Sweet Vindication!

Have you ever gotten an idea, and then gotten passionate about it? Thought about it; pondered it; imagined every little bit of it? You poured your heart and soul into seeing this wee little idea blossom into the grand dream that came to overwhelm your imagination? And then, the day of reckoning dawns, and everything either comes together beautifully or falls flat on its face . . . And it comes together beautifully and is maybe even better than you had dared to dream it might be? Isn't that GREAT?!!

Sometimes you just know things. And I just knew -- I just knew -- that if Carolyn Arends and Spencer Capier played at our church it would be a revelation and a blessing for all involved. So, I kept at it. I prayed and asked and was rebuffed. Then, I prayed and asked and was rebuffed. Then, I prayed and asked and, well, it was a little disheartening. Not that my church was opposed to having Carolyn come -- I think it was just that the timing was always off, and they had no real motivation to make room on the busy church schedule. Then, this past summer, I was sitting in Sunday service, watching a guest musical artist play on the stage. And she was OK, but certainly not Carolyn. And then I had a vision -- yes, a vision. I saw Carolyn and Spencer on that same stage/pulpit area, and I knew that this was the time to try, try again.

God's timing always is perfect, and suddenly everything I had hoped and prayed for fell into place. Yay! And I got so excited, not so much for myself, because, though there's no limit to my love of hearing Carolyn and Cap, I have had many an opportunity to enjoy that privilege over the years -- both in the U.S. and Canada. I was getting so excited for all of my fellow congregants who had most likely never experienced the pure pleasure and unmitigated joy of a Carolyn/Spencer concert.

(Sometimes, when I'm in a pondering mood, I think about that oblivious listener out there, right this moment, who is someday going to stumble across Carolyn's music and be blown away. I get so excited for this person, and yet I am filled with a bit of jealousy -- how cool to have all that amazing music lying hidden, just waiting to be discovered! Then I remember how much better it is to have had that music over the years, and I'm no longer green-eyed -- except that my eyes are usually rather green without any visions of jealousy dancing in my head.)

Anyway, the rest is beautiful history. Carolyn and Cap came on December 8 -- sadly without Paula Flink, the Queen of All Management/Booking Agent Types of Rock Stars, both Canadian and American -- and met with the whole panel of Calvary Chapel South's pastors and Mrs. pastors at a crowded and authentic Mexican restaurant. There, much jolly political talk ensued between Spencer and our pastor, Kevin, while Carolyn developed a sudden and pointed fascination for the food in front of her and I contemplated whether a dropped napkin could provide a refuge beneath the table. Joking aside, there was probably more civilized talk from opposite ends of the purple spectrum that night than there will be through this whole bloody presidential campaign. Oy!

But, when you're talking Carolyn and Cap, it's really all about the music, Stupid. And, when you're talking those two, the music is transcendent. The next morning, bright and early at the 9 AM service -- and only God knows how they managed it -- they were rocking; and the party continued on through the 11 AM service. I think that Pastor John summed the whole thing up best when he pulled me aside after second service and said, "That was really an annointed time." Amen.

I was pulled aside a lot that morning by the pastors three of CCS. Phenomenal, amazing, wonderful, and other words in the English vocabulary that almost, if not quite, describe the Carolyn/Cap experience were thrown around with justifiable abandon. Everyone was already busily at work, trying to come up with reasons to have them back as soon as possible. It took every measure of grace I could summon not to let go with a big, "I told you so!"

So, if you would like to see some of the fruits of my long labor of love, check out the tour page at Carolyn's site. This time, the church scored a coup by getting Mark "Love You Forever" Arends to join in the fun. Truly, it is hard to imagine a better couple to lead a Couples' Banquet than the Arendses. If I can get a date, I might just go myself this year. I wonder if Jason's free . . .