The H and K Chronicles: The Bracelet

Holly: Warning: this is not your typical 4th of July post about cook-out food, fireworks, etc. Although I'm pretty sure I did eat my weight in horrendously unhealthy textbook "fair food", which may or may not have included cheese-smothered fries, kettle corn, and a rough half of a funnel cake and...I'll just stop now.

No, today, this 4th of July post is about this.

So this is a bracelet that bears two words on it: Respect and Honor. Part of the festivities last night included seeing for KING & COUNTRY in concert. They're a Christian rock duo from Australia, and they've only been around for a couple of years or so. I will just say that if you haven't seem them yet, you are missing out. Those Aussies sure do know how to put on a show! P.S. For any of you fans into more classic CCM music, they're the brothers of Rebecca St. James.

Anyway, they had just finished a few songs, and Joel, one of the band members, jhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhcgfv (pardon the Yoda interruption) was talking about relationships, and how they are all important to all the band members. They're all married. The point of his message was simple: ladies, do not let ANYONE treat you as second-best; we ought to be treated as the priceless jewels that we are, especially in the eyes of God. And men ought to treat women with respect and honor. All the band members wore these bracelets too, in addition to a necklace in the shape of a penny with the word "Priceless" stamped onto it. He also said that our society has ingrained women to be cheap, as cheap as a penny (that's where the necklaces come in). Towards the end Joel said "You know what, there's a special someone I'm going to give this to right now." What happened next I will never forget: He got off the stage, took off the bracelet, and handed it to me.

Yes. Me.

And that's the end of the story, guys. We stood in line and met them again. I told him I didn't have anything for him to sign, I just wanted to give him a hug and thank him. So I did.

Kelly: And of course while this was all going on last night, I was standing beside her ugly crying. Because that's what I do. I ugly cry when something awesome, really happy or sad happens. And last night was awesome. Truly. The end. Probably one of the best 4th of July holidays I've ever had. Not to mention the band MIKESCHAIR opened; let's give them some love too! Turns out I knew more of their songs than I thought. Plus they favorited one of my tweets :) While we waiting in line to meet them (again), I found myself thinking; I was supposed to be at work yesterday. But I put in a day off to see these guys again and missed getting paid time and a half, which means my regular hourly pay plus if I worked a half a day. So quite a bit. But it was totally worth it, and I'd do it again. The last few weeks at work have been incredibly stressful and emotionally draining at times, more than usual. I've been all over the place and have been struggling with fine tuning my purpose in what I'm doing there. Not thinking about leaving by any means, but let's just say I really needed last night. It's not over yet, according to one of their songs.

I really don't have much to add, but I will close with this. I don't know what's going on in your all's lives right now. But I do hope that this story encouraged you or at least made you smile. That's why we share stories like this, not only for us but for you all too. I hope you remember that in God's eyes you are precious and are more valuable than anything. It's ok to feel discouraged, frustrated, worried and pissed off, but just remember who holds the key to being redeemed from anything that is trying to tear you down. God is good all the time. And remember, there's always hope.