"The Elephant Diet" Day # 120 A String of Lights

Christmas lights in July at the cabin across from mine at Camp Lamar.

Christmas in July. It's a common expression.

It's a reality for me, here at Lamar Lighthouse Camp.

The cabin across from me decided to hang a string of Christmas lights this week. The owners have all of my CD projects (bless their souls) and seem to be eagerly waiting for the Christmas CD to be done.

Sunday night I ended my concert here with my rendition of Joy to the World on the piano and received a standing ovation. I hardly knew what to do. This is the second time in a matter of weeks that I have ended my concert with that song and received a standing ovation. Guess I better start coming up with an encore.

Next day, as I was strolling across the campgrounds I heard a loud "Christmas in July" cheer and saw my dear fan hanging the lights. Perfect!

It is so symbolic of this Christmas journey. The plastic cord is the vision of the dream. The individual lights represent the people along the way who are lighting my path with their personal flashes of light. Eventually, I will have a complete string of lights to share with the world.

Here are a couple of examples of the way people are lighting my path with their lights:

Before landing in St. Louis, MO recently, I had begun to sense a stirring to start spending 5 minutes a day in prayer about this show.

Light # 1:

* a woman in St. Louis, MO took my card at the breakfast where I led worship and told me she was going to hang it on her fridge and begin praying for the vision of my show. She told me not to underestimate the power of this dream and to not limit God on this journey.

(Her encouragement to me caused me to realize I really needed to take this seriously and begin heeding the urge to pray daily about it)

Light # 2:

* I was riding in a shuttle from the Grand Rapids, MI airport later that same week and met a woman who is now having her book published because she obeyed her nudges. She sensed God nudging her to write her story. She complained to Him that she had a job, a husband and children. When would she ever find time to write her story? When He asked her "how about 5 a.m.", she said "yes", though I could tell that wasn't a great time for her. But she beamed with excitement at the results. When I heard the fruit of her perseverance, that sealed it for me. I was now sure (as sure as a human can be) that God is indeed nudging me to pray, so I have started doing that every day.

How can you be someone's light in their string of lights? You might just be one bulb, but when it all comes together, it will light someone's home and you will have been part of it!

I might hang lights this year with a whole new perspective!