So just recently I became a rep for this organic jewelry company called Omerica Organic. I'm doing this as one of the many ways to raise money for me to go to Kenya. Omerica Organic is a small but growing company with a workshop in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 2004, they specialize in wooden adornment, from plugs, to dog tags and belt buckles and more. In making their plugs, they only use ethically-obtained non-toxic hardwoods that hold up well over time.
Oh, and they also love to give back, they offer a number of products on their site with a portion of proceeds benefitting charitable organizations; if there’s a cause that’s near and dear to your heart, drop them a line and they’ll see what they can come up with!
If you use the code: All4ONE you get 20% off your initial purchase!!! By using that code, you'll be able to help fund the work that my team and I will be doing in Africa. Will you partner with me in the Great Commission?
Check out their products below
http://bit.ly/oR7DIM -Products
http://bit.ly/a0DTgj -Environment
You and The Great Commission! Category:Life Views:
151
Hey everyone!
So some of you have heard, or read, about my upcoming trip to Kenya! I know that I haven't gotten on NRT a lot, but I wanted to share this exciting part of my life with y'all! I'd love to hear your thoughts on it too!
This coming September, I will be heading to Kenya, Africa where I will live for 16 months. I am going as an intern with Bethany International Ministries. My role will be both as a student/missionary and I will have the opportunity to learn the language and culture as I work alongside seasoned missionaries there. I am blessed to be sent along with a team of 9 other students from my class who I will live, learn and do ministry alongside.
There are many ministry opportunities there, from teaching English, working with church plants, working with unreached people groups (those who have never heard the Gospel), sports ministry, and so much more. I am trusting Jesus to lead me to the ministry He wants me to be involved with in Kenya. Currently, my heart is passionate about working with unreached people groups to make His name known as "the waters cover the seas" (Habbakuk 2:14).
To make this possible, I would appreciate your prayers and your financial support! Email me at andrew.funderburk@bcom.org if you would like to receive my newsletters or would like more information!
If you would like to you would like to donate to furthering the Great Commission to the people of Kenya you can check out the links below:
1. By check:
One time or Monthly gifts can be mailed into Bethany International at:
Bethany International Ministries
6820 Auto Club Rd. Suite J
Bloomington, MN 55438
• Make checks out to: Bethany International Ministries.
DO NOT write my name anywhere on the check
2. Give Online:
One time or Monthly gifts can be given online using your credit card.
Direct Support is automatic support payment commonly referred to as EFT, or Electronic Funds Transfer. With your authorization, your support payment is automatically paid from your checking or savings account.
Without having to write checks, your support is paid on a day of the month that you determine, and a receipt is mailed to you each month indicating the support amount and gift designation. The donations are tax deductible!
Everything is Different Now for Stellar Kart Category:Music Views:
531
Dove award winning pop/punk band Stellar Kart began their musical journey as a worship band and now with their new project "Everything is Different Now," they're returning to those roots. The title of the new project truly says alot since the group has gone through some major changes in the past year or so. With those thoughts in mind, Andrew Funderburk sat down with Adam Agee from Stellar Kart to chat not only about their new project but also the way they have handled these changes in their lives.
Hi Adam! Thanks for taking your time to do this interview with NewReleaseTuesday.com!
No problem!
The past year has met some major changes for the band: the band changing record labels, and a new member coming in while an old one left. How have these changes affected the group’s lives?
It’s been great! I think a lot of the changes were necessary and it’s like a breath of fresh air. It feels like we’re starting over but with a giant head start with all the work we’ve done so far.
Did the previously mentioned changes somehow bring about the title of your new project?
Yeah! That was the idea. We were writing a song about it and when it came out everyone was like, “Yeah that needs to be the title of the new project because of everything that’s been going on lately.”
With the new project, you returned to the roots that the band began at: worship. How did it feel to go back and revisit it?
It was good and refreshing. It’s another piece of who Stellar Kart is and it’s nice to be able to share that with our fans and the new fans that are going to hear this kind of music. It’s where we started out and it feels good to go back and revisit that.
What message does the band hope to shoot out to the listeners with the new album?
We want most of all for people to be encouraged. There’s a lot of negative lyrical music out there. There’s good music, but it has negative lyrics. Our goal is to always encourage to people. We also want people to look at worship in a different light. Not necessarily the same worship song over and over, there is more than one way to worship through music, and we don’t want people to feel like they’re pigeon-holed in this little box thinking, “This is the only way you can worship.” We want people to think of worship more outside of the box and in a different way.
What song was a favorite for the band to record on the new album?
I think one my favorite songs [off the project] is the last track, “Like the Sun.” I just love the lyrics and it’s one of my favorite songs that I’ve ever written. Then the music is a fun little journey through time. It starts out in the 1940s, then moves through the 50s, 60s, 70s, and ends up somewhere in the 90s, with an epic guitar solo at the end.
For the members of the group, who has been an influence for the band’s music and individual lives?
I’d say musical influences for this project were the Hillsong guys. I got to write with Ben Fielding and Reuben Morgan. These guys are guys who have helped shaped the worship culture and Christian music. It was a huge honor and privilege to write with these guys. They were also extremely influential for me growing up. In our lives, our pastors and youth pastors back home, and different promoters we meet on the road have been an encouragement and kept us going.
What Bible verse or chapter would you say has been a pillar for the band?
I don’t know about the band as a whole, but for me, personally, my favorite would have to be Philippians 4:13, which says, “I can do all things through Christ Who gives me strength.” All along the way, there are so many people, who say things like you can’t do this, the odds are against you, you can’t ever get ahead, you can’t make any money, you can’t make an impact, and you can’t do this or that. It’s just kind of like saying, “You know I can’t do this, but through Christ all things are possible.”
So, what aspirations does the band have for the future?
We’re going to keep playing music as long as we can afford to make music. [Laughs.] We want to keep making records and encouraging people. That’s what we’re here for, and if that means we blow up and become this huge arena rock band, that’s awesome. But if it means that we stay at the level we’re at, then that’s fine too. We’re content where we are and we’ll see what happens. We want to keep doing this as long as it feels like it’s what God wants for us.
Thanks Adam for talking with us! It was awesome talking to you. I’m totally stoked about the new project! Before we let you off the hook, are there any comments you’d like to leave with the fans?
If the fans want to come out to a show, we’d love to have you. It’s a guarantee of a fun time. Also, check us out on myspace, Facebook, and follow us on Twitter. You can probably get a hold of us and we’ll chat. It sounds like fun!
Ok, so by now you’ve heard about the storms that passed through the South wreaking havoc in many places and killing a few people. Thankfully, there were a couple of times the sun came out, in my area, during the showers, errrrr….the deluge, of rain during Sunday afternoon. As I was walking outside looking at what the rain had done in my area, and thinking about what the storms had done in other states and places in my own state, a thought hit me (excuse me, several thoughts hit me. lol), “When it rains all the dust and grime on the plants and trees washes away revealing the beauty of the greenery that the dirt covered up. When it rains or storms the flowers get beaten down into the mud, but they still get back up and bud out even more beautifully though they had been beaten down. When it storms, the storm leaves wreckage behind, but we get a fresh start as we rebuild our lives.” You’re thinking by now, “So……what????” So…..what if we apply those thoughts to our lives? Think about it. When Jesus pours His amazing love on us, like the rain, we’re washed clean from all the stupid junk in our lives. It looks like we’re brand-new, beautiful people, and we are! (2 Cor. 5:17- “If any man is in Christ, he is a brand-new person. All old things are gone away, all things have become new.” – Revelation 1:5b “….unto Him [Jesus] that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood.” – Hebrews 10:22 “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”) When the storms beat us down, like the flowers, God’s hand reaches down to us, picks us back up, and restores us. Also, our faith is made stronger by these storms, like the stems of flowers that have been beaten down but picked back up and repaired they build back up a stronger resistance (in our case faith) to what may come in the future. (Psalm 23:3 “He restores my soul, he leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” - Isaiah 40:31 “But they that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength, they will mount up with wings as eagles, they will run and not be weary, and they will walk and not faint.” – Psalm 31:24 “Be of good courage and He will strengthen your heart, all you that hope in the Lord.” – Isaiah 41:10- “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of righteousness.”) By now I’m sure you’re getting the bigger picture to all of this, but let me finish saying this one last thing. =D When the storms come, and they will, and leave us with nothing at all, God is able to come healing the scars we have, rebuilding the places where we had weak foundations, making areas that were dead come alive with His newness, and doing a work in the areas that weren’t of Him, more like Him. What an amazing God we have!
A thought to chew on…..then swallow (lol): When the storms come, what will YOU allow God to do in your life?
Hi all! This blog is really something that’s been being revealed to me lately. I’m still digging into what God’s saying on this, but here’s what He’s laid on my heart so far! Be blessed and encouraged! ~Andrew
“He that gathers in summer is a wise son, but he that sleeps in harvest is a son that causes shame.” –Proverbs 10:5
“How does one become hardworking? Our flesh simply hates discipline and hard work, and by nature we tend to be lazy and like our rest. But in the work of the Lord, we simply cannot afford to. The souls of men and women are at stake. What is it then, that moves us past our human tendencies and into this kind of committed life? The answer is ownership…..We must have this same attitude in the work God has called us to. You must see these people by faith and say, ‘They are MY people, members of MY church who belongs to heaven and for whom Jesus died. I will NOT see them go to hell.’ …when you begin to take ownership of the people living in your mission field, you begin to be consumed with prayer for them, your thoughts are constantly on them and faith builds up in you, spurring you on to do whatever it takes to get the job done and reach them despite all obstacles.”- K.P. Yohannan “Against the Wind” pgs. 134- 135
No matter where we are in our lives, we must always be open to God’s voice. To be able to do so is to remain in His awesome presence in whatever we’re doing. That way we’ll always be ready to hear His call. From there, we have the choice whether we speak or keep it to ourselves. We have to shout it out!
“We’re gonna shout, shout, shout til our lungs give out/Dance, dance, dance/We’re gonna show this world what it’s all about/Take a chance/And give it up now/Give it up now”- Attaboy “Shout”
“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.” –Proverbs 11:30
We must become like a hardworking farmer who works dawn till dark for the harvest. He can’t just sit back and hope it grows a crop, he must work, and in doing so a plenteous crop is made! Remember, you’re not alone! God is with you working for you and with you!
“(37) Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plenteous but the laborers are few. (38) Pray that the Lord of the harvest will send laborers into His harvest.’” -Matthew 9:37- 38
“Pray for laborers, for all students in theological seminaries, training homes, Bible institutes, that they may not go unless He fits and sends them forth; that our churches may train their students to seek for the sending forth of the Holy Spirit; that all believers may hold themselves ready to be sent forth, or to pray for those who can go.” –Andrew Murray “Ministry of Intercession”
“We are/We are in desperation/We need to reach this generation/We are speaking louder than before/We are the hope that’s been forgotten/We have a Love that has been brought/And we are speaking louder than before”- Jeremy Camp “Speaking Louder than Before”
When we speak, we mustn’t forget to tell them that there is nothing that cannot be redeemed by God.
“Places/Where grace is/Soon to be so amazing/They may be unfulfilled/They may be unrestored/But when anything that’s shattered is laid before the Lord/Just watch and see/They will not be/Unredeemed”- Selah “Unredeemed”
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Who will go for us? And whom shall I send?’ Then I said, ‘Here I am. Send me.’” –Isaiah 6:8
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