Hope.

Today I went to Rock the River tour. It was a big christian concert (FREE ADMISSION!) in Stl. My favorite christian rock band was there, Red. My friend Maranda and I pushed ourselves all the way towards the front when they played. It was amazing. :). What is even more amazing were the amount of people that were there. I am constantly hearing about how our country's amount of religious people is fading, about how our nation's churches are failing, about how people's lives are going downhill. But, today I was amazed. If you have ever been to the arch you know how big the grounds are. There was a fence blocking off the width of the arch and the length of the grounds. There was hardly any free space inside the gates. Let alone outside the gates where people had lawn chairs backed all the way to the interstates going through.

Not only was there a huge attendance, but there were so many people who receive Jesus Christ into their lives tonight. Seeing thousands of christians coming together in one place to worship God is one of the greatest things I have witnessed. People of all different race, people who have hurts and struggles, people who have it made. Tonight, those things didnt matter. Tonight it was all about God. It wasn't about us. Right now I just have so much hope for the christian society. Right now I am telling you that there are still alot of people, and people still accepting Christ, out there. I belive in us.

Also, a man by the name of Kirk Franklin performed today. I havent ever heard of him before tonight. Anyway, Maranda and I had to take a sitdown and we sat down by this african american family. I tell you what, these people had the most passion I have seen in a while. During one of his songs Franklin says to grab someone's hand. This woman, whom I have never even talked to or seen in my life grabs my hand. She was so full of life and passion for God. As we are holding hands Franklin tells us to look into someones eyes and sing "Dont worry". This woman looks into my eyes, and sings from her heart. It was an amazing feeling. Afterwords Franklin says to find someone of a different race and hug them. The whole family comes to Maranda and I and hugs us and says "God bless you".
That was one of the coolest things I have experienced. I cant get over how much passion this family had.

I love having experiences like this. I love worship. I still cant get over how many people were there. Have you ever looked at someone and wondered "What's their story, how did they get to this point?" Well I was thinking about that today. Every single person in that place today experienced the love of God. Whether they realized it or not, they did. The thing is, God knew every story, every life out there and how it got up to this point.
It's amazing. It brings hope.