A Little While Longer

"Jesus, all I need is You

Come in and flood this whole room

I’ve seen all that man can do

And Jesus, all I want is You"

I was in the lobby of Mason Hall at Jacksonville State University during Spring semester 2017. It was about 1:00am (when all the good songs are written) and I was working tirelessly on school assignments for multiple classes. I needed a break so I decided to play piano in one of the practice rooms. Practice rooms are one of the best places on campus, I must admit. I spend much needed practice and worship/prayer times in those rooms.

The first song I played that night was a song I released on my first album, "Just to Dwell." I began thinking of the powerful ways that God shows His tangible presence in my life. And then it hit me—what do I need to do once I am done dwelling in His presence? What is the next step to going deeper? The answer is to remain and stay a little while longer. There is no "next level." There is only He and He alone—and that is all I need. See, it is in the seeking that we find Him, and when we find Him, we must stay in that place. There is no other destination.

After about 45 minutes of praising, writing, and singing, this song was complete. I sang this in the practice room for another few hours until my voice was gone and my eyes could barely stay open.

I am thankful for the gift of songs and music in my life. I encourage you to sing your own song, pray your own prayer, and let God use you in your area of life. Just remain in Him and He in you (John 15:4).

Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.

The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

-Matthew 26:41

The main reason I tend to fall into temptation is when I am not watching and praying. The scripture is so clear and true. When we do not reflect and observe our surroundings, we are subject to sin against God. Jesus mentioned, “watch and pray” multiple times. Not only was it mentioned before the crucifixion, but it is also found in Luke.

Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap…

Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.

-Luke 21:34,36

The word “watch” has a few different means and this one means, “to have the alertness of a guard at night.” A night watchman must be even more alert than a daytime guard. More threatening dangers occur in the night, and you cannot always see what is coming your way. Therefore, you are forced to use other senses to detect danger. There may be no indications of an enemy attack until it happens. This is what Jesus wants us to understand when he says “watch.” I believe we have a good understanding of prayer, so I will not write any on that. I think so many Christians focus on the “prayer” part of that verse without remembering to “watch.” Sometimes sin can sneak up on us if we do not watch and anticipate, with the help of Holy Spirit’s guidance.

"I can’t live without You by my side, day and night

All creation sings Your praises

Jesus, Jesus."

We must stay alert and not grow weary in doing good. I have learned these truths of remaining in Him and then remaining even longer. I pray I learn this to be even truer for me in the days to come.

“Now that You’re here

Won’t You stay a little longer?

Now that You’re here

I will stay a little longer”

Will you stay a little longer in His presence today? It is worth it 100% of the time.

Everyday Treasure

From beginning of time with Adam and Eve in the garden, God designed us for daily, intimate fellowship.

The above picture is the breathtaking view I woke up to every morning during the summer of 2017 in Brasília, Brazil.

“Being captured (lost) in Your presence makes me free-er than I’ve ever been.”

Everyday Treasure is the title of my fifth song off my latest album from 2018, On My Face. The beauty of these first lyrics is this: being captured (lost) in His presence means you are being found and seated in higher, heavenly places.

Besides the feeling of overwhelming peace, freedom is the best word to describe the presence of God. Religion sets realistic boundaries and rules, while the raw presence of the Lord breaks bonds and shifts the atmosphere. Being with the Lord grants me permission to unlock supernatural breakthroughs.

The picture above is of my amazing American team who went to Brazil with me. From left to right starting on the back row: Parker, Sam, Ashley, Laura, Peter, me, Sam, Abby, Neely, Erica, and Brianna. These people are some of these best people on earth. They are individually talented, fun, loving, and crazy passionate about the good news of the Gospel!

I wrote this song while living in Brazil for two months during summer of 2017. I was working summer camp with Winshape Camps. God molded me in a powerful way during that time of my life. We traveled around Brasília and Saõ Paulo doing camps for kids in churches each week. During this time, I had this revelation that my relationship does not stop with Salvation experience, or baptism, or being filled with the Spirit. Just like a relationship between a married couple does not stop after the wedding day, our relationship does not stop after we invite Him to be our Savior.

“The beauty of creation reminds me of the love within.”

Brazil is a huge country filled with adventure. I looked around me and saw the beauty of the sky, land, and bodies of water while flying to Brazil. I was reminded that the vastness of that creation lies within me.

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made…” –Psalm 139:14

"You take me on a trail but I’m never alone. The wonder of adventure is the unknown.”

Adventure is defined from Google as “engaging in exciting activity, especially the exploration of unknown territory.”

The first key element to notice is the word engaging. To engage in an activity requires full attention. Maybe you are missing out on this adventure with the Lord because you have not learned how to engage your heart appropriately.

The second key element to notice is exciting activity. Serving Jesus is EXCITING! I do not understand Christians who are sad all of the time. The joy of the Lord is our strength!

The last key element to notice is unknown territory. God wants us to discover things about Him that has not yet been unveiled. There are unknown territories that He wants you to discover. It requires time and proximity. How do I know that?

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”

-1 Corinthians 2:9

This scripture suggests that there is more to God than what you know or conceive or imagine at this very moment and time. The key element in that verse is the part that says, "for those who love Him." Do we love Him? He is faithful to grant us exciting activities in unknown territories when we learn to long for Him.

Have you been on an adventure lately? Often times the best adventures involve elements of surprise. If there is no surprise element then I would argue that it was not much of an adventure at all.

Daniel Francis wrote an article in 2017 on the subject of adventure:

He wrote, "Adventure stories revolve around a single, central, heroic character. In an adventure story, there is always an event or series of events the hero or heroine must overcome to gain something or to survive. The hero is known as the protagonist, and the antagonist supplies the circumstances that the hero must overcome."

This sounds very familiar, doesn't it? Who is our central, heroic character? Jesus Christ. What series of events did he overcome? The cross, where he died for the sins of all humanity.

Francis continues by writing, "In adventure stories, rising and falling suspense supply the pace of the story. As one conflict rises, another must be diminishing. To heighten the tension, the diminishing conflict can move slowly while the rising conflict continues to increase. Some element of surprise enters into the story when the audience comes to expect one action and another action instead takes place. The protagonist's unknown response to the surprise helps increase the suspense and continues to define the hero or heroine."

This is so true. I know there is a time for everything. There are seasons in life. God is faithful through every season--good and bad. One thing that frustrates us as humans is not having control. When we predict something to happen and it does not happen, we become confused, impatient, angry, and all the above. But the beauty of adventures with Jesus is that His ways are always higher than our ways. His plans for us are good.

Speaking of surprises, God surprised me with this wonderful friend in Brazil.

The above picture features me and my close friend, Athan. I love this guy! He is a worshipper, and his vocal chords are powerful. We became close friends over the time I spent there. He traveled with our Winshape team, along with other awesome Brazilians on the Lifeshape team. The necklace in the picture is very significant. If you have seen me recently within the last year, you might have noticed this necklace I wear often. This necklace is from Athan. Many people mistakenly think this necklace is a whistle; however, it is a speaker stand pin. One of the first times I met Athan, he was wearing this. I knew exactly what it was when I first saw it on him. This necklace is awesome because of three things: 1) it is from a close friend from a different part of the world 2) it has symbolism in that a speaker stand pin is used for security purposes in case the screw is not strong or tight enough to hold the weight of the speaker 3) it is an audio production item.

This girl had my heart during the first week of camp in Brazil. The above picture is credited to Brianna. There’s nothing like camp, and there’s nothing like the adventurous love of the Father. I am excited to go to Costa Rica with Winshape Camps again this summer 2019!

I encourage you to engage in His presence today. There are new revelations, new promises, new dreams, new visions, new challenges, new victories, and new blessings waiting to be discovered today. Choose to engage in the things of the Father; you will be amazed by the way He reveals His Kingdom to you through His grace and mercy. It is a constant, everyday pursuit after the one thing: His presence, His righteousness, His goodness. He is all we need.

Listen to the song here:

Much love in Christ,

Carson

Endless

“I see a light in the distance

And I know that I can’t reach it.

I see the sun breaking through the dawn

And I know I might not live to see another day

Without Your grace washing over me

The blood spilled on Calvary

I know You are always with me, oh

Your love is endless”

This pic is from the amazing live worship night on May 11, 2018 at Word Alive International Outreach. Credit to Grace Cockrell for the photo.

This is the fourth song off of my latest album, On My Face. I am so thankful for the individuals who tracked on this particular song: Alex Mattox, Andrew Clingan, and Caleb Howard. This song is left open and atmospheric to symbolize the depths of eternity.

I wrote this song to describe the amount of love that the Lord has for me and all of humanity. It is saddening to think that there are many parts of the world that have never heard the goodness of God’s love. Further more, they have never felt the love of the Father. Do we allow ourselves to be reminded of His love every day? And on top of that, do we return the love and affection every day?

It is one thing to have been told that God loves you; it is another thing to experience it. Jesus loves me this I know, but not because the Bible told me so! I know Jesus loves me because He speaks to me in the middle of the night and reminds me I am His.

"Insight is a byproduct of intellect; revelation is a byproduct of experience.”

-Damon Thompson

Do you know that Jesus loves you, or do you know that Jesus loves you?

"I see the flowers growing every day

But winter comes and steals the life away.

But I know it’s not about the petals

It’s about what lies beneath.

Your love is endless, oh

Your love is endless, oh”

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.

-Deuteronomy 7:9

Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever.

-Psalm 136:26

"What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us… All the problems of heaven and earth, though they were to confront us together and at once, would be nothing compared with the overwhelming problem of God: That He is; what He is like; and what we as mortal beings must do about Him. The gospel can lift destroying burdens from the mind, give beauty for ashes, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. But unless the weight of the burden is felt, the gospel can mean nothing to the man; and until he sees a vision of God high and lifted up, there will be no woe and no burden. Low views of God destroy the gospel and all who hold them.”

-A.W. Tozer (The Knowledge of the Holy)

Unless the weight of the burden is felt… Wow! May we be a people who feel what we say until others feel the gospel that we so religiously preach. If you do not feel the weight of your sin mixed in with the weight of His goodness, there is no way you can draw others to the repentance that they so desperately need.

We are called to love as He loves. Therefore, as He loves endlessly, then we are called to endlessly love others. How does that look? Every day remind yourself of His love through studying the Word, prayer, and worship. Do not rely on past experiences to flame present intellect of who God is in your life. Let Him show a new vision in your life. Dream the impossible. God is holy, holy, holy. I pray you find no better satisfaction than just to dwell in the goodness of who He is to you. It is that simple.

His love is endless.

Listen to Endless here:

Much love in Christ,

Carson