"Thank you" 's, "Way to go" 's and cookies

Hey guys! Just wanted to write a little something to let you know how thankful I am for you, how proud I am of you, and how truly blessed I am by you. In the past year I have seen you, this team, grow leaps and bounds. We've done music I never thought we could do, but more importantly - your faithfulness during times of personal difficulty and pressure from every side has truly encouraged my heart in ways you'll never know.

As I told you just a few weeks ago, in casual conversation, this is the first time, on any complete team I have led, where there seems to be absolute unity. Now, that's not to say that we all see eye-to-eye all the time :), but respect has always been mutual, commitment to minister has always been present and that is something I have always prayed for.

I truly believe that 2011 will be a year of expanded territory, stepping outside our walls and bringing Rhema, in every sense of that word, to many. So, get ready for a great year! Love you all so very much - enough cookies could never be baked to show it! :)

Songs For Metro

Hey guys, if you get a chance, look up these songs and take a listen if you don't already know them. They'll be some of the ones we're doing for Metro.

Footprints - Leona Lewis
The Prayer - Donnie McClurkin & Yolanda Adams
Jesus take the wheel - Carrie Underwood
I love you this much - Jimmy Wayne


My help Come from the Lord - The museum
God of Second Chances - Carlos Whittaker
We fall down, we get up - Donnie McClurkin

There will be more to come. This should get you started :)
We'll also be doing some that we do normally such as "there is a name", etc.
Take a listen, and any suggestions are welcome.

Tuesday, November 23

In light of the upcoming Holiday we are canceling practice this week. So, try your best to get out to service @ 7, then go home and enjoy a few extra hours with family. I hope you know you are one of my life's biggset blessings, and I truly thank Him for you all so often. I love you tons! Have a great Thanksgiving :)

Thursday,Nov. 11

Happy Thursday :)
Make sure to read the post below!!

Also, the above video is one of the songs we'll be learning for Metro.
It's called "Footprints in The Sand" by Leona Lewis. We did this as a special a long while ago, so I'm not sure who was a part of it back then. We will practice this, amongst other in the upcoming weeks. Look for a CD coming to you soon!

Ramah Vs. Rhema

When we first became a team we decided that a name was in order. A name that we identified with as well as a name that we would strive to embody. That is when "Ramah" was born. Unfortunately, we have been the "wrong" Ramah all this time. I was doing some research/study this morning and came across a familiar word - Rhema. Could it be? Have we be misspelling it all this time? Frantically I searched for "Ramah" and quickly found it's meaning:

Ramah = "hill"
- a town in Benjamin on the border of Ephraim about 5 miles (8 km) from Jerusalem and near to Gibeah
the home place of Samuel located in the hill country of Ephraim
-a fortified city in Naphtali
landmark on the boundary of Asher, apparently between Tyre and Zidon
-a place of battle between Israel and Syria
also 'Ramoth-gilead'
-a place rehabited by the Benjamites after the return from captivity

after seeing that this was not the definition that I thought, I quickly looked up the meaning of the other "Rhema":
Rhema
Rhema is a Greek term that is often translated "word" in English versions of the New Testament. The Greek word logos is also translated "word" in a number of English translations. Many Charismatic teachers insist that there is a very special difference between these two types of "words." The logos kind of word is viewed as being the biblical "written word." But a rhema word is a special, modern revelation to someone.

So, all of our T-shirts, Justin's drum set, and our previous blog have all been calling us a hill.....
now, while I am a fan of hills, mountains and all other high altitude landmarks, I do not believe that is the name that we want to "embody" or seek to be.

When we decided on the name "Ramah" it was because we believed that it meant "God's spoken word to me". We set that as a desire that our praise or the songs that we sing would become God's spoken word to the hearts of all who hear. So, I have moved us to this new blog, and the transformation from "Ramah" to "Rhema" has begun :). New shirts will be hitting the presses shortly, and Justin, we'll have to figure out what to do about the drum set.....Yes, you can laugh now! :)