Worship Wednesday 8-22

Hi! Happy Wednesday! Thanks for stopping by. I honestly have no idea who reads this thing (or if anyone reads it [besides my parents, of course--thanks Mom and Dad!]), but whoever you are, I hope you will take a minute today and focus on Him...or, if you don't know God, maybe you'll stop and think, "Who is this God and why does this girl think He's so great?" And maybe you'll go find out. Anyway...

Today, I want to feature a song that speaks deeply to my heart. It's written by my friend Gil Gatch, who not only is an excellent song writer, but a phenomenal person as well. Gil has been through some incredibly dark seasons in his life, during one of which I had the privilege of walking alongside him. (I say "privilege" because it really is an honor to be able to help support a friend through hard seasons.) I watched as he suffered tremendous heartbreak, confusion, and betrayal...and, amazingly, he chose to worship in response to all of it. The songs he wrote in that season have comforted so many people, and this is one of them.

(By the way, Gil is no longer in that dark season. No, those days are long gone, and he has emerged as a complete victor--in the best and godliest sense of the word.)

I don't have a video of the song, but what I'd like to do is ask you to go purchase it on iTunes. Seriously. It's more than worth the $.99. No, Gil did not ask me to plug his song or church's album. I'm just telling you that this song is incredible, and you will be blessed. Look up "I Won't Move" by Freedom House Church from the "Count You Everything" album, and let me know what you think. Maybe one day I'll get Gil to do a Q&A on the story of this song... :)

Be encouraged today. In every season, God is worthy of our worship.

worship "wednesday" 8-9-12

Today, Thursday is Wednesday. :)

I've been slack about posting lately...why? Because sometimes I have trouble finding a song to sing...or time to sit and be still...or really, the mental capacity to turn OFF my brain, especially as it regards worship music. As a worship leader and music arranger, it's very hard to take the work out of worship. It doesn't matter what song it is--I'm probably considering whether or not the lyrics and chords flow well, how (and if) we would do the song at our church, what key I might do it in, how it would go over, etc. I can be sitting in a worship service, truly engaged, and I hear one mistake from a band member and think, "Uh-oh," and snap right back into music-director mode.

I'm also rather skilled at mental multi-tasking--meaning, I can be actually leading a song, singing all the words, and simultaneously be taking mental notes on 5 different things we need to fix in the arrangement for the next service. It's a little bizarre. It definitely helps me to do my job, but it doesn't help when I'm trying to unplug and worship.

So, for me to have a legit musical worship time on my own is tough! I tend to lean more on journaling with Him as an expression of worship than anything else, but even then, I tend to focus on challenges in my life rather than His greatness. Those conversations are precious, and He downloads so much wisdom and truth to me, but I really do need to spend more time just loving on Him. I'm convicted even as I type...

In these worship posts, I really have been trying to just pick songs that seem to express what I'm experiencing of God through my quiet times, rather than what I'm really worshiping to on my own. There are some songs that really get to me, though, and even if I can't pay attention the entire song, at least I can for about 80% until my work brain kicks in. :) This is one of those...I sat and played this yesterday by myself, just because of how honestly it expresses my heart toward Him. And it's in 6/8, and for some reason, 6/8 songs transcend me to the secret place. Maybe it's the dancing feel about it...God keeps reminding me to dance with Him these days.

So I will sit, and try to be still, and focus on Him for at least 80% of the song... :) Blessings to you.

after the war.

I feel like we’ve just come through a war. Millions of bullets were fired, and casualties ensued. Friendships were broken, good opinions were thoroughly decimated, and confusion reigned as king.

But now that Hurricane Chik-Fil-A has subsided, I can look back and see at least one good thing that came out of the storm. I’m still processing through it, but I know that, at least a little, I have been changed for better.

In reading many different articles and opinions of friends as they sounded off about the whole debate, I have been forced to consider my own stance and ask myself some questions that I hadn’t considered. Namely, what would Jesus have done here? I can envision Him walking into a Chik-Fil-A on any given day last week, and the whole place going silent—protestors and assenters alike. I think He would have looked each person in the eye and examined their hearts, and they probably would have left the building. He may have ordered a sandwich, but only if He were hungry…

I envision a roomful of equal sinners, dropping their stones.

Then I considered what God says about our “right” to freedom of speech, and whether He thinks we should work so hard to defend it.

I know that freedom of speech is actually written into the Constitution of our country, but really, freedom of speech is a God-given right for all men. If He gave us free wills and voices, then apparently we’re supposed to use them.

Think of Paul and Peter. They spoke freely about the Gospel, though the government (legal and religious) opposed them. Then they were arrested and beaten. Then told to never speak openly of Jesus again. Then they went right back out to the courtyard and started preaching again. They didn’t wait for someone to give them free speech—they just spoke freely.

I’m not aware of them leading any kind of boycotts, or rushing to support a local scarf-maker for his views on the Torah. They just preached, like they were called to, and loved the people in their spheres of influence.

They also didn’t use their free speech to bash the government, but rather to just speak Truth. Gospel Truth, essential Truth, life-saving Truth. And they were beaten and arrested again. And released again. And on and on it went, until they both gave their lives for speaking openly for the Gospel. Thousands of men were saved because of the way these guys lived their lives.

So, the demonstration at Chik-Fil-A…was that a good use of the freedom of speech given to all men? Or was it a vain attempt to stand up for something non-essential (for one’s salvation, I mean) that we adhere to in the Christian faith? Does God applaud us for taking such a stand for freedom of speech, or rather grieve that an entire people group felt even more isolated from the true God—the God they’re supposed to see in us?

I’m just wondering if we spend more energy being God’s defense attorneys than His actual hands and feet.

Anyway, that’s all I got. Deep stuff for now…like I said, still working through it. And feeling very grateful for the friends who challenge me on what I’ve blindly accepted so that I may truly examine it to find the truth.