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Well today is our day off so we are just chillin’ here in Buffalo and enjoying a little R & R. Thought I would let you in on some of my new Buffalo, NY friends. SO here are some videos from our Brew Pub experience after last nights show…
I like this video… sercretly I don’t mind Facebook but I really can’t stand all the “you’ve been bitten by a wolverine” or “someone has a secret crush on you” or how about the time I decided to tell people my relational status which is single and it made it to the “front page news” of Facebook and everyone thought I had just broken up with someone. Is that an invasion of privacy?! 
Anyways, I hope you are amused!
Hello friends!! I wasn’t able to write yesterday so I thought I would combine days. Today was full of fun and people. We had breakfast with an incredible family that hosted us in Olean and from there we explored the town. Here were some of our adventures…
SO the sad news is… after crossing the boarder into Pennsylvania we realized that we weren’t even on a two state tour as one of our “states” is actually the PROVINCE of Canada. Oops… that is why we are musicians and NOT geography teachers. So we are on a two state, one province tour… sort of. Anyways hope you enjoy the videos! I am off to take a nap and get ready for our concert this evening at Randall Baptist Church.
Hello everyone!! So I have decided to record my tour with artist Anadara on this here blog of mine. I hope you all enjoy. Anadara and I arrived in NY today around 3pm with no complications. I praised the Lord as He allowed us to arrive safely into Buffalo, NY… the home of the recent plane crash tragedy… and found myself mourning and praying for those that affected by this tragedy only a few weeks ago flying to the very airport I was landing at. I am amazed at how brief life is… we must live it to the fullest! From there we were escorted to Olean, NY where we are currently hanging out. I am sitting on my bed hoping that my feet will thaw out in time for me to sleep and thanking God for such an awesome first day.
Folks…. first let me tell you…. it is freakin’ cold here!! I am wearing two pairs of socks, long johns, a t-shirt, and jacket a scarf and had a winter coat on and STILL I have been freezing to death. I have high hopes for tomorrow as my friend graciously let me borrow her Columbia jacket that was designed to endure the tundra. Despite the cold, it is gorgeous here. I thought I would let you experience a bit of it with me so enjoy the show…
This weekend marked the start of a stretch of tours I am going to be going on over the next several months. As I headed to Somerset, KY to play my viola I prayed for God to show me my place in this adventure. I didn’t want to just go to play music, I wanted to make a difference in this town. On day 2 of this trip God made my purpose clear. He had something to teach me. Me and two guys from the band were hanging out in the office of the church we were playing for and I made a comment that launched one of the guys into his entire life story. The other band guy and myself sat wide eyed and jaws dropped as we heard all that he has been through. I have gone to church with this guy for almost 3 years and had no idea. I was amazed at God’s redemption and love for this man and I had such a compassion to just love on him. It was an incredible moment. It was there that I realized that so many come through my life and I place them in the box I feel they belong and never ask them their story. Our stories define who we are and yet I preferred to make my own stories about people. I have been missing the opportunity to learn from people’s stories as well as encourage people to move forward in their stories. So, I thought I would share my story and for those that are reading this and want to… could you write me your story?? I would love to create a section of people’s stories on my site so that myself and others can learn from you!! Give me whatever story you are dying to tell!! About you of course…
And if you don’t want your story shared with others please still send it to me as I would LOVE to hear it!!! So here is my story…
I was born in Central Illinois in 1981. For the first part of my life it was just me and my Ma. When I was 14 my Ma got remarried and thus entered my step-dad. It was a hard adjustment at first but now I have grown to love him and thank God for him as he is such a blessing to me and my Ma.
After high school I applied for colleges all throughout the US and ended up at the state school in my hometown studying viola. After college I decided to stay in my town and serve in my church as an intern. Within months that turned into a paid position. I officially went on staff serving as the Programs and Worship Coordinator. That was the hardest, most challenging and most life-changing experiences for me. I will never forget that year of my life. It was in that year that God started to truly lay Nashville on my heart. I had thought about going there a few years back but while on staff I started to pursue the idea. I looked at the Grad program at Belmont and decided that wasn’t what I wanted. Then, months later I looked at the Undergrad program for Music Business and decided that, that was what I was to pursue. SO, I stepped down from my position at church and headed to Nashville as the oldest undergrad!! Talk about a humbling experience…
That year was so stretching for me as it was my first “move away from home.” Yikes! But God got me through it. The summer after I moved I got the opportunity to serve as a the Junior High Girl’s leader at a church in TX so I said yes. That summer my biggest lesson was learning how to shine in the moments when I wanted to give up. God gave me the phrase…
I chose to shine and God met me. It ended up being an unforgettable summer and a place that I long to go back to!! From that summer I moved back to Nashville but didn’t continue at Belmont. I felt like I had started over again and was so miserable in that feeling. I was lonely and tired of trials and just wanted rest. Well, God allowed me to sit on my couch eating junk food and watching Gilmore Girls for 6 months while I mourned some of the hard things I had been through. At the end of the 6 months I was sitting on my couch and heard God say, “Are you ready to get up? I have some things I want to show you.” I got myself up and knew it was time to start living again. SO, I made my way to a Christmas Party that I had randomly heard about as I felt God telling me that He had something for me there. Well, He did!! I met some of the most incredible people and some of them are now my dearest friends. God set me on a new path that night and I was ready to go!
From there God has challenged me with questions like, “IF you could do one thing perfectly in your life what would you do?” In thinking through that and realizing that “everything on this earth will fade” I knew that all I wanted was to be a LIFE FULLY SURRENDERED TO THE LORD. God continues to teach me, build my faith and challenge my character in order to meet my request. And I love it!!!
Miracles have been performed in my life since my birth but in the last few years I have taken note of them. God calls us to remember what He has done, to recall the blessings, to dwell on what is good, to allow HIM to be our praise. As I think about all that He has done, I am amazed!
In the last year He has gotten me out of my personal debt, showed me a new level of trust as I walk out being a musician and graphic designer. He is giving me a love for His Word and a yearning to understand it. He is pressing me into Himself and showing me how much He loves me. If you want to read more about the miracles in my life you can check out my miracles page and/ or the blog I wrote on one of my more recent miracles. Oh, am I grateful for all the Lord has done…
What is your story?? How did you come to be who you are today?? What in your life has shaped you the most?? I really want to know so please please please share with me!! Thank you for reading. God bless!!
I have come to realize that all of my posts are really serious. But then it hit me, this is my outlet to talk about the things I am learning. So eventually I will be more balanced and write goofy stuff but for now… you are being introduced to my serious side. Today I was reading in the book of Numbers and came to a very familiar Bible story about Moses hitting the rock to get water for the Israelites when God asked him to simply speak to the rock. Now some of you may say, “What’s the big deal… he approached the rock, hit it and water came out…. Moses has put up with so much… he basically did what God asked.” Well it was a big deal to God. It was a big enough deal that God did not allow Moses to enter Canaan when they finally arrived there. Moses spent much of his life leading people to the very land he ended up missing out on because of one act of disobedience. Seem harsh?? Well, I know my first thought was that Moses deserved to see Canaan far more than the Israelites did. But then after thinking about it some more I realized something. What we gain is NOT dependent upon our lifetime of good decisions. Each decision is tied to a consequence. Moses was obedient to God in nearly every area of life and God blessed Him in that. Moses had a communication with God that made the Israelites jealous, Moses was given the authorty to lead, Moses even got to see the back side of God as He passed by Moses. Moses was blessed. But God gave clear instructions to Moses and he chose his own route. Here was Moses’ consequence…
Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” Numbers 20:12
I just finished reading the book of Leviticus. I am connected to a group of people that have decided to read the entire Bible in 180 days. It has been awesome, challenging yet one of the most rewarding things I could do with my time! Today as I turned the last page of Leviticus I felt a weight lifted. “Scheeww, I made it!” Man that is hard book to get through. I didn’t want to just read the book and miss the purpose of it so as I was reading over the last few days I kept asking God His purpose in writing it. It was a bunch of laws and festivals written down for the Israelites to follow. How does this apply to me? Then He told me, “It is to show you how blessed you are to be covered in Christ’s death.” True that! The rules they had to follow… you are unclean if you touch a clay pot that an unclean animal touched, you have to sacrifice certain animals at certain times to be atoned for your sins, if you look the wrong direction you can be obliterated. That is alot of pressure that you and I will never have to face. Does that mean that as followers of Christ we can live as we want with no rules attached… NO…. it simply allows room for grace. We are so blessed and we have no idea. Christ’s death does apply to our everyday lives. We can have careers and talents and incredible opportunities BECAUSE Christ died. We don’t have to go around searching for grain offerings and preparing lambs to sacrifice. We are covered in a permament sacrifice.
I was watching this video that my friend Joy Argow had on her blog and had to share it with all of you. I don’t even really feel like I need to explain this video but I will. I watched this and became a mess on the floor. The cliche lesson from a video like this is that “I don’t have it bad at all and I should be grateful.” The reality is, we don’t have it bad AT ALL. That is what I am learning. Watching this video I see my selfishness and greed. I realize how lucky I am and how unworthy I am. I was born in America, in a good home, with love all around me and with opportunities to live an extrodinary life. The children in this video spend their days crying for their basic needs; hoping they will be saved from their misery. My day holds none of those things. My basic needs are never in question. May we step out as people who have been given much and give to those who have been given little. With the financial crisis we are in here in America, we still have way more than those children ever had. Our situation in America when compared to what I just saw helps me to see that I am going to be ok. I hope this video impacts you in the way that it has impacted me.