By now many of you have heard the news that Larry passed away on Sunday Feb 24, 2008. At this moment I am in the Minneapolis airport en route to Salem, Oregon, the site of tomorrow morning's memorial service for Larry (which, by the way, I am told will be pretty unorthodox--should we be surprised? :)). Progress on the book has been very slow (for many reasons, first & foremost the ongoing medical situation of our youngest daughter (www.toriisamazing.com), and at times I have wondered if I will ever get it done. Then this past Monday February 25, I received a call from Larry's son Mike, and as soon as my wife told me who was on the phone, I knew. It was the call I hoped I would never get, at least not until the book was done so Larry could have enjoyed it. But that opportunity has passed now, which brings us to the present. The book was never supposed to be "about Larry" in terms of glorifying him, so in that sense, I'm sure Larry is not sad or missing anything. With his passing, though, does come a renewed vigor to work at this as diligently as possible and still carry through the original main purpose--to shed some light on Larry's life but even more than that, to redirect people's attention to the God Larry loved his whole life and the God who Larry is enjoying now, face to face. For now, please know your entries continue to be welcome. I am guessing it will still be at least until the summer before this comes together, so the door is open for more stories to be shared. I will also let you know more about the direction the book will take, since I want to speak with Larry's son Mike, as well as Larry's brother Charles & his wife Kristin, about these matters. If you think of it, please pray for Larry's family at this time. I know how much I miss him; I can only imagine how difficult it is for the Norman family. I do hope to have more news to post after this weekend in Salem (I'm scheduled to be in town thru Monday morning), so do check back in soon to see if there are new developments. One last thing: If you are interested in helping support Larry's family at this time by contributing something towards Larry's funeral expenses (as referenced at www.larrynorman.com), please email me & I will let you know how you can follow up on that (this is one of the things I hope to speak with Mike & Charles & Kristin about this weekend). God bless you, td

I recall a visit Larry paid here to Sydney, Australia, at the peak of his following asa rock gospel artist. The concert was packed. My interest, however, was always his acoustic leanings. He began the concert with a mesmerizing solo piano tune--and the telling of the story of how there is a tune we are all born remembering but which is often buried in the business of life and sometimes wilfully suppressed. The song swelled then quieted but kept returning to this compelling theme as he spoke.
It was years later that I recognized the echoes of that experience in some words of C S Lewis.
I have used this story many times in youth ministry and have always found his performance a compelling embodiment of this great truth.
We don't need to 'prove' God to people, merely speak of Him. The response others make is shaped by our common origin...it is the tune we are all born remembering, which each person will recognize (if only subconsciously) and which only needs playing.