Annie Moses Band: all in the family

Annie Moses Band

The Annie Moses Band is a family ensemble, whose members include parents Bill (composer/arranger/pianist) and Robin (lyricist/vocalist) Wolaver and their children: Annie, Alex, Benjamin, Gretchen, Camille, and Jeremiah, in ages ranging from 24 down to 10.

According to a press release, the band's roots originated in God speaking to Robin while she was in college:

'We had some Suzuki violinists that came and played in our music survey class. There was a little-bitty girl from Asia, and she was so tiny and cute. She had a violin… God spoke to me at that point and said, ‘When you have a little girl, they should do that.’ And, Robin did give birth to a beautiful little girl and named her….Annie. Five more children followed but having a band with six kids certainly wasn’t in their plans.

'We didn’t have any idea this would happen,' says Bill Wolaver. 'We did want a large family and wanted to have children.'

Annie says, 'As each child came of age, our parents really prayed and considered our talents and our personalities to determine what the best instrument would be. Things just kind of grew gradually from there.'

The band's name comes from Robin's grandmother. For more on the Annie Moses Band, visit their website.

The gift of music instead of the gift of birth

Silivea Johnson wanted so desperately to give birth to a child. God told her that he had something different for her:

On her knees in a back room of her house, Silivea Johnson cried and pleaded with the Lord.

She asked why it was it taking her and her husband, Chris Johnson, so long to have a child.

'I did wonder what if I died and there was no trace of my life,' she said.

When God spoke back to her, Johnson wrote down His words.

'God said my legacy lives on in you and that’s how people will remember you.'

(StarNewsOnline.com)

Johnson eventually found her calling -- contemporary gospel singer -- after working in radio and newspaper advertising and as a beautician. She since has released two albums -- "I Give Him Praise" and "Legacy of Christ".

He gives hip-hop a good name

Hip-hop music has typically been known to glorify drugs, prostitution and money -- in general worshipping the secular lifestyle. Now there's a new genre of music known as holy hip-hop that is getting street cred while conveying positive messages.

The Star Tribune recently profiled Xross, a Twin Cities-based holy hip-hop artist who has been nominated for a Grammy. He gave his life to Jesus Christ after hearing the voice of God in a strip club in Orange County, Calif.:

'I was just doing the usual: tipping dollar bills to the strippers, hanging out, getting high,' he remembered. 'God just kind of came to me and said, 'Hey, man, are you really happy?'

'The power of God is really strong when he speaks to you, and you know it's him. Of course, my partners just thought I was high. I didn't really realize it was the full power of God, but the full emotion started to take over, tears were streaming down my face. I knew I wasn't really happy. I wasn't fulfilled. That night, I gave my life to Christ.'

Xross' music is filled with hard-hitting beats, but has no profanities and is clean enough for churches. His CD, "Tell 'em the Truth", is available on Amazon.com.

Music with a saving message

The Lufkin Daily News recently ran a story about Clayton Dyess, a guitar-playing, Louisiana-based gospel singer who plays his songs in parking lots.

Several times Dyess' music and God's message have saved someone's life:

• 'One time I was playing at a Wal-Mart in Center and a woman went in the store to buy pills to kill herself,' he said. 'She came up to me and said that she heard my music and that God spoke to her and saved her right there.'
• Another time Dyess was playing by the river in Natchitoches on a rainy night, with barely anyone listening. Suddenly he heard a splash and saw a man that had jumped into the water to kill himself. Dyess said that the man swam to safety because his message spoke to him and he wanted to be saved. The man ended up joining him on stage and singing in the rain.
• Another time, a man passed Dyess on his way to buy alcohol to fuel his depression. Dyess said soon after, the man came up to him, gave him his alcohol and turned his life over to God.

Dyess gives away his CDs for free to spread God's message as far as he can.

God sobers up a rocker through his son

From the Toledo Blade: Toledo-based rocker Johnny Cappelletty was in a band (Damien) that had videos on MTV and two albums that sold worldwide, but he didn't have God. Until his son said something when Cappelletty ran a red light:

Mr. Cappelletty said his wife had left him and he was driving through Toledo with J.P. [his 8-year-old son] when he ran a red light at Lewis Avenue and Alexis Road.

His son looked up and said, 'Dad, what would ever happen if you went away like Mom?'

'I knew what he was saying — what if I got locked up?' Mr. Cappelletty said. 'God spoke to me through my son. An 8-year-old kid could see the way I was living and I couldn’t see it. That was Oct. 6, 2002, and I’ve been sober ever since.'

About two years into his sobriety, Mr. Cappelletty began looking for a church.

Cappelletty found a church called CedarCreek and in Dec. 2005 formed the Christian rock band Keys2Eden.

A moratorium on personal spending

Thanks to Tom Henderson, who commented on yesterday's post, "An overattachment to the things of this world." Tom wrote:

Amen to that. I've been convicted lately of my collecting ways (video games and music, but primarily games). It's been primarily difficult to stop buying XBox games. The original XBox games are now being marked down drastically to make room for newer titles, so it's easy to walk out of a store with two or three games for $10 or less. As a result, I'm sure that I have 20 titles at home that I've either not played at all, or barely touched.

I've been contemplating imposing a 2- or 3-month moratorium on personal spending. I will draw up a covenant describing what I am allowed to spend money on (food, stuff for work, stuff for ministry, personal care items, etc.) and what will be off-limits (games, books, DVDs, etc. that are just for me).

Anybody else interested in joining me in this?

Tom, I might be interested in joining you. I'll consider it. . .a two-month covenant would take us through the end of the year, which might make a nice end to 2007.