My husband surprised me good this past Tuesday!  He arranged for a sitter and whisked me away to a special worship concert with renown songwriters/worship leaders Paul Baloche, Kathryn Scott and Brian Doerksen.  Exactly what we needed, we worshiped together led by these amazingly talented and definitely God chosen individuals.  Those of you who have been with me since back in ‘the day’ when I, then Judy Requarth, recorded a demo before I just about headed off to reside in Nashville, may recognize the name Kathryn Scott.  The Lord’s really used this gal to help teach me much about worship leading; especially using her heart and piano/vocal way in leading others in worship.  One of the songs recorded on my early demo was Child Of God, a Kathryn Scott original.  WOW, did God really connect with me and encourage this heart last Tuesday evening with Kathryn leading …and talking with her thereafter, when this picture was taken.  (And yes, that is Paul Baloche’s head between ours …ha ha!)  A current song of Kathryn’s, which she led that is on replay in my mind the past several days, is entitled ‘You’re Good’, the chorus sings: “You’re good, You’re good.  You’re the rescue that’s waiting, God, You are faithful. You’re good, You’re good.  It’s you’re mercy that’s claimed us, Your grace that forgave us. You’re good.” Just what my heart needed to hear and what I’m going forward with, in these days ahead.  He IS good, beyond what we can comprehend, and in living a life of worship, it’s our place to live focused on His goodness.  It’s a way we worship Him when things around us are uncertain and the enemy throws a lot of discouragement our way.  He’s good …cling to HIM and watch His goodness unfold even in the most difficult times of your life.  It will.  He’s full of love and goodness toward you.  He can’t give you anything other!

Have you something in your life which God’s used from when you were weeeeee little to ignite His passion with your unique make up?  From when I was such a tiny girl, the special visits to Grandma and Aunt’s house in Ohio meant a lot to me because they had a cooool, upright piano in their living room!  I remember being so delighted to run my fingers along the ivories and make up any song I could imagine at the time.  Then, when I was a pre-teen, a dear friend from church gave me his upright piano so that I could continue to grow in what God placed in my young heart to do.  Those two pianos are waaaaaaay beyond repair; distant memories, you could say.  But God really blessed me this last weekend with this (pictured) piano, a gift from a fellow pastor’s wife!  Thanks to my sweet friend Molly,  (and to my awesome hubby who made arrangements with the movers!), this ‘new’ addition now resides in our living room, and not only something I will most certainly enjoy and use with my heart, but my sweet daughter can now grow up with perhaps the same fascination with this big thing as her momma many years ago.  We’ll see how God’s uniquely wired her little being …I’m hoping it’s indeed a great delight to her too! =)

Travis and I had a new experience this past weekend …seeing our baby 28 weeks and 2 days in utero! She is absolutely beautiful (yes, I know, we are slightly biased!) and I wanted to share these three pictures with you all. The first is a side profile which looks as though she’s praying! The second is her response to Travis talking to her through my belly …yes, she is smiling real big! And the third is a funny one for you all …sucking her big toe! She’s already bringing us such joy and I can’t believe the incredible love that fills our heart for her already. I’m sure there will be songs birthed out of this too in the days and years to come! Thanks for your prayers as we continue on this journey too!

Yaaaaaaaaaaay …MUCH THANKS go out to those of you who have been fervently praying for my heath this past month and and a half. I have had virus on top of virus on top of virus, with laryngitis thrown in there to boot! That certainly doesn’t make a happy momma-to-be, obviously, but also slows things down on the work front too, which has been frustrating, to say the least. Thankfully, being sick is coming to an end, and I was able to sing my way through a multiple hour rehearsal last night. What joy it brought to my heart! God’s healing yours truly and being a part of the worship team again after a short hiatus was like icing on my cake last night. We are prepping for an all worship event held at Cornerstone Ministries at 6pm on Sunday, February 21st …if you’re free and would like to come out. Anyway, amidst my joy, I snapped a few pics on the cell phone at rehearsal last night. Click here if you’d like to meet my friends and fellow worshipping folks for this weekend’s ONE event …and catch the humor of this great group too! And thanks again for your prayers; I couldn’t do this without you!

I’m sure if you’re at all in tune with the Superbowl, you’ve heard of this guy. Tim is a quarterback making a profound difference on the platform of the importance of life. Since so much of this ministry God’s placed me in deals with helping those who are hurting from their past, and having abortions is one of those pains of the past which I’ve seen women struggle with carried into their present, I wanted to share this video with you. Tim’s parents were missionaries in the Philippines and share in this video the significance of Tim’s life …how he’s a preacher, even as a quarterback!

For those of you who have been dying to hear an update on Baby Deans, we are doing well and decided to take a pic for you today in the gorgeous snow just outside our home. (Who would have thought we’d be slammed with so much snow overnight?!!)  Our sweet little baby girl is due the end of May, and we are very excited, to say the least.  She’s quite the mover inside me and we certainly can’t wait to meet her face to face and learn how God’s uniquely equipped and crafted her.  God’s been teaching us a lot in this amazing process …and I know that teaching has only begun!  I’m so thankful for an amazing husband who not only loves the Lord but is determined to lead our home in a godly way, being the best husband and daddy possible.  We are working hard each day as God shows us what’s next especially in how to manage home life and ministry in a healthy balance.  I’m continuing to press on in worship leading and my songwriting with the record label, focusing especially on recording my two upcoming singles …yes, they’ll be here in the months to come, folks; and some special ministry product too. Thanks for all your love, care and prayers in this season of our lives.  We treasure you!

That’s right …God has been so faithful to us and provided us with a true ‘upgrade’ in a new vehicle since our frightening car totaling accident December 13th. We are overwhelmed with how God not only met ALL our doctor bills, including the close to $3,000 ER visit through the insurance coverage, but now ALL of this new car too. For those of you who have been following this blog since Day 1, the first entry talked about how our at then car called it quits, shortly followed with how God provided us a car beyond our dreams: a 2004 Buick Century with low mileage and even leather seats! Well, sadly, that car recently died when we happened upon black ice, but we now (drum roll, please) own a 2005 (yes, a year newer!) Buick Century (yaaay, how God knew we love this kind of car!) with fewer miles on it: only 57,000. One of the board members of Teens For Christ, my husband’s ministry, owns a car dealership and found us this excellent conditioned vehicle so we are once again driving safely …and for the three of us this time. Thank you for your numerous prayers, dear friends. God has certainly heard them and we are more than grateful for your care for us. Now …no more black ice this year, eh?!!

While in North Carolina this past week, I had the privileged of spending lunch with two very special ladies, twin sisters at that! I met Gussie and Rosie last summer at a concert I gave for their Sunday morning church service. What is sooooooo super amazing about these ladies, is the joy of the Lord that is in them! As we enjoyed the buffet of food before us, I think we enjoyed the talking all the more …giggles from our feasting table could be heard all around the restaurant, I’m assuming too. It was such a reminder to me that no matter WHAT we are facing in life -no matter what pain has plagued our past or is reliving itself in our present- the joy of the Lord is a REAL THING and is present amongst the toughest times. And it’s because of that joy from the Lord that we have a reason to not be afraid or ignore the fear and pain that can surround us. Thanks for being a wonderful testimony to that, Gussie and Rosie! I can’t wait until our next get together!

It was a GREAT day …though I feel as though I’m now recovering from the entire weekend AND the fun day off! I find every reason to celebrate when it comes to a birthday, so we jam packed the day with fun (after sleeping in, of course …this night owl does appreciate that!)  Music, traveling with my honey, lunch with a dear friend, the park where Travis took me the day we got engaged, and sweet time with the folks filled our day.  Thanks to all the love and wishes from so many of you on Facebook and abroad.  The onslaught of love put such a deep smile in my heart …and still does.  Bless you, and here are some pics for you to enjoy too!   http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=308336&id=668255034&l=c76150a963