I'm Sorry, Did I Offend You?

Very recently I made the choice to start a blog (which you are reading!) I didn't know if anyone would ever read it, but it sounded like a fun way to pass the time. Shortly after I started, I began my 'Marketing Fails of the Day' which are geared to improve the quality and relevancy of Church media. The blog's popularity began to rise rapidly as did my understanding of humanity. I have been blessed to receive a lot of feedback over these pieces, some good, some bad, and some very, very ugly. This last week as I was being chastised for my colorful, yet generationally appropriate language, I began to wonder.....

Why are we (Christians) so very sensitive? I mean seemingly so much more sensitive than the rest of the world?

Emily's long overdue, all-inclusive list of church resources (mostly FREE!)

         I am forever getting emails asking me for my resources on art and media. Mostly it's churches and people I know that work for churches. After a couple of years of doing this, I thought to myself "Duh, do a post about".
         So, here it is. Emily's long overdue, all-inclusive list of resources. I created/recycled a TON of media over the years and 80% of it started with these amazing sites.

Adventures in Obedience

This month marks my 10 year anniversary of becoming a follower of Christ. You'd think that after you've been doing something for 10 years, you'd be really good at it, but it never ceases to amaze me how God continues to challenge me and take me deeper all the time. I've accepted the fact that I'll never really be 'good' at being a Christian but I'll always be pursuing God's best in my life, fully knowing that I can't reach that goal in my time on Earth.

Recently, our church did a series called "How to Be Rich". It was an amazing series and I encourage you to listen to the messages here. However, there was one week that really stood out for my husband and myself. It was the week when we talked about tithing. It's funny, because I rarely get to listen to our messages live because of my position at the church, but I actually caught this one.

I've always been a giver. I am in ministry so I feel like I give everything I have; my whole life really, and of course, I toss some $ in the baskets like everyone else. In the last 10 years I've heard many, many messages on money; some good and some bad, but this one was different. I'm no theologian, so I can retell it the way Pastor Tim said it, but basically he talked about Biblical obedience in tithing- meaning giving 10%, off the top and directly to the church. He outlined many great facts backing this up, but they allude me now :)

While listening I thought about all the giving I do. I give my time, energy, resources, I give money to missions, people in need, etc. but it was here that God stopped me and caused me to listen. I had to ask myself; how much do I actually tithe? The truth is I have no idea! I felt God challenge me with being intentionally obedient to His Word and always give 10% directly to the church and let everything else I give be out of the other 90%.

This is where the internal argument began. I said "Well, God, Chris and I give you everything, don't we? We give here, and here, and here, and......" And God said this "I know you trust me with 100% of your lives but do you trust me with 100% of your money- be obedient to my Word"

Well.... there's really no arguing with that statement. God's Word is it and God made it impossible for us to gloss over that part any longer. So my husband and I talked and we decided to say ok. So we immediately started being intentional with our giving and really making sure that we gave 10% to the church before anything else. This was hard for us because we are very poor right now. My husband has been out of work and I've been struggling with finding consistent business AND we didn't curb our giving from the missions and things we already gave to- we just started taking that out of the 90% God let us keep.

So how is it going? Are we broke yet? Well......

It's been two weeks since we started this experiment and God has worked some amazing miracles:

1. My husband who's been out of work since August was offered a great job
2. My income from my own business (I do photography and creative services) has increased 450%
3. We somehow have managed to catch up on nearly every bill we have
4. Our stress level has gone from 100 to -50 because we are no longer fighting about money
5. Our faith has increased and we want to give more than ever before!

I'm not going to say that things work this quickly for everyone, but this is our experience. God has always taken care of us, but when we are intentionally obedient to His Word, his blessings grow even more.

At the end of the message, Pastor Tim challenged everyone to a 3 month tithe challenge. Basically, tithe 10% intentionally for 3 months and see what God does. I encourage anyone that reads this to watch that message and take the challenge- you won't be sorry! God never fails.

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:21 ESV

 

 

Go ahead and jump

It's no secret that I love photography. Ever since I first stepped into a dark room in high school I have been in love with the entire art form. (yes as in a real dark room where we developed real film- gosh I'm getting old!)

I always dreamt of doing something more with my passion but it never felt like the right time until now. You see I never found my niche in photography until I had kids. It's having kids and photographing them throughout the years that made me realize where my real passion lies. Capturing families and children has become something that I truly love to do, so I've decided to take the leap and begin my own photography business. I've decided to call it Upward Photography (yes totally jacking the name of this blog) and I will focus on providing creative, modern and affordable family and lifestyle photography.

If you know me personally, this is not a shock. I have been bouncing this around for years and if you have kids I've probably taken pictures of them but it wasn't until recently that I finally had the confidence to make the leap. I have no clue where this will lead me but I know it's what I need to be doing.

So be on the lookout in the next week as I launch my website, FB page, and start marketing, and by all means, help me spread the word!

Take It All

Well these last few months have been crazy to say the least. Year after year I'm learning that the only thing I can depend on is God and as soon as I begin to depend on anything else, He has no problem turning my world on end to remind me of that.

Yes, life has been very hard over the last few months but this blog isn't to drone on about what's been going wrong- it's to celebrate what has come out of it all. Years ago I was listening to someone read a little devotional book. To this day I don't remember which one but I do remember what he said.

Got me feeling so fly like Jesus

Bwahahahaha- I think this spoof is hilarious! If you've never heard "Like a G6" this might not make as much sense to you, but if you have, you'll like it too- promise :)

Stop the Bleeding.......

"We’re called to hold our hands against the wounds of a broken world to stop the bleeding" ~ Don Miller

This last week was a hard one. My daughter's best friend lost her mother to suicide- the daughter is only 6. I've been spending the better part of this last week helping her and her dad sort through some of the grief and questions that come with such a tragic loss.

How do you make sense of such a senseless tragedy?

Googling through life

Back in the olden days of the internet- ya know like around 1999ish, I used search engines for school and typically to look up encyclopedia-type stuff. I used to log on to Dogpile (10 points if you remember that site) and type in president names so I could write some lame report and that was pretty much the extent of my search engine usage.

However, I find myself now typing everything in to Google. I have this handy little tool bar and it's like it beckons me: "ask me anything. I will give you the answer". Like most people I freely will ask Google about anything from my kids fevers to what tv I should buy, but today I was wondering if we take things to far? And by "we", I mean "me".

Adventures in Kid's Ministry!

If someone had told me a year ago that I'd be responsible for running a children's ministry I probably would've laughed and not given a second thought. Yet, here I am working at an awesome church doing just that. 

For those of you who know me personally, this probably came as an odd pairing. Of course, I love kids but I've never thought of myself as being one of those "Ms. Lippy" (ya know from Billy Madison) types who could handle masses of children with ease. So I stuck to the areas I knew; music, production, media, etc.

However, the opportunity came along to do this and against all reason, I felt that God definitely wanted me to do it so I did, and I'm so glad I did.

Here's what I've learned (so far):

Jesus Receipt?

I think Jesus is the only person who smiles in the Walmart Checkout.

This is from a real newstory. People in some podunk place in the Bible Belt were freaking out. Read it here

A Road Less Traveled

I've been thinking a lot lately about my walk with God. You see I always thought that it would get easier as I grew in my relationship with God, but here I am more than 10 years in and I'm realizing that might never be the case.

Now don't get me wrong, I love my life with God, but it's not always easy. Sure coming to Jesus and getting 'saved' was pretty easy and it was designed to be, but the journey, while full of immeasurable treasures, is not so simple. The older I get the more convinced I become that the journey isn't supposed to be easy, especially if you're in ministry.

Scientologists Stand Tall- LOL!

I always thought us Christians had the monopoly on cheesy 80's music videos promoting our faith but apparently I was wrong!

JUMP! VBS 2011 Part 1!

Sorry I haven't posted in several days! Here's what's been keeping me busy :)

More to come!

Win!

Normally I call these fails but a "Ninja-Messiah throwing nails of death" is PURE WIN!

Saw this on Jesus Needs New PR

This is the air I breathe......

This weekend I was very blessed to be invited to a worship conference in Lakeland. At the conference I got to hear John and Marie Barnett. For those of you who don't know they are the people who brought us the song "Breathe" which is one of the best worship songs ever.

Anyhow, while I sang along to Breathe with Marie (who has a crazy awesome voice!) it took me back some years. You see Breathe was the first song I ever really led. In many ways it was a catalyst that got me where I am. I was taken back to that night almost 10 years ago. I was on stage with my guitar that I'd only been playing for a few months, scared to death, and feeling like I was flunking out with dozens of eyes staring at me. Then the keys came in, I shut my eyes, and suddenly 'I' didn't matter anymore.

"This is the air I breathe. This is the air I breathe" I began to sing timidly. I remember hearing my voice in the monitor and it's like it wasn't even the same voice I'd always sang with. It was something powerful, because God had moved. I was taken out and somehow God was put in. To this day I can't fully explain the situation. Some might say it was just the rush of being on stage and such but I know it was so much more than that. It was in that moment I knew that worship would be a huge part of my life. God deposited something in my heart that day and I'm still discovering parts of it all the time.

So, what's the point of my story? Well, hearing Marie sing that song made me remember the very first moment I entered in to true worship and it made me hungry for more. It made me want to feel like that 18 year old girl who knew nothing about, well, anything. I only knew that I wanted Jesus.

Do you remember that moment? Sit and ask God to take you back there this week.

Marketing Fail?

Somehow I think more people are going to read the billboard that has the word "Boobie" on it....... Either way I find the Bible-belted brand of piping hot guilt served up KJV style to be pretty funny!

Marketing Fail of the Day

(This is in my purse right next to my Miracle Healing Water)

LOL

I posted part 2 of a three part ADD series months ago and totally never finished part three....... now that's some ADD!

The Devil's in the Phone Booth..... wait is that Betty White?

Betty White and crew singing about the devil being in the phone booth.... perhaps this is why phone booths are now scarce?

Marketing Fail of The Day

Is it me or does he look like Neo from the matrix's dad? You'd better come to the chapel or he will beat you down and drag your a** in there!

Marketing Fail of The Day

 

The fact of the matter is that I kinda wanna kick these people in the head....... in love of course 8-)

Attention Deficit Disaster? Part 2- The Edison Trait

Did you know that by age six Thomas Edison managed to burn down the family barn? During his early years, he suffered illness and hearing loss, but even so he was a talkative child who used to annoy adults with his constant questions. Despite his high I.Q., one teacher called him "addled," which meant "confused or stupid." He attended three different schools between the ages of seven to nine,  and none of his teachers had the patience to deal with his apparent inability to sit still, his lack of focus on the matter at hand, and his talkativeness. After his mother was told he was "unteachable" she decided to home school him. She let him learn freely and even set up experiments in the basement. Her husband thought he was dull but she believed he was special and continued teaching him.

Attention Deficit Disaster?

You know how it is: You're in a meeting or having coffee with a friends and you start talking about one thing and before you know it your conversation ends up in another world completely and you have no idea how. Then you laugh and say "Wait what were talking about? We are so ADD!" My friends and I joke about this all the time. The only kicker is that I actually do have ADD.

Most of my friends don't know that about me. When I say it they assume it's a joke, because I don't really match up to what people think ADD looks like. Most people think of hyper, sugared-up children who can't sit still, but the truth is that most people with ADD/ADHD don't look like that at all. As a matter of fact I would argue that it's not really a disorder at all. Most of the truly troubled children who exhibit ADD/ADHD are actually suffering from other behavioral disorders and/or learning challenges.

Love Never Fails

"Love Never Fails"- I love that phrase. I love saying it. I love singing it. Most of all I love the implications of it. For those who don't know the phrase originates from 1 Corinthians 13- also known as the love chapter. The most well know portion is in verses 4-8:
⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  ⁸ Love never fails. 

You've probably heard parts of it read at weddings or etched on to photo frames. Most people associate it with the way love should look in a marriage. All of that is well and good but it goes way beyond that.

The Perfect Mom....

I've wanted kids for as long as I can remember. Most of my friends went through a phase in their teens or twenties when they were totally turned off to the idea of having kids, but I never did. Even as a teen I fantasized about being a mom. So, it's no surprise to me that I'm 28 and already have two kids.

My first was Elise (2/25/05). I was so excited to become a first-time mom, but as much as I love my daughter I found motherhood to be a difficult venture for a girl in her early 20's.

Need Jammies?

OMG. Protect your children and get them beat up all in one shot!

Humanity at my door

Today I heard a knock at my front door. I opened it to find this guy who was pretty rough. He was older, didn't speak well, and looked like he hadn't seen a shower in a while. He proceeded to tell me that he has mental problems and he has no money, etc. In my usual business I just kind of stared at him with my "OK, get to the point" face (I was pretty sure he was going to ask me for money). He then said "I don't want any money, but can you feed me something?"
My heart just sank and I nearly started to crying, because I realized that even though I'm a pretty compassionate person,

Oh S***! It's Jesus!

I saw this book on MPT's blog. I have to say that much like the rest of my generation, I'm pretty jaded when it comes to language. However, this took me back. At first, I thought it was a spoof or something(which somehow made it seem ok), but no, it's a real, Christian book. You can find it here on Amazon.

So far it has pretty good reviews so I kinda want to read it to see if it lives up to it's initial shock value. Not to mention it seems like a great thought at least from the initial description.

So what's your reaction? Does it bother you or kinda make you like it more?

BTW don't send me hate mail- it's not my book!

A question I can't answer.....

What is worship? Somehow I always get asked this question and I seriously hate answering that question.

*sigh*

I know, I know. I'm a worship leader and so I'm supposed to have this completely epic answer, but the truth is when I get asked that question I usually stand there with my mouth gaping open until some generic answer I heard at some conference or read in a book falls out of my mouth.

Benny Hinn + Star Wars = EPIC!

Benny just went from way lame to wicked awesome in my book!

(I know I posted this on FB recently but it's so freaking awesome I had to give it it's own place in blogging immortality. Thanks Joe Wisterman!)

Marketing Fail!

Ummmmm.................. yeah.

How to Not Fail at Church Marketing 102

Over the next few weeks and months, I would like to explore why it is that churches and Christian organizations struggle so much in the areas of marketing and cultural relevance. I know the reason vary a lot, so I'll just cover a few. To start with let's examine the pitfall of PERCEPTION.

If you chat with people who are responsible for a marketing fail, you will find they have no idea. They don't think it's irrelevant or poorly designed, and they can't see why I think that way. I have to admit at first I thought these people were just complete morons, but now I realize that is not the case. The problem is perception.

These people either have no idea who their audience is and/or they have no idea what is appealing to them. The worst is those who fail to realize that there is an audience outside the 'Christian Bubble' and those are the people who need to be appealed to the most. How can you avoid this pitfall?

How to Not Fail at Church Marketing 101

For months now I have been posting the numerous marketing failure that exist in this world of Church Media. People think it's funny, and yeah, it can be. However, it really is an issue to take note of. As the culture we live in becomes more visual and people become more technological, this gap continues to widen. It makes the Church appear less and less relevant when really we should be on the bleeding edge of our culture. We shouldn't copy TV shows, corporate logos, or MTV. As Christian author and screenwriter, Craig Detweiler so aptly explained in an interview with ABC News:

"If you are truly connected to the creator of the universe you should be the most creative and risk-taking people on the planet," he said. "You would be coming up with new ideas and new visions all the time. That's our heritage and hopefully we'll get back to it. "For hundreds of years, Christians were the patrons of the arts," he added. "You have the renaissance that resulted. ... You had Michelangelo and Leonardo DaVinci paid by the church to make masterpieces. And now we we're reduced to pale imitation of the worst elements of pop culture. I rather have us lead a renaissance in the arts instead of imitate those who have gone before us."

Marketing Fail of the Day

(Bumper stickers King James style- I want one that says, "Thou art a douche")

UPDATE: I posted this in 2009 and got an incredible amount of flack for it. Somehow it's ok for me to say other less pretty words but the moment I jokingly call someone a douche people start chasing me with pitchforks. For the record- I still think this is funny......... I guess I didn't learn my lesson the first time :-P

Bubble People

Do you or someone you know live inside the ‘Christian Bubble’. I borrowed that term from a book I read once called ‘They Like Jesus but Not the Church’ by Dan Kimball. It’s a term that describes the ‘inner circle’ type of mentality that many of us have. So many believers throughout history have fallen into this bubble mentality without even thinking twice. It pains me to think about how many people I can think of that I know and love who spend their days shielding themselves from the world instead of bringing light to it. These people love Jesus, and they know all about the Bible and they pray like crazy- many of these people are viewed as being really good Christians people, but they are missing the point! I love it when these people say “Well, we’re supposed to be in the world, not of it” I nearly bust out laughing every time one of the ‘bubble people’ say this to me. I mean, really? You think that justifies legalism? Being judgmental? You think God’s cool with the fact that you don’t have any friendships with non-Christians because of that? Do you think that being ‘in the world’ is only a reference to the fact that you live on the planet earth? Do you really think that living a super conservative lifestyle means you’re not ‘of the world’? I mean the list of questions goes on. This is why it’s so dangerous to base your lifestyle on just one verse in the bible.

Cultural Relevance begins at the Cross

Relevance is such a buzzword in churches right now. We all say that we are and we take a great deal of time ensuring the cultural relevance of our services. I’m a huge fan of what I call ‘intentional relevance’ in churches. I believe that intentional relevance can be a very powerful tool to create an environment that is optimum for reaching the unreached. It’s really just a term I use to encompass how we use various elements like drama, music, lights, sound, visual art, etc. to get the message across on any given Sunday.

I was on a walk not long ago doing some brainstorming. As I strolled around, I passed a church in my neighborhood. I’ve passed it a million times, but this time it really caught my attention. The sun wasn’t quite up and this church has a glowing cross lit on the top of it. I just stopped and stared. This cross that I had seen before suddenly was so mesmerizing. I felt God say; “This is relevant above all other things” It just really spoke to me as a creative in the church.

We Are The Poor

"-and the good news is preached to the poor." Matthew 11:5 (NIV)

I've probably read that line several times and I don't think I've ever thought of it as significant before. Jesus said this when he was speaking to some of John the Baptist's disciples. For those of you who care, here it is in context:
"⁴Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: ⁵The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. ⁶Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me." Matthew 11:4-6 (NIV)

humanity to divinity

The other day I was commenting on a blog over at Revolution115 and I said: "God takes our ordinary humanity and infuses it with His extraordinary divinity". It was one of those statements that made me pause and think. I have to give credit to God for it, because I really am not smart enough to say something that profound on my own. It stuck in my head and as I began to chew on it, I decided I should try to expound on it.

Think about all the people you know from the Bible, even if you don't know their whole story or even their whole name. I would bet you that person was really nobody special at first. Look at people like Moses, David, Paul, Mary, or any of the Apostles. All regular people. Some of them were even considered evil by our standards. So, why do we remember them? The simple answer is that we remember them because of what God did with/through them, not really for any reasons that have to do with the person.

Marketing Fail of the Day

(really, what is the point of this. If you have one of these, don't tell me, because I will never stop mocking you. I think even Jesus would have an issue with this thing)

Yeah, I'm divorced....... Part 2

I thought that filing for divorce would be the hardest thing, but I was wrong. The toughest times were yet to come.

For any you contemplating divorce. Let me say this: Try everything and if the marriage is really broken, just prepare yourself. As bad as your marriage may be, the pain that follows a divorce will be a thousand times worse. It is usually short-lived, but make no mistake, the pain is immense.

So, here I was 23 and already getting divorced. I felt like a failure. I felt like I failed my friends, my daughter, and even God. I had no idea what to do or where to turn. I tried to talk to my christian friends, but I was met with a sense of shame and disapproval.

Yeah, I'm divorced....... Part 1

Divorce- oh, my! This is one of those issues that I've always wanted to talk about but I'm scared to talk about. However, I feel that I need to talk about it now. After all, how will the stigma surrounding divorced people ever fall away if we don't talk about it? Even though this story is the short version- I still had to divide it in two parts. Divorce is a complicated beast and I wanted to really do justice to the issue and honestly portray my personal experiences.

So, here's my story- the short version: When I was 18, I became a Christian. I am a highly emotional person, I would say that my choice to follow Christ was more of an emotional decision. The real growth and relationship happened slowly over time (but that's another post).

One is the Loneliest Number

This was hard for me to write. I like to observe and discuss things that happen around me, but I'm not a big fan of discussing my own problems. I just felt really strongly when I woke up this morning that some of you out there may be wrestling with this issue of loneliness. I'm not really writing this to say "woes me, I'm so lonely", but instead I feel compelled to write it for those of you out there in the same boat. As I work through this, maybe it'll help you work through it and know that you're not alone in feeling how you feel.

I've never really been one of those people who has a ton of friends. I don't have 60 people who call me when I'm down. I don't really ever go out with people other than my husband. I have very few people who really know me on a personal level. Is that by choice? No, not really. It just is. It's been like that for many years, but I never really thought much about. As I get a little older, I'm beginning to think more about my connections with others.