Hey, it’s been a while since I’ve posted on here, but I thought I should probably tell everyone that I just finished a website for a Luthier (guitar maker) in Central Oregon. You can check out the website at www.guitarsbysc.com . I’m really excited about it! The domain name stands for “Guitars By Steve Campbell”. Steve has been a wood-worker for years, and worked for Breedlove Guitars for about 5 years before striking out on his own. I personally own two of Steve’s guitars, and they are wonderful! So go on, check out his site! His prices are better than anything else you’ll find, especially for a custom made guitar. Go to the site, check out some of the pictures in the gallery, then, if you’re interested in a getting a guitar, go to the order page and submit a request. Don’t worry, you aren’t officially ordering anything, you will simply be getting a dialogue started between you and Steve, and you can go from there.
Oh NO! Christmas is just around the corner!
I have something to confess: every year, right around the end of November, I begin to get just a little anxious about Christmas. Particularly, the Christmas service that we have at our church. And, just to be a little more specific, the worship music. More specific still, the Christmas music.
Yes, I begin to frantically search for Christmas songs that are actually worshipful, familiar, and theologically relevant to Christ’s birth. And so the mad campaign ensues. I begin searching the web for Christmas songs; I search places like iTunes for newer versions of classic Christmas songs. Even with those tools, I still feel like I’m left with just a handful of decent songs, and I wonder if I’ll be able to find some more so I’m not doing the exact same songs I did the year before.
Can anyone else relate to this? Does anyone else out there share my dread of Christmas songs?
Don’t get me wrong, I actually like many of the Christmas songs that are truly relevant to Jesus’ coming. It’s the arrangement process that can drive me mad. Most Christmas songs are quite old, so consequently, their musical arrangements don’t lend themselves to a more modern style, and the accoustic guitar. For Me, trying to perfom Christmas songs in their original form on the guitar is the musical equivalent of slapping yourself just for fun. Sure, you can bring yourself to do it, but it just doesn’t pack the same entertainment value as it would if you were watching someone else do it.
So, all that to say: What are some ideas you might have to share with everyone else to lend them a hand in their Christmas service preparations? Maybe you have some song arrangements that you think just blow the socks off of their originals. I want to know!
-Stewart
Mac Pro Woes
So I have been involved in the on-going process of purchasing a computer from a private party. I am now discovering that this was probably a terrible decision. The party involved seems to be scamming me, and I am left with the regrettable decision to report it as fraud. At the point of my writing this, I am out about $1250.00.
But I have learned from this whole experience.
I’ve learned that as I’m making decisions, I need to listen better to the discerning voice of the Holy Spirit. I have been learning this lesson the hard way a lot lately. Usually I’ll sense something about a situation or a decision and something equivalent to a warning light will flash in my mind. It’s something more than a mere sense of fear about a situation; it’s almost like I hear a voice saying, “Don’t do that, Stewart. It’s not going to end well.” Looking back on my most recent situation, I should have known better. I had a few instances where I felt like the Lord might be telling me something, but I chalked it up to my own fearfulness to take a risk. Now I wish I had listened.
In our worship of Jesus, we are to have more than an experiential, sing-song, kind of worship. We are in a relationship wherein we submit ourselves to the loving will which the Father has for His children. When we go against this submission, we are going against the worship of the Father. Ultimately, I know that this is what I have done. Now I’m left praying for deliverance and redemption, like a child who has decided to touch the stove after being warned that it is hot.
Lord, I repent of my self-reliance.
My name is Stewart White. I lead worship for Calvary Chapel of Crook County, in Prineville, Oregon. I'm married to my lovely wife Alycia, and we had a baby girl on April 22, 2010 