tour diary

As with any artist, touring makes up a huge part of what I do. We are on the road more often than not these days, and constantly performing in new places and meeting new people (such a fun perk of this job!). Many times, people have lots of questions about what life is like for an artist, especially on tour. I thought starting a tour diary would be a fun way to document life on the road, and I'm excited to introduce the tour diary column to WanderLove!

This trip has included driving from Nashville to Indiana on Thursday and playing for a youth group, driving to Des Moines on Friday and playing for an arts event hosted by Downtown Church, and leading worship and performing Sunday morning at Capitol City. Our concert at Bethel in Crown Point, IN was a blast‑that day happened to be the last day of school and the teens were so energetic and engaged. It's so great to see young people worship freely, even with guest musicians. The middle school youth pastor there happens to be the brother of a dear friend of ours (who we met while touring in Berlin, Germany in 2009!) and it was really great to see his family again and be part of their ministry there. Everyone involved in the evening was awesome, and it was a great example of why I love doing what I do. When people bring you into the ministry they are part of on a weekly and daily basis, it's a true privilege to be there and see the body of Christ in motion. Also, there was a Buffalo Wild Wings right by the church so we all grabbed dinner there before the concert. I do love the wings, but what is it about deep fried potatoes topped with melted cheese that I cannot resist?

Friday we got to Des Moines and stopped in at Jordan's parents house. When we're in the area we stay with family, and it's so nice to be able to spend time with them while we're on the road. Lorelei loves the opportunity to be loved on (read: spoiled) and it's always nice to have babysitters on hand so we can sneak in a date night or two! We performed at Arts in the Village, which featured live music, local art, a live airbrushing presentation, and lots of food and coffee! Afterward we headed straight downtown to Fong's Pizza for one of our favorite Des Moines foods: crab rangoon pizza. It. Is. Amazing.

Saturday, by some miracle, we all slept in until 9. Although Lorelei had already gotten herself out of her travel bed and was sitting up on the chair reading her Jesus Storybook Bible. It was so cute I almost died..that girl is so much fun! Even better was that she continued "reading" for several minutes after I came in the room. :) Jordan took LJ on their weekly daddy/daughter breakfast, we spent the day relaxing with family, and had a mid-afternoon coffee date at Starbucks.

Sunday we got up early (before 6 am is just not okay with me, for the record) and headed to Capitol City. The photo above is a shot of their stage pre-service. Isn't the giant screen backdrop cool? The staff and people at that church are very welcoming and it was such an encouraging morning. Pastor Mark's message (in step with the graduating seniors) was based on a tongue-in-cheek report card for us to "grade" ourselves in different areas. What stuck out to me most was the quality of mercy. I can be so hard on people (and myself, even) sometimes, and Jesus has been beyond merciful to me, so I want to be someone who extends mercy to others. Also, their sound guy Dennis is the man‑he took care of all the prep work before hand, had a great attitude at an early hour, and was so helpful during sound check. Little things like that can be such an encouragement.

So that's a little peek into a few days on the road for our family! I'd love to hear what you've been up to! Do you love having a daily routine, or do you thrive on change and flexibility? Do you have a crazy life, but bring routine into the mix by, say, having the same breakfast every day? Do tell! :)

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