Payne County's Got Talent

I had so much fun last night! I was asked to emcee the Payne County's Got Talent competition at the Payne county fair. The fairgrounds are a few miles East of Stillwater. I wasn't sure what to expect but it ended up being a very special night for me.

You don't go to The Country Kitchen at a county fair and NOT take the pie they offer you! That would just be wrong!I felt my Cowboy boots were appropriate for this event. I think I was correct considering there were cows and other livestock directly behind the stage! Some of the cows became very loud during the performances. Maybe they were wanting to compete?!
How precious is this little violin player???

Now came the most special moment of my evening. I looked off the stage to see that our second contestant was having some stage fright. Rylee is seven years old and has downs syndrome. Her mother was trying to coax her onto the stage. I went over to her and introduced myself. I was trying to get her comfortable with me so I started asking her some questions. One was "What song are you singing?". Her mother told me Rylee had planned to sing "Mighty To Save". Out of all the country and contemporary songs being sung that night, this precious girl was going to sing one of my favorite praise and worship songs! I told Rylee that I sing that song in my church. As soon as her mother that, she asked if I would go up and sing with her. She was singing to the background vocals track. She needed someone up there to give her confidence. I asked Rylee if she would come up there with me if I sang it with her and she nodded her head.

I sang, not into the microphone, but only where Rylee could hear me. She started out the song tentatively, looking over at me many times to make sure I was still there and singing. Then she became confident and starting singing full-out into her microphone. She started putting movements with the words. As a worship leader, I cannot tell you how moved I was by this special moment I was getting to share with this precious and very special little girl. It was true worship - it came from such an honest and pure place. I will never forget Rylee and that special moment I was blessed enough to share with her. I can only imagine how proud her parents must be of her.

After all the performances were finished, I had to kill time while the scores were tabulated. I started talking to the crowd about my daughter, Hayden, and her disease, cystic fibrosis. A lady shouted out from the audience that, if I took off my hat, she'd pass it around and collect money for the CF Foundation. I was blown away by the gesture and could not believe it when she set the hat back up on stage. It was FULL of money! In a matter of minutes, that crowd had donated over $120 to the foundation!

Before I left to head home, I had to take some pictures of the animals because I had promised Hayden I would. Her request was that I take a picture with a cow......It was a wonderful night! One I won't soon forget!