A Worshipful Heart

I've run away with my team......and God!

As you read this, I am presently holed up with my team in a cabin near Gatlinburg, Tennessee for a concentrated time of retreat - retreat from busyness, from the noise and clutter of daily life, retreat from performance, retreat from distraction, retreat from surface relationships. We've taken about 60 hours of each year to spend focused time with God and with one another for the past ten years. You can read more HERE about why I believe Worship Team retreats are so worth it.

So by now we've spent hours in worship and quiet times with God, we've played some crazy games, we've eaten too much, we've maybe gone snowtubing together, we've learned new music, and we've been challenged in our walk with God and with one another as well.

We love this time to be together. It's always worth the money, the sacrifice, the time. As we run away, God renews us, and He renews our relationships with one another as well.

We love to go away together!

Where's your favorite spot to get away from it all?

Knock Knock! Who's There?

So lets do a different type of roll call today, shall we? I have been looking at where people are from that visit this blog and I'd love to have a name to go with these locations that are recurring......

So, let me know who you are and where you're from....

Who are my readers from......

1) Eight Mile, Alabama (and where is this?)

2) Albertville, Alabama

3) Ryde, New South Wales

4) Charlevoix, Michigan

5) Tuscaloosa, Alabama

6) Astoria, Oregon

7) Silver Springs, Maryland

8) Nashville, Tennessee

9) Burlington, Ontario

10) Africa

And anywhere else???

To all my readers from Huntsville, Madison, and Harvest, Alabama - THANK YOU! You read more than anyone else and you are the main reason I began to blog in the summer of 2007.

To everyone who has stopped by - I love sharing the journey of my life with you all. Thanks so much for joining me for just a bit of my journey.

Everybody speak out! Don't be shy! I love knowing who is reading!

This is What I Dream Of.......

For a long time now God has put a dream on my heart. Sadly, I have yet to truly feel like I have walked into the reality of this dream and that grieves my heart. Tonight I want to share it with you and ask you to pray with me about it. I deeply desire that God begin to bring this dream to pass.

You may have heard me share in times past that I have felt God calling me to train indigenous worship leaders in other countries. I don't know why. I don't speak another language. I don't really have any contacts. But the desire and dream is there and it burns deeply in my heart and will not go away.

I began to get a glimpse of this dream from God years ago and as a result, planned a trip to work with church leaders in the Bahamas and train worship teams. But then they were hit by two hurricanes in six weeks and as a result, we instead spent our week there rebuilding a pastor's home. We worshiped God with hammers and saws instead of guitars and our voices. And I have never been the same.

God really began to wreck my heart with this dream during the last couple of years as I studied more on the biblical foundations of worship. I realized that if I was truly zealous for the glory of God, then I should be concerned that His glory cover the entire earth and be known in all the world. I became hungry to worship with other people from the body of Christ the world over. I longed to help worship leaders that have few resources, little teaching and even less encouragement - to just come alongside them and help mentor them in some way. Not because I want them to be like me, or because I think I know it all as a worship leader, but because I was desperate for help and for someone to care when I first began to lead worship. I was hungry to learn. I had no budget and not much help 16 years ago and was thrilled by any mentoring I could get. I would love to help worship leaders that are in a similar place - and to help equip and resource them and their teams to make God's praise truly glorious right where they are!

Part of this dream comes from the sad reality that much focus is put on training and equipping pastors, but not much effort or attention - if any - is given to the training of worship leaders, particularly in developing areas of the world. I believe this is horrendous mistake because worship is so much more than singing songs. Worship ministers are practicing theologians whose mandate is to declare the truth and absolute goodness of God and to lead others to do the same. Worship doesn't prepare us to hear the truth, it IS the truth!!! Worship is an aspect of spiritual formation that we cannot afford to ignore or belittle. It is a new wave of missions, according to missionaries I talk with - a move of the Spirit of God unlike anything they've seen before.

These words from Psalm 66 proclaim the desire of my heart.....

"Shout joyful praises to God all the earth! Sing about the glory of His name! Tell the world how glorious he is. Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds!" Your enemies cringe before your mighty power. Everything on earth will worship you; they will sing your praises, shouting your name in glorious songs. Comd and see what our God has done..." (v. 1-5a)

Won't you pray with me that God will open the doors in my life to see this dream become a reality?

What's your dream?

Where I'll Be....

Tomorrow morning at 8:30 am sharp (who am I kidding?) I will be heading to the Smokey Mountains for some quality time with my team. Pray for us as we retreat together - for safety, for joy, for community, for plenty of time to simply be with God, for a fresh word of God for each of our lives.

And whatever you do, don't stop reading here! Regular blog posts will appear despite my absence and you don't want to miss those!

For more on why I am a firm believer in team retreats, read my article on TheWorshipCommunity.Com and feel free to join in the discussion!

See you soon! Have a great weekend and keep those comments rolling in!

This Website Makes Me Cry.....

I have a beautiful necklace and earrings that I dearly love to wear. These are not expensive pieces of jewelry - in fact my necklace was free and the earrings cost only $10. But they are beautiful, and more than that, they are deeply meaningful to me.

First of all, I made my necklace while at re:Create and each bead represents the dreams God has laid on my heart. When I wear it, I think about all the things God is calling me to do, the vision and dreams He has placed within my heart, all of which are much too big for me to ever accomplish on my own. I know that they are indeed "God-sized" dreams and I can't wait to see them come true!

Additionally, these pieces of jewelry are made out of beads made from recycled paper and these beads were made by impoverished Ugandan women who are determined to break the cycle of poverty for themselves and their families. They do this work through an organization called Bead for Life.

"BeadforLife eradicates extreme poverty by creating bridges of understanding between impoverished Africans and concerned world citizens. Ugandan women turn colorful recycled paper into beautiful bead jewelry, and people who care open their hearts, homes and communities to buy and sell the beads."

The stories of these women are remarkable, unbelievable and all at once sad and inspiring. I wear my jewelry proudly, thrilled that I can be a part of supporting these women who have faced incredible odds with great courage and resilience. As I wear my "necklace of dreams", I am supporting their dreams as well!

So go check out BeadForLife - buy a piece of jewelry, or some beads to make gifts for your friends. Or, host a bead party! I have bought beads to make special gifts for special women in my life and plan on hosting a party later on.

I encourage you to be a part of making someone's dreams come true. Help these innovative women - and their children - become independant and beat the cycle of poverty and the tragedy of their pasts. Go support BeadForLife today!

 

Compassion Speaks

Before the events of the past few years in my life I had never really thought about the prayer that I've often heard uttered: "Lord, have mercy." But in the midst of death, damaged and broken relationships and dreams, and a deep sense of depression, I learned alot about compassion. I learned about the humility of receiving compassion and the sadness of instead being judged. In my own brokenness, I learned to weep with those who weep, to mourn with those who mourn. And in the midst of it all, I learned to pray the prayer, "Lord, have mercy". Sometimes there seems to be nothing more to say.

Mother Theresa of Calcutta - shown here holding an armless baby - was a woman who knew alot about compassion and mercy and love lived out through the touch of her life. You might say that those were the identifying marks of her life - showing by her physical acts great love, compassion, and mercy on the very least of these in this world. She was a small woman, yet her life spoke loudly. It has been said of her that "she could not differentiate her love for an individual from her love for God." For her, no task of love was too small or too undignified.

This is exactly what I've been thinking this week about the intersection of worship and missions so some of Mother Theresa's words really stand out to me:

 - "It is in giving that we receive."

 - "We learn humility through accepting humiliations cheerfully."

 - "The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted, uncared for, and deserted by everybody. The greatest evil is the lack of love and charity, the terrible indifference toward one's neighbor...."

 - "Do not allow yourself to be disheartened by any failure as long as you have done your best."

 - "Humility is truth." (chew on that for a while!)

 - "Let us not make a mistake - that the hunger is only for a piece of bread. The hunger of today is so much greater; for love - to be wanted, to be loved, to be cared for, to be somebody."

 - "We can do no great things, only small things with great love."

 - "Never let anyone come to you without coming away better and happier." (this convicted me!)

 - "Intense love does not measure - it just gives." (God give me love like this!)

 - "Kindness has converted more people than zeal, science or eloquence."

What stands out to you? When has compassion and mercy spoke loudly to you? How is God calling you to speak compassion and mercy with your life?

 

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Excitement Builds at The Brook!

Today was an exciting day at The Brook! We had five baptisms, which is always just so thrilling and touching to see and we also had a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

Our interim pastor, Richard, spoke to us about "Living a Life of Healthy Boundaries", concluding the "Boundaries" series we've been in since the beginning of January. As always Richard spoke straight to the heart.

Here's what we did:

1. My Savior Lives

2. Let the Praises Ring

3. The Wonderful Cross (haven't done this in FOREVER!)

4. Revelation Song

As always, our people love the high energy songs. But they also love songs about the nature and character of God so they really worship and respond when we sing "Revelation Song". We ended the set of worship with a quiet moment, focusing on the word: "Be still and know that He is God!".

Sermon - Richard

Baptism - two our our praise team members had children baptized today, which was so meaningful for our team. I loved watching Tim and Sheila Pierce (Sheila is one of my leaders and my partner in adventure) baptizing Micah and seeing Andy and Kathy Mackenzie's daughter Sarah baptized. Two of my greeters were also baptized today - Sarah and David Becker! So it was a day of great celebration for our church family.

At the end of the service the Pastor Search Team made the announcement that - by unanimous agreement - the Pastor Search Team, Management Team and Staff have agreed to pursue Brian Mayfield for the position of our new senior pastor at The Brook.

We've been waiting for this day for a long time! We interviewed Brian last weekend, and had time to just hang out with he and his wife Morgan for the day and we are all so deeply impressed. As impressed as we were with Brian's credentials, I was most impressed by the Mayfield's heart for ministry. I will share more with you about Brian and Morgan later this week, as well as what those at The Brook can expect in the near future, so stay tuned for more details!

I continually thank God that HE IS FAITHFUL to meet us where we are. Our church family has worshipped through both extremely painful times and extremely joyous times. No matter what has been going on, God's love endures forever....

So how was your Sunday?

*This post is a part ofSunday Setlists over at FredMckinnon.com. Check out what other worship leaders did today!*

A Great Opportunity!

I am so excited about an opportunity that God has dropped into my lap. When I was at Re:Create a few weeks ago, I met Ronnie Brock, who works for Compassion International. He shared their vision for working with churches and invited some of us to go with Compassion to see some project sites. Our family has sponsored a child through Compassion for over 24 years so I was thrilled at this possibility!

I'm so excited to be accompanying Ronnie, Scott Dawson, and about eight other new friends to Honduras March 9-13 to see Compassion's projects there.

We currently sponsor Zequiel, a young boy from the Dominican Republic. I thought it would be so exciting to sponsor a child from the country I'll be visiting so I decided tonight to also sponsor Guadalupe (her picture is below)! I am not sure I will actually get to meet her but if I do, it will just be a bonus!

Please pray for me as I prepare for this trip - that God will speak to my heart, and awaken me to His work and purposes in those I encounter.  And if you'd like to sponsor a child, just click HERE.

It's Time To WAKE UP!

 God has been doing a deep work within my heart for the past three years, revealing more and more to me about the connection of worship and missions - about the reality that SHOULD BE, but often is not. I've become more and more convinced that missions, social justice, and simply having our hearts aligned with the heart of God should be a natural outgrowth of time spent with God in worship.

In other words, I believe our worship should point us outward and SEND US OUTSIDE THE WALLS.

Mark Labberton has provided, in my opinion, the best definition of worship I've ever seen in his book "The Dangerous Act of Worship". I might warn you that his writings will rock your world. I can only read a few pages at a time and then I am just wrecked and have to have a week to think about it. At this rate I may never finish this book......

Here's what Mark says: "Worship turns out to be the DANGEROUS ACT of waking up to God and to the purposes of God in the world, and then LIVING LIVES THAT ACTUALLY SHOW IT." (emphasis mine)

My friends, it is time to quit going to church worried only about how it meets our needs and being cranky when it doesn't. It's time to quit focusing only on our desires and wants and to truly fix our eyes on Jesus, becoming aware of His work in the world around us. It's time to quit worrying so much about how comfortable we are or want to be, and instead to realize how very needy most of the world around us is - both physically and spiritually.

We are blessed beyond measure.......We are loved beyond comprehension.

It's time to worship God with our eyes wide open, to encounter the Living God and then to go out in the world and LIVE OUT the reality of that encounter.

Church, it's time to wake up!

Lord, stir me from my slumber.......wreck my heart for YOUR purposes in this world. I want to be awake and alive to YOU and I want to live a life that vividly shows it!

Who Inspires You?

We all find inspiration in different places. I find it in beautiful vistas as I travel, in books, and of course in music. But many times I most inspired by people I have met along the path of my life. Knowing them helps me to say a resounding "yes" to the call of God on my life and they challenge and inspire me to think outside of the box where I presently live and am comfortable.

To inspire means "to fill with an animating, a quickening, or exalting influence". Many people have inspired me through the years - my husband, parents, family, children, teachers and coaches, many people in our congregation, friends who have faced the toughest of challenges, or who are really making their lives count for God.

This week I heard the story of how a young woman in our church started an AIDS relief organization in Zambia called to help stop the spread of HIV. She makes several trips a year and they've got a staff member, educational programs in place and even support an orphanage. uh, Wow! What excuse do I have for not answering the call of God??? This week I am inspired by Tannen to take a leap of faith and do all God is calling me to do!

So help me write this post. Who are you inspired by?

Whose life and walk with God animates you, quickens you, and is an exalting influence on your life?