Joseph Cheetham-Wilkinson: November 2012

Friday 30 November 2012

New British worship music Video.

Lord, I miss you.  I want to spend some time with you, it's one of those days.

Those are the opening lines to one of my most recent songs, which is aptly named 'One of those days.'  It's one of my more mournful and melancholy pieces, and quite unusual for something which I personally would still class as 'worship'.

This is music produced on a Packard Bell laptop with 4 GB processing power and an Alesis Q49 midi keyboard, which you may know is very bare bones equipment!  The sequencing software and instruments I used came from the fantastic Ableton Live, my version is the Ableton Live 8, an 8 track piece of software which is limited to 8 tracks and six effects, so I am forced not to over-produce any of my music when I work on this kind of budget.



Have a listen:



I want to write Christian music that people can relate to and connect with, which talks to them about their real lives and their circumstances.

Worship music usually has quite a specific purpose, which is to facilitate us lifting praises up to the throne of God, and to grease the wheels of our worship with positive, edifying and encouraging statements of truth and scripture.  Well, I can't knock that, it's wonderful.  Some of my favourite music ever is just that, worship.

But that's not all I wanted to do.  I wanted to sing truthfully about my Christian walk, and in some respects that works best when I'm true to my heart as a storyteller.

It's funny, I've been told on a couple of occasions that I have a particular gifting for telling stories, and I can remember as a child of eight or ten knowing that I wanted children because I wanted to read them stories.  I think that comes from a decent place inside me, because when I try and connect with that feeling it's about the desire to fill people up with goodness, to bless them.

This is not my own holiness we're talking about here, this is just me being touched by the love of God and wanting to share it.  I'm working on something now which isn't a gospel preach, but is just a story for the sake of a story, something for fun and laughter, and hopefully when people have watched it they'll go away feeling they've been given something which was worth having.

It seems that in order to feed the family it is wise to produce some things with mass appeal.

And of course what that then enables me to do is invest energy and resources into things I wouldn't be able to do otherwise, such as Jovis Bon-Hovis and the Creation Crew, and my Christian music.

So this song is a labour of love.  Not a preach, but just a deep yearning, and an expression of the overwhelming need for God.  During my life I have been touched profoundly by God on so many occasions, thank you Lord Jesus, that it's very easy to present an image of somebody who has it all sorted, who never struggles, never sins and pushes God away, never prays and feels empty.

This song is an admission of the kind of normal experiences that real, spirit-filled Christians will likely have in their walk with the Lord.  It's a song I wrote so we would all know we weren't alone.  And God moves away from us just so that we would do exactly what this song does, cry out to Him, miss Him, pine to be with Him and go after Him.

And for anybody who's wondering, there have been some very beautiful moments with God since I wrote this song on a sad lonely day in the cold autumn countryside.  Most recently today.  He will never leave you, He will only ever call out to you from a distance.

Thursday 29 November 2012

How to make a children's TV show on very a low budget.

Anyone who been following this blog or looking at the other stuff we've been doing over the last year or two will know that we've been producing a show for Christian kids' TV called Jovis Bon-Hovis and the Creation Crew, on a very small budget and a LOT of prayer.

Before you go any further, please make sure you subscribe to our channel!  Things are constantly developing and we're always so excited to hear from folks who are interested in this sort of thing! Go to www.Youtube.com/ChristianMoviesUK and subscribe, or join our Facebook community at www.facebook.com/ChristiansTogetherWorldwide

The TV show is now going out on air at long last, on Sky channel 585 an Thursday at 7.30 and 4, Saturdays at 7, and Tuesdays at 7.  If you don't get Sky, UCB broadcast there schedule live on the internet too, so you can watch it at those same times (GMT) here: http://www.ucb.co.uk/watch-popup/live.html or you can download one of the free media apps for your smartphone http://www.ucb.co.uk

Here's how the show's looking for season one:



We're really pleased with what we've produced, and all through season one we found ways of polishing and improving the show as the team grew together and we got a better picture of what a successful children's television show might look like on such a tight budget.

Now we are in pre-production of season two, we are able to look back at which elements of the show were more successful, and which could do with tweaking.  We're all confident that we have a fantastic show and kids seem to be enjoying it, but we should be on a journey of constant improvement within the bounds of our  resources.

So here are some ways we intend to tweak season two:


Planning

Before we embark on the shoot for season two we will draw up a tight schedule and stick to it.  Drawing on our experiences producing season one I am sure this will be achievable and actually enjoyable, eradicating the frustration and uncertainty that comes with working to such a loose timetable.

We will set tight time allowances for all areas of production including music, studio shoots and music video shoots, illustrations and graphics, VT’s, video and sound editing, voice recording and post production.  We will also attempt to work to a firm overall completion deadline, making production of season two a potentially far more enjoyable and professional experience.

Rehearsals

Season one was produced on a wing and a prayer, we should remove the wing and instead set it firm on a rock!  More rehearsals and run-throughs will eradicate any timing issues; lend an air of confidence to all performances strengthening the show significantly. It will also mean that physical comedy can be well planned, honed and understood by all before shooting.

Clothing

Several people have suggested that Mr Bon-Hovis should wear something a bit more bright and colourful, more consistent with the overall theme of the show.  We will produce an appropriate top which carries the show’s branding.

Art Crafty Time

Upon watching the earlier episodes back it became evident that a ‘Here’s one I prepared earlier’ example would reinforce the potential of the mini projects, and offer more exciting options to the viewer.  They would be more likely to engage kids and call them to action.  So completed projects will be pre-prepared with good examples.

Scripture Time

‘Scripture Times’ will be stronger, in that they will be better explained and more relevant to the scenario.  We will endeavour to open up scripture to the children in a slightly more accessible way and with a little more pertinence.

Story Time/Illustrations

The more successful ‘Story Times’ are pacey and punchy, in keeping with the flow of the show.  ‘Story Time’ should be no longer than 3:30-4:00 minutes maximum, and the illustrations are very effective.  We will produce a minimum of 8 illustrations for each ‘Story Time’.

Joke

The expectation of regular features is key to brand loyalty and audience retention, and we will endeavour to break up the initial studio time with another regular occurrence in which Monkey tells Mr Bon-Hovis a Joke, which has him falling off his chair.  Mr Bon-Hovis will then tell the Joke enthusiastically to Woody Louse, who is perpetually unimpressed, leaving Mr Bon-Hovis crestfallen.  This will tighten up the rhythm of the show even further.

Set Pieces and Physical Comedy

By far one of the most successful adjustments we made as we moved through the production of season one was the enhancement and invigoration of the physical comedy.  The introduction of props such as creamy cakes, blow-up hammers and teleportation machines lifted the show into a higher level of polish and professionalism, as well as releasing the performers to play to the audience more freely, liberating some hearty laughs from viewers!  Kids just love ‘silly’!

New Areas of the House

It would seem a little stagnant not to develop the set with the introduction of some new areas of the house.  Two or three extra boards will offer options for a greater variety of visual interest and plot potential.

Well-Timed Scene Changes

Improving the timing of the scene changes in season one was a significant breakthrough, in conjunction with stronger slapstick and physical comedy elements.  This momentum will be maintained and improved with the timing carefully planned and considered so as not to give the viewer any opportunity to lose interest before something new and exciting hits the screen!

Live Switching

Half way through season one we swapped to live camera switching.  This was not only a help to speed up the editing but also provided a more natural flow to the performances as they appeared on screen.  So we will use this method again.

Puppeteers

During production of season one we discovered that not everyone is a natural puppeteer.  Bringing life to puppets is fundamental to the show and we were hampered by one or two helpers who struggled with the basics of puppeteering.  We now recognise the importance of ensuring that the people operating the puppets can achieve a minimum level of competence.

Set Interiors

It was always intended that Booky Worm, Dora Mouse and Woody Louse had homes behind their doors, and that we would occasionally be able to catch a glimpse inside, almost as if into a secret world.  The idea of going through the doors, and into those miniature worlds will be immensely exciting to a child. Spoiler alert!:  We intend to produce simple rooms, in the same style as the rest of the set, for Dora and Booky.  Booky’s will be a library, and Dora’s will be a kitchen with a table set for tea.

Strengthening of the puppet characters

There is tremendous opportunity for the puppets to offer more to the show.  On some occasions during season one the puppets were incidental, having very little interaction or lines.  Some of the strongest points in the show are when the puppets share lines and engage in equal conversation with Mr Bon-Hovis.  I intend to write stronger lines for characters such as Woody Louse and Monkey, who light up the screen when they connect properly with Mr Bon-Hovis.

I hope you all agree, that adding these tweaks to an already successful format will bring the show to it's next level!  See you in season two!

Wednesday 28 November 2012

Cheap New Christian Worship Music

I think I must be old school!

You may already know the my album Stars Like Needles is my first release.

You know, I thought music CD's were £9.99!  I guess that shows how long it is since I've bought a CD.  Well, my apologies, it seems like it's been a bit overpriced.  Most music CD's are coming out at around the £6.99 mark, so that's the price I've settled on for now.

So come along and snap it up folks, one of the most enjoyable and exciting new worship releases this side of 2013, very special, very beautiful new and original praise music.

If you want some worship music which is a little bit different, or you want some praise which is honest, open and real, then this is the album for you.  I never pretend everything is perfect, but I never pervert the course of the Gospel!  This is music for people with a faith that is real, deep and not wishy washy worship which just repeats the same old lines and passages from Scripture we've heard time and time again.

If you want to listen to some moving worship music, or you like to praise God in a way which is not quite so traditional and same old same old worship music, then you've come to the right place.

You can buy the album by clicking on the link on the right.

Tuesday 27 November 2012

Christians chasing money and the prosperity gospel.

The prosperity gospel and chasing financial success as Christians.

Wow, talk about missing the point.  Much of what is said by the prosperity gospel preachers is true, and I'm sure they vary in their understanding and connection with the Lord as much as any preachers!  But for me, focussing on the Lord's desire for your success financially is a bit like inheriting a beautiful castle and then spending your entire life in the garden twittering on about how amazing the bird bath is.

And to be brutally frank, if the Lord wants what's best for us which he surely does, then His primary concern is going to be the state of our souls surely, and not the shininess of our car?

In my experience money in relation to Christians should be something rather different to the relationship between money and those who don't know God.

Christians should treat money as a responsibility, something to be carefully administered for the good of others.  Of course there are certain levels of comfort and happiness that God would like to bless us with, but I don't think that's His first priority!  And I certainly do not believe that comfort and padding come hand in hand with a positive relationship with God.  As I sit at my desk writing this my financial circumstances are very restrictive, but I am certainly in one of the absolute most blessed parts of my life.  The two are only very loosely connected, and only under certain circumstances I think.

For me, this video touches on the sublime and speaks absolute volumes.  If only children in our schools were shown this video regularly as they grew up.



I think His first priority, sorry folks, is to mould us into the shape of His Son, Jesus.  Giving, ultimately self sacrificing even to the point of death.

I think that God tends to bless Christians with wealth when they have reached a level of maturity whereby they understand it's true value and the responsibility they have with it.

If we devote our lives to becoming more Christ-like, then we become better connected with the Father and life starts to make more sense.  How crass it then starts to seem that we thought God's love was measured by whether He gave us a square brown car or a pointy silver one.

Monday 26 November 2012

How to pray and how to hear from God.

Praying to God and hearing from God is one of the greatest struggles for a lot of Christians.  

While I can't claim to have the be all and end all answer, I can share with you some things which have helped me, and have also helped my wife Ellie as we've grown together and experienced similar development of our relationship with God.

And I'm certainly not talking as a person who has it all sorted, and has led a sound and consistent Christian life with no issues and no struggles.  Oh no!  Have a look at my most recent song on Youtube, I'm sure that if you listen to that you'll know, I understand what it means to feel separate from God.  But a big part of the key is revealed at the end of the song.  It's not a secret, I'm sure it will come as no surprise to you!

Have a listen:



I can remember times as a baby Christian, well perhaps more recently than that too, when I've looked about me at certain people in the church and in my home-groups and the like and felt so terribly inferior.  There are always these people who just seem to have peace, their families are all lovely and pretty, their homes are full of warmth and depth, they seem unshakably kind and at ease.  It seems like they've cracked it.

And all this time we're stressing about money because we can't pay the electric and the car's running on vapours, I'd rather not eat than have beans on toast again (wow, what ingratitude, that attitude kept the Israelites in the desert for 40 years instead of the 10 days it should have taken!), the three year old is a terror and we think she may have ADHD and the teenager wants to explain to you in explicit detail every waking moment what you're wrong about, how you don't understand, how things are different now and that you're so stupid.

I want to scream.  I Do scream sometimes!  Let's go a bit further and tell me if you can relate:  There are certain people who everybody loves, it's as if an angel goes before them scattering spiritual petals on the ground everywhere they walk.  But we're not imagining that in a nice way are we?  We're just jealous because we walked into church again and were ignored, nobody smiled at us and asked us how we were so we went and sat in a corner and had horrible thoughts about everyone else, especially the ones everybody likes!

But a strange thing started to happen a few years ago which was fundamentally entwined with prayer, my relationship with God and with my wife.

I started to notice that as new people came into church, and as I began to expand my circle of relationships WE began to appear like those 'sorted' people to the newcomers!  Oh what fools they are if only they knew!  But it raises an interesting point; you just don't know where people have come from or what they're going through.  And I think in the end, fundamentally across all of humanity there are two different kinds of people who are poles apart. One shines and the other doesn't.  One is full of life and the other isn't.  One whose struggles and tests have made them beautiful and one whose haven't.  And you fall in one camp or the other.

And what defines them is simply this:  One has chosen to be a giver, and the other is a taker.

Acts 20.35; the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'

I may seem to have gone off on a bit of a tangent but I will circle back to my main point now.  Firstly, something comes from God which makes us WANT to be the giving type.  This is the fundamental difference between legalism and love.  Two people can do the same work, one can be motivated by fear, and the other by love.  And you are not saved by your works, you are saved by grace and remember, the Lord looks at the heart!  And love covers a multitude of sins too, so imagine if by inspiration of the Holy Spirit you feel a joyful compulsion to serve God and administer the love He's shared with you.  What goodness you will be pouring out into the world.

Conversely you can have a belief but not connect it with the Lord by seeking Him and connecting with Him in prayer, your good works will likely stem from a head knowledge that you SHOULD be a good person, and that God is big and powerful and scary.  You will end up feeling drained, not refreshed, unfulfilled, and crucially you will feel resentful to the people you are giving to, you will feel as if they owe you something!  Eventually this type of giving will be exhausted, it will stop and leave you bitter and unclear as to why you were doing it, as well as confused about your relationship with God.

This is why it is said in James 2, 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.


So these two different types of people aren't separated by whether or not they're nice or nasty, wanting to do good or can't be bothered, but simply by whether or not they are driven by a deep connection with God by the presence and constant refreshing of His Holy Spirit within us.


God is the source of everything that's good in the universe.  We have some sort of understanding of it of course because it's programmed into our nature, we're made in His image after all.  But we become exhausted if we're not connected to the inexhaustible source.


I expect everyone reading this understands that somehow the death of Jesus, who when he walked the earth was a sinless man ( the only one ever, being God in human form ) acted as a sort of payment for our badness.  And God, being all perfect and lovely wasn't able to connect with us the way He'd like when we were all lost in general imperfection! So that was a very thoughtful and considerate thing for Him to do.  What this means is that we are now able to engage directly with God through His Holy Spirit, as long as we acknowledge Jesus when we attempt to.  This acknowledgement changes something in our spirit, and opens up a sort of access point which allows God in.  Without acknowledging Jesus it's a bit like calling out for somebody whilst holding the door shut...


So we're off to a flying start then if we make a few assumptions.  

We can get to God, He has made it possible for us.  We are promised that, and I think He's trustworthy!

A believer's prayer is a powerful thing and faith comes from hearing the message, so read a reasonable chunk of scripture daily.  Don't believe anybody who says you just need to choose a passage and meditate on that regularly.  You do that as well, not instead of reading a good portion, at least a chapter or two every day.  It stops being a chore very quickly.


Ask God for His presence, and ask Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit.


Ask God to open up Scripture to you.


Listen for answers.  Thinking you can't hear from God is actually another way of saying you don't trust His ability to speak to you.  He certainly can speak to you.  Pray specific prayers and ask specific questions, and then pause in the quiet and listen for answers.


Always use the name of Jesus.


Have absolute confidence in the name.


If you feel any sense of unease or tension, stress or frustration in the room, have a little celebration, and sing out loud to Jesus!  Maybe the devil doesn't want you to pray, which means you're surely on the right track!  Just lift your arms and command any evil spirits out of the room in Jesus' name, tell them the room belongs to Jesus and you belong to Jesus.  Say it all with a smile and sing praises to His name.  It's happened to me once or twice and it's a wonderful thing to see the power of His name transform a room.  Just keep going until you can tell in your spirit that something has changed and the bad atmosphere has left.  Don't get cross or angry, do it all with confidence and peace, and celebration.  The change WILL happen.


Persevere.  God is always with us, but so often we bring so much mental and spiritual junk to the alter it can take some time for us to settle into our prayer.  Don't let your prayer time be a two minute in and out.  Persevere, it's something that can be learned.


Find your own way, ask God to teach you how to pray in the way that's right for you.


Be bold and confident in approaching the throne of grace.  Never think to yourself  'I wonder if god will be there for me today.', but assume He will be!


Learn to recognise the voice of the Holy Spirit within you.  There is now something wonderful living inside you which you were not born with, a living and Holy spirit from God, learn to recognise Him talking to you, the difference between Him and your own thoughts.  Ask Jesus to help you.


Ask God to teach you how to live, and what kind of a person to be.  Ask Him to change you into the kind of person He wants you to be.  Let this be your prayer every day, ask Him to motivate and inspire you, ask Him to change your heart to love the things He loves and ask Him to fill you with good, Godly and Holy wisdom.


Keep doing that.


Pray for other people as well as yourself.  Pray big prayers, don't be afraid to pray against what seems hopeless such as war and famine.


Pray specific prayers for specific situations in home and personal life too.  Make sure you recognise when the answer comes!


Pray every morning before you get up and every night before you sleep.  Shoot little prayers up to the throne all day whenever something comes up.


If you are married, start praying together every day.  this might be very embarrassing if you've never done it before, but it has the power to change your life and transform your marriage.   Stick at it!


Do what God says!  If you start praying regularly in Jesus name, and listening out for God in a way you haven't done before isn't it just possible he might tell you there are things you need to change about your life? Did you ever ask God about your career before?  Are you doing what HE intended? Did you ever ask him about your career or your house which you've bought with a huge loan?  Did you ask God where you should live?  Consider it's possible that your mind may not have been completely in tune with God's your whole life!


Be obedient from now on, and begin enjoying your life the way God intended.

Thursday 22 November 2012

How much money can you make putting videos on Youtube?

I've updated this post from yesterday as I think it was a little lacking.  I've been a little clearer towards the end of the article now, I hope this helps as I found it quite difficult to find this information when I was looking into whether or not to place ads on my Youtube videos to make some extra cash.

How much money can you make from posting videos on Youtube?

First of all, make sure you subscribe to my Youtube channel here!  That's key in making money, get subscribers, so help a guy out right? www.Youtube.com/ChristianMoviesUK 

This was such a difficult question to find an answer to.  I guess there are so many variables, different advertisers pay different amounts, different types of video might appeal to different types of user who are more or less inclined to click on ads meaning you'll get less clicks per 1000 views.

I set up my videos to monetise and I haven't found any information which suggests I should keep the payment amount and schedule secret, I don't think I was invited into the secret Youtube club where they tell you how much you're going to earn from advertising on your videos as long as you don't tell anyone else!

So I'll tell you what it looks like so far on mine.  And a lot of this is based on assumptions and rough guesstimates!

Basically, I get about 4 pence, £0.04, every time somebody clicks on the advert on one of my Youtube videos.  Yippee!  Actually, I thought it would be even less than that.  I'm sure there are setting you can select which put limits on how ads are displayed which may mean you'd get less.

Anyway, based on the percentage of people who are clicking my ads on Youtube, the prediction they offer me is that I am likely to earn around £3.45 per 1000 video views, I have a click-through rate of just over 8%.  I don't know if that's good or not.

10,000 views = £34.50
100,000 views = £345.00
1,000,000 views = £3,450.00
10,000,000 views = £34,500.00
100,000,000 views = £345,000.00
300,000,000 views = £1,035,000.00  Think Gotye, Gangnam Style...Yay, I'm a Youtube Millionaire!

So, if you wanted to make a living from Youtube and you had my level of CTR and £0.04 per click, then in order to get a passable young geezer's wage of let's say £20k a year that would mean you would need half a million clicks per year.  At a rate of just over 8% that means you would need roughly six million video views per year.

So that's the answer right there, all very rough but you can work the rest out yourself.  If you start getting a vid with 300 million views, things start to look rather tasty.

My vids are getting between 10-60 views per day on average (not quite Beyonce Single Ladies) so let's call it an average of 35 per day.  I have four main videos doings this, so I'm seeing about 140 views per day.  I'm getting a bit more than that really, but it's always far more comfortable to do a conservative estimate for me, that way I'm more likely to be pleasantly surprised!

So on a 30 day month I'm getting 4200 views. 8.2% of those 4200 Youtube video views makes it likely I will get around 344 click throughs on my ads. 344 clicks x £0.04 = £13.76 pcm. Wow, I'm on my way!

Since I'm getting that with four main videos, and I'd need at least 100 times that to scrape by as anything like a career choice, then I'll need another 400 videos.  Those videos took about a week each to make, so we're looking at a good four or five years working for very little before I could start to relax, and of course there's no saying that all videos will maintain a level of popularity.

BUT, and this is the big fun part, if you are putting your heart into something and producing a level of quality (which people certainly appreciate, quality over quantity any day!)  then it seems likely that out of those four hundred videos you will achieve several which are far more successful than the sorts of low numbers I'm talking about.  I think that's where it gets quite exciting, as you have a hope of hitting the big time and you're independent.  You can make a movie or a song and do really well with no record deal or Hollywood agent, all you need to rely on is your own talent and of course, God's will!

So it's very possible to make a living off Youtube, especially if your videos are popular.  But it would need to be a concerted long-term effort, requiring skill, talent and hard work, like any career.  Go for it!

Wednesday 21 November 2012

Creating videos for Youtube and making money from them with Adsense and advertising

How much money can you make from posting videos on Youtube?

This was such a difficult question to find an answer to.  I guess there are so many variables, different advertisers pay different amounts, different types of video might appeal to different types of user who are more or less inclined to click on ads meaning you'll get less clicks per 1000 views.

I set up my videos to monetise and I haven't found any information which suggests I should keep the payment amount and schedule secret, I don't think I was invited into the secret Youtube club where they tell you how much you're going to earn from advertising on your videos as long as you don't tell anyone else!

So I'll tell you what it looks like so far on mine.  And a lot of this is based on assumptions and rough guesstimates!

Basically, I get about 4 pence, £0.04, every time somebody clicks on the advert on one of my Youtube videos.  Yippee!  Actually, I thought it would be even less than that.  I'm sure there are setting you can select which put limits on how ads are displayed which may mean you'd get less.

Anyway, based on the percentage of people who are clicking my ads on Youtube, the prediction they offer me is that I am likely to earn around £3.45 per 1000 video views, I have a click-through rate of just over 8%.  I don't know if that's good or not.

10,000 views = £345.00
100,000 views = £3,450.00
1,000,000 views = £34,500.00
100,000,000 views = £345,000.00
300,000,000 views = I'm a Youtube millionaire!  Think Gotye, Gangnam Style...

So, if you wanted to make a living from Youtube and you had my level of CTR and £0.04 per click, then in order to get a passable young geezer's wage of let's say £20k a year that would mean you would need half a million clicks per year.  At a rate of just over 8% that means you would need roughly six million video views per year.

So that's the answer right there, all very rough but you can work the rest out yourself.  If you start getting a vid with 300 million views, things start to look rather tasty.

My videos are averaging about 5-10 thousand views per year, so, I either need to get a thousand videos on there of a reasonable quality, or do something special that people are going to go nuts over.

So it's possible to make a living off Youtube, especially if your videos are popular.

Tuesday 20 November 2012

Brand new free christian worship music video release from Joseph Cheetham-Wilkinson

Dear brothers and sisters,

I'm so pleased that I've had a little revelation regarding my Christian song-writing endeavours.  I hope it really blesses you too!  Ellie and I have been challenged just lately about how we should be devoting our time to working for the kingdom of God and blessing others with the gifts God has given us.

God seems to be telling us quite clearly that if we're working for Him and we're in His will we shouldn't be constantly stressing about money.  I have a lot to say on the subject, but that may be for another blog.  But the thing is, it's really difficult to get to that breakthrough part of the Christian walk where you say to God, from your heart, 'My greatest blessing is to serve you Lord.'

And we have to serve Him unconditionally, and that includes Him NOT giving us what we want, as well as giving us what we think we need!



The truest blessings to be had in this life are those that come when we can really let go of our own desires and allow God to have His way.  And I know this much, that's no sacrifice, because God's way is so much better than ours!

Anyway, I'm getting off the point a little here.  I made my recent album Stars Like Needles, which you can purchase by clicking the link at the top of this page, and immediately began to stress about how to get people to buy it, how to get a record deal, how to get on iTunes and all those things which didn't really connect with my initial purposes in producing the album; which were to use my gifts in service of God and to bless others.

And the answer which God gave me was very surprising and very liberating, 'Give it away!'  What's the point in making something for people and then holding it all in so they have to prize it out of me?  It's meant to be a gift from God to His people, through me!

How freeing and how beautiful that felt, to know I am working for God in the way He intends, and blessing others in a way that blesses me so deeply.

So what I will be doing from now on is producing my songs and making videos for them, and making them freely available on Youtube.

Hurrah!

Of course you can still buy the CD if you want it for the car or for a gift, then that's a lovely way you can bless me.  But I am no longer worrying about getting money out of my Christian brothers and sisters who I just want to bless, I know God will provide if I am serving Him.

Now, isn't it wonderful when God gives you peace and confirmation on something?  After Ellie and I prayed about this yesterday, Ellie walked around the house saying thank you top God for all the ways He has blessed us. I once again listened to Him and put into action what I felt He was saying to me.  You see I admit it, we are very poor compared to most people in our country, so we end up praying about money all the time.

I could just imagine Jesus hanging there on the cross saying 'Haven't I done enough?  How much more do you want?'

And so letting go and trusting the Lord once again yesterday was incredibly liberating.  And so often have Ellie and I seen remarkable blessings like this that we were hardly surprised, first thing this morning we had a tax rebate for an amount of money which very closely matched the value of some specific items we needed and couldn't afford, and had been whining and moaning to God about.

Also, after months of not understanding what on earth was going on, my Google Adwords account has come to life and enabled me to gain revenue from advertising on my videos and my blog, TODAY that happened, so my fans who can't afford a CD will always be able to hear my music!

Lord Jesus, you are AMAZING!

Monday 12 November 2012

Last chance to view episode two of Joves Bon-Hovis and the Creation Crew!

Don't forget everybody, it's your last chance to catch episode two of Jovis Bon-Hovis and the Creation Crew tomorrow. It's on UCB TV, shich is Sky channel 585 at 7.00 AND 4.00. Everybody's support is so much appreciated, all the feedback is really encouraging. If you don't have Sky, just watch online as all UCB's TV is broadcast online too here:http://www.ucbmedia.co.uk/home/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=582&Itemid=6
Normal air times are Tuesdays as above, Thursdays at 7.30 am, and Saturdays at 7.30.