The Waiting List 2004:

 Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun - Jul - Aug - Sep

The Waiting List
The Official Newsletter of The Waiting
January 2004
Issue Number 56

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CONCERT SCHEDULE

March 20
Bonifay, FL
Show with Smalltown Poets, Ten Shekel Shirt,
and hopefully, Audio Adrenaline

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IT'S PRIDE

There have been a group of people active in the Waiting Family
practically from the beginning. They hang out together over at the
Waiting Zone: htpp://pub188.ezboard.com/bthewaitingzone
I have become friendly with some, closer to others, and here is what I
have learned:

It doesn't matter who they are, all have fallen short of things at one
time or another. Life's obligations, responsibilities and realities
take a toll on us all. Rarely though, do any of us let the pressure
surface,we all deal with our own issues. I am realizing more and more
the pride at stake for seeking out help, for leaning on each other as
the Bible instructs us to.

In Ecclesiastes 4:9 "Two are better than one, because they have a
good reward for their toil. 4:10 For if they fall, one will lift up
his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not
another tolift him up. 4:11 Again, if two lie together, they are
warm; but how can one be warm alone?"

Often as friends interact with one another we act with our own baggage
and attitudes prevalent. It's human nature to be protective of our
sensitivities. No matter how strong a game face we try to keep on, it
all falls apart under the gaze of One.

I use the phrase "read you like a book," in a playful tease to some
of the closer contacts, but the truth is, only One can interpret
someone's condition. Only the Savior can look into our hearts to see
the wrecks of,the crumbled shells, we really are.

God never promised that our lives would be without the darkness we
sometimes feel. In fact He told us that we would encounter things like
sickness, hurt, pain, and heartache, but He has promised to be with us
through it all.

Learning this has affected my pride. It has made me determined to
treat others with a newfound love and respect, with a kindness and
concern for others here-to-fore not realized. God has finally put me
into a place where I realize that the sunshine on someone's face
sometimes only covers the pain and heartache that lies beneath.

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THE MERCY SEAT

As we begin a brand new year, consider this your open invitation to
bring any and all prayer requests to The Waiting Zone. A prayer forum
has been instituted there, under the title of The Mercy Seat. Many of
the Zonies there have pledged to pray for each and every request.
Please don't allow a matter of pride come between you and the answer
you need. The answer God has Waiting.

htpp://pub188.ezboard.com/bthewaitingzone

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WAITING TRIVIA

Q: What was Brad Olsen's first job?

A: Brad Olsen's first job was working at McDonald's.


Q: Who was the waiting's Original drummer?

A: Rodney Gardener-Cook was The Waiting's original drummer.

The Waiting List
The Official Newsletter of The Waiting
February 2004
Issue Number 57

--------------------
CONCERT SCHEDULE

March 20
Bonifay, FL
Show with Smalltown Poets, Ten Shekel Shirt,
and hopefully, Audio Adrenaline
For more information:
http://www.bonifaykiwanis.com/

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GOD SAYS: IT IS ENOUGH
By Tom Doyle

This month's story is about the song, "It Is Enough" written by Todd
and Brad Olsen from The Waiting. These lines may be among the most
quoted lyrics in my ministry:
"don't despise the road/if it drives straight to the Son"
"if it drives you to the Savior/don't disconnect the pain"
"if the Cross that you carry/slips/ pick it up again and again"

Writing about this song should be a simple matter, but I have found
over the past 50 or so issues that Waiting lyrics hold a profound
acuteness,inspiring many levels of deeper thinking.

The band's description of the song illustrates the struggle many have
with the idea that doing good works will somehow qualify us for God's
love. Brad call's our best efforts "filthy rags" and proposes that the
"good works" should be a response to what He did for us by dying on
the Cross.

Instead, it is rarely that, we cheapen that philosophy by thinking we
can work our way into heaven. This simply is not going to happen.
God's blood is enough to right all our wrongs. His blood also
provides respite from the sadness on our faces. If we are tired of
the places we are in, or from all the work digging into the heart of
what we can and cannot do,God is enough for this rejuvenation.

God tells us it is enough when hesitation and fear rule our steps. He
will guide us, as long as we do not despise the road that brings us to
the Son. If we don't disconnect the pain that brings us to Him, then
He will dry our tears. As we cry ourselves to sleep, He releases us
from feeling destitute and poor. God knows we have suffered and it is
enough.

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FACE OF HOPE
By Tom Doyle

The song, "Your Face" may seem easy to decipher. A lyrical first
glance shows that it isn't so hard to pick apart; three lines in each
stanza setting up the forth. So it seems that the line of council,
the line that warns of the fall, will always temper finding the way
to the safe lines. The heaviness of day is always the place where
temptation and sin attack and compromise the stillness of dawn.

The second verse, describing a new day, uses the line of 'music
ending' to depict an end to our frolicking and dancing in the
morning's sun. Signifying, in my interpretation, the same realization
of sin encompassing our daily life and routine.

In verse four,the reversal begins, or the realization of how to break
the cycle of sin dragging you under. The lyrics define that "I come
to you with a dream in my hand", a very simple statement, making God
the first focus in life. "Holding on to a Word I know is true," like
no other truth. Neither the words of this essay, nor the words of the
song can bring you that. And in the final line, the
recollection "that I, I never knew". Many have that same reaction to
the facts of what Jesus can be for you. He is able to do everything
we can imagine.

One of the coolest things He does is enable us to understand that all
the other faces we encounter, as the years roll by, will fade and
fail us, leaving God as the only dependable One.

As fans of this Waiting classic know, this is a song of hope. The
eternal hope that as each day rises, the possibility of living up to
God's word is strong. The day never ends that way, but the importance
is the promise, for the promise is what fuels our hope and our
ability to look forward to the tomorrows in our life. Live for today
and have faith that God will be there for each of us tomorrow.

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WAITING TRIVIA

Q: What Waiting song won a '99 Dove Award Nomination?
A: "Hands in the Air" was nominated for the 1999 Rock
Song of the Year Dove award.

Q: What song won the Waiting "Best New Artist Clip" in
the Contemporary Christian category in 1997?
A: "Never dim" did win "Best New Artist Clip" for the
Contemporary Christian category back in 1997.

Q: Who did The Waiting include in their thanks on the
record "Tillburry Town," that would later go on to
produce their self titled album?

A: Steve Hindalong was included in the thanks on
"Tillburry Town," and would later produce the self
titled album for the Waiting.

****BONUS****
If anybody knows the aformentionded producer's
nick-name, I'll give 'em a prize.. first to e-mail me
at glitch192@y... with the right answer wins.

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Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Email us at
TheWaitingList@h...

The Waiting List
The Official Newsletter of The Waiting
March 2004
Issue Number 58

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NEWS

Congratulations to Brad and Shannon on the birth of their new baby
boy.

--------------------
CONCERT SCHEDULE

March 20
Bonifay, FL
Show with Smalltown Poets, Ten Shekel Shirt,
and hopefully, Audio Adrenaline
For more information:
http://www.bonifaykiwanis.com/

--------------------
TRIVIA

Q: What secular artist wrote the song from which the
Waiting derived their name?
(Look at the end of the newsletter for the answer.)

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DIAMONDS TO STUMPS

Recently I have realized that somehow I've managed to miss an
important part of the Wonderfully Made song, "Diamonds to Dust". I
was too interested in providing the positive assurance of knowing
that the things we see as important now are less
important then we hold them. God has instructed us to store up
treasures in Heaven. Treasures that will not spoil, loose their
luster, or in any way stop working for you. This includes the
material objects and the quest and desire to get them. Everything
that can be thought of falls into this category. No matter the grade
or the quality,everything eventually will, as the song says,turn to
dust.

Well.... I came across something today that made my eyebrows raise.
It has to do with the line of the song that concerns - as one of the
byproducts of treasures that aren't necessarily of Heaven - tall
trees down to stumps. Indeed, on many occasions we have seen this,
but it wasn't until I read further that it came to mind, in Isaiah,
where God inspired the prophet to write about these days and the ways
that God will come to destroy those people who find themselves caught
in the whirlwind of chasing their pillow and plate. In among the
travesties that God intends to bring about is the destroying of the
forests of pine and oak trees, cutting them down, down to the stumps.

I seemed to be attracted to the idea that in the land that is our
bodies, we can also find these same trees. Trees of sin... trees of
unbelief. Just as God told Isaiah, these trees can be cut down to
stumps. Scripture goes on to say that there is a holy seed in each of
these stumps.

It would be true that in the sin of our heart, when God decides to
cut things down to stumps, a holy seed grows. That seed becomes the
redemption God provides. The understanding He gives us about the sin
is what grows in our hearts, with the realization of our sin. This
seed is what enables us to grow, to learn, and begin to construct
our defenses to try to keep from falling to that temptation again.

After these ideas settled into my head, after I felt God nudging me
to write this, I began to wonder of the possibility that Clark meant
these things in writing this song. I reckon that he didn't, but I
still could not help but think of this song, when I read about the
Holy Seed in the stump.

When God reduces the anxiety of sin within our heart, we must seek
for and follow whatever direction He offers to nurture and grow this
seed that He leaves with us.

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TRIVIA ANSWER

A: Tom Petty wrote the song The Waiting. In the
chorus, Petty writes:

The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you see one more card
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part

In interviews Todd has spoken of how this waiting can
be seen in a christian light. Todd has explained how
waiting on God can be one of the hardest parts in a
christian walk.

Have any trivia about the Waiting you'd like to see in
the newsletter? E-mail me at Glitch192@y... with
your own questions!

The Waiting List
The Official Newsletter of The Waiting
April 2004
Issue Number 59

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NEWS

-- Big news! One of the guys from the Real Life Church (Brad's
church) is and has been working on a new better Waiting web site, as
far as it is known now, it will be the same url. Sounds like it
wouldn't be too much longer! [credit: Ken Sims II]

-- The Waiting material written for a new album. They also hope to
begin recording soon.

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WAITING TRIVIA QUESTION

Q: Before becoming the drummer circa 1991, what role
did Brandon Thompson play in the Waiting?

*Check further down the newsletter to find out the answer.

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RED LIGHTS
By Ken Sims II

How do you write about a concert experience when you
didn't even get the chance to see it? Well, my first
inclination is to whine...

Ok, so most of you who have kept up with the band know
that the boys haven't had too many concerts of late,
so when the Bonifay show came up, I had to go. It was
on March 20th, my birthday, and that's how I wanted to
spend my birthday, listening to Todd jam, watching
Brad jump around, and seeing Clark do his kick-dance.
However, It was not to be.

I needed to get away, but due to my work and school
load, even getting a weekend away is difficult to
manage. So we planned it out, and, miracle of
miracles, I was able to get that Saturday off. So I
e-mailed the contact guy from the Bonifay Kiwanis
about the schedule for the bands, and received the
reply that the bands would take the stage at 6:00 and
each would play for a half an hour, at which point
Audio Adrenaline would take the stage.

I know, I know... I knew better than this. Everything
else I'd read stated that the concert began at three
in the afternoon, but hey, this is a guy that's
supposed be in charge. He's got to know what's going
on, right?

So, Saturday morning, we're an hour away from Bonifay,
but we've got about five or so hours to kill according
to the email I received, so we kicked around a bit.
Well, at about three in the afternoon, we decided to
head over, just to make sure we'd be there on time.

We stopped to get some cash near the concert grounds,
and, as I was punching in my code, we noticed
something... A voice over a speaker system. More
specifically, Brad's voice over a speaker system...
telling one of his stories... like the stories he
tells at the end of a show... a show that I had been
informed did not start till six that evening.

By the time we had parked and paid the entrance fee,
The final chords of what might have been "Unfazed"
echoed through the town. I paid twenty bucks to see an
empty stage. Happy birthday to me.

gar.

Ok, so, yeah. I did get to talk to the guys and with
Dena and had a lengthy conversation about "The Flash,"
Geoff Johns, Mark Waid, and "The Fantastic Four" with
a very nice and knowledgeable Waiting fan that- Um...
yeah... comic-geek crawling back into his corner,
now... Plus, I probably have seen about half of The
Waiting's shows in the last year and a half, which is
probably more than most... Also, Brad hooked me up
with a "Limited Edition" T-Shirt (Thanks Brad!), but,
needless to say, I was still bummed.

So, all in all, it wasn't bad... but the band I had
traveled six hours to see, I didn't get to hear...
after paying twenty bucks for the privilege... due to
some bad info... on my birthday.

On our way back to Georgia, however, we listened to...
um... and "unofficial" CD of live material...
including "Look at Me" with the "GOD HAS A PLAN"
speech. If you haven't heard Brad tell it before, it
goes something like this:

"Not too long ago, a few years ago, I used to go out
with this girl... we dated for like, eight months. I
thought things were going pretty well. I thought I
might actually even end up walking down the aisle with
her...

One day, I get... the dreaded... phone call... She
tells me she wants to break up. Now I was hurting
pretty bad. She gave me all her reasons for breaking
up... you know, she told me, 'we make much better
friends than boyfriend and girlfriend,' you know that
one... She told me that she was gonna have a 'busy
year at school' and didn't have time for a
'complicated' relationship... as if any relationship
were ever simple... and then this... this is the
single greatest excuse ever given on planet earth in
all of recorded human history... she wanted to break
up with me, because I... was not... athletic!

So anyway, I was heart-broken. I was hurting, and the
first thing I did was I went and I talked to my dad...
I said, 'Dad... what am I gonna do? I love that girl
so bad and she dumped me!' And my father looks me
right in the eye and he said, 'Don't worry son, God
has a plan!'

You cheer, but I hated that answer... and I thought to
myself, if you really, really, really want to
understand the heart of a woman, never, and I mean
never, be stupid enough to talk to a man, you always
go talk to a woman. So I went to my mom. I said, 'Mom,
what am I gonna do? I love that girl so bad and she
dumped me!' and my mother, sweetest woman in the
world, looks me right in the eye, no kidding, and she
said, 'Don't worry son, God has a plan!'

And you know what? I told my parents they were good
people, but they were backslidden! They're deep, deep,
deep in some kinda sin. Their wisdom is gone and their
vision is clouded. So I went and I talked to the
pastor of my church. I said 'Preacher, what am I gonna
do? I love that girl so bad and she dumped me!' and
the man of God got up from his pretty oak desk, and he
said, 'Don't worry son, God has a plan!'

Well none of that advice was workin'. So I went
downstairs into my room and I got on my face before
God, and I got angry at Him. I said, 'Lord, I have
followed you since I was eight years old! Now I demand
to know why that girl left me! I demand to know why I
have to go through this! I demand to know the answer
to my situation right, stinkin' now! ...In Jesus name
I pray, Amen.' you know...

So anyway, I pulled out, what we call in Georgia, the
lucky man's concordance.... my index finger. I open up
the bible. I closed my eyes. I flipped over a few
pages, and I put my index finger down on a verse. I
said, 'Lord, when I open my eyes and read this verse,
this verse had better darn-well be my answer!' and I
opened my eyes, and it read something like this:

'And Josaphat begat Shetiel; and Shetiel begat Hazor;
and Hazor begat Zatteth,' ... and so on, and so on,
and so forth, ad nausea.

I don't mind telling you folks I was getting pretty
desperate at this point. So this time, with my eyes
wide open, I flipped over a few pages in the bible,
and with my eyes wide open, I put my index finger down
on a verse. That verse was my answer, and that verse
is my answer! As a matter of fact, that verse is
everybody's answer! It reads something like this:

'For I am convinced that neither death nor life,
neither angels nor demons, neither things that are now
nor that are to come, nor any powers, neither height
nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be
able to separate us from the love of God that is in
Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.' "

Ok, I'm kind of making that part up. I heard the "GOD
HAS A PLAN" speech on the way down to Florida, but
work with me here people. It's more pertinent and
edifying that me whining.

Now, every time I hear that story, I expect Brad's
verse to be Romans 8:28, just ten verses before his
actual answer. It reads:

"And we know that in all things God works for the good
of those who love him, who have been called according
to his purpose. " ( Rom. 8:28 NIV )

Ok, so maybe my weekend didn't go as planned, but do
you ever stop to think about your plans and then how
life really works? The two seem to rarely converge.
What if they did?

You see, I hate stoplights, and every time I drive
home from school, even though it's late and there is
hardly any traffic, I seem to hit every single one,
just under twenty lights. Inconvenient as they are,
what if I hadn't had red lights? What if somebody
decided to run a red while I was going through my
green light? It may be conjecture, but I don't know. I
can't see the big picture. That's actually one of the
attractive qualities of Christianity, to me at least.
The idea that someone bigger than a screw-up like me,
and someone who cares for me, is watching over me and
making sure things work out alright.

Yeah, maybe I miss a show... and maybe I'm ten minutes
late to class... and maybe, just maybe I get my heart
completely decimated by a girl... but God, He knows
what He's doing. Even if I'm just sitting here staring
at stop lights.

------------------
SO MUCH SIGNIFICANCE
By Tom Doyle

So Much of Me - Jer. 1:5

A baby is born under normal and modest circumstances. He is well
taken care of, warm, fed and clean. He is laid in his crib and from
there, in the earliest days of his existence, he ponders with
thoughts he cannot yet form. He knows that for the most part any
little yelp or murmur will have one or both of his parents looking
over the side of the bed at him. Cry and fuss and that baby will have
food, a diaper change, love, and anything else his parents deem
necessary.

This baby, born of these wonderful parents, begins to determine that
his role right now is an insignificant and obviously small one. He
realizes his dependence on others and begins to wonder why everyone
makes so much of him. Things begin to become evident like the wind,
the sea, how the stars and all the creatures were made. The baby
begins, as it becomes aware of its surroundings, to understand that
in the scope of the earth, the country, the state, city, even in the
house, he is so little, yet everyone who visits will make so much of
him. He will be the center of the universe for his parents (ok... and
family and friends).

In the letter of prophecy from Jeremiah, God says He knew who we
were, while still in the comfort of the womb. He even planned our
lives for us. God knew, in the scheme of the whole earth, how
insignificant we would be. How small we would feel counting the stars
in the sky, standing near the sea, or in the face of the wind. In
that insignificance, God, the Creator of ALL the universe, thought so
much of me that He sent His only Son to die on the Cross for the
forgiveness of my sins. What more can be said?

At the foot of the ocean I'm hearing winds whisper and waves shout
The storm of the morning is clearing, the tide is running out
I'm feeling obviously small
A little of this sand is all I am
A bit of dust blown from Your hand

You made the wind, You made the sea
Why do You make so much of me?
You made the stars and every creature that breathes
Why do You make so much of me?

In the heart of the evening I'm counting the stars set in the sky
Getting lost at a hundred or fifty or so I'm thinking
I can only hide in some hole I carve in the earth What am I worth?
I'm just a speck, a candle in Your universe

You made the wind, You made the sea
Why do You make so much of me?
You made the stars and every creature that breathes
Why do You make so much of me?

And here I stand
A bit of dust from Your big hand
What am I worth?
A candle in Your universe

You made the wind, You made the sea
Why do You make so much of me?
You made the stars and every creature that breathes
Why do You make so much of me?

--------------------
By Tom Doyle

"Diamonds to Dust"
--Clark Leake

A ruby stone ring in a circle of gold
A clock set in silver for you to behold
A necklace so costly it can never be sold
And I buried them deep just like I was told

Not exactly a blur and not quite a streak
But what do you want this girl's an antique
I kept her from danger because I think she's unique
Got grease on my hands and dirt on my knees

But even the diamonds turn to dust
Passing along as everything must

New clothes into rags tall trees down to stumps
New wives into hags young men into grumps
Just like the treasure in hand that's starting to rust
Even the diamonds turn to dust

So take it from me if I'm losing my hand
Around anything that crumbles to sand
Let me give freely as You command
Open my arms and help me to stand

But even the diamonds turn to dust
Passing along as everything must

New clothes into rags tall trees down to stumps
New wives into hags young men into grumps
Just like the treasure in hand that's starting to rust
Even the diamonds turn to dust

In thanksgiving here I stand
For the treasure that You've given to me
But what is sweet, sweeter, sweeter still
Is the beauty of Your grace I see

But even the diamonds turn to dust
Passing along as everything must

New clothes into rags tall trees down to stumps
New wives into hags young men into grumps
Just like the treasure in hand that's starting to rust
Even the diamonds turn to dust

This is one of those songs whose simplicity makes it almost
impossible to write about and so as I thought after considering
direction and perhaps waiting for divine intervention, that I would
begin to write and see what developed. This issue is #58 which means
that we are approaching our fifth year of bringing you a fans eye
perspective of the Waiting, its music and ministry. Personally I have
written three times as many devotionals for the band as you have read
and as I begin this one, I wondered how many times faced with a 1st
of the month deadline, I have trusted God to provide His word to
share.

I paused for a moment to recollect and enjoy the satisfying and
anxious moments of having my writing published. I remember thinking
as I looked at "The Waiting in CT." how this devo was so good. I
remember with an inflated sense of importance how I thought
Christianity was so much better off now that my words were published.

Well, here I sit writing for (at least) the 58th time words with the
same purpose. To glorify Jesus Christ as Lord and Master. I am not a
big fan of reading my own work but I laughed as I realized I could no
longer remember off hand, the name of that piece. Fifty seven months,
fifty seven issues and fifty seven devos have passed since then and
as many as I thought were diamonds, are now just dust.

As number one songs, "Never Dim, Number 9, How Do You Do That,
Unfazed and Speak," once were diamonds, their melody and rhythm have
passed to dust. All these things speak of the materiality that
Diamonds to Dust sings about. The memory of my first Waiting concert
has faded, its been so long, my last concert has also faded from
freshness. I am confident however that the very next show, song, or
devo will potentially be the very next diamond, on its way to
becoming dust.

The song makes it evident that anything held will be turned to dust,
ruby stone ring, clocks set in silver , new clothes, new wives and
even diamonds. And as the song points out that the beauty of His
grace is all I see. Now think for a moment the things God has
provided through His grace. It is a profound list and considering all
the different ways grace comes into all our lives, it makes all the
other things we spoke of, quietly, dust.

--------------------
WAITING TRIVIA ANSWER

A: Brandon was originally the sound tech for TW, and
learned to play drums just fot TW

Have any trivia about the Waiting you'd like to see in
the newsletter? E-mail me at Glitch192@y... with
your own questions

--------------------
Questions? Comments? Is there something you want to submit? Email us
at TheWaitingList@h...