Newsletter
 
 
February 2014
Latest News
Latest Press
Highlights & Prayers
From the Heart
Latest Press
More than Music helps a Colorado Springs donor, who is now in need of medical help, exceed goal of $25,000 to raise: $28,340.30. Some of that (not even including the $5,000 that was raised directly at the benefit concert put on through MtM) was brought in through More than Music's extensive promotional efforts, reaching out to all the Southern Colorado media outlets, having public service announcements on radio stations, and stories printed in local periodicals, highlighting this need and the donor's beautiful story of grace and giving. Awesome work, team!

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"Born to Save," Stephanie Pauline's latest radio single, was named CRW's top holiday single of 2013. The song was picked up by 120 radio outlets across the US.
LISTEN!
    
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The "Born to Save" Music Video premiere on December 15th was a blast!  If you didn't get a chance yet to view the music video -
HERE IT IS!

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Stephanie Pauline's facebook page is still is gaining "likes" daily. It is a great way to stay in touch. Join more than 6,000 of her facebook fans to see her updates in real time. 

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Wilnot Mercier is a talented painter from Port-au-Prince, Haiti with ambitions to start an orphanage. More than Music is blessed to be able to help him achieve his dreams by supporting the sales of his colorful paintings. Right now there is a specific need to help him gather resources to send his adopted son to school. Please CLICK THROUGH to consider purchasing one of his beautiful works of art. 

 

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THE ONE

Stephanie Pauline has a limited-time opportunity to gain a record deal and record a new album in  2014. Her fans just need to prove demand for THE ONE song that will open the doors to this unique opportunity.  CLICK THROUGH TO VOTE AND FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN GET HER NEXT CD FREE!   

Info Center
Treasurer's Corner
     By Genny Moellring

 

Realistically speaking, for More than Music, Inc. to move to the

next level of service, we really
need $1,700 a month in base
donor support. We currently
have a shortfall of $1,100 in committed monthly donations.
Are you prompted to join with us?

 

Support & Donations Online:  

If you would like to help support the More than Music Inc. ministry and would like to make a secure
tax deductible donation online through Paypal. You may do so by logging into or creating a Paypal account and sending to:

[email protected].

Otherwise you may simply click through to our donation page.
 donate_now_green_btn.gif
  

Via Check or Money Order,  

mail to:

More than Music Inc. 

P.O. Box 31 Farmington, MN 55024

Remember, all gifts are tax deductible, and are very much appreciated.


We do have monthly partnerships if you are interested in making a commitment to help support us monetarily on a monthly basis. 
E-mail me, Genny, at [email protected] for more information. Thank you so much for considering giving to
our cause. 

 

An Easy Way to Help!
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You can help More than Music just by making goodsearch.com your search resource online. 

GoodSearch.com - the search engine with a unique social mission, is powered by Yahoo!, so you get great search results, and each time you search, GoodSearch makes a donation to MtM!

 

Upon your first visit you will be asked what cause you want to donate to.  Simply type in "More than Music - MtM " and from then on you will be funding our work with every search!  How easy and cool is that?!

 

 

You can also go to
and do the same when you shop!

GoodShop is also the new online marketplace that donates a percentage of your purchase to More than Music. You can choose from hundreds of popular merchants and the experience of shopping through GoodShop is exactly the same as going to the retailers' websites directly.

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Prayer Team Activate!
I, Stephanie, have asked two valued and respected partners to lead our prayer team. I am waiting to hear back on the details. I have a list of about 30 people, right now, that are willing to be a part of our national prayer team. Do you want to pray with us? Send me an e-mail and I will pass you on to one of the two regional team leaders. We will be sending weekly prayer requests out and then meeting at least once a year together physically in MN and in CO to pray over this work. 

 

So, can 30 people intentionally praying for this ministry weekly make a difference? Well, your answer to that would depend on whether you believe in prayer.  

 

I, personally, do.  

  

Prayer is more important to me than the very breath that sustains my physical life, for prayer is the breath that sustains my spirit.  It is the breath sustaining the hope and purpose of my life. It is the REASON I live. When asked why prayer is important, my answer is in the form of a question, "Why is talking with your wife important?" Without communication there is no understanding, without understanding there is no relationship. RELATING IS the passing of information and knowing from one being to another. Granted without prayer, through study, we can grasp some knowledge of The Word, the nature of God, and even of the concept of prayer; but it is only through the

action of prayer that true experience and understanding is possible. It is not knowing ABOUT God but KNOWING GOD that brings God's comfort, peace, wisdom, and power to our lives.

How awesome that we have been given the opportunity to commune with The Creator of the entire universe and how much more amazing that The Creator of the universe is madly in love with me!  With us!  With YOU! Wow! I crave my time with my Lord, my Savior, My Guide and my best friend. He is my center, and my peace. The fact that He has chosen prayer to be the means of our communion, our union, is irrelevant to me, so long as by whatever means we are indeed unified. God always has a way of bypassing the meager, inadequate works I offer and reaching into my heart and filling it with whatever is needed. We are trusting for that for MtM as well.  Praise God for the blessings poured through prayer, and indeed, the blessing OF prayer itself!

"Do not despise the day of small beginnings." It was with 300 men Gideon fought and WON a great battle for God. MtM needs a Gideon to stand with us and lead an army of prayer warriors. This work is too important and too front-line not to adequately cover ourselves through prayer.


In Jesus name, Let it be!
 
 

 

 





Hello!

We are well into the NEW YEAR now and I am still having to cross out 2013 pretty much every time I fill out a check. ;) It takes a bit sometimes to catch up to LIFE, doesn't it?

I want to offer my appreciation for who you are and for your support on behalf of More than Music. God continues to give us opportunities to serve the world through our music and so much more. This newsletter highlights moments of fruit over the last two months. 

Please, be encouraged in what YOU put your hand and heart to today.  Sometimes it can feel like we don't make a difference here, but in those moments - remember that there is only one YOU in all the world and you are uniquely equipped to speak, and love, and serve AS ONLY YOU CAN. So don't shrink from who you are made to be. Go ahead and give, and give some more, and give some more . . . God loves to see "a cheerful giver!" The Bible says. And it says to give as "unto the Lord." Do that, and it will never go unnoticed by the only one who really matters. God sees. God hears. God knows. "Do not grow weary in doing good, for you will reap a reward if you do not give up." 

Thank YOU for who you are and what you give!
  Digs on the Gigs

March 2nd, Sun. 2 PM - Grainfield Opera House Grainfield, KS
May 16th, Fri. 8 PM - Stargazers Theatre with David Wilcox to benefit MtM, C/S, CO
June 14th - Lisa's "Major" Celebration (Private) CO
July 10th Thurs. 6:30 PM - Harriet Bandshell, Minneapolis Parks Concert Series Mpls, MN
July 26th - Cooper Creek Square Concert Series Winter Park, CO
Sept 16th Tues - Pickin' Parlor Arvada, CO

MtM is in the skeletal stages of planning a late summer tour to the East Coast and a midsummer tour to the Midwest. Please contact Kathleen at (949) 243-2919 or [email protected] right away if you are interested in adding your church or music venue to the itinerary!
 
 
Highlights and Prayers
By Stephanie Pauline


>>>On Sunday, February 9th, More than Music put on a benefit concert for a Colorado Springs woman who gave 67% of her liver  to a man who, with young children and a wife, was in desperate need and would die without intervention. He is now thriving, but the donor's health was severely compromised in surgery, as the surgeon nicked her Vagus nerve which dictates stomach digestion. The donor, a beautiful, altruistic woman named Becky Atencio, is becoming malnourished and local doctors can no longer help her. The Mayo Clinic has specialists who can, but her appointments there are an out-of-network expense. Some friends of hers were working to raise $25,000 to help cover her costs. A mutual friend approached me to put on a concert for her (which is one of the central services of our nonprofit). With very little runway time (only three weeks!) More than Music, through lots of volunteers and one "point guard" lead volunteer, Tiffany Jolly, pulled together a great event. Chute Nine opened, I headlined and it was an awesome time! Aria, my daughter, even sang a duet with me...     VIEW A CUTE VIDEO OF THAT HERE
  . . . while the offering was being taken for Becky. It was precious. The night was such a success!  We raised $5,000 at the concert, and helped to raise $29,340.30 for Becky overall. God is good! NOW please join us in prayer for healing, peace and answers as she visits Mayo.

I was very ill over New Year's and fought hard to enable the concert for Becky despite my illness. As I got home from the concert last Sunday I was SO TIRED, and my voice (which was still weak from illness) was cashed. I was still waiting to hear back on the amount of money that had been raised. To be honest, despite the beautiful of that night, I was feeling discouraged.  MtM has had a lot of costs lately and our bank account is "cashed" too. :) Sometime it can seem we work so hard and I wonder if it makes a difference in this world. Does it matter? How sweet that I found this note waiting in my facebook inbox.    
A man I now know as Levi wrote: 
I was feeling quite alone tonight, and felt an urge to get out of my apartment for a bit. I was going to go to a coffee shop and read my book, Love Does, although everywhere I went tonight was too crowded, and there was no seats available for me to enjoy a good read.  Jives Lounge was the last coffee shop I checked out, but like the other coffee shops . . . it was too crowded . . . so I wandered aimlessly through Old Colorado [City] for a little bit, enjoying the still/crisp nip in the air. I was sitting on a bench outside of The Loft and saw a couple searching for the stairs, which aroused my interest. So I walked in and heard the first band play a song, but I kind of felt out of place only because I didn't have much to give and I didn't know who Becky was, so I left and wandered around a bit more. 
 
After about ten minutes of walking around, I found that I couldn't stop thinking about Becky and the piece of paper that gave the brief synopsis of what she was going through. The whole story just kept replaying in my head... and I was wishing I could do something, so I went back to The Loft and gave all the cash that I had in my wallet (wasn't much of anything, but it was all I could give). The band had just given the last strum of their set, and I saw you step on stage. I recognized your face from all the CDs in the hallway and you looked important, so I decided to stay and listen for a bit.  
 
Incredible . . . simply incredible . . . I can honestly say from the bottom of my heart that I have never been so moved by a local concert . . . your music is so genuine and I am so thankful for the CD you gave me . . . I'm listening to it right now as I am typing this message. . . . You know how they say there is a reason for everything, I truly feel like every coffee shop was too full to push to go listen to your music. I felt at home listening to your music and I can't wait till the day comes when I am able to pay you back for the CD by buying a ticket to your sold out show at Red Rocks. You have my full support and you have gained a true, dedicated fan tonight. Good work and thanks for speaking to me through music. Expect to see me at more of your shows, just a heads-up. Thanks again.
 
I Replied:
What a blessing! Thank you so much for sharing this with me. You are precious. Thank YOU for being so softhearted that you tuned around, came back, and gave all you could. THAT IS what LOVE DOES. And YOU are why I sing. :)  

>>>More than Music performed three detention center concerts
over Christmas in Colorado, with Southern CO Youth for Christ, sharing the hope of Jesus Christ through my personal story of redemption, and through song. We handed out lots of Bibles and free CDs, and many young people received the gift of Jesus, and the real guiding hope of God's great love for them. I recently sent out this thank-you to some faithful More than Music donors: 

Your support is so important to this cause. Thank you for seeing the value of this work. Thank you for giving what you can to it.  I, Stephanie, recently took a young man I've been mentoring to the zoo for his birthday. (When investing time in a young man I always bring another male along, in this case, I brought my husband.) I first met Sean at a concert at Spring Creek, a local juvenile detention center in Colorado Springs, then again at another facility in town called Zeb Pike. He began writing to me and we corresponded for a couple years. Now he is out, working two jobs and wants to go to school to be a social worker.  

 
Sean's story is a sad one, up 'til Jesus. He met Jesus through a concert More than Music did in Spring Creek. Before that, he says, he was lost. He felt unloved. Unwanted. Betrayed. Hopeless. Angry. Then Jesus showed Him that there was hope, that God does love him, and that though people fail us at times, God can and will use everything for our good if we will let Him reach into our hearts and lives and lay healing hands to our deepest wounds. Sean is a BIG guy. Like 240 pounds big, with hands the size of baseball gloves and the grip of steel within them. Yet he is also lovable, and playful, and has an innocence now; a childlike heart that he has been set free to be loved as he really is.
Sean texted me after our day at the zoo, and his text read:  
Thank you for today. This was my first and best birthday. I cried when I got back because of what you did and how you and your family made me feel like I fit. It was great to have my birthday with you all. Thank you. I feel as though I can't say it enough.
 
Sean is just ONE PERSON - one person whose life has been changed by YOU. There are thousands now. THANK YOU for helping us to do what we do. There is SO MUCH more. Please continue to partner with us as we serve the world and God's great purposes here! 
  

>>>More than Music's Board of Directors unanimously voted in a new Board member. Heather Guerin has more than 15 years' experience working in diverse social service organizations and ministries, and has served in the past as More than Music's Development Director. Her experience includes working with at-risk youth, domestic abuse, international relief work and chemical dependency. Her skills range from direct client advocacy, managing volunteers and community relations to public speaking and directing development. She holds a B.A. in Social Work and a M.A. in Theology from Bethel University, graduating Summa Cum Laude. Heather currently lives in St. Paul, Minnesota with her husband of 14 years and their three-year-old twins. WELCOME TO THE TEAM, HEATHER! Your passion and expertise is greatly valued!

>>>Our sponsorship Development Director Bruce Hunter met with key potential sponsors this week in LA. 
He was telling them all about our plans for the Toy Soldier 1280 Program and seeking funding to drive the wok forward. View a powerpoint presentation describing the program we are working ti implement HERE.) We are trusting God for a hard won boon. To contact Bruce you can call (719)720-9877 or you can reach him by e-mail at [email protected] 

>>>Stephanie Pauline has a unique opportunity which will potentially result in the ability to record her next album through a record label. There are pros and cons to the indie verse "label" artistic life. For her, the more creative potential the better and the bigger the audiences - the bigger the impact. CLICK THROUGH TO GET STEPHANIE'S NEXT CD FREE!      
 
          

 From the Heart

 TRULY FULL

By Tim Collins
Editor; and guitarist in residence for MtM
A Prologue
February 18, 2014

When Stephanie asked me about writing a "From the Heart" guest column, I have to say that my heart was already truly full, but about to become even fuller-within a matter of hours from now, I could be a grandfather. At this writing, my oldest daughter is in the hospital preparing to give birth to my first grandchild. Full of excitement, full of potential. But also a touch of scariness, this being my daughter's first pregnancy, and her water breaking five weeks before her due date. My heart will be full, with what appears to be an exciting yet daunting vigil at the hospital this evening.

 

Just the week before, I got news that my mother, now in her late 80s, was quite ill and needed to be taken to the hospital to be treated for a serious systemic infection. More scariness there, but I was full of relief-truly full-to hear that she had responded favorably, and was released to go home, just three days before someone else close to me had to be admitted to the hospital.

 

Life can be that way.

 

Sunday before last, at a benefit concert (for those of you who don't know or hadn't surmised by now, I have served as a musical partner for Stephanie since 2006), Stephanie and I were regaling an audience of individuals who were truly filled with compassion for a dear friend who had offered part of her liver to save a coworker's life, only to find that a nerve that helps her digest food had been damaged in the process, making it difficult for her to remain nourished and healthy herself. We were gratified to help raise about $5,000 directly at the concert-and considerably more through other publicity efforts-to help send Becky to the Mayo Clinic. And that evening we all received a tangible, living reminder about what great sacrifice Jesus made for us, giving his life so that others may live. Our hearts were truly full.

 

Stephanie tirelessly and selflessly invested herself in helping Becky, (while she was downright sick) yet our nonprofit outreach, More than Music, Inc., received no income from all that effort. (More than Music does that kind of thing all the time. Don't get me wrong, that is our joy.) My point is only that we all have a limited amount of time, energy and resources. I know Stephanie has legitimate career goals, would love to see the Lord prosper her by helping her land a recording and distribution deal-which I have thought she has deserved for years-but on a chilly night in February, those aspirations were placed on the altar of living sacrifice.

 

Serving the living Christ can tend to be that way.

 

So what motivates us to do these things? Well, it's certainly not greed or the pursuit of notoriety. I would have to say that it is, in fact, a deep,
gut-felt sense of gratitude to God for his unutterable gift of grace
(2 Corinthians 9:15) in Jesus Christ. Jesus himself was the purest expression of God's compassion toward this miserable, sin-wracked world. In fully a dozen instances in the accounts of the Gospel writers in the New Testament, that compassion is described with a Greek verb,  splanchnizomai, that had its root in the word for the intestines or vital organs of the body
(splanchna, related to our English work SPLEEN)-demonstrating the Jesus' compassion was more than mere intellectual acknowledgment or idealistic sentiment-it was, in fact, 
visceral. In each of these instances, Christ's compassion was expressed in direct action, often in the healing miracles that attested to his true divine nature. 

 

The Apostle Paul was also familiar with this terminology, using it to describe his missionary partner Titus's reception by the Corinthian church (2 Corinthians 7:17), and in his letter to Philemon (verses 7 and 20) he also used the word "bowels" (to splanchna) twice to indicate a source of inner strength, motivation or courage that could be strengthened and fortified-not that different from our current idea of having "the guts" to do something. Speaking for myself, anyway, it is this idea of having a driving force inspired by observing the suffering of others-my own suffering as well, even that caused by my own sin-that motivates me to take compassionate action. 

 

And here's the funny thing: When you follow the lead of the Lord Jesus, whose compassion ultimately led to the Cross, in the meantime there may be frustration, the baring of human weakness, a certain feeling of senselessness or futility, as well as downright pain; yet-and it is a very big yet- when the purpose of the sacrifice becomes clear and is accomplished, even though you may feel physically or emotionally drained, there is an energizing, enervating, exhilarating inner peace and satisfaction that cannot be easily described, or overstated (see Philippians 4:6-7;  2 Corinthians 4, entire chapter). When we observe a whole roomful of incarcerated young people eager to give their lives to Christ, there is no greater reward we could imagine for the endeavor of which we're a part. We feel . . . you guessed it, truly full. 

 

An Epilogue

February 20, 2014

 

Looking at the previous paragraph, it does seem a striking coincidence that what I was driving at so clearly parallels my daughter Sarah's birthing experience-which I could not put down definitively until it had actually happened. And, sure enough, it did, resulting in a blessed event that left me breathless, clueless and speechless, yet welled up inside with an overwhelming sense of gratitude to God for how gracious and artful he is-and was for my family and me just two evenings ago-in working all things together for good (Romans 8:28), including the gutsy, faith-filled performance of my daughter, fighting through the pain of childbirth without pain medication, to bring my tiny, precious new granddaughter, Catherine, into this world! In fact, Sarah's description of her experience dovetails remarkably with the gut-felt manner in which Jesus anticipated his own death and resurrection, as he consoled his disciples not long before his passion began:
 

 

When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.          -John 16:21 

 

In this same account, Jesus also envisioned his disciples' joy becoming full-truly full (John 16:24)-not only when Jesus came back to them as the resurrected Lord of Glory, but also in all the endeavors they would do subsequently in his name, assuring them that God would answer their prayers, encompassing in his own high priestly prayer not only his disciples but all "those who will believe in me through their word" (John 17:20)-including us!

 

What a joy my tiny, beautiful granddaughter is! . . . And what a perfect, precious reminder of the rewards that await us, even through the most difficult and painful circumstances, as we flesh out God's compassion in this seemingly dim, dulled world of ours. Won't you join us in that experience of feeling and being . . .
truly full?

Sweet Baby Catherine                   

 

In Closing

Thank you for taking the time to catch up with us! We can't do what we do without YOU. Your support means the world to us.Thank you for enabling this work that has always been, and will always be about so much More than Music. 

 

Love to you all, 

 

 

Stephanie Pauline
More than Music Inc.

Community and Sponsorship Development: Bruce Hunter 

[email protected]    

Booking and Promotions: Kathleen Burke 

[email protected]

PR Manager: Kathy Morford

[email protected]

Administrative Director: Genny Moellring

In the past five years, More than Music has sponsored

more than 75 free concerts in correctional facilities and chemical dependency centers,

as well as supported social service ministries by hosting benefit concerts for them;

raising more than $60,000 net for other worthy causes just since 2010. 

Through this work, and through the multimedia produced and distributed through MtM,

ministries have been strengthened, millions now have heard the message of hope and forgiveness,

and lives have been transformed by Christ.