The fruit of my labor July 31, 2007

I have kept it quiet for SO long and now I finally get to share it!!

The Church of Pembroke Pines and Hollywood Downtown is now Oasis Church!! We shared the announcement with our church this weekend and will continue to all week at our 7NOW services. (p.s. the colors really aren’t that bright…the web changed the colors).

As you can imagine, I have been extremely busy with all of the logistics of changing the name.  Everything we print had to change, and most importantly we got a new website!

Please check it out, read it, comment on it…please bear with us as we are still trying to fix some bugs…it’s not perfect, but we are so proud of it. We’ve been working on it non-stop for a month.

 OK, I’m glad it’s finally out!

Don’t forget about the FREE concert! July 31, 2007

If you live in the south Florida area, don’t forget about the Charlie Hall concert on Thursday, August 2nd!!! Bring anyone, it’s FREE! Doors open at 6:30 and it’s being held at Oasis Church (formerly Church of Pembroke Pines) off of Flamingo, 1 block north of Pembroke Rd.

Getting out of the bubble July 26, 2007

This is my heart. Hear me out. 

I’ve been thinking about music a lot lately. I’m pretty picky about what I will listen to. Most of the time I listen to Christian music. Lately, though, I’ve started to not like it as much. Don’t get me wrong…Christian music is awesome. I love worshipping to songs by Chris Tomlin, Dave Crowder, Charlie Hall, etc. Most female Christian artists have really inspired me. But there are some Christian artists that get air time on the radio and I really don’t understand why.

Here’s my thing: if I were ever able to record my music for the world to hear I really don’t think I would sign with a Christian label. Why? Because the Christians have already been reached. What about the rest of the world?

As Christians, sometimes I feel like we live in this bubble and we never get out. Trust me, I like the bubble. I feel safe in the bubble. But I know I need to get out of the bubble and make some kind of impact on the world.

I don’t know many non-Christians who will turn on Christian radio just to listen. Christian radio is for Christians, am I right?

I have always thought this way. I love it when I hear Christian singers on a secular radio station. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, I think it’s great. Jars of Clay had a song that the top 40 station would play all the time. It’s weird to me that Christian stations have started playing The Fray. I don’t get it.

That’s my desire; to have the secular world hear my heart and be encouraged by my music. I don’t know if that will ever happen or how I would try to convince Sony or some other label to sign me….But I really feel like God has put this on my heart and He would make it happen.

I don’t want to sing for the Christians. No offense, but there are people who need Jesus and my music will be for them. Look out American Idol, here I come!

Catching up July 24, 2007

Just some stuff I’ve been doing/thinking:

•  I still haven’t figured out what to sing for the American Idol producers in August. Please help! So far “Umbrella” is in the top running and somehow I don’t think I can pull that one off. Remember that I only get 10 seconds to sing and it has to be acapella. Help!
• I’m reading a new book called Sex God by Rob Bell. I started it last night and so far it’s good. I’m bad at finishing nonfiction books. They usually get old or boring really fast for me.
• If you want to read a good nonfiction book, I’d recommend this book. I couldn’t put it down!
• I love reading, so pass any recommendations you have my way…
• Speaking of reading, we (meaning our staff) were challenged this morning in devotions to always be reading something and when we’re done, if it’s had an impact on us, to pass it on or buy a copy for someone else. You never know what someone is going through and what a book can do in someone’s life! Thanks Pat!
• I’m getting my hair cut tomorrow…FINALLY! I’m really embarassed to admit this, but it’s been a YEAR since my last hair cut. I’m serious. It’s expensive to get a hair cut and blow dry…like $45! I was going a couple times a year, but then I just got lazy and my hairdresser since 6th grade retired (!!!!), so I’ve been so picky about who I’m gonna go to. I finally picked someone and I’m so excited for tomorrow. Can you tell I’m not high maintenance?

Free concert! July 21, 2007

 

If you live in the South Florida area and like Charlie Hall, you NEED to come to our church on Saturday, August 2nd @ 6:30 p.m.!

We are having Charlie Hall in concert at the Church of Pembroke Pines along with special guest speaker Shauna Niequist! It will be a night to remember and best of all…it’s FREE! Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the concert starts at 7 p.m. Hope to see you there!! Go here for more info.

 edit: Thank you Heidi for pointing out my mistake! The concert is not on Saturday, it’s on Thursday, August 2nd!!

What should I sing? July 16, 2007

Alright, it’s official. I will be auditioning for AMERICAN IDOL! AI is coming to Miami on August 22nd and a bunch of us are going to try out and just have fun!

 So here’s my plea: I don’t know what I should sing in front of the producers. Any ideas?

What does your favorite pizza topping say about you? July 12, 2007

I know this is a bit off-the-wall, but I thought it was funny…

If your date orders one meat topping…
People who order just pepperoni or sausage on their pie are generally irritable, prone to procrastination, and they often “forget” obligations (like that weekend getaway he or she promised to take with you in the spring).
Compatible with: others who prefer one meat topping

If your date orders multiple meat toppings…
Real meat lovers who pile on the pepperoni, sausage, and ham tend to be dramatic, seductive, sweep-you-off-your-feet extroverts who thrive as the center of attention.
Compatible with: people who prefer one meat topping

If your date orders one veggie topping…
Those who prefer one vegetable topping are empathetic, easygoing romantics.
Compatible with: everybody!

If your date orders multiple veggies…
These dates are trustworthy, loyal, humble, and avoid the spotlight. In fact, they’re so quiet and conflict-averse they tend to be taken for granted in relationships.
Compatible with: people who prefer non-traditional toppings

If your date orders non-traditional toppings…
People who prefer offbeat options like pineapple or extra onions tend to be aggressive, ambitious, and competitive. In other words: Don’t expect a mellow relationship.
Compatible with: others who prefer non-traditional toppings

 They didn’t have a category here for my husband. He only likes cheese on his pizza (does that even count as a topping?) I’m a meat-lover girl, but I don’t think I’m dramatic or like to be the center of attention!

(from MSNBC.com)

The little rockstar July 11, 2007

Check out my friend Chris’ son playing the guitar. Chris is the worship leader at our church, so it makes sense. I love it!

Adventures with the Homeless #2 July 10, 2007

I am on such a high right now. I’ve wanted to share this for over a week now, but I wanted to wait for my friend Sherry to share her story on Facebook. Well, she finally did today! It goes along with my post about the 30-day challenge from Mark Batterson and feeding the homeless last week.

Having read my “church in the car” post, Sherry decided to take on the 30-day challenge for herself. Well, I’ll let her tell you (p.s. Warren is our mutual friend):

Ok..I guess it’s about time to tell my story. First of all, if you haven’t read Jenn Collins’ blog on here called ‘Church in the Car’, you need to..it’s really good! In her blog, she mentions that the pastor she was listening to in the car challenged the congregation with a 30 day challenge. He said to pick one thing that you want to pray about and pray for it for 30-days. Before any of this happened, Warren had challenged me with really sticking with my devotions. Before him, I hadn’t done devotions in probably a year. So, I started off just reading a devo book and reading the bible and keeping a journal. I had the worst attitude going into it, thinking I don’t really have time for this..I’ll take maybe 5 minutes and do this. Little did I know that God was already working in my life in an amazing way. I thought about what I would pray for during the 30-day challenge. I thought about praying for a husband, I thought about praying for myself and the things I was going through, but I started to think about it and I just didn’t want to pray for anything like that. Instead, I would pray that I could somehow make some sort of an impact in the life of another person or even the world (yeah i was thinking big=)). So, I started praying that the Lord would use me to make any sort of impact. Even if that meant taking me out of my comfort zone and putting me in a situation where I can be used to further the Kingdom of Heaven, that is my ultimate goal..to lead others to our Creator! I started the challenge on Wed, June 27th. On Friday, June 29th, I got out of work and saw there was a text message on my phone. It was Warren and all the message said was: do you want to go with me to feed the homeless tonight? I about dropped my phone! I was amazed that in such a short time God had answered my prayer and in such an unbelievable way! I, of course, told Warren yes and we went that night and fed sandwiches to homeless people laying on the street in Bayside. It was incredible, an extremely sad and humbling time. The experience touched both Warren and me and since then he has completely taken off with the whole idea of helping out the homeless. He’s doing amazing things and God is using both of us to help just make some sort of a dent in the world and in turn hopefully bringing more people to follow Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Since then, I have gone back again and Jenn and Joel Collins went with us. It was humbling once again. If you read this and you feel compelled to help out or you feel the Holy Spirit tugging at your heart, please don’t hesitate to contact me about it! We could always use more people to go there with us. Warren is doing amazing things with this and this will hopefully become a HUGE ministry. If you would like to get involved, let me know or if you would like to start a 30-day challenge, go right ahead, all you have to do is start praying! I’m still continuing to do my daily devotions and asking God to continue to use me during this time.

I’m so stinkin proud of her and so excited about what God is doing in her life. I love stories of life change, especially when they happen to my best friend! God is good!

Right brain vs left brain July 10, 2007

It’s budget time at our church which means that I have to use the left side of my brain, which pretty much went into retirement after my statistics class freshman year of college. I am not a logical thinker by nature. Numbers and math frustrate me to no end. I’m not good at estimating how much things are going to cost. So, yeah, this is not fun for me.

The only awesome part is that I get to dream. I get to put things down on paper that I really need, or in most cases, really want. I like dreaming big and I like thinking about being innovative.

I definitely like the right side of my brain better. It’s more fun.