QUICK LIFE UPDATE FROM THE HELMS

Friends and family - I hope this finds you well and pray that you are encouraged in whatever season of life you are in. I know that our family has been through a lot of growth in the past several years since we moved to west Tennessee. For me, that has meant a chance to begin seminary and work in full-time church ministry. For Abby, that has meant a chance to be closer to family and help build a great school here in town (of which Silas is now a Pre-K student). Those cute kids in my profile picture have been getting a lot of love and care and fun over these past two years and we are grateful.

OK... SO WHAT ABOUT THIS PROJECT?

Right before leaving New Jersey, I had the opportunity to open for (the somewhat well-known Christian duo) Shane & Shane at a large benefit concert with some friends. My friend Kim and I pulled together a band and showcased several original songs. The reception to our music was (to my surprise!) off the charts good. One of the songs we performed is called "Strong City" and is based out of Isaiah 26. Unimportant detail - Abby and I actually wrote this song in a power outage during Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey in 2012, a few months after our son Silas was born.

The heart of the song is this - there are some amazing but sometimes unnoticed truths in Scripture about heaven. These are beautiful and compelling truths that are meant to pull our hearts toward an understanding of God's goodness and the desire He has put in us for a never-ending, peace-filled home. We find in the Bible that heaven will not simply be a worship service in the sky with angels on harps. Heaven is a perfected earth, a garden-city, where God will dwell with His people forever. Even better, heaven is an invitation God gives every one of us. By the sacrifice of Jesus, a way has been made for us to enter in and become citizens of this heavenly city. And the eternity God has prepared will be kicked off with the most glorious wedding followed by the ultimate reception and feast.

It's a truth that I told an athiest friend and coworker in New Jersey at one point over dinner and a friendly debate about faith. He was baffled. He had never heard anything like this. I am convinced that so many non-Christian friends and many who have grown up in church miss this amazing promise of what's in store ahead for our war-torn and suffering world. And so I'm excited about the song because I believe it can provoke and surprise some people to take notice of God's design for eternity - Christian or not.

THE ASK = HELP ME RECORD MY FIRST SINGLE!

After reflecting on all of the ways I believe God has equipped and called our family in this world, music and songwriting continues to pull at me along with everything else I am passionate about. With songwriting, there have been too many signs and encouragements along the way to let the songs that God has written on my heart and in my head just fall to the side. But I need others to help me along the way. So here's the details on the project that we're planning.

My goal is to pull together the necessary people and funds to record Strong City in the next six weeks for an Easter release. The song would be produced in Nashville by a friend of a friend who is a talented producer (and currently touring with a major Christian artist). The cost for producing a single that is professionally done, will sound good in all possible settings, and uses paid musicians to add a lot of extra layers of goodness? About $1500 per song (that's assuming some cost to promote and or distribute the music as well). To make sure we can start small and be realistic with our family's situation in life, one song is all we are focused on right now. If the song is well-received and there is interest in hearing more (with Abby's blessing) we may look toward creating a Kickstarter campaign to record a full EP in the summer when I am not in class.

So, there it is. Will you help us produce Strong City? I would love to have you as a partner in this project. I believe this is a great opportunity and the right timing for so many reasons. Thank you in advance for considering this project! And make sure to watch the video preview of the song from our concert above.