I've made it a point to always have extra taxes pulled out so that this can be a positive time for me. My parents, however, have not always been so fortunate. My dad is an ordained minister, which creates a sort of complicated-self-employed hybrid financial status during tax season. I can remember times when they've gotten refunds and when they owed. It was always a stressful time.
Kids take to heart when their parents worry. That's one of the myriad of reasons Jesus told us not to worry. Aside from it only ever being a negative impact on our lives - it affects those around us.
A dear friend of mine who is a children's minister sadly showed me some art work she had her young elementary kids draw during Christmas time a couple of years ago. Almost all of them showed pictures of money. Sometimes on trees. Sometimes their parents smiling and holding a wad of cash.
That's what they wanted for Christmas. Not the money - but their parents to stop worrying.
NEW RELEASE TUESDAY
What's New in Christian Music?
Come Home
by Luminate | Genre: Pop/Rock
Monster, Monster EP
by The Almost | Genre: Rock
*Another band featuring Aaron Gellespie
Here With You
by David M. Edwards | Genre: Praise & Worship
But, wait - there's more! CLICK HERE for the complete lowdown!
ARTIST OF THE DAY
Francesca Battistelli
“We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”—E.M. Forester
Francesca Battistelli's last couple of years were more like a whirlwind than actual time! Bursting onto the scene with My Paper Heart, an album so rich with sincerity and filled with radio hits, made 2010 something of an out of body experience. And to think this was not the life Francesca set out for ...
At only six years old, Francesca was an aspiring actress. She longed to be on Broadway - singing and dancing and acting. Francesca’s passion for life on the stage wasn’t all that surprising, given her mom and dad’s extensive theater background. In fact, they met when her dad was the assistant conductor for the national tour of “The King and I,” while her mom played Anna, the show's female lead opposite Yul Brynner.
And when Francesca was 15, she put her skills to good use in an all-girl mainstream pop group in Orlando, an experience that helped pave the way for what she does today. But when the gig eventually ended, Francesca says she was thankful for an opportunity to clear her head. “Not long after, I recharged my batteries by going to this youth ministry that I absolutely loved,” Francesca shares. “It was there where the Lord really captured my heart for Christian music. I started playing guitar and really longed to bring something authentic to the scene that even non-Christians could listen to.”
Francesca married Matthew Goodwin in 2009 (he plays drums for her band now) and they welcomed baby Matthew into the family this past September. The 2009 Dove Female Vocalist and New Artist Of The Year has a brand new album hitting shelves this March - Hundred More Years. It features her latest hit song, "This Is The Stuff."
Latest Album: Hundred More Years (Coming March 2011!)
Want More? CLICK HERE
Scriptural Pursuit
Q: For how long did the plague of darkness hang over the Egyptians?
A: 3 Days (Exodus 10:21-23)
Congratulations, Toni!
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