The Cornerstone Tour

The final part of our trip was spent traveling with Cornerstone Brass. Doyle really likes getting together with these guys to play music. They have made 2 recordings and I think they are pretty good. Of course, I am a little partial. Doyle wants us to come along and be with him as "he toots his own horn." It is fun to meet old friends and make new ones.

One of those "old" friends was Valorie Quesenberry whom I have been close to since college days. I really had a good time being with her and her family. Our kids played together and we enjoyed talking and laughing. She was a great hostess and our time there went too fast. She also has 4 kids and our youngest ones are only a month apart. I also got to be with Lorraine Johansen. We have know each other for 22 years and do not get to see each other very often. It was nice to chill and even skip one concert to be with their family. She has 2 kids; Julianna really made friends with Kaitlyn. Doyle even watched the kids while we went out to lunch and shopping. That was great. Lorraine and I sang in a trio together in college. We made sure we sang together while I was there. Oh, the memories! We laughed about our college days and cried about our losses. She has lost 5 babies and I have lost 3. We have experienced God's grace in a real way.

Our kids like the other guys in Cornerstone and I enjoy getting to know the wives when possible. I got to see Emily Heath and her boys. Samuel looks forward to being with the Heath boys--it gets a little active with 5 boys in the house. Emily fixed a yummy meal for us and we had a good time fellowshipping around the table. Hannah Shrout also brought their 2 little girls to a couple of services. She is very sweet and always has a warm smile. Our kids do pretty well during our travels, although they were starting to melt down towards the end. When you take 4 kids into a different home each night, it can be interesting. I have learned some new packing techniques that were helpful. I will not bore you with all of those details at this point.

Our kids enjoy seeing new places; we were able to take in some new sights. One of those memorable events was "Sight and Sound." If you have never been, it is hard to explain how spectacular this place is. It is a professional drama theater that puts on Biblical stories. The show lasted over 2 hours--I enjoyed every minute. We had live animals coming right down beside us and angels flying closeby. You can never look at the Bible the same way when you come out of there. We were able to see "In the Beginning" which tells the whole story of Creation, Adam and Eve, and the redemption of mankind. It ended with the marriage supper and an invitation to accept Christ. Needless to say, I was crying at that part. Just to think that God has a place at His table reserved for me is overwhelming. I was really struck with the realization that although Adam and Eve sinned and suffered so much, God never stopped loving--that truth really came through to me. You could not take pictures during the program, otherwise I would have had a hundred picture slide show. Well, God is good and I am glad that this part of blogging is finally finished.