Last night my best friend and I experienced the night of our lives.  We attended the 44th Annual Dove Awards in Nashville, Tennessee.  These are the annual awards held to honor Christian music artists.  This has been on my bucket list and yes, I had an ulterior motives.  Matt Redman who sings 10,000 Reasons was nominated for several awards for this song including Song of the Year, Contemporary Performance of the Year, and many more.  I have blogged many times what this song means to our family since Trey died during the last verse of this song.  It’s just a fitting worship song.

I sent Matt’s office an email earlier in the week and simply stated that I was praying that he would reap rewards for his hard work from being obedient in sharing God’s word through music. I know that traveling, performing, and being away from his family is hard work.  I was able to see him and experience Passion.  We know that man’s accolades are not important compared to what God’s treasures are for us in heaven.

The show was wonderful! You will have to experience for yourself on Monday night on UP at 7 p.m., I believe.  I do not even get the station.  But leave it to God to shine just when you don’t expect it.  We had excellent seats, about 9 or so rows from the front on the far right.  As Cindy and I were exiting our row, a man walked by and I simply said, “Keep wearing that St. Jude pin!”  He said, “I will!” He stopped and told me that he was Dave Frey and he had visited St. Jude in Memphis and I told him that my son was a patient at St. Jude before he passed away in July of last year and my younger son was now a patient.  I’ll never forget the look on his face or what he said.  “WOW, are you okay?” I kind of chuckled and said, “Yes, I’m okay.”  What do you say?  I told him we had driven to the awards and were driving back to Memphis at 3:30 in the morning to take Collin to his 6 month check up.  He stopped and grabbed my hands and said, “We are going to pray for you and Collin and your visit tomorrow.”  So there we stood.  In the middle of Allen Arena with Dave Frey of Sidewalk Prophets praying for me and for Collin’s visit at St. Jude.  When we both said Amen, I looked up and people around us were in prayer.  Whoa.  I thanked him and went on my way, blessed.

I’ve thought about that moment more and more today as I’ve been at St. Jude.  Today I met a new friend at St. Jude to pray for.  Her son is having surgery tomorrow on his leg.  He was diagnosed with osteosarcoma.  He is 14, just like Collin.  He was also having an MRI at the same time as Collin. You see, instead of loving football like Trey did, his love is baseball.  His fear is that he will never play again. He began to have pain in his knee and his parents just told him to shake it off, just like we all would.  Just like we did with Trey!  I told her to NOT feel guilty about that feeling.  You can NOT look back and second guess yourself.  Honestly, I did not start the conversation, Bonni did.  We were the only two left in Diagnostic Imaging and she said it can be a lonely place when you are the only people left.  Open door.

My friends, please join me in praying for J. T. and his surgery tomorrow.  Pray for encouraging results, a wise course of direction regarding treatment, and most importantly, a strong mental focus for J. T.  Sometimes that is so much of the battle with cancer.  Little did I know that running into Dave Frey at the Dove Awards would weigh so heavy on my own heart that would feel so strongly about sharing Trey’s story with someone else.  Not that I normally would not have shared Trey’s story, (Ya’ll know me! I can talk about Trey and I’ll never apologize) but Dave stepping out and praying with me from just one conversation caused me to act out of his one conversation.  We do not need to know people for weeks, months, or years to act, love, or pray.  God calls us to GO!  He doesn’t ask us to sit around and think about it and formulate a plan.  Hummm…I think that might be called faith?

It just so happens that one of the top songs by Sidewalk Prophets is a song that best describes this whole blog and something I’ve talked about before – Live Like That.  I think Trey lived like that.  People saw Jesus in him, but do they see Jesus in me?  Have I recklessly abandoned given all I have and not held anything back when telling about His name?  I might have started the conversation about St. Jude, but thank you Dave Frey for reminding me that I want to live like that.

Sometimes I think
What will people say of me
When I’m only just a memory
When I’m home where my soul belongs

Was I love
When no one else would show up
Was I Jesus to the least of us
Was my worship more than just a song

I want to live like that
And give it all I have
So that everything I say and do
Points to You

If love is who I am
Then this is where I’ll stand
Recklessly abandoned
Never holding back

I want to live like that
I want to live like that

Am I proof
That You are who you say You are
That grace can really change our heart
Do I live like Your love is true

People pass
And even if they don’t know my name
Is there evidence that I’ve been changed
When they see me, do they see You

I want to live like that
And give it all I have
So that everything I say and do
Points to You

If love is who I am
Then this is where I’ll stand
Recklessly abandoned
Never holding back

I want to live like that
I want to live like that

I want to show the world the love You gave for me
I’m longing for the world to know the glory of the King

I want to live like that
And give it all I have
So that everything I say and do
Points to You

If love is who I am
Then this is where I’ll stand
Recklessly abandoned
Never holding back

I want to live like that
I want to live like that
I want to live like that