If you are reading this in an email, please go to my blog site so that you can listen to the music while you read!
Thanks for reading my blog. I have a few big music-related announcements that I thought would be appropriate to share here. 1) I am playing a show!
Join me this Saturday night at the Tipsy Teapot in Uptown Greenville for a night of indie singer/songwriter extravegance. I'll be tagging along a show with my friend Daniel Phelps and Jordan Clark. Starts at 6:30 and I go on third. It should be a lot of fun. I will be playing mostly songs from my new album. 2) New album? What?!
Yes I am finally releasing some music. I am calling the group of songs Changing Seasons as it is a collection that spans various seasons of my life, yet ties together somehow in themes of love and redemption. Some of these songs may be familiar and some should be brand new. You can listen to and download them right here on my blog or straight from my Bandcamp site with a "name your own price" format (including $0). However, if you pay at least $3 for all four songs you'll get a fifth song free.
Once again, thank you for your interest in my music. I hope you enjoy the new recordings and can make it to the show Saturday night!
Yesterday was a retreat day. Once a month I try to take some time to just "get away." Not at my house, not at the Boiler Room, and preferably not around ANYONE. It's a chance to disconnect from technology, try to hear from God and allow my heart to be refreshed. Even if it is for just a few hours, it is always really great. So I ventured to River Park North, with the distinct feeling that God wanted to speak to me specifically about something. I was determined to hear something!
What He spoke was not what I expected. It was not a great ministry project or event to plan or an organizational strategy. It was personal. It was about my home. Before I share what He said, a little bit of context.
10 Sing to the LORD a new song, And His praise from the ends of the earth, You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, You coastlands and you inhabitants of them! 11 Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice, The villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing, Let them shout from the top of the mountains. 12 Let them give glory to the LORD, And declare His praise in the coastlands. 13 The LORD shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies.
So with this mindset... realizing how our singing creates an atmosphere for God's presence, God tells me on the pier at River Park North that I have been negligent to create that at atmosphere at our home. OUCH! Since things like prayer, worship and reading the Bible are part of my job description, it can be easy to consider those things only "work." However, when my office was at home, before the Boiler Room, I was always having to do those things at home. It IS good that 6:22 has an office, but God was encouraging me to create that Isaiah 42 atmosphere in our apartment so that He would bring victory over any warfare in our family. God was calling me to create what some call "altars in your home" - intentional space for God's presence to come and worship & prayer to happen.
Now later that afternoon I went back to the Boiler Room office and recorded a video sharing some of what God has been speaking to me... inspired primarily by 1) Isaiah 42 2) United Pursuit Band's song "Break Every Chain" and 3) Dick Eastman's book Pathways of Delight which I started reading today.
So I get home at night and God decides to put me to the test to see if I REALLY got what He spoke today. First of all, Shiloh wakes up after she had fallen asleep for the night and starts fussing and will NOT stop. Shepard hands her to me and I am trying to sooth her by humming, bouncing, swaying... I am even praying for her! Nothing seems to be working. Then I start singing "Jesus Lover of My Soul" and as soon as "Jesus" comes out of my mouth Shiloh stops crying and stares at me. I am not kidding! It was crazy. I keep singing the song and Shiloh just stares at my face the whole time. Then I get quite and sway her to sleep. It was an awesome demonstration of how praise and worship has a unique power as well as the power of Jesus' name! It was very cool.
Then Shepard and I are sitting beside each other reading. I pray for our family before we go to sleep on most nights. As I was reading Shepard mentioned feeling nauseous. I immediately got the urge to sing "Jesus" over her like I did Shiloh. I resisted the urge and kept reading (the Bible haha). The Holy Spirit kept prompting me, and I felt like He said to sing over our family tonight instead of just praying. Nervously I was obedient and finally sang a prayer over Shepard and Shiloh tonight. I sing ALL THE TIME, but something about worshiping/praying in front of your family is very vulnerable. Thankfully Shepard didn't think I was crazy. :)
Read more...
Just got blasted with a couple of testimonies on Facebook tonight of people sensing the importance of what God is doing at the Boiler Room. The Holy Spirit really showed up touching/convicting/healing/freeing people last night at 6:22. I think that helped inspire some of what you read below.
Part of a message from a regular 6:22 attendee/volunteer...
"I feel that one day His children (which could be us, or our children to come) will need to be BOLD, PASSIONATE and willing to die for His name in the face of the enemy. My prayers up until two weeks ago have been for His children to be filled, engulfed in His love. Since doing prayer shifts- has changed to much more about Him showing Himself to many and hearing the prayers of His children and crying out to them on the behalf of those who have yet to know Him. 24/7 prayer for us to be united and for His children to become equipped in preparation I feel is SO SO SO important right now and for that reason, I just wanted to share how important, relevant and thankful I feel that the Boiler Room is here in Greenville."
Also this was a blog by Jenny Smith....
I had the opportunity last night to visit The Boiler Room for a 6:22 service. I used to be involved in the ministry and regularly attended the weekly meetings for the better part of four years.
I'm happy to say that the important things were still the same. I knew maybe five people in the building when I arrived, but I was at once welcomed by the small group of staff that were already present.
At the appropriate time, the band took their place and the lights dimmed. Those in the crowd of maybe twenty faced the front of the room and gave Matthew our full attention as he opened the service. He read a short Scripture passage and then the band began playing.
It's hard to describe precisely what happened when the music began. It took maybe two songs for those of us in the crowd to get our hearts and minds focused on the One we had come to worship.
God showed up.
Some people knelt. Some danced. Some sang. Some wrote. Some prayed for others.
The music played slowly and respectfully, but the songs the band had prepared for the night largely were not played. They played in the background as the Spirit of God fell on those gathered. The crowd was mostly quiet as we sat in the presence of the Lord.
Matthew spoke, asking those who physically felt the Lord's presence to come forward so he could pray for them. At least half of those in the room went forward.
The band eventually got back on their song list, and the freeing atmosphere that I've always enjoyed at 6:22 was once again present. I was one of many dancing as the songs were played.
When the announcements were given and the lights were cut back on, I was amazed that two hours had already passed.
What is 6:22? It is a ministry that is designed to get young people into God's presence. Amazing, life-changing things can take place in God's presence. Bondage falls away as we embrace the One who defined freedom, grace and redemption.
What if there was a place to study downtown in between your classes, where no one would mind if you cranked up some worship music? What if you couldn't make it to your weekly church service, but wanted to be in a church environment on a day and time that you were free? What if you and your friends needed a place to pray together?
That place, my friends, is the vision of the Boiler Room. They desire to have a house of prayer that is open 24/7. This vision is amazing, but it is a large undertaking. It cannot be done alone.
What does the Boiler Room need? They need volunteers to help with various duties. They need money to keep the lights on. They need people to attend, so others can catch the vision.
If you haven't checked out 6:22 in a while, I highly suggest you drop by. If you've never attended, make plans to do so. There is an atmosphere of freedom, worship, anticipation and expectancy. Those in attendance will accept you as you are.
They will not look at you weird if you sing badly, dance in circles or spend the whole night drawing or writing. In fact, if the music is playing, most will not pay attention to you at all. The focus at 6:22 isn't on people in the crowd or in the band. The focus is on Jesus. Who wouldn't want to experience that?
