Collective

I want to take a little time tonight to highlight little portions of what I saw God doing in the hearts of the people that generously poured themselves into this project.  Each person pulled a little more out of me, and pulled Heaven a little closer.
There's a whole pile more people than I'm able to highlight in this post both that poured into this project, and that have been deeply changed during the process of this project. This post is  the people that spend hours and hours in our living room late at night, working to create the sounds of my heart.

This man is my favorite :) Josh is my husband, my safe place, my perspective, my consistency. I saw God show him a shadow of the amazing things he was made for. Josh stepped out with new boldness, letting his voice come out in fullness. It was vulnerable and risky, and totally paid off. He still doesn't see fully how talented he is, but I think that's part of why God has chosen him for this. This project began with his trust and belief in me. He agreed to it before even hearing what I had written. Throughout  this project the tides began to beautifully turn, and wave after wave has been resounding our belief in him!

This project really cracked me open. It pushed me into new places of vulnerability- places where I squirmed at the amount of my heart laid bare for my community to join me in the quiet place. God taught me in this project to truly be deeply in community with the amazing people around me- to depend on them, to share scary, deep things with them, and this risk has paid off too.

Ethan has been a backbone in so many ways. He often holds down the fort, and has carried great responsibility. I saw God orchestrate a new layer of relational, family connection with Ethan during this project. We all considered it a total privilege to laugh and be silly with this guy!

Nini (Hlengiwe) is a precious gem from faraway lands. She calls out our inner black woman, she makes us laugh, keeps us on track, and we love her like crazy! I saw roots grow in her heart during this process. God made her for international purposes, but her heart still needs "home". I can't get over what a privilege it is to know that she has roots here with us now.

I saw a brand new chapter begin to take fight in Ben! I think it's all things he knew were there before, but we rubbed shoulders with a few people during this project that called out what they saw in him, and spun those things from a whisper into motion. He is bolder, knowing his value and asserting what he has to offer. Can't wait to see what God does with the gold in Ben!

Michaela... God knit us together SO MUCH, you and me. It had already begun, and I knew you understood things in my heart that I couldn't articulate. As we worked on music, and navigated the spiritual portions, God deepened a bond that is now forever.

I'm not sure I'm even able to put into words what God did in Becca. The night of the live event, He blew deeply into her... so deep that all of us felt it too. Something is different in her now, and I get the feeling we will spend decades discovering her heart!

I watched God whisper to Hannah that He sees her, has always seen her. I watched Him tell her that the risk of sharing what He put in her is worth it. And share she has, and I'll never be the same.

I love how God is thorough, wasting nothing. I love how He uses every little bit we give Him, weaving it all into beauty that changes lives. I love how in community when we let others be near during a time of great change, God uses our heart movements to move others.

Thank you for being community for me.


Photo credit: Danelle Pearson Design