We are having great time off the road this month. I finally got my heavy back hung so I can work out a bit. My son William likes to get in on the fun. So he threw a few wild punches which turned into a friendly brawl between father and son! I guess you can tell who won.

-nate

Well, You asked and Nathan answered. He answered every single one of the questions he had by yesterday. So if you want a little window into the man that is Nathan Cochran check out some of his answers. Next week is Mike, so get those questions ready.

Click the “More” button to see his answers.

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The last few days down here in TX have been absolutely beautiful! Which went along well with the end of the Winter Jam tour for us. It has been great to be home, go outside, finish the honey-do list etc. And with Easter here it has been great to be with my family and be able to focus in on the reason for the holiday.

My son William will be 6 in a few months so he is a well full of questions and great statements about God. We talked about the cross and what sacrifice means. Why Christ came and why we needed saving in the first place. One of his great statements was about Christ rising from the dead. He asked “How does God have all that power?” Which I could only answer, “I don’t really know?” He said it must just be because he is God! I said “That’s right buddy!”

My family and I took time to go to a concert ourselves last night. Got to see Jeremy Camp and Toby Mac play at Six Flags over Texas. It was a great time in worship and a lot of fun! I talked to Jeremy for a while afterwards, and since it was the last night of tour he was looking forward to being home as much as I had been. We were both talking about Easter being close and how it was great that our tours ended in time for us to really be home and with family.

It seems that we both felt the same, that in a way for us, Easter is kind of another Thanksgiving. It really is! We take time out to thank God for what he has done for us! Time to celebrate that the greatest miracle in the universe has taken place. God made a covenant with us. That for His glory, He would show love toward us and save us when we didn’t really know we needed saving. Pretty cool huh! As William would put it.
Happy Easter,
Nathan

Today we are performing at the Strawberry Festival in Plant City, Florida. We got a little ambitious and asked them to pay us in strawberries. This may not have been the best idea we have ever had.

-nate

Days off are usually spent two different ways; either doing absolutely nothing or staying busy getting those tasks done that have been sitting all year. This past week I finally tackled a task that has been bugging me all year. I have some french doors at my house that not only needed to be put up, but made to fit and close properly. So after getting them hung; which means hanging them so they are actually doors and not big heavy barricades that are always in the way; I had to shave them down and attach all necessary hardware.

So here is how it went down…

-The casing, or frame, that the doors hang on was set in a bit too much which caused the doors to hit in the middle when closed. So I had to slowly shave the inside edge of each down so that they would not only close but look good too. So scrape, scrape, scrape. And before I knew it the doors were closing just fine.

-Good spacing, and an even gap!

-The next step was to put on the ball/ bullet latches on the top of each door. They don’t latch in the middle so these latches are perfect. You can adjust them after you install them so that is nice. First I drilled a one inch wide hole in the top of each door. Both only an inch deep or so, for the barrel of each latch to slide down into.

-Then I carefully notched out the grooves for the catches. Making sure not to cut them too far back or the latches would not catch. Then I put the latch plates into each groove making sure that each was set back far enough for each door close all of the way.

-After making sure the doors closed securely it was time to put on the handles. It was tempting to just eyeball these and hope they lined up, but I measured and made sure they would sit in the same spot on each door. It is always important to drill a pilot hole so that you not only make certain and sure you are in the right spot, but you will not strip the head off of your screw trying to tighten them down! Yes I learned that the hard
way.

-All four handles on and look good.

-There were 4 trim pieces that sit over the frosted glass of each door. So I found which piece fit which door…..

-Each piece was a bit too long….which is better than too short. So I used a fine tooth hack saw to trim off the extra. I was careful not to twist the saw or push too hard so that I didn’t break off any wood along the tip or edges.

-Then I checked the fit of each one and started applying the glue. They needed to fit snug up against the glass so I had to apply glue evenly over the back of each piece. Don’t use too much or it will smoosh out when you press it down!

-It takes a bit for the glue to set so I used a few extra boards with clamps holding them in place to keep pressure on the trim while it sets.

-So after and hour or so I took off the clamps and looked at my work. Everything seems to be even and solid. Hoo Raaa! I am by no means a carpenter but I do try to be a handyman from time to time. This was something I could tackle on my own and I had fun doing it.

-Well, hopefully I didn’t bore you. I am available Tuesday and Wednesday evenings for those in need of some work around the house to be done. And I will only charge $2000.00 an hour! Haha!
Your friendly DIY’er,
Nathan

So during the holiday season there wasn’t much of a need for me to shave
so I let my beard grow and grow. It is hard to tell but it did get a little out of control,
and so now the time has come for it to go. So why not have some fun with it! And yes I did clean the sink after I shaved. My wife is so proud!
Enjoy,
Nathan

Ahh. A full beard to stay warm.

The chops. Always a classic.

The long sideburns. Hmmm, can’t hear as well.

The handlebars. Scary!

And my personal favorite, the Zorro. Or the Magnum which ever you prefer.
A few folks in Florida got to see me with this during meet and greet. I will not be wearing it again.
Much love,
Nathan

Barry has been playing in rock bands for years and years.

Nowadays we have to keep him preserved till showtime.

This is a picture of us actually thawing him out.

Rock on Barry….rock on.

So, today I went with my kids to Chick-Fil-A and the cow came out to say hi. Most of the kids found him to be fun and enjoyable, others found that the almost life size bovine was not appropriate in such tight quarters, yelling things like,

“I don’t like that cow” or

“Back to the farm, cow.”

I, for my part, wanted nothing more than to share a slow dance with that cow. Maybe next time I will get up the courage to ask.

- nate

Roanoke Set List *Time Has Come * So Long Self * Hold Fast * You Reign * Word Of God Speak * Here With Me * Bring The Rain * God With Us * Imagine