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I'm thankful that the Lord has CALLED us to do what we do. I can't imagine trying to do it without His strength, guidance and provision!

*7 days away from home
*7 nights in motels
*sharing a motel room with the 3 people that I love more than anyone else in the world, but still, that's 3 more people than me in one small room!
*setting up, sound checking, "performing" (see a previous post!), and tearing down gear 6 times
*listening in awe as my sweet hubby expelled every ounce of energy each night to give folks an unforgettable concert. His voice still makes the hair on my arms stand up!
*sharing our testimony over and over, watching hope spark in people where there hadn't been any hope for a long, long time
*listening to heartwrenching stories of heart ache, disappointent and, of course, mental illness
*driving hundreds of kilometers and seeing thousands of acres completely flooded and knowing how devasted the farmers must be
*encouraging a hotel clerk who had been married to a youth pastor who abused her
*encouraging the grandma beside me on the plane who seemed frightened by every bump ... her hubby of 52 years had recently passed away and she was learning to live life alone
*encouraging the young dad beside me on another flight who woke up in the morning in Calgary and decided to move to Toronto that very day to be close to his little girl. He was so disraught about his decision. He was from a broken home and was fighting hard not disappoint his mom or dad and at the same time be a father himself
*doing laundry in a filthy little laundryroom in a tiny motel in the middle of nowhere (the INSIDES of the machines were clean!)
*dragging bags of groceries from motel to motel in an attempt to eat a bit healthier and save the expense of restaurants


We also did get to connect with my cousin and her sweet family over a meal. We reconnected with some awsome fans. We had a picnic in a hotel room with some old friends. We got to share the stage with one of our all time favourite groups ... Double Portion! We got to spend some time with our dear friends, Dr. Richard and Elaine Horner, who drove in from Edmonton to be with us.

We flew from Saskatoon to Calgary yesterday afternoon before catching our connection to Toronto (I know that route doesn't make sense, but try and tell that to WestJet!). In Calgary airport they have a Chili's, one of our all-time favourite restaurants, so we sat back, relaxed and enjoyed a delicious meal. We were wandering around, doing a bit of shopping afterwards when MacKenzie came running out of a shop saying they had just called our names over the loud speaker. I walked calmly to the gate wondering if they were going to upgrade us or something. The desk clerk picked up the phone and started yelling, "Cancel baggage removal ... they're here!" She asked me for our boarding passes. I gave them to her and reminded her that we had another hour before we flew. Oh no we didn't! There is NOT an hour time difference. The plane was loaded and they were waiting for us! In fact, they were just getting ready to remove our bags from the plane because we hadn't shown up! We nearly missed that flight!

We arrived in Toronto at midnight, got our bags (yes, they were all there), jumped in our van and headed home. We pulled into our driveway at 3:00am ... tired, but with a sense that we had accomplished what God had sent us to do. We are blessed indeed!