It’s all set to go, and will be held this time in NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
Saturday; May 28, 2011
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New Hope Church in Cotati, CA will be hosting the seminar, and this year it has been expanded into TWO sessions: SESSION 1 (9-12 am): the craft of songwriting
[lyric, melody, creativity, communication] SESSION 2 (1-3 pm): the business of songwriting
[production & recording, finances, booking, management, merch, publishing]
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The cost is once again only $100, and includes both sessions, plus a personal, constructive critique of one of your songs (and maybe two if we have time!).
Don’t miss this once a year opportunity!!!
5-28-11 / New Hope Church / 183 E. Cotati Ave. / Cotati, CA 94931
To sign up and reserve your spot (space is limited), send your check to:
Justin Fox Ministries
3007 Donnybrook Ln.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
To use a credit card, call us at 949.294.7039, or hit the PayPal button on our site. Thank you!!!
My first ever video podcast interview! Click on the image below to be taken directly to the Circles blog at ROCKHARBOR where you can view the podcast in it’s entirety, subscribe to other episodes, and even leave a comment. Darin McWatters is a fun interviewer and brought out some deep subjects, as well. I was humbled and honored to be a part of this!
“How can you cope with the end of a world and the beginning of another one? How can you put an earthquake into a test tube, or the sea into a bottle? How can you live with the terrifying thought that the hurricane has become human, that fire has become flesh, that life itself came to life and walked in our midst? Christianity either means that, or it means nothing. It is either the most devastating disclosure of the deepest reality in the world, or it’s a sham, a nonsense, a bit of deceitful play-acting. Most of us, unable to cope with saying either of these things, condemn ourselves to live in the shallow world in between. We may not be content there, but we don’t know how to escape.
The way through this by sheer unadulterated worship of the living and true God, and by following this God wherever he leads, whether or not it is the way our traditions would suggest. Worship is not an optional extra for the Christian, a self-indulgent religious activity. It is the basic Christian stance, and indeed (so Christians claim) the truly human stance. Worship derives from “worth-ship” and it means giving God all He’s worth.
Worship is humble and glad; worship forgets itself in remembering God; worship celebrates the truth as God’s truth, not its own. True worship doesn’t put on a show or make a fuss; true worship isn’t forced, isn’t half-hearted, doesn’t keep looking at its watch, doesn’t worry what the person in the next pew may be doing. True worship is open to God, adoring God, waiting for God, trusting God even in the dark.
Worship will never end; whether there be buildings, they will crumble; whether there be committees, they will fall asleep; whether there be budgets, they will add up to nothing. For we build for the present age, we discuss for the present age, and we pay for the present age; but when the age to come (Christ’s return) is here, the present age will be done away.
Worship is nothing more nor less than love on its knees before the beloved; just as mission is love on its feet to serve the beloved . . .”
Our long-time friends and neighbors, The Maddox family, joined us for the fifth year of directing our elementary school’s Talent Show, and it was another smashing success! Over 20 acts performed, including some young ones who took the stage for the very first time. Here’s one parent’s email; “Thank you for your time and talent in coordinating such a great avenue to show off all our Killybrooke kids. We appreciate what it took to put the try-outs, rehearsals, assemblies and show together, and so thankful for all you do.” A teacher summed up our mission well when she commented that the show develops a new confidence in the participants, changing the way they view themselves and the way others view them. For some students, it literally transforms their community experience. We couldn’t be more honored to play a part!
We’ve been feeling led in a few different directions these days with our ministry. I still love sharing my songs and especially excited about the new material, but it seems God is also stirring in my wife and I a vision for serving a little closer to home – and doing it together! We’ve loved the relationships we’ve built at our kids’ public school, and the last two summers we’ve even been able to host a VBS there. We had 100 kids attend last summer! With the idea of wanting to build on that connection, we decided to try an after-school program series. So, last month we hosted 70 kids for 3 Wednesdays at the school. We taught about poverty and generosity, packaging 11 Christmas care boxes for neighborhood families in need. It was awesome!
I taught the kids the chorus of “We Are the World”, they made up hand motions (of course), and we performed the song for the parents on the last day. To see more pictures of the event, visit the Facebook album here.
We’re excited for what’s next! Tomorrow we’ll begin auditions and practices for the school Talent Show. It’s our fourth year directing it. We’ll do a couple days a week of that for the month, as we help guide and shape each students’ act. A lot of our job at the very beginning is simply reminding kids (and parents) where an appropriate moral line is drawn regarding song lyrics and material. It’s amazing the challenge we have in keeping the acts family oriented and “G” rated, but the pay-off is worth it, and it’s a profound joy to see the pride and accomplishment beaming in a child’s face after a great performance. May God guide and bless this endeavor once again!
