I have been feeling like this whole worship180 ministry idea and this blog has lost something over the past couple months. I’m pretty sure that I know why. Without having a job and not focusing on the importance of who I am and what God has called me to do, my ideas have been so scattered. I haven’t channeled my thoughts about worship because a lot of that came from having a job where I thought about it constantly. Which is super wrong. There have been glimpses of smart thoughts, but overall they have been few and far between. I had a lot to think about and work through this weekend and so my mind has had to work. The biggest thing I got from all that time was that I’ve been neglecting the thing that God has put inside of me. Sharing about worship and my experiences and asking questions and all those things have been missing.

Here are some things that are going on, and then I’m gonna share a thought from yesterday. First, I’m going to be recording a radio spot for KSIV (local radio station) talking about what worship180 is. That was scary because I hadn’t quite put that all together in a way that I could share with radio listeners. So I had to figure that out this weekend. With the help of some friends, we came up with an idea and a mission statement. I’m gonna share it with you now. Worship180 is a consulting firm that exists to train leaders and build worship ministries by teaching churches and individuals to Encounter the Savior, Enrich their Community and Engage the world. So I’m working with that idea in my head now. So I guess that means that I’m starting worship consulting. I am personally not completely sold on the consulting word because I think it bottles up what I do and who I am. I’m still working on that. Anyway, I’m excited about the opportunity to figure out just how effective this idea will be with churches and people in the area. A bit of market research, if you will… That’s a prayer point, btw

So my idea for the day.

Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. This gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:19-24

I read this passage at the church that I led worship for yesterday. It has been a staple in my father’s church for quite a while. I can remember my Aunt Barbara making the whole church memorize it so we could internalize this message. It has been stuck in my heart and mind for years. But I can honestly say that it had become a routine and some of the message has been lost. We all keep the last verse and say it all the time. But the verse that seemed to stick out to me this weekend was verse 23. “This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes” That is such a key verse for me. With all the things that I have gone through in my life over the past few months it’s hard to see that this is the Lord’s doing. But if I only look at the tough or bad things, it’s easy to feel that way. In reality, He’s also done so many great things and has sustained my family.

As you are going through the challenges of life, are you able to keep in mind that this is the Lord’s doing? I know I’ve had a tough time doing that. I’m thinking that maybe it’s time for me to get back to the basics…

All I can say right now is that things are changing. I can’t even tell you right now because I’m not sure what it is. However, I know that this website is going to change. I know that my thoughts about this whole idea are getting a huge overhaul (don’t worry, the concept is still the same, but how it gets implemented will change). Here’s the only thing I know right now. 1, I’m hoping to have a good planning/brainstorming session this weekend with a friend and 2, I’m going to be on the radio sharing about Worship180. I’m recording a 12 minute spot on Tuesday. BE PRAYING!!!

So that’s where things are right now. I hope to have some real stuff for you coming next week. Stay tuned…

As I’m trying to update the past few weeks that I’ve missed, I thought I’d write about the concerts that I had. There was a concerts at TimberRidge Community Church on October 30th. What a good time. I was thankful for my friend, Liz Hitt, for opening. We had a good time that night. Thanks to everyone who came out. That happened RIGHT before we left for New Mexico. I was CRAZY tired. We came back home on Wednesday, November 11th and had a concert at the Doxa at West Hills on Friday, November 13th. I was REALLY tired at this concert, too. We had a good time there as well. Thanks to everyone who came out. We had a good time. I decided that I wasn’t going to do anymore concerts this year. I need to take some time and write some new music and get some of these ideas out of my head.

So keep an eye out as I will start to roll some new things out. I have some ideas and people I would love to work with. I’ve got to find ways to bribe them to work with me…

I had the distinct opportunity to be a part of something really special in St. Louis a few weeks ago. I was asked by a good friend of mine to make time to be a part of this event and I said I would. I went to the meeting and found out that I was going to be a part of a worship team of St. Louis area worship leaders. I immediately felt overwhelmed by the talent and status in the room. But it didn’t stop there. They told us that JoyFM was going to purchase 99.1 and that we were going to be a part of the fundraising event that would take place soon. As if that wasn’t enough cool new for me, then big topper came. They told us that the event was going to be hosted by Andy Benes and his wife, along with Albert Pujols and his wife. Now if you don’t know already, I LOVE baseball and almost jumped out of my seat from the chance to be in the same room as such amazing people.

It would be one thing to tell you that this was a great event. But I have to go a little bit into how it all worked out. I was in New Mexico at the beginning of that week. I had to fly back home Thursday morning, get my parent’s car (we drove to NM), load up my keyboard, book it out to O’Fallon for rehearsal. At the rehearsal some things were revealed. Like…one of the singers and guitarists got H1N1 and wouldn’t be able to be with us. Another one of the singers couldn’t make it as well. So I ended up being the one who led the worship for our group. Caught me off guard, but I went with it. Friday night ended up being pretty good, even though I had to buy a new shirt and almost broke the trunk of my dad’s car. The event was great and there were tons of people there. I wish I could find the transfer cord to my camera and I might throw some pictures up. Anyway, as it turned out, Andy Benes and his wife were sitting right by my keyboard and so when we sang there were RIGHT in my face. Kinda cool…

I am so amazingly thankful for God giving me such a chance to worship with other believers. I also want to share with you a link to give you an opportunity to help JoyFM reach their goal. The purchase of the radio station 99.1 is approximately 18 million dollars. They need a 2 million dollar down payment. If you would like to give to this cause, I have been given the okay from my insider at JoyFM and will post the link here. Please consider giving to this great cause. You can read more on the site about their plans to bring God to the city of St. Louis through music.

This is just one of many updates coming from the past couple weeks. See ya!

So, I’m just saying right now that this is nowhere close to being a complete update. I have been horrible at updating this blog. I have some many ideas and thoughts and things to share. I can’t even do all of that right now. I will just say right now that I am sorry for being such a horrible blogger lately. My goal is to write a series of updates from that past couple weeks. Starting with tomorrow. I will say right now that I’m taking a break from arranging a room in my house to start recording music. Check back tomorrow as I plan to start bring the mad updates. Have a good night.

Hello from Alamogordo, New Mexico! I am officially here and am quite exhausted. We left the church parking lot at 12 something yesterday and we pulled up in front of my in law’s house around 8 central time. So yes, we are looking at around 19 hours of drive time without stopping. Are we crazy? You better believe it! But my wife wanted to be here and we are here.

I decided that I would write frequently during this trip to keep you all updated on what’s going on while we are here. Quick scan of the trip. Next couple days are pretty low key. But then… Thursday I fly back home. Saturday I fly back to New Mexico. Saturday night my brother in law gets married. Sunday morning leading worship at my father in law’s church. Sunday evening. Leading worship at my father in law’s celebration of 25 years in the ministry. Monday die! Tuesday drive back home. There WILL be some hilarious stuff to happen this week. How do I know? It always does. This place is funny. And when I don’t have anything going on I’m way more observant.

So stay tuned for the upcoming blogs cause I’m sure I’ll have some fun stuff to tell.

As far as this weekend goes, it was quite insane. The concert was pretty fun. There is a link to one of the songs in the ‘In Action’ section of the blog. Hopefully we can get a couple more up there as well in the near future. Thanks to everyone who came out and to everyone who was a part of that night. It was really fun. Make sure you check us out November 13th at West Hills. That is going to be another fun show as well. If you go to the Doxa website, you can find my name and buy tickets online and get other information about that night.

The bulk of the craziness of this weekend came from the simple fact that we spent the rest of the weekend packing for this trip and. Saturday was NUTS!!! Then we woke up Sunday, went to church where God did some really cool stuff (more on that later in the week) and then we jumped in the car and drove here. We are tired, Eva is actually sleep now. But we are here now and are ready to enjoy this trip.

Hope you all are enjoying your Monday. Be blessed!