Sunday, February 26, 2012

Day 22: Tulsa and Salsa

The night after Wichita, we ACTUALLY got some legitimate sleep. I think we seriously were in our pjs working 15 seconds of getting into the hotel room, we were so tired.

Morning was not a welcomed thing, but the promise of Ted's Escondido for lunch with other WinterJammers proved a higher value than 2 more hours of sleep. And seƱor it was definitely worth it!!

We met up with Nick and Tiffany, Brock and Auny Gill, our friends from U of Mobile, Christian cruises, and other peeps too. We even had a drop in with Kari Jobe, who had stopped by with her college friends. Teds served us all free chips, salsa, queso, atomic salsa, & fresh tortillas. By the time our quesadilla came, we could hardly finish it---even with sharing it! Yet....we found a bit more room when they brought out complementary soppapillas (sp?)!!!! Aye carrumba! ;) oh, and we also got to celebrate with chase for his 'birthday' lol. Such fun.

The Bok arena was really sweet! Unfortunately when it was lit up, the door guards wouldn't let me outside because we had filled to capacity, so the shots below are from inside. At the show we handed out a lot of gospels of John! Anxiously awaiting the delivery of our Reset books!

I also found this great little reminder about fear, and would like to share it you! "It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." Deuteronomy 31:8

Day 21: Overnight express

From Austin our next show was in Wichita, KS....which is nearly 9 hours away. So after the show ended at 11, we had to close down shop and drive.

Thankfully we've made friends with the guys from We As Human, who were doing the same thing, so we decided to partner up in driving and keeping each other awake along the drive.

We had some serious and some silly conversations during the first few hours of driving but soon all got so sleepy we had to pull over and sleep. Three hours of sleep didn't prove to be sufficient, but when you're on a tour like WinterJam sometimes you don't have another option. You take what you can get. :)

In the morning, we drove straight through Oklahoma, almost got smashed in a house sandwich with a side of WAH, stopped at a little ham shop (because according to the band....'well, they had big signs') and found a smile from ice cream at dairy queen.

Later in the day, tawny and I both started crashing. I took a power nap in the car during the show, but when I woke up, i couldn't figure how to get back into the building....oh my. I was so happy to see two other tour guys at the trailers, so I played the dumb girl....admittedly not hard to do at that point....and casually asked where the door was. It was to my left. Like RIGHT there. Blonde moment.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Day 20: Austin x2

Austin....again I just love it here! This morning we headed out to drive through the downtown and explore a bit. We took a hilly, scenic road into the city and drove back to Flipnotics for coffee and an organic cookie.....and to pick up the cell phone charger that I had forgotten the night before.

Next we headed down South Congress, toward the Capitol building! The Capitol of TX. :) It was pretty sweet. After that I took tawny down the street I'd explored the night before, except this time we stopped at some boutiques and I had to get a photo of the sign that read '599c special'. It made me smile.

We picked Nick and Tiff up at the airport and then went to lunch with them and the guys from We As Human at the Salt Lick BBQ. It. Was. Good. :)

Being back on tour tonight is super fun....seeing everyone again and hearing about what all they've been doing the last 3 weeks, it's good fun.

Tonight probably 70% of the audience stood in response to the gospel!!! Praise God for working in Austin! Next stop? Wichita, KS!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Day 19: Traveling to Austin

Aaaaaaaa-ustin.  Oh how I love thee.  And finally, I made it here.  My flight this morning was originally scheduled to leave at 8:20, then got moved to 10:45, then 11:50, then 2:20pm.......and finally at about 4:57PM I landed in 80 degree weather, sun dimming behind the earth and humidity wrapping it's arms around me in welcome.  Thanks Austin....appreciate the warm hug!

Now if only Tawny's flight would get here.....hers was also delayed significantly, thanks to high winds in our connecting city of Denver.  Yet while I'm waiting, a coffee shop was calling my name!

I found one that was voted something like "one of the coolest coffee shops in the country".....not sure if I'D give that title, but it's definitely cool.  Flipnotics.  Even the name is cool.  There was a live musician tonight, so that was pleasant....thankful it was good music!  On my way here, I passed a trailer park eatery.....basically a dirt parking lot full of trailer food shops....awesome.  I also passed a potentially cool coffee shop with a sign boasting of a caffeine dealer....that made me laugh.

Tomorrow we'll have a show in Cedar Park, TX, so if you're in the area, PLEASE come and see the show!!!  We'd all love to have you!

....Tawny just landed, so I'm off!! Ya'll come back now ya'hear?

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

WinterJam Video Blog #1


Hey y'all!  Check out our first video blog from Nick here!

Also, keep us in prayer as Tawny & I head out on the road again tomorrow for a few weeks!  
Where are we headed?  
Austin, TX
Wichita, KS
Tulsa, OK
Tupelo, MS
Memphis, TN
Bosier City, LA
Mobile, AL
If you're living close to one of those locations, we'd love to see you & invite you to the show!


Saturday, February 18, 2012

A Mother's Life


“There never was a woman like her. She was gentle as a dove and brave as a lioness... The memory of my mother and her teachings were, after all, the only capital I had to start life with, and on that capital I have made my way.” -Abraham Lincoln


A mother's story is sacred.  The relationship she has with a daughter is a unique one, full of love adventure and beauty.  A mother is a little girls' first cheerleader, beauty model, stylist, counselor, storyteller and the like.

There are so many things a mother can be for a daughter--but what about when there is a time that the mother can be there no more?Who will that little girl grow up to be? What will she remember of her dear, sweet mother?  Will she have anything to hold of hers? Any memories to relive and cherish?  What will she do on those special days that all mothers should be around for?

If you have lost your mother, then you know.  There's no guide for this sort of loss--no manual for how to grieve, how to grow, how to remember or how to rebuild.  It all comes day by day, moment by moment.  The pieces may never fit the way they used to, but you can try o form a new mosaic with each small broken piece.  While you sit there sifting through, if you still yourself long enough, you can feel her--guiding you, leading you, helping you see the picture she always dreamed for you.

Maybe the image comes to you from the memory of when she sat and painted your toenails with red polish and told you that you were the most beautiful girl in the world.  Or through your memory of crying over your first true love and as she wiped back your tears, she reminded you of your priceless worth. Perhaps you remember your first big failure and instead of consolation she told you to "buck up" and shared one of her own failures with you and how it had taught her something critical. Whatever brings back those memories that remind you of her spirit and of the woman she was teaching you to be, those moments are the stories to remember and hold onto forever.

My mom didn't have much time between discovering her illness and dying, so she didn't have much time to prepare myself or my sisters, but the life she lived before and through her leukemia was clear enough.  I knew she loved me, and I'm sure she knew how much I loved her.  Still, when two years after she passed away, I opened her old cook book for Christmas, I noticed a note she left for me that simply stated, "These are our Christmas cookies! Love, Mom :)"  It meant the world to me...knowing she left this for me, with her great forethought that at some point I'd probably want to know what they were and go looking.


So what if we could write down things that we really appreciate about what our Mothers’ taught us while they were still alive, whether while they were sick or before, remembering those things that were unique about them that they thought important enough to pass on to us...whether it was her adventurous spirit, whether she taught you how to play the piano or passed on the knowledge of how to substitute ingredients when you’re cooking and can’t run to the store!  I'm not going to tell you what to write because your story is unique and your memories of your mom are unique, but we’d like to concentrate on who your Mother was and continues to be in you, especially through the things she passed on before she had to pass on. It would also be good if you would write a bit about what you wish she had taught you...things that now you wonder and wish she was there to teach you about.

I'm sure most mothers who know their time is near would want to and have left mementos for their daughters--whether actual items or in memories that can be held not in the hand but in the heart.

These memories and things clearly left behind are what we'd like to remember together and share with other mothers who are facing their own potential early departure.  Maybe through our stories of our mothers, we can allow another mother to leave her daughter a clear and lasting legacy.  One she'd be proud to watch her daughter grow into.

Once we get all the stories together, we'd like to put it into a book (title TBD) and link it to a blog as well so that other mothers can write their thoughts or ideas.  Ponder on this a little while, then let me know if you can or will write your story with us.  It would be an honor to have you share your mother with us in this way.


Thursday, February 16, 2012

Music in the Heavens


Praise the LORD. Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of his faithful people. Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King. Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp.” (Psalm 149:1-3)
Have you ever heard a song and while you're singing along at the top of your lungs you think.....I wonder if we'll be singing this in heaven some day?  I think about that often...even this Sunday it came to mind as I was singing with our worship team, wondering if my Mom was singing the same songs in heaven as we were singing right here in church.  The thought made me smile, and then wonder.
For some reason, I had in my mind that only when we died would those songs be sung in heaven...I was thinking, "man, this'll be a great one up there someday."  But what about right now?  Stay with me here...
"All the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets. The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang: “He is good; his love endures forever.” Then the temple of the LORD was filled with the cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God." (2 Chronicles 5:12-14)
God gives each of us special gifts,....some preaching, some giving mercy, some healing and some have gifts in music.  More specifically leading others into worship through that music.  Well if that's the case with you, do you feel like many of your songs are inspired? If you do, who inspired it? ...I mean who REALLY inspired it? Because if God really inspired the words or the music in the song, then just wonder with me if your new composition which is new to you & thousands of others, wonder if it isn't already a classic up in heaven!?  Maybe they've been singing it for years, just waiting for the right time to share it with the right composer, artist and crowd! Maybe God was waiting until you went through a certain trial or blessing before He showed you His perspective that gave you words to lead thousands in praise of His faithfulness or grace!
"Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back. For the grave cannot praise you, death cannot sing your praise; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for your faithfulness. The living, the living—they praise you, as I am doing today; parents tell their children about your faithfulness. The LORD will save me, and we will sing with stringed instruments all the days of our lives in the temple of the LORD." (Isaiah 38:17-20) 
It's intriguing to thing that up in heaven right now and in the times when we finally reach our eternal home, that there will be music and songs that we've never, ever known.  But what if they're singing your next hit right now.....it's already bringing glory to God, in fact He wrote the lyrics and in his excitement is just brimming with anticipation for the day he'll share it with you, and let you bring others to Him through it. 

"The Lord was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs with stringed instruments all the days of our life, in the house of the Lord." (Isaiah 38:20)
"I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the LORD." (Psalm 104:33-34)
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