The courts of the King

You are love
I beleive that you are
Before all things
Going after my heart
Encompassing all things
Always working for good
Not letting me go.

I'm Woven with love
Clothed with love
I belong in your presence
Never separate
Always as one
Love conquering all
For all.

Your love is just and fair
Never reminding me of my failures 
Always speaking that I am a treasure
You delight in who I am
That will never change
Your love for me remains the same

A smile there to always meet me
A Father running as he sees me
Not matter how far I've been 
I am the one you love
Melodies you love to sing

'You are my daughter and I am the King' 
'Come and dance with me'
'My love is safe'
'I know you well'
'Let me lift you up'
'I want you to see what I have for you'
'Freedom is yours'
'Shake off the dust and wear these robes'
 'You can trust me'
'I love you the most'
'Hold my hand and let those things go'

A revelation of your love
Royalty,heir to the throne 
You've place on me a rightful crown
May I know who I am
You've called my name
Open my eyes
Those quiet promises
I will hold on
Your perfect love casts out all fear
I know it is here that I belong

I will follow

To your table you’ve invited me, Pulled in closer I am listening

Speak to me now

Speak to me now

I’m desperate for you

I am longing for your will to be complete

I invite you, spirit reign

We want heaven in this place

You have said we will do greater things than you

Now is the time, your name be glorified

For all to taste and see

The fullness of you

The fullness of you

A city on a hill, you have called us to be

Shining your light so that they will soon see

Goodness and love welcomes all, all that you require is to say that we’ll follow

You have said we will see greater things than you

Now is the time your name be glorified

For all to taste and see

The fullness of you

The fullness of you

I am called, I am called

To love you

I am called, I am called

To follow you Jesus

Every day, Everyday

To love you

Everyday, Everyday

To love you Jesus

With all I am, I will follow you

With all I am, I give it to you


Link to my song

God’s Acre

Where do I want to be?


I just close my eyes one second


And listen to where you’re directing me


Emmanuel


You are with me, speaking clearly


Help me to hear, your still small voice


I want to be in God’s acre


Having lived a life full of your favour


Your rainbow of promises shining over me


I can hear you calling me


I can hear your love beckoning deeply now


Freedom

Freedom


Freedom


Calling my Name


Ashes turn to beauty now


Mourning turn to dancing


He’s placed on me, a rightful crown


May I know who I am


I am free


free


free


Free to be who he’s called me to be


Thank you for who you've called me to be, I trust you.
Link to my song

Time: The most valuable currency?

Technically the most valuable things that I have right now are the IPad on which I'm tapping away and my little Red KA, affectionately named 'Ron'. while I'm sat here in Costa after somehow spending £5 something on a skinny iced vanilla latte and chicken salad sandwhich I just got thinking. Life is such a busy thing, we can rush around spending our  time running after those fivers only to waste them on  something ( like I have today). I am all for living a fun life by the way, Costa is one of my favourites. I think in all areas of my life 'time' with people would be the best thing they can give me. I'm on a year at the moment where I'm volunteering and although when people have brought me things it's been SO nice, the thing that I crave is to spend time with my family and friends.Ofcourse showing people we love and care for them is the most powerful thing but this can only have an impact if time is involved.oh I love this verse in 1 John 3 that I think puts it well. 1 John 3:18 (MSG) let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality. It's also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves. I don't have an income currently but I can be generous with who I am.  time is something we always want more of, it seems to rush past us. buying our family a present once a year at Christmas isn't the way to make them feel valued. Making time for them is. If I don't have time for the people I love the most then what an earth am I filling my time with? These minuets that I've taken to write this I'm never going to get back, I don't want to see this as a scary thought but something that spurs me on to make every second count.  Ecclesiastes 8:2 (MSG) 'Yes, there's a right time and way for everything, even though, unfortunately, we miss it for the most part' I do not want to miss it! Tick  Tock Tick Tock Where can I invest my Time today?  ......I should probably leave Costa now!

Hernhut Jesus Haus

Last Month a team of us went to Visit Jesus Haus in Hernhut Germany. We went to help serve the Church during their busy time of continues prayer and worship for 100 hours and the weekend conference ‘A voice shall go forth from Zion’ It was absolutely amazing! Such a beautiful place filled with inspiring people with inspiring stories. The History of the town is also so interesting; I visited the factory where the first 'Moravian Star' was created. There is also a place called 'God's Acre' where the past people have been buried. All of which had amazing stories attached to their lives, Missionaries from around the world, People who had translated the Bible into different languages for the first time and created movements in the church that Still effect things today. I really came away from it thinking, wow! I want to belong in there too! I'm not very good with remembering all the facts but I would definitely recommend reading up about it, there are many historic links from around the world attached to this little town! I love the vision of Jesus Haus as well, they are people focused on creating a place where people can Encounter God, which it really is. You feel different when you are there, so peaceful. I don’t think I thought about 'home stresses' once when I was there. The surroundings were stunning and going for walks at sun set were such a beautiful times. I had never visited Germany before so didn’t really know what to expect, all I can say is that is exceeded anything I had conjured up in my mind. I also have to mention the Local Baker! He was such a kind and generous man who always gave us free things. This just shows the heart of all the people I met there, looking for ways to Bless you at any given moment. The whole experience is one I know I am going to look back on with fond memories for many years. I have learnt so much from the way they do things there and can’t wait to visit again. 

Seriously worth a visit!

A link to a song I wrote whilst Staying there.....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VilUhqGNPA&feature=plcp




(Pictures and link to Jesus Haus website below)
http://www.czherrnhut.de/jesus-haus/en/ 

St Peter's Chapel Bradwell

Today My friends Dan and Jenny asked if I would like to go to the beach with them, I love being in the car listening to summery music and driving through the country side. It was so nice to Visit St Peters Chapel as well, I've been told is one of the oldest in Britain, dating back to 600Ad. If you are in the area it's definately worth a visit, such a pretty place! We all had a brilliant day, Strolling along the beach, Walking Ruby the Dog, Having our make-shift picnic and talking about Life.

 (Some pictues below) I have also linked the Website to give further information.

http://www.bradwellchapel.org/index.htm

Beautiful Hope

Inside me is a bright light shining

I’ve got something special


I can’t keep it to myself


In among all I’ve seen


My hearts still holding on, for something better


It will not let me go


For I know I can be


Better than this


Stronger than this


Oh I know I can be


Dancing in your light


I’ll hold on to your promises, until I’ve seen your face


I’ll hold on to this beautiful hope you have given me


I’ll choose life over everything


There’s so much to see


I want to be part of it


Your here to make your mark


You’re using my life to shine over this


For you know I can be


Better than this


Stronger than this


Oh you know I can be


Dancing in your light


I’ll hold on to your promises until I’ve seen your face


I’ll hold on to this beautiful hope you have given me


You make me significant


You count me in


They may say it’s meaningless


But I know you

Link To my Song

My look at what it means to be a lead worshipper

 
Musical Worship: what does it mean to be a worship leader?

I have read so many practical things on what it means to be a worship leader. I'm not professing to be someone who knows everything about worship, which is why I have decided to look at it in a fresh way. For this I have been getting alongside people I really admire and who have a heart for worship. Practically, I’ve been learning more songs, trying different ways of worship, seeing new cultures and looking at what the bible says. These are some of my thoughts at this stage in my life of what it means to be a lead worshipper.

What is and Why worship?
I would say that worship is doing what pleases God, 'This will please the Lord more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hoofs’ psalm 69 .it gives him what he rightfully deserves. Worship should be the whole of who we are, not just the 2 hours that we give on a Sunday morning. The word worship means to show 'worth' ( worthship) I believe worship is what we were created for. We have heard it said many times, that Christianity is not meant to be a religion, but about a relationship between us and God. Worship is that connection between us and him, where we can invite his presence and bless his name. Worship is also more than a song, or going to church or giving money to the poor. Worship should be our hearts response to the living God. Deep calling to deep. Throughout the bible we see people praising God through spiritual songs and hymns. The psalms display this beautifully. I believe that God did not just give us music to make us 'feel' nice, but I believe musical worship is a form of spiritual warfare. I also feel as worship leaders we need to remember that we are not leading Gods presence, he goes and does what he wants to! We need to think of ourselves as the lead worshipper, the person ushering in God’s presence and encountering him so others will follow!

Flow from the quiet place

I know from experience the times when I have lead worship at church or at DNA I can always recall that the times I have felt the session went ‘well’ is when I have really been seeking God before hand, I know it sounds so simple and obvious but so often we can rush around in our weeks, attending so many prayer meetings, feeling as if we are doing lots of Godly things but we are not having the quiet-just-me-and-God time .Making sure that my whole week is being geared up to a crescendo of worshiping him in a public place that has flowed out from my intimacy with him throughout the week. I know that I have to be sure of his love for me before I can relay that to others. If I don’t spend time with him I begin to forget my identity, and standing up on a Sunday morning to sing in front of others suddenly becomes nerve racking. What I’m learning is that as worship leaders we have the responsibility to be getting our hearts right before God in order to lead others into that place of decision too. Its far better for us to be doing that in the week before the meeting rather than having things to battle though five minutes before we are meant to be leading. Of course its right to pray etc before the meeting but I know there is a big difference. I love to look at Jesus and see what he did; He always took time to go to that secret place. No matter how busy he got.
Joyful worship!
I completely agree that worship needs to be sacrificial, in the sense that we need to really give of our selves. I think the best way we can do this is joyfully. 'David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals’ I think if we can't enjoy worship there is something wrong. We should hunger to be in God’s presence. Psalm 42 puts it perfectly 'As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants, for you, my God. My soul thirsts, for God, for the living God. Where can I go and meet with God?’

David said to Michal … “I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this “I love how out of a place of joy, David worships sacrificially and becomes undignified. This passage also goes on to give a warning about not judging others in worship. David did this from his heart as a pure act of worship before God. Sometimes we can spend too much time worrying about what's 'authentic' and what's not. God wants us to wake ourselves up and be joyful, I don’t have a problem with dancing around because I want to bless God in that way, even if the holy spirit may have not 'prompted' me to. It still comes from a heart of worship for God. Of course there are times to be sensitive to who is around you, but I believe for people to catch on to freedom, they first have to see it! I think worship should be a time that can include children as well. I love watching one of the little girls in our church in the worship times, she is so free! She just skips about singing her own little songs, raising her hands, twirling around. I think this is really the model of worship we should all follow. Being ourselves before the father, doing what we want, not what we have been taught or copied. Matthew 19:14 “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”
Prophetic and Bold
I think practically it is so good to be prepared for worship. Getting together with the band and practicing before is vital. I do think the worship needs to be spirit lead but if the instruments can all know what they are doing that provides a vessel for God to really move, as the musicians know what they are meant to be doing inside and out. This therefore also provides the perfect vehicle for prophetic worship, I believe, seeking God before the day, asking what he wants to say, hearing the right songs, practicing them and writing thoughts down in the process. seeing your worship practice as a time to seek God for that time to come.. Use it as a time to intercede for the meeting as well. I love how God has given me prayer points to pray for on the meeting on Sunday in those times. For me, feeling like I know where God wants to take things prophetically makes me feel far more prepared than practicing a song over a few times.
We read in scripture that God does not want us to be shy with the gifts he has given us! 2 timothy 1:4 ‘keep that ablaze! God doesn't want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible’. I believe that as worship leaders, the way we worship should reflect this. If you are an amazing drummer I believe God calls you to drum to the best of your ability to glorify him! I have seen that in church sometimes people’s musical ability seems to be dulled down, in order to not 'distract' from what's going on maybe. But through seeing lots of different models of worship I feel the times where the musicians have been really going for it have been the most releasing. God is a God of excellence! Our worship times therefore need to allow room for people to use their gifts. Allow space for people to pray for healing, for people to give words, to speak in tongues etc..In 2 timothty it also says ‘For we have not been given a spirit of fear but of love, power and a sound mind’ Fear can hold us back in worship if we let it. I heard one worship leader say that he was singing in the spirit one time, as well as he could, and afterwards someone accused him of 'showing off' and making people focus on him. I think that's such a shame. I would argue that having words on a screen can be far more distracting. People relying on the next slide to come up in order to sing something.
Open to input
When leading worship we need to be open to what other people may want to bring in the worship time but also have great discernment on where the 'flow' of the spirit is going. For instance I have seen an example of one person from church feeling as if God was prompting them to go and play the drums in a song, even though he wasn't in the band, the worship leader rightfully said that it wasn't right for that time as it would have been overpowering in that room. That mans feelings may have been temporarily hurt, but we need to use wisdom and understand our authority as worship leader. I spent a time in Germany recently in a town called hernhut and I learnt so much. They have a model of worship leading called 'harp and bowl' this is where they intertwine prayer and worship, allowing the meeting to be very open. The leader would therefore listen to what the congregation may be praying from their hearts, pick up some lines and sing them out too. I experienced this to be such a powerful way of doing things. No words on the screen just connecting in a really authentic way. This model may not be right for every setting but is something I definitely recommend and want to see more of! Whilst in Germany I also heard a woman speak on what it is to worship with the 'whole' of who we are. Mind body soul and spirit. This really challenged me. I have heard it said before about our posture in worship reflecting what our heart is saying. For instance if we are saying 'we stand and hunger for you in your presence' but are sat down looking completely disinterested it doesn't match up. After this time I decided to really sing and do what I mean. When it says 'I bow before you God' I now choose to actually kneel down, and it really helps me to connect to God. I think we should encourage our congregation to do this too. Without telling people how to worship but making them aware this is another way in which we can often feel closer to God. A way of saying. 'wake up lets worship' even if you feel really tired.

The balance of being God focused and the importance of songs
From being a worshipper for ten years now I have experienced a range of different worship times. So many times I will look around a room and see people taking the stance of 'receiving from the lord' you know the one, where you hold both your hands out in front of you, or even just standing there looking bored, waiting for the words on the screen to appear. I think that when we enter a worship time we first need to focus our gaze and attention on God almighty. Recognising that no matter what kind of week we have had, whether we are tired or feeling close to God, he is worthy of our praise. When leading worship I will try to find the balance of 'God' focused songs and 'Me' focused songs, for instance. 'Our God is an awesome God' and 'How he loves us so' would be two examples. I think both are vital in worship times. Through gods grace we are changed when we worship, but our focus can not be 'what am I getting out of this worship time?' it's as we focus on him and recognise who he is that we are transformed and feel different.
There is also the danger that we can only be focusing on Gods greatness and therefore are not sensitive to what God might want to say to the church at this time. Of course God wants us to focus on him but we also need to allow room for God to move! That's why the balance between the two needs to be looked at sometimes. The beauty of worship is that there is no formula. God is calling us to be creative and individual with our worship times but sometimes it's important to understand why we might be singing certain songs etc. As worship leaders we need to check that what we are singing makes sense. Does it reflect Gods character? Is it what the bible says? Is it relevant? We also need to recognise the flow of the lyrics, is there a theme that they seem to have? What is God maybe trying to say in this time? . I know for me that when I'm preparing to lead worship there have been many times where God had placed songs on my heart that seem to tie in with each other. For instance one Sunday I felt God directing me to songs that reflected his Father heart. Worship leaders are not just responsible for the music side of church. I think we need to have a prophetic edge to what we bring.
Encounter brings relationship

As we worship we invite the holy spirit, the manifest presence of God to be with us. I became a Christian through being in a worship time and someone inviting the holy spirit to be amongst us. I had no idea what to expect but God met me in a powerful way. I just knew there and then that he was real, and that he loved me. When we encounter God, we encounter his love. Rick Warren says that ‘to feel loved by God ... is the starting point for every ministry, every revival, every renewal, every great awakening’.

I think as worship leaders we need to be looking to release others into leading worship too. We can't become too possessive over our style of worship or the certain songs we like to sing. We must remain open minded and be looking for others to go even further than we have. Raising the platform on which we all stand. I love watching the way people worship. Through being in a church this year made up of people from different nationalities I have learnt so much. I love the way this lady form Africa is so passionate when she worships. When she is joyful about something you can see it all over her face, when she is upset about something you can see when she is bringing it to God. She dances and cries out to God in such a moving way that it inspires me to do that same! I also love how the church worship leader is from a different country; it seems to shake us all up to a different way of connecting with God. Worship must be a place that encompasses diversity and brings us in to unity with God.

Confidence

I am accepted…

I am God’s child ~ John 1:12

As a disciple, I am a friend of Jesus Christ ~ John 15:15

I have been justified ~ Romans 5:1

I am united with the Lord, and I am one with Him in spirit ~ 1 Corin. 6:17

I have been bought with a price, and I belong to God ~ 1 Corin. 6:19-20

I am a member of Christ’s body ~ 1 Corin. 12:27

I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child ~ Ephesians 1:3-8

I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins ~ Colossians 1:13-14

I am complete in Christ ~ Colossians 2:9-10

I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ ~ Hebrews 4:14-16

I am secure…

I am free from condemnation ~ Romans 8:1-2

I am assured that God works for my good in all circumstances ~ Romans 8:28

I am free from any condemnation brought against me, and I cannot be separated from the love of God ~ Romans 8:31-39

I have been established, anointed, and sealed by God ~ 2 Corin. 1:21-22

I am hidden with Christ in God ~ Colossians 3:1-4

I am confident that God will complete the good work He started in me ~ Philippians 1:6

I am a citizen of Heaven ~ Philippians 3:20

I have not been given the spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind ~ 2 Timothy 1:7

I am born of God, and the evil one cannot touch me ~ 1 John 5:18

I am significant…

I am the branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine, and a channel of His life ~ John 15:5

I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit ~ John 15:16

I am God’s temple ~ 1 Corin. 3:16

I am a minister of reconciliation for God ~ 2 Corin.5:17-21

I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm ~ Ephesians 2:6

I am God’s workmanship ~ Ephesians 2:10

I may approach God with freedom and confidence ~ Ephesians 3:12

I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me ~ Philippians 4:13

Trust. Something I'm learning.

Trust
1. Firm reliance on the integrity, ability, or character of a person or thing.2. Custody; care.3. Something committed into the care of another; charge.4. a. The condition and resulting obligation of having confidence placed in one.b. One in which confidence is placed.5. Reliance on something in the future; hope