Happy New Year!

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

    I hope this year finds you with joy and great anticipation for the upcoming opportunities to grow deeper in living for Christ our Savior. What a good thing it is that He has chosen to give us Jesus in order to bring us back into communion with Himself. Christmas is such a beautiful reminder of that gift. I hope you all had a wonderful time with friends and family.

         

Since January last year I have been worship leading for a church called The Threshing Floor in Isanti, MN.  Our worship services are held on Sunday nights so I have had the opportunity to help out at other churches around the area that need a pianist on Sunday mornings. I attend Cross Pointe Church with my family in Cambridge where I also, on occasion, play on the worship team. I love ALL my church families! 

   Since March I have been working part time at Westerberg Chiropractic in Cambridge as the assistant to Dr. Westerberg. The rest of the week I clean houses in Cambridge as well as Minneapolis. I’ve learned so much in the past year about who God is in every season of life and who I am in Him. Now with the New Year upon us, I’m excited to share what new opportunity I have!

      As some of you know, my brother Ben has been in Hawaii at Kauai Bible College since January of this past year.  When Ben heard of an open position for a worship intern at the school this Spring, he encouraged me to apply.  I had never really thought it was possible for me to attend because I’ve been so occupied with working and keeping busy with my jobs here at home.

    In October of this past year, I attended a seminar for Worship leaders at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis.  That weekend, my eyes were opened all the more to the important position of the Worship Director/Music Leader in the church. The Lord began to show me that I need to be investing more time into my ministry of music.  I began praying and asking God to open my eyes to areas in my life that I need to work on and that He would give me ideas to further my ministry. That same week my brother Ben called to inform me that his plan was to come home for Christmas then return to KBC for the Spring semester. He encouraged me to apply for an internship position working with the worship director at the school!

Psalm 6:9 “The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord accepts my prayer.” The Lord answers the prayers of His people!  After prayer, conversation with my parents and some good hard thinking, I sent in my application and was accepted shortly after! The internship semester begins January 26th and ends May 18^th. 

        Knowing that I have friends and family at home that are on my team, holding me up in prayer would be a wonderful thing! Please ask God to reveal Himself to me in greater way while I’m there and that my heart would continue to long for His presence. Pray that Ben and I would be guided by the Holy Spirit in all the decisions we make. Pray that I would draw closer to Jesus and live in a way pleasing to Him.

    I am believing that The Lord will provide for me in this situation in life as He always has in the past. He continues to show Himself faithful and I continue to be amazed.  

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this letter and for your support. I’m very excited for this next adventure in my life story. May The Lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you and give you peace.

-Emily Clawson

If you would like stay informed on the things I’m doing here are some options.

Twitter: @mleclawson

School website: www.kauaibiblecollege.com

10-20-11

I'm sure....




 God is so good....


 Just think about it. 

9-10-11

Oh, that I would please You Lord! 
Forgetting You and all that You've done is something that I cannot afford. 
You are so good to me! Even when days are long and boring. 
When everything crashes. When my plans change. When I don't get what I want, but what I deserve. 
When I don't have any idea of what I want. When I'm confused. Frustrated. Put up with the way things are. You are still good to me. 
You are the definition of good. Of love. Of grace. 
Forgive me my trespasses. Take not Your Holy Spirit from me. Help me to remember that you are always by my side. Thank you for Your mercy. 

8-2-11

It's a rainy, humid morning.
I awake to a dull light attempting to peek it's way through the windows which are are coated with fog and the occasional drip of condensation.
It's nice and cool here in the house. Quiet too. No one home but my dad and me.
The only sounds are the hum of the air-conditioner working strenuousnessly to do its part.
The laundry machine, it's spin is almost mesmerizing.
The occasional cough from the man up stairs, the evidence that I'm not the only one.
And the thunder, it's rumbling so comforting to me. And I can't really express why. Perhaps it's because I see it as God's communication. Letting me know that He's still in control. That no matter how frustrated I get with the people in this life that disappoint me, or my electronics that don't work, or my car that won't start (but it does now. Compliments of Tom Clawson -(Papa)-) God still sends the rain when we need to be refreshed.

I love rain. I love the gentle drip drop of today and the, for some, depressing hue that the clouds give.
I love rainy days. What a beautiful reminder that all things are new.
 This morning I am reminded that His rain of redemption is everyday, evermore.

June Twenty-Ninth, Two Thousand and Eleven

I need to slow down. 
   To think.
        To pray.
 To remember the reason why I am living.
 To focus on true reality.
 To sow to the Spirit who lives inside of me. 
 To bring my attention back to the way Jesus wants me to live.  
 To be with the one I love. 
 Because this is who I am.


  A lover of God. 

My Journey as a Leader

      Last December I took a position as the worship leader for a new church in the Cambridge/Isanti area called The Threshing Floor. This responsibility has been a HUGE growing experience for me. I'm learning what it means to really take charge of a worship service. How much planning it takes but at the same time....not very much at all. Let me explain. 


       I started by leading solo. Just me and my piano. Every once in a while I would have someone come in with the guitar and play with me. I would plan that weeks songs we were going to do and everything was going great. Worship time would come, we would sing our songs together, experience God, and be encouraged. It was beautiful and I had a TON of encouragement from people. Mainly the leadership team. 
    
     A few months later I had a friend bring up an idea. "What if we were to gather the young people of our community and all use our talents and gifts to worship together?". This is something that I had THOUGHT of before but never really saw as a reality because I was so busy and I liked to just keep it simple. I wanted to pick the songs that I knew and do them. God showed me that I was being selfish in wanting to have worship time be "my deal". He made it very clear that this was something that he wanted to see happen. We spread the word with those that the Holy Spirit had put on our hearts and had many confirmations. 
    
  So the next week, we had about 8 young people (18 to 24 year olds) get together on a Wednesday night. We discussed what we wanted to see happen and how everything would come about. It was beautiful. Every person in that group just wanted to worship and have The Threshing Floor be a place where one could worship freely. Everyone in that group loved Jesus and wanted more of Him. Everyone. Loved. To Worship.
   
        I was so encouraged to be able to work with people that have the same mind and and heart for the Lord. And you know what? Starting a group of people didn't make anything more complicated. It has been the best decision I have made in a long time.  I mean, sure....we are still totally disorganized and there are times when I have NO idea what I'm doing. But Wednesday nights have become my FAVORITE. They are what get me through the week. Honestly. There have been weeks when we all show up and look at each other and say "Tonight we just need to pray." So we do. There are times where I have a set of songs planned out, we start playing together, and The Holy Spirit shows us a whole different way with different songs for us to do. There are times when we don't even practice. But we just worship for the sake of worshiping the BEAUTIFUL Jesus that we all love.  
       Wednesdays are wonderful. We are becoming GREAT friends because we are all running the race that the Lord has put before us. We are running it together. And we're growing too! Every week since we have started, we have had at least 1 new person join us. It's truly a beautiful thing! We have NO IDEA where God is going with this but we know that He is GOING. And He's bringing us with Him. We know that He is going to use our little group of young people in Isanti, MN for great and mighty things. We are SO excited!
  
  So....there is planning to do, yes, but at the same time I just have to let go and let the Holy Spirit guide me. It can be through the still small voice in my own heart, or by someone on my team telling what they are feeling God is showing THEM. It can be frustrating at times, yes. But if you look at it as being used for Jesus's purposes, then ya know what? He can mess up any plans that I have ever made. I just want to glorify Jesus.  

    My team is amazing. Each one of us bring a particular characteristic to the table. And we need all of them. The ideas that bounce off one another, the encouragement, the music, the teaching, the enthusiasm, the love, the friendship, the wisdom of the word, the experiences that we have together, are something that I can no longer go without. I depend on my friends to keep me accountable in my personal growth with Jesus.  


    All I can think half the time is, "I get to do this". I get to be a vessel for the Lords work in The Threshing Floor. And it's all for Him. Everything that goes down on Sunday and Wednesday or even when we are just hanging out together at caribou...we live to make His name known. 


    God is Good. All the time. 
    In His Name and for His Glory,


    Emily Clawson 

   

4-4-11

Where ever You go Lord

I will follow

Where ever You are 

That's where I'll be

I'm running back to my first love

To the one who is always there

Who's affections for me will never change

He shows compassion, mercy and care

Ever straying Lord am I

Keep me on Your path

Ever lost without Your touch

Keep Your hands guiding me

Ever wandering Lord

Keep my eyes on the prize

I will run the race You've set before me

I will win the prize

The prize of knowing You my Lord

I was created for my beloved

I am forever His

Bound by love through the blood

It's through Christ I now live

I Gave My Heart Away

Feb 27th 2011

Today, I came across something new.

I feel it doesn't like me much.

Perhaps it was just having a bad day.

It was so beautiful. 

I couldn't help but stare when my eyes looked upon it. 

Emotion stirred in soul.  

I climbed down the rocks for a closer encounter.

It blew it's salty sea air and it blasted my face.

I didn't expect this type of greeting from my pacific friend.

As I came closer, it blew even harder. 

It was as if it was trying to tell me something. 

"Stay away". 

But I couldn't. 

The more I looked at it the harder it blew....

I was falling in love.  

My heart longed to get closer. To touch this magnificent mass. 

I stepped closer yet. Ocean spray, pelting my face. 

I stopped. I waited.  

Little by little it slowly came closer and then would draw back again. Hesitant. Nervous. 

Finally the water made it up the beach to the place where I stood. 

I couldn't help myself.

I leaned over and gently touched part of this cold, briny deep. 

The clear water retreated back as soon as I made contact with it. 

As if it was nervous. This didn't matter to me though. 

Suddenly everything came together in my mind. 

Every gust of wind I now saw as a sign of love. Not hate. 

It was showing me how intense it's love for me really was. 

I let my hair down and allowed the wind to whip it around my face. I took a deep breath and inhaled some salty air. 

This is what love is. 

My soul was singing! I couldn't keep the smile off my face. 

I danced in circles on the beach. Twirling around and around. 

I had fallen in love. 

Knowing that I wouldn't be with it for long and that I had to go home, so far away from my new love, I treasured every moment on that beach.

I swooped down and scooped up a handful of sand. I needed a piece of the coast with me while I'm gone. 

I wondered around the beach for a while longer and just took it all in. 

My beautiful love was so immense! So incredibly great. And I was in love with it all. 

As the time came for me to say goodbye, I took one last glance, blew a kiss, turned my back and walked away. 

I've fallen in love with the ocean. 

And I'm not sure what to do. 

Fully Alive

A few months ago in church, we were reading the story of Jesus and Lazarus.

  Jesus comes to his friends house only to find that His friend is already dead.

 Lazarus was someone that Jesus loved deeply and was heartbroken when he found him in the tomb. 

So He raises him from the dead. 

 That's just a brief summary of the story. There's a lot more to it. 

I would suggest you go and read it so you get the whole thing in John 11.

  Anyway. 

  We were reading this story and a thought came to me.  

We are all a Lazarus. 

God loves us all just as Jesus loved Lazarus. But we all are dead before we come to know Jesus.  And Jesus has called us forth from death. Out of the grave. 

Jesus says in John 10:10

  "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."  He makes us FULLY ALIVE in HIM! 

  This is a song that I wrote shortly after. 

Fully Alive

I was dead and buried in my sin

I was dead from the inside out

I was cold, alone and in the ground

Until I heard Your voice call out

You say

"I give life

Because I am life

Open the tomb, come forth"

Oh, it's a beautiful thing that You've done for me

It's a beautiful gift that You gave

It's a beautiful thing that You've done for me

And now my heart can't stay in the grave

Now I'm fully alive

Fully alive

I am thriving in Jesus Christ

No need for old grave clothes

You've wrapped me up in righteousness

No more musty old darkness 

I have seen Your light

No turning back 

Oh, it's a beautiful thing that You've done for me

It's a beautiful gift that You gave

It's a beautiful thing that You've done for me

And now my heart can't stay in the grave

Now I'm fully alive 

Fully alive

I am thriving in Jesus Christ

Mister Cold

          When I was out in Portland a few weeks ago, the weather was nice.    At least for the first few days. Then came the snow and the 20 degree air. I was so depressed. Why did it have to be like this? I got enough of this at home. You would think that after I came all this way to a state that gets snow only a few times a year, I would have gotten away from the white slush and bitter sting of wind chill. Yet, here I was. Freezing cold toes and just plain cranky. The Oregonian friends of ours made fun of me. 

"You live in Minnesota. You should be used to this!". 

I just want to say that just because one lives in a state where the weather is below freezing almost 5 months out of the year, doesn't mean that one "gets used to it" or for that matter has to like it. Cold weather is just that. 

COLD. WEATHER.

 I'm pretty sure that our bodies were not made for it, therefore I haven't gotten used to it and in fact...I think I hate it. 

:)

 That being said, here's a silly little poem about a stalker. 

Enjoy.

                       2-25-2011

The cold haunts me

He knows where I go

I can't get away from him

He follows me to and fro

I came to get away

Thinking it would work

I have had enough of Him

Our story could be a book

Cold is a stalker that I just can't shake

I can't run, I can't hide

He fills my dreams and makes me cry

He always goes for my toes

Then moves to the fingers and nose

I need protection from this madness

I just need to be left alone.

I feel like he knows I hate him

So he tries to punish me this way

Well it's working just fine

He attacks. Every. Single. Day. 

Who can save me from his bite?

I feel that whatever I do, fails. 

I fear he will never leave me

And one day I'll slow to a crawl like a snail

Till he wins completely and I freeze all the way through

His plan will be completed and nothing will be new

The world will become a big cube of ice

Everyone will be chilled to the bone 

And no one will be nice

We will all be cold

And at each other nip.

Snap, bite, hiss and growl

This is how the world will fall

The end is near

Brace yourself

He comes the cold

 Embrace it, do not fear. 

Friends Don't Let Friends Fly

    So a few weeks ago I went to Portland, Oregon with my sister Laura. We took the Amtrak train from Minneapolis to Portland. We got to the station about 11:30 pm only to find out that our train was delayed about another hour. We found a nice spot on the floor and I got bored and started writing.

 2-17-2011

Sitting at the station

Waiting for the train

People all around

That guy has a cane

I wanna go far away

I am hoping that this trip 

Will bring my heart adventure

Sitting at the station 

I wonder what's to come

My toes are frozen

All I brought was TOMS

"Sorry, that's my weird cousin"

I hear a beer slurred voice

I can't help thinking he's been

To the bar once or twice....tonight

Little children run about

Restless, yet we all know

That is about twenty minutes

They'll all crash, dead to this world

Sitting in the station 

I hear a faint and distant sound

A sort of rumbling that grows louder

Soon, so hard it pounds

The train has come

And it's time for me

To say my last goodbye 

To this station that held me warm

It's time to step outside

   The trip was 48 hours long and was one of the best traveling experiences that I've ever had. We watched the country side past by through the huge windows as we just chugged along. Again, I pulled out my journal.


2-18-2011
   Across the country I travel. By way of train. I can now see why people love this. It's cold out there. But then, It is February. What did I expect? Everything is white. Everything. Even the sun, as it attempts to shine through the heavy clouds. Snow is blowing everywhere. It's hard to see out the window. And sitting here in the cozy warm train car, I shudder to think of how cold those deer wolves, birds, and cattle all are surviving in this Narnia. The train chugs on, and with it the anticipation for what's to come. Bouncing and rocking back and forth, You're almost thrown into a trance. A day dream that is oh, so vivid. The mind is blown away by the sights it sees. Through prairies, hills, valleys, and mountains. We pass through the occasional small town. They almost looks deserted. Families tucked way in their little town homes. Then, just as swiftly as it came into sight, we depart for the next one. How many of these tiny settlements will we pass on this trip? Roads run directly next to the tracks on which we ride. They go on for miles. Where do they lead? Surely somewhere worth while. Deer run through the prairies with such ease. As if it were the middle of Summer. Not even affected by the ice and snow beneath their hooves. Jumping and bounding cross country.  The land just goes on and on. This is AMERICA.


    We pass through North Dakota and the sun sets. The moon is full and hints the outlines of the mountains in Montana. The next day we awake to a beautiful sunrise, the river, and the woods along with mountains.
  
2-19-2011
 We travel down the track next to some of the most amazing scenes I've ever seen. It almost hurts my eyes to look away from this beauty and down at my page. The mountains are singing to me. We duck into them through the tunnels made by those who have gone before us. Blazing this trail we now ride along on. Father and son, fishing off their boat into the clear greenish-blue water. The birds over head seem to know that their job is to make this journey even better for us by dancing through the air. All of creation seems to be playing a part in making my day the most enjoyable that it possibly could be. 


 There's no better way to travel.


  Friends don't let friends fly. 

 They take the train. 

Be My Song

Jesus, beautiful melody

Come play Your piece in my heart

Holy Spirit, sweet harmony

Of this symphony, come take part 

My words cannot describe

These longings inside to unite

To be one with the master of life

Composer of each day and night

You are my song

The reason I lift my voice

My soul has made the choice

I'll sing as the days go on

Jesus, You're my song! 

Lovely, sweet, precious, complete

Jesus You're my song

In this tune of life our souls now meet

Jesus You're my song

Graciousness, love mercy and peace

Are all notes that keep perfect time

With slurs and ties they intertwine 

This masterpiece will always be mine!

Winter Song

Tired. Cold. 

Hungry. Alone. 

I am pale and weak

Where do I go? 

Who am I going to turn to?

Nowhere to go

No one to see

No one to be with

These days don't seem to end 

And spring seems like a myth

It's the winter

So sick of seeing white

Everything in sight

Covered in snow

Frost bites the windows

My nose, my toes, they all go numb

I can't feel anymore

It's the winter

This chill so cold 

It kills the soul

The wind just won't stop

Ice pelts my face

And I'm about to give up

Then I see a light

The sun has come out to play

Beautiful and bright

Shinning all around it's rays

Icicles start to drip drip drop

And at the sound my heart just stops

All of creation lets out a long anticipated sigh

And whispers   

Spring