New Infinitely More site!!!

Gerald & I have just launched a new site to celebrate our new duo, Infinitely More!

Blending Gospel, Praise & Worship, Country, and Jazz, Infinitely More wants to create a fresh new sound for the church.

Using original songs and fresh interpretations of the classics, we aim to encourage and inspire both the seeker and the lifelong Christian.

Our goal is to bring the Gospel message into churches of all denominations, as well as into unconventional and unexpected venues.

You can visit our new site at www.InfinitelyMore.ca

Cut for Cancer Updates

My hair has arrived at Pantene by now, and has started the process of becoming a wig!

I've built a new Cut for Cancer page on my site and a new photo album on Facebook to share my story.

I had long hair for years, but only thought about donating it because I saw someone else do it on tv.

If you have long hair, or you know someone who might be interested in donating their hair, please share this information with them. Donating is easier than you think!

My Hair Cut for Cancer

A few years ago, my aunt had cancer. At the time, we lived so far apart that I felt there was little I could do to support her.

I remember her talking about losing her hair, and thinking how fortunate she was that she could purchase a wig.

And then I realized what I could do.

I could donate my hair.

Last year, I decided that I would donate again. I start growing it, and growing it, and growing it, and today, we finally did the cut!

Here's my before shot. We did the cut at my cousin Laurel's fabulous salon:

And here I am after the cut! Almost 10 inches!
We gathered the hair in ponytails and snipped them off, elastics still intact.

After that, I was treated to a fabulous makeover!
Heather did my cut, and Laurel did my colour.

My ponytails were put in a baggie, and mailed to Pantene Beautiful Lengths.

I'm so grateful for this experience. I didn't know if it would be as profound the second time around, but it really was.

As I cared for my hair over the past few months, I realized that it wasn't my hair anymore - I was just taking care of it until I could pass it on to someone else.

In the past few weeks, I started praying for the woman who would get my hair. I don't know anything about her - her age, her looks, her background, her family - but I do know that she's going to be scared, and I know she's going to need faith and hope to get her through.

It takes 6 donations to make one wig, so my hair will join forces with the hair of 5 other women. I thought about those women, how different we all might be, how similar. I imagined having lattes with them and hearing the stories behind their hair donations.


So here I am, with my new look!

Laurel, Me, Heather

Many thanks to Laurel Richards Hair for doing my cut and making me feel fantastic! Laurel and her crew do an annual Cut for Cancer day each June. Be sure to look them up if you're close to Ajax, Ontario.

Pantene Beautiful Lengths collects ponytails and makes them into wigs for women who can't afford them both in Canada and in the States. If you're interested in donating your hair, please consult their site for all the details.

And a special thanks to my family for supporting me in this project. Gerald took a video, and I'll be posting that on the weekend. I'll also be making a page on my website and a gallery on facebook, so I'll let you know when all that is available for viewing.

And now, I just have to get used to using less shampoo!

The All Day St. John's York Mills Day

What an awesome day of music and worship!

Gerald and I led the worship team at both services today. This morning, we were joined by Brian on percussion, Ambrose on base, and his new bride, Cleo, on vocals. We had a fantastic rehearsal on Thursday, which meant we could walk in this morning, nice and relaxed and ready to make music.

We had a good mix of our favourites - "How Great Thou Art," "Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)" - and a new song - "All Who are Thirsty." We did my song, "Living Manna", during communion, and for the first time, we had all the vocalists singing lead on it. Usually I take a solo on the vocals, with just a bit of harmony. It was awesome to hear everyone singing my melody. I couldn't stop grinning the whole time.

Tonight, we had Brian back for percussion, and our friend Susan joined the team for the first time. Her gifts on piano and vocals are wonderful, and we quickly gelled as a team. We kept the songs uptempo with "Your Grace is Enough", "Indescribable," and "Beautiful One."

I've been reading "Captured by Grace" by Dr. David Jeremiah, and the chapter I just finished was on Romans 5. As I prepared for tonight's service, a few verses kept ringing through my head:

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings,
because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
perseverance, character; and character, hope.

"Glory in our sufferings..." I couldn't stop thinking about that. I thought of all the people in our congregation who are suffering right now, from illness, grief, unemployment, and just tough situations. As our worship progressed tonight, I read these verses in between songs, and in a way that only God can move things, it fit right into Drew's message.

I'm really happy with today. We welcomed 2 new people to our team, had a great time making music, and recognized, once again, that we're a small part of something wonderful.

We all need days like this...

I'm feeling so encouraged these days!

In the past week, I've received some tremendous compliments and feedback on our music. I've heard a story of someone using one of our songs in a challenging situation. I've confirmed 4 bookings in 3 days. I was part of an amazing rehearsal on Thursday night. New doors are opening daily.

So often, we make music and pursue bookings and keep sowing seeds, wondering if anything is taking root.

That's why times like this are so valuable. They feed the moment, and the season to come.

Feeling grateful tonight, for so many blessings...

We're going to Break Forth!

We are so excited tonight!

A few weeks ago, Dad gave us a brochure for a worship conference in Alberta called Break Forth. We've attended a lot of workshops, but this one just looks awesome!

Tonight, Gerald and I registered! In January, we'll head out to Alberta for 3 days of songwriting workshops, worship leading seminars, connecting with other musicians, and awesome concerts.

We're also hoping to book a few concerts for ourselves while we're there.

The poster is below. Let me know if you'll be attending! If not, I'll be blogging every night (of course!).

I'm a Guest Blogger

I meant to post this earlier, but Nashville worship leader and songwriter, Eric Wyse, recently used one of my posts (with permission) as a guest blog post!

You can read it here.

Thanks, Eric!

Communion Trio

Today I had Holy Communion in three different churches, which I think is a personal record.

We started the day at St. John's West, where Gerald and I led the music for a Remembrance themed service. We sang songs of peace, like "The Strangest Dream" and "Let There Be Peace on Earth." To celebrate the theme of sacrificial service, we sang Gerald's song, "Somebody's Angel." We also introduced our new childrens dismissal song, "Let the Children Come Unto Me." So encouraging to see everyone singing along with us!

In the early evening, we played on the worship team at St. John's York Mills for the Gathering service. This service is usually prayer, music, and a dialogue sermon, but for tonight, we gathered around the table and had an intimate Communion. Just beautiful.

Then, I went to St. Clements to attend their evening service called Surface. Described as an 'emerging' worship experience, Surface combines scripture, poetry, prayer, and secular songs of inspiration to create an unique worship experience. We also had Communion in the round, which was lovely and powerful. Gerald and I will be leading the music for this service in a few weeks - looking forward to it!