LightsOut Summer 2010 - verse 5 - REPEAT ?

REPEAT ? We want to continue the work set before us- to provide a consistent pastoral presence in the lives of those consistently away from theirs.  We want to make a change in the daily lives of those serving under the lights. to provide an element of hope, help, and health in all we do.
We want to be obedient to the call of God on our life.  We want you to experience the joy that comes from being obedient as well.  Is God moving on your life to join the work of the Kingdom in which LightsOut is engaged?  If so, it is our prayer that you would be willing to listen & act. 

Pray:    Ask God to speak to you about your resources

Move:   Act when He asks you to, be ready to serve with what  He's given you
Crash:    It may mean your world changes drastically to serve HIM
                      -be ready to see things in a new way and be blessed!
Repeat?  God wants LIFE ABUNDANT for you.  That often means
                 we celebrate the gift of forgetting, so He can teach us
                 again what it means to rely on Him.  Do it today, listen
                 for His still small voice telling you-  Pray. Move. Crash.

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let us know if you'd like mailing address info.

LightsOut Summer 2010 - verse 4- CRASH!

CRASH!
     Sure, movement is risky- you might crash & you might hit a wall.  But MAYBE... just maybe... you won't.  You certainly won't risk crashing if you don't moving, but you also won't risk success either.  Going anywhere means going somewhere; activity in itself contains inherent risks, but the rewards so outweigh the risk!  And, really, as I look at life it seems VERY evident that the risk lies NOT in moving, but instead in remaining stagnant.  In John 10:10 Jesus reminds us that the REASON He came was so that we could have LIFE, ABUNDANT.  That means living with a schedule and lifestyle of someone who really wants to hear from Christ.  Not moving at such a frenetic pace that we are bound to CRASH because of our unhealthy pace, but INSTEAD living and moving and having our being anchored in HIM, so that when and if we do CRASH, we know to grab His ready hand to guide us.  Who knows, if your life is anything like our lives have been this summer, you may even find that when you crash, instead of it being the worst day and everything being ruined you might just be surprised to find that God has granted you such grace and peace that the stuff crumbling around you actually needed to go- like pieces of scrap marble crumbling off of the perfect block you've been protecting instead of carving.  When you shift your gaze from the pieces lying all over the ground you might just see the masterpiece that's been waiting to be found in the midst of the clutter.  Be willing to allow Christ to crash your world into the beauty that is waiting for you and ONLY HE can provide.

                                    Pray. Move. Crash! (or at least be willing to)                                                                                         see you back here tomorrow!

LightsOut Summer 2010 - verse 3

MOVE...
    We are trying to be obedient.  The reality is that the artists we serve, these guys and girls are doing the same, living out their calling as each of us are trying to do in our various walks of life.  The difference is, for these folks, they are looked up to by tons of people for guidance and the way through life because of their 'status' on stage.  Further, the difference for these folks is that they are  away from home and hope, community and care week after week.  LightsOut is seeking to be a consistent pastoral presence in the lives of those who are consistently away from theirs.   Our movement is pushed by God's moving in our lives, but carries with it the need for us to be moving as part of a larger community within the body of Christ-  what WE are doing, what HE is asking us to move through, is directly connected to YOU moving as well in response to what God has given you in time & treasure.  There is joy in serving and sharing what we've been given, I pray you are moving toward experiencing that same joy!  Join us- Pray & get Moving!

see you back here tomorrow as we listen a bit more to the song God is teaching us... 
"I will sing... sing a new song!"  Ps. 40

LightsOut Summer 2010 - verse 2

Hey!  you came back!  cool.  We've been exploring what WE did this summer, but wanted also to talk to YOU about how this intersects your life... basically SO WHAT?

Glad you asked!  you can help in huge ways.  You can:


PRAY.
we'd love prayer for the following:

• Web site development and collaboration with another national ministry-  pray for logistics and details to come together so we can have a REAL web site for LightsOut
• Fall ministry opportunities & on-bus tour mini-retreats
• Places to share the vision of LightsOut with people that could help fund the mission and ministry
• Praise - for God's provision & protection throughout the summer!   There were so many times we were in very dangerous situations, ones that could have ended up VERY badly.  For example  the 1.5 hour drive in Germany for Dave on the autobahn in an overloaded and scary car (whose driver hadn't done much driving the last 4 YEARS!) or the accident we had with our RV this summer on the interstate - in those PHYSICAL ways we felt more than covered by God's hand, but also in so many SPIRITUAL ways, we felt his hand upon us, guiding, leading, inspiring;  as we encouraged others WE were encouraged too!  Please please please set a time for 5 minutes right now, get out a post-it, pray and ask God to bring to mind a specific artist you can pray for, a specific area of life to pray about for that artist, and a specific way you can serve LightsOut with your resources.  Then, when the timer has gone off, take another 5 minutes to listen for God's response and write it down on your post it-  stick that on your computer & pray for those things all week-  we'd love to hear what you heard!

see you back here tomorrow, we'll listen to this song God's creating in us and in you some more!

LightsOut Summer 2010 - verse 1

Did you know that it is 100% because of friends like YOU; that you care, pray, share the resources God has blessed you with, that LightsOut was able to have a great spring and summer?  Truth.  And, more truth, we are STOKED about how the fall & winter are taking shape:

1. Already we have been contacted by 2 artists about us doing a mini-retreat for them out on the road this fall, and....
2. Dave will again be joining the LifeLight Tour as their Tour Pastor this December.  We are VERY excited for the daily opportunities to lead devotions and provide pastoral care & counsel for LightsOut regulars Everyday Sunday, John Reuben, and painter/speaker Eric Samuel Timm, as well as DJ Steve Wade and a host of folks we'll meet on the tour. 

We can't do this without your help!  If you'd like to know more about our fall/winter plans, or want to know how you can be a part of shaping the hearts & souls of these influential young men & women, please email or call- we'd love to chat!

click to see our Summer Slideshow/Pix

Summer Wrap-Up
As we reflect on the last few months, the song of the summer for LightsOut seems to go like this: Pray.Move.Crash.Repeat.  Catchy tune, eh?

     We started the process of where we'd head for festivals with PRAYer, and sent out the requests to serve at each of the locations we ended up working with.  One of the festival Directors called me and in his first email said of our desire to serve their artists, "...this is such an answer to PRAYer for us!!"    That was exciting news to hear, and it was a pleasure to serve alongside Joel and his great team at Crossfest.   Our PRAYers were answered again this year in the form of a summer home for us as we traveled- DORIS the RV. 
     From there, was the MOVE aspect of our summer- getting everything lined up for logistics, routing, and even listening for the Holy Spirit to MOVE in our lives and in the lives of those we served.  We spent much time listening to the heartfelt stories of artists, to their hurts and their dreams and goals.  In each of those things we felt space to MOVE, saw God MOVE in these lives, saw the Spirit MOVE over the crowds as they joined in worship and in surrender of old ways in exchange for a new way to MOVE.
     There was one common element of the summer we saw at every stop, and really at every connection point with artists- whether physically seeing them or just talking with them over the phone/txt/email.  That common element was that at some point, we all have something enter our world that causes a CRASH.  That may show itself in exhaustion, in surrender to temptation, in emotional breakdown, a myriad of different ways.  We have tried to be a place to vent and offer solace and respite for folks, so they have a safe spiritual place to CRASH, and that has been something we have been thankful to be able to provide.  Needing to have a deep, meaningful talk, but not having someone to talk to can be a lonely and isolating feeling.
    Summer touring to festivals is a very rewarding and diverse experience, but it is at the same time like re-living the same week(end) over and over again.  The same bands, the same merchandise booths, the same fried food on sticks, the same people asking the same questions over and over again.   It can begin to feel like someone clicked the 'REPEAT' button for your summer.  That feeling, though providing some comfort in routine, can also kill your soul's quest for something more and deeper.  It's hard to explain, but living 'Groundhog Day' all summer tends to make one forget about those things you were gonna do, what you were gonna read, how you were wanting to grow.  A person can really feel 'stuck' spiritually without someone else helping to keep you accountable or discipling you.

Life on REPEAT isn't how we were designed.  LightsOut is trying to keep life from just being a day on REPEAT & instead helping shape transformational relationships with Christ-

 EVERY NEW DAY.   

SO WHAT?  Glad you asked!  you can...  

tune in here the next 4 days & we'll explore this song a little further! 

(looking for the CRASH story that had Dave in TEARS?  us too- can't wait to share it over the next 3 days!)