Joyful Noise

Yesterday my singing group, which by the way is named Joyful Noise, had one of the greatest opportunities it has ever or will ever have. We got to sing for Keith Lancaster. Thats right the man himself. The man who founded the group Acappella. Now, Acappella is the reason I started singing. Back about 15 years ago I saw them sing in concert at a South Texas Youth Conference and said to myself, "Wow! That's what I want to do." Almost immediately after that I met the Huttons and started getting copies of Acappella's music from them. I listened to them intently and strove to learn every part on every song I had of theirs. Before I knew it I was singing and sounding just like them, well I thought so at least, but then I went to a singing camp. Boy did I figure out I wasn't very good, but I did learn how to hear parts better and that Acappella's voice didn't have to be mine. Well anyways, I followed them ever since and just kept dreaming of singing for them, so I kept singing and working to find my own voice. Little did I know that someday I would actually sing for their founder. Though I still would love to be part of this phenomenal group, to sing for Keith was just as rewarding. Surprisingly I wasn't nervous one bit. It probably helped that we had dinner with him 2 nights this passed week and got to know him before we sang for him, so it was like singing to a brother and not a celebrity of the christian world. We sang a couple songs of his and a couple of songs that we, my group, wrote. I think we did pretty good. Cryssy says we sounded great, and if you know Cryssy she would tell us if we just really stunk. The only problem was Keith never said anything after we were done singing. That can't be good. Just kidding. He had just finished doing a Praise and Harmony workshop with our congregation and was resting and saving his voice, so he wasn't speaking at all. We did get 2 thumbs up from him though, so I guess that means he liked or enjoyed it a little bit. Anyways, now that we know we received a 2 thumbs up from Keith, we can have confidence that we are doing something right. I still just pray that it is what God wants us to be doing. But till we figure that out, there was always that time we made a Joyful Noise for Keith Lnacaster.

Unfinished

So I get home from work today and I see this sitting on a table. I did this Sunday in about an hour. The problem is I did this not this passed Sunday, but the Sunday before, yep the 13th of Jan. I have this really big problem with starting a painting and either not finishing it or taking much longer than I need to. Cryssy gets on to me quite a bit for doing this. I currently have about 3 or 4 started paintings, not including this one, that are screaming for some attention. This is the start of a book cover for a friend of mine, who happens to be a minister. He is very anxious and excited about it. I should probably get it done fairly soon. Maybe this is my calling. Painting for book covers. Who knows. It's not that bad of an idea, is it?

Creations For The Creator...

What does that mean? Well that is what I am trying to figure out. Most people who know me know that I love to sing and paint. I like to think I am pretty good at both and the only reason I am is because God allowed it. I also believe that people should use the gifts / talents given to them by God to serve Him. And that is where I have a problem.
I am in a singing group and we all love to worship. Our Goal, well at least my goal, is to spread God's word to others through song. We just don't quite know how to get that acomplished. Grant it we have sung for our church several times, but that just seems more like a concert and not a ministry. I want us to get to the point where we are ministering.
Now for the art / painting. How do you paint for God. I started drawing whan I was 8 and painting when I was about 12. I love to do it and have painted several thing for other people. Painting for other people is all good and great, but how can I use this as a tool to further God's will in my life or in others.
Creations for the Creator. I am hoping through this I can figure out what that means to me. I pray that through this and others I may meet I will be able to find my purpose. I pray I will be able to see what God meant for me to do with these gifts. I pray.