Why we're recording a folk album.

In 2 months, we're heading back to Mississippi.

But just for 7 days! Our band will be recording our first, full length album with BlueSky studios in Jackson during the first week of October. We're obviously quite excited, as any musician would be, but most of our excitement is directed less towards the album itself, and more towards the ensuing journey it will bring. This is our mission! This is how we're going to bring the Gospel to the dark places of our county! This is how many people we encounter will hear about Jesus, and hopefully respond with a desire to initiate a relationship with Him! I'll explain by telling you the full story...

I've always wanted to write songs. I first became interested in music when I was 13 and decided to grab my dad's Ovation from his closet and start awkwardly strumming out some chords my friend showed me. I learned fairly quickly and started doing cover songs the next summer, but that's about as far as it went for awhile. Granted, I did get a lot better a guitar, but I was never really able to write songs for about 8 years. Even my first few songs were messy at best. I was in a band in Jackson with 3 of my best friends in the world, and we were having so much fun making music that I decided we should do originals just for fun. What came after that was not necessarily bad, it just wasn't good. People said they enjoyed my songs, but I never felt like I had a gift of song writing. They were mostly about my relationships with Allie or stories about different people or places. They were mindful of Jesus, but not actually about Him. They were few and far between and I always felt like they were forced; sort of like telling a story in Spanish without actually knowing how to speak it very well... I could get by, I just wasn't fluent.

Skip ahead to this past winter where I experienced probably the darkest time of my life. An adrenal gland failure, mixed with a vitamin deficiency, during the worst Indiana winter in 100 years led to depression, chronic fatigue, and lethargy unlike I'd ever experienced. I lived in this for about 5 months before Jesus miraculously saved me. And when I say "Miraculously," I mean it. In one day, my condition was diagnosed, I started a vitamin program to heal my adrenal glands, God released me from the job I had endured for 6 months, He called us to be missionaries in our town to start the things we had been praying into for years, and we started planning a month long trip to our beloved Mississippi. Our lives changed. And with that change came something unexpected, but quite welcomed: I started writing songs.

Maybe the best way to describe what happened is to liken it to when people are baptized by the Holy Spirit and they start speaking in tongues: something wonderfully spiritual happens to a person and then they immediately start speaking a language they never knew before. I guess I was baptized by the Holy Songwriter. That's not to say that my songs are divinely perfect or anything... they're certainly divinely inspired, but I still wrote them and I still mess things up a lot. God just decided one day to give me the coolest gift that I'd been wanting for 11 years. His timing was pretty great too!

Maybe a month before this, I had planned on doing a show with a kid from our Tuesday morning art ministry who was a crazy good musician (his name is Jimmy and he's incredible. He was invited to play in the San Francisco Folk Festival this past summer... check his music out here). I had promised him the show so that he would have a chance to perform his songs for some people in our church. But then 2 weeks out, I realized that it would be too much to for me to juggle with my job, getting ready to go to Mississippi, and having to move all our stuff out of our friend's house that they were selling. I had planned on canceling, but before I could tell Jimmy, me and Allie were at a Missional Community conference in Ohio and the Lord clearly led me not to cancel. Jesus told me to do the show because He wanted us to sing songs about Him as a way to preach the gospel to the people in our town. I was really excited to get such clear direction and looking forward to doing the show, but I wasn't really sure what songs He was talking about. There were a few covers that I thought would be cool, but it seemed like something was missing....

Well, you can figure out the rest.

I got my sister and good friend together, and in 10 days, the Lord gave us 10 songs which we were able to perform at the show, and it was beautiful. As I looked at people's faces while we told them about Jesus using folk music, I couldn't help but think that He planned that for me before I was even a thought. I could see His smile, as He wrote the notes for my existence before He even created earth. I could see the joy in His face as He watched me, so fully satisfied in Him, as I operated in things He had for me, using things He gave me, to reconcile things back to Him. It was wonderful.

Have you ever done something you feel that you were created to do? Eric Liddell says that's when he "feels God's pleasure." I couldn't agree more.

Since then, we've written 30 songs and have painstakingly chosen 11 to record so that as many people as possible will hear these songs about the Jesus that has so greatly changed our lives. We want to bring these songs to dark and spiritually abandoned places to tell lost and hopeless people about a Man who wants desperately to redeem their hurting hearts back to Himself. We want to dispel the lies about the person they may think is Jesus with the lovely truth about the real, live, crazy awesome One.

And let me tell you: Jesus loves folk music. That is why we're recording a folk album.

Forgiveness!

"What does it even look like to forgive someone who has hurt you?"

I've wrestled with this question for over a year as I carried wounds from my past given to me by unsuspecting people in my life. Granted, these were not mighty wounds; a water drop in the sea of pain more like, but wounds all the same. For the sake of transparency, and since this story is redemptive in the end, I'll share specifics:

The summer before my junior year at Mississippi College, I interned at a church plant in St. Louis, MO. One of the pastors invited me to live with him and his family for the summer rent-free for the whole summer. They fed me, they included me in everything they did, and the pastor (I'm not going to say his name, but it's David) poured into me constantly. I learned more in 3 months about discipleship, community, the power of the Gospel, and missions than I had probably learned in my entire life, and all because David saw immeasurable value in biblical discipleship. I was radically changed that summer, and I still remember vivid pictures of God revealing His overwhelming Love to me in tangible ways.

Then, after my summer as an intern, my life moved pretty fast. In July I got engaged, in August I got married, in September we moved to Spain, in October we found out we were pregnant, in November we traveled to 13 cities in 9 European countries, in December I started working back in America to provide for my new wife, and in January I started my senior year of college. Needless to say, things looked different.

So then good news and bad news. The good news was that whilst finishing school, the church in St. Louis called me to offer me a full time job which I was to start immediately after graduation. The bad news was that it sucked. (Keep reading! Remember, it's redemptive!)

Now, as you can probably guess, I was not aware of the fact that it would suck whenever I excitedly told Allie that we would be moving to St. Louis and working for the best church we'd ever experienced. I was not aware of the fact that it would suck when we left both of our families in Mississippi and re-located our entire lives 8 hours north on Interstate 55. I was not aware... but God was.

Now, I really should explain what I mean... My job sucked, but St. Louis was awesome. The people in our church were some of the most loving and caring examples of God's tenderness and kindness we had ever experienced. We loved that city passionately, and we knew discovered what Jeremiah meant when he talked about finding his own welfare in the welfare of the city. I vividly remember Chuck from our urban garden inviting me into his home for the first time and giving me a 4ft tall marijuana plant to destroy because he knew that he couldn't turn to pot to control his anger and that only Jesus redeems us from our raging flesh. I distinctly remember the homeless man that walked up to our pop-up show on the corner of Locust and 11th and wanted to play Wagon Wheel with us on his harmonica which lead him to tears of joy as he performed. I'll never be able to forget shouting (literally shouting), in font of the arch, the gospel of Jesus' unimaginable love through a microphone to the people who stopped to listen as we all wept in awe of our Creator. As well as countless other memories that stick out in my mind like a cold glass of water in the Sahara.

Really the only part that sucked was my job and my relationship with David. But it was enough. I didn't know what was different but I knew that it was. How could the same tasks, relationships, and place as two summers before be so drastically different? I concluded that it was my fault and that I should probably just get over it.... but I couldn't.

Unfortunately, the redemptive ending I keep mentioning did not take place as I drove away from St. Louis into my new life in Indiana... life's not always a neatly wrapped package. No, I actually carried open wounds with me as we met new friends, attended a new church, found a new job, and thanked Jesus for rescuing us from such a painful environment. But then, as normal life set it, I started noticing this wounds which were getting awfully infected. I started thinking several times a day about specific memories of pain or things I wish were forgotten. Thoughts of ill-will and even hatred started plaguing my mind as Satan slowly used my foundation of pain to build a house of bitterness. Then it was from within this house of bitterness that I asked:

"How on earth can I forgive someone who's very memory brings me pain?"

Then I started thinking about other people's pain and it made mine look like the aforementioned water drop into an ocean of suffering. Some of my best friends in the world are currently on a nation-wide tour screening a documentary about the evil of sex slavery and how it's origin takes root in our own hearts. Allie, Viva, and I were able to join them for the first 2 weeks of their tour and as I thought about the thousands of precious girls who had been repeatedly raped by men enslaved to their evil desires and the unfathomable weight of pain each of them carried, I was faced with the reality that if I can't forgive David, these girls would never be able to forgive their perpetrators. But then, Jesus reminded me that He can.

So, with all these thoughts in my head, in the middle of my house of bitterness, Jesus did what He always does: He whispered something that changed my entire life. I was sitting in church as a guy from England talked about forgiveness when I asked Jesus what He had for me. He told me to do two things: Go to St. Louis and meet with David, then tell him that I forgave him. A pretty simple task except for the fact that I hadn't forgiven him, but Jesus told me to, so I did.

A week later I sat on David's porch with him and his wife as we hung out and talked much like we had 3 years before. Time was getting away so I changed the subject, looked him in the eye, and told him that I forgave him... then something happened that made me instantly weep (even as i type this!):

i actually did.

Jesus heals. He redeems. And He loves us so much that He will do anything to tear down our houses of bitterness to hold us in His bear hug. He gave me forgiveness unlike anything I ever saw possible and a years worth of bitterness and hatred growing it's putrid mold inside my heart was no match for the crazy love of my Dad who sought complete freedom for me. Now, all those thoughts that used to haunt me daily are completely shadowed by the beautiful picture of David, with tears in his eyes, looking at me in total humility as he asked forgiveness for every wound I had held on to. All I did, was respond to the voice of Jesus, and He gave me things that continue to overwhelm me.

He loves us so much.

-Trey

Time

Relationships take time and time has to be intentional.

This coming October will mark one year of my family living in some form of intentional community with other believers. The term, "Intentional Community," refers to a group of people that live together for the purpose of experiencing Koinonia. Koinonia is the Greek word from which we get the English word "Community," which basically means to have everything in common (See Acts 4:32). This word is used in several places in the New Testament, especially in connection with the early church.

It is interesting to me that, although this idea seems to be a direct result of a common desire to pursue biblical community and how that points us closer to our Father, most of the intentional communities out there right now appear to have a drastically different goal... mostly due to the fact that most of them don't really seem to be interested in Jesus. (You can look for yourself on the Fellowship of Intentional Communities website).

Allie and I experienced this first hand a couple of weeks ago when we visited The Farm: one of the most famous IC's in the nation. The Farm was founded by Steven and Ina May Gaskin in the 70's as a commune, but had to digress to an intentional community in the early 80's because they're were like $100,000 in debt. It was basically like the mecca of hippy-commune living before reality caught up to them. Now it's just a regular neighborhood, except it's spread out on a big farm and there's a rigid membership process. We did find some people our age, that actually cared about living in community, but even that was more based on a common interest of natural living and organic farming rather than enjoying the fellowship of living with others.

So my family and I have lived in intentional community for almost a year now, which means that it has been almost a year since we have had a home to ourselves and frankly, I hope we never go back. Needless to say, we've learned a lot in this past year. Probably the most important thing we've learned is that community doesn't work unless you want it to. And it takes no small measure of desire for it to work either. You have to want it more than you want to be comfortable, which is inherently antithetical to the typical American lifestyle. The only way community can work is if you're actually in community with the people you're around; this means spending time with them and you guessed it: that time has to be intentional.

Believe it or not, you can live with someone for a long time and never spend time with them. I had several room mates in college of whom I knew nothing about! Intentional time with brothers and sisters for the purpose of community means turning off the distractions, avoiding any kind of maintenance or logistical talk (which needs to take place but in it's own time... it's of much lesser importance) and just sitting with each other and talking. It's fine if you start off with small talk as long as your intention is to pursue community through quality time spent together. Eventually it'll lead to sharing your heart. It will lead to love expressed through the admiration of the Body of Christ. These talks are not about interests or hobbies, those have their place as well, but these talks are sometimes uncomfortable and always rewarding. These talks are sometimes messy, but always redeeming. It's sharing the things you usually don't want to talk about because you care about community. It's opening the door of unity with your family for the sake of having everything in common. Common Unity.

And guess what! This applies to all relationships! The most important tool for marriage, we learned through living with others. If Allie and I don't have these talks on a regular basis, we break....which brings me to my main point:

We need this time with Jesus.

Time.

He is our perfect picture of community, because He created it! We were created for community with Him! Not to discuss theology or logistics. Not to ask Him for things. Not to try to figure out his plan for our lives. Although these things are very good and need their own time, we need time to just to sit with our Father. We need time to ask Him what He wants to tell us and the give Him the time to do so. 

You know why we need this time with Him? Because He's worth it. Maybe you have never just sat down somewhere without distractions and didn't open your Bible or notebook but just asked Jesus to come sit with you....if you haven't done this then you must! This incredibly simple act could change your entire life! If that sounds dramatic, think about who you're inviting to sit with you! The star breather, the artist of time, the musician of nature. He's the one who crafted the Matterhorn out of nothing. He's the man who braided a whip to drive out the businessmen from His temple of worship. He's the man who lifted the hearts of the downcast so they would be certain that He loved them fiercely. 

That one.

He wants to be with you continually and if you just take the time to sit with Him and listen to what He has to say, He could tell you something that could drastically change the course of your life.

Spend this time with Him.... it could literally change everything.


-Trey

Dear Introvert,

You most likely grew up with few friends, though the relationships ran deep.

In your adolescence, you probably envied your extroverted peers for their endless social energy and their absurd amount of best friends.

You've watched the extroverts in your church take charge and do great things effortlessly. You've seen them lead worship, greet visitors, and make everyone feel warm and welcome.

You may have experienced some guilt, because it's harder for you to strike up conversations with the lost than it is for your extroverted brothers and sisters in Christ.

It took a very long time before you were even slightly comfortable praying out loud.

People may have thrown words at you like cold, intimidating, or judgmental.

If you're like me, you've probably thought something was wrong with you.

Why is encountering the broken so much easier for others?

Why is it so hard for me to open my heart to people?

Why can I not simply initiate conversations and relationships?

You are a precious child of our Father God.
He is wildly in love with you. 
He created His children all uniquely in His image.
You were bought at a high price.
You are hidden in Jesus and you are His.

There is nothing wrong with you. 

In fact, the Bible even tells us that a gentle and quiet spirit is beautiful to God (1 Peter 3:4).

God has a specific place for us in His kingdom.
You understand the need for depth and transparency in conversations and relationships, and you crave it.
You have the natural ability to make someone feel truly heard, and therefore important and loved.

Keep in mind- sometimes introverted hurting people need introverted evangelists.  

The Church needs us introverts just as much as it needs extroverts.

And take heart, your social discomfort and short social stamina leaves more room for our God's power to be made perfect in your weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). 

So rejoice in your constant need for His energy and strength!
Praise Him for your total dependency on His beckoning voice.
And always, always, thank Jesus for His grace when we hide in our introversion and miss an opportunity to behold His Glory.

Don't you dare hold shame or guilt because of how God Almighty created you.
Instead, ask Him how He wants to use you and your sweet introvertedness to glorify Himself.

He wants to walk with you in your introversion, and He will often draw you out of where you're comfortable.

But don't worry, just cling to Him. 

- Allie

Here We Go

   I've had some form of blog since I was 12, and quite frankly I was much better at it back then. I remember quite vividly my teenage Xanga site and how dedicated I was to relaying to my small network of friends and followers of the exciting happenings of homeschooling, household chores, occasional vacations and discovering good music. Ironically enough, my life is approximately 73 times more exciting than when I was 12, yet I never find the time to let my now large network of friends and family know what is happening. No more! Now is the time to revert back to my childhood ways, find time regularly to slow down and remember the things that Jesus has done, and to invite others to worship our Creator with me through the telling of testimony. Because that's what it's all about right?

   Although my precious wife has had several attempts to chronicle the major events of our small family since it's beginning, it was never fully supported and therefore was never able to fully take off. Now, we are in full agreement that documenting our life as it occurs is the most effective way to show gratitude to the thousands of blessings our Father has given to us. It also allows the family we have in Mississippi, St. Louis, and northwest Indiana, to rejoice with us on our journey. Our first several posts will probably consist of a mixture of current events as well as past ones (due to the aforementioned previous lack of blogging prowess).

   So, these are our stories. Me and Allie will be relaying the majority of them because we haven't taught Viva how to type yet (if given the opportunity, you should, however,  get her to tell you a story. You probably won't be able to understand the majority of the words, but rest assured that you will enjoy every second of it). There will be mostly happy stories, but some sad stories. Some short, some long, some medium length... honestly, I'm not 100% certain what they'll look like because I've only thus far experienced some of them. To kick it off, i'll tell the story of how we got here...

   About 10 months ago my wife and I were sitting in our living room in St. Louis, MO praying with some friends. We had been in St. Louis for about 8 months, moving there from Clinton, MS where both went to school. I had been offered a job at a church in a STL suburb which I started 3 weeks after our graduation. (We ran across our graduation photos the other day with a 6 month old Viva smiling with us in our cap and gown... they're pretty great) Through a barrage of circumstances we had felt the Lord calling us away from my job at the church after working there for about 7 months. I looked for other jobs and found a few things that sounded interesting but i didn't have a peace about any of them. Then one night about 10 months ago, as me and Allie sat on our living room floor with our friends, Jesus spoke to me.

   A lot of people get a little weird when I say "Jesus spoke to me." It's a little more normal when we use the phrase "I feel the Lord calling me _____" or "I feel like the Lord is opening a door with _____", but when I say that Jesus gave me specific instructions on where I was to take my family and that His instructions did not line up with any previous form of opportunity or familiar circumstance it can make some people uncomfortable. Does Jesus really speak to people like that? I mean, all throughout the Bible it seems like God has full conversations with people which involve personal revelations as well as specific instructions, but that was before the Bible was written. So now that we have the Bible He surely doesn't speak to people the way He did back then.... or does He?

He does.

I'm telling you right now, as I lay on my living room floor praying with my friends, the God of the Universe spoke to me in the same way in the same way that He spoke to Paul or Moses. I wasn't even asking Him about anything related to what He told me! He was totally off-topic, but it changed the rest of my life. That happens! Jesus can whisper something to you in a moment that can completely change the course of your entire life! So, next time you sit down in your favorite quiet time chair with a cup of coffee or tea and watch the sun bounce light off of the trees or your living room furniture, know that in that moment of silence (or any moment for that matter), Jesus can tell you something that will rock you... Then you just respond!

So Jesus spoke to me that night, and told me to move to Indiana. That's it. We had visited my sister in a small town called North Judson in Indiana the previous summer and although, I really enjoyed our visit, it was short and largely un-impressive. I can say that I did not give North Judson, Indiana a second thought since our 24 hour visit 2 months prior to that night in the living room. But as I knelt in prayer, Jesus brought to mind scenes from our short visit, and the streets of this town, and the church we got a quick tour of, and the pastor who seemed really cool, and as these pictures came to mind He said "Move there."

30 days later, we arrived with all of our stuff in a box truck our friend let us borrow, and since that day, Jesus has provided for our every need... Most of these stories will come from that.

We're excited to share them with you.

-Trey