A Very Unusual School Show

In Hampton, VA, we went to a school where they had never before allowed anyone like us to come. However, the principal was only going to send about 100 of the students to the assembly. That was fine with us. It was going to feel small considering we were in the auditorium that seated 850. We were okay with it though. Right before we began, one of the youth pastors said that it was an even smaller crowd. When Brock walked out onstage for his first illusion, he noticed that only the first 2 rows of the middle section were taken...35 people in that big auditorium.

Then, as Brock was onstage doing his first effect, one of the youth pastors came running up to me backstage. He nervously began, "I don't know what is up with this principal..." "What is it?" I interrupted. "Every single person in the audience is special needs and he needs to know that!" The guy said pointing his finger back at Brock onstage. "Yes, he does," I replied.

I went out onstage and informed Brock. He took it like a champ. He seemed to know exactly what to do. He could not change any of the show since he was already onstage and could not set up anything new. However, he adapted a few things. For example, he had me turn the music down. He did not touch the students that came onstage as volunteers even to put them in the right spot as he usually did. He allowed them to stand wherever they wished. The only thing that he did not know how to adapt was the envelops trick. This is where he gives three students an opportunity to choose an envelop. One has $100 in it. In the end, Brock always wins the $100. Of course, he gives them a consolation prize, and then he talks about making the right choices. He did not see how to do this with special needs students, so he gave one of them the money. They all ended up loving it and the principal was very pleased. She said to call her whenever they were offering another school assembly. In the future, she would let her whole school attend!

After it was over, I asked how Brock seemed to know what to do. We had never done a show exclusively for special needs people. He said that on the way to the school that day, he was reading his Magic magazine. He happened to be reading an article about how to do a magic show for special needs people. Wow! That was totally God!

Biggest Month Ever

We just had the biggest month we have ever had in the last 12 years of doing this. We went to Hampton, VA where we did school shows and a big 2 hour show each night Monday-Wednesday of the first week. Then, we drove to Virginia Beach and performed that Thursday night. Then, we drove 7 hours to Charlotte, NC to perform the following night. We left early Saturday morning in order to hang out with our friend, Will Graham, at the Cove in Asheville, NC. We got tickets to tour the Biltmore Mansion there. Brock, me, and our intern, Andrea, were joking around as we first began the tour. Brock kept asking everyone where Walt Disney slept or where the Elvis albums were displayed (acting as if it was their house). After about an hour walking around the huge house, we were done! Our feet could not carry us any further. I think we would have enjoyed it more if we had done it on the front end of that week instead of at the end. However, we met up with Will after that and had a great time.

Then, we came home and had one day there. Monday we drove all day to DeRidder, LA. We did 3 school shows on Tuesday, 2 school shows on Wednesday, and a big 2 hour show Wednesday night. Then, we had a 6 day stretch where we did 7 shows in Florida, Texas, Missouri, and back to Texas. Whew! It's making me tired just thinking about it.

We were definitely pushed to our limits, but we made it! Now, we leave Friday to go on a two week vacation. I will tell you a few stories from this last big month...

Sabbatical from Blogging

It was bound to happen. I have been blogging for the past 6 years. I need a break from it. I have found myself missing the 80's. Times were so much simpler then. I spent over 3 hours at the Apple store one day trying to fix problems with 2 computers, one ipad, and one iphone (I have the ipad and Brock the iphone). As I was sitting there watching the chaos around me, I began to realize how out of control it is.

Also, I wonder if anyone really cares where we did a show last night or what is my pensive thought at the time. Who knows how long this sabbatical will last. I just know that I need it. Thank you all for being faithful readers. I probably will keep posting on facebook and twitter. Talk to you later my friends...

What You Do is NOT Who You Are

One of Brock's mentors told him one day that what he does is not who he is. This guy was a pastor. When he stopped being a pastor, he did not know what to do or who to be. His identity was so wrapped up in being a pastor that he did not even feel like himself anymore.

Brock was told to think of one word to describe him. It was funny because the first thing that popped into my head for Brock was...Christian illusionist and for me was Brock's assistant. Then, I realized that our identity was too wrapped up in what we do for a living.

After thinking about it for a few days, Brock and I both came up with a word. For Brock we thought of things like "unforgettable" and "out of the box." However, these concepts contribute to the one word that really describes him...unusual. That's the reason he thinks differently from others and why a waitress that waited on him once 2 years ago will remember him today.

The word to describe me is adventurous. I wake up everyday thinking about new things I can discover. I never read the same book twice or rarely watch a movie more than once. If I can have it my way, I would eat a new food every meal (even if I hate it, I still enjoy trying something new). I will try almost anything once. When I drive home from the store, sometimes I take another (longer) route just for the fun of it. If I am not going on an adventure of my own, I will read one of my fiction books. They take me on new adventures daily.

Think about a word to describe you. You are not a teacher, banker, or mother of little Johnny. That's what you do which you may do very well. But who are you?

Live is Alive

"There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Luke 15:10. I was joining the party as I watched Ed Kowalczyk of the band Live perform last Tuesday night! Listening to their last couple of albums 10 or more years ago lead me to pray for the writer of the songs. They sounded like the author was so close to finding Jesus yet was still searching. Brock and I would pray for Ed Kowalczyk as we drove down the road listening to lyrics like "I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth, I look at the sunset and I perceive."

Last year, Ed gave his life to the Lord. Yahoo! I cannot tell you what joy that brings to my soul! I've seen Live in concert years ago, but there was something so special about the concert I saw last week. I remember praying that entire concert so many years ago. This time, I was celebrating! I soaked up every word. Ed talked about how he loved singing these songs from this new perspective in Jesus. Every time I have seen Ed live he is always passionate, but this time there was something else as well...it was written all over his face and colored his every expression...JOY. Thank you Jesus for the joy only You can bring in our lives and thank you for drawing this man unto Yourself. Thanks for Your salvation!

Valentine's Day

I had a great day with Brock yesterday. We went into town early afternoon so he could get a massage (his back is getting much better lately). Then, we sat on a blanket at the park in the exceptionally warm, beautiful sun and ate truffles from the Cocoa Tree and read our books. After that, we went to see a matinee movie. We had some time to kill before our dinner reservations, so we strolled through the bookstore and browsed a store specializing in olive oil. We tried all kinds of unique olive oil. When the waitress at the seafood restaurant asked us if we wanted any appetizers, we declined since we had just had some samples at the olive oil place. Dinner was great just as the whole day was.

I planned a lot of the day since I am the planner. However, Brock got the reservations. Also, Brock gave me the best present ever...quality time. He turned off his cell phone as soon as we began our date. That was amazing!

Compassionate Empathist

I learned something about myself last week. I am a compassionate empath. I heard a speaker talk about three types of empathy. You can be a cognitive empath like counselors who can hear people's stresses all day and know their problems. However, when they go home, all of the complaints they have been hearing is put out of their minds. An emotional empath feels people's problems. A compassionate empath actually acts as if the problem is their own. That's how I am!

This explains so much. I am an extravert yet I need some time alone. I get drained when I pray hard for others. The biggest lightbulb that went off was how much I was not suited to be a social worker. The day one of my clients did not show up because she was hospitalized after trying to commit suicide the night before was the day I decided to seek another career. Luckily, Brock and I were about to get married and begin our new ministry together.

The speaker said that compassionate empaths are great at helping others, but they need to choose who and when to help. Otherwise, they feel obligated and end up resenting the ones they are helping because they give so much of themselves. I am processing what this means for me. I am trying to learn more about this and myself.

Crazy, Spontaneous Day

Have you ever woken up one morning and thought, "I don't want to do anything I am supposed to do. Instead, I want to be crazy and rebellious!" This is how I felt yesterday. I was so itching to do something so out of the normal that I googled "Crazy and spontaneous things to do." I found a list of 105, but they were stupid. On the list were things like: "Get sent to jail," and "Get your heart broken." Those don't sound very crazy or spontaneous to me.

Then, I looked up to see if there was a wedding going on. (I have always wanted to crash a wedding.) However, they don't just announce weddings online. Plus, it was Thursday...not a big wedding day normally.

Then, it hit me! I did some more research and texted my friend who I was meeting shortly. We were planning on going to a coffee shop. I told her to wear her bathing suit under her clothes because I had a crazy idea. She didn't hesitate. She said that sounded good. I knew she'd be up for it.

I walked into a hotel that had an indoor hot tub. I was dressed like I would be headed down to the pool with sweats and t-shirt as well as flip flops (the the trip through the parking lot was rather cold considering it was 32 degrees). You must have a hotel key to get into the pool area, so my plan was to knock on the door and ask someone that was already in there to open it for me. However, I could see through the window that nobody was swimming. The heated pool and spacious whirlpool looked so inviting. I sat down near the pool entrance and the elevator. By this time, my friend had joined me. We were trying to device a plan to get in. The lobby was so dead this random Thursday. I watched as a few workers passed by, but nobody who looked like they would open the door for me without any questions.

We discussed whether I should just go to the desk and simply explain that I stay in this chain of hotels often (we are diamond members if that tells you how much we stay) and when I stay on bussiness, I usually don't get the time to take advantage of the hot tub. I was in a sneaky mood, though. This would be the easy way out if they even allowed it.

Just then, I saw a worker walk toward the pool. I jumped up and followed him. When he got to the door, he said, "Going in?" A nervous giggle slipped out as I said yes. Then, he held the door for me and that was it. We were in!

We had fun just hanging out together and talking while soaking in the hot tub. Next time, it's going to be difficult to go back to our normal coffee shop.

Feels Like a Week

Late Sunday afternoon, we flew to Toronto, Canada. Our flight was delayed, so we did not get there until midnight. Then, our luggage was delayed because the door to get the luggage kept freezing (Canada is cold my friends, VERY cold). Therefore, we did not get to our hotel until after 1am.

Then, Monday morning, we got up and went with the Billy Graham crew (we were doing some shows for BGA) to Kitchener which was about an hour and a half drive. There we set up and performed at a school there. Right after that, we went to a prison for 14 to 18 year old guys. There Brock showed them some magic and shared the gospel. It was amazing. Those guys looked much older than teenagers. They were very hard. However, Brock told them about the Lord in a way that they could relate and understand. I just prayed for them the whole time. This was one of the coolest things we did while we were in Canada.

After we left the detention center, we went to a church to set up to do a banquet. This banquet was to kick off the year of ministry the BGA are going to be doing in Kitchener area. We will be a part of it next April by doing a big FX. I felt a little awkward at first. Banquets are a tough place to do a show, because everyone is a little stiff. However, Brock got them laughing and really encouraged them by sharing some from his heart. I think everyone there, including me, is excited about what is going to take place in this area for the next several months.

Tuesday morning, they picked us up bright and early to take us to perform at another school, see the venue for next year, lunch, and another school assembly that afternoon. Then it was onto the airport. We spent an hour waiting in line at customs and the rest of the night on planes. I got in my bed last night a little after midnight. When you have a schedule like that, it feels more like a week than just 2 days!

Putting Up the Christmas Tree

It was January 1998 and I had just come back to school after the break. I looked at the wilting Christmas tree and sighed. It's great putting it up but not taking it down. My roommate and I had found a fun way to get rid of our Jack-o-lantern when the season was over. We would take it up to the top of an outdoor tall flight of stairs and drop it while yelling, "Smashing pumpkins!". Then, we watched it break into a hundred little pieces. What could I do with a tree?

Then, I got an idea! I called my friend who was always up for something crazy. "Want to blow up an old, dead Christmas tree?". He said with no hesitation, "Sure! Come on over." I did that with the tree. I watched as my friend lit the tree on fire. Wow, how that puppy burned! The flames were so high that we were afraid it was going to catch some surrounding trees on fire. Instead of getting nervous like some others watching were, this friend just began laughing. Then I started to laugh, and that was how the tradition of blowing up my Christmas tree began. I did it again today with that same friend...Brock Gill, and we still laughed.

A Rhythm

We have sort of formed a rhythm of life. As I have said before, I know how to do life on the road. However, doing life at home is a different story. I never know what to do at home. Now, we have set up some sort of schedule when we are home. Here is our week:
Monday-Date Night
Tuesday-Mentoring Group and Errands
Wednesday-Small group
Thursday-Magic Night
Weekends-Usually out of town, but if not, we hang out with friends...go to the Cocoa Tree...stuff like that.

My favorite part about this routine is that it allows us to invest into people here at home. Brock and I form a stronger bond with Date Nights. When I run errands and Brock goes to his mentoring group on Tuesdays, we connect with people in our town. In our small group, we share prayer requests and laughs with each other. On magic night, we have some cool, young, aspiring magicians come to our house where we talk about shows and how to use our art to tell others the message of Jesus Christ. It's great!

Give Extravagantly, Live Frugally

This is our New Years' Resolution or theme for the year or whatever you want to call it...GIVE EXTRAVAGANTLY, LIVE FRUGALLY. One way we plan to exorcise this plan is to camp all summer in Florida. That's right! We are buying a tent and pitching it wherever possible this summer in between our camp dates in Florida (not a bad place to camp by the way). This will save us so much money on hotels...especially in Florida in the summer. I am also excited about the adventure it's going to allow us to have. (One week into it, I might be singing a different tune...we'll see.)

Another way we are planning to save money is to take our vacation using our points that we have incurred from various hotel chains and airlines. I think we are going to Puerto Rico. The funny thing is that Brock and I have flight miles on different airlines, so we are going to have to fly there and back separately. That's okay though because it helps us stay on theme!

The giving extravagantly will just have to come to us spontaneously. We will give like we feel lead by the Lord like we always do, we just don't want to use the same motto while doing so. We don't want to pinch pennies when it comes to helping others out. I think you get what I am saying. So, now I have put it in writing and you all can keep me accountable.

Miami Pics

We stayed in Miami the night before the cruise.









We ate at our place in Miami.

It's a Cuban restaurant.

For lunch, we had piella.

Cruise Pics

Last week, we took some great people we have worked with on a cruise. It was fun!

Here is the crew. We all really bonded.

We went to Key West and ate chocolate covered key lime pies.

Yummy!



In Cozumel, some of us ate at a restaurant there.



Brock performed a close up show for our guests one night.







This was my favorite part of the boat. It was called "Serenity."

Almost Arrested

Late last night, we were driving through the sticks of Virginia after our show trying to navigate through the dark, country roads. After getting lost for the third time, we were getting more and more impatient and just wanted to get to the hotel. We turned onto a two lane highway which seemed like it should be about 65 miles per hour road. We had not been on the road a minute when Brock got pulled over.

The police officer came up to the window and I observed him shaking. He was either really cold or very angry. Either way, he was serious when he said that Brock was going 72 in a 45. Then, he told Brock to come sit in his car. I have never had a police officer do that before.

After Brock left, I looked at Andrea, our intern, and said, "I hope he does not get arrested." She thought it was funny how calm I was. She said that I sounded like it would be more of a nuisance than a crisis. After all of the experiences I have had with Brock over the years, I have learned not to freak out. I begin thinking what to do next when something crazy happens (which is rather often). I was already thinking about bailing Brock out and postponing our flights.

Andrea said, "Brock's a nice guy. He probably won't get arrested. However, 20 mph over is considered reckless driving." I looked back to the car and Brock was sitting in the front seat talking with the officer. That was somehow comforting to me. If he was not sitting in the back, he would not get arrested would he? On "Cops," they always put people in the back seat when they haul them off to jail.

After a while, Andrea and I began talking about other things. Then, Brock got out of the car and came back to the driver's seat of our rental car. It's crazy to think that I was relieved that he had a speeding ticket!

Cruise

Right now, we are on a cruise to Cozumel and Key West with some youth leaders and pastors. It's a thank you to some that we have worked with. I will tell you all about it when we get back!

Galveston

My family went to Galveston for a few days.











We went to a festival of lights

Gifts

I saw this ball and chain from Alcatrez and thought of Brock. He collects old locks and chains like Houdini would have used. This was from Alcatrez! I told mom about it and she said to get it for her to give to Brock. I sneaked it in the backseat of the truck the whole way to Texas. It was very heavy. Little did I know, Brock hid an ipad for me in the backseat! I think we were both so worried about the other one finding what we hid that we did not notice what was being hidden from us! It was comical.







Mom accidentally opened the frame that said "Papa" and dad opened the one that said "Nana"

Christmas with my Family

My sister and her family were in from Bolivia for a visit.

This is Maya. I got to meet her for the first time.

She gave great kisses!

She is a little doll

This is Jack with his papa.

They got really close.

Jack also loved mom's ipad. Actually, anything technology...



Me and my sister, Kay

This is Kay, Trent, and Maya

At the Gills for Christmas

There is always plenty of food at the Gills...and it's so good!



Here is Brock's brother, Russ, and his wife, Renetta.

The Gill guys