima for the opportunity!

so a few weeks ago i started getting questioned about a local singing competition. our local Fox station was holding auditions to win a two-night stay in Chicago and a front of the line pass to audition for The X-Factor, which is Simon Cowell’s new show. at first i didn’t think too much about it. but after several people had asked, including my mother…and i found out that the auditions were being held in the facility that my mother runs…i decided to go ahead and audition!

who knows right?!?

i showed up and was given my instructions for the auditions, along with three other singers. then off we went into a room to audition in front of three judges. i was number 1063. i sang “you raise me up” by Josh Groban. then i stuck around for a couple more auditions and headed home.

the next day i got a phone call asking me if i had sung the night before, to which i said, “yes”. then i was informed that i had in fact won the 30+ age division. i was asked if the trip on 4/26 – 4/27 would work for me and i said i would make it work. and it worked!

so i’m here in Chicago, sitting outside at a St. Arbucks (go figure) with my beautiful wife. we visited the site for auditions tomorrow and did a little bit of shopping. it’s been fun to see all of the wristbands for tomorrow’s auditions. i can’t wait to see how many people get crammed in the Sears Centre Arena!

my goal is to have fun…share the gift of music that God has given me…enjoy some time away with my wife…have more fun…and maybe even win $5 MILLLION…

who knows right?!?

This weekend there is a women’s conference taking place in Lima, OH. It is going to be held at the UNOH Event Center and I’m gonna be there!

My mother happens to be the Director of the Event Center and has been a driving force behind this conference coming to Lima. She has done an amazing job of wearing SO MANY hats and coordinating everything that has to happen. You have NO IDEA what all that entails! But this means that her son (your’s truly) gets to wear a few hats as well.

One of those hats is getting to be a “personal assistant” to an amazing musician that is leading worship for the conference. I’m excited to meet him and to hear him sing! I wanted to share a video with you of a song that I hope he sings…The Lord’s Prayer. (Maybe I can even get the charts from him so I can sing it some time!)

I’m excited to see what God has in store through this conference!

Fresh Grounded Faith Lima…

This morning I got ready and was sitting at the table reading by 5:45am. Then I heard Cooper sneeze and I went to check the monitor to make sure that he was a sleep. LONG story short…he wasn’t asleep and came out within a matter of 10 minutes. So I tried laying on the couch with him to get him back to sleep.

Do you think that worked? NOT SO MUCH!

Mommy came home from her morning run a few minutes later and he was up and ready to conquer the world! Then out comes big sister!

By 6:15am both kids were awake and mommy took them to the basement, thinking I could have time to finish my reading/studying and she could get in her bike ride on the trainer.

Do you think that worked? NOT SO MUCH!

No sooner do they hit the bottom of the steps and I hear the most out-of-tune children’s guitar, in the whole world, being played like there’s no tomorrow. Then I hear this voice, “our God is gwayduh, our God is stwonguh, God you are HIGHUH  than any uduh.” (you have to see the facial expression to appreciate this line! evidently daddy makes faces when I need to reach the F#?) It was awesome!

Shortly after singing the first chorus a couple times and plucking away on his guitar, I hear him climbing back up the stairs. Next thing I know he is standing next to me. He looks up and says, “stairs come you too?” Which means “Daddy will you come downstairs too?” I told him that I would, but evidently I was not moving quickly enough. So he persisted with “now dad. NOW!”

Do you think that worked? YUP!

I was down those stairs and we were playing and singing at 6:20am! I had the keyboard on and two kids taking turns playing (the best the could for that time of day).

We went back up stairs. Daddy and his two musicians were enjoying three bowls of oatmeal, while mommy got ready and tried to figure out what was going on! I cranked up Passion: Awakening and we were singing like there was no tomorrow! It was the best start to my Tuesday EVER!

The question I have…Is my worship that passionate? Is it that urgent? Do I long for my Father to spend time with me…like Coop did this morning?

I do today! I do…

NOW!!!