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Would you believe it?

A twelve year old boy named Logan (who listens to KSBJ via SkyAngel) called in a couple of weeks ago while I was filling in on the Morning Show and talked about having to put his calf down.  He told us that he asked God why he had to do that….and that God told him that his Son was special.  This was an amazing, awe-inspiring conversation from an incredible preteen.

The call was put on our website and began receiving so many hits that it exceeded our band width!

That call has gone around the world and back again.  My mom received it from a friend in San Antonio and then a cousin in Montana!

It is so interesting how God works….He can work in the hearts of twelve year old boys and impact millions of people.

Please pray for our website.

Oh, GET REAL!!

It hit me last night.  I was at our church home group talking to some of my dearest friends, and BAM!  A light bulb moment.

I have to get real.  Completely, “Velveteen Rabbit” real.  The defenses have to come down; I have to be transparent.

There’s been a block there; I know EXACTLY what it is!  That is what hit me last night!

It all started when I was a “green” live news reporter at a radio station in San Antonio.  I had been sent to a small area called Smithsons Valley outside of San Antonio where a terrible tragedy began to unfold.

There was a truck overturned on a country roadside.  It took the life of a local high school kid.  When they opened up the truck they discovered that he had been shot in the head.  NO other passengers.  When they went to inform his parents, the police knocked on the door of his house and found everyone–mom, dad, sibling, shot to death inside the home.  The whole family GONE!  The how and why are still a mystery to me to this day.

These events unfurled while I was working.  Each discovery more gruesome than the next.  I then was sent to the school that next morning to talk with kids that knew the student.  It was heartbreaking.  There were not very many kids who could string together a sentence.

The anchor at the radio station threw the live report to me.  I had my information written and I was ready.

I delivered every piece of information they needed to know.  The problem was, I was very “somber and sad” sounding in doing it.  I didn’t cry, I just did not sound stoic.  I thought that was the right thing to do because it was a terrible scene and I didn’t want listeners thinking that I was a heartless person.

I thought WRONG.

When I got finished with that live report, the news director called me back and COMPLETELY CHEWED ME OUT!!  Up one side; down the other.  “How could you do that?  We don’t show emotion in our newscasts!!  We are professionals here!  You NEVER put emotion in your work.  You report the FACTS and you put on your game face!!  You come back to the station with your soundbites–NOW!!”

That experience molded me to not feel emotion at work.  Dead bodies, fires, terrible accidents; I learned to block my “feeler” and desensitize myself.

So, fast forward to over a decade later and my boss here at KSBJ says, “Anne, you need to let listeners get to know you.  They want to know who are you?  What do you deal with on a day-to-day basis? ”

As I told that story last night, my “knower” got hit hard.  I need to let go of that experience and be that gal again–the one who cares and can laugh and cry at work.  Where did she go? 

I spent about an hour in my Bible and prayer today about that very issue.  God is showing me that it is based in trust.  I need to stop fearing your perception of me and start trusting that God is doing a new thing here.  

So, goodbye to the stoic, hello to the new/old me–it’s time to get real!!

By the way, in case you were curious, that news director is now here in Houston at a big news station!  I doubt he even remembers that incident or me.  Funny how God works in mysterious ways.

So, here’s to getting real.

Can your life change because of a song?

I believe a person’s life can be changed forever because of a song.  This happened to me. When I was 13, I had an experience at summer camp.  I heard a song called ”Sing Your Praise To The Lord” by this woman I had never heard of before.  Amy Grant was her name.  This was 1982.  I grew up going to church and I believed in God but I never knew about a relationship with Him.  I found this song really “cool” because it was the first contemporary Christian song I had ever heard. It was not the typical church hymn. 

That song was written by Rich Mullins.  He was a great songwriter.  And, in my mind, that one song he wrote changed my life.  It introduced me not only to “Christian Music”, but to his music.  

One night I was listening to a Christian radio station in San Antonio and I heard a DJ come on and talk about God and the real relationship you could have with Him.  I was a teenager, hurting from regular teenage things, and I needed this love that would accept me.  That night, I made the decision to follow Jesus Christ and ask Him to be Lord of my life.  Tonight, as I am DJ-ing here at KSBJ the song “Hold Me, Jesus,” by Rich Mullins plays, it hits me:  I have a wonderful opportunity to impact someone’s life the way that DJ and that song impacted me.

Rich Mullins was a man of introspection.  By that I mean he could put words together and hit you where you live.  Just look at these words from his song, “Hold Me, Jesus.”

  Well sometimes my life just don’t make sense at all
When the mountains look so big
And my faith just seems so small

So hold me Jesus ’cause I’m shaking like a leaf
You have been King of my glory
Won’t You be my Prince of Peace

And I wake up in the night and feel the dark
It’s so hot inside my soul
I swear there must be blisters on my heart

So hold me Jesus ’cause I’m shaking like a leaf
You have been King of my glory
Won’t You be my Prince of Peace

Surrender don’t come natural to me
I’d rather fight You for something I don’t really want
Than to take what You give that I need
And I’ve beat my head against so many walls
Now I’m falling down, I’m falling on my knees

And this Salvation Army band is playing this hymn
And Your grace rings out so deep
It makes my resistance seem so thin

I’m singing hold me Jesus ’cause I’m shaking like a leaf
You have been King of my glory
Won’t You be my Prince of Peace

You have been King of my glory
Won’t You be my Prince of Peace

I fight constantly.  I don’t mean that I am always arguing with my hubby or friends; I mean I fight God.  It’s a struggle because I know I am called to be salt and light and there are days when, quite frankly, I don’t want to do it.  “I’d rather fight you for something I don’t really want than to take what you give that I need.”  I need His grace.  Yet I beat myself up about mistakes that I make.  I need peace. Yet I stay up an extra hour to watch a crazy television show that I know won’t add any value to my life.  (I mean, really, What part of reality television is our reality?)

So this is my little tribute to Rich Mullins.   He died in a car accident in 1997.  You know, the world only had him for a short time.  Heaven’s got him forever; I look forward to hearing the music he’s making there!  

What song has changed your life?  Hit the comments button, and tell me!

 

Sensory Integration Disorder/Special Cheers Therapy

Tonight’s show was on Sensory Integration Disorder.  My sweet friend, Courtney, and her 8 year old daughter, Emma,  were on to talk about their amazing story. They discovered Emma had Sensory Integration Disorder/Sensory Processing Disorder when she was a preschooler and went through so much frustration trying to find the right tools and therapy.  They found this wonderful place called Special Cheers, an occupational therapy center which offers hippotherapy (horseback riding).  For more information on Special Cheers, go to www.specialcheers.com.

One of the things that came out during the show was that many people who have a child with SID or SPD get accused of being bad parents.  They are NOT bad parents who need to “get control” of their kid; they are facing a disorder that is in desperate need of outside help.  An occupational therapist is a great source of help. 

During my research on this subject, I used several websites..  www.senoryint.com and www.sinetwork.org.  I  encourage anyone who has the time and curiosity to do the same.

If you heard the show, or have any suggestions, please feel free to add them to the comments section of my blog.

I got it!!

I’m so excited!  Just a day before my birthday Chuck Pryor came in while I was filling in for Susan O’Donnell and made the announcement–I’m the new Sunday Night talk show host!  This is a dream come true for me.  It’s funny how God knows our dreams and sets things in motion without us ever really asking.  What a great birthday present!

This all started when Chuck emailed me and asked me if I would consider trying out for the Sunday Night show.  I had been filling in for both the Morning and Afternoon Show for almost two years.  I had never done an hour of live talk before; let alone a call in show!  I was thrilled and a bit nervous.  A friend of mine said, “You go in there and tell him, this is where I shine.”  It’s good to have friends who see things in you that you don’t see.  I thought about that as I went to meet with him.  I got up the courage, said it to him, and as I did I prayed, “Lord, please let that statement be so!”

So my first show was Father’s Day, June 17th.  I chose to do a show on Santa Maria, a great organization here in Houston that helps women get off drugs and alcohol; and allows them to take their kids to the rehab program.  My husband said, “So, you wanted to start with something non-contraversial?” (LOL)  That show was amazing.  We had so many calls and many of the people were so broken.  It made me realize my friend was right; I could do this but it was not me who would shine.  It was Jesus living through me.  Everything I do is for Him.  Not me.

So, here I am, planning show after show.  Every show I do I think about the listeners.  What would they like to know about and learn about?  How would they ask my guests a question if they were in the room?

Then, I was given web blog training.  I will be getting a Sunday Night show page in a couple of weeks.  But until then, I can start my own blog.  They showed us how to do that yesterday.  So here I am, blogging!  What a kick!

Every Sunday is an opportunity to give Houstonians information about things that affect their lives.  I look forward to doing just that!