What I know for sure

 

Skip Oprah (even though I kind of like her); here's what I know about God for sure...

If God said it, He will bring it to pass!

Many years ago, an evangelist prophetized (is that a real word?) to me that God was going to bless me in my studies and grant me favor. She told this to me right before I was going to undergrad. While I already was awarded an academic and music scholarship, I also applied for another scholarship and received it. I also eventually got other small scholarships and graduated with honors and thought "Ok, God. Thank you for blessing me." However, when I went to school for my cytotechnology certificate at Johns Hopkins, that's when I really saw God open doors for me. The program was very selective (only 5 students per year) and God blessed me to get it. Then I was featured on the front page of the hospital newspaper for the outreach activities I was doing in some of Baltimore's public schools. It ended up being a wonderful experience. I thought "Ok, God. Thank you for blessing me again!" Then I went to graduate school to work on my masters in public health. I received a big scholarship in year 2, and ended up with a job that paid for my last year of school. And then when I got my PhD - just kidding. I stopped at my masters. But anyway, I know that when God says something, you can bank on it. It doesn't mean that I didn't have any challenges, cuz trust and believe my student loans total more than some peoples' homes, but God is faithful! (Put a praise on it right there!)

God will make a way...
When I was preparing to go to Hopkins, I had no money for the program. I mean $0. Not even a student loan. We were coming up to the week I was supposed to be leaving for school with no money. We applied for a private loan with bank even though we had been turned down for others. A few days before I left, that loan came through. Look at God!

And a way.
I suffered a huge accident a few years ago rollerblading. I fractured my left elbow and ended up needing 5 surgeries, a cast, and year of occupational therapy to correct it - only it never was really corrected. At the time, it was my final year in grad school and my capstone project (similar to a thesis) was due. Unlike all of my friends who waited until the last minute to start their papers, I had begun months in advance and had been diligently working on it. When the accident happened, I had already had a solid first draft of about 17 pages. God put it in me to work on that paper early because after the accident, I could no longer type proficiently. Sometimes he makes a way before we even know the way was already made!

God is no respecter of person.
I know that God is able to do anything for anyone. I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer by far, typically a B student, but God has done great things for me in the area of academics.

The blessings of the Lord maketh rich...
Moving past my academic life, I picked up a job that seemed to be pretty good, but I just didn't like the job as much as I wanted to. I applied for a different position in the company for something more related to my studies. I felt really good about the interviews and was very hopeful, but ultimately did not get it. I stayed at the company and about year later, that position opened up again so I applied again. This time I got it and now I have a job that I absolutely love.

And He addeth no sorrow with it.
About a year into the new job, I got a big raise. I'm not going to get into the mechanics of why/how I got it. Just trust me when I say that I didn't ask for it and when they gave it to me all I said was "Thank you God!" I could care less the rationale. It was a huge blessing!

So there you have it. In the words of J. Moss, I'm not telling you what I read. I'm telling you what I know.

God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think! (Eph. 3:20) There, I finally quoted a scripture :)

What I know for sure makes me more than willing to sing praises unto God. Most of the songs that I write are simply songs of praise. I always thought I'd have something deep and pivotal to share with the world, but my testimony is simply God is good and faithful. I am content praising God for all that he's done in my life and I hope that's whats reflected when I lead P&W.

Blessings

Not around here we won't

Our first of 3 rehearsals for Good Friday went really well, however, we almost had a bucket boy. The drummer came and didn't realize we don't have a drum set. What we did have was a bucket, which my dad tried to encourage him to use.

Uh-uhn! Does this look like 79th and the Dan Ryan?

In with a bang

Building on the momentum we ended 2014 with, my praise team decided to hit the ground running last Sunday. We introduced one new song, and re-introduced two old songs back into the rotation. We even were color coordinated and had matching neck scarves thanks to Amber. Looks like we've started the year off right!

Additionally, I just took out about 6 worship and gospel CDs from the library last night. This is my attempt to keep an ear out for potential songs and to keep up with the P&W scene.

Isn't the start of a new year exciting?

Food for thought

Y'all know I like to post after I listen to the iLead escape hosted by Tasha Cobbs. Last night's guest was Dana Chanel, a new Christian lighting up social media with her concept of a "sprinkle of Jesus." The call didn't really center around praise and worship, but she did bring up something that I think my church is struggling with in our worship experience.

Right before or after she prayed (can't remember the order) she expressed how she's not one of those people who pray real "official"-like. She just prays what's on her heart. Isn't that the way it's supposed to be?

A lot of what Dana Chanel was saying is that she is who she is. You can't make her experience God how you want her to, she's not gonna pray the way you think she should pray. We have to accept people and who they are. She further expressed that she believes social media is such a powerful tool for expanding the Kingdom because people can read or see a post and because they are able to internalize the message, it speaks to them in a way that is more authentic than sitting in a church being expected to behave or act in the same way others act.

I think this parallels with what we are experiencing with our congregation. We have a lot of un-churched folks who attend our Sunday worship service. (i.e., folk who weren't raised in church) As a matter of fact, we have more un-churched attendees than life-longers. With that being the case, the culture of our P&W is a bit un-uniformed, which can be a little disconcerting if you're used to having things a particular way. We've got the folks who lift their hands, sing, focus on the words, etc. Then we've got folks who just kind of look a the praise team and don't seem to be very engaged in worship.

...So a little bit of background because I don't share a whole lot about the details of my church. We are Pentecostal. We are a part of a Pentecostal organization with churches in the states, West Indies, and Africa. Our church, however, in my opinion, is not hugely charismatic. There's not a lot of shouting or speaking in tongues. Not a lot of prophesying, crying, running the aisles, and we don't hold service long. With that said, I think there's a bit of a struggle in getting people to praise and worship in a way that's typical of Pentecostals. (Spontaneous "hallelujahs" and other sayings, dancing, etc.)

With that said, if we keep pressing for people to "behave" in a way that doesn't seem to be true to them, are we creating a culture where people feel like they have to act in a certain way? And will they feel "pressured" to conform to this church-y behavior that they might not identify with at the present time? Now don't get me wrong, I believe in waving your hands and other demonstrative actions, but I wouldn't expect this from the average un-churched person. Instead of beating folks over the head because they aren't demonstrative, I think our message should be more like "it's ok if you feel led to raise your hands' or "we raise our hands in honor of God's presence" etc. And if people don't raise their hands, that's ok too. Maybe that's just not them. Maybe in a year or two, they will.

I say all of that to say that I personally believe our ministry's approach needs to change. I'm sure Pastor would probably disagree. But you have to meet people where they are. We don't have a congregation of seasoned saints. I'm not saying we need to lower our expecations, but we def need to adjust them. The goal is not to have folks jumping around trying to emulate others, but rather for people to be engaged in worship in a way that feels right for them. It's kind of like saying I think all preachers should be able to sing in a that old Baptist-like voice "And the Looooord said. (big breath here)" No. Some preachers have a singy voice, some preachers never raise their voice, some preachers read lots of scriptures to support their topic, some preachers use one or 2. There's room for all types. Somehow, along the way, we've not let that be true for our worshipers.

Just some food for thought.

Blessings

Big Daddy Weave - Overwhelmed [Official Music Video]

I heard this song on the radio this morning and thought I'd share. Enjoy!

Out with a bang

Looks like the End Times Ministries praise team is ending the year on a good note. Sunday we had another rehearsal and are ready to re-introduce a song back into our P&W rotation. We also have our next rehearsal scheduled - the first one for 2015. I couldn't be happier. Well, I could, but baby steps.

Cheers!

How Can It Be - Lauren Daigle

I just found out about this artist a few months ago as a result to listening to K-Love 94.3fm Chicago - big shout out to them! I love, love, love her voice. She's like the Adele of Christian music. So much soul. Her sound is raw yet beautiful and the words of this song are perfect. Everything about this song is perfect. Somebody should buy me her CD for Christmas. (And yes, I still prefer a CD because I spend most of my time in the car and don't like fidgeting with my phone when I'm driving. And because I'm old school like that. :) Enjoy!

Lauren Daigle - Light Of The World (Lyric Video)

Just in time for Christmas... I heard this for the first time yesterday and really like it. Enjoy!

Martha Munizzi - Come Holy Spirit - LIVE (@marthamunizzi)

I love this simple worship song. Enjoy!

1 down, 11 to go

Praise be to God, we finally sang a new song for P&W this Sunday!

We are now on our way to introducing 12 new/archived songs back into our Sunday song list.

My top 14

I love to make lists at the end of the year.

Here are my 14 favorite P&W songs. (I know as soon as I press the publish button, I'll want to change some of these.)

14. Every Praise - Hezekiah Walker

13. Holiness Take My Life - Micah Stampley

12. It Is To You - Byron Cage

11. As the Deer

10. Give Me a Clean Heart - Fred Hammond

9.  Lift Him Up - Walt Whitman and the Soul Children of Chicago

8.  Smile - Tasha Cobbs

7.  Great and Mighty - Byron Cage

6.  Rain On Us - Earnest Pugh

5. Agnus Dei (Hallelujah For the Lord God Almighty Reigns) - Michael Smith

4.  Free - Kierra Sheard

3.  To Worship You I Live - Israel

2.  Lord I Love You - Youthful Praise feat. JJ Hairston

1.  I Love You Lord and I Lift My Voice

 

What I'm thankful for

It's a miracle: we had 2 rehearsals over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend! Everyone was on time. Everyone was on one accord.

We rehearsed 3 of our "archived" songs. 1 of which we'll sing for the first time this Sunday. (Total Praise by Richard Smallwood). I Won't Go Back by William McDowell will need one more rehearsal to make sure we've memorized verse 2. The third song (Hosannah by Kirk Franklin) needs about 2 more rehearsals and a small miracle.

One of the things I'm learning is that we need to just do what works for us. There are some places where 3 part harmony exactly like the original artists is too difficult for us. I'm learning to accept it and just keep going. No need to ditch the entire song because we couldn't get one or 2 lines just right.

Well boys and girls, I'm simply elated that we're on the right track. In the words of my mom when she was younger "Hallelujah pound the glory" (what she was singing instead of the real words hallelujah thine the glory). Or in the words of India Arie, there's hope!

Blessings

P.S. - Where is India Arie?

Recap of tonight's iLead escape with Pastor William Murphy

I am too pumped up that I remembered the iLead escape frontliners call 2 months in a row!

Tonight, Pastor William Murphy was the guest speaker and dropped so much knowledge it was crazy. Here's a recap of what was discussed in case you missed it.

P.S. - Pastor Tasha, you really need to record these calls so people can listen after the initial run. Please and thank you! :)

Acts 3:19

• God is sending a refreshing! (Glorayyyy! - my words, not his.)
• God wants us to update or refresh our old "pages." He wants to do something new, but we need to be open to the new and not continue in the old thing that he established for a previous time or season.
• I have the grace on me to create a tangible, living, abiding presence of God. (#putapraiseonit right there! - my words again.)

Exodus 25:10-22 (the meat of the call)
If you're going to create a tangible, living, abiding presence of God...

• you must be pure inside and out (v. 11)
• this doesn't mean sinless, but rather your spirit has to be pure
• everyone in leadership has great struggles or challenges, but that doesn't mean your spirit subcumbs to every sin.
• you cannot be one-sided (v. 12)
• your worship has to be well rounded, multicultural - not just gospel, not just top 40
• you cannot get in front of God (v.14)
• you going to have to carry it (v. 14)
• Don't be lazy! You have to invest time. (spend time researching new songs, artists, etc.)
• It's going to be inconvenient, it will challenge you.
• you have to be tested because you have to have a real testimony (v. 16)
• you need a personal experience
• you're going to have to be shaped by God (v.18)
• shaped meaning hammered or beaten by God to form you
• you have to guard your ministry relationship (v.19)
• you cannot separate the worshipers from the mercy seat
• you have to be able to face one another
• you have to make the mercy seat a priority (v.21)
• being "right" or "wrong" isn't what's most important
• the visuals or the uniforms are not what's most important
• you have to have God's mind (v.22)

OMGoodness y'all this really encouraged me tonight! Even the Q&A was good!

The points that resonated with me were about having a multicultural sound, investing time to better our P&W, and having a personal testimony. More posts about the latter to come.

I'm truly looking forward to the iLead escape in 2015!

Blessings

No excuses

Not to be Debbie Downer, but I'm kind of bummed that we will not be singing any new P&W songs for Thanksgiving! I had it all worked out in my head that we'd have had 2 rehearsals by now and would be on our way to learning those 12 new songs I hoped to add to our arsenal. Wouldn't you know it, but we haven't had 1 rehearsal nor can we agree to a date.

Well, I better tell my team to get it all out now because we're coming up in 2015. No more excuses. Not even a good excuse. None of us work 24/7 so we're going to have to determine a time where we can rehearse.

We're going to learn some new songs! We're going to be on one accord! We're going to be the bomb.com! In Jesus name!
 

The thrill is gone

Remember when I posted that I was so excited to get going on the right track with my P&W team even though it wasn't the new year. Yeahhhhh, about that...

After making 2 attempts to set 2 different dates for rehearsal, my enthusiasm is waning. Everyone is picking up extra or longer hours for work and I can't seem to find a day or time that accommodates our small group. I was hoping we could do something new for Thanksgiving, but that's out.

Perhaps 2015 will be our year.

 

P.S. I'm sticking to my guns; I'm not buy any new tracks until we sing what we already have in our arsenal. Maybe the boredom of the same songs will jump start things.

P.P.S. I can use the above image because I'm from Chicago. Go White Sox! :)

Shake it off

Last weekend, I was out of state attending a friend's baby shower and thus missed church. I'm gonna keep it 100 and say that the reprieve was totally welcomed. I didn't open my emails and only checked social media at the end of the day. I dared someone to call me wanting anything this weekend. I said to myself, in the words of my father, "Don't callllll my name!" He would always say this if we asked him to do too many things. When I was young, I thought my dad never got tired.

As a mother, wife, professional, youth leader, and the head P&W leader, I now understand what my dad a bit better. I get tired. A lot! Often I don't even know I'm tired until it's time to do something and I'm aggravated by the task. I bet many of you are in the same predicament. You work, sit on other auxiliaries, have social lives, have families to tend to, mentor kids, blog, are in school, participate in extracurricular activities, cook, exercise, attend Bible class, etc. And I bet that many of us have asked God to help us get it all done. Well, not that God needs my help, but I think I will offer it anyway. Something is getting the axe! I don't want to be spread thin. I don't want to loathe the things that I volunteered to do. I don't want to be a piss poor leader. I want to be intentional, fresh, and in a good mood as much as possible.

A weekend away can help us to reset and realize just how much we've been running around. We must recognize we have limits and if we are to be good P&W leaders, we must shed some of the things that are distracting us from doing so. So in the words of Mariah Carrie and more recently Taylor Swift "Shake it off!"

Just like music... (in my Marvin Gaye voice)

Music is one of those things that has the ability to almost instantly change your mood. Today I experienced this first hand.

My grandmom has been in and out of the hospital for several weeks now and it's been emotionally draining. Today, in spite of this, I wanted to be uplifted and to offer up praises by playing something encouraging and inspirational. Enter my Tasha Cobbs channel on Pandora. Wouldn't you know it - 3 of my favorite songs du jour came on back to back to back and I instantly felt better.

Like music does in general, praise and worship has the ability to transcend a listener beyond his or her current emotions. This experience should not be limited to the praise and worship portion of a church service. Whether it be in the car, playing ambiently in the background at work, or while running the track, we should find ourselves constantly offering up the fruit of our lips. In doing so, I believe that not only will this bless us, but blesses God as well.

Happy Singing!

P.S. You know I couldn't name this post Just Like Music without linking you to Erick Sermon's dope track! It's not gospel, but it's great music. Hip hop at its finest. Enjoy!