joy in simplicity.

I had the delightful opportunity to spend last Friday night, September 17th, with Jason Gray. He played in Orlando, FL for an event being put on by Orlando Union Rescue Mission for their annual event called One Homeless Night. 

 He only played four or five songs, but it was still wonderful to be able to hang out. We got to escape to Starbucks before the show with our friend Jen. She works with Z88.3, the Christian radio station in Orlando. It was wonderful to be able to meet up with her, and just have real and honest conversation together. We laughed together as Jason's GPS got confused with the crazy downtown Orlando roads, and as Jason recounted stories from the Centricity Music artist retreat he had just come from that week. Jason was able to tell us about how his single More Like Falling In Love has really been doing great at radio, and he told us about what God was doing in his life. It almost felt like a reversal from any time I had hung out him. He normally asks me to fill him in on my life, but it was refreshing to hear him talk about the things that are going on in his life. Jason even asked Jen and I if we would pray for him before he played. So the three of us gathered together in a circle under the I-4 overpass, and prayed for Jason before we finished setting up for the show. It was a blessing to be surrounded by such great friends.

I got to run powerpoint for Jason at the show, and I'm glad he asked me. It's nice to be able to do something like that. I feel like I'm giving something back to Jason after the kindness he's shown me over the past couple of years. Jen and I were talking while Jason was sound checking, and we were talking about conversations that I've had with Jason on Facebook and Twitter, specifically the ones when we joke around with each other. Jen said "You know you're good friends with someone when you can joke around with someone online, and have no one get offended." We both liked that so much that we retold it to Jason while we were at Starbucks. He liked it, too. The teasing continued on throughout the night, and I even felt comfortable enough to start bossing Jason around. He was going back and forth on whether he wanted to tell a certain joke in his set, or just take it out of the powerpooint completely. I finally just told him to just do it. He said 'Yeah...okay. I think I will. You think I should? Okay...yeah, totally...I'm gonna do it!". Then a few minutes later I realized, "I just told Jason Gray what to do. Like I have that right or something." I apologized to him and told him that I didn't mean to just tell him what to do. He said "No..it's totally cool. You just stuck it to me, and you know what? I'm going to do it. Here I go!" and he walked away and told his joke.

This was my 9th time seeing Jason play. The first time I saw him was at the very end of 2007. A couple days before New Years. Every time, no matter what, I always walk away with my heart being stirred in some way. It was no different this time. I don't know if it's the music or if it's the conversation, but God is definitely always in our midst. God has used Jason and his music to minister to me in some of the most difficult times in my life, or to help me through hours and hours of homework. I'm grateful that I came across the music of Jason Gray, and have had the opportunity to get to know and become friends with him over the past three years (almost). It's good.