Rockin' out to Springfield

So a few days ago my friend Andrew Fox asked me to play bass for this band that is beginning to record in Springfield. This seemed like a direct answer from God because I was faced with the choice of leaving Evangel and what I knew to play in a band that was recording in Tennessee and already in contact with record labels.

Michigan is stagnant, Detroit Mayor Kwami Kilpatrick just sold the tunnel to Canada to Canada. Businesses are closing weekly, unemployment is going up, and the ministry I have been "working" for is facing closing. I have been working one day a week while somewhat trying to save money for this money hungry institution called higher learning. Springfield will provide the opportunity for a steady job that will hardly quench the thirsts of Evangel.

I say all that to say that I am going back to Springfield earlier than expected. Classes start on the 27th, I will be there on the 4th. My Michigan friends might ask, "why John? You are being a filthy scalawag!" I guess this would be my attempt at an answer.

Springfield is by no means amazing. If I were to reside there the rest of my days it would have to be God's will because it is not what I would choose for myself. But there are possibilities there that Michigan can't offer me right now. I'm going to be in a recording band with the collective dreams of going big while still attending Evangel full time: and that is actually a good enough reason for me. I will also be scoping out employment before the majority of the starved college population returns.

I believe that if we want to be successful we have to recognize possibilities when they come our way and decide whether they would be promising to our future. I do not want to look back at life and say I had the chance to do something that would have meant a lot, and I chose to stay where it is comfortable.

No, I do not expect to be a famous rock star, I just plan on trying to take the abilities and passions God has given me to the fullest so I don't have to say, I didn't even try.

Check this out!

Expectations

Cancel your expectations and take life as it comes.

When faced with a dream...

So a few days ago I found myself browsing the 'musicians wanted' section of craigslist. I find my self doing this every six months or so. It's not usual that I find an ad worth responding to, so this request from 'a Christian alternative band' shouldn't have been too exciting; but it was.

I responded and the next day I got a response. Jon is the singer of this band called Lystra, he told me that the band was moving to Kentucky very shortly. They had decided to move out there and they have a duplex lined up that they will share with two of the member's parents. Old people in one half of the building, stinky young lifes in the other. They had already paid a whopping chunk of money to record with a producer who has helped record, mix, and/or master tracks for projects like Neil Diamond and Muse. After recording they are considering an extensive self funded national tour while the newly recorded album is being critiqued by record label snobs.

This was a dream come true... it seemed.

I had a somewhat audition and the possibilities were there. The singer liked my playing and thought I would mesh well with the other band members. I hung out at there empty apartment with he and his wife until it felt right to leave. We quickly set up a more suitable audition for this upcoming Sunday. I went home still unsure if this was what God wanted for my life. My Mom was praying for God's will, my Dad praying for me not to leave (haha) and Alicia saying, without saying, that she was severely irritated that I would even consider this.

I went to bed and thought about it, and continued to pray for God's guidance. As I was laying there it just hit me all of a sudden. I'm 21, for any other career still young, for music getting to old. If it's God's will for me to be a gigging, no food in my stomach musician he will make it clear the band I am to join. I wish Lystra the best, they are full of potential, unfortunately for me, I can't give up the blessings God has given me for mere potential.

The pros and cons of being a charmer

I can't help it. I like to make people happy. Some people find me to be charming, and what's wrong with that? I mean a lot of good things come out of it.

Pros

1. Some people find me likable
   
2. Some people find me enjoyable to be around
3. I'm easy for most to get along with.

But there are some down sides

Cons

1. Some females can easily take me as flirtatious
   
2. Some females take a liking to me that is more than what is reciprocated
   
3. Some guys don't really like me too much

Now I know some of, if not all, of this post and maybe many, if not all, of my others might sound arrogant. I am not. I just know what God has given me and what kind of personality I have. I love people, I love making people happy, I just gotta figure out if there is anything I can do to keep things from being interpreted the wrong way. I am sure there is.