Archive for November, 2010

And yes, I survived

Friday, November 19th, 2010

Mom in front of Modern Cafe - we just liked the irony. 🙂

With David McIver and Matt Brown at KNOF

Ho, ho, ho, he looks really cold.

Getting ready for the live worship show at KJLY

With Beth Crosby and Steve Ware at KJLY

Wednesday we went up to have lunch at another DDD place – Modern Cafe which was very retro which made me laugh. Then we stopped by KNOF at North Central University right in the heart of the Twin Cities. We got a tour from Matt Brown, recorded a few short interview segments and heard a lot about their ministry. It’s so fun to see the energy from this campus and their ministry growing here in central Minnesota.

When we left, I knew I couldn’t avoid it any longer – The Mall of America. My mom has never been there (I haven’t either for that matter, but I hate shopping and she, well, doesn’t – we’ll put it that way) and she needed to go. We went for the afternoon and the highlight for me was riding the flume (really cute) and getting a pedicure because I’m leaving this frozen climate for places south where someone may actually see my toes. I survived and I can say I’m glad we went, although I personally was much more excited about the IKEA across the street. 🙂

The next morning we got up and drove down to Blue Earth, MN. I have since learned that it’s called Blue Earth because the earth is so black, it’s blue. Who knew? When we got off the exit, we saw something amazing! A 60 foot tall giant steel Jolly Green Giant! I suspect they may do something here in Blue Earth. And I have learned two things about him that I didn’t know before. One, he looks really cold in that outfit in the snow (apparently he will get a giant scarf in December) and two, he really needs another layer of leaves on that skirt. Little risque if you ask me, and poor guy, everyone’s looking up.

We went to KJLY which is the main station for a network covering southern MN and northern IA. We spent the last day of their sharathon with them and what an awesome group of people! There were tons of people there, either station people, or volunteers running the sharathon. They even have a room dedicated to prayer and had a volunteer up there praying for requests and the station the whole time. Very cool.

I sat in a couple times on air that afternoon and even spent some time taking phone calls for the sharathon. It was so cool to see God meet their needs – they literally went over their goal in the last couple of minutes of the sharathon. When it was over, I led about 45 minutes of live worship music on air to celebrate and praise God. Loved my time with them, and hope I’ll be back soon!

Mom and I ran away after that. We were going to lose an hour with the time difference, and we had to get all the way home Friday (12 hours without stops) because I’m flying out tomorrow morning to sing in Florida on Sunday. We got in tonight with only a few complications and we’re both exhausted. Repacking and flying out in the morning. We had such a great time seeing all the ways God has been moving, I was almost sorry to be done. But the weather should be a nice change!

Where am I?

Tuesday, November 16th, 2010

Soundcheck at Crossroads Church in St. Paul

Concert at First United Methodist Church in Eagle Grove, IA

With Jay Rudolph from KJYL

With Scott Merry and Diane Thome at KJCY

With Jack Zitzman at KBHL

With my rebel graffiti

Holy smokes, I’m tired. I’ve now been through most of MN, down into and across Iowa, and back up north in MN. I’m writing back very close to where I started on Saturday night, Minneapolis.

Sunday morning I sat with the worship band and did some special music at Crossroads Covenant Church in Forest Lake, just outside of St. Paul. They got about 7 inches of snow and many people (including our lovely hosts!) lost power for a lot of Saturday. With the Christmas decorations up and all the snow, we are having a hard time remembering what month it is!

Right after the services we ran away because I had to be at a sound check for a concert in Eagle Grove, IA by 5. It took just about that long to get there, but we drove out of the snow pretty quickly and had no problem.

I have to tell you, this was the weirdest coincidence. The station there has been really supportive of my ministry and set up a concert. I have a friend 3 doors down from me here who has family in Iowa and her daughter is my daughter’s best friend. She asked where I was going in IA and when I told her she said, “No, really, where are you going?” She thought I’d been stalking her Facebook or something to find out where her family was – they live there. She told me she’d find out her mom’s church and see if I could play there, but I told her the station had already set it up. It turned out to be her mom’s church! That was crazy – out of all of Iowa! Then her mom asked us to stay with her, and my mom and I agree that we are now adopting my friend’s mother – she’s ours. She was just darling.

The show went so well, the people were just lovely, and it was great to meet Jay from KJYL in person – we’ve talked on the phone and done an interview, but it’s always great to put a face to a name.

Yesterday morning we drove to Mason City, IA and met Scott Merry and Diane Thome at KJCY, Mason City, IA and I did a little interview there. They’ve also been great supporters, and I so appreciate it.

After that visit we drove north again, all the way back to Minneapolis and then northwest up to Alexandria. There was a little reception there with the women’s group I was singing for that morning and it was so fun to talk with these women and see where God was leading them and their group!

The next morning I went to sing and the church had a large funeral going on, so we were bumped out of the room we had which also had all the equipment. That was interesting, but flexibility is a virtue and we all made it work. 🙂 We just loved being with this group – they are new, and have such a heart for what God is doing and for following Him. It really touched me.

After that we went to Osakis to visit KBHL, and I really enjoyed seeing the station and meeting Jack and the other people there and hearing about their ministry. That morning so many of the women had told me how much this station meant to them, I was really happy to get to see it.

Mom and I headed back to Minneapolis for the last time, and we have 2 nights in a row in the same place! Bliss! We also tried another of the Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives around here. For those who don’t know, this is a show on the Food Network, and I get so sick of chain restaurants, that we try to visit these when we can. We’d already stopped at one in Milwaukee and one in St. Paul. We tried three this time – first one was closed, second one looked REALLY scary, and then we found Victor’s 1959 Cuban Cafe. Holy Cow. Also not a place I would EVER walk into normally, but it was awesome. I don’t even love Cuban food, and I loved this! And they let people write on the walls, so I let my inner rebel out and indulged in a little graffiti. Living on the edge!! 🙂

On the road again…

Saturday, November 13th, 2010

With Suzanne at KLMP/WNLI

Beautiful Sturgeon Bay, WI

With Chuck and Phil at KCFB/KTIG

The Journey Church where we had the concert Friday night

I’m doing a little radio and ministry tour in WI, MN, and IA this month and my mom and I started our Northern Expedition this past Wednesday driving about 10 hours up through Chicago and Milwaukee to Sturgeon Bay, WI. It’s right on Lake Michigan and it’s beautiful. I was visiting Suzanne Happs at KLMP/WNLI, and we had a great time meeting the other people at the station and hearing about their ministry. We especially enjoyed hearing about all their connections to ministry overseas – really impressive. Loved getting to see this part of the country too.

After the meeting we took off and drove another 8 hours or so to Nisswa, MN, and I got up early to be on the Rise and Shine morning show on KCFB/KTIG with Phil and Chuck. After the show they gave me a tour and it was such a pleasure to meet everyone at the station! They’ve been playing my music for a long time, and I so appreciate their support and their hearts for Christ!

That night I gave a concert at The Journey Church in Nisswa, and it was such a fun night. The church is very non-traditional with half the seating in the sanctuary consisting of couches with end-tables and lamps to make you feel at home. The pastor was so kind to us, and after the show we went out for pizza with him and Chuck and his wife and a lovely woman named Bunny who I was so happy to meet. And we had ligonberries on our pizza which wasn’t as bad as it sounds 🙂 just so we would remember we were up north, don’t ya know.

Today I’m catching up and then we’re driving down to St. Paul. It started snowing, and I think they’re getting quite a bit down in that area, so we’re going to go slow. So crazy – I’m feeling like such a wimp from Ohio, but we never get snow before December, and usually not until January. Our eight weeks of winter are looking pretty easy compared to this up here.