I Love It.

I've been doing worship on a stage on and off since I was about 9. I love it. I love getting lost in praising my God, however I choose...which is usually in singing or just being silent.

Most recently, I've been a part of worship at Life Center (A Part of the LifeChurch.tv Network) for the last few years. I love it. I love leading this new group of people right to the feet of Jesus and showing them what it looks like to worship Him on stage and in my every day life.

I just took about 2 months "off" to simplify my life, get some clarity and focus on where God was leading me next. It was hard, but I had to say no to a good thing, in order to say yes to a great thing. I've come to the conclusion that, for now, God is calling me to stay and be faithful where I am in my life.

Waiting. More waiting.

Yet, through this time I'm being refreshed and I'm ready to come back and worship Him and lead others to do the same very soon! I love it.

One thing I've missed a lot is being around our keyboardist, Ed.

He's hilarious.

I have to make a conscious effort NOT to look at him during worship because of the way he "participates".

Really. He's crazy. I love it. While he's showing that keyboard who's boss, his legs are flailing, his off-key voice is about as loud as the entire sound system and he's got this HUGE grin that could engulf your whole head.

After just about every set, or even practice, he says one of the following:

"I love it."

"This is so much fun...are you sure this isn't sinful?"

"I hope I get to play with you in Heaven."

That last one is my favorite. I love it. Makes me look ahead and long for our eternal home. Makes me get lost in my dreams of what it might be like to not only forever sing about Him, but sing directly to Him - where I can see Him and this huge mass of people singing right along with me. Sounds like the ultimate concert.

I can't wait.

I love it.

-Jenn

QUESTION:

What aspect do you love about worship? How do you worship?

Getting Set Up

Ok. I know what this feels like. Maybe you do too.

Someone you know says, "Hey! You should meet so-and-so! You'd be great together!" or something similar.

My instant reaction is to close up, disappear and maybe they will forget they were even talking to me. One time I literally got under my desk while this guy told me about a guy I'd be good with. No joke. There were witnesses.

Last weekend Francis Chan (at Passion 2011) talked about this very thing. His family had a young lady living with them. After a few years he thought, "We need to get her married off."

She was a good sport and would do just about anything Francis came up with. He'd introduce her to all kinds of guys and never missed an opportunity for a possible relationship.

One time, he told her, "Ok, there's a plumber coming over today. I want you to go make some brownies and at just the right time, come out with them and act surprised that we are there."

And...she did! Though, every "set-up" that Francis tried one of them would be like, "Yeah, she's great!" or "He's ok..." He just couldn't make them fall in love. No matter how many times you set-up just the right scenarios, you can't make someone fall in love.

He related this to Jesus. Sometimes we try to bring someone to church, maybe even on a weekend where they are giving away free stuff, showing a movie, etc. We try to live our lives in a way that makes them want it. Granted, yes, we should live our lives in a way that reflects Him and makes others want it. But, you can't make someone fall in love with Him. It has to be their decision. They have to "get" it.

They may say, "Yeah...He's nice..." Then we're like, "Really? That's it? Don't you see what I do?"

So, our role is to stop setting people up. Seriously...you can't make love happen. When they have a real encounter with God, their eyes & hearts will be opened. We just need to focus on our relationship with Him. He's not just an idea, a nice story, but a person. Whom we love and have a personal relationship.


Oh, and that girl found a guy on her own and they are expecting a child soon.

Scripture for the Week (Weak)

"So chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe that God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it. ~Colossians 3:14 (Message)

Morning Time

I don't know about you, but about my favorite time of the day is that 3o-45 minutes, maybe an hour sometimes before anybody in my house gets up. I kinda have to set my clock back a little earlier than I have to. Earlier than anyone would want to get up for anything. Nobody in my house would want to get up as early as I want to get up to do this. I love to get up when it's quiet, maybe a cup of coffee, talk to the Lord and allow His Word to talk to me. I love it. A friend of mine calls it 'Going Steady With Eddy' He says, "You do it Early, you do it Daily, you do it Diligently and you do it Yielding." You know what I found out about me? If I don't do it early, the day will slip away and I won't do it at all. I'll keep meaning to, of course.



"O God, Thou art my God; early will I seek Thee: my soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee..." Psalm 63:1






"Before the Day" from Newsong

Last night when I was sleeping
You were watching over me
While I dreamt about tomorrow
You knew my every need

Now another day is waiting
For me to make it through
And there's no way that I could face it without You

Before the day slips away
I want to stop and say
I love You I love You
Before the world rushes in again
I want to stop and say there's none above You
There's none above You
I'll just be still and know You are God
Be still and know You are God

There's something about the morning
The stillness of it all
It calms my heart to hear You
When You gently call

Here I am in Your presence
Where I long to be
Alone with You in the silence
Bring down Your love and Your mercy
Whisper softly to me



Try just one morning a week maybe, see what God has for you.

Are you cool?

So I'm sitting here in my un-tucked shirt, ripped jeans, sipping a latte, twittering to all my "peeps" while I write my latest blog....ugghhhhh...Lord, please deliver us from "cool."

Here’s what’s hard though. Cool is such a desirable commodity is our world. In fact, many, many of my best friends are cool. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Cool is the word that never goes out of style. It is our verbal stamp of approval when we like anything. “Cool.” It’s blessing, approval, validation and pure goodness all wrapped up in one magnificent word.

To set the record straight, I do happen to enjoy a more modern, casual dress. I also like my coffee. Every now and again I “twitter”... only because someone talked me into signing up and now have about 60 “followers” that I feel obligated to throw down amazing status reports to.

Cool seems to have become a pre-requisite for nearly every occupation today…whether it’s being a Mom with the 'fly' stroller, McDonald’s and their latest offerings of uber hip coffee or churches with their trendy marketing and phat worship “experiences.”

Ok…I am not on a personal journey to Dorkville, nor am I saying that we should avoid the cool technology that the nerds of this world are creating for us. I just think we should take a step back and re-define cool.

To me, cool is confidence in who you really are. Cool is not being afraid to boldly forward the mission God has given you for life. And sometimes cool is saying I’m not going to do this just because everyone else on the planet is doing it. I love when I meet someone who tried watching LOST and had the inner courage to tell me that they hated the show. BRAVO!! I know a Pastor who preaches in one of the most relevant churches in our nation who doesn’t even come close to passing the “cool” test in his clothing and dress. But that’s what makes him so cool. He is confident in his calling and secure in his mission.

Here’s the deal folks; if you market and sell vacuum cleaners, you have a responsibility to attract the culture you live in to your sucking machines. You better find a way to make sure your vacuum cleaner is more than just a cool looking machine. It better be a better “sucker’ than the rest of them. If your machine looks like something out of Star Wars and still doesn’t pick up the dirt, then obviously…it doesn’t suck…and you do. Cool alone won’t cut it.

For those of us helping to lead the church, our job is also to clean up the dirt. Let’s remember our mission. Let’s be who we are knowing that there are people out there who will be attracted to the gift of personality, style and talent that God has placed within us. It’s not our tricked out 25 Flat-Screened Information Desk in the lobby that is going to save the sinner. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Cool? Cool.

7 Thoughts on the Art of Cool:

Here are some thoughts on cool for the church, market place and anyone else that is attempting to be cool.

1. If you have to convince people that you are cool, you're probably not.

• Example: PC commercials.
• Stop calling yourself cool and just be.

2. Excellence is more attractive than cool.

• Do things well to attract people.
• Better is better. Cool is not better.

3. Usefulness is more important than cool.

• Is your message or product useful and applicable or just cool?
• Relevant and cool are not synonyms.

4. Cool makes something popular, but once it's popular it begins to decrease in coolness.

• Example: When your mom is on facebook it becomes a little less cool.
• Oprah was the worse thing that could have happened to twitter.

5. Cool can not be copied.

• You can't duplicate cool, but you can be inspired by it.

6. Cool has a very short shelf life.

• Just because something or someone was cool does not mean they are or will continue to be.
• Cool is constantly evolving and is subject to opinion.

7. Cool is overrated.

Church Online

I attend Life Center in Ponca City, it's a part of the lifechurch.tv network. We meet Sunday mornings from 10-11 and through the week at various Life Groups. We watch the same messages people all around the world watch. At specific times they have a live service onlinehttp://live.lifechurch.tv


They have live worship that is fresh, modern and inviting. Check it out for yourself. Let me know what you think!