Monday, April 29, 2013

I'm Coming Home

Saturday, when we were stranded at a gas station off of I-40, I went into the store and heard the song, "I'm Coming Home" sung by Skylar Grey playing over the speakers. The lyrics began to wash over me. Wasn't I coming home at some point...hopefully? I youtubed the song when I was back in the bus and found one video that was very nice. Even though this is a very secular, mainstream song (in fact, the cover of her record has her mostly naked on the front, that's why I chose this video with scenery instead of the girl), it called to my soul. Lot's of things pull at our heart, but only the things of God really reach down to our souls. You see, as Christ followers, there is something that is missing in this world. It's not just all of the heartache and the disease of sin, but it's a longing for the New World, that New City, heaven. No matter how comfortable we are here, it's not our home and we have a deep desire to ultimately be with our LORD. Hebrews 13:14 says, "For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come." And Hebrews 11:10 says, "For he [Abraham] was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God." Watch this video and let the words sink deep into your soul. Whether you've had a loved one that's already gone to be with the LORD, or maybe you're like me and are having a little dry spell. Home is with the LORD. Even here on earth, the times we feel most at home is when we are close to our LORD. If you've let this world distract you and are not as close to the LORD as you once were, listen to these words. He's calling you home. Run into his open arms figuratively speaking and dream of the day when it will not be figuratively anymore...

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Unsmooth Times

Smooth is the opposite of how things have been going for us. Last night as it began to rain on us and the few who braved the weather to come to the festival, right in the middle of our show, I thought about this. However, I knew that in a few minutes we would be finished and would have a break for a couple of weeks. Also, I comforted in the fact that stellar kart had allowed us to ride in their bus. This meant that we could be home as early as 8am the next morning! The thought of being home warmed my chilled bones. Well, things didn't happen the way I had hoped. It's 8:40am and we are still an hour and a half from home. The bus broke down. As of now, we are stranded at a gas station off of I-40 85 miles from Nashville. Oh well! At least we aren't in the er where we spent the first couple of weekends this month.

Monday, April 22, 2013

The Day I Met Andrew

Travel pushes you to the extreme and sometimes beyond. There are days when even the sweet elderly lady serving breakfast at the Hampton Inn gets on my nerves. When everyone is annoying me, the common denominator is me. I know that it's my problem and I need to find some time to get alone. Friday was one of those days. The difficulty was that we had lots of shows and set up that day, so I didn't know if alone time would be possible. We came down to the breakfast area of our hotel, and I was ready to just take a few minutes before our hectic day and have a quiet breakfast. As soon as I set my things down, this guy from across the room wearing an orange shirt made eye contact with me. After a recognition came across his face, he began to wave excitedly. I looked behind me knowing that he was waving at someone he knew. Nobody was there and the guy began to approach me. He was probably in his 20's and it became quickly clear that he was mentally challenged. Selfishly I thought, "There goes my quiet breakfast." However, my whole morning, correction, my whole outlook changed when I met this man. He stuck out his hand and said, "I'm Andrew. What's your name?" We began to talk for a while and Andrew had so much joy that it was infectious. Then, he said something that brought tears to my eyes. He said, "I pray for people everyday. Can you write your name in my book so that I can pray for you?" I was too choked up to talk so I nodded my head and wrote my name and then gave the book to Brock to write his name. At this time, Andrew's parents entered and Andrew said, "Mom and Dad, I met some new friends!" We began talking with them. Then, another guy came up to Andrew's parents and said, "I work for a minister named Charles Swindoll and have been in the ministry for years, but I have to tell you. After meeting Andrew, I went up to my room and cried for about 20 minutes because compared to him, I am a hypocrite!" At this point, Andrew's parents began crying, I was bawling by now. Brock came over and said, "I don't know this guy, but I'd like to echo what he said. I'm in the ministry as well." Of course, Andrew was walking around talking to other people in the lobby he had not met yet. There has been a few times in my life when I met Jesus with skin on. Friday was one of those times...the day I met Andrew.

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Burnout

Burnout...I'm not sure how many of you have experienced it but it's not the best. It comes from a life out of balance. Since my life is never balanced, I realized years ago that the only way to prevent it, for me, is to quit what we are doing. I cannot do that, and I will not do that. Therefore, I focus on recovering from it once burnout sets in. I'm able to read the signs more quickly now and begin take the necessary steps to healing. What are these steps? Actually there is no formula and I'm still working on it. In some seasons certain avenues work and in other seasons they don't. One thing that always works is prayer. The only problem is that I cannot pray for myself very well. I'm too involved, so I must call on others to battle for me in prayer. I'm in this place right now. I'm asking for you to pray for me. This weekend, we are doing seven shows, averaging one show in the morning and one at night (this is the most difficult since studies have shown that you cannot get rest if you perform at night and the following morning and then the following night). My plan was to survive the weekend and then begin my recovery when I get home. However, you cannot just snap your figures and recover. Sometimes, the healing process begins when you least expect it and in a way you could not predict. My recovery began yesterday morning at 8am when I met a guy named Andrew. More on this later...

Saturday, April 06, 2013

This is War

We are in a spiritual battle. This is war. Sometimes, soldiers get hurt. This thought flashed through my mind as I heard Brock scream in agony as we waited in the emergency room at 7AM this morning. This guy who wouldn't let me take him to the hospital when he was minutes away from death after having an allergic reaction to a wasp sting years ago (we went to a walk-in clinic instead) had agreed to come to the ER. This man who didn't even take ibuprofen after he broke his back 3 years ago was yelling, "Give me a shot, drugs, anything to get relief!" I began to shed quiet tears as I watched my husband in the most excruciating pain. There was nothing I could do but wait on the doctors. Let me back up 12 hours before. I was backstage as Brock was giving the gospel at the end of his show. It was a free event open to the community of Heber Springs, AR held at the local high school. As Brock began sharing his heart, a car alarm sounded right outside. Then, a baby began crying. This was just typical opposition we face especially when we are in a public school. I began praying more fervently. I tweeted and texted calling on others to pray. It worked. 101 people surrendered their lives to Jesus last night. It was quite a victory! Then, at 4:30 this morning, Brock woke with more pain in his back than when he broke it. He paced around the room for 3 hours. After trying everything we could think of, we decided to seek professional help. Finally, Brock was taken back in the ER and given a shot of Demerol. This took his pain from a 10 (well really a 12) to a 6. The doctor came and told me that the CT scan only showed his crushed T-7 from his previous injury. Everything looked good is what he said. He prescribed some pain medication and steroids. We are now back at the hotel and Brock is sleeping peacefully after all of the drugs. I might be a tad dramatic since I've been up since 4:30 but I will tell you this: it's worth the fight! The problem with Satan attacking is that instead of holding us back, it only fuels our fire! Instead of stopping us, it makes us march onward. Also, we have so many praying for us right now. Where there is prayer, there is power. We already know that in the end we will ultimately win. We must fight on!