Well, we've made it to the end of April and the deadline is getting closer.  There is still so much to do in order to stay on schedule.... please pray!  We've had to make some changes to the song lineup as well as arrangements to some others.  We just feel like things weren't going like they should and we are trying to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  I mean, there are songs that I would like to put on the project but if GOD has another plan that would have a different song, then that is the obvious choice!

There are a few surprises we are working on to include on the CD and we think that you will be excited.  We do have one demo song, "O Church o God,"  that we are beginning to share with folks to give them an idea of what we are trying to do with the project.  So far we have gotten good reviews by those who have heard it.

What a ride this has been recording!  We get to a point where we think we really like where we are going with a song... the feel, sound, and style of it... and then turns out we end up redoing it!  That was exactly the case this past weekend with the song, "O Church of God."

We had started with some of the basic tracks a week before and though we like the direction of the song, when it was put all together it just didn't "work."  That, and we had some difficult with some of the tracks getting corrupted.  So we decided to make that the major piece to work on this past weekend.  Upon finishing this weekend's work, it was obvious that God had a different plan for the song!  We've ended up blending much of what we have been doing with this project on this one song.  It is heavy in parts and light in others.  There are a variety of instruments: strings, electric and acoustic guitars, bass, military snare, and more.  We are really excited about this one!

Like so many of our holder hymns, the words to this song really tell a message that is relevant today, from the first verse all the way through the end. 

The church of God one body is
  One Spirit dwells within
And all her members are redeemed
  And triumph over sin.

Divinely built, divinely ruled,
  To God she doth submit
His will her love, His truth her guide,
  Her path is glory-lit

God sets her members each in place,
  According to His will
Apostles, prophets, teachers, all,
  His purpose to fulfill

Salvation is her holy walls
  The cross her sign of pow’r
Her captain is the mighty God
  Who guards her every hour

In beauty stands, the church of God
  With righteousness arrayed
Put on thy strength and face thy foes
  With courage undismayed

Refrain:
O church of God! I love thy courts
  Thou mother of the free;
Thou blessed home of all the saved
  I dwell content in thee

We still are asking that you pray about our drum situation.  There is a glimmer of hope that the situation will be taken care of but we need your prayers.  All we need is a glimmer to go on... with God all things are possible!

March is winding down and we are entering into the final portion of the project!  We have actually met three times since the last post yet there is still so much to do.

Last weekend we worked on laying down some tracks for "O Church of God," one of the "standards" of the church.  LOVE the way this song is turning out too. We're giving it a sort of celtic flavor to this classic anthem and looking forward to sharing it. 

Last night we added some fine tuning to a couple of songs we laid down the basic tracks for earlier: "A Child of God" and "There Is Joy In the Service."

We are asking for your continued prayer for a few items.  Please pray for the following:
- Our drum situation.  Please pray that the Lord makes a way available for us to get the equipment we need.
- Timing. We still have quite a bit to do to finish up everything; the deadline gets closer as each day goes by.  Pray that we are able to finish and nothing hinders the completion of the project.
- Humbleness.  Pray that God is glorified through this project and not the musicians and others involved.  Apart from Christ we are nothing... help us to keep that at the forefront of our minds as we work on this project.  As always... he must increase!

The latest recording session found us working on an old song with a somewhat new twist.

All the songs on the project are faithful to the original music.  In other words, the melody, tune, etc. are basically the same as the original though the style or instrumentation may be different.  Saturday night we recorded an old song called "Are You Faithful?" that features lyrics by Charles Naylor and the music... well this is where the twist comes in.  This is the one song on the project that has a different tune than the original.  

Naylor wrote the lyrics in 1918 but they are so appropriate for today that we wanted to find a way to get them on this project.  To get an idea, here are the words to the second verse:
   Look in the Bible, brother,
       Then at the way you live:
   Can the Lord as He views youHis full approval give?

The song features mostly acoustic guitar and piano and has a real "earthy" sort of feel to it.  Looking forward to getting it out so others can hear it as well!  The current goal is to have everything done by the end of May/early June time frame so we can have everything ready for Campmeeting.  

If you haven't already committed to pray for the project would you consider it?  We feel that the Lord is really moving throughout this project and that there is more on the horizon than we can see.  If you would like to commit to pray, just fill in the info on the "contact us" tab.  We'll send you some specific requests as they come up!  

In HIS service!

Weeknight recording… trying to get as much done as you can in a short span of time!  Something about work the next day and an alarm clock in the early hours inspires the sense of urgency!  

Nevertheless, the session went pretty well.

We laid down some guitar, bass, and mandolin tracks for a song that will feature some new voices to the project… all I can say is that it will be a surprise!  The song is “A Living Sacrifice” and it has a slightly different sound than some of the others we have recorded so far.  We are really excited about how this track is turning out.  

One thing about this project is sure: Not only has God opened doors for us that we thought were closed he has also unlocked some doors that we didn’t even know existed!  Last night, I heard just a few minutes worth of a sermon given by Harold Boyer that was recorded in 1959!  I also heard a short clip of Maiden Lane Church of God singing the old hymns.  It was an old reel-to-reel recording and the quality was top notch… so exciting to hear familiar voices reach out of yesterday to the present.  What memories that ran through my mind!

That is similar to the idea behind this project.  Voices reaching from yesterday, across the many years to our present day, with words and music that glorify God and create new memories themselves!

We do have a request: please pray for our situation with the drums.  We had a plan that we thought would work out and allow us to record the drum tracks but it looks as if that has fallen through.  Pray that the door will open yet another door for us again!

And here we go...  what is the biggest obstacle to getting this project done?  The calendar... time!  We have two songs that we are currently getting tracks together for and plans for yet another one.  

Plans have been made... 

Everything is in place... 

And then someone gets sick. We had to move our recording session scheduled for this past Saturday to Thursday evening!  Even with this minor setback things still seem to be moving right along.  Our goal date for completion has not changed

Well, it has been a LONG time since the last update.  Holidays, work schedules, an unexpected death in the family and another bout with kidney stones have all had their impact.  Having said that much has been happening with the project. 

We now have 8 songs that are either finished or close to being finished.  These are: Hear Them Calling, The Church's Jubilee, What a Mighty God We Serve, A Child of God, Once Again We Come, The Old Campgrounds, Come Closer to Me, Child of God, There is Joy in the Service of the Master.  We still have a few more to work on to complete the project.  Final song count for the CD will be around 15 to 17 songs.  We hope to have everything finished up around the end of May.

I've been encouraged by the support we are receiving from many people regarding hwat we are doing.  The Lord has opened many doors and things just "seem to fall in place."  One of the most encouraging moments was just the other day.

As we were driving in our van the other day I had my phone plugged into our stereo system to listen to some of unmixed songs we had worked on so far.  From the back seat comes the voice of my 6 year old, "Praise the Lord my heart, with his love is beaminng.  I am a child of God!"  

That, in part, is what it is all about.

Its an early Sunday morning... more like a late Saturday night... why am I up? Because it was just a little over an hour ago that we just finished the latest recording session.
  
Tonight bass tracks were laid down for "Hear Them Calling" and "What A Mighty God We Serve" as well as recording a scratch track of "Are You Adorning the Doctrine."
  
We also re-recorded the guitar tracks for "The Church's Jubilee" since the first attempt using a Fender Dobro just didn't sound quite right; tonight we used the Martin Goya to record with and it has a much nicer "fatter' sound.  We also laid down the bass track for this one as well; now its just adding the instrumentation, keyboards, vocal effects... yeah right, "just" adding...  

As  of now, things are moving along quite nicely; still lots to do but we've managed to get quite a bit done already.  The longer we work on this project, the more exciting it gets.  More to come later!

Each of the songs on the project has a specific reason it was written.  Some of these have stories that have been recorded while others the stories have been lost.  The song "Who Will Suffer With the Savior" is one that was written amid persecution.  In the book, "Birth of a Reformation" by A.L. Byers, the following story is related: 

The song “Who Will Suffer with the Savior?” had its origin while the company were in the South in the winter of 1890-91. It was written at the time a mob assaulted the house in which Brother Warner was preaching and a sharp, flying missile struck him on the side of the face, causing it to bleed.

D.S. Warner (pictured on the left) penned the words and Barney Warren set them to music.  The song carries even more meaning when the full story is known.



Who will suffer with the Savior? 
Take the little that remains 
Of the cup of tribulation 
Jesus drank in dying pains?

Who will offer soul and body 
On the altar of our God? 
Leaving self and worldly mammon, 
Take the path that Jesus trod?

Who will suffer for the gospel, 
Follow Christ without the gate? 
Take the martyrs for example, 
With them glory at the stake?

Oh, for consecrated service 
’Mid the din of Babel strife; 
Who will dare the truth to herald 
At the peril of his life?

Soon the conflict will be over, 
Crowns await the firm and pure; 
Forward, brethren, work and suffer, 
Faithful to the end endure.

Chorus:
Lord, we fellowship Thy passion, 
Gladly suffer shame and loss; 
With Thy blessing pain is pleasure, 
We will glory in Thy cross.

15 October 2010

Songs, hymns, spiritual melodies... so many to choose from!  The hardest part is where to start looking?  One thing that the early pioneers of the church of God reformation took took to heart was putting the message of the gospel to music.  Often, as they rode into a new town, one of the ways they would "advertise" that a series of services was to be held was by singing!  Quite different than how we "advertise" our services today!

The message of the movement was put to melodies characterized as having "close harmony" (which some folks at the time thought was too "worldly" or "sinful"). Those melodies mixed with the message make for a gold mine of songs to choose from.  We have selected some of the well known standards as well as a couple that aren't know well at all but carry a message that is timeless.

By now you are probably asking, "C'mon already! Which songs are you working on?"  Glad you asked!  Here is our list: 

The Church's Jubilee
I Know
A Living Sacrifice
O Church of God
I Cannot Be Idle
The Old Campgrounds
There Is Joy in the Lord
Once Again We Come
There Is Joy in the Serivce
Consecration 
Hear Them Calling
What a Mighty God We Serve
I Will Praise Him Hallelujah
A Child of God
Who Will Suffer With the Savior?
Let Me See Jesus Only
Are You Adorning the Doctrine?
One other undecided song but its between 3 or so songs

So this is where we are at at the moment.  Maybe one of your favorites is on here... maybe you don't even know any of them... maybe you wish there was another one (or two) that was on here but it isn't... but this is the current list.  Pray that the work goes well!