GMA in the Rockies

GMA in the Rockies started up during the last few days we were in Estes Park, so we were able to see a few of the concerts which was like icing on the cake! Sunday night it was a great night of worship with Chris Tomlin Band, Louie Giglio & David Crowder Band.

Chris played first and his worship songs included Forever, Your Grace Is Enough, Holy Is the Lord, Indescribable (guitar version), How Great Is Our God, Shout to the Lord (Hillsong), and Brenton Brown’s Everlasting God – before they played it Chris read Isaiah 40:28-31. I could be wrong but it seemed like maybe Jesse and Daniel were doing more background vocals than I’d noticed in the past; they were good. In the middle Chris was talking with the GMA registrants to stay encouraged about what God has called them to. He mentioned some of his first song critiques he’d sent into GMA many years ago and some of the advice he’d received back - things like…. ‘Chris, songs usually have verses…and choruses… maybe a bridge..... and a nice melody is always a good thing...’… he was very funny :) He encouraged them to remain faithful in what God had called them to. At the end he was playing some worshipful music on the piano which was very nice as well.

Then Louie came out and spoke, he too encouraged the GMA participants that the week was not about whether they won a prize or not, but that they worship God and live their lives for Him. He was kidding around in the beginning, talking about all the different kinds of worship music and the debates over what kind of music we all want. In one part he was referring to what was big when he was at youth camp and he asked the question, what was the biggest song you sang back at camp or youth group? Come on… what was it…. Everyone in the room said “Pass It On” So then we all had fun singing that but I don’t know if anyone remembered all the words (It only takes a spark, to get a fire going…) Then it took me a minute to figure out what he was quoting next because he was speaking the words instead of singing them but it was Larry Norman’s “I wish we’d all been ready” which was also some nostalgic fun. (two men walking up a hill, one disappeared and one's left standing still, I wish we'd all been ready.....) I forgot a pen and paper to take notes (so this is highly paraphrased) but I think the passage he referred to was Hebrews 13:15-16 “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” He spoke about placing our whole lives in the palm of God’s hand and saying ‘God, here is what I have to give you, everything I am, all the rest is up to You – where I live, what I do, who I’m with, it’s all in Your hands and I just want whatever You’d have; this too is a large part of our worship; worshipping with our lives. He also emphasized that the different components of our daily lives need to parallel the words of our worship; this is pleasing to God. At the end of his talk Chris came out with his guitar and joined Louie to lead everyone in 'I’m Coming Back to the Heart of Worship'.

After the break it was time for Crowder. I’d never seen him before so I was not sure what to expect but I really enjoyed them, DCB was great! They were full of energy and funny and joyful. I don’t know all of his songs but he I think his set included Here is Our King, You are my Joy, There is No One Like You, We Win, O Praise Him, and Undignified (which I think is the song when I could not quit laughing long enough to whistle when he wanted us to). Ok so with all that great live music from Chris and David, what song did I wake up the next morning with in my head? ….. oh yeah, you know it... Pass It On! Ha! It’s been stuck in my head all week this week. My friend who went said the same thing too. Lol. I wonder how many other people that were there have had that song in there head all week too :)

Ok so Estes Park / Rocky Mountain Natl Park is like I think the most beautiful place I’ve seen but I kind of forgot about the altitude thing. Like major dehydration/cottonmouth and don’t walk too fast uphill or you could be dizzy; that oxygen thing is a trip. But man it was beautiful. I kind of wondered if the singers felt an altitude difference when they were performing, like if they felt the need to breathe more deeply when singing. If they did, you couldn’t tell, they all did a great job. Monday night was more of a concert atmosphere and we saw 6 different artists, they included Danny Ortega (he and another guy were having an absolute blast playing guitar and were very fun to watch). Then It was Kim Hill. She did a great job and seemed very sweet, they said she has a new CD coming out soon, I want to check it out. Then it was the Isaacs – to be honest, they were not really my kind of music – kind of bluegrass/gospel/country but I have to say they were really exceptional musicians and they received several standing ovations. Then it was Geoff Moore and he sang a lot of songs which sounded very familiar. He seemed very joyful, I think I had a freind who used to know him. At one point he talked about the importance of collaboration and Steven Curtis Chapman came out and did a duet of Listen to our Hearts with Geoff. That was a nice surprise! :) Then the Afters came on – ok I guess my head’s been in the sand on this one. I had no clue who they were but I did know several of their songs and they were really good and a ton of fun! I had to buy their cd. To finish up it was Bebo Norman, he seemed to have a very sweet spirit and ended the night on a worshipful note. I think he might have a new one coming out soon to check out. Anyway, if you are going on vacation and thinking of the mountains... I'd highly recommend going during GMA week for a little icing on your cake! :) Thanks to GMA and all the artists who were there, it was a blast; very inspiring and worship filled! :)