Summer 2010

June 29,2010~ School starts next month??? Am I just getting old or is life just passing by even faster than ever before? I don't know but this summer has been a whirlwind for our family.

Last week was a transformational week for me and I believe our family is forever changed for the better bc of a Spirit led "Road to Renewal" campmeeting at our church. Dan Bohi was the speaker sent by God and what an anointed man with a burden to wake up the church! It's so true that our churches have been asleep and we have been gradually losing the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Scary~ God plainly showed me that I can no longer try to lead worship or live life without Him saturating my entire being with His anointing. He showed me some areas in my life that I had been slacking in and can no longer allow or the anointing will leave me. I LONG for His anointing in every minute area of my life and I will do anything to have His blessing on me. This is my heart's cry for every single person on this earth and I know that through the power of His Word and through diligent prayer every man/woman can obtain His anointing. Anyhow, I believe that God is pouring out His spirit on His people one more time before His return and I am praying for a worldwide revival. That's why we are here~ To expand His Kingdom~

One thing I've learned this past year is that when you pray for His will-you can end up anywhere. Literally!!! Yakima Washington is a place that I had never seen or been to but in less than 3 weeks our family is moving there to serve at West Valley Nazarene church and lead worship there. Doran will be the worship pastor and together, he and I will be leading the people in music. It is so awesome to be ministering together once again and it just feels right. The peace that we feel in knowing that this is God's divine plan for our family makes this transition so much easier. It is difficult to tell our friends goodbye and know that we won't get to see them every week, but knowing the drive is less than 6 hrs helps ease that ALOT~ I plan on taking frequent trips to the Treasure Valley:)

An exciting event this past week for me has been being able to record in the studio working on my first EVER solo recording! It has been LONG hours and very tiring but what a joy to do what I'm called to do. Singing is not work for me bc I LOVE it so much so the long hours have been rewarding. We are finishing up on August 7th then the next week my amazing hubby is producing along with Randy Jahn getting the finishing touches complete. Last night, I called Doran "Simon Cowell"-LOL~ He is pretty intense and quite the perfectionist but I wouldn't have it any other way bc he knows my voice better than anyone and can get more out of me than anyone can. So, kudos to my honey for being tough on me. The marriage stays at the door and when we go into the studio it is all about business!!!

Remember us in prayer as we start this new chapter of our lives and especially for Courtney and Taylor.....remember those days of walking through the doors of a brand new school and feeling pretty insecure? I'm praying that God brings friends our way so that the kids feel more at home there and will do well in their new school.

Happy Summer all~Enjoy the sunshine:)

March 2010

Is it SERIOUSLY almost April??? I do believe that April is my favorite month of the year along with December of course. Why is that? Spring is the BEST season of the year because there is life, growth, color, birds singing, and we can be outside as much as we want without freezing. It's not too hot and not too cold-it's just right! "Three Little Bears anyone?" Taylor turns 6 on April 19th-Wow! My little kindergartner will soon be a 1st grader and is growing up a little too quickly for this momma:( He's my last baby so I feel a little bit sad when his birthday comes around each year. "Mom, I really wanna go to Chuckee Cheese for my birthday!" "Why Taylor?" "Because you get coins, a crown, and a Chuckee Cheese cake!" How could I say no? We will be going to Chuckee Cheese for his 6th birthday! In 1 week my parents will be flying in to spend Easter with us and we Can't wait til they get here! We have to squeeze a lot of celebrating in to 1 week but we WILL make it happen. Somehow we will be celebrating Easter complete with egg hunts, and easter baskets and of course No Greater Love. Then we are celebrating Taylor and Courtney's birthdays at once. Unfortunately my parents live in Kentucky and can't always make it for both of their special days so it was decided that we would have a joint birthday celebration and it doesn't matter that Court's birthday isn't until July. It's about time together:) Good times! Courtney and Doran have been super busy with No Greater Love and have been at practices about 4x a week so it's pretty intense but the important thing is that lives are being touched for Christ and hearts are impacted for the Kingdom. Doran loves playing the apostle John and he is doing a fabulous job!

On a deeper note, as a child I remember having a hard time wrapping my mind around a comment I would hear periodically....."It is through giving of ourselves that we experience true joy and happiness." I remember thinking and wondering how that could be possible? Isn't it by filling our lives with things, fun and toys that makes us happy? I understood that a life without Christ was a miserable way to live but I just thought that giving to others was a bit overrated. I've learned that those comments were absolutely, without a doubt 100% true! Our world teaches us to be calloused and hardened and it is when we allow ourselves to soften and show our hearts to others that we experience true joy and peace. God help me to show my open, vulnerable side more without being afraid of being rejected or hurt. It is thru much practice and effort that we can achieve this and I strive for this daily. It is way too easy to become negative and cynical about life because let's face it.....It's truly a tough world out there! How do we make it? By leaning on the Maker of all things first and foremost, but then learning to lean on our family and friends. By making ourselves vulnerable and open and who knows? We might just help someone in the process. There are so many hurting people that need us to be real with them.

God is blessing our ministry through giving us opportunities, financial support and most importantly.....the prayers for us. It is exciting to see how God is forging a pathway for us. To be able to do this along side of my family is a dream come true and I love it! Not to say it hasn't been challenging at times. We soon will be moving again(in nampa) and have no idea where our new house is. Sometimes that freaks me out! We are just hoping that everything goes through with the offer on our house and it looks like we will be moving in June. Transition, transition , transition!!!! Don't we all love it? The unknown is what scares us the most. But, fortunately there are a lot of houses out there just dying for someone to live there so we shouldn't have too difficult a time finding us a place.

Happy Spring everybody!

"Surrender to Something Heavenly"

February is here!!!

February is here people!!! Brrrr......I so long for a warm beach somewhere exotic and tropical.... the waves making their peaceful sounds in the background and me drinking tropical juicy drinks. Aaaagh, but alas, I'm in Idaho where it is very cold and wintery. The kids are still outside daily tho all bundled to the hilt in their winter gear. Taylor just recently learned how to ride his bike without training wheels, so riding his bike is of upmost priority right now. Courtney likes having someone to ride bikes with so she is out everyday riding hers too, so it gives me some quiet time to update the blog, fanpage, or just listen to music. The workout hasn't happened yet today, so that is a MUST too.



Tonight is going to be a fun night for us 4~ We are doing a concert together as a family and it has been a while since we've done that. Doran is playing some piano arrangments, entertaining the people with some speaking and comedy, and Courtney and I will be singing as well. We aren't sure if Taylor is coming or not because tonight is his field trip for "Benson Buddies" at church and he can't decide what he would rather do.:) He has requested that we sing "Welcome to the Family" by the Booth Brothers if he does come. lol



Starting in May, we are available for concert bookings, retreats, revivals, camps, and Doran is available for speaking events. We are excited to anounce that we are starting our own business, Ritchey Music Group and can't wait to see where the road leads. God is our pilot and He knows the path He has for us and it's scary at times, but we are trusting in Him. We know we are called to full time music ministry and we are thrilled to be doing what we are passionate about, MUSIC!



This next paragraph is for "Homeschool Moms" out there! You guys ROCK!!! I cannot believe how much work it is to teach my kids. The program we use is not one in which my kids sit in front of the computer and watch their teacher. I am with them all day teaching. I won't lie and say its fun, wonderful and lovely, but rather it's tough and it does take alot out of me ,but I do love being with my kids. We are all adjusting and things are going much better. I NEVER thought I'd call myself a homeschool mom, but here I am:) With all of the transition in our lives this past year and with moving soon(locally), we thought it would be much easier on Courtney and Taylor to be homeschooled for the remainder of this school year.



For those that read my blog, please keep us in your prayers....We feel very overwhelmed at all of the responsibilities before us with starting Ritchey Music Group. The excitement is high, but we realize how difficult it is out there and bookings can be very challenging. So, if you could pray for us as we work hard for this ministry, we would really appreciate it.



Love to all

January 2010

January 2010? I can't even comprehend that I was born in the 70's and it is now 2010~~~ Court and Tay think I'm ancient:) I'm not a big New Year Resolution kind of a girl but I do have some goals and aspirations for this year and one of them is to embrace this new year with a positive outlook and strategy to obtain some dreams/visions. As the saying goes, "Dream Big".

I've decided that the purpose of having a blog isn't necessarily to enlighten or inspire others but rather to just share my heart and of course keep all of our far away fam and friends updated on the Ritchey life. Don't get me wrong, if someone is inspired by reading this blog, then GREAT! Just don't want anyone disappointed:)

As of late, Doran and I find ourselves in a really different world than we've been in for a really long time. We've been in full time ministry for over 15 yrs and now? Dor is working 2 jobs in the secular field and gone all day, but home every night and the best part? He's home every weekend and in church by my side:) It's been a REALLY long time since we've gone to church every week as a family, so it's been really nice. But, God is opening up doors and Dor is being asked to speak for many different events over the next year and at times I go along to help with worship. All of that to say that this kind of different is a good thing. We know God has things for us right around the corner and it's exciting!

With all the transition in our lives, we've decided to finish up the kid's schooling at home through "Virtual Academy", so I now call myself a "home school" mom. I never foresaw that in my future, but here we are..........its just for the remainder of the school year. Court and Tay are really social so homeschool wouldn't work for them longterm. They seem excited about it and ready to make it work. I'm so proud at how well our kids have done with all of the changes in their lives this past year.

I'm staying busy with the kids and getting more involved in worship leading, writing and such.....I'm excited to stretch and grow as a musician. I never thought of myself as a writer since I'm married to the KING of writing, but God is blessing me with music and a different style than my man writes. I hear "praise and worship" styles of songs and they are coming to me. It's a new phase and chapter and I'm really enjoying it. At first, I really struggled and balked at the thoughts of not traveling all over, but now? I'm really starting to relax in the day to day reality that God is working and preparing us for the next chapter of our lives. It's a good place to be.......

Taylor is anxiously awaiting his April 19th birthday and will be 6!!!! My Baby!!! He's the last Ritchey baby and it hits me at times:( He is full of energy, playfulness, orneryness, and sweet smiles that fills our house with lots of laughter. What would we do without our sweet Tay?

Courtney is my mature, responsible 9 year old that will someday be a teacher, leader, or involved in something where she is right at the forefront. She has always been a leader and as a toddler that got her into plenty of trial with her little friends, but it's to her benefit. I'm so glad she has a mind of her own but has chosen to give her heart to Jesus and makes good decisions. I realized a few months ago that she has reached the "age of accountability" and that hit me pretty hard. But, she is making wise choices and I know that God has something really amazing in her future. She is an amazing musician and I love her sweet voice.

Should I mention the 3rd member of the Ritchey household? Ok, let's not leave out Mia, our 7mo. old boxer.......What a sweet, little terror she is!!!!! She eats VERY well in this house and loves to steal the thawing meat off the counter. Last week she ate along with her dog food, raw hamburger and beef steaks!! She is a little sneak, but we all love her. Animals really do bring another dimension to life.

January 29 is my Bday folks!!!! 32 years of wonderful living.........

Peace out......