God Blessed the Circumstance - Nashville, TN 2012

It started out raining, alone, driving by myself with my iPod full of pod casts. I chose to leave Wednesday night, as opposed to during the day because I wanted to spend just a little extra time at home with my girls. What I thought was going to be a sacrifice, actually worked out in my favor. There was no wait at the border, there was no rush hour traffic, and I made great time.

Leading up to a particular ministry trip I start to notice obstacles. I notice the devil trying to get in the way of things, trying to discourage and distract. That’s how I can tell it is going to be a GREAT, GOD-filled trip. And this one was...

It all started Monday. My car was getting an oil change, and they didn't have the part they needed to fix it. Thus began the first obstacle. But now having an at least minimal understanding of spiritual warfare, I recognized what was happening and prayed.

God blessed the circumstance.

Wednesday the part came in, one hour before I needed to leave. Just as I’m getting the car fixed my wife calls and says, “Our van is overheating”. The second obstacle came. I prayed.

God blessed the circumstance.

They needed to keep the van overnight to fix it. It just turned out that my wife didn’t need it the next anyways, the only day that week she was planning on staying at home.

I arrived at my hotel Wednesday, late at night. You know how sometimes when you pull into a hotel, it looks decent in the dark? And then you turn the lights on and you realize the mistake you’ve made? The door to my “room” looked like it had been kicked in a few times. Further to that, there were eight different types of locks. Why would you need so many?? The third obstacle came. My mind started getting fearfully creative as I lay in my bed praying myself to sleep.

God blessed the circumstance.

I arrived in Nashville to find my Thursday afternoon appointments had been cancelled. I found myself with nothing to do, feeling lonely, all by myself in this big town. So I decided to take a stroll down the infamous Broadway Avenue. It was Thursday afternoon, and to my surprise the bars had a good number of people in them. As I walked down the street, I saw bands trying to “make it”. I saw wanna-be has-been’s, holding on to what’s left of their “dream”, busking on the side walk. I saw people who looked homeless, begging for coins claiming to do what they “love”, music. I saw emptiness, brokenness, and a transparent facade. I started to think about how Jesus might have felt coming to, feeling out of place, looking at broken people. I prayed.

God blessed the circumstance.

Thursday evening I was invited to attend a Song Discovery Conference held at Brentwood Baptist church. The event was hosted by Michael W. Smith and featured several artists sharing some new worship material. Among the performers included All Sons and Daughters, Jennie Lee Riddle, Michael Farren (whom I wrote with last trip) and Meredith Andrews. After a long, lonely day of taking in the “artificial” Nashville, it was great to end my day with substance. It was great to dialogue with “real”, Christ followers, who shared the same authentic passion. I prayed out of thankfulness.

God blessed the circumstance.

Friday was an incredible day. After many attempts to connect in the past, met with conflicting schedules, I was finally able to meet up with extremely talented EMI/OCP writer Sarah Hart. Not only is Sarah a gifted writer, she is also an exceptional person. I really appreciate her kind heart (no pun intended). It was a real treat being able to write with someone of Sarah’s caliber. It really humbled me and allowed me to recognize how much more I can nurture the gifts God has given me. It made me feel like when I first started learning to play guitar, trying to duo with a pro. None the less, we wrote a killer song. I prayed, and thanked.

God blessed the circumstance.



I received an email during our co-write session from famed producer Ed Cash. If you don’t know who Ed Cash is, basically he has produced everyone famous in the Christian Music Industry. The meeting we had been trying to arrange finally came together. It was great to chat with him about his production process, how he works and how the music evolves. It was even more delightful to get to know Ed, the man, apart from his producing accolades.

God blessed the circumstance.

After singing some songs for Ed and chatting about the possibilities, I let him get back to his work. I needed to get to Murfreesboro, a small town 40 minutes outside of Nashville, and just as I started out my phone (with GPS) failed. I found myself aimlessly driving nowhere. I decided to pull over, park and take a moment. I prayed. Sure enough, as I raised my head and opened my eyes, I realized I was parked at highway 96, “MURFREESBORO” road.

God blessed the circumstance.

My last and final day was spent in Brentwood. I was invited to lead some worship at the Springtime of Faith Catholic Lay Leadership Conference. It was a room full of leaders of today’s church. After spending the entire day listening to profound speakers, chatting with church leaders and engaging in relationship I had the opportunity to share. I sang. I worshipped. I prayed.

God blessed the circumstance.

Spiritual warfare is real. There is a battle going on for souls. We can choose to give in to it, to give the devil power. Or we can place our trust in Him who is faithful. God can use the struggles we encounter and the sacrifices we hand over for His glory, if we let Him. When we open up to give just a little, he uses that to encompass a mile. He proves it to me over and over again.