Mighty to Save August 12, 2008

I sing on the worship team every weekend at my church and last weekend I felt worship went especially well. Not sure what it was but people seemed to be more into it. It was awesome to watch.

For me personally, it was an amazing time of worship. I was moved to tears a couple of times. We did some great songs that fit our current teaching series perfectly. At the end, we sang a song called “Mighty to Save” by Hillsong. This is my new favorite. The first time we sang it, the words of the song didn’t really sink in till about the 2nd or 3rd service. It’s been a few weeks since then. This past weekend, the words came alive and they mean more to me than ever.

Savior, He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save
He is mighty to save
Forever, author of salvation
He rose and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave

It hit me how strong those words are. If I sing them, I really need to believe that God is indeed mighty to save. Without going into a lot of detail, “he can move the mountains” is huge in my life. I believe God moved a mountain when he decided we were going to have a baby this year. He’s currently moving a mountain by allowing my Grandmother to live through her terminal cancer, but not only live, she is thriving. And, when I sing those lines, I always pray that he will move a mountain in some extremely important people in my life. People who, it seems, won’t ever be moved. Is God really mighty to save? It takes all the courage and strength inside me to sing those words. I trust Him to do what He says He will do.

After all, he rose and conquered the grave.

Embracing Accusations March 5, 2008

I’m a big Shane & Shane fan. I have all of their albums and have seen them in concert several times. I love their lyrics and the harmonies of their voices together just sends me to a whole other place. This song is one of those. When I listen to it I feel like I can do anything. The song is encouraging, haunting, and it blesses me every time I listen to it.

If you haven’t heard of Shane & Shane, browse around iTunes for their stuff. You won’t be disappointed. 

Here’s the lyrics:

The father of lies, coming to steal kill and destroy
All my hopes of being good enough.
I hear him saying, “cursed are the ones who can’t abide.”

He’s right, hallelujah, he’s right.

The devil is preaching the song of the redeemed,
That I am cursed and gone astray.
I cannot gain salvation
Embracing accusation.

Could the father of lies be telling the truth of
God to me tonight?
That if the penalty of sin is death, then death is mine.
I hear him saying, “cursed are the ones who can’t abide.”

He’s right, hallelujah, he’s right.

The devil is preaching the song of the redeemed,
That I am cursed and gone astray.
I cannot gain salvation
Embracing accusation.

The devil’s singing over me an age old song
That I am cursed and gone astray.
Singing the first verse so conveniently over me,
He’s forgotten the refrain…
Jesus saves!

I can’t get this song out of my head… January 27, 2008

I used to be a BIG Jennifer Knapp fan when I was in high school. I think because she is someone I could really look up to at the time. For those who don’t know, she is a Christian music artist who sounds similar to Melissa Etheridge. She plays guitar and to me, she seemed like a rock star. She hasn’t had an album recently (I think her last one was in like 2001 or something), but check her out…you won’t be disappointed.

Anyway, recently I found a live album that she recorded in 2006. I had never heard a song she wrote called “Martyrs and Thieves” so I downloaded it and I have been hooked ever since and I’m trying to learn to play it on the guitar. This is my “lifesong” right now. Enjoy…and download the song!

VERSE 1: 

There’s a place in the darkness that I used to cling to

It presses harsh hope against time

In the absence of martyrs there’s a presence of thieves

Who only want to rob you blind

They steal away any sense of peace

Though I’m a king I’m a king on my knees

And I know they are wrong when they say I am strong

As the darkness covers me

BRIDGE:

So turn on the light and reveal all the glory

I am not afraid

To bare all my weakness knowing in meekness

I have a kingdom to gain

CHORUS:

Where there is peace and love in the light in the light

Oh I am not afraid

To let Your light shine bright in my life in my life

Oh I… am,          I…

VERSE 2:

There are ghosts from my past who’ve owned more of my soul

Than I thought I had given away

They linger in closets and under my bed

And in pictures less proudly displayed

A great fool in my life I have been

Have squandered till pallid and thin

Hung my head in shame and refused to take blame

For darkness I know I’ve let win

REPEAT BRIDGE AND CHORUS

TAG:

Can you hear me? (4x)

VERSE 3:

Well I’ve never been much for the baring of soul

In the presence of any man

I’d rather keep to myself all safe and secure

In the arms of a sinner I am

Could it be that my worth should depend

By the crimson stained grace on a hand

And like a lamp on a hill Lord I pray in Your will

To reveal all of You that I can

REPEAT BRIDGE AND CHORUS

OUTRO:

There’s a place in the darkness that I used to cling to

It presses harsh hope against time

I’m lyrically challenged November 1, 2007

Some of you may not know one of my loves: MUSIC. If you don’t believe me ask my husband how much $$ I’ve spent on iTunes this year.

I’ve decided to embark on music-writing. Tonight was my first ‘real’ attempt. I dusted off the ol’ guitar and started playing around. I happened upon some cool chords. I don’t know what any of the chords are, but they sound cool. I even have a melody, but no words. That is the hardest part for me.

How can I write a song without sounding cheesy or I’ve-already-heard-that-a-million-times? I think the chords are pretty original, but words are tough for me. I love writing, but this is different. It has to flow (maybe rhyme?). It has to make sense, but not be completely obvious.

My friend Doug and I are thinking of recording together. He’s much better at guitar and he plays piano. Plus he knows the names of chords…that will help! We were playing around today through text messages trying to think of a name for “us”. The choices were downright awful so I won’t be mentioning them here!

I’m excited about doing this with him. I’ve known him and have been singing with him for as long as I can remember. Back in the day at Sheridan Hills. I’ll upload songs whenever we get it together and record!

Pray for inspiration!

The longest blog post ever September 6, 2007

My pastor blogged about a really important issue today…one that is special to me. Weirdly, we’ve been having a lot of complaints from people in our church about our music. It’s either too loud, too boring, not enough varirety, too much variety…blah blah blah.

We can’t make everyone happy…it’s impossible. Guy explains it well here. Just a warning: it’s extremely long.

Charlie Hall Concert recap August 9, 2007

Wow, the concert was amazing. Charlie and the band did a great job. I, along with two of my friends were his “merch” girls. He even gave us free t-shirts! What a great guy. He was selling his CDs on a donation basis meaning: if you have $12, great. If you have less, that’s fine. If you have more, even better! I had one person give me $3 for a CD. Another gave $40 for a CD. He said he’s been doing this for years and has never ended the night in the negative!

Shauna Niequist was also wonderful. I got to hang out with her the whole day, along with our creative team. We went to South Beach, saw Britto’s gallery (AMAZING, by the way!) and ate lunch at the Delano! It was so much fun. She challenged us and inspired us and it was great to just hang out and ask her poignant questions about her job, her new book and her life! Thanks again Shauna!

Check out our website for pictures! Thanks and many accolades go to Miss Beca Companioni (15 years old!!) for taking such awesome pics of the concert!

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!

God Things, Part 2 May 3, 2007

Earlier in the week, I posted a “God Thing” moment in my life. Here’s another:

In college, I did an internship for the Center for Reclaiming America; a non-profit grassroots organization. This is their mission, according their website: To inform, equip, motivate, and support Christians; enabling them to defend and implement the Biblical principles on which our country was founded.

The organization was founded by Dr. D. James Kennedy in 1996. Since then they’ve done a lot of great things in politics. According to their site: As a means to accomplish this mission, the Center focuses on the key fronts of the modern-day culture war: Religious Liberties, the Sanctity of Life, the Homosexual Agenda, Pornography, Creationism, and Judicial Tyranny, in addition to exposing organizations which oppose Biblical standards of decency.

Although, I didn’t agree with everything they did, I still really enjoyed working there. I learned a lot about politics and how the government works. Aside from that, they actually paid me, which is usually unheard of for intern positions. I got my own office, computer and phone! They gave me a lot of freedom. I made several of their publications and mainly did a lot of research for the writers. It was a fun summer. I even came back worked for them over my 6-week winter break.

After Joel and I got married, we moved to Lexington, KY for a brief stint. God soon revealed that He had other plans for us. He answered my prayers and moved us from hickville back to my HOME in south Florida. When we got back down here, I was actively looking for a job. Our church hired me about 3 months after we moved on a temporary basis.

The Center knew I was looking for a job and they offered me one about a year ago, after I had already gotten the temp position at the church. I went to interview and it went well. They offered me more money than I get here at the church. However, it wasn’t what I wanted to do and I knew God was telling me to stay at the church.

Now, a year later, the Center has closed its doors. Everyone (as far as I know) was laid off. I don’t even know what I would’ve done if I was laid off right now…especially after Joel and I just bought our new home. We would be in deep trouble.

If that isn’t a God thing, I don’t know what is.

Pray for the Center for Reclaiming America employees and for Coral Ridge Ministries. There’s a lot of stuff going on there that is stemming from Dr. Kennedy’s sickness. They need our prayers!

God things April 30, 2007

I had a couple of ‘God thing’ moments this weekend. Some really cool stuff has happened in my life lately and I really wanted to share what’s been going on!

First, we had a women’s event here at the church on Saturday. It was an event to honor our Mothers. I was asked to lead worship with Angela and also sing a special song. It took me weeks to figure what song I was going to sing. It was going to be “Legacy” by Nichole Nordeman, but I wasn’t feeling it. Then, I had it. I was going to sing “I Need You To Love Me” by Barlow Girl. I’ve been wanting to sing that song for a while…here was my chance.

The morning of the event…I was in the shower around 6:30 when it dawned on me. Our youth group was leading worship this weekend and one of the girls in the group was singing “I Need You To Love Me”!  This was her first solo in the church and I definitely didn’t want to steal her thunder. So, I’m thinking “crap…what am I going to sing…the event is TODAY!”

Earlier in the week, I had watched American Idol…where I posted my reactions here. I was so moved by the music…especially the amazing duet between Celine Dion and Elvis Presley. That was pretty awesome. But the one song that stuck out to me was “I’ll Stand By You”, which Carrie Underwood had sung that night on Idol. I had downloaded it the next day on iTunes and was listening to it all week. Little did I know that I would be singing it at the women’s event that morning.

God laid that song on my heart while I was in the shower. Immediately, I thought “no way…it’s too short notice..I barely know the words and I can’t change my song!” Then I remembered sweet Kasey who would be singing the other song all weekend. So I pretty much said, “God if you want me to sing ‘I’ll Stand By You’, make it really easy to play on the guitar or find a track.” After the shower, I went to my computer and looked up the guitar chords.

Dangit.

I don’t know Bm. How can I not know that chord?? Well, I didn’t and I couldn’t figure it out in time. So, I went on iTunes and searched for “I’ll Stand By You”. There it was. The karaoke version of the song by “The Pretenders”. Right away I thought it would be cheesy, but it really wasn’t. I downloaded it, put on my iPod, finished getting ready and we were out the door.

The whole car ride consisted of me practicing the Carrie Underwood version with the words and then singing it by myself from the karaoke track. Joel and my Mom said no words….except I think I heard my Mom singing along from the backseat a couple of times!

When it was finally time for me to go up and sing my song, it was the absolute perfect moment for that particular song. It was at that moment that it hit me how much God was working in just the few minutes that I had been awake while I was in the shower.

Before it was my time to sing, four women had just shared stories about either being a Mom, Grandma or daughter. It was all very moving and mostly everyone was crying. How am I supposed to follow that?! So, I get up there and share the story of how I had a completely different song planned and how God had orchestrated this moment. Then, I did something stupid.

I dedicated the song to my Mom in the front row and almost lost it. But, I regained my composure and sang the song.

About halfway into the song…everyone was wiping their tears and listening. All of a sudden a couple of the ladies directly in front of me started to stand up. Immediately I thought..”are they leaving? Am I that bad?” Then I see them motioning for other people to stand. Before I knew it the whole auditorium was standing, holding hands, and singing “I’ll Stand By You” with me. It was one of the most amazing moments in my life.

I kept thinking, “I am so glad that I listened to God this morning!” Wow. Then I realized how often I don’t listen to Him. I’m so glad I listened.

That’s it for now…I will probably post some more amazing things happening later in the week.