Reflections of His Unfailing Love

Yesterday, I turned 36. A few weeks ago I started processing the fact that another year was coming to an end and I was getting “OLDER!!!” (imagine a doom and gloom voice). Right as I began to process it enough that my spirit could have started to take hold of it, I felt the Lord say" Look at the 'older' women in your family." Two of my great-grandmas lived into their late 90's. My dad’s mom lived into her 80’s and my mom’s mom will be 90 this year. Instantly, I said to myself, "Yes, 36 years is a big deal, but I’m just getting started and not even halfway there.” From that moment on, I began looking toward my future with expectation. In my expectation, I have noticed changes in my attitude and my circumstances, and I’m experiencing something in abundance that I haven’t experienced in a while. Yesterday, I started my day as I normally would during a Shiloh Place encounter. I arrived early and started on my work and then went to join the team for worship. C...

Seasons. I am a fan of the changing of seasons during the year. Each has its own character; almost a personhood, and right about the time I start to tire of one, another one comes along - refreshing and invigorating. Granted, at the beach the differences are less pronounced but we are still far enough north to experience differences. Life seasons are a different story. I am realizing that when I am in a good season, it feels “normal” and as if I am always  almost there,  but never quite arriving. Then comes a change into what I will call a less than good season; maybe “difficult” is a good word for it, and I start to recognize the lessons I have to learn and the dearth of wisdom in my life. Katie and I seem to find ourselves in a transition between seasons and are hopeful that it is going from good to good, or to even better than good. . .   On August 29th, I was informed my position as Media and Tech Pastor at Seacoast Vineyard Church was being eliminated i...

Tomorrow morning will mark six years to the day that we came to the Vineyard here in Myrtle Beach; broken and in need of healing.  Four years ago, Chip and I had the honor of attending the first Vineyard Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference in Virginia Beach, VA and realized that the Vineyard was truly our home.  Two years ago talks began regarding Seacoast Vineyard hosting the VMAR Conference here in Myrtle Beach, SC.  When we came to Myrtle Beach, we had no idea the plans God had for us.  We are obviously still on the journey but the pieces He has revealed truly show how intricate His weaving in our lives will be if we give Him permission. Yesterday, after over a year and a half of detailed planning and countless hours of hard work from a great volunteer team, #VMARC2018 came to an end. Since Monday, I've heard stories and seen many social posts about the refreshing that "Jan said" would come.   I want to share an encounter I had the honor of being...

What are the words I could use to describe this past week? Life-giving, life changing, revolutionary, redemptive, restorative, hopeful, electric, love-filled, unifying, joyous. . . and I could keep going. Katie and I spent the last week at the Heart of Sonship Retreat in the home of John and Lori Banks - nestled along the Cumberland River in Tennessee. For me, being on a farm was like a home-coming - bringing back fond memories of growing up raising all sorts of animals, building all sorts of barns and run-ins and fences, and enjoying nature in a way you just can't experience in a city or town. Since Carthage is only about an hour away, we are also visiting Katie's family in Nashville. I type this from the sunroom of her grandmother's house as a light rain taps on the roof to provide a soothing morning soundtrack. There are a few things I would like to share about the school to give you more of a picture of how good our Heavenly Father is to His children. Th...

Hello! We hope everyone is staying safe, cool, and dry.  Summer has most certainly arrived here in Myrtle Beach (I think Spring came and went overnight), and what a summer it will be! Here is a fairly short and sweet update on what the summer is shaping up to be for us: This week we finished recording our EP and sent the songs to be mixed and mastered last night. The goal is to have physical CDs and digital versions available by mid-June. The recording process is both exhilarating and exhausting, and we are glad to be close to the finish line for our first collaborative songwriting and recording endeavor. We are also launching a website to coincide with the release of the EP and we will share the details about that in the very near future. Thank you to everyone for your support and encouragement (and patience)! Songwriting is something I had given up on about ten years ago and I am thankful that God has reignited a passion in my heart to write and record. Writing w...

We are well into the new year and wanted to post a quick update. We spent the holidays with my family in Virginia and then Katie's family in Nashville. It was a wonderful opportunity to rest and reconnect, and we are grateful to have been able to travel this year. Katie has been without a keyboard or piano of her own since we sold her upright piano shortly after we got married, and after a little more than ten years of patience, I was able to give her a keyboard for Christmas. We have been writing new songs and filling out works-in-progress as time and equipment allow, and we are closing in on our goal of recording a worship "ep" and eventually our first full length album. It is amazing for Katie to be able to make direct musical contributions to the process instead of having to wait on me to translate what she is thinking into something on the guitar. She has already written some fantastic parts (I am being as unbiased as a loving husband can be, here :)) and I can...