musak

I always loved that thought of traveling and playing music. All these bands that drive, experience life together, drive, play music, and drive again. I thought that would be the perfect life. I'm not into the whole concert feel, but I wanted to play with other bands and worship together. Kind of like a seminar and worship flow. However, just preparing for this Vineyard gig tonight, getting all my bases covered. I realized that it is not as easy and fun as it sounds. I'm not complaining about doing it, cause I'm actually very excited. But, I never thought preparation and time was such an important part. Catch this, and it's in lafayette! It's not like I'm traveling to different churches and it's only one gig. Staying at the church almost every night this week, cause I still have to take care of my other duties, has been tough. Let me put it this way, I'M TIRED! Yeah, I was wrong. I thought playing all over would be this amazing journey. Yeah, now I understand why traveling musicians always say, "im ready to get home". You see your family a couple times a year, your jet-lagged for the rest of your life, and you never know what city your in. Maybe, I don't want this exact life. God would have to change my heart now! haha .....(He's in control)

Posted by rachel at Friday, March 31, 2006 | Permalink | Comments

This Friday is the night I've been waiting for! The t.f.c. praise team, along with other local area church bands will be playing at Vineyard Church for a Night of Worship (NOW). You do not want to miss this opportunity to spend some time with God. I think it's going to be so amazing and uplifting. We need this extra boost of excitement and expectancy. I hope I'll see all of you there. It starts at 7:00 pm and last till 12:00 am. I don't know exactly what time we will be playing, but I will let you guys know today.

Posted by rachel at Tuesday, March 28, 2006 | Permalink | Comments

Sunday morning in church was just incredible. For both services, there was just a sweet presence of God. The flow and excitement was different from normal. It was more a stillness and an "in awe of God" experience. The atmosphere was thick. I knew for me, as we began to sing more, it was harder to sing because his presence was drawing me deeper. Pastor allowed people to come worship at the altars. I think the mosting amazing thing about it was, the service still flowed and pastor was able to preach what God has shared with him. (don't get me wrong here). I love it when we can worship for hours and move in the gifts. But Sunday was special, we didn't need an hour to get renewed, all it took was just one touch of his presence. Every service should have a different flow, and everytime you move in the gifts it shouldn't be the same. That is why Sunday services were amazing. We were in it from the beginning and God met us where we were at. I tell my team all the time, our job as worshippers is to prepare the people to recieve God's word (not worship for hours), that is what I felt we did. People were hungry and ready for more. Can't wait for next Sunday!

Posted by rachel at Monday, March 27, 2006 | Permalink | Comments

I know this might not be a big deal to everybody but we got a dv-r (same as tivo) this week!!! If you don't know anything about my parents, they don't spend much MONEY. My mom shops in trash cans (lol) and my dad is an acountant! Yeah, you can only imagine. I've been convincing them of getting a dv-r for a while cause I got hooked on it at Trudi and Randi's house (rudy and tandi). Finally, a miracle took place. My mom and dad let us get it. I couldn't believe it. God couldn't even believe it. On top of that, Pastor Jay has been speaking on finances and getting out of debt, so I really thought there was no chance of getting a dv-r right now. I thought, my parents would cut out even more spending. My assumptions were wrong. Hint: this is how i convinced them and you can maybe try it with your parents or spouse. I told them that we could fast forward the commercials because they are all full of filth and junk that doesn't need to enter our minds. Not only that, my parents can see what me and Rhet watch and record. After that, they were sold on it... hahaha Try it and you can have a miracle in the making too!!

Posted by rachel at Saturday, March 25, 2006 | Permalink | Comments

The first thing you think of when you hear "big bang" is evolution. Yeah, but that's not exactly where I'm going. Last night, I went with a gang of people (Miller clan and James) to watch a drum performance called "the Big Bang." I have been going to that for a couple of years now and everytime I go it is always so incredible except last night. It wasn't as good as it normally is. Yeah and did i mention it wasn't a drum performance. I mean there was some drum ensembles but there was this one song that was only xylophone zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...... put all of us to sleep!!! it was like 10 minutes long. i was thinking the whole time of a song "this is the song that doesnt end, cause it goes on and on my friend..." before you know it i looked over and almost all the miller kids are sleeping and pastor jay was on his way there. We decided to leave, cause we couldn't handle it no more. I thought I was gonna dream about them xylophones but I didn't thank God!

Posted by rachel at Saturday, March 25, 2006 | Permalink | Comments

I know the first thing that is going through your mind when you think of an awkward moment. Something that embarrassed you or made you feel uncomfortable. Spending time with someone you don't even know. Everybody has these moments, but that is not exactly the kind of awkward moments that I'm talking about. Since last night, during service, this just began to stir in my spirit. As we were worshipping, we began to flow in the spirit and wait on God. There was a stillness and a search for him. During this time, God began to remind me of what we call awkward moments. Honestly, I had no exact idea of where we were going. I couldn't grasp what he wanted us to do. In my mind, I thought should we go to the next song. And all of a sudden, God just said to me "be quiet and wait". This was the awkward moment. No sense of direction, just vasquing in his presence. The church was in it. I felt the sweet presence, and Pastor wanted us to then sing "Overwhelming". God reminded me, that if I wouldnt have stayed in his presence during the awkward moment, Pastor would have never had the opportunity to flow with the song that was on his heart.....In the propehtic, there are waves of the flow of the atmosphere. Sometimes, it gets loud and energetic, then it softens and he just begins to whisper. In those awkward moments, it is our job to press in and search. IT IS NOT OVER! I know we sometimes get confused with that. God sends us awkward moments because there is another level of his presence that has gone untouched. This was a reminder not only to me but the entire team. We realized what our job is to do during those moments.

Posted by rachel at Thursday, March 23, 2006 | Permalink | Comments

I believe that God has given all of us to some degree a creative gift. Something that is an expression of who we are. Painting, drama, music, writing, journaling ideas thoughts and imaginations, authors, poets, designer, make up consultant... these are just a list of some creative gifts but there are many different creative talents and abilities. You might be wondering, Why is she talking about this?. I've just started to pick up a book that I had started reading a few months back called "The Creative Call." My heart just began to stir as I began to understand why we need creativity in our life. I was drawn to the book because I'm a musician and I knew that music is a creative gift. But, there is so much more to it than that. In one of the chapters Janice Elsheimer began to discuss from her heart the passion for creativity has diminished as we grow older. Think about it, when you were a child all you did was color pictures, draw people, dress up, play "family", pretend you were cooking, wear your parents clothing and act like you were so "big", have imaginary friends (i had many of those), write storys, pretend you were at disney world when it's thundering outside and there is nothing to do. All those things are imaginative and creative gifts and expressions that we tapped into. However, when we grow older we loose this creativity of "dreaming and imagining". We don't color or draw things that are on our mind. Journaling is so time consuming and not important anymore. Cordinating a dance, making up a skit, is usually not what our life consist of anymore. That is not of importance anymore and we grow out of it. It's so funny though, cause no one had to teach us to want to draw, pretend, dress up; we just had a desire to do those things because God put that creative call in us. Now, we tend to live only for today and never dream about where we want to be years from now. These gifts are not just for children, but they are for every person, young or old. I was thinking about this, if God is creative, then so are we. I mean, he made the beautiful and interesting universe. YOU BET HE IS!! What is your creative talent and ability. Cherish it and develop it. Never stop cultivating and practicing your craft. I love this quote, "Creative people know that not only are they missing something important when they arent exercising their creative gifts, but thry are also shrinking from the responsibility that they have to develop those gifts. Don't forget about the gifts you've been given. He's made them just for you to USE.
p.s. (so if you are a talented musician, come see me, I'll use you), haha I had to throw that in j/k

Posted by rachel at Tuesday, March 21, 2006 | Permalink | Comments

HEY EVERYBODY!!
HERE ARE SOME OF THE CHOIR PICS FROM OUR FIRST PERFORMANCE! I HOPE YOU ENJOY THEM.

Posted by rachel at Friday, March 17, 2006 | Permalink | Comments

If you guys weren't here last night, you missed an amazing experience. The presence of God was definately in the place. TFC invited "Rusty and Jessica" to come and lead us into worship. WOW!! yeah that is all i can say. Everything about it was great and for me, refreshing. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to "chill". Just to come to service and be a part of worship from my seat was just awesome. (but not all the time) haha I got everything that I possibly could from the night. Oh, and I can't wait for tonight!!! Reuben Morgan, from Hillsong, yeah; "enough said"....Two amazing nights, I won't know what to do with myself. And on top of that I'm going on a little vacation tommorrow and I won't be back until Sunday night. It's so awesome when you have a praise team, that can get the job done even better than you can, yeah that is "the tfc praise team." (i question myself why am I here!!) I know they will do a fantastic job in leading worship on Sunday. HOLLA- Our leaders, Angie and Micah, lead the practices and take care of all the technical parts of music. YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING!! I wouldn't be the same without you. I will be praying for you guys this week. God's going to show up and like I always say, "bring your A game." p.s. sorry for not doing a post in a while, I will totally get back on top of it after my vacation.

Posted by rachel at Thursday, March 16, 2006 | Permalink | Comments

Well today, we kicked off our first beginners guitar course for U of L small groups. It was a great success. We had 10 people and everybody learned something. I will also, be blogging some tips and hints to you guitarist. Just keep checking and practice, practice, practice. And of course, I had to tell everybody today that I got a new guitar, I just couldn't help it. And yeah, I let it SLIP! I told my mom that I got a guitar today, cause she asked me where I was and I told her the music store to get a guitar case. Well she knew something was up so I told her. Yeah she FREAKED out!!! She proclaimed, not another one. Then I told her it was a good deal and said the price, then she about had a heart attack. I thought it was quite funny if you ask me. But it was all fun and games, she was happy for me. Well, I'm going take a break and head to the movies. I need to take a break from that guitar, and hang out with people.. See you tommorrow at church (yeah, you better not be late)

Posted by rachel at Saturday, March 11, 2006 | Permalink | Comments

Today was just one of those Great days. You learn to enjoy them because they are few and far between! (j/k) I of course went to school as usual and at 2:00 I had to interview a entertainment editor from the Daily Advertiser for a project in my interviewing class. To my surprise, I learned so much on what It's like to hear someone talk about life in the public eye. After that I had an interview to observe, cause we all had a partner. She did hers at planet radio, and that was the coolest experience ever. (doesnt take much to please me when it comes to music)... I was able to see some of the different rooms where dj's host "on air". The guy we were interviewing was live, so during parts of the interview we had to stop so he can speak on the air. His voice would change so drastically and it was so cool how fast and fluent he spoke. They had guitars on the ceilings, autographed pictures, cd's, etc..... I just thought it was the neatest experience. And the next thing really tops my day, I told my dad to come meet me at a pawn shop cause I spotted a guitar that I really wanted. Therfore, he bought it for me. It was perfect timeing cause my mom is out of town, so you know it's harder to "splurge" with her around.. haha. Don't worry, you will definately see me playing it on Sunday. It's a Larrivee, which is an incredible guitar. (thanks Dad for the permission, you know I'll play it). ssshhh..... were not telling my mom until she gets back from Texas, so we can keep the peace in the house for the weekend. (haha) ...Last but not least, I went eat Chinese food tonight and in my fortune cookie I got this note.."your love of music will be an important part of your life", you don't want to say that's God cause it's a "fortune cookie" but that's crazy, pretty weird huh.. well tata for now, I'm going get some rest...

Posted by rachel at Friday, March 10, 2006 | Permalink | Comments

Last Sunday (March 5th), our new T.F.C. praise choir rocked the sanctuary! Everything about this was an amazing experience for me. From the rehearsals to the worship before service, none can compare. I hope the choir had as much fun as I did. Don't worry, there will be many more to come. Crazy thought...this morning I read in Psalms 47:1 "clap your hands all ye people shout unto God with the voice of triumph" and then i thought Perfect, that is the "choir vision" and I continued to read 47:2 and it states that "for the Lord most high is terrible, he is a great king over all the earth" (haha) i totally got a kick out of that! he needs us to praise him, cause His singing ain't no good! nah His praise is not what moves him, it's your praise that get's his attention. I love what Pastor Jay says all the time, " He has perfect worship in heaven- angels, choirs, instruments, but he still comes down to listen to our imperfect worsip- wrong notes, pitch incorrections, wrong words, clapping off beat, etc..... WE move him!
p.s. choir- I will soon post pictures and info about our next performance. Also, you can go and check www. thefamilychurch.cc for our video clip of sunday on the music page. Great Job!

Posted by rachel at Thursday, March 09, 2006 | Permalink | Comments

HEY EVERYBODY,
You do not want to miss what going on at The Family Church this month in March! On March 15th (wednesday night service) Rusty and Jessica will lead us into a Night of Worship at 6:30 in tfc sanctuary.

Reuben Morgan from Hillsong Church in Australia will be with us on March 16th, Thursday night at 7:00 pm in tfc sanctuary.





T.F.C. Praise Team and 212 College Band will perform at Vineyard Church Friday Night March 31st at 7:00pm. I will let you know more details as we get closer.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR
DON'T MISS THESE AMAZING EVENTS!!

Posted by rachel at Wednesday, March 08, 2006 | Permalink | Comments

This morning during my devotional time, I really heard these words so clear in my spirit. In Proverbs 8:13, states that "I love those who love me, and those that seek me diligently will find me." What a powerful, yet simple statement that stuck out at me. Diligence is the key. Music is a progressive art. It takes time, dedication, persistence, and development. But none of these things matter unless diligence is involved. Being faithful daily is what you gets you there. No one started off as an amazing musician, they gradually worked diligently everyday to perfect their craft. It's the same with our personal life with God, if diligence is not an important factor in our life then there is no growing relationship. How can we get to know each other more if we don't spend time with one another daily. But the greatest thing about this is that God clearly states that if we seek him DILIGENTLY we will find him. Not maybe, sometimes, once a week, or on occasion. Everytime we seek him, he will be there waiting. It's harder to rekindle a relationship with a friend if you only speak to that person a couple times a year. But if you saw them everyday and hung out with them, that relationship would definately grow each day. Same is true with God. It's very hard to feel His presence and spend time with him if Diligence is not the important factor in our life. If we only visit the throne room of God on occassion, it's very difficult to express our love and adoration toward him. (usually we are focused on everything else but him) I love this quote, "The more we seek him, the more we will find of him".

Posted by rachel at Wednesday, March 08, 2006 | Permalink | Comments

HEY,
well, i did it all by myself and without anyone's help......that's pretty Good!! I love reading people's blogs so i figured why not do one of my own. I think this is such a neat way to connect with people, that you might not know much about. My blogs will consist of stories, experiences, as well as information about what's going on at tfc, and of course MUSIC. Band, this is for you to hear my heart even more.. haha (sorry) love you guys! later

Posted by rachel at Tuesday, March 07, 2006 | Permalink | Comments