Tommy

We buried a great man yesterday. Tommy Gill was a husband, father, grandfather, brother, son, friend, and child of God. He was giving, caring, loving, compassionate. He was Jesus to so many people who needed help. He was Jesus to me by giving me a place to live while I get myself back in order financially. He fought fires for 28 years and he fought cancer for 18 years. He understood and promoted the value of hard work and was the embodiment of generousity. He was always joyful. I never spoke to him when he didn't have a big ol' grin on his face. He loved to sing. He loved good music, especially bluegrass. And he loved his family. I know his wife, Dora, meant the world to him. Tommy suffers no longer. Now he lives with his Father and he still loves us. We'll miss him but we look forward to the day when we see him again. Tommy Gill was, and is, a great man of God. Let's celebrate his life by living our lives for the One who gave us this time to live. Live out loud!

Peace, Love, and Chocolate

Women Who Worship

I saw the most amazing thing a couple weeks ago. We were in Elmira, NY doing a concert at North Presbyterian Church for a crowd of about 200-300 people when I looked into the middle of the room and saw two people doing something I haven't seen in quite some time. They were worshiping with reckless abandon! Erin, the promoter who brought us to Elmira, and her friend Kathy spent the whole hour and a half in awestruck worship to Jesus. I'd be willing to bet that if some of us saw the way they were behaving we would question their sanity, run away from them in fear and confusion, make fun of them, or whatever we could do to negate their idea of worship. But they didn't pay any attention to what the people around them thought. It is evident by their actions that they live their lives in abject worship. I'm not saying they have it all together or that they're perfect. None of us are. What I'm saying is that they both spend all their time, whether in public or in private, in constant conversation with God, and that's the beginning of a great relationship. I wish I had that kind of relationship with God. I'm not there yet, by any means, but I want to always be aware that God is listening intently to what I have to say. He's listening to my praise and my put-downs, my joy and my junk, my heart of worship and my heart of worry. I can't wait for the day when He takes all the bad stuff (put-downs, junk, worry, etc) and throws it into the fire! I don't want it anymore and I know I never needed it. So, I'm gonna take Erin's and Cathy's example and try to put it to work in my life. From the looks of it, that's what a life of praise looks like.

Peace, Love, and Chocolate