Behind The Music - [Memory Box]

CT

The introduction was the track that changed the most conceptually. The intro originally ended with a Christian Music Reborn WARNING and 8 bars of punch lines, but that version was used for the Radio Edit/Sampler instead.

This final version is a Reprise of the Outro from OPEN your HEART to His SURGERY and blends into a suitable verse from the original Praise Your Creator lyrics.

WRK

Also known as The Zephyr’s Endeavor: This song is about diversity. The first verse took a whole new meaning after 9/11. It was also the first song I ever recorded in a professional studio and was the last song on my first album. WRK is based on a 500 word essay about the Sneeches. The local newspaper held a contest for Dr. Seuss’ birthday. I ended up winning first place and got my rhyming essay published in the paper. I love this song because its message of Diversity is endless and eternal. When I decided to bring out some of the old beats, this beat definitely had to be used again; in fact I re-composed it by ear before I recorded it this time around.

PM

The instrumental for this track was called Dear Father / Forgive Me, and was initially intended to be track 4 on Landscape of time. Instead, I used the song for the Lot EP.

The lyrics were intended for a beat composed by Fresh Mann. The purpose was to walk you through my journey of life and share the things I went through, call it a mini-testimony. It takes the view point of the fence and choosing which side to hope over to. But as you can see, it shows how I went from Culture, to Christianity since the world could only cure me on the outside and not the inside.

DR

The instrumental was composed for my first album; Prelude 2 Tearz, but I cannot recall if I had any lyrics for it. I wrote a Rap/Worship song, which is similar to Pre Med with the Testimony versus Question culture scenario. This time I question how a musician should display the gospel in this world. Do we want to make music that the world loves, and just change the words, so it is Good News? Or do we want to make music that is lyrically insightful and appealing and bless them with Gospel Music too!? We don’t want our message falling on deaf ears.

SFC


This instrumental was originally composed for a Family Reunion track. It has a family feel to it. The lyrics were written @ 3am one night, when I couldn’t sleep. I intended on using these lyrics for a song composed by INNATE, but I failed to get the beat from him, therefore I didn’t put the song on OPEN HEART SURGERY. When I went back and looked through all my older beats, this one I found worked perfectly. I knew I could bring out the fun and sarcastic side of the music and lyrics. This song is reminiscent of The Burning Building.

HD

Originally this beat was composed for Owe My God. I didn’t like how it turned out back then, so I never recorded it. I decided this time around I would through on some of my Rap/Worship lyrics. Obviously I wrote the chorus to the beat. I knew I wanted to have Rap and Worship on this track, so I asked Phil Zahn when he was at the studio and he blessed the part that wasn’t suitable for me to sing myself. I love it.

WHY

This beat was used on my Demo – which landed me a deal with a professional studio. Its original lyrics were about losing a loved one. This time around I used lyrics I wrote about abuse. Originally I wrote a song called Two Way Street about domestic abuse. I re-wrote that song a few times because it just didn’t feel right. Finally, I combined the spousal abuse with the beating of Christ. I took on the perspective of the attacker. It seems as if I don’t realize the pain I am causing as I abuse the one I should love. Both examples are taken from real life situations.

PBJ

This song was originally written to be a worship song (called Powered By Jesus), somewhat repetitive but with a rap in there. It had a slower hip hop beat originally, then ended up on a mixtape with a pirate type instrumental, and recently resurfaced as a deep grimy hip-hop beat filled with angst. Although I can get these lyrics to fit many different styles of instrumentals, I figured it would sound best as a spoken word / a’cappella.

FTS

We need to reach this…. Obviously the fruit of the spirit is known from weddings and definitions of LOVE. Don’t they realized this is from the bible? Why can’t we apply this to our lives and live it daily?

LMO

Let Me Out was written to a VTZ beat with FilthyRagz and Rseven in 2006. It was deep and definitely a testimonial song. I’ve used this verse many times on different beats when I perform LIVE. Finally, I made an original beat to emphasize the lyrics and transition into OWE MY GOD / ALL MY LIFE. Of course the words changed here and there, but lyrics grow just like character.

OMG

OMG is a testimonial/hip-hop song, so I use these lyrics quite often when performing LIVE. I’ve had at least 5 beats (if not 10) under these lyrics. I decided to just create a beat around the words to help bring out the integrity of them. On a side note, I sampled John Piper’s sermon on Don’t Waste Your Life to end this song with a strong punctuation.

LSN

Listen to your heart. This song was originally written to a beat with a sample of Listen to your heart. Although I didn’t know that at the time, I just wrote what was on my heart and never really released the lyrics. The original recording of this song was released on a mixtape in 2008 – “Lazy Surgeon, Productive Summer” The poem at the end was written one day at work. It kind of came out of no where and I just loved it, so I through it on here. The beat was composed with nothing in mind, but after it was complete it reminded me of a Braille type of beat. Definitely worthy enough of being a performance track.

SSR

These lyrics were inspired by Sunday Church Service, contemplated the politics of church life & they feel about you being there.

PYC

Praise Your Creator was written as a crunk type song. Somewhere along the lines I changed the verses. The verses on here are from a song called Knowledge+Faith=Wisdom. I guess you can call this a hybrid song. I composed the music around the lyrics to bring out the depth of the verses and to help personify the chorus.

ECS

We still got the sickest! I’ve probably performed this song more than any other one. It’s the perfect dance/performance/live track. It is a track to vibe with and spirit filled. It’s always interesting to see if people respond to the lyrics or the beat more. Either way, I use this to move The Body and Souls! I think only FilthyRagz has heard the original, and we both know it’s too slow. But I did want to slow the beat down a little bit, so here you have a “slower” LIVE track.

UNA

I wrote this to an Eminem type beat. I listened to it a dozen times as I wrote out each part to fit perfectly with what was going on in the beat. That version is on the Mixtape.

I was inspired by commercializing Christ and making Jesus a Hollywood star.

TIM

This Is Me was originally Final Chapter - featured on the Burning Building Mixtape. I re-recorded and re-released it to a VTZ beat called Dying Inside - featured on the Open Heart Surgery Mixtape. I decided to re-compose the instrumental myself to fit the mood and feeling of these testimonial-angst-filled lyrics.

Originally, it was to be my last song, but I decided to re-create Committed (now known as Unashamed) and kept TIM as a bonus track... separate from the album as a whole piece. I think of it as more of an afterthought.

All the lonely people, where do they all come from?

Why is Man lonely, afraid to Die alone & Despises everybody 

Why was Adam lonely?
Wasn't God enough? No. Apparently not. 
He cried in loneliness, for what? A pet? A friend? 
God created animals for man & Adam still wasn't happy. 
He even had the responsibility to name each animal. 
Only when he slept did God take his rib & create a mate for him. Let's call her the companion of his dreams. 

God laid down the rules, and even though he was blessed with a mate he still wasn't happy. Because they were unhappy, they fell. 
Why disobey your creator who gave you everything. 
That's like a kid acting a fool to his mom & pop. 
Why rebel against the one who raised you up & got you where you're at. 

What is the point of making a lonely person?
Did God expect him to find companionship in his creator?
Why wasn't God enough for Adam?

Where does that put us? 

Yes, I watched New Moon & I liked it... Well, more than Twilight!

Girl loves vampire
Vampire leaves girl
Girl loves boy
Boy becomes werewolf
Werewolf leaves girl
Bad Vampire hunts girl
Werewolfs hunt bad vampire
Vampire thinks girl is dead
Vampire wants to die
Girl saves vampire
Head vampires investigate girl
Head vampires let girl & vampire go
Werewolf & vampire fight over girl
Girl chooses vampire
Vampire asks girl to marry him

Fill in the blanks with unfulfilled romance. No action, just mild comedy to snicker your way through the first boring hour. Finally something happens. Things get better & movie ends about 3 times. 

This vampire movie is 10 times better than the first even though there are only vampires in the biginning & the end. Better director & better DP & better screenwrite. 

I give it 7/10 or an 8 if you like boys with 6-packs!  

Poetic Notes: STUCK? in a Marriage. Sermon by @JohnFehlen

STUCK?
Stuck in a Marriage

November 14th 6pm + November 15th 9am & 11am
Pastor John Fehlen
West Salem Foursquare Church | http://www.wsfc.org

POEM by Christian Treborn:

Here we are today, talking about marriage
Some are not there, but have a baby in the carriage
Each relationship will deal with some conflict
If it's heaven sent - hearts heal - you can't stop it

If you stumble, you need to pray for a solution
It is inevitable, to embrace a resolution
Ken & Barbie got married, at the age of nineteen
Had a baby at twenty & said; 'Goodnight Dream'

Now it's a debate, on who sleeps in
This is common, on how a marriage begins
Next it's the 'BIG 3', in this circumstance
ONE: is MONEY, but we can call it finance

"Give to the Lord - He will take care of the rest"
Putting God first, will keep your life blessed
NEXT kids, you guessed it: not Sex but INTIMACY
"Give yourself to your spouse" Don't say 'gimme gimme'

Do you ever wonder how a Man might behave?
Well, he is similar to a microwave
& Women aren't fish - that got caught
Her mind is prepared, like a crock pot

If you need scripture, Take this picture
First Corinthians Seven Three, That makes it clear
In this day & age, we have a lost art of communication
So let's pray, every heart finds a common union

SIDE NOTES:

Six Good Marriage Sneakers:
from When Bad Things Happen to Good Marriages by Les & Leslie Parrot

1. BUSINESS: stressed & distracted [life is too fast]
2. IRRITABILITY: cranky & grouchy [nag or grunt]
3. BOREDOM: lifeless & routine [rarely communicate]
4. DRIFT: disconnected & disinterested
5. DEBT: strained & squeezed [focus on cash flow and spending habits]
6. SECRETS: wounds & scars [past comes back to haunt you, bite you]

Four Good Marriage Jolters:

1. ADDICTION
2. INFIDELITY
3. INFERTILITY
4. LOSS

Are You Fit To Be Tied? [Strain]

1. FINANCES (money)
Get Un-Stuck Principle #1 - Give to the Lord
2. INTIMACY (sex)
Get Un-Stuck Principle #2 - Give yourself to your spouse
3. TALKING (communication)
Get Un-Stuck Principle #3 - Give each other time
[those are the BIG 3]

If there is conflict:

Start small, but start right away
people communicate through email and text instead of on phone or in person
on average, a couple talks 8-12 minutes a day (out of 24 hours)

Keep short accounts
don't bring up things from the past that are current situations of conflict

Don't try to fix it
we all have two ears, two shoulders, and one mouth
close your mouth and allow your spouse to use your ears and even your shoulders
men want to fix it right away - women want to talk it out & work on it

SCRIPTURE:

1 Corinthians 7:3
Hebrews 13:4
1 Chronicles 3
2 Corinthians 7:1
Malachi 2
Malachi 3
Proverbs 5:15-21


SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCASTS ON iTUNES:

[Click Here]

Pastor John Fehelen
@ West Salem Foursquare Church
West Salem, Oregon

The Church Is Dead! May it Rest In Peace

The Dead Church


A new Pastor in a small Oklahoma town spent the first four days making personal visits to each of the members, inviting them to come to his first services.

The following Sunday the church was all but empty. Accordingly, the Pastor placed a notice in the local newspapers, stating that, because the church was dead, it was everyone's duty to give it a decent Christian burial. The funeral would be held the following Sunday afternoon, the notice said.


Morbidly curious, a large crowd turned out for the "funeral." In front of the pulpit, they saw a closed coffin, smothered in flowers. After the Pastor delivered the eulogy, he opened the coffin and invited his
congregation to come forward and pay their final respects to their dead church.


Filled with curiosity as to what would represent the corpse of a "dead church," all the people eagerly lined up to look in the coffin. Each "mourner" peeped into the coffin then quickly turned away with a guilty, sheepish look.


In the coffin, tilted at the correct angle, was a large mirror.




NOTE: I stole this from - http://www.Christian-Jokes.Org/jokes5.html

Nobody Is Pefect

ANOTHER NOTE I FOUND THAT ID LIKE TO SHARE WITH THE BODY.
THIS WAS WRITTEN BEFORE I HEARD "THE WHAT IN THE HAM SANDWICH SHOW" WHERE THEY DISCUSSED THE CMR LETTER.

Nobody is perfect. Not even celebrities or heroes or artists. 

This event I think is a big part of moving forward in the Kingdom. Look how a mistake has created a ripple effect throughout our family our community. Although bad things created this, it will be used to glorify GOD. 

Fans and fellow Artists need to pray for this man. Remember when TON3X released Naked Truth? Just imagine if everyone prayed for him instead of bashing him. We need to not make the same mistake. When I got the email from CMR I was glad to see how sound they were in following God's law. And although I was disappointed in Ambassador I know he is human. I forgave him in my heart immediately!

I still pray for him and we all need to. I rember going to a church service and the pastor preached about praying for our leaders and especially our mentors and pastors. They need to be protected. We need to understand we are under them and if they are weakened then we will be too. 

We need them to be strong even when the enemy tries to bring them down. They can only be strengthen through prayer. We must unite in the Holy Spirit and be one giant prayer pleading to God that our brother will be restored in Christ! If one falls we all fall. 

Divide and conquer. 

Please body of Christ, don't be divided by the Ambassador. If we can come together for Change and vote for one person to lead us, then we can defintely come together in prayer and lift up our own sibling.

 If you are on top of the world you will fall off. Not saying Amba was the top of HHH but he is a pioneer in the Christian Rap game. We must understand we are no one especially without Jesus. We can not survive in this world alone and without Him. Get it?

Let me ask you this. When R-Swift lost his son what did you do?

Did you pray for him? Did you drop him an email or comment on his myspace? Was it positive or negative? Did you see God glorified through this tragic event. It was a bad thing that affected him and his family. So what is the difference? I understand that the tragedy is different enough you shouldn't compare them, but we should nor be different on how we reply to him or interact with him. 

I suggest you listen to the Wade-O Radio show episodes 29 Interview with Tonex & 113 Interview with Pastor Eric Mason. If you aren't touched by these episodes you need to check yourself like playing chess alone. Pray is a powerful tool. Use it. Wade-O shows this is true in epi.29

LOVE & RESPECT
Christian

Purpose: Why Was I Saved?

LOOKING THROUGH MY NOTES ON MY iPHONE, I CAME ACROSS THESE THOUGHTS...

Although I was saved to go to heaven when I was 16, I followed Jesus & boy did I stumble. I became fully submitted @ 23 & got baptized, since then I walked with Jesus. 

If Jesus isn't there in heaven when I get there, I will know Jesus is with me. Even if it's just spiritually. 

Therefore, I am not saved to go to heaven, I am saved by God's grace to be a tool used by Him. And Jesus isn't the question, He is the answer. I could never make it to heaven without Him being the way truth & life. 

He is the key to the door, not the couch in the living room. I guess that means He is not our homeboy, He is our guide. Our flashlight as we go hiking. The gas in our vehicle. 

Only when we understand the trinity can we understand Jesus' goal, purpose, & place in our lives & in heaven.  

Are you still being punished for the crimes you committed?

My question earlier today was;

Do you feel like you are still being punished (spiritually, emotionally, financially) for your past sins? By sins, I am implying Divorce, Sexual Immorality, & Stealing.

If you commit a crime you will have to pay the consequences. That we all know. Do you consider yourself a criminal even when you commit a crime against God?

Do you follow all of the laws? Or do you follow most of them, or just the ones you justify as being the ones you should follow.

At times I feel like I made some bad choices. I committed crimes against others, and I feel I'm still being punished for my mistakes. I have heard God forgives, but I am not being blessed in the ways I expect or think I should. It's as if I don't feel God's grace anymore. Am I losing faith? Am I growing older & thinking more rational? I'm I being to logical?

I bring up this question because I know how bad a divorce can be, and not just financially or emotionally, but spiritually. You say your vows, and you agree to stay together for as long as you both shall love. What happened to "until death do us part"? Is that no longer an option to agree upon? Either way, a divorce means you are agreeing to disagree & go your seperated ways. This might better one person, but it doesn't always better both parties. 

One has been sinned against, but why should the victim pay for the sinner's actions? This is what I see more often than none. I am saddened by this. In search of God's love & grace I pose these questions.     

Poetic Notes on "More Is(n't) Better" (Sermon by @JohnFehlen)

In life, we need a cure for anxiety
Sometimes, passion is sure to die in me
Desire ends, when satisfaction begins
Expire my sins, dissatisfaction within
   Compare me to a bird
   Compare me to a flower
   Am I a letter in your word
   Or a second in your hour
In life, we need a cure for anxiety
Sometimes, passion is sure to die in me
Expire my sins, dissatisfaction within
Desire ends, when satisfaction begins
   Compare me to a flower
   Compare me to a bird
   Am I a second in your hour
   Or a letter in your word
   
Why thank the Lord, for your food prepared
What can be stored, if the goods are shared
Write me a letter, from a Roman Prison
No man is better, without a provision
   Ive learned the secret, of being content
I've earned a recipe, connected to Him
You can dig a hole, for radical simplicity
Live in buck 40, a sabbatical from the city
   You can learn the lessons, of Saint Francis
Do you need or want more, what's great satisfaction
Rotate on an axis, relate to the antients
The fact(s) is, don't be anxious - find patience
   What possessions, can bring fulfillment
Don't Waste Your Life, like the fool phil spent
Things; I don't need, won't use, can't afford
My shelter's not a status symbol! I need no more 

In life, we need a cure for anxiety
Sometimes, passion is sure to die in me
Desire ends, when satisfaction begins
Expire my sins, dissatisfaction within
   Compare me to a bird
   Compare me to a flower
   Am I a letter in your word
   Or a second in your hour
In life, we need a cure for anxiety
Sometimes, passion is sure to die in me
Expire my sins, dissatisfaction within
Desire ends, when satisfaction begins
   Compare me to a flower
   Compare me to a bird
   Am I a second in your hour
   Or a letter in your word

Additional Notes:

Matthew 6:25-34
Phillipians 4

20-30 million Americans have Chronic Anxiety
1/6 people suffer from insomnia

Quote: "No one made an itch go away by being really good scratcher"  

A poem inspired by today's Worship (@BoLane)

As I look out to the congregation
I see my community in heaven. A compilation
Looking forward to knowing them more
Reminisce on eathly lives, what we explored 
   Times we were bored & floored with joy
All the people we touched, every girl and boy
How we impacted them. Emotionally as well
A spiritual journey. That's why we can't fail
   Here & now. We stand on the rock
The spirit is like lightning, such a shock
I need family first, my brother and father
Unite us. Even your mother and daughter
   Im thankful, for the blessing you sent
I'm finding satelites in this paradise bent
Even when words don't make much sense
Forgive my sins. This is why I repent