Here in Israel, the Jewish culture is very strong. It is so very different than what I am used to back in the states! That in itself has been an interesting change of perspective for me. What do I say to someone who tells me “you would be a huge hit if you would get rid of all the ‘Jesus’ stuff in your music” ? What do I feel when I look around and see people mostly dressed in black and white, while I walk around in bright red or green? What do I think when I see such a reverence for God that literally the whole culture shuts down on Friday night for their weekly Shabbat? So many things are different. So many things I don’t have answers for. But there is something I found that does connect every single one of us, and that is our heavenly Abba (Father), God.

A prayer that is very important among the Jewish culture is Deuteronomy 6:4

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”

This verse echos what I mean. Our God, HE is ONE. No matter where we go, no matter who we are with, our God is ONE, and only ONE. While in Israel I have been reading through the book of James. Another verse that relates to this stuck out to me. James writes in 1:5-8:

“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.” (NLT)

…and another verse from Exodus 20:3

“You shall have no other gods before me.” 

Something that has been rolling around in my head obviously is the one-ness of God, and the importance that He seems to keep putting on it. Seems like He really wants us to know that He’s the ONE!

Did you know? Have you heard? He is God above EVVVVVERYTHING, and no one has the sight or the perspective that He does! And He seems to say over and over in the Bible that we not share that role of His with anyone, or anything else. Not our job, not our dreams, not our plans, not our money, or any person or thing…HE IS GOD, HE is one. ALL BY HIMSELF He is God. When we put our trust in things of this world…when we put our hope in things of this world…when we give our heart to things of this world…we are giving the throne to “stuff” (aka little “g” gods) that will never be able to meet our expectations. We bow down to “things” that will never satisfy.

Something to think about today… What are your cravings? That might tell you something about where your heart lies, and if you could potentially be sharing the space of God’s with something else. One of my favorite things Jesus said is in Matthew 6:21:

Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

My Grandma Starr was born in Morocco, Africa, and moved to the US when she was only 18. Shortly after she moved here, her family (totaling 11 kids I believe) moved back to Israel. One sister now lives in Paris, France, but the remaining 4 who are still alive all reside in Israel. Grandma has never made it back to see her family in Israel to this day. It has been about 60 years!

When I went to Israel in 2010, God put so many dots together so that I was able to find her family in the last couple days of my trip there. It was nothing short of a miracle of God that allowed us to find each other in the beautiful city of Jerusalem. I was able to skype Grandma from Israel, with her siblings next to me on both sides (thank you, SKYPE!), where they were able to see each other’s faces for the first time year’s later. Grandma’s youngest sister was 4 years old when she came to America. So crazy.

When I got home from that trip, I prayed that God would not take me back to Israel until the right timing, as the land of Israel is so powerful it’s hard to know what’s hitting you as you walk the streets. Jesus, the literal Son of God who came for us all, was praying to God in the same places. It was incredibly humbling. But I also prayed fervently for my grandma’s return to her family, because history separated them – and I would hate the day (if it came) where she wasn’t able to go meet her beautiful siblings again, knowing that I was able to.

So the time has come. God has made a way for this trip to happen. My prayers have been answered, and the joy I have in inexpressible. Grandma (who has been very afraid of flying her whole life) has miraculously decided she would go, along with the rest of my immediate family with the exception my older sister, Camille (job stuff is keeping her back unfortunately). We will be flying out on Christmas day, returning after three weeks in Israel.

I don’t know what to expect, I don’t know what is going to happen – but the fact that my grandma is going and that I was able to be a small part in bringing her family back together is such an incredible feeling, and wanted to make sure you all were able to see the story unfold with me as it is one that should seriously be a movie! So many miracles have already happened, and I can’t wait to see what else is in store. But I don’t want to enjoy it all by myself, I would love to share the experience with you if you would like to join me via internet, lol

As you can imagine, when grandma left Morocco there was no internet or cell phones…only letters. And with her fear of flying (when she first came to the US, the plane she was supposed to catch from New York to Spokane wouldn’t let her on, only to find the next day that plane had crashed with no survivors), the chances of her even seeing her family again were very slim. Slim as in “probably never going to happen”. I can’t imagine the emotion she is going through right now, so I would invite you all to pray for Grandma Starr with me. She is an incredible woman of courage, strength, and beauty. What an honor it is to share her name!

Thank you all for the support. You mean more to me than I could ever express.

Happy Holidays! I will update while in Israel as much as possible (most of the updating will probably be through Instagram (@hollystarrmusic) until I get good enough internet and time to upload more.

Thanks again,

Holly (and family)

Just wanted to send you a note of thanks for supporting the release of my new album, FOCUS!!! The tour isn’t quite over yet, but wanted to make sure that you knew how much your love and support means to me! Without you, I wouldn’t be able to do this at all. Thank you for the encouragement, the prayers, and your listening ear. Little did I know when I was a 15 year old girl dreaming about “sharing Jesus with the world” that I would one day get to know people like you all around the country, doing exactly that. GO JESUS!

Thank you, Thank you!

-Holly

I’m not a doctor or psychologist, nor do I speak proper english most of the time. Ha. A lot of times I get so confused by myself that I have to just laugh. However, throughout my life (regardless of anything) there has been a single message burning in my chest — one that always seems to help calm me down no matter what’s going on:

GOD IS IN CONTROL.

Say what? God is in control. That means He’s got it figured out. He knows what in the world (and out of it, for that matter) is going on. I don’t have the answers, the reasons, or the understanding. I never will. But God does, and he ALWAYS will. He’s known our tomorrow since before the beginning of the world, even our 5 seconds from now. Better yet, if we love Him, he’s working every one of our situations together for GOOD…and that’s a promise. That’s a soft place to lay our head! Don’t worry, don’t fear. Pray, be thankful, ask, trust, let go & rest. He’s got it down. He’s got you covered.

Hope you are having a great day, my friend. Keep your head up, “stay your course”, and continue pursuing truth (as long as you figure out a way to share it when you find it)!

Be blessed,
Holly

I’ve been sitting on my bed thinking about a thought that has been rolling around in my mind over the last year or so, but I finally found myself today in a place where I think the words in my head are finally ready to be written down and shared.

Galatians 5:22 says:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control… ”

Ever struggled from realizing you might not have some of these? Maybe most of them? Well I definitely have, and so much so that I  have found myself frustrated at being a ridiculous human being. Ever been there? Are you there now? Don’t let your thoughts stop there, because there is great hope. It’s way too easy to stop at the frustration. Let’s go deeper today. It is this hope has given me more life over the last year than anything else, and I pray that if not already, you can jump on the joy wagon with me!

ANYWAY…. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says:

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (bold-type added)

HOPE! We are being transformed into HIS IMAGE! As you look back at this verse and study exactly what it is saying, it doesn’t take much to see that “He” is the Lord, and “the Lord” is the Spirit…and how is the Spirit manifested? What does it look like? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control..

According to 2 Corinthians 3:18, transformation into HIS image is happening…so the “fruit of the Spirit” comes along with that transformation. The very things we struggle with wanting but don’t see in us…they are on their way! Hallelujah!

I want to invite you to take a couple minutes to reflect on your past. If you have been walking with Christ for any length of time, when you look at who you have been in the past and then look at who you are today, you should see some amount of change that has happened in your heart. Good change. This is the change I am excited to write about today. This supernatural work that God does in our life to teach and give us more love, patience, peace, etc. In my opinion it is the most exciting thing that can happen in life (next to salvation, of course).

One thing I personally have struggled with over and over in my life has been patience. I have tried to be patient. I have looked myself in the mirror and given my own ears a pep-talk to be slower to speak next time. I have gotten angry at myself for rushing into things. I have been frustrated at God because sometimes he seems “too slow”. Do I like my impatience though? Do I prefer it in my life? NO! I hate it so much so that I loose sleep over it some nights. Ever been so mad at yourself because you see tendencies like this in your life that you HATE, but can’t seem to fix no matter how hard you try?

It wasn’t until after my grandma called me one day and told me about 2 Corinthians 3:18 that I began to see more clearly the work that GOD does in our life when we walk with Him. He IS transforming us…we ARE BEING transformed! That means it’s happening right now! Although we don’t see it in the midst of our struggle, we can rest assured that God is using our situations to transform our life in such a way that we will get to experience more and more of Him…of the fruit of the Spirit.

I don’t know about you, but thinking about the end of my life and the amount of love and joy and peace that God can work into my heart between now and then sounds way more exciting to me than anything in this world. Imagine yourself rich with money, but lacking compassion. Lacking love. Lacking joy…or peace. Sounds like a pretty miserable life to me. But thinking of a life that has learned God’s character and Spirit, through His steady hand over my life, brings more joy and excitement than ANYTHING this world could try to give.

Would you rather have God’s love than have fame?

Would you rather have God’s joy than have money?

Would you rather have God’s peace than get what you think you want?

What about Patience?

Kindness?

Goodness?

Faithfulness?

Gentleness?

Self-control?

I say all of this only to emphasize the richness of God’s Spirit and how much MORE fulfilling the changes he brings to our life can be. I am not saying you can’t have patience and money at the same time, just that in our hearts we remember that the fruit of the Spirit is BETTER than anything.

Have a great day friend…Remember that God is with you and He ain’t leaving!

Hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed making it for you! Feel free to share it with your friends! I would love to hear what y’all think.

Blessings,
Holly

Hey Friends!

I am so excited for the release of my brand new music video tomorrow (to a brand new song!). Keep an eye out on my website, www.hollystarrmusic.com to watch it! Hope you are doing great!!

Holly

PS…

Here’s a sneak peak at my album coming this year!