Dear Friends,
I cannot believe it is ALREADY December again! I told Jennifer we were NOT going to book another crazy holiday season….well, we’re in the midst of the busiest one I think I’ve had in a long time. But this is my favorite time of the year and I’m excited about all the things that God is doing. I so enjoyed Thanksgiving here at home with Hannah and Ross and I’m thankful that my brother Robert and his friend Wendi and her children were able to join us as well. The first week of November I was able to share at a women’s ministry event at Gateway Baptist here in town where Hannah joined me, as well as Rocky Knoll Baptist in Walhalla and New Hope Baptist in Seneca. I was supposed to participate at a women’s retreat for Church of the Apostles here in town, but the event has been rescheduled for early 2011.
Now we’re gearing up for a busy December. Last night Hannah, Jerry Sims & his son Justin, and I shared some Christmas music as has become a tradition on WIS TV’s Sounds of the Season. We will also be featured on their Christmas Eve/Christmas Day special. It was an extra special treat to have Jennifer and her 3 children join us there for the evening. I’ll be at West Columbia FBC on December 5th, at Johnston Memorial Post 154 on the 7th, and on the 9th at the Palmetto Health Baptist Director’s Luncheon. Of course I’m also looking forward to participating in the Christmas Pageant again this year at Columbia FBC the 9th-12th. On the 17th I’ll be sharing a Christmas concert at RidgeBaptistChurch in Summerville and on the 19th at Carolina Memorial Baptist in Thomasville, NC (a.m.) and Catawba Heights Baptist in BelmontNC (p.m.). In addition, Hannah will be a featured performer on WIS TV’s Carolina Carillon which is televised at 10:00 a.m. on Dec. 4th, singing every night for the Christmas Pageant at FBC, & also sharing her 1st solo Christmas concert at 1st Presbyterian Church in Columbia on the 16th.
I’m also excited to announce a new addition to the website. We’ve had a lot of requests for some of my speaking sessions and are pleased to offer a package of 4 (or you can purchase them individually as well). Included in the package is:
1. Live Testimony (45-minute live testimony at Powerlife Bible Conference in St. Simons Island, GA 2003, includes the songs "Sister", "How Far" & "Amazing Grace.")
2. Keep Believing…Trusting in the Lord When You Don’t Understand (The 1st of 3 sessions at Camp Tadmor, Lebanon, OR, July 2010, key Scripture Proverbs 3:5-6. I tell the story of my younger sister's 1985 kidnapping and murder, and how the Lord taught me to trust Him through this tragedy. Also includes an excerpt from my 1986 Miss America talent performance of the song "Ah! Je Veux Vivre!")
3. How Far Must Forgiveness Go? (The 2nd of 3 sessions at Camp Tadmor, Lebanon, OR, July 2010, key Scripture Ephesians 4:32. I share the journey God took me on to the place of forgiving the man that murdered my sister after receiving a letter from him on Death Row, and how God wants to set each of us free from the past through forgiveness.)
4. Out of the Mire and Into the Choir! (The 3rd of 3 sessions at Camp Tadmor, Lebanon, OR, July 2010, key Scripture Psalm 40:1-3. I speak on the fact that although we may not choose the circumstances of our lives, we ALWAYS have a choice with how we respond ...faith or fear ...to sing our "Somebody Done Somebody Wrong" song or allow the Lord to pull us out of the pit and give us a new life song of His faithfulness.)
You can purchase them online at www.dawnsmithjordan.com (the entire set for $25 or $7 per CD). As always, I’m honored for you to consider my books and CD’s as well as the singing stuffed animals from Kidmusic (all on my website) as Christmas gift ideas for your friends and family. Remember that the set of mine and Jerry Sims’ Christmas CD’s is only $20 for both, and Hannah’s debut CD is only $5!
The office here at JordanMinistries will be officially closed for the Christmas holidays and I’m so looking forward to spending some quiet time with my family. We will be closed December 21st-Jan. 2nd, & will be back up and running on Jan. 3rd. Should you need to get in touch with us during that time, please send an email to dawn@dawnsmithjordan.com. Jennifer on the other hand will be very busy during our two weeks off. I’ll let her share with you what is going on in the Dale Household at this time:
Our extraordinary God showed up on an ordinary day for me not too long ago. He often does that, doesn’t He? To Moses while he was tending sheep, Mary while she was going about her business, the shepherds while they were watching their sheep that night when our Savior was born. On an ordinary day in September I misread the letter "a" and our world was turned upside down and will never be the same again. We received a prayer letter from our friends Dan and Sarah Thomas in Colorado. They mentioned the need for more staff at the Torchbearer Bibleschool and Mountain Adventure Retreat center "Timberline Lodge" where they are serving in full-time ministry. They wrote "there are a few people interested" - but my eyes skipped over the word "a" - and I read "there are few people interested." Had I read the word "a" I am not sure that I would have responded. But I did. And now, Lord willing, we're heading to Colorado at the end of December.
It's been a whirlwind fall as we received Dan and Sarah's letter in September, flew out to visit Timberline in October and have spent November preparing to raise support, sell our home here in Columbia and move our family 1700 miles across the country to Fraser (right outside Winter Park), CO in the middle of winter. We're going from record high temperatures to the city that shares the title “Icebox of the US” with International Falls, MN. We’re going from the land of no snow to an area where they have multiple feet of snow from October to May. We're going from almost sea-level to 8000+ feet in elevation (and cross over BerthoudPass at 11,000 feet to get there). But we're excited to see what our extraordinary God has prepared. Earlier this year my husband Reid regularly quoted the scripture passage to me that says: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor has the heart of man even imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him (1. Cor 2:9)." I'm not going to go into all the details of the ministry itself as this newsletter is about JordanMinistries, but if you're curious you can go to the website - www.timberlinelodge.org or www.torchbearers.com.
What many people do not realize is that Dawn and I work together, each out of our own home offices, doing most of our work together via email and instant messaging. Usually I'm sitting here at my desk in my comfy clothes with a cup of tea next to me. Because of this, Dawn has been extremely gracious and offered to continue to let me work for her after I have moved. So, Lord willing, little should change for us, though it may take a week or two for us to get set up. The next time I help send out a newsletter, I look forward to sending it from Fraser, CO and telling you about how our extraordinary God got us out there - because He's the one that's going to have to do it! But in the mean time I sure have a lot to do. So on that note, I'd better start packing!
So, that’s some of what is going on here. We would all greatly appreciate your prayers during this busy season. If you’re still considering a ministry you would like to support before the end of the year I would be honored if you kept JordanMinistries in mind. All donations are tax-deductible. I’m reminded that our Lord was born in a stable and grew up poor. His circumstances were not ideal, but we know that people were drawn to Him. He must have been a very joyful person. Luke 2:10 says: “And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.’ ” Because of Jesus, we have EVERY reason to be joyful. My prayer is that all of us would walk in the joy that God has for us this Christmas Season, no matter what our circumstances.
Merry Christmas with love,
Dawn
Dawn Smith Jordan
Contemporary Christian singer/songwriter/recording artist with Urgent Records
Professional Speaker, Author
www.dawnsmithjordan.com
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding,
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will direct your paths."
Proverbs 3:5-6
