FREE Worship Music!!!

My kids have mentioned Phil Wickham's name a few times, and I'm finally catching up.  He's writing some good worship music for the church. 

What's most exciting to me is a recording called 'Singalong'.  It's simple - just Phil, a guitar and a crowd of people worshiping God.

Oh, and yeah, there's this:  IT'S FREE.

Worship music impacts my spiritual life in a powerful way.  How about you?

To get the FREE - yes, FREE! - download of 'Singalong', click here and follow the directions.  They won't spam you, harrass you or annoy you - just give them your email address and be blessed by this gift.  And give a good listen to 'Cannons'; if you are at PCC, you'll be hearing that one on Sunday morning in the very near future.

Wednesdays Are Long Days

Wednesdays are long days for me.  It usually begins with my personal challenges - getting five kids out the door for school, which is no easy feat.  Especially today, when one car is in the shop and two of the girls have to be at the high school early (which means ALL of the girls have to be there early, which - in itself - is on par with hell freezing over, if you know what I mean.  Three teenaged girls do NOT get ready for school quickly.)  We also made a run to my mom's house before 8:00 AM to pick up a golf ball and tee for a school project, along with a homecoming dress.  David and I left there to get gas, coffee for me and a donut for him - then on to the county recycling center to sort through the stuff loaded in the back of the Suburban.  After depositing David at school, I parked for 30 minutes at the County Seat for Bible study and some eggs.

Staff meeting was next on the list.  Depending on the agenda, these meetings last anywhere from two to six hours.  Today, it was five hours.  Very productive and even enjoyable - but long.  Once school is out, I begin the juggling and shuttling of kids to bible study, play practice, etc.  Today I drove up and down the road for over three hours.  Straight.  I fell asleep in the parking lot waiting for Shannon to finish taking picture of the cross country runners for journalism...

Rehearsal for Sunday's music is always on Wednesday night, and - depending on programming - that lasts anywhere from two to four hours.

Heading home, it's usually time for a run to the grocery store; inevitably we're out of milk on Wednesday night.  Tonight, I picked up milk and strawberries - per David's request.

It makes for a long day.

And it's tiring.

But it's also the best day of the week.   It ends in prayer and worship as we prep music for Sunday.  It's completely humbling, as I have to lean on others for help and assitance in getting kids home, in realizing how impossible it is for me to be all things to all people.  Rehearsal reminds me that we are just a bunch of folks who love to play music, getting together trying to create something of worth that will bless His heart.  I come home completely exhausted - and yet completely filled.

Tonight all of the musicians and sound guys walked down the muddy hill from our office trailer to check out the state of our eventual first home for PCC.   Pipes are sticking up out of the ground; footers are poured, and the back wall is partially up.  We crawled over the pilies of gravel (concrete being poured very soon!) and stood on what will be the stage to envision what the future holds.

We prayed.  For all that lies ahead, for all that burdens us, for our fears and anxiety, for our joy in the Lord - we prayed.

Wednesdays are good.

Don't miss church on Sunday - we're ready with some great music!!!

I've Made Up My Mind

I found myself more irritated by the debate than anything else.  Rudeness is a pet peeve of mine, and I don't care how passionate you are about your plans, your viewpoint, your intentions - you should NOT be rude, disrespectful, dismissive or discourteous.  It diminishes a man, if you ask me.  You can be firm with your opinions or decisions - but do not denigrate other people.  Be nice.  Firm, but nice.

So, I have come to a conclusion.

I'm going to write in Tom Brokaw for president.  And just for grins, I'm throwing in Katie Couric for VP.

To Be Loved...

Pete Wilson is a pastor in Nashville, a husband and a father.

And a very honest blogger.

If you've ever wrestled with the debilitating desire to be loved, to be accepted at any cost, to find your value in others' opinions (hey - I KNOW who you are!), you will be encouraged and perhaps challenged by this post.  Here's just a snippet of Pete's honest confession of his struggle:

I would ignore the sincere compliments of others to be obsessed with the few critics.

I would abandon my boundaries and go above and beyond to "help" someone while ignoring my family. (ouch!)

I would put off the tough leadership decisions trying to keep all sides content.

Check out Pete's blog - click here.

You're welcome.

Sunday Setlist 10.5.08

Sunday was a great day.  We didn't plan a lot of bells and whistles, just a service focused on doing rather than just believing.  The old faith versus works argument, as we make our way through James...

Let the Praises Ring - Lincoln Brewster.  Even as we opened with the song, I found myself thinking, "Hmm...we do this song a lot."  We do.  

I Have A Hope - Tommy Walker.  His new album is full of great, singable worship songs.  This is one of the best.  Awesome declaration of who we are in Christ.

This Is Not This - AMAZING, relevant, timely video from Floodgate Productions via Worship House Media.  And they gave it away this week.  It addressed, with very timely language, the current economic challenges - and contrasted those issues with the cross.  During second service, it drew applause.  Very powerful, and kudos to Worship House and Floodgate for creating material that really works, on a real-time basis, for the local church.

Our pastor gave us a quick verbal transition from the video to the next worship song; Kevin began to sing "I trust in You...I trust in You..." over the piano, and we slowly moved into the next song.

Healer - Mike Gugliamucci.  Powerful.  My daughter said, "I think about so many different things when I hear that song; it's awesome..."  It was a strong declaration of faith yesterday.  (See further thoughts on this song here.)

I made a few welcoming comments and announced the grand total from the auction we held for the building fund ($14,000 - woo hoo!) and prayed for the offering.

Ready Now - Jared Anderson.  Great song of commitment.

The message was excellent and full of power, a strong exhortation to do something, coupled with an exploration of the tension between 'salvation through faith alone' and 'show me your deeds and I'll show you my faith'.  At the end, we showed a video of our IMPACT project last summer, when we literally 'did something' by blitzing the community with home projects.  We're doing it again in a few weeks.

We played the chorus of "I Have A Hope" as the walk-out.

It was a good, good day.  How about yours?  What did YOU think?

*This post is part of the Sunday Setlist Carnival over at Fred McKinnon's place...

Things For Which I Am Thankful

1.  Cafe Caturra, and their willingness to give their employees (including my daughter) free coffee beans.

2.  Comet.  It works.

3.  Mandolins, and people who know how to play them.

4.  B minor 9th chords.  I just love 'em.

5.  Peter Pan no-sugar-added peanut butter.

6.  Hope.

7.  Sleeping with the windows open.

8.  Powhatan Community Church.

9.  Matt Lauer (not a thing, but there you go).

10.  My kids.  Every last one of them.

Today Is The Day

Seems to be a good week for reviews.  

Lincoln Brewster is a stunning guitar player.  He crafted some terrific worship music with his first record.  Frankly, my hopes were not too high for this effort; honestly, I figured he could never outdo his current group of outstanding songs, several of which have earned their way into a steady rotation at our church.  I expected some stellar guitar work - and it's there, in spades - but I felt a bit cynical about the freshness of any new songs he might bring. 

Boy, was I wrong.

This cd is excellent.  Outstanding.  Invigorating, make-you-wanna-dance, get up and shout praise and worship.  From the bones of the songs themselves to the execution and production.  Excellence in musicianship in a way that truly inspires. 

And makes me wanna dance!

Want to make your heart happy?  Go buy this record, right now.

Click here.  Or go to iTunes.  Whatever.  Just get it.

And have a good time, boys and girls.