Humboldt, TN February 11, 2013

There is too much to say about the weekend we shared with the amazing people of Humboldt, TN. When one travels in ministry, there’s always that prayer in the front of the mind: ‘Lord, please don’t ever let this become routine, just something we do… never let us treat every group the same, but help us adapt…’ At least, this is what is always in my mind. It would be so easy to be the same everywhere- but we aren’t called to be the same, we are called to change, to adapt to what’s around us so that we can effectively minister.

The guys and I talked about this as we set everything up. We talked about it before we walked up on the platform. We had all prayed about it before we even left the house. The minute it becomes real- when the first face walks in the door. That face has a name. It has baggage. It may look worn or tired. It could be excited and amped for what’s to come… But that face has a name. It has a soul. It was created in the image of God (Gen.1:27).

May we never be the same to every face we meet. May we adapt, change, be compassionate, kind, receptive… We spoke of being imitators all weekend. Coming from Ephesians 5:1 (I love the God’s Word translation) – ‘Imitate God, since you are the children He loves.’

We spoke of what this might look like in day to day life. Getting down in the ditch w/people all around us and actually caring for others rather than our own selves. Listening to these students respond in worship let us all know that they were hearing and the Word was doing what it does –

For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart. Hebrews 4: 12

Watching some of these faces with names and souls come in to a relationship with Christ for the first time was humbling & overwhelming… it always is. The minute I forget or am desensitized by the Gospel is the minute I forget who I really am… and may I not forget what I came out of – but constantly remind myself of what He’s done for me; therefore, strive to live every day as an imitator – of Christ. To love those faces, the ones that have names and souls.

crazy faces

Coming Up! February 6, 2013

sound check

A big thanks to http://www.JenniferMcAteerPhotography.com for her fantastic photos from the Strength to Stand conference this year! This was one of my favorites! More to come and more to come about what’s going on around the BBP Band and the new website!

 

 

super summer mississippi- woot! July 15, 2011

many moons ago :), i attended a camp called super summer mississippi that takes place at mississippi college in clinton… mississippi, obviously.

it’s a leadership camp where one had to go through certain requirements to attend. as a camper, it was about 400 students, very personal, and tons of time invested in the Word and what it says. this past week, it was around 1000 students, still personal and we dug through scripture like it was our job 🙂 a super communicator by the name of greg pinkner of knoxville was our speaker & and super worship leader, dave hunt, and his posse band from nashville were bringing the music… and God was glorified :).

upgrading from many to a few moons ago, i had the privilege to be under dave’s leadership at FBC Nashville working as a youth intern as well as a singer in the worship band. i learned more in that time about what i do now more than any other time or place i’ve been a part of. as we walk through seasons in our lives, we see things more clearly at times than others. looking back i realize what a precious time this was for me- learning, growing, walking in the calling… and trying to figure out how to do that 🙂 super summer mississippi this week was a little mini-reunion, for me anyway. singing behind someone i consider a mentor and a great teacher of leading it was such an encouraging moment this week. and it wasnt planned- just happened to work out that way…

it was a flood of memories that reminded me why i do what i do- mainly b/c that’s how i’m wired and what i was created for… we all have something we were created for & you know what that is…it’s that thing inside you that you love, that you’re good at… so how are you gonna live it out?

Compassion and the Gospel…. and guts July 2, 2011

today i had a mini talk with a great friend and as our dialogue unfolded, i was reminded with great urgency: the Gospel-compassion, mercy, grace, justice… they are all intertwined. there can’t be one without the other for an effective Gospel, an effective truth that resonates into everyone’s hearts… the sad part is only a few react to the resonation.

i grew up in a place where, looking back, compassion was abounding; but somehow i missed how to present my faith effectively. being married now, my husband has taught me by example that presenting my faith is as simple as living it. living it would include all of what i spoke of a minute ago: compassion, mercy, grace, justice…

everywhere i travel, it seems like we have all begun to present ourselves as a divided group- either we are so compassionate that we leave out the Gospel when scripture says, ‘And how will they hear without a preacher?’ (rom. 10: 14)… or we are so Gospel oriented that we forget the compassion when Jesus was full of it! ‘But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.”‘ (matt.9:36)

somewhere, somehow, we have GOT to find the middle! we have got to find the guts to live with compassion and live out the Gospel! personally, i think it takes the most guts to live out the Gospel. no one is ever gonna get it right 100% of the time- that’s why we’re not GOD!:) but He does want to have that relationship with us so He can guide us to living with the most guts… who’s gonna have some guts today?

as i’ve said before, when you lead worship, some songs get old- but may we NEVER forget that all of them have a message… and this is one of my favorites:

Hearing… faith… June 18, 2011

So as i have shared over the past couple of weeks with the groups i’ve been able to be with, God has been really working on me and reminding me that when i move away from the basics, the core of who He is and what He is trying to accomplish, that i’m missing the big picture every time.

for example, the scripture that started all of this was Romans 10:17- ‘So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.’ for me, the Lord has been reminding me in this that to be encouraged in my walk, and to continue to know more about who He is and His character, i have to be in His word HEARING and THIS is what builds up my faith-endurance-perseverance…

somewhere along the way, i think at times we get so caught up in the little things- each other, situations, circumstances- that we slowly veer from what God has intended for us until we can’t even see the light IN the tunnel… does that make sense? then it becomes a bunch of jumbled scripture and me trying to make scripture be what we want it to be, instead of what it was intended to be; thus, the vicious cycle continues.

to me, faith is not a product of human reasoning… you know, we convince ourselves that faith is the smart way to go… b/c technically, in the world’s eyes, in the flesh, it’s not. it’s a product of hearing the word of God!

Galatians 3:22- ‘But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.’  in other words, the promise of faith is given to us when we believe in jesus, when we accept Him for who He is and what He has done. the amazing thing, is that God doesnt let our faith stop there… faith isn’t given to us in full and then we ‘lose’ it… we can continually grow it, encourage it, feed it… through God’s word!

if you dont know what i’m talking about i’d love to talk more with you about it, or find someone who does know the Word and talk to them… God is for you- and THAT”S scripture (Romans 8:31) 🙂 what a promise!

So why not give it a try? get in God’s word and see what He has for you- not your situation or your circumstance… just YOU! Sit with Him just a little while each day and see what He has in store for you… it’s BIG… 🙂

 

show love… summer here we come! May 31, 2011

i havent blogged much- ok, at all- about the tornado b/c it’s seemed to have affected me even as i still sit in my same kitchen, and those that were truly effected may still be waiting for their own spaces again. a couple of years ago, i had cancer, yes, and as time has passed, i try not to ever forget those feelings- those of true urgency to have those around me know the Lord, those feelings that became so passionate when i realized that my life was ’tissue paper thin’ as i’ve heard so many speakers put it.

i’m not gonna lie, i was glad that my space wasnt hit, that isaiah and i came out of the bathroom with all of our things in tact; but as i have seen the reactions of the people here, it’s all coming back around- those feelings from being sick: we dont have time to wonder if people are being saved, we have to act! we have to show them!

Jesus said in john 13:15 ‘I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you…’ in this passage He had just finished up washing the disciples feet. i love several things about this, but my favorite is the fact that Jesus had been telling them how to conduct themselves and have a place with Him, but he went a step further: He SHOWED them by washing their feet.

as i continue to look around at what will take years to rebuild, i am constantly reminded that while i pray for my words to fall on good soil- or to be received well- i’ve got to remember that my words wont console a broken heart but my actions can bring hope, and a reminder that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

OK! all that to say, our summer as a band or maybe even the rest of this year- we are still praying through that :)- we are shoutin’ out SHOW LOVE! with a new song all about it, some new worship tunes we’ll be featuring at a few venues this summer, shirts designed with our friends at http://www.ooshirts.com, we are gonna do whatever it takes to lift up our neighbor and remind them of the Greatest Love ever given- JESUS!

so come out and have a great time with us this summer! we kick start at atlanta fest in stone mountain, ga, and we will end with some awesome back to school rallies! check the calendar and if you see an open date- give us a call! let’s share the love together!  

I will praise Him… April 20, 2011

‘The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusting in HIm and i am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices and with my song I will praise Him…” Psalm 28:7

If you know our family, you know that our daughter, Isaiah, LOVES music- just about any kind. The last couple of years, we spent a lot of time in Japan, and during that stint we took a Gaither Vocal Band DVD titled ‘Reunited’. There’s a song called ‘I will Praise Him’ as performed by the Isaacs…. and it will change you world!!

Our two year old latched on to this song and still hums it around the house. As I was reading this morning, I came across this verse and immediately stopped. The verse right before it says, ‘…Blessed be the Lord b/c He has heard the voice of my supplications!…’ David is saying that God heard his prayers, and w/the next verse, that He is his strength. David trusted God b/c He was his strength… and the end result was that David’s heart was helped. David in turn rejoiced, and w/his songs, he praised.

As you walk this week, there might be some things that you just cant control, like family decisions, friends, health, situations that you have no control over no matter how hard you try. But be encouraged! God will hear your prayers! Run to Him for strength and LET Him be a shield! Trust and know that your heart will be helpd… it will be encouraged and lifted…. and PRAISE Him for it all!!! Let God prove His character to you today and this week… it might surprise you 🙂 please forgive the video quality- it was all i could find w/o asking you to cue something 🙂

timing… April 2, 2011

so, myself and trent (keys) made a lone trip to lead worship last night for Crossroads Fellowship in Jackson, Missouri. we will also be leading them sunday morning for worship- woot! we got the call for this just about 9 days ago, so this was a short notice thing… which is amazing- and we love doing this. it keeps it fun :)… most of the time…

but to rewind a minute:

i’ve had my world shaken up a bit in the last few weeks. and as i talked to a friend on the phone a few days ago, she brought up ‘getting back to the basics’… which we laughed at b/c we always giggle at the cheesy cliches’. but she was right- in making some decisions about life in the last few weeks, i was rocked a little bit, just to be honest. i realized that my particular ‘basics’ was just getting away, praying about what was happening around me, and seeking the Lord and what He says- period. not just seeking Him in my situation, but seeking Him and His holiness.

now to fast forward:

we got to missouri yesterday, sound checked, changed in the church bathroom, and headed out for worship. the night went well, and at the end, it happened. in a spontaneous moment of testimony, a broken man shared of his son’s new found journey with cancer. and as he asked for prayer- i became broken. in that moment, God reaffirmed all of those conversations we’ve had over the past week and a half… and all i could do was smile. 🙂 which is what i’m doing now even as i write this. God in all of His amazing grace reminded me of one of the reasons why i do, why we do what we do- to encourage… as i felt i could encourage this man, i was encouraged.

please pray for our friend jordan who is beginning a new season in life, and for his dad, tom; tom, took his son’s name to Jesus thursday night and asked for healing. please stand with him in that prayer!

His timing… was perfect… for all of us.

His timing is perfect for you too 🙂

new tune for the weekend.. March 31, 2011

so in keeping with the music idea, trent (keys) brought this one to the table a few weeks ago, and we are loving it!

it’s A Mighty Fortress, by Christy Nockels… i havent been able to find a video of it, so if you find one, post it!!! the entire record is called ‘Life Light Up’, and it’s a definite must have if you’re a Nockels fan!

hope everyone has a great weekend listening to some great music!

 

listen up! March 25, 2011

so a new blog idea thown out at me what what music am i actually listening to… after trent (keys) and my friend, jennifer, introduced me to pandora- free internet radio right on my iphone-… i’ve made a good 23453 stations.. ok- not really.. but i have made quite a few of my favorite artists… something came on yesterday that i can’t get out of my head though- so i wanted yall to hear it!
so in trying this out- i’ll try and get you a youtube/vimeo link… if not- just the song… anybody else with great ideas, let me know! thx!

faith…a big little word March 23, 2011

so if you know me at all, you know that at any given time, i will drop a ‘you know guys, people are dying and going to hell; we’ve got bigger things to worry about…’  which is really my way of coping with the craziness that is the world around me. you know, someone cutting you off in traffic, forgetting the power cable to your pedals, having to make crazy decisions that arent always fun…  but as i thought about that saying this morning in my time with the Lord, i realized that my statement is so much bigger than i give ever realized….

i chat with my friend, annabeth, who is from my area, but currently living in Israel (the country) serving the Lord, doing who knows what 🙂 – that’s our joke… shout out annab!  she gave me these thoughts as we chatted about faith today: ‘a pretty good definition i heard was this : Faith responds to Gods character and Gods written word’ & ‘faith is not based on knowledge but it is also not brainless or blind. It is not based on what you know but on what God has said’

i love the thought that faith is not ‘brainless’… christianity is viewed brainless at times- and rightfully so… so many in the name of Jesus do some pretty radical thing… and radical in this context means no common sense whatsoever. it’s just like we talked about, faith isn’t something one does out of ignorance. just because you have faith the the three legged chair will hold you up, doesn’t mean it will. the tough thing about faith is that it’s one thing to talk about it, it’s a completely other thing to have it.

like in annabeth’s case, every day that they have been in Israel has been a time to practice their faith. she and her peeps are in a country where folks arent always open and willing to hear the gospel- want to know a sombering thought: neither are people in the USA. but i digress…

she and her friends have been constantly living out the gospel through loving those around them and sharing their faith as much as they can…they’ve steadily been getting in God’s word seeing what He has to say about faith and His promises… seems easy? well, in the last 12hrs, a bus was blown up in jerusalem, which is about an hour from where they are living. the hostility in the country is growing by the minute… now where does your faith stand?

should that not be happening to her b/c she’s doing ‘the Lord’s work’? should she stay on and ‘trust she is protected’? maybe come home b/c things are escalating rapidly and God gave her a brain to know when to go?… all are valid questions… so where does one’s faith play into all of this?

personally, i think it starts in the very beginning. the very moment you said ‘yes’ to Jesus and your heart was changed, your faith began. His word is what strengthens your faith every day, so that when you are faced with craziness, you know what God’s word says and you can stand on it. not waivering… knowing HE that has called you is faithful and HE will do it – 1Thes.5:24…

i ask that you pray for my friend, annabeth, and her friends. they are brave just by being in a foreign nation and showing the love of Jesus; but friend, we can do that right here at home… and not just grow our faith, but that of those around us as well….

no one is listening… March 8, 2011

over the past week i’ve been hearing several stories of those being ‘turned-off’ by, well, honestly christians in general. whether we like it or not, we all get lumped into the category of the extreme groups of christians who think that living in perfection is the only way to Jesus… when in fact, JESUS is the only way to Jesus. 🙂

our humanness causes us to try and calculate our sins at times, instead of remembering that we are born sinners, period. no matter what. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except by Me.” Jn. 14:6… so great news! there’s how we get to God! it’s not by what we DO. or how much we don’t accumulate- it’s through the grace that Jesus shared with us by dying on the cross! there’s nothing we can add to that to make it any more spectacular!

looking at the ‘perfection’ category, or ‘my way or the highway’… or ‘we believe that everyone has to live the christian life THIS way’… the Bible says, “…Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.” 1 Cor. 8:1b… i read that this morning and just stopped. that’s it! all my knowledge i can share with any one that doesn’t believe in Jesus won’t do ‘a world of good’ -as my mom says- if we do not LOVE! if you are one who has lived in the faith a while, that shouldn’t come as a surprise. but sometimes, in all of our book reading and discussion, we forget to just love that person next to us. without love… no one is listening. so get out there today- and LOVE!!!

columbus, MS… play on… :) February 21, 2011

so last night, the bbp experience traveled the short distance over the columbus, ms, to fumc columbus. it’s always a party and a great worship time when we head that way… ok, and honestly- the food is incredible. i’ve never seen a group eat like these people! there is not a slice of pizza to be found, or a mound of the tiny mcdonalds cheeseburgers (though, i confess that i find those equally delicious 🙂 ). red beans and rice, grilled chicken, cakes, salads… incredible… what’s incredible about it is that there are volunteers everywhere! and they are loving every minute of feeding this group and serving for this particular event- and that’s EVERY time we go over there 🙂

we began worship last night and from one song to another, the Lord reminded me of how much fun we can have in worship. it’s so easy for me to get caught up in the little details, like hums, rings, being out of tune, missed chords; but last night, God was so good to remind me that while it is good to keep a handle on those things, the bottom line is that we worship with our whole self… and that can totally entail laughing, jumping around.

when you get to be a part of worship all the time, it’s easy to step outside of what it was truly intended to be and become overly involved in the minor details. God has been reminding me over the last week, that no matter what is going on around me- all of which i cant control- i  can control my heart in worship… and that is what HE is looking at, that is what HE is searching… minor kinks are good to work out so that they dont happen, but the focus of our hearts is the true matter at hand.

funny enough, this applies to life- a dirty house, slacking on homework, forgetting to bring something someone asks you to bring (i’m awesome at that on, right leigh 🙂 ), etc- the focus and intentions of our hearts is what God is truly longing for us to realize has the utmost importance in our walk with Him.

when we felt like we had finished last night, no one moved from their seats. we all froze… quietly… i have the unfortunate gift of laughing during awkward moments… therefore- i laughed. they laughed. someone shouted out a song… and we worshiped for 30 more minutes… so columbus fumc- play on and stay strong!! may we all be reminded in the coming days to check up on our heart’s focus during worship and let that be what bleeds out into our every day life 🙂

 

an off weekend… February 12, 2011

so this weekend, the bbp experience gets the weekend off. this came at a great time… micah’s (bass) brother had a baby (his wife had a baby, you know what i mean 🙂 ),  trent (keys) & daniel (drums) got to kick back with our friends vicki, jusdson and jessica and  watch some movies, shaun (guitar) got some great time with his boys while giving his wife some well deserved ‘me time’, and me… well we had some family come and visit and we are gonna catch ua play basketball this afternoon…

we dont get lots of these weekends (which we are very glad to say b/c that means we are getting to have a blast playing Jesus music); but when we do, it’s nice to be able kick back w/friends and family and just talk about what’s going on, about God, about weather, … everything and nothing:).

i ran into a friend as i picked up isaiah yesterday from day care and he say, you know this weekend is good- get recharged… and i left thinking, you know, he’s right. i keep thinking of all the things i could get done this weekend, when i could really be enjoying it. all this to say- it’s ok to kick back. to leave things where they are just for the short time to visit and listen to everyone you love around.

enjoy tomorrow worshiping at your respective places.. and rest in that time knowing that monday will come… but just for now, enjoy saturday and sunday

brownies anyone? 🙂

love… from eph 3 February 9, 2011

14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.      Ephesians 3:14-19

this morning, God’s love through these verses pretty much slugged me in the head with a club and drug me back to a place of complete amazement… amazement and repentance- if we are really being honest with each other.

paul is encouraging/exhorting those in ephesus that they would be strengthened with power thru Christ so that their faith would rest in Him… i feel like a result of this is love, plain and simple. the bible tells us that ‘God is love,’ right? so he then says since we are rooted in love (we all know i love roots :)) and strengthened through Christ so we can therefore: ‘to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge…’

i love it! it’s such a contradiction that almost makes crazy, but so humbled at the same time! did you see it?! paul is praying that they (we) grasp ‘how wide and long and high and deep’ the love of Christ is, but then He comes right behind it and says ‘to know this love that surpasses knowledge…’ he’s praying that we know this love, but he also says that it will surpass/exceed/be greater than what we know.

so maybe i should raise the question of ‘how will we know this love?’. he answered this right before this verse: ‘I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.’ Through faith! Jesus gives us the ability to know this love, even if we can’t wrap our minds around it… that’s what makes it God :).

where ever you are today, this week, whatever comes up in life, remember that there’s a God that loves you SO much that you can’t even wrap your mind around it… your faith has to enter in the picture just to grasp the thought of His love!

 

Dayspring DNOW… relate… February 7, 2011

What a weekend!!! the guys and i hooked the trailer, chowed down on micah’s (bass) home made cinnamon rolls, and headed out towards Mobile, Alabama, to Dayspring Baptist Church. we knew the weekend was gonna be jam packed, but we had no idea!:)

we made it down after traveling a new road towards the coast… this is a big deal for us, b/c we like knowing where we are going so we can plan the lunch stop 🙂 we finally made it to civilization only to figure out we were 30 minutes from the church… so much for lunch!

we loaded in, sound checked, and immediately turned to the giant beach ball in the room for an improvised game of hacky sack … we really didnt know what to expect. the youth area at dbc was amazing… and so was the weekend…

stuart hall was our speaker, and he talked about how a believer in Christ is to reflect what’s already in their heart back to God; he used a mirror to illustrate… then smashed with with a baseball going 90mph to show what we do to that reflection when we choose our own way. so many great points were made, like: you dont unbelieve yourself to a place of sin, you sin your way to a place of unbelief… in other words, you chose to ignore the right decision so many times, that you’ve deceived yourself into thinking it was always ok from the beginning.

saturday night, the guys and i got to lead an extended session of worship and then tell my story about cancer and play some more of the music from roots run deep. there was a junior there by the name of morgan- hey morgan!- who has had a similar battle…except for most of her life. and to be honest, i only got to speak with morgan once, but her countenance was one of great encouragement and strength… it was so uplifting to have her share just a few seconds of her story and how no matter what, she was gonna worship… and she did… as we ended up having a GIANT youth choir behind us helping in corporate worship on sunday morning. AMAZING! trent (keys) and i both pulled out one of our ears just to make sure we heard what was happening! i took a little ‘preservice’ footage you can catch on my facebook page…. hilarious hallelujah chorus 🙂

backing up, i began thinkin about morgan’s situation and how it relates to worship. this weekend what about relating to God, self, community, etc… but her situation causes to me to again ask the question: why does it take something like that for us to search for this God that loves us SO much that He sent us His son to give us relationship with Him! i take it a step further and ask you the reader and even i as the writer one question: do we really believe that God is who He says He is and did what He says He did? b/c if we believed both of those, would it wouldnt take cancer or death of a family member or trouble at home/school/work/marriage… it would just take waking up in the moring 🙂

we enjoyed the weekend Dayspring! it was such a pleasure/privilege and we cant wait to see yall again!

Monroe Co. DNOW 2011 January 17, 2011

been working this year (all two wks of it) on some new music- worship & feature wise. and am learning that i have got to be a little more disciplined in tons of areas: time management (HELLO!!), choices, people that i surround myself with.. there’s a long list.

so, a new year, new events… and this was one to remember for a long time. the guys and i made the trek up to amory, ms… and two hrs later, we arrived at a school gym where our new friend, zack mobley, had most of the sound/lights up and rolling… so the usual order: make fun of bethany b/c i cant back the trailer, let micah back the trailer, unload, set up, square away the reason why the computer isnt working, get it working, it works, soundcheck… which was great-so thx zack… now we rest… yeah right…

night one was incredible. our speaker, brian richards, was bringing it… no really- no fluff, except that part about eating doughnuts and the tri-athalon swimming debacle. but really- brian’s take on the theme of the weekend, discipline, was spot on. his teaching about how we become disciplined- by just making the choice… i love it. and you know, he’s right- to be disciplined for Jesus, it is a choice. one that has to be made every single day a believer in Christ wakes up. needless to say- there’s no other description for it than ‘bringin it’… 

Emory Colvin of Dramatic Encounters brought drama to the 600 of us this weekend. She had some amazing monologues that went along with some of the music the band and I were doing this weekend. Honestly, i didnt know what to expect- i told Emory that after the first night- but those monologues absolutely drew me in, and gave me such a fresh perspective of drama through worship and what it really can be! give her a look up on facebook if you’re interested as she’s always traveling & willing to minister no matter the size of the venue/crowd!

now on to worship— WOW. as the one who has the priviledge to plan out the worship segments, i never know how the participants are gonna receive each particular set. i mean, i know what they like and what they’re gonna really get in to; but i never wanna neglect the new songs that aren’t well known, b/c they could very well be the next anthem that people shout to sing. this weekend, there wasn’t one song that we sang that these folks weren’t dialed in to. i’m talking singing with everything they had, searching their hearts through worship, trying to find what God had for them there this weekend- we as a band, were totally humbled by the opportunity to lead such a large group that was ready to rock for Jesus! 

Saturday night was a total celebration. period. three hrs of worship, drama, painting through worship (shout out to megan prosper), teaching, preaching, more drama, more worship… and NO ONE wanted to leave. did you catch that? NO ONE wanted to leave…. i began to think as the guys and i were revisiting the night over pizza afterwards- why dont we feel that way about sunday morning church? or the service time that we get to experience in corporate worship? and if we are honest with ourselves, it’s not just about the leaders that are leading us, but it’s about the attitude we bring to worship. example- we were singing sat night and when we got through, the students kept singing… at what point have we decided that sunday morning isn’t the place for that?

i was speaking with a friend that had come over from tuscaloosa so hang out on sat and told him- you know, we just have to pray that this DOES become the norm where we are… so that’s my thought i’m taking away from this monroe county dnow 2011- pray that every service you walk in with rock your face off and encourage you to change the world around you for Jesus no matter where you are!

 

 

Behold- round one… Harvest Church December 6, 2010

If you happen to catch one of our Christmas worship times we are calling ‘Behold’, you’ll hear a lot about God and His faithfulness… and as believers, actually experiencing His faithfulness- rather than just talking about it -is always so comforting. Yesterday was the beginning of our eight show mini-tour, and we got to experience just that.

Back in the summer, I had toyed with the idea of a Christmas tour, prayed about it, but was nervous about what that all involved. Shortly after, Trent (keys) came to me and said in jest, ‘you know, we should do a Christmas tour…’ Well that was all the confirmation I needed :). We all got together, prayed about it, and as I began telling people what we were doing, it happened. Synopsis: God gave me a vision, I was nervous about it, God gave me confirmation through another believer, and as I stepped out, He proved faithful… seems easy enough.

Why can’t I do that in other things in life? For me, it’s so easy to let go of the things that I KNOW i can’t control… but when I think I can alter the outcome- honestly, I do everything I can to make it happen. As our pastor says, you can’t sit on your ‘blessed assurance’ and expect God to just drop things in your lap; but one has to be able to have faith and works (with a pure heart) and let God do what He’s gonna do… scripture says in James 2:14-19:

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? ¹⁵ Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶ If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷ In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. ¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

In other words, they go hand in hand… in ALL situations…I know this is a simple truth, but in the simple truths, I find encouragement & comfort.

Yesterday, at Harvest Church, the vision God gave us came to fruition. Everything that He had layed on our hearts- encouragement and times of refreshing with the Christmas story- came to pass yesterday morning… seven more to go! We hope to see you there! 

prayers…. November 15, 2010

you know, sometimes when i pray… frankly, it’s frustrating. i know what i’m trying to say, i dont feel like i’m saying it right… the list goes on. i’m telling God what’s going on- like He doesnt already know- and then i throw my hands up and think, ‘is this even worth listening to?’…

yesterday, i got to listen to my neighbor give his testimony- which is incredible btw- at his home church. i spoke with him the night before and he told me about how different it is to speak to a church crowd vs. his employees… and the more i think about it, he’s right. what a bigger responsibility it is to talk about God to other people- on ANY level and at ANY place. we had prayed the night before for God to give him the words and wisdom in how to communicate his personal story… and God granted exactly what we had asked.. it was amazing.. havent i already said that? 🙂

friends of ours in pensacoloa, fl, had been praying for a friend to be saved for quite some time, last week, he did just that. God answered.

on the other hand, a girl we had prayed with this past week didnt quite get the answer she was looking for. it was an answer that changed the course of her life- not the way she was planning it. we prayed for God to work a miracle, for Him to heal, for him to save a life, but He had another plan. question: does this make God any LESS faithful or good?

i dont claim to know all there is to know about God and His plan. but i know this, we as believers in Him have to start concentrating on the goodness of God.. finding the His love in the midst of our adversity. it’s there, it is always there.  but we have to stop looking at the physical and start going deeper.. like when i pray and and i think, ‘is this even worth listening to?’…God absolutely thinks it is worth listening to… we have to decided in the beginning that no matter what the outcome He is faithful and His plan is good.

the Bible is a great place to start searching out God’s plan for your life. 🙂

strong in … grace… November 3, 2010

so our family is on vacation this week!!! woot woot!!!! this is really a first official family vaca pretty much .. EVER. we are really pumped about it. the blue ridge mountains is where we found ourselves this year. it’s been amazing to have quiet times in the middle of the smokey mountains… and it’s exactly what everyone says it it- beautiful. i looked at my mother-in-law yesterday and questioned how in the world people don’t believe that there is at least something bigger than they are- why wouldnt one want to search that out?

still yet, as i have thought about the question, i continue to find myself in 2 timothy ready the 1st and 2nd chapters. there are too many great things in these verses to talk about in one blog, but the one i want to point out is 2tim 2:1- ‘you therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. while, i feel like paul is telling timothy to find his strength in the  grace of Jesus, i can’t help but apply it to the question at hand: be strong in grace of Jesus towards these people who have yet to believe.

Paul goes on to talk about being an unashamed workman… meaning, carry yourself so that you wont be ashamed by your actions… in life, it’s so easy to write people off who dont believe; but maybe, just maybe what they are missing in their life is that grace that Paul talks about in Timothy. and maybe, as believers in Jesus, we are supposed to be an earthly picture of that grace…

honestly, in my eyes, these mountains are a picture of God’s grace… that he would make something so beautiful for my eyes to see- that’s how much God loves all of us 🙂

marvelous light… September 16, 2010

last night, trent (keys), daniel (drums), & i traveled down to almost picayune, ms, where we met up with our new friend Tommy Brogan who heads up Jacob’s Well Ministries &
Right Direction Youth Ministries. obviously, this guy has a lot on his plate :).

as usual, we get semi-lost on the way down, deciding to follow the GPS instead of the map that was emailed. it took us in a longer way.. that ended in a dirt road… that pretty much gave us the ‘deliverance’ vibe- cue banjo music here. just as He always does, about a mile down the road from where trent was almost crying b/c of our lost status, there was the venue- pearl river baptist association.

we walked in, met tommy, set up, and did our usual run thru of ‘the anchor holds’ and ‘go rest high on that mountain’ on instruments that will NEVER be used in our set. now, i have to back up a minute and tell you that i was informed when i committed to this night that the crowd was always a toss up… how many, who, etc… that never really bother me or the guys, we just love getting to minister with people who are doing everything they can to make the Gospel know in its truest form: love.

we ended up getting to hang out with three youth groups and the women from Jacob’s Well Ministry. i’m gonna confess right now, God ministered to me more through those women, then i could ever have imagined. you can read more about them and what they do on their website linked above.

by song two, most of them were in it to win it… some were not.. and God chose to encourage those women and students through the music last night- i truly believe this. sometimes, i think worship can be convicting, it can reveal things in us we didn’t know were there, it can give us strength, it can heal our hearts… last night, it was encouraging and uplifting- to them and to us.

as someone who’s been doing this a long time, honestly, i get sick of certain songs; last night, God changed one particular song for me and made it new again- marvelous light. watching them sing ‘sin has lost it’s power’, and ‘my dead heart now is beating’, was sending chills through me knowing what some of those women had been struggling with. i just thank GOD that he chooses to be a God that is an encourager to us all, a comforter, our provider of a way out, our healer…. a God that delivers us out of the pit… i think i’m preaching to myself :).

i would just like to leave you today with one thing: no matter what is going on around you, what is God trying to show you about Himself today?  when you stop to look, in that stillness He will show you… and encourage.

the crossroads September 14, 2010

so, this past weekend i led a great group of women over at Timbercreek Camp with breakthru ministries for their annual women’s retreat. if you have no idea where or what i’m talking about, then click the link or google it…. you have GOT to experience this place.

anyways- truthfully, it’s a bit intimidating at times to lead such a group of women. We had teenagers all the way up to ladies in their 70’s… talk about planning a worship time for such an age range. as someone who does this frequently, there are songs that you’d rather walk ten miles in the snow than play, but for some reason, this weekend, one of those songs came out and showed off :).

of course- it was God… God was all over, all in it… nothing to do with what i had planned or the speaker. it was HIM… you must understand this to get the rest…

as we were singing, ‘there’s no God like Jehovah…’ the Lord reminded me- there’s a point in our lives as believers when what we sing has GOT to become REAL- otherwise, we just singing. we have to believe that ‘there is NO God like Jehovah…’ in the good times as well as the bad. thus, enter the title- the crossroads. where has your crossroads been? at a stand still? maybe you’re standing, just staring at it still deciding if you’re gonna choose to believe. notice the word choose… i dont think God wants us to believe, just because… i think He wants to take that step in our crossroads- make the choice. we can choose to continue on our way, or we can step into His path and let him take charge of our circumstances.

i know this may be common sense, but a little common sense never hurt anybody 🙂

refining…. August 25, 2010

so, as a christian, i’ve heard a lot in my life about ‘refining’.. being in the ‘refiner’s fire’… God is ‘refining’ you that you would become something new…. no lie, as i have been thinking about this word this week, i looked it up and here’s what i saw:

‘To purify from what is gross, coarse, vulgar, inelegant, low, and the like; to make elegant or excellent; to polish; as, to refine the manners, the language, the style, the taste, the intellect, or the moral feelings.’

seriously. what’s so amazing about this? i’ll tell you.

in my life, i’ve been at a fork in the road for a while. not really knowing, or maybe even believing, that God had something so much bigger than i could dream up. as i was talking to some friends this week during their drama of starting another semester, i gave them the saying ‘we only see through the knot hole, and God sees over the fence.'(redneck, i know, but so true) … and then i hit me- i’ve been choosing all this time to only see through the hole. did you catch that CHOOSING… it took a long discussion with my husband and some serious digging to realize that I am what’s holding ME back from BELIEVING that God CAN do ‘exceeding [and] abundantly above all that [I] ask or think, according to the power that works in [me]’… eph 3:20

the ‘ah-ha!’ moment was this past sunday when our pastor taught on that very verse in ephesians 3.  i have GOT to BELIEVE that HE can do more than what i can see. now let’s not take this out of context- this has nothing to do with records, knowing people, what i have, etc; it has everything to do with the fact that i can’t decided to put God in a box by only believing what i see in the knot hole even though i know that there’s more over the fence.

therefore, i’m being refined- it’s only something God can do. He allows us to search and dig in the middle of a hard ‘season’ until we have the ‘ah-ha!’ moment that puts all the puzzle pieces together. he’s ‘…purify[ing] from what is gross, coarse, vulgar, inelegant, low, and the like; to make elegant or excellent; to polish; as, to refine the manners, the language, the style, the taste, the intellect, or the moral feelings’…  He’s allowing me to be polished and become more mature to believe in what’s over the fence… no just what i see through the hole.

so be encouraged this week- there’s more… search and dig… ephesians 3 is a great place to start.

i have no idea who this little girl is, but what a way to remember what the God we serve can really do!!

“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,” Ephesians 3:20

weekend on the okatoma… August 16, 2010

it’s amazing to see youth ministers come together with their groups and really want to reach their students in creative ways… that was this past weeked. the youth pastors from mendenhall, monticello and crystal springs and decided to have a back to school retreat canoeing. you must know that there can never be an encounter with our friend from mendehall, chris layton, with out a ‘tavin dillard’ video… here’s one of my particular favorites:

anyways, the guys and i ventured down to seminary, ms, and parked at the okatoma river. now, i grew up about 45 minutes north of this very river, and i think i only dared to venture down it once… it was quite memorable. one of the girls in our group decided that letting go of the rope swing as she was over the river wasnt a good idea… dragging the bank with her entire body while screaming was the option she chose… 🙂 i’m laughing right now as i tell you that!

the youth pastors ran into a little drama before the weekend ever happened- venues werent big enough… there was a huge turn out for the retreat… there was no where to go for them, so they got in the car and drove down the road to a local church. God  was so good and the staff there was ready and willing to accommodate the amount of people- even if it maxed out their facilities :)… they were there before we started, helped us clean up after, and had a smile the entire time. i heard their youth pastor talk about how another church had done the same for them on a trip this summer, so it was grace that they would be able to return the favor…

it was such a picture of the body of Christ loving on one another- just like Christ loves us. it was amazing to see this and then listen to our speaker for the weekend, Gary Permenter, speak on saturday night about the credibility of the Gospel. he talked about how WE have a part in the credibility of the Gospel.. how we speak, treat others, our attitude, our motives, our lifestyles- all of this plays into the credibility of the Gospel. how do we lift our hands and sing to the top of our lungs, or talk about how great church is/was, and then we are found doing the very things we preach against- trashing our friends, having a terrible attitude about our circumstances, etc… it was great to hear students really challenged right where they live- it was something attainable to apply… for everyone… even if he did quote almost an entire taylor swift song, it was great 🙂

the rain held off, canoes/kayaks were baptized in the okatoma, and the weekend was finished by cature the flag and the biggest pan of brownies i’ve ever witnessed in my entire life. even micah (bass) said, ‘how ’bout that pan of brownies?’.. translation: THAT’S RIDICULOUS.

oh that we give the Gospel credibility…. you know, you can start doing that right now…

deer slayer…. the new a.k.a… August 12, 2010

until we run over some other insanely large animal in the middle of the highway.

besides the obvious, praising God with all we are and giving Him the glory in all we do, i have to clue you in on a few things about bbp band trips: 1- it always comes back to the food, 2- the trip is always at least 50% laughing, 3- there will ALWAYS be a new story from every road trip. here’s the one from tonight:

great night at trace crossing– in tupelo, ms- SHOUT OUT!! lots of great students/friends, great fellowship, worship, food, games, etc…. always a blessing to get to minister with friends. anyways- we decide to head back earlier than we had planned b/c it’d been a long day for all of us with other engagements, family…

we make it through everywhere and get about 6 miles from buhl, al (that’s pronounced ‘bule’… long u), and bambi’s mom- we’ll call her lucille- jumps right out in front of the truck. i mean there was no going anywhere!!! literally decides to jump as we are driving by. now let me say all this and stress that i was going the speed limit and was reminded tonight of why that is so important- in case a deer wants to end it’s life in front of your GMC. the deer flew at least 30 feet from the car and then slid on the road another ten- it was over… no movement. no dumb and dumber moment where we all feel sorry for her and try to help only for her to wake up, tear the car apart and run off… she went to meet her maker… the deer you say? … well- possibly my truck. but that will be determined in a few days.

meanwhile, as we try to make it back to trent’s house- keys- the vehicle starts smoking something fierce and we have to pull over on the next road… which happened to be the road to trent’s house. we called his dad, he came and towed us; we unpacked, repacked, and now i’m sitting at home wide eyed at 2am b/c i cant get the replay out of my mind- which hasnt been a bad thing.

you see, micah- bass- pointed out that the air bags did not deploy- which i believe is the Lord’s grace b/c we hit the deer hard enough… the grill is crushed. it was a blessing that the 18wheeler coming towards us wasnt closer- that wouldve thrown the deer back onto our vehicle. as we pulled off of the road, a sherriff’s car was in front of us and turned around to help…

as i sit back and really think about the incident- it’s almost overwhelming to see just how much God cares for us… cares for you. even though the big picture seems massively depressing – b/c chances are it will cost more to fix the truck than it’s worth- God had His hand of protection on us. now if all of that wouldve gone the opposite way, does that mean he doesnt care? No chance! it just means that there’s another place that He has ordained to show you his grace…  what a priviledge to know that the God who created the heavens cares enough for me to show me grace at all!!

here’s a video i took of trent’s dad hooking up the vehicle…. btw- it was daniel’s -drums- birthday!! what a birthday present right?!

hook it uuuuuupp….. August 6, 2010

so as i’m watching HGTV the other night with andy, we got stuck on a show called ‘curb appeal:the block’…. so i have to tell yall this. they assess the house that they want to facelift and start looking for neighbors to help. they come to this one couple and the man ask them if the could help them by painting their front porch ceiling, the man replies by saying, ‘well, hook it uuuuuuuuuup.’
yes, that’s a serious event that happened. we just about fell out of our chairs laughing at the fact that the man had no desire to change anything about himself- even for television.
of course, i’m gonna make something ‘bible-esque’ out of this: it was such a great reminder that God wants us to be ourselves- not our old selves that were lost and too ashamed to call His name, but our NEW selves…. the self that has to WANT to never be ashamed about who we are in Christ! I loved the unintentional encouragement that man gave me the other night as we laughed for a good 20minutes. it’s reminded me today to strive to be all He wants for me!
so….
hook it uuuuuuuuuuuuuuup.

Super Summer 2010- refreshing… July 19, 2010

soooooo….. my commitment to you is that I finally keep up with blogging! i think i just expect you to not really care or most of you reading are where i am so why would you ever want to read this… but i’m going out on the limb that you do want to read it and that it’s worth reading 🙂

before i get started: shout out to gold school

so amazingly enough- we made it through super summer mississippi this past week. it was an incredible week with a great speaker and a great worship band….all the makings of a typical youth camp experience- but i didnt mention one thing. the one thing that separates this particular week from anything else i’ve ever done: the fact that the youth were there READY to worship. READY to experience God in a way they never had before… and it was infectious.

Normally, i dont like that word when it’s associated with christianity. i think it’s a bit gross and unnerving- but i digress… those students were ready to see God move like never before in their own lives.each night, they came ready for something more than the night before. not from the band or the speaker, but from GOD…. what a concept!

our pastor said something this morning that closed the week of ‘camp’ perfectly: our worship ‘stinks’ b/c somewhere along the way we’ve forgotten our salvation.

this had rocked my world all day! and what’s so great about it is that i got to experience a giant group of people who, on night ONE, were ready to encounter a TRUE and LIVING GOD. how refreshing 🙂

fan badge…. what??? December 18, 2009

so i’ve finally gotten a fan page on facebook… i know, where have i been.. .i’ll tell you where i’ve been… EVERYWHERE but ANYWHERE with enough time to make a fan page…  i mean really. so i’ve discovered this excitement that is a ‘fan badge’, so i’m testing it out right here: ok, i tried it… it didnt work… i’m also discovering in all of this how much i really dont know about all this facebook jazz…

for those of you that know me, you know that i was like the last person on earth who wouldve ever gotten a fb page, but due to massive social pressure at one winter weekend with a floridian church that will remain nameless, i went against everything i am, and i got a page… it was addicting at first, it’s annoying at times, but now this love/hate relationship is much better…. i’m learning…

all this to say, hop on over to fb and laugh at how i have no idea what i’m doing- then become a  fan 🙂 …. dont worry, brad npr… twitter is next. beware www.

Liberty @ 615 May 10, 2009

so hanging out with the students a Liberty@615  days ago- lets just say these students are ready to go. i met a significant number of stuents who were just visiting, just joined or had become a part of the ministry there in the last few years. just this simple fact was so refreshing- seeing a ministry that is continually growing. they have an amazing place to meet- an entire floor that’s all theirs. i got there late (shocker) and walked in, they were waiting and ready to go! the best part about this was that they knew where all the right ‘buttons’ were on the board… this doesnt happen everywhere… or most places for that matter. the students were ready to hear my story and what God’s allowed me to walk through and were encouraging when it was all over in the sense that they were applying it to their own particular stories… that may have been my favorite part.

thanks guys for letting me hang out and minister with yall! have a great summer!

b

winter weekend- whoa… fbc-npr February 27, 2009

so where is westfield, nc, you ask? who knows.. i still dont. trent went with me on this trip and it took us over three hours to find it from the greensboro airport… it shouldve taken about an hour… it was all my fault, and i take sole responsibility- except for that one time trent told me to go straight b/c it looked like a town was up ahead, and 10 miles later, we were still waiting for that town to magically appear. 🙂 we survived and got there just in time for dinner- which, btw, best camp food- EVER. i’d get lost again for one of those salads!

about the weekend- we hung out with the peeps from FBC new port richey, fl- shout out! speaker: john r. evans- a man of many talents, one of which was to challenge everyone to serve… by doing it- serving. i have to be honest, i dont remember a lot about the talks, but i do remember serving- and how that’s our first act of being a believer- that’s what jesus came to do: ‘to serve, not to be served…’ i know that’s somewhere in matthew :). 

in the mts, of western north carolina, i dont think i was prepared for the scene i’d get to meet the Lord in every day.. our meeting place was on top of ‘mountain’ which overlooked lots of mountains… if any of you wanna post pics of this please do- i dont have any! it was so amazing, we worshiped sunday morning facing the mountains.. it snowed just a touch during breakfast, and we got to see the sun stream in while we were singing… ‘your mercy is falling like rain, and i know i will never be the same” .. God was moving, and i wasnt ready to leave, really.. just to pray and thank him that ‘morning by morning his mercies are new’ (lamentations 3) – speaking out loud, so i could hear it for myself, that He is new every morning.. it was a definite time of refreshing. 

best part of the weekend: the sweet friend we were praying for got saved! how faithful God is!!! we knew it would happen… the Lord gave me peace that it would- it’s why we were there! amazing… or, john, i think this would qualify as awesome. so.. awesome!

most random event of the weekend: an accident! while on our way to the oasis that is taco bell, a girl pulled out on top of me and … drama. we were all ok… but i have to wonder, of all the times to be driving by, how in the world did we come by right as she was pulling out?.. in the pic where i’m on the phone, there’s an old man who’s back is to the photo- his name was tommy something or other, i’m not sure… anyways, he became my buddy as only i could make a friend— it’s always the ‘special’ ones, we’ll call it… he was a character all within himself- let me know that he knew Jesus ‘most of the time’ and that we were ’25 miles north of winston-salem; i done told you one time!’… wow. just to let you know in case you were worried, we made it to taco bell.. and i had my crunch wrap supreme and soft taco with a large MtnDew, as they are writing it now on the snazzy new bottles.  

 

 

 

the wreck was a bit surreal- we were all shaken up. trent, john r. and the youth pastor, brad, was with me… i was driving so of course that prefaced tons of ‘women cant drive’ jokes… i just found it amazing that God would choose to allow us to ‘run into’ (literally) these people…

 

there are so many stories from this  weekend, these are just highlights… the greatest thing is that Becca is now a sister! rock on, girl!  

 

this is not becca, it’s steve.. in all pink.. it was worth posting.. and yes, i ripped the pics from brad’s facebook- which i was socially pressured into joining, but am somehow now getting sucked into… help… 

 

 

thanks NPR! it was a blast and hopefully we can all hang out again soon! send pics!

the vibe February 4, 2009

so monday night, andy, isaiah, our friend jesse, and i traveled down to centreville, al, to hang out at a new thing they have going on called ‘the vibe’. it was over at four points baptist church- and all i have to say is, it was rockin. they had a band that played music for a while and then we were invited for me to play some music and andy to talk a little while. i played a few songs from roots run deep and andy spoke for a while about the urgency to tell other people about what God has done for you. 

i thought about that point the entire time.. i’m sure he said other things, but that’s all i can remember. i started to think about how if we believe that God has really done what we say he’s done in our hearts, why dont we show it? why do we shy away from just telling what we know- what God has done for us. i think this is where we make being a christian so much harder than it really is. if we accept the Lord, it was b/c he called us, and his words (in the bible) drew us to him, right? so how hard is it to tell people about that… or maybe ‘why’ is it so hard? anyways.. just a thought…:) 

we had a worship time at the end, and so many people came for prayer about this, some gave their hearts to the Lord and others prayed for miracles… it was refreshing to see people you dont even know have an outward response. … thanks centreville! it was a blast!

here are some pics sent over to me from stephanie terry:  www. focus1photography. net 

LIVE IT- valley view dnow February 2, 2009

holy cow… what a night! i cant say enough about the folks at valley view bc and what’s going on down there. lets just start from the beginning:

so the youth guy there-his name is hank-gave us a call and we headed down for the dnow weekend- LIVE IT. i gotta be honest, i had no idea what to expect. i got my friends together, and we headed over. when i got out of the truck, all i could say to them was, ‘well, here we go!’ dont get me wrong, i didnt think something crazy would happen, but it seems like every one has become a little numb to these things- i was wrong, completely wrong. 

worship was great, my husband, andy, talked for the night about what else- LIVE IT. being real about our being believers in christ and encouraging them where they were. we had an altar time just for them to respond to what they’d heard, pray, talk to their friends about it, get their ‘jazz’ in order before they went on with the weekend. this is the part that God began to show off :). andy stopped the invitation, and gave a call again, to those who were’t getting (as i like to say) their jazz in order… then it happend: one lone guy from the back.. i have no idea what grade, but he made his way down and talked a minute to hank, and then prayed… then ALL of his pals came… then more GUYS came… now i know this doesnt sound like much, but it is when GUYS start responding.  we girls kinda go overboard with crying and talking to our friends in these settings; but it was all guys at the altar… and then we worshiped

it was a time of rejoicing for me. i pray over these things every time i walk into the room. i pray that God moves, that people are changed, that everyone walks out ready to be honest about who they are in Christ; and this night i felt so encouraged that they got it. even if it was just for a moment, they got it… 

yall pray for the youth down there at valley view— they are blowin up!!!

thanks guys! it was rockin!

722pensacola December 2, 2008

so last tuesday night i got to hang out at 722pensacola- http://www.myspace.com/722pensacola- and it was great! it’s funny how you can do this for a long time and forget how relaxed it CAN be… translation- it’s just fun to be in place where people have their junk together :). anyways, my family and i had gone down that way for thanksgiving week and i got the opportunity to be a part of this particular night… and God blessed in a way that was so refeshing to my soul(without being too corny). i sometimes get annoyed with myself at my amazement that God would ordain a time and place for me.. i’m sure i’m the only one that feels that way- haha. there was a woman i got to meet tuesday night, and she was incredible. we had stories that ran along the same lines- a few things that were different; but they both ended in a loss. her story began this past year and the hard part came this summer… and she was like steel as she talked about it. i remember that time- being like steel, i mean. making sure no one knew my heart was hardening everytime i had to explain what was going on.. and always leaving out details b/c i didnt want the world to know my business… just the ‘high points’. this woman seemed to do the same- if you’re reading this, i’ve been praying for you:)… it’s crazy how God pieced everything for me to be at 722 that very night, and for her to be there as well… why am i amazed?? b/c i think it’s incredible that no matter where you are in life, how far you’ve come from a certain part of your life’s story, God will ALWAYS use it. period. it’s always a part of you. His grace that got you thru is the same grace that allows you to share what you’re all about- and whether you like it or not, you are part of your story. … i hate to cut this short, but isaiah is yelling that it’s time to eat.. shocker!:)  be encouraged! God is using you!

no pressure November 6, 2008

‘for as the sail makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.’ isaiah 61:11

 

so this really caught my eye today… the fact that the Lord will make praise spring up before all nations. i know that when i’m leading worship or in a crowd of corporate worship, i get aggrivated at those that seem so passive about what’s going on around them. my entire thought process is then thrown off by my thinking about my surroundings.. what’s going on around instead of what i’m there to do. 

i feel like this verse really took the pressure off of me that i had created for myself: He’ll do it. i can only do what He’s called me to do: worship, and He’ll do the rest. whether or not i’m the only one in the room giving it everything as if it were my last time to praise, He’ll bring glory to Himself- and doesn’t need my help doing it. that takes a load off .

strength to stand February 6, 2013

so glad to have talented friends! thx so much to Jennifer McAteer for the great photos!

Great time at Super Summer Mississippi! July 15, 2011

many moons ago :), i attended a camp called super summer mississippi that takes place at mississippi college in clinton… mississippi, obviously. it’s a leadership camp where one had to go through certain requirements to attend. as a camper, it was about 400 students, very personal, and tons of time invested in the Word and what it says.
this past week, it was around 1000 students, still personal and we dug through scripture like it was our job 🙂
a super communicator by the name of greg pinkner of knoxville was our speaker & and super worship leader, dave hunt, and his posse band from nashville were bringing the music… and God was glorified :).
upgrading from many to a few moons ago, i had the privilege to be under dave’s leadership at FBC Nashville working as a youth intern as well as a singer in the worship band. i learned more in that time about what i do now more than any other time or place i’ve been a part of. as we walk through seasons in our lives, we see things more clearly at times than others. looking back i realize what a precious time this was for me- learning, growing, walking in the calling… and trying to figure out how to do that 🙂
super summer mississippi this week was a little mini-reunion, for me anyway. singing behind someone i consider a mentor and a great teacher of leading it was such an encouraging moment this week. and it wasnt planned- just happened to work out that way…
it was a flood of memories that reminded me why i do what i do- mainly b/c that’s how i’m wired and what i was created for… we all have something we were created for and you know what that is… so how are you gonna live it out?