Heart Beat

Our little baby is only 6 weeks old but already there is a heart beat. We saw it yesterday flickering up and down, in and out on the screen. There is a heart beat!!!

How any one can doubt the existence of God when bringing a child into the world is beyond me. I heard a story of a lady who had a 3 year old little girl. The girl was drawing a picture one day and her mother said, “Sweetie, do you know how much Jesus loves you?” The little girl repsonded very matter of factly, “Yes mommy, I know that already”. Her mother asked her how she knew that Jesus loved her. The little girl responded “He told me when I was in your tummy Mommy and He was painting me“.

How powerful are the words from that little girl. He painted all of us in our mother’s wombs. He crafted us, molded and painted us to be His vessels of honor. Before we were a thought in our parents mind, HE knew us. The God of all creation formed us before time began. How special each and every one of us are to the Lord! We were hidden in His heart before we were conceived of in our parents. The days of our life were mapped out and planned by the King of Kings.

As Jim and I are experiencing pregnancy on a level new to us, I am reminded daily of the love of the Father and how awesome He is!

Psalm 139:13-16

13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

¹⁶ your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

The Lord is my Strength and my Song!

Psalm 118 is one of those LIFE passages. You know, the ones that seem to define your life. Take a look at these passages:

14 “The LORD is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.
¹⁵ The voice of rejoicing and salvation
Is in the tents of the righteous;
The right hand of the LORD does valiantly.
¹⁶ The right hand of the LORD is exalted;
The right hand of the LORD does valiantly.
¹⁷ I shall not die, but live,
And declare the works of the LORD.”

A friend of mine has been going through a very difficult time as of late and this passage is constantly coming to my mind as I minister to them. We all go through things in life. We all have struggles. We have all been to the top of the mountain and to the bottom of the valley. BUT through it all, we must say, “THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH AND MY SONG”. I will keep singing. I will keep worshipping no matter how hard it gets. “I WILL LIVE AND NOT DIE” and I will continually exalt the name of the Lord.

I find that when we praise and worship, the Lord is lifted high, and our problems and situtations are brought down low. They are put into perspective in the Light of His Glory!!!

SING! SING! SING! Those of you in the valley of the shadow of death. Rejoice and be glad for the Lord is your STRENGTH and the Lord has put a song in your mouth to exalt Him. He is your victor. He is your salvation and He is the reason we live and move and have our being. Rejoice and be glad. It came to pass. It did not come to stay. SING! SING! SING!

Survivor – Episode 2

Goodbye Candace. I kind of agreed with the tribe to vote her out. If I were on Survivor, I would get rid of the negative energy first. You can’t function with so much negativity. So Candace had to go! I feel bad for Taj. After discovering that her husband is a retired NFL player, some of the team target her because she really doesn’t need the money. But some people go on Survivor for more than the money. I hope she goes far. She seems to want it for more than just the money. I really should be on Survivor!!!

Introducing an Original Song to Your Team

This year, our Praise and Worship Team is focusing on new and original music. We have a few songwriters, including myself, whose songs have been lying dormant. It is time to revive them. So how do you introduce an original song to your Praise Team? Read on for some ideas to help you out.

As worship leaders, band directors, or choir directors, you may be like me when it comes to introducing a song that is not original (meaning that it has been written by someone outside of your team):
1. You play the CD of the completed, beautifully mastered song.
2. You hand out the chord charts and lyrics and give the team a chance to look them over.
3. You go to practicing. If you miss a beat or a harmony, you replay the CD and try to copy.

Sound familiar? Please don’t misunderstand me; there is NOTHING WRONG with this style of running a rehearsal. When doing music that is not our own this is how we rehearse and it works and it is blessed. But when you do your own music there is a bit more creativity involved. Here are some tips on how to introduce a bare bones original song to your Praise and Worship Team.

First – Before a rehearsal even begins, I email the team the lyrics to the new song. I ask them to read them, get them into their hearts and pray about it over the week. That way, when they come into rehearsal, they know what the song is saying.

Second – Once at rehearsal, have the writer share how the song came about. Try to get the team into your heart (assuming you are the writer). I always tell the team where I was, what I was going through, and what the Lord was talking to me about when I introduce a new song. It helps them to hear my heart and to get into my head a bit.

Third – Before they even hear the song, I tell them the style I am thinking about. For example, another team member and I co-wrote a praise song this week. I told the team that we were hearing a Caribbean/Latin type of style for that particular song. Before a single note is played, they must know the direction you are headed.

Fourth – Assuming I am the writer, I play the song for them – just me and the piano. I often find this the most vulnerable part of the songwriting process. It’s the part when you unveil your baby to the world!!! You are worried that they may hate it, that they are critiquing every note you sing and play, I could go on and on! But we must get that thinking out of our heads. While I am always open to constructive criticism, I am also always in tune with the song the Lord has given me and focus on Him – my “audience of ONE”.

Fifth – After that first introduction, I remind the team of the style, and invite them to join in with me as best they can. I encourage the drummer and percussion to use different beats until we get the right one. I encourage the singers to see if they can hear harmonies that I have not heard. We simply “jam” on that song until we develop a groove. Then we go back, pick it apart and let the creativity flow.

Sixth – Practice, Practice, Practice. If the song is not coming together within the first 5 minutes, don’t give up!!! Keep on practicing. Keep encouraging your team to share some of their own creative ideas. As the songwriter, be OPEN to new ideas, to different ideas and to what the rest of the team thinks. If you are a unified group, your team will only encourage the song writer and strive to make that song the best it can be.

I encourage you to “Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth . . .”. Is. 42:10. Sing a new, FRESH song unto the Lord in your Praise and Worship Teams. If you have writers, utilize and encourage their gifts. You will be amazed at what the Lord will bring to your church family!!!

Baby on the way !!!

Jim and I are so excited to find out that we are having a baby! This will be our first and is such an answer to prayer. We lost our first child on 7/7/07 and it has been a long road every since. But God . . .

We have been waiting and praying and believing that His timing is perfect and it truly is. Our baby will be born in October. On February 1, 2008, we had a word over our life from a Pastor in New York who told us that the dream in our hearts (our future child) will be brought to fruition in the next 12 months and that this child will be in God’s timing. A year to the day we received that word, we were pregnant.  God’s words will never come back void, but will be brought forth in His perfect time.

I know I will be posting lots of pictures, but for now, any parenting advice from some of you seasoned pro’s?

Revue: Champions Live – Light In The Darkness with Freddy Rodriguez

I had the opportunity to review Champions Live – LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS with Freddy Rodriguez. This live worship recording was great! Many of the songs are tangible for your team (large or small, experienced or not) to do. Definitely worth checking out.

Check out the complete review at The Worship Community

One difference between NY and NC – One of so many…

When you live on Long Island, you assume that every one knows where Long Island is located. After all, Manhattan and Long Island are the only parts of NY that any one should be concerned about. We Long Islanders are very self-centered HA!!! Moving to Jacksonville, NC was totally God and this is our home now, but you can’t take the Long Island out of the girl and worse, you can never rid her of the accent!!  So, when my husband and I decided to take the pups to the park a few months ago, we never expected to see what we saw.

There is nothing like the South – the people, the hospitality, the weather. But there are some weird things you see. For example, on Long Island, you see BMW, Lexus, Mercedes all decked out in their finest. Every one is trying to outdo each other and it gets old after a while. But this – you would never see this in NY!!! So when Jim and I saw this little beauty we just had to laugh . . . . well, we peed our pants to be honest with you! Only in the South . . .

Survivor – Episode 1

I was not a fan of the first episode of this season. I was totally looking forward to it and was a bit bummed. The “old lady” as every one calls her had too much air time and I was bored. Jeff Probst is still on his game, though. Gotta love him!!! I am sure it will get better, but right now, not a Fan!

They are watching us

Today after Sunday service, a wonderful lady in out congregation approached me with some kind and sincere compliments. She commented on my new hair color, the shirt I was wearing, even how my lipstick goes with my skin tone. She made me feel like million bucks as she noticed every little thing about me!

As I was driving home, I realized how much our congregations watch us. Worship leeaders, your congregation is watching you!!! This is a good thing and a scary thing. It means that they are following as you are leading and hopefully they are joining in with you in worship. It can be a scary thing if you are not setting a good example – both in and out of church!

My Pastor once drew a diagram for me on the role of a Worship Leader. He said, “Christ is where your focus should be. The congregation is watching you as you worship the King. Then we have the invitation to join in with you”. I think that is a good representation of the role of a worship leader. We cannot become so focused on the congregation that we lose sight of the One we are worshiping. But we need to know that they are present, and they are watching us!

I love what the Apostle Paul admonishes the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” That should be our motto. Let us pray that we are setting a Godly example for our congregations as They Watch Us.

Survivor – February 12th

I am a huge “Survivor” fan. Survivor Tocantins starts on February 12th. I cannot wait!!! More updates to come . . .