The gospel according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, George, and Ringo

We are using Granger's phenomenal December series: "Let it Be Christmas" this year. I am PUMPED about the music. Christmas music is always fun, but add in tons of great Beatles hits to that and an eager and talented team of volunteers, and watch out--it's going to be cool.

Here are some faves, you might look forward to. Also, I would HIGHLY recommend many of the Christmas albums these carol arrangements are from...

Feliz Navidad--David Crowder Band
Can't Buy Me Love--The Beatles
Rise--Robbie Seay Band

Hark the Herald Angels Sing--Rebecca St. James
Because--The Beatles (Across the Universe Soundtrack)
Nothing's Gonna Change My World (Across the Universe Soundtrack)
Eleanor Rigby--The Beatles
Sweet Little Jesus Boy--Casting Crowns

Joy to the World--Casting Crowns
O Come All Ye Faithful--Starfield
You Say You Wanna Revolution--The Beatles
Bethlehem Calls--NewSong

I am the Walrus--The Beatles (Jim Carrey version)
Yesterday--The Beatles

Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24 Transiberian Orchestra
Don't Let Me Down--The Beatles (Across the Universe Version)
Blackbird--The Beatles
In the Bleak Midwinter
Hey Jude--The Beatles
Help!--The Beatles
Beautiful Boy--John Lennon w/ Away in A Manger
O Holy Night
Come Together/Joy to the World
Let it Be--The Beatles (Across the Universe Version)
Silent Night--Casting Crowns

Let it Be Christmas

We will feature this Transiberian Orchestra version of Carol of the Bells this Christmas. We are hoping to purchase this background video to rock out with.



Trans Siberian in Service from Pace Hartfield on Vimeo.



To view the rest of the Granger Series or watch their Christmas Eve service. Go to:
http://www.gccwired.org/

In their media player, search:
Christmas Eve (2007)
Let it Be (then select either the song you want to see, or watch the whole day's service from Granger)

musical prodigies

check these out. these kids were pretty incredible.

3 year old drumming prodigy


piano prodigy

I Won't Grow Up

http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=4572982&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=listen

tribute to mothers...

Music and Movies

Well, this is always one of my favorite series' to program. It's great to be able to use the movie soundtrack as inspiration.

Here's what's coming up for the movie series:

Bucket List:
Learn to Fly--Foo Fighters
Say--John Mayer
Live Like You Were Dying--Tim McGraw

Reign Over me:
Love, Reign O'er Me--Pearl Jam
Shipwreck--Jars of Clay
Somewhere I Belong--Linkin Park

Luther:
Hallowed--Jennifer Knapp
A Mighty Fortress is Our God--Chris Rice
Only Grace--Matthew West

Into the Wild:
Hard Sun--Eddie Vedder
Guaranteed--Eddie Vedder
When Love Takes You In--Mike Weaver

Martian Child:
I Won't Grow Up--Sloppy Seconds
Satellite--Guster
Nothing You Could Do--Greg Ferguson

don't forget the lyrics...

bad time to forget words...i don't post this to be mean--it happens. It is performances like this that can get in your head. I've had that happen and the next time singing is tough.:)

please rehearse this for the next band meeting

i saw this on youtube and knew this was our next band meeting project. everyone please pick a part to learn, and we'll meet at zona rosa to pull this off.:)

(okay, lest you take me seriously--i am kidding, but check this out!)

home runs vs. b-services

so what makes something a home run programmatically on sunday?

i feel like though things went well on 3-9 (and a young girl came to Christ through the service!!!), i would have given the overall programming a B. this is not to say that the execution of the service went badly--i thought everyone did great, but it wasn't our punchiest, most awesome service, in my opinion.

fast forward one week to 3-16, and i felt it was a homerun. a lot of heart, lots of great elements, and everything seems to point towards the message...

i'm listing some elements i thought were a homerun--feel free to add yours. i'm sure i have missed many.


creation calls with nature video
everything skit with lifehouse song
deliver me--david crowder with video back up of psalms
bridge/cross media piece
Grace Like Rain big finish ending
Carried to the Table

what else?

derek webb

thoughts on the concert? what were your reactions to derek?

pretty cool to have him come and perform at the creek. i believe you can watch the concert at meaningfulchurch.com

march 2008 music

Here's the music for March (not including the last week--I'll put that in with the upcoming movie series!)

march 2, 2008
Spirit in the Sky--Norman Greenbaum
They Will Know We Are Christians--Jars of Clay
Awakening--Sara Groves

march 9, 2008
Disarray--Lifehouse
Word of God Speak--MercyMe

march 16, 2008
Belief--John Mayer
Help Me Believe--Nichole Nordeman
Creation Calls--Brian Doerkeson

march 23, 2008--EASTER
Home--Marc Broussard
Home--Daughtry
Homeward Bound--Simon and Garfunkel
Sweet Home Alabama--Lynrd Skynrd
Waiting for You--Ben Harper
Come Home Running--Chris Tomlin

When Your Mind's Made Up

This is a song we'll be doing on the 24th...

Listen to this from God's perspective--INCREDIBLE pursuit of us. But, when our mind's made up...there's no point trying to change it.

This is their performance in the movie "Once." If you haven't seen it, by the way--awesome snapshot of the lives of 2 musicians and the creation of their music.

february 2008 music and assignments

FEBRUARY 3--HURRIED
band leader: nicholas
rehearsal: feb 2 @ 8:30

where are we running?--lenny kravitz
lead: david
bgv: eric, rachel
electric: richard
electric: colin
bass: nicholas
drums: kaleb

running out of days--3 doors down
lead: david
bgv: rachel
electric: richard
electric: colin
bass: nicholas
drums: kaleb

none but Jesus--hillsong
lead: rachel
bgv: david
keys: david!
acoustic: colin
electric: richard
bass: nicholas
drums: kaleb

FEBRUARY 6--NEW COMMUNITY
vocals: tony, rachel, sara
keys: rachel
acoustic: tony
electric: colin
bass: jason
drums: kaleb

FEBRUARY 10--CONSUMED
band leader: ross
rehearsal sat, feb 9 @ 8:30

rich girl--gwen stefani
lead: sara (low harmony), christina (melody), rachel (high harmony)
electric: ross
strings: jamie
keys: maria
bass: jason
drums: kaleb

ka-ching--shania twain
sound effects: media team
lead: christina
bgv: eric (low guy part), sara (main harmony), rachel (ka-chings)
strings: rachel
violin: jamie
electric: ross
bass: jason
drums: kaleb

i repent--derek webb
lead: eric
keys: rachel
violin: jamie
acoustic: ross
bass: jason
drums: kaleb

FEBRUARY 17--FATIGUED
band leader: jamie
rehearsal sat, feb 16 @ 8:30

boy on a string--jars of clay
lead: david
bgv: sara
acoustic: ross
violin: jamie
keys: rachel
bass: john
drums: tom

hiding place--sara groves
lead: sara
bgv: david
keys/strings: rachel
violin: jamie

FEBRUARY 24--UNLOVED
band leader: rachel
rehearsal sat, feb 23
8:30 arrive, 8:45 sound check
9:00 When Your Mind’s Made Up
9:45 Love Like This
10:45 This Kind of Love

love like this—natasha bedingfield w/ sean kingston
lead: christina
bgv: sara (harmony), dawn (melody), rachel (high harmony)
sean kingston part: david
keys: rachel
bass: jason
drums: kaleb

lookin’ for love –johnny lee (chorus only)
lead: ross
acoustic: ross

i want to know what love is--foreigner (chorus only)
lead: colin
acoustic: colin

when your mind’s made up—glen hansard and marketa irglova
vocals: david and sara
acoustic: richard
keys: rachel
bass: jason
drums: kaleb
*this song is from a GREAT movie—“Once”. The video of them playing this is on another post on this blog.

this kind of love—sister hazel
lead: david
keys/organ: rachel
shaker: kaleb

excellence vs. perfectionism

the band leaders are reading heart of the artist and the next chapter up for discussion is entitled excellence vs. perfectionism. excellence is what our team strives for, but finding the balance between laziness, excellence, and perfectionism is hard.

excellence: doing the best we can with what we have. this doesn't mean we have to nail every performance, or that there can't be mess ups. but it means we come well prepared, and perform the the best of our abilities. it means not only preparing before performance, concentrating during performance, and EVALUATING after performance. if no evaluation takes place, we are not interested in excellence. we are not interested in improving.

laziness: doing just enough to get by like and not pushing ourselves to grow.
i think a lot of musicians follow into this trap. if i'm in the band every sunday, i sometimes slip into this. i can nail that harmony, even though i didn't practice it that much. i think this affects musicians of all levels, but can often be a particular disease for the more talented or skilled musicians--thinking they can get by, because maybe they'll still come off sounding really good. this isn't excellence. this is laziness. what if we really pushed ourselves to grow. just because no one will know if we sound great on stage, and it's average for us...we could be so much more, and SHOULD be if we are to honor what God's given us. if he gifted us with extraordinary talents, it is our responsibility to be the BEST musicians we can with the potential we are given...not just better than someone else, or good enough to get by.

perfectionism: nothing is ever good enough for us. ridiculing ourselves with contempt over every mistake. growing tired of using our gifts because we are never satisfied with our performance. not accepting compliments, seeing the good in things, because we are too bent on being perfect. perfectionism goes destructively beyond the pursuit of excellence. excellence seeks to show up and honor God by doing the best we can with what he's given us. perfectionism seeks to glorify ourselves by not ever making mistakes. when we are assuming we can be perfect, we are forgetting we are human and broken, and artists in need of a savior.

i struggle a great deal to find the balance here. i have been watching meaningfulchurch today. something that's long overdue. it is ridiculous that i have access to video of all of our performances, and i often don't watch them. and when i do, i come away mixed. honestly, i spend the first half of the process feeling dejected. the perfectionist in me feels disheartened, critical, frustrated..."i thought it sounded better than that!" and all i can see are the flaws and imperfections in our performances. and i wonder what kind of morale that builds when i come to the team with that heart.

yet, there is another half of me that feels fired up. i want to do whatever it takes to help us improve. and i feel energized by the performances too--we did some awesome stuff. how incredible that each week our team achieves at this level. i feel like God has used these services to impact others and that makes me excited. it also drives me to...yes, EVALUATION!!!

i will try to put my perfectionist self in one corner, and not see only the negative, but i will also put my lazy self in another and not skip the eval process. instead, let's encourage each other for what went well, but let's fix what didn't!

my husband often reminds me that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

in some ways, i feel like our team is a bit insane. we're pretty good at what we do, gang. but we could improve some things soooo easily, if we would just watch, listen and evaluate. and i believe that is the kind of excellence that honors God. i'm not asking us to be perfectionistic and point out every little flaw, or to ever feel like nothing is good enough. but i am asking that we do the best we can with what we have--and one thing we have is a website with which to evaluate ourselves.

will you join me in pursuing excellence?

1. let your mistakes go--we don't expect you to be perfect!
2. watch yourselves REGULARLY on meaningful church. consider what you did well, and what could be improved.
3. join in the evaluation process when given the opportunity, or create opportunity by shooting out an email to encourage someone, or to give some feedback on what could be improved. (you can send these to me, if you like).

i can't believe how far we've come--it's incredible. i can't believe what we will look like in 5 years. will you join me in getting there?

january 27th office addict

band leader: nicholas
rehearsal Saturday january 26 at 8:30am

american dream--switchfoot
lead: david
electric: colin
electric: richard
bass: nicholas
drums: tom

this is your life--switchfoot
(acoustic version)
lead: david
acoustic: richard

january 20th music

well, can't do a month on the office, with out some good ole' workin' songs. and what better way to do that than a working medley?!?

So, we'll feature 4 songs in a medley, and end with a heartfelt Willow song--great words. all about living for God, and not for the approval of man...

here are the musicians assigned:

working at the car wash--rose royce
lead: christina
bgv: rachel (harmony), dawn and eric (melody)
keys: amy
violin: jamie
electric: richard
bass: jason
drums: kaleb

taking care of business--BTO
lead: eric
bgv: rachel, dawn, christina
keys: amy
electric: richard
electric: colin
bass: jason
drums: kaleb

9 to 5--dolly parton
lead: christina
bgv: rachel, dawn
electric: richard
keys: amy
bass: jason
drums: kaleb

working for the weekend--loverboy
lead: eric
bgv: christina, rachel, dawn
keys: amy
electric: richard
bass: jason
drums: kaleb

audience of one--greg ferguson
lead: christina
keys: amy
acoustic: richard
bass: jason
drums: kaleb

January Assignments so far...

January 6--cubicle wars

Intro: Theme Song from the Office
http://www.lifeintheoffice.com/wp-content/images/TheOfficeRingtone.mp3
keys: rachel
accordian: maria
electric: ross
bass: john
drums: tom

Complicated--Avril Lavigne
lead: christina
bgv: michelle richards (great to have you back for the weekend!)
acoustic: colin
electric: ross
bass: john
drums: tom

rise--robbie seay band
lead: david
acoustic: colin
keys: rachel
electric: ross
bass: john
drums: tom

january 13...brown nosing

band leader: ross
rehearsal saturday at 10

theme song from the office
keys: rachel
accordian: maria
electric: ross
bass: jason
drums: kaleb

karma chameleon--culture club
lead: eric
bgv: rachel, christina
electric: ross
cheesy keys: amy
bass: jason
drums: kaleb

i don't wanna be--gavin degraw
lead: eric
bgv: christina
keys: amy
electric: ross
bass: jason
drums: kaleb

simple gifts
violin: jamie
vocal: sara

tis so sweet to trust in jesus
lead: sara
bgv: christina, rachel
violin: jamie
acoustic: ross
keys (pad): amy

January...

Well, January completely snuck up on me. Christmas Eve was exhilerating and awesome--but man, I'm wiped the week afterwards...

So, suddenly, here I am back in town, and low and behold January happens regardless of whether or not I want to take a ski trip...:)

Thanks to my team for being so flexible.

Here are just some of the few songs to come in January as we explore "The Office." P.S. I am a huge Office addict--yes I have every single episode, and can't get enough of the Dwight and Jim interaction.

This Week:
Office Theme--woohoo--one more time...will this be the new ESPN thing???
Karma Chameleon--yes, I know. this is not a joke.:)
I Don't Wanna Be--Gavin DeGraw--enough said!
Simple Gifts/Tis So Sweet To Trust in Jesus

And coming up: (the team doesn't even know this...)
9 to 5--Dolly!
Taking Care of Business
And a few more fun songs...