Fall...... 

Ahhh, the sweet smell of fall is in the air.  I love it!  I love the crisp cool air in the morning, not cold, but cool enough to drink a cup of pumpkin spice coffee without sweating.  Just enjoying the first leaves changing and everything that comes with the change of the seasons.  I know the season doesn't technically change until September 21st or some random day like that.  For me, however, the start of school signifies the start of fall.  This fall was a little bitter sweet for us.  David James' first day of K4 was on the 26th.  Tears were shed (Jamie), and the reality that he will now forever be in school set in.  By the second day, I was convinced we had made a terrible mistake and that he was too little for school just yet.  I realized I was growing just as much as he was.  It's hard as a parent to see our children grow and change, but we must realize that it's part of life.  Where would we be now if our parents were convinced that we were too small to ever start school?  Sadly, a lot of parents still treat their kids that way.  Babying them every step of the way, giving them everything they want, and never giving them a sense of responsibility.  It also made me grateful for a heavenly Father who makes me "go out there and make something of myself",  as my earthly father would say.  He realizes that we are definitely too small to handle some things on our own, but yet He makes us go try it so we are not helpless in our Christian lives.  Through Him we can do all things. 
If you are in choir, you know that our motto is: "Nothing Less Than Holiness."  While this is hard especially for me to follow, I pray that this season we will give nothing less than our best to God.  That we will live lives that are nothing short of absolute Holiness for our Savior.  He is so worthy of at least that. 

Summer has officially begun around here.  It's exciting, but it's also sad because I know that our ministry takes a break during the summer. We still have a few Sunday's left to sing. Please don't forget about Father's day on the 16, and we are also singing on the 23. June 30th is our Patriotic Sunday and it will also be our last week to sing as a choir.  We will take July and some of August off.  I will let everyone know when we will start practicing and performing again.
Please don't start slacking off in church attendance simply because choir is not meeting.  My dad allows us to take the summer off only because he trusts that his crowds will not suffer.  My goal is to have just as many in the Sunday morning services as we do throughout the year.
Thank you for your faithfulness throughout the year.  It means a lot to me, to know that there are so many faithful friends serving alongside of me in leading our church to worship our Lord. Enjoy your summer!

February, the season of love!  I know we are all suprised to find that it is already February.  The choir has been working hard on their music and I am excited about the few new members that we have picked up.  I hope you are still recruiting for both the choir and the orchestra. 
Thank you to those of you that have been faithful in attendance.  It's nice to have a full choir in both rehearsal and in performance.  It doesn't go unnoticed!
Please remember to grab your CD's of all of the choir music, and also the Easter Musical.  Thank you again for all of your hard work! 

Let the Holidays begin.....

For me, October begins the holidays.  I know it's a little premature, but I've been listening to Christmas music since May, and by now I'm pretty burned out on singing Thanksgiving and Christmas songs without getting to have any decorations.  Now Jamie will not allow a Christmas tree up yet in the house, but she is putting pumpkins and scarecrows and lots of other Fall decorations out.  For me, that's good enough.  It means the holidays have officially begun.  The boys are ecstatic about their halloween costumes, and I'll admit, I'm pretty excited about it too. Jamie, however, is not excited about "Christmas Dave."  This is the David that comes out in mid October that starts panicking because I'm sure that there isn't enough time to learn all the Christmas music and I will look like an idiot because the school programs will be a flop.  This of course hasn't happened yet, but it will one day.  Once again, I've sworn to stay calm and relaxed and enjoy the holidays. Yeah right! 
I hope, for your family's sake, that you are different.  This is the time of year when we can enjoy traditions and time together, and can focus on our Savior most of all.  We won't be doing a huge production this year, but we will be learning some songs that remind us of God's greatest gift.
As always, thank you to those of you that are so faithful.  God is glorified in your willingness to be used!  God bless you all! 

Fall?

I'll be completely honest, Fall is one of my favorite times of the year.  I love Spring, with all the new growth, and I love summer weather.  I even love the snow and cold of winter, but I LOVE fall.  I get so excited when there's a crispness in the air when I leave for work.  I love the trees changing and all of the colors.  I love that I can finally drink a cup of hot coffee instead of iced.  And of course, I love that Starbucks has finally brought back the Pumpkin Spice Latte.  The thing I like the most about THIS season, is that choir has started back up.  I think the new rehearsal time is going to work out great.  I enjoy going home after church to be with my family, instead of sticking around for another hour. 
We have lots of exciting events coming up this fall, so I hope everyone is able to help us out.  I love all the new music, but of course I picked it out, so hopefully you like it too.  Please continue to recruit.  We have several new people, but we still need all the old members too.  My dream is to one day have the choir loft completely filled and filling the church with praises.  How awesome that is going to be! 
Thank you again for your faithfulness.  I look forward to a great season! 

Time is Flying By.....

August!  That words strikes fear in the hearts of all students and teachers. It means that the summer is soon over and they all head back to the rigorous schedule of school, work, sports and whatever else the school year brings. 
I hope we have all enjoyed the break from choir for a few weeks.  I know I have enjoyed it, but I have also missed everyone.  I have especially missed the music on sunday mornings! We will soon be getting back in the swing of things and I hope that you can commit to being there each week as we lead in worship to our Lord. 
We will be having a kickoff party sometime in August and we will also be learning some new music.  Don't worry, we're still gonna keep some of the favorites that we've done.  I have been working hard trying to find new recruits for the choir, and I hope you can do the same.  If you know somebody that sings, don't be afraid to ask them to try it out.  Hopefully, they will love it and want to stay with us.
I know God is honored by our faithfulness and our worship, not by our talent. 
I look forward to worshipping with you each week again. 

I guess we are considering this to be officially spring. Even though it never really got cold here on the eastern shore. It was an extremely mild winter and I'll admit that I actually enjoyed it. However it did make the winter months fly by. I can't believe it, but it's actually almost April. Easter is coming and before you know it, it will be time for graduations and end of the school year parties. I'm very excited about our easter music this year. It's a lot simpler than last year, but it has such a great message. I hope all of you will be able to be here on Easter sunday, the 8th. It's so encouraging when the choir is full. I'm not sure what we would do if everyone showed up on the same sunday. We would definitely fill the loft up. Thank you for your hard work and commitment, especially to the extra Easter rehearsals. It really shows when we worship. Enjoy the warm weather, but don't enjoy it too much so that it keeps you out of church. We need everyone. After all, we are a CHOIR! Not a solo act!

Finally......!

Finally, there is a new schedule posted. I know it's hard to believe. Christmas season is past and January is actually almost over. So much for slowing down in this New Year. I'm sure by now you are all back to work, school, or whatever else you took time off from during the holidays. This also means we need to get busy learning new music and making new commitments to being faithful to choir. I thank those of you who are here each week without being asked and sometimes not even sure what we are singing. Its actually a commitment to God and His ministry, not just to choir. Those of you that aren't quite as faithful, I ask you to start anew right now. Please do your best to be here every week for both church and for practice. It really shows when we are all present and well rehearsed. I always get compliments on the choir when everyone is there and we all know the song, however, those weeks that half of you are gone and the other half never showed up to practice, well, let's just say that its obvious too. I look forward to a great year together, and I hope we can add new members to our ranks each month also. Thank you again for your faithfulness and dedication. God is honored.

Stress or Enjoy?

Well I have officially reached my stressful season. I'm trying to decide if I should just forget about all the stress and just go and enjoy the holiday season. It's been so long since I've just let everything go and let myself enjoy the season. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas. It's my favorite time of year, but with the joy comes an elementary production, a high school production, and of course the Christmas eve service which based on what we are doing that year could be considered a production. All in all though, I wouldn't trade it for anything. There are those that would argue for Thanksgivings sake. I mean the poor holiday gets left out in the cold at our house. We go from dressing up and handing out candy to putting up stockings and singing carols in the kitchen. I am thankful still. I hope you don't stress out too much throughout this season. Let God's love and gift of life encourage you to let go of everything else and just enjoy the season. I'm having to learn this concept and I think it's gonna make this a season to remember!

Christmas?

So, we are well into Fall, and I love it. I love waking up and having to wear a jacket because there is a crispness to the air. I love how my wife puts pumpkins and all of her fall decorations around the house. I love using pumpkin spice creamer in my coffee. I love wearing orange (for fall, not because I'm a Tennessee fan!). I don't like that it gets darker earlier, but that does mean that bed time for the boys is earlier! Most importantly, though, it means that the insane holiday season is coming soon. We begin working on Christmas music in the choir this month, and from there it doesn't stop. Honestly, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I love the holidays and I love that I have three amazing little boys and one phenominal woman to spend it with. It's stressful, and time consuming, and sometimes ridiculous, but it's worth it all. I hope that as the craziness starts, we don't get worried, we just enjoy it. We get to sing about our Savior and all He's done for us. I know He's done too much for me for me to get too consumed with myself and my worries. I just want to enjoy it all. I hope you do the same. That's our motto this season: "Enjoy It!"

Big Month.....

Well August is here and it's a big month, at least for me and Jamie. August usually signifies the end of summer break from school, all the college students will be going back, school is starting back up, there is usually a bible conference or some type of program about to begin, and some of us are trying to get back into the swing of a harsher routine. This August is no different, except on top of all of this we will be having our third child. It's very exciting but it seems overwhelming at times, as if two boys wasn't overwhelming enough! There are going to be several new additions over the next few months. Amy Plummer kicked us off last month with little Bryson, or as David James calls him, Baby Bison. Then they keep coming. It is an exciting time and I know many of you are just as excited to see the new ones as I am.
In the midst of all of this we do have some exciting programs at the church that we have to prepare for. September 11th starts our Fall Program on the cross. We will start working on music, both old and new, for this program ASAP. I'm excited about all the new this month and next. We need to be very faithful to choir and to practice. I know it's hard, believe me, but it is so rewarding when the choir gets up on Sunday mornings and the loft is full and we all join together to worship and sing praise to our Lord! Let's get through all of the vacations and different summer events and then let's hit the ground running! Thank you all for your dedication to the music ministry. God Bless!

So Hot...

Is it just me or is it getting to be extremely hot outside? I guess it could be worse and we all know the awesome humidity WILL get worse. I probably shouldn't complain since my poor wife is not only hot but is also carrying an extra human around inside of her. I know there are several other women who are growing a person too, and I salute you. What an awesome task the Lord has given you.
I think of my tasks as well and I think, how blessed I really am. Even when things are going bad I still can focus on God's blessings to me. I have two amazing little boys, soon to be three, and an unbelievable wife. These alone would be enough, but then I get to work and serve with wonderful people like you all. Every week we get together and minister to those around us, and more times than not I'm being minstered to by you. Thank you for your ministry not only to the church but to me. It really is an encouragment to see your, most of the time, smiling faces and to hear the talents that the Lord has blessed you all with. Even for those of you that don't feel like singing is your forte', you are blessing others with your spirit and willingness to get up there each week and give it your all! Thank You!
Please try to relax and enjoy the summer heat rather than stress about it. Just think about the two feet of snow we had last year and try to be thankful that you can at least get out of your driveway. God Bless you all!

David

Encouraged....

I was extremely encouraged this last week. When I looked up at the choir, it was completely full and there were still some key people missing. I realized that we could fill up the choir loft every week with some dedication. I appreciate everyone of you who are here every week. Most of you understand the need for commitment and practice to give the Lord our best. We need to keep recruiting and getting more people to join us. I would love to have to move everything off the back of the stage because the choir needs the room. I would love to have to move the orchestra to the floor because there's no more room for instruments. I would love to have to turn people away because there's no room for anyone else. We can only accomplish this through commitment.
It's summer and everyone is planning vacations. I think it's great if you get to go away. Everyone needs some peace and quiet now and then. Just don't forget about the rest of us while you are away. I really do miss you when you're gone. I feel like part of my family is absent.
Even when you're away we still keep rolling along here in the music ministry. So jump right back in when you return. Enjoy your summer, and let's keep serving Him together!

Finally....

Finally the warmth has arrived! Unfortunately with it comes people missing church because of spending the day on the boat, or fishing or going on vacation. I understand that all of these things are important and believe me, I wish we were going on a few more vacations this summer. Every one needs a break every now and then. I hope everyone is planning some time away this summer, but I hope no one is planning to take the whole summer off! We need everyone we can get in the choir and orchestra.
Everyone did such a phenomenal job on the Easter music! What a blessing to be a part of the services on Good Friday and Easter morning. I have gotten so many compliments and good reports about how worshipful and beautiful the music was. I remember looking out on Sunday morning as I was leading and seeing a visitor sitting in the back. He is a family member of one of our members. I had never seen him or his family before, but I couldn't miss him that morning. He was so excited to be singing. There were too many people to be able to hear him alone, but I could tell that he was singing with everything that he had. He had a smile and was swaying back and forth as we proclaimed that God was alive! It actually convicted me about how un-stirred I am sometimes when I sing. The Lord has done so much for me and yet I fail to do something as simple as "give it my all" when I'm singing and worshipping Him. I was very excited on Easter morning to sing about our Risen Savior, but I should be just as excited every other sunday because He's just as alive in May through March as He is on Easter sunday.
Thank you so much for all your hard work and commitment to the special programs the choir performs in. They would be nothing without you.
God Bless

Did Spring get the memo?

Ok spring is officially here, but I'm not sure it got the memo! I'm ready for shorts, flip flops, sun and fun outside. I'm tired of long sleeves, shoes, and most of all cold weather! I know everyone else is too. I think Spring got confused because Easter is so late this year. Maybe it thought it shouldn't come out until right before. At any rate, it's gonna be fall again before it even gets warm.
I'm sure everyone is working hard on the Easter musical. The music is a lot tougher this year, but it is amazing. I have a personal time of worship everytime I turn it on. Sometimes I think I should be paying more attention to the words and parts, but I think God is pleased when I just let myself go and worship Him during rehearsal. I don't have a lot of free time during the day, so those moments that I do have are special. That is why I use them to worship Him. I hope you take the time to worship God each day. I know it's hard with everything going on in our lives, but it's so important to stop for just a few minutes and praise the God who created everything around us. As spring does arrive, the beauty comes with it. Praise God for the beauty that He made. He took the time to create all of it for our enjoyment, so let's praise Him for who He is and how much He loves us.
Thank you for all your hard work. I know God is pleased!

Is St. Patrick's Day a real holiday?

So the question remains of whether St. Patrick's Day is a real holiday. In America, we capitalize on every possible day to either get a day off of work, buy candy, or if you're my wife to buy decorations and decorate the house very festivally. I do love the decorations, but I definitely don't need the candy! Whether it is a "real" holiday is unsure, but it is a milestone of the verse that says "Go Ye into all the world and preach the gospel." You see St. Patrick's day is credited with bringing the Christian faith to the pagan country of Ireland, which according to Answers.com, drove out all of the false Druid gods. As I was reading the description of this day it struck me how our Christian lives need to resemble St. Patrick's day. Not for the green shamrock hats or pinching your co-worker who wore red instead of green, but because we are to be taking the gospel to as many different peoples and nations as we can. We should be God's hands and feet in driving out the false gods of our world. Many of us are the only God some people in Kent County will see. I have been doing a Bible study on worship recently and one phrase that really hit me was, "Worship invites God's presence!" What a powerful statement. We are actually inviting God's very presence into our midst when we worship Him. Then it scared me to think how on sunday mornings as we "worship" Him, some can stand there with a blank face or even a scowl. What does that say about God's presence in our lives?! If I were in heaven standing in God's presence I would be anything but blank faced. Why should my worship each day be any different! I pray that we never forget the fact that we are leading people into the very presence of our Lord each time we take the stage. Let's Worship our Lord each day with a happy heart! God Bless!

Season of Love.....

As February approaches I'm reminded of Valentine's Day and how this is the season of Love. Of course Wal-mart has had Valentine's candy out since December 26th, just another holiday to capitalize on, but that doesn't lessen the importance of the day. February 14th is set aside to remind us to tell those that are closest to us how much we love them. I'm sure everyone has some plans for a special dinner or romantic outing with that special someone in our lives. My wife would kill me if I forgot V-day. It seems the whole world is full of love in February, but how many of us remember to tell the Lord how much we love Him. True, this day is not set aside for that specific purpose, but why do we need a specific day to remind us to love God. Every day should be Valentine's day in our hearts. If you truly love something or someone, then you want to pour as much time and energy as you can into that relationship. It should be no different with our Savior. We should pour just as much, if not more, time and energy into loving Him as we do into everything else in our lives. Sadly, He often takes a back seat to the "more important" things. This "season of love" don't forget to thank God for His sacrifice, and incredible love. If only we could love like our Lord, how many of the petty things in life wouldn't matter. I love you all and thank you for your sacrifices to minister with me. God Bless!

"A New Song...."

"He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God; many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord." Psalm 40:3
The greatest thing we can do with our talent is bring praise to the Lord. The Bible says that many will see the joy in our lives and will trust in the Lord. We can stand up there and sing all we want, but if we aren't living the song we sing, we are deterring people from God instead of drawing them unto Him. I pray that this month, and this year, as you prepare to lead others to worship Christ, you will ensure that your heart is prepared as well and that you are being a living testimony of the song that you sing. I look forward to the many exciting things God is going to do through us this year. Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!!!
It's the most wonderful time of the year! It's also the busiest time of the year. Already most of us are trying to fit holiday parties, programs, and special services into our schedules. I am officially in panic mode about the school Christmas program. It's on December 14th and it should be a good one. (The students have put in a lot of work regardless of how it turns out.) I'm very thankful for each one of you. I know how hard you work every week, and I appreciate you taking the time to minister every week. Hopefully you are being ministered to, through the services each week, as well. After the new year we will have another choir party. December is just too busy to try to fit another thing in. In the midst of everything else, take some time to pause and remember the Reason for the Season. Remember, God is heard in the still small voice. Relax and listen for that voice this holiday season.

David

Giving Thanks.....

Yes, it is November! I can't believe it either. In over just a month my little boy will be turning two and it will almost be Christmas. If you're like me then you love Christmas time more than any other holiday. My classroom Christmas tree will be going up almost immediately and the Holiday CD's are already driving Jamie crazy. During this time of year we are reminded to give thanks for all the blessings in our lives. But we shouldn't just give thanks for one month out of the year, we should be thankful all year long. There are so many things that God has given me that I am truly grateful for. My wife, my family, my beautiful and LOUD boys, my friends, and the amazing ministry that He has allowed me to work in. Thanks to everybody who takes part in the music ministry. What a blessing it is to me each week to be able to come to church and worship with not just talented people, but talented friends. I love getting to know each one of you, and I have enjoyed ministering with you as well. I hope that as the hustle and bustle of the season comes down upon us, we will take to the time to be thankful. Thank God for rich blessings! We all have them in both big and small forms. God Bless everyone!