The Wait Is Over… Now The Dreams Begin!

Well, the wait is over. I can officially say that my pride and joy, the project that took me from “random girl that sings at church” to “Nashville recording artist” and “singer/songwriter”, is FINALLY available for purchase!!!! I released the record yesterday (February 5th) and have received such a remarkable response already. I am completely humbled and blown away by the support and excitement that this project has generated. I can hardly believe how many preorders we took and how excited people are!

I took the CDs to school today to sell (at least to my coworkers), and the Dean of Students bought one and immediately started playing it over the intercom!!! I freaked out, ran to the office, and started shouting something about “is this REALLY happening?!” (not remembering that everyone in the school could probably hear me shouting ‘is this REALLY happening?’ over the intercom). Needless to say, I’m super excited about the places that God has already been taking this project, and the experiences in which He has yet to lead me.

Here’s a little update on life since October! We finished up the main chunks of BGVs while I was in Nashville, and things started getting added little by little (like strings, steel guitar, etc). As everything was wrapping up, Gordon (my wonderful producer) began to dream up ideas about my songwriting abilities. He thought that I had a few killer songs on this record that might be able to land me some sort of publishing deal. Things have been pretty exciting to dream about and I will continue to keep you all posted as things start to unfold 🙂

Speaking of dreaming, I have been doing a lot of of that lately… it seems to be my theme this year. I have been continuously surrounded by people, quotes, books, songs, advice, etc. that remind me and encourage me to dream, and not give up on those dreams when they seem impossible. I bought a poster when I was in Nashville, and it was the beginning of the inundation of what I call my “necessity to dream”.  The poster says, “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined!”

I believe that God has the power to slap you over the head with an idea that He wants to get across, but He doesn’t always do that. Over the past few months, I have noticed God strategically placing people in my life to steer me in the right direction– in the direction of my dreams. So many things have happened very “coincidentally” lately, and if it had only been one instance, I might have actually thought it was coincidence. However, there has been far too obvious of a theme occurring, and I know that God is working. There have been very few obstacles for me on my journey through this record, and I can only imagine that God is pointing me in a very specific direction. I have been praying for so long for God to reveal to me some sort of clarity as an artist, as a singer, as a teacher, as a friend, and as a Believer! I truly believe that He blesses our persistence in prayer, and my situation as of late is absolute proof of that!

Therefore, as one who is a firm believer in following dreams and achieving goals, I say, GO! Pursue your dreams and goals with passionate persistence! God will point you in the right direction… but He requires our faith in Him to get there!

Love you all! Now, go out and listen to “The Reason”!! If you don’t get it from me personally, it will be available on itunes SOON!

And that’s a wrap!

Well my friends, today was the final day in the studio. It was incredibly emotional and bittersweet. Lots of tears shed, hugs given, and smiling faces all around. I have not laughed that much in a long time. It has been such a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere to work in… I’m really going to miss everything about it!

We started the day by waiting in line at the Pancake Pantry. It was on my “Nashville Bucket List”, so we crossed that off. There was a line wrapping around the building when we got there, so we ended up talking to the group of people in front of us, who ended up googling my name to find my blog… they were SO sweet to us!!  If you ladies are out there reading this, thank you so much for your encouragement! It made my day!! Mom and I got right in and ordered… and we were NOT disappointed. That was some of the best breakfast I’ve had in my 24 years of life. Woahhhh man. I’ll be back.

After that, we headed down to an awesome boutique called “Posh” (by recommendation of our dear friend Julie), and got some great stuff  From there, we had to hit up the coffee shop right across the street, “Fido”, by recommendation of almost everyone I know in Nashville. It was great coffee and a cool hipster vibe!!

After our awesome girly morning, it was time to hit the studio. We met the boys at 11:00 today, so it was nice to get a free morning! When we got there, Gordon started doing some background vocals. It was really fun to see him in action… he has such an incredible voice, but won’t admit it! I’m so pleased that he’ll be on this album too; such a privilege to have these incredible people step up to help out!

We got some awesome Chinese food for lunch and brought it back to the studio to continue work. I didn’t have to sing at all today… I just watched and chimed in whenever I had some thoughts  It was a pretty easy day for me! The rest of the afternoon was spent listening to rough mixes and talking about the future. There are some great things happening with a few of these songs already. Will you pray for these things on Monday? Monday will be a big day for one song in particular. I always appreciate everyone’s prayers and support… it means the world to me! I feel like a broken record saying this all the time, but I am truly grateful for the way God is molding this project into something that will glorify His name among many different genres and will reach many different types of people.

Here’s a little bit of the studio. I took a panoramic of the outside of the studio, but for some reason it won’t upload. Awesome. They also have a fully stocked mini bar and just TONS of food for the artists. Crazy studio. Not to mention a million stuffed deer in the garage. Cool.

 

 

After we left the studio, mom and I spent the drive back to our area of town listening to the rough mixes. As we pulled into the parking lot, I became SO overwhelmed that I just started crying. It has been a fantastic experience and I am beyond thankful. Sigh. I am still speechless about it all. I can’t believe it really happened… and is happening!! To celebrate this milestone, we had yet another steak dinner at “Stoney River Steakhouse”. I can confidently say that this was the BEST meal I have ever eaten. Quite literally. THE. BEST. I had a coffee cured filet, au gratin potatoes, and green beans. I don’t think I’ll eat anything ever again. We told our waiter how life-changing this meal was and why we were celebrating, so he brought us out a HUGE piece of chocolate cake! What a guy. And what a cake. Good gracious. I didn’t know it was legal to put fudge as the frosting on a cake. Our lives have been changed.

By the way, we stopped at LifeWay Books to get a few things, and I happened to look in the music section. Ohhh Gordon. you would have your own spot.

 

So, tomorrow we will have a DAY OF FUN in Nashville. No work, nowhere to be. Just plain fun. Then we return to Minneapolis bright and early Sunday morning! I love you ALLLLLL and I cannot WAIT to put this CD into your hands!!!

Annnnnnnnd, we’re back!

WHAT a day!!!!! (I’m realizing that I probably have been starting all of my posts in a similar fashion, but I just can’t think of anything more fitting to say!!)

This was a day that my dreams sincerely came true. Up until this point, I had been so happy with the progress and the outcome, but things were taken to a whole new level today, and I was almost in tears over the whole thing. It dawned on me right before I walked into the studio to sing with Wes… I am SO undeserving of all of this. God has truly been showering blessings on me, and it’s clear that He has great plans for this project! I could not (and still can’t) believe that I am being trained and supported by such incredible talent. Gordon Mote, Wes Hampton, and Doug Anderson have been so encouraging during this visit… they sincerely believe in my writing and this project as a whole! I was overwhelmed with the work they put into it today, not to mention kindness shown and the true friendships that are being made.

So, here’s how the whole week has gone down so far. On Tuesday night, Gordon called me and said, “Is there any chance you could get here a little earlier on Wednesday? Doug will be in the studio on Wednesday afternoon and I’d LOVE for you to be there.” Sooo, knowing that we had a half day of school on Wednesday, AND that I was proctoring a test until only 9:30 and would be done after that, I looked into getting our plane tickets changed. Turns out that there was a 1:05 flight that afternoon with only THREE seats left, so I was able to snag 2 of those at the very last minute! Not only that, but we got placed in the “economy comfort” section.. whatever that means. SCORE! Haha  Our flight was delayed until 2:00, so we arrived around 4:15ish, got our rental car, and hurried out to Brentwood. We didn’t even have time to stop at the hotel because Doug was scheduled to be in the studio around 5:00. As luck would have it, we got there around 5:30, and as we were pulling into the driveway, Doug was walking out to his car! He got there a little early and cranked out his vocal track before I even got a chance to step foot into the studio! Thankfully we were able to chat and hang out for a little bit. When I heard the work he did on this duet, I had tears in my eyes! For those of you who know me well, you know I’m NOT a crier. That was pretty crazy. This track is one of my favorites on the project. As I was writing this song, I had his voice in mind… it was SO cool to hear it finally recorded with HIM singing it! I am beyond thankful for his willingness to drive to Nashville for me YAYYYYY!

After that, we hung out with Gordon and Nathan in the studio for a bit, came up with a game plan for today, and then went to Chuey’s Mexican Restaurant. OH YUM. I had a food baby after that one… it might have even been twins. I ate the biggest burrito ever. Worth it.

This morning, we were scheduled to meet Wes at the studio at 10:30, so mom and I decided to grab a delicious breakfast first… this place just doesn’t get old. I don’t care who you are.

After that, we drove back to the studio. As we walked in, we heard Wes singing already… he was working on another project for Charlotte Richie, who was also with us this morning! I was pretty surprised to walk into the control room to see her sitting there. Quite the star-studded day! Wes’ tracking for her session took a little longer than expected because they ended up comping the whole thing in the studio. That was fine because we were able to hang out with Wes for quite a while and get to know him!  Such a solid and down to earth guy… it’s a privilege to have spent the day with him. After they were done comping, Wes started on my project. Let me just tell you right now, the last track of this record will blow your mind. In my opinion, Wes has the most delicious tenor voice of our time. HOLY. COW. He can do ANYTHING. He is what I like to call “a robot”. Yes. A robot. Also had tears during this session. Sheesh. I’m turning into a softy. Ohhhh Wes. Good times today. Can’t wait until June when I get to sing some dates with BOTH Doug and Wes!! Woo!

The rest of the afternoon was consumed with eating more Mexican food and singing lots! I was able to crank through all of my BGVs this afternoon in one session, so I shouldn’t have to do much tomorrow. The best part of the afternoon was the insane ideas that Gordon proposed for a few of my songs. I can’t really spill the details yet, but MAN. I don’t deserve the blessings that are pouring into my life! I was honestly speechless in the studio for a quite a while today (which is quite out-of-character for me…!) Can’t wait to start sharing some of this excitement with you all! What I can say is that the Lord is moving in my life and I couldn’t be more grateful and thankful that the talents and gifts He has given me are being used for His glory.  What a great feeling!

To celebrate all of this great news today, mom and I went to Outback Steakhouse for a yummy dinner 

Tomorrow will be more work in the studio, but mostly a lot of listening and tweaking! It will be my last day in the studio on this project… definitely bittersweet. However, we’re talking about a 2nd record already  Love you ALL, and thank you so much for your prayers. They are definitely felt and appreciated. Stay tuned tomorrow for more updates!

I Figured It Out!

Ok, I just need to be honest. I think I have finally figured out relationships and dating. I know, you’re all freaking out. I’m the first person to ever accomplish this. You can thank me later.

Except, I guess I haven’t actually figured it out. But I’m ready to give my two cents! I have had several friends post a link to this blog, and I have to admit, I resonate with it. If you haven’t read the blog, or don’t care to, I’ll paraphrase it for you. Basically the author feels like young women have been sort of “jaded” to believe that we need to “wait” for the man that God has set aside for us, and that women have been told that if we pray hard enough and are in God’s favor, He will give us the desires of our hearts. It’s true that the Bible tells us to “Delight in the Lord and He will give us the desires of our heart” (Psalm 37:4). However, He has our greatest interest in mind, whether that be giving us the things we pray for unceasingly, or withholding those things from us. This has been really resonating with me lately, especially as it pertains to relationships.

Many of my friends have been going through similar experiences as me, and it’s been fascinating to see the common thread among us: we have all fallen into the trap of “waiting” for the men of our dreams. I’m admittedly guilty of this as well. I have realized recently that I’ve become a pro at jumping from one activity in my life to another without really enjoying these activities and living life freely. Until a few months ago, I had always been concerned about impressing my friends, doing and saying things that I know will please people. I’ve always been relatively afraid of experiencing consequences, so I stay away from being too wild. I can learn from others’ mistakes without having to put myself through those experiences. Until recently, that made my life smooth sailing. But I have realized that playing it safe has kept me from really enjoying my life and living each day freely.  I can honestly say that I feel like I have been waiting around for something to happen, all the while missing out on the incredible things that ARE happening! This “spell” that has been put on us young, christian women is handicapping the future generation of “go-getters” because we are waiting around for God to give us the desires of our hearts! And when He doesn’t give us what we’ve been praying for (sometimes for YEARS) it alters our perspective of our loving Father. We start to think “maybe He doesn’t actually listen to my prayers… I’m not important enough to be heard.” This is obviously not true, but I have heard from several friends that it’s starting to feel like reality.

Instead of waiting around for God to give us the man of our dreams, shouldn’t we be happy and satisfied in God alone? Life is so much sweeter when I don’t have to please anyone but the Lord. I don’t have to try to split my attention between impressing friends, boys, musicians, etc. All I have to do is please the Lord, and if by being satisfied in Him, He brings me to a partner that appreciates me for who I am and what I’m already doing, then I will be grateful! If not, I can be satisfied in knowing that I’m not going to regret a past of waiting around for something better to happen. I can focus on worshiping the Lord RIGHT now and rejoicing in the incredible blessings that He has placed in my life at this very moment.

So, no, I didn’t REALLY figure it out, but I sure feel much more secure in the fact that God’s got it taken care of. Besides, when a guy DOES come along, the Lord will make it crystal clear that he’s the one 🙂

Day FOURRRR

Hey y’all! (yes, “y’all” is happening for me right now…haha!) Today was an INSANE day. Things got really REALLY real today. I honestly don’t really have words to express how incredible my team has been. Gordon and Nathan have faith in me that I didn’t even expect, nor do I feel like I deserve! I worked so incredibly hard on vocals today and something just clicked with the three of us. There are some big things happening with this project and now it’s possible that it won’t be done quite as early as I was expecting, but it’s COMPLETELY worth it because of how exciting the outcome might be!!! I am SO grateful for this whole experience… it’s a game changer now! God is stirring something and I can’t wait to find out what He’s doing 🙂

With that, I’ll show you a few pictures from today. We were back at the first studio today (which was freezing), but a WAY better mic that was soooo fun to sing with! We did three songs this morning because my voice was in such good shape. After lunch, we only got through one because I was getting pretty tired. But one was all we needed to do! Tomorrow we will record the last one, and then get things edited and make sure they have all the bits and pieces that they need. We might even have time to hit up the Opry tomorrow night! Gordon said that if we would have gone on Tuesday night, he could have gotten us in and we could have met Vince Gill AND Wynonna!!!! (Gordon is good friends with both of them). Buuuuuut since we were tracking so late on Tuesday, we weren’t able to go! UGH! Oh well 🙂

Anyway, PICTURES!

The brains… deciding my future. 

Gordon and I were doing a little work around the piano, changing some things around

Tomorrow is the last day… please continue to pray! It has been SO evident that you prayer warriors have been covering us, and we so appreciate it! Love you all SO much and I can’t wait to get home to share more about this incredible experience with you all 🙂

Day THREEE!!!

Well folks, this was an incredibly successful vocal tracking day. I honestly couldn’t have made it through 7.5 hours of constant singing without the prayers that you have all offered up! From the bottom of my heart, I want to say thank you… and ask you to continue to pray for the next 2 days as I will be doing the same thing! God is listening to these prayers and He is truly blessing this project. I cannot WAIT for you to hear it… especially after how successful today was!! I feel like a broken record, but really… it’s gonna be SO good!!!

When I got to the studio this morning, I was a little confused. We were at a different studio than yesterday, and I was told that it was in a garage-turned-studio. So, we pulled up to a little house and walked around back. It was the most non-studio building I’ve seen! As we were walking in, a guy around my age was following us like it was no big deal. I asked him if this was the right way, and he said, “the right way to what?” It was SO bizarre!! We were on the driveway walking to the only destination… He acted like we were just passersby, lost and looking for directions (which, technically we were, I guess!) It turned out that this guy was one of the engineers at this studio and he was coming to unlock it for us… we were the first ones there 🙂 He was very friendly and stayed around for a bit to hang out until we were set to start.

From then on, we just sang and sang and sang!! I was not prepared with how PICKY Gordon was going to be, but mannnn alive, when I heard the final comp of each track, I knew it was worth it to be so picky. I also understand why he gets paid the big bucks! Gordon and Nathan can sure work some magic in the studio and I sure owe them a LOT of credit for what you’ll be hearing. MAN they have good ears!! 🙂 We had a great time today, and I feel like Gordon is an incredible friend now. He shared so many stories about playing with legends like James Taylor, Lionel Richie, Kenny Rogers, Faith Hill, Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, Brad Paisley, Alan Jackson, Alison Krauss, and Randy Travis. I felt like a little kid sitting at Dumbledore’s feet, just soaking in the wisdom and knowledge! He has played on OVER 35 Grammy award-winning songs or albums!!! What. The. Heck. He said that if I move to Nashville, he would take care of me. That’s a pretty exciting prospect. He even invited us over to his house to grill some steaks tomorrow (although I’m not sure how much his wife would like that!)

I’m looking forward to another great vocal day tomorrow. On Friday we might be bringing in a trio to do some background vocals for us on one tune. That is going to be AMAZING if it works out!! Thanks again for all of your love and encouragement! Here are some pictures from the day 🙂

Celebration dinner after the full day at “Sopapilla’s” with some yummy sweet tea.

Singing my heart out!

Gordon always has something hilarious to say… he is mister comedian. He talked to me for 5 minutes about how much he LOVES vanilla ice cream. I was dying.

A peek into the studio

This is where the magic happened!

Love you all!!!

Day Twooo!!!

Hey folks… day one in the studio is complete! Thank you for all of the texts, emails, messages, etc of encouragement and support that I got today. It was a LONG day, but soooo fun and worthwhile. I don’t even know where to begin!

We got to the studio at 9:45 this morning, and I was blown away by how beautiful it was! It’s in the basement of a mansion and was outfitted with top of the line equipment. The owners of the house and studio are the owners of Cedarmont Kids Music… which is 2nd only to Disney in sales of kids music… crazy!!! Needless to say, it was an outstanding studio. As I walked in, I was greeted by Larry Beaird (acoustic) and Steve Brewster (drums). Such a fun bunch of guys… they had me laughing right away! When we got inside, Gordon (producer and keys), Duncan Mullins (bass and he also wrote the charts… so he had spent some time with my music before today), Kelly Back (electric), and Nathan (engineer) were all setting up and greeted us warmly. As I was getting settled in, I overheard Larry say to Duncan, “is this the girl you were bragging about??” Duncan looked at me and said, “I was telling him about your songs were and how fun they were going to be to play…” !!!! Awesome….

As soon as we got settled in and did a little sound check, we got started. We had 9 songs to get through today in 3 sessions. Gordon was pretty nervous that we weren’t going to get through it all, but we made it just in time. I don’t really have words to tell you about the music experience itself. All I have to say is that you will be in for a treat… I almost wish we could just keep it at the instrumental tracks and not add my vocals… that’s how good this stuff is!!

I will start tracking the “real” vocals tomorrow. Today I just sang scratch vocals so the band knew where we were the whole time. I’m even more excited for tomorrow now that I know what to expect!!

Here are some pictures from the studio today:

These guys sat by me all day 🙂

Larry Beaird doing his thing on acoustic!

The mixing room… with Nathan, Duncan, and mom 🙂

Steve Brewster killing it on drums

Gordon looks tired… but he’s just listening intently to the arrangement, trying to decide how to make it better

My viewpoint for most of the day

Gordon insisted that I try out the piano… it was pretty incredible! He also wanted me to play something for him. Talk about nerve-wracking!!

Our entire crew for the day 🙂

Mom and I were pretty happy with the day 🙂

Our musical puppy friend, Bandit. He and his brother were with us in the studio this afternoon 🙂

I’ll make sure to keep you all updated about how vocal tracking goes tomorrow. Please pray for endurance and vocal health for me tomorrow. I feel great right now, but the next few days are going to be long and hard on the precious vocal chords!! Love you all… can’t wait for you all to hear this!!!

God bless 🙂

DAY ONE!!!!

Hey friends!!! Thank you SO much for following my journey in Nashville as I fulfill a HUGE dream of mine… recording a major album!!

So, today was our first full day in Nashville (actually we’re in Brentwood… but whatevs). We had nothing “official” scheduled today except to just settle in and relax before all of the hard work begins! (When I mention “we”, I’m referring to my wonderful mother who accompanied me on the trip!) Mom and I slept in, had a lazy morning, and decided that we didn’t really know how else to spend our day other than hunting for TJ Maxx’s and Marshalls 🙂 If you know either one of us to any extent, you probably could have predicted that. Sooo, we found some great deals and pretty awesome clothes before lunch and decided to switch things up after lunch.

But first, lunch! We ate at Logan’s Roadhouse (a favorite of ours… kinda like Texas Roadhouse) and we met long-time family friends that we haven’t seen since Christmas 2010! It was SO fun to catch up with them 🙂

After lunch, it was time to hit up Franklin… one of my favorite parts of visiting Nashville. We stopped to get my final Starbucks indulgence of the week first, then walked around and perused the many adorable boutiques! Here’s a picture in front of the Franklin Theater (where the new “Flashdance” was premiered!)

We walked around, shopped a little, and just enjoyed the beautiful day. We saw one of the women that interviews everyone on the red carpet… that was pretty cool!! After shopping, it was time to refuel. Ok… I know this is a week late, but come on. HAD to do it sometime!! 

Yum. And a sweet tea, thank you very much.

So, now we’re just gonna take it easy at the hotel. The hard work and long day(s) starts bright and early in the morning. I have to relish the relaxation time while I can! Last night, we drove out to find the studio. First of all, it’s in Brentwood. If you know anything about the Nashville area, you know that Brentwood is… well… *sticks nose up in the air*… prreeeetttttttyyyyy nice. Huge houses. I mean HUUUUUGE. The biggest house that you can imagine doesn’t even compare. I’ve never seen houses this big even in MOVIES. Seriously. HUGE. So, we were driving down tiny little roads, winding through the hills thinking, “surely the GPS is routing us the wrong way… maybe I put the address in wrong?” We finally arrived at the “destination” which turns out to be a gated driveway that leads up into the woods… looks very secluded, but VERY special. Later, I read on the studio’s website that it’s “nestled in the hills right outside of Brentwood”… which leads me to believe we were in the right place 🙂 Needless to say, we’ll leave a little early in the morning juuuuust to make sure we’re in the right place.

So, here’s the game plan for tomorrow: TRACKING. All. Day. Long. The band will be recording 9 tunes tomorrow and I won’t sing until Wednesday and Thursday (possibly Friday). I am BEYOND excited to hear MY music played by professional musicians. I’m so excited to hear the arrangements and to work with all of them. These guys have played for HUGE projects… we’re talking Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney… you name it. I cannot believe that I will be with them all day, let alone hearing them play my music! What an exciting process!!

Tomorrow night (if time allows… and if I’m not dead), mom and I are going to tryyyyy to hit up the Grand Ole Opry. You can all judge me, but I want to see some legends. Vince Gill AND Wynonna. Come ON. Awesome. We’ll see though 🙂

Stay tuned tomorrow night to hear about day 2… this will be pretty awesome!! Love you ALL! Thank you so much for your encouragement, prayers, and support!!

Oh yeah…and… real life Mario Kart happened to me today. Gotta watch those banana peels. 

Franklin

Yummmm.

Heavy on my heart

Hello again, blogging world (and those of you non-bloggers who happen to have stumbled upon this). It’s time for a bit of a “serious” post, and I hope you’ll continue with me to the end of this post. It’s something that’s been heavy on my heart for a while and I think I just need to spit it out!

I sat down for some delicious BBQ chicken flatbread pizza last night after Bible study with one of my best friends, and we had a really great discussion about how to effectively share God’s love with the hurting friends in our lives. Lately I’ve been struggling with the difficult balance of being too concerned with other people’s affairs or not showing enough concern, therefore seeming insensitive or aloof. There are a lot of people in my everyday life that are going through BIG things… by “BIG” things, I mean the loss of a sibling, boyfriend relapsing into drug use, premature babies with health issues, abusive relationships, cancer… the list goes on and on. And this is just my everyday life… it doesn’t include those who I don’t see often but still keep in touch with, or casual acquaintances. My problem is this: how do I show love to the people that I so deeply care about without drawing undesired attention to their situation? I think we can all relate with the awkwardness we feel when someone starts crying in the middle of a conversation that was meant to be uplifting, or the “elephant in the room” experiences. I have been running into a LOT of these moments lately, and I think God is really prompting me with something bigger. These hurting friends NEED love shown to them, and why should I care so much about my embarrassment or my lack of words?

I guess what I’m really getting at is this: as followers of Jesus Christ, WE can be hope to those who are lacking it. Because technology is SO readily available (I mean, come on. I can pick up my iPhone and my sister can walk me through her new nursery… even though she lives 4 hours away), it’s extremely tempting for us to simply write a quick note of condolence, sympathy, or a passive “I’ll being praying for you!” on someone’s Facebook wall or Twitter. First of all, when you write these things, do you ever really keep that person in your prayers? If you do, kudos to you! I’ll be honest… I usually don’t! I click “post” and go on with my day. As embarrassing as that is, and as guilty as it makes me feel, I think that I’m probably not alone in that.

What would happen if we truly invested in the lives of those who are deeply hurting? The Lord gave us friends to live life with… not just to see movies with and have someone to shop with. Anytime that I have been in a difficult situation, I have undeniably appreciated the time and the company of friends who made an effort to take me to dinner, come over to my house, or just to make a phone call. Yes, Facebook is convenient for catching up with people you haven’t seen in a while or for organizing get-togethers, but connecting with the deeply hurting should be something we invest in outside of the world wide web. Don’t you agree?

I want to challenge you to think of some people you know that are going through difficult things. How can you be a blessing to them? Maybe it’s listening to them over a cup of coffee, or preparing a nice Minnesota hotdish. Hey, you could even drop by with some flowers and a sweet mix tape (I mean… CD…). Be creative! God gave us friends to go through the good and the bad with. Don’t just gloss over their needs. Really show them that you care and that you’re along for the ride with them, no matter how difficult. When one is too hurting to have the strength to believe the Lord can move their mountain, WE need to come alongside them to have the faith they simply cannot muster up.

So, whaddya say? Start clearing your calendars and stop facebooking! Let’s be hope to our hurting friends!

Love you all 🙂

Nat