I am truly blessed. God’s plan has taken me down many interesting roads and allowed me to take on a variety of roles. I’m a wife, mother, singer, songwriter, speaker and businesswoman, as well as a minister and mentor. I’ve had the privilege of traveling all over the world and one thing I’ve learned is people are people. It doesn’t matter if you’re from Africa or from right here in Nashville. We share the same hurts. We are all sinners. We all need Jesus.

 

Every other day it seems there is a tornado, flood, earthquake, tsunami, oil spill or some other devastating event. Even nature is crying out for the return of Christ, for His kingdom, but His kingdom is already here. The kingdom of God is among us. We’re not going to make Him King at the end of time. God is already the King.

 

I don’t know about you, but I know I can do nothing without Him. I’m desperate for His vision. I’m desperate for His love, His grace, His mercy, His truth and the oxygen that He gives me. Simply put, I’m desperate for Him. I enjoy being in the presence of those who are also desperate for Him.

 

“It was an honor to celebrate Jesus with the women at the Nashville Rescue Mission.”

 

I recently had the opportunity to share my heart in music with the women staying at the Nashville Rescue Mission. It was an incredible experience. I love being in places where people are real. The ladies I met are real people, dealing with real pain. It was obvious many of them were desperate for Him. I was so honored to be in the presence of these women. They opened up their hearts in worship to the Lord. I could tell many of them had broken hearts.

 

Did you know Jesus loves the broken-hearted? The Bible teaches God loves the poor and needy, the humble and afflicted, the broken-hearted, the outcast, the weak, the despised and the oppressed. He cares for the widows, orphans and fatherless. This is true, both in the social context as well as in the spiritual. There are those crushed physically because of poverty, and there are those ‘broken in heart’ and ‘crushed in spirit.’ I saw both at the Mission.

 

My mom told me a long time ago ‘when you sing, never sing to the people, always sing to the audience of one and invite the people to worship along with you,’ and so that’s my aim—to sing to the ‘Audience of One’ and hopefully it becomes so contagious that people will want to sing along. I saw this at the Mission.

 

If you want to encounter the presence of the Lord, go where people are hungry for Him—like the Nashville Rescue Mission. Even if you think you’ve already encountered His presence, go anyway. Be open. God will use the experience to bless you. It’s in situations like this where we find out that each of us is truly broken, poor and needy. This is where Jesus works best. I can’t wait to go back.