B-A-Light Productions

I was talking with a friend the other day (Ryan Hannaman). We were talking about the recent local happenings and what we think God is doing in the background. He shared a vision God had given him, he felt as though the Holy Spirit was sitting like an engorged water balloon over our church and the gulf coast area. It’s ready to burst and rain down His goodness. I shared with him about my story of persistence. Ryan told me that idea echoed what he felt God was saying to him. Keep pressing in, keep searching for Him, by doing that the balloon will burst.

Ryan made an analogy that I had not ever heard before. As we were talking he said that the Holy Spirit was like a radio station and we were all tuned in to the same channel. This thought has been rolling around in my head for a couple of days now. I like it, its simple and direct. I like to think that it is true. Just like if we were all listening to the same song, yet hearing different things. Someone will hear the chord progression of the lead guitar, another will hear the subtleties of the lead singers voice, someone else will  hear the complexities of the lyrics and yet another (e.g. me) will pick up the driving beat of the drums. Everyone hearing something different yet listening to the same song. Is that not the way we hear from the Holy Spirit?  All hearing different things and all the while we all hear the same beautiful song.

As I said, I have been meditating on this idea. I began to ask how can this idea help with ministry leadership. Have you asked your team what are they hearing? What differences are they hearing that you are not? The Spirit speaks to all of us and if you are a leader that is too busy to stop and ask your team what God is saying to them about the ministry, you could be missing God!

God’s Love and Peace Out!

The other day, I sent out some emails to a few friends. Well I got no response.  For what ever reason they did not respond to the commutation I sent. I have been working to accelerate B-A-Light Productions, knowing that it will take work, yet still looking for a quick boost. So when I did not receive any response I got discouraged and frustrated. I asked my wife “what’s the deal?” She had the most perfect and simple answer, “did you follow up with them?” To that I answered “I used the email I had” I had no other contact info except Facebook. So in my mind I had no other way to contact them. There I was again in what seemed like a dead end and no hope situation. Thankfully God has placed a subtle spiritual nudging in my life, unfortunately it is in the form of Edith Bunker aka my wife. “Follow up! Just call them.” Well I finally contacted those that got the email through Facebook. Guess what? Everyone said “Oh I didn’t get it.” I read Luke 11:8-11 keep asking Jesus says you get “whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.” Yea … Thanks Holy Spirit!! Imagen that, doing what the Bible says actually works. I’m gonna have to try that more often!

God’s Love and Peace Out!

At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant. And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

Savior of the World

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them. Luke 2:1-20

From all of us here at B-A-Lighting Productions Merry Christmas!

May the Lord bless you this Christmas season and in the New Year.

I remember as a kid, and even after I married Eric, my family had a great Christmas Eve tradition.  We would always go over to my Grandparents house and spend time visiting with one another and laughing about this or that.  We would eat the goodies that my mom and her sisters had baked that week, and Italian sausage with pepper and onions.  Occasionally, my Grandfather would try to sing Christmas Carols in his strained voice, and of course we would humor him and join in.  Those where some good times.  So much has changed since then.  Eric and I moved away, and it got to where we did not come home for Christmas anymore and I miss that Tradition.  I have tried many times to recreate it but with little or no success.

Now, after the loss of my Daughter, my Grandfather, my Dad, and now Eric’s Dad, it has become even harder to bring back the joy and festivity of the Christmas season and our traditions.  My mom called me yesterday.  She explained that this year we would not be having the Italian Sausages like we normally do…just appetizers…a piece of me wanted to say “What?  But it’s Tradition!!”

God spoke to me about that this morning…”When life changes, you have to change with it.”  The fact of the matter is, if we had the same old tradition this year, it would’ve reminded us of old times and probably would have brought on more sadness than we already feel this time of year.  I feel if you move on and do something different it helps.  And with that thought, I have decided to make new traditions this year.  We will go to my Mom’s on Christmas Eve, but that will not be the center of our evening.  Eric and I will be going to a candle light service at our church that night.  We are also going to carry on a tradition we began last year.  We are going to put the Birth of Christ first on Christmas Day and attend a midnight mass.  Even though we are not Catholic…we both enjoyed that last year. 

So the thought of the day, is when circumstances change and things just aren’t the same, try something new.  Break old traditions and start new ones.  Yeah it may be difficult, but sometimes the difficult thing brings about the joy, hope and healing that we are sometimes missing.

Click here for more details and to sign up now!!