Shows in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati

Last night, we did a big show in Pittsburgh. It went fairly well. Many people came to know Christ. It was difficult to pull off without Stephanie though. She is very sick. Pray that she will get well. Also, pray that we can make it this weekend without her if we must. We drive to Cincinnati today in order to perform at a conference there this weekend.

Follow Up from the Guys with the Smoking Car

Read my previous post before you read this one because this is a follow up. Money is sorta tight for us right now. So, when we pulled into the gas station last night and saw the smoking car, I immediately began praying. I prayed that we would some way be able to help the owner of the vehicle. If it was to be financially, I prayed that the Lord would provide the means to help them.

As soon as I looked up, Brock was talking with the guys about their car troubles. When I saw Brock go help them without hesitaion, my love for him soared.

Brock bought coolant for them that cost $10. He also checked them into the hotel down the street from our house. The hotel was more expensive than I thought it would be. With tax, it cost us $68. However, I felt as if the Lord was telling me to trust Him because He had it under control.

This morning, we stopped by the hotel on our way to town. I had placed two oranges, some mustard, and half a loaf of bread in a bag. I told Brock to give them all of the cash that he had so that they could pick up some sandwich meat. Brock only had $4 in his wallet.

So, add that up---$10+$68+$4.

On our way out, I had grabbed the mail. Amidst the junk, there was an expense check from our office. The check was for $82.

Happy Valentine's Day

Since we have to leave to drive to Pittsburgh today, we celebrated Valentine's Day yesterday. It was just as good yesterday. In fact, there was no wait at the restaurant we went to and no traffic on the roads. Tonight will probably be a different story.

We started out our day at the Cocoa Tree eating chocolate. After eating dessert first, we went to the mall and split up to buy each other little $15 gifts. Then, we went to a museum downtown. One of our friends' little girl has her picture displayed there. We had some time to kill, so we went to the skate park. After that, we ate at our favorite restaurant in Nashville (which we determined last night) Zola's. It was very romantic and delicious!

On our way home, we stopped to get some fuel. We happened to be at the very same gas station where we pulled over when we had our flat tire a couple of weeks ago. On that night, someone helped us out. As we pulled in, a couple of guys had their hood up and smoke was pouring out of their car. Brock went over to help them. These guys were desperate. They were out of money, spoke little English, and needed to get to Huntsville (about 100 miles away) to work. Brock got them going again as well as getting them into a local hotel. It was nice to be able to return the favor in the same place where we were stranded not too long ago.

I hope that you are able to show love today not only to your close friends and family but to others as well. That was the highlight of my day!

My Hideaways

I love my little hideaways in my house. We have two closets. They were just rectangle shaped rooms in our bedroom when we first moved in. Therefore, I made one a clothes closet and one a prayer closet. I place pictures, art, and candles in my prayer closet for inspiration. I have a single desk at the end with one chair. Three bookcases line the wall full of books that help me with my walk with the Lord. On one wall, I have a big bulletin board that my grandma gave me when I was young. On it, I tack up pictures, encouraging letters, scripture verses, prayer requests, and the eminem t-shirt that I told you about in another post.

Right now, I'm sitting in my laundry room waiting on some clothes to dry. It's only big enough for the washer and dryer and some shelves. Although there is snow on the ground outside, it feels like the beach in here because of the decor. Rope that is used on docks string up a white curtain. I also have it strung up along the wall above the washer and dryer. Clothes pinned to the rope are five pictures of the beach that I took when I was there. Some of the beach pictures are from Florida and some are from Maine. On my dryer, I have a dish with powder detergent in it to look like sand. My dryer sheets are in a small chest that I bought while I was on St. Simon's Island. Shells pepper the dryer top and the shelves...shells from Florida, Australia, and the Georgia coast. Also, on the shelves I have a picture that my parents brought me back from Hawaii. I have my two shell candles lit as I type.

Since the beach is so relaxing, when I come in here to do my laundry, I seem to relax.

Week at Home

This has been a great week at home. We've had friends come over to the house two nights. One time, I made taco soup. Friday night, Brock grilled steaks and chicken. It was so good! Brock is definately the cook. His "spice rack" takes up most of the pantry. He's been frying plantains for dessert often. They are delicious and are actually good for you. I plan the meals, but he cooks them for the most part.

Friday night as he was grilling, it began to snow. Now that's dedication...to grill out in the snow. It was really beautiful when the snow started to fall heavily on Friday night. It stayed white until almost noon yesterday.

Last night, we went to eat dinner with two other wonderful couples. We had a great time sharing what is going on in our lives. In fact, we met at 6pm and didn't leave the restaurant until almost 10pm! When we did leave, it was snowing again.

This morning, it's white all over the ground and the tops of trees. I'm up early because Brock is doing another "Brockwalking" at our church. Therefore, we have to get there slightly early.

The American Dream

The American dream is a bunch of baloney. The reason being is that I know tons of people who have the "American dream" and all that comes with it right down to the picket fence. The problem is that they lock themselves up in their suburban fortress and don't let anyone else besides their little kingdom enter.

When did we start becoming an island? When did we begin to look out for number one? You would think that families would be getting closer during this time since they are always together, but they're not. They are falling apart more and more. We need each other...that's the way we were created.

I wonder if we gave our days, not just our lives, but our days completely over to the Lord, how He would change it. I'm sure He wouldn't have us cooped up in our houses with no human interaction with the outside world. He'd have us ministering in some sort of fashion. He would have us see beyond ourselves and into His world that needs us...you and me. The world needs as much help as it can get!

Speaking Update

At first I was a little disappointed because only two people were there at 7:30pm. Then, others started to trickle in and there were 6 of us when we began at a little after 8pm. During this waiting time, I got more and more anxious.

One girl had just come from work. Her husband was out and town, and her dog that had been in the garage all day really needed to be let out. She actually debated on whether she should stay or go on home. As we were sitting down to begin, I heard her tell the host that she would probably slip out early. This made me even more nervous knowing that someone might have to leave in the middle of it.

I know that you guys were praying because something happened that only the Lord could do right before I began to speak. Suddenly, I didn't care what I sounded like or looked like or anything about me. I just felt an unexplainable love and compassion for these girls. Now, I had faces and lives to actually share with. After that, the words just tumbled out of me.

The girl that needed to go home to let her dog out, stayed the entire time. In fact, toward the end of my speaking, I saw tears falling down her cheeks. When we were sharing prayer requests at the end, she told us that this was just what she needed. She had prayed the day before for some encouragement and she felt like this was her answer to prayer.

One of the other girls knew exactly what she was going through because she was going through the same sort of thing. We all layed hands on both girls and prayed for them. It was a special time. Tears flowed and passionate prayers were lifted up.

Thank you so much for your prayers and encouraging comments. I knew that last night would indicate if this is what I'm really supposed to do. I would either fall flat on my face, or the Lord would move. The latter happened...it was a wonderful night.

Speaking

Today is the day! I'm speaking for the first time tonight. Even though it's in front of a few ladies that I know from church, I'm still nervous! Sometimes it's more nerve racking to be in front of people you know.

Please pray that even though I'm nervous, it will not reflect in my voice. Also, pray for the women in attendance tonight. Pray that there will be a good crowd. Pray that the Lord uses me to encourage these women to pray more in order to change their world. I'll explain more about that tomorrow.

Please leave me comments...I am so encouraged when you comment even if it's just to say hello. I'm sharing my life with you. I would love it if you share just a little of your life with me. You don't have to be a blogger in order to leave a comment. Just click on "other" and type in your name.

Heather...A Childhood Friend

I had a dream last night about my friend, Heather. She and I were best friends while I lived in Daytona Beach, FL growing up. The dream was just a silly dream, but it made me think about Heather. She and I were inseparable. During the summer of my 7th grade year, we would go somewhere to play everyday. We couldn't drive yet, so we would call up our older friends from church who could drive us. We'd ask if they wanted to go skating or to the mall or something. Come to think about it...we were a little obnoxious!

Do you ever wonder about those friends that you grew up with? Hey, do any of you Daytona people know about Heather Priest right now? If so, let me know. I tried to search for her online, but there were several Heather Priests in the Daytona area, and I don't even know if her name is "Priest" anymore.

The Bubble Car

Last weekend, we saw one of our friends, Matt, that we have not seen in years. The last time we saw him was when we gave him our car...the bubble car.

About six years ago, we were driving around town in the only vehicle we owned which was a box truck that had all of our equipment in it. I was tired of walking thru the drivethru at our bank because the truck didn't make the clearance height. Plus, we needed to get another vehicle for tax purposes. We had $1,000 to spend, so we decided that if we could find a car for under $1,000 that day, we would buy it.

We found one that day. It was $990 with tax. It was beyond ugly. This car was spray painted silver and had clear ball ornaments all over the entire car. A third grade class had decorated the car for an art car parade in Houston. It was hideous!

The car was an '86 Celebrity. When we drove it around town, it attracted alot of attention. People would stop and take pictures with our car. Some people actually recognized it from the parade that was on television. In fact, we almost created some accidents. Drivers would be so distracted by the car that they would almost run into objects.

We had to do something to not attract so much attention, so we removed each ball individually. That took a while. It didn’t do much good. The silicone used to attach the balls remained on the car causing it to be polka dotted. We later tried to scrape off the silicone, but to no avail. It was there to stay!

We used that car for a while and it served its purpose. After about a year, we gave it to Matt because we were about to move into our truck and live on the road. Matt's car had just died the week before so he was in need of some wheels.

Whenever Matt came to pick it up, he fell over laughing at how ugly it was. He used it for a couple of years and then gave it to someone else that needed a vehicle.

The rule was that when you were done with it, you had to give it to someone else in need of a car. The bubble car has been passed around to at least 5 people now.

The New Stunt

We performed a brand new stunt Saturday. It went great! We practiced through lunch and did it immediately following the lunch break at the student conference. The stunt is hard to explain, but it involves a dirtbike, chains, disappearing, and a surprise ending. It was exciting!

In order to perform this stunt, we only needed a couple more things. We had to have some riding gear and clothes. Brock had been talking with Fly racing company about sponsoring him, but he thought that it would be a long shot. It's diffficult for even racers to get sponsored. Brock's not a racer...he just uses his dirtbike in a couple of stunts.

Since we were leaving Thursday, Brock called one last time on Wednesday to see if Fly could give him a good deal on riding gear. The guy on the other end of the phone who was our connection with Fly asked Brock when he wanted to pick up his stuff. It had already been sent and was waiting for him right here in Franklin, TN. We got about $1,500 worth of gear for free!

Also, we received it the day we needed it. If we didn't get it on that day, we would have had to go and spend the money to purchase our own gear, because we had to have it for this new stunt. The Lord seems to always work things out for us at just the right time!

Rough Start

We had a rough start on this trip. When we were leaving yesterday morning, we had two flats and the truck battery was dead. It set us back a while.

Since Brock is sick, I drove the whole way to Tulsa. I stopped at a truck stop to fuel up. Usually Brock handles filling the tanks with diesel. However, he was sleeping in the back, so I did it. I don't know if it's because of my lack of experience or my clumsiness, but I showered myself with diesel fuel. I immediately went and changed my pants because it received the bulk of the splash. Then, I tried to clean off my shoes because they are the only pair that I brought on this trip.

I began driving again and noticed that the gloves I used were covered in fuel, so I just chunked them out the window. It helped a little, but I still reeked of fumes. In fact, a couple of people noticed and asked what the smell was. I had to confess that it was me. Diesel doesn't come out easily...once it's on something, it doesn't come off. I didn't have a chance to really shower off until I got back to the hotel room last night.

Fireworks!

We are staying with some friends that we haven't seen in five years. Now, they have two kids and live in Oklahoma.

Brock actually worked with the guy, Jeff, at a church in Texas long before we even met. They were sharing crazy stories about their time there. Both of them are very passionate and extreme. They were also so young and inexperienced when it came to church work at the time. One of the things they did once a year was a big bonfire. Because they are so radical, they wanted the biggest bonfire ever! That often led to a near disaster.

One time, Jeff got his hands on some Class A fireworks. (Those are the ones you see at the real fireworks show on the 4th of July.) He was going to add this to his bonfire production. He decided to try one in his backyard. He set it off and it let off a loud noise. During which all of his windows on the backside of his house blew out. The garage doors around the neighborhood were going up and down and car alarms were going off. About ten seconds later, a big metallic piece fell from the sky. Plus, Jeff now had a big crater in his yard.

What happened was that he placed the firework upside down. It shot down into the earth and sent the base flying up in the air.

Well, the neighbors thought that a bomb went off, so they called the police. When the police came to Jeff's house, his petite wife, Stephanie, greeted them at the door. "It was him," she said pointing to Jeff. "Take him to jail." The police officer decided that Jeff would receive enough punishment from his wife who was not too thrilled about her busted windows and the whole in the backyard. So, the officer didn't arrest Jeff the youth pastor.

New Direction

I'm excited about where the Lord is taking me. I've been feeling like He wants me to write a book about my adventures in prayer which I've already begun. A couple of weeks ago, someone talked with me about speaking to women about prayer. The more I thought about it, the more I began to think that the Lord wanted me to speak at women's conferences and seminars.

I discussed this with Brock and he was encouraging about it. We decided that the first thing I needed to do was to go to women events and learn from them. That very day, I received a brochure in the mail about the women events that our church was doing for the year. That Saturday, they were having a women's breakfast. I decided to go.

On the way to the breakfast, I prayed that if the Lord truly wanted me to do this that He would have someone ask me while I was there to speak to women sometime in the future. Long story short, after the breakfast, my friend asked me to speak at her women's Bible study. Therefore, I'm speaking next Thursday night. I'm so nervous!

Miracles of Jesus on DVD

Thanks for your prayers yesterday. I could feel them. I'm feeling much better today.

Many people have asked me how to get a copy of the show on the Discovery Channel. You can now purchase the Miracles of Jesus on DVD! Go to discoverystore.com and go to the DVD section. Then, go to the religion DVD section. It's called "Miracles of Jesus DVD Set." It's quite pricey, but remember it is 3 hours worth of material.

Spiritually Beat Up

I feel spiritually beat up right now. I cannot go into detail because it's personal stuff, but I feel as if the Enemy is attacking me at this moment. The Lord is telling me to do something in my life and I'm doing it. I think Satan is ticked off about it. Brock is being a wonderful encouragement. Just pray that I have faith that the Lord can get me through.

The Invitation in Missouri

During the message of our show in Missouri, the crowd was very antsy. Many were leaving to go to the restroom. Some were text messaging on their phones. Brock called them on it from the stage. Then, I went to grab something off of the stage. As I walked back to the sound booth, I prayed as I passed by each row that the Holy Spirit would extend off of the stage and into the crowd. As I walked down that center aisle, I felt the ripples of the Holy Spirit extending into the audience. I tell you this because this sort of thing does not happen every time. I FELT IT.

Then, when I reached the back, there was STILLNESS. I've seen a "holy hush" before, but this was different. It was as if the Holy Spirit had taken over the room. Brock invited people to become a follower of Jesus. Many accepted the invitation.

Then, Brock did something that he normally doesn't do...he singled out the high school guys. He didn't know why, but he felt like the Lord wanted him to spur them into action...to pursuade them to be the spiritual leaders that they needed to be. He said that if something doesn't change now in the state of Missouri, it's going to be bad. The churches will be no more. He had a special prayer time for the guys of the group. After the show, we remembered that one of our friends told us that the stats for the churches in MO were not too good. Churches were dying out and hardly any churches are baptizing anyone. I hope something changes for this state. You can pray with us that the high school guys will stand up and be leaders for Jesus Christ.

Backstage

I'm sitting backstage in the green room waiting to go onstage. I just went out and watched the band perform a little from sidestage. It is just so surreal. I wonder what people think goes on backstage. Do they think that it's a big, exciting party or pep rally until you're up onstage? It's not. I love my job, but it's not exactly glamorous.

The green room is never really green (except one time when the walls were actually painted green). Sometimes you have great snacks. Other times you just have water. I hate the wait. I try to read until it's time for us, but I'm usually too jittery. I actually have a great time during the show. It is a fun career. However, it's not as glamorous as you would think. Maybe the big stars have a glamorous time backstage, but it's rather boring for me. I'll say it again...I hate wait.

Pray for our shows this weekend. We perform twice today in Missouri and once tomorrow night in Arkansas. Pray that many will come to know the Lord.

The Circus

My great friends, Rod and Susan, took us to the circus for my birthday. It was fun! I saw horses, zebras, elephants, camels, tigers, and dogs. There were so many people involved in the production. The tight rope walkers were not just walking across the tight rope. They were running and riding a unicycle. Have you ever tried to ride a unicycle on the ground? It's tougher than it looks. The night was filled with sensory overload. There was always several things going on at once. It was rather exciting!

Stranded for 45 Minutes

Late last night, we were driving home with my friend, Kara. She spent the night with me because her husband is out of town. We were all talking when we heard a loud noise. Brock pulled over at the next exit into a gas station. Yes...it was another flat tire. However, this time, the flat was on our personal vehicle and not the big rig we drive to shows. The tire had completely blown and by the time we stopped, we were riding on the rim.

Brock began working out in the cold. Since this was the first flat we've had on our pick-up truck, he was having a terrible time getting out the spare. I went into the gas station to buy a flashlight. In the meantime, Brock called everyone he knew that lived around there and nobody answered. We were all praying.

Kara said that just as she was praying for the Lord to send someone to help us, a guy drove up to get gas. He was the only other person at the gas station at the time and he had the same exact truck as we do. Brock ran over to him and the guy helped him remove the spare tire. After that, it moved rather quickly. The Lord never leaves us stranded!

We apologized to Kara about the 45 minute stall with the flat. She said that she almost expected it when she was with us!

In Daddy's Lap

I had to get my driver's license renewed last week. Nobody is happy in that place. The workers are bored. The people in the waiting room are annoyed at the waste of time it takes to get this sort of thing taken care of. There was even a kid there who was getting his first license, and he was too nervous to be excited. There was only one person in that whole place that was having a good time. It was a boy who was 2 or 3 years old. As he sat in his dad's lap, he just giggled and wiggled around. He didn't care where he was as long as he was in his daddy's arms.

If only I could be that way with the Lord. I wish that circumstances around me didn't determine my happiness. I would love it if I never had a bad day again as long as I was in my Daddy's arms. If only I would learn that this could actually happen if I would allow it.

Star Sightings

Yesterday, I was walking around the square of the quaint downtown area of Franklin, TN. A girl and what appeared to be her father walked around the corner and asked me where to get their car registered. As I wracked my brain to see if I knew how to help them, I studied the girl...it was Carrie Underwood! When I realized I had no clue where to tell them to go, I just made a funny face and said "No, I'm sorry." Carrie gave a small laugh and they began to walk again. I continued to walk the opposite way. She was so cute and looked exactly like she does on TV or in the magazines.

Later, Brock said that I should've invited her to our church or something. Whenever I see even major Christian celebrities, I freeze up. I don't want to aggravate them by being such a fan. I also don't want to pepper them with the same questions they get all the time. So, I don't say much. Brock, on the other hand, knows exactly what to say. If he's with me, I let him do all of the talking. Read Brock's post for yesterday to find out who (an even bigger star) he saw at the grocery store the other day (brockgill.com/blog).

Brockwalking

Last Sunday, Brock did a short, fun piece in our church service. He did something like "Jaywalking" in the lobby of the church. Many of our members tend to linger out in the lobby even after church has already begun. Brock went out there and interviewed people while they showed it live in the worship center. It was funny and a cool way to introduce our pastor's new teaching series. Brock did an excellant job. He is so quick not only with his wit but with his filtering process as well. He is able to speak on the spot and interact with people even when their responses are unpredictable. If you want to watch it, go to pclive.org and click on the video.

Birthday Celebration

Yesterday was really fun. I had lots of phone calls and e-mails and comments. After reading my blog about the cake the other day, one of my friends, Rachel, even made me a red velvet cake. There were 30 of us at lunch and 10 at dinner. Thanks to any of you who participated in wishing me a happy birthday. I really felt loved.

I did cry once yesterday. A lady named Dimple from my parents' church called to wish me a happy birthday. She began talking about my Grandma who died 10 years ago. She talked about how great a lady she was and how when she lived with us that one summer, she sat by Dimple in church.

When I was a freshman in college, I interviewed to work at a camp for the summer. When I received the call that they wanted to employ me, the Lord told me right there while I was on the phone that He didn't want me to go. So, I said no, but I didn't really know why. A few weeks later, I found out that my Grandma who lived in Florida was diagnosed with pacreatic cancer and had only a couple of months to live. The hospital in Houston specialized in that sort of illness, so she lived with us for that summer.

I went home and found a secretarial job. I'm so glad the Lord allowed me to spend that last summer with my Grandma. She was a wonderful godly example of a woman. I'm also glad that I thought about her yesterday.

The Big 3-0

I am 30 years old today. I agree with Gin when it comes to how I feel. I'm excited about being 30. I don't feel like that's an old age. Last night, a girl told me that the 30's are much better than the 20's. She said that you know who you are and feel secure in that.

Our plans for today are to go to church where Brock is doing a Jaywalking type thing in the lobby. They will show it on the screens in the service. After church, we'll go to lunch with our church friends. This afternoon, Brock is going to take me to a movie. This evening, we are going out with about 8 of our other friends. So, I'm going to have 2 parties!

Running

Yesterday, Brock was stressed. As we were pulling up to a restaurant for dinner, I told him how I learned that running is very therapeutic when it comes to stress. It's an immediate stress reliever. In fact, I've heard that if you get out of a stressful meeting, you should go and run even if it's just a jog around the parking lot. (I wouldn't advise doing it in front of the other people attending the meeting for obvious reasons.)

So, Brock parked across the parking lot from the restaurant and told me if I beat him there, I could get dessert. Since he's so strict about that sort of thing (dessert), I ran with all of my might. Brock still beat me, but it was funny. We were giggling all the way there and we received some rather strange looks. It worked...we both felt alot of tensions from the day ease. Next time you're having a stressful day, just break out in a sprint!

Cake

I bought this funfetti cake (remember that one with the sprinkles?), because I was craving it. I made it back in September for Stephy's birthday. I had one piece, and I've been craving it ever since.

Usually, I have red velvet cake for my birthday. Since my mom is several miles away and shipping a cake is almost impossible, and hardly worth it, no red velvet cake anymore. I made it once myself and realized how difficult it is to make. Mom was really showing me how much she appreciated me by slaving away in the kitchen for 3 hours!

My birthday is not until Sunday. Brock is usually very strict on our diet (he keeps me in line when it comes to treats). However, he decided we should make the cake last night while we had some friends over. Brock said, "Let's make it now and eat on it all weekend." This is a huge sacrifice for Brock. He cringes if I sneak even one m and m. So, I'll be eating cake ALL weekend!

Meaningful Hang Out Time

When we come home, we hang out with friends as much as we can. After being on the road surrounded by people who may be nice but don't really know us, we enjoy being around people with which we can let our hair down.

Lately, while we are hanging out, I've tried something different. I used to think about ME, ME, and more ME the whole time. After some good advice from my friend, Gin, I decided to think about them. I began praying for whomever we were going to be spending time with on our way to get together. (We live about 20 minutes out of town, so I've got a little time on the ride there.) It's been crazy and exciting! About 80% of the time, they share something with us in which we are able to help them somehow. Also, the Lord has given me specifics to pray for about our friends.

We are definately NOT serious all the time. We get our fun in. However, so many people have stressful lives. We all need encouragement and advice from good friends. Now, I have deeper relationships with my friends which makes it easier to share life together...the good and the bad.

It might be easier for me because I don't have small children or a hectic schedule at home demanding my every minute. However, I bet all of you could find time to sneak in a prayer for your friends before or as you're spending time with them. Try it! You might be surprised at what happens.

Travelling on a Budget

Here are some of the ways we save money while travelling:

-Actually use your frequent flyer miles.

-Go to natural places that are inexpensive or free such as a state park...waterfalls or the springs in Florida. You could even go camping.

-When eating out, split larger meals such as a combo instead of getting two different meals. Order water to drink.

-While in a big city, use the subway. Some cities such as Portland have a free train within the city.

-Catch matinees of movies or shows.

-Go to timeshare presentations. They usually give you one free trip whether or not you buy the timeshare. Once, Brock and I listened to a timeshare presentation and got a free trip to Las Vegas. Once we got to Vegas, we didn't really have any money to see the shows. As we were walking down the strip the night we arrived, someone asked us if we wanted free show tickets. We listened to another timeshare presentation in Vegas and got to see several shows for free! That whole trip cost us less than $100 out of our own pocket.

-Bring some snacks and drinks with you especially for breakfast.

-Go in off peak times.

-Don't buy the overpriced souveneirs. Take alot of pictures instead.

-For NYC, check out the Holiday Inn Express Midtown. Also, go to craigslist.com for hotel deals.

-The tv shows filmed in NYC and LA are free to the public. You either need to get online and sign up or wait in line.

-While in Destin (I think everyone goes to Destin at least once in their life) eat at Marina Cafe between 5 and 6 in the evening. The local special is buy one entree, get one free at that time.

-In D.C., a reasonable hotel is the Crowne Plaza Hamilton. It's near the White House. Also, the monuments and museaums are all free.

The Nation's Best Kept Secrets

This is in no particular order:
-Navarre Beach, FL (if it's still there after all of the hurricanes)
-Burgess Falls in Cookeville, TN
-Annapolis, MD
-Wyndam Butte Resort in Pheonix
-Wolf Creek Ski Resort in Pagosa Springs, CO
-The Magic Castle in Los Angeles
-Crazy Horse in SD
-The Gorge and Multnomah Falls near Portland, OR
-The only rainforest in the U.S. that is in WA
-Mac King show in Las Vegas
-Driving along I-70 going west from Denver
-The FL springs
-The Frio River near the Garner State Park in TX
-Wolf Pin Gap in AR (great ATV trails)
-Chimney Rock in NC (where they filmed THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS)
-Chinatown in D.C.
-Sunset Festival in Key West

Auny's Top 10

These are the top 10 in the Continental U.S. according to me:

TOP 10 MUST SEE
1. The Grand Canyon
2. New York City
3. Mt. Rushmore
4. Niagra Falls
5. Las Vegas
6. Crazy Horse
7. Rainforest in the northwest peninsula of WA
8. Alexander Springs
9. Washington D.C.
10.I-70 Drive from Denver to I-15 to NV

TOP 10 RESTAURANTS
1. Barbara Jean's-St.Simon's Island, GA
2. Marina Cafe-Destin, FL
3. Serendipity-NYC
4. Maryland crabcakes-anywhere in the MD area
5. Steamboat Bill's-Lake Charles, LA
6. The Country Tavern-Kilgore, TX
7. Gino's East-Chicago, IL
8. McCormick and Schmicks-Portland, OR
9. Pappacito's-TX
10.Marlowe's-Denver, CO

TOP 10 MUST DO
1. Snow ski in CO
2. Snorkel the FL springs
3. Hike Fall Creek Falls
4. Ride the Dragon on a motorcycle
5. Go to bike week in Daytona
6. See Blue Man Group
7. Go para sailing
8. See David Copperfield live
9. Go snowmobile riding
10.See a broadway show

Gatlinburg Show and Flying DVD's

The show last night went really well. The crowd was fun and Brock was on with his message. Many came to know Jesus.

On our way home today, a truck driver pulled up beside us and was trying to get our attention. I thought that we had another flat tire on our trailer. I really didn't want to deal with that today. After travelling all over the northeast, I was ready to get home.

It wasn't a flat tire. We had a box of DVD's in the nose of our trailer. Apparently the door had come open and our DVD's were flying out one by one all over I-40. We lost 7 DVD's. Oh well, at least it wasn't a flat.

SNOW

We're staying with Alathea at their cabin because we have a show tonight in Gatlinburg, TN. They live really close to Gatlinburg. Yesterday, it was in the upper 50's. The weather called for snow, but we didn't know if the temperature would actually drop that much.

I woke up a couple of times and tried to listen. I guess in my groggy state of sleep I forgot that you cannot hear snow falling. The first chance I got when I was awake and realized it was light, I glanced out the window. To my surprise, everything was white.

I'm looking out the window right now and it's simply beautiful. There is something magical about snow. It's still coming down hard. I wonder if we'll be able to make it to our show.

Vermont and NYC

We drove thru Vermont, and it was beautiful. It was in the upper 40's, but there was still snow on the ground. I took some cool pictures of an old church, a barn in the snow, a covered bridge, and a diner sign. We ate lunch in an old diner train car. The restaurant used it as one of its rooms. The chairs in the booths looked as if they were the actual used in the train. They reminded me of church pews. We passed by a school in Vermont, and they were sledding during their recess.

On our way back to Baltimore, we decided to stop in NYC to eat dinner. We've been to the City a few times. However, we've never been to the upper east side. It was a cool area...less touristy and more residencial. Everyone in the little Italian restaurant where we ate were locals. We went into Bloomingdales. It's 11 stories tall! They had a visitor's center just for the store. We ate dessert at Serendipity. We waited 30 minutes for a table, and the host said it was the least busiest night of the week. When we began eating our chocolate cake (which was the best chocolate cake I'd ever had), cheesecake, and sipped on our frozen hot chocolate (what they are known for), we realized what the fuss was all about. It was fabulous!

Clam Chowder

We always make sure we eat whatever that area is known for. You won't catch us eating at Chili's on the road if we have a choice. Therefore, we had lots of Maryland crabcakes, lobster in Maine, and seafood, clam, and even lobster chowder. This was the first time I've eaten a whole lobster. It was messy but yummy! The chowders were so much different than the creamy stuff I've had before. I realized why I'm not usually a fan of clam chowder...because I'm not in New England. The stuff here is so much better. It was all good, but the crabcakes were by far the best. If you are in Florida or somewhere like that and a restaurant says they serve "Maryland" crabcakes, don't kid yourself. It's nothing like the broiled jumbo lump crabmeat that you can only get in the Maryland area.

There was snow on the beach in Maine. It was cool. There also were alot of stones on the beach. The weather was excellant. It was sunny the entire time and warm (according to their standards at this time of year). It was in the mid to upper 40's.

I'm at a hotel in Vermont right now. We are going to drive south thru this state and head back to Baltimore where we pick up our truck and return our rental car. We plan to go to the cabin in East Tennessee and spend a couple of days with Alathea before our show in Gatlinburg on Saturday.

A Goal for 20 Years

When I was around 9 or 10 years old, I remember making my parents stop at every welcome center for every state when we went on vacation. There, I would collect brochures and other literature about the state. I was facinated by states. I loved to see what each state was known for and how different it could be when you cross some invisible line into another state. At that age, I told people that I wanted to visit all 50 states someday.

If all goes well, by this evening, I will have driven to every state in the continental U.S. We are taking time now to go up into New England. I never imagined that I would reach this goal by the time I was 30. After today, I will only have Alaska and Hawaii left. We are performing in Alaska this March, and I'm sure we will vacation in Hawaii someday in the near future.

This just goes to show that the Lord can give you the desires of your heart. Twenty years ago, when I had this dream as a little girl back in Florida, I had no idea the plan the Lord had in store for me!

Protesting

We decided that you need to experience protesting at the White House while in D.C. However, we didn't quite know what to protest. So, we protested against protesting. Stephy made us signs that said "Protesting should be illegal," "Protestors=Time Wasters," and "Protesting" with the no symbol thru it.

When we got to the White House, there were many tourists all standing in the way trying to take pictures and such. We went right up to the gate and held up our signs while a lady took our picture. Everyone stopped and looked at us. They all thought it was funny! Brock said to look angry, but Stephy kept laughing.

Brock told people that we passed in the street that we were protesting today. Some would take the time to ask what we were protesting. We'd reply "Protesting." Brock would say, "We're not going to stand it anymore!" On occasion throughout the day, Stephy and I would chant "1,2,3,4...no protesting anymore...5,6,7,8...protesting makes me irate." It was hilarious!!! If you want to see the pictures, go to xanga.com/stephydepp.

The show went well last night. I had some friends in the audience and that's always fun.

D.C.

We had a blast yesterday! We drove to Baltimore and dropped our truck off at a parking area because D.C. is not very "truck friendly" for security reasons. My friend, Rhonda, graciously drove us to the subway which we took into town. By the time we reached D.C. it was 1pm.

When we arrived at the subway, I needed to use the bathroom but could not find any restrooms. The subway ride took around 30 minutes, so I was really ready to go when we got to D.C. I ran into the CVS and asked one of the pharmacists where the restroom was. She replied, "We don't have public restrooms" very curtly. I went to about five places where I received that answer in about the same tone. This couldn't be very good for my bladder. At about the fifth store, I said "Look, I'm about to have an accident right here in your store. Do you know of a place I could go?" She directed me to a place that I had already tried. It was like the Twilight Zone or something. Finally, I found a restaurant that let me use their restroom. Brock and Stephanie were laughing at me as I frantically came out of each store without any relief. ***WARNING***Public restrooms are scarce in D.C.

We went to the American History Smithsonian. It was really interesting. We saw the puffy shirt that Seinfeld wore in the show. We also saw some 9-11 stuff. It all made me feel very patriotic.

On our way somewhere, Brock actually heard someone saying "The lady with the white coat? Okay, I got her in my sight..." When he saw that Brock noticed him, he quickly darted another direction and took off. I wonder who he works for?

We went into the National Archives building. That's where they display the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence. My great, great...great uncle was in one of the pictures on the wall of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. He didn't actually sign it because he had to go home due to an illness in the family. His last name was Davie and that was my grandmother's maiden name. It was cool to see his picture up there knowing somewhere down the line, we're related!

Brock asked one of the security guards what the "Decoration" of Independence was. One of the onlookers busted out laughing at Brock's question that he had asked with a straight face. The funniest thing was the reply from the security guard...she didn't know what the Declaration of Independence was. She didn't know what she was guarding.

More on D.C. tomorrow...

Brock's Birthday!

Brock's birthday was yesterday. Unfortunately, we had a show in Maryland. It was a tough show too. We had 30 minutes to do illusions and speak. Brock was the speaker for the night, so we had to make a decision. Pride made me want to do a ton of impressive illusions, but the Spirit was telling me to cut more of the illusions and focus on the message. We did the latter and I think the Lord totally honored it.

Since we really didn't get to celebrate Brock's birthday yesterday except stopping in Annapolis, MD and eating crabcakes for lunch, we're going to celebrate today by hanging out in D.C. We've been four or five times before, but Stephanie has never been. Also, it's the coolest place close to our next event in Baltimore. I hope it's not too cold!

Some Results from our Show in NC

We are headed to another student conference in Ocean City, MD today. Sometimes I wonder how much good we really do at these conferences. Usually, there is a speaker and a worship leader. We are just "extra." Therefore, this e-mail from someone who came to our last show in NC was encouraging:


Hi Brock, My name is ________ and I'm 18 years old, i was with my youth group this weekend @ Caswell, NC. you were there at the worship services showing us the wonderful and incredible talent that you have...all i can say is WOW! ha ha. you were awesome. Not only were the magic tricks awesome, but your message about Jesus Christ. The way you spoke the truth about it just touched me in so many ways. I actually had turned away from God for the past 2 or 3 years-not really sure why... i guess influences of the wrong friends. but listening to you preach got me really thinking hard and realizing that i need to put God first in my life - not friends or anyone else but him. I just wanted to say thank you. I think God has soooo much wonderful things in store for you and i really appriciate the way you go about doing what you love and putting the word of Christ into it. Thank you again...you're awesome Brock.

p.s. i loved the trick when you put the blind fold on and then the black bag over your head and then got on a dirt bike and drove it without the ability to see...that was outstanding!! God Bless you and your wife!

Pocket Full of Rocks

The student conference "Passion" is in town. There are over 12,000 college students taking over the downtown area. We knew several people involved, so we went down there last night. We ate dinner with some guys that we know from California at one of my favorite restaurants in Nashville, Rusan's. The vibe is really hip and the food is great and sometimes odd looking. The cooks get creative in how they display the entrees.

We went to one of the late night events in order to watch Pocket Full of Rocks. Michael Farrin who leads the band and writes the wonderful songs is simply annointed. Even at 11pm, the whole crowd was worshipping the Lord. Brock met Michael a long time ago when he lived in Texarkana, TX working for a church there. Since then, we've all been connected thru prayer. The Lord has given me specifics to pray for Michael as well as Brock.

Michael and Brock both sorta began their ministries back in Texarkana and now they are both out here. A couple of months ago, Pocket Full of Rocks and Brock were on the same page of a magazine. It's cool to see where the Lord is taking both of them!

Brock's blogs have been really good the last few days. The title of today's blog will definately get your attention.

Dreams

Dreams are so strange. Last night, I remember three dreams that I had. They all involved people from different states or in different countries. They were silly dreams but it made me think about the people and pray for them anyway.

My dreams are usually about people that live here, but the dreams always take place where I grew up in Daytona. They are either at the church I attended or the house I lived in. I haven't lived there in 14 years. I don't know why it seems to be the setting for my dreams. Maybe because I've lived there the longest. After leaving Florida when I was sixteen, the longest I've lived in one house is a little over a year. That could be the reason.

Most of my dreams consist of me running. I'm running from somebody or running to get a prop on the stage. Does anyone know how to annalyze dreams? Why am I always running and why is the setting Daytona?

Sometimes, I think I dream things for a reason. The other day, I had a very visual dream about me helping my friend adopt a child. I told her that the Lord wanted her to adopt a particular boy. She began crying and said this was the boy that she was in the process of adopting. It was cool confirmation. We both cried in the dream and it was a wonderful feeling. The next day, I was still feeling the warmth that the dream brought when one of my other friends told me that she was getting a new job working at an adoption agency. I told her about the dream, and we both felt like it was confirmation that she is doing the right thing by getting this job.

New Year's Resolution

I used to make a big, long list of New Year resolutions. Since the list was the size of a legal page, I gave up by about the second day. Most of the things on the list were about diet and exercise. Anyway, I think it's better if you just make one resolution.

I have a suggestion concerning health and weightloss. I never lose weight. Brock and I will eat healthy and work out at the gym. He'll lose 20 pounds and I'll lose NOTHING! However, in August, I lost 5 or 6 pounds in a week. Plus, it was all in my stomach area. I went down a whole pants' size. I've kept it off too. This is what I did:

I stopped drinking sodas. I know what you're thinking...you are too addicted to sodas. I was too. I remember trying to keep it down to one diet coke a day. I also would reward myself with a diet soda after a show. Therefore, I was extremely surprised when after about a week of being soda-free, I didn't really crave it or even miss it.

In February of last year, I started drinking alot of water everyday. I felt better, but I didn't lose any weight. When I quit the sodas, I immediately lossed that stomach pouch. Caffeine dehydrates you. Therefore, it was couteracting my water intake. Now, I have more energy, look better, and feel better. My mood is better. Brock has since learned that artificial sweeteners such as aspertame and splenda that are used in diet sodas among other diet foods can cause depression. They also make you more hungry and more fat.

So, I challenge you to drink alot of water and no sodas. Just give it a try. You may be surprised by the results!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! I was bummed last night because we had to work on New Year's Eve...we always have to work on New Year's. Then I began thinking about how I would spend my night if we weren't doing a show. It would not have been near as exciting. There is not a better way to get the adrenaline going than to do a show especially last night's show. Brock was ON and the students were hyped. We all laughed and had a good time together. Brock did the blindfolded motorcycle ride and jumped off of the stage.

As we were counting down to the new year, I looked around as all 800 of us excitedly sent off our poppers and realized this was a fun New Year's Eve. Brock came bounding off of the stage to give me a kiss (I guess there is some tradition in him). After we hung out with everyone for a little while, some of the staff went with us to set bottle rockets off of the roof. Brock lit one inside the building...it was LOUD.

If you want to read Brock's take on the New Year, go to www.brockgill.com/blog. He has his own blog now.

Sand in My Shoes

I loved Ridgecrest and the cabin in the mountains, but I'm definately a beach girl. I grew up in Daytona Beach, FL and mom always says that I still have sand in my shoes. We're at Caswell Beach, NC right now. Even though it's a little chilly, I enjoy being here. I feel happy when I can look out at the ocean and smell the salty air. This facility is on an old fort. Today, Brock and I are going to explore the fort. Also, for some reason, the branches of the trees around the sea grow low to the ground which allows for good climbing. So, I'll be climbing trees and walking on the beach during our break this afternoon.

Don't get too excited for me. We are trapped on this fort with only a cafeteria for food. Actually, we bought some snacks and we've resorted to that for our meals. The cafeteria experience at Ridgecrest was enough to last me for the year!

A Testimony on Another Blog

Someone said to go look at this blog fantasticdisaster.blogspot.com. This is worth reading and explains why we do what we do better than I ever could:

I just got back from camp..and I got saved! Yay! I actually had my first conversation with God.. It wasn't like what you think it was though.. Let me just tell you. Ok, so the speaker (Brock Gill) came, and on Tues. he was talking about dedicating your life to Christ. I always had said I was a Christian because I had said the prayer..But I never really WAS a Christian. I mean, I thought I was, said I was, and acted like I was. But I really didn't have a relationship with God. I never held my hands up for worship or any of that.Truth is, I was seriously afraid to even clap my hands. Brock made us bow our heads, and I knew God was saying something to me..I didnt know what, but I knew he was. Brock started talking and everything else blacked out in my mind. He said that God is working on some of us (in the room). He said that God is saying something to some of us.He told us to have a conversation with him.. So.. I bowed my head, and I got that feeling of someone trying to say something to me, but I was too scared to answer it.Brock told us that some of us needed and had the desire in there hearts to commit and give their life to Christ. He said a little prayer wouldnt do it, and if we thought we were one of them, to ask God about it. So.. over the last couple of days I really had wanted to have that feeling of change in my life. So, I bowed my head, and I asked (in my head), "Do you want me to do this?" and He said in these exact words, "OF COURSE."..I honestly didn't know if God would even answer what I was saying, so I was a little scared.Seriosly. But I remembered that God wanted man to be confertable with Him, so I made a little joke..I said, "I'll do it, just don't let me cry". I sware I thought I heard someone laughing (a friendly laugh). It was amazing. After about two minutes, Brock goes, " Now..If you are serious about committing your life to Christ, raise your hand." I did.. and I was so nervous. I think he could tell,because he kind of chuckled and said, "Its OK, you can put your hand down now." Then he told us to stand up if we were to commit our life to Christ.Ok, now, I could totally do the hand thing, but STANDING UP?! What was he thinking? I was soo concious of what people thought right then but I did it. I wasn't even myself from that point on. I mean, sure, I was _____. But what I did was amazing for me. I cared what people thought of me sooo much, that I used to be afraid to listen to my CD player becuase I was afraid I might breath too hard. So here I am, someone taken over my body, my knees are shaking, my heart is beating, and all the sudden (Im pretty sure God was also speaking to me at that point) he tells us that he almost GARANTEES that someone will make fun of us.He told us that if we were afraid that when we stood up, that someone would be watching, laughing, pointing, and staring, we were ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. I was pretty spooked by that point. When you know that God is at work in your life, it spooks you. A good spook, though. So.. God was doing all this work and all the sudden I felt this weird desiring to commit my life and be changed. So Brock told us that on three we should stand up if we wanted to commit our life to Christ. He started counting."One..Two.." My heart was pounding, my knees were shaking, my head was spinning, almost like a battle inside my head on committing my life. "Three." I closed my eyes and stood, along with about fifteen people. I felt so great. I knew what people were talking about when they say it felt like a powerful wind rushed over them. And guess what.. I did cry. No, scratch that..I bawled. I seriously cried so much I was the first to be taken outside and be talked to about what I had done. But the weird thing was, I didn't care. I knew people were probably looking at me like I was some kind of freak but didn't care a bit. A couple of days after I completely changed.. Before -for sin- it was.."Ok, just dont get caught". Now I dont even want to sin.Its just a waste of time with a huge usage of consequences. Later that night, I actually worshiped for the first time in my life. I mean, WORSHIPED! I raised my hands and everything, the whole deal. I finally knew what it was like to know what "I cant live withouth you God" ment. I finally knew the feelings people felt when they heard God move through them. I finally knew God.

The Cabin

We have a day in between our NC dates, so we are staying with our friends from the group Alathea (www.alathea.com). Alathea consists of three girls who are wonderful musicians and people. They live in a cabin in the mountains along the Appalachian Trail. It's very relaxing and beautiful.

Right now we are sitting by the fire drinking homemade hot apple cider and playing the game 20 questions. This little gadget is amazing. You think of an abject and it asks you 20 questions about it. Then, it guesses your object. It's crazy! We tried to stump it, but it correctly answered almost every time. It guessed specifically "a grain of sand." I would listen to the questions and answers and try to figure it out for myself. Most of the time I couldn't get it. Funny how a $9.99 game from Target is smarter than me.

Still at Ridgecrest

The Lord seems to speak to me alot when I'm at Ridgecrest. He spoke to me here as a teenager and He's speaking to me now.

When I worked here in the summer of '98, he taught me about being content. I had just graduated from college and had no idea what was next for me. I had no prospects for a boyfriend much less a husband. I was registered for grad school in order to reach my career goal of being a child psychologist. However, the idea of getting a regular job, and a family, and a house with a white picket fence did not seem very appealing to me at the time.

So, I learned to be content with the idea. I got myself ready for a mundane life. I was okay with just me and God and no guy. My roommate, Gin, said, "You know you're going to meet THE ONE soon. That's how it goes. As soon as you're okay with not having your guy, you meet him." She was right. Brock and I were already close friends, but there was no romantic interest at the time. Two months after I got home, Brock and I got together. Within a year, we were married, and I began the biggest adventure of my life.

Ridgecrest

We're at a conference at one of my favorite places...Ridgecrest, NC. I came here when I was a child and in the youth group for camp. Then, after I graduated from college, my best friend and I worked here for the summer. We even thought about moving here. I also met two of my favorite people at Ridgecrest, Biz and Amber.

Enjoy your Christmas vacation. Tell me what you thought about the Discovery program when you get a chance!

Treasuring Up All These Things

After the shepherds came to visit Jesus, it says in Luke 2:19 that Mary "treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." She had seen an angel who told her the impossible was going to happen to her. Then, she carried this child for nine months. She probably had to keep pinching herself and reminding herself that this was really happening. Then, these strangers had heard that she just bore the Son of God and came to visit. This was just another comfirmation that this really was coming to action. I think when she was treasuring and pondering this in her heart, she was thinking about the magnificence of God and His Way. Everything was playing out just as His angel had promised.

On a much, much, (X 100) smaller scale, I definately was treasuring up everything in my heart yesterday. Several months ago, I told Brock that we just needed to pray that the next TV offer we got would be the one that the Lord wanted us to do, because whatever the offer was we were going to take it! Two days later, they called about this show and Brock was in Malta filming about a month later. When I watched the show with friends yesterday and other friends were calling and talking about how great it was, I was storing up all kinds of feelings. The Lord is so faithful and good. My friends whom I thought would forget to watch the show due to the holiday festivities took time to watch and support not only us but Jesus.

I really feel as if the Lord allowed Brock to share the stage with Him for just a little yesterday. It was as if Jesus was the star and Brock was the emcee. I just hope that Brock was able to introduce Jesus to people...not only to those for the first time, but also introduce Jesus in a new light for those who already know Him. I know that thru the program, I learned more about the God I serve.

Behind the Scenes

Today is the day! Someone read about the show in USA Today. Also, somebody heard it on National Public Radio. I thought I'd give you some behind the scenes details.

They filmed the calming of the storm on a water stage in Malta. At the time, a Steven Spielberg film was being shot at the same location. We now know that it was the movie Munich. Brock was very cold while filming this scene. Also, the waves were so powerful that the boat broke halfway through the shoot.

Brock had trouble getting to and from Israel. The El Al is the safest airline in the world and we could see why. Brock looked suspicious because he was a young, rebellious looking guy who was travelling alone and not with a church group. Secondly, he had a fresh passport. Some of you may remember the passport issue. He lost it and got a new one the day he left. So, he had an escort in America up until he left the country. Then, when it was time to come home, security met him out on the sidewalk and asked for his passport and ticket. They must have known he was coming because he had not even entered the airport yet. They questioned him about everything. Brock spray painted the corners of his luggage red in order to be able to spot it easily at baggage claim. They wanted to know why he did that and why he didn't just buy red luggage. They wanted to know where his BBC badge was. He finally began doing magic tricks for security in order to show he was indeed a magician. That drew a crowd and one of the producers of the show happened to be passing thru and noticed Brock doing magic. She came over a vouched for him. That was the only way he got on that plane to come home.

In the states, they filmed us doing a bunch of magic. The alluminum box that I get in was a brand new prop. We performed it for the cameras out near the beach in Panama City, FL. It was so hot inside that alluminum box that I got a fever blister instantly and had minor heat exhaustion. Also, when Brock does the box lifted by a crane, this was the first and only time we've done this escape.

I hope you enjoy the show!

Publicity

Yesterday, Brock had a phone interview with the press in Austria. Then, we went to the mall to shoot Brock for the local news. They wanted him doing close-up magic on the street. Yesterday was a cold day, so we figured what better place than the mall? That's where everyone is right now. It was fun! As he was messing with passersby, one of the shoppers recognized Brock from the newpaper and asked when the show aired. Then, at the grocery store, a stranger came up to Brock and said they were excited about watching the TV show.

We've had thousands of written publications thanks to the Associated Press news. We've also had thousands of radio stations give us air time thanks to the AP radio. If you google "Brock Gill, miracles", there are 44,000 entries. I hope there is a big enough buzz to cause a stir. I want the Discovery channel to see that we, Christians, are out there and we have an appetite for this kind of content. Pray that the success of the show will be more than expected.

Tomorrow is the big day!!! Remember to watch it with your families and tell me what you think. Discovery Channel from 1pm-4pm EST and 12pm-3pm CST.

Theft Again!

I shouldn't be surprised when we get robbed. We have had so many things stolen: 2 trailers and all of the equipment in them, money from Brock's wallet, 2 mini disc players, a laptop, 2 toolboxes, Brock's fishing tackle box, a bunch of magic. You might be thinking that we should lock up our stuff better. It has nothing to do with locks and everything to do with the evil one. It's his favorite tactic with us.

When Brock's second toolbox was stolen out of the back of our truck yesterday, the old feelings came back. I actually have this particular spot in my chest that begins to hurt only when something is stolen. I got so furious and felt as if Satan was jeering at me..."We got you again!"

Then, this scripture came to mind "The thief comes only to kill and steal and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full." The words danced across my heart like a soothing melody. I began to calm down and the ache in my chest went away instantly. Then, I thought that I got the scripture wrong. I've always heard those two statements separately. Only when I looked it up did I indeed realize that it was the same verse.

After thinking about it, we always do experience abundance after Satan tries something with us. Whenever anything is stolen, we get better stuff. After our truck burned down (yes, it caught on fire in the middle of the night), we got a bigger, better truck. The Lord always gets the victory in the end.

The Tennessean

Yesterday, we were at the gas station and I ran in to see if the local newspaper had run a story about Brock yet. They did! In fact, his picture was on the front page and the entire first page of the "Living" section was devoted to Brock and the TV show. I made Brock go to the counter to buy one in order to see if the cashier would notice since Brock's picture was on the front page. She didn't...in fact, her comment was: "Do you realize you're buying 5 of these papers?" Oh, well. I realized that I was probably the only one around that was excited about Brock being in our newspaper.

If you want to read the article, go to tennessean.com and enter "Brock Gill" in the search bar. My favorite part of the article is the last quote from Brock referring to the TV show. "I think that those who are atheists are going to think again, I think those who are seekers are going to be more open to the idea of Jesus, and I think those who are believers are going to be more convinced and educated about the God they follow."

Thousands of writings about Brock and the show have been published including something on MSNBC.com. You can google "Brock Gill, miracles" and see all the different articles written.

By the way, go to www.music.yahoo.com/promotions/whosnext/default.asp and vote for my friends BarlowGirl!

Hair and Doctor's Appointments

Yesterday I felt like I got a glimpse into some of you moms' worlds. I woke up early and cleaned a little. After I woke up Brock, I headed to town to do a bunch of errands. Then, I met my friend at her work and went with her to get her hair colored. It was only the second time she's ever even had highlights, so she needed a little moral support. After a couple of hours at the salon, I had to rush home and pick Brock up for a doctor's appointment.

Brock has been having trouble getting all the water out of his ears after he performs the water coffin. Usually, it goes away, but it's been a couple of months. A doctor's visit was inevitable. Since we've been married, Brock has not been to a doctor short of a chiropractor. He's been rather healthy. The nurse asked him all kinds of questions. He had never had any kind of diseases, but the list of bones he had broken was extraordinary! He's broken his foot, a couple of toes, 2 bones in his arm, a finger, his leg, nose, and collar bone. They flushed his ears out and there was a lot of junk in there. No wonder he's been turning up the TV so loud! Dispite all of the loud concerts we've attended, his hearing is perfect..."disgustingly good" as the doctor said and better than most 30 year olds. We were at the doctor's office for 3 hours!

Last night, I cooked, cleaned up the kitchen, and got our office people's Christmas gifts ready. Now I know why all of the ladies were stressed Sunday at church!

Feliz Navidad

The other day, we were at a party in which one of our friends, Mark Lee (www.marklee.typepad.com), began playing the guitar and leading us in a few Christmas carols. One of the songs he selected was "Feliz Navidad." It reminded me of something that happened back when I was 16...

My sister and I were singing "Silent Night" at a home for mentally challenged people. My sister, Kay, was 13 years old at the time. We were harmonizing the chorus when one of the patients from the audience jumped out of her seat. She began belting out "Feliz Navidad...Feliz Navidad..." Kay and I looked at each other not knowing what to do. We continued singing for a while although the lady was getting louder and louder. By the time she was singing "I wanna wish you a merry Christmas!," our cousin had quit playing his guitar and we had stopped singing. The rest of the audience seemed to enjoy this lady's song much more than our timid "Silent Night." They had all joined in the singing. Kay and I decided that if you can't beat them, join them. We began singing along and got in on the congo line that was forming. The lady might not have had the best voice, but we could take some lessons from her on the art of entertaining!

Don't forget to set your TiVo or VCR for the TV show called "The Miracles of Jesus" set to be aired at 1pm E.T. on Christmas Eve. Also, watch it live if you can and tell everyone you know to watch it. When you're Christmas shopping, stand in the center of your mall and yell out this info (or just tell your family and friends).

Matthew 6:31-34

"Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

More Stress

Our lives are becoming more and more stressful. As we sat down at a restaurant in the airport the other day, Brock said there was a lady who was pitching a fit about her food. She ended up sitting beside us. We overheard her gripe to her husband about the food for the next 15 minutes. Then, she proceeded to whine about the people on the plane and how they treated her. I thought that she might have a mental breakdown before she even got out of the airport.

I find myself getting tense so easily in the last few years. I don’t know if it’s because of the traveling or getting older or if everyone is getting more stressed these days. I feel myself getting upset over silly things. I nipped the whole road rage a couple of years ago. I decided that if I cannot afford a few extra seconds if I’m forced to wait that long in the car, then my life is too tight. Somebody said that stress is caused by unmet expectations. I think that I expect too much out of myself as well as others. I’m going to try and lighten up when it comes to everyday life.

We are getting more and more busy. It's crazy because we have more modern conveniences but we are just adding more things to our plate to take up the extra time we save. I just now realized that I sound like an old person right now. I definately enjoy modern technology, but how do I balance a modern life and living in peace? What's the answer? I'm trying the old method of counting to 10 in my head to cool off. Sometimes, I try to think about why I'm so easily upset that day (there's usually something making me on edge just under the surface). The crazy thing about it is that my friends say that I'm laid back. I think Americans are too stressed in general. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Prayer Warriors

A couple of weeks ago, I called a few people to pray whenever Brock had his interview with the Associated Press. I wanted to call one lady who is known for being a great prayer warrior. However, I didn't know how to get in touch with her. Brock knows her son very well, but we didn't have his new number. That night, I received an e-mail from her son, Jeff. He had somehow found out and got my e-mail asking people to pray. Guess who he forwarded the e-mail to? His mom, the one that I wanted to get in touch with that day but had not had contact with for years...the one whose name came to me out of the blue that day.

Last week, I had a hard time praying. I was overwhelmed by everything to pray about. We had two press releases coming out, the TV show, and a new website that we were trying to get completely working. One day in particular, I just could not pray. Everytime I tried, I'd get anxious. The next day, I was talking to one of my friends. She said that she was really praying hard for me the day before and as she was praying she felt "overwhelmed."

I know that alot of you guys are praying for us right now and I really appreciate it. I think the Lord is going to do something big. It's all because of your prayers!

Don't forget to tell everyone...e-mail your friends, announce it at church, call your family from out of town, shout it from the rooftops (literally...go on top of your roof and start shouting it to everyone) that the show on Discovery channel airs Christmas Eve!

Life at Home

I'm sitting on our bed writing this as Brock talks very enthusiastically on the phone. He's doing a live radio interview at the time. Our mornings are like this lately. Brock has a couple of phone interviews promoting the TV show. Brock stays in our bedroom because we have company sleeping across the hall. So, I try to stay really quiet as he speaks on the phone. I don't know if you saw that Newlywed's episode (I only watched it on occasion...it's kinda like a car wreck. You don't want to watch, but you cannot help but look) where one of them had a phone interview while they were driving in the car. After the interview was over, everyone in the car began to laugh. That's what it's like. I hold in all of my giggles and such. Yesterday, Brock was speaking with a writer for a magazine, so I thought it was okay to blow dry my hair in the bathroom since it wasn't live. I saw Brock quickly take a turn out of the room...maybe I should wait until the interview is over before I use loud machinery!

Our nights consist mostly of entertaining and hanging out with our friends. Monday, we used our chocolate fountain that we got for Christmas. Everyone at the party enjoyed it. Last night, our friends from the band Alathea came over for dinner. It's been fun!

Don't forget to tell everyone...e-mail your friends, announce it at church, call your family from out of town, shout it from the rooftops (literally...go on top of your roof and start shouting it to everyone) that the show on Discovery channel airs Christmas Eve!

Press Release

This is a copy of a press release that went out last week (not the Associated Press release...keep praying about that. It hasn't gone out yet.):

December 8, 2005- (Nashville, TN) Brock Gill is hosting Discovery Channel’s the “Miracles of Jesus” TV special currently scheduled to air on Christmas Eve (check local listings for times). As the lead investigator in the project, Brock presents an objective look at the miracles Jesus performed and investigates whether they were illusions or reality.

For centuries critics have claimed that Jesus’ miracles never happened or that they were purely illusions. As an illusionist and a Christian, Brock has often had to deal with the claim that Jesus was only a magician.

Traveling throughout the Middle East and Holy Lands, theories of Jesus miracles resonate through his mind as he ventures to find out: Can ancient miracles be re-created using 21st century technology?

“Was He a magician? Was He an illusionist? Was He a hypnotist?” asks Brock, “Was He a paranormalist? Or was he just a master of psychology? What was the deal? Was He a real miracle worker?”

Brock’s questions bring him to three different locations where Jesus performed His miracles. In Nain, Galilee, Brock investigates the widow’s son being raised from the dead. In Golan Heights, the multiplication of loaves and fishes for the feeding of 5,000 people, and to the Sea of Galilee to investigate the miracle that has stumped illusionists from day one: walking on water.

“I’ve always been fascinated by miracles, ever since I was a kid reading the Bible stories. They were so outside of the ordinary,” says Brock. “I always liked the idea of being able to walk across the water.”

Brock is also taking his unique stage show with wit and mind-blowing escapes into households with the new DVD, Hidden Agenda, available now through Vertical Distribution. From the stage to the street to behind the scenes, Hidden Agenda lets you see more of Brock Gill than ever before. The DVD includes nearly two hours of footage with spectacular illusions and escapes, such as The Water Coffin, Blind Ride, Ping Pong Balls, Assistant's Revenge, Puppet Master and much more.

Performing over 150 dates a year, Gill has shared the stage with many well-known speakers, leaders and artists, including: Franklin Graham, Andy Stanley, John Piper, Kirk Cameron, Luis Palau, Christian Hosoi (legendary skateboard champion), Corey Martinez (BMX rider from X Games 1004-5), David Nasser, Casting Crowns, Relient K, Sonic Flood, tobyMac, Audio Adrenaline, Third Day, Pillar, Mercy Me and others. He has performed for such organizations as BigStuf Camps, Student Life, In Quest, and on tours such as Winter Jam, Livin’ It with Stephen Baldwin and Christ in Youth’s Believe tour.

Our Charlie Brown Christmas Tree

Normally, I don't decorate our house because we're not here for Christmas. However, since we are home this month, I decided to put up a tree. I actually had a Christmas box from college that had a few decorations. I hung some lights with Christmas style paper cups over a few of them and a couple of ribbons around my patio door. I also placed green and red candles around the fireplace and hung stockings from the mantle. My mom let me borrow my favorite nativity scene. The pieces are ceramic and can be moved around. My sister and I used to take turns rearranging the scene.

I had everything I needed to decorate a tree except the tree. Brock said that we could cut one down in the woods by our house. I wasn't so sure. Growing up in the city, I didn't know you could actually cut down your own! So, we set out out front door with a machete and giant clippers in hand (we only wanted a small 3 foot tree). We actually found one very quickly in our front yard. We could have spent some more time and found a prettier one, but it was really cold. It's slightly Charlie Brownish, but we like it. It's got character!

Check out our new website www.brockgill.com and tell me what you think. Don't forget to tell everyone...e-mail your friends, announce it at church, call your family from out of town, shout it from the rooftops (literally...go on top of your roof and start shouting it to everyone) that the show on Discovery channel airs Christmas Eve!

Dinner Party

We had the best time last night! Three couples came over for dinner. Brock cooked a couple of chickens (he's a fabulous cook!) and I prepared potatoes, broccoli, bread, and a fruit salad. It was very healthy. Then, we had a cookie cake! One of the girls had a birthday earlier this month, so another guest made her a cookie cake. It was supposed to be a surprise, but the birthday girl peeked at the cake before we even started dinner. She was still excited! She was singing "Happy Birthday to me..." all night. I don't think she likes surprises anyway.

After dinner, we played Trivial Pursuit. None of us play games very often, but someone made a comment about that game and I realized that we had it back in a closet somewhere. We played two teams...girls against guys. The guys won, but it was a close game! We laughed all night.

It worked out great because I had an incentive to clean my house yesterday. Since it was Saturday, Brock only had a couple of work related phone calls. So, he even cleaned up his office and shop! A couple of the guys from Chaos on Wheels are coming to stay with us this week, so now my house is clean and ready for them!

Hands and Feet Project

Last night, Brock had an appearance at a benefit for the Hands and Feet Project. He promoted the TV show and did one fun trick with one of the girls in the audience. It wasn't much, but it was fun to go. We saw alot of friends...Mark and Will from Audio Adrenaline, Jeff Lava (Audio A's lighting director) and his Australian girlfriend, Simone, the band Fireflight, and others. It was fun to hang out with everyone.

The Hands and Feet Project's goal is to provide a caring and loving environment for orphaned children in Haiti. Mark Stewart's (of Audio Adrenaline) parents are ministering in Haiti. There are alot of orphaned children in there, so the Hands and Feet are trying to build an orphanage. It's a big project. They need your prayers, financial support, and some of you may want to take a group there to help with the building project and ministering face to face with these children. Go to handsandfeetproject.org for more information.

The Air Date for the Discovery Channel

The TV show on the Discovery Channel is scheduled to air Christmas Eve at 1pm E.T./12pm C.T. That is the last we heard and it is on Discovery's website. We are pleased with this date because most people will be off of work (especially since it falls on a Saturday this year), and it's a good time to remember the meaning of Christmas. We don't know if it is going to be called "The Miracles of Jesus." On the website, they call it the Christmas special. So, as you are visiting family, take time for all of you to sit down and watch this program about Jesus. It's 3 hour long shows. If you cannot watch all three hours on that day, TiVo it or record it somehow. Also, make sure you check this blog after it airs to see what we think and to give your opinions of it. Remember that this is totally secular, so it's going to have a different take on Jesus Himself and His miracles. I think it will be interesting to see a film like this on Jesus...to see how the secular world (or at least part of the secular world) views Him. I think you will be pleased with how positively they portray Jesus.

The Associated Press

The Associated Press's article about Brock and the TV show is scheduled to go out either today or tomorrow. As I said in an earlier post, everyone from your local newspaper to USA Today to Letterman and the Today Show get their information from the AP. Now, we must pray that big press comes from this. Pray that the right people ask Brock to be on their show or place the article in their publication. Pray that this show gets big press!

Fasting

Brock and I are fasting this week for the Discovery Channel show and the publicity for it. I've never done more than a one day fast, so this has been a challenge to me. It hasn't been too bad. Lots of doctors actually say it's healthy to fast on occasion (if you're an adult and not pregnant). Your body does a natural cleansing. You must drink lots of water though. This helps the cleansing to take place. In the health books that Brock has read this year, they say to take a 7 to 30 day fast. The scripture has alot of examples of fasting in increments of 7. I think that they call a 40 day fast a supernatural fast. Jesus fasted 40 days at the beginning of his ministry.

I don't know much about fasting except what I've learned through experience. That is that it definately gets God's attention. Prayer is a mystery in some ways. However, fasting as well as having alot of strong believers praying for the same thing seem to get the Lord's attention.

Brock went on a 21 day fast right before he started this ministry in 1997. He prayed alot and heard God alot about the ministry and how it was to work. The Lord also told Brock how to date. He told him not to date that he would marry his best friend. We met just a few days after he fasted (he was skinny!) and became best friends. It was not until at least a year later that we started dating. We didn't even talk about a relationship other than friendship until this point. We realized overnight that we were in love! We talked about marriage on our first date. (I don't normally recommend that to everyone. Our situation was unique.) The Lord let me know in a special way that I would marry Brock too (that's for another post).

Please pray with us about the Discovery Channel show. Pray that it will be big. Pray that lots of people will view it. Pray also that Christians will be encouraged by it, and seekers will actually get saved because of it.

Coming Home Last Night

Last night, we got home at around 8:30. It was freezing, so I ran up to the house before we unloaded everything in order to turn on the heat. When I got to the door, a package was waiting for me. It was a present that I ordered for Brock. I thought, "What luck! I saw this before Brock could get a peek." I placed the box in the closet of the spare bedroom thinking Brock has probably never gone into that closet before and has no reason to go into it now.

When we came inside, we heard a beeping. One of the smoke alarm batteries was going out. We took down the one in the hallway, but it wasn't the one that was beeping. Brock told me to stay in the hall while he looked in the bedrooms for another alarm. I held my breath as he opened the closet door of the spare bedroom. We finally found the smoke alarm in the office.

Brock went into that closet again to find the electric blanket (it was still very cold in the house). Then, we had to go back to that closet to get the cord for the blanket. However, he never noticed the box. Who would have thought that the very closet that I stashed his present in just moments before thinking he would never go into it, is the place he went into 3 times within minutes of our arrival?

Brock, if you read this, I have found a new hiding place for your present. You will never find it! Well, never say never, but I don't think that you will find it.

Flying J

We're at a Flying J in Jackson, MS. Flying J is our favorite truckstop. We have a frequent fueler card with them making it simpler to fuel up. They are usually clean, big, and have everything you would need on the road. The entire parking lot has wireless internet. They have an rv dump, and you can even check out books on cd and return them to any other Flying J. We've been to this particular one in Mississippi more than any other because the place where we get our oil changed in the big truck is right across the street.

One time after leaving the Flying J in Shreveport, people coming beside us in their cars were laughing and pointing. Some people tried to point out something on our truck. After driving about 30 miles and seeing several strange looks from passersby, we finally pulled over to see what was wrong. We had taken a little part of Flying J with us. The fuel pump was still in our tank! It had completely disconnected from its hose and just the handle was sticking out of our truck. I guess we were in a hurry that day!

Family Time

I had a great time with my family yesterday. We had Christmas early. We woke up early and cooked all morning. At around 10am, the chocolate pies came out of the oven. Since Brock likes his chocolate pie hot, we all decided to have a piece while it was hot. It was so fun to eat dessert first! We took some pictures together. We ate lunch, opened presents, and then ate dessert again. It was a great day!

We expect to get back on the road this afternoon and head home. Tonight, we'll stop in Marshall, TX and visit with some friends. We're also planning to see some friends for breakfast in the morning in Shreveport, LA. It will be nice to see them.

Amber's Thanksgiving

Here is my friend Amber's hilarious Thanksgiving story in her own words...

I had a pretty good Thanksgiving except for a few things that went wrong! Link [her husband] is in the middle of an outage at Florida Power so he had to work on Thanksgiving, which also happened to be his birthday this year. That was depressing not being able to spend the day with him. Instead of going to his family's HUGE get together, the kid's and I went to my parents house, along with my older brother, (he's here visiting) my little brother, his wife and son.
I decided to cook the ham this year and what a fiasco that turned out to be!!!

First of all ham's are not that cheap if you haven't checked the prices lately. I spent hours basting and cooking this wonderful ham that I was so excited about! I had to do everything myself since Link was working. I got everyone bathed and dressed and started loading things into the car. I took the ham out, placed it gently on the floorboard and headed back inside for the broccoli casserole. When I got inside Glory [her young daughter] was upstairs screaming something about Eli [her 2 year old son] having white stuff all over him. I ran upstairs completely forgetting about anything but Eli. He had gotten into my expensive face lotion and smeared it all over himself and his nice clean clothes! I cleaned him up as quickly as possible, because we were now running late. I grabbed the broccoli casserole and headed back out to resume where I had left off. When I got to the car I saw two brown furry legs poking out from behind the door. To my ultimate horror while I was inside dealing with Eli, our dog Coda had smelled the delicious ham and decided to make a feast of it!!!!

Needless to say I don't know if I have ever been madder in my life! If there had been a gun handy Coda would be pushing up roses right now!

I refused to throw that expensive ham away, so I cut off the big hunk where Coda had been feasting, flipped it over to the untouched side and baked it for another 30 minutes, just for good measure, (actually to kill any doggy germs)!

Even after all that, my mom still refused to eat it! Everyone who did partake of it cracked jokes about how good the dog slobber basted ham tasted and could I please bring another one next year! I probably won't live that one down for many years to come!

Connection in Prayer

I told you yesterday that I would write about Gin and my connection in prayer. This happened in April of 2003...

It sounded like a shotgun blast and glass scattered everywhere! Time stood still as I debated whether I was dead or alive. We were in Houston, so I immediately assumed this was a drive by shooting. Was I shot? I did not feel any pain. Maybe this was what it is like to be in shock. Then, I hear Brock instruct me to put on the brake and pull to the side of the road.

I inspected my person as well as Brock's and found no evidence of blood, just a lot of tiny glass fragments. The windshield of our big rig had a crater in it the size of a football on the driver's side.

We found out that a few pick-up trucks came by in the oncoming lane and threw cinderblocks at us. One hit the trailer as well and did some damage. Basically since I was driving, if it hit a few inches lower, I would be dead. The police officer confirmed that idea. He kept coming over to me and telling me how lucky I was to be alive.

This really shook me up. I realized how fragile life is and how close I came to death that night. Brock said that just a few minutes before the incident, he felt compelled to pray for our safety.

The next week, I e-mailed the happenings to my friend, Gin. She asked if it occurred on Friday night. I informed her that she was correct in that it was Friday night, but why did she ask? Gin replied that Friday night, she woke up in the middle of the night with me on her mind. She thought this was a little strange because she had not talked with me for a while. She felt the urgency to pray for me right then.

I was so comforted to know that the Lord not only protected me but also woke someone in the night so that she could intercede in prayer on my behalf. Interceding for someone before the Lord is one of the biggest responsibilities as well as privileges we have as believers. Gin is definately gifted and practiced in this area of her Christian walk.

The Interview

Yesterday was a crazy day. Brock performed in Alabama last night, so I took him to the airport at around noon. On our way to the airport, we received the call that Brock had the phone interview with AP that afternoon. From that point on, he was on the phone with our office and publicist until he got on the plane. Then, he landed at around 3 something, had to drive 45 minutes to get to the show and pull over to have his interview all before 6pm.

He did it though. The interview went really well. Brock said that he was nervous (Brock rarely gets nervous.) The interview was supposed to last 15 minutes and ended up being about 45. I think that's a good sign. He asked Brock about 50 questions. Brock said that the guy was really excited about it and seemed to be interested in the show. Therefore, Brock thinks the guy will write a positive story. The way it works is that the Associated Press is at the top. They send out the information that goes to all of the media. For example, the people at the Today Show will see the story. Now, whether they choose to follow up on it or even read it is another story. This is what we need to pray about.

Before I dropped Brock off at the airport, I called one of my best friends that lives in Tyler, TX (about 3 or 4 hours away from my parents' house). She is a prayer warrior, so I definately wanted her to pray. Since I didn't know if she had access to internet lately, I called her. She was in Houston at the time. To my surprise, we were able to eat lunch together. She was having a big day career wise as well. The timing was incredible. We have a neat connection in prayer. I'll post the story tomorrow that will show you how wonderful of a prayer partner she is...

Prayer Alert!!!

Brock has just found out that he has an interview today at 4pm with the Associated Press. These are the big dogs. This story about Brock and the Discovery Channel special could go out to USA Today or any of the other big news publications as well as Entertainment Tonight or the Tonight Show and things like that. Please pray that he answers the questions wisely and that it would be in a way that nobody will twist his words or anything like that. Just pray that Brock will be anointed throughout the interview.

A Broken Down Truck

Yesterday, we were headed to a place where Brock could ride his dirtbike. I was going to run errands as he rode. On our way, we ate lunch with a friend. When we came out of the restaurant, my dad's truck wouldn't crank. The guy that we were with is really good with cars. He began peering under the hood assessing the situation.

As the guys were talking about the truck, I really felt like this was a spiritual encounter. You know when you feel like the Lord is totally in something? That's the way I felt. It was like He was right there in the truck with me.

Brock and our friend went to an auto supply store to get a belt. While they were gone, I was able to pray for the guy very specifically. It was as if the Lord was telling me just what he needed at this time in his life.

The guys came back and replaced a belt in my dad's truck. Dad got his truck fixed for little money and I was able to pray vigorously for someone. Brock ended up being able to spend a couple of hours riding before it got dark. It was a good day!

Air Date for the Discovery Channel Show Changed

We just received news last night that the air date for the show on the Discovery Channel was changed. We don't want to tell you the date yet for fear that they will change it again. However, if they keep this date, our prayers are answered. It's a much better time, and we are happy about it. We will let you know the specific time and date as soon as we are sure that it's official. So, keep checking this blog for an update!

A Conversation in the Dark

Last night, my parents, some friends of ours, Chip and Amanda, and Brock and I were watching something on TV when the electricity went out. At first, we were annoyed. When we finally realized that the electricity might be out for a while, mom got out the flashlights and the candles. We began to talk.

We talked about the Bible and how they chose which books were to be placed in the Bible and which ones were left out. Brock and Chip had read a book by Lee Strobel entitled The Case for Christ that talked about the Dead Sea Scrolls and such. I'm reading a wonderful book called Encounters With Christ by Mark E. Moore. It briefly describes every encounter Jesus has as recorded in the scriptures.

We discussed how they understood things differently back then. For example, I've always wondered why there is only one account of Jesus as a boy. I wanted to hear more. In the book I'm reading, the author explains that when the Greeks wrote about their heroes, they gave one story from the person's youth. It usually was during the boys' puberty age because that's when he was transforming from child to man. They did this to show that the man was unique even when he was a boy. Thus, the story of Jesus as a twelve year old sitting in the temple with the teachers after being separated from his parents for 3 days. This was typical in their writing back then and they understood the significance of the story.

It was a great conversation and one we may not have had if the electricity had not gone out!

FOOD

There were 8 of us at the Gills' this week. In a few days' time, we managed to eat 2 pecan pies, 2 pumpkin pies, a buttermilk pie, a red velvet cake, cream puffs, and oatmeal cookies. That was just dessert! The meals themselves were gigantic. Brock's mom made 2 different kinds of muffins and beef stew. Brock's dad grilled some ribs and sausage. Plus, we had turkey and Brock's mom's famous dressing. I think I ate more this week than I have in a month! I averaged 2 desserts per meal.

Now, we are at my parents' house in Texas. Hopefully, we won't stuff ourselves this week as we did last week. I don't think that I can fit anything more in my belly.