Thursday, July 11, 2013

Steve Crawford Changed My Life. Here's How:...and here's what I want YOU to do about it....

Hi, Everyone.
 
If you don't already know of Steve Crawford, allow me to get you up to speed. He is one of the worship leaders at Lakewood Church. He is a ridiculously talented singer and musician. He and his equally ridiculously talented sister Da'dra Greathouse are the leaders of the Lakewood Worship Team which I am humbly honored to be a member of and serve with. Both of them are wonderful and I love them both very much. Today, I want to single out Steve. 
 
Steve Crawford

 
This will make him uncomfortable and a little embarrassed because even though he is incredibly gifted and is quite well known, and sings in front of sold out stadiums all over the world as he travels with Joel Osteen Ministries, he's shy and refreshingly full of boyish charm and has a huge heart for God who he serves with humility, reverence, honesty and, quite frankly, a lot of man hours and personal sacrifice. Lots of self confidence. Zero arrogance or ego. I mean, zip. He's a regular guy and wants to be treated as such. Just a few of the reasons why he's so well loved and respected by those who know him.
 

I first saw Steve Crawford on the platform at Lakewood Church one Sunday during our family's first visit there several years ago. Like everyone else who hears him sing...I was blown away. Not only by his voice (as I said...ridiculous) but by his powerful heart of worship. Watching Steve praise and worship makes people go: "Wow...He's totally in the presence of God. Man...I'll have what he's having." It had a profound impact on me that day. (Still does, even now). I was like..."Who is this guy?" Honestly, I'd never seen or heard of him or of Da'dra before. Probably because in the churches I attended before...people just didn't do praise and worship like that!
 
 
Boy, was I missing out. Well, I've definitely made up for lost time during the last few years! Check out this video of Steve (and the rest of us...I'm on the far right of the screen, can't see me until the very end...) in action, getting our praise on at Lakewood Church).


Turns out, Steve and his sister have been singing gospel in churches since they were knee-high to a grasshopper. They also formed the group 'Anointed' and have performed in front of some pretty influential people over the years and have received accolades, honors and awards galore. The list is long and impressive but I won't go into all of that here because I want you to see his links below and go check out his Facebook and website, etc. for yourselves and really get to know him. You won't regret it.

Over the last several years, Steve, in word and in deed, has HUGELY transformed and increased my faith walk and relationship with God. He is an amazing mentor, teacher, brother and friend. I am one of the blessed people out there who can say, "Steve Crawford loves me and I get to love him, too." He and his wife, Tammy are family to us. They have three amazing kids that they are excellent parents to. As you can see...I can't say enough good things about Steve but if he was here I know he would tell me to stop it, already. He's sweet and humble like that.
 
I will tell you only this much more...that this man has profoundly changed my life forever for the better by his example and selfless love and I want to bless him. And I want YOU to, as well. Today I am making a generous donation to his new solo project because I believe in him and I want others to benefit from what he has to share with believers and lovers of praise and worship music all over the world! There's no telling who his voice will touch or whose lives will be changed. Here's how you can help: Please give generously as he so generously gives of himself to others. THANK YOU!!

Blessings,
~Cat
 



From Steve:


Dear Family and Friends,

I have started a fundraising campaign on Kickstarter.com to raise money to fund my
first debut solo project. Kickstarter.com is a crowd-funding site, which allows individuals to support, by donations, to various projects. This is how it works:

Once you sign up on
www.kickstarter.com, you be able to click the amount you are willing to pledge to support the project. Each pledge amount will have certain incentives that I am offering as an expression of my gratitude. There is a set time frame, (in my case is 21 days), in which to raise the money and reach my goal of $35,000. When the goal is met, at that point, the money pledged will then be transferred. (I am believing for this). Also any excess will still be applied toward further promotion for the project.

However, if the goal is not met within the allotted days, then the funds will not be transferred from the pledgers and the project will not be funded. At this point, I will be praying for another way to accomplish this vision. 


So, the Kickstarter fundraising campaign has begun and I am asking all of my family and
friends to please help me make this dream come true. It's amazing how much can be
accomplished with many. So, in advance I thank you.

I will be communicating through the social media outlets mentioned below with more
highlights on the status of campaign as well as updates.

I want to thank you so much for your help. Please help me spread the word. Feel free to forward this message to your family and friends.

Remember, no amount is too small or too large. Every donation is greatly appreciated. 



Sincerely,

Steve Crawford


2910 Commercial Ctr Blvd.
Suite 103
Katy, Texas 77494


Website:
www.stevecrawford.cc


Facebook:
www.facebook.com/ImSteveCrawford


Twitter:
www.twitter.com/imstevecrawford



Steve Crawford's Solo Project Update !!!!!


Hello everyone,

I wanted to give you an update on the campaign for the project.

We have 61 backers as of today totally donations of $9,572.00.

With 21 days left we still have $25,428 to go. That's all. LOL.

Thanks to all who have contributed. Please help me get the word out!!!

I really need your help. Thank you all!!!



Copy and paste or click on URL:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1959319832/steve-crawfords-first-debut-cd

God bless you,

Steve Crawford

 

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Unpacking Your Baggage

On The Wharf in Boothbay Harbor, ME
Well, we just returned from our family vacation in Maine and I'm feeling the usual post-vacation blues. I always say, "I need one more week." Wouldn't matter how many weeks I was there, either. I'll always want one more week of Maine. If you ever have the opportunity to vacation in coastal Maine (preferably the Boothbay Harbor region http://boothbayharbor.com) DO IT! You won't regret it. It is my absolute favorite place on the planet. It is the one place I can really let down and relax, which is saying a lot since (as most of you already know) I basically have the nervous system of a Chihuahua.
 
But, as they say, all good things must come to an end. Why do you suppose 'they' say that? And who are 'they' anyway? 'They' annoy me with that phrase. I want the good stuff to go on and on, don't you? Alright...where was I? Oh, yeah...the post vacation let-down. Listen, my absolute least favorite thing to do is unpack and put away all of the stuff I spent days (and really late nights) excitedly getting together and sorting and organizing in anticipation of an upcoming trip. This time, with the help of a friend, I even washed everything while still on vacation in order to avoid piles of laundry when I got home. I had big plans to be all done unpacking the very first day I got home. The result of all of that work is that, although I did put away two suitcases worth of stuff, I ran out of steam pretty early on and now have quite a few clean piles of laundry left in inconvenient places to put away. I've gotta be honest...I'm tired and I'm not feelin' it right now. Such is life.
Seanook Cottage, East Boothbay, ME
 
 
At the check-in counter at the airport, I was that lady who had overstuffed a giant suitcase and was over the 50lb weight limit. My calm and collected hubby never batted an eye as he opened my bag and began pulling out my personal belongings (in full view of the  several openly hostile passengers in line behind us) in an attempt to distribute the weight evenly between our other bags. I stood helpfully by, with my hand covering my face in acute embarrassment nodding my approval as he pulled out item after item, hair spray, de-frizzing hair serum, blow drying heat protectant, etc. to be inspected for their potential transfer to another suitcase. I had done it again. Very carefully and thoughtfully packed TWICE AS MUCH stuff as I would need for the trip. And not just for myself, either. I packed way too much for all of us. Looking back at my preparations I can only ask myself in astonishment: "What was I thinking?" Where, in the dark recesses of my mind, did I think I was going to wear three different pairs of black dress pants to a place where we spend the majority of our time hiking, in a boat or climbing on rocks? Temporary insanity is the only explanation. Happens every time. I start with the minimum items I'll need and then I start seeing stuff that I feel I can't possibly do without and then it all spirals out of control from there. Here is a perfect visual aid that depicts precisely what happens to my brain during the process of packing for a trip: Especially at about 1:50... 

 


 
"That's all I need." lol
 
As with everything else, I see this as a metaphor for life. We all do this and I'm as guilty as anyone else. We drag around too much unnecessary baggage. Stuff we can totally do without. Personal items that clutter our lives. Emotions and past resentments. Unforgiveness. Guilt. Shame. Blame. Even certain people. Boom.
 
This humiliating moment at the airport check-in~. And yes, I'll admit publicly that despite my efforts to the contrary, I did the exact same thing on the way home, too...(Well...can I help it if Maine has a lot of pretty rocks we just couldn't live without? I mean, besides the ones we boxed up and mailed home...and no, I'm not kidding)~
Saying goodbye to Ocean Point
 really serves as a reminder that I need to make an effort to do some serious unpacking of the baggage of my life. There are a lot of things I can most definitely live without. Would actually live better without! I'm going to get started on that just as soon as I unpack my literal baggage from our vacation. I really intend to reduce the inventory around here. It will be so great. I can just feel the weight lifting off of me already.
 
But of course I'm totally keeping the rocks. Those are super important souvenirs of our amazing trip! And the dress pants. I mean...a girl can't have too many pairs of nice, black dress pants. And my hair care products, too because my hair has to look nice, you know, being that I'm a Texas girl and whatnot... but really, that's all I need...
 
 
 
Blessings,
 
~Cat