The new YWAM Denver School of Worship album is out and Erika and I were blessed to be able to sing one of the tracks. Here is a little ghetto video from the CD release party of us singing "Lost in Love." Hope you enjoy!!!
We are currently still working on our own personal EP (cd of 6 songs) and will hopefully be releasing, "Threshing Floor" sometime around the new year. If you are interested in donating to help us duplicate please let me know! It will cost us at least around $700 for us to finish up this process, but we're excited to see God work and provide for us!
Love to you all!! and a VERY VERY Merry Christmas! I'm off to ALABAMA!! WOOHOO!
I'm learning to take time....Time is a strange fellow. He is around all the time, but usually tends to be a cruel ruler over our lives, dictating our actions. My life in the past two weeks has gone from having a decent amount of free time to a more rigid schedule of events, but I am realizing that if I take a hold of Time and make him my servant instead of my dictator then there can be a freedom within that. It's a process....learning what's priority and what isn't....who is priority in my life and who can I wait to talk to later. I don't have it down. I'm DEFINITELY still learning and fighting with this old man Time... He's been around a bit longer than I and knows his way around; so I'm trying to learn my own ways or tactics to beat him into submission :)
The School of Worship just started last week, October 5th. I'm so excited to finally have met the students as I have been praying for over the past month. We split the 16 students up into 3 bands. I have 5 students that are so excited to be in a band and are hungry for what God is going to speak to them and how He will be challenging them in this time! Their first songs were due this past Monday and we were able to gather at my house for them to share them with the rest of the band. (I just received a beautiful upright piano on Monday afternoon at my house!! Praise the LORD) They were nervous but excited. It is such a joy to be able to see the life and talent that God has placed inside these students and I can't wait to start to transform these songs from just an acoustic feel to a full band! Our first song presentations as a band are next Friday where we will be able to hear what the other 2 bands have been working on and get an idea of what the album for this school may start to sound like.
From Left to Right:"You can only multiply the quality of your own life; and if the quality of your life is needy then what you create will then follow that." Patrick Dodson
Not a new concept, but just a good reminder and challenge for me to be checking up on my own quality of life.
This guy has TONS of podcasts... and he has SUCH amazing wisdom.. check him out.... just click on his name.
In 2 days I will be helping to lead the School of Worship here at YWAM Denver. We have 16 students that are coming to dig deep into the reasons of why their heart beats so strongly to the rhythm of leading people into the presence of God. I hope to be a part of that process as I personally lead a band of 6 students; coaching them, encouraging them, challenging them, and pushing them forward in their gifts, talents, and desires. We have students from the U.S., Nepal, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Albania, England, and Canada. It's going to be a fun next 3 months!
Over the past several weeks God has been challenging me about the word "Expect." There are two different realities that I am seeking to plunder into my heart and figure out. The first being that of the expectations that are put on our lives... either by other people or ourselves... but mainly how those expectations affect us. I make certain decisions, be it positive or negative, because of what is expected of me. Seeking to find out what those expectations are can be as simple as noticing how someone greets you with a hug (expecting that you will reciprocate) or maybe more personal, like how you react to certain stressful stimuli. The challenge for me currently is that I would not let any expectations dictate how I act or who I am. When I feel as though I "should" be something, but know that maybe that's not the true "Will" that I want to be, I am now trying to respond, react, or be the reflection of Christ that I know I am... rather than what is just simply expected of me.
The second "expect" part is that of an expectancy. I woke up a few weeks ago on a normal Monday morning and was just having a chat with God. After the typical greetings and salutations I sensed that He was asking me what I was expecting from worship at the base that morning. Slowly I began to realize that I expected nothing.... I expected that we would sing some songs, maybe someone would give a Scripture or a word of exhortation/ encouragement, there would be a few announcements, and then I would leave and begin to prepare lunch for the base. In that moment, I had this sense of broken heartedness come over me. How could I go into the presence of God and not expect one single thing from Him? Why don't I walk in hoping, praying, and expecting God for miracles, for chains to be broken off peoples lives, for relationships to be restored, for His manifest presence to be so thick that we have to fall on our faces in humble adoration and holy fear?!
So here I am, seeking to identify the expectations that are on my life that hold me back from being the man of God I truly desire to be, and desiring to live in an everyday expectancy that God is going to miraculously transform lives. These next three months are going to be intense and I am expecting God to do GREAT things.
Do you know those seasons of life where you keep wanting to do something and then before you know it 6 months goes by? That's me.... with my blog. :( It took me a while to get re-acclimated to life here in the states and I jumped right into life at YWAM Denver again. The transition has been interesting, exciting, new, and routine all at once.
When I got back from Norway, I dove into meetings with leadership, friends, and pastors in an attempt to get my life back in order here in Denver. Unfortunately my desire to get organized and focused made me so busy that I didn't make time for simple things like updating my blog. For that.... I am sorry and as of now is changing!
So here's the scoop in a few short sentences....I'm loving being back in Denver. Erika and I are doing great and I can't wait for her to come join me out here for her Phase 2 starting October 5th. I am the assistant director for the School of Worship starting October 5th, and will be taking over the school for next year!! and... I have started a youth band at my church.
Now that I've got this all out of the way I can start giving more regular updates. Just having the large monster of me not writing anything in SOOO long has kept me from doing it, so now that won't be a problem!
Unfortunately, I won't be able to grace my blog with any more pictures as my one and only camera bit the dust my last week in Norway :( I'm praying for a new Digital SLR so that I can continue to capture life as I see it. Thankfully I still have some awesome pictures from all the travels to choose from!
Give me a few days and I'll let you know more details of what I'm up to in my life and what God is teaching me.
