Roadtrip to Michigan

Brad and I feel like college kids again!! We have been following in grief and sorrow the terrible tragedy that has struck the Steven Curtis Chapman family. We found out about the tragic death of Maria Sue while we were on vacation in Orlando. This family has meant so much to us because of their love and passion for orphans and adoption. We have worked closely with their foundation, Shoahannah's Hope while starting our own adoption and orphan care ministry, His Heart, Our Hands. We have followed this story almost daily and have commited to lifting them up. All along Brad and I have told one another that we would give anything to be at the first concert he performs after this tragedy. Well, the first concert was in Wisconsin. The second was in Michigan last night and guess who was there? This was not a planned outing. In fact it all came together in about 10 minutes! I read an update from Jim Houser about the Wisconsin show and Brad and I were so wishing we could have been there. We then read that they were heading to Michigan and there were still tickets. I looked up where it was in Michigan and found out it was about a 3 1/2 hour drive. It was 3:15 p.m., the concert started at 8 p.m. I asked Brad if he wanted to go on a road trip. He said sure, but who to watch the girls? We thought we could take Braylen, but no way could Alea make the trip! We called to make sure there were tickets, called my mom and asked if she could come up NOW and get the girls, called a lady at church to see if she could show the video for me at church, called and reserved tickets--all in 10 minutes time!!!! When I called to get tickets I was told that SCC's band had just turned in 4 tickets on the 8th row, aisle seats! We reserved 2 of them. Braylen decided she wanted to go to Mamaw's. So, I hurridly packed the girls up, packed myself while Brad ran the video to Susan from church. He came home and quickly packed, mom got here and we hit the road!!!! We made it there at 7:30. The concert was AWESOME!!!! There are no words to describe it. We saw a very hurting and grieving Steven, Caleb and Will. Steven started the concert with Blessed be Your Name. He said this was the first song that came to mind on May 21st. The bridge in the song says, "You give and take away..." He struggled singing this part. God blessed him with a beautiful daughter, but unknown to any of us, He chose to take her way before her time. He sang Cinderella and during the song everyone shone flashlights or cell phones. It was amazing to see the support shown to this family.

Please lift this family up to the Lord. They are struggling so much, yet refuse to let Satan win!!