“Here Is Your God,” is the latest worship album from Grace Evangelical Free Church in La Mirada.

Watch
Watch as Walt Harrah and Erik Thoennes discuss the theology behind the songs from the new album.

Here Is Your God: Interview with Erik Thoennes and Walt Harrah from Grace EV Free on Vimeo.

Listen
Listen to samples and download the album now

Isaiah 40 opens up with a word we could all use in these hectic times – it’s the word comfort. It is said twice, even. Israel was probably in captivity at the time Isaiah was written, and these words must have been like a drink of cool water to God’s desperately thirsty people. If they had lost any hope of restoration, the words of chapters 40-66 of Isaiah were meant to flood the driest of hearts with the living water of God’s glorious plan and purpose.

What would it be like to sing some of these truths, so that our hope gets reawakened as well? The God who reveals himself in these chapters is still in charge, and while his ultimate plan is yet unfolding, we need all the help we can get to make it to the finish line. Surely these words were meant to give us endurance and encouragement as well.

God promised that his word would never return to him without having accomplished its purpose. May you experience revival and renewal as you listen, to the ultimate glory of God.

Songs

1. Here Is Your God : Song lyrics and description : Sheet Music
2. The Best Is Yet To Come : Song lyrics and description : Sheet Music
3. Life Everlasting : Song lyrics and description : Sheet Music
4. Prepare The Way : Song lyrics and description : Sheet Music
5. I Belong To The Lord : Song lyrics and description : Sheet Music
6. Despised, Rejected : Song lyrics and description : Sheet Music
7. Beauty From Ashes : Song lyrics and description : Sheet Music
8. Set Things Right : Song lyrics and description : Sheet Music
9. The Light Of The Lord : Song lyrics and description : Sheet Music
10. True Religion : Song lyrics and description : Sheet Music
11. Just Wait And See : Song lyrics and description : Sheet Music

All songs by Walt Harrah 2010 Seedsower Music ASCAP
The above links will give you more info about these songs and let you download the sheet music for free at www.waltharrah.com

Credits

Produced by Walt Harrah
Engineered by Brian Petersen
Mixed and mastered by Ted Blaisdell
Cover art and layout by Becky Griswold

Musicians

Drums: Nate Warne
Bass: Andrew Braine
Electric guitar: Dale Bryson
Acoustic guitar: Kenny Clark, Drew Brokke
Percussion: Will Gearhart, Nate Warne
Violins: Lindsay Orr, Laurel McMillen, Amanda Sansonetti
Viola: Megan Grafton-Cardwell
Cello: Meghan Zeikle
String bass: Andrew Braine
Piano, pads: Walt Harrah

Vocalists

Here Is Your God
Kenny Clark and Marla Bustad
The Best Is Yet To Come
Kenny Clark
Life Everlasting
Marla Bustad
Prepare The Way
Kenny Clark
Walt Harrah and Drew Brokke, bgvs
I Belong To The Lord
Marla Bustad
Anna & Elijah Price, Chayila & Ransom Kleist, Maryn & Anna Joseph, Caroline Thoennes, choir
Despised, Rejected
Kenny Clark
Beauty From Ashes
Mindy Price
orchestrated by and piano performed by Trevor Gomes
Set Things Right
Kenny Clark
The Light Of The Lord
Marla Bustad
True Religion
Kenny Clark and Marla Bustad
Just Wait And See
Kenny Clark and Mindy Price
Walt Harrah and Mindy Price, bgvs

Grace

© 2010 Grace Evangelical Free Church
12717 S. Santa Gertrudes Avenue
La Mirada, CA 90638
(562) 943-3791
www.waltharrah.com
www.songsofgrace.org
www.graceevfree.org

Songs of Grace is a worship ministry of Grace Evangelical Free Church in La Mirada, CA.

Grace Evangelical Free Church is a community that exists to glorify God as we follow Jesus Christ. By God’s grace we seek to glorify Him through reverent worship. In His Spirit we endeavor to reach the La Mirada area and the world with the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ. Through His Word we strive toward maturity in Christ, encouraging and equipping one another to be His ambassadors. As Christ’s body we build faithful relationships and families.

At Grace every member of the body is necessary and important for us to do the work that God has called us to do. Our members need to be active if we are going to be faithful to our mission. Our Elders equip the body, but the entire body is to be active in service.

Read more about our ministry values here

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen for licenses regarding this image.
© 2010 Brian Petersen

Soundcraft MH4 mixer at the front of house mix position at Hume Lake Ponderosa Chapel.

http://www.soundcraft.com/products/product.aspx?pid=123
http://www.humelake.org/

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen for licenses regarding this image.
© 2010 Brian Petersen

Hills in the Grapevine area off the 5 freeway in California.

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen for licenses regarding this image.
© 2010 Brian Petersen

Sunrise over Hume Lake in the Sequoia National Forest. Hume Lake Christian Camps is a year-round youth camp and adult retreat center providing epic, high-energy, life-changing programs for churches, schools, teams and groups.

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen for licenses regarding this image.
© 2010 Brian Petersen

Farm off the 180 on the way to the Sequoias.

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen for licenses regarding this image.
© 2010 Brian Petersen

Crazy, crazy, crazy.

South Dakota Farmer in the Monroe area outside of Sioux Falls.

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen for licenses regarding this image.
© 2010 Brian Petersen

Fields of corn in the Monroe, South Dakota area.

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen for licenses regarding this image.
© 2010 Brian Petersen

Horses on a South Dakota farm right outside of Monroe, South Dakota.

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen for licenses regarding this image.
© 2010 Brian Petersen

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen for licenses regarding this image.
© 2010 Brian Petersen

A beautiful farm outside of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Taken on July 31, 2010.

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen for licenses regarding this image.
© 2010 Brian Petersen

The legendary Ted Blaisdell at Westlake Studios. Visit his site at http://tedblaisdell.com/

Ted Blaisdell
c/o Host Pro Media
10866 Washington Blvd #442
Culver City, CA 90232
Email:info@tedblaisdell.com

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen for licenses regarding this image.
© 2010 Brian Petersen

This digi 002 portable pro tools rig was used to track an album and pitch vocals while the main HD rig was mixing in P1 at the Westlake Studios in West L.A.

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen for licenses regarding this image.
© 2010 Brian Petersen

Mics pres during a drum recording session by Brian Petersen.

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen for licenses regarding this image.
© 2010 Brian Petersen

From a string recording session at Grace EV Free for the Isaiah worship CD coming out in September.

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen for licenses regarding this image.
© 2010 Brian Petersen

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen for licenses regarding this image.
© 2010 Brian Petersen

Thatcher Kelly is a legendary videographer in the Los Angeles area. Check out his setup and the video he shot here.

2010 Grace EV Free Adventure Week from Grace EV Free on Vimeo.

Enjoy this from Grace Adventure Week 2010!

Kid’s Adventure Week 2010 was hosted by Grace Evangelical Free Church of La Mirada. We spent the evenings with family during the week of June 28 – July 2. We journeyed back into the medieval times, we went on a quest to discover what the Kingdom of God is all about through the parables, or stories, that Jesus told. It was a fun week of Bible stories, hilarious skits, great music, fun games, and exciting crafts and activities.

http://www.kidsadventureweek.org/
http://www.graceevfree.org/

handheld/mounting rig: http://handyslr.com/

monitor: http://www.filmtools.com/marshall-7-lcd-field-monitor-w-hdmi-panasonic-battery-mt.html

follow focus: http://redrockmicro.com/mff_product.htm

mattebox: http://www.evsonline.com/genus-gmkdslr-77-dslr-mattebox-kit-with-77mm-step-down-ring.html

A preschool graduation in Long Beach provides a big smile to this little guy.

Full size at
www.flickr.com/photos/bpbp/1581106295/in/set-72157594222886667/

Adventure Week Maidens at Grace EV Free

Shots from a photo session with the legendary Chris Lord-Alge at Mix L.A.

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen for licenses regarding this image.
© 2010 Brian Petersen

Body Life from Grace EV Free: de la Haye Family from Grace EV Free on Vimeo.

I had the joy of being a part of this sweet video of some of my favorite people. They have faced severe trials and continue to trust in the Lord through it all. Their desire for the Lord to get all the glory has also encouraged me to serve with the same goal, and I pray that the glory of Christ would be shown through it all.

Church live sound recording using Pro Tools, Yamaha M7, and Waves

Many people wonder how they can record live worship in their church sanctuary using affordable gear to get the job done right. Here is a basic setup using Pro Tools LE 8, a Yamaha M7, and Waves plug ins.

Design by Brian Petersen at Grace EV Free, La Mirada.
Gear and installation by Steve Prado and Jeff Clark at ELS

Signal flow
- Inputs come from the stage to the snake at Front of House (FOH).
- XLR snake lines then plug into to the back of the mixer, a Yamaha 48 channel M7
- The M7 mic pres set the gain for the mixer channel and the direct out
- direct outs from each mixer channel is routed to an output card on the M7
- 2 installed analog cards on the back of the M7 go to a Digi 003+rack
- Inputs come into a Digi 003+ rack running Pro Tools LE 8
- The Digi 003+ rack connects via firewire 400 to the iMac
- 8 other outputs from the board are run into a ADAT lightpipe interface connected to the Digi 003+ via lightpipe providing 16 total analog inputs to Pro Tools

- The tracks are then recorded in Pro Tools 8 on an older iMac with no active plug ins
- The files from the worship services are moved to another computer.
- The 16 tracks are then mixed using SSL, Masters, and the Diamond Bundle of Waves plug ins.
- The audio mix is then manual sync to the recorded camera feeds in Final Cut Pro

Inputs:
2 flown room mics at 20ft. facing the congregation
1 wireless Shure Beta 87 for lead vocal
1 wireless Shure lav W185 mic for preaching pastor
1 wireless Shure Beta 87 for announcements
2 wired Shure Beta 58 for female lead and background vocals
1 Audix D6 for kick drum
1 Sennheiser e604 for snare
1 Sennheiser e604 for toms
1 Shure KSM 106 for drum overhead
1 Rapco DI for electric bass
1 Shure SM 58 for electric guitar
1 Radial DI for acoustic guitar
2 Shure KSM 109 for grand piano (only 1 channel goes to pt)
1 Shure KSM 27 for violin/fiddle

Waves Plug-ins
Waves SSL G-Master Buss Compressor for main mix buss
Based on the renowned master buss center compressor of the SSL 4000 G console, the Waves SSL G-Master Buss Compressor captures the unique sound of the original’s IC input and twin VCA gain-reduction amplifier design.

Waves L2 Ultramaximizer for main mix buss
For mixing, mastering, and more, the L2’s legendary combination of look-ahead brickwall peak limiting, level maximization, and ultra high resolution give you the power and extra gain you need with crystal-clear results every single time.

Waves S1 Stereo Imager for main buss before the compressor
Ideal for stereo tracks as well as full mixes, the S1 is a unique and powerful set of tools that uses psycho-acoustic spatial imaging techniques to enhance and alter stereo separation.

Waves SSL E-Channel for most channel EQ and compression
The SSL E-Channel delivers the incomparable sound of the Solid State Logic 4000-series console’s all-discrete design and its Class A, VCA chip.

Waves Renaissance Compressor
Featuring a streamlined, optimized interface, the Renaissance Compressor delivers classic warm compression and expansion utilizing technologies from our renowned C1 Parametric Compander and the legendary L1 Ultramaximizer™.

Waves Renaissance Axx for bass
Engineered especially for guitar, Renaissance Axx is the ideal compressor for musicians and engineers who need to dial in dynamic levels quickly. With its three efficient controls, Renaissance Axx features a fixed ratio curve, automatic release value, and an output limiter to prevent clipping.

Waves H-Delay for main vocal and electric gt delays
From real old school PCM42-style effects like filtering, flanging, and phasing, to slap-back echo, ping-pong delay, and tempo-sync with modulation, H-Delay delivers the goods, controlled by a super intuitive interface that lets you get right down to business.

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen for licenses regarding this image.
© 2010 Brian Petersen

Full size image at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpbp/4590185290/

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen for licenses to this image.

I thought of Acts 17 and Paul in Athens
Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.
Acts 17:16

“Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I indeed let myself be consulted by them?
Ezekiel 14:3

I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.
Isaiah 42:8

All worshipers of images are put to shame, who make their boast in worthless idols; worship him, all you gods!
Psalm 97:7

They are both stupid and foolish; the instruction of idols is but wood!
Jeremiah 10:8

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
Psalm 96:5

And you shall know that I am the Lord, when their slain lie among their idols around their altars, on every high hill, on all the mountaintops, under every green tree, and under every leafy oak, wherever they offered pleasing aroma to all their idols.
Ezekiel 6:13

Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.”
1 Corinthians 8:4

Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
1 John 5:21

“Therefore I tell you,
do not be anxious about your life,
what you will eat or what you will drink,
nor about your body, what you will put on.
Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not of more value than they?
And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

And why are you anxious about clothing?
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:25-34

25Διὰ τοῦτο λέγω ὑμῖν,
μὴ μεριμνᾶτε τῇ ψυχῇ ὑμῶν τί φάγητε [ἢ τί πίητε,]
μηδὲ τῷ σώματι ὑμῶν τί ἐνδύσησθε:
οὐχὶ ἡ ψυχὴ πλεῖόν ἐστιν τῆς τροφῆς καὶ τὸ σῶμα τοῦ ἐνδύματος;

26ἐμβλέψατε εἰς τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ὅτι οὐ σπείρουσιν οὐδὲ θερίζουσιν οὐδὲ συνάγουσιν εἰς ἀποθήκας, καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος τρέφει αὐτά: οὐχ ὑμεῖς μᾶλλον διαφέρετε αὐτῶν; 27τίς δὲ ἐξ ὑμῶν μεριμνῶν δύναται προσθεῖναι ἐπὶ τὴν ἡλικίαν αὐτοῦ πῆχυν ἕνα;

28καὶ περὶ ἐνδύματος τί μεριμνᾶτε; καταμάθετε τὰ κρίνα τοῦ ἀγροῦ πῶς αὐξάνουσιν: οὐ κοπιῶσιν οὐδὲ νήθουσιν: 29λέγω δὲ ὑμῖν ὅτι οὐδὲ Σολομὼν ἐν πάσῃ τῇ δόξῃ αὐτοῦ περιεβάλετο ὡς ἓν τούτων. 30εἰ δὲ τὸν χόρτον τοῦ ἀγροῦ σήμερον ὄντα καὶ αὔριον εἰς κλίβανον βαλλόμενον ὁ θεὸς οὕτως ἀμφιέννυσιν, οὐ πολλῷ μᾶλλον ὑμᾶς, ὀλιγόπιστοι;

31μὴ οὖν μεριμνήσητε λέγοντες, Τί φάγωμεν; ἤ, Τί πίωμεν; ἤ, Τί περιβαλώμεθα; 32πάντα γὰρ ταῦτα τὰ ἔθνη ἐπιζητοῦσιν: οἶδεν γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος ὅτι χρῄζετε τούτων ἁπάντων. 33ζητεῖτε δὲ πρῶτον τὴν βασιλείαν [τοῦ θεοῦ] καὶ τὴν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ, καὶ ταῦτα πάντα προστεθήσεται ὑμῖν.

34μὴ οὖν μεριμνήσητε εἰς τὴν αὔριον, ἡ γὰρ αὔριον μεριμνήσει ἑαυτῆς: ἀρκετὸν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἡ κακία αὐτῆς.

Arrangements by William Gearhart
Engineering by Brian Petersen

Session signal path

Neumann M 149 Tube microphone
running into a Great River ME-1NV preamplifier
Digi 002 Mixer with firewire 400
Digidesign Pro Tools

Studio Projects LSD-2 stereo microphone
going into a Universal Audio 2108 preamplifier
Digi 002 Mixer with firewire 400
Digidesign Pro Tools

Neumann TLM 49 microphone
Universal Audio LA-610 Tube pre / T4 Optical Compressor
Digi 002 Mixer with firewire 400
Digidesign Pro Tools

Full size image at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpbp/4590180876/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpbp/4589559727/

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen for licenses to this image.

Full size at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpbp/4589562495

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen for licenses or to purchase this image.

Full size at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpbp/4589570537/

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen for licenses to this image.

Quotes from Joni Eareckson Tada that I wrote down from this time:

“If it were not for my accident I would not be sitting here telling you about the power of the risen Christ and the joy of his sufferings.” -Joni Eareckson Tada

“God wrote a book on suffering, and its name is Jesus.” -Joni Eareckson Tada

“I have learned in my quadriplegia that Jesus is real. He is the man of sorrows to be sure, but the Lord of joy.” -Joni Eareckson Tada

Download the full size images from this gallery here.

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com

Get the full image at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpbp/4523907327/

Isaiah 53: Good Friday 2010 at Grace EV Free from Grace EV Free on Vimeo.

A beautiful baby from the day he was born. I’m a big fan of this little guy and I am looking forward to see how the Lord works in his life.

Photo from a Lord’s Supper service at Grace EV Free, La Mirada, CA.

Full size at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpbp/4590182174/

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen for licenses or to purchase this image.

Adopted in Christ from Grace EV Free on Vimeo.

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Email Brian Petersen.

Read the story about Hannah here http://www.ocregister.com/articles/melody-250764-hannah-baby.html?pic=1

Little Girl Mends Hearts
By Lou Ponsi
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Melody and Jason Lietzau never considered adoption.

Why would they?

It was mid-2008 and the La Habra couple already had two healthy boys. Plus, Melody was pregnant.

Still, the Lietzaus, who adhere strongly to Christian faith, believe God sometimes has other plans.

In October, 9 ½ weeks into her pregnancy, Melody visited the doctor for a scheduled checkup. The news was bad. The baby’s heart was not beating.

The loss felt crushing.

Four days later, Melody and Jason were at Sunday service at Grace Evangelical Free Church in La Mirada when the pastor delivered the Bible passage James 1:27.

“Religion that God our father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

Orphans?

Suddenly, adoption wasn’t just an option, the couple saw it as an obligation.

“We felt like the Lord just spoke to our hearts,” Melody says.

THE JOURNEY BEGINS

“We know this is a long and difficult process and believe that the Lord doesn’t always call us to easy things.”

That’s a line from a November, 2008 entry in the blog Melody started to chronicle every step of her family’s adoption journey.

Since they had the boys, Jonah and Noah, then ages 3 and 6, the couple wanted a baby girl. After some research, they learned that there was a need for adoptive parents in China.

They even picked out a name: Hannah, which in Hebrew means “Gift from God.”

After filling out what seemed like reams of documents required by their adoption agency, they were approved in December 2008.

Then they got some mixed news:

The wait to adopt a healthy baby from China could be at least five years.

But a baby with special needs?

That could happen much faster.

The couple opted to adopt where the need was greatest. What’s more, they already knew a little about “need.” Melody, now 32, has a congenital heart defect; she’s lived with a pacemaker in her chest since age 20. Adopting a baby with a similar medical issue made sense.

The next step was telling the boys.

“Could we get eight?” Noah asked, when told that they might be getting a sister from China?

Melody wrote about it on the blog.

Perhaps Noah was watching too much of ‘John & Kate plus 8.’

In the months that followed, the couple filled out more paperwork. They also took required adoptive parenting classes and opened their home to social workers who examined every nook and cranny. But, mostly, they waited.

In a blog entry from September 2009, Melody wrote that her heart raced every time the phone rang

“I feel so helpless. A little girl is waiting to get the care she deserves and we are eager to help her get it and there is nothing we can do.”

THE CALL

On Dec. 9 2009, Melody got the call.

A baby girl named Li Chun – a name assigned by an orphanage director – had been abandoned at three months old, in an elevator in a Hunan hospital.

She could become part of their family. A photo would be sent via e-mail.

Melody says the five-minute wait felt like five hours.

Finally, popping up on a computer screen, came an image of a little girl with expressive eyes and a tuft of black hair – their daughter.

Hannah was born with a serious but treatable heart condition. The Lietzaus’ were told that with care and the right surgeries, she could survive and eventually lead a normal life.

A FIGHTER

On April 10, Melody, Jason and Hannah landed at LAX, ending the couple’s trip to China to pick up their daughter.

But a new trip was starting.

First, the boys, Noah and Jonah, got to meet their sister. They’d been driven to the airport for that purpose.

But the first stop after that meeting wasn’t home – it was Children’s Hospital of Orange County, CHOC, where doctors were waiting to check out Hannah.

After the examination, they decided that Hannah would need surgery in less than a week.

Then, a few days later, Hannah’s heart began failing. Her condition was worse than anticipated. The Lietzaus were told Hannah had about 30 percent chance of coming out of surgery alive.

The doctors offered the most horrific question a parent can hear: Should we just make her comfortable, or do you want to go through with the surgery?

Melody says their faith didn’t leave room for such a question. And when it came time for the surgery, Melody whispered this into Hannah’s ear:

‘You are a fighter. And you have a story to tell.’”

The surgery, scheduled for five hours, was done in three. Hannah sailed so easily through the procedure that surgeons skipped one phase of the operation.

“There was never a doubt… God has brought us to this point for a reason,” says Jason, 33.

These days, Hannah is bright-eyed, alert, giggly, playful and the prized baby sister of her big brothers.

“I like to play with her blocks and make her giggle,” Noah says. “She likes to imitate and roar like a dinosaur. I like her. I like having her here.”

She isn’t walking yet, but rolls all over the place and tries to crawl.

“She is a little fireball,” Melody says. “She is a happy little girl.”

The Lietzaus also welcome readers to visit their website (www.youbelong.net/lietzau) where dozens of journal entries and photos tell their story.

Thatcher Kelly sets up his DSLR camera rig at Grace for the recording of Songs from Isaiah.

Here and Now (Live 3 7 2010) from Grace EV Free on Vimeo.

Media

Download the sheet music here: Here And Now by Walt Harrah
Download the MP3 file here: 01 Here and Now (live 3 7 2010)
Download the AAC file here: 01 Here and Now (live 3 7 2010)

Musicians

Music: Walt Harrah
Vocals: Marla Bustad, Mindy Price, & Walt Harrah
Drums: Nate Warne
Bass: Andrew Braine
Electric: Dale Bryson
Acoustic: Drew Brokke
Piano: Walt Harrah
Live Sound: Erik Bergen
Live Lyrics: Philip Massey
Recording, Mix, & Master: Brian Petersen
All the Glory: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

Recorded on Pro Tools 8 using Waves SSL, Renaissance, and Mastering Plug-Ins.

http://www.graceevfree.org/
http://www.waltharrah.com/
http://www.songsofgrace.org/

Lyrics

Here And Now
Mondsel/Harrah
©2010 Seedsower Music ASCAP

Worship the Lord
in the beauty of holiness,
Bow down before Him;

Gold of obedience
and incense of lowliness
Bring and adore Him.

Enter his courts,
Christ has opened
the way for us,
Sing praises to Him;

Now at the side of the Father
to pray for us,
Bring thanks that’s due Him.

Lead us
beyond mere formal duty
Show us
your captivating beauty

Till we, in awe
and reverence, humbly bow.

As we rehearse
redemption’s story,
Show us the wonders
of your glory;
Unveil it here and now.
Unveil it here and now.

Our sins were paid for when death
died at Calvary,
God’s mercy sought us;

Tell how, adopted,
we’re His for eternity,
God’s love has bought us.

Join with the angels and sing,
praise His majesty,
The Lamb is worthy;

Power and wealth, wisdom,
strength, praise and honor be
Now and forever.

Lead us
beyond mere formal duty
Show us
your captivating beauty

Till we, in awe
and reverence, humbly bow.

As we rehearse
redemption’s story,
Show us the wonders
of your glory;
Unveil it here and now.

The Story of Zac Smith from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.

This I do know.
If God chooses to heal me, then God is God, and God is good.
If God chooses not to heal me and allows me to die, God is still God, and God is still good.
To God be the glory.

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
Matthew 7:11

iPad: The Greatest Disappointment in Human History?

“I’m ready to declare that the iPad is the greatest disappointment in all of human history.” That is how well-known Christian bloggers like Tim Challes and Justin Taylor have described the new computer tablet from the folks at Apple. Harsh reviews have come out against the iPad in recent weeks as people have jokingly referred to it as a bigger iPod, saying “They just don’t get it.”

I humbly disagree. This is a great innovation in technology that can be used for the kingdom of God, and will be of great use to our community here at Biola University.

What exactly is it?
The iPad is a new tablet-style computer device from Apple that is less expensive and smaller than a laptop, but more useful and technologically advanced than an electronic reader, like the Amazon Kindle. The iPad will be able to handle most of the tasks that the average Biola student needs for a starting price of $499. That is remarkably less than a student would spend on a Mac computer for the same use.

Students will be able to download their school books online in a minute, email their friends, write their papers, browse photos, and have access to 140,000 applications to help their life and ministry every day. The software is constantly upgraded, stable, and without viruses. For the price of $10, students can purchase a word processor or presenter software so they can create and playback powerpoint-style slideshows in a snap. Students will be able to Skype with their missionary friends in Africa over a campus WiFi signal, and check up on that cute guy or girl in their class with a free Facebook application. Yes Biola, this will also help your dating life.

The iPad features a 9.7-inch diagonal screen and is less than an inch thick. That makes the device smaller than a magazine while it weighs only a pound and a half. A full 10 hours of use on the same battery charge will allow students to type papers, watch videos, surf the web, send emails, and read books. A 16GB to 64GB amount of hard drive space will allow plenty of space for music, photos, and those videos of your favorite chapel speakers in action.

What it is not
It is not a laptop. You are not going to be able to edit that video in Final Cut or work on your Pro Tools session for your band’s worship album. It doesn’t use Flash, so you won’t be able to access some websites. There is no physical keyboard as the iPad relies on multi-touch technology similar to an iPhone to type on the screen. For that reason, typing a theology paper for your Thoennes’ class probably won’t work as well. You wouldn’t want to smudge your fingers against a 10-inch glass screen while trying to write about the Immutability of God. Apple does offer a solution though and a full size keyboard attachment will be available for an additional purchase. This forthcoming keyboard dock is already being proclaimed as the “iPad’s best accessory.”

Don’t worship your iPad
Before closing, I would like a make a brief comment about new technology and idolatry. The new iPad can be an idol, but so can the $1 mirror in your dorm room. If you find yourself rejoicing and finding your worth increased by a new piece of plastic, aluminum, and glass, I would exhort you to repent and find your ultimate trust and satisfaction in the completed work of Jesus Christ.

I am hoping to read and enjoy the ESV Study Bible on my iPad in full color. You won’t be able to do that on a Kindle.

- Brian Petersen serves at Grace Evangelical Free Church in La Mirada, and is a current Talbot student. You can reach him at brianapetersen@gmail.com.

The above content was edited and published by the Biola Chimes here.

Why We Love: Plurality of Elders from Grace EV Free on Vimeo.

Enjoy this video series from the Elders at Grace Evangelical Free Church in La Mirada. See the full length version at http://www.graceevfree.org/why-we-love/

Studio E is a beautiful mixing suite equipped with a 72 input SSL 9000J console and an extraordinary amount of outboard gear. Studio "E" has a roomy luxurious private lounge with many creature comforts including Internet access and dining facilities. The studio is also equipped with ISDN lines for Global Recording.

Console:
Solid State Logic 9072J Super Analogue Console

Monitors and Video:
Westlake HR1-X Mains
Sony 42” Flat Panel Plasma Display
2 Sony WEGA 20” Flat Panel Displays

Size:
Control Room 375 square feet
Vocal Booth 52 square feet

Isolation:
One Standard Isolation Area – One Variable Decay Isolation Area

Multitrack Tape Machines :
Digidesign Pro-Tools HD System with an Apple 21” Cinema Display and latest Power Mac.
Studer A-827
Sony PCM-3348 or 3348HR

Two Track Machines:
Ampex ATR-100
Panasonic SV-3700 DAT
HHB CDR850 Compact Disc Recorder
Apogee PSX1000 series AD/DA Converters

Outboard Gear – Time Based Effects
AMS-RMX 16
AMS-DMX 1580 DDL
EMT 140 Analog Plate
Eventide DSP-4000
Eventide H3500
Lexicon 480L & 960L
Lexicon PCM 70 (2)
Lexicon PCM 91
Lexicon PCM 42 (2)
Quantec QRS-XL
Roland SDE 3000 (2)
TC M3000
TC D-TWO
Yamaha SPX 90 (2)
Yamaha SPX 900

Outboard Gear – Dynamic Effects
Avalon 737SP
dbx 165A (2)
dbx 160x (3)
dbx 902 de-esser (1)
Drawmer DS-201 Gates
Emperical Distressors (2)
GML 8200 St. EQ’s (2)
Manley EQP-1A
Neve 33609 Stereo Comp
Summit MPE-200 EQ
Summit EQP-200A St. EQ
Summit 200 St Comp (2)
TubeTech LCA 2B St EQ
Tubetech PE 1C EQ (2)
Urie 1176
Waves L2 St Maximizer

Westlake Recording Studios
7265 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90046
TEL (323) 851-9800
For booking availability, rates or any additional info
please contact Sara Clark or Steve Burdick
Email: bookings@thelakestudios.com

Eddie Kramer at NAMM 2010
Photos by Brian Petersen at brianapetersen@gmail.com

Eddie Kramer demonstrates new plug ins at NAMM 2010.
HLS Channel (aka Helios Channel) and PIE Compressor (aka Pye Compressor)

Text from the Waves Site on Eddie Kramer

“Any producer is only as good as the music he helps create. By this standard, Eddie Kramer must be regarded as a legend. In the course of a production and engineering career that has spanned 30 years, Kramer has been behind the boards for the biggest names in music – The Rolling Stones, Traffic, Peter Frampton, Carly Simon, Joe Cocker, Johnny Winter, David Bowie, The Beatles and Bad Company, just to name a few. But he is perhaps best known for three long-term associations in which he not only helped create some of the most important music of the rock era, but also set standards for rock production that set him aside as a true innovator. His work with Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and Kiss produced music which continues to influence rock musicians and producers today.

Born in South Africa, Eddie studied classical piano, cello and violin at the prestigious South African college of Music. At a young age, his interest switched from classical to jazz. He moved to England at 19, where he recorded local jazz groups in a home-based studio and installed hi-fi equipment as a hobby. In 1964, he joined Pye Studios, and recorded a variety of artists including Sammy Davis Jr., Petula Clark, and The Kinks, demonstrating a versatility, which Eddie possesses to this day.

In 1965, Kramer established the sophisticated KPS Studios, which, despite its rudimentary 2-track recording capability, gained such a reputation that in less than a year they were bought out by Regent Sound. They enlisted Kramer to oversee construction of their new four-track studio.

Getting “Experienced”
Kramer’s next stop was Olympic Sound studios where he developed a fantastic reputation among the bands of the time – Small Faces, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Jimi Hendrix, among others. His association with Hendrix was the most powerful one, and the one that lasted the longest. Kramer engineered every Hendrix album from “Are You Experienced” to “Cry of Love,” and after Hendrix’s death co-produced the posthumous releases “War Heroes,” “Rainbow Bridge” and “Hendrix in the West.”

In 1968, Kramer came to work at the Record Plant in NYC, engineering Hendrix’s “Electric Ladyland” LP, and also worked with Vanilla Fudge, Joe Cocker, and NRBQ. In 1969, Kramer went independent, producing Johnny Winter’s first LP and engineering Led Zeppelin II, acknowledged by fans and critics alike as perhaps that bands most influential work. This led to work on five albums with the band, half of their overall output. This pairing provided some historic moments. As Eddie tells of one particular session, “Zep II was mixed over a two day period in New York, and at one point there was bleed-through of a previously recorded vocal in the recording of “Whole Lotta Love.” It was the middle part where Robert (Plant) screams “Wo-man. You need it.” Since we couldn’t re-record at that point, I just threw some echo on it to see how it would sound and Jimmy (Page) said “Great! Just leave it.”

Woodstock
Soon afterwards, Kramer was recruited to record the Woodstock festival for both the album and the movie. “I arrived at dawn and was struck by the sight of the sun rising over what appeared to be the stage. The show was scheduled to start by lunchtime. That panic pretty much set the tone for the entire concert. All of us in the crew had Vitamin B shots, so that we would be able to stay up for three days. The whole thing was recorded under the most primitive of conditions, but we got it done,” says Kramer. “Woodstock was 3 days of hell and drugs”.

Woodstock established Kramer as one of the most important live music producers of the rock era, starting a series of artists recorded live which would ultimately include Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Kiss, John Mayall, The Rolling Stones, Peter Frampton, Joe Cocker, Curtis Mayfield, Santana, David Bowie, Derek and The Dominoes, and others.

Electric Lady Studios
Hendrix quickly hired Kramer to build a state of the art studio. After 13 months and a million dollars, Electric Lady Studios was complete, and Kramer served as its Director of Engineering from 1970 – 1974. During this time, in addition to producing the posthumous Hendrix records, Kramer produced records by Carly Simon, Sha Na Na and Peter Frampton, and engineered albums for artists as diverse as Dionne Warwick and Lena Horne, David Bowie’s “Live at the Spectrum” and “Young Americans,” featuring “Fame” with John Lennon, and Led Zeppelin’s “Houses of the Holy” and “Physical Graffiti,” among others.

In 1975, Kramer left Electric Lady Studios to work with the No. 1 band in America at the time and produced “Kiss Alive.” In addition to producing “Rock and Roll Over,” “Love Gun,” “Alive II” and “Double Platinum” for Kiss, Kramer worked on Ace Frehley’s first solo record, Led Zeppelin’s “The Song Remains the Same” (the album and the movie), Peter Frampton’s historic “Frampton Comes Alive” LP, and The Rolling Stones “Love Ya Live,” three of the most popular live albums of the rock era. In the last three decades, Kramer has produced countless bands from Anthrax, Motley Crue, and Twisted Sister to Buddy Guy, Sting and Carlos Santana. He produced the Hendrix tribute album, “Stone Free,” for Warner Bros., which features tracks from artists such as: The Cure, Eric Clapton, The Spin Doctors, Seal/Jeff Beck, Slash/Paul Rodgers, and others. The album has generated approximately $1,000,000 in charitable funds which have been donated to the United Negro College Fund as musical scholarships to The Berklee School of Music, Julliard School of Music, and The Dance Theatre of Harlem. Since 1997, he has remastered all of the Jimi Hendrix albums from the original master tapes for Experience Hendrix/MCA. Eddie won a Grammy in 2002 for his work with Carlos Santana and Michelle Branch on the single, “The Game of Love.” Eddie has also worked with Lauren Hill on her new album.

Eddie’s photographs may be viewed at www.kramerarchives.com.”

This photo is being used by the Biola University Library on their twitter page http://twitter.com/biolalibrary

“You are the light of the world.”

Chris Lord-Alge at NAMM 2010
Chris demonstrates his new fader style channel series of Waves plugins coming for drums, vocals, and guitars.

Quoted from the Waves Web Site
When Waves first released its SSL 4000 Collection, we wanted input from an experienced SSL user. Who better to turn to than master mixer to the superstars, Chris Lord-Alge? After hearing our plug-ins, Chris said, “I’m proud to share my secret presets with SSL 4000 users. These are the best models I’ve ever heard.”

Chris Lord-Alge is not only known for his talent, speed, and efficiency when mixing a record but also his passion for music, sense of humor, and personal approach. Today, Chris is one of the most successful, in-demand mixers in the business. Along with his brother, Tom, Chris has become a mixer to Rock & Roll royalty; their combined credits are a virtual catalog of hits from the past 20 years. His long list of credits include artists as varied as Sheryl Crow, Hoobastank, Tim McGraw, Audioslave, Snow Patrol, Brian Setzer, and Eric Clapton.

According to Chris, “It’s in our blood. We have the gene.” Chris grew up in New Jersey, the son of musical parents. At an early age, his mother got him an apprenticeship at H&L Studio. According to Chris, the moment he stepped in the studio, he was hooked.

As his success grew over the years, he began producing as well as mixing. After producing several albums, including classics by Joe Cocker and Peter Frampton, Chris realized he just wanted to mix: “There’s definitely less grief with mixing than with producing.”

When Chris looks back on his career, some of his personal favorites include his work with Tina Turner and Jude Cole, as well as Green Day’s Grammy®-Winning American Idiot album.

Rob Cavallo, Sr. Vice President of A&R at Warner Brothers, says of Chris, “He listens very well. You ask him to try something on a mix, and he’s reaching for the EQ before you even stop speaking.”

Tina Turner once commented, “[Chris’] mixes have saved many of our tracks. It’s a pleasure to work with Chris, and he has a great sense of humor and self-confidence.”

A macro of a rose leaf with a drop of morning dew.

This shot was taken from the Alabama Hills overlooking the Owens Valley and the White Mountains.

This was my first nature shooting expedition with my new Canon 50D using a Sigma fisheye 17mm film lens.

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com
Download the full size image at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpbp/3166104976

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com

After each scene during a 2003 Good Friday service a dancer would appear to extinguish one of the remaining candles on stage. Eventually all of the lights were dimmed and the audience left the church in a quiet and dark mood to replicate the feeling of the the first Good Friday when Jesus died for the sins of the world. Three days later Jesus physically rose from the dead in what we now celebrate as Easter.

All mankind has sinned against God and Jesus paid the sin debt for everyone on the cross. It is promised in God’s word that all who trust in Jesus through faith by declaring him as Lord of their life will live forever. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3.16

From a Good Friday service at Bethany Church in Long Beach, CA. This image was taken in the dark from the sound booth about 80 feet away on an old school digital camera that stored its media on floppy discs.

See all the images from this Good Friday and Easter Service
flickr.com/photos/bpbp/358771736
flickr.com/photos/bpbp/447911870
flickr.com/photos/bpbp/2281098872
flickr.com/photos/bpbp/2280308549

A moment of Grace from the worship team at Grace Evangelical Free Church in La Mirada, Ca.

Nate Warne on drums
Drew Brokke on guitar
Andrew Braine on bass
Mindy Price and Toni Coloma with vocals
Walt Harrah leading worship

An electric guitar session with a Royer 121 ribbon mic on a Fender guitar amp.

The roses continue to bloom on Easter Sunday.

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb. So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb. The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first; and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in. And so Simon Peter also came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself. So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. So the disciples went away again to their own homes.

But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; and she *saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. And they *said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She *said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” When she had said this, she turned around and *saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus *said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she *said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus *said to her, “Mary!” She turned and *said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher). Jesus *said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene *came, announcing to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her.
John 20 nasb

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com

View this full size at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpbp/451427163/

Photography by Brian Petersen at www.brianapetersen.com

Stain glass background image taken during a Friday morning worship chapel at Bethany School in Long Beach.

See this image used as a text background in a worship setting here
www.flickr.com/photos/bpbp/408047945/

I came across this text while preparing for a prayer time with some friends. Not only is the message incredible, but I like the resulting image as the light shines from above on the textured paper.

The Crying Need of the Hour

So the truth is reaffirmed: God has given us prayer because Jesus has given us a mission. We are on this earth to press back the forces of darkness, and we are given access to headquarters by prayer to advance this cause. When we try to turn it into a civilian intercom to increase our conveniences, it stops working, and our faith begins to falter. We have so domesticated prayer that for many of us it is no longer what it was designed to be-a wartime walkie-talkie for the accomplishment of Christ’s mission.

We simply must seek for ourselves and for our people a wartime mentality. Otherwise the biblical teaching about the urgency of prayer and the vigilance of prayer and the watching in prayer and the perseverance of prayer and the danger of abandoning prayer will make no sense and find no resonance in our hearts. Until we feel the desperation of a bombing raid or the thrill of a new strategic offensive for the gospel, we will not pray in the spirit of Jesus.

The crying need of the hour is to put the churches on a wartime footing. Mission leaders are crying out, "Where is the church’s concept of militancy, of a mighty army willing to suffer, moving ahead with exultant determination to take the world by storm? Where is the risk-taking, the launching out on God alone?" The answer is that it has been swallowed up in a peacetime mentality.

We are a "third soil century." In the parable of the soils, Jesus says that the seed is the Word. He sows his urgent Word of kingdom power. But instead of taking it up as our sword (or bearing fruit), we "are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful" (Mark 4:18-19).

This is why Paul says that all of life is war—-every moment. Before we can even engage in the mission of the church, we have to fight against the "the deceitfulness of riches" and "desires for other things." We must fight to cherish the kingdom above all "other things"-that is our first and most constant battle. That is the fight of faith. Then, when we have some experience in that basic battle, we join the fight to commend the kingdom to all the nations.

Let The Nations Be Glad! by John Piper
The Supremacy of God In Missions through Prayer: page 51
www.desiringgod.org/

=-=-=-=-=
Here is the text from the Prayer Time

Team Missions Prayer

:: Confession of Sin and Burdens / Repentance

Personal Prayer and Silence
Ask the Lord to search your heart for any areas of sin
Confess any sin (1 John 1.9, James 5:16)
Bring your burdens to the Lord in prayer (1 Pet 5:7)
Ask the Lord to give you an open heart
Ask for the Spirit to lead you and the group in prayer for the glory of God (John 14)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1.9 NIV

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7.14 NIV

:: Worship by Praising God

Group Worship with Singing and Prayer
God alone is worthy of our praise!
Begin in prayer with thanksgiving
Rejoice in the Lord!
Praise God for all the blessings He has provided for us
Thank God for our salvation and the new life we have through the blood of Jesus Christ

In a loud voice they sang: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Rev. 5.12 NIV

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Psalm 100.1-3 NIV

Prayer for the Team and Ministry

Group Prayer for the Ministry
Bring team needs before the Lord (Phil 4.6-7)
Pray for team unity in serving together with different gifts and roles, yet one body (1 Cor 1:10)
Pray that our team would be prepared for the ministry to the best of our abilities but continually rely on Christ’s strength while we are there.
Pray for divine appointments; pray that the Holy Spirit would direct us in ever move for the sake of the salvation of the souls of his people in the world
Ask for financial provision through the support process
Pray for the health and safety of our team
Pray for boldness of speech in proclaiming the gospel (Eph. 6.19-20)
Pray that we will utilize the power from the Holy Spirit to withstand trials and temptations

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4.6-7 NIV

Prayers for the field

Prayer for the growth and strength of Christian churches and missionaries
Pray that God would raise up nationals to evangelize their own people
Pray for the health of the missionaries being under severe strain and burden for the work
Ask the Lord to send ministers into the nations for the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few (Mat 9:37-38)

Helpful Bible Verses

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Eph. 3.14 – 21

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Heb. 4:16

Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find. Knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened". Matthew 7:7-8

2 Thessalonians 3:1, “Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you.” The word runs and triumphs by means of prayer.

Matt. 26.41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

Ephesians 6:19, “[Pray] for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel.” Paul’s boldness in the gospel came from God by the prayers of simple Christian believers.

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Col. 1.9-14

Acts 1.14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

Col. 4.12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.

Romans 15:30, “I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf.” The wrestling of Paul to be faithful in all his sufferings was sustained by a wrestling in prayer by the brothers in Rome.

Acts 2.42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Colossians 4:3, “Pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison.” Open doors for the spread of the gospel come in answer to prayer. Therefore, in the life of Paul it is plain that prayer is God’s way of gospel victory.

Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, O Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name. Daniel 9.17-19

This image and text is also viewable at my flickr page here. http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpbp/485984140/

Worship Script by Walt Harrah

God’s With Us

Greeting
Dave Talley

Christmas Eve Candle Lighting

1. Explanation of the candle:

The fifth and final candle is the candle of joy. The angel said to the shepherds, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11

2. Light the candle

3. Scripture Reading (responsively)

Isaiah 35

LEADER:
The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.

CONGREGATION:
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God.

LEADER:
Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.”

CONGREGATION:
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.

LEADER:
Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

CONGREGATION:
And a highway will be there, it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it.

LEADER:
No lion will be there, nor will any ferocious beast get up on it; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, and the ransomed of the LORD will return.

CONGREGATION:
They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Of The Father’s Love Begotten
Kenny Clark

ZECHARIAH:

Elizabeth and I were both descendents of Aaron. In terms of lineage, that’s pretty special. And everything about the priesthood was a delight to us. God’s prescribed ways delighted us.  And since we loved each other deeply, we were able to endure the one big disappointment in our life, which was that we had not been able to have children.

Of course people talked, and wondered. Children after all, were considered a sign of God’s blessing, and we wondered sometimes as well. After all, when your life is given over to serving God…..you’d think that – well, you know…. to be denied the joy of children got to us at times. Then suddenly we were just too old to hold out hope any longer.

But God had other plans. One day, maybe the greatest day of my life, I was selected by lot to go into the temple of the Lord and to burn incense. Do you know what the chances of that are? There were 24 divisions of priests, and my division was eighth in the rotation. So twice every year my division was called up for duty and we traveled to Jerusalem to work in the Temple. Each day about 50 priests would be on duty, and to be the one person chosen by lot to offer the prayers of the people was a great honor, one that could only come once in a lifetime, if at all.

Elizabeth was as excited as I was, and made me go over my responsibilities one more time. The altar would be heated, and my job was to place incense on it, and then prostrate myself in prayer. The time came, and everything went just as expected. The incense filled the room, the people were outside praying “May the merciful God enter the Holy Place and accept with favor the offering of his people,” My joyful task was to offer prayers on behalf of the people, and believe you me, I uttered those words with all the heart I could muster. The privilege of it all was overwhelming!

And then suddenly – right in the middle of my prayer – the most amazing thing happened.  An angel of the Lord appeared – at the right side of the altar of incense. I’m dead serious, an angel. I must have looked terrified, because the first words he spoke had a calming effect.  He continued.

“Your prayer has been heard, you wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.” I was speechless. Well not really – that came later, but I didn’t know what to say.

The angel had just started. “He will be a joy and a delight to you,” he said, “and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.”

I was numb, but still I recall hearing how our boy was not to take wine or other fermented drink, because he would be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth!

There was more. “He will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous – to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” This was my son he was talking about! My boy!

And then, without thinking, unbelief crept in. I just couldn’t seem to find it in my heart to trust that what the angel said would happen. It seemed too good to be true.

So I stupidly said what I was thinking, blurting out, “How can I be sure of this? Have you forgotten how old we are?!” Suddenly the angel’s mood darkened. It was too late to take my words back, and I deserved what came next.

“I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I came here to give you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time.”

Sure enough, I lost my voice. I tried to speak. Nothing. So when I went back outside, I made signs as best I could, but it was pretty obvious that something unusual had happened. You could sense the buzz, the excitement. Four hundred years of waiting, and now God was moving.

All the way back home I was kicked myself for the way I had reacted. And sure enough, Elizabeth got pregnant. I can’t describe the change that came over her. She simply glowed, overwhelmed with the goodness of the Lord, and thought it best to seclude herself for the first five months.

“The Lord has done this for me,” she would say. “He is showing me favor by removing the disgrace I have always felt.”

If I would have had a voice, I would have said, “Blessed be the name of the Lord.” But instead I wrote it down.

O Come O Come Emmanuel
Congregation

MARY:

Just like Zechariah, I had an angel visit as well. And just like Zechariah, everything changed. God had something in mind for me that I couldn’t possibly have imagined, something stunningly wonderful.

Sure I had plans. What young girl doesn’t? Joseph and I were engaged to be married, and excited about our future together. And we wanted what everyone else wants, a nice happy wedding, to enjoy life together, to have children eventually, nothing terribly dramatic.

But as the angel delivered his message, everything I ever imagined my life would be like flew out the window. The first words out of Gabriel’s mouth – that I was special to God – did little to calm my beating heart. He tried to reassure me, telling me to not be afraid, reassuring me again that I was favored of God. I began to sense, almost like a fragrance, that this was all about the goodness of God being displayed, and my heart rate lowered a bit.

The next words I heard were words unique to me, never to be repeated again in all of history, words that would soon bring me both blessing and disgrace. I was to have child, a son that was to be named Jesus. And that was not all. This child would be the Son of the Most High. He would not only assume the throne of David, he would reign forever, and his kingdom would never end.

My heart went back into my throat. What was I hearing? How could I possibly have a child? Since this was just a dream, and when I woke up, I could just go back to being a young girl making wedding plans.

The next thing I knew, I heard myself talking to the angel. “Just how will this happen,” I heard myself say, “since I am a virgin?” His answer was strangely mysterious and wonderful. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you,” he said, “and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.”

He continued slowly and deliberately, to let the words sink in. “The holy one to be born to you will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.”

This was too much at once. Elizabeth pregnant? Could it be, after all these years? What on earth was going on? Oh no, my parents! What will they think when they find out? What will Joseph think when he finds out? And our wedding plans…..then I remembered those words,  favor with God – he loves me….somehow this will turn out for the best, because God is good…..he has a plan……my heart once again settled down, and a unexplanable came over me. I knew what I had to do.

“I am the Lord’s servant. Let it happen to me as you have said.” And just like that, Gabriel was gone. Elizabeth. I had to go see Elizabeth.

Earth Was Waiting
Mindy Price, solo

ELIZABETH:

Six months of having Zechariah miming or writing on a tablet got old fast, but gradually I was able to piece together the story of what took place in the temple. And like the angel had said, I got pregnant. For the first five months I thought it best to stay out of sight, but in truth I couldn’t wait to tell the world. Everyone was thrilled, of course. Zechariah, still voiceless, just smiled a whole lot. There was this air of, well -  expectancy – so much hope about this boy growing inside of me.

About that time a young relative of mine named Mary came to see me. All the family was excited about her pending marriage to a carpenter named Joseph. You never know what a day might bring. When I opened the door, there stood Mary. As she greeted me the baby in my womb began kicking. To be truthful, it was different than kicking. It felt like leaping! And just as suddenly I began to speak, and the words I spoke were more than just me – I felt – I don’t know, propelled, caught up in the wonder of what Mary was experiencing: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear,” I heard myself say. “But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”

MARY:

Elizabeth’s words came as a stunning and timely confirmation for me. Ever since Gabriel’s visit, I had been bombarded by questions – from without and from within, and God knew that I needed to have my faith in Him renewed. Elizabeth’s words seem to bathe me in God’s love.

How did Elizabeth know? I had told no one. And here she was, confirming what the angel had said. It was all so overwhelmingly wonderful, and just like Elizabeth, praise began to pour out of me, spiritual words, prophetic words. I couldn’t believe my ears or my tongue.

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed; the Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his name. He has mercy on those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm and has scattered the proud in their conceit, Casting down the mighty from their thrones and lifting up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. He has come to the aid of his servant Israel, to remember his promise of mercy, The promise made to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children for ever.

ELIZABETH: (simultaneously)

I clearly remember what she spoke: She began, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.” She seemed to comprehend the privilege she had been given of bearing the Son of God, how future generations would call her blessed. The Mighty One had done great things for me, she said, as she blessed his holy name.

She spoke of his mercy that goes on and on, his mighty deeds that he had performed, how he puts down kings and rulers and the proud, while at the same time he raises up the humble. The hungry are fed, but not so the rich. He is a friend to Israel, being faithful to Abraham and all his promises.

(let Mary finish)

That beautiful moment passed, John inside of me settled instead for an occasional kick. Mary and I had shared a holy moment, and I cherished the days spent with her. She stayed until it was time for me to deliver, when she returned to her home.

Song Of Mary
Annie Jimenez, solo

ZECHARIAH:

Nine months of no talking. Believe me, I told God over and over that with his help I would try harder to think before I spoke.  My desire was to use my mouth to bless him in the future. Well, the time came for our son to be born, and I’ve never seen everybody so excited as that village was with the birth of my little boy. They totally entered into our joy. We were the ones who had waited so long, but it was like this was their child. I just nodded and smiled approvingly, hoping to convey that “yes, he does look a lot like me!”

Well, the eighth day came when the circumcision ceremony would take place. Hebrew custom is that this is the day that the child is officially named. Everyone was already calling our boy Zechariah Jr., having no idea of the angel’s clear instruction to me. Elizabeth, bless her heart, set everyone straight. “No!” she said. “He is to be called John” Everybody was confused. No one in my family tree had ever been given the name John. They looked at me, expecting me to set Elizabeth straight. So I asked for a tablet, and shocked everyone when I wrote – for the last time on my tablet – HIS NAME IS JOHN.

And that did it. My tongue was loosed and my mouth was opened. Suddenly the most wonderful praise came out of my mouth…..

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel : for He has visited, and redeemed His people; And has raised up a mighty salvation for us : in the house of His servant David; As He spoke by the mouth of His holy Prophets : which have been since the world began; That we should be saved from our enemies : and from the hands of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our forefathers : and to remember His holy covenant; To perform the oath which He swore to our forefather Abraham : that He would give us, That we being delivered out of the hands of our enemies : might serve Him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him : all the days of our life.

ELIZABETH: (while Zechariah is speaking)

It was not him speaking, it was the Holy Spirit speaking through him, just like what happened to Mary and myself. He began by blessing the Lord, exactly like Mary. He emphasized that the plan of redemption was now accelerating, and that salvation promised by the prophets long ago was now being confirmed. And again, just as Mary pointed out, God still had every intention of fulfilling his promise to Abraham. The day of serving God without fear would soon be a reality.

(Elizabeth, let Zechariah finish)

Then he spoke these precious words to our infant son……

ZECHARIAH:

And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.

ELIZABETH:

Everyone was profoundly moved, there wasn’t a dry eye in the place. Of course the word spread, and soon everyone was talking about this child and all the events surrounding his birth. “What then, is this child going to accomplish?” they wondered. God was definitely up to something. You could feel it in the air.

Carol Medley
Elizabeth Shackleton, flute

JOSEPH

Everybody knows I had a really hard time accepting Mary’s story straight up. I mean, who’d of ever heard of such a thing? Her pregnancy put me in a very awkward spot. All my life I had tried to live righteously, to do the right thing according to God’s ways and instructions. And then this….it really threw me. So…..what to do…..after much pondering, the only option that seemed open to me was to simply break off the engagement as quietly as possible, and move on with my life.

But God had other ideas, and took steps to make sure I didn’t foul up His plan. Gabriel appeared to me in a dream. He knew my name. He knew all about my fears, of my disappointment in Mary, of not believing her, of the difficulty of having to face everyone, and my resolve to cut off all ties with Mary. Slowly and deliberately he confirmed – point by point – everything Mary had said. Yes, the baby forming inside her was conceived of the Holy Spirit. And this baby’s name was already picked out – it was to be Jesus, just as Mary had said. He would be a savior, in that people would be saved from their sins.

Now you can imagine how I felt. How could I have doubted Mary?  She had tried to tell me, and I wouldn’t listen. I began to feel ashamed that I had not taken my precious Mary’s account more seriously.

As I awoke and pondered all this, it dawned on me of the privilege I was being given, to be an earthly father to the very Son of God. And as peace settled over me, those nagging questions seemed to not matter so much any more. God was clearly in this, I now knew what I had to do. Mary needed me, and God would get us through this somehow, though just how wasn’t at all clear. What I now knew for sure was that it was God’s desire that Mary be my wife, and whatever came after that, well, I would be there for her in this unique calling.  Imagine. My Mary, the mother of God.

I Wonder As I Wander
Kurt and Kasey Johnson

JOSEPH

Talk about lousy timing – or so it seemed – the government required that I return to my hometown to register for a census, of all things!

What about Mary? Taking her with me seemed foolhardy, with the baby due and all. But the more I thought about it, with people talking the way they do, and the worst-case scenario of what the authorities can do to betrothed women who are found to be pregnant, and furthermore if she had the baby while I was gone I wouldn’t be around to protect her and just be there for her…..given all that, it seemed better to take Mary along. Surely the favor Mary enjoyed with God would apply anywhere, anytime.

Since I belonged to the house of David, it meant traveling all the way from Nazareth to Bethlehem – 80 miles of bumpy roads, not to mention the discomfort of a donkey! We wondered what God must have thought, as his Son was being carried about inside Mary, in less than ideal conditions. Clearly from the start this child was not being treated as royalty. Son of God withstanding, He would apparently receive no special favors.

The road was filled with travelers all doing what we were doing, and when we got to Bethlehem, wouldn’t you know – the city was all booked up. No vacancy anywhere.

MARY

The innkeeper took one look at me and his mood softened. “I have a stable for the animals,” he said. “It’s not much, and you’ll have to share it with the cattle, but it’s better than nothin’.” We decided we’d better take it. All-to-familiar barnyard smells hit us long before we opened the door. But there was no turning back now, for my contraction were getting close apart. What timing! An unfamiliar town, no place to stay, in labor, no family, no midwife, the cattle looking on. My sweet Joseph. What had he gotten himself into?  But if I was highly favored, God would see me through.

Many times I had anticipated, God willing, that someday I would give birth, but I never imagined a setting like this. What was it about this stable that brought God glory? No fanfare, at least that we could see. Certainly no comfort….I spotted the manger trough and felt that would do…..

I pushed, Joseph cheered me on, and before long, here He was, our baby boy. The world’s baby boy. We counted his toes, his fingers. All there. He was perfect. I wrapped him up as tightly as I could and laid him in the manger.

Mary Did You Know
Kenny Clark

Silent Night
Congregation

SHEPHERD

Some jobs you’re just born into, and that’s what you end up doing. Some jobs don’t carry much respect. Tending sheep is one of those jobs, and that’s what I ended up doing. Not much training required. You mainly have to be vigilant. A sheep wanders off, you better go looking for it. You keep an eye out for marauders. But most the time, there’s nothing goin on, like that night. At least when it began.

Oh yeah, that night. The night that changed our lives. It was winter, quiet, boring. The sheep were behaving themselves. We may of dozed off.

Suddenly there was a blinding light. It seemed like a thousand lightning strikes all at once, without the thunder. We never seen a light like that. It lit up the whole sky. And on top of that, an angel appeared. I don’t mind telling you, it was terrifying.

We shook uncontrollably as the angel said, “Don’t be afraid,” and it hardly calmed us at all. He was very excited: “Today in Bethlehem a Savior has been born – to you.” We still shook. “He is Christ the Lord.” And to confirm that what he was sayin’ was the truth, he said that we would find the baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger, just like he said. He wanted us to go see. Us. He invited us!

(Cue: SANCTUS from the B Minor Mass)

And then all heaven broke loose. It was wild. Angels all over the sky, millions it seemed – they began praising God…”Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

And then, it was over. Just like that, they were gone. We looked at ourselves. It wasn’t a dream. It was real. We knew we had to see for ourselves, sheep or no sheep. This was once in a lifetime, and we weren’t gonna miss it. If heaven thought this birth was worth celebrating, how could we just shrug and walk away? Before we could think of all the reasons why not to, we took off for Bethlehem. It wasn’t very far.

How Far Is It To Bethlehem
Jane Green, solo

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
Timothy Pinkham, tin whistle
Chuck Koontz, tuba

Hark The Herald Angels Sing
Kenny and Lily Mei Clark and congregation

INNKEEPER

Sure I remember that night. Some things stay with you forever. I had to tell them we were full up – it was true. Of course I felt bad, she being pregnant and all. And, feeling some pity for the young girl, I offered the animal shed out back, and they seemed happy enough. Knowing now who they were – and who she gave birth to – you bet I regret not having tried harder to give him a decent welcome to this world. My own bed, even.

The inn had settled down, and everyone had been asleep it seems for half the night when there was a knock at the door. Some shepherds, wouldn’t you know, were standing outside asking if I knew anything about a baby boy that had just been born.

Remembering the pregnant couple, I muttered something about “out back” and closed the door. “What was that about,” my wife mumbled. “Crazy shepherds,” I said, and we went back to sleep. I should have followed them. I still kick myself for missing out.

It took a while to piece the whole story together. It seems that those “crazy shepherds” had gotten in on an amazing piece of history. Not only had a multitude of angels appeared in the sky, but they had been told about a newborn child, who was no ordinary child, but a savior. And he had just been born in Bethlehem. They had been told to go and see the child, and that they would find him all wrapped up and lying in a manger – as it turns out, my manger out back! Would you believe that – the Son of God born in my stable? And I was clueless to the whole thing.

At first, the story seemed preposterous. And coming from shepherds didn’t make believing any easier. But these shepherds were different. Something about that night rang true. You just don’t see shepherds glorifying and praising God. They had to have witnessed something, something so earth shattering, so monumental that they didn’t talk about sheep any more. They talked about Christ the Lord. They talked about glory, and singing, and wonder. Something about their amazement was contagious. Even though I wish I would have done more at the time, I am grateful that my stable out back was used of God to house his Son here on earth. A truly humble beginning for a most amazing Savior.

O Holy Night
Congregation

A green fern in my garden Arabella after a rainy day. View on flickr and download here.

Cross of Jesus Christ : Good Friday and Easter church worship background

“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.”
1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Taken in the hills of Romania on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

Download the full size image on my flickr page

Jina (Hungarian: Zsinna) is a commune in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania, in the Cindrel Mountains, 40 km west of the county capital Sibiu, in the Mărginimea Sibiului ethnographic area.

I had a blast engineering this a cappella album for the King’s Men at Biola with Walt Harrah.

Session signal path included:
Neumann TLM 49 microphone
Universal Audio LA-610 Tube pre / T4 Optical Compressor
Digi 002 Mixer Digidesign Pro Tools

Produced by Walt Harrah
Engineering by Brian Petersen
Mixed and Mastered by Brian Scheuble and Nolan Sipe
This album was recorded at Grace EV Free in La Mirada.
Mixed at the Village in West L.A. on a HD pro tools rig.

Members: Drew Brokke, Trevor Gomes, Arnold Geis, Matt Gould, Kevin Krogstad, Dan Rigall, Matt Sanchez, Jordan Tolentino
Released by Biola.

Here is an article about the CD.
http://www.biola.edu/news/articles/2009/091216_kingsmen.cfm

The King’s Men, Biola University’s a cappella student singing group, recently released their second CD titled No Turning Back. The CD features the group’s newest music alongside traditional hymns and worship songs, proving to be a unique listening experience.

Drew Brokke, a senior music and worship major and member of The King’s Men, was challenged to grow as a musician through the recording experience.

“Working on this album was simultaneously one of the most frustrating and rewarding experiences of my life,” said Brokke. “I was never so aware of my faults as a musician as then, but the rewards for working through them have been more than worth it. I feel so privileged to have been a part of it.”

Since 1986, The King’s Men, have performed and provided a unique style of music ranging from classical works by Morten Lauridsen to popular works arranged by M-Pact, Glad, and Walt Harrah. Though the members change each year, The King’s Men still continue to remain strong and their desire is that God be extolled through their talents.

Walt Harrah, the producer of No Turning Back, believes the experience was invaluable for the group.

“It was a tremendous growing experience for the singers, both in their respect of each other’s talent, as well as respect for the process of making a recording,” Harrah said.

The King’s Men can be found performing at various community and Biola-sponsored events.No Turning Back is available for purchase through the Conservatory of Music and at the Biola Bookstore.

Written by Lauren Kermelis, Media Relations Intern. Jenna Bartlo, Media Relations Coordinator, can be reached at (562)777-4061 or through email at jenna.l.bartlo@biola.edu.

Ted Blaisdell mixing the album, “So Much Joy,” in Studio E at the Westlake Studios

Produced by Walt Harrah
Engineered by Brian Petersen
Mixed by Ted Blaisdell at the Westlake Studios
Mastered by Robert Hadley at the Mastering Lab
Album design by John-Mark Warkentin

tedblaisdell.com/

Grace EV Free Choir and Orchestra during the 2009 Christmas Concert
Will Gearhart is conducting
Marla Bustad with the solo
Produced by Walt Harrah

Erik Bergen is on sound
Marlin Gramenz is running visuals
Thatcher Kelly is shooting video
Brian Sterling is taking still photography
Brian Petersen is the technical director

The Birth of Jesus Christ
Luke 2 ESV
2:1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels
8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Come, Thou long expected Jesus,

Come, Thou long expected Jesus, Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us; Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation, Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear desire of every nation, Joy of every longing heart.

Joy to those who long to see the, Dayspring from on high appear;
Come, Thou promised rod of Jesse, Of Thy birth we long to hear.
O’er the hills, the angels singing, “News, glad tidings of a birth;
Go to them, your praises bringing, Christ the Lord has come to earth!”

Come to earth to taste our sadness, He whose glories knew no end;
By His life He brings us gladness, Our Redeemer, Shepherd, Friend.
Leaving riches without number, Born within a cattle stall,
This the everlasting wonder, Christ was born the Lord of all!

Born Thy people to deliver, Born a child, and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever, Now Thy gracious kingdom bring;
By Thine own eternal spirit, Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit, Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

So Much Joy from Grace EV Free from Grace EV Free on Vimeo.

Watch the new video about “So Much Joy.” Get the free download at www.songsofgrace.org and tell your friends.

I had the joy of engineering this CD and really like the outcome. Listen below and enjoy the songs of Christmas!

The video was shot by the epic Thatcher Kelly, and was produced and edited by Brian Petersen.

The CD was produced by Walt Harrah
Engineered by Brian Petersen
Mixed by Ted Blaisdell at the Westlake Studios
Mastered by Robert Hadley at the Mastering Lab
Album design by John-Mark Warkentin
℗ © 2008 Grace Evangelical Free Church

Pictures from missions in Transylvania, Romania.
July 8 – July 22 of 2006.

The team worked among the urban poor by partnering with local pastors and missionaries in Orastia, and Sibiu, Romania. Children’s ministry with village outreach was also a focus. The team also encouraged local missionaries and Romanian locals by participating in Bible studies, prayer meetings, leading worship, and teaching in churches.

Our team also visited the crowded halls of an orphanage and ministered to people who are working through the trials of a post communist country where the church was under great persecution. Our team also took part in ministry outreach through VBS to village children where few believers are known. Witchcraft and other demonic activity are common in this area, but the Christian church is growing in this dark region.

Westlake Recording Studios
7265 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90046
TEL (323) 851-9800
For booking availability, rates or any additional info
please contact Sara Clark or Steve Burdick
Email: bookings@thelakestudios.com

Console:
Solid State Logic 9072J Super Analogue Console

Monitors and Video:
Westlake HR1-X Mains
Sony 42” Flat Panel Plasma Display
2 Sony WEGA 20” Flat Panel Displays

Size:
Control Room 375 square feet
Vocal Booth 52 square feet

Isolation:
One Standard Isolation Area – One Variable Decay Isolation Area

Multitrack Tape Machines :
Digidesign Pro-Tools HD System with an Apple 21” Cinema Display and latest Power Mac.
Studer A-827
Sony PCM-3348 or 3348HR

Two Track Machines:
Ampex ATR-100
Panasonic SV-3700 DAT
HHB CDR850 Compact Disc Recorder
Apogee PSX1000 series AD/DA Converters

Outboard Gear – Time Based Effects
AMS-RMX 16
AMS-DMX 1580 DDL
EMT 140 Analog Plate
Eventide DSP-4000
Eventide H3500
Lexicon 480L & 960L
Lexicon PCM 70 (2)
Lexicon PCM 91
Lexicon PCM 42 (2)
Quantec QRS-XL
Roland SDE 3000 (2)
TC M3000
TC D-TWO
Yamaha SPX 90 (2)
Yamaha SPX 900

Outboard Gear – Dynamic Effects
Avalon 737SP
dbx 165A (2)
dbx 160x (3)
dbx 902 de-esser (1)
Drawmer DS-201 Gates
Emperical Distressors (2)
GML 8200 St. EQ’s (2)
Manley EQP-1A
Neve 33609 Stereo Comp
Summit MPE-200 EQ
Summit EQP-200A St. EQ
Summit 200 St Comp (2)
TubeTech LCA 2B St EQ
Tubetech PE 1C EQ (2)
Urie 1176
Waves L2 St Maximizer

http://www.residentadvisor.net/feature.aspx?1007

Todd Burns, the editor over at Resident Advisor requested two photos to be used for their magazines take at mastering. Get the article here and see the shots. http://www.residentadvisor.net/feature.aspx?1007

Resident Advisor is the leading online electronic music magazine.
Established in 2001, RA publishes news, reviews and features to an audience of more than 600,000* monthly readers. Thousands of artist and label profiles—and even more user-generated event and club listings—have made RA an invaluable resource to both the clued-up music lover and the clubgoer simply looking for a good night out. With offices in London and Berlin and contributors spanning the globe, RA covers anything and everything that is electronic music-related.

A fortified wall in northern China, extending some 2,400 km (1,500 miles) from Kansu province to the Yellow Sea north of Beijing. It was first built c. 210 bc, as a protection against nomad invaders. The present wall dates from the Ming dynasty.

Get the full size here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpbp/319407321/

The Grace Choir and Orchestra celebrate Easter and Christ’s resurrection in the new building at Grace EV Free in La Mirada, CA.

Benedictions found in the Bible

This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but I pray it will be helpful for those looking for a benediction in the Holy Scriptures. A special thank you to Peter O’Brien’s work in the IVP Dictionary of Paul and His Letters on “Benediction, Blessing, Doxology, and Thanksgiving.” All passages are listed in the ESV.

The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26

There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?
Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”
Psalms 4:6

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.
Psalms 29:2

May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless his people with peace!
Psalms 29:11

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.
Psalms 41:13

Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory!
Amen and Amen!
Psalms 72:19

Blessed be the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.
Psalms 89:52

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!
And let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord!
Psalms 106:48

The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
Psalms 121:7-8

To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 1:7

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
Romans 11:36

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,
so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Romans 15:13

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 15:5-6

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Romans 16:20

Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen
Romans 16:25-27

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 1:3

God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
1 Corinthians 1:9

My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.
1 Corinthians 16:24

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 1:2

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4

For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.
2 Corinthians 1:20

For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
2 Corinthians 4:15

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
2 Corinthians 13:14

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8

Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.
2 Corinthians 13:11

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Galatians 1:3-5

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.
Galatians 6:18

Ephesians 1:1-24

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:14-21

Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.
Ephesians 6:24

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Philippians 4:19-20

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
Philippians 4:23

Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
1 Thessalonians 3:11-13

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:23

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.
2 Thessalonians 2:16,17

Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.
2 Thessalonians 3:16

To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
1 Tim. 1:17

The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
2 Tim. 4:18

The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
2 Tim. 4:22

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Hebrews 13:20-21

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1 Peter 1:3–5

…But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
2 Peter 3:18

But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.
Jude 1:20-21

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Jude 1:24-25

It’s no doubt that the Digi 002 is now an industry standard interface and has been featured on numerous records. Its smaller size combined with the ability to portably record to pro tools makes for a win win combination. The units come in either a 3U rack mount version or a table top automated mixer version that I personally prefer. The only problem is that the stock A/D converters and the clock in the unit are not the same quality that would you hope to have on a major record using a more high end pro tools studio interface. Some companies provide modifications on the clock and the converters with the digi 002 units, but you can also do well by making these modifications yourself. I use higher end vintage mic pres and nice large diaphragm mics to compensate for the stock pres and the converters on the 002. More on the converters later, but one way to overcome the clock issue is to use a high end external master clock for your interface. Many clocks are available and widely discussed, but I have gone with the recommendation of engineers that are much more skilled and discerning than I am in the studio world. This article is a brief detail of how to use an Antelope Isochrome OCX external clock with a Digidesign Digi 002.

Just a brief side note here but the main connection used for the external clock with the Digi 002 is a RCA S/PDIF port on the back of the interface. Later Digi 003 models came with upgraded stock BNC clock connections. S/PDIF = Sony/Phillips Digital Interchange Format

Step One

Acquire a Digi 002 interface, an Isochrome OCX clock, and a S/PDIF cable from your favorite dealer, studio, or music buddy.  I bought my clock from Joe Gilder at Sweetwater. You will also need the necessary gear and connections for setting up your monitor mix, computer, mic pres, and so on. This is assuming you already have your studio setup.

Step Two – Warning

I would highly recommend turning off your gear and muting your monitors before you start any of this. Also a warning here as I found that my interface and monitor setup emitted loud white noise when I tried to set the clock to a sample rate above 96k. The 002 unit does not work above 96k even though your clock will be able to go up to 192k. Do yourself a favor and mute your monitors.

Step Three

Connect a S/PDIF cable from your clock to your Digi 002 interface. You do this by plugging in the S/PDIF cable to the S/PDIF OUT on the OCX clock and connect the other end of the cable to the S/PDIF IN on the Digi 002 RCA S/PDIF port. It’s recommended that you keep your clock within 10 ft (3 meters) of your interface when using a S/PDIF cable.

Step Four

Connect the IEC power cable to the OCX and power it on. Set the sample rate by pressing the rectangle buttons just to the left of the main red LED readout.

Step Five

Connect the IEC power cable to the Digi 002 and power it on. Open pro tools. Choose Setups on the top right tab. Under Setups choose Hardware Setup. Now select the S/PDIF clock source in the lower box on the left side. Click OK.

Your external clock should now be setup. Make sure that your sample rate on the clock matches your pro tools session sample rate. Begin making beautiful music.

More about the OCX clock…

Antelope’s Isochrone OCX emerges as the new quality standard in professional master clocks. A master clock is the heart of the digital studio, essential to maintaining stability and preserving sonic integrity. It is crucial that a master clock be flawless, and the Isochrone OCX exists to meet this need. Uncompromised design has created the most stable, best sounding master clock available.

Oven Controlled Discrete Transistor Crystal

Oscillator for lowest jitter

Atomic clock input resolves to Rubidium clock for perfect stability

Jitter Management Module improves sonic performance

Sample Rates 32-192 kHz

Factory calibrated to better than +/- 0.02PPM accuracy via Atomic Clock

Can be recalibrated in the field to an Atomic Clock for better than +/- 0.02PPM accuracy

W/Cx256 “Superclock” output for Digidesign Pro-Tools systems

Outputs multiple, divisible sample rates

8 Word Clock outputs

2 AES/EBU outputs

2 S/PDIF output

http://www.antelopeaudio.com/en/products_iso_ocx.html

More about the Digi 002…

Digi 002 combines the features of a high-quality audio interface, a MIDI interface, a touch-sensitive control surface, and a stand-alone digital mixer, all in one unit.

Digi 002 provides the following input and output capacity:

• 8 analog audio inputs (4 with mic preamps), with A/D converters supporting up to 24-bit, 96 kHz audio

• 48V phantom power on mic preamps, switchable in channel pairs

• –10 dBV input pair for direct monitoring of tape or CD input sources

• 8 analog audio outputs, with D/A converters supporting up to 24-bit, 96 kHz audio

• Monitor Output pair (+4 dBu) mirrors Main Outputs 1–2 with dedicated volume control for direct connection to powered speakers

• Alternate Main Output pair (–10 dBV) mirrors Main Outputs 1–2 for direct output to –10 dBV devices.

• Stereo headphone output with level control

• Optical connectors for 8 channels of ADAT I/O (up to 48 kHz) or 2 channels of Optical S/PDIF I/O (up to 96 kHz)

• RCA connectors for 2 channels of S/PDIF digital I/O supporting up to 24-bit, 96 kHz audio

• 1 MIDI In port and 2 MIDI Out ports, providing up to 16 channels of MIDI input and up to 32 channels of MIDI output

Control Surface Features

Digi 002 provides an integrated control surface for software control that includes the following:

• 8 touch-sensitive moving faders and dedicated solo, mute and channel select/record arm controls

• 8 multi-function rotary encoders for operating pan, send, and plug-in controls

• Transport and navigation controls

• 10 scribble strips for channel information display

• Footswitch jack for punching in and out while recording

Living Stones Video from Grace EV Free from Grace EV Free on Vimeo.

This video was created for the new building dedication of our latest worship center at Grace Evangelical Free Church in La Mirada.

Edited by Thatcher Kelly

Pictures by Ryan McDuff, Mike Burbidge, Jim McCormick, and Brian Petersen

Audio engineered by Brian Petersen

Directed by Walt Harrah

Grace EV Free Adventure Week Video 2009 from Brian Petersen on Vimeo.

Enjoy this recap video from the 2009 Adventure Week at Grace EV Free in La Mirada, CA.

A rock breaker near the Seti River at Pokhara, Nepal. These people live in the river basin that has been carved out from the melted water from the Himalayas and the Annapurna Mountain Range.

See the full set of my shots on the Seti River here.

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
Psalm 19 ESV

See the full size at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpbp/3010030999/

Pink Rose, originally uploaded by bpbp Brian Petersen.

This dude can sing!

Session signal path
Neumann TLM 49 microphone
Universal Audio LA-610 Tube pre / T4 Optical Compressor
Digi 002 Mixer
Digidesign Pro Tools

The TLM 49 is a large diaphragm condenser mic with a cardioid pickup pattern that sounds amazing on strings. It is transformerless and has the K 47 capsule with a boost at 2kHz.

Engineering by Brian Petersen

This is the 14 near the 395 in the Californian desert. The traffic lanes had been recently painted which helped for the vivid lines on the highway.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpbp/205760704/

In 1978 Yamaha first introduced the NS-10 design with the iconic white woofer. At that time they were marketed as home audio compact bookshelf speakers. And they did a terrible job at it. Long listening sessions proved fatiguing to the ear, due to tweeter-woofer alignment/phasing issues and the harsh quality of the tweeter, when used with the original crossover.

However, a couple of well known mixing engineers revealed by word of mouth that some of their recent multi-platinum productions had been mixed on NS-10s, instead of the Auratone cubes that were the untouched standard at that point. For a good reason, most purchases and decisions in the audio world are made according to what the more experienced and successful use, and how they use it. So, by word of mouth, more and more engineers started using them in their studios. They were the only speaker design with a contrasty white woofer on a black enclosure, so they were easy to spot and recognize in any control room.

But the tweeter was indeed too harsh, and some engineers started modding their NS-10 with some paper or cloth over the tweeter, to absorb and phase cancel the high frequency output, or even performing after market crossover modifications. (See also: “The tissue phenomenon”)

Yamaha, confused that engineers were more interested in their home speakers than home users grabbed the business opportunity and started catering to that new target market. – The NS-10M STUDIO monitors were born.

Engineers were using the speakers laying on their side on a console, and complaining about the harshness, so they addressed those modifications in a new revision, NS-10M STUDIO (M standing for Monitor). These had an improved crossover circuit with slightly less tweeter output, and were designed to be placed horizontally, with the logo turned 90 degrees and the tweeter shifted to one side (always in the top-outer corner).

And now they were selling like candy. Engineers were discussing about the best amplifiers to use with their passive NS-10M, and later even adding subwoofers to compensate for lack of low frequency response. The white woofers were being used as kick drum mics, and due to the fragility of the tweeter, prone to burnouts, replacement parts are constantly being traded on eBay.

Thousands of albums were made using the NS-10M nearfields as the main source of monitoring. Virtually every well-known mixing engineer in history (people such as Andy Wallace, Terry Date, Brendan O’Brien, the Lord-Alge brothers, Charles Dye, Dave Pensado, Ben Grosse, you name it) used them to make some of the most amazing production works ever. In 2007, they were awarded the Technical Grammy® Award.

But in the new millennium Yamaha started having trouble finding the wood pulp to make the white woofer cones, and they weren’t yet prepared to release a new model. Quickly they put together a new line of active black-woofer monitors, the MSP series. They were well built and great for mixing, but sounded smoother, and people were missing the NS-10 raw feel of present midrange – the “Yamaha NS-10 sound and looks”.

So why not do things right? Why not release a redesigned line of white-woofer, active nearfields, with improved technology and lower price for home studio affordability? That’s exactly what Yamaha did in 2006.

The Facts: why NS-10M became the standard
I love hearing the “little experts” bashing the NS-10 based on a 5-second listen, even more than I love hearing the clueless followers claiming that they sound “amazing and flat”. They’re both right and wrong. But they don’t know why, or how.

Myth: “The NS-10M have a flat frequency response.”
False. Their 2 kHz bump of + 5 dB and low frequency drop starting at 200 Hz is part of what made them a studio workhorse. Far from being flat, they “open” the frequency range with a midrange-based response that exposes the most problematic and worst-sounding frequencies. In your consumer hi-fi, the EQ preset that makes most music sound “better” (”Loudness”, “Rock”) is exactly the NS-10 frequency response, flipped upside down… Coincidence?

Myth: “The NS-10M sound plastic, harsh and ugly.”
That’s because you’re either speaker-spoiled, listen to bad mixes, or don’t know how to mix. They boost the uglier frequencies and hide the comfortable ones. They’re like the mixing version of Simon Cowell on American Idol. If you can’t mix, they will tell it like it is. If you’re too childish to accept that, you’ll probably leave the room cursing the speakers and promising to someday become successful and show them they were wrong! And that’s what happens to a lot of people. Similar situation, same effect.

Myth: “The NS-10M sound great!”
Well, they are defined in the midrange (see above) and very analytic – good if you’re used to clinical listening. But I wouldn’t use them in a living room to play jazz records at the fireplace.

The explosive popularity of the Yamaha NS-10M speaker system for near- field monitoring in professional sound studios throughout the world has resulted in the development of the NS-10M STUDIO model. The NS-10M SUTDIO maintains the quality and performance of the original NS10M, but has been refined and redesigned specifically for professional applications. To begin with, you can throw away the tissue paper. The high-end output of the NS-10M STUDIO has been modified – on the basis of extensive testing and feedback from the field – for optimum balance in the studio control room.

The NS-10M STUDIO retains the unique sheet-formed white-cone 18cm woofer of the original NS-10M, but employs a redesigned 3.5cm dome tweeter to achieve high-end response that is more suitable for studio use. Optimum woofer/tweeter matching and careful crossover design ensure smooth, natural transition between frequency ranges with minimum phase variation. Frequency response is remarkably flat from 60 Hz right up to 20 kHz, and superior transient response delivers crisp, transparent sound. The exceptionally tight, clean reproduction and precise overall response of this system is a must for accurate sound evaluation and image positioning.

While the original NS-10M was primarily a vertical design, the NS10M STUDIO has been remodeled to facilitate on-console horizontal placement. Overall construction is more rugged to withstand the rigors of nonstop professional use.

FANPAGE FOR YAMAHA® NS-10M
www.ns-10.net/category/history/

Enjoy this shot from a recent photo shoot with good friends.