Then one day he offered me a ride. And I got my first nibble into his world. Of music. He was into it. All of it! And he knew a lot of bands, groups I had no idea existed. Then when, the end of that first summer together arrived, too soon, we began dating and moved into the challenging world of long distance relationships. But I’m a writer. So I had no issues dropping him a line or two… or three or four in one day. Ask his roommates. I sent him a lot of letters! I was smitten, what could I do? So I just poured my heart out on paper. All day. And all night!

Hubs was…not a writer. Still isn’t. But he tried. I received letters here and there and a lot of fun post cards. What he lacked in paper, he made up in music. Every week, after his radio show, he sent me copies of his three hours on the air. And this was serious nourishment to this girl who was in major crush-mode with Sunny P. on the M.I.C. Yup. That was his Deejay name. I liked it. But when you’re in love, what’s not to like?!

So, anyway, I loved hearing his voice between songs, but I also loved being introduced to tons of bands and new music. And on occasion, he’d even slip in a little, “And this next song is dedicated to a girl I know. A girl named Rajdeep.” Yes. That calls for an ‘awwww’! Go ahead. 🙂  And to this day, seventeen years later, some our best memories have been attending concerts together. Now we drag our kids along and they love it. So far!

And we’re so crazy about music, that if one of our favorite bands is playing within reasonable driving distance, we try to attend. Define reasonable, you ask? Well, we’ve been known to drive all the way to Wilmar, MN, for a four-day music festival, and right afterward, continue on to right outside Mount Rushmore, SD, to hear another full day of some other favorites.

We’ve driven to Southern Georgia to hear Tenth Avenue North, then up to Kentucky to dance with the Newsboys, and then up to Gunstock, New Hampshire to attend Soulfest last summer, another amazing summer music festival. And Jersey, all the time! To hear Rebecca St. James, The Katinas, and Crystal Lewis, back in the day. And last Hallowe’en we drove out to Ocean City, NJ, just to hear one of our favorites: Family Force Five!

So last weekend, when we drove to the city of brotherly love for the Deep Hits Tour, we were ultra-excited, because we found a concert where literally all of our newest favorites and one artist whom we all love were performing. Together! The line up was unbelievable: Toby Mac, Mandisa, Jamie Grace, Britt Nicole, Chris August, and Group1Crew.

The funny thing is this past year, three of the girls sang songs from three of the performers at a much smaller version of America’s Got Talent, and these particular artists sang the very songs the girls chose! What a treat. Group1Crew busted out with “He Said” with Chris August jumping in to help out! Hannah and her friend Becky performed that song. Mandisa sang Lydia’s song of choice, “Stronger,” and we had a chance to meet ‘Disa! She’s so pretty in person and ever so sweet when we spoke with her.

My favorite moment was hearing Britt Nicole sing, “All This Time!” Because I had Sarah in front of me, and she sang her little heart out, because she knows every single word! That’s her song. Then I took the girls out for a quick potty break, and right there, not to far from where we were, Britt and Mandisa were sitting at tables for an informal “Meet and Greet.”

“Do you have to pay extra to meet them?” I asked a security guy standing guard.

“Not that I know of.” His words were music to my ears.

So we walked over to Britt Nicole since there was no line. Like no one knew about this except us! And she was so glittery and pretty and had a total southern twang!

Sarah said, totally calmly, “The first one.”

Britt: “All this time?”

Sarah just nodded and smiled.

Then I shot a couple of pics and the rock star shocked me when she asked if she could pray for the girls.

“Really?” I was seriously wowed. “Sure. Of course.”

So, right there and then, the girls linked hands with Britt, and she prayed for their dreams. For them to dream big. And for God to help their dreams come true. Wow.

As we walked back up to our seats, I was beyond thrilled, because more than anything, I want my princesses to have messages written on their hearts that tell them they are “Stronger.” “Beautiful.” “More [precious] than Gold.” “Made to Love.” All the things that “He Said.”

And I know from growing up years that nothing writes on the hearts of the young and old like music and lyrics. And the artists that rocked the stage, apart and together, filled our ears with awesome sounds, our hips with sway and swag, and our hearts with truths. Reminders of what we all need to hear to get through this life. Yeah. We had a good time!