So many comments

Playing ten locations in nine days was quite the feat. We will long remember the joys of setting up (what's that buzz?!) and tearing down and packing and unpacking and playing in the heat and singing with passion and the joyful interplay during the concert (How close can we get to Kathy during Sing to the Glory?) and of course, sleeping in many different beds. The two workshops were great as people from several congregations traveled long distances in some cases to come talk about contemporary worship. It was great to see the interest level!

But what will live with me more than anything are the comments people made to us after each concert. As a songwriter, one positive comment about one song from one person will keep me going for a month! And we received positive comments again and again and again at each location during the entire tour. Lans already spoke of some in his blog, so I'll just try to give you an overview of the type of comments that I heard after the concerts.

"I loved the words. Don't stop writing those words!"
"I was so hoping that you would play Eyes of Hope as that song is my favorite"

"You guys really looked like you were having a lot of fun up there!"

"I loved every song. Every one. I kept waiting and figured you would play one that I didn't like. I expected that.....but I loved every single song!"
"The words just said so much."
"How did you first decide to write songs rather than just sing other people's songs?"
"This was so much better than I expected."
"I never knew a Christian concert could be so fun!"

"You could really tell that you played together a lot."

"I could relate to that song about worries, because I have a lot of worries."

"I could really understand what you were saying."

"There would have been more people if it wasn't so hot." [Amboy]

"There would have been more people if it wasn't so cold." [Naperville]

"I wish we would have shown you more how much we liked it."

"Great job!"

"I wish [fill in name] would have been here."

"Where are you playing next? I need to call my friend there."

"Where are you playing Thursday? I have my kids and maybe I can drive there. How far is it to Washington, IL?"

"You guys were really good!"

"I'm so glad Carol (my sister) told me to come!"

"You certainly had a lot of energy!"

"That last song needed to be louder!"

And my favorite from one of my relatives to another "Does he think he's 25 again?!"

Actually I stopped counting at 27 and refuse to grow any older. That probably explains more than I want to admit!

Seriously, the comments told me that we reached people.....we touched people......People who had no expectations when they came to our concert. In almost all cases, they had not heard of us and really had no idea what to expect. And none of them were members of Christ Our Shepherd. The songs work outside of our congregation! Wow! I always thought they would, but it was really wonderful to get such positive reinforcement from people who I had never met before! Bringing these and other songs to touch people's lives is what will bring us to play again somewhere, sometime, somehow. It will happen.......though maybe not nine days in a row!

Gary