The Return of JSB?

Back at the end of June, I got together with my Jeff Somers Band-mates for a BBQ and “state-of-the-union” address. Basically, we wanted to re-evaluate where we were as a band and get a feel for everyone’s intentions for the band and where its importance lies in each of our lives. After some good food, good laughs, and a few memories, we sat down and discussed “what’s next for JSB?”

Without getting into too much detail, we thought it prudent to go back to the roots of what JSB was/is all about: worship. JSB grew out of a monthly worship gathering called The Spot where our sole purpose was to lead others into a place of intentional, spirit-lead worship. We all expressed our interest in re-visiting that and making the priority. Not that that purpose ever left us, but there was a time where be might've taken our focus off of the local church and try to take it elsewhere on our own accord. then again, we were blessed to have never pro-actively make things happen for ourseleves; God blessed us with many things: oppurtunities, gigs, relationships, finances, etc.

When our first record, The Origin of Moonlight, gained a bit of steam from local and national radio, we tried to push ourselves to really make thigns happen. But, after a few band-member changes, failed attempts to gain funding for another record, and committment/priority/family/vocation changes, we never fully got to feel the full effects of Origin's momentum (despite being nominated for a few CGMA Covenant Awards in 2006).

So, back to our BBQ discussion, we thought it might be wise to try and “start over” form where we began and focus back on the worship scene in our local church scene. And, hey, if that leads us to other places, venues, and experience then so be it. Also, we thought it’d be fun (and quite possibly necessary) to express ourselves creatively by writing and demoing for a new album. Sunny has quite the home-studio now and it will be our goal to use that space to demo some songs and take the journey to try (again) to make a record we’re all creatively, spiritually, and influentially responsible for. That excites me.

It's been about a month or so, and we've written about 3 or 4 songs (or song ideas). I don't have any capable recording devices so I've been using the mic on my iPhone to jot down some ideas and song-snippets. It's been fun for me because I feel that I've been so creatively drained over the past year or two that I've got plenty of ideas for possible new music. I'm not saying they're any good, but ideas none-the-less. While I also admit that I don't have as much experience/ability with writing as Jay or Sunny do, it's been nice to spread my wings and get some input from them on some ideas (and vice versa). I imagine it'll be a long process, but just the thought of writing another record excites me immensely. There's no pressure, no due-date, and nobody pushing us to get something finished, so I believe that really gives us the freedom and time to make great worship songs we enjoy playing and sharing. And while we'll use our rehearsal times to practice for The Spot (and any other worship oppurtunites that come our way), we don't have to put any pressure on ourselves to "make something happen" for JSB. We can let the spirit lead us wherever it wants to take us. I think that's an exciting thing.

Stay tuned and I'll keep ya'll posted on any updates on JSB-happenings.

http://www.jeffsomersband.com

Shakespeare and the Christian

When I was an English major for the first 2 years of University, I loved my Shakespeare class most. We breezed through the most popular of Bill’s works and it taught me a lot about seeing true meaning behind his art. While comedies like “Comedy of Errors”, “As You Like It”, and “Midsummer Night’s Dream” were fun to take in, I particularly loved the tragedies. Sadistically, I loved how in most cases the protagonist dies: Romeo & Juliet die of conquering love, Othello meets his own doom through envy, Hamlet dies in order to follow through on his revenge, and Shylock is duped by greed and is forced to lose his religion (literally) in “The Merchant of Venice” (though debatably a tragedy). Although I was involved in a few high-school plays and dramas, I never had the experience of being the lead of a Shakespeare piece. I would have loved to be a Shylock or an Othello who lay it all down for their cause. That’s kind of like the Christian life, isn’t it? We build our lives in accordance to that which we believe in and (presumably) die for it. In a soliloquy in “As You Like It”, Jacques, a none-to-pleased exiled Lord, quips about how are lives are compared to just that:

"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts…”

As Christians, that is “little Christs”, we live for His cause. In Him we and live and move and have our being. God is the director and we are His actors. He guides, directs, and asks for our best performances. Like protagonists in a Shakespearean tragedy, we eventually die. But our death is not death itself. It is life. Reward. Eternity. Maybe even an Oscar. Ok, maybe the Academy (ironically comprised of mostly Jewish critics) won’t recognize our lives as Oscar-worthy, but we should strive for that acclaim from God. We do it for His glory.

So act like you’re in the performance of your life. Don’t worry about the audience because you’ve only got One to perform to anyway. Everybody else is just a spectator and the best you can hope for is that your performance will affect others enough to want them to perform even better. Your performance should be infectious to others. Yet, you still only perform for an audience of One. There’s only one showing and it’s sold out so make it your best.

Enter.
Perform.
Exeunt.

Weddings and Revelations

I had a great 6-day vacation this past weekend where my sister-in-law, Angela, got married. It was a great time to spend with friends & family and time to relax, reflect, and retain some relationships. I couldn’t be happier for Angela who married a Calgary-boy (and is, coincidentally, a Flames fan). Yet, Josh is much more than another dude, but a great guy who loves the Lord; a welcome addition to the family. He’s the strong, silent type and really counter-balance’s Angela’s personality. Their relationship reminds me of my own with Catherine; I’m the obnoxious, out-going, care-free, intellectual while Cat is the silent, internal, sweet, compassionate one of the two. It’s interesting to see how God connects two people. While the jury is still out on whether there is only “one true partner” for every person, it’s often not hard to see that some people are just meant to be together. I see that in Josh and Ang.

But God does that. He balance’s us out. God seeks to help us improve upon who we are, what we’re missing, and what to change. In that, servanthood appears. We are called to be servants to our spouses. We are entering a covenant much like the one God promised Noah. Noah faithfullly served and obeyed God's command and God in return made a promise to Noah. This is much like we are to do for our spouses. And, of course, servanthood also reflects a Christian covenant to help those who cannot, give to those who have not, and love those who know not.

My uncle Paul Thistle, a doctor and missionary in Zimbabwe, and Captain in the Salvation church, had a great mini-sermon on servanthood during the wedding ceremony and how that is conducive to the marriage covenant. He quoted an old Zimbabwean proverb that says, “In order to clap, you must use both hands.” Isn’t that true of God’s plan for our relationships and marriages? If we’re working together, in the same ways, with the same goals, God can use us to do amazing things. Each person is a hand and when used correctly and purposefully, we clap. We make joyful noise. We praise. We serve.

Uncle Paul quoted this prayer from St Francis of Assissi (aptly named The Prayer of St Francis) during the ceremony:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

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The wedding was beautiful (can a dude say that?) and went off without a hitch... figuratively speaking, of course. The reception was very touching, entertaining, and ended with a limbo competition, dance, and lots of laughter. It’s nice to step aside from life for a moment and just enjoy a moment; an instant in time to enjoy being you, enjoy your family & friends, and seeing love communicate itself through the smiles, laughter, and joy of others around you.

God, the Provider of all Things Good

Sorry I haven’t been blogging much lately. Work has been busy as we’ve been short-staffed with vacations so I haven’ had much time to blog from work. And, Catherine and I have been very busy the past few weeks with several events gone and arriving in the near future. But, it seems that all of these events have or will have come to show me how perpetually good God is to me/us. It’s great how God uses celebrations, friends, events, and smiles to show his His inherent goodness, compassion, joy and love for our lives.

June 15th – this was Noah’s first day with his new babysitter. Noah’s old sitters were moving and had planned to spend the summer together so this put us in a mad-dash to find an alternate place for Noah. Though we had a few options, we found a great sitter named Stephanie who came with a great reputation from a friend of a friend. Noah has been enjoying his time there and has a few play-mates close to his age. God answered our prayers and found a suitable daycare provider for Noah and we feel blessed to have someone put so much effort into caring for our pride and joy.

June 26th - our landlord allowed us to put a new shower in our bathroom. Although cleanliness was not possible for 24 hours or so as the caulking died from the installation of our new 3-piece shower cap, we are now without moldy, dirty, 30-year old tiles and rusty fixtures. We were scared that the mold from the tiles & walls would somehow affect Noah during his bi-nightly bath time. So, luckily, our landlord more than welcomed the new shower and within 2 weeks we had it all cleaned up. I believe this was a small token of God’s appreciation for Catherine and I being so patient with buying our own home. We’ve been discussing buying our first home for a few weeks, but it seems that we’re just not quite financially there yet. Although we’re not necessarily happy with our current shelter, replacing the shower was definitely the biggest issue we had with staying there. But, now that it’s taken care of, we’re just a tiny bit more comfortable with the circumstance. Now onto removing the carpet…

June 30th - we celebrated my 26th birthday with a trip to Crystal Palace (took Noah on some rides), dinner at my favorite restaurant (MexiCali Rosa’s), had a BBQ with the guys in the band for supper, and capped the night off by scarfing down a DQ cake with Greg and Reanne at our house. It was nice to have a relaxing day (despite the rain) hanging out with friends, having good food, and spending a day with Catherine and Noah. I thank God for everything he provides me with. Good friends, good food, good health, a son with a million dollar smile that makes me smile even bigger, and a wife who loves me unconditionally. As a gift, Catherine got us tickets for the Halifax Rock Fest with Chickenfoot, Finger 11, Our Lady Peace, and Sloan as we as a hotel room to crash at for the night. Can’t wait.

July 2nd - Catherine and I had a romantic dinner for our 4th wedding anniversary atLe Chateau a Pape and went to movie which was funny funny funny. I’ve been so blessed to have Catherine in my life and things only get better with age. I love her so much and she’s crazy good to me. The last 4 years have had many ups and downs, but I couldn’t be more in love with a best friend. I’m sappy.

July 11th – although I, admittedly, am not a big fan of Paul McCartney (or the Beatles for that matter), I absolutely recognize Paul’s (and the Beatles’) epic role and contribution and pop & rock music. So, I’m going to see Paul McCartney play at the Halifax Commons this Saturday with a friend from Calgary (who I’ve previously mentioned in this blog). I can safely say I may be more excited to see Brendan than I am McCartney, but I’m also keeping my expectations low so musical legend Sir Paul can rock my socks off. I can’t wait. I thank God for long-lasting friendships. Even though I haven’t seen Brendan in over 4 years and thousands of kilometers separate us, God still binds us together through our love of music and using our gifts to glorify God. Brendan is an uber-talented keyboard player and musician and although I don’t get to steal him for a Sunday morning to play at church, I’m glad just to spend 28 hours with him and I’m sure we’ll enjoy every minute together.

July 18th – Catherine’s sister, Angela, is getting married and I get to host the bachelor party on the 16th for her fiancé, Josh, and his brother/buddies from Calgary. Not only am I excited for an evening of paintball and the pub, but I’m excited to have a brother-in-law. Not just because he’s a great guy (loves the Lord), but because he’s a die-hard Flames fan. What else could anyone ask for? I’ve been asked to provide all the music for the wedding (I’m just playing/arranging, not singing) which is fun, but I’m also looking forward to the time with family and friends. I’m glad that God has found someone for Angela and that Joshua and I get along so well. I pray God will bless them in their marriage and continue to help them grow in Him as they seek His purpose for their lives together.

So, even though I’m not where I want to be musically or maybe even spiritually, God is still working in my life, in the lives of others around me, and is still blessing me and using me despite of me. That’s how good God is. He loves us no matter who we are or what we do. He continues to bless us in our impatience, our bad attitudes, and in disobedience. God’s compassion and love for us makes me want to love and serve him even more than I already do.

I encourage you to look at the things that surround your life and thank God for them. Whether its something as small as a new shower wall or something as big as the smile of a child, God is all around you and is blessing you. That’s a great thing. Do not take for granted the things you are provided with on a daily basis. No matter how dirty, moldy, broken, shoddy, shiny, grumpy, or exuberant it is, thank God for it. He is our Jehovah-Jirah, our provider of all things good.