Empty Shelves = Greater Prayer Lives?

Reflecting on the miracle journey of 2014

"Prosperity may dilute prayer too.  In my travels I have noticed that Christians in developing countries spend less time pondering the effectiveness of prayer and more time actually praying.  The wealthy rely on talent and resources to solve immediate problems, and insurance policies and retirement plans to secure the future.  We can hardly pray with sincerity, "Give us this day our daily bread" when the pantry is stocked with a month's supply of provisions." - Philip Yancey
(from his book: Prayer, Does It Make A Difference?)

My heart jumped for joy when I read this paragraph.  It's the first day of 2015 and since my husband is not feeling well we are just sitting in the living room resting and enjoying Pandora's classic lounge station.  A cloudless sky outside reveals the full sunlight and makes the room cheery, adding to the peacefulness.

I picked up Philip Yancey's book on prayer to start reading it just now.  Last year at this time I determined to grow in my prayer life and his book is one that I came upon months ago and decided to add to my growing collection of books on prayer.

After reading that paragraph I had to put the book down and write my thoughts.  I have seen the amazing power of prayer in my life this past year.  It really started in June when I decided to host a breakfast at a local restaurant and invite some fans to become part of my Portraits of White dream team.  I called them my vision team, but they have changed it to 'dream team'.  I like it.

I didn't have a pantry full of goods and provision to pursue this vision at the time.  A few hundred dollars in my checkbook and not too much more than that in my savings account either.  But I went ahead and stepped out in faith.  I had bathed this vision in prayer for months.  Now it was time to put it to a test.  I knew if I hosted this breakfast I would start something in motion that would be a complete walk of faith.  I did not have the 'resources in my pantry' to see this through to the end. Was I ready to jump in with both feet?

My first indication that this was going to be an amazing experience came in an e-mail from someone I had invited to attend the breakfast.  They were offering to pay for the cost of the group's breakfast. Another e-mail came a couple of days later with the same offer from someone else.  The day of the breakfast, a woman in the group got up to supposedly 'go to the bathroom' and as I later discovered, had inquired with the waitress as to how to go about paying for the group's breakfast, which by that time was already paid for.

This has proven to be my experience all the way through this past year.  A financial hurdle would arise and was then met with some kind of amazing provision that I didn't know would happen. Honestly, I could write a book on just this past year alone.

One of my prayers this past year was that I would have the concert paid for in full by the end of the year.  Today is January 1 and I am thrilled to report that the funds are there to pay the final bills. It won't leave much left over, but my faith has grown immensely through this journey and all I could say when I read Philip's paragraph was - "hey, though my food pantry is full, my pantry of resources to pursue a big dream was NOT full, but through prayer, hard work, miracles and supernatural means, all my needs have been met."  It would have been easier to just skip my dreams and live comfortably.

I don't ever want any kind of prosperity or deceptive comfort to keep me from stepping out. Sometimes the only way we can see God move is to take that step into the unknown. Is it safe? Nope. Is it tiring? Yep.  Do I feel alive?  Yes!

So here's my final question that I will ponder the rest of the day as I continue reading his book.  If God can do that with my finances, why can't He do it with everything else in my life?  In what other areas can I trust Him to do more than I possibly can?  Why limit it to financial?  Why not trust Him for physical healing MORE, for emotional freedom?  For deliverance from recurring fears and anxiety?

I intend to try.

Why not empty my 'shelves' of all my own prosperity and trust Him for greater things?  I think Philip Yancey is right.  Our own comfort and abilities keep us from that deep sense of need for rescue.  As a result, we don't pray.  We just keep on depending on ourselves.  I'd rather live on the edge.

Don't get me wrong.  I have days when it just looks too hard. It is NOT easy to live this way.  That's why I keep books like Philip's handy because they stir things in me.  They call to the deep in me and keep me on the edge, far away from comfort zones.

Now.........back to my book.

Philip Yancey's book

"The Elephant Diet" Day # 153 Learning Curve Or Cliff?

They speak of 'learning curves'.  I have many of them.  At least when you are on a 'curve' there is hope that things will straighten out eventually.

The thing about a 'learning cliff' is that you fall over the edge into nothingness.  You have no idea where you will land.

I feel like I've been on the edge of a cliff and yesterday I fell off.

I've been working furiously at finding snow scenes for my upcoming Christmas concerts.  The first one is on Dec. 15.  After trying about 11 different sources, I found a photographer with great snow scenes and she is letting me use them for free.  I'm putting together a media presentation that will go with the song "Portraits of White".  I want people to 'see' the portraits of white that I see in my mind (and sometimes in my country).

I decided to not give up.  But after much frustration, I realized that I must find someone who can help me figure out how to make sure my snow images are as beautiful on the big screen as they are on my computer.  That's another story and a very tricky process, I'm finding, when you're not a photographer or a geek.

I finally went over the edge yesterday and begged someone to help me.  I think I found someone.  They will come to my studio next Tuesday and help me go through the process.  Every time I try to export the movie to another file type, the photos get grainy or too big or .....well, you get the idea.

In the meantime, I'm excited to announce that the song "Miracles" has been selected by a website that I'm part of as a contestant in an indiesong contest.  If you don't mind, I'd love to have your 5 star vote for this new song.  It will help move it up the charts and give me more of a chance to win some fabulous prizes that would help my career.  Just click on the 'vote here' button and look for "Miracles".  Click on the stars to rate it once you are on the page.

Thank you!  Vote here.

P.S.  You can vote once a day and tell your friends many times a day.

"The Elephant Diet" Day # 79 Miracles!!

"The Elephant Diet" Day # 76 Waiting and Praying

Tomorrow we will track 2, maybe 3 songs. It's an exciting process and I'll join in through Skype.

The band will listen to my homemade demos and then come up with a professional version of it. I've been a part of this process before (in person) and it is amazing to watch.

Tonight I finished some flower bed prep that I started over the weekend and as I pruned, I prayed.

"Father, be with Eric, Dave Cleveland (guitar), Dan Needham (drums), Mark Hill (bass) and Jeff Roach (keyboard). As they record the song 'Night of Miracles', I pray that Your presence would be there. Make the song come alive and use it to encourage people to believe in miracles again. When people hear the song someday soon, may their hearts be drawn back to the Christmas story to take another look and realize how miraculous it truly was. I pray that miracles would take place when people listen.

As they work on 'Sing A Song Of Joy', I pray that the band would capture the Spirit of Joy in the song. When people experience the song in my concerts or in their car, may a spirit of joy come on them. May joy bubble up and lead to hope for better things to come. May Your glory rest on listeners and transform our lives. I pray that blind eyes will see and deaf ears will be opened just as it mentions in the scriptures and in the song. Just like the days when You were here walking on the earth, please touch people in very physical ways, through the music.

"Even the desert will be glad
And the wilderness rejoice
When The Lord comes near
Then blinded eyes will start to see
And the deaf ears, they will hear
When The Lord comes near

Sing a song of hope
Sing a song of joy
When the glory of The Lord is near
Sing a song of hope
Sing a song of joy
For the glory of The Lord is here."

And then there is the "MOPs" song. Mothers of Preschoolers. Father, I ask that when young moms hear this song, they would be able to laugh and be lifted for a moment from the pressures of life and motherhood and just step back and find some humor in it all. Help the band to capture the quirkiness of this tune and make it lighthearted for audiences to enjoy. Laughter is good medicine - give us a good dose of it through this song.

Help everything to work well tomorrow in the studio - no glitches, no setbacks or mechanical malfunctions!

Thank you for working through prayer and that even though I can't be there in person, You ARE and that can be enough."

Amen.

My kitty looks up with anticipation. Just like me!

"The Elephant Diet" Day # 44 Making a plan!

So here's the deal.  I finally sat down today and listed as much as I could think of that will go into this Christmas CD project and a Christmas Show Event.  Someone asked me when and where this show will be.  I love the enthusiasm!  But as you will see by my charts - there is a lot that needs to happen between now and a show.  Not to mention the funding that needs to happen.  Basically, I need a miracle.  Believe me, I am saving as much as I can of my own income toward this.

Just for perspective though - this will be my 7th CD project, along with 2 singles and a music video.  Miracles do happen.  

I googled 'making a business plan' today and based on some of the questions I found - here is what I have come up with so far.  I have a lot of work ahead - finding a venue, calculating the costs, and oh yes - continuing to work on the music part of it all.  If you see something on this list that you would love to help toward - let me know.  It's going to be a long diet program with just one bite a day. 

There will be more to add to the charts as I go - like travel expenses to TN where I do most of my work.  But this will begin to give you an idea of what an independent musician faces. 

"The Elephant Diet" Day # 43

It's another 'one bite' day. Church work today, meeting tonight and some booking details to wrap up in between. Bookings for the summer and fall are beginning to roll in.

I sent a vocal track to Dave today - the producer of the song "Night Of Miracles".

When you use a producer in Nashville, a lot of work is done over the Internet. It's an interesting world.

I met with him when I was in town so we got to discuss what I'm looking for. Now, this week, as he arranges for the band, he needs to have me singing it so they can play along with me. Since I'm in PA, I sent him a recording today of just my voice - no instruments. He will then paste that into his software and play it for the band. Eventually, I will go in person to record the final vocals, but all he needs right now is a general vocal track as a guide.

Just got word that Matthew West's drummer and Chris August's bassist are lined up to start working on the song this coming Monday.  It is very common for players like this to be available to play on other people's projects.

Gotta love technology!