American Idol Finalist Predictions, Pt. 2: The Guys

Ok so everyone is talking about how much better the girls are this year but I thought the guys were much stronger this opening week. It's tougher for me to narrow it down to six, anyways. Keep in mind that my predictions are not based on who I personally would like to see in the Top 12, but rather who I think probably will end up there. So here we go...

1. Andrew Garcia - Our personal fave, as well as most other peoples, too. This guy is awesome! He has an amazing voice as well as a savvy for picking cool songs and giving them his own little jazz-indie spin. Plus he's all kinds of humble and likable. Look for this guy to go Top 3 for sure.

2. Casey James - I know, I know, I wanted to hate him, too, especially with the gooey Kara love affair thing happening. But it turns out he's not just a pretty boy, he can actually sing and his guitar chops are not bad, either. He's definitely the total package in terms of garnering votes and potentially selling records. And he kept his shirt on last night, so that's a big plus.

3. Todrick Hall - I thought he was much better than the judges gave him credit for. He is a natural performer and has tons of experience being a dancer for so long.

4. Aaron Kelly - The new David Archuleta. Nice kid. Nice voice. Kinda boring but will probably make it to the Top 12.

5. Alex Lambert - I think he's going to surprise a lot of people in the next few weeks. His voice has very cool raspy, tone and his dorky, shy, awkward stage presence is actually refreshing and fun to watch. I like this kid a lot and I hope he makes it. It would be cool to see him develop if given a chance.

6. Lee Dewyze - As much as I like Big Mike and Taylor the hippie Jim Morrison wannabe, I think Lee is more cut out for the Idol Experience. Or he could fall prey to the Shadow of David Cook and suffer by unfortunate comparison.


I hope that Jermaine Sellers goes home immediately. His voice is annoying and he is so full of himself it's nauseating. Those high notes he brags about hitting are so painfully bad I don't think I can take another week of him.

Also, Tim Urban has to go. Let Disney Channel have him. I mean, seriously, dude, you get a second chance like that and you do that lame song? You deserve to go home.

Who goes home first? I think John Parks already has his bags packed. "God Bless the Child"? Seriously? Joining him on a long bus ride home will most likely be Joe Munoz, the incredibly boring and forgettable Latino crooner. But I hope it's Jermaine Sellers. Please, oh, please let it be Jermaine Sellers!

For the ladies, I fear Lacey Brown's Idol dreams are about to get a wake up call. And joining Lacy will probably be Janelle Wheeler. So boring and forgettable I couldn't even remember her until I looked at the list of contestants.

We'll see tonight!

American Idol Finalist Predictions, Pt. 1: The Girls

OK so here are our predictions for the 6 girls that will be finalists this year...

Crystal Bowersox - very cool indie chick. Needs to belt out some Dylan or Springsteen next time...

Didi Benami - Simon had his "crack" moment last night. She was by far the best.

Michelle Delamour - I'm so sure that's her real name. Puh-LEEZE. Still has the most commercial and professional potential of the girls.

Katie Stevens - A little too High School Musical for me personally but I think she will go far.

Lily Scott - Our personal favorite. Wasn't crazy about her Beatles cover but it was an inspired choice and I think she will be the Daughtry of this year's show.

Siobhan Magnus - As quirky and weird as her name but she has killer pipes and seems pretty savvy.

Stay tuned for the guys...

It's official! We have a house!!!

Well, it's been a pretty amazing 8 months since we moved from our home in Las Vegas, NV back to our old stomping grounds of Atlanta. In those months we have packed up our house in a POD, lived with my mom for a month, and then moved to a temporary house in Woodstock and only partially unpacked. Our poor dog is going to be traumatized forever!

For those who aren't familiar with the area, Woodstock is an hour away from Hiram where the church we serve is located (it can be 2 hours in afternoon traffic). I think we added it up once that we spend as much as 18 hours a week in a car driving back and forth and spend around $400-500 per month in gas for the vehicles. Add to that the extra early wake up times required to get out there on time for work and church and it can be a pretty exhausting lifestyle. So believe me when I say this will radically change our lives!

The house is a great old single story ranch ult in the early seventies but recently renovated by a professional renovation company. It's only 1600 sq. ft. but has a huge garage that we will close in and use for living space. Best of all it is on 1.5 acres of grass and beautiful hardwood trees. It's not in a subdivision so there is home owners' association. That means we can grow our own vegetables and have a few chickens like we have wanted to do for a while. After 7 years of claustrophobic Las Vegas suburban life, this will be a wonderful breath of fresh air. I know, I know, we will have to know all 1.5 acres but, hey, that's what kids are for, right?

It's kind of a cool story of God's goodness how we ended up here. It was really important to Cheryl and me that we have a place with at least an acre where we do the garden and the chickens, where the kids could be outside, and where people could come and hang out and feel welcomed and loved. We knew it couldn't be a subdivision. An older house was okay, in fact we preferred it as long as it was in good shape. And we wanted it for around $100,000 or less. How's that for parameters!

When our realtor, Michelle Bullock, first told me about the place I (Jerry) went and looked at it. The lot was great but no work had yet been done so it still looked a little rough. And too small. I came back and said, "Yeah, the land is great but it's just not what we are looking for", and we forgot about it. A few weeks later, we were out looking at houses and not really finding exactly what we were looking for. We were beginning to get discouraged, thinking we were going to have to compromise on what we wanted, even though Cheryl especially felt strongly that God had lead us to look for that kind of property. There were houses and land like what we wanted but not in our price range. And there just weren't any houses with land like we wanted that were not in a subdivision that would restrict what we did. So at the very end of the day, after we had looked at the last house, Michelle said, "There is that one house on Clonts Rd. I told you about." I just sort of blew it off. "Yeah, I looked at it and I can tell you right now it's not what we are looking for." But Cheryl said she wanted to see it anyway. "Okay," I shrugged, "but you are not going t like it."

As soon as we drove onto the property it was clear this was the place. It had been beautifully renovated in the time since I first saw it. Cheryl looked at me and raised her eyebrows with that "So I'm not going to like this?" I was shocked. "I swear to you, this is not the way it looked when I saw it!" It has new paint inside and out, new flooring (even new floors in some places), new roof, new AC, the garage had been redone. It had a big screened in porch in the back. The backyard backed up to beautiful pasture land. And the best part was it was only $109,000!

We began to get really excited about it. We decided we wanted to put an offer on it. So we gathered in the front yard, held hands in a circle and prayed that if this was the place God had for us He would make it happen, but if not, we knew He had something better. When we called, the selling agent said there was already an offer on the house, but it was lower than their asking price, and that it had not been put under contract yet. So we said, we will give you what you you are asking for it. She was very happy to hear that. Unfortunately, a few minutes later we found out that another agent who was also working with the seller had just signed papers with a prospective buyer. They were very sad to hear that because they wanted to sell us the house. They said, "We would love to sell you the house but we can't back out of it now. There's no way to get out of it unless they're financing falls through."

It was disappointing but we had given it over to God and knew He had something for us. So in the weeks that followed we continued to look, but couldn't find anything quite like that. I found myself driving by on my lunch hour and looking wistfully at it. I would drive slowly by and just say to God, "Lord, if it pleases you for us to have this place, would you make it happen?" Michelle, our realtor, said she would do the same thing every time she drove by.

One day the next week, Michele called and said, "Are you guys ready for some good news?" The financing had fallen through and they wanted to know if we were still interested. So the rest, as they say, is history. There are some other smaller but no less awesome God-moments in the story but suffice it to say He has made it clear that this is where He wants us to be.

Thanks to everyone who has been praying for us through this time. Stay tuned to this blog and to Facebook for details on moving. We will need lots of help on both the Woodstock and Douglasville ends, but we are blessed with many wonderful friends and encouragers on both sides.

Click here to see the new Davison homestead!

The Outsiders, Episode 1

Here is the latest of my video projects for Church at the Ridge. We shot it Thursday, in the freezing cold, on the corner of Hwy. 61 and Mustang Drive, and in White Oak Park, and at the home of John & Lora Bower. My son, Erik, did the camera work. I edited Friday and Saturday, and we showed it to the church this morning. It went over well, I think. We are already planning the next one.

This is part f our current series at The Ridge called "The Outsiders." Come join us and check it out! For more info on Church at the Ridge, you can click here!