So get this. Last night Heather and I were on our way back to Nolensville, TN (south of Nashville a couple of minutes) after speaking at a church up near Springfield, TN. We are on our drive and decide we'd like to get a pizza and a movie and have a quiet night after our earlier appointment.
We see the neighborhood Blockbuster, pull off of Nolensville Road into the parking lot and pull to a stop in one of the yellow outlined parking spots available to any compact car similar to our Chevy Cavalier. We're discussing something unimmportant as we remove ourselves from the car and approach the Blue Canopied and Yellow Lettered brick building.
Suddenly, in the midst of conversation, something, or someone catches my eye. Could it be?
Yes, it is. Here, in south Nashville, wearing the blue polo shirt uniform of any obscure Blockbuster employee, oblivious to the adoring fans about to freak out about discovering him in his home life, is ...
Mark Nicks, the most amazing drummer I have ever seen and the heart and soul of the band Cool Hand Luke.
Heather and I stop in disbelief. "Is it really him?" "No, it can't be." "Yes. Yes it is." "It's Mark the Drummer."
So, we pick out our movie. It's a new release. Good Night, and Good Luck. You've heard of it. George Clooney directed. Black and white film. About the Red Scare and McCarthyism. Great movie.
We walk up to the counter to check out. We time it just right, so we'll get to check out with Mark at the register. It's great timing. He never saw it coming.
Then, we start a conversation right there at his workplace. Heather and I don't want to be too distracting while he's at work, we just want to let him know who we are. But he is distracted. He says to me, "Sorry, I don't multitask well."
He doesn't multitask well?! He's a drummer! Aren't they the kings of multitasking?!
Anyway, he does remember us. We were at Mt. Vernon in that big group of people that talked with him afterwards about him getting married and us getting married. "What are you guys doing here?" "We're cross-cultural workers, cultivating support for our work." "Awesome."
So, he took our money, smiled, walked the movie to the door for us, like every Blockbuster employee does, handed us the movie and smiled again. He asked if we'd be around town much longer. No, unfortunately we won't. But we could tell he would love to hang out sometime if we were available. He was the same nice guy he always was after shows. Just a normal guy, making some bucks at the local Blockbuster.
And that was it. We said we'd see him at the next show. He said they'd be back in Mt. Vernon for sure and he'd see us there.
And that was it. Wow. This is the life. Living in Nashville. Running into rock stars. Does it get any better than this?
Later guys,
Matt
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Friday, July 14, 2006
Happy Cow Appreciation Day!!!
Today is Chick-Fil-A's Cow Appreciation Day. Thanks to one Mr. Brad Ward, Matt and I celebrated it in style. We went to the Hermitage Chick-Fil-A, Lindsey's and my old stomping ground, and ate some delicious chicken. It turned out that it was also the first anniversary of the Hermitage Chick-Fil-A. There was cake, balloon animals, costumed cows everywhere, and a free t-shirt!!! And there's more... if you dressed as a cow from head to toe, you got a free combo...FREE! How wonderful is this place I ask you!?! Unfortunately, Matt and I had no hide attire, but enjoyed the festivities just as well as those with spots! So thank you Brad and thank you Chick-Fil-A!!! If you have a location near you, or have nothing to do before 10 tonight, travel to your nearest Chick-Fil-A dressed as a cow and go get some free delicious food!
Here's a terrible picture from Matt's phone of us outside...
Praise those of you with whom I've gotten the chance to share the Chick-Fil-A experience!
Praise those of you who have gone on wild goose chases around St. Louis or Georgia airports in search of satisfying a Chick-Fil-A craving!
AND
Praise God for Chick-Fil-A!
Happy Cow Appreciation Day!!!
Eat Mor Chikin!!!
Here's a terrible picture from Matt's phone of us outside...
Praise those of you with whom I've gotten the chance to share the Chick-Fil-A experience!
Praise those of you who have gone on wild goose chases around St. Louis or Georgia airports in search of satisfying a Chick-Fil-A craving!
AND
Praise God for Chick-Fil-A!
Happy Cow Appreciation Day!!!
Eat Mor Chikin!!!
Monday, July 10, 2006
On the road...for the first time.
OK, so Heather and I are basically driving all over the world.
Well, maybe not the world, but so far the whole state of Kentucky.
And maybe not the whole state of Kentucky, but at least a good half of it. The western half.
Can I just say that our schedule has been nuts over the last two weeks? I warned you that it would be, but I don't think I realized just how wild it would be.
OK, so I was in Chicago on Friday and Saturday, June 30 and July 1 respectively. We were supposed to get back to Springfield to drive down to Paducah, KY at about 8:30 pm. I was taking the Amtrak down from Chicago, and they decided to run a couple of hours late. (Any wonder why they are going bankrupt?) So we ended up leaving Springfield at about 11 and driving late into the night to the home of RB Mays.
We finally got to bed at 4 so that we could wake up at 7 and drive to Wingo Old Cumberland Presbyterian Church to speak that Sunday morning.
But we made it.
This church was exciting, just as all the other churches we have spoken in so far have been. It is in this obscure town outside of Mayfield, which is outside of Paducah, but is on the verge of growing, and growing very quickly. There were a number of people that got excited about our work and RB Mays never fails to back us up.
But as soon as church was over, we had places to be. We took off immediately for the hour-long drive to Brandon Spring Campground at the Land Between the Lakes. It was a beautiful drive, but went by really fast because we drove really, really fast. This campground was great. On the edge of the lake, surrounded by the woods, you couldn't have chosen a better place for a high school camp.
I was the main speaker for the week and did not necessarily feel up to the task. How do you relate to high school kids? They all seem to be bipolar at one point or another. You just never know about them.
But they took a liking to Heather and I and the week turned out pretty well. Despite how much I'm down on high school students, they encouraged me and showed me that there are actually kids that are pursuing God in high school. I'm not sure I know a harder place to do that in.
We also got to spend the week with Dave and John. You might know them. You know, two guys in a van, traveling across the country, doing what they do. They really stepped up this week and did way more than they expected to be asked to do. But they did it all without complaining and did a wonderful job of it.
And of course, my wife was wonderful. She had no idea what to expect, and we didn't especially like the idea of going to separate buildings to sleep at night, but we made it through.
Before I knew it, I enjoyed getting to speak to these kids everynight, and by then, I only had one night to go. It was over so quick. Hopefully they caught what the week was all about. You wouldn't believe how great these kids were. They were a huge encouragement to us.
During the week they decided to take an offering for us. Guess how much they raised. Remember, 65 kids...
$100?
$250?
$300?
Try $532!
Wow, we were blown away. These kids believe in what we're doing and were excited to help us!
So, the week ended, and Heather and I basically crashed for two days. Sleep was in dire need, and we found it. We were rested for a day of speaking Sunday, and we hit the road early in the morning.
First, Bethel CP, also near Paducah. This place was beautiful too. I really enjoyed speaking in their sanctuary. There were some kids there that were at the camp, and they joined Heather and I in leading the congregation in some praise and worship. I loved that part.
Then Sunday night we went to Jeff and Bert Biggs' church, New Hope CP. They had invited a couple different churches to come in and listen to us, and yet again, God encouraged us with more people who are excited to see our work happening.
Today we are driving east towards Owensboro, KY. We speak tonight and tomrrow night, then we head to the Nashville area to see what God has in store for us there. Thanks to all of you for your prayers while we are spending so much time on the road! We can't wait to get back to see you all again!
(And thanks for reading this boring line item report of what we do!)
Later guys, Matt
Well, maybe not the world, but so far the whole state of Kentucky.
And maybe not the whole state of Kentucky, but at least a good half of it. The western half.
Can I just say that our schedule has been nuts over the last two weeks? I warned you that it would be, but I don't think I realized just how wild it would be.
OK, so I was in Chicago on Friday and Saturday, June 30 and July 1 respectively. We were supposed to get back to Springfield to drive down to Paducah, KY at about 8:30 pm. I was taking the Amtrak down from Chicago, and they decided to run a couple of hours late. (Any wonder why they are going bankrupt?) So we ended up leaving Springfield at about 11 and driving late into the night to the home of RB Mays.
We finally got to bed at 4 so that we could wake up at 7 and drive to Wingo Old Cumberland Presbyterian Church to speak that Sunday morning.
But we made it.
This church was exciting, just as all the other churches we have spoken in so far have been. It is in this obscure town outside of Mayfield, which is outside of Paducah, but is on the verge of growing, and growing very quickly. There were a number of people that got excited about our work and RB Mays never fails to back us up.
But as soon as church was over, we had places to be. We took off immediately for the hour-long drive to Brandon Spring Campground at the Land Between the Lakes. It was a beautiful drive, but went by really fast because we drove really, really fast. This campground was great. On the edge of the lake, surrounded by the woods, you couldn't have chosen a better place for a high school camp.
I was the main speaker for the week and did not necessarily feel up to the task. How do you relate to high school kids? They all seem to be bipolar at one point or another. You just never know about them.
But they took a liking to Heather and I and the week turned out pretty well. Despite how much I'm down on high school students, they encouraged me and showed me that there are actually kids that are pursuing God in high school. I'm not sure I know a harder place to do that in.
We also got to spend the week with Dave and John. You might know them. You know, two guys in a van, traveling across the country, doing what they do. They really stepped up this week and did way more than they expected to be asked to do. But they did it all without complaining and did a wonderful job of it.
And of course, my wife was wonderful. She had no idea what to expect, and we didn't especially like the idea of going to separate buildings to sleep at night, but we made it through.
Before I knew it, I enjoyed getting to speak to these kids everynight, and by then, I only had one night to go. It was over so quick. Hopefully they caught what the week was all about. You wouldn't believe how great these kids were. They were a huge encouragement to us.
During the week they decided to take an offering for us. Guess how much they raised. Remember, 65 kids...
$100?
$250?
$300?
Try $532!
Wow, we were blown away. These kids believe in what we're doing and were excited to help us!
So, the week ended, and Heather and I basically crashed for two days. Sleep was in dire need, and we found it. We were rested for a day of speaking Sunday, and we hit the road early in the morning.
First, Bethel CP, also near Paducah. This place was beautiful too. I really enjoyed speaking in their sanctuary. There were some kids there that were at the camp, and they joined Heather and I in leading the congregation in some praise and worship. I loved that part.
Then Sunday night we went to Jeff and Bert Biggs' church, New Hope CP. They had invited a couple different churches to come in and listen to us, and yet again, God encouraged us with more people who are excited to see our work happening.
Today we are driving east towards Owensboro, KY. We speak tonight and tomrrow night, then we head to the Nashville area to see what God has in store for us there. Thanks to all of you for your prayers while we are spending so much time on the road! We can't wait to get back to see you all again!
(And thanks for reading this boring line item report of what we do!)
Later guys, Matt
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