My hero Amy Grant- I'm a "Grant-head"

Yes, Amy Grant. Everyone knows how I am with Amy Grant and I guess it's time I let you in on my madness also. I am the biggest hugest fan of Amy Grant. I grew up listening to Amy Grant. She was the music of my childhood. I remember my first purple boombox and listening to her cassette tapes on there...I remember Aunt Carrie and I rollerskating to her in my grandmother's backyard...I remember Noni returning a cassette tape of Amy's that we gave her for her birthday because she thought it was too "rockish". We all have grown and evolved with Amy. We watched her go from a awkward teenager singing boldly about her faith with an acoustic guitar to a young woman jumping around a stage with electric guitars and a leopard-print jacket. Yikes! It's so funny to me now, but this was so hard for the Christian community to swallow back then. Amy continued to grow and she had babies and weathered the tough stuff in life- a divorce and depression- and celebrated life's sweetness with a new marriage and a new baby. Amy is approaching her 50th birthday now. I can't believe it. She is still making music and I am still one of her crazy followers. Her music is so honest and true. She can be so raw sometimes and her music tells her story. I think it tells everyone's stories though. A lot is just about life. And as I have passed through stages she has written music from, and listen to that music again- now as someone in that same stage of life- it means ever more to me. My all-time favorite album is "Behind the Eyes". This album came out right before my sophomore year of college and is so honest. It speaks of hope and it speaks of pain. I have been in stages of life where I could identify with many of these songs and I find I am in a stage again where these songs really can grasp my struggles. I wrote about "Missing You" the other day- that is on this album. So is "Takes a Little Time" which I need to remember right now. "Cry a River" is good for my welled-up soul. "Somewhere Down the Road" leads the way as songs of hope on this album. For years "Turn this World Around" was probably my "theme" song. I guess an all-time favorite. But favorites change all the time based on what I'm going through in life. She has another song called "Say" that came on a bonus album that I love also. But here are the words to your mom's "theme" song- "Turn This World Around" (later my theme turns to a different song- "Believe", but that's later in the post)

We are all the same it seems

Behind the eyes
Broken promises and dreams
In good disguise
All we're really looking for is somewhere
Safe and warm
The shelter of each other in the storm

[Chorus:]
Maybe one day
We can turn and face our fears
Maybe one day
We can reach out through our tears
After all it's really not that far
To where hope can be found
Maybe one day
We can turn this world around

Who can trace the path of time
Not you or me
The twisting road we call our lives
We cannot see
The hunger and the longing everyone of us
Knows inside
Could be the bridge between us if we try

[Chorus]

I guess that is the social worker in your mom. The optimist in me. It's a simple song, yet so true. Anyway. I love that song.

So, on August 19, 1995 your Aunt Carrie, her boyfriend at the time, and I went to an Amy Grant concert. I took a bouquet of flowers for Amy and through a series of security guards, finally the flowers made it back to Amy. This was an outdoor concert and halfway through it started storming like crazy. Bad bad thunderstorm. Part of the concert was covered. Like the stage and the good seats and all. So despite the thunder and lightning, Amy continued to play. We were in the seats at the very back- the uncovered ones. Pretty soon we were all by ourselves in the pouring down rain, but we were having such a great time standing on the seats and singing our hearts out. And then I hear...."I want to dedicate this next song to Kelly...if you've survived the rain out there!" Oh my goodness!!!! I about fell off the seat I was standing on. I ran up by the stage and was screaming "That's me! That's me!", but of course she couldn't hear me or anything. The kind security guards who had taken the flowers back to Amy remembered me and allowed me to stay up by the stage for my song before ushering me back into the rain. The song she dedicated to me was "Wise Up" which was/is one of her older songs off her "Unguarded" album. (This was her "House of Love" tour)Kind of an ironic song she dedicated to me. You'll see. But anyway, hear are the words:

Got myself in this situation
I'm not sure about
Climbing in where there's temptation
Can I get back out
I never can quite find the answer
The one I want to hear
The one that justifies my action
Says the coast is clear
something on the outside
Says to jump on in
Something on the inside
Is telling me again

[Chorus:]
Better wise up
Better think twice
Never leave room for compromise
You better wise up
Better get smart
And use your head to guard your heart
It's gonna get rough
So you better wise up

Take a look at your intentions
When you have to choose
Could it be that aprehension
Might be telling you
To back off now is better
So take your heart and run
But get your thoughts together
Before they come undone

[Chorus]

To back off now is better
So take your heart and run
But get your thoughts together
Before they come undone

[Chorus]

Better wise up...

Cool huh? THEN, October of 2005 came around. My brain-dead brain can't quite remember the exact date- but it was the 19-21stish or something around there. If I was at our house I could tell you- but anyway. I was a member of her online fan club and my name got drawn to get to meet Amy after a concert!!! Oh my goodness!!! My dream come true. I always said that someday I would get to meet her and that day was then. Being a guy, you won't apreciate how agonizing picking out the clothes for this occasion was, but any woman reading will understand. Then there was sitting through the concert. Which was AMAZING by the way!!! And then waiting to meet Amy afterwards. Your daddy waited with me patiently to be let into the room where Amy was and survived numerous brain screams as he met Amy fans that were even freakier than I am ("This is what we do!"), but finaly they let me back into the room. There she was. I couldn't contain myself. I buried my face in the shoulders of one of my new Amy-freak BFFs and let out a small scream. She was like, IN THE SAME ROOM!! Apparently while standing in the line to meet her I lost some color in my face and became weak as we got closer to Amy. Someone called for a chair and I was placed in it and told not to move- that they would bring Amy to me. (Apparently I really was going to be one of those fans that passed out!) I will never forget Amy coming over and extending her hand to me "Hey! It's so nice to meet you!" me- "Can I hug you?" Amy- "Of course! Wait! (I'm trying to get up at this point) I'll come to you." And she knelt down and gave me the biggest greatest hug ever. (I do have it captured on film somewhere). Then she helped me stand up to take some pictures, sign a few things and it was over. My glorious few moments with Amy was over- but they will live forever in my memory. Someday I hope to be able to scan the pictures to put on here. Amy had a new song then, "Believe" and that has been my favorite song ever since that time. Also my favorite word (if you haven't noticed all the "Believe" stuff all over the house and stuff!) Here are the words for "Believe" (my past five-years theme song) :

Would you think that I was crazy
If I said to you
I know a way that love can make
your wildest dreams come true
And all you have to do
Is

Believe
Miracles can happen
Just imagine
And believe
Open up your heart
The journey starts
When you believe

When you had enough
And givin' up has all but got you down
You sure could stand a helpin' hand
Get your feet back on the ground
Turn your world around
And

Believe
Miracles can happen
Just imagine
And believe
Open up your heart
The journey starts
When you believe

When your pride is tryin' to tell you
To do it by yourself
And you're running out of answers
And you need a little help

Believe
Miracles can happen
Just imagine
And believe
Open up your heart
The journey starts
When you believe

(If only you)
Just believe