Football Frenzy

On tour last month, Becca and Bryan invited me and Chad for a pizza/football-watching night. Chad and I weren’t up on our football much for this season, but Becca has caught the football fever Bryan has for Clemson, his alma mater. Commonly Becca will jump off the couch with hands in the air for a Clemson touch down. And this was an exciting game. Lots of shouting and finally Clemson won. We all agreed to return for the Orange Bowl where Clemson would end the season by playing for the title.

Over at Becca and Bryan’s for the Bowl last week, they were on the couch suited up with Clemson attire and all the frenzy for a memorable championship. Well, if any of you are sharp on your recent sports facts, Clemson made a shocking record for losing the worst. We couldn’t even watch after they were 40 points down. The final score hurt for even a non-football-fan like me.

But what about those Denver Broncos? They certainly helped sooth the wound of Clemson’s loss when they beat the Steelers this weekend. Our whole state is catching a crazy hype over Tebow and rightly so. Good things are happening and I’m proud to live in Colorado where football is exciting for even the non-fans like me.

-E

The Dream Life

I was on a walk with my mom down a well-worn broad path. Looking up, we saw a family coming toward us from the other direction. The parents were walking and laughing as their three kids barreled ahead on little bikes. I’m sure the two older brothers were around 7 and 8 years old, and their little sister of about 5 lagged behind them. As the brother zoomed past Mom and me, we got a good look at the sister doing everything in her power to keep up with them.

She had bright red cheeks from the cold air, long curly locks thrown back by the wind, and a set of training wheels bouncing over the gravel. She whirled past too, and we glanced back. How cute, I thought. Then, she let out in the greatest triumph, “I’m living the DREAM life!”

Long after the family was out of sight, Mom and I were talking about this girl.

What is the dream life anyway? I pondered this after hearing the words from the five-year-old on training wheels. In my heart I had been caught up with future goals so deeply that the present was beginning to feel like grunt work. All I could think of in my day was the household duties, computer work, and paying bills I had to pay to make those goals a reality. But truly, the dream life isn’t about those things.

Matthew 6:34 says, “…do not worry about tomorrow…” Worry was all my mind was doing until this revealing walk with my mom.

If I looked at my daily life, forgetting my future goals and worries, the reality brings days filled with romance with my loving husband, exciting opportunities to play my music and sweet times with my family. Why do future worries swallow up these present joys? As adults we have to guard our hearts against this. For those of you who are teens, you need to develop the habit of praying over your future but making a choice not to worry about it.

Matthew 6:33 says, “Seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be give to you as well.” Matthew was talking about food and clothes, but I realize as I seek the Kingdom and the presence of God to abide with me, I will see God doing more than I could imagine.

There is more joy, more courage and strength for the future when Christ is what I seek and not the things I can attain.

My new year's resolution for 2012 is to yell out, “I’m living the dream life!” as often as I can. I want to be like that little girl joy-riding on her bike, celebrating what my Father in Heaven has done for me each day.

-Elissa

A Sonflowerz Christmas – in a nutshell

The older I get, the more I realize two things about Christmas: traditions never get old, and my eyes are bigger than my stomach. Around the Leander house, holidays are a mixed bag of American and British traditions. The Queen might as well have been literally in my parents’ living room as we watched her Christmas message via YouTube. I was stunned by her sincerity and the way she spoke of Christ’s birth.

“Although we are capable of great acts of kindness, history teaches us that we sometimes need saving from ourselves - from our recklessness or our greed. God sent into the world a unique person - neither a philosopher nor a general, important though they are, but a Saviour, with the power to forgive.”

This never gets old. Neither does Christmas cracker wars after dinner. I think we came up with a new tradition this year, though, in honor of the Queen. With a few shovels and a little imagination we built a snow castle in my backyard (snowmen are so last year). We were lucky enough to get snow 3 days before Christmas.

My second realization, my eyes are bigger than my stomach, shouldn’t surprise me. Yet it does every year. There are just too many good things to eat, and not enough time or ability. Close friends came over for dinner and brought some amazing pies for dessert, which were devoured in a tiny second by (mostly) the guys in the house. By the end of the night as the movie credits rolled, I could barely lift a finger. It was a good Christmas in every sort of way.

-Becca

Winter Touring Has it's Moments (Blog By Elissa)

I stumbled into my house at midnight Sunday night after a weekend traveling around Colorado on tour. I had spent myself completely, but that's what a good tour does to you. My husband Chad came on this trip as well as Becca's husband, Bryan. The four of us had piled into the 'band van' Friday afternoon, ready for an adventure. One of my friends said "Oh, I bet that is so much fun...like a mini vacation!" Yes, it WAS FUN. But, it was a "vacation" with LOTS of logistics and places to be. Getting to take the husbands with us is a treat.

On the way up to Fort Collins, CO, Bryan drove while Becca ran the juke box of Switchfoot's new Vise Verses.

The event was a Christmas Tea with women of all ages. Too many twinkle lights to count, gorgeous table-scapes all prepared with the best linens, dishes and centerpieces. Each table was decorated by a different individual from the church! The room just sparkled.

We shared songs from our new album and our Christmas EP Beautiful Miracle. We helped a handful of kids get sponsored through Compassion International at our table. This gets me excited! Just think, the nations were impacted, many families were given aid and the Gospel was shared around the world, all through a Women's Tea in Colorado. Saturday morning was just as exciting when we performed again and a woman gave her life to Jesus.

We drove to Cheyenne, Wyoming Saturday night. Now, at this point the snow was getting a little nasty, but the roads were still manageable. We were getting hour-by-hour weather updates. "Sounds like it's stirring up for a big storm," said one broadcast. We unloaded the van and soundchecked. In the morning, I needed a load of coffee to get me going. The usual brew of the day is a cup of TEA, but I call in the coffee when I'm up at 6 am like I was on Sunday. Get to the church early and pray. That's the plan. Worship was exciting and I felt the Holy Spirit doing something really unique. I sang 'Mighty To Save', like I have dozens of times, but it felt like the first. God was moving and infusing faith in all of us. Calvary Chapel Cheyenne is a happening church, full of life, and awesome people. I hope we get to return soon!

The four of us were really hungry after church, and hoping for a GOOD bite to eat. Not the Burger King or MacDonalds, which sometimes happens to be the only place to eat when you're on the road. Not this day! All of us celebrated when we saw Chipolte.

Sunday afternoon we drove back down south to Denver, way out east to a large home for a "house concert". We have talked about doing this for a long time, but this was our first "house concert". The four of us set up in the living room. Becca on keys, Bryan on his djembe, Chad and me both on acoustic guitars. Chad is the master of guitar and keeps me on my toes instrumentally. The youth group of Redeemer Presbyterian and the leaders and parents joined us that night. The concert couldn't help but be personal and fun. We were right there in the living room hanging out with everyone! Talk about UP CLOSE. So fun. All the girls chatted with us in the kitchen for a couple hours. We loved it. Packing up and driving home was the hard part. The blizzard had really set in.

It was completely dark (no street lights) with six inches of snow on the road already. No snow plows had come through yet. To make it worse, our wind shield wipers weren't doing a good enough job. Caking ice all over so the drive was straining to see. The four of us prepared for a long long drive home and a stop at the Castlerock Walmart for new wipers. The boys are good with cars and the new wipers were installed quick. Bryan set the wipers in action and it was bad news. They didn't do a thing and in fact, it just smeared the water around. Ugh. It's late and we're tired. Chad decided to check the wipers again. Oh wait. The plastic is still on the edge. Ha. Now the wipers are working better than ever. Thank goodness! We need to get home! Winter touring has it's moments.

-Elissa

What's on my iPod?

Here are my top 10 songs that I’ve been re-playing all week.

1. Keep Your Eyes Open – Needtobreathe

2. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear – Sara Groves

3. Please Come Home For Christmas – Aaron Neville

4. Christmastime Is Here – Vince Gauraldi Trio

5. Paradise – Coldplay

6. Dark Horses – Switchfoot

7. Praise Him – Shane & Shane

8. Manifesto – The City Harmonic

9. Ships In The Night – Mat Kearney

10. O This God – Matt Redman

We just came home from a great weekend tour! My heart is still so full. We made it safely after driving through a minor snowstorm to reach Colorado Springs.

I’m reminded of why we do what we do when God use our stories to change hearts. One Asian woman came to Christ at our Christmas concert in Fort Collins, CO!

No doubt Wyoming is 10 degrees colder, windier and drier than Colorado Springs. But we left there feeling warm and welcomed. Bryan, my husband, was the navigator extraordinaire. Chad got some great footage of the snow on the fields and buffalo.

Our last stop in Parker, CO was a house concert. We don’t do many of these, mainly because many living rooms are too small. But this gorgeous house out in the country was a perfect backdrop for a holiday event. The only problem I have with house concerts is the food, drinks and desserts are too yummy. I can barely sing after. Instead I’d like a nap.

I was encouraged by all the teen girls that came, and it was so fun talking with them. One conversation started with “Oh I like your TOMS!” These girls rock. They have so much energy! I wish I could borrow some of it! Speaking of, I think I’ll go make my afternoon tea. Little boost of caffeine just helps.

-B

A Snapshot of Thanksgiving

Last week we headed to my parents’ house along with 12 other people. We all celebrated Thanksgiving Day with a load of food. I brought sweet potato casserole and Elissa brought her yummy green bean casserole. We’re pretty classic with our Thanksgiving, nothing too fancy, all the dishes the same every year.

But my new favorite dish was a cranberry relish courtesy of my mother-in-law. Since my in-laws from South Carolina were in town for the week, we took the week off and showed them the sights of Colorado and the scenic trails that we hike regularly. Earlier this year I made the mistake of assuring my mother-in-law that we’d certainly have snow during Thanksgiving week. Yet we ended up with 60-degree weather.

Spending a week with family made me freshly thankful for the blessings I have. If all of us stop long enough to really contemplate how much we’re blessed, we will be pouring out thankfulness to God. The automatic response is praise.

You don’t need much stuff to feel blessed. I remember visiting El Salvador and meeting Christians with overflowing joy. Yet they didn’t have the material possessions we have.

As I’m writing this, the Christmas season is in full swing. Every other commercial is selling the best gift to stick under the tree. It’s easy for me to get caught up in the sights and smells of Christmas, treating it like a national holiday or a big event to get ready for. I love having people over and going to parties. But this isn’t Christmas.

I looked up the word “Advent” to see what it meant. I had heard the word so many times in church but I really didn’t feel the impact.

Advent (from the Latin word adventus meaning "coming") is a season observed in many Western Christian churches, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas.

Expectant. Waiting.

I have to confess that my expectancy is normally about the feeling when Christmas Day comes around and I celebrate with family, food and gift giving. Yet, that’s not the main point of Advent. It’s a spiritual journey, expectantly waiting, so that with each day I grow closer to Christ through the miracle and revelation of His first coming.

And the expectancy shouldn’t end the night of December 25^th. We still wait in anticipation for the second coming of Christ, keeping our eyes on Him as we ring in another year, make our plans, and walk out the next 365 days.

-Becca

What happened to kindness?

Kindness. It's a lost virtue in our sporadic, fussy society. The mindset that goes around commonly every day is "I'm entitled to being treated a certain way, served a certain way, on my schedule, to fit my needs."

Today at the hair salon was no different. I walked into an already intense dialogue between a client and stylist. A simple mistake of being double-booked, which no one likes, turned into an excuse to give a speech on why she was entitled to her appointment that second. Despite the attempts to solve the problem by the stylist, the client stormed out, blasting out words that left the atmosphere cold. The stylist stood there in tears, and those in the salon were silent in shock.

What happened to kindness? Sure, its pretty inconvenient to reschedule a hair appointment. And everyone can relate to experiencing inconveniences at airports. Traveling full-time means this comes with the territory. But surely disagreements can be sorted out in a more respectful manner, can't they?

Gone are the good ol' days when strangers would chat on the bus about random things, and people would smile at each other when passing on the sidewalk. I don't think I was born yet when those good ol' days were in their prime. Kindness was not just a learned virtue, it was actually practiced and disrespecting someone was not acceptable.

Where does kindness come from? Titus 3:4 says, "But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy."

Kindness is an attribute of God, and when we're kind to people, we're like God.

Knowing you've been shown the greatest expression of kindness through the salvation of our souls, gives us a reason to be kind to people.

When we first started the band, I was in my freshman year of high school. Peers were not expectant of you to be kind to your parents, and not much has changed. It's much cooler to be independent and do what you want. Some of that had rubbed off on my 14-year-old mind. I am ashamed to admit it. One day our drummer called me out on it. It wasn't long into the conversation before my heart completely broke. I realized even in front of my friends I had been slacking in my respect and kindness toward my parents. I immediately asked God to forgive me. I'm thankful my friend was bold enough to confront me in a gracious way and remind me of how important kindness is.

We have been shown generous grace and kindness by God, who saved an unkind people, so He could make us into the image of His Son! Let's not forget to extend that kindness to others, even in the inconvenience of life.

-Becca