Live to Worship…Worship to Live

Tomorrow marks exactly 3 weeks until our live worship recording! With that in mind, here are a few things you may be curious about:  

1. We will be pre-selling CDs the night of the event for a discounted rate. This rate will be available ONLY that night.  
2. We will host a “CD Pre-release”  party where those who attended the event and pre-purchased a CD will be able to come by the church and pick up their copy before we make them available for others to purchase.           
3.  The day of the event is also “move-in” day for freshman on the CSU campus. We’re hoping to network with them and their families to tell them about Pointe North and invite them to be our guests at the recording that night.
4.  The song set that night includes some of our church’s favorites, like “How He Loves” and “Overcame”; It also includes 3 original songs that have become a part of our weekly worship.

I’ll be giving you a few more tid-bits over the next 3 weeks to keep you informed. I hope you’re planning to join us! To purchase tickets online, click HERE.  If you are attending, leave a comment behind here and be sure to visit our event page on Facebook!

I bet you didn’t know….

The Summer between my freshman and sophomore year of high school, I lived in Washington, D.C., for a month and worked in the United States Senate as a Page for Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina! It was an incredible month and I learned so much about government and politics and people. I was in the Senate when now-Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was going through confirmation hearings; I rode in an elevator with then-First Lady Hilary Rodham Clinton; I sat in Senator Thurmond’s office and ate ginger snaps with him (his favorite cookie!); I was able to visit the Senate Archives and walked the underground halls from the Senate to the Capital to the House…It was phenomenal! When Senator Thurmond passed away, I grieved like I would have for a relative. He was a great politician and the biggest lover of South Carolina I’ve ever met. It was a Summer I’ll never forget. Just a little something you may not have known about me…

Sometimes people spend a lot of time together but don’t really know one another. I think that’s so sad! There’s something to be said about being a student of the people in your life that you really care about, and I’m making a conscious effort to do just that. So as I thought more and more about this, I thought it might be cool to start this blog to let people know a few things about me they may not have known before…and I’m hoping you’ll leave comments sharing things I may not have known about YOU!  This is my attempt to start a revolution of sorts….one where we get past the “Hey! How are you?”s of life and pursue relationships with one another. So here goes:

I bet you didn’t know….

I started college pursuing a degree in nursing. It was always my dream to work in the medical profession and my Mom was a great example to me as an RN. I finished my core classes at Charleston Southern and started the required courses for nursing when I met encountered what would be my ticket OUT of the nursing program: Elementary Organic Biochemistry. Need I say more?!? I ended up with a “D” in the class and, looking back, should have just retaken the class in summer school, but that “D” sent me over the edge and I decided to change my major. So that’s how I ended up claiming English as a major; and when I realized I only had to take 2 extra classes to add Speech Communications as a double-major, I did just that! Some days I wonder what my life would have looked like if I had become a nurse, but when I trace back my steps, I realize that had I not majored in English and Communications, I never would have worked at Northwood Academy which means I may not have met Cal and Tina which means I may not have ever been a part of Pointe North in the capacity I am today! Sometimes a change of heart (and a change of major!) is a good thing. Just a little something you may not have known about me….

This past week has been an extremely difficult one for my family. We lost my cousin, Brandon, at the young age of 27. Brandon was more like a brother in our family than a cousin – especially to my brother, Ryan. The Edgar Family flocked in from everywhere and surrounded one another with strength and love and support. Words weren’t even necessary – just  being together brought peace and strength. I witnessed the Lord perform several miracles in our family that have brought, I believe, a permanent healing. I’m so thankful…

I learned several important lessons from all of this, and one about covenant relationship. The Edgar Family is such a model of covenant. I learned a long time ago that covenants are NOT contracts, and are therefore NOT based on the performance of others. If we’re truly in covenant relationship with someone – a spouse, family, a church body – we have to remember that our commitment can have nothing to do with what the other party does or doesn’t do. No matter how hurt we may get, no matter how upset we may become, covenant doesn’t walk away…because it’s not based on performance. My family has exhibited this and the reminder couldn’t have come at a better time for me. Instead of focusing on what others did or didn’t do, I have to be a covenant keeper. God kept His covenant with me when I didn’t keep mine and that’s the model I’m called to follow…no matter how much it might hurt. 

Thanks, Dad, for reminding me of this truth.

Last night at our Small Group, David led a discussion about dreams; it really stirred up some deep conversation. As I looked around the room, there were some who were nodding furiously and had “stars” in their eyes because their dream is so vivid. Others had a look of consternation as they expressed difficulty in dreaming and said they didn’t know what their dreams were, or even how to dream. I realized something as I sat there…

There are some dreams that God placed in me a l-o-n-g time ago that I thought had died, and some I put to death. The ones that I suppressed are ones that were seemingly impossible and appeared ridiculous to other people. There have been times I’ve been very quiet about my dreams (which may be a good thing if you think of what happened to Joseph!) and times I’ve felt at liberty to share them with someone close. The problem always arose in my feeling like I was appearing as arrogant and thus stopped dreaming when, in fact, it had nothing to do with me and was only setting God up to receive glory!

Funny thing…the book by Mark Batterson that I’m reading right now (see yesterday’s blog) and our discussion last night go hand-in-hand; maybe God’s trying to tell me something…you think?!? Today, I’m starting to dream again; today, I’m going to pursue my dreams no matter how ridiculous they may seem; today, I’m asking God to resurrect those “dead” dreams and give me another chance to be a vessel through which He can receive glory.

“A dream will cost you your life and appear to others the height of folly just before He (the Lord) comes and accomplishes the impossible.”       - Chip Ingram (Good to Great in God’s Eyes)

I just started reading an incredible book (Thank you, Mike Requa!) called In a Pit With a Lion On a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson.  I want to share with you a couple of excerpts, but first, let me warn you: You’re gonna want to get this book…today.

• “He (God) is always using past experiences to prepare us for future opportunities. But those opportunities often come disguised as man-eating lions. And how we react when we encounter those lions will determine our destiny.”  (14)
• “When we don’t have the guts to step out in faith and chase lions, then God is robbed of the glory that rightfully belongs to Him.” (15)
• “Spiritual maturity is seeing and seizing God-ordained opportunities.”  (17)

Is that awesome, or what? And that’s just the first chapter! This book is really making me look at the challenges in my life with new perspective – to see them not as burdens, but as opportunities for God to receive glory, and for me to walk into my destiny. You gotta get this book. Hey, Mike – I’m chasing my lion and am determined to defy the odds! I love you and appreciate your belief in me!

It’s Friday morning. I’m on my second cup of coffee and I can’t stop thinking about yesterday. Thursdays have always been important days for me – They’re the last day of my work week so I have to make sure everything is ready to go for our weekend services; “Ladies First” meets at 6:30am on Thursday mornings and I LOVE “my” Ladies; We used to have rehearsal on Thursday nights before we added Saturday night services so I looked forward to them for that too. And now? Thursdays are still my favorite day…but there’s an additional reason…

During the “40 Days of Love” series, David and I, along with MIke and Brooke Overholt, started hosting a small group on Thursday nights. David and Mike are co-leaders, and I LOVE being able to show up and just be “Ricsha” – not “Worship Pastor Ricsha”; not “Wife Ricsha” ; not “Mommy Ricsha” ; just Ricsha. Our small group is a “safe place for me to land” and I find myself looking forward to it every week. Our group is made up of couples and singles of varying ages and personalities, and it’s incredible. Take for example, last night – David taught us and then facilitated a conversation about “covenant” and it was so deep, yet so simple. I walked away from there understanding that every day, I choose to live out covenant relationship with Christ. And every day, I need  to remember (BIG covenant-term) what Jesus did to initiate covenant with me by pouring out His blood. We all walked away realizing that the two best places we have to walk this out are: 1. The Local Church  2. Our Marriages.

It’s not just the discussions that I love – although they are life changing! I LOVE the relationships we’ve built. I love that someone can be gut-wrenchingly honest about a situation they’re going through and be surrounded by encouragement and prayer and support – not judgment; I love that someone can come for the first time and feel safe enough to open up about the “hell” they’re walking through in life only to be loved on and prayed for; I love that we can eat together before we study and then break open the Word over coffee and yummylicious desserts; I love that everyone knows Ashley needs a blanket and Hope likes to sit on the floor and Matt loves Mike’s rocking chair! I LOVE our group. If any of my fellow “DBCers” are reading this, THANK YOU for making Thursday night the best night of my week. I love you guys.

It’s Monday morning and I am enjoying a much-needed day off! This weekend was incredibly full – I led worship for all three services, tag-teamed part of Cal’s message and then had the first major rehearsal for our live worship project. I can still hear the click track in my head…dink, dink, dink! Who knew???

Anyway – Although it was a busy weekend, I believe it was an incredible one! I’m so excited about our church moving toward Covenant Membership. It’s such a privilege to be a part of a place that desires to “do life” as Christ intended…and in so doing, be the “hope of the world!” I can’t wait until the last weekend of June – If you’ve signed up to be baptized, you’re in for a celebration like none other! If you’re still thinking about it…STOP! Just go online and register! I mean it! Stop reading this blog and do it right now!   =)

All three services were incredible, but if I have to focus somewhere, it would be on the ministry moment that took place in the 11:00. WOW! People were prayed over to be set free from addictions of all kinds and God really showed up! I believe that the desire and taste and cravings were diminished from some of those people right there where they stood. It was powerful! (If you were one of those prayed for and have a testimony to share, please do!) There was definitely a “divine interruption” and those are my favorite moments…

A few other things to highlight: 

• Brooke sang her tail off on “Amazing Grace/My Chains are Gone” – I was on my feet one service, on my knees in another and cried my eyes out in another! Awesome.
• Kristie pulled off 3 services with half of a voice due to sickness. Major kudos her way.
• The band was ON it. I am so incredibly blessed to work with a group of people who “get it” and want none of the glory!
• Our Tech Team is phenomenal. These guys/girls work so hard to see our services pulled off flawlessly and are content to be in the background. I love you guys and appreciate you more than you know!
• Cal communicated his message with passion and conviction and was sensitive enough to the Holy Spirit to stop everything and minister to people. I’m glad he’s my pastor.
• Our volunteer teams are amazing – parking, greeters, first-time-guests, ushers, hospitality – You guys rock! THANK YOU for all you do! You come early, and some of you stay late, and your servants’ hearts do NOT go unnoticed!

Thanks for tracking with me! Now…I’m off to rest!