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