Touring overseas woke Christian music artist Ray Boltz up to the abundance of freedoms available in America.

He pays tribute to those freedoms in his latest CD, "Honor and Glory." Tickets are still available for the concert Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at the Show Me Center.

"Because of what I'd done in Asia, Romania, Vietnam and Cambodia, it woke me up to how wonderful the freedoms are that we have in America," Boltz said in a telephone interview from his home in Muncie, Ind.

His new CD pays tribute to the beauty of the nation, as well as honoring those who have served in the armed forces to defend freedom.

"In the new album I decided to talk about what was right with America," he said. "It's not like a patriotic record, but some things I wanted to say."

Only three songs on the album deal with patriotic themes.

One of the songs, "An honor to serve," pays tribute to Admiral Jeremiah A. Denton Jr., who was held captive in Vietnam for seven years after being shot down behind enemy lines.

Denton's story was shared by the Rev. Wayne Francis, a Mission of Mercy representative who often travels with Boltz.

Many of the songs Boltz performs in his concert are standard favorites collected in his 12-year career. He brings a full band to every appearance.

"My songs are stories," he said. "I get the best response from the audience. They not only hear the song but see it on the screens. It's incredible images that I'm singing about."

For the song "Watch the Lamb" Boltz took 75 actors into the desert to film the video of the ballad. Other songs like "I Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb" also create dramatic responses while Boltz sings on stage.

Most of Boltz's songs have a story because "it reaches so many generations," he said. "It will tell the story and pull them in. That's why it reaches grandmas, moms and dads and teen-agers and eight-year-olds."

Boltz performs about 150 concerts a year and tries to spend most of his time away from the road with his family in Indiana.

"One of the things I like about Indiana is that when I come home my neighbors aren't musicians. They go out in their yards and mow just like I do."

Occasionally there are youth groups that drive by to see his home, but those occurrences are "so small compared to the secular" music industry.

"I'm just a dad and a neighbor," he said.