Our Response if you were to ask us, “What’s Up?”.

Thank you JB, Susan, and Jennie!!

I, Brett, speak for myself but i can confidently say that i’m speaking for everyone when i say that things are going amazing in our world. We feel like a band, we’re beginning to sound like a band, and we’re learning to work as a band, and we’re becoming more like  a family than anything.  I feel like we’re just stepping into the fun part too! Just as in any relationship; the closer you get the more conflict you have, but the more conflict you work through the closer you get and the deeper your relationships go. That’s kinda where we are.  With every week, weekend, or day we spend together we’re learning how to better communicate, love, and serve one another.  It’s awesome. I don’t know what i would do without these brothers the Lord has put in my life. I’m seeing that they think about the things i would never think about and vise versa, it really works out well.  On top of that, we’ve started writing together which is REALLY exciting and we’re really pumped about what’s been coming out. All of us, individually and as a band, are learning to walk fearfully and fearlessly in the calling and creativity that has been put on us.  We’re learning to not be timid when we get on stage or when we share a song idea. The Lord has given us all gifts and we should not be afraid to use them confidently and shamelessly. It sounds like pride but it’s backed with the knowledge that the ONLY reason we have these gifts is because He has given them to us and a total and complete dependency on him.  I guess to sum it up, we’re learning how to be a band, write as a band, and  walk and live in the anointing that God has graciously put on our lives.

Now for a more surface level update:

This weekend we we’re in Highlands, North Carolina, a place that we’re beginning to call our second home. We’ve formed relationships with some incredible people that have really blessed our ministry. It’s so cool being able to travel around and experience what God is doing in different places and build relationships with people that we would have otherwise never met. Really really great people at that.  This was our 2nd time in Highlands at Highlands Community Bible Church or Highlands CBC and we have gotten the privilege to stay with the Coram family both times. This family is one of the most selfless, hospitable, humble families we have ever stayed with.  And not to mention there house is UNREAL with an UNREAL view!! (See picture above) We got to spend Friday afternoon riding 4 wheelers around the mountain, writing songs while overlooking mountains, and calling it “work” at the same time. I love my job.

On Friday night we did a concert for anyone who wanted to come and it was a great night, it’s a lot of fun to have a night to ourselves to be able to just come and bless people. Lots of freedom was given to us and we really appreciated it. It was a great night.  On Saturday, though, we did a concert in Craggy Prison in Asheville, NC and it was quite interesting but very good. The whole time we were leading i was thinking, “how in the world am I, a 20 year old kid, supposed to connect with 150 men in prison????” And i thought that i did a terrible job but afterwards they came up and told us that they were so blessed by it and it was exactly what they needed. I hardly said anything the entire concert but the Lord used our music to minister to these men and it was really cool to watch.  It was a very sobering day to say the least.

From there we headed to Athens to be with friends, celebrate Van Moncrieff’s, one of our best friend’s, birthday, and then leading for the students at Athens Church on Sunday morning. That was a great time too! You know those YouTube sensations with all those crazy basketball shots, the Dude Perfect guys? They were there and we got to hear there story and hang out with them. It was really cool.

God is so good and He is working on and teaching us so much through this whole experience. We’re all in and we’re so pumped to see where he takes us no matter where it is. If you are reading this post and you were in any way involved in this past weekend, thank you so much! We appreciate everything.

-Brett

Phoenix See it… Believe it.

When Life is a desert…

Well, were out here in Chandler Arizona a Cornerstone church, and its 8 AM, and 95 Degress outside. The first day here the thermometer in the car said 113 degrees! Needless to say, its super hot.

If your ever in Arizona near Chandler, check out Cornerstone, or go to http://www.cschandler.com. Really great people out here. Sunday was a super long, but fulfilling 4 service morning, and a 5th at 5 that evening. Monday, we woke up and drove to the grand canyon (videos to come) and had a blast exploring the vast expanse that looks like a picture. After, we drove to flagstaff for lunch, then onto Sedona for some coffee with Ron Merrell and his wife Anna and their two boys. We have really enjoyed working with Over the Last year. We Spent a week with him and his church in LA in January, and have kept in contact ever since. This guy is one of the most passionate speakers i have hear in a long time, and has so much love for the people he comes in contact with. Check out his thoughts at http://ronmerrell.wordpress.com.

We’ve got 3 more days here in Chandler and are so pumped for the rest of the gatherings here. Brett’s camera has most of the pictures and videos, so those will be up soon…But really this time.

-Anders

5 days of bands, blessings, and bigfoot

It’s 10:00 on a Sunday night and i’m am the most fulfilling kind of tired in the world. We were on the road for the past 5 days and it was an amazing experience full of fellowship, challenge, encouragement, God, teaching and, of course, music.  I absolutely love my job and this season of life but right now i am straight up pooped.

We started on Wednesday evening at Peachtree City United Methodist Church in Atlanta, jamin with the middle schoolers at their Wednesday night service. If there are any Peachtree City UMC middle school kids out there; you guys are NUTS!! We had a blast there, packed up and headed to Birmingham, AL where we spent the night with our good friend Troy Gambrell cause we were leading at his church on thursday night. Had some Waffle House fellowship and went to his house and crashed.

Thursday night was a BLAST!!! We got to share a night with my bro and his band. We opened up the night and they  closed it out. We had so much stinkin fun with these guys and it was SO cool to play with them and to be challenged by the way they worship and play music. They rocked the house! I mean, whoa. I’m learning that I AM NOT my brother and God doesn’t want me to be my brother, God wants me to be Brett, God wants me to lead like Brett and he has specifically made me different than every single person in this world and he wants me to lead from that place. I got some great challenge and encouragement from Kristian at the end of the night and you know those conversations that you will never forget because it changes the way you look at everything and the way you do what you do? This was one of those conversations.

The next day, friday, we got up, packed up the car and headed to Brevard, NC. It was an interesting car ride with a tire leak fiasco, traffic, and good talks with Anders… he’s great! We were in Brevard this weekend for this event called the MOVEment on saturday night in honor of Jessie Garren who, as a 17 year old girl, battled cancer and passed last September but has touched so many people with her story. Saturday night was a such a great night.  The Lord was there and was glorified, He is so good and really showed up in power, and it really feels like we’re coming together as a band and that’s always fun, we’re finding our sound and getting creative with the gifts we’ve been given. Something that we’re all learning together is the truth that God has gifted us and trusted us with something special and we need to be confident in that and lead from that place. No more timidity or shame, we need to boldly and fearlessly lead the people that God has trusted us to lead wherever that may be. Saturday night we all had that in mind and we felt our giftings being used to their full potential.

These past couple days were just such a blessing, from the people we met to the things we were taught, and God is so good to allow us to do this. I don’t know why but for some reason he has chosen us to do it and we’re following him with all we got.

So there’s an update, long i know but there’s a lot to share. Some more details:

1. I got a new guitar.

2. Anders got a puppy.

3. Bobby got a frog.

4. Bassist is Sasquatch.

(Ok only one of these is true)

-Brett

Were good at blogging…

So, we’ve been back from Moldova almost a month, and have not followed through with what we said we would do. For this I apologize, and have no excuses. So, if your reading this, it probably means you love us even though were really good at blogging, and follow up on things we say were gonna do (sarcasm implied). Hopefully We’ll get better at this. Love to All

-Anders

Moldova Pt 2.

Ok so the internet was absolutely terrible where we were staying at the camp here in Moldova but we’re back at the church offices basically waiting until 3:00 tomorrow morning to head to the airport to start our long journey home. It’s been a really funny, interesting, awesome, eye opening week full of terrible food and dancing until the late hours of the night and it was great. We’re so grateful that God brought us here this week. It’s been the coolest experience to be able to do what we love all the way across the world. Crazy thought. God has given us a message and we’re praying that He gives us opportunities to go all the way around the world to tell and sing of the amazing grace of God. We’ll post some videos and stuff to fill you in on how our trip was when we get back in the states. Our wifi connection just ain’t strong enough yet… Peace

-brett

Moldova

Anders Here. Were sitting her in the offices of the church/organization were working with her in Moldova. After being in the country for 10 minutes bobby and i got told it was in our best interest to shut up. So needles to say, we had a great start to our stay here in Moldova. Were tired, after a super long day of travel, and were gonna grab some taxi’s, and head to bed…PEACE!

Let’s Be Real

DISCLAIMER: This post IS NOT me throwing a pity party or a call for attention.  Please don’t read it as that. It’s me simply sharing my heart.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made PERFECT in weakness.’ Therefore i will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, i delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, and in difficulties. For when i am weak, then i am strong.”

I read that and i think, “YEA! AWESOME! When i am weak HE is strong. ALRIGHT!” But if you’ve ever tried to boast about your weakness in the smack dead middle of it, you know that it is one of the hardest things to do.  This is what my life has been for the past couple weeks.

I went back and forth in my head on whether i wanted to blog about this cause i didn’t want to be the guy who gives WAY TOO MUCH information about his life on his blog, but i’m gonna be real, and I’m not ashamed. Plus if there are any of you out there that are struggling with this i think you need to know that you’re not alone and NONE of us have it all together. I’ve heard many people say that the most comforting 2 words you could hear anyone say are, “Me too.”… So here it is:

I have clinical depression. Yep. I said it. And it’s true. A couple months ago if anyone would have told me this i would have freaked out but everyday it’s becoming less and less of a big deal and i am slowly and not always successfully learning to live with it and fight against it.  It’s weird to wake up on random days and feel like there’s no hope for no apparent reason, it’s hard to have the joy sucked out at any given moment, and it’s a strange feeling being in a crowd and wanting to escape for a second just so you can stop faking the smile.  It’s the hardest thing i’ve ever gone through but it’s also making me stronger by the day and for that i praise God. I’m learning to thank him for this and not get mad at him for putting me through it.  Because we know that whatever hardship we go through, it is making us stronger so that we can face the even harder things in life.  There are a couple reason’s why i tell you this:

1. I think the Lord wants to use it to reach people and to bring him glory. I don’t want to stay silent and hold this thing inside of me and let everyone think, just because i’m up on stage that i’m a perfect little Christian and do everything right. Nothing could be further from the truth, i am just as, if not more, broken than the next person.  I want all of you out there that do struggle with this to not feel alone. There is hope and HE is stronger.  Jesus says in John 15 that we can do NOTHING apart from him. So if you’re in the middle of this, do not try to find strength in yourself, abide in him and let him be your strength.

2. I felt like the Lord wanted me to get it out there. So there it is.

So yea, my summer has been quite interesting with balancing leading worship, learning how to be really busy and still keep my head on straight, and fighting depression.  But God is so good and he is making me stronger with each battle. That’s how he works. Proverbs 3:12 says, “My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline and do not resent his repuke, for the Lord disciplines those he loves as a father the son he delights in.”  He is not against you, He is not far, He has not left, in fact he is closer than ever and he is making you and me stronger with every tear, every scar, every bruise, every fight, every win, every loss, and every battle because he is stronger. Let him be your strength no matter what it is you’re going through. 

Sorry for the novel of a post but i just felt like i needed to get all that out there.  Take it for what it is. I hope it’s encouraging and challenging all at the same time.  

If you are struggling with depression and you just want someone to vent to or ask questions or you just need some encouragement. Feel free to email me at bstanfill7889@mac.com

I’ll leave you with a quote… peace.

“God longs for my awareness that his divine love holds me, and that awareness brings healing and a sense of wholeness. God’s love is there in the darkness of depression with me, there next to me in my little locked house, sharing my pain, holding me closely, and offering the light of his love.” Jim Palmer “Divine Nobodies”

19 days later…

WARNING: I don’t really have a specific thing to write about in this post. The following document could contain the following: rambling, swift and irrelevant subject changes, points with no real depth to them, and updates on where i’ve been in life the past 19 days.

First off, sorry it’s been a while since i’ve updated. It’s been a busy busy summer but really good. Couple things have happened since my last post…

1. I turned 20! That’s a weird one. I am no longer a teenager.

2. I’m selling juice. (yea it sounds funny but I’m gonna be the one laughing when i’m making millions, muah ha ha ha ha) If you wanna know more about it just ask me. It’s called MonaVie.

3. I lead at a camp in Ft. Walton Beach, FL with my band, spent a couple days in Seaside with my lovely girlfriend’s family, went to the lake for the 4th, and now i am in Panama City Beach at Bigstuf for the week.

Sorry, I got side tracked… More to come.

“So What?” (Revised)

So i posted this post yesterday and half of it got cut out… here’s the whole thing:

I’m beginning to see something, not just in my life but throughtout the pages of scripture and in other people’s lives even now. That something is this: God’s 2 favorite words are, “So what?” Start from the beginning and move forward…
Abraham: God told him that He was going to make a great nation from his offspring, Abraham says, ” Well good luck cause my wife is barren.” God says, “So what?” Sarah gets pregnant at 100yrs old, and that marks the beginning of Abrahams long line of family members.

God calls Gideon and Gideon informs God, “Uh, I’m the weakest member of the weakest tribe, I got nothin!” God says, “So what?” and uses Gideon and 300 men to take out a whole army!

Moses had a speach impediment. God says, “So what?” And uses Moses to speak for Him!

Fast forward to Paul. Paul was murdering God’s people but God says, “So what?” and uses Paul to write most of the new testament.

You see where this is going?

I had one of these moments with God the other night when i was standing on stage leading 1500 people in worship.  I had a little conversation with God:

Me – “God, why in the world did you choose me to do this? Why did you pick ME out of all the people to lead people in worship to you?  I’m so so broken and there is so much crap in my life, i don’t feel worthy at all to be standing here. I mean i’m so grateful that i get to do this but i turn my back on you way to many times to be leading anyone.”

God – “So what? I’ve called you and chosen you to be a leader for these people, it doesn’t matter how broken or messy your life is, you’re here cause that’s what i want you to be doing. And your weakness is one of the reasons i am using you.”

Thus i had my own “So what?” moment with God.  So many prayers that we pray start with us telling God how unworthy we are and how we shouldn’t be used by him but he just smiles and says, “So what?” and uses us anyway.  I think God’s grace can be summed up in these 2 words and for that i am so grateful.  He is looking for humble yet bold, weak and dependent people to use and the more brokenness we have, the more His grace shines through.