This Is Not A Test
Fond memories rush in of a time when my family and I were a part of God’s Copy Cats at a church we attended for several years. God’s Copy Cats put on a major production in the Spring of every year, which was free to the public. The whole reason and purpose they put on this show annually was to glorify and praise God as we ministered to the whole community. This gave us a chance to reach hearts that may have never come to know Jesus if it hadn’t been for hearing the Word of God during our show or having words of a song touch their heart as they sat in their seat taking it all in. Having served on the welcoming committee, I lost count of the mass of people that flooded the theater the weekend this event was held. What a huge platform to reach lost souls!
We had black light, puppetry, hip hop dancing, and interpretive movement, and it was all based on and performed to Christian music. My daughter was a member of God’s Copy Cats, and she has many fond memories, too, of her time on stage as she served in every capacity while on the team. I will never forget seeing her little 10 year old self on stage doing the hip hop dances to none other than TobyMac! Having served back stage as well during the show, we knew every single song that they would present that weekend no matter what form they were presented in. We practiced with the team so much that TobyMac’s lyrics flowed from our lips as we sang along to his feel good music, his album fast becoming one of our favorites.
There is just something about TobyMac that makes you want to move your body as it improves your overall mood. There is no way you can stay depressed once turning on a TobyMac song. It is a get-out-of-your seat-and-to-your-feet type of album, no matter which you choose to listen to. His songs are upbeat with a truly positive message and meaning behind them.
I do love taking a walk down memory lane!
As reality zaps me back to the present day, imagine our excitement as we learned of TobyMac’s newly released album, This Is Not A Test. When my family heard me say that I was going to listen to TobyMac, their ears perked up as they all followed me into the room. They wanted to listen, too! I smiled and cranked up the tunes as we all four enjoyed the new sounds of Mr. TobyMac!
Whether you’re a TobyMac fan or have never heard of him before, I’d like to recommend this album to you. If you need high energy music that speaks to you and causes you to tap your foot or even dance in your seat, this is the album for you! And here’s great news!! Thanks to Propeller/FlyBy Productions, we have a copy just for you. What’s more is that this prize pack features the This Is Not A Test Deluxe Edition CD, Vinyl, Tank, and a TobyMac hat!!
Are you excited yet?
What are you waiting for? Enter our giveaway now, and share it with your friends as well!
Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.
Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win. Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.”
A Letter To The Past Me
Dear One,
You’ve been through a lot in your lifetime. Sorrow has touched your heart at times and has brought you to your knees, but you don’t stay down for long. That’s what I love about you. No matter what you are faced with, you choose not to be the victim. Instead, you are a survivor!
You have encountered those that have mistreated you time and time again. Yet, another chance is given to those individuals not because you wish for more ill treatment. No, instead, you see the good in that person even when they don’t see or exhibit that good with their behavior and actions. You see past the hurt and pain they have caused, and you hold out hope that things will change for the better. You do not want to give up on people, and so you hold on. No matter what, you hold on, probably longer than you should in some cases, to hope. A hope for a brighter future, a better life, a happily ever after. It doesn’t have to only be something that happens in fairy tales, you tell yourself. You seek it out. You truly want your happily ever after. The riding off into the sunset together kind of happiness.
Even when life happens and a wrench is thrown into your plans, you keep on trucking. Remaining focused is the key. Not dwelling on the bump in the road or the shattered dreams, yet picking up as many pieces that you can fit into your arms, you carry them on down the road to build upon and slowly put back together. Even still, the jagged pieces aren’t tossed aside, they are loved, tended to, and nurtured, as you do for others along your path in life as well.
You have flaws just like the rest of the world, but here’s the thing. Your flaws do not define you! (Your daughter would be proud that you used and built upon Damion Fizzy’s quote “Your flaws don’t define you” in this post.) They are just a part of what makes you the wonderful person that you are. Feeling flawed, battered, bruised, and tossed aside at times, you are still not those things. None of that defines who you are deep within your heart down to the very core of your being.
Who are you? YOU are a child of God. You are deeply loved by Our Heavenly Father. He took great care when he developed every single thing about you that makes you uniquely yourself. God does not make mistakes so rest assured that you are exactly the way God wanted you to be. And … you are pre-approved by the only one that really matters. Your Master, Your Maker, Your Savior!
Dear one, you don’t have to strive to get from man what GOD freely gives you!! You have His approval, His love, His validation, His promise that He will never leave you nor forsake you. Others may come and go, but Your Heavenly Father will NEVER leave your side. People can steal from you material possessions, but no one can EVER steal the love you have in your heart or the love that flows freely from your Heavenly Father and from your children directly to you! Those are the only things that truly matter in this life. And you’ve recognized this early on. You don’t base your worth on material things. You know that real wealth is not measured by anything you can buy. To be wealthy is to know love, true love, and have the ability to feel it, express it, and share it with others.
When once anxiety would consume you, now you have realized that you are not in control of the universe and are okay with that. While we would like things to be a certain way, they won’t always be. With this knowledge, you have been able to let a lot of things go. Thus, you have relieved some of the weight of the world that you carried on your shoulders for so long. The weight that you placed there or felt was placed by others. How freeing to realize that God has the final say in how things work out, and no matter what, He sees the bigger picture when we are not able to do so presently.
You have been able to do exactly what the scripture says. When you don’t know what to do, you just be still, sweet one … and know that HE is God! He will work it out. Just place it all into His very capable hands and watch Him work!
You have grown, sweetheart. It has been a pleasure reflecting back on just how far you have come.
I love you.
Me
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A Letter To The Past Me was inspired by the prompt phrase on
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Ten
She bounces across the yard, wide smile on her lips with long blonde hair flowing behind her. Throwing her head back, the sweetest laughter fills the air as she runs after her goats. They scurry, buck, and hop to get away from her grasp, and she laughs even harder and deeper than before. A full belly laugh experience for my husband and I as we are nearby watching this scene unfold.
This is what ten looks like.
Out on the trail, sitting deep in the saddle with her back straight, heels down, and arms extended forward she clicks her horse into a trot. Almost immediately, she clicks again, occasionally giving a soft kick in the ribs, and off they go into a gallop … my daughter and her beautiful horse.
Ten.
Without a care in the world, enjoying life, finding peace in nature, and loving all of her animals.
Sitting quietly in the corner of the barn with “Little Buddy” in her arms as she strokes the kitten’s soft fur. Putting it down now, she takes a string and begins to bounce it up and down in the air until the end dances wildly. Within a split second, the kitten lunges toward it, determined to grasp that string between her paws but falling forward with each attempt while my daughter giggles …
This is what ten looks like.
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This post was inspired by the Five Minute Friday prompt word of: Ten.
It is dedicated to my darling ten year old daughter who, along with her 18 year old sister,
are the reason my heart beats and the reason I’m here on this earth.
I thank God for my “babies.”
