Occasionally life throws things your way that you don't expect. These might be amazing things that transform your thinking. Or it could be total reverse of that. A completely out of the blue shock that sends you down in a spiral motion. I am sure we can all relate to at least one of these. 4 months ago I had the second option impact my life. It is expected that people will come and go from this earth, but when they are still young and still have things to do it suddenly doesn't become fair. My father left us to be with His savior and mine, very suddenly.
I have, along beside my family, have had to face many "firsts" in the lead up to Christmas. I very suddenly felt a huge shift in the world and began my descent to "the ground". A couple of months after he passed I decided to face song writting. I did not want to come easy, and I know it was because I was not ready to praise God again. I didn't have it in me to praise the God that decided it was my Dads time, not yet anyway. Well that eventually changed and I was able to get a song out. Something now that provides great comfort, and maybe one day I will be able to share it with the world and the story behind it. I have now begun looking forward, to the things God wants for me in the future. I have tried to live each step of this journey how God intends it, which some days is really difficult. But I am now looking to the future, asking God to grant me a vision to work towards.
My family and I, and may I add many different people with different circumstances, are faced with Christmas. Another "first". I firmly believe with Gods strength it will be ok. Not to say it wont be painful and hurt, but the after effect is going to be ok. None of us know why things happen the way they do. None of us know why God sends us on crazy up and down journeys, but he does.
I have been wanting to blog something like this for a while, but honestly had no words to write. I consider it a blessing and a privilege to have the opportunity to minister in times like these. Through my actions and my genuine state I can be a Christ-like example. That's something God reminds me each and everyday! Blessed to be a blessing! My prayer is that every person that reads this, sees something in it. Maybe a conversation can be started, maybe some questions have formed in some of your minds. This has not been an easy journey, and by no means have I reached the finish line, but I do feel content. Not to say that every now and again things get hard, but hey that's ok, and thats ok in every and any walk. My prayer for myself is to be content in whatever the circumstance, whether in need or in plenty.
Grace and Peace Everyone.
A Musical Journey - Ashe Powell Music
Friday 6 December 2013
Thursday 26 September 2013
Starting out slow.
I love the fact that people can come together, no matter their circumstances, no matter their race, their gender, and worship God. This idea of being able to move past my circumstances but not forgetting has been really important to me in moving forward. I had the opportunity recently to play in the music team for a women's convention. The team was made up of random musicians from all different domination's, all there for one purpose, to worship God. It was a great day of worship and I was so privileged to be apart of it. We don't know whats going on for each other, but when we come together like that, it doesn't matter, what matters is focusing on God, and what a focus!
On Monday night we started recording my E.P! I think it might take a while, but good things come to those who wait, right? I like the idea of doing this "in house" if you will. To be honest, I am pretty scared, and I have no idea what I am going to do once it is recorded, but hey we will cross that bridge when we get there!
The future scares me, I would think it probably scares most people. Sometimes you have to take risks, sometimes you have to put yourself on the front line, prepared to be fired at. I am pretty scared of that place, especially when the stuff I am writing is coming from the deepest part of me, waiting to be exposed. I would hope that one day someone will send me a letter, or write me a twitter message, or a facebook wall post telling me that it was all worth it. We all experience trials and hard stuff in our lives, the last 2 months of my life are a testament to that, but it's what you get out of that, that matters. Well I reckon anyway!
Deuteronomy 31:8
The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.
Grace and Peace, Everyone!
On Monday night we started recording my E.P! I think it might take a while, but good things come to those who wait, right? I like the idea of doing this "in house" if you will. To be honest, I am pretty scared, and I have no idea what I am going to do once it is recorded, but hey we will cross that bridge when we get there!
The future scares me, I would think it probably scares most people. Sometimes you have to take risks, sometimes you have to put yourself on the front line, prepared to be fired at. I am pretty scared of that place, especially when the stuff I am writing is coming from the deepest part of me, waiting to be exposed. I would hope that one day someone will send me a letter, or write me a twitter message, or a facebook wall post telling me that it was all worth it. We all experience trials and hard stuff in our lives, the last 2 months of my life are a testament to that, but it's what you get out of that, that matters. Well I reckon anyway!
Deuteronomy 31:8
The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.
Grace and Peace, Everyone!
Tuesday 10 September 2013
Passion.
Sometimes things change that you never ever thought would. Suddenly what once was normal, isn't. Suddenly you have to redefine what was a life time of normal.
It's funny how God prepares you for things, but what's more funny, is when you start realising, or thinking... "I think God is preparing me for something." That happened to me. I recently lost something big in my life, someone really important to me. But the day before it all happened, I had coffee with a dear friend and mentor and told her that I believed God was preparing me for something. 2 days before that, I wrote a new song called "Reasons" (go figure). It's funny how God works it all out.
Its been a little over a month, but today was the first day I managed to pick up my guitar and play that song Reasons. I had really struggled to even open the case to my guitar, and for those who know me well, know that I love my guitar. But when big things like this happen, suddenly those things don't matter like they used to. Perspective is given. I then proceeded to play Paradox, then Trust Me Now. I then got angry, sad then passionate. It was a really weird couple of hours! I was angry that God had written how I was going to handle this situation into songs I had written as far back as a year ago. Passion. A emotion I hadn't felt for a while. It suddenly become real. All of it. I have always known God placed a gift of music on me, but this was more. I have been talking about getting the songs out there, heck this whole blog is about that journey, but this feeling, this was different. If I can help one person through a situation like mine, then my music has made a difference. That is what it is about for me.
So here begins my little pledge, if you will. I have the equipment to record at home. That stuff of perspective I was talking about earlier, here is where it really comes in. I don't care about getting the best quality recording available, I care about getting the message God gave me when I needed it, to the people that need it in their moment of "being on the ground". I'm going to try and get my songs down into an E.P. as quickly as possible with some help from my amazing and trusty handy dandy techno-wiz friends! I will put all the lyrics on my Facebook page in PDF form so that anyone can get the words and give them to someone.
It's amazing how God works in your time of need.
Hebrews 13:5
Grace and Peace Everyone!
It's funny how God prepares you for things, but what's more funny, is when you start realising, or thinking... "I think God is preparing me for something." That happened to me. I recently lost something big in my life, someone really important to me. But the day before it all happened, I had coffee with a dear friend and mentor and told her that I believed God was preparing me for something. 2 days before that, I wrote a new song called "Reasons" (go figure). It's funny how God works it all out.
Its been a little over a month, but today was the first day I managed to pick up my guitar and play that song Reasons. I had really struggled to even open the case to my guitar, and for those who know me well, know that I love my guitar. But when big things like this happen, suddenly those things don't matter like they used to. Perspective is given. I then proceeded to play Paradox, then Trust Me Now. I then got angry, sad then passionate. It was a really weird couple of hours! I was angry that God had written how I was going to handle this situation into songs I had written as far back as a year ago. Passion. A emotion I hadn't felt for a while. It suddenly become real. All of it. I have always known God placed a gift of music on me, but this was more. I have been talking about getting the songs out there, heck this whole blog is about that journey, but this feeling, this was different. If I can help one person through a situation like mine, then my music has made a difference. That is what it is about for me.
So here begins my little pledge, if you will. I have the equipment to record at home. That stuff of perspective I was talking about earlier, here is where it really comes in. I don't care about getting the best quality recording available, I care about getting the message God gave me when I needed it, to the people that need it in their moment of "being on the ground". I'm going to try and get my songs down into an E.P. as quickly as possible with some help from my amazing and trusty handy dandy techno-wiz friends! I will put all the lyrics on my Facebook page in PDF form so that anyone can get the words and give them to someone.
It's amazing how God works in your time of need.
Hebrews 13:5
Grace and Peace Everyone!
Friday 12 July 2013
It's all a journey.
So I'm sitting here on the couch home alone watching the Ashes. And yes I have heard every joke under sun! As a proud Australian, naturally I am fairly impressed so far by our over all performance. That got my thinking, once I moved past each players stats, what does it mean to look past our individual "performances" and look at our overall improvement? For me, I can relate this question to my music. At first your not that great and often are very good at criticising yourself, but then bit by bit you start to grow and learn new things which improve your overall "performance". However, I can relate this too my life as well, and we will all be able to relate this something in our lives. In the moment of trouble or hurt or pain, we can be so quick to give up because we are so focused on the hear and now, if only we could look past that one little moment and take a look and what this might be doing to our "overall performance". I spose that can apply both positively and negatively to different circumstances.
When I wrote my first song I thought nothing of it, thought nothing of a career in music or that one day it would mean something to someone. However God had different plans. If only back then I could have looked at the bigger picture and let people into that space so that I could grow and learn for the very start instead of letting myself criticise the songs. I remember playing a song I had written for the first time to a dear friend and I can remember his reaction as though it was yesterday. That day I realised that maybe this stuff was worth something.
Things started to move along and I started writing more songs. I remember being asked to play one of my songs to our church and being extremely nervous and uncertain. That was the first time I exposed that part of my to an audience. Well God was moving that day, not only in the church but in me. Even then I couldn't see past the hear and now. Now I'm playing all over the place and I count it an absolute privilege to share that part of me with people. I can now see what all that was worth back when I first started.
I hope and pray that you all might be able to see past those horrible moments, those first time moments, and those dumb decision moments, and accept that it happened. Not to criticise or put yourself down, but to look at what it's doing to your over all "performance" because God works in all manner of ways and can use any and every situation you are faced with. Take heart and keep your chin up, it's not over yet!
Grace and Peace Everyone!
When I wrote my first song I thought nothing of it, thought nothing of a career in music or that one day it would mean something to someone. However God had different plans. If only back then I could have looked at the bigger picture and let people into that space so that I could grow and learn for the very start instead of letting myself criticise the songs. I remember playing a song I had written for the first time to a dear friend and I can remember his reaction as though it was yesterday. That day I realised that maybe this stuff was worth something.
Things started to move along and I started writing more songs. I remember being asked to play one of my songs to our church and being extremely nervous and uncertain. That was the first time I exposed that part of my to an audience. Well God was moving that day, not only in the church but in me. Even then I couldn't see past the hear and now. Now I'm playing all over the place and I count it an absolute privilege to share that part of me with people. I can now see what all that was worth back when I first started.
I hope and pray that you all might be able to see past those horrible moments, those first time moments, and those dumb decision moments, and accept that it happened. Not to criticise or put yourself down, but to look at what it's doing to your over all "performance" because God works in all manner of ways and can use any and every situation you are faced with. Take heart and keep your chin up, it's not over yet!
Grace and Peace Everyone!
Thursday 4 July 2013
Behind the Guitar
Oh Blog!! It's been far too long!
So much has been going on lately, but that's no excuse! So I do apologize people!
So I just got back from Queensland learning about culture for Uni and It was an amazing experience to be apart of! The only downside is that I lost my voice completely, that was nearly 1 week and a half ago, and I am still getting it back now! I have never lost my voice like that, I couldn't talk, I couldn't sing, I couldn't even hum without sounding like a dying bloated cow! Was very distressing! However it made me think. Do I take my voice, my musical talent for granted? I didn't particularly need my voice except one night up there, but I felt as though I had lost the biggest thing I had going for me. I remember lying in my bed one night trying to work out why I was so distressed at not being able to sing. I didn't need to, yet I felt as though I was missing a huge part of me. After many long hours of pondering it became apparent that perhaps in the midst of all this cultural diversity we where experiencing my music, my voice was part of my identity. I was in a completely different culture, and the one thing I felt I could appropriately give to this beautiful people to show my identity was my music, and with no voice that was stripped away. This idea of showing who I was, was never verbally spoken or never asked of me, however in my head it was expected that I would have to reveal to these people who I was, but not only that, reveal a huge chunk of my life. My songs talk about me as a person, my faith, and my journey so far.
This was an eye opening experience. Yes my music is a huge part of my identity, but I have other things that make up me. As I chatted with the friends we were staying with, I was able to dive into so much more about me, not just surface stuff. I was able to actually talk with people about my faith, and have a discussion around why it is so important to me, rather than just playing them a song that means the same thing. I am not saying that I have been fake in anyway by sharing these songs with people, because I still believe they hold great insight into me and my journey, but what I am saying is I came to realize that I am not defined by my vocal chords or my guitar playing skills, that the message behind the songs I write is what I need to be talking about and discussing with people.
I am encouraging you all today to not be defined by your skills, but open up to whats behind those skills and grab someone you trust and talk to them about it. If you are like me, it is easy to hide behind your guitar, but when you put it down, conversations happen, and that's golden.
Grace and Peace Everyone!
So much has been going on lately, but that's no excuse! So I do apologize people!
So I just got back from Queensland learning about culture for Uni and It was an amazing experience to be apart of! The only downside is that I lost my voice completely, that was nearly 1 week and a half ago, and I am still getting it back now! I have never lost my voice like that, I couldn't talk, I couldn't sing, I couldn't even hum without sounding like a dying bloated cow! Was very distressing! However it made me think. Do I take my voice, my musical talent for granted? I didn't particularly need my voice except one night up there, but I felt as though I had lost the biggest thing I had going for me. I remember lying in my bed one night trying to work out why I was so distressed at not being able to sing. I didn't need to, yet I felt as though I was missing a huge part of me. After many long hours of pondering it became apparent that perhaps in the midst of all this cultural diversity we where experiencing my music, my voice was part of my identity. I was in a completely different culture, and the one thing I felt I could appropriately give to this beautiful people to show my identity was my music, and with no voice that was stripped away. This idea of showing who I was, was never verbally spoken or never asked of me, however in my head it was expected that I would have to reveal to these people who I was, but not only that, reveal a huge chunk of my life. My songs talk about me as a person, my faith, and my journey so far.
This was an eye opening experience. Yes my music is a huge part of my identity, but I have other things that make up me. As I chatted with the friends we were staying with, I was able to dive into so much more about me, not just surface stuff. I was able to actually talk with people about my faith, and have a discussion around why it is so important to me, rather than just playing them a song that means the same thing. I am not saying that I have been fake in anyway by sharing these songs with people, because I still believe they hold great insight into me and my journey, but what I am saying is I came to realize that I am not defined by my vocal chords or my guitar playing skills, that the message behind the songs I write is what I need to be talking about and discussing with people.
I am encouraging you all today to not be defined by your skills, but open up to whats behind those skills and grab someone you trust and talk to them about it. If you are like me, it is easy to hide behind your guitar, but when you put it down, conversations happen, and that's golden.
Grace and Peace Everyone!
Sunday 14 April 2013
Yay! Update! Yay!! :D
So I have just gotten home from an extremely exciting meeting, and well lets just say I'm buzzing!!
I find it amazing how God works, this journey towards a musical career for me has somehow just worked and seems to just fit in to place. However its only today that I actually look back and realise how God has actually worked to get me to where I am now!
Today I had the exciting first consultation with a recording studio, who are infact going to be recording my first E.P!!! Yay!!! The catch is, these things don't come cheap. At all. But this is something I believe in, and are striving to achieve, and have for quite sometime.
When I wrote my first blog, I stated how this journey for me is going to be hugely reliant on the input and support of all you lovely people! So to actually make this E.P possible I am going to do a series of shows to fundraise the cost of the E.P. This is probably going to be a mammoth task, but already I have been overwhelmed by the general support of people, and I know this is what God wants, and I know he will provide.
So very very soon, plans will start to unfold regarding shows, locations, and general hows and whats.
Your continued prayer for this would be especially appreciated, as this is quite a crucial, but extremely exciting time! Thank you for all your support and prayers!
Grace and Peace everyone!
I find it amazing how God works, this journey towards a musical career for me has somehow just worked and seems to just fit in to place. However its only today that I actually look back and realise how God has actually worked to get me to where I am now!
Today I had the exciting first consultation with a recording studio, who are infact going to be recording my first E.P!!! Yay!!! The catch is, these things don't come cheap. At all. But this is something I believe in, and are striving to achieve, and have for quite sometime.
When I wrote my first blog, I stated how this journey for me is going to be hugely reliant on the input and support of all you lovely people! So to actually make this E.P possible I am going to do a series of shows to fundraise the cost of the E.P. This is probably going to be a mammoth task, but already I have been overwhelmed by the general support of people, and I know this is what God wants, and I know he will provide.
So very very soon, plans will start to unfold regarding shows, locations, and general hows and whats.
Your continued prayer for this would be especially appreciated, as this is quite a crucial, but extremely exciting time! Thank you for all your support and prayers!
Grace and Peace everyone!
Monday 18 March 2013
Out and About!
This weekend I had the privileged of performing at the Surrender:13 conference! I performed twice, first night being mainly covers and in the end I will admit I ended up playing One Direction and Justin Bieber covers, but I will just about do anything to please a crowd! Haha! But then the next day I performed my music. And to be perfectly honest with you all, I was having one of those weekends where I was really doubting what I was doing there and doubting my music career and even if I should be performing any more. It made me think that the power of having a bad few weeks can really impact you and your passions. BUT God had a different message for me! Praise the Lord! I was reminded, yet again, that its all going to be ok if I just follow what God wants me to do!
Hebrews 13:5 says "Never will I leave you, Never will I forsake you" aint that the truth!
When life sucks, and all you want to do is give up do something about it, don't just accept that, but do something about it! You see, I actually dared God to prove me wrong, and guess what, he did! Big surprise there! God has given you each different and unique gifts and he wants you to use them to glorify him. He has given us sooooooooooooo many things we don't deserve, the least we could do is to Glorify him with our gifts and talents, and I aim to do that in every performance (even if it is One Direction) and If just 1 person is moved by my music, I will feel like I have accomplished my mission.
I want to encourage you all to life your life the way God intended it, we all stuff up and stray from the path, but God has said to us that there is a Grace that is sufficient for ALL!
Grace and Peace everyone!
Hebrews 13:5 says "Never will I leave you, Never will I forsake you" aint that the truth!
Crowd getting involved on Friday night performance! |
When life sucks, and all you want to do is give up do something about it, don't just accept that, but do something about it! You see, I actually dared God to prove me wrong, and guess what, he did! Big surprise there! God has given you each different and unique gifts and he wants you to use them to glorify him. He has given us sooooooooooooo many things we don't deserve, the least we could do is to Glorify him with our gifts and talents, and I aim to do that in every performance (even if it is One Direction) and If just 1 person is moved by my music, I will feel like I have accomplished my mission.
I want to encourage you all to life your life the way God intended it, we all stuff up and stray from the path, but God has said to us that there is a Grace that is sufficient for ALL!
Grace and Peace everyone!
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