In case you missed the memo back in April, the album project I was working on last winter is FINISHED now and AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE!!
If you missed your chance to order one last Spring, or if you liked the one you bought and would like to get someone you love an original Christmas gift, you can ORDER NOW and I will be able to ship a copy to you in time to get it under that Christmas tree.
For copies shipped to your house I am offering a SPECIAL – 1 for $8 or 2 for $15. Buy one for you AND one for a friend! They are professionally bound with artwork courtesy of my friends Dan Griebenow and Will Strickland (thanks again guys!!) and I’m really happy with how everything turned out.
This is a FULL LENGTH album with all ORIGINAL music by, Yours Truly.
You can also LISTEN at iTunes if you want to preview before you purchase.You can download or “Gift This Album” to avoid the wrapping mailing hassle of sending a gift to someone far away. If you’re like me and not as good at getting presents all the way to the tree this is a GREAT option.
ORDER before December 18th and I should be able to get them shipped anywhere in the states before Christmas.
EMAIL ME through Facebook or at jatn84@gmail.com if you would like to get your copy today!!!
THANKS FOR YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT EVERYONE!!!
Today begins a wave of new life into our media culture. Brought to life by the blood, sweat and tears of two VERY good friends of mine, now founders of Circle of Belief Productions and AOG Films, and created at the inspiration of a word of the Lord this couple dove into a sphere where they were completing inexperienced and have since immersed themselves in the world of modern media. With a message of hope, restoration and the love of God to speak to all generations by exposing the passion, creativity and raw humanity of the Millennial Generation and those in it who have chosen to passionately pursue a relationship with our Creator, this project has been over five years in the making and is available to the public today!
On http://www.jesusfreaksmovie.com Circle of Belief Productions released their first in a series of webisodes today on this site at the pre-cursor to the sales release of their ground-breaking documentary Jesus Freaks (The YWAM Movie) which documents a 5 month Discipleship Training School at YWAM Denver ins 2008. This film follow over 40 students as they pursue God through teaching and community life and then travel around the world to share the love they have learned about with foreign nations. All of this in the midst of a community wading through the aftermath of a devastating shooting which happened less than one month before the filming was scheduled to begin.
This film is about several things to me. On one side it is an exciting moment in the lives of my very inspirational friends, Charles and Katherine Cobb – the producers, who have become both family and heros in my life. On the other hand this is the story of my community, the ministry where I spent nearly two years full-time and the wake of my own personal tragedy. Tiffany Johnson (featured in the first webisode) was one of my very closest friends and knowing her has left a mark on my life that will never go away. Dan Griebenow, also featured in todays webisode, is another of the friends I’ve made during my time in Colorado that I consider to be more family than just friend. All that to say – this is personal.
Please take the time to follow this amazing story as it unfolds at www.jesusfreaksmovie.com and consider sharing this experience with your friends and family.
The story is being told and our generation is waiting to hear it. Let’s see what life looks like together with this example set for us of community, grace in tragedy, giving, loving, learning, finding freedom, handling conflict, finding our true identities in Christ and more.
It’s more than just a dream come true for Circle of Belief, it’s a dream of God that has been born. It’s a privilege to watch.
Traveling to the opposite side of the globe may seem a little bit like overkill for a “meeting”, but if I were to try and sum up my time in India that’s where I would start. Imagine being with Jesus in a large room full of people and he pulls you aside to say “Step into my office, I’d like to show you a little something I’ve been working on. You may be able to help.” It’s not the kind of invitation you could ever take lightly, and it would never matter how far away that office was, you would go if Jesus invited you.
When you are a part of an organization, a volunteer perhaps, you are not usually part of the planning and directing of a project, you are the one who gets the call and you go. There is a group of people who inevitably surrounded a table in an office somewhere and schemed together on the how, when, where and what of the given project and then contacted you to get the job done.
When Jesus asked me to step into His office and took me to India I feel like I was invited to that meeting. I joined a group of people, children’s home directors/slum church planters/fellow missionaries/etc, who were gathered around a table with the daunting task in front of them to create an environment and a pathway for children from the streets and for orphans that will give them a chance at a future beyond illiteracy, poverty, forced prostitution or much worse. This was my briefing room, this was my crash-course education in the reality of what it means to be an orphan in India. I couldn’t be more unqualified to participate in this kind of meeting than I am; good thing the Kingdom of God is built with willing hands, not especially qualified ones.
Nothing in India seemed to work sequentially the way that it would here in the States. This disjointed pattern of processes was quite jarring to wrap my head around as I began asking questions about where the needs are, where the challenges are facing those willing to meet those needs, and what stage in the process is the situation for these particular kids we’re working with? It seemed like each time I would hear about a particular need or risk factor I could come up with 10 ways to counteract it, 9.5 of which were impossible either because of a lack of cooperation from the government, a lack of physical resources or because of a complete inability to operate in a given way inside the Indian culture. It was altogether maddening, but it didn’t stop my mind from racing 100mph to reach the next solution and the next big question.
There was one evening in my first few days of being in India where I must’ve spent 3 or 4 hours grilling my friend (who has been working in India with the children’s home we were visiting for about 8 yrs.) on all the in’s and out’s legally/socially/logistically of what it’s going to take for her (now more accurately referred to as “us”) to get the program in place for adopting and fostering these kids into loving homes. It’s a messy task, but it’s not impossible. Enter…the new girl at the meeting (i.e. Julie has been invited to the table).
For two weeks I sat in living rooms listening to both pastoral conversations of encouragement and logistical conversation about status and process, sat on the floor playing hand slap, learning names, singing worship songs and observing the organism of a family that has developed within the children’s home and riding in rickshaws with my dupati (scarf) held over my nose to help keep the pollution from clouding my humid, jet-lagged brain trying to get this set of curtains, attend this meeting with so-and-so or taking the kids on special outings.
It was a period of intense observation with a good portion of overwhelming gratefulness for the life and the blessings that I have grown up with unaware of the fact that millions of children will never have one parent as loving and generous as I have two. That reality is still shaking me in deep places and the quaking that is rising to the surface is going to birth a great dream of God, I can feel it!
When I left India it was as if Jesus said “Ok everyone. The staff briefing is over. Take your notes, look them over, call your contacts and we’ll meet back here 10:00am on ____day and start talking about your ideas for the next step. Call my cell if you’ve got questions. I love you. Meeting adjourned.”
At this point, I’m still looking over my notes. So far I’ve drawn a few pictures that I don’t have words for yet, but there are dreams and plans swimming at the edge of my vision each day that I am both intimidated by and excited to see transformed into their more substantial forms.
This is the question I have gotten from about a hundred people in the last two weeks and there just isn’t a one word answer, or even a few phrase answer, to this question.
It was completely apparent throughout the trip that this was definitely a trip that God had called me to and that peace allowed me to sit back, let him drive, learn, cry, breath and store away the two weeks (which seemed like two months) of serious “download” that this experience gave my brain.
I will do my best over the next few weeks to share about my experiences, the kids I met, the challenges I faced, the situations of injustice that I’ve become now personally aware of and the visions/dreams/calling that God has been revealing to me since…over the next few weeks.
Keep checking in, email me questions, pray for the kids in these pictures and Welcome to my Journey.
I leave in 9 hours. I’m completely packed and, although a daunting 36 hrs of travel is ahead of me, I find myself uninterested in sleep. I will, however, make an attempt here shortly.
I just wanted to write a quick note to say that I am filled with expectation for what lies ahead.
The Lord hasn’t yet shown me the exact reason that He told me to go to India 5 months ago but I am no less confident now than I was then that he CLEARLY directed me to this path. To be filled with expectation, I realize, is to be most vulnerable for dissapointment. This is a scenario I have often avoided at all costs in my past.
Today, and all days in my future, I choose to put my stake in God’s faithfulness, His unending creativity and sense of adventure, my humble acceptance of His offer to join Him in the dance and my constant peace that I am moving forward with purpose – even one still kept in mystery to me.
Please keep me in your prayers. Safety, health, wisdom, courage and a soft heart – these are my desires.
The Latest and Greatest of the Last 2 years
CLICK THE LINK ABOVE TO VIEW THE ARTICLES AND PHOTOS IN MY LATEST NEWLETTER/UPDATE
Here’s a long overdue update! It’s long one but you can see from the summary below why 
Pg 1 - Where I’ve been living the last two years
Pg 2 - What I was up to Summer 2009
Pg 3 - My diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis in Fall 2009
Pg 4 & 5 - The inspiration, process and result of my recording project this past Winter 2010 “Hold Hope”, released April 2010 and available on iTunes. A full length album of original songs!!
Pg 6 & 7 - Current goings on including my trip to India in September and my latest dreams/pursuits in ministry
I am leaving for India in less than a month so please take the time to read the end of the update if you can. I treasure the prayers and support that I received from you over the years and most certainly need to be covered in prayer going into this next unknown in my adventure with God.
A few details about what we’ll be doing while we’re in India that I didn’t include in the newsletter – I have to tell you because I am just so curious how God will use each of these “plans” we have going into the trip to show the people we’re working with, and me, just how crazy He is about all of us!
There are two orphanages in Pune where we’ll be spending time. One home is for children who are HIV positive, most who have been orphaned by losing their parents to AIDS. For this home we will be doing a lot of practical work around the house to help the folks running the place get caught up, leading Bible study and prayer times for the kids and with the workers, I will be playing a few ‘private concerts’ for the kids and we will also be delivering new clothes for the kids who have grown out of the outfits Brenda brought on her last trip.
At Hope of Glory, which is a home for both orphans and kids whose parents are prostitutes or drug addicts living on the streets. The thing I love the most about this home being open to those kids whose parents wouldn’t otherwise be able to care for them is that this removes these children from the incredibly high risk of being sold into slavery by their parents who can no longer handle the burden of their care.
Brenda and I will be preparing for a team coming in January which will be building a ‘metal house’ for one of the families whose children are in the home so that they will eventually be able to return to living with their parents because this house will provide them a safe place to raise their children. We will be securing the location, buying building supplies and making other arrangements for the team’s arrival.
We will also be spending time in the local markets purchasing a startup inventory of jewelry which will be brought with us back to the States to be sold to generate income for the orphanages.
Of course these are just the outlined tasks we have ahead of us. I am MOST excited for the relationships I will be able to begin with the children and the workers in these homes which I hope to return to many times in the future. I have already heard from so many women in my hometown in Montana who are chomping at the bit for me to plan another trip and take a team of them with me next time!
Please keep me and this trip in your prayers. Ask for God’s favor for Brenda and I in our travels, our health, our relationships with each other and with the kids and pray that we have open ears to hear God’s heart for being his hands and feet in any way He would lead us while we are there.
Grace and Peace,
Julie
***I’ve been saving, selling CD’s and art and working side jobs throughout the summer to raise money for this trip. I’m about 25% of the way there ($2200) so far. If you would like to be a part of the work God is doing by helping financially to get me to India that would be amazing! To donate you can use PayPal and send to jatn84@gmail.com or you can make a check payable to Julie Tiehen and mail it to 6710 Miller St Arvada, CO. If you or your business would like to give a TAX-DEDUCTIBLE gift you can make the check out to “U-Turn” (the non-profit overseeing this trip) and you will receive a tax receipt for your donation. ***
The album is now finished , the CD Release show at the Marquis Theater in Denver was a blast (thank-you Ben Davis and Soda Jerk Presents!) and as of about a week ago the album is available on iTunes for download.
There’s nothing left to do here than to LISTEN and ENJOY!!!
More to come on what’s next for me and music and more…but for now please plug in your computer and turn up your speakers
The mastered CD and art work were mailed/uploaded JUST in time to make the April 23rd deadline. I FINALLY have some samples loaded on www.myspace.com/julietiehen and I have NEVER been this excited to address envelopes because that means these cd’s are on their way to you!!
The real satisfaction of finishing the project for me will be when I know my friends are popping the CD in their own player and enjoying the fruit of not just mine but a whole team worth of peoples’ labor. THAT will be the “ahhh, we’ve done it moment”…so I’ve got a few more days of anticipation and I suppose so does everyone else.
In the mean time I am still as busy as every because myself and my amazing new band are preparing for a CD RELEASE SHOW right here in Denver at a the Marquis Theater (Thank you Ben Davis and Soda Jerk Presents!!). Click on the link for show details if you’re in the Denver area it would be AMAZING to see you there.
**art work by dan griebenow - living dead art**
