Welcome to Chelsie's Posterous..

So, tonight I was just thinking about what I thought the perfect Third Day setlist would consist of! But of course if I had my way.. Third Day would play to no end! Maybe every song they've ever written.. then some covers.. some talking. Yeah, that'd be perfect! But.. I figured that would never happen! Maybe only in my hopeful dreams. But right now Third Day is on the WinterJam '10 tour with a bunch of great artists including Revive, Tenth Avenue North, Fireflight, Newsboys, Newsong, Sidewalk Prophets, Robert Pierre, and guest speaker Tony Nolan.. so Third Day gets an unusual set time! ONLY 45 MINUTES!!!!! WHA?!?!?!?! NOOOOOOOOO!!! A 90 minutes set isn't even enough time to get my Third Day fix! But, I guess some is better then none, right? Speaking of WinterJam.. I am going to write a separate blog about that in the coming days. But, any who, Third Day's short setlist during WinterJam seems to vary different nights, but not really! The main setlist (via Mark Lee; Third Day Blog) consists of Otherside, RockStar, Tunnel, God of Wonders, Carry My Cross/Thief, You Are So Good To Me, Your Love Oh Lord, Cry Out To Jesus, Call My Name, I Gotta Feelin', and Revelation. Pretty wonderful setlist, but too short! So, with that said.. their usual 90 minute set is much better and usually consists of around 15 songs and then an encore with around 3 songs!

Hey Poster-peeps! It's been FOREVER, or so it seems, since I've posted a new blog! Just thought I'd update ya on some stuff. 

Christmas was FREAKINOMINAL (as a wise man I like to call Mac Powell once said)! Hope yours was, too! Did you get everything you wanted? I got everything and more! My favorite surprise was Mac and Tai guitar picks from the Louisville, KY. concert October 17th. I cried.. seriously!

New Years was great! I rang in the New Year at home. Didn't even watch the ball drop! Just watched the calendar on my laptop change from 2009 to 2010 and watched Robert Pattinson on Letterman!

Soooooo... 2010's said to be great! I know that it's got some great things in store for me! First off, Jessica and Caleb are expecting their first baby March 13th. With that said, my mom and myself are throwing my sister a baby shower February 6th.

Then there comes WinterJam!!! WOOHOO!!!!!! I talked my mom into going into at least one! She was talking about going to three, but I'll be lucky if I can go to two. We bought VIP tickets to the Louisville concert and we're considering buying VIP for Fort Wayne, IN. It'll be something to experience Third Day in the same venue again! It'll bring back memories, fo sho! And hopefully make some new mems. 

Last night I had a dream that my mom, sister, and I were at a Third Day concert and the song was Consuming Fire. During the instrumental solo, I noticed Mac looking at me strangely, then realized that he was trying to see who I was with. The he says, "HEY CHELSIE!!!" Through the microphone and waves. People stared, all I could do was wave and say, "Hey Mac!" Then he smiled, winked, and waved again. And the guys winked at me. People just kept staring at me as the night went on. Then later on, the guys played "When The Rain Comes" and Mac said to, "grab somebody you love and sing to them" and the next thing I knew, Mac was being escorted to my side with security guards and he dragged me up to the stage. All I could do was cry and smile from eye to eye. He saw me crying and he started crying and he hugged me. Then once the song was over he and the security guards took me back to my seat. Then I woke up and my pillow was wet.. crying in my sleep I tend to do that a lot! I smiled and cried happy tears!

Soooooooo... anyone got any plans for oh -ten?

My Top Eleven Songs of '09..

#11. Meet Me On The Equinox- Death Cab For Cutie

#10. More Beautiful You- Johnny Diaz

#9. Your Love Is A Song- Switchfoot

#8. Summer Sky- New Empire

#7. You Know- Revive (ft. Mac Powell)

#6. Lovesick- Tenth Avenue North

#5. Agnus Dei/ Worthy- Third Day

#4. Diamonds Without A Name- Jeremy Fowler

#3. I Don't Know- Third Day

#2. Offering- Third Day

#1. Revelation- Third Day

Top 6 Videos of '09..

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#1. 

**BONUS VIDEO**

Top ten pictures of '09..

#10.  (Mac Twittering during ONE Q&A) (Pic from Brianne!)

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#1.

Louisville, KY, October 17, Freedom Hall; One of the best nights of my life and the BEST Third Day concert I’ve been to by far! It was quite amazingly awesome. The hours leading up to the concert are always slow and dreaded. But the dreaded hours are always worth getting through. So, my sister and I had a two hour drive ahead of us. It was absolutely freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezing outside! My Northface wasn’t enough to keep the shivering and teeth chattering away. My hands were frozen solid! But once we got to the venue my sister and I had no idea where I had to go to get my Wired wristband. So, we went to Will Call (which is actually where we were supposed to go) but the people there had no idea about the M&G… NICE!!! So, we went to go wait in the line that was forming by the doors. And then Mike came to the rescue and told us that Brian was taking the wristbands to Will Call and we could go get them…. at 6:00. What, wha… WHA?!?!?! So, I headed over to Will Call while my sister kept my spot in line and got in line there. They wouldn’t give us our wristbands until 6:00 and here it was around 5:30 and we were standing in the freezing cold! And then I found Brianne in line, too! WOOHOO!!! Brianne is one of my greatest Gomer buddies ever! So, we talked for awhile and then they FINALLY told us that they didn’t have the wristbands! But, but… Mike gave them the wristbands. Oh boy, what a mess! So, we went back and I told my sister all of this and then most of us Wired members went over to this other door where they were letting people in. They had purple wristbands and the security guard had a handful of these wristbands. We asked him what was going on, but he had no idea either! So, we stood there, and stood there until about 20 minutes later some people come to set up a table so us Wired members could sign in and get our wristbands. THANK GOODNESS!!!!!! At this point I felt like a glacier, but the freezing and waiting was all worth it. I just felt sorry for my sister because she waited outside until they let her go in to sit in the venue! Finally, Brianne, John, and I finally got inside, got signed in, and got our wristbands. Then we all went up to the Wired lounge together. It turns out that the purple wristbands were the VIP people, BUT WAIT A MINUTE! They didn’t even sell VIP tickets on Ticketmaster! What in the world was going on here?! Then I got to thinking and a local radio station was hosting this concert and I bet that they held contests and sold tickets for their listeners. So, those people got to sit in the sections in front of Mac and Tai. THAT’S why they only sold Mark’s section to us who bought through Ticketmaster! Well, that stinks! But, any who, we got up to the Wired lounge and we all gathered in a circle. We stood there for at least 30 minutes before the guys came in. They sat at a little table and started signing autographs. I owe a HUGE thanks to John and Brianne for letting me tag along with them during the waiting and all that stuff. I didn’t have much for the guys to sign! We couldn’t go to the merchandise table before the M&G which meant I had nothing! So, I decided to have them sign my concert ticket and I had my Glory Revealed II CD for Mac to sign. I figured that I better have them sign it on the back.. just in case! But, then, the guy who was helping this all go smoothly said, “Why don’t we have them sign the front so that everyone can see!” So, he put it down on the table for it to go through the whole line. David was first and somehow he didn’t remember me! WHA?!?!?! But it wasn’t just 2-3 months ago that he called me by my full name! He asked me if I had ever seen them live in concert and I said yeah, four times! And then he said, “You’re gonna LOVE it tonight! We have some great surprises in store for you tonight. So we talked some more and then Tai was next. He remembered me. He asked me how I was doing and we talked a bit and he told me that we could talk some more during face time. Now.. here comes a HUGE highlight from the night, Mac! So, I walked up to him and he took my hand in both of his and said, “Hey! How are you doing today?” And we talked for awhile then he says, “I like your hair like that! I absolutely LOVE it down!” I was in shock, most definitely. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing! So, I told him thanks and then he asked me, “Are your teeth all right? Are they okay?” Oh wow!!!!! There was no way! Well, if you haven’t heard already I had chipped my tooth back in the fifth grade and I got it fixed then it fell out again in the seventh grade, got it fixed again, fell out again about a week before the concert, then two days after I got it fixed it fell out again! I guess that I had Twittered about it and I must’ve put something like, “I hope I get my tooth fixed before I see @macpowell and the guys.” So, that must be where he heard about it. Wow! How embarrassing?! So, I told him that they were great and shot him a big smile to show! I had him sign my GR2 CD and I figured that he would just hand it back to me and he just handed it to Mark! Hahahahahaha, that wasn’t supposed to happen! So, now I have Mac and Mark’s signatures on my GR2 CD! So, Mark was next and we talked for awhile and he remembered me, too! Then once Mark and I were done talking I stepped aside. Brianne and John were right behind me and we stepped back and made a line to get ready for our Wired picture with the guys. So, once they were done signing autographs and stuff they all got in front of the Wired back drop and got ready. Brianne, John, and I were the first ones in line. Brianne and John went up first. Their picture turned out great! Then it was my turn. WOOHOO!!! So, I started going up there, but Mike shot a picture of the guys. So, I jumped back pretty fast. After a few seconds I went up there and as I was walking up Mac opened up a little space between him and David and pointed at that little space for me to get into. (If you watch this video you can see this moment at 1:23! ) After I got up there and Mac had his arm around me he told me, “I just now saw what you’re wearing! I love your shirt! LOVE the plaid!” ANOTHER compliment! Another huge highlight of my night. I told him thanks and told him that I liked his plaid, too! And we talked for a bit then Mike snapped the picture. It has to be one of the greatest Wired pictures. Especially that night. After I got out of the arms of Mac and David I headed over to Brianne and John probably with the biggest grin on my face. And then I started looking through the line of people and saw that some of the VIP people were cheating and pretending they were Wired so that they could stay up in our Wired lounge and get a picture with the guys. For some reason this really bugged me! But after the guys got done with pictures the biggest bummer ever happened, Mac left!!!!! Awwwwwww man!!! I was sooooooo bummed! He had to go get ready to get on stage with Glory Revealed. So, I didn’t get much time with him. So, Mac left and the guys veered off into different directions so fans could approach them and talk. David went to get some more coffee, Tai went to help set some speakers up (at the time the speakers didn’t make since to me, but I later found out what they were for and you will find out soon, too!), and Mark just went to a little spot. Then I guess someone called David. So, he went off to the little deserted area of the room and talked on his phone. Brianne, John, and I went up to Tai first. He was still setting up the speakers and stuff. Brianne went to him and asked if she could get a picture with him. They took their picture and then Brianne asked me if I wanted a picture with Tai. Of course I did, but he wouldn’t stop moving around. I don’t like interrupting people and everything, but people just kept going up to him. So, Tai finally saw me and came over. He said something along the lines of, “You don’t have to wait until I see you to come talk to me!” And so we talked for a bit and took the picture and I let Tai get back to what he was doing. Then, we went to Mark. Brianne went first and got her picture. Then Mark waved me forward. I went up to him and he said, “I LOVE your boots! They’re awesome! Very rad!” WOW!!!! I was, once again, in awe. We talked a little more and took the picture. Then, I started to walk away and Brianne says, “Chelsie, I think he was trying to give you a high-five!” I said, “Who?” and Brianne said, “Mark!” and at the exact same time that she said Mark, Mark said, “Me!!” So, I whirled around and said, “Whoops! Sorry, Mark!” And Mark says, “Yeah! Thanks for dissing me! You just left me hangin’!” So, I gave him a high-five, quite hardly. I was so embarrassed! One of the greatest guitarists in the world was trying to give me a high-five and I just walked away! So, we talked for a few more minutes and then we went on to David. Brianne got her picture with David and then it was my turn. And David said, “Hey! Could you tell me your name one more time!? I tried to store it into my memory banks, but it didn’t stick.” I couldn’t believe it! About 3 months ago he had called me Chelsie Lynn Gratzer and now he couldn’t even remember my first name! I think my Gomer shirt at the concert in Ohio was probably what gave him the big sign of who I was. So, I told him and he said, “Oh yeah! That’s right! Sorry!” And we talked a little longer and then he asked me if he could hold his coffee in our picture. Of course I didn’t care. So, after we got done talking and stuff Brianne, John, and I went down stairs and John had his ONE shirt on and the people at the ONE table saw him and told us about the ONE Q&A session after the concert. I was already signed up for ONE, but I decided that I would put my name and my sisters name down so we could go to the thing afterwards. They gave us our wristbands so we could go and we headed off to the concert area. As we went down to our seats on the floor area Mac and David Nasser started to take stage. At this point my sister was starting to worry. She even sent my brother in-law a picture of Mac on stage and said that I was nowhere to be found. But I gave the Usher my ticket so he could show me where my seat was and when he saw the signatures on the ticket he went, “WHOAH!!” I had to laugh. So, I got to my seat and they had a Glory Revealed video playing that I’d already seen. So, I filled my sister in on the whole M&G and she couldn’t believe everything. Glory Revealed was awesome! Mac spotted me first thing. But I was really wanting for Matt Maher to do “Alive Again”. I absolutely love that song! (That’s saying something because I’m a Third Day and Revive kinda girl!) But, beside that, Glory Revealed really did do great! I didn’t get very many pictures of GR, but I did get about 10-20 of them. That’s NOTHING compared to the pictures I took of Third Day! I think I took more than 200 of Third Day! Mac was with Glory Revealed, which, more Mac time is always great. But to have Mac on stage took away from my face time with him during the M&G which was very disappointing! I think he tried making up for the missing face time during the M&G because he did talk a lot with the time we had. But, back to the concert, Glory Revealed was awesome! I was so excited to see them live because I couldn’t make it to a show on the tour because the closest it came to me was about 7 hours away in Marion, Illinois and it was on a Thursday so I had school. At one point in time, Terry and I had plans to go to that concert, but that fell through! But, any who, after Glory Revealed got done with their set I went out to the merchandise table and got my moneys worth! I had my mind made up on what shirt I was going to get, but there were too many new and awesome ones I had forgotten all about that other one. I was stuck! I couldn’t decide which shirt I was going to buy! Then I had it down to three and my time came to order, so I just had to do eeny-meeny-miney-mo and get on with the show. So, I picked the Give Love shirt. LOVE that shirt! And I got some drum sticks! They’re SOOOOOOO awesome! So, my sister and I went back to our seats. While we were in line at the merch table, my sister’s stomach started hurting her. (If you don’t know already, Jessica is pregnant!) She said that the almonds that she had bought hadn’t exactly agreed with the baby. Just then I remembered that we hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast and my stomach started growling. But I knew I couldn’t eat anything because I never can anywhere near a Third Day concert. I could barely eat breakfast! I guess the nerves and the excitement just over powers the hunger! So, we got to our seats and I gave her a Tums. After a few minutes, the music starts. I already knew that they started out with “I Got A Feelin’” by the Black Eyed Peas because I had listened to the beginning of a few concerts from the tour and I was practically jumping up and down in my seat! I was soooooo excited! Then they started to appear behind the white curtain! (BTW- the white curtain was an AWESOME idea!) Then Mac started to sing a few lines from Revelation to a bit of a rock beat. I LOVED that! After he did that the white curtain came down, it was sooooooo cool! They opened with “Otherside”, it was awesome. Mark’s steel/slide guitar-ness was amazing! Second song was “Come On Back to Me”! I was sooooo pumped that they added this to the setlist. They rocked that song! I loved the little moves they did during that song. The next song was “Sing A Song” which was great! I have to admit, I was a little surprised by the setlist. I wasn’t expecting some of these songs to make it on and I was shocked to see some of the songs come off. Like, “I Will Always Be True” and “This Is Who I Am”! After “Sing A Song” was “Slow Down” I absolutely LOVED this one because David came up closer to the other guys and played there. It was great! I loved how Mac introduced the guys before they started doing the song and then after he got done introducing himself he said, “I think right about now… I’m ready to rock it!” It just made me laugh! After they rocked “Slow Down” they played “Born Again” and brought Laura Story out to sing Lacey Mosely’s part on the CD. She did a fantastic job. Next was “Carry My Cross” and “Thief”. It was AMAZING they added some of “Carry My Cross” before they played “Thief” it was truly amazing! I cried. I think that was probably my favorite part of the concert. My sister cried during “Thief” she always does. The next few songs were acoustic and about 6 rows behind us. So, we turned around. We got a pretty good view except for the occasional head in the way. They played “I’ve Always Loved You” and people started telling them that it was their birthday and two of the people got to pick a song and they picked, “These Thousand Hills” and “Show Me Your Glory”. Then we did this whole reciting thing for ONE and Mac was saying it all through his microphone which made me giggle a lot. You should definitely check it out on the Wired radio if you’re Wired. It was great! After the ONE “Stand Up Against Poverty” thing they played “Blessed Assurance” (Which I think was my idea because a little while ago they asked on their FB page that if they were to get rid of “Rockstar” or “God of Wonders” which would we rather rid of and I threw out the idea that if they were to get rid of God of Wonders that they could replace it with Blessed Assurance. So, I think it was partially my idea!) After they did some of “Blessed Assurance”, Mac did a little talking and then they went on to the chorus of “Cry Out To Jesus”. During COTJ Tai, Mark, and David went back to the stage (my sister got a shot of Tai going to the stage). After COTJ Mac started the next song with “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6..” and the others started playing “Consuming Fire” from the stage while Mac, literally, ran to the stage. (We also got a shot of him running to the stage like we did with Tai!) After “Consuming Fire” they played “Run To You” and had Bethany Olds come out to sing the female part. Then they played “God Of Wonders” and added a little fiddle by Bethany Olds. It was VERY pretty! They brought Trevor Morgan out to sing the second part and Bethany sang some BGV’s. Next they played “Call My Name”. I loooooooove this song! It was great. Then they played “I Got A Feelin’” which always rocks and I love their little dances here, too! Mac has such fancy footwork! It makes me laugh! AND THEN came the greatest version of a very hard song that’s on Guitar Hero III. Remember the part where you have to beat the Devil. Well, any who, Third Day brought Glory Revealed out to do “Devil Went Down To Georgia”! It was AMAZING!!!! That song’s impossible on Guitar Hero and it has to be even harder to actually PLAY! It was seriously probably the greatest version of that song ever! It was awesome. They were all chasing each other around the stage! It was a crazy site to see. I wonder if Mac spits a lot during that song because it’s a mouthful! But then you can always tell that it’s people’s first Third Day concert because there’re always a few people who leave when they get off the stage before the encore. They get halfway out of the place and realize, “Oh! They’re doing an encore!” and run back to their seats! The encore started with “Tunnel”. It was amazing! Probably the best version of “Tunnel” I’ve witnessed. Then they played some of “Agnus Dei”. During this song is when Mac did his talking and praying. And during his talk he said how it’s a privilege to get emails from fans and to talk with some of us before the concert. When he said that he looked at me and smiled! My sister was like, “I think he’s thinking about you!” After all the praying and talking and singing, they played “Revelation” and that was the end of the concert. After they got done playing Revelation, they all came to the front of the stage and waved to the audience. I was playing around with something and my sister nudges me and says, “LOOK AT MAC!!!” I look up just in time to see him giving me the thumbs up and smiling at me. My sister couldn’t get my camera to turn on in time. I know now you’re thinking “WOOHOO!!! It’s over!” But *makes buzzer noise* you’re WRONG!! Remember how I told you that Tai was setting up those speakers in the Wired lounge? Well, here’s where they come in play! The guys in Third Day and ONE held a Q&A session after the concert! So, my sister and I made our way up there. I got us both a hot chocolate and waited for the guys to get in the room. Once they came in.. Mac spotted me right off the bat and smiled at me. They sat down and started talking about some stuff. I think that Mac might’ve made the connection that Jessica was my sister by now and he kept looking, smiling, and winking at me. Then, Mac gets out of his chair with his iPhone in hand and takes a picture of the crowd. Then he turned to my side of the room and pointed his phone to me and took a picture! I about had a cow! I was hoping that he wouldn’t put my side of the room’s picture up on Twitter. He actually didn’t put my side’s picture up. But he DID put the other picture up! Mac is a Twittering machine! So, they answered some questions and talked a bit and I could tell that Mac wanted to come talk to me, but their manager was making them hurry up and finish up. So, they didn’t get to mingle. My sister told me that she was about to ask Mac what his favorite color of plaid is. If she did… I would’ve died right then and there. So, the ONE thing was very amazing! After everything was said and done, my sister and I left. This concert was the best concert I’ve been to! Mac said that our crowd was probably the best crowd of the tour! That made me feel quite special. Well, I hope you have enjoyed my 4,000 some odd word blog of the night. I put up a lot of the pictures from the night on my Facebook. So, go check them out and leave some comments! Thanks for reading and God Bless! (Keep in mind that my blogs don’t do the night justice! So, if you want to know more just ask and I’m sure Mark wrote a blog about it somewhere. Go look at his point of view from the night!)

http://www.one.org/blog/2009/10/21/standing-up-with-third-day/ Go here to get a bit of a recap from the night.

Don't forget to watch the video! (If you look close enough at Mac you can tell that he opened up a little space and pointed to where he wanted me to stand before he outstretched his arm around me! And then you can also see me almost trip and fall into Mac!)

Make sure you look and comment my pictures on FB!

August 29^th; One of the best nights EVER!! So, the day leading up to my fourth Revive concert went really slowly. But finally the time came for us to head up to Mooresville. Once we got there I saw the Tic-Tac and had to laugh, every time I see it I have to laugh.. every time, never fails. We went inside and the first person I saw was Rich! He was walking up the stairs from the basement where their dressing room was to go into the concert area for something. Then Ty came up the stairs and went in the same area Rich had. Then when Ty was getting ready to go back downstairs he spotted me and started waving and talking to me. So, I went up to him and we talked for awhile until his phone started ringing. After we talked I bought some merchandise and we went to find a good seat. At first every seat in the first row was filled and then someone moved. WOOHOO!! Then Rich came in and started talking to someone and he spotted me while they were talking and started waving at me. About a minute later he came over to talk to me. He saw that I made a sign and asked if he could see it or if it was a surprise. So, I let him see it and, sadly, he said that Promise of Tomorrow wasn’t on the set list, but he’d talk to the band about it. And we talked for a little while longer then he had to go get ready. I’m not for sure if he talked to the guys about Promise, but they didn’t play it. OH WELL! After what seemed like forever the guys came out and put on a rock show. All of the guys kinda flirted (by flirting I mean.. looking at me and smiling, etc.) with me. Ty always does and Rich and Dave did a lot, too! During “Don’t Look Anywhere Else” they did this part where they wanted us to shake the person beside us’ hands and I didn’t know anyone surrounding me. And Rich was right in front of me and he kept telling me to shake this dude’s hand. For the record, I didn’t do it, but he kept trying and trying to get me to do it. They played a few songs I hadn’t heard before. Hard to believe, huh? But Rich said that they wrote one of the songs back in Australia about a girl named Melissa that he’d met there. The story was very touching. Melissa felt so alone and was pretty determined that there was no God. Her parents had split up, she lived in rough conditions, her sister had run away from home because she couldn’t take it any longer, Melissa practically had no friends, the only thing she had left was her boyfriend which she had just found out he was cheating on her at this thing. She had never felt so alone and she was determined that there was no God because if there is… then where is he? Was she forgotten? And Rich said it was just a really hard time. He didn’t know what to say to her. I think he might’ve told her that it’s actually proof that there is a God. He said that he couldn’t stop thinking about Melissa. He talked to his family about her and prayed for her. He prayed to God and asked if some people in the world actually are forgotten. Then, one morning he came across a Bible verse which explained it pretty well. So, the first verse of the song was about the passage in the Bible and the second is about Melissa. It was a very touching song. I had tears streaming down my cheeks. The song was very amazing. I wish I would’ve recorded it. Then the other song that I hadn’t heard was great! I was wondering if it was, like, a fresh song that they’d just written in Nashville. Almost like a shiny new toy, I was in awe! I think it might’ve been called; “All I Want Is You”. Or that’s what it seemed to be called. I recorded bits and pieces of that song. And, again, I wish I would’ve gotten it all! Revive put on a rocking show. It was probably one of the most memorable Revive concerts! Probably number two on the list for sure! The “after-the-concert” part was my favorite. I wouldn’t quite call it a meet and greet because I’ve already met them and I didn’t have to fight the people who are meeting them for the first time. I stayed waaaaaaay over that! So, we sat in the hallway while the newbie’s were soaking in their short time with the guys. The first person I approached was Rich. We had an amazing conversation! He asked how the “meeting that boy at the monkey bars” (a totally different story) is going. I couldn’t stop laughing and he looked as serious as could be. He was like, “Well?” He was dead serious!  He seemed to have thought that my Sunday school teacher, Kurt, and his wife were my “folks”. So, I told him who they were and he wanted to go talk to them.  So, we went to join them. And I got my picture with Rich. I was about to FREAK OUT when I looked around after talking to Rich and didn’t see Ty, Dave, or Mike! Just about everyone had cleared out except for maybe about 15 people aside from my clan. Luckily… we looked in the concert area and Dave and Mike were there, but no Ty! At this point I was about to cry because I knew that it would be my last time seeing Ty. But we were just walking around until I just happened to look at the door and Ty walks in. I felt sooooooo much better when I saw him. And he started coming up to me and talking as he approached until someone had come up to him. So, I told him that I’d catch him when he was less cluttered by people. I decided to go to Dave first because he had less people with him and as I approached him the person who was there left! WOOHOO!!! Dave remembered me VERY well… as did everyone else. Dave asked me how I’ve been doing and I say how I am and I ask him how he’s been and he says he’s been awesome. We talked about the new record and he said that it’s going to be awesome. Something he said that made me smile was when we were talking about Ty. Well, when Rich and I were talking he said, “You know that tonight’s one of Ty’s last concerts?!” And then when Dave and I were talking he said, “Yeah, tonight was one of Ty’s last night’s with us!” I told Dave that I was really going to miss him and he said, “Yeah, we’re looking for a new guitarist. Of course no one could ever replace Ty.” And he said some more on the topic of Ty. But I told him how happy I was for Ty and he said, “Yeah, whatever makes Ty happy makes me happy!” And I said, “Yep! As long as Ty’s happy..” And we talked some more and he promised me that they would be back to see me. And then I went to go see Ty. I was quite nervous! Because I knew that tonight would be my last night seeing him. And I HAD to make it a memorable time. So, I talked to him for a long time. I made sure that he knew that I was very happy for him. And we talked about his plans. And he said that he needs to spend time with his wife and that I won’t completely understand until I‘m married and I totally agree with him. So, we talked about all the good times we’ve had together and I made sure he knew that I was happy for him and that I would really miss him! So, we talked for a long time and it felt good to talk to him. I did shed a tear or two. But I don’t think he saw them.. or did he? Oh boy! I had the note I wrote him in my pocket, but I forgot about it. I told him that I would miss him terribly and he said, “I’m sure we’ll keep in touch on the Revivers! But I will miss you, too! You’ve been so good to me. You’ve made the Revive journey the best thing that may ever happen to me, but God is in control and this is His calling for me!” And we talked for much longer. And then I got my picture with Ty. Our picture didn’t turn out very well because he insisted we stand in the red light and I’m sure you all know that red lights at concerts look cool in person, but make a picture look terrible! Well, as you can imagine, we were pretty much glooooooowing! After Ty and I got done talking and taking pictures I went to find Dave again because I had forgotten to get my picture with him. So, when we were getting our picture taken Dave decides to say, “This *points to me* dude, or I guess lady, is our #1 fan!” This made me smile! I felt very special! I think I’m going to teach him the word “dudette”. He sure did use the word “dude” a lot. I can’t count how many times he called me dude. He signed my poster with, “You rock dude!” HAHA!! So, I got the picture and we talked for a bit after and I went to go wait on Mike because he was packing up his drums and I hadn’t talked to him once. So, I stood at the stage waiting for him to look up and see me. Then- all of the guys gathered together for group photos and Mike saw me and gave me a smile and a peace sign! J I stood there watching people get their pictures taken and then I see all of them look at me it seemed as if they were talking in a low voice, and Dave yells out distracting me from noticing they were talking while looking at me, “CHELSIE!! Come up here and get a picture with us!!”  I went up there and got in place between Rich and Dave. Rich kept whispering to me, “Did you give Ty one last hug?” and Dave seemed to be talking to Ty in a whisper while Rich was talking to me. And I said, “I gave him a few hugs before!” And Rich says, “Well, I think that you should give him one last hug! It’d make him feel good!” And after we were done posing for the cameras, Ty started to approach me and he pretended like he was going to shake my hand and I put my hand the way you would if you were going to shake hands with someone and my hand automatically went up like we were shaking hands, but he put an object in my hand and it fell to the floor. I looked down and guess what it was! A GUITAR PICK!!! I couldn’t believe my eyes! Everyone laughed… I’m sure it was because of the expression on my face and how red it was. Ty looked at me, laughed, and smiled really big. I just HAD to give him a hug and this time I didn’t feel like I needed to ask him for a hug! He actually opened his arms up to me first! It made me feel really special. So, I’m thinking they had this planned out. WAIT- I seem to recall a time when Ty went over to his guitar case when Dave called me up to the stage for the picture.  Ahhhhh… he must’ve gotten the pick at that time! HAHAHAHAHA!!! That just occurred to me as I’m writing this. Too, tooooooooo funny! But that was the most amazing moment ever. I couldn’t stop telling him thanks! But anywho, when we hugged all of the guys went, “Awwwwwwww,” which made me blush even more. I got the same look from every on-looker watching us, a look of disbelief. I could tell what every single person was thinking, “NO WAY!! How, wait, wha… what just happened?! I’m missing something HUGE here!” Yeah, I couldn’t believe it myself. The people who were with me were pretty surprised themselves! But, anyways, if I were to type out the whole night it’d take forever, BUT the nights not over yet! I still have to get to Mike! So, I got off the stage and could feel a lot of eyes on me, some from the stage and the rest from the audience who had just witnessed one of the best moments of my life. I did not look up. So, once the guys were done taking group pictures with whoever wanted it, they all started packing again. Still haven’t talked to Mike… and I really didn’t want to interrupt him in his packing state. But Emily dragged me along to go up there. I kept trying to pull back. I thought it would’ve been taken as rude for doing this and that’s the LAST thing I wanted to come off as. So, we stood there and I guess Emily’s game plan was to just stand there until he looked up at us. I kind of stood in the background and talked to Rich while she was talking to Mike. I wanted at least a moment with Rich alone. So, I started the conversation by commenting on his obviously boring, packing job by saying, “That looks like loads of fun, Rich!” He was winding a cord up and he looked up at me and said, “Oh, you know it! It’s the best part about being in a band! HAHA!!” And we talked for a little bit after that until Mike came up to me. The FIRST thing he said to me.. “That looks like something Mac Powell would wear! Is that why you got it?!” I started laughing and said, “No, plaid’s coming back!” And he said, “All because of Mac!” And I said, “Yeah, I like to think that Mac brought plaid back!” Which I really am convinced that Mac brought it back. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t see someone wearing plaid and Mac’s face pops into my head and I have to laugh. It’s like there are millions of Mac’s everywhere! But Mike and I talked for awhile and when he got to signing my stuff.. he took the poster and said, “How many of these do you HAVE?!” I told him, “Two of the white ones and two of the blue ones!” …and very proud of it! And Mike replies, “You see, I don’t even have four posters of my favorite band!” Mike, you should see my walls. They are like a sea of pictures from concerts I’ve been to and signed posters of Third Day and Revive. Mike turns to the guy who’s helping him pack his drums and says, “This is the real fan!” Which I take that as what Dave had said earlier about me being their #1 fan. I like that idea! You have no clue. So, we talked for awhile and once we were done talking I let him get back to his business and I kind of just stood around and talked to the guys as they started making conversation while they were packing up their gear. And it was almost time to leave. There were sobs building in my chest because I couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that this night was going to be my last night with Ty. A few sobs actually escaped from my expanding chest full of sobs, sobs that I was trying not to let escape. I gave Ty one last, big hug and hoped that he couldn’t feel the major climb that my poor little hearts beats had taken. A few tears had escaped from the pool forming from my tear ducts and I wiped them as soon as I realized they had escaped. I tried not to let him see it, but I can’t guarantee he hadn’t. So, we talked for a little bit until we started walking towards the door. And Dave says, “Anyone who wants to help us load up.. go to the stage!” I hesitated, but my clan dragged me along. I yelled out a goodbye to Dave and he said goodbye and said that he truly did promise they’d be back to see me. I risked one last glance towards Ty and regretted it instantly. The pools that had been forming now became streams. I feel as if I have actually gotten so close to the guys that we were siblings. It feels like my brother is leaving and the worse thing about that is that I don’t know if I’ll ever see him again.  In that last moment, it felt as if there was no one in there but me and him. I stopped dead in my tracks and just let a few sobs escape. I wouldn’t be able to hold them back much longer.  I seriously felt like I was saying goodbye forever to my closest brother! I felt horrible. And I really wanted to help, but I knew that we had a two hour drive back home. We were going to get back at midnight as it was. So, I told the guys bye one last time and couldn’t break my eyes from Ty. And right before I went out the door I hollered to Dave that I would be looking forward to seeing them again very soon and said bye. I looked to Ty one last time and he saw me and waved goodbye with some emotion. Every time he told me goodbye I’d flinch. I was very sensitive to that word that night. But once I got out of the building the sobs started coming out more than I would’ve liked, but leaving them, leaving Ty, really broke me. It left a hole in my chest. It’s like when Edward leaves Bella in the book New Moon. But I’m quite sure that my hole is not that big, but it’s still a hole. No words can explain the emotion I felt. When we went outside I looked at the Tic-Tac and tried to compose myself, that didn’t work too entirely well. So, we got in the car and I sobbed quietly to myself. A few sobs might’ve slipped out every now and then. I tried to save the worst ones for when I was alone, no one to be worried about me. But we went to Steak’n Shake to eat. EVERY SONG they played on the radio during our time there reminded me of Ty or the guys. That sure didn’t help much. But the ride home was a little better. I flipped through the pictures I had taken and edited some and deleted some of the ones that looked horrible. When I got to the picture of my and Ty, the stream of tears came back. I tried to wipe them from my cheeks as soon as they started coming, but I knew a few had escaped. So, I figured since the tears were already coming down, I decided to do a playback of the night. It had to have been one of the best nights in the history of man-kind. You just would’ve had to have been there. It was quite amazing and I will never forget it. Thanks, guys, you rock! Ty- I will miss you tons and I wish you and Steph a long and happy life. Maybe if I ever visit Aussie, you can give me a tour of your hometown. Can’t wait to hear from you! P.S. I’m still waiting for you to add me on Facebook.. that goes for each and every one of you guys! Except for Mike, he’s awesome and already added me! ;) Well, I can’t wait to see you guys again. Thanks, again, for making this night one of the best of my life!

Sorry for all the dramatic parts in it, but I have some editing to do to this. I've just promised the guys and a few other people this blog for the past few weeks. Sorry for the delay! Once I get it all edited, I will put up on the Revivers and send it to the guys. :)

Sooooo... I know it's been a few weeks since SpiritSong, but my memories are carved in my brain forever! So, I am finally writing this blog that I've promised so many of you I'd write. Let’s just say that I had THE BEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE at SpiritSong. Sooo.. you are about to dive into my point of view from the night.

July 10, 2009; the BEST day and night of my life!

All of the not so fun stuff before the Meet and Greet- So, the day started off with awaking at 7:30 am at my sister’s house.  We had a long haul ahead of us. We stopped along the way to take a peek at my brother in-law’s brother, Josh’s, girlfriends house. All I can say is “WOW!!” Her house was like a mini castle! They have two ponds, and two swimming pools just on the OUTSIDE of their house. It could be split into 2 or 3 mansion sizes! I would LOVE to live there. But when we finally got to Kings Island the first ride we rode was the Top Gun ride. I think we got to KI at about 12:00!? Not sure though.  But anywho! We rode a few rides and then we had a late lunch and I wasn’t very hungry. I had a few chicken nuggets, a few fries, and a Sprite. Luckily, we ate in an air conditioned all you can eat buffet. It was BURNING UP outside! Then my sister and I went to find out when the Wired M&G was, but the people at the gate had no idea about it. So, she made a few calls and she gave someone our number so that they could call us when they found something out. So, my sister and I went to sit down and she was upset with me. But when the gates opened we went to see if Mike was over there and thank goodness he was! He gave me the info and told me to come back in a few hours to get my badge. So, we went to go find Caleb and his brother. We walked around a bit and rode some more rides and then it started POURING! So much for my straight hair! So, we sat under a tree until it let up a bit. After it finally had we walked around a bit and then me and Jess decided to go back and see if Mike had my badge yet. We get there and he still doesn’t have them. So, we met up with Cale and Josh and we went on the Eiffel tower. We could see the amphitheatre from there! Then the boys decided that they wanted to ride the bumper cars. And after they did that they wanted to go to the arcade and play a few games. And while they did that I stood around for a bit then decided to go out and sit around.  And then.. I heard THUNDER! Could anything else go wrong? And then a weather alert came on. But I couldn’t hear what they were saying because one of those gaming people kept talking. So, I ran in there to tell my sister and she couldn’t believe it. And then.. it started lightning and drizzling. So, we decided to go out. Then as soon as we left the arcade it started pouring and booming thunder and lots and lots of lightning. So, we ran under a little shelter thing. There was only 2 hours until theNewboys went on and as soon as the Newsboys were done I had the Wired M&G with the Third Day guys! And I was determined that they were going to cancel it since it was lightning and carrying on. So, we sat in there for a good hour and then it finally let up. Luckily, I had a hair tie. My hair was frizzing out BAAAAD! So, we went back to see if Mike had the badge yet and he wasn’t there… AT ALL!!! So, I was panicking a little bit! We went back out and Caleb and his brother had decided to ride the Invertigo while we were in there. So, we went over there to wait for them to get off of that. When they did get off, we walked around a bit and then when it got closer to the Newsboys time to go on.. my sister and I went to see if Mike was at the merch table and he wasn’t! I wasn’t too happy. My sister and I decided to watch the Newsboys’ concert. They weren’t too bad, but they were no Third Day! I don’t know how many times I went to the merch table during their set. But FINALLY 45 minutes into their set I went to see if Mike was over there and FINALLY HE WAS!!!!! I felt so relieved!! So, I went to him to get my badge and I got all of my Third Day merch while I was there. I went back to sit with my sister and I was most DEFINETLY excited about seeing the guys again.

The Meet and Greet- So, once I thought the Newsboys were done I walked towards our Wired M&G place and then realized that they were going to do an encore. So, I sat that out where I was and just kept my eyes on our M&G place. And then I saw everyone going backstage for the M&G. So, I started running over there. And thankfully I made it in time! I snuck into a spot by my neighbor Cindi. I had NO idea she knew my name. Wonder how? But anyways.. she offered to take my picture with the guys. Which was very sweet of her!  And I offered to take pictures of her and the guys. And then I heard Cindy and Terry asking Mike if he knew where I was and I looked over at them and Cindy saw me. So, I went over there and Terry was going to give me a few books, but she had to take a few things out of the sack to give them to me, but David was about to come to my spot. So, I told her that I’d come back and get them before the M&G was over. So, David was the first one I got to see. When he came up to me he asked how I was doing and I told him I was doing great and I asked him how he was doing and he said, “I’m doing fine! You’re Chelsie Lynn Gratzer from Facebook!” And I’m positive I about fell over and my jaw was dropped all the way to the ground. And I said yeah and he said, “Well, I’m sorry that I didn’t reply to your comment. I don’t reply to people very much on there if at all!” And I told him he was fine. And we talked for a while and he kept apologizing about it. Then I got my picture with him and we talked some more and he went on his way. And then I saw a camera dude recording during the M&G. I wonder why he was recording?! But anywho.. then I realized that Tai was going clockwise while Mac, David, and Mark were going counter-clockwise. Uhh-oh! This can’t be good. So, it just so happens that they both had to come to me and Cindi at the same time. So, Mark took me first and Tai took Cindi. Mark remembered me, too. He was like, “Hey! How are you doing?” And I told him and he was like, “You’re from Indiana, too, right?” I told him yeah and Cindi asked where at and I said “Bloomington-Bedford area.” And then Mark says, “Oh! Then you made a LONG haul just to come see us! Are you going to Ignite in Chicago?” I told him that I might and that I would try my best. And then Mark and Tai switched off and Tai remembered me, too! We talked about some stuff and he asked me how I was doing. And then he went on his way. So, everyone remembered me so far. ‘Wonder if Mac remembers me?’ that was running through my head while I was waiting on Mac to come over. Then, he was at my neighbor and while he was talking to them.. he looked quite tired. And once he was done with them.. he turned towards me and I saw his eyes light up. And he practically ran up to me and said, “HEY!! How are you doing?” And I was in shock. It took me a few seconds to respond and once I did, I asked him how he was doing. And he said, “I’m awesome!!! You know.. I really, REALLY enjoy reading your tweets! And I looked at him like he was kidding me. And I said, “Really?” He said, “Yes! I really do enjoy reading your tweets!” (Mac's @replied to me twice and sent me two DM's!) And I said, “WOW!!” And he was like, “You’re really quiet! I didn’t expect that!” and I said, “Yeah, I am pretty shy.” And he said, “Now, you see, I NEVER would’ve thought for you to be so shy!” And I just nodded. Then I was about to say something and I looked at him and he was just staring deep into my eyes. After that, I was speechless and just stood there and stared into his eyes. It was nuts! We stood there for like 30-60 seconds. Then Cindi broke that and told him that she was waiting for him to follow her on Twitter and he said that he doesn’t really follow fans. And he said that he doesn’t really like following the 20 people he does already. But we talked for more than 10 minutes. And then Mike LITERALLY made Mac move on. But before he went on.. he gave me a hug. I jumped and I think it about scared him half to death, but we hugged for about 30 seconds.. and then Mike started pushing him again. And he said, “Goodbye! It was nice talking with you!” And I left backstage feeling AWESOME!! So, you see.. me and my sister had this bet that none of the guys would remember me. So, I was anxious to get back to her and tell her that ALL of them remembered me. So, I told her and she couldn’t believe it. So, I told her about the whole experience. And I could see the dude behind us lean in on our conversation to hear what I was saying. I really didn’t care much. I just kept on going on. The concert was AMAZING!! Even though Mac claims that they were a bit rusty.. I think it was my favorite concert I’ve been to! They connected with the crowd automatically.

The Concert- They opened up with “Tunnel” from the Wherever You Are album. Which they rocked it. And when don’t they?! The lighting was a bit different since we were outside. And our seats weren’t very good. Then they played “I Got A Feelin’” from the Wire album. Mac did this little dance with he feet that he NAILED PERFECTLY!! I just wish that I would’ve gotten it on camera! Then they played “RockStar” from the Wire album. Which is ALWAYS a fun song to hear live and experience with your own two eyes. Then came “Slow Down” from the new Revelation album. That song is AHHHHHH-MAZING!! On the album Chris Daughtry does some back-up vocals and his and Mac’s unique voices blend so great together! It makes such an amazing sound. I think Tai might’ve forgotten the words for a little bit of the song, but that’s okay! Then came “Thief” which is my sisters most FAVORITE song! She loves, loves, LOVES that song! The first time she heard it.. she cried. Which when she heard it I had taken her to her first concert in Champaign, IL. March 5^th. She LOVED it enough to go to the Ohio concert with me. And we have tickets to see them in Louisville, KY  October 17 and we have 6^th row tickets in front of Mark. It’s gonna be EPIC!!! I’ve never been too entirely close to the stage! But ANYWHO!!! Third Day ROCKED “Thief”! Then they played “God of Wonders” which was B-E-A-U-TIFUL!! Because as soon as they started playing.. the fireworks started! It was so pretty! Just in time. Then they played “Revelation” the title track of the new album, Revelation. Revelation is ALWAYS pretty live in concert. And they always rock it! Then they played “I Believe” which is a GREAT song! Especially live. And next they played “Run To You” from the new album Revelation. Which is an AWESOME song whether it be live or in the studio. Next they played “Cry Out To Jesus” which ALWAYS gets me. It never fails! Mac’s talk is so touching.. I can’t hold the sobs and tears in! Next they played “Call My Name” which is one of my favorites! Especially at the moment! My favorite at the moment is “Take It All” which they don’t play live L, but I wish they did. And then “Call My Name” is next! After they got done with that.. they went off stage for just a minute or less and I saw people leaving (which happens all the time!) and then the guys came back to do an encore. And then most of the people went back to their seats or just stopped where they were. So, the first encore song was “Otherside” which is always a rocking song! And the last song they played was “Creed” which is a great song! All in all… it was a GREAT night!

After the concert- Caleb’s brother found us and scared us half to death. So, we thought we lost Caleb, but we made our way over to Third Day’s merch table. And he was there. But on our journey over to the merch table.. this girl had caught one of David’s drumsticks and Josh was like, “Do you want me to go steal that from her?” And I told him no. But I really do need a drumstick and 3 picks from each of the guys! But when we got Caleb he told us that he and Josh were on the Drop Zone when Third Day started playing “Revelation” and he said that it was an amazing thing. He watched the first half of the song and then they went down and back up. So he caught glimpses of it. He said that he was singing along and people were staring at him, but he didn’t care! That’s his favorite song.

Favorite things said by Mac and the guys during the concert-

Mac: “We’re about to kick it up a notch”

Mac: “I don’t want any stepped on toes!”

Mac: “This is one of those songs that make you wanna shake your booty a little bit!”

Mac: “Everyone gets loud and cheers, “Whoo-woo-woo” and then it just dies. I figured some of you rode your ride all day and now you’re all screamed out, right? If I’m not mistaken, Tai correct me if I’m wrong, when we were a little bit younger and a little bit more reckless, I think we rode that little St. Louis arch lookin’ thing right there, didn’t we?” Tai: “Yes we did!” Mac: “And I didn’t know what it did. I just thought it kinda swung you a little bit like a little swing. I had no idea what it does. That was the last time that I ever listened to Tai Anderson, EVER! They strap us in this harness and then they raised us up and I thought, ‘Wow! This is high!’ And then, you know, just when I thought it couldn’t get any higher *makes clicking noises* it went up a few more notches! And then I said, ‘Are they just gonna let us go?’ and then Tai was like, “No, you gotta pull the rope!” I was like, ‘Wha-t? Ain’t happenin’’ Unfortunately, we had a show here and we had to play so.. Tai pulled the rope. First and last time I ever rode that thing!”

Mac: *SCREAMS ON THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS!* WOOOOOOOH!!! *Back to his normal voice* Ohio, man, I tell ya! We have had two weeks off. We haven’t done many shows this summer. We’ve been spending a lot of time with our families bein’ at home. So, we’re a little rusty, but it feels good tonight cause you guys just kinda.. however bad we are you guys make up for it because you’re so loud and beautiful and you sound so good. So, we love y’all Ohio and can’t wait to see you again. We need your help. Do you have a little bit of energy left for one more song? I need you to reach down deep inside. Put those hands together for just a little bit longer. Come on and sing it loud with us, Ohio!”

And… that’s it! If you ever get a chance, I HIGHLY recommend you listen to the Wired radio recording of it. They messed the name up. So, it says Kings Mills, OH. But.. still! Go check it out! I hope you enjoyed reading about the concert and leave some comments below! OH! And I took some pictures and videos of the night! So, go check those out on my FB and YouTube. Thanks!

-Chelsie! J

Sooo.. it's been like FOUR months since this concert. But it's still fresh in my mind. This was a very memorable night for many different reasons...

Let's start with the day of the concert...

So, I woke up earlier than usual because of my excitement and nervousness and realized that this day has finally come. The start of Third Day's Spring Revelation Tour, the day I see Third Day in concert for my second time, the day I see Revive my third time, the day I see Brandon Heath my first time, the day I meet Third Day for the first time, and much more I had no idea at that moment. So, I got up and got ready. It went by soooooo slowly! But I had the tweets of Mark to keep me company every once in a while. And then long after I was ready to go.. we finally left. I wasn't aware that we had to go see my brother in college first. Oh my.... I was getting really anxious! And so, we went to see him and he decides to tell me that he saw a Third Day shirt at some store he was at and he was going to get it for me, but decided to get his FRIEND a shirt instead. (You've gotta be kidding me!) So, FINALLY!!! After forever, as it seems, we left. Champaign, IL. HERE WE COME!!!

So, this drive seemed like it took forever! I couldn't stop talking about the concert. This concert is my sisters first Third Day concert. So, I was telling her how I thought she would have fun and like it a lot. And when we were about to the Illinois state border.. my sister says, "Uhhh... I think Illinois is an hour behind Indiana." Uhh-ohh... JESS!!! So, my sister was planning on being an hour early in the first place so we could eat dinner before the concert. It looks like she got that... and AN EXTRA HOUR!!!!! AUGH!!! So, I was impatient. We found the Assembly Hall and as soon as I saw Third Day and Revive's tour buses.. I felt like I was going to stop breathing! So, then drove down the road a couple of miles to eat. I couldn't eat because I was really, REALLY nervous and excited. I was bouncy and I was shaking. While we ate my sister studied. She had a test the next day in Anatomy. (She's so great for taking me to the concert and getting home at 3:00 a.m. and waking up at 7:30 a.m. the next day to go take a test that she did very well on!) And I just sat there and watched her study and eat. If I ate I probably would've puked! So, she finally got the clue that I wanted to go. We went out to the car and we drove to the Assembly Hall and parked. We listened to some Third Day while waiting and she studied some more. And we finally got out and we waited in line for 30 MINUTES!!! The wind was blowing, it was FREEEEEEEEEZING! And I kept apologizing. I felt so bad. I tried to block the wind for her. The people were just standing in there. In the warmness, non-windy heat. While we were standing out there wishing we were them in the freezing, windy, sunlessness. Then I saw Mike from Revive. And he saw me and waved. So, FNALLY they opened up the doors and let us in.. SLOWLY!! They had to check our bags to make sure we didn't have any outside food/drinks. So, we finally got in. I checked in with Mike at the Wired table. Then I went to buy a Third Day Revelation Tour and Third Day poster. Then got a Revive poster. Went to the bathroom to put my new shirt on. So, then we went to our seats... and my sister sighed. We had nose-bleed seats. Yipee! So, she went back down to see if they had any of the Third Day shirts she wanted in. Still none. She came back and we waited. Took pictures. I saw the Revive guys on the side of the stage. And I also saw Tai from Third Day on the other side of the stage with the sound guy. And finally Revive came on. No one was standing up in our section. I was the only one and I was clapping and I'm sure I embarrassed my sister and myself, bu who cares! I love Revive and nothing can change that! Then my sister and I went out and looked over the ledge to see how many people were at Third Day's merch booth and there was a BUNCH!! And I spotted David from Third Day. My sister dared me to yell his name. So, I did and he looked up, said hi, and waved. I was red. So, we went back in to see Brandon Heath perform. The crowd was a little more into it with BH. After Brandon was done my sister and I went down stairs to stand in line to meet BH and Revive. I saved my sisters spot in line while she went to see if they had that shirt in yet. She came back with three CD's in her hand. WHA?? She had gotten thi deal where you pay a pretty reasonable amount of money for all three artists CD's. NO FARE!!! And the reason why that was not fare AT ALL was because Revive's CD wasn't supposed to be out for another FIVE DAYS!!! So, she got one of the first copies ever! Not fare! So, we waited in such a long line. And we were about 5 feet away from Revive's table and my sister had asked me if Revive would remember me. I told her that I wasn't for sure. And we were still talking about that when she says.. "Uhhh.. he just said your name!" I asked her who and she says, "The one that called Mom!" (That's a WHOLE different story!) Rich. I looked over there and Rich was showing Ty where I was. Rich said, "IT'S CHELSIE!!" About three times. When they noticed I was looking at them Ty, Rich, and Mike starting waving like I was going to disappear. Rich started talking over people just to talk to me. (Weird!?) Everyone in line was looking at me like, "No way!" or "You're so lucky!" or "Nuh-uhh.. NOT POSIBLE!!" When my sister and I got up to Dave he asked me what my name was and before I could say my name Ty, Rich, and Mike were like, "DUDE, DAVE!!! IT'S CHELSIE!!!!" and Dave looked at me a second time and says, "Oh yeah, sorry, I didn't recognize you!" And then Dave gave me a high five. Ty pounded my fist, Rich gave me a high five, and Mike pounded my fist. We all talked for a while and Rich asks if I can come back and hang out with them after the concert. And Mike says, "When's that thing with Third Day?" And pointed to my sticker. So, yeah. We talked forever. The stinkin' security guard made us move on to Brandon. So, we went up to Brandon and my sister put her hand on his arm and told him how amazing he was. And he kinda looked at us surprised and said, "Well, thank you! I don't always take compliments lightly. But this one's great! You guys are awesome!" And we all introduced ourselves and my shyness kicked in for him. Oh my! I was hoping that I wasn't going to be this way for Third Day! And we talked for awhile and the security guard was very pushy! He wasn't my best friend at all this night! So, we went to our seats and on the way my sister couldn't stop talking about the Revive guys knowing me like that. She's still shocked to this day! So, we got up there just in time Third Day was about to start. Third Day rocked the house as usual! They never disappoint! During the song 'Thief' Mac got off the stage while Mark did his amazing guitar solo and he went backstage then appeared right in front of the section to our right. So, they got close. Then all the others joined him to do an acoustic set. It was nice. And then they all went back on stage. And continued rocking. During Mac's prayer and 'Cry Out To Jesus' I heard some sniffles and looked over to find my sister balling her eyes out. Because of Mac's prayer, she came closer to Christ that night. Seing her cry made me cry. It was great.

So, after the concert I had to go straight to the Wired M&G. I was soooo stoked! So, when I arrived Mike had everyone in a circle. I joined in and he was talking. The first thing I heard him say was, "Sorry, but all the guys are married. So, you don't have a chance!" Tehehe, funny Mike! And David came out first to talk to us about the "A Thousand Hills Coffee". And then I saw the rest of the guys come in. My knees started shaking and I started to egt even more nervous. David was the first one to come to me. He remembered me from the little 'Shouting-His-Name-Dare' from my sister and he laughed. We talked for awhile. I didn't get my picture taken with him, though. :( My neighbor asked me if I wanted her to take pictures of me and the guys with my camera for me after David left. Mark was next. I was very excited to see Mark! I had been following Mark on Twitter for a loooooong time and we had talked a bit on there. So, my mission was to tell him about Twitter. So, He came up to me and introduced himself. I told him my name. Then he asked me where I was from and I told him and he was like, "Wow, than it took awhile for you to get here! How long?" I told him and he was like, "Woah!" And then I blurted out... "I follow you on Twitter!" And he was like, "Oh really? What's your (he used a really fancy word here) username?" I told him and he was like, "Oh yeah! I have seen you around quite a bit! Man, I wish I had my phone with me so I could take a picture of us and put it on Twitter! Oh well, you'll just have to send me this one and I'll repost it!" Wait... WHA?? Are you JOKING me! I'm sure my eyes were about to pop out of my head! I was sooooo... shocked! So, we took the picture and talked for a bit. It was crazy! (And he DID repost the picture on Twitter!) The whole time... Mac was about to overlap Mark! So, I didn't have too long of a wait until Mac came around! This moment was soooo... awesome! It's hard to explain over typing! He introduced himself to me and I introduced myself to him. We talked for a while and he asked me some questions. He was about to leave me when he turned around and asked, "Oh... do you have the new album?" I don't know WHY he asked me that because he had just signed TWO Revelation albums! I took my sisters to get it signed to be nice. So, I just said that I did and he asked me what song was my favorite and I told him 'Take It All'! And he agreed that it was a good one! Right now, my favorite is 'Born Again'! It changes a lot! And then Tai was the last one. He came up to me and introduced himself and I introduced myself. We talked for awhile and one thing that sticks out to me is when he asked, "Are you going to listen to BOTH of these albums?" And I told them one was for my sister. He was like, "Oh! Awwww... you're such a good sister!" And we talked some more. Then I went to go get in line to get my Wired picture taken. When I got up there. And stood between Mac and David someone made a weird noise that made me laugh between my smile. I started cracking up afterwards and so did the guys. It was awesome!

So, on the way home we had to blast my sisters new CD's to keep her awake. She doesn't seem to remember driving a pretty long length of the time. I stayed awake to keep her awake! So, we got back to her house at abotu 3:00 a.m. But it was all worth it!

Well, that's the Champiahn, IL. concert experience for ya! Hope you enjoyed it. Any questions.. don't hesitate to ask! And think.... this is just a summary of my night! You should've been there!

So, I'm being serious when I say I had the worst dream EVER!!! It was horrible. My heart is still racing. WOW!!! I'm just soooooo happy it was just a dream. Now I am even more excited for the Third Day concert in 32 days (if that's even possible!)! Well, you guessed it. It is about Third Day, but if you're a fan like me you'll definetly wanna cry! I cried in my sleep. Talk about a wowzer for ya! (Let's just hope that this doesn't become real. I've had dreams before and they've become real! If this one does.... I JUST MIGHT DIE!!!) Well, here goes nothing....

Well, it all started with me going to get the mail. It was a nice, sunny day out and I was having a great day. A very, very lucky day indeed. So, I got the mail and saw that I had a letter from my sister. So, I went back inside and gave my mom the other mail than went in my bedroom to open this letter. Thinking it might just be something nice she decided to do. So, I opened it and inside was a piece of paper. And inside it read something along these lines....

Goose*...

   I am sooooooo sorry to tell you this, but we won't be seeing Third Day in concert for awhile. I am really, really, really, very sorry! But I got this email the other day saying,

"We are so terribly sorry to be sending you this, but we needed to cancel the Third Day concert you have boughten tickets for. Money is very tight right now with everyone including Mac, Mark, David, AND Tai. Because right now the part of Georgia they live in (Marrietta, ATL, etc.) is going through a HUGE recession. So we are sorry to announce that we have cancelled ALL Third Day shows beginning June 12, 2009. And there will be no more Third Day shows for the rest of the year. And there is a slight chance there will be no more Third Day, period. But we are so very sorry to be telling you this and we hope you stay positive about this whole thing.

*Hoping for the best!*

-Third Day and Staff"

I know that you probably aren't reading the rest of this right now. You probably through it across the room and either ran to mom and told her or you might've even ripped the paper up. But I just thought I wouls say that I am really bummed, too. I know you're the bigger Third Day fan out of both of us, but I'm not balling my eyes out. I have shed a tear or two. But I'm just gonna bet that you're tears are streams or you might even be throwing the biggest fit ever. But I love you and just pray that they won't be done for good. I love you and hope to see you soon!

-Love Jess!

Woooooow! I threw that not across the room and plopped down on my bed and started the streaming tears. I laid back with my eyes all blurry and looked at my Third Day wall and thought of the good times that I'd had. Then I went to my mom and she was wondering what was going on and I told her about the note and I went to go get it for her. She said that it's just life. And that made me cry even more. So, I went in my bedroom and just layed there balling my eyes out!

And then I woke up crying my eyes out! I had cried the whole time when I was crying in my dream. My pillow was all wet! So, when I woke up I said, "OMGoodness! I'm SOOOOOOOOOOO glad that was just a dream!" Now, I'm not for sure if I can live without Third Day and their music. My heart was racing, but I couldn't stop the tears. The just WOULD NOT STOP!!!! I haven't gotten out of my bedroom to tell my mom yet. So, I guess I've written enough! Hope I didn't make anyone cry! Leave some comments! Peace! -Chelsie

*Oh yeah, my nickname for some people is Goose!

Well, after school, I was sooo... excited to go home and get on the internet! Not to mention that I have a BUTT LOAD of homework! But, I find that we HAVE to put some LOGOS recognition dinner and junk on for the volunteers at church! I was NOT a very happy camper! So, I go in and try my hardest! Then it was break time and I was listening to my iPod! Third Day and Revive, of course, of course! And someone says, "Chelsie, you need to listen to real music!" Uhhmmm... excuse me?! And you think Screamo and all that other stuff you listen to is? She's the one who really wants to go with me to a Third Day concert and who has went with me to a Revive concert! So, this really made me mad! I told her that she wasn't going to be going to a concert with me ever again! She said she didn't care! And just the other day she was telling me how she needed to go to one! So, break got over and it was time to get back to fixing spaghetti. So, I was in a HORRIBLE mood! It just got worse as the night went on! I just had to keep reminding myself that Christian music is real music! And I kept thinking, "I bet Mac and the rest of Third Day and Revive would frown upon her attitude!" Which made me feel a little better! And, she really wants to see my Third Day Live Revelations DVD, but I don't know if she can handle seeing it because she doesn't think it's real music! But, I really don't want to keep going on and on about it! So, I'll just skip to the end! Well, I thought that a friend and her mom were takin me home, but NO! I had to get a ride home from someone who I really didn't care for! So, my night was full of emotions! I cried! I was just SOOOOOO... mad, I cried! So, I really just kinda wanna get it off my chest! Gah.... I am so mad I have tears streaming down my cheeks! Well, I have to go do my stinking homework! GAH!!!