Tag: olivia-ward

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Yours – New Song!

youtube sessions

The sessions are back!  New tunes, covers, etc., etc., from a brand new “studio.” It happens to be my office :). This is a new tune I wrote about missing a certain someone…who might be on a certain TV show…that might be called The Biggest Loser ;).

Download here.  Play here:

[audio:https://benwardmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/Yours.mp3|titles=Yours|artists=Ben Ward]

Yours

I am yours, you are mine
We belong to one another
When we hurt our hearts break
We run for cover in one another

BRIDGE
Though you’re far away know you’re never alone
And the night can seem so late
So much left unknown
But we’re at home in our heart’s warm embrace

BRIDGE

I am yours, you are mine
We belong to one another

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How Far, How Far

Just a few hours left of 2009 here in New York City.  We’re going to celebrate with friends in Queens.  I was thinking today as I drove back from the church in Syosset how many things changed and happened this past year.

When the year began we had only moved to the city a couple months earlier.  Neither Olivia nor I had a job yet and our savings were pretty much gone.  I had interviewed at on church, but it didn’t work out — all we could say was, “Lord, do what You will.”

Olivia got a job at a doctor’s office almost right away.  I interviewed with another church (that one wasn’t it either!) and got ready to do some temp office work.  In the meantime I walked pretty much all the neighborhoods in New York just praying and trying to hear what He was saying for us.  (This was one of the most wonderful seasons yet in my walk with the Lord:)  I finally got a temp job at an office and then another at the NFL.

Olivia found a new opera coach that turned out to be a great help to her as she gets ready to go to the next level in her career.

I went back and forth as to what the Lord wanted from me…did He want me leading worship in a church?…did He want me to go back into songwriting?…did He want me to pursue business at the NFL and lead worship part-time?

Towards the end of 2009 the Lord revealed what He had here for me.  I was called as the worship pastor of Shelter Rock Church on Long Island.  I started a couple weeks ago and He’s already doing wonderful things.

So, here comes 2010.  I’m beginning to see that I need to stop making all these elaborate plans and just follow Jesus. The Spirit will order my steps.  He will lead me on a an adventure that I could never come up with on my own.

Lord, I give You 2010.  It is Yours, I am Yours.  I rejoice in Your presence and Your ways.

(Check out the archives for more details on all our happenings!)

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Beloved

Olivia and I have been reading through Daniel the last couple of weeks and have been moved by his life and what God did through him and for him.  One thing that struck me was when the angels of the Lord came to him, they called him “greatly beloved” or “highly esteemed (NIV).”

To have Gabriel or Michael say this about you, to you, is mind and spirit blowing.

To hear that this is common knowledge in the heavenlies is beyond anything I could even write.

Daniel 9:23
“At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision…”
Daniel 10:11
And he said to me, “O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.” While he was speaking this word to me, I stood trembling.
Daniel 10:19
And he said, “O man greatly beloved, fear not! Peace be to you; be strong, yes, be strong!” So when he spoke to me I was strengthened, and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”

This word “beloved” has begun to really impact me.  I was listening to a teaching yesterday and the speaker called the listeners “beloved” several times.  How amazing it is that the Church is Jesus’ beloved (Ephesians 5:25).  His desire and whole heart of love is for the Church.  For the Church of which I am a part.

I am His beloved.

Song of Solomon 2:16
My beloved is mine, and I am his.

You and I are the beloved of God…this is so undeserved, so extravagant, that all we can do is turn to Him and praise Him, fall on our faces and worship Him.

Play, sing, worship like someone who is the beloved of the Creator of the Universe!!

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Little Bit of Life

I hope everybody’s ready for a great weekend…I am!  This has been a long week…

Just wanted to update everybody on what’s going on these days and ask you for your prayers.

If you follow our journey, you know that I have been seeking a new position as a worship leader at a church.  While I’ve been waiting on the Lord, I’ve had a temp job at the NFL.  It’s been such a blessing and a lot of fun, but it’s coming to an end sometime in November, so I’ve been asking the Lord what’s next.

I’ve interviewed with a church in Long Island and am going to lead worship at one of their campuses this Sunday.  In addition to the possibility of the position, I’m also just excited about leading worship in a corporate setting…it’s been awhile.

There are a couple of other possibilities if it’s not the right place, but I would appreciate your prayers!

Olivia and I are also trying to decide whether to move closer to Midtown.  It’s a long commute to her current job (in which she was just promoted!!) and, if I get the LI position, I would need to be closer to Penn Station for the train.

This obviously involves moving (which is always a big deal) and paying more in rent.  So we’re just laying it all before the Lord.

He knows what we need long before we need it.  He knew about these situations before the foundation of the world.

So, thanks for reading (and listening:) and thank you for praying.

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Even in the Everyday

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.

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