Happy Memorial Day!!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful day celebrating our Veterans, Military and the freedom we have in our wonderful country. We celebrated by taking Destiny on her first boat ride- life jacket and all! lol she loved it! I want to say a BIG thank you to everyone who has served and fought for our freedom. Your sacrifice does not go unnoticed. We honor you today! We are SO blessed to live in the United States. It is also a great day to thank God and continue to pray for our country.

A little history about Memorial Day- The holiday was originally created to honor Union soldiers who had fallen in the Civil War. After World War 1, it expanded to honor all those in the military who have bravely served our country. In the 1800's it was called "Decoration Day" as loved ones would go decorate the tombs of fallen soldiers. On a day like this, I cannot help but thank the Lord for the freedoms that we have in this country. So many people have greatly sacrificed so we can be free. Let us never take it for granted. Ultimately, there is one who gave the biggest sacrifice in the history of mankind, Jesus! And He is worthy to be celebrated everyday!

So enjoy your cookouts, pools, lake days, loved ones and friends! Have fun eating your hot dogs & hamburgers! This is the day that the Lord has made, rejoice & celebrate! Thank you Jesus for freedom and those who have sacrificed for our freedom. Happy Memorial Day!!!!

 

Xoxo, Natalie 

Behind the Song Series - "Center of it All"

Good morning Villagers! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! One of my dear friends got hitched yesterday and I had the honor of being in her wedding. She was the most beautiful bride and you could feel the love all day long from the ceremony to the reception. Marriage is so beautiful and it's truly amazing how God puts people together. True love is always worth the wait Villagers! One day your Prince or Princess will come :) Congratulations Jordan and Sarah Fremgen!!!!

I hope you enjoyed last week's Blog about "Fast Lane" Villagers :) Today I am sharing about my song, "Center of it All." Xoxo

 Behind the Song - "Center of it All"

In 2008, Marco (my husband) and I moved from Las Vegas to the inner city of Nashville to be missionaries. We left everything. We left all our friends, family, our house, cars, our dog, our music label (Blood Bought Entertainment) to follow God's calling. It was a life changing and an experience I will never forget or trade. I truly felt like a disciple leaving everything to follow Jesus. Over those 3 years as missionaries, God really worked on my heart and stripped a lot of materialism from my life. I never realized how much of my identity was placed in clothing, cars, money and what I owned until the Lord had me lay it down. During that time, I started to write a worship song called, "Center of it All." My favorite line of the song is, “I would gladly give everything I have away for the chance to know you more.” This is truly part of my testimony. My heart is to follow the Lord and wherever He leads. 

Mark 10:17-27 really ministered to me while being a missionary. It is the story of the Rich Young Ruler. When you read that story, the Rich Young Ruler asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. In return, Jesus tells the Rich Young Ruler to sell everything and also gives him the chance of a lifetime- to come follow Him! What an opportunity! Sadly, the Rich Young Ruler would not do what Jesus told him. I can't help but wonder what would have happened to the Rich Young Ruler if would have sold everything he owned and followed Jesus that day.  Would he had been the 13th disciple? Would we be reading stories in the Bible about God using him for miracles? Would he have written a book of the Bible?? Unfortunately, we will never know. I never want material possessions or the condition of my heart to hinder my chance to know Jesus more and tell others about His incredible love. This has become the prayer of my heart and this story still convicts me often. While recording this song, I had a lot of fun working with the multi-talented, Victor Oquendo. He helped arrange and produced the song. He has a beautiful heart for the Lord, is a musical genius and a wonderful friend.

Scriptures used to write it:

Mark 10:17-27

Purpose of Song:

“Center of it All” is a worship song. I really hope people feel the love and presence of the Lord as they listen to it and a desire to know God more intimately. My prayer is that it changes perspectives as people worship along realizing what truly is important. I hope people get called into ministry, there is restoration to marriages and families, and people get God-given dreams as they listen to this song. I also pray that people will hear the call of the Holy Spirit, like the Rich Young Ruler, to follow Him :) Believe me Villagers, there is nothing more incredible in this whole world than following Jesus. Answer His call and you will never be disappointed :)

Behind the Song Series - "Fast Lane"

Hello Villagers!!!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day! Yesterday was my first Mother's Day. Marco and Destiny made sure it was very special- flowers, cards, balloons, a gift certificate for a massage, lunch! I am a lucky girl and could get used to this kind of treatment! I hope all you Mothers felt as special as you are. You are treasures from heaven.

Well my dear Villagers, over the next couple of weeks I will be sharing a series of blog posts about the songs off of my EP, "Fast Lane," titled, "Behind the Song." Every song I write has a story. I am so excited to share the stories and the Bible verses that I used for each song with you. I hope when you hear the stories behind my songs it will bring encouragement to you and revelation from the Holy Spirit as you listen to my songs :) So... here we go!

Behind the Song - "Fast Lane"

The story behind the song “Fast Lane” is the issue of insecurity. I would be lying if I said I never felt insecure. I believe that is something that everyone struggles with now and then, if not often, and I am guilty too. Our culture tells us how to dress, what car to drive, what type of music to listen to, and what material things we have to own to be accepted and even loved BUT the kingdom of God purely bases our acceptance in Christ alone. That is true freedom and some really good news Villagers! Being someone who struggled a lot with fear and insecurity, I understand the battle of wanting to fit in and having to own things to make you feel worthy of love and acceptance. While writing this song, I kept thinking about how much God loves us. He loves us so much that He sent His son to die for us and redeem us. And even a step further, God has "adopted" us into His family making us "heirs"! That is true love and acceptance Villagers. A fun fact about the song, “Fast Lane,” is that it was the only song on my EP that was co-written. I wrote the song with my amazing husband, Marco Lobos, and Pastor, Scott MacLeod. It was so fun writing with these two, and especially my Pastor! He is a lyrical mastermind.

Scriptures used to write it:

Mark 8:34-38, Eph. 1:6, Ps. 139

Purpose of the Song:

I hope this song brings freedom from insecurity and the revelation that the love of Jesus Christ is the only acceptance we ever need. I pray that girls listen to this song realizing they are beautiful, how loved they are by their heavenly Father, and how God perfectly designed them the way they are. I pray that guys listen to this song and realize they don’t need money, fame or power to be accepted but they find true identity in God alone. Villagers, be free to be you! You are so amazingly loved, talented, unique and ridiculously incredible!!!!

Xoxo, Natalie Villa

**You can buy "Fast Lane" on iTunes or Amazon.**

Welcome to Natalie's Villa!

Thanks for stopping by to check out my blog! You are probably wondering what this "Natalie's Villa" business is all about. I am a Pop Worship Artist and my heart is to disciple generations. There is a saying, "It takes a village to raise a child." Well I have been asking myself a question lately, if it takes a "village to raise a child," what is it going to take to raise a generation? I am talking about raising up a generation that knows God intimately, has moral standards, lives life abundantly and changes our culture. I think the beginning of that answer starts with community.

A Villa is defined as: a small community; a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage. My hope is that this blog becomes a place where people gather to form a village- a community of friendship, a place of discipleship and mentoring from topics ranging from God, Music, Cultural Issues, Marriage & family, to maybe even food!

Welcome to my Villa. It's a place you are always wanted and accepted. I am so happy to have you be apart of my family and village. I LOVE YOU VILLAGERS! Xoxo