Take Time for Basking
I played a lot of music today, worshiping while I unpacked boxes, dusted, folded laundry, and other sundry tasks. By late afternoon, I was ready for a break so I did something for which I was long overdue. I laid on my bed and listened to The Downings. The Spirit of God filled the room, and tears welled up in my eyes in gratitude to God for His love which I so don’t deserve but which He continually pours out upon me.
I feel bad that I have let life become so busy. Even in the slow times, I find something to occupy my time. I don’t often take time to do nothing but bask in His presence but it’s a habit I need to reincorporate into my schedule. It’s during these times that I can actually hear God’s voice if I listen long enough. It’s these quiet times in which I can more fully feel His love and His presence.
If you don’t have a habit of quietly basking in God’s presence, I would encourage you to begin that habit. Meditating may be a part of it but you can also listen to worship music during this time. From the depths of your heart, quietly praise God and then allow Him to direct your paths and show you how you can best worship Him. Begin to practice listening. So many times, we do all the talking and God never gets a word in edgewise. Invite Him to speak in the stillness.
There is nothing on earth more important than a close relationship with the Heavenly Father. He calls to you today to stop what you are doing and draw near to Him. He understands deadlines and family and schedules but He desires to be first in your life. He tells us to seek Him first and His righteousness and everything else will fall into place (my paraphrase). If this hasn’t been your pattern, start setting aside that time with Him today and make sure it’s extra from your prayer and Bible reading. This is a time for worship and stillness. Whether it’s five minutes or an hour, I’ve no doubt He will meet you and your day will go much better.
Strength in Weakness
“They are weak but He is strong.” A simple line but so true. The last couple weeks, I have been more aware of God’s strength through my weakness. Physically, I am tired but God has a work for me to do, and I desire to be faithful.
In life, there are many things that bring us down. Whether physically, emotionally or spiritually, life is full of these challenges. I don’t like being down but I find myself more and more praising God and saying, “Thank You, Lord, for giving me strength. Without You, I can do nothing.” The truth is I really can’t. I realize that more now than ever before.
“I need Thee. Oh, I need Thee. Every hour, I need Thee. Oh, bless me now, my Savior. I come to Thee.”
Give Thanks Always
As I was worshiping this morning, my heart was filled with gratitude, along with the awareness that my praise should not be dependent on how I feel on any given day. God is good in EVERY circumstance. Yes, I may not always understand God’s ways. I may not want to go through some things He brings my way but He has never failed me, and I know He never will.
Scripture is full of admonitions to “Give thanks to the LORD for He is good” (mentioned repeatedly in the Bible), “Give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18), “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise” (Psalm 100:4). There is no room for self-pity or blaming God.
This is an area I may not be perfect in yet but I feel I am growing. I don’t believe giving thanks in all circumstances means necessarily to give thanks FOR bad circumstances but it does mean to praise God even when you are going through that difficult time. If you can’t think of anything else, you can still thank God for His continual love and presence. As you praise Him, your spirit will be uplifted and you will find that peace that passes understanding. Then you can praise Him all over again. Start today to praise God in everything. You won’t regret a moment.
CD Review: For All He’s Done (Greater Vision)
The latest CD from Greater Vision includes ten songs, nine of which were written or co-written by Rodney Griffin or Chris Allman.
This recording begins with the mid-tempo Come Unto Me, followed by Looking for the Grace. I’m not asking for God to remove the things that are going to help me draw closer to Him. I’m simply looking for the grace to go through those things.
This is Mercy is a beautiful song about the cross.
Chris Allman wrote and sings, The Blood Hasn’t Ever Changed.
Forever is Sure is a song of hope as it reminds us that “tomorrow is uncertain but forever is sure.” This was written by Rodney Griffin and Jim Brady. A great song.
The only song on the recording that was not written by Rodney or Chris is an old song the Cathedrals recorded, Seeking for Me.
Preacher Tell Me Like it Is addresses the fact that so many preachers will only say what they think people want to hear. No wonder the Church is in the shambles it is. “You say you want to be my friend? Don’t be afraid to call my sin what it is.” If there were more preachers who would do that, maybe God would send revival.
I Can Trust You is another beautiful song written and sung by Chris Allman. Regardless of the path God has for you, you can trust Him.
They continue that message in I Will Take Care of You.
What better way to end a recording than with For All He’s Done, a song of praise.
God Walks the Dark Hills
This morning during my praise and worship time, I started singing, “God Walks the Dark Hills.” I am so grateful that God always gives me a song to sing and that is the song I’m singing this morning. Isn’t it wonderful to know that, no matter how dark the valley we may go through, we can fear no evil for our God is with us? What joy wells up in my heart at that truth.
“He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock that shadows a dry, thirsty land. He hideth my life in the depths of His love and covers me there with His hand.”
“Where shall I go from your spirit? or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend up into heaven, you are there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall your hand lead me, and your right hand shall hold me” (Psalm 139:7-10).
Yes, Brothers and Sisters, that is the God that we serve. He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us, and He has always kept that promise.
I personally don’t like going through dark times. I would prefer life to always be sunshine and roses; however, in the biggest rose garden, there are also lots of thorns. These are the things that test our faith, draw us closer to God, and makes us into the sons and daughters that He desires us to be if we but allow them to do that.
The hardest song for me to sing has been, “If it takes a valley to really know your grace, and if it’s in the desert where I’ll meet you face to face, then turn this path I’m traveling to some dark and lonely place ’cause if it takes a valley then a valley’s what I’ll take.” I may not like singing that but I’m very aware that this is where God desires me (and all His children) to be.
Thank You, Lord, for walking with me through sunshine and through darkness. Thank You for peace and joy that You provide in the midst of dark times as You hold my hand. Thank You for adopting me into Your family and continually proving Your love for me. I am blessed beyond measure. May I never cease to praise You and show my thanksgiving in the way I live my life for You.
NQC Highlights 2013: Day 6
Each year at NQC, there are regional artist showcases for groups who are not on the main stage. As these groups sing, they are judged and the winner of each showcase gets to sing one song on the main stage that evening. What I didn’t remember is that, apparently out of those groups, there is another competition where they are judged and the winners get to perform one more time on Saturday evening. This year, those winners were The Wilbanks and The Erwins. I will say the Wilbanks sang a very difficult arrangement to sing and, for that, they deserved to win. If you get some time, look up The Wilbanks singing “Psalm 23” on YouTube. You could also search “The Wilbanks NQC” and it should come up.
I’d not heard the Taylors before but they did an acapella version of “I Can Call Jesus Any Time” and “Operator.” They started out slow on “Oh I Want to See Him” before picking up the tempo on the chorus.
Melissa Brady joined The Whisnants to sing a song she wrote: “All is Well.” They ended with my favorite Whisnants song, “New Day Dawning.” They were joined by Jim & Melissa Brady and Kim Hopper.
I enjoyed seeing The Down East Boys. They are a decent quartet.
The Voices of Lee did a rousing rendition of a medley: Moving Up to Gloryland/Just Over in the Gloryland/Do Lord/Heaven’s Jubilee/When We All Get to Heaven.
Clarke Beasley reminisced about various things that happened on the Louisville stage: The Speer Family’s retirement, Glen Payne’s call-in, Tony Greene proposing to Taranda, 9/11/2001 (Gerald Wolfe singing “Redemption Draweth Nigh” on that night), George Younce’s last performance with Signature Sound, The Florida Boys’ retirement, etc.
A definite highlight was Tracy Stuffle on camera telling everyone he’ll see them next year. It’s been a hard year for Tracy and Libbi but God is once again reminding us that He is God. We may not know why we go through the dark times but He always has a plan. After the Perrys sang, Dean Hopper commented on how thankful he was to Libbi for making the effort to be there. Everyone then stood and applauded as Libbi cried. She called Tracy via Skype on her phone so he could hear and see and feel the love that was there.
The Collingsworth Family did a set of all hymns which I really enjoyed. Kim Collingsworth then played “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” and “The Hallelujah Chorus.”
The evening ended with one song each from The Talleys, The Mark Trammell Quartet, The Perrys, The Kingdom Heirs, and The Collingsworth Family. Then Dean and Kim Hopper, The Booth Brothers, Greater Vision, and Legacy Five took the stage to sing “Statement of Faith.” A great way to end the evening and the week.
Tickets are already on sale for next year when it will be held in Pigeon Forge, TN. If you can’t attend, you may want to consider subscribing to the live video stream.
NQC 2013 Highlights: Day 5
I’m sorry for the delay in finishing coverage of the National Quartet Convention. I realize this is old news at this point but I will go ahead and post some more highlights since each blogger typically has a different perspective. Unfortunately, I had typed a lot more and lost it so, instead of taking the time to watch all five hours again, I’ll post what I can remember from memory.
Freedom Quartet sang one song on the main stage: “Somebody Touched the Lord” sung by none other than Dale Shipley. I lost track of him after he left Perfect Heart but I’m so glad he’s still singing. Freedom now consists of John Rulapaugh, Dale Shipley, Preston Garner and Burman Porter. I look forward to hearing more of them in the future.
I was blessed by the Gaither Vocal Band’s set. They did as good as I’ve ever seen them on the NQC stage. Each group member (other than Bill) were featured on at least two songs, and they all did a stellar job.
During the Easters’ set, Wes Hampton joined them onstage to sing with Morgan on “When You’re Broken.”
Gerald Wolfe led the congregation in singing some Bill Gaither songs since Bill was in the audience.
I was happy to hear The Mark Trammell Quartet bring back the old Happy Goodman song, “Meet Me Over on the Other Side.” I also loved watching Pat Barker sing, “Wonderful Time Up There.” The group did a stellar job on “The King is Coming.” Their whole set was definitely a highlight.
Another big highlight was Jonathan Wilburn joining Gold City on stage to sing the last chorus of “Get Up Get Ready.” The last time I saw Gold City in concert, the CD that was on was their latest project.
The night ended with Karen Peck and New River singing “Four Days Late,” The Booth Brothers singing, “Still Feeling Fine,” The Mark Trammell Quartet singing, ” That’s Enough for Me to Know,” and The Gaither Vocal Band singing, “It is Finished.”
One more day to go. I’ll try to get to that next week. It takes a while to listen to 5-6 hours of music.
NQC 2013 Highlights: Day 4
In my opinion, Day 4 of the National Quartet Convention has been the best yet. It was hard to pick just a few highlights but I’ll do my best to give you an overview.
Tim Lovelace led the audience in some worship songs, including Mylon LeFevre’s song, “Without Him.”
Tribute Quartet sang their number one song, “Good News From Jerusalem” and were backed by a choir.
Jim Brady and Brooklyn Collingsworth were the emcees and led the audience in singing, “The Family of God.”
Wilburn and Wilburn were the opening act. How neat to see them on the main stage. They sang, “I’m Rich,” “Jesus Will,” and “Let’s All Go Down to the River.”
The Browns sang their new song, “A Place in the Choir.” Then Shelly sang, “It Will Be Worth It All.” They also sang, “Going Home,” “I’ll Fly Away,” “Everywhere I Go,” and an instrumental medley of “Carol of the Bells” and “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.”
One of the winners of the artist showcase was “Back Home” which meant they got to perform one song on the main stage. They did a great job.
The Diplomats sang next. Rita wasn’t there since she is recovering from a torn hamstring but the group sang, “Joy in the Storm,” “There’s a Light,” “If Not for the Cross,” and “I’ll Soon be Gone.”
During the McKamey’s set, Eli sang, “More Like Jesus, Less Like Me.” Peg sang, “God on the Mountain.” Sheryl sang, “He Can.” Roger sang, “Unspoken Request.” They closed with, “He Can.”
The Dixie Echoes sang, “Winging My Way Back Home,” “Roll On Jordan,” “Walk With Me,” and “How Great Thou Art.”
The Perrys sang, “Blue Skies Coming” and “Praise You Through the Night.” Libbi then gave a powerful message about priorities. It brought me to tears as I knew she was talking from conviction. She understands how important it is to have our priorities in the right place. Her message was: it doesn’t matter how much money you make; what matters is your relationship with God and with your family. The more she talked, the more she hit the nail on the head. My favorite quotes were: “If you don’t put Him first, He’ll put you in a position where you will put Him first.” “We go to church and we think we’re doing God a favor instead of listening to what the preacher says.” “The last eight months, God has taught me so much. It doesn’t matter what people think any more … What matters is that there are people going to Hell while we’re playing church.” They ended their set with Tracy’s favorite song: “I rest My Case at the Cross.”
The Isaacs were next and sang, “Accentuate the Positive,” “Grandpa, Tell Me About the Good Ol’ Days,” and “He Ain’t Never Done Me Nothin’ But Good.”
Other highlights include The Talleys singing, “He’s Alive.” Mark Bishop, Gerald Crabb, and Phil Cross sang a song they wrote together, “Song of a Lifetime.” Channing Eleton played piano. Greater Vision sang “When They Ring the Bells of Heaven.” Chris Allman sang lead on “For All He’s Done.”
Triumphant Quartet sang, “The Great I Am Still Is” then went into Clayton Inman’s song, “Old White Flag.” During the song, Chris Allman went onstage and gave Jeff Stice a handkerchief. They ended their set with “Saved by Grace.” Michael Booth was jamming on the drums, and Ronnie Booth and Jim Brady joined in singing the last chorus.
The highlights for the Booth Brothers were singing, “We Believe” and “Trading This Old Cross for a Crown.”
They ended the night with a Christmas segment. Kim Collingsworth played “O Holy Night” on the piano. Greater Vision, Legacy Five, and the Booth Brothers sang, “O Come All Ye Faithful.” Kim Hopper and Reggie & Ladye Love Smith sang, “Silent Night.” Karen Peck and New River sang, “Joy Has Come to the World.” Greater Vision closed with “Hope Has Hands.”
I still plan to cover Day 5 and 6 but, unfortunately, it will have to be next week. I hope you’re enjoying reading some of the highlights from this year’s National Quartet Convention.
NQC Highlights 2013: Day 3
Last night at the National Quartet Convention was all male quartet night. As well as the standard quartets, they put together an all bass quartet consisting of Pat Barker, Eric Bennett, Jeff Chapman, and Matt Fouch. There was also a quartet comprised of Jeff Easter singing tenor, Scott Howard singing lead, Arthur Rice singing baritone, and Mark Trammell singing bass. I’m sure this will make it to YouTube. A hilarious few minutes.
I was traveling so didn’t make notes but all of the groups did well.
There was a new group to me called Keepers of the Faith. Originally from Hawaii but now based in Washington, they did a great job, especially on “Oh What a Savior.”
I should have more to report from tonight’s program. I think it’s been the best evening so far. I’ll try to find time to write it out tomorrow. Also tomorrow, the NQC is offering free video viewing to anyone who would like to tune in. I believe you will find information on their website.
NQC 2013 Highlights: Day 2
Last night’s main stage performances were emceed by Jeff & Sherri Easter who also performed at a point. Their daughter has really developed a good voice.
The McKameys sang several new songs (to me) but threw in a chorus of God on the Mountain.
The Inspirations sang a combination of old and new songs including “If You Only Knew.”
The Penny Loafers are doing the acapella fillers this year and doing a great job.
I was so glad to see Libbi Stuffle on stage last night. She’s had a rough year but is a tremendous testimony of God’s grace. Jeff Stice jumped on stage to play piano while they were singing, “This Old Sinner Testifies.” What a moment!
The Talleys sang, “Searching” and Jason Crabb came on stage to sing his verse and the rest of the song with them.
Tonight is all quartet night. I look forward to sharing those highlights with you tomorrow.
