.Emergency.

“GO” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you." Mark 10:53

 Emergency

  A few weeks before our wedding, Kris and I were relaxing and watching television. It was towards the end of the night, and we were getting ready for bed. As I sat up to adjust to the other side of the couch, I felt a pain in my chest -- a sharp, stabbing pain,  and I feared that I couldn’t breathe deeply because it felt something would tear. I sat there for a little while holding my chest and trying to take short breaths. Kris was concerned and convinced to take me to the emergency room at that moment. I hate hospitals, but I did agree it’s better to be safe than sorry. We loaded into the car once I felt I was able to get up and we we were off...

We didn’t have to wait long until I was in the room with the doctor explaining my pain and feelings of what had occurred. The doctor wanted to take a blood sample, X-ray and an EKG. I was terrified about the blood being drawn, and the doctor laughed at me considering I have two full sleeves and a chest piece. I went and got the x-ray and the blood drawn, then sat there with Kris and waited thirty minutes before I was told how my blood work came out. The doctor feared a blood clot in my lungs, and also wanted to make sure my heart was healthy. That thirty minute wait seemed like days; I feared that I had some major heart issues. I couldn’t remember the last time in my life that I had even been to a doctor. And, most people don’t know this but when you tour in a band for six years, you don’t usually get the healthiest meals. The first two years of touring was full of McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, you name it, we ate it...

In these circumstances, naturally I got to thinking to myself about how valuable life is. Here I am, in an emergency room with my future wife, thinking of all the things I have done to hurt my body, all of the things I had the choice of doing or not doing to keep my body in the condition it was in. I sat quietly and thought to myself, “I’m not in here because of someone else. I wasn’t here because of a car accident or something.” I thought of the smoking, drinking, all the fast food, the lack of exercise, the lack of a healthy lifestyle, all of these things that had accumulated over the years. Why? I decided to make the choice to feed my body those things. Why? Because of my flesh craving those things and not thinking of my body as a temple, or the life that God gave me. I didn’t think of what was most important, but I had craved the short-term satisfaction during all those years, and I made the decision. I had no one else to blame for this but myself, and to think that maybe my life could change in a huge way right now at this point...all of those things led to this one moment...

  It turns out that I have a healthy heart with a small, somewhat “normal” abnormality, the pain was within the wall of my chest, and I should stay away from caffeine. Phew! The moral of the story is...we have so many chances to do the right thing or to say no to things we know we enjoy but know could damage us. And not just our bodies, but our minds and our spirits too. All the little decisions we make in life add up, and they could bring destruction or success, joy or sadness in the end. It’s so important that we understand that the little things do count in all that we do. If we are doing all these little things to build up to our dreams coming true, they do and will pay off. However, the addictions you have in your life could very well end it sooner than later.

Think of everything you do in your life: the little things, and think of how they effect you and the people around you. I mean, what if I had a huge problem with my heart, and needed surgery, or couldn’t tour any longer, or left my wife and friends behind? Why? Because of the poor decisions I made in my life. Thank the Lord that He has given me health, and despite the fact that I have abused my body so much in the past years, that I can stand here today and write this. God gave us the gift of choice...let’s just try to make the right choices so that life, which is a blessing, turns not into a curse. This is beyond physical health, but your words, how you effect others, and what you put your energy towards daily.

Are you feeding yourself: mind, body, and spirit, fruit that is good? Or are you consuming bad fruit that will make you sick? feeding yourself and others bad fruit that will make you sick? When we are struggling, we absolutely have to feed ourselves good fruit and remember what we struggled through. Then we can learn from our past and gain wisdom through experiences to help others change for the better. Love yourself so that you may love others. Start in the little things in life.

 

Tuscon, AZ

Tuscon, AZ 

Matt and I hit the YMCA in the morning .. we've been pretty lucky with no YMCA membership, they have given us days where they don't charge us to use their gym which is great! This YMCA was a little bit smaller than the norm but did the job! The great thing about it is some how we've been finding YMCA"s and other great gyms less than a mile down from the venue... so it's been really convenient this tour. 

After the gym, Kris and I walked around the town to see what Tuscon was all about.. we were excited to know their was a farmers market down the street... don't see many of those and Kris is a health kinda gal.. We didn't know the area but  we were starving and needed something to fill us... we walked into a small cigar shop and asked what was around... guess what we found? only the best sub shop EVER! 

 

 

Thats right... JIMMY JOHNS!!! Yeah BUDDY! 

Tuscon was a great day because our good friends in ItheBreather joined up on the tour. Morgan Wright is their drummer and I just have to say I love that dude.. Great guy, awesome drummer and we share the same beliefs.. This dude KILLS the drums!! 

 

We also decided to have a bible study on our bus! Me, Matt, Adam Grey, and Morgan Wright got to our back lounge and talked about some of the scripture in Psalms. and proverbs.. We didn't really have anything put together seeing as it was the first day with Morgan but it was great to read some psalms and really open up to one another in prayer. It's really amazing how similar we all are and how Christ shows us His love through others.. we also talked about how having accountability is really crucial on the road. We are wanting to have these daily.

After that we rocked the show! The only gripe I had was how far away the stage was from the crowd... the energy is really hard to feel when they are so far away. I was a little bummed out when we opened the set and the first scream I took... i realized I couldn't hear... the mic had gone out and was not picking up my voice.. however seeing the crowd singing the part as I was in frustration... haha.. they did a pretty good job! 

Thanks Tuscon, AZ!!! 

 

Mattie Montgomery from FOR TODAY.

  

Mattie Montgomery explains how he became the singer of the band For Today, and how he has come from Soccer player to Jesus follower. He tells us how his goal isn't to be a rockstar, but to walk perfectly align in God's path for his life.