The Power of a Song

One of my favorite parts of the Christmas season is the music. I love putting on the 5 CD's of Christmas-mix music that my brother created for me. There is something about hearing Bing Crosby's White Christmas followed by Run DMC's Christmas in Hollis that perfectly suits my personality :)

But there's more...there always seems to be an overflow of musical specials on this time of year and I'm a sucker for them all! Carrie Underwood does a Christmas program and sings her heart out...Josh Groban's rendition of O Holy Night gave me chills...the incredible Celtic Women (what can they NOT do?)...this year I was introduced to what is sure to be a new holiday favorite by Straight No Chaser!

A few nights ago I was watching the Kennedy Center Honors (to keep my musical fix going) and experienced one of the most stirring versions of The Rising by Bruce Springsteen, performed by Sting as a tribute to The Boss. I watched Mel Brooks sing along with every score performed in his tribute...with utter joy on his face. I watched jazz pianist Dave Brubeck marvel as his own sons carried on the passion and tradition of this legend.

As I experienced each and every one of these moments, I was moved. I saw their passion. It stirred something in me. And then I quickly remembered another moment that grabbed my spirit in an even deeper way.

The circumstances weren't happy ones...I was at a funeral. I was at a church with beautiful stained glass and pews. There was a choir and choir music. And then it happened...the choir started to sing "How Great Thou Art" as only a choir that has been singing with a church choir their whole life can. There she was. Second row, third person in. She must have been 70+ years old...and she was singing her heart out. Not just singing the words mind you. While everyone else properly held their choir folders in their hands and looked at the director, this woman closed her eyes, tilted her head upward and belted out the words to her Lord with a smile that stretched across her face. She didn't care who was in the room...it was just her and Jesus...and I felt it. I couldn't stop watching her. I couldn't stop taking it in. I felt like she took me to the feet of our Savior and I was blessed.

See friends, songs can have power because of their range and musical dynamics. We can marvel at the talent and skill of the artists. Sometimes the song isn't even that great but we love the singer or the writer, so we just give it admiration anyway. But nothing, NOTHING is as moving as authenticity. And when you experience that - then you know the power of a song.

Why I love Christmas Eve @ Meck...

Families serving together, even the youngest of kids - opening doors, setting/breaking down a stage, passing out candles, scrapping wax off a floor, collecting an offering, directing traffic, etc. why? because it matters and what's even cooler...it's 'normal' for them and they wouldn't even consider being anywhere else this Christmas Eve...

Chicks rockin' the trash cans...need I say more?!

These people and the people in the booth and behind the cameras - who remind me what it means to be a servant of our great and glorious King. Humbled...truly humbled...

Silent Night, Holy Night...an image and a feeling that won't be easy to forget any time soon

A team member who comes up to me after a service to say how grateful they are to be part of the team at Meck. How grateful they are for the mission.

A volunteer - who doesn't go to our church but was recruited to help - sits through 3 Christmas Eve services and then turns to me to hand me HIS pledge card for Unhindered! Later finding out this guy is in a tough financial situation but was so moved by the service and experience he wanted to be a part of it. Awesome.

A service director who turns to me in the booth and says, 'I'd be fine with doing a 7p and 8p service'...and he totally meant it. (For the record Big Al: I could have done a few more too!)

A Senior Pastor who raced to the booth to watch as much of every service as possible and marveled at how incredible it all was...how grateful he was for the hard work and dedication of the team. And guess what folks? That was normal too!

Riding home with my daughter after the service, hearing the traditional version of "Joy to the World" on the radio and hearing the following coming from the backseat: "Mommy - what is this? Who does this version!? They need to do the RIGHT version like we do at church!" At that very moment I was reminded how grateful I am that Meck is the ONLY church my children know.

The electricity in the air - the anticipation of what God is going to do next through Unhindered.

The boxes under the tree with the Unhindered offerings from our children in Meckidz. How cool was that?!

The message of a God who came as a babe to save a lost and dying world...

For He is alone is worthy...

Let's give Him all the glory...

Merry Christmas and God bless friends,

KG

Sense-less

Ugh.

I cannot breathe. It's day three of life without breathing through my nose. Question: how do you sleep and breathe through your mouth instead of your nose? I have not figured this great mystery out so I'm not only unable to breathe, I'm also irritable and sleep deprived. But that's not the worst part! The most awful part of all of this is that I cannot smell!

What a horrible time of year to be without your sense of smell. I love the smells of Christmas - I love smelling the fresh tree scent when I walk into my house - there's something about that smell that just makes me relax. I love the smell of the sugar cookie candle burning on my kitchen counter (that's as close as my kitchen gets to smelling like fresh baked cookies!) I love the smell of hickory wood crackling in the fireplace. I love the smell of my peppermint hand soap! I love the smell of my kid's hair after a bath and Kyle's skin when he's snuggling me at night. I love the smell of our favorite mexican restaurant.

All of which I was SUPPOSED to experience today but didn't because my sense of smell is currently being thwarted by a cold!

But something kind of amazing has happened while I've been sense-less these past few days...

While I was bumming over not being able to smell the fresh cut tree in the living room, I caught myself marveling at the way the branches fell so perfectly, so beautifully...and what a rich green the needles are. I don't know that I ever noticed how simply beautiful this tree was before.

I noticed how when I sit in my favorite chair that warmth of the fire reaches my feet first.

When I walked through my kitchen I noticed how that little flickering candle light made it 'look' warmer in there.

I noticed if you keep rubbing your hands together the peppermint soap gets more and more bubbles and they'll run up your arm if you aren't careful.

I noticed the colors at our favorite restaurant and artifacts that actually dated back generations, belonging to the owners and heard some amazing family stories.

And when Kyle snuggled me tonight, I could have sworn his skin was made of pure silk.

I'm sure I've noticed these things before...or have I? They (I don't know who 'they' is, but you get what I mean) say that when you lose the use of one of your senses, one or all of the others intensify to compensate for it. Is that what I experienced today? Since I couldn't smell my other senses were heightened? I'm not sure. But what I do know is when I wasn't busy doing all the things I 'normally' do without even thinking, I experienced the world around me in a new way...and it was pretty awesome. I learned some new and wonderful things.

I wonder if we could stop and experience all the ways God is grasping for us...reaching out to make Himself known to us...to touch us in a fresh way...to speak to our hearts...

if we weren't so busy 'doing what we always do', if we wouldn't miss Him either?

Worship can be like that. I can get caught up in the songs that I love, or lamenting the ones I don't love, and completely miss the miracle of Christ on a cross that is echoed in ALL of them.

My morning devotion and reading scripture can be like that...I can find myself reading and doing what I 'know', what I think is the 'right way to do it', instead of looking to be amazing by God, expecting to be amazed.

Serving can become routine and I can miss the sense of being a part of something bigger and eternal.

I can ignore the promptings because I'm too busy and miss the chance to bring God glory through a listening ear or a timely conversation or a gentle smile.

So, while I'll be happy to live in the land of 5 senses again soon, I'm grateful for my stuffy nose and what it taught me today.

Where could you slow down today and see the world, see God, with new eyes...or smell with a new nose :)

A thought before serving...

During my quiet time this morning I read this short devotion in preparation for the weekend and wanted to share...

"1 Timothy 1:12: I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service.

Isaiah 6:8: Here am I; send me.

It is a signal instance of grace on the part of the Lord that I am allowed to be a volunteer. The Lord has a right, a clearly purchased right, to deal with me very differently. He might issue a peremptory command. He might utter his stern voice of authority, and at once, order me. But he knows what is in man better than to treat thus the broken and relenting heart of whom he has smitten by the brightness of his glorious holiness to the ground, and healed by the touch of his ever-living sacrifice of blood.

He is considerate. He is generous. His servant is not coerced or constrained, as with a bit and bridle. He has the unspeakable privilege and happiness of giving himself voluntarily...to the Lord, who willingly gave himself for him."

....the unspeakable privilege and happiness of giving myself voluntarily to the Lord who willingly gave himself for me...

What an incredible truth to wrestle with...and I think I'll do just that. Moreover, I think I'll try my best to 'live' those words today. How about you?

KG

Spiritual Preparation

Ministry is the product of my relationship with Christ.

Read that again:

Ministry is the product of my relationship with Christ.

We need to make sure we get this one straight in our hearts and our heads.

Colossians 3:16 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." Did you notice that ministry in the arts came after being filled with God's word? We are missing something huge if we think all we have to do to have an effective ministry for God is to be great at our art. While artistic preparation is key, it's meaningless without the spiritual preparation we'll discuss here. The correlation between knowing God and bearing fruit in undeniable throughout scripture.

So how do you prepare so that your ministry can indeed be a product of your relationship with Christ?

Spend time with God. That's it. That's the answer to every question regarding how to prepare your spirit for ministry...for the day...for your life. Colossians 1:10 tells us to "live a life worthy of the Lord...and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God." When we walk closely with God, we will bear fruit in every part of our lives, not just the artistic part.

Nurture your relationship with Christ. Set aside regular Bible reading time. Engage with God on a regular basis so that you can put yourself in the position to hear something personal from Him - something meant just for you!

Our highest priority should not be our art. It should be our relationship with Jesus. The psalmist writes, "as for me, it is good to be near God" (ps. 73:28) It is good to be near God. But let's face it, life - the routine, the demands, the chaos, the responsibilities - can make our regular time with God seem 'optional' when we get busy. The truth is that's when we need God's guidance most. Martin Luther once said, "I'm too busy not to pray." I think there's something to that.

I want to share a story I read that has stuck with me. I think it captures the significance of spiritual preparation, especially as it pertains to the incredible opportunity God has given each of us to use our gifts through the church...

George Frideric Handel was a deeply spiritual man who walked with Christ. As he wrote the glorious "Hallelujah Chorus," he broke down in tears and cried out,

"I did think I did see all of Heaven before me, and the great God Himself."

But today, except in few cases when the "Hallelujah Chorus" is performed, we focus on the singers, the soloists, the orchestra, the conductor, the instruments, the recording, the acoustics - everything but God Himself. It's become religious music without God. Nancy Beach writes, "My urgent warning is that we Christian artists can fall into the same trap: doing religious music without God, or doing Christian art without being intimately connected with Christ."

Let's make great art friends but let's not miss our GREAT God who is birthing it and moving through it…through us.