Day 18 - After these messages.

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My late-night snack of choice involves putting bread slices into something called a toaster.  Two or three minutes later, you get something so much better than what you put into the toaster in the first place.  Apply butter liberally--or jam, as you see fit.

I slept today.  I mean it, I slept a LOT today, which explains why it's technically Monday while I post this.  When someone says the Sabbath is a day of rest, I want to agree with them the best way I know how--by sleeping away the afternoon.  Lindsey and I took a cat nap that turned into a ferocious lion nap after we got back from her haircut.

Church was incredible this morning, and Greg's message about "How To Be Rich", was really eye opening.  Do you realize if you make $42k or more a year, you're in the wealthiest one percent of the entire world.  What a reality check.  Did you also know that one of the presidential candidates gave 21% of their income to charity last year.  I'll tell you the answer at the bottom of the blog--and you'll be surprised who it is.

Greg's sermon was about being happy with what we already have, and serving God with the money and gifts He has entrusted us with.  Christ says in Matthew that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to inherit the Kingdom of God.  The "eye of a needle" Jesus refers to was a narrow gate in Jerusalem that could be monitored and kept open at all times, but that a camel would have to shimmy on it's knees to get through if it was allowed to enter.  I realize how much I value my possessions and how often I feel like I'm not making enough money, instead of trusting God and thanking him for what he's provided for me.  Even though I am jobless right now, God is providing, and I should be thanking Him for such amazing financial provisions even now.

Being on tour is a great time to realize how much you need God's provision--especially financially.  The Comeback Tour makes it a point not to spend any of our own money on tour needs, like food or gas.  We have to trust God that he will provide the kind of finances we need to make it from one show to the next.  I'm happy to boast about God's wonderfulness, and the fact that this last tour in July we went into the red, but were back in the black by the end of the tour.  It was stressful for a time, but we prayed that God would be our provider, and He came through.  We made over $50 in merch sales every night of the tour after Cornerstone--even when the other bands couldn't sell even one CD.  We were truly blessed.

Aside from church and napping, I had to fix some wiring issues with the back left-turn signal on my car before I dropped it off to get it repaired and inspected.  On our way to church this morning, I noticed that my left-turn arrow was clicking really fast.  Lindsey suggested it was a dead bulb, and she was right.  It turns out that water was getting into the light compartment of the back left-turn signal, and the whole socket was rusted out.  Luckily, some electrical ingenuity and a quick trip to AutoZone for a new bulb solved the problem.  However, not before I had to deal with all kind of sticky gunk that has been building up on the wiring harness in the trunk.  How do things get so dirty--especially when they're not outside the car?  I also got some touch up paint that matches my car's finish.  This is good, because my dad decided he wanted to touch up a few scratches on my car without telling me first, and used the wrong color paint.  Now I can get everything looking even.

The last surprise for today was bumping into Tommy from church at the New Hamburg train station when I was dropping Lindsey off.  Tommy plays bass and sings for the service occasionally, and we all stood around and talked about music for a while.  I guess him and Lindsey talked for the whole train ride down as well.  Tommy is going to be out on tour for the next few weeks singing with some pretty important musicians and artists, so keep him in your prayers.  I guess he was also very interested in jamming sometime with Lindsey and myself.  I'm really excited about that possibility as well.  It's always awesome to fellowship with other musicians, and it'll be good to get to know another member of my church family a little better.

Speaking of fellowship with other musicians, I'm going to be jamming with Justin from Elotheos Monday night--I'm super excited.  After a lot of pensiveness, him and Dave finally decided that they want to work on a side-project with me.  God is good, and I'm praying for a productive and worshipful time!  So I better get some rest now, so I'm not feeling groggy on my way over there tomorrow.  So until then!

BTW, It was McCain.