A few months back, I awoke at 3:30 in the morning, because we had a visitor at my house. A very unwelcome visitor. A skunk.

Now this happens occasionally where we live, but this time the stench was unbelievable. It was so bad I thought I was going to be sick. I jumped out of bed to close the window – but the window was already closed. It was almost like the skunk had already gotten into the house – it was that bad.

I don’t know much about skunks, but as incredibly foul as the smell was I wondered: do skunks travel in PACKS? Because this COULDN’T have been just ONE… This had to be the work of a SKUNK ARMY or something.

I think most of what I know about skunks comes from the movie “Bambi” – you remember that cute little skunk named Flower? I’m beginning to suspect that that movie was mostly fiction…

So, lying there in bed I started wondering: how can a skunk stand itself? Does it just get used (continue reading…)

Hey everyone, I’ve kind of been taking a break from this website lately, but now it’s back to work!

One of the fun/challenging/frustrating/joyful things about being an independent artist is that you wear many, many hats.  The challenge becomes making sure that the most important things get priority, and this is where I tend to stumble. I’m usually juggling a dozen things at once, and my family is often quietly waiting for me to set everything else down and give them my full attention.

My “hat list” (excluding my Worship Pastor hats):

• Booking agent (scheduling shows and church services)
• Marketing director (publicity, website management, social media, etc.)
• Songwriter (or, in my case, alleged songwriter, since I rarely make much time for this)
• Band leader (hiring/firing, travel agent, road manager)
• Radio promoter (actually, I hire people to do this, but I’m very hands-on because I’m a control freak)
• Record producer (didn’t record at all in 2011, but I plan to this year)
• Plus there’s family stuff (karate and dance and 4-H and chopping wood and home maintenance…)
• Etc. (there’s probably more but I’m out of time).

The truth is, most of us wear many hats. You might be a mom who also writes a blog and who works at a grocery store and breeds Labradors on the side … plus you teach Third Grade Sunday School and help out at church youth group on Wednesday nights.

So if I were the “New Year Resolution” type, mine would be to be even more purposeful about spending time with my family. How about you?

I don’t really know a lot about sheep. We have a few of them at my house, but I’m not particularly attached to them myself. Mostly they kind of bug me because they’re pretty stupid and they sometimes get through the fence and you have to figure out where they’re getting out …

So it would be fair to say that I wouldn’t be a very good shepherd. (continue reading…)

I have the song “Beautiful Day” by U2 looping in my head today… And it is an absolutely perfect July 4th. Warm (even hot – finally!!) and sunny. I’m getting ready to mow the lawn while listening to an audiobook. Then there will also be grilling and blowing stuff up. Could it be any better?

Oh – and we’ll be making goats-milk ice cream today for the first time. Emily milked her goat Suzy and froze it, so that should be interesting… (Emily froze the milk, not the goat. Just to be clear).

We have a winner! Emily has agonized over the names (there were over 100 submitted) and she has come to a decision… The winning names are…

… “Ping” and “Pong,” submitted by CarolBeth! Thanks to everyone who contributed ideas! We had a great time (and a few laughs) looking over your suggestions. And congratulations, CarolBeth – I’ll contact you soon to make arrangements for your prize (free CD or DVD).

Yesterday, a new baby goat named Taz was born at the Riggan Ranch (that’s him to the left).

You may remember that last week I wrote about our two new baby lambs. I decided to hold a naming contest, but then Easter Weekend happened and I completely forgot to wrap up the contest and have a winner declared. Better late than never, right? If you haven’t submitted your suggestion, click HERE to leave a comment. My daughter Emily will judge the competition and I’ll announce the winner by noon on Friday (tomorrow). The winner can choose any of my CDs or DVDs as a prize.

Don’t forget to submit your name suggestions (for the lambs) by clicking HERE!

On Monday, my son’s sheep (Cutie) had two babies (Joshua and Jericho). Just a couple of hours ago, my daughter’s sheep (Anabelle) had her two babies, which are unnamed so far. Click the “More” button to see what they look like (hint: they look like lambs). Any name suggestions? I think I’ll make a contest out of this… I’ll have my daughter be the judge. The winning entry will get a free CD or DVD (your choice). (continue reading…)