Tag Archive: keith-curlee


I read this article recently by indie music entrepreneur Derek Sivers.  It’s about a lecture he went to where the idea of the story – the rise and fall of drama – is illustrated and explained.  He talks about how we love stories because the pendulum swings so wildly from misery to exceeding joy.  Drama is exciting.  The problem, he infers from the lecture, is that everybody wants their lives to be like this.  But, in reality, our lives are mostly mundane and, well, boring.  He gives this as the reason why people start fights and create drama; so we can live more of the stories we love so much.

I disagree with his conclusion.

My father-in-law has been Olivia’s and my pastor since we were married.  One of my favorite things that he says about a life following Jesus is that it is a great adventure (not to quote old school Steven Curtis Chapman or anything).  It’s true.  When the Holy Spirit is in you, you live a life that is not even imaginable without Him.  You do things that make the world (and even many Christians) go, “Huh?”

Scripture says, “His ways are higher than our ways” so sometimes things don’t always seem logical, but you are persuaded to go, to follow.  Jesus tells us that the Spirit is like the wind – you don’t know where it came from or where it’s going.  We are supposed to be like that.

Like I shared last week, sometimes you’re just living everyday life and God drops someone in your way, changing all your plans.

Sometimes He tells you to give someone a call, or a hug, or money.  Sometimes He tells you to move across the country, or the world.  He’s always working in people’s lives.  He’s always orchestrating His plans and He wants to use you.  He wants to use me.

Sign me up.

Because I don’t want a storyless life.  I want to know God and I want to see Him move in amazing, supernatural ways in unbelievable places with fascinating people.

Even in the everyday.

It’s coming up on one year since I went to Beirut, Lebanon and I realized I haven’t done a proper wrap-up post. It’s actually kind of nice to have some time and perspective on the trip. So much has happened since last summer and so much had happened leading up to it. It is really amazing.

I had just left the church in Peoria after a dizzying chain of events that I still can’t quite explain. We saw God do amazing things most notably by selling our two-month-old house in four days for more than we paid for it. He really wanted us out of there! But we didn’t know where to go. No job, no house, no prospects, really. So Olivia’s Dad, Keith Curlee, felt like the Lord wanted him to take me to Beirut on his next trip. He has a ministry there (Triumphant Mercy Lebanon) that partners with local believers. In 2007 they opened a prayer and worship center in a mall called the Tent of Praise, or TOP. We went for a month and stayed with the family that leads the TOP and ministered with the precious people there.

It was great to just be a part of what God is doing in the Middle East. I played bass in the worship times (I had never done that before — they were short a bass player), I spoke at the youth meetings, and conducted some music clinics on songwriting, playing, etc. I was even honored to lead worship one night at the TOP (in English, of course :) . I got to experience a lot of the Lebanese culture (you can look back at the older posts for stories).

What struck me the most was the power of the Holy Spirit to make vast cultural differences so insignificant. When it came down to it, we were brothers and sisters in the Lord and that made us fast friends. We still keep up with each other on Facebook and I hope I get the opportunity to go back. When I think about Lebanon, I get a strange feeling that I’ve struggled to define. Like any “mission trip,” there is great spiritual fire that happens and you long to be back in that place of seeing God use you and seeing people’s live changed in amazing ways. But this is deeper – the Cedars have a strong effect on you.

New Songs, Nations, Young People

I wrote these down before I left. I felt that these words summed up what God had shown me in Lebanon. In fact, I’ve already seen the fruit of them here in NYC.

Nations – There is no other city in the world that has so many nations represented and living together. The nations are truly represented here. I believe that’s one of the things God has placed on my heart – to reach out to the nations; to minister His power in different cultures. To not only help bring change to the nations, but to be changed by the nations.

New Songs – Since I’ve come to New York I’ve written more songs in a short time than at any other time since I started writing songs. I’ve probably written twenty or thirty this year. Not all of them are keepers, of course, but I have been overwhelmed by the inspiration. Many are spiritual/worship in nature, but many are just about life and relationships. In Lebanon, I feel the Lord cemented the fact that I am a writer of songs by allowing me to teach others how to do it.

Young People – I remember a prophecy I received at IHOP back in 2007. The guy said that the Lord was fascinated at how I loved young people. This struck a chord with me because I do. I feel God has given me a heart for the young. To see them go further in their gifts and further in their relationship with Him. I haven’t seen as much fruition of that yet, but my awareness is surely up. I’m waiting for God to bring opportunities to work with and encourage young people.

So, that’s just a few of the impressions and insights the Lord gave me in Lebanon and since. I’m even more thankful than last year that Triumphant Mercy paid for me to go (not an inexpensive endeavor) and that I got to be a part of something much larger than me: God moving in the Middle East.

My last few days in Lebanon were a whirlwind.  I finished teaching the music classes.  They were awesome and the students did so much.  Great fellowship, too.  The culmination was Sunday when Michel was ordained.  I’ve uploaded several pics on Flickr.  There were about 100 people there.  So many testimonies of Michel and Nouna’s ministry and impact.  They actually had to be cut off for time.  I pray the Lord allows me to have that kind of influence and favor.

Pics

I’m back in Nashville now.  The trip back ended up being about 30 hours.  They didn’t have enough fuel to fill up the plane in Beirut, so we had to fly to Cypress and fuel up for the flight to Frankfurt.  That made us late for the flight to Chicago, etc., etc.  They did bump me up to business class for the nine hour Chicago flight so I could be with Keith.  It was amazing!  The seats were like beds and the food was great and never ending :) .  It is great to be back with Olivia.  We’re headed to New York City tomorrow to see if the Lord wants us there.  I’ll try to post a wrap up of the Lebanon trip in the next few days.  Thanks for reading!!!

Wednesday we went to the album release/press conference for top Arabic recording artist Grace Deeb.  She is a part of the Tent of Praise and a precious believer.  We were in downtown Beirut and there were many photographers and music video people.  I don’t know his name, but it looked the Ryan Seacrest of the Middle East was there hosting :) .  I texted Olivia that I was going to be famous in Lebanon because of all the pictures and videos taken of our table.  They even asked my name!  It was great fun.

Thanks, Grace, for inviting!

Pics

Lebanon Day 23

Tuesday Michel took me to Byblos.  I love historical places like this.  Some consider this to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world.  The people are even mentioned in the Old Testament as bringing the Cedars from Lebanon to help construct Solomon’s Temple.  As you can see from the pics, it’s mostly ruins now, but what ruins they are.  The size of the stones…unbelievable.  We noticed a Star of David carved into one of the stones, and the Temple refrence makes sense.  Anyone else know the story?  You don’t see many Stars of David in Lebanon.

Pics

Sunday night and again Tuesday night I went with Keith to Abundant Life Church in Beirut.  He spoke and I sang two songs.  The people received me and the songs so graciously.  Wonderful young people who wanted to talk about music and worship.  Afterwards the pastor took us to another great Lebanese feast that lasted until two in the morning.  The Lebanese love to eat!

The Lord is so amazing and so wonderful.  He gives us good gifts.  He wants to give us good gifts.  So often I feel like it’s a stretch to think that the Lord would want me to have the desires of my heart, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.  He desires Himself to give me the longings of my heart — he put them there in the first place!

More tomorrow…

Lebanon Day 20

Saturday we travelled to the South to visit some families that Michel and Nouna worked with during the war in 2006.  They were amazing and it was so moving to sit with them and hear their view and stories.  Lots of Arabic coffee and good, in season, watermelon.  On the way down it was fascinating to see all the sights from thousands of banana and citrus trees to the UN peacekeeping troops and vehicles, to the ancient cities of Tyre and Sidon.

Pics

Lebanon Day 19

The pace has really picked up.  Thursday night I taught my first music class at the TOP.  We had about twenty people learning guitar and songwriting.  I had them all write a song together — it turned out great!  May the Lord raise up a new group of songwriters here in Lebanon!

Friday Michel and Nouna graciously allowed me to lead the worship team at the TOP service.  It was so awesome to lead in a free environment not worried about singing a song too many times :) .  The Spirit was there in such a strong way.  We sang the chorus from the song “How He Loves” and the love of Jesus manifested powerfully.  After we sang “How Great is Our God” there was a spontaneous song that asked for the nations to see how great God is and then moved on to the call from the end of the book of Revelation that “the Spirit and the Bride say ‘Come.’”  It was so precious to be leading worship again.

A great few days here in the Middle East.  Tuesday was action packed.  I went up to the mountains to a ski resort (Who know there was snow and skiing 45 minutes away from the beach???) with Michel to meet a friend of his who was planning his wedding.  We went to lunch afterwards at the Intercontinental resort.  Unbelievable.  It was in a teant outside the main buildings that was set up to be like an old Bedouin camp.  The food was amazing.  It was a traditional Lebanese feast (my word) with lots of hummus, tabouli, lamb, baba ghanoush, and even raw meat.  If you know me this was a stretch, but it was great!

Tuesday night I spoke at the youth meeting at the TOP.  I shared on intercession and the imporatance of “standing in the gap” for others before the Lord.  This is what He is calling us to do as believers…to grow into maturity.  Not be so self-consumed with our needs, our wants, but to stand before Him with the needs of others: believers, unbelievers, cities, nations, all needs that He brings our attention to.  I used these scriptures: Genesis 18:16-33 (Abraham); Exodus 32:7-14 (Moses); Romans 8:34 (Jesus); Romans 8:26-27 (Holy Spirit).  The youth really went after it.  We spent about one and a half hours after that just interceding before the Lord.  It was powerful.

Today I am posting from Starbucks in Beirut.  Here’s a pic.  My friend Ramy is the manager of several here and in Jordan.  We’ve had great fellowship today.

Had a hike with Yves today up to the Mar Chaaya Monastery.  It was fascinating.  If you have time read some of the history.  Great workout too.

I posted some pics of that and of the Saj feast we had yesterday.  Saj is a flat bread that you cook on a special grill outside (see the PIcs).  You can fill it with all kinds of things from cheese to sweet things.  It was great!

I also posted some pics of the prayer meeting Wednesday at the Matar’s.  They’ve had it for many, many years.  It is such a great time with the Lord.

Pics