Thursday, June 29, 2006

Hope Even Though It Got Worse

Sometimes, the Lord doesn't answer the way in which we want Him to. Today was one of those situations. Our investment situation didn't get better. In fact, it got worse. However, after a while of crying on the phone to my mom and walking on the beach talking with the Father, I feel fine. I should be freaking out and desparately upset, but I feel fine. I feel comforted, peaceful, and actually happy. That only comes from the Lord. I think it's because of your prayers.

Brock spoke at the adult seminar this evening and ironically told about some other catostrophic things that have happened in our lives that the Lord has brought us through. It actually gave me encouragement reminding me that He is always in control. So, keep praying because He can do the impossible or He can give us the strength to endure whatever we must go through in the next few weeks, months, or even years.

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Bad Day

Today, we heard some bad news. An investment Brock and I made a few years ago is about to go very sour tomorrow if we don't get a miracle. We got the phone call just as we were walking into a restaurant to eat with a youth group.

After lunch, we drove our motorcycle for a little while and came back to find that the keys to our pick-up truck were locked in the truck. We drove our motorcycle down to our rig to see if we possibly had some extra keys in there. Not only did we not have any keys, but it began to rain like crazy on us. In fact, we were stuck in our rig for most of the afternoon waiting out the rain.

Normally, this type of situation would send me through the roof. I don't handle lots of pressure and things all going wrong at the same time very well. At a peak like this, I usually explode emotionally. Today, I was calm and had an unexplainable peace. When I prayed, I actually let it go and told the Lord that no matter what happened, I trust Him.

Tonight, one of the Superwow staff girls, Katherine, asked me how my day was and I told her. She said that for some reason, I was on her mind today and that she had been praying for me. That probably explains the peace.

Please pray for a miracle for us today.

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Backstage at Camp

A few high school guys came backstage this morning because they were helping throw out some prizes. One of the guys said, "So this is backstage. I thought it would be more..." During his pause, I said, "Glamorous?" To which he replied, "Clean." That was so funny to me. Truly, if you could see backstage and the green room at most places, it probably would be nothing like you imagined.

Here it's actually better than most backstages. There are snacks layed out for us and a couch in a small room. However, at most places, we barely even have a dressing room. It's more like a curtain and then a few feet back is the wall.

Monday, June 26, 2006

Working with Friends

We're working with Big Daddy Weave and Dave Edwards this week. Next week, Big Daddy will be back along with our great friend, Wes Hamilton. It's so fun to be able to work with such great people and friends especially when we get to hang out for a week.

Time Zones

We are in the Eastern time zone right now. We live in Central time zone, but Nashville is on the eastern edge of it. Therefore, if you drive about 45 miles in three different directions, you'll be an hour ahead. It can get confusing. My friend Kristin A.K.A. "Crackhead," didn't even really know about time zones until she travelled with us last summer.

I can go in and out of Central and Eastern time zones to easily now...I'm used to it. However, Pacific time zone jacks me up. I cannot sleep right. I adjust my eating schedule rather quickly though. The Alaska time zone was the worst!

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Week One of Camp Accomplished

The Lord moved so much this past week. He totally changed lots of people's lives including my own. I learned a little better how to love people. I get so impatient and have a lack of mercy. I learned how to love people in spite of their flaws. That's a big lesson. I have not mastered it by any means, but I'm getting a few steps closer.

We are taking it easy this weekend. We'll go to the beach today and maybe catch a movie tonight. Yesterday, we hung out with the incredible Superwow staff and ate at our favorite place, Barbara Jean's twice (for lunch and dinner)!

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Ministry by Students

Brock is the speaker in the morning services here at camp. This morning, he talked about confusion. He said that the Lord didn't call us to clarity but to faithfulness. However, the Lord can bring you through all of it with a strength and a peace that only comes from Him.

At the end of his message, he had people who were going through a confusing time to raise their hands. Then, students went to their peers and prayed for them. It was an amazing time of ministry. One girl even led another girl to the Lord. It was her first time to lead someone to Christ. She said that it won't be her last, because it's very contagious.

It was still sad because there are so many people who are going through horrible things. There were students who shared some things with leaders that they had never voiced before. It was a wonderful time of healing.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Superwow

Camp is so fun! Superwow is especially fun. The people are so great to work with and the group of students who attend are a great audience. We've been extra busy this week because we're doing a lot of new stuff, but it's going really well. Last night, we practiced for a few hours and it went really well this morning. I'm proud of Brock for coming up with some good new material!

Jessica, the intern, and Stephy are so fun to hang out with here. Jessica is trying all kinds of new things. Since this is her first time out of Texas, we get to show her all kinds of new stuff. Stephy likes to do the same things that we do, so we always have a good time. Of course, this camp is on the beach, so it's extra great!

Monday, June 19, 2006

Thanks for the Support

I just want to thank everyone who has prayed for me, called me, came by and sat with me, sent me flowers, and asked about me. I am doing so well. I'm feeling completely normal now and I can do almost as much as I could do before the surgery. Now I just need to do physical therapy to stretch my muscles in my arm in order to achieve full motion. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate all of the support. I truly believe that the Lord has allowed me to recover extra quickly and with little pain. It feels good to almost feel normal!!!

Sunday, June 18, 2006

Off to Camp

I'm feeling really good. I actually washed my hair this morning. It took me 15 minutes, but I did it! You take things like washing and fixing your hair for granted. Brock had to put my hair up the last few days. That was a disaster!

We're leaving for camp today and I'm excited! We've done this camp for 3 years before and I always love it. The people are great to work with and the camp is on the beach. That's always good. We'll be at Jekyll Island, GA for 3 weeks.

Don't worry. I won't be getting into any boxes. Stephy is going to take my place for the summer camps and I'm going to work production. Production is my favorite part anyway. It's the place where I can make Brock look really good! Plus, when I stand at the sound board, I get to be in the crowd and observe everything better. I haven't been able to really do that for over 7 years now.

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Please Keep Praying

I can tell that the prayers are working. My physical therapist and friend that is a nurse thinks that it's a miracle that I'm recovering so quickly and am in so little pain. Yesterday, I think that I overexerted myself though. I had a difficult time sleeping last night. It was the first night without pain killers.

I'm thankful that I'm doing better, but I'm nervous because we are leaving tomorrow for three weeks. I just feel so helpless. Luckily, we have Jessica, our intern, here. I've been putting her to work already. She is going to help me pack today. Thanks for the prayers and keep them coming!

Friday, June 16, 2006

Progress

I went to therapy yesterday and finally got to take off that stupid sling. The therapist could not believe that I wasn't hurting. I was expecting therapy to be painful, but it was easy! My nurse friend that went with me said that it was a miracle. She said that the Lord must have been giving me the most ultimate pain killers because I should have been hurting.

I'm not hurting. In fact, I'm off of pain medicine altogether and I slept in my own bed last night. I simply feel a little weak on my right side.

In therapy, the therapist raised my arm farther than it has been raised in 20 years. The tricky part is going to be getting my muscles to allow me to have full range of motion. They have been protective for so long that they start blocking me from moving. So, pray that I can gain that full range of motion.

Other than that, it looks as if I can be fully recovered in two weeks at the rate I'm going! It's nothing short of a miracle!

auny is doing great

this is brock writing this until auny can type

rehab went really well. the pain was minimal and the doc was very impressed with her progress. today is more rehab. details soon. thanks for the prayers, they are being answered.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

rehab for auny starts today

today auny will begin a tough time of rehab. she is still in pain and i think that rehab is going to be really tough. pray that it all goes well. we want her to be able to deal with the pain and recover very quickly. more details to come later. thanks for all of your prayers and support. if you want to send auny some encouragement then send an email to auny@brockgill.com

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

keep praying for auny

she is having a hard time sleeping. she is in some pain but not too bad right now. this is going to be a hard few days for this girl. keep praying

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

surgery went well

auny did great. the surgery lasted longer than expected but succesful. the doc said that when he opened her up bones started falling to the floor. it was quite a sight for the docs and nurses. they have never seen anything like it. she is feeling rough right now but getting better by the minute. the doc also said that her shoulder is in bad shape from the grinding that has taken place. she has an early case of authoritis. pray for a fast recovery. more updates soon.

this is from brock

Today is the Day

Today is the day. I have to be at the surgery center at 11:30am and my surgery begins about 1pm. I cannot eat or drink anything until the surgery is over, so I'm going to be starving right before. (I'm already hungry and it's only 8am.) I'll have never gone this long without even some water. The lady who gave me the instructions was very detailed..."No food or drink including water and gum." I don't know why, but I cannot chew gum until after the surgery is over!

I'm just a little nervous. I've never even been to the emergency room or had a broken bone...nothing! I've had my wisdom teeth taken out, but the lady from the anesthesiologist's office informed me that it's totally different.

Actually, during the surgery, I'm just going to be taking a deep nap. Poor Brock is the one who is going to be bored out of his mind for 4 hours or whatever. He said that he will have to bring a "fun bag."

I'm sure it will go fine. We'll let you know how it went. I'm going to ask them if I can keep the pieces of bones that they remove. After all, they are mine.

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Surgery

I found out two years ago, when I finally got my shoulder x-rayed, that I have over 100 little bone fragments jammed around my right shoulder. It's a freak thing. Your joints produce a lubricant...my right shoulder has been producing bone instead for 30 years now. Some of the fragments have wedged themselves into my rotator cuff. Therefore, I cannot lift my arm very far and it's getting worse and worse. Tuesday, I will go to have surgery that will hopefully help get me some mobility back into my arm.

The doctors cannot tell me anything because this is such a unique thing. In fact, they've never seen anything like it. Therefore, they have no idea if it will help with my mobility or how long the recovery will take. They are going to try and do it arthroscopically but may have to actually make an incision. They honestly don't know what is going to happen because this is unprecedented.

Some very giving godly people gave me the money to have this surgery. It was God's way of telling me that He wanted me to have this surgery now. If someone would have given me money to do with whatever I wanted, I might not have selected to have surgery, but that is not what happened. Therefore, the Lord has His hand in this and I will not interfere with His plans. Apparently, this is His timing which is the best timing. If He had not have stepped in when He did, I may have put it off for another 30 years!

Please pray that the doctors are able to remove enough of the extra bone to give me back my mobility. Also, pray that my body will discontinue producing this extra bone so that I won't have to have this surgery again. Pray that my recovery will be swift.

Saturday, June 10, 2006

No Interstates

Our trip was amazing! It was so different than what we normally do. First of all, we were on our motorcycle instead of the Freightliner. We didn't touch the interstate whereas, that's all we usually take when we're in the big rig. Also, we never knew where we would stop to eat or get gas. Normally, I have an exit guide that tells me everything that is at every exit. So, our stops are very well planned. On this trip, we almost ran out of gas a couple of times because there was no gas station for miles. We never knew where we were going to eat.

The best place we ate was at the Bistro on the River. It was along the Cherohala Scenic Skyway. That was the best drive we've ever made on our bike. It was along a river and through the mountains. We saw a couple of waterfalls and stopped at several fruit stands along the way. We also road the Dragon. It's a motorcyclists' dream. It has 318 curves in 11 miles.

In all we drove 600 miles on our motorcycle. We took the scenic route the entire way...no interstates!

Friday, June 09, 2006

Motorcycle Ride

Today, we should be on our way back home from our motorcycle trip. We went on a trip just on our motorcycle. Therefore, we won't go far. Stephy has been posting our prewritten blogs for the last couple of days.

It's so freeing to take off with only a backpack of essentials on a bike. I'm not even bringing my make-up or hair stuff. I guess I will throw my hair up everyday.

We intended on heading to the Knoxville area, but we don't have any definate plans. We'll probably hike to a few waterfalls and ride along country roads. It will be just us out in nature and on the open road! I'll write about it tomorrow.

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Like a Scene from a Movie

The other day, we were in the airport and our plane was late arriving to the gate. All of a sudden, I heard thunderous applaud. I looked up and not only had our plane landed, but military men were pouring out of the plane. It was just like a scene from a movie! Women ran into their men's arms and kissed them passionately. A little boy held a poster for his about his dad. People were waving around the American flag. It was amazing! I stood with everyone else and clapped. The sight moved me to tears. What devotion these young men have to sacrifice being with their families and their own lives for our country!

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

A Calling

This year has been tough on me on the road. I burnt out emotionally in the fall and physically this spring. Last fall, Brock allowed me to think about doing something else. Until now, I've felt sort of trapped...like if I didn't do this, Brock wouldn't do this. Would he travel with some other girl while I stayed home? That's ridiculous. However, Brock told me that he could scale back and do "platform" shows for a while where he wouldn't need an assistant at all.

Anyway, I contemplated what I would do if I could do anything else. You know what happened? I realized that THIS is what I want to do. This is the only thing that would satisfy me right now. The Lord called me to do this a long time ago. In fact, I think that He made me for it.

So, no matter how difficult it gets, I made the choice to do this. I love it! Therefore, I'm focusing my attention on this ministry only. Sometime in the future I may pursue speaking and writing my book (which I have already begun), but as for now, this is where I need to be. Until the Lord tells me otherwise, I will be on the road beside my husband.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Sudoku

I'm addicted! Stephy got me into this soduku. This little game that involves numbers and a pencil (with a big eraser) got to me. It's a great way to unwind. For example, when I'm finished with a show or sitting on a plane on my way to a show, my brain continues to spin. This allows my brain to continue working only on something that is meaningless. It's like keeping your brain going without the stress.

Sometimes, the sudoku that I'm working on doesn't work out. If that happens, I just move on to the next one. When I first tried it, it seemed impossible. Then, I filled in the answers of the center block. After a few times, I didn't need to look at the answers anymore. I went from looking at the answers to the easy ones to now I'm working hard ones by myself. You should give it a try...or a few tries, because it took me a while to get it!

Monday, June 05, 2006

Early to Bed, Early to Rise

I'm a morning person and always have been. It makes it tough to do what we do because we have so many late nights. I can stay awake at night if I'm active, but you won't catch me watching a movie after 10pm. The problem is that no matter what time I go to sleep, I wake up early. That's rough on the road.

At home, I enjoy my alone time in the mornings. Brock is a night person. Therefore, he's up a couple of hours later than me and I'm up a couple of hours earlier than him. That's when I have my time with the Lord and time to myself.

I also get all of my ideas in the morning. So, when Brock wakes up, I'm filling him with my thoughts. He's the same way at night. I can remember hearing him tell me stuff while I'm sleeping. We've learned though. Now, Brock waits until the morning to tell me his thoughts and I wait until after he has taken his shower.

What are you? Morning person or night owl?

Saturday, June 03, 2006

Vacation

This last Monday officially began our two week vacation. We've never taken a full two weeks off and never to my knowledge has Brock not been in contact with our office for more than a couple of days. We need this time to be rejuvinated before our summer schedule begins. I need this time in order to be patient with people again. This spring wore me out. My body physically gave out. Therefore, it was difficult to be my out-going usual self. My friends would say, "You look tired." To which I would reply, "I live tired nowadays."

Our vacation is slightly different than what you would think. Sure we spent some time in San Diego. Then, we came home and stayed home. We've cooked our own food which we both enjoy. We sit on the front porch and then move to the back porch when Brock wants to grill. We actually rented a couple of movies and watched them two nights in a row!

The main thing is that our minds are being refreshed. I'm glad that we took two weeks off because I'm just now beginning to relax. It took this week just to wind down from the busy spring.

Friday, June 02, 2006

San Diego Food

You know how we are about food...it's one of our hobbies. We especially like to try new things at new places. This trip was no exception.

Mexican food is definately big in San Diego. I didn't realize that if you go any farther south of San Diego, you are in Mexico. We ate at three different mexican restaurants. One was a little higher end. One was more of a seafood mexican where we got a lobster burrito and a fish taco. The other one was a local dive where the hispanics went. I love mexican food, so I ate it up!

We stayed in an area called Little Italy so naturally we tried some Italian food and it was good. We went to a seafood restuarant on Coronado Island called Peohe's. It was great and sitting right on the water overlooking the San Diego skylign.

One afternoon, we took a drive into the mountains to a little town called Julian. This is where they have many of the apple orchards of America. There we had the best apple pie I have ever tasted!

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Dessert First

Yesterday morning, we both woke up at 6am. We didn't fly out until 1pm, so we decided to do some more sightseeing.

At around 10pm the night before, we had gone to a dessert place that we'd heard about. We ordered one of the specials and watched all of the delicious looking desserts come from the counter. We discussed how we had made the best selection and it was the only thing that was warm (I like warm desserts). After about 15 minutes, the waitress came and informed us that they'd ran out of what we ordered. We were stuffed anyway, so we left.

Back to yesterday...that dessert place opened at 8:30 in the morning! So, we had an elaborate piece of cake and a pastry for breakfast. Brock went into almost a sugar shock. Since we don't usually eat a lot of sugar, it did the opposite for him than what you would think it would. It zapped all of his energy. He could barely walk when we went to Balboa Park afterward. Maybe that's why our parents always said don't eat dessert first!