Portrait of God

It was a fun day.  I had the opportunity again to lead worship at church again this morning (about once to twice a month).  Here are the songs we led with:  Amazing Grace (grand piano, cello, vocals), Hold Me Now by Jennifer Knapp, Everything by Lifehouse, How He Loves by John McMillan, and 10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman.  Our church, (Tim, Sarah, and I all attend the same church) has been making its way through a series called A Portrait of God, which examined some of the main pictures the Bible paints of God.  We studied God who Calls, God who Forgives, God who provides, God who dwells among, God who creates, and God who teaches.  It was a great series and we capped it off with a trip to the DIA today to see the opening day exhibition of the Face of Jesus by Rembrandt.  It was fascinating and I would recommend it to anyone who is in town.   

(Alan, Amanda, & Asher, Tracy, Alicia & David in front of the Diego Rivera Murals)

Gloria!

And the glory [majesty and splendor] of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.  Isaiah 40:5 (amplified)

 

This Christmas my church is looking at he Glory of the Lord and this week's service will be focused in on Jesus as the light in the darkness.   Hebrews 1:  IN MANY separate revelations [each of which set forth a portion of the Truth] and in different ways God spoke of old to [our] forefathers in and by the prophets, [But] in the last of these days He has spoken to us in [the person of a] Son, Whom He appointed Heir and lawful Owner of all things, also by and through Whom He created the worlds and the reaches of space and the ages of time [He made, produced, built, operated, and arranged them in order].  He is the sole expression of the glory of God [the Light-being, the out-raying or radiance of the divine], and He is the perfect imprint and very image of [God's] nature, upholding and maintaining and guiding and propelling the universe by His mighty word of power. When He had by offering Himself accomplished our cleansing of sins and riddance of guilt, He sat down at the right hand of the divine Majesty on high, [Taking a place and rank by which] He Himself became as much superior to angels as the glorious Name (title) which He has inherited is different from and more excellent than theirs.

 

So I've been thinking a bit about lighting . . . 

I am so excited that there is lighting above my nativity set in my kitchen now.

I just love it up against the backdrop of the tile.

I love mirrored ornaments because of how they reflect the light.

My prayer is that God would make me into more of a mirror - to reflect His light.

Things That Go Round & Round

Saturday Night I spent a couple of bucks in order to ride the Ferris Wheel. It was totally worth it just so I could see all the people below enjoying Arts Beats & Eats. We took a few spins around and around and thankfully a couple of shots turned out of the crowd below!

This is across the street from the train station. The festival continued down the street past the tall building for about 1 mile south.

There were tons of people. I'm looking forward to when the news reports the actual total wristbands sold. This is the north end of the festival in front the "Alternative" Music stage and several of the food vendors. The festival also has several other stages: Rock, International, Main Stage, Country, &, and Americana. Friday night I enjoyed the rock stage where my friends' band the Insyderz played. The stages are booked for the entire festival and I have been able to hear Macy Gray, The Royal Oak Symphony, and so many of the acts all the way at my house! The power of sound travel!! Tonight Clint Black will finish up the event at 7:30. I'm sure we'll be able to hear him while we do our last food rescue with Forgotten Harvest. There is a kids zone where there were smaller rides, games, caricatures, and a Karaoke booth that our church sponsored. My friend Drew (who went on the Haiti trip) manned the booth for an enormous number of hours. He had to listen to Mylie Cyrus for more hours than a human should ever have to! On the cross streets there are couple hundred arts vendors with a huge variety for sale including ceramics, paintings, clothing, fabrics, wood, metal, glass, photography, graphics, jewelry, and prints. Yesterday I spent the afternoon with several friend walking through the arts area. I didn't buy anything but there are a few artists I really enjoyed; especially the couple that took photographs of graffiti that had meaning. They would find a beautiful saying and capture it on "film". It was really neat.

And don't forget the eats. My favorite restaurants so far have been Black Finn, Cafe Muse, Bo's Smokehouse, and Andre's Louisiana Seafood!

The Latest Adventures . . .

Our dear friend Kim held the second annual "Teacher Appreciation" Dinner for Carrie and me.  She bought us these really cool ecowatches from Sprout.  She made us delicious grilled shrimp skewers.  We had a blast!

 

(Double Click to Enlarge)

After getting in the last days at work this weekend I am spending as much time as possible at Arts Beats & Eats Festival.  This is the first year that it is in Royal Oak and it is AWESOME!

 

(Double Click to Enlarge)

Most exciting I am working with my church, Genesis, and Forgotten Harvest to rescue food at the end of each night at the festival.  More on that soon!

and one other exciting note

the tile is installed

more on that too!

Let the Games Begin . . .

It's Tiger's Opening Day,
The ChickFest is Here,
Construction begins on Tuesday.

Guess which one I'm most excited for!

Odds and Ends

Hi Everyone,
Thanks for continuing to keep us all "posted" on what is going on in your life.  As you might have seen - I've started to get caught up on some past due posts myself.  Here are just a few other odds and ends . . .

1. This weekend I have the privilege of leading worship with my friend Jonathan at the Genesis Women's Retreat.  It is called the Chickfest.  I love the name.  The focus is going to be on building relationships - all kinds.  The scripture focus will be on the book of Ruth.  Isn't the logo darling?  One of our church members (btw, we call church members volunteer staff), Janice, drew this for the event.  Anyhow, we are going to be introducing two of the new songs that we have written (Jonathan writes the music, I write the lyrics).  I'm really excited about that.
2. We went to Christ Church's Sunrise service in Fort Lauderdale.  It was great as usual.  The pastor that gave the message was Clay Shiver from Rocketown Florida.  He had a short stint at a professional football career but found his calling as a pastor.  He now is the executive director of Rocketown which is an entertainment facility for young folks.  I love their ABCD's
• Attraction – In the beginning, there is an attraction. Young people come to Rocketown for it’s great music venue, skatepark, coffee bar and programs.
• Building Relationships – once they are here, attendees find people who accept them as they are. Staff, volunteers and peers have created an inviting community.
• Connection – Participants find ways to connect through discussion groups, Bible studies, service projects and shared interests.
• Discovering Purpose – through creative programs in arts, music and extreme sports, participants discover new interests and develop their talents. They learn skills that help develop a sense of purpose. They find affirmation through one-on-one mentoring.
3. Demolition will unofficially start next week in my kitchen.  More details will follow as I learn exactly what they are! 
4. It's time to start creating the spring/summer theme for our blog.  I would love to hear your ideas!  Come on . . .

Live Worship Pictures

Photos Credit to Michael Carian

From the crowd - we were singing "We Are Ready"

I'm in black between the two red lights. :)

Rehearsing "Glory" on Thursday Night. 

I am in the red shirt singing back ground vocals (BGV)

Singing "Cry Out Of Romans" 

Jonathan is playing guitar and Carol is playing piano.

They did such a great job.  I cannot wait to hear it.

Worship Leader Will singing one of my favorite songs of the night.

"Teach Us"

Drummer Alan plays regularly with my band. 

He and his wife Amanda have been really good freinds to me.

Pastor Beau McCarthy was our producer.

He is a talented bass player himself.

I have dubbed Dave the MVP.  He played in almost every band of the evening.  His skills are beyond measure but so is is humble attitude.  What a fantastic guy.  He and his wife, a very talented drummer herself, just opened a music lesson business. 

James wrote some really kickin' songs.  He invited me to sing BGV's for them. 

It was a lot of fun!  He was a real cut up last night.

Mariam wrote a beautiful song out of the psalms.  Mariam has some of the most beautiful harmonies I have ever heard.  She is able to pick up on the unusual or unexpected note pairings that most folks would never think of.

Matt rockin' out on electric.  Nathan killin' the drums.  Nathan and his wife Tina are some of my dearest friends.  They are my second family whilst my family is not all here in Michigan.

Looking forward to sharing more with you - especially if I am able to get some video footage.  Jonathan agreed to write more music with me - so we start rehearsal this week!  Whoot! Whoot!  I'm REALLY EXCITED!!

A Night of Worship

Oh my - what a wonderful night of worship. I wish you could have all been there. We recorded 14 songs live. There were around 300 in attendance and most of all God was in the house!! I can't wait to share pictures, video clips, and most of all the finished cd with you (not sure how long that will take).

I was blessed to have so many friends there to support me from all different parts of my life.

Jonathan nailed his part and the production engineer loved our take of Cry Out of Romans. My heart is overflowing with joy and gratitude. What an absolute privilege and pleasure it is to lead others in worship and to be known by God. He longs for us to worship Him - in voice - in mind - in body - in choices - in action - from every aspect of our life.
A big thank you goes out to Kensington Community Church who donated the space, time, and engineering for the event. Another huge thank you to Beau and Nate who worked tirelessly without complaint. And I can't express how overwhelmingly grateful I am to Jonathan who made Cry Out of Romans come alive.

Psalm 150:6:  Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!

I just found this on facebook.  This is from rehearsal the night before.
myself and Jonathan.

New Digs & Fa La La La La

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that my church has some new digs.  I am excited to say that we are no longer a portable church and we are living in our "new to us" facility at 309 N. Main Street in Royal Oak.  Genesis the Church started back in 1997 as a young and hip ministry at Kensington Community Church.  By late 1998 we were challenged to plant a church in Royal Oak, a lovely bedroom community with and extremely active and vibrant downtown.  40 of us moved to Royal Oak and started a church.  What were we thinking?  20 year olds running a church?  Who knew?

Royal Oak attracted and still attracts a huge variety of people to its hip, funky, and fun downtown eateries, bars, and social hot spots.  I really love my town.  Anyhow, in 1999 we officially launched and we have had our services in many locations including a middle school cafetorium, 3 different high school auditoriums, a middle/elementary school gym, a black box theater, a comedy club, and Royal Oak's Music Theater.  The latest location we were at for 2 years was Berkley High School where I work.  We had a great relationship with the high school and the custodial staff was seriously sad when we left.  They really were 'for us' which is a testament to God's power to use personal relationship's to make a path in the desert.  In other words a church had a great relationship with a public school.  Imagine That?!

Several years ago we had a building campaign called Epicenter in order to raise fund for a building.  Our mortar team searched high and low and examined truly "out of the box" of normal options for us to find a permanent location.  Properties in Royal Oak are extremely expensive in the downtown area and it felt like it was next to impossible.  Perhaps God designed us to be portable?  But God was working in the undercurrent.  We had to wait and trust.  Two years ago, we needed to find some space for some of our groups to meet for a 12-step program and the First Baptist Church of Royal Oak was ready and willing to let the group meet at their church building.  The FBCRO was a church that was celebrating their 170th anniversary.  They would be having the celebration at their church on Main Street in downtown Royal Oak - where their historical marker lies.  Our church staff started meeting with their pastor, Dave Nickels, and  as their relationship grew they realized that they both led churches who wanted to do the exact same thing in Royal Oak:  make Jesus known, live in community that disciples each other toward richer and deep relationship with Jesus, and be a people who were the hands and feet of Jesus to those who many would turn their noses down upon.  Soon after, our offices moved into FBCRO because of our expanding need for space.  Finally, we could see that God was moving these two congregations together with the same heart.  We had the same charge from God - we looked different though.  First Baptist was a traditional community with a traditional building and strong core of people who had been members for more years than most of us cood imagine.  One dear lady was a member for over 80 years.  She is 96 years old. On the other hand Genesis the church was a non-traditional community with 2 trailers which could move anywhere to set up church.  Genesites on average were about 33 years old and had growing families.   We couldn't look any more different but our hearts sang the same tune.

Since the time that Pastor Dave announced that he would be retiring from his official position at FBCRO so that he could be a pastor - without the administrative responsiblities.  His official retirement would take place at the end of 2009.  In his last year of adminsitrative responsiblities, he and the Genesis Staff did something that most people were and still are highly skeptical of - they joined two churches under one name.  As of January 1st, 2010, there is now one church meeting at 309 N. Main Street.  The legal name is Genesis the Church formerly known at First Baptist Church of Royal Oak.  Most will know us as Genesis the Church - we now have 180 years behind us! We know there will be many challenges for us in the future - but where we see mountains - God sees wide open avenues.

I had the pleasure of leading worship our first service on January 3rd.  It was a thrill - a mix of what I would called ancient and modern words that glorify God.  Our set list was All Creatures of Our God and King,  Dwell,  Enter This Temple, Not To Us, and Glorious.  The church was packed - even the balcony.   But more importantly, our congregation was EXCITED - THRILLED - at the opportunity to walk together shoulder-to-shoulder striving toward God's purposes - doing His work - we hope for at least another 180 years.  I am confident in this - for He who began a good work - will be faithful to complete. 

And now onto the Fa La La La La La
In the midst of the holidays and moving into our new church the worship leaders, including myself, have been writing new worship music that we will record on January 29th.  We are really excited - tired - but excited.  We have been rehearsing late into the night.  Last night we recorded our demos for the sound engineer.  Here is a link to those songs.  You will have to select the iDisk Public Folder (Graphite) and then open up the Folder that says 1-15-2010.  They are RAW which means there is no editing and no mixing - so they might sound a little bit off at this point - but they will at least give you a glimpse of what will come on the CD.  I wrote and am singing lead vocals on "Cry Out of Romans,"  I'll also sing background vocals on We Are Ready and Glory.   I can't wait until the final CD is finished and I can give you a copy!  Thanks for letting me catch you up on the latest.  Love T

Lots going on

Hi Everyone,
Thanks for all of the wonderful comments on the pictures.  Aren't the girls beautiful?  I have lots more photos but I am going to only post a few each evening.  I'll be visiting Pete and Emily mid-January so I'll be able to shoot a new batch then!

I hope to write a longer post in the very near future about another something exciting!  My church has moved into its "new to us" permanent location in downtown Royal Oak.  It has been very exciting and I can't wait to fill you in on all the details - they are extraordinary in my opinion.  That will be for another post though.  Also, I will be recording one new song on our church's next cd in just a couple of weeks.  I was hoping to record two songs but I just wasn't able to finish all the details yet on a song from Ezekiel 37.   If you haven't read this passage I would encourage you to do so - it has become one of my favorites.  The song I am recording is titled Cry Out Of Romans.  I think this might be one of the best songs that I have written yet.  My friend Jonathan is playing the guitar and Carol will be adding in piano.  I'll be posting about the process as we move toward January 29th.

On a totally separate note, we had our first decent snow here in Detroit and I was thrilled to use my yooper scooper.  I was able to clear the entire drive without breaking a sweat in about 10 minutes.  I love my scooper.  Even better, a neighbor down the street hooked up a plow to the front of his ATV and plowed the sidewalks up and down our entire block - it was such a gift to come home to after a long day at work!  Oh and my Dad was telling me today that there might be snow in Atlanta tomorrow.  Since there "might" be snow accumulation up to 1 inch they have cancelled school - of course, he said, there are all of about 10 snow plows in the entire state of Georgia.  He he he - Ha ha ha!  My students are dying for a snow day but I have assured them - we will have school tomorrow!

Fall Follies

Hello Everyone - Around the Detroit Area it seems like we have an extended fall - maybe even an extended summer. Today's high was 64 degrees F!

As usual because November marks another year in which I 'turn older' - I've done a lot reflection. This year's reflection has brought about a big change for me - I put in my resignation at my part time job at Portable Church Industries. I've had nine wonderful years there, but it is time for me to only have one job. I wish I could say, "I have no idea what I'll do with all that time," but I do know that I am going to be working on "working out" throughout the year instead of just the summer. In fact, while I was at the Royal Oak Holiday Parade, I signed up for the LA Fitness Club. I can't wait to get started. This time will also give me time to pour into our discipleship initiative at church this year. We are using the The Way of the Alongsider materials (slightly cheesy but it does the job) from the Navigators. My church is committed to making disciples who live in community and who reach out to the community. This initiative strikes a lasting chord with me.

Speaking of Fall - Here are some of the pictures from my trip to Harbor Springs/Mackinaw through the Tunnel of Trees.

I have been a busy bee at school as well. The end of October we had parent-teacher conferences (we do two evening and 1 afternoon session). Our assistant superintedant took a superintendant position in Romeo Schools which left an opening at the central office. Our high school principal moved into that position and now we have a new principal at the highschool. He started this past week - midstream in the year. So much change. Mr. Gawell will be my 5th principal in 9 years. CRAZY. Our open house was this past week and the science department did a real "smash up" job. Instead of leaving our classrooms open like we normally do, we shut our classroom doors and opened up our two biggest labs in which we did demonstrations all evening. The community loved it. We had a lot of fire-related demonstrations: flame tests, fire/music demonstration tube, and how to start a fire in the wilderness. I sang into the fire/music tube and watched the flames create sine waves from my voice. It is really cool. I am going to try to get a picture/video of it the next time we set it up!

Last week I celebrated by birthday. I ate way too much. On Friday I had a huge dinner at PF Changs (mmmm!) and Saturday Bastones. My friend Kim special ordered me a beautiful cake. I ate WAY TO MUCH CAKE!!!! (hence LA fitness). Last night I went to see Tim's musical Urinetown at Rochester High School. The pit orchestra sounded great, the teenager/actors/actresses did a really good job. It was my favorite show yet that I have seen at RHS. Oh - and Alaina called me on gmail Video Chat. It was a really big highlight of my birthday. Next week we will all be together in Chicago. I can't wait!!!

That's all for now - please keep posting. Let us know how you are doing or tell us about something interesting!

Love, Tracy

24 Hour Solitude Retreat

Yesterday I headed off to Plymouth, MI to the St. John's Retreat Center with 23 other folks from my church for a solitude retreat. It was a great experience. We were alone on the grounds of the beautiful retreat center for 24 hours of prayer, reading, and fasting. I know it might sound like tons of rip roaring fun - but I assure you it was wonderful. I was a bit nervous about being all alone as I am a fairly social person - but God was right there with me. I spent most of my time in the labyrinth garden and the waterfall garden. (that was my favorite) My friend Jenny went too and we snapped a photo after the retreat was over. The photo above pictures a cross with seeds growing in it. The four corners represent the four seasons. Does anyone know the name of the artwork? I wish I had taken a picture of the plaque so that I could remember.

If you haven't taken time alone to be with God lately - or ever - I want to urge you to do so. It will be a rewarding and fulfilling experience.

Psalm 32:7 You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance.

Love in Action (a little before & after)

Today was a wonderful day. I woke up early (i.e. for a weekend) because I was so excited a team from my church was coming to do a big project at my house: re sodding by downtrodden front yard. It had been taken over by weeds (especially those pesky violets) and crabgrass. It also had a huge dead spot due to the large amount of clay fill that had been deposited into the hole the plumbers created when they dug up my yard to put in new pipes. New grass has been long overdue but the task seemed so daunting to me. Today, on the contrary, 9 lovely people were Love In Action. They removed the sods, put it all in compost bags, rototilled, raked, evened-out, and laid 810 square feet of sod. Not bad for 2 hours and 45 minutes. It was impressive.

My failing yard.

10 days after 2 applications of Round Up!

The finished product

The Amazing Team from Genesis The Church

Double click on the picture below and see the blow-by-blow pictures!

2009 New Sod Love in Action

Move With You

It's finally here. The recording "Live in Detroit" has been transformed into its final form. The CD title is Move With You. It is an album that captures the heart of our worship at Genesis. I can't wait to share it with you!

Hope Rising

This is our current series at church: Hope Rising

Stuck in the dark: Feb 10
Scripture: Psalm 40

Help in a Perfect Storm: Feb 17
Scripture: 1 Kings 17:7-24; 2 Kings 4:1-7

Light at the end of the Tunnel: Feb 24
Scripture: Matt. 18:15-20

Get up and Walk: Mar 2
Scripture: John 5:1-15

Detroit United: Mar 9
Scripture: Eph. 2:14-18; Is. 19:19-24; John 4

We Need a Hero: Mar 16
Scripture: Luke 3

Hope Unflinching: Mar 23 Easter
Scripture: Romans 5

Visit Genesis the Church to download the podcasts and listen to the messages!

Progress on the Live In Detroit Recording . . .

I just talked with my friend Beau who is producing the CD that we (Genesis Worship Leaders) wrote and performed Live in Detroit. He said that the master and all of the cd artwork have been received at the production company and the 1st copy is being made for proofing. When the proofing is done - they will produce 1,000 copies that will be ready in approximately 10 days. I am really getting excited!!!

The recording event was titled "Live in Detroit" because that was exactly what we were - recording live in Detroit. The title for the CD is going to be Move With You which comes from the title of a song on the CD that my friend Carol wrote.

I can't wait to share it with you!!!

Love, Tracy

Words to Live By

The New Year's Message (sermon) at my church inspired me to claim these verses as the TRUTH which I will live by this year. Each year I pick a different verse and this is it for 2008!
I will try to put the words to memory and hold them close to my heart throughout the year.

1st Thessalonians 5:12 - 28.

(emphasis mine)

12Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who
are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13Hold them in the highest regard
in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 14And we urge you,
brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be
patient with everyone. 15Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but
always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.
16Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
19Do not put out the Spirit's fire; 20do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22Avoid every kind of evil. 23May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. 25Brothers, pray for us. 26Greet all the
brothers with a holy kiss. 27I charge you before the Lord to have this letter
read to all the brothers. 28The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with
you.

Our service this morning was really good too. It was about Celebrating how God has freed us from our sins. I want to take the opportunity this year to CELEBRATE just like they did after the passover.

Christmas in Detroit

Only at Genesis!

Live In Detroit Promo

Hi All - I finally found the video promo for the Live In Detroit Event that was played at our church in order to advertise the event. My friends, John and Kristen, put this video together and have it posted their blog. Click HERE to watch the promo! --Tracy

Carols and Cookies

Tonight we had Christmas Carols and Cookies at Church. We met at Cana Lutheran Church which is located just next door to Berkley High School where we meet. The kids sang, played instruments, and everyone joined in the songs. It was a great celebration of Jesus' birth. As we sang the snow began to fall - only tomorrow will tell how much snow we'll have!
That's me leading the congregation in singing the carols! And below is perhaps my favorite picture . . .

or maybe better yet . . .

or maybe it's this one!