How We Spent Easter...

Yesterday was a whirlwind. Not the We're-not-in-Kansas-anymore type, but the kind that sweeps you into a busy day and leaves you on the other side, a little dizzy, a little tired, and surprisingly complete.

I could fill pages describing the day, so let me sum it all up in a few highlights:

- Morning worship with a packed house, awesome worship band, and full choir.

- We sang "Resurrection Hymn (See What a Morning)" as a Communion song, complete with accordion!

- I met a couple visiting from England, and I had sung at their wedding 15 years ago!

- Mom and Dad joined us for the morning service! So great to have them there.

- Ended morning worship with a roof-shattering rendition of "To God Be The Glory" with voices, band, tambourine, and pipe organ.

- Had a little rest between services, with enough time to make up a platter of Easter treats for the band.

- Beautiful Gathering service with a great crowd, including enough children for a children's focus.

- A powerful message by Drew and a moving, intimate Communion led by Anne.

- We enjoyed a late Easter dinner with friends, in a comfortable home with an abundance of food.

Our Gathering Worship Band, tech team, and clergy.

But the real highlight, the best moment of the day for us, was sharing our new song, 

"There's a Light at the End of the Tomb" at both services. 

We'd been working on it for weeks, and as I've shared already, 

the church used our song title as the cornerstone of their Easter advertising.

Our song title on the cover of the Easter bulletins. 

We just used guitar for the accompaniment, but we pulled Patrick and Derwyn into the mix to give us a full vocal quartet on the choruses. It felt so awesome to sing it, and the reaction was overwhelmingly positive.

We recorded everything, so once we have a bit of Easter recovery time, we'll take a listen and see if we can share any of it with you.

In the meantime, please feel free to visit our FACEBOOK page 

to see more photos of our Easter experience! 

HAPPY EASTER!

“Why do you look for the living among the dead? 

He is not here; he has risen!"

Happy Easter, everyone!!!

The Easter cross at St. John's York Mills.

Check back later today for an update on today's Easter celebrations! 

It's gonna be a good one!

A Dark Saturday...

I always stop and pause today.

We know Easter's coming. We know the Son will rise tomorrow, life has won, and death is no more.

But the disciples of Jesus didn't know it.

Jesus had spoken about it - cryptically, in stories and strange examples - but this wasn't really supposed to happen. Was it?

The friends of Jesus weren't decorating their sanctuaries with lilies, and preparing baked ham and chocolates for a Sunday feast. Instead, I imagine them huddled in a room, hiding themselves from the anger that had erupted just a day ago. I imagine them afraid, confused, and heartbroken...

I think we need to think about this experience for two reasons:

#1. It's the truth of the story.

and #2. There are so many living like this today.

Without hope.
Without light.
Believing that death has actually won.

They don't know Easter is coming. They might not even know that Easter is a possibility.

So today, I encourage you to lift a prayer for those who are living in the shadow of Good Friday.

Fear not, my friend. Sunday is coming...

Happy Palm Sunday!

Some Sundays allow for a greater range of creativity than others, and Palm Sunday is one of them. At St. John's, we open our worship with the praise of Palm Sunday, but then move into reading the Passion (or Holy Week story) using a dramatized reading. At The Gathering, we thought this should also incorporate music.

As the readers told the story of the Last Supper, Gethsemene, the trial, and the crucifixion, we lead songs that helped expand on the emotions and implications Jesus's journey.

Our song list included classic hymns like "Hosanna, Loud Hosanna" and "Were You There," alongside newer songs like "Beautiful One" and "Gethsemene." We finished the story with Gerald's song, "All Things are Possible to Thee."

Guitars waiting for worship...

There's part of me that only wants to sit in the joy and triumph of Palm Sunday, but now that we've moved through the Passion, I'm ready for Holy Week.

Let's start our walk towards the cross...

March Break Madness...

This past weekend, we enjoyed the final days of March break with a busy weekend up in Collingwood.

For those of you who live outside of Southern Ontario, Collingwood is an area known for beautiful lakes, winter skiing, and one of the biggest annual Elvis festivals in North America.

We arrived Saturday afternoon for a mini-workshop with the worship band from All Saints Anglican Church. We rehearsed the music for Sunday's worship, while also throwing out as many ideas as we could for introducing contemporary elements into their Sunday worship music. On a future visit, we'd love to have a full afternoon to really work through these concepts and have some creative time together. Hopefully, we can make that happen soon...

That evening, our singer friend, Cheryl Bourne, hosted us for a house concert! It was a fun and intimate evening of music in her living room. It was full of things you only get at a house concert:

- we sang in our slippers

- a little girl danced during All You Need is Love

- intermission had birthday cake for a guest

- the smell of chocolate fondue filled the air

- a dog sat in the front row

Gerald working with the All Saints Church worship band.

The next morning, we arrived back at All Saints for morning worship. After a quick rehearsal with the band, we played our preservice music, and we felt welcomed from the start. The congregation actually applauded for one of our preservice songs! That's a first for us!

The whole morning felt wonderful! The congregation and staff were all so open, and sang along so easily. We were even able to do part of the children's focus, which felt very special.

After church, it was back in the car for the 2 hour drive back to Toronto. We arrived just in time to unload the car and head to St. John's for The Gathering. Rehearsal at 3pm, service at 5pm, and, you guessed it, collapse in our jammies by sundown!

So much work, but worth every moment!!!

To see our photos, please visit our FACEBOOK page.

The Iceberg of Creativity

The last few weeks have been behind-the-scenes kind of busy:

- music planning for Holy Week

- cowriting a new Easter song with Gerald

- writing a new psalm setting for each Sunday in Lent

- booking for upcoming tours

- planning this weekend's events in Collingwood

- strategy planning for the future of Infinitely More

It all sounds powerful and creative when I write it out, but the truth is, some days it just feels like a lot of work. I look at this list, and I can see all the little details between the lines.

Then I found this photo on Facebook today:

And it captured what I was thinking far easier than I could ever say it.

I think every artist gets this image...

The performance is tight, but the audience never sees the hours that went into polishing those harmonies.

The painting looks great, but the viewer never sees the canvases that didn't make it out of the studio.

The song is moving, but the listener never hears the 38 words that rhymed with "love" that never made the cut.

And I think, ultimately, that's a good thing. As artists, we know what it takes to make art, and the selfish part of us wants everyone to know - "Hey, this is hard! This takes work! I did a LOT to make this happen!!"

But the generous part of us never wants the audience to think about that. Instead, we want you to hear the message, feel the emotion, and be transformed by the art we're sharing with you.

It's not about having other people fully get all that goes into making the art. 

We know. 

Other artists know. 

God knows. 

That should be enough.

The true joy comes in the making, and the giving.

So let's share our art, and the next day, we'll dive in the water, and build up that iceberg all over again...

Workshop with Ron Klusmeier

Many years ago, Dad invited me to a workshop featuring two hymn writers: Ron Klusmeier and Fred Kaan. It was a beautiful night of creativity and worship! I brought Monika to a workshop, and together, we recorded a few of Ron and Fred's songs.

A few days ago, I received an email that Ron was doing a workshop in Toronto this weekend!

Today's workshop at Leaside United Church.

This afternoon, I joined 30 other singers for an afternoon with Ron Klusmeier and his team. They're on an epic one-year tour of Canada! They visit churches to lead workshops and concerts featuring the music of Ron and his cowriters.

Our group today was composed (pun intended) of choir singers and music directors, so you know the sound was great. We sang new songs, and learned about Ron's ministry of making songs available to churches of all shapes and sizes.

Me and Ron Klusmeier!

After the workshop, Ron and I had a chance to catch up. I'm so inspired by Ron. First, there's his incredibly large body of work - over 750 hymns, and more coming every year. He works with cowriters from around the world, and many of his partnerships are decades long. And second, I'm inspired by his desire to put his songs directly into the hands of church musicians. These workshops are so user-friendly, with songs the average choir can pick up on the first pass. And in addition to his songbooks, there's his incredible website that makes charts and arrangements available for any kind of musical configuration.

Today has left me feeling encouraged and inspired.... the perfect way to leave Saturday and go into Sunday...

Our Fireside Concert!

It's been weeks of prep and planning, and today was the day - our Fireside Concert!

Last night, all the furniture in our living room was cleared, and rearranged with rows of chairs and our sound system by the window.

This morning, we had a final soundcheck, shovelled the front walk, and put on the apple cider.

This afternoon, the house was filled with happy, smiling people, ready for an afternoon of music and stories by the fire.

I'm so happy with the day! We had people who know us well, and people who've never heard our music before. We debuted several new songs, and created new arrangements of old favourites. We had some great sing-along moments, and the puppies were thrilled to have so many people ready to cuddle them.

We weren't able to get video, but we've got some photos, and maybe a bit of audio. I've also written a draft of an article to help other artists self-produce their own house concerts. I'll share what I've got next week, but tonight, we're just sitting in the calm of the evening...

I'm a Guest Blogger!

This week, I'm guest blogging over at SGMRadio.com!

The post was inspired by the recent passings of two wonderful women in my life.

You can read "Who's Watching You?" by clicking HERE.

My guest post was inspired by my Aunt Alma, far right.

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Seven years ago, Gerald and I gathered with friends and family to start our greatest adventure ever: becoming husband and wife.

One of my favourite shots!

Montreal, QC - from our East Coast Tour 2011

Today, I'm flooded with memories of that week, and of the past seven years. 

It's flown by, and at the same time, I'm amazed at all we've done in that time:

- lived in Nashville for 3 years

- recorded 4 CDs

- written hundreds of songs

- started Infinitely More

- traveled and toured in 6 provinces and 3 states

- survived an insanely dangerous car crash

- adopted 2 beautiful puppies

- spent countless hours laughing, chatting, and loving our family & friends

This afternoon, we'll stand in the exact spot where we exchanged vows, and we'll lead our Gathering community in worship. How awesome is that? God's plan for our lives never fails to surprise, delightful, and overwhelm me.

Today, I'm so thankful for everyone who has been a part of our journey - family, friends, mentors, musicians, colleagues, pastors, congregations, and everyone who has ever read a blog post, attended our concert, downloaded our music, or watched our videos. We love you!!!

To read the story of how we met, 

please check out this LINK.

Love At First Listen!

We were recently asked to share the story of how we met for SGMRadio.com 

They've included our story in an article featuring the love stories of different Gospel artists.

Click HERE to read how the perfect voice mail became the start of our love story...

Having fun on our Infinitely More CD photo shoot last summer.

Break Forth Photos!

It's been less than a week since we returned home from Break Forth. I really wish we'd had three or four days just to sit, review our notes, and reflect on our experiences. Instead, we arrived home in the middle of the night (literally!), did a huge load of laundry, and got right back to work Wednesday morning.

So, instead, I'm sneaking in my reflections - 

a thought here, 

a memory there...

Today, I went through all our photos of the weekend. 

I've put them together to give you a sense of what we experienced.

You can view them on our SITE and FACEBOOK pages.

Enjoy!

Singing in the hallway of the Shaw Centre...

Break Forth - Day 3

Our final moments of Break Forth were filled with 

learning, friendship, creativity, and extraordinary beauty.

The bracelets are off. Break Forth is done for another year.

Learning...
We studied "Songs that Impact" with Paul Baloche, and "Taking Your Worship Band to the Next Level" and "Harmony and Improvisation" with Sheri Gould. So much incredible information, and so appropriate for where we are now with our writing and worship leading. Sheri's harmony workshop was particularly awesome. Her approach to ear training and singing harmony was really effective and musical.

Friendship...
I think this is the year that we've met the most people at Break Forth. So much of today was filled with wonderful conversations with new and old friends. We met people from across Alberta, learning about their churches and lives.

Creativity...
At October's GMA Week, we met Natalie, a singer-songwriter from Edmonton. This afternoon, she and Gerald grabbed a guitar, found a piano in the hallway of the Shaw Centre, and started writing a song. They'll finish it over skype, but they definitely started something good.

Extraordinary Beauty...
There's been so much loveliness this weekend. Talented musicians making stunning sounds. Inspiring songs. Beautiful faces in worship. Bright sunshine, and laughter in restaurants. The closing worship session ended with a rousing rendition of "How Great Thou Art" led by Paul Baloche. The band created an awesome, joyful ending, and as the final chord lingered, Paul led the worshippers in one more chorus. Thousands of voices singing "Then sings my soul..." in glorious acapella harmony. Beauty beyond compare...

This weekend has been so full for us. We've learned so much already, taken so much in, and I know we'll be feeling the vibrations for months.

Full of gratitude tonight...

Break Forth - Day 2

Today has been long and awesome and I'm so tired I popped a couple of chocolate-covered espresso beans just to write this post. I ask for grace for typos and non-sensical jibber-jabber.

The morning began with a mass worship session. There's truly nothing like gathering with thousands of believers to sing, pray, and praise. Brian Doerkson led a beautiful worship session with songs of praise, love, and lament.

The message came from Francis Chan (author of "Crazy Love") and it was incredible. Francis is funny and passionate and visceral when he preaches. The message of creating disciples was simple but so very powerful. If I was planning this thing, I would actually have scheduled him as the last speaker, because I think it would have been the perfect message for people to have on their hearts as they return home.

The bulk of the day was filled with smaller workshops. Gerald attended an honest and powerful session by singer-songwriter Kari Jobe. Kari mixed practical worship leading advice with deeper spiritual messages of living in expectancy of God's grace.

I loved my Creativity workshop by songwriter Carolyn Arends. She took us through the stages of the creative process as it applies to songwriting. So full of things that I needed to hear right now.

I spent part of the afternoon in a "level ground" worship session with Brian Doerkson. The session was intimate and casual - in a hotel conference room, with the band on the floor level in the middle of a roomful of chairs. A few candles decorated the band area. Things weren't unplugged, but only amplified as much as they needed to be. Brian has been setting a lot of psalms to music lately, and they were beautiful and artistic. I found so much inspiration in this session.

We also got to do lots of casual things today - lunch with friends, buying new books and CDs, looking at the exhibit hall, and just enjoying the glorious sunshine.

Kari Jobe leading worship at tonight's service.

Tonight's worship session was led by Kari Jobe, and I'll just get to the point: awesome and wow!! I loved watching her lead. By the way she dances around and related to the huge congregation, you can tell she's used to leading worship in a big church. I loved that she and I both lead without an instrument - just a hand-held mic and our words. I'm a fan of her voice and songs and could just watch her for that, but the thing I love the most is her passion. When she sings, she's committed to the message of the song 110%, and that commitment is more powerful than any perfect note or artful riff.

One cool thing I've observed this weekend with the worship leaders:

These are the top of the food chain worship leaders on the continent, and yet, they're not all serving in famous, mega-churches. Kari leads in a big church, but Paul's church, by his description, is mid-sized and rural. Brian leads in a church plant and Andy Park is leading worship in a house church.

I guess this reminded me that, despite what our culture tell us, the size of your congregation is no reflection on the size, scope, and scale of your ministry and/or its potential impact. It's also an awesome testimony about following God's calling. All of these guys could be making mega-bucks in mega-churches. Instead, they've asked God, "How do you want to use me?" and then said "Yes" when the answer comes.

Oh, that we may all have the courage to say "Yes"...

Break Forth - Day 1

Today was so many kinds of wonderful that it'll be hard to summarize it in just a few sentences...

Break Forth opened today with the Worship Leadership Intensive. In past years, Gerald has done the songwriting intensive, but this year, we decided to do the same workshop, and really work our skills as worship co-leaders.

Kari Jobe was on the teaching roster, but a last minute illness delayed her flight to Edmonton. Songwriter, Andy Park, filled in, and the challenges began. Andy spoke on the topics of rejecting the ego-driven lifestyle, centring your life on the Lord, and worshiping God in the wilderness. It was the kind of talk where light bulbs were going off, we were scrabbling to write everything down, and six months from now, we'll still be making realizations.

Paul Baloche kicked off the afternoon session with his trademark good humour, and dedicated approach to worship. He interspersed practical lessons on working with your band, choosing songs, and creating flow, with the deeper issues of personal worship and our pastoral role as worship leaders.

The day ended with a panel composed of Andy, Paul, and Mark Hall of Casting Crowns. It could have gone on for hours and hours. So much wisdom and practical information.

Every once in a while, the room would be invited to sing. If you want a glimpse of what heaven might sound like, check out the most beautiful moment of the day:

The conference had it's awesome, huge, opening session tonight at the Shaw Centre. Thousands of people gathered for an inspiring time of worship by Casting Crowns, and a fantastic message by John Ortberg.

I was so excited to hear John Ortberg (and Casting Crowns, of course!) and I wasn't disappointed. From the simple start of "I'm going to talk about Jesus tonight," he took us through a 2000 year journey of how Jesus and the Jesus movement has affected every conceivable corner of our world - art, political theory, education, compassion, human dignity, and even champagne! The talk was simple, entertaining, meaningful, and super, super smart.

Can't believe this has only been one day! Looking forward to tomorrow!!

Break Forth .... Ready to Begin!

The worship leaders were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of workshops danced in their heads...

Break Forth begins in the morning!!!!

The view from our hotel window...

NEW VIDEO!! Wedding at Cana

This past Sunday night, we did something we haven't done in ages - Duelling Guitars!

Okay, technically we're not duelling, because Gerald is a wicked player and would totally win against my 3-chord playing. But we did pull out 2 guitars and put together a fun arrangement of my song, Wedding at Cana. We recorded it on my first CD, Real Big Fan, in a Jazz setting, but Sunday's arrangement was a little different, and we had a great time putting it together. Our best friend, Monika, joined us on harmony.

Happily, it was all caught on video! Here 'tis:

Please enjoy, and share!

Welcome to Edmonton!

The alarm on my iPhone started beeping at 5:00am. Yes, A-M!

My father-in-law was at the door by 5:15, ready to drive us to the airport.

A smooth 4-hour flight later, and we arrived in Edmonton, Alberta!

This is what greeted us:

We're here for a week to visit friends and attend the amazing Break Forth worship conference! Thursday night, we'll head to our hotel downtown, and Friday we begin 3 long, intense days of workshops, worship, and fellowship... and lots of caffeine!  

I'll be blogging every night, and posting photos and updates at

  www.Facebook.com/InfinitelyMoreBand 

All our Facebook content is public, 

but if you're on Facebook, we'd love your Like!

The 12 Days of Christmas

Thought I'd share my 12 Days of Christmas project! 

On each of the 12 days of Christmas, 

I drew the appropriate symbol from the song on our chalkboard.

We put up our Christmas cards around the board. 

Just a little festive fun to celebrate the 12 Days! 

Happy Epiphany!

Magi.

Kings.

Scholars.

Visitors.

Wise Men.

Today we celebrated the final moments of the Christmas season by remembering the visit of the three wise men to the infant Jesus.

This morning, we led the music at St. Philip's, Etobicoke. This wonderful church has become a semi-regular haunt for us, and we love it. The staff are open and creative, and the congregation and choir are welcoming and fun to be around.

We played our own arrangements of classic carols, but also debuted our new setting for Psalm 72, and taught the congregation our new Christmas song, Sing With The Angels.

St. Philip's has some great Epiphany and New Year's traditions, like writing a blessing on the door of the church, and having the kids bash a piñata while we sing The 12 Days of Christmas. They needed a little more music this time, so we did an impromptu version of All You Need is Love, and everyone burst out in song. It was a fantastic morning!

Father Al climbing the ladder and blessing the entrance to the church with the "holy chalk."

This evening, we had our first Gathering of 2013! It was great to have a full band, including violin. We did our groovy renditions of The Huron Carol, Go Tell It On The Mountain, and We Three Kings, including soloists for each of the 'king' verses.

Rev. Anne gave a great message on grace, inspired by Max Lucado's new book (which I reviewed a few months ago) and led us in an intimate Communion. It was a beautiful, refreshing time of worship.

It's been so great to have a little time off, but today reminded us of how much we love our work and how much more of it we want to do!

Sound Check...

Here we are getting ready for the 

piñata-bashing, 

3-kings-coming, 

all-out-singing 

Epiphany celebration 

at St. Philip's this Sunday morning...

Join us if you're in the Etobicoke area! 

Winter Wonderland

We've had piles of snow over the last few days, 

so I grabbed my camera and took a tour of our backyard.

You can see the collection of my favourite shots
on our Infinitely More Facebook page: click HERE.

Happy New Year!

May your 2013 be filled with 

peace, joy, love, and great adventures!

Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be

In working or in waiting, another year with Thee.

Another year of progress, another year of praise,

Another year of proving Thy presence all the days.

Another year of mercies, of faithfulness and grace,

Another year of gladness in the shining of Thy face;

Another year of leaning upon Thy loving breast;

Another year of trusting, of quiet, happy rest.

Another year of service, of witness for Thy love,

Another year of training for holier work above.

Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be

On earth, or else in Heaven, another year for Thee.

Lyric by Frances R. Havergal, 

written as a greeting on her 1874 New Year's greeting cards.

Fireside Concert - Date Announcement!

We've just set a date for our 2013 Fireside Concert!

Infinitely More Fireside Concert

Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013

2:00pm

This year, St. John's announced that they'll be selling Comer House, 

so this will be our final concert in this beautiful and comfy venue!

We only have 30 tickets available, so feel free to 

reserve your ticket at www.InfinitelyMore.ca/Contact

Tickets are only $15, and include free apple cider & sweets.

Fireside Concert 2012

Our New Nativity Video!!!!

We're pleased to debut our nativity video - My Heart is the Manger!

A few weeks ago, we asked you to submit your nativity photo.

To celebrate the beautiful themes of "My Heart is the Manger,"
we thought it would be lovely to showcase all the different nativities we could find,
and you filled our inbox with photos!

As we started to go through them, we were overwhelmed at the variety. 

They represented families, churches, schools, and communities.

But the common theme was the story... 

... that beautiful story of God entering our world as a child, 

and the loving family that embraced him that first Christmas night.

Please enjoy our new video, My Heart is the Manger. 

And when you're finished watching, please feel free to share the link with your friends 

via email, on your blog, facebook page, twitter account, or any other online space!

Happy Advent One!

We kicked off the day with a 3 hour carolling session at the beautiful Allan Gardens Christmas Flower Show. This is an annual event for us, and the start of our Christmas season. We sing in the beautiful Victorian palm house, surrounded by stunning flower displays, happy families, and children making ornaments.

The Advent Wreath at St. John's York Mills.

Tonight, we had an Advent Carol Service at The Gathering. Our worship was built on three scripture readings that tell the promise of a coming king. For each reading, we had a summary, some dialogue, and a song of reflection. Add in an intimate Communion, and the evening was a wonderful welcome to the Advent season.

The countdown to Christmas had begun!

The Nativities Are In!

Last week, we put out the request for nativity photos for our upcoming Christmas video, 

and wow, did you respond!

The variety is astounding: all sizes, all shapes, all colours, all styles. Some are handmade with simple materials, and some are crafted by professional artisans. Some were created to fill an entire front lawn, and others fit in the palm of your hand. We even have a few with live figures!

There's still a few hours to get your photo in! 

If you'd like to submit your nativity photo, 

please email it to Nativity@InfinitelyMore.ca by tomorrow morning.

Thanks! I'll post a link as soon as the video is live! 

Book Review: Neighbors and Wise Men, by Tony Kriz

I'm a huge fan of Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz. When I saw that this book was written by 'Tony the Beat Poet' of Blue Like Jazz fame, I knew I had to give it a go.

Tony Kriz was raised in a 2-team Christian environment. There were those who had Jesus, and those who didn't, with no room for grey in between. Following a spiritual crisis, Kriz embarked on a journey of rediscovering his faith that took him to varied and expected places - a Portland bar, a Muslim country, an 'atheist' campus, to name a few.

I loved this book. Kriz's honesty and authenticity resonated with me. Faith is a messy business. Too often we want to put on our shiny, happy Jesus-faces and pretend it's all perfect, but who does that really serve? This book will encourage you to seek God in unconventional places and faces. Each chapter is great, but I'll forever return to his image of evangelism-like-a-sunset. Curious? In the advice of Kriz, "pour yourself a chewy India Pale Ale (or your beverage of choice)" and "let the epiphanies come."


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

We Need Your Nativity!

Okay, not the whole nativity. Just a photo!

This year, we recorded Gerald's beautiful Christmas song, "My Heart is the Manger." Inspired by a Christmas sermon preached by my Dad, Rev. Hollis Hiscock, the song is a reminder to welcome the Christ child into your heart each Christmas.

To celebrate and share this song, we've decided to create a video featuring the primary image of Christmas: the Nativity. And that's where you get to join the fun!

Please email us a photo of your nativity! 

It can be from your home, church, school, or community. 

We'll compile all the photos into a video that we'll feature on our YouTube channel.

We're excited to see all the different kinds of nativities out there, 

and we always love projects where everyone can contribute to the greater cause!

Please email your photo to

 Nativity@InfinitelyMore.ca 

by Friday, November 30.  

We'll post the video in early December! 

Thank you for joining in our Christmas celebration!

The fine print:
- please make sure that you own the photo
- if any people are in the photo, please check that you have their permission to include the photo in our video
- we'll do our best to include every photo, but please understand if we can't fit them all in!
- sending your photo to us does not give us any ownership of the photo, but you are giving permission to include the photo in the My Heart is the Manger video for use on the internet
- send any questions to Nativity@InfinitelyMore.ca 

In Flanders Fields, the Poppies Grow...

Today, we remember those who fought and sacrificed for our freedoms.

This is our Infinitely More arrangement of the classic poem of remembrance, 

In Flanders Fields, with music by Gerald.

Enjoy and share!

Lest we forget...

We're in a Christian Bookstore!

The Family Christian Bookstore in Burlington has become the first Christian bookstore 

to carry our new Infinitely More CD!

We've been shopping at this store for years, 

and we love their commitment to supporting local musical talent.

If you're in the Burlington area, please drop by the store and show your support 

by purchasing a copy of Infinitely More!

Click HERE for store directions.

New Photos!!

We've got all our GMA Week photos up!

You can see them on our SITE or FACEBOOK page.

With Female Vocalist of the Year, Ali Matthews.

GMA Canada Week - Day #4 & the Covenant Awards!

GMA Week ended tonight with a closing banquet and the Covenant Awards ceremonies. 50 different awards were given out, for albums and songs in every Christian music genre imaginable. The majority of awards were given out during the dinner, with lots of chatting and visiting filling in the gaps.

This is the first year the Covenants have been televised, so at 8:00 we all moved into the CTS studio for the taping. The show was tight, funny, and full of fantastic performances.

The range of music was impressive. Downhere, Greg Sczebel, and Starfield provided the super cool rock element, while singer-songwriters like Ali Matthew gave moments of ethereal beauty. The show ended on a high note with a killer duet between the Toronto Mass Choir (recipients of the lifetime achievement award) and Newworldson. The whole night was incredibly entertaining, and a masterclass on great performing.

The Toronto Mass Choir and Newworldson.

Our GMA Week experience has really been fantastic, but like all great conferences, we'll need a few days to go through everything, and probably a few months to execute all the things we've learned in these busy days. We've been exposed to so much great music, so many great lessons - our job now will be the always essential follow-up. Contact the people we met. Go through the notes we took. Look at what we've been doing so far. Figure out where we want to go next and how we might apply this week's lessons on that journey.

Of course, first, we'll probably just need a good long day of recovery! Good night!

GMA Canada Week - Day #3

Today was awesome. I'm going to need to take a good half day this week just to review my notes and figure out how to apply them all.

We had another full day of GMA workshops, focusing on promoting and touring your music. Again, the guest speakers were knowledgable and generous. The Q&A sessions could have gone on for hours and hours.

The artists in the room wanted to know about the obviously important stuff:

• how do I book gigs?
• what are good social networking tools?
• do I need a publicist?

But what was wonderful were the powerful, personal, necessary questions that people also asked:

• how do we deal with growing older in an industry that values youth?
• how do we cope with the tension between family life and being on the road?
• how do we handle issues of insecurity and self-sabatoge?

The answers were insightful and authentic. So often, Christian leaders feel the need to be so slick and perfect. There was none of that today, and it was completely refreshing.

Hanging with new friends, 

including Juno award-winning singer-songwriter, Greg Sczebel.

I'm posting some photos tonight on our Facebook page. 

Come take a look! 

GMA Canada Week - Day #2

Wow, how do I put all of today into a few words?

The day started with an incredible workshop on songwriting. Gerald and I have attended lots of songwriting workshops, both in Toronto and in Nashville, and this was one of, if not the, best.

Ben Cantelon and Greg Sczebel led the first hour, sharing their tools and knowledge of songwriting. I think what made today stand out was the attention to detail. They assumed that everyone in the room knew the Song 101 basics, so they focused on the themes of discipline and creativity. The two sound opposed, but they're both critical, and challenging, to songwriters of all levels.

In the second hour, a panel was formed for a Q&A session which, frankly, could have gone on for at least another hour or more.

At lunch, we continued to meet people and learn about their music and ministries. I don't know why I should be shocked at this, but I'm amazed at the huge pools of undiscovered talent in our country. The churches in Canada are so blessed by musical talent!

The "Record Your Song" Workshop.

After lunch, the workshop focused on recording, with a similar format as the morning. Things really took off in the Q&A, with really practical questions around the ins-and-outs of recording an indie CD. I asked a question about creating a live CD (something that totally intrigues me), and I was blessed with lots of information from the panel.

This evening was showcase night! Each artist on the line-up had crazy credits to their name: Covenant Awards, Junos, opening for major artists, and a host of other accolades. But more than that, they had fantastic songs and performances. The only challenge was trying to run back and forth between the two concert spaces to catch as many performances as possible.

The night ended with lingering and chatting, sharing stories and just learning more about everyone. These days are flying by. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings...

GMA Canada Week - Day #1

In Nashville, we had lots of chances to get involved with the Christian music industry. They practically meet you when you get off the plane.

But in Canada, everything is much more spread out, less obvious. So this week, we're attending our first ever GMA (Gospel Music Association) Canada Week!

It's 4 days of competitions, showcases, workshops, and concerts, ending with the Covenant Awards on Wednesday night. We're looking forward to meeting other artists and learning the ins-and-outs of the Canadian Christian music industry.

Today, we participated in the talent and songwriting competitions. Each performer had the chance to present a song in each category, and let me tell you, there is some crazy, undiscovered talent floating around in Canadian churches. Family bands to teenage songwriters, flautists to horn players - all using their unique musical creativity to praise God. I was completely amazed that for the performance competition, almost everyone sang their own originals!

After each person or group presented their song, the industry panel would provide some feedback. We sang "A Divine Heart Imagined You" for performance, and shared "Living Manna" and "You Take Me Higher" for songwriting. In both cases, we received great feedback and helpful suggestions.

The whole day was inspiring and challenging. When you see the talent out there, you can't help but get excited, but that little push comes too: what more can we do with our music to make the most of our talents, and share the Gospel message?

Tomorrow, the workshops begin!

Children's Ministry Conference

What a day of joy and encouragement!

Today, we sang and led worship for Making It Easier to Serve - Leading Children's Ministry Conference. This event gathered people in all kinds of children's ministries - staff members, Sunday school teachers, youth ministers, and pastors - for a day of workshops and networking.

We started the day bright and early (sopranos should never sing at 8:30am!!) with a mini-concert of music as people gathered. We mostly sang our originals, such as "Infinitely More," "A Divine Heart Imagined You," and the song Gerald finished in Rocky Harbour, NL, on our East Coast Tour, "Oh My God, I Love You."

For our portion of the opening worship, we led a rousing and soulful rendition of "Wade in the Water," which definitely woke everyone up! We also shared our song, "Let the Children Come Unto Me," which we specifically wrote to gather children together in worship. We made up packages for each attendee with music for the song, our Infinitely More colouring sheets, and our new brochure.

For the closing worship, we led the crowd in Psalm 104 set to Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," and our pop/hymn mash-up, "Joyful, Joyful Meets Jeremiah." As a special tribute to all the attendees, we finished the day with Ray Boltz's "Thank You."

Throughout the entire day, we had the chance to visit with interesting and passionate people - arts educators, book sellers, teachers, musicians, clergy, and people who just love bringing ministry to children. I continue to be fascinated by the journeys and lives of people of faith. I wish "the world" saw more of these kinds of Christians - honest, simple, quiet people, plugging into their communities, reaching out to the fringes, seeking solutions, and trying to let people know they're loved.

These are the people who should be making the news. 

It's not always dramatic, but it is life changing.

Happy Halloween!!!

My favourite quote of the day:

Halloween is the one day of the year on which it is still 

culturally appropriate to walk up to someone’s house uninvited. 

Don't waste it.

Our Nashville pastor, Thomas McKenzie

My creations for the night...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Singing for a Car Rally?

Okay, we might be alone here, but until recently, we had no idea what a car rally was or why we would be singing at one.

When our home church announced that they'd like to have a car rally, I imagined a drag race, starting at the church yard, whipping up over the 401, and ending with a front page story of how our parishioners elicited a record number of traffic tickets on a Saturday night.

Turns out, it's less dramatic, but much more fun.

For the uninitiated, a car rally is like a scavenger hunt, where teams collect answers to riddles by driving a pre-planned route and answering trivia questions about certain locations.

Despite the wicked rain, a good crowd gathered for yesterday's rally, and at the end of the drive, we were part of the celebration that included music, pizza, and prizes.

Hoping to have more photos by the end of the week. When we added "unconventional and unexpected venues" to our About page, we really didn't know where it would lead us. 

Next time, maybe we'll sing right from our car! 

Rain, Rain, Stay Today...

The beauty of working from home on a rainy, grey day:

Kitchen cafe full of espresso and hot chocolate....

Puppy "interns" who assist with cuddles and much-needed play breaks...

All-day pajamas...

No traffic, slippery roads, wet umbrellas, flattened hairdos... 

Quiet time to write, read, sing, reflect...

Studying in my favourite pink chair, with this view...

I love every chance we get to travel, 

go to different churches, sing for crowds, 

and minister to people.

But I'll be the first to admit, on a day like this, 

there's no place like home...

You Irreplaceable, You...

Last weekend, a rarity occurred: I was a solo act.

Gerald had been suffering from a terrible cold/flu/nastiness over the whole week. Nothing super-serious, but enough to shut him down. As the weekend approached, we realized that he wouldn't be up for preparing for our two worship services at St. John's, much less actually playing and singing on Sunday.

As I took the reins of the services (musically speaking), I realized that Gerald left big shoes to fill in terms of his creativity, sound, and musical leadership. Our musicians stretched outside their comfort zones, revealed new talents, and showed an inspiring combination of creativity and teamwork. The results were wonderful. Different than it would have been with Gerald, but still wonderful.

As I watched all this happening, I was reminded of Paul's writings on spiritual gifts and the body of Christ. We all have a unique role to play. We are called to do something that's important. It may not always seem important to us, but clearly, if He's asked it of us, it's important to God.

When one of us doesn't show up, it matters.

Some days, like with illness, we can't physically show up, and that's okay. Maybe that's actually God's plan for the day.

But what I started thinking about was bigger, broader, than this:

What happens when we don't show up at all?

What happens when we choose not to believe in or follow God?
What happens when we don't bother to seek God's plan for our lives?
Or if we do find it, we don't choose to say "Yes"?
What happens when we start living our life in Christ, and then just check out of the whole process?
Can we ever truly understand the ripple effects of these decisions?

When you show up, it matters.

You are so important. 

So very, very important in the kingdom of God. 

God has a plan for you, and when you're not there, it matters... 

to other people, 

to the moment, 

to God's eternal plan...

In the immortal words of Ira Gershwin: 

"You irreplaceable, you..."

Book Review: Grace, by Max Lucado

This is the 3rd book I've reviewed on the topic of "grace" and it's, without a doubt, my favourite.

I'm a huge fan of Max Lucado, so I entered this review with a bias, but I loved, loved reading this book! Max's writing is theologically and factually informative, which is great, but it's more than that. As I read about the topic of grace, I felt the emotions of grace coming through the pages - generous, abundant, warming, life-changing. The danger in discussing topics such as grace, mercy, forgiveness, and love is that we can forget that these are powerful forces that can elicit powerful emotions in us. Why shouldn't we be moved by reading about God's grace? Isn't it more concerning if we're not moved by the subject?

I highly recommend this book. It's well written, well organized, has great stories, lots of Scripture quotes, and comes complete with a study guide.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Infinitely More singing for Children's Ministry Conference

Next month, we'll be leading worship for Making it Easier to Serve: Children's Ministry Leadership Conference. The day will be filled with workshops on children's ministry for an audience of clergy, Sunday school teachers, and youth ministers from a variety of denominations.

The organizers gave us a lovely write-up on their blog. 

You can read the post HERE.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

We've had the most wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!

On Saturday, we gathered with my family for an evening of feasting! Three generations laughed, sang, and shared stories. The table was set for 12 but my Mom cooked for 25, so we all went home with bags of leftovers, grateful for so much abundance.

Mom's beautiful Thanksgiving flower arrangement.

On Sunday, we were blessed with a night of beautiful worship at The Gathering. We brought a little sweet table to thank our musicians for sharing their talents on Thanksgiving night, and everyone indulged in cookies, strawberries, and honey-peppermint iced tea. We sang songs of gratitude - "Give Thanks," "My Heart is Filled with Thankfulness," and Hillsong's "Worthy is the Lamb." We continue to be humbled by the faithfulness, talent, and camaraderie of our band.

And today, we rested. We enjoyed the cool weather, the fridge full of leftovers, and the peace of a quiet house.

We are blessed beyond measure. 

Some days, it can be hard to remember that.

I pray we may always live in that space of gratitude.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! 

We're on iTunes!

Our new CDs are on iTunes! Just in time to get your Thanksgiving soundtrack ...

Click the photos or links below to bring you to the iTunes store.

www.iTunes.com/InfinitelyMore

www.iTunes.com/GeraldFlemming

Allison, by John Viljoen

A number of years ago, I met portrait artist John Viljoen when we were both teaching at the same arts school.

Needless to say, I was more than flattered when he asked me to sit for a portrait. But what I didn't anticipate was the power of joining in someone else's creative process in this unique way. Like working with a photographer, I realized part of my job, the way I could contribute to John's art, was to simply be open and present, living in the moment.

Years later, John gave us the original as a wedding gift. 

He recently posted the photo online, so I thought I'd share it with you. 

It was a really creative time in my life. I had just spent long days in the sanctuary of St. John's Church with Gerald (who was my brand new fiancé!) and our best friends, recording my first CD - It Is Well With My Soul. On the day that John captured the expression in the painting, I had just received my first disc with the almost finished recordings. We played it in the studio, and as I listened, John painted.

When I look at this painting, my mind drifts back to that time,

 remembering the power of creativity and friendship.

For more information on the art of John Viljoen, 

please visit www.JohnViljoen.com