A [Fairly] Brief Recap of Our "Joyful Noise" Tour

Near the end of the tour, I was asked two questions.  Troy Hauser-Brydon, the associate pastor at our home church (St. Simons Presbyterian), asked me,  "Has it been everything you hoped for and more?"  Ah, no.  And my brother Bart asked, "Has it been financially profitable?"  Uh, no.  But those were the wrong questions.  The right questions are:  Was it worthwhile?  Was it fruitful?  Was it successful?  And those questions I can answer with an emphatic and unequivocal, "YES!" 

We called this the “Joyful Noise” tour, after Psalm 100: 1-2: “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.  Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.”  However, it could have been called “The Tour that Almost Wasn’t,” because we almost didn’t go.

Just before we left, I had to have a root canal and a crown, which cost just over $2500.  We don’t have any credit cards, so we had to pay this out of our savings.  It took almost everything we had; it left us broke.  And I mean broke, as in how-are-we-going-to-pay-our-bills broke.    

We were scared to death.  We thought about the tour.  How could we possibly go?  If we couldn’t pay our bills at home, how could we risk being on the road?  But there was the money we’d raised for the tour – almost $1800.  If we weren’t going, we had to give that money back.  But how could we do that when we’d spent a chunk of it already, on campsite reservations, food for the trip, the camper rental.  We couldn’t afford to go, and we couldn’t afford to stay. 

We were at our wits’ end, filled with despair.  I remember throwing myself on our bed, despondent, crying my eyes out, worried sick, Tim beside me in the same distraught state.   We wondered if this was God’s way of telling us to stay home.    

Then we got a call from our church, saying there was a check for the rest of the love offering from our congregation.   We figured it was probably a couple hundred dollars.   When we found out how much it actually was, we were stunned and overwhelmed.  Almost $3000 - so much more than we’d ever imagined!  It bowled us over.  It was absolutely enough for us to go ahead with the tour.  Talk about answered prayer!  So the tour was back on. 

We almost didn’t get out on the day we’d planned to leave.  The night before our scheduled departure date, we’d had a late gig in Savannah.  So we started packing later and packed slower (a LOT slower), than we’d planned.  We’d hoped to be able to leave after lunch, but it was after 7pm when we finally pulled out of the driveway.  We were determined to start the tour as scheduled, so we hauled ourselves all the way…to Blythe Island (about a whopping 8 miles from our house). 

By the time we got to the campsite it was dark, we were tired and hungry, and the kids were over-the-top excited.  Now you have to remember, we’d never been camping together before; this was our virgin camping experience as a family.  So there we were, in the dark, trying to get set up.  We popped us as best we could, scrounged leftovers for dinner, and then went to bed, the kids on one end of the camper, Tim and me on the other.  Nighty night!

And everything was fine, until the middle of the night, when we heard a loud CRACK! from just beneath Tim and me.  Not good.  But we were too tired to get up and check it out.  We were tilted, but still upright, so we decided the problem could wait until morning. 

We surveyed the damage first thing upon arising.  It was not a pretty sight.  The right front end of the camper had broken open (we found out later that we’d braced it incorrectly. Duh).  It was clear that we couldn’t go on with the camper like this.  It was also clear that we couldn’t do the tour without the camper.  It had to be repaired, but we were worried about the cost.  We had enough money to take care of our expenses during the tour, but no more.  If the repair was expensive then we’d be worse off than before – no tour, no money and no way to pay people back.  And if it was too expensive to fix, the tour had to be canceled.  We again began to question whether this tour was really God’s plan and wondered if this was His way of telling us not to go. 

But we moved forward anyway.  The campground folks gave us the phone numbers for some people who do camper repair and we started dialing.  One man was no longer in business; the second never even answered his phone.  When we finally reached the third man he said he wouldn’t be able to even look at the camper for at least a day and a half, and there was no telling whether he would be able to fix it.  We packed up our stuff and dragged ourselves home, back to the pit of despair.  

When we got home, on a whim, Tim suggested I call the RV place that’s about a mile from our house.  “Why, yes,” the man on the phone said, “We do pop-up repair.  Bring it over right now, we’ll take a look.” 

To make a long story a little less long, they repaired the camper in about two hours, and it only cost $229.  And while Tim was at the RV place, the mail came, and would you believe it, there was a check in the mail for $198!  The net result was that the repair cost us almost nothing in time or money, and that very afternoon we were on our way again.  More answered prayers!

And that was the worst the tour ever got; it was all pretty smooth sailing from there.  We were prayed over by many people before we left, and felt surrounded by prayers throughout our journey. We found out that we camp together well as a family.  We kept our health.  Our voices stayed strong.  We had fabulous weather, never had to pop up or down in the rain.  We never experienced a bit of car trouble, or any further camper trouble.  We had everything we needed as we needed it.  

The money that we received for our tour and our music ministry helped us perform at 6 church concerts (for 5 denominations), 3 home concerts, and 3 campsite concerts over the 6 weeks.  It gave us the opportunity to drop off our CD at churches along our route, to introduce ourselves to their congregations for future performances.  It brought us to Nashville, where we got professional feedback about our songs and a mentoring session at the Nashville Songwriters Association International.   It brought us to the National Quartet Convention, where we learned an amazing amount about how to move our music ministry forward. 

Our music was well received.  People listened to our songs and our story and were blessed.  One man who was at two of our church performances told us that he uses our song “Slide Over Some” as the ringtone for his alarm.  After hearing us sing at a campsite, a couple introduced themselves, and that’s how we met Mark and his wife, a homeless couple that do mission work in New Orleans.  After one of the home concerts, one man tearfully shared with Tim that he hadn’t been to church in almost 50 years, but he felt like he had been to church that night.  We didn’t preach, we just sang what was in our hearts and let the Holy Spirit have some room to work. 

Was this tour God’s plan for us?  We believe so.  The only way this tour could have happened was because it was His idea in the first place, and through His power, not ours. 

Will we do another tour?  Absolutely.  It was an amazing and wonderful time for our family and our ministry.  We learned so much about our calling, our family, and God’s power.  We learned that we are called to worship God, not just on Sunday, but every day, not just in church, but everywhere. 

And we learned what happens when we step forward in faith, trusting that when we answer His call, He will provide.  Our deepest thanks to all of you who heard - and answered - His call to support us in our music ministry.  We are humbled and honored by your faith. 

We're baaaaaaaaaaaack!

We made it home, mostly in one piece.  We're still acclimating to living indoors and all the luxuries included with that.  Meanwhile, we're starting to recap the adventure.  We couldn't really do it while we were living it; there simply wasn't the time.  But now we're piecing it all back together, and I thought I'd post it, in case you were interested in a day-by-day report.  Here are how our first two days went: 

Wed. 9/8/10                                           Blythe Island Regional Park, Bwk., GA

Packing was a beast!  It took EONS longer than we’d planned.  And we’d had a late gig out of town the night before, which meant we were already tired and moving slower than usual.  So by the time we finished packing it was almost too late to leave.  But we were determined to get the tour started, so we opted to have our first night very close to home.  We arrived at the campground late, but found out that late check in was not a problem. 

Our first meal on the road was leftovers, which was good because we had to eat in the dark and the leftovers required little effort.  But we were all tired and hungry and happy for whatever we’d get.  We’d taken a lot of food with us, for two reasons:  one, we weren’t sure if we’d have the money to buy more food on the road, and two, we weren’t sure about how accessible grocery stores would be on our path.  On the first point, our church’s love offering took care of us (thank God!).  On the second point, welcome to the US, home of the ubiquitous Wal-Mart.  We needn’t have worried; they really are everywhere (and we visited a lot of them).

That night was hot, so we ran the air conditioner, which felt like a luxury (Annie’s used to tent camping).  The only down side to the A/C was that the next day, it produced tons of condensation that leaked all over the sink (and into one of our speakers.  Luckily, the speaker seemed to dry with no discernable damage). 

Things we learned:

1. Set up and tear down your gear twice before you go!  And really use it all at least once.
2. Packing takes longer than you think, so start packing (at least) one day before you go
3. Get a good night’s sleep the night before you leave
4. Find out campground office hours and if they allow late check in
5. A tablecloth is kind of a luxury, but it doesn’t take up much space so it’s a nice touch.
6. Be prepared for a dripping A/C unit!  Have extra towels or bowls underneath, or a tarp, even.

 

Thu. 9/9/10                                      Little Ocmulgee State Park, Helena, GA

During the night, we discovered that we didn’t set up the pop-up properly.  We figured that out when we heard a huge cracking sound (never a good sound when you’re camping) come from underneath our bed.  We were too tired and cranky to check it out, and since the bed didn’t fall (just leaned a little bit), we ignored it as best we could and figured we’d survey the damage in the morning. 

It was a depressing way to begin our first full day on the road.  Once we saw what had happened, we were afraid we’d done irreparable damage to the pop-up.  And even if the damage could be repaired, we were afraid the cost of the repair would break the bank.  The final straw came when we contacted the pop-up repairman, and he said he wouldn’t even be able to look at the camper until late Friday afternoon.  This would delay our trip significantly.  But we knew that if we didn’t have the pop-up, there was no way we could do the tour.  We were despondent. 

But God smiled on us (again).  In a last ditch attempt, we called the RV place that’s about 2 miles from our home.  They told us to bring the camper in and they’d take a look at it right then.  Not only could they fix it right away, it would only cost $230!  And, amazingly, in that day’s mail (which we wouldn’t have gotten if we hadn’t come home), we got a check for $198 for a returned housing deposit we’d made.  It was like getting one of those “Bank error in your favor” Monopoly cards and made it seem as if we’d gotten the repair for free.  We were ecstatic, and were soon on our way again. 

But before we left, we did some serious repacking.  We’d packed the car and the camper to the gills.  We had to pack 2 sets of clothes – one for summer, one for fall (and that included fall in the north), plus sound gear, CDs (to sell), food, and books/paperwork/etc.  One great result that came from us having to go back home was the chance to jettison about a third of the books/paperwork, etc.  We lowered our expectations of what we would be able to read/study/listen to, and took what we considered to be a more reasonable amount (we discovered later we could have taken even less, but we did read quite a lot). 

We left home about 4pm, and drove to Little Ocmulgee State Park.  This lovely campground is about 2 hours from our home, but it felt like a million miles away.  We made it to the camp about dusk, and had to set up in the dark again.  We set up while the kids investigated the playground.  Then we ate and went to bed, pooped, but excited to truly be on the road. 

Things we learned:

1. Take less stuff than you think you need
2. Get to your campground early enough so you don’t have to set up in the dark. 
3. When scouting a campsite, look for one that’s level.  Also, keep in mind the distance you want to travel in the night – in the dark - to the bath house!
4. Backing up a trailer is a skill that requires a boatload of patience.  The rule is to turn your steering wheel in the OPPOSITE direction of where you want the trailer to go, in very small increments (Annie never mastered this; Tim is the Jedi Knight of Reverse).
5. If you’re directing the person who is backing up, make sure you can be seen and heard.  If you’re in the dark, shining the flashlight in your face will not show the driver where your hands are pointing (but it will give you a chance to make some cool funny faces)! 

Atlanta and the Home Stretch

We got to Atlanta late Friday night.  We'd planned to get in much earlier, but got stuck for 3 hours (!) in a traffic jam just outside of Chattanooga.  Tomorrow morning we'll head for High Falls State Park for a couple days, where we plan to enjoy Georgia's great outdoors and sing for the campers there. 

We're into the last days of our tour and we're all kinda bittersweet about it coming to a close.  It's been such a terrific experience that we hate to see it end.  On the other hand, we've been gone a long time (we're about to start our 6th week on the road) and we're all longing for home.  Scott is looking forward to playing with his toys, Rachel is excited about getting back to horseback riding, Tim misses the comfort and privacy of our bedroom, and I can't wait to cook in my kitchen once again. 

But most of all, we're jonesing for our friends and family at home.  We've met a lot of wonderful people on this trip, some folks who we believe will be friends of ours for a long time to come.  And still there's something comforting about coming home to the people who know you well (and love you anyway!).

This weekend was full of good music and great fellowship.  We gave a home concert on Saturday night for my brother Bart and sister-in-law Janet (they've been our gracious hosts this weekend.  Thanks, y'all!) and some of their friends.  We played on the back porch to a small but wonderfully appreciative crowd.  They kept us going for almost 3 hours!  The weather was perfect - a lovely fall night with a clear sky full of stars.  It added a special element to sing songs praising God under the open skies.

We started Sunday by singing for the morning service at the Union Hill Baptist Church in Alpharetta.  Lots of stairs to tote gear in and out (when I grow up I want some roadies of my own!), but well worth the effort.  The good folks there seemed to really enjoy the music.  And we heard how ordinary people are changed when they encounter our extraordinary God (a sermon that really hit home with us).

Sunday evening we sang for the South Cherokee Baptist Church in Woodstock.  This was a special evening for us, as it was a return to the church that we started the tour with.  It seemed fitting that we should finish the tour where we started.

They first invited us to their church on the recommendation of Mike Gibbs, the pastor at Pine Ridge Baptist Church in Brunswick.  We played for his congregation this summer, and he was so touched by the music that he called South Cherokee (his former church) and convinced them to give us a listen.  So sight unseen (or more accurately, sound unheard), they let us play a couple songs for their morning service back at the beginning of September.  Apparently they liked what they heard, because 5 weeks later they had us back again, this time to sing for the whole Sunday evening service!

After Sunday night's service we enjoyed a potluck dinner with the congregation (and a few folks who apparently didn't get enough of us at Union Hill and joined us at South Cherokee).  They even helped us tear down our gear and load up the car, but only on the condition that we would offer up a short acoustic set in return (I'm pretty sure that's blackmail, but we're good with it).  Judy (their music minister) is lobbying hard for us to come back and sing for their Christmas pageant, but if that fails, I'm certain we'll find another excuse to come back and sing.

Meanwhile, housekeeping chores are calling (yes, even when camping, there's always some housekeeping stuff to do).  Dinner needs to be fixed, laundry awaits, and there are some lyrics percolating in my head that I'd like to try and capture.  Better start in.  Keep us in your prayers, and we'll do the same for you.

Random Thoughts From the Road

This has been quite the adventure, and we still have almost half the tour to go.  There's so much to tell about, so instead of writing a really looooooooooooong blog, I'll just do a "hit and run" post, nibbling away at some portions of the story of this peculiar quest of ours.  Here goes...

First, driving.  The three biggest cities we've driven in/through are Atlanta, Indianapolis. and Chicago.  Driving in Atlanta is obnoxious because the roads all curl around and around, the people drive like they're in the Indy 500, and no matter what street you start out on, eventually it turns into Peachtree somethingorother (Peachtree Lane, Peachtree Road, Peachtree Blvd., etc.).  

Driving in Indianapolis has an element of magic to it, because you start off driving along 79th St., when suddenly it becomes 82nd Street, and shortly thereafter it turns into 86th St.  When I drive in Indy I feel like a character in a Harry Potter novel, but without the wand. 

Driving in Chicago is my favorite, not only because I know it best, but because Chicago is neatly arranged and organized.  It was built on a grid system, and when you know what hundred north, south, east, or west you want to be, you just move along the grid, nice as you like.  The streets don't change names randomly, and, as far as I know, not one of them is named Peachtree.
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In Chicago, at least 25% of all adult conversations involve the subject of driving, as in, "What route did you take to get here?" and "How long did it take you?"  All the Chicagoans who just read that laughed, because they know it's true.  Take away travel talk, you get 25% dead air during a Chicago dinner party. 

The old joke is that Chicago has 2 seasons:  winter and construction.  Only it's not so funny when you have to drive in it.  I don't know what Mapquest will tell you about how long it will take you to get from Point A to Point B in Chicago, but whatever it is, add 50 minutes, and you'll probably be right.  And that's true whether you're going 3 miles away or 30.  Ask any Chicagoan; they love talking traffic.
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I have fallen in love with my girlfriend's...Garmin.  Heavens to Murgatroyd, how have I ever lived without one of these little miracles with a touch screen?!?!  They tell you where to go without any kind of attitude (or bad language), they deal with your mistakes with grace and patience ("Recalculating..."), never nagging or offering even the slightest hint of reproach.  Imagine how happy the world would be if we all treated each other like the GPS treats us...
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I've discovered that my most Christian friend is...my Jewish friend Gerri.  She and her husband have taken a homeless man into their home, and treat him like one of the family.  When I first heard about it, I had the same reaction you probably just did, something along the lines of, "Holy Moly, is she nuts?!?"  Not at all. 

Gerri is perhaps the most practical, level headed person I know.  Her husband met this man at some meetings they both attend.  The man spent most of the winter - in Chicago, mind you - homeless.  He spent his days walking (20 miles a day was not unusual for him) looking for work and a place in a shelter.  If he got "lotteried out" (shelter beds are given out by lottery, and sometimes, he lost), he could sometimes take shelter for the night in an abandoned car.  One miserable, cold, rainy, bitter Chicago winter night, he lost the lottery, couldn't get to the car, and was looking at spending the night on the street.  So he chanced a call to my friend and her husband.  They took him in.  And he's been with them now for 6 months.  He's a nice guy, clean and sober, working his program, and I'm so impressed with my friend I just had to tell her story.  I don't know that I could do it, but I thank God for Gerri.  She's a wonder and my role model. 
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People in Chicago refer to the metropolitan area as "Chicagoland."  I don't know why, but everyone does it.  I've heard that phrase all of my adult life and never really thought about it until my brother Fred pointed it out.  "Who do they think they are," he says, "Disneyland?!?  Do they have wild rides and colorful cartoon personalities?  Well, yes, in fact, they do, but not in any kind of Disney-esque way.  But that's another story.  Meanwhile, I think I'll start referring to our hometown as Brunswickland, maybe it'll catch on.  We may have to work on the wild rides, but I think we may already have some colorful cartoon personalities.
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We have experienced many gains and losses on this trip.  Tim has gained confidence in driving in a large metropolitan area, and I have lost a fairly good portion of painless mobility in my left knee (albeit temporarily.  Or so I assume).  The kids have gained the love of camping, and I have lost the false notion that I have the agility of a much younger person.   The kids gained the joy of simple pleasures - like "sledding" down a leaf covered hill on a piece of cardboard, and I have completely lost the idea that I can do that standing up and still maintain use of both my knees.  'Nuff said.
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I won't name names, but we have had the church version of the old Highlights Magazine "Goofus and Gallant" in the last 2 churches we've played.  Gallant church welcomes new people with smiles, handshakes, and introductions.  Goofus church ignores strangers in their midst.  Gallant church offers assistance to folks who are loading gear in or out of their church.  Goofus church ignores strangers in their midst.  Gallant church says, "thanks for coming!" when folks are on their way out.  Goofus church ignores strangers in their midst.  (Thanks to Faith Presbyterian Church for being so gallant!).

As Tim said, "it makes me want to make a beeline for any folks we see at our church that we don't know, make sure we introduce ourselves, welcome them, and show them around!"  A novel idea, welcoming strangers to your church.  Why, they might even want to come back!
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Today we're back in Indianapolis; tomorrow we play a home concert in Cincinnati; Sunday we play a home concert here in Indy.  Monday will find us back on the road, moving south again, slowly heading home.  We have a few more performances planned as we trek homeward, hopefully we'll have a couple more "unplanned" ones, too.  We pray we have been faithful in answering the call.  Like I said, it's been quite the adventure.

So, where was I...?


When we first decided to go on this tour, in answer to what we felt was God's call, we did some searching on the internet, trying to see what we might encounter between Brunswick and Chicago.  And we discovered that the National Quartet Convention would be held in Louisville, KY, during the exact time we were supposed to be passing through that area.  We felt this was a God wink, one of those little heavenly nods of inspiration, directed at us.  I mean, an entire convention dedicated to Christian music, happening directly in our path!  It seemed like a little divine encouragement, and we welcomed it. 

FYI, the NQC is a week long convention, all about southern gospel music.  It's filled with the gospel greats, near greats, and hope-to-be-greats.  Now, we're not southern gospel, but we hoped this would offer us an opportunity to learn how we could move our music ministry forward, and perhaps make some music business connections. 

We bought tickets to the concert on Friday night.  These tickets would also give us access to the convention hall on Friday, so we could check out the exhibits of the many performers and the businesses that support them (agents, record labels, etc.). 

Our day there was a long one.  We wandered up and down what seemed like a million aisles, collected pounds of paperwork, and sat through the first half (nearly 4 hours!) of the evening's concert.  I'll just cut to the chase: although we are definitely NOT southern gospel (I believe I mentioned that earlier...), we did learn tons and it was a terrific - and exhausting - experience.  If we can afford it, we may be exhibitors next year, because even though we are positively NOT southern gospel (I seem to have heard that before), this convention would be a good place for us to reach a wider audience. We think the folks there would really love this music, even though it's not what they're used to hearing. 

The day after the concert we relaxed at our campsite at the General Butler State Resort Park in Carrollton, KY., and gave the folks a short Sunday morning concert (a little original Christian music to pack up your pop up to).  Then we enjoyed a free community wide fair offered by the local mega-church (where we, of course, dropped off our CD.  We hope to play that fair next year - last year they hosted over 10,000 people!).  Rachel loved the horse barrel racing, Scotty loved the bounce houses, and Tim and I loved that it was a relaxing afternoon of free food and entertainment.  Then we headed up the scenic route to Indianapolis, where we have been for the last couple of days.    

Since we've been here we've booked some more gigs.  Just today we added the Faith Presby church here in Indy to our schedule, and are hoping to connect with another local church.  Plus we booked a return engagement at the South Cherokee Baptist Church in Woodstock (just outside of Atlanta) and have a couple more on the line in the Atlanta area for our return trip (thank you, Terry!).  And our Cincinnati home concert is good to go as well.  We're so grateful for every opportunity we can find to perform. 

And for the icing on the cake, we wrote a new song today!  It's based on the Apostle's Creed.  Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think we'd write a song for that, but then again, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I'd be doing this music in the first place.  God has a wacky sense of humor.  He has His plans, and sometimes I feel like I'm just hanging on for the ride. Lemme just say, never a dull moment... 

Tomorrow we head to my hometown, sweet home Chicago.  Looking forward to making music, seeing old friends, and enjoying some fabulous Chicago pizza!  Yum!!!

Enjoying the Great Indoors

We've made it to Indianapolis and are enjoying the hospitality of my friend Janet.  After some negotiating, angling, and praying, we parked the pop-up securely on her fairly steeply inclined driveway (I say "we" as if I had anything to do with it.  Ha!  We've discovered many things during these past two weeks, and one of them is that I can't back up the pop-up to save my life.  Tim, however, is a pop-up back up genius.  He's like the Yoda of Reverse.  He's gotten us out of tight squeezes, unlikely positions, and impossible situations with only a "Yeah, honey, you've got it!" from me.  If there were an Olympics for backing up trailers, Tim would be bringing home the gold).  We'll spend the next week and a half relying on the kindness of friends, popped down and indoors. 

But as nice as it is indoors, we kinda miss the outdoors.  Life popping up has been surprisingly enjoyable.  Though the camper is small, it's comfortable and fits the four of us nicely.  The electrical hookup at the campsites give us lights and the ability to charge up cell phones, the laptop, and even our electric toothbrush (so much for roughing it).  We get fresh water from the campsite spigot, and with that and the propane stove hung on the outside of the camper, we're good to go for cooking.  I was doubtful about the slide out beds when I first saw them, but after having spent many nights on them, I can say without hesitation that they offer a good night's sleep.  All in all, I foresee a pop-up in the Akins family future (only one with a little more storage space, because the one drawback we've found is having to share that small a space with our sound and music gear.  That's a drag.  But it's a small price to pay for the joy of camping). 

But back to the tour...

We left Chattanooga on Wendesday, dropping off a few CDs at local churches (in the hopes that they might - miracle of miracles - actually listen to them!).  We didn't get to play in Chattanooga.  We stayed at a commercial campground and there was just no opportunity there for us to perform, doggone it. 

Commercial sites have a totally different vibe than state parks.  Commercial sites have the ambience of a Walmart parking lot, only without the shopping carts.  These sites are home to serious RVers, some of whom live in their RVs full time (ye gods).  Serious RVers don't hike trails (cuz there aren't any in a Walmart parking lot, in case you haven't noticed).  They don't socialize.  Shoot, they don't even come outdoors.  They just stay snug in their very large, very comfortable RVs.  They're like turtles, only with cable TV.  So no, we didn't play there. 

But we did play at the campgrounds in Carrollton, Kentucky, and I'll write about that next leg of our tour - and the National Quartet Convention - tomorrow.  Now I think I might just go hang out on Janet's deck, enjoy the night air and listen to the crickets for a while...

Today we arrived in Chattanooga, TN.  It's quite a groovy little town.  Lots of cool architecture, funky restaurants, and, of course, Rock City and Ruby Falls (which we'll be visiting tomorrow).  We took a ride up Lookout Mountain on the Incline Railway and followed that up with a self-guided walking tour around Chattanooga. 

The Incline Railway ride is quite dramatic, as the incline up the mountain is quite severe.  At certain points along the ride it feels as if you could fall right out of your chair.  It would have been a little less alarming if the front windows had been closed, but as it was a beautiful day, the conductor felt the need for fresh air and so he had the windows WIDE open.  It added a little more suspense than I would have liked.  And I think Scott was worried he was going to tumble out the window, all the way down the mountain. But I maintained a firm grasp on him, which he (for once) did not try to wriggle out of. 

The view at the top of the mountain is pretty cool, but the [requisite] gift shop there is totally cheesy.  Of course, the kids went ape for it, barely giving the view a second glance.

I think kids are born with what I refer to as the "Mom-Can-We-Have-This-Please-I-Really-Want-It-I-Can't-Live-Without-It" gene.  A very animated and vocal reaction is triggered by proximity to cheap, easily breakable junk sold at astronomical prices in cheesy gift stores.  But like my parents before me, I denied them their tchotchkies.  But I did buy them Skittles, so it wasn't a total wash for them. 

Tonight we are at a very nice commercial campground in Chattanooga, TN.  The bathrooms are spotless, which is saying a lot when it comes to campgrounds.  Spotless and air conditioned, quite the luxury.  Tomorrow we will go the Tennessee Aquarium, Ruby Falls, and of course, see Rock City.  And hopefully we'll be able to put on a performance here in the campground tomorrow night.

And speaking of concerts, yesterday morning we performed our first "road" church concert and it was awesome! We played for the congregation of the South Cherokee Baptist Church, in Woodstock, GA.  The folks welcomed us warmly, and enjoyed the music so much that they've invited us to come back and play for them again on our way back home.  After the service, they treated us to a terrific lunch at a local Mexican restaurant.  Thanks, Carolyn, for the lunch, and thanks, too, to Holly, Pam, Nancy, Jamie, Donna and Dee for keeping us entertained at lunch.  And thanks to Pastor Steven, Terry (the church pianist), and especially Judy, the church musical director, for letting us come and play for y'all.  We can't wait to come back and play some more for you!

And they're off!

Our tour has officially begun, and (amazingly, barely) on the day we were actually scheduled to go!  Packing for almost 6 weeks (that's how long the tour is, not how long it took to pack, although it was close...) took more time, effort and space than we'd bargained for, and almost prevented our scheduled departure.  But we persevered, and crammed stuff, kids, and ourselves into the van and made it all the way to...Blythe Island Campground.

For anyone who might not be familiar with this delightful park, it's a whopping 10 miles (stretching it...) from our house.  No, it's not far, but at least we got out of the house.  That's something, anyway. 

And it's good that we were close, because of course we forgot some important stuff.  And packed waaaaaaay too much non-essential stuff (no kids, we do NOT need to bring ALL those books!).  So after a slightly rough first night (cuz we set up in the dark, and not very well, but that's another story) we went back home, exchanged some big heavy things (books, books, and more books) for some small things (our very expensive tickets to the quartet convention) and made it back out on the road again.

This time we made it all the way to Little Ocmulgee State Park.  Set up in the dark (again!), but did it right this time.  Cooked/ate dinner in the dark (again!), but ultimately made ourselves very comfortable.

Camping in the new millenium (I s'pose I should stop calling it that, since it's not so new anymore) is much easier than when I was younger (back in the Pleistocene Era, apparently).  We stay nice and cool all night in the pop-up, thanks to the A/C.  The kids can go on a nature hike and check in with me via cell phone.  My laptop lets me write (and edit) to my heart's content, and the Wi-Fi (in the very comfy Little Ocmulgee Lodge) allows me to post my blog, check my email, and figure out the next leg of the trip with maps and info about interesting sites along our path.

The kids are convinced this is roughing it.  I want to laugh and tell them about tents and poles and sleeping bags on the ground and all that, but I'm scared to death they'll think it sounds cool and want us to do it, and frankly, I like all the new mod cons.  I have friends who got the heebie jeebies when I told them we were planning to go out with a pop-up, which they consider totally primitive.  Roughing it for them is going some place without room service 24/7.  I'm perfectly fine with it, but I'm not going backwards any either.

And all our modern conveniences allow us to do what we came for - we gave our first concert tonight!  We set up our gear (which is packed with us in the van and the pop-up.  Yes, it's quite a tight fit) and sang and played for an hour.  Got lots of smiles, waves, and nods, and even got some folks dancing at their campsites.  And our neighbors from the campsite next door came over and introduced themselves and bought a CD.  Plus they gave us some info about a great campsite in Chattanooga, where we'll be next week, so that's an extra bonus. 

So that's days 1, 2 and 3.  Tomorrow we're off to Atlanta.  Sunday morning we have our first church concert, at the South Cherokee Baptist Church, a small church in Woodstock, GA.  We're excited about it, been talking to God a lot about it. Can't wait to see what He's got in store for us next.  I'll keep you posted.  You keep us in your prayers, if you would, please.  We're doing the same for you!

Dust and Dobros

Recently God blessed me with the experience of seeing His hand at work.  He showed me how He used me to bring some small comfort to one of His brokenhearted children.

Years ago, when I had the disposable income to dispose of on whatever fancies caught my fancy, I bought a CD of songs played on the Dobro (a special guitar frequently used in bluegrass music).  I enjoyed listening to the CD a couple of times, but it never really made it into my regular listening rotation.  It took its place in my CD collection, appreciated but ignored.  

A couple of years later, all my belongings and I relocated from Chicago to southeast Georgia.  There I met, fell in love with, and married my beloved husband.  A few months later we moved into our current home.  Not surprisingly, in all these moves I jettisoned any number of possessions.  But the disregarded Dobro CD doggedly followed me from home to home.

Fast forward to earlier this year, when my husband was diagnosed with asthma.  That means he's sensitive to dust.  This is unfortunate because as a full-time wife, homeschooling mom, and professional musician, dusting (OK, housecleaning) falls to the bottom of my To-Do list.  My entire home is covered in a fine (if I'm lucky) layer of dust.  As someone once said, you can write in it, just don't write the date.  

Anyway, about a month ago my husband began to wheeze a little.  I figured that was my cue to give the house a wicked good cleaning.  So I declared a field trip day for him and the kids and started in on our bedroom.

In addition to the usual stuff in a bedroom, you'll find that's where we store our CDs, in tall racks along one wall.  We have quite a few CDs, and the racks give us easy access to them.  They also create a terrific storage place for massive amounts of dust, in hundreds of little individual servings.  I had to take each one of the 400 or so CDs down from the rack to dust them.  I decided this would be an excellent opportunity to cull the herd, so while dusting, I sorted them into three piles:  keep, toss, or "thinkin' 'bout it."  The Dobro CD was assigned to the toss pile.    

Eventually I got the house cleaned (OK, the truth:  I got the bedroom cleaned).  The "keeper" CDs were returned to their upright and locked position.  I piled the CDs designated as "toss" and "thinkin' 'bout it" on the living room coffee table, figuring I'd decide the fate of the "thinkin'" CDs while comfortably seated on the sofa.  Predictably, this task fell just above "dusting" on my To-Do list and those CDs became a large dust-catching pile in the living room.

Then last week I had to call my accountant to answer a business question I had.  Now, my accountant is terrific.  He's also a nice guy, very smart, very sweet.  But though he's both a terrific accountant and a nice guy, we don't really socialize.  We usually only see each other around tax time, when we chat and fill out government forms.

Anyway, I called and he answered my question.  Then he told me that his wife, who had been ill, had peacefully passed away in his arms four days earlier.  We shared his sorrow and my sympathy.  He talked for a while about how much he loved her, how much he already missed her.  And he mentioned she had loved Dobro music.  As I hung up the phone I realized I'd found the perfect new home for my Dobro CD!  Luckily, I hadn't thrown it out yet.  I dug it out of the dusty coffee table pile and mailed it to him with a condolence card.  

Two days later my friend the accountant called me back.  Barely able to speak through his tears, he told me how grateful he was to receive the CD, how it reminded him of his beloved wife, and how much joy it brought him to listen to it.  He couldn't thank me enough.  I was humbled and told him that it was I who was grateful to have a little part of his finding some happiness during this sad time.  

As I hung up the phone I reviewed the series of events that had come to pass to bring some solace to my friend.  There are those who call it coincidence, but I see it differently.  God knew this man would need comforting, so 15 years ago He set into motion His plan to use me for the task.  I'm awestruck when I think of all His other plans that I may hold a tiny part in, but will never have the slightest inkling about.

We go through our lives almost never seeing the bigger picture, only concerned with our own individual servings of dust.  But there is a plan, and it's much bigger than we can ever conceive of.  So when you find yourself wondering whether you have any part to play in God's big picture, remember that Dobro CD, and know that you are an integral piece of His almighty plan. 

Finally...

After thinking about doing it, talking about doing it, even threatening to do it, I've finally gone and done it:  created a blog of my own.  

Inching into the new millennium, I am.  Up until about two months ago I only ever used the phone feature on my cell phone, so creating a blog is fairly amazing, or would be amazing if gajillions of people hadn't already done it.

But here it is. Can't wait to see what it grows up to be...