Forward

Today we sort of got caught up in the Forward Student Conference, helping with Pastor Franklin's illustrated message. Mommy and Daddy got together twelve apostles, plus Jesus - and put together their outfits. Then we got the Last Supper table all set up with fruit and bread and plate ware that Mommy painted with rock fleck paint. Also, a crown of thorns, a spear, a whip, and a few other items - it was a somewhat busy day for us getting things set. Madison helped by coming along with Mommy to the church, but poor Daddy didn't get to see much of her. It was just a busy day, and a late one too.

Daddy got to sit backstage and help move things and people about, and was surprised to see Jim Caviezel again! He was there to speak on stage with Pastor Franklin, and there was a huge reception. Mr. Caviezel is a very good speaker, quiet in nature but certainly effective. His words were challenging and moving - it's easy to think that everyone might feel that was the highlight of the conference.

It's interesting seeing celebrities and the backstage, where you sort of see how everything runs. Daddy has met a few people at the church, most humorously without having a clue who they were. I remember meeting up with Toby Mac one time and having a conversation with him about what there was to do in Gainesville, Georgia (not that much). The whole time, I had no idea who I was talking to until afterwards when someone pointed it out. That happened to me one other time in the church, when a famous reverend actually gave me this huge hug. Had no idea who the guy was or why he was hugging me. A friend and I were sitting there thinking, "Gee, he's friendly?" Later, of course, we figured out who he was and why he was followed around by these towering bodyguards.

The only other Hollywood celebrity I've met was Linda Hamilton, which was a complete surprise. It was the night before that I was telling a friend that I had never met a celebrity. We were walking along the beach one night when I said that, though I don't think I was really complaining. In any event, the next day, we were at the airport in Maryland and look who I happen to run into:

Of course, she didn't have her gun with her. And fortunately, there weren't any terminator robots chasing her around either. Anyway, she was a really nice and genuine person, and a real pleasure to talk with. We were waiting for a plane and just sort of started talking. It turns out she has a similar sense of humor to us, and if you don't believe that, take a look at this photo we snapped together:

I will treasure this photo always! While most people were content to take a picture with her simply smiling at the camera, I came up with the idea of "hey, let's point off behind the camera as if there's something terribly scary out there?" Which she went along with, as you can see above.

Well, speaking of "getting along," it's late and it's time for bed. Mommy and Daddy have just finished watching four more episodes of "The Nanny," which has been our latest addiction. Seriously, we're almost at the end of season two after only two weeks. At this rate, we'll have watched the entire series by August!

Tomorrow Daddy has a lot of catch-up work to do, so he won't be going back to Forward to see any other famous people backstage. Really, that's not Daddy's thing anyway. He's quite content to be at home with Mommy and Madison. In fact, that's where he really wanted to be all day.

But it was still an honor to get to go hear Jim Caviezel again...

"We weren't made to fit in. We were born to stand out." - Jim Caviezel