This story is just too good not to tell! Because it is lengthy, we have decided to chronicle "The Making of The Road" in an ongoing diary format that we will date and add to periodically. We hope it blesses you. - MRB-
"Thank You for Loving Me"
© 2006
The Making of "The Road"
Click on this link to read our feature article published in the August edition of the Mansfield NOW Magazine: Magnolia Rose Band feature article Mansfield NOW Magazine pgs. 24-28
On 7-13-2007 Steph wrote: You may ask, Why "Magnolia Rose"? Many have ... and yes, there is a story behind our name, behind our music, and behind the making of our debut album. Here's the story of how we got from where we were, scattered across the great state of Texas, to where we are now in Magnolia Rose Band. And we can't wait to see where this takes us next! Our name is a direct reflection of our roots ... something we pray to never forget. And our roots go deep ... nearly 10 years deep. God decided to use one of the most humble, artistic, and willing guys you will ever meet. His name is Doug Peak and he's my brother. His story is amazing! ( Go to Doug's bio for more good stuff! ) Fall of '98 was an awesome time in Doug's life. For the first time he found himself alone in a ratty, simple garage apartment in Magnolia, AR working as a college assistant basketball coach. Prior to this, Doug was in one relationship after another and surrounded by friends and many a party. He had always been very well-liked, being voted Mr. GHS and Most Handsome by his peers. Doug went to college and played basketball for his father. He took his team to the Sweet 16 his senior year, the same year he graduated with an degree in ART. What a combination! Soon after, Doug was going from job to job and playing at clubs and parties ... all the while searching for happiness. This guy, who was loved by all and seemed to have it all together, was lost. God used one word to call him ... MAGNOLIA! "Being ALONE forces you to LISTEN, and so I did, " Doug has told many. Soon after Doug moved to Magnolia, I picked up the telephone and called him to simply encourage him to pick up his Bible and find God. ( I lived in Irving, Texas at the time ). "What do I do?" he asked ... and my advice was to get up early each morning at 5:00 a.m., with a cup of coffee, a lit candle and a Bible and wait for my telephone call. We called each other several times a week to hold one another accountable and help one another stay committed to our quiet time with God. I also encouraged Doug to journal his days, his prayers, and whatever was on his heart as a prayer to God. I told him, "Sometimes it's easier to talk to God and stay focused by writing your thoughts down... and it's amazing to see how God answers prayers when you go back and read past experiences from time-to-time. It's faith-building!" And so he did ... and many "new songs" were born the year of '98-'99. It was in "Magnolia" that our music "Rose" up and out of Doug's creativity and new direction. This is how God works ... He loves us enough to take us through the valleys in life to produce mountainous faith and perserverence in each of us. Soon after this, Doug met his soon-to-be-wife and they married a year later. Doug and Betsy moved to Mansfield the following year and the only people they knew here were my family. We all had no doubt that God was bringing us together for a BIG purpose, and so we waited with anticipation. In the meantime, Doug continued to write more and more songs. He also began painting again with brilliant colors. He noticed that his artwork looked drasticly different as a born-again Christian than it did years before as a searching soul. Doug and I also began leading worship at our new church, FUMC Mansfield. This is where God worked to slowly put the pieces of the puzzle together. One month after moving to Mansfield Karen was brought into our lives. Karen was introduced to me and we instantly made a connection, mainly revolving around the fact that we both love to sing. As we met for practice weekly and sang regularly on Sundays we became close friends. We shared our joys and concerns and we took the time to nurture our friendship. Chili's restaurant housed many deep talks over late-night dinners for us, usually after band practice. Pastor Shawn was also there from the beginning. Doug, Shawn and I considered each other "brothers and sisters in Christ" immediately. Shawn prayed with us and recognized God's annointing upon our lives from the very beginning, and that blessed us beyond words. Around this same time James was introduced our budding band as keyboard player on Sunday mornings. He developed a close relationship with Doug in particular, who babysat his son from time-to-time. A year had passed by when Ron McCranie joined the Sunday morning praise band. He blew everyone away with his skill and his faith. It was also during this time that Karen moved to Houston for a full year. Her absence was a huge loss for everyone. She would travel back as much as possible to worship on Sundays. And when she finally moved back to Mansfield, she and I had a closer bond because of it. '05-'06 was THE BIG YEAR! It was the year our church faced many trials, pulling everyone closer together and placing me in the position of Worship Leader ... to be continued ... On 8-5-2007 Karen wrote: I invited Steph to a Dallas Mavericks basketball game one night when I had an extra ticket. On the way Steph confided to me that she had something on her mind. She began to describe how Doug had all of these awesome songs tucked away in his personal journals that he had written over the years. She said she felt called to record the songs and she told me, “ there is no one I would rather sing them with than you ”. I was overwhelmed and truly honored by the proclamation, not fully understanding the scope of Steph’s vision. Not long after that night, Steph and I found ourselves sitting around Doug’s dining room table. His journals were stacked in front of us and Doug had his foot up in a chair and his guitar going full force. He and Steph were reminiscing about some of the earlier songs and giving me the full history of what was going on when they were written. We sang and played “ Today ”, “ Thank You for Loving Me ” and “ He’s Here ”. It was a special night ... something deep and meaningful was understood that night ... there was chemistry between us and a knowledge that this was just the beginning of an amazing journey. Goosebumps were felt and tears were shed as we harmonized to those beautiful songs. Doug said it was time to get Kevin involved because he was also invested in getting the songs recorded. He told us that Kevin had a talent and a passion for the production end of music. The next step was for everyone to meet in Kevin’s home studio and begin recording scratch tracks. Kevin proved to be a wiz at everything. We would all meet weekly on Sunday evenings and record. It wasn’t long before the first three songs were complete and we were adding more ... to be continued ... On 10-17-2007 Karen wrote: There is a certain comfort in knowing that something is just right ... exactly the way it's supposed to be. The name for our band eluded is for such a long time. We probably came up with at least a hundred different names over the course of a year and some were really good and even stuck for a little while, but they weren't "just right". We realized very late in the game that "magnolia" had to be part of our band name, but early on it wasn't even a consideration. Funny now looking back. Some of the names we considered were Sweet Divine, Chosen Sister and Straight Street. When the realization hit Steph that "magnolia" just had to be a part of the name because it was the physical place where Doug started writing so many of these beautiful songs, we were already scheduled to record in Nashville! Nameless! Not good ... so the process began of pairing other words with"magnolia". We tried a bunch of different things! My father actually came up with "Rose" and pitched it to me ... and he had done his research. He sent me info on the symbolism of the rose in the Christian faith ... specifically the Rose of Sharon, as well as how the color of a red rose symbolizes the blood of Christ shed for our sins. Also how a rose starts out as a "bud" and blossoms with time and the right conditions much like the new Christians' journey, as well as how "Magnolia Rose" phonetically rolls well off the tongue (thank you, Daddy) . I couldn't help but think of Doug and how his journey "rose" up and out of his faith while he was in Magnolia ... a verb as well as a noun ... seemed perfect. With futher research I found there really is a true rose called the Magnolia Rose ... it is an antique climbing tea rose with the proper genus name of 'Devoniensis' ... wow! "Band" was added because that's exactly what we are ... simple, but true ... there you go! We all loved it and so it is! ... to be continued ... On 10-29-2007 Doug added: If you have been reading this, then you can tell that Karen and Stephanie have great faith and love for the Lord. Their faith is shown by their efforts to create this music. They continually inspire and encourage each band member and one another. God has a great plan for us. It is centered in knowing Him and in growing our relationship with Him. Our music gets better with practice and experience, but our worship gets better as we grow to know the Lord more. “We are going to Nashville” they both said. “You must be crazy!” many thought. But it’s this kind of crazy faith that made it all a reality. “We are going to make a CD and we are going to record songs from your journal”, they said. What? Wait! I have some others that might be better. No. They were very clear in their vision for this CD. The Road was born. It really is humbling to think these songs could be used for God’s glory. I mean these were quiet time personal songs. I guess that is what God’s looking for though, I thought. Honesty - Truth. I remember thinking that I didn’t want performance to fall on these songs. I didn’t want to hold them up as being anything more than what they were originally ... songs that just came to me after reading the Bible and loving the Lord. But that’s how God works right? Share your story! I will say this! I now hold a much higher respect for those who share their testimony with people. Theirs are powerful words and people are starving for the truth! How do you prepare for something when you don’t have any idea what to expect? We are going to Nashville to record. My wife put a letter in my bag and said don’t open it until you get there. I somehow managed to keep to my promise and waited. When I got there I opened it and of course she said everything just right! She finished the letter reminding me to have crazy faith! Earlier in our marriage we were trying to sell our house. The problem was it wasn’t selling and I had already left my job. I heard a preacher talk about God looking for people with crazy faith! He was yelling it! Crazy Faith! The next morning after bible time I remember thinking, it’s time to have some crazy faith! I raised the asking price on the house $5,000.00. “But it’s not selling” , Betsy said. Well, guess what!?! The next person who came to look at our house put an offer on it at the increased price. Thank you, Lord! But wait ... the story gets better. At closing I was told the buyers couldn’t put enough money down to close. So we agreed to something called a “Dove Agreement”. Yep, you guessed it!!! I had to give the buyers $5000.00 so they could close. And one more cool thing ... I found out the buyer was the new youth pastor hired at a local church. Wow! God at Work! When you step out in faith something GREAT is going to happen. Sometimes it’s not what you have planned or what you foresee, but God knows you better than you know yourself. Wow ... what a character check. God looks in our hearts! Back to the Nashville trip. Packing was no problem. I never packed well anyway. Toothpaste, deodorant, great ... I’m ready to go! I have to say the trip was a blast. Kevin Edmundson is not only a great guitar player; he can drive a mean minivan. ( Don’t tell Debbie it’s a van ... SUV, I mean ) We didn’t miss a stop. Memphis was on the route for some great BBQ and a tour of the world-famous Sun Studios. I should note that Stephanie and Karen were flying to Nashville at this time and the rest of the band was being assembled back in Mansfield. By assembled, I mean the Lord was answering prayers and putting the pieces together to form Magnolia Rose Band. Ron McCranie had a gig in Dallas the night we left. Afterwards he drove through the night to Nashville with his drums packed in his truck. The five of us arrived at about the same time around sunset which was perfect because the studio was beautiful. It was all decorated in Christmas lights. It was great to arrive and see one another’s excitement. We were looking forward to an awesome week. If you haven’t already seen where we recorded, check it out on the web ... www.darkhorserecording.com ... to be continued ...
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