Thoughts from a guy just trying to chase after God!

When I was on the road I made time every night to blog and update. Now that we are back in Wilmington and back in the swing of things life takes over and it is hard to find the time. So I wanted to update you all on some exciting stuff going on.

1. This Sunday is our church’s last Sunday @ our current location, which leads to #2
2. We are only 10 days away from launching our first service inside of Independence Mall August 2nd @ 10:30 am. YOU NEED TO BE WITH US THAT MORNING!!!!!!
3. Erin’s pregnancy is going great. Doctors appointment this morning and she has gained 15 pounds already and the heartbeat and everything look perfect.
4. Since getting back we have found a new challenge in our disciplining of Kaylee, but God is giving us some amazing breakthroughs their
5. That being said both Kaylee and Abi are doing great, they get more beautiful everyday, and we see God forming and shaping them daily.
6. I have begun writing some new worship stuff. Very excited, I will be getting with my buddy Brooks Joyce next week to demo a new tune called “Right Here”. Just think upbeat Hillsong United songs, it has that kind of feel to it.
7. I have a couple of upcoming dates playing out, August 9th in Gastonia, NC for Focus Student Ministries @ Chapel Grove Baptist Church and August 15th for Ignite ‘09 @ Northpointe Church here in Wilmington, NC. If you are in the area come on out should be awesome times.

Other than that not a whole lot going on other than crazy busy helping the church get ready for this move and getting ready to turn 30 on Friday July 31st. Doesn’t bother me just cool that I am about to reach that plateau. I will write again soon……hopefully. I stink at blogging.

Yes we made it home safely and we are so glad to be home, but at the same time we had an amazing 2 weeks on the road leading students to engage God’s heart through music and worship. The girls have been awesome since we got home. It is amazing what structure and routine does for attitudes in your children.

It was so great to be back leading worship @ Life Community Church yesterday. The people were singing so loud and just passionately chasing God. The mall looks amazing, hard to believe in just 3 short weeks we will celebrate our first service there. August 2nd @ 10:30am, we would love to see you there.

On a different note I finally broke down and joined the Twitter revolution. If you are someone who tweets then you can find me @mattblairmusic. That is all I got for now. Hope you are all doing awesome and we will chat soon.

I could tell you how awesome these two weeks have been. But I am going to let a video from tonight do all the talking. This is the last song of the camp we just did. It is We Shine by Fee and if you could see the video of the first night of camp when we did this and the kids just standing there with no emotion or worship and then see this, it is crazy. So awesome to see God transform hearts and lives and grow students into worshippers.

Now as you watch this yes I realize my dancing and jumping may seem awkward to you, but in that moment I am surprised I did not do more. I love leading worship and just letting the Spirit flow!!!

We hit the road back to Wilmington and Greensboro for the Brady’s so pray for safe travel!!

The word for the day is Slip-in-Slide.

Yes today at camp they had a giant slip-in-slide made out of about a 100 foot roll of plastic going down a steep hill. Couple that will water and baby shampoo to slick it up and you have a recipe for fun and disaster, not to mention it was drizzling rain. Now I have been doing camps long enough to know that what the kids really want is to see the worship team just have fun and be normal with them. So Ed, Isaac and myself obliged by taking our turns down the slide. It was awesome. We forgot the chord to hook our camera to the computer so when I get home I will upload the video and pictures. If you were wondering were Brooks was he and his wife Angel took some time to celebrate his 25th birthday, which was Sunday since he has been busy with me.

Aside from the slip-in-slide, today has been an incredible day of worship with the students. It began this morning by really getting them involved when we sang We Shine and then it carried over to tonight when they were just all in it to win it during the worship time. See what happens when you just have fun with students is they begin to relate to you better and are much more open to you leading them in worship. They look up there and say, “I like this guy, he is normal just like me, and I know he only wants me to grow deeper in my relationship with Christ”. Let me just tell you all something that is a huge WIN for us as worship leaders.

I want to finish tonight by telling you a young girl named Sarah gave her life to Christ last night during our worship time and we celebrated that on stage with her tonight. So thanks for the prayers and support and keep it up.

You can be praying for the girls they had a much better day but still need prayers for Kaylee’s defiant spirit. Also pray for Erin to have rest and rejuvination. Pray for my voice and spirit that I finish strong. Also pray for the guys, this has beyond a shadow of a doubt been the best experience I have had with a group of guys since I have been doing this. We have become like brothers and their hearts to serve and love on these students has been amazing, not to mention they are super talented. Also it has been so great having Alex (Isaac’s wife) and Angel (Brooks’ wife) our here as well. Pray they will also finish strong.

Write again tomorrow…

Today started out awesome and ended pretty good. Now let me clarify.

We woke up this morning and prayed as a family that God would give us a great day, with great attitudes and no tantrums (that one was for Kaylee, but can also apply to Erin and I). After that we had breakfast, went a led the morning session of worship, then when I got back Alex (Isaac’s wife) and Angel (Brooks’ wife) and the guys offered to watch the girls so Erin and I could have some alone time. Last night Erin’s mom offered to buy Erin some new clothes since all of hers are to tight with the pregnancy, so we went to Old Navy and the to Ross and had a couple of hours alone to shop and relax. When we got back the girls were at the pool with everyone and we all dried off and went to grab some lunch.

Normally this would be the part of the day where we would face a possible Kaylee meltdown but today she was GREAT! It was Abi that was overly tired and is now at the stage were staying in a high chair is the last thing she is interested in doing. So I cut my lunch short and walked back to the hotel, nice that it is next door to where we ate lunch, and put Abi down for her nap. I went and worked out while Erin and the girls napped and when I got back the guys and I headed over to rehearse and prepare for tonight. Erin, the girls, Alex and Angel joined us for dinner with the students and again things were going great.

Then it came time for Erin and the girls to leave. Erin is just exhausted and wanted to get back and put them down. Abi was fine, but I carried a crying and somewhat screaming Kaylee out to the car. She calmed down some, but I received a text from Erin saying they had been great, then when it came time to go to sleep Kaylee melted down and Abi copied big sis in the crying tantrum game.

They are both out now and mommy is showering while I write this. Please pray for Kaylee as we understand she is a child who needs structure which is hard to do when you are on the road. You cannot discipline like normal, or do the things that help her. So pray we have wisdom to know how to help her and discipline her during this time. Pray for Erin that God will multiply her rest and rejuvenate her.  Pray the guys and I will continue to lead these students from a real and authentic place.

Thank you for all of your prayers and support. Write again tomorrow…

Whoops I realized I forgot to post last night. Last night was the kick off to Creed Camp here in Anderson, SC on the campus of Anderson University. 4 or 5 churches from the Raleigh, NC area as well as a church from Florida have gathered together to do this camp. It was your normal first night of camp crowd, in the since that some of the kids were really into the worship and some were feeling everything out. I think that as the week progresses we will see more and more kids lock in and go for it.

The main thing you can be praying for is yesterday was a tough day for Kaylee. She had quite a few meltdowns and since I am leading worship Erin catches the brunt of that. She just melts down when ever things don’t go the way she thinks they should. So when she has to leave the worship services or doesn’t get what she wants, she doesn’t know how to control her emotions and she just flips out. So please pray that we have wisdom on how to parent and how to help her control her emotions. Also pray for the students at the camp that they will be open and ready to worship.

I will write again tonight…

Today has been a very long but very awesome day. This morning we led worship at Grace Community Church in Clarksville, TN. This is the church Erin and I attended when we lived in Clarksville. It was so great to see old friends and it was incredible to rock out both services and help people usher into God’s presence. After the services we loaded up and began our trek to Anderson, SC where we will be doing camp all this week.

The trip was real smooth and we made great time. We stopped at Cracker Barrel to celebrate Brooks 25th birthday. Food excellent as always. After that we kept heading up 85 North towards Anderson where we encountered a nice 15 minute traffic jam. Once past that we made our way into Anderson. Once here we realized the hotel rooms were not going to be quite up to what we need, so I called Zach, the youth leader who is bringing us in, and let me tell you he is PHENOMENAL!! He has been so helpful in anything we have needed. He switched us up to the Holiday Inn Express and it is PIMP!! Going to be a nice week.

I am real tired so that is about it for now. Please pray for the girls. Abi is crying non-stop right now, could be upset tummy or just overly tired. Pray for Kaylee, she has had quite a few meltdowns today and we are in need of prayers as she melts down whenever she does not get something or the smallest thing happens. Pray for this week coming up that my voice remains strong and that students hearts are ready to encounter God in a way they never have.

Got to run, crying babes and a shower needed…

Well tonight’s post will be real different. So today was our day off and it started out pretty peaceful and relaxing. Erin and the girls did the pool thing with our friend Cortni and her two kids. The guys and Alex had a little pool time as well. I went to Starbucks and had a little time preparing to lead worship tomorrow morning @ Grace Community Church and next week @ Creed Camp in Anderson, SC. My buddy Jason and his bands bass player Aaron came up and hung out with me @ Starbucks for a little while. Then we went and picked up lunch for our fams and came back and hung out around the pool. Ed took a trip back to Nashville to see his buddy Micah, then the rest of the day we all relaxed and the hotel and rested.

Then….tonight we went and ate dinner at the Blackhorse, our favorite restaurant in Clarksville. As we were eating dinner, Jeremy Bullock, a friend of ours who joined us for dinner with his wife Kelly, said there is a tornado warning for Clarksville and it should be here around 7:30. It was 7:05 when he made this statement and we were 15 minutes from the hotel. So we all packed up and made our way back to the Holiday Inn Express. As we pulled in we all were like, “yeah it looks worst behind us not here”. So we all went to our rooms on the 2nd floor. As Erin and I were in our room we heard a lot of commotion outside our door, it turned out it was Isaac saying, “get my shoes” and Alex his wife saying “I am so scared.” Then a knock on the door and everyone saying there is a tornado right outside the window at the end of the hall. So we all ran down, saw the funnel, then grabbed kids and phones and went to the lobby. Yes I can actually say, “I saw a tornado” so I am good and don’t need to see another one again.

Now let me clarify, it was outside our window about 3-5 miles away and it did not touch down, it was just a funnel in the sky. Either way, scary and I have had my share of Tornado’s. After our hearts stopped racing, many funny moments occurred such as Brooks leaving Angel what when she hears it will be a scary voicemail about said Tornado. That along with us all reminiscing all the funny moments when the Tornado was first spotted. We have many funny pictures I will post later, we forgot the chord that attaches our camera to our computer.

I want to say thank you to all who have been praying for our safety and protection, on a night like tonight you really feel those prayers. I ask you to continue to pray for that along with strength for my voice. It was a little weak this morning and I have two services to sing for in the morning, followed by a week of camp, then a buddies wedding to sing in and church next Sunday. Pray for Erin, she had a bad case of indigestion tonight after dinner. Pray for the hearts of the people at the church tomorrow and camp next week that they will be ready and open to worship God with everything they have.

I will write tomorrow hopefully with awesome stories of worship and not Tornadoes!!!!

I put off day @ the top because this morning was the end to our first week of camp with the students from Gladeville Baptist Church. It was an incredible week of just leading students to chase after God the heart of God in worship. I am so thankful God gave me this opportunity and that he allowed my wife and daughters as well as Brooks, Ed, Isaac and his wife Alex to be a part of it with me. We have laughed and laughed some more, all rode in the good old Uplander with them just chilling in the back with the seats out, very illegal but you do what you have to with one van in the shop. A praise about that is Ed’s parents van is fixed and we are back in business with our van and that one.

So last night we finished our service by singing “We Shine” by Fee and it was AMAZING!! I thought the walls were coming down in that little room. Those 90-100 people were going for it. Fist pumping, jumping, praising, loving some Jesus in that place. We are definitely ending next week the same way. This morning I led a few worship songs acoustically down by the lake with everyone to wrap up our time.  The most amazing thing happened down there, my soon to be 4 year old daughter Kaylee was worshipping her heart out. Singing loud with all the students and at one point hands raised in worship sining “Never Let Go”, it was all I could do not to weep as I am leading the songs. It reminded me that Erin and I are raising our girls in a culture that what we do as a family is worship and serve Jesus. That is what she will know. It is becoming a part of her DNA and I saw that this morning and was blown away by God.

After worship we loaded up  and unloaded at the hotel. Then went down to Franklin for round 2 @ McDougal’s Chicken and oh yes it is good every time. We then came back to the hotel in Clarksville and rested up. Erin and I took the girls over to our friends Cortni and Jason Roy’s house for some dinner. After dinner we took all of our children to downtown Clarksville for a big Fireworks show. Yes they did it on the 3rd not the 4th. The girls did so well, so thanks for all the prayers. The guys and Alex went to Nashville for some dinner and then to walk around downtown to listen to music. Brooks text me saying, “they had slipped into one place and he heard the sickest guitar player he had ever seen live.” My only thought was welcome to Nashville!!

How you can be praying. Pray for my voice, camps can be tough on you and I need to rest up since we are leading worship Sunday morning @ Grace Community Church in Clarksville TN. Check them out @ www.gcomchurch.com. Also pray for continued safety over all of us as we are traveling Sunday afternoon for SC.

Write again tomorrow….

I did something different today. I waited until now to write the blog, one because I forgot to do it earlier, but second I wanted to wait until I got off the stage worshipping to give you an authentic reaction to our time.

Tonight is the last night of this camp with Gladeville Baptist Church and their middle school and high school students here @ Coldstream Christian Camp in TN. What is crazy is that name Baptist puts many different connotations in your mind and I at times am no different. I grew up in a Baptist Church so I had pre-conceived ideas about how these students might worship. I was so wrong and I am so glad for that. This group of 80-100 students have blown me away. They are passionately chasing after God in our times of worship. Tonight we ended our time with the song I wrote called “Forgive Me”. We taught the song to them last night and tonight they were going for it. We end the song singing an ad-lib part God gave me one night in a worship service and it simply just ask God to come move in us, then asking the Holy Spirit to come move is us and tonight I began to see God answer that cry. It was so awesome just to sit back and watch the God of the universe stir in the hearts of 12-18 year olds.

If I have never said it before, I LOVE WHAT GOD ALLOWS ME TO DO WITH THE GIFTS HE HAS GIVEN ME! The guys have flat out KILLED it this week. Isaac (Drums), Brooks (Guitar) and Ed (Bass), not only have they played amazingly, they have worshipped their hearts out on that stage and they have connected with students and have reflected Jesus!

Pray that these students will leave this camp and carry the fire of Christ they have received back and live it out in their everyday life. Pray that in just a few minutes as students begin to respond to what God is and has been doing in their life. Pray that we can celebrate this week with them when we sing “We Shine”! Pray that Ed’s parents van will be ready tomorrow. Pray I will have plenty of rest for my voice until we sing again on Sunday morning @ Grace Community Church.

I will write tomorrow from our day of hanging out in Nashville…