Wave Goodbye to 2008...Say Hello to 2009

I ought to be ashamed of myself for not posting in so long. Bad Dionna!

Okay, I'm over it now.

2009 is upon us. I looked back at the plans that I made for 2008 (I don't call them "resolutions," I call them plans) and some I accomplished, others I made some headway on and still others I totally blew.

So now, as I look to 2009, I'm going to carry over some plans from 2008. I'm also going to have a few BIG new plans for 2009. I won't bore you with all the details, but I will share some.

1. I WILL finish Encounter at the Well in 2009. I think it's important for me to share the music that God has put inside of me. I don't plan on going after a record deal or anything (I'm not that good). But I do think it's important to share the music. I will finish in 2009 also because this just needs to get done. I need to finish it and move on.

2. I will grow in patience in 2009. 2008 has been all about not rushing the process and learning patience. OMG! As I look back now I had to be patient in waiting for a boyfriend, getting a car, growing in my career. I won't even mention all of the things I'm still waiting on. Over and over, I had to keep hearing "don't rush the process", "respect the process", "be patient." UHG! Lame. A couple of months ago, I had to start telling myself that I'm not a Process Rusher. That is NOT my name (just like Jerk is not my name) and I will NOT wear that badge anymore.

3. I will grow in my understanding of my calling as a worshipper and a worship leader in 2009. The past few months have been a rollercoaster of emotions and opinions about who I am as a worship leader. To share a little, the first half of 2008, I experienced tremendous growth in the area of worship leading. It seemed that my style of leadership, my voice and my songs were needed in worship. Then something happened and I began to...well...suck, to be honest. What the heck happened? I understand some of it and other parts confuse me, but I know that God wants me to be a worship leader.

So I was frustrated. I wanted to grow and learn and I knew I had a lot of room for growth in my spiritual preparation for worship. And people kept saying that I needed to get out of my comfort zone, push myself. That's good advice. At the same time, my name is not Darnell or Terri or Tonee or Jessica. I will never sound, look or lead worship like them. Yes, I need to be able to exhort if necessary, but I will NEVER mimic them completely and try to get their results.

So the conclusion is that maybe God doesn't want to use my particular gifts to lead worship in front of HOPE's House in this season. As a matter of fact, I'm taking on a new role as the Worship Leader for Children's Ministry. That's really exciting. I'll get to be able to teach kids about what worship is (and is not) and show them how to do it. Enough about that for now, though.

4. I will try new things in 2009. Here are a few of my ideas:
- Join a hiking club (I like hiking and I've never done much of it. Why not?)
- Explore Ventura Blvd on the weekends. Check out all of the shops and restaurants.
- Save up $$$ to take a trip. I think I want to do this every year from now on and go someplace new every year.

The way things are looking, 2009 will be another busy year. I better stop now so that my excitement doesn't start to turn into stress...lol. Happy New Year!

Turn Off the Noise

I wrote this back in early December or late November and never posted it. So here ya go!

It's crazy how you can hate being busy AND hate doing nothing.

This summer was probably the craziest summer of my life. I was working on an album, coordinating a wedding, maid of honor in another wedding, starting a new relationship, babysitting every week, took a vacation to NY AND working and doing ministry stuff. Every week I stopped and said, "what the heck was I thinking"? I couldn't wait for it to be over (not that I didn't have fun - I had plenty of that) and for life to just be calm again.

Now, life is quite calm (partly due to the fact that I don't have a car) and I'm itching to be busy again.

Funny thing is that when life is slow, you can hear God a lot clearer. And let me tell you, He is speaking. I mean, I can ask Him something and immediately hear His answer and be sure that's Him. CRAZY!

I'm learning that all the busyness, all the distractions, the running from here to there - those are all NOISE. Sometimes we can't hear God because of the all the noise that's around us. Wake up. Rush around getting ready. Go to work. Run to church/meeting/rehearsal/outing w/ friends. Go home. Get ready for bed. Go to sleep.

When is God supposed to speak in the middle of all that? Oh some of us are spiritual and we have a regular quiet time every day - yeah, 10, 15, 20 minutes! Say a prayer, journal, read a scripture or 2 and move on. That's not a lot of time to get a word from God, digest it (cuz sometimes it just don't make sense....yes, grammar...I know) and decide how to apply it to your life.



So here's what I'm learning:

(Disclaimer: I don't claim to be perfect by any stretch of the imagination. I'm just telling you what my experience has been)



1. Although, I'm not a fan of the bus at all, I find that I'm able to look around, observe the people and the world around me, listen to music (actually, listen to the words of songs instead of just mindlessly singing along). Sometimes God speaks to me through that observing.



2. I spend more time at home these days (if I'm not at work, at church, w/ Mark or w/ friends - trust me - I'm spending more time at home). If I turn off my Friends dvd and light a couple candles and just sit, He's happy to join me. He never disappoints. Even if He's not speaking to me in words, I can still read His Word or write a song inspired by Him or take inventory of all that He's done that day or week or hour. In any case, it's quality time and God loves it.

Enjoy!