In case you haven't noticed, I love to hike. I love to get outdoors in the wee hours and move. That's fun for me. That's the easy part. 

What is not as fun for me is going to the gym...doing my reps and sets of squats, push ups, crunches, planks, curls etc.

If I don't keep my core strong, I ache all over, my back hurts and I am all out of whack.....so, typically after my time hiking up a mountain, I head down and I go to the gym, I do the work.

Guess what, That's kinda like life and ministry. Fellowship with others as Christ has called us to do can be the fun part, but it's the time in the Word that keeps our core strong, without that time and the strengthening of our spiritual muscles, we become weak, we limp and we walk hesitantly.

So whether in body or spirit, keep your core strong today and work out those muscles, the muscles that no one sees, the muscles that can change your life and your walk AND the lives of those around you. 

Happy Workout! I love you in the Lord!
Mia

Recently, I was assigned the task of going through over a hundred emails and links searching for a few artists in Arizona that would be a good fit for a music tour that the production company I work for needed filled. I love the work that I do and I appreciate the little bit that I can do in the music industry to point people to Christ and walk alongside others as they find their voice in this crazy music business ministry.

I remember the first time I was asked to open and sing with one of the artists that I had heard so many times on the radio. It was exciting and it was an open door that God used to allow me to lift HIS name high above the rest. So the thought of being able to do that for someone else was a job that I accepted wholeheartedly.

It can be very tedious going through the emails, listening to the sound samples, watching youtube videos and seeing beyond the sound and technical quality and into their hearts, giftings and talents. But through God's direction and guidance, He leads!

Through this process, here are a few things that have struck me.

1. There are companies (not the one I work for -THANK GOD!) that will take your money, using the name of Jesus Christ, and tell you that you have talent and a future in the business, instead of telling you the truth. The truth is, not everyone can sing well and that's ok. God didn't create all of us to have the same talents even though a person might want to be front and center on a stage holding a mic and singing their heart out. (rant over)

2. There are artists out there that have no clue how gifted they are and there is something very humbling when you see this. That naiveté pulls you in and makes you want to hear more. Because of their genuine humility, Jesus can be seen so much more clearly. Pride blocks my view of Jesus.

3. Name dropping, accolades, and awards don't impress me. Jesus in you impresses me.

4. And the most important and most ironic is this. What I think of you, doesn't matter. Even though I am put in a position where I have to go through and make judgements if people are a good fit for the tour, at the end of the day, I am one person, with a few slots to offer artists. What I think should not effect God's call on your life. Listen to God!

I know that if I had stopped doing what I do or got discouraged because someone thought I wasn't good enough or not a good fit, I would have been done years ago and never would have written many of the songs that I see God using to minister to his people. What God thinks, matters most!

Beyond the walls of the music industry, these truths can apply to us in many areas of our life. For myself, I want people around that speak truth to me. I want to be serving in the area where God has called me, not just in an area that I want to go.

I do not want to block peoples view of Jesus because of my pride, I want a heart of humility, a heart of love. And who cares what I have done in the past, who I have sung alongside of, what matters most is this "Am I singing for Christ, with Christ in me, making HIM known instead of being known on my own?"

May I seek to remember what God says about me above what others may think. God says I am chosen and redeemed, He says that I AM ENOUGH! Knowing that and believing that have been the biggest hurdles in my life. But when I know and believe that I am enough for what God is calling me to do...WATCH OUT!! It's a game changer.

And the same goes for YOU! You are enough for what God is calling you to do. Believe it. Receive it. Live it!!

Can you imagine if all God's people believed this, believed that Christ in us was enough....more than enough? WATCH OUT WORLD!!

"To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Colossians 1:27

I love you in the Lord, Mia