On the Road

We left my parents' house Wednesday night and headed toward Mississippi. We pulled over on the side of the road and slept in our RV truck. Then, we pulled into the arena Thursday morning and hit the ground running. We were there all day setting up and doing multiple shows.

Yesterday, we were performing all day until dinner time. Then, we went across town to the arenacross. We will be on the road until New Year's Eve night. Hopefully, I'll have internet access by then. It's difficult to find it on the road!

Roach

We are performing at a youth conference in Clinton (near Jackson), MS today and tomorrow. As we began to do an illusion that we affectionately call "The Shower Curtain," a guy named "Roach" came running up onstage holding a broken slinky. He wanted Brock to fix his slinky. I have no idea where he came from. All of a sudden, he was just there.

In all of my years doing this, this has never happened. We've had people uninvited come up onstage before, but usually during a volunteer trick. In other words, Brock was calling up some people onstage and somebody just decided to come up even though Brock didn't select them. However, we've never had somebody just bolt up onstage during one of our illusions.

I didn't know what to do. How could we politely get rid of this guy? However, Brock didn't miss a beat. He had Roach help me lock Brock up and then turn the prop around. Then, Roach stood on the stage as we finished the illusion. Brock is such a quick thinker. It ended up being funny and so smooth that our road manager, Shannon, thought that we had planned it!

Gifts

We opened more gifts last night and I got my very own ipod! I've never had one of my own. Now, I can put in my headphones and listen to music while we're driving and as I'm reading. I love listening to instrumental music as I read. It makes stories so much more exciting. I especially enjoy listening to movie soundtracks and such as I read the Bible. It helps create more emotion and passion.

I also got a new backpack a.k.a. a fun bag. Brock picked it out as a gift from my in-laws. However, he forgot to bring it with him. Now, I get to look forward to actually getting another gift when I get home! What were some of your favorite gifts?

Christmas Continues

I'm weird about celebrating on the specified day. I am the one who always wants the Christmas decorations down the day after Christmas and the Christmas music is over until next year. Therefore, I expected to not really feel like it's Christmas today even though my family is celebrating it tonight and tomorrow. However, I'm surprising myself! I just thought that maybe we should save one gift until tomorrow to open on Christmas day!

I don't think that we really know the exact day that Jesus was born. So, Christmas can be whenever we decide to celebrate it! We had two Christmases this year and it's still going on.

Not a Physical Gift

This may seem a little cheesy to you, but I always try to give the Lord a gift at Christmas. I don't give him anything physical, because, obviously, He is not in the physical. I usually give him time. For example, one year, I gave Him the time when I'm putting my make-up on. Therefore, everytime I'm putting make-up on, I'm talking with Him.

I've been giving Him daily time for so many years now that it's all used up. So, I had to get creative this year. I decided to give Him my finances. I take care of our personal finances while Brock looks over the ministry finances. Sometimes, I get stressed out with our finances...not this year! I'm going to finally surrender them over to the Lord. He's been asking me to do that for a while now.

Merry Christmas!!!

We don't have as many Christmas traditions like we used to when we were children. However, we always read the story of Jesus' birth before we open presents. Usually, dad reads it aloud. What are some Christmas traditions that you have?

Visting Friends

We got to visit some friends. It was fun! Yesterday, we had lunch in Birmingham with our friends, David and Jen Nasser. Then, we drove 6 hours and had dinner in Ruston, LA with Brian and Stephanie. We stayed in Ruston last night. This morning, we visited with Michawn and Joel in Ruston before we left. Then, we drove another hour and had lunch in Sheveport, LA with Chad and Rebecca. We just made it to our final destination of DeRidder, LA where we will spend Christmas. Yeh!

The Gift of Giving

Last week, Brock came to me and told me that he wanted to help out a family that I know. At first, I felt a little funny about giving to this family. They are not homeless or anything and he has a job. I didn't want them to feel like anyone was looking down on them. On the contrary, they are to be admired. Their focus in life is not making money. They truly are kingdom minded. They care more about the Lord and their family. However, this year, they've had car troubles and she's had some medical problems. Therefore, they are a little stretched financially to say the least. Brock was so persistant about it that I knew it was the Lord. I didn't write about it on my blog because she reads it every now and then. Those of you that read Brock's blog know about it.

Monday, when I took the gift basket full of gifts and money that we raised with the help of many others, she was overjoyed. I knew that Brock heard God because she said the timing was perfect. She just found out about some more medical bills that were about to accrue. In fact, she and her husband were not going to give any gifts to each other at all this Christmas. The Lord takes care of His own. What a privelege and an honor when He asks you to help.

I learned a lot through this. Brock really is gifted at knowing how and when to give. Therefore, I need to learn from him as well as trust him in this area. Also, something that I'm learning from the girl in which I gave the gift basket...when the Lord tells you to do something, you do it even if it's a little crazy. That's how He works a lot of times!

It Feels Like Christmas!

Today is the day that I turned my thoughts toward Christmas. The previous days I've been focused on other things even on the days that I was hosting Christmas parties. I guess we finally got all of our work done. We had our final meetings yesterday and got all of our gifts. Today, we only have to pack, finish wrapping gifts, and go meet everyone at the Cocoa Tree tonight. That's not a bad day.

Tomorrow, we head to Louisiana to spend the weekend with Brock's family. On Christmas day, we'll go to my family's house which is only a 2 and 1/2 hour drive from Brock's family. We're performing in Mississippi on the 28th-29th. Then, we come home to do another show on New Year's Eve in Nashville. What are your plans for Christmas?

Finishing a Book

I woke up at 4 something this morning and I have been reading most of the morning. I'm almost done with my book. That's an accomplishment because it's around 900 pages! It's the sequel to Gone With the Wind and it's great! I only have one last chapter. However, it's going to be a good one, so I'm waiting until later to read it. I'm so tempted to whip it out right now and finish it, but we have some meetings this morning, so I wouldn't have any time to reflect on the ending. I'm waiting until I get to the comfort of my home this afternoon to finish.

It's a perfect day for reading. It's rainy and cool. The first thing I'm going to do when I get home is snuggle up under a blanket and finish this book. It's such a bittersweet thing when I finish a book. I'm going to miss Scarlett and her qwerky ways. I'm also going to miss the time in which she lived. I know, I know! I get to engrossed in the novels that I read.

No More Cooking!

Last week, I decided to cook a big Christmas meal twice for our office party and friend party. Most of the time, my mom or Brock's mom cooks the meal, so I thought it would be nice to do it myself. I enjoy cooking and don't get to do it too often. It's way more difficult than I expected. I was in the kitchen all day Thursday and Friday. What I realized is that I enjoy baking. My mom said that I should have had everyone bring a side dish or something. That's a lady who has had experience because that's exactly what I should have done.

Oh well! It was fun and I did it! Now, I just don't want to even enter the kitchen for a week! You moms that cook every year...you have my admiration.

Friends and Sugar Overload

We saw so many people yesterday. In the morning, we still had 5 friends here from the slumber party we had Friday night. We all watched VH1's Best Year Ever and ate leftovers. Then, the band Inhabited stopped by on their way out of town. We went to a party at some people's house in downtown Franklin. Our friend, Ken, borrowed our truck to move something, so we saw him. We saw lots of people at the party. Then, we walked down to Starbuck's with our friends, Randy and Chris. We stopped at Mark's house on the way there. At Starbuck's, we saw people we knew as well. It was fun!

However, I need to start eating better! Three days of parties in a row! Then, last night, we already had tons of food at this party. When we got to Starbuck's, the workers that we knew gave us some free dessert! I'm having sugar overload. Anybody experiencing the pre-Christmas sugar overload as well?

Dirty Santa Gift Exchange

Last night, we played dirty santa. We all brought a wrapped $10 gift. Then, we drew numbers and went in order of the number we drew. If you wanted something that was already opened, you could switch with that person before you opened your gift. I bought a U2 album for my gift having one of our people, Gresham, in mind. He ended up with it! Gresham and his wife bought two t-shirts as gifts with two people in mind. They both ended up opening those gifts. One of the guys was Lewis. He's a really funny guy that we tease is a gnome. He got a t-shirt with a gnome on it. Brock got the t-shirt with a picture of a dirtbike and the words "ridin dirty" on it in lue of his recent moto race win.

In fact, I was so excited that Brock won his first dirtbike race that I put Christmas lights all over his trophy. Instead of placing our gifts under the tree, we put them at the base of the trophy!

Party, Party!

I'm getting ready for two parties today. Tonight, we are having an office party at our house. Tomorrow night, we're having a Christmas party with our friends. None of our friends have family in town. We are all just sorta here on our own, so in a way, we've become family to each other while we're here. Therefore, we're celebrating our Christmas together tomorrow night.

We're going to have a traditional, Brock-and-Auny-style, Christmas dinner at both. Brock's making the turkey in a cajun microwave which is a wooden box in which you place the meat with a steel top where you build a fire. It allows it to cook slowly. Brock will probably put the turkey on in a little while in order for it to be ready by 7pm tonight. I'm making Brock's mom's dressing recipe and my mom's corn pudding recipe. We'll also have potatoes and beans, Mrs. Nancy's cookies (Daytona people know what I'm talking about) and my sister's chocolate cake. It's going to be soooo good!

WORD Showcase

Last night, we went to a showcase for WORD Records. A showcase is when labels "showcase" their artists. Group 1 Crew was on the bill last night and they did fabulous! The only problem was that my favorite song they do would not play on the ipod. It was the only song that would not play. That's strange! However, they just did a different song and went on like pros. It was great!

This morning, WORD is having a worship service with the same people and our friend and very anointed worship leader is performing, Michael Farrin with Pocket Full of Rocks (if you don't have their cd, you need it! www.pocketfullofrocks.com). Also, Brock is going to say a little something about Group 1 Crew and the Freedom Experience. It will be fun!

Modern Day Prophets

Music is so influential. Yesterday, I was running errands all day. That's what I felt like I was doing...RUNNING. Then, I started playing some chill music and I began to relax. It's amazing how much it can make a difference in your mood.

That's why it's important for you to join me on this prayer campaign. I want to pray for our Christian musicians. There music and lyrics have such a major impact on the Church. They reach so many people with their words of encouragement. I believe that a lot of times, the Lord uses their words to communicate with His people. It's almost as if they are modern day prophets or messengers.

However, they are human and they need our prayers. Sometimes it's tough to keep the success of your career and the success of God's kingdom in perspective. Pray that they keep in mind that their purpose is to make His name famous. It can get difficult to keep that at the top of your agenda. Pray for those artists that want to proclaim the Lord from the rooftops, but they are struggling to be heard right now. Pray that they will hang in there. Pray for their finances and opportunities. Pray for the people that are working at the labels and radio stations. Pray that they have the wisdom to know what is best to promote and how much responsibility they have in getting out these words and messages. Pray for the whole industry.

Slandering Other Christians

Yesterday, my pastor talked briefly about bloggers who slander other Christians on their blogs. He spoke of how wrong it is to slam a fellow believer even if you disagree with him. Nobody is ever going to agree 100% with everyone. We're individuals with individual experiences and ideas.

Apparently, some bloggers out there are saying some negative things about a famous pastor. Our pastor knows him and knows how badly it's affecting him. It seems that if someone is really famous and bigtime, we don't really see them as human, or maybe we want to put them down in order to feel better about our mediocre life. However, these people are real, living people.

I heard someone the other day talking badly about a Christian band that I know personally and really love. They talked about how difficult they were to work with at one show. Let me tell you something, when you travel on the road in tough situations and on little sleep, you cannot always be happy, easy-going people. If someone were to base my character on one show, it might not be good if they caught me at a bad time.

I need to be reminded of this, too. Nobody's perfect including me. The more I get to know more Christian "superstars," the more I'm reminded of the fact that people are people. I'm going to try to not talk badly about people especially family in Christ.

MASH

Have you ever played the game MASH as an adult? It's fun. I substitute guys that I'm going to marry for people that are going to be my neighbor. The next section is where I'm going to live. The last section is what car I'm going to drive or what goal I'm going to accomplish in my lifetime.

Next time you are in a boring meeting or in a dreamy state of mind, play MASH. Sometimes, you'll be surprised at what you are hoping for the outcome to be. It might teach you something about yourself and your dreams.

Not Bored

I was afraid that we would get so bored without being on the road. However, we've been really busy. Brock's been working everyday even without a computer.

Thursday, we had the office over for a meeting about FX. I cooked taco soup which was good because it was cold and snowing. It was a soup day!

Yesterday, we filmed for a TV show. (I don't know what channel it's on or when it airs...I'll let you know.) We did a cooking segment where Brock made his shrimp and potatoes. Then, we went to 6th Ave skatepark as well as the Cocoa Tree. It was a unique TV show.

Eleventyseven

Our friends from the band Eleventyseven are coming to town this weekend. They were so fun when they were on tour with us at FX. They'll probably stay at our house and go to the Cocoa Tree with us. Check them out myspace.com/eleventyseven or www.eleventysevenrock.com.