tag:jimmydooley.com,2005:/blogs/blog-7a08e776-c228-42c0-bb32-8bb311a58c56?p=6Blog2022-05-11T01:47:22-12:00Jimmy Dooleyfalsetag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60630062013-09-23T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:50:02-12:00"Jesus Doesn't Go To Church Here Anymore"
<p>As I travel around the country & sing at all different types of churches in different areas, something has become more & more clear to me over the past few years, many churches have a problem! Not all churches, but many churches have a major problem today & the problem is not financial or a problem with their programs & activities, the problem is a lot of churches don't have Jesus there anymore. The people in them merely come because it's a routine of what they do on Sunday but they have totally lost sight of what God's love & the Gospel message is all about. I know there is no such thing as the "Perfect church" but you can also feel when you walk into a church & there is a coldness in the building & the hearts of the people sitting in the pews, & I see it all the time. When people go out of their way to make visitors feel unwelcome in God's house, that's a big problem to me! God put this song on my heart a few months back, & I'd like to share it with you. This song tells 2 different stories about 2 different people, that come from different walks of life, but when they finally find the strength to go to church they are met with the same type of rejection at the very place they came for help. These are stories that I have a personally seen played out many times. I hope this song challenges you as a believer to think about the way that we represent Christ not only in our church, but the way we present God to the world around us through our life everyday. This is a song I don't take credit for because God totally wrote this song, I didn't even have to think about it, God just dropped the words & ideas right into my heart. I even woke up in the middle of the night 2 nights in a row & wrote most of this song so I know it was all God! Hope it speaks to you!</p>
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<div class="video responsive"><div class="video-container"><div class="video responsive"><div class="video-container"><iframe frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/lTFtzuT4E_E?list=UUlQk8eoPit3-GBNzMuEogjg" width="560" class="wrapped wrapped"></iframe></div></div></div></div>
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<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 181px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">JesuDoesn’t Go To Church Here Anymore</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 181px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 181px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">V:1/ A single mother down on her luck, Not sure what she’s going to do, Stares at the church door from her car, Not sure if she can walk through. But she is running out of answers, And she is running out of hope, So she finds the strength to go inside, And sits on the back row, She could feel the looks of judgment piercing through her soul, Though the pews were full that day, She’d never felt so all alone</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 181px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 181px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Chorus:/ She heard them sing Amazing Grace, But there was no grace to be found, She saw people lifting up their hands, But no one reaching out, The only Jesus that she saw there, was a picture by the door, Cause Jesus doesn’t go to church here anymore</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 181px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 181px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">V:2/ For many years he tried, but couldn’t put the bottle down, But now he had lost everything & the good times had ran out, It took everything within him to drive to church that day, The other people wore their suits & ties, But he wore guilt & shame. He came there searching for acceptance, But found rejection instead, Their actions spoke so loud, When not a word to him was said</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 181px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 181px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Chorus:/ He heard them sing Amazing Grace, But there was no grace to be found, He saw people lifting up their hands, But no one reaching out, The only Jesus that he saw there, was a picture by the door, Cause Jesus doesn’t go to church here anymore</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 181px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 181px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Bridge:/ Are we lifting up the broken, Or do we kick them when they’re down? Is it too much to love our brother? Can compassion still be found? Are we really moving forward, Or are we just spinning around? And if Jesus walked into our church would we recognize Him now?</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 181px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 181px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Chorus: Cause we sing Amazing Grace, but is there still grace to be found? We can lift our hands to heaven, But are we really reaching out? Can people still see Jesus, When they walk through the church door? Does Jesus come to church here anymore?</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 181px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 181px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Tag:/ Do we come to church to worship God, Or do we sit there like we’re bored? Does Jesus come to church here anymore? Oh oh, Does Jesus come to church here anymore</div>
<p>"Jesus Doesn’t Go To Church Here Anymore"<br>(Written By Jimmy Dooley)<br></p>
<p>V:1/ A single mom down on her luck, Not sure what she’s going to do, Stares at the church door from her car, Not sure if she can walk through. But she is running out of answers, And she is running out of hope, So she finds the strength to go inside, And sits on the back row, She could feel the looks of judgment piercing through her soul, Though the pews were full that day, She’d never felt so all alone<br></p>
<p>Chorus:/ She heard them sing Amazing Grace, But there was no grace to be found, She saw people lifting up their hands, But no one reaching out, The only Jesus that she saw there, was a picture by the door, Cause Jesus doesn’t go to church here anymore<br></p>
<p>V:2/ For many years he tried, but couldn’t put the bottle down, But now he had lost everything & the good times had ran out, It took everything within him to drive to church that day, The other people wore their suits & ties, But he wore guilt & shame. He came there searching for acceptance, But found rejection instead, Their actions spoke so loud, When not a word to him was said<br></p>
<p>Chorus:/ He heard them sing Amazing Grace, But there was no grace to be found, He saw people lifting up their hands, But no one reaching out, The only Jesus that he saw there, was a picture by the door, Cause Jesus doesn’t go to church here anymore<br></p>
<p>Bridge:/ Are we lifting up the broken, Or do we kick them when they’re down? Is it too much to love our brother? Can compassion still be found? Are we really moving forward, Or are we just spinning around? And if Jesus walked into our church would we recognize Him now?<br></p>
<p>Chorus: Cause we sing Amazing Grace, but is there still grace to be found? We can lift our hands to heaven, But are we really reaching out? Can people still see Jesus, When they walk through the church door? Does Jesus come to church here anymore?<br></p>
<p>Tag:/ Do we come to church to worship God, Or do we sit there like we’re bored? Does Jesus come to church here anymore? Oh oh, Does Jesus come to church here anymore?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Please feel free to leave feedback & comments, I love to hear from you all.</p>
Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60630052013-03-28T12:00:00-12:002013-03-28T17:48:09-12:00What Stained The Cross
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<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Reflecting today on the amazing love that God had for us, in that He sent His only son to suffer & die a cruel & painful death so that we might live. No matter how many movies we watch or how many times we read the story I'm sure our minds will never quite fathom what Jesus truly went through on that Good Friday over 2,000 years ago. Wanted to share these lyrics with you to a song I wrote with a few other writers several years ago that talks about that event that happened so long ago, yet still changes lives today. This song is called "What Stained The Cross" I hope it will speak to your heart today.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">"What Stained The Cross"</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Written by Jimmy Dooley, Niles Borop & Kelly Garner</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">VERSE 1:/ As the soldiers took his body down, the blood soaked cross remained, Towering over our lifeless Lord, a symbol of guilt and shame, the blood that flowed out of his veins, trickled down and left its marks, they did not see that crimson flow was reaching for their hearts, they barely saw the loss and little did they know</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Chorus: What stained the cross was the blood of Christ, God’s spotless lamb, the perfect sacrifice, redeeming flood the priceless gift of life that saves the lost, that’s what stained the cross</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Verse 2:/ Looking back some still don’t know what happened on that day, to them another prophet that had some good things to say, but millions now with eyes of faith have come to realize, that they were saved by the blood of Christ, that day when Jesus died, The son of God was brought for all the world to see</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Chorus:What stained the cross was the blood of Christ, God’s spotless lamb, the perfect sacrifice, redeeming flood the priceless gift of life that saves the lost, that’s what stained the cross</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Bridge:/ In all of human history, no greater love was shown than on a cross of Crucifixion, where grace and mercy flowed</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"> </div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Chorus: What stained the cross was the blood of Christ, God’s spotless lamb, the perfect sacrifice, redeeming flood the priceless gift of life that saves the lost, that’s what stained the cross</div>
<p> Reflecting today on the amazing love that God had for us, in that He sent His only son to suffer & die a cruel & painful death so that we might live. No matter how many movies we watch or how many times we read the story I'm sure our minds will never quite fathom what Jesus truly went through on that Good Friday over 2,000 years ago. Wanted to share these lyrics with you to a song I wrote with a few other writers several years ago that talks about that event that happened so long ago, yet still changes lives today. This song is called "What Stained The Cross" I hope it will speak to your heart today.<br></p>
<p>"What Stained The Cross"Written by Jimmy Dooley, Niles Borop & Kelly Garner<br></p>
<p>VERSE 1:/ As the soldiers took his body down, the blood soaked cross remained, Towering over our lifeless Lord, a symbol of guilt and shame, the blood that flowed out of his veins, trickled down and left its marks, they did not see that crimson flow was reaching for their hearts, they barely saw the loss and little did they know<br>Chorus: What stained the cross was the blood of Christ, God’s spotless lamb, the perfect sacrifice, redeeming flood the priceless gift of life that saves the lost, that’s what stained the cross<br><br>Verse 2:/ Looking back some still don’t know what happened on that day, to them another prophet that had some good things to say, but millions now with eyes of faith have come to realize, that they were saved by the blood of Christ, that day when Jesus died, The son of God was brought for all the world to see<br></p>
<p>Chorus:What stained the cross was the blood of Christ, God’s spotless lamb, the perfect sacrifice, redeeming flood the priceless gift of life that saves the lost, that’s what stained the cross<br></p>
<p>Bridge:/ In all of human history, no greater love was shown than on a cross of Crucifixion, where grace and mercy flowed </p>
<p>Chorus: What stained the cross was the blood of Christ, God’s spotless lamb, the perfect sacrifice, redeeming flood the priceless gift of life that saves the lost, that’s what stained the cross</p>
Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60630042013-02-18T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:50:01-12:00Don't Let Your Dream Die
<p> </p>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">I’ve been thinking a lot about dreams lately. Recently I watched a movie called “Won’t Back Down” it was a really inspirational movie that dealt with having a dream & the many obstacles we encounter along the way. I watched as these 2 ladies tried so hard to achieve the dream they had set out to reach only to have many set backs & what looked like impossible situations that stood between them & their dream. In the beginning they were so excited, enthusiastic & positive but you could watch as the journey got harder & harder how their excitement turned into frustration & sometimes even discouragement. Sounded like a familiar story to me & probably to many of you too that have set out to reach the dream that is living in your heart.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">I remember as a kid I would practice in my basement for hours singing & performing, in my mind I was doing in front of thousands & thousands of people because that was my dream & I never thought anything less than that would happen. I remember the very first concert I ever did was in 1995, it was a Christian Rap concert that my friend & I did as an outreach to tell our friends & other teens about Jesus. We were planning on filling this whole building with people. We worked on our songs for months everyday, passed out flyers, hang posters all over the surrounding towns, we thought there would be so many people there you wouldn’t even be able to move! We said to ourselves, “there’s probably going to be over 500 people there that night!” well the big night finally came, we were downstairs getting ready so anxious to go up stairs & see all the people who were going to be there. When we finally went up stairs to our amazement there wasn’t 500 people there. Not over 300 or 100, there were only about 40 people who showed up. We were crushed, we had such high hopes, we had worked so hard only to have a small handful of people show up. I remember the dream in my heart shrank a little that day. Year after year concert after concert many times that same thing happened & over time the dream grew smaller & smaller.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">At some point over time after having many disappointments & discouraging things happen in my music & ministry I started to develop this attitude of, well I guess this is as good as it gets, it will always be this way. I had sang in front of small crowds for so long at some point I stopped seeing the dream I once had in my heart of singing to thousands of people & reaching a whole generation for God. That my friend is a dangerous place to be! Never fall into the trap of the “it will always be this way” syndrome, because God has better things in store for you & for your future! </div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">A few years ago God reminded me of those long hours in my basement of practicing in front of thousands, of how much I believed it would really happen & God said something to me, he said, “Jimmy you stopped dreaming & you settled for where you are, don’t ever settle, start dreaming again.” I had kind of forgotten about it because of all the struggles I had been through, I started only remembering all the bad things that had happened & the disappointments I had went through. Then I started remembering how when I was a teenager about 4 or 5 times preachers called me out of large crowds who didn’t even know me & they would say, “I don’t know who you are but God just showed me a vision of you standing in front of thousands of people reaching the younger generation for Christ, God is gonna do big things with your life!” Somehow life has a way of making us forget those good things & all we start to remember, if we’re not careful, are the things that have pulled us down & hurt us.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">I believe we all have a dream that God has put inside of each one of us, but I also believe that we have to fight to keep that dream alive. When you set out on your journey to achieve that dream in your heart, I can pretty much guarantee you it will not be easy, but I can guarantee you that it will be worth it! I want to encourage you today, don’t let your dream die, tell your heart to start believing & dreaming again. Sometimes our vision for the dream dies but I have learned that dreams that come from God never die, only our will to reach them dies, but the dream lives on. So what are you waiting for?</div>
<p> I’ve been thinking a lot about dreams lately. Recently I watched a movie called “Won’t Back Down” it was a really inspirational movie that dealt with having a dream & the many obstacles we encounter along the way. I watched as these 2 ladies tried so hard to achieve the dream they had set out to reach only to have many set backs & what looked like impossible situations that stood between them & their dream. In the beginning they were so excited, enthusiastic & positive but you could watch as the journey got harder & harder how their excitement turned into frustration & sometimes even discouragement. Sounded like a familiar story to me & probably to many of you too that have set out to reach the dream that is living in your heart.<br></p>
<p>I remember as a kid I would practice in my basement for hours singing & performing, in my mind I was doing in front of thousands & thousands of people because that was my dream & I never thought anything less than that would happen. I remember the very first concert I ever did was in 1995, it was a Christian Rap concert that my friend & I did as an outreach to tell our friends & other teens about Jesus. We were planning on filling this whole building with people. We worked on our songs for months everyday, passed out flyers, hang posters all over the surrounding towns, we thought there would be so many people there you wouldn’t even be able to move! We said to ourselves, “there’s probably going to be over 500 people there that night!” well the big night finally came, we were downstairs getting ready so anxious to go up stairs & see all the people who were going to be there. When we finally went up stairs to our amazement there wasn’t 500 people there. Not over 300 or 100, there were only about 40 people who showed up. We were crushed, we had such high hopes, we had worked so hard only to have a small handful of people show up. I remember the dream in my heart shrank a little that day. Year after year concert after concert many times that same thing happened & over time the dream grew smaller & smaller.<br></p>
<p>At some point over time after having many disappointments & discouraging things happen in my music & ministry I started to develop this attitude of, well I guess this is as good as it gets, it will always be this way. I had sang in front of small crowds for so long at some point I stopped seeing the dream I once had in my heart of singing to thousands of people & reaching a whole generation for God. That my friend is a dangerous place to be! Never fall into the trap of the “it will always be this way” syndrome, because God has better things in store for you & for your future! <br></p>
<p>A few years ago God reminded me of those long hours in my basement of practicing in front of thousands, of how much I believed it would really happen & God said something to me, he said, “Jimmy you stopped dreaming & you settled for where you are, don’t ever settle, start dreaming again.” I had kind of forgotten about it because of all the struggles I had been through, I started only remembering all the bad things that had happened & the disappointments I had went through. Then I started remembering how when I was a teenager about 4 or 5 times preachers called me out of large crowds who didn’t even know me & they would say, “I don’t know who you are but God just showed me a vision of you standing in front of thousands of people reaching the younger generation for Christ, God is gonna do big things with your life!” Somehow life has a way of making us forget those good things & all we start to remember, if we’re not careful, are the things that have pulled us down & hurt us.<br></p>
<p>I believe we all have a dream that God has put inside of each one of us, but I also believe that we have to fight to keep that dream alive. When you set out on your journey to achieve that dream in your heart, I can pretty much guarantee you it will not be easy, but I can guarantee you that it will be worth it! I want to encourage you today, don’t let your dream die, tell your heart to start believing & dreaming again. Sometimes our vision for the dream dies but I have learned that dreams that come from God never die, only our will to reach them dies, but the dream lives on. So what are you waiting for?</p>
<p>Please feel free to leave comments & feedback I love to hear from you all</p>
Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60630032012-12-11T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:50:01-12:00You Are Good Enough!
<p>I often get a lot of emails from people who feel unaccepted & feel like they are rejected due to not being "good enough" by other people's standards. Boy can I ever relate to that! I have struggled with it my whole life, feeling inadequate or like I'm not "good enough" at something, but there comes a point where we have to realize that God made us exactly who He wanted us to be. He made us look the way we do, have the abilities, dreams & talents He has given each one of us because He has a great plan for each of our lives. God didn't make you or me like everyone else because He wanted us to be who WE are, not everyone else. So I wrote this song for my new album called "Good Enough" & I wanted to share the lyrics with you since I get so many people sending me messages that are struggling with feeling like they're not "whatever" people want them to be or they feel like they should be, so check out these lyrics & hit me back with a comment & let me know what these words speak to you & what this song means to you thanks!</p>
<p> </p>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 15px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Good Enough</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 15px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Written By: Jimmy Dooley Sept 14 2011</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 15px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 15px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Verse:1/ You feel so misunderstood, The way they look at you, They think they know everything, But haven’t got a clue, The things that you hear them say, Have cut you to the bone, Those words that they said hurt you, More than any sticks & stones, But you don’t have to let opinions make you feel insecure, Just be yourself & boldly walk the path of who you are because</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 15px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 15px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Chorus:/ You’re good enough, Good enough, You’ll never know how much you are loved, And you are so perfect, Just the way that you are, You’re good enough, Good enough, Don’t try to be someone that you’re not</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 15px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">You can’t be replaced, You are one of a kind, So put a smile on your face, Lift up your voice & say, I’m good enough, Good enough, I am good enough</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 15px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 15px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Verse:2/ There’s a great purpose for your life, That’s why God put you on this Earth, So don’t ever let anyone make you feel less than you’re worth, You don’t have to be afraid, To let the real you show, So take off that mask you’re wearing, And let everybody know, That nobody’s opinion, Will make you feel insecure, Just be yourself & boldly walk the path of who you are, Because</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 15px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 15px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Repeat Chorus:/</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 15px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 15px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Bridge:/ It doesn’t matter how short you are, How tall you are, How big you are, How small you are, What matters is how you live your life, We’re all different in our own way, So there’s no need to be ashamed, Embrace the differences in you, They make you who you are, and you are </div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 15px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 15px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Repeat Chorus:/ </div>
<div></div>
<p> Good Enough<br>Written By: Jimmy Dooley/BMI</p>
<p>Verse:1/ You feel so misunderstood, The way they look at you, They think they know everything, But haven’t got a clue, The things that you hear them say, Have cut you to the bone, Those words that they said hurt you, More than any sticks & stones, But you don’t have to let opinions make you feel insecure, Just be yourself & boldly walk the path of who you are because<br></p>
<p>Chorus:/ You’re good enough, Good enough, You’ll never know how much you are loved, And you are so perfect, Just the way that you are, You’re good enough, Good enough, Don’t try to be someone that you’re not, You can’t be replaced, You are one of a kind, So put a smile on your face, Lift up your voice & say, I’m good enough, Good enough, I am good enough<br></p>
<p>Verse:2/ There’s a great purpose for your life, That’s why God put you on this Earth, So don’t ever let anyone make you feel less than you’re worth, You don’t have to be afraid, To let the real you show, So take off that mask you’re wearing, And let everybody know, That nobody’s opinion, Will make you feel insecure, Just be yourself & boldly walk the path of who you are, Because<br></p>
<p>Repeat Chorus:/<br></p>
<p>Bridge:/ It doesn’t matter how short you are, How tall you are, How big you are, How small you are, What matters is how you live your life, We’re all different in our own way, So there’s no need to be ashamed, Embrace the differences in you, They make you who you are, and you are good enough<br></p>
<p>Repeat Chorus:/ </p>
<p><em><strong>Please feel free to leave comments & feedback, I love to hear from you all!</strong></em></p>
Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629902012-07-17T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:58-12:00Walk On The Water
<p> </p>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Can you imagine how Peter must have felt as he stood on the boat looking out into the sea? Off in the distance he sees Jesus telling him to come out to where He is, but between him & Jesus he sees darkness, the storm & the waves beating against the boat. He knew Jesus was telling him to take a step of faith out into the water, but can you imagine the fear that gripped his heart looking at everything else going on around him? I’ve never walked on water before but I would have to think that would have been kind of a scary thing to do in his situation, but the cool thing was, he did it! Sure he sank for a minute & Jesus had to pull him out of the water, but regardless Peter still walked on the water!</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Maybe you’ve felt like that in your life before too. Here you are standing at the edge of your decision & Jesus is saying, “take a step of faith this way.” You can see Jesus standing on the other side of your decision, but you can also see all the things standing between you & Him, that are trying to pull you under. Boy do I know how that feels! Been there many times, but the good news is if we will take that step of faith to “walk out on the water” so to speak, He is going to be right there to catch us is we fall!</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">I’ve been talking about my decision to do something new with my music & ministry & I can remember last year being at that point where God was calling me to step out into new waters & walk in faith & I was so unsure & so afraid thinking things like, “What will other people think? Others will not like this idea“, or “How will I afford to do this?” But I realized God wasn’t asking me to have it all figured out, He just wanted me to say Yes & take that first step of faith out into the water. Wouldn’t you know it as soon as I made the decision to walk out into new waters I lost my voice for a year, it was not fun, but the good news is I’m doing pretty well now & things are beginning to finally move forward & I am excited!</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">There is a song that God has been using over the past few weeks to really encourage & inspire me called “Walk On The Water” by my favorite Christian artist named Britt Nicole. I wanted to share the lyrics with you this week hoping they would inspire & encourage you as much as they have me. Check them out & don’t ever be afraid to walk on the water, & do something great for God!</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">“Walk On The Water” by Britt Nicole</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">You look around</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">It's staring back at you</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Another wave of doubt</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Will it pull you under</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">You wonder</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">What if I'm overtaken</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">What if I never make it</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">What if no one's there?</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Will you hear my prayer?</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">When you take that first step</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Into the unknown</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">You know that he won't let you go</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Chorus:</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">So what are you waiting for?</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">What do you have to lose?</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Your insecurities try to alter you</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">You know you're made for more</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">So don't be afraid to move</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Your faith is all</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">It takes and you can</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Walk on the water too</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Verse 2:</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">So get out</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">And let</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Your fear fall to the ground</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">No time to waste</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Don't wait</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Don't you turn around and miss out</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Everything you were made for</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">I know you're not sure</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">So you play it safe</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Try to run away</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">If you take that first step</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Into the unknown</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">He won't let you go</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">(chorus)</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Bridge:</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">(step out)</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Even when its storming</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">(step out)</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Even when you're broken</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">(step out)</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Even when your heart is telling you telling you to give up</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">(step out)</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">When your hope is stolen</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">(step out)</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">You can't see where you're going</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">You don't have to be afraid</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">So what are you waiting,</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">What are you waiting for?</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">So what are you waiting for?</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">What do you have to lose?</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Your insecurities try to alter you</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">You know you're made for more</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">So don't be afraid to move</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Your faith is all</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">It takes and you can</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Walk on the water...</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Walk on the water too </div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">PLease feel free to leave comments & feedback I love to hear from you all.</div>
<p> Can you imagine how Peter must have felt as he stood on the boat looking out into the sea? Off in the distance he sees Jesus telling him to come out to where He is, but between him & Jesus he sees darkness, the storm & the waves beating against the boat. He knew Jesus was telling him to take a step of faith out into the water, but can you imagine the fear that gripped his heart looking at everything else going on around him? I’ve never walked on water before but I would have to think that would have been kind of a scary thing to do in his situation, but the cool thing was, he did it! Sure he sank for a minute & Jesus had to pull him out of the water, but regardless Peter still walked on the water!<br></p>
<p>Maybe you’ve felt like that in your life before too. Here you are standing at the edge of your decision & Jesus is saying, “take a step of faith this way.” You can see Jesus standing on the other side of your decision, but you can also see all the things standing between you & Him, that are trying to pull you under. Boy do I know how that feels! Been there many times, but the good news is if we will take that step of faith to “walk out on the water” so to speak, He is going to be right there to catch us is we fall!<br></p>
<p>I’ve been talking about my decision to do something new with my music & ministry & I can remember last year being at that point where God was calling me to step out into new waters & walk in faith & I was so unsure & so afraid thinking things like, “What will other people think? Others will not like this idea“, or “How will I afford to do this?” But I realized God wasn’t asking me to have it all figured out, He just wanted me to say Yes & take that first step of faith out into the water. Wouldn’t you know it as soon as I made the decision to walk out into new waters I lost my voice for a year, it was not fun, but the good news is I’m doing pretty well now & things are beginning to finally move forward & I am excited!<br></p>
<p>There is a song that God has been using over the past few weeks to really encourage & inspire me called “Walk On The Water” by my favorite Christian artist named Britt Nicole. I wanted to share the lyrics with you this week hoping they would inspire & encourage you as much as they have me. Check them out & don’t ever be afraid to walk on the water, & do something great for God!<br></p>
<p>“Walk On The Water” by Britt Nicole<br>You look around It's staring back at you<br>Another wave of doubt Will it pull you under You wonder What if I'm overtaken What if I never make it What if no one's there? Will you hear my prayer? When you take that first step Into the unknown You know that he won't let you go</p>
<p>Chorus:<br>So what are you waiting for? What do you have to lose? Your insecurities try to alter you<br>You know you're made for more So don't be afraid to move Your faith is all It takes and you can Walk on the water too<br><br>Verse 2:So get out And let Your fear fall to the ground No time to waste Don't wait Don't you turn around and miss out Everything you were made for I know you're not sure So you play it safe Try to run away<br>If you take that first step Into the unknown He won't let you go<br><br>(chorus)<br><br>Bridge:(step out)Even when its storming(step out)Even when you're broken(step out)Even when your heart is telling you telling you to give up(step out)When your hope is stolen(step out)You can't see where you're going You don't have to be afraid<br>So what are you waiting, What are you waiting for?<br>So what are you waiting for? What do you have to lose? Your insecurities try to alter you<br>You know you're made for moreSo don't be afraid to move Your faith is allIt takes and you canWalk on the water...Walk on the water too <br></p>
<p>Please feel free to leave comments & feedback I love to hear from you all.</p>
Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629892012-06-26T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:58-12:00The Same God Who Opens Doors Also Closes Them
<p> </p>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Have you ever prayed for God to open a door for you, but for some reason or another the opportunity didn’t work out & the door didn’t open? In those times sometimes we feel disappointed & wonder why it didn’t work out & it can be easy to get discouraged. But did it ever occur to you that the very same God who opens doors is the same God who closes them?</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">I’m the kind of person who doesn’t like to wait for things, if I am pursuing something in my life I am ready for it to happen right then & there. I take off at one hundred miles an hour in the direction I am headed, praying for & looking for doors of opportunity to open in my life. Things seem fine as long as doors are opening, I’m feeling like life is good, but then I hit that door that slams in my face & my first thought many times is, “Why did this happen? Why didn’t God open this door?” Maybe you too have felt this way when something didn’t work out in your life. But I am learning more & more that the same God who opens doors in our life is the same God who closes them.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">Think about it, God has a perfect plan for our life, we can’t see what lies ahead but God can. God has a destination He is trying to get each one of us to, & only He knows how to get us there. If God answered every prayer & opened every door we prayed for, it’s hard to tell where we would end up. Life is a journey of faith, & if we are putting our Faith in God that means trusting that He is guiding our steps in the right direction, opening the right doors & closing the wrong ones. I look back at a lot of things that happened in my life over the past 6 or 7 years & at the time many of them seemed like huge disappointments when things fell through & didn’t work out, but now I see that God had a plan all along & He had something much bigger in store for more life. Many times God shuts doors in our life because He doesn’t want us to settle for something less that what His plan for our life is. Remember this our dreams are not near as big as the plans God has for us.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;"> </div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden;">I thank God for every door He has closed in my life because I know that He was just protecting me & keeping me from going in the wrong direction, I know God has big plans for my life, & I know He is going to guide each one of us through the doors He wants us to walk through. If something doesn’t workout in your life don’t get upset, just trust that God has you in the palm of His hand & that He was the one who closed the door because He has something much better in store for you down the road. So let’s always be thankful for every open door in our life, but let’s also learn to thank God for the doors He closes in our lives too. Better things are in store just down the road, keep your head up!</div>
<p> Have you ever prayed for God to open a door for you, but for some reason or another the opportunity didn’t work out & the door didn’t open? In those times sometimes we feel disappointed & wonder why it didn’t work out & it can be easy to get discouraged. But did it ever occur to you that the very same God who opens doors is the same God who closes them?<br></p>
<p>I’m the kind of person who doesn’t like to wait for things, if I am pursuing something in my life I am ready for it to happen right then & there. I take off at one hundred miles an hour in the direction I am headed, praying for & looking for doors of opportunity to open in my life. Things seem fine as long as doors are opening, I’m feeling like life is good, but then I hit that door that slams in my face & my first thought many times is, “Why did this happen? Why didn’t God open this door?” Maybe you too have felt this way when something didn’t work out in your life. But I am learning more & more that the same God who opens doors in our life is the same God who closes them.<br></p>
<p>Think about it, God has a perfect plan for our life, we can’t see what lies ahead but God can. God has a destination He is trying to get each one of us to, & only He knows how to get us there. If God answered every prayer & opened every door we prayed for, it’s hard to tell where we would end up. Life is a journey of faith, & if we are putting our Faith in God that means trusting that He is guiding our steps in the right direction, opening the right doors & closing the wrong ones. I look back at a lot of things that happened in my life over the past 6 or 7 years & at the time many of them seemed like huge disappointments when things fell through & didn’t work out, but now I see that God had a plan all along & He had something much bigger in store for more life. Many times God shuts doors in our life because He doesn’t want us to settle for something less that what His plan for our life is. Remember this our dreams are not near as big as the plans God has for us. </p>
<p>I thank God for every door He has closed in my life because I know that He was just protecting me & keeping me from going in the wrong direction, I know God has big plans for my life, & I know He is going to guide each one of us through the doors He wants us to walk through. If something doesn’t workout in your life don’t get upset, just trust that God has you in the palm of His hand & that He was the one who closed the door because He has something much better in store for you down the road. So let’s always be thankful for every open door in our life, but let’s also learn to thank God for the doors He closes in our lives too. Better things are in store just down the road, keep your head up!</p>
Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629882012-04-30T12:00:00-12:002020-10-12T19:06:03-12:00Don't Live A "What Might Have Happened?" Life
<p> </p>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;">Have you ever heard someone say the phrase, “I wonder what might have happened if….?” I consider myself to be a pretty brave person, I don’t have too many fears in this life, but one fear I do have, maybe even my greatest fear, is reaching the end of my life & having to ask the question “What might have happened?” I think that would be the worst thing, to look back over my life & know that I didn’t fulfill my purpose that God had planned for me.</div>
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<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;">This is something I often struggle with & I know many other people that struggle with as well, they live with that big “what if?” question hanging over their head. A few years ago I felt God calling me into a different direction in my music & ministry, last year I made the big decision to follow my heart & tackle this new direction. As soon as I made that decision I’ve had one set back after another in my journey to reaching this vision God put in my heart. Isn’t that usually how it is? We set out on the journey full of passion & fire & then as each obstacle comes & each disappointment, rejection & failure hit us the fire seems to get quenched a little more & the dream seems smaller & farther out of reach. Finally we let the dream die & then years later we look back & say “I wonder what might have happened if?”</div>
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<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;">I am determined that WILL NOT happen in my life! God has given each of us a dream, a vision, a calling of what He wants us to do, & I am challenging you to not let the failures & setbacks in your life keep you from fulfilling your destiny. Let’s ignite the fire in our hearts again & say I may have gotten knocked down, but I didn’t get knocked out! I’m gonna get back up in Jesus name & move forward. My circumstances will not dictate what happens in my life, Almighty God will have the final say so over my dream.</div>
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<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;">Don’t just go through life with an attitude of accepting what comes to you, because if you do I can guarantee when you look back at your life you will ask that awful question, “what would have happened?” You’ve got to set your sights on your dream & tell your heart to believe again & determine that you will reach your destiny. I thank God that I see a breakthrough coming in my life, I’m not satisfied with just doing a little I want to be a world changer for the Lord, because I can! So let’s get back up dust ourselves off & get back in the race to reaching our goals, dreams & purpose that God has for our lives, so that when we reach the end we can say I have fought the good fight & I have finished my race, & not have to say “I wonder what would have happened if….?”</div>
<p> Have you ever heard someone say the phrase, “I wonder what might have happened if….?” I consider myself to be a pretty brave person, I don’t have too many fears in this life, but one fear I do have, maybe even my greatest fear, is reaching the end of my life & having to ask the question “What might have happened?” I think that would be the worst thing, to look back over my life & know that I didn’t fulfill my purpose that God had planned for me.<br></p>
<p>This is something I often struggle with & I know many other people that struggle with as well, they live with that big “what if?” question hanging over their head. A few years ago I felt God calling me into a different direction in my music & ministry, last year I made the big decision to follow my heart & tackle this new direction. As soon as I made that decision I’ve had one set back after another in my journey to reaching this vision God put in my heart. Isn’t that usually how it is? We set out on the journey full of passion & fire & then as each obstacle comes & each disappointment, rejection & failure hit us the fire seems to get quenched a little more & the dream seems smaller & farther out of reach. Finally we let the dream die & then years later we look back & say “I wonder what might have happened if?”<br></p>
<p>I am determined that WILL NOT happen in my life! God has given each of us a dream, a vision, a calling of what He wants us to do, & I am challenging you to not let the failures & setbacks in your life keep you from fulfilling your destiny. Let’s ignite the fire in our hearts again & say I may have gotten knocked down, but I didn’t get knocked out! I’m gonna get back up in Jesus name & move forward. My circumstances will not dictate what happens in my life, Almighty God will have the final say so over my dream.<br></p>
<p>Don’t just go through life with an attitude of accepting what comes to you, because if you do I can guarantee when you look back at your life you will ask that awful question, “what would have happened?” You’ve got to set your sights on your dream & tell your heart to believe again & determine that you will reach your destiny. I thank God that I see a breakthrough coming in my life, I’m not satisfied with just doing a little I want to be a world changer for the Lord, because I can! So let’s get back up dust ourselves off & get back in the race to reaching our goals, dreams & purpose that God has for our lives, so that when we reach the end we can say I have fought the good fight & I have finished my race, & not have to say “I wonder what would have happened if….?”</p>
Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629872012-04-02T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:58-12:00A Lesson Learned From The Lorax
<p>Well 1st off let me apologize for the time gap since the last blog, I noticed my last weekly blog was over 2 months ago, yikes! Sorry friends, life has been crazy busy, hoping to get back on track of blogging each week again. Many of you have been asking about why I haven’t been updating the blog & truth is I just haven‘t had a free second to write them, but should but able to start posting consistently now, so again really sorry.</p>
<p>A few weeks ago I went & saw the Dr. Seuss movie The Lorax. It was a really great movie with an awesome message in it. There was one part of the movie that was quoted from the classic book that really spoke volumes to me personally, the Lorax said this, <em>“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not.” </em>He was saying this in regards to saving the environment & the chopping down of trees, but I think there is such a powerful message in this statement, that Dr. Seuss was trying to get in our hearts.<br></p>
<p>I’ve really just been looking at a lot of things going on in our world today & it sometimes can just get overwhelming & so disheartening. I’ve really been studying things over the last year like teen suicide, people battling depression, the human sex trafficking epidemic, people who are caught in abusive relationships & the children around the world who are dying everyday from starvation. So often we know about this stuff, we read about it, see it on tv, talk to others about it, but my question is, are we doing anything about it?<br></p>
<p>I think sometimes we have a bad habit as people of only being sincerely concerned about things that affect us directly. You know if it’s our family member who is sick we earnestly pray, or if something is happening to our child we do something, but so often if something terrible is happening in someone else’s world & it’s not affecting us, we never really do anything to change it. But what if it was your child suffering from not having enough to eat? What if it was your daughter who had been captured & was being raped by people in the sex trafficking world? What if it was your teen who was thinking everyday about ending their life because they were being bullied? Kind of changes the perspective a little bit doesn’t it?<br></p>
<p>The thing is I’m tired of, myself included, people saying “Let’s change the world” or “let’s make a difference” & it only being a cliché, not really something that they mean or are willing to do anything about. The reality of the statement by the Lorax is so true, unless we do something, starting with the finger pointing at our selves, nothing is going to change. We are currently seeking new ways of being involved with different organizations that will allow us to use our music & message to help with the efforts of some of these things that I have talked about & I am so excited about the opportunity to reach these people who need it most.<br></p>
<p>So my challenge to you is this when you see something going on that needs to change, maybe someone you work with in an abusive relationship, or a friend you know struggling with suicide or depression, or whatever, don’t just assume anything, step in get involved do something to change it! Don’t just watch the little child on the tv starving to death, sponsor one, make a difference. I pray that you will let this statement from the Lorax be at the center of your heart & mind, but let’s look at it a little different, let’s say it like this <em>“Unless someone like ME cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not.” </em></p>
<p><em>Please feel free to leave comments & feedback, I love to hear from you all!</em></p>
<p><em><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393630/ba4c95258654be678a63ab2deae4eb509f778b90/original/lorax.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MjUxeDIwMSJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="201" width="251" /></em></p>
Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629862012-02-06T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:58-12:00Congrats To Our Winners Of This Year's V-Day Contest, Here's Their Story
<p>Well I want to say a big thank you to everyone who participated in this year's V-Day Contest it was a huge success! But there can only be one winner & this year our winners are Chris & Stephanie Halcomb! Congrats to you both! We picked their story because it really showed what it means to stick together through thick & thin & I thought that was great. Their song will be posted on here next week so be sure to check back to hear the song & watch the video, but in the mean time here is their story so that you can familiarize yourself with their story.</p>
<p>"My name is Stephanie Halcomb and I would like to share with you how I met the Love of my life Christopher Halcomb.Growing up as a child in a Non-Christian home and giving my heart to the Lord at the age of 15 was a continued struggle. Each and every Sunday my grandmother would take me to attend church at the Goshen Church of God. Seeing the relationship that my parents had, my dad being an alcoholic and addictive gambler and my mom trying to struggle to make ends meet made me realize that I wanted to ensure that I was in the perfect will of God when I chose my husband. It was in 2002, at the age of 17 years old when I met Chris for the first time. I was in the annual Christmas Program at the Goshen Church of God and Chris attended the program that night. My Youth Pastor was Pastor Randy Halcomb, Chris’ brother. Soon after the Christmas Program Chris started attending the church more regularly. I had my eye on him for several weeks and thought he was very good looking. One Sunday morning the Promotional Director/Worship Leader, Rick McKinney came to me in the foyer of the church and said “Do you see that guy over there, I think he likes you.” Of course, my eyes lit up like the 4<sup>th</sup> of July. I later found out that Rick McKinney had went and said the same thing to Chris, “Do you see that girl over there, I think she likes you.” Rick then introduced the two of us and Chris and I started talking. We went out for the first time to a youth rally together. Chris being the backwards person that he is finally asked me to be his girlfriend. We dated for about 4 months and I just knew that this was who God wanted me to spend the rest of my life with. A lot of people thought I was crazy because I was still so young but when you know, you just know. After about 4 months Chris and I had a disagreement that ended up breaking us up. For seven months we never spoke, emailed, text or seen each other. I tried to date other people but just could not bring myself to do it, I was heartbroken. How could the guy that I just knew the Lord wanted me to be with be gone? After 7 months we ran into each other and we have never looked back since. On January 10, 2004, I said “I Do” to the love of my life at the age of 19. Chris and I have been married for 8 years now. Through the years life has faced us with many struggles and opportunities to throw in the towel. For several years now Chris and I have been trying to conceive a child and have been unsuccessful, however, the Lord provided us with an entire Youth Group full of kids in which we Youth Pastored for 2yrs at the Williams Corner Church of God under the direction of our Pastor Rick McKinney. Recently, Chris and I have endured some marital problems which has caused us to have to step down as Youth Pastor at our church. Through everything that has happened, my family does not understand why I would want to spend my life with Chris. To me they don’t understand what true love is. When I said my vows before God and I took Chris for better or for worse, I meant every word. People fall, they make mistakes, that’s why we all need Jesus. So from the beginning of our relationship to present time I will stand by my husband because I love him with my whole heart and I know that is who God intended me to be with. We have endured many obstacles and now are on the road to a better marriage than I ever could have expected. Never take your spouse for granted, forgive as the Lord has forgiven us and when you say “I Love You” to your spouse, mean it with your whole heart even through everything life throws at you."</p>
<p> </p>
Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629852012-01-31T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:58-12:00God Doesn't Let It Happen, We Do
<p>Recently I attended a World Vision conference in Nashville, it was awesome! The theme of the event was “Use Your Voice, Do Good.” Which basically talked about how we should use our talents, skills, platform & resources to make an impact in our world for the good. God has blessed everyone of us with different abilities & resources to help others, what are we doing with them? A man said something that really stuck with me, he said people often ask him, “If God was such a loving God, then why does He let all these bad things happen to people & let little children starve & die around the world?” His answer was this, “God doesn’t let these things happen, we do.”</p>
<p>Wow, what a statement, something pretty hard to swallow, but so true. His point was the fact that many of us have the means to help others, the opportunities to help make a difference in other lives, but many times we choose not to. There were many stories I heard at the conference that were really hard to hear, everything from little babies in the streets starving, to children who are being put into the child sex trafficking market, who are raped many times a day. More than ever my eyes were opened even more to the fact that there is a hurting world out there & God is looking for people to step up & do something about it.</p>
<p>Our motto for our ministry has always been “Making A Difference” but last year I really started evaluating our music & ministry to see, am I really “making the difference” that God wants me to make? God’s answer to me was simple, it was NO. It hit me like a ton of bricks when I really felt God showing me that even though I was doing a good work, I was not in God’s perfect will for my life & ministry. Over the years I had let the criticism from the people in the churches change my vision & focus off of what God had put in my heart, & because of that I was missing the chance to reach more hurting people.</p>
<p>I realize there is more going on than what we see in the church on Sunday morning, I constantly get messages from people who are really struggling. Kids that are battling depression & suicide, families that have been split apart, & when I see things like the child sex trafficking & all these babies that are dying in the streets of these countries, I realize I’m missing the mark, it’s time to step up & attack these problems head on. We’ve got to stop hiding in the church asking God, “what can I do?” There is so much we can do if we look around, I truly believe many things that are happening in the world today are just like the man said, we, including myself, have let them happen because we have gotten side tracked with things that aren’t even important. Let’s refocus our eyes on the problems facing us & say Ok, now how can I change this & make a difference? And then be like Nike, Just Do It!</p>
<p>This year we will continue sharing our mission with World Vision because it is an amazing ministry! Also we will be partnering with teen suicide organizations & with an anti human trafficking organization too. I’m really excited that we are going to get to bring a message of hope through our music to those who need it most! I no longer want to be one of those people who knows that these terrible things are going on but does nothing about it. There is a time that we as God’s hands to this world must reach out & that time is now.</p>
<p>So I ask you are you going to sit by & watch? Or will you be someone who says, God I know I can make a difference, I’m not going to let things happen that I can prevent, help me to make an impact in my world? If we will all do that we truly can change this world, that is my vision, not to be a church go-er but a world changer! Will you join with me?</p>
Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629842012-01-04T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:58-12:00One Chapter Ends, A New One Begins
<p> </p>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; width: 1px; height: 1px; top: 0px; left: -10000px;">Well I can't believe that another year has come and gone. 2011 was a great year in many ways but was also hard in some ways due to a lot of sickness and voice problems. I experienced many great victories in 2011 and also experienced some losses as well. Looking back over the past year there's one thing that is certain and that is that I am truly blessed. I am so thankful for what God does in my life every day and how He proves Himself faithful time and time again no matter what I go through.</div>
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<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; width: 1px; height: 1px; top: 0px; left: -10000px;">There were very many memorable things that happened in 2011, many great concerts, new songs written, time with family, lots of great stuff. One of the greatest memories that I have is something that happened through a video I posted of a song that I wrote for a young man named Chris Taylor that tragically died in a car accident at the age of 18. Chris had an amazing story and I felt God leading me to write a song that would share his story with the rest of the world. So I wrote a song called "I Have Overcome" that shared how that God helps us overcome the obstacles that we go through in this life. One day I received an e-mail from a 17 year old girl who stumbled across the video on YouTube and shared a letter with me about how it saved her life. In her letter she explained to me how that she had been struggling with depression and suicide and was about to end her life but then she came across the video, listened to the song and to Chris's testimony and instead of ending her life she made the decision to give her life to the Lord. That's the reason I write songs and do what I do is to see lives changed and that story change my life it was pretty awesome & one of the highlights of my year!</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; width: 1px; height: 1px; top: 0px; left: -10000px;"></div>
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<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; width: 1px; height: 1px; top: 0px; left: -10000px;">2011 was also a big year for me in another way, I had been thinking about taking my music ministry in a different direction for years. Early in 2011 I had a moment with God where I really felt God was saying “it's now or never.” It was one of the greatest experiences I have ever had personally with God. I've never felt so strongly being led of God and any decision that I have made in my music or ministry before. So I said "okay God, if this is what you want me to do I will do it." Immediately I started seeing God's hand moving on my life in a way like never before. I knew this transition would take about a year and a half to accomplish, so all through 2011 and into this new year I have been working hard & putting together this new music and ministry that will allow me to reach more people than ever before with the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am more excited about my music and my future then I have ever been before. God has shown me that greater things are getting ready to happen in my music and in my life and I can't wait, I‘m starting to see the dream take shape!</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; width: 1px; height: 1px; top: 0px; left: -10000px;"></div>
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<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; width: 1px; height: 1px; top: 0px; left: -10000px;">As one chapter in my life ends, a new one begins and I am more than ready to move forward into the future. I truly believe that 2012 will be a great year of life-changing ministry that will take place through our music. I am putting no limitations on God, but believing and trusting Him for all that He has for my life. My prayer for this year is to make a greater impact in the world than I ever have before. Not to just make music but to make a difference in a world that so desperately needs to hear this message of hope. I am thankful for all the successes and victories of last year but I am not satisfied, I know there is more for me to accomplish and a greater work to do and I am fully ready to tackle the challenge ahead. So I move forward into this year excited, inspired, and focused on the fulfilling the purpose that God has for my life. Many great things have happened in my life in the past couple of years, but I know the best is still yet to come.</div>
<p>Well I can't believe that another year has come and gone. 2011 was a great year in many ways but was also hard in some ways due to a lot of sickness and voice problems. I experienced many great victories in 2011 and also experienced some losses as well. Looking back over the past year there's one thing that is certain and that is that I am truly blessed. I am so thankful for what God does in my life every day and how He proves Himself faithful time and time again no matter what I go through.<br><br>There were very many memorable things that happened in 2011, many great concerts, new songs written, time with family, lots of great stuff. One of the greatest memories that I have is something that happened through a video I posted of a song that I wrote for a young man named Chris Taylor that tragically died in a car accident at the age of 18. Chris had an amazing story and I felt God leading me to write a song that would share his story with the rest of the world. So I wrote a song called "I Have Overcome" that shared how that God helps us overcome the obstacles that we go through in this life. One day I received an e-mail from a 17 year old girl who stumbled across the video on YouTube and shared a letter with me about how it saved her life. In her letter she explained to me how that she had been struggling with depression and suicide and was about to end her life but then she came across the video, listened to the song and to Chris's testimony and instead of ending her life she made the decision to give her life to the Lord. That's the reason I write songs and do what I do is to see lives changed and that story change my life it was pretty awesome & one of the highlights of my year!<br><br>2011 was also a big year for me in another way, I had been thinking about taking my music ministry in a different direction for years. Early in 2011 I had a moment with God where I really felt God was saying “it's now or never.” It was one of the greatest experiences I have ever had personally with God. I've never felt so strongly being led of God and any decision that I have made in my music or ministry before. So I said "okay God, if this is what you want me to do I will do it." Immediately I started seeing God's hand moving on my life in a way like never before. I knew this transition would take about a year and a half to accomplish, so all through 2011 and into this new year I have been working hard & putting together this new music and ministry that will allow me to reach more people than ever before with the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am more excited about my music and my future then I have ever been before. God has shown me that greater things are getting ready to happen in my music and in my life and I can't wait, I‘m starting to see the dream take shape!<br><br>As one chapter in my life ends, a new one begins and I am more than ready to move forward into the future. I truly believe that 2012 will be a great year of life-changing ministry that will take place through our music. I am putting no limitations on God, but believing and trusting Him for all that He has for my life. My prayer for this year is to make a greater impact in the world than I ever have before. Not to just make music but to make a difference in a world that so desperately needs to hear this message of hope. I am thankful for all the successes and victories of last year but I am not satisfied, I know there is more for me to accomplish and a greater work to do and I am fully ready to tackle the challenge ahead. So I move forward into this year excited, inspired, and focused on the fulfilling the purpose that God has for my life. Many great things have happened in my life in the past couple of years, but I know the best is still yet to come.</p>
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Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629832011-12-20T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:57-12:00Jesus Is Still Alright With Me
<p>Well I can’t believe it Christmas will be here in only a few days, woo hoo! I’m so excited I am a huge Christmas fan, I love everything about Christmas the lights, the music, the presents, but most of all I love what it REALLY is, the celebration of Jesus coming to this Earth to bring us hope! The Grinch is great & Santa is pretty cool but let’s face it Jesus is the real hero of Christmas & despite what modern day society may say, Jesus is still the reason for Christmas!</p>
<p>This is one of my favorite passages of scripture in the Bible, Luke 2:10-11 "And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.<br>For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." Wow talk about great news! I’m so glad we have a Saviour & His name is Jesus. It really angers & hurts me to see all the rules that are being made in towns & even on government properties that prohibit any Christmas decorations that are Biblically related. No manger scenes, no Angels, no baby Jesus, it’s even become politically incorrect to say Merry Christmas now. Who would have thought we’d ever see the day that Merry Christmas would become offensive to people, how sad.</p>
<p>I remember last year at Christmas a girl at a checkout told me “Happy Holidays” & I said “do you mean Merry Christmas?” She looked at me & sadly said “I’m not allowed to say that anymore.” I’m so thankful that Jesus was not ashamed of us, I’m so thankful that in spite of all these things He knew would come, He still came to give us hope in a hopeless world. No matter what changes in this world, one thing will never change & that’s the fact that God so loved this world that He gave his only begotten son, for all of us. That’s what Christmas is, it’s about the greatest gift that was ever given in the history of the world, the gift of love that God gave each one of us through His son Jesus.</p>
<p>As we all gather around our tree this Christmas I hope we never forget another tree that stood on a hill a long time ago, where the Son of God was hanging for our redemption. I’m thankful for the baby that came & went all the way to Calvary that we might have life, I can’t think of any greater gift ever given or that ever will be given than what Jesus did for each one of us so long ago, may we never forget. So in a world that may shun the name of Jesus or may find the Christ in Christmas to be unpopular or offensive in today’s society, I say Jesus is still alright with me! See I know where I’d be had He not came, I’d be lost. So this world can have a “happy holiday” if they want to but as for me & my family we will ALWAYS keep our focus on the Christ of Christmas, so MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone, be blessed.</p>
<p>Please feel free to leave comments & feedback, I love to hear from you all.</p>
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Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629822011-11-30T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:57-12:00Let's Make It The Most Wonderful Time Of Year For Everyone
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<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;">Well it’s finally here, it’s Christmas time! Yay! I love Christmas it’s my favorite time of the year, I love everything about it, The Grinch, Christmas candy, the music, the Christmas cartoons & movies, doing special events with my family & all that come with this great time of year. Many say it’s “the most wonderful time of the year” there’s even a song about that, & though that is true for many, for some it’s also the hardest time of the year.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;">A few years ago I read some statistics that really shocked me, it said that suicide rates are higher between Thanksgiving & New Years than any other time of the year. I was blown away by that, because my whole life that has been one of the happiest times of the year for me, but to know for many it’s the most sad & lonely is heartbreaking. I found out that people struggle with depression & stress the most during this time of year also. Isn’t it sad that what is supposed to be, “the most wonderful time of year” becomes an overbearing burden for some, that drives them into despair that emotionally overwhelms them?</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;">My wife was telling me today of a family that her work is helping for Christmas who has nothing, it’s a single mother & her two teenage daughters who have spent the last several months living in a homeless shelter because they had nowhere to go. How hard it must be for them this time of year, & to know that there are so many more like them out there that are struggling the same way, meanwhile many of us so blessed we have more than enough. So what do we do? Well I want to offer you a challenge today.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;">I believe if we are Christians it is our obligation to be God’s hands to the world around us everyday. I have said many times that it’s not what we do inside the church that makes the difference, it’s what we do in our everyday life with the people that God puts in our pathway everyday that really matters. So will you reach out with me this holiday season to help make a difference in the lives of those who really need to experience God’s love & hope? That’s what Christmas is all about, it’s about HOPE, that’s what happened on that Holy Night when Jesus came to this Earth, He gave us HOPE that we would not have had without Him. Now it’s our turn to be the HOPE to the world around us by showing God’s love & compassion to those who are hurting & struggling this time of year. What an opportunity we have right now to make an impact in someone’s life right now during this special season. Maybe you can’t afford to buy someone presents that need them for their kids, maybe you can, or maybe you could visit someone who is lonely, go pray for someone who is sick, or just simply pick the phone & call someone to let them know they are cared about & missed. There is so much we can do if we really want to. I often hear people say, “what can I do to help someone or make a difference?” Truth is if we stop & look around there are opportunities waiting for us everywhere if we really want to touch a life with God’s love.</div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;"></div>
<div id="_mcePaste" style="position: absolute; left: -10000px; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;">I challenge you during this holiday season to step out of your comfort zone & ask God to use you to help make someone else Christmas better this year. Look for those opportunities to help others, be God’s hands to the world around you. While you & your family are enjoying this special time of year don’t forget to try to help make this “the most wonderful time of the year” for someone who desperately needs some hope, & I know God will help us to do it & bless us through it also.</div>
<p> Well it’s finally here, it’s Christmas time! Yay! I love Christmas it’s my favorite time of the year, I love everything about it, The Grinch, Christmas candy, the music, the Christmas cartoons & movies, doing special events with my family & all that come with this great time of year. Many say it’s “the most wonderful time of the year” there’s even a song about that, & though that is true for many, for some it’s also the hardest time of the year.<br></p>
<p>A few years ago I read some statistics that really shocked me, it said that suicide rates are higher between Thanksgiving & New Years than any other time of the year. I was blown away by that, because my whole life that has been one of the happiest times of the year for me, but to know for many it’s the most sad & lonely is heartbreaking. I found out that people struggle with depression & stress the most during this time of year also. Isn’t it sad that what is supposed to be, “the most wonderful time of year” becomes an overbearing burden for some, that drives them into despair that emotionally overwhelms them?<br></p>
<p>My wife was telling me today of a family that her work is helping for Christmas who has nothing, it’s a single mother & her two teenage daughters who have spent the last several months living in a homeless shelter because they had nowhere to go. How hard it must be for them this time of year, & to know that there are so many more like them out there that are struggling the same way, meanwhile many of us so blessed we have more than enough. So what do we do? Well I want to offer you a challenge today.<br></p>
<p>I believe if we are Christians it is our obligation to be God’s hands to the world around us everyday. I have said many times that it’s not what we do inside the church that makes the difference, it’s what we do in our everyday life with the people that God puts in our pathway everyday that really matters. So will you reach out with me this holiday season to help make a difference in the lives of those who really need to experience God’s love & hope? That’s what Christmas is all about, it’s about HOPE, that’s what happened on that Holy Night when Jesus came to this Earth, He gave us HOPE that we would not have had without Him. Now it’s our turn to be the HOPE to the world around us by showing God’s love & compassion to those who are hurting & struggling this time of year. What an opportunity we have right now to make an impact in someone’s life right now during this special season. Maybe you can’t afford to buy someone presents that need them for their kids, maybe you can, or maybe you could visit someone who is lonely, go pray for someone who is sick, or just simply pick the phone & call someone to let them know they are cared about & missed. There is so much we can do if we really want to. I often hear people say, “what can I do to help someone or make a difference?” Truth is if we stop & look around there are opportunities waiting for us everywhere if we really want to touch a life with God’s love.<br></p>
<p>I challenge you during this holiday season to step out of your comfort zone & ask God to use you to help make someone else Christmas better this year. Look for those opportunities to help others, be God’s hands to the world around you. While you & your family are enjoying this special time of year don’t forget to try to help make this “the most wonderful time of the year” for someone who desperately needs some hope, & I know God will help us to do it & bless us through it also.</p>
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Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629812011-11-21T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:57-12:00So Thankful
<p>This is always one of my favorite times of the year, I’m a huge Thanksgiving fan! I love everything about the holidays & this special day really kind of kicks it all off for me, plus I’m a big fan of food & because Thanksgiving gives us the reason to eat a lot of food that makes me happy too. As I think about all of what we have kind of come to know Thanksgiving to be about, you know the football games & Black Friday sales, I love all that stuff too, but I just want to stop & thank God for all the blessings in my life.</p>
<p>I’m kind of one of those people who tends to always focus on what’s ahead, maybe at times I’m more future minded than living in the present as most people are. Because I’m that way, I often times am looking for what’s coming or what’s going to happen instead of what has happened, so during this time of year I like to just kind of stop & look at all the things that have happened & how blessed I am. I look at all that God has done in my life & I can truly say I am more than blessed, God has been so so good to me.</p>
<p>I am so thankful for my amazing wife & family. God has given me such an awesome support system in my family, doing what I do isn’t always easy but I always have people praying for me & encouraging me & that means so much. My wife April & I have such a wonderful life together & I am so blessed to have her I couldn’t do my music & ministry without her constant help & support. God is always faithful to take care of us & supply our every need, I can look back & say there has NEVER been a time that God has let us down.</p>
<p>Sometimes it’s easy to focus on what we don’t have or instead of focusing on what’s went right for some reason people tend to focus on the negative, but I challenge you to look around with me today & see how blessed we are. There is a song I wrote a few years ago called “A Lot Of Things Right” it talks about how sometimes we see all the bad instead of the good but the song says this, “sure there’s a few things wrong, but there’s a lot of things right.” I believe when we look around that’s really how life is, there might be a few things wrong, but when we evaluate things in proper perspective there is a lot of things right in our life that we can be thankful for.</p>
<p>I never want to take for granted how good God is to me & my family. This week I am just praising God & thanking Him for all He has done in my life & all the He is doing. But it shouldn’t just be something we do on this one day or this one time of year, we need to learn to be thankful for God’s blessings in our life everyday & that is something I’m learning to do more & more as I go through life. I pray you & your family have a very Happy Thanksgiving & a wonderful holiday season!</p>
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Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629802011-10-24T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:57-12:00You Can Make It
<p>As I’m out on the road singing I have many people who ask for prayer & share their story with me about what’s going on in their life, or people will send me an email for the same reason. One thing I’ve noticed over the last few years is that people are really going through some hard times today. Sometimes it’s easy to get discouraged when we go through these times, trust me I know, I’ve been there many times myself. I think it’s because so many times our focus is on the problem that we’re facing instead of being on the one who solves our problems. I’ve found when we get our focus on how big God is, our problems start looking a lot smaller in comparison to that God that created this whole universe that is more than able to do far above anything that we could ever ask!</p>
<p>Sometimes people get into this mental mindset of being defeated, they’re never going to see there situation get any better because they’ve already defeated their self in their mind. If we’re not careful we can talk our self into being discouraged & going around with a defeated mentality. Instead what we need to do is tell our self what God’s word already promised us. We’re not defeated, the Bible tells us that we are more than conquerors through Christ! So when that little voice inside says, “It’s never going to get any better, it’s not going to change, just give up” tell your self, no that’s not what my Bible tells me, my Bible says I’m going to make it!</p>
<p>As Christians we need to stop going around with this “It might get better” mindset, we need to walk in faith with a “No doubt about it, I’m going to make it” mindset. Try this & see what God will do in your life. I’m learning more & more God does not operate in areas of wavering uncertainty, He operates in situations where people have an unshakeable faith. That’s what we should have as Christians is an unshakeable faith. We need to say “Sure things still may not appear to look any different right now, but my faith will not change because I already know what God has promised me, & if He promised it I know it will happen regardless of what has or hasn’t happened.”</p>
<p>I know in my own life there are times I get my faith built up & then things go wrong or it seems like nothing is changing & then my faith starts weakening a little bit, but we shouldn’t be that way. We have to be consistent in our faith, in the good times & the bad times we must choose to trust God anyway. Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about my favorite scripture which is John 16:33, it talks about the overcoming power that Jesus gave us. He tells us in this verse to be of good cheer, because He has already overcome this world, & if He overcame this world He has also made us overcomers! So let’s begin to take on an overcomer attitude, I challenge you today to say to your battles, struggles, trials & storms “You won’t overcome me, because Jesus has made me the overcomer. I am not the victim, through Christ I am the victor!” God didn’t create us to be overcome by problems, He created us to overcome problems.</p>
<p>Many of you have followed the story about the young man, Chris Taylor that I wrote the song for who died in a car wreck. Chris was such an example of an overcomer to so many, I have posted his video below I hope it encourages you & helps you to see that you too, through God’s help can overcome anything going on in your life today. Keep your head up, keep your faith up & know that no matter what you’re going through God is going to help you to overcome. I promise you can make it!</p>
<p>Please feel free to leave comments & feedback I love to hear from you all</p>
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Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629792011-10-04T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:56-12:00Overcomer (Chris's Story)
<p>A few days ago I received the news that a young man, only 18 years old that I knew named Chris, died tragically in a car accident. I was shocked to find out the news about Chris, so young, so unexpected. As I have gotten to talk to some of those closest to Chris over the last few days I have realized more & more what an amazing person & example of Christ that Chris was. When I attended the layout I was blown away by the amount of people who came to remember Chris, probably the biggest turnout I have ever seen at a funeral home, & it showed what an impact he made on the lives of the people who knew him.</p>
<p>I found out that Chris was a bold Christian who was not ashamed of his faith, who loved to tell people about Jesus through his words & actions. Chris left this world making an impact for Jesus, how awesome that he was able to do that even at such a young age! It got me thinking, do we live our lives like that? If we were to leave this world unexpectedly would people know about the Jesus in us? I hope so. I learned though that Chris came from a very very hard life, as a young child being passed around from foster home to foster home. He went through some terrible years of his life filled with abuse & neglect. But God had a plan for Chris’s life & put him with a great loving family that showed him the love he deserved & led him to know the love of Christ as well.</p>
<p>Someone mentioned to me at the layout service that I should write a song about Chris & his story. In my mind I thought I’m so busy I don’t even have the time to write the songs I’m working on. On my way home God really started speaking to me to write this song about Chris’s story, & the impact it could have on others who knew him. So I said ok Lord let’s do it. I started talking to those closest to him & finding out more about him, the more I learned the more impressed I was by his life. The one thing that stuck out to me about what I was told about Chris, was his ability to overcome whatever came his way in life. We all go through things in life but we have to have the mentality, I’m not a victim, I’m a victor, & that’s the way Chris thought . So I wrote this song in Chris’s honor & memory hoping tit will speak to hearts of others who are going through struggles, knowing that they don’t have to give up or get discouraged, they too can overcome with God’s help! So I’m sharing the lyrics to this song, I wrote for Chris called “I Have Overcome” hoping that it will encourage your hearts today. I know that Chris has truly overcome everything in this world & is standing in the presence of Jesus today saying I Have Overcome! I will post a video to the song in the next few days so be sure to check back, to hear the song & see the video, hope you enjoy this song</p>
<p>I Have Overcome (In memory of Chris Taylor who died on Sept 30 2011)<br>Written By: Jimmy Dooley</p>
<p>V:1/ If I could tell you one thing, That I learned along the way, Is that it wasn’t always easy, But I wouldn’t change a thing, I’ve went through some hard times, There were days I felt alone, I remember many sleepless nights, When I was barely hanging on, When life knocked me down, I’d get back up every time that I would fall, And love conquered all, Oh love conquered all</p>
<p>Chorus:/ I have overcome, I have overcome, There were times my faith was tested, But I never gave up. I have overcome, I have overcome, I’ve been through the fire & through the rain, But I’m still standing strong. I have fought a lot of battles, Some I’ve lost, And some I’ve won, But I’m an overcomer, There’s nothing I can’t overcome</p>
<p>V:2/ I know what it feels like, To face this world on your own, To suffer pain, hurt & rejection, To search for strength to carry on, But I know what it feels like, To stand on a mountaintop, To live life to the fullest, And to love with all you’ve got, When life knocks us down, Someone will be waiting, To catch us when we fall, Cause love conquers all, Oh love Conquers all</p>
<p>Repeat Chorus:/ (2x)</p>
<p><br>Please feel free to leave comments & feedback, I love to hear from you all</p>
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Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629782011-09-27T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:56-12:00Our Own Worst Enemy
<p>If you ever ask someone the question “Why don’t you attend church?” You’ll get many different answers, but 2 of the biggest ones I get are, “I don’t want to go to church with a bunch of hypocrites.” The other big one is “I went to church before & I didn’t feel welcome.” I often analyze these types of things & as we travel to many different churches of all types of denominations, I’ve started thinking maybe we’ve become our own worst enemy in the church world as we know it.</p>
<p>I want to start by saying that we have met some amazing, Godly, & loving people across the country, as we’ve been traveling in our music ministry over the last several years. I’m thankful for all these people, they are awesome & when we go to churches that have these kind of people we are so thankful. However there are places that we go where I can truly see how people wouldn’t want to go, I mean WOW, I could literally write a book about this stuff & have actually had a lot of people that we’ve shared our stories with from churches we’ve been to & many people say “I can’t believe that, you should write a book!”</p>
<p>It’s funny that many people’s excuses about not going to church really don’t have anything to do with them being against God or Christianity it’s about the way that people in the churches make them feel. My wife & I have experienced this first hand many times & I know exactly how these people feel. Do you know how hard it is to visit a church for the 1st time? I mean think about it, you usually don’t know anyone, you feel awkward, outplace & then sister Sally comes up to you & says “Excuse me you’re sitting in my pew!” By the way I’ve literally had that happen to me! Are we giving people a reason to want to come to our church or a reason to not want to go to any church? Think about it.</p>
<p>I recently heard the story of a man who visited a small country church, after the church service he walked up to one of the deacons & not really knowing what to say because he felt out of place he said, “You all sure do have a nice little church here.” The deacon looked back at him & said, “Yep and that’s just the way we’d like to keep it, really small.” He wanted the man to know they weren’t looking for any new converts they wanted to keep it “the way it’s always been.” I’ve often heard people say the last words of a dying church are “We’ve always done it this way.” I often feel like the man that visited that little church as we go into some churches to sing you can feel the massive amount of unwelcomeness flowing from some people. Not too long ago we sang at a church & there was one lady who was all smiles when she came in laughing talking to her friends, as soon as she found out I was singing the smile quickly turned into a look of anger. I could literally feel the resistance coming from her like a tractor beam, so I thought to myself I’ll just look her in the eye & smile & let her see God’s love shine through me, usually that works, but not this day, the more I smiled at her the madder she got, then when the service was over she waited until I was close enough to hear her & made some comments hoping to hurt me I think & definitely making sure that we knew she didn’t want us back. Oh well you can’t win them all over, but it was a harsh reality to me that we as Christians are often our own worst enemy to the world we say we’re trying to reach.</p>
<p>I’m asking you Christian what does the world see when they look at you & your church? Are we loving like Christ loved? Are we outward focused or inward focused? If someone walked into your church for the first time would they feel welcome or does your church have the content with the few we have mentality? We’ve got to change our hearts if we ever want to change the hearts of those lost in this world. So make sure you’re being a reason for someone to want to be a Christian, don’t become an enemy to the cause & another excuse for someone to not come to the Lord. Be real for Jesus today!</p>
<p>Please feel free to leave comments & feedback, I love to hear from you all</p>
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Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629772011-09-26T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:56-12:00"Save Me From Myself"
<p><span lang="EN"> </span></p>
<p>So I’m super excited to be working on a new album of all original songs again! This is the first time I have written any songs for three and a half years so it feels really good to get the ink flowing from the pen again. Over the last few years I’ve really been studying people & their struggles so that I could write songs that would be real to people where they are in their everyday life. I see a lot of people who deal with personal struggle & failure & wrote this song about it called “Save Me From Myself” from the perspective of how some people feel that I have talked to or read things they have posted, hope the words speak to you, be sure to comment below & let me know what you think, thanks</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Save Me From Myself<br>Written By: Jimmy Dooley</p>
<p>V:1/ I fall down, I get up, But then I fall back down again, I fight so hard to be a better man, But it feels like a battle that I can’t win, Somehow failure finds me, Everywhere I turn, I make the same mistakes a million times, It seems like I never learn, So why do I do, These things I don’t want to do, Save me from myself, I’m crying out to you cause</p>
<p>Chorus:/ I’m not the me that I want to be, There’s gotta be a better life for me, I know there’s a better way, I know there’s a better way, I’m praying God will help me change, I’m tired of all this hurt & pain, When I know there’s a better way, I know there’s a better way, So can you save me from myself, So will you save me from myself,(Save me, Save me)</p>
<p>V:2/ I’ve messed up, I’ve fell short, I’ve done some things that I regret, I try hard to put the past behind me, But a guilty conscience, Won’t let me forget, I thought I was strong enough, But now I’m on my knees, When I stare in the mirror, Looking back I see, My own worst enemy, I’m trying to pick myself back up & turn my life around, But only You can save me from myself, You’re my only hope now</p>
<p>Repeat Chorus:/</p>
<p>Outro: Save me, Please Save me, Save me from myself </p>
<p>Please feel free to leave comments & feedback I love to hear from you all.</p>
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Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629762011-08-31T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:56-12:00God Writes Our Story
<p>Have you ever read a book & as you’re reading it, it starts taking twists & turns, & you think to yourself, “this doesn’t seem to be making any sense. Where is this story going?” I think sometimes our lives can be that way too. Our lives many times are like a story unfolding a chapter at a time. Sometimes there are good times, sometimes there are bad times, & sometimes you fall into one of those chapters in your life where you say, “This doesn’t make any sense, where is this headed?”</p>
<p>The Bible tells us all of our days have been written in God’s book. He’s already recorded every part of your life from the beginning to the end. He knows every loss, every challenge & every disappointment. But the great news is your story will end in victory! The final chapter of your life will end with you fulfilling the destiny God has for your life.</p>
<p>The key to the story of our life is when you get to those parts when you go through loss & disappointment, don’t stay stuck on that page, keep moving forward, there’s another chapter in front of you. Sometimes we miss out on opportunities because we stay so focused on the things that didn’t work out, but you must move forward, leave it & go on. You’ve been stuck on that page for long enough, you’ve read that part of the story hundreds & hundreds of times, let it go & move on to the next chapter God has for your life.</p>
<p>You may not understand everything you’ve been through now, but if you’ll keep moving forward, knowing God is in control of your destiny, you will come to a chapter in your future that will make sense of it all & pull it all together to see the plan God has for your life.<br> <br>I believe the upcoming chapters of my life & your life will be the best God has had for us yet!</p>
<p>Please feel free to leave comments & feedback I love to hear from you all.</p>
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Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629752011-08-17T12:00:00-12:002022-05-08T07:29:33-12:00Life Is Like A Cup Of Coffee
<p>Sometimes in this busy society we live in today it’s easy to lose perspective on what life is really all about. I know myself, I have so often got caught up in the hustle & bustle of life that sometimes God has to stop me & refocus my mind on the truly important things in life. Seems like more & more the world we live in gets crazier all the time & it’s easy to try so hard to find the things the make us happy we forget where true happiness comes from.</p>
<p>I found this really great little story called “Life Is Like A Cup Of Coffee” so I thought I’d share it with you all this week. I hope it speaks to your heart & helps you focus on what’s really important in life & reminds you of where real happiness comes from, enjoy!</p>
<p>A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.</p>
<p>Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee.</p>
<p>When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups have been taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.</p>
<p>Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups.</p>
<p>Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we live.</p>
<p>Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee. Savor the coffee, not the cups! The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything. Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.</p>
<p>Please feel free to leave comments & feedback, I love to hear from you all.</p>
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Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629692011-08-09T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:54-12:00All Things Work Together
<p>Sometimes we go through things in life that just don’t seem fair, you know what I mean? I often hear people say things like, “Why did God let this happen to me? I just don’t understand.” I know that life isn’t always fair, but I know that God is always fair. The Bible tells us in Romans 8:28, that God causes all things to work together for our good. The key word to look at is together.</p>
<p>We can’t isolate parts of our life & say this is not good or that’s not good, sure parts of our life aren’t always good. In itself certain things that happen in our lives aren’t good, but remember God sees the bigger picture for our life. Your life doesn’t stop because one bad thing happened to you, that is only one piece in the puzzle of your life, there will be other pieces some good & some bad that connect it all together to make things work together for your good.</p>
<p>When we’re baking something, it could be cookies, a cake, whatever, it takes many different ingredients. On their own many of these ingredients don’t taste good at all! If we isolate them they can be flat out nasty on their own, but when mixed together they taste so good, & if you leave one out, even if it’s just something small, whatever you’re baking just doesn’t turn out right. Some people get bitter about their life because they haven’t waited for all the ingredients to come together. But remember God has promised a great plan for your life. When bad things happen in your life don’t get stuck in those times, just remember that God is adding more ingredients to your life.</p>
<p>You may have had some setbacks & disappointments along the way & life may not have treated you fairly, but you wouldn’t still be here unless God had a great plan for your future. Those hard times & setbacks you went through were not the end, God has more ingredients coming, & He will put it all together to make something good happen in your life.</p>
<p>Not everything that happens in our life makes sense on its own, but we have to trust in God’s plan for our life. Have the attitude, “ I know God has a great plan for my life. Even though I don’t understand this, I know somehow, someway God will work it out to my advantage.” Keep your eyes on the bigger picture & know that God is bringing together all the needed ingredients in your life to bring to completion His ultimate plan for good things in your life.</p>
<p>Please feel free to leave comments & feedback, I love to hear from you all</p>
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Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629662011-07-27T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:54-12:00Suicide And Depression
<p>We often talk about what some of the major “killers” are in today’s society, things like heart disease or cancer, but over the past couple of years I’m seeing something that is becoming catastrophic to our world today & it’s suicide. I believe has become more of a problem than most people even realize, it’s not just the down & out anymore that struggle with it, it’s also the successful business person, the person with the perfect family, the teen who appears to have everything they could ask for in their future, these people have all become targets of spirit of suicide.</p>
<p>Doing what I do, traveling across the country singing & ministering, I have a lot of people who will come up to me after a concert or send me an email telling me their stories & struggles. Two of the biggest problems I see people dealing with today are depression & suicide. It just absolutely blows my mind to find out how many people are dealing with these things. I started realizing this a few years ago & God began to put a burden on my heart to do something about it, earlier this year I made that commitment to God to use our ministry to battle this problem head on. Last week I posted a message on Facebook asking how many people had personally battled with suicide or were directly affected by a close friend or family who had committed suicide, it was an overwhelming response, I even had people send me some of their personal stories of horrible battles they have been through with this awful problem. I think it’s a process that sets in people & they don’t even realize it at first then more & more discouragement gets piled on them, until they find themselves so depressed they lose the will to live & it just takes that one little thing to send them over the edge, so think about that the next time you want to get mean & hateful toward someone they might already be standing at that edge just waiting for the mental push to send them over, don’t let that person be you who does that to them.</p>
<p>I’m getting ready to switch our ministry in a different direction, over the next year, to reach a different demographic of people & one of the main focuses of my new ministry is going to be dealing with the issue of suicide. We are going to partner with a few suicide organizations to help combat this problem, also taking our music & message into public schools, colleges, church camps & anywhere we can get a foot in the door to share a message of hope with these people. I’m currently working on a new album, which I’m super excited about, & some of the songs on the album will deal with the issues of depression & suicide, so that we can put this music into the hands of people who are struggling with these things to give them hope.</p>
<p>Please pray for our ministry as we jump into this new territory to reach people who so desperately are in need of help. And please don’t ever assume anything about anyone, you never know who might be going through this, it may even be those friends & family who are closest to you, so always look for those signs & be extra careful how you treat people. If you are dealing with these problems, please let someone know, or please let me know so that I can pray for you or I’d even be glad to talk with you, feel free to send me an email at <a href="mailto:jimmy@jimmydooley.com" data-imported="1"><span style="color:#ffffff">jimmy@jimmydooley.com</span></a> all emails & messages will be confidential & shared with no one. Let’s stop this terrible force that is destroying lives in the power of Jesus name.</p>
<p>Please feel free to leave feedback & comments I love to hear from you all.</p>
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Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629632011-07-23T12:00:00-12:002011-07-24T00:13:07-12:00New Album In Progress!
<p>Really excited to let you all know we have began working on the new album! Yipee! We are currently in the studio recording all new stuff which is going to be different than anything I've ever released before. My ministry is getting ready to change direction in the way that we try to reach people, as well as partnering with some orginizations which will allow us to reach out to some hurting people that I feel have been overlooked & are in need of much help. This new music & ministry direction I believe will be the vehicle to allow us to do what God has been putting on my heart to do for years now. I can't really say a whole lot about what the new music & ministry will be yet as it will be a huge surprise, but just know it's going to be a huge step in the right direction, keep checking back for details & sneek previews of some of the new music in the next few months. Can't wait for you all to hear what we're working on, I think you'll be blown away.<br> <img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393630/d4cf01d79b3775fcb56358982fba35d4e5bfc5c2/original/jimmy-recording-myspace.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MzQyeDI3MSJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="271" width="342" /></p>
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Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629532011-07-13T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:51-12:00Live For The Now
<p>Have you ever heard someone say something like this, “One day I’ll be happy when, I get a better job” or “I meet the right person” or “when I have more money”, fill in the blank with whatever, you’ve heard these kind of things before I’m sure. It seems that as people we sometimes have a tendency to always be living for the “One Day.” I believe we all should look forward to the future & plan for great things ahead, but we have to learn to be happy where we are & live for the now.</p>
<p>I’d like to talk to you about breaking away from the “one day” mentality & switching your way of thinking to the “now” point of view. Instead of saying that one day whenever this or that happens then life will be good, we must choose to know that God is already doing great things in our life right now! Sometimes we’re so focused on what hasn’t happened in our life, that’s all we see instead of looking at how blessed we are & what God is doing in our lives now. We sometimes miss the best moments in life because we’re so focused on this big goal we’re trying to reach, that we fail to see all the good things that are already happening on our way there.</p>
<p>Hebrews 11:1 says this “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Notice the word it uses, now, this tells me we shouldn’t get this one day I will be happy, one day God will move in my life attitude, no, now is the time to release your faith. Right now God is working in your life. Right now God is putting things in place to fulfill His plan for your life. Stay in the now if you want to activate God’s power in your life.</p>
<p>Remember when Lazarus had died & Jesus told Mary & Martha that He was the resurrection & the life, Martha responded yes Lord I know in the last days you will raise Lazarus again when we all go to heaven. But Jesus said, no I’m not talking about the last days, I’m talking about today, if you’ll roll that stone away, I’ll raise Lazarus back to life right now. Jesus was saying I am a right now God!</p>
<p>Often we just settle for the one day state of mind & go through life day to days looking for the better days ahead, but I challenge you to break free from that & start expecting great things to happen now. Believe that today God will do something great in your life. I’ve often learned it’s not the destination that makes our mission great, it’s the journey that it takes to get there that made it all worth while. Enjoy the journey, & live in the now moments of your life.</p>
<p>Please feel free to leave comments & feedback, I love to hear from you all.</p>
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Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60630022011-07-07T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:50:01-12:00Voice Is Finally Back!
<p>Well as many of you may or may not know about 3 months ago I lost my voice & went through a terrible time of throat & vocal problems, it was rough. At the time I lost my voice I had just went into the studio to work on some new music & had to come to a sudden hault. Well finally my voice is completely healed & back to normal, Thank You Lord! So next week I will head back into the studio & get back to writing & recording new music that will be out later this year. Be sure to check back as there is some major exciting changes coming to my music & ministry, I'm really, really excited about the direction God is leading me in & believe we will be able to reach more people with the Gospel than ever before. After not being able to sing for such a long time I have learned to never take my voice for granted again!</p>
Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60630012011-06-27T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:50:01-12:00Childlike Faith
<p>Last week I had the privilege of doing the music at a VBS type of event called Sportscamp for about 250 kids, it was a blast! But as I have been doing more events with kids I’m starting to notice some things from the kids that we could learn from as adults. It makes me wonder what is it that changes in us & when does it occur in our lives that takes us from being one way as children to a completely different way when we’re older? Sure there are some things that need to change in us from kids to adults, but I think there are some things that maybe shouldn’t change but unfortunately do.</p>
<p>In Matthew 18:4 Jesus said this, “So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.” I’m seeing more & more what Jesus meant. It’s funny watching the way adults react to God, worship & church versus the way a child does. It blows my mind to watch kids, how they are so unashamed to worship, excited about God & they truly believe that anything is possible & take the Bible for exactly what it says. On the other hand many times with adults you have to do everything but pull teeth just to get the smallest reaction from them or get them to worship, they have lost their excitement about God it’s just become routine & they seem to try to figure everything out instead of just believing what the Bible says, they’ve lost that child like innocence that believes anything is possible.</p>
<p>Jesus so often talked about childlike faith & the power it had & how that He wanted us as believers to have that same mentality as a child does. Jesus said except we be converted & become as a little child we should not enter into the kingdom of heaven. I believe He was talking about the very things I was talking about, casting off this know it all attitude to being totally depend on Him. To stop worrying about what others think of us & worship Him in spirit & in truth freely & unashamedly. Remember how when were kids we had so much life in us, so many dreams, what happened to us?</p>
<p>It did my heart so much good to look out at a sea of faces, when each song would start, that were smiling , excited to be there & sincerely wanting to worship God. Quite a change of pace from what I often see at churches where people look miserable like someone forced them to be there, wishing it would just end so they could leave. We can definitely learn a lot from watching these kids & I believe that God wants us to live as they do in the way we see Him. So let’s put aside our rules, regulations & traditions made of men & come before the Lord as a child full of excitement, believing anything is possible, & let God’s light shine through His children today!</p>
<p>Please feel free to leave comments & feedback, I love to hear from you all!</p>
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Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60630002011-06-14T12:00:00-12:002021-12-22T04:33:50-12:00What Is "Christian" Music?
<p>Well this week I’d like to talk about what could be a pretty touchy subject with a lot of people, & that is what exactly is “Christian” music? We all probably have our own idea of what that is when we hear the term, or maybe what it isn’t too. I feel that as Christians we are so divided on this topic, which is really a shame because something that should unite us as believers is more often what separates us. So being that what I do for a living is “Christian” music lets take a deep look into this, shall we?</p>
<p>I often share the story to my “Half & Half” album, that the reason I created it was because so many pastors tell us that their church is split on the music they like, half like the old songs, the other half like the new ones & most of the time there is no meeting in the middle between the two. It’s amazing how divided even churches are on music, they think they can only “worship” God if it’s the kind of music they like or are accustomed to. What a crazy idea that we can only worship our Lord & Savior who gave His life for us, if the song has a certain sound or lyrical pattern to it, how disappointing that must be to God! I say we need to get over ourselves & realize it’s not about us anyway, it’s all about Him, or at least it should be I guess that’s the whole problem we’re not making it about Him it’s become all about us!</p>
<p>God has been teaching me so much over the last few months about so many things that pertain to this topic, such as what true worship & true ministry is & what God has shown me ,was that I had so many wrong ideas about a lot of things & God has had to completely restructure my way of thinking to prepare for what He wants me to do. Let me talk about a few of these things that God has made so clear to me to me personally. Sometimes it’s hard for us to admit when we’re wrong, but let me say it first, I was wrong in much of my thinking & God is changing me & correcting me & I’m thankful because I know from this I will be able to reach way more people looking through the perspective that God has given than from the perspective I used to have which was beaten into my head by doctrine & tradition that was wrong.</p>
<p>Let me start around this passage of scripture I just read today right before I wrote this blog, which was just more confirmation to me from God about these ideas. It’s found in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 Paul says this, “19 Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.” The whole idea here is that Paul does what he needs to do to speak the language of the people he’s trying to reach with the Gospel. I used to be against this idea in a way because the church I went to for many years taught that everything was evil if they weren’t doing it. They spent so much time condemning others that they were missing opportunities to really reach people. Our church basically taught us, if it wasn’t 4 guys wearing matching suits, a bluegrass band with 8 acoustic guitars or a family group with women who didn’t wear makeup who’s skirts drug the floor, then it wasn’t really “Christian” music. The longer I’ve been in the music industry & ministry I’ve learned that couldn’t be further from the truth! So of the most evil, fake & ungodly people I’ve met in my life are well know traditional Gospel singers, that seem to look & sound the part to a lot of church people but definitely are not walking the walk of Christ. On the flip side some of the most sincere, humble, true Christians I have ever met didn’t at all look like or sound like what I was taught a Christian had to look or sound like. Paul realized something that many Christians & churches are missing & that is this, if we want to win this world the things we want mean nothing, it’s got to be about reaching THEM that don’t know Christ & they are not attracted to the same things that the church from 50 years ago are into. This whole “we’ve always done it this way” mentality doesn’t work anymore, that’s why churches are becoming empty & in many cases closing.</p>
<p>We’ve got to find a way to be relevant to today’s society. “well Jimmy, you’re telling us to compromise” I can already here someone saying, that’s not what I’m saying at all. I used to have these same arguments with other people except I used to be the one who was so brain washed by tradition & religious thinking, I was on the other side of the argument but as I said earlier God has so clearly showed me I was wrong. Jesus himself found ways to be relevant to the world around Him in His ministry, sure he had persecution, but who was it usually from? That’s right the religious crowd, the little 75 year old lady who grabbed her purse & walked out of the church on Sunday morning because someone sang a song with a guitar, lol.</p>
<p>I recently read a feed on someone’s Facebook page where 2 people were arguing over Christian Rap music. The one person talked about how excited the kids were at VBS about the music, the other person condemned it saying, it was “trash.” That was the kind of person I used to be, but God has showed me that that ”trash” has a huge ministry in reaching people that not everyone can reach. It goes back to being a body of believers, every part of the body has a different purpose & ministry, & their ministry is speaking someone’s language that won’t listen to a album of hymns from 4 guys in a quartet. One of the most influencing things in my decision to becoming a Christian was a Christian Rap group called DC Talk, I thought they were the coolest, until someone in our church told me it was wrong. “That’s not Christian music” they said, “That’s the music of the world.” But yet those same people week after week sang songs & listened to songs that sounded like Elvis & Johnny Cash but that was “Christian” music? Kind of a double standard huh, & that’s usually what we see, it’s Godly if we like it, if we don’t like it than it’s not Godly. Well I say this if it presents the Gospel & glorifies the name of Jesus, doesn’t matter what the musical structure is, God is pleased with it & will use it to touch lives.</p>
<p>Remember when Jesus told the disciples whosoever if not against us is for us? That’s what God has shown me, stop wasting our time deciding what is “Christian” & what’s not, doesn’t matter what we think anyway, God uses all kinds of music & ministries to touch all kinds of people. The Gospel does not return void, if the message is going out, than rest assured God is suing it in some way to speak to someone. So lets stop letting things divide us that should unite us & let’s stand as one as a body of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.</p>
<p>I would love to hear your thoughts on this as I know may of you will have your own opinions, please feel free to agree or disagree with your comments & feedback, thanks</p>
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Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629992011-06-08T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:50:01-12:00Take A Vacation, From Your Problems
<p>Well it’s been a few weeks since I’ve gotten to blog, sorry for the missed weeks. One of the main reasons I missed a few weeks is that I was on vacation, woo hoo! Had a great time relaxing & being with family, it was a much needed time of rest.</p>
<p>Being on vacation got me to thinking about one of my all time favorite movies called “What About Bob?” This movie is hilarious, it’s about a multiphobic psychiatric patient who follows his successful psychiatrist Dr. Leo Marvin on vacation. One of the main parts of the movie is that his psychiatrist writes Bob a prescription to “take a vacation from his problems.” Even though this is a funny movie, there’s really a lot of good sense in that idea.</p>
<p>If you’re at all like me, life can get really stressful, even tiresome at times with all the things we get weighed down with in our everyday life. So many people go day to day focused on & beat down by all the problems that are going on in their life. Sure we’re all going to have problems, but when the problems have us & control our lives then there’s, well, you guessed it, a problem. What if we could just leave our problems behind us for a few days or a week like we do our home when we leave for vacation? Wouldn’t that be great? Just put it in the rear view mirror of life & enjoy life for a while! The good news is we can!</p>
<p>What if we trusted God enough that we could leave our burdens, worries & frustrations in His hands, & say “Ok God it’s all in your hands now, I’m not gonna worry about it any more, I’m putting this stress behind me & I’m focusing on enjoying life right now.” Maybe that’s what you need to do today. You’ve focused on your situations & problems so long it has made you weary, now you just need to forget about the problems, & begin to focus on enjoying life again. It’s so easy for our focus to shift toward negativity & then we become a product of our focus, we become negative. Maybe today you just need to get a new focus, don’t focus on your problems, focus on the problem solver. Know that no matter what it is going in your life, God is not surprised, He already knows about it, & I guarantee you He’s not at all worried.</p>
<p>So I challenge you today to do as Bob did, get a new perspective, take a vacation from your problems, let them be God’s to handle, stop worrying & start trusting & I think you’ll see some brighter days ahead!</p>
<p>Please feel free to leave comments & feedback, I love to hear from you all!</p>
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Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629982011-05-10T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:50:00-12:00Seasons Change
<p>Well I think the cold weather is pretty much behind us. Finally! I am not a big fan of winter time at all, but I’m a huge fan of summer time. I love everything about summer, swimming, going to theme parks, having grill outs & just being outside, I love it! There seems like there’s a time every year somewhere between February & March where it starts feeling like winter time is never going to end, but every year it does.</p>
<p>Maybe you’ve had seasons like that in your life. You know the one that just doesn’t seem like it’s ever going to end. Maybe it’s like the winter, where it’s kind of a dark & cold season in your life & you’re thinking, “is the thing ever going to end?” Well the good news is that seasons ALWAYS change! Sometimes those seasons of hard times, loneliness, darkness & stress hang around longer than we would like, but rest assured the sun will shine again, that season will change & better days will be ahead.</p>
<p>I love spring time, how every year without fail those plants that were just empty & lifeless looking bloom again & become these beautiful creations to behold. It’s one of those things where I just look around at what God created & say “Wow, God you are amazing!” I’m in awe sometimes when I just stop & look around at God’s creation, it really puts into perspective how powerful God really is. I was driving down the road today just looking around feeling so blessed, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, trees & flowers are blooming all over the place, my windows were down & it just kind of hit me only a few weeks ago, I had the heat on in my car, the trees were bare, it was cloudy & cold everyday, & I said to myself, “thank you Lord that the seasons have changed again.”</p>
<p>As I go through life I’m learning more & more that we go through seasons in our life as well. Many different kinds of seasons too. Maybe it’s a season of blessing, maybe a season of learning, or maybe a season a change, but we all go through different seasons, some are better than others. I’ve went through seasons in my life where it just seemed like everything went right, life was great & I was living high on the mountaintop. Then I’ve been through some very difficult seasons where nothing seem to turn out right, I felt alone & discouraged. I’m sure you can relate to some of these seasons as you have probably experienced them in your life too. What God is teaching me though, is that He uses these different seasons we go through for a purpose in our life to prepare us for His plan for our life. There have been times I’ve went through things that made no sense to me at the time, but now I look back & see God was in control of it all along, He was preparing me for something else, something greater. I’m going through a season of great change in my life right now & as I look back over the last several years & experiences in my life, I see how it was all leading up to what God is doing in my life right now.</p>
<p>Maybe you’ve been through or are going through a difficult season in your life today, but don’t get discouraged because just as spring is now here & summer is quickly following, your season too will change & a new day will come. It may look cold & dark right now, but hang in there it wont last long, God is saying to you, keep your head up because the sun will shine again! Keep looking ahead for better days in your life, they are coming.</p>
<p>Please feel free to leave feedback & comments, I love to hear from you all</p>
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Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629972011-05-02T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:50:00-12:00This Is Gonna Make You Stronger
<p>One thing that becomes more evident to me everyday in my own life, as well as through the lives of other people I talk to, is the fact that we live in a world that can be very hard & stressful place to be in at times. It is no secret to anyone that at times life can just really get tough. Doing what I do I often have people send me emails or come up after a concert & share their story with me about what they are going through in their life, & the bottom line is people today are going through some difficult times.</p>
<p>I’ve love to sit here & tell you that being a Christian means we’ll never have problems, but that’s not reality. However there is a great reality though & it is this, we have a loving God who goes through these difficult times with us, & even better yet He is in complete control during these difficult times in our lives. I’m learning more & more that God ALWAYS has a plan for our life no matter where we are, what we’re going through, God still has a plan & purpose for it all. So many times I’ve went through times in my life I completely didn’t understand, but then later on I looked back & God so clearly showed me He was teaching me something or strengthening me during those times.</p>
<p>Being on the road & traveling, doing full time ministry is not always easy. There are times when I have been so discouraged & felt so defeated my self that I didn’t even feel like getting up to sing that night, I had to get up & try to encourage others to keep their faith up when I was struggling to keep holding on to hope my self. Many of you who have been to one of my concerts have heard me share the story of the sickness I had as a teenager that nearly took my life & that dark time I went through. I can remember thinking many days, “God where are you?” Maybe you have felt like that before too, you keep praying, keep believing but things seem to only get worse & you say “God where are you?” What I’ve learned is this God is right there through it all! He promised us is His word that He would never leave us or forsake us, no matter what it is we’re going through, I can honestly say that God has proven that true to me time & time again.</p>
<p>This year I have went through some ups & downs in my life. There have been some great things happen & some not so great things. Not long ago when going through one of those not so great times in my life, when I was pretty discouraged, I heard this song called “Stronger” by Mandisa, that God used to really pick me up. It was one of those times you hear a song & say that song was written just for me, that’s how I felt. This song has been my anthem of the past few months, as I’m going through some changes in my music & ministry there have been some hard times during this process too, & God has so powerfully spoke to me through this song almost daily. I wanted to share the lyrics to this amazing song with you so that it can encourage you if maybe you’re going through one of those hard times in your life, as I know many of you are. So if you need some encouragement I want you to check out these lyrics & let God speak to your heart today!</p>
<p>STRONGER By Mandisa<br>Hey, heard you were up all night<br>Thinking about how your world ain't right<br>And you wonder if things will ever get better<br>And you're asking why is it always raining on you<br>When all you want is just a little good news<br>Instead of standing there stuck out in the weather</p>
<p>Oh, don't hang your head<br>It's gonna end<br>God's right there<br>Even if it's hard to see Him<br>I promise you that He still cares</p>
<p>When the waves are taking you under<br>Hold on just a little bit longer<br>He knows that this is gonna make you stronger, stronger<br>The pain ain't gonna last forever<br>And things can only get better<br>Believe me<br>This is gonna make you stronger<br>Gonna make you stronger, stronger, stronger<br>Believe me, this is gonna make you ...</p>
<p>Try and do the best you can<br>Hold on and let Him hold your hand<br>And go on and fall into the arms of Jesus<br>Oh, lift your head it's gonna end<br>God's right there<br>Even when you just can't feel Him<br>I promise you that He still cares</p>
<p>'Cause if He started this work in your life<br>He will be faithful to complete it<br>If only you believe it<br>He knows how much it hurts<br>And I'm sure that He's gonna help you get through this</p>
<p>When the waves are taking you under<br>Hold on just a little bit longer<br>He knows that this is gonna make you stronger, stronger<br>The pain ain't gonna last forever<br>In time it's gonna get better<br>Believe me<br>This is gonna make you stronger</p>
<p>Please feel free to leave comments & feadback I love to hear from you all!</p>
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Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629962011-04-19T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:50:00-12:00Remember To Never Forget
<p>Springtime is in the air, I love this time of year for so many reasons! I love the warm weather, seeing the trees & plants bloom, & just being outside feels great after a long cold winter. I also love this time of year because we celebrate our Risen Savior & King. As we come upon Easter & Good Friday in the next few days I’d like to just remind you to never forget.</p>
<p>Never forget what? You might ask. Well sometimes I find, myself included, that we get so much into church, Christianity, the religious routine that we forget to really reflect what Christ did for us. Not long ago at church I sang at they were taking communion & I was kind of just watching people as I was waiting for my turn, it kind of hurt me watching people as they would quickly take the communion, then immediately start talking, playing with their cell phone or reading a bulletin. Like they didn’t even know what it was about or what Jesus did for them. Every time I take communion I’m reminded of what Jesus said when He said, “This do in remembrance of me.” Sometimes I think do we really remember? Have we heard it so much, been to church so much, saw the pictures & sang the songs so much that we forget just what Jesus really went through for us?</p>
<p>I know there have been times in my life where I just have to step back & refocus on what’s it’s all about. It’s easy to caught up in everything that encompasses what being a Christian is about so much that we forget where the source of our life in Christ really comes from, His death & resurrection. If you’ve seen the movie “The Passion” it really brings it home & is a great reminder to me of the unbelievable love & mercy that Jesus had for us. I don’t ever want to forget what I felt the first time I saw that movie I couldn’t even speak for a while afterward I was so overwhelmed by thinking that Jesus did that for someone like me, that’s hard for me to understand.</p>
<p>I want to encourage you this Easter weekend amidst all the dinners, egg hunts & other fun things we do, not to forget the Savior who hung on that cruel rugged cross, for you & I. The good news is the story didn’t end there Jesus is alive today & I am so thankful that we are serving a Living Savior! One of my favorite all time songs is “The Old Rugged Cross” so in closing I’d like to share these amazing lyrics & thoughts of this song with you all, Happy Easter everyone!</p>
<p>“The Old Rugged Cross”<br>On a hill far away, stood an old rugged Cross<br>The emblem of suff'ring and shame<br>And I love that old Cross where the dearest and best<br>For a world of lost sinners was slain</p>
<p>So I'll cherish the old rugged Cross<br>Till my trophies at last I lay down<br>I will cling to the old rugged Cross<br>And exchange it some day for a crown</p>
<p>Oh, that old rugged Cross so despised by the world<br>Has a wondrous attraction for me<br>For the dear Lamb of God, left his Glory above<br>To bear it to dark Calvary</p>
<p>So I'll cherish the old rugged Cross<br>Till my trophies at last I lay down<br>I will cling to the old rugged Cross<br>And exchange it some day for a crown</p>
<p>In the old rugged Cross, stain'd with blood so divine<br>A wondrous beauty I see<br>For the dear Lamb of God, left his Glory above<br>To pardon and sanctify me</p>
<p>So I'll cherish the old rugged Cross<br>Till my trophies at last I lay down<br>I will cling to the old rugged Cross<br>And exchange it some day for a crown</p>
<p>To the old rugged Cross, I will ever be true<br>Its shame and reproach gladly bear<br>Then He'll call me some day to my home far away<br>Where his glory forever I'll share</p>
<p>So I'll cherish the old rugged Cross<br>Till my trophies at last I lay down<br>I will cling to the old rugged Cross<br>And exchange it some day for a crown</p>
<p>Please feel free to leave feedback & comments, I love hearing from you all</p>
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Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629952011-04-13T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:50:00-12:00Are You Planted Or Buried?
<p>Last week I went & saw an amazing movie called “Soul Surfer” which I would highly recommend seeing! This movie was about a girl who found herself facing a very tough situation, she is a surfer who’s trying to go pro, but in the midst of her biggest opportunity she loses her arm & faces a terrible set back. I realized as I watched this movie, & the girl struggled with her misfortune, she had 2 choices she could make, she could lay down & quit or keep pressing on & realize God had a plan.</p>
<p>I have found myself in situations of adversity many times in my music & ministry as I’m sure many of you have in your life as well, so this week I’d like to look at the difference between being planted & being buried. We too, like the girl in the movie, have choices when we are going through tough times & many times the outcome is based on the way we look at what we are going through.</p>
<p>There is a big difference between being buried & being planted & it boils down to your expectation of what happens next. When you put a seed in the ground you don’t say, “I’m burying this seed.” You say, “I’m planting this seed.” When you plant something you expect it to rise again & come back to life, when something is buried you’re kind of just giving up on it & saying it’s over. There are times for burying & planting, sometimes we have to let something go bury it & move on. The time for planting comes when challenges arise. We all go through difficult times, but we have the seed of Almighty God inside of us! When facing disappointments it sometimes feels like we’re being buried by the cares of life, but the truth is we’ve been planted by God. That means you’re coming back, & not only coming back, but coming back better & stronger than before!</p>
<p>You go in a seed, but God breathes life into your situation & you come out blossomed & produce even more fruit than before, pretty cool huh? What was meant for your harm, God will use for your good! What was meant to destroy you makes you stronger. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been disappointed, discouraged, frustrated & felt lie giving up, but time & time again God would show me He had a plan & was using every situation to strengthen me & help me see the bigger picture He has for my life.</p>
<p>In John 2:24 Jesus said that unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground & is planted, it doesn’t produce fruit. You can store seed somewhere for a lifetime, but it will never become all it was created to be until it is planted in the ground. The seed’s potential is only found after it has been planted, as long as it’s shelved somewhere in comfort, it stays dormant & never reaches it’s potential. The same is true with people who stay in their comfort zone during times of adversity, they play it safe & their potential stays locked on the inside.</p>
<p>Sometimes being planted in the ground is a dark, cold & lonely place for the seed. There is no light, people walk on it & it’s uncomfortable in the ground, but the truth for the seed is it’s not buried, only planted. But when it’s in the ground something supernatural happens, even packed in tons of soil the tiny seed can’t be stopped. The earth around it confronts the bold seed & says, “What do you think you’re doing? You can’t get out, I’m more powerful than you.” But the seed sees it differently & says, “ No, no I’m not buried, I’m planted. I may be down right now but this is only temporary, because the life of God is in me & I have comeback power. I will rise again!”</p>
<p>Time goes by & instead of being this small insignificant seed in the ground it turns into a great tree! What happened? The planted seed had to go through some dark times, lonely nights, there were times the seed thought it would never see brighter days, but it kept pressing on & burst through the darkness into the light & became all that God had intended it to be! I feel this is often what happens in our life, but let’s remember if we are children of God we are never buried only planted so that God make us flourish & be all that He wants us to be.</p>
<p>Please feel free to leave feedback & comments, I love to hear from you all!</p>
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Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629942011-04-04T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:59-12:00What Do Christians Convey To Others?
<p>Hey, Jimmy Dooley Here!</p>
<p>Do you ever wonder why there are so many empty churches today? Or maybe even why when people hear about Christianity they seem so turned off by it? I do, I think about these things all the time. Why is it you can go by a school play or bingo event & see the parking overflowing & then go by a church & see 10 cars?</p>
<p>As I have studied this very much over the last few years, I’m starting to understand it & see more clearly why this is. Isn’t it true that people want to be apart of something exciting, welcoming, rewarding & feeling that they are loved & accepted while they are there? I think so, so my question is, when people who are on the outside looking in at Christians & churches what are they really seeing? I really started trying to think this way, as someone who doesn’t know about the religious jargon, & all the churchy stuff, just someone who’s showing up to church for the first time trying to see what it’s all about. Thinking from that perspective made some things really clear to me, let me share just a few examples with you to prove my point.</p>
<p>Not long ago we sang at a church on a Sunday morning, people came dragging in like it was almost punishment for them to be there. I could hear someone ask how have you been, the answer was followed by all kinds of negativity & complaining, & it seemed as if every conversation was close to being that way by all the people there. No one was friendly or welcoming, they didn’t say hi to my wife or I, just kind of looked at us like, “what are you doing here?” Next Sunday school started where they talked more about politics than the Bible, which they were very passionate about, & got excited, angry & controversial about politics, but at least they seemed into what they were talking about. During the church service it was more than boring, no life in the preacher, the singers, or the church members at all. No one smiled, no one said amen, no one clapped, people staring at their watches the whole time. At the end the pastor asked if anyone was glad to be a Christian would you please stand up, out of about 65 people 1 lady stood up. So he asked again, anyone who is glad to be a Christian today would you please stand up, maybe 2 more people stood up, everyone else looked around like let’s get this over with. The pastor had to practically beg the people to stand up showing they were glad to be a Christian & still several people, who said they were Christians, never stood up. Wow! I couldn’t believe it, well actually I could because I see this stuff all the time, it’s not uncommon, there are more churches like this than unlike it. What if someone was visiting who was thinking about becoming a Christian, they must have thought, being a Christian must be the most miserable thing in the world according to these people.</p>
<p>Let me give you another example, last year the theme of our concerts was “Be The Change” at the end of the concert I would ask a few questions to the people. I was really excited about this them when we first started the tour because I felt like it was really going to inspire people to step out for God & do something to make a difference. So the first concert I asked the question, “how many here can say there has been a change in my life, because I have accepted Christ & He changed me my heart?” Most of the hands there would go up at that part probably over 90%. The I would ask this, “how many of you people today would have a desire to say Lord would you use me to make a change in the lives of others, my family, friends, co-workers? I’m concerned about helping to reach hurting & lost people & God I want you to use me to reach others for you, would you please raise your hand if you want God to use you to reach others for Him?” I was completely floored by the response, I expected most of the people, like at least maybe 70%, to raise their hand saying, “yes I want to do God’s will in my life” but that was definitely not the case it was like maybe 10%, probably less than that of people who first claimed they were Christians, that said they wanted God to use them to reach others. I was stunned, I thought must have just been this church or event, it probably won’t be like that again. To my disappointment that seemed to be the response I got at the majority of the places I asked this question to. I started the tour excited, I ended it discouraged & frustrated. What happened? Why is it you go to a sporting event or concert, people stand on there feet for 3 hours & just can’t get enough, & at churches people get up & leave if you go past one hour? What are we conveying as Christians? Are we showing people that God sets us free, & fills our life with happiness & joy? Or does it look more like we are in bondage, mad all the time, people who don’t enjoy life?</p>
<p>I often watch the passion people have for different organizations or causes they are fighting for, they have fire in their eyes, they are excited about what’s going on, they believe so much in what they are doing, & then I see things like what I have shared here about the “church world” today & my heart breaks. Where has our passion for Jesus went? Have we forgotten where God brought us from? I don’t ever want someone to watch me & say man being a Christian looks like no fun, I don’t want what he’s got. No I want my life to be infectious with God’s goodness so when people see me they say, I want they same joy & happiness in my life that he’s experiencing through Christ! If we ever want to reach the world we’ve got a lot of work to do ourselves first. I challenge you to watch what’s going on from the perspective of an outsider & ask yourself, is this something I would want to be a part of? Unfortunately I can see why some people don’t want to go to some of these churches, we’ve got to create something worth coming to first. Let’s do our best to represent Christ in a better way & I think we’ll be surprised how many more people will want to know more about this Jesus that we‘re living for.<br> <br>Feel free to leave feedback & comments I love hearing from you all!</p>
<p>God Bless<br>Jimmy<br>Jimmy Dooley Ministries<br></p>
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Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629932011-03-28T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:59-12:00Excited About New Project!
<p>Hey, Jimmy Dooley Here.</p>
<p><span lang="EN">
<p>Well I have officially started working on a new project! I am excited as this is the first time I have worked on an album with all original songs I’m writing in 3 years. This CD will be completely different than anything I’ve done before, which is going to be cool because I think it will allow me to reach people we’ve never bee able to reach before. The CD is just now is the beginning stages of production as we have just started the writing & planning process for the album. Can’t wait for you all to hear these songs & the new concerts that will come with the album as well, be sure to check back for updates about the project as I will keep you all in the loop on our progress.</p>
</span></p>
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Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629922011-03-22T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:59-12:00Be The Change
<p>Hey, Jimmy Dooley here!</p>
<p>As we all are thinking of & talking about the nation of Japan & the terrible disaster they have suffered, many of us seem to have more of a mentality in our mind of reaching out & helping others. I have heard a lot of comments made in the last few weeks about helping to “change our world”, truly this is an opportunity to do that & I’m thankful for everyone who is, but I’m realizing more & more that God gives us opportunities to “change the world” everyday & so often we miss them.</p>
<p>Not too long ago God started changing my way of how I looked at the world around me everyday. I use to wake up & my prayer was something like this, “Lord guide me today, open doors in my life, protect me & my family… etc.” There is nothing wrong with praying a prayer like this, but perhaps I was missing the bigger picture? One day I just by coincidence happened to see this movie called “To Save A Life”, it really changed the way I look at life & people. I realized that so many times I was consumed by what was going on in my life that I was missing opportunities that God was putting in front of me to help hurting people I’m around all the time.</p>
<p>So I started praying a prayer something like this, “Lord help me today to be your hands extended to those around me, use me to make a difference in someone’s life, help me to be the change in another person’s life today.” You know what happened when I started my day that way my eyes opened up to see a world that I go through everyday that is hurting & broken looking for love & hope that we can offer them in Jesus. Sometimes we think we have to have some kind of position of importance & power to make a difference, but God uses every day people like you & me to change the world one life at a time. It’s not always something big that you have to do, sometimes it’s something as simple as smiling at someone, picking up the phone to call someone, or making a hospital visit.</p>
<p>I once heard a story something like this, a young woman, going through a very very hard time, had reached the end of her rope. It seemed like her life was falling apart & everything was going from bad to worse. She had decided she was going to end her life because she felt so alone, empty & forsaken. In desperation she made one last plea & said “God please just give me a sign that I’m not alone & that someone cares about me so that I don’t have to bring my life to an end, just give me some sign that you still love me today.” She later that day sat down on a park bench all alone as usual, often times people would walk by her & it seemed as if they looked down at her, as if to say “you’re nothing”. But something different happened this day as a little lady walked up to her, smiled & said “how are you doing?” They sat there & talked for a few minutes as the lady, for the first time in a long time, made her feel love & accepted again. The lady asked her if she had any plans that night, she did to end her life, but she said “No Why?” The lady said “I enjoyed your company so much I’d like to take you out for a cup of coffee.”<br>It wasn’t a huge event to everyone else, but that simple act of kindness saved that young girls life, all because a lady went out of her way to make someone feel loved & accepted.</p>
<p>God can use you right where you are today to change someone’s world. Maybe it’s that person you work with who you know is going through a struggle in their marriage, let them know you‘re concerned & that you‘re praying for them. Maybe it’s the family member you know is going through depression, you can call them to check & see how their doing & speak hope into their life. Maybe that kid that you see day after day sit by their self during lunch at school you could go sit next to them & talk. You never know what someone is going through & who might just be on the edge of giving up. God can use YOU to be the change & make a difference in their world sometimes by something so simple. So join me & letting God use you to change your world today!</p>
<p>Please feel free to leave comments & feedback below, I love to hear from you all!</p>
<p>God Bless,<br>Jimmy<br>Jimmy Dooley Ministries</p>
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Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629912011-03-14T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:59-12:00The Power Of Thoughts & Words
<p><strong>The Power Of Thoughts & Words</strong></p>
<p><span lang="EN">
<p>Hey, Jimmy Dooley here!</p>
<p>Ever heard someone say something like this, “I know it won’t work” or “They’ve always been that way they will never change”? I’m sure we’ve all said or heard people say things like this in our lives very often.</p>
<p>As I go through my life & say things like this myself or hear someone else say these types of things I’m starting to learn a very important lesson. The lesson is this there is so much power in our words & thoughts. I’m realizing that a lot of times in our lives good things or bad things don’t just happen by circumstance, they happen because they are a direct result of what we believe will happen & what we’re speaking into our life whether it’s for the good or the bad.</p>
<p>Recently I was having a very bad week one of those weeks where it just seemed like each day got a little worse, you know what I’m talking about, finally one day I was sitting there reflecting on the end of another bad & discouraging day & it hit me, I had expected the day to go wrong before it even started. As I replayed the day over in my head it was like I had already defeated myself before the day even really began. I was anticipating things to not go my way, speaking negatively about my situations, & sure enough that’s exactly what happened. God said to me, “you got what you expected.” So the next day I changed my mind set, decided not to speak negatively & made the decision I was expecting good things to happen, & guess what I had a great day!</p>
<p>The scripture tells us we will eat the fruit of our words. Maybe you’re not where you want to be today, but could it be because of the words & attitudes you’ve had in the past? If you’ve said things like “I’ll never rise any higher, I’ve gone as far as I can go” or “I’ve been unhealthy for so long I’ll never feel well again.” Those words will hold you right where you are & control your outcome. The Bible says that we’re snared by the words of our mouth & I’m convinced that sometimes the lives we live are restricted by our words.</p>
<p>I’m learning this we’re not supposed to talk about the way we are, we’re supposed to talk about the way we want to be. God tells us we are more than conquerors, we may not feel like it, it may not look like it, but guess what, God said it, so all we have to do is believe it, not by what our circumstances currently look like but by what God promised. One of my favorite scriptures in the Bible says that we have to call the things that are not as if they already were. We have the power to speak victory into our future, but on the same token, if we have the wrong attitude, we can speak defeat into it as well.</p>
<p>So don’t speak defeat over your life, speak words of victory over your life today. We give life to our faith when we speak about our dreams. Our words & thoughts directly affect what we achieve & become. So agree with me today that we’re not gonna speak words of defeat & negativity over our life or our families life, we’re speaking words of hope, victory & blessing over our lives. Start your day tomorrow not expecting to have a bad day at work or school, but expect a great day & say, “God I thank you that I will have a great day because You gave me this day, I’m in your hand & good things are in store for my life today.” Change your way of thinking & what you’re speaking into your future & see if things don’t turn around for you.</p>
<p>Please feel free to leave comments & feedback I love to hear back from you all!</p>
<p>God Bless,<br>Jimmy<br>Jimmy Dooley Ministries</p>
</span></p>
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Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629742011-02-02T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:55-12:00V-Day Contest Winner Anounced!
<p><span style="color:#ffffff">Well hope you all are doing well & staying warm in this frigid weather. A big thanks to all who participated in the 1st ever V-Day contest, it was a huge success, really enjoyed everyone's stories. The winner was sent to me by April Biddle, it was a touching story about her parents & how they stayed together in spite ofsome tough times, here is the story she sent to me so you can know that backgorund before you hear the song in a few weeks.<br></span></p>
<ul>
<span style="color:#ffffff"> "I am not writing this story about me or my husband but instead a couple who has inspired me. They have shown me that no matter what you can get through anything. My mom and Stepdad! Married almost 20 years. He walked into a full family he had 5 kids of his own she had 3. His was grown my moms was still very young one being an infant! My mom was trying to get her life back together after the divorce of my father and her. She was hosting bible study at your small apartment with her mom's help. He showed up to the bible study with his sister who at the time was friends with my Grandmother they went to church together. It happened to be they were the only single people there. He asked her to go for coffee after the study she went. They started to slowly date from there a yr later on August 3rd he walk in and asked her what are you doing tonight? She said nothing why, he asked her to marry him that very night with the help of one of his minister friends named Kenny. they got married in the living room of the pastors home. He had to start all over again raising kids and kids that was not his. While out mowing grass one day he had a heart attack, that only started his health problems. He slowly started to drink again then one day he was pulled over for a DUI and that with the help of AA he stopped he even carried the rock for a long time. From there he fought cancer in the throat. A year later my mom would almost lose her life, Drs went in to do a heart cath and they almost lost her on the table had the nurse not been paying attention my mom would not be with us today! As she was recoverying from Open heart surgery another yr would go by with them thinking things will get better. Then another cancer this time in the lungs they removed 2/3rds of my stepdads lungs to remove the cancer. Chemo was rough he was in and out of the hospital for dehydration. just 2 yrs ago my stepdad was diagnosed with lung cancer again this time they did radiation. While going through all this chemo therapy he also became unable to walk due to Spinostenosis, which left him in severe pain and many days unable to get out of bed.<br> May of 2010, A diagnoses of liver cancer would be the end to this love story, we had just 10 days to say good bye and kept praying God would heal him this time not modern medicine. On June 3rd, I sat in a crowded nursing home room, watching the man who raised me, love my mom slowly slip into God's hands. My mom held his hand till she couldnt hold him no longer. I watched her tears slowly fall from her face and unto his hands.<br> I noticed after his death how many things my parents have gone through and how if they could make it through the things they did well me and my husband could make it through anything. Looking back times were not always easy for them, often we barely had money to put food on the table but the love they showed each other and us was something many kids today dont experience. Health and wealth may have not been there for them but their love and God's love never let either one down!<br> They have inspired me, I hope they can inspire you to make a song of their love story."</span>
</ul>
<p><span style="color:#ffffff">Be sure to check back as I will have a video of the song on this site on Feb 13th.<br><br>God Bless,<br>Jimmy<br><br></span></p>
Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629732011-01-03T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:55-12:00Another Year Over, New Year Is Here Full Of Promise
<p>Well another year has passed, hard to believe 2010 is over already & we're in the year 2011. Shouldn't we have spaceships & stuff we fly around in by now? Or at the very least a Hover Board? Anyway this past year was definitely a great year! Celebrated alot of great things that happened & was saddened by some losses & struggles as well. Probably 2 of the coolest things that stick out in my mind about this past year was that we saw God change hundreds of lives at the concerts we did this year, amazing things like people coming out of jail addicted to heroine coming down to pray for hours, teenagers accepting Christ & many other awesome things. We have been so blessed to have seen over 600 people make a decision to accept Christ at our concerts over the last 2 years or so, how great is that! Also found out that through our partnership with World Vision's ministry we have saved the lives of over 700 children, from getting wonderful people to join with us to reach out to these desperate children, so excited about that! We also had some struggles & losses this year as I have dealt with some serious health issues through out the year, & we lost some really close friends & family as well. My Grandpa Joe Tilley went to be home with Jesus on November 1st. He is missed everyday by many, he was one of the single greatest influences on my life & ministry, I could write a whole book about things he did to encourage me & how I saw God operate through his life. One thing I always think of though is how as a teenager when I first started really walking with God & going to church, EVERY time I went to the altar to pray at EVERY church service Pappy would kneel down next to me & pray for me, I can still hear him saying, "Lord use Jimmy to reach this world for You" I'm trying my best to live that prayer he prayed everyday. We lost other close friends & family but we know we will see them again someday. I am thankful for the wonderful things God did this past year, but even more excited to see what He has in store this year, I believe this is going to be the greatest year of ministry ever! Please continue to lift us up in prayer that God will open more & more doors for us to share this message of hope to a world who needs to hear it so desperately.<br><br>God Bless,<br>Jimmy<br><br></p>
Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629722010-06-01T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:55-12:00"The Voice Of My Soul" Finally Finished
<p>well I figured it might be a really good idea to post a new blog since I haven't in over 5 months, oops. Well I've been trying but things have been so so busy but in a really good way. I finally finished the new CD "The Voice Of My Soul" after working on it for about 7 months. Wow people can't begin to understand the amount of work & time it takes to do an album like that from the beginning process of picking songs & planning, to production, recording, editing, mixing, mastering, photo shoots, graphics, makes me tired just thinking about it! But the great news it is finished & I should have the finished product in just a few weeks ready to ship out to all those who pre-ordered it as well as anyone else who buys it online. The CD turned out great I really feel that people are going to connect to the powerful & encouraging messages in these songs, you can preview the songs here <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFtF9iDbpOY" target="_blank" data-imported="1">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFtF9iDbpOY</a> hope you enjoy! We have been seeing God do some amazing things at the concerts on the road as well. We have been really busy touring around the country & singing at many different places & towns, & God is proving faithful time & time again to touch & change broken lives. We have saw everything from desperate drug attics whose lives were in shambles come to the altar to accept Christ as Saviour, to churches ignited in worship & encourages by God's touch, it has all been awesome! God is really opening more & more doors for us to share this ministry like never before & we're believing for greater things to come. Please continue to pray for this ministry that God will keep using us to touch lives everywhere we go. I'd love for you to get the new CD which can be found at <a href="http://www.jimmydooley.com" target="_blank" data-imported="1">www.jimmydooley.com</a> or come to see us on the road to hear some of the new songs. Hope you all enjoy summertime I know I will, been waiting for hot weather for a long time!<br><br>God Bless,<br>Jimmy<br><br></p>
Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629712010-01-28T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:55-12:00Ending '09, Beginning '10
<p>I should have done this weeks ago but life has been so busy & crazy this is the first free minute I’ve had to catch up on blogging, sorry. Well first I’d like to just kind of recap 09, in a word, wow! What an amazing year it was, definitely the greatest year of ministry God has blessed us with yet! We saw so many awesome things happen this year at concerts, on radio, just so many different avenues that God allowed us to share this life changing message & proven just like so many times before, it still works to change lives, mend broken hearts & set captives free. I’m not sure an exact total of how many were saved this year I kind of lost count as some of the responses were getting to be larger but I believe there were over 300 people saved in concerts this year, which is what makes this all worth while. Celebrated my 1st #1 song on Christian radio this year with a song I wrote for World Vision called "Be The Change" which was really exciting to see how this message challenged people all across the country to reach out to those in need. Speaking of World Vision another huge blessing was the fact that even in tough economic times we were still blessed to be able to help get more children sponsored this year than any other year so far, now that’s God! It always amazes me to see year after year how God supplies all of our needs even in the scary times when we’re not sure where it’s going to come from God shows up right on time. There were some of the usual bad parts parts too, equipment that broke, (You will be missed Sony MD, thou good a faithful servant, lol) dealing with some mean pastors & such but all that stuff seems insignificant compared to all the great things that happened. Now looking forward to 2010, I’m believing that this year will be even greater than last year, I’ve learned that if we follow God & trust him our best days are always ahead of us & not behind us, so that’s what I’m holding to for this year. We are kicking off a radio tour this year to sing in many new areas we have not been to before where "Be The Change" has been getting lots of airplay, so that will be fun. Also in the studio working on the new album "The Voice Of My Soul" which is due out in April, I’m really excited about this as it has been over & year and a half since I’ve released anything new & this album is something I’ve always wanted to do. It’s a black/urban gospel with some of my favorite songs of all time I think people will really be touched by some of the powerful messages in these songs. Working on new live show ideas, we’re incorporating some really neat stuff into the concerts off of the new album so make sure you stop in & catch a concert when I’m close by. Just so many great things happening & so much to look forward to, I’m keeping my hopes up high this year, expecting big things from God. I pray more lives will be changed this year than ever before & I pray God does something new in my life as well & takes me to levels in Him where I’ve never been before. Lastly congratulations to me, I hate typing & this is the longest blog I’ve ever done, thank you<br><br>God Bless,<br>Jimmy<br><br></p>
Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629702009-11-30T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:55-12:00Amazing Christmas Tour Kickoff!
<p>Wow what a way to start the Christmas tour this past weekend! It was truly amazing to see what God did at these 2 Christmas concerts in Wilmington, OH. The 1st concert at 1st Church Of God was so much fun, the people there were very friendly & welcoming. People luaughed & cried & were truly touched by the true message of Christmas the gift that God gave us in His son, Jesus. These people were really responsive which always makes singing so much more fun & easy. Also got some children sponsored through World Vision which always mean so much to me. From there we went to the Wilmington Church Of God, wow, what a great time we had there! They bussed in probably close to 200 kids that night for a pizza party & the concert & these kids were ecstatic! We ate pizza with them & then did the concert & the kids were screaming & cheering, they were the most excited crowd I have ever sang too probably. Then at the end of the night when the music was done, I told of the gift of slavation & gave the kids an oppurtunity to come forward & recieve Christ as Lord & Saviour & the kids as well as some adults flooded the altars, it was a sight to see, I would guess somewhere near 40 people got saved that night, I was so excited. I hope all the rest of the Christmas tour goes as well as the first 2 concerts did, hope to see you at one if you can make it! Merry Christmas<br><br>God Bless,<br>Jimmy<br><br></p>
Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629682009-10-18T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:54-12:00Great News, Exciting Things!
<p>Hey everyone I hope you all are doing well as we enter into this fall season, I’m a little sad summer is over but excited about the holidays! Well I have some great news to share this week God blessed our ministry with our very 1st #1 song on Contemporary Christian Radio! I’m so excited to report that the song I wrote for World Vision called “Be The Change” reached #1 this week on the CRW INSPO chart. It has been such a blessing to see how this song how challenged & inspired people all over the country to make an impact in the world around them. Also just finished preaching a revival & it was awesome to people set on ire for the Lord as well as some people getting saved during the services too. I’m finishing the song selection process this week for the new album “Voice Of My Soul” which will be released in February & I’m really looking forward to sharing some of these great songs with people, some very familiar & some probably many people have never heard as well. Getting ready to kick off the Christmas tour in just a few short weeks, which is always a lot of fun, I’m a huge fan of Christmas & Christmas music, hope to see you all at one of the Christmas concerts! Until next time keep praying for us & we’ll do the same for you, take care<br><br>God Bless,<br>Jimmy<br><br></p>
Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629672009-08-30T12:00:00-12:002011-02-19T04:26:08-12:00Recaps, Updates & Such
<p>Hey friends hope everyone is doing well, can’t believe summer is over already I’m sad, but there are some great things happening too. Well to start I know I haven’t done a weekend recap for like a month, sorry just been so so busy, but good news is things have been going great, we have been all over lately singing in many different areas but we’re seeing the same thing at each place, God is proving Himself faithful & changing many lives! Everything from youth rallies & seeing kids get all excited to having little elderly ladies hug my neck & tell me they loved the music & ministry things have been going great & it’s been a real blessing to see God working through the music. Also really excited about my new radio single “Be The Change” doing really well on Christian radio & being very well received all across the country. I never would have expected it to do so well in such a short time so I thank God for that too. Been in the studio finishing up some stuff for the upcoming Christmas tour, which I’m really excited about, I love Christmas time! And finally I almost have all my songs picked for my new album which I will be starting on the end of November & releasing hopefully in February of next year. The album will be called “The Voice Of My Soul” which will be a Black Gospel influenced album with a very urban feel as well as some old time get down & go to church kind of stuff with Black Gospel Choirs, it will be an awesome album! Until next time, take care<br><br>God Bless,<br>Jimmy<br><br></p>
Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629652009-05-04T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:53-12:00Working, Working, Working
<p>hey friends just wanted to post a blog to keep you all updated on what's been going on lately, people have been getting on me for not blogging enough so I'm going to try to do at least a few a week. Well to start things off God has been doing some really really awesome things in our concerts the last few months! We have seen people from all walks of life who's lives have been changed by the power of the Gospel message. It has been so cool meeting new friends & having so many share their stories of how God has changed their lives through the songs & testimonies at the concerts. We have been traveling to many areas we have never been before too so it's been cool to meet alot of people I never would have met & seeing alot of new towns as well, although it seems to rain every weekend so I could use a little sunshine. As far as the music goes some really cool things happening too, I've got a new music video coming out to the song I wrote "Be The Change" for World Vision which is really impacting, I will post it up as soon as it's done being edited. I'm in the studio working on some Christmas songs for the upcoming Christmas tour. Also I'm in talks with some different management & record companies about the future of our ministry, as well as starting to plan for my next album which I will be starting on the late part of fall & will release in early 2010, so for now that's about all that's going on, I'm going to do my best to start adding weekly pics of the shows & some new videos as well so be sure to check back often as I have made a new vow to try to keep things more current, hope to hear from you all or see you at a concert soon!<br><br>God Bless,<br>Jimmy<br><br></p>
Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629642008-11-10T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:53-12:00Know Christ, Know Christmas
<p>Well it's finally Christmas time once again which has always been my favorite time of year since I was a little boy, I still get just as excited now as I did all those years ago! However there is a great concern to me that I see getting worse each year & that is how people no longer want to call Christmas what it is, but rather they want to use terms like Happy Holidays & other generic terms because they are afraid that the Christ in Christmas will offend some. I can't tell you how many Christmas events we went to last year where the theme was "Happy Holidays" instead of Merry Christmas, it really makes me angry. I can't help but think that I'm so glad that God was not offended at us over 2,000 years ago when He sent His only son that we might have hope & salvation through the greatest sacrifice this world has ever known, that Jesus would come to this Earth on that day so long ago & bring the greatest gift of all time. We certainly didn't deserve this & were so unworthy but the Christ of Christ loved each one of us enough that he went all the way from Heaven to Earth, & from the manger to the Cross, what amazing love! And to think that we have lost sight of what Christmas really is, we as believers need to let our voices be heard about what Christmas really is. It's funny that animal rights activists & people campaigning for homo-sexual rights aren't a bit quiet or ashamed about their causes but so often we as believers in Christ just sit back quietly & don't proclaim the truth to others because we're afraid people will think we're out of order, I say Oh Well we've got a job to do & it's time we do it! So this Holiday season as we're getting into the Christmas spirit don't forget what it's all about & don't forget to share the truth of Christmas with everyone you meet, that they too may know the true Joy of Christmas! I love all the lights, Christmas music, candy & gifts, but more than anything I love the Savior who it's all about, one of my favorite scriptures in the Bible is Luke 2:10,11 the part that says, For born unto you this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord, what a hope that verse gives knowing there is a Savior for all who call out to Him! I'm thankful I know that saving life changing power that angel spoke of that day & it's still as real today!<br><br>God Bless,<br>Jimmy<br><br></p>
Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629622008-03-18T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:53-12:00Stress Or Trust?
<p>Hello friends this month I wanted to write about something that God has really been putting on my heart lately is that is the difference & importance of stress versus trust. The other day I was just kind of sitting there meditating about all the stuff in my life, things I had to do, work I’m behind on, unfulfilled dreams, economic status of the nation & on & on. As I sat there just beginning to get more & more overwhelmed thinking about all these things as sure as anything I’ve ever know I heard God speaking to me & this was exactly what I hear in my spirit He said "Stress is coming in a way that people have never known before since the beginning of time, and only those who fully trust in me will make it through these times" It hit me like a ton of bricks. I look around as friends, family, & myself are experiencing stress & pressure from life like never before & I then realized I’m really going to have to start Trusting the Lord & fully taking him at His word instead of worrying all of the time. Jesus said who can add one cubit to his stature by worrying, in other words what He was saying is that worrying doesn’t change anything, as a matter of fact I believe it does the opposite it brings negativity into our life, makes us unhealthy & sometimes shortens our life. I’ve learned we’ve got to start trusting the Lord & believing that He is our source to go to no matter what we need & what I’m learning day by day is that when I put my problems in His hands & seek Him things change! I have a saying that I try to live by & it is this when things don’t look the way they should I will pray until they do, so the next time you start getting stressed out & overwhelmed just learn to stop stressing & start trusting & you will come out ahead, God will do what you can not do.<br><br>God Bless,<br>Jimmy<br><br></p>
Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629612008-01-07T12:00:00-12:002020-10-09T17:14:33-12:00All Things Will Be Great In 2008
<p>Happy new yaer everyone! I'm looking forward to this new year knowing that God has great things in store, as God has spoken to my heart saying, "You're best days are ahead of you, not behind you, so look forward to great things" I believe tha'ts true for everyone, God has so much more for us today than He did yesterday & He'll have more tommorrow than He has today, we must expect great things, because God is a grea God! I'm excited to see what will happen this year, I'm believing for more lives to be touched by this minstry & to reach more people than ever before with the message of hop found in Jesus. So look up & move forward because has grea things in store for you!<br><br>God Bless,<br>Jimmy<br><br></p>
Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629602007-10-21T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:52-12:00A Very Cool Message
<p>this was sent to me by a member if a church that I recently sang at & I thought it was really cool so I wanted to share it with you all to show you some of the awesome things that God is doing! Enjoy </p>
<ul>
<span style="color:#ffffff">"Hey, Just wanted to let you Know that some of my Youth group have been playing your music in their cars, which is a surprise to me, they are very backward in their music choices, I have been trying to introduce them to new things, and they do not like change, they tell me they like the old music, and country, or pop. I am glad to hear they are opening up to new things. I thought that You might like to hear that, I think that You made a positive impact on them." </span>
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Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629592007-09-16T12:00:00-12:002011-02-19T04:11:01-12:00Recapping NQC 2007
<p>Hey there friends sorry it's been a while since I've had time to actualy write a blog, but I'm going to try to do better just been really busy! Well I just returned from my 7th trip to the National Quartet Convention, known as NQC, & as always it was alot of fun! We really had a blast usually I go down there to work mostly doing alot of co-writing, marketing, & networking but this year I took it alittle easier & mostly just had fun eating alot of junk food listening to others sing & just generaly goofing off, but it was a much needed time to relax! It amazed me some of the talent that I met this year & some of the best people you would ever want to meet too, it's really encouraging to meet other people who are truly focused on ministry & are out there trying to see lives changed through the message of the Gospel & I feel I met alot of those kind of people this past week. However it was a very tiring week & my poor feet are still recovering from all the walking all over the exhibit hall, lol, but that's OK it was worth it, sad to see another NQC over but glad to be home. It seemed to go very well this year, the crowds seemed larger & more responsive & there was just a very loving spirit among all who attended as well, looking forward to going back next year! Also we are still seeing many lives being changed at concerts over 120 in just over a year and a half, how awesome is GOD! We'll be kicking off the 07 Christmas tour in a feww shorts weeks & also I have began writing for my brand new CD which I will go into the studio to cut tracks for in December with a release date of probably around March of 08 & I'm so excited I think it will be my best CD yet!<br><br>God Bless,<br>Jimmy<br><br></p>
Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629582007-04-18T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:52-12:00Good News & Bad News
<p>Well hello there friends, hope everyone is doing well. Well it's been a while since I've posted a blog, I'm really trying to be better about posting these, but sometimes it's hard to find time. Well the last time I wrote it was staring to get cold outside & now it's starting to get warm, HALLELUJAH! Send the nice weather Lord, ha ha. God has been good to me & my family this year we have seen great things happen & some sad things as well. We've had alot of canceled concerts from sickness & bad weather but I'm believeing the worst of the bad weather & flu viruses is behind me & I'm excited about many up coming concerts. I'm currently in the studio working on a new porject entitled "Half & Half" which I'm pretty excited about, it's going to be an album made up of half hymns & half worship songs done with just piano, I think there will be songs on this that will deffinately appeal to both old & young & everyone in between, the CD is due out in June or July. We lost a dear friend by the name of David who was a 17 year old boy battling with a rare form of blood cancer, I had done a benifit for him a few months ago & last week I recieved word that he passed from this life into his eternal healing in the arms of Jesus, though I was saddened & I know his family was, God reaasured me that he won the battle & is in heaven rejoicing cancer free! Praise God! God has also been really dealing with me personally to go to a new level as a Christian in light of the terrible tragedy that took place 2 days ago at Virgina Tech. We have the answer this world is looking for and needs & yet we are so silent & don't tell people about Jesus, I realized that this world is more evil than ever before & that truly it's only hope is Jesus & Him alone, & God is saying "Jimmy take my truth & hope to this world that so desperately needs it, not just by music but by your life everyday" Let's get serious about God & start spreading a message of hope that SO desperately needs it!<br><br>God Bless,<br>Jimmy<br><br></p>
Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629572006-12-28T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:52-12:002006 Was A Great Year!
<p>Well I can't believe it but Christmas has already come & gone & now we're looking straight into the eyes of a brand new year. This past year was the greatest year of ministry that I have ever had, God did some awesome things in my life & in the lives of the people I was privelaged to minister to this past year. There were over 60 people who accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior during concerts that God allowed me to do this year! WOW what an awesome thing to know that over 60 people have come from darkness into light & that God has saved & radicaly changed their lives through His Grace, we serve an awesome awesome God! I had the best Christmas ever, my wonderful wife always gets me the best presents & we hae so much fun together this time of year. I finally got in ear monitors, no more feed back on stage & now I can hear, wooo hooo! I'm so excited about 2007 I'm proclaiming this to be the greatest year of my life & ministry, God is already opening great doors of oppurtunity, & I can't wait to see what He has in store in the next few months! Hope everyone has a very blessed & Happy New Year! Take care<br><br>God Bless,<br>Jimmy<br><br></p>
Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629562006-11-06T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:52-12:00Lives Are Being Changed!
<p>LIVES ARE BEING CHANGED! Praise God for all the wonderful things that God has been doing. Over the course of the last couple of months I have saw about 20 people make the decision to accept Jesus as the Lord of their life! It has been so awesome to see people finding hope in Jesus through the message of the Gospel that I share at my concerts, still proving to the disbelief of many that God is STILL changing lives. Also it has been very very encouraging to me to hear the many testimonies of people who have shared stories with me about how different songs that I have written have spoke to them directly & really helped them through some hard times. It seems that every week I get many emails about the song called "I Survived" of people telling me of different things that God has brought them through, how the song has been a constant source of encouragement to them. I never knew when I wrote this song, that a song that was so personal to my own life would apply to the lives of so many others, but I thank God for this song that He is using to touch lives. Christmas is just around the corner & I can't wait I love love love Christmas time! My new Christmas CD entitled The Cross Is My Christmas Tree will be released in just a few weeks. Also I have some really really big news to share about some doors that God has opened for this ministry, but I'm not allow to say anything yet, so you'll just have to keep checking back to find out what it is</p>
Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629552006-09-19T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:52-12:00Another NQC Over, Recording Christmas CD
<p>Hello there friends, hope everyone is doing great. Well NQC has come & passed for another year, this past week was National Quartet Concention in Louisville, KY which is the largest anual Gosple Music event of the year. We had such a great time this year being with friends we only get to see once a year & eating entirley to much food! But nevertheless, we still had a great time & enjoyed the week of fun & fellowship with other artists & ministries in the Gospel Music industry. I really admired & was impressed by the heart & spirit of some of the people I met down there who I've never had the oppurtunity to meet, it was encouraging to know that there are some great on fire for God Christians that are really out there making a difference for the cause of Christ. Well I'm getting ready to go into the studio to start on my new Christmas CD which will be released in November just in time for the Christmas tour. Be sure to come out to see one of the Christmas tour concerts in your area, I promise you will enjoy it! Well until next time, keep trusting in the Lord & looking for great things to happn in your life!<br><br>God Bless,<br>Jimmy<br><br></p>
Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629542006-07-30T12:00:00-12:002022-05-11T01:47:22-12:00Finished New CD "That Was Then, This Is Now"
<p>Well hello there everyone, I hope everybody is having a great summer & enjoying the hot weather, ha ha. I've been really really busy here lately doing alot of recording mostly. I am finishing up my new album entitled "That Was Then, This Is Now" which I have been working on now for over 2 years, I will be so glad to get it done.The release date is set to be Sept. 2nd but check back to the site often I may get it back a week or 2 early & I will have all the new song clips posted as well as it will be available to buy on the online store. Als I will be starting on a new Christmas CD for the upcoming Christmas tour in November & December, which should be released sometime in late October. I'm really excited about the Christmas tour this year I think it will be alot of fun. There are still a few dates available so if you would be intrested in having one at your church please call or email. We had a great weekend this past weekend we saw 6 teenagers give their heart to the Lord! Praise God! Talk to you all soon.<br><br></p>
Jimmy Dooleytag:jimmydooley.com,2005:Post/60629522006-06-12T12:00:00-12:002020-01-05T14:49:51-12:00Welcome To My Blog!
<p>Hello everyone, welcome to my blog! I will try my best tro keep everyone updated on what's going on with my ministry & music, by posting a blog every week or so, to keep you informed about the great things that God is doing. I will be sharing testimonies of others who have been saved & changed thorugh this ministry. There is so much going on right now, it's benn so busy here lately, but that is a good thing, God is opening doors of great oppurtunity for me to reach more people than ever before. Please be sure to check back often for updates to this blog. Thank you all for your support, please continue to pray for this ministry that God will allow me to reach many more souls for His glory!<br><br>God Bless,<br>Jimmy Dooley<br></p>
Jimmy Dooley