Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Pray For Gavin
Thank you for your prayers for Baby Gavin. He is having a hard time after surgery. Please read the report here and continue to pray. Thanks so much.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Nothin' Could Be Finer Than To Be In Caroliner in the Mornin'
I'm In North Carolina today. Here, to be exact. Come join us tonight if you're close by.
Hope your Sunday is great.
Hope your Sunday is great.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Prayers Needed
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Here We Go Again
OK. I have been sucked in to the American Idol No-Sense-Of-Reality warped-judgement phase of the year once again. We watched tonight with a friend and had a great time. I've picked the winner:
Kara DioGuardi.
She is the best thing to happen to this show since...well, since they had me in the audience.
I love her. She says very smart things and uses like complete sentences with subjects and verbs and even some conjunctions and adverbs and stuff. It's quite a welcome thing. She is going to be refreshing to hear week after week.
I'm not going to drudge through all of the characters, er, contestants tonight. I will start doing that later. But I will give you my favorites. First of all let me say that it's the year of the guy singer (again). Some of the guys are flat out GREAT singers. 3 or 4 great ones just tonight. The girls are lacking a little. And by 'little,' I mean A LOT. Where are the Kellys? the Carries? The Mandisas, for crying out loud? No, literally, for crying out loud?
About tonight:
Great voice+humble spirit+amazing back story=American Idol winner. Congratulations, Danny Gokey. It's yours to lose. Danny rocked it.
Another favorite of mine is Anoop. This dude had me from his first audition. I love that kind of soulful voice. I wasn't totally crazy about his song choice tonight. But still, dude can sing. He's the kind of singer where you aren't nervous for him...you just know he is going to be good.
Favorite girl tonight: Alexis Grace. Not completely thrilled with her trying to sing Aretha. But she has some chops.
I also gotta give props to Ricky Braddy, who has a GREAT voice, and just so happens to be from my alma mater, Belmont University. I hope he can make it through, although it will be hard for him the way they are doing the groups this year. BOO on this way of doing groups, where only 3 make it through. They have stacked this first group with too many people deserving of getting through. BOOOOOOOOO.
I feel sad for Stephen Fowler (Rock With You) and Ann Marie Boskovich (Natural Woman), who are both better singers than their songs allowed them to show. I guess the same could be said for Michael Sarver and Brent Keith, too.
Note to A.I. contestants: Stay away from Michael, Aretha, Celine, Mariah (except for you, Danny), Whitney, Sting. It's a mine field you don't want to try to make it through. Just trust me on this one.
One funny story: Lily Kate was convinced that one of the contestants looked like "the blue fish on Nemo." And she wasn't being critical. She was speaking as if it were fact. And possibly even as if it were a compliment. Funny.
So who was your favorite?
Kara DioGuardi.
She is the best thing to happen to this show since...well, since they had me in the audience.
I love her. She says very smart things and uses like complete sentences with subjects and verbs and even some conjunctions and adverbs and stuff. It's quite a welcome thing. She is going to be refreshing to hear week after week.
I'm not going to drudge through all of the characters, er, contestants tonight. I will start doing that later. But I will give you my favorites. First of all let me say that it's the year of the guy singer (again). Some of the guys are flat out GREAT singers. 3 or 4 great ones just tonight. The girls are lacking a little. And by 'little,' I mean A LOT. Where are the Kellys? the Carries? The Mandisas, for crying out loud? No, literally, for crying out loud?
About tonight:
Great voice+humble spirit+amazing back story=American Idol winner. Congratulations, Danny Gokey. It's yours to lose. Danny rocked it.
Another favorite of mine is Anoop. This dude had me from his first audition. I love that kind of soulful voice. I wasn't totally crazy about his song choice tonight. But still, dude can sing. He's the kind of singer where you aren't nervous for him...you just know he is going to be good.
Favorite girl tonight: Alexis Grace. Not completely thrilled with her trying to sing Aretha. But she has some chops.
I also gotta give props to Ricky Braddy, who has a GREAT voice, and just so happens to be from my alma mater, Belmont University. I hope he can make it through, although it will be hard for him the way they are doing the groups this year. BOO on this way of doing groups, where only 3 make it through. They have stacked this first group with too many people deserving of getting through. BOOOOOOOOO.
I feel sad for Stephen Fowler (Rock With You) and Ann Marie Boskovich (Natural Woman), who are both better singers than their songs allowed them to show. I guess the same could be said for Michael Sarver and Brent Keith, too.
Note to A.I. contestants: Stay away from Michael, Aretha, Celine, Mariah (except for you, Danny), Whitney, Sting. It's a mine field you don't want to try to make it through. Just trust me on this one.
One funny story: Lily Kate was convinced that one of the contestants looked like "the blue fish on Nemo." And she wasn't being critical. She was speaking as if it were fact. And possibly even as if it were a compliment. Funny.
So who was your favorite?
Monday, February 16, 2009
Ministers' Wives Conference
In March 2006, I was a part of a Living proof Live conference with Beth that was different than any other I had been a part of before. It was a conference for ministers' wives only. No guys. No bible study teachers (who weren't wives of ministers). Beth had a very specific word of ministry for a very specific group of people. Boy did she ever. It was a powerful weekend. I remember debriefing with many of the ones attending and hearing their emotional and powerful testimonies of how God encouraged them, taught them, and comforted them during those few hours. The move of God was palpable. Staggering. And I remember wanting to immediately get another conference just like it on the schedule for the next year. Well, it didn't happen the next year. Nor did it happen the year after that. But, GUESS WHAT? It's happening this year. And it's happening soon.
The Living Proof Live Ministers' Wives Conference is taking place on March 13-14 in Nashville, TN.
If you are a minister's wife, please come. It is going to be a powerful weekend for you. I promise.
If you are a minister, please send your wife. Just do it.
If you are not a minister's wife, three things:
1. Don't come. :-) Really, I know it's tempting for you to try to come to this conference if you live anywhere close to Nashville. But don't do it. Every seat is meant for this very special group of women.
2. I have a GREAT IDEA! If you are in a bible study, small group or Sunday School class at your church, what if you try to collect money for one, some or all of your ministers' wives to go? The tickets are $60, plus potential hotel and travel costs. I know that is a lot of money (especially these days!). And this might be a stretch for you and your group right now. I totally understand that. But if there is a chance your group could at least initiate some conversation with your pastors about making a way for their wives to go, that would be awesome. Maybe if you are unable to help out financially, you could offer to help with childcare or something. I am kind of rambling with this idea, and I haven't really thought it through with specifics. But I am hoping that as many as possible will be able to come and receive some much-needed ministry.
3. Pray for your pastors and their spouses on a daily basis. It is a wonderful but also very pressure-packed generation to be serving in God's kingdom. They need our constant prayers.
This will be an important weekend in the life of anyone who attends. I just know it. Please, let's do whatever we can to serve every one of these servants.
The Living Proof Live Ministers' Wives Conference is taking place on March 13-14 in Nashville, TN.
If you are a minister's wife, please come. It is going to be a powerful weekend for you. I promise.
If you are a minister, please send your wife. Just do it.
If you are not a minister's wife, three things:
1. Don't come. :-) Really, I know it's tempting for you to try to come to this conference if you live anywhere close to Nashville. But don't do it. Every seat is meant for this very special group of women.
2. I have a GREAT IDEA! If you are in a bible study, small group or Sunday School class at your church, what if you try to collect money for one, some or all of your ministers' wives to go? The tickets are $60, plus potential hotel and travel costs. I know that is a lot of money (especially these days!). And this might be a stretch for you and your group right now. I totally understand that. But if there is a chance your group could at least initiate some conversation with your pastors about making a way for their wives to go, that would be awesome. Maybe if you are unable to help out financially, you could offer to help with childcare or something. I am kind of rambling with this idea, and I haven't really thought it through with specifics. But I am hoping that as many as possible will be able to come and receive some much-needed ministry.
3. Pray for your pastors and their spouses on a daily basis. It is a wonderful but also very pressure-packed generation to be serving in God's kingdom. They need our constant prayers.
This will be an important weekend in the life of anyone who attends. I just know it. Please, let's do whatever we can to serve every one of these servants.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
A Moment of Random
I have so many random things running through my head that I want to blog about, but I don't have time for all of them right now. Here are two random things for your Wednesday:
1. I was in Lily Kate's and Levi's school a couple of days ago. I went to eat lunch with them. When I walked in, the smell of the building about knocked me over with more nostalgia and sentiment than I could hardly bear. The smell of paper and school paint and gymnasium and cafeteria was so happy, I couldn't stand it. I know I must have looked like a big dork walking through the halls with a big dorky grin on my face. It took me back to Hardin Park Elementary, circa 19something. I LOVED elementary school. I still daydream about what those halls were like, and how much I loved being there.
This may be a post for another time, but I feel the need to say right here that I was one of those kids who LOVED school cafeteria lunches. I loved everything about them. Even those funky trays. The milk cartons. The salisbury steak. The square pizza. The ice cream that was so hard you needed a chain saw to cut it. The peanut butter balls that were always my favorite dessert they ever had. I loved it all.
2. Breakfast this morning. Angela's Coca Cola Cake. This stuff is both joy and insanity.
So, what did you think about school cafeteria lunches?
Have you ever had the joy of eating Coca Cola Cake?
1. I was in Lily Kate's and Levi's school a couple of days ago. I went to eat lunch with them. When I walked in, the smell of the building about knocked me over with more nostalgia and sentiment than I could hardly bear. The smell of paper and school paint and gymnasium and cafeteria was so happy, I couldn't stand it. I know I must have looked like a big dork walking through the halls with a big dorky grin on my face. It took me back to Hardin Park Elementary, circa 19something. I LOVED elementary school. I still daydream about what those halls were like, and how much I loved being there.
This may be a post for another time, but I feel the need to say right here that I was one of those kids who LOVED school cafeteria lunches. I loved everything about them. Even those funky trays. The milk cartons. The salisbury steak. The square pizza. The ice cream that was so hard you needed a chain saw to cut it. The peanut butter balls that were always my favorite dessert they ever had. I loved it all.
2. Breakfast this morning. Angela's Coca Cola Cake. This stuff is both joy and insanity.
So, what did you think about school cafeteria lunches?
Have you ever had the joy of eating Coca Cola Cake?
Monday, February 9, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
This Shirt Is High On The Bunny, er, Funny Scale
Hello, blog friends. Long time no see. I hope you have had a good week. It has been an eventful couple of weeks for me.
I haven't been able to blog about the recording weekend yet. It was an overwhelming and wonderful weekend. There was so much to accomplish with the weekend. I look back, and I don't remember being stressed at all as I was in the middle of it. It was as if the grace of God picked me up and carried me through the whole experience. Which is exactly what He did. God did amazing things that I could never have imagined, and I am very grateful, and very much in awe of His kindness.
When the event was over, I stayed up late Sunday night in our hotel lobby and visited with lots of friends who had come from all over to be a part of the DVD. Friends from NC, SC, TN, WY(!), and a massive CA overtaking. This sanguine was on happy overload. We laughed and laughed and laughed some more. I was delirious with exhaustion, but I couldn't feel it yet. I was just having fun.
Angela and I got up mid-morning on Monday and started the journey back to Nashville. We had to be back in time to pick the kids up from school. We made it, and had a fun reunion with them that afternoon.
Then it happened. I began to crash. I mean, really crash. We're talking full emotional meltdown. I knew I was tired. And I knew I was prone to be a little emotional and maybe even dramatic about such a big weekend. But I wasn't ready for this down of a down. The days following were tough. I had to constantly renew my mind with the Word of God, continually confessing to Him who He is, and who I am in Him, reminding myself to be thankful and eternally grateful to be saved and FULLY LOVED.
It's silly, I know. Such a great weekend. So blessed with such a wonderful weekend and fun recording with people I love so much. And I could not snap out of my funk.
I am feeling much better now. And my perspective is back on track. I will never be able to express my thanks to everyone who was a part of the weekend of January 25, 2009. Whether you played in the band, operated a camera, came to be in the audience, sang in the choir, WHATEVER...I am so thankful to worship God with you during this moment in time. I am SO EXCITED to put some finishing touches on the project here in the next couple of months. The CD releases June 16, and the DVD releases sometime after that (maybe October?).
OK. Enough of that.
Some of you called me out about my birthday...thanks for the well wishes! Doggone that facebook telling my secrets. It was a great birthday, on the day of the Super Bowl and everything. And it was super cool that one of my best friends was in the Super Bowl - Kurt Warner! And by 'best friend,' I mean he has no idea who I am. But still. I feel sure he and Brenda want to hang out with Angela and me. They just don't know it.
I got some great presents for my birthday. But the funniest gift I got is this t-shirt, which happens to be the funniest t-shirt I've ever seen in my life:
HAHAHA Is that the funniest t-shirt in the world? Please tell me you get it. PLEASE! 'Cause not all of my friends got it at first glance. :-)
Tomorrow is our first Living Proof Live of the year. Yessssssssss. IT HAS BEEN TOO LONG OF A BREAK. I am ready to get back at it. We are in El Paso this weekend. Are you close to El Paso? Are you coming? I am so ready for some teaching from you-know-who. CAN'T WAIT!
It's so good to talk to you again. I'm glad to be back in the land of the living. There's more we need to talk about, not the least of which is Idol (can I get a whoop whoop for Anoop and Danny?). We'll talk about that later. Happy weekend to you. I will post again when we make it to El Paso.
I haven't been able to blog about the recording weekend yet. It was an overwhelming and wonderful weekend. There was so much to accomplish with the weekend. I look back, and I don't remember being stressed at all as I was in the middle of it. It was as if the grace of God picked me up and carried me through the whole experience. Which is exactly what He did. God did amazing things that I could never have imagined, and I am very grateful, and very much in awe of His kindness.
When the event was over, I stayed up late Sunday night in our hotel lobby and visited with lots of friends who had come from all over to be a part of the DVD. Friends from NC, SC, TN, WY(!), and a massive CA overtaking. This sanguine was on happy overload. We laughed and laughed and laughed some more. I was delirious with exhaustion, but I couldn't feel it yet. I was just having fun.
Angela and I got up mid-morning on Monday and started the journey back to Nashville. We had to be back in time to pick the kids up from school. We made it, and had a fun reunion with them that afternoon.
Then it happened. I began to crash. I mean, really crash. We're talking full emotional meltdown. I knew I was tired. And I knew I was prone to be a little emotional and maybe even dramatic about such a big weekend. But I wasn't ready for this down of a down. The days following were tough. I had to constantly renew my mind with the Word of God, continually confessing to Him who He is, and who I am in Him, reminding myself to be thankful and eternally grateful to be saved and FULLY LOVED.
It's silly, I know. Such a great weekend. So blessed with such a wonderful weekend and fun recording with people I love so much. And I could not snap out of my funk.
I am feeling much better now. And my perspective is back on track. I will never be able to express my thanks to everyone who was a part of the weekend of January 25, 2009. Whether you played in the band, operated a camera, came to be in the audience, sang in the choir, WHATEVER...I am so thankful to worship God with you during this moment in time. I am SO EXCITED to put some finishing touches on the project here in the next couple of months. The CD releases June 16, and the DVD releases sometime after that (maybe October?).
OK. Enough of that.
Some of you called me out about my birthday...thanks for the well wishes! Doggone that facebook telling my secrets. It was a great birthday, on the day of the Super Bowl and everything. And it was super cool that one of my best friends was in the Super Bowl - Kurt Warner! And by 'best friend,' I mean he has no idea who I am. But still. I feel sure he and Brenda want to hang out with Angela and me. They just don't know it.
I got some great presents for my birthday. But the funniest gift I got is this t-shirt, which happens to be the funniest t-shirt I've ever seen in my life:
HAHAHA Is that the funniest t-shirt in the world? Please tell me you get it. PLEASE! 'Cause not all of my friends got it at first glance. :-)
Tomorrow is our first Living Proof Live of the year. Yessssssssss. IT HAS BEEN TOO LONG OF A BREAK. I am ready to get back at it. We are in El Paso this weekend. Are you close to El Paso? Are you coming? I am so ready for some teaching from you-know-who. CAN'T WAIT!
It's so good to talk to you again. I'm glad to be back in the land of the living. There's more we need to talk about, not the least of which is Idol (can I get a whoop whoop for Anoop and Danny?). We'll talk about that later. Happy weekend to you. I will post again when we make it to El Paso.
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