Writing my own worship music is hard! I've been caught in a rut, where I'll take ideas from other worship songs and weave them into mine, but it starts to change the message of my song.
So, to start out I want to explain that currently I am in the process of writing 2 original worship songs, one of them is a Christmas Worship Song that I want to reveal to you guys around Christmas song, the next is a song I've been working on for the number of weeks that has a tentative title "Whole." That's the song I want to talk to you guys about right now is the song Whole.
Already on this Blog I've explained the situation that I was put into by my now ex-girlfriend. Well shortly after that God started to really speak to me, and speak words of wisdom and teaching to me, that I can't even begin to explain. God started to teach me and revealed to me so much about who he is and his identity, that I started to feel whole again. One Piece.
Jesus at that point was the only person I needed in my life at that particular time. My motivation for what God was teaching me throughout what I was going through was my motivation to write this worship song straight from the heart. This song talks about the fullness, and how complete you should feel in God's presence alone. Sometimes you can be alone, but God is right there to protect who you are, and make you feel at peace, and whole again. In Colossians 2:10 it says "So you also are complete through your union in Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority."
There is nothing that should be holding that completeness that God holds. In him alone we are made stronger no matter what obstacle we may be facing. In the next upcoming weeks I really want to share with you guys this song and release it on YouTube, and start a YouTube channel dedicated to Worship music covers and original songs that I write. I will also upload them to this blog for you guys to check out!
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Monday, October 3, 2016
The Worship Pedal Board
Holy Moly. The Worship Pedal Board has come such a long way from when I first started it earlier this year. I'm honestly in total shock how blessed I am to have the materials I have to make joyful music to my Jesus. I started late last year in like November, starting to collect pedals to assemble a Pedal Board. The task was not easy. I was using a POD HD300, that just came with presets and stuff. The run would end with the POD however when for whatever reason during a worship rehearsal, it stopped working.
I was really scared, because I didn't want to use my pedal board that I had been building because I was scared that my tone wouldn't be as crisp as it was before. And honestly, since I was forced to use it, it sounded terrible at first. Some of the pedals I was using at the time however, just wouldn't do me justice. I wanted to find a way to make my tone....mine. I realized that what I have been given was an opportunity. An opportunity to make the most out of the supplies I had been given. I kept on upgrading the board to my liking. It was very difficult because no one had explained to me before what anything was. What is reverb, what is delay, what is overdrive. What are good pedals to look at for Worship leading. No one ever taught me what any of that stuff meant. So through YouTube tutorials and such, I learned and grew my knowledge of what a worship pedal board should be.
It was very interesting because not only was working on the pedal board, and upgrading all my gear expensive, but it felt like it took forever to get stuff. I had just recently gotten a Timeline Delay pedal, which I upgraded from my TimeSpace Echo Delay (I do not recommend that pedal for worship leaders). It was hard to get use to using new pedals, and such. I absolutely love leading worship and the board has helped me worship Jesus with all I've got.
I really have felt Jesus use me for the past 6 months when I was making the board. I want to give people the best worship experience ever, while also worshiping Jesus myself through what I've been given. It's amazing to see how God has blessed me and will continue to bless me as a guitarist for my church.
I was really scared, because I didn't want to use my pedal board that I had been building because I was scared that my tone wouldn't be as crisp as it was before. And honestly, since I was forced to use it, it sounded terrible at first. Some of the pedals I was using at the time however, just wouldn't do me justice. I wanted to find a way to make my tone....mine. I realized that what I have been given was an opportunity. An opportunity to make the most out of the supplies I had been given. I kept on upgrading the board to my liking. It was very difficult because no one had explained to me before what anything was. What is reverb, what is delay, what is overdrive. What are good pedals to look at for Worship leading. No one ever taught me what any of that stuff meant. So through YouTube tutorials and such, I learned and grew my knowledge of what a worship pedal board should be.
It was very interesting because not only was working on the pedal board, and upgrading all my gear expensive, but it felt like it took forever to get stuff. I had just recently gotten a Timeline Delay pedal, which I upgraded from my TimeSpace Echo Delay (I do not recommend that pedal for worship leaders). It was hard to get use to using new pedals, and such. I absolutely love leading worship and the board has helped me worship Jesus with all I've got.
I really have felt Jesus use me for the past 6 months when I was making the board. I want to give people the best worship experience ever, while also worshiping Jesus myself through what I've been given. It's amazing to see how God has blessed me and will continue to bless me as a guitarist for my church.
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Focus On Jesus
Life is messy. Throughout this summer, I went through arguable the toughest time in my life. Literally the day I got done with school, my girlfriend at the time was acting different, and wanted nothing to do with me anymore. I didn't even know what I did. I was hurt, and lonely. A couple days later me and her officially broke up and went our separate ways. After that, I was hurt and I didn't know where to run. I acted out of emotions that I shouldn't have at that time and started messing around with other girls.
I just thought if I could find that same happiness with someone else, that I'd be happy again and that everything would be back to normal, but it wasn't. I had a lot of people tell me that I rushed into a new relationship too soon and that I should really reconsider what I was doing. But I didn't. I didn't want to listen to anyone else but me because I felt like I knew what was best for my life. That is being happy is the most important. But however the thing with God is, he doesn't want you happy, he wants you Holy.
I had just realized I wasn't living a holy life for Jesus throughout that summer. I messed up in every sense of the word. I acted out of a lot of different emotions when my then girlfriend wanted out of this relationship and that was wrong. I was so caught up in what I was doing for Jesus, that none of this made any sense to me. "Well why can't I be in another relationship?" Was often a question I asked. Well it made me lose focus of who Jesus is and what he wants to do in my life. I came to a point where I needed to make a choice. Do I continue doing what I was doing and searching for love in all the wrong places in this world? Or look to Jesus at the love and fulfillment he can show me every single day?
I chose Jesus, but not because it was the right choice. I chose Jesus because ultimately I know that there is that special person waiting for me out there that I am going to love way more than any other girl I've loved before. In some of our weakest times, Jesus is the strongest and shows us stuff through the pain and the hurt we may be going through. It's pretty incredible because every single Worship service I've experienced since coming to that realization have been incredible. I recently went to a "Night of Worship" at my church, Celebrate, and I was in tears by what God has been showing me these last couple of months. At my church, we write our own songs, and one of the songs we have written is named Rescue.
I was singing that song with all the joy in my heart, when I started weeping at how God has changed me over the course of this last month. The lines in this song that resonated with me the most were these: "All my courage is fading, My soul feels so suffocated, Your love come pull me to safety again." Along with "I know you are reading and willing, You'll turn these ashes to healing, and now you're making me like you." These lyrics demonstrated how much pain I was going in, but God ultimately had a bigger picture looking in that he wanted to show me, to make me like him.
If you're in a similar place with your walk with Jesus, I highly encourage you to focus on Jesus. I remember when Peter walked out on water to Jesus in the middle of the storm. In all honesty, it could've been completely calm, but if Peter had kept on not being focused on Jesus, he still would've sank and drowned. So just focus on Jesus.
I just thought if I could find that same happiness with someone else, that I'd be happy again and that everything would be back to normal, but it wasn't. I had a lot of people tell me that I rushed into a new relationship too soon and that I should really reconsider what I was doing. But I didn't. I didn't want to listen to anyone else but me because I felt like I knew what was best for my life. That is being happy is the most important. But however the thing with God is, he doesn't want you happy, he wants you Holy.
I had just realized I wasn't living a holy life for Jesus throughout that summer. I messed up in every sense of the word. I acted out of a lot of different emotions when my then girlfriend wanted out of this relationship and that was wrong. I was so caught up in what I was doing for Jesus, that none of this made any sense to me. "Well why can't I be in another relationship?" Was often a question I asked. Well it made me lose focus of who Jesus is and what he wants to do in my life. I came to a point where I needed to make a choice. Do I continue doing what I was doing and searching for love in all the wrong places in this world? Or look to Jesus at the love and fulfillment he can show me every single day?
I chose Jesus, but not because it was the right choice. I chose Jesus because ultimately I know that there is that special person waiting for me out there that I am going to love way more than any other girl I've loved before. In some of our weakest times, Jesus is the strongest and shows us stuff through the pain and the hurt we may be going through. It's pretty incredible because every single Worship service I've experienced since coming to that realization have been incredible. I recently went to a "Night of Worship" at my church, Celebrate, and I was in tears by what God has been showing me these last couple of months. At my church, we write our own songs, and one of the songs we have written is named Rescue.
I was singing that song with all the joy in my heart, when I started weeping at how God has changed me over the course of this last month. The lines in this song that resonated with me the most were these: "All my courage is fading, My soul feels so suffocated, Your love come pull me to safety again." Along with "I know you are reading and willing, You'll turn these ashes to healing, and now you're making me like you." These lyrics demonstrated how much pain I was going in, but God ultimately had a bigger picture looking in that he wanted to show me, to make me like him.
If you're in a similar place with your walk with Jesus, I highly encourage you to focus on Jesus. I remember when Peter walked out on water to Jesus in the middle of the storm. In all honesty, it could've been completely calm, but if Peter had kept on not being focused on Jesus, he still would've sank and drowned. So just focus on Jesus.
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Highlight of NTS Camp
I got back from NTS Camp about a week ago and boy has my life dramatically changed since then.
It was then and there, through the preaching and the worship and everything of such that I fully devoted my life to Jesus. For most of my life its always been one foot in, one foot out. I would always think that God was ok with me sinning because he would forgive me just because I believed in him. That's not quite the case. Forgiveness is a hard thing. Your past can be a hard thing. I just feel like God placed me in the situations I was in at camp to be a light to shine to other people.
My past has been hard especially with people hurting me, judging me, and so on. I felt like they didn't need my forgiveness because they would just end up hurting me all over again. I feel like God was calling me then and there to just forgive those "friends" and to move on with my life. Why was I sooo focused on the past, when my past doesn't define my future, and boy does my future look brighter than ever.
Just a day after camp ended, I got a text from one of my best friends ever. We have been Best Friends since like 3rd grade! He shared with me some stuff that was going on in his life, and one of them was that he was BiSexual. This was a huge pill to swallow because he knows that I don't agree with that kind of stuff. He knows that I am a Christian, but he just had to get that off his chest. The fact that he never told me about that at all kind of worried me. It also kind of hurt me just because we were best friends and he should've told me.
I just felt like I needed to forgive him in that moment. I just said "Its Ok." As a sign of nonjugmental gestures. He didn't even know that I was hurt by it. Then he texted me back asking if we can still be friends, and of course I said, "Of Course." I decided right then and there that I would forgive him for all the hurt that he had caused me. I just remembered NTS camp, and forgave him just like that!
It honestly feels so good that I could've been a part of an experience like that and I wish that everybody would've gotten to be a part of this. It just makes me so happy seeing peoples lives turn to God in times of trouble. That's exactly what I saw at NTS. It was so unbelievable. Words can not describe it.
It was then and there, through the preaching and the worship and everything of such that I fully devoted my life to Jesus. For most of my life its always been one foot in, one foot out. I would always think that God was ok with me sinning because he would forgive me just because I believed in him. That's not quite the case. Forgiveness is a hard thing. Your past can be a hard thing. I just feel like God placed me in the situations I was in at camp to be a light to shine to other people.
My past has been hard especially with people hurting me, judging me, and so on. I felt like they didn't need my forgiveness because they would just end up hurting me all over again. I feel like God was calling me then and there to just forgive those "friends" and to move on with my life. Why was I sooo focused on the past, when my past doesn't define my future, and boy does my future look brighter than ever.
Just a day after camp ended, I got a text from one of my best friends ever. We have been Best Friends since like 3rd grade! He shared with me some stuff that was going on in his life, and one of them was that he was BiSexual. This was a huge pill to swallow because he knows that I don't agree with that kind of stuff. He knows that I am a Christian, but he just had to get that off his chest. The fact that he never told me about that at all kind of worried me. It also kind of hurt me just because we were best friends and he should've told me.
I just felt like I needed to forgive him in that moment. I just said "Its Ok." As a sign of nonjugmental gestures. He didn't even know that I was hurt by it. Then he texted me back asking if we can still be friends, and of course I said, "Of Course." I decided right then and there that I would forgive him for all the hurt that he had caused me. I just remembered NTS camp, and forgave him just like that!
It honestly feels so good that I could've been a part of an experience like that and I wish that everybody would've gotten to be a part of this. It just makes me so happy seeing peoples lives turn to God in times of trouble. That's exactly what I saw at NTS. It was so unbelievable. Words can not describe it.
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
The Bigger Sin
This week I've heard a lot of God references at work. Either people talking about going to church or just talking about Jesus in general. Some of the coworkers get offended though and talk about how that kind of stuff is fake.
I don't want to start a fight, so I just keep quiet about the whole situation, but I feel like God wants me to keep quiet about it. HE WANTS ME TO SHOW THEM. That's one way you can be a witness for God and thats by showing through your actions why you believe what you believe, so people turn to you and say "I want what that person has." I've had several people who come into Culvers' and will recognize me from my church. Like in the past month every day I've worked, I've had someone who had recognized me from Church. That's a way to not only be quiet about it and not force Christianity (Which I actually hate the phrases Christianity and Religion but I'll get to that for a later blog) in other peoples lives.
There are just so many people that need Jesus in our world. Jesus can turn all of my co-workers lives around if I go out to the unknown and show them why Jesus is the better choice then drugs, sex, alcohol, or Pornography.
That's something that you can do with people from your school, work, or even church. Show them why Jesus is the better choice. It's easy for us to judge them based on their sin, but if we are not acting on it as an opportunity to witness and show them what Jesus can do, then we are commiting the bigger sin.
I don't want to start a fight, so I just keep quiet about the whole situation, but I feel like God wants me to keep quiet about it. HE WANTS ME TO SHOW THEM. That's one way you can be a witness for God and thats by showing through your actions why you believe what you believe, so people turn to you and say "I want what that person has." I've had several people who come into Culvers' and will recognize me from my church. Like in the past month every day I've worked, I've had someone who had recognized me from Church. That's a way to not only be quiet about it and not force Christianity (Which I actually hate the phrases Christianity and Religion but I'll get to that for a later blog) in other peoples lives.
There are just so many people that need Jesus in our world. Jesus can turn all of my co-workers lives around if I go out to the unknown and show them why Jesus is the better choice then drugs, sex, alcohol, or Pornography.
That's something that you can do with people from your school, work, or even church. Show them why Jesus is the better choice. It's easy for us to judge them based on their sin, but if we are not acting on it as an opportunity to witness and show them what Jesus can do, then we are commiting the bigger sin.
Friday, June 19, 2015
Testing of Faith
Man, these last couple of weeks have been really tough. I have been tested to the very limit by God. It is so weird that God would be testing my faith at the age of 15, but he is and he is doing some incredible things through me because of it.
My Worship Pastor for our Youth Group had talked to me and a few other of the guys about reading the book of James, and I did. I was kind of confused when I started reading it because honestly I was not going through any hard trials or temptations at that point. However looking back on when I read it, it was good that I was reading it then, compared to admist the trials.
The reason being is that I could refer to James over and over and love that book over again. One verse that I have been looking over for a while is James 1:2-3 which says, "Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith creates perseverance." This was the first verse(s) that I went back to within these last couple of weeks.
I just very lately haven't felt like myself. I have spent a lot of time at work, and at my church. Sometimes I even work a 11-2 (which might not seem long, but I work at a fast food restaurant where you need to be on your feet and moving constantly and its tiresome) and then head home to pack up my guitar and then go straight to church. At one point I was even thinking about quiting my job so I wouldn't be so stressed out.
However something that I have realized is sometimes God calls us out to just focus on him. When I think of focusing on God, all I can think is Peter walking out on the water to Jesus. Sometimes we like to focus on the "storm" in our life instead of on Jesus. The truth is when Peter walked out onto the water it could've been perfectly beautiful out, but the truth is if Peter didn't focus on Jesus, he would've still sunk.
That is kind of like life. No matter if we have a storm going on in our life, or if it is perfectly fine we still need to focus on Jesus. Jesus, yes tests our faith, but it will only prove perseverance for the future and it will be worth it in the end. God knows what he is up to, and it is really cool to see God's plan unfold right in front of me!
My Worship Pastor for our Youth Group had talked to me and a few other of the guys about reading the book of James, and I did. I was kind of confused when I started reading it because honestly I was not going through any hard trials or temptations at that point. However looking back on when I read it, it was good that I was reading it then, compared to admist the trials.
The reason being is that I could refer to James over and over and love that book over again. One verse that I have been looking over for a while is James 1:2-3 which says, "Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith creates perseverance." This was the first verse(s) that I went back to within these last couple of weeks.
I just very lately haven't felt like myself. I have spent a lot of time at work, and at my church. Sometimes I even work a 11-2 (which might not seem long, but I work at a fast food restaurant where you need to be on your feet and moving constantly and its tiresome) and then head home to pack up my guitar and then go straight to church. At one point I was even thinking about quiting my job so I wouldn't be so stressed out.
However something that I have realized is sometimes God calls us out to just focus on him. When I think of focusing on God, all I can think is Peter walking out on the water to Jesus. Sometimes we like to focus on the "storm" in our life instead of on Jesus. The truth is when Peter walked out onto the water it could've been perfectly beautiful out, but the truth is if Peter didn't focus on Jesus, he would've still sunk.
That is kind of like life. No matter if we have a storm going on in our life, or if it is perfectly fine we still need to focus on Jesus. Jesus, yes tests our faith, but it will only prove perseverance for the future and it will be worth it in the end. God knows what he is up to, and it is really cool to see God's plan unfold right in front of me!
Summer NTS Camp
In around a week I'll be packing for a Summer Camp I am going to called NTS (Never The Same Camp). I am personally really excited to go next week. We will be down in dordt college from Sunday till Thursday. It's really going to be a huge privilege for me to go. I went to a summer camp last year called "Mest Up" and it was a lot of fun going and getting to meet new people, people that I am still close to, to this day.
I think it will be very fun and I am personally really excited to go. To get away from the wordly things especially and just put all my focus on Jesus. The only downside is having to go to Church practice literally right when I get home, not even knowing/preparing for what songs we might be playing. However I still think it'll be a lot of fun and I will try to keep you guys updated with what is going on at NTS. When I get back that Thursday, I'll post a blog detailing everything that happened at NTS and what I took away from it. It'll be a lot of fun!
I think it will be very fun and I am personally really excited to go. To get away from the wordly things especially and just put all my focus on Jesus. The only downside is having to go to Church practice literally right when I get home, not even knowing/preparing for what songs we might be playing. However I still think it'll be a lot of fun and I will try to keep you guys updated with what is going on at NTS. When I get back that Thursday, I'll post a blog detailing everything that happened at NTS and what I took away from it. It'll be a lot of fun!
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