We are doing a final rehearsal this morning before heading south, first to Eugene, Oregon, and then on to Klamath Falls! We are really looking forward to having a great time of worship there. They have a great team of Messianic Dancers too! Join us if you can.
 So today we got up early and went over to Rob's to practice some of the songs for our next album. We worked on "Chag Sameach" and talked about adding some fun sound effects for this upbeat, joyful song. Then we worked on our rendition of "The Benedition" - the Aaronic Blessing. So far this has been one of the favorites. Next we worked on "Give Me Wings" which is the story of King David and how he dealt with difficulty when his close friend Ahitophel alined himself with Absolom against David. This is one of my favorites. We have a busy couple of weeks coming up, but hope to be ready for the studio by the end of July. If you want to help, please go here:
Though we do our worship regularly at our congregation meetings, we have to take time to work out the arrangements of our songs before we go to studio. Thanks to the contributions that we have been receiving, we are now ready to get to the studio for a day. SO... the first step is practicing and we will be getting our folks together next Friday to rehearse and hopefully we will be at the studio sometime in July. SO exciting! THANKS so much to everyone who helps to make this project possible!
I have a cousin, who was raised as an aunt to me. She is 99 years old. She lives on her own in her own home and is an amazing person! She is so strong and has so much wisdom. She has seen so much in her lifetime, it is just amazing! Through all her life, she has been to different churches, and has not come to a place where she believes there is a God. She has been a nominal church member, talked to different pastors and been offended by over zealous preachers and friends telling her that she is going to hell. She has had sincere questions that have gone unanswered. She has been "shushed" for suggesting that there are holes in traditional theology. Yesterday, I had the privilege of going to spend some time with her. She has been diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer, and if being 99 isn't enough to be aware that one is close to death, having this diagnosis has definitely given her the idea that she is close to death. I was able to have a deep conversation with her. She has had a hard time to understand that there is one "person" who can know everything about everyone one in the world. This doesn't compute for her. I told her the famous quote: "Show me a worm that understands man, and I will show you a man who understands the concept of God." She laughed at that and had to nod her head in agreement. As we talked, I didn't try to convince her, but finally I just told her, "You know, it is easier to believe than NOT believe." She agreed and said, "Yes, that is true... because then I have peace." And my next question to her was, "Why? - Why does it give you peace?" And she had to think about that one. She told me, "You know, I am close to death, and it is like a big secret. No one wants to talk about it." It was really beautiful that we were able to talk about these important things openly. I told her, "You know, you started off as a baby, and couldn't even hold up your head. Now you have seen so much and learned so much in nearly 100 years... do you think that it was for NOTHING?!? How can it be? Science teaches that energy is not lost but transferred... so where does it go? There has to be something!" And she agreed, "Yes, there has to be something." I can't explain here all the different things that we talked about... the Bible, Hebrew Roots, Yeshua, the Disciples... etc. but I can tell you there was a glimmer of hope in her eyes when we were done, and I am so thankful for that.
 We had such a wonderful time with Ralph and Mindy and all those who came to MDCI conference. We just sang and sang and danced and worshiped and it was just wonderful! Also nice to get down on the beach and put our toes in the sand.
We are looking forward to going on the road a little this summer to visit some of the different congregations. Let us know if you want us to come by and see you! |
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