Hard Day

I thought that we were going to have some time off yesterday. However, that didn't happen. We worked from 8am until 9pm only taking a break to eat lunch and dinner. Also, remember that I've told you that 30 minutes onstage is equivalent to an eight hour work day? Well, we were onstage for a total of 3 hours yesterday...that's six work days. We did 3 school assemblies and led a prayer service last night. Brock's voice was gone by the end of the day. Then, he had to go and do an interview for a video.

Also, throughout the day, as problems arise, Brock is problem solving. In between shows, he was on the phone dealing with one problem after another. He had to go by the venue and figure out where we were going to place everything.

Wow! What a day, and we haven't actually begun the shows at night yet. Today is going to be a killer because we have two school assemblies, go to the venue and set up, and then do the show tonight. Pray for us because Freedom Experience is not humanly possible.

School Assemblies

We are doing a total of 7 school assemblies this week. We have 3 other teams who are doing several school assemblies this week as well. I'm at our first assembly and it's not going well.

Pray for us. This city needs help. They have numerous teens who get pregnant in middle and high school. The drug abuse is bad here. I heard someone say that only 10 percent of the people go to church regularly. Pray for Corpus Christi.

Time Change

This year, the time change worked to our advantage. We had to get up at 5:30am to catch a flight this morning. Since I went to bed so early and our clocks fell back, I got a full eight hours of sleep.

I'm going to need it too! We are going to have one of the biggest weeks we've ever had. Tonight, we have our prayer service for the Freedom Experience in Corpus Christi, TX. Tomorrow, we begin shows for FX. We will do multiple shows per day through Thursday night. We fly back home Friday. Saturday, we drive to Kentucky for a show. Sunday, we drive from Kentucky to Georgia for another show that night.

It's going to be crazy! Pray for our strength. Also, pray that we will be patient with people since we will be so tired and stressed.

Trucks, Mexican Food, and a Bombfire

Yesterday was the day to load our trucks for Freedom Experience. We have our big freightliner, a rental box truck, and a 15 passenger van. The eleventyseven guys, several from our office, and a couple of interns were ready to load everything up at about 10am yesterday. However, the rental truck broke down right at the end of the road. We waited so long for a mechanic to get there. When he finally did, he got it started again and said that it would be fine, they just couldn't ever shut it off! We are planning on driving it to Corpus Christi, TX and not bring it back until next Saturday. Good idea!

We finally decided to go with another rental company near our house. It worked out even better financially anyway. After all this, we didn't get the new truck until about 3pm. Then, we loaded it while some others drove to the office to pick up some other stuff.

At about 6pm, we were done. Most of the office people left, but a couple of other friends and one of the bmx riders joined us. We all piled in the 15 passenger van and drove to a mexican restaurant down the street to eat. After that, we came home and had a huge bonfire. We call them bombfires because they are so HUGE! It was fun!!!

Think Great Thoughts

My dad is leading a study on the book "Good to Great in God's Eyes."by Chip Ingram. The first chapter deals with thinking great thoughts. I began to think of how many times I lean toward the negative. I am quick to be critical of myself and others. I waste time worrying about things.

Therefore, for the last few weeks, I have made a conscious effort to think more positively. I simply give myself and others a break. I try not to fret over things, and take them to the Father when I do. Also, I listen to worship music often throughout the day and recite the following scripture. It's amazing the difference! Brock has noticed and likes it. I am not as stressed. People are commenting that I look good. Quite simply, I feel great and it shows.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable---if anything is excellent or praiseworthy---think about such things."

The Show in White Hall, AR

The show last night went amazing! The place was packed and everyone was so excited! From the minute we got there, we could tell that the church had been praying over this event. They had everything perfect for us and were so nice. It really was a wonderful experience. I enjoy doing shows so much!

We are about to fly home in a little while. Next week is going to be a killer, so we are going to try and rest as much as possible for the next couple of days. Pray for me as I go home. There are still some upsetting things that are going on at home, so my heart is heavy.

Getting Back Into the Swing of Things

I am about to get on an airplane and fly to Arkansas to do a show tonight. We are performing in White Hall, AR. I think it will be a fun night!

I've had a nice, relaxing time here at my parents' house. One day, I began watching a made-for-TV movie. After I had been watching it for almost two hours, I thought that it did not seem like it was going to wrap up any time soon. However, I was already so invested in it that I wanted to finish it. That movie was 4 hours long! Oh well! I had the time.

The weather was amazing. It was good to see some old friends. It's been great, but I'm ready to see Brock and get back into the swing of things. Pray that the show goes well tonight.

A CSI, I Will Never Be

I got a letter from my sister the other day. I was so excited to hear from her again. At the end of the letter, she said that she loved my stationey but asked if I knew that it was upside down. I immediately went to look at it. I thought that there was some kind of design on the bottom of the page. When I flipped it up to the other side, I realized that it was a bird on the top of the page. I've been writing her for months on this stationery and never realized it!

I'm not the most observant person on the planet. Brock gets annoyed when he is gawking at something he sees while he's driving, and I've simply missed it. He wonders how I could miss something that blatant.

If you get a completely different haircut, I may or may not notice. Often, I tell girls that I like their hair because I cannot remember if it looked different the last time I saw them. This is an easy way to be safe, because by simply saying, "I like your hair," it could mean that it looks extra good today.

I think that this might contribute to my clumsiness. I don't notice that board that is sticking up or the step, so I trip over it. In the room our small group met in at church, there was a hole in the floor. I found that hole two or three times every time we met!

I love to watch CSI on TV, but a CSI, I will never be. I think that being observant is a requirement for that job!

Day of Rest

Today, I'm taking a day of rest. We got to my parents' house late Saturday night and woke up early yesterday morning to take Brock to the airport. Last night, I helped my parents with a big Fall Festival at their church. It was fun! Now, I need to take advantage of this time while mom and dad are at work to rest. That's exactly what I'm going to do.

I'm sure in any job, but particularly ministry, you could work as much as you want to. It's almost like cleaning your house. There is always something you could be doing. My dad does a good job of setting boundaries. He's able to do affective ministry without neglecting his family or himself. He knows how to set some limits and how to tactfully say "no" when necessary.

I'm trying to learn how to do this myself. It's impossible for me to control my schedule. However, I can control my days that I'm not on the road. What I've decided to do recently is to give myself a break. Whenever I'm home, I don't talk with people in the office about work stuff unless it's absolutely necessary. Also, even if I should do the laundry and clean the bathrooms, I don't do it if I don't feel like it that day. I can do that the next day. If I wake up on a morning in which I intended to rest but am feeling productive instead, I go ahead and get some things done. Basically, I take cues from how I feel.

Maybe some of you should give yourselves a break. Even if you are planning to take some extra work home this weekend to "get ahead," you may want to hang out with friends or family instead. If some of you moms are planning on getting some housework done while your child is napping, maybe you need a nap too! Unless you're a heart surgean, nobody is going to die if you let something slide until tomorrow.

Show in Joaquin, TX

Our show went great last night! The place was full, and many people gave their lives to Christ. The people at the church who hosted the event were so nice and helpful.

The cool thing about last night was that there were a lot of people that came who had never come to that church before. The pastor and his wife talked with us after the show and said that some that they'd been inviting to come for a while finally came last night. There were other young teens in the audience who they'd never seen before not even in all the years of Vacation Bible School they'd done.

The pastor's daughter had been praying for one of her friends from school to get saved. He would never come to their church until last night. Guess what? He responded to the invitation to follow Jesus and her prayers were answered.

My parents came to the show, so that was fun. I'm at their house right now. Brock flies back home today and I'll stay here until Wednesday. We fly and meet in Arkansas on Wednesday to do another show. Gotta go take Brock to the airport!

Show Tonight

We have a show tonight in Joaquin, TX. We've been so relaxed here at the Gills' house that I didn't know if it would be difficult to get motivated to do a show today. However, I had dreams about tearing down after a show and other parts of the job last night. Then, I woke up this morning ready to go! I'm not in that lazy state that I was in yesterday. Therefore, I think I'm ready to do this show NOW...it's still 12 hours away. Pray that everything goes great tonight.

Being on Time

The other day, some of my friends and I had a discussion about being on time. Brock thinks that if you are late, you are disrespecting the other people involved. In other words, if you have a meeting with someone and you are late, you are saying that your time is more valuable than their time. Therefore, it's disrespectful.

I happen to agree, so we are rarely late for anything. Most of the time, we are early. I think that it helps us to be more laid back that way. We are never frantically trying to make it before the plane door closes for good. We don't have to speed in order to get somewhere on time. In short, we are never in a hurry. We give ourselves extra time in all of our planning. We still get plenty done in a day. If you are always running around trying to make things on time, either your schedule is too tight or maybe you've made it a habit of being late.

One of the girls in the discussion had been to Africa for a while. There, they don't see time like we do here in the U.S. We feel like we own time. That's why, I think, here in this country that Brock's statement about being late is correct. It is disrespectful. What do you think?

Time with the Fam

We have a show in East Texas this weekend, so we flew into Houston yesterday. Dad came and picked us up. We are at mom and dad's right now, but later on in the morning, we are going to drive over to Brock's parents' house to stay for a few days. They only live a couple of hours away, so it works out.

We are so excited to see them. I cannot wait to have some good food, and sit on their back porch and talk all day.

Pray for us right now. I cannot go into a lot of detail, but some bad things are going on in the lives of people around us. From Saturday until yesterday, we have been working nonstop on some really heavy stuff with our friends. It's so good to get a little break right now at our parents' houses. We need some time to decompress.

Pictures at the Dew Tour

We would walk to the venue on the railroad tracks. It was the quickest way!




Brock presented all of the tickets we had every time we entered.


There is Alex in the striped shirt waiting his turn to ride.




We took Alex out to eat after his big competition.


There was a beautiful sunset during the freestyle motocross competition.




We found some friends there...Jeremiah and his family

Pictures from our Trip

We had a good time at our favorite restaurant...Barbara Jean's








We stopped by Daytona Beach on our way to Orlando








One night, we drove over to Celebration near Disney World and ate at the Columbia...cuban food




On our way home, we met Kristin at Pappasitos

FOOD

We have eaten some great food! Of course we began it all with Barbara Jean's. Then, we ate Greek, sushi, Thai, Mexican, Chinese, and more Greek. (Can you tell that I am over American food?)

Tonight, we ate at one of our favorite places ever called The Columbia. It is Cuban food and it's great.

Tomorrow night, we are meeting our friend, Kristin a.k.a. Crackhead, at Pappasitos on our way home! Yummy, more great food!

The Dew Tour

We are sitting in the stands at the Dew Tour watching the freestyle motocross. It is amazing! You cannot imagine how high these guys go.

One of our bmx riders competed this afternoon. He did not make it to the finals, but we are so proud of him for making it this far!

Some of the Dew Tour is going to be on NBC tomorrow from 3pm to 6pm EST. You should watch it. If you want to look it up, go to astdewtour.com. It is exciting!

Robert, Red Tide, and Really Good Food

Yesterday was so fun! We began our day with a run. Then, we jumped in the pool at our hotel. There, we met Robert. Robert was probably about 19, but mentally he was about 8. He was funny! At one point, he screamed and said that a lobster had got him (even though there were no such kind of things in the swimming pool). We hung out with him while in the pool. He simply wanted someone to play with.

Then, we met a couple of friends that we know from camp for lunch. We happened to meet them at our favorite restaurant...Barbara Jean's. They have a few on the east coast and Jacksonville is one of the locations. It was fabulous, as usual.

After lunch, we drove to Daytona Beach. They happened to be having another bike week called Biketoberfest. This was a nice surprise for Brock! We drove down onto the beach because Lucas had not been to the beach in a while and we can always go to the beach. We noticed that nobody was on the beach. Soon, we figured out why. All three of us began to have some kind of allergic attack. We were sneezing and coughing. We could barely breathe. So, we left. We found out later that Red Tide was causing that kind of reaction.

From there, we drove to Orlando, checked into our hotel, and went to dinner. It was a great day!

Show in Jacksonville, FL

Did you know that Jacksonville is the largest city in the country. It's huge! As far as land mass, it's the largest. I think that the whole county is within the Jacksonville city limits.

The show was at a high school. This was tricky because we had to use their production in the auditorium. All of you that have ever gone to high school know that production is usually not their specialty. Who knows when the sound system was placed in the building? Also, the church who was bringing us in had to bring in a lot of stuff, so it was a tough set up. It would have been so much easier to have it at their church. However, if we did, this would not have happened...

Most of the crowd was entirely unchurched. They were so rowdy. I was standing up in the sound booth at the very back of the auditorium for most of the night. At one point, I came out and looked on the crowd. They weren't paying much attention and were disrespectful to Brock. At that moment, something happened in my heart. I know what the scripture talked about when Jesus looked at the crowd and had compassion on them. The Holy Spirit gave me an unnatural compassion. They were indeed like "sheep without a Shepherd." Of course lost people are going to act lost.

The crowd was like little ants moving around everywhere and talking with each other. When Brock began the invitation to become a follower of Jesus, all across the theater it began to still. It was like a wave of calmness swept from one side to the other. I've seen it happen several times before when Brock was speaking. A pastor at one of the previous churches we've been to termed it the "Holy Hush." It was amazing! You knew that it was an act of God to quiet this group!

Then, when it was time to respond, so many people stood up and said that they were giving their lives to Christ. It was worth it to work harder on the production. It was worth having a difficult show with a rough crowd. It was all worth it!

Florida!!!

Tonight, we are performing in Jacksonville, FL. Pray that the show goes well. We are staying at our friends' house in Atlanta right now. We have a five hour drive today and then the show tonight.

On Thursday after the show, we are going over to Orlando to watch one of our guys on our bmx team compete at the Dew Tour. It was perfect timing to have a show in Jacksonville and then the Dew Tour in Orlando beginning the next day through the weekend. It will be a fun getaway for us. Plus, it's great to be able to support Alex (the bmx rider competing).

Lucas, who is living at our house right now and is the head of Outcast BMX Team, is going with us to support Alex. Pray for Alex as he competes this weekend. If he does well, he may be a part of the Dew Tour. That's huge!

Outside Time

The weather right now is incredible. It's that time where you can wear long sleeves or shorts and be completely comfortable. The sky is an amazing blue, and there is a gentle wind that blows autumn leaves all around. During the day, we spend most of our time sitting out on the hammock or taking a walk.

At night, it gets chilly enough to have a light jacket. We build fires in our outdoor fireplace every night on our back deck.

I'm sitting outside right now and two deer are grazing by. It's difficult for me to be inside these days. You want to be outside, too, because inside public buildings like restaurants, the temperature isn't comfortable. They don't know what to do. If they turn on the heater, it would simply be too hot. If they don't turn on anything, it gets stuffy. Therefore, they are forced to run the air conditioning which is too chilly for my taste. I choose to be outside!

Performing at our Church

We performed an illusion with an illustration at the end of the service at our church yesterday. It was good. You can go to pclive.org and click on 10-17-07 to watch it. Brock also did his famous "Brockwalking" at the beginning of the service.

Jeremiah 33:3

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."

Pray for us this morning. We are performing one illusion at the end of the services at our church. It is an illusion concerning the Living Water.

Brainstorming How to Make It on the Road

This past week, we had a couple come to visit us. He's been a traveling speaker for years. She goes with him as much as possible (even with 4 kids!). It was so good to talk with her and hear about how she handles this unique way of life. It is different. Nobody quite knows how to handle someone who spends most of their time on the road except others who do the same.

On Thursday morning, we had breakfast with girls whom we hadn't seen in a long time. They are in a band and have been doing this for ten years just like us. I told them that someone had said that people don't usually make it that long on the road. My answer to that was: "I feel like after ten years, we finally have it half way figured out. I don't want to stop now." The girls said that they feel the same way. It took those ten years of experience to learn how to handle this life.

Then, we began to talk about taking care of ourselves out on the road, because we all want to do this for another ten years. How do you spend months at a time away from your own bed, food, and community and survive? One of the girls said that we need to brainstorm how to do this. It was so good to hear of their struggles and totally being able to relate. The victories are numerous, but they are easy to handle. The struggles that can be numerous are not so easy.

Catch Up

All last week and this week, we've been playing catch up. We've hung out with people that we haven't seen in months. We've had meetings with people that we've had to put off since May due to being out of town so much. Basically, these last two weeks were the first two weeks that we've had at home since May.

Our closet had become so cluttered and haphazard that we couldn't even get in the door. So, last week, I cleaned out two closets while listening to a book by Henry Blackaby on cd. I felt doubly productive! We also took 8 big garbage sacks of clothes to Goodwill! We threw away another two bags because it was stuff that nobody would want!

We had some friends come and stay with us this week. That's been fun! The guys would work on things like the trailer and brainstorming our new show. The girl, whose kids were with Grandma at the time, and I went and played and talked about everything under the sun. It's been a good couple of weeks!

Surprise!

Yesterday, we ate lunch with some friends who were visiting us from Atlanta and some friends that we work with. After lunch, we were standing outside talking and enjoying the beautiful weather. Before we all began to disperse, someone handed me an envelop. I opened it up to see two tickets to Phantom of the Opera that would be performed in Birmingham on October 10th. I was trying to figure out when that was only to find out that it was that day! I looked over at Shannon and told her to tell everyone in the village meeting that I said hi. She said that everyone already knew that I was going. Then, I looked over at the people who were visiting us and they had grins on their faces. Brock got the tickets back in May and everyone knew but me!

We ran home, threw on a dress...well, Brock put on a jacket and dress shirt over some jeans. Then, we hopped in the truck and drove to Birmingham (about 2 hours away).

I went to see Phantom when I was in high school. My parents had given me two tickets as a Christmas gift. I wanted to take a guy, but I didn't know any cool guys to go with me. Therefore, I took this college girl with me. She was nice, but a little scatter brained, so we missed the first 30 minutes of the show. Last night, my boy took me to see it, and we didn't miss one minute of it! It was beautiful and an absolute surprise.

Intercessory Prayer Part 7: It's Necessary

The main thing about prayer is just to do it! It's so vital to the Christian life. Intercessory prayer is so necessary in the lives of the people in whom you are praying for. Those of you that read this blog everyday and pray for us, (you know who you are) I consider you just as much a part of our ministry as our manager. Without your prayers, there would be no ministry. I truly believe that.

Paul says in Romans 15:30: "I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me." Paul, who was like Super-Christian, is basically saying that people could join him in ministry through prayer. Although we don't know the names of the people who prayed for Paul, they helped change the world!

You cannot come with us to every show, although I wish that you could. You cannot go to the jungles of Peru and help my sister and brother-in-law share the gospel with people who have never heard of the name Jesus. However, you can be an integral part of these ministries through the ministry of intercessory prayer.

Intercessory Prayer Part 6: A Story

In December of 2005, I went to lunch with my friends, Heather and Susan. As Heather was talking, the Lord whispered a prophecy in my ear. Half of it was good. The other half was the beginning of the longest stint of personal prayer that I’d ever done for someone.

The pregnant Heather was telling us that her doctor said that her body was trying to have her baby now. She was only a few months along. As she continued to share her concern, I heard very clearly “Heather’s baby is fine, but Susan is not.” I didn’t know what to do with that. It was so strong that I actually got nauseous.

Right after Christmas, I saw Heather and she had just been to another doctor to get a second opinion. With a look of elation in her eyes, she said, “The baby’s fine!” At that point, I was excited for Heather, but my heart sunk for Susan because half of the words that I had received had been true. Did that mean that Susan was in danger of dying or not being able to have a baby or what?

That weekend, I went into my room and pleaded with the Lord to change His mind. I’d heard of a few instances in scripture where He changed His mind. I fervently prayed for Susan to the point of tears and crying out to God.

About a month later, Susan told us that she was pregnant. I thought that maybe the Lord had decided to change His mind. Maybe everything would be okay! However, deep in my heart, I knew that something bad was still awaiting Susan and her baby.

In May, we went on vacation together with Susan and her husband, Rod. The day we flew out was the same day that they were going to the doctor to find out if they were having a boy or a girl. It would also be the day that they would find out if there were any physical problems with the baby. I was praying that everything would be just fine, and it was. We then found out that the baby was a girl who would be named Anna. So, from then on, my prayers were for Susan and Anna.

On Thursday, September 21st, I called Susan, who wasn’t due for another two weeks, to see if they wanted to eat dinner with us the following night. Susan did not answer and I just knew that she was going into labor. I also felt the urgency to pray. I prayed for her all day and night. The next morning, she and Anna were the first people on my mind. I told Brock to call Rod because I thought that Susan was having her baby. Brock called and Rod said that yes, she was about to give birth in the next couple of hours. We later received news that everything was fine.

It wasn’t until a couple of weeks later that I heard otherwise. I happened to see one of Susan’s friends at the park one day. She told me what an ordeal that Susan went through during the birth of Anna. She told me how touch and go it was for a while. Anna was placed in ICU for the first four hours of her life and Susan almost died. Susan's dad was already talking about arrangements if Susan did not make it. However, they were both fine now. A peace from heaven came over me because I knew that this was what the Lord had warned me about 10 months before. I knew that my part in all of this in prayer was over and it was a happy ending and beginning!

I know that Susan went through a lot, but it could have been worse. The Lord has plans for Susan and Anna. There is a reason that He had me pray for them so far in advance even before Anna existed. He knows all. He sees all. He loves all.

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or even imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations for ever and ever!” Ephesians 3:20-21

Intercessory Prayer Part 5: It's Supernatural

Prayer is supernatural. "Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." Jeremiah 33:3. Those times when the Lord places someone on your heart at just the right time...that's supernatural. The Lord is giving you information that can only be found in Him. He is stirring within your heart.

Because prayer is supernatural, the Lord will ask you to do things or say things that seem unnatural...a little weird at the time. For example, one time I was praying out loud over a pregnant lady in front of a group of ladies at a baby shower. I always feel awkward praying out loud anyway because it's not how I normally pray. I never say "Dear Lord" or "Amen" when I pray to the Lord...I just talk. One time, when I prayed out loud, I said "See ya!" at the end instead of "Amen." It was embarrassing.

So, anyway, as I was praying at this shower, I felt as if the Lord wanted me to pray that the baby would not be rebellious. This was slightly odd. The baby wasn't even born yet. We didn't know what his personality was going to be. Plus, his parents were wonderful Christian parents. Their other two daughters are just adorable and well mannered. I was afraid that everyone would misunderstand me to be saying that she was not a good enough mother to handle a boy or something. That's not what I was saying at all. In fact, I didn't know what I was saying. The Holy Spirit simply wanted that said out loud. I did it, and nobody said anything about it to me. Still to this day, I don't know why the Lord had me pray that. The baby is only a year and a half old now, so who knows?

I have another experience involving intercessory prayer and an unborn baby. This story taught me the most about intercessory prayer so far. It's too long though, so I will share about it tomorrow.

Intercessory Prayer Part 4: Faith

You must pray with faith. Most of you know the scripture in Matthew 21:22 that says:
"If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." I just found this verse the other day: "And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." Jesus is simply saying to ask Him.

Faith about intercessory prayer is more tricky. God is always faithful, people are not. Sometimes I will be praying that a certain thing will happen in the life of another. It does, but the person does not respond in the way in which I wanted her/him to. You still must have faith in the Lord...He is still faithful amongst our human frailty. He is sovereign.

Many times, the Lord does not answer our prayers in the way we thought He was going to. In fact, often we miss the answer because we've confined it to such a narrow version of it. If it doesn't fit in our box, it's not right. Let me tell you, the Lord rarely fits inside our boxes that we've built. He can be almost weird to us sometimes. He does things differently than we would do things because He is GOD. "'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are you ways my ways,' declares the Lord. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'" If you truly want to pray with faith, you must LOOK for the Lord's answers...sometimes, it's even better than you imagined...almost every time, it's outside the box.

Intercessory Prayer Part 3: A Glimpse of the Outcome

I've said this before, but we take prayer too lightly. It is so powerful!
"After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly." Acts 4:31

Read Acts 12:5-14. This is what it looked like: A group was gathered praying. They were praying for Peter who was in jail and about to go to trial with Herod. I'm sure that they were praying for his freedom. A few minutes later, Peter comes through the door! Their prayers were answered immediately.

I've found that many times when the Lord asks me to pray for others that He allows me to see an outcome. Either I will be there when the very thing that I'd been praying for happens, or the person whom I'm praying for will come and talk with me about what I'd been praying about for them. This is not always the case, but it often happens.

Intercessory Prayer Part 2: Standing in the Gap

The Lord is looking for people to pray. He's looking for people that He can call upon to "stand in the gap" for others:
"I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one. So I will pour out my wrath on them." Ezekiel 22:30-31

It's not easy to seriously be an intercessor. Some of you that read this blog know all about it. It's draining at times. Sometimes it cuts into your schedule and plans. However, it's worth it!

Intercessory prayer is so important that sometimes it's the difference between life and death. Just as death happened in the scripture above because of the lack of an intercessor, so has the presence of one allowed people to avoid destruction:
"So He said He would destroy them---had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before Him to keep His wrath from destroying them." Psalm 106:23

The cool thing about becoming a prayer warrior is that you don't need any kind of seminary degree. You don't even need to take a class about it. You simply need to be willing. The Lord does the rest. I don't know everything there is to know about it, but what I do know is that when the Lord chooses YOU to pray for someone...when He personally asks you to, there is nothing else like it!

Feel free to share some things you have learned about intercessory prayer through scriptures or experience. As I began studying it in preparation for my village group the other night, I found myself wanting to know more and more.

Intercessory Prayer Part 1: A Burden

Last night went really well. Thank you for your prayers. Before I told them ALL about Kay and Trent, I spoke to them about intercessory prayer. I think that we take prayer too lightly. I've always loved praying to the Lord and conversing with Him. However, my intercessory prayer didn't really develop until I asked the Lord to use me. After the Lord woke Gin up in the middle of the night to pray for me (if you don't know this story, read my blog from December 2, 2005), I asked the Lord to wake me up in the middle of the night...use ME! He did! I'm still learning and don't have it all figured out yet, but things did change at that point.

After that, praying for others took on a whole new meaning. One major difference is that I don't just simply say a prayer for another, but I am burdened for that person. It becomes my burden while I am in prayer. (I'm still learning how to leave that burden at the throne and not carry it with me throughout the day where my flesh might intervene.) Intercessory prayer may begin as a discipline, but it becomes something more.

"Arise, cry out in the night: pour out your heart like water to the Lord. Lift up your hands to Him for the lives of your children who faint from hunger at every street corner." Lamentations 2:19

I am memorizing this verse this week. I think of "arise" as almost like when He wakes you up in the night. Of course "children" doesn't literally mean your child, or for some of you, maybe it does. People are hungry for a lot of things...not just food!

Leading My Village Tonight

Pray for me tonight. I'm leading my village group. Last week, I felt like the Lord was telling me that our group should pray for Kay and Trent (my sister and brother-in-law who are missionaries in South America). I began thinking about talking to my girls about intercessory prayer.

I was telling my parents how awesome it is when the Lord asks you to pray for someone...like when He lays someone on your heart. At that moment, one of my prayer partners, Tiffany, called me. She said that the Lord had "laid me on her heart" for the last 15 minutes. I told her about possibly sharing with my group (a plan which I had been formulating for the last 15 minutes). She said that she thought the Lord was calling us to pray.

Later on in the week, I read an e-mail from one of the girls in the group. She sent us an e-mail about prayer. I texted another girl in our group about going to dinner Monday. She texted back and said that the Lord had just laid me on her heart. She was about to text me and tell me that she loved me and was thinking about me. When she opened her phone to do that, there was a text from AUNY GILL.

I think that the Lord is trying to tell us to pray. Like Tiffany said, I think that He is CALLING us to prayer. I don't want us to take this lightly. It's an honor and a privilege to pray especially when the Lord is personally asking you to!

Encouraging E-mail

This is an encouraging e-mail we received this week:


Tonight I could not sleep so turned on the Discovery Channel and watched the documentary about Jesus. I am 59 years old and have not been to church in a while - I've become discouraged and depressed because of the circumstances in my life. I woke up again at 4 a.m. thinking about the documentary. All I could remember was the name Brock, the fact that you were a Christian and a magician so I typed those things into my search engine and found your site.

Just wanted you to know that my doubts about Jesus being the ONLY way are gone and I have renewed my relationship with Jesus Christ - I've ordered ALL your video's to share with my family, especially my two sons who are lost in addictions. I have hope and look forward to a good nights sleep as I have been forgiven and restored to living Jesus Christ.

Standing Room Only

Last night, we were actually filling in for someone who could not do this show in Nebraska. Therefore, the people bringing us in didn't know too much about us. I wondered how many people would show up since we were not very well known in this area. The place was packed out! Everyone was so nice, and the show was wonderful!

Our new dvd is entitled "Standing Room Only." Now, that's not only a theme. We've made it our prayer. You see, if the place is packed out, there is so much energy in the room. We love that! The best part is that more people get to hear the powerful message of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Everywhere we are going is packing out even in a place in which we've never been. This is the Lord! He's answering our prayers of "standing room only."

Running Dream

You know when you wake up from one of those dreams where you've been running the whole time? I just had one of those. I feel like I've run several miles, and I'm all stressed out. In this dream, I was trying to find my shoes and these children that we were taking care of. I couldn't find either. I'm so glad that I'm awake! Although, now, I feel very tired. Maybe I can nap on the plane.

I have dreams in which I'm running a lot. Does anyone knows what that means? I just looked it up online and it said this: "If you are simply running with no goal, it may be an indication that you need to slow down in your every day life." I did have a goal though. I wanted to find those children and my shoes. However, I didn't find either. I usually have these kinds of dreams about our show. I didn't set up our props correctly or I cannot seem to find our music no matter how much I search. I end up running the whole time to find stuff or do stuff. I also usually have them the night before we are going to perform...like today.

Pray for us tonight. We are doing a show in Omaha, NE.

Inherited Traits

My dad bought a new bathing suit the other day. He hadn't bought one in about 10 years and only got a new one because the chlorine at a pool he'd been in recently had bleached out his old one. I realized that I'm not as bad as him, but I'm like that. I don't buy new things until the old one breaks or gets a hole in it.

Also, mom hides treats from him because he will eat them. That's the way I am! If food is in front of me, I eat it! That's why I don't keep sweets in the house. It's like they call my name. If I make dessert for a party or something, I always give the leftovers out.

My mom and I are more alike in social ways, so our similarities are more obvious. I remember having a party at my house and one of my friends who knows my mom made a comment about it. After seeing the sharpee to write our names on our solo cups, she said, "This is a Pam Baker party if I've ever seen one!"

It's funny the little traits that you pick up from your parents. I'm really noticing them right now as I'm spending time with them.

Life in Texas

We are having a good time here eating good food (Houston has some of the best), playing cards, and shopping. I'm not normally a shopper, but I enjoy going with my mom. My parents don't live in Houston...they live in a small town outside of it. However, they are not too far away to go shopping and such. It's great because life is at a slow pace here. That's how it is where I live. We don't live IN Nashville, we live outside of it. Even if we did, Nashville is the most layed back city I've ever seen.

The only problem with being here is that Brock isn't. I miss him, but it's good for him to have some alone time. He rarely gets that.

The show on Wednesday night went well. There were over 700 in attendance and 52 people gave their lives to Jesus. That sounds wonderful!

No Routine

I know that I've talked about this before, but I decided to revisit it. The other day, I was talking with a couple of people who were helping with the Freedom Experience in Virginia. I told them that I have absolutely no routines. They could not believe it! They kept trying to find a routine in my life.

I take a shower everyday, but it's different times of the day. Sometimes, it's as early as 6am or as late as 3pm. I eat almost the same thing for breakfast everyday, but I still change it up some and eat it at different times. I seriously cannot think of ONE routine.

The other day, I was watching some talk show, and the host said, "Is your life monotonous?" I thought, "What if your life isn't monotonous enough?" Our schedule is so unique that I cannot find a routine. Maybe I should form a one. Does anyone have any ideas?

A "Mix-up"

Our office is usually so organized about everything. However, this week, something got mixed up. Our schedule said that we had a show tonight in Texas. The person who books the plane tickets did her job and booked us two flights to Houston today. I was going to stay the rest of the week with my parents instead of flying back home tomorrow with Brock. Then, I'd fly from Houston to Omaha, Ne Sunday to meet up with Brock to do another show there.

Last week while we were driving home from FX, Shannon came up to the front of the truck and calmly told me that we had a problem. Our show today was not in Texas but in Georgia! I quickly asked Sean, our intern, what he was doing on the 26th of September. He acted as if he was going to look at his calendar. Then, he dropped his hand from his bag before getting to his calendar and said, "I can pretty much tell you nothing. I'm open." (He really enjoys going to shows with Brock.)

So, Brock is taking Sean and someone to the office today, but I am still going to Texas to see my parents. I'm so excited to be able to spend time with my family. With my sister in another country with limited communication, it's been difficult on all of us to adjust. This will be a good time to lean on each other. I think that the Lord arranged this "mix-up" of states! Pray that the show in GEORGIA goes well tonight.

Blessing of the Lord

Lately, the Lord is blessing all of our shows. We hear this comment often: "We've never had this many people attend and we've never seen this many get saved in one night." This is so exciting! No matter if we are in Little Town, Nebraska or Memphis, TN, we are hearing the same thing. This is all God!

Please pray that the Lord continues this blessing. Pray for the shows to be packed out and many lives to be changed forever in the communities in which we perform!

Matching

I'm funny about matching. I'm not very fashion conscious, but I do like to match. I specifically must have a black and gray color scheme or a brown and tan color scheme. There cannot be any mixing of these two types of colors. I have a few brownish shoes and blackish shoes. I even have two different cell phone purses...one is brown, and one is gray.

Last week at FX, I was so disappointed because I forgot to bring my dark gray shoes. I also forgot to bring my gray cell phone pouch. However, I brought some dark clothes that wouldn't match the brown scheme. What saved me was that I found some black sandals that I'd forgotten about in our truck, and we didn't have any cell phone coverage so no need for a cell phone purse!

Does anybody have to match in that way or am I just weird? Does anyone agree that blacks and browns don't belong together in the same outfit?

Rome, GA

We performed last night in Rome, GA. It was great! The place was packed out...over 800 people. 66 of them gave their lives to Jesus. What a night!

One of the coolest parts is that the whole event and idea was put together by two young guys who saw us at camp several years ago when they were in the youth group, and it changed their lives. Now, they are trying to help change other peoples' lives. This is a wonderful cycle that the Lord is setting up. Pray that more people will want to pour into others after the Lord touches their lives in a magnificent way. Pray that a cycle for ministry begins and never ends.

Left Over Adrenaline

Pray for us today. We are going to drive to Rome, GA and perform tonight. Pray that the show goes well and many lives are changed in Rome. Also pray for strength for us and the bmx team since they are going as well.

Yesterday I went through different phases. First of all, I slept 9 hours Thursday night but still woke up at 7:30. Then, I felt like I had been hit by a truck! I wanted to go back to sleep, but I still had adrenaline pumping through my body from the FX. I finally got back to sleep for a couple of hours. All day I had times where I was so tired that I could barely keep my head up and times where I felt like I wanted to do something exciting (kinda like my body was so used to pumping adrenaline that it kept doing just that at weird times).

Grundy, VA FX

Grundy, VA has less than 1,000 people in the town. On Wednesday night alone, we had about 2,300 people in attendance. The fire marshal said that we were over capacity. Oops! Over 200 people made decisions for Christ at FX. We are still glowing from the week!

Pray that we will get plenty of rest today. We must leave tomorrow to do a show in Rome, GA. We're still rather tired from the week. The only problem with FX is that we do so many shows per day with set up and tear down, and we don't get much sleep!

FX Family

At Freedom Experience, we are like a family. Every single person is a part of the big group. The sound guys changed our flat tire. Brock helped one of the bike guys with their bike. Everyone helps with load in and out.

We all hang out together at the hotel and during meals. This week, the game of choice was a rap off. Eleventyseven and Group 1 Crew along with various skaters and bmx bike riders would rap a couple of lines and then, the next person would begin. It was hilarious!

The best part is how supportive we are all of each other during the show. Everyone is so talented yet so diverse. We are all so appreciative of each others' gift. We would stand on the side of the stage while everyone performed. During Group 1 Crew, we all jumped onstage and began dancing. The bands, bmx riders, skaters, and others came on the stage to watch Brock escape from the water coffin. It's amazing the sense of family we all have!

Tazewell High School

Normally when we do a school assembly I tune out during the speaking. For me, I don't enjoy messages that don't involve the hope of Jesus Christ. However, yesterday, while we were at Tazewell High School, I got goose bumps while Brock was speaking. I could tell that people's lives were being changed due to what was being said. Later, I found out that this particular high school was in Time Magazine because of the notorious use of prescription drugs.

Also, the locals here told us that drugs are so bad that people cannot get jobs because they fail the drug test. Lowe's sent 18 people to get drug tests and ALL of them failed. One lady is a teacher with 24 students in her class. Six of them are crack babies. How sad!

The Lord is rocking Grundy, VA right now! Pray that He continues to work in the lives of people here.

Kudzu

The show went well last night. Lots of people attended for such a small town. We had fun together and many made a decision for Christ.

On another note, kudzu is everywhere here. If you don't live in VA, NC, or SC, I'll tell you about kudzu. It is sort of like ivy in the fact that it's green vines and grows up walls and tree trunks. The difference is that it spreads so rapidly that it covers everything in sight. The only way to get rid of it is to get rid of the soil in which it is rooted. It causes power outages at times because it grows up power lines. It's a nuisanse!

I spent the summer of '98 in North Carolina working at Ridgecrest Conference Center. My best friend and I were from Texas at the time. We thought that it was so pretty and wanted to take some back home. Some of the locals simply laughed at us and said that we'd be on America's Most Wanted List if we brought kudzu to Texas!

Grundy, VA

We are in Grundy, VA conducting a Freedom Experience. We arrived here last night and will be here ministering in this town until Thursday. Some of you may be wondering, "Where in the world is that?". It's a small town tucked up in the Applachian Mountains, and it's my home for the week. When we do a Freedom Experience, we come in and affect the entire area. We live and work amongst the people in the community. Please, pray with me for Grundy, VA.

A Book Called Providence

I just finished reading an incredible book called Providence by Chris Coppernell. You all know that reading is my hobby, particularly fiction. I've read enough books that most of them have become predictable. This one was intriguing all the way through not putting the last puzzle piece into place until the last page. It's very well written with more description about emotions and thoughts as opposed to the color on the walls in the room like so many other books I've read. I love good character development and this book is not lacking in that department! Even though it's fiction, the novel is still encouraging in the faith. It makes you want to die to self more and more.

The funny thing is, I know the author. He goes to my church. I actually bought the book in order to support him, and because I'm such an avid reader. Although it's not the first book Chris has written, it is the first fiction one. Therefore, I didn't know what to expect, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! You should all read it.

Brock Kind of Weekend

Since Brock has been working all week, and I have not, I let him decide what we would do this weekend. His ways are more spontaneous than mine. We went to run errands yesterday evening. Then, we called a couple of people to grab some dinner at one of our normal places to eat. After that, of course, we went to the Cocoa Tree. There were 6 of us, and we had the best conversation. We talked about life and issues such as poverty. We sat outside because the weather was amazing! The Cocoa Tree closed and we continued to sit out on the back patio and talk.

Today, Brock is going to ride his dirt bike while I finish up the laundry. Tonight, we are going out with a few friends for dinner. I like Brock's weekend!

Just Another Door

Our lives can get a little chaotic. When you pack up to go somewhere new every week, it becomes rather unsystematic, to say the least. Because of that, we have no real pattern or habits that I can think of. Well, sometimes, we leave doors open. It's easy to do. We are going in and out to grab luggage and such. Then, we forget to close a door.

Not too long ago, we left our front door to our house open all weekend. We got in late at night, and I noticed the door open. I immediately thought that someone had broken in and stolen our TV or something. No, one of us had simply forgotten.

The other day, when Brock was in Kansas, as we were talking on the phone, he walked out to his rented van to find that the side door was wide open. Again, I suspected theft. Yet, again, someone had left the door open!

One time, a band was staying at our house. Shortly after we left in our big truck, we get a call from one of the band members asking if we'd left. He just wanted to make sure that we were really gone because our front door was open. At the end of the conversation, he asked if we wanted him to close the door on our pick-up truck. Yes, we'd left our front door and car door open! What can I say? Our life is hectic!

Alone Time

I've been able to have alone time for the last few days. Brock has been doing a few shows in Kansas. I opted to stay home this time and let an intern go with him. It's been so nice. On the road, we never get time alone. When we do, the time is usually used up with sleep, because we don't get enough of that.

I think that Brock could live forever without alone time. Me, on the other hand, used to need it everyday. I haven't had it in a few months, so this is way overdue. It's not just time alone, but time with the Lord. I crave that!!! There is something about being still with the Lord. It gives a whole new perspective.

Anyway, I have had a few days of it. I've still been with people some. I met with my prayer partner, Tiffany, on Tuesday. My village group met last night. However, the rest of the time was spent alone. It was great, but I'm glad to be picking up Brock tonight! I really miss him!

My Africa

I have a friend named Kyla. She is a wonderful person! She is taking on a whole new job. She is moving into a house and going to be the house mother for young, single, pregnant girls. She is so excited about it!

The house that she is moving into needs a lot of work. It's old and dusty. Whenever anyone says that they don't know how she could live there, she beams up at them and simply states, "It's my Africa!"

Sometimes, you don't have to go all the way to Africa to get out of your comfort zone ("comfort" being the operative word). The Lord calls us to do missions here. We simply must be ready and available like Kyla. Do you feel that God is calling you to "Africa" right where you are?

Local Shows

Sunday, Brock did a little thing we call "Brock Walking" at the beginning of the service. Then, he did something with a candle and fire toward the middle of the service. You can go to www.pclive.org and watch it if you want to.

Yesterday, Brock did a little performance for a crowd of Christian Books Retailers. It was good. In the afternoon, he filmed some interview stuff for our dvd.

Last night, we hung out with some friends that we haven't seen in a while. It was good just to get caught up with some things at home. That's another problem with being gone so long. The stuff at home piles up. We are slowly getting everything done.

Normal Weekend

We felt like normal people this weekend. We weren't out of town, and we weren't working! This is what we did:

Friday night, we went on a date, just the two of us! We went to a restaurant that we had never tried before. Our Israeli friend in Panama City, FL told us about it. It was really good! Brock enjoys eating food at a restaurant where there is a specialty chef at that restaurant only...this was one of those kind of places. The menu changes every night. My adventurous side of me likes to try new places, so this place was perfect for both of us. Then, we went to the Cocoa Tree and had some great chocolate!

Saturday, we went canoeing with friends. Then, we had lots of friends over for Brock's famous burgers. It was great!

Sunday, we went to church early because Brock performed in the service. Then, we went to a Greek Festival to have lunch. There, we were taken on a tour of the Greek Orthodox Church. It was very interesting. We were home and in the bed for a Sunday afternoon nap by 2:30.

What a great weekend! I feel rested. Is this a "normal" weekend of some sort? What do you do on the weekends?

Summer Day

We had a fun day yesterday. First off, we went canoeing at a place down the road. There were six of us. It normally takes 3 1/2 hours to canoe this particular portion of the river. The people that worked at the place where we rented the canoes said that you cannot complete it in under two hours. We did! It was fun, but if I could go back and change one thing, I wouldn't have worked out my upper body so much on Friday. After the strenuous work out Friday, and then booking it in a canoe for two hours yesterday, I am so sore!

Last night, Brock grilled burgers for everyone. He makes the best burgers! There were about 25 of us that hung out at our house. Some watched a movie while some hung out on the hammock. Others just talked together. We ate outside and then, had a bonfire.

Yesterday was perfect weather. It wasn't hot. It was just right. It rained on us for just a few minutes while we were canoeing, but we planned on getting wet! What a great, summer day!

Psalms 77:1-2

"I cry aloud to you, God, knowing you hear me. In my day of trouble, I seek You, lifting my hands up to You all night long, refusing to be comforted by anything other than Your sweet presence and direction."

Adoptive Parents

A year ago at this time, I felt like the Lord was calling us to be parents...sorta. I felt like he wanted us to parent people who were way past adoption. After the age of 12, the chances of you getting adopted are slim to none. What we are seeing now is people who are brought up without parents. Most of them are missing their dads. Therefore, they might not know how to buy a car, or change the oil in their cars (the girls at least). The guys have questions about their jobs and future careers. One of the main things we can offer is that we get to model a healthy husband and wife relationship for them. Most of them have never seen that.

Just this week, we talked with two more people who have been through some hard times, and they are only 19 years old. Wow, they seem older than 19! These people are wonderful, beautiful, talented people. You would never know that they've had so much to overcome. I'm so proud of all of them! Most of them are clinging to each other and the Lord. Only a couple of them are still going through a wild stage. We continue to pray for them!

There are so many of us, now. I can think of 10 off the top of my head who have had major struggles in the past. Then, there are several others who are here with no family around for miles. Nobody's family lives here. We always seem to have a single person living with us, and I don't mind it at all! Who knew that ministering to young, struggling singles would feel the void of needing friends and a community in my own life?

Lysine

I absolutely cannot stand getting cold sores on my lips! I feel like they are so HUGE and everyone is looking at them. They make me feel so self conscious, especially when we are on the road and meeting new people all of the time. This year, I found a cure for them. I used to get them about 5 to 6 times per year. Often times, I'd have multiple blisters at a time. Anyway, I hardly ever get them now. On the rare occasion that I do, it's just one that's very small and goes away in a couple of days.

Guess what the secret is...LYSINE. I take a Lysine pill everyday. That's what does it!

Also, the other day, I noticed that my lips were very chapped. I found it strange that my lips would get chapped in the summer. They used to stay chapped all year long, but this year, not at all. Why had they suddenly become chapped? Had I burned them at the pool? No, I'm very anal about putting lip block on every time I go outside. Was it because I was sick? I ruled that out, too. Then, I realized what it was. I had run out of Lysine that week. Apparently, Lysine not only keeps you free of fever blisters, but keeps you from getting chapped lips as well!

Another Baking Day

The Eleventyseven guys stayed at our house last night. Therefore, I made poppyseed muffins for breakfast. They absolutely LOVE any kind of home cooking. One of the guys came in the kitchen and saw the muffins being made and looked at me and said, "Bless you." Their album just came out yesterday. You should get one! They are so fun...very punk rock!

Tonight, we are having our village meeting. Emily, our leader, has something special planned, but it's a surprise. She did tell us to bring a dessert. So, I will be making homemade chocolate chip cookies. (They are Mrs. Nancy's recipe, but since she lives in Florida, I've become famous for them here.) Because of all of this, today is a baking day! Sometimes, I crave to bake while I'm on the road. Today is my chance!

Family Dinners

We had a new friend come with us out to dinner the other night. Several of us in our group of friends eat out together often when we are home. I watched her eyes as she observed us. We ate off of each others' plates. One of the girls didn't want her mushrooms, so she gave them to me. We were pushing our plates in front of her telling her to try our dinner.

Until that moment, I didn't really think about it. This is how we eat! It's like a family dinner where you pass the potatoes or whatever, only you pass your entree to someone else. Sometimes, a person will like another person's dinner better and vice versa, so they switch meals.

There have been several times when someone comes in late. They don't even need to order anything because they eat what's left on everyone else's plate. One of the guys came in last at our favorite Thai place. We passed about 7 plates to him with just a few bites on each one. He was full and satisfied after eating our leftovers!

We especially are used to eating out with those that are on the road with us. We have several meals a week together. There have been times where we all ordered something different. We'd eat on what we ordered for a little while. Then, we'd pass to the right and eat on that entree for a while. It's fun!

Anniston, AL Show

Last night, we performed in Anniston, AL. It was another standing room only. People were lined up out the back. We laughed together and had a great time!

After the show, we drove the three hours home. So, we got in late last night, but we have all day here to play. We are planning on going to our friend's pool and grilling out. It'll be fun! What are you doing for Labor Day?

Waco, GA Show

Today, we had a wonderful time with Brad and Lindsay. It was so encouraging to be around them! I didn't want to leave!

The show went great! We had some challenging issues with the sound system. Plus, Shannon couldn't be here at this show. Wow, did I miss her! I was running around the whole time. I've been running around for 4 hours because I had to do mine and her job. What did we ever do without her? I about lost my sanity...that's what! In the end, 71 people came to know the Lord tonight. That was worth all of the running around I could ever do!

Shows and Friends

We drove to Waco, GA and performed at a school yesterday afternoon. The show went well and lots of people will probably be coming to the show tonight. The gym was not air conditioned again...another hot show!

Then, we went to Atlanta and saw our friend, Kristin. We actually call her crackhead because she's so crazy. You should see her with Brock. They egg each other on.

Last night, we stayed with our friends, Brad and Lindsay, who live in Atlanta. It's great to hang out with them.

Pray that the show goes well tonight!

Sleep!!!

Last night, Brock woke up at around 3am. I woke up as well. I actually went back to sleep for about an hour before I had to get up to go to Georgia. It's going to be difficult to drive a while and do a show today on such little sleep.

The weird thing is that I had a very visual dream when I went back to sleep. I dreamed that Brock and I were sitting outside at a restaurant or something. We were on the beach but a block away. I looked up and saw a hot air balloon. It looked as if it were coming down too quickly. Then, it began to plummet to the ground! People were screaming those screams where you know that you are about to die. Then, it went behind the hotels. Two seconds later, there was a big explosion and fire was billowing out from behind the buildings. I wanted to cry, but no actual tears would form. (You know how dreams are.)

I told Brock about it this morning. He said that he knew exactly when I dreamed that because my breathing changed. I was gasping in several times in a row. That's what I was doing when the hot air balloon was going down. I also seemed like I was upset or something. He knew that I was thinking or dreaming about something intense!

Not Ready to Go

I'm not ready to leave town again tomorrow. I feel like I just got here. Maybe it's because I was sick the first three days that I was home, and I don't remember them very well. Maybe it's because I've only been home about 15 days in the last three months. Most of those days, I was trying to get ready to leave again the next day.

Pray for me. I'm having a hard time with this lifestyle right now. I love the shows and the ministry, but that takes up less than 10% of the time that we are actually on the road. The rest of the time is spent on planes or in cars, or sitting in a lonely hotel room with nothing to do.

I've finally made friends after doing this for eight years. It's difficult to keep up with friends after you meet them once or twice and then you're gone for two months. I'm a horrible phone talker as well. I cannot stand talking on the phone. Therefore, it's difficult for me to keep up with people when I'm on the road. It's made me harder in some ways. I hate that.

Last summer, we came home and nobody called us. We would call them to go hang out and they wouldn't call us back or were too busy for us. Basically, their lives had gone on for the summer and it didn't involve us. That was when we found this group of friends that we have now. We established those relationships before we left for the summer and they are still in place now. I'm so happy about that. I just wish that I could spend more time with them!

Rain

We've needed rain so badly. Our grass is already brown. We've been having record heat for this area, and no, none, zip, zero rain. Yesterday, we washed our truck. Brock teased that it would rain now. There was not a cloud in the sky and the forecast was clear, but it always rains right after Brock washes the truck.

In the late afternoon, I saw some thunderclouds forming. Surely it was just clouds without rain. There had been a few times lately that I thought it was going to rain just because it was slightly overcast, but it never did. Yesterday, it began to pour! It's still raining, in fact. If you ever need rain, just get Brock to wash his truck!

Marie Antoinette

This weekend, I watched a movie about Marie Antoinette. This, then, led me to read about her online. She was forced to move from her friends and family in Austria to France and marry at the age of 14. She met her husband shortly before the wedding. She became Queen of England at age 18. Two out of her four children died before they were 3 years old. How could they wonder why she squandered lots of France's money away? She was unhappy and too young to have that much power. (Sounds a lot like some young Hollywood women I know of now.)

I just read a book about a young lady in England in the 1500's who had an arranged marriage as well. She fought it at first, but finally realized that God is in control. She accepted her lot in life and was happier for it.

Marie Antoinette did not have such a good ending. She was beheaded at age 37. Granted, the young lady I was talking about above was fictional, still I learned something from this. No matter how much has changed and how many women's rights have been granted, we still have a choice. We can accept the life and the responsibilities that the Lord has given us, or we can live on dissatisfied. Every life comes with its own set of problems, but contentment is a choice.

Sick

Well, I've been sick all weekend...achy, bad sinuses, headaches, extremely fatigued. It wasn't fun, but at least my body was able to rest. I slept more in two days than I had all week last week. I'm not much of a TV watcher, but I watched more TV this weekend than I have all year! I didn't feel like doing much else. My eyes hurt too much to even read most of the time.

I'm feeling much better. Also, I'm bored and ready to get out of this house! That's all I have to say about that.

More Testimonies From FX in KY

After our school assembly, teachers come up and tell us how great the message is on "making the right choices in life." One teacher came to me at the assembly and said that she'd come to FX the night before. She was so excited because her son got saved at the show! All of the teachers were appreciative of us coming, but this particular teacher was overjoyed because it was personal in her family.

A little girl (maybe 8 or 9) and her mom were holding hands praying during the invitation time one night. When it came time to raise your hands to indicate that you were ready to follow Jesus Christ, the little girl didn't raise her hand, but the mom did. The little girl helped lead HER MOTHER to Jesus. What a precious time!

Gary's Neighbor

One of the local ministers, Gary, who helped put this FX together had a neighbor whom said that "Satan is my god, so don't try to get me to come to your church!" Gary didn't approach his neighbor very often after that because he was sorta scared of him.

This week, the neighbor came over to Gary's house and asked if he was involved in what was going on down at the school. Gary said that he was and asked him to come. When Gary picked him up the last night of FX, his neighbor was very hesitant to come, but did anyway.

I have two minutes during a video before the water coffin to collect two girls and two men to help us. I couldn't find any men that were right for the part anywhere! I saw Kim and recruited her to get two men to help us with the water coffin. She, unknowingly, picked Gary's neighbor. Gary thinks that his neighbor really stayed and listened to the message because he helped out onstage.

At the end of the night, Gary's neighbor told him that he was saved. He also told Gary that he would be at his church Sunday! Now, Jesus Christ is his God!

FX Night Three

Last night was simply fun! During the bands, some of the staff and the bmx riders came out and sprayed water from water guns on the hot crowd. Also, silly string was strung out on the audience. Manuel from Group 1 Crew freestyle rapped with Eleventyseven. The water coffin went great. In fact, I think that Brock actually felt really good in the cool water.

Last night was the hottest night. It didn't help that the gym was packed with people. It was standing room only. Over 220 people gave their lives to Jesus this week in Stanford, KY. Wow!

Today, we are going home and we have a whole week off. However, I feel rather sick. My sinuses are acting up and my body feels like it's been run over by a truck. Pray for me. I simply cannot go on this way for much longer.

FX Night Two

Last night was one of the best nights we've had at FX. All of the talent was so good! Everyone was just ON.

The school assemblies went great too! Brock starts off with a few illusions and then speaks. Then, a bmx guy jumps over 7 people with his bike. After that, Brock does the glass walk...this is where he escapes from his straight jacket while walking on broken glass. It's amazing!

The schedule last night went like this: A 5 minute countdown video played. When the countdown reached "0," the band, Eleventyseven began to rock! They have a guy that dresses up in an astronaut outfit with a helmet. He dances around the stage and everyone loves it! Tim Byrne took the stage next. He did an awesome trick on his skateboard blindfolded! Then, we did a couple of grand illusions. The bmx team came next doing some amazing jumps. After a short intermission, Group 1 Crew rocked the stage. Eleventyseven joined them for one song. Brock really captured everyone's attention with the bullet catch. Many people were saved by Christ. We ended the night with Brock riding his motorcycle through the audience blindfolded!

FX Night One

The show went great ending with 73 people who made first time decisions to follow Christ. However, it didn't happen without some opposition.

First of all, it was stinkin hot! We are performing in a gym with no air conditioning. With all of the people crowded in and the stage lights, it's miserable for everyone.

Then, the electricity went out 5 minutes before we were to start. A few of our guys stopped and prayed. When they said "Amen" the power came back on.

When we were ready to begin our biggest effect of the night. Shannon pushed PLAY on the laptop and nothing happened. After a long 5 minutes, Brock was going to scratch it. I said, "NO!". Satan always tries to interfere with this illusion because it exposes him. I wasn't going to let him win. A few minutes later, they got the music to play and we continued on with the show. The Lord was the victor again!

Stanford, KY

We began our day at 6:45 this morning. We have already done 2 shows at two different schools. They went really well, but Brock is extremely tired and his voice is going out. Pray for him.

I went to sleep at 8 last night, so I am feeling rather well. Please pray that the Lord does some great things here in Stanford, KY.

Tired

The shows and the dvd filming went extremely well last night! However, we began working at 8:30am and didn't stop until 2am. One time, I just had to sit down for a minute. I realized that I had not done so in hours.

Now, it's 8:15am and we are driving to Kentucky to do a Freedom Experience. Pray for His strength because I don't have any left of my own.

Big Day

Today, we leave early and drive down to Alabama. We are performing our new show twice tonight. Also, we are filming it for our new dvd. Some of our friends are going with us to help out. Some are coming tonight in time for the show. It will be great to have some support.

Then, we have our first Freedom Experience of the year beginning tomorrow. We will come back home late tonight and leave early in the morning to get to Kentucky for FX.

I'm trying not to be too anxious, but these shows are big and high pressured. Obviously, I'm a little anxious because I woke up 2 hours before my alarm went off. Please pray for us this week.

Good Week

This has been a good week at home. I've been very domestic which is not normally like me. I baked a peach cobbler from scratch. I even used real peaches. I was making it for Bethany, the chocolatier at the Cocoa Tree. I knew that she uses organic, natural stuff, so I figured I would do the same. It took two hours to make!!!

I also washed 8 loads of laundry which took a day and a half. I know I tell you this often, but I have yet more respect for you housewives and working mothers. It's so much harder than you think! I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to throw kids into the mix!

I still have so much to do, but I've been giving myself a break this week. I've been working at a slow pace with many breaks. I've even watched a few movies. I also have been trying not to have so many high expectations. One of my problems is that I expect too much out of myself and others. This week, I took a break from that and it's been great! I'm going to try to strive for excellence, yet not get too unrealistic with my expectations in the future.

Update on the Earthquake in Peru

Some of you may have heard on the news that there was a horrendous earthquake in Peru. The death toll is at 337 and climbing. My sister and brother-in-law are in Peru. However, they are inland somewhat and the earthquake happened on the coast. They might have not even felt it. However, we do know that all of the missionaries in that country, including Kay and Trent, are accounted for and fine. I think that they may leave their training and go and help the earthquake victims, but I'm not sure. Please pray for that area right now.

Healing and Love in the Air

I got to be apart of our Bible study (that we call our village) last night for the first time in weeks. They have been praying for me as well as me praying for them all summer. We all made tacos together and then prayed and shared our lives with each other.

It felt so great to have wonderful girls who accept me and want the best for me, as well as me for them. Two of the girls were on the road performing last night. We all prayed for them, and that made me feel good. That's what they've been doing for me all summer. One of the girls on the road texted me while I was there, so I was able to give them a report.

Brock walked in at the end to pick me up. He told me later that he felt such a good spirit in that room. It felt like there was healing and love in the air. What a healthy group!

Some Kind of Zombie

Brock talks about how people have gone around the world to find true, supernatural power, and they aren't finding it. There is a guy that's offering a million dollars to anyone who can prove that supernatural power exists. Nobody has claimed the prize. Brock states from stage that he has found supernatural power, but it's not what he uses to perform his illusions. The supernatural power that he has found comes from Jesus Christ.

Anyway, people tell Brock that in Haiti they do all kinds of supernatural things through voodoo. So, the other day, we asked our friend, Mark, about it. He grew up in Haiti as a missionary kid. Mark said that it's all a hoax. He told us about a few things, but the most interesting information he gave us was about zombies.

Witch doctors in Haiti can blow some kind of chemical in someone's face and cause them to go into a deep coma. Their heartbeat is so slow that people declare them dead. Then, the witch doctor will go to their grave and dig them up. They can give them another chemical that makes them come alive again. Many of them just die...they don't make it. The ones that do "come alive" are brain dead. Therefore, they walk around out of it. Mark said that you see them walking around Haiti all the time, and you immediately know that they are a zombie.

This act inspired one of his songs "Some Kind of Zombie." If any of you have any old Audio Adrenaline cd's, you should listen to that song again. The point in the song is that we should be like a zombie for Christ. We should be dead to this world and focused on Him. Let the Lord do the thinking for us. You may have thought that zombies were fictional, but they do exist in Haiti!

colorquiz.zom

Take this quiz! It's fun! Go to colorquiz.com. I was surprised at how accurate mine was. Some of it wasn't quite right, but some of it was right on the mark! This is what my results were:

auny took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test! "Intense, vital, and animated, taking a delight in ..." Click here to read the rest of the results.

What were your results? Were they very accurate?

Home

I am home, finally! On the way back from the airport, we stopped by our friend, Mallori's apartment. Several of our friends came and we all played in the pool. Then, most of them went to a concert. Brock and I took our friend, Stephanie, out to eat because she is leaving tomorrow for two weeks.

Steph had an early morning this morning and we had woken up at 5 something yesterday morning, so we went home after dinner. I went to sleep around 10PM and woke up just now at 8AM. I guess that I was tired. It's so good to be home!!!

Rock the Desert

We performed this afternoon in a tent. The tent was packed, so it was really hot! However, it was a great show. We all just sweated together. I was surprised that such a large crowd stayed for the whole show, because it was really hot. Our tent was extra hot because it was mostly enclosed with so much body heat. Did I mention that it was hot?

Anyway, it was fun! Then, we ran over to another stage and watched Family Force 5. They did great as usual. Brock even went up onstage and danced with them for one song. Also, today is the birthday of the twin brothers in the group. So, Brock led the whole audience in a rock version of "Happy Birthday." It was a fun (and HOT) day!

Hotels

I woke up this morning and I walked toward the window to go to the bathroom. In the last hotel we stayed in, everything was opposite. I also don't remember our room number anymore. They all start jumbling together. Sometimes, we wonder why our key won't work only to realize we are at the wrong room or on the wrong floor. A few times, Brock's tried to use a key from another hotel...the wrong key! They start looking alike with that pizza advertisement on them or whatever. Anyway, tomorrow, we go home for almost a week!!!! Yah!

More Airports and Planes

Here is all of the luggage we take on an average flight whether it's one night or a week. Count them...8 bags.


Shannon and I have no shame in snoozing in the Southwest line.

We fly out this morning to go to Midland, TX for a huge festival called Rock the Desert. Pray that it goes well!

Mall of America

Yesterday, we had about an hour to kill before we had to be at the airport, so we went to the Mall of America in Minneapolis. I've heard a lot about this mall. Believe the hype. It IS the largest mall ever. It has a roller coaster inside of it!

I'm not much of a shopper. I'm more of a people watcher. At this mall, you could really people watch. There is so much diversity. Also, everyone seemed really nice and friendly to us.

We went to the bookstore where Brock got a magazine and me a book. Then, we swung by Urban Outfitters to see if they had any good sales. They didn't, so we began to meander around the huge mall.

A chocolate store caught our eye. It was a Lindt store. The American chocolatier happened to be present at the time. She told us some amazing facts such as: The Swiss consume 22 pounds of chocolate per person per year, whereas, Americans consume 12 pounds. I quickly told her that Brock eats about 50 pounds per year! She really liked us since we shared her passion of chocolate. She allowed us to taste test all kinds of their chocolate. Brock even tried some that was 99% cacao! It was great, but didn't quite measure up to the Cocoa Tree!

The Comforter

The strangest thing happened last night. There's a group of girls that meet every Monday night. Of course, I haven't been able to attend in the last two months. Well, I texted the leader and told her to pray for me because I was on the verge of spiritual burn out.

I experienced emotional burn out two years ago. It took me 6 months to get over it. Last year, I had physical burn out with exhaustion which I was able to get over very quickly. However, the ulcer that I developed at the same time took 6 weeks to recover from. I still must be very careful about what I eat and my stress level in order for it not to flare up again.

What I have been going through for the last couple of weeks is totally different. I haven't really prayed in a couple of weeks. That scared me. I normally feel the Lord's presence in some fashion everyday whether it's during the invitations at our shows or in the quiet time I take with the Lord. I felt nothing---just numbness toward Him lately. It was unlike anything I'd ever experienced.

Last night, I felt so much better. I knew that the girls had prayed for me. My thought was, "We'll see if it lasts till the morning." This is the kind of cynical thinking I've been having lately...very unlike me.

During the night, in the wee hours of the morning, I felt the Lord's presence for the first time in weeks. (You may want to sit down because this gets sorts weird. The Lord can be weird sometimes---just different than we expect.) He was leaning over my bed healing me---restoring me. It reminded me of a mother leaning over her sick child. With such tenderness, He renewed me. I didn't see Him, but only felt Him. He is the Comforter!

While I was looking for another verse just now, I stumbled across this one: "As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you." Isaiah 66:13a

Competition

Simon Cowell said, "You are not a true artist unless want to be the best." This could apply to everything. You are not a true teacher unless you want to be the best. You are not a true accountant unless you want to be the best. You are not a true mom or dad unless you want to be the best. You are not a true Christian unless you want to be the best. What's wrong with this statement?

The problem with this is that you have to put others down in order for you to be the best. Why do we enjoy hearing that another Christian has fallen? Why do we secretly rejoice when our competition fails, because we selfishly want to be the best.

When I am at places like Spirit West Coast with other Christian entertainers (not the musicians, but unique kind of entertainers like us), it's difficult not to be competitive. I have to constantly keep myself in check. I don't need to compare us to other Christian entertainers. There is plenty of room in this world for all of us. Plus, we are all on the same side. If it's hard for me at festivals, I can only imagine how difficult it is for musicians. They have so much competition.

However, I would have to agree slightly with Simon Cowell. You should try to be the best...be the best "you" you can be. Using all of the resources, talents, and gifts that the Lord has given you, strive to be the best you can be. We need to strive for excellence. That doesn't mean comparing yourself to others no matter how much we are tempted. Chances are, you can find somebody better than you and worse than you in just about every area of your life. Jesus is our standard, not the competition. He believes in you and knows what you are capable of. With His strength and wisdom, you can be excellent!

Airports and Luggage

Some of you may be curious as to how we fly all of our illusions to events. Well, it's rather crazy. We check the maximum number of bags which is 2 each. All 4 bags are the maximum weight allowed of 50 pounds each. Then, we each carry on 2 bags. We each have our backpacks and I carry another bag with our breakfast and snacks. Brock carries on a suitcase containing our clothes.

You should see us when we enter the airport with all of that luggage! After we check our luggage, we still have our carry-ons. I have a lot of books in my backpack, so it's heavy. I hook that strap that goes across my chest. Therefore, I basically hike across the airport.

In case our luggage does not make it, we can go to Walmart and have a complete show using everyday objects. Our back-up show is called the Lost Luggage Show. It's just as good as the Freak Out Show, so we are good if our bags don't make it.

Sick and Tired

I guess that I need to reread my own post from yesterday because I'm feeling anything but peace today. I'm fizzling out. We were home again for only one day yesterday. However, I was sick all day. I don't know if I'm just tired or if I'm catching a cold (that never happens anymore) or what. My head hurts, my sinuses are bad, my stomach's hurting, I'm achy all over. Usually when everything hurts, I'm too tired and my immune system isn't quite up to par. I've over exerted myself.

We went along with our plans yesterday just because I wanted to play and see friends while we were home. We began our day with a lunch meeting. I don't know how I got suckered into that! Then, we did go to a movie. We HAD to run some errands though, so when it was time to go to a party last night, I was too tired and feeling awful. We left early.

Please pray for me. I have to make it this week and then we have 5 days off next week. One day off here and there is killing me. It's not really a day off either, because I've got to get things ready to go again. We leave again today to go to Nebraska or Iowa or somewhere. I woke up this morning still feeling cruddy and I went into the kitchen to find ants everywhere! They invaded last night. This is going to be another one of those days and I feel that I cannot handle it right now.

Journal Entry

This is one of my journal entries from a couple of weeks ago:

We were all waiting for it. I had gone to bed early just to see it. I didn't set and alarm but at 5:33am, I bolted out of bed anxious to see it. There were at least 50 others waiting...watching to get just a glimpse.

Over an hour later, it still had not made and appearance. We saw hints of it coming. At around 7am, it peaked over the clouds. I felt like clapping and screaming with a standing ovation, but all I could do was just stand there. I was in awe...I was stunned. What a gorgeous sight! To think, sunrises happen everyday.

Suddenly, I felt exposed. I was standing on the balcony of my hotel in Daytona. It didn't occur to me that I only had my nightgown on until the sun so brightly pointed it out. I felt so warm and comfortable withint the sunlight, yet so small and vulnerable. This is a beautiful display of the Lord's power.

No matter what camera lense I use or what setting I place it on, nothing can compare to the actual sight of it. I don't care how awesome a painting is or how clever a building looks. No man can ever create something even close to what the Lord has made. He is the MASTER at creativity!

Happy Birthday

Brock's mom's birthday is today, so during the show tonight, Brock called her. It was about 1:15 in the morning where she lives. The answering machine came on and Brock had it on speaker phone coming thru the mic. At the beep, he had the crowd of about 3,000 say "Happy Birthday!". It was great!

She called back about 10 minutes later. We listened to the message after the show. She said that this was the most creative "Happy Birthday" that she'd ever received.

The show went well, too. The audiences are really fun here at Spirit West Coast.

Spirit West Coast

I am backstage at Spirit West Coast festival in Monterey, CA. It's a huge Christian music festival that we have done for the last couple of years.

The show went really well tonight. The crowd was great! We all laughed and had a good time.

Of course I am exhausted right now. We woke up at 6am Central Time. It's now 11:30 which is 1:30 Central Time. I have been up for almost 20 hours! You all know that I'm not a night person. Plus, we aren't even home yet (by home I mean the hotel). Pray that the time change and late night shows don't throw me off.

The Israeli Place

We went to eat at this Kosher deli weekly in Panama City this summer where they had all kinds of Israeli food. When Brock filmed the Discovery Channel show in Israel, he developed a love for their food. It rubbed off on me, too. Now, I love hummus, baba ganoush, and baklava!

They also had a Moroccan place at night. It was a reservation only place. If the owner didn't know you, he wouldn't allow you to eat in this restaurant. Once while we were eating there, he sent others who came up away. He explained to us that he only wants people who appreciate the food to eat there. The Moroccan restaurant was named one of the top 5 in the panhandle of Florida, yet you have to know the guy in order to try it! Good thing that we knew him because it was good!

We developed a relationship with these people. One day, the owners wife and son came to the show. I didn't know how they were going to feel about it since they are very Jewish and we talk about Jesus in the show. They loved the show and even gave us free lunch that day!

Monday, we went there for the last time. As we were eating, they were carrying out some equipment. They are only going to be open in Panama City Beach, FL for a couple more days. Then, they're moving to Miami. It was so sad to think that Monday might be the last time we eat there and the last time we get to hang out with Albert and Sigal.