Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Sharing one of my songs...
"To Be Free"
Verse 1
Banging walls, scorching fire
Turn around I see a liar
Walk the wire, cross the line
Watch it knock you down again
See your smile, please hold it still
The lights are dimming fast and
You and me, should be strong
Lets go back try it again
Chorus
To be, to be free
Is what we're running to
To be, to be free
We'll keep on fighting for
Verse 2
Hold it tight, don't let it slide
Yes everythings gonna be alright
You gotta keep the faith, keep it strong
When you get sad think of this song
and sing...
Chorus
To be, to be free
Is what we're running to
To be, to be free
We'll keep on fighting for
Bridge
Don't let 'em break you down
Don't let 'em change your mind
Cuz when its time to run don't want you left behind
You've got to cling to your pride
Run for your life
And trust that it's gonna be alright
Chorus
To be, to be free
Is what we're running to
To be, to be free
We'll keep on fighting for
(repeat)...
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Penelope the duck's thought provoking waddle...
I was watching a duck walking down a driveway this morning and I was so touched. I love that duck (I named her Penelope), I love ducks. My inner monologue was something like this “Man, look at that duck, waddling by with her little webbed feet. She is doing exactly what God designed her to do. She’s so focused on it too, she doesn’t know any other way. She’s not trying to run, or roller skate, or fly, or invent the latest ipod, or hop, or pollinate a flower, she’s just living the way God made her in His timing. God loves us so much, He gave us free will so we have choices, but inside of us is exactly what He designed us to do we have to choose (as Matthew Mcconaughey says in a time to kill) “to seek it, to find it, and to live it…”
Hmmmm… Ahhhhhhhhhhh… Hmmmmmm… How do I do that? I think I have to get rid of all the junk in my life and in my mind (distractions) to be able to hear His voice in me. I am on this search, I can’t do it without him. (“I can’t do this, I can’t do this, I can’t do this by myself…I can’t do this, I can’t do this, oh God I need your help…” great song by Plumb). I am also reminded of the song “he lives in you” from the musical the lion king. “he lives in you, he lives in me, he’s watching over everything we see…” (if you substitute Mufasa with GOD you will really relate to it).
I was just driving, crying out to God to use me and guide me down the right path. I have so many options as to where I can go in my life right now and I don’t know what to do where to go what is right. I told God that I don’t want to choose, I want Him to. And then He reminded me that He lives in me. He created me in His likeness and He left the Spirit to guide me. He lives in me. God lives in me. That’s intense. Why don’t I think about this all the time? Then I would think twice before I stuffed my face with junk and then felt sick later. I would stop myself before gossiping or saying anything that isn’t to lift someone up. I would take care of my body (the temple God entrusted me with) by exercising and sleeping well. I would serve, walk, talk, eat, sleep, sing, act, teach, move, drive, order food as though God was doing it through me (and He is). I would do all things with excellence (all good things of course). It’s so simple, why is it so hard? Our flesh is a powerful thing if we let it be, but our God is way more powerful! Amen? Amen! And He lives in us. Wow wowee wow! God so knows what He is doing, why do we fight Him so much? Why do I fight Him so much? He lives in me, that means that the answers are in me through Him. And it is very important that we study God’s word everyday to know our faith and the history and what Jesus did on top of that so we can share His word on top of our testimony. He lives in me… Intense… I am so in love with Him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When you’re fighting to run through the world’s dirty muck
Perhaps take up waddling like Penelope the duck
You may have to eat soggy bread crumbs due to often rainy weather
But find comfort in knowing that we’re all in this together…
Hmmmm… Ahhhhhhhhhhh… Hmmmmmm… How do I do that? I think I have to get rid of all the junk in my life and in my mind (distractions) to be able to hear His voice in me. I am on this search, I can’t do it without him. (“I can’t do this, I can’t do this, I can’t do this by myself…I can’t do this, I can’t do this, oh God I need your help…” great song by Plumb). I am also reminded of the song “he lives in you” from the musical the lion king. “he lives in you, he lives in me, he’s watching over everything we see…” (if you substitute Mufasa with GOD you will really relate to it).
I was just driving, crying out to God to use me and guide me down the right path. I have so many options as to where I can go in my life right now and I don’t know what to do where to go what is right. I told God that I don’t want to choose, I want Him to. And then He reminded me that He lives in me. He created me in His likeness and He left the Spirit to guide me. He lives in me. God lives in me. That’s intense. Why don’t I think about this all the time? Then I would think twice before I stuffed my face with junk and then felt sick later. I would stop myself before gossiping or saying anything that isn’t to lift someone up. I would take care of my body (the temple God entrusted me with) by exercising and sleeping well. I would serve, walk, talk, eat, sleep, sing, act, teach, move, drive, order food as though God was doing it through me (and He is). I would do all things with excellence (all good things of course). It’s so simple, why is it so hard? Our flesh is a powerful thing if we let it be, but our God is way more powerful! Amen? Amen! And He lives in us. Wow wowee wow! God so knows what He is doing, why do we fight Him so much? Why do I fight Him so much? He lives in me, that means that the answers are in me through Him. And it is very important that we study God’s word everyday to know our faith and the history and what Jesus did on top of that so we can share His word on top of our testimony. He lives in me… Intense… I am so in love with Him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When you’re fighting to run through the world’s dirty muck
Perhaps take up waddling like Penelope the duck
You may have to eat soggy bread crumbs due to often rainy weather
But find comfort in knowing that we’re all in this together…
Sunday, September 2, 2007
The Happy Blogging Bandwagon
Okay so I did it, I joined the magical world of blog-land...blog-ville...blog-town...you pick!
Why have i chosen to do so? Great question. Thank you. Your welcome (note to self, try to refrain from responding to self on blog. Got it? Got it!)
I have many things on my heart that I want to share and its time to jump on board with Flamingo Road Church and get naked! Can I get an Amen?... (i'm waiting for you to answer this time)! So here I am fellow bloggers, absolutely in love with the LORD and HIS people, ready to break down my walls and blog like I never have before. Which totally works cuz I haven't!
I didn't want my first blog to be really long........................ however................... I just read something (which inspired me to start my very own blog) that I really need to share. I have a huge burden on my heart to continue growing to reach my God potential in leading His people in worship. I believe with all my heart that it is a privilege and a big responsibility. I have been attacked a lot lately with lies of the enemy telling me I'm not good enough to lead in worship (pointing out every mistake, comparing my gifts to others, my nervousness speaking in front of people, you know the drill...).
I see more and more every week how important it is to rebuke these thoughts (lies), claim God's victory, and allow that to strengthen our worship. I believe it is vital that we equip ourselves, hold eachother accountable, confess our insecurities and challenge one another to do what is necessary to be the best that we can be for the glory of our Father both on and off stage.
With Excellence!!!!!! Hope you're still with me :) and I pray for these words to inspire you as they have done for me...
The Importance of Being a Worship Leader
For worship leaders
by Sundee Frazier
Worship has the potential to bring people before God, and worship leaders assist by standing at the door and welcoming them in.
I remember being at a retreat one time and feeling depressed because I didn’t possess the gifts of my fellow leaders. When I shared my insecurity, one of my friends quoted Psalm 84:10: “I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.”
It made me feel worse.
Was he saying I was as insignificant as I felt? The equivalent of a doorkeeper? Undoubtedly many fine people work as doorkeepers, but the position is not, nor has it ever been, one of great prestige and influence.
Many years later, while leading worship at a conference, I received a note from one of the participants. She wrote that as she was trying to think of a way to describe my worship leading, “hospitable” is what came to mind. At first, she said, it seemed like a strange word to use for a worship leader, but then she realized that if worship is entering the throne room of God, then “hospitable” made perfect sense. We on the worship team were “standing at the doorway,” inviting others in. She went on to write, “All the things you do that make it easier for us to participate fully—from lining out words to leading us in clapping, teaching us how to pronounce non-English words, indicating when we’re repeating a chorus—all these things help us to find our way in. Wow, what a calling: welcoming worshipers into the throne room of God!”
Though she never used the word from Psalm 84, I couldn’t miss the allusion: I was a doorkeeper. God was encouraging me to reconsider my former attitude.
Being a doorkeeper (i.e., a worship leader) is a significant position, and here’s why: worship opens people to God. It emboldens us to believe the truth that God really is as good as, and loves us as much as, we’d hoped. In this place of belief, we are able to put our trust back in God. We see reality (about ourselves, others and the world) through God’s eyes, and we more eagerly desire to be aligned with God’s heart, will and purposes.
Of course this doesn’t happen fully for every person each time we gather to worship God, and to what degree it happens for someone is not dependent on us. However, worship has the potential to bring people before God, and worship leaders assist by standing at the door and welcoming them in. On the flip side, if worship leaders don’t take their positions seriously, they can block the doorway, making it more difficult for worshipers to enter God’s presence.
Whether we help or hinder is not primarily a matter of technique. Yes, we need to learn all we can about effective worship leading and find the right styles for us and our groups. As Richard Foster has said, however, “You’re communicating a spirit and heart in worship. If the heart is not warm toward God, if it’s a cold heart, that’s what you’re going to communicate no matter what it is you’re singing and or how well you play, you’re going to communicate a cold heart.”1
Because what we do is so important, it’s crucial that we nurture our own spiritual lives. As my first InterVarsity staff worker said to me, “The only thing you have to offer others is the growth you’re experiencing in your own relationship with God.”
One writer expressed the importance of what worship leaders do by comparing us to people who work with Alzheimer’s patients. In nursing care facilities, these helpers are called “Memory Loss Assistants,” and their role is to remind patients of the names of important people in their lives and to rehearse over and over with them significant events from their pasts in order to keep them grounded and hopeful.
This is what we’re called to do as well: “We remind the people of God who they are, whose they are, and what great things have happened in their wilderness wanderings of the past, so that they might have confidence and hope in a promised land future.”2 Where the analogy breaks down is that worship leaders are Alzheimer’s patients, too. We need the reminders just as much, and we get them, every time we lead worship. If one of the purposes of worship is to open people to God, then as the leaders, we must be the first to open up.
Though no one is entirely sure what we’ll be doing in heaven, one thing is certain: we’ll be worshiping God. What more significant role could there be then, than helping people learn how to worship God now?
—Sundee Frazier and her husband, Matt, led worship at Urbana 2000. They currently live in Los Angeles where Sundee works for an adult education university and is earning her MFA in Writing for Young Adults.
*Rose stems are green like Kermit the frog,
thanks for stopping by and reading my blog!
GOD bless...
Why have i chosen to do so? Great question. Thank you. Your welcome (note to self, try to refrain from responding to self on blog. Got it? Got it!)
I have many things on my heart that I want to share and its time to jump on board with Flamingo Road Church and get naked! Can I get an Amen?... (i'm waiting for you to answer this time)! So here I am fellow bloggers, absolutely in love with the LORD and HIS people, ready to break down my walls and blog like I never have before. Which totally works cuz I haven't!
I didn't want my first blog to be really long........................ however................... I just read something (which inspired me to start my very own blog) that I really need to share. I have a huge burden on my heart to continue growing to reach my God potential in leading His people in worship. I believe with all my heart that it is a privilege and a big responsibility. I have been attacked a lot lately with lies of the enemy telling me I'm not good enough to lead in worship (pointing out every mistake, comparing my gifts to others, my nervousness speaking in front of people, you know the drill...).
I see more and more every week how important it is to rebuke these thoughts (lies), claim God's victory, and allow that to strengthen our worship. I believe it is vital that we equip ourselves, hold eachother accountable, confess our insecurities and challenge one another to do what is necessary to be the best that we can be for the glory of our Father both on and off stage.
With Excellence!!!!!! Hope you're still with me :) and I pray for these words to inspire you as they have done for me...
The Importance of Being a Worship Leader
For worship leaders
by Sundee Frazier
Worship has the potential to bring people before God, and worship leaders assist by standing at the door and welcoming them in.
I remember being at a retreat one time and feeling depressed because I didn’t possess the gifts of my fellow leaders. When I shared my insecurity, one of my friends quoted Psalm 84:10: “I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.”
It made me feel worse.
Was he saying I was as insignificant as I felt? The equivalent of a doorkeeper? Undoubtedly many fine people work as doorkeepers, but the position is not, nor has it ever been, one of great prestige and influence.
Many years later, while leading worship at a conference, I received a note from one of the participants. She wrote that as she was trying to think of a way to describe my worship leading, “hospitable” is what came to mind. At first, she said, it seemed like a strange word to use for a worship leader, but then she realized that if worship is entering the throne room of God, then “hospitable” made perfect sense. We on the worship team were “standing at the doorway,” inviting others in. She went on to write, “All the things you do that make it easier for us to participate fully—from lining out words to leading us in clapping, teaching us how to pronounce non-English words, indicating when we’re repeating a chorus—all these things help us to find our way in. Wow, what a calling: welcoming worshipers into the throne room of God!”
Though she never used the word from Psalm 84, I couldn’t miss the allusion: I was a doorkeeper. God was encouraging me to reconsider my former attitude.
Being a doorkeeper (i.e., a worship leader) is a significant position, and here’s why: worship opens people to God. It emboldens us to believe the truth that God really is as good as, and loves us as much as, we’d hoped. In this place of belief, we are able to put our trust back in God. We see reality (about ourselves, others and the world) through God’s eyes, and we more eagerly desire to be aligned with God’s heart, will and purposes.
Of course this doesn’t happen fully for every person each time we gather to worship God, and to what degree it happens for someone is not dependent on us. However, worship has the potential to bring people before God, and worship leaders assist by standing at the door and welcoming them in. On the flip side, if worship leaders don’t take their positions seriously, they can block the doorway, making it more difficult for worshipers to enter God’s presence.
Whether we help or hinder is not primarily a matter of technique. Yes, we need to learn all we can about effective worship leading and find the right styles for us and our groups. As Richard Foster has said, however, “You’re communicating a spirit and heart in worship. If the heart is not warm toward God, if it’s a cold heart, that’s what you’re going to communicate no matter what it is you’re singing and or how well you play, you’re going to communicate a cold heart.”1
Because what we do is so important, it’s crucial that we nurture our own spiritual lives. As my first InterVarsity staff worker said to me, “The only thing you have to offer others is the growth you’re experiencing in your own relationship with God.”
One writer expressed the importance of what worship leaders do by comparing us to people who work with Alzheimer’s patients. In nursing care facilities, these helpers are called “Memory Loss Assistants,” and their role is to remind patients of the names of important people in their lives and to rehearse over and over with them significant events from their pasts in order to keep them grounded and hopeful.
This is what we’re called to do as well: “We remind the people of God who they are, whose they are, and what great things have happened in their wilderness wanderings of the past, so that they might have confidence and hope in a promised land future.”2 Where the analogy breaks down is that worship leaders are Alzheimer’s patients, too. We need the reminders just as much, and we get them, every time we lead worship. If one of the purposes of worship is to open people to God, then as the leaders, we must be the first to open up.
Though no one is entirely sure what we’ll be doing in heaven, one thing is certain: we’ll be worshiping God. What more significant role could there be then, than helping people learn how to worship God now?
—Sundee Frazier and her husband, Matt, led worship at Urbana 2000. They currently live in Los Angeles where Sundee works for an adult education university and is earning her MFA in Writing for Young Adults.
*Rose stems are green like Kermit the frog,
thanks for stopping by and reading my blog!
GOD bless...
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