Author: David Willis

When the wind blows.

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

There are thunderstorms in Oklahoma this evening. They have been here on and off for a few days. I saw more lightning in the sky the other evening than I have seen in a long time. It looked like God was putting on a firework show. It rained and rained and the wind blew, but we were no worse for the storm. Not all storms are like this in Oklahoma. With many Oklahoma storms come tornadoes and severe damage.

I remember the big tornado that hit south of Oklahoma City in May of 1999. It was categorized as a F5, which is only one step below the worst classification. The winds in a F5 blow 261 – 318 miles per hour. It was nearly a mile wide. It devastated much in south Oklahoma City and surrounding communities. I was saddened by the loss of life that happened that day and grateful that none of the ones I loved were in the path of the storm. They almost were, but not quite.

Marixa and I had been married for four months at the time. My mom and dad were coming up to the city to see us from southeast Oklahoma. I remember they called me and asked if  they needed to pick up dinner, or if we were going to eat when they arrived. Marixa and I had just finished, so they decided to stop for a bite to eat. Turns out that was a very good thing. When they got to the city my dad told me they were about five minutes south of the tornado when it hit. They might have been in the middle of all of it had they come north a little quicker. I am glad they stopped to eat.

I knew others who barely missed having their homes destroyed. Some who were not as fortunate. The wind blew harder that day than it has on any day since in Oklahoma. I am amazed at the strength and resolve of my friends and neighbors. They took an awful shot from the weather, but did not fold. The city drew together. People helped each other. The community healed. You drive through the affected areas and you might never know what had occurred there 12 years previous.

What do you do when the wind blows? There are times in life where we are tossed and thrown and don’t know if we will ever see safety again. Do you go the storm alone? Or do you pull together and weather it? In many cases the aftermath of the storm is devestating, but you can weather it. It may take time, but things can and will get better.


There is nothing like coming home.

~ David Willis ~ 2 Comments

I have been out of town a lot over the last couple of weeks. Weekend before last I had a conference to attend and Marixa and Trey came and stayed at the hotel with me. They didn’t see me very much over Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, but I was glad that they were there. Traveling is always better when they are with me. Last Thursday I had conference in Houston to go to. Went there and back the same day. It was a long day of travel. All of that said…there is nothing quite like coming home.

You know the feeling I am talking about, right? You get home after a long trip, or a long day, and you feel the stress and the day fade out. You can finally relax. You sink into your recliner, or into your own bed and the world is right if just for a few hours. I hope you have that feeling when you go home. I am thankful I have that atmosphere in mine.

I have been like this as long as I can remember. One time, many years ago, I spent a Christmas vacation with a friend of mine from high school. We lived in a small town in southeast Oklahoma and drove (with his family) to a little town in Arizona. It was a fun trip. I remember having a great time. I also remember being very homesick. It was Christmas time and I was not home with my parents. I enjoyed the trip. I also enjoyed getting back home to my family and my space. (It was also awesome because my parents remodeled my room while I was gone. Still one of my favorite teenage memories coming home to my own new cool room. Thanks again mom and dad!) That room was my home base.

A few years later (1998) I spent a summer singing at a youth camp. We were gone around the 25th of May through the 1st of August. I thought I knew what homesick was, but I learned a new definition that summer. I had a couple of small breaks and as good luck would have it I started dating a beautiful lady over my first break. I quickly discovered that my insides could be twisted in ways that I had never known. I had a new definition of home by that summer’s end. It was wherever she was. Still is.

Fast forward 13 years. Coming home is more awesome still. I get home after work and there is this amazing little guy ready to spend time with me. He wants to show me what he has done. He wants me to play games. He gives me hugs and calls me Daddy. I have discovered  that my insides can be twisted differently still. I never knew drawing letters in chalk on the back porch would bring me joy, but it does. I love it. I love him with all of my heart. There is no place like home.

I have discovered that my life works in a rhythm. I have to have times of hard work where I can put my skills to the test. I have to have times of adventure and exploration. I have to make a contribution. To balance these times, I have to have time at home and time with the family that I love. Times of rest. Time to regain focus. I am sure you need something like this too.

What is coming home like for you?

What are you thinking?

~ David Willis ~ 2 Comments

Every once in a while you read something that unsettles you. I am currently reading Do The Work by Steven Pressfield. It is a challenging little book. It is a great read. One line stuck out and bit me.  Mr Pressfield states that he didn’t have a thought of his own until he was 30.  Every thought he had until that time was most likely a regurgitation of things he learned from his family, school, etc, etc.

It sent me on a journey into my own mind to see if I have done the same thing. Most people want to believe that they are self made. They want to believe that the thoughts and information and decisions residing in their heads  came from deligent study and rigorus application of what was learned. For some this is true at a young age. For the rest of us, I don’ think this is so. Many times we don’t know why we believe what we say we believe. We spend our lives filling our heads full of other peoples thoughts? Why is this?

We live in an age where information is hurled at us in a constant stream. We are so inundated that it is hard to take a moment to process everything that has come our way. It is hard to have an original thought and form an opinion on many things because the noise won’t stop long enough to let us start. I am not the only one this happens to right? Good. I didn’t think so.

So, what do you do if you find your mind full of thoughts that are not your own? If you examine your dominant thoughts and you don’t think they sound like you, it is time to take a break. An information break. There isn’t much new stuff out there anyway. It is time to take a few days and rest. What are your sources of information? Disconnect them for a few days. Let your mind go clear. When it does, you can start to think for yourself.

What do you believe in? What do you value? Who do you love? What do you want to be when you grow up? It is questions like these that help you make the most of your days. They shape the way you see the world and how you spend your time. Life comes into focus. The days are more meaningful. You can live them to the full because you know what you stand for. Until you can clear all the noise out of your head and have some thoughts of your own, this isn’t going to happen. Original thoughts won’t come. That is a shame too. The world needs more original thinkers.

New Music for Monday

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

Many of the songs that I have written have been drawn from personal experience. Those have been the easier songs to write. You don’t have to crawl inside of anybody else’s head. You are just writing what you feel and what you know. Sometimes these songs turn out really good. Sometimes people look at you weird and wonder what is wrong with you…ok, that doesn’t happen often. Anyway.

Then you get this cursed thing called writer’s block. There have been times I have sat for hours with the desire to write a new song and nothing that has happened in my life is speaking to me. It bugs me when this happens. But, every once in a while something that happened to someone else, or something that could have happened to someone else grabs your attention.

The song linked below is one of this kind. I took a situation that happened to a friend of mine (an awful breakup with someone she had dated for some time…he messed it up) and I tried to imagine what would have happened if the ex boyfriend had realized just how special the someone he gave up was. What if he snuck into the her wedding and was filled with remorse over what he had done and had to watch in agony as someone else walked back down the isle with her? Who knows if he ever felt this way, but it was good food for thought.

I really like the way the song turned out. The recording is one I did here at my home. The sound quality is decent considering I recorded it on my iPhone. I hope you enjoy.

The One That Got Away

If you don’t know where you are going…

~ David Willis ~ 3 Comments

I saw the title of a book recently that made me laugh. It is called “If You Don’t Know Where You Are Going You Might End Up Somewhere Else.” I haven’t read it, but it made me think. You have to have an idea of where you want to be before you can get there. You can say you want to be successful, but that is way too vague. What does successful look like? How do you see yourself fitting into the picture? How do you start from where you are now and get to the picture you see? This process of discovery is true with most any endeavor.

Let’s take physical fitness for instance. Say you have gone to the gym and you see someone who looks like you want to look. You have that end picture of what successful looks like. Now you can do your homework and figure out how much you are going to have to work out and diet to reach that goal. All the time knowing, they didn’t get there overnight and neither will you. You are now a work in progress.

This may sound like a strange statement, but I am glad that I am a work in progress. In most every area. Sure, it would be nice to be perfect, but there was only one man I know of that was…and I ain’t him. I look in the mirror and I see potential and setback, promise and frustration, the desire to be better and the fear of getting worse. Many times it is two steps forward and that many back, but over time I am progressing. It has been slow at times, but I keep moving forward. Get knocked down, get back up. Lather, Rinse, Repeat.

I am almost embarrassed to admit that I am only now figuring out who I really am and what I call successful. I thought I had it figured out at 18. Yeah, right. (Regarding what I knew as a teenager, I think of the Mark Twain quote, “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”) I had flashes of it during my 20s, but that wasn’t much better. Now in my 30s I am beginning to see things more clearly. I know now though that I don’t have to have everything figured out. I have to do the best with what God has given me and keep moving towards the goals I have set.

Do you know where you are headed? What does success look like in your life? How are you going to get there?