Baby Girl

It was a good day. 

A day to watch my baby girl graduate 

High School and begin a new chapter in her life. 

My heart is full. Thank you Jesus for it all, every day, every breath. 

Thank you Lord.

Miriam's Graduation Brunch Celebration

Miriam's class photo

A little #selfie grad photo with the girls

 Graduation and Commencement

The end and a new beginning

 Officially A High School Graduate

Miriam Evangel Koehne-Class of 2014

 Two very happy parents

Miriam and her Daddy who has been her high school teacher and Principal 

for the last four years. What a blessing!

It Sounds Like a Little Thing, but it's not.....

A hair cut.....My husband told me he is going to get a hair cut today......a hair cut that is, unless I wanted to do it myself. I said "No, honey have fun at the Barber shop."

You see, this is the first year in our 20 year marriage where we can comfortably afford a luxury like having my husband go to the Barber-shop whenever he needs to. A little thing, I know, but I thank God that He has always provided a roof over our head, food on our table and now, He has provided a little extra!

Some history....
This is what happened one day in 2007 when I told my son we can not afford to send you to the barber shop every week to keep your hair looking good, I'm happy to cut it for you, but otherwise you will have to pay for it yourself." Well, my high school son didn't really want his mom to cut his hair anymore and he didn't want to spend money, so he went on a boycott....this was the result...and that lasted until 2012

If people wonder why my son grew his hair out, it was because we didn't have money to cut it and Mom, the Barber, didn't carry the skills to do a sweet fade.

I am thankful for my husband who works diligently and tirelessly to provide for our family. I am thankful to God for providing work for him to do and the blessings and provisions that comes out of it. We may not have much, but we have way more than we will ever need.

A haircut may not seem like a big thing, but really..it is!

What a fine hair cut he has....

Time to leave it to the professionals, by the grace and through the blessings of God.

PS....you don't even want to know the last time I was at a hair Solon...10 years, maybe, and I think it was because I got a gift certificate LOL... relaxer in a box and a pair of scissors, maybe an occasional trip to Fantastic Sams....You can take the girl out of the cheap, but you can't take the cheap out of the girl!

Backroom Prayers~To Whom Shall We Go?

On Saturday, I read from John chapter six. Jesus was teaching that He was the Bread of life and that "...unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day"

At this, some of his disciples said "This is a hard saying, who can listen to it?" and some of them fell away. But Jesus said to the twelve "Do you want to go away as well?"

The response from Simon Peter reminds me of what my response should be in the face of this world, in hard situations, in matters of truth and bearing my cross daily, when I want to cower and go with the flow, when I want to quit, give up and not fight the good fight and when I feel like truth gets hammered at every corner in the media.  May I like Peter always say.....

"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God."

Remembering this truth spurs me on to continue to speak the truth in love, in love for friends, for a city, for a nation who so desperately need the words of eternal life.

Today, Monday as I re-read this passage, I was able to simply sit in my back room and sing it to the Lord. Declare it for my soul, strengthen my heart and renew my mind. Join me in my backroom. #BackroomPrayers

Going to worship this past Sunday and sharing communion with my church family was powerful. My pastor preached the word of God, reminded us all that the Word, His Bible is the source for all truth. My favorite moment was when our church handed out a new Bible to everyone in the congregation and our Pastor had everyone read silently to themselves John 17. The beauty of the silence in the presence of the spirit at that moment as the Words of eternal life went through all of our hearts, renewing our minds was, in a word, AMAZING. That was the the true Fellowship of believers.

Pray #BringBackOurGirls

As I kept hearing and seeing news of the Abducted Nigerian school girls and the call to action, I caught myself thinking "But, what can I do?" It was easy to go through my day, listen to the news, watch  the different social media stories and simply scroll on past it without feeling a sense of responsibility at all.

I believe my lack of sense came from an overwhelming sense of helplessness and the reality that I can't really do anything to help them anyway. Then , like He always does, the Lord reminded me that He has equipped me with the most powerful weapon in the world. PRAYER. I can pray. And I call other to pray as well.

There is power in the name of Jesus. I believe this. I know this. I believe that there is no other than by which we are saved, eternally and temporarily.

I believe that that God hears the cries of His people and can save. I believe that as we cry out in the name of Jesus, he hears and responds. Pray.....Pray....Pray!!

"So Lord in Your mercy, Hear our prayer. Lord, Save those girls and all those who are in danger there in Nigeria. May their eyes be turned to you, Jesus the one and only. Comfort the mothers, comfort the fathers, comfort the families of all who are suffering. Bring healing to Nigeria. Heal their land in the name of Jesus. Amen and Amen!!"

I have Two Elbows

I have two elbows and chances are that you do to. Let me tell you a little about my elbows......

Recently I was on a photo shoot with a friend and brother in Christ that I admire. No matter what, I can always count on him. For instance, I was suppose to meet with a photographer early one morning and because of certain circumstances he had to cancel 60 minutes after we were suppose to start. Well, I was showered, dressed, make up on and hair done. I was still good to go! Naturally, not wanting to waste a good hair day, I called my buddy, Randy, and he packed up his gear, scouted out areas with me and we shot at four locations.

At the last location he asked if I had any CD's to give to the people whose space and property we LITERALLY invaded (in fact we did that at all three sites, but that's how we roll) and I said "No, I don't have any, I normally have them, but....." As I continued to explain to him the reason He said "Mia, those are just excuses. Excuses are like elbows everybody's got two of 'em." That shut me up. He was right. I was unprepared. For all the times I pack my CD's just in case I have an opportunity to share them with someone, I failed. I was NOT prepared and what I needed to do was NOT make excuses.

But, now, every-time I walk out of the house I think a bit more quickly to myself about grabbing some spare CD's in case the lady at the grocery store tells me she likes music and I am able to just give her a CD. When people speak the truth to me, I may pout my lip for a moment, but my heart hears, receives and becomes all the wiser and more aware.

Some people thrive on affirmation, I thrive on loving reproof. I thrive on people pointing out my weaknesses so I can be better. Several years ago I was at a place in my life, music and ministry where I desired so deeply to have someone who would just tell me the truth and stop telling me everything I did was good. By the grace of God, He sent those people in my life...... people that recognized I needed help, guidance, direction, honest feedback and a swift kick in the butt.

Some of it came from my friend, Mark, who is a gifted songwriter. He saw that I needed stronger songs to sing. And so He allowed me to sing my heart through his music. He offered to work with me on songs I was writing to make them better. My ministry needed someone like him and I am so grateful.

Some of it came from my producer who worked with me on the last two Tree Hill Collective Recordings. OK, he may have made me cry, but that's mostly because He speaks so much truth, pushes me harder than I have ever been pushed, challenges me on the words and notes that I sing and does not let me slack. He tells me to deal and accept certain things and face others things head on. He does not let me cower.

I thrive on that. Last week as I was leading worship at a church. I could hear His voice in my head "Why are you singing that song" "What does that mean" "Who are you singing to" "You sound like you don't care" "Did you just belch in the microphone?" Having him speak truth in my life challenges me everyday to stay focused on why I do what I do and who I am doing it for. It keeps my eyes fixed on Jesus the author and perfector.

I am a better worship leader, piano player, singer, writer and leader because of what the people in my life have dared to do for me....speaking truth in love, the hard not so fun truth. I love it. I need it. Do I accept it easily all the time? No, sometimes I pout my lip, sometimes I walk out, sometimes I cry, (my husband, Bob, knows this best as He is my biggest truth-giver) but just about every time, I come back a whole lot stronger and a whole lot wiser than I was when I first started.

For that I thank these brothers in Christ. I could not walk this road without you!

So it leads me to this. If I appreciate truth so much and the fact that people dare to give it to me, am I loving people the same way by speaking truth to them? For me the answer lately has been yes, but it has been hard. And when it is difficult, I just remember how much I desire truth and desire to do the same for others as God leads me. #LoveGodLoveOthers

Who loves you in truth and who are you loving the same way?

God has nothing left for me

There are things that I know and there are times when these things that I know hit me in such a profound way that it changes me completely. I sing songs like "In Christ Alone" where I belt out the lyric "The wrath of God was satisfied." I read the Word of God which says "There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" I rejoice because my faith lies in the resurrection and the truth that Jesus died for my sins and rose that I might live with Him eternally. That's good stuff.

But, this past Sunday when the Pastor was preaching he said these words "If Jesus took the punishment of the world and received the FULL wrath of God at Calvary, Is there any wrath left for my sin?' The answer is NO, there is nothing left for me. So, now when I sing these words... "Till on that cross as Jesus died, The wrath of God was satisfied. For every sin on Him was laid; Here in the death of Christ I live." ...I sing them reminded of the depth of His love and the completeness of Christ's Gospel. God has no wrath left for me for I am in Christ Jesus!

There is a special joy in being part of a Sunday church worship team, especially when you do multiple services. We open up the service with music, we worship, we get to listen to the Pastor preach and then we get to do it all over again, but the second time, we lead the worship from a place of having been preached the Word of God and the words we sing take on a new meaning!

This past Sunday when I sand the song "Man of Sorrows" in the second service, my heart fluttered and my eyes welled as I sang the truth of God's wrath being fulfilled with a deeper understanding and renewed passion. If it were up to me, we would have done five more services, listened his sermon five more times and sang the songs with a new passion every time.



"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh,could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you." Romans 8:1-11

*In Christ Alone by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty

The importance of realizing that God's wrath has been satisfied in light of this song LINK

Our First College Graduate

Today, my husband and I were able to witness our firstborn walk the stage and receive His diploma. From the heart of this college drop-out, I have to say I stand in admiration of my son, Chris, for this accomplishment and all the hard work he did to make it to this day.

As parents who have not adopted the practice of paying for our children's college (mostly because we simply can't) seeing how he worked diligently to save his money, put himself through two years of Community college debt free and go on to the University for another three years, work hard to earn as many scholarships as possible and not have to take out massive loans is pretty impressive to this Mom & Dad.

So I stand in admiration not only for the excellence he showed in his studies, but everything it took for him to be able to thrive, succeed and finish his education as a Magna Cum Laude honored graduate.  Just so proud of my baby boy!

And I am very thankful for a place like Grand Canyon University that not only educated and trained him to be a leader in secondary education, but nurtured him in his faith and walk with Christ. Seeing his relationship with the Lord bloom over these past few years has by far been the most rewarding treasure in my heart.

Today was a good day, and seeing him walk the stage blessed my heart.

As a side note, he wasn't planning to walk, but when he was online trying to pay graduation fees, he couldn't navigate off the page to pay for fees without purchasing a cap and gown. Since he didn't have time to figure it out, he just decided to buy the cap and gown and walk. So for that internet navigation error, I am thankful! Thanks internet glitch, you made my day!

Proud Parents

                   Our Babies Aaron, Chris, Miriam          

                                                                                                 

 Glad someone brought flowers

                                                     

Chris and his friend Tracie

Commencement Address ~ Maj. Dan Rooney, USAF (Ret,)

                                                              Dinner at Spinato's