What is up my friends! It’s good to be back. I have much to share. I could tell you a thousand stories, but I’m not going to; I just want to start by sharing about the massive shift that Jesus has been doing in my heart.

What an insane last few months. My life will never be the same. I might even—dare I say—know what I want to be when I grow up. Maybe. Lets not get crazy. What I know for sure is that Jesus is at the center of it all, and he is continuing to reshape my thinking moment by moment.

It has now been two years since a day I delved inside and pulled out the words that became a song I wrote called Blinding Light. Thinking about the words in this song, I realize that they signaled the beginning of a long process of change that God had begun in me. I was drifting into the confusion that grips our culture of complete uncertainty and doubt. It was an awful time. But God was setting me on firmer ground, removing me from sinking sand that was probably about to take me under.  Totally gripped by the truth of gospel in God’s word, and the fact that God has preserved truth in every word, I wrote:

A blinding light awakes my soul tonight
Beauty bright lovely heaven’s eyes
The haze is lifting the maze untwisting
I’m coming back to the start
Oh a peace is passing my understanding
I’m coming back to your heart
And I’m finding my life in you; I’m coming home.

That blinding light is Jesus, the light of the world, totally wrecking us for anything but him. Though we look to lesser versions, they don’t satisfy.

My life has been re-routed. I realized the misdirection, and I had to make a change. All of my iPhone GPS user friends know what I’m talking about, because they have experienced a micro version of this: “The stupid blue location dot is nowhere near the purple line! Totally lost.  Why am I in the middle of a field?  Crap.  Edit. From ‘current location.’ New ‘Route.’ Ah, peace and sanity!” Of course with the iPhone we end up doing that ten more times, but that’s another blog. The point is that I have a new clarity that I have never known my whole life.

Ok, but that was two years ago; why the sudden mention of it?

The work (sanctification) that God does in our hearts show’s its results at varied pace; I have been learning, slowly, what it means to join God on his mission, rather than trying to attach him into my life like an accessory—for sure, he is more Kinglike than capelike. I had those two confused.

All of that clarity has been sharpening into focus this whole time. Fast-forward to now. Have you ever had that moment where something previously confusing all of a sudden made perfect sense—perhaps, why women insist men lift the lid, or something like that; I had that moment over the last six months. The realization, despite my light-hearted tone, was nothing slight.

What does it mean to walk in redemption? What does it mean to tell others about redemption? What is redemption? Isn’t the Christian life redemption?—it is indeed! Isn’t redemption, the biblical promise since Genesis 3, freedom from the curse? Are not Christians to be joining with God in that redemption back to the state of how he saw it: “And God saw that it was good?” Why are Christians so caught up in what they are against, rather than what they are for? Isn’t the gospel good news? Is the Church not the body and bride of Christ? Then, shouldn’t the Church look like Christ, and be devoted to his purpose? Is there any other way for the Church to look like Christ than that it be gathered together, and living sacrificial lives toward each other and the needy? Is not the gospel the thing that unites everybody, even natural enemies, providing the basis for every good deed? Does the gospel not affect every aspect of life? Did Jesus set precedence for a life of comfort and affluence, or avoiding it for his sake? Then why do we say that we follow Christ and yet structure our lives toward that which he didn’t? Is there any motivation toward any of the previous unless you are one-hundred-thousand-percent convinced that you are justified purely by faith apart from works, on account of, none other than, Christ’s payment for your sin and righteousness to your account?

Some of my theologian readers snapped to their wide spread wrestling stance while reading the previous paragraph, due to the pervasive liberalism in the Church—calm down. I am not that, though I have been there, and have great sympathy for those, and their struggles. The gospel is doctrinal truth, internally transformative, socially revolutionary/regenerative, perfectly balanced between all three. Please, your grace is needed since my space is limited.

I love the Church. I am so completely committed to her. The bride of Christ is Christ to the world until he comes. The world God created, that he called good, is the world, which he is redeeming every aspect of. Every aspect of our lives has been redeemed for his glory; we are alive!  We live in grace as our mode of existence, and that grace, seen in every word of scripture, is the deepest beauty, infinitely to be unfolded, that he has brought into the lives of believers through the Church, that has become his visible representative to all, to come into and experience love, actually lived out between people; this is our origin in him, the point to which we must return.

To trust God is to trust his word. To trust is to stop focusing on the command to not eat of the one tree: it is to reclaim the freedom to love and enjoy fully all that he has created for and because of new life, by the Holy Spirit, because of Jesus, to the glory of God: the gospel in a sentence.

I love that I have been called to lead people to worship God.  That is my roll in the body of Christ. This is worship: that we get our eyes off of the idolatry of self, and let our desire for God shape every aspect of our lives as we enjoy him, in response to his love; our response is that we join him in his redemption of creation, every Christian on mission, bearing the name of Jesus wherever they find themselves, at all times. It is to this end that I aim to use every inch of this blog.

Grace and peace,

Elijah Stephen Meeker.

Well, I don’t exactly know what the big deal is with Myspace song plays, but apparently, it’s cool if you have them—a lot of them. And if you are an Indie (independent) artist like myself it’s especially good to have them.

I have been looking around at some of the cool cats that play similar types of music, that are at a similar level of exposure, and I have been noticing that they are ranging right around 1 to 500 daily plays.

So, I thought to myself, what happens if you market around myspace a little and try to stir up the play action a bit. Which is quite what i did.

It was a pretty exciting situation last night. I captured a picture with my handy-dandy mac screen capture short cut (com shft 3) so that I could share the moment with you all my first 1000 plays in one day. Woohoo!!! Cheers!

This has been a great year for music for me. I’m talking about the music I have been listening to. Well, it’s been a great year for my music too but that’s another blog. Right now, I’m talking about the music that is on my iPod. The music that I listen to more often than any other music, that’s the stuff.

It’s a beautiful thing that we get to have millions of minutes of music on our multiply gigabyted iPods and MP3 players but there are only a few artist that have really captivated my attention over the last year. Don’t get me wrong! I like to hit random every once-in-a-while just as much as the next guy. But that’s not what inspires me to be a better musician and songwriter.

Now, most of you are going to laugh at my list because there is not a single band on it whose greatness transcends this decade. But I’m being honest. Most musicians would probably be listing some greats like U2, Nirvana, Miles Davis, Johnny Cash, The Stones, Queen, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, John Coltrane, Ray Charles, Elvis, AND OF COURSE, they would not be cool unless they listed Radiohead. I have not been listening to many of these guys.

Here’s my top 5 artists in my playlist with some references to my favorite songs.

One Republic
Dreaming Out Loud is the album and the whole thing is awesome. The song Mercy blows my mind. Ryan has a ridiculously rad voice.

Coldplay
Viva La Vida is one of the most artistic pieces of sonic goodness that I have ever experienced.

Phil Wickham
I love every note! I am a fan of Cannons but his self titled album is my favorite album in the world. Mystery is objectively one of the best songs ever written in my humble, subjective opinion.

Josiah James
Is it weird that I listen to my own brother every day? Not only do I have the priviledge of having unreleased music of his on my playlist, I get to hear new tunes that he writes pretty much every week. He is Amazing!

Colbie Caillat
You are probably going, “What?” I know she is a bit different from the direction that this list has gone (besides not being timeless) but I really like her stuff. I don’t even remember the album title but I listen to it a lot. I have been meaning to cover the song One Fine Wire for a while because it’s awesome. But I haven’t got to it yet.

Well, that’s my list. Do you listen to any of this stuff? Tell me a couple people that are on your playlists? I always love hearing what music is making an impact on everyone else.

Imagine the typical pub. Picture the seats and bar empty (maybe typical, maybe not, depending on your communities drinking habits). Now, place Josiah and me hanging out at a couple of tables by the stage with 3 other artists who are staring at a clock. The clock read 5:00 at arrival. It read 6:00 when the gig was supposed to have started. It read 7:00 when the promoter guy said, “It’s going to start any minute”. And it read 8:30 when the musicians decided to go home. JK. It read 8:30 when the musician looked around and realized that something weird was going.

After hours of waiting we started exchanging the stories of what had brought each of us out to San Jose for such an obscure show. The common denominator in each story was some farfetched things that we had all been told by the show’s promoter. The promoter was—allegedly—the owner of a record label seeking new talent, working with the pop sensation, Colby Caillat, and he was sad because he was going to bring Dashboard Confessional out for this show for $55,000 but at the last minute they changed their fee to $70,000—the apparent reason why we were there instead. Hmm… skeptical much?

We were all convinced that this guy was questionable at best but one of the artists decided that getting paid might be in question too. After kicking the problem around with the rest of us, he took it upon himself to inquire. The promoter, hearing that the night’s entertainment was uneasy, quickly fired back a solution. The call had already been made. A local, who routinely draws 150 people minimum, had been added to the night’s bill. He was going to save the day. So we all eagerly waited. Not really though, because we all knew that truth wasn’t blowing in from that direction.

The clock read 9:30 and the show began. Mr. 150 hadn’t shown up yet. But the show went on for the handful of people that were there. When the last band played, it all started to make sense.

The band got three songs in and the DJ made an announcement that the band was going to play one more song and then there would be an announcement—redundant? The next song ended and the promoter guy got on stage, grabbed a mic, and told everyone to grab their raffle tickets. “The ticket ending in 392 can come up and claim their prize.” Since nobody responded, several people shouted out requests for a re-draw. With a little more emphasis this time he repeated, “The ticket ending in 392 can come up and claim their prize.” Again, there was no winner and we wanted a re-draw but no redraw was done. A few awkward moments passed and finally a woman walked on stage to claim the prize. “There is no prize actually,” the promoter said as the woman joined him on the stage. We are all about to jump the guy at this point but he gets down on his knee. He looks up at the woman and says, “I’m the prize if you’ll marry me.” Crying and hugging, everyone else clapping and cheering, a yes was implied and the band began to play a pretty love song.

Yes(!), it clicked didn’t it? All the mularchy that we heard was to make this proposal happen. Apparently the headlining band was a favorite of the woman’s (I think Dashboard might have been her first pick but that didn’t work out). You couldn’t help but give the guy props for his efforts. The moment was pretty great for all of us. Since it all made sense, we had the wonderful feeling that comes with a burst of mental clarity. We got to see a mushy, gushy, lovy, happy moment and those always feel good. And we got a good laugh because it was one of the most bizarre experiences for all of us.

Good times right? The clock said 12:45 and we headed home, got lost a couple of times, and tried every exit between San Jose and Rocklin for an open restaurant. We found none and the 2 ½ hour drive ended up taking 4 ½ . Awesome! So, how was your thanksgiving weekend?

Me: “Yeah, no problem, calll me back.”

I waited about 10 minutes, and the phone made its noise.

Moi: “Hey man, I am coming. Just text me the address and I will be there.”

Me: “Oh no Prob bro. That’s so awesome that you can swing it. I won’t get to be there tonight, but everyone at Origin is going to love your music. Thanks so much for coming with such sort notice. It’s amazing.”

Moi: “Oh it’s totally no problem. I am just happy that you thought to give me a call. Thank you.”

This conversation was the result of a phone call that I made yesterday to try and see if Moi would make an unscheduled stop at Origin (the brand new church plant that I lead worship at, that still meats in a living room). This guy blew my mind! He is a super talented artist, up-and-coming, with one of the best vocals I have ever heard. He was in my area last night and, without reservation (in more than one sense), he made room in his schedule to swing by and share his ministry and a few songs. He didn’t even require a fee, which is great because we didn’t have any way of paying one.

This is a rare thing to find in an artist of Moi’s caliber. I feel like I have a tiny platform to say this from, having worked with booking musicians for years and I have small connections with a handful of nationally-knowns that I have made similar requests of in the past, without positive result. Having less of a connection with Moi than any of the others, he was more eager, flexible and approachable than any.

What a lungful of sweet, fresh, O2 goodness! Seriously, part of my blogging interest revolves around the realization that good artists are not consumed with thinking that they are God’s gift to humanity. The tools made available to us through the Internet, are great means of portraying the vulnerability and transparency that make artist real people. Now, Joe and Jane Awesome can stay up in the made up celestials and try to pretend that they are that gift that I mentioned, or they can be—the over used word of the decade—real.

Please check out Moi. I think this guy is as genuine as they come. He is well worth your support and you will definitely be hearing more about him in the coming years. He is legit folks. So, go! Click here on Moi and go listen to his stuff and let me know what you think of those pipes of his. Cheers!

For the last few weeks I have been absolutely fascinated by Katie Perry, the recent pop sensation. You all know her from the intentionally shocking I Kissed A Girl but I just recently learned that I know her from a Christian concert that I saw in Auburn, CA five years ago. At the time, she was going by the name Katie Hudson which she later dropt in favor of Perry, her mother’s maiden name, so that she wouldn’t be confused with the actress.

So crazy! She went from singing about a love for God to singing for the sake of scandalous sensation—in a very catchy way no less. What is really fascinating is that she has Jesus tattooed on her left wrist. Every time she plays guitar and sings she sees it and is reminded about her former faith. Like Jessica and Ashley Simpson her Dad is a pastor too. Unlike the Simpsons, Perry’s dad isn’t managing her career in delighted approval. That must be interesting at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

It really makes you wonder what is going on in the minds of Christian artists. In our current Industry of Christian music, Perry’s former industry, it is very easy to let “Christian lyrics” be a substitute for Christian faith and living. Words that are sung seem to be fused with the image that we have of those that sing them whether or not such a relationship is real. I am sure those that followed Perry’s Christian artistry were convinced of the same.

I think it is a healthy reminder to us that a person’s life should be evaluated apart from the assumptions that come with the industry that they are in—that is reversible by the way (seemingly “unchristian” lyrics can be sung by very Godly people). Any thoughts? Any thoughts about the assumptions we make? Any thoughts about Perry or Christian music? Let me know what you think.

I know this might be a little early to already be talking about, but check out this CD cover that Celest just put together for it. Let me know what you think?

Hey Everybody, go check out Grayson Kessenich on his Myspace.  He is a Friend of mine from Auburn, CA who I have had the privilege of playing with on a few occasions.Listen to You Know Better.  It should blow your mind if you like good music.  Let me know what you think.

Origin Community Church: Very good things are happening. Meeting in Mark’s house once a week. Studying through Galatians. It’s Awesome. Just waiting to see how God will use this community of believers.

Bayside Church Placerville: God is blessing the Bayside family of Churches. Bayside Placerville is no exception. Pastor Brian Lopez is Awesome and is leading the church extremely well.

Elijah Stephen Music: Getting more and more excited about my EP. Bought my plane ticket out to Des Moines. Listening to a lot of good music.

William Jessup University: Taking my favorite class yet, Old Testament. I am loving it.

The Family: So Good! Celestial is getting new photo shoots all the time–Her stuff is so good. Avonlea is 6 as of this week. She got some rad presents. And Avery… I can tell Avery is thinking about potty training…it’s coming.