Recap

Below you'll find some pictures from our trip to Nevada. We had a fantastic time. We had the privilege of witnessing 13 individuals give their hearts to Christ during the weekend. Awesome! Along the way, we managed to see the sights of Reno and have a little fun. I haven't had the chance to feature Dan Gilbert in many of my posts. Now, you can see what we put up with. The guy's a convivial crack-up! He definitely keeps things loose on the road.

These pictures were taken shortly before our detours (see post below). Royce spends a lot of time assuming this posture when Doran is behind the wheel. When I drive, all three group members are on their knees in prayer.

Some pictures don't need captions.

They say that baby elephants are quite unprepossessing and awkward until adulthood (as you can see in this rare sighting of a baby and it's mother).

There was an outdoor beach volleyball game being televised outside one of the casinos. The temperature had to be in the low 50s. It was very chilly. I actually felt sorry for the contestants. They don't wear enough clothes anyway and when you compound that fact with the cold weather, it made for some very unhappy faces. Dan, in this picture, is attempting to explain to the rest of us how the volleyball members signal to each other. While we didn't quite comprehend his description, we got a kick out of the visual.

Getting His Just Desserts

I caught Dan spending some time at his favorite section of the buffet: the dessert bar. For Donna's sake, I'm not going to mention what he consumed.

Dan and I took time to pose in downtown Reno. I love the expression on the face of the guy passing Dan. Trust me, if his gut is sticking out like that, then there's another part of his body (appropriately edited) that is going the other direction. Hence, the passerby's look of horrified disgust.

Randy's Rig

We enjoyed checking out Randy Travis's ride in Reno. I love our Eagle, but his bus is out of this world. Dan was casting envious glances at the coach.

Here's one more pic of the star hanging out with some of her fans. Trey and Kassady were impressed with Ashley's performance. Especially Kassady. She enjoyed getting into the clapping part.

I have to mention the accomplishment of another Grace Teen member. Ashley Taylor played at a recital Friday night and did an outstanding job (according to Lori). She played "Long, Long Ago" as a solo piece and then she played "Skyboat"with the group.

Marc and I were privileged to hang out with Tony, Abby, and the kids on Wednesday before our plane flew out. Britton had to show off his jumpshot. He's the man. He and Kaitlyn are posing above. I have to tell you about Kaitlyn. At the age of 6 God called her to be a missionary. 2 years later at a huge kids camp in Indiana, she went in front of the congregation (this isn't like her; she is extremely shy) and told them that God was still calling her to the mission field. She's 11 now, but hasn't changed her future plans at all. She knows what God has called her to! That's awesome! I'm glad they're part of my family.

This is what I used to think of when I heard the acronym IHC. I've never seen this happen, but the reports of the past are legendary. From what I hear everything went well this year. People have been telling me that Leonard Sankey delivered a masterpiece on Wednesday evening. It was great getting back. IHC is the closest thing I have to Mecca.

It was also cool to be with one of my Grace Teens members, Tosha.

It was nice to know that Ray brought a little of Idaho with him. He has a llama in his backyard. I promise! Tina is in the 'hood.

It was a blast being with Ray and Lenea again. In the top picture, Ray was explaining his extensive knowledge about HVAC systems to a couple of rookies, Marc and Brian. Ray is really into the mechanical side of things. Someone captured this pic of Lenea as she listened with rapt attention to my philosophies of interior design. My theory took about 12 seconds.

The Update

Man, it's been forever since I posted some of my witty commentary. Now, perhaps witty isn't what comes to mind for many of you, I don't know. Well, the fact is, I just haven't got around to updating my blog much.

I've had a great week. Monday, Marc Taylor and I flew out to Dayton, OH for the AYC board meeting. I had a great time hangin' out with the guys. Fortunately, I had a few hours to run over to IHC at the Convention Center. It was awesome to be able to touch base with a lot of friends who I haven't seen for quite a while. Marc and I spent the night with Ray and Lenea at their new home in Richmond, IN. Things are going extremely well with their ministry in Centerville. God has blessed them with a wonderful congregation who loves them dearly. I was thrilled to see what God was doing at their church.

It was a thrill to get home late Wednesday evening, though. Unfortunately, I was only around for a few hours. Liberty had to jump on the bus and head to a concert in Boise Thursday evening. We were privileged to share the stage with Sandy Rios a conservative news correspondent for Fox News. She has also served as a co-host for Crossfire and a contributor to many of the major news networks and newspapers. She eloquently shared her passion for Christ and the importance of developing a biblical worldview.

Early Friday we started for Hawthorne, NV. Well, we kind of started for Hawthorne. We stopped to grab some breakfast and while we were waiting on the food, I happened to ask Royce if we had ever been to the church in Hawthorne. He gave me a puzzled look, like, what are you talking about? He said, "We're not going to Hawthorne tonight. We're going to Eureka Springs." I said, "I don't think so, Royce. We're supposed to be in Hawthorne." As usual, he wouldn't take my word for it, so he had to confirm with our logistics man, Dan. He said, "Dan, where are we supposed to be tonight?" Dan said, "Hawthorne". Royce buried his head in his arms then looked up and said, "I've just driven 2 hours in the wrong direction!" we got back on the bus and began hurtling down the highway at a high rate of speed. According to our GPS we could still make it a 1/2 hour before service. We spent the rest of the day and the afternoon traveling at speeds a little higher than the posted mph. Doran drove the last leg of the trip. He discovered the new SG station on XM satellite radio, so we were listening intently to a recap of the 2005 Singing News fan awards. In fact, Doran was listening so intently that he missed his exit. We drove on past the place about 30 miles before we could find a road that would take us back. To make a long story short we pulled up to the church about 5 minutes after the concert was to start. Fortunately, the people were as flexible and as good-natured as could be. We had about 30 guys that helped us unload our equipment. It took us 9 minutes to set up our sound system. That has to be an all-time record!

We had a fantastic concert! In fact, 9 people gave their hearts to Christ Friday night. It makes me think that Satan didn't want us there.

Yesterday, we made our way to Reno where we spent some time strolling downtown. Reno, NV is the most unchurched city in the US. 95% of the cities residents do not go to church. It's a sad statistic. We were able to walk up to the Randy Travis bus. He was inside getting ready for a concert that evening, so we didn't have the chance to meet him. Last night we were at the South Reno Baptist Church. Pastor Joe is one of the coolest guys I've met. His passion for God and his humor are evident as soon as you meet him. When he moved to this church 13 years ago, they were averaging 42 people a service. They are now running over 600. But he won't let us church get above 600 or 700. As soon as it does, he takes 100 people and plants a new church in Reno. He has planted 5 or 6 churches in the last 10 years. It's incredible what God is doing through his ministry!

We're going to be at his church again this morning for a couple of services. Well, I'm going to post some pics above. Enjoy and I'll touch base later.

The Easter Adventure

SCC's song "Busy Man" comes to mind

This is not good. It's 4:03 AM as I type this and I've been up since 2:15 AM. This normally wouldn't be that big of a deal. I'd just sleep in a little or make sure I was in bed earlier tonight. This will not be the case today. Marc and I are going to be heading out to Dayton, OH in about 3 hours. I have an AYC board meeting tomorrow morning and then I'll head over to IHC in the afternoon. Ray and Tony are picking us up at the airport in Indianapolis and we're going to be driving up to Dayton this evening. This will, of course, be after a long-overdue meal at Buffalo Wild Wings (12 wings, medium sauce, potato chips and cheese on the side). There is no way I'm going to be getting to bed early tonight. Hopefully, I can catch some Z's on the plane. I'm one of those 8-hour-a-night guys, so I'm stressing about this.

This is going to be a busy week. I fly back late Wednesday, and then it's off to concerts on Thursday-Monday. So, there probably won't be a lot of updating on the ol' blog until next week. I have a great music video featuring Trey and Kassady that I will try to have on here by Thursday. It turned out pretty good.

As a girl that I used to travel with in choir used to say, "Please remember me in your prayers, that I'll make it to the end." I don't know what she meant, but I'm using it to say, pray that I survive this week!

Congrats!

I want to extend congratulations to one of Grace Teens' greatest, Kayla, on hitting for the cycle this past week in a high school softball game. For those of you that have played competitive sports or at least followed them, you know that this is a rare accomplishment. For those of you who don't follow sports, it has nothing to do with biking or anything like that. If you need it explained just give me a yell (yeah, Mom, I'm talking to you!).

Kayla, I just hope the milkshake was worth it.

Easter morning service

We had a beautiful Easter service at Grace this morning. It was a privilege to be able to celebrate Christ's resurrection at my home church. Grace Praise began the service by singing the Easter classic "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today" followed by Scripture. We then transitioned into a lively rendition of "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High". The Easter service music has to include the timeless Gospel song "He Lives" and after singing that our praise team led right into the well-known Gaither song, "Because He Lives." The faith, hope, and joy found in the words of that chorus allowed our congregation to testify to the fact that "life is worth the living, just because He lives." Awesome.

Lori played an arrangement of Anne Herring's "Easter Song" for the offertory. Absolutely beautiful! And I can say that. She's my wife and she plays the flute with the best of them (that's no exaggeration, either)!

Before prayer, Grace Praise led the chorus "He Is Lord". As we finished the chorus, Lori picked up her flute and softly played through "I Love You, Lord". God settled down over our service as the praise team began to sing the words.

After prayer, Doran and Diane joined me on a song that is becoming one of my favorites, "Calvary Answers For Me" (you really need to check out the Perry's performance on their great recording, "This Is the Day"). Man, the words to that song are just powerful!

Pastor Keaton delivered an awesome sermon with an interesting title: Jesus At His Best.

He asked, was Jesus at His best in:
Creation,
Incarnation
Impartation
(I can't remember the exact word he used here, but it had to do with His role in the plan of redemption)
Evacuation
Salvation

He concluded that Christ is at His best when He brings all of the above into play in saving a lost soul. Great delivery. Incredible message.

Doran, Diane, and I then sang "Were You There" and closed with the chorus "Arise, My Love". There is something special about Easter celebrations. This morning was no different.

To know that the tomb is empty gives hope and joy to the Christian's heart! HE LIVES!