okay,
originally uploaded by coloradocrim.

I just read the very flattering review at Christianity Today about my new CD, Okay.

All I can say is, “That’s what I was thinking, but I didn’t want to just come out and say it….” Just kidding. Seriously, I’m humbled and honored.

If you’re just checking out the site for the first time because of the review and you’re wondering where you can buy a CD, it’s available at www.cdbaby.com/jeffcaylor2. You can find a digital download at iTunes and www.amiestreet.com/jeffcaylor, among others.

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china,
originally uploaded by coloradocrim.

I’m in China and for some odd reason I haven’t been able to access my blogs from here. I’m experimenting with a work-around, but even checking to see if this gets posted will be a work-around. Please bear with me….

Things are going great so far and this should be a very cool trip in terms of getting to see some things I didn’t see last time I was in town.

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For the next few days, I’ll be in China. I’m leading music at the Beijing International Christian Fellowship these next two weekends. Should be a blast!

At the moment, I’m sitting in the airport thinking about how different things are going to be in about 18 hours. I think about how normal my life seems and how abnormal everything else is. It’s a very egocentric mindset that I’m not proud of, but that’s the way it is. I’m excited about being stretched and challenged these next few days.

Some other exciting news to announce on Monday regarding my CD. Be sure to come back for the details.

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I had a great time at Rico’s tonight and added a couple more dates for September and October. Hopefully we can get the full band back together next month. The crowd was gracious tonight, despite my fumbling through a couple songs.

I did want to say “hi” to my new friends Matt, Brock, Lisa, Lisa and Rachel. I’m glad I got to meet you and teach you some multiplication tables. You’ve got several weeks to practice before next time. Flash cards are a great study tool.

Thanks to Tim and Rico’s, too.

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I’m playing at Rico’s Cafe tonight. Music goes from 7-9pm. I hope you can join me! It should be a great time and they have the best sipping chocolate in town.

The cafe is located on Tejon just south of Boulder Ave. Come one, come all - free show!

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This month’s featured organization is The Blood:Water Mission.

From their site:

Blood:Water Mission is partnering with groups and individuals to empower Africans to build healthier communities through sustainable clean blood and clean water solutions, while developing social responsibility in the U.S. through initiatives that provoke personal engagement and ownership.

According to them, one dollar will provide one year of clean water for an African. And there are millions of people in Africa who don’t have access to clean water. For more on their heart, check out the blog.

This brings me to my point of conviction: How can I justify spending $1-2 on one or more bottles of name-brand water (which isn’t really better than tap water according to recent studies) a day when I could use that one dollar to help someone have clean water for a year? How many Africans could you have helped in the past year? I could probably have give over 300 people clean water this past year with a little more conscience.

I admit, some locales don’t have great tap water. Here in Colorado Springs, the tap water is good to great. In Indiana, where I grew up, it’s disgusting and salty. So what can you do? Get a water purifier from Brita or PUR. According to Brita, the cost of purified gallon of water is only about $.18.

So, here’s my challenge to you (and myself): kick the bottled water habit and donate the saved money to Blood:Water Mission (or some equally reputable African water charity). There will be times (road trips, etc) when you don’t have an option, but I think with a little effort, and a couple Nalgene bottles, most of us can make the change easily.

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