Sometimes, we need to take an extra minute to fully think out what we’re going to say and how we’re going to say it.

Otherwise people get the wrong idea.

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Right here…

You’re welcome

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I’ve been noticing that, in a worship team setting, it’s really nice to have someone that for the time being I’m going to call a “secondary leader” on the team. And what this person does is gives the rest of the team cues and reminders during the course of a set that the worship leader can’t do because he or she is singing and looking forward (or has their eyes closed or whatever).

If someone is a little lost as to where the song is going, the secondary leader can look back, see that the team member is unsure and give them a cue by mouthing or saying something like, “repeat” or “chorus” or “bridge”. This person can also help smoothen the ending of a song, or if the song starts to speed up or slow down, by making it more apparent with a motion that he or she makes to let the rest of the team know what’s up.

From my experience, it works best if the person is toward the front of the stage and plays a guitar or some other instrument where they have a bit more freedom to move and turn and whatnot. It’s also easier for the person to make eye contact with the other band members from the front of the stage.

Worship leaders, if you’re like me, you never had to appoint someone to do this, they just stepped up to the plate and it just comes naturally. Although sometimes you may need to ask someone to be your second in command and assist with leading the band. Either way, be thankful for these people. They share some of the weight that being the leader of a band and worship team brings and they really help in making sure the band stays together during the course of a song.

Those of you reading who have been in this role in bands that I have led, thank you. You really do make life a lot easier by not just your musical contribution, but your contributions as a leader too.

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Watch the video below…

thoughts?

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I’ve had Chris Tomlin’s cd, Not to Us, for quite a few years now and I’ve noticed that it’s always one that I return to when I want to soak, relax, and just be with my Creator. I’ll put this on the iPod when I’m laying in bed, or on a plane, or any other place where I can just take a step back and put my focus back on Jesus.

I know I’m not the only one who does this, so what cd, (not band, not song, can’t be a mix cd or a playlist), do you put on the iPod to turn your eyes upon our Creator? Let’s see if we can get some responses from those who read this and maybe get a few good music suggestions going.

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This weekend, a group of us set out for a weekend camping trip to Eklutna. Only a handful of people were able to stay the night, but there were quite a few people that came to hang out Friday night and then a couple on Saturday.

Saturday afternoon, four of us went out on the lake in two double-kayaks. We had rented them for four hours and wanted to just take a drip down the lake, relax, and talk about life. After one of the rudder pedals came off of the kayak I was in, (leaving us in a perpetual left turn,) Sarah trying to lift pull our rudder out of the water without tipping the kayak she was in, and a short pit-stop on land to reattach the pedal, we had finally made it out to the place the rental-lady-with-the-awesome-subtle-accent said we could before probably having to turn around to come back.

We had been on the water for about two hours already when we realized what time it was and that the trip back takes longer because it goes against the wind. We decided to hustle, and I mean hustle, back to the rental place. With shoulders burning and eyes squinting from the sun that had come out, we made it back to the rental place, going against the wind, in an hour. An hour. It took us two to get to where we turned around at.

Despite being absolutely toast afterward with sore shoulders, a sunburned face, neck and getting wet, it was an amazing time on the water. The water had such a deep, clear green look to it and looked good enough to drink, although none of us got thirsty enough to try it.

All in all, the amount of physical exertion put forth did not out weigh the amount of peace and rejuvenation that being out on the water brought. It was a good reminder that to rest and refill your spirit, you don’t need to sit and stare and do nothing for it to be “restful”. You can have an amazing day packed with stuff that leaves you absolutely dead on your feet and be rejuvenated.

Do what you love. Love who you’re with. Let that refill you.

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Do you ever notice how things conveniently work out sometimes? When things that at first glance seem totally unrelated end up being very dependent on and complimentary to one another? I’m in that place right now.

The last two years or so have been full of training, and discipline, and learning for me. God has opened so many doors for me to walk through and the more I take a step back and look at where I am and how I got here, the more I notice that there’s no way it would have happened if God wasn’t the one leading the way. Even from the time my family moved here with absolutely no money, somehow we were able to get by.

It totally reminds me of Isreal, after they were out of Egypt and in the desert and the manna that God provided them.

The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. And when they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he needed. – Exodus 16:17-18

God led Israel by giving them as much as they needed to continue moving forward. God has led me by giving me as much as I need to continue moving forward. It’s very easy for me to forget that, though, when I start focusing on what I don’t have as opposed to what I do have. When I see that really nice $2,000 guitar and think, “If only I could afford that…” I ignore how God has already blessed me bountifully to be able to have the setup that I run right now. God provides. End of story. Take a look around you and ask God to show you where he has provided for you recently.

You might be surprised what you find out.

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When was the last time you sat still and watched all of creation around you just be?

When was the last time that the sound of cars got drowned out by the sound of the wind gently move along the trees?

What about the birds singing their song that their Creator gave them to sing?

There’s a beautiful symphony that is always playing if we’re willing to listen to it and listen for it. I think that we get so busy and wrapped up in ourselves and in our lives that we forget just where we live. And I’m not talking about Eagle River, or Alaska, or the United States; I’m talking about this planet called Earth. This big, breathtaking sphere of water and land that was created very intentionally by a Creator who very intentionally created us and gave us this place to live in. Sometimes I forget that. Then I remember again and it blows me away.

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