Planting Good Seeds Instead Of Bad Ones

We are all seed planters.  There is that expression of planting seeds and watch them grow.  It is so true and can be so awesome.  You plant that seed and you water it.  Others water it.  You watch it grow and it grows into this great thing.  Fully grown.  

However, there can also be bad seeds.  It can be filled with negativity and can take over.  One thought, one action, one word.  That can be a seed that gets planted.  Even with a field of great seeds, that one little bad seed that got planted can grow faster and be the one that stands taller than anything else.  That can be true in life.  Someone could say something negative to you that just plants a seed in you making you doubt yourself or your confidence.  Anything like that.  That one little seed could continue to get watered by that one person or, worst yet, yourself.  Once that seed is planted, we can dwell on that one thing and it just continues to grow.  That one thing said may not even be a big deal but it can stir in our thoughts and continue to get bigger and bigger.  Until that one seed that grew dwarfs all these amazing good seeds that have grown into beautiful.  

How can you get rid of that bad seed?  How can you keep it from growing?  Just like a real life seed.  Don't water it.  A seed without water isn't going to grow.  It will go away.  We can plant bad seeds without even realizing it.  Something we say might be a trigger on something that another person is dealing with.  It may wear them down and that seed is planted making them wilt and not grow.

We need to plant good seeds.  Encouragement.  Positivity.  Watch people grow.  Your words of encouragement may be the thing that makes that seed planted in this person to fully grow out.  You never know what small little thought or word might be the biggest thing that has ever been said to them.  

In a world that is so negative, we need to be that shining light.  Be that encouragement.  Be that spiritual light in this dark world.  Our thoughts and actions might be what makes the difference in a person growing or wilting.  We're all planting seeds every day.  Spiritual seeds that we want to see grow.  Just make sure you are planting the right seeds.  Plant the good seeds.  Water them.  Watch them grow.  Then, sit back and just watch as it grows and grows.  Definitely something to smile about when you just sit back in amazement at what God can do with those great seeds.

Thank You For Wearing That Shirt

Thank you for wearing that shirt.  I was wearing one of my shirts that represented God and my faith.  I was out on a road trip and made a stop in a town.  It wasn't a town that I was expecting to stop in and not my normal stop.  So, maybe God wanted me to stop in this town.  He had a divine appointment for me.  I walked in and then on the way out, I was stopped by a group telling me how they loved my shirt and thanked me for wearing it.  It caught me off guard in a good way thinking, wow, God really needed me to stop off my normal path for a few minutes and be a witness.  As I got back on the road, it made me think of how we need to be that visual witness for people.  Just wearing a shirt that reminds them of God and Jesus can be a witness without us even having to say anything.  How powerful is that and how awesome is that! I guess I just never really think about it.  It's just regular everyday to wear a shirt representing your faith.  You never know when you might run into someone that needed to see that on that day.  Plus, you never know when you just make an unexpected stop on your road trip that God may have a sudden divine appointment for you.  Hopefully it boosted those people.  I know it did me.  Keep your eyes open and be that visual witness.  You never know what it might mean to people.  You could be that message from God that just walks in and out of the place and you don't know what you might have been as far as encouragement for someone.

It Takes A Church Premieres On GSN

I have been hearing for a while about a show called It Takes A Church and I have had a lot of excitement in checking it out.  Last night was the premiere of it on GSN.  The show is hosted by Natalie Grant and the theme of it is to find someone for a single in the church.  That goes with the name It Takes A Church meaning it takes a church to match make and find the right person for that chosen single in the congregation.  I really enjoyed this show a lot.  An unexpected single in the church will get a surprise every week when they are chosen to be the one looking to be set up for love.  There will be eligible singles that will be picked out to try and see if there is any chemistry with the person.  They are observed by family members or friends watching to see who has the best chemistry and what would be best for the person.  This includes the pastor who is in on this as well.  Last night's episode had several things including a challenge where you had to work on your communication skills.  I thought that was such a good tool in a relationship.  It was a challenge where you had to lead the person through an obstacle course of sorts.  The person was blindfolded and it showed how you were able to lead the person to get through this course without stepping on to something.  It shows your verbal skills, leadership skills, and also just your personality all around on handling something like that with how you are trying to help her through this.  I thought it was such a fun way to teach this communication tool.  Through the show, the eligible singles are voted out and we get down to a final two.  The person will then make the choice on who they think there is better chemistry with and who they would like to pursue more.  It is a fun show and I look forward to checking out more episodes.  It is a fun way to get the church involved.  We all have churches where you know of a single in there that your heart just goes out to wanting them to find happiness in their life.  This show is a fun way to do so.  You have a congregation full of people that have your best interests at heart and are going to make sure to pick out someone who is right for you.  For me, I really like having this show on the air.  I see so few……well…..nothing on the air for Christian singles on mainstream TV.  How many TV shows do you see on the air that don't involve going to a bar to pick someone up?  Every single show about singles or dating always has a place of a bar involved.  I think that is awful and it is frustrating.  What about the Christian singles?  What are they supposed to do?  Where do they go to find someone?  I have thought many times that there really is nothing on TV that Christian singles can relate to.  Until now.  This show is fun.  It puts a light on a group that I think gets overlooked a lot and that is the Christian singles group.  I feel like the singles a lot of times are trying to find something they can relate to with others.  This is a great way to connect everyone to just let that window being shown into the world of Christian singles with their struggles and desires.  I highly recommend checking this show out.  I loved it and am looking forward to seeing more of it.  It Takes A Church airs on Thursday nights 9/8 central on GSN with multiple replays through the week.  Let the matchmaking begin!  For more info on the show, head over to: http://gsntv.com/shows/it-takes-a-church/

K-Love Fan Awards This Weekend In Nashville, TN

It's almost that time again.  The 2014 K-Love Fan Awards are this weekend, May 30-June 1, coming to you from Nashville, TN.  The Grand Ole Opry will be the great host of this year's awards show.  If you missed last year's awards, you missed a real treat of a show.  I am saying that just by listening on the radio.  I can't imagine what it must have been like in person.  I so wish I could make it to Nashville for this year's awards but we have radio just like always.  The show will be hosted by Candace Cameron Bure and Matthew West and I think they will do an amazing job.  I'm a big Candace fan and I mean, really, who isn't?  Like the t-shirt says, my favorite DJ is Tanner.  LOL.  She will be a big blessing for this show and Matthew West is always awesome.  So, let's take a look at this year's nominees for the 2014 K-Love Fan Awards.

Male Artist Of The Year:
Chris Tomlin
Colton Dixon
Jeremy Camp
Matthew West
Steven Curtis Chapman
Tobymac

Female Artist Of The Year:
Britt Nicole
Francesca Battistelli
Jamie Grace
Mandisa
Natalie Grant
Plumb

Group/Duo Of The Year:
Building 429
Casting Crowns
MercyMe
Newsboys
Sidewalk Prophets
Tenth Avenue North

Worship Song Of The Year:
God's Great Dance Floor - Chris Tomlin
I Am - David Crowder
Oceans - Hillsong United
Your Grace Finds Me - Matt Redman
You Won't Let Go - Michael W. Smith
Never Once - One Sonic Society

Best Live Show:
For King & Country
NEEDTOBREATHE
Newsboys
Rend Collective
Switchfoot
TobyMac

First Christian Artist To Appear on a 7Up Can:
Hillsong Young & Free
Jamie Grace
Sidewalk Prophets
Tenth Avenue North

Artist Of The Year:
Casting Crowns
Chris Tomlin
Matthew West
MercyMe
TobyMac

Song Of The Year:
The Only Name - Big Daddy Weave
Overcomer - Mandisa
Lord, I Need You - Matt Maher
Hello, My Name Is - Matthew West
This Is Amazing Grace - Phil Wickham

Along with the awards, there will be PLENTY to do if you are attending.  Meet and greet sessions.  Fan Zone.  Worship service from the Opryland Resort led by Michael W. Smith.  Songwriters Spotlight led by Steven Curtis Chapman and Matthew West.  Kickoff Concert featuring Rend Collective, For King & Country, Tenth Avenue North, NEEDTOBREATHE, and Switchfoot.  A lot more going on as well.  Definitely going to be a fun weekend with the awards.  You still have time to vote for your favorites in all of those categories!  Head over to www.klovefanawards.com for more info on how to vote and for all of the must need information for this coming weekend in Nashville.

Don't Limit An Unlimited God

Don't limit an unlimited God.  Do you have a dream that you want to accomplish?  Does it seem unattainable?  Does it just seem too big?  Nothing is too big.  Why is that?  We have a God that is bigger than anything that you can possibly imagine.  When we have that, why do we worry over something so small?  I see a picture shared through social media a lot where it shows a night sky and the Earth where it says that God built all of this so for us to trust in Him that he can take care of all of our needs.  That is so true.  When we place limits on ourselves or our dreams, we're basically saying that it can't be reached.  God knows our hearts and our dreams.  He knows our desires and hopes.  We need to dream big and believe that we are going to reach our dreams.  Believe and even more so in those times when the world is beating you down into thinking that you can't get there.  You have an unlimited God that is working for all of us.  Never place limits on God cause God can make your dreams come true in just one moment.  That is a really awesome thought.  So today, just breathe and know that you have an awesome God that is working for us even when we may not even be able to see it.  That is when God is doing His best work when we don't even know what He is up to.  Believe and dream big.

Steven Curtis Chapman's Glorious Unfolding

I got the chance to listen to Steven Curtis Chapman's new song last night.  It is called "The Glorious Unfolding".  What an amazing song with such inspiring lyrics.  The song basically talks about how we should not quit.  Keep going.  God is unfolding his plan right in front of our eyes.  How this is only the beginning.  Just such a powerful song and lyrics.  I turned on K-Love last night and that was the first song that played.  Just really grabs you.  Here is a video to check out of Steven Curtis Chapman talking about his new album which is by the same name as the song.  He talks about the inspiration behind it.

Taking A Look At The Inspiring Movie, Soul Surfer

Francesca Battistelli's song "It's Your Life" was the anthem and theme song for the 2011 hit movie, Soul Surfer.  The song was such a perfect one for that movie.  The song talks about living your life and being the person that you want to be.  Not letting yourself get held back and pushing forward to do what you want in your life.  Not backing down to fear.  Going for it.  Soul Surfer was a movie based on the story of surfer, Bethany Hamilton.  As a teenager, she was attacked by a shark while in the water back in 2003.  She lost her arm in the attack and her life completely changed.  Things that were just routine for her was suddenly very difficult.  Things that we all take for granted were things that she was having learn to overcome.  Not only did she overcome just her normal everyday routines but she chased her dream by getting back out into the water.  Doing what she loves and that is surfing.  Her story of battling back and her strong faith in doing so is so inspirational.  When you watch the movie, Soul Surfer, which is based on her story, you just get so inspired.  Feeling like you can do anything.  Seeing what she went through and how her faith and strength carried her through.  The support of her family, friends, and her faith in God will inspire anyone watching.  There are many scenes that will just pull you in with one of my favorites being the mission trip that she goes on.  She had just quit competition surfing after trying to compete again.  She joins the youth trip to Thailand and there had just been a tsunami there and they were helping with the recovery.  There is a scene with a little girl that is afraid of the water and she also hadn't talked since the tragedy happened.  Bethany roams out on her surf board and encourages this little girl to get in the water as the youth leader watches on.  She keeps showing that it is ok out there and you just see how much inspiration she is able to bring to this little girl's fears.  I just love that scene.  It is so powerful.  Bethany struggled for a while on why this happened to her and there is a powerful scene where she questions everything.  After the struggle of quitting, you see just how this mission trip got her turned back around.  She was helping others but God was using that trip to help her at the same time.  We then see her get her motivation back and get back on her feet.  Not just her feet but on the board.  Jeremiah 29:11 was quoted saying "'For I know the plans that I have for you' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future".  That song of "It's Your Life" is a great theme song to show just what Bethany had been through and how she was going to overcome it.  Take this bad and turn it into good and be able to motivate countless others as well through her story.  If you have never seen Soul Surfer, I highly recommend it.  It is so powerful.  AnnaSophia Robb plays the role of Bethany Hamilton in the movie and she is an absolute star.  She just does such an amazing job of putting this story on the movie screen.  When you get to the end of the movie, make sure to watch the credits.  You'll see the home videos of Bethany through her story and all the things you have seen recreated in this movie.  It is such a great finish to see the home videos of Bethany's and see what you have just been watching in her own videos.  Speaking of Bethany, she just recently announced that she is getting married so a big congratulations to her on her engagement!  You can check out more of Bethany on her website at: bethanyhamilton.com or follow her on Twitter @bethanyhamilton

You can check out more about Soul Surfer at this link: http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/soulsurfer/home/

The Bible Son Of God Tour Online Broadcast

If you missed the epic Son of God tour like I did, we're all in luck.  The Bible Son of God concert brings the TV series, The Bible, and the movie, Son Of God, together as they are brought to life for you visually and through music including many artists, Francesca Battistelli, Sidewalk Prophets, Natalie Grant, Meredith Andrews, Chris August, and Jason Gray.  The concert will be available online for viewing and you can buy a ticket to be a part of it.  Beginning June 3rd, you can watch the concert as it was recorded earlier this year in Nashville, TN.  There are three different tickets of ways to buy into watching this event.  For more information and how to buy tickets, here is the link: http://www.stagehop.com/event/20140603-sonofgodtour/

A Guideline For Christian Singles

This is something that I wrote several years ago and thought I would post it on here.  Hopefully, it will be an encouragement to someone out there!  :)

A guideline to the single life.  Being a Christian single in the world can be really tough.  It is interesting to read Christian singles forums and just see what people are dealing with.  Being single can especially be tough when you’re around a lot of people that aren’t singles.  It can feel like you don’t fit in anywhere and can turn into a very isolating feeling.  I really feel for singles that are having a tough time battling against it.  I thought it would be fun to type up a guideline to the single life.  Maybe some of these tips will help out some of you singles out there.  Some of this is things that I’ve learned from personal experience while also adding what I’ve learned from seeing others’ experiences. 

Pray, pray, pray.  That is obviously the answer to everything in general cause you should pray about everything anyway.  God wants to know what you’re thinking and feeling.  It definitely ties into this as well.   If your heart is desiring someone, you aren’t going to be able to hide it from God.  He knows your heart.  Talk to God about your feelings.  Know that God hasn’t forgotten about you.  It can be very hard when you see things going on all around you and you just sit there continuously waiting.  You must trust God completely and know that he has plans for you.  What you want and what he wants for you right now may be very different.  Just because it isn’t happening for you right now doesn’t mean that it won’t happen for you in the future.  Maybe God’s plans for you right now that involve being single are going to lead you somewhere down the line which will involve meeting someone.  Sadly, it could be possible that God just means for you to be single period.  That could be it but I just really feel that if God puts that desire in your heart to find someone, he isn’t going to leave you alone.  That is my personal belief.  Bottom line.  You must trust God.  He isn’t going to lead you wrong. 

Friends.  Talk to them.  Find friends that you trust and talk to them about things.  Regardless of whether you are single or not, everyone needs to vent about things from time to time.  Friends will hang in there with you and help.  They care.  That is why they are your friends.  Don’t be afraid to lean on them. 

Find something for you.  Sometimes you look at couples and it is this feeling of that they have their own thing going cause they are together.   I know for me that church has been that thing for “me”.  Everyone needs to feel like they have something that is their own.  

Don’t beat yourself up.  It is easy to go down the road of “what is wrong with me?” and “why me?" attitude.   It isn’t you!  You just haven’t met the right person yet.  Don’t even go there with the beating yourself up. 

Be careful of what situations that you put yourself in that might make you feel awkward or make you feel bad as a single.  This is a big one for me.  I am very big on praying about that and figuring out whether going to something will be a good thing or a bad thing for me as a single.  You obviously don’t want to put yourself at a couples night get together or something obvious like that.  This does require being a bit selfish at times but the bottom line is that you have to take care of yourself.  If you’re bailing out on something socially that you might think will be a bad thing for you as a single, people should understand your reasoning.  Yeah, this is a tough one to find a balance on.  Just pray about it. 

Find ways to occupy your time. Find some hobbies that you enjoy.  Get more involved in the church.  The more that you find to do that you enjoy, the less alone time that you are going to have.  Plus, you’ll be having fun and not thinking about how alone you might be feeling at the time.

Talk to other Christian singles and find out what they are dealing with and how they combat it.  Each person has a way of dealing with it and you might find some tips that might make it easier.  Plus, you’ll get to talk to people that understand when at times, you may feel like no one understands. 

Don’t compare yourself to others.  Just don’t even go there either.  Everyone’s lives are different.   I’m talking about, for instance, how you might meet up with old friends and they talk of five million things that they have going on.  Then, you start to talk and think, wow, I can’t even compete with that.   It’s the feeling of that you can’t compete.  Just don’t go there.  Not healthy.  :)

Enjoy life.  Don’t let loneliness steal your joy.  Don’t sit around in life and wait for this to happen for you.   Be thankful for all the blessings that you have in life.  Just because you are feeling alone, don’t let it take away from all the great blessings that God has brought you.  There are so many great things in life that you can enjoy and you don’t need to let your joy of enjoying everyday things be taken away. 

Bottom line.  It is tough.  Some people don’t mind being single at all and prefer it.  Others it can bother right down to their core.  One plea that I have to every church out there is to include your singles.  Church can be an intimidating place at times cause it is a very family type environment.  Many singles desire to have their own family and it can trigger that weakness that they have.  Singles can feel very isolated and not included in life at times.  Come up with activities that everyone can enjoy and have a great time.   Sadly, there are just going to be times where the singleness is just going to bother you.  It is your feelings and God knows that.  It really is just a matter of how you deal with it.  You have to trust God.  God has a plan and he’s going to keep revealing that plan to you.  You just have to hang in there until that plan is shown.

Looking Back At The 2013 K-Love Fan Awards

Looking back at last year's K-Love Fan Awards.  We're not far off from the 2014 awards and I thought it would be fitting to go back and look at what I typed up last year.  

If you weren't able to be there like myself, you had a great option and that was to listen to K-LOVE as they broadcast all the events this weekend.  That included the Songwriter's Showcase on Friday night, the awards on Saturday night, and then the worship service on Sunday morning.

Friday night kicked off with the Songwriter's Showcase which was hosted by Steven Curtis Chapman and Matthew West.  How much fun were these two?  I laughed so much at them.  They played really well off of each other.  Lots of great acts on this show.  I absolutely loved these acoustic versions of so many of the songs that we are used to hearing on K-Love.  It just kept getting better and better with the songs and talent that kept getting up there and performing.  I laughed so hard at the moment where Matthew West told MIKESCHAIR that they had to follow Amy Grant and Vince Gill.  They found humor in the moment by getting on stage and saying "I'd like to thank Vince and Amy for opening for us".  That was a great line!!!  As you can see this was such a fun and laid back atmosphere for this showcase.  Fun with a lot of great music and worship.  If you got the pleasure of listening to this live, you got a big blessing from it.  I loved it!

The Awards themselves were a lot of fun.  Fun to see who would win what award.  How the fan voting would go.  The performances were amazing.  Countless great performances through the night.  Things really picked up with Natalie Grant and Kari Jobe singing together!!  How awesome was that??!!  That kicked the worship into big time overdrive and set the stage for the rest of the night.  Tenth Avenue North was amazing as well!  That was one of my favorites. 

So, what were the award winner results?  Well, here you go.

Artist of the Year: TobyMac

Song of the Year: "Redeemed" by Big Daddy Weave

Male Artist of the Year: Chris Tomlin

Female Artist of the Year: Kari Jobe

Group/Duo of the Year: Casting Crowns

Breakthrough Artist of the Year: For King & Country

Book Impact of the Year: The Love Dare by Alex and Stephen Kendrick

Sports Impact of the Year: Mike Fisher

Movie Impact of the Year: Courageous

These categories were so packed with such amazing talent and regardless of who won, it was a celebration of all these great and talented performers.  TobyMac as artist of the year did not surprise me at all.  He has had an amazing year.  Kari Jobe posted this on Twitter following her win: "LOOK what you guys did!!  I have the best fans!! I love loving Jesus with U all! Thank you! ahh!!!!" For King and Country had an amazing speech that summarized the whole weekend.  They talked about a testimony they had heard with their music.  A fan told them a story of a friend who was already in the motions of taking their life.  The fan listened to the song on the radio and had this urge through that song that they needed to call their friend and check on them.  They were able to get help for the friend before it was too late.  This was such a powerful speech with them saying "what we're doing here is impacting lives, and it's got power".  It goes to show the strength of these songs.  How God can use these songs to that person out there that is listening.  It might have the most perfect lyrics for them that can help them through a situation.  That song might be the understanding for them that they aren't feeling like they are getting anywhere else.  How many times do you hear that perfect song come on at the most perfect time?  God uses this music and uses K-LOVE. 

There was also a special award presented at the K-LOVE Awards with the Unsung Hero award. It was for the Cochran family.  You can see more with this video of their story with this brother and sister combo that will inspire a lot of people!

Sunday morning had me excited to get the radio turned on and listen to the worship service which was being led by Meredith Andrews and Matt Maher.  They did such a great job of leading the service. I knew we were in big time business when it opened with Meredith's "Open Up The Heavens" as I've said that is such a great song to open up her new album.  It gets you praising immediately and it did during this service as well.  Then, we had them combining together on Matt's great song, "Your Grace Is Enough", which sounded great.  I loved Meredith's quote during this service where she said "God needs us to be right where we are".  That is such a true statement and one that puts a lot of perspective on everyone.  God has a purpose and has all of us right where we are supposed to be.

So to summarize the weekend, just amazing.  I wasn't even there and I felt like I had such an incredible K-LOVE Fan Awards experience.  I can't even imagine what it must have been like there in person.  I know I got spoiled with all the great music and worship this weekend so it will be hard to be back to normal this week.  It definitely felt like a revival event and I can't wait to see what they put together for next year.  Thank you to K-Love, all the artists, fans, and just everyone who had any part in this amazing weekend.  Thank you for all of your hard work that you do every single day.  If you want to see a highlight reel of this amazing weekend, here you go.  Have a great rest of the day!  Take care and God bless!!