This blog has moved to ctimusic.org

Hello fans of CTI 14:21!


With the recent launch of our new website, we've moved our team blogs back to ctimusic.org. Stop by and check them out!  You won't be able to comment directly on the posts at the CTI site, but they will also cross-post to our facebook page, and we encourage your comments on them there.



Thanks!

The very last week before the end of our winter tour

Can't believe we have reached the end of our winter tour! I still remember when we had to delay our departure due to the snow back in January, now we are one week away from going back to Willmar!

This tour has been a learning tour for all of us--Learning to love when we're unlovable, learning to be patient with each other, learning to be leaders, learning to reach out, learning to be humble, learning to lead others to Christ, learning to enjoy God's blessings, and learning to become the person God created each one of us to be.

None of us is perfect, but God used each one of us to remind and show others that we don't have to be perfect before God, and there's no guilt and shame before Him. Jesus died on the cross for us so we can have life, just as Romans 8:38-39 said, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." And because of that, we don't need to be perfect and we don't have to be afraid of making mistakes anymore. We have freedom to come before God and receive His love, even as imperfect human beings.

I am grateful for this long but meaningful tour. I learned so much about myself, my teammates and most importantly, God. Even though the winter tour is coming to an end, I know that we will remember this past 3 months and hopefully, remember how faithful and good our God is.

God is so good, and his hand is upon us!!!!!!!!

I want to tell you all a little story about our trailer. About 2 weeks ago now we were leaving Bakersfield CA for a 10 hour drive to Phoenix AZ . When we arrived in Phoenix we noticed that the wheels on our tailor looked a little wonky. Upon closer inspection we discovered that the axel had actually shifter considerably. The next day we unloaded everything from the trailer and tried to take it to a repair place to find out the extent of the damage. I say try because we didn’t make it very far before calling a toe truck. When we finally got the trailer to the repair place, the repairman lifted it up to have a look, and the axel actually fell off. That alone was enough to show us that it was only by grace that we had made it that far. But the rest of the week was full of blessing after blessing. From finding a perfect replacement, to having a great place to store our stuff, the lord provided. And he always does.

It is so easy to forget how much we rely on his grace everyday. When I get out of the van after a 10 hour drive I usually say “Thank God I’m out of that van” instead of “Thank you God for brining me this far”. But when I saw that we had just ridden 10 hours on rusty threads of metal I was reminded that that trip, like all the others, wasn’t made on wheels and steel, but on grace.

I hope that today you will be reminded of how miraculous it is that you are alive. Your life is short, fragile and has nothing to do with you. And yet, God has given you another day, don’t waste it.

Thank you all for your prayer and loving support.

The love of God.

oh,

life on the road has it's days as I'm sure you all have figured out by now. I am so blessed to be here with my team as we are still in California, and God is teaching us to choose joy everyday even when we'd rather not (has this ever happened to anyone else?) even when we feel utterly worthless, the joy of the Lord can be our strength!

During the recent (and many) drives up and down the coast of California, God has been teaching me so much about how it's not about my own efforts that makes my relationship with Him good but it's Him. I measure my relationship status with God so often on how much I pray, how much I love, how much I read my Bible and how much I do "good things" but instead I had to realize that it's not me who determines it at all; it's God. And our God is the God of Creation who loves us so much He died for us and died for all the sins that we've committed and are going to commit - constantly reminding us that His love will never fail. He never lets go. It's not by my actions but by His grace and we are called not to live in guilt when we sin but to live in His freedom and ask for redemption which He gives every moment. We are called His beloved, His joy, His delight. .how often does that knowledge stay in our heads and not go down to our hearts? God. . .sovereign over all eternity, ageless, glorious and breathtaking in His splendor. .loves us. God loves us. God loves us. God loves us.

I'm faced with these questions of, 'How does this not change my life forever?' 'How does this not impact the way I see myself, the way I see God, and the way I see the world we live in?' 'How I cannot live for the Lord and put down everything to follow Him?' 'How can I desire to find my worth in other people, other things, in what I do, instead of in the One who made me and called me His own?'

And the thing is, I can't. I can't love God back; there's no possible way. I can't even love myself or other people; how can I love God? But here's the thing: our God is so faithful. We're not supposed to do it on our own, He knows we can't do it alone. Instead He gives us the love we need to love Him, the love we need to see others as He sees them and the love we need to find ourselves in Him and not in anyone else's love. God gives us the desire for what we need--for Him. It's not until we're broken that we see we have nothing and are nothing and know that we need someone else, desperately and our hunger for God is awakened. God uses broken people. God loves broken people, even in their brokenness and sin. God loves us. And when you're madly in love with someone, it changes your life forever.

So take heart, my friends! Even if you don't live in a van with seven other people all the time (and I am assuming you don't. .and if you do, I admire you very much and think we should be friends), know that when we feel like we have screwed up so much and are broken beyond repair, God loves us. .and in His strength we can live for Him and fulfill our purpose to let His glory shine through us. We are broken people. .but God is our strength and our portion forever.

In His love..

CTI 14:21

Crazy for Christ!

Hey Everyone!
Things are going well and we've enjoyed the last few days leading worship at a retreat for CEC and CBC San Diego. The worship with them was incredible and we were so blessed. This is just a little video to show a bit of what our worship time looked liked. It wasn't always so crazy but isn't it fun to think how we can be CRAZY for the Lord and even crowd surfing can bring God glory!
Blessings to all of you and thanks for the prayers as we keep traveling and loving God deeply.
Carrie & Crew :)

Choosing Beautiful Feet

So we are now officially in California but just came from a few days spent in Las Vegas. When you enter Las Vegas with all the lights, buildings, and people you'd think this place is beautiful, wonderful because no one would come here if it was ugly. But I couldn't see the beauty as I walked down the streets. Instead when I saw Vegas I saw SIN... UGLY SIN. It hurt as I looked at all the "glam and lights", the women and men displayed as objects, the way people were filling themselves with nothing of worth. How can they not see?? When I think about sin I think how ugly it is. How it tears us up, makes us into ugly beings if we let it consume us. I know that I am a sinner, we are all sinners but the fact of the matter is we are redeemed by Christ!!! I don't have to live in my ugliness because I am forgiven. That night and the following day I had a chance to talk a bit with different people and we discussed the urgency we felt after walking the streets of Vegas. THESE PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW! They need to see the ugliness. They need to hear the message of Christ's love for them. They need to fill their lives with the beauty of Christ and let that penetrate their mind and souls. But, how will they know unless I tell them, unless WE tell them??

Romans 10:14-15
"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

So, I don't know about you but I have a fresh sense of urgency that there are so many still out there living life in ugliness, unaware of the beauty they could possess. Why don't we tell them, why are we shy? Let's not let them sit any longer in their filth but move our feet and share the beauty we have in Christ. I don't know about you but I want "beautiful feet" - feet that bring the good news of Christ to those who haven't heard and don't believe.

Asking for "beautiful feet",
Carrie & 1421

Bear Lake Escapades!

Hello again!

-For the past week we have been dashing around the great and beautiful state of Colorado spreading the GREAT NEWS of Christ to everyone we meet. This has taken us to Denver Lutheran High School in, surprise surprise, Denver, and also to Englewood Federal Pen. in Englewood, Colorado. Through all of this God has continued to show us Himself and also teach us how to show Him to others. This has been done through us in the prison where God really showed himself to be a God of Wonders through the inmates there at the prison. They were such blessings to us by their stories of redemption and their thankfulness and responsiveness to us and the message we brought. Another blessing to us were the days off that we have. Jim, being the native Coloradan he is, knew a very beautiful lake/hike that we could go to that was somewhat between Denver where we were, and Wellington, where we had to be. So Jim took us up there and we all enjoyed a day of being together as a team outside of the show setting. It was absolutely beautiful! God really blessed us with a day of lovely sunshine and great weather. It was an awesome place to relax and refocus after going nonstop since the beginning of our tour. Currently we are enjoying the last day of our two days off and look forward to what God has in store next! Keep us in your prayers as in theis next week we traverse the Rockies to Grand Junction then onto Las Vegas!

Solo Deo Gloria,
Aaron