Hey everyone, just a quick update that we are starting to plan our 2012 gig schedule. Our first gig with our new members is at the Laconia, NH, Salvation Army, March 17th at 1:00. Come join us for great music and fellowship.

Hello Everyone, we will be playing in Pittsfield NH on Friday January 20th.  We will be appearing at the Pittsfield Community Center. They have a Friday night Service there open to all and we will be providing the Worship that evening. Won’t you come out and worship with One Less Lost, love to see you there!

Everyone waits on God one time or another in their lives. Sometimes its for a short period, sometimes its for a lengthy period, but the fact is we all wait. What we wait for differs though, for some it’s an answer to the pain, for some it’s peace, and for some of us it’s a question of why must we even endure any of this in the first place.

Two years ago this very week I wrote the song “Why”, while enduring a battle for my sons life. Some of you probably know the story that my 10 year old son who has Asperger’s suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorders and was Suicidal. That time in our life was definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever been through, and we waited on God for months to heal him and bring a peace to the situation. As I look back on that time, two years later I am amazed how we’ve grown. Don’t get me wrong, the pain is still as real today as it was then, and if you want to reflect on it just listen to the song, I still struggle with singing it, and a few months ago I felt like I never wanted to sing those words again…”Why oh why does he see things this way, why oh why does he hurt, why can’t he laugh and play, Lord please tell me why…”

We all ask why, why death, why suicide, why no work, why no children, why cancer, why can’t things be easier? Then we wait on God for the answer. I wish today I could stand hear and tell you all why you are going through the trials you are but I can’t. But I can tell you looking back on all those days of utter chaos in and out of Psych wards, sleeping with one eye open all night, checking on my son as he slept 5 feet from my bed to make sure he hadn’t done anything to himself, that I did not find any particular reason why we went through that trial, except that through all of it we laid at the feet of Jesus, He was there with us through it all, and every time we were asked by Doctors, Nurses or Specialist what we were doing to get through it all we told them all we had was Jesus, and pray, pray pray. I hope that our faith was the reason, that it spoke to someone, that it made them go home that night and get on their knees, or maybe they went to that church they had been passing in town for the first time. Maybe the strength we showed as a united family with Christ spoke mountains to someone so lost.

I can’t give you the strength you need this year to get through all the things you will endure, I wish I could, I can only share with you that we all go through trials, some not as trying as others. The one thing I can tell you for sure that the only thing that will get you through, that will help you get out of bed this morning and put a smile on your face or maybe just get through the day, is JESUS. That what you are going through will pass in time, you will heal, and you will be stronger from it, and yes that you will then have to face something new that you will get through but will be able to because you are stronger than you use to be. I know that when your in the middle of it, you don’t even want to think that this is to make me stronger, or grow me closer to God, but it does, it will, and then you realize that you could never had made it through without Him.

Then someday, you will meet someone, someone hurting, hurting from the same thing you are experiencing today, and you will be able to give them hope, because you survived it, you made it, you came out on the other side and you are stronger for it and then you will be able to tell them that what got you through was Jesus…

“I Can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Phil 3:16

God bless your through these trials — Candy

I sit here today reflecting over my own losses and gains in the past year. I have to laugh, at this moment the State considers Mark, I and the kids “Homeless”. Ironic isn’t it, that a family who has spent the last 5 years feeding and clothing the Homeless would now be considered in the same situation by some?

Over the past 2 months of living with my Parents I have often questioned why God would allow us to loose so much. We had our own home and anything you could possibly need. We were living quite comfortably. On Sunday God let me know why. Even though I’ve been serving the Homeless for about 5 years, I really didn’t have a grasp on what it must be like to loose all your material things. I can tell you from experience now that when you are told you must leave your “Home” and all you have behind there is a loss so deep. Does this sound materialistic? When you walk away from your Wedding Albums, Baby books, first gifts made for you by your children, and love notes written to you by your Husband when you were first dating…it is very painful. Not to mention things you inherited from Loved-ones who have passed on, your heart becomes so heavy and empty. What I’ve mentioned are just some of the things connected to your heart, then there’s all the little things you’ve collected over the years that make your house a “Home”. So if you could before you read on just imagine yourself in that place for just a moment….

Ok so I am very blessed to have my Mom and Dad to turn to, No I’m not sleeping in the streets-Praise God, or in my car, but on Sunday I met someone who is, and by God’s grace I was able to relate. We will call her “Sheila”. As of last week Sheila had been kicked out of her home of 20 years, out into the streets with nothing but her car and a few plants. So now she is spending nights sleeping in her car because she is too ashamed to call her family and friends for help. (I think we’ve all felt that way once) She’s not eating, out of money and out of gas, she looks like she’s starving to death. She doesn’t want to eat because she is so depressed over all she has lost. She doesn’t want to take any food from us or clothing, she’s sobbing into our shoulders as we sit beside her, she won’t leave her car.

The only thing Sheila needed on Sunday was Hope. Hope for a new tomorrow, Hope that people still cared about her, Hope that God heard her cry out to Him. He did, but she didn’t realize He was speaking to her. How many times do you hear that small voice inside telling you to do something and you don’t. Sheila circled that park about 7 times Sunday she was afraid to stop and that little voice in her kept saying “stop, stop, stop”. She finally did. What she didn’t know was 2 minutes before she stopped I was handed an envelope full of cash; a donation for the mission, when I held her hand and prayed with her I told her about Jesus and how God heard her prayers. She decided to open up. She told me she was almost out of gas and had no money. She wasn’t looking for a donation, she was emptying her burdens on my listening ears. She shared a lot, but at that moment that little voice in me said, “that’s not your envelope, it’s hers” I said to her, I have something for you, it was just given to me for you, it’s from God. He heard your prayer. She didn’t want to take it, but I made her. We talked about God hearing your prayers and wanting to answer but we don’t recognize His voice.

I put some gas in her tank and invited her to our 3:00pm service. She said she come…but she didn’t.

Today I got a “text” from Sheila. She’s been staying on friends couches, She looked at an apartment yesterday and she’s trying to get in there. She had so much more “hope” today than Sunday. She told me thank you and how blessed she was by all the people who had prayed with her. She also said, “she’s never felt this way” I told her to turn to Jesus and ask him into your heart, and if she needs me I’m at the church every Sunday form 2-6.

Thank you to all who donated: money, food, clothing, or time, you were such a blessing to so many. By the way 2 families we reached out to on Sunday at the mission came to our 3:00pm service and one of them said they’ll be coming each week! God is Awesome isn’t He!!

so Andrew (our best friend:) Andrew Walton)  and I are on the phone at 7:15am this morning and he went to where he was told the Homeless are living in Rochester to get the word out about Sunday, no-one is living there, just old remnants of some other time, and while we are talking on the phone he drives by a homeless man, and pulls over to chat…. 

This morning I decided to go through the comments on our webpage for One Less Lost and when I opened it there sat a comment I had never received, written the day after my sisters funeral on December 12.  It was from Linda Allard. Linda lost her son Andrew Allard 3 years ago. Now she didn’t know I Knew of her son. You see we share mutual friends, The Racines, and this is the amazing part, at my sisters funeral on the 11th of December my Son and 2 daughters handed out bracelets to all the people who entered that day, I’m not sure how many bracelets there were but there were alot and we probably had  at least 300 attend that day. The bracelets were Linda  Allard’s once. My friend Andrew Walton brought them to my sisters funeral because on them said “john 3:16″ they also had printed on them “Andrew Allard”. As my son handed these bracelets out he spoke the words”It says John 3:16, For God so loved the World that He gave His only begotten son, that we may have eternal life.” to each person my son put a bracelet on he spoke those words, right as they entered the room. You should’veseen all the wrists with those bracelets on, I love it! But what I love even more is Linda’s letter she wrote me, not knowing we handed out her son’s bracelets, not knowing that  God used her Sons death in such a mighty way at my Sisters funeral. She spoke of how she was touched so deeply by my pain and that she felt the same and was praying and fasting for me. Many of you know from the other posts how badly I was feeling, (like dying)…she was praying and fasting for me. Amazing..this women who has felt the same pain as Mary when Jesus died on the cross was doing all this for me, in a time I so desperately needed it….WOW! All I can say is God is so amazing, funny how we aren’t aware of what’s going on around us but our almighty Father is. I love this story.But it’s not the end, why did God wait till today for me to get that message and not back in December, I found out why when I took the kids to school 30 minutes later. I went down to see Hunter’s Special Ed. teacher to speak about some issues he’s having and as we talked she apologized to me for not getting some things done and started to cry, she shared with me that her Mom just died and she’s having a really hard time with it, I told her I completely understand, I told her about my sister passing in December and then I told her of the e-mail I received from Linda Allard today, then I shut her office door and asked her if I could pray with her. There we stood holding hands and weeping together, I prayed God would fill her with his strength and help her to find peace as only He can give in this hour of pain. I have been blessed over and over again today, I so love our God and how he works, I pray a seed was planted today and it will continue to be watered and grow. Please pray for her right now and her family and their salvation.

Thank you all,

May you all receive God’s Amazing Blessings- Candy

Mark and I have decided to Lead Worship at a new Church plant in Rochester NH. After worshipping in Nottingham NH at Higher Ground Baptist church we also invited the entire band. The boys and their families all went home and prayed about it.  They all felt the same thing Mark and I did…God calling them to join us in Rochester NH at the New Church plant leading worship. We also have a friend Jenny joining us along with Nottingham’s own keyboardist- Andre’. We are so blessed. Not to mention excited. We can see God working in this in such a mighty way.

After everything Mark and I have been through in the last year God has grown us so much, especially in the last few months, our Worship has changed, it has grown so much deeper than it was before, when we lead worship the warmth of the Lord surrounding our Team is such an awesome feeling….I’ve felt it before, but my heart has grown and in the process my flesh doesn’t want to be quiet any longer, I want to praise him even when there is no Words to sing. God has opened so many doors for us, I know we are on the edge of a Mighty Blessing, I can’t wait to see what He has instore. I thank God for getting us through these last few months, I certainly had hit bottom by December and my Sisters passing, but God carried me through and taught me so much in that loss, especially that His ways are perfect even though I don’t understand it, and I just need to trust Him and let Him make all the decisions.

So we are all off to Lead Worship in Rochester NH at the new Higher Ground Baptist Church (in Rochester), our services will be at 3:00pm every Sunday. Our official opening day is Easter Sunday, won’t you come down and join us?

Or at least come and join us as we lead Worship this Sunday March 6th at The River Church, Center Conway NH on Rte 302 across the street from McSherry’s.  The service begins at 10:00am with Pastor Henry Snyder preaching. You will love it. Come on by.

God bless-Candy

So many of you may not know of the trouble we have experienced this past winter. It has been a tough spiritual and physical attack on Mark and I.  We have endured about all a person can suffer I thought? Let me take you back to a year ago. Lot’s of you know because of the song on our CD “Why” that our son Hunter was suicidal a year ago, what you don’t know is while Hunter was suicidal I began to get sick, which I ended up with lots of doctors, meds and test. After a year and 6 doctors and multiple medications I was finally diagnosed with Lyme disease, Bar Epstein Virus, and Mold Poisoning. The Mold Poisoning is the worst it has left my body with some residual diseases I will have to live with the rest of my life and the healing process is very slow. I have short-term memory loss so if I forget you please forgive me, I really can’t help it! My lungs have suffered some damage as well as cellular. My Doctor does believe I will heal, even the brain, but it is a long process and I am looking at over a year of recovery. Right now I am on meds to help my lungs and meds to kill the mold inside my body that I have to be on for at least 4 months – a year. In November when I was diagnosed I was pretty sick and we had to have our house tested, our house tested positive and we were told to move out immediately by my Doctor. We have some awesome friends who offered us their rental property free for the winter, so we moved right in. I was told I could never step foot in there again. Also everything porous from there could not come to the new house, and if it wasn’t porous it had to be treated first with bleach or rubbing alcohol as to not cross contaminate the new home. In the process, I couldn’t get near any of these chemicals because of the poising I developed a sickness called “Multiple Chemical sensitivity disorder” it happens when your liver is over taxed by poisons and isn’t working right any more, and all the chemical smells would make me deathly sick. So Mark and “great”…did I say “great” friends got together and washed all our non- pourouse items, dishes, our dinning room set, etc….(thank you, i can never say enough). The burden was so heavy on Mark in so many ways, the move, the finances,we lost just about everything, our beds, our couch, we did loose our dinning set, the bleaching didn’t work. a lot of our clothes. all of our dressers lamps, anything wood. all of our books, somethings were very had to let go of. The week before all this our dog of 13 years died of kidney failure. We were constantly being hit with loss after loss.

So we moved and 2 weeks went by, I had a good doctor I was getting medicated, we had a plan, we could see the light at the end of the tunnel we thought, and then the phone rang and my 29 year old sister died ( you can read about that *Death of a beautiful sister*earlier blog:www.onelesslost.com) You know just when you think you’ve hit rock bottom, just when you don’t think things can get any worse…guess what? They can! So now I had to go home and try to help with all of this and what i really just wanted to do was crawl in a hole and die, really die. If ever in my life now was the time. So I went home and honestly it was a miserable weekend,a weekend of preparing for her funeral which we couldn’t have till next weekend, So I lay in my own bed after returning from my Mom’s praying and crying and feeling sorry for myself I layed there and I prayed ” God “I’m done, I dont’ want to worship anymore, I dont’ want to lead worship with One less lost anymore, I dont’ want to do Homeless missions, I dont’ want to serve, I’m so sick of being sick, I’m sick of  everything. I give up, I am not Job….I can’t put up with the losses he had, I don’t have his heart, I am weak, I give up, you win, I don’t want to do this anymore.” I admit now it was a very selfish prayer, remember I felt like dying, well the next morning, I was sitting at the kitchen table and Mark got up and was Making a cup of coffee and he turned to me and said, “oh I meant to tell you, Jeff Detrude called from Higher Ground yesterday and he wants to know if we can LEAD WORSHIP on the last weekend in Jan. or the first. weekend in Feb. which would you prefer.” I just sat there crying. Mark turned around and said, ” what’s the matter” I said, ” I just told God last night I was all done leading worship”, Mark said, ” He’s not done with you yet I quess!” and we laughed ” I guess what I really needed to know was did he still want to use me, was I still usable, after all we’ve been through, I can tell you this, we’ve learned so much these past few months, and He’s grown us, and brought us so much closer to him. My love has grown even deeper. I have seen that  a Great and Awesome God cares about me in this giant world enough to show me it will be ok and I am so grateful for that and so much more. We are not done yet….2011 will be a great year for us! 

So by the way we will be back at Higher Ground Baptist church 100 Old Turnpike rd Nottingham NH Feb 6        -9am and 10:30am Svc-

 and we can’t wait!