Lessons from Undaunted

I recently finished a couple books that have truly left a mark on my heart. The latest, Undaunted, by one of my new favorite people, Christine Caine, left me highlighting something on every page – not like I haven’t heard some of these truths before, but they literally made sense in my heart for the first time. I hope to meet Christine one day. This woman is a fighter!

I closed the last page of the book (ok, not really. I read this on my iPad) and felt different. I felt less like a discouraged, disappointed, weak person striving to make something of myself in my own strength, and more like Moses or Esther. They were ordinary people with flaws. However, they trusted and obeyed the words from their Heavenly Father and saw incredible things happen. It’s true; I haven’t spoken before a pharaoh or seen that burning tree in my backyard.

But…

If I just stop and think about incredible things that HAVE happened, small ways I am able to be a part of a supernatural change in someone’s life, then my burning bush isn’t so incomprehensible.

So often we overlook these things in our lives. We’re so busy climbing the mountain we miss the whole point: the journey. Esther was on a journey. Moses was on a (long) journey. God met them on their highways. In Undaunted, I got to see glimpses of Christine’s journey. I was so inspired by her approach to every ginormous obstacle that stood in her path. As if she would say, “Um, my God is bigger!”

All along this journey, keep your eyes open. Burning bushes are all around us. They are signals, signs on the highway that our God is bigger. Don’t give up or slow down! As crazy as it sounds, I believe God speaks to us. If we’ll listen, this journey can be so much more than reaching the top of the mountain. A scrapbook isn’t about the last page. Every page is significant, and leads up to the last page. Each day is like a page in this story God is writing through you. What will it say today?

 -B

Not just another map

Sometimes, it’s hard for me to take statistics seriously and to really see them as individuals.  Can anyone relate?  Numbers can seem so disconnected.  Like, more than 9 million children under age 5 die every year. More than 6 million of these deaths are preventable.

Then it all happened for me when I walked the streets of El Salvador.  Breathing in the air, shaking hands and hugging young ones that came up running.

Recently, after one of our concerts, the Compassion table was buzzing.  A little girl urged her mom to let her sponsor a girl from Africa.  Though this single mom felt she couldn’t afford it, she decided to trust God to provide.  They took the plunge.  Her daughter was willing to find some odd jobs to help cover it.  I was so amazed when she wrote me just a few weeks later to tell me the miracle.  They did find jobs, and earned enough to sponsor for a full year!

I’ve got a basket full of maps in my office…state maps, trail guides, downtown directories... but this map here is different:

My husband Bryan made this at my request (isn't he good?), it represents where Compassion works.  Each country represents a story, and chapters of the story are tragic and sad, unjust and devastating.  But when Compassion moved in, it started a new chapter of HOPE.  Each of us has the opportunity to help write this chapter, because we’ve been changed by God’s grace and salvation – we can bring that same grace and salvation to a boy or girl, and their family – and even their entire village!

Numbers are actually real people, and when we realize that we can touch one life that will cause a ripple effect, these “statistics” become an opportunity for God to surprise us.

Just like that little girl with wide eyes at our Compassion table weeks ago, we can have the faith of a child, and trust that our Father in Heaven will help us as we each take the plunge and sponsor a child.

And could it be that your heart will change?  Could it be that your gift to that child will be the greatest blessing in your own life?

-Becca

Find out more about Compassion.

Flight Delays and Thoughts on Belonging

I've spent so much time in the Dallas, TX airport this week that I memorized the place. Got my guitar, iPad in tow and a carry-on roller bag. I think I'll either write a blog or play my guitar for these travel-weary folks!

Before any music goes out I want to tell you about my weekend in eastern Pennsylvania. It welcomed us with lush green hills, winding rivers and the extravagant skyline of Pittsburgh. We came for the girls of Christian Center and surrounding churches near Belle Vernon for the I AM HIS retreat.
Preparing for this retreat stirred a lot of thoughts in me about belonging to God. When you think I am _____ what do you feed into the blank? What we do or how we feel is usually the case; lonely, happy, depressed, a student, a friend, singer...

When we fill in the blank do we ever just say I am His?

I'm boarding the plane home with my husband tonight - finally. With hours spent in this airport incurred by multiple flight delays and cancelations, I've had time to encounter a lot of people traveling. A Muslim man in a corner doing his ritual prayers, a business man making transactions on his cell phone, a woman frantically trying to get a standby on our flight. Our identity as a son or daughter of God needs to be the identity most prevalent in our lives so we can reach others and they find freedom in being God's child too.

Elissa

With the boys on the road

Last weekend we headed out for a cross-country tour with our husbands.  Touring with them is the best!  My husband Chad is serious on the electric guitar.  He can play most any genre of music – & he joined us on Sunday morning in Des Moines.  Bryan, Becca's husband, can carry any beat on the djembe, so he handled the rhythm at our concerts.

Our first stop was McCook, NE (third visit since 2008).  After the show, several girls shared with me me that they were counting on us coming back this year.  I’m glad we were able to!  It was good to sing our new songs, and meet two girls who drove 2 hours to see us (when they saw our tweet) - awesome!  Making amazing friends wherever we go makes what we do that much sweeter.

A few days into the tour I was introduced to the 'Walking Taco'.  Ever had one?  It’s genius.  A bag of Doritos (or Fritos) is filled with lettuce, shredded cheese and ground beef.  You chow down with a fork.

Our concert in Iowa was hosted by KJYL in a beautiful country church.  About to celebrate 135 years serving the farming communities in central Iowa, this church has seen more than a century of change and progress.  It stands this day as a picture of our God – unchanging, faithful, steadfast.

Thank you everyone who drove to our concert in Lanyon.  We loved worshiping with you and packing out the sanctuary!

-Elissa

{Check out our Media > Pictures page for new tour pics}

Made to Shine - behind the song (video)

Check out our new video: Made to Shine!

This video is about the girl that inspired our song "Made to Shine", and her struggle with bullies at school. Find "Made to Shine" on our new album "By Faith". www.Sonflowerz.com.

Evacuee, a word I never thought I'd be

"The first time I saw the plume of smoke I was coming out of a wedding reception. “Oh no, that’s close,” I thought. The blaze had started less than 5 miles from my house and thousands of other residents in the Colorado Springs area. We couldn’t see the actual fire, but the smoke engulfed our neighborhood by Saturday night...."

Read more of Elissa's thoughts on the wildfire in the newest edition of Christian Songwriters Magazine!

Download this edition and read Elissa's story.

Dearly Loved

One song really seemed to impact people last week in Wisconsin. Our second time at Lifest, we packed 3 days with leading worship, teaching a seminar, interviewed with a radio station, and two concert sets at different stages and times. I think my Mom set up our merch table more times in one day than could count. She is amazing.

Each time we played “Dearly Loved”, a new song on our album “By Faith”, it seemed that people were hearing they are loved for the firs time. You know, we hear that God loves us, but sometimes it doesn’t sink in. It’s like watching a movie in a foreign language. But when you really get it, really, it changes everything! A sweet girl named Grace thanked me for the song after a concert, expressing how hard it is to sometimes see herself as truly loved and beautiful.

Dearly Loved
By Elissa Leander Tipps, Rebecca Leander Nicholson (Copyright 2011 Sonflower Worship/ASCAP)

Hasn’t anyone told you / Don’t you already know that your name has been written on His hands and on His heart / See the way He has given / His own life He laid down so that you could be with Him and know truly from the start that // You are loved even more than words can describe / Dearly loved from before the first dawn of time / You are loved even if the whole world tries to convince you otherwise / Forever you are cherished and dearly loved // I saw you walk away slowly / A solemn look on your face / You don’t believe you are worthy in light of your mistakes / A guilty conscience has stolen your understanding of grace / But God will never forsake you / Nothing you could do will change that // His love is enough to hold you together / Always enough to conquer your fears / His love is enough and someday you’ll know just how much

Our newest friend from Lifest, Tiffany Thompson, brought us potted sunflowers (real ones) one morning. These became the staple at our merch table. Lifest is one of those festivals where everyone feels like family, and you can be guaranteed that backstage will have cheese curds at the salad bar. I LOVE it. (Oh, and the custard in Wisconsin is incredible.)

Romans 5 talks about the Holy Spirit being the evidence of God’s love. It’s a gift from God that the Holy Spirit within us is our guide, our comforter, and our strength. I definitely experienced it first-hand on this tour. Each day was packed (no days off) and very demanding. I felt like a runner in a marathon, with each stride asking for God’s help to keep going and not give up.

Identify yourself as a recipient of God’s love and you will even be glad when situations require endurance. It becomes a strength and draws us closer to God.

-Becca