I’m not going to spend too much time on this b/c I don’t have the time… I’m angry at the Kroger nearest to me. They are tearing it all up right now, ripped the Starbuck’s out and the Bank of America branch there about made me cry today. So now there is bad memories there. Walmart is NOT AN OPTION. The one by me smells like vomit and never has anything I’m looking for. The Publix near me is really cute and it’s great for those quick trips for just a few things or specialty items. But the carts are not big enough for me when I need to really buy some FOOD. So…my favorite - it’s our Super Target near me… It’s the one stop shop! I can get my Tall Decaf with cream and 2 Splenda and pick up a birthday present, stationary, socks and a cart full of groceries… I LOVE the Target brand groceries and they have a great Organic selection… AND - no one is EVER in there when I am, I never have to wait in line. So here’s the deal though…I feel this guilt the whole time I’m in there that I should be at Walmart or Kroger getting their rock bottom prices - is it true? I know there is the whole grocery game and coupon stuff - but you guys - my world can’t contain it - I’m just telling you….I don’t have the capacity to do it - I can barely get bills paid on time and keep everyone fed! So - I don’t mind collecting a few coupons from Target here and there to save a $, but I can’t stock pile and do that whole thing…and it’s okay to say, I’m just not willing… I need EASY - and the truth is, we’ve lived on the road half our lives and we just are NOT normal…as much as we wish we could say that we’re normal - we’re freaks… SO - would someone give me the scoop on Target prices? How much am I really losing to just go where I want to go to shop?? Can’t wait to read what you all have to say! Thanks for helping a mother out…

So being here has worn me out today - I spent much of the day by myself which is actually not as much of a treat for me as others. I’m a people person… I do have to have my alone time to re-charge a little bit - but once I’m fully charged I’m ready to go and if I don’t have someone to share the day with, I can become a bit lost. I miss my husband today and my kids, but I’m doing my very best (as he would want) to enjoy every minute. Being along is GOOD for me, don’t get me wrong. I’m thankful for this time and know that God carved it out for me.

I was shopping in a tiny hole in the wall place just a minute ago, totally minding my own business.. The little shop lady was so kind, a very soft spoken Chinese woman who actually remembered me from the day before. She asked me about the economy in America and some other things about the election…nothing very specific. Today however, she asked me in front of a couple from a foreign country I won’t say - not America, not China - who I was going to vote for… I paused, hesitated more, knew I was about to get blasted…and told them my answer… The guy from the foreign country completely jumped all the way down my throat, used Jesus’ name as a swear word, while his wife continued to shush him, totally embarrassed…

This is just a little bit of anger talking but seriously, what’s it to him? He asked me for what reasons and then jumped all the way down my throat again… He immediately stereotyped me into a non-thinking, war-loving idiot that only votes based on the issue of abortion. I very kindly said, “sir, I am not going to say anymore, I’m not going to argue with you”… He went on and on…and I listened politely…

He left with a “happy travels” and a wink…the little Chinese lady looked at me and said, “he has his opinion, you have yours, that’s the freedom to vote!” She must have agreed with me because after my purchase (with all due respect..I’m not making fun I just think it’s so endearing) she said - “I give you gift, you pick out any necklace you want.” She smiled very big at me.. She said, “you a kind lady and I like meeting you.” My heart received her blessing in a big way and I picked out a necklace that I actually love…it was one that I had seen the day before and chose not to get it so that I wasn’t splurging too much… God gave it to me after all…

My concern for our country is great… I’m afraid that people are so ready for change that they will make a decision only based on that instead of a belief system that you can build your life around…that links to an age old faith…that swims UP STREAM, that remembers the faith of the ones before us..that believes in mom & pop’s, that understands that we need very specific freedoms in our country to continue to minister to people publicly and effectively….

A wise woman once said, “I believe it’s the media that has us divided.” It’s so extremely sad that most Americans voting next month are receiving their information from the media alone. It’s also sad that Americans blame administrations alone for the hole that we as a country have completely dug ON OUR OWN with the shovel of GREED and the need for STUFF… God HELP US…

I feel small today - I feel like my voice cannot be heard over the noise. But I have to believe today that I can pray on behalf of my nation and my prayer goes to the very ear of my Father…

God lead us…

We’re off to Sydney!

on http://268generation.com/blog/

blessings!

c nock..

I have to say before I crawl into bed…being in Asia has arrested all my senses! The sights, the sounds, the smells…wow. He made some gorgeous people… I have never seen so many beautiful people in all my life! I had a layover yesterday in Seoul - Koreans are some of the most soothing people to be around…I was lulled to sleep on my Korean Air flight simply by watching the Korean flight attendants walk around gracefully in their tailored suits, silk blouses, perfect nails, rosy cheeks and gorgeous eyes…and they talk with the sweetest tone, almost a whisper and you’re just thinking…I could so put you in my pocket and take you home with me! : )

Hong Kong is AMAZING! All of you - you must book a flight to this beautiful city, it’s worth the journey. I got to talk with some area worship leaders & church leaders (all mostly transported here from America) and it was so great to just listen to what God is doing here and hear their hearts for this city… The students were such a blessing tonight! I pray that tonight will resound from generation to generation…

I’m going to try to get some sleep and try not to tell myself that it’s just after lunchtime at home…

I have to give a shout out to my husband for letting me go on this trip! You are the best… love you…

So I was on here tonight (first time since May) and decided to blog…partly because I realized my last blog was called “Mustache Wednesday”…that is ridiculous…and also because I have something to blog about!

First I want to thank all of you for writing me messages and comments. I do read them all, but there’s no possible way to answer them all at this point in my life. I wish I could! Some of you have asked me very specific questions and I’m sorry that they’ve gone unanswered. Maybe in another season of life I can be better at answering - like when my kids are grown? : ) Anyway - thank you so much for all of your encouraging words.. I do read them!

So….this early Spring we made a decision to leave Franklin, TN, our home of over 10 years and move to Atlanta, GA to be a part a new church. We’ve had messages asking questions and to confirm the “rumor”, yes, it is with Louie & Shelley Giglio and some of the other worship leaders of Passion. Since the day we first heard about this idea our hearts were completely there… I even dreamed the night before that we sold our house and in some way I felt already prepared to “let go” when we heard the news. We never planned on leaving Franklin - we loved our home there, loved our church and friends and all 3 kids were born there…it’s home! I’m sure some of you have experienced this before - but you don’t understand until you do - God will just take your heart and completely lift it from where you are and move it to where He wants you to be… we all of the sudden had this ache to be in Atlanta and knew that the season was over in the Nashville area.

We moved because we had a genuine sense of God leading our family there to be a part of the very beginnings of this church… not because anyone asked us to, or because we felt like it was a great opportunity…but because of God’s leading. There’s no way we’d uproot our little family for any other reason. I remember the day we got the news about the church I prayed and said, “God if this is really you, reveal this to Nathan and I’ll follow”. Just a few days later Nathan came to me and said, “I feel like we’re supposed to go and we need to put the house on the market”. So we listed the house and before we even put a for sale sign in the yard the house SOLD for WAY ABOVE what we ever thought we’d get for it! It sold in just 4 days…all glory be to God! We know that is nothing short of a miracle in this market!

God has continued to cover every part of our leaving and our arriving…we’re astounded… So we’re here in Atlanta…actually right now we’re in a little beach house on the Georgia coast. I guess I forgot for allot of my life that Georgia had a coast…it’s actually really pretty…we came through Savannah…lovely. We’ve had to be out of our house this week for renovations and so we decided to take a quick drive to the beach for one last summer trip! The kids have LOVED it! Noah did get stung by a jelly fish this afternoon - he said he’d never go in the ocean again…but I have a really good feeling about tomorrow morning… Ellie, our oldest daughter pretty much looks like the Coppertone girl - you know with the blonde curls and the tan line on her bottom? She was made for the beach! She could just stay out there all day and be happy… She starts Kindergarten next week and she’s counting the days! Annie Rose ate two handfuls of sand today - one this morning, one this afternoon…she’s exfoliating her bowels I guess… She crawls fearlessly towards the ocean,it freaks me out… she also crawls fearlessly towards the Seagulls and gets SO MAD that they keep walking away the other way… she so wants to get her hands on one!

Anyway - we have a busy Fall coming up with traveling - Nathan is going to England for two projects and I’ll be going on part of the Passion World Tour in October. We hope the whole family can go to Mexico City - we so want the kids to see with their eyes what God is doing all over the world. Pray for us if you think of us! Check out the World Tour on 268generation.com. Also - check out onemillioncan.com - a website that enables you to make a difference right now, tonight, where you sit…to impact the World forever…for real… : )

We also plan to finish my record! I know we’ve been saying that forever - but we’ve also known about the church for quite a while and that has consumed our hearts and we needed to move this summer to get the kids situated before school starts - so we plan to get writing again and finish the project. I keep trusting that God knows the timing for it all! It will come…

Blessings to all of you tonight - please pray for us if you think of us - pray that God will bring wisdom & peace during this transition for the kids especially and that we’ll shepherd them well through all of this….

love

christy

I decided to blog tonight since it’s been awhile… It’s Spring Break here so it’s been a fun week with the kids out of school. They have been crazy hyper all week. We’re going to Houston tomorrow to see my brother and his family…and singing at their church this weekend for Easter. (Faithbridge- Spring, TX) So…the kids are pumped about seeing cousins and such…

Ok so it’s late but I just wanted to give you a quick update on the record… We have had a few detours along the way - which have all been amazing to say the least…but we’re still on track to hopefully have some music by the end of the year. I know that’s much later than what I said before, but it’s all going to be worth it. Even just the writing process being stretched out is just heavenly to me! I’ve never had this much time to just “sit” with songs and to really take the time to learn from the worship leaders and songwriters that are in my life. I’m so incredibly grateful…

God is doing so much in and around us right now that I keep saying, “God help me stay awake and keep up with You”… I’ve been journaling recently - mostly prayers, but I think that’s why I don’t end up “blogging” as much…if you can even call this “blogging”… I really want to get better at it, but it’s usually only in the wee hours that the house is quiet enough for me to even think…

I determined this morning that I was going to get on here and update you… As I sat down to type, all I could remember was the faces of 5 dear friends today… They all decided it was “mustache wednesday”… Yep, you read it right… The participants are basically the Chris Tomlin band & their producer…minus Chris Tomlin. They’ve been in the studio for a few weeks making a record and I think it has definitely caught up with them. The word “hideous” comes to my mind… My only regret about “Mustache Wednesday” is that I didn’t get a picture with them… Nathan and I went up for a visit and got to hear some of the new songs…which are amazing…(surprise!) But anyway - the mustaches took on lives of their own…you’ll probably even be able to HEAR them on the recording they were so loud…

Okay - so my battery is dying and my charger is downstairs - I’ll come back soon…blessings to all and have a WONDERFUL EASTER!

Christy

Hi everyone - just thought I’d blog today since I have some time…it’s not quiet at all, but I do have a moment away from my everyday normal life… We’re at our friend Joe’s house cutting some tunes.. he has a studio here… It’s funny, here in Franklin, TN sometimes making a record just looks like visiting friends, house to house…seems like everyone’s got a studio in their back room now.

It’s really fun to be making a studio record again - anything recent has been “live”. It’s crazy but we just prayed and asked God to show us if this was the right thing to do…we asked specifically that the money would be there (cause it wasn’t) and the time would open up - both things happened right around Christmas time - 2 projects Nathan had for January and February got moved to later in the Spring so everything cleared out right when we had asked…which means I have a really amazing producer all to myself…yes!

The creative process looks so incredibly different now - the writing process for me is almost unrecognizable… I love it though - it’s challenging, it’s real and it means my family has not been left behind or forgotten. The girls are here - we have the “pack and play” set up in one room for Annie Rose and Ellie is playing with Joe’s kids - Noah is at a friend’s house today - no school to observe MLK Day… I’ve had to learn that the creative process can be something that is just a part of my life and it can “flow” at any given moment - wherever I am…whatever I’m doing. I’ve always resisted that whole multi-tasking thing, but crap, it’s true..mom’s have to - and we are really good at it, I must say…

Our writing process has been almost hilarious at times - Annie Rose loves that “Johnny Jump Up” thing, you know? She bounces in- time to the songs we play and she grins… We’re still writing even though we’re recording this week…we’re doing a few songs today and tomorrow and then the rest in a few weeks… There will most likely be some co-writes on this record. That is a new one for me…but I’m thrilled. It’s a process that has been surprisingly enjoyable. If anything it brings unity and it connects me to people…it’s also very humbling…

So the website will launch with the record -christynockels.com - right now we’re hoping for March or April - the website is just sitting there with this splash page on it right now… I haven’t had the head space for it yet - so we’re just waiting to launch it all at the same time.

So…the heart of this project is really just to resource what I’m already called to do… it feels almost like a necessity at this point - so it’s not to launch a new “Christy Nockels singing career” it’s to resource a calling that continues in my life and in my heart. I’m thankful for the freedom to shape it musically, and for friends who have come around us to help shape it as well… I’m so very grateful. So I stand in the mercy of Jesus, the Creator of the universe, as I mimic Him today…in all His creativity…and make music.

Happy 08 to all of you!

Christy

Okay - so many of you have been wondering what’s up with our little family…just thought I’d update you a bit. Hope all is well with all of you! As you may have seen on the newspage, we welcomed our daughter Annie Rose on June 26th. Needless to say, we’ve been in a “baby haze” but have ventured out of our hiding into a few months of more travel than usual! First of all, she’s precious…oh my goodness! She’s 4 months old today and has already blessed us more than we imagined. Even Noah & Elliana think the world of her! She has brought a sweet balance to their relationship and I’m constantly blessed to watch them interact with each other.

We traveled in August which ended up really great! We took just Annie Rose on the first date, then all 3 kids to Chattanooga for the National Precepts Convention with Kay Aurthur. They did really well actually…of course, Granny & Papa were there to help, and there was a swimming pool!

September was an exciting month because school started! Noah is a first grader this year and is loving it! Ellie is in preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but wishes she could go everyday like her brother! Annie Rose and I have 2 days a week that we spend together in a quiet house which was strange at first, but now we enjoy it quite a bit!

October has been a really fun month, but full of travel! We spent the first weekend at a conference in Minneapolis with some friends from Integrity. The second and third weekends will be Passion Regional Events…Boston was amazing, Chicago is this weekend. If you’re in college and want more info please go to 268generation.com.

Many of you have inquired about the Christy Nockels website. We’re waiting to launch it when some decisions have been made about recording. Yes, you read that right. We feel the go ahead to start making a record this Winter. This recording will be a resource of new songs for the young church, mainly focused towards 18-30 year old women. I’m currently leading as an “artist in residence” with Nathan at our home church in Franklin. I’m also leading worship at various conferences & events as well as speaking some. There is a need to create a resource for the songs that are stirring up in me and I’m also co-writing for the first time with various worship leaders - which Im really excited about! There will come a time when this website might truly be no more, so I’m trying to bridge the gap while I can. You can also check my Music Myspace page http://www.myspace.com/christynockels for updated blogs until the website is completed.

You know, there has been much confusion over our “retirement”. I think that word is hilarious by the way - at least when it’s used to describe Nathan and I. We’re in our young 30’s - we can’t retire! I WISH we would have sold that many Watermark records! What we did was recognize that a season had come and gone…and it was good…both the beginning and the end. We needed to lay some things down and start over…and that’s what we did. It has been the most freeing time in our lives…just to be available again! I was clear at our live farewell concerts to say we ourselves are not “retiring” because when you are called to further the Kingdom of God, you’re called for a lifetime. You never “retire” your gifts. But I guess our industry needs an explanation for the process we’re in - a definition of sorts - so that was the ending verdict - “retired”. And you know what? That’s okay. As much as I wish I could explain every facet of this process with everyone and make them understand me , I can’t! I can’t expect everyone to understand the heart process of where we’ve been for the past few years. There’s a point where I have to just leave it up to God. We retired the Watermark “brand” and the name, but not the heart or the song behind it. As long as I live and breathe I’ll be ready to sing a new song unto the Lord - I’ve been doing it as long as I can remember. But by retiring the Watermark journey, it did give us a chance to breathe…for me to be more present with our children..mind,body, soul…and it was worth it. What hasn’t stopped though is my desire to see God move in the lives of young women & college students.

So…with all that said, it’s with joy that I start praying and writing towards this new recording. You might say, “what’s the difference?” Two things - the approach and the target. I’m approaching this purely from a resource standpoint. The target is young women who attend the various conferences that I lead worship for - they simply want to leave with the songs that God powerfully uses to stir and change them during our time together. There’s really nothing complicated about it…there’s just a simple need. If God chooses to use it beyond that approach and target, He has the freedom to do that because it’s His! Here’s the best way I know to describe it.. A dear friend of mine approached me about a year and half before we felt God telling us to close our Watermark journey. She told me that she wanted to share something with me that she felt like the Lord had put on her heart for me. She shared with me that God had shown her a picture in her mind of concentric circles - a “target sign” basically. There was much more to the conversation but basically I wrestled with this idea of “concentric circles.” For the next several months God began to confirm this “word” over and over in literally every way I could imagine. Eventually I would realize that God was using it to comfort me throughout the process of ending our Watermark journey. You see, He showed me that the focus of my life really only needed to be a few things…my heart towards Him, my husband & my children. This is a much smaller list than I had been carrying (like the weight of the world) on my shoulders. I was overjoyed!

This past year I have experienced the joy of just staying focused on those few things and that HE will take care of the outer rings of the “concentric circles”. I don’t need to worry about each layer or the impact they will have on the world…that’s His job! Before, I was too involved in every layer… After 5 records with our label as Watermark, the layers were thick, the expectations high, the focus much too broad…so tired and frustrated we felt as if we weren’t hitting any target at all! Now, even though I consider this next step of making a record, I still just lock in to the core of where I’m supposed to be…God & family. He’s so faithful to show me that He has the next layer already covered and it’s His to use as He pleases…I can relinquish that burden.

Anyway - I hope this makes some sort of sense. If not, you still have to give me a little credit for the effort! : ) So pray with me if you will - that we will follow God’s leading in this. That I will trust Him with every layer and stay focused on the core needs of my home & family. I trust Him with this and I’m overjoyed that He is putting a new song in my mouth for His fame. Blessings to you! Christy Nockels p.s. there’s no spell check and it’s late, so cut me some slack! thanks!