This one could be a doozy…
- My brother went swimming with sharks last week while he was in the Bahamas – I think he’s an idiot and just asking for trouble. What do you all think?
- Yesterday was hard for me. Leading worship in the service yesterday morning felt like wading through a big pond filled with oatmeal. (don’t ask me about food references…I’m pregnant for Pete’s sake!) I think – I know, rather – that a lot of the struggle is in me right now and not about the people. I’m distracted and sometimes feel inadequate to do this thing I’m doing. Ever feel like your time is just about up – that the grace has lifted for what your hands are doing? I’m sure it’s just the mommy in me wanting to give my undivided attention to my babies – I’m sure that’s all it is…
- Pastor Chris Phillips from River of Life Church in Jacksonville, NC brought an amazing message yesterday. You can download the MP3 of the message here later today.
- We had a really great rehearsal last night for Imagine Christmas. The violinist, Carrie Jackson, came and completely rocked this music. (my regular guys did a pretty fabulous job themselves!) I can not wait for Wilmington to experience this event. December 16th – 10am and 6pm at The Rock – DON’T MISS IT!
- My husband is amazing – he has really stepped it up and is taking great care of me. He hasn’t said one word about my mood swings or lack of desire to clean -anything– he’s the best and would probably appreciate your prayers for him over the next 7 months. 🙂
- We go for our first ultrasound this Friday! (there better only be one little fish down there in that aquarium…)
- Pad Thai with chicken for lunch sounded better in theory…
Abs of Steel 
I’m not an idiot… Well, maybe a little.
Don’t mistake feeling overwhelmed or under-qualified as a lifting of grace. It just might be that you are in over your head and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I feel like I am in over my head all the time.
Don is an amazing husband and dad. How did you trick him into marrying you?
Hang in here. We are headed somewhere amazing and I want you on our team. I am pretty sure this would not be anywhere near as fun without you.
i have been reading and listening to your thoughts over the past few weeks,
first i want to say that reading the struggles you go through in your mind with feeling inadequate, let down, and overwhelmed at times is extremely moving in the fact that you feel free to be real in your writing.
i think it helps others to see that the perfection on stage on sunday mornings requires hard work, a large amount of faith, imperfections in struggles, and a great commitment to God’s plans.
in saying that, i just wanted to tell you to not give up because of feelings of discouragement or inadequacy, i believe the devil will use those along with distractions to gradually tear you down.
he knows that we are headed into something BIG, and he’s grabbing at anything to put right in front of your face, and put the vision in the background.
you are amazing. you are an inspiration to me when i watch you on sundays and hear your voice and the music you make with your hands, and think “i hope god instills within me the ability to be that great and talented of a godly woman.”
love you.
Just wanted you to know that we really interceeded for you in pre-service prayer Sunday. One of the things I remember being prayed was that you would be relieved of the burden of trying to MAKE worship happen. Praying that worship would rise up spontaneously and drag you along insted of the other way around.
You do what you do with excellence, Abbye. I’m just praying that the rest of us would stop leaning on you so much.
The pressure you are feeling is very real. Overwhelmed is probably an understatement. You are immersed in putting together the most wonderful Christmas presentation this town has ever seen!! This thing is huge. The enemy is well aware that lives are going to be changed FOREVER! The battle is on. Like OT times, the musicians are in the front lines of the battle march. You know that you are not strong enough to stand there on your own. You know the One who is covering you. It is Him whom you are presenting and representing. You are an amazing woman of God and I am blessed to be a part of what God has called you to do.
BTW, That Lindsey is a pretty smart cookie. Everything she said rings true to me.
This should be an encouragement to you; I have 3 VERY TALENTED fellow hair and make up artists from the film industry VOLUNTEERING to be involved in making this production beautiful. I am so excited to be a part of this.
One more word to the wise- and you are gonna want to choke me for this but – just keep it in mind. hormones. :0)
Hang in here Abbye!
Your doing great. Doing what you do is one of the toughest jobs out there. I think the expectation we put on ourselves FAR outweighs anything anybody could put on us. Be encouraged. What you are doing is huge.
Sounds like a collision of early preganancy hormones and huge work demands. It will not last long and we will all pray for you to successfully manage. You can do it…..we need you. You are anointed, called and awesome as a worship pastor, creative arts director, wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend to many…..This huge, demanding challenge will be worth it. Take care of yourself thru the process and look forward to the rest at the end!!
You always have A LOT going on in your life! I am not sure how you deal with it all, seriously! Hang in there…everything will be ok! And, Don’s a pretty good guy- I’m not surprised he’s taking good care of you! You can tell him I said that. : )
What is it with Bryan and all of his referencing links?! All of this thought is totally stressing me out! eeeeekkk