Sam Dougherty: Blog/Newsletter

This last weekend I took a long trip back to the homeland, Michigan. My wife and I drove straight through for an unforgiving 32 hours of driving. We then stayed for only two days and turned back around for another 30 hours of staring into taillights. Fortunately I have plenty of practice following taillights from living here in the Valley.
Ok Ok, I hear ya! Yes, that was crazy. Let me tell you though, it was worth it. We had a great time. The visit felt more like a week than two days. We had a bon fire, visited our old church and friends and even got to go to a birthday party for my cousins son Jacob. What did God teach me from this trip? Let me count the lessons.

1. Never, Never, Never expect to get through Chicago without having to spend a few hours holding down the brake pedal......... That would be patience.

2. Driving for a straight 25 hours before switching with Terri and taking a nap in the back of the car...... Persevere and there will be rewards for the steadfast.

3. Eating crackers, candy, licorice, salami, peperjack cheese, trail mix, potato chips and peanuts for 30 hours straight washing it all down with gallons of coffee can really take its toll ......... You are what you eat, BLAHHHKKKK!

OK so none of those are so deep. Seriously, I really have learned to appreciate everything God gave me while I was in Michigan and while I am here. Lots and lots of time to reflect on the miracles that got me to where I am at. Our God is so awesome. I encourage everyone to take some time out and remember what God has done to get you to this day. Think hard, be sure to never forget the miracles!

God bless you all,

Sam

This weekend I made some new friends and encourage everyone to check out the bands web site at www.alabasterbox.com. What a great group of people. They held a concert at our church Sunday and led some very powerful worship. They can rock pretty well too. Matt shared a message that really makes you take a look at where you are at in Christ. He challenged us all to ask ourselves what we have sacrificed for Christ recently and asked if maybe we were fitting in with this world a little too much. This was followed by some more great worship. Nara also has a great ministry called Gods little rockers. There is a link on their web page.
Tonight a couple of us are taking the drummer, Swanny, out 4 wheelin in the mountains. Should be a great time.

Arizona, officially home. Last week we closed on selling our house in Michigan. It kind of changes the whole feel for being out here. Today is my birthday. I chose to take this day off and use it as a time to reflect on what God has done for me. To stop and take a look at the changes in my life of late, which have been dramatic to say the least. I mentioned to a few friends that this no longer feels like a long vacation with our safety net of having a home in Michigan gone. It's funny how letting go of something so important to my worldly eyes can change the way I see the hole world. I can't help but think of the man that Jesus told to sell everything he had and to follow Him. He couldn't do it, he felt safe with all of his worldly belongings. I guess you could also say that he didn't feel safe or have faith in the security of serving Jesus.
I want everyone to know this about me, I feel safe. God has taken care of us through every step of our journey here. From the home that we are provided with to the friendships we have developed. I have learned more in the last 8 months about Gods character than any time before. Jesus loves us and wants us to put all of our trust in Him. He knows what we go through, how we feel and what we think. We can't fool God or hide anything from Him. I'm not saying that the only way to get to truly know Gods character is to sell everything. But I suggest this; we need to sell our bond to everything to this world. We need to sell our greedy desires to the things of this world. We need to sell our selfishness, pride or complacency and trust God to lead us. Here is the cool thing about doing this. It's already paid for! In other words we just need to hand these obstructions over because they are sold. Paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ. It just may be a house, a place, or our attitude for that matter. If its between us and God, we need to get rid of it.
God bless you all!

In Christ,
Sam

Just yesterday I checked out the web site and noticed that I have been neglecting the news page. That is a shame considering there is so much to share. Since last September, many things have happened.
I came down with some sort of allergy that caused pressure through out my whole head. My hearing in my left ear went to about 40% and I lost my singing voice. This was a very scary time for me. I went through cat scans, tests and a few doctors to try and figure out what was wrong with me. The pain was excruciating. I was led to a Christian doctor by my Pastor who really took the time to figure out what was going on in my head. He gave me some medication to treat me for bacterial infection and it worked. Come to find out this is very common here in the Phoenix valley. Its called Valley Fever or something like that. I also had a new friend here lead me to some natural cures for the infection and it worked great.
Now finally I have about 80% of my voice back and it gets better everyday. I went to a Jars of Clay show the other night and it really inspired me to take a closer look at the music I need to be writing. I am looking forward to getting back to more personal worship songs with God and sharing them with everyone. I will post one of my new songs soon so keep checking.
On another note, I am happy and sad to see my friends the Sagers move back to the mid-west. Jeff has been a great friend out here and I'll miss them. I am happy that they feel they are following Gods Will and pray only the best for them. I know they are happy to be heading back.
Keep looking in to the web site and I will try to keep it updated more often. Expect the new music to be posted by March.

In His Grip,
Sam

Here it is already September and nearly October. I can't believe how fast time goes by lately. My parents are here this week to celebrate my daughters 8th birthday and visit for a bit.
We have kicked off our mens group and a few other ministries over the last few weeks at our church and things are getting very busy.
This is why I am making this entry.
I recently got a big gut check on what I am doing out here. God called my family and I to Arizona to fullfill His will for us through bringing together the body of Christ and furthering the ministries boundries. God gave me a big heart for the lost and to help tear down denominational walls that become a sense of pride and arrogance, but oh how quickly I found myself back into the same routine in another state. I became so caught up in my job and the things going on in this world that I lost sight temporarily of Gods path for me. It took a morning mens meeting for me to realize that. As soon as pastor requested prayer requests I began to feel like I was barely holding back the tears as I made my request. I am sharing this prayer request because I know that it is one that many of us battle. I asked that the other men would pray that I find a balance between work, family and ministry. You see when you get to caught up in worrying about the bills, work, and even the news it makes it real easy for satan to help us build up little walls between God and us. Sometimes its seems the walls get so big you may even forget that God is there at all. I praise God that he gave me his Holy Spirit to give me a spiritual punch in the gut before I got that far. I am now refocusing on the ministry and I am going to do something every day to move it forward to exalt God.
God showed me a few years ago that He is going to use this ministry full time and my family and I would be working together spreding the Good News, reaching the lost and pulling the body together. Not as a part time here and there thing, but as a powerful everyday global minsitry. You see I realized yesterday that as long as I keep in His will and focused on Him it will happen,no ..... IT HAS TO HAPPEN! How do I know that you ask, because God said so. That is what I want all of you to know about your lives too. God has blessed us and given us favor. We are blessed and no matter what satan tries to do to make us forget, it does not change the facts. IT HAS TO HAPPEN, BECAUSE GOD SAID SO! Lets all continue to lift each other up in prayer so that we will stay on track and keep satan in that loser status he earned the day Jesus died on the cross for us.

I am so excited to have met many great friends here in Arizona. I have been playing on top of a local mountain praising God, helping with worship at the church and last Friday night Terri and I ministered at Papa's Perks. If you are in the Phoenix area you need to check out his coffee, its awesome! Terri and I had a blast and I even broke out a goofy campfire song called "marshmallow", you had to be there to understand how crazy it was. I have been blessed with a great job where I get to meet and talk to people all day. I am now a car salesman at Power Cheverolet. This is the first job I've had that is actually fun. God has been faithfull to his word to Terri, the kids and I by keeping us safe and blessing us every day. Thankyou for the prayers.
I have an open invitation to Papa's Perks now so I am sure I'll be stopping by and playing.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
If you have a great witness to share, post it in the guestbook. It is so encouraging to read them. God used one of the testimonies there to change a life. If you have been encouraged or blessed by the music God gave me to share please let me know. I give all of the glory to God.

After a long 3.5 days of driving and somewhere around 100 pitstops for the kids we finally made it to our new home in Glendale, AZ. There were many trials along the way including my wife Terri's car loosing its air conditioning. My mom, Terri and the kids braved it out for a day and a half in 100+ temps while I ran the U-haul with Zeb. Thank God we made it! Our friends Jeff and Sandee along with their kids were a great blessing helping us by pulling another trailer full out along with us. Thank you so much Bruce and Margie for letting us use your truck! It has hovered right around 115 degrees every day since we arrived. What a way to get initiated! I was blessed to be able to lead worship our first Sunday here at Destiny and had a great time getting to know our new church family. Pastor Arvle and Tom have been great help to us getting everything settled. Now I'm on a job hunt and I know God will provide, He never let us down before! Please keep our family in prayer as we adjust and seek out new ministry here in the Phoenix area. Thank you for all of the prayers you have already sent up!

Terri and I are back to Michigan for the 4th celebration and we are ready for the big move. We have a house in Glendale, AZ now and we are so excited to take the ministry there. The logistics of getting this move done are a nightmare! It looks like it will be three days of driving and pulling a trailor. Keep us in prayer as we travel across the country. Keep my dog Zeb in prayer too, thats a long time in one place for a spaztic dog! We are leaving on the 11th of July.
If you are around the Colon, MI area on the 4th come on over to the midway. Terri and I will be performing there and Rufus Harris is also going to be there. There will be other local bands including "Mercy Seat", New life praise team and the Riverside band. It all starts after the parade and is located just past the cakewalk area.

I will be back for the 4th of July celebration in Colon, MI and I will be playing on the main stage there. We have a special guest comming also, Rufus Harris. This will be a great treat for everyone who attends. Music should start around 12:00 or when ever the parade gets over. There will be alot of other music going on too with Tim and the praise band and others.

Terri and I are heading out to Phoenix to check things out the last week of this month. It looks like we will be making the big move in July. Keep us in prayer as we follow God's will in this area of our lives.

The CD is back from print and we are so excited! We released it at 4th Fridays with Rufus Harris and this was also Terri's (my wife) first big show playing the congas. The show went absolutely great and God's spirit was moving. Terri signed to "I'm Amazed" and it was very powerful. It is such an awesome blessing to have Terri ministering with me on stage. There is a picture of this event on the photo page.

The CD "So Real" is available at the link on the web site here. It is available on cdbaby.com. Check it out there, you can listen to most of it there too.

God Bless and thank you everyone for all of the support,

Sam

After 4 months of working in the studio with Chet and the gang at Sweetwater productions in Ft. Wayne, Indiana it is finally complete. The title of the new cd is "So Real" and I know it will bless everyone that hears it. It will be available starting the first week of June. There were many great and talented people involved in this project including Krystal Harris, Chet Chambers, Mark Peckinpaugh, Sandy Williams and many more. We had a great time of fellowship, prayer and honoring God through every aspect of the project.