SPIN LIKE THE WIND-the blog of Nigel James.

I'M SATISFIED.

On the road with Third Day, having just had a few rest days in Nashville. Scotty Wilbanks has given me a copy of the brand new DecembeRadio album Satisfied-which he produced. True to his promise a few months back, he's given me the final word on the album! The last song is a hidden 'jam'  track which finishes with me saying one of Scotty's favorite sayings. You'll have to buy it to hear exactly what I say. Despite my involvement, the album is absolutely superb.

9/11 REMEMBERED.

Traveling on a United Airlines flight from Chicago to Cleveland on the 7th anniversary of 9/11 was a sobering experience this morning, especially as one of the planes hijacked on that fateful day was hijacked in airspace over Cleveland.  To be honest I might not have registered the occasion at all but for reading a front page article  in USA Today, but Chicago O'Hare airport seemed very subdued and a number of fellow travelers realized the importance of the day. I well remember visiting Ground Zero just a month or so after the attack, and seeing photos of missing husbands, wives, sons, daughters, mothers and fathers, still posted to railings and walls in the surrounding area. 9/11 was one of the few days in my lifetime when I will always remember where I was and what I was doing when I heard about the Twin Towers coming down.

For me, 9/11 illustrates both the absolute worst and the finest behavior that mankind can display. The levels of depravity, violence and hatred that we can sink to, epitomized by the terrorist attack, never fails to grieve me; but the selfless, brave, sacrificial, loving way that we respond to the deepest of adversity, epitomized by the emergency services in New York, gives me hope. Sadly, much of the hatred, violence and bitterness between people, cultures, and nations is the responsibility of religion, but much of the loving and graceful response to such hatred often comes from communities and individuals of real faith.

IF YOU DON'T ASK YOU'LL NEVER KNOW.

On my recent time on the road with Third Day, God again proved to me that if I'm willing to stick my neck out and spark up conversation with the person sitting next to me on a plane flight it will be worthwhile. On one occasion I opened up a conversation with a guy in the US army on compassionate leave from Iraq. His mother-in-law had passed away and he'd arrived at Baghdad airport at 7.30 am Monday morning for a flight which eventually left at midnight. We were on a flight on Wednesday afternoon and the funeral had started just before he boarded the plane in Chicago. I was able to share some of my experience with Third Day in Iraq earlier in the year, and had an honest and open conversation with him. I was on my way to meet the band ready to play at the Nebraska state fair, and on the plane back to Atlanta the next day I spotted a big guy carrying a snare drum case in the departure lounge. He ended up next to me, and despite him looking daunting with his shaved head and tattoos, I started to chat. He turned out to be the drummer for the classic rock band Starship and had met Ringo Starr and Keith Moon ( from The Who) over the years. Even better from my point of view, he knew the drummers from Supertramp and Huey Lewis & the News- two of my favourite bands. We talked classic rock, politics, faith, life in general, exchanged emails, and I introduced him to the guys in Third Day when we got off the plane. We've sent him a copy of the Revelation album and my new book.  I'm constantly learning to shrug off my natural indifference, come out of my own cosy little world and risk talking to people- it's a thrill to see what God does with it.

MY KIND OF TOWN...CHICAGO IS.

I'm in Chicago for a few days with Gill and Bethan, having been on the road with Third Day for the start of the MUSIC BUILDS TOUR. I'll be joining the band again in 2 days time, but this short holiday firstly just with Gill, then joined by Bethan and James, and now with Gill and Bethan, has been excellent.

Highlights have been:

The Tommy Gunn Speakeasy dinner and show- with Gill and I in the front row for a 1920's Chicago gangster experience!

The Chicago Architectural Boat tour-sounds dull but actually a fascinating river trip exploring the stories behind all of Chicago's great skyscrapers and massive buildings.

The Music Builds concert-with Third Day, Switchfoot, Robert Randolph, and Jars of Clay. Mac Powell, bless his heart, gave our family a big shout-out and thanks from the stage. For me it was very special to have Gill, Bethan and James next to me, all enjoying the concert- the first time they've seen Third Day in the USA.

Chicago Cubs v. Washington Nationals Baseball at Wrigley Field- a win for the Cubs, and peanuts, pretzels, hot dogs, nachos for us, with Baskin Robbins ice cream on the way home.

Lazing on 12th Street beach for the afternoon- I briefly swam around in Lake Michigan, whilst Bethan and Gill caught the sun.

Magnificent Mile shopping-enjoyed by Bethan especially, whilst I was out of town with Third Day in Detroit and Indianapolis.

Catching up with James- and hearing how much he enjoys life in Dallas and living in America in general.

Working up a sweat in the gym- a nice facility in our hotel, the Essex Inn.

FINISHING THE RACE.

Watching all the Olympic action on TV these last few days has reminded me of my favourite Olympic story.

 John Stephens Akwhari was a marathon runner from the African nation of Tanzania who, in 1968, dehydrated, bleeding from three falls and suffering from oxygen deprivation, staggered into the Mexico City Olympic Stadium.  Akwhari finished half an hour behind the second-last runner and ignored pleas to quit from medical workers, Olympic officials and even his coach. The medals already had been awarded and preparations for the closing ceremony had to be delayed as Akwhari shuffled the final kilometres on blistered and bleeding feet.  Eventually, Akwhari crossed the finish line and fell into the waiting arms of Red Cross workers. 
Akwhari, when interviewed afterwards, and asked why he didn't simply give up, said;
 "I believed I was a soldier. My country had sent me there to do honour. You do honour not by starting a race, but by finishing it."

Acts 20:24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me — the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace. 

Par Three.

Our back garden is on two levels, with the lower level featuring a piece of grass outside the basement. Numerous attemptsto grow a decent patch of grass have proved unsuccessful, so the triumph of the summer had been to put down an AstroTurf putting green! Here's Gary and his son Ben having a go. Gill and I are in our caravan on the Gower peninsular this week, whilst Bethan has flown to Fort Wayne, Indiana to stay with Andy and Trish Booth. Next week, Gill and I fly to Chicago to meet up with Bethan and our son James before I hit the road with Third Day.I'm squeezing in a preach at City Temple on Sunday-continuing our summer series on doing the things Jesus did. My theme is "Lifting Burdens."

The Furnace.

Matt Collins leading worship in the Furnace venue backed by the band Superhero.

New wine Cymru

Gill,Bethan and I are at new wine cymru for a few days. On Saturday we went to Mark and Kayi's wedding along with loads of Hong Kong Chinese folk. As well as speaking in the Ignite venues, I've just led a workshop on Outrageous Prayer with five young teenagers. Their passion for prayer and knowledge of the Bible was inspiring! I'm sending this blog from my new iPhone-very cool!

LOVE AND MARRIAGE.

One of the privileges of working with young people is that you get invited to their weddings, and that's especially exciting if you know them really well ( it can also make you realise you are getting on a bit!).

In recent years, the Ignite team have seen loads of people who have worked with us over the years, get married. John and Rachel Settatree, Dave Lyle, Maaike Van der Toorren, Paul Read, and Laura Picton (now Dernley). On Saturday, a bunch of us went to Broadhaven Baptist Church in Pembrokeshire, West Wales, to the wedding of Becky Williams. Becky met us through Flames of Fire, now New Wine Cymru, organised the Ignite programme there one year, and volunteered on and off with us throughout her university years in Cardiff. She's definitely been to more Ignite Christmas dinners and leaving parties than anyone except Gary, Anita and myself. A bunch of other Flames of Fire young people are getting married in the next couple of months, and it's fantastic to see them all flourishing in the purposes of God: Mark Nam, Lois Richards, Craig Wakeling, Ellen Griffith. Gill and I will be going to some of the weddings, so I'll be your wedding correspondent for a while.

DIGGING DEEP.

I've been finishing off a book by John Glass, head of the Elim Pentecostal Church in the UK, called Building Bigger People which is basically his life message to the church over the last few years. It's full of wise biblical teaching and some good real life stories as illustrations. One such story was told to him by Dr. Paul Yonghi Cho about his frustrations of being delayed by building works in his city that seemed to be taking ages to complete. When he asked the foreman why the work was so slow, he was told "Because we intend to build big we have to ensure that we dig deep." John Glass goes onto say that "God loves BIG and has called his church to largeness, favour and growth, but if there is one thing that God prioritises over BIG in the economy of his kingdom then it is DEEP."

That's one of the main reasons I'm studying for a Master's degree. I desperately want to build big but I know the time is right to dig deep first. At the moment I'm just finishing off a lot of digging in the book of Judges.

   The illness I came back from India with was finally diagnosed after tests as Campylobacter a form of gastro-enteritis caused by food poisoning. Although I thought I had rid it from my system, one of the side-effects has been waking up in the middle of the night with extreme pains in my chest. So I ended up in Morriston Hospital in Swansea all day yesterday for checks and examinations to make sure I hadn't had a heart attack.I should have been enjoying a day at our caravan with my wife! All clear, but the pain is in the gullet region so I'm on a course of tablets and I'm having some more blood pressure and ECG readings this week.