Tomball is the the bomb ya'll

I don't know how I come up with this stuff. Genius, I say. Genius.

After a few weeks off the road, Michael and I played in Tomball last night. My friend Jeff Medders is on the pastoral staff of a church in the area, and they host a worship and Bible study gathering thing on Monday nights at Tomball College. He invited me to do my "house show"thing for that group, so we did.

It was a really great night. Man, I wish I could figure out some kind of formula that I could plug in and use for every show. Last night just felt very comfortable and easy and right, despite the fact that we were in a college classroom with a crappy sound system and bad lighting. Other times I've been in "perfect" settings, where everything looked and sounded just right, and things haven't gone so well. I suppose I have to chalk this sort of thing up to mysterious stuff like the Holy Spirit and the plans of the Lord and feedback frequencies and why the same jokes make some people bust a gut and other people stare at me with blank expressions.

Or maybe it has to do with the people. Is the audience ready to receive what the Lord wants to give them? Am I ready and open and attentive to all that God is doing and saying? I don't know. I'm just thinking out loud here. If blogs are good (or bad) for anything, I'm sure "thinking out loud" is on that list.

Whatever the reasons, this was really an excellent night. Several Houston area folks made the drive, and we ended up with maybe 40-50 people. Jeff asked for an encore, and I gave it to him, because he was the guy who invited me. That's the addendum to The Encore Rule. Do your best, when your conscience allows, to obey the wishes of the folks who got you the gig. It's sort of a "dance with the one that brung you" kind of thing. Hey, even a legalist like me has room for fluidity and addendum-adding and such.

And how about this little bill-paying tidbit: I sold 92 CD's. And of course, when I say "sold," you know I mean that 92 CD's were gone from the table, and there was plenty of money in "the box." See, I told you God would take of me. And you doubted me. You thought "that Ross is dreaming if he thinks he can make a living playing for free and giving away CD's." And you were wrong. But at least you're mature enough to admit it, and that's saying something. And at least I'm vigilant enough to remind you that you were wrong. That's saying something too. High five.

So thanks to Jeff Medders and his crew of leaders/helpers/friends. They were gracious and encouraging to Michael and me.

Today Staci and I are heading to Houston to be with our good friends John and Kelly Sherrill. I know many of you have been following their journey, so you can be praying that Staci and I will be ambassadors of joy, healing, and power for the life and health of Baby Kyle and to the glory of Jesus.