Perfect Timing: Third Day/Matt Maher Concert

So, to continue where the last post left off, we unexpectedly found ourselves five rows back at a semi-local Third Day/ Matt Maher concert this past Saturday thanks to my friend Emily, who won some tickets and invited us. Of course, I couldn't resist taking a boat-load of photos. Usually, the nifty fifty is my go-to lens for concerts since it is so fast in low-light situations, but since I wasn't sure where we would end up sitting, I had tossed the kit lens on the camera instead, and was actually very pleasantly surprised with how well it held up for me as long as I was shooting in manual (add this to the long list of reasons why I'm a firm believer that kit lenses ARE worthwhile!).

Anyway, the concert started out with The Neverclaim who I had never heard of, but had a really interesting song about being made for such a time as this, based on Esther. It's so funny going to concerts with Justin, because while I assumed they had a guy playing a banjo, Justin leaned over and whispered to me that it was actually an electric guitar shaped like a banjo. I learn all sorts of interesting things from Justin at concerts ;)

 

Up next was Trevor Morgan, who was AMAZING. I actually knew several of his songs, including one of my absolute favorites currently, Jesus Rides the Subway (which you can listen to here, and I would HIGHLY suggest it! It is amazing!). I have no doubt that Trevor Morgan is someone to watch in the Christian Music scene. I loved that he said he would love to speak to anyone and everyone after the concert, and would stay as late as needed to do so. 

 

After Trevor Morgan, Matt Maher came on stage. I knew a couple Matt Maher songs (like Hold Us Together) and really love them. But again, he performed a number of songs that I knew, but just hadn't associated with his name. I was so impressed with the quality of his live music, and even more impressed by what he spoke about in between songs. He basically said that he often has the opportunity to speak with Christians who have really been hurt by "the church" and its members, but he encouraged us to lay those hurts at the foot of the cross, because the one requirement to be a member of the church is that we all have to recognize that we're sinners. All of us. So the fact that we hurt each other despite our best efforts to the contrary really isn't surprising. The fact that we don't love each other perfectly as God does really isn't surprising. And maybe the important thing is to lay those hurts at the cross, and forgive each other anyway. I don't know if that speaks to anyone else like it spoke to me, but it was EXACTLY what I needed to hear at that moment. 

 

After Matt Maher, Third Day came on. Did you know that Third Day has been a band for TWENTY YEARS?! That is a long stinking time. Once again, the quality of their music was just so amazing, and there is really just nothing like standing with such a large group of believers and singing Creed (which was originally done by Rich Mullins, but I love Third Day's version best of all--again, if you haven't heard it before, go listen to it here right now!) We don't belong to a large church--on any given Sunday, there are fewer than 100 people in attendance...so hearing hundreds upon hundreds of people singing "I believe in God the Father" is really just indescribable, and powerful. For me, at that moment, it was needed.  But above all, I was struck by how absolutely gracious Third Day were as a band. 

Part-way through the concert, they went back to the lawn, and played a few requests for those sitting in the lawn seats (which is sort of incredible in and of itself that they were basically ready to play any song from their twenty-years as a band). For whatever reason, after that, they didn't have security or gates of any sort up at the front of the stage, so there were literally people hanging on the stage. Mac Powell handled that so graciously, and was continually shaking hands as he was singing, and at one point, even signed someone's t-shirt that was passed up on stage mid-song. Not only that, but towards the end of the concert, he brought both Matt Maher and Trevor Morgan back up on stage with them to sing. Now, I haven't been to THAT many concerts in my life, but I've been to a few and had never seen that happen before. I just thought it was pretty amazing. And not only that, but Third Day actually played backup for one of Trevor Morgan's songs

I don't know if you can really tell what's going on in that second picture, but Mac Powell, the lead singer of Third Day, moved his microphone out of the spotlight, and sang backup vocals and played tambourine for Trevor Morgan. It was kind of a relief to see that there are big-time bands out there who seem to have remained humble and just gracious throughout it all. 

It was just a perfect evening, to be filled and renewed spiritually. Great music by what seems like an amazing group of bands. I'm still just beyond thankful that we were able to attend--thank you again for thinking of us Emily!

Perfect Provision

Last fall, while I was walking through Sheila Walsh's "Shelter of God's Promises" Bible Study, she was talking about Philippians 4:19, and how "God knows our every need, and has proven to provide abundantly beyond what we can rightly expect." I jotted that out onto a little note card, which has taken up residence on our bathroom mirror. I have seen that provision in my own life over the past two years, and it is still my daily prayer and comfort.

This month, things were tight. We went through every budget item line by line, and said 'Is this a need or a want?' Lots of things were cut. Things were still tight. I wasn't sure how they'd work out, honestly. But I have just been blown away this past week by God's perfect provision.

As I mentioned last week, our doctor decided to make and exception and accept our supplemental insurance, which was a huge relief to us budget-wise (ps- thank you all for your comments and support on that post. I received one dissenting comment, but that person chose to comment anonymously, and consequently was not published, per the commenting policy on this blog).  For us, it was straight-up provision.

On Friday morning, I listed an old junker car of ours on Craigslist as a parts car. We had been meaning to post it for months, but just kept forgetting. I'd tried to post it on Thursday evening, but got an error message. Within three minutes of posting it on Friday morning, someone called Justin, and came and paid him cash for the car. The amount we received was almost exactly what we needed to make this month's budget work. People have since told us that they think we under-listed the car, but who knows, maybe the family that bought the car was in the same position we are this month, and it will help them to breathe easier. I just don't think it was an accident at all.

Our needs have been provided for this week, and I am so thankful. It has been amazing and humbling to watch God work in our lives this past week. And then, if that weren't enough, God also provided for a want of mine in the most amazing way that I just have to tell you about. 

On Saturday, there was a Third Day/Matt Maher concert not too far from us. On Thursday or Friday of last week, my friend Emily and I were talking about how we both really wanted to go, but how it just wasn't in the budget for either of us. It wasn't a "need". On Saturday afternoon, Emily called me just a few hours before the concert started, and told me that she had won four tickets to the concert, and that she was offering two tickets to Justin and I. I was beyond thrilled, and was looking forward to laying on the grass listening to some great music, figuring they were lawn seats.

 

They weren't lawn seats. We were literally 5 rows from the front. And I cannot wait to tell you more about the concert (and I will soon), because it really was another instance of perfect provision in my life. It was perfect balm for my soul. God knows what I need, and provides abundantly, beyond what I could ever expect. I am so thankful.

Thursday Thoughts....on a Friday

{one} 

Justin just might kill me for posting this, but he totally scared the beejebus out of me yesterday--when I woke up at 6:30am to a text from him saying, "I just crashed a work truck." Thankfully, he's okay (the truck, not so much).

{two}

About three (four?) years ago, there was a girl at the local beauty school who used to cut and color my hair better than any professional. People used to stop me on the street and ask who colored my hair. Once, a doctor at the ER asked if I would allow her to write down my name and take it to the beauty school and say, "Just do whatever you did to Meredith." But, sad day, she graduated, and for whatever reason, I never found out where she went. BUT, happy day, I found her! And I have an appointment with her today for a haircut! I really wish I could do a cut AND a color, but today I'll just have to settle for a cut. I don't think I've had my hair cut since October, so it is long overdue.

{three}

Potty training? Had been going very well. All of a sudden, not so much...and I'm not very happy about it. It has made the days VERY long lately.

{four}

Justin and the band are playing at a church fundraiser tomorrow night...which means that Lizzy is spending the night at my parent's house, and Justin and I get to enjoy a dress-up, adults-only dinner. And maybe sleeping in. And is it ever needed!

{five}

I am totally chomping at the bit to build our new dining room table. It probably won't be this month, or likely even next month, but I am so excited to have a table that is functional and FITS in the designated space!

Recovering | Monday Song

We went down to Mt. Shasta this past weekend for the band to play a set at a local coffee house. They told us that we're in the running for playing at a big event at a local park this summer which would be awesome.

Today, I'm still recovering--we didn't get home until about midnight on Saturday and then had the be up early on Sunday. Plus, add to that all the stuff I've got to do around the house today and the fact that Lizzy still needs to be watched quite closely with this whole potty training thing...and it makes it somewhat comical to do anything that takes more than 5 minutes at a time.

Anyway, my weekend was great, but I'm still recovering, so I leave you with this video, of a new original song, hot off the presses. I really like it...because hello, haven't most new moms felt like 'This day is never gonna end'? I hope you'll take a minute to listen, and to give them some love if you enjoyed too :)

January White

Last week, we planted some basil and chives in a little window planter--I planned to plant some paperwhites, actually, but couldn't find them anywhere. There's no snow here, but I was in desperate need of some green...some life...nevertheless.

I photographed these using my nifty fifty lens and some extension tubes, which tend to give a more "fuzzy" and ethereal look, which I usually don't particularly like, but fit my mood somehow this cold January morning. And then I came across this song, and laughed--because just yes, to all of it...painting the walls a lighter shade of blue and all :)

So let's press undo.
Rearrange the old and call it new-
January white.

Every calendar is playing the same old trick:
A year will disappear, replaced with counterfeit
But we'll never really mind.

'cause if nothing else, we're given a little time
To change the game, a chance to redefine
Everything we are,
In our January white.

This year is a sealed envelope,
A culmination of hopes,
The lottery result that we've been crossing fingers for.

We could paint our walls a lighter shade of blue,
Or we could pack our bags and change the entire view
To January white.

If nothing else, we're given a little time
To change the heart in which we change our minds;
Our hourglasses turn.

This year is a sealed envelope;
With apprehensive hope
We brace for anything.
I swear, I understand that nothing changes that,
The past will be the past,
But the future is brighter than any flashback.

Well, we could let our guards down a little easier this time,
We could trust that when there's joy, there's nothing dark behind.
In spite of history,
Hope is January white.

This year, we're starting over again
Letter openers in hand,
A chance to take a chance.
I swear, I understand that the past will be the past,
And nothing changes that,
But the future is brighter than any flashback.

Song Credit: January White by Sleeping At Last (listen to this song on Song Cloud)

Snippets

- The Ducks won the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1917 (I think) yesterday! Quack Quack! We had some friends and family over to watch the game, and I'm so glad we did. It was just a fun, stress-free day. And I so welcome staying busy this week, because it gives me less time to sit and let my mind wander to our trip to Portland at the end of the week.

-Speaking of the trip to Portland, I had a full-blown anxiety attack on New Year's Eve. It came out of nowhere. We were laying in bed, about to go to sleep, and all of a sudden, my heart was racing and I could hardly breathe. Suddenly, I was absolutely petrified that we'll get up to Portland for the procedure on Friday, and the doctor will tell me that my skin cancer is incredibly advanced, and that I'm like the one person in the world to which it has actually metastasized and that the prognosis is terrible. I have no reason to think this is the case...everything my doctor has told me has indicated and demonstrated that the exact opposite is true. And in my logical part of my brain, I know that. But the unknown is scary, and my brain starts following terrible trains of thought--You're already in an incredibly small percentage of people who have this type of skin cancer. What makes you think you won't be one of the small percentage of those for whom it is deadly?

It makes me mad. Mad that I'm spending the time worrying about it. Mad that I can't get the thought out of my head even though I KNOW worrying about it now won't do anything to prevent or change it if that is in fact the case. Logically, I *know* that it is pointless to worry until/unless I am explicitly given a reason to worry. But sometimes, it's hard not to be a little scared of the unknown. So, on New Years Eve, I just laid in bed singing songs in my head, and eventually fell asleep.

- Before the anxiety attack, the band spent New Year's Eve playing a concert for Celebrate Recovery. It was a ton of fun! Here's a video re-cap (shot with a point and shoot camera, so the quality isn't perfect). The first song in the mash-up is one of the ones that I sing in my head when I start to feel that fear/anxiety creep into my mind. It's called "Give Me Peace" and the chorus goes: Give me peace, I am weary with no rest. Give strength to my weary hands in this mess. Take a listen if you wish--in the second song of the mash-up, you can even hear J sing!




-In fun Portland news though, my former-sort-of-roommate Sara sent J and I a gift certificate for The Cheesecake Factory, which I am REALLY excited about! She and Lisa have been spoiling me rotten these past couple of months! Can you believe I've never eaten at The Cheesecake Factory before? What's good?

Things in my Head

-I went to the dermatologist yesterday for the mystery bruise. She didn't really know what it was either, but her top three guesses are all harmless. The fourth possibility she called a "zebra"--extremely rare, but concerning. Because of my medical history where rare = my life, she decided to have it biopsied, and cut it out. So, now I'm chilling here with stitches in my back, and a prohibition from picking up Lizzy for the next three days (which is really easy to follow when you've got a screaming, tantruming child who will not listen and a husband in the shower) but no more information than I had before.

And of course, the night before I went, I was congested, had a migraine all day, and just felt miserable. I woke up through the night alternately sweating and freezing--almost like I had a fever. The first thing she asked in regards to the 'zebra' was, "You haven't had any fevers or night chills have you?"  Of course. I told her that I had, just the night before, but she said that she wasn't all that worried in the context of the other cold-like symptoms. But seriously, I haven't had a fever or night sweats in probably a year. WHY did it have to make it's appearance right before going to the doctor, and give me something else to let my mind get wrapped up in worry about?! Overall, I've done pretty well with not worrying, but worry is a sneaky thing, and can take over so quickly--it doesn't need any extra footholds in my mind.

-Just after the dermatologist, we found out that it's going to cost $1,100 to fix our car. Our car has been rumbling, so we took it to our mechanic. It turns out that both the clutch and some bearings need to be replaced, and the Kia Sorento that we own seems to be the most expensive car in the world in terms of parts. I was figuring about $500, but the $1,100 was kind of a punch in the gut. Thankfully, we are in a better position financially than we have been in years and I'm confident that we'll actually be able to do it. The bad news is that it will essentially totally un-do all the work we've been doing in terms of savings and such, and Justin and I will probably only just do stockings again for Christmas, and that just sucks, you know? And could it happen at a worse time with Christmases and birthdays aplenty approaching?!

It's funny though, because usually I am the freak-outter and Justin is the one telling me everything will be okay, and that God is faithful to provide for our needs. This time, those roles were totally reversed--I was all calm and tranquil, and Justin was freaking out...though, I think he was mad more than anything else, because I know he had been wanting to get a new laptop for me for Christmas. But obviously, that's off the table now, which doesn't upset me, but I know is frustrating and irritating for him.

-But, to redeem the day, when we got home from the ridiculous morning, I had not one, but TWO pairs of free jeans waiting for me! One pair was a consolation prize of sorts from Lee Jeans for not winning the Life in Lee photo contest, and they are great. They're a pair of mid-rise skinny jeans in a long length--is it me, or are those REALLY hard to find?! And, they're stretch, but not skin tight or completely stretch. Still, they are the most comfortable jeans I think I've ever worn, and I'm excited to finally have a pair that I can tuck into boots. The second pair was from Meg, who totally blessed me by sending me a pair of the old school Long and Lean jeans after I raved about them the other day! I'm so excited!

-And THEN, I got to meet Cara @ Whimsy Smitten. Some of you may have seen the craziness that transpired during the post about the Band going to Mt. Shasta, but if you missed it, here's a re-cap: I came across Cara's blog several months ago (maybe from Incourage?), and at the time, she and her husband were living in Texas. Not too long ago, she mentioned that they were moving back to Oregon. I asked her where she was from, and she responded with the name of the small-town where Justin's parents live, and that they were living with their in-laws until they found a place. We talked about how it was such a small world, and that we should get together sometime, but it hadn't happened. AND THEN, when I posted about the band going to Mt. Shasta, Cara responded that the in-laws that she and her husband are living with are actually the drummer of the band and his wife! None of us had any idea--what a small world! So anyway, Cara's husband made some delicious pizza for all of us last night, and we got to meet and hang while the band had "practice" last night. It was tons of fun, and also totally helped redeem a sucky morning!

A Trip and A Tantrum of Epic Proportions

Over the weekend, we trekked down to Mt. Shasta, CA for Justin's band to play at this little place called The Coffee Connection. It's actually a non-profit sponsored by 8 different churches in Mt. Shasta--all employees are volunteers from those churches. On Saturday nights, they have free coffee, free wi-fi, and often have bands that come down and play. It's a pretty cool outreach ministry.



{The Coffee Connection has this catwalk on the second story
where you can see the band that's playing below. It's pretty cool!}





{The only bad thing about shooting the band indoors without a flash is that I have to shoot with my ISO at 1600, which means grain out the wazoo. Oh well--I tell myself that the "gritty" look is appropriate for a band!}




{One funny thing: I am 99% sure that I know which song Renee is
singing just by looking at this photo! Renee, if you're reading, it's He Cries, right?}




{Hey look--it's my (biological) sister who looks absolutely nothing like me.
In fact, people usually think she's Renee's sister instead of mine!}


Since we thought we'd get done around 10:30-11pm and then still have to drive back home, Lizzy stayed with my parents. The plan was for us to come back to their house and stay the night there since they live closer to CA than we do. Only, when we got back sometime around midnight, she was still awake. My parents had been trying to get her to sleep since 8pm, but Lizzy is one of the most stubborn kids you'll ever meet, and was still wide awake. At the time that we arrive, she was in fairly good spirits, but that quickly deteriorated. I tried turning on a movie to lay down with her, and she got HYSTERICAL. Kicking. Screaming. Trying to scratch and bite. I tried rocking. I tried singing. I tried every discipline tactic that I know--I could not get her to stop screaming hysterically at the top of her lungs. Justin came in the room, and I told him that I thought we might have to go home, at which point Lizzy started screaming, "NO MAMA! MAMA GO AWAY! LIZZY NO MAMA!"

Talk about making your heart break. I cried. At that point, it was almost 1am. We packed everything up, and decided that we just needed to go. She screamed at the top of her lungs for the next 20 minutes in the car before finally falling asleep.This morning, when she woke up, she came into bed with us and said, "Mama. Lizzy naughty. I sorry." Sweet precious girl. But, we had another hysterical sleep battle tonight as well. Please tell me there's a sleep regression or something around 2 years (she already has her 2 year molars I believe), because this is getting out of control.

To end on a good note though, here's a mash-up of the band's set if you're interested!

Sunday Song

It's been a LOOOONNNG time since I've done a Sunday Song here on the blog...but this song has been on my mind a lot lately. It's "American Dream" by Casting Crowns--not one that's played on the radio (at least not here), but really resonates with me, and it's my favorite song of theirs. If you haven't heard it before, please think about giving it a listen. Here's a snippet:

“Not this time son I've no time to waste

Maybe tomorrow we'll have time to play”

And then he slips into his new BMW

And drives farther and farther and farther away

Cause he works all day and tries to sleep at night

He says things will get better;

Better in time

So he works and he builds with his own two hands

And he pours all he has in a castle made with sand

But the wind and the rain are comin' crashing in

Time will tell just how long his kingdom stands

His kingdom stands

Whirlwind

So, we're back from CA! What a whirlwind weekend--after all was said, done, and softball game played, we got home about 11pm last night. This was a really interesting weekend for a whole lot of reasons....

When we first got to the festival, we were a little irritated by how unorganized everything seemed. The whole set-up for the battle of the bands, the prize, everything kept changing. We were told that we needed to be there at 8am (which meant leaving around 3am for us), but really it wasn't until 10am, etc. Also, it turned out that Friday wasn't actually a competition, but just a pre-screening. Anyway, by the end of the day Friday, they told us that on Saturday, they'd pick the top 3 bands to play on the main stage Sunday night, and the crowd would pick the winner. There was some AMAZING talent there, but we thought that we might have a chance to be in the top 3 along with two other bands.

Saturday morning rolled around, we went and played our one song for the judges...one of whom was a speaker at the event, and the other two of whom appeared to be high school students who they pulled off the street and didn't say a word the entire time. Then suddenly, the speaker announced the winner, who would play a whole set on the main stage Sunday night. Wait, what? We all thought three bands advanced, but nope. An amazing band called Anadel won. Again, there was some major frustration about the organization of it all (let me be really clear--the major frustration was with the organization, not really the fact that we didn't win. Anadel is AMAZING, and you should definitely check them out). Later that afternoon, we were invited to play a set on the Indie Stage on Sunday morning.  Only, as soon as we got our stuff into the staging area, I got a frantic call from Rick that they wouldn't be able to get us in after all. Again, cue the massive frustration.

But then, something happened that turned the whole weekend around for me. It turns out that several of the big name, main stage artists decided that there weren't enough people in attendance this year to make it worth their time, and backed out hours before their show. Because attendance was low and they were consequently totally in the red money wise, the festival director made the decision to break down the mainstage completely and to shuffle all remaining artists to the Indie Stage (which we were slated to play on) and the Worship Stage. Rick, the stage manager who I had been extremely frustrated with only minutes before, had been tasked with doing all the rearranging and reorganizing EVERYTHING just minutes before it was supposed to happen.

Rick called me over again and was super upset and apologetic. He felt terrible because he knew that we would have headed home much earlier in the day had we not had a set scheduled. He was trying to find us a set anywhere, and we even contemplated a straight acoustic set, but decided against it because we basically only had electric instruments. Instead, we asked Rick what we could do to help, and the boys were tasked with helping to break down the main stage.

At some point that morning, I realized that we had the option to grumble and complain about an unforeseen situation, or we had the option to show some grace and help out in whatever way was necessary. I said before that I believe we were there for a reason--maybe it wasn't necessarily playing a set on a stage. Maybe it was the fact that Saturday night, the band was able to help Compassion International with their speech by passing out info about sponsoring a child during the presentation. Maybe it was the fact that we were camped next to a man who had liver cancer and wasn't able to walk in to the main stage as often as he wished, but told us that he was so thrilled to be able to still hear music coming from our camp site. Maybe it was the fact that Justin and Ryan were there to help break down the main stage when they needed some extra muscle. I can only hope that we ultimately ended up responding to Rick and the others at the festival with an extra measure of patience and understanding.

(my sister and I...yes, I know we don't look anything alike)

It's easy to get bogged down on thinking that it was a "waste" of time and money to go down there because we didn't win and because things didn't work out the way that we anticipated. But the truth is that we don't yet know how God was working behind the scenes this weekend...but I know that there was a purpose, and I think it will be so amazing to look back months or years from now and say "I understand now...THAT'S why we went."

Plus, we got to eat at In N Out (twice, actually!). Isn't that reason enough itself?

Proverbs 3:5 says "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding"....what a fitting verse for this weekend, no?

Well, it's 1:56pm on Thursday afternoon. Lizzy's napping, and I just finished Insanity Pure Cardio. I've done this week of Insanity (starting over on week 1 again) by myself, and I'm beat. Consequently, this is going to be a total brain dump.

I'm sitting here thinking about all the things we need to do to get ready for our trip to Illumination Music festival in Red Bluff, CA tomorrow. We have a night jam packed with band practice at 6pm, a softball game for J at 8:30pm (which he will probably be home from at about 10:30pm), we have to pack, and then we're supposed to be on the road by 4am tomorrow morning. I'm stressed...but the funny thing is that by the time most people read this post, we'll be there already and this will all be a moot point!

I hate that we have no idea whether we'll be there for one day or three. See, Justin's band is definitely playing one song at 10am on Friday morning. If they like them, they play another on Saturday, and then again on Sunday. This is apparently some sort of battle of the bands, and the winner plays on the main stage next year.

This whole trip to Illumination is kind of a weird situation for me because I don't really know how to talk to God about it. I want the band to win the whole battle of the bands, but praying for that reminds me of back in my sports days when other teams would pray that they'd win the game...something that I always hated. I know that I probably SHOULD be praying that God's will be done (and I do want that). I SHOULD be praying for safe travel. I SHOULD be praying that we can show God's love. Because I know that there's a purpose for us going to this thing whether or not we win (which is what I'm trying to convince myself to cling to and not feel like it was a "waste" if we don't win it all). But MAN, I want us to win.

Did I mention that we're camping, but campfires and camp stoves are not allowed? Among just being a general PITA, it also means that I'm likely to go three days without coffee...

Also, if we don't make it to In N' Out at least once this weekend, I will have a cow. Heh.

The end.

Snippets

-On Friday, my baby brother graduated from high school.

-On Saturday, my mom offered to babysit while we went to see a movie. It's been a long time since we've seen a movie in the theaters! We went to see X-men, which I actually liked!

-On Sunday, we had our softball game. There had been a three-way tie for first, with two of the teams were ranked 5-0 from byes. We were 4-1 going into last night's game, and beat one of the 5-0 bye teams...which is always pretty exciting. They were NOT happy at all. But I was pleased as punch, because several of the players on the team were cheating, and I HATE it when cheaters win. I was playing first base and called their base coach out on telling the players to run when the pitcher hit the ball--in this league, you have to wait for the crack of the bat to run. The poor girl who was running the bases looked absolutely horrified when she realized that this jerk was teaching her to cheat, not to play the game.

-This week is going to be insanely busy. Over the weekend, the band is going down to play and compete at a three day music festival in California. It's a situation where if they like you on Friday, you play on Saturday. If they like you on Saturday, you play on Sunday. I think if you win the whole competition, you then play on the main stage the following year. So, it's a pretty cool opportunity for the band.

The whole thing is a little stressful for me though--not knowing how long we'll actually be there, camping with Lizzy,  etc. Oye Vey. I hope that the band does well, but no matter what happens, I know it will work out exactly how it is supposed to, even if we don't understand the reasoning.

-Maybe I should have called this "three things" instead of snippets, 'cause I think that's all I've got!

I Met A Newsboy (And Other Fun Stories and Photos)

This is a bit of a long and complicated story, so I'll try my best to simplify it a little bit. Last night there was a concert in Southern Oregon that featured Disciple, Kutless, a speaker named Bob Lenz, and the Newsboys. My sister Courtney happens to know one of the guys that does booking and merchandise for Bob Lenz (his name is John), and he told her that if the concert wasn't too far away from where we live, that he'd leave her free tickets for her and a friend. At this point, Justin was still out of town, so my parents agreed to babysit Lizzy so that Courtney and I could go.

Earlier in the day, John called and asked if Court and I could pick him and Bob up at the airport along with all their gear and then drive them to the venue. We said sure, and so we did. When we arrived at the venue, we helped carry in all of Bob's stuff through the back band entrance, when the drummer for the Newsboys came over to say hi. It was kind of fun to say that we met a rock-star...but I have to say that I was pretty surprised at how short he was--he was like chest high on me! We helped schlep stuff in and said hello to all the security people as we did.

Then Court and I went and had dinner at Subway (THEY HAVE THE ORCHARD CHICKEN SANDWICH AGAIN!!!!), and headed back to the concert. She and I ended up helping at the merch table for Bob, which was a ton of fun.

I brought my dslr camera with me, but figured that they probably wouldn't let me bring it in or would ask me not to take photos since I didn't have a press pass, but figured it was worth a shot anyway on the off-chance I had the opportunity to practice concert photography. So, as Kutless was playing, I decided to try and see if I could get closer to the stage to take some photos. I'm not sure if it was the "fancy" camera, or the fact that security recognized me, but no one stopped me as I got closer to the stage.

I always enjoy hearing Kutless play--Strong Tower is one of my favorite songs, and their set is a cool mix of concert and worship. Also, three of their band members are from Southern Oregon, so it's cool to see the "local" guys make it big. Anyway, I snapped a couple of shots, and then headed back to the booth because I knew that it was almost time for Bob to speak.

If you're not familiar with Bob Lenz, you should be. He's an awesome speaker, and he has a great book out called Grace: For Those Who Think they Don't Measure Up. Last night, Bob was also partnering with Compassion International, which is an incredible organization. I would LOVE to do one of their blogger trips someday. 

{Another fun tidbit? Bob's doing Insanity, and John told me that he's lost 70 pounds doing it!}

Anyway, after Bob, the Newsboys came on stage. I'll be honest--I wasn't sure that I'd enjoy their concert. See, they have a new lead singer. I've seen them live with their old singer, and just wasn't sure that anyone could like up to Peter Furler. That said, their new lead singer (Michael Tait) won me over with an a capella version of Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus. Also, they came out singing Usher's Hey-Oh, which was kind of hilarious. 

I decided that since no one stopped me before, I should see if I could get even CLOSER to the stage to take some photos of the Newsboys.

Oh, hi Jeff Frankenstein. I don't mind if I do stand two feet away from you to take your photo.

I was right up in front of the stage and no one said a word. I can only assume that they thought I was supposed to be there. I've kind of decided that I was.

Concert photography is REALLY tricky. Especially since I was going at it with nothing more than my Nifty Fifty lens. I had a lot of fun experimenting though!

After about two songs, I headed back to the table with Courtney. It was so fun getting to spend the evening with her!

We had a great few of the hydraulics that the Newsboys use from the table.

We had been telling Court how the drummer not only goes up in the air, but then starts spinning upside down. However, his hydraulics were broken, so she didn't get to see the upside-down drumming this time.

But it was still pretty amazing!

Battle of the Bands

Justin's band participated in a local Battle of the Bands for Christian bands over this past weekend {Technically, I'm a member of the band too, but I'm part of the business side of things, not the music side of things}.

When we arrived, everyone was really nervous, because it became apparent pretty quickly that most of the other bands that had entered were of the "screamer" variety. It's just a totally different genre than Justin's band--especially since the band was missing one of their drummers that day. Usually, the band has someone that plays the drum set, AND my sister who plays the djembe, which is an African drum--Court does an awesome job on the djembe, but the overall sound is much more acoustic/folkish than when they also have someone on the set. So, when compared to the other bands, everyone was nervous that the band's sound just wasn't exactly what the judges were looking for.

Still, they got up there and rocked out three original songs.

People seemed to really enjoy it, and I heard quite a few people around me comment, "Wow! You can actually understand what they're saying!" And then, when they finished their third song, one of the judges said, "Hey, would you guys mind playing another song?"

So, the band had a quick conference and picked a third song to play. My sister told me later that she realized once they started playing that she had never played that song with the band before, lol! Overall, the judges gave some good feedback, but also some suggestions for things the band could work on. We stuck around to watch the band that played after us, and then the judges deliberated. There were 7 or 8 bands total, and I think everyone in our group was hoping for second or third place--and after those places were announced and we weren't in them, I think everyone had resounded themselves to the idea that our music style just wasn't what the judges were looking for, which was fine...I think we all collectively felt that although it would have been fun to have won, the point of the day was really just about getting together with other bands to worship God.

And then they announced that we won. Um, WE WON. We were so surprised. So honored. It was so neat to watch them get up there, praise God, and hear such positive feedback about how the music touched the judges and the audience. It was especially cool, because most of the gigs the band has played historically have been people or churches that the band already knew. This was one of the first times that they've played at a venue that they've had no affiliation with, and to receive such awesome feedback was just really affirming. I think we've all had periods of time where we wonder whether or not to give up this pipe dream of being able to make a living ministring through music. I can't speak for everyone else, but hearing the feedback from the judges about how they think that this is exactly what we're supposed to be doing was pretty amazing. I can't wait to see what God has planned for our little band. 

Here's a video from the battle ( we're called Second Best, which we get lots of interesting comments about, but for us, it's meant to be an intentional reminder that God is always first in our lives). They're performing one of the songs written by my sister-in-law Renee called Busy People. Like I said, they're missing their drummer, and for some reason, you can't hear Justin on the bass at all, but I think it still sounds pretty awesome.