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I'm Alive - the story behind the song

There are several life stories that influenced the writing of "I'm Alive". I want to touch on those, but really quick I want to give the song a proper intro. This is a song for those who have lost hope, for husbands\wives that live in the shadows of past sexual encounters, for kids who are dealing with the lack of parents from divorce or chasing the American Dream, for those who are addicted and are struggle to find independence from that bondage, and for those who has suffered major blows to their self esteem and find themselves inadequate in this world. This song sings about our stories, yet this song sings about the one who stands, forever patiently, at the door of our heart and knocks. No matter how low we are or how far away we think we are, He's there. He's real and He will enter into our life if we ask Him, and for the first time we can truly hear Him and see Him, at that point we can say, "I'm Alive".

One of the first stories to influence this song was Steve Fross. A co-worker, a friend, a true Brother-in-Christ. This man lived such a dark life before he met Jesus. To hear such a gentle, Godly man tell what he was like before was astonishing. Long before "I'm Alive" was ever conceived as a song I wrote about Steve's past, "A story of a bitter hole, called my life" because that is exactly how he described his life.

Steve's story was so similar to mine that the phrase "A story of a bitter hole, called my life" touched my soul and I continued on with "Pictures are fading, pass me by. Memories are graying, but the pain remains." See the problem with having a sexual history and marrying a person from that time frame or situation is that they have seen or even known those that you have slept with. This is the case with my wife and I. This is one of those things that no one tells young people about sex. Once you give it away, you can never take it back and the emotional load is more than just yours, it now belongs to everyone that you and your partner will ever have a future relationship with. Husbands seeing their wives as a whore, wives not trusting their husbands, children broken because their parents that they looked to as perfect are now seen warts and all. Through it all the memories will get a tad fuzzier, the memories will fade some, but someone will always carry the pain for our actions. Our actions have consequences whether we like it or not and no matter how you've seared your conscience or what philosophical ideas you buy into, those consequences are still real to everyone in the real world.

At this point, I had a verse written and was fumbling around on my guitar one night and the chorus just spilled out as I was pondering the reality of God. To go a step further, I was thinking back to all the heritage and all the churchianity that I had overcome to truly see God as He was revealed to us in Jesus Christ. Granted, this is out of context for the song even though the words\lyrics still fit. But this is where the chorus came from. Just sitting around pondering and thinking, "Wow, I couldn't imagine life without this intimate knowing of You Lord". I'd played Church all my life. Even considered myself "saved". But until I opened up myself up to truly see God, I was just messing around.

Now I've got the first verse, the pre-chorus, and the chorus. I'm struggling for a second verse. It's been months and I don't have a thing. Then as I'm sitting at a Church in Leoti, KS watching the kids come in for the concert my mind went back to a recent testimony by a young lady at our Church. This young lady was telling about her life and I must admit, she could babysit my children anytime without question, that's how responsible this young lady is. But the pressure that was on her to succeed and to be that "all things to all people" types of daughter, sister, or friend became too much for her. Everyone came to her but she had no place to turn. Unfortunately she turned to cutting herself to release the frustration. The words poured out faster than I could write them down, "Story of a hurting soul, locked up tight. Frustrations hidden, behind her eyes. Her body is craving to cut away the pain, cut away the pain."

Since that day in Leoti, KS the song has touched many lives. The impact was immediate and overwhelming. Emails have poured in from all over the place telling us how much this song has impacted their lives. It baffles me that I was even conscious enough to stumble upon it. Now after many requests, it's going to be release on Wur'ship Project:LIVE. We pray that it'll bless many other lives and that God will be glorified through it all.

Blessings,

Jeremy

I’m Alive
Words & Music by Jeremy Neely

Story of a bitter hole, called my life.
Pictures are fading, pass me by.
Memories are graying, but the pain remains, but the pain remains.

Then You walk right through that door.
The one that You’ve knocked on for so long.

And I see You, for the first time. For the first time in my life.
And I hear You, for the first time. For the first time I’m Alive.

Story of a hurting soul, locked up tight
Frustrations hidden, behind the eyes
Body is craving, cut away the pain, cut away the pain…

Then You walk right through that door.
The one that You’ve knocked on for so long.

And I see You, for the first time. For the first time in my life.
And I hear You, for the first time. For the first time I’m Alive.

For the first time I’m alive! For the first time I’m Alive…

And I see You, for the first time. For the first time in my life.
And I hear You, for the first time. For the first time I’m Alive.

New sponsorship...Monster Energy Drinks!

We are excited to announce that Wur'ship Project is now proudly sponsored by Monster Energy Drinks! This is a unique sponsorship that is a win-win situation. Monster will get to have it's product in front of a new "market" while Wur'ship Project will have the opportunity to be seen and heard by those that wouldn't necessarily have made any effort to see or hear us before.

Digging a well...it sucks!

Nothing spiritual about this post. Just giving you the scoop about a project I had going on around the house. Being the frugal person I am, I thought it would be good to save a lot of money and dig my own well. Yeah, "digging my own well" is just as it sounds...with manual tools. All in all I will have $300 in my well and it usually costs anywhere from $1,800 - 2,000.00 to have a driller come in and dig a well. So I saved money, but I can barely make a fist with my hands (I'm a wuss!).

So if there were ever to be a meaning in this meaningless post, I'm celebrating the end of the sand bucket process which is the brunt of the manual labor. Today I put my gravel pack on the outside of the casing to stabilize the formation. See, I can even speak the terminology!

So what have I learned from this process? That I'm super cheap and hand digging a well sucks!

CD Release Party - Saturday December 1st, Salina, KS

The release of our next CD - Wur'ship Project:LIVE is right around the corner (November 27th to be exact). In celebration of that we are having a CD Release Party. This is going to take place on Saturday, December 1st at Webster Conference Center in Salina, KS. General Admission is $5 and that basically goes to cover the venue, sound, and lighting costs. Tony Bowell (121 Records recording artist) will kick off the evening at 7:00PM with some tunes from his debut album - Tony Bowell Live at the Crossroads. Then we'll take the stage and play some new and old Wur'ship Project tunes.

There's a ton of work to be done yet, but we are going to deliver a great event for y'all!

If you'd like to help us with some promotion\advertisement of the event, here is a link to some fliers to download (must have Acrobat Reader) and pass around: http://www.wurship.com/file.cfm?file_id=15&view_file=1

Inoculation - the heart behind the song

Inoculation - "...the introduction of an antigenic substance or vaccine into the body to produce immunity to a specific disease."

I was raised in what one would call a Christian home and my extended family are majority Christian. It seemed as if my Mom were on every committee and every time the doors were open we were there. This caused two things to happen. First, I got a front row seat at Church politics. Nasty. Definitely no Jesus in that! Second, I was under pressure to do the song and dance. What song and dance? You know, the one that every American is pressured to do so that they won't go to hell...say the prayer.

When I was 12 years old I succumbed to the pressure. Actually, the sermon did "scare the hell out of me". Life was fun, I did what I wanted, hell sounded like bad news. Know what I found out that Sunday? That you can say a prayer, continue on with your fun life, and everyone will pat you on the back.

Fast forward through the alcohol abuse, the drug abuse, the pre-marital sex, and the extra marital "fooling around". I'm standing at a Church for one of my Uncle's. Only 52 years old and he died in his sleep. This is what kick started my slow journey to my relationship with Jesus Christ, but it also had another lasting impact on me. I realized that this cocky assurance that I had all these years that I was going to heaven was nothing more than a big, fat, lie!

"Shot in the arm, tickle the ear.
I'm dancing with death, and he just drew me nearer.
Walk that same road, so straight and so easy.
My life's secure, so let's to living"

People quote me a verse here and a verse there all the time about this. Not going to argue it because I've got better things to do (like introducing people to a relationship with Jesus Christ and Discipling them after His life). What I want you to see is that this is the heart behind the song Inoculation. That this mile wide, inch deep stuff that the North American Church is spewing forth has a hint of truth just like a flu shot or flu inoculation has a hint of the flu virus in it. In regards to the flu virus, the person receiving the inoculation is immune to the flu. In regards to the person receiving the false assurance, they become immune to what God really wants for them in this life.

"Immune to this life, not seeing the truth.
I reach out to You, but I just keep on sinking.
Don't worry son, it's all wrapped up neatly.
Just say this prayer, now let's get to living."

What is that? What does God really want from us in this life? Obedience. Paul tells us in Romans 8 that before the beginning of this all that God predetermined man to look like Jesus Christ. That means he hoped that man from Adam through time would look like the person we see in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Paul says that the Lord subjected creation to futility in hope. In hope of what? In hope that we would seek Him out. That our lives would be holy and pleasing to Him. As I state in the song Inoculation, "not just saved from Hell, but here for eternity with You."

"All my life I've been searching for something.
All my days I've been looking for truth.
All this time I've been seeking out someone.
All this time I've been needing You"

I want to clarify one thing. I'm not anti-Church. I'm all about believers coming together to encourage each other in their daily lives. Whether that happens in a big building, small building, old building, stone building, a school auditorium, or even a home. It doesn't matter to me. What I'm not about is giving people false assurance and assumptions that can't be found in the life or teachings of Jesus. We have no authority to pass out salvation like a badge. Only one sits on the throne and it certainly isn't me.

Below are the lyrics to the song. It really is a love song because I was saved from a snare with a horrible outcome. Instead of a life lived so glibly, now my life has purpose and a hope that truly one day I can look my Creator in the eye and hear "Well done." It is a purpose that I'm willing to be obedient and disciplined for. It's a purpose I'm willing to die for.

Blessings,

Jeremy

Inoculation
Words & Music by Jeremy Neely

Shot in the arm, tickle the ear.
Dancing with death and he just drew me nearer.
Walk that same road, so straight and so easy.
My life's secure, now let's get to living.

Now I'm seeing thing clearly.
Not just saved from Hell.
But here for eternity with You.

Immune to this life, not seeing the truth.
I reach out to You, but I just keep on sinking.
Don't worry son, it's all wrapped up neatly.
Just say this prayer, now let's get to living. -->[endif]-->

Now I'm seeing thing clearly.
Not just saved from Hell.
But here for eternity with You. -->[endif]-->

All my life I've been searching for something.
All my days I've been looking for truth.
All this time I've been seeking out someone.
All this time I've been needing You…

Now I'm seeing thing clearly.
Not just saved from Hell.
But here for eternity with You.

Falling Down - the heart of the song

The song Falling Down is a picture of my life as seen through the eyes of the Prodigal Son. That is the easiest way for me to describe it. At first glance through the lyrics, you might think they are a bit contradictory. If you haven't seen or heard the lyrics, scroll to the bottom and read through them. How could it possibly be beautiful to fall down? Here is my best at describing what the song is about.

Some do not catch what is meant in the lyric "how beautiful it is to fall down". It seems like that phrase is pretty contradictory to the Christian life, especially in light of what Paul says about sinning in an attempt to experience the grace of God. Not only that, but the opening line says, "I'm falling, falling down. Don't know which way is up." This seems like the song is contradicting itself...confusion abounds.

Until one realizes that there are two forms of falling down and both are on display in this song as well as the story of the Prodigal. One is the obvious "falling into sin" type of falling down. The second form of falling down is the broken, I give up, bending of the knees before our Heavenly Father. How beautiful this is!

The verse is built on the first definition of falling down. The first verse hits at my pride. The "I don't need you. I can do this on my own" type of prideful attitude that seems to infiltrate us all at one point or another in our lives. The second verse speaks about passion and my desires. It shows these areas of my life in an addictive nature. Hopefully the sense of being a slave to passion and desire abound in this verse.

Then my favorite part, coming home! I imagine the scene through the prodigals eyes. Weary, tired, regretful. I'm going back to the security that I once shunned, not entirely sure what to expect. And then I crest the last hill. He's standing there. Who knows how long He's been there watching, waiting? I'm so lost, so hungry, all I can do is run! At last only feet from my Father's feet and I collapse, I fall down at His feet so unworthy to return, but yet longing to once again feel the loving embrace that I have run from. How beautiful it is to fall down!

Jeremy Neely
Wur'ship Project


Falling Down
by Jeremy Neely

I'm falling, falling down. Don't know which way is up.
Wallow in my sin, as pride raises up.
Can't keep me down, from the pedestal I'm on.
Walking my own way while still claiming God's

Though the darkness closes in all around me, I look for You.
Though the stench of my life still surrounds me, I cry out to You.

I can see You, I can see Your beautiful face!
And I long to, feel Your loving embrace.
How beautiful, it is to fall down!

I'm falling, falling down. I've been here before.
I had to get my fix, just like before.
Can't keep me out of this world I'm living in.
Walk in my own strength convinced that it's Yours.

New Songs

Just wanted to let y'all know that we have uploaded 4 new songs from our upcoming CD "Wur'ship Project: Live" on our MySpace page. In the coming weeks we will share with you some insights behind these songs and some testimonies of those who have been touched by them.

So give "Falling Down", "Inoculation", and "I'm Alive", and "Peace Be Still" a listen. Watch for new blogs giving the "behind the scenes" stories of where these songs come from.

The Love of God

The Love of God

The Love of God
by Jeremy Neely
(Wur'ship Project, http://www.wurship.com)
8/1/2007

Recently I have been pondering on the Love of God. The subject came up one morning while my mentor, Floyd Smith, and I were studying about obedience, temptation, and living the life of Christ. In this we began to see the Love of God. Before we get into what Floyd and I saw, first I should give you a little background about the journey with God that has led me to this point.

Seven years ago my wife, Kaci, and I began to follow Jesus Christ and made Him Lord of our lives. During this time we saturated ourselves in the word and found a common theme among the Apostle's writings...live a Christ-like life. This was rather exciting to Kaci and I as we both grew up in the Church and were weary of religiousness. This was functional. This was something to strive for, but we were still a tad in the dark as to how to do this.

Shortly after this revelation a man by the name of Floyd Smith walked into our lives. Floyd was in his late 50's when we first met and I could quickly tell that this man has been searching for what we were searching for. Floyd went through Bible College and Seminary as a young man and left school with a Masters Degree thinking, "I did not find what I was looking for here". At that point in time, he began to dig into the book of Matthew eventually memorizing the whole book. This unlocked the Gospels and the letters of the Apostles in an amazing way. For the purposes of this column, I will make it short in saying that Floyd helped show us how to live a Christ-like life. This is so profound that it is almost a "duh" moment in my life. The answer is in the Gospels. The Gospels are an account of the life of Jesus. If we want to see how to live a Christ-like life, why not look at the life of Christ? Wow!

Now to bring this back around to the Love of God. The more we saw the context of Jesus being the dictionary by which both Jews and Gentiles alike must see the Father, the more we saw that the Love of God is clearly shown in the simple, mundane life of Jesus Christ. So simple and mundane that most Denominations, Organizations, and Churches pass right over this. That statement right there may offend some of you and shut you off. I want to assure you that this is not an anti-Church statement. As a matter of fact, if this thought becomes anything less than functional in our lives, meaning if it becomes a philosophy or an idea that we argue, then it is nothing more than another doctrinal, legalistic, dogmatic statement that will not bear fruit.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Worship Him alone. Love your neighbor as yourself and pray for your enemies. Can you see this in the life of Jesus? The love of God poured out on a road where everyone else took their 10 paces, hissing unclean, but Jesus walked straight to the Leper and touched him. When we realize that this Leper has not felt the touch of another human being for who knows how long, and how important a mere touch can mean to someone. We begin to see the mundane and simple Love of God in action. The Gospels are full of such accounts. Carefully, I do not want to dwell on the miracles or diminish them either. On the contrary I want to see past some of that to the compassion, mercy, and love of "God with us", Jesus Christ.

Read 1 Corinthians 13 (commonly used at Wedding ceremonies) in the context of the Life of Jesus. "If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I am a resounding gong..." and "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud." Are you seeing it? It's amazing and it is completely counter cultural!

The Love of God is simple, it's mundane, it's counter cultural, but it is life changing. Take up the charge with me and let's seek out the life of Christ in a goal to please our Father in Heaven. The result will be the Love of God pouring from our lives and the world around us changing.