Leaning On You

May 13, 2015 - Amy 1 Comment

Between the peaceful moments of opening my eyes to a new morning full of possibilities and mercy, to closing my eyes and leaving my cares behind as I drift off to sleep, I find myself struggling with the worldly things. Things that are so unimportant, yet feel as though the world itself will end if I don’t figure them out right. now.

You know the things.

The ones that pretty much suck the life out of my body as though it was a bag of lunchmeat being put through a FoodSaver. You can watch every ounce of air slowly being siphoned so that nothing gets out and nothing gets in. These very things that I nonchalantly might say don’t bother me, find a way to push the buttons that I pretend I don’t have.

I often feel like siphoned salami. Not a very pretty analogy, but true to the way I really feel.

Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. – 1 Peter 5:7

It’s in the middle of the mess (there is always a mess) and among the mishaps and crazy that I find the very end of myself. Well hello there scraggly, beat down, and frustrated lady. We meet again.

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. – John 6:63

Can you relate? That place during your day when it feels as though Satan has placed you at the top of his list. The place where even the stranger who doesn’t see you smile at them and doesn’t smile back at you can make you curl up and cry. I end up in this place all too often.

I imagine Jesus watching over me as I have my little pity parties. (Heh, I’m sure that He gets a kick out of my toddleresque tantrums) How He must grieve to see me overwhelmed, stressed, and consumed by the cares of this world.

Then I imagine myself walking over to Jesus and leaning on His shoulder. He wipes my tears and tells me that I am His daughter. He reminds me that a dirty kitchen, a garden full of weeds, and a stranger that doesn’t smile at me means nothing in the light of eternity spent with Him. I tell Him that I need Him more than He will ever know. Of course, He tells me that He knows everything and that I didn’t even have to say that and then I giggle. We have a little heart to heart and my day is immediately better.

I lean on Jesus often. It sometimes takes getting to the end of my rope. To the place where I can no longer stand. Let’s lean on Him. His arms are everlasting. When all else fails, they will still be there spread wide for us to take refuge within. Deuteronomy 33:27 says, The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you. He drives out the enemy before you; he cries out, ‘Destroy them!’

Can I get an AMEN?! The fact that He is eternal means that will always be able to lean on Him. What a comforting thing to reflect on when you’re in the middle of one of “those days”. The enemy may have you at the top of his list, but Jesus has you IN HIS ARMS.

One of my favorite worship singers, Christy Nockels, came out with a new cd recently and I was floored to be able to review it thanks to Family Christian! Christy’s songs have a way of simply leading me to His presence. Let It Be Jesus, I think, is her best yet!

The entire cd is amazing, but my favorites are:

My Anchor
The Wondrous Cross
Let It Be Jesus
Jesus, Rock of Ages
Leaning On You, Jesus

Leaning On You, Jesus has become my fave! I’ve got this one on repeat in my car right now. You can bet I have some serious mini worship sessions! My girls love it, too. 🙂

WANT TO WIN A COPY?! Family Christian gave me one to give away to one of YOU!

You can purchase a copy of Christy Nockels, Let It Be Jesus along with a ton of other awesome music over at Family Christian!

This giveaway will end on Wednesday, May 20th at 11:59pm CT. I will contact the winner on Thursday, May 21st and they will have 24 hours to respond. If I have not heard from them, I will name a new winner.

I was provided with the Christy Nockels CD for review purposes and provided with another for a giveaway. All opinions expressed are 100% my own.

Just Be Loved

December 22, 2014December 22, 2014 - Amy Leave a comment

Have you ever researched what your name means? I didn’t for a long time for fear of finding out that it might mean “harry goat” or something. It’s actually quite interesting to find out what the origins and variations are.

I never gave the meaning of Amy much credence until somewhat recently. My name means “Beloved”.

Dearly beloved or beloved.

I love the surprise that my name means something that I tend to have struggles with. Beloved.

Be. Loved.

I think God might just be trying to tell me something. My own struggles with accepting love stems mainly from self-love, mostly. Which in the scheme of things doesn’t mean a hill of beans compared to the love that God has for me. So why is it so hard?

This is a path that I am walking out with help of God’s mighty grace. Learning to love yourself how you are right now takes BIG grace. It takes BIG mercy and even BIGGER strength.

Just be loved. Accept it. Be loved by your husband. By your children. By your coworkers. By your friends. By your parents. By yourself.

By God.

The LORD your God among you is powerful— he will save and he will take joyful delight in you. In his love he will renew you with his love; he will celebrate with singing because of you. – Zephaniah 3:17

I recently got the pleasure of listening to Christy Nockel’s CD Into the Glorious. God knew that I needed to listen to this one. I am a big fan of her’s. We use some of her songs on our worship team at church so I’m familiar with many. In fact, one of my favorites is on this CD- “Waiting Here For You” is so good.

Some new ones on this CD that I had never heard that I now love are, “Sing Along”, “Wonderful”, and “Into the Glorious”. But they are ALL so good.

After turning on this album, God lead me to track #5 which is called “Be Loved”. There were tears. It speaks to my struggle.

Be loved. Beloved. That is what my name MEANS! I mean, God places just what we need in our path at the right time. This song washed over me like a refreshing river of truth.

If you can relate at all to my struggle, this whole album is so good for you. Highly recommended!

Track List:

Ever Lifting
For Your Splendor
Wonderful
Into the Glorious
Be Loved
Waiting Here for You
Sing Along
Love Can Build a Bridge
Your Love is Moving
Hearing is in Your Hands
Already All I Need
How I Love You

You can grab a copy of Christy Nockels’ album Into The Glorious at Family Christian for $11.99. You can also get the whole MP3 album for $9.99.

How about a giveaway so you can get a copy?!

$10 Family Christian Appreciation Certificate Giveaway

I was provided with Christy Nockels album for review purposes by Family Christian. All opinions expressed are 100% my own.

This giveaway will end on Monday, December 29th at 11:59pm CT. I will contact the winner on December 30th and they will have 24 hours to respond. If I have not heard from them, I will name a new winner.

High Above It All {Phillips Craig & Dean}

December 12, 2014December 16, 2014 - Amy 8 Comments

Phillips Craig and Dean

When it comes to Christian music, there are a few names that are just a given among the greats. One that immediately comes to mind is Phillips, Craig & Dean. I mean the only words you need to hear are “Revelation Song”. That song was HUGE! I still have to turn that one on every now and then. It’s powerful.

The harmony that these guys pull off…. It gives me goosebumps.

They have a NEW album out that was released just last month. I was thrilled to partner with Family Christian again and review their new album Above it All last week.

I was thrilled to find the album to be a mix of great worship, but also FUN songs that you can’t get out of your head. It was not what I expected, it was better!

The song “Let it Be Known” has become a quick favorite with my girls. It has a really catchy beat and is a total dance tune. Yet, I love how it praises God and speaks loud truth. They beg me to turn it on in the car all the time!

My personal favorite on this cd is “High Above It All”. I love the words. They are powerful and they remind me that even though the world around me can seem to crumble, that God is still in control. He is high above everything and remains the same among the change.

Waters roar and mountains fall, still You remain high above it all
Kingdoms fade and nations shake, but You remain high above it all

You might hear “Jesus, Only Jesus” currently playing on many radio stations So good. And “Voices From The Other Side” really touched me as a good friend of mine just passed 3 months ago. It had me balling the first time that I heard it.

Track List:

Jesus Only Jesus
High Above It All
Let It Be Known
Voices From the Other Side
Join the Song
Come as You Are
Not for Grace
Hope Has a Name
What Hope Feels Like
How He Lifted Me

This one gets a thumbs up. And set on replay on my phone!

Phillips, Craig & Dean fan? Get YOUR copy of Above it All at Family Christian! It’s currently just $13.99 and keep your eyes peeled for coupons! They have those running often.

This giveaway will end on December 19th at 11:59pm CT. I will contact the winner on December 20th and they will have 24 hours to respond. If I have not heard from them, I will contact a new winner. US only.

Above it All was provided to me by Family Christian for means of review. All opinions expressed are 100% my own.

Tenth Avenue North Cathedrals CD $9.99!

December 5, 2014December 9, 2014 - Amy 9 Comments

I’m a really big Christian music fan. I sing in the shower. In the car. In the kitchen. While sweeping. While cooking. Pretty much doing anything. I love when a good song comes on the radio. I especially love when these guys come on the radio!

Tenth Avenue North’s latest album Cathedrals is out now! Huge fan of theirs. So many of their songs have spoken to me. This latest album had me wondering why they named it Cathedrals. I mean, I love cathedrals. They are so beautiful!

Takes me back to visiting this incredible cathedral in Poland last year! The detail and architecture in these churches are amazing. So grand and beautiful. But why name an album Cathedrals? Here is a little bit about this album:

This collection of songs explained that once we know that we dont have to save ourselves, we are freed up to be honest about our struggles. We can admit that we feel worn, and we need redemption. We are free to struggle, but hallelujah, were not struggling to be free. The band was struck by John Dunns memorable quote, no man is an island. With these new songs, Tenth Avenue North encourages us to get off our self-made islands of isolation, to break the chains of shame that have kept us there, and find communion with God and each other. Tenth Avenue North encourages us to realize Gods spirit doesn’t dwell in buildings; He dwells in us for WE ARE HIS CATHEDRALS.

I adore this statement.

He dwells in us. We are HIS cathedrals. We are grand. We are beautiful. God has paid close attention to every single detail in each one of us. Just as the builder creates the architecture of a majestic cathedral, our great Builder has created us with His incredible spiritual architecture unlike any other.

This album has their newest song on it that you may have heard “No Man Is An Island”. Such a great song.

Right now at Family Christian, you can get Tenth Avenue North Cathedrals CD for ~~25% off with the coupon code CYBER!~~ $9.99 with NO COUPON NEEDED!

Do you get the Family Christian catalog? There may be an even better coupon in there! Be sure to check out the Family Christian website for ALL the latest coupon codes. You may be able to score an even better deal.

This would make a fantastic gift idea! Hubby, if you’re reading this…hint hint. 😉

Michael W. Smith’s Newest Album Sovereign $7.79!

November 12, 2014 - Amy 3 Comments

I’ve been listening to good ole Michael W. Smith since back in the day. I think back to the song Place In This World and get nostalgic. Every now and then it comes on the radio and I have to sing along. It’s such a good song!

He’s kinda iconic in the Christian music industry. You can’t really even touch on that genre without mentioning him. What a soothing voice he has. Smooth like butter!

Michael W. Smith hasn’t released an album since 2008 which I find surprising. I’m so excited for his new album that he recently released! He wrote with new folks that he hasn’t yet worked with and even does a duet with one of FAVES, Kari Jobe.

You can check out a very recent interview that Family Christian did with Michael W. Smith here!

Check out his newest album, Sovereign! It’s currrently $18.99 at Family Christian for the Deluxe Edition that includes the CD and a DVD!

And just between you, me, and the fence post, you can get this for only $7.97 starting Black Friday and going through Cyber Monday. Would be a GREAT time to pick this one up.

And now for your viewing pleasure, I have included the music video from what seems like forever ago, Place In This World by Michael W. Smith.

This post was written by me on behalf of Family Christian. All opinions epressed are 100% my own.

The Dove Awards 2014- TONIGHT

October 12, 2014October 12, 2014 - Amy Leave a comment

I had the privilege of attending the 2014 Dove Awards in Nashville, TN this past week. It was beyond what I expected. Many of my favorites were there and some that I heard for the first time. All of which were amazing! The feeling in that arena was filled with the Holy Spirit. It was anointed no doubt. And love for Jesus was felt with each award given and each performance.

One of my absolute favorite worshipers performed and I was just beside myself. Kari Jobe sang Forever. Oh. My. Goodness. So glad I got to be there to hear it live. I love how her love for The Lord shines when she sings.

The Newsboys opened the show with Michael Tait high above the crowd on a platform. He slowly came down and they rocked the house!

The night ended with an amazing performance by For King & Country.

There is so much more here that I couldn’t possibly share. Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) won Worship Song Of The Year which I totally predicted. Ahem, yep. But I won’t give any more of them away. You’ll have to watch them for yourselves!

On TBN TONIGHT October 12th at 7PM PT/9PM CT! I know it’s late for us central timers, but it’s worth it. Bart Millard and Lecrae were hilarious. They really were and they alone are worth watching it for.

It was honestly more than I expected. I’m so blessed to have been able to go thanks to Family Christian!

2014 Dove Awards, I’m There!

September 30, 2014February 14, 2017 - Amy 4 Comments

I have some news that I have been dying to share with you and well, basically I am STOKED. That word doesn’t really do my excitement justice. How about thrilled, exhilarated, enthusiastic, or eager? Ok well if you added all those words together then you’d just about understand my excited about this announcement.

Family Christian is sponsoring me to attend the 2014 Dove Awards! Woo to the hoo! This is so huge and I am beyond blessed to get this opportunity. I keep pinching myself. I LOVE Christian music and so many of the artists in the industry so to get the chance to see some of them perform, be nominated, or win awards is like a dream come true. Eeeeeep I’m so excited just thinking about it!

This years GMA Dove Awards are being hosted by Bart Millard of MercyMe and Lecrae viagra inde acheter. I am looking forward to performances by:

Mandisa
NEWSBOYS
Kari Jobe
Natalie Grant
Ellie Holcomb
for King & Country

And there are TON more. Not to mention that I’m excited to see the following presenters:

Amy Grant
Danny Gokey
JD from Hillsong United
Colton Dixon
Sandi Patty

And hello, there are some incredible nominees, too. And I won’t even go there because there are so many.

So here is some info for YOU. You can follow the Dove Awards for info and happenings here:

Facebook – Facebook.com/DoveAwards
Twitter – @GMADoveAwards
Instagram – @gospelmusicassoc
YouTube – Youtube.com/gmadoveawards
Hashtag – ‪#‎DoveAwards‬
Pinterest – www.pinterest.com/doveawards/

But don’t you worry, I will be socializing via my outlets during the whole thing so don’t forget to follow ME!

Facebook- Facebook.com/gatheringgrain
Instagram- @amyedmiston

I actually have more than this, they are just for Pennywise Cook. It may be time to work on this a little, ya think? These two look so sad.

You can STILL get tickets if you want to go! Grab a ticket here and join me. You just can’t tell anyone about my screaming like a teenage girl when the Newsboys perform. 😉

Thank you SO much to Family Christian for sponsoring me. Beyond blessed is the only way I can describe this. Stay tuned for updates, photos, and news!