Give It Up...

Happy Sunday everybody....

I love music...almost all kinds of music, but praise and worship music is my favorite. Over the years, thanks to some wonderful teachers and music programs in the schools I attended, I've had the opportunity to sing everything from operetta to madrigal to folk rock and choral music. But it was after I asked Yeshua into my life that the music I sing changed as He was changing me. I stopped singing anything but music for Him.

This took me down a totally different path. Over the last 30+ years, I've sung at various churches and fellowships, rallies, and participated in various cantatas and music events and even coffeehouses. But over the last almost 2 years, the Lord opened an even more amazing door for me to walk through.

Along with Ralph (when he's able to be there) and our 25 year old son, J, I've been beyond blessed to be able to get involved with our local IHOP. Now IHOP for many stands for International House of Pancakes, but that's not what I mean. IHOP also stands for International House of Prayer.

International House of Prayer (and I'm quoting their website) is "an evangelical missions organization that is committed to praying for the release of the fullness of God’s power and purpose as we actively win the lost, heal the sick, feed the poor, make disciples, and impact the seven spheres of society (family, education, government, economy, arts, media, and religion). Our vision is to work in relationship with the larger Body of Christ to serve the Great Commission, as we seek to walk out the two great commandments to love God and people". Basically, it's a praise and worship movement, something that is unlike anything else I've ever seen.
It's changed me. Our local IHOP has become my second home. Aside from being with Ralph and the kids, there is nowhere I'd rather be. Ralph and I recently had the privilege of leading our 2nd Messianic Jewish seder there. The first, last year, was for 15 people. This one was for 26 including walk-ins, mostly believers with a couple of people who were not believers.
It's exciting to see how this is growing.

I can't be at IHOP nearly as much as I'd like to be because of all that is going on in our lives right now, but the time I am there is the most amazing thing.
I have the incredible privilege of helping our oldest son lead worship for a couple of hours each month at a monthly 12 hr. prayer meeting there called The Burn. Out of that has come a revival of praise and worship in my own heart, songs that only God could write (and I haven't music myself since high school and college) and an incredibly deep, deep hunger to get closer and closer to the Lord.

Which brings me to our music for the day. This is a link for live worship that is done from the International House of Prayer homebase in Kansas City. Please stop by and enjoy this link Forerunner Christian Fellowship and others on the IHOP website. There are praise and worship links there as well as this, but this is the link for Sunday services...Be blessed...

http://www.ihop.org/Group/Group.aspx?ID=1000048153