Whenever this time of year rolls around again, I often sit and wonder what it must have been like for any and all who were privy to the angels' song announcing the birth of the Messiah. I imagine the shepherds were quite terrified and wonderstruck as all of heaven erupted in the loudest, most beautiful song and light show in all of history. (I'm quite certain they had to change their pants afterward.) I wonder what it would have been like to lay eyes on that baby King and know immediately that He was salvation, God in the flesh, the long awaited hope not only for Israel, but for the entire human race...past, present and future. My eyes well up at the thought.
I was sitting in my kitchen feeding Maverick his veggies when my phone rang. It was my dear friend Lindsay McCaul, and for a split second I wondered why she was calling me. Wasn't she at the Dove Awards? When I answered, she was whispering excitedly, "Mere, you just WON!" "Won what?" I thought it was a joke. "Worship Song of the Year...you tied with Chris Tomlin!" I felt my face go red. My stomach did a flip. She held the phone up from her seat in The Fox Theatre so I could hear Chris's acceptance speech. My mind was spinning. I was in utter shock.
Back in November while leading worship for an orphan conference, I was introduced to Tom Davis, the president of Children's HopeChest, author, speaker, and advocate for the fatherless. Having read his books, I was familiar with his work and was honored to finally meet such a man who speaks up for the voiceless. In our conversations, Tom mentioned an idea he had about doing a tour that would encompass worship and missions as they are meant to exist together...a night where God stirs up the hearts of His people to praise in action and holy compassion. Given my desire to be a part of the solution regarding the orphan crisis, to say that I was excited about this possible tour would be a vast understatement.
On January 5th, a team of about eighteen people from all over the United States put their lives on hold and embarked on a life-changing trip to Ouanaminthe, Haiti. Our team consisted of KLOVE staff and winners, friends from Children's Hopechest, a group of marathon runners based out of Chicago, my husband Jacob, best friend Kristi, and myself. We were a hodge-podge team to say the least, but it was amazing to see how the Lord tightly knit us together so quickly, interwoven by the common thread of a passion to carry out the heart of the Gospel: ministering to the least of these. Our goal was to serve the people of Haiti, to somehow reach out to them with the love of Jesus, but of course we ended up being the ones deeply encouraged by their faith and hope in the darkest of times and reminded that people are more important than things...all the time.
1 John 3:18- Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
I love you. These are three words that many of us use every day. It is a common phrase meant to describe our affection, appreciation, admiration and commitment to those who are closest to us. We Americans tend to use the word love very loosely, however, and whether we're talking about shoes, football, puppies or cheeseburgers, this sacred four letter word is often the verb of choice. But let's take a step back for a moment and really examine the meaning of love. What does it mean to love someone? 1 John 3:16 is clear: "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us." John 15:13 says, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."
