Carlos, Wendell, me, and Denny at Moody Radio Broadcasting

Well, yesterday was pretty much a study in modes of transportation. I didn’t take a boat or a helicopter or a hot air balloon, but I think I hit pretty much everything else. Okay, no bike or scooter either, but hey, you get the idea.

I had a couple of meetings in Chicago, so I got up very early, drove to the airport, grabbed a shuttle, and then took a plane. Landed in Chicago and took a train to connect with a bus, after which I walked a half mile and had my first meeting. Then someone gave me a lift in their car to the train, then walking again to another meeting. Then the subway and walking to another meeting. Then walking to the subway to the train to the plane to the shuttle to my car to my house. Sounds like a children’s book that Toby would really love. 🙂

The meetings were actually very exciting – awesome to see what God is doing! I met first with Ruth Hill who is the national women’s ministries director for the Evangelical Covenant Church denomination. I am doing a women’s event with her this summer, and they are going to feature one of my songs as the theme for the international celebration which is so exciting! There’s also a possibility that Ruth and I will go to Thailand and possibly Cambodia this summer to research another possible ministry, and that would just be incredible. More on that later if it pans out!

My next meeting was with Denny Nugent who is the music programming director for Moody Broadcasting which has radio stations all across the country. My radio promoter, Wendell, came in for that one too, Denny brought his assistant Carlos, and we went out to lunch and had a great conversation about worship and worship music and our place in God’s church. It was very cool to see how God is working over there, and I also got to tour the station which is fun since there’s so much history that happened right there!

Finally, I got to see my college roommate, Sara. She works at the Field Museum, so I went over to see her before I had to catch my flight. It was so fun – it’s been several years since we’ve seen each other. I’ll be back in Chicago for some rehearsals for a conference I’m doing this summer, so hopefully we can connect again.

It was great to be urban for a day again – haven’t ridden that much public transit since I lived in NY! 🙂

Today Toby was discharged from services as a special needs child. It’s hard to know how to feel.

I had Toby’s IEP (Individual Education Plan) meeting today. When your child qualifies as a special needs student, they give them an IEP, and they set goals for your child taking into account all the assessments by his therapists and teachers and things. The IEP is reviewed every couple of months to see how they’re doing, and once a year it’s redone completely. I’m used to these meetings by now – Toby’s been in therapy school for almost 4 years at this point.

Today was different. Today they told me how he had met all goals, and was at or above grade level in all areas. He no longer qualifies for services. He is considered a “typical” child.

This is awesome and amazing, and I knew it was coming. I am thrilled for him, and for the miracle that God has done in his life! How different from the first assessment – gross motor delay, fine motor delay, speech delay, extreme sensory processing disorder, hearing impairment. Years of OT, PT, speech therapy, food therapy, surgeries on his ears. My little guy is a walking miracle.

But I cried through the whole meeting. These people have been our lifeline for 4 years now. They are the ones through whom God did this miracle, and it is scary to think of going on without that safety net. I also cried thinking of all the fear and pain we’ve all been through when we didn’t know how it would be, when we never thought Toby would be “okay”. It’s a little overwhelming.

But I am so, so grateful. We are ready. I know Toby is ready – I’ve known it for months. He’s great. It’s a blessing. And with God’s help, we will remember to just enjoy every moment, and let God be in control. There is no one more trustworthy!

I had an article about my son Toby come out in several places today. It’s autism awareness month, and while Toby is not autistic, he does have Sensory Processing Disorder which most autistic children also have, so they asked me to do the article. I’ve been so encouraged that I’ve already gotten some messages from people who have decided to get their kids tested because of the article! I love the way God uses the hard things in our lives for good if we let Him.

You can read the article here.

Also, I had a couple of reviews that came out today as well – here and here.

Hope you enjoy them!

When we were in Kenya, we were all over the country, and when we were in Mombasa, we had the privilege of staying with Bobby and Lisa Bechtel. They were so lovely, and we hit it off right away. Bobby is one of the pastors at Crossroads Church in Mombasa, and I did worship there and a concert, and also got to see two of the feeding program/schools that Bobby and Lisa started. They also took us to touch the Indian ocean for the first time. 🙂 Truly just outstanding people.

They’re home on furlough, and just adopted their third child, a little boy named Dylan! They were in Cincinnati which is only an hour and a half from us, so I headed down with two of my kids, and we spent the day with them and their boys and got to meet Dylan. It was so fun to see them and share in their joy! Welcome, Dylan Bechtel! We’re glad you’re here. 🙂

I’m getting a lot of blogger reviews lately – here’s a new one.

Happy Easter!

We are having a hard time right now with bad news for many dear friends. I just heard that my cousin has cancer, and there are two other dear women in our church who have it too. The prayer chain requests keep coming in, and it is easy to feel weighed down by it all. And yet!

It may be a Christmas thing, but this Easter I am reminded again and again that God is Emmanuel, God With Us! He is no stranger to suffering – His life and death proved that. He knows our hearts and still loved us enough to shun His glory, to come down to us here on earth, and to allow us to humiliate Him, scorn Him, reject Him, and finally put Him to death. When He conquered death, He broke the power of sin, He gave us all a new hope, a new birth, a new life. What a Savior!!

It is because of Jesus that I live in hope. No matter what the prayer chain says, I know that it is in God’s hands. We pray in complete confidence that He is able, that He is in charge, that there is nothing too hard for Him! Glory halleluia! I love Him. He makes it a Happy, Happy Easter!

This was such a kind review – thanks so much!

Beautiful First Presbyterian in Bonita Springs, FL

Well, I am totally exhausted, but it has been a great several days here in Florida.

Yesterday, mom and I drove across the state to Tamarac, Florida and I did a concert at Lighthouse Covenant Church. This was very last-minute as well – when I realized I was going to have a free day, I called and they put this together very graciously and quickly. This congregation is so dear, and they were extremely supportive of us last year when we were there and needing support for our Kenya tour. I was thrilled to get to come back and give them an update and sing some of the music inspired by that trip! It was also wonderful to get to see our friends, the DeMarcos. One thing I will say for Florida – we seem to have friends in every corner, and it sure makes traveling so much nicer when you’re staying with people you love to be with rather than lots of hotels.

On the way back, we saw the funniest thing! “Alligator Alley” is the stretch of 75 that runs through swamps across the southern end of the state. At a toll booth, there were these black birds sitting on the barriers between the lanes, and when I went to roll down my window, immediately two of them jumped in front of my window and just stared at me. Kind of freaked me out in an Alfred Hitchcock/ The Birds kind of way. So I did not put my window down, and as we were getting ready to pay, I saw the guy next to me roll down his window. Immediately this bird flew right into his window at his face and he was yelling and trying to push the bird back out and get his window up. When I got to the toll window, I rolled my window down two inches and pushed the money through and asked the toll booth guys what was up with the birds.

“Well, they hang out and if you have a chip or anything they might want on your seat, they dive right in. It’s hilarious! It’s the best thing about this job!!” Well, okay then.

This morning I got up early and went back to First Presbyterian where I sang on their morning services. Their choir did such an amazing job on their Palm Sunday piece – they literally made me tear up. Then this afternoon I sang a concert there. I was at this church last year, and was so struck by the excellence with which they do things – it was a pleasure to be back. Hope to see them often!

Now I’m sitting here totally tired, and getting ready to get up early and drive back to Tampa to fly home. No more Florida trips planned until next January!! What will I do?! 🙂

Me with some of the super girls at Super Kids Club

My promoter Wendell, me, the host Stephanie, and radio guru Jim at WJYO

More of the group at Super Kids Club – aren’t they beautiful!

Well, it’s been a crazy couple of days, but really good things are happening. My mom and I flew into Tampa on Wednesday and spent the night with my grandma. One great blessing of singing in Florida so much is that I get to see her and my uncle down here much more than I would otherwise. My grandparents (my grandpa is gone now) have been in that house as long as I remember, and I remember as a kid going out hunting for the little lizards that live in the yard to see how many I could count. I thought they were baby crocodiles. 🙂

Yesterday morning we drove down to Fort Myers and stopped into WJYO, Kingdom FM. They’ve been playing my music for quite a while, so it was fun to see them, and my radio promoter and another of my radio friends were there as well to help them with their sharathon. It was such an amazing coincidence that we were all there at the same time! I’m from Ohio, Wendell’s from Michigan, and Jim’s from Colorado – what are the chances? We had a great time catching up, and I got on the air a bit for their sharathon too which was fun.

Then we headed over to New Hope Presbyterian Church in Ft. Myers, and I gave a concert for the women’s group there. They were mostly young moms, and it was so fun to share with them! I also got an opportunity to talk to several women afterward who were either dealing with or concerned about sensory issues with their kids, and given what we’ve been through with Toby, I’m always grateful when God uses that experience to help other people.

After that we headed down to Bonita Springs where we stayed with friends, and this morning I did a woman’s group at First Presbyterian. It was totally informal, and very last minute, but the Lord really used the time. I had such wonderful conversations with those women afterward! I didn’t know what to expect, but I’ve found that if we just go where’s there’s an opportunity, God will do whatever He intends, and He will use it.

This afternoon was really different for me, and such a great time! I got to share some of my regular music, and some of my kid’s Scripture songs as well as our stories from Africa with a group of at-risk girls in Bonita Springs. They are so beautiful, and were so musical themselves – very, very precious girls. Their parents are migrant workers, and many of them speak English as their second language. Their lives aren’t very stable, but this wonderful couple started an after-school club that serves so many girls – they help them with homework, teach them about the Bible, teach them crafts, etc., and they have a choir. It was beautiful to see how much they loved these girls! I was so honored to be a part of it for an afternoon!

Tomorrow we’re headed across the state – going to continue to be a busy couple of days. :

I got another great review today – hope you enjoy it. I’m headed out this afternoon for another weekend of ministry in Florida – 8 events in 4 days, it’s going to be interesting!