Singing Praises!

When we first moved to Pasco last year and began attending Calvary Chapel, Kirk and I had known the Lord personally for just under a year. I was so excited to serve in any way I could think of! After one of the first services we attended, I went up to our worship leader and asked him if I may audition for the worship team. He was very kind, but shared with me that before being in a leadership capacity like that, we would need to wait a year. At first I didn't understand this, but now, I see the wisdom in it.

Many of you know that music was a huge part of my life up until about three years ago, was a Music major in college, etc. From the age of 10, my primary goal in life was to do musical theater on Broadway. Before heading off to New York, I moved to Portland to gain professional experience. During this time, the Holy Spirit really began working on my heart. I did a few paid shows but suddenly, after 13+ years of loving musical theater, I found NO joy in it. It's as though the light switch was flicked off. What I didn't realize at the time was that in that darkness, the Light would begin to shine.

Long story (testimony) short, I fell into a deep, deep depression, stopped auditioning, lost all sense of who I was, and truly felt as though I had no purpose here on earth. And, music and the relationships I had with that "life" were at the center of it all.

After speaking with our worship leader a year ago and realizing there was still to much of me in my singing, I prayed to the Lord and asked Him to 1) take my voice away completely if I couldn't use it to glorify Him or 2) to please give me peace about never singing in front of anyone again. If Jesus wanted me to sing for Him in a public setting, I asked Him to prompt our worship leader to come speak to me. I vowed to never bring the subject up again, and I didn't.

Well, the Lord didn't answer the first prayer. He did give me peace on the second, however. And, once that peace was in place, our worship leader came up to me (about a month ago) and asked when I wanted to come sing for him! Completely out of the blue - A direct answer to my prayer.

On Tuesday, I auditioned for the worship team and was asked to help serve in this ministry. Amazing grace. "My grace ['unmerited favor'] is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness" - 2 Cor 12:9 This verse has been on my heart all week.

My consistent prayer is that my singing now pleases Jesus and that I may serve Him and others with this gift.

Lots of words to say, I'm singing praises to the God of the universe, Jesus Christ, Who loves us all (John 3:16) ... enough to die for all our sins and rise again so that we may come into a personal relationship with the only living God and eventually, live in perfect fellowship with Him forever! On top of this awesome gift, He makes this life worth living, gives us a very specific purpose, and works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called, according to His purpose (Rom 8:28)! Wow.

When I got home from the audition and opened our Yahoo homepage, this was the Verse of the Day:

It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp. For you make me glad by your deeds, O Lord; I sing for joy at the works of your hands. How great are your works, O Lord, how profound your thoughts! The senseless man does not know, fools do not understand, that though the wicked spring up like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be forever destroyed. But you, O Lord, are exalted forever. - Psalm 92:1-8 NIV