What next?

I am pretty sure I will be recording Weight Of Glory when I go down to the studio in August.

I counted up, and I have 50 songs to record from the Psalms, and no good sense yet of what order in which to record them. That is at least 3 albums worth of Psalm material, which would be difficult indeed to record all at once. Most of them, I think, are fairly decent songs, some of them really good, and some of them useful for congregations, but...

These Weight Of Glory songs are ones that for one reason or another did not wind up on my kids CDs; either they were too grown-up, or they didn't quite fit thematically, or they were not written as kids songs. They have been collecting on the periphery of my work for years, and if they keep collecting I'm going to have another Psalm problem on my hands... :-) (I suppose I already do. I have a bunch of old worship songs that were pretty good too.) I just played again thru the list of songs for WOG, and they are almost all really good songs. I think it would be a great album.

I have been torn of late between doing what I know is useful (Psalm albums) and what is also useful (WOG) but in ways not quite so evident as the Psalms.

But when I played them again I said 'This has got to get done soon!" and August is soon. So, Weight Of Glory it is.

Blessings!

Jamie

St. Louis trip

I feel like I had a successful trip to St. Louis. It was a pleasure to meet face to face several ladies and gentlemen that I had only known via email. It seems that God's people were encouraged and blessed by the music I made.

The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places indeed. I love writing and performing my music, and it seems to do people a great deal of good to hear and assimilate it. I make CDs, people buy them and are blessed, and we have food on the table and more. Who could ask for anything better?

So thanks first of all to the Lord Jesus, for whom I sing. And then thanks is also due to the many who worked at organising concerts in St. Louis, Carbondale, and Birmingham. Thanks also to the many folks who bought my CDs at the homeschool conference and at the concerts. May you be blessed over and over. And may your children have Bible stories down in their bones!

F&P Songs

1) These Are The Prophets - a brief overview
2) Shall I Hide - God approaching Abraham to tell him about Sodom & Gommorah
3) What Prophets Do - Abimelech and Abraham
4) Golden Calf - Moses pleads with God on Israel's behalf
5) Dust Of Jacob - Balaam's first two prophecies over Israel
6) You Are The Man - Nathan the prophet confronts David about Bathsheba
7) Micaiah - The prophet Micaiah's jailer offers him some counsel
8) Chariots - Elisha tells the story of Elijah's last day
9) Bethel - a consideration of the bears and the boys at Bethel
10) Reeling In Jonah - God counsels Jonah
11) Run! - a young prophet anoints Jehu as king over Israel
12) Man Next Door - the girl next door to the prophet Hosea is dubious
13) Sign And A Wonder - a boy in Ezekiel's village tells his friends what he has seen.
14) Second Year - Daniel tells the story of his ascension to power.
15) Buy A Field - Jeremiah puzzles over God's command
16) Down Jerusalem - Jeremiah laments the fall of Jerusalem, but is also relieved.
17) Gates Of Nain - the widow of Nain watches Jesus raise her son back to life.
18) Repent - Jesus is the Prophet who comes from the Lord

What Prophets Do

Fun And Prophets is now available...and it should be up on the website for purchase by next week.

This album is a consideration of biblical prophets; who they are, what they do, how they function, etc., with several examples given. My intro song has this as a chorus;

These are the prophets, they speak and things change
New worlds are created, old ones rearranged
They serve as the counsellors to God Most High
So prophesy, prophet, prophesy.

When I was a younger fellow, I was taught that prophecy was two things; 1) telling the future, and 2) speaking the truth about God. I suppose that neither of these things are wrong, but nor do they tell even close to the whole story. The next time you read through the Scriptures, notice how many times God invite men into His council room and asks their opinions. I was amazed at this, but I shouldn't have been. Amos 3:7 says that God does nothing without revealing His secret to His servants the prophets.

A prophet seems to be one who has matured enough. He has been through the priestly stage, where he just did what he was told. This seems to correspond to childhood, where things are not always explained to the child, but obedience is expected. He has been through the kingly stage, where he is called upon both to lead and to die for the sake of his people, he has learned wisdom, he has meditated on God's law long enough to be able to discern good from evil in places where the law doesn't specify. What do you do as a king when two prostitutes come to you, each claiming the baby is hers? No law is going to tell you what to do, you need wisdom. Searching things out...this is a kingly task. This would seem to correspond to the married man raising a family.

The prophet has learned these things and done them, and is now able to effect change with his words. He can build up and tear down men and cities and cultures, by speaking The word of God to them. He corresponds to the older man, whom men look to for advice and counsel. And God values him as a counsellor; consider Abraham in Genesis 18, or Moses pleading with God after the golden calf incident. God asked them about things, they answered, and God did what they had suggested. Sounds like a counsellor to me!

midnight, June 12

I looked out the window before retiring for bed. The sky in the west was still auburn down by the horizon, blending in to the turquoise of early night. There was still plenty of light to be able to see your way around.

I'm going to be in Birmingham for the longest day of the year this year, so I will have a good comparison to offer to home.

To Your Table

Here is a song that we have been using during the distribution of the cup in the service;

To Your Table

As surely as this bread and cup we see with our eyes
You have made us sons of God by one sacrifice
We who once were far away You have now brought near
Children at Your throne of grace lose their guilty fears

To Your table we will come rejoicing
In the goodness of our God
Our salvation rests on Your Anointed
Not the deeds that we have done

As surely as we taste this bread and wine with our tongue
You will feed our soul with meals divine, till You come
You provide our daily bread, all we have from You
Hungry stranger, come and find; here is real food

To Your table we will come rejoicing
In the goodness of our God
Our salvation rests on Your Anointed
Not the deeds that we have done
To Your table we will come delighted
You’ve forgiven all our sin
Great Your kindness that we are invited
By the Lord to enter in

@Dec.13/1999 Jamie Soles

Visitors from afar

We had an excellent Lord's Day service yesterday.

How good it is to be invited into God's presence, to worship together as a body, to be shaped into His image through our worship! It was a blessing as well to worship with a couple families and a single fellow from Fort St. John, whom we have known for a long time, and whose presence causes general rejoicing.

There we were before the service, being thankful for God's good gifts to us, when the door opens at the back, and in walks Dean Helleckson, wheeling Antonia, and being trailed by Azalea and Isaiah. We have been praying for Antonia for years now, and her arrival in our church was a complete suprise to us, and a delight. The Lord has brought her a long way back from the brink. She can communicate with people now, and you can tell that there is a whole lot more going on inside her head that she is not able to express outwardly. When she heard my name, she remembered it, since I have apparently sung to her quite often in the last couple years. So she made a funny about it... excellent! Antonia is in there indeed!

We had almost everybody over afterward to our house, and had an excellent evening of visiting and feasting. What a delight! The lines have fallen to us in pleasant places indeed.

Update on Birmingham

Here is an ad for the concert in Birmingham on June 21.

All the way from Canada…

Jamie Soles

In concert

June 21, 2007

6:30 pm

at Berney Points Baptist Church

(directions below)

Suggested donation of $5 per person or $20 per family



Christian Children's Music

From a Reformed Perspective!



Jamie's philosophy of children's music is similar to that of C.S. Lewis's philosophy of children's literature: If it can't be enjoyed by an adult it won't make for good children's listening either. The music fits the theme of whatever story he is telling and his wit will keep you enthralled! Jamie has included details from the biblical narratives that sometimes get missed in children's music. If you love how the whole Bible points to Jesus you will love Jamie's music!

You won't be disappointed.



Directions to Berney Points:

If you are heading north on 65 take the Alford Road exit and turn right. Just past the gas station you will turn right onto Blue Ridge Blvd. Go half a mile and the church will be on your right. The address is 2250 Blue Ridge Blvd
Birmingham, AL 35226

Questions? Call Jeremy at 205-613-9578 or Brandy at 205-613-9579

Check out www.solmusic.ca for reviews and samples of his music.

Good Stuff from Paul Buckley on Psalms

Words, Words, Words: Sing psalms

Addendum to Summer Schedule...

On Thursday, June 21/07 I will be performing in Birmingham, Alabama, thanks to Jeremy & Brandy Sexton, who are organizing it.

Summer Concert Schedule

Hi, folks!

This is what appears so far on my summer schedule for music making;

April 20-21 - B.C. Christian Homeschool Convention in Kelowna, B.C. I have a vendor table there and will be singing songs for passers-by.

May 3 - Judah leaves with the boys choir to London, ON. and is back on the 8th. I was hoping to be at the INCH convention in Lansing, Michigan this weekend, but things did not work out. Maybe next year.

May 9-21 our family goes on tour! These are the confirmed dates and places;

Fri, May 11 - Abbotsford Immanuel Free Reformed Church
Sat, May 12 - Langley Canadian Reformed Church
Mon, May 14 - Chilliwack Free Reformed Church
Wed, May 16 - Wenatchee at The River Academy
Thur, May 17 - Wenatchee Trinity Reformed Church
Sat, May 19 - Spokane concert at Christ Church

Jun 1-2 B.C. Homeschool Convention in Surrey, once again with a vendor table.

June 9 I have a nephew getting married in Dawson Creek.

June 14-23 St. Louis trip, with the following dates secured;

Fri, June 15 - Cornerstone Presbyterian Church, concert at Covenant Seminary
Sat, June 16 - Carbondale, IL , singing after a church block party
Sun, June 17 - worship at Providence Reformed Presbyterian Church in St. Louis
Mon.-Wed. June 18-20 - CHEF Convention in St. Louis, where I again have a vendor table and a guitar, and am hoping to meet piles of homeschool folks.
Fri, June 22 - Providence Reformed Presbyterian Church in St. Louis.

That's it for music just now. I have another nephew getting married on July 14 in Progress. It seems to be the season... :-)

If any of you have any bright ideas on how I could add to this list, please contact me!

I saw part of my lawn

the other day. For the first time since Oct.27/06. Just a corner of it though, the rest is still well buried.

Beats and Worship

I was involved in a conversation recently about music in worship, and whether or not certain beats were inherently sinful. I said no, and here is why;

I think we need to be careful not to place the sin in the "thing". Sin is something that *people* do. Rhythms and melodies and harmonies can be used in ways that do not glorify God, but they also can and should be used in ways that DO glorify Him. I don't think there is any such thing as a "sinful" beat, just sinful "beaters". But there are certainly "beats" that don't belong in the worship of God, since they are made for other purposes. Some music works really well when you are alone with your spouse with the lights down low, but it wouldn't be appropriate in a congregation.

How do you DO that?

There are a number of things that the Scriptures enjoin us to do, or recommend to us, and we don't have a handle on how to do them without sinning. I'm thinking of things like dancing (David in 2 Sam. 6:5), or drinking alcohol (Ps.104:15, Jn. 2:1-11), or shouting loudly (Ps.42:4), or how to throw a feast (Deut. 16:13), or making loud, fast, exuberant music (Ps.98). All of these things, I think we can all attest, can be used for sinful purposes. So how is a person supposed to learn how to do them in ways that glorify God? I would suggest that these are some of the reasons that God gives us elders. Elders in the church need to teach the congregation how to do these things. Which means that they need to learn how to do them themselves first.

I'll just take one of these as an example. I think that the cure for alcoholism, not to put too fine of a point on it, is that a man needs to drink with his pastor or elder every time he drinks, and to drink in the Church, at the Lord's Table. The wrong kind of company (either unbelievers looking for a buzz, or by himself) always leads him astray with drink. What he needs is godly company who will inspire him to enjoy, rather than abuse, God's good gifts. Someone that he can be accountable to in a godly way. Someone who loves him enough that they would be disappointed if he started slobbering in front of them, enough to make him wish to avoid such behavior.

But the same thing happens with worship as well. If the elders train a church how to sing exuberantly in worship in God-glorifying ways, the kids are less likely to show up at the rave. Learning how to sing whole Psalms at a good clip with lots of expression is like eating steak... who wants a hot dog afterward?

Short Summer...

It lasted long enough for the sun to melt the snowpack to about half it's winter-long depth, the remainder has become a thick, tough, crusty field which will take the sun that much more effort to disintegrate.

I woke this morning to a skiff of new snow, a northwest wind, and a -20 thermometer reading. Oh, April! Where are you?

Dreaming of April
Waiting for her to arrive
In all her finery...

The five day forecast called for sub-zero temperatures till Friday, by which time it is usually out of its reckoning anyway.

I've lived up here all my life, you would think that this wouldn't bother me by now. Maybe I'm just getting old and cranky.

What a winter!

If I could stand on the surface of the snow beside the garage, the edge of the roof would be a little lower than chest height. It is March 14, and there is more snow in the forecast.

Recording is done...

The edit festival has begun...

Recording...

The recording process has been moving along well. We had a real drummer come in on the first day to lay down the drum tracks, which saved us a lot of time and thought process. Chad Melchert was his name, and he is really good at what he does. In the last couple of days we have laid down bass tracks and acoustic guitar tracks, and some of the lead vocals. More of those should happen tomorrow.

Recording for "Fun And Prophets"

I have the studio booked for the next two weeks. I'll be laying the foundations the first week; drums, bass, acoustic guitars, lead vocals. The second week my wife and kids come to put their parts on here. We should have all the tracking done and most of the editing by the end of the 2nd week.

Do pray for us, that we will be able to make a good and useful and enjoyable album, and that we ourselves would be good, useful, and enjoyable.

Favorite Hymns Of Praise

Favorite Hymns Of Praise, from Tabernacle Publishing Company, Wheaton, IL., copyright 1967. It does not appear to have been a denominational hymnbook, but I grew up using it in the Evangelical Free Church.

Some of it was very good. I learned a large number of good hymns from that book which have stuck to me to this day. But most of it... is best described as man-centered, world-denying, disorderly; gospel song in all it's ugly detail. And it, too, has stuck to me to this day.

"In my heart there rings a melody
There rings a melody
With heaven's harmony
In my heart there rings a melody
there rings a melody of love." p.26

"Heavenly sunlight, heavenly sunlight
Flooding my soul with glory divine
Hallelujah, I am rejoicing
Singing His praises, Jesus is mine." p.27

"Sunlight, sunlight in my soul today
Sunlight, sunlight all along the way
Since the Savior found me, took away my sin,
I have had the sunlight of His love within." p.30

"O, there's sunshine, blessed sunshine,
While the peaceful, happy moments roll;
When Jesus shows His smiling face,
There is sunshine in my soul." p.31

These were from what must have been the "Sunshine Section" of the hymnbook...

Jesus is the sweetest name I know,
And He's just the same as His lovely name,
And that's the reason why I love Him so;
Oh, Jesus is the sweetest name I know." p.36

"Con - - - -stantly a-bid - - - - ing,
(Constantly abiding, constantly abiding,)
Je - - - sus is mine - - - ,
(Jesus is mine, yes, Jesus is mine;)
Con - - - - stantly a-bid - - - - - ing,
(Constantly abiding, constantly abiding,)
Rap - - - -ture di- vine - - - - ;
(Rapture divine, Oh, rapture divine)" p.42

"Pass me not, O gentle Savior,
Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art calling,
Do not pass me by." p.51

"If you are tired of the load of your sin,
Let Jesus come into your heart;
If you desire a new life to begin,
Let Jesus come into your heart.
Just now, your doubtings give o'er;
Just now, reject Him no more;
Just now, throw open the door;
Let Jesus come into your heart." p.55

And then there is...

O Jesus Thou Art Standing

O Jesus Thou art standing
Outside the fast-closed door,
In lowly patience waiting
To pass the threshold o'er:
Shame on us Christian brothers,
His Name and sign (baptism?) who bear,
O shame, thrice shame upon us,
To keep Him standing there!

O Jesus, Thou art knocking;
And lo! that hand is scarred,
And thorns Thy brow encircle,
And tears Thy face have marred;
O love that passeth knowledge,
So patiently to wait!
O sin that hath no equal,
So fast to bar the gate!

O Jesus Thou art pleading
In accents meek and low,
"I died for you, My children,
And will ye treat Me so?"
O Lord, with shame and sorrow
We open now the door;
Dear Savior, enter, enter,
And leave us nevermore! p.56


Help! Help! I'm being buried under responsibility! And as someone said, there is so much sweetness in here that a diabetic would have to leave...

It goes on and on like this, 519 pages long.