deck the hall

A few days ago, family and friends all helped us transform the big red barn at our farm into a Christmas wonderland…

We had a concert here at home this past weekend. Two of them actually.

On Friday night, I did my last home concert of the year and then on Saturday evening, The Isaacs brought their Christmas show here to the farm.

Since we had been traveling the whole week before, the day before my show the Hall still looked exactly as it did in October and November. And so, we all had to scramble to turn our big barn into a concert hall decked out for the holidays.

My nephew Mikel and I spent the morning in the top of the bus barn getting all the concert hall decorations out - which took awhile. We have amassed a ton of different things that had been used throughout the years, and this year, we decided to put them all on the trailer and whatever we didn’t use at this Christmas concert, would find it’s way to our local Goodwill store come Monday.

By the late afternoon, as my sister Marcy was getting an area ready for her homemade cakes, jams and jellies… Mikel’s wife Hannah and my niece Magen began unpacking the tubs to see what we had, and what might go where. A short time later Rebe, her parents, and Indy and I joined in and all were soon covered in glitter.

After most of the heavy lifting was done, my friend Andrew sat down at the piano and helped put us in the Christmas spirit as we all worked late into the evening; hanging, arranging, and lighting the main room, lobby and green room.

By the time cars started pulling in late the next afternoon, the barn had been transformed into a beautiful winter wonderland.

Both Friday and Saturday were amazing nights, for different reasons. Andrew had come up from Texas and though he hadn’t planned to, I asked if he would play with me on Friday evening, and he graciously said yes. He’s the bandleader at Homestead Heritage and is an amazing piano player and so for the first time in many years, I was blessed to have another musician on stage with me - alongside me. And it wasn’t just different… it was markedly better.

What he added wasn’t just more music, his subtle choices and beautiful playing brought more feeling to the songs I sang and to the whole evening. Having him beside me also brought a comfort and confidence to me that allowed me to settle in and share stories in a deeper, more meaningful way. You could feel a special spirit on the stage, and in the room - something was in the air, and it wasn’t just Christmas.

Although the Isaacs have been here and performed for different things through the years (Gaither tv tapings, our outdoor festival), Saturday night was the first time they brought their full show to our concert hall. And it was our first time to have a night of just them and their music.

They aren’t just an amazing band. They’re an incredible family, with a one-of-a-kind testimony and gift. As I listened and watched, I couldn’t help but remember when Sonya, Becky and Ben were standing in the exact same spot here in the Hall singing nearly 10 years ago at Joey’s funeral service.

I stood against the wall in the back pretty much the whole night, soaking it all in…loving watching everyone there enjoying the beautiful music and the amazing evening we all got to share.

By late Saturday night, the parking lot was empty, the chairs were put up and the twinkling white lights were all turned off.

Down the road near the interstate, a few of us sat at a table and laughed and reminisced about the weekend at the Waffle House, knowing that this was our last time to be together like this for awhile.

It’s now a few days later and the beautiful music and laughter from the weekend is still ringing in my ears. The joy we felt and the love and memories we shared are still with me… with all of us.

It’s always special to get to do something fun and meaningful, and to know that it was a job well done, but it’s way more special when you get it to do it with the ones you love. Although my name was on the marquis, none of it could’ve happened with the help of all of these folks (and Phil, Melanie, Mikel & Robert who’d gone home already that night)

Here at the farm, Homestead Hall sits dark and quiet, but still wrapped in Christmas decorations. We just haven’t had the heart (or energy) to take it all back down yet. The truth is, I love it like this so much, I just keep walking in there thinking & wondering, “maybe we should leave it decorated like this for all my concerts next year... maybe we could call it an “‘Every Day is Christmas’ tour?”

You might think I’m kidding, but my wife knows I’m not. There’s a little part of me that is considering it - not just to leave the decorations up (although that might be fun). But because there’s something about the Christmas holidays that brings a spirit to all of us that just isn’t there the rest of the year. We feel closer to God, and to each other. And maybe, by leaving it up, we could remind ourselves, that we ought to have that inside of us every day, not just in December…

Well, I guess I’ll have to spend some time thinking on it a bit more. Luckily while I do, there’s no rush to take them down. We’re all enjoying winding down 2025, getting ready for Christmas and the new year that will be here before we know it.

On that note… whether there’s gonna be Christmas decorations up or not, we were all so inspired and encouraged by this weekend, we decided to go ahead and choose dates for my next year’s Home Concerts and get them up online early before Christmas, so folks have time to make their plans to come join us for one, or more of them.

So, here are my 2026 concert dates (my Every Day is Christmas tour?). I hope you’ll consider coming to join us here at the farm…

2026 Home Concert dates:

March 21, April 18, May 16, July 18, Aug 15, Sept 19, Oct 24, Nov 14, Dec 4 & 5

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