New Year - New Adventure

Welcome to the new year! It's a little late coming, so forgive me, but if you know me personally, you know my year has been a delightful new adventure!

A couple days before my birthday, I got engaged to an amazing friend and partner in the Kingdom of God.  We are working out details for a wedding, but getting to know each other better is our top goal right now as we pray about those details.

New adventures always bring more dynamic and thrilling views, along with the harder paths and rockier terrain.  I choose the hard stuff for the good stuff, and that's where I've been most blessed.  What about you?

If you've chosen a road less traveled, let me encourage you today... don't give up on the things you love because of the effort it takes to get them.  This is as true in any relationship as it is in a life-goal: hard times come, but the reward is worth it.

Hang in there and keep pressing forward!

Encouragement from Scripture...

Galations 6:9
So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.

Philippians 3:14
I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Night of Hope Benefit Concert 11.16.13

This weekend, I'm thrilled to be doing my first concert with artist Christaholik as an outpostChurch special event.  This concert is a FREE event (but please bring at least three canned goods per person!!), to help raise food for the St. Matthew's House of Naples.

We are calling this event the "Night of Hope", because of a startling realization: too many people are desperately trying to find a ray of hope right now - Christians included.  While we're solid on suffering, we struggle often for a strength of hope.  But hope is free to us!  The catch is - hoping in the right thing.

The Bible tells us that hope in possessions or status will be shaken, but that we can hope in this: the faithful love of the Lord never ends and His mercies never cease. (Lamentations 3:17-24).

There are two options to this - we can do a concert that plays on your emotions alone, makes you feel good, but leaves you helpless to invest that hope anywhere.  Or, we can do a concert that has an emotional impact because of the incredible truth it reveals, but gives you at least one solid option on how you can invest your hope and see it grow in your life and in the lives of others.

The St. Matthew's House is a place that fosters hope by showing love and mercy as God did when he allowed His son, Jesus, to take our place.  We want to encourage you to not only come out and support this organization, but to invest your time and prayers into their work when you're able to do so anytime during the year. 

Here's a flyer for you to print out and share.  Or, if you want to simply share this post on your social media site, feel free to share the link from your browser.  

Download and print to share with friends!

And if you've not yet checked it out, visit my new website at www.crystallaine.com with a demo of the song "Emmanuel (With Us)" that we wrote for the church a couple months ago!  Saturday night's concert will feature several other new songs by myself and Christaholik, as well as a collaboration we're elated to share with you!

Don't miss it!

Peace has been stripped away, 

and I have forgotten what prosperity is.

I cry out, "My splendor is gone! 

Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!"

The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words.  

I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss.

Yet I still 

dare to hope 

when I remember this: 

The 

faithful love 

of the 

Lord 

never ends! 

His mercies never cease.

Great 

is his faithfulness; 

His mercies begin afresh 

each morning.

I say to myself, 

"The Lord is my inheritance; 

therefore, 

I will hope in Him!"

(Lamentations 3:17-24, NLT)

50 Days of Goodness

Philippians 4:8-9 tells us what kind of thoughts to keep. Thinking in this way will bring incredible peace into our hearts and minds. This kind of peace will invariably overflow into our actions. Why do we want peace? Well aside from the health benefits of reducing anxiety, we protect ourselves with it! Earlier, in verses 6-7, we are reminded that the antidote for anxiety is thankfulness. 

For the next 50 days leading up to Thanksgiving, I'm going to choose at least one thing that will fit into this list described in Philippians 4:8 and I would love it if you'd join me!! I will post them on my Facebook page (Facebook.com/crystallainesings) and my Twitter feed (twitter.com/crystallaine28) so you can keep up. Better yet, when you see them, will you please reply with your daily goodness item so we can celebrate with each other?? Make sure to post a hashtag of #good50 when you do so others can celebrate with you too!!!

Here is the criterion: 

The daily goodness item must be something that is...

True

Honorable

Right

Pure

Lovely

Admirable

Excellent

Praiseworthy

Let's get going!! 50 days (7 weeks) of goodness starts today!!

The New Leg of Our Journey: Crystal Laine

For anyone that has read my blogs throughout the years, you may not know that my writing extends beyond this website.  I have been writing music and lyrics for over ten years now, and praying for every line to be used in some way.  For an artist, to reveal artwork is a huge risk, because we make ourselves vulnerable to the world's interpretation of it in addition to our intention behind it.   At the same time, this risk is what makes artwork so beautiful and vibrant:  every perspective brings a new light to the artwork.

Without "too much, too soon," I'll share with you that I've ventured into this new journey with you of singing and songwriting.  I specifically titled this post as "Our" instead of "My" because - without a doubt - no artist does it alone.  This is so much more than "all about me".  There are countless people that fall into the category of musician, producer, encourager, promoter, listener, and prayer partner (to name a few).  All play a pivotal role in ensuring a message reaches the ears, eyes, and hearts of people worldwide and throughout the generations to come.

In the next few months, I'll be working with some local musicians (including Phillip Gonzales) and distant musicians (including my cousin, Zack Leffew) to polish and record songs.  I need your help in these ways:

• Pray - For me, every administrative aspect of this dream's goal, people to be blessed by it, and for the people who *get* to deal with me ;)
• Write - Send me a note to encourage me, ask specific questions about the music, or to let me know of the best calorie-free chocolate recipe you can find
• Share - With your friends, family, online community, the doorman, the taxicab driver, and the neighbor's pets (to name a few)

Below I have just a couple links to my new social media sites where people can "follow" or "like".  Please pass them on, have no shame in sharing, and help me stay accountable on this journey.  I'm excited.  I'm challenged to new levels.  I think you will like taking this trip with me.  ;)

Facebook | CrystalLaineSings

Twitter | @CrystalLaine28

One final note: don't give up on dreams God has placed in your heart.  Trust Him and His timing, walk closely with Him even when you don't see fruition, and enjoy His presence every step of the way.

Soli Deo Gloria