Hello friends & neighbors!

Wow!  The last few weeks have been very busy… and the only Hubbard who wasn’t excited about it was Buster. He’s the family dog. We had to board him at the kennel three times. He wasn’t too happy about that. But the rest of us Hubbards have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and are very encouraged and excited that our ministry is staying so busy. Thank you, Lord!

We spent the 14^th with our good friend Miles Pike at his second annual homecoming in Jacksonville, TX. If you enjoy southern gospel music and have never seen Miles, you need to for five reasons.  Five…that’s the number of octaves Miles can sing in. The concert also featured the singing of Ben Waites, John Simmons, and Jordan James, all very talented solo artists, who joined forces (as they say in the comic books) with Miles to form The Gospel Tones Quartet. The Hubbard Family was proud to be a part of the concert. If you enjoy heartfelt southern gospel music you need to check out Miles Pike at www.MilesPikeMusic.com.        

Also, this month we were blessed to spend some time with some very dear friends at a beautiful retreat center in Glen Rose, TX. In fact, we were so blessed that we almost felt guilty! Pastor Rodney Moore and his wife Kathy and their awesome church put an unknown and unheard of amount of work and time into this business of blessing people. And they’re really good at it! The Hubbard Family was just one of the ministries invited by the Moores and Joy International Church with the sole, unselfish purpose of making us feel refreshed and excited about serving Christ in the coming year… (by the way, the Hubbard Family is praying about an opportunity we have to go on a mission trip next year… Lord willing, we will have more information on that later!) These are the kind of people who lavish the love of Christ. Just being around them lifts you up. We love ya’ll!

Speaking of being lifted up, I have a story that involves Jeri, her drum set, and some of the greatest deacons I’ve ever seen. We just got back from Wink, TX, where we helped celebrate the 80^th anniversary of the First Baptist Church with our long time friends, Pastor Ray and his family. They remember when Jeri used to spend our concerts sleeping on the pew! Those days are long over; now Jeri can be seen at our concerts playing her heart out on her beautiful Mapex drum set. The trouble is, sometimes she can’t be seen very well. She’s only 13, so she looks kind of small behind the drum set anyway, but unfortunately there isn’t always room to put the drum set out in front. Well, Pastor Ray, the deacons, and a few other concerned citizens (thanks David, Dallon, & Ryan!)  were unhappy that they couldn’t see Jeri very well during our concert Saturday night. So in preparation for our concert on Sunday morning they spent at least an hour constructing a DRUM RISER in the sanctuary… we’re talking a long, drawn out ordeal that involved two heavy wooden platforms, a bunch of bricks, some C-clamps, and sweat! But the end result was that Jeri and her drum set were at least four feet off the ground Sunday morning, far above even Daddy’s head, not too far from the ceiling fan and clearly visible to every eye in the building! Thanks, guys, for lifting Jeri up!   

 And as for you, God bless you, and thanks so much for stopping by the blog!

In Christ,

Emmylou

Dear Friends,

The Hubbard Family has had a very busy last couple of weeks, in which, sadly, I failed to update the blog. But they were not only very busy weeks, they were VERY blessed weeks, and so I have some rich material today! Please keep the Hubbard Family in your prayers. We are in the process of recording our new album, which will feature many of our newer original songs that we have been playing in our concerts the last two or three years. We are so excited about FINALLY getting them on record!  

The Lord has taken our ministry to many different places the last few months… from little country churches, to lonely nursing homes, to a sprawling (& packed) metal building where the cowboys and cowgirls go to worship the God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills.

We recently returned from a trip to Vidor, TX. There is a church there, in a shopping mall outlet, with a sign in the window that says “OPEN”. Some of our dearest friends gather there to worship the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. The Hubbard Family played Saturday and Sunday at this precious church. But we were the ones who got the blessing.

As we were coming home, Lorianne mentioned a moment that had touched her heart. At the end of our set on Saturday night we launched into our completely revised and “Hubbardized” version of “the Happy Song” (like Daddy says, if the contemporary Christian group “Delirious” could hear what we hillbillies have done to their song, they’d be furious!). As we sang, something beautiful happened. Someone began to dance. We don’t know who it was, but it was contagious. From the stage, we watched it spread through the crowd like wild fire. The room was transformed.  

The women, who had been on their feet all night serving that cool cup of water Christ talked about (not to mention delicious teas, cappuccinos, and cocoas) swayed from side to side with raised arms and upturned eyes.

Old men jumped up from their seats, stomping their feet and clapping their hands.

Giggling little girls with pigtails grasped each others’ hands and spun in crazy circles.

Teenagers leaped up and down in their places with upraised arms and sparkling eyes.

Couples held hands and rocked from side to side, with toddlers hanging on to their pant legs.

And one old cowboy shuffled his boots to the rhythm, with arms raised high and head bowed low.

God’s Word says that we, the church, the followers of Jesus, are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared especially for us beforehand that we might walk in them (see Ephesians 2:10). That night we Hubbards were treated to an amazing sight. That night, the Lord was showing off His workmanship, like the loving Daddy that He is.

They had all come from different places, different backgrounds, different roads. But somewhere along their own separate roads they had all met the same Savior with nail scarred hands, and we had met Him too. And He had brought our paths together for one night, gathered us there in one place, in His name. And each one danced in his or her own way, but each one danced for the same reason…. Because He had found us. Because He had saved us. Because He had filled us all, different as we were, with the same beautiful joy.

Because we were happy.        

The name of the church in the shopping mall outlet- this church with the “OPEN” sign in the window- says it all:

Joy International.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:9-11

God bless you, dear friends! May your joy be full in Christ Jesus!

Love,

Emmy Hubbard

Hello friends!

Last night I was looking through some photographs, and I ran across this one of Jeri Lynn. It never fails to make me smile.

You see, three years ago (just a few months before this picture was taken), we had no idea that Jeri was a drummer. Jeri had no idea that Jeri was a drummer! But God did. I am reminded of the first night we set up a drum set in the living room and put the sticks in her hands. It was unbelievable how quickly and naturally Jeri took to the drums. I can see the Lord chuckling as our jaws dropped in amazement!

Some might say Jeri simply discovered her talent that night. But we know better. We felt the presence of the Lord moving in Jeri's life... it was all just too perfect. His fingerprints were everywhere. We realized Jeri had not only discovered her gift, but her calling. Jeri went from being the kid sister on the front pew who got up to do one or two songs, to the backbone of our music...

It is a beautiful thing (and a rare and special thing) when we suddenly see God's plan for us unfolding right in front of our eyes, like a tender rose. God's word says He has a future and hope for all of us (see Jeremiah 29:11). What a blessing it is not only to watch God work in your own life, but to have a front row seat in watching God work in the lives of the people around you! That's why I try to look at these photographs often. And that's why I wanted to share this with you. I pray that you may be encouraged in your walk with Jesus Christ, the Giver-of-dreams, and that you may embrace His future and hope for you!

Emmy 

Dear friends,

Looking back over 2008, I am amazed at all the places that the Lord has taken our ministry, all the people He has allowed our paths to cross...old friends with dear faces, precious family members. But strangest of all to me is this, and I have seen God do this time and time again- He introduces you to one of His friends, and even though you are complete strangers you instantly feel as if you've known each other forever. Suddenly, mysteriously, your hearts are knit together in a special kind of brotherly/sisterly love that can connect people who have absolutely nothing in common- nothing but Christ. It's very strange, very mysterious. It's not of this earth, but heaven. It's got the Holy Spirit all over it! 

I am reminded that the church is not a building of brick or stone or wood... it is the living, breathing body of Christ. This year I have seen Christ at work. I have seen His hands passing out plates of delicious food to hungry people. I have seen His arms reaching out, His feet carrying the Message to uncomfortable places. And this is the Message: Jesus Christ, crucified... and risen!

Dear, dear body of Christ... you are made up of many precious faces... you come from every walk of life, from every corner of the globe, but you are knit one with another by the love of this Jesus Christ, crucified, risen. You are a mystery! A beautiful, heavenly mystery!  I will leave you with these words of Paul. Take them into the new year with you!!

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile Himself to all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross.

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, He has now reconciled in His body of flesh by His death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister."

Colossians 1:15-23 ESV

In Christ,

Emmy