Mac- A whole new world

Hello Everyone,

I am playing around with my new Mac, and had some fun with Garageband. Not perfect by any stretch, and it took me a while to figure out how to make this a mp3 and then a video to upload, but here you go.. I will be starting my blog back up in January but think I need to rename the tag line into something like.. Deb's Weekly Musings..haha.. The daily thing was not working out for me but I can swing a weekly blog..

Until Then.. Have a safe New Years!

Listen..

“Be still and know that I am God”..
Psalms 46:10

Have you thought about what it means to be “still”?
For some it means stopping what they are doing and physically being still while for others myself including, it means to quiet my heart, leave the anxiety behind, breathe deep and listen.

Be still..
Be quiet, Be at peace, Be hopeful, Be joyful, Be expectant, Wait for me.

And know..
Be intimate with me, Be in relationship with me, Talk to me, Listen for me

That I am God..
I am the beginning and end to your questions, I am involved in your process, I am aware of your life, I am strong, I am here for you to run to.

Today, find a way to quiet yourself from all the noise of the world.
Listen to the sound of quietness within you. What is the quiet speaking to you today?

Next blog entry.. Stillness..

Pastor Debbie
Living a Life of Worship from the Inside Out.

Pulling Together

“It's better to have a partner than go it alone Share the work, share the wealth. And if one falls down, the other helps, But if there's no one to help, tough!. “ Ecclesiastes 4:9 (The Message)

I love the truth that this passage of scripture communicates. How many of us have struggled with being a lone ranger at times? While it is true, that there are some things that you need to do yourself and initiate yourself and take responsibility, that does not mean that you do not have a strong core of support behind you to keep you on the right path, to counsel and encourage and to speak up when your path takes an odd turn.

I want to encourage you today to be the best friend that everyone wants to be around.
Be the person that everyone runs to in a time of need. Did you know just by being there and encouraging your friend, that you are helping them on their journey.
Your smile, your letter of encouragement, that extra phone call, or email are all ways that you are “pulling with them”.

Think about a tug of war match and how the contestants are straining so hard. What would happen if one of those people let go of the rope? Their friend would fall in the water, or pit or whatever was in the gap. Consider again the scripture I started the blog with. “It's better to have a partner than go it alone Share the work, share the wealth. And if one falls down, the other helps, But if there's no one to help, tough”

Remember.. “One can put a thousand to flight, but two can put ten thousand..”

Anyone want to pull together today and see what we can do?

Pastor Debbie

Living a life of Worship from the Inside Out.

Is your Passion bigger then your Problem?

Authors note...

These devotionals are meant to be raw and honest.
My hope is that I might say and acknowledge things that most of us might keep quiet about out of fear of what someone might think if they knew what were struggling with.
God has not called me to worry about what others think (although I do at times)
What I have been asked by God is to be transparent with you the reader. So while others might want to hide all their fears and challenges, I think it is important that I write real life, real emotions and real solutions in my own life. You may not agree with it all, or have the same experience, and that is fine. My story after all is my own, but like I mentioned earlier; I am not all that unique, just transparent, and that leads me to believe that you will be able to relate to all or part of what I am about to share.
All that to say this…


It has been a difficult week.

Ever noticed that when your navigating through a difficult season in your life, how much harder it can be to keep your heavenly perspective? How much harder it is to be positive and along with that, how incredibly easy it is to become negative or find reasons to fault or have doubt about other things that present themselves during your day or week?
Ever noticed that when you’re going through one of those seasons how easy it is for resentments to come roaring back into your thinking and start to dominate your day?
You can find yourself falling into old ways of relating quicker then you imagined possible. This has been my experience the last several weeks. One negative thing after another has presented itself and snowballed into an avalance of disappointment within my soul. Disappointed with myself, with other people, with situations in my life, you name it I could probably tell you that the last couple weeks, I have hit on most categories.

So what do you do when that happens? How hard is it to praise when your down?
For me the answer is simple and complex. I must praise. I must worship. I must take every thought captive and be very purposeful in my praise. As I did that this week, I realized how much of my passion for Jesus had been sapped by the weight and worries of the world. I went to war this week and I feel battered and bruised yet I know I am not alone, I know that the Lord is with me and pleased with my determination to worship him regardless of the storms around me and within my own soul. And God; merciful and rich in grace, always meets me, comforts me, corrects me and strengthens me. I would love to tell you that all the battles go away and everything is perfect now. That simply is not true, maybe that happens in the old time movies, all the happy endings. What I do know is this.
My Passion must be bigger then my Problem.. I must not allow myself to become luke-warm when things go wrong. So today I set my face like flint that I will praise the Lord,
I will give him my worship, I will give him my burdens and I will give my passion to him who is worthy.

Renew your first love today. It might not be easy, but it will heal you.

Pastor Debbie
Living a Life of Worship from the Inside Out

Mary & Martha.. Can I be both?

If you have read the story of Mary & Martha then you know that one was busy working while the other was sitting at the feet of Jesus. As Martha complained that Mary was not helping her, Jesus told Martha that she was anxious about many things but that Mary had chosen the better way.

As a pastor / worship leader / songwriter I have considered myself to be much more on the Mary side of my relationship with Christ. If I do not spend time with my God, I have no songs to write, no heavenly counsel to give etc. If I do not spend that quiet alone time, I tend to dry up like a plant with no water..

Recently, while away on vacation, I had a interesting dream, one in which I was busy with many things that upon reflection were weighing me down. It was made mention to me that I was doing too much administrative work in the church and that I needed to just focus on my primary gifting and role which is leading worship. Upon reflection, I can see that I have indeed taken on the Martha role for quite a while now. So what do you do when you feel like you need to be two people at once? Can I be a Mary and a Martha, is there a balance? I think for the first time in my awareness, I can really relate to Martha more then ever before.. If I give it enough time, I am going to find reasons to stay in Martha mode but instead will choose to go back to what helps makes me the person I am and that is deep intimacy with the Lord.. So back to my first question; Mary or Martha, Can I be both?

The answer for me is not yet… While I am sure there is a balance, this last season has proven that I have not yet learned what it is. Nothing can or should get in the way of your first love and the passion that you have for your God. So today friends, I must put my Mary hat back on and I will put all those concerns back on the Lord and stop carrying them. And even as I write this I can hear the Lord whisper to me.. “daughter, you have chosen the better way, I will never leave you or forsake you. Trust in me to accomplish all that you have set out in your heart to do. I will guide you, I will carry you and I will settle your heart and bring you into peace and prosperity.”

Going back to his feet today.

Pastor Debbie
Living a life of Worship from the Inside Out

Want a better connection? Lose your bars..

If you have a wireless phone, blackberry, or some other type of pda device, you know that access is important. In the wireless world we live in today, no bars equates to no emails, internet, etc. I recently found out this weekend just how much I had become accustomed to always having that access when we stayed in an area with zero bars, which I found out much to my chagrin that first night. The next morning however, proved to be one of the most delightful times I had experienced in a long while that I would not trade for any amount of cell coverage. Can you guess what we did? Way out in the wilderness with nothing but beautiful mountains all around us, we did something that we used to enjoy on a much more consistent basis before this world of technology. With no link to the outside world we simply sat on the deck and talked. Of course, we were not completely roughing it and coffee was part of the equation, but what a joy to sit and just be with my sweetheart and really connect on so many different levels. We talked about our dreams, our hopes, our future plans. We talked honestly about how we felt about how things were going in every aspect of our lives. We were open about what we had faith for, and what things posed a concern and together we came up with a plan to push through obstacles to get to the place that we want to be.

It was a wonderful weekend of exploration both of the natural beauty all around us but also of the beauty within ourselves and of the spouses that we fell in love with.
We rediscovered how much we enjoy each others company without all the distractions.
I realized once again this weekend how much I thoroughly enjoy the company of my spouse and just how much I need that companionship. My phone can not tell me it loves me and is supporting me. It can’t make me laugh or encourage me to try again when I have failed. I am thankful for all the technology that is available when I am away from family and friends, I love staying connected in that way. I did learn however that the very technology that connects me can distance me.

Get connected today, the old fashioned way.
Face to Face.

Pastor Debbie
Living a Life of Worship from the Inside Out

Celebrate the Victory

Today is a big day for me in the story of my life. The cd’s are coming today and it marks the completion of a project that started with a big vision years earlier and today I get to hold in my hand the completed product. When I woke up this morning, the discussion in our house did not center on how great a day it is going to be, or how excited I was. Instead, my morning started out with a bullet list of critical issues the needed to be addressed in other areas of my realm of responsibility and they had to be addressed today before I leave on vacation.

Isn’t it just like life to come along and let the air out of your balloon on a day that is marked for celebration?

My general lack of excitement comes from letting urgency of my responsibilities weigh me down, when it would be far better for my soul if I allowed myself to soar today. I have worked hard, dreamed big, persevered through setbacks, and never gave up and that my friends is reason to celebrate. So here is what I am going to do today.
Visualize with me if you will. I am sitting with my family on a mountain very close to the peak. It is a natural spot to stop and rejoice in all the beauty all around me and to celebrate the distance we have climbed so far. The sparkling cider is out, and we are laughing and enjoying the moment. There is activity all around me that is screaming for immediate attention. I am not oblivious to them but I have decided to enjoy the mountain peek first and then when I have celebrated this great victory, I will with a joyful spirit take on the next challenge in front of me.
There will always be things that want our attention but my encouragement to both myself and you the reader is to take time to enjoy the work you have already done. Thank God for giving you the vision, the gifting and the drive to see a vision through to completion and know that God rejoices with you over your victory. Why should I be downcast today, when there is a party going on in heaven over my accomplishment?

Party on!

Pastor Debbie
Living a Life of Worship from the Inside Out.