Circleslide

Getting ready to eat lunch with the pastor here in Smithtown…but read this…and had to post it:

Habakkuk 3:17-19 NKJ
” Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls—
Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
The LORD God is my strength;
He will make my feet like deer’s feet,
And He will make me walk on my high hills.”

To the Chief Musician. With my stringed instruments.

Two things are happening simultaneously:

One of them you’ve already read about; the van breaking down.

Since that’s happened I’ve just been stuck on this one particular psalm…Psalm 86.

here are some highlights in the NIV, NKJ, NAS, and the message translations:

Hear, O LORD, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.

Guard my life, for I am devoted to you.
You are my God; save your servant
who trusts in you.

Be gracious to me, O Lord,
For to You I cry all day long.

Teach me Your way, O LORD;
I will walk in Your truth;
Unite my heart to fear Your name.

You’ve always been great toward me—what love!
You snatched me from the brink of disaster!

Turn to me, and be gracious to me;

give your servant the strength to go on,
save your dear, dear child!

Give me a sign of your goodness,
that my enemies may see it and be put to shame,
for you, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

I know…I know…David was probably writing this psalm as spears are flying overhead, or he was sleeping in a cave with the sound of Saul’s army searching for him…and John Ray is right…I can tend to sound like a ‘drama queen’. We all do, don’t we? When it’s our skin on the line?

But it has been a tough week. Let me just say this: I have an enormous amount of respect for anyone out there who has been into a bank recently looking for any kind of loan…auto, small business, etc…and has been rejected for one reason or another. It’s an exercise in humility…and when you’re not home…on the road…you’re basically sitting around waiting for a phone call that may or may not come.

That having been said. I believe we may be close to getting a new vehicle for us to travel in. We’re just, you know, waiting on a phone call.

I’d also like to say, How amazing everyone has been. Everyone in the band is getting phone calls, emails, facebook comments from all over…and it’s how people are praying for us…people are asking what they can do to help…there has even been a check sent to us, HERE, in Hebron, New Hampshire of all places…towards helping us with our situation. And it was sent by people who I know are giving from their need…not from an abundance. Just, you know…Unbelievable.

We just want to say, Thank you. It’s amazing.

Here’s the other thing happening simultaneously. Our times of singing these worshipful tunes have been getting better and better. If I’m singing, “every blessing you pour out I’ll turn back to praise, when the darkness closes in, Lord…still I will say, ‘blessed be the name of the lord’.”…it just feels more authentic, I guess. We’re up there on stage…and we’re singing this stuff…and it’s raw…like an exposed nerve…and these really young kids, many of them who are not used to our ‘style’ of worship- music are joining in with us…and it’s pure joy. We get done and I’m exhausted, but refreshed…that’s a contradiction, I know…but that’s what’s happening.

Here’s a video to show you what I’m talking about:

[wpvideo YgRsuoeN]

So, there you have it. Tonight, we’re in New York…Long Island…getting ready to sleep. Got a concert at Smithtown Gospel Tabernacle. We’ll keep you posted.

Our van, in happier times, loading in to open for 'the newsboys'.

So, about midnight on March the 6th…we were driving through the mountains of West Virginia. We were already running a bit behind schedule…(see the post “Stuck in a moment”)…so I was going a bit fast…trying to make up some time.

Our destination was Camp Berea in Hebron, New Hampshire. We’re booked for three weekends, where we lead worship for the campers (kids of all ages) play some of our own tunes and have snowball fights, drink frappes, and generally have a jolly good time.

The guys are in the back seats, asleep, when they pop their heads up and say, “Gabe, we smell something…smells like burning rubber.” Thinking it might be the tread inside one of the tires coming apart I quickly slowed down…and pulled over at the next gas station. It’s one of those 24 hour truck stops with a diner inside…one of the sweetest ladies on earth is there serving coffee.

As I pull over the odometer reads 386,000 miles.

I stop at one of the fuel pumps. Smoke billows from underneath…it’s coming first from the catalytic converters, then the exhaust, and finally from under the hood. The band quickly exits the vehicle, coughing and the smoke engulfs the entire truck stop.

I turn off the ignition and begin to realize the gravity of the situation. This van is no longer going to have the ability to carry our trailer, not to mention us to our destination. It’s now 12:30 am…and we’re in the middle of nowhere…and there’s no one who can take a look at the engine…much less fix it.

Debbie, goes into action immediately…calling AAA…and looking for locations that can both diagnose the problem and possibly rent us another vehicle with towing capability. She quickly figures out that about 3o miles back is the closest Chevy Dealership. They open at 7am. I made one final push for driving the van as far as it would go…but she talked me down from my madness.

The Tow truck arrived around 4am…we are exhausted…he tries to talk  us into towing us to HIS shop…but Deb is adamant about the dealership.

He tows the van, our trailer, and debbie and me…and another tow truck carries Jon, Eric and Lee. The two drivers talk over the CB’s incessantly, mocking each other’s looks, driving ability and social skills with the opposite sex. They are actually really cool guys, but I was tired…and it got pretty annoying after the first 15 minutes or so.

They drop us off at University Motors in Morgantown…and we hop in the van…cover ourselves with all available blankets and attempt to sleep through the bitter cold night. Deb, however wakes up at 6:45 and waits for someone to show up at the dealership’s service dept…and someone does…right at 7am, sharp.

She hops out, introduces herself and declares that she needs some serious help…but FIRST, she must use the bathroom. The guy she meets is Roger, the friendliest dealership manager ANYWHERE. She proceeds to tell him of our plight and he tells her he’ll look at the van, and also procures a toyota tundra for us to rent that has the ability to tow our trailer for the remaining 600 miles. Debbie also talks him into giving us a great rental rate.  She then mercifully wakes us up at around 8:30am…and we squeeze into the pick up truck…she has already arranged for the trailer to be attached…and we start off for New Hampshire.

We are making great time. Our gas stops are fast and efficient. Then we hit traffic between New York and Connecticut…and again near Boston. Stand still traffic. We lose an hour.

Debbie calls Isaac from the Camp…who is sympathetic to our dilemma…but wonders if we’ll be able to make it to perform for the 325 kids who are waiting for us…some of them are actually fans of the band and have waited all year for this. Crazy, ain’t it?

She tells him we’ll be there at 8:45pm…the camp starts at 9:30pm. can they push the time back a bit? He says yes.

We arrive at 8:45pm. The camp volunteers are there and help us unload in record time. We set up the sound system in less than an hour. We haven’t showered in a couple of days. I had developed a nice little beard. We didn’t have time to stop and clean up…so we take the stage looking like a homeless band…and smelling like one too.

Debbie set up my guitar amp, and did the sound check. Are you getting the feeling that she is the heroine of the story? I hope you are.

The weekend came and went. We were able to pull it together and we had some wonderful times of worship. Jeffery Dean, from Nashville was the guest speaker and was phenomenal. There was a tragedy that took place at the camp…something I’ll discuss, maybe later…and it added to the bewilderment I was already experiencing. Lack of sleep kept me in a state of numbness.

Today, I was able to assess what’s happening. I’m able to thank God that we are on tour, but that this week we weren’t able to get any bookings. It’s allowed us to figure out what to do, while still having a place to stay here at the Camp. In other words, we don’t have to be on the move, right this second.

I’m grateful for the staff at Camp Berea who understood that we would be running late, but didn’t hold it against us, and worked so hard to make it work for us when we arrived.

I’m grateful for these guys in the band, who didn’t complain…not once about how tight it was in the back of that pickup for 12 hours…or how fast we had to set up…or how much energy it took to hang out with the kids that weekend. I’m with some amazing men…and it’s humbling.

I’m grateful for Debbie.

I’m grateful for all those prayers you guys are sending up for us. The van’s engine is cracked. It’s going to cost close to $7,000 to fix it. Seems like that’s not the best use of that money. Today, Deb and I drove to Concord, NH to look at what a new van would cost…and we’re looking into some other options as well.

And that’s the situation…I know some of you had questions…that’s the best I can do for now.