Minus Tracks

I sure ho-ho-hope you are having a wonderful Christmas season so far. If you are looking for a unique neighbor or teacher gift, be sure to check out my CDs and music bookmarks. Everything is 50% off until December 15! And as always, FREE shipping on everything. I’ll ship it out quickly to you too, so don’t worry about receiving it in time. Merry Christmas!

Check it out on the “Store” tab at the top, or click here.

We each face this at some point in our lives.  Will we give our lives to God?  Will we hold back and not give our full hearts?  It is both terrifying and exhilarating to give your life to God.  It sure doesn’t mean you will be perfect, but that you honestly try to do God’s will every day.  And God rains down blessings we couldn’t have imagined.  He will take us down paths that we may not have seen.  Life will not be easier, but it will be satisfying to your spirit.  It truly is a leap of faith to “Give Him your all.”

And at last we come to a time after the choice is made, when action is required.  We know deep down that words aren’t enough. “Just ‘cuz you sing it, do you really mean it? Roll your sleeves up!”  This is part of the song.  And another line: “If you want to know what you’re really made of, you embark on His work.”  God will stretch us and push us and show us what we are capable of.  We just need to trust Him and Give Him our all!

You can find the song on iTunes here: iTunes

I am so happy to be sharing my music bookmarks again.  Each one comes with a song download, so they are perfect for giving to someone special.  Check them out here:

But why did she have to be awake?  They had purposely taken her off of her sedation medication.  I wondered why they would want her to experience that.  What I learned was that they wanted her to struggle.  They wanted her to cry and cough and get a little bit excited.  Because in her struggle, she would take big, deep breaths.  Oxygen would fill not only the superficial areas of her lungs, but the deep small parts  that were clogged with fluid.  Just like a baby chick hatching out of its shell, my little friend needed the strength earned from struggle in order to truly heal.

This experience stayed with me.  I thought about my own life, about my own struggles.  I realized that many of the times that I have felt God’s love and presence most deeply in my life have been when I have struggled.   I remember once praying and praying and praying until my eyes burned with tears to ask for a friend to be healed.  I pleaded and begged.  I lost track of time.  My senses were sharpened and my heart was awakened.  I felt an intense desire to drink deeply God’s word and His love.  My superficial spiritual breathing deepened that night, and I took a deep breath.  I let it fill me.  Ultimately my friend did not get healed.  But my heart had changed.  In my struggle, God’s life-giving love sank deeper into me and I myself was spiritually healed a little bit.

Oh, how we wish it wasn’t so.  But struggle gives us strength.  When have you struggled and felt God closer to you?

Lately I’ve been thinking about other songwriters from years past: the clever creators of our hymns.  I believe they were inspired by God to write the words and notes they did, but I also believed they worked very hard to choose the perfect words to describe the feelings God was giving them.  I wonder what their lives were like to pen such ideas in interesting ways.  As I have been singing their words lately, I notice that I feel the presence of God, and I also notice exquisite artistry.  These were wordsmiths who trusted God and wanted to please Him so much that they worked and worked at their craft.  I can see it and appreciate it.  A few weeks ago I noticed the line “In the quiet heart is hidden sorrow that the eye can’t see.” (Hymn 220, Lord I Would Follow Thee).  As I pondered this phrase, I noticed that the word “quiet” was chosen purposefully to give another layer of meaning.  Often we may not notice people who are filled with sorrow because they are quiet and somber.  I learned to look for those with quiet hearts that day.

And just this past week I felt God literally guide my feet.  I was headed out for a walk with my baby.  I usually follow the same path each time because I love the cattails along the trail behind my house.  But that morning I had a sudden thought to walk on the neighborhood roads behind my house.  I decided to follow that feeling and began walking past houses instead.  A few minutes into my walk I noticed a neighbor loading up her babies for a walk.  She was by herself, just like me.  I asked her if she wanted to walk together and we walked and talked together for nearly an hour. Our conversation changed the course of my entire life… JUST kidding.  We really just talked about normal stuff- kids, jobs, house, church.  But it was so nice to just chat.  I didn’t know how much I needed that until I ended my walk and felt rejuvenated in a way that human connection provides.  Later I found a line in a hymn that really stuck out to me: “I loved to choose and see my path, but now; lead thou me on.” (Hymn 97, Lead Kindly Light)  I felt connected to the author that it feels good to follow the Lord’s path for me.

I am grateful that my feelings have been felt before, by good people who worked hard to describe them and put them to music.  It’s another sign to me from a God who loves me, that I am not alone.  That across time and space, another person can reach me and comfort me.  What words have jumped out at you lately?  Have you thought about the person who wrote them?

Kids: “Mom what can we do today?”

Me: “Oh there’s lots to do!  Learn something new! Clean your room! Make lunch for your siblings! Go on a bike ride!”

Kids: (tuning me out, sneak upstairs to turn on TV)

Me: “TURN OFF THAT TV! Go outside and play!”

Kids: “Mom, we have nothing to do!”

Me: “Oh, I’ll give you something to do. Get over here, I need to tell you your chores.”

Kids: “No, mom, something FUN! Can you buy me a toy? What happened to all the gum?”

Me: “No I am not buying you anything.  You need to do chores.  And you need to read. Do you want your brain to turn to mush?”

Kids: “Mom, my brain will be fine if you just let me watch TV all day.  And can you please get me gum at the store?”

Me: “You are driving me insane! And it’s only 10 am!”

After a few days, I knew something needed to change.  After thought and prayer, I came up with our Summer Points program.  My goal was to help our entire family use the extra time of summer to learn new skills, provide service, keep their minds sharp for school, encourage scripture reading and decrease complaining!

When the kids want an item or to do an activity, we add it to the list of things to work towards. When they beg for something, we direct them to their points chart.  We talk about points all the time.  And we also limit screen time to 1-2 hours a day or less.  We read scriptures as a family each night, and tally our points for the day then.  This works well for my kids, who are ages 6 to 12.  They are motivated to try to find ways to earn those points and it takes so much pressure off me.

So now I present to you our  Sacred Summer Boredom Busters.  Click on the link to download the free points chart for your family.  It’s in a format you can edit to suit your own family.  Use your time to make your summer sacred!  Enjoy!

Stephanie

Do you happen to love music AND puzzles? Well, hey I do too! Over the last several months I have planned and schemed to get this contest ready for you. I have written a brand new song called “Live for This” and have some hidden surprises in the recording. There are short phrases from THREE EXISTING songs that I have hidden in the song. The contest begins at 12pm on Friday April 24 and will end when we have a winner!

To win you must:
– Name the three songs
– Tell me the phrases I used from each of those songs
– Be the first to send an email to stephanieboydmusic@gmail.com

Here is the song:

iTunes link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/stephanie-boyd/id759507353

Do you like the video? I had a ton of fun making it! Now, you may be thinking “hey there are millions of songs out there! She can choose anything! How could I possibly figure this out?” Well, my friend, I will give hints in two places:
- On my email list (sign up here: Email List)
– On Instagram (http://instagram.com/boydsterrific)

And what will you win??
This Grand Prize includes:

1- A $25 gift certificate to Piper Street Shop, one of my fav online clothing shops.

2- A signed copy of I Can Do Hard Things with God written by Ganel-Lyn Condie.  You need this book.

3- An exclusive CD with all my current recordings, including a song I haven’t released yet!

4- Two Pocket Paper Pals and two premium coloring books from MiniLou, valued over $25.  Whimsical, sophisticated and creative!

5- $30 in gift cards to Dickey’s Barbecue restaurant.  Love that pulled pork.  Mmmmmmmmm.

6- Exclusive items from behind the scenes of the video for “Live for This.”  I hand-made these streamers and the sign for the video!

Consolation prizes:  I will also have 2 more CD’s to give to people who come in second and third.

Good luck!

~Stephanie

Other details: You must be 21 years of age or older to win. No purchase necessary. One qualifier per household. Void where prohibited. No prize substitutions or cash equivalent.

I was just flipping through some old pictures, when one made me catch my breath.

(Well really, I was merely scrolling on my computer. Yes, I still have hundreds of unprinted pictures just waiting for a hard drive crash. But I digress.)

The picture that gave me pause was my son, as a baby, in a hospital bed. In a flash, I relived that morning in vivid detail. My husband was driving with a group to go camping in an area with no cell service. My 3-week-old little guy had been very fussy all night, and in the morning I was very disturbed to see he had a fever. Newborns are never supposed to have a fever. I called my husband, relieved to hear they hadn’t quite reached their destination yet and he still had service. But he was 4 hours away. I called the doctor and they said to bring the baby in right away. I prayed as I frantically called neighbors to watch my older children. My heart hurt as my thoughts swirled with worry.

At the doctor’s office, they took one look at my boy and said to head straight to the hospital. Don’t even take time to dress him, they said. Just go. I fumbled with his carseat buckle as tears slid down my cheek. I trembled as I tucked a blanket around his tired body. What was wrong with him? My heart ached for answers.

I remember the long white hospital hallway, stark and empty. At least it felt empty to me. I felt so alone and unprepared to be in this place. I got turned around and didn’t even know which direction I should be headed. I stopped for a moment and took a deep breath. I was starting to lose it but I realized that if I couldn’t speak for this child, who would? If I couldn’t be his advocate, who else was there? Help me help him. This was a constant prayer on my mind and in my heart.

I took another deep breath and centered myself a bit. I figured out which way to go, found the doctors and was able to answer all their questions with a clear mind. My precious boy ended up staying in the hospital for five days, including a transfer to a larger hospital when his kidneys began to misbehave. He didn’t eat very well during that time, but became best friends with his binky. Test after test came back negative. The doctors never did figure out what virus affected him so severely. They supported him as his body fought the virus and then he was miraculously back to normal. My heart was tired but happy.

This story has a happy ending, and we are incredibly grateful. But I realize it was a very real but relatively small trial. During this time, I prayed and meditated with increased intensity. We will all have times that stretch us, and have some times where the story does not have such a happy ending. Nevertheless, these stretching times can all teach us if we are willing to learn. Perhaps the little stretches are here to help us learn to connect to God. To give us times to practice and make it a habit to turn to Him. Do you have a time where you felt worn out and stretched, but closer to God?