Worship is passion! It is daily surrendering all of our desires, needs, wants, and longings. It is not just going through the motions during a church service before the message. It is not something that we should take lightly, but it is an awesome and humbling responsibility. It is being completely in love with Jesus Christ. It is filling the soul with the movement of the Holy Spirit. It is that moment of complete abandon from self unto the throne of God where the Holy Spirit takes over and we lose ourselves in the sweetness and power of God's presence. We have no other choice but to worship Him.

Worship is a lifestyle. For me personally, I like to listen to praise and worship music as much as possible throughout the week. During those times is when God really speaks to me and comforts me. I can honestly say that some of the most awesome worship experiences in my life have been in my room or in my car-just God and me. He speaks gently and quietly and wraps His loving arms around me. The really neat thing is that even though I live an extremely busy life, God is up at all the same hours of the night, just waiting for me to talk to Him. As a result of my time with God, there is a peace and a confidence when it comes time to lead worship on Sundays. I am already prepared in my own heart so that I might minister more effectively to others. God loves us SO much that He can't wait to hear from us and lavish all over us. No one on earth will ever love us the way God loves us. It's too great to comprehend. His love truly never fails!
This thing with God is a relationship. When you love someone, you want to spend time with them and get to know them better. That's all God wants from us. He certainly has given His everything to us and continues to give us more everyday. This is why we worship Him. A good friend, Mark Phillips, says that, "(Worship) is the reaction of our soul when it realizes it is standing before God Almighty, it has no choice but to fall down and worship". It's all about Him!

God has called me to worship Him and to use my voice for Him. I can remember the exact emotions and how real God was to me at that moment. All I could do was cry out and praise Him. I have accepted that call and whatever responsibilities come with that. I have trusted God enough to know that His way is best for me, no matter what. I pray that in all I do, I will honor Him and that He will be pleased with me. With that calling has come a very serious responsibility. I have made a vow with myself to NEVER step on that stage without a pure heart. If I am not clean before God, how can He ever fill me completely with His Spirit? I want Him to have all of me, so He can use me in however He pleases. I pray for the anointing and to stay humble before Him, for He will be the one to exalt those who are humble. (Matthew 23:12)

As worship leaders, we are frontline battle. I know this, not only because our pastor has told us this, but also from first hand experience. There have been times when I literally felt like I had punching gloves on standing face to face with Satan. That is when the Lord truly becomes my strength and my song. (Exodus 15:2) Surely Satan will attempt to stop God's children from praising Him, but God is greater and He himself will fight for us. (Exodus 14:14)

At Hillvue Heights Church, we are very fortunate to experience freedom in worship. This is probably one of the most important characteristics of our church. People are allowed to be set free to worship and the Spirit of God fills the sanctuary. There is an energy, and there is a passion I had never known before coming to Hillvue. It has definitely been a life-altering place for me, and I am honored that I can be a part of this movement. I feel so unworthy that God would use me. It really is true that God uses the weak, and I am on that stage today as a result of that promise. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

I used to always think I would never be happy and content unless I signed a record contract, recorded a CD, moved to Nashville, and hit the road. In fact, I tried to make that happen on more than one occasion and inevitably, failed miserably every time. During that time, my dreams were shattered. How could I ever be happy if I didn't have those things that I thought I wanted so badly? Well, here's how; Jesus Christ satisfied my every desire. I fell in love with Him, found that passion, began to regularly lead worship at Hillvue and sing at many different churches and events-sometimes even taking a tour bus to get there, and now I just finished recording a CD. I have all I ever wanted and it's just as it should be because it came in God's timing for me. He is my everything. God my Makergives songs in the night. (Job 35:10). How can I not Worship Him?