Featured Ministry:  “Church Chix”

Every month, Laced with Grace would like to feature a ministry that reaches nationally or around the globe. In the month of January we would like to point you to Church Chix, a Texas based worship band. Check out the interview below to find out about the group and how you can enter to win a CD of the group.

This past month I had the opportunity to chat with Carol Moxley, bass-player of the Texas-based worship band “Church Chix”. Carol was one of the first bloggers I met when I started blogging almost 5 years ago – so there is a special bond . Find out at the end of the interview how you can get a copy of the CD (not available for sale (yet) at regular retail locations)…

1. Carol, I know you have been playing bass for a very long time. How long have you been playing together as a group known as “Church Chix“?

Iris, we’re humbled by your interest in Church Chix and we thank you for this opportunity to share our ministry with your readers here at Laced With Grace.

About six years ago, Toni and I played our guitars for our church’s women’s retreat. At that time we shared a common dream of a ladies’ praise/worship band that would be available to women’s ministries in need of music for retreats and other events. We didn’t know it at the time, but two other women musicians at our church also shared a similar dream with each other. We later found out a singer at our church also had the same calling on her heart and her college roommate (a violinist from another church) was looking for a praise team with which to use her musicianship. Later, we came across a female drummer from a nearby town with the same calling. The story of how it all came together is one of those things that is so bizarre and unexpected you know only God could have managed to make it happen. And he did! Rebecca and I are the only original members remaining – Toni joined a little later, the others after that – but looking back, we see how and why he lead the various members in and out of the group along the way. He is sovereign!

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I don’t know if Coca-Cola still uses this as their slogan or not, but when I was growing up I remember their advertisement always said, “Coca-Cola – the REAL thing!” Have you ever considered what the “real” thing is?

 Today our society is saturated with “artificial” things. We have silk flowers instead of fresh. We have artificial sugar instead of pure from the cane. We have false eyelashes instead of the God-given kind. Fake, artificial and false. No wonder we can’t recognize the real thing when we see it!

 One of the reasons that Coca-Cola for years was the #1 beverage was because their slogan was not just words, but it was proven fact. Coca-Cola conducted many beverage tasting tests, where they would taste test their drink against a competitors beverage. With unmarked cups, people would be asked to drink from one cup and then another and try to decide which one was the REAL Coca-Cola. It was really easy to select the real thing, if you were familiar with what the real drink tasted like. When matched next to a generic brand of Cola, Coca-Cola would win everytime I tried this taste testing experiment.

We are living in a society now that it is very difficult to recognize the REAL thing anymore. I wonder what happened to the “Coca-Cola” Christians? You know … the ones that walked the walk and talked the talk. Over the past few years, I have noticed that the label “Christian” has become just that … a label! When I look around my world, I see alot of people who consider themselves a Christian but yet they do not live like a follower of Christ. They have taken on the name, but they haven’t changed their game.

It isn’t enough to just call ourselves a Christian, our walk and our talk must reflect that Jesus Christ resides within our being. I wonder how we would measure up if God decided to do a taste test with our spiritual walk with Him? If He lined us up against a non-believer, with all of the labels removed … would there be a difference found? Would we be found to be the REAL thing or just someone going thru the motions?

Dear Lord … Let it be real! Help me to be ALL that I can be in You. May my words, my actions, my thoughts and my passion lead others straight to You! Empower me today to shake my world for You by showing them that following You is definetly the REAL thing! – AMEN.

You can visit my blog daily for devo’s at http://womentakingastand.blogspot.com/

Girls I have to tell you…the tears come. Without warning or reason.

On Monday a while back, we had errands to run when I got home from work.  We went to Lowe’s, then Walmart, then filled up the truck with fuel, then ran to a “fast food” place.  I ordered light…but still.   It was what it was.

THEN while driving the very short distance back home, I teared up.  Reason? Who knows.  There doesn’t have to be a reason.  It happens.

I sucked it up and squelched it back as best I could…no since in worrying Jeff.  Men, including mine, do not like tears.  Tears might require them to “fix” something…this something can’t be fixed.  Some men instinctively know to either “hold you close” or “run” for their lives.  Some don’t have a clue.

I think, judging from the past 27 years, Jeff would feel bad for not knowing what to do…but he wouldn’t run.

One morning later in that same week as I was driving to work, I felt the Lord say, “embrace” the tears.  Share them with Me.

Instinctively I do talk to the Lord when tears gather, although it may not always sound like a prayer…and I don’t think it has to be a prayer.  It can be a discussion.  Just make sure you give Him time and space to discuss back to you.  Tune your ears heavenward.

Take a few deep breaths.  When I take my deep breath, I say either out loud –or to myself, “thank you Jesus”.

There are those times when the tears have a bit of an angry sting in them.  From my own experience….it’s best to let God deal with those as well.    He knows what is best for me.  Always.

When the tears come to my eyes, I sometimes find myself pulling out old garbage that I have horded up—held onto—and sometimes it has even started to decay.  Most of the time I allow the LORD to deal with the stuff, but I will be honest–there are times that it’s just too much.  I stuff it back down with a very Scarlett O’Hara attitude of– “I’ll think about that tomorrow!”

That is not the right way.  I know that very well.

^{Psalm 61:1-2} Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. (NIV)

There’s an old song that says, “Tears are a language, God  understands”—and I believe only He truly understands these hormonal tears of mine.

Often you’ve wondered why tears come into your eyes
and burdens seem to be much more than you can stand.
But God is standing near, he sees your falling tears,
tears are a language God understands.

So, embrace your Father, He will embrace your tears and wipe them dry.

Trusting Him to fix me,

Angie

(I think the lyrics are written by the Booth Brothers)

It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested. — Exodus 31:17 (NIV)

It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed. — Exodus 31:17 (ESV)

In reading this piece of Scripture, the thought crossed my mind that perhaps God didn’t really need to rest, but he chose to. Then I wondered if he did this more as an example for us because he knew we would need times of rest. I’m sure God does many things that he never tells us about, so what’s the significance of him telling us this?

Somehow, if God were to say, “I don’t rest but you need to,” I don’t think it would have the same impact on us, especially since we, by nature, try to be our own gods or create gods out of our endeavors.

Perhaps it’s because I’m getting older, but I find I desperately need that day of rest, time to just unplug from the push and shove of the world. I even made steps to cut off the clamors for my attention on the weekends by turning off Twitter and staying away from my computer on Sundays. For me, this has been a great solution to reduce stress and recharge my battery for Monday.

I’m so grateful we have a God who teaches not only by his Word but by his actions, too. He could have kept that to himself, as I’m sure he keeps many things, but he chose to reveal it to our benefit.

So I’m learning to take those times of rest, on the weekend and sometimes for few minutes during my work day. Just to stair out the window by my desk and drink in a few moments of God’s creation.

How about you? What do your moments of rest look like?

Praying and believing,
Dineen

I looked at the huge box sitting there. It contained the much awaited copier I wanted. Looking at the box a voice of reason told me to wait for help to lift it to the top of the desk.  However, patience has never been my virtue so I didn’t listen. I decided, “Hey I can handle that.”

Flexing my superwoman muscles I effortlessly lifted the copier out of the box (yeah, right).  By the time I had lifted it halfway to the desk I knew I had made a huge mistake but I persisted and succeeded in getting it on top of the desk.

However the next day, I could barely get out of bed.
A visit to the doctor,
three days off from work (can’t teach if I can barely stand)
and several weeks of pain brought me to the sad realization that I was not the superwoman I thought I was.

As I lay there in pain I thought about what had bought me to that moment… in a single word… impatience.

Impatience will cost you. It can cost you money, friendships, pain and suffering or any number of consequences simply because impatience is often followed by bad decisions; Case in point, my superwoman moment.

Somehow when I think about decisions in my life it always help to find biblical counterparts who made similar bad decisions had similar experiences. I found a lot, all in one verse.

When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” Exodus:32:1

Moses was on Mount Sinai in the presence of Almighty God. The Israelites had seen and experienced God bringing them out of Egypt, protecting them and providing for them in the desert. Yet when they saw that Moses had been gone a while they became impatient. This moment was followed by a bad decision. The bad decision was followed by even worse consequences.

What I like about the story is that the consequences were followed by repentance then forgiveness. But, wouldn’t it be even better to simply practice restraint, avoid making a decision that we know the Holy Spirit is cautioning us not to make and bypass the negative consequences?

Years later I can still remember those three days on my back and sometimes when I’m tempted to rely on my own strength, or help God bring His plans for my life to pass I remind myself that impatience will cost me. The question is do I want to pay the price?

God bless,

Bernadine