Yesterday at Inspiration New Jersey was cool. We knew it would be the lowest attended stop on the tour this fall, but you try not to let that bother you. The people who came needed to be there, and it doesn’t matter how big or small the group is–you give it your all. There’s no doubt the teenagers that came had a terrific day that they will remember for a long time.

Last night at the end of the day my friend Dan and Caroline gave me a heart-felt compliment. I was tired from traveling and from being on stage the whole night. Once the auditorium was emptied we began packing the gear into the trucks. Dan and Caroline caught me at the corner of the stage and told me that it’s how I love people that makes a difference, not what I do when I speak on stage or work on the website. Caroline cited a couple times when I was loving towards her, and how it made a difference for her.

I really needed to hear that at the end of such a crushing travel across the country. It lifted my spirit…giving me peace, knowing that my “performance” means little compared to the simplest things I do.

Once the trucks were packed we snuck onto a couple rides before the park closed. Then Steve Allgeyer, Ike Ndolo, and I drove from Jackson, New Jersey, to Philadelphia. It was fun riding with Steve because he’s always funny and down-to-earth, but it was particularly fun getting to know Ike.

Ike moved from Missouri to Arizona four years ago after he graduated high school. I’ve gotten to know him more since he’s become the Assistant Youth Minister at my church last year. He has a big heart and likes to have a good time, so hanging out with him always thaws me out after a long day at work. He wasn’t scheduled to lead music at our event in New Jersey, but our original musician was stuck in hurricane in Texas. Since Ike lives in my neighborhood, we were able to travel every leg of the trip together from Phoenix to New Jersey and back. It’s so much more fun when you travel with a friend.

Anyway, we fell asleep at 1:30 AM shortly after we settled into the hotel by the Philadelphia airport. It was such a gross, ghetto hotel. Ike and I shared in the fear factor as we each snuggled into our beds. It was the kind of sheets that you tried not to move around much. I just laid still until I fell asleep. Four hours later, we woke up and hopped in the shuttle bus to the airport. In the last five years of traveling, I’ve never; felt rested or at peace while I was in the Philadelphia airport. Every part of that airport reminds me of the sleep-deprevation, stress, and the 1500 miles I had to cross before I could be home.

I lucked out with a first class seat, and I fell asleep about a half-hour into the flight. I woke up somewhere over New Mexico. It’s much easier to fall asleep in a big first class seat than it is packed in with strangers in the back. I spent the last half hour of the flight talking about real estate with the guy sitting next to me. He builds condos in Las Vegas.

It’s so good to be home in Arizona. Pope John Paul II would always kiss the ground every time he got out of the plane. It might be a little melodramatic for an average guy like myself, but there is an incalculable comfort that comes from having your feet on the earth. We weren’t meant to live in the sky.

But these three-day weekends are more difficult for me now than they have ever been. Candyce and I are in a serious relationship, and there’s nothing more I want to do on the weekend than spend time with her. I mean, I’ve grown up in the five years since I began traveling. My life has changed, and I am enjoying those changes.

Maybe for next year’s Inspiration Tour, we will assign speakers according to who lives closest to each tour stop. There’s no reason traveling 3500 miles round trip to do something that someone else can do just as well. Being there yesterday was hard for me, and it doesn’t have to be that way.