We are sponsoring a little girl now named Witness.
Thats her name…Witness.
She is almost 4 years old.
So it’s rare thing when you get to actually meet a child that your taking care of through a sponsorship.
But i got to meet her…wash her hands, eat lunch with her, laugh and play together…
And I’m grateful…far beyond words for the experience…

And I want you to meet her…

I’ll be posting a lot more about Kenya in the days to come as more and more of it process’s in my heart and mind…but for now…I know this…

…I’ll never be the same.

CASE

So much happend today that I’ve re-written this blog 3x.
So i’ll just make this to the point as best I can…as my emotions are everywhere right now…

Kibera is the name of a Slum we visited today in Nairobi. It is considered to be the largest slum in all of Africa.
Either it or the one were visiting on Wednesday…Karima.
Tomorrow is the Massai Village, a tribal part of Africa…definitely will send pics, so more on that later.

But in the middle of this area is a glimmer of hope. A place where sorrow ridden streets are overlooked by the smiles and eyes of the children here.
In the middle of it all is a church called PCEA (Presbyterian Church of East Africa).
Children are being rescued as Compassion International is partnering with this church in unbelievable ways.
They sang for us and shared stories and it was all so beautiful.
Many in our group got to meet in person the children they have been sponsoring for years.
The tears flowed i’ll just say.

Tomorrow I get to meet and sponsor a little Girl named Witness. Just pause on that for a second…

So much of this experience in ONE DAY is too great for words…but I put just a handful of pics below to give you a glimpse of it.
Thanks for your prayers and please keep praying for what God wants to do here, both in these people and in us.

*Aaron Shust is here with us as well. God’s wrecking our worlds.

more to come tomorrow…

CASE

This Video was made to show at Orange 09 for LUO - to raise support and awareness of what God is doing through the ministry of LUO!
Http://www.luo-setfree.org

The song “Worlds Collide” (the original song for LUO that I mentioned I was helping write a few weeks ago along with Gavin Tarquinio and Alex Nifong)

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Lyrics:
Verse 1:
I was hungry and you fed me
Was abandoned, you were covering
Like a shelter and a shield around me
I was homeless and you came to my need

CHORUS:
When you see what I’ve seen
You will know what its like
For our worlds to collide
There is more you will find
When u look in their eyes
Then our worlds will collide – Oh our worlds will collide

Verse 2:
In this moment – we are all the same…
More than numbers cause we all have names
You’ve been given so give it away
You’ll remember - the life that you change

Bridge:
When the innocent will dream and then
Every broken heart will finally mend
The forgotten found as hope resounds…again…
Then our worlds will Collide

(Chorus)

“We walk by faith, not by sight” — 2 Corinthians 5:7

For a while, we are fully aware of God’s concern for us. But then, when God begins to use us in His work, we begin to take on a pitiful look and talk only of our trials and difficulties. And all the while God is trying to make us do our work as hidden people who are not in the spotlight.  None of us would be hidden spiritually if we could help it.  Can we do our work when it seems that God has sealed up heaven? Some of us always want to be brightly illuminated saints with golden halos & with the continual glow of inspiration, & to have other saints of God dealing with us all the time.  A self-assured saint is of no value to God.  He is abnormal, unfit for daily life, & completely unlike God.  We are here, not as immature angels, but as men & women, to do the work of this world.  And we are to do it with an infinitely greater power to withstand the struggle because we have been born from above.

If we continually try to bring back those exceptional moments of inspiration, it is a sign that it is not God we want.  We are becoming obsessed with the moments when God did come and speak with us, & we are insisting that He do it again.  But what God wants us to do is to “walk by faith.” How many of us have set ourselves aside as if to say, “I cannot do anything else until God appears to me”?  He will never do it. We will have to get up on our own, without any inspiration & without any sudden touch from God. Then comes our surprise & we find ourselves exclaiming, “Why, He was there all the time, & I never knew it!”  Never live for those exceptional moments— they are surprises. God will give us His touches of inspiration only when He sees that we are not in danger of being led away by them. We must never consider our moments of inspiration as the standard way of life— our work is our standard.   -   Oswald Chambers, an excerpt from “My Utmost for His Highest”

CASE

Hey everyone,

Last night was an incredible display of worship and surrender.  In Spirit and in truth with all the voices comeing together as ONE and worshipping ONE name and proclaiming ONE hope for the salvation of all!
These moments are glimpses of His Kingdom to me…when we expand our horizons of worship beyond the building we are in…to the world outside those walls!

So thank you to everyone that was there…both in person and via the world wide web!!! So awesome when technology is used in ways that bring us together like that!

Global Night of Worship SET LIST:

- “God of this City”   by BlueTree (with different languages & countries via video)

- “Salvation is Here”   by Hillsong  (feat. African drums bridge)

* Side note…a reminder of these powerful lyrics:

“God above..all the WORLD in motion… Hear the sound of the generations…

making LOUD their freedom song, all in all that the WORLD would know YOUR NAME!!!”

- “Everlasting God”  by Brenton Brown

- “Hosanna”  by Hillsong

- “Breath on Me”  by Northpoint, Todd Fields

- “To Know Your Name”  by Hillsong  (tag of the chorus only)

- “Mighty to Save”   by Hillsong

- “The Stand” by Hillsong (tag of chorus only)

- “Glory to God”  by Steve Fee  (tag of Bridge & Chorus only)

- “Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)”  by Chris Tomlin

- “Jesus Paid it All”   Hymn, Passion version

- “Praise the Father, Praise the Son”   by Chris Tomlin (tag of chorus/bridge only)

During Communion:
- “Te Amo”  by Kelen & Paulo from Brazil

- “Grace Will Be My Song”  by Steve Fee

- “No Greater Love (Not Ashamed)”  by Casey Darnell

- “All Because of Jesus”  by Steve Fee  (special spanish version)

- “We Shine”  by Steve Fee  (special robot version haha)

Heres a video of the opener “God of this City”  going into “Salvation is Here”:

* be sure to click on the HD button at the bottom right of the video screen

Video of “No Greater Love”  coming out of Communion:

* be sure to click on the HD button at the bottom right of the video screen

CASE

A Challenge for this Good Friday and Easter Sunday:

To Just Worship.
Worship without critiquing.
Without analyzing.

Become more engaged by what HE thinks of you and has done for you.
…and grow less concerned or caring about the music or style or genre.

Look at the stage, but don’t see the worship leader (V-Neck and all)…don’t see the band…or the lights or production.

Don’t talk or go home & blog about the worship leader’s style…  

…don’t be concerned if he wears a v-neck or not and his style is maybe “metro-sexual.”

Let all those things fade into the background as they create an opportunity to allow you to reflect…the same opportunity you had before you walked in the door…when you woke up this morning…all day long as you lived and breathed.

Remember your worship doesn’t start when the band cracks the 4 count and starts the first song…and it doesn’t end when they play the last chord or the last verse is read or the message ends and the house lights come up.

Let styles or worship become a thing for other people to talk about…but NOT you.
Not now in the moment when you realize Jesus was crucified for you…And all your opinions seem waisted.

So let go of opinions and a nature to criticize. Resist the temptation.

Let go of the deep rooted bitterness or hurt that causes you to use your tongue in ways that only bring YOU attention…and to critique or judge the attention others may get, realizing they are their to point the attention to Jesus.

So do that.
Give Jesus your attention.
Give Him your song and your sorrow and your hurt and bitterness and resentment and confusion and doubts…
…Give Him everything that you are holding onto and fighting to keep to yourself.

Give Him your worship.

The very thing He wants…but no one else can give for you….or sing for you…
…or create a moment in a service BIG ENOUGH to dare rival…the simple surrender of YOUR HEART.

I hope for us this will be a challenge so much bigger then this weekend.

Less talk about the worship leader.   Less talk about the music style.

Less talk about your favorite song.  Less of YOU and ME.

More of Him.

CASE

Heres a video of me and the guys leading “Free to Change the World” and then going into “The Time Has Come”
This was just 2 songs out of our 6 songs that opening night to kick off Disciple Now (D-Now) in Conyers at First Baptist.
About 8 church’s gathered together, with the challenge of the weekend to pursue “Being Last”…
The Speaker was Jeremy Kingsley who wrote an aweome book called “Be Last” - very awesome!

BETTER QUALITY:
To see a better quality then this posted…go to the actual youtube sight and click on the “HD” button at the bottom right side of the video.

The kids latched onto the song and it became the theme of the weekend…to be the “hands and feet” of Jesus realizing we have been set free…and in our freedom we have the opportunity to change the world for God and for the Kingdom.

The world also being wherever God has planted us…our neighbors…the person i sit next to in class…or who is in the locker beside me in the halls…not just Africa…

CASE

The following is an email I received that got my attention:

* NOTE:  This hit home with me since I have a daughter and my dad was hit recently by someone staring at their phone.

Subject: Driving while InTEXTicated

The very real human consequences that can result from driving while ‘InTEXTicated’.

An 18-year-old girl plowed directly into the rear of another vehicle. She was going 70 mph. She apparently never even saw them. You see, she had been texting at the time.

You can see that she hit them dead-center with no attempt to slow or evade the collision.

She hit dead-center on her 2008 Yukon SUV as well.  She escaped unscathed.

There was no blowout, no wet road, no curve or hill or fog to limit visibility.  This girl clearly should have been able to see the traffic conditions at least a half mile ahead had she been looking and not texting.  She nearly killed a beautiful 3-year-old child?

Here’s a personal look at the real human cost of texting while driving:
The boy named Griffin before the accident.

Griffen the day after 4 hours of surgery to repair multiple skull fractures.  He would surely have died or been severely disabled had they not been minutes away (by StarFlight helicopter) from Austin’s world-class children’s Dell Children’s Medical Center and neurosurgeon Dr. Timothy George.

Day 4 - watching a movie on his Dad’s iPhone.  
The swelling of his head will go away, but that scar from ear-to-ear will be with him forever.  

Feeling a little better…eating some mac & cheese…mmmm….

Day 5 - feeling much better.  My granddad bought me my very own iPod and loaded it with movies..  Life is good.

This morning.  All my tubes are finally out.  I’m going home today!
Note how much the swelling has improved in just three days.

It’s almost unbelievable that it’s been only five days since the accident that nearly claimed his life.  

All the medical experts involved expect him to make a full recovery.  
Pretty soon he’ll be all healed up and back to normal - thank the Lord!
In only six weeks he’ll be allowed to be just as active as any other 3-year-old.

Phone company records of text messages are irrefutable and accurate to the second; so it would be an easy matter to prove in court that a person was texting at the time of an accident.  As with drunken driving, a jail sentence (no matter the driver’s age) will be mandatory whenever anyone is injured by an InTEXTicated driver.  

—————————————————————————————————-

So like I said, this has grabbed my attention.  I hate to be so down and I don’t do mail forwards…but since I have a 2 yr old daughter…this grabbed me even more.  I think this generation and mine included has an invincible complex…we think it will never happen to us.

So with this blog I just thought I’d pass it on and encourage you as well as MYSELF to stop TWITTERING or TEXTING when were driving.  Whatever that information you so badly needed to send was…I’m confident in the end it will NEVER have been worth it.

CASE

I am a singer and songwriter…if your reading this you most likely have gathered that already…so that is my disclaimor for the following opinions on a show that is a love/hate for some people.  I dig it, cause it’s strait up in my line of work and I appreciate undiscovered raw talent…

So here goes…and this will be short and sweet:

I have a few early favorites.  This is not to say they will continue to be my favorites, cause you never know who will start coming out of their shell in the weeks to come.  But for now…

The dude Matt Giraud can sing.  He doesn’t scream or struggle as he discovers his voice in front of millions.  He has incredible voice control and tone that rival some really BIG named artist out there today.  I think the nerves make him do an extra vocal lick or 2 he could do without, but mainly I dig his spin on things and the piano playing soul stuff….well, I think it’s a needed feel in today’s music.

Danny Gokey is another genuinely great singer.  His story and heart I think grab me more than his voice, but I still love His tone, just need that “song” that will send him soaring…much like David Archuleta did last year with “Imagine” & “Heaven”.  I love that he was or maybe still is a music director at a church.  Hope to see some cool arrangements in the future.

However…

The guy that everyone is goo goo over…Adam Lambert…

…I’m not that excited about.  While I think his note range is INSANE…I think the dress is overdone as well as the high pitched screaming.  Something is just altogether over the top for me and I don’t see myself buying a record of him…maybe a single hit or 2.

Thats basically how I view this:  Would I buy an entire record of them?  Thus far Carrie Underwood is the only one whose record I have purchased the whole thing.  Although I secretly dig David Archuletta.

I like the vocal tone of Megan Joy Corkrey…won’t say much more than that.  Except her dancing…well…it fits her name I think and I’m waiting for Simon to tell her its not Corkrey but Dorkey.  Don’t quote me on that.  Hope to hear her nail the right song with her voice, could be a really cool feel…

Michael Sarver is too much like Michael English for me.   Allison Iraheta sounds possibly TOO much like Pink.  I just like Scott MacIntyre…just because.  The rest of them…no comment for now.  

Okay so there it is, my American Idol opinions…So what say you?  

CASE

John 13:35
“By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you LOVE one another.”
1 John 3:18
“Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”

When the record was about half way through last year…I started thinking about what to title it….or if i should have any title.

I didn’t have to think about it too long, because of the growing theme that was beginning to show up in the lyrics. Like those verses above making it clear what God wants from us. To be a people known by our LOVE for one another. That is how they will know…not because we get together on Sunday only and sing our guts out. (or not) And then to go farther and say, not just to love one another with words but with actions!!! Like Elvis said, “a little less conversation, a little more action please.”

The following are some random lyrics from different songs off the record:

“…more than words for you, Jesus our King”

“…a love that is more than words”

“…Let Justice be, so much more than our songs”

“…as your Kingdom comes, our song will be, as we live our lives for the World to see”

“…it’s time to put our WORDS IN MOTION“

AWAKEN US

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That last line sold me on the title.   Words in Motion.  It’s coincidental but cool that SINGING is a verb defined as the movement of your voice.  More than talking, when your hold the word out and give it movement…motion.

Carol Cymbala, (Brooklyn Tabernacle)  said in her book “He’s been faithful”, Worship takes place when our LIVES match the LYRICS of the songs we sing.

I love that.
 
We, the church, need to be known for so much more than just the songs we have written and the noise we make on Sunday’s…instead…marked by our actions, our LIVES matching the LYRICS…”prove ourselves DOERS of the word, NOT just hearers only” - James 1:22

I Love to sing.  God has allowed me to use these gifts He’s given to provide and travel and live, and experience Him in incredible ways.

So I’m not putting down singing or our songs or anything like that.  It’s my career so to speak.

But my hope in this record was to encourage more than that and to not just become another package of songs.

And trust me…I hope to have many more songs…but for this first record…a clear direction, a call to action, to be awakened to what these HUGE claims we are making via song SHOULD be requiring from us…

So here are the lyrics that I pray my life will match and that i hope drive us to action!

AWAKEN US
More than a selfish cause, More than a fleeting thought
To bring your Hope and Love, To see Your Kingdom Come

In a world that has lost its way, A people who’ve gone astray
But if we are set apart, Give us fearless hearts

For in this world were holding on

Chorus:
Awaken us - A revolution’s coming of
Your truth and Love - It’s time to put our WORDS in MOTION
Spirit come - A revolution of your Love
Awakening in us

Bridge:
I’m holding onto you, Spirit draw me near
Nothing shall I loose, No one shall I fear
I’m holding onto you, Spirit draw me near again…

CASE