Cultivate Her Day!

It's a Cultivate Her blog post day! Click HERE to check out my thoughts on what's next for me and my family and tour the blog to read more insightful posts from women leaders. This ministry challenges women to pursue God-sized dreams for their life!

An Original

I'm not a songwriter. I've only written 1 song. I wrote it at age 18. 

Today, I'm going to let you listen to a piece of my musical from 10 years ago.

In this recording I'm singing my song WAY out of my range because I wrote it on my piano at home which was probably 2-3 steps flat. My piano was never tuned. My alto tone is stretching to soprano, which is not my strength. I really didn't know what my range was then. :)

As hard as it is for me to listen to myself singing this (and not analyze it to death), I'm going to be brave and let you listen.

Not because I want you to hear my song, to get a pat on the back or praise, but because it is refreshing for me to remember this girl. 

*A girl who loves music. 

*A girl who was brave enough to share what God had creatively given her. 

*A girl leaving home for the first time to find herself.

I AM THAT GIRL!

This is my song, "A Peace Where You Dwell." Lyrics below.

Wandering, without a cause

To find a connection to fill a void

Searching for the answers that aren't reliable

Praying for a peace where You dwell

My fighting and striving has led me nowhere

But I find myself where I belong

You know why my heart aches

You hold out Your hand

You ask me to trust You

Still I look for someone

When you were always there

You're the only one worth searching for

I have traveled for hours

Just for one voice to hear

Let down by the ones that I love most

Knowing Your voice was calling me

My fighting and striving has led me nowhere

But I find myself where I belong

You know why my heart aches

You hold out Your hand

You ask me to trust You

Still I look for someone

When you were always there

You're the only one worth searching for

You ask me to seek You

And only then will I find You

I want to give of my whole heart

To be found by You

You know why my heart aches

You hold out Your hand

You ask me to trust You

Still I look for someone

When you were always there

You're the only one worth searching for

"I wanna rock-n-roll
I wanna give my soul
I'm wanting to believe
I'm not too old
Don't want to make it up
Don't want to let you down
I want to fly away
But I'm stuck on the ground . . . 

Something's gotta break
You gotta swing the bat
Too many years of dying
Why is that?"

Matthew Perryman Jones, "Save You"

Stuck on a Lyric

I have to be honest. When I first heard Laura Story's song, "Blessings," I couldn't get past the chorus. "What if Your blessings come through raindrops . . ." 

Really? That seems so childish.

I wondered why so many people loved and couldn't stop talking about this song.

But I took some time to listen to the STORY behind Laura Story's song and I can certainly relate. Laura and her husband learned to have a different perspective during times of sickness.

Lord, forgive me for shutting my ears to the truths of this song because I was hung up on one lyric. 

Shame on me for being SO childish.

We are ending the service tomorrow at all of our campuses with this song after Blake Bergstrom shares a message on, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." 

I have mourned for many, many years over the loss of feeling good, healthy, my best. But how often do I mourn over my wondering heart that chooses the things of this world over Christ, far too often. 

"We pray for healing

For prosperity

We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering

All the while You hear each spoken need

Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things" 

Very thankful for a broken heart tonight and a new perspective on what are truly blessings in my life. 

A Message from Jhude

In October 2009 we started sponsoring Jhude, a little boy from the Philippines through Compassion International. His mother Analyn writes us every 2-3 months and we have all of her letters on our refrigerator. Jhude is now 7.

Today, we received a letter.

Today is also the 1 year anniversary of the flood.

Last Spring, our creative team picked an incredible song to close our Shattered Dreams series at Cross Point. That song was "Beautiful Things," by Gungor. We sang it on May 9th, the Sunday after the flood devastated Nashville.

Lyrics from the song would pop in my head as we were rebuilding our home. This flower bush bloomed for the first and only time a few weeks after the flood. 

"All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found?
Could a garden come up from this ground at all?"

I kept all of the cards we received and put them in this photo album.

"You make beautiful things."

And on the anniversary of the flood, I read these words from Analyn,

"Jhude will graduate this coming April 1, 2011. And this coming June he will be in Grade I. And Jhude had recited some of their poem but just two sentences,

'You make beautiful things out of us,

You make beautiful things out of dust.'

And he is very happy about it because even if he goes to sleep he would gladly recite it."

God, we hear You. We see You. We feel You.

Thank you for speaking to us through a sweet little boy from far away. 

You can watch our service from May 9th, 2010 here: