God's thoughts...

Came across this old entry blog from almost 2 years ago and needed some reminding of it:

Psalm 139:17-18 "How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!..."

The bible calls David a "man after God's own heart." No wonder he had such a revelation of the mercy and love of God! God's heart towards us is love, because He IS love.

Think, for a minute, if you had a million dollars. And you somehow lose ONE of those dollars. Unless you are insanely meticulous, that ONE dollar is "no big deal," because you have 999,999,999 left. It's insignificant. God's thoughts towards us infinitely outnumber a million or anything else you could try to compare it to. And yet there's not a single one that does not hold significance! There's not one thought from God that's just "no big deal." Each one holds revelation of who He is, and who we are in Him. Each THOUGHT from God has the ability to change who we are and what we're about. Each and every thought FROM God, ABOUT us, is precious! When we view something as precious, we try our hardest to hold onto it, because it is so dear to us. There was such an appreciation in David that God would speak His love towards Him, that each thought was precious to him.

God, that I would be rooted and grounded in love today, and that I wouldn't miss a single thought or word that You want to speak to me...

Night of Worship / YOU STAND ALONE-EP Release

Man, talk about a fun and exciting night!!  I mean, honestly, how BLESSED am I?!  I was able to do the thing I love to do the most, with the people I love most!  Being able to worship with some of my closest friends and family last night, and share in such a special night with them… doesn’t get any better than that!  I can’t thank everyone enough for coming out and supporting like you did.  Thanks for making it such an enjoyable night!


If you weren't able to make it last night, you can check out the new EP "You Stand Alone" on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/you-stand-alone/id390897413 OR on Facebook: http://facebook.com/stevanparra.

Long-time listener, first-time recording...

I remember when I first realized that leading worship was gonna be something I would be passionate about for a long time.  I was in Jr. High, had recently given my life to serving Jesus, and could only listen to the likes of Martin Smith with Delirious, Matt Redman, Darrell Evans, etc.  With that passion to lead worship, I always felt a calling to write songs.  I remember, even as recently as this year, listening to Tim Hughes all those years and getting so excited everytime I read/watched video of Tim making a new album.  It never failed, it ALWAYS stirred something in me to see that happen in my own life.  Not for fame or recognition.  But because it was what He was calling me to.

The past year and a half, I’ve finally gotten to experience recording an album.  It’s unreal how much goes into making a record!  The hours, days, and MONTHS spent in the studio, fine-tuning each part of a song.  Singing a verse or chorus over and over again until you’ve hit the right key (my bad, Levi).  Writing and re-writing intros and different parts until you’ve got the perfect one.  I was amazed, and still am, at the job Levi and the guys did producing this EP.  Not to mention all the other things that go into it, such as having someone work on the CD artwork (thanks Marian!), sending it in for duplication, etc… it’s definitely a lot of work!  But MAN is it worth it when you’re able to see and hear the finished product… SO worth it!  Makes me that much more excited for the next album to come!!

The only thing more exciting.... knowing you're finally stepping into a part of your calling you never have before!

If you haven’t gotten the chance to check it out yet, you can grab it off iTunes here:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/you-stand-alone/id390897413