day eight...

Ok, so two things:

First of all, I made the lamest error possible as a Worship Artist tonight on stage... when thanking the crowd for coming to the show I boldly exclaimed, "Thanks for being here this evening, thanks for worshiping me--" AAAAHH! I stopped, laughed, and made sure it was clear that they should never do that--"thanks for worshiping WITH me..." Practically unrecoverable, and I got plenty of flack for it all night while signing CD's. So I take away an object lesson from that, because any artist who claims that they've been up on that platform and not desired--even taken--glory solely for themselves is, in my opinion, struggling with honesty issues. Was my comment Freudian? I sure hope not. But if it helped me realize even for a moment how disastrous an evening of worship can be when I don't make everything all about God, it was worth the embarrassment! :)

Ok, second... I had another opportunity to talk with someone tonight that reminded me why I do what I do. A young woman--probably early 20's--approached me early in the evening, after my set, but before the concert was over. She thanked me for being there, told me that she 'felt' something tonight that she hadn't felt in a long time. "Wow... that's great. What brought you here tonight?" I asked. She shared with me that she had been at a recovery meeting on Monday and someone happened to have an extra ticket--a stranger at that. As we continued to talk, I realized that this was someone who did not frequent Christian concerts... and found out through our conversation that she didn't frequent church, either. Toward the end of the conversation, I felt an awkward pause and saw in her eyes--something... I'm not sure what. I asked her if I could pray for her. The honesty that followed impressed and astounded me... "I don't think I'd be very comfortable with that..." she said. "You know, what? I'll pray for you all by myself tonight... how does that sound?" I asked. Again, her response floored me... "sure. Can I give you some prayer requests?" This young lady burned a few requests on my heart tonight and you can bet I'll be praying fervently for her before I close my eyes tonight. I can only hope that a journey toward salvation started in her heart tonight, and that God will find a way to communicate to her how much he desires a relationship with her.

Let's call her Susan... can you all keep Susan in your prayers tonight? I guarantee it, she could use 'em... seriously, before you forget, can you say a prayer for her? God knows her real name, along with every hurt she feels and need she has, and something--something--happened in her tonight. Thanks in advance, and praise God...