David Phelps official online community

Wow! Wish I had been there!I can't believe in 2008 I didn't even know who David Phelps was!Now a day without DP/GVB music is a day without Sunshine,or Rainbows,or Air,or....well.. you get the picture!!!!

Wow! It was awesome reading these reviews of the barn taping. What a night it was for you guys and the excellent reviews made it almost feel like being there. Thanks so much for re-posting these.

Liz

Here's the Christmas taping with details & songs for both DVDs! Can't wait for Volume 2 (Let the Glory Come Down?) due out in Sept 2010! I'm excited!

Great reading, I still get all giddy inside thinking about that "One Wintry Night" it sure felt like christmas didn't it?
I know I'll never forget it. I was doubly blessed just being able to attend on such short notice and to get such a deal to go with it. God is so good to me, I know He loves you but I must be his favorite LOL.
Thanks for the recap, it was so good to read all the other different angles, and thanks for including my little script in the bunch.

Cathy

this is the first time I met David (in Easley SC) notice the crazed look LOL

Ruth,
What an awesome recap of the evening! As I read thru this I couldn't help but smile and even laugh with the memories flooding back....VERY COOL!!
12:45, was it really that late?! lol and to think the girls I roomed with and I went out to eat after...after I had fallen asleep on the bus on the way back to the hotel that is...oh WOW!! such PHantastic memories your post brought to mind...

thank you!!

Here are some things that were posted about the taping. Thanks, everyone who posted their thoughts! I saved them and credited most of the posts. (Sorry, if I didn't write your name on your post.) Now I can't wait for the second DVD!!!!

David Phelps leased six buses to pick up 300 people at four different hotels in Franklin(Cool Springs), TN. We were dropped off at his farm in Culleoka, TN for the first historic Christmas DVD taping in his barn. I stayed at the Hampton with Anne, Becca Jo (Iowa), Gretchen & her mom, Cherie (Oshkosh, WI) and Liz from TX. Anne, Becca Jo and I got on the 4:35 pm bus early and left late at 5 pm. Amanda (Jim Chafee’s assistant) told us what to expect from the evening. She said not to be surprised if David just smiled at us while taking pictures. He would be saving his voice for singing that evening. She said they had done a dress rehearsal last night and that it was warm and humid on Friday. They would be starting at 7:30 pm instead of 7 pm, since it would be a little darker then for the taping. We arrived at the Phelps’120 acre farm around 5:45 pm for the reception. The black wrought iron gates opened and we walked up the asphalt driveway, past the big white house and the pool/office building on the right. We all signed a release to be filmed on the DVD. We walked past a fence and into a tent to our left. There we saw David and Lori posing for pictures with each fan that had purchased a golden ticket ($195). No cameras were allowed, so a professional photographer was available to take our picture with David and Lori. As I walked up to them, they smiled and said, “Hi, it’s good to see you!” I told them, “Thank you for inviting us!” They answered, “Thank you for coming!” The picture was snapped and I told them I would see them again in about a week and a half. The line for the food was long. It was quite a spread with tea, opened faced turkey sandwiches, spinach and artichoke dip, veggies, small quiche pies, a fish dish, and some Southern dish. I met several board members in the line.

Anne saved a place for me in line. We walked in with the number 170 ticket holders. We had tickets 156 & 157. We found 2 seats in the 3rd row on a corner of the stage, behind a post. They were all close and great seats, since the stage was in the round. We were closest to the round elevated stage that Andrea stood on to play violin. She was to our left, and Chris on standup bass was on our right. Danny on drums was next to him. Q played bass guitar across the stage from us, the backup singers were on his right. Sherri Proctor, David’s sister, was one of the singers, of course and Carly Faire was back to help with this taping too!

David talked a lot during the setups. He told us this used to be a dairy farm in the 1880’s and they started moving all the barn stuff out of the barn just 2 months ago. “You may even be sitting where barn stuff used to be!”


OKBill: Just think of this: David said this was all Lori's idea (THANKS LORI!) but its now obvious to everyone who was there that there was no way of accomodating maybe 200 cars anywhere near the property without tearing up that nice pasture beyond the barn, which I presume the horses consider their turf. I'm going to name Jim as the chief suspect for the ingenious solution of having the ticket holders congregate first at the front door of iTickets the night they went on sale and thenafter as early as they wished around the Cool Springs cloverleaf. Could there have been a better place in the state of Tennessee to keep 300+ phans busy until the buses pulled up? Every type of restaurant and store imaginable was there (including HOME DEPOT)!
Any previous posts or concert attendance of mine notwithstanding, I 100% endorse the Entry By Ticket Number concept, especially the party-by-party feature. Otherwise there would have been a stampede the barn had not seen since its original incarnation as part of a working farm!

Could we have asked for a better emcee than Jim Chaffee? I think not. The entire evening he calmly and confidently guided everyone through a series of planned and unplanned events, including David who he signaled with Producers headphones on for a few restarts, I caught some low audio feedback on one song that he restarted over from the top.
As others have posted, the most poignant time of the evening was also the only time DP stepped off the stage while singing and went over to Kayla Woodhouse during one of the most vocally intense parts of Don't Save It All For Christmas Day. I choked up at that point; even though I couldn't see over in that corner very well I and so many others knew exactly what was going on and rose to our feet to applaud before DP even completed that part of the song.

I had wondered earlier if Kari Lee would be present but didn't know for certain until David introduced her. She received enthusiastic applause for her part and to my eye almost looked surprised that she would be so resoundlingly appreciated by an audience that doesn't see her as routinely (in person) as they do her siblings.

Linda B: Just a minute before we stopped in front of the house, all of a sudden I thought "I'm going to walk up David's driveway!!" LOL Through those big ole gates, up the driveway past the house, and on back to the barn. I know many of us wonder about the personal lives, homes, etc, about those that we admire for whatever reason, so to actually find ourselves at his own home was a pretty amazing opportunity in my opinion.

Later, when it came time to wait in the barn for the concert to begin, I sat, taking it all in, not being a farm or barn person at all, and was in awe of how an big old barn could be transformed into a concert venue. What a great idea Lori had! Jim Chaffee walked us through some applause, laughing, etc, for the video, then FINALLY, it was time to begin! Everyone took their places, then David came on and delivered an incredible evening of music!! After all the lines we waited in, for pictures, food, ladies room, to get in the barn, it was well worth the wait. I just kept watching and listening thinking, "Wow! He's good!" Like I didn't already know that. LOL I don't know how someone that good can get any better, but he sure does it.

Tricia: I am still so amazed by how humble David is. He spent so much time thanking US and apologizing for the little glitches!!!! I LOVED when he sang a song and something went wrong. He would look at us so sweetly and say "I'm SO sorry guys but we need to run through that song again." I would have loved him to run through EVERY song again and again!!!! He was truly appreciative of the time and money everyone spent on the show.

David was talking at the taping he was said, "I'm really glad we could to this "fo" you guys. "Fo," wow, that was street!"

David drank a lot of water throughout the show and commented on how dry it was. The first thing he did was ask Q for some water. Q said he’d already taken a drink out of his bottle. David said he didn’t care and proceeded to pour some water into his mouth, not making contact with the bottle. He was drinking coffee too, during the 2nd half. He was sweating after the first 3 songs and Cary came up on the stage to wipe the sweat off his face. He introduced her and said, “Sweat is her enemy! I’m already hot!”

Martha: We weren't allowed to have our cameras even on the bus. The only bad part was the cold weather. We were all dressed up in our finery and most of us didn't even take a coat. I didn't realize we would be outside so much. I thought it would be just walking from the bus and then inside, but we went to a tent first that only had 2 sided and the other sides were open to the cold and wind. I was shivering so hard Liz took pity on my and gave me her jacket, which helped a lot, but I was still shivering so another nice lady whose name I didn't get gave me her jacket too so I wore both jackets and it was much better. The line for the port a potty's was very cold too, but once you were inside it was very nice. They had flowers sitting around and it was very pretty. David and Lori really went to great lenghts to make everything nice for us. There was much more food than I expected, since the email had said to eat before we went, which I did so I really wasn't hungry. It was buffet style with servers at each table to tell us what the food item was and serve it for us. That part was really first class. We also stood in line to get a picture with David and Lori and that line moved pretty fast because you just walked up and the photographer went snap then you moved on.

Once inside the barn, everything was painted white but it looked very much like a barn. I don't mean it was dirty or anything. It was very clean, but it had all the ceiling beams and stuff like you would see in a barn. And the walls were wood with no sheetrock or anything on the inside. Someone on David's staff, I forgot exactly who he said, had painted some beautiful designs on the walls in black or dark blue and there was a beautiful black or dark blue chandelier handing over the stage. It was set up in the round with other round stands situated around the main stage where the musicians and backup singers stood. Sherri, of course, was there and Andrea and Q and Jack and Carly Fair was back too. The musicians were the same ones from the One Wintry Night Christmas tour. They all sounded really good. The first half before the break was pretty much straight from One Wintry Night. The song order was a little different and David included Mary, Did You Know for the first dvd too. He saved Blue Christmas and Santa Clause Tonight for the second dvd. The atmosphere for the first dvd was what you would expect to accompany One Wintry Night. Powerful and magnificent and worshipful all at the same time. David had a choir which he said had been put together from his church and they sounded wonderful. They opened the first part with a song David had just written for this occasion. It was beautiful. There was a band too. Lots of violins and I don't know what else. I could only see the violins. This part ended with O Holy Night, and it just took our breaths away. I have never heard David sing that with more passion. I had tears welling up because it was just so moving. We then took a 30 min break where I headed too the long, cold potty line. There was ice cream and other desserts in the tent, but I spent too much time in the potty line so I didn't get any of that. While we were outside of the barn, they changed the stage a little bit for the second dvd. I know the first dvd is going to be titled O Holy Night, but I don't know what the second one will be yet, but I know what I think it should be - one word... HOT!!!

David wore a beautiful gray suit for the first part and he had changed into more casual pants and a hoodie with a leather jacket over it for the second dvd. As respectfully as I can say it, I have to say he looked very HOT!!!. The atmosphere for the second half was more casual with a lot of up tempo songs. He did Blue Christmas here and it was done as a very bluesy, almost country sound. And I have to say it again, it was HOT!!!. He did some of the songs from Joy, Joy. He did Tonight, Jesus, What A Wonderful Child, Joy To The World/For Unto Us, and some others which escape me at the moment, but I only got 2 hrs sleep last night, so I'm doing good to think at all. He did an amazing rendition of the title song, Joy, Joy, toward the end of the second half. He also did some more standard Christmas songs. He brought the his and Sherri and Jack's kids up to the stage for Santa Get Well Soon. The look on Coby's face while David was singing that was just priceless. Just sheer adoration. After that all the other kids left and David kept Coby on stage and they sat on the edge of the stage and David sang a medley of The Christmas Song and another song which has also escaped me at the moment. This was so special to watch. David looked at Coby with the same adoration Coby had looked at him during the previous song. This a man who deeply loves his family. He ended the second half with a song that surprised me because I had never thought of it as a Christmas song, but it worked. It was Let The Glory Come Down and it was just amazing and, here is the word again, HOT!!! I've never heard that done better that it was last night.

Cathy: The Holiday Barn was located just a few feet behind the house and was very presentable with it's new white paint job and black friligree artwork on the walls. The round stage was located in the center and there were different levels so that Jack and the others could be seen and it added to the effect. Above it all hung this magnificent black chandelier...awesome! Songs started and finished, some twice and others restarted. David's got such a humor about him, the christmas/Easter bunny song started and he messed up the lyrics. He wise cracks "How many songs have I sung tonight without messing up and didn't have the lyrics in my hand" shaking the lyrics page he held in his hand. He would be on stage and just break out in that big smile and tell us all how cool it was for us to be there. He can never fully phathom how very cool we all knew it was to be there.
I'm telling everybody we spent christmas at David's, so what if it was in April.
DP wore a very smart silvery/gray suit with a red tie and hanky in his pocket, very festive. He, I might add, was probably the only one there that was hot. It was very cool outside and the Barn was, well a barn, with door openings and closings and then the finale when the doors opened to reveal his lovely christmas tree and the fluffy white snow blowing in on all of us. Very effective christmastime on the Pharm. He even made a comment about the cold when he saw us rubbing our legs like crickets,I can assure you David we didn't mind the cold

Sherry: Boarded the bus at 4 and we were on our way by about 4:30. The bus dropped us off at the end of David driveway where we walked up and stood in line to sign a waiver saying they had our permission to be on tape! From there we went under the tent and mingled til David and Lori came out and we had professional pictures take with them...how VERY sweet and gracious of them to do this for all of us! We had hor duerves...which were NOT your everyday hor duerves...it was definitely a meal. My take of this whole thing was that though they tried to make it like a 'normal concert'...there were breaks and pauses and a few re-do's...all of which I absolutely loved to see!! David was soooo at ease and sooo full of spirit, the love and graciousness of Jesus just radiated from him...it was...it was...well...it was WOW!!! I'm still basking in the thought and happiness of being a part of this most spectacular weekend....He is sooo good to me! Sooo many special touches to this concert taping...it was made so special for us (thank you David, Lori, Jim and everybody who had a part in getting this from dream stage to the real happenin' thing!! thank you!!!) The chadilier was gorgeous, he lighting on the barn posts were sooo pretty, what a nice touch, the lighted Christmas trees that lit our pathway to the barn, the snow and snow covered tree was all so neat...and may I even add...the 'bathrooms' were no ordinary porta-potty...very nicely thought out...
The intermission reception was sooo yummy...the ice cream and fresh fruit were sure nice...but holding onto a hot cup of coffee was the best! lol It got to be a chilly evening...but alas, all was soooo worth the joy of being a part of such an incredible evening on the PHarm!!
We boarded the buses after picking up our gift bag which consisted of a poster, a t-shirt, a Christmas Point of Grace cd, a World Vision bracelet...sooo nice!!

Gretchen: As we walked up DP's driveway, the nerves really kicked in! Within 10 minutes of congregating under the tent, DP and Lori walked from the house to the tent - the crowd errupted with applause! After David quieted us down, he gave a short speech thanking all of us for coming. He indicated he wouldn't be speaking a lot, but just wanted us to know how he felt. The ground was VERY wet from the previous day's rain

Jim Chaffee said "Welcome to the FIRST taping at the Phelps Barn!"

Lee: The barn was starkly beautiful. At first glance, I was looking for Christmas trees and the "Stuff" we associate these days with Christmas. But as I looked around, it dawned on me that the reality and the beauty of this setting was the focus on simplicity and not on "stuff" The huge barn was pure white... walls, chairs, stage design. The end big doors had a beautiful pattern that was hand painted in a filigree design that almost looked like the barns in the Amish Country of Pennsylvania. It was carried on around the walls. The wonder of that was the lighting changes that occurred all evening. I can't wait to see how beautifully well that photographs as a background.... the posts at the stage had lovely lanterns on them ... and then there was a HUGE magnificent black and crystal chandelier hanging high above center stage. It brought the feel of the barn into a warm and cozy setting and the atmosphere changed to a room filled with friends all awaiting the start of...well no one knew exactly what was about to transpire and the electricity of excitement was over the top in anticipation.

We were following Jim's prompts and were practicing our applause cues. When he finished...there was a rustling sound and then a small wave of gasps by the door and then sheer explosion as David stepped into the room. It sounded like a cannon going off with applause and screams of delight and all he did was step through the door. By the time he took the seven or eight steps up to the stage, the whole room had exploded into a wall of sound. We stood in unison and cheered so loud they probably heard it in the next county. The look on David's face as he stood there for a minute was beyond elation. We love him and he loves us and it was an actual glorifying God moment of praise to HIM that we were all there at this moment in time. I will never forget that exact moment of mutual love that an entire body in one shared together.

One I remember quite well was the look on David’s face after he realized what he asked us to do. The music to Jesus, What a Wonderful Child started and David casually asked us to snap along, fully expecting a nice big snapping sound to accompany this song. However, our fingers were frozen and as hard as we tried to snap, no sound was coming at all. He looked bewildered for a second there trying to figure out what was happening until he saw us licking our fingers and shaking some circulation into our hands desperately trying to please him and snap along. Ha Ha….It was really quite comical until the feeling in our fingers finally “snapped” in. Then we were joyously snapping right along…He picked it all right back up and a minor disaster was averted! So quietly funny!

There was also a moment in time that was so sweetly special we were tearing up at the sight of it. David talked a little about how wonderful it was that God allowed Kayla to be there and began to sing Don’t Save it All for Christmas. As the song progressed, he walked down the steps and gently sang it to her. She was beaming. Then he leaned in and touched her cheek so tenderly. By then there was spontaneous applause and a lot of crying going on. There is a great deal of love between them and we were all included in that special moment. Praise God for granting wishes as charming as these and for making Kayla’s dream come true.

David gathered up the children at some point for the Santa/Easter Bunny song but got so wrapped up in those angelic faces that he forgot to look at the words on the paper and fouled it all up. So, much to our delight, they had to reshoot it..haha…we LOVED it both times! Then he asked Coby to stay with him and they sat down on a step while David sang Chestnuts Roasting complete with Tater Tots…and I’ll Be Home for Christmas. Coby’s little face just stared adoringly up at his daddy’s. What a moment of Father/Son devotion!

Gretchen: During the first taping, David wore a shiny grey-ish suit (similar to LOL's brown suit) with a red tie with white swirls on it. He had on some nice shiney shoes. He also had a red hanky in his baked potato pocket. The band and singers wore black and red to match. The second taping was a bit jazzier and casual. No ties on the men, but all in black and white. David wore black pants, and three black shirts layered under a black leather jacket. One shirt was a polo with a white collar, and another was plain black, with a black hoodie over it. He did wear boots with the black outfit. VERY COOL!

Tiff: On the way to the farm, Amanda, was our "bus person" and she explained all the details about what was going on and the procedures of everything. She is actually David's tour/promotions person. She was so great and friendly!
As soon as we got off the bus we took a picture with David and Lori in the tent and had the reception. My bus was the last bus to arrive, so the line was out the wazoo for the food haha. I got my picture with David and Lori and mingled around, used the "royal restroom", which i was impressed with. they were nice! haha. So,.. I finally got in line for food and as soon as I could scarf down my food it was time to line up! by the way,.. THE FOOD WAS AMAZING!!!!! Thank you!!!

Waiting in the windy cold weather was interesting to say the least. We all huddled together to get warm while we waited to get into the barn.
The barn was beautiful! It was painted white with black swirly designs on the wall. That's the only way I can think of describing it. haha.. They had a black chandelier above the stage and it was amazing! The lighting effects with that was INCREDIBLE! They also had posts that were around the stage that was part of the structure of the barn and it had electric candles mounted on them. Also they had the regular stage lights and the ones that sit on the floor that project different colored lights. Later on in the night that was used to heat up my feet!
Like Linda said in her post, the stage was in the round. They had Q and the back up singers on one side, Jack and Andrea on the opposite side then the drummer in the "back" and the orchestra in the "front". I use quote marks b/c from where I was sitting that was front of stage and back of stage. The seating was around the stage and there definitely was not a bad seat. Despite the ticket number deal, I was able to sit with phriends Dee and I were together and around us was Gail, Nancy and Chuck, Lee, Fran, Ashley, Shelisa, Jayne, Pat, Elesha, Cheryl, Jackee, Vicki, Lena, Tony and more. those were the closest to me.
We all took our seats and waited for everyone else to pile in. Jim Chaffee, David's manager, told us what to expect and we did some clapping and standing ovation audience shots and a way the show started!
The first half was basically the OWN cd. the sound was incredible, the performance was top notch! I dont want to list the songs b/c they have all blurred in my brain but I'll try to comment on what I do remember.
David did Halleujah twice and both times were awesome! Different each time.
Mary Did You Know was WOW! Q was really playin' that guitar. It was impressive. The mood David is able to create and get into just by the intro with Q playing was awesome. You could hear a pin drop. Before David sang Silent Night, they FILLED the stage with candles. It took a while to get them set up and lit. Sunny & Lori helped set up the candles and light them. It was so beautiful and moving such a spiritual moment while he was singing.....when......all of a sudden.....Jim walks onto the stage and squeezes David's shoulder and says...."we have to do this over.....!" Talking about ruining a mood!!!!
O Holy Night- another song you could hear a pin drop. As usual, it was an incredible performance of this song.
They only stopped a few times to re adjust David's makeup and to redo a section but that was it. It really went smoothly.
For those that want to know,. he wore a silvery grey suit with a red tie and a red hanky in his pocket of his shirt. It looked great! the band wore black and red.

Intermission came and it was COOOLD the weather had dropped significantly! They were serving ice cream but I definitely skipped that and headed to the "royal restroom" line and gathered with phriends to keep warm while waiting to use the bathroom. While we are standing there and intermission time was coming to a close, David comes out of his house and comes up to us talking about how he'll wait for us to get finished before they start and saying the corniest dad joke "Well they say,.. there's never a dry seat at my concerts" har har har lol. It was nice of him to come up to talk to us while we were waiting in line for the bathroom haha.

After all that, we went back inside and the band and David had changed into black and white outfits. Davids was very casual. I thought I was too dressed up for the second half haha.
He did songs off of Joy Joy.
Joy to the World- I was very excited he sang this song. it was one of my favorites of the Joy Joy cd!
He did put Santa Claus tonight in the second half of the show which was the second dvd and the kids Easter Bunny song which he totally messed up and it was hilarious haha. He had to start over.
David, Jack, Sherri, and Carly sang Little Town of Bethlehem ... acapella.. if you went to his christmas show year before last... they did it on tour. that was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!! Gooosebumps for sure!
Ave Maria- amazing amazing! I look to my left and tears are falling from Fran's eyes. it was just a beautiful performance!
Dont Save it All For Christmas Day- that was Gail's song! She really wanted him to sing that one and he did. He went down into the audience and sang a section to Kayla. It was so awesome! They said she was beaming! Jack was in my way so I couldn't see her but I can only imagine how special that moment was for her!
He also arranged a piece for the choir to sing. It's ridiculous how good he is. I can see his future in choir music if he ever decides to slow down the touring.
Also he sang a new song .. talked about What it requires to be a King. That's definitely not direct lyrics but that's what the song was talking about. I'm sure someone else will remember.
Joy Joy- David was hitting high notes where I expected a lower one and it surprised me and it was SOOOO good! ah! it was awesome!
He sang Chestnuts Roasting on an open Fire and Ill be Home for Christmas medley to Coby. David would lay his hand down flat on Coby's leg, and Coby would lay his flat out right on top of David's. Then David would squeeze him and look down at him, and Coby would just look right up into his eyes. It was so cute.
The second half seemed to fly by. He ended with Let the Glory Come Down and he rocked the house with that one! He was dipping to the floor on that one!
The show ended and we headed out getting our gift backs as we left. It contained a Tshirt and poster in design with the theme of the evening. Both had the chandelier on it. We got bracelets that were made by the oprhans in Africa that are apart of their World Vision program. And a CD from an artist that was also with Word records.

JoAnn: The choir was just super...DP said it was made up of members from his church and the area...They sounded Wonderful. We were touched how David made his family a part of the show...just as Christmas is ...I'm sure....at the Phelps home...The candles on Silent Night and Oh Holy Night were a wonderful touch!! And the last part of the night with the tree and the snow created just the right ending..... Thor was there...He did 4 comedy bits

JustGail: Loved the way the barn was decorated and painted, the chandelier and and the lighting, the door with the Christmas tree and snow---really great ideas, as was the stage in the round--truly no bad seats. The only Christmas decoration we saw were the little trees that lined the walkway/ramp into the barn and the Christmas tree by the door, that is until that spectacular snow scene in the end....just perfect. Oh yeah, the weather vane was right out there by the Parlor--think it's on a cd cover, maybe LIAC. He had his horses ( a couple of paints and one other) and a little donkey in his pasture land adjacent to the barn we could see them as we were lining up to go in, really beautiful scene-no wonder he lives there.

David really did connect with people as he was singing, you could see it was straight from his heart. I sat across from Sherry and Carly and Q--saw Sherry( who looked beautiful, her voice was soo strong) really did connect with some phans as she was singing too, was great to watch. First time I had ever seen Carly(great voice)--she's like Andrea( who was wonderful as usual) with that constant beautiful smile--Q's guitar playing was just... incredible, and Jack sat with his back to us but we really got to see him play and he turned to us to start with the harmonica on Silent Night- had to re-do that one (lucky for us)--Ohhhhhh it was so amazing. Love the way he and Sherry sang One King--David's hand made angel wings. The choir sang a song I think called Alleue--it was beautiful-great choir, strings were wonderful.....there are not enough words!!!! Ave Maria is more than beautiful. So happy he sang Don't Save It All for Christmas Day--especially to Kayla--love the message in the song. The children were sooo cute and such troopers.

David came off the stage and sang to Kayla! He took her hand and started singing to her and the mom started tearing up and then I did! It was so cute and sweet! Even though it was SO cold, it was good for her, so that made it worth it! Then before walking away he gently touched her face.
David sang the words below to Kayla and pointed at her when he sang, "A hug is warmer when you're in it". Then he walked off the stage singing the rest. He held her hands and sang to her. He touched her face singing, "Let all the children know Everywhere that they go Their whole life long Let them know love". It was such a beautiful moment for all of us!

How could you wait another minute
A hug is warmer when you're in it
And Baby that's a fact
And saying "I love you's" always better
Seasons, reasons, they don't matter
So don't hold back
How many people in this world
So needful in this world
How many people are praying for love

Don't save it all for Christmas Day
Find a way
To give a little love everyday
Don't save it all for Christmas Day
Find your way
Cause holidays have come and gone
But love lives on
If you give on
Love...

Let all the children know
Everywhere that they go
Their whole life long
Let them know love

7:40 pm
1 O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
2 The Singer
3 Hallelujah (twice) all these in the same order as OWN
4 Hark the Herald
(Everytime David sang about angels singing, I kept
thinking, "I'm hearing an angel sing right now!")
5 Lully Lullay/What Child Is This?
6 Away in a Manger with the children
7 One Wintry Night
It was funny that whenever David had to sing a "do-over," everyone enthusiastically applauded.
There was one song that he said he had to do again. Then something funny happened and he had to get sobered up again to start the song. We were all juiced up to hear it again and getting into the intro. He sang maybe three words, then said, "That's all we needed!" Talk about a bucket of cold water!!! I was like...."WHAT!?! That was just plain MEAN!!!"

8:30 pm Thor
8:45 pm
8 One King (with Sherri sitting on stools)
9 Mary, Did You Know? I thought the Mary Did You Know do over because of "too much guitar" was hilarious...poor Q....That song was absolutely beautiful he was blasting david's ears out having him in his ear monitors haha. that was an amazing performance and the mood it created was amazing
10 If Everyone Believed
11 Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
9:10 pm Thor
9:30 pm bench & lamppost
12 White Christmas
13 If Christmas Never Came sitting on the bench
9:45 pm - filling the stage with candles – David standing in the middle of the stage talking to us.
14 Silent Night - redid only the intro. David said, “That’s all we needed to do.”


15 O Holy Night the big finish for part 1 9:55 pm

Intermission was supposed to be 30 minutes – it was 1 hour 15 minutes long. The “royal restroom” line was looong! David came out of his house, headed back to the barn and said, “Thanks for holding it!” He said, “you know what they say…at a David Phelps concert, there’s not a dry seat in the house.” He repeated this later on stage when we all finally got back to the barn. He had told us he wouldn’t start without us. He said he hoped that everyone got to the bathroom.

Part 2
1 a new song he wrote for the night called Allelu Glory Be to God (I was close to the teleprompter and saw this written on the screen) to the music of Dvorak's New World Symphony This is the song some members of his church choir sang without him.
2 Tonight
3 Joy to the World/For Unto Us (Kari played trumpet on this song)
“This is a beautiful tune and I’m honored to sing it for you tonight!”
4 Ave Maria
5 O Little Town of Bethlehem his own arrangement sung quartet style with Sherri, Jack and Carly
6 Jesus, What a Wonderful Child 11:30 pm
11:35 pm Thor
11:45 pm
7 Don't Save It All For Christmas
8 Santa Claus Tonight
Band & orchestra – Favorite Things (Instrumental)
Well, at one point in the 2nd half, the guy came up on stage to use that clapboard and David says "Hey, can I do that?" We burst into laughter! So the guy, Ben I think, let David hold it and snap it down! They turned it toward each camera. Ben made sure not to let go at any time.
9 Blue Christmas
10 Santa Claus, Get Well Soon (the song about Santa and the Easter Bunny with the kids on stage.) Grant was yawning and almost falling asleep during the song that he’s heard a million times! He also forgot the words and commented “I forget the words to a song that are right in front of me!”
11 The Christmas Song/I'll Be Home For Christmas sung sitting on the step with Coby 12:15 am
During "I'll Be Home for Christmas" with Coby, David sang "tater tots" instead of "tiny tots"....and broke up laughing - but he went on. Apparently, the family sings this song at Christmas, and David always says tater tots, but it was cute that he ended up singing it on tape!
12:30 am
12 That’s What it Takes To Make A King another new song for the evening. He said, "I wrote this song for y’all." It was sooo beautiful!!! Here are some of the words: ...Star light...moondust...midnight and just a tiny baby's cry...That's what it takes to make a king. Wisemen...Three kings...journeyed searching following a star. The gifts they came to bring. That's what it takes to make a king. Mercy & love, sent from above...all that it brings. That's what it takes to make a king. My heart was hopeless...choices had left me broken and confused. One man finally made sense of everything. That's what it takes to make a king!

13 Joy, Joy –At the end of this song, the big double doors at the back of the barn opened and we were surprised to see a gigantic Christmas tree with lights and a huge bow and fake snow blowing through the air!
14 Let the Glory Come Down the big finish for part 2 David dipped down to the floor at the end of this song! He was really rocking! He gave us a big bow at the end! He said, “That’s all! It has to end sometime.” It was 12:45 am and a wonderful ending to a cool & crisp Christmas spirit-filled evening!