Jesus Is Alive !

The Jesus is Alive Story

• I watched the sky flash light 5 times, back to back to back to back to back within a couple of seconds.
• I made the comment, “Did you (God) think that was funny?” He then spoke to me and had me write down the words that have become the main body of His message / song. He said many will hear this, sing this.
• After returning home to Indiana, through words of knowledge, the song was asked to be introduced to a couple of parishes on June 20th. This request was made on June 19th. I told my daughter to gather her friends to sing at the church tomorrow (Sunday) night, she informed me late in the afternoon on the 19th via a phone call that her friends were going to be busy with Father’s Day activities on the 20th. I ended the conversation with a “whatever” and hung up the phone. What followed after hanging up the phone was and continues to be one of the most prophetic things ever spoken to my soul. God spoke directly to my soul telling me to call her back and tell her that He is her Father, He is THEIR Father. It was a very powerful moment in my life.
• If God the Father wrote a song, what day would He want it introduced?
• June 20th was Father’s Day
• On June 20th after arriving back home from the prayer service and song introduction, I asked my wife if she had filmed the crowd so I could count about how many were in attendance. She said, “No” but my son Jordan stated he counted 71 in the crowd. I was at the podium, so that would make it 72. [Luke 10 1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two[a] others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.]
• On Monday, June 21st, on my way to work I was reflecting on how beat up I felt due to the fact that I tried to introduce the song to the congregation with no musicians being available given the last minute request. Again, God spoke to my soul and asked if I had approached these issues with love. Of course the answer was no and after using His approach, I was shown the error of my ways and had to make the necessary reconciliations. As this particular conversation ended, He stated, “By the way, you sang my song wrong.” I reminded Him that I wasn’t supposed to sing His song and we both laughed. He said, “It’s a love song, soften it up.”
• That same day around lunch time I had the strongest feeling in regards to calling a friend from our parish whose daughter and a friend were singers. I didn’t fight that urge very long before making the call. At that time they were both in the town where I live and agreed to wait until I arrived home from work to touch base in regards to, “Lyrics to a song.”
• I walked in this house, which I had never been in before. After 1 or 2 minutes of small talk I handed them the words to the song and told them, “It’s supposed to be a love song, soften it up.”
• The two beautiful, young people retreated to a piano in the basement. 40 minutes later they come up stairs and played what is now referenced as the “Jesus Is Alive” song.
• A tune in the piano players’ head that he had written 8 weeks earlier but could not put one word, fit the lyric scheme to a T. It was truly an emotional moment for the three people that were in the room as this was being played and sung.
• What was also very interesting is that I called my wife to tell her where I would be after work and she asked if she could meet me there. Of course I said that’s fine and for some reason I said, “Bring the video camcorder.” To this day, it makes no sense why I would say that at that particular time. Of course, this version that was played after just 40 minutes was caught on tape and gave everyone involved a great boost in faith and enthusiasm when we would replay the video and listen to His words. The team joyfully continued on with this mission of bringing His message to light.
• The song, based on Jesus being alive is 3 minutes 16 seconds long (John 3:16). This Bible verse is also sang in the song. Through discerning different aspects of the song, the team thought the last five seconds of the song should be no words, just silence. Additional discerning led us to believe that Psalm 46 v 10 (Be still and know that I am God) should be stated in a quiet whisper. It was decided that Psalm 46 verse 10 would be stated but in such a way, it would take high quality equipment to hear this message. It was felt that the celebration of His message in the song that “Jesus Is Alive” shouldn’t end with a “Be still” message. So, the message is there, maybe just that through conversation regarding the song and the story that people will realize that God wants us to spend quiet time with Him allowing to both speak and listen.
• As the musicians were trying to iron out any imperfections, they felt like a line needed to be added to the song. As I met with them and stood near the piano, they really didn’t know how to convey an edit to His song. I felt their uneasiness and stated, “As long as you are doing this with all of your heart, mind, body and soul, everything will be fine. They looked at each other, almost in disbelief and I said, “WHAT?” They said those words are the words that we feel need to be added. This was just another affirmation that we were doing what we were supposed to be doing.
• Also, after a priest friend of the family stopped over for lunch after Mass, we played the original video of the song in which the verse ends with a “ba ba bump ba.” He said he liked the song but felt like the “ba ba bump ba” just didn’t feel right. Without even knowing of the priest’s thoughts, the musicians felt the same way and those notes became “You are not alone.”
• Knowing that the song should be produced by a professional, I searched recording studios in Cincinnati, Ohio, somewhat near to where I live.  Eight choices were made available. One in particular basically jumped out and felt like the obvious choice for no real reason except the name. To affirm my feelings, I looked up the definition of the word Ambient which can mean, “to go around or surrounding.” I certainly felt at that moment that if God wanted to send out a message, it would be meant for everyone, the entire world.
• So the song was recorded in studio (Ambient Studios, Cincinnati) on Thursday, July 22, a day when all parties were available out of the two choices offered from the studio. On Monday, the 26th of July, I received an email from a Christian brother who asked, “Do you know whose feast day was the day you recorded His song?” I was at work and replied no, not off hand. The email stated that Thursday, July 22nd was the feast day of the first person to know that “Jesus was alive!” Mary Magdalene’s feast day was Thursday, July 22nd.