lots of big names, but our hearts were lifted HIGH {cava, moriah peters, urban rescue, rend collective}

we had quite the night out this past wednesday night.
it wasn't convenient or easy. but we bought tickets and lined up pat's parents to watch the three younger boys MONTHS ago.
i ended up having to miss rebekah's back to school nite. rebekah missed youth group. joshua missed football practice. pat's dad practically had to take a 1/2 day at work to get out to our house in time for us to leave. it was a sacrifice in lots of ways. but i fully believe that you have to fight through that sometimes...in the end it will be worth it! and IT WAS!

pat and i took rebekah, joshua and bailey out to dinner {my FAVE place right now. they've heard me RAVE about it, so i thought this would be a good time to let them see what it was all about. it's like chipotle. but with greek food. and it's AMAZING!} 

then we headed to the concert. my dad introduced me to rend collective (back when they were rend collective experiment) with "build your kingdom here"...a couple years ago. they are a Christian group from Ireland and have such a FUN, unique sound. when you listen (or watch) they are just having FUN! and i like fun :-)

so...they had a new album come out a few months ago. which i promptly bought and could sing every word to every song within days. and one day i decided to search and see if they did concerts...and might ever be close enough to see in person? listening to them makes you want to SEE it performed. well...it said they were coming to our area!! to a church! but i couldn't find out how to buy tickets. so i was the random stalker-type person that emailed the CHURCH and asked how to get tickets. they were so kind and responded to creepy-me (!) and told me the tickets weren't available yet but to watch the facebook page. THEN...when they WERE available - THEY emailed ME to let me know! amazing. long story to get to how we got there, but there you go :-) so. we bought tickets. and made it happen. i was GIDDY for days before. so so excited. i KNEW it was going to be good! but the rest of my family? i don't think they were so sure. pat is always neutral until proven otherwise. rebekah and joshua weren't sure this was better than what they were missing. and bailey was worried about being up so late.

we saw some friends there - which was FUN! AND my parents were there - super fun! (esp cause my dad is the one that introduced them to me in the first place!)

ok. ok. enough about US!

so i didn't really think about or realize the face that there were people opening up for rend until we got there. then, in all honesty, i was kinda annoyed. i just wanted to hear THEM! and there were 2 people singing before them!

well. this girl was the first one. MORIAH PETERS. she busts out on stage with the most stunning smile and spirit. i'm certain i was smiling during her ENTIRE performance. she was ADORABLE. and the most AMAZING role model for my girls to watch. her outfit? SO modest. yet FUN and CRAZY! sequined pants. fishnet shirt under a shirt that says, "BRAVE", hightop shoes, a button up shirt tied around her waist, and a winter hat that she eventually took off and gave to someone in the audience. i ADORED her.

her music? also totally surprised me. i'm usually a "chris tomlin" kinda girl. maybe with some country music thrown in if i'm feeling super happy and "free." well, she comes out ROCKING IT OUT...SUPER loud. but you could HEAR EVERY WORD and EVERY WORD was FILLED WITH TRUTH. {are you picking up on the fact that i wasn't annoyed anymore?} i just can't say enough about this girl. she oozed HIM. period.

not to mention the fact that in the 3 songs she performed, she played a dozen instruments (not exactly. but she played quite a few! she is SUPER talented!)

her message and heart were so beautiful and clear. we bought her album and have listened to it non-stop since we got it.

so then urban rescue performed. they were also really good. pat and joshua liked them a lot. i was still just in awe of moriah...

but check them out, too! they had such a heart for Him. and were super nice when the kids asked for a picture with the main singer!

and then...REND COLLECTIVE! i knew it would be good. but it.was.incredible.
a few seconds into their first song, a TON of confetti shoots into the air...i SO wish i had gotten a picture of bailey's face. it was PRICELESS. but i will NEVER forget it.

it was so so good. i'm finding it hard to find the words. so much energy. they are hysterical.

bubbles...

it's all about HIM. they believe in CELEBRATING and JOY but not in THEIR name...in HIS. and it was evident. at the end of the concert...you are left singing the last few words (all the words to all the songs were up on the wall behind them...so you could sing along! you know. if you didn't already KNOW all the words ;-)) and you look up after the last word...and they are all gone. empty stage. last note echoing and it's just YOU and HIM. they laid you at HIS feet.

if you can get to one of their concerts (they just started this tour a week ago...and they are all OVER the country between now and the end of october)...GO! you will be SO blessed!

pat, rebekah, joshua and bailey all agreed that it was amazing and worth the sacrifices we had to make to be there. what a sweet night for us to experience together!