A Familiar Voice

so there I sat on a runway in Charlotte ,Nc. I was on my way back from Naples, Fl. and this was my connecting flight to Knoxville. It was a rather late flight, scheduled to leave Charlotte around 10:30pm. It had been a week of exhausting divine appointmentsbut the last thing I was expecting was one last "interruption". Once on board I foundmy way to seat 6C, an aisle seat and noticed no one was in the window seat. I thought I might have been the last to board the plane so I settled into my seat, fastened by seatbelt, stowed away my back pack and pulled out my trusty ipod. I was securely in placeand scanning thru my playlists when along came a gentleman whose seat was the unclaimed window seat right beside me. The man seemed a bit flustered and pointedto the seat beside me as if to say "i'm supposed to be there". I politely unbuckled my seatbelt, stood up and allowed the man to get into his seat. He stowed hisbriefcase underneath the seat in front of him and made a gesture out the window.I took out my earphones and began to make small talk. He pointed again out the window of this small aircraft at a lonely bag that sat on the runway. He said "i bet they forgetto put my bag in the plane" with a slight smirk. Trying 2 practice my new found sense ofoptimism I said "maybe they won't", I noticed it was starting to rain as drops collected on the window of the plane. As the airplane was being wheeled around to get in positionto take off we exchanged light conversation about heading to knoxville. I asked him where he'd been and he told me he'd been away on business in New Hampshire or somewhere like that. Then I told him I'd been in Naples on "business" too. He then said"You might think I'm crazy but your voice sounds familiar, are you the guy from Dishwater Blonde?" I kind of laughed and said "yep, that's me". He said "I never would have known it was you just by looking at you". I laughed for a few reasonslike how in the world could this guy have ever known who Dishwater Blonde is...butI'll get into that more later. He went on to tell me he'd recently bought our latest CD and how much he liked it. He said that he and his wife were big fans and supportersof local music and that they had seen us a few times. WOW, at this point I am blown away. All the while the plane is taxiing on the runway and then a voice comes over theloudspeaker.."Ladies and Gentlemen, we're sorry but due to extreme weather conditionswe can't take off at this time"...

This was obviously annoying to a large majority of the passengers as they mumbled and groaned amongst one another. I have to admit I was feeling a bit inconvenienced myself but I thought at once that there must be a reason why this was happening. After my last week of divine interruptions in Naples I was not going to write this off a merelycoincidence. The longer we talked the more convinced I became of this as he began to open up and tell me a large part of his life story. He spoke, unsolicted, about his growing up and the pain he'd experienced as a child and as a young man whose fatherhad never been around, this was a pain I had known all to well. Eventually the conversation turned to religion, spirituality and God. With every break in the conversation I just closed my eyes and prayed to God, "what am I supposed to say?" I didn't get some lightning bolt so I just listened and responded appropriately. All the while there was an occasional interruption by the pilot stating simply we didn't know whenthey were gonna be able 2 take off. The gentleman continued on about his passion for animal rights. He volunteers for a local animal shelter in what he called "behind the scenes" work. God showed me how what He's called me to do is very similar but for "human rights" of course.

Finally after much delay the plane started taking off. We talked for the next 45 minsof the flight. When we landed around 1:30 am I thanked him for the conversation and told him I thought he made the delay worth while. I extended him an invitation for a cupof coffee or dinner. I hope he takes me up on it but whatever the case God spoke to me that night. I never felt like the point was for me to share "the roman road" with him. I do believe, however, that the God's love and transforming power was something he was not unfamiliar with, i just hopefully re-enforced it. What God DID show me upon reflection was best stated in a verse from John 10.
"The man who enters by the gate is the shepard of his sheep. The watchman opensthe gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of him, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger,in fact they will run away from him because they do not recognize the strangers voice"

Here's where I tie all this stuff together. Now, I struggle from time to time with hearing what I believe to be God's voice. The thing that God showed me was simply this...If I want to know God's voice I need 2 be familiar with His word. In the same way that this gentleman on the plane knew my voice b/c he'd recently bought my latest album, I too need 2 be familiar with "God's Greatest Hits" or his word if I want to seperate his voice from all of the other noise around me. My wife and I pray everyday for God to draw us to hisword and with my crazy schedule it's so easy for me to not make time for that..but God is good, he took a delayed flight and used it to speak to my heart. Thank U Lord fordelaying that plane!

stepping out on faith

a couple of months ago I stepped out on faith to pursue music and ministry full time. I am learning to trust God. I worked hard as a custodian for about 4 1/2 years at a church. It brought me a steady income and it was hard for me to let go of something that was so sure. I knew every 2 weeks I would receive a paycheck and I knew that as long as I wanted it, the job was mine.Mind you, it was no glamourous high paying job but it was a sure thing and in todays world it seemed crazy 2 give something like that up. BUT GOD kept nudging me and giving me little hints that I was supposed to be elsewhere. Mostly it was just the unsatisfied feeling I had when I thought about even going to work. I wasn't miserable but I wasn't happy. I knew there was something else I was supposed to do.

I struggled back and forth whether to turn in my notice and just make a move to do the one thing I've dreamed of, the one thing I feel I've been "called" to do. As i stuggled with this decision, every doubt u could imagine flooded my head. "Will I make enough $$", "What will happen if.."? The list goes on and on. In any event the day finally came and I went to my boss's office and I did it. I turned in my notice and a peace that I can't even describe overwhelmed me when I left his office. Over the next few days although doubts came to mind God's perfect peace remained and I became more and more confident that I had made the right decision.

That same peace is still with me today. It's going on 3 months now and God has provided. I am not saying I have all the sudden come into a bunch of $$ but I am more at ease and more at peace and that's worth way more than $$$. I get up every morning and I trust God to provide. He has not let me down. If I look to far down the road, I start to freak out a little bit but God always reminds me not to look that far. He reminds me that even when I was homeless he provided for me. He reminds me that the birds of the air don't have a bank account or know where their next meal is coming from but somehow he takes care of them. Now if God takes care of birds I know he'll take care of me. This blog has been started 2 encourge people. Not to act rashly or make life altering decsions like quitting jobs(unless of course that's where God is leading you). It's meant to show u that God will keep his word and in doing so increase yours and my faith. we just have to trust him.

So as we take this journey 2gether let's trust God and just keep walking!