A Worshipful Heart

You're Invited

This weekend I'll be holding a Night of Worship to benefit the Give Worship Project. We'll have several worship leaders coming together to lead us in a time of drawing near to our Savior. You'll learn more about the Give Worship Project and the ways I'll be training worship leaders in other countries and providing resources for them as well. We'll enjoy some homemade cookies and we will take an offering to benefit the work of The Give Worship Project.  I'd love to have you join us!!! 

If you cannot join us I could still use your help. I need twenty people to commit to giving $100 each in the months of October and November (total of $200) to make these training seminars a reality. God is using dear friends to provide, but your help is still needed. You can also provide Spanish language books on worship for the worship leaders I'll be working with in the Dominican Republic October 27 - November 5, 2009. 

To give money, send a check made out to The Brook to Jan Owen, 106 O'Riley Court, Madison, Alabama, 35758.

To order a book for a worship leader, go to the Amazon wish list and order books to be sent. These books must be ordered this week in order to arrive in time for my trip.

HERE's the information for the Night of Worship:

Date: Friday, October 2nd, 2009

Time: 7:00 - 9:00 pm

Place: 347 Community Space on Hughes Road in Madison. (Between Brueggers and Subway)

Admission: FREE!!!!

Hope to see you there!

Humbling.....

There are many images and words from this morning that will be forever lodged in my memory. So many tender moments and loving words that were a balm to my soul and an encouragement to my heart. But one stands out in my mind because it was so humbling to me.

During our response time we were encouraged to go to someone, wash their feet and encourage them. I expected a friend, or perhaps a team member to maybe do this. What I did not expect was a stranger.

It is one thing to allow a friend to wash your feet. It is quite another to have a total stranger take your foot in their hand, wash it and speak to you. It was not really uncomfortable but it was unexpected, and because it was unexpected it struck me in a very deep way.

As I sat there in those moments praying God would show me what to do, I had a woman come to me and hesitantly ask me if she could wash my feet. She fumbled with my shoes, she washed my feet, dried them, and then struggled to put my shoes back on. Then she looked at me and said "You do so much for us. Thank you." I didn't know what to say. How could have I done so much for this woman??

I didn't even know her name.

And that was humbling.

I hope I never get over this morning.

**This post is a part of Sunday Setlists over at www.fredmckinnon.com**

Good - Bye for Now...Why I'm taking a break from social media

I love connecting with friends. This is one of the reasons I have tried to faithfully twitter, interact on facebook, and even blog - it gives me more opportunities to share my life and to get a glimpse of other's lives as well. With that said, you may have noticed I've been conspicuously absent from facebook, twitter, and blogging for most of this week. I've updated twitter exactly once since Sunday night.....must be a record.

I have felt very led by God to take a break from social media for a while - a "fast" if you will from near constant communication and feedback. So you won't see me online for a few weeks. I'm not sure how long this will last, I'm just going to continue until I feel God has said it's okay for me to go back.

So why would I do this? Why do I think God is leading me to take this step?

There are a few things:

1) I think God wants me to take a break from writing about my life and instead to be fully present in the moment. It's a way to honor those I am physically present with - if I'm with Phil and we're taking a walk, no matter what I see or what happens I just enjoy and experience that with him without the distraction of sharing it with the world! I can also really enjoy each moment of my life in a more substantive way. 

2) Similarly, it helps me to be more fully tuned into God. Constant communication and feedback can wreck your ability to pay attention to one thing at a time. It can be distracting. I feel like I'm in a season that I need to really be fully tuned in to the voice of God alone. 

3) I simply need a break.

So, what has my first week been like? To be honest, it's been very peaceful. No constant need to check my phone, no wondering if someone will misunderstand a comment, no obsessing over what someone else meant by their comment, and more time just to "be", to relax mentally, and to be fully present to God and whoever I'm with. I think I might have gotten more work done too. :)

Because of this, Phil and I have made the radical decision - for us anyway! - to not take my iPhone or his Blackberry with us when we travel to Maui on Tuesday. We've also decided we're not checking email while we're away. We're going to focus on hearing from God and being with each other and - oh yes! - relaxing in one of the most beautiful places on earth. 

I wanted you to know I am not ignoring you personally, I'm simply not checking in. I hope you'll understand and pray for me as I take this step in my journey. I trust God has a deep work to do in my life. 

See you later! And ROLL TIDE ROLL!

I'm Excited to Announce.....

In December 2008 I launched a new ministry initiative called the Give Worship Project. The Give Worship Project has one goal: To equip and provide needed resources for indigenous worship leaders in developing countries. Last Christmas we provided six guitars, some amps, CDs, cables and other equipment to worship leaders in the Dominican Republic through a blog project - and you, my readers, were responsible for these gifts being given! 

I'm excited to announce the next phase of this project. I am currently preparing for upcoming opportunities to actually travel and provide training for worship leaders in these same countries in the months ahead. I've been writing curriculum, finalizing details and preparing to work with translators. It's time for the Give Worship Project to move to the next level.

I hope you'll take a moment to visit the new and improved website for this ministry at www.giveworship.com. 

I need YOUR help!  Please pray with me as I need 20 people to commit to giving $100 each in September and October to make these trips possible. I hope you will pray about being one of these sponsors. More info is on the website!

Exciting things are ahead as we reach outside of our own comfortable world to encourage the Body of Christ elsewhere. I hope you'll join me!