Beautiful Day

Yesterday morning was one of those times when you could just feel God moving all over our services at NewPointe. You know what I mean. When a song... or a story... or a point of the message just really moves you... and you FEEL it. WOW! Those are incredible moments. They are transcendent moments. Well... for me... it all started on my way to church yesterday morning. In one of my earlier blogs, I talked about how secular music can really move you. I also shared that we were opening our services yesterday with "Beautiful Day" by U2. Well... I was listening to my recording of "Beautiful Day" on my way to church (to study the arrangement and be prepared to re-create the song to the best of my ability - like all good NewPointe band members should) : ) As I listened to the song (about 4 times through) I noticed a profound effect that the song was having on me. I was no longer sleepy... or just dragging myself to an early soundcheck. It didn't matter what was going on around me... it didn't matter that it was 6:30 AM... it was ALREADY a beautiful day!!! On my way into the auditorium... I was humming, smiling and greeting everyone I passed with a pat on the back and a big "Good morning!". I passed other team members who looked at each other like "What's up with him?". This U2 song had given me a new outlook on a day that had barely even started. How did I know if it was going to be a great day? Again... it was 6:30 in the AM!!!! It was almost as if God was saying... "Hey, Bunnelle! This is a day that I have made just for you... and no matter what... it is going to be BEAUTIFUL". Well... the opener turned out to be pretty cool. Stephen and the band rocked "Beautiful Day" and knocked it out of the park! Then there was worship!
Stephen Spencer
WOW... talk about one of those worship experiences where you just feel GOD all over the place. As we sang "You Never Let Go" (Redman) You could just see the song ministering to the crowd. People were singing with their hands in the air as if to proclaim "No matter what I go through... STILL I will praise You!". Then... there was the MESSAGE!!! Dwight brought a life changing message about "Significant Experiences". It was amazing! To follow up the message... we had a creative element that I believe just rocked everyone's world (All we can do is plan, create, and rehearse for the possibility of a powerful moment like this. Only God can bring it.). A wonderful family in our church went through a very significant experience a few years ago. Their daughter was diagnosed with cancer at only 6 years old. During that time they knew that they had a decision to make: They could become bitter... or they could draw closer to God. To make a long story short... they chose to do the latter... and God miraculously healed their daughter. We shared their story by way of a creative piece. It was a mix of video story, live song and dance. The mother (Julie) is on our dance team... and her daughter (Halle) dances as well...
Julie and Halle Hershberger
... so woven throughout this video story was Julie and Halle dancing together to the song "Still" (Hillsong). It was so powerful!! There was not a dry eye in the house. God moved in the hearts of hundreds of people through a powerful story shared in a new and creative way. So you can see why it was a beautiful day at NewPointe. I can't wait until next week!