Hey friends!

I thought this photo might make you smile! I was playing with the camera on
my laptop and it has a ‘doubling effect’ feature…so you can make it
look like there are two of you mutated together!!! Pretty funny.. : )

Today I was reading in Paul’s letter to the Romans that sometimes he struggled to do the right thing. Isn’t that a relief! He wasn’t perfect…even though he was God’s messenger and apostle to the gentiles.

This crazy photo seems to represent how Paul was feeling…half of him wanted to do what was right and the other half warred the opposite way, wanting to revert back to the old ways of the flesh. Its the age old struggle of anyone trying to follow Jesus. So be encouraged – we all walk through the same battles and even Paul felt like we do!

This is how he explained it in Romans Chapter 7 (taken from The Message version):

"The power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions. I
obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes; I can
will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do
it. I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such
as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep
within me and gets the better of me every time.It
happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do
good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands,
but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts
of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take
charge. I’ve
tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there
no one who can do anything for me?"

We, with Paul, can sometimes get discouraged by the battle…With him we ask, "WHO can rescue us from our sinful nature?"

Thankfully he didn’t leave us without an answer…Romans 7:25 gives us the remedy:

"Is there
no one who can do anything for me? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does!"

So if you feel like the journey of following Jesus is too tough – don’t give up!! And if you have fallen down and your struggles have got the better of you, don’t give up! Forgiveness is total and gives a completely blank slate. You can start over again today – right now. Jesus looks at you and sees you as if you had never sinned at all. That’s the power of the cross.

I’ll leave you with this quote from an ancient Christian named Saint Josemaria Escriva:

"So you have failed? You have not failed. You have gained experience. Now, forward!"

Wherever you find yourself today, whatever you have done, keep fighting the good fight of following the Master. Whatever our failings, let us see them as past and gone, and stand up wiser and stronger from the experience, pressing onward into the bright future that His love brings.

Now, forward! Together we can do it!

Love,
Vicky

Check out these cases, and tell me if they aren’t just the coolest, slimmest and trendiest ones you’ve seen in forever??!

I found them online yesterday and am thinking about using them… I’ll let you know how they fair when I get one but they certainly look AWESOME! They are a hybrid between a soft and hard case, giving protection but easy to throw over your shoulder like  a backpack.. If you play drums, their cymbals cases rock too…  www.monocase.com

OK, most of your readers of this Blog are musicians or appreciators of music, so my Blog question today is….

"What musical gear have you discovered recently that you love and recommend?"

Lets help one another find great products to enable us to play, sing and do ministry better! I added a ‘Recommended Gear’ list to my Blog today for that purpose… Its a "lets not re-invent the wheel’" concept…these are things I"ve found to be awesome… and I want to hear your recommendations too!

My verse for the day on this theme is  Psalm 33:3  "Sing to the LORD a new song;  play skillfully, and shout for joy". Lets be skillful in our music, searching for the best things to facilitate our sounds and songs… If you aren’t a muso, feel free to recommend any other gadgetry you’ve discovered and loved… like cameras, phones etc… If you know much about the iPhone I’d love your advice as I am thinking it might be a worthwhile investment?…

Technology can be our friend! Lets help each other figure out what can help us rather than weigh us down with unnecessary purchases!

Vicky : )

Hey friends!

Well, so many people seem interested in my juggling hobby and are asking me "How do WE learn to do it! Is it hard??". So here’s me teaching you how to do it!

Let me know if you have success after watching!!!!!

Today I’m sitting in a coffee shop in Nashville, looking at very "English" gray weather, and glad to be warm indoors with a grande americano in my hand. I’m writing a book at the moment, and today is one of my ‘Book Days’…so I’m working on new ideas and chapter headings… Maybe I’ll put some excepts of the book on my Blog in the days to come, to get your feedback!

To inspire my book-writing I’ve been reading a lot the past few days. Mainly a book on St Francis of Assisi, as he is my hero! The book describes Italy in SUCH breath taking language that today I’m dreaming of walking those streets, looking up at the magnificent ancient buildings, feeling the warm sun on my face, and smelling the fresh Italian bread at the market, listening to the sound of ancient church bells ringing in the distant hills… I need to plan a trip to Assisi soon!

My Blog question for you today – If you could be standing anywhere right now (other than where you are!) where would you be??

Peace,
Vicky

Hey Friends! Hope your weekend was a great one?

So as you can tell I am really enjoying Blogging, and am trying to learn as much as I can to make it even more interactive and fun! Last week I mastered "Twitter" and this weekend I learned….(drum roll!…..) how to upload video from my new "Flip Video" camera and embed it into this Blogsite (yes, even girls can access technology like that these days…haha…) Check out the Flip Video website to check out these cool gadgets!

So from now on I’ll be taking little videos of life at home or on the road, and letting you get more of a window into my life… : )

This video was from "TotalAxxess" – a radio show that I appeared on recently in Nashville. The DJ named "Wally" is awesome! He is known for always pushing the boundaries of interviews in a hilarious way… so I showed up at the studio wondering WHAT he would ask me to do! Watch and see for yourself…!

My Blog question for you today is totally unrelated to juggling!! So watch the video, then come back down here for a thought-provoking question!

It’s based on a quote from T. E Lawrence:

"Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds
Wake in the day to find that all was vanity;
But the dreamers of the day are dangerous men,
For they act their dream with open eyes, and so make it possible."

I want to be someone who catches God’s dreams for the world, for my city, for my community. If you could sum up your vision and dream for your life in one sentence, what would it be?

Looking forward to reading your comments and answers… : )

vb

So I’ve discovered a new, fun way to Blog during the day… It’s called "Twitter"… Ever heard of it??

I hadn’t really wrapped my head around the concept of it, until yesterday when a friend explained it to me over a Starbucks and I finally understood why everyone is getting so excited about it! "Twitter.com" is  a program that lets people send out little Blogs of just a sentence or two, via a cell phone. Genius!

Here’s a photo of me with my trusty little pink Motorola Razor phone!! Twitter lets you text out a few sentences about what you are doing, during the day. You can read mine on my Blog in the "Twitter Updates" section, or better still by going to Twitter.com and signing up for a free account…then you can get mine and other great folks’ Blog-ettes sent to your cell phone as text messages!…How cool is technology now!?

I signed up yesterday night and am already receiving various people’s Twitter messages to my cell phone…Its a great way to be connected. For example, I might text prayer requests like "Backstage at a concert and about to play. Pray for me!" Or something to make you smile like I texted earlier today: "At my eye-brow waxing appointment – OWCH!". So it can be funny or deep… Just a fun way of staying in touch with each other as community on this pathway of following Jesus…

Ephesians 3:6 says we are "members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus". We were never meant to walk this path alone. We are family in Christ, and Psalm 68:5-6 says "God is a father to the fatherless…He sets the lonely in families". Don’t walk alone – lets share life and strengthen one another on the journey of life!

Check out Twitter.com if you get time today, and look out for my phone text updates!!!

Love,
vb

…Nope, that’s just a photo of me visiting a radio station to do an interview! (those dishes always look big enough to reach into outer space though!..)

I had a great time doing an early morning breakfast show with Brian Mason at Mix 92.9 in Nashville. Getting up at 5am was worth it (and for me that was REEEALLY early!)

Firstly this Blog is SO much fun for me to be part of…thanks for joining in, sharing your thoughts and becoming part of the community here. Tell your friends and lets widen the circle!

Today I want to share the verse that God has kept bringing to my mind during my quiet times the past few days. It’s from Isaiah 43:16-19:

"This is what the LORD says – He who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who conquered the chariots and horses to rescue His people: "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert  and streams in the wasteland…I am doing a new thing"

I feel like for many people right now God is bringing to birth a new season of life…perhaps you have been through a long dark night? Perhaps its been a painful uphill struggle and you are longing for a new season to arrive?…

Just as surely as the wheel of the seasons turns, with Fall becoming Winter, and Winter becoming Spring, God WILL be faithful to the promises He has spoken to your heart. Your "Spring" is coming. Your healing, restoration and hope WILL come.

Do you ever doubt that the sun will rise tomorrow? Even more surely than the sun will rise in the morning, God will fulfil His promises, and will rescue and restore you…

If you are in a dark season, feel free to share below how we can be praying for you  – this is a community valuing honesty, truth and support for each other : ) And if you have come through a dark season and are out the other side, perhaps you could share a verse or encouragement that you learned during the hard times?

God says to each one of us – take heart for "I am doing a new thing!"

Love to you all,
vb

Hey friends! The weekend is here!

My desk is usually pretty messy, so today I thought I’d have a bit of a tidy up! Sorting through some papers and trying to file stuff, I found photos of my trip to Mexico last Fall.

The picture above is one of my favorites! It’s me, my sponsor child "Bernedice" and her Mum. It was one of the most powerful, gut-wrenching and smile-inducing weeks of my life! I sat inside the little shack where they and their relatives live…it blew me away how much a visit from a random british girl like me made them light up with joy! A little bit of love goes a really long way in such a poor and broken community.

It struck me when I was standing in the dusty streets of Mexico City, looking across a valley of thousands of shacks, that we sing a lot of big promises in our worship songs. "Use me…send me… I give you my life…Bring justice….May we be your hands and feet…May my moments and my days flow in ceaseless praise…My life is yours…" I’m totally as guilty as the next person in worship for singing big promises at the top of my lungs, but not necessarily living them out 100% in my daily life. If we promise to love God and be more like Him, a crucial element is loving the poor and needy. Jesus was SO focused on them – the Gospels make that crystal clear…I want to be like Him!

Seeing these photos again has re-ignited that fire in my heart, that worship and compassion are inseparable. Unless we live out our worship songs in the way we love and touch God’s needy world, I don’t think our singing brings Him much joy. Its like a marriage when someone says they love their spouse but their actions never measure up! One of my favorite passages about this is in Isaiah 58.6-8:
 
"This is the kind of fast and worship I’m seeking: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation, free the oppressed, cancel debts. What I’m interested in seeing you do is sharing your food with the hungry, Inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to the needy. Do this and the sun will rise in your darkness, and your lives will turn around. Then righteousness will be like a sunrise around you and the God of glory will protect you. Then when you pray, God will answer. You’ll call out for help and He’ll say, ‘Here I am.’

If you need an outlet for your lyrics and singing to take action – for your intention and singing to take hands and feet…then I recommend Compassion International with all my heart! I’ve seen their projects first hand and the money is truly changing lives. Sponsoring Bernedice costs me just over $30 a month and her whole family is transformed by that. Click here, or on the "Compassion" button on my Blog’s home page and check out some child profiles… let our lives be LOUDER than the songs we sing!

Do you guys have any reflections, thoughts or Bible passages on "worship and compassion" or worship and justice/action? Lets chat about it here!

Vicky : )

Hey friends!

I just got back from an EMI Songwriter’s Retreat, just outside of Franklin TN. We stayed in a beautiful Lodge surrounded by forest and open sky… Lots of old friends were there, but I met two new ones. Today I wanted to introduce them to you and tell you that their hearts and music ROCK!

Aaron Keyes is on my left and Steve Fee is on my right. If you are in need of a new album or two, check out both of theirs!

Steve Fee – www.myspace.com/stevefee
Aaron Keyes  – www.myspace.com/aaronkeyesmusic 

Both guys are from the Atlanta area, and we all have names that kind of sound alike…"bee"-ching, "fee", and "kee"-yes… so I figure we all need to go on tour together someday! Hope you enjoy checking out their music online…

Thanks for all your comments on the last question about Worship Leading and Media/Imaging… this is turning into a cool debate forum and I love it! Here’s my question for today…something a bit lighter than the last post to give us a breather!!

"If you could sit down with any Bible character other than Jesus/God, who would it be and what one question would you ask them?"

Looking forward to hearing your replies!!

Love,
Vicky

Hi friends!

Its been an amazing week for me… I spent time at "Re:Create" a think-tank gathering for worship leaders from across the US and abroad. Great to meet new friends – "Re:creaters" please join my Blog and keep in touch! (A big hello to Rick and Laura Muchow and the gang from Saddleback CA, Carlos and Heather Whittaker from Buckhead ATL, Brian and Alicia Chandler from Fulsom CA…and too many other names to mention all the GREAT people I met, but you were all such a breath of fresh air to me : )

Here is my Blog thought for today… It’s a conversation I’m excited to start with you guys, as I love your insights….

We need to get great songs out to the wider church, and we need worship leaders and songwriters. But how do we ensure we are not creating a ‘celebrity culture’ within the Church? How do we as worship leaders approach marketing and imaging, without trying to look like Worship Pop Stars? Where are the lines and are we crossing them?

Are we creating an unhealthy division between local church worship
leaders or people who play guitar in home group (who are the true
unsung heroes!) and what we now refer to as ‘worship recording artists”?

Lets be honest and vulnerable here – I don’t look much like the photoshoot picture I attached above, if you saw me at 7.30am on a Sunday morning when I drive in to church clutching coffee and praying that I’ll get through morning rehearsal and 3 services!!!! But are we communicating through our CD packaging or website images that local church worship leaders need to look glamorous and do photoshoots in order to be in wider ministry?

Should we sign autographs after playing? Should we call what we do ‘a concert”? Are we slowly drifting away from the ‘John the Baptist, friend of the Bridegroom, He must increase and we must decrease, pointing to Jesus’ role we are called to play?

I’m playing devil’s advocate on some of this (!)… and speaking my true thoughts on some of this too…But its fun to explore some controversial territory, so share below!

Loving your company on the journey of life and worship,
Vicky : )

Hey friends! How was your weekend?

I just got home from leading worship at a BRILLIANT women’s retreat hosted by Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, near Atlanta. What a special time we had!  This photo is me with Marsha, Dee and Anne  – some of the wonderful women I had the privilege of ministering alongside!

During the conference one verse jumped out and hit me between the eyes. I’d heard it many times before but it hit me with a new depth this weekend. It’s from Matthew 7:

"Not everyone who says to me: ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom
of heaven…Many will say to me on
that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons and perform miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me.’ "

Christianity at it’s essence is about one thing – knowing God. Not working for him, not doing good deeds, but walking into an ever deepening intimate relationship with Him. The teaching at the conference was all a WONDERFUL reminder of this – calling us back to that place of intimacy and love!

It’s easy for us to get so busy as Christians, and for us to complicate what is a very simple thing…to spend our time serving, but never truly knowing, Jesus. I want to make sure I am keeping "the main thing the main thing"…Knowing Him above all else!

Do you struggle with too much "doing" and not enough "being"? How do we resist becoming Martha’s and keep our "Mary heart" in a fast paced world of meetings, long To Do Lists and 3 minute microwave dinners?? I for one, when I stand face to face with Jesus, want Him to be able to say "Vicky – I KNOW you and you KNOW me! "….

Thoughts?
vb