Brad Hall: HALL THINGS CONSIDERED: The hall of fame for eternity

Oct. 2—As I briefly mentioned in last week's column, my wife Carmen and I celebrated our 10-year wedding anniversary this past weekend in Nashville, Tennessee.

We had a lot of fun during the four days we were there, and I was definitely sad for it to end and start another week of work.

We headed out of town around 3:30 p.m. Thursday after Carmen's mom Linda picked up Jaxson to keep him during our trip.

Along the way, we pulled over in Bowling Green to have some dinner at Olive Garden.

Then after a little bit of trouble getting checked in, we got into our Nashville hotel room around 8 or 8:30 p.m. Central Time.

The next morning, we drove downtown to visit the Country Music Hall of Fame. That was the big thing we wanted to do, so we went ahead and did it first to make sure we checked it off.

If you're a fan of country music, or country music from back in the day, it's definitely worth your time to check this place out. Lots of memorabilia from the pioneers of country music all the way to the artists of today.

They even had a special exhibit honoring Kentucky's own Chris Stapleton. They had lots of his music memorabilia but also his old high school football jersey, diploma and yearbook on display.

Of course the highlight of the Country Music Hall of Fame is the hall of fame itself. Before you exit the tour, you go through the circle of names and faces of every country artist who has been inducted.

Names like Dolly Parton, Gene Autry, Garth Brooks and Patsy Cline were all featured and memorialized for years to come.

After all of that, we were pretty hungry so we walked around downtown to find some restaurants we had never been to before.

We decided on Chicken Guy which is a fast-food chicken restaurant started by famous chef and Food Network personality Guy Fieri.

To finish up our day, we shopped around at the Opry Mills mall which is located where the Opryland theme park used to be.

We bought some new clothes, a souvenir for Jaxson, and got some fresh baked cookies to take back to the hotel with us.

On Saturday, we visited The Loveless Cafe for breakfast which is a Nashville institution. It was located on the outskirts of town, and had small shops and outdoor activities to check out while you waited to be seated. and there was definitely a wait because it seemed to be a very popular place.

It was worth it though as we had a nice time walking around and then enjoying some delicious biscuits.

From there, we went back downtown to check out the Johnny Cash Museum.

As you would expect, it was full of memorabilia from the entire course of Johnny Cash's life and career.

There were displays with his old guitars, wardrobes, pictures, lyrics sheets, platinum albums and awards, just to name a few.

You could even learn about his appearances in movies and TV which I also found fascinating.

After that, we went down the block to check out the scene at Broadway. and let me tell you, it was a site to behold.

There are a couple blocks there of nothing but restaurants and honky tonks, with people walking everywhere and music being played from every direction.

We were there in the afternoon and it was already crazy, so I can't imagine what it might be like at night.

To wrap up our Saturday, we went back to our room to watch the Kentucky Wildcats football game. Afterwards, we went down the street to a pizza place called Sal's for some late night carbs.

On Sunday, we checked out at 11 a.m., and made one last visit downtown. We picked up a few souvenirs from the hall of fame gift shop, and took a few more photos of some of the sites nearby.

After that, we got back to the car and got out of town.

We made a stop again in Bowling Green for dinner where we tried out Chuy's Mexican restaurant for the first time. Then from there, we headed back home to get reunited with our baby boy Jaxson.

It was certainly a fun time, and I definitely wouldn't mind to make another long weekend trip down there in the future.

But for right now, I certainly find myself reflecting on the hall of fame from a Christian's point of view.

That honor, whether it be for country music, other genres of music, or even sports and movies, is designated for the most successful and most decorated in their industry.

However, just like many other things here on earth, those halls and those names are going to eventually be forgotten by society.

My grandchildren's generation and my great-grandchildren's generation may have no idea or even care about who my favorite country singers are. They certainly won't care about who my parents' and grandparents' favorite singers were.

And the physical building where those names are displayed will one day go to ruin or get replaced by whatever the next big thing is.

Furthermore, one day this whole world is going to come to an end, and a hall of fame certainly won't matter that much then.

What matters is if you let God know you, and if you get to know God.

Here on earth, very few people may know you, but God will know you now and for eternity.

So when you think about it, that is the highest honor and greatest accolade you could ever achieve. Halls of fame here will only last a little while but God's Hall of Fame will truly last forever.

You don't need an iconic voice, pretty face or special athletic ability either. All you have to do is let the Lord into your heart and you will be inscribed from now until infinity.

Proverbs 18:24 says, "A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother."

I absolutely had fun visiting the Country Music Hall of Fame this past weekend, and while I'll likely never be inducted into any halls of fame here on earth, I know that my name is recorded in the most important place of them all.