Episode 229: Candid Christmas Caroling with Mac Powell (Reprise)

[00:00:00] The sisters come down the river guaranteed you'll never be the same.

[00:00:11] There's a mountain flowing from the heart of the Savior.

[00:00:16] Bring your sins and all your guilty stains.

[00:00:20] Lift that river life while she'd all away.

[00:00:25] Hello and welcome to Candid where we never settle for less than the truth. legit. I mean last time it was in your office and we're just kind of chilling at a little table There's stuff everywhere and now this is like a studio and this is really nice So yeah, my office is notorious for just being covered in books and papers and it was a bit messy I'm sure I didn't clean up, but yeah, this is the official and we even have cameras in here So no I'm nervous now. You're pretty face. I'm so nervous and you're pretty guitar

[00:01:44] We're into Christmas season you have a new single coming out

[00:02:44] brand new band of two sisters and our brother named Kane that are phenomenal great harmonies and great songs and yeah. Kane that's their last name. They said

[00:02:51] we did not pick Kane that's our last name. That's what they say and so yeah

[00:02:59] some great artists it's gonna be a lot of fun. What's that like? I think all of

[00:03:02] us could kind of try and picture it. people writing songs together It's a lot of fun. It's it's kind of like summer camp. Yeah on the road when you when you're on these multiple artists tours You know we had coach Rick that may hurt you as a Element But but he would always say when I was home. I was home. I didn't have hobbies. My hobbies were right family

[00:04:24] Right because when you're out doing your work you're working

[00:05:23] I've been wanting to do country music for a long time, but my day job with third day kind of kept me busy. So I was able to go do that thing that I always wanted to do, go out and play these places that third day would have never played.

[00:05:28] You know those kind of places in the middle of nowhere, Texas with the electric bull plugged up in the corner, those kind of places.

[00:05:34] And I had a great time doing it and a lot of really different ministry happens in that world than what I do with third day or did with third day.

[00:05:42] But I always knew I would come back to Christian music and even received it from so many artists, and I'll be able to return that to many more people. There's one particular song that's on the radio quite a lot that I'm sure most of our listeners will be familiar with. So, River of Life is being promoted quite heavily. Tell us a little bit about that song. Yeah, yeah, it was a song that I got together with two great writers in Nashville,

[00:07:01] a guy named Ethan Holtz, and a guy named Jonathan Smith.

[00:07:04] When we got together, Ethan had said,

[00:07:06] hey, do you asking me for water? The disciples show up and go,

[00:08:20] why are you talking to her?

[00:08:21] Right, what's going on here?

[00:08:22] This is fishy.

[00:08:24] And you know, he said to her,

[00:08:25] if you knew who I was,

[00:08:27] then you would ask me for the water those that have heard it. And then that then helps you shape how you do it later or how you work on it or whether you change it or not. Absolutely. And it sounds so artsy. And I don't mean for it to be that way. But it's why we brought you on the program to talk to an artsy person. Yeah, yeah. But it really is that way.

[00:09:41] I think sometimes you don't fully understand

[00:09:45] whether it's a song making a sermon or writing a book or whatever and multiply it and reach us as the people who make it and other people in so many different ways than we ever thought. And that's the work of the Holy Spirit. We don't do things in isolation by ourselves, but that when we give the whatever gifting

[00:11:00] or empowerment that he's used through us, and then that blesses someone else, and then

[00:11:04] they in turn bless us, we've that sounds artsy, but you're right. That's the Holy Spirit working. There are times when a record that I've made, maybe me and the guys with third day, songs would be written because of things that happened in our lives and stories that we were here from family members, all those things. And we would take that information, those feelings, all of those emotions, all that stuff and make a record.

[00:12:21] And then I'd go out on the road and we'd perform those songs

[00:12:25] and I'd start just pretend to play. You don't play so much. So I put it in my mouth, and occasionally I would squeak out a note, and it was definitely the wrong one, and then he would look at me like, what were you thinking? I told you not to play. Don't use breath. Oh man, I'm so sorry. Sorry that that happened to you.

[00:13:40] Put me in the right direction, right?

[00:13:42] Right.

[00:13:43] Right.

[00:13:44] Not really.

[00:13:45] I just wasn't a no man of yes somewhere else.

[00:13:47] Right?

[00:13:48] Okay. Down the little river, get in charge, you'll never be sane There's a mountain below, and I'm the heart of the savior Bring your sins and all your kids and snakes If that living life won't shit away Oh, yeah, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, we cue all the clapping Yes, that's right, that's right That was awesome I really do, I love that song

[00:16:20] Thank you

[00:16:20] You've taken a campy song and made it

[00:16:23] Not so campy

[00:16:24] Yeah, you made it radio worthy

[00:16:27] Thank you and swimming. That's not necessarily talked about in the scriptures, but we find that in life. There's some... Baptism waters? Baptism. There's cleansing. There's healing. It quenches our thirst. And so there's so much that you can go on and on about this one subject that keeps going. Even the rains that they're bringing life to crops, even in a gradient system. And the

[00:17:40] Old Testament is... Yeah. See, I should have written a song with you. We should have

[00:17:44] done. There's another song somewhere. Yeah, through what he's done after that. And so often, I love Christmas. I really do. I mean, I was born on Christmas Day. Christmas is important to a lot of people. And yet there's so much more. Christmas is just the beginning. I think a lot of people, even churches, look at Christmas as that's the end all be all. That's the time.

[00:19:00] That's the season.

[00:19:01] But it's like Easter to me is the more important because it's a beautiful story.

[00:19:04] Yeah.

[00:19:05] It's a beautiful gift that was given to us. got together with some of the artists at the church, a church of the apostles that play with us on Sundays and for many other events. And the drummer John, the bass player Joe, and Dan, the guitar player, often around Christmas time playing this jazz trio together. And so I went, man, I want kind of that feel. So let me get those guys and go in the studio. Now, trying to picture a Christmas song

[00:20:22] being super jazzy.

[00:20:23] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:20:23] Which, you know, can happen.

[00:20:25] Harry Connick Jr. is doing a great job of that.

[00:20:26] That's true, that's true.

[00:20:27] It can happen. resurrection and not only that but the promise of his return and so the story is not done yet we're still in a way I don't know if this is a correct term but we're kind of in the middle of the story you know hopefully towards the end of the story yeah but the end is not here yet and and we're as believers were anxious for that that's right decided for that well when I think of jazz music the

[00:21:40] first name that comes to my mind is, you know, and to think some of the times, not all the time, some of the time, a lot of the times, when we have joy, it can be seen on us. It can be, you know, we're happy, we're in a good mood, but not always. You know, there are times when you can, I mean, it's throughout scriptures where you can be down and struggling and yet still there's joy there because of the hope that we have. Yeah.

[00:24:20] You know, in thinking about the Christmas story't even know, I'm guessing maybe hundreds, but probably not even. Such a small place, such a humble place. There wasn't fanfare from humans, necessarily, maybe whole life of Jesus. Climactically, it is final humiliation in the death on the cross, which then is the river of life that brings life to us. What about Christmas traditions in your grown-up or your home now when your kids come back from college? You've got kids at home as well, you're in school.

[00:27:01] What are some of the thing, you look so forward to going to Popball and Granny's house on Christmas Eve. And now, as an adult with five kids, we kind of carry on that tradition, we have Christmas Eve at our house, and all of my wife's side of the family comes over,

[00:28:22] tons of cousins, and a lot of chaos.

[00:28:26] Now we started doing themes in the sort of into the spiritual realm, not to say that that's not because togetherness is certainly a spiritual thing. But you know, he picked up the reading of the Luke passage and the coming of Christ with your family, just the seven of you. Do you guys do anything together? Is it sort of, is there church service and reflection time?

[00:29:41] Yeah.

[00:29:42] Anything like that that you guys did?

[00:29:43] Well now the new tradition for us as of last year

[00:29:46] is to be at church at the apostles. Back to your birthday. Do you guys do a big birthday celebration? You know, there's so much going on for Christmas. That's the other thing you kind of missed. Like when I was a kid, yeah, yeah, I think the back seat. You know, when I was a kid, I never had any birthday parties because there was Christmas stuff going on.

[00:31:00] And you weren't in school,

[00:31:01] because usually a lot of people who are in school

[00:31:03] during their birthdays,

[00:31:04] so they have birthday parties,

[00:31:05] all their, I didn't have any of that. I love it. Absolutely. Okay, we had some requests. Okay. Joy to the world and Silent Night. One, two, ready. Joy to the world of the world is there. The donations prove the glory's of His righteousness The wonders of His love and wonders of His love And wonders of love and love and love

[00:33:47] You got through it.

[00:33:48] You did it. We please Silent night Golden night Shepherd's grave In heaven's sight

[00:35:00] Glory's sweet from heaven Holy infant so tender and mild Sleep in heavenly peace Sleep in heavenly peace