This past weekend, Tre, our just turned 4-year-old nephew and his mom, Jess (Travis’ sister) visited us from North Carolina and kept us super busy in between work and worship team respon-sibilities!  We just love spending time with this great and special Little Dude!  Check out these pics from our many adventures, and in the meantime, I’ll take a nap!  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=295537&id=668255034&l=c42aa5f8a8

At this crucial time in history, Travis and I knew we needed to attend the March For Life in Washington D.C. more than ever.  We ventured to D.C. yesterday with close to 200 otheres from Cornerstone Ministries.  God blessed us with SUCH a beautiful day … 45 degrees and sunny!  I’m sure he was smiling down on His children; the children whose parents made the honoring and Biblical decision to fore go abortion as even an option.  As we marched, we saw numerous signs, some that spoke especially loud like ‘Father who made the mistake of having an abortion’, etc.  People quietly protested and prayed with their signs and broken hearts for the devastation in our country right now.  Please be praying for our leaders in Washington.  Please be on your knees daily, as they (many of them not even understanding how devastating abortion truly is) seek what is best for our Nation.

If you would like to view some pictures I took from my cell phone at the March For Life yesterday, please visit my Facebook Photo Album at this link: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=668255034&ref=profile#/album.php?aid=210080&id=668255034&ref=mf

My dear friend and former college roommate asked me if Travis and I were celebrating when I wrote ‘Happy’ on this picture.  I put it as my Facebook profile picture last Sunday. Well, I randomly took this picture on my phone after Travis’ third birthday celebration his boss and long-time friend hosted.   We were quite tired, so I’m surprised it actually turned out, to be completely honest!  I though it just screamed ‘HAPPY’.  Fact is, I think we had some kind of argument the day before, I really didn’t feel well that day, and Travis was super exhausted after having spoken at a church that morning too.  You see, we have our “moments” from day to day, week to week, and year to year.  Yet when I really stop and think about it, we have been given more than enough and have every reason to choose to be happy.  It’s our choice, really.  We can focus on all the gifts and blessings we have from God and the fact that He’s alive in us and has given us something that none other can do, or we can choose to mope around and hold tight to things long overdue of letting go.  I like to think about that from time to time – and yes, there are times when we need to cry, be upset, etc.  But when I think about it, most of the time it really is that I’m caught up in some ’silly’ thing … when I’m frustrated, upset, or just plain worn out.   That’s when I like to look at this picture and remind myself that no matter how I ‘feel’ at the moment, my heart and soul are truly happy.

I can’t believe it’s 2009 already … can you?  Around this time every year, Travis and I take a trip to visit the Deans Family in North Carolina.  It’s a time to celebrate Christmas and begin the New Year together.  The highlight for me this year has been spending sweet time with our 3-year-old nephew, Tre.  From his high pitched squeal at the moment we knocked on his door at our arrival, to his beating Uncle Travis en route to sit by me on the couch, to him grabbing my cell phone to take pictures, to his sweet hugs and kisses goodnight, he’s managed to remind me what a treasure and joy life indeed is.  And he never seems to miss a beat, especially when he fights to prolong his bedtime or have a piece of candy or two.  This year, let’s take Tre’s example in making the most of every opportunity, of loving God and one another faithfully and with passionate pursuit, and with that joyful pep in our step as each day comes and goes. 

Click on this link if you’d like to view some snapshots from our recent visit with Tre and family in North Carolina:  Random OBX Christmas 2008 and New Year\’s Pics

I had the joy of going out to lunch with Jaliza (pronounced ‘Ja-liss-a’), the soon-to-be 12 year old who wants to be a Christian Singer when she grows up (or a vet, or a surgeon to help people with tubes in their ears.)  I met Jaliza at a concert this past November, and when she asked me what she needed to do to become a Christian singer, I knew a get together would be a neat thing.  So off to Pizza Hut we went this past Sunday afternoon.  Over Siera Mist and Diet Pepsi, we begun talking about her upcoming Tinkerbell themed birthday party, some favorite songs, school and family stuff. 

The pizza and thereafter the desert came, and Jaliza had lots to say.  As I listened, I saw lots of ’similarities’ between she and I.  I remember, when I was Jaliza’s age, I just knew that I wanted to be a Christian singer too.  God used an adult Christian singer to inspire and awaken those dreams in my heart.  I couldn’t listen to her music enough.  My heart smiled as I read an email Jaliza’s mom sent me Saturday night saying, ‘She won’t stop talking about you, or playing your CD.  She asks 50 hundred questions, and is just soooooo excited to actually go to lunch with “a Christian famous singer.”  She says she wants to be just like you.’ 

But more than wanting to be like that ‘famous Christian singer’ I knew as a kid, I remember how God shaped my heart with a passion and desire to know Him and worship Him.  Sure, that desire to ‘do what the famous singers do’ in having a career, etc. kept me working hard at developing and honing in on my craft, yet God grew me up and made singing something ‘deeper’.  He drew me to Himself through the hard times when I was picked on at school, when I felt abandoned or just plain, hard stuff happened in my life.  So as Jaliza told me of some painful stuff like how her Daddy isn’t around and can’t come to see her for her birthday, I quitely prayed that God would make Himself so real to her in the hardness.  And I encouraged her to journal that stuff and even write songs out of times as such.  Only God truly knows what He has in store for this little girl.

So would you pray for Jaliza too?  Maybe we’ll see her and I’ll be part of her Vision Team in the years to come! )

I got an email today from a sweet girl I met at a concert this past November.  She asks this question:  “What should I do to start off to be a famous singer like you? I know I want to be a Christian singer.”  Well, here’s some advice for those of you out there with the same kind of question.  These are three important things that come to my mind first:

1.  Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart!
Did you know that’s a bible verse?  It’s one that I clung to when things looked hard, bad, and especially with these music dreams.  What that bible verse really means is to put Jesus FIRST in your life above EVERYTHING – even singing!  Pray to Him, read your Bible, ask Jesus to show you how to live for Him in your everyday life, memorize Bible verses that really speak to you, and worship Him at church and at home too!  When you make Jesus your everything, everything seems to come together in the ways HE has created you to be and in HIS perfect timing.

2.  Trust in the Lord with ALL you heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In ALL your ways acknowledge HIM and HE will direct your path!
This is another bible verse that I think is important for EVERY singer especially.  It’s not always easy, and it’s really important that we have a real and personal relationship with Jesus and trust Him at all times, even when things are really hard and don’t make sense to us.  No matter what YOU are going through – good and bad! – pray to Him, thank Him, and ask Him what HE would like you to learn from it.  HE will make what HE has created you to do happen, but you’ve got to put Him first and trust him with all your heart.  What He has planned for you may look different in some ways than what you initially think, but He’ll make sure it’s the BEST and totally AWESOME for you!

3. Wait on the Lord.
This is a bible verse too!  It’s hard sometimes to be patient and wait for God to show us how to do this music thing, because it’s something deep within us that wants to come out.  As you wait for HIM to show you how to specifically follow your dreams to sing for Him, pray, keep a notebook to journal letters/prayers to God, and sing at home in your worship to Him.  One of the most important things too is to sing at church.  Of course, it’s good to sing any chance you get that would be something where you can sing about God or for God, but I think at your church is the most important place.  Make singing at church something VERY important … even more important than being famous and singing at a lot of other places.  Jesus really loves that, and when we worship HIM with all our heart and do it as a part of our church, He has a special way to make our dreams happen!  

Bottom line, Jesus shows us how our musical dreams will specifically look, in time, as we delight ourselves in Him, trust in Him with all our heart and acknowledge Him, and as we patiently wait on Him.  Run after Him with all your heart, first and foremost before tackling anything ‘musical’ … I promise He will not let you down!

Travis and I went to see the movie ‘Fireproof’ with good friends, Aaron and Lynn this past weekend.  Yeah, we look pretty goofy here in this pic, yet our hearts were profoundly impacted by the amazing movie.  Marriage is hard, and we sure do need reminders on how to love each other in our brokenness and all.  While embracing this story through and through, it stirred up some past and present hurts in my heart.  These past few weeks have been challenging ones, and the movie (and time to simply have fun with good friends!) was definitely a God sent.  Things, for  reasons unbeknownst to me, have been very hard lately; marriage, the pain in my body, our work schedules and it’s demands, monitor problems at church Sunday … you name it.  And each new time I go through it, I’m learning to embrace Jesus all the more.  When I choose to (after I cry a bit and let it out!) worship HIM amongst the hard times, He transforms my heart and brings about His healing even more.  What hard times are you going through right now?  How can you embrace them instead of running away from them?  I dare ya.

As I sit here today, I’m reminded how God’s given all of us an AMAZING story – pain and all.  My sweeeet friend, Tara McRoberts, has got such a story herself.  I met Tara in my first couple years of college and we became instant friends; you know, that ‘kindred spirit’ kind of thing.  I specifically recall my final days at Mid-America Bible College in Oklahoma City, as I was transferring to Moody Bible Institute in Chicago just a few short months thereafter.  Tara and I, crammed in her tiny little dorm room, listened to some of our favorite music by Cindy Morgan and Amy Grant, and looked at pictures while laughing and crying the night away those final moments before I was off to several states away. 

As many of you know, I’ve lessened my concert schedule demands these next few months to dive more into my songwriting and rejuvenate my artist’s soul.  While away from the stage, one of my delights was to visit Tara, so that I did!  We have kept in touch over the years, went to the Grand Ole Opry for the GMA Music Awards most recently, and we keep in touch as Tara’s a part of my Vision Team and my Facebook Judy Deans Music Group.  She and Jason live in Kentucky and have the most BEAUTIFUL family in the world!  Travis and I had time to visit with them this month, enchanted by their sweetheart of a princess eldest daghter and meeting their newest daughter too.  The hours went waaay too fast, and it was so hard to say goodbye again.  As I left, I handed her a rough DVD copy of one of ny first Once Upon A Time concerts.  She delightfully took it home and watched it that evening, email waiting in my Inbox to greet me the very next day.  She said: 
 

“Judy Beauty, I just finished watching your concert and I loved it, truly I did. I enjoyed all the songs, especially #3.  One of my favorite parts was when you sat at the piano.  You sang beautifully. And your performance felt genuine, your love for the Lord really came through, and your Judy Beautiness.:)  But while I loved the music, I really appreciated the message you brought. I truly feel as though it can resonate with just about anyone, as most people have painful experiences in their past that they get stuck on. I loved when you sat behind your giant storybook, it felt like the audience could get to know a little of your life and where you’re coming from and it was sweet, funny, cute, touching, etc.  When you had everyone close their eyes and picture their own storybook and then they got to the page where the memories weren’t that great I immediately thought of my [painful] experience in college with [an influential leader] there. I definitely still get stuck on this very painful part of my past at various times throughout my life.  So what you had to say really spoke to me, I feel as though I still hold on to some bitterness regarding this whole situation. I love my life, I am happy in my marriage and my two precious girls and wouldn’t change my life for anything, but sometimes I still wonder what if.  What if [this leader] had encouraged me instead of have been discouraging, what if I had pressed on despite this disappointment (like you did, brave woman), where would I be now?  Would I be singing, making a living somehow with music?  So, keep doing what you are doing because the Lord will definitely use you and bless others through your ministry.  What you had to say really did touch me, also thanks for your Mission Statement and Free Article [you give out at your concerts and have now] sent to me.  They were helpful.”

God is a great God.  His plan for us, far exceeds our wildest expectations … even when there’s a bunch of pain involved – IF we let His plans come into fruition!  We can stand in the way by letting that pain and anger turn into bitterness, meanwhile getting ourselves ’stuck’ from living out all we’ve been meant to be.  When we’re hurt, we have a choice how we’ll respond to that pain.  Tara is very much so a brave woman, as I’ve watched her over the years walk hand in hand with God through the pain that happened many years ago.  She has walked such a beautiful road with her Savior, as He’s given her a beautiful life and ministry there in Kentucky with her family and those she’s in contact from day to day.  I know she impacts more people through her love and life as a wife, mom, friend and the gifted singing she provides each opportunity that is presented to her.  I know God has and is using her in more ways than she probably even realizes, just like most of us.  And she’s one who, though hurt badly in her past, continually allows Jesus to heal her more and more each day while following Christ each step of the way.  She is beautiful, and I’m so honored to be her friend. 

It’s not often Travis and I get to take a few days to venture away from typical concerts, worship leading, speaking and Teens for Christ engagements, but this past week we DID!  And God certainly used it as a time of refreshment and creative encouragement to my soul! 

What began as a visit to celebrate my nephew’s Senior Night soccer game, turned into a whole bunch of other things too!  Earlier the day of Ty’s game, my Mom, Aunt, Sister and I experienced something rather different than my norm – Tea Time at an elegantly local tea place.  What a new experience … and one where my mom especially was experiencing such joy!  Who would have thought tea time could do such a thing!?! 

That evening, time with my sister Linda and her son Ty was certainly special as Ty, captain of the soccer team, led his team to the winning victory of the game – numerous times, especially when there were seconds to spare at the game’s end!  Rejoicing and celebrating with him and many other family members created such a sweet and healing memory to me, where fear and pain once lived in my Once Upon A Time.  God is soooooo good and knows exactly how to reach us!

I was blessed to soak in the creative expressions, worshipful spirits and even ministry through the pain in life at the Steven Curtis Chapman/Michael W. Smith concert the evening following Ty’s game.  Oh, there are simply not enough words in the English language to express how God communicated to my heart in those dear three hours!  I laughed, I cried, my heart was challenged and awakened to God’s working in my life (and that which He wants to yet do!), and the songwriter in me was greatly encouraged to press on.

The day following the concert, a special treat was in store.  I was able to visit a dear friend from college; a kindred spirit whose visits with mean more to me than just about anything!  Although our GPS took us to the wrong address and doubled out travel time(!), that didn’t hinder the absolutely wonderful afternoon with Jason, Tara, their children Greta and Megan, and Jason’s folks.  And little did I know how God was going to use a video recording of my current concert which I gave to Tara that day, to really minister to her heart too.  More on that in another blog days to come … God is so good!

Our final day in Cincinnati ended up being a spur of the moment decision to take my family to the Renaissance Festival following church!  (Yup, it was Travis’ idea!)  Oh, to see my 82 year old Aunt hold a midieval sword put such a smile in our hearts and joy in knowing that this ‘new’ experience for my 73 and 74 year old folks too was something special.  Needless to say, Travis was certainly in his element, perked up like a little kid on Christmas morning with each sword fight, jousting battle, and suit of armor he witnessed.  Another sweet memory as God continues His healing process in my very own life.

May this blog challenge you to look around at all the sweet memories God sometimes seemingly ‘out of the blue’ places in your lap!  And if you’re hiding behind your work, think about taking care of yourself and giving your life some room to breathe so that God can touch you, heal you, give you new energy for the day, and even use you in a whole new way too! 

And if you’re a picture nut like me, and would like to see more pics, visit my Facebook site for a whole slew of ‘em! )  src=”http://badge.facebook.com/badge/668255034.1644.1475734864.png” border=0 alt=”Judy Deans’s Facebook profile”></a>

Who needs a concert to still do ministry? And where can you mix the silliness in and it be all the more powerful? Two sleep deprived nights with three AMAZING teenagers is my answer! Albeit this isn’t my typical means of concert ministry, and I typically stay away from all that caffeine and sugar, this past weekend was a special one orchestrated only by the sense of humor and blessings of God! What started out as one 14 year old staying overnight Friday night, turned into THREE staying up almost all night Saturday night too.

This way more than 14 year old gal (with lack of sleep and help from the fashion stylings of these amazing teenagers!) joined the ranks of teenage ‘hood’ and quirkiness as we spontaneously filmed a music video in my office 2-4am Saturday night. These girls found all my concert jewelry paraphernalia and we purposely dressed to look rather silly, and filmed this to Barlowgirl’s song ‘Mirror’. Quite ironic as you look at the message/how we look, and such the topic that battles with all our feminine hearts; teen aged and into the adult years. Watch this to have a good smile … if anything. ) And hopefully it’ll be a reminder to you too that God is at work and wanting to do ministry in and through you even in the ‘not so planned’ moments of our lives!