Tag Archives: faith

Battling ‘Breaking Bad’

17 Aug

Okay, so Adam and I finally jumped on the Breaking Bad bandwagon and watched all the shows up to the current season.  While this show is entertaining and suspenseful, it is totally the opposite of my life in a lot of ways -obviously.  But the other day, I started thinking about how the lead character, Walter White, first started his slide down a very slippery slope to unethical, illegal, and selfish behavior and how it is probably similar to the way a lot of people start addictions and get into destructive and corrupt situations.  Initially, there is a rationalization of behavior and a justification that it’s only because of ‘blank’ or I need to do this because ‘blank,’ etc.    Next thing you know, this person’s addiction is at the center of his/her life and their self-control has been compromised. This person’s wants and selfish motives drive his/her behavior.  For Walter, his bleak cancer diagnosis prompted him to figure out a way to provide for his family since he thought that he would die within the next several month.  As he started down the path of cooking meth, his ego and his greed dominated his decision-making.

I read or heard somewhere a great quote that I’m probably going to butcher, but it was something to the effect of “everyday is a battle between thinking we’re God and letting God be God.”  So every choice we make, we are either going to give in to what we want or give up what we desire for God’s best purpose for our lives.  I’m sure most of us can’t relate to committing murder or selling vast amounts of methamphetamine or dealing with the Cartel, but we all face a daily battle to choose God’s will over our own and to have character and integrity even when no one is looking.  When we continuously seek God, our dreams will align with His plan for our life and we will be able to do the seemingly impossible.  Our desires will be fulfilled because they are also what God wants for us.  (“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” -Psalm 37:4)

A few months ago, I read an awesome paragraph in the book More than Ordinary: Enjoying Life with God by Doug Sherman  that addresses this perfectly:

“The absolute perfection of God’s will means every step I take to follow His leadership is a monumental trade up.  Every decision, attitude, comment, response, and sacrifice I make to please Him is vastly better for me (and everyone around me) than if I am self-led.  In every situation I face today, following His leadership is not a little better but much better.  And the consequences of going my own direction are far worse than I usually imagine.”

For those of you who watch Breaking Bad, you know how disastrous the consequences of Walter’s actions have been for his those who care about him the most, not to mention his soul.  When we make ourselves gods, we become self-focused and close ourselves off from true joy and peace.  When we surrender to God, we place our trust in him that He wants the best for us and others.  “We know that all things work for good for those that love God, who are called according to His purpose.” -Romans 8:28.

Keep listening and believing!  Have a great weekend!

above image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

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Marking the Milestones

10 Aug

The spring and summer of 2012 has been full of anniversaries, milestones, and new adventures for a variety of different things in our family.  Here is the rundown:

1. It has been 10 years since my high school graduation and 7  years since I graduated college.

College Graduation Day 2005

2. It has been 10 years since Adam moved to Nashville.

3. Adam and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary!  

Our 1st Anniversary 2006

4. Our oldest daughter, “C,” turned three and is potty trained!

5. Our youngest daughter turned 1-year-old and finally sprouted a mouthful of teeth (after 13 months without any)!

6. It has been a little over a year since I started A Dreamer’s Wife.   Two weeks ago, I made a plan to devote more time to this blog.  My goal is to post each weekend and get more involved in the blogging community.  It has been fun adding more websites to my Google Reader and WordPress Reader – so many great bloggers to follow!  I also officially registered my domain name this week, so now it is adreamerswife.com!

7.  We started the journey of Adam’s career as an independent artist! 

8. I just stopped the bedtime feeding that I had been continuing for the past couple months with “little A.” One of the “girls” became a casualty to the teeth I mentioned in #5 and I decided it was finally time to put an end to this phase of mommy-hood.

9.  It has been three weeks since we discontinued cable – and I don’t mean downgraded to a lower package, I mean we don’t even have the basic channels.  (Boo to missing the Olympics!)  We do have a Netflix subscription right now, so I can’t be too dramatic about this!  It has definitely been a change, but I’ve been way more productive and focused.  I thought I was good at multitasking with the TV on, but maybe I wasn’t as good at it as I thought!  We’ll see how long this “no TV” lasts, though, because football season is about here and I don’t know if Adam will be able to cope.  (He’s already found a possible deal on a cable package…)

10. I recently started a Catholic ABC’s preschool program with “C.” Each Saturday morning we discuss the designated letter of the week, spend time singing songs, making a craft, and learning about the Bible.

“A” for Angel Craft

All of this is exciting stuff to acknowledge and celebrate.  It also causes me to think about making the most of whatever time I have left on this earth. In the past few months, I’ve become more passionate, fearless, and trusting in regards to God’s will, my talents, and my goals.  I feel that nothing is impossible.  I have no idea what the next 10 years (and beyond) holds, but I know that I’m going to be living with purpose each day!  I’m looking forward to my continued growth as a bold, joy-filled, and faith-filled individual!

What is everybody else out there celebrating?

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July’s Dreamer in the Spotlight

31 Jul

“His Eye is Upon Us” by LeRone Wilson

I ran across an article a couple months ago, titled, “Listening to God Pays off for Struggling Artist,” and tucked it away for a future post.  I forgot about it, but fortunately ran across it recently and thought that I would feature this professional artist, LeRone Wilson, as this month’s Dreamer in the Spotlight before I forget again!

LeRone Wilson is a family man whose artwork is inspired by God and the Bible.  He signs all of his work, “In His Name.”  In the same article mentioned above, he comments, “It’s through Him I get my concepts and titles and through Scripture,” he says. “This work belongs to Him because He alone gave it to me.”

It’s a pretty neat story, so please read it if you have a couple minutes!

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It’s Time to be Independent

7 Jul

The past few weeks have been exciting! Adam and I have decided to dedicate ourselves to pursuing his career as an independent artist. No more waiting for a big break or for the right person to come along to help propel Adam’s major record label dreams forward…

We both came to the realization that “independent” is the way to go around the same time. If you’ve read my last few posts (or kept up with this blog at all), you know that I’ve been spending a lot of time reading books and watching shows about using our talents and pursuing God’s will. For the past few years, I’ve had an itch to start some sort of business and about a month ago, the obvious idea hit me over the head to step up and help Adam pursue his music career in a hands-on way. I’ve always been supportive, but I left his “music stuff” up to him. I started to research websites, digital distribution of music, promotional advice blogs, etc., and realized that pursuing his career on our own was totally doable. Yes, it will take a lot of time and hard work, but I could see the steps and the opportunities and that was all I needed to get me started!

Adam, on the other hand, came to this conclusion after a long weekend of teching at one of the stages at CMA Fest in June. He had listened to about 40 different acts and realized that what is popular right now with commercial country music does not really match up with his values or what his music is about… He realized that he would never get to be true to himself with a major record label deal.

So…when I approached Adam about us teaming up to commit to going the independent route, it didn’t take him too long to jump on board.  I feel that God has given me a passion and purpose for this.  Even though I know next to nothing about the music business, I’m not afraid to jump in and I’ve already seen where God has given me some wisdom and insight that I haven’t had before.  I feel that my strengths of organizing, planning, researching, etc., will complement Adam.  There are a lot of things that I will be able to take off his plate so he won’t be so overwhelmed and feel like everything is on his shoulders.  He can mainly concentrate on making amazing music and connecting with friends and fans.

Right now, Adam is focusing on working out at the gym (yes, he did get a membership and a trainer) and recording his new songs! I am working on our promotion and distribution plan.  An official website is in the works, as well! I can’t wait to get Adam’s latest songs online for everyone to hear!  Many more updates to come!

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(The picture above shows some of the categories I have in my Marketing/PR plan binder – I feel so professional!)

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Saying Yes Equals Success (Part II)/June’s Dreamer in the Spotlight

27 Jun

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” -Matthew 7:7

If you read my previous post, you may have been re-energized to look for ways God can use you or you may have thought, “I’m not Mother Theresa; I’m no saint.  I have a lot of work to do before I can do something great for God.”  We will never be perfect, but even in our brokenness and imperfection, God can use us to share His love and reach others.  There are so many opportunities each day that we may be missing to experience joy, peace, and true fulfillment.  I, personally, am really trying to focus on small impressions that God may be placing on my heart to act on for His good on a day-to-day basis.  I know that I have repeatedly overlooked or ignored them, not realizing that even a small action could be a significant moment for myself and/or another person.

Another thought that may have come up while reading my last post is, “How do I know what God wants me to do?”  As I mentioned earlier this month, I have been reading an inspiring and insightful book called, What Happens When Women Say Yes to God, by Lysa TerKeurst.  This particular woman has a lot of wisdom and trust and is not afraid to take risks.  Click here to read her five questions to discern God’s voice.

I had never read any of Lysa’s books until I was recently invited to be a part of a book club that focuses on developing a deeper faith and strengthening a personal relationship with Jesus.  The members of the group voted on What Happens When Women Say Yes to God to read first and it seems that each one of us is getting a lot out of it!

Lysa has written several best-selling books and is the president of Proverbs 31 Ministries.  In addition, she and her husband  adopted two boys from Liberia, which prompted many others to adopt children from that country, as well.  To read more about Lysa’s journey and what she does, check out her website bio.

Lysa, thanks for being such an inspiring woman and encouraging all of us to seek God’s will and lead an adventurous life!

Lysa TerKeurst

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Saying Yes Equals Success (Part I)

16 Jun

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and he will direct your paths.”  -Proverbs 3:5-6

I’m in the middle of reading some life-altering books right now and, no, I’m not exaggerating.  There’s no way that I can continue to be the same person after reading what these amazing authors have to share.  I have gained some special nuggets of wisdom to write about, but I have to break it down into more than one post because it will be an extremely lengthy one that no one will probably be up for tackling!

Back in November, I featured Katie Davis as that month’s featured Dreamer in the Spotlight.  I finally got around to reading her book, Kisses from Katie, and it is blowing me away!  For those of you who read that post, you may remember that she is the 22-year-old who is the mother to 13 Ugandan children.  Before I write anything else, let me just share an excerpt from her book that I just read yesterday.  (The whole book is worth highlighting, but this particular part jumped out at me.)

“I was blessed.  It wasn’t because of anything I did; it was because I serve an unbelievably gracious God who will honor a willing and obedient heart.  My love for the people around me was not something I could muster up myself; it was God given, it came from the overflow of the love He had lavished on me.

I hadn’t come to Uganda with a degree in education; I wasn’t a nurse; and I certainly didn’t consider myself a missionary.  I had absolutely no idea what was involved in running a ministry and frankly did not possess the business knowledge or organizational skills required to do so.  I was in no way qualified, but I was available.

I have learned that something happens when one makes herself available to God:  He starts moving in ways no one could imagine.  God began doing things in me, around me, and through me as I offered myself to Him.  I began each day saying, “Okay, Lord, what would you have me do today?  Whom would you have me help today?”  And then I would allow Him to show me.  I would like to say that I had all kinds of great ideas about what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it.  I would like to say my ministry was born out of a carefully thought-out plan.  These things simply aren’t true, though.  I was walking through life one moment at a time, blown away by what God could do through me if I simply said yes.” -Kisses from Katie, page 43

Maybe after reading this, you are thinking, “I thought the title of this post is Saying Yes Equals Success and that doesn’t sound like the kind of success I want.”  It can definitely seem overwhelming and scary to think of what God may ask of us if we are open to it, but imagine all of the joy and love that would be missed out on if we continue to aim for the worldly view of success.  We have to keep in mind that God wants what is best for us.  He gave us our gifts and He wants us to use them to fit into His perfect plan.

I recently heard a great quote while watching a television show (Women of Grace) on EWTN the other day.  Two men were being interviewed about their book, Journeying on Holy Ground —Christian Strategies to Reach your Personal, Professional, and Spiritual Destiny, and one of the authors, Billy Arcement, quoted Fredrick Buechner’s book, Wishful Thinking: A Seeker’s ABC.  In it Buechner states, “…The place God calls you to is the place where deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”  How powerful is that statement?  Wow!  Basically, when we can use our God-given talents (passion) to help others, we have found our purpose!  Isn’t that what we all want to find in life?  Don’t we all want to believe that our lives have meaning?  What’s awesome is that each one of us has a special role to play in His masterfully-woven plan!

That’s probably enough to digest for now.  Thanks for hanging with me!  I’ll talk about the second book that I’m currently reading in Part II – What Happens When Women Say Yes to God by Lysa TerKeurst.  I’ll outline her five-step plan to discerning God’s voice.

above image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

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April’s Dreamer in the Spotlight

23 Apr

When I ran across a featured article on-line last week, I got goosebumps over how much faith this month’s featured dreamer, Curtis Masters, possesses.  Please read how one plumber in Texas is truly putting his career and his family’s well-being in God’s hands.  (There is also a short video clip at the bottom of this article. )

I love how he mentions that God “planted” this idea in him before finally agreeing to follow this path.  I think God is often planting seeds in our hearts and minds for the future.  His timing is perfect! 

Thank you for your faith and good works, Mr. Masters.  You are definitely an inspiration to all of us to have more trust and believe that God wants what is best for us!

Photo courtesy of thepathtraveler/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Tim Tebow: Too Radical? (January’s Dreamer in the Spotlight)

15 Jan

Tim Tebow - Credit: Jeffrey Beall on Flickr.com

Earlier this week, when I woke for my daughter’s 4 am feeding, I started thinking about Tim Tebow.  Why? I have no idea.  Maybe it had something to do with the recent playoff win against the Pittsburgh Steelers combined with a brief article that I read the night before regarding his response to quarterback Jake Plummer stating he wanted him to limit the Jesus talk.  (This happened back in November and Adam had sent me a video link of the interview, but I forgot to watch it.  Click here to read about Tebow’s response – amazing!)  All I know, is that a lot of connections and revelations were going on in my mind at a time I am usually half asleep…

As I was thinking about these things, I realized that Tim Tebow would be the perfect person to feature for this month’s Dreamer in the Spotlight post.  He, without a doubt, is focused on doing whatever God’s will is for his life and is not fazed by what others’ say about him.  He was told he wouldn’t be successful in the NFL, but look where he is right now in only his second year.  He has people who talk trash about him, but he continues to possess a noticeable joy and unashamedly expresses his faith.  He does a lot of volunteer work and has his own Tim Tebow Foundation.  He has worked hard and kept his priorities in order.

Later that same morning, when I was getting ready for work, I noticed a quarter on the counter in the bathroom.  I picked it up and looked at the front to see the words that I already knew were printed there: “In God We Trust.” I don’t think it is a coincidence that the NFL is at its peak in popularity right now and God is working through a Heisman trophy winning quarterback to turn America’s attention back towards Him.  Adam told me that he heard that more people watched last weekend’s wildcard playoff game between Denver and Pittsburgh than any NFL game last season, besides the Superbowl.  In addition, so many people started researching verse John 3:16 that it trended on Google.  (And no, I don’t think the 316 total passing yards or 31.6 average yards per pass are coincidences either.)

Is Tim Tebow too radical?  I think it says a lot about the state of our country, when a man is getting so much attention for publicly giving God gratitude for all his blessings and for doing so many self-less acts.  It says many of us Christians aren’t radical enough.   We aren’t shining bright enough and unafraid to live a life uncommon.  Tebow has been an inspiration to those of us who haven’t had enough courage to stand up for our faith or pursue our dreams.  Some of you reading this may be thinking that I’m too radical right now.  If believing that God has a plan for each one of us and that miracles do happen makes me extreme, then yes, I’m radical – and proud of it!  I need to continue to step up my level of faith and “radical-ness,” especially after reading Psalm 34.

Below are some quotes and verses that came into my mind in the midst of thinking about all this Tebow stuff…

“Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.” -Basil King

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” -Philippians 4:13

“With God, all things are possible.” -Matthew 19:26

Tim Tebow should give each of us the confidence to not be afraid to show others who we truly are.  We all have talents that God has given us to make the world a better place.  We all have been given a role to aid humanity.  Tebow has definitely been an inspiration to Adam to be bolder and work harder.  He wrote a song last summer, simply and powerfully, titled, “Jesus.”  I woke Adam up after my 4 am revelation to tell him that I felt God was wanting him to share this song.  So please check out the YouTube video “Jesus” by Adam Lee and you’ll see what I mean…

God bless!

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Adam Speaks, er, Writes!

24 Oct

I had Adam write a little update about what has been going on lately in his own words.  Here it is – from the man himself!!

This is my first official entry for the A Dreamer’s Wife blog and I’m so excited to share with you what I’ve been up to these past few months.  From May thru September, I was on the “Nashville 2 You Campground Tour” with five other artists from Nashville.  We traveled from Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan to upstate New York, Virginia and North Carolina.  This was the second year of the tour and my second year playing as a solo artist.   The coolest thing about this stripped-down acoustic tour is that I got to meet many wonderful people and it challenged me as an artist to set myself apart from other artists on the tour.  It has made me think this thought over and over, “Who am I as an artist, and what do I want people to remember about me when they see me perform?”

Adam playing downtown during CMA Fest 2011

God answered this question through a couple of people.  The first, is a man named Ashley Swan who works in the music industry, and to make a long and awesome story short, he asked me one simple question, “What do you want to do with it (my music)?” I must admit, I was taken aback by my response and couldn’t believe what I had said a second after I said it, which was “make money”.  EEEEK!!!  Needless to say, that was the wrong answer and I will only say that Stef and I were struggling a little financially at the time and that was weighing heavily on my heart, but there is no excuse for my response.  I didn’t move to Nashville at 19, ask my wife (then girlfriend) to move to Nashville away from her family and everything she’s ever known to just make money.  Don’t get me wrong, money is a necessary commodity and it’s my responsibility to provide for my family, but it can’t be my major motivator.  He helped me realize that I’ve been chasing the wrong things.  I had been basing every desicion I made on getting recognition, making others happy, money, and acceptance from the people who call the shots in Nashville’s music scene.  I’m not a country singer, yet I tried to write and sing country songs.  I’m not a sideman, yet I played on the side.  I’m not of the world, yet I hid my Christianity.  TRUTH – that is what I want to be about – living my life as I am, not who others think I should be.

The second person that God put in my path to help me answer the question is an amazing artist, Jenn Bostic.  Jenn came on the road with the tour for a couple weekends and she sang a song called “Jealous of The Angels” about her Dad who had passed away 15 years ago.  She was very open with her faith and her loss on the microphone, in front of complete strangers.  She had the courage to be who she was and did not put on a front.  She taught me that as Christians/secular artists, we have to be willing to speak the truth – no matter what!

So now let me try and answer the question, “What do you want to do with it?”  I want to create music that brings joy to peoples lives and speaks the TRUTH!!!  I am currently rehearsing with 2 of my best friends – Ed Hardin (Bass) and Stef’s cousin, Tommy Gravelle (Drums), and we are unofficially calling ourselves “The Adam Lee Trio” or “The Adam Lee Band” as soon as we find our fourth member.  I want to thank my wife Stef for all of her love and support and patience through this journey.  For the first time, I feel like I know where I’m going and I have a pretty good idea how to get there and I wouldn’t be here without my wonderful wife!

Till next time,
Adam

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Proud of my CHS class of ’02!

15 Oct

This blog focuses on inspiration, hope, and seeking God’s will, so what I’m about to share is definitely appropriate…

A high school friend, Nichole, and her husband, Aaron, tragically lost their baby girl last week after she was born prematurely.  I’ve never met her husband, but from what I’ve seen on Facebook and their website, they have a strong desire to help others and spread the love of Jesus.  This amazing couple spent 9 months in Africa in 2009 doing missionary work.  During this experience they decided to pursue international adoption.  Aaron and Nichole are currently in the process of bringing home a baby boy from Ethiopia, but are still raising the necessary funds.

After the news of the loss of their precious baby, Figi (short for Fighter Girl), another high school classmate, Heathyr, decided to put together a fundraiser via Facebook in honor of Figi (pronounced fee-jee) to raise money to bring her brother home sooner.  Donations and cards were collected by her personally and through the mail.  Over sixty people (CHS alumni and strangers) gave money for a total of over $1,800 so far!  (The original goal was $1,000.)  Heathyr is going to travel to attend the memorial service tomorrow and give Aaron and Nichole the collected funds and personal notes.

I can’t imagine the grief that Aaron and Nichole must feel right now after losing their daughter after they just met her.  Hopefully, they will be able to hold their little boy in their arms soon!  If you are interested in donating, please visit their Village to Village Intl. page.

Thanks, Heathyr, for all the effort that you put into making this gift for the Marshall family a reality.  I am moved by your generous heart and the generous hearts of all that donated.  It is so inspiring to see God’s work in action!

Please pray for Aaron and Nichole Marshall during this difficult time.  To see pictures of precious Figi Grace, you can view their website.

 

 

Photo courtesy of Nutdanai Apikhomboonwaroot via freedigitalphotos.net

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