“God is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. He is pursuing us as a best friend. You have a friend that will always be there.”
-David Coate on Proverbs 18;24
I find myself this Advent season in a state of complete trust and gratitude. Although there are many things in my life that are not perfect (far from it!), there is one thing that I do know. God is always on my side, there for me, showing up in ways that I never thought possible.
Sounds sort of corny, but through my experience, the obstacles, set-backs, failures, disappointments and sometimes pure heartbreak, have shown me time and time again, that I am not alone. EVER. Even if it feels that way.
Some of my greatest hurts, have made me a stronger person. Situations and circumstances that I could not understand, have led me to opportunities that I never would have imagined. These opportunities have not only changed my perspective but even my life! I feel so grateful.
I recently had the opportunity to work on an Album project for David Coate (Turning Point Records). I never in a million years would have imagined I would be part of a project like this. It was absolutely inspiring and challenged me in new ways that allowed me to be more creative. It was all because of a choice I made. A choice to put my faith in God.
About 3 years ago, I was fascinated with video marketing and wanted to dabble in it as a new resource to my customers. Since it was more of a passion / interest. I never fully invested the time into it – I was always too busy! (I did however invest financially in equipment to create a sort of Sports Center/Podcast type format that included livestream). Long story short, it got put on the back burner.
Fast forward to March 2020. The pandemic was knocking on our door. I was attending an Overseer meeting at church and the discussion that was on the table was the possibility of having to close our doors if the state shut down. We talked about possibilities of Going “Live” on Facebook or to YouTube. This concept had been on our “wish list” but we never quite got to it. I will never forget while these discussions were going on, I remembered that I had all of this equipment (now collecting dust) and I raised my hand and said, “I might be able to help here.” That weekend I got all of my equipment set up on Sunday morning and for the 1st time ever, North River went live. It was absolutely exhilarating. Pure adrenaline and excitement – for the first 10 minutes anyway. Then the connection failed and we lost it. Then it felt like SLO-MO! We were able to get back up and got through the first service. It wasn’t pretty, but WE DID IT!!! From that day forward, I have been part of our NR Production Team and we have streamed our services ever since. We went from in-person only to now a completely Hybrid (in-person and online) church. Literally overnight. I had absolutely no business leading this effort. I had zero experience. Only a vision and a passion to serve.
With the state of the world, I HAD to make a choice – to choose FEAR or to TRUST. There was much to be afraid of…fear that my business would fail, fear of not being able to pay my mortgage, fear of the virus, fear of the unknown, I can go on and on. Instead, I deliberately chose to put all my faith in the HOPE that God would not let me down. So I jumped in with both feet.
When the world was on lockdown, I was learning about video editing, working with audio and visual. Surprisingly, my 17-year-old son JT was my greatest teacher! For several months, he and I would post-produce church services that would stream on Sundays. I was having the time of my life – doing my best to omit self-doubt and negative chatter in my head surrounding the pandemic and the fears that came with it! Sure, there were many learning curves along the way, but the beauty was that I was part of something bigger than myself. Together with a team, our collective skills, knowledge and experimenting, a new ministry was born and that ministry is here to stay! Looking back, I am so grateful for the people that were part of that and especially those that remain on this team. It was a lonely time for me. I missed people. I poured my heart into something that was making an impact and was of service and in complete faith.
As a result of my newly learned skills, I caught the attention of David Coate, artist, producer and owner of Turning Point Records. He wanted my help (whaaaat!?) on an album project that he was working on. Again, having no experience, I had absolutely no business in this role and told him so. David encouraged me to think about it and again, I chose to put my faith in the direction God was taking me. He has a way of putting you right on the path, right where you are meant to be.
The message for you? Know that no matter what you are going through, no matter how alone you may feel, YOU ARE NEVER ALONE and God has a uniquely designed plan for each of us..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DT8a0ydNaM
I wanted to share a moment from the Classic Rock Praise Album premiere (recorded earlier this month). A song that we recorded in the height of the pandemic for church – is now on this album! How cool is that!?!! This popular secular song by Carole King, David invites us to shift our perspective to Jesus – that HE is our friend. This perfectly touches on the feeling I have when I think of Jesus. He is my best friend. My protector, my defender and I wouldn’t want to do this life without Him (nor could I). I hope you enjoy this beautiful song. Thank you to David Coate for believing in me – it’s been such a fun new journey!
Enjoy,
Rox
You’ve Got A Friend – Classic Rock Praise Album – to hear the full album click HERE
Turning Point Records
Inspirations for Life 