Monday, November 19, 2012

Blue Mountain

I can't even begin to count the multitude of kindnesses God has shown to me, especially these last 9 months. I have been home for NINE months now!  Can you believe that?  I am amazed.  And in that time, I have rediscovered my husband, I love him more than I ever thought was possible, I am fighting for my marriage against a very powerful enemy, I found the Cross, and God's blessings have been pouring down and me and my family.

I finally got a good job that is actually quite stress-free, and in retrospect, I see now why God placed me in this company, with this job.  I needed something low-key as Kris and I continue to heal and I continue to grow spiritually.  I also needed something that would "work with" my constant pain, and if I were in a more stressful environment, the pain (no doubt) would be even greater.  Kris' business is finally beginning to get the growth we've been praying for, so maybe in a year, we'll be able to put the kids back in private school.  Keep praying for that!

But one of my favorite blessings is all the amazing music I have discovered along the way.  I got to see Chris August perform "Battle" and some of my other favorites at the TobyMac concert.  More recently, I had the chance to see Matt Maher and Brandon Heath perform.  Friday night was a night I had been eagerly anticipating.  The songs by both of these men have moved me to tears on multiple occasions and filled my heart with hope and joy and peace.  I have loved their music and was happy to have the opportunity to go with my mother-in-law and son to this concert.  We had been planning it since the concert was announced, and I was really looking forward to it.

In the meantime, Katherine won tickets to the Rams game and a Switchfoot concert afterwards from JoyFM.  As I wrote previously, I was going to go, but at the last minute decided to "let" Kris take Katherine in my place.  And as a reward, I was blessed with winning a contest to watch the Rams game with the guys from Switchfoot (which I'll write about in a separate post).

So, Friday night finally came and I drove to meet Cindy and Kaleb at the church where the Blue Mountain tour with Matt Maher and Brandon Heath was being held.  Only, when I got there, I couldn't find Cindy.  Instead, my son came rushing to meet me from his place in line and led me over to find KRIS standing there. I was SO confused.  I started asking him questions, and apparently, from the time we got the tickets, this was Kris and Cindy's plan all along, that Kris would go with me and Kaleb to the concert.  I was thrilled, because I KNEW I would cry.  A lot.  And I loved the thought of having my best friend by my side, to hold my hand and share the experience with.  I had told Kris earlier that day that I expected the night to be one of prayer and worship for me, and many tears.  That is how powerful these men's music has been in my life since I came to the Cross.

And, coming as no surprise to me, as Matt Maher played the first few notes in the first song, I lost it.  Tears were streaming down my face uncontrollably.  And my husband was there, with his arm around me, as I wept and thanked God for the music, the concert, His kindness and mercy.  Matt Maher was amazing and he played/sang every song of his that has meant so much to me these last few months.  I was sad to see him go.

Brandon Heath came out and started with Wait and See.  The tears flowed freely again.  Just as I would settle down and stop crying, another song came on, or a story was told, and I'd start crying all over again.  I didn't care.  I was so overwhelmed with God and His goodness and love.  Brandon sang my favorite songs before he ever even began to sing songs from his new Blue Mountain album.  And then, there was a surprise.

Brandon announced that Warren Barrfield was there and was going to sing for us.  I looked at Kris and said, "I think he sings one of 'our' songs."  I looked on my phone and sure enough, found that he sings one of my favorites called "Love Is Not A Fight."  I've shared it on this blog before.  He started singing a song from his new album, much to my dismay.  After that song, he started telling the story of how and why he wrote "Love Is Not A Fight."  I had a glimmer of hope that maybe, since he was talking about it, he would sing it.  AND HE DID!  And instead of my mother-in-law, which still would have been cool, I had my husband next to me, sharing in that experience.  I can't even describe to you how amazing it was.  God has His hand in this.  I have no doubts.  And Kris and I were blessed to be together, me silently weeping, as we listened to and agreed with the words to this song.

"Love is not a place to come and go as we please.  It's a house we enter in, then commit to never leave.  So lock the door behind you.  Throw away the key.  We'll work it out together, let it bring us to our knees.  Love is a shelter, in a raging storm.  Love is peace in the middle of a war.  And if we try to leave, may God send angels to guard the door.  No, love is not a fight but it's something worth fighting for."



And then, Brandon Heath started to tell us about his Blue Mountain tour and he sang 8 of the 11 songs from the album.  I LOVE this new album.  It's a perfect blend of typical Brandon Heath, with great lyrics, but also a little country and bluegrass thrown in, for a wonderful album!  You definitely need to check out Blue Mountain if you haven't heard it.

As if Friday night's concert weren't blessing enough, there is more to come, as I share later about my experience meeting the guys from my favorite band, Switchfoot!

God is SO good!  My weekend was awesome, and I was exhausted by the time Sunday night rolled around.  Between concerts on Friday and Sunday, Saturday I spent five hours at a writing event for NaNoWriMo and made more progress on my book.  I'm almost to 35,000 words!  Just over 16,000 to hit my word count goal of 50,000!  How cool is that?!?  All in all, a very productive, emotional, AMAZING weekend!

Here are a few pictures from Friday night.  We were too far away to get any of the concert, but we got some of ourselves, which make the better memories anyway, right?






2 comments:

  1. I have been honored to meet Matt Maher in person. He is an awesome guy and on fire.
    I am happy that you got to spend a fantastic concert with your love.

    Peace,
    ~Naila Moon
    http://yaknowstuff.blogspot.com/

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    Replies
    1. I LOVE Matt Maher so much!!! And Brandon Heath. And Switchfoot. And Tenth Avenue North. And so many more...

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