Matthew West's Blog

Charleston, How You Been?

Well, the tour with Sanctus Real is off to a good start.  First show was last night in Charleston, SC, on the campus of Charleston Southern University.  I knew the place looked familiar.  Turns out, I was there just a couple years ago with Barlow Girl on their tour.  The crowd was really great, which always makes for a fun show.  It was getting to the show that was the problem.  We arrived despite 2, count 'em 2 flat tires in the middle of the night.  We arrived 6 hours late for the show, and the crew barely got the production up and running in time.  But they did, and the show goes on...

Today, we had a day off, which seems weird, a day off on the 2nd day of the tour... Regardless, we settled in nicely to the thought of having nothing to do!  I went for a run in the hotel exercise room, which turned into more of a walk with a steep incline when my phone started ringing with my manager needing to talk to me...

But it was cool, I was able to get some work done, and sweat a bit at the same time.  Then, off to blow my workout at the local mall.  We went to see a movie with some of the Sanctus guys, ate some buttered popcorn.  Caught a cab back to the hotel, and wouldn't you know it, the cab driver had WAY FM playing in the car.  We asked him if he listens all the time, he said yes.  So, we got him and his 4 kids tickets to the show tomorrow night.  He wouldn't let us pay the cab fare.  Pretty cool how God is involved even in little things.

Well, I better get back to doing nothing on my day off... Like my daughter always sings when she's quoting the movie "Annie," It's a hard knock life for us..."  -mw

The Motions

So, you may have heard my new single coming through your radio these past few weeks.  If so, I hope you like it!  More importantly though, I hope its message has challenged you at the start of the year.  The message of "The Motions" has sort of become my New Year's resolution.  The lyrics of the chorus say, "I don't wanna spend my whole life asking, what if I had given everything instead of going through the motions?"  Its a song inspired by how easy it is for me to get stuck in the rut of the typical luke warm Christian lifestyle.  I know how to act, to make everyone think I'm doing alright, but inside, my heart feels like it's asleep at the wheel.

Have you ever felt like that?  Like your faith isn't really alive?  Like you've been settling for just going through the motions of the Christian life?  Well, what if we said no more?  What if we refused to go through the motions, broke free from those ruts we get stuck in and chose to live a life filled with passion for God?  

I started this new online community at www.matthewwest.com where we can all have the opportunity to make our own 'motions resolution.'  You can sign up for this online community, and post your own personal commitment.  Think of an area of your life where you want to see improvement, or where you know you need to take a step forward and grow in this year.  Then post it on the community, your post will be anonymous, but it will allow everyone else to see that they are not alone.  We all have that struggle as we try to live out our faith.  But with God all things are possible, and if we choose to give everything we have to Him, He will lead our lives to amazing things.  

So, check it out.  Go to the website, and click on the "Motions" link, and read all of the posts that have already been submitted.  I am sure it will inspire you to do the same.

Oh, and one more thing, I am going to send your resolution back to you every few months to remind you of your commitment and encourage you to stay strong!  

So, here's to an awesome new year, and no more going through the motions.-mw

Eating My Way Through The Cruise Ship

I'm stuffed.  Really.  I can't even think about a meal right now, not even a snack.  I mean, you could put a hot fudge brownie with vanilla ice cream on top right in front of me and I wouldn't even pick up a fork. (Ok, maybe just a bite.)  But still, I'm stuffed.  I just spent an amazing 4 days on board the KLOVE Friends and Family Cruise 2009.  The ship left out of Miami filled with about 2000 KLOVE Christian music fans, and a bunch of us artists armed with our instruments. (I brought Lulu with me as well.)  

And the cruise ship is the reason I am so full... That's what they're famous for.  The late night buffets, the endless supply of sweets, the lobster, the steak.  You name it, I had the luxury of ordering it.  

But it wasn't all eating.  I did have to work, sing for my supper I guess you could say.  I did 3 shows on board for 3 incredible audiences, as well as doing an autograph session and a Q&A session with some other artists.  

And speaking of other artists, it was great to catch up with Mandisa, Brandon Heath, Denver and the Mile High, Salvador, Third Day, Building 429, and Sanctus Real, Phil Joel, and Rush of Fools. They were all on board as well, and all did great shows for grateful crowds.  

I, of course had to go and make up a song about "Eating Our Way Through The Cruise Ship," a couple years ago on my first KLOVE Cruise.  Little did I know, it was going to follow me FOREVER... I wound up performing my culinary hit once again on the Lido Deck, as we all raised our ice cream cones under the stars.

In all seriousness though, I met some amazing people this week, and heard some incredible stories of every day people who just happened to be cruising on the ship with me.  I am still processing some of those stories, and hope to share more with you as I do, I won't forget a little girl named Bethany any time soon.  A precious girl who's "make a wish" came true, and it was to be on the cruise with all of us artists.  Brandon and I had the chance to spend some time with this inspirational girl, and sing her some songs, thanks to Brandon for bringing his guitar... 

A great week. Thanks to KLOVE for having me, to Bethany for inspiring me, and thanks to Carnival for having Ice Cream Machines that never stop.--mw

An Angel Goes Home

            Luella Jane West was an angel.  Oh, not the invisible, up in heaven, strumming a harp kind of angel.  She was one of those angels you see down here.  You know the kind, one of those everyday angels in street clothes.  Oh, they may look just like you and me, skin and bones, shoes and hair. But there’s just something about them, the way they live, the love they show, that makes you certain they are hiding a pair of wings underneath that winter coat.  That’s what kind of angel Luella was. 

            She was a mother of ten.  That is not a typing error.  She brought ten children into this world.  Nine of them were boys, only one girl.  That also is not a typing error.  She and her husband raised all ten in a small house in Mason City, Iowa.  She lost one son in Vietnam, and buried another son last year.  One of the nine boys she raised became my dad.  She outlived her husband by over twenty years.  She outlived her own diagnosis from the doctors about nine years ago after suffering a stroke and a heart attack.  She wasn’t done yet.  And an angel doesn’t leave until she’s good and ready.

            She must have been ready today, because my grandmother, Luella Jane West passed away New Year’s Day, 2009.  She’s in heaven now, the only place truly fit for an angel.  She’s with her husband who she outlived.  She’s with her son, Jim, who she had to bury too soon.  After 89 years, her journey has ended, and she’s finally home.

            And it is with a heavy heart that I write these words to today.  You see, I should have written that letter.  Which letter?  The one I started writing a few months ago.  It had been on my mind to send my grandmother a letter and tell her how thankful I am for her example, and for her love.  I never finished that letter, and now I regret it.  

            So, I hope to encourage you with this thought at the beginning of this a new year:

 

Write that letter.

Make that call.

Say you’re sorry.

Love your enemy.

Be about a cause bigger than yourself.

Give.

Have No Regrets

Don’t go through the motions. 

Do these things, and you just might make people wonder if you’ve got a pair of wings hiding under your coat.

 

Have a blessed new year,

 

MW