I just got back from Inspiration San Antonio a couple hours ago. Now I am meeting Candyce here at Einstein’s for coffee. I’ll work on my laptop and she’ll do her homework. It’ll be a pleasantly normal thing to do together. I love stuff like this!

This fall Life Teen is hosting five rallies in five states at five theme parks. We’re calling it a “tour” because people are more likely to show up if you do. If we called the event the “Traveling Six Flags Prayer Meeting”, I doubt anyone would show up. It’s not about the speakers or the musicians, but everything about God and the people who show up at the event. We spend most of the day on the rides and around the park with the teenagers. In the evening we meet in an amphitheater and go deep.

I spend so much time behind a computer running lifeteen.com, and it was exciting to get out and meet the people who come to the site every day. I know I write after every trip, but it’s different each time. More teenagers are coming to the site, so every trip gets better than the last. I mean, we did a game where we asked questions from the stage about the website, and the person who had the correct answer got a free mouse pad. I couldn’t believe how much they knew! It feels so good to know that my hard work is making a difference in their daily lives.

I saw a lot of familiar teenagers who came to LTND this summer or to one of our three camps: Covecrest, Tepeyac, and RockyVine. I picked them out because they were wearing shirt that I designed for whatever event they attended. This is special because for years, Life Teen was a youth program run by hundreds of remote churches. Now through camps, conferences, and the website, parishes are building relationships with one another. What a thrill for a high school student–to have friends all over your state!
Traveling on the Inspiration Tour is so different than what I’ve done in the past. For years, it was just me: driving to the airport, flying to the event, speaking on stage, sleeping alone in a hotel, then flying back home. Now it’s different. Mark picked me up at my house on Friday and we made it to San Antonio together. Flying is tolerable when I am with a friend.

Candyce isn’t here at the coffee shop yet. I didn’t think I’d make it through this whole journal without getting up to say hi to her. I love her so much. I want to be excited that I have next weekend off to be here in Phoenix, but I honestly can’t remember if I am here or not. Anyway…it’s a good life. Candyce is back in school and we can see each other more. This fall I’m going to be a part of three other stops on the Inspiration Tour, and I know those will be just as awesome as yesterday.