God is always at work

Two very happy girls!!!

Do you know what this is a picture of? Two very happy girls who not only got to see Hawk Nelson who wasn't scheduled to appear tonight, but they got to experience God's hand at work and actually met all four band members AND got their autographs.

We're in Orlando and the girls are having a great time. The speakers tonight were awesome. Chad Eastham talked a little...no, a lot about "the truth about guys". It's funny how when it comes from someone other than your parents, you tend to listen. I guess that just goes with the territory of being a teenager.

Well, I just wanted to hop on here and glorify our Lord with a heart full of thanksgiving. Hawk Nelson was not on the itinerary to appear tonight. They announced that he would pop in to say hello. Amanda and her friend went nuts. Halfway through the show, they showed on the screen that at the end of the tonight's session they would be at the other side of the arena signing autographs for certain sections, for 20 minutes. It would have taken us 20 minutes just to walk around to the other side of the arena, but it wouldn't of done any good, because we were not in any of the listed sections. I felt so bad for the girls. I can't emphasize enough how much Amanda loves this band.

When the night was almost over, Amanda told me she really had to go to the bathroom. She asked if she and her friend could go. I would never allow her to go to the bathroom alone in such a huge place, but her friend was with her and the bathrooms were in the corridor right where we were sitting, so I told her to go ahead and I remained seated. While she was gone, I closed my eyes and asked God that if it was his will for her to get an autograph than so be it, and if it wasn't to please allow her to focus on Him and not the importance of getting a band's signature. But, knowing her teenage heart, I just knew she'd be heartbroken. I continued to praise Him and thank Him for allowing me to share this special time with Amanda, along with of course, asking Him to allow His Holy Spirit to seep deep into her heart. In the middle of my prayer, I realized that there was no music playing and all of a sudden, the word "adoption" jumped at me. I open my eyes and realize that they were playing a video for World Vision.

This is where God again proves that He is indeed God. He knows exactly where to touch my heart. They went on talking about the fact that for the cost of less than a can of coke, we can sponsor a child by providing them with medicine and food. Of course, my heart immediately thought about how many cans of Coke or how much food I throw away and how I spend $1.00 (the cost of a can of Coke) on the most ridiculous of things when it could be feeding a child. I immediately thought to myself, "I'm sponsoring a child." THEN....(after I had told myself I was going to do this), they announce "We are doing something very special tonight that we have never done before. We know how many of you would love to meet Hawk Nelson and they have agreed that anyone who sponsors a child tonight, will not only get to meet them, but will receive an autograph from each member of the band! I couldn't believe it. All of a sudden, Amanda walks back. I said, "Did you hear that?" She looks at me with a bit of disappointment in her voice and said, "Yes, but you have to sponsor a child." I told her, "Amanda. Give God ALL of the glory for this because it was His moving my heart to sponsor a child that is allowing you to get to meet HN and get their autograph." The smile on her face was worth a million words. And God proved once again, that when you take care of His orphans, he takes care of you. He did. My baby girl was elated and at the same time, saw God in action. I've reiterated over and over this evening that when she shares with her friends what happened, to make sure He gets all the glory. She got in the car and called Scott right away, and said, "Guess what God did?"

By the way, we "adopted" a special needs child from China. World Vision has been in China for the past 4 years. I'll share a picture of our new baby when we receive it. It's been an awesome first night at the Revolve Tour. I can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store. Thank you, Jesus!

P.S. The picture above was from Amanda's camera. I got great pics and video on my camera, but it'll have to wait till I get home to post.