Wur'ship Project

Change is in the air

2008-09-24T10:11:00.001-05:00

How do you start in on a topic like this without just coming out and saying it. Over the course of the next couple months Kaci and I are going to be taking on a new identity. When the new year roles around we will put Wur'ship Project aside and begin to be known as NEELY.

This is an exciting time yet emotions run the gamut. For nearly a decade now we've been known as Wur'ship Project and that is a comfortable place to find oneself. However, there are opportunities that are constantly being presented to us that we cannot fulfill with the name of Wur'ship Project.

So in the coming year check out http://www.neelymusic.com for updates and join our myspace and facebook pages. Right now that address points to a half finished MySpace page, but in the coming months we hope to have that redesigned and further yet have a full blown website.

You all have been so instrumental in the success we've had and we hope that you'll continue to partner with us in this endeavor to reach even more people with our music.

Thanks again for all you do!

The Zod Archives EP dropcards ship out Tuesday...

2008-07-11T13:33:00.001-05:00

Are you digging the new tracks? If so, we are offering them digitally via drop cards. How this works:

- Go to http://www.wurship.com
- Click on Merchandise
- Click on Digital Music
- Click on The Zod Archives EP
- Add it to cart
- The card ships out to you.

Once you have the card:

- Go to http://www.wurship.com
- Click on Media
- Enter the code on the back of your card
- Enter your email address
- Download the tracks

These cards are not just good for the digital downloads, but they are also a $5 coupon towards the coming album.

Thanks for your continued support!

Jeremy & Kaci
Wur'ship Project

Sampler of new tracks from Nashville

2008-06-13T15:25:00.002-05:00

We've got a sample track that has clips from "I'm Alive", "Don't Tell Me It's Over", and "Falling Down" up on our band page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wurship-Project/8273086394 or you can listen at our myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/wurshipproject

These are the new tracks we recorded at Zodlounge in Nashville, TN and we are chomping at the bit to get the final tracks up so you can listen. Until then, enjoy this little taste of what's to come!

Thanks for your part in making this happen!!

Jeremy & Kaci
Wur'ship Project

Newspaper article, Revolution, and Main Street Cafe...

2008-05-20T09:42:00.004-05:00

You know, I'll try to explain how this weekend went to the best of my ability but all-in-all it would be so much easier if Kaci and I could just remember to 1.) take our camera, and 2.) use it!

This post isn't totally devoid of props. We have a link to a newspaper article ran on Friday, May 16th in the Encore section of the Salina Journal. Here's the link to that article: http://www.saljournal.com/rdencore/story/encoremain051608

The interview for this article, done by Gary Demuth, was a blast. Gary is very gifted in what he does and he did a great job at keeping us on task. He was taking down notes like mad as Kaci and I were dumping information on him. As you will see from the article, he did a masterful job of putting it all together.

Saturday night we filled in for the worship team at Revolution. For a quick bit of history: Kaci and I were in the home group that founded Revolution. Because of our constant travel and busy life with Wur'ship Project, we were unable to be involved in this project. So Saturday night they had us come in and it was a fun time. Leading worship is definitely NOT what we do, so it was a tad awkward for us, but we made a joyful noise none-the-less.

Sunday we made a whirlwind trip to KC to play at The Main Street Cafe. What an awesome venue! Denise and Laura (both board members who pour their lives into this place) are dear people that love the Lord and love people. If they ever call...we'd go back in a heartbeat!

Through it all as we sing and speak at these places, I keep learning more about myself and who I need to become. We've been blessed to meet such amazing people!

Digital Distribution changes

2008-05-17T08:06:00.002-05:00

We are in the process of changing our Digital Distributors. What this means is there is a time here when you won't find our music on iTunes, Rhapsody, AmazonMP3, and all the other places to download our music.

We'll throw up another post when our music is available online again.

Jeremy & Kaci

What no one is saying about sex - concert\speaking series

2008-05-10T09:30:00.002-05:00

We are beginning to book a concert\speaking series we've titled "What no one is saying about sex". Here's a little insight into this new series:

Kaci and I have many regrets in life. Yes, in a world where people try to tell themselves over and over that "things happen for a reason" and "I have no regrets"...we have regrets. Our major regret is having pre-marital sex.

If we could go back in time and change how we handled ourselves, we would do it in a heartbeat. Many have said, "but events like these make us who we are". In that case, we can honestly say we don't want to be who we are.

While there are great purity ministries out there that tell people not to have sex before marriage, they don't tell them why. That's where we come in. We can tell a person why not to engage in this activity. There are real consequences that will follow a person all their lives. Here's just a few:

- Men do not like to live in the shadows of other men.
- Women have insecurities when living in the shadows of other women.
- Severe depression in both men and women.
- Men internalize and become angry, retreat into their work, abandoning family.
- There are severe trust issues with your future husband\wife.

These are just a few of the MANY consequences. How do we know? As I stated earlier Kaci and I were both sexually active. In Kaci's defense, she was verbally, emotionally, and physically pushed\forced into all her encounters. Not to mention that alcohol was nearly always involved. For myself, I was the pushy young man that would tell a young woman anything just to get the defenses down.

We are living out these consequences. Even after 12 years of marriage there is still hurt and it is real. The amazing thing is, the more we speak about this in concerts the more men and women that come to us and tell us of deteriorating marriages due to these same feelings.

We plan to blog more about this topic in the future as it is an important one. As Solomon says in the Proverbs (paraphrased) 'once a man goes the way of the harlot it will follow him to the grave'. Pre-marital sex is like taking out a debt that can NEVER be repaid...think.

12 years and still going strong!

2008-05-05T09:45:00.002-05:00

Today Kaci and I are celebrating our 12 year anniversary! The amazing part is that she's put up with me this long...hahaha!

So what are we doing on our special day? Band rehearsal!! Are you kidding me? This is what we're wired for!

Saturday - I left my heart in Nashville!

2008-05-03T20:22:00.004-05:00

We made it home! Honestly though, I wish I was in Nashville still. I absolutely love it!! The fact that we bonded with the guys from Zodlounge makes it harder.

I don't know if I ever gave them credit, but I really must say it. The guys at Zodlounge are the real deal! I really don't have the words to describe them, but to try would have me write words like: kind, caring, loving, fun, creative to the max, men of integrity, vulnerable, and a slew of other words that I could only wish someone would use to describe me.

Today was just a continuation of Friday as Kaci and I were longing to see our 4 daughters so much that we couldn't sleep much. Consequently we are EXHAUSTED! The flight back was good, but we landed in 40 degree weather verse 70 - 80 degree weather.

We decided to make the drive back from St. Joseph, MO (where we left our girls) to Bennington so we could have a full day of rest tomorrow before I go back to work.

We will try to keep you posted on what is going on in the life of Wur'ship Project. In the coming weeks perhaps we will introduce you to our mission field: our 4 daughters.

Now it's back to raising funds for the rest of the CD project. We have 6 more songs to record at $1,600.00 per song. If any feel led to sponsor a song or even a portion just click on this link.

Friday - Bitter Sweet

2008-05-03T18:39:00.010-05:00

Sorry that this post for Friday is being done Saturday evening. We just didn't have access to Internet late Friday evening and so I had to write this and save it to a Text file to post when I had a chance.

Friday was our last day at Zodlounge. The day was a busy but productive one. I had to get in the vocal booth and drop the vocals for "Don't Tell Me It's Over" as well as a few filler parts on "Peace Be Still" that I wrote to go in the second verse per Thom's suggestion.

Here's me putting the first verse "in the can" on "Don't Tell Me It's Over". I'm not talking to myself...Thom is on the other end listening and talking back through the monitors.

Kaci rocked on "Peace Be Still" and was adding some really cool yet spooky high harmonies on all the songs. We can't wait for you to hear them, they are really rocking!

After we finished all the vocals, Thom began the process of running vocal tracks through a program called Melodyne. It's a program that allows the engineer to fine tune the pitch on vocals and\or to create higher or lower harmonies with a particular vocal track. Here's a video of Thom using Melodyne and interestingly talking to himself.

Then came the bitter time. We had to leave our friends at Zodlounge. This was pretty tough for Kaci and I as we really formed a bond with Brett, Thom, and Todd. So much so that in one short week they've become almost family to us. Here's a picture of us with the crew. From left to right: Tom Michael (yeah, I call him Thom), Brett Vargason, Kaci, myself, and Todd Shay.

After we left, we went to the hotel to clean up and then to downtown Nashville once again. This time we were on a mission: Kaci was to get her nose pierced at Billy Joe's. It looks stinking SWEET!

Guess who we ran into while at Billy Joe's? Stinking Josh Brown! You know, the lead singer of Day of Fire. He works at Billy Joe's as a tattoo artist when not on tour. Josh is the real deal. You can just tell from the way he interacts with people that the guy lives and breaths Jesus! Here's a picture of Kaci and I with Josh (check out Kaci's piercing).

After the piercing it was back to the hotel to pack up and get ready to get up at 5:00AM to head to the airport. Neither one of us are really morning people...so this really stinks!

Thursday - "Falling Down", "Peace Be Still", and the Hard Rock Cafe

2008-05-02T10:42:00.004-05:00

Today was a day spent in the Vocal Booth. We have the lead and background vocals completely done on "Falling Down". Thom "comped" (which I don't know what that means other than an initial mix or compilation) "Falling Down" and let me tell you...AWESOME!! We can't wait for you to hear it!

We played around with the lead vocal melodies on "Peace Be Still" but at the end of it all we went back to the way Kaci has sung it in the past. Don't get me wrong, there will be tweaks that some of the old faithful (those that have followed us from the beginning) may or may not like...but all-in-all the melodic foundation of the song remains. We still have all the background vocals to lay down for "Peace Be Still" tomorrow as well as all the vocals for "Don't Tell Me It's Over".

Tonight we went back to downtown Nashville. We were just walking around looking at all the novelty shops and looking for a neat, out of the ordinary place to eat. So what did we end up doing? We took the safe route and went to the Hard Rock Cafe. Funny thing happened while there. Our waiter was the ex-guitarist for Fusebox. So we had a little in common as Christian Artists.

The thing that has been so lasting for us on this trip is the friendships that we've forged. Brett, Todd, and Thom are quickly becoming what we would consider as friends. Something we do not take lightly, but also something that speaks volumes about these men and how they do business.

Now for the weird thing. These guys have done work with Tim McGraw (actually Brett had a wrestling match with Tim), Mercy Me, Michael W. Smith, Point of Grace, and Watermark to name a few. What makes this so weird is the nonchalant way these guys address these people that seem so untouchable to us and how they view them as they are...as people like you and I.

Still weird? Yeah, kind of...but day by day I'm getting used to it. What I'm reminded of now is that all-in-all it doesn't matter if it is Tim, Taylor, "Smitty" (that's Michael W's nick name), or just Jeremy and Kaci...death is the great equalizer and it doesn't matter what awards or what stage we've played on. In the end it depends on our hearts, our motives, and if we are living the life that Jesus showed us to live. Bottom line is I'm reminded of the choice of name...Wur'ship Project...that's what life is.

Wednesday - Vocal tracks on "I'm Alive" and a trip to Alabama

2008-05-01T10:30:00.009-05:00

Sorry Wednesday's update is coming on Thursday morning, but yesterday was grueling! We left Zodlounge at 4:00 and headed to Florence, AL to lead worship and share a few of our songs with a 737 (a college group) at First Southern Baptist Church. We didn't get in until 1:00AM, so blogging wasn't a priority then.

OK, so the Wednesday scoop...here's how it went down. First we started off by having me (Jeremy) go into the vocal booth to lay down the vocal tracks for "I'm Alive". This process took around an hour as they want 5 solid takes of each part. Each part meaning Verse, Chorus 1, Verse 2, Chorus 2, etc...so you can see why it took so long. Here's a quick video tour of the vocal booth:

Here's a picture of Kaci in the vocal booth:

Here is a video of Kaci warming up and going over some background vocals for "I'm Alive":

And here is a video of Thom adding my vocals to the other tracks while Todd is looking on admiring the killer guitar tracks he put down at 6:00AM that morning, and of course Kaci playing air guitar in the back:

It seems that Brett is quite the dancer and has some great impersonations. Here's a glimpse into the world of Brett Vargason:

Getting the vocal tracks for "I'm Alive" took the whole day and we left at 4:00PM to go down to Florence, Alabama. We were invited to lead worship and share a couple of our songs for a College Group at the First Southern Baptist Church called 737. It was really cool as there was a very eclectic group of students there. Students athletes, international students, married students, and a student that was from Wichita KS!

On our way we ran by something that we've only seen in movies...a Piggly Wiggly! Since there was an accident that stopped traffic on I-65, we were a little behind schedule, so we had to get a picture of it on our way back home. That's why the picture is a little dark. Anyhow, this Piggly Wiggly is in Athens, Alabama:

And last but not least, here's a picture of us with Kevin Johnson (yellow shirt), the leader of Student Ministries at First Southern Baptist, and our friend Derrek Fikes (blue shirt). Derrek was instrumental in setting us up with Kevin so we could share with the students at 737. Just a side note: we met Derrek at a camp we played for last summer in KS called Super Summer. Since then we've kept in contact and that's how it all came together.

Tuesday - Acoustic guitar, Scratch Vocals, and Bass track

2008-04-29T21:31:00.008-05:00

Today was a busy day in the studio. As soon as we got in Todd and Thom began hooking up the microphones in the booth to begin tracking acoustic guitar. We'd end up using the same setup to lay down the scratch vocals as well. If we haven't explained that one before, "scratch" tracks are tracks that will be thrown away. They are just thrown out there for a point of reference.

Although today was one where we sat around a lot, it went very quickly and it was totally cool because the songs really began to come to life. Here's a video of Thom laying down a Bass track on "Don't Tell Me It's Over". One thing to note, you can tell the vocals are scratch vocals because there are points in this video that you can't even hear the vocals as we did not do any microphone placement.

We did notice that Kaci has been doing all the photography and hasn't been in many pictures (none in the studio yet), so we plan on changing that tomorrow. Nothing much to say, so we're just going to show you a few rooms of the studio (more pictures of the guitar\vocal booth to come tomorrow).

Here's the console where the mixing and overdubs are controlled. From here, Thom can have a conversation to whomever is in the booth.

Here's a picture of the couch that Kaci and I park it on while checking messages and working on songs. To the left of the couch is only one of the many racks of guitars and racks of effects. It's located at the opposite end of the room from the console.

Here's the drum room where Brett lays down the FOUNDATION of ROCK!

That's it for today!

Our first day in the studio!!

2008-04-28T21:16:00.004-05:00

First, I have to tell you the third guys name (see the previous post). His name is Thom. So there is Brett (drums), Todd (guitar), and Thom (bass).

So back to what all of y'all are asking: How was it? AWESOME! We learned so many things today it is unbelievable. The production level, the musicianship...just the whole package is something that we've never experienced anywhere else. So where to start...hmmm.

First we report to Zodlounge at 10:00AM and the guys sit us down and get to know us some. Then we head down to the control room and we begin to dissect "Don't Tell Me It's Over". During this time we are brainstorming flow, some alternate chords to spice things up and create good "tension" in the song. Here's a picture of that process:

In the picture above you see myself (Jeremy), Brett, Thom, and Todd.

An added bonus during setup and some of the "song flow" process was that a guest stopped by to drop off a project. He actually sat in and helped the guys dial in some of the equipment and gave some good feedback on the song. After he left the guys excitedly told us that this guy was John "Roush" (can't spell his name I'll try to fix it tomorrow). John is a Grammy Award winning engineer/producer/mixer and he was digging our stuff! You'll see John in this video as we are running the flow against some initial drum tracks Brett laid down (video is 33MB, so be patient).

Once we had the flow set and everyone was digging the new direction of the song, Brett laid down the "scratch" drum tracks. Basically that means he laid down drum tracks that probably won't survive the final mix, but are there to serve as a foundation for all the other scratch tracks laid on top. Brett's amazing...he went into the drum room and nailed the song with no more than a piece of paper telling him how many bars are in each section, a click track, and the memory of what we all just covered.

After the scratch drum tracks for "Don't Tell Me It's Over" were laid down, we started working on "Falling Down". The nuts and bolts of "Falling Down" will remain the same, but the song will flow so much more smoothly. In "Don't Tell Me" I learned about alternate chords and alternate voicing for chords. In the process of creating the flow for "Falling Down" I learned a tried and true Nashville trick: Don't bore us, get to the Chorus! Again, once we were done Brett went and nailed the scratch drum tracks.

About 12:30 we broke for lunch (we ate at Pei Wei's which is a less expensive chain in the PF Chang restaurant group) then got back to work, this time on "I'm Alive". We really didn't change any of the flow on this song nor did we change any of the structure.

During this process we had some more visitors. Chris (a fellow Kansan who used to play for Nameless Faces) and his friend Shawn who is the Tour Manager for Watermark and Selah. These guys hung out while we finished up the flow of "I'm Alive" all the way up to the drum tracking on "Peace Be Still". Amazing guys...I know we'll stay in touch.

At this point Todd will begin to lay down some guitar tracks tomorrow and we may begin to lay some vocals down. If not tomorrow, definitely Wednesday before we leave to play for a group in Florence, AL.

At 5:00 we rushed out of Zodlounge and headed to the legendary Blue Bird Cafe. You should have seen the line of people waiting to get in, most of them wanting to play. Fortunately an acquaintance of ours from Church gave us his ticket which ensured us that we would get to play. We were drawn as the 21st songwriter(s) to play and we only were able to play one song as there were so many songwriters there.

We played "I'm Alive" and received a very encouraging reception from the crowd. It was amazing to play in a place so rich with musical history. Artists such as Garth Brooks, Brooks and Dunn, and Kenny Chesney started the same way on the same stage...just the weight of that made me shake!

Today was an amazing day. We learned SOOOO much and look forward to another day in the studio!!

P.S. - we have a video that we took at The Blue Bird, but it's 200MB. We'll see if we can make it smaller and post it at a later time.

Sunday - Church and site seeing

2008-04-27T19:33:00.005-05:00

We landed safe and sound last evening (Saturday) and made our way to Jodi and Julee Cobb's house. They were gracious enough to let us stay with them for most of our trip. This was a huge break for us by the way and is one of the main reasons we can record 4 songs this trip (verse 3...this freed up some major cash for us!).

So this morning we headed to The Peoples Church in Franklin followed by lunch at Pucket's in downtown Franklin. Here's a picture from Pucket's with Jodi, Julee, and Nick.

After Pucket's we tried to walk around downtown Franklin, but it was raining like crazy so we took a ride to drop Nick off at his house. On the way we drove by a housing development called "The Govenor's Club". Basically it's where Toby Keith, Carrie Underwood, and all those cats live. Those houses are MONSTROUS!!!

Then it was off to see downtown Nashville, or affectionately called "Nash-Vegas". We started out on Broadway which is where all the Honky Tonk's are. Here's a section of Broadway.

Even on a Sunday afternoon there was live music in every bar on Broadway and they were packed full of people checking out the "next Big thing". Seems that everyone is a musician here and everyone has dreams of "making it big".

Didn't take us long to have enough of Broadway, then it was around th corner to see the Ryman Auditorium.

Then there were visits to Starbuck's and a few Boutique's that we won't bore you with. Other than that, we are meeting some cool people and just hanging out before we report to the Studio tomorrow morning at 10:00AM

Nashville or bust!

2008-04-25T20:04:00.002-05:00

Have you ever had the feeling of being "on the verge"? Standing at the edge of all that God has created us to be is an overwhelming place. We're going through a gamut of emotions on the eve of our trip to Nashville to begin recording.

Neither Kaci or myself can remember a time in our lives that we didn't dream of this. Granted, it wasn't until I was 21 years old that I began to take guitar lessons. Shoot, up to that point I didn't even have a guitar that was worth a hoot. For Kaci, she may have been in High School Choir, but she never sang solo until 2003 when she stepped out to begin singing "Peace Be Still".

In the coming week we are going to do our best to give you the inside scoop as we record 4 songs in Nashville. We will be working with Brett Vargason, Todd Shay, and one other fellow (we'll post his name later...sorry!) at their studio production company called Zodlounge. Hopefully we'll be faithful to taking pictures and videos to post on the blog as well.

Thanks to all of you that have made this possible! We'll work hard to make you all proud!

Jeremy & Kaci

Drained!

2008-04-09T09:32:00.000-05:00

The last few months has been one of the toughest times for me. This region we are in is dead. I struggle with the words because I don't want to come off too sharply or even sound like I'm "Holier than thou". It is as if people in the Church here are in a comatose state and what's worse is they are in this incapacitated state and going out telling people "you gotta have what I have...this Jesus is so cool". Why would anyone want what we are showing on a daily basis? We are living no differently!

To get groups to work together for the Kingdom is like pulling teeth. Even within those groups (Churches) we are fragmented. We have all these rules and regulations to "strain a gnat" but we are empty and comatose.

If we are the body, then something is wrong. It's as if the body is working to destroy itself! The limbs are flailing around wildly and helplessly. We look nothing like the Jesus that is historically portrayed in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Matter of fact, we look more like the religious elite that killed Him and persecuted the Disciples.

My encouragement in this is that I've been blessed to be able to meet with a few others who have seen this (and I mean few!). Not only that, but they are ready to dig down deep to live out a life of worship, a life imitating Jesus. Though this journey seems daunting and seemingly impossible, they have a fight in them that has encouraged me.

Will we stand with these warriors as well? Will we lay down our lives, our wants, our passions for the glory of God? We must realize what we were truly created to be. This is the only way this world will change, and at that it will only happen one person at a time. And that person is the person sitting right beside us! Welcome to the mission field!

We must fight our passions and take on the life of Jesus Christ!

Sponsor a song...

2008-03-02T17:13:00.001-06:00

Sponsor a song:

We are going to record in Nashville at the Zod Lounge! We've been working with Brett Vargason at Zod Lounge to set this up. You may not recognize Brett by name, but you might recognize the group he toured the world with, Sonic Flood. The schedule is for us to be in Nashville on April 27th and begin tracking bright and early on April 28th.

Recording costs a lot. There's no way around it. In our current scenario we are blessed because Zod Lounge charges per song, which is kind of unheard of but helps us know how to budget. Through this we are seeking people, businesses, or organizations that will sponsor specific songs. For instance, we've already had sponsors step forward to sponsor us for "I'm Alive" as well as a new song that we've yet to name.

To record one song, the cost for us is $1,500.00. However, we know that not everyone has that kind of cash lying around. We've set up a page on our online store called "Sponsor a Song" where you can purchase a portion or all of a sponsorship slot on a song. We've tried to make this reasonable with sponsorship options from $25, $50, $100, $250, $500, $750, $1,000, and $1,500. If you are interested in sponsoring a song to be recorded in Nashville, click on this link: http://www.wurship.com/index.cfm?action=products.categories.category_detail&category_id=62

Why are we doing this? Christian music in general is not a money making proposition. In 2006, only 17 of the top Nashville acts made a profit. Most of those people are operating in debt to bring you good music. Scale that back to a small regional band like Wur'ship Project...we do this because we want to see lives changed for the glory of Christ, but we cannot accomplish this without financial support!

Devotion

2008-01-30T11:46:00.000-06:00

This is an article written by Jeremy Neely for a magazine in Australia called "Unite!"

Devotion
by Jeremy Neely

A few months back, I was forced to look deep into my life and analyze my devotion. The questions began to arise. First, to what extent am I devoted to my wife? My answer was that I would go to the ends of the earth for her and would even die for her. Then the second question hit me, to what extent am I devoted to God?

Here I am willing to go to the ends of the earth for my wife, even going to the grave for her, yet my devotion to my Creator is wrapped up in a 15 - 30 minute devotion time from a book with some touching story tied to a single verse. It began to appear to me that we have created a double standard and devotion has come to mean one thing in our relationship with our friends, family, husbands, wives, etc, but yet it means something completely different when it comes to God.

A quick search to look up the definition of the word devotion on Dictionary.com netted me similar findings. here are the definitions from that search:
1. profound dedication; consecration
2. earnest attachment to a cause, person, etc.
3. an assignment or appropriation to any purpose, cause, etc.: the devotion of one's wealth and time to scientific advancement.
4. Often, devotions. Ecclesiastical. Religious observance of worship; a form of prayer or worship for special use.
It seems that the dictionary has a double standard of devotion as well. The first three sound like the devotion I give to my wife, yet the fourth pounds off on "religious observance".

This obviously set off more thoughts and questions in my heart and mind. God is not an idea or a philosophy, He is a real person. We are created in the image of Him, so why do we treat Him differently then we treat one another? Many of us experience or have experienced His presence in our daily lives, so we cannot cast Him off as being distant or just an idea.

Now let's look at devotion in the life of Jesus. Specifically I'm looking at stories from Matthew. Jesus many times over showed us, as well as told us, that our devotion to God (the Person, no the idea) should be so strong that we would be obedient unto death. Ouch! Not only did Jesus (God with us) demonstrate this lifestyle of devotion to the Father, but so did His Disciples and those that came to faith through them.

Needless to say, this has disrupted my pattern of setting aside 15 - 30 minutes a day to sit down to read a book titled "Daily Devotion". Those of you familiar with the music ministry my wife and I have called Wur'ship Project (http://www.wurship.com) will know that our drive is to encourage others to live a life of worship. This lifestyle of worship will only spring forth from us if we truly give God our devotion. No matter which way one tries to look at it, the end result is that we must become imitators of the life of Jesus Christ.

Mercy Raining - behind the song

2007-12-31T12:46:00.000-06:00

The best way I could describe the song "Mercy Raining" is that it's about being sick and tired of being sick and tired. It's a song about my struggles in life, the one's no one but the Lord and I know about. Struggles inside of me that I was sick and tired of plaguing me. To be more to the point on what these issues are, I was sick of anger and lust.

What most people don't tell their kids or those they mentor is the destructive nature of sex, lust, pornography, and how it all ties in with anger. Maybe it's because most people haven't even figured it out themselves. This is a rather interesting thought especially since Jesus laid it out for us right in the Sermon on the Mound (Matthew 5). The teachings on dealing with lust and anger are the first and foundational of His teachings.

What does this have to do with "Mercy Raining"? Everything. As a young boy I was introduced to pornography. Not just magazines, but just the regular old box office movies and TV Shows. It perverted my sex drive (as it does to any young man that is breathing). Between that and some bad peer pressure pre-marital sex occurred. I hate to be crude, but it truly is a "once you pop, you can't stop" type of thing for a young man. If we can't find a young woman then we just take care of it manually.

These things are done in private. The pictures\images are stuck in a young man's mind and they pop up at the least expected moment and the pressure builds. We literally become slaves to these passions, they run out of control.

Then there is the anger side. It's really a never ending circle of violence. No man wants a woman who's been with another man, no matter what he says. This causes anger, rage, and eventually hatred. The never ending circle comes in when this anger is channeled through lust. If you don't think it happens, just look at the rate of pornography addictions skyrocketing. This isn't just a single man's game, this is happening within marriages too!

So that is what "Mercy Raining" is about. It's about the horrible empty feeling after falling again. Powerlessly being tossed around by these passions that holds me a slave. It's that horrible regret of lashing out at your wife for burnt toast when it's really just the jealousy and anger flaring up. It's about being sick and tired of being sick and tired.

As the lyric says, "Falling down not wanting to get up, but You reach down and fill my cup". I don't pretend to understand the mercy, grace, and compassion of the Lord. The fact that He faces me constantly, helping me. Never getting frustrated, always urging me forward. It's the relational experience of a personal God that a doctrine or teaching can't contain.

"Wipe away the tears from my weary eyes". There's nothing more distressing than doing something that you don't want to do. The feeling of being trapped as these passions press in and begin to define our thoughts, our desires, and even our emotions. It is an addictive passion and it toys with us as we try to run from it.

The only thing keeping us in a realm of sanity in this song is the mercy of God. And such is life, the unfathomable mercy of God and Him being active in my life is the only thing that keeps me sane.

Blessings,

Jeremy

Mercy Raining
by Jeremy Neely

Wipe away the tears from my weary eyes.
So alone it seems You're a million miles away.
Life just haunts me from day to day.

Take my life as a living sacrifice.

Mercy raining on this heart of mine.
Dry and dusty from days gone by.
I love You is this souls cry.
Mercy raining on this heart of mine.

Falling down not wanting to get up.

You reach down and You fill my cup.
Put a new song on this broken heart of mine.I
feel Your love and it's gonna be alright.

Beautiful yet painful...the ice storms

2007-12-13T11:43:00.000-06:00

The results of the ice storm that hit the heartland on Monday evening had many results. To walk out and look at the horizon is just breathtaking. As far as the eye can see the earth has been transformed into a crystal palace. The sun's rays dance across the horizon, set ablaze by the crystallized grass. Treetops look like chandeliers glistening in the morning sun. Unfathomable numbers of icicles stranded along miles of power lines and fence. Such a magnificent picture could not be painted by human hands.

However, in the midst of this breathtaking beauty is pain. So many homes are unequipped to heat themselves without electrical service. Many families find themselves without heat, warm food, and even water.

Fortunately we have a fireplace and had prepared by bringing plenty of wood into the garage to keep dry. We also had charcoal and propane for our grills so we could cook. In case of extreme emergencies we even had an inverter that we could plug into our vehicles to create 110 volt electricity.

This was a wonderful lesson for our girls. In our affluent society our children do not know what it is like to go without. Not even power. Even the company that I work for (which is a great company!) has a "no downtime" policy on the computer network.

In a way, I am Thankful for this event taking place. By day I am a Network Engineer (computer geek) and the only thing that I can ever 100% guarantee you about technology is that it will fail. I'm Thankful for this failure of our system. The humility of opening your doors to another family or even accepting the offer to move one's family into another's care.

In a season when one of the truest acts of compassion and mercy was shown on mankind. Our Creator emptied Himself to come down and dwell among us, being tempted in every way so that we know we have a High Priest who sympathizes with us (Phillipians & Hebrews). In this storm we were forced to humble ourselves, to serve others, to work together, and to even live together.

This begs many questions about our heritage, lifestyle, and society. But we are the only one's that can look long and hard inwardly and ask\answer those questions. Will we?

Blessings,

Jeremy & Kaci

The winner of the pre-order iPod is....

2007-12-05T14:10:00.001-06:00

Congratulations to Kevin Collings, the winner of the iPod Nano in the Wur'ship Project:LIVE Pre-order contest.

The really cool thing is that Kevin and his wife Adrienne have been huge supporters of Wur'ship Project for years. As a matter of fact, it wasn't long after the music ministry of Jeremy & Kaci took on the name of Wur'ship Project that Kevin and Adrienne began telling everyone they knew about us.

Thanks to all of you that took place in the pre-order of Wur'ship Project:LIVE

Photos from our CD Release Party

2007-12-04T10:23:00.001-06:00

We posted some photos from our CD Release Party on our MySpace site. We're going to try to insert the slide show from our MySpace in this post. If it comes out funny, just head over to http://www.myspace.com/wurshipproject to see the pictures.

2007-11-29T19:22:00.000-06:00

"I'm Alive" is currently on Indie Heaven's Fan Fave charts. Please go there daily to vote for "I'm Alive" and help it get into the top 10. What does this do for us? It helps our music be heard and gives us the opportunity (once in the top 10) to have our song on the Indie Heaven Radio Show that goes out to many radio stations nation wide.

Just click on the banner below and cast your vote!

Thanks for all your support!

I'm Alive - the story behind the song

2007-11-14T14:49:00.000-06:00

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!

2007-11-13T20:15:00.000-06:00

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!

2007-11-12T21:34:00.000-06:00

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

2007-11-08T10:26:00.000-06:00

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

2007-11-07T10:28:00.002-06:00

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

2007-11-07T10:28:00.001-06:00

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

2007-11-07T10:23:00.000-06:00

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

2007-11-07T10:20:00.000-06:00

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.

Wur'ship Project

Change is in the air

The Zod Archives EP dropcards ship out Tuesday...

Sampler of new tracks from Nashville

Newspaper article, Revolution, and Main Street Cafe...

Digital Distribution changes

What no one is saying about sex - concert\speaking series

12 years and still going strong!

Saturday - I left my heart in Nashville!

Friday - Bitter Sweet

Thursday - "Falling Down", "Peace Be Still", and the Hard Rock Cafe

Wednesday - Vocal tracks on "I'm Alive" and a trip to Alabama

Tuesday - Acoustic guitar, Scratch Vocals, and Bass track

Our first day in the studio!!

Sunday - Church and site seeing

Nashville or bust!

Drained!

Sponsor a song...

Devotion

Mercy Raining - behind the song

Beautiful yet painful...the ice storms

The winner of the pre-order iPod is....

Photos from our CD Release Party

I'm Alive - the story behind the song

I’m AliveWords & Music by Jeremy Neely

New sponsorship...Monster Energy Drinks!

Digging a well...it sucks!

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

Inoculation - the heart behind the song

InoculationWords & Music by Jeremy Neely

Falling Down - the heart of the song

New Songs

The Love of God

I’m Alive
Words & Music by Jeremy Neely

Inoculation
Words & Music by Jeremy Neely