Writing on Guitar

Well this year has been slow on the gig side of life. The positive side of that is perhaps a little more balanced with all that is going on and...I am writing more new tunes! I suppose you always hope that your writing improves as life goes on, and I feel like that is the case with the new tunes that are coming out of me right now. Moreover, as happens because of all the songs I have written and never recorded, some of the old good ones that have never made it to CD have been re-visited and re-vitalized. It has made for some real fun jam sessions.

Another real cool thing is the writing coming out of playing guitar now. My goal is to be able to play everything I write on both piano and guitar, no matter which instrument I write it on. I think it helps shape the songs more fully. Also creates more grooves or textures to play with.

Anyway. I am already dreaming up new sets for concerts and I am looking forward to getting out there a little more and sharing them with all of you. Hopefully that will happen sooner than later.

Peace for now.

The Bible

If I thought I had a passion for the Word of God before this course I just took I was wrong. My passion level has risen to levels like a nuclear reactor about to explode.

I get to preach on the Bible at Valley View on May 7th. I can't wait.

Gaining Knowledge

I, as most who would read this blog, am on a journey. There have been some incredible things I have learned from God in these past few days. I don't think I could ever write them in a single entry. It feels like a book of information, and that has been so encouraging.

At the same time I have been on a very regular journey. A plugging away journey. I am taking a masters course right now on Biblical Interpretation for Preaching and Teaching. Besides being incredibly humbled by the process, I am finding it a source of personal comfort. Comfort because although I leave every session or assignment feeling inadequate for what I don't know, I am caught in the truth that at least I am trying to add knowledge to this proud foolish man. The verses below speak to the need to do so.

link

So be encouraged. If you are on the regular journey of trying to grow in God, it is the right thing to do. If you are not, be encouraged, the process can be very simple to start, not always "easy", but right!

God Bless.

Going Electric

Well ok, probably not in the near future, but you never know. I have been playing acoustic now for a couple of years and feel like I have finally hit a place where I can rapidly get to where I want to be.(be able to strum any pop tune you put in front of me on site - well)So as I near the completion of goal number one, it naturally leads to thinking about the next goal - starting to expand skills and sounds to the electric medium of guitar. I will need to experiment a lot with sounds - but I know I want to be a little different than the norm, probably steering away from a Stratocaster or PRS. No options are closed however, got to try them all! Shopping should be fun. Below is a Gretsch. I will have to try one of those soon at the local music store.

A little time to reflect?

Played a bit of Tiger Woods Golf on X Box with a buddy today - his house. I am not blessed with such a machine at this point in my life.



Things have been simutaneously viciously busy and kind of slow. So chilling out was a welcome respite.

The day job (being an Associate Pastor) is very important on many levels and has been nuts. I have been trying new things, continuing old things and generally working around the clock to get everything done.

The extra curricular things have been there but not to the degree I would like. As noted in some of my other blogs link I have been doing some speaking, a little consulting and a little singing. I have been hoping for a little more singing to come my way (yes I know I have to work at getting gigs), but it has not materialized so far this year.

There is a reflecting time going on in all of this as well. I am analyzing all of the things that I do and wondering if I am really supposed to be doing so many different things. It does not give me much time to reflect and write (songs poetry, and prose) or time to hear God as it were.

Not to be cliche, although to be cliche, I think I have become so busy I am not stopping long enough to listen to God. (you thought smell the flowers, admit it) That is a major thing. When you feel you have responsibility to be God's representative on earth (really let's face it, that's what you are saying as a pastor) than even being too busy doing God's work can be a problem. You have to hear to translate.

Alas, kind of random, but true. Going to bed. Trying to slow down and listen. I also recommend it - for anyone. Listening to God that is.

Peace.

My new studio - not

I am sorry but how cool is this!!

I Have Hit iTunes

At long last I have hit iTunes. I have been waiting since late last year for my distributor to get me there. Alas, tell all of your friends, they can get there favourite tune for a buck or so. I am obviously very excited to be on such a huge distributor. Hopefully it will be a major way I can open up more ministry opportunities and get my music out to a larger audience!

Singing in the Rain

My middle child will be having her first dance recital this weekend. My first has been through this once or twice already. Life is firsts with children. It is amazing to see them process the firsts. I honestly don't know how much they get out of it of lasting value at 3 or 4 years of age. More than anything I hope it builds in them the love and appreciation that mom and dad have for them. Three girls, and they are all amazingly beautiful and cute. What can I say. Oh yeah, it is raining outside, and if you remember the movie that is the big dancing scene. See what I did there?

Learning New Things

I was asked to speak at a nearby university (Ancaster, Ontario) called Redeemer University College at their "Church in the Box" monthly service last night. I hadn't really researched the event itself, I was asked to speak at it through one of the students that from our church and was very pleased to go and be apart of it. I anticipated something similar to what I run for about 10 to 20 called The Church Coffee House. It had some of the same elements, except there were over 600 people in attendance last night. I was instantly humbled. I definitely didn't feel worthy. Some things about the talk went better than I thought they might, from my perspective other things did not go as well I had hoped. Ultimately, I hope the message from God's Word was heard over my nervousness. Ironically I have sung for thousands many times, I used to sing several times a month at a church of more than 3 thousand, but preaching and singing are different, and not anticipating the environment correctly is just, well, different. Alas, I would covet another opportunity like that. The worship was really good, the vibe was amazing. The potential for God's kingdom to moved ahead through a ministry of that size is amazing. I pray that God will bless them richly, and if you are ever in that town, I recommend you check their online calendar and see if Church in the Box is on. It is worth a visit.

Technology Woes

I have been previously pleased with some of the things I have been able to accomplish through gifts of friends outdated technology. Or at least there redundant equipment as they upgrade.

Well my wireless router has been great until this past year. Since moving to this new house I have had a terrible time keeping it on and engaged. Not only has it been inconsistent wirelessly, but it has also been bad wired. Jumping in and out, constantly needing to be rebooted. What a pain.

Alas, I am trying to implement some advice about changing the channel to something other than the default. I have done that, and have been up for awhile. We will see if it can stay up for a few days and prove the point. Another weakness is our 2.4ghz phones as well - which is the only type we have on our house. Alas, we will see how much improvement we net (pardon the punn).
Maybe I will get back to blogging more if when I fire up I can actually get on the net.

Peace.

The Speaking Thing

I have begun preaching or speaking on the Bible now for a year and a half. As is my nature, I am relatively self-critical. When I began, I received good feedback and mistook that to mean I was good at preaching.

I have really begun to critique my past performances and I am not very impressed. The good news is I think I have many things I can get better at. Time to dig in and really try and move this part of my life forward.

The second peice of good news is even for my newness to the task I am starting to get asked to guest speak other places, so I must have done something half decent. Looking forward to some preaching at Redeemer University in the next few weeks. I will let you know how it goes.

Peace.

State of the World

Much has transpired recently. "Big news" in Canada is that Stephen Harper and his Conservative government have taken over rule of Canada with a minority government. I personally am not very impressed by the result as a conservative. I think that ultimately the conservative view is one somewhat rooted in Christian morality, although it would be a massive stretch to think it is a significant influence in reality. The only way that the conservatives, in my opinion, will get more seats is to further distance itself from a Christian worldview, or moral view. That would allow it to "appeal" to those who hold to some sort of morally relative post-modern view. That really just creates two liberal parties and does not give a real choice. I think that the bottom line is that Canada is sufficiently morally bankrupt to ensure that those who have any moral agenda whatsoever will never gain any significant political control of the country. Influence is another question, but control - I think not. When crookedness to the level that Canada has seen barely begets a tap on the knuckles for the perpetrators then I think that more than lets us know the climate in Canada. What's the golden rule? Do unto others. Apparently most of us are afraid of being held to account ourselves, because we sure don't want to be accused of holding the liberals to real account.

Going away!

Well I am heading out to Niagra Falls to do three days and 5 sessions of worship for out sister district in Ontario for the Alliance.

I am very excited to have been asked and to be going there to lead this group of pastors.

On the muscial side I am priviledged to be taking my constant drummer Kevin Jongsma, Fergus Marsh (of Bruce Cockburn fame) on bass, and friend Ryan Fletcher to run the technical side of life.

I will let you know about the highlights, and I will see if I can get some pics.

Peace.

New Things

Well I am trying to get over my fears of the technical. It is starting to work. I wouldn't go as far as to say I am turning into a geek, but as it pertains to creating music and trying things out I am having a tonne of fun.

I am currently starting to lay down some demos of new songs I have written this past year. The equipment I currently have is pretty humourous:

1. Dell Pent 3 866
2. Cubasis VST
3. Audiophile 2496 audio accelerator card
4. Beringer 8 channel mixer (four "mic pres")
5. Korg O1/W
   

The rest is not worth mentioning. Perhaps to some the above wasn't. Anyway the real fun is in learning the technology available. Free drum samples on the web, syncing things up, seeing your songs come to life with "bed tracks" etc.

I have much more to learn, but I can sure see how guys get addicted to the engineering/producing/mixing side of things. There really is alot of creative outlet in there.

Computers, Yeesh

Well my old Dell, actually a good computer to us, had to be re-done this past week. It is a few years old and after various upgrades and far too many programs installed, including too many kids games etc. it was time to wipe it clean and start again.

Through connections we have the Pro XP and Office Microsoft stuff so I was able to reformat to NTFS and put clean versions back on old bessie. Of course then you have to go up and put every security upgrade and SP2 back on it, but I am hoping (and it seems to have) re-stabalized the home machine. No loss of data as it was all backed up in preparation of the endeavor.

Who knows, maybe I will get blogging more again.

Taking a Break?

Phew. Have a good Christmas.? Hope so. It has been the usual busy one for us. Busy and wonderful with the kids. My 6 year old and I have had a couple of interchanges that have been fun.

"Why do we give presents?", I asked,
"Because we love each other", she responded.
"Is that the reason we celebrate Christmas?", I asked,
"No, it is because Jesus was born." she returned.
Just checking.

I must admit I am a "bah humbug" when it comes to Christmas. My family never really over did it with presents - were not a Christian family in the early years, just was not a HUGE thing. Now don't get me wrong - I struggle with my desires for things. I tend to desire big ticket items, which to this point in my life I have rarely if ever satisfied with any frequency. They also usually have a practical purpose - equipment for music etc.., but I often find myself thinking what would I choose to take if I had to pack it all in a car and live in one room with my whole family. Would I take my guitar - still try and take some form of a demo studio with computer and all, a piano? Would I be online anymore. Would it change who I am, what I do, how I dress, who I hang out with, how well I served Christ or not?

Sometimes the way we celebrate Christmas seems to fly in the face of evaluating how we remember Christ's birth and it's impact and influence in our lives, and instead it awakens our material short-comings. Our inability to gift our children, our spouses, or immediate family with much or anything. Should we not sacrifice, even go into debt to gift people with things?

Well it seems an absurd statement, but it is what we do as a culture.

We didn't this year, haven't for years really. I think I have begun to succeed at not emphasizing the material, commercial side of Christmas - now I feel I must find a way to radically change the way we celebrate the birth of Christ. Perhaps I am talking about 365 days a year - but I think I am talking about Christmas time. I do not know how yet - but I will get back to you. Hopefully before next Christmas.

Peace.

The Year in Review

Ministry life has been growing there is no doubt. This will be one of many blogs that analyzes different parts of what I have been doing this past year. One of the things I do is lead worship at Valley View. It is part of my day job as an Associate Pastor there. When it is all said and done I have done alot of singing and leading this year.

1. Morning Services (many Sunday morning for 2 services both counted estimated) 84
   
2. Church Coffee House Services conservatively 15
3. Cliff Cline Concerts/Appearances 21

That is a total of 120 Services, concerts or appearances this year. That is probably a little on the low side. Just an interesting look back for me. That doesn't include that I have preached and/or taught (many times at the same service) an additional 20 times this year. When you think that I probably average 10 hours of prep for a talk and 4 hours of prep (including rehearsal) for a worship service you are looking at 680 hours of my year. That of course doesn't take into account the sound checks or the actual service time or concert time and travel. Too much to look at the extra-curricular 21 gigs, but the church stuff estimates in around 290 hours a year. So about 970 hours in prep and execution of the music and speaking side of my ministry.

The Digital World 2

Well I have finally hit the digital world where you can buy Noticing the Sky songs one by one. I am excited to be offered on both Napster and Emusic. I should be available on ITunes soon as well. I will let you know when that happens.

Sick as a Dog

Man, got a flu that turned into a cold and has knocked me out. I am on the rise finally I think. Not blogging much these days, bad Cliff. I have a tonne on my mind. I am planning my next series for Coffee House, looking at the new year and things to do for music, thinking of more "improvements" to the worship area at church, looking at the reality or not of doing another CD this year and much more.

Typically there is a lot of reflection this time of year for many people. No different for me. If I am going to make a major initiative or move it is usually decided on at this time of year. Just works into the yearly planning and review schedule I impose on myself and that literally seems natural.

I will let you know how some of these things pan out. Talk to you soon.

Peace.

Long Time No Blog

Well I feel bad that I haven't been consistent at all in the blogging. Life has been more than a little crazy. I have had a couple of gigs, plently of outings ala Chirsitmas parties and just social things and well, the day job has been a little crazy. To some degree that will keep going until Christmas day. Makes sense.

I have been really active in the songwriting area in the past few months. That generally happens when I hit a reflective time in my life, and there has been lots of reflection. The end of the year is a natural time to consider all things pertaining to ones existence (yes perhaps overstated and poorly used). Good time to reflect on the past year and the one coming.

I think I will have more to share in the coming weeks, I will endeavour to step up the updates.

Peace.