Colorful Love

2007-01-01T13:04:00.000-08:00

2006-08-28T22:18:00.000-07:00

It is finally here. This Wednesday marks the official release of my debut album "Overwhelmed". I am so thankful for the chance to try music as a career. It has been a long journey and I am so excited for the next step. I am in awe of God for His provision over the project; He never fails me. This past weekend I had a great encounter with God and I hope I continue to experience the same as my schedule begins to fill up. Sunday night during our evening service Elevation, I truly felt the God I was worshipping. It was incredible. Please pray for me in regards for my heart. Sunday night I was focused, prepared and worshipping. It was great. Everything I get up to lead the precious church in any act of worship I want my heart to be in the same place it was in on Sunday. Too many times I step up to the plate unprepared. I am excited to discover what God has planned for me and where He is going to take me.

May all the glory be given to God!

2006-08-12T12:53:00.000-07:00

Hey guys I just wanted to ask for some prayer. I am in full swing trying to expand my music ministry with the arrival of my first record "Overwhelmed". I am trying to book worship gigs, get all of my merchandise ready, practice, along with getting everything ready for my release concert on the 30th of this month. I am having so much fun but I always finding myself going at my own pace. It seems like it is a weekly thing where I find myself convicted that I have not consulted God on any part of my life. I feel like the man who looks in a mirror and quickly forget what he looks like. I need to stop and recognize how great God is. I need to be overwhelmed with Him and right now I am not. I am too busy with my own life.

Father forgive me for my selfishness. I know I need to seek you and your desires for my life. You know my heart father, take it and lead me in the way everlasting. Please help me receive your grace and rid myself of the filth that pours out of me.

Amen

2006-05-28T10:52:00.000-07:00

"Overwhelmed"

It has been an incredible journey over the last four years. I am excited to tell everyone the my CD "Overwhelmed" finally done. It will be available for purchase the middle of June. I am so thankful that I have had the chance to make this album. There has been many seasons of doubt over the past several years, but the people God has placed in my life to make this happen, really affirms the fact that I was supposed to do this. I just wanted to say thank you to all of you who have made this project possible. Thank you to my friends and family, the people who gave financially, and all the people that actually had a part in building these songs and making them what they have become.

I want to enter into this new season of life with an expectation to see and follow God's will. I want to live and play passionately. I would be really encouraged if you would spend some time praying for me over the next few months. I have no idea what is comming my way. I have no idea what struggles I will have. I have no idea where this journey will take me. All that I want to do is know God's will and conform mine to His. I want to be at a place where I can take a leap of faith. I feel I need to be ready to jump in with both feet where ever He leads me. I'm scared! I guess what I am asking is this. I want prayer for Lindsey and I that our desires will be the same as our creater. I think if we follow those desires and stuart our lives and this project with His will in mind, we will find success. I want to be content with God's desires, whether I sell 100 records or a million.

Father, thank you for this opportunity. I am humbled by your grace. Please help me to love like You do even in times that are hard. I feel it is so easy to be excited about You and this world when my circumstances are like this. I thank you for these times of joy. Please let me recognize that all things that are good come from You. Give me strength.

Amen.

2006-04-26T14:21:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Day

Today is a great day in Denver, Colorado. The trees are growing leaves and the warmth of the sun feels so amazing. It has been a long while since my last post and I apologize. I really have had nothing to say, it has been one of those seasons. I guess I just wanted to give a little update on my life. I am so thankful because I only have one more trip to Phoenix where I am recording my first record. I cannot believe how close I am to being finished with the whole project. God is so good! I am loving my pursuit of God right now too. I am learning to view myself as God sees me, and to recognize that everything good is from Him. It is so refreshing to look around and see how incredible God is. This is such a great time of life and I am so thankful. I hope life is treating you well.

2006-03-06T10:52:00.000-08:00

One of Those Weeks

This week has been a week to remember. I just returned from Phoenix last night after working on the final vocals for my record. What an experience. I can safely say that I have never worked so hard and been so tired in all my life. Even though the trip was plagued with many setbacks I believe I walked away a better artist/musician. I have been spoiled throughout this project. The people God has put in place for this record is incredible. I know God has a plan for this record and it is so much bigger than me. I guess the reason I feel so blessed to have people like Matt, and Sean working on my project, is that I do not deserve it. A lot of the time I get caught up in feeling inadequate in a selfish kind of way. I am trying to hold on to the healthy mindset of being inadequate. I get caught up in chasing the wind. I chase things that will not bring my fulfillment. I think to myself all the time, that this record will give me credibility and will make me feel better about myself. That is CRAP! I want to get my worth from something far greater than I. In my eyes this record serves as a good metaphor. I believe this record will bring glory to God not because of me but because the of the strengths that have filled my weaknesses. God has provided many players and people for this project. This little dream that was given to me four years ago is manifesting itself and I hope the lessons I am learning will overflow into my daily life. I can't live alone. I need the guidance of the one who created me and the one who died for me.

I am so thankful for this weekend. I am thankful for my friend Matt being willing to push me and be honest with me. That alone is a great gift and one that I think is so important for growth to occur.

Lord let me rise everyday with a spirit of dependence. Let me fall to my knees and submit to Your guidance and Love.

2006-02-22T10:10:00.000-08:00

Season of Life

I just wanted to update my blog because it has not been done for a long time. I apologize for that. I guess I have been lacking inspiration lately. It has been a great few weeks of searching and growing. God has answered so many prays this week and blessed me with so many gifts. I guess what blows me away is God's prompt answers to my prayers. After months of singing and praying and crying out for some kind of passion or purpose for my life, I wake up and find that I have grown and a kindled heart. Last night was a special night for me. I feel Jesus tugging my heart and telling me to clothe myself with love. His love. Lindsey and I met with some old friends last night that are heading up a nonprofit chapter for community service that takes care of the Denver homeless. Have you ever had one of those moments that feels so right or even divine? Last night was a divine moment. Being missional with my life has constantly been on my mind for the last year, and now I am seeing fruit. I am noticing life change. I am noticing missionality. Praise God!

Do you remember the time on your spiritual journey when everything clicked? When you really decided be a Christ follower. That is what I am feeling right now. It's exciting. I can't sleep. I feel like the past five years of my life have been devoted to God, but recently I woke up and caught a glimpse of how much I have grown in the last five years. My thoughts, relationships, and world views, are different. I can see my life becoming more like Jesus'.

Today I post out of excitement and not arrogance. I so desperately want God to be glorified through me and to see more and more disciples of Jesus. I leave you with a couple lines from a song that will be on my record. It is set to be released in early June.

Reform me now, my intellect
Let me live through eyes
I see the worlds they overlap
Illuminate with our lives

I cry holy holy, make us holy bring glory to Your name
I cry holy holy, You are holy holy
And harvest Your fame.

2006-01-20T10:49:00.000-08:00

Over Christmas I was in Phoenix working on my record. Here are some photos from that trip. I hope you enjoy them.

Great News!!!! My record is going platinum!!!!

Friend and producer Matt tracking acoustic guitar.

Matt and drummer Ken discussing a song.

2006-01-20T09:29:00.000-08:00

A Great Time of Life

I am experiencing many blessings right now. I got married, started recording an indy record, I work for a church, and the Broncos are in the AFC Championship. I guess the heart behind this post is one of perseverence. About a year and a half ago I got a job at Grace Chapel. Before Grace Chapel I had attended the same church for most of my life. Lately, I have missed the community of years past and have been longing for that same connection at Grace Chapel. I am learning that community takes time and I believe I am growing so much. Even though life is great I have never had to pursue God more and I believe that is why life is going so well. With that said, I just want this time of my life to be an encouragement for all who need it. God is so good and I thank Him all the time. No matter where you are, I encourage you to stop what you are doing and take a second to pursue God. Even if it is a short encounter, connect with Him, because it will make you ready for whatever is in store for your life.

Blessings and Peace

2005-12-08T09:45:00.000-08:00

The Kingdom of God

20"Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is among you." Luke 17:20-21

Coming up with something to post has been a real challenge the past few weeks until now. Last night in our missional community we read a passage from Luke. In summary, Jesus heals ten guys and tells them to go tell their priests. Only one of the ten returns to Jesus and praises God. Last night I saw the work of the Holy Spirit in some of the students that attend our Missional Community. It was awesome to see. Praise God! As I prepared for the lesson yesterday I had a great encounter with God. The tale end of the passage we studied last night is written at the top of this post. I can't get Jesus' words out of my head, "The kingdom of God is among you." Correct me if I am wrong, but the man that returned to Jesus to praise God, must have caught a glimps of the kingdom of God. I have spent a good duration of time today and last night just looking for the kingdom of God. I see the kingdom of God in things like; my wife, music, work, my soccer team, and songwriting.

Bebo Norman in "Walk Down this Mountain" writes and sings "We're standing in a place of peace And this is how the world should be." I think he sings about the kingdom of God. He sings of a place where he is in communion with God and with other people. He sings of a literal place the he must leave, the mountain and a place of peace, the kingdom of God, that he surely does not want to leave. Bebo recognizes that two worlds coexist, the world and the kingdom of God. All this to say, Last night I had a great time with a close friend. Our conversation was so real. It wasn't one of those conversations where you hide like a dog with his tale between his legs. I drove home praising God because through this conversation and relationship, I caught a glimps of how this world should be. I caught a glimps of the kingdom of God.

I guess my prayer and challenge for us all is that we would open our eyes and look for the kingdom of God. It is among us.

Grace and peace to you.

Dan

2005-11-09T14:57:00.000-08:00

My Wrist is Broken!

I cannot believe it. I have been fighting through a very sore wrist for the past six weeks. I finally went to a doctor yesterday to get it X-rayed, sure enough I broke a bone in my wrist. The orthopedic doctor has only one concern after seeing the X-ray, the blood supply to another bone may be compromised. He wants me to come in so he could look at it. I have an appointment tomorrow at 2:00pm. Who knows what will happen if the blood supply is damaged? The timing could not have been better! Just kidding!

Anyway, it is important to me that I intentionally look for what God is teaching me through this circumstance. I have found it so hard for me to ask for prayer. Pride. For some reason I am believing that asking for prayer is a sign of weakness. Humility. I am not too good for prayer. I need prayer. So here it goes, will you please pray for my wrist? More importantly pray that whatever God is trying to teach me soaks in and saturates all of me.

2005-11-07T11:43:00.000-08:00

Holy Crap, it is Finally Here!

One day several years ago a friend of mine believed in me and my music. Looking back it is cool to see the sovereign hand that has been on this process. There has been times of doubt, questioning whether this dream that I have developed was centered around the will of my Father. Over the past three years, I have been raising funds to cut a record. Through the generosity of my family and some close friends, God has given me the opportunity to work on this project. Coming into one of the final stages, the actual recording, it is nice to look back on the last three or four years and see what I am learning. I am learning perseverance, sovereignty, and faith. This project has been on my mind for the last five years but I go through stages of doubt. The sweet taste of knowing the will of God that was once tattooed to my lips comes and goes like the high school crushes that I witness week in and week out. Thoughts like; am I doing this for me, am I skilled enough, how am I going to pull this off, are my songs the best they can be, are these the songs that need to be on the album, have been running through my head for the past couple of years. Even in the times where I have felt so inadequate, there has been something deep down in my heart telling me to keep going. Faith. You see, there has been several times when I doubted, when selfish desires have polluted the dream, when I have thought this record would give me worth. As I write and get my thoughts down on paper it is exciting to rediscover the spring of my worth. I pray that I can take myself out of this project completely. The reality is I am inadequate. This is where sovereinty comes in. Without my friend Matt, my wife and family, all the musicians on the record, without the very hand of God this would not be possible.

The answer is......I am inadequate! Inadequacy is how we should live our lives. Once we sit back and become dependent we will truly discover life. I am learning that it takes faith and perseverance to reach a place of dependency. Dependency is not necessarily a weakness, it should the way of life.

Sorry for the long post but I am filled with excitement. One week from today I leave for Phoenix, the mexican food haven of the world, to begin recording my record. I am so thankful for this oppertunity that has been so graciously given to me. If you think about it, please pray for me this next couple of weeks. Please pray that I can keep focused on things that are righteous. Pray that God will bless all of the people in my life that He has used and is using to make this project happen. Holy Crap, it is finally here!

2005-11-03T08:04:00.001-08:00

Over The Top

Last night in our missional community we were looking at a few verses that are found in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. (Matthew 5: 38-42) After a long discussion I had our students break into smaller groups to discuss further the words of this INDESCRIBABLE man, Jesus. They talked it over came to some conclusions and to more questions. That is really what I was the most excited about. The passage encourages followers to go the extra mile.

"Are you saying if we are falsely accused we should take the heat for it? That could ruin my record. It seems a little over the top!"

When she said it was over the top, a rushing wind of excitement filled my heart. In the midst of knowing all the answers, not know where I was going with my line of questioning, the truth came out. Not from the mouth of their so called shepherd but from the mouth of a sheep. I quickly jumped up and said "Yes!" in a very dramatic way. I could see the look in there eyes: a connection.

Sadly, it has been a long time since I have been moved by scripture but last night was awesome. For a second I was overwhelmed by the passionate, challenging voice of the scripture. Interacting with scripture is supposed to be like this. It has been awhile but I feel challenged. I feel like Jesus himself was in the room talking to me face to face. Challenging me where I needed to be challenged. It was masterfully timed affirmation from an Indescribable God. The night before last, Louie Giglio and his posse rolled through Denver. He gave this talk using astronomy as an Illustration. To make a long point short, Louie successfully illustrated that we are so small. He had mentioned that the size of our solar system, compared to the known universe, is proportionate to a quarter laying on the ground of North America. WOW! And that is not the crazy part. "He sees the depths of our heats and He loves us the same."

I am still processing what has gone on in the last couple of days; at the concert and at my missional community. It has been a very good spiritual week for me so far. I have felt pursued by God, challenged, and discovered the joy of hardships and conflict. Here are a couple of picture taken from the Hubble Telescope for your enjoyment. Take a second and marvel at the power of God, His design, and most importantly the thought that you and I are beyond microscopic and He still loves us.

This is a picture of the Whirlpool galaxy.

This picture is at the very core of the Whirlpool galaxy. It seems God leaves His mark on more than just you and I.

Prayer~ Father continue to grow me. Help me to be "over the top" so I can bring You glory. God I pray that I can bring You glory in my community, marriage and in the lives of my friends. Please use me to further Your kingdom.

2005-10-26T14:27:00.000-07:00

Prayer for the Day

For some reason I feel like I am running from God. I feel like Adam when he was in the garden after he ate the fruit. He heard God coming through the garden so he went and hid because he was naked. I fight and squirm like a little child every time His hands try to pick me up and hold me close. Going through the motions, back in a rut I cannot escape. I yearn for my relationship with my most loving God to be one of passion overflowing on my closest friends and family.

Lord in your mercy here my prayer!

2005-10-14T13:12:00.000-07:00

Worshiping Worship?

The other day the David Crowder Band Collision Tour rolled through Denver. I thought it would be a great opportunity to build some community with my worship team, so we gathered at church for some pizza and headed to the show, worship event or whatever else you want to call it. The event was great, a beautiful display of musicianship, sound and electronic gizmos saturated the room and hearts of the sold out church auditorium. Maybe I am just negative but the environment of the night was a bit confusing. Where does one draw the line between worshiping God and worshiping the worship leader(s)?

"Please welcome to the stage David Crowder!" Hear the roar? The crowd goes crazy! This is unbelievable!

In my opinion the people on stage came across very genuine. I sat there and thought throughout the show, "Is this a bad thing?" In the end I came to the conclusion that the night must not be judged as a whole, but more individually. I honestly went to the show to listen to music. I went to see a bunch of great musicians showcasing their talent. Contrary to my intentions I met God at this place. It was a very worshipful night for me. The music produced a glimpse of beauty that must represent the glory of God. It was too amazing to not. Looking back on the experience I learned a lot. I want to be man that lives a life of worship. Too much of the time I worry about trivial things. Who cares? I want my heart to be like Jesus'. I want to live out of compassionate eyes and live this belief that chose me.

2005-10-05T10:07:00.000-07:00

Sovereignty
Why is it so easy to embrace God's sovereign power until something challenging get tossed into your own lap. Today a dear friend of mine goes under the knife for open heart surgery. He awoke Monday morning with chest pain. The news saddened me a great deal. At first surreal my thoughts turned to confusion. Why him. He is a man that loves, serves and pursues God. This man is an inspiration to me and an example of how to live.

Upon further testing the doctors found another problem with his heart. The tiny blockage that caused the chest pain turned out to be a blessing. They discovered a heart condition that they usually only find in autopsies. Somehow a couple of the veins in his heart are putting pressure on the aorta and open heart surgery is needed. This picture reminds me of the control God has and His heart for His people. Even though this rough time is just beginning and His plan for this situation is has not yet been revealed, it reminds me to love, serve and pursue God with all of my life. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. If you are reading this would you please lift up a prayer for Blaine and his family. I can't imagine what they must be feeling like.

Lord, I lift up Blaine. I pray that you will protect him right now as he is in surgery. Give the doctors skilled hands and may this time Blaine has with his doctors be a time where Your light shines. Please heal Blaine. I lift up the rest of his family. I pray that you comfort them especially Blaine's wife because her kids are away at college. Please draw near to this family and teach them something about You.

Amen.

2005-10-04T17:35:00.000-07:00

Do you ever feel like this?

2005-10-03T12:41:00.000-07:00

An Incrdeible Encounter

Yesterday was the first time this school year that I had the new Sunday morning worship team play together. Over the past couple months I have been struggling through where students should be used in our celebration team. I am so excited because I believe God orchestrated this process through me. It was an amazing experience yesterday that can only be described as divine. As I look back over the past couple of months I now see that I have learned a great deal. First, I learned that if you depend on God and follow His leading you will be rewarded. This time of worship through music yesteday was incredible in an emotional sense. I feel like over the past year or so I have been a worshipper that has worship in truth most of the time. My spirit has not been into it (corprate worship) for the most part. A lot of times as followers of Jesus we go into a worship experience desiring a euphoric emotional connection with our maker. The euphoria in itself is not bad in my opinion, but it crosses the line when we worship the euphoria. What I have learned this past week is to embrace the times when it is hard to worship, the times when I don't feel like leading a band, the times when I worship purely out of obedience not out of emotion. Secondly, I was reintroduced the unity that the Holy Spirit is capable of. My encounter on Sunday was in the context of my high school worship band, but I sit here and remember all of the relationships that I have that would not be as great as they are without the Holy Spirit. I guess my prayer today is one of thanksgiving for an amazing emotional encounter and the unification the Holy Spirit is continually bringing to the surface in my life.

2005-09-12T11:37:00.000-07:00

Prayer for the Day

We have started "Missional Communities" in Our high school group at church. God has just laid several students that are apart of the missional community I am shepherding on my heart. I know they are crying out to be known. It makes me sad the places our students look for acceptance. My prayer is that God would begin His process of transformation in their lives, and that the walls our students engineer, construct and hide behind, will be devistated.

2005-09-11T20:02:00.000-07:00

Three words: Bench Jake Plummer!