singing diary
It is amazing to me, to see how the Holy Spirit moves in places and circumstances where communication seems impossible. If I didn’t know that my singing & telling will get the backing, the deep touch of heaven’s great, loving & powerful spirit, I wouldn’t dare stand before some crowds that I find myself in front of.
It’s been from one extreme to the other this week. I did my second visit to a place in Brandon with Alzheimer patients/ residents (Nov.6th 2008). Sweet & precious people, some of them far gone; others quite present as it were, but a little confused also. Some residents had relatives visit them, who joined their elderly parents in attending the ’concert’. It was so special. God’s love for vulnerable people is almost overwhelming. He knows their history, their character, their personality; He knows what they have lost, but it’s not lost forever. In the Kingdom of Heaven we’ll be fully restored!
There was a woman visiting her elderly mother; she tells me afterwards how much she has enjoyed my presentation. She tells that her mother was, for most of her life, an opera singer, and that she was responding to my singing, even though her memory of opera was more or less gone. Hard to imagine even, this lady, sitting so lifeless in her wheel chair, had been an opera singer. Woow. The daughter had been thoroughly touched, and asked to buy an album. The Spirit goes places no one else can!
A man, visiting his mother, in tears at the end of the ‘concert’, came up to me to say ‘thank you’. He was angry with the dark forces that had stolen his mother’s memory. He felt that the Holy Spirit was there to restore (a measure of) health to her. When the light shines in, darkness has to flee.
I’m singing third time in Woodbridge, North Tampa. A difficult place with many people in serious conditions, some of them seem close to the end of their lives. Others are quite disturbed, moaning loudly, or even jelling at regular intervals; everybody is in their wheel chair. SO MUCH NOISE in the room; members of staff walking in & out; an ice machine making such a racket. On top of that I’m having trouble with my PA system; the sound seems all wrong; out of balance; too much echo, creating even more distance in this large room. I struggle to get on top of it; clearly there is a high level of darkness in this place, and I’m right in the middle of it.
Still, I’ve learned to press on, and to stick to my guns: I proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven, and keep doing it. And yes, like before, after 20 to 30 minutes of struggle the room finally begins to settle and the wonderful spirit can freely move. Afterwards I go around the room (I always do this) to ’see’ every person. Further at the back of the room are quite a few people who can’t talk; some are in a daze; others only make gibberish noises. This one woman talking in nonsense sounds, never able to look me in the eye. SUCH DARKNESS.
Maybe in future days God will give me the authority to speak to those mountains (of darkness) and cast them in the sea. Wouldn’t it be amazing and brilliant to see people really walk free from their heavy chains! Still, the moaning lady has stopped her complaining and has begun to receive something from the Spirit. Others are smiling; many have been touched. The Spirit has gone where I could never go, and the light of God has rejected some darkness. The Activities Director insists I come back a.s.a.p. “This is the best entertainment we’ve ever had!”, she says. It’s obviously more then entertainment, much more. Without this move of the Spirit, I would be at a complete loss as to what to do here, or anywhere else really. Woodbridge, Nov. 10th 2008.
I’m singing in Hudson Manor on Davis Island, Tampa. First time here. They know that my material is Biblical, as it were; apart from that they have no idea obviously of what they’re in for. Right at the beginning there’s an interesting situation. The Activities Director (A.D.) wants me to set the PA up right in the middle of a corridor, facing the dining room. To get into the dining room, you would need to walk through the area where I am supposed to perform. I begin to set up, when I get a conviction that this is not right. I look for the A.D., but cannot find her; I hear she gone out for something. So I decide to turn things around. I take my stuff down again, take it into the dining room and set up at the other end, facing this way. When the A.D. returns she is all upset, because the kitchen staff will not like this at all, she says. She insists I take it all down again, and go back to the original setting. I don’t want to do this, because I’m hoping for a quality show, rather then casual entertainment. While we’re having our little conflict the lady running the kitchen appears; she’s quickly figured what’s going on, and immediately interrupts to let us know that she has no problem with the new setting. A few moments later we discover there is a misunderstanding over the time of the show; it’s not from 2 to 3, but from 3 to 4. This is my opportunity to show generosity, and the A.D. is glad to hear that I have no problem waiting an hour, before starting.
I took a few minutes to write this little story, because what happened there made a huge difference to what happened during the ’show’. At first there was quite a bit of noise & movement; this is what people are used to where there’s ‘entertainment’- you talk & walk as much as you like; it doesn’t matter. But HERE (with what I present) it DOES MATTER. After about 15 minutes the room began to settle, and the wonderful H. Spirit began to move. Members of staff appeared and stood there behind the audience. Turning the physical situation around was crucial in turning the spiritual situation around. All kinds of people appeared and were glued to the presentation. IT WAS SO SPECIAL!
Afterward I heard the same question, as what I hear so often:”When are you coming back?” One lady told me that she only saw (heard) the end bit; she had stayed in her room for mot of my presentation. She was very sorry to have missed most of it, and wanted to know when I was going to come back. She tells me: ” We get these country singers here who sing all these depressing songs about how their love has cheated on them, how bad things are… You know the score in country music. I don’t need to hear that kind of thing; I need something that lifts me up; something inspiring! That’s what YOU DO; you inspire people!” (Hudson Manor, November 7th, 2009)
I drive away thanking God for what He does through me in these place, and how special this afternoon had been, once again. And once the light shines into the darkness, darkness HAS TO flee. God is great! Thank you Jesus; I’m so honored and grateful to be a co-worker with the Holy Spirit. There’s nothing like the Kingdom of Heaven!
Tags: inspiration, Kingdom of Heaven, love, singing, spirit
