God did so much this past July when I was at Incubator’s headquarters out west. If all you picture people would like to see some fun pics of crazy ol’ me with some of my dear Incubator Family, here’s a link to some of my favs posted on Facebook:

Judy’s Summer Summit 2011 Pics

Bless you!
Judy

Another day, another long ‘to do’ list …a baby in tow that doesn’t always give you the luxury of brushing your hair, yet alone a shower …the morning ‘routine’ and nap time now conquered meanwhile some work accomplished while she’s off in dreamland …the afternoon zips by trying to squeeze in getting things done while taking care of the little toddler now into everything, and before you know it, Daddy’s home, dinner, bath time, bedtime stories, she’s out for the night and you are beyond exhausted, meanwhile beating yourself up because you had so much yet to do on that ‘to do’ list. The computer comes out to tackle the email and squeeze in a little more work before the head hits the pillow, yet alone trying to attempt some meaningful conversation with the other half, but it’s that ‘rather mad at yourself’ feeling that looms again. Tomorrow is full of it’s own ‘to do’s’, and the ones I didn’t get through today.  Oy, overwhelmed again.  Oh, sleep is a must …sigh. Does any of this sound familiar???  I don’t know about you, yet God has really been working on my heart big time lately with learning to view my life -my entire life and responsibilities- the way He sees them …not beating myself up, perfectionist tendencies all too natural and present. The word GRACE, a word so foreign today, if you honestly look at our culture, is something I am also learning to grasp better for myself.  My life is a ministry.  Your life is a ministry.  It’s not just our ‘day’ job; it’s our family, our friends, our day-to-day moments that the Lord is screaming through.  While in Oregon for the Summer Summit, one of the things the Lord reminded me of is, though I beat myself up with not being able to ‘keep up’ with my ‘before baby pace’ of work hours in songwriting, concerts, etc., His viewpoint here is what I need to be focusing on …not mine.  He has accomplished so much through this ministry (yes, since baby!), and is, in fact, making it stronger and giving me more means of impact and oodles of material to minister with because of it.  Did I need reminded of that?  Yes.  Will I need reminded of that on a day to day basis?  Most likely.  It’s one of those thing where my head has ‘known’ the truth all along, and that all this is His perfect plan for me, and yet so easily the enemy, disguised as my perfectionism, tires to cause me to doubt what God is doing and shame the child of God which I am.  Have you been there?  Are you there now?  Are you like me and need reminded that God has nothing but a GOOD plan that He is working in your life at this very moment?  He has done so much …and is doing so much, in every moment of our very life.  Join with me in seeking the Lord to forgive our wrong thinking and stop beating ourselves up.  Let’s take that urge and redirect it to hide His truth in our heart and fully embrace each part of His good plan which He’s given us to live out every moment of every day.  God, teach us more of Your grace so that we too can extend it to others in a new and profound way …help us smile while thanking You for this season of life.

Well …she did it! Little Miss Evangelina kept the ear protective muffs ON at Creation East this past week, and loooooooooved the concerts to boot! (Tenth Avenue North and Skillet were her favorite …though she did end up falling asleep half way through Skillet.  All the pyro must’ve been stimulation overload, poor thing!)  We met Eric Allen from the K LOVE morning show and shared how she sings along with certain songs already …’Oh NO’ with Matt Redman in “You Never Let Go” and ‘Aaa-MEN!’ with City Harmonic, to name a few, and it also delighted my heart to hear her yell, ‘Amen’ from the tarp one evening too.  Ya can’t tell she’s the daughter of two ministry leaders, can  ya? Naaaaah, she’s just excited about Creation and can’t wait to go again next year.  Yeah, that’s it.  Ha ha, just had to share.

Why do we ever doubt His faithfulness?  Or maybe better put, why do we think something as silly as a cold could make His impact less effective?  That’s where I was this past week.  I had a cold …actually, still recovering from it, and though I seriously entertained postponing this visit and ministry program, the sweet pastor at Park Baptist Church told me to come and bring what I could regardless, so that I did!  And I kid you not, in the words of my husband, who has been part of just about every one of my concert engagements to date, it was the best yet!  God is so incredibly faithful regardless of the ‘junk’ we tend to carry, and when He’s called us to do something, He follows through in completing the work which He started in us.  He shows up when we are 1. real before Him, 2. dependent on Him, and 3. seek to bless Him by serving others.  What a reminder He gave me this week.  Thanks for being so faithful, God!

God is so faithful!  What a joy and privileged it’s been to be a part of the Cornerstone Worship LIVE cd recording this past month.  After many hours of preparation and numerous rehearsals, the evening came and the Lord’s presence was so incredibly sweet.  I can only imagine how His heart was filled with delight, as I was beside myself too in hearing the amazing sound coming from hearts and voices so passionately singing and worshiping Him. Thanks for the prayers and coming out to worship with us, click here to check out some pics from the Cornerstone Worship LIVE Recording on Facebook, and stay tuned as more details unfold for the Fall cd release.

Don’t you just love it when God does something unexpected just to make your heart smile …right when you need it? I have been having a crazy few months with things right and left going wrong, computers crashing, schedules bombarded; you know, things that I know are just the enemy trying to thwart what God is doing and doing his best to shake me up. Well, I had the opportunity to just step back from the day to day pressures for a couple days as I traveled with my hubby and sweet baby girl to visit my out of state in-laws. En route to their home a few states away, we broke up the trip by staying overnight with my sister, who happens to be an avid Chris Tomlin fan.  I couldn’t have asked for a more fun girl to go to concerts with! Since Chris Tomlin was going to be near her home, my sister purchased nose bleed tickets for his concert and we were just tickled pink that it was the weekend I would be traveling to see my in-laws and we could spend some time enjoying music with great company.

My sister too, like any of us if we are being completely honest, has been through a lot of pain and difficulty in her past, and it’s been so sweet to see how, as she’s kept her focus and dependency on the Lord while working hard to do what was right, He has been more than faithful to bring her through the pain into a place of joy, hope, and has given her a beautiful life. She had such a great reason to worship Him, and at this worship concert, as we climbed to the highest section of the arena, she and I were focused on doing that indeed!

Four minutes before Chris was to come on the stage, I ran into a friend of Travis and mine (from back home of all places,) who surprised my sister and I with FRONT ROW CENTER tickets! We raced to get to the front of the arena and, as the lights dimmed and music began, we reached our seats. What an amazing gift and delight! We were as two little kids, giddy and snapping pictures right and left. The couple sitting beside us too, (whom the wife was expecting a few weeks from now!) were on the highest row in the arena and were surprised with front row seats too. Ha ha …we formed an instant bond with them.

The music played, the worship was sweet, Louie Giglio challenged us all, and as we literally touched the stage at the end of the concert, jumping and worshiping with everything in us, God reminded me that through the rough day to day that sometimes presents itself, HE is good and has such good things in store …as I focus on Him in the midst of trying times, and do what is right no matter the circumstance, He will continue to bring me joy and help me live with that faith as a child. And as if to bring that fact even more ‘home’, we were then surprised with passes to chat with Chris Tomlin and Louie Giglio. God just kept delighting us!

I know they are people just as you and me …serving God in their brokenness and dependent on Him with every breath, but we felt so honored and blessed to thank them for the way they are obeying Him and faithfully living out their lives as His example. God unexpectedly delighted our hearts that night. Like He always manages to do …when our eyes are open to His leading, and our hearts are anticipating His best.

So thank you, sweet sister for being an example of a life dedicated to living Christ out. Thank you, dear friend who surprised us with tickets and passes to meet Chris and Louie. Thank you, Chris Tomlin and Louie Giglio (and band!) for faithfully living a life of worship and dedication to Christ in front of us. May we all be challenged to look at the hardships we face as opportunities to rely on the One who never gave up in dire circumstances ..to worship Him amidst the pain and remember that we too can be victorious!

Click here to see some of my Facebook pics from this fun night!

A friend I serve in worship ministry with posted this video on Facebook this morning and it’s so true …God is nothing short of amazing and, in light of the ‘disaster’ in Japan, God is still God. As we pray and help those in need in tangible ways because of this tragedy, let’s not loos sight of this promise!

My sweetie turned nine months this past Valentine’s Day, and like any mother I’ve ever come in contact with would agree, time certainly fliiiiiiiiiiiiies; and it came to my attention this month too that she has now existed longer on this side of my belly than inside!  Just like the amazingly crazy miracle that took place in those nine months before we met her face to face, this seemingly short time since has been nothing short of amazing. And as I watch this little munchkin tune in to the exciting things unfolding around her, I catch beautiful glimpses of the impact others’ lives and love have had on her …and the impact her little life has already had on those surrounding her. And it all makes me think, what kind of impact does my day to day life have on others …how is my sometimes ’seemingly short’ time making a difference? Am I living upright, prioritizing, and making the most of each moment I’m given? Each moment passes so quickly, and I don’t want to overlook the incredible power I have been given and I have to make a difference with each moment. Care to explore this with me in this season of your life too???

This season of life and ministry sure has had it’s surprises, challenges, extreme joy and frustrating pain all lumped into one! My head spinning is more of a ‘normal’ these days, as I learn to juggle what’s on my plate and try to stay on top of things. And as I’ve had my time in The Word lately, the Lord has really been working on my heart in the deep places where I need to work on my own ‘issues’. You see, the pain and frustration I face, could most certainly be blame shifted or ignored with the excuse of busyness, and yet I’ve learned that the way to live in God’s favor, blessing and to continually become more and more into His likeness is to take a deep look inside …on a daily basis. And you know, it’s so like God that, when we do honestly evaluate and seek Him, He brings His truth and encouragement to the seemingly mundane as well as the ‘deep’ places of our hearts.

This song, You Are For Me, is a worship song by one of my favorite worship artists, Kari Jobe. This live recording was from when I had the privilege of leading it at Cornerstone Ministries with the amazing worship team a few weekends back. God is so good …and as He tangibly reminded me how true it’s message is while enabling me to lead the services that morning after waking up with hardly any voice(!), the message most certainly rings true in the deepest and most challenging stuff I’m walking through right now too. He is for me …He will never forsake me.

And He is for you …be encouraged in that today.