New ZOE Blog

Just thought some of you out there in Blog land might be interested to know that there is now a ZOE Group Blog . Please add it to your list of blogs that you visit frequently and pass it along! Feel free to link it from your sites as well.

This is a blog I started that will attempt to stay current with all things ZOE-- CD recordings, conferences, trips, thoughts about the ministry, stories we hear along the way, etc....

I have invited all involved in the ZOE ministry to be team members, so ideally they will add their own unique posts as well.

http://zoegroup.blogspot.com

Wrap It Up!

Well-- As of Thursday night, our CD project for 2006 is finished! The title of the CD will be Closer which ties in with the theme of our conference this year. As Larry Bridgesmith put it: "Being Closer to God is the desire of our hearts and the longing of our souls. The intimacy we seek in many inappropriate places can in truth only be found in the God of heaven and earth." Conference registration is now open! You can sign up online. Hope to see you all there!

The CD turned out great! The whole experience was so nice. Randy was such a pro, and did such a wonderful job directing us. Our producer Chris is also so talented. The songs are fantastic! Bottom line-- it was a smooth as a studio production could have gone. God was definitely with us! We pray that lives will be touched by the beautiful words and melodies of these precious hymns to our Father.


Peter and Philip show off those low bass notes! Apparently the "face" helps in reaching them!


Sheryl and Melissa-- our wonderful sopranos. Sheryl is eating Pringles-- no ZOE recording is complete without cans and cans of those!


Philip and David-- A good tenor is hard to find, and we have TWO! :)


The ZOE Girls! What a blessing to have sung with these gals for 10 years.


Randy goes over some final details before we listen to the playback of the final song.

Heart, Head, and Microphones

Tonight ZOE heads into the studio to start work on our 10th project!! It is so hard to believe that we have been together for so long. With a few exceptions, most of us have been singing the entire time. We have been through the good and the bad-- births, deaths, marriage, etc.-- we're truly family.

This CD should be a little different than previous offerings. First of all, Brandon is still on hiatus, so Peter will be taking on the lead. He has a great voice. We do miss Brandon though! :) Second, this CD will have more of a hymn-like quality. If you have been blessed to hear Randy do his talk on "Worship Through the Ages", then you know all about the pendulum shift which is constantly occurring between "heart and head." Well-- the trend in worship music seems to be heading back toward weighty, meaningful (head) lyrics rather than more repetitive praise music (heart). Think "In Christ Alone" instead of "A New Anointing." Hopefully this project will be some type of transitional bridge between the two... some classic hymns with a twist plus some new songs with a classic feel.

So-- we'll be in the studio all week. We covet your prayers! As always, the music is always bigger than any of us because it speaks to the nature of God. We just pray that he continues to work through this ministry in spite of us.

My one worry is that Caroline will HAVE to take a bottle since I will be away longer than 3 or 4 hours. She should do this rather easily, but you never know. I still have flashbacks to when Luke was 3 months-old, we were recording, and my parents were watching him. They called saying that he was crying, wouldn't take a bottle, and they didn't know what to do! As a NEW mom, I was traumatized and so upset! I couldn't leave, Scott was out of town, and I had no idea what to do to remedy the situation! There was nothing I could do. I am in the same position now, except that Caroline has done a better job taking an emergency bottle when necessary. Scott will be in town tonight and Friday, but my parents are watching the kids Tuesday-Thursday. Prayers welcome! :)

What a blessing ZOE has been to me! I have often written on this blog about how special the people and the ministry are to me, so I will spare you now. Thanks to all of you who continue to support us and encourage us. I have had conversations on three different occasions during the last several weeks with people who have been kind enough to share the ways their lives have been touched by ZOE. It is so humbling to come face to face with God at work in something that you have been blessed to participate in... We will all be on our knees tonight as we think about these people and stories before we step in front of those mics.

Happy 4th!

Hope you all had a wonderful 4th with family and friends!

Our Little Beach Bums

Summertime, Summertime, Sum-Sum-Summertime!

Well, the summer is flying by! Tons of stuff going on-- always something to do or somewhere to be.... Days are spent in a comfortable routine of going to the Y and then usually some pool time before lunch and the afternoon nap.

I have really been working out harder than ever! I am enjoying it! Kickboxing is the best, and I just ordered some pink gloves which should make class even more fun!

The kids are great! Luke has definitely hit the beginnings of the "terrible twos"-- at least "terrible" compared to his formerly semi-perfect behavior status. Everything now is "My do! My do!" from Mr. Independent. He is also testing his boundaries when it comes to obedience.

I am almost finished with book by Tedd Trip called Shepherding a Child's Heart. I feel like he has some wonderful things to say about Biblical parenting. We are also in a parenting class at church taught by a great Christian women based out of her many years of experience as the principal of David Lipscomb Elementary. Yes, each week the information sometimes contradicts and conflicts, but I assume that parenting is just like everything else... You glean bits of wisdom where you can, decide what works, and then pray a lot! :) For some reason, I doubt my parents analyzed their particular parenting style, and I seemed to turn out ok-- I think!?!

For all you ZOE fans-- we are hitting the recording studios in a week or two. This is our 10th year! Hard to believe. This year's project should be a tad different than the others. We are trying to pull together a type of "hymns" collection-- some old, some new, some old with a twist.
The worship pendulum is starting to swing back toward songs with deeper lyrics-- more hymn-like, less praise-like. So, we are hoping to use this CD as a type of transitional bridge between the two. There are some really solid songs. Pray for us!

Here are the kiddos!

Can you believe-- Caroline is now 4 months-old!?
She is always happy and good as gold!

She's now 14 pounds and 1 ounce.
Just perfect, we're proud to announce!

"A Little Luke" is what everyone keeps saying...
He was so good, so we keep praying!

See the photos of him at her age.
Similar? We'll let you all gauge!