The power of prayer

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." -Matthew 7:7-8

"You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures." -James 4:2-3

My first stop this morning was Graceland in Memphis. Let me just say, I didn't actually know what Graceland was until today, all I knew was that it had something to do with Elvis. I get there and it turns out that it was touring Elvis' house. After parking and admissions, I paid $40 for a 30 minute tour... I was hoping to see exhibits or stuff, not his house. Had I had more time, I could have gotten the deluxe pass and seen some exhibits and stuff, but that was $69. Sorry Fran, I know you love Elvis, but Graceland was kinda disappointing to me (Your postcard is in the mail though...)

After Graceland, I took a slight detour to Oxford, Mississippi to have lunch with Chelsea, my future sister-in-law. This was really my first time getting to know her. She is a great woman, and I am so excited that she will be joining our family soon!

The rest of the drive was rather uneventful, except that I passed the 2000 mile mark for my trip. There was one big storm that I drove through, but it wasn't as bad as the ones yesterday on the way to Memphis. One sad note about today's drive: I officially ran out of road trip mixes. So my drive from New Orleans to Fort Worth on Thursday will be repeats of my favorite 7 CDs. The scores have been tabulated and the winners of my competition have been determined, but I will not unveil them until my final blog entry on Thursday. (The suspense is killing you all isn't it!)

Remember how in last night's blog entry I said that Memphis was an audio explosion. Well, New Orleans makes Memphis look pathetic. There is like 10x as much music on Bourbon Street as there was on Beale Street. I could even hear jazz from my hotel room earlier for a few moments! (Since it's almost bedtime, I'm glad I can't hear it anymore...)

Tonight, God reaffirmed to me the simple yet awesome power of prayer. When I pray, my supplications tend to be, relatively speaking, larger supplications. However, tonight at dinner, I had one simple prayer: "God, please let me meet someone to hang out with tonight." I have been content being on my own for the last 8 days, but some company would have been a great break. Well, about 30 minutes later, God answered my prayer. I met Leslie at a karaoke bar called the Cat's Meow. She too is currently taking a road trip on her own (from Boston), so we had a lot to talk about. It was great getting to know her tonight, but she leaves for Nashville in the morning so tomorrow is another day of going solo.

Singing "Don't Stop Believin" (One of 3 that I sang tonight)

Meeting Leslie tonight just proved to me that God does answer prayers. Sometimes my faith gets shaken up a bit and I begin have doubts. However, God continues to prove Himself faithful and loving, and He is willing to answer your prayers!

Goodnight everyone! A full day of New Orleans tomorrow, and then a full day of driving back to Texas on Thursday.
-Patrick