Hillsong Creative 01

Hey guys, I was just going through worship material in the past week, and thought that I should probably tell the rest of you guys about this (Peter already knows about it). Maybe you guys know about it too, but hey, it's good to be informed!

'droff knows best.

Hillsong recently released a workshop DVD covering several of their songs, and putting them in a workshop situation. I still haven't gotten through the entire DVD; there's about four hours of content to go through. But what I found great about the effort was how in depth it goes, visually and orally. For each of the songs, you can choose to have a panning view of all of the instruments, or keep the camera on your instrument of choice, whether that be drums, bass, guitar or keyboards. From here, the band talks about the specific arrangement and helps you think, "how can I adapt this song to my particular environment?", which is a very important part of what we do in a worship situation. I definitely recommend that you guys check it out. It provides great insight on how you might want to approach playing for worship, and hey, it's Hillsong :P. Either order it, or try to find it on the net (it's huge though, 7.57GB... so high speed's in order), but it's something beneficial that I think could definitely be worth all of our time.

Song Of The Week - September 25

Hey everyone, I hope that you all had a good week. My stay here at Mt. A is becoming much more enjoyable now, praise God! I have gotten to know my roommate quite a bit more recently, and I'm thankful for that. It seems that the walls of uncertainty are crumbling bit by bit, as time goes on. And, I'm getting a little excited too... I have my first worship practice with the MACF group and some other willing musicians on campus this coming week. It'll be a different experience for sure, but I'm optimistic to see what God will do with that. As a result, this week's SOTW reflects that excitement for worship.

Beautiful - Apex Praise Band, Live

"Soon we will be coming home/You're beautiful"

I have kept this song close to my heart for weeks, treasuring the song's message and the way that it sounds. This worship is raw, and I expect Peter to complain about the tone and mixing if he listens to it :P, but that isn't the point of the song, at least not for me. I believe that raw worship is an absolutely beautiful thing when it's sincere, regardless of how nice it sounds to the hear. Now I don't mean that it is an excuse for singing in one key and playing in another, but there are some things that are just more complete when left in its raw form, and the pouring out of hearts to the Spirit is one of these. I think it is the main reason I can listen to Shekinah over and over again. If you take time to listen to any of the tracks, it is clear that they are not perfect. But in their purpose, the flaws are made inconsequential in the big picture. Such is the case with the Apex Praise Band's version of Beautiful.

I am just drawn in by the whole atmosphere created by the song. I don't really feel as if I need to go in depth with the lyrics; the content is fairly clear with worship music. However, I don't find it any less moving to speak assuring truths about God clearly, especially when it is backed up by what I see frankly as an exceptional arrangement. Each instrument plays their part well, creating a beautiful whole. Oh my life... I do not know what I would do without worship music. It is so much a part of who I am, and fills me with the kind of emotion and intensity of feeling as nothing else can. I hope that Beautiful can also be one of those songs that stirs your heart this week. Goodnight, my friends.

Beautiful - http://www.mediafire.com/?t03z2iyzt5z

My Mountie Life: An Unexpected Visit

A lovely Tuesday morning to you all! Right now, I'm thanking God for no labs until 1 :P, I like to be lazy in the morning haha. I told you guys that I'd try to keep you posted on my spiritual life here, and I don't exactly think I've started yet... fail. But there's always time to do that, and this time starts now.

"An Unexpected Visit"... As most of you know (because I was too excited to keep it to myself), I ended up getting to meet David Klob again last Thursday. Not only was this a great surprise by normal means, it was an amazing boost for me spiritually. I had just emailed him that morning asking about DVDs and thanking him again for Exalt, and usually I'd expect a reply in the next few days. He emailed back not more than 20 minutes later, asking me what I was doing there, and finally telling me he gets voice lessons at Mt. A, and was coming that night.

This = :D x Infinity.

We ended up going to Wendy's, and talked for quite some time. I think it led to me telling him a great majority of what I have already told you guys, with the whole situation about the drinking and the partying, and my stand on it. What lightened my burden so much that night was that he affirmed me for it. I had gone through resisting that lifestyle (not really resisting... drinking is a non-issue for me at this point in my life) for that week, and especially with the Homecoming events that took place this past weekend, it felt like a relief that someone accepted my choices with happiness, instead of tolerance. The best part of the night though was being able to sit and have a conversation with one of the people that has single-handedly changed my life. I remember back in 2007, when Pastor Dave came with the Bethany group, and invited all the high school students to stay for pizza. He asked us what we wanted to do. I even remember some of the responses (Simon, you said you were thinking about being a pilot)! And then he asked me, and I told him "Music"... and not nine months later, my journey began. In life, a lot of unexpected things can happen, good and bad. This visit however, was one of the best things to ever happen to me. Mountie life deserves to be exciting too ;).

Song Of The Week - September 18

Hello... I honestly have been thinking about this moment for the past few days, and came to it with both anticipation and apprehension. It has been a really, really long time since I have written an SOTW, for several reasons this past summer. But I have really felt strongly that I should at least try it once more, and give it another shot. So bear with me guys, my writing may be a little rough... It's time to welcome back the Song Of The Week!


Missing (Why Didn't I Tell You) - Joel & Luke, A Tale Of Two Towns

"My love for you remained/So why was I afraid?"

In the time since the last SOTW I wrote, I'd like to think that I have come across some fairly decent music :P. There have been many subtle changes to my listening preferences since then, although I don't know if this song will show you just how much it has. I picked it for the same reason that I picked all the other ones though: It's good.

Joel & Luke are a duo of brothers from Australia that I find about a week ago. But they're not just any brothers; their family already has ties with the Christian music world. Does the name Rebecca St. James ring any bells to you? No matter what you think of her, I have to admit, the entire family has talent, and her brothers are no exception. Missing starts with the silent minor tones, abruptly grabbing you by the collar and taking you on an amazing symphonic rise. The instrumentation is truly haunting and explosive, lending itself perfectly to the lyrical content in the piece.

I think that this song is a representation of something that happens in our life all too often. The people that we meet and share our existences with can have a deep effect on our lives, whether or not we'd like to admit it. The problem is, we usually don't, and we end up with a host of missed opportunities and in the worst case scenario, serious regrets. I'm guilty of not exactly knowing what I've got until it is suddenly absent, missing from my life. Our experiences with God, and each other, can be the same way. If there's anything I've learned from being away, it's not to take anything for granted. Not the people you spend your time with, and certainly not the God who watches over you. Our moments are precious, so make sure that if you have something to say, say it... because the day will come when you'll lose that opportunity. Life happens so fast, and it's gone before we even accepted the fact that it was even there, so make sure to catch it before it goes by. We do only live once.

Missing - http://www.mediafire.com/?ityzwjrytz5

Pre-Cursor: My Mountie Life

My sickness has nearly left me, so thank God for that haha! I honestly only got about two and a half hours of sleep two nights ago, but we're good now. During my time in between classes, I was thinking of a way to share my experiences with you guys, and what God's doing for me, even here. So I guess you could call this a pre-cursor to a new section/group of blog posts, entitled "My Mountie Life". It should be interesting, as it's important to remember that God's still helping me through everything that goes on in my life. So yeah, keep in touch! I've actually got quite a bit to write tonight :P.

A formal welcome to Château Bennett.

Sick

For the past few days, I've been battling quite the head cold/flu (swine flu, anyone :P?), and have resorted to bed rest and lots of water. I honestly don't think I've drank so much water in so short a time in my life! But apart from that, I think most things are going well here, considering. I've been here for nine days... and it's quite the culture shock. The people in my dorm are actually pretty awesome and fun (we had a garden party yesterday lol), but I'm finding it a struggle to be consistently the only one who hasn't had a drop of alcohol since we got here. And everyone seems to be dying to know why, including Kevin. So I have a few questions on my mind, which I shall also write here:

- How do I connect with people on a level that is not blurred by intoxication?
- How do I show my dorm mates where my line is (assuming they don't know already)?
- I want to show my spirituality, my love for God here, but how can I do that without people being turned off by old stereotypes and views of Christianity?
- I still haven't found anyone here who shares my values/interests on a deeper level. Where are they?
- Will I ever get to a church (Moncton)? I miss fellowship.
- Will I ever be able to use the gifts God gave me here at Mt. A? I feel like a retired veteran reliving the glory days.

As I write from my bed, sniffing every few seconds, I wonder if I will get these questions answered as time goes on... because there is quite some time to go yet.

Bennett House, Mount Allison University

Hey everyone, I hope you guys are ready to start youth back up again :). It pains me to know I'll be missing it, but make it the best out of it that you possibly can. I want to know when you guys start youth band up again!

Since I realized that none of you will be here for a while (or at all), I decided that I would give you a little pictoral view of my dorm. So without further ado, here is:

Bennett House, Room 113

Beautifully adorned doors :P

Bennett House is really a toss up for me. It's not as nice as some of the other houses on campus, and as I have already told some of you, it is the "party dorm" on campus, something that does not sit well with me. But thank God for awesome roommates haha! Kevin is honestly one of the nicest people I have ever met. Moving here has been stressful, but it's not that bad when quiet hours come into effect.

Beautifully adorned space... disregard photo taker.

I'm getting more into the swing of things, and hopefully stuff will become more normal as my classes start. At the moment, this is my new living space/crib/hood. It's a fairly nice place to be, I'd say.

Lovely corner, eh :P?

In Sackville, there are some stores that you just have to go to, even if you don't want to. See that bag? That's from Jean-Coutu, and if you ever live here, I promise that store will be seeing a lot of you. I've walked down there about 5 times in the past week. They've got pretty much all the supplies for a Mount A student.

The other corner... it's alright :D

Kevin, as I said before is one awesome roommate. He does drink... so don't look in our fridge too often, but he's one of the few guys who I've seen that can do it responsibly. As well, he doesn't force that kind of lifestyle on me, which is a blessing in itself. I already have a lot to thank him for, because I wouldn't feel as comfortable here right now if it wasn't for him. So if you ever meet him, give him some respect. He deserves it.

Ok, I think that's about it from Room 113... oh wait! One more thing:

I'm still slappin' deh bass from time to time, so don't you guys be giving up on me! I want worship to be as great as it used to be, even if that means in a different way. You guys made me want to worship, so make sure you let yourselves be that same thing for the next generation. Have a good one everybody, I'm thinking about and missing you guys.

A Blogger's Farewell... For Now

Hey guys, I just wanted to say thanks to all of you guys for taking me to Jack and Andy's last night. It was well appreciated. I must say, this feels like my first year of Exalt all over again, except that I'm two hours away instead of one hour ;). It has truly been a trip with you guys over the past two years, and even though we will see each other again, it'll be a different relationship. I'm now a First Youth Band Alumni :P, and I'll make sure I wear that with pride. I just wanted to leave a couple words with you guys, as you start up worship this next year:

1. Don't forget who you're playing for. He deserves your best, and I know you guys can give it. I've seen you guys do it before.

2. Learn your songs! It's important to know what you're playing, but don't try and learn it all at once. Pick out your parts and learn them bit by bit.

3. Listen to the songs :P, maybe even to the point that you get sick of them. Remember that you will almost always get sick of a song before your audience does (but it doesn't mean that you play All Day for them every other week!)

4. Stay strong with each other. A group's unity and focus has quite an effect on the influence they are able to make in other peoples' lives. Be real with each other, and the times that you share with one another will be that much more powerful.

5. Pray. As I'm sure Matt can tell you, Youth Ministry is a hard path sometimes, and it may take more from you than you're willing to give. Pray for strength and guidance, and just as important, pray for the people you have a chance to minister to, as well as each other

6. Have fun. I may not always be the best example of this ;), but make sure that you enjoy yourself when you're doing the work that you do. Remember that this doesn't have to be a chore, you can still have fun with it, which you guys do, of course.

That's about it. I'm packed up and ready to leave. So... farewell guys. I wish you the best of luck this year. Rock out with your best for me! I'll see you guys soon.