Late last summer, Eric Wall asked my husband, Dave, and me if we would be part of playing on a recording of “We Praise Your Name,” a brand new song he had written for this year’s Easter season. Dave was all in, but I was hesitant as I was still healing from a shattered wrist and had not played my flute in eight months. I had never played on any kind of professional studio recording, so instant doubts flooded my mind.
Naming an album that’s going to be published on all streaming services and will last for years to come can be overwhelming. Should the title be based on a theme? Our church name? History? Our Worship Minister, Eric Wall, revealed his decision to our arts team: “Council Road Worship, Vol. 1”. Don’t worry, I asked him why!
Every year CRBC has a Missions Season to focus our attention on what God is doing here and around the world in Missions. This year our Missions Season is April 17-June 1, 2025. We chose our theme verse Romans 10:15, “And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” When Paul wrote this verse, the good news was beginning to spread to the Gentiles (Romans 10:11). Since then, the good news has spread, but there are still people who have never heard.
My two-year-old daughter Zara was recently gifted some beautiful necklaces that she treasures dearly. I say beautiful – and I guess they are to her – but they are cheap plastic beads strung together and look like Mardi-gras décor. They are quite a treasure indeed. When Zara isn’t proudly wearing them or slinging them around the house, she stores them in a place of honor by hanging them on her “jewelry box” hook. Said hook also happens to double as a handlebar to my range stove. Even if the handlebar can work as a jewelry hook, that isn’t quite its intended purpose.
I have two absolutely beyond adorable granddaughters who live in another state. Last week, their mother sent me a video of them singing to me the much beloved Happy Birthday song. As I was relishing in their bed head cuteness, they followed the familiar lines with a verse that repeated the phrase, “How old are you now?” Since the answer to their question is higher than one of them can even count (and is still quite shocking to me!), I had to choose to not allow the question to momentarily dampen the celebratory vibe of the song.
The Women's Ministry at Council Road Baptist Church has embraced the theme “Connecting the Dots” for 2024. Last year we focused on the importance of orthodoxy and that overflowing into orthopraxy. This theme reminds us to lift our eyes and recognize the ways God is moving in our church, our city, and beyond through us. One recent event, Sundaes on Monday, gave us a sweet opportunity—both figuratively and literally—to celebrate how God is working at CRBC and in Oklahoma City. As a church with a deeply rooted mission mindset, we love to pause and reflect on the stories unfolding before us. Here are two that stand out.
Me, a writer? But here I am, putting my thoughts on paper. It never ceases to amaze me at how God weaves our lives together. Through the twists and turns, things rarely make sense until you look back and see the beauty of the journey. I have always had a heart for working with internationals. However, my husband and I had been foster parents for the last six years and weren’t really in a place to do much with an international ministry. So after six years, we felt that God was moving us into something new.
Being a part of a church that has a heart for not only ministering to the people inside it’s walls, but also reaching the people outside of it is such a gift. I am so thankful that Council Road is passionate about sharing the Good News of Jesus in our community and across the world. There are so many wonderful organizations that we partner with that help this happen, but one I want to highlight is Safe Families. Safe Families for Children surrounds families facing a crisis with caring, compassionate communities. Their mission statement reads, “Safe Families for Children hosts vulnerable children and creates extended family–like support for families through a community of devoted volunteers who are motivated by compassion to keep children safe and families together.”
